The Rat Garrison led by Justin and Brutus hurriedly made their way through the dark of night towards where they had seen the pod come in to land. After losing Josh's signal hours ago, Nicodemus had ordered the army to get ready to move out, in a last-ditch effort to get him out of there. Then, the familiar sound of Josh's flying machine was heard on the horizon. Their human friend had made it!
While the soldiers kept curious peasants and other spectators at bay, Justin and Brutus approached the grounded craft. The pod's blast-tubes were still smoking hot, turning the cold night air thick with mist. The hatch was open, so they had no trouble reaching inside the cockpit. The sight of the battered Josh lying unconscious and bleeding in his seat, cradling the similarly unconscious Timothy Brisby on his lap, made both battle-hardened Rats cringe.
"Help me move him out! Quick!"
They lifted Josh out of the pod and laid him down on the ground to get a better look at his injuries, while another Rat took Timmy. The man wasn't moving, his face white as marble and as cold, but luckily he was still breathing. Undoing his spacesuit and overalls, the Rats gasped at the sight of the ugly stab wound in Josh's side, which was still oozing out blood, about to send him into shock. This was bad.
"Someone get a physician here fast!" yelled Justin, "Get Mr Ages, anyone...!"
But Brutus, who had seen enough battle wounds in his life to know that by the time they got him back to the City he would have surely bled to death, didn't hesitate. Drawing a dagger from his belt, he held the blade against the flame of the torch a Rat soldier beside him was holding, turning it red-hot. Then, he pressed it against the wound.
Had Josh still been conscious, he would have almost certainly passed out from the agonising pain of Brutus' dagger cauterising his wound closed. Brutus withdrew the dagger, leaving a patch of smoking, sizzled skin, but no more blood flow. The wound had been fused shut, stopping the bleeding. If sepsis didn't set in, the man would live.
Placing the now stabilised Josh on a stretcher, the Rats carried him back towards the City. Several soldiers escorted away the Brisby children, Fievel, Bridget and Tony, who were all exhausted and hungry but overjoyed to be free again, their ordeal finally over. Excited whispers could be heard among the many spectators watching. That Nimh human, which most of them, until quite recently, had regarded as a threat, had accomplished the impossible!
The only one not pleased with Josh's safe return was Jenner, who was watching from afar with Sullivan. His face contorted with rage, realising his plan of getting that miserable human under his control had failed, he turned and stormed away, cursing.
Elizabeth was waiting with Nicodemus in the King's study, where she'd spent the good part of the last couple of days, without food or sleep, waiting for news. Would Josh find her children? Were they all right? Was he all right? Fretting with worry, she struggled to calm her nerves, hating to appear weak in front of the King. At that moment, the door opened.
"Mother!"
"Oh, my darlings! My darlings!" cried Elizabeth, leaping to her feet with joy as her children ran across the room, jumping into her embrace. All of them were dirty, bruised and looked none the worse for wear, but alive and safe. "Thank the Great Owl! I thought I'd never see you again!" She broke down crying with relief.
"It's all right, Mother, we're all right," said Teresa, embracing her mother, "Well, Timmy not so much..." It was then Elizabeth noticed her youngest son's absence.
"Oh, my goodness, where's Timmy? Is he all right?"
"They've taken him to the infirmary. The royal physician and Mr Ages are working on him and Josh right now," said Justin, entering behind them with Fievel, "He's very ill, but we think he'll be all right."
"You should have seen Josh, Mother," interrupted Martin, "He beat all those douche-bag Exiles like they were nothing!" Elizabeth didn't even bother telling her son to watch his language, once again on edge with worry.
"What happened to Josh? Is he all right?"
"It seems that scumbag Castor got him with a knife," explained Justin grimly. Elizabeth gasped. "But don't worry, he'll be all right – only thanks to Brutus." Elizabeth felt she owed the burly Rat, who had so far been anything but friendly towards Josh, an enormous gratitude. But first she needed to find out how Josh and her son were doing.
"Can I see them please?"
"Just as soon as Old Goat has finished tending to them," said Justin. Mr Ages was a fine physician, but he didn't appreciate visitors getting in his way while he was tending to his patients. It was then that Elizabeth began to notice the evidence of her children's terrible ordeal.
"Martin! What happened to your back?" she gasped, noticing the bloody ribbons on her eldest son's back, courtesy of Moe's whip. "And your face, Teresa!" she added, noticing the bruises on her cheeks and about her neck, from where the sadistic jailor had held her whilst trying to force himself on her.
"That big bad Rat tied us up and scared us, Mama!" sniffled Cynthia tearfully, huddling close to her mother, trembling, "He hurt Martin...!" Elizabeth picked her up in a cuddle, to comfort her.
"It's all right, Cynnie, dearest," she cooed in her daughter's ear, "Mama's here now..."
Meanwhile, Fievel was watching all of this sadly; his own parents were dead so, of course, there was no happy family reunion for him. But what about Tanya? Josh had said she would be here. Elizabeth, who was quick to spot a lonely child, approached him.
"Hallo, who are you, dear?"
"F...Fievel, Fievel Mousekewitz, ma'am," stammered the boy shyly as Elizabeth held him close to comfort him. He told them how he too had been captured and held prisoner by Castor, along with Ms Bridget and Tony Toponi, both of which were currently receiving treatment down in the infirmary. The Council had already sent a message to Countess Mausheimer that her missing ward had been found alive.
After hearing of all the hardships and horrors they had endured at the hands of Exiles; all the beatings, abuse, the fear of being fed alive to Dragon, Martin getting whipped, and Moe's attempted assault on Teresa, Elizabeth was in tears.
"Oh, you poor, poor dears," she whispered, feeling utterly horrified and outraged, "How could someone possibly be so cruel to innocent children?"
"You'll be pleased to hear Castor has finally gotten his just deserts," said Justin with a smug smile, who had already been informed of how the notorious Exile leader had been devoured by Dragon and that all his minions were dead, so the Exiles' reign of terror was over. "No less than what he deserved."
"I would have been locked up in there forever, if it hadn't been for Josh," said Fievel, feeling the same fondness for the human who had saved him as the Brisby children did, "But what about my sister? Is she here...?"
As if on cue, the door opened and a frantic Tanya, whom Nicodemus had summoned, came running in. At the sight of Fievel, she stopped dead in her tracks and gasped.
"Tanya!"
"Fievel? Oh, Fievel, it's really you!" she cried as the two siblings met in a tight embrace, sobbing into each other's shoulder. Tanya kissed her brother on the cheek, "Oh Fievel, I thought I'd lost you forever! You've grown so much, little brother."
Fievel, who was starting to feel a little embarrassed by being hugged and kissed by his big sister in front of everyone, smiled, "You've grown too, Tanya." Tanya looked up at Nicodemus, who was watching them in silence from his throne, smiling at the two youngsters' happy reunion.
"Thank you so much, Your Majesty," she said, bowing low before her King, "You have no idea what this means to me." Nicodemus smiled.
"I'm flattered, Ms Mousekewitz, but don't thank me; it was Captain Anderson who made this happen." Tanya felt her heart soar at the thought of Josh, feeling as if she'd found the hero of her dreams. She would be grateful to that human forever.
Justin smiled; thanks to Josh, two broken families had been reunited safe and sound, and one of the kingdom's worst enemies was no more. If anyone had had any doubt about the human's trustworthiness, Josh had definitely proven his worth now. Little did anyone realise that the real enemy still remained unexposed and at large, plotting his revenge...
Josh didn't know how long it was before he finally felt himself return to consciousness. He felt terribly weak and the wound in his side hurt like hell. He was no longer inside the pod; he was lying on the four-poster bed in his chambers back at the palace. How had he gotten here?
Feeling his side where Castor had stabbed him, he found someone had bandaged up his wound, or rather cauterised it, judging by the acrid smell of burnt flesh and searing pain coming from it. He sincerely hoped he'd never have to experience any more of the Rats' primitive medical procedures. And I thought Jenner's threat of torture was the worst possible scenario...
He was just thinking of finding his survival kit, to get some proper burn ointment for that damn pain, when he realised he wasn't alone. Elizabeth was dozing in a chair beside his bed. She jumped in surprise as she heard Josh stir.
"Hallo again, beautiful."
"Oh, Josh, you're awake!" she cried with relief, as the two of them lovingly embraced and kissed. Elizabeth buried her head in his shoulder.
"Thank you, Josh. I'm forever in your debt for saving my children," she muttered in his ear, "If it weren't for you, they would be..." She trailed off; the thought was too horrible to even think about. The memory of Jonathan resurfaced in Josh's mind and he felt his guts twist up in anticipation; was she going to start inquiring about her husband? Should he tell her? Sure enough, she looked at him.
"Josh, was there any sign of Jonathan? Maybe he was...?"
No, I can't tell her, Josh thought quickly, I dare not; losing her husband once was bad enough, but to hear he was alive all this time and then killed on my watch would only devastate her and her children. No, she made her peace years ago; let it stay that way. Slowly, he shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. He was already long gone," he said slowly, feeling his conscience building. Perhaps he was doing the wrong thing by keeping the truth from her? Elizabeth sighed sadly.
"It's all right, Josh," she finally said, "It makes it easier this way, knowing for certain..." Josh wanted to kick himself in shame for lying to her, but the dice had already been cast. The only thing he could do now was hope to keep the secret buried forever. Jonathan was dead and gone, this time for real, but he would be remembered; and it was time for Elizabeth to move on.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. The couple quickly sprang apart as Nicodemus entered, followed by Justin, Brutus, Mr Ages and the children. Fievel, whom Mrs Brisby had taken under her wing, was also with them. With some food and rest, and their mother's loving care, they too were also recovering nicely from their ordeal – only Timmy still remained bedridden and under Mr Ages' constant care. They crowded around Josh's bed.
"Wow, Josh, that wound looks painful," exclaimed Martin, pointing at Josh's bandaged middle. Josh chuckled.
"Oh, shucks, laddie, it'll take far more than a measly cheese-slicer to take Captain Josh Anderson down!" The children laughed and even the adults smiled, glad of his recovery. "How long have I been out anyway?"
"Two days," said Justin, "You gave us quite a scare there, Josh – we thought you were going to bleed to death! It was a good thing Brutus was there to cauterize the wound before that could happen." Josh turned to look at Brutus in surprise. That oaf might be a real pain in his arse but, unlike Jenner, he knew when to put his distrust of humans aside.
"Thanks for saving my bacon there, Brutus. I wasn't really looking forward to having a day of national mourning in my name."
"Don't mention it," said the burly Rat gruffly, "I don't hate you enough to just sit back and watch you die." Josh rolled his eyes; Brutus never changed.
"A lot has happened while you were asleep, young Joshua," said Nicodemus, "There's a lot we need to discuss...privately," he added, glancing at the children still crowding around Josh's bed. Elizabeth got the hint; they were not privy to the secret of the Stone and the fewer people who knew about it the better.
"Children, can you please go play outside for a moment?" she asked them, "We need a bit of privacy."
"Oh, Mother, why can't we stay?" protested Martin, who was curious to find out what the King wanted to tell Josh in secret. "Don't we at least deserve to listen in?" Thankfully, Teresa stepped in.
"This is a private conversation, Martin!" she hissed in his ear, "Scram!" She led Cynthia and the sulking Martin out the door, giving the adults some privacy to talk. Satisfied, Nicodemus turned to Josh.
"The Council, I'm pleased to announce, have dropped their decision to detain you. Indeed, you triumph over the Exiles is being praised throughout the City. Jenner's ultimatum, on the other hand, has been thrown out."
Josh smirked, "Bet the blighter wasn't too happy." That Rat had done everything in his power to have him locked up like some dangerous animal, not to mention causing so much trouble for his friends, just to satisfy his own agenda. It sure felt good to see the shoe on the other foot for a change.
"He wanted to personally interview all the survivors as soon as they arrived," said Elizabeth reproachfully, "How could they let him force children to talk about such a terrible ordeal?" Nicodemus' smile faded; on Jenner's request, the Council had insisted on questioning all the survivors for information, supposedly to track down any of the Exiles' associates who might still be at large, much to Elizabeth's outrage. Josh felt his anger rise; couldn't that insufferable bastard leave them well enough alone?
"I do apologise for my nephew's attitude, Mrs Brisby," Nicodemus said solemnly, "I will see to it that he doesn't drag your children into this again. Thankfully, he won't be winning any more favours from the Council anytime soon." Justin smirked.
"Apparently, none of them were expecting you to succeed," he told Josh, "Jenner had been insisting that your mission was a folly, just another certain old fool's fantasy – if you'll pardon the expression, Nicodemus," he added sheepishly to Nicodemus, who merely shrugged it off with an amused smile, "The fact that you did make it back alive and liberated all those survivors singlehandedly, not to mention destroyed the Exiles for good, has caused them a great deal of embarrassment, for which they're now holding Jenner responsible. The majority have sided against him and are now in favour of the Plan."
"The Exiles had a spy here," said Josh, suddenly remembering what Castor had said, "It was he who was directing all of their moves. Castor had been instructed to capture me and use me as an instrument of war against you Nicodemus." The Rats grew suspicious; did this mean it might not all be over yet?
"A spy here?" asked Brutus sharply, "And you didn't think to capture some of those thugs alive, to be questioned under torture?"
"None of them would have cracked," said Josh, appalled at Brutus' approach to questioning enemies. A killing spree in a life or death situation was one thing, but torture-interrogation was too much even for Josh's battle-hardened agenda, "They were all prepared to die rather than surrender any information."
"It doesn't matter," said Justin, "We know about him, which is a sight more than what we did until now. Whoever he is, we'll nail him soon enough."
"What about the Stone?" asked Josh, remembering the piece of the Rosetta Disk he had recovered from the Exile's hideout, "Castor had the piece he'd stolen from Jonathan..." He knew panic; had someone lifted it from him while he was unconscious? But Nicodemus calmed him.
"Justin took it from your suit and brought it to me the moment they brought you back," he said, "That's an enormous addition to your success, Joshua. We now have two of the three missing fragments of the Stone; and I think I might have found a lead on the third piece." They all turned to look at Nicodemus; that sure was a spot of unexpected news.
"You have a lead on the third piece of the Stone? Where?"
"That, my friends, is a subject that will be discussed in good time," he said, "First, I have to make a formal announcement to the entire kingdom. A victory banquet will see you justly rewarded, Josh."
It seemed the initially shaky start he had made here was actually turning out much better than he'd expected. His triumph over the Exiles had changed the Rats' view of him overnight; from an unwelcome guest and abomination, he was now being hailed a hero of the kingdom. Perhaps now he had a chance for building his future on this planet? Sometime after Nicodemus and the others had left him to rest, he awoke to the arrival of another visitor come to pay her respects: Tanya.
The Mousekewitz girl knelt by Josh's bed and took his hand, "Captain Anderson, my brother and I will never forget your kindness. Thanks to you, he's a free mouse again. I only wish I could repay you in kind..." Josh gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Tanya, the fact that you trusted me to help you find your brother is good enough a reward for me," he said, "I'm a complete stranger in this world; any friends I have I value greatly. I'd gladly do it again if I had to."
Tanya was overwhelmed. Tenderly, she reached over and kissed Josh twice on each cheek; he felt the spots where her lips touched him burn. Then, reaching into her dress, she withdrew a small gold pendant shaped like a dragon, only with a mouse's head. Josh figured this had to be a likeness of the Great Mouse of Minsk – the sacred deity of the Mice, not unlike the Great Owl of the Rats. She placed it around Josh's neck.
"It belonged to my Papa," she said, "This and my mother's babushka's all I have left of my parents – but I want you to have it now. May the Great Mouse of Minsk always watch over you, Captain Anderson!"
None of the terrestrial religions survived on Nimh-Beta. The Church of the Rats worshipped the Great Owl – originally the AI hologram from the Nimh-One –, which was the official religion in this world; the Great Mouse of Minsk was a giant dragon-like mouse, worshipped only by the Mice. This religion however was heavily frowned upon by the Rats, Josh had heard, who regarded it as blasphemy, making the likes of Tanya the subject of great discrimination. Such was the oppressive, medieval rodent society of Nimh-Beta.
Josh was raised Anglican Protestant and while he was certainly no practicing Christian, if not an agnostic, being an adventurer, he always liked having a little faith with him wherever he went. Obviously, he wasn't raised in any of these alien religions, but he was still deeply touched by the gesture. Remembering his manners, he kissed Tanya's hand.
"Thank you, Tanya. It's really beautiful," he said, "I promise you I'll never take it off – it will remind me of you wherever I go." Although his heart was firmly set on Elizabeth, and this was only meant as a friendly gesture more than anything, Tanya, being young, obviously must have interpreted it as something much more.
"Oh, Josh..." she muttered dreamily, using Josh's first name for the first time, looking as if she was about to swoon in her tracks. Josh tried not to laugh; this girl obviously had a pretty serious crush on him, but that was all right with him. She was just a child after all, all alone in the world and in need of someone to look up to. An innocent friendship would not compromise his relationship with Elizabeth. At least he hoped so.
That evening, Princess Isabella couldn't figure out why her maid was acting like some lovesick schoolgirl. Tanya, humming to herself, clumsily moved to and fro like a sleepwalker, tending to her mistress. Although technically just a royal maid, she and Isabella were close friends and companions, almost like sisters, who shared secrets like other girls their age.
"Are you all right, Tanya?" asked Isabella, whom Tanya was supposed to be helping do up her hair, but was applying the ribbon to the tip of her tail, rather than her hair, instead.
"...So handsome, so brave..." Tanya was muttering in an almost dream-like state, apparently not hearing her, "Oh, how he would sweep me right off my feet...!" Isabella, finally making some sense out of her friend's curious caterwauling, raised an eyebrow.
"Are you ready to be Mrs Tanya Anderson yet?" she asked teasingly. Tanya, snapping out of her fantasies of Josh in a golden suit of armour and riding a majestic white rabbit sweeping her off her feet and the pair of them riding off into the sunset together, dropped the bowl of talcum powder she was carrying on the floor.
"I...what...What did you say?" she stammered, blushing a dark shade of magenta. Isabella, fighting back giggles at her friend's embarrassment, continued to tease her.
"Are you in love with Captain Anderson? Is he really that dreamy?" she asked, causing poor Tanya to blush even more. To be perfectly honest, she wasn't even sure herself exactly what she felt. After all, Josh was more than twice her age, not to mention a human. Isabella however seemed to find it very funny. She made a comical imitation of Josh lifting the veil off Tanya's face at a make-belief wedding.
"Oh, my beautiful Tanya, by the graces of the Great Owl, will you be my lawful wedded wife?" she chanted in an imitation of Josh's deep, British accent, before using an imitation of a crazy-in-love Tanya, "Oh, yes, yes! You are so divine, Captain Anderson, I melt in your embrace!" She burst out laughing silly.
Tanya frowned; she and Isabella never got angry at one another but this joke was going a bit too far for her liking; and she knew just how to get under Isabella's skin. She cleared her throat, "Have you and Justin kissed yet?"
Isabella blushed an even darker shade of red that Tanya, looking torn between telling her to mind her own business or to swoon at the thought of it. Being a princess, she was strictly barred from having any boyfriends and the handsome, dashing young Justin literarily made her head whirl. Tanya giggled.
"Well, is he dreamy then? Do you melt in his embrace? My, my, you would make a cute couple; King Justin and Queen Isabella..."
Isabella stood up; Tanya needed to be taught a lesson for her cheek, "That's crossing a line..." And with that, she playfully tackled Tanya to the floor, tickling the living daylights out of her. Tanya was very ticklish, something Isabelle had taken advantage of many times before, and pretty soon she had her completely at her mercy.
"No, Isabella, stop it!" she squealed, trying to squirm away, but Isabella, being a Rat, was much bigger and stronger than her, keeping her immobilised, "Please, stop it!"
"So, who's crazy in love now, huh?"
"I am! I am! Just stop it!" screeched Tanya, feeling close to going crazy for real. Finally, Isabella relented and the two friends settled down, laughing at each other's antics. They cared too much for each other to let little squabbles such as these affect their friendship. Tanya however, still couldn't quite figure out her feelings for Josh and was determined to do so...
It took several days for Josh to recover from his injury. But between the care provided by Nicodemus' personal physicians and his own 21st century human medicine (some of the procedures he had described had raised several eyebrows among the bewildered Rat physicians), he made a full recovery. The burn had gone down substantially and the wound hadn't reopened, nor turned septic, allowing it to heal naturally. He would likely continue to experience some pain and discomfort for a few weeks, but otherwise he would be fine.
While recuperating, he passed the time by going through his crew's personal files, which he had downloaded from the Nimh-One's database onto his HHC before leaving the wreck of his ship back in Thorn Valley. Every crewmember had been allowed to bring along his own stash of data dumps from home, including reading material, means of recreation and entertainment, or just some private reminders of home.
Fitzgibbons had a number of space flight regulations manuals, some records on past and future NIMH space projects, as well as a number of encrypted files, which Josh figured were his secret orders on the ship's tampered bio-payload, nothing much of interest; Lt Stacy had some private pictures and videos of her family, as well as some personal letters she'd written to them during their voyage to Nimh-Beta. Josh sighed as he looked at a picture of Stacy's husband and two daughters, wondering how these girls had grown up never learning what had happened to their mother.
Wilson had the mission's flight plans for the journey out, as well as for the return voyage, which he and the geniuses of NIMH's Astrodynamics department had spent months drawing up. Looking deeper through the navigator's files, Josh found another flight plan which Wilson seemed to have plotted himself before he died; this one involved launching one of the ship's pods into low orbit. But to what purpose?
Going through Flight Engineer Strauss' files, Josh realised what his crew had been planning: in his files was a schematic for a pod, modified to hold three men by using one of the Nimh-One's cannibalised rocket boosters as an assist launch vehicle. This mission was intended as a last-ditch attempt to rendezvoused with the rescue ship in orbit, before it was run afoul of the same electromagnetic storm Josh had encountered, and lost with all hands. According to the Nimh-One's log, Fitzgibbons had launched alone, only to perish in the attempt. Why had he abandoned his crew? Could it have something to do with the illicit bio-payload NIMH had made him bring out here? Most likely, Josh would never know.
For leisure, Josh found the German engineer had brought along a large cache of comic books, ranging from old Marvel classics to Don Rosa and Herge's Tintin. Too bad they were all in bloody German, which he couldn't read. As for Dr Schultz' files, they were just lab journals on space farming and terraforming, which Josh couldn't make heads or tails of. However, he did find several e-games, including a chess app and a solitaire.
Dr Stetson, however, had an impressive collection of music files from forever ago, including many of Josh's favourite bands, like the Blues Brothers and the Beatles. He also had a fine collection of many old Hollywood favourites, including Titanic and Apollo 13.
Gordon's stuff was more interesting; besides a vast library of medical journals, which Josh figured he might find some use for later, he found his friend had a great selection of nature-based TV series, very popular in his native Canada, including the entire David Attenborough collection. Too bad there weren't a few episodes of Inspector Frost in there too. Oh, well, beggars can't be choosers.
As for the contents of the ship's library, Josh had included all the e-books on mechanics and engineering he could find. If he was going to make full use of his skills as an engineer on this new world, then he needed to improve his knowledge to the best of his abilities. The final touch to his collection was the entire Clive Cussler series, which he enjoyed reading. There was definitely going to be no shortage of entertainment.
As promised by Nicodemus, a victory banquet was held in Josh's honour a week after his return from the Dark Mountains. Dressed in a new, tailor-made royal costume, Josh, with Elizabeth, looking like a Duchess in a gold-and-satin dress, at his arm, made their way into the palace's lavish ballroom. The children, who were not permitted to attend formal occasions, were off playing elsewhere, under the close supervision of Tanya, who had wholeheartedly agreed to watch over them at Josh's request.
The elegant room, decorated everywhere with gold candle fixtures, beautiful tapestries and a mosaic floor, was packed crowded with what looked like the entire elite of Rosebush City. Aristocratic Rats and Mice alike, including royal officials, all dressed in their finery, stood waiting for the formal announcement. Josh could see a few familiar faces among the crowd, including Bridget, looking real beautiful in a brand-new party dress, and surprisingly Tony, who had been allowed to attend the ball by Countess Mausheimer.
Nicodemus sat dressed in all his best at his throne, with the rest of the royal family alongside: his granddaughter Isabella and, to Josh's dismay, his nephew Jenner. The Princess waved excitedly at Josh from across the room but Jenner's venomous expression told Josh that he'd like nothing better than to string him up on some dungeon wall with his entrails hanging out.
An eerie silence fell as a page announced his entrance. The guests all turned to look at him curiously, some with awe, others suspiciously, but thankfully not hatefully. A few were also casting curious glances at Elizabeth, making her cringe nervously, unaccustomed to having such a large audience. Josh reassuringly squeezed her hand.
Flanked by several royal guards, he marched up to the King. Josh, always the traditional Brit, was well familiar with the protocol from his previous life; removing his hat, he knelt down on one knee before the King. Nicodemus stood and addressed his Court.
"Today we're gathered here to honour an accomplishment of great courage and initiative. For years, this kingdom lived in constant fear of Nicholas Castor and his band of Exiles. Families lost loved ones; entire villages and towns were looted and destroyed; and numerous innocents, many in the prime of life, were enslaved or murdered. But now, thanks to the bold efforts of Captain Josh Anderson, that vile enemy and all his minions have finally been defeated!"
Oddly enough, there was no cheering; only whispers of awe and amazement filled the room. The spectators were apparently finding it difficult to process the fact that a human, their Church's foretold greatest enemy, had done them such a great service. Josh was pleased to see some of the chatter was directed at Jenner, who had been telling anyone who'd listen that Josh was an enemy spy out to destroy them – no doubt being proven wrong had been a great humiliation for him. Nicodemus went on speaking, this time directly at Josh.
"Captain Anderson, when you first came to my court, you were lost, forsaken by your comrades, and seen as a grave threat to this kingdom – except for the few compassionate and wise who knew better." This last statement was directed of course to Elizabeth, who stood beside Justin and Brutus, watching Josh receiving his reward. She blushed, while Justin stood proudly and gracefully bowed his head at the King's praise, as did Brutus. Jenner gave them both a look of pure venom, but held his tongue under Nicodemus' warning stare.
"You've done my people a great service, one which I'm obliged to reward in kind," continued Nicodemus. He drew a long, jewel-encrusted sword, with surprisingly great strength for his old age, and placed the tip of the blade on Josh's shoulder.
"By the powers invested in me, I, Nicodemus IV, king of the Rosebush Empire and the Rats of Nimh-Beta, dub thee, Captain Joshua Anderson, astronaut of the human planet Earth, Sir Josh, royal Quaestor to this throne and Imperial Commissioner to the province of Minsk! Arise, Sir Josh and receive your reward!"
The announcement of Josh's reward brought cheers and applause all around. Nicodemus turned to another Rat at his side, an official it seemed, holding a strange lock-box and withdrew a gold medallion on a chain, bearing the Great Owl coat-of-arms of the Empire – the royal seal worn by every official of the court. He placed it around Josh's neck. Then, turning to another Rat, the royal Secretary it seemed, he took an official scroll rolled up in a gold ribbon, which was Josh's commission, signed by the Council. He passed it to Josh.
Josh stood back and bowed before his new King, "Your Majesty, I'm deeply honoured at such high offices. I pledge my loyalty to you and to the Empire!" Finally, he had a place in this world; he was a subject of this kingdom, and a high-ranking official to boot, with the power to make a whole new start. No more was he the stranded, lost astronaut from a long-gone world. Nicodemus smiled.
"And now, let the ball begin!"
All the guests joined their dance partners. Josh took Elizabeth's hand and led her onto the dance floor. On a nearby stand, the orchestra started playing and soon everyone was dancing a Strauss Waltz – an operetta Nicodemus had learned from the Stone and taught to the royal musicians.
Josh found, much to his amazement, that Elizabeth was a wonderful dancer, who had been taught how to dance by Jonathan. He was an average dancer at best while Elizabeth was light on her feet, leading him along. He smiled at her as they danced.
"You look beautiful, Biff."
"So do you...Sir Josh," she said teasingly, using Josh's new title for the first time. Josh smiled at the compliment. Nearby, he could see Justin dancing with Isabella, on Nicodemus' permission. He could see the teenage Princess was beaming with delight at Justin, practically entranced by him. He was amazed how Nicodemus trusted the young Captain of his Guards to let him be his granddaughter's dance partner for the ball. He is definitely a king well ahead of his time, thought Josh.
Finally, the dancing stopped and it was time for refreshments, much to the parched Josh's relief. Goblets of sweet mead wine were brought along on trays by mouse servants. Josh would have liked a glass of chilled champagne but when he asked a servant for some, the mouse told him he had never heard of such a beverage. Perhaps Nicodemus could find the recipe for champagne on the Stone for the next ball.
As the evening drew on, Josh got a chance to get to know some of the guests better. Bridget had approached him and introduced her guardian, Countess Mausheimer. The stern-faced, tub-fat mouse Countess surveyed Josh curiously for a few moments through her spectacles.
"My ward and I are forever in your debt for getting Bridget out of slavery, Captain," she finally said in a deep, pompous accent, "Although I would advise you to tread carefully around the Rats – it was one of them who set Bridget up in the first place and the Council hushed it up. They might hail you as their hero now but you'll find they'd turn on you when it's in their best interests."Josh thought that was saying something, coming from a mouse who had the rare privilege of wealth and power in this Rat-domineering society.
Obviously Bridget, who rallied for equal rights between Rats and Mice, must have many enemies who'd want to put an end to her campaign by having the Exiles capture her and locking her away – not unlike a few Rats he could name in fact. He glanced up at the thrones where the royal family sat, but saw Jenner had gone. But where? Should he investigate? Not wanting to spoil his evening over worrying about bloody Jenner, he decided to look into it later and turned to ask Elizabeth for another dance.
Meanwhile, Jenner and Sullivan had retreated to a secluded corridor outside the ballroom, away from prying eyes, for a talk. Sullivan, on his master's orders, had spent the last few days carefully going over the statements they had taken from the survivors. Even with the Exiles all dead and therefore unable to be interrogated, Jenner wasn't taking any chances of his safety being jeopardised.
"Well, what did you find out?"
"None of them know Castor was working for us – although the human suspects something. At least, for the moment, he has nothing to point a finger at us."
"What about our assets?"
"All of the Exiles' gold and their weapons' project were lost when their cave collapsed – apparently the human wasn't taking any chances." Jenner cursed Anderson; without that gold and the gunpowder, it would set their plans back by years. That left just one little mystery that needed answering.
"Our piece of the Stone was recovered and is now in the hands of Nicodemus," continued Sullivan, "But I'm still at a loss to explaining what happened to Jonathan Brisby..." Jenner frowned; indeed, none of the survivors had seen him, since Castor had kept him, on Jenner's explicit orders, separate from the rest of the prisoners because of his knowledge of the Stone. But that still didn't explain why Anderson hadn't found him – could that human be hiding something? Something that they could use against him when the time as right? Jenner made a mental note to look into it later.
"What about the Mousekewitz boy?"
"I've got some of our most trusted friends on the Council pulling the strings on that one, as you requested," said Sullivan, glad to have some good news to appease his short-tempered master with. To his relief, Jenner appeared satisfied.
"Good. We need that brat back under our control – it's the only way to salvage something out of this mess. After all, I didn't have Castor capture him for nothing..."
Following the ball, a massive royal banquet was in order. Held in a massive dining hall the size of a cathedral, the guests sat at long tables lined with linen and strewn with exquisite dishes served on solid-gold platters. Josh sat with Elizabeth at the King's table at the head of the room, with Nicodemus, Isabella and Justin. Jenner was strangely absent, much to Nicodemus' displeasure.
The King raised his goblet and proposed a toast to Josh's health; the guests also raised their goblets and drank to the new Quaestor's health. This evening marked the beginning of a new life for Josh.
The banquet carried on well into the night. Sometime after midnight, when the last of the guests had finally retired, a full-of-wine Josh and Elizabeth merrily made their way back to their sleeping chambers. There, they were cornered by Mr Ages, who had just been checking on the sick Timothy. Josh might have figured the evening was bound to end badly, because the news was of the worst possible.
"It's Timothy," he said grimly to Elizabeth, "Mrs Brisby, I'm afraid your son...well, he's going to die." Josh barely managed to catch the horrified Elizabeth in his arms before she fainted.
Author's note: Sorry for the delay, but I had a friend over for the summer, so I've had very little time to myself. Anyway, Josh has fulfilled one mission but now another arises... Enjoy and please review!