Cost of a Crown (Book 1)

Two Brothers

Chapter Six: A Strange Visitor

At first it just looked like a comet.

Just a line of orange light with a brown tail streaking across the sky.

But as it descended down on the planet, the orange comet turned into a ball of fire with a plume of smoke trailing behind it. A sonic boom rocked the air, heralding its crash.

Minutes later, a craft barreled into the ground. Digging a deep track in the Fertile Plains as it scraped over the ground. Throwing up dirt and tall grass. Finally, it came to rest under a pile of its own thrown-up debris. Dirt and grass from the plains, and bits of the craft itself that were dislodged during the descent.

Frightened villagers called the royal guard in Eternos, and the royal guard -Captain Duncan- woke Prince Randor.

Strange crafts from beyond the stars falling to Eternia -and falling to Eternia close to the capital- seemed like something someone in charge should know about.

Duncan intended just to give Randor a quick report to make sure he was appraised of the situation, then head out to meet Dekker and the rest of the guard out by the crash site. He was not expecting Randor to jump out of bed, get dressed in a hurry, grab his sword, and invite himself along to investigate the fallen craft.

"You really don't need to." Duncan assured him as Randor was already climbing into a Wind Raider. "In fact, I think you're not even supposed to. You're the last member of the royal family left in the city. I can't bring you into an unknown situation. What if you got hurt?"

"I can defend myself." Randor assured him, patting the hilt of his sword over his shoulder. "And I can't just sit in chairs the whole time Keldor's gone. I need to do something. Let me intercept aliens with you."

All men in the House of Miro were stubborn. Duncan knew this. Arguing with Randor was pointless.

That was how the Prince ended up standing between Duncan and Dekker, on the edge of the long track the craft had carved into the landscape when it crashed.

The outer hull of the craft looked blackened, like it was burnt up as if fell to the planet. But the original color under the burn looked to be a shade of white, or a color just off from white. It had tapered wings on the sides, but they looked too short in comparison to the length of the craft to have been able to function well in an atmosphere. There was a crest on each wing, something none of them recognized. A blue circle with an arching red flourish, overlayed with four characters of a language none of them had ever seen before.

"Where do you think it came from?" Duncan asked Dekker.

Dekker only shrugged. He didn't know. Eternia was aware of the existence of other worlds. And it stood to reason that if there were other worlds, then there were other peoples on those words. But they had never met anyone from those worlds. Eternia hadn't even visited their own moons.

"What if there's people inside." Randor sounded concerned.

He jumped down the embankment, sliding on the loose dirt of the slope, and ran to the craft.

Randor didn't know anything about the craft or where its entrances might be. At first, he tried making his way in through one of the three tunnel-like cylinders in what he assumed was the aft section. After a quick try, though, he realized that they were not an entrance and in fact some sort of jet or thruster. Like they had on the Wind Raiders, but much, much larger.

Walking around the side and examining the charred shell, Randor instead found a hatch. Mostly rectangle shaped, but with the corners rounded off, and it was just the right size for a creature roughly the size of an average human.

He tried the hatch. It didn't open at first. So Randor drew his sword and used it as a pry-bar to leverage the hatch open.

There was the hiss of air as the pressure inside the craft equalized with the pressure inside the craft. Randor had the sudden and terrifying though of where or not the aliens inside could breathe Eternian air, or if he'd just killed them by trying to save there. But there was only one way to find out.

Randor stepped inside the craft.

"What in the Goddess' name is he doing?" Dekker asked as he and Duncan watched their Prince take point.

"Putting himself in unnecessary danger." Duncan growled at his mentor. Being Randor's friend was fun and easy. Being his bodyguard was impossibly nerve-racking and hard.

Jumping down the slope, following almost the same path Randor took, Duncan followed his Prince down to the craft and followed him inside the hatch.

It was tight inside. The walls narrow and close together, the ceilings short. Every wall was covered in what looked like screens, or readout consoles, and their corresponding key pads or typing boards. It must have all be standing room only because there were chairs of places to sit at the consoles. Only grab-bars, spaced less than a meter apart.

Randor followed the corridor heading for the nose of the craft, and Duncan followed Randor.

There was a person aboard.

Dressed in an orange jumpsuit. Not like the leotards that were common clothing on Eternia which left legs and often times the arms exposed. This jumpsuit covered everything from their collar down to their boots, long sleeves and long legged. With black gloves covering their hands, the gloves looking like they snapped into the sleeve of the jumpsuit forming a seal. It was the same with the boots. The solid looking work boots they were wearing were similarly sealed together with the pant legs of the jumpsuit.

The helmet and vizor they wore over their head, however, was not sealed.

Randor reached up to lift the helmet from their head.

"Don't!" Duncan tried snapping.

But it was too late. Randor lifted the helmet off the alien's head.

They were both of them surprised to see the face of another human. They would have thought that a strange visitor from beyond the stars would look nothing like them. But this person was definitely human.

Female from the general features in the face, of course he couldn't fully conclude that until they woke up and could share their pronouns. With pale skin like they hadn't seen the light of a sun in a long time, but was still dotted with tiny brown freckles over their nose and cheeks. And red hair, flaming red hair, redder than Duncan's hair was red. It was cut short and after just coming out of a helmet was sticking out in all odd directions.

There was a slight bump on their forehead where they must have hit their head on something in the cockpit. Hence their current unconscious state. It was a lucky thing they were wearing their helmet because if it was strong enough to knock them out with the armor on, then the blow definitely would have killed them had they not been wearing their helmet.

While Randor was busy staring at the alien's face, Duncan fiddled with one of the gloves until he was able to figure out the seal that connected it to the sleeve of the suit. He pulled the glove off and pushed the hem of the sleeve up enough to be able to lay two fingers flat against the inside of their wrist, checking a pulse.

"They're still alive." Duncan announced.

"And they're breathing." Randor added, he was close enough he could feel it on the stubble on his chin. "We need to get them to the palace. They need a healer."

Randor began unclasping the crash harnesses that kept the alien bound to their chair.

"You don't even know what they are or why they came to Eternia!" Duncan pointed out.

"I know they're injured and need help." Randor informed him. "That should be enough."

…

With a burst of adrenaline, Lieutenant Marlena Glenn started awake. Her mind picking up right where it left off, thinking she was still in the midst of a crash. She catapulted up into a sitting position and threw her arms up to shield her face.

Only after a moment of absolutely nothing happening did Marlena realize that she was not still crashing and, in fact, was not even on her shuttle at all.

Lowering her arms, Marlena looked around, not recognizing her surroundings.

She was in a bed. A very large bed, a soft luxury mattress in an ornately carved frame with tall bedposts. Definitely not standard issue. This was not any version of an Earth colony or outpost.

Pushing back the blankets and crawling out of bed, Marlena noted that her flight suit had been removed. She was wearing only her thank-top, panties, and socks. Alarmed, she gave herself a quick pat down to make sure nothing else was amiss. If whoever -or whatever she supposed- had found her had removed her clothes while she was unconscious, it was possible they might have done other things to her while she was unconscious.

All she found were bandages covering a number of superficial cuts over her body, and one large bandage on her forehead, off to one side. She prodded it with a finger and was rewarded with an immense pain lancing through her skull. That was probably the cause of her blackout and the reason she was waking up in a place with no memory of how she got there.

Raising her eyes, Marlena examined the room she was in. The large bed wasn't the only thing of luxury in the room. The carpet was thick and fuzzy, her socks dug into the fibers, leaving behind footprints. There was a door off to one side.

Padding across the room, Marlena opened it to discover a tiled floor, marble counter with a basin in the middle, a porcelain tub, and a… uh, a chamber pot with a velvet upholstered chair back? Upon closer inspection, Marlina discovered that it was not a chamber pot. It was just shaped like one. It was a flush toilet. Indoor plumbing and everything. A tassel on a gold-colored cord dangled at about eye-level if she were sitting on the pot, and a quick tug of the cord confirmed that it did, indeed, flush. This was a bathroom.

She went back to the main room.

There was another door, almost facing the bed. When she opened this one, she discovered that it opened out into a hallway. She went back into the room. Marlena was not about to start wandering aimlessly around… wherever she was. Not until she knew where she was, or what kind of situation she was in.

Clearly, Marlena was not a prisoner. Her door was not locked, she was not trapped in the space they set aside for her. And she wasn't restrained or cuffed in any way. But just because she wasn't a prisoner didn't mean she was safe.

The only other exit from her room was a set of double doors, a wooden frame with an almost French design, inlayed with glass. Opening them, Marlena stepped out onto a balcony. Stone, polished to an almost shine, she imagined it was probably very slippery when wet. There wasn't much else of note on the balcony. Except the view.

Marlena couldn't help the gasp that escaped her. Crossing the balcony to rest her hands on the railing made of the same stone as the rest of it.

She stood looking out over a large city. With tall buildings, most made of white stone, the largest ones with domed roofs covered in gold leaf and shining in the sun. Streets paved in yet more stone. Roads winding and intersecting on random and curving paths. Clearly, the city was not built with much civic planning in mind. There was almost no gridding to speak of. Marlena's vantagepoint was so high up, she had to be in what might be the tallest building in the city.

Of course, Marlena still didn't know where she was.

Only way to find that out was to explore. For that she needed clothes.

Marlena went back into the room. There was a wardrobe, but when she opened it, she discovered it was empty. She had no clothes. She wasn't locked in the room, but without clothing where could she go? She was as good as locked in this room until someone came to get her.

…

Dekker had the craft dug out from where it had crashed and dragged to Eternos to be studied.

Orius, the head scientist of the court was given the task of examining the crafts and -hopefully- understanding it and its pilot.

Duncan was not really a scientist; he was an armature at best. But he did have an interest in the scientific method, experimentation, and mechanics, so he volunteered to guard the craft while Orius worked on it.

"This thing is almost all engines!" Duncan exclaimed as he watched Orius take apart the massive craft.

"It needs it to get off the planet." Orius informed him.

"That can't be right." Duncan continued to stare at the craft. "Our Wind Raiders only have one small thruster, and they don't have any problems getting off the ground."

"Our Wind Raiders are small lightweight craft, and they aren't breaking free of a planet's pull." Orius explained. "Plus, it looks like this thing runs off a different kind of fuel than what we use."

Just as he said this, Orius released the pressure valve on a tank and was sprayed with some kind of fluid.

Duncan rushed to his side.

"No, don't come any closer." Orius threw his hands up, the picture of messy calm. "I'm covered in a highly volatile element. It seems they use liquid hydrogen as propellant."

"Hydrogen?" Duncan echoed. "The unstable gas?"

"Gimme a sec." Orius picked up a bucket from the worktable where he had all his tools and some parts laid out. Orius dumped the bucket over his head, dousing himself with water.

Duncan just stared at him, unsure if that was the best approach to dealing with a highly volatile propellant.

"What?" Orius shrugged at him. "Water is, like, two thirds hydrogen already."

"I don't- I don't think that's how that's supposed to work." Duncan admitted. But, then again, he wasn't really an Eternian scientist, he was just a dabbler who liked to take apart his Wind Raider and put it back together to see how the pieces all worked together. Sometimes he liked to tinker and build his own simple inventions. But he wasn't on the same level as Orius.

The scientist only shrugged, and massaged his neck. "Well, if everything blows up, you can tell me 'I told you so'."

"If the palace blows up, I'm sure telling you 'I told you so' will be the least of my priorities." Duncan promised.

"The palace is blowing up now?"

Orius dropped to one knee in a bow, just as Duncan turned around at the voice.

Randor stood behind him.

"Ran- uh, Your Highness." Duncan also offered a respectful bow, although he did not go all the way to the floor. "I thought you would still be in meetings."

"The arrival of a visitor from beyond the stars has stirred up a lot of things." Randor announced by way of explanation. "Lots of people are concerned for what this might mean for Eternia and even more of them are scared. I was hoping Orius might be able to tell me something that could put their fears at ease. Orius, get up off the floor!" To Duncan he added, "This is only my first stop. After I check in here, I was going to go see if the strange visitor themself has woken up yet."

"I don't want you alone in a room with a strange visitor from another planet." Duncan informed him flatly.

"Then come with me." Randor shrugged. "Be the big strong hero with a trouble past and brooding nature that that has to protect the fair wilting flower prince with a pure heart and gentle spirit."

Randor did an overly dramatic impression of fainting and fell into Duncan's arms.

"Get off me!" Duncan also noted that Randor had not taken his sword off since they pulled the seemingly alien-human from their craft.

"You're right." Randor straightened. "If Keldor were here he'd be all stiff and constipated about everything."

"Didn't you come here to ask Orius something!" Duncan snapped.

The scientist was waiting patiently for the Prince to finish… whatever the hell it was he was doing with the Captain of the guard. When he noticed that they were finally giving him their attention, Orius did have some answers to offer.

"I can assure you that this was not a war vessel." He began. "There are not exterior weapons. However, it was not a people carrier either. There is little to no seating room. Just the two chairs in the cockpit, which I assume they also slept in as I've found no bunk or other sleeping quarters yet. If you asked me to formulate a hypothesis right now before completing my examination, I'd say this was probably an exploration vessel."

Randor nodded. Just an explorer. That was good. "Thank you, Orius."

He turned to leave the hanger and Duncan fell into step behind him. If Randor really was going to see the alien next, then he wanted to be there to protect his friend.

They placed the alien in a hastily made-up room in the guest wing of the palace.

Count Marzo met them at the landing atop the stairs.

"Your Highness," he bowed politely, "I understand you might not be as comfortable handling sensitive situations such as these without your brother, and I've come to offer my assistance."

Next to Randor, Duncan's nose crinkled. How would Marzo be any better equipped than Randor -than any Eternian for that matter- for dealing with an alien? Eternia had never been visited by off-worlders in the current era. It was said that the Cave Dwellers and Gar once immigrated to Eternia from other worlds, but that was ages ago. During the Preternia Era. Before the monarchy, then each territory governed itself independently with only minor intervention from a planetary Council of Elders.

No one who was alive today had any experience meeting an alien.

But Randor did not share Duncan's skeptical mind. He welcomed Count Marzo's help and took the offer at face value.

"We were just heading there now." Randor nodded.

He led both Duncan and Marzo down the corridor to the room he had the alien confined to. Randor was about to open the door when Duncan stopped him.

"We're dealing with an unknown creature here, Your Highness." He reminded his friend. "Better let me go first."

Duncan eased the door open slowly. Then paused when he noted that the bed they left the unconscious alien sleeping in was empty.

No sooner did he have the chance to register this, however, than something came striking out from behind the door and impacted his boot right at the ankle. It wasn't enough to cause damage, but it was enough to cause him to lose his balance. Duncan went down. As he was falling, he caught sight of the alien, hiding behind the door, her leg poised to deal another kick.

Duncan was already rolling out of the way by the time his body hit the floor.

"Stay back!" He called the to the Prince and Count still standing in the corridor. "They're awake! And they're hostile!"

The alien jumped on Duncan, pinning him to the floor.

Randor did not stay back. He rushed in to help his friend. "Let him go!"

But he didn't do much else than shout at them. The alien had his friend pinned as their hostage, and Randor didn't know what kind of powers this person from beyond the stars had. They looked human. But that didn't mean they were human. Even if they were human, they could be a powerful sorcerer and possess terrifying magic. Randor didn't know.

The alien spoke, but their language was unfamiliar to him and Randor didn't understand a word of it.

"What?"

Their eyes flashed with recognition that if they were going to communicate, it wasn't going to be in words. The alien cast their eyes around the room, looking for something to indicate their meaning.

They brought their wrists together, the expression on their face questioning.

"You're arms hurt?" Randor asked.

"As the person they just took down, I'm willing to believe that they're in good health." Duncan commented dryly. To the alien he asked, "You want wrist guards or bracers?"

The alien only stared at them with incomprehension. With the language barrier, there was no way to know if Randor and Duncan understood what they were trying to communicate, even if they did understand. Which, at the moment, they did not.

Marzo placed a hand on Randor's shoulder. "If you'll permit me, Your Highness, I know a spell for understanding."

Nodding, Randor stepped out of the doorway to let Marzo through.

He raised his hands above the alien and muttered an incantation. His hands glowed with the power of his spell, and the alien's throat and ears glowed golden for half a moment. They placed a hand to each, feeling an odd sensation as the spell took effect.

The next time the alien opened their mouth, they all understood. "What the hell was that!?"

All three Eternians breathed a sigh of relief.

"We can understand each other now." Randor smiled as if this solved every problem in the world.

"You speak English!" The alien stared gape-mouthed up at him.

"We're actually speaking Standardized Eternian Common." Marzo informed her. "But you are hearing the language that is most familiar to you."

"You fell on our world last night and I took you back here to have your injury treated." Randor cut in. "I'm Randor, well, Prince Randor, actually. This here is Count Marzo, he's pretty handy with spells in a pinch, used to be a big war hero. And the guy you've pinned to the ground is my Captain of the guard and I'd really appreciate it if you let him up, please."

The alien looked down at the Captain of the guard they were holding hostage. They did not let him up.

"Am I a prisoner here?" They demanded.

"No." Randor assured her.

Duncan looked up and met Marzo's eyes. They did not agree on much, but they did both agree that keeping the alien confined to the room was probably wise for right now. Maybe after they knew more about their visitor, Randor could give them free reign of the palace and city. But not right now.

"Where are my clothes?" The alien asked.

"They had to be cut off you when you were patched up." Randor explained. "I can have new ones made for you." A pause. "If you let my Captain up."

Still the alien did not release their hostage. "And my ship? What did you do with my ship?"

"It's also here." Randor promised. "Close by, down in the hanger. My people are studying it."

There was the beat of a pause. The alien just stared at Randor, studying him. Taking in his fur-trimmed boots and bare legs, the fur loincloth and orange tunic, more fur on the shoulders, and just the slightest stubbled of a beard that hadn't quite grown out yet.

They didn't know what the alien saw in their study of the Prince, but they did release Duncan. Letting him go and crawling off of him so that they could both could stand on their own.

Duncan practically jumped back to his feet, placing himself between his Prince and the alien.

"We still don't know who you are." He reminded the room. "We brought you back here and treated your wounds. I think we've proven that we mean you know harm. But what assurances do we have from you?"

They looked startled for a second. As if it hadn't even occurred to them that these big, muscular, tough looking men, might be afraid of them.

"Oh." They said, a little taken aback. "I'm from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration." As if that meant anything to any of them. "I'm Lieutenant Marlena Glenn."

…