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

by Craig Gerttula

  “So your family name is Vn'Oco?” he asked.

  “No,” she answered after a moment, “I do not know how it works on Earth, but ruling noble family names are based on their holdings. So I am officially Sasha Alutia. I was previously Sasha Vn'Oco, but like all other unlanded nobles, I would go by a single name as to not confuse others of my actual authority,” Trent nodded.

  “It makes sense, many family names on Earth originate from places people lived, jobs they performed, or areas they grew up. But we inherit our family name from our parents, I'm officially Trent Marcello,” Trent explained as he noticed Sasha had returned her attention to the statue, eyes wide, Trent picturing a light bulb lighting above her head. Excitedly, she guided him around the dais, stopping before an image of a reddish-purple tiara, with what appeared to be a rose vine wrapping around its band and a red rose blooming on each of its three peaks.

  Sasha placed her left hand over the image. A moment later, dots of milky light appeared within the statue, like it was transparent. Slowly, they wiggled towards the surface, and as if they were made of water, started trickling down to pool on the dais above. When all the dots of light had descended, the purple gem on Sasha's bracelet began to glow brightly. The dots flowed over the edge of dais towards the purple glow, like a light attracting insects on a dark summer evening.

  “It’s ok,” she reassured when Trent started to tense, having almost pulled her away when the dots of light started moving towards her hand, as if to attack it. But the radiant purple light appeared to herd them, forcing the dots to slowly circle. Trent stared in awe as the circle of light started to accelerate, brightening with every pass, until a crack like thunder erupted from the statue and it took all his will not to shrink back. All light vanished, except for the swirling galaxy and the gentle purple glow from Sasha's bracelet.

  A hole appeared where the image of the tiara had previously been. Sasha reached in carefully, grasping something that glistened before it vanished into her palm. She took a few steps back, pulling Trent with her, then placed him in a position standing just before her. The statue seemed to grow larger, its gaze no longer thoughtful, but judging. The reality of Sasha’s earlier words began to sink in, that she was a princess and he...he was only a son of an experimental planet.

  Another spotlight appeared out of the rising darkness, this time enveloping only Trent and Sasha in its pure white essence. At the same moment, the statue began to glow without emitting any light. Trent stared, frozen in place as his eyes cleared and the woman before him seemed to change in an instant.

  Sasha, who moments before still wore only a jumpsuit, was now dressed in a regal gown of crimson, with a platinum tiara set with a large, rose shaped red ruby on her brow. She released his hand, rising to her full height to stare down upon him, stunning and overpowering, telling all who beheld her that she was indeed a galactic princess.

  “Kneel,” she ordered, voice of unquestionable command. Trent obeyed without a second thought, falling to one knee while locking his gaze on her majestic visage, the giant statue of King Johan glowing faintly behind her, watching silently over them both.

  “TSB Lieutenant Trent,” her voice boomed, “as is my right as the Grand Duchess of Alutia, who holds responsibility for the special protectorate of Earth, I hereby award you, with the blessing of King Johan Vn’Oco and Programs of the NHA, the Star of Terra for your actions on the 236th day of NHA year 75,023,” Trent stared in awed disbelief at the goddess who stood before him, a woman, he realized, that was well beyond his mortal reach.

  But what is this Star of Terra she speaks of? He wanted to question, but was unable to form any words, her presence just too overwhelming. She opened her right hand, revealing a ring of platinum, inlaid with a mysterious blue gem set between many tiny faceted gems of red and green that were interspersed along the ring’s surface.

  “Lay forward your right hand,” Trent lifted his right arm as if all self control had left him. He was at her command. She grasped his palm, sliding the ring over his ring finger, lingering with her touch. When she finally released him, he pulled his hand back reluctantly, looking closely at the mysterious blue gem that now adorned his finger. Just beneath its rippling surface, like it was made of liquid, floated tiny lights that danced and swirled, beckoning for him to join them.

  “Stand, Sir Trent, holder of the Star of Terra!” He stood, pulling his vision away from the ring and back into the emerald eyes of Princess Sasha. In her left hand unfurled a choker made of a mysterious reddish-purple metal, with a large purple gem flanked by two smaller green gems, similar, if not identical, to the ones that adorned her bracelet.

  “As is your right as holder of the Star of Terra, I now present you with the Eye of the Emperor, to help you in times of need, and protect you from those who mean you harm,” she exclaimed, it sounding like another voice intermingled with her own.

  Her breath caressed his cheek as she clasped the choker about his neck. Trent felt the cool touch of its metal exterior, which suddenly tightened, then loosened, before vanishing completely. He reached up, finding though he no longer felt it, it was there, like a collar forever binding him to this new reality. Sasha’s fingers ran over its surface, lightly brushing against his burning flesh, until they came into contact with his own. They locked their fingers together and he found himself pushing closer, craving further her touch. But she stepped away, releasing him, face flush as the elegant gown vanished and all lights faded.

  *********

  Nothing but their rapid breaths penetrated the darkness as she pulled herself away. The lingering sensation of his body’s touch begged her to embrace him, but she resisted the urge, knowing this wasn't the time.

  It’s done, she realized, another weight lifting from her shoulders, and no matter what others may think, or what repercussion may come from her decision, Trent was now an NHA noble.

  She glanced back at the statue of her father, having been confused at first as to why Vin had led them to a Royal Room. But then, as if she'd always known, the knowledge flooded into her.

  When, in times that the emperor or king’s presence was required, locations would present themselves where a likeness of the ruler could be found. Since the awarding of the Star of Terra required the elevation of an individual to the noble court rank of duke or duchess, which can only be officially performed by the emperor, king, or queen, they were led to a Royal Room, since Vin deemed the appropriate authority for the elevation had been granted. She was then presented, through a rather elaborate miniature SJS Gate built into the statue itself, with the Star of Terra and Eye of the Emperor, to act, during that time, with the king's authority, allowing her to bestow the full award.

  As she turned her attention back to Trent, a peculiar sight caught her eye. Showing through the darkness, the purple gem on his choker glowed a dim azure, similar in color to the worldstone sapphire that adorned the Star of Terra. Sasha reached out and touched Trent's arm, only to find the blue glow of the Eye of the Emperor and the red glow of the Arm of the Emperor to both shift to purple. She released her touch, and at the same moment Trent's gem began glowing blue and hers red. After touching and releasing him multiple times, and seeing the same phenomenon repeat, she sighed, now certain that there must be some sort of unnatural connection between them. She was about to ask Vin if it knew anything, when the door collapsed opened, allowing the light from outside to stream within.

  “It would be inadvisable to exit the Royal Room at this time,” Vin told when they started towards the door. They looked at each other, eyes wide, both having forgotten the fact that they were still being hunted by Sir Simwa’s men. Trent started towards the wall next to the door, but she moved faster.

  “Hey,” he pressed against her, and at the same moment, they both peered out the doorway. She noticed a silhouette in the distance before pulling back into cover.

  “There is someone out there, at the first split,” they said in unison. Trent peered out again, hissing an unintelligibl
e word under his breath as he pulled back.

  “Four...all wearing green. Sir Simwa's men,” Trent whispered harshly as he pulled his laser arc from his holster. Sasha did the same, knowing they were in trouble. The only way out of the Royal Room was the way they'd come, the way blocked by their enemies.

  “Vin, is there another way out of this room?” Sasha asked, hoping the Program may know of another escape.

  “Yes, Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia,” his bronze sphere rippled above her bracelet, “according to the original construction schematics there is an abandoned access tunnel situated in the floor behind the statue,” responded Vin. Trent turned to Sasha, placing a finger to her lips the moment she started to speak.

  “This time we do it my way. Find the tunnel while I keep them busy,” he pushed her towards the statue and leaned out into the doorway, firing his laser arc. A laser bolt struck the ceiling, sending smoke and debris in all directions, forcing their pursuers to dive to the floor for cover. Trent fired a second shot before backing towards Sasha, who'd rushed around the statues base, finding a single blinking light on the floor. At her touch, it swirled into a circular opening.

  An icy breeze struck her face as she stared into total darkness, then looked towards the doorway, about to shout. But Trent had already started around the statue, laser bolts streaming through the doorway beyond, harmlessly striking the far wall. He fired once more as he finished rounding the statue, Sasha leaning out and firing another before he came to a halt. He looked to the dark hole, then her, and without hesitation, grabbed her, pulling her close.

  “Hold on tight and don't let go!” She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed with all her might. “Jump!” Trent shouted a moment before they plunged into the unknown darkness.

  Chapter 16

  An oppressive cloud of tension hung over the bridge, only fading when the damage alarms finally went silent. Daniel, along with the rest of the bridge officers, had been working nonstop since the short, but devastating, battle had concluded, assessing damage and running the repair crews ragged. At first, it looked like they'd have to fall out of formation. But readiness reports kept coming in and, to Daniels chagrin, the TSB Ero'Cia would continue the fight.

  He studied the latest weapon status updates and found little good news. The plasma cannon was still online. But two of the ten plasma feeders had been damaged, increasing the charge time by another ten seconds. One large LPA had made it through unscathed, but two had been destroyed completely, while the fourth was salvageable. Six medium LPAs were reporting online, but only four small LPAs would ever fire a shot again.

  The laser particle arrays, or LPAs, were the most susceptible to damage since they extended beyond the protection of the energy shield system, or ESS. Daniel recalled almost asking why during his first days at the academy, but stopped himself when he remembered the purpose of the ESS. It would be just as effective stopping LPAs that were fired from within its protective shell.

  Finding his weapon’s crews occupied and his immediate attention no longer required, he switched his PDU station from the weapon status display, back to standard tactical. The distant HZBF invasion fleet came into focus. He frowned as he noticed little change in their numbers, knowing that the loss of one super-capital, one capital, and a number of screening units did little to affect their immense advantage.

  Having seen enough, he punched another icon, causing the display to zoom in on the much smaller TSB Fleet. He held back a cringe as he looked over the pitiful sight. The TSB fleet had been devastated even worse than Daniel had originally thought. More than half the starships in the fleet were either too damaged to continue or destroyed. This included the majority of the fleet's firepower, the battleships and cruisers. Luckily, they did receive reinforcements...if not the ones Daniel had originally hoped for.

  Two additional TSB battle groups, that had been trailing the HZBF invasion fleet as they entered the Earth star system, rendezvoused during the fleet’s 90 degree burn, when the starships would come about while maintaining their velocity by entering max safe acceleration at 90 degrees of their momentum. Fleet command, finding no reason to try to manage the eight heavily damaged battle groups that fought in the first battle, decided to reform the fleet into three task forces. Combined TSB task force one consisted of the TSB flagship, the NHA Dreadnaught TSB Reverie and two of the eight remaining battleships. The other six battleships were then split between task force two and three, while the remaining cruisers, corvettes, and frigates were split evenly amongst all the task forces

  The TSB Ero'Cia was assigned to task force one and had entered formation between Knight Captain Quinn's TSB Reverie and the NHA Battleship TSB Mercury Three. The fleet had then maneuvered into a “wall” formation, stacking starships vertically and horizontally, which if viewed three-dimensionally, appeared like a wall moving through space.

  The HZBF invasion fleet hadn’t been silent. As soon as the TSB fleet had passed out of range, they reformed into an “arrowhead” formation while accelerating at 105 kps2, until they reached a velocity of 100,000 kps, on a direct course for the TSB Fleet Base.

  In response, the TSB fleet, once the 90 degree burn had been completed successfully, accelerated at 500 kps2 to the max safe in system travel speed of 150,000 kps and was currently closing on the HZBF invasion fleet. He glanced to the CID, finding they just breached 100 million km to target, which meant they would be in weapons range in a little over 31 Earth minutes, unless, as Daniel could only hope, something changed.

  “Captain!” Lieutenant Howe shouted, “sensors have detected multiple starship readings coming in system at two million kps! At current rate of deceleration the new contacts will reach TSB Fleet Base in eleven hours, twelve minutes,” Daniel, like everyone else on the bridge, tensed.

  “Thank you, eyes. Forward your observations to fleet command. Any idea if they're friendly?” Captain Aysi responded, her tone revealing she had not yet fully recovered from the death of Executive Officer Geoff.

  “Initial readings report high probability of HZBF battle groups. But data is based solely off direction of entry and included starships. The estimated point of origin is the Jodwa Barony Fleet Base and initial estimates show four full battle groups.” Daniel could see the tension creep across the captain's lips.

  He turned back to his tactical display, then back to the captain. A feeling of hopelessness had begun to sneak into his mind, and that feeling could cause people to do things they would later regret. His thoughts vanished, mind going blank as time stood still.

  “Captain, permission to speak,” he felt himself speak, but like he’d become a puppet, someone else having taken control of his mind.

  “Make it quick, Lieutenant,” Captain Aysi snapped.

  “Why are we being asked to sacrifice our lives for some useless Earthling?” the bridge went deathly silent, all eyes on him. He stared at the captain, regaining control, but feeling his hatred boiling forth...hate for her, hate for the knight captain, hate for the TSB, and most of all...hate for Trent, the man, who he suddenly realized, was responsible for everything.

  If only he didn’t exist, none of this would have happened, his mind screamed.

  “We are doing this, Lieutenant Daniel, because it our duty to protect the sanctity of Earth, along with the commander, vice-commander, and this and every other Earthling. If you have a problem upholding the vow you took upon entry into the TSB, I can, at this moment, relieve you of duty and confine you to quarters until this is over,” Captain Aysi flew to her feet. “But let me make this crystal clear, Lieutenant. If you do...or ever dare question me or the TSB again...I will formally charge you with treason. Do you comprehend, Lieutenant Daniel?” the menace in her voice told him, quite clearly, that this wasn’t a mere threat.

  “I beg forgiveness, Captain,” he apologized, peppering his speech with remorse, “my words were brought on by the stress of the moment, and I meant no disrespect,” he finished, a face flashing within his mind, a new target fo
r his hatred, the Earthling named Trent.

  I will destroy him, he vowed.

  “You are forgiven, Lieutenant, since I do understand the strain we currently face, but,” Captain Aysi stared at him with eyes that could bore holes through the thickest armor, “think before you question me or the TSB again. Understood?” She stared him down for a moment longer, before returning to her seat.

  “Yes, ma'am,” Daniel turned back to his post, bringing up his tactical display. But his mind was elsewhere, forming a plan to save himself, and most importantly of all, prepare his revenge.

  During the next 15 minutes, as they continued to close on the HZBF invasion fleet, Daniel considered his next course of action. He thought of taking drastic steps, like killing the captain and escaping on a ferry shuttle in the chaos, or sabotaging the starship to force them out of formation, but knew they were way too risky. He then considered trying to get a message to Duke Zehman and offer to defect, somehow get the duke to ignore their starship, and once the battle was over, for them to surrender. But that too was just too risky, all outbound communications currently logged and tracked. Though even beyond the risk, he found none of the plans would allow him to extinguish the fire that raged within his chest, the fire for revenge against the person responsible for his current plight...Trent.

  “Ma'am!” Lieutenant Howe shouted with excitement, “the new contacts have been identified, I...I don't know how, but they're from Alutia! Four ABF battle groups, Captain!” relief filled cheers echoed across the bridge.