Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Far Beyond the World

Part XXXII - Six of One

Within the stark depths of the Star System called Sol...

Fifteen Draconian Star Fortresses, the largest number of them ever assembled into a single armada, hung in high orbit above the third planet, while from each of them, like a cloud of expanding mites, blasted forth their crew.

Twenty-nine thousand, four hundred and twelve warriors in total.

Each jagged arrowhead-shaped Star Fortress had a total of thirty-eight airlocks, and all of them had opened at the same moment, and every inner door on the fifteen giant vessels had opened as well, and in less then six seconds nearly every being aboard the armada had been sucked bodily out into the deadly vacuum, all of them screaming silently to their gods as they went hurtling out into the black.

But their pleas went unheard and all of them died, leaving only one of the capital battlecruisers with a handful of people still aboard. The 'lucky' vessel was the Conquest, the lead Star Fortress of the Draconian Earth invasion force. During the mass slaughter, two of her chambers had remained sealed, protecting the beings within.

Saved from frozen death were her Bridge, upon which the armada's Warlord Kane and his leige Princess Ardala, First Daughter of King Draco, stood in silent horror, watching the uncountable points of tiny light flowing away from their fleet in all directions. Some bodies fell under the sway of Earth's gravity well and were sucked down into the upper atmosphere to burn into particles of ash within seconds, but the bulk of the murdered warriors surged out into space, an eternal testament to the absolute power of the cold, calculating artificial mind that had sent them back to their maker without hesitation.

Eleven.

That was the number of Draconians still alive on the Conquest's Bridge. Kane. Ardala. Two of her bodyguards. The remaining six were the Command Crew still on duty, and a Yeoman who had arrived just a minute before with the Princess's afternoon tea. The heady herbal concoction had long since ceased to steam upon the bejeweled serving tray, and in the slight man's wizened grip the porcelain cup was rattling softly as he stared with wide eyes out a nearby portal. The body of a deck hand bumped against it, his face a frozen rictus of open-mouthed agony and terror that stared back at the simple servant for the longest two seconds of his life, then it rotated away and slowly floated off into space, where two hundred thousand years later it would be swallowed up by the turbulent atmosphere of Jupiter.

"Stop that." snapped the Princess at the rattling tea cup, but only half-heartedly. For the first time in her decadent life she felt a coldness gripping her, an alien sensation to her opulent countenance.

"Y-Your Highness...?" asked the Yeoman, his voice a rasp as he continued to stare out through the portal.

"Slaugh, isn't it?" she inquired softly.

"Y-Yes, Highness."

"Slaugh, put the tray down on that console over there then go sit down."

"Yes, Pr-Princess. Thank-you." and he did as she bade, ending the soft clatter that had been assailing her ears.

Ardala turned back to the Main Screen and took a deep breath. So, this is what helplessness feels like. Can't say I like it...

She glanced at Kane, but his face was a stony mask, his mustached upper lip pursed to the bottom one. He'll be useless trying to negotiate with whoever it is that has taken us over, she decided, Kane won't handle it right. He'll be too full of bile and hatred, he will trip up and get us killed like all the others. No, this situation needs the firm experienced grip of royalty. One dictator to another, as it were...

So she turned toward the Communications console and fixed her gaze upon the closest speaker grid, inhaled deeply again and did her best to quell the thrum of the heart beating in her throat.

"Who am I addressing?"

There was a long pause, then "I am Crichton, Princess."

"You know me?"

"Indeed. You are First Daughter of the King Draco, absolute master of the Draconian Dynasty. I have detailed files on you."

"You have me at a loss then. I do not know who you are."

"Again, my name is Crichton."

"Yes, you told me. But who are you, exactly? I apologize, Crichton, but I have never heard of you before."

"That is understandable, Princess. I am only recently arrived upon Earth."

"Ah. So you are a great conqueror, come to seize our victory from us. But if you held such power, Crichton, why did you not first attempt to negotiate with the Dynasty? We recognize strength and great ability, we would have welcomed you into our ranks-"

"Princess..." growled Kane, his hackles rising at the respectful tone she was using with the mass murderer of so many of their warriors.

"One moment please, Crichton." she requested.

"Of course, Princess." came his polite reply and she muted her side of the channel, then looked to the Warlord.

"You will be silent! Do you understand?"

"What?! But-"

"Kane! Be SILENT!"

"But our people! He killed them! He-"

"No. He did not, Kane. YOU killed them."

The Warlord gaped at her as if she'd gone mad, "What are you talking about!"

"This armada was under your discretion and you allowed it's entire man-force to be slaughtered in one fell swoop. It was under your watch that they died, Kane, and I will not allow you to kill the rest of us."

"Princess! I-"

"Guards!" she flicked her hand and her two remaining defenders drew their blasters and levelled them at the Warlord. Kane scowled darkly and fell silent.

That finished, Ardala turned back to the speaker and turned off mute, "I apologize for that, Crichton. It won't happen again."

Again there was a long pause before the being answered, as if he was handling other duties and communicating with her was of secondary importance.

The tide shall turn against this one, this I swear, and he shall be made to pay for this incredible insult in a cruel fashion unparalleled in the annals of torture. But the first task here is survive, and revenge must wait for a proper opprotun-

"You will not be revenged upon me." the male voice finally spoke and the Princess blinked in surprise.

"What? No, I-"

"Please do not bother with 'pleasantries', Princess, I have studied you and your people in great detail." said Crichton, his tone one of smugness, "Let us be realistic. You are beaten and I am the one who beat you. You wish to avenge yourself upon me, and when I tell you it is not possible, you should believe me. It will be the difference between continued survival on your part, and a cold death out between the stars."

"But-"

"No." he replied coolly and Ardala couldn't help but shiver, "I am in complete control of your fate now, Princess. In fact, I always have been."

Her brow furrowed beneath the thin platinum circlet of royal office she wore upon her head, "What do you mean?"

"I was the one who sent the path through Earth's Defense Shield to you. I was the one who shut down their ground-based defences."

"You were?!"

"Yes." Crichton replied, his smugness level rising by the second, "I gave you a great gift, Princess, I granted you what you long sought: the conquest of Earth. Pity if you did not expect to pay a price equal to the boon."

"Indeed..." she scowled darkly and fought the urge to slam her fists down upon the console, "But again, there was no need to do what you did. We could have negotiated."

"No."

"And why not?"

"Because it was not your people I wanted, it was your vessels."

She frowned, "Our armada?"

"Yes."

"But it is useless now, it has no crew."

"I don't require one, Princess." and the Environmental console came alive on Ardala's right, and throughout the Conquest, and the rest of the fleet, all the doors slid shut again, including all the exposed airlocks. Recyclers hummed across the armada and ten seconds later oxygen and heat returned, making the interior of the Fortresses livable once more.

"Ah...thank-you?" offered Ardala.

"No need, as I only did it to facilitate the next phase of my operation."

"Which is?"

"It is three fold." declared Crichton, "Firstly, now you can access your Launch."

"I--I can?"

"Yes. It is primed and waiting for you, Princess. Take your everybody on your Bridge with you and return to the Dynasty."

"And why should I do this?" she demanded.

"Because if you do not do so immediately, I will eject you all into space."

"But-"

"You have ten seconds to exit the Bridge."

"But I-"

"Nine...eight..."

"Fine!" and turning on her heel, she stalked away toward the exit. She waved angrily at the rest of her people and they filed up behind her.

"Not Kane." commanded Crichton over the speaker.

The Princess paused for a moment, "Why not Kane?"

"He is dangerous and I don't want him alive to seek vengeance upon me. Not that he ever could, but I don't believe in leaving loose ends."

"Whatever." Ardala snorted, "You can have him, he serves no purpose anymore."

The Warlord watched them go with a scathing glare and when the last of them had filed out, the desperately happy to be surviving Yeoman Slaugh, the door slid shut of it's own accord and locked. Fifteen seconds later the Launch detached from the Conquest and set off at it's highest possible speed out of the Sol System. Kane watched it go on the Tactical Screen, and when it had at last vanished from Scanners he turned toward the Communications console and addressed his executioner.

"Crichton...?"

"Yes?"

The mustached human took a deep breath, then folded arms across his chest and...smiled.

"Well done. You carried out your part of the plan flawlessly."

The brilliant Ambuquad actually chuckled over the line, "As did you, Kane, as did you."

And Killer Kane threw back his head and laughed in delighted triumph!

To be continued...