Message-ID: <43309asstr$1057763406@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary
From: Rod Ramsey <rod_ramsey@yeahright.net>
Reply-To: rod_ramsey@yeahright.net
X-Original-Message-ID: <20030709132924.C4BE211F21@sitemail.everyone.net>
X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 06:29:23 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: {ASSM} {Pirate} The Kidnaping of Princess Victoria (M/F, ScFi, rom?)
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 11:10:06 -0400
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d
X-Archived-At: <URL:http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2003/43309>
X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation <story-ckought69@hotmail.com>
X-Story-Submission: <ckought69@hotmail.com>
X-Moderator-ID: newsman, RuiJorge
I debated whether or not to post this, it is not my best effort...
This is however copyrighted by me, Rod Ramsey and any use other
than personal use by the end user or archiving by free websites is
a voilation.
If you would like to comment, good or bad, please do so at
rod_ramsey@yahoo.com.
And thank you for your support,
Rod
_____________________________________________________________
Free Email!- Yourname@yeahright.net-
http://www.yeahright.net
<1st attachment, "The Kidnaping of Princess Victoria.txt" begin>
The Kidnaping of Princess Victoria(M/F, ScFi, rom?)
Dramatis Personnae:
Captain Oliver Jackson, Captain of the ship, H.M.S. Ulysses.
Lt. Commander Saundra McGee, First Officer, H.M.S. Ulysses.
Lt. Gina Preston, Lead Sensor Officer, H.M.S. Ulysses.
Lt. Giles Wells, Navigator, H.M.S. Ulysses.
Princess Victoria Margaret Consuela Prichard-Marquez, Heir Apparent
to the American Empire.
Jacques Colon, Fiancé of Princess Victoria.
Major Dick, Commanding officer of the Imperial Frigate Appalachia
Captain Ludwig Von Hostig, Pirate and rogue. Captain of the pirate
ship, Lucifer.
Captain Vladamir Genchenko, Russian Space Navy, Captain of the ship
Lenin.
One - Search
Not for the first time in his career Captain Oliver Jackson lifted
his glass in silent thanks to the stars for allowing him to be born
British. Surveying the crew at work he sipped his beer and watched
the starfield as the ship passed silently through the folds of
hyperspace.
The H.M.S. Ulysses was a man of war on a search mission. The I.S.S.
Garnet was missing. With it the American Empire's Princess Victoria
and her consort to be, Jacques Colon the French Ambassador to the
Emperor. Two weeks ago the Garnet had left the French colony world of
Lyon for it's ten day passage back to Earth and the eager father of
the bride, Emperor Daniel Rodrigo Prichard-Marquez. The Imperial
decree to find the missing ship came when it was two days late in
arriving.
The Royal Navy had wasted no time in diverting the Ulysses from it's
task of hunting pirates in the asteroid field around Clementine.
Arriving on station to begin his search pattern, Captain Jackson held
little hope for finding the two lovebirds alive. Pirates had managed
to steal an interdiction class cruiser from the Chinese and had been
playing havoc on the transit lines between the most populace planets
and Earth. For ten hours the crew watched their screens looking for
the telltale sign of a ship being forced out of hyperspace or even
worse the shockwave of a ship exploding while traveling at supra-C.
Jackson was nodding to sleep in his chair when a sensor tech called,
"Breakout, Breakout. Marker away."
Other crew members were already prepping the ship to drop into
normal space before he had even fully roused himself.
"What have we got Miss Preston?" Jackson asked the lead sensor tech.
"Gravity anomaly Captain. Weak reading, may be up to two weeks old."
she replied, "The Garnet was a small ship and if they knew what they
were after..." she left the rest unsaid.
If the pirates knew what they were going after, they knew a small
gravity well would break them out of hyperspace and they who was
onboard. Captain Jackson decided to take no chances.
"Alert the crew. Battle Stations in ten minutes." he told the
Officer of the Deck.
"Aye Captain." he replied. Keying the loudspeaker, "Now hear this.
Battle Stations in ten minutes. All hands prepare for Battle Stations
in ten minutes."
The slight feel of vertigo that accompanies the drop into normal
space washed over the Captain and crew. Well trained, most of the
bridge crew was already sitting at their stations in anticipation.
Immediately after breakout the crew started moving about the cabin,
while others entered in preparation of Battle Stations.
"Two micro-jumps Sir and I can plant us right on top of the marker."
the navigator said.
"Plot it Mr. Wells." Jackson said, watching the normal stars slide
across the view screen as the ship reversed course.
"Aye Sir."
First officer Lt. Commander Saundra McGee took her place at the
O.O.D.'s station just as the tones sounded, calling the crew to
Battle Stations. The tones hadn't died completely when sections began
calling in their readiness. In forty-two seconds all stations had
reported manned and ready. Captain Jackson allowed himself a small
smile, even with the warning that was impressive.
"Plot set and ready, Ma'am." the navigator said to the First Officer.
With a nod from the Captain she replied, "Initiate jump, helmsman."
Two jumps and eleven minutes later the Ulysses appeared in normal
space three hundred meters from the marker. All hands with a view
began searching for signs of enemies. The automated defense system
found them first. White hot beams leapt from the gun batteries
located forward of the bridge.
"Missiles inbound from twelve degrees left, Sir." the Gunnery
Officer called out.
Without any orders needed the ship began turning to face the threat.
"Talk to me Gunny." McGee said.
"Six, no eight missiles inbound from an asteroid, range twenty-two
thousand kilometers, course now zero, even on. The automated systems
destroyed them all as soon as they came within effective range.
Sensor sweep shows no other activity." he replied.
"Captain, sensors have a derelict ship, right size and configuration
for the Garnet. Getting the plot info now. Range one hundred ten
thousand kilometers, Bering two-two-seven, down angle four degrees."
Preston called out.
"Plotted." the navigator called before the Captain could even reply.
"Helm, make it so." McGee said to the helmsman.
"Aye Ma'am. Coming right to bering two-two-seven, down angle four."
he replied.
The H.M.S. Ulysses moved ponderously to within three thousand meters
of the derelict ship. By now the forward cameras had shown everyone
on board the hole blasted in the side of the I.S.S. Garnet, it's name
still visible through the burn marks.
"Search and Rescue team is ready to deploy on your orders Captain."
Saundra informed the Captain.
"Do it. Be careful and remember this is more likely a crime scene
that a rescue operation." Captain Jackson said. Turning to the
Communications Officer, "Send a report to headquarters and copy it to
Buenos Aries. We may as well inform the Emperor now what we found."
"Ready Sir. Date, location and search operations beginning. Anything
else?" Commo asked.
"Include a shot of the hole in it's side. Let's not raise false
hopes."
"Message sent."
"Captain can I see you here for a minute?" Preston asked.
Captain Jackson walked over to the sensor suite, "What have you got
Gina?"
"Two tracks leaving the area. This one is definitely the cruiser,
the Chinese never did shield their ships right. This one however,"
she said pointing to a different area, "looks like a fresh track and
it's kinda hiding in the inbound track from the Ulysses. Weird, like
they waited for us to pass then jumped on our track hoping to hide."
"That's what I'd do if I was going after the Emperor's daughter."
the navigator commented.
"Explain Giles." Captain Jackson ordered.
"Imperial sensors aren't as good as ours and their crews leave
something to be desired." he said, "Most likely they never would have
found that second track."
"Not to mention that they would be hot to pursue the cruiser. It's
track sticks out like a sore thumb." Gina said, followed by a rude
noise. "In fact to much, like they haven't been taking care of the
damping fields."
"Or opened them up to make it real apparent where it led." Giles
replied.
"Plot the course Giles. We'll follow the second track as soon as Lt.
Commander McGee is back on board."
"Aye Sir." he responded to the receding back of the Captain.
"What do you think Giles. Hostage situation?" she asked.
"Stupid any way you look at it. The Emperor is one bad man when it
comes to his family." he replied.
"I met his cousin once in Havana. They're all that way. Stephen
Prichard couldn't even go to the loo without a bodyguard. Made sex
real interesting."
"Tell me about it, Love." he replied.
"You've had sex with a Prichard-Marquez?"
"No. No. Tell me about having sex with an Imperial family member."
"Later. After we get off duty you can give me a back rub and I'll
tell you scandalous stories of Imperial debauchery." she said.
"Sounds like fun." he said, turning to his plot table and linking it
to Gina's sensor feed.
An hour later Captain Jackson ordered the ship to stand down from
Battle Stations. A thorough pounding of the asteroid from which the
missile attack had originated had reduced it to rubble. Gina and
Giles slipped out a short time later, having been relieved by their
less competent counterparts.
"What first? Food or Fuck?" Giles asked as they stepped into a
privacy booth.
"My God is that all you Canadians think about is sex and food?" Gina
replied.
"No we also think about hockey. But it's hard to keep up with it out
here and finding a spot of ice big enough to play is a trick."
Gina had to laugh, "Ha. That's good. Sex, food and fighting."
"What more is there?" he replied, pulling the buttons loose on his
jump suit.
Dropping his jumper he leaned over and kissed Gina on her soft warm
lips. She returned the kiss as his hands pulled the buttons of her
jumper loose.
"Sex it is then big boy." Gina said, letting the material fall.
Two - Pursuit
Lt. Commander McGee returned four hours later. The S&R team had
recovered nine bodies. None of which were identified as that of
Princess Victoria or Jacques Colon.
"That leaves three unaccounted for, Sir." McGee reported, "The
Princess, her Fiancé and one other that we haven't identified. It may
be the Princess' personal maid, but we can't be sure just yet."
"What makes you think it's her maid?" Captain Jackson asked.
"She's the only other woman unaccounted for. The Captain of the
Garnet was Jane Seabrook and we're sure her body is one of the ones
recovered." Saundra paused before continuing, "Captain Seabrook and
crew were executed, arms and legs bound together."
"I see." Captain Jackson replied. Turning to the helmsman, "Move us
into position to follow the course Lt. Wells plotted."
"Aye Aye Sir." the young Midshipman replied, "Five minutes to jump
coordinates."
As the Ulysses turned a shimmer in the starfield announced the
arrival of a second ship. Battle Stations once more sounded
throughout the ship. Captain Jackson pulled up a viddiscreen of the
new ship. An Imperial Frigate turning to head for the Ulysses.
"Commo send greetings and all information to the Imperial ship as
soon as communications are established." he ordered.
"Aye Sir. Incoming message arriving now." he replied. "Sir. They're
ordering us to power down engines and arms. They intend to board us,
Sir."
"On screen Commo."
"Aye."
The viddi showed an unshaven man in an rumpled Imperial Marine
uniform, "H.M.S. Ulysses, this is Major Frank Dick, Imperial Marines,
on board the Frigate Appalachia. You will stand down and prepare to
be boarded."
"Major Dick. I am Captain Jackson, Royal Navy. You have no authority
to order my ship to stand down, nor to board it. My Communications
tech has sent all the information we've gathered to you and we intend
to pursue the escaping ship." Jackson replied, looking at the
telltale on his consol. Two minutes to jump, the Appalachia was still
well out of weapons range.
"Our Beloved Princess is missing and I will search your ship. Now
stand down or I will order you fired on. Do you understand Captain?"
he said harshly.
"Perfectly Major. As I said I intend to lead the pursuit. We lose
even more time if you waste it by searching a friendly ship." Jackson
tried to sound reasonable. One minute.
"That track is a ghost trail. My sensors show the obvious trail
leading the other direction." Major Dick replied. Thirty seconds.
"You can choose to follow us or not. You may also follow the track
of the Interdictor if that's what you want to do." Ten seconds,
Transition Warnings sounded throughout the ship. "Goodbye Major
Dick." Captain Jackson said as the stars shimmered and streaked.
"He was aptly named." McGee said, shaking off the unusually strong
vertigo that had accompanied transition. Captain Jackson didn't even
laugh, "You're exhausted Ollie, go get some shut eye." the equally
exhausted First Mate told her Captain.
"Yeah sure. Wake me if anything happens." Jackson replied, heading
for his small office cabin located off the bridge.
Saundra watched Captain Jackson's body as he left the bridge. With
the helm slaved to the sensors, if they found a breakout anomaly the
ship would immediately drop from Supra-C. Nobody had ever slept
through an emergency breakout to normal space. Three hours into the
pursuit she began rotating the bridge crew through rest breaks,
ordering other departments to do the same and letting the damage
control crews stand down from alert. Cooks and stewards returned to
their tasks. Six long hours later a much refreshed Captain Jackson
returned to the bridge and relieved her.
Laying on her bunk Lt. Commander Saundra McGee found herself
exhausted and unable to sleep. The niggling feel of something wrong
keeping her on edge. Finally exhaustion overcame her worries and she
faded to sleep.
"Son of a Bitch!" Saundra said out loud, finding herself sitting
upright in her bunk. She hit the button to call the O.O.D.
"Yes Ma'am?" the junior officer asked.
"Is Wells on duty?"
"No Ma'am. He and Lt. Preston were relieved. I believe they have a
privacy booth scheduled" she replied.
"Page him as soon as he's available I wish to see him in my cabin."
she instructed the young Midshipman.
"Aye Ma'am." was the response. "Of course he'll probably be to
exhausted to perform." the girl thought to herself, clicking off the
communicator.
Saundra pulled up the navigational track from the time they had
discovered the Garnet to present. There was something wrong that she
just couldn't make out, hopefully Wells would be able to make
something of the mess before her.
Her door buzzed and she opened it to a fresh looking Lt. Wells.
"Come in Giles." she said.
"What's up Sandi? You don't usually invite me to your cabin
anymore." he replied.
"Look at this track. Tell me what's wrong here."
Giles began working the track back and forth. Fast forwarding then
reversing the display, for ten minutes he watched the star trails as
they moved.
"I'll be damned. That Imperial Frigate showed up on a reciprocal
course from the fleeing interdictor." he said with a grin, "It can't
be. I need the full sensor suite for this. Let's go."
Without a look back to see if Saundra was following he headed out
the door. Along the way he called Gina and asked her to meet him on
the bridge. Arriving on the bridge he unceremoniously evicted Petty
Officer Prewet from his post. The PO was about to complain loudly
when McGee placed her hand on his shoulder. One look at the First
Mate dressed only in her short robe silenced him.
"What's up Giles?" Gina asked, evicting her own subordinate from his
post.
"I need a full sensor log from the moment that Imperial frigate
appeared. Something weird is going on."
"What exactly, Mr. Wells." Captain Jackson asked.
"In a minute Sir." he replied, lost in thought.
"No way. It can't have one. They're to small." Gina said loudly.
"You see what I think?" Giles asked.
"Fuck Me to Hell." Gina replied. "I thought I was just too tired
when we transitioned and that was why it was so rough."
"WILL SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO THE CAPTAIN OF THIS VESSEL WHAT IS GOING
ON!!" Captain Jackson said in a voice that couldn't be ignored.
"Sorry Sir." McGee replied, "Our friend Major Dick was on a
reciprocal course from that of the interdictor."
"And he was powering up a gravity well as he broke into normal
space." Gina picked up the story, "If we had waited another thirty
seconds before jumping we would still be back there."
"You mean..." Jackson started to ask one question then changed his
mind, "Commo was that transmission from the Appalachia authenticated?"
"Yes Sir. I'm verifying it now." the communications rating said,
"Sir it verifies, if it wasn't the Appalachia it was a very good
imposter. Right down to the cipher anomalies." A little know quirk
that all radios have very specific transmission properties.
"McGee, Preston, Wells lets take this to the conference room and
discuss the implications. Lt. Dougherty you have the Com." Captain
Jackson said.
"Aye Sir." the young nugget Lt. replied.
Chapter Three - Breakout
"Ok it doesn't take a mental genius to figure out where this is
heading." Captain Jackson said as soon as the door closed, "The
question is why?" he asked as Gina and Giles started to once more
pour over the tracks and sensor readings.
"Why is the question indeed." Giles said, "The how is interesting
though. It looks like the Appalachia dropped out of hyperspace by
powering up the gravity well. See how their track twists just as they
breakout. That's why it wasn't obvious at first."
"Fascinating Giles. Your Canadian. Why would a ship from the
American Empire attack their Princess' ship?" Jackson asked.
"Hey I'm not a member of the America First Party. Why should I know.
Except that most Americans don't like Europeans much and the French
head the list." he replied, "Maybe some faction decided that a dead
Princess is better that one married to a Frog."
"So why not kill them both outright?" Gina asked.
"Who knows? There's some piece of the puzzle we still don't have."
Saundra replied, "Gina are you sure that the Appalachia is the same
ship that trapped the Garnet?"
"Yes. Now that we suspect it, the signature is the same." she
answered, "They just had their drive so whacked when they left that
it covered their signature."
"Most likely they dropped out a few light-years distant and waited
for the first ship to arrive, before popping back in and trapping
whoever showed up." Giles put in.
"Probably intent to distract and delay the departure of the first
ship. Remember they were expecting Imps and their sensors aren't as
good. One or two more ships and the true trail would have been
covered." Gina added.
"Good point. Any idea what kind of vessel we're chasing?" Saundra
asked, leaning over Gina's shoulder to look at the incomprehensible
graph on her display.
"Moderate sized with an efficient power plant." was the response,
"Beyond that, nothing."
"Bloody wonderful. Any chance of catching the fleeing vessel while
still in hyperspace?" Jackson asked.
"Doubtful. The track is one degree off from our original course, so
we're getting a better picture." Gina replied. "Looks now like they
may have had some indication of where we were coming from, or they
had a good guess that the first search vessel would be following
their track from Lyon instead of backtracking from Earth."
"Ok, all of you get some shut eye. I need to send off a report to
the Admiralty." Captain Jackson said in dismissal.
"One last question Captain?" Gina asked, "How did the Appalachia
know we arrived on scene? Was our report made in the clear?"
"Yes. We sent out a general hyperwave broadcast as soon as we
verified it was the Garnet." he replied. "By now there a probably
thirty ships there cluttering up the scene. Go, no more questions."
While Captain Jackson formulated his report to the Admiralty, Gina
Preston and Giles Wells found themselves once more locked in a
privacy booth. Their earlier tryst interrupted by the need for food
and sleep. Gina straddled Giles with his member snuggled deep within
her body. The contour couch giving her much needed leverage for
fucking the handsome navigator. Giles had already eaten Gina to one
orgasm and could tell she was approaching a second more powerful one,
when dizziness and nausea washed over them.
"Breakout." Giles said unnecessarily as Battle Stations once more
rang throughout the ship.
The lovers threw on their jumpers and raced to the bridge. The ship
was already turning to find the exact breakout point when they
arrived on deck to take their stations.
"Contact Bering one-five-one, range nine-thousand meters." the
sensor operator called out, "Shit he's close."
"Sir, we're being hailed." the communications tech called out. "The
ship Lucifer."
"On screen." Jackson called out. As the viddi lit up he could see a
dark complected man in a white shirt with ruffles down the front.
"Good day. I am Captain Ludwig Von Hostig, aboard the ship Lucifer."
He said in a heavy Germanic accent, "To whom do I have the pleasure
of speaking?"
"This is Captain Oliver Jackson of the Royal Navy, on board the
Auxiliary Carrier H.M.S. Ulysses. Surrender your vessel and prepare
to be boarded." Jackson replied, knowing that the fighter craft were
ready to launch on his orders.
"I think not Captain. I don't think you want to be responsible if
any harm should come to the Emperor's precious little brat."
"Be reasonable Captain Von Hostig. If you turn the hostages over to
my custody I will allow your ship to leave. I could careless if the
Imperial Navy tracks you down. My concern is with the return of Her
Royal Highness and her companions."
"Companions? Captain, the Princess is only accompanied by her
domestic. Who I will turn over to you if she wishes as a sign of good
will. Who else do you think I hold?" Von Hostig asked.
"Jacques Colon is unaccounted for. Are you saying he is not a
hostage?"
Von Hostig laughed before continuing, "That coward fled in the only
lifeboat. Leaving his lovely bride to be to fend for herself." Von
Hostig paused, "Are you prepared to negotiate for the Princess'
freedom?"
"What did you have in mind? I have only limited powers to negotiate."
"I think you may have what I desire. Please join me for dinner,
Captain." Von Hostig said, "Alone. I'm sure you can fly yourself
over."
The image faded from the screen and Captain Jackson turned to his
senior officers. Jackson walked over to the plot table and looked at
their location.
"Well?" he asked, "We found them, now what?"
"Two well aimed shots from the bow lasers and he's not taking that
ship anywhere." the senior weapons officer said.
"Hold that thought. What do we have that he might want? He couldn't
have been expecting a Royal Navy ship.
"The only thing we might have that he wants is a means of escape."
Giles commented, "That's a fairly small ship, doesn't need more than
a half-dozen crew. What if he wants a Royal Navy launch to escape in?"
"That makes sense. He could head for any number of Allied Planets
and not be questioned. Launches are flitting in and out of systems
all the time. There's no way every one could be searched." Saundra
put in.
"Then we give it to him after he's proven that the Princess is alive
and well. Giles can a launch be rigged to drop out of hyperspace at a
specific distance?" Captain Jackson asked.
"Sure, an easy re-write of some simple codes and I can have a
breakout anytime you want. Or program it to only let him make one
jump. Or have the system overwrite his course and send him to Earth
or any other planet."
"Ok, I get the picture. Surely he knows that."
"You didn't Captain." Giles replied, "So many things just work on
these ships. If they break you can fix them. But if they are
reprogrammed they can do whatever you want and all the self-checks in
the world won't show a problem."
"Giles if you're the one that programmed the wardroom tea dispenser
to produce coffee I'll cut you off for the rest of the tour." Gina
said quietly.
"Not me. Sullivan, he loves that stuff."
"Focus people. Giles how long to re-write it to only go five light-
years?" Captain Jackson asked, a smile finally on his face.
"Thirty minutes tops, Sir." he replied.
"Do it. Commo get me the Lucifer."
"Aye Sir."
Von Hostig's face appeared on the viddi screen, "Ah Captain Jackson,
can I expect you for dinner?"
"Yes, I'll be over in one hour. I need to clean up and dress
appropriately." he replied.
"Very good. I look forward to meeting you in person." Von Hostig
said as his face once more faded from the screen.
"Weps, if that ship so much as maneuvers I want his engines disabled."
"Aye Sir." the weapons officer said to the Captain's back.
Chapter Four - Negotiation
One hour later Captain Jackson, clothed in his finest dress uniform,
found himself being welcomed aboard the vessel Lucifer. The swarthy
crewman who met him searched him for weapons before leading him down
the corridor to a small wardroom.
"Captain, your guest." the man said as they entered the room.
"Ah Captain Jackson what a pleasure to meet you in person." Von
Hostig said, his German accent no less heavy in person. "I would like
to present Her Royal Highness, Princess Victoria Margaret Consuela
Prichard-Marquez, and her servant Nadia."
Captain Jackson looked over the Princess, her dress while soiled
appeared to be in good shape. Bowing low he said, "A pleasure your
Highness. With luck you should be on your way home in a few hours."
"Charmed Captain." the Princess replied somewhat haughtily, "Only
why is a British Royal Navy Captain negotiating for my freedom
instead of an Imperial Officer?"
"It would appear that we are the first ship on scene and Captain Von
Hostig insist on negotiating with us." Jackson replied.
Princess Victoria turned to Von Hostig raising herself up to her
most regal height. "I will not be bartered like some trinket at a
bazaar Captain."
"Your Highness, it is my intention to have you safely on your way
before too many other ships arrive, making life dangerous for all
concerned." Von Hostig replied, "Captain Jackson would you care for a
drink. I have some of the finest wine available?"
Without waiting for a reply, Princess Victoria's servant brought
over a wineglass for Captain Jackson. The slight smile on her face
looking somewhat conspiratorial. Jackson took one small sip of the
excellent wine and turned to Captain Von Hostig.
"Captain as you say time is of the essence. What exactly do you
think my ship may have that you are interested in as a ransom for the
Princess?"
"Dinner first my friend. I have some real beef prepared in honor of
the Princess' freedom." Von Hostig replied, "Then we can discuss the
price I demand."
Captain Von Hostig showed his guests to the small dining table,
seating Captain Jackson between himself and the Princess. Nadia took
on the roll of serving dinner and clearing the dishes. So far the
only crew Captain Jackson had seen was the first crewman and was
starting to wonder how many were actually on board.
"Captain Jackson, how long have you been in the Space Navy?" Von
Hostig asked, as Nadia brought desert.
"Just over ten years." he answered, "I've been moved along rather
quickly thanks to my father's influence. He's rather high up in the
Admiralty."
"I see. Were you involved in the New St. Petersburg conflict?" he
asked.
"I was a fighter pilot assigned to the Adjutant's office back then.
Acting as escort to the General Assembly's Representative to Earth."
Jackson replied.
"Ah, so you were grounded safe and sound on Earth then." Von Hostig
said matter of factly.
"It wasn't exactly safe. There were several assassination attempts.
As well as the fact that the population of Earth had no idea how
close to a terrestrial shooting war it came."
"Baah. The Ruskis would never have started an open conflict on
Earth. The other Empires would band together just to destroy them."
Von Hostig replied, "Still they are slowly losing planets to other
Empires and alliances, such as the British Commonwealth."
"True. However New St. Petersburg only recognizes the Royal Family
as leaders and not Parliament." Captain Jackson stated, "A few more
planets do that and Parliament will have no choice but to recognize,
uh, Queen Mary VI as the true Head of State for Great Britain."
Setting down his fork and signaling Nadia to clear the dishes,
Captain Von Hostig looked between Captain Jackson and the Princess.
He smiled at them and asked if either would care for an after dinner
brandy or cigar. When they both declined the offer he got down to
business.
"Captain do have any extra Tritium on board? Say around ten pounds?"
he asked.
"Ten pounds of Tritium is available. I could siphon that much off my
fighter craft easily enough. Surely that's not all you demand?"
Jackson replied, somewhat incredulous. Ten pounds of Tritium wasn't
worth more that a few million Star Credits at best.
"Ah yes. I will also need use of your launch." Von Hostig continued,
"How long before your crew could deliver the Tritium to the launch?"
"If you will allow me to contact my ship, I'll get them started.
Maybe one or two hours at most."
Captain Von Hostig nodded his consent. As Captain Jackson pulled out
his communicator the Lucifer shuddered with the unmistakable impact
of an energy weapon. Jackson touched the studs to contact his ship as
a male voice said over the ships speakers "We're under attack."
"Captain Jackson to Ulysses. What the devil is going on?" Jackson
said into the commo unit.
"Captain, two ships appeared and opened fire immediately. We're
returning fire and moving to block the Lucifer from their weapons."
Saundra replied.
"What do you mean blocking the Lucifer?" he asked.
"Sir, they are concentrating their weapons on Lucifer. Hold one
Sir." Saundra stated. She was off the air for less than a minute
before returning. "Sir, they are Imperial ships and a Russian ship
just appeared, same vector and has begun firing on the two bandits.
This is one fucking bloody mess and I don't know who's who."
Saundra was busy issuing orders and it took her a few seconds to
realize that the Lucifer was getting underway. With three unknown
ships exchanging fire she concentrated on defending her ship and the
small Lucifer from attack.
"Captain the Lucifer just jumped." Gina called out. With Captain
Jackson no longer in contact that made her responsible for the ship.
Slowly the fighting ships maneuvered, the Russian ship moving to
take up a flanking position with one of the Imperial ships. Saundra
moved the Ulysses in an arc trying to cover the escape vector of the
fleeing Lucifer with her own exhaust trail. Finally the Imperials
broke off their attack and fled to hyperspace. Saundra ordered the
fighter craft to maintain a defensive posture while she decided what
to do next.
"Captain we're being hailed by the Russians, a Captain Genchenko."
the commo tech announced.
"On screen."
"Good day. I am Captain Vladamir Genchenko on board the vessel
Lenin." he said, "I have been tracking these ships from the planet
Gorky where they have attacked our outpost. Has your small vessel
been destroyed or has it escaped? It no longer shows on my sensors."
"I am Lt. Commander Saundra McGee, Commanding the ship H.M.S.
Ulysses. Thank you for your assistance. The small ship escaped while
we were being fired on by the two Imperial ships."
"Not Imperial Captain McGee. Pirates, they have painted over their
Imperial markings with the skull and crossbones. If you do not need
any further assistance I will be pursuing my prey. They always jump
together did you notice?" he asked.
"We will be fine Captain. I will commend you in my report to Her
Majesty." Saundra concluded as the screen faded.
The Russian ship jumped less than an hour later. Saundra McGee sat
in the Captain's chair reviewing damage reports and trying to get her
ship ready to follow the Lucifer.
Five - Lost
Captain Von Hostig pulled a blaster from his tunic. Using the
Princess as a shield from Captain Jackson he forced them down to the
docking port and into the Ulysses' launch. As the hatch closed behind
them Jackson made his way to the control station. He had just enough
time to discover the docking clamps were disabled before the Lucifer
made it's jump to hyperspace. He punched up a full diagnostic on the
computer then leaned back in the control chair and placed his boots
on the consol.
"Well don't just sit there. Do something!" Princess Victoria demanded.
"I am doing something Your Highness." Jackson replied, without
opening his eyes, "I'm resting."
"This is no time to take a nap Captain. I demand you work on freeing
this boat from the Lucifer!" Princess Victoria, said in her most
regal and officious voice.
"Relax Princess, we are not going anywhere while in hyperspace and
as soon as the diagnostic is completed I'll have a better idea of
what controls I have." Jackson replied. He didn't bother to explain
that the launch was rigged and he hoped that they would breakout near
an inhabited planet.
Princess Victoria sat in the other seat located in the control suite
and demanded of Captain Jackson, "Get me something to drink then."
Jackson opened one eye to look at the haughty bitch and didn't say a
word or make a move. The thought that this brat was next in line to
rule fully one third the Earth's population and nearly a quarter of
the planets was incredible. Closing his eye he thought back to a
hologram of his grandmother standing next to the newly coronated
King, surrounded by throngs of loyal subjects who waited patiently
for hours to meet the Ruler. He couldn't even imagine Princess
Victoria allowing her subjects to touch her, let alone spend hours
greeting them graciously. For generations now the British Royals had
made themselves over as a Court of the People, while the American
Empire moved in the other direction.
After several minutes of silence Princess Victoria finally asked,
"Will you at least talk to me?" in a much subdued voice.
"Sure. What do your family and friends call you?" Jackson replied.
"What ever do you mean?" the Princess replied, once more arrogance
entering her voice.
"Family and friends. Surely they don't call you Your Highness." he
responded, "I'm Olli or Jack to my fellow officers. Take your pick."
"May I remind you Captain Jackson that I am a Princess. Not some
commoner like you."
"Very well Princess." Jackson replied. He smiled as he once more
closed his eyes and moved to get more comfortable in the chair.
He let his minds eye wander back to holo's of his family. A view of
his mother and father on their wedding day, Royals and common
blessing the union. A barely remembered memory of his father holding
him, tears streaming down his face as they laid the King to rest. A
scene of young Oliver sitting on the throne, pretending to be king
and the spanking he had received for doing so. His memory progressed
to more recent images, his sister's wedding, holding his nephew for
the first time and the honor of being made Captain of his own vessel.
"Vicki." the Princess said, after the silence had gone on for some
time. "My friends and family call me Vicki."
Jackson stood up and bowed low, "It's a pleasure to make your
acquaintance Vicki." he said politely. "Was it that difficult?"
"Yes. I don't normally associate with commoners, except the
servants. I don't know how to deal with someone who cannot be ordered
about?"
"It's simple really. Treat everyone with kind words and respect. I'm
sure you get dressed much the same as my sister and your father puts
his pants on one leg at a time, just like me." he replied.
"Olli you must think poorly of me. Some stuck up little brat." she
said, not realizing she was mimicking his own earlier thoughts. "How
is it that you can treat me kindly after I treated you with such
disdain?"
"Vicki, Princess, I've been dealing with the stuck up and pompous
all my life. It comes naturally to me to let them have their temper
tantrums and get on with life." he replied. "Have you really been
waited on hand and foot your whole life?"
"Of course. I am a Princess." she responded somewhat stiffly. "I
never was given much opportunity to do things on my own." she
continued more softly.
"You should try it." he replied, "Queen Mary was a nurse before she
became queen. Her father served in the Navy before he was king. It's
expected of the Royal family to serve the Crown in some way."
"What about the heir to the British throne? You don't hear much of
him. I suppose he is tucked away in some safe job serving the Crown?"
she asked.
"I wouldn't be surprised to find him in harms way somewhere."
Jackson replied, "Never ask your subjects to do what you will not and
all that."
"Really I find that hard to believe. My father would never risk his
life or mine in such a way. Who would lead the Empire if something
were to happen?"
"The British Throne has a line of succession going back
generations." Jackson answered, slipping into teacher mode. "If both
the children of the Queen were to die before she, there are cousins
and nieces and nephews all of which can be named heir. It would take
a concerted effort for someone to eliminate the entire Royal family."
"Not so with the American Empire, if my father, brother and I were
all killed there would be a civil war to determine who takes
control." Vicki replied, "The Prichard family thinks they have Devine
right to the Empire as does the Marquez clan. Both sides and others
would fight to see their choice of heir placed on the Imperial
throne."
"Your empire isn't old enough to have a clear dynasty yet. It's like
China in the second century, the strongest warlord will be the next
Emperor." he state, still in teacher mode. "Something your ancestors
failed to do is build a strong sense of loyalty to the Empire. Your
attitude reflects that to a degree. Love me because I'm the Princess.
In my case it's love the Royal family and it's heritage, regardless
of who the next King will be."
"You make it sound so simple."
"Simple? No. There has been a King or Queen ruling all of Britain
and it's empire for more than two millennium. The American Empire is
less than a century old in it's current state. You're empire is a
youth, even the French have more experience at empire than you. I
would imagine that is why your father was so eager to marry you off
to Jacques Colon."
"Baa!! Don't get me started on that coward. It was an arranged
marriage. He's a simpering fool that couldn't rule a bordello." Fury
streaked across the Princess' face as she spoke.
"My apology for bringing up such a sore subject. However, do you
know why Von Hostig kidnaped you?" he asked.
"Not exactly. We were forced out of hyperspace by some unknown
vessel and holed before we could even react." she answered, "Von
Hostig held myself and Nadia on his ship while we waited for
something. I gathered that your passage panicked him in some way, by
how quickly he made the jump after your ship passed."
Vicki got up and walked over to the galley controls, looking them
over. "How on earth do you make this blasted thing work?" she asked.
Jackson got up and stood behind the girl, indicating the proper
sequence to push for drinks and to get a selection of foods. Her
dress may have been somewhat worse for wear but her hair smelled of
fresh strawberries. She flinched noticeably when Olli placed his hand
on her shoulder.
"Relax Vicki. I didn't mean to startle you."
"I'm sorry Olli. I just can't get used to being in such small spaces
with people be.. with strangers."
"It's ok Vicki. I can leave you in peace if you would prefer." he
replied.
"No. It's not ok. We may be on this boat for sometime and I should
get used to being around you." she replied, "Besides I could have
been locked up here with Nadia, she doesn't say more than 'Yes,
Ma'am' and 'No, Ma'am'. I wonder what's become of her and why they
didn't put her in here with us?"
"Good question. What would Von Hostig want with her on board his
ship. Has he indicated that he trusts her in anyway?"
"Now that you mention it, he's left her alone in the galley several
times. She never tried to sneak out a cutting tool or anything. You
don't think she is involved do you?"
Olli answered her question with one of his own, "How long has she
been with you?"
"Oh my goodness. She came on board as my maid on Lyon after my
regular one came down with some virus." Vicki replied, "But that's
impossible. Our security forces checked her out thoroughly."
Olli reached for Vicki as they were suddenly slammed to the deck
when the artificial gravity failed momentarily. Vicki lay on the deck
moaning, Olli winced with a pain in his right wrist as he made his
way back to the control station. A few seconds later he returned to
help Vicki the one bunk tucked in the back half of the launch.
"Are you Ok?" he asked the shaken girl.
"Yes, I think so." she answered, moving her joints slowly, "What
happened"?
"We're fucked is what happened. Von Hostig dropped us while still in
hyperspace." he replied, "Our own drive is disabled. You said a few
minutes ago about being alone for a while. Looks like you may be more
right than you thought."
"Well just call for help on the hyperwave." Vicki said.
"Von Hostig smashed it too. I may be able to fix it if the spares
aren't damage or removed."
"Surely the searchers can detect us dropping out of hyperspace?"
Vicki was starting to sound panicky.
"If they know what to look for. Maybe Gina on a good day would see
it and want to take a look." he answered. "I won't bet on Gina having
a good day right now."
"Th-then we're trapped here? We may die here?" Vicki asked.
"I don't seriously think we'll die. The search parties will catch up
with Von Hostig and then start tracking from each end of the
hyperline." he replied. "It may take a month or two, but they will
find us. We have plenty of supplies, so that's not a worry. I only
hope it's a friendly that finds us.
Olli cursed when he tried to pick up one of the diagnostic tools out
of the damage control cabinet. Cradling his wrist he sat heavily at
the control consol.
"You're hurt. Is there anything I can do to help?" Vicki asked.
"I thought it was just a sprain, now I'm starting to worry it may be
broken." He replied, "Can you get the medpac from that cabinet to
your right. Be careful it's quite heavy."
Vicki turned and opened the indicated cabinet. She was thankful for
the wheels on the medpac as she rolled it over to Olli's location. He
instructed her in setting up the diagnostic criteria and gingerly
placed his arm into the unit.
"RED BUTTON, push the red...to late." he said as the medpac injected
a strong sedative into his body.
Two hours later Captain Oliver Jackson woke to find Princess
Victoria wiping his brow with a cool cloth. She smiled as his eyes
opened, placing a finger to his lips when he started to speak.
"The medpac made it clear that you are to stay in bed for a day or
two." she informed him, "I've been doing some reading and have
started to acquaint myself with the operation of the launch. All
specifications are within the normal parameters."
"How long was I out?" he asked groggily, "You appear much more calm
than when I was put under."
"You were only asleep for a couple of hours." she replied, "I had
the medpac give me a mild sedative. You're quite heavy you know. The
medpac insisted that you have bed rest, it kept beeping at me until I
moved you over here. Who designs those things?"
"Consolidated Medical Systems. They also make our full scale
medidroids." he replied, lifting his splinted wrist to look at the
bandages.
A medidroid would have kept him under for much longer, while it's
micro-manipulators repaired the damage bone. A medpac wasn't that
sophisticated and could only provide basic treatments. Dizziness
washed over him as he tried to sit up. Vicki pressed him back down
onto the pad.
"Lay still. I don't want that damn box beeping at me again because
you can't follow directions." she admonished him.
Olli didn't need to be told twice. In addition to the broken wrist he
had suffered a concussion that adrenalin had covered. Vicki was
wiping his brow again as he faded to sleep. He woke some time later
to find a sleeping girl next to him on the bunk. As he moved to find
a more comfortable position for his arm she snuggled against him,
gripping him tightly in her sleep. He lay on the bunk listening to
the Princess sleep and reviewing the past two days, wondering what
could happen next. Vicki stirred and opened her eyes to look at Olli,
a smile played across her face as she stretched.
"You certainly look better." she said, making no attempt to move
away from Olli.
"I feel good, except my wrist is killing me."
"I'll get a painkiller from the medpac." she replied.
Olli watched her as she climbed out of the bunk and made her way to
the medpac. Once there she asked if he wanted a hypo or pill? His
reply was a hypo if she wasn't too squeamish about administering it.
She helped Olli to a sitting position and followed his instructions
on administering the shot. He could feel the soft warmth of her
fingers as she worked, a nurses touch if there ever was one.
"You do good work, for a princess." he said groggily as the hypo
took affect.
She smiled and replied, "I do know how to be gentle. I just wasn't
raise to show it much."
"You should practice it more. You look exceptionally beautiful when
you have concern showing on your face." he said, letting the hypo
take effect.
"Well for a time being I have an excellent opportunity to practice."
she replied, once more snuggling her body to his.
Olli woke to find Vicki still snuggled against him. Her eyes were
open with a smile on her lips. She had obviously been watching him as
he slept. Unexpectedly she brought her lips to his in a passionate
kiss. The thought of what his mother would think if she knew he was
kissing the American Empire's heir briefly crossed his mind. All to
soon the Princess pulled back.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"It just occurred to me that in the faerie tails the princess always
has a kiss for the handsome knight who rescues her from the dragon."
she replied.
Olli smiled at that, "Well I'm not exactly a knight in shining armor
and I haven't quite succeeded in rescuing you yet. Besides what would
your father think?"
"Not much. It's quite common for members of the Imperial Family to
take lovers." she answered with a quick kiss, "It's not like your
Royal Family is without scandal."
"I seriously doubt that there are as many lovers for the Royals that
the gossip viddis proclaim."
"Umm humm." Vicki responded, once more bringing her lips to his.
"What the hell." Olli thought as Vicki slipped her hand down his
chest to the closure on his uniform trousers. He lifted his hips to
let the material pass, freeing his rapidly hardening penis. Vicki
gently maneuvered her body onto his, careful not to jar his injured
wrist. Straddling his waist she lowered her body onto his, using one
hand to guide him while the other held the gusset of her undergarment
aside. Once fully transfixed she began fucking him, raising herself
up and letting her pussy slide back down his turgid cock. Locking
eyes with Olli she began to unbutton the bodice of her gown, slowly
revealing her breasts to his eager gaze. Olli reached up with his
uninjured hand to fondle her now exposed tits gently, tenderly
rubbing first one nipple then the other. Vicki leaned forward to kiss
Olli, her hips continuing to flex as she gripped him inside her. Olli
could feel himself getting close to orgasm, as Vicki moaned in
passion. Instinctively his hips started to hump in time with her
rocking.
"Oh yes." Vicki cried out softly, her vaginal muscles spasming with
an orgasm.
He continued to pump his hips as Vicki's pussy massaged his cock.
Vicki was biting her lower lip, eyes closed and moaning in delight as
he erupted into her body. She screamed as an even bigger climax
washed over her body, her muscles seized him milking his seed as she
collapsed next to him.
"Incredible." she whispered, "Is it true that spacers have a girl on
every planet?"
"Some do. I have other thing to occupy my time when we're
planetside." he replied.
"Well you must have at least one girl don't you?" she asked.
"Much like you, I'm the victim of am arranged marriage. Only I've
known this girl all my life, she's more like a sister. I know it will
feel incestuous when we get married and consummate the vows." he
answered.
"I didn't know that arranged marriages were common in Britain?"
"They're not. This isn't a contract, it's just expected that Dianna
and I will marry. Our families have known each other for generations."
"Well she's a lucky girl." Vicki said laying her head down.
Olli's thought went to Dianna as he faded to sleep with his new
lover's head resting on his chest.
Six - Rescue
Three days later his wrist had healed enough for him to take a more
active roll in their lovemaking. By the end of the week the
regenerative drugs administered by the medpac had done their job and
the cast came off. Two weeks after that they had established an
almost psychic bond, touching almost constantly and not feeling the
least stressed from lack of privacy or space.
"Damn it." Vicki yelled.
"What is it sweetheart?" Olli asked from the bunk.
"Coffee. Don't you have any coffee on this blasted boat"? she asked
from the galley dispenser.
"You have to go low tech for something like that." he replied,
"There are some instant packs in the cabinet. Not enough people drink
that stuff, so it's not practical to program the dispenser for it."
Vicki rummaged through the supply cabinet looking for the coffee
packs. She was smiling as she turned.
"Well no coffee but someone was kind enough to supply us with
brandy. Would you care for some?"
"Sure." he replied, "But there must be coffee in there. A blue
packet with gold trim."
Vicki brought a small cup of brandy over for him then returned to
look for the promised coffee. Finally she located it hidden behind a
jar of something called 'peanut butter', a brown vile looking goo.
Olli moved to the galley table while she mixed the coffee granules
with hot water. She added a generous splash of the brandy. Sitting on
Olli's lap she sipped her coffee between kisses. In the time since
they had been unceremoniously abandoned, they had developed a
comfortable relationship. Vicki hardly ever got imperious with him
and Olli never got irritated when teaching her how the lower class
lived.
"Marry me." she said, setting her coffee down and turning to face him.
"Excuse me?" he replied.
"Marry me. Please Olli say you'll marry me when we get back" she
implored him.
"You seem to forget Princess Victoria, that your father may not
approve of our wedding." he replied, "Are you prepared to abdicate
the throne?"
"Yes, right now all I want is for you to be with me." she replied,
"You're the only man who ever treated me as something other than an
object to be desired or loathed."
"But I do desire you my Princess." Olli replied.
"You don't just desire me. You respect me, let me do things for
myself and are very patient with me when I mess things up." she said,
kissing him on the nose.
"I'll tell you what. When we get back to Earth, I'll ask you to
marry me." he said, "Until then, let's just pretend we're on our
honeymoon."
"Good idea." she replied, letting the robe slip from her shoulders.
Since the first night neither one had bothered to be fully dressed.
Without hesitation, Olli picked Vicki up and carried her to the bunk.
Laying her down he began kissing her body all over. Vicki giggled
like a school girl when Olli tickled the side of her stomach with his
tongue. Working his way down to her clitoris, savoring the taste of
her skin and the secretions that issued from her pussy. He brought
her to a mild climax before moving up her body and mounting her. He
had learned all Vicki's signals during their weeks together, speeding
up and slowing his rhythm to give his lover what she desired most.
She screamed with passion as her second climax overcame her. Olli
felt the muscles contract around his cock and groaned as his body let
loose a torrent into her womb. He collapsed next to Vicki, both
savoring the post coital bliss.
"VESSEL BRIGHTON....VESSEL BRIGHTON, THIS IS THE H.M.S. ULYSSES. DO
YOU COPY? VESSEL BRIGHTON ....VESSEL BRIGHTON, THIS IS THE H.M.S.
ULYSSES. DO YOU COPY? OVER.? the short range radio boomed into the
small cabin of the launch.
Olli scrambled, naked, for the control consol. "Ulysses, this is
Captain Jackson. Do you copy? Over."
The silence was palpable as they waited for the Ulysses' reply.
Vicki had pulled on her robe and came to stand beside Olli.
"Captain Jackson, thank God your alive. Is the Princess with you?"
came the reply from Lt. Commander McGee, a few short seconds later.
"Affirmative. We are both alive and well." he answered. "ETA to
rendezvous?"
"Forty-five minutes Captain. Four-five minutes." came the reply.
"Thank you Saundra. We'll be waiting. Over." Olli responded.
He turned to Vicki and smiled, relief evident on both their faces.
The took a long shower together, not worrying of wasting precious
water. Forty minutes they were both dressed and anxiously awaiting
the Ulysses arrival. They could feel the slight shift in gravity as
the Ulysses' tractor beam seized the small launch and began pulling
it into the cavernous hanger.
Captain Jackson stepped into the docking area with Princess Victoria
right behind him. Saundra McGee greeted him warmly as medics began
scanning their bodies.
"Captain, I can't tell you how relieved I am to have you back on
board." she said.
"The ship appears to be in excellent shape Saundra. You didn't
sustain any major damage in the attack I take it?"
"Minimal. We pursued the Lucifer as far as Volograd. The Russians
ordered us to leave immediately and we never saw where he went from
there." she replied, then continued, "A rebel scout flashed us video
and sensor scans, so we knew you had been dropped somewhere. We
started a backtrack and Gina went to work on finding where you got
dumped. It took her almost thirty hours to find it."
"Thank you. Save the rest of the report for later." he said, eager
to be on his way. "Where is the nearest outpost where we can get the
Princess a military escort to Earth?"
"We received orders to rendezvous at Paradise with Admiral Fletcher
and the Arrow Task Force as soon as you were located, Sir." she
replied, "I've already had them plot the course."
"Excuse me, Captain I'd like you to spend a few hours in Medical so
the medidroids can look at your wrist." the flight surgeon
interjected.
"Is that an order Doctor?"
"If I must make it one Olli." the doc replied gently.
"Olli, don't fight him." Vicki said, the first words since coming on
board the Ulysses.
"Ok. Saundra can you have Princess Victoria escorted to my in-port
cabin and assign her a female orderly." he said, smiling at Vicki,
"Will you join me for dinner in the wardroom?"
"It would be my pleasure Captain." she replied, kissing him on the
cheek before letting herself be led off by the tall red-haired First
Officer.
"Nice looking girl." the doc said as he watched the Princess head
down the corridor. "Did you get any?"
"Doctor Corrigan. I am an officer and a gentleman." Olli replied
with a wink to one of his oldest friends.
"Good for you. She seems nicer that the gossip viddi's always make
her out to be. I expected a cold hearted bitch."
"You should have been on the launch when we first were dumped in
there." he replied, "Thought she could order me about like a
Midshipman."
"Imagine that." Corrigan replied, leading Olli down the corridor to
his medical suite.
Seven - Revelations
Dinner in the wardroom was a festival affair. For the first time in
weeks the ship was operating at normal staffing levels and the ships
cooks had celebrated by baking several cakes, pies and an assortment
of pastries. A string quartet traded songs with a troop of bagpipe
players a trio playing recorders. Giles showed his prowess at song by
serenading the Princess, garnering evil looks from Gina.
Olli escorted Vicki back to his in-port cabin. He graciously
declined her invitation to join her, begging the need to catch up on
paperwork. His kiss on her cheek progressed to find them in a
passionate embrace in the corridor.
"Maybe you should go now, if your not coming in." Vicki said
breathlessly.
He leaned forward for one final kiss as she closed the cabin door.
Making his way to the bridge he began reviewing the backed up
paperwork that had been piling up during his forced incarceration.
After several hours he made his way to his small office cabin off the
bridge. He found it near impossible to sleep without a warm body
pressed against his, ultimately falling into a fitful slumber. He
dreamed of chasing a cartoon dragon that was fleeing with the
Princess. The dragon taunting him in a German accented voice.
Olli found Vicki holding court in the wardroom when he arrived for
breakfast. The originally haughty Princess telling a tale from her
youth, of sneaking out of the Imperial compound to play in one of the
lakes near her home. Several of the young officers surrounded her,
enthralled by her voice and beauty.
"Good morning Sir Captain, my hero." she said as he made his way to
her table.
One of the younger midshipmen made a space for his Captain,
reluctantly moving to a seat farther from the Princess.
"Did you sleep well Princess Victoria?" he asked.
"Not real well, there seemed to be something missing from my bed
last night." she smiled broadly with her response.
Vicki slid her chair closer to Olli when Saundra and Gina joined
them at the table for breakfast. The First Officer gently shooing the
junior officers off to their tasks. While eating Olli relayed the
dream he had the night before.
"I thought I was the only one having strange dreams." Gina said
after Olli had completed his story, "I was tracking you," she paused
to look at Vicki, "through a series of jumps. At every way point
there was a Russian vessel trying to get me to chase in some
direction I knew was wrong."
"Russians?" Vicki asked, "What do the Russians have to do with this?"
"I was thinking about it before retiring last night." Gina
explained, "You said in your report that Nadia had joined you on
Lyon, the ship that was chasing the second set of Pirates was Russian
and the Lucifer escaped at Volograd, a Russian planet. That's too
coincidental for my suspicious mind."
"My stars they wouldn't." Vicki said, "Or would they?"
"Would they what?" Saundra asked.
"Russia has purchased several of our older warships during the last
decade. We were underbidding the French for their business." she
explained, "The Russian ambassador almost had a fit when he found out
that I was betrothed to a Frenchman."
"What kind of warships?" Gina asked.
"Mostly cruisers and battleships. Why?"
Gina and Saundra exchanged looks, both having the same thought.
"Can you get me a list of ships sold. I think I may know who the
second set of pirates may have been." Gina replied.
"I'll send out the request as soon as I can. The Navy may be
recalcitrant on sending the information to a British ship." she said,
"Those bastards. It would be like them and to use a German to do the
dirty work."
"Let's adjourn to the bridge. Princess Victoria can use the consol
there to send her request." Captain Jackson said.
"Please Olli call me Vicki." she said, "I've given your officers
permission to use my first name and you may as well."
"Yes Ma'am." he replied as she possessively wrapped her arm around
his.
The party made it's way forward to the bridge where Vicki sent off
her request to AE Navy headquarters. Olli spent some time showing
Vicki the bridge and was about to show her the engine spaces when the
commo rating informed him of an incoming message.
"Admiral Fletcher on board the Arrow, Sir." the rating said as the
screen lit up.
"Greetings Captain Jackson. I hope all is well." Fletcher's
unsmiling pasty face said from the screen, "Her Majesty the Queen has
requested that you deliver the Princess to Earth yourself. I had
intended to send you in pursuit of Von Hostig, yet you know how much
weight a request from the Queen carries. Therefore your orders have
changed to proceed to Earth forthwith." he paused for a breath,
"Three other items. Item one: Oliver Jackson is relieved of command
of the H.M.S. Ulysses." Olli and Vicki shared a look of horror,
surely he wasn't to be court-marshaled. "Item two: Saundra McGee is
hereby promoted to the rank of Commander and is given command of the
H.M.S. Ulysses, pending confirmation by the Admiralty." again he
paused for a breath, giving Saundra a second to mouth an 'I'm sorry.'
to Olli. Fletcher cleared his throat and stood up straight, "Item
three: By order of the Royal Naval Admiralty, Oliver Jackson is
hereby promoted Vice-Admiral." Fletcher allowed his face to show a
smile. "Congratulations Olli and God save the Queen." Fletcher's
smile faded as the screen dimmed.
Olli found himself a man without a job. All the day to day
operations of the ship were turned over to Saundra. Lt. Commander
Sullivan, the fighter wing commander found himself promoted to First
Officer. He spent his days much as he had on the small launch, with
Vicki snuggled against him. Talking of growing up in different
cultures, he intentionally left many details of his youth out to not
disturb the Princess.
One day out from Earth, Saundra passed along a message from the
Queen asking that Olli deliver the Princess directly to Buckingham
Palace. Vicki spent the rest of the day ordering her orderly about
mending and enhancing the one dress she had. "One has to look good
when meeting a Queen you know." she explained to Olli. The orderly
made it clear to him that she didn't mind being the Princess' maid.
Her smile was the last thing he saw as she shut him out of the cabin.
Just after breakfast the ship transitioned from lightspeed to normal
space, the breakout barely noticed by the excited crew. Olli led the
Princess in her glowing yellow gown to the launch that had served
them well for three plus weeks. A squadron of fighters escorted the
launch down into the atmosphere and to a gentle landing on the lawn
of Buckingham Palace. They watched from a port window as the red
carpet was rolled out to the spacecraft. Guests and officials lined
the carpet, ending at a pavilion housing the Queen. Nervously Olli
polished the Admiral Stars on his dress uniform.
"Will you relax." Vicki said, giving him a brief kiss. "You're
fidgeting like a kid meeting Santa Claus."
"Sorry. It's time to go." he replied, his back stiff and straight.
A protocol officer met them at the bottom of the landing, he seemed
confused for a second then saluted Olli.
"Welcome home Admiral Jackson." he said.
"Hello David. May I present Princess Victoria Margaret Consuela
Prichard-Marquez, of the American Empire." Olli replied, returning
the salute.
They made their way down the receiving line. Olli getting salutes
from the assembled military, handshakes from the men and kisses from
many of the women. Princess Vicki was greeted warmly if somewhat
aloofly by the assembled guests. Professional politicians were easy
to pick out as they were the most at easy.
The Queen rose from her seat as they entered the pavilion.
"Welcome home Oliver." the Queen said, dismissing the protocol
officer with a wave.
"Vicki, I would like to introduce you to Queen Mary Elizabeth
Spencer of the House of Windsor." he said, "Mother, this is Princess
Victoria Margaret Consuela Prichard-Marquez."
The smile froze on Vicki's face as he said those words, "A pleasure
to meet you, Your Majesty." she said in cordial greeting. Turning to
Olli, "Mother? Is there anything else you failed to tell me?"
"Oliver Jackson Spencer you didn't?" the Queen said with a glare at
her son.
"Not exactly." he replied to Vicki. "However there is one thing that
I need to ask you now that we are back on Earth." Dropping to one
knee he took her left hand in his, "Vicki will you marry me?"
"Yes of course you son of a bitch." she replied, then turned to the
Queen, "No offence intended."
"None taken." the queen responded, "Olli do you intend to kneel
there all night? She said yes."
Olli stood up and took Vicki in his arms for a passionate kiss, the
assembled crowed cheering enthusiastically. In between dances Vicki
was introduced to several cousins, Amanda the daughter of Olli's
sister taking charge of making arraignments for Vicki to visit the
needed boutiques. The American Ambassador picked a quiet few minutes
to talk to Vicki, expressing his personal congratulations and
relaying the same from her father.
Eight - Epilog
It was never proven that the Russians had anything to do with the
Kidnaping. Captain Von Hostig disappeared from known space and was
never heard from again. Jacques Colon turned up several months later
as France's Governor on a small out of the way farming planet. Six
months later Prince Oliver Jackson Spencer married Princess Victoria
Margaret Consuela Prichard-Marquez, uniting the two Empires. A time
of peace and prosperity followed, expanding the Empire as the smaller
realms joined the British/American Alliance.
<1st attachment end>
----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------
Notice: This post has been modified from its original
format. The post was sent as an email attachment and
has been converted by ASSTR ASSM moderation software.
----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------
--
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| alt.sex.stories.moderated ----- send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com> |
| FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderator: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d, look for subject {ASSD}|
|Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org> Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+