SEABIRD: A Romantic Fantasy

by Jac Eddins

  "Then it is true men have vanished here."

  Lenno nodded. "We’ve never seen what happens, although we can guess. There’s never anyone who’s witnessed it."

  "Are all the supervisors involved?" Alaro asked.

  Lenno regarded him a long moment. "Yes. And all are Aquan."

  "When we go home after the shift–" Alaro began.

  "You don’t go home," Lenno said. They won’t let you leave once you start here. We live in a barracks on the other side of the plant. If you attempt to leave they’ll shoot you."

  "Kill?"

  "No, a heavy stun force, but then they’ll give you such a beating you don’t try it again."

  Alaro turned to Dano. "It’s a good thing we left Miko with orders to come for us."

  * * * *

  Three hours before the shift was to end Dano became increasingly aware of the number of supervisors collecting about them and watching. He looked to Alaro and saw he, too, had noticed. Both continued on as if they suspected nothing, until the plant supervisor approached them, weapon in hand.

  "Do you want to tell me who you are and why you're here?" the supervisor asked in an ominous growl.

  "We were sent here," Dano said.

  "Not by Essex. I checked. You're here to spy."

  "Why would we need to spy on you?" Alaro asked. "Is there something here that warrants spying?"

  The supervisor uttered a curse and nodded to the five other foremen who had gathered. "All three of them."

  Before they had time to respond a blast of energy hit them. Dano tried to step in front of Alaro to protect him, but the world went black.

  * * * *

  Dano awakened in pitch darkness. Beside him he heard a low moan. He wasn’t alone.

  "Can you see?" he asked. His voice echoed strangely.

  "Nothing," Alaro answered. "I’ve been awake a little while. We’re in some sort of metal tank."

  Another groan sounded.

  "I think Lenno is with us," Dano remarked. He climbed to his feet and felt his way carefully, testing the floor ahead of him so he didn’t step on the other man. A few feet away, his searching hands touched a curved metal wall. He groaned. "I hate to tell you where I think we are."

  "I don’t want to know," Alaro answered him.

  Dano found his key chain in his pants pocket. While on the island, on a whim, he had bought a tiny flashlight to put on his key ring. He switched it on. Pale as the light was, it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust. The enclosure had a diameter he guessed to be about twelve feet and reached up to near twenty. In the center of the domed top was a curious two foot hatch and, surrounding that, were dozens of small openings, pipe vents of some sort. "Do you think we have enough air in here to last?"

  Lenno had come fully awake and spoke with a resigned sadness. "We’ll be dead long before we run out of air. We’re in one of the disintegration chambers."

  "Then someone will find us when they go to load it in the morning," Dano brightened.

  Lenno shook his head. "Doesn’t work that way. First thing each morning they turn it on and test before loading."

  "And morning is about two hours away," Alaro said with a shake of his head. "I’m sorry I got you into this."

  "We have time yet," Dano countered. "I’m not giving up easily." He hit the grey metal wall with his fist.

  "If you’re counting on someone hearing you, forget it," Lenno advised him. The hull is double."

  "What time do they start the test?" Alaro asked the workman.

  "First thing when the new shift comes in."

  Alaro paced the small area like a caged tiger. "It’s a toss up then, whether they find us before the test begins."

  Dano smiled a little. "Maybe the odds are a little better than that."

  * * * *

  Lenno sat in silence while Alaro paced. Dano stood beside the tightly sealed door hatch and listened. If his plan hadn’t worked, he had moments left to live, moments to regret all the things he had yet to do. With Alaro and him gone, would Jorlanda send Gina back to her own world? Gina was in grave danger without them.

  "How much time do we have left?" Alaro asked.

  "I don’t have a timepiece," Dano replied.

  "I do," Lenno said. He drew back his sleeve to expose his watch and Dano moved the tiny light to look at it.

  "About six minutes," Dano said with a sigh. The light had begun to flicker. Would the battery last as long as they did? His own hope had begun to fade. Was this the end?

  A noise outside startled them. Dano pressed his ear to the opening and heard a voice.

  "Here!" he shouted and beat the metal door with his fist.

  Moments later the light blinded him and he had to cover his eyes.

  "Thank God," Miko said, standing in the open hatchway.

  Outside they found Alaro’s guardsmen holding an unhappy group of supervisors at bay with leveled laser guns. Their captain gave Alaro a smart salute. "We’d have been here sooner, but they panicked and weren’t going to let us in. We called in reinforcements and they saw they had a lost cause. It’s a good thing Miko got that distress signal or we would have been too late."

  "Signal? What signal?" Alaro asked, puzzled.

  "I took a little precaution," Dano admitted. "I left Miko my spare beeper, just in case."

  Lenno stared at the proceedings, wide eyed and shook his head in bewilderment.

  Alaro shook his hand. "Things will change here now, Lenno," the prince promised him. I hope you’ll help me get this facility back to rights."

  "Oh, yes, sir!"

  A rousing cheer echoed from dozens of liberated workers.

  CHAPTER 16

  Kayahla became frantic when Alaro’s message came that he would not be with her for the night. She told Gina they had not been separated a night since their marriage four years earlier. Gina’s own worry for Dano didn’t help. She stayed late with the princess that evening, making small talk to cover their fears.

  Gina left the royal apartments at one in the morning and managed a few fitful hours of sleep. A rap on her door roused her at seven and she returned to Kayahla's rooms to find a brighter appearance in her friend.

  "They’re safe and all is well," Kayahla told her. The palace buzzed with talk and Kayahla filled in the details with as much as she had learned.

  The princess had breakfast served for them in her private dining area. The men arrived just after they finished a leisurely meal. Kayahla ran to her husband and held him, just as any Terran wife would have. Gina smiled; the Aquans weren’t really different at all when it came to emotions.

  Dano stood aside, smiling a little. He looked lost and she couldn’t help going to him to give him a welcoming hug. His arms circled her and she felt him tremble, holding her. She moved back, away from him, as soon as possible, frightened by his emotion – and her own.

  * * * *

  Gina and Dano left the royal couple and made their way to the cafeteria to talk over coffee. Dano chose his usual table, away from others, which were occupied. They spent a pleasant half-hour chatting about small things until Gina commented, "You haven't said much about what happened."

  "No." Dano stared into the cup before him as if he expected to see something in it besides the fragrant beverage.

  The time had come and Gina asked him bluntly, "Why did you really bring me here to Dath?"

  Dano gave her a weak grin. "Because you're so damned attractive?" Once again he concentrated on the cup before him, stirring his coffee. "It's a long story."

  "It appears I have time to hear it."

  "Well, then…" Dano explained, " Until five years ago, Dath was a place of harmony and peaceful existence. About the time the queen named Alaro as her successor the troubles began. A small secret group formed and began formenting unrest and division. Since the Aquans had the superior technology, this group believed they should be the earth's dominant species. A great deal of money had been embezzled and stashed in topworld banks. It was to be used to pay
mercenaries when the time came for the rebels to make their move. One man had infiltrated their organization and gathered information. He reached a high position where he had access to the most sensitive data. He compiled a detailed list of the money accounts, passwords and names of most of the members, particularly the high ranking Aquans involved.

  A short time ago, before he could get this list back to Alaro's people, the man fell under suspicion and was killed. His notebook hadn't been found. The rebels hadn't regained it either because they had been following all the man’s last contacts.

  "Mr. Mason!" Gina exclaimed.

  Dano nodded. "We didn't know exactly where you fit in, or if you had any idea what you might have. We also wanted you to see for yourself what we're trying to protect."

  Gina no longer pretended she didn't know what he spoke of. "And all those funny symbols–"

  "Are in the ancient language of Dath. That insured some measure of protection. Not even many Aquans could read it," Dano finished for her.

  "The notebook is yours."

  "It's here?"

  She had to smile at his astonished expression.

  "I could hug you! In fact, I'll make a point of doing that the moment we're alone."

  "Is that a promise or a threat?" she asked with an answering smile.

  * * * *

  Dano started out with Gina to her room. Alaro would be delighted to have the notebook in his hands. They had gone but a short distance down the hallway when a messenger approached them on the run. He stopped, out of breath, and addressed Dano. "Tamir, you have an urgent message from the prince. Please report to him at once."

  This could be something important and Dano hesitated just a moment. "Gina, go to your room and wait there for me. I'll be right there with Alaro." Gina nodded in understanding. She went on while Dano turned back, headed for the office where Alaro would be this time of day.

  As he expected, the prince sat at his desk going through a stack of requests for audiences. He glanced up in surprise when Dano entered. "I thought you'd be with Gina," he smiled. "Don't tell me you struck out again."

  Dano scowled. "That doesn't mean exactly what you think it does. What did you want me for?"

  Alaro looked puzzled. "Why would I want you? I was giving you time–"

  "You didn't send a message?" Dano cut him short.

  "No." Alaro came to his feet. "When was this?"

  "Gina!" Dano's voice raised in panic. "They must have had some way of overhearing us. She's gone to her room – and she has the notebook there!"

  Alaro paused only long enough to call the guard on Gina's floor. There was no answer. Alaro took a pair of lazer guns from his desk and tossed one to Dano. "Let’s go."

  Before he could move from his desk his emergency communication line buzzed. He paused to pick it up. When he set it back down and faced his friend his complexion had visibly paled. "It’s the warning system in my home dome–several of the alarms have gone off."

  Dano nodded. "They’ll be after Kayahla, too. Go to her, I’ll find Gina. Go!"

  Alaro hesitated only for the moment it took him to order the guard doubled on the nursery.

  * * * *

  They were waiting for her when she entered the room. Before Gina could cry out for help they had a rag over her face and a sharp, medicinal odor filled her nose. The world swirled around her and went dark.

  She woke slowly. At first there were voices around her, harsh disembodied. Gradually, her vision cleared and she saw where she was.

  Gina lay on a couch in a room she had visited a few times before. She recognized it as one of the old library reading rooms on the corner of the building’s uppermost floor of the palace. The room had the distinctive feature of a locking door and old fashion windows rather than the normal slats. Dano told her it had once held the private records of the royal family, but they had since been moved to a more secure archive in the basement area.

  Five Aquans were in the room. Two she recognized; Alaro’s unpleasant sister Iola and one of the seamen she had first seen on the Seabird on her way to Dath. Two other men-at-arms in palace livery had her suitcase and savagely tore it apart. In moments they found the hidden notebook. One more Aquan in the dress of a high ranking officer stood gloating beside the Princess when the man held up the notebook. He reached for the book and slid it into the pocket of his cape.

  The former seaman noted Gina had regained consciousness. "She’s awake," he announced.

  One of the soldiers reached and jerked Gina roughly to her feet. "Do we question her?"

  "I doubt she knows anything worth taking the time to discover," the officer said.

  "What do we do with her, then?" asked the soldier holding her.

  Iola gestured toward Gina. "Kill her!"

  The second of the soldiers drew his sword.

  "Not with that, fool! I don’t want blood all over!" Iola snapped.

  The guard, chagrined, sheathed his ceremonial sword and drew his side arm. He aimed.

  Gina took a deep breath, likely her last, and held it. Would there be pain, or would it be over in a flash?

  "Stop!"

  Iola glared at the officer who countermanded her order.

  The officer shook his head. "There’s time to kill her later. Right now, she’s a bargaining chip, should something go wrong. Your brother seems fond of her."

  "What can go wrong?" Iola demanded, but she motioned for the guard to lower his weapon.

  "Our luck hasn’t proved too strong," the officer answered her. "We’re not in the position we should be to make this move. "

  "It won’t matter, Pello. With Jorlanda and Alaro dead, I’ll have no opposition. The people of Dath will accept it."

  "What of the child?"

  Iola gave him a cruel smile. "Her beloved aunt will be regent until she’s old enough to – have a fatal accident."

  "Is that necessary?"

  "It is, if our own child is to succeed to the throne." Iola gave Gina a scathing look from head to foot. "But we can’t drag this around with us and we can’t lose a man to guard her."

  "This section of the building is usually deserted until nightfall. No one will hear her from there," Pello, decided.

  The man holding her gave her a rude shove away from him. Gina lost her balance and went sprawling to the floor. The Aquans filed from the room, Iola last to leave. The woman paused at the doorway and sneered.

  "Your precious Dano should see how graceful you are now. Did you really think you could catch and hold him? Another poor Terran fool he’s brought here to enjoy – until he tires of her! I pity his wife and children, but then, she’ll be rid of him, too. Soon."

  Gina shook her head. Alaro told her they had never taken anyone as they had her and she believed him. Iola was spiteful enough to lie. Gina started to her feet, but, before she could rise, Iola stepped back and the door closed. Gina heard the lock snap into place.

  Gina waited until she no longer heard the group outside then tried the door. It was securely locked. She struck it with her fist. If she couldn't get free, those she met and cared for would die! Alaro and Kayahla, Jorlanda – and Dano.

  The solid door had no weaknesses. The hinge pins weren't visible from the room and whatever its material, it was hard and strong as oak. There had to be a way. Gina walked about the room looking for anything she might use. Nothing; not even a communications device built into the wall.

  In desperation she went to the window to see if someone might be visible below, someone whose attention she could gain. No one. But, from there she could see the open frame of the building under construction. From the corner of the palace, the new structure stood only four feet away. Would it be possible–?

  The window slats of the other rooms hadn't been used in this room. Perhaps it had been made that way to allow more light from outside. Or more of an observation spot. Whatever it was, the window had a crank opener.

  Once she had the window open, Gina began to shout, but her voice vanished into the cons
tant noise of the dome. She noticed the brickwork again, the series of protruding bricks forming a pattern. Could she possibly use them to edge along and jump to the other building? Madness! The drop to the ground was seven stories. She would die instantly if she fell.

  But she would die anyway if Iola wasn’t stopped!

  Gina removed her cape and set it aside. With a deep breath of resolution she let herself out the window and rested her feet on the extended bricks. They held her weight. If she held to one row she could use them to aid her in the perilous attempt. She didn’t look down and silently said a prayer of thanks she had no wind to impede her. Minutes passed and she inched her way along.

  She made it to the building’s corner. The frame looked farther away than it seemed earlier, the same four feet, but now it appeared a chasm as wide as the Grand Canyon. The flooring on the opposite tower had been put in place. If she could gather enough strength to make the jump…

  With a silent prayer, she made the leap.

  Gina landed and tumbled forward the way she learned in gymnastics. That had never been her favorite activity when she trained for her diving, but she’d never again complain about the hours spent at it. She hurried to her feet and located the stairs. The elevators had not yet been made operational.

  She raced down the six flights of steps. The workmen who saw her stared in amazement, but made no move to detain her. She didn’t ask for help; she had no idea to whom they would be loyal.

  Where were Iola and her traitorous companions? Gina saw no sign of them when she emerged from the unfinished tower. What should she do now?

  As if in answer to her prayer, she saw Dano emerge from the palace. Gina ran to him and he caught her to him. "I was so worried," he breathed. "I looked–"

  Gina didn’t allow him to finish. She blurted out, "Go to Kaylahra! Iola and some men are on their way to kill her and Alaro!"

  "How do you know–?" He broke off and studied her disheveled clothes and white panicked face. "Go to your room and lock yourself in!"

  "I can’t. There’s more. They must have heard us talking earlier. They got the notebook."

  Dano hesitated a moment. "Gina, do as I say. Without you–"

  "Go!" she shouted. "You haven’t much time! Alaro's life depends on it!"