Escape of the Glitter Princess

by Chad V. Holtkamp

  Desire and the princess looked at him like he had two heads. They had no idea what he was talking about. Dom knew the stupid skit bit was obvious, but he suddenly imagined they were walking into something that wasn’t going to be pretty.

  Desire felt self-conscious being in such a skimpy outfit around Dom. Not that she was concerned about being a woman’s woman in front of him, but her people never dressed like that. Nor did she. The outfit was a Human thing, and she was aware of what it intended. But wearing so little clothing was a different feeling for her. Dom certainly seemed appreciative of the costume based on his colorful thoughts.

  After looking at Desire’s sexy costume and Dom’s weird version of a flight suit, the princess was confused as to what she was wearing. Her white tunic was plain in comparison. It still managed to show off her curves but wasn’t the least bit sexy or flashy.

  “Do either of you understand this outfit?” she asked. “Desire, I get that you’re supposed to be sexy. And yeah, that really flatters your figure. And Dom, yours is a bit weird, too, but at least it looks like a flashy flight suit. Though I’ve never seen one worn with such a high collar and the zipper down so far in front.” She started giggling, and blushed as she looked away from his bare hairy chest.

  “It’s an Earth thing,” Dom said, laughing. “There was a performer about sixty years ago or so named Elvis. They called him The King. He wore an outfit like this in his later years performing in a gambling town called Las Vegas. It was cheesy, but he had a lot of fans, and they ate it up. I just need to go out and flail around since I can’t sing a note.”

  The princess looked puzzled. “The king?” she asked. “My father would never dress so inappropriately. But, what about my outfit? It’s a simple white tunic with a large black belt. There’s nothing flashy or sexy about it. And what’s with this hair?”

  Dom smiled. “Around the time Elvis was dressing like this,” he said, “a movie called Star Wars came out and was the biggest spectacle anyone had ever seen. One of the main characters was a princess who wore an outfit like that. A lot of boys saw the movie and fantasized about her. Just be glad you’re not wearing a gold bikini like she did in a later movie. I guess Chief Rygel felt your regal presence and modest attire would be enough enticement for the crowd.”

  The warp jump was almost complete. Jock contemplated how it was all going to play out. The king sent along a full squadron of 25 fighters, each with two men aboard. There was also a larger troop transport with a full company of men, another 100 or so fully armed with hovercrafts and ready to fight. They were going to get their princess and kick some butt doing it.

  JAXX continued to try to send comm stat messages to Commander Weisman, but it still wasn’t working.

  “The solar storm must be hell to deal with,” Jock said. “I know it was pretty bad when we were running cargo to the Dais system. I heard that the solar radiation on the station was intense.”

  Knowing the chances of a message getting through to Commander Weisman were slim, he was glad that he at least had the Glitter King’s firepower behind him. He needed to land and get a crew ready to lead the assault.

  “JAXXY, find us a spot to land somewhere out of the way but still close enough that we don’t have to travel too far. We should be on final approach for landing in about 20 minutes. Can you verify if the moon is in complete darkness right now?”

  JAXX scoured the databanks for the Veibon moon. “Affirmative, though the moon still gets some reflection from the Boru planet Crypso. It will be mostly dark, just not as complete if we were to arrive a bit later.”

  “No time for that now. We need to get in and rescue the team and Amy ASAP; darkness be damned. Send the coordinates for the landing zone to the rest of the squadron once we come out of the warp jump. They’ll be right behind us.”

  The shockwaves were heavy from nearly thirty ships pulling out of a warp jump at almost the same time. A few ships rattled as they weren’t used to the incredible stress of so many ships jumping into the same airspace at once.

  The Adjuster’s tiny but mighty ship exited the final warp jump, just in time to see the taillights of a large squadron of fighters making its descent through the Veibon atmosphere. Adjuster Peitz was confused.

  “GORDON, identify that fleet and get a signal on the TX,” Adjuster Peitz said. “I need to locate it on Veibos now that we’re so close. And put in a message to the Aliens. I may not be the only one looking for Agent Wagner.”

  “Sir, I’ve traced a signal on the TX,” GORDON replied. “It seems be leading a squadron of royal ships from the Fedlin system.”

  “Fedlin!” Adjuster Peitz said. “Isn’t that the home of the Glitter King?”

  “Affirmative, sir,” GORDON replied.

  “What the heck are they doing all the way out here?” Adjuster Peitz asked.

  “Sir, do you want me to open a hailing frequency and find out?” GORDON replied.

  “No, if Agent Wagner is on the TX, I don’t want him to know I’m here,” Adjuster Peitz said. “At least not until I have time to make his life miserable. Put us in cloak mode and move in behind that fleet. I’m not sure if they're friend or foe.”

  GORDON double checked the coordinates and maneuvered the Adjuster’s ship behind the Fedlin fleet, descending with them just below the cloud tops as the squadron also went into cloak mode.

  Captain Andana was at the bar downing Veibon swill. He thought it was disgusting, but he wanted to get a good buzz on for the show and it was doing the trick. Suddenly he had the distinct urge to take one last look at the princess in private. He marched over to the green room and pulled his blaster out.

  As he entered the green room, the guards were preparing a final round of shots for the three future slaves.

  “Oh, perfect timing,” he said. “Why don’t you make those a double? It’s looking kind of rough out there.”

  Dom lunged at him, but got tangled in his bellbottoms and platform loafers and stumbled into the changing room.

  “Stupid Human,” Captain said in disgust. “You better not fall on your face out there and make me look like a fool. Guards, force feed the slaves those drinks and start the show. I’m sick of this waiting. I’ll take it from here and ensure they perform.” The Captain pointed his blaster in their direction.

  The Veibon guards forced the drinks on the three and the rush hit them immediately. The guards called “Showtime” and took one last look at the performers, making sure everyone was set and ready to go.

  The three held hands, standing silently, each wondering what to expect. Despite the fog coming over her head, Desire tried to send calming thoughts to both the princess and Dom. They all took a deep breath just as Captain Andana gestured with his gun for them to make their way to the side of the stage.

  Jock was ready. He needed to land and be quick about it. JAXX found a small basin not too far from a ridge. Scanning the horizon as they made the final approach in cloak mode, Jock was certain that the ridge overlooked the Veibon camp. They would land just on the opposite side providing a bit of necessary cover. More would be ideal but he was running out of time. He didn’t want to think about what could be happening to his friends by now.

  As he set the TX down in the soft desert sand, he vowed he would do whatever it took to save them. The rest of the fleet followed stealthily landing on the ridge.

  Out in front of the tent, the Veibon guards had their hands full with crowd control. The many species that arrived for the auction were getting rowdy and tearing the place apart. The guards already had to turn away a vicious Cetar that tried to blast its way to the front of line.

  The Ablaunides and Pwichis were smoking giant red clay pipes of Martian tobacco, which ticked off the Traoz who had delicate constitutions while off their planet.

  And now the Smones were making so much noise and causing such a ruckus trying to get in before the show began, the guards had to fire three warning blasts to get the last of the line inside.

  With all the com
motion, they failed to notice the low-pitched rumble of the TX and fleet landing on the nearby ridge.

  After landing, Jock asked Captain Vaunias to select ten of his best men for the advance team. Vaunias quickly sent over the men and Jock sized them up. He was impressed. They seemed to be of the same mold as the GOONs.

  “Men, we’re going in on foot,” Jock commanded. “I’m sure Captain Vaunias filled you in on the plan. You should know the Veibons aren’t what they seem. They have Alien technology that allows them to create false appearances both of themselves and their surroundings. Be prepared for anything. If Chief Rygel has a welcoming committee for us, we need to take them out quickly and get into the tent, which is actually an enormous palace on the inside.”

  Jock filled them in on the layout of the tent. “It looks small from the front,” he said, “but once you open the flaps, it transforms into a giant maze of tunnels and rooms. Don’t let it fool you because you’ll be blown away by the enormity of it. Take a breath and look straight ahead. I trust your weapons are silent like mine. If we come in with too much noise, the whole place will be on us, and we won’t stand a chance without air support.”

  Jock hoped the princess and his team wouldn’t be too far from where he last left them. JAXX managed to pinpoint the coordinates of where Jock escaped the first time and he shared that with the rest of the men. They would follow Jock’s lead.

  The men agreed, double checked their gear and got ready to go.

  Captain Vaunias then gathered the rest of his men. He grouped them in teams of twenty and they got the hovercrafts in formation to quickly and silently get into position. Making it over the rocky ridge would prove challenging, but he was glad that it was more of a sloping hill than a giant mountain. The hovercrafts would only have to deal with a slight incline and not a vertical ascent.

  Adjuster Peitz landed not too far from the squadron. He saw a group of men taking off on foot toward a tiny distant tent. Then he saw a group of hovercrafts set off for the far ridge.

  “GORDON, any news from the Aliens?” he asked.

  “Sir, the Aliens relayed that you should shadow the men and continue your mission,” GORDON replied.

  “Great, I better take some extra weapons in case these guys have the wrong idea,” Adjuster Peitz said.

  He pulled out his jet pack from behind and below the main seat. Like a 20th century hatchback, his ship had all sorts of nooks and crannies to store things. It was a geek-mobile, but it was a damn good one.

  He came prepared and checked that his laser blaster was charged and ready. He often surprised those he was sent to round up with his excellent marksmanship. He took a technical slant to shooting, calculating the wind speed and forward motion and atmospheric pressure so his blasts would arrive at just the right spot in the chest.

  He also grabbed his P380 laser rifle and set it to maximum stun mode. Anyone he shot would be out for days.

  Adjuster Peitz threw on his backpack, filled with a supply of water and protein whip. He set off across the dusty terrain, the steady glow of his jet pack setting off a trail in the desert night sky.

  Working through the sand was tougher than expected. The Veibons had set up sand traps along the way. A few of Jock’s foot soldiers dropped out of sight without a sound, never to be seen again. That wouldn’t be a problem for the hovercrafts, so he messaged Captain Vaunias on his comm link to send one hovercraft ahead. Rather than risk any others, Jock and his remaining men would hitch a ride on it.

  The Veibon guards were getting itchy. Not only were they beat up from crowd control, they were hot, sweaty, dirty and thirsty.

  A few were also pissed they never got to watch any of the auctions, this one in particular. They decided to go against orders and drew lots on who sneak into the show and who would stay to guard the tent.

  Six unlucky Veibons were left to rot in the desert protecting the tent. The rest went inside grabbing several bottles of swill along the way.

  “The Chief will never know. He’ll be too busy running the show!” an excited Veibon guard said, taking a big swig from the bottle. “Ha ha! to him.”

  The first hovercraft dropped off Jock and his team near the outside of the tent. Jock couldn’t believe the Veibons had so few men guarding it. Clearly, they had underestimated him. They drew their weapons and raced toward the entrance of the tent, hoping to catch the guards by surprise.

  “Hey, you guys are really late for the show!” one of the guards said cluelessly. Wanting to make a little money on the side he said, “I need 20 cubits from each of you. And put your weapons away. No entrance with weapons drawn.”

  Jock looked at his men and rolled his eyes at how stupid these guys were. He and his men patted down their flight suits pretending to look for cubits, then turned and shot the guards like a firing squad. They all crumpled to the ground.

  “There’s your twenty cubits,” Jock said as he kicked a guard out of the way and stepped over the other dead ones. Jock peeked through the opening of the tent. He found it odd that they didn’t have any more guards posted inside. He motioned for the men to hold their positions and messaged Captain Vaunias to send the rest of the hovercrafts.

  Just as the hovercrafts arrived and Jock was about to call for the assault to begin, he saw the glow of a jet pack several clicks away. Even in the dark desert night, the Adjuster’s white lab coat gleamed like a beacon below his sunburned head.

  Jock couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Now? Of all times for an Adjuster to show up?” he thought.

  The Adjuster landed and turned off his jet pack. He walked toward Jock with a knowing smile on his face.

  “Major Jock Saunders, how nice to finally meet you,” Adjuster Peitz said. “The esteemed former GOON who accompanied SPOOK Agent Dom Wagner last month during the Froree incursion. I’m Adjuster Peitz from the Inspection Bureau. Since you were with Agent Wagner at the time a highly valuable Receiver sustained damage, I must ask you a few questions about the incident.”

  “Right now?” Jock asked. “You have to ask me questions right now? In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of a mission into hostile territory. Do we look like we’re out for an evening stroll?”

  “Very funny, Major,” Adjuster Peitz said. “It’s imperative that I have all the info for this claim. Agent Wagner owes the Inspection Bureau $50 million Earth dollars. With the help of the Aliens, I tracked him to this very spot. Now luckily I find you here as well.”

  “OK, Rudolph, get in line,” Jock said. “Agent Wagner is inside with who knows how many slave traders wanting to take a piece of him. It’s up to us to rescue him or else there won’t be any of him around for you to harass. If you don’t mind, we’re going to go in and get him. I’ll be sure to bring him back around to you first thing.”

  “Well, in that case, I think I’ll join you,” Adjuster Peitz said. “I seem to remember having an outstanding warrant for a Veibon chief as well. Something about an unpaid lien against an Alien war shack on Niovis. I can kill two birds with one stone.”

  Jock was at the end of his rope, about ready to punch this guy’s glasses right off his nose.

  “Don’t even think about killing anyone,” Jock said. “And lower your laser. You’re making me nervous with that thing flailing everywhere. If you’re going in with us, stay behind these men and don’t get in our way.”

  He motioned for two of the crew to handle the pencil-neck, while he conferred with Captain Vaunias. “Captain, this was easier than expected,” Jock said. “We’re going in to suss out the situation. Hold your men here until I give the signal.”

  Jock and his men entered the tent. Even though he had warned them of the Veibons’ Alien technology, they were still dumfounded by the splendor inside. He was surprised once again that the inside was mostly empty. He saw a purplish blue scaly thing with a huge belly walking toward where the feast was held the night before, but all else was quiet. Jock and his men followed the creature past the banquet hall and down a dark tunnel
. Even several meters away, he could hear a raucous crowd hooting and roaring in the distance.

  The creature ducked inside a set of double doors. It looked to be an auditorium. The sign on the outside said “Recording” and “Applause,” so he knew they were in the right place.

  “You two, come with me,” Jock said. “We have to see what we’re up against. You other guys? Shoot anything that comes out of here that isn’t us.”

  Jock and the two casually sauntered in the auditorium, trying not to draw any attention despite their black tactical gear. What was inside stopped him in his tracks.

  Captain Andana and several guards held Dom, Desire and the princess at gunpoint at stage right. Dom was the first to be called onstage by Chief Rygel.

  “My esteemed guests, I’m pleased to introduce our first slave. Ha ha!” Chief Rygel yelled over the roar of the crowd. “All the way from Planet Earth and making his debut performance on our Veibon stage, it’s Agent Dom Wagner!”

  Captain Andana shoved Dom onto the stage with the barrel of his weapon. The double shot has dulled his senses, but he knew he didn’t want to get blasted. “Though maybe getting shot would be better than this,” he thought as he stumbled onto the stage.

  The lights were bright, but Dom could see Veibons serving up drinks for a posse of creatures unlike he had ever dreamed existed. It was a motley assortment of fangs, fur, beaks, tusks, trunks and snouts. As soon as they saw Dom, the creatures rushed the stage with their auction paddles in paws, pinchers, claws, tentacles, flippers and fists.