Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (15 page)

I must be getting tired from the
excitement of the last hour,
he thought to himself, knowing,
quite well that the Programs had no emotions, being entirely
artificial.

He glanced down on the hobo named Trent, now
his equal, realizing the effective time of the decision almost
slipped past him...
24:32 was over an hour ago,
he
realized.

That sly bastard,
he shook his head as
he glanced to the knight captain. Based on this timing, Trent would
have been an official member of the TSB during everything that
transpired during phase four of his recruitment trial. Daniel tried
to grasp exactly what that meant, finding a sudden irrational
hatred for Trent boil back to the surface, which he decided to
store in the place he kept in his mind for all those he thought
wronged him, and wait for the Program to continue.

“Analysis of recommendation for Star of Terra
and Blood-Sun Mark completed. Star of Terra recommendation for TSB
Lieutenant Trent has been preliminarily accepted and a formal
request will be forwarded to Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia for formal
approval. The Blood-Sun Mark, based solely on the recommendation of
Knight Captain Quinn, shall be awarded immediately.” The Program
finished just as the door to the training room slid open and a TSB
security team rushed in with combat arcs drawn, the much larger
cousin of the laser arc, followed immediately by three medical
teams.

Daniel pulled himself to his feet, feeling
unsteady, stepping clear as a medic dashed to Trent's side, openly
gasping at the sight of the mangled man.

“I gave him a nanite and special level,” he
told, not sure if they heard him before they started emergency
treatment. The Knight Captain, having finished relaying
instructions to the baffled security team, moved back to Daniel's
side, a second medical team taking over care of Vice-Commander
Daiyu. Daniel looked up at the stern, older man, who caressed his
grey beard, lost in thought.

“Sir...if you don't mind me asking...what was
that about a Grand Duchess Sasha of Alutia? I haven't heard of
either.” Daniel asked in tone of mild curiosity, watching the
medics place Vice-Commander Daiyu and Trent on emergency medical
stretchers.

“You'll be hearing the official announcement
soon, but Earth now falls under the jurisdiction of a new duchy
that King Johan created for his third daughter, formally the
Princess Sasha Vn’Oco,” Knight Captain Quinn stated without
emotion. Daniel was about to question him further, about why he
would recommend the Star of Terra, but Sir Quinn waved him off
before he could begin, moving to follow the hovering emergency
medical stretchers as they started towards the exit.

Daniel quickly fell in behind, glancing at
one of the medics trying to remove something from Vice-Commander
Daiyu's uniform. At first, he couldn't tell what it was, but with a
sudden gasp that caused Knight Captain Quinn to glance over his
shoulder, Daniel realized exactly what he was seeing.

Just who is this hobo?
Daniel wondered
the moment his mind registered that Trent must have lost his arms
while saving the vice-commander. As a grisly truth, the medics were
in the process of removing the charred remains of his gripping
hands from her uniform. The knight captain must have seen what
caused Daniel to stumble, giving him a slight nod of
understanding.

Still unable to believe what his eyes told
true, he let his chin collapse to his chest, following the line of
wounded, forgetting for a time the uncertain future tumbling
towards him.

The ferry shuttle's maneuvering thrusters
engaged, forcing the tiny starship clear of the behemoth NHA
Super-Capital ABF Alutia's primary hanger bay. Once free of the
super-capital’s NSD field, the ferry shuttle's own NSD field
instantly engaged, and they began their short journey back to the
ABF Princess One.

Sasha sat quietly in the seat directly behind
the pilot, gazing lovingly upon on her new pet catillian being
cradled within her lap, trying not to openly flaunt her
excitement.

“I wish Knight Admiral Bhool had one for me
too,” pouted Tiana from her seat adjacent Sasha's, unable to hide
her jealousy as she reached over, gently petting the tiny, six
armed catillian with purple fur.

“It was pure luck, Tiana, and you know it.
Lady Bhool's catillian just happened to give birth at the perfect
moment. If we had been only a couple of hours later, she would have
been forced to bond it to someone else,” responded Sasha,
concealing the childlike urge to stick her tongue out at her young
friend.

“I know, but I still want one...Your Grace.”
The title sounded more like an insult then an honor when it came
from Tiana's lips.

“If I am not mistaken,” feeling devious,
Sasha started to respond, “your 17th birthday is approaching,”
Tiana's eyes went wide, “and if my calculations are correct, it
falls right around the time we will be on Planet Vn'Oco,” she
started bouncing in her seat with obvious anticipation of Sasha’s
next words. “So if...and only if...you can promise me you will
behave, and resist that constant urge you have to aggravate me
every waking moment, I may be so inclined to gift my humble friend
her own catillian,” Sasha pronounced with her best royal tone. It
looked as if Tiana would burst from her cresting excitement. But
surprisingly, she only paused, tilting her head to peer at the
guard sitting directly behind Sasha.

“Well, Sir Seb'Losh, it looks like it will be
your job to keep Her Highness on her toes for the foreseeable
future.” A rasping cough responded, as if Tiana's words had taken
the Alutia Guard Captain by complete surprise.

“Lady Tiana,” Sir Seb’Losh started, quite
shocked by Tiana’s allegation, “my duty is to ever serve Her Grace.
I would never, in any way, do anything that would cause her undue
distress...my honor would just not permit it,” Sir Seb'Losh sounded
a man of utter honesty. But in the days since
they’d become acquainted,
she'd found what lay hidden
beneath his honorable exterior, besides an overbearing
protectiveness that far outstripped even her guards on Tidelia, was
a playfulness only overshadowed by Tiana’s relentless teasing.

Suddenly, something fuzzy fell down the front
of her neck, wiggling into the crease between her bosoms. She
shrieked, and started hastily unclasping the doublet she adorned,
but froze when she noticed the four men who accompanied her in the
shuttle, shifting their gazes uncomfortably. Tiana rose with a wide
grin, moving before her to block any accidental glances at her
modesty.

“Thank you, Tiana,” said Sasha gratefully as
she returned to unclasping her top.

“It is my pleasure, Sasha,” responded Tiana
with the utmost courtesy. Sasha couldn’t help but smirk when her
name escaped
Tiana's
lips without the
expected sarcasm.
The catillian birthday gift idea seems to be
working,
she mused, but realized it would last only till the
gift was presented. She would need to think of something else,
possibly dangling a noble holding before her, though unsure if it
would keep her calm for the eight years until she could officially
receive such a gift.

As she released the middle clasp, enough to
present a rather significant portion of her cleavage, she found her
baby catillian snuggling itself into the crack between her breasts,
sleeping peacefully. Tiana looked away, Sasha noting her body
trembling, obviously attempting to suppress her amusement.

Unable to blame the girl...
the sight of a
purple ball of fur protruding from between her bosoms was on the
side of hysterical,
after all
...
she placed an
sympathetic hand atop Tiana's head, but pulled it away to cover her
modesty when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.

“Your Grace, I'm assuming, based on your
reaction and that of Lady Tiana, that your catillian has migrated
into a,” he paused, clearing his throat, “into your bosom.” The
Knight Captain's tone trailed off significantly when he spoke the
word,
bosom
.

“I think I misheard you, Sir Seb'Losh. Could
you please repeat the last part?” responded Sasha, feeling an
irresistible urge to tease the man, since he'd taken so much
pleasure in doing the same to her over the past few days. Sir
Seb'Losh finally cleared his throat.

“Your Grace, I believe you heard me the first
time,” he responded without emotion.

“Are you calling me a liar, Knight Captain
Seb'Losh? I did not hear you. So repeat what you said, immediately.
This is an order of your patron!” Sasha forced as much offense into
her words as she could muster, wallowing in the sense of triumph
that filled her when she realized she may have finally embarrassed
the stalwart of a man.

“Your Grace,” he started, and Sasha quickly
realized she’d been wrong, “I'm assuming the catillian has climbed
in-between your breasts. If my memory serves, you should not
attempt to remove him from this location, or it will be quite
painful for both you and the catillian. I must also, quite
unfortunately, inform you that you will now be required to provide
the catillian plenty of space at all times, meaning simply; you
shall be required to display a signification portion of your
cleavage. Enough so as to allow it to move freely while avoiding
accidental suffocation,” Sir Seb'Losh explained without any of the
hesitation he showed previously. “Furthermore, catillian's, when
bonded to human females, have a tendency to nest permanently within
their bosoms. So I'm afraid that you will be, quite scandalously I
might add, unless you decide to start following the romantic ideal,
which may be a thought to consider...forced to openly display a
substantial amount of cleavage, much more so than you have
previously considered appropriate, for the foreseeable future.”

Tiana, unable to resist any longer, lost
herself to hysterical laughter. Sasha, flushing at the images Sir
Seb’Losh’s explanation called forth, turned, glaring at the now
stone faced guard captain.

“I think you should really stop trying to
play this game, Sasha. Sir Seb'Losh was in charge of your sister,
Valia, when she was younger, and from what he's told me, her
torment was unrelenting,” stuttered Tiana as her laughter began to
wane. Sasha sighed dramatically, gently caressing the furry ball
protruding from her cleavage with a single finger, having fully
regained her own composure
.

“You may be right, Tiana...and knight
captain,” Sasha grinned,”Lady Bhool was kind enough to offer me
forewarning of the nesting habits of the catillian and also provide
me one of her garments, that on the outside appears normal, but has
pockets sewn into the upper chest area for the catillian’s
comfort,” she paused, hoping for a specific response.

“That was very kind of the knight admiral.
But I wonder when this discussion occurred. I do not recall
overhearing such an exchange and I was in your presence the entire
time,” Sir Seb'Losh inquired, unable to completely mask the worry
in his voice.

“A lady must keep her secrets, Sir Seb'Losh,”
she glanced to Tiana, who was petting the catillian, giggling as it
rolled onto its flat back and grabbed her finger with its six tiny,
human-like hands. She was obviously trying to keep herself from
being dragged back into the conversation...
someone wanted to
keep their hopes for a catillian birthday alive
. “But since I
doubt your temporarily subdued partner will be kind enough to keep
my secret,” Tiana continued to ignore her, “we linked BC nodes
during dinner. She had a great deal of classified information to
relay to me, and she just so happened to explain how to properly
care for a catillian as well.” Tiana looked up from the
disinterested catillian, staring over Sasha’s shoulder.

“And you told me it was your job to know
everything about Her Grace?” Tiana asked Sir Seb'Losh in the same
playfully sarcastic tone she usually reserved for Sasha.

Curious that there was no response, Sasha
peeked behind her only to find Sir Seb'Losh fully “node locked”.
She snickered with glee, imagining the message he was sending to
Lady Bhool, and the hopefully curt response he would receive in
return.

The rest of the trip passed uneventfully. The
pilot and copilot keeping their eyes forward the entire time, while
Sir Seb'Losh and Sergeant Ani'Ce, the second member of her current
guard escort, sat quietly in the rear of the shuttle.

A slight shudder woke the catillian, who
squawked its displeasure, and let her know that they had docked.
The pilot and copilot ran through the post flight checks with
obvious haste, before bowing deeply, keeping their gazes plastered
to the floor, then taking their leave. Sergeant Ani'Ce exited next,
followed closely by Sir Seb'Losh and Tiana. Sasha exited last,
trying her best to cover her modesty from the unexpected welcoming
party.

“Thank you all for the splendid welcome,” she
began while her servants, who noticed something amiss immediately,
surrounded her, “but for reasons I do not have time to fully
explain, I must return to my apartment with all haste,” she
curtsied awkwardly to the obviously baffled welcome party, who
bowed all the same.

She rushed to the elevator that led directly
to the guard barracks, nodding off the concerned inquiry of Flight
Captain Jeb’Tol. Just before she reached her apartment, she turned
to Sir Seb'Losh, who was, as always, right on her heals.

“Send for Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil, Guard
Private Usa'Pol, and Guard Private Mia'Tol,” she ordered, listing
three of her female Alutia Guards. Without hesitation, Sir Seb'Losh
nodded, his expression going distant for a moment, before he looked
at her curiously, seeming content to let Sasha have her way for
now. A few minutes later, the three female guards appeared, fixing
askew uniforms and unkempt hair, signs of their hasty
preparation.