| Chapter 81 Rowland stepped into the room the guys had occupied and almost laughed out loud. The place was a mess. Clothes and food everywhere, the vid still on playing some infomercial. Yes even in space those vile things exist. The guys sprawled out in various parts of the room, all snoring. He quietly walked past Howie, noting the food plastered to his face, apparently the object of a prank. Kevin and A.J. were in the floor, sitting up against the couch, leaning on each other. The guard stared at them for a moment, wondering how they could sleep like that. Shrugging his shoulders he made his way to Nick. He was sitting sideways in a chair, his long legs dangling over one of the arms. Rowland reached down and shook him, "Your highness." Nick jumped and looked up, his eyes focusing on the man. "Wh-what is it?" he asked, pushing himself up, bringing his legs around and realizing they were both asleep. The pins and needles sensation creeping down them to his toes. "We have one of the ships," the guard said. Nick looked up, surprised, "One of the Interstellar ships? How?" "It crossed one of our patrols. We knocked out its main engine, they're basically dead in space," he answered, "We're pulling them back to one of our stations for questioning." Nick stood up and grimaced, taking a moment to shake first his right, then left leg, "OK, I'll be down as soon as I get cleaned up." Rowland nodded, grinning, "Looks like you had fun." Nick chuckled, "Yeah we did. Tell them I had to leave will ya?" The guard nodded as Nick headed out of the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian lay in bed watching Marie sleep. He'd been awake for nearly an hour, but didn't dare move. It had been so long since he'd gotten to watch his wife sleep, and it was one of his favorite things to do. He often wondered what she was dreaming, especially when a small smile creased her lips, as it just did. He settled more into his pillow, not knowing a time when he was more happy, than now. Finally things were back on track. He was back with the woman he loved more than life itself, and rid of his addiction. It still amazed him that he wasn't craving the once precious blue liquid. He'd lived so long with the craving he thought it would never stop. Now that it had, he felt ....free. "Where are you?" Marie whispered, pulling him from his thoughts. Brian looked over, staring straight into her pale blue eyes, "Just thinking." She raised her head and gently kissed his cheek, "What about?" Brian pulled her into his arms, loving how they fit together so perfectly, "Life, us....everything we've been through, and how happy I am right now." Marie grinned, "I'm happy too." Brian leaned in and kissed her lips gently, then pulled back, "Je t'aime, Marie. Vous �tes mon soleil, la lune et des �toiles.... vous �tes mon tout." I love you Marie. You are my sun, the moon and stars ..... you are my everything. Marie's eyes pricked with tears of joy. How did she ever get this lucky to have Brian in her life? "Je t'aime tellement." I love you so much, she said, returning his kiss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick glanced at Ana as he waited for word on the interrogation. The ships had arrived at the station more than two hours ago, and Nick was growing impatient. Ana gave him a slight smile, then went back to her work. That seemed to be the definition of their relationship now, just smiles and nods. Nick wanted to just grab her and kiss her, tell the entire world how much he loved her, but he couldn't. They had barely seen each other in the last few weeks, and he missed her terribly. He missed her friendship more than anything. He'd come to rely on their daily talks. She never treated him like a king, or a freak ... just a friend, and he missed that. Sure they saw each other, but it was always in the company of others. Since Nick's death threats started coming in, he'd rarely been left alone. Always accompanied by a guard, even when he slept. If the guard wasn't in the room, he was stationed outside the door. Nick stared at her again, I miss you, he thought. He watched as Ana stopped her work for a moment, closing her eyes as if she were fighting back tears. She never looked back, only giving a slight nod before continuing on. Nick bit his lip, the sadness he glimpsed from Ana making home on his face. He knew what was coming, when no one else did. No matter how all this tension played out, it only had one ending. The one he saw every night in his dreams. The one that scared him to death, and filled his soul with sadness. The one that he would have to face alone. "Your highness, it's coming up," a tech said. Nick cleared his throat and moved to the pad in the middle of the room. A hologram of one of his generals appeared before him. "General, what have you learned?" Nick asked impatiently. "The captain refused to speak, but some of the ship hands did. They are employed by Interstellar. The attack on Nactibque was ordered from here. None of them know who actually gave the orders, but they believed they were acting with your approval until it was posted on the vids," the man said. "My approval? What would make them think that?" Nick asked, totally stunned. "Their orders came with the royal seal," he replied. "I see," Nick said, at a loss for words. How did someone get his seal? It couldn't be copied, there was no way. "What do you want us to do with the prisoners?" the general asked. Nick thought for a moment, "Hold them at the station. Leave enough personnel to guard them and continue on your route. There's still four more ships out there somewhere." "Yes my king," the man said, nodding and ending his transmission. Nick sighed, turning to face the council that had been waiting with him. "Prepare a statement to the media. Tell them that Interstellar was behind the attack, and that the company has been seized. From now on, nothing Interstellar comes in or out of this system without my approval," Nick said, heading to the door, "Uncle, let's you and I pay Mr. Sterling a visit." Mason followed Nick out of the room and down the hall, "Are you sure this is the way to handle this?" Nick stopped walking and faced him, "Yes. When you were with them, did you ever give them one of your seals?" Mason shook his head. "How many do you have?" Nick asked. "Two," he answered. "And I have two. What about mom and Anthony?" Nick asked. "They each have two," the older man answered. Nick nodded, turning and continuing down the hall, "When we return, all of us need to look and make sure we still have them. One of the servants could have taken one without us knowing." Mason nodded, nervous about this change in events. He wasn't sure how the king seizing Interstellar was going to play out, and he was afraid for Nick. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jack Sterling made his way up to his office. He was in a good mood, and that was a rare occasion. Things were going his way, and if he was a betting man, he'd bet that soon he'd have no menacing young king to deal with. If the assassination attempts didn't get him, surely the impending war would. Either way, he'd be free of his troubles. No more worrying over an ancient prophecy coming to pass. For how could it, if the chosen one was dead? He entered the foyer to his office, puzzled that his assistant wasn't at his desk. He shrugged, making a mental note to fire the boy when he showed his face again. He crossed the room and opened the large double doors to his office .... and froze in his tracks. Nick was sitting at his desk, glaring at him. Those damn lavender eyes boring a hole right through him. Sterling jumped when two guards pulled him into the room and closed the doors behind him, blocking his escape. Nick leaned back in his chair, "You've been a busy man. Building warships, attacking innocent cities, importing drugs, and trying to kill your king....oh and let's not forget trying to start a war." Sterling crossed his arms over his large chest, "You have no proof." "Do I?" Nick asked, leaning forward, arching his eyebrows. The two stared at one another for a long time. Nick finally broke the competition, holding his hand out palm up. Sterling watched as a tiny ball of light appeared in his hand, growing to the size of a golf ball. He grew nervous, not knowing what Nick was planning next. Nick rolled the ball over to the back of his hand and ran it along his fingers, back and forth. Much the way he would twirl his drum sticks when he was playing. This went on for several minutes, and when Nick finally rolled the ball back into his palm and extinguished it, even some of the guards were nervous. Nick looked up, "You are a traitor. You have put the welfare of your people at risk just to earn money. Now, tell me where the rest of your ships are, and your punishment won't be as severe." Sterling laughed, "You think you can hurt me? You are more naive than I thought. If you kill me, hundreds of planets will come after you. I run this part of the galaxy, or have you not been told? Commerce runs a planet, and I own them all. Kings and politicians are just figures for show. I control what comes in and goes out." "Not anymore," Nick said, nodding to the guards. They seized the large man, placing him in cuffs. Nick got up and walked to him, "Now I run them all. Take him away." "You can't do this!" Sterling yelled, as the guards drug him out of the office, "You just signed your death warrant!" Nick sighed, glancing back at his uncle who was standing in the corner of the room. Sterling never even saw him there. "I want you to appoint a committee to run this place, they will answer to you," Nick instructed. Mason's mouth dropped open, "You're giving me Interstellar?" Nick grinned, "Yeah, why not? I think you'd make a great businessman. Besides, I trust you." Mason smiled back, but it only lasted a minute. "Nickolas, speaking of trust. Brian is well now, and I need to .... um....." Nick nodded, putting his arm over his uncles shoulder as they walked out of the room. "We'll talk to him tonight," Nick said. "We?" Mason asked. "Yeah, unless you wanna do it alone? But trust me, he's small, but that don't mean he won't kick your ass. Just thought I'd referee, ya know, keep things fair," he laughed. The older man grinned, "Thanks, I think." "Come on, we have a lot to do," Nick said, heading down the hall. Mason sighed, "That we do." Chapter 82 |