Queen of the Savages - Complete (18 page)

"Where now?" she said, drawing her knees to her chin.

"We have nowhere to go but up," Rev muttered.

Telwin's leg was bandaged, but she was still groaning in pain. Rev found a painkiller in the medical kit and administered it to Telwin. Her face relaxed finally, and Tev gently lifted her up. He set her in a seat and secured the seat belts with a click.

"I know it hurts," he said. "But it's better if you are strapped in."

"I understand," said Telwin weakly.

"Shouldn't her leg be elevated?" said Tracy.

"Yes," Rev said pulling up Tracy from the deck and setting her gently in a seat. "But we can't do that now."

"What's the plan?"

"Let me go talk to Tev."

Rev disappeared into the cockpit.

Telwin looked at Tracy and smiled. Her dark hair looked disheveled, and her gown was torn, but she was calmly accepting her fate.

"I heard all twelve priestesses voted for your mating," she said.

"You did?" Information sure went around quickly at the temple.

"Yes, it was remarkable. That hardly ever happens. You are very blessed, Lady Tracy. Your bodies, hearts and souls are joined. It is truly a sign from heaven."

As Tracy thought this over, Rev entered the cabin and knelt before both of them.

"We've got enough fuel for a few hours. Tev and I think our best shot is hanging around in the upper atmosphere and hope that one of the rebel ships notices us and comes to get us."

"Rebels? What rebels?"

"The same ones Nurse S'den talked about when we were on the Tor. They are hiding behind Endra right now."

Tracy took in this bit of information, but it only led to more questions. For example, why were rebels here in the first place? But she thought it best to concentrate on the practical questions.

"I understand that we can't fly to them, because this vessel is not designed for space flight. But why would they be looking for us? We're not rebels."

The brothers looked at each other. Neither one wanted to speak first. Finally, Rev knew he had to say something.

"The rebels will do anything to protect their queen. When you were on the Tor, they did a number of tests. One of them was a test on your DNA. They found that you carry the genome of the Moc-Noton line."

Spending time searching through the alien equivalent of Wikipedia had finally paid off. "You mean the Moc-Noton royal line? You're telling me I'm queen of all the Aligned Worlds."

"You COULD be queen. There are legal procedures, of course. We would need to go to an Aligned Worlds advocate and file a claim to start the process. But unofficially..."

Tracy was thinking many things at the same time, but the foremost thought in her mind was that, once again, Rev had known something and didn't tell her.

"Wait. How long have you known this?"

"For a couple days. Nurse S'den told me when she arrived."

Tracy sighed. "I know we haven't had a lot of downtime, and I guess we haven't had a lot of opportunities to speak with each other. But next time, can you try to let me know important things as soon as possible? I feel like everyone else knows what's going on but I don't. "

Rev took her hands. "What do you want to know?"

"Who is chasing us, for one thing."

"A dissident from my government. His name is Se-Marten and he is the Northern Reaches governor. He has ambitions for his family. When he failed to get either one of us to claim his daughter, he turned on us. He has help from Ja-Idin Du, though I don't know to what extent."

Tracy laughed. "I think I sat next to her at dinner. She's a gold digger, that's for sure." Tracy stared at Rev, whose face was lined with stress.

Rev pulled himself off the deck and settled in the seat next to hers. "How many Kerdim support him?"

"It is too early to tell. I've been off planet for a long time, and things are moving quickly."

"Is this why Lady Essen rushed us into the temple?"

"It's part of the reason. Our council promised the crown to the brother with a confirmed mating. Now either they stand by their word or..." Rev stopped and swallowed. "There's one more thing. Now that you are confirmed as my mate, you are a citizen. No one can send you back to Earth against your will."

"So," said Tracy, "Essen sets you up as Emperor of Kerdos. And I have the right to claim the Vacant Throne."

Tracy started shaking her head, talking to herself.

"What more can happen?" she said.

"It was a lot for me to absorb," said Rev. I was surprised too. Shocked, actually. But it clears up Ja-Idin Du's reaction to you and his desire to quarantine earth. Anyone with the Moc-Noton genome can file a claim to the throne."

"You keep talking about filing a claim. What exactly does that entail?"

Rev looked uncomfortable, but Telwin helpfully filled the silence. "You sit on the Vacant Throne," said Telwin, "and if it doesn't kill you, you are named Empress."

Tracy had a horrified look on her face. Telwin had not stopped talking. "This might be news to you, but it is common knowledge. The Vacant Throne remains vacant because it will kill anyone without the correct genetic markers to sit on it."

"Fabulous," said Tracy. "Well, let someone else do it. I'm not going to risk my life to rule an empire with thousands of planets. It's been vacant for a long time, it can stay vacant."

"Hundreds of thousands," said Telwin, under her breath.

"Great. Hundreds of thousands. Well, I'm just a Earth girl."

"I hate to interrupt this touching scene," said Tev. "But we have incoming."

"I'll be right back. I've to help out." said Rev. He gave Tracy a quick kiss and bounded towards the pilot's cabin. In a minute, the transport started swinging crazily through the air, and Tracy felt laser fire shake the ship.

A holoscreen shimmered in front of them, showing four fighters advancing on their ship. Tev opened a channel to them.

"Fighters, this is Prince Tev. Cease firing. Repeat, this is Prince Ar-Teven, with your Emperor Ar-Reven. Stop shooting at us!"

The ship broke off their attack, and Tracy listened to conflicting orders that were piped in from the holoscreen speakers. Voices were instructing the fighters to force the transport to land. Tev claimed that these orders were coming from traitors.

Finally, Ja-Idin Du's face shimmered onto the holoscreen. "Let's make this simple. Land," he ordered. "Or we'll shoot you down."

"Try it," said Rev. He turned off communication and the holoscreen went dark.

Tracy hated sitting around. Sure, it was safe, but she had been through enough recently to know that the safest decision wasn't always the best decision. She wanted to know what was going on so she could feel like she was participating. She might not be able to pilot a space ship, but her ideas were as good as anyone else's.

She released her seat belt and made her way to the pilot's cabin. Rev and Tev sat at their seats, eyes glued to displays that showed moving objects. Tracy snorted. Even if they were aliens, it was still hard to pull males away from their video games.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Rev turned his head to look at her, moving his head away from the displays. Because his head was looking in a different direction, he didn't notice the missile heading towards the ship.

"Watch out!" Tracy screamed.

The cabin filled with the sound of tortured metal ripping apart, and the ship tipped. Tracy was thrown against the bulkhead. Telwin screeched in fright.

"Engine one was hit," announced Tev. "The missile only grazed it, but the engine is not functioning."

"Got it," said Rev.

"Just for my information, just how many engines do we have?" asked Tracy.

"Four," said Rev absently.

The brothers were trying to patch the ship together on three engines, but the looks on their faces showed that they knew they were fighting a losing battle. The ship fell through the sky so quickly Tracy felt weightless. She reached for Rev, needing to touch him one more time.

The view out of the windows was bright, but grew dark as a large ship moved ahead of them. At the back of the ship, under the wings, a great maw opened.

"Here's our chance. Someone's offering to take us in." said Rev.

"Who is it?" asked Tracy.

"That's the problem. We don't know who it is. Communication systems are down."

"Are you sure you can fly in there with your piloting skills, little brother?" said Tev.

"Me? Why me?"

"You said you were the one with tricks."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," muttered Tracy. They were spiraling down out of the sky and they were fighting about who would get to fly the ship.

Rev had a determined look on his face. "I can take care of this."

The larger ship stood still in the sky, and Rev adjusted the angle of their ship so that it would fall into the waiting docking bay.

"Hang on," said Rev. His dark hair fell across his forehead as he concentrated on matching the air speed of the ship before them.

"Rev," said his brother. "Engine two just failed."

"I felt it," growled Rev. Tracy also felt the ship slowing down.

"Punch it," urged Tev. "If we hit hard, we hit hard."

Rev took a deep breath and pushed the joystick forward, engaging the two remaining engines. Tracy held her breath and gripped Rev's chair. The larger ship enveloped them, but they hit the lower edge and bounced. The smaller ship flew forward, sliding on the deck. There was nothing to stop them and a wall was growing larger and larger on the display.

Suddenly they were jerked back and Tracy went flying into the forward viewport.

She felt strong hands grab her on either side, and she was pulled back roughly. Her head avoided hitting the glass. Rev was holding her on one side and Tev on the other. Tev gave her a gentle push and she fell in Rev's lap.

"Next time, when I say strap in, STAY strapped in." His voice was rough, but he held her tight.

They sat for a moment, shock slowly leaving their bodies after the rough ride. They heard a banging outside the ship.

"Sounds like someone wants in," said Tev.

"Let's go say hello," replied Rev.

Tracy stood up, but she was dizzy and swayed on her feet. Rev steadied her. Tracy went to Telwin to make sure she was okay and was rewarded by a weak smile. She turned back to see Rev and Tev hefting laser rifles to their shoulders. Tev hit a button to open the hatch.

Tracy had no idea who would be there, but she thought she was ready for anything. It could be a pirate, an Aligned Worlds crewman, or even Ja-Idin Du, because that snake seemed to be everywhere.

She didn't expect the person that greeted her.

"Tracy! Where the hell have you been?" Carol shouted excitedly. Carol had been abducted from Earth with Tracy, but had been recovering from a medical condition. The two were separated against Tracy's desires.

Tracy couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the blonde woman standing on the deck before her. "Oh my God! Carol!" She ran out of the ship and the two collided in a bear hug, squealing and jumping, totally ignoring the mixed crowd of aliens behind them.

They broke apart and Tracy looked her friend over.

"Looking good," she said, not believing her eyes.

"Yeah, considering that I turned into a blue alien. Tracy! Is it true what Nurse S'den says, that you are the queen of the galaxy?"

"Not the galaxy, and not until I pass an exciting test. But let me introduce you to my friend. Carol, this is Prince Ar-Reven of Kerdos."

"I think I've seen this guy before...but I would have remembered seeing a green guy walking around." She paused. "I have a feeling he's more than a friend. Girl, I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I? First, I can barely get you out of the apartment to go the bar, and now you're married to an alien prince?"

Tracy started laughing.

"Hello, Carol," said Rev in his deep voice. "I'm glad to see you recovered."

"Have we met?"

"You did, but you won't remember. It's a long story," said Tracy.

"And who's tall, green and hunky next to him?"

"I'm Ar-Teven, Rev's brother," rumbled Tev. He stared at Carol intently.

An alien with the same bright white skin of S'den stepped forward and bowed.

"Your highnesses, I'm Captain D'gar. S'den sends her greetings and asks that you join her on our flagship Equal Measure."

"Of course," said Rev. "One of our party is wounded and needs attention."

The captain called for a medical team and Tev retreated into the ship. He came out holding Telwin in his arms. With care, he lowered her to a pallet and the medics began treatment.

"They will heal you, Telwin," said Tev.

"Yes, your highness," said Telwin. Her face was pale with fear.

"Take good care of her. We owe her our lives."

Rev took Tracy's arm as Captain D'gar escorted them through his ship. Tracy glanced back and saw Tev was walking side by side with Carol. The two of them exchanged smiles and Carol spoke with excitement about her adventures with the resistance.

"Well," said Tracy to Rev. "Carol and Tev seem to be hitting it off."

"Are they?" said Rev distractedly. Tracy frowned. She knew the last phrase she spoke, "hitting it off," wouldn't translate correctly and she was waiting for Rev to tease her about it. But he was thinking about something else.

"What is troubling you, Rev?"

He sighed. "I am worried about my people. There's still a traitor down there. I can't do much about it if I'm up here in space, and I don't know which of my people stand behind us."

D'gar coughed. "Excuse me, your Highness, but I believe I can be of some assistance."

Rev smiled. "That's the best news I've heard today. But how?"

"We have contacts with some of your people. I can have them gather information for you."

Rev looked surprised. "Please do, Captain."

D'gar stopped walking. "I will try to have the information ready for you by the time we reach the Equal Measure. Here is a place you can rest until we dock. I've had some food delivered."

D'gar pressed a button and a door slid back to reveal a small suite. A circular sofa dominated the center, with doors on either side of the room. In the center was a round glass table overflowing with different foods and fancy bottles. In the left corner was a small kitchen with a counter.