| Chapter 84 Nick wandered down the hall, his mind taking him a million places at once. The council was on a break, and he needed to get out of the stuffy throne room for a while. He stopped at a window that overlooked the mountains, staring out. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. He closed his eyes and let the heat of the sun coming through the window warm him. He was so tired, yet he couldn't sleep, for sleep meant the dreams. After he'd woken his mother the night before, he lay staring at the ceiling until the suns broke over the horizon. Mason's words kept repeating in his head, �a tired king tends to make mistakes.' He prayed he wasn't doing that, cause if he did, it was all for nothing. "Something interesting out there?" Nick jumped, not realizing that someone had walked up next to him. He turned around, a smile instantly on his face, "No, just thinking. What are you doing?" Ana shrugged, "I'm on a break, thought I'd take a walk around, try and wake up a little." Nick laughed, "It's still morning." "Yeah, and working a console can put you to sleep," she grinned. Nick glanced down the hall, seeing his guards leaning against the wall. He glanced at Ana, "Come, walk with me then." "OK," she said, taking a peek behind them. The guards were dutifully following several feet behind. "Ya know, this reminds me of the walks we used to take on the ship on the way here," Nick said. "Yeah it does," she replied, the memories coming to her. Nick shook his head, "That seems like ages ago." Ana watched his face as they walked. He seemed so far away ...distracted. "Do you regret it?" she asked. He looked down into her eyes, "No, not for an instant." "Even with what you're facing now, you still don't?" she asked. He shook his head, "No, this is where I'm needed now .... and I have you. I can't regret that," he smiled. Ana returned his smile. They walked in silence for a few moments, just enjoying each others company. No words were needed, both knew how the other one felt. Before they knew it, they were standing in front of the door to the throne room. "Well, I better get back.... got a kingdom to run, ya know," Nick grinned. Ana laughed, "See you at lunch?" "Hopefully, if the sessions doesn't run over," he replied. He could see his guards out of the corner of his eye, and silently cursed them for being there. "Well, see ya later," he said, I love you, he thought. Ana smiled, "See ya," Love you more, she thought. Nick shook his head and laughed as he walked back into the council session. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marie sat in the control room waiting for Brian's replacement to come so they could go down to lunch. She smiled as Brian gave her a cheesy grin from across the room. Then his console beeped and he was back to work. Ana walked over to sit with her friend, "Man, what a morning." Marie nodded, "Yeah, it's been busy downstairs too." Brian turned in his chair and frantically motioned another tech over, still talking to whoever it was on the other end of the line. He wrote a note and handed it to the other man. The man's eyes widened, then he raced from the room. "What's going on?" Marie asked. Ana shrugged, getting up to go see. "I'm bringing you up right now," Brian said, punching several buttons. An imaged filled his display, giving him chills. "Holy mother of God," he muttered, several techs gasping behind him. "Please tell me they can't see you," Brian asked, as several more techs gathered around his screen. "No, we are behind the moon. They started moving a half hour ago," the voice on the other end confirmed. Nick came racing into the room, followed by Anthony, the council and the rest of the guys. He noticed everyone gathered around Brian. "What is it?" he asked. Brian turned to face him, "They're moving." Nick's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach, "Pull it up." Brian hit a few buttons transferring the image from his display to the hologram in the middle of the room. Nick's mouth dropped open in shock. At least fifty X class size warships were making their way away from the Jeptimian system. Each of those ships could house hundreds of fighters and even more men. "Where is this image coming from?" Nick asked. "Greenshire III," Brian answered, "They're behind the moon." "Tell them to stay hidden until they've passed, then find an alternate route back here. Call the fleet in and assemble the army," Nick instructed. Brian nodded and started distributing Nick's orders. Nick glanced back at Mason, "This is it." The older man nodded. "Nick, the general wants to know where you want the army assembled," Brian asked. "The prairies outside of Havendale, it's the only place big enough," he answered, "Determine where they'll exit their jump and have the fleet waiting on them," he ordered another tech. "Brian, how long before they get here?" Nick asked. "Two days," he replied. Nick bit his lip, "Shit, this is gonna be close," he muttered. He felt someone take his hand and looked over to see his mother standing next to him. "Brian, find someone to replace you and come with us," Nick ordered, turning and walking out of the room with his mom. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick stared down at his food, not really wanting to eat any of it. It seemed the rest in the room felt the same way, because no one was eating. They were all just staring at him. Nick raised his head, "OK, the brown stuff has officially hit the rotation device." The guys chuckled despite themselves. "They've got us outnumbered in men and in ships. The only thing we can do is out think them," he went on. "I want half the fleet hidden just out of range when they come in. Then when the battle starts, we can flank them. Maybe we can gain some ground by surprising them," he said, looking at the council, "I also want the unicorns taken to the battle field. I want them ready when they start landing." "Yes my king," Joseph replied. "I will be accompanying the army, but I won't arrive until that morning. I want everything ready when I get there," Nick went on. "Whoa hold on a sec," Kevin said, "You're going to fight?" Nick nodded his head. The council and his mother exchanged glances. "Nickolas, the king doesn't fight with the army," Mason said. Nick sighed, "This one does." "But...." Nathaniel began. "I will not ask my people to do something that I won't do myself," Nick interrupted, "I am going to fight with them, end of discussion." "Then I'm going with you," Kevin said. "Yeah me too," A.J. agreed. "Guys, no. This is not your fight," Nick said. "It is our fight, "Brian said, "And you can't stop us from going if we want." "I'm responsible for you Nick, and I won't let you go out there alone," Kevin said. Nick locked eyes with each of the guys, seeing the determination in their faces. After a long moment, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Alright, but you will go where I tell you, understood?" All four nodded. "Brian, I want you up with the fleet. We can use all the pilots we can get," he said. Brian smiled as all the color drained from Marie's face. "Kevin, you'll be with me, but I'm putting you under Rowland's guard. You'll do as he says, when he says it, got it?" Nick went on. "Got it," Kevin agreed. "J, I want you in medical with Marie. Help out with whatever you can... and D....." he paused, "You are to stay with the queen and Ana." "No, I'm going with you," Ana said, "I can fight just as well as you can." Nick shook his head, "No, I want you here." "Nick......" "No, Ana, now do as I say!" Nick said, sternly. Ana jumped in her seat, then looked down at the table, slightly nodding. Glances were exchanged between the council, several eyebrows raised. "What about me Nick? I can fight," Anthony asked. Nick looked at his mother for a moment, then back to his �cousin'. "I need you here, to protect the queen and the council," he said. Anthony looked disappointed, but nodded anyway. Nick stood to his feet, "Alright, I'm not really hungry, so everyone eat and then we'll get back to work." As he rounded the table he bent down and whispered, "Don't worry, he'll come back. I've seen it." Marie nodded, some of the fear she'd been feeling leaving her. Nick gave her a reassuring smile, then left the room. Chapter 85 |