ahead.
Mallory Jongo was speaking to a crowd when she heard the crowd in front of her start screaming and pointing above her head. She looked up and saw a silver screen just above her drop on her. The next thing she saw was a dark haired man sitting in a chair on the bridge of a small ship lifting a hand weapon. He stared at her and she said, “I guess I’m not at Alesport anymore?”
Nathan smiled, “No, you’re not. You’re on board a Bristone Searcher and we’ve taken you hostage. We intend to hold you until our issues with your father are resolved. Please sit down and follow my instructions.”
“How did you move me here?”
“I’m not going to answer that question but you need to understand a few rules to ensure your safety.”
Mallory stared at the young man and said, “You know my father is going to find me and kill you?”
Nathan smiled, “I don’t know about that. He’s at his best killing defenseless planets. I don’t think he’ll do as well against those that are capable of fighting back.”
Mallory’s expression turned hard and she sneered, “That’s a lie! I know my Father and he would never kill a defenseless planet!”
Nathan smiled and slowly shook his head, “It appears to me that you really don’t know your father if you believe that.”
“How dare you. I’ve known him my entire life and he possesses a good heart. He protects defenseless planets from being attacked and brings them under his protection. He fights slavers all over this galaxy. You’re a liar.”
Nathan saw the woman’s anger was real. He stared at her and without looking away said, “Anglo, would you show her what happened at Haldale.”
Mallory saw the large display on the wall illuminate and saw a small white ship in orbit above a blue and green planet. She recognized the white ship as one of her father’s Searchers by the markings on its tail section. She heard the planet’s leader attempting to surrender to the small ship and asking what he had to do to comply with their planned invasion. The leader insisted that there were no weapons that could be used against them and he wanted to avoid harm being done to the population. Over and over the planet asked for instructions to avoid bloodshed. Then she saw three more white ships appear and she heard her father’s voice.
Nathan watched as she listened to her father question the Searcher. The callousness of his tone was obvious. When he ordered the planet destroyed, she sat down. She recognized the ships because of the NU on their tailfins. She watched as the Searcher fired into the planet blowing it apart killing millions of people. She turned and looked at Nathan with tears in her eyes. She tried to be firm but her expression showed bewilderment. She looked from the screen to Nathan and didn’t say anything but Nathan could tell she wanted him to tell her it was all a lie. Anglo said, “How did he explain all the slaves that he brought to your planet?”
Mallory turned to the speaker on the wall, “He said they were slavers that his fleet captured attacking defenseless worlds. They’re being punished for their crimes.”
Anglo said with dripping sarcasm, “Are you that incredibly naive? Since when do women and children attack planets and take slaves? It is you that is the liar or your stupidity is beyond belief.”
“What women and children?!”
The display began showing video after video of women and children digging the foundations of buildings on New Ulmerton. Some were toiling in mines. Others were working in fields. She watched as the guards beat and brutalized those that weren’t working hard enough to suit them. Some were hit with blasters to teach a lesson to the others. She looked closer and recognized the cities where they were working. She turned and said, “You manufactured these recordings. They can’t possibly be true. I’ve seen those cities and there are no women or children slaves.”
Nathan looked at her shaking his head and she saw his pity for her. Nathan turned and said, “Let her hold on to that belief, Anglo. If she really believes it, she is innocent of any wrong doing.”
“Nathan, do you think for a moment that she’s that incredibly stupid?”
Nathan looked at Mallory and said, “Yes, I do, Anglo. And it’s your anger over the destruction of Haldale that prevents you from seeing the truth. Leave her with her beliefs. The flyers will confirm them for you.”
Anglo was silent for a long moment and said harshly, “Put her in a room and leave her there.”
Nathan looked at Mallory and nodded toward a door, “Come with me, Princess. We will not harm you; it’s your father whom we have our issues.”
Mallory didn’t want to believe what she saw but the pity of the young man was genuine. That more than anything else started her fearing what she had seen was possibly true. She walked off the bridge with her mind in turmoil and was taken to a small room with sleeping quarters. She walked in a daze and the young man helped her sit down. She looked at him as he turned to go and said, “Why would you deceive me like this?”
Nathan looked at her, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely, Princess. The only one deceiving you is yourself. I do believe you don’t know what’s really happening on New Ulmerton. How you could not know says a lot about your lack of involvement with your citizens. I can see it’s obvious you don’t want to know the truth.” He turned and stepped out of the room, locked the door, and returned to the bridge. Mallory looked at the door with his expression burning in her mind.
She wondered who had kidnapped her and what was going to happen next. She didn’t want to believe what she saw and knew there had to be more than what she was shown. Daulun would not kill a planet without a justifiable reason. He just wouldn’t! Would he?”
“You did what?!
“I kidnapped the King’s Daughter, Your Majesty. She’s on board now.”
“What possessed you to do that?”
“Because I could; I saw the chance and took it. Every newscaster talked about how much the King and the citizens love his daughter, though I personally don’t think that sadist could love anything but himself. Quite frankly, I’d do anything I could to hurt him after what he did to Haldale. This seemed like a good way to start. If he loves her, we can use her against him. It also forces him to go on the defensive to protect him from being taken.”
“And what happens if he calls our bluff? Are you saying we would kill her? You know I would never allow that.”
“Noooo. I know that’s the wrong thing to do, but if it will slow him down in his search to find us. He can’t use the Searchers and their scanners and that makes it worth the effort. If he eventually discovers our location and knows she’s on the planet, he might not be so quick to destroy us.”
Scotty looked at Julie as she listened in and she said, “What are you going to do with her? If you bring her here, she’ll know where she is. Only one planet has the Zord. She could tell the King.”
“I really don’t intend to give her back until we resolve our issues with her father. She won’t be telling anything to anyone. The value of taking her is that he now see’s we can take him if he lowers his defenses. He won’t learn she’s here unless he finds us. This is just a way to make him think twice before he acts. Now that we have her, he must be worried about us taking him next. He’ll be forced to utilize his ships to protect him and that’s worth the taking of the Princess.”
“He could just board one of the Searchers and avoid us?”
“I’ve seen the slaves on his planet longing to revolt along with news about failed assassination attempts on his life. If he leaves for an extended period, one of his lackeys would try to overthrow him and assume power. No, he knows he’s forced to stay at his capital. He can take brief trips but he can’t leave for long.”
“How do you know that, Anglo?”
“There are a number of his relatives that believe he should not be the ruler. His entire family is bloodthirsty and I’ve heard the newscasters report that he’s had four attempts on his life over the last ten years. Most of those attempts were made by his relatives. They all said that was why his daughter had more than sixteen hundred security agents at the speech she was delivering. His family wants to remove any chance of a succession. No, he’ll be forced to stay close to home.”
Scotty took a deep breath and then he heard Nathan say, “She doesn’t know what her father has done. She thinks he’s attacking slavers and bringing them back as slaves to punish them. She refused to believe he ordered Haldale destroyed.”
“Is that true, Anglo?”
“If it is, she is either incredibly naive or outright stupid.”
“How old is she?”
