Chapter 34: Chapter 34

MIKHLAS

Mikhlas entered the recovery room, trying to walk without injuring himself. It didn’t help that Izzy slinked into the room ahead of him like a bekku who’d just drunk a bowl of cream. He tried to put his mind to the task at hand.

Isabelle walked up to the pod, taking a look through the glass. “She’s so pretty. How old is she?”

“She’s a young teen a year short of James, I’d think. Shall we wake her?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Prime, blades,” Mikhlas said. As the metal grew out of the floor next to his feet, Isabelle frowned at him.

“What are you going to do with those?”

“It’s a deterrent only, but she is still a rebel.”

“Let’s just give her a chance. Okay?” Isabelle eyed the silver in his hands.

“Prime, open the pod,” Mikhlas said.

Alianat lay motionless, her breathing slow and weak.

“Is she alive?” Izzy reached one hand out toward the girl’s neck.

“Izzy, step back,” Mikhlas said, glaring into the pod. Izzy followed his gaze and was met with two large, bright-green eyes, open wide and terrified.

“Alianat? Can you hear me?” Izzy asked.

“Who are you?”

“My name’s Izzy. Can you sit up?”

“Where am I?”

When she saw Mikhlas with blades in his hands, she instantly panicked. Izzy grabbed her arms. “Alianat, calm down. You’re not in any danger here. Relax, shh. It’s going to be all right,” she said.

“What do you want with me? How did I get here?”

“We found your pod. The ship you were on was destroyed. Do you remember any of that?” said Mikhlas.

Alianat frantically moved her eyes between them.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. We won’t hurt you,” Izzy said, and the girl slowly began to calm.

“What do you want with me?” she asked Izzy with her lips trembling.

“Nothing. We’re going to take you back to your father,” Izzy reassured her.

“Why?”

“Do you not wish to return to him?” Mikhlas asked. She spun around to face him.

“But you are Fleet. I am rebel. You kill us on sight.”

“Not today,” Izzy said.

“Who are you? You do not look like Fleet.” She looked Izzy up and down.

“I’m not a Homeworlder,” Izzy said.

“What will happen with me?”

“We will take you back to Homeworld with us. Once there, your father will come fetch you,” Mikhlas said.

“Are you planning to hurt him?” she asked.

“You have nothing to fear from us, child,” Mikhlas said, dropping the blades on the floor. Alianat looked around again, concern still dominating her expression.

“I want to speak to my father,” she asked quietly.

“Very well, but first you must eat. These old pods are draining to the body,” Mikhlas said.

Izzy helped her get out and they all walked to the canteen. It felt strange to have a rebel walking freely on the ship like this, and holding onto Izzy’s arm had his senses on alert.

As they entered the canteen, Mikhlas saw James and Lucas sitting at one of the tables having an animated discussion with the Zaxary.

The hungry Gahaal had extended a tendril of mass to clean up the princes’ spills, the yellow mass concentrated under Prince Lucas’s chair.

“Why don’t eggs tell jokes?” James said as Lucas lifted a forkful of pasta to his mouth.

“The Zaxary has not heard this joke. What is the answer?”

“Because they’d crack each other up,” James said.

Lucas laughed and hit the table with his hand, causing the bowl of pasta to flip and catch his brother right on the chest.

At the look his brother gave him, Lucas just dissolved into laughter as the Zaxary almost lunged at the young man.

Alianat giggled, and the noise made James turn. He took one look at Alianat and blushed almost as red as the sauce splattered over his white shirt.

“Oh, er, hi, Mom, who—” James managed to get out before the Zaxary laid a wet tendril against his chest. “Hey, give it a rest, Zaxary.”

“But the spill, the Prince James—”

“Ugh, fine,” James said and took off his shirt, passing it to the Zaxary, who pushed it inside himself and squirmed with pleasure.

“Prime, can I have another shirt, please?”

Mikhlas watched as Alianat looked back and forth between James and Izzy. “If he’s a Prince, then you must be…”

Izzy nodded. “The new Monarch. One who is hoping to make peace with your father. I know you’re nervous, Alianat. I can feel your hand shaking, but you can trust me.”

The girl looked back at James as he extended his arms as silver nanites rose from the floor and constructed another white shirt for him. She turned to Izzy and smiled at her. “All right.”

“Alianat, what happened to your ship?” Mikhlas asked.

“The Fleet attacked us,” she said. Mikhlas frowned. ~But Prime could not identify the energy signature~.

“Do not lie to me, child. We need the truth if we are to help you,” Mikhlas said, his eyes already stinging from the red.

“I am not lying! I lost a lot of people I care about on that ship,” she shouted back.

“How are you so sure who it was?” Izzy asked.

“Because they sent us a message. It should be downloaded to my pod.”

“Prime, scan the pod,” Mikhlas said. “How many were aboard?”

“One hundred eight. I only survived because my guardians gave up their lives to protect me.”

“Okay, Alianat. Come on, let’s get some food in you, if my sons haven’t eaten it all,” Izzy said.

They led the girl to a table in the back, and Mikhlas noticed James watching Alianat as she walked beside his mother.

Mikhlas cleared his throat and when Prince James looked at him, he nodded toward the table in invitation.

James grinned and stepped quickly to where Izzy and Alianat sat together. ~The boy didn’t need telling twice,~ Mikhlas thought ruefully.

“You may call me Ali. That is what my father calls me,” she said.

“That’s a nice name,” James said as his mother raised an eyebrow at him. As Mikhlas lowered himself into a chair, he looked at the Prince.

“Why don’t you get Ali some food? She needs something energy dense.”

“Sure, I can do that,” James said, rushing over to the fabricators.

“Ali, why did your father send you away?” Izzy asked.

“Because the Fleet was about to destroy our home.”

“When was this?” Mikhlas asked.

“Three days ago. My father got a message from the Realm to warn him of the attack. He sent us all away to be safe.”

“And did the ships come?”

“I don’t know.”

James slid a tray in front of Ali with some kind of bread bun and grilled meat with a large pink frothy drink, a straw sticking out at a jaunty angle.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“It’s a burger and strawberry thickshake. Try it.”

Ali picked up the drink and took a cautious sip but nothing came up through the straw. She turned questioning eyes to him. “Er, you got to suck it really hard,” he said, blushing again.

Alianat tried again, managing to get some. “It’s very nice,” she said, lowering her eyes. “Thank you.”

Izzy rolled her eyes at the pair as she turned to Mikhlas. “I thought you said the Fleet was stagnant until I am crowned?”

“Yes, it should be. But I fear someone has taken this opportunity to raise themselves to power. And I think I know who.”

“Let me guess. Zaftar,” she said.

He nodded and watched as Alianat took a bite of the burger, chewing with every sign of enjoyment.

“Captain, I’ve managed to access the pod, but the file is corrupted. I’m working on it now.”

“Very good, Prime. I’m coming to the bridge,” he said, getting to his feet.

“Wait, I want to come too,” Izzy said, getting to her feet. “James, do you think you can entertain Ali for a while?”

“Sure, Mom,” he said looking at Ali. “I’d love to.”

“Ooh,” Lucas said from the other table, where he’d obviously been listening the whole time.

Izzy rolled her eyes again and hurried to his side as they exited the canteen. “Prime, monitor them, please. You know what to do if Alianat poses a threat.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What’s Prime going to do if she causes trouble?” Izzy asked. “She is a sweet thing, Mikhlas. I’d hate if you were planning something ~lethal.~”

“Should I make the destination one of the storage rooms instead of outside the ship?” Prime asked through his communicator.

“Yes,” he replied sub-audibly.

“I’m sure she’ll behave,” he muttered.

As they stepped onto the bridge, he saw Miran working on a console. “What have you managed to retrieve from the pod?” he asked her.

“The data is heavily corrupted, Captain, but Prime has managed to retrieve some information that corroborates the rebel’s story,” she replied.

“You know, I find that a little weird, hearing her voice inside my head,” Izzy said.

“Don’t worry, she won’t be able to do that to you for much longer.”

“Why?”

“Because the Queen’s thoughts are private. When you ascend, Miran will no longer be able to hear you. Only verbally,” he explained.

“Oh,” Izzy said, sitting down in the First’s chair as he took his place.

“Prime, connect me to Commander Remkin,” he said and waited.

“Captain Mikhlas, is everything all right?” Remkin asked.

“Good day, Commander. Yes, our Queen is safe, as are the princes. We are on our way back, and we found something, sir,” he said, his body stiff and at attention.

“What is it?” Remkin asked.

“We found Hemkon’s daughter Alianat. She is alive, and on board this ship. Her father has granted us safe passage to Homeworld in return for her safety.

“Commander…she told us that the Fleet attacked her world three days ago and destroyed the ship her people escaped on. Is this true?” he asked.

“It cannot be. There is no Crown to give such an order,” Remkin said.

“I know, sir. I doubted her words at first, since Prime could not identify the energy signature used to destroy her transport, but I think she is telling the truth.

“Hemkon would not have sent her away if there were no threat. She also said her father got a message from the Realm to warn him.”

“Leave it with me. I will see what I can find out. For now, your only task is to bring the Queen home safely. If what the child said is true, then we have traitors at the Palace. Exercise extreme caution, Captain Mikhlas.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Mikhlas said, and the screen turned black.

“What now?” Izzy asked.

“Commander Remkin will find out if the girl is telling the truth. For now, we stay the course.

“Tekran 4 is the safest place for us now. If the girl is telling the truth about the Fleet and the traitor, we will need all the help we can get,” he said.

“Captain, Prince James is requesting you and Dakira Izzy to return to the common room,” Prime said.

Mikhlas stood up and Izzy smiled at him. “Think Prince James has asked her to couple with him yet?” he said.

“That’s not funny,” she replied.

“It’s a little funny,” he mumbled and was rewarded with an elbow to the side.

As they walked in, they saw that Lucas and the Zaxary were gone and James was talking quietly to Alianat. He turned as he heard them enter.

“Hey, Ali said she has something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Izzy asked.

“Before my father sent me away, I heard him speaking to a man. I don’t know who he is, but he was trying to make a deal with my father. He wanted him to attack this ship and capture the new Queen.

“My father refused, and the man said he would make sure we all suffered for it. A few days later, father heard about the Fleet’s impending attack. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you or not,” Ali said.

“What did this man look like?” Mikhlas asked.

“I don’t know. I never saw him. I only heard them speak through the vent in my room.”

“Do you remember what he said?” Mikhlas asked.

“He told my father that with the King dead, there was an opportunity for both of them to get what they wanted.

“My father would be left to rule his own world, and with the new Queen, he would have everything he needs to finally destroy the Sentinels.”

“The Sentinels are immortal. They cannot be killed,” Mikhlas said.

“They are not immortal. They live a long time, but they can be killed. He spoke of a moment of weakness when the Sentinels ascend with a new leader.”

“Without the Sentinels, there is no balance in our galaxy. All life would die,” Mikhlas said.

“Yes, but not for a long time. I think he wants to rule the Realm, but as he is not chosen, the only way to do so is to kill the ones who make the choice,” Ali said.

“What did your father say to him?” Izzy asked.

“He told him that our fight is with the Realm, not the Sentinels. They are the source of all life, and to kill them is to kill everything. My father didn’t want any part of it.

“The man got angry and threatened our home with the Fleet. That is why he sent me away.”

“Prime, are you hearing this?” Mikhlas asked.

“Yes. In order to destroy a Sentinel, this mystery man would need to trap all five consciousnesses inside one person. He would not only need us all in one place, but a way to ensure our consciousness cannot leave.

“Where I am bound by my nanites, the others move freely between their elements. I will begin assessing how this can be done, to best determine what his plan may be,” Prime said.

~I’ve never heard her sound worried before~.

“Thank you for telling us, Ali. I know that it must be hard for you to trust us. Prince James, why don’t you escort Ali to one of the visitor suites? Prime can contact Hemkon, and Ali can let him know she’s all right.”

“I can do that,” James said with a grin.

As the two of them left, Izzy turned to him. “What’s up with you? Are you using my son as some kind of lothario to pump information out of that girl?”

“What’s a lothario?”

“Answer the question!”

“I just think we should watch what she says to her father in case she isn’t telling us the whole truth. This way we are both here to watch.”

“Oh,” Izzy appeared to think about this for a second. “All right, but I don’t like invading the girl’s privacy.”

“Prime, set up a mirror of the connection here, please.”

A screen materialized on the wall, and Hemkon’s face appeared.

“Father!” Ali said when she saw his face.

“Ali, my sweet child. I feared you were lost to me,” he said, as his eyes filled with tears.

“I almost was, father. But Captain Mikhlas saved me.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. I am safe and unharmed. Father, I told them about the man who came to see you,” Ali said.

Her father’s smile faltered. “The captain cannot do anything to help us. He is Fleet. His only command is to kill our kind. They will not care about our troubles.”

“I met the new Queen. She seems…honest, father. I like her. Even Captain Mikhlas seemed to care. Killing the Sentinels affects everyone in the Realm, not only us.”

“We will speak of this when you are home. Be safe, my sweet Ali.”