Captives of the Kratzen (Hearts in Orbit)

by S. C. Mitchell

  Libby had scoffed at the last council meeting. “We can’t move forward if you are always looking behind, you old fools.”

  She’d pulled a few of the other councilors to her side through smart compromises and shrewd dealings.

  She knew she wouldn’t be able to remake her society overnight, but little by little, things were changing.

  “Princess Christina.” Pavel rose from his chair and came around his desk.

  A chill coursed through Tina’s gut. He rarely stood up when she came to his office to meet with him. “What?”

  His eyes narrowed. Emotion played across his expression. But which emotion. Sorrow? Pity? He was good enough at hiding what he didn’t want people to see.

  She was no longer under any delusions. This wasn’t the noble guard she’d once thought him. He was a crafty politician. A good man to have on your side, but a cunning one to have against you.

  She still wasn’t sure where she stood with him. She’d championed his causes when she could get behind them. She didn’t consider him an enemy, though they didn’t always see eye-to-eye.

  “We have received word from Caprica.”

  Carter.

  “You’re friend has suffered some kind of relapse. It is not good.”

  A knot tightened in her stomach. “I have to go to him.”

  “It would do you no good. He’s been placed in quarantine because of possible contamination to other patients in the facility.”

  Her heart beat in her ears. She gasped for a breath as indecision swam in her head. “Still, I should go.”

  “You are needed here. We have delicate negotiations underway with House Patelle.” Pavel inclined his head toward her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I have dispatched a man to check on his condition. I expect to hear more soon. I just wanted you to be prepared.”

  She forced her breath to calm.

  Pavel was right. She couldn’t leave right now. Negotiations, commerce disputes, a whole range of political issues to deal with.

  Ugh!

  But Carter would be fine. He had the best doctors in the galaxy looking after him.

  And, he was Carter.

  Chapter 23

  “I need some time to consider my options.” Tina struggled to keep her tone even and her manner serene.

  Inside, anger and frustration boiled.

  How could he?

  How dare he?

  She pushed her chair back from the conference table, nodding to Simon, the new reigning monarch of House Patelle. Energetic, charismatic, and undeniably handsome, Simon had all the house maids panting, including young Antigua, Libby’s granddaughter. He’d been congenial and engaging, as they discussed alliances and treaties that would benefit both realms.

  Yes, he’d flirted as well, but Tina hadn’t reciprocated. She’d diplomatically brought discussions back to the tasks at hand. Then, Simon let slip that Pavel was the one that suggested to him the possibility of marriage to Tina.

  “I would certainly be open to that. You would make a beautiful queen to preside over both our houses.”

  Damn Pavel.

  He’d known her position on that topic. She’d made it quite clear she was planning on marrying Carter.

  Gods, Carter. Her mind whirled with worry.

  How was he doing? Had he really relapsed? Pavel’s man hadn’t reported back.

  She hated the time they’d had to spend apart. Once she got him well, and here, she planned on making sure they never parted again. Preparations were already underway to crown her queen. Pavel assured her the coronation was only weeks away. And that was for propriety’s sake. Technically she was already queen in everything but name. She should be able to do whatever she wanted.

  No. She had to stop thinking that way. The power she wielded was seductive. She was here to serve her people, not the other way round. Quendor had more than its share of tyrants. The past few weeks had been eye-opening. Her view of the planet through the eyes of a six-year-old, cloistered princess had been heavily skewed.

  With slow, measured step, she exited the council room, leaving Simon and Pavel to discuss details she didn’t need to be a part of.

  She needed air, and some space.

  For the most part, Quendor remained a misogynistic, bigoted world. A throwback to a savage, much less civilized age. All its grandeur couldn’t cover the ugly underbelly of snobbery, particularly in the ruling aristocracy. Could she really do anything about it?

  Well, there had been glimmers of hope. Libby and her family and friends. People who’d actually gone off world, seen a greater galaxy, and absorbed different ways of thinking. More of them were coming back to Quendor every day.

  If she persevered, maybe she could make Quendor a better place. If not the whole planet, at least she could push the Kingdom of House la Cross into the present.

  Wandering took her back to her family quarters and her father’s study. The last place she’d seen him.

  Tall, dark, commanding, her father had been her hero. Perfect. Pristine. How had everything fallen apart?

  To the secret passage, my little princess. Hide and be safe. I will deal with this.

  She’d run to the hidden panel, but when it slid open, there were men behind it. Bad men.

  One had grabbed her up while the others aimed their blasters at her father.

  Fenrus. Where is Captain Fenrus? His last words echoed in her mind.

  Pavel hadn’t come. Her father, her hero, had been gunned down.

  Dampness rimmed her eyes. “Father.”

  All the hurt returned. Everything she’d had to bury that day to survive among the brutish pirates.

  She faced the panel, her hand hovering over the hidden button that would open the access to the secret passage. Her stomach knotted. Certainly there’d be no one there now. The passage led down to the escape ships two levels below. Down to where Pavel had said he’d been trapped with the bulk of the guard during the attack. They’d been so close. Why couldn’t history be different? Why couldn’t they have saved her father? Why did people have to die?

  Tears ran freely now down her cheeks. She pulled her hand away from the button. She couldn’t open the panel. Didn’t want to open any more old wounds.

  Even as Queen of House la Cross, she couldn’t undo the past. But she sure as hell could work to make the future better.

  Then the panel slid open all on its own. Dark figures filled the passageway. Who? How? Had the pirates come back?

  “Christina?” The woman’s voice triggered good feelings. Happy memories. Hours spent in play and friendship.

  A familiar visage came into view in the wan lighting of the corridor. Her face had aged. Of course it would have, but she was still Princess Kathryn la Cross, Tina’s cousin.

  “Kathryn? Is it really you?” Or were ghosts haunting the palace? She’d been told no other royals from House la Cross had survived.

  Strong arms hugged her. “Oh, Christina. Christina. You’re all grown up.”

  A second figure moved around them, blaster drawn.

  “Are we safe here?” The hushed, masculine tone caused Tina to pull back.

  “Why would we not be safe?”

  Kathryn held her at arm’s length, capturing her gaze. “Where is Pavel Fenrus?”

  ~ ~ ~

  Tina pulled her blaster from the charger unit, and holstered it at her side. But even its weight at her hip gave her scant comfort from the chill in her gut.

  “When word got around that Pavel had found you and brought you back, I knew I had to come to you.” Kathryn paced as Tina filled a travel bag with her things.

  The gods knew when she’d get back for the rest of her stuff . . . if ever.

  Betrayal, on a level she’d never imagined. Kathry
n had confirmed Tina’s greatest fears.

  “Pavel let the pirates in?” She was having trouble processing that part of Kathryn’s story.

  Kathryn nodded. “They promised him the House rulership if he let them through the defenses. They didn’t tell him they planned to loot everything of value first. He was duped, which still doesn’t justify his betrayal.”

  Tanis ban Orman stood at Tina’s bedroom door, blaster at the ready as he scanned the corridor for any movement. “When we discovered his betrayal, some of the guards and I broke off and tried to fight our way back to your father’s side, but we arrived too late. We were able to save Kathryn and make our escape.”

  Tina remembered Tanis.

  The guardsman had been young and brash, constantly flirting with Kathryn to his own detriment, often professing feelings for her. If he’d made Kathryn a priority, he certainly couldn’t be faulted.

  “We fled off planet, living as refugees on Neptarian 3. When we heard the pirates were gone from Quendor, we returned to find Pavel sitting on the throne of House la Cross. Kathryn tried to assert her right to the throne, and he seemed to acquiesce, only to betray her and try to have her killed. We had to flee the palace.”

  Kathryn stopped pacing and confronted Tina. “That’s why, when I heard you’d returned, I had to come warn you. You’re in danger here.”

  “But he came looking for me. I didn’t even want the throne. Why would he do that?” She would have happily stayed away from this whole mess.

  “Because word of you, and your heroic exploits with the crew of The Starboard Mist filtered back here before he could use his propaganda network to discredit you as he did me. The people knew you were the real and rightful heir to the throne. They petitioned to have him bring you back.”

  She should have suspected something was amiss. As she shouldered her pack, she moved to the House intercom on the wall.

  She reached to engage the system, but Tanis grabbed her wrist firmly. “You can trust no one here.”

  She shook her head. “There are some I trust, and I refuse to leave them behind.”

  She shook off his hold and hit the button. Her voice echoed through the palace. “Libby Tipton, please come to my quarters. I need to discuss something with you. And have your granddaughter bring me up a sedative.”

  If Pavel thought she was sleeping, they’d have more time to get away.

  ~ ~ ~

  Libby and Antigua followed Tina into the secret passageway. Kathryn and Tanis led them down and through the hanger level, avoiding guards. Thank goodness they had their own transport vehicle hidden in a copse of trees outside the palace grounds. Pavel had men watching all of the House la Cross vehicles.

  Libby took hold of her upper arm and sidled up close as they hurried toward the landsled. “So she really is your cousin, Kathryn la Cross? We’d been told otherwise.”

  Pavel’s propaganda network, hard at work.

  Cunning, conniving bastard.

  She should have demanded to be flown back to Carter. She knew now she couldn’t trust anything Pavel told her.

  Carter had been getting stronger every day when she left him. Had he actually relapsed? Was he sick at all? If Tina had gone to him when she wanted to, she’d know for sure.

  Libby huffed, her expression hardening. “Some of us town’s folk never did fully trust Captain Fenrus when he came out of hiding to take the throne, claiming he was holding the House ready for any survivors of the blood. He lorded it over us like he deserved it. But he’s got armed guards backing him, and a lot of folk bought into his stories of wanting to bring back the glory of Quendor. He’s a slither-skin, no doubt about that.”

  “Where are we going?” Antigua held a blaster like she knew how to use one.

  For a fifteen-year-old, the girl had a good head on her shoulders.

  Tanis opened the door at the other end of the secret passageway, carefully scanning before motioning them forward into the hanger deck. “We’ve established a base camp in the Zenafield Swamps.”

  “Why there?” Tina knew she should probably wait until they were away before asking too many questions. Still, curiosity niggled at her. She wanted to hear her cousin’s story, even if it was only a snippet at a time.

  Tanis pulled open the door to a medium land sled. “It’s a good place to hide a large group of refugees and loyalists without being detected. Our rebellion has been brewing quite a while. You’re appearance simply stepped up our timeline.

  ~ ~ ~

  A thriving community hid among the falonion trees and mossy ferns of Zenafield Swamps. Zenafield was the perfect place to hide just about anything. Technically a part of three different kingdoms, but land none of them cared to claim.

  “Who are all these people?” Tina scanned the settlement. Industry and activity. Temporary plastoid buildings had been augmented into semi-permanent structures. Vegetation crept up the sides. They’d been here a while.

  Kathryn strode with her through the encampment. “The disenfranchised, refugees, those without a House. We accept all . . . well, most, anyway. We do try to limit the criminal element.”

  One thing she didn’t see was any craft capable of starflight. “Do you have any way to get off planet?”

  She sorely wanted to go see Carter. Make sure he was okay.

  Shaking her head, Kathryn opened the door to one of the buildings. “The occasional trader, but nothing we can count on. We’re not interested in leaving. We want to stay here. Don’t you?”

  Did she? “I have this friend. He’s sick. I wanted to check on him.”

  “Ah. Okay.” Kathryn led her through the entry room and down a corridor to a darkened, back room. Lights flickered on old fashioned computer monitors.

  She sat down in front of one of the data terminals and bio-accessed the interface. “We had a second part to our mission to the palace. Before we came looking for you, we dropped a decryptor into Pavel’s messaging system. I’m hoping we can now access his mailpod.”

  “That’s good. I sure as hell would like to know what he’s up to.”

  Data flew past on the monitor, but Tina couldn’t make any sense of it. Some kind of access program. Probably a connection to that decryptor Kathryn said they’d planted.

  Kathryn grunted. “Thank the galactic gods you were found and the people believe you the legitimate heir to the throne. Word of you came through a reliable source and spread planet-wide before Pavel could refute it. You’re a galactic hero for helping defeat the pirates here in the Dark Nebulan sector. Your seat on the world council will be legitimate as long as you stay single.

  “Single? What does that have to do with it? Pavel kept trying to marry me off.”

  Kathryn chuckled. “He knew he would eventually lose control of you. If he married you off to a blood from another House, the Houses would merge under the new king. You would lose all power.”

  “What? That’s a thing here?” So much she hadn’t understood of her own culture.

  Harrumphing, Kathryn continued to process data. “Males in charge of everything? Oh yeah. Just one more thing we’re planning to change, if we can take power.”

  “So this rebellion isn’t only against House la Cross?”

  “It’s planetwide. Those of us who were forced off planet learned how the galaxy works. We’ve seen equality, true representative government. I know we’ll have to move slowly, make compromises, there’s still a lot of the old guard in charge, but change can come here, if we can unseat them from power and put some new blood on the thrones of Quendor. That’s why you’re so important.”

  At least this rebellion showed signs of something she could get behind. “You should be on the throne of House la Cross. What happened?”

  Kathryn sighed. “I made the mistake of going to Pavel first to claim the throne of Hou
se la Cross. He’d made it sound like he was legitimately looking for an heir of the blood. While he kept Tanis and I busy, he started the rumors that I was falsely claiming my heritage. His propaganda network is insidious. Under the guise of helping me, he destroyed my reputation. The people of the kingdom don’t believe I am Kathryn la Cross.”

  “Can this rebellion put you on the throne by force?” Civil war would be a messy business.

  Shaking her head, Kathryn continued to type into the data console. “We’ve been trying to implement a political movement to change the governmental structure of the whole planet from within the system. Why should a few ruling Houses control everything? The people should all have a voice.”

  “So it doesn’t matter who’s on the thrones.” That would be good. She and Carter could go anywhere. She’d be free of this whole mess.

  Another shake of Kathryn’s head. “Oh it matters. We need allies in positions of power if we’re ever to execute change here. Right now we need you on the throne of House la Cross more than ever.”

  Damn.

  But it made sense.

  Kathryn’s expression brightened. “I’m in. We’ve accessed Pavel’s mailpod.”

  A listing of mailposts scrolled up the viewscreen.

  “Here’s a mailpost off-planet . . . hmmm. Oh.” Kathryn stiffened in her chair. “Is your friend’s name Carter Arcturus?”

  A knot twisted in Tina’s stomach. “Yes.”

  “Pavel has ordered him executed.”

  Chapter 24

  Tina slapped her palm down on the conference table. “I need a starship. Any starship. And a pilot, if possible.”

  She’d figure out how to fly it if she had to.

  Need drove her. Right now she needed to get to Carter before Pavel’s agent finished the job he’d been sent to do. She refused to believe Carter was already gone.