Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (35 page)

“It was just a dream, Sasha, based off
everything you learned about him, mixed with the crazy emotions we
experienced over the past couple days,” Tiana caressed Sasha's leg,
looking into her eyes, the gentle smile on her lips telling that
she did understand.

“But why am I dreaming of him......and why
with such clarity? Why so vivid? And...and my emotions...they go
out of control when I think about him, it’s...it’s not like me,
Tiana,” Sasha voiced her worries, glancing at the distant stars
while squeezing her friend's hand. Tiana smiled up at her...a warm,
kind smile.

“Well, Your Royal Highness, I believe you may
be in love,” Sasha tensed, turning to her lady-in-waiting, whose
voice hid a hint of amusement.

“In love? How...how could I be in love? I've
never even met him...its...that’s...” she began to stutter,
incredulous. Tiana hopped to her feet, laughing a single laugh
while skipping back to her seat.

In love, her...never!
The thought was
beyond outrageous. She'd promised herself never again after the
incident with the noble boys in her teenage years...the hurt was
just too much...too fresh.

“Sasha, I think you're in love too,”
Regalia's dainty voice rose from behind. She started to turn just
as the young girl carefully slipped around the seat, and plopped
down on her lap.

“Mother always said that love finds you in
the strangest ways, and when it comes, you have to recognize and
grasp it, because if you miss it, you may never find a love like
it, or worse, it may never come again,” Regalia explained, her
speech like that of a woman ten times her tender age, her wide,
puppy dog eyes, staring deep into Sasha's, touching her very heart,
before turning to Terra, who she gently caressed with an
outstretched finger, giggling when he did the same to her.

“The words of a child hold more truth then
many wish to see, Your Grace,” Gil'Da spoke as she leaned over
Sasha's shoulder, staring down with the same caring eyes she
remembered from her youth.

“Not you too,” she sighed, “I am not in love!
Just...just fascinated. I want to know more about him since...since
I am awarding him the Star of Terra....that's all!” she said,
appalled that they would even think otherwise.

“It's love I tell you,” Tiana threw her hands
in the air in feigned disgust. “But just remember, my princess, the
first time you see him and he rushes to hold you in his arms, you
tell me then that this is not love, just fascination!” The image
that Tiana’s words placed in her imagination, made her heart feel
like it would burst into a thousand pieces.

“Your cheeks are red, Sasha,” Regalia's
smiling face appeared only a few centimeters away from her own.
Sasha turned away, only to find Tiana and Gil'Da leaning close,
with wicked smiles on their lips. She was about to burst, the
teasing too much, when Regalia started laughing, with Tiana and
Gil'Da soon following suit. Sasha, trying her best to force a pout,
gave in, and joined the now boisterous laughter.

“Destination reached, transferring control to
TSB Fleet Base Docking Command,” the women froze as Vin
interrupted. They looked to the viewscreen, seeing the first
twinkles of the inner asteroid belt and their current
salvation.

The battle station alarm blared as the TSB
fleet closed on its objective. Daniel almost jumped out of his
seat, having arrived early to the bridge, his mind lost in his
work. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't the only one. Everyone’s nerves
were on edge and the best way to relax was to do something you
knew, and for most starships officers and crewmen, that was their
job.

Daniel glanced over his shoulder, finding the
captain and XO talking animatedly over a projection of a readiness
report. Knowing time was short, he accessed the Earth star system
sensor net feed that Lieutenant Howe had patched into his tactical
station earlier. The seven red dots representing the HZBF invasion
fleet had changed course a few hours before he arrived on the
bridge, having detected the TSB Fleet with their long-range sensors
as they began their deceleration at a range of 100 million km. From
the current TSB fleet formation, Daniel thought he might be able to
discern Knight Captain Quinn's current plan.

The TSB fleet was grossly outnumbered in
terms of starships and firepower. But the one advantage they did
have came in the form of the specialized Electronic Warfare, or EW
Frigates. These frigates had almost no firepower whatsoever
themselves, but they each carried the EW capabilities of a
super-capital ship. This provided the small, fast frigates some
very useful abilities that would help close the gap in firepower,
such as creating fake gravity signatures, distorting starship
numbers and types, and having the ability to melt sensor and
electronic systems at close range. To take advantage of this
ability, the 100 EW Frigates had been scattered throughout the
fleet, the majority having been placed in screening and flanking
positions to mask their numbers.

Since it wouldn't be in TSB's best interest
to fight a standing battle in range, Daniel assumed the TSB fleet
would engage in a “flyby” maneuver to limit contact time. Once the
first “flyby” was completed, they would then come around again,
repeating the tactic in the hopes of slowing the enemy fleet until
reinforcements could arrive. The only fault Daniel could find with
this plan would be the reliance on reinforcements. He knew the king
wouldn’t sit idly by after his daughter was killed by the HZBF, and
Daniel could only hope he would react sooner then later. He glanced
back over his shoulder, switching his display to standard tactical
as XO Geoff finished his discussion with the captain and started
making his rounds.

“You ready for this, Lieutenant?” XO Geoff
asked as he studied Daniel’s tactical display.

“Yes, sir. I've been reviewing EW markers
constantly since the mishap during the first combat simulation,” he
answered, somewhat honestly.

“Good, make every shot count,” Geoff
responded seriously as he squeezed Daniel’s shoulder before moving
on down the line of bridge officers. Daniel turned his attention
back to his display, finding another unfamiliar icon, this time
from the com, flashing in the bottom right corner of his station.
He glanced towards Lt.-Commander Xi, hoping to get an idea of what
it was before he opened it. But found she was currently conversing
with the XO. His curiosity being too strong to wait...he touched
the icon.

“...turn 1.1 by negative .001 and continue
current deceleration,” Daniel grinned as the fleet command channel
became active. He checked to make sure that his station input was
muted and continued to listen.

“Confirmed, 1
^st
TSB battle group,
turning 1.1 by negative .001...” Additional acknowledgements
followed the first, as the fleet turned slightly down and to the
right.

“Xi, patch me through to all hands,” Captain
Aysi called over the bridge. Daniel muted the fleet command
channel.

“Open, ma'am,” responded Lt. Commander Xi,
smirking as she glanced over at Daniel, knowing exactly what he was
just listening to.

“Attention crew of the TSB Ero'Cia. Grand
Duchess Sasha Alutia is safe,” a sense of relief seemed to flow
across the bridge, the tension easing, but Daniel was
angry...
there goes the enraged father reinforcements
, he
steamed, “she was able to escape on a ferry shuttle and has just
arrived safely at the TSB Fleet Base. In her wake, comes our
salvation, two Alutia Battle Fleet battle groups,” Daniel went
stiff...
would two be enough to counter seven?
Fear began to
creep to the surface, taking its place next to his growing anger,
“and should arrive within the next 12 hours. They will be placed
under Knight Captain Quinn's direct command. But until then, we
have a job to do, our sacred duty, to defend the sanctity of Earth
and destroy all who threaten her. Combat operations will begin
shortly, may we all be safe and victorious!” Cheers resounded
across the bridge, but Daniel's own was dull, lacking heart.

A feeling of dread began to overwhelm him,
born from the thought that they were going into battle for a lost
cause, a battle they couldn't win...a feeling that he didn't
like.

The ferry shuttle's door slid open and Sasha,
quite unlady like, skipped onto the docking platform, stretching
her arms while taking a deep, refreshing breath, happy to be free
of the cramped confines. A squeak of pleasure emanated from her
bosom as Terra mimicked her stretch and proceeded
to
crawl free, circling her body before perching
himself on her hip.

The docking bay where she emerged was
enormous, having been carved directly out of the gigantic planetoid
that held the TSB Fleet Base. The ceiling and far wall
were
covered in a deep shadow, while the gangways that
ran parallel to her docked shuttle, intersecting the docking
platform where she now stood, forked at 30 meter intervals to
vanish into the smooth grey walls.

It was quite obvious that this dock was meant
to handle starships of a much larger size, but Sasha found the
enormity pleasing after spending over 11 hours in the tiny ferry
shuttle. A small group of TSB officers approached from the nearest
gangway, all in the blue and white formal dress of the Terra Space
Battalion.

“Welcome to the TSB Fleet Base, Grand Duchess
Sasha Alutia. I am Commander Talan, Headmaster of the TSB General
Training School, we talked briefly earlier,” Sasha accepted the bow
from the exotic looking old man, with long, brilliant white hair,
sharp features, and deep, beady eyes, who led the small group.

The conversation with Commander Talan, 20
minutes earlier, had provided Sasha an update of the current
situation in the Earth star system. A TSB frigate had rescued
Knight Admiral Bhool and the other crewmen, transporting the
survivors to the main TSB fleet. Sasha and the other ladies almost
broke down in tears at the news, but smiles and happy giggles
emerged instead. But the happiness was short lived. News followed
that the HZBF invasion fleet, consisting of seven HZBF battle
groups, had begun moving in-system, led by Duke Zehman himself.
Apparently, the duke was ignoring all communication requests,
replying that he would only talk to the king and that his actions
were legal and justified to save the wrongly imprisoned Sir Simwa.
Sasha gritted her teeth at the thought, knowing her father could
not act. So in his stead, she needed to take steps to resolve this
crisis...and fast.

Sasha nodded politely to the other members of
the welcome party as they were introduced, realizing she wasn't
actually listening, then quickly moved aside as a medical team came
rushing down the gangway to move Lia'Sil to the medical bay.

“My companions,” Sasha turned towards her
ladies-in-waiting, “are Lady Tiana, Lady Regalia, and Friend
Gil'Da,” the three ladies curtsied, while Gil'Da stared at her,
eyes narrow. Sasha knew many people had certain expectations of
noble ladies, thinking it appropriate for a servant to serve, and
nothing else. But Sasha found Gil'Da's input refreshing at times,
and by using the term friend, a moniker for a common acquaintance
to a noble, nobody would try to exclude her from any important
meetings. The small group of TSB officers bowed to match their
curtsies.

“Grand Duchess Sasha, if you and your
companions would follow me, I have rooms prepared. Mind you, they
are well below your rank, but they are the best I have to offer at
the moment,” Sasha thought she could see honesty in the old man's
eyes, but something else twinkled far beneath.

“Anything is better than the ferry shuttle,
Commander Talon,” she smiled, the group laughing politely in
response. She took a step to fall inline beside the older man, but
stopped as she found Regalia tugging lightly on her hand. Sasha
leaned down, giving her ear to the noticeably nervous young
girl.

“Vin needs to talk to you,” Regalia
whispered. Sasha stared at her for a second, wondering what the
Program could want, before nodding and turning back to the waiting
welcoming party.

“If you would excuse me, I seem to have
forgotten something important in the shuttle,” The officers bowed
once again as she briskly walked the short distance over the
docking platform and back into the ferry shuttle. Vin's sphere was
waiting.

“Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia, please remove
the device from the compartment below the pilot's seat,” Vin
stated. Confused, but seeing no harm in listening, Sasha leaned
over the seat, reaching beneath, finding a hole with a small square
box within.

She studied its smooth black surface
carefully while turning it over in her hands. She frowned, finding
it to be just a plain black box, but as she turned back to Vin, she
found his sphere having suddenly vanished.

“Vin? What am I-,” the box clicked and a red
outline appeared on one of its sides in the shape of a rose. Terra,
who had been watching intently from her shoulder, scurried down her
arm, placing one of his tiny hands on the box’s surface. A moment
later, a green outline appeared, in the shape of a shield, on
another side of the box, a solid white line attaching it to the
rose. The box clicked again and Sasha, to her dismay, found it
still sealed shut.

She stared intently at the two shining
symbols, thinking she could make out a faded outline of two swords
crossed in front of a heart on another side. Without warning,
Trent's face appeared floating before her, his expression of
complete and utter sadness and despair, like the first time she had
beheld him. The image was so vivid that she thought it real. She
reached a trembling hand towards his cheek, finding it soft and
warm. The sadness drained from his eyes at her touch, and utter
confusion took its place a moment before he vanished. She heard
another click and looked down to find the symbol of the two-swords
crossing a heart outlined in blue, while another small shield,
outlined in green, appeared on the last side, all connected by a
thin white line.