Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (19 page)

“That's about it, Your Grace, unless you had
a question about the inner workings of the Terra Space Battalion?”
asked Lia'Sil politely.

“Yes, actually. You mentioned your fiancé was
from Earth. Was he just assigned there or is he actually from
there?” Sasha questioned, trying to fill in a gap. Lia'Sil blushed
again at the word fiancé and Sasha realized she must not be
accustomed to talking about him very often.

“From, Your Grace. During its early years,
enlistment in the TSB was very small, barely enough to maintain a
large enough fleet to monitor incursions. So it was decided that
orphans, mostly infants, would be plucked from Earth’s society and
raised to serve in the TSB. More recently, since the world has
advanced significantly enough, adults who have been discarded from
society and pass a special evaluation have been recruited,” Sasha
nodded, letting the information she had been provided sink in.

She thought to herself for a time, gently
petting the sleeping catillian, believing she had enough basic
knowledge on the special protectorate of Earth to continue with
Duke Zehman's message...and hopefully understand its contents.

“Thank you, Lia'Sil. Let me return to the
message and I will let you know if I have any additional
questions.” Sasha accessed her BC node and located the message in
question, noting that five more level one communications had
arrived during the explanation. She queued the message and
continued from the location where she'd paused.

“A few days ago, the noble son of the Earl
Timwa, and my representative to the Terra Space Battalion, was
grievously assaulted by the two commanding officers of the TSB, and
an Earthling of little value, during what is known as an enlistment
trial. Sir Simwa, the affected party, was attacked by the
Earthling, named Trent, with the assistance of the TSB Commander
Quinn and TSB Vice-Commander Daiyu. This all occurred after Sir
Simwa placed a formal request for satisfaction after having been
verbally wronged by said Earthling,” Sasha scratched her head. She
hated duels and had always wished they were done away with, but she
knew that it was better to have two nobles fight personally, then
their fleets. Except, even duals rarely worked out, the approval of
the local galaxy king and a Program were required for its legal
execution, meaning none had ever been “legally” performed within
galaxy 189 since its inception.

She started to continue, but found herself
unable to ignore the giggles and whispers passing between Tiana and
Lia'Sil, whose face had turned so red that Sasha had trouble
figuring out where it ended and her uniform began. She smiled,
knowing it would be her turn soon enough, then continued the
message.

“This is when events turned for the worse.
The three assailants attacked, unprovoked, Sir Simwa, and during
this encounter he was somehow able to wound two of the assailants
before TSB Commander Quinn attempted to take his life. To make
matters worse, Sir Simwa is currently being illegally detained at
TSB Earth Base and his personal starship, the NHA Shuttle HZBF
Golden Sun, which is under the ownership of the Hulk'Zif Duchy, is
currently impounded at the TSB Fleet Base. This is a clear
violation of the TSB mandate and the only acceptable course of
action is the removal of the current command staff, as well as
severe punishment for all parties involved.

“To help expedite this process, I have
allocated multiple Hulk'Zif Battle Fleet Battle Groups outside the
Earth star system, under my personal command, awaiting your
approval to allow me to personally deal with this most nefarious of
crimes. I await your favorable response. Duke Zehman Hulk'Zif.”

What on Origin is he thinking?
Sasha
questioned, beyond shocked and troubled by what she’d just
read.

She could understand the duke's concern, but
to bring an entire fleet to bear to resolve this matter was
completely irresponsible. At the least, he should have waited to
consult with her, or even her father, before making such a rash
decision. The last thought caused sudden anger to rush towards the
surface as she realized what type of noble the duke must be, the
type she hated the most...a traditionalist. But before the anger
overwhelmed her, she took a deep, calming breath, noticing a post
script attached to the message.

“There is a record of the events in question,
but due to certain TSB regulations put in place at its founding, it
is impossible to release, even to you or I. I would recommend that
Her Royal Highness Sasha not consider any provided records of the
event seriously, for they are likely fabricated.” Sasha found this
last part odd...
why would there be such a restriction in
place?
She wondered, it making little sense.

Intrigued, she scanned the rest of the level
one messages for any from the TSB. But to her surprise, there were
none. However, she did read through plenty of similar
communications to the duke's, and quite a few that were almost
identical. Then she remembered;
the two special level military
messages! How could I have forgotten,
she scolded herself.

She quickly queued them up, finding the first
to be a short message from the TSB Vice-Commander, Commander Daiyu,
who Duke Zehman had named as one of the perpetrators.

“My Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia, I hope my
words find you well. You do not know me, but I am sure you have
heard of me. If the knowledge that I send you in this letter finds
its way to the ears of Knight Captain Quinn,” Sasha gasped as she
was finally able to place the name she found vaguely familiar,
releasing her BC node and looking straight at Lia'Sil.

“Is he that Quinn?” she blurted the question,
realizing, too late, she’d forgotten to properly place it. But from
the look she received in return, she wouldn't need too.

“Yes, Your Grace. He was assigned the TSB
command as a means to protect him from retribution, and remove him
from the spotlight,” Lia’Sil’s look turned dubious. “Even though he
was pardoned by the king, your father, many nobles are still
infuriated that his fleet did not follow the order to purge the
Ele'Tal system, and the subsequent death of the Earl of Tl'Doom,
who'd given the order,” Lia'Sil recovered, curiosity taking the
place of dubiousness as she stared at Sasha with great interest,
which of course, made her self-conscious of her nudity.

The news that Knight Admiral Quinn had killed
the Earl of Tl'Doom was all the rage in the galaxy 189 noble
circles 30 years earlier, with most calling for his head. But when
the facts started to come to light, it was obvious that Knight
Admiral Quinn had acted in the right...or so anyone with a shred of
sense would see.

The Earl of Tl'Doom, like many traditionalist
nobles, was obsessed that his people were turning against him and
ordered the Planet Ele'Tal, with a common and petty population of
50 billion, to be destroyed as an example. When Knight Admiral
Quinn, head of the Tl'Doom Battle Fleet, refused the order, the
Earl threatened to have his family killed unless he obeyed. In
response, the knight admiral, with the full support of his entire
command staff, proceeded to blow up the Earl of Tl'Doom's personal
starship....with the earl still onboard.

The subsequent trial by the ruling
traditionalist duke was a mockery and would have expelled Sir Quinn
to dark space if not for Sasha's father intervening, with his
massive fleets, to pardon the knight admiral. The story was still
told to many young nobles, including Sasha, for differing reasons,
depending on the storyteller's point-of-view.

“Interesting...do you know why he goes by
knight captain now instead of knight admiral? I find it odd,” Sasha
asked.

“I don't know, Your Grace, but it may have to
do with trying to hide who he is...but more likely, if my memory
serves me, I do not think the TSB has a rank higher then
captain.”

Satisfied by Lia'Sil's response, Sasha nodded
her thanks and continued the message from Vice Commander Daiyu,
ignoring the intent stare from Tiana, whose curiosity showed in her
pleading eyes.

“If the knowledge that I send you in this
letter finds its way to the ears of Knight Captain Quinn, then I
would most likely lose my position, so please keep this letter to
your discretion. I have, for awhile, suspected a plot was afoot,
and fortunately the creation of the Alutia Duchy seems to have
stopped its perfect execution. I beg you to look beyond the words
and listen to your heart.

“The Knight Captain has done something you
may find unprecedented, but it is the only way to bring the truth
to light and protect my savior. At your service, always, TSB
Vice-Commander Daiyu,” Sasha sighed, instantly noticing the
difference in tone from this letter and the one's she’d been
receiving from the assorted Hulk’Zif nobility.

She quickly queued up the second military
level message, and to her great surprise, found it was actually a
Program, with the title:
Star of Terra Recommendation
. Sasha
sent a message to one of her servants requesting a portable
irradiated particle display unit be brought into her sitting
room.

“What is the Star of Terra?” Sasha asked
casually as she released her BC node. Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil's
went stiff, all color fleeing her face as she forgot herself for a
moment.

“Has...has the ASU invade-” Lia’Sil caught
herself, “...I'm sorry, Your Grace, I forget my manners,” she
lowered her head in apology, though Sasha waved it off, being
little concerned with such matters. “The Star of Terra is the TSB
equivalent of the King's Nova and conveys all the same rights and
rewards,” Sasha gasped with shock, and initially had trouble
believing Lia'Sil's words.

The King's Nova was the highest commendation,
awarded by a king, for actions to protect the NHA, or its member
states, through acts above and beyond what is normally expected.
The only higher commendation in the universe was the Emperor's
Boon, which could only be awarded by the emperor himself. The last
time the King's Nova had been awarded, if her memory held true, was
400 years ago and had, to Sasha's knowledge, never been awarded
outside of active wartime.

A sinking feeling within her stomach told of
what her mind took a little longer to grasp. That the first major
decision she would have to make in her life could carry massive
consequences, and that scared her immensely. She looked to the
other ladies in the room, unable to hide her overflowing
concern.

“Could you let us know what's going on now,
Sasha?” Tiana piped in while glancing at the servant placing the
small, metallic, semi-spherical portable PDU on the coffee table
before where they sat. Sasha looked at each in turn, realizing
that, thankfully, she didn't have to make this decision alone, now
grateful that Tiana and Regalia had not actually left earlier.

“Yes, Tiana, but you all must swear total
secrecy. Anything we discuss here will never be shared without my
permission. Am I clear?” She glared at Tiana, who nodded excitedly,
then Regalia, who provided a single crisp nod, then to Lia’Sil, who
stood with the noble salute, all agreeing to her ultimatum. The
servant, having finished her duty, rushed from the room, having
overheard Sasha's previous statement.

“I received a communication from Duke Zehman
Hulk'Zif and about 160 other local ruling nobles about his
representative to the TSB being assaulted by Knight Captain Quinn,
the TSB Vice-Commander Daiyu, and an unknown Earthling. The
representative, according to Duke Zehman, is being illegally
detained by the TSB along with his starship, which the duke finds
most troubling. The duke has also informed me that he is currently
outside the Earth star system with an unknown number of HZBF battle
groups, waiting for my permission to break out his representative
with force and deal harshly with the parties responsible,” she
looked to each of the three women in turn, letting her voice trail
off. Regalia, still sipping her Etique, furrowed her brow in
thought, trying to shake clear a piece of her straight blond hair
that had fallen over her brow in a rather comical manner. Tiana
stared at Sasha with noticeable pity, appearing to think it had
little to do with her, while Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil stared on
with open horror.

“What sort of response did you receive from
the TSB?” Lia'Sil asked, quickly regaining her composure.

“The TSB Vice-Commander sent me a private
message that stated her concern of a possible conspiracy of some
sort, and its execution only being delayed since Earth was
transferred to my authority,” Sasha paused, trying to gain a feel
of her companions. “The second TSB message is actually a Program,
and contained the title, Star of Terra, which is why I asked the
question in the first place,” Sasha considered for a
moment...
there’s something I’m missing.

“Whatever happened, Your Grace, that made
Knight Captain Quinn request that particular commendation, and to
have the Program actually accept it, must have been quite
remarkable,” Sasha nodded, agreeing with Lia'Sil's observation.

“From the Duke's letter,” she started,
recalling a part she hadn’t fully understood, “this all took place
during what he referred to as an enlistment trial, which I assume
was for this Earthling in question. He also stated that I should be
suspect of any record of these events I receive from the TSB, since
the official record is suppose to be sealed, even to me. Does this
make any sense to you?” asked Sasha, hoping she worded the question
in a way Lia'Sil could understand. Tiana, unexpectedly, responded
first.

“Could it have something to do with hiding
their activities? Could the TSB be doing something illegal and
restricting the records so as to hide this fact?” Sasha was
impressed by Tiana's deduction, but immediately recognized a few
flaws in that line of reasoning.