"You will be questioned," she said. "I am sure that His Highness will concur in that. We have...facilities...in the NAIS for learning what we need from even the most reluctant informant"
Ardan, moving through the crowd, was joined by Jarlik, Ref, and Sep. He came up to the spot where Efflinger was standing, calm and cool. In his remote way, the Steiner ambassador was enjoying the results of his maneuvering.
"Well done, sir," said Ardan. "And please convey our thanks to your son."
Maylor smiled, his expression aloof. "Ah, yes. Kolek. He thinks that I'm unaware of his fondness for a certain young woman named Prillie. Never tell him differendy, but I am hoping that he marries her soon. I shall make a tremendous fuss and cut him off without a credit. That will force him to pull himself together and find work. And it will be the making of him, do you not agree?"
Ardan laughed. "I do, indeed. But he is not a bad boy, for all his youthful folly. He is shrewd. I suspect that he will go to work for the Prince...Will that make problems for you?"
"Not at all! Not at all! It will be one more link between the houses of Steiner and Davion. A most desirable state of affairs, wouldn't you say?"
They laughed quietly together. The Doctor and Hanse were leaving now, accompanied by the other witnesses. Soon the crowd would regather in the garden of the palace to hear the long-delayed statement...a far different one from that intended by the conspirators.
He sighed. "The people are going to be very happy, and never will they suspect how close we had come to a war with Steiner. The Lyran Commonwealth is not one to trifle with. We already have enough enemies to keep us busy."
Ran Felsner was standing at the head of the stair that led up into the warriors' quarters.
"Ardan! What in the name of the Seven Hells is going on here?" he asked.
Ardan came to attention. "Sir!" he snapped. Then he grinned. "Come with us to the garden. We're on duty there. Well explain on the way."
As they hurried through the gardens, he talked furiously, knowing that Hanse himself would tell his commanding officer the truth later. By the time they reached the dais, Felsner knew just enough to be thoroughly confused. He took his place, just in time, at the end of a line of Guards.
Hanse, his dress uniform replaced with one exactly like that worn by the imposter, wore his own medals and ribbons. Beside him was a much-chastened and subdued Ekkles, and beyond were Doctor Shali and the Maître, who still looked puzzled.
The crowd had gathered again, on hearing the signal gong. In a short while, the space was filled with people.
They looked worried, as well they might after seeing their ruler taken ill so suddenly.
Ekkles stepped forward. "I am happy to say that the temporary indisposition...that overtook our Prince has passed without any danger to his life or health," he began. "Well do we know what terrible consequences might follow the loss of our leader, in these perilous times."
He looked down at the pile of notes on the podium left behind by that other Hanse. He shuffled them together and thrust them underneath the stand.
"Now it is my honor and privilege to give you our Prince, Hanse Davion." He bowed to Hanse, stepping back.
Hanse's color was high, his eyes alight with vigor and triumph. "I am happy to be able to speak to you today," he began.
The words were drowned in a sea of cheers. The people had thought, while waiting, of the effect his death might have upon the comfortable ways of New Avalon. They had reflected on the dangers lurking among the other rival Houses, not liking the picture they had conjured. The renewed health of their Prince meant that nothing (they hoped) would change.
"There have been rumors," said Hanse, once the cheering had died away, "of trouble with one of our most reliable neighbors. House Steiner has been the victim of vicious lies, spread among us by those who might benefit if we were at odds with our allies. To see us turn upon our friends would delight our enemies."
There was a murmur of agreement in the crowd. They had heard those rumors, had thought, indeed, that they emanated from officials of their own government. They knew very well that trade would suffer, the entire standard of living on their world might decline if such a breach occurred. Many of the assemblage turned to nod at Efflinger, who stood in his usual easy way, observing everything that went on with a cynical eye.
"Now we know, without any doubt, who our enemies are not!" said Hanse. "So let us return to our homes. Let us think of how easily we might lose much and gain nothing. Let us resolve to think deeply before believing such rumors, no matter from what source they seem to come." He raised his hands and smiled at his people.
This time the clamor was like an ocean in a storm. Hanse returned to his palace amid a roar of love and approval that died away only when he disappeared from sight.
Ardan, just behind his old friend, tapped Hanse on the shoulder. "You had a secret code, didn't you?" he whispered. "To activate the 'Master!"
Hanse turned to smile at him. "Yes, Dan, I did."
Ardan had a moment of comprehension. Something that Melissa had told him back in Tharkad came to him with sudden clarity.
"Starbird..." he murmured.
"Ah, my friend," said Hanse Davion with a smile, "that would be telling."
36
It took a week before the capital city and principal towns of New Avalon returned to normal. Hanse freed the imprisoned councillors and reinstated them with more pomp than usual. He hoped in this way to make some apology to them and also to reinforce the conviction, among the populace, that a great injustice had now been corrected.
In the meantime, the Prince's investigators discovered a network of informants throughout the Palace and even in the military. These were systematically weeded out and replaced with others known to be trustworthy. Ran Felsner took complete charge of the New Avalon contingent of the Royal Brigade again. His return from Stein's Folly at the tail end of the conspirator's plot had been convenient. He went right to work.
Hanse personally took charge of reorganizing the Court on New Avalon, and when the dust settled, there were some old faces missing and many new ones come in. Argyle, too, got its shakeup. Hanse had Cleery removed from his post with speed and neatness, then appointed Fani Littek as Maître in his place. Though many were dismayed by her promotion, most agreed she'd be perfect for the job.
Ardan, meanwhile, had been dispatched to Redfield to take part in the reconquest of that world. After a successful invasion, with only minimum Davion losses, he was soon back in Avalon City again. Seeing the many changes Hanse had been making, Ardan approved and was especially glad to see Maylor Efflinger still in place as Steiner ambassador. Without that man's help, Ardan believed that their desperate attempt to regain the throne would have failed.
One evening shortly after his return, Ardan stood looking down from the terrace as the pale sun vanished beyond the distant wall of the Palace garden. It was peaceful here, and Ardan was feeling the kind of pleasurable fatigue that often follows the successful resolution of a crisis.
Footsteps on the stone pavement caught his attention, and he turned. It was Hanse approaching, and for a moment, Ardan recalled that now-distant day when so much bitterness had existed between them. How glad he was to know that was all long past
"Just the man I wanted to see," the Prince said. "I was hoping to personally hand you this invitation for tomorrow evening."
"Invitation to what?" Ardan asked, unable to keep a note of irritation from his voice. "I'm too bone-weary to attend some fancy affair, Hanse. Can't we have done with all this, and get on with other business? What in the world are you up to now?"
Hanse chuckled. "You will see what you will see, my friend. Now, don't be difficult just when everything is beginning to fall back into place." With that, he clapped the younger man on the shoulder and shoved him toward the door. "And don't be late!"
Back in his own chamber after a session in the Cleaner, Ardan stretched out on the bed in his soft robe. He picked up the invitation a
nd slit it open, reading half-aloud:"...the Palace ballroom...eight o'clock...full dress..." Damn! he thought Formal again.
He rose the next morning full of gloom. Ardan wanted to get back to his old work, without the confusing and distracting interruptions that seemed to crop up so often lately. This formal affair was not to his liking at all.
The day went quickly, for all that He was working with Lai and Nym again, putting a new Victor into operational condition. The fine tuning of the neural helmet was a slow matter, and he spent hours in the 'Mech, testing the polymer muscles and weapons of the huge machine.
Dusk came before he knew the day was gone. Lai called up to him, "Sir, you have an engagement tonight. Remember. . .you asked me to remind you?"
Ardan sighed and climbed slowly down from his tremendous alter ego. "So I do. Remind me tomorrow that I have enjoyed it, will you? Ill never know, otherwise."
Lai chuckled, helping him on with his fatigue uniform. But Ardan didn't feel like chuckling as he made his way up the stair into the living quarters.
He found there a new dress uniform waiting for him. Hanse had evidendy sent it during the day. It was even more elaborate than the one he had worn into the dungeons on Argyle. What a get-up for a soldier!
He went into the Cleaner and came out scrubbed but still unhappy. The thing fitted perfecdy. He cursed Hanse's tailor. If it hadn't been a fit, Ardan could have worn a plainer outfit. Ready promptly at seven-thirty, he was waiting for his friends at the foot of the stair leading onto the walkway outside the barracks.
Hearing footsteps above, he glanced up. Then his jaw dropped. Sep was wearing the elaborate dress Prillie had chosen for her and that Efflinger had insisted she keep, Ardan now realized that he must have been so tense the last time she had worn the dress that he had not really looked at his second-in-command.
That had been-a major error. Sep looked stunning. She was, after all, a handsome woman, even sweaty and dusty as she went about her work. Now, her hair done high, her skin glowing with artfully applied makeup and the jewels that were the gift of Steiner blazing at neck, ears, and fingers, she might have been one of the most sought-after women of Davion's court.
"Close your mouth!" she snapped, seeing his face. Her eyes were twinkling, however, and her tone was not angry.
Though Ardan managed to compose his expression, his heart was jumping about in his chest. He had always known that Sep was nice to look at. He hadn't known she was beautiful.
Jarlik thumped him on the shoulder. "Get a move on, Dan. We don't want to be late. I suspect that the Prince is about to explain some things. I'm told that he has been investigating everything he could possibly burrow into during these past weeks. What I want to know is how the conspirators rigged those tests. That boggles my mind."
Ardan stepped out to keep up with his long-legged friend, but he was very aware that Sep, in her gold and white splendor, was just behind him. A delicate scent of flowers kept teasing him, and he didn't know if it came from the gardens or from her.
They arrived just on time. Lackeys were opening the wide doors from the terrace into the ballroom. A small group of people could be seen inside, already holding filled glasses that glinted with shades of golden and ruby wine. The three friends mounted the broad, shallow steps onto the terrace and entered the room.
"Here they are now," Hanse said. "Come in. I want to introduce my rescuers...and those who helped them in their dangerous endeavor." The Prince clapped his hands, and the people in the room quieted.
Ardan, looking about, saw Kolek and Prillie. He recognized a few other officers of the Guard, as well as several of the staff members of the Palace, now in their best as guests instead of servitors.
He felt increasingly uncomfortable. Was this some sort of award ceremony? He didn't like those at all.
But Hanse was speaking again. "I would have preferred to publicly thank all of you who assisted me in regaining my throne, but this is a matter best kept among ourselves." He glanced about the room.
"I ask each of you to speak little, if at all, of any of the matters we have experienced together over the past months. We know the truth. We won the day. Now we must keep the enemy from profiting by so much as a rumor."
There was a murmur of agreement in the room. Ardan, looking from face to face, knew that these were people of the most solid sort, dependable to the ultimate.
"There are many matters that have been troublesome, and some seemed inexplicable as well. I know that you have wondered, as I did, what really happened. We have now ascertained, as well as will ever be done, just how this sequence of events came about" Hanse motioned to waiters with trays of glasses.
"Refresh yourselves again, my friends...it is a rather long story. I will make it as brief as possible, however." He waited while his subjects accepted glasses, found chairs about the tapestried walls, and settled themselves. Then the Prince sat on the footstool before his own great chair and stretched out his long legs companionably.
"All this began, we have learned, some years ago when the Capellan Confederation began looking acquisitively at our frontier worlds on their border. Maximilian Liao, being no man's fool, cast about for a method of weakening the power of the Federated Suns.
"He was unable to do this militarily, for obvious reasons. Therefore, he put his head together with advisors from...other Houses...and they decided to remove me from the rulership of the Federated Suns by replacing me with a false Hanse Davion, who would gradually alter my policies to further their own cause."
He clasped his hands about his knee and looked grim. "It demonstrates the wide differences between our systems when I tell you that they took a man—just an ordinary fellow who happened to be of my build and coloring—and wiped his mind clean of his own life's memories. I may have indulged in political maneuvering at times, but I have never allowed any basic interference in the personal rights of my people, and I hope that I never will."
There came a shocked murmur from the small crowd. He nodded. "They obtained, through methods that I have now blocked permanently, holographs of me in every possible place and activity. And they put that unfortunate man through extensive plastic surgery, copying every feature as far as science is now capable of doing. When they were done, he was, to any observing eye, Hanse Davion. Then through their agents in the Palace they replaced all my medical records, retinal scans, DNA, blood type, etc. with that of the imposter's."
Hanse turned toward Ardan. "Before bringing their duplicate back to consciousness, they allowed Ardan Sortek, my childhood friend, to see him. He had been captured, treated,; and held solely for that purpose. He, being the one person I know who could identify me without fail, would be the one accused of treachery, while I would be called an imposter. That would remove both of us at once. A quarrel between us, which was fomented by vicious rumors aimed at Ardan's ears alone, seemed to be a viable motive for his falseness.
"They had, however, a few strategically located people who were genuine traitors. Cleery, my Maître of the Household on Argyle, was one of them. There were even some in my own pet project, the New Avalon Institute of Science, and it was they who substituted the physical specifications of the double for my own, long before the testing that proved that I was not myself, but an imposter."
"Ah!" Jarlik sighed. "I wondered mightily about that. We thought it was impossible to fool the testing procedure."
"Within the year, it would have been. Our security system has been improved and upgraded to the point where my brainwaves would have identified me immediately and without doubt. Which is the reason for their haste to put the conspiracy into effect as soon as the duplicate was completed and trained."
Hanse now relaxed and stood before the group. "Jarlik, Septarian, Sortek, and Reflett came to my rescue in the nick of time. Officer Denek made arrangements that allowed us to travel here as soon as possible and to take our places near the false Davion on that important day of his great announcement
"Maylor Efflinger, friend and ally, m
anaged to get them into a position to follow through on Denek's arrangements. His son and daughter-in-law were of inestimable value in that affair, and my heartfelt thanks are due them. I might interject here the news that I am attaching Kolek Efflinger to my staff as personal liaison with the Steiner interests."
The newly weds beamed, as did Maylor Efflinger, unable to hide his pleasure. Ardan felt a smile tugging at the corners of his own mouth to see the casual and effete facade fail the ambassador for once.
"The knowledge that such impersonations have taken place in the past, even into remote times when only chance caused physical similarities, should have warned us that this sort of thing might be attempted again. But we felt that our own culture was too civilized for that. We have learned differently." Hanse looked to Doctor Shali, who sat alone near the front of the room.
"I have been assured that the equipment and the technology for such transformations will be closely monitored from this time on. Not only because of its threat to any ruler, but also because of its utter devastation of the man chosen for modification into another. The person who was the imposter is innocent of any wrongdoing."
Jarlik muttered a protest, but Hanse quelled him with a glance. "This is quite true. He was chosen without his own consent His mind was emptied of all he knew. He was reeducated with the most accelerated techniques to believe himself to be the true heir of Davion.
"I have granted a pension for his care. It may not be possible to wipe his mind again and return to him his past and his own personality. It may not even be advisable to try. But he has suffered enough. He will be cared for for the rest of his life...in comfort and quiet In a remote place, where his peculiar attributes will make no problems for anyone."
Ardan was relieved, listening to his friend. This was Hanse Davion as he had always known him to be. A ruler, yes...one who must do whatever necessary to protect the interests of his sphere, but not a man who would be needlessly cruel.
Hanse was saying, "Maximilian Liao has made us much trouble in recent days, but our forces have proven their loyalty and their worth in battle once again. Stein's Folly and now Redfield are both ours again!" A smattering of spontaneous applause went around the room at those words, and the Prince smiled over at Ardan.
The sword and the dagger Page 25
