“It's not me that's a traitor!”
A forceful wind threw soldiers back into the trees and struck their bodies against the trunks at Falconer’s command. Helshred leaped down from high branches, landing on a pair not caught by the maelstrom. He pierced them with his claws and a cry of fury. Over by the ships, the two guarding never heard a shot fired. They heard the cry of a falcon right before they were both struck unconscious. One last soldier, realizing they were beaten and shocked at how fast it happened, jumped up and ran. He hit the butt of Reigndale's rifle with a thud, face first.
They surveyed the bodies of Amnath soldiers with newfound surprise. They expected guards from the castle with airships. They planned to take an airship back to the castle and steal the royal star craft.
“There is more to this than I ever imagined,” murmured Falconer.
Reigndale said nothing but the expression of rage and confusion on his face was hard to miss.
“We'll find out what's going on. I promise you,” Falconer offered and his friend only nodded.
Ulaf and Lya came with the baby and a few supplies. They rushed to the two starships and boarded one of them. Reigndale went on the other one and exacted his rage on the engine components with his rifle. As he came out to join them, smoke filtered out the top of the door. He boarded the still functioning craft and took the pilots seat before looking to Falconer.
“This I can fly.” he reassured.
They started the engine and lifted away from the surface. In minutes they were in space. Slowly, they drifted away from their home as they pondered their next move. Falconer noted all had worried faces. Ulaf held an arm around his daughter as she held the Princess. Ulaf looked somber but Lya appeared terrified. The baby slept peacefully. Falconer turned to Reigndale at the controls.
“They must have scanned the airship and found out we weren't on it,” Falconer said.
“I can't believe my people are involved in this,” Reigndale said as he gripped the controls tightly.
“I know. It doesn’t make sense that Amnath would send forces for us. It’s an internal matter.”
The console beeped with an attempt of incoming communication. Reigndale set a control and yanked away an access panel near his feet. He reached in through a nest of wires and circuit boards for something deep under the main panel. Once he found it, he gave a tug, then a harder tug and a loud snap could be heard. He brought out a small metal box component with bedraggled wires dangling. He took it to the back where the rest of them strapped themselves into safety harnesses. Just past them he opened another panel and lay out a small torpedo from the ships weapons. He opened its access panels and stuck the box component inside. Moving quickly, he loaded the torpedo into a shaft and went back to the controls. He turned the ship and set the targeting for manual. Everyone watched as he set the cross hairs on the light of a random star and fired.
“What was that?” Falconer asked.
“It’s the ship’s communication and tracking circuit. We can't talk to anyone, but they'll have fun tracking us.”
“It'll still be a matter of time before they catch up with that. We need to expect problems and find a place to keep the Princess safe while we deal with them.”
“I think I know a place,” Reigndale said. “An old outpost on one of the inhabitable moons. It hasn't been used in years but could be livable.”
“Take us to it then.”
Reigndale pushed the starcraft to its limits and set course. The moon actually rotated around a planet that couldn't sustain life due to volcanic activity. Amnath scientists theorized that the planet’s atmosphere helped the jungle moon maintain its tropical atmosphere as a result. Past that, the moons atmosphere defied scientific explanation. It had atmosphere, plants and animals. It had water. The outpost was for science expeditions and studies to see if the planet could eventually be inhabited. Amnath authorities decided the moon itself was too small for their military purposes and abandoned it during debates in the Federation on fair use. Since no one could agree on fair access to the moon or the planet, they decided that no one would have it. It was declared off limits.
Reigndale hoped that would mean no one would think to look for them there. Falconer knew to expect the opposite, even if it never occurred. Expecting problems is what made the Royal Guard good at what they did. Reigndale found a clearing in the jungle that served to land but they would have a hike to get to the outpost. Once they landed, he made sure to shut down all power to the engines, even secondary power used for comfort of persons staying on the craft in hot weather. He knew any passing craft above would be able to pick up power readings of anything using enough energy.
They had Ulaf and Lya stay in the hold with the baby so they could open the doors and scout the outside. The doors opened to a wave of hot steamy air and view of thick growing jungle trees and plants. Helshred moved to the edge of the clearing for a closer look and Sersi took to the sky. Reigndale kept his rifle ready and Falconer concentrated on his elemental senses. He could feel the thriving life of this place clear into the roots of the great trees. Life moved all around with vines, insects and animals. Some watched them. Others hid. Sersi spotted the building of the outpost buried deep in the jungle foliage and reported back to Falconer. No path could be seen from their location, so they would have to cut one themselves. Helshred clicked his blades, ready to be pointed in the right direction. With the ship starting to get hot inside, they brought out Ulaf, Lya and Princess Shira.
Reigndale took position behind Helshred as the Teri-Moor started hacking through the plants. Falconer walked behind those they protected and Sersi rode on his shoulder. She occasionally flew around to make sure that wildlife stayed clear of them. Helshred forged a wide path, easy to walk through with exception of roots and thicker branches they had to steer around. Once in the jungle, the temperature cooled slightly thanks to the shielding of the canopy above. It was still hot enough to make them sweat. Lya held the baby close to her busty chest. She was a stout and strong woman, like her sister, but had never been to another world before. For that matter she had never left her village before. The sights of the jungle both awed and frightened her.
