“I found a system on the way to Arellie, though it’s a bit large for my liking,” she said. “There’s going to be a lot of traffic in the way. JAXX, you’ll need to set your coordinates to an exact spot so we don’t smash into another ship coming out the jump.”
“JAXXY, can you make this happen?” Jock asked. “It’ll be a tight squeeze on the other side. It’s a busy system and rush hour for most crews.”
Jock continued evasive maneuvers, squeezing every ounce of fight out of the ship. The pirates pulled up closer. “They must have that new fusion quad barrel drive,” he thought. “How did a ship like that, out in the middle of nowhere, get such an advanced engine? I thought we were fast, but there’s no way we’re going to win against that.”
Before Jock could even worry, JAXX pulled the coordinates, announcing the jump with a, “Hang on!”
Dom made a quick decision to pull up the laser cannon at the last second before the jump. Losing that in the void of space would not have been a good thing. And they were already in enough trouble.
The cockpit display went white, and the star fields flashed in an instant. The woozy warp feeling came over the three as they hurtled through space.
The ship blasted through the other side of the warp jump. Just as they feared, they landed right on top of another ship. “Damnit, JAXXY, what happened with the coordinates?” Jock asked. JAXX did not respond. He was too busy assessing the damage to the TX.
Jock pulled up hard on the steering, and the ship groaned under the pressure. The bottom of the hull scraped the top shield of the smaller ship, sparks flying everywhere. If Dom hadn’t pulled up the laser cannon, it would have been lost for sure.
The ship they landed on quickly freed itself and zoomed forward, blasting away at another ship in the distance. Jock had a bad feeling when he saw the markings on the ship that was being attacked. It was an Ethereal transport ship, sector class Alpha, ruling level. And it was already badly damaged.
“Dom! Get that laser cannon online,”Jock yelled. “Whoever’s being attacked on that ship is royalty! From the looks of it, they’re lucky to still be flying.”
Dom went to work, albeit somewhat selfishly. He thought it would be a perfect way to make them heroes once again.
Jock had the same idea, though even he couldn’t stand by and watch a royal ship fall under further attack. He flew in behind the pursuer and got a quick bead on the attacking ship.
Desire braced herself for battle as Dom yelled, “Ready to fire!”
In one fell swoop, Jock guided the ship into position as Dom locked on his target. He fired the cannon for a second time in two days and yet another pirate ship was history. They were a little close for comfort and flew into the small debris field left in the wake of the explosion. JAXX set the forward shields just in time for the twisted bits of metal to fling off harmlessly from the TX.
“That was a close one, but great shooting, Dom,” Jock said. “Now let’s see who we rescued.”
The next thing they knew they were being hailed by the royal cruiser. The ship’s captain appeared on the comm screen.
“Greetings. I am Captain Andana. On behalf of myself and my esteemed passengers, we would like to thank you for your assistance.”
“More than happy to help,” Jock said. “I’m Major Saunders of the Federated Union. These pirates are getting out of control. Looks like your ship sustained major damage.”
“Affirmative,” Captain Andana replied. “We were on our way to the Boru system, but didn’t have a chance to make the jump before our attackers came on the scene. It was harrowing for my passengers and our rear engine is out of commission. We are stranded and were are quickly losing power to keep the ship in space.”
Dom entered the cockpit and sat down. “Agent Wagner, here. We can get you as far as the next station if you can teleport aboard our ship.”
“Agent Wagner, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Captain Andana said. “We appreciate your kind offer.”
“How many of you aboard?” Jock asked.
“Three, myself and two passengers,” Captain Andana replied.
“Sounds good,” Jock said. “We’ll get a reading and have our AI teleport you over ASAP.”
“Thank again for assistance,” Andana replied. There was increased urgency in his tone. “Our ship is down to 10% power. We don’t have much time.“
JAXXY, get the coordinat…” Jock started to say.
“Already done,” JAXX cut him off. “Captain Andana, gather with your passengers and ensure you are touching each other so we don’t have to do this twice.”
“I ask only that you give me a moment to gather together,” he said. Captain Andana disappeared from the screen and prepared the passengers for the teleportation.
“Yes, but please return to the same spot,” JAXX said as he locked in. “Teleportation commencing in 3, 2, 1.”
The royal ship lost all power just as JAXX teleported the group onto the TX. It would forever be lost in space.
“JAXXY, get Commander Weisman on the comm stat,” Jock said. “We need to let him know that we have visitors.”
JAXX attempted the transmission. “I’m sorry, sir. It seems the solar storm has flared up and I cannot get a clear signal.”
“Great,” Jock muttered. “Now we’re going to be in even more trouble.”
Jock set the TX to autopilot, and they headed back to the cargo bay to greet their new passengers. He was embarrassed because the cargo bay was still a mess from the gravity coupler failing before the attack.
“Captain Andana, please excuse the state of our ship,” Jock said. “Our gravity coupler failed right before we warp jumped into your sector. We did not have time to clean up the quarters.”
Desire spotted Dom kicking a little baby snake aside and couldn’t help but smirk.
Captain Andana was an older man of about 50, just shy of six feet tall with a military build. He was joined by a younger bald male in a purple robe and sash who looked to be a servant. The third new passenger was a smaller female wearing a hooded cape. She seemed to be protecting something on the inside of it. As Jock stepped up to greet them, she turned her head away.
Dom and Desire introduced themselves to the captain and the servant. Captain Andana was excessively polite, though he eyed the purple streak in Desire’s hair suspiciously.
“Allow me to introduce Watu, servant to esteemed Princess Amaratis of the Fedlin system,” Captain Andana said proudly.
Princess Amaratis pulled her hood down. She was beautiful in an angelic way, with porcelain skin that radiated an ethereal glow. She had long black hair and piercing blue eyes. But she had a blank look on her face, as she stared directly at Jock.
Jock took a step back. Dom and Desire thought he was being rude so Dom interjected. “What’s up, Jock? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Jock composed himself and stepped forward again as Princess Amaratis extended her hand. He kissed it awkwardly and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess.”
Dom couldn’t get over how strangely Jock was acting, but turned back to their guests. Princess Amaratis didn’t take her eyes off Jock for a second, though he couldn’t look at her.
Jock quickly excused himself and said he had to get back to the flying. The captain joined him, and they went to make arrangements to get them to the Boru system.
“Well, that was odd,” Dom said to the princess and the servant, “but welcome aboard and make yourself at home.” The princess looked around at the mess and was not impressed.
Desire read the situation as soon as the Princess stepped onboard. Her thoughts went haywire as soon as she saw Jock. The flash of recognition of a lost love was a powerful spark, so powerful that Desire felt a twinge of a headache coming on.
She felt bad for Jock, as he struggled to maintain his composure. Desire had popped into his head and sensed a deep aching. Watching them both in stunned silence, ignoring the fact that they knew each other was painful. Trying
to play off that they had just met after her rescue was just downright wrong. It was easy to fool Dom without a fuss, but Desire knew there was more to the story.
What troubled her even more is that she immediately distrusted Captain Andana. As soon as he spotted the purple streak in her hair, his thoughts became hidden, something which gave Desire serious pause. The only ones who knew how to hide their thoughts were the ones that were usually up to no good.
Once Jock and Captain Andana went to the cockpit, Desire led the princess and her servant to the salon. At least it was a little less messy. It wasn’t the easiest thing to maneuver around a ship as it had suddenly become more crowded, but they would make do.
Dom followed in tow with a bottle of gin he had stashed in the cargo area. Luckily it hadn’t floated away and crashed to the ground once Desire got the gravity coupler back in place.
Seeing the princess again shocked Jock into a stupor, though he didn’t want Captain Andana to know. As they worked together with JAXX on setting the coordinates to the Boru system, his thoughts went back to the last night they spent together before she disappeared. They had had a quiet romantic dinner on the river and made plans to get married once he graduated from the Academy. But when he woke up the next morning, she was gone, and he was alone.
The years went by, and he did his best to lock that memory away in the back of his mind. He doubled down at the Academy, driving himself to work twice, three, four times as hard to get through the pain of his lost love.
He’d never forgotten the princess but never dreamed he’d ever see her again. And now, picking her up on a random cargo run, he’d rescued her from space pirates, saving her from certain death. It wasn’t pretty.
He’d have to make sure Dom didn’t make any moves on the princess. It would be just like him to do that, and Jock had been surprised when he behaved like a gentleman during introductions.
As they prepared to make the warp jump toward the Boru system, Jock struck up a conversation with Captain Andana. He wanted to get more details on what happened to the princess after she had been taken away from him.
“I have been the protector of the princess for quite some time,” Captain Andana said. “I worked for her father, the king of Aesneia, for some years. When her old protector made some ill-advised moves and let her visit Earth, the King promoted me to be her guide. I kept my promise, though there were probably other positions more suitable for my background in the Fedlin Guard.”
That made Jock smile. He’d apparently been the recipient of those ill-advised moves.
“I imagine someone so young could be a handful,” Jock said.
“Yes, she was at times a spoiled brat,” Captain Andana said. They both agreed that neither would volunteer for such a mission, Jock playing along, hiding his hurt behind his jokes.
“So what is your business with the princess now?” Jock asked. “What’s in the Boru system? I am not familiar with the planets out here.”
“We are visiting some old friends of the King,” Captain Andana said. “The princess wanted to see more exotic sights than her father’s Glitter mines on Aesneia.”
Jock’s head snapped up. “Glitter! No wonder the pirates were after you.”
“That’s also why the princess has not changed after all these years,” Jock thought. “Her father must have become the king of the Glitter trade.”
Jock became nervous. “We better get out of here pronto,” he said. “JAXXY, alert our passengers that we make the jump in two.”
Dom was more than happy to assist the princess in getting ready for the jump, but noticed she kept her hands strangely hidden inside her cape.
6
Powering through the warp jump to the Boru system, it looked to be smooth sailing for the most part. It was never one hundred percent accurate as conditions in space shifted from time to time. Even the best AI and all the star charts in the universe couldn’t account for all of it.
But something wasn’t sitting right with Jock. “So how did you manage to get this far away from the Fedlin system and only now run into the pirates?” Jock asked. “If they were after Glitter, it seems like they’d have found you much sooner. This area isn’t exactly known for pirates.”
“Unlucky day, I guess,” Captain Andana said. “We were about to warp jump when they came out of nowhere and started shooting at us.”
Jock continued to probe and became more and more convinced that they were transporting Glitter. “So how do you deal with the princess?” Jock asked. “I’ve never dealt much with royalty, but I imagine it can be quite the challenge.” He knew full well he was lying through his teeth but didn’t want to yet let on about their past.
“She can be a handful most of the time,” Captain replied. “She thinks she knows everything and doesn’t like to listen to others. She doesn’t often pull the princess card, but it’s never far from your mind when you’re working with her.”
Jock smiled at the thought. She never brought it up much when they were together years ago. At the time, she seemed relieved to be a normal person with him, not a princess waited on hand and foot her whole life. She was free to be who she wanted and let the chips fall where they may. She still exuded a royal air at the time, that was a given and not something she could easily strip away. It was part of who she was, but it intrigued him and it was something that he had loved.
“JAXXY, send a message to JACOB and alert Commander Weisman of our side trip to rescue the Fedlin royalty,” Jock said. “Let him know that we will redirect to Polarus once we drop them in the Boru system. Also take control of the ship. We’re all starving and after a long day and need to eat.”
“Yes, Major, it will be another few hours until we arrive in the Boru system,” JAXX replied.
Jock smelled the gin ever before he entered the salon. Captain Andana was not familiar with gin, but knew that the smell was a fermented substance of some kind.
“Great, the princess is at it again,” Captain Andana thought.
Jock walked in and quickly surveyed the situation. Though Dom and Desire had cleaned up the gravity storm, there was a whole other mess happening. The bottle of gin was half empty and he also noticed that Desire had a bottle of wine next to her.
Both Jock and Captain Andana zeroed in on the princess. They both spoke over each other.
“Princess, what have you let these Humans do to you?” Captain Andana said.
“Princess, what have you let Dom to you?” Jock said.
“Oh lighten up. I’m just getting to know our new friends,” she said and giggled.
The table was crowded with the three already sitting around and drinking.
“Well it’s for some grub. You guys hungry? Maybe we can cook up some pirates,” Dom joked.
The servant respectfully said. “Sir Dom, we are starving. We have not eaten in twelve Earth hours.”
“Then allow me!” Dom had whipped up some steak and potatoes and grabbed a few more bottles of wine from the pantry. It was easy to be a gourmet cook when all he needed to do was pull out a few freeze-dried packets and add water. He wasn’t sure if it was just the imitation of life or the fact that he’d been brainwashed with these things that made him think he was a good cook or that they really did taste good.
“The Federated Union is getting better at making these space rations taste like the real stuff, not some 0 and 1 concoction from lab-engineered cardboard and soy,” Dom said loading up the table.
Everyone filled their plates and they all ate heartily.
The princess had forgotten how good Earth food could taste, even if it wasn’t the real thing. The smoky char of a medium rare ribeye melted in her mouth and she washed it down with an amazing vintage bottle of Cab Dom poured for her. Compared to what she got on her home planet, the weird meats and drinks, they had nothing quite like the taste of beef.
Jock watched Princess Amaratis closely. “How long can we hold up this little charade?” he thought. And in fact, he didn’t want to. He remembered how
he would have gone to the ends of the universe for her once upon a time. He wished Dom hadn’t gotten her drunk so he could at least talk to her and find out how she was.
Princess Amaratis finished another glass of wine, her eyes losing a bit of their sparkle. Jock got concerned. “Princess, don’t you think you ought to slow down?”
“Oh, Jock, you haven’t a changed a bit,” she said. “You never did like seeing me tipsy.”
“Amy…” Jock trailed off. He didn’t know what to say.
Everyone’s heads snapped up and they all turned in shock, except for Desire who muttered, “Thank God.”
Just then the Princess broke out into tears. She always loved it when Jock called her Amy. Captain Andana did the math. “You’re that Human she had an affair with on Earth, aren’t you, Jock?”
“That would be me. I’m the reason you have your job,” Jock said.
Desire scooted closer to the Princess to comfort her.
“I was barely 18,” Princess Amaratis cried. “All I wanted to do is go to Earth and have some fun. Then I met Jock at a club in the wee hours. Despite our age and planetary differences, we talked until dawn. He was so much older than me, but we fell in love. Then my father tore us apart.”
“I wasn’t that old, Amy,” Jock said. “I was 21! I just saw something in you. Maybe it was because you weren’t from Earth. But something strong drew me to you.”
“It was one crazy summer, wasn’t it?” the princess said. It was a question.
Captain Andana was getting very angry at this interaction. Desire was getting very nervous. Even though she couldn’t read the captain’s thoughts, she could read his body language and it wasn’t good. But the princess was speaking from the gin now.
“Remember how I used to tease you by stopping by the Academy, then we’d spend every night out and about, making plans for our future?” Princess Amaratis asked. “That was the most magical summer of my life.”
Escape of the Glitter Princess Page 4