Nancy’s car went low, racing down streets and banking hard between buildings, the Protector’s weapons out and firing. Serge, too, kept up a continuous barrage on the trailing cars. Other cars, civilian cars, flashed past, their automatic controls guiding them to narrow misses.
Flash! A close shot from a heavy weapon hit a nearby building. Pieces of the building exploded outward, narrowly missing Nancy’s car. She wasn’t certain, but she thought one of the cars chasing them might have hit some of the debris. Bang! A hit ricocheted off her car, tossing it onto its side. Her driver, a Great Cat, fought the controls and pulled hard to the right between two buildings. The pursuing car could not make the turn and was lost to sight, but another car pulled into position.
Her driver pulled up in a quick swoop, the trailing car flashing past in a heartbeat. The Protectors all fired from close range, and two assassins slumped in their seats. The heavy weapon went silent.
The second pursuer appeared from nowhere, firing rapidly. Nancy’s car stopped suddenly, just stopped in mid-air. It was only for a moment, but it was a long, productive moment. The pursuer followed suit, and when it did, the Protectors were ready. Several occupants, including the gunner and the driver went down, then her car sprinted away.
The gunner of the first pursuer had been replaced. It came down from above, directly in front of them. Nancy’s driver pulled hard in a sharp left turn and lost him. Tam issued instructions into her communicator, then gave the driver a thumbs-up. The driver roared his approval and turned hard around another corner, working his way toward a particular intersection on the northwest quadrant of the city. Both pursuers fell into position, one above and one behind Nancy’s car. Her driver jittered sideways and up and down doing his best to avoid an avalanche of shots, then he suddenly reduced speed and pulled up, putting his car precisely between the two attackers. Shots from the second attacker impacted the first.
The firing from behind stopped.
He inched up a little higher, and suddenly both cars were on a level. The Protectors didn’t wait. They opened up hard, and it appeared to Nancy that all occupants of the pursuer, now the pursued, died instantly. The car spun away out of control and crashed into a busy intersection.
Another hard corner, then another and another. One pursuer held on relentlessly, though the Great Cat never held steady enough for it to get a good shot. Glancing blows staggered the car, but it was armored and withstood the hits.
Tam spoke into her communicator again, and this time she kept up a running, one-sided conversation. Suddenly, the car rounded a corner and swooped upward, stopping against the side of a building like a fly. The pursuer rounded the same corner and heavy guns opened up from below. The car disintegrated in mid-air.
Nancy’s car held its position. Minutes later the second car of Protectors whooshed to a stop right beside them. Both of its pursuers disintegrated as they crossed the intersection, one simply exploding while the other spun away into the side of a building.
Tam examined each occupant, then let her gaze go back and forth between Nancy and Serge. The car was still hovering an inch from the building, seemingly attached with its nose pointed straight up. The positioning didn’t seem to bother Tam at all.
“Still want to hold the press conference?” she asked them.
Serge looked to Nancy, then back to Tam. “My people will demand explanations. We don’t see things like this every day. If you think it’s safe, now would be a good time.”
Nancy wasn’t so certain. “Was this the major, one-shot effort you figured they’d make to take me out?”
“It is.”
“Then we’d better notify Governor Seeton. The Rebels don’t know if I’m alive or dead, but they have no reason to delay reprisal against Parsons’ World if that is their intention.” She peered hard into Tam’s eyes. “Should I be dead or alive?”
Her lips lifted into her equivalent of a smile. “Well spoken, Your Majesty. For once, we’re in control. Let’s keep them wondering. We might want you dead for a while, but we might want to resurrect you later.”
Nancy turned to Serge. “I’m going back. Would you like a lift?”
“I can’t exactly get out. Can I hire your driver? Permanently?”
* * * * *
A few days later squadrons of Rebel ships dropped from hyperspace all around the system. Nancy joined Serge and his team of planners in his office.
“Your forces will not be here in time to stop them,” he said. “I’m getting my guys ready to meet them head on and it won’t be pretty. We’re good, but we’re not effective against cruisers. Our strategy has always been to run.”
“How much time do you need?”
“I’ve talked with Chandrajuski over the hypercom. He’s sending his reserves - they’ll be here in two weeks. The rest of them are tied up. They’ll be here a week later.”
“If I buy you two weeks, will that help?”
“Depends on what the Rebels do during that two weeks.”
She turned to Tam. “It’s time to resurrect me. We need to do it in a hospital.”
* * * * *
Her voice and video went out to the oncoming fleet, taking hours to cross the abyss. Her body was encased in a tank with only her head showing.
“I am Ellandra of the Chosen. I am your Queen. I will bargain with you for Parsons’ World. My value to Struthers far outweighs the value of Parsons’ World to him. I will surrender myself to you if you agree to leave them alone. You will have to halt your inward progress if you wish to continue discussion, but know this: if you continue inbound, I will escape. You know the capabilities of my ships. You will not stop me. If you halt, I will come to you, give myself up to you.”
She came out of the tank, a tank which had not even been filled. A full day passed before a response arrived.
“We thought you dead. Sorry, but we do not believe you. The Queen would never give herself up for one small, insignificant system.”
She went back into the tank before responding. “You do not believe me? I am Ellandra of the Chosen. You know very well that as a Chosen I cannot lie. I tell you truthfully as a Chosen that I am not well. I might not survive, but then again, I might. What favors will Struthers shower upon the one who brings me to him?”
More hours elapsed, then the response. “The Chosen cannot lie, that is true. I will accept your surrender.” A set of coordinates was issued.
“I will come, but I cannot move at the moment. You will observe a small ship departing for those coordinates within three days. I will be aboard that ship. I give you my word as Chosen.”
The attacking fleet stopped its inbound progress, though a lot of realignments took place. Nancy left aboard a trader three days later. Serge saw her off, and to her astonishment she saw tears in his eyes.
“Parsons’ World might not survive, but if it does, you will always be welcome here,” he said. “We will never forget what you have done.”
She reached a hand out to his shoulder. “Our rallying cry has been, ‘We give all that we are. We do it for our children and for our children’s children.’ You, and through you the people of Parsons’ World have given all that they are. I thank you in the Queen’s name.”
Serge shook his head. “You are her, Nancy Shaw. You have me believing, and you have a whole fleet of Rebels believing. When you return, we will thank you in the appropriate manner.”
She shook her head. “I’m from Earth. I ask only that Parsons’ World help save my home. Together we will share in whatever the future brings. My part in this is nearly done. Not so, the part of Admiral Trexler. Give him my best when you see him, will you?”
A smile lit Serge’s face. He stroked his goatee as he considered her request. “I will do that, and I might do more. He’s a thick-headed one when it comes to love, isn’t he.”
Her face lit in a smile of her own. “He is that, but he is a warrior to the bone. He will save your people, Serge. Just wait and see.”
Her trader was in no
hurry, and it would use every minute of two weeks to reach the coordinates specified by the Rebels. No one knew if there were Chessori aboard the attacking fleet, but at the end of the two weeks a significant number of Trexler’s ships had snuck into the system, fast-shipping toward Parsons’ World with their beacons off, so it didn’t matter.
Nancy’s ship approached the specified coordinates, and a Rebel cruiser held there waiting to take her aboard. She opened a line to the cruiser.
“Just slip into the hangar bay nice and gentle,” the Rebel admiral said.
“Sorry, Admiral. I’ve changed my mind.”
The astonished look on his face was worth every minute of the tension she’d been living under. “What? You have given your word as a Chosen.”
“Which would mean something if I was really a Chosen. Sadly, I’m not.”
“You’re an imposter?”
“An imposter and a liar. Good day, Admiral.”
Her trader skipped into hyperspace, gone in the flash of an eye. The Rebel fleet started inbound, and they were allowed to continue for a full week. Then, to their amazement, hundreds of beacons began broadcasting from near Parsons’ World, and they were not trader beacons, they were fighting ships.
A day later, a thousand beacons illuminated out near the fringes of the system. They disappeared, but an hour later they reappeared in the midst of the Rebel fleet. Admiral Trexler’s fleet had merged with the attacking Rebels.
He made a general broadcast, not certain which ship was in charge among the Rebels. “You are free to surrender, or you can stay and fight. The choice is yours. You know what has become of your brothers who stayed to fight us. Do you want to join them?”
A tightbeam transmission came into his operations center. “Who are you?” the Rebel commander demanded to know.
“The last of the Queen’s warriors you will ever set eyes on if you decide to fight. What is your decision, sir?”
The man sagged, his head shaking from side to side. “She tricked me.”
“Who tricked you?”
“The one who would be Queen. She never was, was she?”
Trexler knew whom he meant. “She’s a queen in her own way, but she is not the Queen, nor is she a Chosen. Your answer, sir?”
“I surrender. My heart was never in this anyway.”
Trexler brightened. “Sir Chandrajuski accepts your surrender. Do you have any Chessori aboard?”
“No. To him, I will gladly surrender. Is he here?”
“Not yet, but he will be. Gather your ships together and report to these coordinates.” Trexler sent the coordinates, then added, “Anyone who selects the wrong course is fair game. Let your men know.”
* * * * *
Serge Parsons watched in amazement from his own ship as Rebel squadrons, almost all of them, headed toward the coordinates specified by Trexler. The few that chose a different course never made it out of the system.
Weeks later, he called Trexler on a tightbeam. “Do you have time for a drink?” he asked.
“Actually, I do, but just a quick one.”
Serge grinned. A few hours later, Trexler shuttled down to the surface and the two of them headed toward Serge’s favorite bar. Serge lifted a glass to Trexler. “Did you know that Mike Carver and I met privately in this very place?”
“No, though I would imagine you’ve had lots of meetings with him.”
“He saved the Queen, and he’s somewhere out there saving the Empire as we speak. I’m not sure what you and Nancy are doing, but you both saved Parsons’ World. Thank you.”
“Well, we both know what you’re doing on Earth. Your people are making a difference, a critical difference. I guess we’re even.”
Serge stared into his glass, twirling it so that the light reflected off its contents. Then his gaze rose to meet Trexler’s. “We’re doing more than you know. Sir Mike set the stage, but his vision was limited. Yours probably is, as well. After all, you’re pretty new to this galactic travel stuff.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Say what’s on your mind.”
“My vision is not limited. The Chessori are our real enemy, and I’m going to help you carry this war to them.”
Trexler’s brow furrowed. “How? You can’t fight the scree.”
“Nope. Only you can do that, but I can give you better tools. We’re working on a new drive, and we’re doing it right under your noses. We’ll be testing the concept in orbit soon, and we’ll be testing the real thing in a year or two. If it works, you’ll have a new drive that is invisible to the Chessori.” He waited, giving Trexler time to think about new drives, then finished his thought. “What are you going to do with these new drives?”
Trexler stared at him. He had only given cursory consideration as to how he was going to go after the Chessori, and he did not have a good answer.
Serge raised a hand, waving it from side to side with a scowl on his face. “I know. Your focus is Triton at the moment, but you’re the senior officer out here. It’s time you thought beyond that. My people are free and we want to stay that way. We need to know that you have a plan to deal with the Chessori.”
“Chandrajuski is the senior officer.”
Serge leaned toward him. “Don’t be a diplomat with me. It doesn’t work. Mike and I did talk, a lot. He told me how you described the Empire crews as policemen, not warriors. I happen to know you’re right, and I know who’s been beating the glzba out of them. It’s you.”
Trexler leaned back in his seat, contemplating. Serge was right. He did need to think beyond Triton, though taking that step was a difficult leap for him and it could not become his overriding concern. Not yet. Earth had a bunch of problems that demanded attention, and the Queen’s speech at Triton was everyone’s first priority.
But the Chessori! How he wanted to take the battle to them. Because of the scree, Earth would lead that fight. That meant him. How would he do it?
His gaze lifted to Serge. “You’re right. I have to look farther than everyone else. I will.”
“I can’t say how soon these new drives will be ready, but I think that eventually you will have that capability. That’s Parsons’ World’s piece of the pie, an expensive piece of pie. I don’t want it wasted.”
Trexler nodded. “You’ve set me on the path. I won’t let you down.”
“If you let me down, you’ve let down the whole Empire, Ray. Most of them don’t even know.”
“Will they ever know what you’ve done?”
“Not if I can help it. By the way, you should know it was Nancy Shaw’s idea to delay the Rebels.”
Trexler’s eyebrows rose. “You’re kidding!”
Serge shook his head. “I’ve always prided myself on my creativity, but I was getting ready to meet them head on. It would have been a disaster. Parsons’ World has a new friend.”
“I’m starting to think you’ll have to stand in line.”
Ellie
Chapter 20
Ellie woke up and stretched, greeting yet another new day aboard ship. >Good morning, Cassandra.<
>Good morning, Your Majesty.<
>Your Majesty, humph. You’re in good form this morning.<
>I am, thank you. Today we see Otis again.<
>What I really want is breakfast in bed and a long, hot bath.<
>All you have to do is ask.<
She frowned. >Too soon. Maybe when the war is over. It’s not exactly the impression I want to send of a warrior queen - one who gets waited on hand and foot. You know, I don’t even know if a queen has ever personally visited the Great Cats on Brodor.<
>Then shame on them. It’s high time.<
Ellie smiled as she got out of bed. >That it is.<
* * * * *
Otis stared at her image on the tightbeam. “Your Majesty. Why are you here?”
“Reviewing my troops. There’s a war going on, or had you forgotten?”
His lips lifted to display the toothy grin she was so fond of. “So you’re back to work.
Welcome! Do you have any idea what we’re doing?”
“I just came from Seeton. I have a general idea.”
“I’ll meet you when you land.” He peered hard into her eyes. “You will be the first Queen to ever set foot on Brodor. Will you stay long enough for me to arrange a celebration?”
“I have a lot to do. So do you. Let’s think about it.”
He met her shuttle and boarded, then instructed the pilot where to take them. It wasn’t far. Passenger view screens came alive, and Ellie gasped as she looked down on the enormous construction site.
“Recognize it?” Otis asked.
“I do. It’s an outline of the palace complex on Triton. I thought our plan was to secure the Senate Chamber?”
“That’s the job you gave us, but Josh changed it. He’s decided he has to secure the whole plateau, and I concur. He and Waverly are here.”
She stared in wonder at the scene below. A mother ship, an enormous cargo ship, sat just outside the perimeter of the imaginary plateau, a steady stream of vehicles carrying construction materials to and from the ship. Workers swarmed over structures that would never be more than mere shells of the real thing.
“Where have all the resources come from?”
“Seeton, Your Majesty. Didn’t he tell you?”
“He inferred, but I had no idea of the scale.”
“He has spared nothing. You should know that the ship, its crew, and all the construction workers have agreed to remain isolated out in space until our mission is complete.”
The shuttle landed in the tall grass near the mother ship. Josh and Waverly were waiting as Ellie stepped onto the field. She greeted each of them warmly.
Waverly looked like he needed a bath and a shave, and she suspected she knew the reason why. “You’ve been spending time with Otis, I see.”
Voice of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book Three) Page 35