Cadets: The Empress of Batoria

#7 KIDNAPPING

It continued to rain as night fell over the Imperial city. I was wandering around the palace, looking for Asha, which was turning out to be a long search. The Imperial palace was like a maze, filled with hallways that went on forever in every direction. I had to ask nearby guards and servants for directions.

I also was feeling bad about what I said to Stevie. I loved her, but at the same time I could not ignore my duty to the Federation.

As I walked on through the hallways, I began to feel like I was being followed. I looked around and saw no one. I called out to anyone and no one replied. I waited for a moment, and still when no one came out I got back on my way. But then I was startled by Sparky who appeared from nowhere. He was standing next to the pillars looking at me. His sudden meow made me jump out of my skin.

Sparky was meant to be back on the ship with Jennifer. However, I was not surprised to find him wondering around the palace. I always kept telling Jennifer to put a tracker on him.

He ran up to me, meowing and rubbing against my legs. I picked him up and cuddled him for a moment. I was going to call Jennifer and have her pick him up when I heard somebody coming.

I decided to hide behind the pillars. I took a careful peek and saw Alucard coming down the hallways, alone. I was careful not to let him see me.

Curious to know what he was up to, I decided to shadow him.

Sparky and I followed Alucard through the dark lonely hallways, using the pillars for cover. We had to move quick to keep him in sight, but also had to keep quiet to avoid getting caught.

Alucard arrived at what appeared to be his office. I waited for him to enter and as the doors began to close, Sparky and I rushed inside unnoticed. Luckily, he did not spot us.

We used the darkness and the pillars to hide. We watched Alucard walk over to his desk and poured himself a drink. It looked like he was waiting to meet up with someone.

Just then, two Rodin cyborgs, similar to the ones that attacked Asha's ship, walked into the office. This brought a lot of questions to my head.

Alucard welcomed the two Rodins and invited them over to his desk.

"You boys better have a good excuse for trying to assassinate the Empress without my authorisation."

I was shocked by what I was hearing. Was he, the Secretary of Defence, really responsible for the attack on Asha's life?

From what I could make out, Alucard did not authorise Asha's attempted assassination, and was calmly furious about it. He threated to blow up the two Rodins, only for them to explain themselves.

The Rodins said they had no choice because Asha had been taking notice of the lack of mining operations at the Nexus slave camps. It was only a matter of time before she decided to check it out.

Alucard seemed concerned by this news. If Asha was onto them then it was possible there were others too, including me and my crew. How right they were.

The Rodins could not confirm anyone else possibly aware of their plans, but this did not satisfy Alucard. He did not sound optimistic about their situation.

"This puts everything at risk. It is only a matter of time before either the Empire or the Federation discover the weapon we have been building."

There was a moment of silent pondering over what to do. Then Alucard ordered more cyborgs to be dispatched. He wanted a close watch on the Empress and us. Meanwhile he would be departing for the Nexus slave camps to oversee final preparations for this weapon he kept mentioning.

"If anyone of those cadets make further communication with the Empress...eliminate them."

I almost gave myself away when I heard that. Sparky and I stayed hidden behind the pillars till Alucard and the Rodins left the office. I cuddled Sparky as I took a side of relief. For a moment I thought they would catch us.

As soon as it was safe, we rushed out of Alucard's office. I started processing everything I heard as we walked through the hallways. What was this weapon Alucard was talking about?

I decided to share all this with Asha, by going to her chambers. When I got there, I found the door slightly opened. I cautiously approached the door and called out to Asha. There was no reply at first. I called for her a few more times before letting myself in.

I went inside and shockingly found the place ransacked. Asha was nowhere to be seen. Someone must have broken in and kidnapped her, and I was right.

I spotted someone in a dark red hood. He was loading a big sack onto a glider, large enough to carry a person. Whoever he was it looked like he was kidnapping the Empress.

"Stop right there!" I yelled, but the kidnapper did not seem to notice me.

His glider was balancing on the edge of the balcony, and as he tilted over, I charged after him. I jumped from the balcony and grabbed onto the kidnapper before he could get airborne. Sparky jumped after me and clawed onto my back.

In a struggle, we were spinning out of control as we fell towards the ground. I was eventually pushed away so the kidnapper could get a chance to pull back on the handlebars and get airborne.

Sparky and I were dangling from the back as we glided through the enormous city. I did my best to hold on and panicked each time I looked down or when we made a violent turn.

Suddenly I lost my grip and slipped off the glider. My cry echoed as I plunged to my doom.

Just then, the kidnapper had turned around and came to my rescue. He swooped in and caught Me.

When I opened my eyes, I found himself hanging from the hands of the kidnapper. I quickly pulled myself in and put my arms around the kidnapper as we glided through the city. We flew over small skyscrapers, and after covering a few miles we landed gently on the rooftops.

I defensibly backed away from the kidnapper as soon as we were on solid ground, puzzled by why he saved me. To my surprise, the kidnapper was really Asha and the sack she was carrying was full of food.

Even though she was confined to the palace, she occasionally sneaked out to give away food to the Rodins living in the rundown parts of the city. When she was still a princess, her father would not allow her to give away food, despite that the Rodins were on the streets and starving. So, she took it upon herself to feed them whenever she could.