The wormhole transition was seamless as it usually was, one instant they were in empty space, the next they were witnessing a group of alien starfighters attack a large civilian ship with small weapons fire. Another larger ship was in the distance. Debris from starfighters and a smaller escort ship floated in space.
The civilian ship was pretty ornate looking. It could give Isis’s ship a run for its money. It was white with gold trim. Scorch marks marred its once beautifully painted hull. It had no shields currently and its main thrustors were flickering. Bit had no record of the class.
The attacking starfighters were old and beat up, their weapons were lasers at best. They’d likely have trouble warming up Allison’s shields. Their armor was patchwork, and her particle beams would rip through their shields. Based on Bit’s records which she had received from the LSR these were surplus fighters that ceased production a few thousand years ago.
The larger attacking ship seemed to have done most of the damage with warheads. It would take concentrated fire from Allison’s weapons, but she’d be able to take down its shields. If she had her actual loadout, she’d take it out with one missile. It was also a relic of a bygone era. Its armor was patchwork, most of it was painted black. Bit’s sensors had no trouble seeing it though. Its larger weapons could pierce Bit’s shields, unlike the fighters.
Allison reached out and dropped her two mini-attack drones. The starfighters were heading towards the wormhole which collapsed shortly after their arrival. There were no target locks on her fighter though. It was black, the cockpit was currently covered by liquid metal. Bit faded into the background of space easily. Stealth mode meant no running lights. Her drones had similar stealth technology. Even System’s Alliance vessels would be hard-pressed to see her, and they knew what to look for. The sensors on these relics likely had no chance.
“Open a channel on all frequencies. Translate it to LSR standard.”
“Channel is open, though we have the element of surprise, why waste it, Allison?”
Allison shook her head and spoke.
“This is a System’s Alliance patrol. We have received a distress signal. We will open fire on anyone who makes aggressive actions from this point forward. Disengage and leave the ship in peace or we will respond with violence. You saw how we arrived; You do not want to go up against our fighters in those relics.”
Allison sighed as the fighters fired their red lasers in the direction of her broadcast.
“This isn’t SA space; I have to at least pretend to have tried to solve it peacefully. Give me detailed specifications on the fighters and that ship. I’d like to disable instead of destroy.”
Allison weaved through the incoming laser fire. She didn’t need to but currently they were firing blind. Any hit on her shields would reveal her location with scanners. She targeted the closest starfighter and armed her plasma chain guns. Her particle beams would obliterate the fighters. She swept over the fighter and a rain of green plasma blobs smashed against the shields. Then the fighter’s armor. They melted through and the fighter listed to the side and kept going forward on its own momentum but lacked any control or self-power.
Her attack started the real dogfight in earnest. She weaved through their lasers with ease. Whoever they were, they were not professional fighter pilots. In her first pass she took out three of them with ease. Now there were six active. They managed to get a few lucky grazes on her shields but with the reinforcement power provided by her antimatter reactor they had no chance. Her drones lanced four of the remaining fighters easily. Like she’d said, this wasn’t a fair fight at all.
The last two fighters retreated towards the larger ship which had come into weapons range and was trying to target Allison’s fighter. The weapons it had that could hurt her were large and ponderous weapons meant to target other large ships. The turrets were as ineffective as the starfighter’s lasers. Bit spoke up after the ship fired several salvos, which she dodged easily.
“They are targeting the civilian ship with their anti-ship weapons. Its shields are down, and it will not survive the hit. As they are laser based my shields and hull are resistant.”
Allison sighed, Olga leaned forward.
“What does she mean, resistant?”
Allison didn’t answer, she just flew Bit into the twin laser beams. The shield levels flashed warnings. They were still holding. They wouldn’t hold if they took another direct hit. Allison flipped Bit and targeted the pirate frigate. Her overcharged particle beams tore through its ancient hull plating and cut twin holes through the entire ship. She hadn’t expected that kind of damage, though she should have, she’d channeled three times the standard output into their capacitors and hadn’t fired them yet. An explosion ripped out of the back of the ship. She had likely hit their fuel storage. Pure luck had likely saved the ship from having its antimatter containment hit. Olga’s eyes went wide.
“They let a teenage girl fly around with weapons that powerful?”
Bit spoke up.
“The ‘pirates’ are sending a surrender on all open channels. They are requesting we do not fire on their escape craft. Likely because your attack cored their ship. They have no power and their FTL byproduct is losing containment.”
Allison shrugged.
“Tell them we don’t fire on defenseless people. Have the civilians reached out yet?”
Bit paused before responding.
“Their response to the surrender and assistance request was… Less than kind.”
Allison pulled her fighter away from the pirate frigate. Four makeshift shuttles and several escape pods launched from the ship before it exploded in a flash of blue light common to antimatter detonations.
“Allison, the civilian ship is reaching out, they will take on the survivors but want us to provide security.”
Allison facepalmed.
“Ugg, I have an appointment. Why? Whatever. Olga, do you mind playing security for them?”
Olga shrugged.
“Why not, I have never met actual space pirates. This could be fun.”
Allison sighed heavily.
“Tell them we’ll do it, but only until the prisoners are secured.”
Bit indicated a spot on the civilian craft.
“That is a hanger bay. You are to escort the pirates in.”
Olga laughed.
“Demanding lot, aren’t they?”
Allison formed up behind the pirate escape craft. The fighters had their weapons powered down. She didn’t take any chances and kept her shields up.
“Bit make sure you tell the pirates that if I see any signs of power to their weapons systems, I will destroy them.”
Bit didn’t respond. Allison knew her AI companion would pass her message along, probably more politely than she would manage. She was in a mood because she’d set up a medical appointment and this could make her late. The pirates landed without incident. Allison dropped Olga off and returned to space to drag the disabled fighters back to the ship. She found ten life signs in various wrecked fighters. She towed them in with her tractor beam, which was more of a gravity beam directed from Bit’s antigrav systems, but someone with a bent for historical SciFi called it a tractor beam, and it stuck.
By the time she landed she was one and a half hours behind schedule, it would have been two, but her unsanctioned wormhole jump had jumped them fifty light years closer to her destination. They were still five hours away from their destination at maximum FTL speeds, at least for Allison. Her appointment wasn’t for ten. She was hoping to get some sleep but that was out, Olga hadn’t stopped talking and this had wasted more of her time. Olga had some form of assault rifle in her hands. She was standing watch over a group of; To be honest, Allison could have mistaken them for humans. Save for their odd hair colors which seemed to be green, their eyes were also oddly colored, well would have been, had they been human. They were all pale. Several were injured and a woman was tending to them. It seemed to be just Olga, herself and the prisoners, along with Bit of course.
Allison had her twin Qual’sa pistols holstered on her thighs. She crossed her arms and stood beside Olga.
“So, no one from this ship came out to see us?”
Olga shook her head.
“No, just a loudspeaker telling me to guard them.”
Allison groaned.
“I don’t have time for this, I have an appointment.”
Allison tapped her wrist.
“Bit, tell our hosts we’re leaving so they better send someone down here to guard these prisoners.”
Olga laughed.
“Okay, kid, I like your style. But you aren’t expected by the high council for another day. We have time.”
Allison shook her head.
“I have a medical appointment in…”
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She checked her HUD.
“Nine hours and forty-five minutes. I would really like some sleep first.”
Olga quirked an eyebrow.
“Medical appointment, with dragon people? There are doctors on Eden Prime aren’t there.”
Allison blushed suddenly as she realized she said too much.
“I was exposed to something, it’s just a routine checkup, our doctors aren’t as familiar with it, so I’m sticking with the Silwrath. Whatever. Where are these people? We risked our lives and they’re like guard these prisoners? Like what?”
Allison wagged her finger.
“Ship like this, I bet you they’re some aristocratic beeps… and you’re not us so you’re servants.”
“Did you just beep?”
Allison blushed again.
“Yes, Bit says I’ve been swearing too much.”
Olga laughed. One of the prisoners moved to approach them. Allison’s hand flipped to her pistol. She had it drawn and aimed at him before he could take three steps. He held up his hands. He looked kind of rakish. Allison might have been attracted to him if he hadn’t been involved in trying to kill her. She sounded fairly venomous when she spoke.
“Sit down.”
He held up his hands and sat back down. Allison slid the pistol back into the holster the armor reformed for her. All eyes turned towards the hanger’s interior door when it slid open. A man, no Allison was pretty sure it was a fellow teenager walked through them. He was wearing ornate robes they were what would be described as fire engine red, with gold highlights and trim. He looked human. Allison was hard pressed to confirm he was male. His face was hairless. His long black hair tied into a topknot. In all honesty, Allison could have mistaken him for a high-ranking Chinese or Japanese official from the old holos she’d watched. Possibly even an emperor. His skin was pale. He was accompanied by two robots with assault rifles. He was barely five foot six.
Allison thought he was cute. Of course, she was also cranky due to her lack of sleep and her upcoming appointment she was afraid she would be late for. So sounded quite annoyed, and rude when she addressed him.
“Finally. We have places to be. We took care of your pirate problem, now we need to go.”
He looked quite shocked. His eyes locked on Olga.
“I am sorry, ma’am. I didn’t not mean to offend your daughter.”
Olga laughed.
“My kid? No, my kid would probably have cursed a little bit more. I’m just the bodyguard here. She’s doing all the talking. I just shoot what she tells me too, isn’t that right, your royal highness?”
Allison glanced at Olga and mouthed the words royal highness with an unspoken question mark. Olga motioned at the teenager with her chin. He looked at Allison. He addressed Allison.
“I apologize ma’am. Will your security and entourage be joining us?”
Allison sighed.
“The black fighter is mine. Yes, technically I am a Duchess of the Qual’sa. Sister of the Queen. I don’t have an entourage; I have an annoying bodyguard. Now deal with this mess, we are expected on Silwra, I have a meeting with the high council I cannot be late for.”
This got the rakish-looking pirate’s attention. It also caught the attention of the teenage royal. The pirate spoke.
“We’re not pirates, we’re freedom fighters! These are our oppressors you need to tell the council!”
The teenager motioned his hand and one of the robots backhanded the pirate sending him sprawling to the deck of the hanger bay. The teenager spoke.
“Silence. You are pirates and terrorists. Your unprovoked attacks on our people are why we are approaching the council. Today was just further proof.”
Allison was over this whole conflict already. She did not care. The teenage royal looked at her.
“Our engines are damaged we were heading to petition the council for military aid to deal with these rebels. Could you speak for us? If you are the Battlelord and Duchess the news has spoken of your words could carry much weight. My parents would ask you themselves if they were not by my brother’s bed. He may not survive. We would ask this of a fellow royal. I am sorry if I’m being too forward ma’am.”
Allison rubbed the bridge of her nose. The pirates were all staring at her now. Apparently, the legend of the first Battlelord in centuries had spread. Finally, she spoke.
“As an Officer of the System’s Alliance, I cannot take sides or get involved. If the council hasn’t sent help yet, they’re probably not going to. This seems to be a… you thing.”
She motioned between the pirate leader and the teenager. The teenage royal approached Allison and spoke quietly.
“Perhaps then your System’s Alliance would lend their aid? You see the kind of barbarity we’re dealing with. This must be stopped. Our people are dying. We would be willing to pay, make concessions for military aid. Again I humbling ask your forgiveness for my demanding tone, ma’am.”
Allison swore under her breath. She had to give this to the System’s Alliance. A sanctioned wormhole beacon this close to LSR space? She sighed.
“Bit, launch and open a wormhole comm. I need to make a call.”
Olga glanced at Allison who just held her hand up in response. She looked between the rakish pirate and teenage prince.
“I have no idea what you’re all fighting about, but all I can promise you is I will tell my government about this mess, if they get involved it will probably be some sort of peacekeeping force to stop you from killing each other.”
Bit spoke through comms.
“Allison, its ready.”
Allison frowned, walked away from the group and tapped in the direct link to Maria. Major Ghai would be pissed but she did not have time for the run around with command and technically she was on civilian business at the moment. Maria picked up quickly.
“Allison, is something wrong? Aren’t you still on you way to the council meeting?”
Allison sighed.
“I’m sorry for bothering you, ma’am, but I ran into a… diplomatic situation when responding to a distress signal. The royal family of some planet was getting attacked by… pirates? Terrorists? Rebels? I don’t know the title for these guys keeps changing. The royal family is requesting military aid from the SA, in exchange for concessions, like say, a wormhole beacon. We’re at the very edge of LSR space but technically outside of it. Their ship is damaged, and they do not seem to have facilities for the amount of prisoner’s I captured. I am running late, but we can still provide the coordinates for a wormhole jump by say a peacekeeping fleet to investigate the situation?”
Maria smiled. Allison thought she looked like a cat that had found a mouse.
“You did the right thing by calling me directly, Allison. I will send a fleet. Have Bit send me exact spatial coordinates please. Give me an hour and you can get on your way. Enjoy the rest of your trip, I hope it is just as good for us.”
Allison avoided sighing visibly. She just nodded. Maria ended the call. Allison walked back to the group.
“Okay, they’re sending a fleet to sort this out. They’ll be here in one standard hour. Sorry Olga, you’ll need to keep playing prisoner guard.”
Olga nodded in response. The teenager looked between the two, then spoke.
“An hour? Are they that close?”
Allison nodded.
“Yes.”
She crossed her arms. This meant less sleep. She mentally bemoaned the fact she was stuck here for an hour. The teenager motioned for Allison to approach closer. Allison eyed the rakish pirate then pulled out one of her pistols and offered it to Olga.
“Red is disintegrated, green is unconscious.”
Olga took the pistol and looked it over.
“Ah, non-lethal. I can see how that will be useful here.”
Allison pointed at her eyes with two fingers then pointed at the rakish pirate.
“Do not try her.”
Allison followed the teenage royal. He spoke as they walked.
“I am sorry, had we known you were a fellow royal we would have been much better at greeting you properly. My parents are distraught at my brother’s condition. They will of course want to thank you personally for saving him. My mother would have greet you herself, instead of having to deal with me.”
Allison sighed and followed him. Olga grinned at her. Allison made a face in her direction. The ship had seen better days. The attack by the raiders? Allison still wasn’t sure what to label the green-haired attackers. The attack had left conduits and pieces of the ship hanging out all over. Sparks flared here and there. She could tell it was once opulent, even in the interior. She wondered if it would ever be that way again. She saw only a few living crew members. For the most part it seemed to be crewed by robots of various description. The med-bay was still in one piece and seemed to be crewed by an actual doctor and nurse.
The doctor was an older woman. Once again, she could have mistaken her for human if she weren’t in another galaxy and knew better. The doctor had greying hair and was quite attractive. The nurse was also a woman. It was hard to determine ages as a teenager and when dealing with alien species, but she’d say she was young. She had violet hair that did not seem to be dyed. An older couple stood by the bedside of a man who if he was human she’d guess he was in his twenties. He had the same dark hair as his brother. The couple had greying hair and seemed fairly distraught. The woman was quite beautiful and her hair would have been blonde in her youth. Though the male half was trying to maintain a stoic exterior. Everyone’s eyes drifted to the newly entered pair of teenagers. The woman frowned.
“Vaedrick, what is the meaning of this?”
The teenager who hadn’t introduced himself to Allison motioned to her and spoke.
“I beg your forgiveness for making this decision without you, Mother, this is Duchess Allison Wanjala. She is the one who intervened on our behalf and rescued Hulern. Her people are sending a fleet to assist us, at her request. She destroyed the attacking ships.”
The woman looked Allison up and down, her eyes narrowed.
“If you’re a duchess, where is your escort, your retinue?”
Allison frowned.
“I’m travelling light in a stealth craft. Having a group of people and ships following me around would defeat the purpose of ‘stealth’. The System’s Alliance is sending a fleet to aid you, they can also provide advanced medical care if it’s required to any of your family or crew.”
The doctor seemed somewhat insulted. The mother continued digging her hole.
“Your people are days travel away from us, what help will that be?”
Vaedrick for his part looked embarrassed. Allison tried to maintain a patient demeanor though she couldn’t hide the annoyance from her voice.
“They’ll be here within the hour. Our technology is more advanced than yours, and the League. As I was telling Vaedrick, I was fifty light years away when I heard your distress signal. I was here within two standard minutes.”
The woman seemed a bit surprised she was about to speak again. Her husband touched her forearm. His wife gave him the most venomous look when he opened his mouth.
“Thank you, Duchess. I apologize for my wife’s rudeness. We are out of sorts after the attack and the condition of our son.”
Allison silently pondered who the actual ruler was. She smiled to try and smooth things over. She realized her tone had left a lot to be desired. Especially after her lessons in courtly behavior from Aryna.
“I am also not in the best of moods. I was not able to sleep on my trip here and I was planning on it. I have a meeting with the high council, I am frustrated by this unforeseen delay and lack of sleep. My people are going to be much better equipped to help you than I am. Like Vaedrick, I’m just a teenager.”
Vaedrick’s mother’s eyes softened.
“My apologies, duchess. I was just concerned about you being out here, on your own, at your age. I also apologize for my consort and son. They speak when they should not. How dare either of you address a woman directly without her permission.”
Allison approached the bed. Her contacts told her a lot about Hulern’s condition. He needed more advanced help than this med-bay could provide. She was no doctor, but the tech wasn’t even close to System’s Alliance standards.
“Excuse me please, I need to update the president.”
Allison moved away from the group and opened another comm to the president. Maria answered. To her credit she did not seem exasperated to see Allison.
“Allison, has anything changed?”
Allison nodded.
“Yes ma’am, my holo-phone’s medical assessment says we need help sooner than an hour for the… I’m not sure what they are, but the royalty’s son. Their tech is, well, not as good as ours. Any chance we can get a ship here faster? Making sure he lives will probably go a long way. The scans are indicating they’re basically us, just different hair and eye colors.”
Maria nodded.
“Thank you for the update. Please contact your grandfather. It’s his fleet I’m sending. They’re at Andromeda space HQ.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Maria leaned closer to her holo-recorder.
“I thought we agreed on Aunt, or Auntie.”
Allison rubbed the back of her neck.
“Sorry, I just, thought because this was official System’s Alliance business…”
Maria smiled.
“Go on, call your grandfather. Update him personally please. You’re in the field. It’s your call, Battlelord.”
Allison blushed.
“See you at Christmas, Auntie.”
She closed the communication and directed the next comm at Andromeda HQ. She was immediately linked to her Babu. He smiled when he saw her.
“My little simba, in command of her own mission. What are your orders?”
Allison blushed.
“Uh, babu, I need the fleet here now. The… I’m not sure what his title is, is not doing well and needs immediate medical attention.”
Her grandfather straightened up.
“If the area is secure, I’ll send the Vancouver and her escort. The rest of the fleet will be there soon after.”
Allison nodded.
“I’ll get them ready to transport him. See you soon babu.”
He smiled.
“I look forward to it.”