The Worker Prince (20 page)

“That’s a risk for any one of us,” Tela said. “In war, people die.”

Davi nodded, his face taking on a somber expression as he sipped the smoothie. “I don’t have to like it.”

Tela laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

You. You’re adorable.
“Nothing. I’m sorry. You’re sipping a sweet drink looking like they’re already dead. It’s funny!”

Davi took another sip of his smoothie and shrugged. “Sometimes I let whatever’s on my mind come out of my mouth.”

Tela smiled. “It’s okay. It’s one of the things I actually like about you.”
I can’t believe I just said that.

His eyes brightened as they met hers. “You mean there’s actually something you like about me? Wow! Big progress!”

She sighed and turned away. “You cocky fighter jocks!”

They both laughed again.

She turned back, her face serious again. “No one wants people to die, but we have to remember the loss will be worth the price of freedom. We have been slaves too long!”

Davi nodded. “I know. I’ve been spending time in the Library learning the history of our people. I really believe in what we’re doing.” Tela couldn’t help being impressed by his effort. “That doesn’t make it any easier to think about sending kids to their possible deaths.”

“Some of them may surprise you,” Tela said.

Davi nodded. “I hope all of them do.” He took another sip, savoring the fruity taste a moment.

On impulse, she placed her hand on his atop the table. “Me, too.” She fought the urge to yank it back when she realized what she’d done. Yet he hadn’t tried to pull his hand away. Did he like this? She hated being so transparent, but then touching him like this felt so nice.

She slowly withdrew her hand. “We’ll have to work harder with them.”

Davi nodded. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.” He took one last long sip of his smoothie, and then set the empty glass back on the table. “I guess I should head back and start working up a more intense lesson plan.”

Tela joined him as he stood. “Do you want some help?”

Davi gave her a puzzled look. “Really?”

She shrugged. “Sure, why not? I can come up with some decent ideas.”

He shifted in his chair, looking embarrassed that he’d offended her. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Tela smiled. “I know.” He was so cute sometimes.

Davi nodded and tossed some credits on the table. “Okay, let’s go.”

She had an impulse. “Wait.”

“What?”

“One more thing.”

Without thinking, she rushed around the table, and, before either understood what was happening, she kissed him.

After a moment, she pulled away, straightened her clothes and headed for the door. “Let’s go.”

Davi stood there stunned and watched her go.

She turned back in the doorway. “You coming?”

He nodded, moving toward her.

Oh my God!
She fought to control her expression.
Why did I do that? This is just what I need.
But then she realized, she hadn’t wanted to stop.

O O O

The next morning, Davi and Lura attended a worship service in the base chapel led by Chaplain Timoteo. As Davi sat down, he noticed Tela across the aisle. She looked over and smiled. He smiled back. He’d thought she had no interest at all, but then she’d kissed him. He still couldn’t believe it. Right before the service began, she slid across the aisle to sit beside him. For a moment, he half-hoped she’d kiss him again, right then and there, then he choked it back, fighting to keep from blushing.

The service was simple, with less elaborate rituals and show than he’d seen at the temples on Legallis. It focused more on God than on anything the believers had done, and the sacrifice demanded was a willing heart and life, not some physical object. The Lords’ religion focused a series of rituals and sacrifices, and while they varied some from god to god, there were often many similarities. Followers offered sacrifices to the various gods to obtain something the believer wanted—forgiveness for some wrong done, help for some impending action, revenge, love, health, strength, etc. It focused on what the gods could do for the believers, rather than what the believers could do for the gods. It assumed the gods served the worshipers, not the other way around.

The workers’ religion asked believers to offer their God worship for all He had already done for them, to embark on a personal journey of faith discovery. He’d never understood how gods so powerful existed to serve man’s needs. This God knew His place in the universe. The history of this God interwove with the history of his people, a history which, as he learned about it, made sense to Davi and appealed to him far more than the Lords’ religion ever had.

Service concluded with a time of prayer. Davi thanked God for his family–two wonderful mothers and so many cousins, uncles, and aunts. He thought about Miri and Xalivar and hoped they were well. He prayed they could forgive him for the betrayal they perceived. He prayed for his trainees, to teach and lead them well; for wisdom and for their safety. And he prayed for the battle, for God’s blessings and guidance of the plans of His people. He’d read about the workers’ ancestors fighting with God on their side. He knew they would need God to achieve their goal.

He also prayed for Farien and Yao, whom he hadn’t seen in a while. He hoped they were well and would forgive his betrayal of the Alliance. He thanked God for Tela and their budding romance and asked blessings and protection on them through the fighting ahead.

In conclusion, he prayed for his father, wherever he was. Then he asked for forgiveness for the dead Captain and blessings on his family. Davi hoped the God of the Vertullians would forgive him for something he couldn’t forgive of himself.

When he’d finished, Davi was amazed how peaceful he felt. A burden had been lifted from him, as if everything was under control—much different than he’d experienced after worshipping the Lords’ gods. He’d never found himself praying so spontaneously to them and finding any comfort in prayers, but now he did, on occasion. He’d seen the comfort it provided Lura and Tela and the others, and he’d wanted to see for himself. It had made a difference, even if he still had doubts. He’d experienced something, though he wasn’t sure what. And for the first time in his life, he found himself believing that perhaps gods or a God might exist, that religion might be more than just a construct of man.

O O O

Miri had not been down to the Royal Archives in almost a year. Located deep beneath the planet’s surface in one of several caves dug out with lasers to create secure storage for important government materials, the Archives had very limited access. Besides the archivist himself, Xalivar, Miri, and their two most trusted aides alone had access to it, and the aides had to come together.

She went there straight after her morning prayer time at the temple. She’d begun praying again recently, a practice she hadn’t engaged in for many years—the Rhii family had never been particularly dedicated to religion. But with all the things going on with Davi, she’d felt the urge and started going again every morning to pray for him, for Xalivar, and for others like Yao, Farien and Kray. Whether it had any effect, she had no idea, but she did find comfort in the rituals themselves, and the peace that brought her alone made it worth the time.

The archivist showed no surprise when she stepped off the elevator. “Welcome to the Royal Archives, Princess Miri.”

She returned his smile as she placed her palm on the sensor. It beeped and the gate clicked, allowing her to step inside. “Good afternoon.” Her heart fluttered a bit as she pondered what she was about to do. But no one had any reason to be suspicious, after all. She was a Royal and this was her family archive. Still, taking the action openly made her feel a tinge of nervous guilt and fear which she did her best to hide.

“Was there anything I might help you with?” The archivist asked.

She shook her head as casually as she could manage. “No thank you. I’m going over some old family papers.”

“All right. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“Thank you, I will.”

Miri moved around the desk, forcing herself to remain at a normal, casual pace, and weaved down the aisles between white metal shelves, making her way to a vault in the very back of the cave. Here she stopped, pulling up information on her datapad. She had never used the combination before. She entered the combination on the keypad then waited until she heard several loud clicks and the door slid open. She almost chuckled with relief that she’d managed it the first time, then caught herself lest she be overheard and pulled the thick door wider then stepped inside.

Since her father and Xalivar alone had used this particular vault, she had no idea what she’d find there. She saw more metal shelving, faded gray. There were rows of old Earth books, some computer tapes and memory cards, some older royal vestments from past special occasions, such as her father’s coronation robe and crown, her mother’s wedding gown, and other similar items.

The label on a box of memory cards caught her eye. It read: “Vertullis Revolt.” She grabbed one of the boxes and popped the top open. Retrieving the first card, she inserted it into her datapad.

She heard the sounds first—people yelling and screaming, laser fire. After a moment, the video appeared. Alliance soldiers used laser weapons to mow down slaves lined up in front of large pits dug in the earth. As one row fell into the pit, the next row stepped forward to be mowed down; their bodies falling into the pit on top of the others. This happened again and again to seemingly endless numbers of slaves.

Miri looked away, grabbing the memory card and pulling it free. The next card showed more of the same at a different location. She had to look away at times, a pain piercing her heart, her head pounding as the images sunk in. She’d known about revolts being put down, but never heard of massacres.

She found it difficult to accept what she’d seen—Xalivar, in full military uniform, directing the troops himself and firing his own laser weapon in unison with them as worker after worker fell dead or wounded.
Xalivar not only ordered the massacres, he participated in them. My gods!

Grabbing the boxes of memory tapes off the shelf, she looked around for something to conceal them in. A couple of large hats on a nearby shelf caught her eye. She chose the most modern, a hat her mother had worn on a ceremonial tour of the star system, slid the memory card boxes inside, then grabbed a scarf from the clothing rack, and stuffed it in and around the boxes—fiddling nervously until it was just right—so the archivist wouldn’t see them.

She stepped out of the vault as casually as she could, shut the door behind her, and entered the code to trigger the lock. Hearing the clicks, she tugged on the door to be sure it had locked, then headed back through the aisles the way she’d come, again reminding herself to walk normally every step of the way.

Chapter Nine

Xalivar’s jaw dropped to the floor as his eyes registered what he was seeing, and he flicked on the sound with the remote control.

“These images are of Alliance soldiers committing mass murder of workers during the worker revolt ten years ago,” Orson Sterling was saying.

Xalivar frowned as he watched himself on the screen, firing his weapon.

“As you can see, the High Lord Councilor himself led the massacres.”

How can this be? The Delta V footage was hidden in the private Royal vault! Copies were destroyed.

He punched a button on the remote and changed the vidscreen to a private channel then entered a password. He chose one of the dates shown at random and began fast forwarding through the footage. It showed an empty vault. Could one of his servants have betrayed him after all this time?

On the third day he selected, he saw her. Miri was in the vault, viewing one of the memory cards he’d hidden there. Seeing her reaction, he knew right away.
Miri removed the tapes! My gods! Betrayed by his own sister!

An old proverb came to mind:
Gods defend me from my friends; from my enemies I can defend myself.

He swore, fists clenching as his entire body tensed and he fought to control the rage rising inside him. Miri had been leaking footage to Media Corp.?
For the gods’ sake!
No wonder she’d made herself so scarce the past few weeks.
What have you done to our family, sister?
He buzzed for Manaen.

The door slid open and Manaen hurried into his chamber. “Yes, my Lord?”

“Where is the Princess at the moment?” Xalivar demanded, almost yelling as his majordomo flinched.

“She’s gone into the city, my Lord.” Manaen said, handing him a datapad full of reports.

Xalivar almost smiled at the delightful smell of his aide’s fear. Instead, he took a deep breath and locked his eyes on his frightened aide’s. “I need to see her as soon as she returns.”

Manaen bowed deferentially. “Of course, my Lord.”

“And what time is the Council meeting today?”

“Just past mid-day.”

“Has the Council requested my attendance?”

“They have, my Lord.”

Xalivar cursed to himself as he dismissed Manaen with a wave. The majordomo saluted and walked out the door. It slid shut with a whoosh behind him. He turned off the vidscreen and began reviewing the reports on the datapad Manaen had given him. One came from Bordox, going on and on about Davi being the child of workers. Xalivar cursed again. It would be impossible to keep the Council from seeing it.
I’m ruined! My gods! Is everyone turning against me now?

He searched his mind for a way he could use this to his advantage. If he took the report to the Council first himself, perhaps he could lessen the damage. After all, hadn’t he instigated the search for Davi himself? He’d protected the Alliance’s best interests without favoritism for his nephew. And the Council needed to know more about their missing murder suspect, didn’t they?

He smiled to himself.
Yes!
They needed to know Davi was not like them—a worker!
Yes!
Let Miri try and protect her son once the fact became public knowledge! Xalivar would present it as a surprise to himself. Miri had deceived all of them! She had betrayed the Alliance, acted alone. He found it unacceptable and he knew the Council would also.
Yes!
Let Miri’s friends on the Council hear this.

For a moment, he wondered if they’d been involved with the news leaks, too. He doubted it. They would not want footage of the massacres getting out. The Council had been involved in ordering the suppression of the revolts. No. She must be negotiating with them for leniency for her son.

Yes, my sister! See how much support you get when I am through with the Council. No one will dare to support you after this. No, my sister, soon you and I can discuss your activities alone.
He laughed, pleased with himself.

O O O

Davi took the trainees out on skitters for the third time in a week. Leaving Tela to start them off, he raced through the course to the halfway point, and then stopped to watch as the trainees passed by. They’d made marked improvement. All of them could at least navigate the course to the end now, most practicing with the targeting system. All the trainees looked slick in their new dark blue uniforms. It seemed to boost their confidence. Good! They would need all the confidence they could get in the fight ahead.

He chuckled at the sight of the cloth protectors each wore dangling in front of their lower faces to protect from the bite of the wind. Practicality had overcome their initial resistance. It was time to shake it up a bit and take them out on trails. He needed to see how they handled things outside of a course they’d almost memorized. He waited until the last trainee passed, then followed along through the blur of the trees.

The spicy odor of cedars filled his nose as the drone of insects and birds blended with the hum of the skitter in his ears. He found his trainees waiting for him in the large clearing at the end of the course, chattering excitedly. They were all smiling as he pulled to a stop.

“Well done today. Definite improvements,” Davi said, removing the cloth protector from his face so it wouldn’t muffle his voice.

“Getting so we could do it blindfolded,” Dru said, growing cocky.

Davi knew Dru was still struggling but smiled. “Good! Confidence is the right attitude. How about we shake it up a bit?”

“Try it backwards?” Nila asked, her expression sincere.

Davi laughed. “No. Let’s try some of the forest trails. It’s important to learn how to handle your craft under a variety of circumstances. In battle, there is no preset course to follow.”

“Can we have a mock battle?” Dru asked eagerly.

“Let’s try the forest trails first, okay? One step at a time.” Davi smiled. “You wanna pick a trail?”

Dru smiled, pleased. “Sure. Can I lead the way?”

Davi nodded and Dru took off, struggling for balance a bit after accelerating too fast. A few of the other more skilled trainees grumbled at the idea of following him, but one by one, they followed him onto a trail through the forest. As usual, Brie and Nila brought up the rear.

Tela hung back to join Davi.

“Nice job on the course, Tela,” Davi said. “It’s making a world of difference.” She’d become such an asset.

“Glad I could help,” she said and smiled.

They’d been spending a lot of time together since their night at the bar. They clearly both enjoyed each other’s company and they’d certainly kissed a few more times since then, even cuddling a bit. Though they’d both done their best to keep their growing romance secret from the rest of the trainees, sometimes Davi avoided looking at her for fear it would show on his face. But more and more, he wanted to shout it for the whole world to hear.

O O O

Bordox and Corsi rode together on skitters through a forest clearing. So far their search of the forest hadn’t turned up anything. Even the local farmers who’d reported seeing activity here wouldn’t talk to them at the sight of LSP uniforms. Bordox had grown bored and frustrated. How could Xander Rhii be so hard to locate?

A couple of his men rode back toward them, pulling up alongside. “No activity in that direction, sir.”

“How far did you go?” he demanded. He’d gotten tougher and tougher with them, assuming that a good part of his failure rested with their incompetence.

“Twenty kilometers. The forest goes on forever,” the soldier said over the hum of the skitters and the chirping of the insects and birds.

The chirping annoyed Bordox, even more than the smell of the cedar. More than once he’d fantasized about picking the birds off one by one with his blaster then frying the insects. Bordox frowned, irritated. “You’ll search every centimeter of it, if I ask you to.” How could someone as stupid as Rhii hide so well?

The soldier nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“Try another direction for now,” Bordox said.

The soldiers turned and rode off, disappearing into the cedars to the west.

“The trees are so dense, the scanner is having difficulty,” Corsi said, tapping the device attached to his control panel.

“I’m getting the feeling Zylo sent us on another wild gungor chase,” Bordox said.

“Gungors would be easier to find,” Corsi mumbled.

Bordox nodded and swore. Even his men knew it was a waste of time.

O O O

As they followed the trail, Nila’s skitter sputtered, a big cloud of smoke emerging from its motivator and trailing along behind them. Moments later, it stopped.

Davi pulled to a stop alongside her. “What happened?”

Nila shrugged. “No idea. It lost power and then stopped.”

“Maybe the motivator is bad,” Tela said as she stopped nearby, waving her arms to clear the smoke drifting toward her face.

“Can we fix it here?” Davi asked.

Tela thought for a moment and shook her head. “I’d have to ride in for another one. It would take a while.”

“Can we tow it?”

“We might be able to rig something up,” Tela said with a shrug. She started to dismount but Davi stopped her with a wave.

“You catch up with the others and let them know what’s happened. Then ride back and see what you can find at the base,” Davi said. “I’ll stay with her and see what we can manage.”

Tela nodded, looking around—just Nila and Davi. Brie had gone on ahead.
Good!

Davi chuckled at the relief on her face as she said, “You be careful, okay?”

Tela blushed a bit. How could she still be jealous of Brie after all the time they’d been spending together?

“We can handle it,” Davi reassured her.

Tela settled back on her skitter and nodded in confirmation, then started it up and rode away after the others.

O O O

Bordox and Corsi followed a winding trail through the forest, until they saw flashes ahead.

Bordox perked up, eyes locked on the direction the flashes had come from. “What was that?”

“Looked like lasers,” Corsi said.

“It came from up ahead.” Bordox accelerated his skitter and sped around a bend in the trail as Corsi hurried to keep up with him.

O O O

Davi and Nila had used their blasters to cut large vines from the thick canopy of the forest to make a makeshift tow line. As they finished tying the vines into longer ropes then began attaching the two skitters together with Davi’s in front.

“We won’t be able to go very fast, but it’ll get us there,” Davi said as they finished. He stood admiring their work as Nila smiled. His Academy training had paid off.

“Where’d you learn how to do all this stuff?” she asked.

Davi laughed. “Military Academies teach all kinds of skills. You never know what you’re going to need.”

Nila smirked. “Bet you never thought you’d be towing a skitter.”

Davi shrugged. “There are a lot of things I’ve done on this planet I never thought I’d be doing. Including training my cousin to fly.” He winked at her and she smiled again. “Let’s mount up and get going.”

Nila climbed onto her skitter as Davi settled back onto his.

“Might be a bit rough at first so hang on,” he warned her then took his time accelerating. Nila did her best to match his steering.

O O O

Bordox stopped in a clearing as Corsi pulled up alongside. He couldn’t believe what he saw.

On a trail to the west, Xander rode a skitter and towed a girl on another skitter behind him.

My gods! I found him!
He ducked down, motioning to Corsi. “Keep your head down!”

“Is it him?” Corsi asked.

Bordox motioned urgently. “Let’s get in front of him and surprise him. Call in the men. Quietly!”

Corsi nodded, reaching for his communicator.

Bordox smiled, his body tingling with excitement as he activated his skitter’s weapons system. At last, he would get his revenge!

O O O

Davi stopped a moment and adjusted the vines. He’d strung them too loose the first time, making the ride rougher for Nila than he wanted. He cut them in half and retied the ends so the skitters would ride closer together. This time, he attached them with four lines instead of two, checking to be sure the knots were tight.

“That should be better.”
I wish Tela would hurry back with that motivator.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Nila said. Her eagerness to learn and willingness to do whatever it took made up for the fact she sometimes took longer than the others to get up to speed during training. And he was proud of her progress.

Davi settled back onto his skitter. “All right. Here we go again.”

He accelerated again, looking back to check on Nila.

She smiled at him, offering a thumbs up.

Good. Maybe this time we can make some progress.

O O O

Bordox quickly divided his men into groups and sent them in various directions, while he and Corsi continued on the same trail as Xander. He was so excited; he had to force himself not to move in before his men were ready. He couldn’t risk allowing Davi to escape. This would be the highlight of his career to date. Not only could he take down his own rival, but he’d also be ruining the reputation of his family’s rival clan at the same time.

He started humming a favorite song as he rode along.

O O O

Davi stopped a moment, scanning maps of the forest on his datapad. The vines and brush were thicker here, filling in space between the trees almost like a wall. “This side trail should be a short cut,” he said to Nila. “Shall we give it a try?”

She shrugged, relaxed on her skitter with complete trust in him. “I follow orders. You’re the officer.”

He laughed, clipping the datapad back onto his belt before accelerating off the main trail onto the short cut. “I wish all soldiers were this easy to please,” he joked.

“I’m saving my demands for when it matters,” Nila teased.

They both laughed.

O O O

Bordox ordered his men to move in from all directions on Rhii and his companion. Bordox grinned as he and Corsi accelerated around a bend in the trees. Verifying his weapons had fully charged, he spotted his men closing in ahead. But his heart sank. Xander wasn’t there. Bordox cursed.