“I love you, Trent,” relief washed over them both, clearing away those feelings that clung relentlessly to their souls, “I love you with all my being and all my heart. I feel like I have always loved you, from the moment I was born, that as soon as I saw you, I knew we would be together, for the universe itself seemed to scream it was right. But it scared me, Trent......and still does. I am scared that you will hurt me, that you will betray me, like those others, “ she stared deep into the eyes of the man she loved and saw understanding, the understanding of someone who'd also known loss, known betrayal, known pain, “but I will trust in you...for I believe you would never knowingly hurt me. I don't know how I know...but I know....I love you, Trent...I love you...” she finished spilling her heart across the floor as another weight lifted from her shoulders. A cleansing wave rolled through her...she too was refreshed, born anew.
“I promise that I will never hurt you, I will never betray you, I will only love you, till the end of my days,” Trent vowed, as he took control of the swirling soup of emotions that must be ravaging within. She reached over and placed her hand on his cheek and said exactly what she knew he needed to hear.
“Trent, for as long as I live, I will love only you...and I promise, I will never betray you....I love you, now and forever,” she vowed in response, her words the truth. I will never betray this man, I might hurt him, she knew, but I will never betray him.
*********
Sasha's declaration of love echoed within his mind and he knew, for the last time, he'd opened his heart. No matter what happens in the future, I will never love anyone but Sasha for the rest of my life. The feeling was odd, giving oneself completely to these feelings that scared him beyond all comprehension. But he knew it had to be done, for him to heal...and he felt rejuvenated.
They stared into each other’s eyes, hers twinkling with nothing but her love. He leaned in, kissing her softly, the touch of her lips threatening to melt away his rational mind. When he tried to pull away, she tightened her embrace, the passion of her kiss stripping away the last layers of protection that covered his heart as he allowed her to devour him completely.
As Trent gave himself wholly to Sasha, he thought about many things. About his past and his future, about his lost hopes and dreams, and found, in all those thoughts, Sasha was now there, telling him that it didn't matter anymore, that this was now their story, their journey. Then the kiss came to an abrupt end and they released each other. Trent's gaze lingered, unable to pull away from the emerald eyes that he knew would forever haunt his dreams...and his days.
“Courtship completed. Approved and logged. Date of formal elevation ceremony to be determined once current situation is resolved,” Vin’s monotone voice echoed through the tunnel. He looked down at the sphere, then back at Sasha, who shared his baffled look.
“Vin,” Sasha started carefully, “what exactly do you mean by courtship approved?” she asked, obviously confused.
“This Program deemed the words and actions presented to be sufficient for completion of standard NHA courtship requirements and wedding procedure. The information that Sir Trent is now the official consort of Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia has been approved and submitted to the official registry on Planet Origin,” Trent stared at the rippling bronze sphere, then at Sasha, unable to close his gaping jaw.
“Did I hear that right?” Trent whispered, finding Sasha in a sudden daze, but a small grin did appear on her lips.
“I believe you did, Trent,” Sasha sighed, “but if we look at the bright side, we will not have to go through the more uncomfortable steps of courtship,” her words echoed his own exhaustion, drained from the emotional rollercoaster of the past few hours.
“I did want to call you my girlfriend for a while at least,” he admitted, “but,” he couldn’t believe what he was about to say, “I'm actually not bothered that I can call you my wife. It’s...it’s a strange feeling,” he shook his head in disbelief. Who am I? He wondered. Sasha perked up at his words, as did Terra, who started dancing and squawking in delight on her partially exposed bosom.
“I'd prefer it if you called me your girlfriend,” she stated with a wink, “until we actually have the official elevation ceremony. The ruling nobility, including my parents, may raise a few eyebrows if they hear of a grand duchess eloping,” Sasha admitted, forcing a bit of humor into her exhausted voice.
With a tender smile, she sat herself up against the wall and placed her legs out straight, waving for him to join her. He crawled the short distance to her side and slid his hand around her waist as he leaned in to steal a quick kiss. She blushed, reaching across his body to grab his hand.
“Now, Trent,” she became serious, “I want to know everything about you. I need to know why you think your life is worthless...which it is not, mind you...and you better not ever think or say anything of the like again, do you understand?” she batted a finger in his direction, getting slightly sidetracked from her original statement.
“Yes, Sasha, I promise,” he whispered, unable to hide his embarrassment when recalled what he’d said earlier.
“Good,” she nodded, satisfied, “now...start from the beginning and don't leave anything out, even if you think I'll hate you for it. I want to know everything about you...every feeling...every thought...every action...everything,” Trent gazed at Sasha, knowing that he didn't have a choice in the matter, but finding the idea of opening himself completely to another no longer scared him. It was an odd feeling, to have another care for him completely...for the first time he could ever remember. He took a deep breath and started from the beginning.
“It all started back when I hit puberty, before that I was a kind...” As Trent talked, Sasha let her head fall on his shoulder and listened, along with the catillian named Terra, and a Program named Vin.
Chapter 18
The bridge of the TSB Ero'Cia sat eerily silent as the countdown timer ticked in unison with Daniel’s rapidly beating heart, passing five minutes till contact with the HZBF invasion fleet; the time of his betrayal. It almost seemed surreal, like he was watching someone else betray both the TSB and ABF to Duke Zehman, someone who just incidentally had an identical appearance and name as he. The feeling was odd, and became even stronger as the gravity of what he had done began to surface the moment he returned to the bridge, bringing with it an icy fear that threatened to encase his mind.
It will be fine, he reassured, no one will ever know, recalling his crony, Deck Engineer Bradley, and the instructions he had provided before being reassigned to the TSB Transit Station, about how to send “sensitive” messages without TSB communication officers or engineers detecting their existence. He breathed out slowly; trying to calm his rushing heart, before turning his attention back to his tactical display, hoping to shed the layer of insecurity that clung relentlessly to him as he went back to work.
The TSB fleet continued to approach the HZBF invasion fleet from the rear. But now, thirty ABF battle group signatures had joined them, scattered randomly to all sides, with only four being real. The others were “faked”, created by the powerful EW arrays of the remaining TSB EW Frigates to mask the approach of the real ABF fleet.
“Helm, prepare for emergency deceleration at my command,” Captain Aysi sounded over the bridge’s com.
The contact timer ticked down to one minute as his tactical display began to update rapidly, zooming in on his assigned sector of the enemy fleet as battle group command set targeting priorities. He selected the NHA Super-Capital HZBF Mar'Zif that sat in the center of his assigned targeting zone, and began marking EW anomalies that the auto-targeting system couldn’t recognize.
Thirty-seconds to contact. The anomalies appeared faster and faster, allowing Daniel to lose himself in his duty as he marked one after another. He found, to his surprise, he had little trouble keeping pace. XO Geoff would be proud, had he not died in vain, he shook away the thought, turning his attention to reviewing the anomalies marked by the 16 year-old tactical trainee in CSS
. Another bout of regret suddenly enveloped him, but he knew that no matter his shifting feelings, it was already too late.
Ten seconds to contact. His weapon crews reported surviving LPAs active and ready, with the plasma cannon online. He hovered his trembling finger over the fire icon, sweat dripping off his brow to pass through the tactile projected station to splash atop the PDU below.
“Fire all LPAs!” the captain shouted. Daniel punched the fire icon. The Ero’Cia’s two surviving large LPAs, and the remaining medium and small LPAs, fired in unison with the surrounding TSB starships. The majority streamed towards the NHA Super-Capital HZBF Mar'Zif, having been a priority target for TSB task force one, since removing another of the behemoths from the fight would provide the outnumbered ABF a better chance of survival.
Daniel, along with the rest of the bridge officers, felt his tension ease as no return fire was detected and the first TSB salvo struck the enemy fleet. Four HZBF screening frigates and two corvettes flickered, vanishing as they did their job, protecting the more powerful starships within. While the few LPAs that made it through were absorbed and redirected by the super-capital’s massive ESS.
“Change of orders! Helm, accelerate into plasma cannon range!” Captain Aysi shouted.
This isn't right, Daniel wanted to scream, they were supposed to retreat to safety after firing their first salvo! But it was too late, the order already given.
As one, the TSB Fleet accelerated, closing in on the 500,000 km preferred range of the plasma cannons. Daniel, having recovered from his momentary lapse, kept up his fire, joining the rest of the TSB fleet in sending a third salvo of large LPAs at the HZBF Mar'Zif, which flickered and started to slow, debris and air streaming free as LPAs found gaps in its weakening ESS.
Then, as planned, the 30 ABF battle groups, 26 of which were groups of TSB EW frigates, reached a million kilometers. Daniel gritted his teeth as the HZBF battle groups fired their thousands of LPAs in unison at what Daniel knew were the real ABF signatures, the mass of deadly fire taking the longest three seconds of his life to stream across space.
The four ABF battle groups vanished from his tactical display as the torrent of fire struck. Daniel blinked, unable to understand what just occurred. It was highly unlikely the amount of LPA fire that erupted forth from the HZBF invasion fleet could have destroyed all four ABF battle groups in an instant. He glanced over his shoulder in wonder, finding Lt.-Commander Xi glaring in his direction with a sneer...he'd been found. A message icon flashed and he punched it immediately, trying to ignore the sweat that had begun dripping into his eyes, while keeping his attention on detecting newly formed EW anomalies.
“I'll keep quiet about that “other” message you tried to includ, but you are now mine to do with as I please,” her words sunk in slowly as the battle raged around him, his mind unable to register anything but its mayhem.
The HZBF invasion fleet, after a brief pause where Daniel could picture Duke Zehman raging at being fooled, turned and fired on another group of ABF signatures that vanished in a sea of LPA fire, another group of unlucky EW Frigates meaninglessly giving their lives. She set me up...there was no way that Duke Zehman would take him in now...he had failed.
The ABF battle groups continued to close at 50,000 kps, no return fire erupting from any of the remaining 20 ABF battle group signatures. It appeared they were waiting to get within plasma cannon range, since they were still outnumbered and that would provide them the best chance of devastating the enemy.
“Fire plasma cannon,” Captain Aysi bellowed. Daniel, without thought, punched the fire icon, allowing the swirling mass of plasma, born of the artificial neutron star within the NSD core, to let loose milliseconds later than the rest of the fleet. The swirling beams shot across space at 200,000 kilometers per second. But the HZBF invasion fleet reacted immediately, changing course while firing on another “fake” ABF signature.
The majority of the plasma beams missed well wide, but two struck home as the HZBF fleet maneuvered, causing a line of screening corvettes and frigates to blow spectacularly. Their obliteration must have caught the attention of HZBF fleet command and they finally shifted their targeting priorities towards the TSB fleet. The two battle groups that made up the rear screen of the HZBF’s arrowhead formation rotated and fired as one.
“Helm, zero by twenty burn, now!” Captain Aysi shouted as the entire TSB fleet angled up in an attempt to dodge the incoming LPA fire. Daniel braced himself as a group of 10 large LPA beams passed just meters from the Ero'Cia's ESS. He wondered if Duke Zehman had taken the time to remove their starship’s signature after he found out the information was false or if he'd just never entered it in the first place. He shook his head miserably...it doesn’t matter now, does it?
“Helm, zero by negative twenty burn!” The fleet angled down, attempting to maneuver out of the way of the slower plasma beams, which thankfully, missed by a little over a thousand km. However, a few of the HZBF's LPAs tracked their maneuver, catching a TSB corvette and frigate that reacted too slow, breaking through energy shields and slicing the starships to pieces. A moment later, the ABF battle group signatures reached 500,000 km, plasma cannon range, and to his surprise...and growing horror...no fire emerged, they just kept closing.
“Tactical! Fire plasma cannon on next turn!” The captain's orders tore Daniel out of his momentary confusion. Unlike the LPAs, which could fire on a 180 degree double plane arc, the plasma cannon required the starship to be aimed in the direction required.
“Helm, zero by twenty burn...now!” The starship began its return maneuver and Daniel hit the fire icon a moment before the nose of the starship passed the designated angle. The plasma beam erupted forth, swirling through space at 200,000 kps, and connected with an HZBF capital ship that had taken up position next to the super-capital he had targeted. The 10 kilometer long starship flickered, then slowed as its ESS failed, LPAs and other plasma beams cutting hundreds of holes through its massive hull....forcing it to fall out of formation as air and debris exploded into space.
The HZBF invasion fleet suddenly abandoned all attempts at concentrating on individual targets, splitting their fire between the 16 remaining ABF battle group signatures and the TSB fleet. The ABF kept closing, now at 250,000 kilometers, while the TSB fleet was doing its best to imitate an irregular wave pattern while keeping their range to target at just under 500,000 kilometers.
The 10 remaining ABF battle group signatures crossed the 150,000 kilometer range marker when a lucky LPA shot struck the real ABF fleet. In almost instantaneous response, 200 ABF starships opened fire as one. Four of the five remaining HZBF super-capitals blew, plasma beams blowing through the starships at point blank range...taking 80,000 human lives in a blink of an eye. Eight capital ships followed suit, having been, along with the super-capitals, the primary targets for the ABF’s plasma cannons. A few survived the wave of destruction, but all were spewing substantial amounts of atmosphere and debris...a slow death for those that could not escape. More than half the remaining HZBF dreadnaughts and battleships were destroyed, pummeled by thousands of simultaneous large LPA strikes...the survivors useless, knocked out of the fight. The remaining cruisers, corvettes, and frigates that were not screening the direction of the ABF attack, were only slightly damaged and able to return fire, destroying a few ABF screening frigates and corvettes, while disabling one battleship and dreadnaught.
“Ma'am, they're surrendering!” Lt.-Commander Xi shouted. An emotional cheer echoed across the bridge.
“Cease Fire!” Captain Aysi shouted. “All rescue personnel to the shuttles! Helm...bring us in, we need to help search for survivors!” The excitement rolling across the bridge was not felt by Daniel, his plan had failed...his life was forfeit.
Fear started to overwhelm him as the full weight of what had befallen began to sink in...he'd chosen the wrong side...he was a traitor. He glanced at the cheering Lt.-Commander Xi, showing an expression of such happiness that he couldn't believe he had falle
n into her trap. Covering his own face with his hands, he sighed in resignation ...what fate did she have in store for him?
*********
An ominous air flowed down the steps from the passenger compartment onboard the NHA Shuttle ABF Golden Sun, Sir Simwa’s private starship. Tiana glanced over her shoulder at the line of nervous children who kneeled just outside the shuttle’s entry, waiting nervously. She nodded to Regalia and Donnlie who were at the head of the line. They rushed passed without question, down the step towards the abandoned crew quarters and engineering as the rest of the children followed close behind.
“Watch over them for me, Gil’Da,” she asked the old servant who’d taken up the rear.
“Of course, My Lady,” she nodded, following the last of the children, leaving Tiana alone with the two oldest trainees, Tomi and a shy boy named Yaz.
“Head to the bridge and get us ready for launch,” she instructed, “I want to be well clear of the fleet base before Commander Talan figures out what has befallen,” Tomi turned to Yaz and they both nodded, rushing towards the bridge. Tiana watched them vanish, “I hope I don’t regret this,” she muttered, still uncertain of the wisdom in placing her trust in the two 15 year old trainees, knowing well she had few other options.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath; you can do this Tiana, before drawing her laser arc. Carefully, she tiptoed up the steps, knowing there were two individuals of unknown affiliation currently restricted to the shuttle’s passenger apartment, and Tiana hoped they weren’t loyal to Sir Simwa or Duke Zehman. Though even if they were, she would still have to deal with them, one way or the other.
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