Warlord 2: The Nobility

by CJ Williams

  The next day Carrie went into town to visit old friends and discovered that not everyone saw her as a hero. A political movement was building that she had known nothing about.

  Days earlier, Amanda had released an assortment of recruiting videos, thinly disguised as historical documentaries. She wanted potential candidates to appreciate the exciting challenges for the Milky Way Alliance and why their contribution was important to the entire planet.

  Unfortunately, she was more effective than she intended. The videos were the equivalent of Hollywood blockbusters. The difference was there were no special effects. George’s editing ability made everything on the screen shockingly real, including the destruction of Bonbu Two.

  The horrific depiction made people question Carrie’s decision to destroy Kkoli’s homeworld. Had she not done so, surely he would never have sought vengeance, and the Bakkui would never have attacked Earth.

  One reporter uncovered the destruction of J99 and it added to the sensation. Here was yet another entire world of innocents, annihilated without warning, all through Carrie’s reckless employment of the Alliance’s deadly war machines.

  She was portrayed as a monster, a psychotic loose cannon carelessly set free to rain destruction on defenseless planets throughout the universe. Several political bodies issued warrants for her arrest and the International Criminal Court at The Hague was deluged with demands that she be tried for war crimes.

  Carrie rushed back to the farm and met with her father. “I’m leaving tonight,” she explained. “I didn’t realize this was going on, and if I stay you might become a target for crazies. I can get you out of here if you want.”

  Her father agreed to call for help if there were any problems. He was more worried about her. She reminded him of her own plans, the lavender farm on Mars. He was delighted to hear she was going ahead with the idea. They spent the evening talking about the ins and outs of family farming and engaged in several bouts of remember when. Carrie was even persuaded to join in a game of Cards Against Humanity. After a big family dinner, she called Sadie down to pick up her and the kids and they headed out.

  *.*.*.*

  Carrie looked down at the New Rome spaceport on Mars. “Try to get close to the Forum. I don’t feel like carrying the kids all the way across the tarmac.”

  “Understood,” Sadie replied.

  Carrie let out a deep sigh. It had been a long three weeks since the last battle. She had arrived on Mars unannounced and told Samantha she wanted to keep it that way. Her friend had agreed, but only on the condition that Carrie stop by her office to say hello.

  Samantha still looked spectacular, even more than before, if that was possible—and she still wore a gorgeous white toga.

  “I want something like that,” Carrie said, indicating the beautiful dress. She had dispensed with the fancy robes supposedly depicting royalty and gone back to wearing a simple, standard-issue jumpsuit.

  “I’ll trade you for regular shipments of fresh lavender,” Samantha offered. “They would look good in my office since royal purple is sort of my color; if you hadn’t noticed.”

  Carrie smiled at the comment. “I did notice. But I’m trying to avoid anything with a royal connotation. I mean that.”

  Samantha laughed but didn’t push it. “Okay. But Mars is a small community. People are going to find out, so prepare yourself. Once you get off of Earth, you’re the only royalty around and people just love that.”

  Samantha gushed over the kids and congratulated Carrie on adapting so well to motherhood. Carrie caught the momentary look of sorrow in Sam’s eyes over their harsh situation.

  After the visit, Samantha arranged for a driverless taxi to take them out to the farm. “There’s someone out there,” Samantha warned. “He’s just fixing up the place and said he wouldn’t mind a job but he’ll leave if you want to be by yourself.”

  Carrie accepted Sam’s assurance that the guy wasn’t a nutcase.

  When the taxi dropped them off, Carrie let the kids run free as she trudged up the driveway toward the main house. She spotted the caretaker fussing over a planter on the wide front porch. From the back she couldn’t tell anything about him.

  “Hello,” she called when she got closer. He turned to face her and she stopped short in surprise. “President Morán?” She looked around, searching for someone else. Sam’s secretive hints finally registered. “Are you the one?” Carrie asked.

  Morán smile in welcome. “I am the one. Welcome back.”

  “I thought you were the president!”

  “I thought you were a princess,” he replied.

  “It wasn’t really to my taste,” Carrie said. “I just wanted to come here and live quietly.”

  “Well, there you go. I feel exactly the same.” Morán shrugged. “I did my thing down there, got the place running again. But after living here on Mars for a while, DC seems so pointless. The same stupid arguments about such idiotic subjects. I missed this place; the peacefulness, you know.”

  Carrie stared at the man for a long moment. The kids ran up and grabbed his legs, laughing and pulling on him. Even Eolin chattered happily. That was a good sign.

  “You live in the barn,” Carrie said firmly. “The main house is mine.”

  “That works. I already converted the back shed into a little apartment.”

  Carrie took a deep breath. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone to talk to once in a while. “Okay,” she said. “Come on in and let’s fix dinner. I promised the kids pizza.”

  Thank You for Reading

  Your wonderful comments about The Commander encouraged us to write Book Two of the Warlord series. We hope you enjoyed The Nobility. If so, please give it a rating on Amazon. We are truly grateful for your support. Your stars keep independent authors writing.

  Acknowledgements

  Many thanks to my little sister, Karen Williams, a professional editor in her own right, for torturing us until everything was correct.

  Thanks also to Isabel Palmer of the Psychology Department at the College of Idaho for her insight into the complex issues surrounding PTSD-related suicide by military personnel.

  Cover design by CJ Williams. Cover art includes images from ©Shutterstock, ©Wikipedia GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2., ©3D Warehouse General Model License Agreement and NASA.gov.

  About the Author

  CJ Williams is a husband and wife writing team. He was a military pilot and she was an artist. Today, they live in Washington State, enjoy hiking in the Olympic Mountains, boating in the Salish Sea, and writing.

  Other Books by CJ Williams

  Deep Trouble

  Real life mermaids aren’t cute. They’re terrified young women who are scared to death of being found out because the world doesn’t like people who are different. To survive, mermaids get tough very quickly. When Bobbi and her friends face off against the government, the claws come out. It’s about time people learn that real mermaids have power.

  Deep Anger

  Attorney Merlyn Adams was a rising star in the Seattle legal scene. But in saving a young life, she undergoes a magical transformation and discovers life as a mermaid is dangerous. Why do the Australian mermaids want her dead? And the US Navy—well, that incident with the nuclear submarine was just a mistake. Maybe it’s time everyone learns what real power is all about.

  Deep Kiss

  Biology major Emma Jean believes there is no such thing as magic. Even after being magically transformed into a mermaid, she insists that the change is simple biology that needs more study. She seeks help from the Australian mermaids but discovers a secret power that Bobbi and Chloe insist on keeping hidden. But there is another secret that is even more deadly and much more personal. Ancient Chinese dragons still exist, and Emma Jean is the reason they’ve come back.

 

 

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