Promises & Prophecies

by Lee Watts

  "I raise livestock. Mostly I got these hogs that come frum Omega sector. They are the best tastin' things you ever put in your mouth. Course, I don't know how they get that way since all they'll eat is slop. Someone's been stealing my hogs lately. Sure could use a guard dog or one of dim fancy c-curity systems. That reminds me, I was sloppin' a hog the other day when-"

  "You were slapping a hog?" Vivica interrupted in disgust.

  "No, sloppin' not slappin'. Course, there's a few I'd like to slap now and then," he said with a hearty laugh.

  Aulani blushed and giggled, Nathan too joined in the laugh with the well-humored man. Vivica did not share in the jovial nature of Munford.

  "What's wrong, Lady Canton? You alright?" Munford asked.

  "Oh, I'm fine. It's… I don't really enjoy farm humor."

  "I always say if you like to eat, then you oughta like farmers. You like to eat don't 'cha?" Looking at the thin woman up and down he shook his head. "Then again, maybe you don't like to eat."

  "So Aulani," Vivica said as she tried to ignore Munford, "your dress it's so…quaint. That old-fashioned neckline… I haven't seen one like it in years. Maybe you can start a retro-trend. My grandmother could wear hers again," she laughed, but no one joined her. "I think it's the sweetest thing that they let you dress up tonight and be out here with us. So, tell everyone about yourself, like... where you come from."

  "I was born on Entauri Major," Aulani said to the group. "It's been my family's homeworld for generations."

  "Oh, don't be so modest," Vivica prompted, knowing how self-conscious Aulani was about her time on Acatus. "Tell them about where you grew up and all about your grand adventure."

  "Grand adventure?" Baroness Montay asked.

  With a look, Vivica dared Aulani to lie about her background. Aulani's eyes fell to her lap, and Vivica knew there was nothing her rival could say or do to avoid exposing the truth of her primitive upbringing. After a silent moment, Aulani smiled then shyly lifted her chin.

  "What she is referring to," Aulani began, "is that I grew up on the jungle planet where His Highness was marooned."

  "You're… from the jungle?" the Baroness questioned disapprovingly.

  "Yes, Ma'am," Aulani answered.

  "It must have been awful," Vivica said, "Oh, I can't imagine having to live like a savage all that time… eating with your bare hands, or going without plumbing, and not bathing for years. You poor thing. It goes to show how wonderful Alex is. He took her from nothing, gave her a job, and a place to live. She was destitute when he rescued her you know. He's so charitable."

  Aulani said nothing. Part of her wanted to run away and never have to face those people again, but she fought the impulse. Cheyenne was profoundly tempted to speak up and help the young woman she had grown so fond of, or at least expose Vivica for what she truly was. Holding her peace, Cheyenne sat quietly and prayed, knowing that Aulani needed to handle this on her own.

  "It's true," Aulani began. "I have very little. These earrings are borrowed, my dress was purchased by someone else, even the shoes on my feet are not truly my own. At the end of tonight, I must return each of these lovely things. But a wise woman once told me it is not the finery a woman wears that makes her a lady of elegance, but it is how she carries herself. She said it's in her kindness, her intellect, and charm. These things she has taught me, and these things I may keep. So yes, tonight I am allowed to wear this lovely gown and be with all of you in this splendid place, but tomorrow, in my old shoes and simple clothes, I will still consider myself a lady of elegance."

  As Aulani finished speaking her eyes came to rest on Vivica. Icy looks of death shot from the blonde's sapphire eyes but were soon hidden by a veneer of pleasantness and a snide smile. Having outplayed Vivica at her own game, Aulani couldn't resist and winked at her then turned to the group.

  "Now, if you'll please excuse me, His Highness asked me to be in place to translate when he prepares to speak."

  Marquis Matthews rose from his seat and gently pulled out Aulani's chair for her to stand.

  "Thank you all for a lovely time," Aulani said graciously then gave a small curtsy to the group. Moving with the grace of a dancer, she walked toward the royal platform.

  Baroness Montay, watching the young woman leaving, spoke her thoughts aloud, but to no one in particular. "How charming."

  Well done, Aulani, Cheyenne thought, nearly bursting with pride. Well done.

  With the main hall bustling with people, Aulani knew it would be awkward to squeeze between people so decided to use the open-air balcony that paralleled the chamber. With no one else out there, she enjoyed the beauty of the clear night sky and cool of the evening air.

  Vivica rose from the table and followed Aulani's path onto the balcony. Catching up with her, she grabbed Aulani by the arm and spun her around.

  "Nice speech," the blond mocked sarcastically. "You can consider yourself whatever you want, but you and I both know that underneath it all you will always just be the Jungle Girl. I don't know what you think you're doing, but this is my night, so try and be invisible. It shouldn't be too hard for someone like you. After tonight, I will be the Premier Lady of the Realm, and then I'll have the power to get you out of the palace, out of Alex's life, and out of my hair once and for all. You better enjoy this night of elegance, Honey. You won't have another; I'll see to that. By the way, you have something on your dress."

  "Where?"

  "There," Vivica said then tossed the contents of her thin glass on the billowing portion of Aulani's gown.

  Aulani gasped in shock, disbelief, and exasperation as she stared at the misshapen red stain now splayed across her gown.

  Vivica softly giggled with delight then proceeded to the far entrance of the balcony and strode back into the royal hall. Aulani went back the way she had come. When she reentered the main chamber, she tried to hide her face and hold back the tears as she hurried to the washroom. From the crowd in the way, Cheyenne couldn't see the marring stain but noticed Aulani's distress. She discreetly excused herself and went after the girl. One of the royal guards accompanied the Queen, and she signaled him to not let anyone else enter the washroom as she went in to talk with Aulani.

  As the door opened, Aulani turned her tear-streaked faced to see who it was. She tried to wipe the moisture from her face, but her tears wouldn't abate.

  "Oh, Dear One, what is it?"

  "This," Aulani said as she turned to face the queen.

  Seeing the wide ruby blemish streaked across the gown, Cheyenne deduced what had happened.

  "That little vixen," Cheyenne said.

  "What am I going to do?" Aulani said as she tried to stop crying. "I can't stand on the platform like this. Vivica - she's so-"

  "I know, but we have other things to take care of right now instead of Vivica." Reaching into her handbag, the queen withdrew a small communicator and tapped some buttons. "Ed, this is Q, there's an emergency. I need you to come to the washroom just to the left before you enter the main hall."

  "Ed?" Aulani said questioningly. "His shop is across town. It will take too long for him to get here. I'm supposed to be on the platform any minute."

  "No, no. Ed is here in the palace. I always get him an invitation to these soirées. He likes to keep up on the latest fashion trends. No one knows who Edna Finch really is anyway."

  "But what can he do?"

  "Oh, Ed is a miracle worker. You let him worry about the dress problem."

  "The dress is only half of my problems. The other is about to be christened as the Premier Lady of the Realm. I don't know who to feel worse for, me or Alex. She's such a shrew. She doesn't deserve him, and he doesn't deserve her. I can't bear to think of them together."

  "Then don't. You have your own future to consider, and if it can't include my son then what's best is to move on with your life. I've noticed the Marquis of Estrada attentions toward you. He's quite smitten it's safe to say. If there was any doubt of that before tonight, I think it's long
gone. I would not be surprised if he asked to court you before the night is through."

  "But, he's a titled gentleman of means, and I'm-"

  "A brilliant, talented, and refined lady of elegance... and one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in or out of the palace."

  There was a gentle knock at the door by the guard who said a man was claiming he was to meet the Queen in the washroom. Cheyenne said it was alright and in stepped Ed. He was dressed in a formal suit, with the neck too tight for someone of his solid build.

  "What is it, your Queenship?"

  As Cheyenne stepped aside, it revealed Aulani and her marred gown.

  "Spill somethin' on yourself, Miss Aulani?"

  "Not exactly. Can you fix it?"

  "Fix it? No way. Dat stain ain't comin' out... least nots with what we got to work wit here, but no worries."

  "No worries?" Aulani said in restrained exasperation. What am I going to do?"

  "You ain'ts got to do nothin'. Turn around."

  Perplexed, but with no other hope except to comply, she faced away from the master tailor. His beefy hands went around her waist and tugged on the bodice of the dress. He lifted the bodice up slightly then reached for the material underneath and unhooked loop after loop. At last, fully detaching the entire billowing lower half of the dress, he pulled it away to reveal an elegant, trim gown matching the shimmering lilac of the upper portion.

  "How... what...," Aulani couldn't finish a thought for being so amazed. Her dress was more spectacular than ever.

  "Nothin' special," Ed said with a shrug. "I make tons of dresses dat way. Lotta girls want to be all poofy at the beginning of a night, but then have something sleeker later in da evening. Do ya like it?"

  "Like it?! It's wonderful! Oh, thank you, Ed," she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "If only you could fix my other problems so quickly."

  "Other problems? Somebody givin' you a hard time? Cause if so, I knows some guys who could-"

  "That won't be necessary, Ed," Cheyenne said then after some thought added quietly, "but we'll keep it in mind." Turning back to her protégée she said, "Aulani, let's fix you up a bit."

  Between Ed and Cheyenne, they not only restored Aulani's dress and makeup but if anything she was now more stunning than she was at the beginning of the night.

  As Aulani finished her reset, the door guard said someone was approaching, and Cheyenne said it was okay. A short moment later Elsa Kovacs entered the washroom with Hannah. Ed excused himself with an embarrassed look then Cheyenne said she would see Aulani in the main hall and also left. Aulani noticed Hannah had been crying.

  "Oh, sweet Hannah, what's wrong?" Aulani asked as she bent her knees to be at the six-year-old's height.

  "Nobody likes me here," the girl said with a sniff. "They're all grown-ups, and I keep using the wrong fork, and they're all fussy. I jus' wanna go home."

  Elsa looked at her only child and tried to comfort her.

  "Miss Aulani would be so sad and disappointed if we left."

  "Your mom's right, Hannah."

  "Honest?"

  "Honest, but I know how you feel," Aulani said as she wiped a tear from the girl's cheek. "When I first came to the palace, I felt out of place too and just wanted to back to my home. Every time I turned around I was embarrassing myself. Want to know what I wore to my first fancy ball?"

  "What?"

  "Coveralls and combat boots," Aulani said with a slight laugh.

  Hannah's eyes widened in disbelief.

  "You didn't," Elsa said.

  "I'm afraid it's true," Aulani confessed then turned back to Hannah. "They don't have galas and pretty dresses where I grew up. I stuck out like a sore thumb that night, and that wasn't the worst of it. I then proceeded to nearly cause an interstellar incident by tromping all over an ambassador's feet during the dance."

  Hannah giggled at the story.

  "There's a smile," Aulani said. "I knew you had one in there someplace. I wanted to give up that night. It seemed as if all the other women were prettier and more refined, but someone wouldn't let me quit. Somebody said I was every bit as good as those other people, and if I have faith and work hard, things have a way of turning out for the best."

  Hannah nodded and gave a final sniff, indicating an end to the tears. Aulani smiled and gave the girl a wink. Rising to stand straight, she said, "For your night to turn out right you're going to have to go back in there and be your best."

  Hannah responded a smile and the slightly overemphasized wink of a child.

  "Better get going," Aulani said. "I have to get going too. We don't want to be late."

  Elsa mouthed a thank you to Aulani who smiled then hurriedly made her way out. Using the open-air balcony, she was able to not be noticed and went the back way onto the royal platform just as Alexander was about to begin the ceremony.

  While the evening's events got underway, the search for the bomb continued.

  "Wait a minute, Johnson," Marcus Gibson said to his searching partner. "I've got a thought. What if the bomb isn't one particular thing?"

  "What do you mean, Master Sergeant?"

  "I mean, what if the reason the scattering field is working so well keeping us from locating the bomb is that it's not assembled yet?"

  "If it's not assembled then it shouldn't be a threat, right?"

  "Not necessarily. What if it's like a chemical reaction that only reacts when two things get mixed?"

  "That sure would explain why the sensors were saying there were explosives but couldn't localize them," Johnson said.

  "I think we need to inform Commander Rayne about this."

  Johnson unclipped his communicator and was about to contact the commander when Marcus stopped him.

  "Better not use the radio, who knows if the bomber is listening. We'll tell him in person. Come on, he and his partner are searchin' the east corridor."

  With those in the main hall all focused on the ceremony accepting the Entauri Cluster of worlds officially into the Realm, the rest of the palace was deserted. Able to simply peek into a room to search for Cale, Marcus and his partner made quick progress through the many rooms of the east corridor.

  "Sergeant Gibson! Sergeant Gibson," Johnson called out from across the hall.

  Knowing his young partner must have found something important, Marcus rushed to the door where Johnson was standing.

  "What is it?" Marcus said as he approached. "Did you find the bomb?"

  "No, it's Lieutenant Harmon."

  Looking to see what he meant, Marcus saw the body of the lieutenant prone on the floor. A large wound was in the middle of his back. Singed fabric lined the point of impact.

  "He was shot at close range for this to happen," Marcus said.

  "But where's Commander Rayne? Do you think they got him too?

  Marcus looked about the room before answering.

  "No," he finally said. "There are no other bodies, no evidence of other weapon's fire.

  "Maybe they split up?"

  "Maybe, but I doubt it."

  Johnson was starting to realize what the master sergeant was suspecting.

  "You don't mean you think Commander Rayne shot him?"

  Marcus' mind flashed back to the night Lord Canton died, and how he too was shot in the back. He thought of the night of the ambush of the Chariot and how Cale already had a ship prepped and ready to leave when they arrived in the docking bay.

  He didn't know we were coming, Marcus thought to himself. Who was he waiting for? He then remembered Cale saying they should wait for Lord Canton before launching, and Lord Canton was in on the assignation plot.

  "It's been him all along," Marcus said aloud in realization.

  "What?" Johnson asked.

  "No time to explain. Lieutenant Harmon must have figured it out, and that's why he shot him." Reaching for the scanner still in the dead man's hand, Marcus took it.

  "He was scanning for Baralyne."

  "Baralyne, that's a gas isn't it?"
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  "Yea," Marcus said but was still puzzled. "These readings say the palace is flooded with it. What do you know about Baralyne?"

  "Not much," Johnson said.

  "Me neither, but I think we better find out."

  Crossing to the computer on the wall, Johnson called up a data file on the gas.

  "What's it say?" Marcus asked.

  "Not much. It's a gas, breathable, odorless. It lists some other info, but it doesn't seem like it could hurt anybody."

  "What if you combine it with something?"

  Johnson input a query asking about mixing the gas with another component. His eyes quickly scanned through the many answers then suddenly came to a halt.

  "Here, it says if you mix it with Girazine, it causes combustion."

  "Girazine. That's a chemical they use in fire suppression systems. That means if someone pulls a fire alarm handle, it'll blow the whole palace sky high in an instant," Marcus deduced.

  "There's fire alarm switches throughout the building. Commander Rayne could be anywhere."

  "I don't think so," Marcus said. "Cale's gone through a lot of trouble to stay hidden all these years and to stay alive. He's not planning to die in the blast. I bet he's got something rigged to start a fire and as soon as it gets big enough the sensors will detect it and automatically activate the suppression system spewing Girazine everywhere then… boom."

  "If that's his plan he wouldn't need a big bomb, just something small to catch on fire, but where would he put something like that?"

  A thought occurred to Marcus as his eyes lit up.

  "In the one place no in from security would ever look," Marcus said.

  "Where's that?"

  "In the security chief's own office. Come on, we may not have much time!"

  With that Marcus rose and the two sprinted through the long corridors to the security section. The door to Cale's office was locked, but not wanting to waste a second, Marcus simply drew his pistol and blasted the lock mechanism then bolted in the room. Sitting on the desk was a canister of brownish liquid connected by two wires to a device with a timer counting down with two minutes to go.

  "Why do bombers always put the countdown in large red numbers?" Johnson questioned.