Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1)

by Craig Gerttula

  She rushed to the elevator that led directly to the guard barracks, nodding off the concerned inquiry of Flight Captain Jeb’Tol. Just before she reached her apartment, she turned to Sir Seb'Losh, who was, as always, right on her heals.

  “Send for Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil, Guard Private Usa'Pol, and Guard Private Mia'Tol,” she ordered, listing three of her female Alutia Guards. Without hesitation, Sir Seb'Losh nodded, his expression going distant for a moment, before he looked at her curiously, seeming content to let Sasha have her way for now. A few minutes later, the three female guards appeared, fixing askew uniforms and unkempt hair, signs of their hasty preparation.

  “Now, Sir Seb’Losh,” she hardened her stare, “for the foreseeable future, these three guards will be assigned within my apartments. If they rotate, one guarding me while the other the entrance, with the third resting, it should meet your requirements for my safety,” she stated, waiting to respond harshly to any argument.

  “Yes, Your Grace. But if you would just explain to me what is going on, I may be able to assist,” he responded, obviously reluctant, but uncharacteristically, letting her have her way. She decided to provide him a hint as thanks.

  “From our exchange on the ferry shuttle, you seem to be knowledgeable to some extent about catillians. Access the requirements for completing the permanent bonding ritual. If you still cannot figure out, what my problem is, then I'll explain it to you in a week!” She turned, glaring at the guard on duty outside her apartment, who rushed to open the door, allowing her to storm through, followed by Tiana, her servants, and three confused Alutia Guards. The door closed silently behind them and once she verified it was locked, she turned to her head servant, Gil'Da.

  “Gil'Da, could you please go and bring the others? I do not want to have to repeat this,” the old servant bowed and started off, before stopping midstride.

  “Your Grace, Lady Regalia arrived while you were away. Would you like me to bring her as well?” Sasha suddenly recalled her newest lady-in-waiting, whose shuttle was supposed to rendezvous with the escort fleet sometime today, she having forgotten during the excitement.

  “Yes, of course, that would be for the best, thank you, Gil'Da.” The servant bowed and hurried off. Sasha smothered a pointless frown, knowing there was little she could do about the unusual meeting she was about to have with the 10 year old, Lady Regalia. She turned to Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil.

  “Guard Lieutenant, you have access privileges for the record monitoring system so you can disable them during emergencies, correct?” Sasha asked, having realized why Sir Seb'Losh had given in so easily to her request.

  Through the use of the starships security record system, he was able to monitor every section of the starship, including her apartments, from within the guard barracks. When she had first learned this fact, she'd forced him to permanently lock out access to the ladies bed and bath chambers, but he was adamant about keeping the rest active...which she reluctantly allowed.

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Guard Lieutenant Lia’Sil started responding, obviously nervous, “but Knight Captain Seb'Losh will have my head if I-”

  “As much as he might not believe it,” Sasha interrupted, “he reports to me, and I will handle any complaints while reminding him of this simple fact. Lock out all record feeds from my apartment...please.” The guard lieutenant nodded, her expression going distant. A few seconds later, a frown crept across her lips.

  “He must have assumed you'd try this, Your Grace, he's locked my clearance out of the security systems,”

  How dare he! Sasha fumed.

  Over the past few days he’d repeatedly refused to listen to her requests, purposely forgetting the fact that she was the one in charge, not he. She was livid and had quite enough of Sir Seb’Losh’s obstinate behavior.

  “Open a communication channel to Knight Captain Seb'Losh please, Guard Lieutenant,” the icy tone of her request, and the smoldering blaze flickering in her eyes, took everyone by surprise. Guard Lieutenant Lia’Sil noticed this change as well, whispering into her wrist PDU without question, before holding it before Sasha.

  “Your Grace, how may I serve you?” Sir Seb’Losh, voice of pure professionalism, emanated from the wrist PDU.

  “Knight Captain Seb'Losh,” Sasha gritted her teeth, “you will disable all record monitoring systems within my apartments until further notice. This is an order,” she commanded in the same icy tone, hoping it would get through to stubborn Alutia Guard Captain.

  “I am sorry, Your Grace. But I cannot obey that order. It is my duty to see to your protection and I am provided the right to disregard orders I believe may keep me from performing my duty,” the calmness in which he responded grated at Sasha's every nerve.

  It took her only a moment to decide what to do next; time to pull the trump card.

  “Very well, Guard Captain Seb'Losh,” she referred to him with his non-noble title purposely, raising her voice to accentuate the point, “I seem to have forgotten my favorite hat back on Planet Tidelia. You and Guard Commander Rok'Lew are hereby commanded to travel to the NHA Super-Capital ABF Alutia, where you will be provided a shuttle and crew for your journey back to Planet Tidelia, where you will retrieve my hat. Once your mission is completed, you will rendezvous with the escort fleet at Planet Vn'Oco before we depart in a month's time. This order is classified Alert Level One and is signed by both myself and Knight Admiral Bhool, commander of the Alutia Battle Fleet,” Sasha hated the idea of abusing a top level command order to get Sir Seb'Losh off her back, but she’d had enough.

  The silence was deafening, made all the worse by the oppressive tension that rose from those in her presence. She was about to order a response when the Lia’Sil’s wrist PDU cracked.

  “Who do I talk to about this hat of yours when I arrive? Or am I suppose to siege Tidelia Castle and bring back every hat I find for my tyrannical patron?” Sir Seb’Losh’s voice seethed with anger, in a way Sasha would have never expected from his iron mask of composure. She felt her own anger swell at what she perceived as complete disrespect, and was about to explode when Lia'Sil pulled her arm back, bringing the wrist PDU to her lips.

  “This is Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil. It is my duty to remind you, sir, that you are speaking to the Grand Duchess of Alutia, Her Highness, Princess Sasha. I would recommend you remove yourself to your mission immediately before you say any another word you may regret...sir,” Sasha barely heard the click as the guard lieutenant disabled the PDU, the rushing in her ears masking all sound.

  “Your Grace, please allow me to apologize for Knight Captain Seb'Losh's careless choice of words. He is only ever looking out for your best interests,” Lia’Sil bowed, as did the other two guards, her words touching Sasha's heart, but doing little to subside her already boiling anger.

  “I realize that, Guard Lieutenant, but I am not a child to be constantly babysat! And the sooner the knight captain accepts this reality, the less pain we will all go through in the coming months,” she knew she was being unfair, taking out her frustrations on these guards who were in no way responsible for Sir Seb’Losh’s actions, but she couldn’t help herself, “And since he continually refuses to listen to my pleas for respite, he will now have to listen to my actions. And if, when he returns, he still refuses to listen, then I may be forced to take further action!” Her anger burst forth with a final shout, then began to fade, like the lowering tide, the words that had been growing within her heart finally let free. But embarrassment swooped in to take its place when she noticed the well dressed, golden haired young girl, who looked like a mastercraft doll, standing behind Gil'Da, peering at Sasha with noticeable trepidation. Sasha buried her head in her hands and took a deep, shameful breath, realizing her first meeting with Lady Regalia, her newest lady-in-waiting, couldn't have come at a worst time.

  The minutes ticked by in silence and Sasha started to lose her patience.

  “Guard Lieutenant, has local command of the Alutia Guard been transferred to you?” Sasha as
ked, knowing Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil would be the highest ranking Alutia Guard officer onboard when the Alutia Guard Captain and Guard Commander departed the ABF Princess One, officially beginning their mission. Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil's expression went distant, then returned, her eyes serious.

  “Yes, Your Grace...and I have disabled all record systems in the apartments.” Sasha nodded her thanks, and then studied the faces of those surrounding her.

  Her servants stood stone faced, obviously frightened, seeing a side of Sasha they had never seen before. The guards looked uneasy, fidgeting in place, unable...or more likely unwilling, she realized...to make eye contact. Tiana, the only one who seemed unphased by her outburst, stared at Sasha curiously, appearing to expect this to be some sort of grand joke. Lady Regalia, who was still peering around Gil'Da's leg with obvious apprehension, caused Sasha's heart to drop. She threw her hands in the air, having had enough, no longer able to take the feeling of revulsion caused by being forced to hide the reasoning behind her actions from those around.

  “I am so sorry, everyone,” Tears began to well forth, “I...I did not want to do this, but...but there are circumstances that required it,” she felt a hysteria she knew existed, but never wanted to show, appear, born of a time so long along. “Sir Seb'Losh just...just would not listen...so I discussed the issue with Knight Admiral Bhool and when she explained to me about his past, that he was unable to protect my eldest sister, or stop Valia from vanishing for years at a time. So...so we decided that he either needed to be broken of his over protectiveness or be dismissed from his position of captain of the Alutia Guard.” The three female guards gasped, noticeably dismayed by the news. Sasha raised her hand to stop the questions before they were voiced. “As of this moment, and for the foreseeable future, he is still captain of the Alutia Guard. But his future actions will be watched closely and any further overzealousness will be dealt with swiftly,” Sasha sighed again, wiping away a single tear that broke free.

  “Now,” she trembled, “to the reason for all this. Knight Admiral Bhool gifted me a catillian,” the assembled party stared in wonder as Sasha dropped her doublet to the floor and started to remove her undergarments, “I know many of you have little understanding of catillians, as did I, but apparently they require a specialized bond with their host to survive, which allows them to feed on the “ energy” created within their bonded partner’s nervous system. They first form a temporary bond at birth, then require a permanent bond shortly thereafter. The ritual for the permanent bond is rather... unique,” she blushed as she finished removing her undergarments, standing nude in front of the guards, servants, and her ladies. Sasha noticed the apprehensive gaze of Lady Regalia turn to curiosity as she stared at the hairy purple lump trying to sleep within Sasha’s now, unrestrained cleavage. Forgetting herself, she squatted, waving for the young noble to come closer.

  “You can pet it if you like,” Lady Regalia looked at Sasha suspiciously, then up to Gil'Da, who nodded with a kindly smile. Slowly, as if she approached a wild animal, Regalia inched closer. When she was just barely within reach, she stretched out her hand and lightly caressed the catillian with a single finger. A giggle escaped her lips as the catillian awoke to playfully grapple with the young girl's finger, placing its tiny breathing hole up against the tip, very much like a kiss. Sasha patted Regalia’s silky smooth, doll-like hair, forcing a smile.

  “I'm very sorry you had to see me like this, Lady Regalia,” she whispered. “Can I explain to you later why it was necessary?” Startled, Lady Regalia looked up into Sasha's eyes, her own full of innocence, before nodding, rushing back to Gil'Da's side, still eyeing the catillian longingly. Sasha stood, gathering her swirling emotions before continuing.

  “The bonding process is quiet simple, really. The catillian requires unfettered access to every part of my body during the ritual. This means that I must stay completely unclothed, for up to seven days, so the catillian can place its feeding nodes unhindered,” a guffaw escaped from Tiana as she finally realized what all the secrecy was about.

  “I can't believe you! Are you still concerned about what happened with that bastard Robarto?” Tiana shouted about what only the two of them knew, in amazement more than annoyance. Sasha blushed, preparing to scream back, her emotions exploding and tears bursting forth at the memories.

  “What do you expect?” Sasha screamed, trembling uncontrollably now that the eight year old secret scar she carried had been exposed. “He...he said he loved me and when we were alone...he...he stripped me and tied me to that bed and let...let his friends,” the tears were uncontrollable, gushing freely as the memory felt as fresh as that day long ago. “I don’t care that they only took scans! It was horrible! And...and I’ll never, ever, let that happen again! I don't care what the reason is...I will not allow any man to humiliate me again! Ever!” She collapsed to her knees, crying into her hands, lost in a sea of despair that had only grown larger since that day, eight years ago. She felt a sudden embrace, followed by another, and another, until she was surrounded by warmth and understanding whispers.

  At the edge of the embrace, barely visible through Sasha's blurry eyes, Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil's expression turned distant while whispering what Sasha thought was a single word.... revenge.

  *********

  A swirling luminescence of dreamlike purity appeared at the edge of the darkness that suppressed Trent’s mind. He cringed as the radiance floated closer, assailing him relentlessly, forcing back the serene safety of night, beckoning the harbinger to return the intolerable memories that had fled with the coming darkness. Instinct told him to retreat, deeper into the protective darkness, away from the hateful radiance, but he no longer knew how. Nothing existed but the radiance’s swirling, revealing light, gradually filling the all encompassing darkness, to penetrate the last fortifications of his frozen mind.

  He awoke in horror, his entire body burning, his flesh on fire, like he lay within a bath of acid, and his insides melting, as if his blood had turned to molten magma. The swirling radiance that had overwhelmed him had vanished, delivering only pain in its wake.

  Reluctantly, he forced his eyes open, only to be greeted by a blurry, blinding light, forcing him to again slam them shut. He cringed; a horrible pain rippling through his flesh, like the force of his eyelids closing had ignited microscopic explosions to assail his every nerve. He tried to sit up, but found his limbs unresponsive, his body restrained. The searing pain multiplied as he panicked, every pain receptor within his body firing at once. He felt his mind weaken, his conscious fading back into the dark abyss, when muffled shouts broke through the throbbing in his ears, as if the words were heard through water.

  “He's awake! How the hell is he awake?” a man shouted with disbelief.

  “It's due to his age. The process of genetic restructuring is rarely used on anyone out of infancy. Is the Program still active?” a woman responded calmly.

  “Yes, and his consciousness should still be part of it, Megan! How could he have left the Program without its consent?” The man regained some of his composure, but was still noticeably shaken.

  “As I said, Don, this is usually done on infants. A developed mind may be able to remain in a type of semi-consciousness within the Program. But that doesn't matter now, his life signs are spiking, there is no way he can survive the completion of the gene restructuring unless we sync his consciousness with the Program,” Megan said, as Trent felt a tugging on his mind.

  “I think I have him, Meg...but it doesn’t make sense. It’s like his consciousness shifted, the pattern points moved to the negative Z, probably why the Program lost track of him.” Don explained with noticeable relief.

  “Log everything. We will need to review the phenomenon further when this is over and send our findings to the Vn'Oco Royal Academy. But for now, request the assistance of another Program to monitor his pattern points and feed any changes to the Program responsible.” The slight tugging on his consciousness became an unrelenting pull
as a feeling of freefall overwhelmed him.

  He found the sensation pleasant, like he was sinking into a frozen lake that extinguished the burning of his flesh. So he didn’t resist, welcoming the darkness that grew around him, replacing the debilitating pain with total euphoria.

  Trent briefly glimpsed the swirling radiance as he was whisked well outside its range, and the darkness of the void once again enveloped his being, suppressing all thoughts within his fading mind.

  Chapter 7

  After days of delay in its organization, the TSB review council for Trent's enlistment trial was over rather swiftly. Knight Captain Quinn, being head of the review council, was an eyewitness to the event being reviewed, so there was little need for additional statements from the other witnesses, Daniel and Vice-Commander Daiyu. So after presenting the restricted record of the trial to the assembled TSB captains and commanders, he closed the council with a grand speech on loyalty to the TSB, and their duty to defend Earth against all possible invaders, no matter their affiliation.

  What is that old bastard up too? Daniel wondered, finding the speech beyond peculiar.

  Review council's were notoriously dry, meant to follow a formal process to deem if actions taken were in line with the TSB’s mandate. So an emotional speech, like the one Knight Captain Quinn just concluded, didn't make any logical sense.

  He sighed, deciding not to trouble himself further by attempting to decipher what the old kook was thinking; instead, he turned his attention back to the small group of officers who were seated around him, chatting quietly.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” he stood, ignoring the disappointed glances from those who thought they could further question Daniel about the incident, and he started weaving his way towards the auditorium’s exit.

  Large groups of officers had gathered in the outer lobby, enthusiastically debating what Daniel could only presume was the unusual review council and its hidden meaning. Reluctant to join, knowing it would only lead to yet another interrogation of his part in this mess, he pushed his way through, shaking off the excited queries of those who recognized him, and exited into the busy main corridor of TSB Earth Base, Wing One, in the direction of the closest transport tube station. He stayed off to the side, allowing the faster traffic to hurry by, and also provide himself an opportunity to again contemplate the bizarre events that had transpired since Trent’s recruitment incident, seven days prior.