Van Laven Chronicles (39 page)

“That’s what this is really about.” Vaush’s hazel eyes narrowed. “You don’t give a damn about removing their ships from the battlefield. You just want to remove Comron from my life. Well, that’s not going to happen, grandfather. And if you want to be a part of
my
life, which I pray you will, you need to accept Comron as an integral part of it.”

“Oh, I accept that he will be a part of your life. I only object to him as your husband-consort and that is a non-negotiable point.”

Her eyes flashed with anger. “How dare you! I will choose my husband. No one else will make that decision for me.”

“Naturally, but you won’t be choosing Van Laven,” he said, jabbing a finger at Comron. “Because he’s going to do the noble thing and marry Spira to save his world.”

She turned to Comron. “Is this even a real threat? Contact your people and find out if—” she paused as the comp-pad came sliding across the table.

“You see, it’s been verified,” Crausin said as Comron read the communications.

“How do we know you didn’t fabricate those transmissions, you slithering snake,” Vaush said in tone hard as nails. “You’d stop at nothing to take him from me.”

“You should be thanking me,” Crausin said with a wicked glint in his eyes. “Remember I was inside his head. He doesn’t give a shite about you, you’re just an expedient route to the Imperial throne.”

“Enough!” Comron barked. “Another word out of you and I swear I’ll snap your crooked neck.”

Crausin glared at Vaush. “Then muzzle your bitch.”

In a flash, Erlacher and Yaeger had their blast guns aimed directly at Crausin’s head. “Insult Her Majesty again and we’ll be scraping your brains off that wall,” Erlacher said.

“Why wait?” Comron said, leveling a blistering look at Crausin. “Go ahead and put the demented devil out of his misery.”

“The upcoming skirmish would be the perfect cover, all sorts of shite could happen,” Erlacher said with barrel grazing Crausin’s temple. “I could make his throne a wedding gift to you.”

“You’ve made your point, General,” Crausin said through tight lips.

“As long as we understand one another,” Erlacher said, withdrawing his gun. Yaeger followed suit.

If Erlacher weren’t forcing him to do the unthinkable, Comron thought he could actually learn to like the man. But as it stood, he was clearly the enemy who held his world as ransom. Could Vaush ever understand, would it be too much for her to bear? They were already married, he would argue, any marriage entered now would be rendered void once it became public knowledge. Nonetheless, to the world, Spira would be his wife and Vaush the maligned mistress. The very thing she swore she’d never be.

“Back to business then,” Erlacher said, “Captain Yaeger here can perform the ceremony and I’ve the authority to sign the marriage decree.”

Comron locked eyes with Yaeger.

“What?” Yaeger said innocently. “We’re still square. Aren’t we, Van Laven?”

“Have you all lost your bleeding minds?” Vaush exclaimed. “This wedding will take place over my dead body!”

Crausin started to speak but wisely held his tongue.

“Vaush,” Comron said, reaching for her hand but she snatched it away. “The reports have been confirmed. They’ll burn Nethic to the ground. Can you live with that?”

“Better than I can live with you being married to Spira!” The moment she spoke the words, he could tell she deeply regretted it. She closed her eyes in quiet frustration. “No, I can’t live with it.”

“Vaush, honey,” Erlacher said, “Thalonius believes Nethic is behind this whole campaign to deliver you to Novoxos. He’s already sharpened his claws on the Ti-Larosian fleet and now he means to go in for the kill with Nethic.”

She gave Comron an exasperated look as if to say,
why aren’t you fighting this?

He met her gaze with a stern one.
Our secret marriage is the master weapon that will nullify this nonsense. Let’s beat them at their own game.

He saw her eyes narrow at the odd sound of his voice in her head. He’d been equally shocked the first time he’d heard hers during Crausin’s attack. Another gift of the Essence.

You expect me to share you with her? The very thought of it sickens me!

“What would you have me do, Vaush?” he shouted in his anguish. “Tell me and I’ll do it.”
You are no mistress whore, you are my wife! And I’m begging you to set aside your pride until the time is right to reveal our marriage to the world.

“This isn’t about my pride!”
she lashed out.

“You know that Spira will never share my bed nor will she ever know a moment’s kindness from me.”
So what else could it be other than your stubborn pride?

“But they’ll all think—”

“They’ll all
know
that it is you that I love and that I’ve been forced into this wretched marriage.”
Please, Vaush. When your rule has been established and you’ve grown powerful enough to where it won’t matter, we will tell the world the truth!

He watched her wrestle with her convictions, trying to come to terms with the very thing she swore she’d never be. Alas, Comron would know which Vaush treasured most - their relationship or her lofty principles.

She finally lifted her eyes to him.
What choice do I have…I am yours.

Though his heart delighted at her words of surrender, he chose to bear her pain alongside her. “Vaush.” He gathered her into his arms as tears welled in her eyes. “I hate this even more than you do, but we will have our day.”

He glanced at Crausin who sat there looking smug and self-content as if he’d bested them. Comron could endure that, but when Crausin’s eyes fell upon Vaush, gloating over her defeat, his rage boiled to the surface.

I could have forgiven all the wrong you’ve done to me, Crausin. But I’ll never forgive you the wrong you’ve done to Vaush. And someday when you think all is forgotten…I’m going to destroy you and take your throne.

He felt a small degree of satisfaction as Crausin’s smugness fell away.

Even Erlacher seemed moved by Vaush’s grief. “I’m sorry, my dear, but we must proceed without further delay. Please, let Comron take you back to your quarters before the ceremony starts.”

She gripped Comron’s arm, but made no further objection. He stroked her hair and softly kissed her brow. “Come on, love.” He rose from the chair and took her by the hand.

“You’ll come to me when it’s over?” she asked timidly.

It pained him seeing her so vulnerable and unsure of herself, but he loved her all the more tenderly for it. “The very second it’s over.”

They walked out onto the bridge like a couple condemned. He wished he could say something to lessen her pain, or reassure her. But the argument had been made and won, and now there was nothing to do but live with it.

As they approached the exit, the doors parted before them and there stood Lady Spira Eskridge and her mother, the Duchess of Garonne.

“Comron?” Spira said, her sky-blue eyes were wide with newfound appreciation for him. Mortified that Vaush should have to confront her, he was a moment gathering his wits. Spira approached as if irresistibly drawn to him. Her tone grew sultry, “Comron…”

He pushed past her without a word, urging Vaush along with him. As the doors slid shut behind them, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Vaush. “I am so incredibly sorry that—”

“She’s even more beautiful in person than she is in her holograms,” Vaush said with eyes downcast as they walked down the corridor. “I must be insane to let you do this.”

“Beautiful?” Comron scoffed. “Compared to you, she’s a hideous troll.”

She cut her eyes at him. “A troll most men would kill to marry.”

“Then I must not be most men.” He inclined his head at her. “For starters, I’ve been Murkudahl-bound to one woman for the rest of my life. No one can even begin to compare to you, Vaush.” His words seemed to soften the rigid set of her shoulders. For good measure, he whispered, “Besides, Spira smells like a dead codfish.”

A sharp laugh escaped Vaush before she clamped a hand over her mouth. “That’s a lie,” she said, trying to hide her smile. He knew then that they would successfully weather this storm just as they had the others.

“A lie?” He shrugged. “Maybe, but that didn’t stop her from throwing a vase at my head when I told her that.”

“You didn’t.” Vaush laughed again. “You have no idea how much I hate this arrangement, but I’m beginning to suspect that Spira will hate it even more.”

Comron smiled. “You know, I intend to spend every waking moment with you. So, I really won’t have a clue as to how miserable she is. Nor will I care.” He laced his fingers through hers as they walked along. “I am yours alone, love.”

CHAPTER 73

Vaush sat in the living room chair once again feeling utterly blindsided by recent events. How much more could she endure before she finally snapped under the strain of it all? The one constant that she could cling to was Comron’s abiding love for her. Even after his marriage to Spira, she would trust in it and depend on it to carry them through the difficult times ahead.

Still the thought of him exchanging vows with Spira felt like burning acid in her veins.

Seeking distraction, she rose from the chair and began pacing as she focused on the battle ahead and what might be if she reached Novoxos. In less than a decade, the Kurukaii would descend upon their world to wreak fiery retribution on it. All those who were not slaughtered would be subjugated into slavery.

Chaiyse, can we really avoid this fate?
Filled with the sudden need for reassurance from the Murkudahl, she started for the door. Comron was on the other side of it.

“Comron!” she said and checked the time. “That was fast.”

“The battle is about to be underway, so Erlacher rushed things along,” he explained.

“And your blushing b---” it was still too painful to say it. “Where’s Spira?”

“I put her on a shuttle back to the Valiant. Crausin’s gone as well.”

“Ah, I sensed that evil had departed the ship,” she quipped. “And what of Nethic? Did we save the village?”

Comron nodded somberly. “Thalonius called off his dogs. Nethic will live to see another day.”

“Then it was worth the sacrifice,” she said with genuine feeling. “But there’s something else we need to discuss and I can’t put it off any longer.” When she saw the concerned look on his face, she quickly added. “No, we’re fine. It’s the rest of the Empire that I’m concerned about. Come, you might want to be seated for this.” She led him to the couch and proceeded to regale him with all that Bhedrus and Chaiyse had shown her. He listened intently, completely riveted by the vivid imagery she painted of epic battle scenes, advanced alien weaponry and warrior cunning. But when she arrived at the end and related the horrible fate that awaited her and the Empire, he became quite riled.

“If it’s war the Kurukaii want, it’s war they will have. We’ll make damn good use of the next ten years to prepare. Vaush, imagine what we’ll be once we’ve learned to harness and master these new powers and abilities. If we have to build an army of those like us to combat them, we will. And as for their penchant for starting at the head, they’ll have to cut through me first. And heaven help them if they try,” he said as if thirsting for their blood. “So, yes, let them come.”

Never before had she dared to hope that they could combat the Kurukaii if Chaiyse and Bhedrus failed in their peace mission. But the fervor with which Comron spoke awakened something in Vaush that made her feel invincible and eager to fight alongside him. After all, would the Kurukaii prove to be so different from any of the other deadly obstacles they’d faced?

The knock at the door stirred her from her reverie. Comron answered it.

“Erlacher has requested that both of you come to the bridge,” DeOrchis said to Comron, “It will be the safest place during the fighting.”

“Agreed, let’s go,” Comron said.

The battle had been engaged by the time they reached the bridge and joined the skeleton crew of Erlacher, Yaeger, DeOrchis and— much to his surprise— the Murkudahl, Chaiyse and Bhedrus.

“We’re spread pretty thin here,” Erlacher said to Comron. “I could use someone on tactical. Yaeger claims you’re not half bad.”

He glanced at Yaeger, who shrugged. “Can’t afford to be picky.”

“I can hold my own,” he said as he made his way over to the tactical station. “If I’m recognized, Nethic will be back in Thalonius’ crosshairs. Perhaps you have an extra blast shield helmet around I could use.” He began studying the schematics, his eyes rapidly scanned the readings as his mind efficiently processed the data. By the time DeOrchis approached with helmet in hand, Comron was confident he could operate the station as well as anyone else on board.

Vaush was talking to Erlacher who, led her over to an observation chair and requested that she wait there until called upon. Comron turned his attention to the technical readouts. The holographic field showed Erlacher’s fleet which consisted of twelve galaxy class battle cruisers, forty-five planetary cruisers, and 105 single fighters. Thalonius’ combined forces outnumbered them in every class at least four to one. What in the blazes was Erlacher thinking? They would be slaughtered.

But when Comron looked at the man, he saw a military commander fully confident in the belief that they would be victorious. He glanced at the Murkudahl who looked on calmly from the sidelines. It was as if the three of them knew exactly how this game would play out.

“We’re coming into the midst of the fire, sir,” DeOrchis announced. “Brace yourselves.”

“Give ‘em hell, Yaeger,” Erlacher said with raised fist.

Comron watched as Yaeger unleashed a hail of photon blast-fire, landing direct hits on everything he aimed at. The Emperor’s Majesty rocked gently as she received a few glancing blows.

“Shields are holding steady,” Comron announced as his fingers flew over the controls.

“Bring us around for another pass, DeOrchis,” Erlacher commanded.

In the midst of the commotion, Comron noticed that the enemy was extremely ineffective in landing any strategic blows. Thalonius’ men were all firing blind as if they couldn’t lock onto them. That’s when Comron remembered the stealth technology Yaeger had used on the tank during the rescue mission. Comron marveled at the massive energy required to camouflage Erlacher’s fleet, rendering the enemy’s radar systems virtually useless.

Comron scanned the schematics again as Erlacher’s men cut down Thalonius’s forces en masse. The readings indicated that Erlacher had only sustained losses of ten percent while cutting Thalonius’ by thirty. At this rate, Thalonius’ forces would be completely routed within the hour. Surely, the Generals Elite on the other side would realize what was happening and devise a way to compensate for it.

No sooner had he thought that when he caught sight of a massive, spider-like vessel emerging from the midst of Thalonius’s fleet. “I’m picking up unusual energy readings from an unfriendly at the following coordinates.” He grabbed the virtual image and stretched his arms outward, expanding the holograph for all to see.

He grew uneasy at Erlacher’s troubled expression.

“All ships open fire on these coordinates. Shields to maximum!”

Something Erlacher had not anticipated or at least hoped he’d never see! A sick feeling tried to take hold as he watched their weapons fire futilely at the odd structure. Not only was it impervious to their attack, it seemed to be coming alive as enormous spidery legs spread out with some sort of solar webbing between them. At the apex of the extension, the wing webbing began to glow light blue as if absorbing power.

“What in the devil?” Comron said at the readouts. “The damn thing’s harnessing the power of the nearest star.”

“That’s what Star Harvesters are designed to do,” Erlacher snapped, clearly angered by the development. “When the hell did they build a bloody Harvester? Evasive maneuvers, Condit four, evasive maneuvers, Condit four.”

Comron witnessed the smaller ships reacting quickly but the larger ones were slow with the maneuver. His eyes remained fixed upon the charts as the birdlike structure began converting the energy into firepower.

“Get us the hell out of here!” Erlacher ordered.

The burst of energy erupted from the heart of the Star Harvester, sending a focused stream at the nearest galaxy cruiser. It exploded with such a brilliant flash of light Comron thought that they’d be blinded by it.

For the first time since the battle began Comron acknowledged that they would fail to overcome the odds. They would not defeat Thalonius’ arsenal. He lifted his visor and glanced over at Vaush who stared back with the same expression on her face.

A full retreat was their only sane option, but he knew that once Thalonius tasted blood, he wouldn’t stop pursuing Vaush until he glimpsed her lifeless corpse.

He cursed himself for not leaving when they had the chance, when all of Thalonius’ attention was focused squarely on Erlacher’s band of mercenaries. I should have taken you away then, Vaush. But he wouldn’t speak the words not even telepathically. He didn’t want it to end with them dwelling on regrets or second guessing.

The hideous vessel was relentless, firing on their ships with surgical precision. One by one, Erlacher’s battle cruisers were picked off in stunning flashes of light. The battle would be over within minutes, Comron lamented.

“Get us into that sun’s corona!” Erlacher barked.

The corona? Comron wondered if the man had gone mad. They’d burn up long before they reached the corona. But from behind, the Star Harvester bore down on them. Either way, the end was near.

“Vaush,” he called and she was quickly at his side. The courage in her eyes reinforced his. They were together, if this was how it ended, so be it.

“Comron, I—”

“DeOrchis, we’re the only big target left,” he yelled, “Evasive maneuvers, man!”

Yaeger jumped out of his seat and forced DeOrchis out of the pilot’s chair. “Sorry, kid, I’ve got this,” he said, taking control.

Vaush’s fingers dug into Comron’s arm as Yaeger skillfully banked the ship at an impossible angle, causing the Harvester’s shot to fly right past them.

“All hands abandon ship,” Erlacher ordered. “I repeat, all hands abandon ship!”

In dismay, Comron imagined the crew members in engineering obeying the order and fleeing to their escape pods. But Yeager and DeOrchis made no such move. Neither did the Murkudahl.

As they flew toward the corona, the temperature rose precipitously and beads of sweat rolled down Comron’s brow and back. The whole view screen was now filled with the star’s corona.

“Take thermal shields to maximum, Van Laven,” ordered Erlacher.

“Shields at maximum,” he replied.

Erlacher turned to DeOrchis. “Give the escape pods some cover.”

“Aye, sir,” he answered as he opened a volley of fire, cutting a path for the pods passage.

”The Harvester has broken off pursuit,” DeOrchis announced as they plunged into the corona. A few of the foolhardy ships followed them in only to burst into flames.

“How is it that we’re not burning up?” Vaush asked. “This must be Murkudahl technology.”

“View screen off,” Erlacher shouted. The screen blinked to a bland gray. “Chaiyse, stand ready,” he called out.

Comron’s gaze fell upon Chaiyse. He felt a small glimmer of hope that she might yet play a pivotal role in turning the tide.

“Grandfather, how long do you think we can hide in the corona?” Vaush asked, wiping the perspiration from her brow.

“An hour at most.” He unbuttoned his collar as he strode up the ramp to the observation station. “We just need to give them confirmation that you are aboard this ship.”

The plan unfolds, Comron thought as hope began to mount.

“I await your command, General,” Chaiyse said evenly.

“Good, then it’s time to set the trap,” he replied.

Comron saw the conspiratorial wink he gave Vaush.

“It’s time to negotiate the terms of your surrender, my dear.”

Comron shot a questioning look at Vaush.

“I haven’t a clue what he’s up to,” she answered. “But it had better be damned good.”

“Thalonius is aboard the Dynasty, just there behind the Star Harvester,” he said to Chaiyse. “That’s our target. Can you manage it?”

All turned to the Murkudahl woman as she closed her large dark eyes. In seconds her form became translucent, and then rematerialized fully. When she opened her eyes, they were several shades lighter.

“Yes, I can, General,” Chaiyse said.

“Excellent.” He glanced at Vaush. “We’ll have you on Novoxos before you know it. DeOrchis, open a com channel to the lead vessel.”

“Com channel opened and ready,” DeOrchis replied.

Erlacher motioned for Vaush to join him. Comron remained behind, choosing not to don the helmet again in the stifling heat. Making use of a small monitor at the captain’s chair, Erlacher allowed their image to be viewed by all under Thalonius’ command.

A visual of one of Thalonius’s generals appeared.

“Ah, General Bruen,” Erlacher stated casually, even as beads of sweat dripped from his chin. “I should have recognized your blunt style.”

“Erlacher? So it is you,” Bruen said, with a touch of surprise and awe. “That would explain the Emperor’s Majesty. You always had a thing for her.”

“You obviously know who I am,” he replied and placed his arm around Vaush’s shoulder, “But do you know who she is?

Bruen shifted uneasily and cleared his throat. “She’s of no consequence to me, I have my orders.”