Chapter 25

It was mid morning before Buck woke up. He decided to take a quick shower and then go downstairs to the dining room. As soon as he stepped into the room, Twiki turned around.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Morning, playboy!"

Buck smirked and shook his head. "It's not what you think."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: heh heh…that's what they all say."

"Where is the princess?" Minar asked.

"She was just getting into the shower when I came down."

"The guy from the security desk came in a few minutes ago. He said the background checks have come in."

Buck glanced at Biron. "Great. We get to find out if you are who you say you are."

As soon as Ardala came downstairs, they all went to the security office. Newtrino looked up when he saw Ardala and Buck. He quickly stood and saluted the princess.

"I have the information you requested."

Ardala simply waved absently. "Give it to Buck," she almost whispered. "And try not to salute so loudly."

Newtrino cocked his head to one side, glanced at Buck. He grinned and leaned over to talk softly to the security officer.

"A couple too many auroras," he explained.

Newtrino nodded knowingly. "Been there." He sat back down and pulled up some information from his computer. A picture of Biron appeared on the monitor.

"This is Biron Hillanby. He is who he said he was. He is an archeologist at the National University of B'Linta at Docker. He has been listed as 'missing' for the past three months."

He brought up another picture and displayed it beside that of Biron. "This is his sister, Lach'et Hillanby."

Buck nodded. "Not the woman who came with us."

"No. This is the real Lach'et. B'Lintan authorities found her dead body about three days ago."

"No!" Biron cried. He slumped down into a nearby chair. "She can't be!"

The security officer shook his head. "I am sorry, sir. There can be no doubt. Preliminary reports suggest she may have been dead for two weeks before her body was recovered three days ago. They haven't determined a cause of death, yet."

The monitor went blank for a moment before a picture of the imposter Lach'et filled the screen. "This is the woman who assumed Lach'et's identity. I could not find anything on her through normal sources. I checked all security records available from every known world in both the inner core and the outer rim. I even checked records from planets that have no diplomatic relations with Draconia. She simply did not exist."

"How is that possible?"

"I asked the same thing. I had the idea that maybe my clearance wasn't high enough, so I gained access to Princess Ardala's clearance level code, I apologize Princess," he looked back at the slumping princess.

She just gave a backhand wave of her hand, closed her eyes again.

Newtrino tapped the computer and new picture popped up. Again he displayed the two pictures side by side. The second picture looked nothing like her picture as Lach'et. "Her name is Rapel Surnia. She is Arcturan, as far as I can tell. She is a master of disguise and a hired assassin."

Ardala opened her eyes partially to glimpse the picture. Suddenly her eyes opened fully and her demeanor picked up. "I know her! I've seen her before, in the royal courts of Draconia!"

He nodded. "I'm sure you have, Highness. She is Emperor Draco's Minister of Covert Operations, and one of his mistresses."

"No!"

"I'm afraid so, Princess. Apparently Emperor Draco gave her orders to assassinate both Biron and Lach'et."

"And when she couldn't find Biron, she assumed Lach'et's identity after killing her in order to get to Biron," Buck surmised.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what a furkle."

"Twiki, such language," Buck scolded.

"But why?" Ardala asked. "Why would my father want them dead?"

Biron stood up. "I may be able to explain that. I was hesitant to say anything before, what with the princess of the people who are trying to kill me here, and all. But I guess I don't have much choice anymore."

"Don't worry," Buck said. "We'll protect you. Ardala is one of us, now."

Ardala smiled sweetly. "You really think so, Buck?"

Buck indicated for Biron to explain. "My position as head archeologist of the National University allowed me to petition the Draconian Court for special permission to enter the inner core. I've been researching the origin of pyramids throughout the galaxy. No one has ever been able to explain why pyramids show up on nearly every civilized world in the know galaxy, both within the inner core and the outer rim, and planets not associated with Draconia. I have a working theory on that, which I'm not ready to reveal yet. But I had heard about the relatively new discovery of pyramids here on Remian Four, so I petitioned the court for special permission to come here and study them."

Ardala nodded once. "Yes, they were discovered about fifteen years ago on the southern continent."

"Yes. About six months ago I received my permission and I came to Remian Four."

"Is that where you found the medallion?" Buck asked.

He paused briefly before acknowledging. "Yes, it is. It is highly illegal to remove artifacts from the dig sites, especially without letting the proper officials know that you had found something. But when I found the medallion, I happened to be by myself for a brief period of time. I didn't recognize much of the inscription, but what I did scared me."

"The reference to the ultimate weapon?"

"Yes. Needless to say, I was intrigued… and afraid. I thought that if this medallion led to an ultimate weapon, then the Draconians should be the last people to know about it, especially Draco, no offense to the Princess."

Ardala sighed painfully. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"I wanted to study it some more, but it was too dangerous to keep it here with me. So I sent it in a package to my sister back on B'Linta so I could study it back at the university. I thought I had been extra careful, but somehow someone must have found out about it. I found my life in danger, so I had to disappear. I tried to warn Lach'et… but I guess this Rapel woman found her anyway."

"So Rapel killed your sister, took the medallion, then used me to get to Remian Four so she could finish you off," Buck deduced.

"I wish I'd never found that stupid medallion."

"If you hadn't found it, then someone else would have," Buck argued. "Then we'd all be in terrible danger. Speaking of, we should go see Buffin and see if he's done translating it yet."

"Wait," Newtrino said. "Princess, can I talk to you privately for a moment?"

"Why?"

"It's about… your security."

She nodded. Buck started to leave, but she grabbed his arm. "Buck, I want you to stay here."

Once everyone else was out in the hallway, Buck and Ardala turned to Newtrino. "I intercepted a coded transmission yesterday afternoon."

"What kind of coded transmission?" Buck asked.

He tapped a button and Emperor Draco's face appeared on the monitor. "A message from my father?"

"Not exactly. It was a message to your father. We were unable to unscramble the source of the message to him, but we were able to decode his replies. Here, listen."

He smiled. "Ahh, I was just thinking of you. Were you successful in your mission?"

A pause. His eyes narrowed. "Did you say palace? Why would he go there if he knows we're after him?"

A pause. "Which one of my daughters?"

A pause. The emperor sighed heavily. "Does this man have a name?"

A pause. He shook his head. "Of course."

A pause. "I know of him. He is trouble. Big trouble. Do you at least have the medallion?"

A pause. "Of course she did," he said as he rolled his eyes.

A pause. "Eliminate him," he ordered without hesitation.

A pause. Draco took a deep breath and slowly released it. "No one is going to stand in my way or prevent me from getting this ultimate weapon of the Bisonetties. I am getting tired of Ardala countermanding my orders for her own personal gain. If she wants a fight on her hands with me, then she'll have one. If my daughter gets in the way and refuses to get out of the way, deal with her in any way you see fit."

The screen went blank and Newtrino turned to face Ardala whose face had turned blank and white as a ghost. She turned her head slowly toward Buck. "I don't believe it!" she cried. "My father just told this woman to… kill…me!"
Buck put both arms around her neck and pulled her close. "It won't happen," he promised. "I won't let it. I'll protect you."

She buried her head into his chest and sobbed for many long minutes. Finally she regained enough composure to stand on her own again. "You want to go lie down for a while?" Buck asked. "I can go see Buffin without you."

She shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "No, I'm okay. Let's go see Buffin. We need to find this weapon before my father does."

They exited the security office and joined everyone else in the hallway. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: what's wrong, Buck?"

"Nothing, Twiki."

Ardala nudged him slightly. "You can tell them. I'm over it."

"Are you sure? Okay. Emperor Draco has put a hit out on both me and Ardala."

"Your father wants to kill you?" Biron asked incredulously.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: that's cold."

"Yeah," Buck muttered. "Colder than Bertram in the middle of the night."

Minar nodded. "So what are we going to do about this?"

"Nothing changes," Buck said firmly. "We find this floating palace, and then the weapon. Then we deal with Draco. Right now we need to get to the study and see if Buffin is done with the translation."

They went up the stairs to the study and found the old man sitting at his desk. He looked up and his eyes immediately beamed with anticipation.

"There you all are," he said excitedly. "I have finished my translation!"

"Great!" Buck said. "What's it say?"

"This medallion gave me many problems, many problems. There are three languages, or dialects written here. This side is written in ancient Bisonettie language, which is what ancient Draconian is based upon. This side is also Bisonettie, but it is a different dialect, one that is more similar to ancient Bertram."

"Wait, you said there were three languages?" Minar asked.

"Yes. There is a third language here, it actually appears on both sides. I was unable to translate that part, but it appears to be unrelated to the actual location of the destination on the medallion."

"Destination?" Biron asked.

"Yes. This medallion is a road map. Here, let me give you what I have."

Search the Floating Palace when the moon is in the sun

When summer first turns to fall and the land below becomes cold

Read the map aloud to reveal the pyramid in the sea of sand

In the shadow of the valley of the four mountain peaks

Locked in another dimension the palace awaits

For the proper time to appear

But be prepared to face the enemy of ancient ages

If you wish to claim the ultimate weapon of the Businetties.

Buck cocked his head to one side. "That's great. Now what's it all mean?"

Buffin shook his head from side to side. "I wish I knew."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: back to the drawing board."