Hostage Rescue (Princess Rescue Inc Book 2) Read online

  Princess Rescue Inc 2

  Hostage Rescue

  By Chris Hechtl

  Copyright © 2019 by Chris Hechtl

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book and or portions thereof in any form.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and locations are fictional. Some may be parodies. Some characters are with permission. Any resemblance of some characters and places to others are strictly in the mind of the reader. Grin.

  Cover art by Chris Hechtl 2019. All rights reserved. The models are owned by their respective creators and used under the usage license. Some models were made by Chris Hechtl; others were purchased on Daz3d.com or Renderosity.com.

  Proofread and copy edited by Paul Klebaur, Carlos d'Empaire, Poon Yee

  Professionally copy edited by Rea Myers.

  Formatted by Goodlifeguide.com

  Bibliography

  The Founding of the Federation Series:

  First Steps

  To Touch the Stars

  The First A.I. War

  Stepping Stones

  Cornerstone: Tales of the Founding of the Federation 2

  Desperate Defense: Book 1 of the First Terran Interstellar War

  Waking the Sleeping Giant: Book 2 of the First Terran Interstellar War

  We the People

  The Gaia Project

  The Hyperspace War

  Loose Ends: Tales of the Founding of the Federation 3

  Gothenburg: Aka Ragnarok or the Xeno War:

  Sparks (forthcoming)

  The Wandering Engineer Series:

  New Dawn

  Fools Gold

  Destiny's Choice

  Ghost Station

  Plague Planet

  Pirate's Bane

  Ghosts from the Past

  13 Degrees of Separation

  Jethro Goes to War Series:

  Jethro Goes to War

  First to Fight

  No Place Like Home

  Recruiting Drive

  Gods of War

  SpecOps (forthcoming)

  The Federation Reborn Series:

  Battlelines

  Pirate Rage

  Retribution

  Tales of the Federation Reborn

  The Gathering Storm

  Semper Fidelis

  A Piece of the Pi Tales 2

  The Turning Tide

  Liberty or Death

  Tales of the Federation Reborn 3: Folklore

  Blockade

  The Calm Before the Storm Tales of the Federation Reborn 4 (forthcoming)

  Horatio Logan Chronicles:

  Enemy of my Enemy

  Court-Martial

  Full Circle

  Shelby Logan Chronicles:

  Convoy

  Shiver me Timbers

  The Adventures in Pi:

  In Search of Pi

  Pi Fight

  Independent Federation novels:

  Kai's Story

  Independent Anthologies and Short Stories:

  Multiverse 1

  Multiverse 2

  Multiverse 3

  Multiverse 4

  The Bootstrap Series:

  Bootstrap Colony

  Second Chances

  Other Series:

  Princess Rescue Inc

  Princess Rescue Inc 2 Hostage Rescue

  Afraid of the Dark

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  ACT I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  ACT II

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  ACT III

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Epilogue

  Authors Afterward

  Cast

  Glossary of Terms

  Flora and Fauna

  Appendix

  Note to the reader, the following takes place after Princess Rescue 1 , as well as the events in the short story “A Princess in a Strange Land” in Multiverse 3 .

  Also, I mixed Latin, Norse, and a smattering of other terms in the book. Some are easy to translate from the context, like Dies = Days, Hafta = Week. If things get sticky there is a glossary at the end of the book. There is also always Google. :)

  Introduction

  Billionaire tech mogul Eugene Ryans invested in what some called a fool’s dream. While others like him invested in electric cars, space travel, or other things, he looked into rumors of a gateway, a way to go to another world.

  Using sophisticated computer modeling and cutting-edge gravitational sensors, his people pinpointed the gateway and found a way to trap it onto a converted oil platform.

  When he announced it to the world, the world reacted with first skepticism, then wonder, and then a bit of fear. Those who wanted to take control of it tried, but the platform was in international waters and he had protected his control with fail-safe devices. Instead, he brokered a deal with the world powers, and together, they assembled a joint military and civilian team to explore the world on the other side of the gateway.

  Ryans made sure the expedition was lavishly outfitted. They made it through the portal but found to their horror that the wormhole on the other side was open to a cliff. Each vehicle that came through pushed the wormhole back to the cliff's edge. Before they could order a halt, the colonel's vehicle came into the open air to fall to his death.

  The wormhole moved out over the sea, so the team did their best to recover and then set out to explore. Almost immediately they found a hostile force of humans riding alien and Terran beasts coming in their direction. Ryans, in consultation with the military next-in-command, agreed to get out of the area.

  In order to stay clear of the invading army, they were driven west, however. They found themselves in another kingdom's lands. The buildings were a mix of styles but mostly Roman and Medieval in influence. They observed from afar with dismay as the invading army laid siege to a nearby castle and laid waste to the villages and towns in the surrounding area.

  The Terrans were insistent on staying out of it and trying to do a minimum of exploring. They cataloged several alien beasts while getting clear of the war zone. They avoided refugees when possible; they didn't want anyone to know they were there.

  While taking some of the back trails, they stumbled upon the Imperium royal carriage. The carriage and its contents had been captured by the northern Viking enemy. The royals within had been taken captive a
nd the ladies raped. The prince had been killed. Ryans intervened in a fit of rage, killing most of the attackers with his team.

  Once they were free, the royals tried to recover. The Terrans set up translation devices in order to speak with them. They allowed the ladies and a handful of native refugees to travel with them briefly to the nearest safe castle.

  Along the way, they learned a bit about them. The lands they were in were the Imperium, formed by groups from Rome and Greece with a smattering of other cultures thrown in. The wormhole had scooped them up from time to time and deposited them there.

  The northerners were Viking raiders were known as Duluthians with a bit of Norse, Roman, Mongol, and Asian influences.

  Several times they tried to unload the princesses; each time they were forced to go and rescue them. At the last, the girls were forced to travel in the Terran vehicles. During their travels, they were attacked by raiders and alien beasts. Several of the team were injured or killed.

  Reluctantly, Ryans realized he would need to help the Imperium in order to end the war and allow them back to the gateway site in order to return to home. When they got to the capital city, he brokered a deal with the princess and then with her parents to that end. During that deal making, he found that because he had rescued the princesses he was considered betrothed to the eldest, Deidra.

  Reluctantly, he used that base of power to help influence the locals and move their society forward. Their doctor and others moved in to help apply modern advances in medicine and science to help the locals. It was too late for the king though; he died from a massive heart attack despite all of the efforts of Doctor Carter and others.

  Ryans turned loose their engineers led by Max Howlett to make muzzle-loading rifles. The Terrans scrupulously kept the designs and formula for gunpowder to themselves, however.

  With Terran technology at their back, the Imperium managed to crush the Duluthians in a climactic battle. The Terran weapons crushed the invaders, slaughtering them. The Terrans tried to mitigate the death toll and sent in medics to try to help those they could after the battle concluded.

  When the battle was over, Ryans found himself immured in local politics. He brokered a deal to take control of the enemy kingdom since its monarchy had been killed. He dealt with an assassination attempt and then allowed his people to help provide more modern technology to improve conditions on the planet for the refugees and peasants.

  Princess Deidra, the eldest of the two princesses, initially despised the intruder and his betrothal. Eventually, she worked on that and grew to grudgingly like him. From there she realized that the only way her family would survive and keep power was with his continued aide, so she set out to seduce him.

  Unfortunately, a Terran illness struck the castle. Her mother and others put themselves into quarantine. A fire broke out however and the queen mother died with some of her attendants. A grief-stricken Deidra was thrust upon the throne. Her bewildered sister was her only support.

  Ryans was torn. If he left, the ladies would be thrown to the wolves. They had taken control of the gateway site and had set up the equipment to trap the wormhole and control it on their end. He was ready to leave but found himself morally obligated to protect the young princess.

  To his surprise, Max had taken a wife and refused to leave. Doctor Carter and other civilians refused to leave as well. The rest returned with the military members of the team to Earth.

  Shortly after their departure, Zara left to head north with a convoy to Duluth. She left behind a very pregnant sister and an Imperium exploding with activity. There was a mix of Duluth survivors, both peasant soldiers and lords with her and the Imperials guarding her. They brought desperately needed supplies with them. It was the late fall; they were racing the clock to get to the capital city of Kattegat and shelter from the coming snows.

  Along the way, she felt out some of the lords as they felt her out in return. Wherever they stopped, she left behind material to help the natives where possible. They fought off alien attacks, bandits and dealt with delays as the winter closed in on them.

  Their march north had been noted by the Duluthians who had remained behind while their army had marched south earlier in the year. Some gathered forces to ambush the intruders. A battle broke out and dozens were killed.

  To everyone's surprise, the Duluthians with Princess Zara rose to defend her and their new comrades. They forged a bond in blood.

  When the group arrived at the capital city of Kattegat, they found it dark and foreboding but open. The princess found many hungry sullen faces within and realized her work had just begun.

  ACT I

  Chapter 1

  Crown Princess Zara of the Ianua Imperium had been sent north with a small force as well as the Duluth survivors in order to take command of the newly-conquered kingdom.

  It was an unusual form of conquest, one that was thought to be easy for most of the adult force had gone south to invade her lands and had died or been captured. The remainder who had been left behind were old and starving.

  The blond teenager had found that the task was going to be a bit harder than she'd been told though, not that she'd expected anything less.

  It hadn't been as simple as handing over some supplies to the local dominus friendly to her sister Deidra, the imperatrix or queen. No, far from it.

  She made a soft puttering sound with her lips as she considered what she'd taken control of. She was starting to regret her delay. Had she come sooner she might have been able to do more before the long snows hit. As it was, she had a very short time to do what even Heracles would have run from.

  Not more than an annus , a year ago she had been blithely unaware of how much duty and the weight of command could haunt her. She'd been young and so naive, sheltered by some to allow her some semblance of a childhood. She had been aware of the dangers of politics, but they had seemed a distant thing.

  Well, she had grown since then, burned by the fires of war, yet unbroken. She had been reforged by her friendship with the Terrans, those strange people from Patria , the homeworld through the portal. She had them to thank for repeatedly rescuing her and her sister.

  Their leader, Eugene Ryans, had done most of the work in rescuing. He'd also negotiated with her late parents to help them when Duluth marched further into the Imperium unchecked. By opening up the Terran's tech a little, he had given the Imperium the ability to crush the northerners. King Richard, his son and heir, and many of the higher lords had been slaughtered in the battle. Those that had remained had surrendered and bent a knee to her sister.

  Deidra had also been forged in the fire of war. Eugene tempered her hot anger and Zara had to admit, they made a good team. He had been the one to broker the final truce. She had been sent north as part of the deal.

  She knew the expectations of marriage but had discarded them. Sure, she liked some like the young Dominus Siegfried, but not all were like him. She had made some friends with the dominus whom had come with her party a short time ago.

  That friendship had been forged in blood when beasts, bandits, and then attackers had come for their heads. They had fought them off and forged a brotherhood. It was tentative though, and she wasn't quite sure how far she could trust it.

  It had allowed them to reach the capital and castle though, and although her people were still assessing the ruinous state of affairs, it was going to be their base of operations for the time being.

  Which meant they had to make the best of it she thought with another puttering sound.

  The castle had been looted. She had yet to explore it all, but she had noted many precious artifacts were missing just from the ring of dust left behind. The same for paintings and tapestries that had once adorned the walls. She had no idea where they went. The Duluthians seemed careless about their cultural heritage.

  She'd roll up her sleeves and get to work but it was getting cold. Sleeves or no, it was time to get back to work though.

  ~~~^~~~

  Baron Farr
agut realized that if it was that bad in the capital, it would be worse abroad. He reluctantly took his leave to check on his domain. Other dominus did the same. Zara sent them home with kits that had been assembled. "I know it is not much, but hopefully, it will help in the long run," she said to each of them.

  The baron was touched by the kit, especially when he took stock of it and noted there was a great deal about simple ways to implement the outlandish concepts from Patria. He vowed his support. Others did the same with the qualifier that they would be able to help and send tribute only when they got their houses in order.