En-route from Pluto to Venus - HMS Arcadian

February 10, 2557, C.E.

The room was dark. There was the sound of snoring in the cabin. The room lit up in bright red as an alarm tore through the air. The snoring man awoke with a start. For the interior of a spaceship, it was a very nice cabin. The bed he was sleeping in was king-sized and very comfortable. Very apt given the fact he was a king. The intercom jumped to life. “Your Majesty, we have come under attack by what appears to be Terra Firma special forces. I suggest you come to the bridge.”

“Yes Captain, I will be right there.” He quickly threw on a dressing gown which looked more formal than the suits of many of his crew. He exited his stateroom, turned the corner, and entered the bridge.

The Captain saw him enter and quickly gave him a briefing. “They have us surrounded. The weapons they are firing are designed to disable our ship. King Romulus, they have demanded our surrender and that we allow them to board at once.”

“Have they given us a reason for this illegal search and boarding of a royal vessel?”

“No, sir.”

King Romulus walked a couple of steps to a command console that was unoccupied. It was the largest console on the bridge and there was a large green button which he pressed and began to speak. “Hailing all Terra Firma military vessels, this is King Romulus of the Government of Venus. Our governments have disagreed about things in the past but now enjoy a tenuous state of peace. Your attack on this vessel, if continued, will constitute an act of war and we will retaliate. Any boarding of this vessel, even if we allow your boarding, will also constitute the same. Cease your attack at once.” King Romulus let go of the button and the line clicked to static.

A couple of moments later the line clicked open again. “We refuse. Please submit to boarding or we will continue to fire to disable your vessel.”

“Captain the next communication should go to them and the Venusian Senate.” The captain clicked a couple of switches on his console. He nodded back toward King Romulus. The king pressed the green button again. “This is your final warning. We will allow your boarding, there is no need to continue attacking us. However, the Venusian Senate will interpret this as an act of war. They are also receiving this broadcast. Expect retaliation and a formal declaration of war if you persist onboarding us.”

“We will continue to board your craft, please submit for boarding.” The response was sharp and unforgiving. The King nodded to his captain and the captain responded in kind. “Power down all weapons, come to a full stop, prepare the docking collars and light up the exterior hull.”

The king clicked another button on his console and opened an in-ship intercom. “Dear, I need you to wake up. The Terra Firma Government has decided to stop and board us. Please get up and put on a dressing gown.”

She turned over and responded, “What did you say, dad?”

The voice crackled slightly over the intercom. “I need you to get up, and at least put on a dressing gown. We’re being boarded.”

“Boarded?”

“Yep, I’m sending two security guards to hang out with you.”

“Send Lilija and Sebastian.”

“Okay dear.”

The king nodded to the captain and head of security. The head of security, a large man, left the room quickly. The captain was the first to speak “What do you think they want? They sure won’t tell us.”

“I have no idea what they want, but they got a war…”

As the Terra Firma military vessel docked with the civilian royal cruiser, Terra Firma Military began fanning out across the vessel. Ten minutes after that they had left the ship and were beginning to move away. The king spoke to the captain, “They had a mission and completed it. Oddly, they didn’t come to the bridge.”

As the Terra Firma military craft departed the captain opened the PA. “Status check all departments. In the center of the bridge, a panel came down from the ceiling with each department of the spacecraft pictured. Each department turned from clear to green, except for one. A couple of minutes later the only thing left in clear was “Royal Staterooms.” The captain turned to the King. “Nobody responding from the staterooms?”

The king looked over to the head of security and he nodded to his top two men they quickly left the bridge. A couple of moments later the area turned red and over the intercom came a detailed report. “Your Majesty, the two guards assigned to your daughter are dead, and she has been abducted.”