I couldn't believe the story I was just handed. Three hours sitting on the bridge of the last known Mercury Class vessel, and the entire time an exclusive conversation with the Last Princess of Leonidas.

I just hope my excitement wasn't showing horribly. This would make my career.

The small pin she handed me was beautifully made, making it obvious they were for creating a lifelong exclusive club of people who had served her.

I was in heaven knowing I would be the first to be able to report on them. The ship's AI assistant breaking in to say we were arriving, brought our conversation to an end, as she told me to record what was about to happen.

Twelve Cryopods. Twelve more survivors from the Night of Rebellion as historians have come to call that night. My adrenaline pumping, trying to take it all in. For the first time in my life, i have no idea where to put the camera. I want everything; but I only get one chance.

The ship with twelve survivors is almost onboard, and the AI tells us there is more. I had the camera swing and look at her face while still in stealth mode.

The eye piece screen, I use to control the camera shows this girl with a look of joy. The softness at the corner of her eyes at hearing the news was caught, I stayed for a few seconds when she ordered the pods to be collected in order of risk. A slight smirk at the corner of her lips.

'That's a money shot' I thought at that moment. A beautiful human moment from this five hundred year old example of Leonidas at its peak, showing exactly why the Korvall family was so loved, and why the Night of Rebellion has an unknown cause through today.

I keep the camera in front, and facing her as we leave the bridge. The entire interior looks like a pristine example of a Rebellion Era Mercury vessel. I felt like I was walking through a museum piece, except everything was functioning.

We entered the hangar, and I stopped, quickly followed by the Princess. When she stepped back to me, she asked what was wrong. I pointed to the Home Guard Drop Fighter sitting on the hangar floor. Its blood red paint, covering its aerodynamic lines was unmistakable.

A ship capable of both atmospheric, and space flight. And each one meant to carry an entire squad of Home Guard Knights.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Princess, I believe I should stay here, and let my camera leave that ship before allowing those people to wake up. If only we had the Signet of Gaias Korvall."

"I have it. It was in engineering." She says. My camera recorded that? Yes.

"You should have it in your hand when you let them out." She nods, and walks onboard the other ship, its wing tips almost touching each side of the cavernous cargo hold.

Twenty minutes later, twelve fully armored men and women of the Home Guard stepped off the ship behind the princess.

"This is Kiel Russell. He is a reporter." I see hands tighten on beam-staffs. "He will ask questions about the battle. Do not lie, say what you know, do not divulge anything that could compromise national security."

Each one nods, and a clang of metal as their red armored fists slam into the metal chest plates.

"Historians would get a heart attack from that alone." I heard Dame Edington say. "A single piece of armor plating from the pinky finger on one of those gloves would fetch a price high enough to put a junior Knight or Dame in a mannor-house for the next generation, and there are twelve pristine full sets, fresh out of Cryo, and they just slammed their fists into,the chest plate like they are wearing hand-me-downs."

"What would a full set of Home Guard armor go for?" I ask.

"Kiel, that's not Home Guard Armor. That is Chamber Guard Armor. The method of making that is lost, because only the sitting monarch can authorize an armor master to teach the method of construction."

"Chamber Guard?" I hear the princess ask. She turns to look back at them again. "You are Chamber Guards?"

"We are the personal guards of His Grand Majesty Gaias Korvall." A stout woman at the front answered.

"Were." She pulls something out of her pocket, grabs the guard's wrist, then slams what she had in her hand into the gauntlet. "You were my fathers guards."

The twelve people fell to one knee. The Princess slid a small black purse from an inside pocket in the belly of the uniform shirt she was wearing, and set the necklace of rings in the guards hand.

"I am the last of the line." She says plainly. Which garnered another chest bang from these guards, who then circled her. The stout woman then handed back the rings.

"Orders, my Queen?"

"Help wake up the other pods we are finding." The guardsmen disappeared except for the stout woman. Their optical camouflage was leagues above what I had access to; and they were half a Millennia old.

"My Queen, there is a stealthed surveillance device behind you."

"Leave it be, it belongs to the reporter over there, and for the time being, Princess, or Dame, when referencing me."

"Yes, Princess." With that, the stout woman faded from sight.

Dame Edington had wild eyes, like she had found something she wanted to fight. I think she only hides her battle junkie personality from the princess, she got the platform posting because the son of a councilman challenged her to a duel to first blood. She not only bested him, she broke both legs, both arms, and won with the injury to his manhood.

It came out later he had threatened to forcibly take her to his bed when he won the duel. Since it was done during an official duel, she was pushed out to the edge of the kingdom.

Well, three years later, she is the executive officer of a Royal's Yacht. So it worked out well.