Dark Kingdom: Diamond’s Cruiser in orbit
A man in black leather knee-high boots, a black and gold jacket and wet leather pants armed with some kind of pulse rifle she thought appeared in the doorway to her bedchamber. She was stunned, the man winked at her and she gasped, turning a deep shade of red. The intruder looked her over, smiling then bowed.
She was near naked. Beryl wrapped her arms around herself feeling suddenly chilled.
Having seen the blast wave knock the two droids stationed outside her chambers on their backs bursting into flame, she relaxed a little.
As uncouth as this man was he was there obviously to help her, if not, then his being there made no sense at all. Princess Beryl didn’t immediately register what was happening, so much was going on.
Legions of unbidden images had invaded her head non-stop since she woke up here on this vessel, she was tired, hungry, and miserable, and this sensory overload was not helping matters, it just muddied the waters. She could barely function let alone understand what was happening.
The man, on first impression, reminded her a little of her father. She remembered how he would conduct military drills in the royal capital in Atlantari back on Terra. The stranger was very much like him but for the black silk headscarf.
as a child Beryl’s mother Gaea, and baby brother Endymion would sit in the royal boxes and watch the man they loved and admired put the Terran armed forces through their paces. So much was coming back and the horrors of her past were fading though these haunted her dreams resulting in spasms of paralysis and cold sweats, if pre-Dark Kingdom, she would experience warm feelings, love of her friends and family, tears of love and a smile upon her lips after waking. Yet, the Silver Millennium and her role in the fall of the House of Serenity broke her heart.
She would often find her face wet with tears at what her body was forced to do that made her shudder with revulsion at all she had to endure, her consciousness held captive, powerless to stop any of it and the parasite manipulating her every move.
She wished she could forget, but to remember was a painful reminder of what burdens she bore, of what she, no, it had made her do against her will. Beryl desired to make restitution if she survived.
The young princess gasped at the speed and violence of this man, but soon realized he was her only way off this ship and back home, if it would have her now.
“Who are you!” the comely redheaded girl in a lacy white shift kneeling in the corner of her bed whimpered, having summoned the courage to speak, though her hiccups made her sound like a little girl as opposed to a high-born princess.
The former Dark Queen’s tears were streaming down a face Raymore thought so innocent, beautiful and most appealing. Under other circumstances, he’d seduce the young woman, but he dismissed the notion, he had a job to do and he would complete it no matter how attractive he found the girl. All the harsh maniacal lines and the contorted hatred were gone, her face shedding years as if a veil of make-up was wiped away, her voice softening, and lighter although she hadn’t said much of anything yet. Raymore figured her to be twenty-Terran years and he was right as that was the age she had been when Metallia claimed the young crown princess as its host.
“All you need to know is I am your only way out of here alive, so quit crying will ya. Crying females make me nervous.”
“Why are you helping me?” she managed, rubbing her sore eyes.
Beryl drew her knees to her chest, and sighed, burying her face against her thighs.
Raymore leaned against the doorway partially blocked by a twitching droid at his feet; kicking it, he checked the chronophasic device on his belt.
He chanced another look at the young woman so differed from her former image of a Dark Kingdom tyrant almost to the point of non-recognition admiring the girl’s long shapely legs but pushed his desires aside as this young female was off llimits. The Crystal-Queen would have his head otherwise.
“Let’s just say you’re far more valuable alive than dead to me and my partners. Now get up and change.”
“Where are we going?” she said, crawling to the end of the huge bed and reaching for the pile of clothes the strange man had brought.
“As much as I think you a beautiful woman, I shall not ogle you as you put those on. I’m turning my back to allow you to dress, but be quick about it as time grows short, Lady Beryl.”
“Thank you, um, what do I call you, sir?” she said, blushing as she peeled off the nightdress picking up the clean shift off her bedside table and putting that on and examined the jumpsuit designed for space travel.
---
The boots were a perfect fit; everything felt just right as if he’d known her body weight, and all her physical specs. She blushed in spite of herself, he was a looker but she threw on her new clothing over the pale blue shift and sat on the end of the bed lacing up her new boots.
“You look quite sexy in that shift underneath but the jumpsuit is also quite becoming. Hmmm, turn for me…, very nice, you’ll do. Now hurry, we have to get to the surface where my ship waits. There’s a war going on in your former home so you’ll need to use one of these, a personal shield. If a youma or anyone else comes upon us, it will defend you by killing or stunning them, the latter in the case of a human, depending on what species we’re dealing with at the time. Youma or droids vaporized. For extra protection, this, a make-up kit and I must change your hair color, sorry.”
Raymore clipped the belt around her slim waist with quick efficiency, grabbed her hair and tied it in a ponytail after spraying a mist of some kind over her red locks.
Blonde highlights now ran through her new soft teal tresses.
“Your own mother wouldn’t recognize you, Lady Tria, my partner in crime, your new designation until I get you home.”
“Oh I do look different, I’m impressed,” she gasped, examining her new image in the mirror. “Thank you.”
Raymore handed her a round container, she opened the lid, sniffed the floral scent and smiled.
“You want me to put this on?”
“I thought that rather obvious, princess, but yes, please, try it then take a look in the mirror.”
---
She did as he asked surprised by what she saw, the face looking back at her she did not recognize, pretty, playful, child-like but not her own face and that was a comfort. She nodded and placed the kit in her pack.
“With the hair and now a new face, I can fool even Kunzite,” she shuddered remembering the corrupted Shitennou’s face, his naked body over hers, the hardness of him inside her body, and her pleasure as she remembered locking her legs around his muscular waist as he kneaded her breasts. The Dark General had taken her maidenhead and she let him, and what was worse, she lusted for him and enjoyed sex with this deadly and beautiful man, but she sensed Lord Kunzite wasn’t the first to seduce her or vice versa; it proved all too much to bear. She sobbed involuntarily.
“You okay princess?”
“It’s all right, I just remembered my last encounter with him, and it wasn’t something I’m proud of either, why am I telling you that?”
“How should I know, you’re telling the story princess, now, come on, we’ve already spent too much time preparing. Diamond’s minders will grow suspicious when those droids fail to report in, so I suggest we move our asses.” He paused on the threshold and turned to look at her, scratching his jaw Raymore came to a decision. “Take this, you’ll need it.”
“You sure about this?” She looked at the laser pistol as if it were a venomous spider about to bite her.
“I trust you, don’t worry, take it…, here you go.”
“You’re most kind, thank you.”
“Just slide the green dial here, and choose high for kill and low to stun. Clever I thought, the weapon can also be cloaked if you press the silver touchpad twice, see the light, that means… ah invisible, so if you casually walk into a siege situation and feign ignorance you can take out the enemy with a wide spread repulse, the blue star will light up when you touch it. I have a companion beacon; preventing the discharge hitting me, not much of a weapon if it kills your way out of here is it, ne?”
Beryl slid the weapon into the holster he’d handed her and had to unzip the suit and Raymore got another glimpse of her cleavage but she didn’t care, a small price for him saving her life so she didn’t mind all that much, it made her feel wanted if even a little as her self-esteem was all-but non-existent right now. She zipped up her bodysuit and sighed with relief.
---
“I have a question,” she asked as they rushed down the corridor towards the escape pod bay and came to a stop at an intersecting corridor. “How does the make-up work and where did you get it?”
“Hold on…, okay, let’s go… this way. To answer your question, I acquired this make-up from an Incarnadine trader back home on Mau, to put it simply nanites technology far beyond that of the Terrans although they’re moving in that direction.”
---
They came to the entrance to the bay and crouched, taking aim at five droids zipping towards them demanding security identification, they fired.
Soon they were jumping into the cockpit of an escape pod, or disk.
“It’s too small!” she whined.
“Woman, hurry, sit on my lap, no time for getting all fussy, it’s my lap or its Diamond’s enforcers, take your pick!”
“O-okay, fine.”
She sank into the Mauan’s embrace, he wound the seatbelt around her slender waist, and soon they were flying into space.
She felt warm and secure and he didn’t say a word as the vehicle entered orbit and descended to a point five miles from the Dark Kingdom castle.
“That wasn’t so bad, you were dosing off there you know, as snug as a kitten, so maybe we might need to do that again and next time you might find it not so bad, hmmm?” He laughed. “Oh, by the way, the name’s Raymore, bounty hunter and mercenary for hire extraordinaire at your service my princess!”
“Pleased to finally make your acquaintance proper, Raymore. Now, was that so difficult to tell me, hmmm?” she giggled, a sound that delighted him, and his reaction amused her.
“Give me a break princess, I had to be sure you weren’t playing possum or worse, don’t ask me to define those colloquialisms for you, they’re new Terran or Earthen, it would go over your pretty head now, the fun part, like cross-country jaunts?”
“Um, but isn’t your ship nearby?”
“Yes, but we have a bomb to plant and set.”
“Hey wait- just one…”
“The sooner you move your pretty little butt honey, the faster we can stop Diamond from usurping your former position and adding to the problems on the Terra world, now move it girl!”
“Yes sir!” she whined, grinning behind her gloved hand.
---
The trip was arduous, several times, they’d scarcely avoided incineration by quantum mines, or stray weapons fire from both sides.
Beryl felt sore all over, but the adrenalin was pumping through her. The memories were flashing faster through her head as the shadowy palace came into view, she faltered a little, twice, but swallowed her reticence and pushed on, Raymore encouraging her. He was gentle and so understanding. Beryl wondered how many times this man would surprise her and felt better for meeting him, not only because he’d rescued her but because he was, nice in a gruff kind of way and she liked that about him, she liked that very much .
“I know the way, I wish I didn’t but come, this way!” she gathered her courage and took the secret entrance that ran beneath the science research facility and the youma barracks that would lead them to her former chambers and the Throne Room beyond.
---
Soon they entered the dim light of the Throne Room, but they weren’t alone.
Iraq
Bagdad
“I’ve synthesized the blood samples. I think there risks are worth it, those who receive the vaccine will evolve into senshi and Shitennou-like warriors that cannot be helped. If we do nothing, the planet may be over run, as it is, even with this, we’re going to have a fight on our hands, Setsuna.”
“Ami, do it, Usagi is okay with it and Mamoru is speaking with her now, let’s begin the inoculations.”
“Thanks for the support Setsuna, okay, list one…”
---
“Doctor Mizuno, I am Major Rachel McQueen, I’m not afraid of needles like my friend here, Captain Debbie Coral, she’s a whim,” the raven-haired marine joked.
“Fine girls, now roll up those sleeves please, we’ve got a lot of people to get through.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rachel laughed, slapping her friend’s shoulder. “You first, woman.”
TBC
