Knights of Desire [Flights of Fancy 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (9 page)

"Anything short of reducing the planet to molten slag."

Chris rolled his eyes.

"Understood, Captain. I'll have the team ready in thirty minutes."

"Make it fifteen, and I'll be happy." She took a deep breath. "Thirdly, I want this king..." Elsa checked her notes. "King Sayid aboard this ship in ten minutes."

Talbert's face looked ashen. "What are you saying, Captain? Are you planning on kidnapping the king?"

"Call it what you like, but I will talk to this man. Now."

The Science Officer shook her head. "Ma'am, I don't think I can isolate him well enough to get just the king with the transporter."

Elsa shrugged. "Then bring his entire fucking court up here."

Chris nodded. "What about those two knights Rawls has been talking to?"

"I expected you to be trying to decide if I'm crazy enough to relieve of command."

Chris chuckled. "Oh, you're crazy, but you're right too much for me to get twitchy."

"Fair enough. If we can find them, I want to talk to them, too."

Again the Science Officer shook her head. "I can get you the king and maybe a dozen or two of his closest friends, but I'll never find the knights without a lot of dumb luck."

"Well, let's play dumb, then." Elsa smiled around the table. "That shouldn't be too hard. Dismissed."

* * * *

Landis reached his sword after Clemmons had already started charging Shane's location. In spite of his head start, Clemmons arrived too late, and that meant Landis was way too late to save Shane.

The lizard grabbed her from behind, and its claws dug into the soft, white flesh of her shoulders and back as it lifted her from the ground. She wailed in pain and surprise, but there was nothing he or Clemmons could do but watch as the dragon carried her away to the mountains looming high above them.

Clemmons strode to stand beside him and sheathed his sword. "Dress yourself. If we move after them now, we may catch them."

In his mind, Landis knew Clemmons was right. They had only a slim chance, but it was the only one they had to rescue Shane. But his heart couldn't believe there was any chance at all to save her. Between the guilt he felt for making love to Shane followed so suddenly by the attack on her, a black mood gripped his soul.

He could still see the talons ripping into her body, blood spurting from the wounds. He heard the scream that tore from her throat as the pain hit Shane. And just as with Anna, all he could do was stand there with his thoughts swirling and do nothing to help.

Clemmons grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Landis! We are not going to do this again!"

His mind snapped back to the now. "What?"

"You couldn't save Anna. We had no chance to save her." His partner paused, his eyes looking like hard metal. "I admit that, in some ways, I'm not as sorry as I should be for Anna's death, because that's what brought us together. But this is different."

His mind was getting too much information at once for him to process it fully, and he didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"You obviously have feelings for Shane, and so do I. Right now, all we know about her is she also has feelings for you." Clemmons sighed. "We have the chance to save Shane. I love you, Landis, and I'll die without regret if I can help you keep whatever it is you and Shane might have found."

Landis didn't feel like he understood his emotions or thoughts any better, but he did understand what Clemmons said. "All I know for certain is I love you. I'm sorry I've hurt you."

"No, don't be sorry. I've always felt each of us has a special person meant just for us. It does no good to apologize for fate." He chuckled. "Come on. We have to get moving."

* * * *

As they made their way to the briefing room near the transporter area, Elsa studied Talbert and Harris. Flanking her on each side, neither man looked at all happy. The science people had managed to narrow down King Sayid's location enough that they were able to snatch him and only three of his bodyguards from the palace instead of a couple of dozen people. One of the bodyguards had gotten a little aggressive after the transport and wouldn't put his sword down, so security had stunned him.

Talbert wasn't concerned about the guard. He was upset Elsa had kidnapped a king. Objectively, she understood his concern. This wouldn't make Talbert's job as a diplomat any easier.

On the other hand, Chris was worried about how Fleet—Admirals Q and Reeves in particular—and the government—the Emperor and Senate in particular—would react to the kidnapping. Again, Elsa fully understood his concerns.

But her gut told her this was the right thing to do. Leaving people on the planet, let alone sending more, would expose them to risks they didn't understand. She needed answers, and King Sayid was the man who could give them to her. Maybe she could have asked him to come talk to her, but her instincts told her he would refuse. The man had an inordinate amount of pride and attitude.

She turned her head to the left to look at Harris. "How's the guard?"

"Medical said he's fine, just a little goofy from the stun is all."

Talbert spoke up. "I'd be more worried about the king's reaction than the guard's condition."

Elsa had had it up to her eyeteeth with Talbert's snide remarks. "Lieutenant, I know you diplomatic types aren't regular Fleet, but the sooner you get it through your head this isn't a democracy, the better off you'll be."

"Then why I am here?"

"To advise me, give me a different perspective based on your training and experience. The bottom line is the final decisions are mine, and mine alone." She paused, getting in check the anger that tried to well up. "I'm responsible for the lives of everyone on this ship and for the ship itself. I take that responsibility very seriously. If it comes down to losing a crewmember or pissing off someone, then somebody's going to get pissed off." She hesitated and looked directly into Talbert's eyes. "If I have to, I'll blast a planet back into the stone age to save one crewmember. Do I make myself clear?"

Talbert stared for a moment. "Crystal clear, Ma'am."

"Good."

They reached the door to the briefing room, and the Marine guards stood aside as the party went inside. King Sayid and the remaining two bodyguards sat at the far end of the conference table.

Sayid looked up. "Lieutenant, what is the meaning of all this?" He pounded the table with his balled fist to emphasize his irritation.

Talbert was a good diplomat, and despite his clear personal views, he kept to the plan. "Your Majesty, I offer my apologies for all of this, and I understand you're angry. This is Captain Davis and Commander Harris. They need to talk with you, and this seemed like the best way to ensure that happening in a timely manner." Elsa had to give the young man credit for being smooth.

"This is highly irregular and an insult."

She decided it was time to get to the point. "Perhaps it is, Your Majesty, but this is the way things will be. As you know, one of my crewmembers, Sergeant Rawls, has vanished. The last time we had sensor contact with her, she was with two of your knights, Landis and Clemmons. Now we can't find any of them. Any ideas?"

The king looked confused. "Why should I have any ideas? Other than knowing they are in Yamat Valley, I don't keep tabs on their exact movements."

Elsa expected as much. "Very well. You and I are alike in that regard. We have good people working for us, and we trust them. That means we don't have to watch them every minute. But I need answers about this war you have with the dragons. Talbert and the linguists believe we have a translation problem." She shrugged. "I'm not so sure of that. I want to know why you're fighting the dragons, and I want to know now."

"Our fight with the lizards is of no concern to you."

"Up until an hour ago, you were right." Elsa leaned on the table, placing her hands palm down so her head towered over the king. "Forty-seven minutes ago, one of my crewmembers vanished, and I think this is somehow tied up with the dragons and your war. It just became a concern to me. A big concern."

Sayid hesitated for more than a minute, his gaze wavering from her to Harris and then to Talbert, before he finally looked down at his hands where they rested on the table in front of him. "Is there someplace you can take my guards so we can speak privately?"

"Of course." She turned to the Corporal leading the security contingent. "Take the bodyguards out, and leave us alone with the king."

Once security had escorted the bodyguards from the briefing room, Sayid looked up at her. "I don't want my people to think me weak."

Elsa nodded. She understood the importance of keeping respect. "I can speak only for myself, but I don't think you're weak."

He smiled a little. "Thank you. This war with the dragons has been going on for many years, since before my father's rule." He paused, his eyes focused on some point far beyond the hull. "I honestly don't know what started it all those years ago."

She considered this. Sayid didn't look like he lied to her—he looked confused. "So why don't you end it?"

"Because I am the king." He laughed. "The war has cost the lives of many of my people, and to simply stop fighting would be weak."

Elsa shook her head. "No, not at all. It takes far more strength and courage to walk away from a fight than to keep on killing for no reason."

"That is the human perception."

"That's my perception."

"My people, particularly my knights, would see it as weak and cowardly."

"I have to disagree. One of the reports from Rawls was that these two friends of hers wanted the war to end as well." She smiled. "Landis and Clemmons have the courage and strength to face the facts that war is bad."

"Do they?"

"I believe so. I see no reason Rawls would have misunderstood or lied about that."

He nodded slowly. "Yes, perhaps you're right." His eyes again looked out past the confines of the ship, and the king chewed on his lip. "Very well."

"What does that mean?"

"I know nothing right now that might help you find your crewmember, but I may be able to learn something if I return to my palace. How can I reach you?"

Talbert looked happy for the first time in an hour. "Captain, I'll volunteer to return to the planet with King Sayid and relay information."

Every rule in the book told her this was not the right thing to do, but the book never meant too much to her. "Very well, Lieutenant. Make it so."

* * * *

Shane hurt all over but mostly in her back and chest. She opened her eyes and found a white, featureless view greeting her. She moved her arm to touch her face and found a damp cloth covering her eyes.

As she tried to remove the wet rag, fingers touched her hand. "Relax, you're safe here, at least for now."

Thankfully, the translator seemed to work and was nearby, because Shane recognized the alien language coming from a feminine voice. "Where am I?"

"You're in a cave of the dragons. You were hurt when they captured you."

The last thing she remembered was the pain from the talons of the dragon tearing through her shoulders. Shane moved her hand and touched thick bandages on her chest and shoulders. They felt dry, and she thought that was a good sign.

Shane asked the most obvious question. "How badly am I hurt?" And she asked the other obvious question. "Who are you?"

The voice hesitated a few seconds. "I'm Alicia. The dragons captured me when I was a girl, and I've been here with them ever since, nearly twenty years. Your wounds need more care than I can give."

That response both was and wasn't an answer to her main question. There was heavy pressure in the right side of her chest, and her breath was short. Shane wondered if she had a partially collapsed lung. There was one other obvious question she needed answered. "Why did the dragons kidnap me? Why am I here?"

Alicia's voice didn't hesitate this time. "I know only that the king of the dragons is worried about why you and your people are here. He thinks you plan to overthrow him."

Somehow Shane knew this young woman had no impact on the big picture, but she still felt the need to defend herself. "We plan no such thing."

"That doesn't matter. Only what Handley believes matters, and he is a paranoid fool."

Shane pulled the cloth from her eyes. Alicia was not much more than a girl, maybe twenty years old, tops. A dark scar, red and puffy, stretched down her left cheek, detracting from what would have been a pretty face.

Alicia smiled a little. "You should rest. The commander of the dragons sent me to try to care for you."

"This Handley sent you?"

"No. Handley is the king. The leader here, the commander of the dragon soldiers, is called Cedric." The girl shivered a bit. "Handley is coming to see you."

Shane wasn't as worried as she might have been, though.
Daedalus
would find her soon, her telemetry beacon calling a rescue party down like a homing pigeon. She touched the right side of her chest, just above her breast, and felt a lump under the bandage. Despite Alicia's urgings and her trying to keep Shane's hands away, Shane pulled at the bandages until the edge lifted from her skin.