Escape of the Glitter Princess

by Chad V. Holtkamp

  “And what of our traitor and the slave chief?” the king asked.

  “As requested, we’re bringing them to you alive,” Captain Vaunias. “They are being held with my men on the transport ship. I can’t vouch for their condition once we arrive back on Aesneia. As you know, some of the men tend to get a bit rowdy around traitors.”

  “Well, keep them alive,” King Iearus replied. “I have a special surprise for them later.”

  The king called in his servants. He ordered his cooks to create a celebratory feast like no other. No expense would be spared to welcome Princess Amaratis home. He would invite the entire kingdom and her betrothed would be waiting for her with open arms. That would be an awkward meeting for Major Saunders, but he’d find some way to let him down easy.

  He also told them to ready his royal collection of knives, hatchets and swords for the prisoners.

  The TX pulled out of last warp jump before making its descent to Aesneia. The sudden shift in pressure woke Dom from his nine-hour nap.

  “What? Where are we?” Dom said, sitting up in his chair and wiping the drool from his face.

  “Morning, sleepyhead,” Desire said, jabbing him in the ribs.

  Dom let out a big yawn and stretched his arms to the ceiling. He looked out the cockpit window and saw Planet Aesneia looming in the distance, shadowed by its three moons.

  “Wait, we’re here?” Dom asked puzzled. “I slept the whole way? Bonus! Wow, it’s almost as beautiful as Earth,” he said.

  “I think it’s more beautiful,” said the princess, fully coming to terms with her future life on Aesneia. “I never realized how much I could miss being home. And to think I was ready to run away from all this. I guess being in a stressful, dangerous, life-changing situation shows you what you have to appreciate.”

  She moved to the edge of her seat, getting a wondrous view as the shapes of the many islands dotting the landscape came into view. She thought she could almost see her father’s castle and his men waiting for her, but she knew she was projecting that from her imagination.

  Jock flew through the outer layer of the atmosphere approaching the tollgate as before. The king’s fleet followed behind him.

  “We’ll have a welcoming party soon enough,” Jock said. Sure enough, two snub-nosed fighters appeared on the horizon.

  “TX1539, this is Bravo 1490,” one of the fighters came over the comm stat. “Welcome home, Princess.”

  She tapped on the comm stat, “Will, is that you? Thanks, it’s great to be home. Tell my father we’ll see him in a few minutes.”

  The fighters flew in next to the TX with a welcoming escort back to the king’s landing zone. They could see the crowds gathering as they approached from above. Thousands of happy revelers had come to enjoy the festivities of welcoming her home.

  “Just think, if I hadn’t gone and run away,” the princess said, “all these people would be at work right now, slaving away in the Glitter mines.”

  “You might want to watch how you use that term from now on,” Dom said. “I think they’d happily be at their jobs than the alternative we almost faced.”

  “You’re right,” she said. “I’ll never think of that again.”

  Jock eased the ship down into the landing zone as JAXXY made the final adjustments for a smooth landing.

  The King’s royal guard greeted them on the platform, forming two lines on either side as the ramp slowly opened. The princess stepped down first as a cheer erupted from the adoring crowds. Most didn’t have any idea of why she’d been away. The official story from the palace was that the Captain kidnapped her. It stretched the truth a bit, but the king let it slide. He couldn’t afford for the real story to come out.

  At the end of the ramp, Princess Amaratis could her father. Next time him stood her betrothed. “I am the princess of a great planet,” she thought. “It’s time to grow up and accept that responsibility.”

  She stepped forward to greet King Iearus and her future husband.

  “Princess Amaratis, I am overjoyed that you are back safe and sound on Aesneia,” he said wrapping his arms around her in a huge hug. He didn’t let go for nearly a minute. If one looked closely, it almost appeared that he was crying.

  The future Prince Rael looked upon them anxiously, scanning the area to get a glimpse of the Human that had both loved her and saved her. The princess turned from her father and smiled awkwardly at him. She stepped forward and gave him a polite hug and kiss, but it was more out of a sense of duty than true love.

  “Princess Amaratis,” Rael said. “I was so afraid I’d never you see you again.”

  “I am home for good, Rael,” Princess Amaratis said regally.

  Dom came down from the TX followed by Desire. The king shook Dom’s hand and gave him a pat on the back for a job well done.

  “You are the one who kept Princess Amaratis safe while in the hands of those creatures.”

  Dom took the credit, though he hadn’t done much. He liked the limelight. “That would be me,” he said giving him a hearty handshake.

  “And you Centaurian, you comforted her with your thoughts?”

  She curtsied to his majesty, and he kissed her hand as she stood back up. Through the brilliant sunlight, she smiled broadly and said, “Yes, King, it was the least I could do.”

  The king looked around. He was ready to face the Human Jock again, but he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Dom and Desire turned around, expecting him to be right behind them. They could see his feet at the top of the ramp, but Desire heard his thoughts of hesitation of seeing Amy with another man.

  “Come on, Jock,” Dom yelled, “time to join the party.”

  Jock took a deep breath and stepped down the ramp, standing as tall and proud as he could, anything to hide his nervousness at meeting the king again and her future husband.

  Jock strode over to the king who extended his hand to him. He tried not to look at the princess.

  “Major Saunders, a job well done,” the king said. “On behalf of the entire Fedlin system, thank you for getting my daughter back safely.”

  Jock shook hands with a firm grip and looked him right in the eye. He would be taking this meeting like a man. “It was my pleasure, sir,” he said.

  They all smiled, and the princess introduced her fiancé. “Jock, this is Rael.”

  The two rivals eyed each other warily, Jock sizing up the competition. He made no bones that he thought she was settling, at least from the thoughts Desire could read.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Rael,” Jock said cordially. “You take good care of the princess. She’s a very special woman. You’ll have your hands full, but she’s very special.”

  “Thank you, Jock, for returning her to me,” Rael said marking his territory. “The people of Aesneia and the entire Fedlin System are grateful to you and your team.”

  “My kingdom, my daughter has returned safely!” King Iearus proclaimed to the crowd. “In honor of this magnificent occasion, let us feast!”

  The group turned and headed off the platform and into the castle for the celebration. All Dom could think about was the food. Desire had had enough feasts for a lifetime but was carried along by the crows.

  But Jock held back. “I’m sorry, King Iearus, unfortunately we must be getting back to our ship. We have an urgent delivery that’s been delayed a few days,” he said. “I’d love for us to stick around but duty calls.”

  “Jock, don’t be such a GOON,” Dom said. “It’s not every day you get a planetary party thrown in your honor.”

  Desire said nothing. She knew Jock just need to go now, before he changed his mind about Princess Amaratis.

  The king normally would have taken great offense, but under the circumstances, he couldn’t blame Jock for wanting to leave.

  “Major Saunders, you are a good man,” the king said. “You love my daughter enough to know what’s best for her. I am proud of you and will always remember you with honor.”

  Desire and Dom thought wanted
to stick around, but realized how heartbreaking it was for Jock to see the Princess Amaratis fulfilling her destiny with another man. They thanked the king for his hospitality and said their final goodbyes.

  Jock took his seat in the captain’s chair of the TX. JAXX was surprised to see them all back so soon. “Aren’t you going to stick around and enjoy the celebration?” he asked. “After the rough few days you all had, some downtime and good cheer would be highly recommended.”

  “Sorry, JAXXY,” Jock said. “We have to get back to work to finish our delivery to Polarus.” He paused to look out the cockpit window to see the many revelers cheering for the princess as she walked toward the castle. He thought he caught a glimpse of Amy looking back at him, but he blinked. He didn’t want to remember her that way, so he went back to flipping switches on the console to get the ship in the air.

  Dom took a seat in the nav chair, and Desire strapped into the jump seat behind.

  “So we need to get some snakes off this plane,” Dom said. “I repeat, I can’t stress how much I want to get those snakes off this ship. If I never see another slithering bastard in my life, it’ll be too soon.”

  “Dom, chill out about the snakes and frogs. They’re cute and harmless,” she said pulling a snake from her pocket and dropping it on his neck.

  He jumped and would have slammed his head into a row of nav switches if he hadn’t been belted in. He shuddered and jerked and reached and pulled and tried everything he could to get it out of his hair. When he did, he saw it was a toy snake.

  “Damnit, Desire! How could you do that?” he yelled. “Just wait, when you least expect it, I’ll get you back. Just you wait.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him and said, “Bring it, Agent Wagner. Bring it.”

  Jock fired up the engines, and the ship lifted off from the landing pad. He took one last at Aesneia. “It does remind me a bit of Earth, maybe somewhere in Australia,” he said.

  “Well, if you want to go to Australia,” Dom said. “I know of a great teleportation service that could get us there in nothing flat. You’ll just have to get us out of this system and back to the Constellation in a hurry.”

  “Maybe after we make this delivery,” Jock replied. “Maybe once the Froree thing has cooled down. And Commander Weisman takes us off cargo duty.”

  “One can only hope,” Desire said. She carefully packed the toy snake back in a slipcase and set it below the seat.

  Jock set the coordinates for the Polarus System, getting ready for a warp jump. “Let’s hope we don’t run into any more pirates along the way. I’ll have JAXXY set up the jump as close to the system as possible. The fewer distractions on the way, the better.”

  Dom pulled out his comm stat and flipped through to the end of the article he was reading when he fell asleep earlier. Desire had changed all of his reading settings so the text was so big it looked like it was written for a blind person.

  “Do you need your eyes checked or what?” Dom asked her.

  “No, I just didn’t want you to miss out on anything with Miss Karmelita’s picture.

  Dom looked down and flipped to the next page. The famous actress was wearing a very revealing corset and little else.

  “Well, that’s definitely worth seeing in large print,” he said.

  “Geez, Dom, she could put your eyes out with those things,” Jock said. “Better hope you never run into her in real life.”

  “Just fly the ship, Jock, just fly the ship,” Dom said.

  Jock made one last check of the settings with JAXX. “Ready for warp jump in three, two, one…engage.”

  The starfields melted in the glow of the cockpit as the ship rocketed through to Polarus.

  “Next stop, package to be delivered,” Jock said to them.

  With the system a few hours away even with a warp jump, Jock set the controls on autopilot. “JAXXY, take control. I’m going to get something to eat. Anyone else want anything?”

  Since they’d skipped out on the party, none of them had eaten since the night before. They all went back to the galley and Dom switched on the food particle generator and whipped up a big country breakfast — eggs, pancakes, and lots and lots of bacon. He also brewed up a large pot of coffee and some reconstituted heavy whipping cream. Even though it was all just push buttons and pills, it tasted like the real thing. The galley even took on the smoky scent of applewood from the bacon. They ate heartily, though the influx of carbs from the pancakes made them sleepy.

  They each headed to their respective cabins and fell fast asleep on their beds.

  JAXX sounded an alert as they were nearing the end of the warp jump. Dom was in the middle of a dream about being back in Chicago. Desire was curling up with a hot beach stud. And Jock was being tortured by a sea of snakes. He barely heard the sensor alerting them to the end of the warp jump, but JAXX set off a siren in his cabin to cut through the sleepiness.

  He rubbed his eyes and looked at the monitor. They’d only slept for an hour or two, but it felt like enough.

  21

  As the TX came out of the warp jump, Jock made his way to the cockpit to finalize the coordinates for landing on Polarus. The area was clear of any ships, which he thought was strange. Jock had never been in this sector before, and the small solo moon circling the planet look uninhabited. The planet itself was awash with what looked to be thick, lush jungle and something that looked like an ocean. He adjusted the comm stat to get a better view of where they’d be dropping the cargo.

  Just as he expected, it was going to be a tight landing between the water and the jungle. He’d let JAXXY take command of setting down with more precision. He was still shaking off the grogginess of his nap and didn’t want to risk it.

  Dom and Desire entered the cockpit, both wrestling their minds awake from the short nap.

  “JAXX, can you reach this guy we’re supposed to meet?” Dom asked. “I’d love to get these snakes and frogs off the ship so we can get back home.”

  “I’ve reached out to him, but his comm link isn’t showing anything at the moment,” JAXX replied. “I’ll keep trying.”

  “Maybe we can just drop them off at his door like the Post Office used to do?” Dom suggested.

  Jock pulled up Commander Weisman on the comm stat. It was early morning on the Constellation, but he figured Weisman would already be sitting at his desk. Or else he could connect with JACOB and leave him a message.

  “Morning, Major,” Weisman said. “I trust you’re finally at the Doral system?”

  “Yes, Commander,” Jock replied. “We’re trying to reach your friend and get the reptiles delivered, but he’s not answering his comm link.”

  “Well, the delivery was slated for a few days ago so he may be out doing research in the jungle. I’ll have JACOB patch you through to his assistant, and she can take it from there.”

  “Thanks, Commander,” Jock said. “We’re about ready to touch down now. This planet is well hidden. If you didn’t have exact coordinates, you’d never find it.”

  “Yes, my scientist friend likes to do his research in faraway places. Keeps his work from being looked at too carefully. Just make the delivery and get your butts home to the Constellation. The Fed wants a full debriefing on the Veibos debacle ASAP.”

  Jock didn’t like the sound of that. He felt like he could do nothing right in the eyes of his superiors lately. He set that felling aside and just got on with it.

  “I’ve reached out to his assistant, and she’s online now,” JAXX said.

  “Hello, Major Saunders, this is Lydia Barron, Dr. Richard’s assistant.”

  “Yes, Ms. Barron,” Jock replied. “We’re just about to land by your facility to deliver your package from Commander Weisman.”

  “Sounds great,” she replied. “I’ll see you in a few minutes and help you unload.”

  Dom jumped out of his seat and rushed back to the cargo bay. “No time like the present. Let’s get these freaky things off this ship and get the hell home.”

>   Jock set the TX down on a pinky sandy shore and worried that Dom would want to take a quick dip. It was a stunningly pristine planet.

  Jock exited the cockpit and went to the cargo bay to ensure Dom didn’t make another mess with the reptiles. Dom had the flooring unsecured by the time he got back there. Jock helped him hoist it out of the way while Desire reached in for the small bag of snake and frog parts. Jock and Dom jumped into the hold and hoisted the heave crate onto the deck. The snakes and frogs were still in hibernation but would wake quickly once the crate reached room temperature.

  Desire pulled a dolly cart over, and they lifted the crate into place with the bag of guts on top. Jock flipped the switch for the ramp and stepped off the ship.

  The humidity smacked him in the face. After being in the dry moon desert, the stench of flora and fauna in the humid setting was pungent.

  Dom looked out from the ramp. “Jock, you should have told me we were going to the beach. I would have changed into my dragon Speedos.”

  Jock rolled his eyes.

  Dom and Desire carefully rolled the cart down the ramp, while the assistant Lydia pulled up in a small cargo shuttle. She was fumbling with some paperwork on the dash and finishing a comm chat.

  Lydia was tall and blonde and wearing a denim blouse, olive drab cargo pants and heavy boots. It didn’t do much for her figure. Jock thought she looked like she was ready to go out on an expedition, but her perfect hair and makeup didn’t quite jive with that.

  She walked over to the cart carrying a clipboard and introduced herself to Dom and Desire. Jock introduced himself, and she shook his hand. Jock did a double-take as they shook hands. There was something electric in the handshake. It was unnerving but slightly stimulating. He wondered if it was an instant attraction.

  “Sorry, about that, Major!” she said. “I was working with some electric eels when you sent the comm stat message. I guess there’s still some residual electricity in my body from it.