"How horrible," Danielle interjected. "What a cruel man."
"Yes, he was, "K'oron agreed. "Dr'onac had been like a father to me since my earliest years at the Citadel. Seeing him killed enraged me in a way that nothing since has. I looked the Commandant in the eyes and challenged him to Tr'oka Zur. I felt like I had nothing to lose. The only friend I had in the Order was lying dead with a knife in his heart, and the man that killed him would like nothing better than to see me dead as well. I would either win and end this nightmare, or die and it would end as well. The Commandant stepped out into the makeshift combat floor and drew his sword. He wasted no time in attacking me. We parried and attacked each other for what seemed like forever. We had landed several blows on each other and were starting to slow from pain and exhaustion. I finally saw my opportunity to end the fight when the Commandant extended his left leg a bit too far forward in his stance. I feigned an attack from the left, then switched to a right attack once I noticed him preparing to block. It left his right leg vulnerable, and I used all the strength I could muster to bring my blade down on it. The sword sheared it off just above the knee. Without hesitating, I spun on my heel and brought the blade full circle and aimed at his neck. His head went flying across the room, and the rest of his body collapsed to the floor. My body did the same. The exhaustion taking its toll. There was a long silence as everyone stared at the young man that had just killed their leader. Then I heard it. 'Hail Commandant K'oron!' and I saw Del'vath drop to a knee while facing me. Others followed quickly. I was officially titled as Commandant by the Emperor the next day. I swore that would I never allow anyone that was under my hand to be treated cruelly and unfairly the way I was." K'oron sighed. "And that, Danielle Hart, is my story. I've never shared that with anyone before, and I'm not certain why I did it now."
Danielle sat stunned. She had no idea that K'oron had endured so much. Perhaps that is why he took care of me even though I was considered an enemy of the Dominion. "Thank you for trusting me enough to feel like you could."
"I've never met anyone that I trust more than you, Danielle," he said with a smile. "Even though I've only known you for a short time, I feel like we've been through enough together for me to have a good sense of who you are. Perhaps that is why I shared this with you." He walked to the door. "I'll step out so you can get cleaned up."
"You've seen me naked, K'oron," Danielle chucked. "I don't think there is anything left to show you that you didn't see when you were taking care of me in the Drah'jik med bay."
"That was different," he replied, "you were unconscious and we were trying to save your life. Now you are alive and well, and circumstances do not require me to see you nude. Besides, if I remember correctly, the first thing you did when you woke up was to want the sheet pulled up to cover yourself. You are a lady, and a lady should not flaunt her body to anyone besides her mate. I'll be back in a few minutes." He walked out and pulled the door closed behind him.
Wow, Danielle, you've given him yet another reason to think you're cheap! You might blame your emergency password on the foolishness of youth, but this? She shook her head in disgust with herself. Why did I do that? Did she want him to see her nude? Deep down she knew that a part of her wanted him to see her that way. As a woman, not just a partner. Yeah, like that would ever happen. He was a V'drellian and the leader of the most feared Order in the known universe, and she was a lieutenant in the Commonwealth's most elite military organization. They were literally from two different worlds.
She removed her shirt and took the second rag and wet it. As she washed, her mind returned to thoughts of K'oron. Somehow knowing his story made him even more attractive to her. He was honorable, gentlemanly, and loyal. Traits which she had seen first hand. Now she also knew that he was ferocious concerning those he held dear. She hoped he felt that way about her. She needed him to feel that way about her.
She finished washing off and went to the window to shake her shirt out like K'oron had. She gave it a quick couple of pops to knock the dust out, then walked back to the bed. She sat down, and for the first time actually noticed the scar that ran the length of her chest and stomach. She ran a finger down the length of the slightly raised line of flesh. She had known it was there, but somehow looking at it and feeling it made it feel real. She sighed. No one is going to want to see this. Definite mood killer. She put her shirt back on and waited for K'oron to return.
In a matter of minutes, she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," she answered back. The door opened, but it wasn't K'oron. She didn't recognize the dirty V'drellian man that was standing in the doorway. Danielle quickly stood up. "I'm afraid you're in the wrong room," she said glaring at the man that had just invaded her privacy.
"Oh no," the man laughed as he pulled some kind of pistol out of his tunic, "I'm in the right place. I was told to take care of anyone that came snooping around asking about Th'arn." He leveled the gun at her and smiled.
CHAPTER 19
The man in the doorway gave Danielle a twisted smile and partially closed the door. He kept the pistol in his left hand pointed at her as he walked closer to her. "I've never seen a girl like you before." He stepped behind her wrapping his arms around her. Once across her chest and the other put the gun to her head. He dragged the back of his free hand down her cheek to her neck then down the center of her chest. His hand stopped when it got to the bottom of her shirt. He slid his hand under it, and she could feel his skin touching her stomach and moving upward. "You know, I could just let you go if you make it worth my while." Danielle cringed as the man's hand brushed against her breast. "Let's play nice."
Danielle's face might have shown slight signs of fear, but her mind was working on how to get away. Come on, you jackass, let that gun slip just a bit. She was ready if the gunman made a mistake. Every muscle in her body was tensed. The barrel of the gun was touching her skin. Which meant that any resistance on her part would most likely end with a pulse blast to the head. She was just going to have to endure this sleazy man's violation until he made a mistake. She heard what sounded like a floorboard creak in the hall. Someone's coming. K'oron! She knew that she needed to get the man to turn his back to the door. "Okay, I give up! please don't hurt me! The bed is over there. Please! Don't hurt me!" She told the man trying to put a sound of fear in her voice. The man smiled in response and turned to face the bed, arms still wrapped around Danielle. "That's better, now why don't you tell me where your friend is?"
"Right behind you," K'oron growled as he punched the man in the back of the head. The man dropped to the floor unconscious. Danielle snatched up the fallen pistol, and K'oron picked him up and placed the man in one of the chairs. "I'm going downstairs to find something to tie him up with," K'oron said walking toward the door. "I'd like to ask him some questions, but if he doesn't cooperate, kill him."
Danielle looked at her would be attacker. The V'drellian man sitting limply in front of her was shriveled and sickly appearing. He had a noticeable discoloration on the right side of his neck that reminded Danielle of the arms of drug users she had seen. He also had several scars on his face. He started waking up and raised his head. He saw the pistol in Danielle's hand. The barrel leveled at him about two feet from his head.
"Gonna shoot me?" The man asked. The fear was obvious on his face.
"Not if you behave yourself," Danielle replied calmly. A few moments later she heard the door open and saw K'oron come in carrying a rope.
"Got this from the trading post across the street," he said showing her the rope. "The proprietor was less than excited about having a customer at this late hour, but I made it worth his while." K'oron bound the bony V'drellian to the chair, then moved to stand by Danielle. "Let's start with something simple. Why did you want to hurt my friend here?"
The look on K'oron's face told the prisoner that this was a time for honesty. "Another V'drellian came here a few days ago to meet with Th'arn. Little fat guy. They met downstairs and talked for a bit, then left together. The little g
uy came back later that day, gave me fifty drahs, and told me to get rid of anyone that came around asking about Th'arn. Said he would pay me two hundred drahs in thirty days if I made sure things stayed quiet."
"No'tok," Danielle said gritting her teeth. "That man is becoming a real pain in my neck."
"Did he say where they were going?" K'oron continued the interrogation.
"Nope, but he did give me a list of things to have ready for him when he gets back. Said cost wasn't a problem, just needed it all when he got back," the man replied. "He rented a room and told me to put the stuff in it. It's the room across the hall."
"Want to check it out while I keep an eye on him?" Danielle asked K'oron never taking her eyes off the man at the opposite end of the pistol.
K'oron nodded. "I'll be right back." He returned in a moment. "He's telling the truth, I think we'll be able to figure more out from what's in that room." He took the pistol from her hand, and grabbed one of the wash rags from the table and stuffed it in the intruder's mouth. "I'll make sure he doesn't get away and warn No'tok."
"All right," Danielle agreed, "but hurry." She left the room and closed the door behind her.
K'oron turned back to the man tied up in the chair. In an instant, his calm demeanor changed. There was anger flashing in his eyes. He pulled a small knife from his belt and held it in front of the bound man's face. "You shouldn't have touched her like that," K'oron said. The words coming out of his mouth were those of a reprimand, but his tone made them sound like a death sentence. He took the knife, cut the rope holding the man, and then yanked him up from the chair to a standing position. He offered the knife to the man.
"Take it. I'll give you a chance to save yourself." The man took the knife from K'oron's hand and raised it in a menacing stance.
"Very good," K'oron smiled. In the blink of an eye, K'oron grabbed the man's outstretched arm holding the knife and gave it a sudden twist. The sound of bones breaking was followed by the muffled scream of the gagged man. The man dropped the knife and tried to stagger away, but K'oron wasn't going to let that happen. He grabbed the man by his other arm and then brought a foot down hard against the man's knee. It immediately snapped sideways, and the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed. A moaning sound was coming through the gag.
K'oron squatted down behind the man and whispered in his ear. "Filthy trash such as yourself doesn't have the right to even breathe the same air as her. So, you no longer will." He grabbed the man's head, gave it a quick twist, and was rewarded with the sound of bone popping out of place. Then he let the body fall over lifeless on the floor.
Danielle had heard the commotion from across the hall and burst into the room. She saw the body of their prisoner on the floor, his head at an unnatural angle. "What happened?"
K'oron was getting back up on his feet. "Apparently he had concealed a small knife on his person," K'oron lied to her. "He cut the rope and lunged at me. I stopped him. His passing is no great loss for civilization." K'oron walked toward the door. "Let's go see what No'tok was planning in the other room."
They walked across the hall to the other room where they saw several weapons lying on the bed, and papers on the table. K'oron examined the weapons on the bed, and Danielle looked through the papers. There were several news articles concerning the trial of a Commonwealth officer for mass murder. One article has a highlighted block of text.
Danielle was reading the article when K'oron spoke. "I think I know what No'tok is planning based on these weapons. An assassination. Not sure who though."
Danielle turned and looked at him with fear in her eyes, handing him the article clipping that she read. "I do. It's the Queen and the Rylan Prime Minister. They will be giving a joint press announcement tomorrow outside palace gates."
***
The events of the past few days had gone better than he could have hoped for. Since the meeting of the Council of Barons, the public sentiment toward Queen Constance had taken a downturn. He had made sure that news of the Queen talking with the V'drellian emperor had been leaked to the press. He also made sure that people knew that one of the Queen's 'most trusted' officers was named as aiding the enemy. If this keeps up, the people will demand that she step down. At which point the Council of Barons will appoint her closest relative to act as regent. Me. The thought of taking the throne for himself put a smile on his face. That woman was right. Aligning himself with her and her cause was going to give him what he truly wanted. The crown.
He was sitting comfortably in his home office. The was a second home he kept on Mars so that he had a private place to escape to when he was here on Council business.He was puffing on a cigar made from tobacco grown from plants that were originally based on Cuban seeds from pre-war Earth. Terranova had a very similar climate as pre-war Earth and produced the best tobacco crops.
"Those things will kill you, Baron," a female voice said from the shadows in the corner of the room.
"How did you... oh, nevermind. I don't suppose it really matters anyway," Zhi had been startled by the voice, but soon realized it was the woman from before. "Things are going according to plan. The Queen is losing support, and Lt. Hart is being called a traitor." Zhi puffed smugly on his cigar.
"Excellent," the female voice replied. "The Ridgeway trial will be in closing arguments tomorrow morning, after that we will wait for the verdict. I don't expect it will take too long for a guilty verdict to come back. Then the Terran Queen and Rylan Prime Minister will give a joint press conference to publicly denounce Ridgeway and to formally turn him over to Rylan custody. That is when we strike."
"What do you need me to do?" Zhi asked the voice.
"Be ready," the voice told him. "There will be mass confusion. The people will need leadership, and you will be in a place to offer it, King Zhang Zhi."
At her mention of his name with the title 'king', he grinned. "I will be ready, and I will not forget those that helped me claim the throne."
"See that you don't," the voice warned.
***
Danielle was taking a turn at the helm of K'oron's ship. He had shown her how the controls worked, and piloting the ship was a way to have some control over something in her life. She and K'oron were pushing the engine of the ship as much as they dared. They had been flying at top speed for almost a full day and had almost made it to the border with Commonwealth space. We have to get to Mars in time! We just have to! Danielle was not going to allow the Queen to be killed if there was anything she could do to prevent it. Her first instinct had been to use the emergency frequency to notify Fleet Command of the pending threat, but she decided against it and thought it better to deliver the news in person. She didn't want to tip off Th'arn and No'tok in case they were scanning for comms signals. As they approached the Commonwealth, they started receiving a message from Sentry Command just across the border. K'oron opened the signal so they could find out what it was.
"Unidentified ship, this is the Terran Commonwealth outpost Sentry Command. Turn back. Do not approach the border or you will be fired upon," the voice said.
"Sentry Command, this is Lt. Danielle Hart," she identified herself. " I spoke a few days ago with Commander Rutledge. Please put him on the line." A few moments of silence passed, then the line crackled.
"This is Commander Rutledge," came a response. "Lt. Hart, what is going on? It's all over the news that you defected to the V'drell Dominion, and are now working with them to attack us."
"Negative, Commander," she replied. I'm a traitor? Are they kidding? "I'm trying to stop a conspiracy that wants to start a war between the Commonwealth, the Dominion, and the Protectorate. I have been in communication with the Dominion, but not to conspire with them. I've learned that the original attack was caused by a rogue element in the Dominion fleet. Their Emperor wants to establish peaceful relations with the Commonwealth, not attack us. He wants to stop this war from happening as much as we do."
"That's a pretty far-fetched story, Lieutenant," Rutle
dge replied.
"This whole matter sounds far-fetched, Commander. Even to me, and I'm living through it," Danielle agreed, "but that doesn't change the truth. I need to get to Mars and warn the Queen."
Rutledge wasn't sure what to believe. Her story about trying to stop a conspiracy against the Crown sounded like something out of a movie, but so did the media story of her defection to join a race that was supposed to be extinct. He had to accept one of these versions of the facts as truth and given a choice between trusting someone in the media or politics against a uniformed member of the military he knew which side he was going to land on. "If that is the case, Lieutenant," Rutledge said, "then I suggest you dock that V'drellian craft here and take one of our ships for the rest of your trip. You're just a target using that ship."
"Do you have a Pathfinder handy?" She asked. "If all you have on the station is Lancers and Talons, we'll make better time in the ship we're in."
"Hang on, Lieutenant," he ordered. The line went quiet for a moment, the crackled back to life again. "We actually do have a Pathfinder on station at the moment, the Odyssey. It's commanded by my niece. I just spoke to her, and she will allow you to dock your ship onboard and take you directly to Mars. She is currently getting it underway to leave. Here are the coordinates to rendezvous with her."
"Thank you so much, Commander," she thanked him. "I truly appreciate it."
Rutledge laughed. "Well, this is going to be my last command posting anyway. If I'm wrong about you, I'll be court-martialed. If not, I'm still going to retire in a year or so. Either way, my career is ending, and if I missed a chance to help save the Queen, I would never forgive myself."
"Thank you again, Commander," Danielle repeated her thanks.
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