Want to Go For a Ride In My Spaceship?: The Nathan Daniels Saga: Act 1 (Parts 1, 2 &3)

by Sam Lippert

  'That's just great,' he thought to himself. 'The ultimate in irresponsibility is to misplace your own body! Chances are that means you've misplaced your ship and the Princess as well.' It took Nathan a moment to realize how ludicrous that line of thinking was. It was impossible to misplace one's body, so that must mean there was something else afoot.

  Let's see, the last thing he remembered was a loud noise after attempting to hail the unknown ships they had encountered. Odds were that he was either unconscious or dead. Since he was pretty sure death was not all that it was cracked up to be, he chose to believe that he was merely unconscious. If that were the case, it meant he could wake up.

  He heard what sounded like a moan. This was a good thing, since it meant that at the very least his ears had returned. The second time he heard it, he realized that the moan was his own. Moments later his entire head returned, bringing with it a headache the size of the Crab Nebula.

  “Damn,” his mouth said once it was functional. “What the hell was that all about?” He forced his eyes open and immediately forced them closed again. He wasn't ready for the image that had appeared on his retina and traveled his optic nerve to his beleaguered brain.

  With his eyes closed, Nathan tried to make sense of what he had seen in the fraction of a second that his eyes were open. He was in the cockpit of the Nola, which was good considering that was the last place he remembered being.

  For all of the familiarity the ghost of the image held for him, something just wasn't right about it. It was time to open his eyes again and take another look.

  His eyes opened and he immediately knew why the scene didn't seem right. Everything was smashed. What used to be the friendly view-screens and controls that worked as if they were an extension of his body were nothing but a tangled mass of glass, wires, circuit boards and metal. He was on the verge of tears when another thought drop-kicked his brain.

  “Remi,” he croaked. Or at least that is what he meant to say. It didn't sound that way to him, but he wasn't sure if it was his voice or his ears that were still misbehaving. Nathan summoned every Joule of energy he had and turned his head to the right to check on her, but there was nothing but an empty seat where the love of his life should have been.

  Fear gripped Nathan's heart with a crushing force. With every ounce of strength he could muster, he forced himself up out of the pilot's seat and staggered out of the cockpit.

  Throughout the ship destruction like what he saw in the cockpit was the rule rather than the exception. Every piece of electronic equipment had been either stolen or smashed beyond repair.

  The Galley had been completely ransacked, and all of the food supplies had been stolen.

  Nathan's cabin had been tossed most professionally. His clothing was strewn about and everything of value was gone.

  He was barely able to negotiate the ladder below deck, but he managed to make it somehow. He was unable to find Remi or Omany anywhere. He was so distraught he almost didn't notice the cargo was gone as well.

  CHAPTER VII

  One little discussed and even less noticed side-effect of faster than light travel is vibration. It is a subtle thing, taking place just on the edges of human perception. Long time space hands feel it the moment a ship's FTL is engaged, and many can tell both the make of the ship and the engines just from this almost imperceptible vibration. Or so they would have you think.

  For the less experienced, this vibration manifests itself not consciously, but as a gut feeling. For example: someone who has been a passenger for several weeks on one ship, but then transfers to a different ship, will immediately feel that something is 'wrong' when that new ship is traveling FTL. They cannot quantify this 'wrongness,' and they generally do not admit to it, for fear of being labeled as being in desperate need of psychological help.

  This subtle difference in vibration was how Remi knew she was no longer aboard Nola before she even opened her eyes. Although she did not perceive the vibration that had imprinted on her as 'home,' she did not feel ill at ease, which meant that she had been on this ship, or one very similar to it, before. Since she could count on one hand the number of spaceships she had spent any significant time aboard while the FTL drive was engaged, her newly conscious mind balked at the conundrum. Curious, she forced her eyes open earlier than she would have liked to...

  The Pathi have a word, veloubious, which means feeling both shocked and unsurprised at the same time. For those that scoff at the notion that a situation can produce both of these feelings simultaneously, imagine that you are driving a ground vehicle on an icy road when another vehicle crashes into you. The collision itself would shock you, while you would be unsurprised that the collision happened, because of the untenable nature of the roadway.

  Veloubious describes how Remi felt when she took in the scene in front of her newly opened eyes. She appeared to be in her own bed, in her suite aboard the royal yacht Kurufet Rising. Everything appeared as it should in this, her bedroom, from the tapestries on the wall to the plush duvet on the bed. Although the familiarity of the surroundings made her feel safe, she was driven by curiosity to get out of bed as a first step towards discovering just what the hell was going on. Kurufet Rising was not where she was supposed to be, and definitely was not where she last remembered being.

  Her bare feet landed in her slippers which were on the deck in precisely the location she always left them. This was when she noticed that she was wearing her lavender silk nightgown which perfectly matched the slippers. She had brought neither the nightgown nor the slippers with her when she boarded the Nola, believing, quite correctly, that they would be the cause of much lampooning from the ship's captain. The fact that she was reunited with them lent credence to the scene around her.

  Although she knew that answers could easily be found by exiting her suite, a princess does not go roaming the corridors of the Kurufet Rising without being properly dressed. She crossed the room to her closet and selected a stately green dress. As was generally the case, her closet held only clothes which could be described as stately or elegant, and stately seemed slightly more appropriate to the current situation. What she really wanted was her “uniform” from the Nola, as she had become quite used to its casual comfort, but it was nowhere to be found.

  After dressing, Remi was still not fully ready to exit her suite. It had been instilled in her, by her mother and Omany, and more recently by Nathan, that the more knowledge you can gain prior to thrusting yourself into a situation, the more leverage you had in that situation. She went into her study and activated the terminal there.

  Her royal clearance should allow her access to all of the yacht's network. The ship's flight plan was no help, as nothing had been logged since the yacht left Kurufet. When she attempted to access the navcomp she found that her personal clearance code was blocked. She attempted to use her mother's code and found that did not work either, adding to the mystery.

  The crew manifest showed General Marag was in command, not unusual when a member of the royal family was aboard. Neither her mother nor Omany were listed as aboard. Her mother not being here was understandable, as the yacht often traveled without the Empress, however she could not remember a time she had been off-planet without Omany. Winette, her handmaiden, was also not aboard. Again she felt veloubious, as Winette had accepted an appointment to Imperial Intelligence when Remi had left with Nathan, but the Princess had never been in the Palace, or Kurufet Rising without Winette. There was no record of Nathan either. Just as she began to investigate a little more, there was a chirp indicating someone was requesting entry to her suite.

  She met General Marag at the door. The general's usual stern scowl had been replaced by a rather sickly smile, one that would have looked eerie and disturbing on the best of people. It was doubly so on the giant of a man that served as the head of her mother's personal guard.

  “Greetings, Highness!” Marag said with more joviality than she ever remembered him having, almost making the princess think this was all
a dream of some sort. “It is good to see you have recovered. I had planned to be here when you woke, but the doctors assured me that would not be for at least another hour. Even though we have been battling it for years, I guess there are still some unknowns when it comes to Tenguary Fever.”

  “Tenguary Fever?” Remi croaked in a very non royal fashion. She noticed for the first time that her mouth was dry and her throat raw. These were known lingering effects of the Fever.

  “Yes, Princess. You contracted the disease two months ago. We believe it was part of an assassination attempt. You were transferred to the hospital wing of the Palace as soon as you were stricken. Once you were stabilized your mother thought it would be safer for you to be off planet, so you were transferred to Kurufet Rising, and we have been meandering around known space since.” Marag paused, which Remini took as an invitation to ask questions.

  “Palace?” Remi inquired, confused. “What was I doing at the Palace? I was aboard the Nola, with Captain Daniels. We had just left New Rome, en route to Nexus. As I recall we were surrounded by pirates, then something caused me to lose consciousness. I am still a bit foggy on the details.”

  “I am unaware of a spacecraft named Nola, my Princess, or of any 'captain' by the name of Nathan Daniels, and while I can think of many reasons you might travel to New Rome, there is certainly no reason the Princess of Kalifet would be traveling to Nexus!” The joviality left Marag's features, replaced with what appeared to be concern. “You have not been off-planet in any ship other than Kurufet Rising in nearly a year.”

  “That's not correct, Marag!” Remi tried to put a much practiced level of royal presence into her voice but was rewarded by more pain in her throat, and little more than a squeak. The next sentence was even more physically painful. “You personally escorted the captain of the Nola to the Palace at Mother's request! The evening after that meeting Omany and I went aboard the Nola and left with Nathan for Rhadasia, and a year-long trek around the galaxy prior to my wedding. Mother thought it important that I experience something other than the life of a Royal.”

  “I am afraid that is the Fever talking, Princess.” Marag made what could only be called an 'attempt' to soothe her. “As you know, Tenguary Fever can severely impact a patient's memory. Often the Fever dreams of a comatose patient seem every bit as real as the patient's actual memories.”

  Remi thought for a moment. Could the last few months as she remembered them simply be a delusion brought on by the illness? There were some things that didn't add up, however. “Why am I not in sickbay? Quarantine and hazard suits are protocol for the Fever.”

  “Given the memory loss and modification that is associated with the Fever, protocol also dictates that the patient should awaken in surroundings that are most familiar to them. You have not been contagious for a week, so we moved you to your suite when it was obvious your coma was lifting. While not the same as your rooms in the Palace, certainly this is the most familiar place for you aboard Kurufet Rising.”

  “Where is Omany? His help would be invaluable in sorting out these events. Through guided meditation I am sure I could rid myself of any false memories.” A sudden wave of disorientation came over Remi, and she nearly collapsed.

  “Princess, it is with much regret that I have to inform you Omany lost his life attempting to save yours in the assassination attempt. The Empress awarded him the Star of Kalifet posthumously for his bravery and dedication to you and the royal family.” The little joviality Marag had started the conversation with was now gone completely.

  Another wave of disorientation hit Remi. This time she did fall to the deck.

  * * *

  Marag scooped the Princess up and returned her to her bed. When he had first realized Remini had come to, he activated the flow of Twilight gas to her suite. Twilight was a two part compound. One part injected into the subject, rendering them susceptible to the second part which was delivered as a gas. The advantage to the two part agent was the ability to target the effect. The gas had taken far longer than it should have to knock the Princess out, and he had almost been forced to improvise in his conversation with her. Improvisation was not his strong suit, he was a planner, as had been demonstrated in his lackluster career on the battlefield. Although every battle required tremendous planning, the truly great military commanders had the ability to improvise, as no battle ever went according to plan. It took the establishment of the Kalifet military twenty years to realize he did not have the talent in the field his father had been known for. This discovery led to his posting as head of the Empress' Royal Guard, a post much more suited to his abilities.

  He reached into the pocket of his uniform and withdrew a hypoderm. Obviously the Princess needed another injection of Twilight A, since it had taken so long for the gaseous agent to render her unconscious. It was imperative that if he needed to use the gas again the Princess would go under immediately. A proper state of disorientation was necessary if she was going to believe the Tenguary Fever charade. He pressed the hypoderm against her arm and delivered the agent.

  He left the suite and made his way back to Command. The Twilight would keep Remini under for another eight hours, and by then he should have more of the cover story in place.

  So far he had barely managed to stay one step ahead of disaster. When he realized that the Empress seriously intended to let the Princess spend a year tromping around the galaxy with that reprobate, Daniels, he knew he needed to do something!

  Installing the tracking device on the Nola was easy, since his men guarded the ship the entire time it was in port. The discussion with the Empress after the fact had been far more challenging, but in the end it served his purposes as well...

  * * *

  “You did what?” Empress Kalitemia Irisole Nimjufet was far angrier than General Marag ever remembered her being. “It is your sworn duty to protect all members of the royal family, and yet you put my daughter's life in danger this way?”

  “Excellency,” Marag countered, using a measured, even tone, so as not to further provoke the Empress. “I fail to see how a simple tracking device is in any way dangerous. I deployed it as a safety measure, to ensure that we could offer assistance, should it be required.”

  “Perhaps, Marag, you could enlighten me as to how this particular tracker works? Then I will happily point out to you where your assumptions are flawed!” The Empress all but 'harrumphed' as she sat back down on her throne.

  “Well...” Marag continued. Was there some chance he hadn't thought everything through? The tracker had been his attempt to improvise a solution to the Princess going off-planet in a craft that was not under his direct control. “Each time the Nola returns to normal space, the tracker scans for celestial landmarks and the Nola's coordinate position in the galaxy is then calculated from this information. Just before FTL is engaged, the coordinates are calculated again, with the addition of current heading.”

  “And how does this data get to you?” the Empress inquired.

  “The information is encrypted and sent by n-wave here to the Palace...”

  “Where it can be intercepted and decrypted! You know as well as I do that we cannot trust everyone in the Palace! Far too many of our people believe we should have never accepted peace with Rathshelliam, and would love to find a way to sabotage the treaty! Capturing or killing Remini would do just that!”

  What the Empress did not know was that Marag was one of those individuals. His father had been lost in the surprise attack which had started the war. Through this sacrifice, the Emperor, who had been inspecting the troops under his father's command, had been saved. Peace was not acceptable. The Rathshelliam were to be cast upon the ash pile of history. For all appearances he was an exemplary Kalifet officer and citizen, and although he was a major player in the anti-peace movement, he had managed to stay above suspicion by delegation, careful planning and by virtue of the cellular organization of the resistance, a trick he had learned from a twentieth century Old Earth novel about Lunar revolu
tion.

  “The only security Remini had for the trip was that the ship was inconsequential and incognito! Thanks to your little tracking device that is gone! Even if the information is not compromised here in the Palace, a civilian ship sending an encrypted n-wave burst to the Empress of Kalifet when it enters and leaves FTL is going to attract attention! I should bust you back down to private, but your father is the Hero of Kalifet, and parliament would never allow it. So, I am going to give you the opportunity to redeem yourself.” The Empress took several deep calming breaths. “You will select a crew you can trust, take the Kurufet Rising, and follow the Nola in an unobtrusive manner. Stay outside of their sensor range, but close enough to assist them if someone else has managed to intercept the transmission of your ill conceived tracker. When the opportunity presents itself you will remove the tracker from the Nola and immediately return to Kurufet.”

  The opportunity was perfect! Because of the cell system, even he only knew the identities of four other anti-peacers but he would be able contact far more than that and essentially crew Kurufet Rising entirely with members of the organization! Command of the royal yacht, with a crew sympathetic to his cause, on an open-ended mission such as he had just been assigned should have given the general ample time to craft and execute a foolproof plan to ensure that the Princess missed her wedding. Sadly, he had been forced to act before he was ready.

  * * *

  Among the Kalifet royal family, a princess' handmaiden (or the groomsman of a prince) did not act in the capacity of servant, but was, in fact, more of a best friend, or very nearly a sibling. As the Kalifet Empire is a 'democratic monarchy,' the royal family must abide by various rules and regulations spelled out in the constitution, many specifying under what conditions the current family is allowed to continue ruling. One of those conditions, as Remi related to Nathan, is the fact that the heir to the throne must be married by their twenty-fourth birthday. Another condition limits the ruling family to only one child, thus ensuring there is none of the usual 'palace intrigue' when it comes to succession. If the only child is not able to take the throne, a new ruling family is selected by Parliament.