New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3)

by Michael Atamanov

  Ayna Mentor, your personal assistant

  Age: 24

  Race: Human

  Gender: Female

  Class: Athlete

  Achievements: Three-time Orange House Target-Shooting Champion. Former Nessi No-Rules-Fighting Champion. Approved to work with members of the upper aristocracy.

  Fame: +1

  Standing: +1

  Presumed personal opinion of you: +13 (warm)

  The girl was fairly nice to look at, but just not to my taste. She was too tall, even making me look small in comparison. With her overly toned muscles, she also carried an air of grayness and forgettability. I suspect it was for that very reason that Miya had approved her for the position, or maybe had even handpicked her for the job. I wonder how I should behave around her? I gave her a good-natured smile and commented:

  "I think the time has come for me to start taking better care of my body. What do you think, Ayna?"

  It immediately became clear that I'd guessed wrong. The girl became noticeably afraid and stood at attention, extending her arms down her torso and lowering her eyes to the floor.

  "Your Highness looks excellent as always," the girl said, keeping her gaze trained downward.

  She was clearly afraid of me, and that was very strange. Fear of one's boss should pass with time but, above all else, I normally expected an entirely different manner from an assistant.

  "Ayna, remind me. For what qualities exactly did my spouse hire you? I can now say with certainty that honesty was not one of them."

  The girl grew even more afraid. It seemed to me that she would collapse and faint at any moment.

  "Mrs. Miya chose me exactly, above all else, for my quick reaction speed and ability to protect her spouse. And also because I'm hardworking, agreeable, and detail-oriented."

  "A personal assistant is not typically required to provide security. That is a bodyguard's job. By the way... Ayna, remind me. Where have the invisible Chameleons gone?"

  "Mrs. Miya fired them four months ago. She didn't like having invisible observers around."

  "I see..." The news was, of course, strange, but I tried not to show my surprise. "Then here is a list of tasks. First, seek out Popori de Cacha, my former bodyguard head, and invite her back. Last I knew, she was on Unatari on the Chameleons’ island, though much time has passed since then. Second, figure out where my second cousin Katerina ton Mesfelle has gone. Third, compile a list of the most valuable luxury items on board Queen of Sin. Fourth, find whoever is responsible for the defense of Unatari, and bring them to me at once. I need a report on the current situation. Fifth, I need a fleet commander's uniform. This clownish getup is not cutting it..."

  "But, Prince Georg! When Duke Avalle royl Anjer threatened to formally accuse you of having incompatible professions, you quit your position as Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet Commander and ordered all clothing reminding you of your military past thrown out!"

  I couldn't believe it. It turned out they had wanted to disgrace me, but I had fought with the new Duke and slammed the door behind myself on the way out... Yes, today was just full of surprises.

  "Ayna, I simply cannot believe that not even one of my military uniforms has remained on the yacht! If you really have to, take the yacht captain's jacket. By the way, please invite the captain to visit with me a bit later, as well. That's all for now. Go do your job... Although... Stop! Your sixth mission in number, but first in importance is to bring me some coffee... I mean, roast firo-nut beverage. Can you do that? Bring it right to my office. That's where I'll be."

  "Yes, my Prince, of course." The girl snapped a brisk military salute and left the room.

  * * *

  God! How I'd missed all this! With a mug of the hot beverage in hand, I took a seat and kicked my legs up with pleasure in front of a digital screen in the very same cabin I had once designated my office on Queen of Sin. Everything was familiar here, the furniture, the smell, the pictures on the wall. I felt like I was back home! And I had a better outfit, too. Someone had managed to dig up a dark blue fleet commander's uniform, though it was missing the golden epaulets and the words “Perimeter Sector Eight.” It was a shame, of course, but I was sure I would figure out something to take its place soon enough.

  Miya and Mr. G.I. could think they'd tricked me all they wanted. Let them keep thinking that! I have more than six whole months left in this game — more than enough time to analyze the situation, consider my errors and figure out workable solutions. Back in that restaurant, I was extremely vulnerable to the Truth Seeker and constantly caught her shooting unkind, judgmental looks in my direction. As such, I had opted not to be rude and, after bargaining for better conditions, agreed. For some reason, I was sure that if I hadn't, I would never have left that restaurant alive. No matter what you say, Miya had not forgotten her promise to kill me in the real world. Here, in the Perimeter Defense world, I didn't have to be afraid of my wife, and I could even use her has a magic genie to grant three wishes.

  But first, I'd have to quench my thirst for information. I urgently needed news about what had happened in the last seven months. I was sitting on my bed reading and crying when a cautious knock came on the door. The letter in my hands was from my daughter. In it, she accused me of killing her mother, and it was very upsetting. Princess Marta royl Valesy ton Mesfelle-Kyle would rather have hung than divorce Crown Prince Georg. Death was the only way to preserve her daughter's right to inheritance, which Lika would have surely lost if her parents had gotten a legal divorce.

  Before sticking her head in a noose, Marta wrote a letter detailing Miya's blackmail, while her legal husband stood aside and even joined in. Copies of her incriminating suicide note were sent to the Kingdom of Fastel chancellery, the Orange House Capital, the Emperor's reception room in the Throne World, and also to Lika at school. That was six months ago. Since then, she had refused to ever talk with her father again, and had even changed her name to Likanna royl Fastel, removing any reminders of the hated Crown Prince Georg and his family name from her title.

  The bastards! I hate them so much!!! There was a lot in Miya's behavior that I could understand and forgive. And with time, I could even hypothetically learn to forgive Mr. G.I. for his careless treatment of my body (though not before giving him a shiner for the trouble he caused me). But for what they'd done to Likanna – my beloved daughter, the most important person in this world to me... I could never forgive them.

  "Come in," I shouted, hurriedly drying the tears from my face.

  "My Prince, I've been told that your Highness wanted to meet with me," stated an unfamiliar strong-looking dark-haired soldier in an Orange House Star Fleet Admiral's uniform.

  Mike ton Akad, Unatari Fleet Admiral

  Age: 48

  Race: Human

  Gender: Male

  Class: Military

  Achievements: Has combat medals for participation in interspecies conflicts

  Fame: +5

  Standing: +9

  Presumed personal opinion of you: Unknown

  I already knew that Admiral Kiro Sabuto had left Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle's circle three months ago and joined the Red House. I had even watched a video of Duke Claudius royl Mike ton Sid, head of the Red House, as he officially appointed Admiral Kiro Sabuto to the position of Perimeter Sector Fourteen Fleet Commander. As for now, I was sorely lacking a skilled admiral, and it wasn't at all clear yet how good a replacement Mike ton Akad would make.

  "Take a seat, admiral," I said, pointing to the armchair beside mine. "Tell me now: am I an ass or a bastard? I let all my affairs slip away on autopilot, and now the situation is totally out of hand."

  "Prince Georg, you are both an ass and a bastard, and I could even add another set of stronger words that your Highness has earned handily as well," he added, taking a seat in the armchair. "But we won't solve this situation with words and, as you've called me here, you must have had some ideas."

  He made a very good first impression. I t
ook a definite liking to the admiral for the fact that he was direct, yet prepared to hear me out, despite all the built-up negativity.

  "Before anything else, I have two questions, admiral. First: what makes you so sure that the Aliens will get through to Unatari? The warp beacon is turned off and, as far as I know, no Alien mobile-warp-beacon ships have been seen here."

  The man was well prepared to tell me about the source of his information on Unatari's forthcoming demise. It would seem that Miya had announced it to a large crowd of people right after the information came in that the Aliens had captured the Hnelle star system. No matter how negative an opinion I may have had of my spouse, I had to give her her dues. She was a very strong Truth Seeker, and I didn't doubt her predictions for a second.

  So... The sequence of events is becoming clear to me now. Mr. G.I. wasn't planning on inviting me back into the game at all. But then, the Aliens captured Hnelle, cutting the former pirate dead-end off from the Empire. Miya figured out that Unatari would soon fall and, for that very reason, called me into Perimeter Defense. Inexplicably, the Truth Seeker was quite sure that I would be able to manage. It was, of course, strange given the distribution of forces. But, if the Truth Seeker thought there was a chance of rescue, the situation couldn't be that hopeless. OK, I'll figure this all out later.

  "Admiral, my second question is: why the hell did you order the heavy assault cruisers and Crown Princess Likanna re-equipped?! The original setup I had them in pretty much spoke for itself in my campaign against the Aliens. Recharging allied ship shields proved nearly unbeatable. Why break something that's working well?"

  "Crown Prince, after being hired, I asked your Highness to explain the concept behind the fleet three times, but I never got an answer. That was why I asked permission to re-outfit them in the common way. I also did not receive an answer to any of my four requests to that effect. After that, I acted at my own peril."

  What is wrong with you, Mr. G.I.?! It can't have been so hard to answer your subject just the one time! And now, I'm paying the price of your laziness and indifference... I tried to make a face of measured surprise.

  "Admiral, I would swear to anyone that I didn't see any of your requests. I really practically didn't look at incoming messages and gave an order to have almost all incoming calls dismissed. It's hard to explain... Though alright, I'll tell you directly. In a crystal dream, I saw a new Alien invasion. I couldn't figure out when it would be, but I unmistakably saw the capture of Hnelle, Unatari, Tesse, and the Orange House Capital... Since then, I've been seeking out a way to change the situation, and haven't had much time to think about anything else. And now, that invasion has truly begun. Hnelle has already fallen. Next in line are Himora, Tesse, Unatari, the Orange House Capital and beyond. Now we have no more time. We must change the situation."

  "And how exactly can we change it?" The man’s eyes lit up with interest.

  I shrugged my shoulders ambiguously.

  "It would be impossible for us to defeat the Alien fleet currently in Hnelle with just the ships we have here. At the very least, I don't see any way of doing it. But I do see a way for us to emerge victorious from an extended stand-off. For that, our fleet needs to get out into the recently captured former Swarm systems. There should be reinforcements waiting there."

  The admiral rubbed his chin with his fingers in thought.

  "It won't look good. That's for sure! It'll look like we're throwing the people of Unatari to the wolves, as we ourselves flee. The people of Unatari are quite afraid as it is. Their mood is near panic, in fact. I have overheard several conversations about how your Highness is supposedly planning to flee on Queen of Sin, leaving the rest to fate. And, if the fleet really does leave Unatari, I'm concerned that residents here would actually come to prefer it that way. There are even rumors that some government officials are buying themselves places on Queen of Sin in order to escape with your Highness."

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise and asked him to explain everything he'd heard about that.

  "Everyone knows that Queen of Sin can make two warp jumps in a row. Only a ship such as yours would be capable of escaping through the Alien-controlled Hnelle system. I've heard insistent rumors in recent days that yacht officers are trading places on the starship at prices of around one million credits per seat and up."

  "Let’s get to the bottom of this at once!" I declared. I got on the loudspeaker and asked the yacht captain to come to my office.

  A minute later the yacht captain arrived, and I recognized him right away. It was Tarik ton Miro, who had once been second assistant to Captain Oorast Pohl. He was one of the few people who had accompanied me the whole way, from my first day in the Perimeter Defense world, all the way to the end of the contract. He must have worked his way up to the rank of captain. I greeted my old acquaintance and asked a direct question about the veracity of the rumors that seats on my yacht were being sold.

  "Many truly have come with such requests, your Highness. Especially Unatari government officials, but also Astorimma deputies, and people from other large cities here as well. More than fifty people in the past three days. Of course, I refused them all."

  I mulled it over and gave an evil grin:

  "Rats, the lot of them. The first thing they do is run, even though the capital can still be saved. They need to be taught a lesson! Here's how we’ll do it, captain. Order your weaslliest officers to get in touch with these people, and take their money for 'tickets.' A million credits a seat. I think that will be enough. But be sure to warn them that this is all strictly illegal, and they will have to board as technicians, electricians, etc. Let them all think that the yacht will take off the day after tomorrow, but tell them they all must arrive by this evening. And when all these rotten characters have all arrived..."

  "We line them up against the wall?" suggested Admiral Mike ton Akad with poorly hidden hope in his voice.

  I put on a mocking flare up:

  "Look at the kind of people I work with! And I'm the one they call bloodthirsty?! No, we don't need to execute anyone. We'll just talk about executing them, get them all riled up, and kick them off the ship after stripping them of their posts in the Unatari government! Captain, give ten percent of the money you collect to this brilliant officer, and transfer the rest to the fleet treasury."

  "Will do, my Prince! It's great doing business with you, your Highness!" Tarik ton Miro began smiling with his whole mouth, having potentially become a millionaire today.

  Standing change. Empire Military faction opinion of you has improved.

  Present Empire Military faction opinion of you: +17 (warm)

  Alright. It worked! Though it was somewhat unexpected to see the faction relationship change, despite the fact that the Unatari star system had technically been cut off from the Empire for eleven days. And also, I noticed that my relationship with the military, though it had soured in my absence, had still not reached such catastrophic levels as my standing. Last time, I had to start from actually negative numbers, so +17 with the military at the very beginning was pretty cool!

  When the captain had left, Admiral Mike ton Akad said thoughtfully:

  "Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle was once considered a great master of unexpected solutions and improvisation. That is precisely why I hurried to occupy the vacant seat left after Kiro Sabuto's resignation. For a long time, I thought I had made a mistake. But today, I see glimmers of that very brilliance. I may see yet why it was once said that your fleet did not know the meaning of the word 'defeat.'"

  I did not have time to reply. A knock came on the door, and Ayna swiftly entered, holding a tablet computer.

  "Prince Georg, I have found your cousin's location, composed a list of the most valuable objects on the yacht and... here," the girl stepped aside, letting a guest enter.

  Into the office came... the one Chameleon I would recognize from among thousands of others. Popori de Cacha!!! I stood up and took a step forward to embrace my old friend. Afte
r a second of confusion, the huge bipedal gray lizard responded in kind and embraced me with her (or maybe his, hard to say with a Chameleon) flexible appendages.

  "After your Highness fired the Chameleon bodyguard team, I tried to find work for myself and my subjects as bodyguards for the senior officers on Crown Princess Likanna. And now, I'm hearing that the Crown Prince wants to see me," explained Popori de Cacha, very quickly elucidating me on the circumstances of her arrival to the space yacht.

  "I'll be brief, Popori de Cacha. I need my great bodyguard head back. And with her, I need six, or even just two more invisible guards."

  The Chameleon smiled with two rows of sharp teeth:

  "I am delighted, my Prince. I'll do it all to the best of my ability. That said, I am a ‘him’ again, not a ’her.’ After giving birth to my children, I changed back to my original gender."

  The interactive character popup was showing that Popori de Cacha's loyalty was still as high as possible, just as I’d left it. Here was something my surrogate hadn't been able to mess up. Clearly Crown Prince Georg simply had no dealings with any Chameleons at all, and also Popori de Cacha had spent the last few months on a far-off island laying eggs and carrying for his tadpoles as they swam in their warm pools.

  "Prince Georg, do you have any other orders?" My assistant wondered.

  "Wait, let me see the list." I took the tablet and quickly skimmed it. "Ayna, I thought I asked you to be honest. Why didn't you bring me the whole list? I can say for certain that Miya's collection of numbered emeralds is here on the yacht, as well as a number of other valuable objects belonging to my wife. Where's all that in the list of valuables?!"

  "But, your Highness..." the girl's voice began quavering in fear. "Mrs. Miya really doesn't like it when other people touch her things."