Freedom by Fire Read online

  Rania reached out helplessly, "Lamond! No!"

  Blayne gently gripped his mother's arm, "Mother, we need to go. Father is doing his job, but he cannot be King if he is distracted by his concern for us.” It surprised Blayne that he agreed with his father, the King had a job to do, and the safety of the planet had to come before his feelings for his family.

  “Follow me,” commanded Morgan and circled the Knights around the family in a protective shield. Leading the way through the Palace, they worked their way down to the garages by using servant hallways and little known staircases. Slipping inside the garage, Blayne had a moment of shock when he saw the wreckage of his skyboard against the back wall. Was it only this morning when he had crashed it? It seemed like a lifetime ago and a childish concern compared to the present situation.

  The whole group flinched when the Palace alarms blared through the garage.

  “Shit! They must have found dead Kartacks,” muttered Morgan. The Knight glanced up at the ceiling and added, “I’d never thought the alarms would be used against me.”

  The group ducked down behind a stack of supply crates in the garage and waited for a squad of Kartack troops to march past.

  “That bitch!” he heard his mother hiss. Looking around the crates, he saw what had incited his mother. There was his aunt Wynda, marching along with Tavio and dragging a reluctant Douglas by the arm toward an Aratan armored shuttle.

  “Don’t worry about her right now,” whispered Morgan. “We will deal with her after all of this is past. Right now I need to get you three out of here.”

  Tapping his wristcom Morgan whispered to whoever answered, “Is it prepped and ready?”

  Nodding his head in acknowledgment to whatever response only he could hear he ordered, “Follow me.”

  Moving deeper into the garage, Morgan led Blayne and the group to the back wall. Reaching behind a support girder, the Knight placed his hand against the bare metal. The wall behind them slid sideways without a sound and revealed a small shuttle bay on the other side. Inside was a stealth shuttle parked on the landing pad, it’s engines already powered up. Blayne’s eyes widened in surprise, as did everyone else.

  “I didn’t know this was here," he exclaimed.

  Morgan chuckled, “What’s the use of having a secret escape shuttle if everyone knows about it? Now, you four get on board,” he ordered. Turning to the remaining Knights, he gestured for two of them to join them, and the rest to stand guard, “After we lift off, head to the Command bunker and reinforce the other Knights.”

  With a reassuring hand on their backs, Blayne urged his mother and sister on board. Morgan squeezed past them in the tight confines of the shuttle and slipped into the pilot’s chair. After Blayne and Gunn helped the ladies strap securely into their safety harnesses, Blayne buckled himself into the copilot’s chair.

  Looking up through the windows of the cockpit, he examined the ceiling above. “Where’s the door?”

  “Oh, we are not going up,” Morgan commented slyly. With a grin, he flipped a switch and the floor beneath them started moving down. “There’s a hidden system of caves under the Palace, I had them widened into a tunnel as a secret escape system.”

  Blayne was a bit perturbed that he hadn't been trusted with this information before. “How many secrets have you and Father been keeping? In the past hour, I’ve counted two whoppers so far. I thought I was to be the heir to the throne.”

  “Oh, stop your quibbling. The day you take the throne I would have advised you of all the secrets you needed to know about. Don’t act all hurt, it was nothing personal.”

  The shuttle elevator ground to a stop and the wall in front of them glided to the side. A wide, smoothly bored tunnel disappeared into the darkness before them, only the dim light from blinking running lights on the wall showed the way out. Morgan raised them off the floor and carefully maneuvered the shuttle down the narrow passage with a laser-like focus, accelerating the shuttle faster and faster until they erupted from the side of the mountain underneath the Palace and into the light. As soon as they blasted out from the tunnel Morgan dove the shuttle to the valley floor below, hugging the side of the hills as they flew east away from the city.

  Blayne craned his neck to look back at the side of the mountain to see a large boulder mechanically roll in front of the tunnel entrance, hiding it from view.

  “Where are we going?” Gunn asked from the back.

  “My lake estate. It is not on any census map so no one knows it’s location. We can lie low there for a while until I can arrange for transport off-planet.”

  "But to where? Where can we hide?" asked Cadee.

  Rania frowned in disapproval.

  "If we can get to Crorix undetected, we might be able to hole up there. That planet is so crowded we can disappear until your father regains control and sends for you," Morgan replied.

  “Crorix!” exclaimed Blayne. “King Tyrell is not exactly a fan of our family, or any Royal Family for that matter.”

  “Don’t worry, that is the beauty of it. It is easy to hide on a planet with over a billion people. Now be quiet please, it’s not easy flying this low, I’m trying to stay off sensors.” Morgan pointed a thumb toward the back of the shuttle, “There’s a change of clothes in that locker for everyone, these kilts and gowns are a little drafty for traveling.”

  Chapter 6

  King Lamond stared at the video screen on the wall. It was rapidly cycling through the helmet cam views of his Knights across the planet. All across Dunadd Kartack troops were landing in heavy troop carriers, with armored tanks and weaponized drones flying over endless fields, blowing up anything that moved. Village after village of field serfs lay smoking in ruins.

  “Sire, I have a secured line with Queen Eloine,” an aide announced from the com station of the secured command room.

  “Put her on screen,” he ordered reluctantly. Queen Eloine was the cantankerous monarch of the double planet Mohi Kingdom here in the Evar solar system. Her Kingdom comprised of the mining planet Galvey and an industrial planet Choanus, but outside of their formal trade agreements, they had little contact with each other. He hoped that he could use their trade relationship to convince her to help them repel Kessen’s invasion forces. It was hard for him to admit, even to himself, that he was this desperate for help.

  Queen Eloine’s sour face appeared on the screen, “King Lamond, to what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked sarcastically.

  Lamond cut right to the point, “I’m sorry, but this isn’t a social call. Director Kessen has invaded my planet, commandeered my Palace, and is razing my villages.” He furrowed his brow, “I hate to ask this, but I need your help.”

  She pursed her lips, “Sorry to hear that. I assure you if I had heard anything about that Aratan asshole’s plans I would have warned you.”

  “That’s perfectly all right, I trust you would have notified me if you had heard anything. That tyrant took everyone by surprise. But I do not have any military forces of my own, aside from my Knights.”

  Queen Eloine scratched her eyebrow and sighed, “We are like you, we have to rely on the Aratan to provide much of our military protection.” She paused in thought, “I might scrounge up a few hundred guards from Galvay, but they are more security guards for the mines and not actual military soldiers.”

  Lamond jumped on it, “I’ll take them! How fast can you get them here?”

  She held up a finger, "Wait a minute, not so fast. Help doesn’t come for free. If I help you, and in doing so, piss off Kessen, what do I get out of it?"

  Lamond gritted his teeth. The decline in inter-planetary diplomacy over the past few years had been driving him crazy. Her request was a prime example of the isolationism that was taking place throughout the TriadVerse. Back when he was young, if a planet had a natural disaster you could always count on your sister planets in the system to lend a helping hand. But nowadays, it was every Kingdom for itself.

  “How about five hundred head of cattle?
Will that buy your help?” he grumbled.

  “Didn’t you say Kessen has taken control of your planet, how do you expect me to land my forces? If I agree to help, that is. Even before his invasion, he controlled your orbital defenses, just like he does ours.”

  Sighing in frustration Lamond paced the command room. His brow furrowed in concentration, “My head Knight is not here at the moment, he would have an idea how to land them safely. But I sent him to take my family to safety.”

  “I’ll tell you what I can do. It will take a few days, but I will have a transport ship standby on the moon Pia and wait for you there. It’s neutral territory, Kessen will not expect a strike force from the moon of an empty planet. Once you figure out a way to get my men SAFELY onto Dunadd, you can contact them there. Agreed?”

  Nodding his head and bowing to the screen he agreed, “I promise I will provide all possible protections for your men. But I must get my planet back from Kessen. Mar sin leat,” he said graciously. Eloine replied, “Goodbye, and good luck.”

  A whiny voice from behind him interrupted, “Even with her help, you can’t win.”

  Spinning, he glared at the sudden appearance of his sister, “What are you doing here traitor? How did you get in here?”

  “Well, I’m still the sister of the King. Your simple Knights still respect me, and the position I hold,” she glared down her nose at him, “Even if you do not.”

  Lamond ordered the Knight guarding the door, “Arrest her!” he commanded. Wynda did not struggle as the Knight restrained her hands behind her back, which disappointed Lamond. Right now he wanted his sister to feel undignified and humiliated. Yet she stood here in front of him as serene as they were having afternoon tea.

  “This resistance and any show of force by you is a complete waste of time,” she said calmly. “Kessen and Tavio have anticipated your every move. The only reason you are free and not in a prison cell is that I did not tell them about this command room of yours, but that can change. Resisting the Aratans is a waste of time and energy, dear brother.”

  “Why are you helping them?” he snapped, his eyes flaring in anger.

  “Why do you think?” she yelled, her contempt for him finally cracking through her calm composure. “My boy, Douglas, is the rightful heir to the throne of Dunadd!”

  “I have a son,” he growled. “Blayne is the next King.”

  She tilted her head and said cooly, “Are you sure? I think a DNA test may say otherwise.”

  Lamond's eyes widened in surprise at her accusation, “How dare you!” he snapped.

  “Oh, dear brother. Anyone with eyes can see Blayne looks nothing like our House. I will admit, your complete acceptance of Blayne as your son put me off for a few years. But as Blayne got older, it was plain to me, he is not your son. If Rania was here, you could ask her yourself.” Looking around the command room she asked, “And where is the Queen and the wonderful Prince?”

  Lamond lowered his chin and glowered hard at her, "Blayne is my son and the next King of Dunadd." His lip curled as he snarled, "And the location of my family is of no concern of yours, traitor." He ordered the Knight, "Lock her in a storage room in the back. Once we have secured the planet, we will deal with her in a more formal manner." Turning his back to his sister, he dismissed her without a word.

  Chapter 7

  The stealth shuttle skimmed low over the crystal blue lake waters, a fine mist sprayed up behind them. Blayne continued to monitor the scanners and gave Morgan updates on the readings. “Still no tail, I don’t think they spotted us.”

  “It’s nice to hear some good news for once,” Morgan muttered.

  Blayne's mother barked from the back of the shuttle, “Eric Macleod Morgan, how long do you think we will have to stay out here? I need to get back and help my husband. You know, your King?”

  “That's right, he is my King. And he ordered me to get his family to safety, so that is what I am doing. I’m not sure how long we will have to wait to evacuate off-planet.” He spun his chair around to look at Rania, “You may be the Queen, but you will not be going back to the Palace. I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

  Blayne interrupted their arguing, “Morgan, is that it?” he asked pointing out the forward window. Up ahead, on a cliff face above the lake, rose a small castle stronghold.

  “Yes, as you can see, it is quite defensible.”

  Cadee and Gunn unbuckled their safety harnesses and came forward to peer out the window, “What kind of building is that? It looks old,” the young Princess asked.

  "It was a military outpost back in the colonial days. I had it rebuilt and reinforced as a safe house originally." Morgan looked almost sheepishly over at them, "But I’ve been using it as my hideaway for years now." He pointed out the window at the lake below, "The fishing here is incredible. Believe it or not, although the structure is old, it is comfortable. The stone is from a quarry nearby, some of the hardest and strongest stone anywhere on Dunadd. And I added a couple of hidden surface-to-air missile launchers so it can repel any attack for some time."

  Cadee tilted her head in examination, “It’s cute.”

  Morgan raised an eyebrow, “Cute?”

  “It doesn’t matter what it looks like, or if it is comfortable,” Rania interrupted. “We won’t be here long enough to enjoy it.”

  “That’s right, Your Highness. As soon as we can, I am getting all of you off this world. The longer we stick around, the more danger you are in.” Morgan's deep voice reverberated with concern.

  Morgan lifted the shuttle off the water and circled above the small stronghold to line up with a landing pad on top of the center tower.

  Standing up in the back of the shuttle the Queen asked, “Once we land can I at least contact my husband?”

  “Sorry Ma’am, no can do. We must maintain strict comm silence so as not to reveal our position. It is part of the escape protocol the King and I established when we developed this plan.”

  Rania, hands on her hips, glared holes into Morgan. He held up his hands defensively and smiled lightly to try and calm the Queen, “Hey! Don’t blame me, it was the King’s idea!”

  Gunn squeezed by the large Knight to lower the shuttle’s ramp. Cadee darted out before the ramp touched down, running to the edge of the landing pad and peering cautiously over the edge. The two Knights that had ridden with them exited and took up guard positions on either side of the ramp, scanning the skies.

  Blayne unbuckled and attempted to distract his mother, “Mom, we will contact Father as soon as it’s safe, I promise. But right now let us get you inside where it is safe, OK?” He wrapped an arm gently around the Queen and steered her toward the shuttle's exit. “See, Cadee is all ready to explore the stronghold. Why don’t you keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t fire off any of those missiles Morgan was talking about? I want to talk to Morgan for a minute.”

  Rania looked up at Blayne, her lips pressed together. He could see the conflict in her eyes, but years of composure and Royal bearing won out over her urge to act emotionally over the situation. He could not imagine what she was feeling, being separated from her husband with no idea of when she would see him again. So he felt relief when she nodded her head in agreement and strode off to catch up to Cadee.

  Blayne watched his mother go into the stronghold and once she was out of sight, he spun on Morgan. “Knight! I demand your apology for your insolence toward the Queen!”

  “Oh calm down, kid. Now is not the time to act like a royal snot. You are better than that,” Morgan calmly replied, leading the way out of the shuttle and gesturing for Blayne and Gunn to follow, “Help me secure the shuttle, the winds off the lake could blow it right off the roof.”

  Grumbling under his breath, Blayne worked alongside Gunn to lock down the shuttle to the landing pad before they followed Morgan inside. Looking around as they descended a staircase deeper into the fortress, he had to admit Morgan was right. The stonework was of high quality and tight. And thick! Glancing through small
windows he could see the outer walls were almost a meter thick. They pursued the sounds of Cadee’s scampering footsteps as she explored the building. Eventually they caught up to his mother and sister in the great hall. The long windowless room, traditionally the seat for the Lord or Baron of the fortress, echoed with footsteps and the scrape of chairs as everyone settled in. Morgan went straight to the fireplace to turn on the radiator heat. The coolness of the stone had sucked the warmth out of the air, leaving a slight chill on their skin.

  In the corner of the room, standing out of place in the old stone building, was a modern communication station. Placing his hand on a palm scanner, Morgan powered up the com station and sat down at the console, his hands flying over the controls flipping switches and swiping through battle reports on the screen.

  Blayne gripped the back of Morgan’s chair and demanded, “And what is your plan to get off Dunadd? Kessen is no idiot, I’m sure he has locked down all orbital traffic with his troops.”

  “I didn’t get to be Head Knight based on my looks,” Morgan said rubbing his hand down his face. “Sometimes, to get things done, or just to get things, it helps to know people outside the usual travel channels.”

  “Pirates,” Rania spat with disgust.

  The venomous tone in his mother's voice surprised Blayne. He knew there were pirates throughout the TriadVerse. Lawless raiders who lived by their own rules, according to the rumors and legends he had heard as a child. He had, of course, never met one. But to established civilized worlds like Dunadd, they were only a bedtime story to scare children. So it was a surprise to realize there was a bad history with pirates in his mother’s past. How, in the name of the King, did his mother, the Queen of Dunadd, know any pirates?

  “Yes, pirates,” agreed Morgan. “We’ve used this particular pirate for several missions before. He is quite reliable.”