“I'd say call for your guards, Your Grace, but I am afraid that we may have a bigger issue,” Sasha wondered what she meant, then realized, to her growing horror, there may be more than one assassin within her guards.
“Why would he do this? I don't understand,” Tiana whimpered, clinging to her side.
Why would he do this? Sasha mind repeated Tiana’s hysterical question, only to hear a terrifying answer echo through her mind in response.
“Vin! Who formed my guards? Was it not handled by my father?” Fear overtook her, already knowing the answer that would come, and realizing, too late, that she should have asked this question as soon as she left Planet Tidelia.
“King Johan Vn’Oco ordered the creation of the Alutia Guard from the existing populous of the Alutia Duchy. Marquis Rostil Don’Alutia handled the logistics of the creation. Please be advised; the Marquis Rostil Don’Alutia provided only guards for selection who the Duke Zehman Hulk’Zif had recommended,” Knight Admiral Bhool hissed and Sasha cringed, horrified by her mistake, and its near fatal repercussions. She stared at the still convulsing body of Lia'Sil and thought it may still be...how could she have let this happen?
“That sneaky bastard,” Knight Admiral Bhool said through gritted teeth while wiping Lia'Sil's lips clean.
“Vin,” Sasha started, voice bereft of all emotion, “send a message to Flight Captain Jeb'Tol and the rest of the officers and general crew. Tell him to arm the crew and take any of my guards into custody,” she paused. “Actually, Vin, can you tell me which, if any, of my guards were not recommended by Duke Zehman?” Sasha felt her mind spiraling into despair as she spoke.
How could she have missed this? How could she have placed everyone she cared about in danger? She was the one at fault...and she knew it.
“Knight Captain Seb'Losh was appointed by His Royal Majesty, Alutia Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil and Alutia Guard Private Usa'Pol were recruited from Planet Don'Alutia, Capital of the Alutia Duchy, by Knight Captain Seb'Losh. The remainder of the Alutia Guard were recommended by Duke Zehman Hulk’Zif and were appointed by the Marquis Rostil,” she buried her head in her hands as Vin delivered the names of her allies. One she'd banished on a fool’s errand, another was lying on the floor in the process of dying, and the third was more than likely dead or soon would be.
She collapsed into her seat, all eyes turning to her, waiting for her next order. But she didn't look up, she just couldn’t. Instead, she stared at the floor, blank faced, tumbling further and further into her grief and despair.
A palm struck her cheek with such force she almost tumbled from the chair, being totally unprepared.
“What are you doing, Sasha,” she looked up into the teary eyes of her lady-in-waiting and best friend while moving a trembling hand to her throbbing cheek, “Lia'Sil is dying and all...all you can do is stare at the floor!” Tiana shouted, the words piercing her heart.
It may be my fault, but this isn't the time to fall into despair, she scolded herself, realizing everyone was counting on her. Before she could respond, a horrible screech from one of her servants erupted from the outer corridor, but was cut off by a loud thump.
“Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia,” Vin cut in, “the crew as well as Alutia Guard Private Usa'Pol, have been informed of the current situation. Alutia Guard Private Usa'Pol is within Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia’s apartment’s main corridor and requires assistance,” Sasha’s eyes lit up, having almost forgotten her initial order for Vin to warn the crew in her despair. Luckily, it had taken the initiative to warn Usa'Pol as well, though she quickly realized luck wasn’t on their side, his pronouncement sealing what they feared most; all the guards were traitors.
Knight Admiral Bhool rushed to the door at a near sprint. Sasha took a deep breath, knowing she needed to fix her mistake, and after smoothing her crimson gown, rushed after her, scooping up Lia'Sil's laser arc while ignoring the screams to stop from those she left behind.
The corridor was a scene out of nightmares. Laser arc bolts sizzled through the air, leaving an intense aroma of ozone that couldn’t begin to mask the stench of burning flesh. Hiding in the doorway that led into her bathchamber, just across the hall, stood Alutia Guard Private Usa'Pol, blood trickling down her olive cheeks, her expression one of utter bewilderment. On the floor between them were the burnt bodies of Sasha's young servants, so charred that it was impossible to tell who was who. Sasha turned away from the horrid sight as she felt her dinner rise within her gullet. Knight Admiral Bhool, unfazed, leaned out of the doorway, fired a laser bolt, then quickly twisted back into cover as laser bolts crashed against the doorframe in response.
“One in the first doorway to the left, two in the first doorway to the right, and at least four in the entrance to the guard barracks,” she shouted across to Usa’Pol, before turning back to Sasha. “Is there any other way out of your apartment besides the way we came in?” Sasha swallowed down the rising bile and closed her eyes, trying to recall the starship schematic she’d been presented by Flight Supply Officer Xin’Eir.
“No, it was designed so the only way in would be through the guard barracks,” Knight Admiral Bhool cursed, leaned out and shot another laser bolt down the hallway, a muffled shout rising in response.
“One less in the barracks,” Lady Bhool snarled, a frightening smirk crossing her lips.
Sasha glanced over her shoulder, back to her ladies, finding them attempting to break apart the dining furniture, apparently in an effort to build a makeshift stretcher to carry the now silent Lia'Sil.
“Where is Lieutenant Lia'Sil?” Usa'Pol asked, her voice hoarse, as a laser bolt smashed into the wall just behind Sasha, blasting searing debris into her hastily covered face.
“Neural Gas, she's bad...but she'll live if we can get her to medical...quickly!” the Knight Admiral hurried as she leaned into the hall and fired two laser bolts in quick succession.
“Wily bastard,” Lady Bhool muttered, having missed her target, as Usa'Pol leaned out and fired a laser bolt of her own, but was forced to roll back with a muffled grunt as a return bolt caught the edge of her doorway, sending debris into her unprotected face.
“I'm sorry, Your Grace,” Usa’Pol shouted when their eyes met, looking like a lost child as her voice trailed off, “I...I had no idea what was going on...they...they never said anything,” she said with honest disbelief, but Sasha could only nod in response.
Again, she glanced back to her ladies, huddled together and crying in each other’s arms, having given up on their futile attempt at constructing a stretcher. She had to save them, save the crew...but how? They were trapped in her apartment by a design that was meant to protect them.
To her own surprise, she leaned out and fired a laser bolt down the hallway, only to be pulled back by the knight admiral as the response came in the form of a loud boom originating from the opposite end of the corridor. Dense smoke bellowed past, blinding them, making it difficult to see more than a meter in either direction.
“Lady Sasha!” a shout rose from a silhouette that appeared within the dense smoke. She raised her laser arc in surprise, but Lady Bhool forced her wrist down with such force Sasha bit her tongue.
It took her only a moment to register why Lady Bhool had stopped her. The owner of the silhouette was none other than an ABF Princess One crewman, obvious by the red and black jumpsuit he adorned. He hurried past, through the doorway into the dining hall, another four rushing behind, while a fifth collapsed out of sight as a laser bolt struck her chest.
Without thought, Sasha dove forward, towards the fallen crewman. But Lady Bhool kept her vice-like grip on Sasha’s wrist, yanking her violently back and throwing her into the dining hall.
“No!” Sasha screamed, thinking she could save the wounded crewman.
“Lady Sasha, it’s too late,” another crewman pleaded from her side.
“Get them out of here before the smoke clears!” Lady Bhool bellowed, before firing another laser bolt down the smoke filled hallway.
“You heard the admiral!” A masked crewman with long, bone white hair tumbling down to his waist, kneeled before her, providing her a mask.
“Thank You’s, Your Grace, Ter’Ria woulda’ been happy to know you cared enough’ to try’an save her, Your Grace,” the older crewman explained as he helped her strap on the mask, smudging the tears that streamed down her cheeks.
“We’re ready,” someone shouted from behind. Sasha glanced up to find Tiana and Regalia clinging to her sides, trembling with fear, and Lia’Sil cradled in the arms of another crewman.
“It’s clearing! You have to go now!” Lady Bhool urged, a laser bolt striking the door frame.
“Don’t stop, just run,” the white haired crewman explained as he pulled her forward. She nodded, trying to shake off the helplessness that clung to her, before grabbing her ladies outstretched hands with such force they could never break away.
The moment Lady Bhool, Usa’Pol, and three of the crewman rolled into corridor, forming a human wall, they burst out of the dining hall, sprinting wildly towards her bedchamber. Laser bolts sizzled past and she almost tumbled to the floor when one stuck the ceiling, scattering searing debris across her exposed skin. Tiana screeched as a laser bolt sizzled between them, burning a hole in both their gowns and sending a searing pain up her thigh she knew meant it had burned more than just the fabric.
The door to her bedchamber sat closed, but split open when they approached. They tumbled through together to crash into her massive bed. The white haired crewman didn’t pause, dragging them toward her closet, being held open by another crewman, who pointed towards a hole in the back corner.
The auto-cleaning system! Sasha realized, recalling that the system used to automatically clean her clothing, within moments of her placing them within her closet, was a centralized system also used by the general crew.
“Them first,” Sasha wheezed as she removed her mask, pointing to her ladies. Surprised, but raising no objection, the white haired crewman grabbed Regalia, who vanished down the chute, followed by a reluctant Tiana, and finally, Lia’Sil, who the two crewmen carried in together, leaving just Sasha and the white haired crewman behind.
“Your Grace?” he questioned.
“I shall wait,” she said in a tone that left no room for argument. The white haired crewman nodded, seeming to agree.
“Senior Deck Engineer Tho’Mos, Your Grace. Wish I could’a met you under better circumstances,” he introduced himself while handing her a laser arc, before hurrying back towards the door. A moment later, it split open.
Sasha dove for cover beside her bed, aiming her trembling laser arc at the possible intruders. Usa’Pol and three of the crewman rushed through, laser bolts on their heels, Sasha lowering her weapon with sigh of relief. But the relief didn’t last long, turning to apprehension when the door slammed shut behind them, minus one.
“Lady Bhool, is sh-,” Sasha started to ask, but was interrupted when the door slid open again, Lady Bhool diving through in a hail of laser bolts, her shoulder and thigh charred, but still whole.
“They’re right behind me,” Lady Bhool grunted as she ripped off her mask.
“This way!” Tho’Mos shouted as he dragged the knight admiral to her feet, before rushing towards the closet.
“What are you-,” the knight admiral started when she noticed Sasha by the bed, “It doesn’t matter, we have to get out of here,” she pulled free of Tho’Mos, grasping Sasha’s arm and throwing her towards the closet first.
Sasha didn’t argue, squeezing into the dark hole, unable to contain an unladylike squeak as she slid into darkness. A bright light appeared the moment she exited the chute, shining directly into her eyes.
“Your Grace? Thank the star god, this way,” another crewman, who had been waiting within what must be the centralized portion of the auto-cleaning system, a spherical room with hundreds of actuated arms retracted against the wall with many different “chutes”, like the one she had just descended, exiting around its interior. Sasha followed the crewman through one of the “chutes”, hopeful that it would lead her to safety.
“Lady Sasha,” Sasha jumped as a voice rose from just behind, “we will be having words about prudence when you’re safe,” Lady Bhool hissed.
But I just couldn’t leave you and the others behind, she wanted to shout in response, but thought better of it, knowing she was in the wrong.
They exited through the back of another closet, this one within the general crew quarters, obvious by the bunks lining the walls.
“Sasha!” Tiana and Regalia cried, diving into her arms as one, tears streaming forth.
“I’m so glad your both safe,” Sasha replied, but found her gaze pulled towards another, who sat bawling sorrowfully in the corner, a crewman cradling and cooing into the woman’s ear.
“Xin’Eir?” she asked, the young supply officer looking in her directions, cheeks swollen, and eyes of utter grief.
“They killed the captain...we lost the bridge...”
Chapter 11
A swirling luminescence of pure radiance crept between the tendrils of darkness that suppressed Trent's thoughts, gradually unlocking memories of pain, sorrow, and loss. He panicked, grasping desperately onto the dark nothingness, total euphoria bereft of feeling and emotion. It is alright, the radiance whispered, nothing will hurt you, it continued, the words unlocking the fiery emotions that lay hidden deep within his heart, just accept the light, it urged.
His doubt began to grow...should I listen to the radiance and forsake the darkness? His uncertainty provided an opening, allowing the radiance to envelope his existence and dissect it from the clutches of darkness, of the place of peace. It is alright, Trent, a gentle voice continued whispering from the radiance as it began to take the shape of a beautiful woman. Come, Trent, and become one with me, the soothing voice told, promising love unquestionable if he left the peaceful darkness behind.
He cried out as the radiance sliced the last sliver of darkness free. The image of the woman, along with her memory, vanishing as he began to swirl through a funnel the radiance had created.
He blinked, like he was born anew into the universe, the sensation of flesh encasing his consciousness so foreign he had forgotten its existence. A shiver spread across his skin, originating from an icy metal surface on which he lay, naked and pure, born anew.
Why do I feel so refreshed? He breathed; the pain that his mind cried should exist within his every pore, not materializing. Instead, his muscles ached, throbbing with excitement, begging to be used, they having been neglected for so very long. But even beyond the peculiar yearning of his muscles, another sensation tickled his mind, like a fuzzy speaker existed within, projecting words in an unknown tongue. When he concentrated on its source, in the back of his mind, it faded to nothing like it had never existed in the first place.
Trent grunted as he forced himself into a sitting position, rubbing his temples to try to clear the last shreds of the disturbing nightmare that had followed him into waking.
“What the...” he pulled his hands away, staring in disbelief. “Didn’t I...” he started to question, clearly recalling the loss of his arms, the overwhelming pain still fresh in his mind. But his eyes couldn’t be mistaken. There were two perfectly normal arms extending before him, the fingers wiggling at their ends, his.
For a moment, he thought this was all a dream, some cruel trick of his mind that had not accepted the fact of his loss. But after a hard pinch on the arm, he realized he was, in fact, awake. Shaking his head in disbelief; a dream or not, I have my arms back, and that’s all the matters, he started to look about the room in which he found himself.
It was all white, reminding him of the previous room where the mysterious trial he had been forced to endure took place. Though there were differences. This room was much smaller and empty, except for a metallic table that was protruding from the end of an ellipsoid shaped container that stood about three meters long and a meter and a half wide. It wa
s smooth, except for a half-spherical protrusion on its side, about 20 cm around, with a tiny hole in the center. Based on its ellipsoid shape and size, a person could easily fit inside. He figured it would open when required, allowing the metal table in which he sat to retract within.
“Just wish it didn’t look like a coffin,” he muttered, realizing he'd probably been inside the bizarre device while his mind was locked in darkness.
Slowly, Trent swung his throbbing legs off the table, gradually increasing the weight he placed on them as he stood. He stumbled, his muscles screaming like they hadn’t been used in years. But he quickly regained control. He took an unsteady step, then another, and another. Soon, he felt comfortable enough to fully explore his surroundings.
He circled the small room, double-checking every corner, while continuing to work the stiffness out of his limbs until his steps began to come naturally. Finding nothing of interest, he looked to the waiting exit.
The smooth metallic door slid open as he approached and, like a burglar fearful to alert an unsuspecting target, he tiptoed through, into an even smaller room, with a mirror covering one wall, and a bench with folded clothes atop its surface on the other. A dressing room, he realized. He moved before the mirror and froze, not recognizing the youthful reflection appearing within.
Midway up his arms, the pasty white skin turned to a dark tan, which covered the rest of his body. The reverse farmer's tan, or so Trent called it, was bizarre, but not as bizarre as the drastic changes the rest of his body had undergone. His slightly receding hairline, and growing forehead, had been replaced by a full head of luscious, dirty brown curls, the same as he remembered from his youth. The creases that had begun forming with age had vanished, along with the few scars he had collected over the years. His nose seemed smaller, as well as his ears, and his jaw more pronounced, the slight swelling of his jaw line that occurred with age, having vanished.
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