"Is anyone hurt?" Sasha wheezed, still panting heavily. Regalia and Tiana looked up, both dazed, but neither showing signs of inhaling the fatal gas. On the far side of the table, Knight Admiral Bhool kneeled, back expanding with every breath, over the convulsing body of Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil, foam showing on her lips and eyes rolled back into her head.
"I was too slow...we can save her if we hurry." Knight Admiral Bhool's voice was throaty as she forced a rolled up black glove into the younger woman's clenching jaw.
"I'd say call for your Guards, Your Grace, but I am afraid that we may have a bigger problem..." Sasha thought the same thing as the shock began to fade.
"Why would he do this...I don't understand!" Tiana half-shouted, clinging to her and Regalia. Sasha tried to move into a sitting position, another sudden realization taking her.
"Vin! Who formed my Guards? Wasn't it handled by my father?" Fear overtook her, already knowing the answer that would come, and realizing, too late, that she should have asked this question as soon as she left Planet Tidelia.
"King Johan ordered the creation of the Alutia Guard from the existing populous of the Alutia Duchy. Duke Zehman handled the logistics of the creation." Knight Admiral Bhool hissed and Tiana couldn't contain a gasp of horror. Sasha cringed, feeling horrified at her near fatal mistake. She looked at the still convulsing form of Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil and thought it may still be...how could she have let this happen?
"I think that narrows who is responsible..." Knight Admiral Bhool spoke, wiping Lia'Sil's lips clean of vomit.
"Vin, send a message to Flight Captain Jeb'Tol and the rest of the crew, tell them to arm his men and take any of my Guards into custody." Sasha's voice had lost all emotion.
"Actually......Vin, can you tell me which guards are not from the Hulk'Zif Duchy?" Sasha felt herself falling further into despair as she spoke. How could she have missed this? How could she have put her people in danger? She was the one at fault...and she knew it.
"Knight Captain Seb'Losh was appointed by His Royal Majesty, Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil and Guard-Private Usa'Pol were recruited from Don'Alutia, Capital of the Alutia Duchy, by Knight Captain Seb'Losh. The remainder of the Alutia Guard hails from locations that are still part of the Hulk'Zif Duchy and were appointed by a representative of Duke Zehman." Her head dropped as the monotone voice delivered the names of her allies. One she'd banished, another was lying on the floor in the process of dying, and the third was more than likely surrounded by enemies...already dead. She sat silent as everyone looked at her, waiting for her next move. But she didn't look up, just continued to stare at the floor, blank faced, tumbling further into her grief and despair.
The slap came suddenly, and painfully, bringing her mind back to the present. She looked up into the teary eyes of her lady-in-waiting and best friend, moving a trembling hand to her throbbing cheek.
"What are you doing! Lia'Sil is dying and all you can do is stare at the floor!" Tiana's word struck her heart. It may be her fault, but this wasn't the time to fall into despair...everyone was counting on her. Tiana grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her violently. Sasha was about to respond when shouts and laser arc fire broke through the silence. She froze, her fears realized as the battle had begun in the outside hallway.
"The crew, as well as Guard-Private Usa'Pol, have been informed of the situation. Guard-Private Usa'Pol is at the door and requires assistance." said Vin in its monotone voice, causing her mind to throw off the last remnants of despair. Sasha had almost forgotten her initial order to Vin to warn the crew, and it appeared it took the initiative to warn Guard-Private Usa'Pol as well.
Knight Admiral Bhool moved to the door at a near sprint when Vin stated who was in the hallway. Sasha took a deep breath, knowing she needed to fix this ...she needed to act...and rushed after her, picking up Lia'Sil's laser arc and ignoring the screams from behind.
The hallway was carnage, filled with laser arc fire and the smell of ozone mixed with burning flesh. Hiding in the doorway across the hall stood Guard-Private Usa'Pol, bloody, but still in one piece. On the floor were the remains of two of Sasha's young servants, so charred that it was impossible to tell who. Sasha turned away as she felt her dinner rise at the horrid sight. Knight Admiral Bhool leaned out of the doorway, fired a laser bolt, and looked at Sasha as she twisted back into cover, laser bolts flying past in response.
"There are at least four in the doorways down the hall and two at the entrance to the guard quarters. Is there any other way out of your apartments besides the way we came in?" Sasha wiped her mouth clean and closed her eyes, trying to recall the image of the starship she'd been shown when she first arrived onboard.
"No, it was designed so anyone that wanted to get to me had to go through the guard quarters." Knight Admiral Bhool cursed, leaning out quickly and shooting another laser bolt down the hallway, a muffled shout returned in response.
"Three in the doorways..." The Knight Admiral showed a frightening smirk that said it all. Sasha looked over her shoulder, checking on her ladies, and seeing them attempting to break the dining furniture, apparently in an effort to build a makeshift stretcher to carry the now silent Lia'Sil.
"Where is Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil?" Usa'Pol asked, her voice hoarse, from the adjacent doorway as a laser bolt smashed into the wall behind Sasha, blasting debris into her hastily covered face.
"Neural Gas, she's bad...but she'll live if we can get her to medical...quickly!" the Knight Admiral shouted as she leaned out and fired two quick laser bolts in response. Additional shouts returned, but it appeared she was unlucky, only grazing one. Guard-Private Usa'Pol leaned out and fired a laser bolt of her own and quickly leaned back with a muffled grunt as a return bolt caught the edge of her doorway, sending debris into her face.
"I don't know what's going on, but if Vin hadn't warned me when it did..." She looked at Sasha as her voice trailed off.
"I'm glad you're alright...Your Grace, but... it looks like I may be the last of your loyal guards, the rest are attempting to capture the ship." The disbelief in her voice as she stated the last words were very clear. Sasha looked back at her friends, both crying now, giving up on their futile attempt at constructing a stretcher. She had to save them...but how? They were trapped in her apartments by a design that was meant to protect them.
To her own surprise, she leaned out and fired a quick bolt with her laser arc, immediately being pushed back by the Knight Admiral as the response came in the form of the shuttle shaking violently and a loud boom from the opposite end of the hall. Dust and smoke quickly filled the corridor, making it difficult to see more than a meter in either direction. Suddenly someone approached from behind and she turned, raising her laser arc. Knight Admiral Bhool grabbed her arm, removing the unsteady weapon from her grasp as Sasha heard a muted conversation. Two more men brushed past her and she could finally make out their jumpsuits in the clear air of the dining hall...they were members of the crew. After a brief discussion, Tiana and Regalia joined her, grabbing the back of her dress, both obviously terrified.
"When we start shooting run back towards your bedchamber, there should be a crewmember waiting who will help you down to safety." Knight Admiral Bhool had a kind look on her face, barely visible in the dust and smoke. Sasha looked up into her eyes and was suddenly scared that she may lose her important friend...and ally.
"We will be right behind you...Your Grace." The Knight Admiral must have seen the concern in her eyes. Sasha nodded then looked to the two young girls trembling behind her, grabbing a hand of each.
"Run and don't stop, don't look back!" Sasha yelled to them before turning back to the Knight Admiral, nodding that she was ready.
The Knight Admiral leaned out and began firing as Guard-Private Usa’Pol did the same. Sasha started sprinting down the main hall of her apartments, pulling her two ladies behind her. After a few steps a laser bolt struck the wall next to her, causing her to stumble and squint against the flying chunks of debris. She tighte
ned her grip on her now sobbing ladies-in-waiting as she continued to pick up speed.
She knew the way to her bedroom, even through the thick dust and smoke, and after just a few seconds, burst through the door, almost falling down a giant hole a few meters in. An older man, with long white hair, in a dark red jumpsuit, was squatting to the side of her bed, laser arc raised in her direction. His eyes registered who she was almost immediately and he let his arm fall, rising quickly with a stiff salute.
"Your Grace, this is an honor. I'm Senior Deck Engineer Tho'Mos, I'll lower you down first." He started reaching for her but she pulled back, pointing to Regalia and Tiana.
"Them first...I will go last." Surprised, but raising no objection, Tho'Mos grabbed the crying Regalia and lowered her down the hole as gently as he could. Tiana followed suit with a unique squeak that felt out of place in the current situation. Sasha then grabbed Tho'Mos's arms and let herself be lowered down to the two waiting crewmen. She thanked them as they bowed with respect and moved off to the side. Sasha took a quick look around, seeing PDU workstations lining the walls and figured she was in a part of engineering. The two crewmen looked at each other than to the Sasha.
"Th..They're waiting for you, Your Grace...Through that door." The crewman who had built up the courage to speak pointed to the door that Sasha figured led to the hanger...and safety.
"I will wait, three of my companions should be coming shortly...I will be here to greet them." The men once again looked at each other, but instead of raising any argument, just shrugged. Sasha moved away from the pile of debris, to a clear area off to the side, standing with arms crossed, trying to ignore the small squeaks of concern rising from Terra.
A few minutes passed before a loud shout floated down from above, the two crewmen suddenly reached up too grab the legs of the unconscious Lia'Sil, who was slowly lowered, still looking deathly pale. But to Sasha relief, her chest was still moving, if only barely...she was still breathing. Two more crewmen quickly followed and Sasha held herself back as they carried Lia'Sil out the doorway, to the hanger...she had to wait for the rest.
More time passed and the sounds of laser arc fire and shouting broke the uncomfortable silence, flowing from the hole above. Sasha gasped, holding back a scream, as a crewmen fell down the hole head first. The smell of charred flesh filled the air as smoke poured from gaping wound in the man's chest. The two crewmen quickly pulled him away, seeing there was nothing they could do, closed his empty eyes and went back to looking up the hole. Another shout preceded the sound of laser bolts echoing down the hole, then, another loud boom caused the starship to shake, smoke and debris pouring down the hole. One of the crewmen dove and shielded Sasha as she covered her eyes.
"Someone grab my legs!" The pained voice was that of Guard Private Usa'Pol and the crewmen rushed to help her down. Sasha couldn't contain her joy and hugged the woman before she could stop herself. Usa'Pol's eyes suddenly went wide with fear and before she could mouth her complaint, Knight Admiral Bhool emerged from the hole, her upper arm charred black. Sasha released the Guard Private who, looking at Knight Admiral Bhool's face, quickly left towards the hanger. Sasha rushed forward, but stopped as the Knight Admiral raised a hand, turning to help Tho'Mos down the hole. She watched the older man stumble over to the body on the floor, shaking his head as he saw that the wound had been fatal.
"We sealed the door, so unless they cut through, nobody will be coming behind us." Knight Admiral Bhool said as she nodded her thanks to Tho'Mos, before roughly grabbing Sasha's arm, dragging her through the door to the hanger.
"What were you thinking? You should have left with the others...what if the ceiling had collapsed?" There was noticeable anger in the Knight Admiral's voice.
"I had to see that you were safe, it is all I could do!" Tears started forming in her eyes, but she held them back. The Knight Admiral stared at her, holding her anger a few more moments before letting it release and hugging her powerfully...a strange gesture from the usually stalwart, protocol driven Knight Admiral.
"You are the most important person here, Sasha, if you die, then all is lost." Sasha knew her words to be true, but didn't have to like it. Slowly she released herself from the Knight Admiral's embrace. They walked through the small docking bay, Sasha attempting to regain her composure, and entered the crew quarters. Shock took her as she saw the body of Flight-Captain Jeb'Tol, and two other Flight Officers, lying uncovered off to the side of the crewman's lounge. The crying face of Flight Supply Officer Xin'Eri looked up at her from beside the bodies.
"They killed the Captain, we lost the bridge..."
Chapter 10
The swirling light crept back into the tendrils of darkness that suppressed Trent's mind, gradually unlocking his memories of pain and sadness, causing him to resist. He pushed against the light, grasping for the embrace of nothingness, total euphoria bereft of feeling and emotion.
Gradually his resistance faded as the light began to speak with soothing words, unlocking those feelings and emotions that lay hidden. It was alright, nothing would hurt him, as long as he accepted the light and stopped resisting. His doubt began to grow...should he listen to the light and forsake the darkness? His swaying feelings provided the light an opening, allowing it to envelope his existence and dissect it from the clutches of darkness, of the place of peace. A voice whispered from the light and a face appeared, a beautiful woman...a woman, according to the soothing voice, he would love, if he left the darkness behind. As the light cut the last sliver away, the face, along with its memories, vanished, and he braced himself for the promised pain.
Trent opened his eyes, blinking away the stinging tears as he was assailed by a bright light...yet again. He was lying naked on a cold metal table as a strange circular object released his head, slowly moving out-of-sight.
The pain that should have existed never materialized. Instead, a dull throbbing covered his body, and a strange feeling filled his mind, like a raspy voice trying to talk to him in a strange language, but directly into his brain...not his ears. Trent forced himself into a sitting position, rubbing his temples to try to clear the fogginess that lingered and the last shreds of his disturbing nightmare.
It didn't register at first, but when he pulled his hands away, staring in disbelief, he quickly realized what he was looking at. He knew he'd lost his arms, the pain lay fresh in his memory, but his eyes could not be mistaken. There were two perfectly normal arms extending from his body. For a moment, he thought it was all a dream, some cruel trick of his mind that had not accepted the fact of his loss. But after a hard pinch on the arm, he realized he was, in fact, awake. Well, he had his arms back, he thought, there was no reason to complain. So instead, he would look forward, and first things first, he needed to find out where he'd been taken.
The room where he found himself was small, white, and empty, except for the metal table that was protruding from a strange oval, tube shaped device that was about three meters long. It was smooth, except for a half-circle protrusion on its side, with a tiny hole in the middle. A person could easily fit inside the tube, and he guessed that was where he'd been while his mind was locked inside the darkness.
Trent slowly swung his stiff legs off the table, gradually increasing the weight he placed on them as he stood. Stumbling at first as his legs screamed in resistance, he quickly regained control, steadying himself before he fell. After taking the first few steps with the utmost care, he felt comfortable enough to carefully explore his surroundings. He circled the small room a few times, checking every corner, while continuing to work out the stiffness until his steps began to come naturally. Finding nothing of value, he looked to the waiting exit.
The smooth metallic door slid open as he approached and he carefully walked into an even smaller square room, with a mirror on one wall, and a bench with clothes on the other...definitely a dressing room. He moved in front of the mirror and had to take a second look, not recognizing the youthful reflection. Trent knew it was him...no way the
mirror could show someone else, he mused...but it didn't match the image he held in his mind.
Midway up his arms, the pasty white skin turned into a dark tan, which covered the rest of his body. The reverse farmer's tan was bizarre, he thought, but not as odd as the sight he beheld when he studied his face. His slightly receding hairline, and growing forehead, had been replaced by a full head of luscious curls, the same as he remembered from his youth. After shaking off the astonishment, he studied his familiar features and found them changed as well. The creases that formed with age had vanished, along with a few scars that he had collected over the years. His nose seemed smaller, as well as his ears, and his jaw more pronounced, the slight swelling of his jaw line, vanished...he looked young again. More changes became apparent the longer he stared. He appeared physically fit, his stomach seemed much smaller, his love handles gone, and he could discern muscle definition for the first time in his life.
Trent shook his head in disbelief, unable to understand the change, the naked man before him appearing no older than 18. But as he continued to stare in disbelief, a shiver told him it was time to dress, so he slipped into the blue and white jumpsuit provided, strapping on the holster that held a cylindrical device, with an arrow shaped end, similar to the weapon that had removed his arms. Checking himself in the mirror one last time, he turned to the next doorway, wondering what new surprises awaited him, and stepped through.
A long, narrow room greeted him and, as with the others, was completely abandoned. On both sides of the doorway were curved half tables, with multiple seats, and the same semi-circulars protrusions, with a hole in the middle, which he'd seen on the side of the tube in the previous room. Lining each wall were metal beds, similar to the one he had just left, each separated by a couple meters, running as far as the eye could see.
Alutia Rising Page 17