Chapter 20: The Princess

“Your royal highness is most generous, but we did not revive you for a reward. It is not our way to seek rewards for doing what is the right thing to do. The captain can explain to you better in the morning,” I said.

“In the morning? You mean to say they are asleep? They are not here to greet me on this auspicious event?” she asked, sounding disappointed.

“Yes, your royal highness. It is the middle of the night. They will be awake in a few hours, and will be most keen to meet with you then. I can escort you to a cabin if you like to rest until then, or if you wish refreshment I can take you to our main dining lounge,” I said.

“Very well. We desire refreshment. You will escort us to your dining lounge and serve us,” she commanded. I did not like her ordering me, but it could be her custom and her rank. I tried to imagine she was several levels above Jem, then her behaviour made better sense.

“Please forgive me your royal highness, I am new to your protocols and customs. If you will come this way,” We walked along the corridor to the main dining lounge. Ship turned up the lights to daytime intensity.

“Please sit your royal highness,” I said. There were several tables with chairs here. The princess walked over to one and stood next to a chair and looked at me.

I thought for a moment and realized she was waiting for me to help her. I pulled out the chair from the table and helped her to sit down. That was an Earth custom my mother had taught me, long ago on Tian Prime. After that, I walked around to the other side of the table.

“Your royal highness, what would you like to eat or drink?” I asked. She named some dishes and a beverage I was not familiar with. I guessed they were Baglogi dishes.

“Ship, do you recognize those dishes?” I asked in Ori.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship, also in Ori. I walked over to the nearest food dispenser, which had just created the requested items. I took them to her table and placed them in front of the princess. She looked at them with some disdain. Then she picked up something from a plate and took a bite.

I stood off to the side. I had not been invited to eat with her. Her body language made it clear I was to wait. I wondered what the condition of her digestive system was after such a long time without food.

She continued to eat and drink, all the while ignoring my presence. I was trying to assemble the information I had so far. She was from somewhere called Dentra. She spoke Baglogi and even knew Baglogi food. She thought nothing of making me wait on her needs. Fortunately as a Tian I could remain emotionless.

After a while, she stopped eating. She looked at me. “You there, what do we call you?”

“I am called Brian. I hold the rank of commander aboard this vessel, your royal highness,” I replied.

She cocked her head to one side, “You do not sound like a commander.”

“I previously served in the Ori diplomatic core, your royal highness. At this time of night there is little needed to command,” I replied.

“We are done with our refreshments, Brian. You may now escort us to our suite,” said the princess. She stood up.

“Yes your royal highness,” I said. I spoke to Ship in Ori, “Ship, I assume you have allocated a cabin?”

“Confirmed. Her name is on the door,” replied Ship.

“If you will please come this way, your royal highness, it is up one level,” I said. We left the main dining lounge, took the elevator to level six and went to her cabin.

“This is the accommodation you have assigned for us? It is far too small!” she protested. I was worried she might wake the crew.

“They are all the same size your royal highness. We did not know of your existence until recently, and we are poorly equipped for your needs,” I said to placate her. I was doing a lot of placating recently, and I did not like it.

“Very well, since it is all you have, we will make do. You may leave us,” she said.

“Yes, your royal highness,” I said. I stepped back out of the cabin and closed the door.

“Ship, when the captain awakes can you please fill her in on our new guest?” I asked.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship. I went back to my cabin and got back into bed.

I was woken up from my slumber by Laine.

“Hey Laine, whaa?” I slurred. I was still feeling short-changed in the sleep department.

“Jem is calling a meeting in the main bridge,” said Laine.

“I will be there soon,” I rolled to the side of the bed and got out. I did my morning ritual, threw on a jumpsuit and grabbed a coffee before leaving the cabin.

When I got to the main bridge they were all there, except the princess.

“Hello Brian. Thank you for taking care of our guest last night,” said Jem.

“I assume Ship has informed you of her identity?” I asked.

“Yes. I thought we should discuss before I meet with her,” replied Jem.

“A wise move,” I said. I took a seat by Koluna. I described the interactions I had with her royal highness, including my understanding of how to address her.

“Thank you Brian, that is most helpful,” said Jem. I sipped on my coffee.

“What do we do now?” asked Koluna. I looked at Jem who returned my eye contact. It was Koluna and Laine who insisted on reviving her, and now we were all responsible.

“To start you off, I have two questions you need to answer. Where is she from? And when is she from?” I said. I sat back to let them think about that.

“We already know she is from Dentra,” replied Koluna. Laine nodded.

“And where is that?” I asked.

“Ship, do you know the location of Dentra?” asked Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Please put it up on the tactical display,” said Jem. The display showed a system of planets around a singular star.

“Ship, how long to get there from here?” I asked. The sooner we got rid of our guest the better.

“Estimate eleven days at hyper drive,” replied Ship.

“So we know where. But when is she from? She has had exposure to Baglogi, the language, their food even,” I asked.

“Ship, have you been to Dentra before?” asked Jem.

“Confirmed. It was during the time of your great grandparents. They were an ally of the Baglogi and this vessel and others visited the Kingdom of Dentra,” replied Ship. Koluna’s eyes widened.

“Was that over a century ago, in Baglogi years? No visits since then?” asked Jem.

“Confirmed. Last visit by this vessel was over one hundred twenty years ago,” replied Ship.

“Our guest is from a long time ago, in a system not too far away. They might not even remember her,” I said with a smile.

“She is still part of their royal family. They could provide her a home in a palace on Dentra,” said Koluna.

“Only one way to find out, we go there and ask them. It would be a good time to renew our alliance,” said Jem. I nodded.

“I suggest you meet with her and discuss plans before you decide our next step,” I said.

“Agreed commander. Ship, please inform the princess I will meet with her soon,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Other business?” asked Jem.

“What about the rest of the treasure?” asked Laine.

“I say we leave it there,” said Jem.

“I can leave the probe in the system to deal with incoming pirate vessels. It will also safeguard the treasure,” I offered.

“Thank you commander. Anything else?” asked Jem. No one had anything more.

“I will go meet our guest then. Commander, please prepare to leave the system when I get back.” Jem got up and left the main bridge.

“Ship, prepare a course to take us to Dentra. Also designate the probe that resembles pirate decoy alpha to be pirate decoy gamma. The functions are the same as before. We are to leave it in this system to greet and eliminate pirate vessels,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Well, I guess I am ready. Koluna I have a question for you,” I said.

“Go ahead Bri-an,” she replied.

“On your visit to the planet, you recorded some data on the cargo. Have you looked at that data further?” I asked.

“Yes. I came up with a list of systems of origin. I compared it with the list from the Trading Post and found cargo from two additional systems. We don’t know the vessels that were attacked, but if we pass by those systems we could compare the serial numbers against cargo manifests,” replied Koluna.

“Good work Koluna. I hope those are the last of the pirates we dealt with,” I said.

“I hope so too. But I am certain we made a big impact on their number. I know you did a great service back on Ori Major when you spoke to all those families and friends of missing crews,” said Koluna.