by Saxon Andrew
“Let someone else do it.”
Ian stared at her and took her in his arms. “It’s not this place that brings us happiness. It’s being together.”
“If you go back, I’ll lose you.”
Ian leaned back and looked in her eyes. “Now Violet, you know how to stop that.”
“What do you mean!?!”
“You’ve escaped once. You can show me how it’s done.”
She looked in his eyes. “Ian, you have no choice but to do your duty.”
“I’ll not do it without you.” She stared into his face and he said, “I mean it.”
Violet sighed and said, “Well, let’s get on with it.”
Ian pulled her close and said, “In a minute.”
• • •
E listened to their conversation and knew that the most closely monitored people in the Union were the Royal Family. Escaping from that particular cage was next to impossible. E knew that Ian knew it as well.
• • •
Six days later the box was bolted to the floor just outside the reactor room. Ian touched it and felt the vibration. “It appears to be powered, E.”
“Take the cable you severed and push the end into the outlet.”
Ian grabbed the cable and was glad he had cut it with enough length to reach the wall. “Are you certain this is a good idea?”
Violet rolled her eyes and Ian shoved the cable into the outlet. They waited and a minute later they heard, “Alrighty then. Are you ready to trial this?”
Ian looked at Violet and then looked up at the ceiling, “I guess.”
“Good; if you and Violet will exit the ship I’ll start.”
“What do you mean exit the ship!?!”
“Look, I think this will work but if it doesn’t, there is no reason to place the two of you in danger. You both know you can survive here and I see that you are perfectly happy to spend your lives here. Don’t be dumb again and go all noble on me. Just get out.”
Ian stared at the ceiling and looked at Violet, “You heard the machine, let’s move.”
“Are you seriously leaving?”
“Violet, he’s right. I’m frightened at the prospect of losing my best friend, but if I were in his place I’d do the same thing.”
“Actually, you are in the same place.”
Ian snickered, “Oh yeah, I forgot.” Ian took Violet’s arm and pulled her out of the landing bay’s door.
Two days later they sat by the pond and Violet said, “I hope he didn’t get hurt.”
Ian shrugged.
“You’re being rather callous about this.”
“I know E. If the darn thing works, he won’t come back until he can operate it perfectly. He is persnickety.”
“If I am, you are as well.”
Ian smiled, “Yeah but you do it faster.”
Violet smiled and watched the ship moving toward them out of the night sky. “Welcome back, I was worried about you.”
“Well thank you.”
“Have you got it ironed out?”
“I have. I had to calibrate the fields to the Union’s maps. Determining how far each jump made using different field strengths wasn’t easy but I’ve got it dialed in.”
“I need you to do something.”
“What is that?”
“I need you to deliver a message to Euclid. Can you do that and get back here quickly?”
“Faster than you know. What message do you need delivered?”
Ian went on board and started talking. Violet wondered what he was doing. Finally he finished and E said, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“No, it’s probably not, but it’s what I want done.”
“You’re the boss.”
Ian and Violet exited the ship again and it rose into the night sky. They watched it until it disappeared and Violet said, “Why would you want that?”
Ian continued to stare at the sky and said, “Freedom.”
Chapter Seven
“Sir, I have a small ship a hundred thousand miles out sending an encrypted message to the planet.”
“Destroy it!”
“Sir, it’s gone.”
“Follow its track.”
“It didn’t leave one.”
The Nebula Fleet Admiral stared at his scanner officer, “How is that possible?”
“It’s not, Sir. But there is no track.”
The Fleet Admiral took a deep breath and sent a message to the Dark Officer.
• • •
The Lead Scientist listened to the message and started shaking his head. The Prince ended the message by saying, “I’ve sent my ship because I’m close to being found. You must do what I ask for the safety of the Union.” The Prince paused and said, “I’m truly sorry about Ariene. The two of you should have been together.” The message went dark and the scientist knew that the message was actually from the Prince. He fought his sorrow and then pressed a button.
“Yes Sire.”
“I want this message sent to the eighty Major Allies.”
The man on the display nodded and the screen went dark. He sat and wondered how the Prince had discovered his relationship with Ariene. He blew out a breath and shook his head. The Prince had to find the code to arm his ship. That’s how he found out. The Prince really was far beyond anyone else mentally. He pressed another button and a face appeared, “Bring me the list.”
“Why?”
The Prince’s message was sent and the face watched it on another screen. “You’ll have it in an hour. The most recent tests are being downloaded now.”
“Thank you.”
• • •
E arrived back at the planet and linked with Ian. “You’re back rather quickly.”
“I told you it wouldn’t take long.”
“Why are you still in orbit?”
“I want to trial something and I need your help to make it happen.”
“What is it you need me to do?”
“I need you to pull one of those blasters and activate the force field.”
“I hope this doesn’t involve firing at it.”
“It doesn’t.”
Ian looked at Violet and stepped away. She watched him activate the force field and suddenly he disappeared. She started screaming and he instantly reappeared. “Boy, you’re noisy.” He deactivated the force field and she ran forward and slapped him a good one. “What was that for?”
“You scared ten years off my life. Don’t you ever leave me like that again! Where did you go!?!”
“E jumped me to the bridge.”
“He did what!”
“It appears that the new star drive can jump a force field directly to the ship.”
“Really?”
“Really; he can also jump the field to a different location.”
“That’s incredible.”
“I know.” Ian looked up and said, “E, we’re going to stay here for a few days. Come down and let’s see if there’s anything else we want to take with us.”
“On my way.”
• • •
Ian looked at Violet and said, “Hand me that torque wrench.” She handed it to him and said, “Why are you replacing E’s blasters with a shoulder blaster?”
“E scanned that ship and found that the ship’s blasters are nothing more than a permanently mounted shoulder blaster.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I would think the ship blasters would be huge.”
“I agree but E tracked the wiring and discovered that the blaster’s power is determined by how much energy is sent to it. The shoulder blaster can handle a huge amount of energy. Making it larger wouldn’t really make a more powerful weapon.”
Violet shook her head, “This species is light years ahead of us technologically.”
E said, “Not really.”
They both stopped working and Ian said, “Why do you say that?”
“I’ve tracked the wiring of that ship and it is a powerful ship. However, the rea
ctors that power it aren’t as strong as the ones I use.” Ian looked at Violet and raised his eyebrows. “They also manually enter the locations they want to jump their ship. That process is quite time consuming.”
“Why do think they do it manually?”
“Ian, their computers are far behind what we’ve developed. They’re really hundreds of years behind ours. They’re far ahead of us in other technologies but they can’t come close to our computers.”
“E, are you saying that our blasters will be more powerful?”
“Energy in; energy out. Whoever has the most, wins.”
Violet smiled, “Are you saying you have the biggest…”
“Stop that.” She looked at Ian and laughed.
E said, “I guess I do.”
Even Ian started laughing.
• • •
Violet sat in Ian’s lap in the command chair and said, “Why have you delayed going back?”
“I needed to make sure the Union had time to do what I asked.”
“What did you ask them to do?”
“I’ll tell you later.” Violet tilted her head and Ian said, “I’ll tell you if you’re willing to be Queen.”
“That’s ok, tell me later.”
“I thought you’d see it my way.”
“So what do we do now?”
Ian discussed his plan and both E and Violet yelled at him. E said, “You aren’t that crazy.”
Violet said, “It appears he is!”
“It’s got to be done.”
Violet stared at him and said, “Then I go with you.”
“Oh no you aren’t.”
“Then you can drop me off. I will never leave the one…”
Ian looked at her, “The one?”
Violet took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. After a moment she said, “The one I love to go in alone ever again. If you go, I go with you or we are over.”
Ian looked at her and softly said, “There is no reason for both of us to face this risk.”
“Yes there is.” Ian raised his eyebrows. “I will not go on without you. If something happens to you I must be there. I will not make that mistake again.”
E said, “I think she means it.”
“You’re darn right I do.”
Ian looked at her and shook his head. After a long moment he said, “E, can you handle two?”
“I can.”
Ian looked at Violet and slowly nodded, “I can’t go on without you either. We’ll do this together.”
E said, “I don’t like this.”
Ian shrugged, “Can you get us in?”
“That’s not the problem; getting you out is the issue.”
“That’s good enough. You do need to find him.”
E said, “You can’t see it but I’m rolling my eyes.”
Violet laughed and Ian joined her.
• • •
Ian and Violet appeared in the women’s restroom. They looked around and opened the door. A woman was walking up and stared at them. Violet giggled and the woman shook her head. She stepped aside as the couple walked around her. They walked through the front door and moved toward a table under the outdoor canopy. A lone man was sitting at the table wearing a solid black Nebula uniform. Ian walked up behind him and said, “Do you mind if we join you?”
The Officer’s expression showed a moment’s exasperation and then he said, “If you value your life, you’ll leave now.”
“What would be the fun in that?”
The Officer suddenly realized he couldn’t detect the minds of the ones behind him. He whipped around to take the speaker’s mind and was shocked speechless. The Prince stood there and had a blaster pointed at his forehead. It took a moment for him to gather his wits and then he smiled, “I’ve never been surprised like that. I rather enjoyed it.”
“The world is full of surprises. Most of them have a way of jumping out at you.”
The Officer stared at the blaster and saw the rather attractive female with the Prince also had a blaster trained on him. He could possibly take the Prince’s mind but he wouldn’t be able to take them both before one of them fired. The Prince smiled, “You actually couldn’t take either of our minds. I want you to know that before you make the effort.”
The Officer smiled, “You sound rather certain about that.”
“Are you willing to die to find out?” Ian smiled and said, “A High Genetic is immune to that little mind trick.”
The Officer stared at the Prince and wondered if he was being honest. The Prince said, “I’ve just stopped by for a moment to discuss an issue that concerns both of us. I won’t take much of your time before we leave.”
“You mean if you leave.”
“Let’s worry about that when the time arrives, shall we. Will you talk with me?”
The Officer nodded toward the two empty chairs. He was surprised when they sat down with their backs to the front of the restaurant. The Officer saw his personal bodyguards out front and wondered how the two had gotten by them. He also wondered how he had not sensed the Prince. “You two are really are the dumbest people in this universe or I’m missing something here.”
The female said, “Oh relax. You’re really not all that.”
The Prince looked at the female and said, “Now I told you to be nice. Don’t insult our host.”
The female rolled her eyes and said, “Yes Dear.”
The Officer was absolutely astounded by their behavior. “You two are surrounded by more than a thousand of my soldiers and armored vehicles.”
The female shivered and said, “Yes, it’s exciting isn’t it?”
The Prince said, “Enough small talk.” He pulled a hand out from under the table and held out a blaster to the Officer. The Officer looked at it and the Prince said, “Take it.”
“Why?”
“I want you to tell me what you think.”
The officer took the blaster and stared at it. He manipulated it and tried to find a comfortable grip. The Prince said, “Be careful, it’s active.”
The Officer stared at the Prince and said, “You can’t be serious.”
The female said, “Oh it’s powered.”
The Prince said, “Tell me what you sense.” The Officer was still moving it around in his palm and after a moment he stopped and stared at the Prince. The Prince looked at his companion and said, “I told you he’d get it quickly.”
“Just a lucky guess.”
The Officer listened to the back and forth and said, “This was not designed to fit a human hand.”
The female said, “Ding, ding, ding, give the sadist a kewpie doll.”
The Officer’s eyes narrowed and he stared at the female for a moment and then turned back to the Prince, “Where did you get this?”
“On a planet where every living being was killed by a massive attack from space.”
“How powerful is it?”
“It will blow through a force twenty force field.”
The Officer stared at the Prince, “You’ve tested it?”
“I have.”
Suddenly they heard shouts and the Officer’s bodyguards were drawing their weapons and rushing toward the table. The Prince looked at the Officer and said, “I really don’t want to have our conversation interrupted, but I don’t like having to kill all your soldiers to continue it.”
The officer stood and yelled, “Did I summon you! You will leave here and take every soldier for three blocks around this building with you.” The officer leading the charge looked stunned and the Officer took the blaster and fired a bolt through the officer’s head vaporizing it. The beam went through the officer, shot through the armored vehicle outside the door, and went across a large lake into the water at the far shoreline, causing a huge geyser of super-heated steam. The Officer watched his troops sprint away and stared at the distant shore line. He turned around and put the blaster on the table and said, “I notice it didn’t explode the armor.”
“It punched a hol
e through it. To explode it, you should just hold the trigger and cut it in half.”
The Officer stared at the Prince and said, “What are you really doing here?”
“Before we get to that, do you see the orange button on the handle?” The Officer nodded. “Pick up the blaster and press that button.” The officer stared at the Prince with no emotion showing on his face. The female said, “If we wanted to kill you we could have shot you in the head earlier. I’m sorry we didn’t; it would have improved your appearance.”
The Officer picked up the blaster, looked at the Prince, and pressed the button. The blaster disappeared. He showed his surprise and heard the Prince say, “Hold out your hand and think weapon.” The Officer raised his arm and thought weapon and the blaster instantly appeared in his hand. He almost dropped it. He opened his hand and it disappeared. “Where does it go?”
The Prince shrugged, “I have no idea. However, you can keep it.”
The Officer stared at the Prince and said, “Why are you doing this?”
“To let you know the rebellion is over.”
The Officer leaned back and said, “Until you manage to get back to Euclid, our rebellion is far from over.”
“I’m afraid you’re wrong. A gathering was called and they authorized Euclid to elect a new Monarch. He should be crowned shortly and, once that happens, the Obelisk will activate all the others in the Union.” The Prince paused and said, “That includes the ones on the Nebula Planets.”
“There has been no gathering.”
“I authorized them to do it via teleconferencing. The vote was taken and approved the election of a new Monarch on Euclid.” The Prince smiled, “You don’t believe me?” The Officer didn’t say anything. “Contact your fleet above the planet and ask them to contact the Lead Scientist. Tell them to ask when the new King will be crowned.”
The Officer reached up and pressed the gold circle and spoke briefly. The three stared at each other and ten minutes later they heard, “Sir, the Coronation is in three days.”
The Officer stared at the two in front of him and considered trying to kill them. All of the Nebula’s efforts were wasted. Then he looked at the blasters they were holding and saw they were different from the one they had given him. The woman saw him staring and said, “These are much more powerful that the one you have.”