by Peter Rhodan
“Very true, father. But, well, you weren’t handy when we decided matters. The real question is how we handle it. Karvon is quite happy to resign his commission and become a Kimerian citizen, but I was wondering if we couldn’t use this to tie our two states closer together.”
“Now hold on just a minute missy. First, I haven’t even given my permission for you to marry. That is an Imperial matter that needs to be considered carefully, not rushed into like a pair of love-struck teenagers.” Her father said rather harshly.
Gizel waved her other hand as if dismissing his concerns.
“I realize all that. You did make sure I was brought up as an Imperial Princess after all. Unfortunately, I have fallen in love with Karvon. So that card is no longer in play, the only thing left to determine is what we can cook up between us and the King of Brython.”
“But dear, you’re still so young.” her mother said.
Gizel turned to her and gave her the same look she’s given the Admiral on the Admiral’s flight deck.
“Old enough to have had half my shipmates killed around me as we fought a terrible but losing battle. Old enough to have defeated treason at the highest possible level, including personally shooting the person behind all this. Uncle Petro.” she said in a steady, firm voice.
“What?” her father exclaimed.
“No!” her mother wailed.
“Yes.” she said simply, then waited a moment before continuing.
“He was the one behind the kidnap attempt at Starfire, and when that didn’t work he hired the pirate cruiser we rode back on and laid a trap for my ship at the back of nowhere. It would have worked too except my dear dead uncle hadn’t factored in Karvon and his ship tuning up at quite literally the last moment. We had lost all power, had no weapons, no shields, and were basically sitting ducks. We were helpless, just waiting for their capacitors to recycle so their guns could blow us into a million little pieces when suddenly the Kormorant did unto them first.” She gripped Karvon’s arm tighter.
Her father looked at her for a moment.
“And you shot him? Just like that?”
Gizel stood up straighter.
“He was holding a gun to a women’s head while he tried to negotiate safe passage on Karvon’s ship after murdering most of my crewmates. He didn’t realize who I was because I was in unmarked Marine armor. Karvon distracted him and I pulled my pistol and shot him. I am sorry mother, but it seemed like the only way out of the situation, short of letting him go, and that was never going to happen. Treason cannot be condoned nor allowed to prosper.”
Her mother just stared at her for a moment and then the tears rolled down her cheeks. Gizel leaped forward and took her in an embrace. She hadn’t realized just how much bigger she’d gotten compared to her mother until now. The two women cried heartily in each other’s arms. One for her cousin and what he had done, and the other for the pain she had inflicted, and, well, for everything she had been through. Finally, hugging her mother closely, Gizel was able to let out all the horror and drama she’d been through.
The Emperor watched the weeping women for a moment and decided his presence would be superfluous, besides the Brython fellow was still standing there. He turned to Karvon.
“She really shot him?”
“Yep.” Karvon nodded. “Across the room, and from the hip, mind you. She shot him straight between the eyes. She is absolutely deadly with that pistol of hers. Actually, what was more impressive was her facing down the Admiral of the relief force. On the Admiral’s own shuttle bay deck, no less. Jestwick was trying to come the Senior Officer all over Gizel, including some pretty ordinary insults. Gizel didn’t bat an eyelid, just held her ground until she had some ImpSec goons arrived on deck whereupon she simply drew her gun and told the Admiral she was relieved of duty and confined to quarters. Smoothest thing you ever want to see.”
The Emperor opened his mouth and then closed it again. Karvon nodded to him.
“Word to the wise. She’s not your little girl anymore. Watching your shipmates die around you, and knowing that you are about to die yourself, makes people grow up real quick. Mind you, she always was a determined piece of work.”
Gizel’s father shook his head at this very un-lover-like description of his daughter, but he found himself certainly agreeing about the determined bit.
“She really pulled a gun on Admiral Jestwick?”
“Yep. She had already told the Admiral she had declared it a matter of Imperial Security, not once but at least twice, perhaps three times. Anyway, I gather in that circumstance she goes from being a midshipman to the third most senior person in the Empire, or something along those lines. Everybody else sure cottoned real quick.”
Her father nodded. “It is not a power that a member of the Imperial Family would normally employ when on active duty, or at any other time for that matter. Her brother has only used that power once in his whole career. That was when he picked her up from that space station you dropped her off at. The petty officer on the ship's entry hatch wasn’t keen on letting her aboard at all, let alone armed. An unknown armed woman aboard a battlecruiser not being something he felt he should allow.”
Karvon sniggered.
“I can understand how he felt. Your Captain out there in the hall was lucky she had left her gun in her baggage. He refused to allow her to bring me in here to meet you because you had requested a private family reunion, and there was also the little matter of security, with me being a foreigner and all.”
He sniggered again.
“I swear her hand went to where her holster would have normally been. She settled for having her aide call Baron Travgar who told the Captain that Imperial Princesses are quite capable of deciding who take in to meet their parents.”
He glanced over at the Emperor who met his gaze.
“I can understand you wanting a little family time. So, if you prefer, I can leave and you can join them if you want.” He nodded toward the still sobbing and hugging women.
The Emperor eyed him for a second then shook his head.
“Do you seriously think you can just waltz in here and expect to marry my daughter? Instantly becoming one of the most powerful men in the Empire!”
Karvon considered him for a moment then shook his head.
“It’s funny, but I hadn’t really looked at it from that point of view, you know? Huh. Well, the truth is it’s not really up to us, either you or me. I can’t marry her unless she wants me for her husband, and given how determined she is, I can’t see you stopping her from marrying the person she wishes to spend the rest of her life with. For myself, I have never met anyone quite like her. If you forbid her to marry me I will probably have to help her run off, I’m afraid. After the last couple of months, which we spent together aboard that ship, I really can’t imagine living without her.”
“You would seriously help her run off, leaving behind her duties and responsibilities as an Imperial Princess and forfeiting all the benefits that it brings, including the wealth and convenience her position entails?”
The Emperor was clearly getting angry.
Karvon waved a hand at the two women.
“Only if you refuse to let us marry. Don’t think I am not aware of the problems from your point of view, I did grow up in a noble household myself after all, so I do have some idea. Your daughter would certainly not be making the most advantageous marriage from a material point of view, but on the other hand, I love her with all my heart and would never do anything to hurt her. At the same time, I would be prepared to do almost anything to protect her and support her in whatever she wanted to do.”
The two women had stopped their emotional reunion and were both now studying the two men in the room.
“So, you think you are good enough for my daughter?” the Empress asked raising an eyebrow.
“From your point of view, no.”
Karvon stood tall, glanced at her father, then returned his gaze to the Empress.
“No swain is ever considered
good enough by any parent, that is a simple fact of life. What I can say? I will be there for her all day, every day, without fail. The cruise back aboard the pirate ship has allowed me the opportunity to better get to know your daughter as the unique person she has grown into. It also gave me the time I needed to sort out my own feelings towards her. Never have I felt quite like this about anybody in the past and I doubt I ever will again.”
He reached out and took Gizel’s hand and faced her father.
“You’re Imperial Majesty, I formally request the hand of your daughter in marriage.”
“Damn,” the Emperor said, half under his breath.
He looked very much like a man caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Gizel frowned at him.
“It’s not that bad daddy. You know full well there aren’t that many diplomatic marriages available to me. The Brythons have no one suitable in their royal family. The only other prospects are either their nobility or our nobility, as there aren’t that many monarchies around. The only household I know of who has a single male available less than thirty I wouldn’t want anything to do with anyway. Chas Mosmet is a creep. He was forever making eyes at me, and he also made crude passes at me a couple of times in his last two years at high school, despite the fact I was three years younger than him.”
She took Karvon’s arm and smiled at her parents.
“Karvon might only be the second son of a Baron, but he is of Brython nobility at least, which is better than nothing.”
She grinned up at Karvon after this statement.
“More to the point, it will help solidify our alliance with Brython, something you have frequently mentioned would be a good thing. I don’t remember a member of either of our royal families ever marrying someone from the other nation.”
Her father considered this aspect for a moment and reluctantly nodded.
“That is true, pretty much. Several of our dukes have married members of the Brython nobility and vice versa but never a member of either royal family.”
Gizel nodded.
“I’ve thought about that a good deal during the trip home,” she said. “You have often said you would welcome closer ties with Brython and here is a way we can achieve that. First, we would have to get the Brython King to accept Karvon’s marriage to me, which shouldn’t be too difficult given that you are agreeable. But I think we can then take on a whole range of extra measures that would draw our two states even closer together. The first being dual citizenship. If a person from Brython marries a person from Kimeria what I suggest is that they each receive citizenship in the other state.”
Her father looked thoughtful at this and glanced at his wife.
“That is quite an interesting idea, dear.”
Her mother nodded also looking thoughtful. Gizel continued with the idea she had been working on for nearly the whole trip back.
“That could be our first step, and their children would be born with dual citizenship.”
Her father nodded at this as well. She moved on to the next step.
“There will be teething problems down the track no doubt with an ever-increasing number of dual citizens, but it’s quite possible King Artur will agree to that without too much trouble. It will then depend on whether he deems it a foreign affairs matter or decides that he should put it to the Parliament and let them vote on it.”
She nodded at Karvon.
“We can also ask that he makes ranks and position reciprocal. Thus, when I marry Karvon I will become a member of the Brython nobility. Being the wife of the second son of Baron Huntsmouth, and our children would maintain their place in the inheritance of the barony. I’m not too sure whether this one would fly with the Brython nobility, but there is only one way to find out.”
She could see her parents thinking about all this so brought forth her final suggestion.
“And as the final icing on the cake, we can suggest reciprocal military ranks. So that for instance, Karvon here would remain a captain in the Brython Navy, with seniority pushing him up the list. This would continue whether he was here in the Empire or continuing to operate his ship as an intelligence vessel and he was perforce listed as being inactive, he still wouldn’t lose seniority in the Brython Navy. At the same time, we would give him the rank of captain in the Kimerian Navy on the same basis. His seniority in our service would continue, probably best dated from when he is awarded the rank, as per a normal officer, and he would be similarly marked inactive when continuing his intelligence role as Captain of the Kormorant. Eventually, by seniority, he would become an admiral in both navies which by any measure would be an interesting first.”
She paused for a second and then smiled ruefully.
“I can’t see either military agreeing to such an arrangement with any sort of enthusiasm, but if we included it in the negotiations, just by putting it on the table we show where we want to go in the future.”
Her father and mother did that glance at each other thing that married couples frequently did, where they are able to communicate without saying anything. She could tell they were thinking about the suggestions she had made. Her father looked back at her again.
“We already have a limited program of exchange officers with the Brython Navy although they are usually only junior officers, mostly Lieutenants, still it would provide a stepping stone for your idea. You’ve obviously thought a good deal about this?”
“Well yes, but then it is in my best interest after all.”
She grinned at her parents.
“But if you are serious about us moving closer to Brython, then this would make a great start. Even if the paranoid people on both sides don’t agree to anything more than just the first part. Simply putting these things up for debate puts them on notice of where we wish things to go. Although I think we need to talk to Lucas before announcing anything. I know it should be a long time before he inherits, but if nothing else, this little episode has shown that something could pop up out of the blue at any time.”
Her father looked to be considering all this and nodded.
“That is a good point about Lucas. We shouldn’t do anything long-term without his input, he is after all the Crown Prince.”
He studied her for a moment.
“You haven’t spoken to him about this matter, have you?”
Gizel shook her head in reply.
“No. When I was on the battle cruiser I hadn’t thought about any of this at all. I was more concerned with getting home safely, and anyway, at that time I was merely infatuated with Karvon rather than in love with him like I am now.”
She glanced over and smiled at Karvon and he smiled back.
Karvon entered the conversation at this point.
“There are a lot of things that need to be considered before we rush into anything, including the Crown Prince’s opinion, let alone several other people such as your Baron Travgar for instance. I would suggest we use the ongoing investigation about what happened out there as cover. That will allow us to have a quiet word with the key people you feel need to be consulted. It would also provide time to arrange for the Crown Prince to get some leave to come home and support his sister.”
Both parents considered Karvon for a moment, then they nodded at this and Gizel continued.
“We can also use the ongoing investigation as an excuse for me to stay largely confined to the Palace, and if we keep Karvon here it avoids having to explain his coming and going regularly.”
She smiled sweetly at her parents.
Her father snorted.
“How very convenient.”
Gizel grinned and nodded unashamedly.
“I thought so. We can use the Palace Communications room to talk to Karvon’s crew, and once the Imperial Security fellows have finished interviewing them, no doubt they would enjoy some leave here in our home system, at our expense.”
She glanced at Karvon who shrugged.
“It would go some way to make up for hauling them out
of the Vegas system to go rescue you,” he offered, smiling.
She shook her head. “So that’s where you hang out between jobs, eh?”
Karvon laughed. “No. No. We were delivering some high-tech gaming system component updates. Very hush, hush and the sort of job a lot of people favor us for with our confidentiality and reliability, not to mention our unequaled record of safe delivery. The big guns and strong shields help too.”
He grinned, and she grinned back.
“Given Krevis had this new, marvelous, system he wanted to try out at the casinos there, having to race off to rescue you and then come back here is probably the cheaper, and dare I say it, safer option.”
Gizel laughed. Her parents looked somewhat unsure as to the reason for the humor, but they could both see the easy camaraderie the two shared.
“Hey, we have casinos here too. But he’ll probably just get kicked out and banned here. Not anything worse.”
Karvon snorted. “Exactly. Not that I could ever get him to appreciate just how dangerous it would be if his system actually worked.”
He shook his head in mock sadness and then shared a look with Gizel and they savored the moment, then she shook herself and got back to business.
“I’ve kept the knowledge of who was behind everything, and the fact that he is now deceased to a very small group. Only I, Karvon, Dedsun, the Imperial Security man leading the boarding party, and one other fellow know the truth at this stage. Besides yourselves and Baron Travgar that is. I wanted to leave your options open as to when you would announce his death and under what circumstances.”
Her father studied her for a moment. In anybody else, she would have said the look he gave her was one of respect.
“I see. I shall consult with the Baron and see what we can come up with. As far as the outside world is concerned, it was a pirate attack on your vessel and nothing else. Both ships being so heavily damaged that Captain Alastair’s poorly armed cargo ship was able to overwhelm the pirate ship at the end of the battle with the Thister. That will be our story for the moment while this mess gets sorted out, and those that aided and abetted the traitor are found and arrested.”
