Trapped: Chaos Core Book 1 (8 page)

“Our forces, our
estate here, and a force from the United Core Authority will be
leaving for the Geist system in one week,” Kort said. “I invite
everyone here to come with us, and am happy to tell you that your
participation will ensure a healthy discount when production begins.
Now, celebrate! Today will mark the dawn of a new civilization!”

The rest of the day was
a kind of hell Aspen could not have imagined. Everywhere she turned
there was a courtier looking to congratulate her on her good fortune.
They were eager to mention her extended life span, which she would
have taken gladly, but many of them were even more interested in
telling her how they would spare no expense in having the honour of
buying one of her children for themselves. Aspen wanted to tear them
apart, or to at least ask how they would feel if one of their
children were sold to an owner who lived far away. Instead she
grinned, and laughed along with them, accepting all their
well-wishing.

All the while, she
planned, taking fresh notice of where all those doors and the landing
sites along the outskirts of the garden were.

Aspen refused to use
the sleep assist technology in her bed that night, her trust in
everything around her was absolutely gone. Thoughts of being breeding
stock for years then who knew what plagued her along with other
worries. Sun and her other friends could be stuck on some freighter,
or already in a work camp.

When she did get to
sleep she dreamt that she was a hooded guardian standing atop a tower
that wobbled and bent in the wind. Faceless creatures swept in from a
pitch black sky, picking at her, trying to pull her feet out from
under her, and when she finally fell Aspen woke up violently, surging
out of bed. The sun was coming up by the time she emerged from a hot
shower.

Tinick was already at
the foot of her bed with her wardrobe for the day and a steaming bowl
of fried noodles and vegetables. “I love egg noodles, these are
from a shop in the city that I prepare myself, I hope you like them.”
She said.

The aroma of the hot
chicken, broccoli, carrot chunks in a salty citrus sauce wafted up to
Aspen’s nose and she couldn’t help but smile. The long nosed
nafalli grinned as she dug in with a pair of chopsticks. “Oh my
God, this is not on my diet,” she said around a mouthful of savoury
noodles and chicken.

“Oh, the vegetables
are, and the sauce is good for you, but you’re right. I wouldn’t
go telling anyone you had this.”

“You’re going to
get into trouble,” Aspen said.

“Not when I force
them to consider how many calories you’ll be burning today. I’m
afraid you’re going to be entertaining the court in the garden and
in the halls. Everyone has questions for you, my dear, everyone wants
your attention. There are new shuttles arriving right now, in fact
the Fleet Feather just landed with a whole delegation of people. The
servants haven’t even had time to unload their baggage. There’s
so much going on, I doubt anyone will bother me about slipping you
some noodles and chicken, so eat up.”

“Yes, Ma’am,”
Aspen replied, shovelling and slurping a load of noodles into her
mouth.

“And step into these
please,” she said, holding a pair of black tights low for Aspen to
step into. The next moment, she slipped a loose cap onto her head
that dried, then styled her hair like a blonde wave that cascaded
down her neck and shoulders but was drawn back from her face. “I
don’t know why we need cosmeticians about with these automatic
stylers, but then again, they were saying the same thing about
clothing designers only two years ago, so I should keep quiet I
suppose,” Tinick said as she took the empty bowl from Aspen and
gave her a mask that was pre-set to do her makeup in bronze and black
colours. Aspen looked at a mirror by the bed and was shocked at the
result when the mask was finished applying the look. She almost
didn’t look like herself with the deep shadowy colours applied. The
tunic was more understated than Aspen expected as well, open along
the sides with broad bands that clung to the front, she looked
slimmer than she actually was, for sure, but she was comfortable in
bare arms and clingy matte tights.

“There, it’s
supposed to be hot today, so it’s good that there are open spaces
for your body to shed some of it, are you comfortable?”

“More than I have
been since I arrived,” Aspen said. “I don’t know if the
Countess will like it though.”

“The colouring is
right in fashion now, this is how everyone will be looking in a week,
you watch,” Tinick replied.

“Who am I to argue
with an expert?”

“Larken is outside.
He has been dressed to match. Perhaps I’ll see you in the garden? I
have permission to attend the Tai Chi session you’ll be leading
this morning.”

“I can’t believe I
almost forgot to check my schedule,” Aspen replied. Inwardly, the
estate’s duty schedule made her cringe. She enjoyed leading Yoga,
Tai Chi, dance and poise classes for the guests before, but she felt
like it was such a waste of time, considering what was going on.
Aspen hoped that she didn’t show her distaste openly. “Thank you
so much for reminding me, I hope to see you there, Tinick.”

The tall furred
designer nodded and smiled as she left, leaving the door open for
Larken, who was dressed in the same top and tights with copper
highlights on his face. There were two guards behind him, one looked
a bit like the one who gave her a meal bar on the day of her return,
but Aspen couldn’t be absolutely sure. “Hello Tinick, thank you
for leaving everything out for me,” he told her.

“My pleasure, try to
have a good time today,” Tinick replied as she moved down the hall.
“Now I must attend the Countess and her party.”

Larken let her go by
and took Aspens hand as they headed into the hallway, their guards
close behind. “Things are already starting, someone woke me up
about half an hour ago. I was barely asleep anyway.”

“What do you mean?”
Aspen asked.

“The garden is full,
the landing field is packed,” Larken said. “Every major house in
the system must have a representative here or on their way. Oh, I
forgot to check.” He stopped and tapped his forearm where a display
appeared. “I hope she hasn’t put it up on the public ‘nets.”

The Sellernet local to
the solar system already had an advertisement up for new dolls,
featuring clips of her and Larken growing up. They were adorable,
even she had to admit as she watched them morph from children into
young adults.

“You guys were so
cute,” one of the guards said. His partner nudged him with her
elbow.

Aspen watched in horror
as the display showed footage from their short shower together, only
it didn’t end with her getting unceremoniously yanked out by Kort,
but went on as though they were never interrupted. They even added
dialog. This fictional Larken and Aspen made declarations of love and
devotion as they caressed each other. If it weren’t on the public
Stellarnet, she would only be mildly irritated, she wasn’t a shy
person and she wished things did happen as they were depicted in that
hologram, but she was furious. “How could she do this?”

“You two are love
birds, and she’s trying to sell copies to bird watchers,” the
female guard whispered.

“How would you feel
if you were going to be used as a breeding mare?” Aspen said,
whirling on her.

“Don’t,” Larken
said. “They can’t do anything.”

“Listen to him,”
the female guard agreed.

“No, I’m going to
be popping babies out for at least five years and watching them get
sent away. Then, when they’re barely old enough, they might become
breeding stock too, or get sold into a harem somewhere, or worse.”

“It happens all the
time to normal slaves, and there’s nothing anyone can do,” the
male guard said. “Move on to the garden please.”

Larken squeezed her
hand and she allowed herself to be led to the garden. There was
something about him, he didn’t seem worried about the future, or
insulted by the holo of them in the shower. There must have been
something going on that she wasn’t seeing, he must have a plan.
Then she remembered, he’d already told her that he’d make sure
they would be the welcoming committee for new shuttles, and there
were so many arriving already.

The only thing that
enticed Aspen to stay was the idea that she may have her life
extended, the clock might stop ticking or at least slow down to a
normal crawl. They stopped in the foyer where Kort joined them with
two guards of his own. Their chitinous purple and gold armour looked
weathered, more practical than what the guards wore in the estate. “I
think I’ll take escort duty for now. Are we going to the garden?”
Kort said, smiling too closely and too broadly at her.

“I thought we’d
greet newcomers as they arrived,” Larken said.

“I don’t think so.
Security will be checking every shuttle that arrives, we can’t put
you or your mate at risk. In fact, we’ll be putting you both in
stasis later today so we can hide you aboard my carrier. Your value
as a pair has gone up higher than we’d hoped.”

The male guard who was
at her door looked to Aspen and Larken. “Good luck, you two. I hope
they fix you up.”

Kort regarded him with
a scowl. “They need help scanning the new guests in the garden
platform, you’re with us, but you’re going to keep your mouths
shut and your eyes open.”

“Yes, Sir,” the
pair of them replied.

The walk to the garden
platform was a silent one, with Kort walking close behind her and
Larken, they were surrounded by the old and new guards. They passed
the garish, trickling fountains. The sun felt hot on her face, and
all the new arrivals seemed too cheerful for her liking. People she’d
never met smiled at her expectantly as she passed, until one woman –
her brown and violet hair was up in a circular hoop above her head
that made her look ridiculous – ignored the guards and embraced
Larken. “I was so disappointed when I didn’t get to see you on my
last visit, Larken!” she exclaimed. Aspen knew her, she was a long
time courtier who didn’t pay her much attention, but had great
affection for Larken.

“Lady Gadanne, how
are you?” Larken asked, feigning joy at seeing her. “I’m happy
I could see you before we go.” Aspen smiled at her and then turned
her attention to the large marble ramp leading down to the grassy
landing field. There were no guards nearby, they were occupied with
the new arrivals, but the Fleet Feather was right where it aught to
be at the bottom of the ramp, and the door was open.

“You’re leaving so
soon? I was so hoping we could sit, or walk the grounds for a while,
especially now that you have your Aspen back. You seemed so forlorn
while she was away. It’s good to see you whole again. I don’t
know what I’d do if my new husband were to disappear,” the Lady
said.

Aspen stopped following
the conversation as Kort’s hand landed on her hip and slowly began
to slip downwards. Larken was too distracted by Lady Gadanne to
notice, and the guards knew not to do anything about it. “When he’s
in stasis, I’ll wake you up so we can have some fun before you get
fixed. I wonder, did you learn any new tricks while you were away? I
know you lost your virginity while you were out there, it was on the
scans,” he whispered.

Aspen wished she could
rip his hand off and stuff it in his mouth. Whether it was because of
her rising anger, or just by chance, she didn’t know, but her eye
came to rest on the female guard that had come for her that morning.
Specifically, she found herself staring at the woman’s sidearm,
which was resting in its holster without the safety latch engaged.

She snatched the
handgun from where it hung, turned, started pulling on the trigger,
found the safety with her other hand and struck Kort in the face and
chest with half the white energy bolts the blaster fired. “Run!”
Aspen said as the smell of burned flesh filled her nostrils and she
burst into a run.

“Sorry!” Larken
said to Lady Gadanne as he followed her.

Aspen dropped the
handgun as she scrambled past a few guests, and didn’t bother
stopping.

Larken was beside her
as she sprinted over an arched bridge that was built into one of the
most grandiose fountains.

Several yellow bolts of
energy passed through the air wide of them as they sprinted between
the fountains. “They’re shooting?” Larken asked, shocked.

“Stun shots! We have
to keep going!”

They made it down to
the landing spot then into the Fleet Feather. Aspen rushed up the
stairs to the cockpit hatch before the pilot, an old, chubby man with
a head of hair cut perfectly equal to a full beard, could close it.

He fished a handgun out
from its holster somewhere between his legs and fired at her wildly,
barely managing to half-turn while his pilot chair refused to
cooperate. “Get off my ship!” he shouted, unable to hit her while
his seat slowly turned. From behind his seat she slapped the gun out
of his hand and avoided his grasp.

Aspen stuffed her
fingers into the back of the collar of his containment suit and
leaned back. The pilot frantically scrambled to pull the front of the
collar loose as he fought for air. She pressed against the back of
the seat with her knees as he struggled, trapping him against the
seat and cutting off his air completely.

It was the hardest
thing she’d ever done, listening to him choke, feeling the fight
slip out of him as he passed into unconsciousness then finally dying.
When she was sure he was dead, she let him go and watched the body
slump in the pilot’s seat.

His control panel was
already active, unlocked and ready for the next group who wanted to
be ferried around. “Close the hatch, Larken!”

She rushed to the
controls and activated the emergency ascension, getting the
navigational system to start calculating a jump from orbit. “I
can’t believe it, we’re almost out of here.” Ragged breathing
was her answer.