Return to Porcelina

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## Chapter 1

Princess Iria smiled as she leaned on the railing of her balcony. The balcony overlooked the beautiful landscape of her planet. The long beach which her castle was built near stretched for hundreds of miles in both north and south. To the east was a crystal clear ocean that was a pristine blue. To the west it was a sprawling jungle that covered most of her planet.

She sighed happily as she relaxed on the chair she set up there. Sitting there, she called one of her servants to bring her some grapes and some water. Unlike on earth, here her scent was much stronger so she wouldn’t even need to get up for her servants to smell it. All she had to do was ring a small bronze bell and the young man came bolting in with a bowl of the freshed, greenest grapes she ever saw and a pitcher in the other.

He gave her a charming smile before setting the bowl down and filling her glass. The servant gave a gracious bow before marching off. She giggled to herself and dismissed them with a wave of her hand. Always eager to please they were. It was good to be home.

Iria smiled and plucked a grape from its cluster before popping it in her mouth. She just sat there and enjoyed the view. It had taken several weeks but the Protectors had finally deemed it safe for Iria and her family to return to Porcelania after clearing out the last of General Pestillicus’s forces.

She popped a few more grapes into her mouth before she lifted her glass up and took a big sip from it. Even the water here tasted sweeter than it did on Earth.

Still, a part of her still missed Earth, Agent Brains and even that jam colored sidekick of hers. What was his name again? Ned? Ted? For a while having to do her own work was a refreshing change of pace. For a while at least. She wondered if Agent Brains still kept the dress she bought for her.

Iria’s room communicator started to beep and interrupted her thoughts. “Princess?” A mousy voice questions on the speaker. It was of Zia, her handmaids and the one of the only servants her age.

Sighing, Zia tapped on the button of her communicator and nodded. “Yes Zia?”

There was a short pause. “Your presence is requested in the throne room by the king.”

With that, the call was cut off. The Princess scowled and folded her arms. Normally servants would come in personally to escort her to the throne room. Have these people forgotten their etiquette in the past few months they were away. She huffed and decided not to dwell on it and started to march downstairs.

Her room was located on a tower in the southwestern part of the castle which spiraled down for two stories. At the base of the tower, two guards were waiting for her. They were some of the new ones her father had hired. They were two egg headed aliens with blasters strapped to their hips.

They saluted to her as she approached and flanked her as she walked. “Did my father say why he needed me in the throne room?”

The blue egghead shook his head. “The king has simply said its urgent business.”

“Very well.” She continued to make her way through the castle with her escort. The castle was often called the castle of the ocean and for good reason, it was decorated with pearls, seashells and every other beauty their oceans had to offer. They shone and sparkled in the morning light and offered a natural light source for the whole building.

By the time they arrived in the throne room, dozens of servants and guards were already arrayed around them. Among them was Zia who was staring at her feet and couldn’t meet her gaze.But what got her attention was her father who was seated on his throne, bound and gagged. His eyes widened when he saw her and started to struggle in order to get free.

“What is the meaning of this?” Iria demanded and took a step forward, but even as she did the princess heard the click of blaster being held at her. The two guards with her had their weapons ready.

“The meaning of this princess is that your father is no longer the king.” A raspy voice announced as a small egghead on an anti-gravity chair floated forward. “But fear not someone much more qualified has taken the throne. Me.”

“And who might you be?” She questioned and folded her arms.

The little alien grinned at the question and threw his arms out dramatically. “I am the great and powerful Egghead IX, new king of Porcelina and you and your family are now my honored guest in the palace.”

“How generous of you.” Iria replied dryly and whirled around towards the servants in the room to face them. There were at least a hundred of them here, five times as many guards. “And will all if you truly allow this? My father is your rightful king.”

Her scent was much more powerful. So powerful that they could practically see it now. Yet none of the servants even stepped forward. Every one of them had a clip on their noses. Zia was the only who even had the decency to look ashamed. But another servant, a big man named Darl shook his head and growled. “He was our king alright, but not our rightful king.”

The words took her off guard. The accusation caused her anger to flash and she glared at the servant. “And what do you mean by that? My family ruled you for years.”

“And how do you think they came to that power?” He snapped right back at her face. The servant went forward and glared right at her, looking her in the eye. “Do you thing we willingly chose you because of your powers?”

The words she had to say suddenly disappeared from her lips. Iria tried to speak, tried to protest and retort but no words came out. She clenched her fists and felt anger course through her.

This wasn’t enough for Darl who continued to circle around her. “That little power you have is the only reason your family is on the throne.”

Iria quivered in rage. She raised a hand to slap him but the servant easily caught her hand and pushed it down while the two guards readied their blasters. He squeezed her wrist before releasing it. “I advice you not to fight anymore. It wouldn’t end well for you.”

Her father redoubled his efforts to try and get free, tugging from his bonds but a swift blow from the butt off a guards blaster sent him crashing down. Egghead laughed and floated beside him, patting his cheek. “You see? The last thing we need is to harm you. No will you be a good princess and return to your-”

His words were cut short as Zia shoved one of the servants against the egghead guards. The little men didn’t stand a chance as stumbled under the weight of the servant. She rushed forward, pushing through the servants and guards.

Everyone was too surprised to do anything at once. Instead they simply gaped at her as she managed to get through the crowds. Her father renewed his struggled to try and get free, kicking and thrashing against his bonds. Zia grabbed her wrist and started to pull her away. When Princess Iria wouldn’t budge she pulled again. “Come with me.”

This time Iria managed to snap her head back to reality and started to follow her. The two of them started to run through the guards as Eggheaded whirled towards and pointed desperately in their direction. “After them, after them!”

The guards were shook out of their surprise and readied their blaster, firing rapidly. Irai gasped sharply as one laser bolt whizzed past her shoulder. It missed her by a fraction of an inch and left the tips of her hair singed. She redoubled her efforts and started to catch up to Zia. The servant sprinted to the hangar where she pressed a button that caused the door to slide open.

“Quickly to your barge.” She said urgently to Ira before shutting the door behind them and smashing the controls with a stray pipe. Zia pointed towards the sleek space yacht in the center of the hangar. Hiking her skirt up, she quickly made her way up the ramp while Zia opened the main hangar bay door. She strapped herself down to the copilots chair even as she had no idea how to pilot the ship. There was a sizzling sound from the door as smoke started to rise. The guards were cutting through the door. Zia saw this happen before following.

The servant took the controls and flew the ship out of the hangar and into the sky. No sooner had she got the ship safely away from the castle did the whole yacht shuddering from laser fire. Two patrol fighters flew after them, firing their cannons at them.

One bolt struck the wing of the fighter and forced Zia to pull the piloting stick up in order to maintain altitude. “We can’t stay in Porcelania!” She announced and started to direct the ship to space.

Iria’s mind was racing as she gripped the armrest of her chair and was barely able to stop her teeth from chattering. But when she heard this a small bit of rationality returned to her mind. “Take us to Earth.”

## Chapter 2

“Princess we will emerge from light speed in less than fifteen minutes.” Zia announced as she swirled her chair around to turn towards Iria.

She sighed with relief and slumped her body forward. Iria nodded her head and shifted around in her seat. The princess still couldn’t believe what had just happened to her. Her whole life and everything she knew was now gone before her eyes. Her own father was still trapped there, and she wasn’t even sure what happened to the rest of her family.

Not to mention all those people of Porcelina left behind to be ruled by that Eggheaded usurper on the throne. Princess Iria glances up at her servant who was still directing her ship with surprising skill that was impossible. “Thank you for saving me Zia.”

“It’s nothing.” She replied, though her tone was a bit curt and took her off guard.

Princess Iria reached out and touched her shoulder. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“How do you know how to pilot this ship? I mean I never saw you ever piloting a ship before arriving here.” Granted that wasn’t so long ago. Iria’s memory wasn’t that great, but she was certain she couldn’t have been here longer than two months. “And how to fight like that?”

There was a brief pause after that. The servants focus was entirely on the ships viewport but she heard the loud sigh. Zia swiveled around to face her. “Brains told me that you were smarter than you looked.”

She reached her hand up to her face, each finger brushed off against the side of his face and they tightened around it before tugging back. Then her face peeled off as easily as it would be to remove a piece of clothing. The thing pulled off changed in appearance, any features on it vanished while it changed color to a plain grey. Meanwhile the face underneath was pale skinned and with dark blue eyes.

Hair changed from long purple to short and brown and while her clothes changed from her servants dress to a red jumpsuit with the badge of the protectors on her breast. Princess Iria’s eyes widened as she saw her servant transform right in front of her. Zia or whoever she was managed a weak grin as she gathered her hair and tied it back.

Iria simply watched her open mouthed. “Apologies for that, but I couldn’t afford being discovered while in disguise. My name is Agent Zia, the Supreme Commander sent to ensure your protection as he wasn’t sure how safe you truly were.”

“Why would he do that? What danger is there?”

“You might want to move your hand.” Zia remarked as she turned back to the computer screen and tapped a button. It caused a small beeping sound to begin emitting from Iria’s chair. She let out a small gasp of surprise and pulled her hand away to let a projector light flash out from the arm rest. It projected the image of the Egghead who was on her father's throne.

“This is Egghead XI, a criminal bent on capturing Agent Brain’s robot.”

“Friday?” Iria gasped, recalling the robot who accompanied Fred wherever they went. Cheerful, loud and a little annoying, but she liked him well enough. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“We believe he was trying to kidnap you and your family in order to get a bargaining chip against the Protectors. Brains has proven more than capable of handling herself in the past so he was hoping to find a less protected target.” A slow grin formed on her face. “That's why he wasn’t expecting me.”

“Yes, I thank you for that.” Iria remarked and tried to slow her beating heart. She placed a hand on her chest and let all of this sink in. So all of this, everything she went through, her entire family was just a pawn in this game of thrones.

“We’re exiting lightspeed just about now.” Her former servant said, slowly easing the controls forward as the ship seemed to slow down and the brilliant colors that surrounded the viewport died away, replaced with the vast blackness of space, smattered with a million stars.

The only thing on this dark tapestry was the blue and green ball in the upper left corner. Iris let her breath catch in her throat as she saw it. Earth, it was so unlike Porcelina, yet it was a welcoming sight nonetheless.

Zia slowly turned the ship towards that direction, gently listing it towards the side. The princess found herself climbing to her feet as she leaned in to watch by the cockpit. Her eyes widened as a space station began to emerge from the side of the planet. It was a single disk like structure with a massive pole passing through the center. There were dozens of ships of different sizes flying around station on patrol.

“This is Agent Zia checking in.” The Protector said to her microphone as two smaller patrol ships started to approach her a bit too threateningly. Iria watched the two ships nervously for a moment as they moved to a stop and noticed the weapons still trained at them.

However after a moment the light on the radio flashed green and beeped. A familiar voice answered her. She spoke with a british accent which caused the princess to brighten up “Copy that Agent Zia, welcome back.”

Zia directed the ship forward with the two smaller craft falling in beside them as an escort. They moved to the side of the station towards the disk area. In one segment, there was an open hanger for them to land. “Get ready to disembark.” She whispered and slowly landed the ship gently onto an empty slot. The patrol craft landed beside them. The engine powered down and the rear loading ramp opened up behind them.

Zia unbuckled herself from the seat and started to head down while Iria hurried after her. One of the pilots was waiting for them at the bottom of the lamp. She had a flight helmet out with her gloved hands held akimbo.

The protector snapped a salute to her, but the pilots tilted her head towards the princess. She reached up towards her helmets and tugged softly. There was a faint hiss and the helmet pulled free, revealing a young woman about nineteen years old with glossy black hair. “Agent Brains.”

Zia’s eyes widened as the two women locked eyes with each other, sizing the other up. Save for the color of their hair color and a few small features. they looked exactly alike. Slowly Brains looked at her with concern. “Iria, what are you doing here?”

The princess slowly took a step forward, moving with the grace one would expect from a princess. She opened her mouth to speak, but she struggled to form the words in her lips and instead all that came out was a weak sob. The young Protector placed a hand on her shoulder sympathetically. “There was a coup in her palace. Her father was taken prisoner by Egghead.” She spoke up for Iria.

“Egghead!” Brains gasped and approached the two of them. She grabbed Iria’s hand and frowned at her. “Is this true?”

Still unable to speak, she managed to nod. Before anyone could say anything else, there was a soft grunt coming from the other ship. They all turned to see the pilot of the ship, struggling to get out of his harness. He hopped around in place as one foot was caught against the harness but eventually managed to free himself as he fell on his ass.

He cursed angrily and glanced at them. The pilots gaze fell to the princess once again. He roughly tugged off his helmet, revealing the boyish face of Fred Luckpuig. He had grown up the last few years though, his hair was longer, almost touching his shoulders and he seemed a bit more muscular. But that goofy grin on his face was still the same.

Quickly jumping to his feet, he ran up to her and gave the princess a big hug. “What are you doing here? You should have called sooner so we could get ready. I might have gotten a cake for you-”

His voice trailed off however as he noticed the troubled look on her face. Brains looked up at him with pursed lips. “Fred.” She said softly. “We should probably get her to the Supreme Commander.”

With that, there was no argument. Zia excused herself to begin running maintenance on her ship and let them escort Iria.

“This is absalutely unacceptable.” The Sumpreme Commander fumed as he paced around the length of the command center. He had his hands clenched into fists which he waved around in the air. “A despicable act.”

The Supreme Commander’s hair had a bit more grey mixed in it, but aside from that he still remained the imposing figure that Iria remembered. She stood in between Fred and Brains who both stood in attention before him.

The four of them stood by the very end of the room by the viewport of the space station. The room had been cleared save for two agents who were needed to monitor the stations systems, though even they were positioned at the end of the room and wore headsets.

“To think Egghead would be so brazen as to attack a member of the Intergalatic Federation and take its monarch prisoner. This is unacdeptable.”

“And my father.” Iria added quietly.

The Supreme Commander stopped and looked momentarily abashed before walking up to the princess. He placed a hand on her shoulder sympathetically. “Of course, but know the Protectors stand with you and we will do everything in our power to that your father is freed.”

Iria nodded mutely as she accepted that promise. It didn’t help her feel any better though.

“But in the meantime, you are welcome to stay here or if you if wish to stay on planetside I can organize a safehouse for you to stay.” He offered.

“Thank you Supreme Commander, but I would prefer to remain here with Agent Brains and Fred.”

“I can have a room ready for you.” He nodded’ starting to walk around again as powered up a hologram projector. “Agent Brains, have the probes been sent out to scout Porcelina?”

She nodded and handed him a disk. Her father took it and inserted it into a slot in the table. The projector powered up, glowimg a deep blue and revealed her home planet, the area in which egghead controlled was marked red. More than half the planet was a scarlet shade red.

“Although, I have one more request Supreme Commander.”

“Oh?” He stopped walkimg and glanced back at her. “And what is that?”

She took a deep breath and straightened, trying to mimic her two friends posture. “I would like to request that I be trained as a Protector.”

All eyes turned to them suddenly as the Supreme Commander was surprised at her request. He cleared his throat slowly and took a mkmemt to regain his composure. “Princess, the training as a Protector is a difficult and long proccedure. Are you sure you are up to the challenge?”

She bristled slightly at the implication, but keot her annoyance in check. “I understand that Supreme Commander, and I am ready for whatever you would need of me.”

“Very well then. Anget Brains and Agent Fred will be handling your training.”

“You can count on us sir.” Fred snapped a salute.

“Excellent.” He said and saluted back. “Dismissed.”

With that, the three of them turned around and started to head out the door. They marched down the circular halls of the space station, the other agents walking by saluting to Brains as she passed.

“They seem to respect you quite a bit Agent Brains.” Iria noted as she watched the two agents walk past then to Brains. The teenager had grown up quite a lot simce the last time they had seen each other. She had always been tough, but now there was a fire blazing in her eyes.

“Well they have to show respect for their captain.” Fred remarked as he trailed slightly behind them. Even he had a bit more discipline kn the way he walked. Though the seriousness didn’t quite reach the friendly smile on his face. Iria found herself taking a little comfort in that.

“Wow, Captain. That's an impressive accomplishment.” She let out a long whistle of appreciation.

“Thank you.” Brains replied with a bit of a smile. “It feels pretty good. But Iria can I ask you something?”

“Are you sure you really want to receive training?” Fred said, as if reading Brain’s mind. His happy look was gone and in its place was a look of genuine concern. It was a touching sentiment. “I mean you never had any experience with it.”

But also one she couldn’t stand. The Princess stopped walking and glared at them, her body hunching over as her blood boiled in frustration. “Now you two listen here. My father and my home was just taken from me by som eggheaded usurper, I will not forget that.”

She spoke with a fierce fervor as the two of them could practically see the fire in her eyes. It caused them to step back in surprise while Iria stepped forward, her finger pointed at them. “And I will not sit idly as he sits on my father's throne.”

With each word her alluring scent grew stronger until it was practically visible and emanating from her body. Brains raised her hands defensively and sighed. “Very well, I guess there is no stopping you.”

Your most certainly right about that. She wanted to add but calmed herself and straightened her posture, once again resuming the perfect etiquette of a Princess.

“Your training will start tomorrow.” Brains said, putting a bit more authority in her voice. Her face changed into one of stone cold demeanor. One expected from a captain. “In the meantime I suggest you get settled and rest up. You room is room H-682.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“Are you ready for your first day?” Zia asked as she glanced up from her shoelaces and looked at her. There was no skepticism or doubt in her voice, instead she seemed just curious.

“I think I am.” Iria replied as she wiggled her tentacles underneath her own sneakers and tugged at the front of her jumpsuit, trying to make it more comfortable. It still felt weird having to wear such things, but this was the uniform of the protectors and it was all she had to wear.

The two girls were alone in the changing room, the other recruits already headed out to begin physical training. Zia finished tying her laces and helped her wear her uniform properly. “Just remember, the first few days are always the worst. They won’t go easy on you just because your a princess.”

“Good, I don’t expect them to.” She replied and ran her fingers across her hair, pushing it back and tying it into a ponytail.

The two of them quickly jogged out to join the others in the training area. There were half a dozen Protectors in their ranks all standing in two rows. Fred was among them and waved when he spotted the two of them joining their ranks. “Glad you could make it.” He leaned over and whispered to Iria before quickly straightening when the drill sergeant swiveled his head to them.

“Is there something you would like to say Private Fred!” He snapped.

“Uuh, no sir.” Fred replied with a quick shout. “Sergeant Palmer.”

He grunted and seemed satisfied with the answer. He turned his attention towards Iria now. “And you Private Princess, what took you so long? Did you get your hair done while you were making us wait for you? Did you need Private Zia to be your handmaid again.”

“No ummm, sir.” She replied, trying to snap a salute and look professional. “I was just trying on my Protectors uniform.”

“Well that uniform won’t make you a protector, but this will.” Palmer replied and blew on his whistle. “On the floor recruits, one hundred pushups.”

In unison all eight of the dropped to the ground and started to perform his orders, quickly doing pushups. Iria closed her eyes and started to do the same, grunting and wheezing as she tried to keep up. Beside her Fred and Zia fared much better, breathing softly as they counted out with each other.

She was already behind by three pushups by the time they were at twenty. Closing her eyes, Iria moved double time and struggled to catch up. By forty though she was panting heavily as she lost her balance and fell to the ground. The sergeant was on her in an instant. He didn’t strike her or anything, but his voice cracked like thunder.  “Would you like a feather pillow and a soft mattress with that princess?”

“N-no sergeant.” Iria replied and forced herself back to her hands even as her muscles screamed in protest. She started to do push up once again as her arms burned, forty-one. Forty-two. It was much slower, but the others seemed to be slowing down at least.

Sergeant Palmer chewed on his lower lip but didn’t linger for long. He turned at his heel and marched towards another recruit who was now on his belly and started to give him hell. Against all odds, Iria managed to do a hundred pushups in all. She rolled on her back and gasped out heavily, feeling her breaths come out in ragged sounds.

It felt like hours has passed, but when she glanced at the wall clock barely five minutes had passed. Fred was sitting beside her with a shaky grin, wiping sweat from his brow, but aside from that he seemed only a bit winded.

“First days always the hardest.” He said and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Just take deep breaths slowly.”

Her rest only lasted less than a minute though as the sound of a whistle cut through the room. Sergeant Palmer paced between them and roared. “Sit ups now!”

None of the others protested, out loud at least. A few grunted and groaned before shifting towards a sitting position. Iria paled and watched them move in disbelief, wondering if they were actually going to go through with this. But no one smiled or corrected her, instead they continued to go on with their exercise.

With no other choice, Iria dropped down and obeyed. By the time it was over,  she was slumped on the ground, feeling as though someone had left a pile of cinder blocks on her body and she felt black spots in her vision. A fist was thrust out towards her, stopping about halfway through as its fingers uncoiled and offered her hand out.

The princess took it as Zia pulled her up to her feet. She nodded to her. “Are you alright?”

“I think I am.” Fred handed her a water bottle as he gobbled down his own.

“Your doing great so far.” He said reassuringly. She couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or not, but that wasn’t what was on her mind right now.

She removed the cap and started to gulp heavily. The water was lukewarm, but at this point it tasted like the finest wine in Porcelina. Half its contents were gone in a few seconds. Iria capped the bottle once she was done. The other recruits were doing something similar, either grabbed bottles from a cart or greedily drinking it down.

This break was a bit longer than their last, but it too ended far too quickly for Iria’s liking. That whistle blew again, sending her jumping back in surprise. She stared at Sergeant Palmer and resisted the urge to rip the whistle from his neck and jam it down his throat. “Alright recruits, now that your break is over it's time to get back to work. Jumping jacks now.”

The eight of them hurried to obey, one or two only stopping to adjust their clothes or take one last drink of water before continuing the exercise. Zia didn't say anything as she joined their squad. Fred gave her a lopsided grin and wink as if to say. You signed up for this.

Iria briefly wondered what she got herself into. She felt as if her legs were about to give up from underneath her, not that she minded. A small part of her wanted to just give in then and there, but the other quickly scolded her back into continuing her exercise. This is what she signed up for.

The princess quickly followed up with the rest of her teammates and did her best to keep up. It took another few minutes, but they managed to complete the exercise by some miracle. Palmer blew on his whistle once again. “And, rest.” He said, snapping his arm in the air to signal for them to stop.

As one, the recruits dropped to the ground and Iria nearly passed out then and there. Fred caught her by the arm though and held her up. He laughed at her exhaustion and pulled her up. “Hey, don’t go dying now, you just got through your first day. You just have about six more weeks to go until your an official protector.”

If she had not been so exhausted, Iria probably would have punched him in the face. She wondered how Fred still managed to stay on his feet. Her only consolation was that he was coated in sweat and panted heavily. “So what are we doing now?”

He grinned and jerked his thumb towards the double doors. “You’ll see.”

Thankfully there were no more activities as physically demanding as physical training, that didn’t mean it was any less exhausting. After her training session with Sergeant Palmer, Iria had to spend two hours in class studying about different aliens and planets, an hour in weapons training which the recoil sent her flying back. After that was hand to hand combat which left her body with bruises.

Iria took a few steps towards her room before promptly collapsing onto her bed. She groaned and took a deep breath from underneath her pillow. The princess wanted nothing more than just curling under the covers and sleeping for the rest of the week.

She heard the door click open behind her and knew immediately that her new bunkmate was there. To her credit, Zia tried to make as little noise as possible when she came in as not to disturb her. Iria could still hear her footsteps though as she made her way across the room to her bed beside hers.

The princess grunted and with considerable effort, turned her head from the pillow to face her. Zia was tugging off her sneakers and threw them to the side and noticed her looking. She managed a weak smile as she leaned forward to get the other shoe off. “So this is the protectors. What do you think of it?”

“How do you manage to do this each day?” Iria asked in disbelief.

The girl shrugged. “Well we do get weekends off.”

“Still, how are you able to do this?” Iria asked and tried to sit up. She stared at the girl for a long moment, waiting for her answer.

Eventually her fellow recruit would sigh. “I guess I just learned to deal with it. But can I ask, are you really ok with going through with this?”

“I’ll be fine.” Iria said a bit more harshly than she intended. “I can do this.”

“Alright, I’m just saying, you don’t need to do this.”

“Don’t I? I’m being hunted by some eggheaded cretan who nearly took me prisoner. I need to protect myself.”

“If its protection you want, you have Protectors here and will probably be assigned to you. I have watched you for years and you never denied yourself anything. Why are you so insistent on training now?.”

That question struck her too close to home. Iria sighed slowly and looked at her. “My father is imprisoned in his own castle on a planet that isn't his anymore. I need to be ready to defend myself if the time comes.”

Zia sighed and got up. She extended her hands out and curled her fingers, a gesture for her to get up. “Alright, alright then. If your going to fight you might as well do it right. Get up and I’ll run you down some basics.”

To prove her point, she got into a combat stance and extended her fists out. Iria nodded and got to her feet a moment after, slowly standing and trying to mimic her stance as best she can. This wasn’t enough for the Protector who shook her head and moved up to her, adjusting her posture, spreading her legs a bit more and moving her fists closer together.

She stepped back and nodded her head in approval. “There that's better. Now let's get to work.”

Iria nodded eagerly, ready to handle what's about to be thrown at her just as Zia threw a roundhouse kick.

## Chapter 3

"So how is this game played again?" Iria asked nervously as she had her hands pressed together and held out towards Zia. The two of them were kneeling on one of the training pats used for their physical training. Beside them, Fred and Brains were sitting on a bench and watching the game.

"Its simply really," Zia said as she raised her left hand gestured to the princess's hands. "You keep your hands like that."

Without warning, her other hand came lashing out. It moved like a viper, stinging against Iria's hands and causing a stinging pain to burst across her hands. She pulled them back and looked at her friend furiously. The junior Protector simply smirked in return and stuck her tongue out. "And I hit you. All you need to do is dodge it."

From the corner of her eye she could see Fred chortling and Brains trying and failimg to hide a smile. When she turned to them, they both quickly adopted serious expressions and nodded to her. She grumbled under her breath and shook the hand that was struck quickly in an attempt to shake off the pain. "And what is the purpose of this game?"

"To teach you about timing, to train your reflexes." Her hand came again and struck Iria on the other side. The princess let out a scream this time but managed to keep her hands from breaking. This cause Zia's smile to grow even more. "And to expect the unexpected."

Grinding her teeth together, Iria bit back her pain and squared her shoulders. She was starting to get annoyed, yet one of Zia's lessons popped into her mind. Anger is good, so long as you channel it properly. Don't hold it back, but use it as a weapon.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, counting as she inhaled and then exhaled. Iria stared at her opponent, easing the tension in her muscles as she waited. Zia's smile disappeared and a blank expression quickly returned. And the saw Zia's shoulder shift. At that moment Iria pulled her hands away. She felt the air whoosh above her as Protectors hand harmlessly passed over hers.

"Good," She said and pulled her gloves off and placed them beside her. Fred and Brains were also nodding in approval beside them. A bit of amusements returned to her face as it was now her turn to press her hands together. "Very good, but now its my turn."

"Excellent." Iria growled and leaned forward, pulling her hands apart and prepared for attack.

"Well you seem confident, even if you never managed to land a blow."

Use your anger. She brought her hand up in the air, slow enough for her opponent to notice. It brought a chuckle to Zia's lips the muscles on her arms moved around, preparing to move. But instead of striking at her hand, Iria's hand arced down and struck Zia across the face. The blow seemed to have echo as it struck against the girls cheek.

It sent her jerking to the side while Fred and Brains jumped to their feet in an instant. Zia snapped her head back towards , one hand moving to the spot where she was struck which was already turning red. For a moment everyone was speechless. Even the princess paused and remained silent. Part of her was suddenly beginning to regret that move as she simply stared at the princess.

But thankfully it didn't last long as  Zia began to chuckle. "Well, that was certainly unexpected."

The other two started to relax as well as the chuckle became a laugh. Fred even walked behind Iria and clapped her on the back and complimented for a good job. She felt a rush of pride as she helped Zia sit up. As they did, the double doors opened behind them and the other recruits started to fall in. They would be followed by sergeant Palmer who jogged after them not stopping even as he shut the doors behind them.

There was no whistle blown or instructions given, but now everyone knew the drill and quickly fell into line in front of him. New recruits had swelled the ranks of their class over the past six weeks, now they numbered closer to two dozen recruits organized in four rows. The two leaders double stepped to catch up and stood on the second row. Fred shouted encouragement to them and clapped loudly, causing everyone to look at him. Palmer glared at the purple haired teen who shrunk back and quickly feel silent.

Brains gently knocked him in the side of his head causing a chuckle to break out from the other recruits. The two of them as full time Protectors didn’t have to join in every session so long as they log a certain number of hours in training each week. This quickly vanished as the sergeant glared at them and cleared his throat. “Alright, alright recruits. That's enough of that. You know the drill, on the ground now!”

Like a well oiled machine, they all dropped to the ground and began their day with some physical training. Since last week, he had doubled the number of push ups and tripled the sit ups. Her training with Zia had done wonders for her and she had a much easier time keeping up with the other recruits.

She closed her eyes and just tried to focus on the moment right now, move by move until she heard Palmers whistle blow. At that point every recruit practically dropped to the mat. Iria fell face forward and groaned, just now realizing how tired she was. But at the same time she felt exhilarated.

The training didn’t feel as draining or painful as before and she could almost feel her body getting more athletic after each session. Iria had no illusions of her being at the top of her class,  though she could hardly be considered in the bottom.

But she knew this was just the beginning. These first few weeks had just been about physical training and a bit of book learning. The Princess knew how to fight hand to hand with an opponent or how to get in the top ten in the flight simulator. But more advanced training was just full time protectors.

She didn’t know how to pilot a real spaceship like Brain or how to snipe a target from three hundred meters away like Fred. But for now she would satisfy herself with this.

Brianna looked up at from her table and frowned as the one of the older agents made his way towards them through the crowded room.

“Agent Brains,” one of the guards said as he approached her. She glanced up from the lunch table and looked at him. The guard saluted towards her. “The Supreme Commander wishes to speak to you, Agent Zia and Fred. He said for you not to tell anyone else.”

“I see,” Brianna nodded and looked around. She set her utensils down and pushed her tray away. She was sitting alone today as Fred was with a few of his other friends. “Did he say why?”

“He did not, but he insisted you go to him immediately. He said it was urgent.” The guard replied and glanced around. With his message delivered, the agent turned at his heel and walked off to get some lunch.

Brianna watched him go and sighed. She knew her father wouldn't call her unless it was important and quickly dumped the rest of her leftover food into the thrash. Thankfully she didn’t have much left at that point. She pulled Fred away from his friends and found Zia sitting with Iria. The two girls were giggling and sharing some funny story.

This would be a bit more complicated. She cleared her throat and waved at them. “Hey, Zia, Zia. The lunch lady just put out some more chocolate pudding out.”

She knew that Iria hated pudding, but Zia eagerly got up and followed after them. As the three walked through the lunchroom, she started to look around for the aforementioned pudding. “So where's this pudding?”

“There is no pudding,” Brianna replied and glanced back at her. “We’re heading to the command center. The Supreme commander has called both of us.”

“What?” Zia, and surprisingly Fred cry in unison. The male protector sighed. “So the pudding is just a lie?”

“Fred, you know we were just getting Zia to bring with us.”

“Ya, but I thought we were just gonna get pudding first.” Fred muttered unhappily and pouted. Zia looked almost as disappointed as well.

Branna closed her eyes and slowly shook her head in exasperation. Counting from one to three, she grabbed Fred by the ear and started to drag him to the hallway. “Come on, we need to go. The Supreme Commander is waiting for us.”

Zia grabbed her ears protectively as she followed them to the hallway. They made their way through the hallway, greeting some of the passing Protectors who saluted to Brianna. The Supreme Commander was waiting for them by the time they reached the command center.

The place looked similar from the last time they were there. Empty for the most the part save for a skeleton crew who were left to run the station. He was pacing around the bridge and looked at them. When he saw them he stopped his pacing and wordlessly tapped onto the holo table. “Welcome aboard agents.”

The table lit up and displayed a beautiful tropical landscape. On the beach was a shining palace thrusting out of the waters and sand. “Our probes on Porcelina returned this morning with new information.”

This caused the three of them to stand up in attention and nodded. The Supreme Commander zoomed in closer to the palace to reveal the royal guards patrolling the perimeter. Brianna frowned and looked closer at the screen, something seemed different. This time there seemed to have been twice as many guards than normal. “Egghead has begun fortifying the entire planet, recruiting more guards and mercenaries.”

“What about the castle staff?” Zia asked, trying to keep her voice straight, though Brianna sensed a bit of nervousness in her voice. In her time disguised as a member of the staff, she came to know a lot of them.

He frowned and shook his head. “As far as we know, they appear to still be working in the castle, but they are kept under strict guard. Egghead has refused to let any of them leave. He’s been consolidating his power for the past few weeks and we believe he’s preparing to move out.”

“Move out?” Fred asked nervously, glancing at the table. He eyes scanned the guards gathering in the courtyard. “Where is planning to move to? He already has the whole planet.”

“Egghead needs Iria,” Brianna guessed. “So long as Iria is free and not under his control she will continue to pose a threat to his rule, especially since she’s friends with the Protectors.”

“Wait, wait,” Fred said, holding his arms in the air and pointing at the table. “So you are saying that they will try to get Iria back by attacking here, at the very headquarters of the Protectors?”

“We cannot discount that possibility and given how many fighters we spotted, it seems very likely.” The Supreme Commander sighed and looked at Brianna for a long moment. “That is why I have a plan to deal with this possibility.”

Brianna stared at him and nodded firmly. There was something about her that seemed different though, almost like a sense of doom about her. Fred glanced at her and frowned. “We’ll be ready for anything. What did you have in mind.”

“The place is on high alert for one.” He said and switched the holotable to change the image from the palace to the space station and space all around it. “All agents are to be prepared for any incursion as well as increased patrols. I want Agent Fred and Brianna to take the first patrol.”

“And what do you need me to do?” Zia asked.

“I need you to remain and keep Iria safe at all costs. You will remain her bodyguard and make sure she does not find about this.”

“Wait, shouldn’t we tell her about this?” Zia pipped up and looked at the Supreme Commander, then realizing who she was talking to and repeated what she said a bit softer. “I mean, doesn’t she have the right to know.”

“I would like to tell her as well, but if we do, we run the risk of her trying to return back to Porcelina.” He replied. “Are there any questions?”

Neither Brianna or Zia had anything to add and just shook their heads. Fred however, wasn’t so sure. “Umm, Supreme Commander? What exactly are we doing to retake Porcelina for princess Iria?”

“We’ve sumbitted a case to the Galactic Alliance, reuqesting them to sanction a campaign to retake the planet.” He replied, a thin line forming on his lips as he closed his mouth. He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but nothing else came out.

Fred noticed this and frowned, the Supreme Commander wasn’t telling them something. He cleared his throat. “But, what did they say? I mean they do know that Egghead took this planet through force right? That has to count for something?”

Brianna frowmed and looked ready to pull Fred back, but didn’t move just yet. Her father though narrowed his eyes towards him suspiciously. “They do agree with you on that count, and have collectively agreed to release a statememt condemning his actions against Porcelina. Its just that the situation is. Complicated.”

By the sound of his tone the Supreme Commander didn’t like what he was saying any more than the three of them. He turned his back on them though and started to power down the Holo table. “This is the emd of our briefing agents. Dismissed.”

“How could it possibly be complicated?” Fred asked suddenly, raising his voice. This caused everyone to look at him im surprise. This time Brianma didn’t hesitate and grabbed him by the hand. Zia simply watched the two of them from where she was, glancing at each of them.

“Fred, come on lets go.” She leaned towards him and whispered that to his ear. “This isn’t our place to talk about this or question orders.”

He stared at his girlfriend  in surprise for a long moment, trying to comprehend what he just heard. He pulled his hand away from hers with a sudden jerk. “Iria is our friend Brains, it our business.”

“But sir if the Galactic Alliance already condemns Egghead, what's stopping them from taking action? If they agree his seizure of Porcelina was unlawful, why can’t they just take action and make him leave?” Zia said suddenly and approached her friends. She stood beside Fred and nodded encouragingly.

The Supreme Commander stopped their questions with a look, stern and full of authority that stopped their questions as they left their lips. He looked at each of them and then started to walk away. He didn’t say anything, but the others got the hint and started to follow after him. They moved out of earshot of the remaining crew and the supreme commander placed his hand on the ships panels and let out a deep sigh.

The three of them followed him and watched him curiously. An awkward silence fell upon their group as they watched him. He finally got up and looked at them, out of earshot from the rest of the crew. “I cannot offer you the information, that is highly classified, although Friday may download them into his databanks.”

With that, their discussion was done. He took a deep breath and folded his arms behind his back and started to make his way back to center of the the bridge.

“Friday, are you sure you can do this?” Brains whispered as she eyed he surroundings nervously even though Zia was standing guard outside the computer lab. The lab was completely empty save for one room monitor who looked ready to pass out on his table at any moment.

“Of course I’m sure!” He said indignantly, raising his voice and rising in the air which caused the monitor to groan and look around, briefly alert. Fred quickly grabbed him and pulled him down.

He placed a finger on his lips and hissed. “Shhhh.”

“Sorry,” The android said a bit bashful as he would have blushed if he could. He lowered his body down and looked at them. “But are you really ready that you want to do this?”

Fred and Brains looked at each other and then shared a nod. Fred watched as the computer started to power up and then typed in his password once it was ready. The computer accepted the code and welcomed him in. The screen started to grow a welcoming light blue as the log in music hummed into the speakers. “There, we’re in. Now what do you want me to look up? Did the Supreme Commander say anything about what file to look at?”

“He didn’t,” Brains replied and leaned in closer, pushing her glasses closer to her face as she leaned in closer to the computer. Fred opened the search engine for their database and his fingers hoovered over the keys as he prepared to type it. “but try searching for Porcelina.”

Fred did just that and dozens of files immediately flooded the screen. Friday hoovered beside Brains and looked at the screens. “Woah, that's a lot of terabytes. I’m not sure if I can stomach it all.”

“Well which one do we take?” Fred asked and started to scroll through them. Most seemed pretty harmless and were common knowledge they thought in class; weather patterns, indigenous fauna and flora, society and culture. “I can’t seem to find the classified files.”

“We should take them all.” Brains suggested. “It would seem less suspicious if we got all of them than one specific file. We can just say we’re gathering information for a mission.”

The two of them found the sense in that and Fred tapped a button on the keyboard and caused a slot to appear on the side of the computers screen. He reached into and pulled out a long chord from it. Brains reached underneath Friday’s shell and flipped a small flap open.

“Ohhh. Hey! Watch the hands.” Friday gasped and zipped upwards.

“Sorry about that.” Brains chuckled and shook her head. She started to open the flap again, a bit more gently this time and took the chord from Fred. She started to plug into Friday. “Start the download.”

Fred nodded and pressed the download button. Jolts of electricity started to course through the wires and caused Friday to shake around briefly before he managed to stabilize. His eyes buzzed around and were replaced by two orbs of static as the files were being copied into his body. Electricity started to buzz and a brilliant light started to course through his dome.

As this was happening, Brains looked around the computer lab and saw the monitor still passed out. She also glanced at Zia who gave her a small nod and a thumbs up before turning her attention back to the hallway. Despite herself, Brains still felt nervous and started to pace around nervously. It lasted for another few minutes before Friday let out a beep from his speakers.

The room monitor gasped in surprise and nearly fell off his chair. The three of them quickly glanced back and stared at him. Fred reacted first and snatched Friday and removed the chord from his body then shut down the computer. “Sorry about that! We were just downloading some files to the Supreme Commander.” He said loudly as the monitor grunted and waved his hand absnetly. He began to shut the computer off.

Brain’s nodded in approval and the three of them started to make their way outside to where Zia was waiting for them. The three of them made a quick stride as they made their way to Brains room. As they walked, she leaned her head towards Fred. “That was pretty quick thinking with what you did with Friday.”

“Thanks.” He chuckled. “So what did you tell Iria when you want to hang out with us?”

“I told her that we were gonna get some extra physical training done.” She replied, with a bit of a smirk on her face. Although the princess was quickly getting used to the training, it didn’t mean she liked it.

They were soon in Brains room which was nearly twice as big as the normal room and with a queen sized bed. She took a small, petty pleasure in watching their eyes widen at the sight of it. She propped herself onto the bed and they all soon joined her there. “So lets start hacking those files, ignore those without any security codes.”

Friday was one step ahead of them, already combing through their gains, a dozen a second until he let out a small beep. “Alright, breaking throughnthe firewalls, accessing passcodes and here I thought this was gonna ne a challenge. Done. I got three files that have been blocked from public access.”

“Then lets have a look.” Brain’s said and rubbed a gloved hand across her chin. Friday’s eyes lit up like a projector and showed the list of all the data the Protectors have gathered on Porcelina, though now it had been considerably thinned. Each file had a small icon to list what category it was im.

“Which one could it be?” Fred muttered and ranhis fonger across the icon of each document. Brains looked at them and immediately disregarded the first with the Protectors symbol. That was the operation that had safetly smuggled Zia to the planet in the first place.

The second one had an icon of a clenched fist holding a sword. The military and defenses of the planet. She considered it a moment, it was well known that Porcelina’s military was incredibly antiquiated which is why the mostly relied on the Protectors to ensure their safety. But could they be hiding some sort of secret military weapons?

As she thought of that possibility, her eyes glossed over to the thrid option. It was a small book. “Strange, why is this hisotry file classified?”

“History of the Porcelinian Royal family?” Zia raised an eyebrow. “That can’t be right, I was given that file during the briefing before my mission and it wasn’t classified.”

“It could just be a mistake.” Fred suggested as he dug into his jacket pocket and fumbled around with his lucky dice. “Maybe someone just accidentally mislabeled it?”

Zia didn’t seem as convinced. She activated the datapad strapped to her forearm amd produced the fil there. “Friday, try searching for any files listed as ‘History of the Porcelinian Royal family.’”

A moment later only two files remained. One was the classified file they just saw earlier while the other was one of the exact same name minis the secuirty codes. That was the one Zia opened and compared to the document on her datapad. “These files are exactly the same.”

“So why keep one classified?” Fred asked as he threw and caughht his dice in midair with one hand while openimg the classified document with the other.

Zia started to read it, mumbling to herself as she scroled throuh the document for a few minutes. The Porcelinian royal family went back for centuries before which meant that there was enough information here to fill a book. Friday would startgetting bored. “You know, I could jut scan the documents and compare the differences.”

“Oh,” Zia said and held her tablet out for him to see. “Ok I guess that works.”

Friday closed one eyes which caused the document he was showing to darken. He opened it a second later and turned it towards the tablet. A beam of light started to shine and moved down, scanning every letter and word. One he was done, Friday turned his entire attention to the presentation. Entire paragraphs started to disappear from the bottom going up until only anojt a dozen of them remained at the top. Ut was these that the four of them started to read.

“King Isaac?” Zia raised an eyebrow as she barely finished the first sentence. “I thought king Otto was the first ruler of Porcelina.”

As she kept going, her confusion only grew. It talked about King Isaac, a general who had experimented on himself until he gaimed the ability to bend others to his will in order to usurp his ruler. From then on he had tried to secure his reign by joining the Galactic Alliance and ‘persuading’ its president along with the then Supreme Commander to sign an agreement, promising military aid to Porcelina.

By the time they were finished a silence had fallen upon them. Friday and Fred glanced at each other wordlessly while Brains had gone deathly pale. Zia was the only one who spoke up. “This, this can’t be right. I mean they have to understand that they can’t let Egghead rule the planet.”

Brains wasn’t so easily convinced. “It makes sense unfortunately. Porcelina has always been the smallest contributor in the requirements for taxes and relief efforts. And it would explain why the Galactic Alliance would be reluctant to support them.”

“It doesn’t matter, Iria isn’t her ancestor. We need to help her.” Zia asked, looking at the both of them expectantly. “Was this all for nothing?”

“I don’t know.” Brains admitted. “I don’t think the Galactic Alliance would be much help to us given all this so whatever we do, we’re on our own.”

## Chapter 4

**“Sir, the last of our ships is emerging from light speed,” The battlecruisers skipper announced as he approached Eggheaded who hovered near the viewport. The captain snapped a smart salute when he approached. “They have organized themselves in the far side of the moon like what you asked.”**

**“Excellent, excellent,” Eddhead XI cackled deviously to himself and nodded his head in satisfaction. He moved his chair closer towards the viewport whilst the ship began to list to the side and towards the moon. He clenched one of the arms of his chair as he began to notice the tiny blips forming all over the view.**

**A sinister smile formed as he had one of the ship's cameras zoom in closer on his makeshift fleet. This consisted of a frigate and starfighters from the Porcelinean air force augmented by different bands of smugglers, mercenaries, space pirates all who have a reason to hate the Protectors. All and all, he had gathered something close to sixty-star fighters and a pair of battlecruisers.**

**He reached down on his hover chair and began to tap into the ships system and founded the communication system. Egghead pulled the speaker and began to use the fleetwide channel built. “Attention all forces, we will begin our assault in a few minutes.”**

This was received by a cheer from the different criminals and a brief shout by his own men who seemed a bit more reluctant to do so. It wouldn’t matter so long as they did their jobs. Lights began to power up around the ships as they came to life from his orders. The small fleet began to turn directions towards the planet.

**They made sure to get into formation with starships moving ahead to screen the rest of the fleet before zipping past, flying straight towards the earth. The heavier battlecruisers, frigates and other heavier tonnage ships were a bit slower in their movement but started to keep up. He sat back and called one of his servants to bring in his tea while watching.**

**Egghead’s own ship began to turn after the others had already started to move as well. His ship would remain in the rear of the fleet in order to monitor the rest of the battle. The servant came back holding a cup of tea with a saucer and handed it to him. He took the cup and started to take a sip. This is going to get good.**

**“We’re under attack!” The Supreme Commander shouted over the intercom. “All protectors prepare for battle, this is not a drill-”**

The rest of his words were drowned out by klaxons being blared all over the intercom. Princess Iria glanced up in surprise as several Protectors ran past her towards their stations. The whole station was rocked by an explosion that sent her stumbling to the side. She would have fallen over if she hadn’t caught the handrail and gripped it tightly for support. The other Protectors around her experienced the same thing around and struggled to get to their feet.

**Keeping a firm grip on the rail, the princess forced herself forward. She managed to keep going and walked forward. When she got to the first viewport she saw just what was happening. Starships zoomed and zipped passed the academy like a swarm of bees unleashed from their nest. She recognized some of the attacking ships as part of the Porcellian Air Force. That could only mean one thing, they’re after her. They unleashed barrages of laser fire against the space station.**

**The Protectors didn’t go down quietly though. The few of their starships already in the air desperately engaged them in vicious dogfights. He saw a handful of red streaks flying into the mass of enemy ships, firing their cannons into the mass and setting off a few explosions. The space station itself tried to return fire with their mounted turrets.**

**In the distance, the Supreme Commander’s personal ship, a heavy destroyer that might have been able to take one of the battlecruisers had it been alone. But in a fight like this, it probably wouldn't have the tonnage to last against all these enemies.**

**“All pilots to their fighters.” The Supreme Commander started to say once again. Even though his voice was calm, there was steel to his voice. “This is not a drill.”**

**“Princess!” Zia shouted, appearing out of nowhere. She grabbed her shoulder as she ran past her, one arm hooking around her shoulder and led her towards the direction of the hangar. The princess stumbled forward and nearly fell off once again. She quickly got back to her feet and started to jog alongside her.**

Iria followed She looked in her direction and frowned. “What's going on?”

**In response, the girl glanced back at her with a bit of a smile playing on her face as she continued to sprint ahead. “Oh, its nothing, its just a minor attack on our entire space station, probably nothing.”**

**She rolled her eyes and would have punched her in the shoulder had another explosion nearly knock her off her feet. Iria grunted and kept going until they were standing in front of the hanger. Klaxons were still blaring all around the place as pilots and flight crews ran around them, frantically loading up ships and climbing onboard their fighters.**

**Her words melted as she saw the size of this place. Although it wasn’t the same as seeing it soo active like this. “What are we doing here?”**

**“Well, I could use a gunner.” Zia slowed her run to a walk and started to make her way towards one of the starships. It was nearly identical with the other dozen ships still docked. A sleek ship with a secondary rotating turret. “Fred and Brains are already out. They could use some help. You in?”**

**She glanced up at the fighter and gulped slightly as she saw the double-barreled cannon protruding out of the back of the ship. Yet at the same time, she felt exhilarated. “Alright, I’m in then.”**

**Zia whooped eagerly as they ran up the loading ramp. A flight officer saluted and told them that the ship would be ready to fly within a few minutes. She threw her a helmet as she strapped herself into the pilot's seat. Princess Iria climbed up a ladder that led to the turret. She took a deep breath before starting to power up the weapons systems.**

**Iria placed the helmet over her head and instantly felt the ships system connect with her HUB including the turrets ammo counter, the sights, and heat levels. Iria reached for the targeting yokes and swiveled the turret around 90 degrees to make sure it was working properly. In the cockpit, Zia was speaking into the mike. “This is Falcon-Seven, we are preparing to depart. Do we have clearance?”**

**“Understood Falcon-Seven, you have permission to depart,.” The voice on the other side of the mike was surprisingly calm when he responded. “Goodluck.”**

**That was all Zia needed to hear. Even from here Iria could see her grin as she powered up the ship's engines and lights all around the controls began to light up. She took the control stick and pulled it back. The ship started to rise several feet off the ground, hovering in the air for a minute as Zia went to work retracting the landing gear before directing the ship forward. Several others fighters started to power up behind them and soon followed after.**

**It shot straight like a bullet, causing the princess to jerk back against her seat. She shook the confusion off a minute later and brought her attention back to her job. She checked one last time to see if the guns safties were off before turning it forward. No sooner did they get out did she force her eyes shut from a series of explosions. All around them were hundreds of starfighters were all circling around in a hundred vicious dogfights, whirling and spinning around as brilliant red and green lights shot out from their turrets.**

**In the distance, three larger ships dueled each other, opening up with hundreds of turrets firing all at once as they blasted at each other. The Supreme Commander’s destroyer was found between the two battlecruisers, blasting away with her heavy guns. She seemed to be holding her own well enough, though her shields were taking a pounding from the return fire they had. The battle wasn’t going too well.**

**“Princess, watch your left!” Zia cried out suddenly and swerved to the side. The ship then shuddered as it took a couple of laser bolts to the side. This brought her attention back to the battle. She saw three black fighters zipping past, their gatling guns rotating as they prepared to attack again.**

**This time she was ready for them though, she turned the turret to their direction and opened up with her twin turrets, unleashing a barrage to their direction. The fighter in the center of the formation took a dozen shots straight into her engines and exploded behind it. The other two wisely broke off as her tracers moved after them.**

**She searched around for any more enemies and spotted a pair of Porcelanian fighters chasing after a Protectors ships. The ship's wings were already smoking as it struggled to dodge its pursuers. Iria was about to turn her turret and help them when one of the fighters was struck in the wing. This sent the fighter spinning out of control and slamming into its wingmate. A second Protectors arrived out of nowhere and burst through the smoke.**

**This one was nearly identical to theirs save for a pair of yellow stripes painted on its underside which she noticed as the ship flew above them. The stripped ship started to spin around, firing her cannons against a few incoming fighters who approached them and scattered them. “That's Brains and Fred’s ship.” Zia cheered as she swerved the ship and joined the fight.**

**Iria turned the turret around, searching for her next target. The problem was that most of the ships were locked in combat with each other and she couldn’t get a clear shot at one without the risk of hitting one of the Protectors ships. One Porcelanian fighter broke off though and began to chase after them.**

**Its cannons fired a short burst of green laser bolts that struck them on the win. “Shot them!” Zia called to her.**

**The Princess nodded and quickly turned the turret towards them, locking the fighter into her sights and prepared to fire. Then she hesitated. It was still one of her people in there, one who may not even know who she is. Her fingers slowly shifted away from the targeting yoke. The ship was struck again and this time a small fire burst in where the laser was hit.**

**“Princess you gotta shot it now!” Zia shouted once again, glancing back from her seat and looking at her. She held the controls tightly as she tried to perform evasive maneuvers.**

**She looked back at it and gasped, feeling the ship get hit once again. Zia lurched forward, held back only by her seatbelts, though her head knocked against the side of the ship. This time she turned back and fired, striking against the wing and nearly blowing it off the fighter. It spun to the side and broke off pursuit and Iria didn’t attack any more.**

**Once it was gone, Iria breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced back towards the cockpit. “Are you alright Zia?”**

**The Protector glanced back at her, she seemed a bit shaken though managed to give her a thumbs up. The princess nodded and turned her attention back towards the battle. She swiveled the turret around, this time making sure she won't be taken off guard from any fighters. Once she was sure there wasn’t anyone trying to sneak up on them she tried to look at the battle.**

**The main battle had now drifted farther away from the space station. The battlecruiser had fled some distance away, one of which was now on fire in several different sections. The Supreme Commanders Destroyer continued to give chase, though it wasn’t looking too good as several sections of its armor had now kelted away, plus it was now too far away for the stations guns to provide any support.**

**The dogfight continued around them though there were far fewer fighters left in the battle. Unfortunately more than a few of burning wrecks were Protector ships. From the station, a fresh squadron of fighters were released along half a dozen new ships. These ones appeared to be enlarged versions of the normal fighters with fat bellys and more turrets.**

**“Bombers.” Zia muttered as she watched them fly by, the fighters arranging themselves in a ring around their bombers in order to protect them.**

**A small group of mercenary and Porcelanian fighters broke off from the main battle and rushed at them. They were at a higher altitude and came dive bombing down, unleashing everything their forward cannons had. One bomber took a few hits in the port side and began to list to the side, slamming into a fighter in an explosion that consumed both ships.**

**The Protector ships quickly turned to meet them, their rotating turrets blasting away. Zia grunted and directed her fighter towards them, joining the fray. Iria turned her turret around and started to fire as well, focusing on a mercenary angling his ship up above them in an attempt to get away. Her rounds penetrated the bottom and sent the ship spiraling out of control.**

**Soon enough all the attacking fighters had fled or been destroyed, leaving their bombers free to begin their attack. The remaining five bombers began to fly down towards the wounded battlecruiser. They descended closer towards it until they were right above its hull. The bay doors opened and dozens of bombs fell from each one. A thousand red and orange flowers blossomed on the ships hull and mixed together as it expanded in all directions. The battlecruiser soon vanished in this mix of fire and death.**

**Princess Iria could hear the cheering all over the radio from different pilots. They were all happy to let the remaining ship leave. Of their original attack force it seemed like only a quarter remained. However a single voice cut through the radio and silenced everyone. It wasn’t the Supreme Commander and instead was a young officers voice. “Boarding parties have entered the station we need reinforcements!”**

**“Blast, it was all a trap.” The Supreme Commander cursed angrily. “Alright, all ships return to station.”**

**“Fred how are things going there?” Brains shouted as she raised her staff to block the energy blade coming down on her. A bug headed mercenary buzzed angrily as he tried to press it down at her. She responded by bring her knee up to his stomach and shoving him down.**

**Another mercenary tried to sneak up behind her with his gun raised, but a metal fist slammed into him. The force of the blow sent the man flying several feet in the air before hitting a bulkhead. Fred grunted and pulled his fist back. Friday had formed a power suit around him. Around them were half a dozen unconscious mercenaries who had just emerged from their boarding craft.**

**“What do we do ma’am?” A young protector asked nervously. He looked at Brains even as his gun was pointed down at one of the fallen mercenaries. Several other young protectors joined him and looked at Brains. These were some of the fresh graduates who have yet to seen any real combat.**

**She slammed her pugil stick into the ground, electricity sparking from each end as she did. “We fight. Our job is to protect this station from all borders, so that's what we’re going to do. We’ll move as a single squad, clearing the station floor by floor, hall by hall.”**

The other protectors nodded and seemed a bit less frightened upon hearing this. Fred stood behind her and folded his arms. The suit he wore made him look much more imposing with its broadened shoulders, heavy armored gauntlets and boots which added a few inches in height. He raised his finger towards his earpiece. “Wait, I’m getting reports of more borders three levels above us.”

**“Well, you heard him,” Brains said and twirled her staff before raising it in the air. She turned at her heel and sprinted towards them, Fred turning around and jogging after her. “Lets go.”**

**The other Protectors shouted a wordless battlecry and joined after them. The all rushed towards the nearest staircase. All around them the station was in chaos, the reactor was damaged in the fighting and the main power was cut as a result. The generator restored the emergency lights which bathe the whole hallway in a blood red light.**

**Large amounts of rubbled were thrown all around them when the boarding craft ripped through the ships hull. This forced Brain’s squad to slow their pace and step carefully to avoid tripping and falling. All around them were the bodies of mercenaries knocked out by the weapons of the few Protectors patrolling around. These men would be taken into custody and interrogated later after the battle.**

**There were bodies of Protectors on the ground. There weren’t many of them though, there weren’t many Protectors stationed here. Most were either fighting or escorting the young recruits too inexperienced to fight to their fallback base.**

**Brains felt her blood boil at the sight of them. Unlike them, the mercenaries had no reason to take prisoners and the puddles of congealing blood was enough to make that clear. The few Protectors still around saluted to her as they passed. Brains forced herself to look away, but let the anger course through her body. She would make them all pay dearly for what they did.**

**They found the stairs past some double doors guarded by a single guard who jumped back and pointed his rifle at them. He quickly relaxed and got back into attention. Brains barely gave him a look as they made their way up to the upper levels. As soon as they got to the third level, another explosion rocked the station. This sent them stumbling around room. Fred knocked against Brain and sent them tumbling through the doors.**

**“Now!” They heard raspy voice shout out. Two mercenaries suddenly pounced on them, throwing a device on either side of the door. The Protectors behind them screamed and rushed forward, but once they were about to burst past the doors, a green field suddenly formed up and sent them flying back.**

**The mercenaries all turned to face the two of them. They had batons out which crackled with electricity. Two more had rifles out. The leader; a big green skinned alien with a single horn and one eye hung back. He kept his baton ready but made no move to advance.**

**Brains and Fred stood together back to back as they were surrounded. The two of the**

**exchanged a look and immediately knew the plan. As quick as a viper, Brains dropped to one knee and fired her pistol past Fred’s leg. It struck the first mercenary in the chest and knocked him down.**

**Fred stepped behind Brains and gave a second mercenary** an uppercut. The two quickly shifted to defensive positions as the remaining two baton wielding mercenaries charged. Fred crossed his arms over himself to block the strike. Electricity sparked over the blow.

**Brains took a step back to avoid the mercenaries first blow. She raised her fists and blocked the second before launching a roundhouse kick that sent him back. This left both of them exposed though to the rifle wielding soldiers who opened fire. Instead of laser bolts though what came out were blobs of white and blue energy.**

**One struck Fred on the shoulder and sent him falling to his knees, clutching his shoulder. He cried out out in pain as his arm hung limply.**

**“Fred!” Brains shouted out as the soldiers prepared to fire again. He grit his teeth together and lowered his fist from his free hand. A blaster popped out from his arm and shot a single bolt at the mercenary who shot him.**

**It didn’t stop the second guy though who shot him right in the chest. Fred screamed as electricity coursed through his body and his limp body fell to the ground, static still sparking across through his body but thankfully he was still breathing as she noticed his chest slowly rising and falling.**

**She spun around to turn and face the mercenaries, her eyes blazing with anger and she left out a vicious snarl. The two mercenaries were momentarily taken off guard by the fury in her gaze. This surprise lasted only a minute though as they quickly raised their guns once more and started to fire again.**

**Brains was much faster though, and more prepared for their attacks. She sidestepped each attack and returned fire with her pistol. She squeezed a single shot that took one of the gunmen right between his eyes. The other stopped firing and raised his gun like a club as Brains got too close and threw a flurry of punches and kicks against him.**

**The alien, a reptilian with two horns poking out of his head slowly started to back up against these attacks, barely managing to block them with his gun. He tried to throw a punch at her but she easily dodged it by jerking her head to the side and followed up by kicking him right between his legs. The air whooshed out of the aliens lips before he toppled to the ground.**

**Brains panted slightly and wobbled unsteadily. Beads of sweat started to trickle from the side of her face. She tried to catch her breath, but this the one eyed mercenary charged at her without warning. He raised his baton and swung it towards her in a wide arc, electricity cackling and causing the hairs on her arms to stand up.**

**She gasped in surprise and leaped back, the baton missing her only by a few inches. The electricity sparked and singed the tips of her hair. He pulled the baton back and prepared to attack one again. She tried to slip to the side, but One Eye was faster and managed to strike her across the shoulder.**

**Pain jolted across her arm as she stumbled back, hitting the wall as her momentum carried her forward. She forced herself to turn around and duck her head as the mercenary thrust the baton forward, this time hitting the spot where she stood a moment before. Brains raised her pistol and fired another round at him.**

**The mercenary anticipated this and jerked his head to the side, thrusting his baton at Brains chest. The force of the blow sent the air whooshing out of her followed by what felt like being punched with bricks. Stars burst across her vision as she fell to the ground, barely managing to keep her eyes open. One Eye loomed over her and with a single swift blow with the butt of his baton, knocked her out. The last thing she saw was the man reaching out for her and lifting her from the ground. He placed her over his shoulder and her world went dark.**

**“That looks like its all of them.” Zia wheezed loudly as she had her arms wrapped around the top half of a mercenary. Princess Iria glanced at her, holding the man's legs. A third Protector ran up to the side of a prison cell and tapped the button that opened the holding cell.**

**They dropped the unconscious mercenary on the floor of the cell. The two of them stepped out of the cell as the Protector reactivated the cells energy barrier once again. Iria glanced around the rest of the prison and saw each cell was filled with a prisoner. Over a dozen at least by her count in the detention area alone. She knew there were undoubtedly more holding areas.**

**“I hope we can get some useful information from them.” She remarked and wiped sweat from her brow.**

**“With how many we managed to capture, it’s impossible that we don’t get anything from them.” Zia assured her and gestured all around them to the prison. Half a dozen Protectors stood guard in this area alone with riot gear ready for any trouble.**

**Iria nodded, trying to let the words reassure her but she privately doubted how true that was. It was true that the Protectors apprehended dozens of the mercenaries and  Porcelanian, only a handful were officers who might have any real information to give. Instead she simply said. “Let's get something to eat.”**

**Zia nodded and the two were about to leave when the doors slid open to reveal the Supreme Commander standing with two of his guards. He didn’t utter a word as he strode into the room, though he seemed unusually angry this time as he looked around the cells until he spotted one of the few officers they managed to get.**

**He pointed at him to his guards. They marched past him and deactivated the cell. The Porcelanian captain inside blinked in surprise as they roughly hoisted him to his feet. Zia and Iria looked at each other in surprise before quickly making their way over to see what was happening.**

**The captain was held between the two guards while the Supreme Commander cracked his knuckles. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to punch the man across the face, but instead grabbed him by the cheeks. “Where is she you slime?”**

**“W-who?” The man asked weakly, his lip twitching as he spoke.**

**The Supreme Commander tightened his grip around his face. “Don’t play dumb with me. I already reviewed the tapes You people boarded this station because you were after my daughter. Now where did you take her?”**

**This seemed to confuse the prisoner even more. “Y-your daughter?”**

**This time the blow came down. A solid punch to his stomach that sent the air whooshing out of his chest. The captain slumped forward and gasped loudly, struggling to catch his breath, yet he genuinely seemed confused. “W-we were tasked with taking the princess.”**

==Chapter 5
 ==

**Iria was speechless. She blinked once and then stared at the Supreme Commander for confirmation. He didn't say anything and simply stared back at her with a tightened jaw. That couldn't be true. How could Brain be missing? By the looks of it, the Supreme Commander didn’t like his answer.**

**He took a step closer to the bound man and let out a soft growl. The officer nodded his head once again. “Its true, I received the message that the princess was captured, that's why I was heading back to my ship.”**

**“Does she look like she’s captured, soldier?” The Supreme Commander snapped angrily and gesture in Iria’s direction. The princess moved beside him and drew herself to full height to give him a good look at her. She did not recognize the man from her father's meetings or during military parades by the palace. That meant he might not know who she was.**

**Still, there was one thing he should know about her. She willed a bit of her scent out, directing it towards the officer. The captain winced, pulling his head back as far as the chair would allow him as he sniffed the air. Realization dawned on his eyes as he groaned and shook his head.**

**“Answer what we have to say honestly.” She commanded.**

**The soldier grimaced and shifted around his seat. He was resisting her influence. Iria took a deep breath and began to exert more effort into it. He screamed out loud and started to thrash in pain. “Will you answer these questions honestly?”**

**“Y-yes. Yes, I will.” He finally managed to spit out.**

**This seemed to satisfy the Supreme Commander who kneeled down to look at his face to face. “Why did you attack my station?” It was a question they already knew the answer to, but they needed to test if what he says is true.**

**“We attacked to recapture the princess.” The soldier replied the pain seems to ease somewhat when he said it. He gasped and swallowed a few breaths.**

**“Why?”**

**“King Egghead ordered us to recapture her in order to secure his place on the Porcelinian throne.” His body started to relax and he spoke more calmly. “He wanted the royal family under his custody.”**

**“So they are on Porcelina?”**

**The man nodded his head slowly.**

**“And what was he going to do with the princess if he got her?” The Supreme Commander interrupted. A hint of worry crossed his voice when he asked this. Iria knew it wasn’t for her, but for Brains.**

**The captain abruptly fell silent. He bit his lip and seemed to be in an internal war with himself. After he didn’t respond for a few minutes, the Supreme Commander pulled out his pistol and leveled it at his forehead. “By the Intergalactic Law, I am authorized to execute you in this state of emergency for the charges of treason, terrorism, and obstruction of justice.”**

**It was a bluff and Iria saw right through it. Even in a state of emergency, he would still not have the authority to execute prisoners of war. But evidently the captain didn’t know that as his lip trembled in fear and he cried out in fear. “He wishes to experiment on them.”**

**The Supreme Commander didn’t loosen his grip on his gun and growled. His expression was stormy and he looked ready to pull the trigger at any moment. “What do you mean experiment?” He asked, very slowly.**

**The soldier gulped. “He means to find out how the royal family is able to harness their scent and control their subjects in order to use it for himself.”**

**Iria didn’t like the sound of that one bit. If Egghead was able to get control of that kind of power, there's no telling what he could do. For a split second he was grateful that she wasn’t captured, but then instantly scolded herself after remembering who was captured instead.**

**“What does he plan to do with it?”**

**“I-I don’t know!” The officer gasped. When the gun was pressed deeper against his head he squeaked in fear. “Honestly, I don’t.”**

**It was soon clear that they wouldn't get any more information from him. The Supreme Commander turned away in disgust. He turned towards the guards. “We won’t be getting much information from him, make sure he’s well guarded.”**

**The two men saluted, standing behind the prisoner with their rifles held ready. The Supreme Commander turned on his heel, folded his arms behind his back, and left without another word. Iria watched him go and quickly followed after him. Zia stared at the two of them. “So what does this mean?”**

**“I’m honestly not sure anymore.” The princess admitted softly with a shake of her head. She glanced at the Supreme Commander for answers.**

**He looked back at her, his expression softened somewhat when he saw the lost look in her eyes. He as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “It means I must go and bring the matter up with the Galactic Alliance. Egghead just attacked their main law enforcement, this changes everything and we now have a case against them.”**

**The two girls exchanged happy looks. Despite everything that just happened, Iria allowed herself to feel a glimmer of hope. “That means that we can finally do something about Egghead then. When do we depart.”**

**“Unfortunately it is not as simple as that Princess.” The Supreme Commander replied softly. Judging by his tone he didn’t like what he was saying any more than she would. “The Galactic Council will still need to vote on this matter and decide the right course of action to take. This process could take several weeks at least.”**

**“Months?” Iria questions, her eyes widening as she looked at him. That was well....months from now. Who knows what could happen by then. “Sir, with all due respect that is far too long. We need to act now.”**

**“The longer we wait for their decision, the closer it brings Egghead to accomplishing his mission,” Zia added.**

**“I know,” The Supreme Commander said. His voice was filled with emotion, anger, frustration, grief, and determination. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, taking a moment to compose himself. “But the Protectors are sworn to serve Galactic Alliance and in the end, they will feel as if they're the ones being threatened so they would wish to be the ones who take action. The only thing we can do now is waiting for their orders and hope they give it soon. In the meantime, why don’t the two of you get some rest? You’ve both had a long day.”**

**The two of them saluted and started to march outside. The princess forced herself to be strong, to walk out that door with her head held high, but no sooner did she exit it did she burst into a run towards her room. She felt something sting her eyes as she ran, pricking against them as they grew wet.**

**Iria sighed and stormed into her room, flopping onto her bed without another word. She buried her face into her pillow and screamed into it. She thought about everything that's happened while in exile and felt the anger coursing through her veins. Anger at Egghead for taking her planet, anger at the Galactic Alliance for not doing anything and anger at herself for letting Brain and Fred get captured.**

**It lasted for a good three minutes before she heard the door creak open again. Footsteps followed this and soon Zia was standing over her friend's fallen form. She let her finish letting it all out before placing a hand on her back. She started to stroke it slowly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry about everything.”**

**She slowly started to pull herself away from the pillow. Her eyes were pink and moist when she looked at her friend. Zia slowly opened her arms and pulled her into a hug. “Come on, things will be ok?”**

**“Will they?” She asked softly and sniffled. “It will be weeks at least before things can be ok. Before we can rescue Brains and Fred.”**

**“I know, I hate it too. I also want nothing more than to leave now for Porcelina and rescue them, but we can’t.” She started to get up and held her hand out to her friend. “But that doesn’t mean we have to remain inactive either.”**

**“What do you mean?” Iria looked at the outstretched hand and took it. She got to her feet and looked around.**

**Zia got into a combat stance. “We train, prepare and learn. So when the time finally does come to rescue them, we'll be more than ready.”**

**Iria nodded and got into a defensive stance. Zia studied her slowly, frowning as her posture seemed off, more slumped and without the normal energy she had. Despite that, she threw a few kicks in rapid succession. The princess made some effort to block them, but they were halfhearted and sent her stumbling back with a soft gasp.**

**She ducked under the next attack and responded by throwing a punch at Zia’s stomach. She gasped but didn’t feel as much pain as she should have. Zia quickly recovered and caught her by the wrist when she tried to punch her. She spun around and threw Iria over her shoulder. The princess fell on the ground with a soft gasp.**

**Iria slowly climbed to her feet and gave her a smile that looked rather forced, and not because she lost. “You win, sorry. I just don’t seem that into it today.”**

**“You don’t seem that into it at all.” The Protector folded her arms together, though her expression was sympathetic. “Listen, I get that your upset. As I said, I hate this too, but it's all we have at the moment. In the meantime, we shouldn’t let ourselves fall into depression while we wait. Do you think Brains would do that if it was one of us captured?”**

**“No.”**

**“Then what would she do?”**

**“Make sure we’re ready to fight when the time comes.”**

**Zia nodded and helped her up again. Without warning, she threw a kick at Zia’s chest. The force of the blow sent her stumbling back. Her foot knocked against the bed and caused her to fall backward, hitting the ground. She blinked once in surprise as she felt the air whoosh out of her. She definitely felt that blow that time. Zia slowly got to her feet and a and brushed dust from her pants.  “Well, that's a start.”**

**The two girls started to circle each other, seizing the other up as they prepared to make their move. Zia wiped her mouth. “Not bad, not bad. I wasn’t ready for that” A Cheshire grin started to form on Zia’s face. “But are you ready for this?”**

**She whirled around and brought her leg up right at Iria’s face. With that, the fight was one between the two girls, kicking and striking at one another.**

**The council had made their decision. Not only that, but they made with unprecedented speed, ten days instead of the two weeks the Supreme Commander had predicted. He now stood in the main briefing room with a dozen screen arrayed in a semicircle in front of him. Each one had the hologram of a councilor.**

**Beside him stood Princess Iria, though now she now wore one of the finest dresses they had in the academy. She watched each one of them carefully, adjusting the dress every few seconds to make sure it was properly fixed. Behind the two of them was Zia who stood guard for them, one hand seemingly glued to her holster.**

**They had stood in front of the council for the past ten minutes in total silence. All the while the council had silently debated what is to be done. Silent because each of their screens has been muted to prevent them from hearing anything. But finally, sound returned to the lead councilors screen as he cleared his throat. All at once, the remaining eleven screen unmuted as well and the attention was turned to them.**

**“Thank you for coming here on such short notice Supreme Commander, Princess.” The lead councilor said in a deep baritone voice. He inclined his head respectfully towards the two of them.**

**“It is our pleasure sir.” Iria said, bowing her head respectfully and doing a quick courtesy. It was just like what was taught to her back in Porcelina by her tutors. “So I am to understand that you have made a decision on what to do with Egghead.”**

**“Yes, we have princess.” A female councilor responded. She sounded polite enough, though the princess could sense the aggression in her voice when she spoke. Iria ignored it though and nodded her head. She knew about her planets bad reputation amongst the Galactic Alliance, though she was willing to take any insults so long as they agreed to help her. “The council agrees with the Supreme Commanders assessment in that action must be taken against Egghead.”**

**At that moment Iria could have leapt for joy, but forced her excitement down and satisfied herself by simply nodding. “Thats is very good to hear. What exactly will be done to him?”**

**“First, the Galactic Alliance will issue a statement condemning his actions in the Protectors Academy.” A third council member added. He looked to be the largest one of their group. “Second we will impose a number of trade embargoes and sanctions against his planet. Third, all mercenaries who take service under him will immediately be declared foreign soldiers and shall be killed on sight.”**

**“We are grateful for the attention you are giving this situation,” The Supreme Commander said. “Though if I may say, this plan seems a bit too passive.”**

**“We understand your concern Supreme Commander,” The female councilor said. “but for the moment we must test the waters first before taking any more serious action. We must first determine how far this Egghead is willing to go with his plans. If we can, we should bring him to the negotiating table without bloodshed.”**

**“Councilwoman, with all due respect, that may not be an option anymore. He kidnapped a member of the Protectors and attacked our facility. Egghead is clearly willing to fight us for this. We will need to respond in kind.”**

**One of the councilors leaned in forward and looked at him. “Are you sure you are not letting your personal feelings get in between your duty?”**

**The words clearly struck home as a flicker of rage crossed the Supreme Commander’s face. Iria noticed the vein on his neck starting to bulge after hearing that. He glared angrily at the ground but when he spoke, his voice was calm as always. “I assure the council that your fears are unfounded. But Egghead should not be allowed to hold agents of the Protectors with impunity. It sets a bad precedent for future tyrants.”**

**There was a soft murmur that rippled amongst the council. This was a point they didn’t seem to have considered. They muted their screens once again and began to talk. Even without sound Iria could see the debate was getting quite heated. The head councilor along with three or four others seemed to be on one side while the other was made up of the female and fat councilor.**

**After several minutes, things seemed to have died down and they all turned back to the screen. In unison they all placed the sound back on. The high councilor was the one to speak, unlike the others, he looked at the Supreme Commander and princess with sympathy in his eyes. “You are right, we cannot allow this injustice to stand. Action must be taken which in order to free the prisoners taken.”**

**The portly councilor cleared his throat and caused the high councilor to sigh. “Unfortunately, we cannot risk declaring open war against Porcelina. Instead the council has ordered you to hand over all prisoner taken in the attack of the Protectors academy to their custody. We will attempt to use them to barter the freedom of the captured Protectors.”**

**Iria felt her mouth go dry. She wondered where the councils sense had gone. They might as well have just handed Egghead an army with what their proposing. Several dozen soldiers and mercenaries for the two Protectors. And those sanctions would take years if not decades to have any impact on a resource rich planet like Porcelina.**

**Still, looking at the councils face, she could see there was no more trying to convince them. That would just be wasting her breath. Instead, she forced a smile on her face and did a courtesy once again. “I thank the council for their time. I hope this conflict finds a quick and bloodless resolution.”**

**It would. She promised herself. Though it won’t be done by the council.**

**Princess Iria peered from the bulkhead she was hiding behind and spied a pair of guards walking by. They were chatting with one another, rifles clenched tightly in their hands. They turned towards the hallway she was at and started to make their way there. She cursed slightly and moved back. It wasn’t too surprising though, not after what happened with the attack.**

**She was hoping for a few sleepy and bored guards for what she was about to do. Iria still wore the dress she borrowed for the council meeting and placed a tentacle on the wall. She felt the suckers stick to the metal and nodded in approval. Iria started to place another sucker on it, then another until she was scaling up the walls, slowly in order avoid making too much noise.**

**By the time she had reached the ceiling, the guards walked past her, searching the two bulkheads, but never looking up. Iria felt a wave of relief as she continued forward, striding through the hallways and dodging the other guards stationed all around the station.**

**She stopped short of a huge pair of metal doors that led to the hangar. Iria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After here there would be no more going back. Until then she still had the chance. A single guard was stationed in front of the door, his rifle in his hands. It took her a moment to compose her then. Iria released the grip of her suckers and pounced on the guard. The guard glanced up and barely had time to raise his gun before Iria’s tentacles wrapped around his body.**

**One grabbed his gun and knocked it away while the others threw three punches right into his face. His body slumped on the ground with a soft thud. Iria made sure he was out before slowly dragging his body out of sight and activated the door. This would be the hardest part, getting through the open hangar without being spotted. Iria pulled a hood over her head as she quickly made her way through the area. She drew herself up and tried to make herself look like she belonged. There were several patrols walking around the area, but Iria dodged them. She eventually found Zia’s starship in the far end.**

**A hand slowly drifted towards the pocket of her dress and made sure her keycard was there. This would be essential to her plan as the keycard allowed her access to activating the ship and letting her make her journey. She lowered the ship's ramp and quickly climbed aboard just as she started to hear footsteps coming from the other end of the ship.**

**She closed the ramp in front of her, but instead of the soft clang, she heard a loud thump. Iria whirled around pulled her blaster out of her belt in one swift motion. She aimed the gun at the intruder but quickly realized it was Zia.**

**The Protector had her own weapon out, but quickly lowered it at the sight of the princess. “Well, at least you remembered to bring a weapon.\* She remarked and looked at her.**

**“I hope your not here to stop me.” Iria said firmly. She started to rise out of her seat and lowered her gun, though not holstering it. She may need it to stun Zia if she resisted this.**

**“On the contrary,” She replied, holding up a duffel bag. “I’m here to join you.”**

## Chapter 5

Brains glanced down at her feet dangled in the air. She stretched one leg slightly until the tip of her sneaker touched the bottom of the forcefield, electricity sizzling against the tip of her shoe and left a black mark on it. She knew that would happen, but continued to slowly slide her foot across the forcefield. Smoke started to rise from it, but Brain’s ignored it. She tapped her foot against a number of spots to search for any weak spots.

She managed to drag her leg halfway up the diameter of the forcefield before giving up. There didn’t appear to be any weaknesses. Beside her, Fred had other ideas of how to break the forcefield. He growled in frustration, still dressed in Friday’s combat form and repeatedly slammed his fists against the forcefield. The energy that formed it cracked with each blow, but it also fixed itself just as quickly as they were formed.

Since arriving in the castle dungeons….who knows how long ago, the two of them were kept in a specially created force field that left them suspended in a ball of pure energy powered by an energy projector above. Two guards were also stationed outside with their sidearms ready to fill them with holes if they even managed to breach it.

“Come on, why won’t you budge?” Fred gritted his teeth angrily as he threw a flurry of blows against it. Eventually, his blows started to slow down until he stopped completely and panted slowly. As he stopped to catch his breath, the suit seemed to morph away from him.

Friday appeared in front of the two of them with an apologetic look on his face. He seemed just as tired as Fred was. “Sorry Fred, but I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. It doesn’t seem like its doing much good anyway.”

“Well we need to do something.” He protested, wiping beads of sweat from his head. The words were firm, but the exhaustion from his eyes made it clear that wasn’t a possibility.

“We will Fred,” Brains assured him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at it and started to nod slowly. The two of them floated together in a soft hug. She let her head rest against his chest as he nuzzled her affectionately.

“Well, well. I suppose we should give these lovers some privacy.” A voice crackled from the end of the room. A voice that caused Brains blood to boil and anger to blossom on her chest. She whipped her head back and saw Egghead floating in front of her with his little gravity throne.

He met her stare with a coy smile that could have only been born with her trapped like this or with an army of thugs with him. She stood up straight and looked at him. “Well, I’m sure your here to do things aside from gloat.”

This only caused him to laugh once again. “Then you clearly don’t know me very well. Your almost as good a prize as that pesky princess.”

Brains growled and tried to spit at him, though it did little as the forcefield blocked it. The two of them watched the spittle dribble down the side of the forcefield and huffed indignantly. He wheeled his gravity chair around and started to make his way out. “Well, I suppose it's clear that I’m not wanted. Its a shame though, I mean I’m sure you would like to hear some news about your father.”

“Wait!” Brains called out after him, placing her hand against the energy field, making sure her grip was soft as too much force may cause it to burn her. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard this. It was too long since she had news form the outside. All she could get were scattered bits from the guards when they talked to each other, and even that wasn’t much. “What did he say?”

“Oh, so now you're interested in me when I have something to offer?” Egghead snapped back, his voice dripping with condescension. His throne continued to carry him out. “well you wasted your opportunity to learn this. Good day.”

“Please!” Brains pleaded, the words were raw in her mouth and filled with desperation. She could feel her palms digging into the field, causing smoke to form, but she kept it there until the pain was too much for her to bear. She hissed and pulled them away and saw some light burns.

Fred went behind her, softly pulling her away and frowned with concern when he saw the burns on her hands. He placed his hands over hers and rubbed her palms in slow circles to try and sooth them. He glared up at Egghead and snapped. “Cut the crap Egghead and spill the beans, if not then get out of here.”

Egghead clicked his tongue in displeasure and clearly didn’t like the interruption. The guards tensed up and took a step forward. The diminutive alien leaned in closer and absently placed a finger against the forcefield. Unlike Brains, he had no worry of getting shocked as it only worked from the inside. He slowly ran his finger down from the field and stopped once it reached her chest and tapped it.

“I don’t like your friend's tone.” He said, his voice dripping with scorn as he glared at Fred. Sadistic pleasure in his eyes made it clear he was enjoying though. “I would like him to apologize to me.”

The two of them just looked at him, waiting for him to speak again, but he simply sat back and waited for them to speak. The sheer ridiculousness of the request silenced them, but that didn’t stop him. He rolled his wrists in the air impatiently. “Well, I’m waiting.”

Fred looked at Brains, not saying anything but his eyes were full of disapproval, but he placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. Brains swallowed a breath and hated herself for doing this, but the hand gave her the strength she needed. She knew Fred would support her no matter what. Grinding her teeth slowly, she spat the words out. “I am so very, very sorry with what my friend said. Now can you please give me the information I want?”

This brought that winning smile back on the ‘kings’ face. The same one that showed all his ugly yellow teeth. “Well, I am hurt that you think our relationship is merely about information, but alright. He has by now learned about your disappearance and is now petitioning the Galactic Alliance to take action against Porcelina.”

Behind her, Fred sucked in a breath. Brains scanned the aliens face, searching for any emotion as he said those things, any fear, anger or doubt but found none. This was no small thing, Egghead might have been able to challenge the Protectors with his armed forces, but the   Alliance would easily brush aside any force sent against them, even with all of the mercenaries he brought in.

So why didn’t he look nervous? She knew that the Galactic Alliance might be a bit ungainly, but attacking the Protectors Headquarters was something that they couldn’t ignore.

The little alien laughed. “I bet you're wondering what they are planning on doing, well I won’t hide it from you so fear not. They have agreed to place sanctions on me as well as giving a statement condemning my actions.”

If there was any more to those things then Egghead didn’t say it. Brains felt her mouth start to hang open after that. Was that all the Galactic Alliance was really going to do? Even after everything, Egghead has done. Even if Porcelina hadn’t always been a real ally, they should see that Egghead wouldn’t be a good leader.

“So I also sent your father the Supreme Commander a message telling him that I could be swayed to hand you and your friend back to him if he agrees to lay down his arms and surrenders his arsenal to me.”

“No,” Brains breathed out slowly. She started to shake her head in disbelief. Her father couldn’t possibly do this. Surely he would understand the implications of even considering this. Treason aside, this would give Egghead one of the most advanced and massive weapons arsenals that could threaten any part of the Galactic Alliance if not even outright defeat them. “No. He cannot possibly do that.”

“Why I thought that you would be excited at hearing you would go home.” Egghead cocked his head in confusion. “But anyways, I will let you think this over. Now if you excuse me, I will be taking my leave.”

He whirled his chair around in a smooth circle and without another moment's hesitation, started to float away. The two guards quickly took their position in front of them and went back to watching them. Brains sighed and let her body slump as she floated in the air.

Fred frowned as he watched the alien go, then turned to Brains and looked at her with concern in his eyes. He let out a soft sigh and started to hug her tightly. “Don’t worry about it Brains,” he said soothing, running his hand across her back. “Your dad will never agree to do anything like that.”

The female Protector couldn’t speak. All the words tasted like ashes in her mouth and she could only nod her head silently as she took the embrace. Her body was stiff and closed off, but she slowly started to hug him back. Even though she resued to admit it, that thought was what she was afraid of.

She knew all the risks and implications that would come with surrender to someone like Egghead, especially with terms like this. She what her duty as a member of the Protectors demands of her. And she wished she knew what her father was going through after hearing all this.

All this because of her. She closed her eyes as she felt something stinging in her eyes and shook her head as something trickled down her cheeks. If she had anticipated all this or stopped those mercenaries then none of this would have happened.

“We should land in those woods.” Princess Iria instructed and pointed at a large forested area that started to form up from the horizon. The land was a tiny speck, but she knew from experience that this forest stretched on for miles. “There's plenty of places to hide the ship in those trees.

Zia nodded and directed the ship forward, accelerating slowly as she searched the scanners for any potential threats. Iria helped her and started to look around, swiveling her autocannon around in a search patrol ships that might have been passing nearby. By now the forest grew into a vast stretch of land, spreading in all directions with civilization visible on at the fringes of her vision.

“Scanners say all clear,” Zia said, sighing slowly with relief.

The Princess nodded and started to climb down from her gunnery area and stepped beside her fellow Protector. After that, it didn’t take very long for them to find a clearing large enough for the ship to fit in it. Iria closed her eyes, preparing herself mentally as the ships landing gear hit the ground, causing the ship to buck slightly.

So it's done. They are now back in Porcelina, though no longer as a princess, as a rebel and a usurper. The thought of that sent fires burning through her body. She opened her eyes and glanced to her side. Zia finished parking the ship before pushing the controls back and getting to her feet. She nodded back at her and lowered the landing ramp.

The young Protector opened the ships weapons locker and pulled out a rifle for herself. She threw one to Iria along with their sidearms and nodded. “Are you ready?”

“Ready to take back my planet?” She pulled the rifle close to her chest and nodded. “Without a doubt.”

Without wasting another moment, the two scrambled down the ship, quickly searching the area with their weapons raised. Iria looked up in the air, at the sky and branches and frowned. She knew that there were things in these woods aside from enemy soldiers that could kill them. The howls she heard in the darkness only reinforced this notion.

“It seems like this are all clear,” Zia replied and lowered her weapon, though she remained as alert as always. She pulled out another device from her side and looked at. The thing started to beep slowly and Zia pointed north. “Over here.”

She followed after her, following her through the woods. Outside of the clearing there was no path or road of any sort. Instead, the two of them had to push past the deep foliage that was all around them. Iria grew up next to this forest and had ventured into it hundreds of times during different trips, but it seems this part was one she had not yet gone into.

The princess growled and hissed as she felt the leaves pricking and knocking against her. It seemed like she couldn’t walk two steps without nearly tripping on a vine on the ground. She could barely even see the ground at her feet. Occasionally the two of them would hear a sound coming from the forest, sometimes much closer than she would have wished. Each time she heard a howl or roar, the two girls would quickly raise their rifles, not lowering until the sound was farther away or disappeared outright.

Iria growled and continued to force her way through the forest, pushing the brushes out of the way. Each time it caused a loud snapping sound that made her grateful that they weren’t anywhere near civilization, if they had been then someone would have found them by now. Eventually, she started to get impatient and pulled her machete from her side. The blade glowed a bright neon green and coursed with energy. She raised it in the air and was preparing to swing it across the trees to cut a path through when Zia shook her head.

Iria gave her a confused look, but she placed a hand on her arm and made her lower the machete. “It will cause too much noise, plus it will leave a trail for those who want to follow us.”

The Princess saw a logic in this and placed the weapon back into its sheath and continued to begin pushing through the forest. It wasn’t long however until they spotted a road a short ways off from the forest. It wasn’t just even a dirt road in some of the far off villages, but a cemented one that normally leads to one of Porcelanas cities.

This spurred the two girls forward, practically sprinting the rest of the way and tripping half the time before they reached the side of the road. Neither of them went on it though. As much as the Princess wanted to start walking on open ground, there was too much risk in being spotted. Instead, they crouched behind some bushes and waited for someone to pass.

They waited for about five minutes, but in that time not a single soul entered through the lonely road. After that, it seemed like things were clear and the girls started to move once again, though mostly keeping to the side of the road by the forest edge.

“This road should lead somewhere?” Zia said and started to take the lead, keeping her gun ready. “We should find the city soon enough.”

It turns out soon enough was almost three hours away. Iria hadn’t complained as they continued to follow the road. The forest eventually gave way to fields and buildings. Most of them were be solitary fueling stations or farmsteads, with the occasional building here and there.

They would find cover in the high wheat crops that were growing from the fields or simply avoid the bored looking workers in these stations. Once or twice a vehicle would pass by them. Thankfully they just sped on by and remained oblivious. By the time they spotted the city, Iria’s legs felt like lead. Their clothes were covered in twigs and dirt

When Zia raised her hand for them to stop the princess nearly dropped onto the ground. The sun had already started to rose and bathed the whole world in ors orange glow. She sat on the ground and checked the battery of rifle for the tenth time. She also began to clean herself up as best she can, picking some of the leaves from her and letting them drop on the ground. When Zia glanced back, she noticed deep lines under the young Protectors eyes. “So what's the game plan?”

Zia crouched down beside her and started to unsling her pack. She dug around in it and produced a long cloak with a hood which she handed to her. “Put this on.” She instructed as she pulled one out for herself.

The princess did the same and donned her cloak. It was pearl green and covered everything from her head all the way to her toes. Their rifles were too big to hide in their cloaks so they stashed them under some bushes. They kept their pistols though as they started to make their way towards the city entrance.

Iria bit her lip as she recognized the city at once. It was the very capital of her planet, only known as the Crown Jewel. It was also only a scant fifty miles from her castle. A long wall of white marble encircled the city, yet as she looked at it, horror filled her gaze. The ones pristine walls were now smeared with graffiti in a dozen different languages, in many places they were falling apart and crumbling. The guards who patrolled its perimeter were no longer ones of the Porcellian armed forces, but black armored mercenaries who looked like they would fire on them just for the fun of them.

By the entrance was a small checkpoint with a dozen soldiers standing guard with turrets and an armored vehicle parked beside the gate. “Let me handle the talking.” Iria whispered as the two of them made their way towards them.

Several of the mercenaries raised their weapons as they approached, but one sergeant from the Armed Forces raised his hand and looked at them. He started to descend from a small watch post, one hand seemingly glued to the holster of his sidearm. “Who goes there?”

“A-amber sir,” Iria replied and stood up straighter as she looked up at him. She tried to make her voice a bit higher and with less authority. She pointed towards Zia who strode beside her. “This is my sister.”

The sergeant looked at the two of them and sniffed. He glanced over their shoulder to the road beyond. “Alright then, where did you two come from? Do you expect me to believe that you walked here? There's nothing in that road for miles.”

Trust me, we know. She wanted to reply by forced herself to be polite. “We were just coming back from our farm sir. Our speeder broke down which is why we came to the city to try and buy a new battery.”

That explanation seemed to mollifty the guard. He took a step back and lowered his pistol, ordering the mercenaries to let them pass. This seemed to annoy the mercenaries that they won’t be able to shoot the two girls, but they obeyed nonetheless and cleared the way for the gate.

The two of them quickly nodded their thanks and hurried inside. The princess kept her hood up to make sure that they wouldn’t recognize her as they stepped in. Her horror only grew as she saw what had become of her city. It seemed as if all the riches of the Crown Jewel were stolen, as well as anything that wasn’t nailed down.

Homes and other buildings seemed to have aged decades in the past few months and were crumbling apart or have already collapsed. Graffiti was everywhere and the streets were covered with potholes and uneven pavements. For every person in a house, it was as if two were now living in the street.

Her mouth gaped open as she stood by the gate, staring at the ruin that was once her home. This even as several other people shoved their way past her. Zia seemed to notice this and placed a hand on her shoulder and gently started to lead her forward. “Just keep going, we can’t stay here for too long.”

She didn’t say anything and forced her legs to follow after her, though her gaze lingered at the sight. All of this was Eggheads doing, in that she was sure. Him and his cronies who took her throne. And the same one brought in by her people. A bitter thought crossed her eye as she looked at some passing merchants. Were they happy now?

She had no illusions of how her fathered ruled their people, but even he wasn’t foolish enough to let Porcelina fall to this state. After that it would fall to her to rebuild it. She continued to walk around the streets, spying the crowds all around her.

Another thing that took her off guard was the fact that there were so many different people here aside from Porcelinians. For the longest time Porcelina had adopted an isolationist policy with other aliens. While they weren’t barbaric enough to butcher those who journeyed here, few peoples aside from foreign dignitaries and the occasional trading convoy were the only visitors their planet tended to get.

Yet now there were dozens of different aliens who were now strolling on the street of their city, from tall bird like creatures that towered over their everyone else to diminutive icey skinned men in pressurized suits. Iria tried her best not to stare too much as she walked on by. Zia took her by the arm and started to pull her to a dark alley. She quickly placed a finger on the Princess’s lips and pointed beyond the alley.

Iria glanced back her and frowned and tried to get a look at what she was pointing at. The princess realized she was pointing at; two black armored mercenaries patrolling the streets with electric batons in hand. A quick glance around told her that they weren’t the only ones. It seemed like more than a dozen of them had intermixed with the crowd.

Aside from there, there were the usual patrollers from the armed forces of Porcelina. They seemed bored and simply watched on as their mercenary counterparts did their work. Iria nodded and made sure her hood was secure as she leaned back into the alley. She and Zia made their way behind a dumpster. “So what's our plan?”

“Well, there's supposed to be a prison in the Crown Jewel where they houses maximum security prisoners.” She explained and looked back once again at the streets, but this time focused on the buildings around them, particularly one imposing structure in the back of the skyline. It was a tall, tower that resembled a piece of corals with a dozen different sectors branching outwards in all directions. Unlike most of the buildings here, this one was made of black stone instead of porcelain which only made it more terrifying. It was known only as Dead Man’s Reef.

“Lovely,” Zia said, glancing up beside and looked at the prison. Despite her words, the Princess could see the exhaustion in her eyes. Iria appreciated everything that Zia had done with her since rescuing her, but she knew that the girl was tired. “So how do we get in?”

“Well first I think we need to get some rest.” She said firmly, making sure that it brokered no argument from Zia.

She nodded wordlessly, though she could see a wave of gratitude flicker across her eyes as they started to head. The princess pointed at the adjacent street “There should be an inn a few blocks away.”

With that, the two of them started to make their way the street, soon running into a small, three story inn that had a sign marked with a maroon trout on it called the Tully’s Inn. As they stepped in, the red haired innkeep smiled at them and started offer them a table in the corner.

As they sat down, the two girls failed to notice one of the patrons looking up at them. This one was a  Porcelanian soldier. He watched the two of them sitting down on the table and a deep frown started to form on his face as he watched them. The soldier didn’t do anything just yet and continued to watch as they started to order drinks and breakfast.

The waitress smiled and brought them a platter of sausages and eggs. Iria’s stomach started to growl at the sight of it. She had been on the spaceship for a couple of days now and had nothing except freeze dried MREs. The two of them quickly started to dig in. The sausages were covered in grease while the eggs were stale, but Zia and Iria savored every bite. A pitcher of warm water and two glasses were placed with them. These were also quickly utilized as they washed it down their food.

Soon enough all of it was finished and the two girls relaxed back on the chair. The Princess didn’t know what time it was, but as she glanced around she noticed that many of the patrons had left. She glanced at her mission clock and realized that it was already well past noon. Zia’s eyes fluttered open and shut a few times as she was slumped against her chair.

She got up and prepared to wake her up, at least so they could rest in their room. Iria would have wished to continue working right away, but even she was barely managing to stay up and liked the idea of a feather bed. Just those thoughts already started to get her drowsy. As she moved towards her, she felt a strong hand suddenly grab her shoulders.

Iria opened her mouth to scream, but a hand quickly clamped around her lips. Iria tried to bite down at it and managed to get a bit of skin. Her attacker cursed in a soft hiss, but his grip remained strong. The waitress screamed out in surprise, and this was enough to cause Zia to wake with a start. She jolted out of her seat, causing the chair to fall down beside her and fumbled with her pistol. As she did however, another pair of hands grabbed her as well.

“Quiet!” The voice of her attacker snapped at the screaming waitress to quiet her down. The womans voice died in her throat after he snapped that order once again. “This is official military business. We’re taking these two for questioning.”

“Shh, calm down my friend, we’re not going to hurt you.” The man holding Zia leaned in closer to the waitress and nodded his head. He was a good head and a half taller than her, but his voice was soft spoken. Reaching into his pocket, he held out a few silver coins and handed it to her. “Now, we are going to the upper rooms, but as far as you know, we were never here.”

The woman nodded her head with a quick jerk and disappeared back into the back room. The two soldiers looked at each other and once they confiscated the two girls side arms, not too gently shoved them to the stairs. They made their way up to a vacant room to which the man holding Iria shut the door behind them with his foot and released her just long enough to lock the door. “Welcome home Princess.”

“What do you want with me?” She snapped, eyeing both of them. The Princess was half tempted to pounce on the man, and would have done so if his friend didn’t have his gun out and Zia in his grasp.

The sergeant frowned and waved off his compatriot. The soldier threw his weapon on the table and loosened his grip on Zia. Once that was done, the sergeant slowly placed his gun on the table and raised his hands up. “We are not here to fight Princess.”

“You expect us to believe that after you kidnapped us?” Zia snapped before getting clipped in the ear. Iria boobed her head in agreement as she looked at the two men.

“He wasn’t talking to you.” The second soldier growled.

“That’s enough Sab.” The sergeant said and shot him a quick look. He turned back to the princess and his expression softened. “I apologize for how we got you, but there was no time to explain.”

“Explain what?” Iria snapped.

“We are here to help you get to the palace and overthrow Egghead.” He said firmly, not wasting anymore breath on pointless answers and went straight to the point.

This caused any more questions the two girls had to die down as they simply looked at him. A silence now took hold of the room, save for the hum of the air conditioner blowing in the corner of the room.

The sergeant glanced at them and waited patiently, content to let them think his offer over, though he continuously glanced at the door as if waiting for someone or something to burst in. He kept his hand in the pocket of of his vest pocket, likely having another weapon there just in case.

Sab was far less patient though and sat on the bed, tapping his foot impatiently as he gaze shifted between the two girls, demanding an answer now. Finally Zia spoke first and faced the sergeant. “Why?”

He gave a bitter laugh and shook his head incredulously, as if she had just suddenly asked if he wanted pizza. “Why? You have eyes my friend, look around the city and you can see why I want him gone.”

“You will need to be cleared than that if you want my help.” Iria replied. She could certainly see why they would want him gone. There were a hundred reasons why she would want to get rid of Egghead just from looking at the city, but she wanted to hear it from him.

“Your not really in a position to order us prin-” Sab began to say, getting to his feet but was quickly silenced by the sergeants raised hand.

“Your father was not a good king princess,” He began, sighing softly as he looked at her. His grey eyes were stormy with emotion. “But he was smart enough to let the people who were better rulers run the cities. He gave us autonomy and freedom to those on Porcelina who could so long as they served him. But this Egghead, he doesn’t give two shits about this planet. He doesn't trust its people enough to rul themselves so he fills it with his cronies and lets swaggering mercenaries patrol the streets instead of the true guards of our world. He exploits those who support him and punishes those who defy him. If you mean to get rid of him, then me and my men will back you.”

“Thank you for telling us this sergeant-”

“Grell, princess.”

“Sergeant Grell. But why should I believe you and that this is not some trap by Egghead.” She asked and noticed Zia nodding in approval behind her.

He shrugged. “I don’t think I can really prove how sincere my words are princess, but I suppose I can let you think about all of this and tell you that my men will be waiting by the Emerald Hotel if you choose to join us.”

With that, he started to get to his feet and head out. Sab collected their weapons and followed after him. He glanced back at them as the sergeant disappeared down the hall. “Will you let your fears stop you from freeing your people? That's  for you to decide Princess.”

With that, he was gone and shut the door behind him, leaving the two girls alone in their room. Zia quickly collected their weapons while the princess sat down on the table and thought about what he just heard.

“Are you really sure you want to trust these people?” Zia asked calmly and glanced around nervously, searching for any would be attackers. Thankfully now the streets were now deserted.

“Well they did let us get our guns back.” She replied, hefting up her rifle as she inspected its charge. The two of them had managed to retrieve them after the shift changes between the guards and the mercenaries were replaced with some of Sergeant Grell’s men. These soldiers were quick to look the other way as they left and and came back with their poorly hidden on their person.

Iria had taken the lead and directed them to the meeting point. She knew the route well and managed to take them through one of the less used streets and managed to keep them from getting spotted. Zia watched her flank, her eyes constantly darting around the roofs and alleyways.

It took them only about ten minutes to reach the hotel, a massive spire that seemed to have been carved from crystals. Hundreds of lights from a screen, presenting a short movie that showed off everything the hotel had to offer. It shone so brightly even amidst the evening darkness and nearly blinded them. The two of them forced their eyes shut and rubbed it slowly.

As their vision adjusted to the new light, the two of them started to walk along the sidewalk. Unlike the rest of the city, this place was alive with activity. The streets were backed with cars and dozens of people seemed to be dropped of at once, mixing in with the hundreds either strolling around or visiting the stores and restaurants that lined the side of the building.

Iria looked around and spotted a small group of people waiting by the hotel entrance. They were in the red and green uniforms of the Crown Jewel’s city watch and sat around a table in one of the hotels many cafes. All were wearing hooded cloaks that hid their faces They seemed relaxed enough, lounging around the table as they sipped drinks and ate pastries, and even from here the princess could hear their chatter. As they got closer though their body language told her otherwise.

Brains had thought Iria about how to read someone's body language. It was a skill she was all to grateful for as it helped get an idea of what people really felt or were thinking. Looking at these guards now,

She could see how rigid their bodies were, as if they weren’t fully into what they were doing as well as how there was little laughter from them, something unlike the rest of the people here were doing. That and the fact that they still had their weapons concealed in their jackets

Iria immediately knew it was them. She handed Zia her rifle and began to approach them, keeping her hood up as well. Zia hung back and remained in the shadows. She crouched down and kept her rifle held ready just in case things turned ugly.

One member had pulled out a deck of cards by the time she reached them. He was already shuffling them when she said. “Got room for one more?”

All five heads shot up to look at her. It took most of them a few seconds to recognize her, but sergeant Grell grunted and simply gestured for her to sit on one of the empty chairs. “By all means.”

Iria took her seat and realized the one with the cards was Sab. He distributed the cards around and glanced around. “What happened to your friend?”

“She’s around,” Iria replied and gave a small shrug. She took her cards in her hand and examined them. Her lip quirked upwards as she nodded her head in approval.

This gesture seemed to amuse the soldiers around her who all snickered and laughed whilst looking at their own cards. Sab simply smiled and threw his first card down. “You don’t play card games very often do you?”

“I don’t play many games at all soldier,” She replied and shifted her hand slowly. In truth she didn’t really know how to play this game. The princess saw that all her cards were on the higher end of things, but that was about it.  She chose a card that seemed good to her and threw it down. This only drew more chuckles from her companions, one of which placed another card into the growing pile. “Maybe you could help me play this game.”

“Well the key is not reveal your moves.” Sergeant Grell explained and started to fold his cards and placed a single one down. The other men leaned closer and oohed softly as they saw a 2 card on the table. He absently flipped the cards around and nodded. “That smile of yours reveals everything these people need to know about your move.”

Iria nodded in agreement, listening to what they had to say and watched as the others went about their moves, taking note of what they did and how the game was played. Sab grunted and glanced at her after a while. “You should also know when to keep your head down. Sometimes the best way to survive and get ahead of your enemies is if they never realize the threat you pose.”

“So is that how you managed to sneak here and stand before me now?” She asked idly and set another card down. The sergeant looked at it and nodded his head in approval.

“I suppose you can say that.” Sab said with a smirk. He flicked his wrist into his hand and produced a card between his two fingers. This one wasn’t like the other playing cards and was black with red dots on it. “This is a security keycard that we use in the prison. Miss Rowan here works as one of the prison guards and managed to sneak us a couple of these cards.”

A young purple haired woman blushed slightly and nodded her head. The other soldiers showed their cards and nodded. Sab slid his card across the table and nodded to Iria. “We will help you find your friends and after that we’ll join you to help retake your castle from Egghead.”

“And how do you plan on doing that? There are only six of you here, there have to be hundreds of guards in his castle at least.” Iria kept her voice down as two more guards started walk past them on patrol.

Grell for his part simply waved at them and the guards winked back. Neither of them even stopped to see what they were doing and simply kept on going about their rounds. He smirked slowly. “Do you really think we’re the only ones who have a bone to pick with Egghead? There are many more who would join us.”

Iria nodded her head and smiled. “So when do we move out?”

## Chapter 6

“Quiet everyone.” Sergeant Grell hissed and raised his pistol close to himself. He was crouched down and slowly peeked from the side of the wall to the hallway beyond. Zia stood behind him, rifle held close to her chest as she was prepared to support him if he attacked.

The rest of his soldiers watched their flank in case someone tried to sneak up behind them. Princess Iria stood in the middle, keeping my own weapon ready as she tried not to look down at the two unconscious guards at her feet. Grell turned back towards us and held up four fingers. Four guards then.

No one made any attempt to move forward, not until they received the signal. Their small group had entered the prison through one of its maintenance halls under the guise of being assigned to garbage pick up. The sleepy guards didn’t even bat an eye as we walked right past them. One of Grell’s soldiers raised his arm-mounted communicator to his lips and whispered to it in a hushed tone. “Begin you attack Sab.”

There was no reply over the communication, but jt quickly became clear that he heard them. A few seconds later, Iria heard the thump thump of the mortar tank outside unleashing its payload and of concrete and marble cracking. This was followed up by klaxons blaring from a siren overhead. I nearly dropped my gun as I covered my ears in surprise. Grell peeked into the room again and a thin smile formed on his lips as he raised two fingers and mouthed the words mezzanine.

The rest of us nodded and slowly began to stand up as he raised his pistol and slowly began to count down. I bit my lip quietly and readied my rifle, making sure it was set in stun as the sergeant's counted down and he pulled his hand into a fist.

All at once we burst into the prison area, firing our guns up in the air. A hot streak of a laser bolt sizzled past the back of her head. It missed only by a couple of inches but caused the hairs on her neck to stand up. Iria pushed that thought aside and kept going, firing white stun bolts up at one of the guards.

Then it was over. The five of them formed up in the middle of the room, looking around at the circular detention area. It was built like a giant beehive with honeycomb shaped prison cells lined all around them, separated by fields of green energy. Almost all of them were filled with prisoners. Most seemed like common criminals who simply glared at us or shouted at us, demanding that we free them. A few slunk away in fear and hid in their cells. Zia was already looking around for Brains and Fred.

One of the soldiers accompanying the princess spat on the ground. “Dissidents, those who spoke out against Egghead.”

Iria glanced up once again, to get a good look at some of those trapped before her, though this time with fresh eyes. While some certainly did look like the criminal type with scars and a hard look, it seemed for every three there was one who seemed more likely to be found as a fisherman or a bake shop.

“Where are the controls to free them?” Iria asked, already searching around for any control panel. The sergeant grabbed her shoulder and gently pulled her aside.

“There's no time for that princess.” He said, not unkindly. Despite that, his word sounded no less cruel.

“How could you say that. These people are innocent!” I protested and looked at him.

“Yes and if we free them now where will they go? Where will we take them? There are at least two dozen of them here right now. Do you think we can just spirit them away without anyone noticing?” The sergeant asked in a low tone, though his voice remained firm. When Iria didn’t respond, he sighed slowly and his expression softened. “Look, I don’t like this any more than you, but once we have control of the palace then we can free these people.”

‘I found them!” Zia shouted to her left. The others headed toward her direction. Iria glanced around the room one last time. She met the looks of some of the prisoners here. She met their stares and saw the pleading looks some gave her or the dead glares other did and quietly vowed not to forget them as she tore her gaze away. She made her way to Zia who standing on one of the control panels that lined the room. Each one of them controlled a vertical lift that would carry them up.

All but two of the soldiers were now onboard it. Those two had taken positions on either side of it with their rifles raised and seemed ready to guard it. Zia offered her hand to help Iria up before turning back to the console. “So let's see, number L-15.”

With that, she tapped a green button the elevator began to rise up soo fast that Iria nearly stumbled down. She caught her balance though and looked up at the various cells as they passed them. They stopped at the top floor and Zia let out a gasp in surprise. The two of them were indeed there, suspended in a green energy field with their bodies slumped.

Zia hit a button and the cell barrier disappeared. Iria and Zia were the first two inside, running up to see their friends. Grell took over the controls and disabled the force field with a press of a button. The two of them fell over the machine, but both of them were caught by their friends.

Iria groaned slightly as she held Brains in her arms and looked at her. The senior Protector looked a bit worse for ware. She felt skinnier under her grimey jumpsuit and there were purple bruises on her arms, though she wasn’t sure if that was before or after she got captured. Her eyes were shut, but at the very least her breathing seemed steady.

“Thanks you guys.” Friday said, hovering above them and buzzed around the ceiling in a circle and seemed happy to just be free. “I didn’t know how much longer I could take being trapped there.”

“It’s no problem Friday,” Zia grunted and seemed to be having a harder time with Fred. Even without his battle armor he was still half a head taller than her. She had her arms wrapped around his shoulders and slowly led him away from the force field projector. She barely managed a few more steps before setting him down.

He seemed to have gotten the most of the beating as his left eyes was swollen purple and had a long cut across his cheek. Still, he was also alive and that was all that mattered to her. This was caused Iria to sob with relief. She set Brains down beside Fred and looked at them over. Grell and his bodyguard looked at each other while the former bit his lip. “We should really get going princess.”

I glanced back at him sharply. “Well your welcome to help soldier.”

The sergeant grunted, but soon enough he was carrying Brains by her legs while Iria had her arms and started to carry her towards the lift. The other guard was doing the same with Fred and soon enough they were back on the ground floor. The two men stationed as guards saluted to them. One of them reached into her first aid kit and pulled out a can of spray which she started to spray all over their wounds.

Iria recognized it as a standard issue tool in treating wounds. It was meant to clean them up and stop them from getting an infection. Slowly though, the of them started to get up as they secured the room. Brains groaned and shook her head slightly. Her hand reached up and started to rub the side of her head.

“Brains!” The princess gasped and was immediately at her side and reached forward to grab her hand. She turned towards her with glassy eyes, though she seemed to be able to make us out.

“Iria?” She asked weakly, her voice cracked and dry as she spoke. Despite that, there was an obvious relief to her voice. Fred was similarly waking up beside them. “What are you doing here?”

Friday gently tapped on Fred’s forehead with his hand to try and get his attention. “Come on buddy, we can’t afford to take our time today.”

Despite this, he simply waved his hand towards him and tried to roll back to sleep. Friday sighed in annoyance and gently pinched his nose. A moment later, Fred gasped for air and shot up. He quickly looked around and noticed all of us staring at him. “What happened? Are you here to rescue us?”

Despite everything, I managed a chuckle while Zia placed a hand on his back and clapped it slightly as she helped him to his feet. “Ya we are, can the two of you walk?”

The two of them struggled to their feet, grunting as they tried to rise to their feet. Their legs heavily from the effort and it was clear that it was a difficult thing to do. Despite this, they managed to take a few steps forward and nodded. Grell nodded and they started to get going.

His three remaining men formed a fireteam vanguard which quickly secured the exit after making sure that the guards were still out before sprinting ahead. Zia took the read and kept her rifle ready. Beside her was Friday who floated and nervously bit at his fingers.

That left Iria, Fred and Brains in the middle. The latter two had a somewhat difficult time keeping up as they were weighed down by their injuries, despite that they refused any assistance and kept on going. Grell raised his wrist-com and tried to hail Sab. “Are you there? Sab we have the VIPs. Hello?”

In response, all the sergeant got was some static that was loud enough for all of them to hear. Brains turned to him with a weak stare. “That doesn’t sound good. Problem with some of your friends?”

“It's nothing to worry about ma’am.” He said quickly, though his tone sounded rehearsed and he glanced at his communicator with concern.

“Right,” Brains said wearily but continued on. Fred placed a reassuring hand on her as they jogged.

Still, sergeant Grell kept his arm-com close and tried to raise Sab two more times. At first it was all just empty static, but the second earned him a response in Sab’s raspy voice. “Hello? This is Sab.”

Visibly relieved, Grell nodded his head and spoke once again. His voice didn’t quite have the welcome his face did though. “What the heck was taking you so long to reply soldier?”

There was another slight pause in the response. Iris raised an eyebrow at this but didn’t say anything about it. “Just mopping up some of the last resistance sir, put up more of a fight than we thought.”

“Wil, there be a problem in our escape then Sab?”

“Negative sir,” The reply came at once this time. “They’re all gone now. All that matters is just getting out of here.”

“Understood, standby.” Grell said before turning his com off. He turned towards Brains with a hint of smugness in his eyes. “Like I said ma’am, it's nothing to worry about.”

“Right,” Brains repeated. “It's nothing to worry about.”

They quickly found the back exit they used earlier and quietly made their way inside. Once they were all inside, their small group quickly began to sprint the rest of the way. Thankfully they didn’t encounter much resistance. But at the same time something felt off. The princess looked around and bit her lip nervously. When they passed by earlier nobody tried to stop there, but there was wat least some people there. This was supposed to be a doorway reserved for the maintenance workers, but now none of them were here.

She didn’t really have time to think about it though as we made our way to the end of the hallway without incident . Two of the guards took cover on either end of the door and slowly made their way out. It was only when they shouted that it was all clear did the rest of us join them.

The door led to the back of the prison, a few meters to the left of the main gatehouse tucked in the shadows. Sergeant Grell was the last one out and started to radio for San once again. “Alright we’re out the door, where are you?”

“By the gatehouse, the guards fled once I managed to capture one of their tanks.” He stated a matter-a-factly.

“Alright, we’re on our way.” Sergeant Grell said and shut his arm-com off. He pushed his pistol back into its holster and withdrew a small metal rod about the size of a candybar and tapped a button at its bottom. A blade of pure green energy quickly materialized which he raised and prepared to cut through the thicket.

Fred cleared his throat though and shook his head. “Ummm, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

He glanced back at the purple haired teen in mild annoyance. His arm remained in the air as if it were just a short pause in his work. “What do you mean?”

Brains pressed him next. “He’s telling the truth. If you do this then your leaving them a trail the guards could use to follow us right here.”

“We don’t have time for this. They probably already know we’re hers, and if not then they will soon enough. What's important is that we get out of here now.” The sergeant insisted and brought his blade down slowly to the closest plants. Even without any effort in it, the blade seared through the leaves. A thin line of steam started to rise from the sizzling leaf.

This only seemed to agitate the Protectors further. Zia stepped up now. “Sergeant I strongly suggest we practice caution. Don’t you find it weird that we haven’t been followed or anything?”

“What do you mean?” Grell’s eyes narrowed in suspicion when he looked at the young protector. He was at least ten years older and much taller, yet Zia had his full attention.

“She means that its strange that we encountered no guards or even workers on our way out.” Brains replied as if she was stating the obvious. “Didn’t you notice that there were no workers in the maintenance exit we use going out?”

“Well it’s late, they’re probably all gone now.” He insisted, though reluctantly lowered his energy blade and simply began to push through the leaves with his bare hands. The rest of us quickly followed after him. It wasn’t long before the gatehouse came into view from the thick tree. A single tank was parked just beside the gate, its turret facing it just in case someone tried to move out.

Grell raised his hands up in the air and signalled them to stop as he looked at tank. He began to advance forward alone, his blade still in his hand as he began to approach it. “Sab? Are you there?”

The tanks top hatch slid open and the big soldier poked his head out. He turned around to face him and waved his arm. “Welcome back sergeant.”

The two of them shared a salute and the sergeant turned around and started to signal the rest of us to move forward. We quickly joined up behind him and Iria started to brush up dust from her clothes. “So did you run into trouble while we were gone Sab?”

“Not at all miss,” He said formally and inclined his head slightly towards her and remained where he was. “It was actually pretty quiet.”

The Princess raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. “Oh? I was told that you ran into some problems and were still mopping up? What about that?”

His lip curled slightly in amusement as he regarded her. Grell and the others noticed this as well. Zia pulled her back while the sergeant took a step forward in front of her. Sab’s amusement disappeared and a hint of regret started to show when the two soldiers looked at each other. “I suppose I did say that.”

“Well did your did you not?” He asked firmly and narrowed his eyes towards the larger man and Iria could see his grip tightening around his blade until his knuckles turned white.

“I did not.” Was all he said. Without any other words, he suddenly turned the turret around towards them. Iria couldn’t hold her scream back as she saw the barrel of then gun leveled at her. She and the other soldiers quickly scrambled away to take cover from the shell.

Grell growled and raised his blade defensively and stepped to the side. “What the hell are you doing soldier?”

“I’m sorry sergeant, but I cannot have someone from her family back on the throne.” He said, disdainfully waving his hand towards Iria. The turret was slowly starting to turn towards her once again. Behind the tank, the gates began to slide open with a loud groan, like a monster waking up from its slumber. Soldiers aquickly began to pour out from the open gate. At least a dozen heavily armed soldiers who fanned out and formed a semi-circle around the tank.

Grell and his men quickly raised their rifles back at them in defiance, the sergeants his blade followed the nearest soldier while he drew his pistol and pointed it at Sab. He spat, his voice dripping with venom. “You sold us out.”

The accusation seemed to have struck the big soldier like a physical blow. He recoiled sliglt and shouted back indignantly. “I was protecting this planet sir. If we let her family back onto the throne then what will stop them from using their mind control powers once again to suite their whims?”

“So you allow a despot to rule over Porcelina?” Brains questioned beside him, having somehow gotten the sidearm of one of the soldiers and joining the others.

“Better a dictator you know about and can overthrow rather than one who can bend you to their will.” He said coldly and looked at them, the turret now pointed right at pirmcess Iria’s chest. “Now will you all surrender peacefully or will we have to use deadly force?”

Iria simply had to take a look around to see the answers. Grell glared at his former aoldier with such anger that he was sure he would have attacked him even if the she wasn’t here right now. The other soldiers and her friends also looked at the enemy soldiers with grim determination. She knew they would fight right to the bitter end.

And likely die here.

“No.” Iria managed to choke the words out.

A few of the soldiers glanced at her in surprise. Even Sab slowly turned to her, his brows rising slightly in surprise. He didn’t say anything simply waited for her to continue.

Iria took a deep breath and dres herself up, straightening her back and trying to look as dignified as possible. “I mean, I will go with you willingly if no harm comes to my friends. I have words with Egghead.”

“Princess no!” Zia said ran up to her. She grabbed her friends arm tightly and shook her head. “This isn’t the way.”

Iria smiled and gently pulled her hand away and placed mine in her own. The princess looked at her striken eyes and remembered all the memories they shared these past few months. She then knew now more than ever that what she was going was right.

She let go and turned back towards the traitorous soldier. Iria glared back at him fiercely and growled. “Well? What you say?”

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he seemed to suspect a trick. But after a while he growled in a low voice. “Let's get moving.”

“This way,” One of the guards snapped and pointed the barrel of his gun against the princess. He pressed the tip against her back as he marched her forward. Iria grunted slightly and took a step forward. Sab was only a few feet away, shouting orders to his men as he tried to divy them up.

The rest of his soldiers began to lead the rest of her friends away towards another corridor. Zia shot one look at her friend before disappearing down one of the castle cellars. Iria gulped and watched them go, feeling her blood chill. She knew that it wasn't a cellar but a dungeon. It wasn’t as bad as the prison in the Crown Jewel, but it would be no picnics either.

This left only Iria and Grell together. Sab slowly turned to them and gestured for their guard to begin leading them towards the castle entrance. Several of the mercenaries were waiting for them. They had electric pikes held across their arms as they passed. Two of the guards slammed the butts of their spears against the floor, causing electricity to crackle amongst the blades.

Sab didn’t pay them any mind and kept them going. As they marched, Iria started to look around the hallways. These were the same halls that she lived in just a few months ago. The same one she would run through, almost a lifetime ago.

Yet at the same time the placed seemed just like she remembered it to be. Strings of seashells hung from the ceilings and gleamed as the sun's rays reflected off through the windows. Tapestries depicting different sights of the sea and the different parts of Porcelina, from frames made off corals and marble. Some of the servants who once served under her father were also there. They stopped whatever they were doing and stared at her. Iria met their eyes and searched them for anything that might give her a clue of what they felt, but most quickly looked away before she could get an answer.

She couldn’t find Darl anywhere though, the big servant was nowhere to be found. Iria must had stopped moving to look around because she was roughly shoved forward by her guard once again. Grell walked right up to her side and grunted slightly. “Keep going, I doubt they would hesitate to hurt you if you bother them enough.”

The princess nodded her head in agreement and started to get going once again. There was little doubt in her mind that she had a price on her head alive, though not necessarily unharmed. She made sure not to slow down anymore as they continued to walk the rest of the way until they reached a huge velvet lined door that rose twenty feet in the air. Two mercenaries stood on either side, though their armor was decorated with the medals and sashes of the royal guards. Iria felt her blood begin to bubble at this afront, but she held her tongue and kept on going.

The doors were slowly swung open, revealing the throne room. Iria stepped forward before her guards even ordered it and began to look around. At once a thousand memories came flooding back of this place, back when she was a young girl running through it or as a teenager sitting with her parents to try and learn how to manage the kingdom. At least in the few times her father bothered to do that.

That last bitter memory brought her back to the present, where the guard moved to catch up with her as he led Grell in. Sab followed a few steps behind, his pistol leveled at the hip as he walked in slowly, his boots ringing against the tiled steps. At the end of the room was Egghead himself, paying little attention at first as he was resting on his kittle hoover chair, a servant feeding him grapes from a bowl. There was no sign of her father though.

“Your highness.” Sab called out in a formal tone that echoed through the room. He walked past Iria, bumping her shoulder as he passed and crossed the rest of the room in a few quick strides. He stopped at the bottoms steps of the throne and placed a fist to his chest. “I have brought you the princess.”

He finally glanced up from his snack and took notice of them standing there. A sinister smile started to form on his face as he stared at Iria, drinking in the sight of seeing her captured like this. “Well it appears you have. At least someone was able to accomplish this. You’ve done well soldier.”

“I live only to serve you sir.” He said calmly and removed his hand from his chest.

“And to see that reward I promised to whoever brings me the princess.” The false king continued and clapped his arms together. He looked towards the servant and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Now go and fetch this man his reward.”

The servant started to take a step back, he bowed his head once before turning at his heel and walking away. Iria watched him leave as he passed by her. Upon closer inspection, she recognized him as Jarl. The servant didn’t seem to have anything to say to her and left without another word.

The guard followed him out, leaving the four of them alone together. A quick look around the room told her that there were half a dozen guards scattered all over armed with energy pikes, but none were close enough to really help Egghead, not with the range their weapons had. If she moved fast enough, she might be able to take him out before they reached her.

After that she didn’t know what would happen, but it wouldn’t have mattered so long as he took him down with her. That would make it all worth it. The soft click of the pistol made it clear that would not happen though and she clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. Egghead straightened his posture and started to float down towards her. He remained at eye level as he circled around her, as if expecting the princess to shapeshift into something else.

When she maintained her shape, the grin on his face returned. “Yes, it is indeed you. I suppose I should welcome you home princess.”

“You could do that by handing the crown back to my father.” I suggest sarcastically.

Egghead laughed at this and pounded his fist against the arm of his throne. One arm reached up and tapped one of the pearls on the crown with a finger. “While that is certainly a tempting offer, I have grown quite fond of it.”

Iria smirked and glanced at it. “Not too fond I hope for you won’t be wearing it for very long.”

This only made the little alien laugh harder. He placed one hand on his forehead and chortled uncontrollably, his legs kicking around. Iria tapped her foot and waited for him to finish. The guards looked at each other in confusion, unsure what to do. Sab seemed unimpressed and waited for him to stop. Even Grell didn’t seem to know what to do.

He almost seemed like he was choking on it. After a few minutes of laughter, the alien managed to get his amusement under control. Egghead wiped tears from his eyes as he regarded her like a child who has no idea what she was saying. “Oh Iria, poor, confused Iria. And who might be the one to stop me? The Galactic Alliance sent me a letter of condemnation, which essentially means I they will not act. The Protectors don’t have the resources to fight alone, and even if they did I still have Agent Brains and her friend as my hostage. What does that leave you?”

“The people of Porcelina.” Iria replied calmly.

Egghead paused for a moment and seemed to take this in for a moment before simply shaking his head once again. “And do you think that they want you any more? True I might not have the peoples love, but I have their fear. You might have been able to control them before, but your soldiers are no longer affected and are now loyal to me.”

“Not all of us.” Grell said quietly. He stared only at the ground, even when Sab slammed the butt of his pistol to his back and forced the man to his knees.

He turned serious as he floated towards the soldier and growled. “You will learn respect soldier, or else you will regret that.”

In response the sergeant merely reared his head back. Egghead shrieked and tried to back away, thinking he was going to headbutt him but instead a glob of phalgm struck him across the face. He blinked once in surprise as the drop trickled down his cheek.

Sab struck him in the back once again and growled. “You have best show some more respect soldier.”

The sergeant doubled over in pain, gasping and barely managing to catch himself with his hands. He growled and coughed, looking up at the traitorous soldier with hate filled eyes. “I don’t have to do that.”

He seemed almost resigned as he shook his head. “Then you will join the princess in her execution.”

## Chapter 7

“Princess,” Grell called out weakly, his voice was cracked and raspy. The sergeant was slumped at the side of the room, his uniform caked with mud and dirt. He grunted as he tried to approach her. “Are you alright.”

Iria opened her eyes and looked at him, watching as he tried to hide the pain in his stomach as he moved around. Unlike the prison which Brains and Fred were imprisoned in, the castle dungeons were far less modern or accommodating. Iron chains left their arms and legs bound instead of an energy field, and the smooth, clean metal which built those prisons was replaced with cut stone and leaky pipes. By her count, the cell was about ten paces long by ten paces wide. There was no light except for when the guards opened the door.

But her eyes have gotten used to the darkness and Iria could make out her cellmate without much of a problem. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. “I’m fine. Don’t strain yourself too much sergeant, you should get some rest.”

Grell grunted and didn’t seem pleased with that and strained for a bit more before dropping to the ground with a loud. The effort took a lot out of him as he wheezed heavily. Iria got to her feet and gently pushed him down, making sure he was comfortable. The sergeant simply stared at her in disbelief. “Why are you being so calm about this princess? This is your throne on the line.”

“I know,” She replied calmly, simply bowing her head to acknowledge that fact. “But what do you expect me to do? We certainly can’t break out here. Not with your condition and not without knowing where the others are.”

“So you simply plan to give up?” The sergeant snapped back. There was a hard edge to his voice that under most circumstances would not have been accepted, but he could not believe what he was hearing. He stared at her and tried to rise once more, only to buckle against the effort once again. “Is this really what it's come to, princess?”

She turned to glare at him, some of the fire returning to her eyes as she met the sergeant's disapproving look. Even Grell was surprised at this and went silent, though his jaw remained tightened. Iria eventually looked down and let her shoulders slump. “I don’t plan on doing anything like that. But I think even you can admit that our options are a bit limited here.”

Grell couldn’t find any reason to argue with her there and rested his back against the wall, massaging the spot of his stomach where Sab had struck him. A guard appeared a few moments later and opened a small slot in the cell door to look at them. Once he got a good look at the defeated figures on the floor, he growled and went back to his patrol. As he shut the door, total darkness descended on them once again The two of them remained in their cell in total silence.

“Why did you agree to help me, sergeant?” Iria asked after a while. When he looked at her in confusion she continued. “I recently learned that my family was not the rightful rulers of this planet and were hardly very popular. So why did you help me anyway?”

“Because you came back.” He said simply.

Now it was Iria’s turn to be confused. She looked up at the sergeant at a loss for words. A ghost of a smile played on his face as he looked up in the air, seemingly in deep thought. “I served your father even if you might not recognize me. I saw what kind of man he was like and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if he were in your place, he would never have done that. He would have headed for the hills and maybe come back if he had an army.”

He leaned over towards her, even that already taking a toll on him. Grell reached out one of his shaking hands and prodded her chest. “But you didn’t have an army. If you did I don’t think we would be in here now. You came here alone to try and save your planet and friends. That is the kind of leader I want.”

Even as he finished, the princess was still at a loss for words. Instead, she simply bowed her head in acceptance.

“I don’t really know what to do now a sergeant,” Iria admitted, the words came out bitter and nearly choked her as she said it. “I think Egghead outmaneuvered us here. There is only one course of action that I can think of now.”

“What’s that?”

“Appeal to the people.” She replied. “I wasn’t lying when I said that the people will stop him. You said that he isn’t very popular here, I just hope the citizens of Porcelina see things as you have. Then maybe, just maybe we could turn the tables on him.”

Grell scratched his chin and turned away. The sergeant shook his head. “I don’t like it, it seems like too much fo a risk to try.”

“I know,” Iria said miserably. In truth, she hated it too but she had been racking her brain since arriving in the cell, trying to thinking of and disproving a dozen different ideas that she might have tried. But none of them were any good. It became more and more clear that Egghead held all the cards. All she could count on now was this one wild card. “But what other choice do we have?”

She took the sergeants silence for acceptance. The hours continued to trickle by without them speaking, yet a mutual understanding had clearly formed between the two prisoners. This was only interrupted by the sound of the doors rusty hinges shifting. The iron door slid open, sending light across the room. It was so bright that the two of them had to force their eyes shut as they adjusted to the sudden change.

A figure stepped forward and blocked it. His heavy boots rung loudly against the floor as he made his way in. Iria blinked once and squinted her eyes to get a better view of him. It was Sab. His uniform was spotless and he had a rifle slung over his shoulder as he stopped in the middle of the cell.

The soldier turned to her, regarding the princess with disgust as he wrinkled his nose at the sight of her. His gaze slowly turned towards his sergeant and his look softened somewhat. The same could not be said for Grell who stared at him with a cold stare that promised retribution.

Sab dropped one of the trays on the ground, causing its contents to scatter everywhere. He kicked it towards Iria and said. “Your last meal, courtesy of King Egghead.”

Iria looked at the tray, its contents consisting of a bowl of rice, a piece of fruit, and some dried meat. She pulled the tray towards her and collected whatever she could before starting to eat. Sab was gentler towards his former officer, lowering the tray slowly and handing it to him. “You can still be forgiven if you just swear allegiance to Egghead sir.”

Without another word. The soldier turned at his heel and began to march away, shutting the door behind him.

Iria couldn’t tell how much time passed between their meal and when Sab returned, but what she did know was that she was not able to get any sleep since then. Each time she shut her eyes the fear of them never opening them again overcame her and forced them open.

By the time he came back her eyes were bloodshot and with deep lines underneath them. Iria sat up and tried to compose herself as much as she could as he entered the cell. She squared her shoulders and took a few deep breaths, counting each heartbeat before exhaling.

The man wasn’t alone this time. Two guards flanked him from the entrance and joined him, reaching for Grell and hauling him to his feet. The big soldier huffed and scowled like an angry bear being woken. He shoved their arms aside and walked by himself despite his injuries.

The pair were led out into the prisons hallway where the other prisoners were also being forced out. Iria spotted her friends amongst the group. Friday was held in an electric force field that prevented him from even floating around. Brains and Fred were together, shuffling slowly as their legs were bound in shackles. They looked worse for wear, but thankfully the guards didn’t harm them further. Zia was the first one to notice her. The young Protector looked lost and seemed to be searching for answers with the princess.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any and simply looked away as they were marched up the stairs. There was no sign of her father amongst them though which did not sit well with the princess. As they walked, she continued to look around, trying to spot him to no avail. The guards were no help either, roughly shoving her forward or knocking her with the butts of their rifles whenever they slowed down.

Egghead was waiting for them when they reached the top floor. He floated on his gravity throne with a smug look on his face, sneering down at them. He had dressed finely for the occasion with a red cloak with white fur trimming sized up to fit his small frame. Mercenaries and nobles crowded with him, all staring at her as she passed.

Some of the girls who she might have called friends before now whispered and snickered behind her back as she passed. Mercenaries attempted to make grabs at her, but she expertly maneuvered her way past them. The nobles who her father once drank with now stared at her with contempt.

But that wasn’t what got her attention. All of those people faded away from her attention as she noticed the person standing beside Egghead.

Her father was there, dressed simply in the garbs of a servant. He didn’t make eye contact with her, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor as he held a tray of drinks in his hands. He shuffled around wordlessly, serving glasses of wine to the guests here. Iria opened her mouth so speak but there was a taste of mud in her lips and she shut her mouth.

Not that the guards allowed her to even get close to him anyway. They started to lead her ahead of her friends. Once they were about ten feet away from each other, they made a sharp turn to the right and started to steer her towards the palace entrance.

“Not yet.” The false kings voice interrupted. The guards holding her shoulders pulled her back suddenly and turned towards him. They looked at each other in confusion before turning to Egghead.

He nodded his head in assurance and leaned forward on his throne. Egghead brushed his cape back, letting it flow behind him. He slowly floated towards her, sucking his teeth loudly as if he had a piece of fruit stuck between them.

“You get a good look princess,” he said, spreading his arms around to the palace. The palace that she once called her home. A grin slowly spread across his face as he looked at her with beady eyes. “This may be the last time you ever see your home. Unless of course you’ve had a change of heart about your allegiances.”

A few of the nearest guests leaned in closer to hear what she had to say, looking at her expectantly. Iria looked at them, searching their eyes for any hint of regret or disapproval and found none. False allies and fairweather friends.

“Perhaps you should just bow down and abdicate? That would also solve our problems as well your highness.”

Egghead looked as if he had just swallowed a coin. He recoiled back and tried to speak, though all that came out was a series of surprised gasp. This drew a few chuckles from the crowds around him. Color burned into his cheek but he managed to regain his composure. He thrust his finger out at her. “You are in no position to bargain here princess, what do you have that makes you so confident to threaten me?”

“I am not threatening you, I’m simply stating a fact.” She replied calmly.

He ground his teeth together and quickly turned away in disgust. “If you have nothing to say aside from these empty threats then I suppose we are done here.”

Egghead slumped on his throne, he looked like a sullen child ready to throw a tantrum. He snapped his fingers impatiently and the guards started to lead Iria forward once again. Before that though, her father shuffled forward towards Egghead. He stopped in front of him and bent down before him until his forehead was touching the ground. The false king sighed with relief as he spread his legs out and placed them on her fathers back.

That was too much for her to bear. Iria felt herself bristle and her blood boil in anger at this afront. She tried to turn around, but the guards holding her kept her back and continued to shove her forward. “Father, what are you doing?” She managed to shout.

“My duty.” He said simply. There was no emotion in his voice and was meek acceptance. “I do what my king commands of me.”

“He is no ones king!” Iria shouted back, looking back at him and her friends who were now starting to be lead forward. She tried to stop and look at him, grunting and pressing her weight against the guards. “He’s an usurper to the crown and a tyrant.”

“Take her out and kill her now!” Egghead roared and pointed angrily, his voice rising several octaves. Some of the guests gasped softly and whispered amongst themselves. The guards growled, locking their rifles together and shoving her forward.

Eventually they managed to get her out the door. Outside a massive crowd had gathered to watch what was going on. Thousands of citizens from the nearby cities and towns had come to see what was happening, from the lowly serfs dressed in rags to the well off aristocrats who had an excellent view from their litters.

Iria saw their gazes, hoping to find some sort of consensus with them. A few watched with predatory excitement to horror to cool indifference. The guards stopped at the first landing of the stairs. There an executioner's block had been set up for them. Even that was well crafted; a slab of oak smothered and covered designs depicting the wrath of the sea gods. It was scrubbed carefully until it was spotless, though heavens know how many had met their end because of her ancestor.

Two executioners stood on either side of it. They were dressed in the ornate fish scale armor and masks. They held electric axes in their arms, the light blue blades crackling with electricity. Iria felt her guards loosen their grip as theyhanded her over to them.

From the top of the steps the princess could hear Brains shouting. “Egghead stop this! If you go through with this then the Galactic Council will certainly take action.”

Along with her, Zia and Fred added their voices to the mix though she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Whatever it was, didn’t seem to impress Egghead very much as he replied. “They did nothing when I took this planet and attacked the headquarters of the Protectors, I think that is a risk I am willing to take my dear. Get her in position.”

“You cannot do this Egghead.” Zia insisted. “Iria is still a citizen of Porcelina and deserves a proper trial.”

One of the guards nodded, slinging his axe on his back as he moved behind the princess and held her by her shoulders. His hands were rough and calloused, digging into her skin. “Will you kneel willingly or must I push you onto the block?”

Iria tilted her head slightly to look at him. She noticed the second executioner approaching with his axe held over his head with both hands. The blade crackled brightly as sparks continued spread around it. The princess felt a lump form in her throat as she saw all this. The fingers at her throat tightened, causing her to fidget around and try to shake it off. The guard did not budge and his muscles strained as he prepared to shove her down.

She realized that her silence had given them leave to do what they wanted. She swallowed a breath and nodded. Slowly, she began to lower her head onto the block. “I will lower my head, but I have words to say first.”

The executioner looked back at the king he served for confirmation, but Iria was not about to wait for him to say no. She extended her head out and faced the people before her. “Citizens of Porcelina, I am here before you prepared to die, but I would not die without expressing my deepest regrets. I am sorry for what my family has done.”

“Quiet.” The guard with the axe snapped as he took a step forward, his muscles straining as he fingered the hilt of his weapon.

“Wait,” Egghead said and raised his hands and looked at her. “I will hear what she has to say.”

Iria held her head high, craning her neck around to look at them. Part of her trembled, waiting as if the axe would fall at any minute, she pushed those thoughts aside though and looked at the gathered crowds. “My family took the crown unjustly, I have come to realize that and I will not forget that. We have not ruled well and are not worthy to claim the kingship.”

“You certainly are not!” Somebody, it sounded like Sab said from behind.

This seemed to stir the crowds as a soft ripple spread amongst them. Some looked at each other and muttered softly. None looked at her with kindness, but she had their attention. That's what mattered right now.

“I will not ask you for your forgiveness nor your understanding. Instead I will only admit my families mistake.”

“Will that change anything? Will that undo any of the wrongs that were done to us?” A woman asked sharply from the crowds. It was a crone by the sound of it, her voice was brittle and raspy, but her words stung like a physical blow. “Are you trying to wash your hands of the crimes your family committed?”

“It will not.” Iria admitted and hung her head slightly, but she could not be weak now. “I am not trying to do anything. I accept my punishment with dignity.”

“Well for that much I will thank you,” Sab said, taking a step forward towards her. She noticed that he had a pistol in his hands, his knuckles turning white as he gripped it. He shot the guards an impatient look. “but not for anything else.”

“I don’t require your thanks. I only ask that you all ask yourself this? Is it really worth it to depose my family for Egghead? Is he truly that much better that you would trust him to uphold Porcelinian Justice?”

She was remiss to hear a number of people emphatically shout yes, especially from the merchants and wealthy citizens. However, it didn’t escape her notice that not everyone joined in and a number of villagers seemed unsure. Some remained silent while others looked on the verge of joining, but thought otherwise.

“I may not know much about what happened to you while I was gone or what wrongs you suffered under my family when they ruled, but I know that Egghead was not someone who spared the rod in his treatment to you, else why does he recruit so many mercenaries to watch over the city and uh...maintain the peace.”

“His men stole my cart.” Someone shouted from the crowds.

“Some of those drunks thrashed my tavern.” A husky voice added.

Others began to shout their own grievances against Egghead and his men. Each one was another blow against Egghead and sounded like music to the Princess’s ears. A few more nodded in agreement and less voices shouted in support of Egghead.

She could feel the restlessness in the crowd. Those in front shifted around, and a few tried to step forward. This was no longer a unified crowd waiting for her blood, but a mass of people. A line of mercenaries armed with riot gear and electric pikes blocked them off from getting any closer, but it was like a flood just waiting to break free of its dam.

“Be silent!” Sab and Egghead roared in unison. The former turned to the guards and shot them a glare as if to say. Why does she still have her head.

The executioner raised his axe over his head with a loud grunt. Iria could see chord of muscles straining as he prepared to bring it down. The weapon was alive with electricity. A blow that would certainly kill her, even if it didn’t behead her.

It was now or never.

“If you allow Egghead to go through with this, then you acknowledge him as your sovereign, think about that!”

She heard the guard grunt as he brought the axe down. Iria prepared herself for the end, but saw something sail across the air and strike the guard with a wet sound. The executioner grunted and stumbled back, falling to the ground. Another hit the guard holding her down across the chest, but it didn’t slow him down. He looked around wildly, trying to spot the thrower, but more projectiles came flying and struck him down.

It was only when he was down when Iria found the courage to turn back and see what happend. She saw both guards on the ground, groaning as they struggled to get up, red fluid flowing down their bodies. For a moment she thought that they were dying, but as she looked up to where they were struck she saw that it was fruit.

“Stop this madness at once!” Egghead shouted, his face turning as red as the tomatoes, beside him was Sab with his pistol ready. His shouts turned to shrieks however when another flurry of fruit came flying at him and sent him back. The soldier though didn’t back down and begin to march down the steps.

As he made his way down, he started to point his pistol at her and prepared to fire. Then Iria made her up. She threw herself to the side, rolling as she did just as the blaster bolt burned the spot she was kneel at a moment before. The blaster bolt burned through the coral, filling the air with charred smoke.

She sprung to her feet as Sab aimed his blaster again and fired. Iria sidestepped each attack, grunting as her hands strained against her handcuff. As she got closer, the soldier flipped his pistol in the air and caught it barrel first. He got into a combat stance and prepared to brain her. Instead of moving towards him though, the princess suddenly moved to the side, making her way towards one of the fallen executioners.

Bolts quickly started to whiz past her though a moment later. The shots were clumsy as Sab grunted and was struck again by the citizens. By the time she reached the executioner, the man had already started to get to his feet. He looked at her with wide eyes and quickly scrambled to his feet and tried to ready himself. Iria was faster though and somersaulted in the air. Her arms were bound which mean she couldn’t do much with them. The same couldn’t be said for her legs though.

As she spun above him, her legs struck the back of his head with her foot and sent him toppling back on the ground. Iria dropped beside him and quickly bent down to try and take the fallen guards axe in her hands.

She growled and struggled to hold it with her bound hands. By this time Sab had started to get his feet, holding his pistol clumsily as he tried to dodge the remaining projectiles thrown at him. Before he could attack him though, Grell appeared out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. As Sab tumbled down the remaining steps, the sergeant turned to her.

Around them, chaos had taken over the palace. Nobles running away collided into guards who were streaming out to join the fight, everywhere officers tried to shout orders and rally their men to no avail. The crowds had gone wild now, fighting and pushing against the line of officers to try and get through. Already gaps had started to form and some tried to rush through, though more mercenaries continued to run down to meet them. The other prisoners had thankfully taken this chance and started to join in the fight.

The princess quickly understood that this chaos was the only thing keeping them alive. If the crowds weren’t here then the guards would have already overwhelmed them.

Brains and Fred stood side by side, holding up by half a dozen guards. One of them rushed forward with an electric pike lowered. Brains gracefully sidestepped the attack and just as the blade past her, she raised her hands against it and the spearhead tore right through handcuffs. With her arms free, she was like a tiger, snarling as she started to throw herself into the crowds. Fred joined a moment after as he soon got free after.

“Come on, they need help.” I said, jerking my head towards them. Grell nodded and understood. The two of them started to make their way up the steps, dodging those who tried to stop them.

A small circle had formed around Fred, Zia, Brains and the remaining soldiers. Most of them had somehow managed to get their hands free and appropriated weapons.

“Iria your arms.” Zia shouted and raised her rifle. She understood and raised her arms as her friend pulled the trigger. A moment later her handcuffs fell to the ground, smoking. The same happened to Grell a moment later and rubbed his wrists.

She retrieved her axe and held it in her hands. The blade was heavier than she expected, but it was the only weapon she had. Iria searched around for Egghead, unable to spot him anywhere. The coward had probably fled already but instead another guard rushed at her, firing his rifle.

Iria made a dive roll forward and swung her axe into his chest. The guards eyes widened as he felt the axe enter his chest with a wet sound. She backed up beside Brains who had somehow picked up a rifle and was firing at the oncoming guards as she backed up. “So what did you have in mind for an escape plan?”

“Get out of here, find the hanger and fly out.” Iria replied without missing a beat. The others were starting to join them, forming a loose ring at the last few steps that led to the entrance. She searched around the escaped prisoners and found no sign of her father or Friday for that matter.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Fred said and took cover behind the entrance way, gasping as laser bolts fired past him. “But I’m not leaving without Friday.”

“Or my father.” The princess nodded in agreement and looked around for them. She swung her axe in a wide arc to try and force the guards from getting closer. She spotted her father with Egghead, the false king hiding behind her fathers bulk and using him as a living shield.

“Thanks, now do you mind getting me out of here?” Friday asked, tapping against the forcefield and stuttering as it electrocuted him. He was kept in place by a particularly large guard who hung back while the rest of his men advanced.

“I’ll get your dad.” Zia said as she was dual wielding pistols and without another word, sprinted forward towards Egghead. She was like a viper in the grass, slipping and sliding bast her larger opponents and taking them out with swift kicks and hits.

Iria watched for a moment, admiring her friends skill before sprinting towards the big mercenary. She tucked low, swinging her axe clumsily at any who tried to get too close. Occasionally she would feel it bite into flesh. The big man didn’t seem too worried though and casually took aim at her with his rifle. Once Iria was out of the crowd, he pulled the trigger.

The princess dove forward, feeling the bolt strike above her head, missing by a fraction of an inch and burning the tips of her hair. As she looked up, she saw the man standing before her with a smirk as his gun was leveled at her forehead.

Without thinking, the princess flung her axe with all his strength at him. The weapon sailed past his head harmlessly. The soldier laughed and pressed the gun against her head, the heat from the barrel prickling her skin. But that was exactly what she had in mind. The axehead struck the forcefield holding Friday. Lightning sparked in all directions as the two forces struck.

Her axe was now blindingly bright and forced her to shut her eyes, but the soft explosion that follow was enough evidence for her. Iria heard Friday scream as he fell from the forcefield and struck the large man right in the head. He crumpled to the ground without another word. Iria rolled to the side just in time for her to avoid getting crushed. Friday quickly got to the air and floated around. “Thanks ,princess!”

She nodded and started to make her way back to the crowds. By know, her friends had already backed up inside. Zia was one of the last ones to retreat, herding her father behind her as they fled, keeping their heads down as they fled. Around her, half a dozen guards were taken out by Zia.

Friday floated right up to Fred before promptly changing into a gatling gun. A wide grin spread across his face as he let up, scattering the guards as they retreated.

Iria followed after her and once she was through, two of the freed started to force the gate close. Grell quickly followed my jamming a rifle between the door handles. He sighed and panted heavily, nearly falling to the ground. “Well what's next?”

“We get out of here. Find the hangar and a ship to get us away from this planet.” Iria said, taking a deep breath as she took another pistol Zia handed her one of her pistols.

This took some of the guards off guard as they looked at her. “But what about your title princess?”

“Is meaningless now.” She replied curtly and made her way towards one of the windows. The fighting outside had intensified as more mercenaries were called in, even some armored vehicles had started to pull in. Still even with all this, they were having a hard time holding back the thousands of citizens gathered. Egghead was unsurprisingly, nowhere to be seen. “I doubt these people will want me back, and I doubt whether we can even take. What matters now is us getting out of here. We can sort what's happening in Porcelina later, hopefully with the Supreme Commander.”

No one seems to like this idea one bit, but at the same time none seemed willing to argue. Zia placed her hand on the princesses shoulder and gently squeezed. “I’m so sorry about this princess.”

She could only nod her head in acknowledgment. “Then let's get out of here.”

## Epilogue

For the second time in her life, princess Iria found herself standing before the council of the Galactic Alliance. She stood before the dozen council members on an elevated. The small hovercraft was quite cramped. On her left was the Supreme Commander who looked like he wished to pick a fight with the council members then talk to them. She found herself sympathizing with him and wanted to do just that, but she forced herself to take a deep breath before looking to her left. On that side were her friends.

They nodded to her encouragingly and Fred flashed her a thumbs up. They had all recovered quite nicely since arriving back to the academy a few days ago. The three of them wore their Protectors uniforms which were now cleanly pressed and washed. Iria for her part wore a formal sea-green gown that fit her quite well and seemed formal enough for the meeting.

She could feel the glares of the council members on her as she took a step forward. Those to her right were disproving while the only female one was downright accusing. The others remained cold and seemed to be calculating the risks she was. Only the head counselor looked at her with sympathy. He was also the first to speak up, coughing slightly as he folded up some papers on his desk. “So, I think we’ve all seen the reports from Porcelina. Though could Agent Brains please reiterate her report?”

Brains stepped beside her and cleared her throat. She shot the princess an apologetic look. Iria knew that she was the one who led the mission to send probes into Porcelina after the riot and wrote the subsequent report. She gave her a friendly smile that put her friends worry to rest.

Brains activated the datapad in her arms and began to read from it. “Well sir, as far as we could see after the riot, other parts of the planet had started to rise up against Egghead. It started off just in the major cities that were most affected by his rule, but our probes indicate that this rebellion is now starting to spread amongst even the rural countryside.”

She shifted through the pages there. “As a result, Egghead has now shifted his soldier's attention towards this rebellions. He has mobilized his army and airforce to try and put down the dissidents. He has even sent in his battlecruiser to begin bombarding some of the villages.”

Each sentence mad the princess grimace in pain. She felt a wave of guilt wash over her at the news of all this destruction. Despite her friend's assurances, she knew that it was her fault, partially at least. Maybe if she had been more prepared for something like this, or if she had been a better leader for her leader. Now her people were paying the price for it.

“However, even with this continued attempts, the rebellion continues to grow and grow with more regions rising up against Egghead’s army which is now spread out to stop them. I would estimate that he might be able to hold out for several more weeks, but he has not much money to hire more mercenaries or maintain his fleet.”

With that said, Brains closed her datapad and took a step back. The council began to talk amongst themselves, the audio intentionally muffling up some of the things they said as to protect their security. Occasionally they would glance in Iria’s direction, but quickly looked away when she started to stare back.

Eventually, the audio was restored and the council members cleared their throats. The head councilor spoke up first. “Well, I think after all these we can say that it is a humanitarian necessity to send aid to the suffering people.”

That statement brokered no argument from anyone. Iria knew that coming in, that was the easy part. It was what they would talk about next was what worried her.

The topic continued for a moment as there was the talk of how many ships would be sent, what supplies would be given and who would go with them. For the last question, Fred stood up and volunteered to help escort the supplies.

After that was all said and done, the female councilor glanced in the princess direction and frowned. “So this does leave the question, who will be in charge of the planet after this is all over. I presume that you would want to regain your birthright?”

“Actually, I think it would be best for the people to decide for themselves who should their next leader be,” Iria replied, flashing the councilwoman a sweet smile as she stared daggers at her. “Isn’t that the charter of the Galactic Alliance, to encourage freedom and democracy amongst its client nations.”

The words took all of them off guard and they stared at her for a long moment. Finally, a heavyset councilman nodded his head slowly and coughed. “Why yes, yes it is.”

He leaned forward and stared at her. Iria would have found it rather uncomfortable before, but this time she now met his look and kept her smile. “But you do understand that this would require you to abdicate your position as heir to Porcelina, as well as your father. Does he know about this?”

“I do, and fear not. He knows about this and accepted this decision.” Her father was not initially inclined to support this decision. He had spent his life living in luxury and was not willing to give him up, at least until she made it clear that there would be no throne to return to. Well, that and a promise of a estate on a new planet subsidized by the Protectors and stocked with robots to cater to his needs.

After that, he was more than willing to hand his crown over. “My family has held that crown for centuries, but recent events had made it abundantly clear that we did not do a good job in our tenure. Perhaps a change of government would do the people Porcelina good.”

The council fell silent again, though she could see the approving smile of the head councilman as he looked at her. Iria could feel a hand placed on her shoulder. Behind her, Zia smiled and nodded encouragingly. The princess nodded her head and was grateful for her friend is here. “However, I do have one condition for this agreement.”

One of the council members growled at her. “You can’t just make demands on deals like this.”

A few others voiced their agreement, but the head councilor raised his hand for silence and gestured for her to continue. The princess nodded her head gratefully and spoke again. “I want the Galactic Alliance to step in and ensure that good elections take place as well as invest in voter education.”

“That would take a serious investment of resources,” The female councilor remarked in disbelief. “Far more than we have ever committed to other planets, worlds that actually comply with the Galactic Alliance requirements.”

“Those planets also received your immediate aid when they needed it.” The princess snapped back sharply. “Meanwhile Porcelina was forced to languish for months without your aid. I did not forget our meeting several months ago when we asked for your aid.”

“And that was after you stole a Protectors ship to launch an unsanctioned incursion into a hostile planet.” Another councilman pointed out and slammed his fist onto the table. He glared at her and pointed a finger towards her. “Do not think we forget that.”

Iria was prepared to defend herself but the Supreme Commander spoke out for her. “Technically, it was the actions of an independent rescue attempt. She stole one of our ships true, but she made sure to compensate for the use of our gunship. The Protectors will not hold her against it, aside from revoking her Protectors status.”

The princess nodded her head stiffly, that punishment was unavoidable and was quite meager in comparison, but it still stung nonetheless. The other council members heard this in shock, a few having their jaws clenching up in anger. Unfortunately for them, there wasn’t much else they could do.

Iria folded her hands behind her back and smirked up at them. “So, does this mean we have an agreement?”

The council members looked at each other, but the head councilor simply smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “I think we can work something out. We will be in contact with you princess.”

His voice made it clear that he was not willing to discuss this and the remaining council members could only nod their heads sullenly before logging off. One of the last to disappear was the head councilman who bowed his head respectfully. “Good luck princess.”

With that, he shut off his screen, leaving Iria and her friends alone. Brains frowned as she looked at her. “Do you actually mean to abdicate your crown? That’s a big thing to ask of you.”

The princess simply nodded her head. She smiled softly and sighed. Fred had started to lower the platform back to the ground. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve seen what my family can do and I think it’s best if we take a step back from ruling.”

Zia frowned. “Your better than your relatives.”

“I know that I could be better than the old kings, but even if I am the people will not accept me so long as I bear this title. It is time to let other leaders to take their place in Porcelina while I can help wherever else I can.”

The Supreme Commander smiled at her. “That is a mature choice princess, and one that shows your character. But what will you be doing now?”

Iria looked around and shrugged. “Well I would like to make sure that the humanitarian aid makes sure that they arrive where they should and I will probably join them, but I was thinking of sticking around here for a bit. If you would have me that is.”

This brought smiles to all their face as they moved to embrace her. “Of course we would be glad to have you.”