New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3)
Page 16
The ambassador began thinking unexpectedly, even tilting his head to the side, which signified doubt or lack of information in his race.
"Crown Prince Georg, I don't see a real reason for you to meet personally with the Queen. All issues can be settled either with me, or remotely."
His refusal was completely unexpected. Also, I could detect some falseness and personal reluctance from the ambassador. For now, I didn't know the real reason for the refusal, but it only made the necessity of a personal meeting with Nai Igir stronger.
"Triasss Zess, I have gifts that must be given directly to Nai Igir, as she is the last Iseyek Prime. I have a nearly complete collection of numbered emeralds from Sivalla that once belonged to her race. My wife, Queen Miya, has spent many long years gathering these gemstones, and the time has come to return the relics to their legal owners. It would only be proper for the Swarm ambassador to the Empire to also be present at this occasion, which should be the final chapter in our old conflict. I also have another important topic to discuss. The Unatari State is planning to attack and liberate the Swarm systems currently under Alien control in the very near future. It would be quite strange if the Swarm Queen were not to take part in this historic campaign."
The praying mantis gave a deep bow:
"That changes things completely, Crown Prince Georg. I will arrange for you to meet with my Queen, and will try to be personally present."
Standing change. Iseyek race opinion of the Unatari State has improved.
Iseyek race opinion of the Unatari State: +3 (indifferent)
I found the option to give the same answer in return, and made immediate use of it:
Standing change. Unatari State opinion of the Iseyek race has improved.
Unatari State opinion of the Iseyek race: +3 (indifferent)
"And another thing, Honorable Ambassador. My daughter, Crown Princess Likanna royl Unatari will be finishing school soon, and she is planning to come visit me for summer break. The girl will be taking a path from the Throne world through your capital system, Dekeye. As such, could you pick her up on a diplomatic ship? As a father, I would be much more comfortable with my daughter having a chaperone I know I can trust."
The praying mantis looked at me for a long time, bulging his huge eyes outward before asking me a clarifying question:
"Your Majesty, would it not be frightening for a little girl to travel in the company of huge spindly creatures such as myself?"
"Not at all. Lika spent several months in the company of two Alpha Iseyek. They were bodyguards she was given by General Savasss Jach. And even I, though initially quite skeptical, also became convinced that my child could never find more reliable protection, nor better-behaved playmates in the whole Universe."
Standing change. Your relationship with Triasss Zess has improved.
Presumed personal opinion of you: +85 (friendship)
Standing change. Iseyek race opinion of you has improved.
Alpha Iseyek race opinion of you: +25 (trusting)
Standing change. Iseyek race opinion of the Unatari State has improved.
Iseyek race opinion of the Unatari State: +6 (warm)
"Not all human children have such a calm reaction to those of my race. Your Majesty's daughter is wise beyond her years. And, who knows, perhaps Likanna and her good opinion of Swarm individuals will be the basis for a peace between our races that will last for decades. For me, it would be a massive honor to personally accompany Crown Princess Likanna to the Swarm Capital."
* * *
I was only able to get ahold of my eldest daughter ten hours later, after Lika's lessons were over. In her time-zone on the Throne World, it was already past midday. Before I could say anything, Likanna anxiously blurted out:
"Daddy, some weird people came to our school this morning. They were asking the teachers about me. I overheard part of their conversation. They want to take me to Tesse right after the end of the school year. They said they could get all the documents from the Orange House sorted out."
My heart immediately seized up in alarm. It was possible, of course, that representatives of my brother Roben royl Inoky ton Mesfelle had, in fact, come to the school. My brother had a warm opinion of Lika and it really would have been in character for him to invite the girl to spend her vacation on his planet. But Roben presumably would have warned me, if he were going to do that, and I never heard anything of the sort. That was why it seemed more probable to me that my daughter had attracted the interest of the Orange House Duchess, Inessa royl George ton Mesfelle.
With no time to delay, I suggested that Lika come out to Unatari at once on the insect starship. Ambassador Triasss Zess had already assured me that the Swarm diplomats had received all necessary permissions for their diplomatic ship to pass through human territory, and promised to send a plane out on my signal to the gates of her elite school.
"Lika, you'll be the first person to ever travel with Swarm diplomats and visit the insect capital Dekeye. Just imagine how your classmates will envy you after break! We'll meet in the Palace of Queen Nai Igir. I'll tell Ambassador Triasss Zess you'll soon be on your way out. Gather your things. The flight should be six or seven days, so make sure you're packed for that, then come outside."
"What a cool thing to do over break! Daddy, you're the very, very best! Alright then, I'm gonna run off and pack! I'll see you in six days!"
Standing change. Likanna royl Mesfelle-Unatari's opinion of you has improved.
Presumed personal opinion of you: -53 (enmity)
* * *
Everything was ready for my diplomatic mission to the Iseyek. At the very last moment, on Admiral Mike ton Akad's advice, I decided to leave Queen of Sin in Unatari and transfer my headquarters to the battleship Bride of Chaos. The admiral thought it would be safer that way. Beyond that, leaving the Crown Prince's luxurious yacht behind in the capital was meant to serve as a symbol to reassure the population of Unatari. If the Prince thought the situation safe enough to leave the crown jewel of his fleet behind, everything must have truly been fine.
We were already preparing to make the warp jump to Sigur, when a message came in from my former father-in-law. The leader of the Fastel system, Duke Valesy royl Unatari was in a manic state, clearly proud of himself.
"Georg, you won't believe what we found in the Varan system! As you planned, the Fastel fleet captured and turned off the Varan warp beacon without delay. After that, we attacked the Orange House military docks in the system, but we ran into problems. There were rocket installations, a great many laser cannon turrets and a squadron of defense corvettes. They put up quite fierce resistance. We lost six frigates and two landing ships. It was a miracle that our heavy assault cruiser Marta the Harlot survived. It will need at least two months of repair now. But it was all worth it. We found a carrier under construction at the military docks!"
My eyebrows shot up in astonishment. Admiral Mike ton Akad, sitting next to me, couldn't hold back a surprised whistle, after which he started asking questions about the trophy and how close it was to completion.
The old man on the screen smiled.
"The giant is almost finished, and we captured it undamaged. My soldiers have taken pictures of it from various angles. The assault group sent a video report."
"I'll set up a three-dimensional projection right away," Valian ton Corsa promised, and after a few seconds, the hologram appeared in the middle of the room.
Compared with the Thrush cruiser flying by in the foreground, this mothership was of truly impressive, colossal dimensions. It was an irregular shape, reminiscent of a twisted chain. It had powerful main thrusters, innumerable energy shield installations along the whole chassis, and a huge number of hangars for light ships and combat drones.
"A Quasar-model ship. Humanity's strike carrier," Admiral Mike ton Akad gasped in delight. "The Empire started working on these designs twenty years ago in response to the Swarm inventing the impenetrable Uukresh. According to calculations from our m
ilitary experts, the Quasar surpasses the Uukresh in all measures. A hundred light ships can fit on board instead of just eighty. It also has a higher-capacity energy shield. They hold the same number of drones, but a Quasar's drones are heavy, and have massive firepower. Quasars form the backbone of the First Imperial Fleet. I never thought I'd get the chance to see one in real life. And what's more surprising is to find this carrier in an Orange House station. The Imperial Joint Chiefs declared its design a strict secret. Peripheral Great Houses aren't supposed to have them. A Great House having one would upset the historical balance of power in the Empire!"
"Admiral, with all due respect, you are mistaken," Bionica said, checking something on a palmtop computer. "There are at least five known Quasars in Great House possession. The Blue House has one, the Purple has another, and the Green House has a whole three. All of them were built this year. It is also known that another two ships were blown up before being finished in the Tairan system, the former Red House capital, to make sure the Aliens wouldn't get their hands on them."
"You'd know better, hunk of metal. If all Great Houses were given permission to build them recently, I see nothing surprising in the fact that the Orange House got the go-ahead from the Emperor to build a Quasar, as well as all the blueprints necessary to do so. I even suspect that the reason for this was the battle in the Orange House Capital system. When the Sector Eight Fleet’s Uukresh displayed its extremely high effectiveness against a fleet of battleships, making them legal to own became non-negotiable."
I smiled at the memory. Yes, that battle had ended excellently. My fleet held out until our allies came against the whole Orange House, and the enemy couldn't do a thing to stand up to the thousands of drones from the Uukresh and Curses.
"Duke Valesy, can the Quasar get off the ground?" I clarified, but all he could do was shrug his shoulders.
Bionica then, studying the video, reassured me:
"The Quasar is in working order. The warp drives and main thrusters have already been installed. I don't see all the shield generators on the hologram, and the interior trim is not finished either. It is also totally lacking weaponry."
"In any case, this is a very valuable trophy, which must be brought to the Fia system immediately for completion. Duke, you can handle this issue yourself. Also, get together a list of the soldiers and commanders who distinguished themselves there. I will personally give them medals."
"My King, there is one more thing..."
I cut my former father-in-law off half way through the sentence and told him that he could address me as he had always done, by my first name, no titles needed. The old man smiled and continued:
"My assault troops captured the residential barracks at the Varan docks and detained over seven thousand people living there until further orders could be given. Most of them are workers at the orbital docks, but there were another couple hundred students from the Nessi Space Military Academy. All of them just graduated. They were being trained to crew the Quasar."
"Great news! You can let the workers go. They should get back to work. The docks will soon have some orders coming in. The students, though, should be informed of the political situation, then you should suggest that they swear loyalty to Unatari. Whoever refuses, arrest them. Those who agree should be put on the Quasar to fly it to Fia. They should be accompanied by the assault troops, though. Once there, my Truth Seeker will check their loyalty and out any potential traitors."
The old man took a bow and signed off. I turned to those gathered with the mission of thinking over the issue of why the Emperor suddenly changed the rules and allowed Great Houses to have heavier ships. Just a year ago, I had to explain to the Joint Chiefs why I had an Uukresh in my fleet, chalking it up to the unique nature of the situation and softening it by saying I was only renting the mothership from the Swarm temporarily. But now, all limitations on heavy ship ownership by Great Houses had been removed, and that was strange. Everyone went silent, not knowing what to say. I explained my interest in the issue:
"The only thing coming to mind for me is that the Imperial Fleet now has even heavier and more powerful ships, which would make the restriction on carriers in private aristocratic armies outdated. Bionica, check that out. Perhaps there is an android out there with information on superheavy ships."
Bionica shook her head in the negative.
"Crown Prince Georg, I already checked. No androids know anything about combat ships heavier than Quasar anywhere in Imperial space. Only the Aliens have starships of heavier classes than that."
"We should still check. This is the big-time now. Unatari is an independent government, and it is important for me to know what kind of forces other players have on the star map. Arite, I sent the money for twenty spies of your race today. After you prepare them, their first mission will be figuring out the exact size and composition of all fleets currently in Imperial space, and searching for superheavy ships."
* * *
I found myself in the medical wing of Bride of Chaos after some exhausting exercises in the gym. All my muscles were trembling so hard they were buzzing. My arms were shaking. A salty sweat was running into my eyes and streaming down my back. But I was prepared to make peace with all that, thinking it was the inevitable consequence of strength training. I was scared by something else, though. My heart was pounding rabidly. My upper blood pressure jumped to almost two hundred and was stubbornly refusing to go back down, leaving me with a nasty feeling, so I had to discontinue the exercising immediately.
The Crown Prince's flabby body was resisting all the use and strain, not wanting to return at accelerated pace to the more-or-less normal condition it had been in eight months prior. Pressing issues with my heart and joints crawled out of the woodwork, evidence of insufficient muscle tissue, an effect of crystal abuse. As such, I was forced to ask my personal doctor Nicosid Brandt for help. The old doctor heard my wishes out attentively, not forgetting to record the data-readers' outputs from my whole body on his tablet as he did so.
"We have already discussed how the addiction can be broken, Crown Prince. I could prepare microcapsules again, and inject them, but there's no guarantee you won't just order me to remove them again."
That meant Mr. G.I. himself had forced the old doctor to remove the capsules from my shoulders. The idiot! After my first contract, I had left him with a more-or-less healthy body, but my substitute had spoiled it all.
"I had one moment of weakness eight months ago, and now I am paying dearly for that mistake. I won't go back to the drugs ever again. You have my word as a Crown Prince!"
"Alright, I understand, your Majesty. I also understand your desire to lose weight quickly. What weight does the Crown Prince consider optimal?"
"I would like to reach one hundred ninety pounds three months from now."
The doctor stopped writing, set his tablet aside and looked me right in the eye.
"Crown Prince, you currently weigh three hundred pounds. With such a weak heart, it is extremely risky to lose weight in such an extremely short time span. As your personal doctor, I am categorically opposed to such a taxing program; it's too dangerous. I can help you lose forty pounds in three months without damaging your health, over a hundred is out of the question."
"Alright, let's say forty then. I am relying completely on your experience here. But as for my other issue, I need..."
I didn't finish the sentence, but Nicosid Brand had already figured out what I was after.
"Yes, I understand your wish, Crown Prince. I assure you that in a few months of treatment, your manhood will be back in working order. If you need it earlier... Don't be embarrassed, come to the medical wing. I can give you drugs for it. But as for your irregular heartbeat..."
The doctor's speech was interrupted by an incoming message from the communications officer.
"Your Majesty, the Truth Seeker Marian Sabati would like to speak with you. For some reason the call is coming from the Almir system, in the Imperial Core."
&
nbsp; Marian Sabati? The ghoulish child-killing avenger of the former Orange House Head? This could hardly have been another attempt at assassination, right? I demanded the Arite be found and brought in immediately. Florianna's voice rang out in my head just then:
"She has been badly weakened by the death of her master. Crown Prince, I would be capable of holding off any attack she could make now."
The Arite appeared, and, as I commanded, changed form to that of me in ceremonial uniform. I then stood aside, preparing to watch on the reserve monitor, remaining invisible to Marian. The fat graying man plopped down laboriously into an armchair in front of a huge screen with an old man's groan. He buttoned up his collar and spoke into the microphone with a powerful voice:
"Put her through!"
On screen, a tired looking middle-aged woman appeared with a gaunt face and black circles under her eyes. Somehow, I remembered Marian Sabati completely differently. She had been a dark-haired, constantly smiling girl no older than twenty by appearance, perfectly preserved at her ninety years and change. Nevertheless, the character popup confirmed that this was precisely the same woman:
Marian Sabati
Age: 92
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class: Mystic
Achievements: Master Psionic, Kills with a Glance, Punisher, Childkiller, Betrayed Master, Killed Master, Deserter, WANTED CRIMINAL!!!
Fame: 44
Reputation: -87
Presumed personal relationship: Unknown
Well, would you look at that! My jaw simply fell to the floor in surprise. Marian Sabati already had enough ghoulish descriptors in her info before. Childkiller, or Punisher, for example, but the list of achievements she had now looked simply shocking. And here I thought I had lots of dubious stuff in my profile. Marian Sabati's list of "achievements," though, made a somewhat bigger impression.