The Cloud Kingdom Of Benvosa (1)
Nathaniel A Miller

 

The Cloud Kingdom of Benvosa

A lone castle hovered high in the clouds, above the desolate class M planet called Benvosa. It was here among the gray clouds, steaks of lightning and thunderclaps that the cloud city, made of glass and gold, hovers on the Benvosian-made Cloud, a man-made structure supported by suspensor fields and retro-jets underneath of it. The city itself was home to King Minos and Lady Guinevere, the most ruthless king and queen to ever be seated on the thrones of the Cloud City, to rule over this planet.

This planet was also the only source of the mineral Denjan, a mineral for life support systems across the Empire, and there no other place for it to be found in the Empire. It was also a planet and race of people divided by two classes who are not allowed to mingle. One was the worker class, who are forced to live on the barbaric conditions of the planet, with very little technology to assist them to mine the mineral from the mines. The other class was the Cloud Class, the administrators and rulers of the planet, high in technology, art, and literature. They live like gods over the planet, with slaves as servants and away from the harsh conditions of the planet far below.

As King Minos and Queen Guinevere sat on the thrones in the audience chambers on the Cloud City, both sit there deep in thought as they listen to the harp notes from their youngest daughter, Sophia�s harp. The King was currently deep in thought about the reports he has just received, about a rebellion has begun. Five planets have revolted from his Empire with the rebels and a fleet now cruises through the universe, inciting others to revolt against him and his Empire. What they call Tyranny and wrong doing among the people. He also thought of Benvosa, the planet below, the planet where the miners currently are also striking and revolting, threatening to join the rebellion if their demands are not met.

�All they are demanding was better pay, better work conditions, and more technology for the people.� The King thought, �And also economic equality among the classes. That was totally preposterous. I shall crush them instead with my forces instead of negotiating with them.�

King Minos hatched a plan on how to destroy and quell this little rebellion, bringing the planets back in line, or destroy them.

As he sat in his throne, he also looked up at the arch nearby where two men walked through it, clad in a blue, light blue uniform with yellow bars on their shoulders. He recognized them as his Admirals that he had summoned a few minutes ago from the space station where the part of the fleet now was docked. King Minos also saw two other men, one clad in a dark green and black uniform, sporting golden body armor and the other a grayish uniform trimmed in black, walk in to shake hands with the Admirals. They were the Generals of his armies who he would be sending his troops to those planets to retake them and put them back into line. It also includes the planet far below them, which had stopped working, like the revolting worlds, demanding better pay, better working conditions and more technology to better mine the mineral they were supposed to be mining.

�What I will do is utilize my forces and take each planet with a legion per invasion and hold the planet.� The King thought, �The rebellion will fail and cut short securing our great empire for the times to come.�

�Admiral Connors! Admiral Desmond!� The King thundered, �General McNeil! General Richter!� The King motioned for them to approach.

Sophia looked up at the names were spoken by her father, and as the men appeared from the arch. They are men she was familiar with from her youth, having grown up to know them all her life, and seeing them often in the castle as they met often with her father.

��We have word off the rebellion you speak of majesty.� Conners said formally, as he bowed, �Per your orders, the Fleet was powering up and being supplied as we speak to crush the rebellion in one massive volley as they gather at the Ragoon Cluster.�

�Excellent.� Her father replied greedily, �What about the planets that were taken by the rebels?�

�I will attack each colony planet with a legion of troops to guarantee success.� McNeil reported, �They are standing by.�

�I want nothing living on any of those worlds.� The king ordered, �Eliminate every stinking rebel you find.�

�It shall be done, majesty.� Desmond replied.

�I also have three other legions ready for action for an assault on the other planets that revolted, including Benvosa, Majesty.� McNeil reported, �The workers have stopped working, and the council has been ineffective to motivate them to get back to work. The plan was to eliminate them and take direct control.�

Sophia gasped as she listened to the conversation, casually running her hand across the strings for a ripple of notes on her harp. She played a simple melody to cover her eavesdropping with a sinking feeling, hearing the conversation at hand and realized she had to warn her lover on the planet, Larsis Fulcrim. He was the son of the head councilman who governs the mines on the planet. Sophia had met him and fallen instantly in love with him when she met him on the Cloud planet during his last tour in the army to defend the city with her father�s forces. The had been allowed to be alone for a few moments, and had managed to chat with each other. Both instantly realized they had a lot in common, thanks to a trading ship that Larsis had served on board in the Merchant Fleet of Benvosa where he had been educated in many things.

She knew him well, as their relationship grew, and knew he had sided with the rebels who had started the revolt. All he was doing right now was waited for the ships to arrive at Benvosa, to reinforce their own revolt on the planet below and to push their own demands in the mines. They wanted better working conditions, better hours, better pay, and more safety. He also wanted to marry Sophia and make her his wife.

�And my father is not going to give in.� She thought, �He will kill them all before seeing to their demands, and kill my lover if he finds out we have been together a while.� Sophia thought, realizing that she must go to him on the planet.

�I must see him and warn him that they are going to kill everyone on the planet, and seize direct control of the mine.� Sophia thought, �But it will be impossible with the talk of rebellion, and the added guards in the castle against terrorist suicide bombers who may attack the castle.�

She continued to play, looking up as her middle sister, named Serena, entered through the nearby arch of the audience chamber. Her older sister frowned at the smile of her younger sister, as-if sensing her plan to leave the castle tonight and go to the planet.

Serena never liked Sophia when they were young and detested her now despite she was her true blood sister. Serena suspected something amiss with her sister, but at this point in time, she could not prove anything to their father and mother. She suspected she was involved with the rebellion that the Empire was undertaking in its ranks. Sophia wondered if her middle sister had intercepted any of the love letters from Larsis that would actually confirm her involvement. But right now, it was only suspect, and rumor by others in the Cloud City.

�I will find out what you are so happy about, and take you down, you evil little bitch.� Serena muttered. Her eyes flashed brightly as she stepped further into the audience chamber.

�I wonder if Serena knows about my relationship about Larsis.� Sophia thought to herself, �She does have a moderate degree of psychic ability.� The young princess nodded to her frowning sister as the young woman, clad in the same pastel pink, blue and purple robes, stepped further into the audience chamber.

�Greetings, Father�� Serena said formally, glancing at the round face, blond hair, blue eyes and medium build of her youthful sister who took after their mother, the Queen. Serena, however did not look like Sophia at all, she looked more like her father, with long black hair, dark eyes, an olive complexion and a muscular figure under the robes she wore around her. Her personality was not fun loving like her sister. It was cold, formal, driven and accurate like a cold machine.

�My daughter�� Minos thundered, �Please approach.�

The King motioned to his middle daughter to approach and Serena, with her gown swishing over the narrow muscular figure, did so quickly. Serena bowed to her father.

�I came at you summons, father.� She told him, and yet stood a respectful distance from him. The King motioned to the military staff standing around him.

�I am in conference, my daughter.� He said, �There was a rebellion in the Empire, and I charge you of looking after your sister. Don�t let anything happen to her. If something happens and the rebellion succeeds, and the rebels seize control, the rebels could use her as a target to get to me. We will not negotiate with the rebel scum. Don�t allow your sister to be used as bait or as a bartering chip. You are fully responsible for her actions if something happens to her.�

�I understand father.� Serena replied, and she nodded to the military men next to him who were smiling at her.

�Good day to you gentleman,� She said formally, �May you have fortune on your next mission that was coming up.�

�Thank you, my Princess.� Admiral Conners replied, and the others murmured their thanks. Turning, she walked toward Sophia, who still sat playing her harp in the alcove adjacent to the audience chamber. Sophia, despite everything she learned about this plot against her lover, remained cool. A lover she would not let die, if she had her way.

�You are playing very well. Good job, Sis.� Serena complimented, �You will make someone a good wife, and companion someday.� Sophia grimaced as she set down the harp and rose from the chair, a frown on her face.

�I tend to excel, my sister.� Sophia said, �Please excuse me, one moment, I must rest.� She had made an excuse to leave the room, and immediately went to her chambers and took out her electronic journal, putting in an entry.

That night, the young princess stealthily made her way through the castle hallways from her stateroom, through the archways, down the sprawling circular staircase into the grand hall. The hall was open and airy with many plush furnishings. Three archways lead off in three different directions. One leads to the audience chamber for the King and Queen�s throne. Another leads to a stately dining room with a long wooden table and many chairs. The third leads off to another hallway connecting a Kitchen, Library, Study, several alcoves, and other chambers in the castle that are not importantly used by the royal family. Sophia used the hallway and stealthily made her way toward a far arch leading to the white stone pedestal where the transportation device was located. There she transported herself down to the surface of the planet, unseen by the guards who made their rounds every few minutes.

Somewhere deep in the mines, Larsis, Sophia�s lover worked in the mineshaft with his men as they cut a tunnel through toward a rich deposit of Denjan. He held the cutter, his men using sweepers, and automatic dump machines to remove the earth as they moved slowly forward.

�Be careful with that timber!� Larsis shouted, as his men raised up a synthetic timber that was used to shore up the sides and roof of mineshaft. There was a solid thump as it was pounded in twice. The young man was the son of the chief council and his father was the leader of the miner�s union in the mines. He was stocky, well built, with long red hair, a long red beard, gray eyes, a muscular body, with powerful arms, and legs. He was clad in a leather tunic, leather pants that are both trimmed in fur.
 
�Dneb, we need more timbers, I want to cut another twenty feet. The sensor probe says the deposit was close,� Larsis instructed and the grizzled short, dwarf-like man next to him looked over to nod his head before turning to grab a huge timber with another miner and they hauled it further into the gloom off the shaft. A moment later, however, there was a hiss and a rumble and everyone turned as a funnel of dirt poured from an open part of the ceiling of the mine before stopping.

�Shore up that ceiling!� Dirken, the lead miner shouted, grabbing he stabilizer unit and he ran toward the funnel of dirt and dust that poured from the ceiling. He aimed the unit and pulled the trigger, making it hum. But it was too late as silt and dirt began to trickle down faster, and a rumble sounded loudly throughout the tunnel. Larsis turned in alarm when he heard the sound, and knew immediately they were in trouble.

�Watch out! It�s a cave in!� He shouted, as he pulled two of his men clear as timbers splintered like twigs. The parts flew out to strike two of his men who were nearby, piercing them in the sides. When it was all over Larsis was on his feet immediately with the six able men who had been working forward in this shaft with him.

�Arlight! Alright! It�s just a cave-in. Get that cutter over here and start digging us out of here, before our oxygen runs out!� Larsis ordered, and men immediately stared to work. He turned to Dirken, who held the medical kit and knelt over the two injured miners who lay on the dirt floor of the mineshaft.

�How bad are they?� He asked, and Dirken shook his head slightly, a pensive expression on his face.

�Pij was pieced in his shoulder by a piece of timber, and his leg was broken.� Dirken reported, �Norin has a concussion from a piece of timber striking his helmet. I am making them comfortable.�

�Okay. When you finish, please pitch in. We need all hands to dig us out, to cut through for oxygen to this part of the passage or we�re not going to make it out of here.� Larsis said solemnly, and Dirken nodded. The men continued to work, but every time they seemed to clear the boulders and dirt, that it seemed to cave in again, filling in the gap.

�It�s no good, there is a spring here, and the sand is unstable.� A miner complained, as he continued digging at the cave-in that covered the tunnel, trapping them in this new section of the mine they had been building in the first place.

�Keep trying.� Larsis ordered, �Don�t give up.�

On the outside of the cave-in, Lars, Larsis� father, moved like lightning, even though he was sixty-three Earth-Years of age, working feverishly with the men as they cut from their end toward his son and his men who are trapped.

�It�s no good Lars.� Kayman told him formally, swinging the manual pickaxe, �Every time we seem to make headway it fills the chamber again. There seems to be a spring here, and unsettled sand.�

�Try to clear the top if you can.� Lars instructed. �We�ll try to feed a suspensor field generator through to hold back the sand.�

�Aye, we�ll try that.�

Just as the men worked, however, that behind them, Princess Sophia sauntered into the tunnel. She was clad in the familiar pastel pink, blue, and purple dress that she wore around her. Around her neck, she wore a matching cape. At first, she was not noticed as she entered the main tunnel by any of the miners who worked feverishly to clear the cave-in, trapping Larsis and a few of his men behind it. Sophia watched as the men worked rapidly on the caved in passage, but when men finally turned, they gasped, bowing formally to her. The Princess did not say anything, leaving the miners to their work. She understood they needed to focus on the task at hand, giving what they were doing their full attention. Lar�s turned his head in astonishment when he sensed the Princess. He knelt before her.

�Princess! I didn�t know you were here.� The old man said formally.

�Where is Larsis?� She asked, with mock impatience, �I need to speak with him, right away.�

�He was there, Princess.� A miner said, pointing at the cave-in and she let out a gasp of alarm.

�I-is he alright? Is he alive?� She demanded, a look of fear appearing on her face, accompanied with an eyeful of tears. Lars stepped forward purposely.

�We don�t know, my lady.� Lars replied formally, �We are digging to him, but meeting with resistance with continued cave-ins. We might have to use a suspensor charge to keep the soil back to get them out. It will hold only three minutes and that is not long enough to get them out if they are wounded. Fear not, my Princess, we are doing everything we can.�

The miners behind him kept digging, and there was a yelp of frustration as the ceiling fell in again, the suspensor field barely holding the soil of the ceiling of the tunnel. Lars grimaced as he heard the hiss off the soil, as it collapsed down onto the suspensor field and partially filling the tunnel they were trying to clear. Lars could feel the frustration of the men, their frustration for getting nowhere fast with their efforts but Lars kept at them, keeping them motivated to continue to dig.

�I managed to get an area clear, Lars!� A miner said with a whoop, and he moved toward the area cleared.

�Larsis! Can you hear me?� Lars shouted.

�Yes father, do you and the other miners have the passage clear?� Larsis asked.

�Not yet, we might have to use a suspensor charge to clear it. Clear everyone out the way and any wounded to the back of the tunnel when it goes off you have three minutes to get the hell out of there.� Lars replied, �We�re setting the charge now.�

Larsis turned to the miners with him, and he motioned to the end of the passage with his hand, �Everyone back, they�re going to blow it and clear he passage.�

There was a shout by the other men, as wounded was cleared from the blast zone, and there was an explosion as the tunnel flashed and an explosion cleared the passage of the caved in soil. Larsis and the others were on their feet in no-time, and charging through the opening. Other miners collected the mining equipment and joined them just in the nick of time. There was a rumble and a hiss as soil broke loose like a shower, as loose earth, sand, rock and shale proceeded to fill the passage. The Princess ran to embrace her lover warmly, who was astonished that she was here.

�Sophia! What are you doing here my love?� He asked, �Did you come here alone?�

�I am here to warn you Larsis, my love.� She told him, �There was an evil plot afoot by my father, and his military staff against the rebellion. You need to take a careful step when it comes to this rebellion.� With that, Sophia explained the sinister plot between the King, his Generals and Admirals, against the rebellion and the miners of Benvosa. She explained how the King was going to seize control directly, eliminating everyone living. Lars listened with placid interest with his son.

�Just like his majesty to resort to underhanded, uncivilized ways for control of the mines.� Lars said, with a snarl �I will report it to the council at once!� He stood up, after helping mop up the passage cave-in, by stabilizing the passage and ran from it into the main one nearby. A moment later, he ran panting into the council chambers where the other elders sat in council of the miners who lived and worked here in the mines.

�I bring bad news of a plot against the miners!� Lars shouted, �The King and Queen have plotted to eliminate us on the planet for our refusal to work, and are not going to honor our demands for better conditions, pay and safety to work. Also, they are planning a sneak attack on the rebel fleet at Solace. We must warn the fleet at once, and prepare for an attack of three legions strength in the mines!�

A low murmur of disbelief echoed through the council chamber, and Lars took his seat. The Council sat down to act, preparing for war, in which they would have to fight for the right to live and be free rather than be under a tyrant�s rule.

Back on the Cloud City, Serena walked through the corridors at night with a party of loyal elite troopers who guard the city. As she approached the room of her younger sister, Sophia, she could see the bed was empty, and the bed made. It had confirmed her suspicion he had when she was playing in the alcove in the audience chamber. Serena had a grimace on her face, as she tried to control her rage, remembering that the military had been with the King during that time too. They had been talking with the King about the rebellion that had been moving through the Empire and heading toward Benvosa, growing in strength as it did so. It would only be a matter of time before the rebel fleet would reach them in this system, disrupting and attacking this planet, trying to assassinate her father. A time and place she would have to fight to stop them in their tracks. Serena knew Sophia had heard the plans of the military brief, and also knew that she would probably try to run off and join the rebellion.

Serena was not amused by her missing sister, a frown on her almost stone-like, olive completive features. Her dark eyes scanned the bedroom of her sister carefully, looking for a clue that would tell her where she had gone, so she could recover her before their mother and father found out. Serena did not want the full weight of responsibility for Sophia coming down right on her neck, as she was put in charge of her well-being, since their older sister Mio was married now and now a queen who ruled with a youthful King in a far off galaxy.

�When I get my hands on her, she was in big trouble. Not by my father, but by me.� Serena vowed, �It is my neck that was on the block here if mother and father find out. They put me in charge of looking after Sophia, after all.�

Sophia�s middle-sister panned a long sweeping gaze about the room several times, looking for a clue that would tell her where she had gone. Blinking her eyes in the darkness, she saw an odd piece of paper folded, and stuck between two books in the bookshelf. Pulling it out, she unfolded it, and she read it.

 

 

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Copyright © 2015 Nathaniel A Miller
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