Valor - Part 1

He paced back and forth across the dusty corrugated steel floor.  It was clear to the tall, muscular woman who watched him that he was agitated.  She stood at attention, as she always did when in the king's presence.  She would give her life to save his, yet this latest news that she had presented to him seemed to cause him much discomfort.

    The king paused in mid-pace and turned to his body guard.  "How did they find them?"

    The woman shook her head.  "That isn't clear, my lord.  Intelligence suspects a traitor from within your entourage."

    The king scratched his face.  A stubby crop of hair was growing where it once had been clean shaven.  The king hadn't had a chance to attend to his daily toilette since the occupation.  Such things weren't important now.

    "Well, that certainly narrows the field some," said the king with some chagrin.  "I'm glad I kept my entourage small.  Not that it matters at this point."

    The king paced more, kicking up dust and debris as he went.  The recent nearby shelling had taken it's toll on the plastite ceiling.  Large cracks had begun to form and small chunks would occasionally fall to the floor.  It wouldn't be long before this building was unfit for habitation.  The king stopped his pacing suddenly and faced the guard.  She was taken unawares by his sudden movement and blinked all three eyes simultaneously.

    This is bad, she thought to herself.  Very bad.  I am losing my concentration.  I haven't slept in two weeks, and it's beginning to affect my ability to protect the king.

    "I want you to go to Terra," said the king abruptly.

    "Your majesty?"  She was confused by his request.

    "I want you to protect them from any harm," continued the king.  "They haven't any protection from a Sclerian attack.  Shades, they don't even know that other civilizations exist in the universe besides their own."

    "B-but your majesty, my duty is to guard your life," objected the guard.

    The king gave her such an intense stare, that she flinched.  Much to her credit, she did not look away.  "His life is much more important than mine," growled the king.  "He is my heir."

    The woman bowed stiffly, but deeply.  "My apologies, your majesty.  I was out of place."  She chided herself for contradicting the supreme ruler.  Her ancestors had guarded the royal family for thousands of years.  Because of that, not one king of Aerlandia had ever been assassinated.  She was not living up to her family's code of honor.

    A hand softly touched her shoulder.  She slowly raised her head and met with compassionate eyes.  "I know that your people are prideful," said the king softly.  "And I know that you were chosen for this duty too soon.  You are still young yet.  Your father gave his life to save mine, and I know you would do the same."  The king stood up and squared his shoulders.  The woman saw the strength and majesty radiate from his eyes.  "But I am of the past.  He is of the future.  The new king.  He must be protected at all costs.  I am entrusting this task to you."

    The body guard nodded her head to show she understood the gravity of her assignment.

    "Remember," continued the king, "they are a primitive and paranoid people.  You cannot reveal your true self to the people of Terra, for they would surely try to destroy you."  He smiled a bit.  "In many ways they aren't much different from Aerlandians."

    The woman blinked two of her eyes while her third stayed quizzically watchful.

    The king handed her a key card.  "Take my personal shuttle.  It was well hidden before the attack on the palace.  A map is encoded on the card.  There should be enough fuel there to get you to Terra, but it will be a one-way journey."  He gently touched her arm once more.  "You must prepare yourself for a difficult life.  Doubtless you will not see your own people again."

    The woman's mouth drew taught, but she nodded to the king.  "I understand."

    The king nodded in return.  "No more stalling, now.  Go.  Protect them.  Protect them with your life.  My trust is in your hands."

    She quickly turned and exited the room.  Her brain kept screaming at her that this was wrong.  Her duty was to the king.

    Go back and defend him to the death as your father did!

    She forced herself to ignore these doubts running through her mind.  Quickly she dashed to the large bivouac that had been her quarters within the camp site of the rebellion.  She grabbed a small journey sack and began to fill it with volley mines, explosive darts and a dart gun.  Next, she packed rations of dried meat, bread, and cheese, a first aid kit, and a flask of ichor.  She shouldered her sword and scabbard along with the journey sack.  As she stepped out of her tent, she ran face to face with a grizzled old man who face was lined with years of hard living and even harder fighting.

    "I never thought I'd see the day when one of your kind would desert the king," he said hoarsely.  He had drawn his pistol and was aiming for her third eye.

    "I am not deserting my liege," she said.  "Do you think I want to go?  But he has given me a task, and I cannot disobey it."

    The old man looked surprised.  "A task?  That would take you away from his side?  What madness is this?"

    The woman soldier looked down at her old mentor.  "It is not for me to say," she said quietly.  "However, should you doubt me..."  She showed the coded key card to him.

    The old soldier's eyes went wide and his jaw slack.  Quickly he holstered his weapon.  "In that case, you'll be needing backup."

    The woman shook her head.  "No, Qintar.  You are needed here."

    "Like hell I am," he growled.  "Let the young pups play hero while things are quiet.  You need to succeed in your mission at all costs."

    She eyed him suspiciously.  "You know what it is I must do?"

    He shook his head.  "I don't have to know.  If the king has sent you away from him, then what you are to do is of the most paramount importance.  Now, enough bickering and let us be off."

    They headed toward the edge of the encampment.  The woman stopped momentarily to splash dirt on her armor in order to dull its luster.  Finally, they began their trek toward the the capital of Aerlandia.  It took them most of the night to reach it, and they spent many moments waiting out enemy patrols which were guarding the edges.  Checking the map at regular intervals, the two soldiers made their way through the streets of the nearly destroyed capital.  No building taller than two levels was left standing.  Many of the roads were blocked by toppled towers or impact craters from enemy missiles.

    "How far?" asked Qintar.

    "Another city block," said the woman and quiet tones.

    They inched their way along a relatively clear street.  They had to be on their guard since they were nearing the palace.  The Sclerian general had claimed the palace as his base of operations, and what they were seeking was beneath it.  Qintar suddenly froze and pulled the woman back toward him.  She looked at him with some annoyance, but immediately scanned ahead to find out what he had seen.  Sure enough, there was a patrol of three Sclerian soldiers in front of the location of the hidden entrance to the king's shuttle.  The woman carefully observed the enemy.  They were black in color except for the red marking on the back of their abdomens.  They had large pincer like mandible which had spelled evisceration for many an unlucky Aerlandian soldier.  Each one carried a spear and shield.  The spear's crystal blade could generate an ion charge that could stun or kill a man depending on how close he was to the weapon.  The shield had proven impervious to all Aerlandian weapons fire.  The only way to take one down was to insert a sword into the chinks of their exoskeletons right between the thorax and the abdomen.

    "Now what," asked the woman.

    The old man smiled.  "You wouldn't be carrying a fragmentary volley mine on you perchance?"

    The woman blinked at Qintar.

    He brushed her off dismissively.  "Oh, don't be so surprised.  It's no secret that they're your favorite toys in combat."

    With some chagrin and a touch of embarrassment, she handed one of the small, hand held mines from her journey bag to her mentor.

    "Now, watch this," said Qintar.

    He stalked his way across the street, hiding behind chunks of pavement that had been upheaved.  Upon reaching the other side, he quickly ducked into a building.  The woman was confused as to the old man's plan until moments later an explosion went off two blocks away.  The Sclerian patrol quickly dashed off in the direction of the explosion.  Qintar was running full tilt out of the building gesturing wildly for the woman to make haste toward the hidden entrance.

    "Quickly, now!  That explosion may have diverted the patrol, but it'll also bring hundreds more in to investigate."

    The woman dashed to the wall, but there didn't seem to be any kind of opening mechanism.  "How do we get in?" she cried.

    A screech followed by several whistles and clicks informed the two soldiers that they had been sighted.

    "Deezle dung!" cursed Qintar.  "Open the blasted door, will ya?"

    "I'm trying!" retorted the woman hotly.  She slammed the key card against the wall in frustration.  Suddenly, with a grinding of stone against stone, a small opening appeared.

    "Figures," harumphed Qintar.  "Only his highness would think of using a proximity switch.  Now, get going."

    The woman had stepped into the dark corridor beyond before she realized that Qintar hadn't followed.  "What are you waiting for?  Come on!"

    The old man shook his head.  "Your mission has to succeed at all costs.  I'm going to buy you some time."

    "You'll be killed!" she cried.

    Qintar smirked.  "Maybe, but I'll take a few with me."  The stone door began to close.  "Success in your mission."

    The woman began to panic as she realized that this was Qintar's plan all along.  "Nooo!" she screamed as she ran back towards the diminishing opening.  However, by the time she reached it, the door had shut itself.  She tried to use the key card to open the door again, but it refused to budge.  The stone was thick, so that even with her advanced strength, she couldn't break through.  Defeated she sank to the floor and wept.

    Get up!

    She stopped sobbing.

    Don't let his sacrifice be in vain!  Your mission is too important!  Get up!  Run!

    She ran as fast as she could given the fact that it was pitch black within the corridor and the ceiling was designed with Aerlandians in mind, not one of her people.  As a result, she had to run at a crouch with both hands outstretched to ward off any run-ins with oncoming walls or doors.  This, however, did not prepare her for the sudden removal of floor from beneath her feet.  She began to tumble forward uncontrollably and found herself banging every body part she had on sharp, angular blocks.

    Stairs, she thought to herself absently.  I should have expected that.  Once again, my inexperience has caused me to make stupid mistakes.

    Fortunately, it was not a long fall.  However, the woman soldier was now bruised and bleeding at the bottom of the stone staircase.

    "Well," she said as she spat blood from a cut lip onto the floor.  "At least I didn't break any bones, or hit my head for that matter."

    Her battle training had taught her to curl up during a fall protecting the head with both arms.  As she stood, she groaned with pain.  "Those are going to be nasty looking bruises in a day or two."

    She took a few steps forward.  Another proximity sensor activated overhead lighting.  The woman found herself in a large room.  At the center of the room was a very sleekly designed shuttle craft.