Hostage Rescue (Princess Rescue Inc Book 2)

by Hechtl, Chris

~~~^~~~

  The following morning she announced the birth to the palace. There were cheers from the Imperium transplants and some of their supporters. A few people were a little slow in reacting. She wasn't sure if that was due to shock as some feigned or indifference or what.

  It just reminded her that there was still a lot of work ahead of them in uniting the two kingdoms.

  ~~~^~~~

  Dominus Percival arrived in Kattegat on his branack with a small retinue with him. They placed their beasts in the care of a holstier in the capital and then made the rounds at the taberna, looking for information.

  A long time ago his father had been a lesser lord attached to Dominus Emory in the Imperium. One thing had led to another. His father had always been a bit vague on the details, and anyway, his father had escaped arrest and had fled to Duluth. There he'd saved a clansman's life and married his daughter. When the chieftain had died without a male heir, he'd inherited the lands and titles and held them against all takers.

  In time he'd had a son Percival and three daughters. The daughters had been beautiful and had been wedded off. Each had paid a nice bride price in return.

  Percival had risen in rank, trained by his parents in war and the clans. When his father had died, he had taken over the domain. He'd been raiding near Emory, searching for his family's heirlooms and exacting a bit of revenge when the news of the disastrous battle and death of the king had reached him. He'd fled with other soldiers north back to their holdings.

  He had kept to his holdings even as word had come that the Imperium was taking over Duluth. He had expected some drott or other princeps to rise, surely one of the clan would, but none had. Too much blood had been lost in the south.

  Instead he had seethed, angered by the invasion. He had made good his holdings for winter and through the spring.

  When he had heard that an army had not come north as expected to occupy the lands, he had taken interest. He had decided to come to the capital to get more information in person and to seek allies.

  ~~~^~~~

  Zara was distracted by the reported return of some of the merchants and their families to the capital. She heard stories of how they'd fled out of concern over the lawless state of the capital and of the looting. They told her of harrowing stories of their travels to get to clan holdings. Many returned nearly destitute, a few were embittered that their distant family had taken advantage of them.

  It was interesting that they came in a knot, not just a trickle. A few others were said to be returning to their holdings. She wished them the best of luck. Many of the buildings had indeed been looted, either for valuables or for wood to burn and keep warm.

  She found it most interesting that some returned because of keen interest in the new things. They had heard outlandish stories of electricity, heat, lights, and weapons. She demurred on showing off too many things due to her schedule.

  ~~~^~~~

  Legatus Tycho was on hand with Tacitus as they surveyed the blocked river. During the early spring, they'd had flooding in odd places. The locals had impressed upon them that the water was flowing in the wrong places, which meant something was wrong further upstream.

  A check had found the source. An earthquake had caused a series of avalanches that had blocked some of the creeks and mountain streams.

  Tacitus had wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to build a hydroelectric dam; however, the need for the water in the lowland farms and forests had forced the princeps hand. So many of the crops required the steady flow of water, not just the rains. The snow melt was impressive on the mountains too.

  He had seen some of the dried-out forests and other areas. It had the beasts out of sorts, driving them into the farms. There were stories of basilisk attacks, even one of a farm being destroyed by a beast. So, something had to be done.

  When they'd initially found the avalanches, he'd put out a call for strong backs. There was no way they could get Terran equipment into the area. But the men were in short supply. A consultation with Max had come up with something better.

  He looked over to the array of men. Some were workmen; some were locals come to see what all the noise and fuss was about.

  "Protect your ears!" he roared, turning and roaring it again. Hands instinctively went to cover ears. "Firing!" he said, pushing the plunger down.

  The plunger spun a small alternator that sent a bolt of electricity through wires to the explosives a distance away. A series of cracks and explosions announced the explosives had gone off. Dust plumed into the sky. He waited for it to clear before calling out the all-clear.

  "Impressive," the legatus murmured.

  "Well, let's go see if it worked," Tacitus stated.

  They went along the narrow wood planks and logs until they got to the edge of the work site. The large boulders had indeed been broken up … well, mostly. Placing explosives under one had just rocked it, not blown it apart as they'd hoped.

  The water was flowing better though; as they watched, the loose dirt was being washed away. Some of the bigger rocks were moving but slowly.

  "It worked. Now on to the next one," Tacitus said, coiling the precious wires once more.

  The legatus nodded. He had a detail of miles with him to guard the smith and his precious explosives and equipment. The beasts were as much a danger as the natives. They turned to see a handful of people applauding or pointing. They turned back to see the river beginning to wash away some more of the debris.

  "Two more like this?" Tycho asked.

  "Yes. Problem?"

  "I would just like to get back to the castle soon."

  "I know. This is important though," the smith replied as he waved to his helpers to help pick up their gear so they could move on. "Come on, people, we're burning daylight. None of us want to be out here in the dark with the basilisks," he said. That spurred them on to move faster.

  ~~~^~~~

  Zara finally managed to have a radio conversation with Deidra later the next evening. Deidra was tired from the sound of her voice but didn't seem to mind talking to her sister as Zara expressed her congratulations.

  "I wish I was there," Zara murmured. "I want to hug you and my little niece so bad !"

  That earned a chuckle from her sister.

  "Well, we would love to visit but Duluth is a bit too far away at the moment. And I understand you are needed there."

  "Indeed," Zara said with a sigh.

  "I wish we could send you pictures and video, but Eugene said it isn't possible with these contraptions," Deidra said, voice sounding a tad vexed. "Eventually he promises."

  "Not with this rig. With another in time yeah," Eugene's voice said.

  "Congratulations, brother!" Zara said instantly.

  "Thanks. Save the congratulations for your lovely sister. She's going to have her hands full with this little one."

  "The little one and you. You both are trying my patience. And you've had a head start on her," Deidra said.

  Zara giggled. She felt somewhat better over the experience. One of the imps came to see what she was doing. She watched him climb on her, and when he got into arms reach, she gently petted and stroked him until he began to purr.

  "Still there?" Eugene asked.

  "Yes. Sorry, distracted. Have you found a name for her?" Zara asked.

  "We're still discussing that," Eugene admitted.

  Zara shook her head. "Oh dear, one of those discussions?" she asked with a laugh.

  "Something like that," Eugene replied with a brief chuckle. "But we'll figure out a consensus in the end."

  "Right, as soon as you realize the inevitable," Deidra piped in. There were soft sounds in the background. It took a moment for Zara to realize the baby was nursing.

  "Dinner time?" Zara asked softly.

  "Like clockwork. And before we go, I'd like to point out someone accusing me of being the only stubborn one and now trotting this out," Eugene said, directing his statement to Deidra.

  "Petty minds fixate on petty t
hings, dear," Deidra responded.

  Zara giggled again. "Well, if there is a problem with the name, you could always have another and give her that name," she said by way of mediation.

  There was a gargled response from the radio, then Eugene's "Owe! What'd I do!"

  "You're in range," Deidra said and then had to hush the squalling baby.

  "Um, your sister just pointed out rather … painfully that your suggestion is noted and rejected," Eugene said in a straight voice.

  Zara giggled again. "Better you than me," she teased.

  "Yeah, color me punching bag," Eugene said. "But you should have seen her face when you said that. Worth a bruise."

  Zara snickered. "Definitely send me pictures. By mail, convoy, or whatever," she ordered.

  "Will do. And on that note, mom and baby are drifting off so I'll let you go," Eugene said, voice softening.

  "I love you all," Zara said as she signed off. She felt hot tears prick her eyes and cuddled on her bed, holding her knees and crying softly until the creeling of the imps over her distress penetrated her self-pity and anguish enough to get her to get control of herself once more.

  "Yeah, I miss my family," she murmured as she looked down to the wary and concerned creatures. She dabbed at her eyes and then played with the little beasts to help distract her and put her in a better mood before bed.

  ~~~^~~~

  The imperial transplants were relieved to see familiar faces upon the latest arrival of an Imperium convoy. The unloading took the better part of the day. Zara gave the travelers a hafta off in the capital. They frequented the taberna , brothels, and market. Initially, the natives disdained the intrusion, but they came to look forward to the pecunia the travelers and off-duty miles spent.

  On the sixth evening, the smith attached to the convoy returned and performed a check of the wagons and carts as they were loading. The draft beasts and branack were checked, a few swapped out for beasts the castle had.

  The following morning they moved out. They would be carrying back trade and tributerium to the Imperium. Most of tribute was in the form of processed leather, furs, wool, wood products, and rare metals. Zara had found out through Tacitus that gold was needed to make some of the electronics that they craved.

  There were a handful of gold mines in the Imperium; most of the gold that was mined was found in rivers and mountain areas. It was very precious and much sought after. She made sure to hide the gold in the hidden compartments in the wagons.

  The rest of the stuff though was just as heavy but not nearly as valuable. In other words, bulky low-value items. Much of it was compressed to try to make tight packages and therefore easier than bulky items to haul.

  She got more than cargo and pecunia from the convoy. Each time she received a small draft of miles, lordlings, a few hopeful merchants and tradesman and their families, and one or two tech smiths. They were supplemented by returning natives who had been released to return home or who had spent some time learning or recovering from their injuries. She even had an apprentice medicus for Eudoxia.

  Each of the Duluthians who returned home in the convoys came with stories of the Imperium capital and their training. They also told of some staying, something Nate had called expats. Some still remained to continue their education before returning to home. They carried letters and scrolls to give to families.

  She was allowed to keep a third of the miles . Some she allowed Augustus to assign to roving patrols or outposts along the road to the Imperium. The rest were required to guard the convoy. Not that any anticipated another attack on it. But one could not be too careful, especially when in Duluth.

  ~~~^~~~

  Sir Percival found that the capital was ripe for plucking in some ways. The discontent over the tribute and the invasion made it easy for him to recruit, though he was cautious. He tested each recruit, aware that some might be a spy or they might turn their coat against him to save their own neck.

  ~~~^~~~

  Zara continued to work on applying Terran concepts and engineering. Just teaching the concepts took time. She couldn't just lecture; sometimes the best method of teaching was to show the natives what she meant and what the thing could do.

  The imperial stewards that had been hired and brought with her hired additional native help to clean up the castle. She introduced cleaning supplies including her limited stock of bleach to remove some of the persistent mold and stains in the kitchen and in areas she would be living in or working in. She had to apply it herself first to show them and to explain that it could burn their skin, eyes, and nose if they were not careful. But she had to admit; even with a bit of elbow grease it did a great job.

  Of course, using the thing Max called a putty knife to scrape helped too.

  She also worked to overhaul routines and standards of practice. One of the things at the top of her agenda was introducing Terran-style indoor plumbing and hygiene. It was tricky though; they had to find a place for the waste to go.

  She was finding that it was also a lot of work; the Duluthians were not as technical oriented as her people were. But when they did finish a project, however minor, she paused to praise those involved and to admire the results.

  She had to keep reminding herself that the Imperium wasn't built in a day, and they had to take the overhaul of Duluth one painstaking step and project at a time.

  More food and better medical care meant the population would go up exponentially according to Doctor Carter's wisdom. She hoped so. And Charlie had impressed upon her the importance of teaching the next generation. That was why she was trying to find more teachers who were open-minded.

  ~~~^~~~

  Siegfried made the rounds, impressed with Zara and all that she was trying to achieve. He found himself constantly quizzed about the Terran weapons by others though, including the castle smith.

  He did the best to explain some things the best he could. He was not a maker though, and each time he was accosted, he didn't have his rifle with him. It took time to impress upon others that unfortunately, he'd never seen the making of the weapons.

  He was curious though, and hopeful to get a copy of one of the weapons for himself someday, not just the rifle but the hand weapons the miles carried. Hell, more than one if possible.

  ~~~^~~~

  Each time a dominus or domina came to pay his or her respects, the princess showed them the video message from the queen. Some scoffed that she was talking to the queen in real time. Twice she let the queen address them live through the radio. That shocked them into silence.

  "As I said, I speak with the imperatrix voice. She carries word to me, and I to you," Zara said, fighting to keep a hint of smugness out of her voice. "In time she will visit, and you will each be given a chance to meet her yourself," she said.

  They agreed to put off the ver s Thing , the thrice annus event where the dominus and domina gathered into the capital as their own form of House of Lords. She scheduled it for autumnus , knowing it would give them more time to rebuild their lands and her people time to make changes in the capital, which should affect them.

  ~~~^~~~

  Percival reflected on the message and the hidden meanings behind it. There were more than one, including the fact that she was regularly reporting to her sister. Therefore, whatever they did they had to proceed cautiously.

  Whatever they did, they needed men to do it. And they needed the respect of those men, which meant they needed a leader who could command it easily. Drott Olaf Lothbrok fit the bill, even though he was known to be past fighting age and more interested in his cups than in war. His desire to stand against the invasion of the princeps was known in some circles.

  Therefore, he decided that he needed to win the old chieftain and former castle captain over to their side. The drott might be very old but he was well respected and a canny leader. King Richard had been wise to leave him behind. Or had he chosen to remain home to watch the lands? He needed to find out either way. It could be another lever for her to use to w
in him over.

  ~~~^~~~

  Duluth had a large supply of various dairy products. Zara wanted to export them, but many of them wouldn't last the trip south. Only the cheeses could and only the hard ones. She added them to the export list though. One cheese maker in particular had her fancy, Gunnar. He owned a dairy on the northeastern part of the capital. His herds were in the pastures on the other side of the wall in that area.

  Zara also introduced ice cream, sorbets, and other things to the people in the capital during the summer. The kitchen staff were bemused when she experimented with the recipe. She had a limited supply and only a small amount of ice to work with. Despite the limits the icy treats were a big hit in the castle. She taught the recipe to several of the cooks. She found out later they sold the recipe to others in the capital. She shrugged that off; it might mean that they'd have ice cream vendors in the future.