Battlestar Andromeda Part 6
King's Palace
Planet Aloria
Quatre sat in the chair beside the bed watching Zechs as he lay there, still unconscious. After he had lost consciousness they had quickly took the King and his consort to the palace and Zechs had been brought to one of the palace's many bedrooms. The King had ordered his personal physician to tend to Zechs, making sure that he got the best care. Quatre looked when he heard the door open and saw his Commander walk towards him.
"How is he?" Duo asked.
"He still hasn't come to yet." Quatre replied.
There was a few moments of silence before Duo asked, "How did you know?" at Quatre's confused look he added, "His real name. How did you know? I heard you call him that before he passed out."
"Our fathers were good friends as well as members of the Council. When I was younger our families would spend the summer at this lake house. Even though he is older than me he would still find time to make sure I had a great time. He always said that with 29 older sisters I needed a big brother, so he became the brother I never had. How did you know?"
"When I took command of the Andromeda I made it a point to know all about my officers. When I found out he was being assigned to my ship I made some inquiries when his file stated that he refused to cut his hair to regulation. I figured there had to be a good reason why considering he had an otherwise exemplary record. Since Space Command knew about my own hair they were more than willing to tell me all about him."
"Do you know...?" Quatre asked hesitantly.
"Do I know who your father is? Yes, I found out the same time I learned of Zechs, I just never knew that you two knew each other."
"When Zechs first came on board he found out that I was one of the pilots. Because he was afraid people would think he was giving me special treatment, we decided not to let people know that we knew each other." Quatre hesitated before asking, "Will you be reassigning one of us now?"
"Well given the fact that we are nowhere near earth that is a mote point. Plus given the fact that you are both fine officers there is no way I will let either one of you go."
"Thank you Commander." Quatre said with a smile.
A moan from the bed caught the attention from both men. Quatre quickly stood up and leaned over the bed. "Zechs, Zechs it's me Quatre."
Slowly Zechs opened his eyes and gazed at the man leaning over him. "Quatre?" he asked.
"Yeah Zechs, how are you feeling?"
"Like I just crash landed my Taurus fighter with no helmet on."* Zechs replied. He struggled to sit up and moaned as his arm felt the strain. After making himself comfortable he looked at both Quatre and his Commander and asked, "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" asked Duo.
Zechs shook his head and said, "The last thing I remember was seeing the light shining off of a weapon pointed at the King and thinking that I needed to get them down on the ground. I felt something hit my arm and that was it. Is the King alright? He and his consort did not get hurt, did they?"
"Don't worry Captain both King Ja-rel and his consort Tor-il are fine. They both have a few scratches but for the most part walked away fine. In fact they are extremely grateful to you for saving their life. But as to what happened, you were shot in the arm, however it just creased you." There was a slight pause before Duo continued, "Afterwards however, you seemed to suffer some sort of flashback and we couldn't get you to let go of them."
Zechs closed his eyes as he remembered what happened. Images of his father's murder filled his mind and he felt tears start to form. He turned his head away, not wanting his commander to see the tears slide down his face.
"Zechs," Duo said softly, "You were remembering your father's murder, weren't you?"
Zechs jerked his head around in surprise. Not only because his commander had called him by his first name but also that had he known about the murder. Finally he said quietly, "Yes Commander."
Duo stood there for a moment and then with a nod said, "I am going to order that you go see Dr. Po as soon as we return to the ship. This will not go on your record nor will I restrict your duties unless Dr. Po feels it is necessary."
"Thank you Commander." Zechs said with relief.
"Now with that said, the King would like to know if you are well enough to attend a celebration that will be given in your honor. I have told him that I would see how you were feeling and if you were up to it."
"There is no need for that Commander. I was just doing my duty as an officer of the Space Military." Zechs protested.
Duo held up his hand and said, "I truly understand, however, it is my understanding that the King and his husband have only recently been married and they would deem it a great honor if you would allow them to show their thanks for saving them both. They have assured me that the celebration will not be anything huge, just a special dinner with a few select guests."
"In that case I would be honored to attend."
"Fine, I will let them know. The dinner does not start for a few more hours so you can rest awhile longer and I will let Lt. Winner bring you when you are ready. Your clothes have been brought here and I trust you brought another set of dress uniforms?"
"Yes Commander." Zechs said.
"Lt. Winner, I will ask that you help Captain Merquise get ready and if either of you need anything you can reach me by commlink." Then Duo turned and left the room.
Palace Dining Room
Planet Aloria
Three hours later, after a small nap and a hot shower, Zechs was feeling much better. The only ache he had was in his arm but even that was a lot better. Quatre stayed with him while he dressed and together they followed a servant to the dining room where the King was waiting for them. At the door they stopped, looking out over at the 100 people that were there in attendance.
"Only a few people, huh?" Zechs asked a bemused tone in his voice.
"I think the Commander's exact words were 'a few select guests'. I know you remember all about this when we were younger?"
"Yeah, I remember. Just doesn't mean I liked it." Zechs replied.
Just then the dining room went quite and Zechs watched as the King walked towards him. He turned to speak once again to Quatre but noticed that the blond had made a tactile retreat. "Coward." Zechs muttered under his breath. Said coward turned his head and gave Zechs an innocent smile.
"Captain Merquise, I am so glad you are feeling well enough to join us this evening." said King Ja-rel, a warm smile on his face.
Zechs gave the King a bow and then replied, "Your Highness. Yes, I am feeling much better, thank you."
"Wonderful. I trust my physician took good care of you?"
"Yes Your Highness."
"Excellent! Please, come meet my husband. He has been waiting so patiently for you to arrive, but I dare not to delay any longer." The King looked over to where his husband stood talking to one of his guest, a warm smile on his face. He then leaned a little closer to Zechs and said in a low voice, "It is to my advantage to stay on his good side, yes?"
Before Zechs had a chance to comment, the King started walking towards his husband leaving him to follow beside him. As they got closer Zechs took his first real look at the King's Consort. While the King was a big, muscular man with broad shoulders and a wide chest his Consort was shorter more lithe body. The King had long brown hair past his shoulders with amber eyes, while his husband had curly blond hair that reached his shoulders and vivid green eyes that sparkled. Together, they made a striking couple.
"Tor-il I have brought over Captain Merquise to meet you." King Ja-rel said to his husband, "Captain Merquise, my husband Tor-il."
Zechs bowed towards the man who returned it and then without warning was grabbed into a big hug. The hug caught him by surprise but just a fast as the man had hugged him he was let go. However, the whirlwind that was Tor-il did not stop there and soon Zechs was besieged with questions.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Captain Merquise. Are you doing ok? How is your arm? Did the physician take care of it? Is your room to your liking? What do you think of our planet? Is this your first trip here? Oh, I hope not, that was a terrible first impression wouldn't you say? Will you have time for a tour of our planet or must you return to your ship?"
"Tor.." the King began only to be drowned out by Tor-il again.
"At least let us give you a tour of the palace. You must really see this place it has such history. Do you ride? We have plenty of horses in the stables to choose from. They may seem a little different from those on your planet but I think you can still handle them. Don't you think Ja-rel?"
"Tor." King Ja-rel said a little more forcefully. "Give the poor man a chance to answer." He wrapped his arm around his husband's waist and pulled him close.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Your Highness. Yes, I am feeling much better and I would love to see more of this planet while I am here. As for riding, it has been a few years but when I could indulge I enjoyed it immensely."**
"Oh, then you must join me one morning! It is the best way to see the countryside!" Tor-il exclaimed.
"It would be my honor Your Highness."
"Now, with that said," said King Ja-rel, "I would like to take this time to offer you a token of our appreciation. A gift if you will."
"Your Highness, there is no need to offer me anything. I am just glad that you both were not harmed in any way." Zechs replied.
"Non-sense, I must give you something for your heroic actions today." said the King.
"Yes please. Let us show you our gratitude." chimed Tor-il.
"In that case I will accept anything that you give to me."
"Great then it is settled. I will have your gift delivered to your room while we dine."
After dinner Zechs was escorted by a servant back to his room. He was grateful to be going as he had started to tire from the events of the day. He had been seated next to the King and had been wonderfully entertained with many tales from those who had sat near him. However, the pain in his arm had come back with a vengeance and he longed to take a pain pill and lie down. Thanking the servant he opened the door to his room, wondering what it was the King had given to him for a gift. Taking three steps into the room he suddenly stopped when he saw a young man naked save for a short cloth tied around his waist, kneeling on his bed.
"Who are you?" he blurted out.
The young man lifted his head and Zechs breath caught in his throat. The young man was beautiful with long ebony hair that cascaded down to his shoulders and black eyes that had a slight slant to them. The young man looked at him for a moment before lowering his head once more.
"I am your gift....master." came the quiet reply.
TBC...
* The reference to the Taurus fighter is the name that I gave to the fighters that the pilots use when they are out on patrol. For a picture of what I am basing this off of go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Viper. They have a picture of a fighter there.
** Since the King of Aloria married a man I have made him a consort. To that end he must have a title so I have made him a prince. It is similar to Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain and her husband Prince Philip. A king can make a queen but a queen cannot make a king. So to be called Your Highness is like an honorary title.
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