By J. R. Louis, the first chapter in the adventures of Leodhas and Spes

In the reaches of galactic independent space, a vessel succumbs to a surprise attack by a hostile force. As that force began to engulf their prey in a tractor beam, soldiers’ feet clamored on thin deck plating on the way to their defensive positions. Noises filled the stale air of the pristine, white ship bathed in red light from the emergency alarms that had been triggered not long ago by an incoming enemy vessel. Usually, a battle station meant manning a terminal that would fire on the opposing ship, but this time was different. Taking aim at the blast door which connected to the loading umbilical, commanding officers yelled their orders as the last of the men made it to their places.

“Steady men!” one barked. 

“Mount your guns against the walls!” another added. 

Most of the soldiers aboard this ship hadn’t seen much–if any–combat, and that was obvious to one man, Leodhas, who had taken a vantage point in the back of the hallway. He could see the younger men quaking when the ship josseled as it was being latched onto the larger pursuant vessel. Their eyes darted to the lights as they began to flicker, accompanied by a deep and powerful growl made by the ship’s generator being taken over by the new powering source. These men won’t last through the first volley Leodhas thought to himself. 

Once the growling subsided, the ship was completely silent. The red lights spun in place causing bloody shadows to dance around the hallway. Bloody specters mocking the soon-to-be dead. The silence, however recognizably mundane, was obviously getting to some of the men. Becoming jumpier, a soldier slung a blast at the door when sparks bursting from the other side of it surprised him. They’re cutting through now. I’d better get out of here while I can!

“Here they come!” an officer yelled, “Don’t let them get the princess! Stop them here!” The attempt at building morale fell sharply flat as the soldiers seemed to lose assurance in their own ability to hold a hallway, let alone protect their princess.

The princess! He remembered. I’ve got to get to her before they do. Leodhas began to back away and turn from the hallway when a nearby commander grabbed him by the shoulder and slung him back in place.

“Standfast!” he yelled, “There’ll be no deserters this time! We hold them off or die!”

Not only did the jolt startle Leodhas, but it also seemed to spook everyone in earshot. I need to get out of here!

“Sir!” Leodhas begged, “I have explicit orders to protect the princess, sir!”

The commander looked at him quizzically before deciding the runt wasn’t worth his time or focus, and seeing this as a good excuse to get him out of here without it seeming like he was running away from battle. “Fine.” he muttered, turning his attention back to the doorway as his subordinate turned and ran around the corner and away from the inevitable onslaught.

 Just as he did so, the sparks ceased and the door fell inward into the hallway pinning a soldier unlucky enough to position himself so close. Red blasts of pure energy began flooding into the doorway, spewing from every rifle handled. No weapon fire came from the newly opened door, but a single figure collapsed dead onto the door further pinning the soldier. The commander called for a cease fire as nothing else emerged from the dark, empty doorway. 

“Status!” He called out from the rear of the defensive formation, “What is that up there?”

A group of men moved up slowly and managed to roll the body off of the door and unpin the poor soldier. A private knelt down and removed his helmet revealing a bright orange head of hair. He eyed the body while other men kept their rifles trained on it just in case. “It’s a lizard, sir.” The private called back looking obviously shaken by the realization.

The commander saw even from a distance that the man was losing it under pressure. “It’s alright, son.” he said “Just get back in formation and we’ll stop any more from coming in.” Then he turned to another soldier who was positioned near a computer console. “You, alert the bridge. We’ve got lizards down–”

“No!” The private yelled back, interrupting the commander. “The Conglomerate has us! We can’t run, we can’t fight, we’re just going to end up in a labor camp or on a plate!”

He was getting frantic now and causing others to lose their nerve as well. The commander needed to act quickly if he wanted to stop this from spreading any further. “Soldiers!” barked, pointing to the men nearest the private. “Get him out of this hallway! Throw him in a room where he can regain himself!” 

Two men began to move on the private, but as he saw them approaching, he darted his head back and forth between them and began cowering into the corner, grasping furiously at his orange hair. “I can’t!” he cried out “They’re coming for us, I don’t want–” The private’s rambling was interrupted by a burst of green energy erupting from the dark, empty doorway and striking him square in the back of the head, vaporizing his brain and killing him instantly. As his body hit the floor, the stunned commander let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and instinctively yelled out his command to fire.

As red and green bolts of energy whizzed past one another exploding against metal and flesh, more and more lizards forced their way into the hallway. One after another the humans dropped, and soon after, a lizard took their place and continued the onslaught. From far behind the battle, Leodhas watched from around a corner. He heard the screams of those who had been hit cutting through the chaotic blaster fire and saw bodies dropping on both sides. The only difference was that when the humans lost a soldier, there wasn’t another to emerge from the shadows to take their place. 

I need to get out of here! He pleaded himself as he saw the commander take a blaster bolt to the shoulder and collapse in agony. I need to get to the princess before the lizards find her. That was easier said than done. Argolidian ambassadorial ships like this one were large and labyrinthian to those unfamiliar many who didn’t serve on them for a living, and this was one place Leodhas couldn’t see himself staying long enough to get that cozy.

He finally managed to force himself to turn around and run down the hallway. Taking one turn after another, the sound of blaster fire became less and less audible. Holding onto a mental image of where he’d been in the ship and where he knew the bridge to be located from an outside perspective, Leodhas kept running toward what he thought must be the bow. Running through endless, empty hallways, he often felt the ship shudder under the strain of being held in place against its will. Engineers must be trying to shake her loose. The lights continued to flicker, adding to the already cryptic feel of a captured ship. After running much further than he thought he should have needed to to reach a lift to the bridge, Leodhas stopped and leaned against a wall in the middle of a four-way intersection of hallways. He stopped to catch his breath and think about where to go next. If I don’t find the bridge soon– his thought was interrupted by a small explosion just inches from his head. Sparks flew past his eyes and he ducked down and behind the wall to hide from the surprise shooter. 

He heard what sounded like bickering coming from around the corner, then a deep voice called out from that direction, “Come out if you’re human!”

Leodhas shakely got to his feet and turned the corner with his arms raised up. “What’s the big idea–shooting at a friendly?” He could make out a handful of troopers barricaded in a doorway at the end of a hallway that must have spanned for at least one hundred feet. 

The one in the center, who was holding the smoking blaster called back. “Sorry about that! Didn’t think we’d see anything other than lizards this far astern.”

Stern?! Great. I’ve been going backward! Leodhas dropped his arms to his sides and thought for a moment. He wouldn’t get to the princess before the Conglomerate now unless he knew where he was going. Maybe these troops can help me out? Leodhas began to jog down the hallway to meet up with the men who had almost killed him moments earlier. The beauty of desperation he thought. When he got closer he noticed that there were four men in all, and only one of them was actually a man. Argolidian armor didn’t do much justice to the figure of the person wearing it, which made it difficult to discern who exactly was underneath the semi-human-looking suit. “Thanks for not killing me.” Leodhas said when he finally got close enough to speak with the group.

The one in the center who had taken the shot met his sarcasm with hostility “you’re lucky I’m out of practice.” She said.

Another one stepped forward with her rifle lowered, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” She asked Leodhas without a hint of mistrust.

“I got separated from my squad.” He said. “We were the first wave at the airlock door when the lizards came in. My commander told me to get to the princess and take her to safety, but I’m new and haven’t gotten the layout of the ship down in my memory yet.”

“You were at the airlock?” She asked excitedly, “Down on deck 8? So you must know Callum! He’s pretty tall and has a bright orange head of hair you can’t miss!”

Leodhas did his best to hide his sudden emotions from his face. Does she mean the boy who just died back in the hallway? The one who had a mental breakdown when he was shot from behind point-blank with an energy pistol? He tried to move the conversation on to directions to the bridge. “Well, like I said, I’m new so I don’t know many people yet.”

“Huh.” She said “Callum never said anything about a new guy.”

Does she know?

She turned to another member of her small squad and asked “Did Patrick say anything about a new recruit down on deck 8’s rear guard?”

“No,” the other one responded “But I suppose that’s not unusual. They’ve been shifting personnel around lately on the lower decks.”

“That must be it then!” she said, turning back to Leodhas. “So, you need some help finding your way around?”

Leodhas gave a near silent sigh of relief as he seemed to pass their screening. “Yes!” he blurted out, then, dialing back his voice again, “I need to get to the princess.”

“Eilidh?!” the one who had almost shot Leodhas’ head off spat, “You can’t just get to her!”

Leodhas let his emotions show clearly this time “Why not? My commander gave me personal orders to keep her safe.”

The leader of the squad seemed to think through Leodhas’ story for a second. “I’m not sure why he’d issue such an order. It’s not like either of you are personally charged with her protection. Are you sure he didn’t mean it in the metaphorical sense?” She asked, “As in–we all serve to protect the princess?”

Leodhas began to grow impatient and was letting it show more than he would’ve liked to these people. “No! He gave me explicit orders to protect her! Now show me where the bridge is so I can get to her before the lizards do!” 

The small group all looked at each other not really sure how to deal with the sudden rabble of a passionate subordinate. Suddenly, from down the hallway, heavy footsteps began thundering. The lizards were on the way and in large numbers. It looked like whatever troops were at the airlock didn’t last too long. Anticipating the coming onslaught, the leader finally spoke up again “You see where you came from?” She said coldly, pointing back to the blaster mark on the wall. “Take a right at that mark and follow the hallways until they end alternating left and right turns when they do, starting with a left. Got it?”

The thunder grew heavier and nearer as Leodhas did his best to soak in that information. “Right at the mark. Alternate lefts and rights at the ends of halls.” he recited quickly. “Thanks a heap!” he called as he began to run away from the small squad and towards what he hoped would be the bridge. He knew that they probably would survive the lizards’ attack, but lacked enough empathy to care at the moment, because he was back on track to get the princess off this ship.

Far away on the bridge of the Argolidian ship, officers rushed about as alarms rang from almost every panel lining the long, squat walls. The captain, a man named Tobias, sat in his central command chair and watched the image on the viewscreen blink in and out of existence as power flickered. Instead of the vast, dotted blackness of space, all he could see was the ship holding his vessel while it injected soldiers into the side hatches. It wouldn’t be long before the enemy made it up to the bridge to either take control of the ship or take the important crew hostage and scuttle the whole vessel. 

Tobias blinked and shifted his gaze around the bridge when he heard a loud bang on the main hatch in and out of the bridge. It had been sealed automatically by large blast doors when the computers noticed intruders within the ship. Now, it was holding in him and all the crew he’d been serving with for almost ten years; good men and women whom he wasn’t sure would make it out of this alive. However, the most important passenger–or prisoner–on the deck of the bridge right now was their primary cargo on this mission: the Confederate Princess Eilidh. She had made her way to the bridge when alarms first started blaring and now had the unfortunate luck of being trapped with the rest of the bridge crew like rats in a cage. 

Eilidh, unlike the rest of the crew, was not scurrying around helplessly. She sat in an observer’s seat near Tobias and calmly waited for whatever would happen next. How can she be so calm?! Tobias thought to himself as he weighed his options on what to do. He called out to a watchstander who was still managing to stay glued to her post amid the chaos. “Where are they now?” 

The sailor at the control, crewman Alainn, shot a look of surprise up at him, seeming thankful for something to focus on rather than her own thoughts of what might happen. “Reports from decks eight through ten, sir.” Alainn forced out. “They’re making their way into the ship slowly. I think they’re trying to get to the bridge.”

“That would make sense,” Tobias muttered. The maze-like layout of Argolidian ships lent themselves to defense when being boarded. Every ship was different and meant that invading parties would have to find where they were going by trial and error. The idea was that it would provide time for reinforcements to arrive and save the captured ship, but Tobias hadn’t had enough time to send out an emergency signal before they were already boarded. There has to be something we can do to fight back.

“Watchman Alainn,” He barked “Do we have any connection with troops outside the bridge?”

She tapped commands into her console, cursing at the delays due to damage both internal and external to the system. “Negative, sir. Looks like the bridge has been cut off due to damage; doesn’t seem to be intentional on the attacker’s part, just bad luck.”

That figures. Tobias stood from his chair and tried to steady himself as the ship rocked unsteadily in the arms of the Conglomerate dock. He eyed everyone on the bridge–almost a dozen men and women. At least we can go down like soldiers and not like cowering animals. “Bridge crew!” He shouted over the noise of panicked yells. The room grew silent as everyone turned to listen for orders that would hopefully save their lives. They all looked up to their captain, whom they had come to trust over the last decade with their lives and hoped he would have a solution to this seemingly impossible problem. As Tobias stood, his imposing height almost made him duck as to not clip his head on the stout ceiling of the bridge. Eilidh stayed seated next to him, half paying attention and half appearing apathetic to the doom each of them faced. Her demeanor threw Tobias off a bit, but he still managed to give orders to his crew.

“Sailors,” He began, “Without access or communication to any other part of the ship, we are stuck here with only the ability to see our fate creeping ever closer toward us. This is a situation with only one end, and I would rather go out fighting than cowering!” The faces of those who had been panicking grew red with embarrassment, then resolute at the captain’s bravery. “We are called upon when we join the military to protect our planet and its people in the name of our crown and Union of Kings. Now, we must actively protect our crown from those who wish her harm!” Cheers went up as the sailors admired their brave captain standing next to the young princess whom they were determined to protect. “We must defend the blast door and stop any of those lizards from getting in! That’s our mission and we will succeed! We have to succeed.”

A massive cheer was beginning to rise within the dozen sailors when a bang echoed from the other side of the blast door. The bridge froze as another bang sounded followed by muffled hissing and heavy footsteps. Tobias pulled his pistol from its holster and gave the command for everyone to take a position facing the door. And as the sailors moved with renewed purpose and spirit, Tobias turned to Eilidh.

“Your highness, stay with me so we can keep you safe.” He held out his hand to her and noticed that even with the looming threat of lizards just beyond the blast door, she didn’t seem phased.

“Yes.” She said bluntly, ignoring Captain Tobias’ gesture. “I think you’d better keep me safe from these beasts.”

Tobias, trying not to think about the princess’ apathetic behavior, crouched down with her behind his chair with his pistol raised to the door. From the other side, loud bangs pierced through the cramped bridge. They were using explosives. He wasn’t sure how long it would take the lizards to break through, but it was only a matter of time, and when they did, they would be in for the fight of their lives.

As the banging continued and grew louder with each successive attempt by the lizards to break down the door, Tobias could tell by the faces of his sailors that their courage was starting to wear thin as their reality set in. Knowing that none of them would likely survive this encounter, he considered what needed to be done to ensure the security of the Confederacy while he still had time to do it. It was standard procedure for Confederate officers to do whatever it took to keep information from falling into enemy hands, which is why he’d had the computer scrubbed as soon as the Conglomerate ship began boarding. What he couldn’t scrub with a simple order were the minds of his other bridge officers who carried tactics, military locations and fleet size estimations. That was why each officer was armed with a small pistol charged only with a single bolt of energy. In the case of probable capture, they were to do whatever it took to keep their information from falling into enemy hands.

Tobias rested his hand on his pistol. It was strapped to his hip as was the pistol of every other officer, but the thought of using it was one he’d always tried to push to eb back of his mind. Now, as certain death approached, he was uncertain how many officers would be able to handle what their station required of them. They all knew what to do, so all he could was count on them to carry out their duty when the time came. Looking around he noticed a few other officers keeping their pistols close at hand.

Then the thought hit him like a stray asteroid. The princess! He looked down at the young woman next to him who he could tell now was beginning to seem a bit shaken. She was doing her best to keep her poised demeanor, but her wide eyes and quivering jaw made it obvious that she was just as frightened as he was. Scared or not, she’s probably their target. If officers were expressly forbidden from falling into enemy hands, did that rule also apply to ambassadors? Or royalty? Or both? Not sure what the proper etiquette was at this point, Captain Tobias lifted the small, black pistol from his hip holster and held it out to the princess who was crouching behind the chair.

“Princess Eilidh,” he said in a whisper, trying not to draw attention to their conversation. “I need you to take this.”

Eilidh shook her head trying to hide the fear she didn’t know she’d been showing and met his gaze with as confident a look as she could muster. “Do you expect me to fight?” She asked with a sarcastic grin. “I won’t stoop to such barbarism. Surely the Conglomerate won’t risk killing me. They’ll most likely capture me and hold me for ransom until my father pays them.”

Tobias leaned in closer, almost shoving the weapon into her hand. “That’s why you need this.” he said, trying his best to stay patient. “Regulations state that no officer with vital knowledge of Confederate tactics or intelligence is to be taken alive by the enemy.”

Realizing what he was saying, Eilidh looked down at the pistol with a grim expression. “You want me to shoot myself?!” She yelled in a whisper.

“It’s not what I want, it’s what the Confederacy needs.” Tobias said as the loudest explosion yet seemed to dent the door inward. “When it comes to it, it would be an honor if you were to use my weapon–”

“NO!” Eilidh cried, shoving the pistol back to him. “Your job is to get me home safely, not let me die. My father will get me home whether I’m captured or not!”

So sure of herself, Eilidh let go of the pistol, letting it fall into Tobias’ hand. He watched as tears began to well up in her eyes. Although, from the short time he’d known the princess, he knew that she would never let them fall. It wasn’t a moment later that she had taken a deep breath and returned his stare with a fiery gaze. As the banging continued and the lizards became louder and more numerous on the other side of the door, Tobias was made more uncomfortable by the burning rage building in the woman next to him.

“Focus on getting me home, Captain.” She said “You can die after that. That’s an order.”

Minutes of small blasts later, the door was beginning to show major signs of wear. The center buckled and the pure white was showing black scorch marks along the edges of the frame. They had been held captive in here for almost fifteen minutes when a long break in the noise was ended by the largest explosions yet. It managed to penetrate the door and fill that side of the bridge with smoke. Those nearest the door shrieked as debris from the door ripped into them. Once the lizards realized they’d been successful in breaching the door, they began to fire through the hole they had made. Tobias, along with the other sailors fired back as the smoke cleared. 

Peeking around the chair he was using as cover, Tobias noticed that the constant use of explosives had fused the two halves of the door together in a few places. Pairing that with the size of the hole only being enough for one or two lizards to shoot through at a time, and it seemed like the bridge crew had a fighting chance. He fired his primary pistol toward the hole and heard the sound of pained hissing as one or more blasts made contact. The Confederate sailors peppered the hole from their positions, not giving the lizards time to fire back. In the action, Tobias managed to look down and see how Eilidh was holding up. She wasn’t cowering, but was instead watching the carnage from behind cover with a look of anger and fear dancing in her eyes. 

As long as we can keep them back, we should be able to hold out until reinforcements from other parts of the ship arrive. Tobias peeked from his cover to fire a few more shots toward the hole, but noticed something he didn’t like at all. A small ball of sparks at the bottom of the fused door. He watched as it solely moved upward toward the hole, climbing and climbing until it would eventually reach the top. “They’re cutting the door!” He cried out. This wasn’t good. The door being fused kept them out for what should have been hours. Tobias hadn’t counted on them having the tools to cut through it. As the ball of sparks climbed to the halfway point of the door, he could see that they wouldn’t be able to stop the lizards from entering. “Hold you fire!” he ordered over the chaotic noise of sporadic blaster fire. “Save your energy cells for when the door opens! Aim for center mass, and when you can see it, open fire!” 

All blasters stopped and the bridge grew eerily quiet. The only sound was the door being cut open and sparks bouncing off of the floor. Tobias leaned out of cover to see how close they were but was distracted by the form of a wounded human laying against the wall near the doorway in a pool of blood. Watch-stander Alainn. She’d been hit badly by shrapnel and debris from the blast that broke the door open. Tobias watched as she struggled to reach out for him across the bridge, silently begging for help. Her arm shaking as she held her hand out, a green bolt exploded from the hole in the door narrowly missing her fingers as she pulled them back running on adrenaline alone. She looked so weak, Tobias wished he could save her, but she was pinned down and bleeding out. Even if he could get to her, there was no way to save her. He watched her use the last of her energy to reach for her pistol and lift it up, shaking uncontrollably the whole way. Watchman Alainn pushed the pistol against her head and steadied it as best she could. Then, as she took a final deep breath, she squeezed the trigger, and her head fell as it was hit with a small, but powerful burst of energy. 

Crewman Alainn, the last sailor at her post and the first sailor to commit her final act of keeping the Confederacy safe. He wasn’t sure if Eilidh had seen that, but glancing at her, he could tell that she knew what had happened. Her breathing was erratic and her lips pursed tight into an irate scowl. Will they take her alive? Tobias wondered. Will she let them?

As Leodhas made his way through the twists and turns of the Argolidian ship on his way to the bridge, he stopped to catch his breath. This ship is a lot bigger than I thought it was. Panting, he leaned up against the wall and checked the next corner to make sure it was safe. He wasn’t sure how far into the ship the lizards had made it yet, but they would surely be right behind him sooner or later. That’s why he had to keep moving. He still needed to make sure he could get the princess to safety. Who knows what those things want with her. She had to be the reason they were here. The Conglomerate had been encroaching on the Confederated Kingdoms for years, but Leodhas had never heard of them being so brash as to blatantly attack an ambassadorial ship carrying royalty. His time on board was cut short by this debacle. He was supposed to have a few more days until the ship docked back on Argolidis, but now he’d have to get off-ship as soon as possible.

He stood up and got ready to continue down the hallway when he heard a loud popping sound echo through the air vent just ahead of him. As he approached it, he heard another pop, then another, each growing in intensity and force. Bending down and pressing an ear to the vent. He could hear voices as well crying out as the popping got worse. 

Intrigued by the muffled noises from the vent, Leodhas almost didn’t hear the heavy footsteps of a squad of lizards coming up behind him. Still distant, he could make out their hiss-like voices as they grew nearer. He wasn’t sure where to go. The hallway he needed to go down was a long, straight corridor; if he got caught there, he wouldn’t have any protection from their blasts. Adjusting his head to better hear the incoming lizard threat, he figured they were just around the corner from him and headed his way. Trying to think fast, he glanced frantically from side to side looking for a place to hide. Nothing. Another pop came from the vent. This one was the most powerful of them all and soon after it came blaster fire accompanied with screams. Anything is better than getting caught here. 

Leodhas wedged his fingers behind the vent’s edge and managed to slide it out of the wall with a tremendous amount of force. It took more strength to keep quiet while doing so as to not alert the lizards to his presence. He snuck inside the small pipe and fit the vent cover back on just in time to watch the squad of lizards enter the intersection nearest to the vent. They stopped and looked down each hallway. Their heads bobbed in an almost bird-like fashion as their beady eyes adjusted to see down to the ends of the halls for signs of which way to go. Eventually, the small group continued stomping down a hallway unsure of where it would take them. That was too close. 

Just as Leodhas was ready to get out of the vent and continue to the bridge, he heard a woman’s muffled voice cry out through the echos in the vent. He could clearly make out what she had said: “Captain!” 

Does this vent lead all the way to the bridge? Leodhas moved his head and looked down the long, dark, seeming endless pipe in which he sat scrunched tight. I guess there’s only one way to find out. 

Still pinned down behind the chair in the center of the bridge, Tobias could hear the lizards seering through the last bit of the blast door. Once they were through there was almost nothing the sailors inside could do to stop them. If his own weapon was any indication, then the others would nearly be out of charge in their primary weapons. That left them with only one option, and it was the one crewman Alainn had chosen just moments ago. In a way, Tobias was glad to have had crewman Alainn end up where she did. Her actions worked to remind the other bridge crew of their obligations to the Confederacy. 

Tobias was squatting down next to the princess, preparing to jump to his feet and attack the enemy as they finished cutting through the doors. When the light hum of the cutter stopped, he knew this was the time to move and take out as many as he could before he was taken down himself. He heard metal scraping against metal as the lizards forced the heavy doors to slide apart enough for them to get through. Surely they still had blasters pointed into the bridge, so any sailor shooting had only a short time to fire the remainder of the charges.

As Tobias was still taking cover, an ensign taking cover on a far side of the bridge let out a loud yell as he fired rapidly toward the door. Tobias could hear many of the shots landing stray on the metal doorframe, but one must have managed to connect with a lizard as a heavy lump of meat slammed loudly onto the floor. The sound of blaster fire ceased and the empty clicking of a pistol lacking charge to its place. The ensign looked down to his weapon before lifting his eyes just in time to see the green bolt blast a hole in his upper body, probably landing square on his lung. The bridge was quiet again, enough to hear desperate gurgling coming from the downed ensign which was ended by a quick blast accompanied by a flash of red light from his direction. Another good sailor.

The heavy footsteps pounded slowly as the lizards made their way onto the bridge cautiously. Tobias took a mental count of the remaining bridge crew. There should be at least nine of us left. But he couldn’t look around without giving away his position. If only I could get them a message so we could– His train of thought was instantly derailed as the princess began to stand up from behind the chair. He tried to call out to her to stop, but before his brain could force the words from his mouth she was standing up with arms raised.

The lizards spotted her. Tobias stood up slowly with his pistol drawn and pointed toward the intruding lizards. When he stood, he got a look around the room and noticed that only four other sailors were standing with pistols drawn. A quick survey of the room showed that the rest were already dead–either hit by lizard blasters or their own. He side eyed the princess who remained still with her arms raised. The lizards mirrored her, not moving but keeping their weapons pointed. There were only two lizards in the room, but more waiting in the hallway. Clearly they were as surprised as Tobias had been by the princess’ rash decision to interrupt a tense firefight. Now to see where she was going with this.

She finally broke the silence and spoke to the lizards. “I am Princess Eilidh, daughter of Ailig, King of Argolidis and member of the Galactic Union. I am an ambassador to that union, and I hereby surrender myself and this vessel to the Conglomerate. No further violence ought be taken on these sailors as they are under my protection.”

The lizards looked at each other with bobbing head motions. Taken aback by the surrender, they looked back at the door as if requesting orders from a superior. As they were distracted, Tobias moved closer to Eilidh and whispered to her so the lizards couldn’t hear. “We did not agree to this plan, your highness. As officers of the Confederacy we cannot be taken prisoner by–”

Her glance to the captain stopped him in his tracks. “I will take responsibility for any hazards this entails, but I won’t allow any more bloodshed! You will be taken prisoner.”

“Eilidh!”

“You’ll do as I say, Captain! That’s an order!”

The lizards turned back around with blasters still raised. Another entered the room with enough restraints for every human left on the bridge. Tobias glanced at the other sailors who were looking back at him for guidance. Would he let this happen? Could he deny a direct order from his home planet’s ruler even if it flew in the face of direct regulation that was written and upheld for the safety of the entire Confederacy? He knew what he had to do. He needed to set an example for the sailors who were looking to him now. 

The lizard with the restraints weaved its way between the cramped layout of the bridge and behind Eilidh to insure the most prized hostage would be the first one taken. Tobias seized the opportunity and took in a deep breath. 

“Your highness,” He said as Eilidh turned her head to see him while she was being restrained. “I’m sorry, but this is an order I cannot follow.”

Eilidh felt a rock land in her stomach as she understood what he was about to do. She tried to jump forward and knock him over but the lizard held her restraints tightly, keeping her from moving freely. The other sailors watched and followed suit as Captain Tobias, their commander for ten long years raised his pistol to his head and expended its sole charge on himself.

“Captain!” Eilidh cried out, but it was too late and the Captain was gone before he hit the ground.

As the lizard holding her panicked at the blasts, Eilidh dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t breath as each of the four individual blasters went off around the bridge, deadening her soul and leaving her dreadfully, hopelessly alone. 

He crawled and crawled for what seemed like forever until he eventually came to a light in the distance. As he got closer he noticed that it was another vent grate. He slowed his crawl to lessen the amount of noise he made with his movements. Inching forward on his stomach, Leodhas came close enough to the grate to see what lay on the other side.

He could see a handful of lizards surrounding a single human figure. If he squinted, he could just barely make out details through the lizardy silhouettes. It was definitely a human, probably a woman based on the body size and shape. Her hair was most certainly not done up in a regulation Confederate style, which meant she was either a civilian or the princess he was looking for. Leodhas silently wished for the former since she was surrounded by armed lizards and he was unarmed belly-down in an air vent. 

He listened as best he could to what–if anything–they might be saying for clues as to her identity. Looking around, he could see other bodies strewn across the floor of what looked like the bridge. Clearly they kept her alive for a reason.

Suddenly, from the doorway onto the bridge, which Leodhas hadn’t realized was a smoldering pile of debris, came a lizard who carried itself differently from the rest of them. This one strode smoothly rather than allowing his head to bob, and his reptilian features were far less pronounced. Hisses erupted from the bridge as the figure approached the woman, and Leodhas kept perfectly still, watching and listening intently. 

The new lizard walked up to the woman and inspected her silently. Then, throwing passing glances to the bodies on the ground, it lifted its chin and spoke. “So,” it began with a vile hiss, “you’ve surrendered to us, princess.”

Crud. It is her.

Eilidh stood resolute against the imposing half-lizard figure. She took a deep breath and even Leodhas could hear was a shaky one. “I have surrendered, and request proper treatment under the laws of the Galactic Union.” She stated as confidently as she could.

Amused, the lizard raised his arms up to gesture to the ship and all that lay beyond it. “There is no union here, your majesty.” The last words spoken mockingly as she stood, bound by restraints and surrounded by armed guards. “I accept your surrender,” he said quietly, but without lacking intensity, “for it is not everyday one manages to catch a Confederate while they’re still squirming.” He stepped forward and loomed over Eilidh as she closed her eyes tightly to ward off the disgusting reptilian. “The governor will enjoy your presence immensely.” he said in almost a whisper, stressing the final word in a hiss that was exaggerated even for a snake like him.

After writhing in the discomfort of the princess for a long moment, he finally spoke again, this time to the guards. “Take her back to the ship. Place her in the cell block and await further instruction.”

The two lizards saluted and began to escort the princess off the bridge through the ruined doorway. As the princess was being pushed away, Leodhas could see her glancing longing at the body nearest to her which was soaking in a puddle of blood. Then, she vanished through the blasted door and was on her way to the Conglomerate ship. 

I need to get her away from those things before she gets back to the ship.

On the bright side, he was sure the lizards didn’t know the way back to the airlock where they had come in, so he had time to find them. Then, backing up as quietly as possible, Leodhas made his way back through the air duct and away from the bridge.

When he finally came out on the other side, the hallway was completely barren. The smooth floors were dirtied by evidence that the Conglomerate squad that had almost caught Leodhas had been pacing this area of the ship. Whether that meant they were still looking for the bridge or for surviving humans, he didn’t know or want to think about. All that mattered now was getting to the princess before she was taken onto the Conglomerate ship. Once there, she would be as dead to him. So, he needed to act, and fast.

Do I try to run into them at the airlock, or do I try to find them before then? Both had benefits, and Leodhas stopped to think what move would be best. If I ambush them at the airlock I’ll know their exact location, but that area is bound to be crawling with lizards. That was definitely something he needed to avoid. Right now they only have two guards on her. I can take two guards, but that means I’ll need to intercept them on their way to the airlock. “Easier said than done.” he mumbled to himself as he examined the surrounding hallways, “much easier.”

It was the best available option though, and he needed to take it if he wanted to get the princes away from the Conglomerate. So, Leodhas started running down hallways toward the bridge, figuring the air duct had acted as a shortcut to the airlock and placed him just ahead of the escort. If he was right, he had them cornered. If he was wrong… She’ll be gone.

Halting shortly to check around corners, Leodhas glided through the halls as quietly and swiftly as he could hoping and praying he hadn’t been passed by the princess’ escort. Finally, as he came to a stop at a three-way intersection of hallways, he heard a pair of thundering footsteps accompanied by the light patter of human feet. Pressing himself as tight as he could against the wall and peeking around the corner with all the stealth he could muster, he watched as an escort of lizards marched down the hallway towards him with the princess in tow being almost dragged along by her restraints. 

Letting out a deep breath he hadn’t known he was holding, Leodhas stepped back and prepared to surprise the lizards as they came around the corner. Then, a thought struck him as suddenly and powerfully as a rogue asteroid. I don’t have a weapon! The observation came all too late to him as the footsteps grew ever closer to the three-way intersection in which he was planning his attack. Frantically, he looked behind him in an attempt to fall back to another corner and make a better plan that involved finding a weapon, but it was too long and the lizards would see him before he found a hiding place. How could I come this far without thinking about a weapon! I passed plenty of people who died holding pistols, rifles, daggers… but I walked on by and this is where it got me. 

Doing his best to shake away his self doubt and annoyance, Leodhas got into a pouncing stance. He hoped he could tackle one of the lizards and wrestle its weapon away from it. Wait. What weapons do they have?! I just looked at them, I should have looked at what they were holding, but I was too worried about the princess that I didn’t even look! As his thoughts sped through his mind, his focus was drawn from the matter at hand, and he wasn’t prepared as the lizards turned the corner and saw him slightly crouched. Leodhas, freezing in shock as much as the lizards had, stared at them with eyes wider than a planetary orbit. The moment seemed to last forever as the lizards watched the human stare right back at them. The stalemate was finally broken as Leodhas pounced at the nearest reptilian, taking advantage of the crooked knees to throw it off balance and topple it to the floor. Shocked at his level of success, Leodhas spazzed around on top of the lizard and fiddled for whatever weapon he might have dropped. However, as his eye caught the belt of the fallen alien, he noticed that it had a pistol which it hadn’t even had drawn as it turned the corner to meet Leodhas. That’s probably the only reason I’m alive.

While he struggled and reached for the holstered pistol, he rolled over and away from the other lizard just in case that one wasn’t so stupid as to keep its weapon put away when intruding on a ship and escorting it’s leader around hallways. As he fought for the weapon, he expected to hear a blaster fire, but the sharp noise never came. What he did hear was a feminine grunt accompanied by a blunt thwack and a large mass hitting the deck. The other lizard stopped to see what had happened, and Leodhas took the opportunity to rip the pistol from its holster and fire once, twice, and three times into the lizard. Its scaled arms dropped to the deck with a pair of thuds and Leodhas laid still to catch his breath. He stayed on the lizard’s body for at least a minute before a delicate feminie voice called out to him and tore him back into reality. 

“Hey. Is this a rescue or not? Get up and get me to safety.”

Dazed, he looked up and saw the form of the princess standing above him with her hands placed firmly on her hips. He furrowed his brow, confused how she’d freed her hands until he bobbed his head toward the ground and saw the restraints lying on the ground, unclasped. 

“Can you hear me?!” She said almost yelling.

Leodhas did his best to get up off of the ground and restore his balance. He was a bit dizzy, but was sure it would pass–eventually. Until then, he blinked a few times and finally met the princess’s gaze. She looked rather annoyed. 

“What’s wrong, your highness?” He said, rubbing his head, “Didn’t want to be rescued?” 

She bent her head downward and gave him a look that could even have seared through the deck plating behind him.

“I would expect one a bit sooner, thank you.” She said emphasizing the false gratitude in place of the real appreciation Leodhas had expected. But, he didn’t care what she felt, as long as she was under his guidance.

“Maybe next time.” He said dismissively, noticing how calm she was even after nearly being escorted to her certain death “For now, we need to get off this ship!” 

Eilidh scoffed at the level of ease with which he spoke of leaving and getting away from such a dangerous enemy. “And just how do you plan on doing that?” She asked. “Before the bridge controls went out, we were alerted that the lifepod systems had been destroyed. The only way off this ship is with defeating the Conglomerate, or going with them and one is simply impossible!”

Leodhas glanced down at the lizard Eilidh had apparently managed to knock out while he struggled with the one he’d tackled, then back up to her with an eyebrow cocked. “So, you want to go with the lizards?” he said, partially asking.

“Ugh!” Eilidh sighed in frustration. “No! I don’t want to go with them!” She sounded like she was staging something entirely obvious.

“But you allowed yourself to be captured? Isn’t that a Confederate no-no?” He asked in a mocking tone.

“Quiet!” She screamed, this time letting her emotion show clearly. Leodhas watched as she raised her hands to cover her now bright pink face. “Just tell me you plan to get me out of here.” She said, taking a deep breath to reset her emotions.

Leodhas eyed her curiously. She wasn’t exactly what he thought she would be. A princess of a major system in the Galactic Union of Kings, and an ambassador to that union as well, he thought she would be much more…snooty. Not that she wasn’t already, but so far he’d been surprisingly able to bear it. There was something unusual about her, her snow white skin and hair, the line of large, dark freckles that gently curved their way over her equally dainty nose, or her age. That was what surprised him most. Most royals were good looking, but princess Eilidh was so young for all the responsibilities she had taken on. She looked somewhere around twenty, but he thought he remembered from her file that she was actually twenty four–or somewhere around that. 

He studied her face and gazed into her deep, purple eyes for what felt to him to be only a moment, but her expression showed that he’d gone too long without saying anything. Crud. he thought. What did she say again? 

His expression betrayed his thoughts as she placed a hand on her hip and cocked an annoyed eyebrow. “You do have a plan, don’t you.” she asked, as fluent in sarcasm as she was in politics.

Taken aback by the obvious attempt at a stinging question, Leodhas grinned widely and pointed a thumb to his chest proudly. “Of course!” he said. “I’ve got a ship docked on the belly of this beast waiting for us!”

Her expression became surprised yet dubious. “You have a ship?” Then she realized what else he’d said. “Attached to my ship?!” She blurted.

Leodhas raised his hands in a desperate attempt to stop her train of thought. “No time to explain everything, we’ve got to get off this ship now if you want to get away from the Conglomerate. They’re bound to notice this escort is off track, they’ll allow for a bit of delay due to the ship’s layout, but not much with someone like you in tow.”

She looked him up and down skeptically. Then decided he was better than a potential imprisonment by lizards. “Fine.” She said in a regal way that made it all sound like her idea. “Take me to your ship and get me to safety.” 

As Leodhas led the princess down the hallways, stopping at every intersection just in case a stray patrol passed their way, he dealt with quiet yet very present objections. Eilidh, who was keeping up well enough as he moved as quickly as he could while remaining stealthy, made an audible protest whenever he stopped to check around a corner. Trying his best to ignore the princess’ impatient nature, he continued his cautious habits until he finally came to the rather long hallway that housed a hatchway in the center of the floor that led to his ship. He stopped again before making the turn into the hall. 

This time the princess didn’t even try to hide her complaint. “We’re stopping again?!” She groaned in annoyance. “We haven’t seen any lizards this entire time and you keep stopping for nothing! We could have been in your ship and flying away by now if it weren’t for–”

Peeking around the corner despite his obnoxious company, he expected to see an empty hallway, but instead saw two lizards standing right on top of the floor hatch to his ship. Leodhas quickly turned back from peeking around and into the hallway and held a finger up to his lips to instruct the princess to stay quiet. 

Her annoyance grew exponentially when she saw that. “How dare you!” she spat. “No one tells me to be quiet!”

Peeking again, he noticed that one of the lizards was beginning to hear the princess’ ramblings and becoming aware of their presence. Trying to act quickly, Leodhas turned to the princess and grabbed her around the shoulders, pulling her toward him and plugging a hand to her mouth. Startled and completely taken aback, Eilidh thrashed around angrily grunting in protest. 

Leodhas leaned his head in close to hers and whispered “Your highness, you need to be quieter. There are two lizards just around the corner standing right on top of where we need to be.”

Finally grasping at his hand and ripping it away forcefully, she rolled away from him and met his gaze through squinted eyes. “Well do you have a plan for this?” She asked, gasping for air.

“I think I might.” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black box which he held up to his mouth and began to speak. “Leodhas to Spes. Come in Spes. Are you there?”

Static rang through the communicator for a few seconds before another voice popped through with perfect clarity. “Yes, captain, I’m here and waiting on board the ship. Did you know a Conglomerate mothership has attached itself to this vessel? I’m sure you’re having quite the adventure up there.”

“Whatever,” he said. “Look, we’re just outside the hatch to the ship, but we’ve got a pair of reptiles calling it home at the moment. Think you can do anything about that?”

The voice on the other line responded quickly and with zeal, “of course! Stand back, and you might want to plug your ears if you’re anywhere close to them.”

“Plug our ears?” Eilidh muttered “Why would I need to–”

Before either of them could listen to the suggestion, an explosion of air and pressure rushed out of the hallway. Both Leodhas and Eilidh flung their hands onto their ears as wind rushed past them at incredible speeds creating a tremendously loud blast. As they did their best to stay held in place despite the massive gusts of air, Leodhas saw a large, shadowy figure of a lizard fly back through the intersection and topple into the next hallway slamming into walls with enough force to knock it out. 

Then, just as soon as the bursts of air had begun, they stopped. And the hallways were left completely silent, despite the ringing in Leodhas and Eilidh’s ears due to the drastic pressure changes. 

“What was that?!” Eilidh cried out, poking at her ears to try and stop the ringing.

“That was our ticket out of here. Let’s move!”

Leodhas leaped up, ignoring his dizziness, and reached out to take the princess’ hand. Looking up at him with surprise that turned into a skeptical acceptance, she grabbed his hand and got to her feet. The two of them together ran into the hallway and slid to a stop at the floor hatch. Leodhas got down on a knee and lifted the handle to open the dense metal covering. It raised up with a steamy hiss and revealed a ladder going down into his ship. He looked up at Eilidh and motioned a hand toward the ladder to tell her to get in. Without a second thought, the princess began to step down onto the rungs of the ladder and make her way into the small ship. As she climbed down, Leodhas looked back and forth in the hallway and saw the two lizards that had been standing where he was now, had been blasted by depressurization hundreds of feet in either direction. If they were still alive, they would be dazed for a while. Nice job, buddy. 

“Aren’t you coming?!” Eilidh yelled, looking up at Leodhas from the base of the ladder. 

He let a grin come to his face as he’d finally gotten the princess away from the lizards and into his ship. The hard part was over, now it was just a matter of dodging Confederates and Conglomerates alike and transporting her to his employer on the planet Fabula Beta.