"I'm in no mood to joke around. I'm not planning on any acts of hostility, either," the Truth Seeker uttered, barely having looked at the Arite. "I wanted to talk with the ruler of Unatari himself, not his double."
Though it may not have been my smartest move from a safety standpoint, I came on screen and gave a slight nod of my head to greet the ghastly woman. Marian Sabati took one glance at me in my sweat-soaked work-out clothes and began to speak. I heard notes of clear desperation in her voice:
"Georg, only a few people in the whole Empire know what really happened yesterday: you, me and some people in your inner circle. Even the Truth Seekers gathered for your assassination did not know who exactly the target of the focused attack was. So, the fact that my master died at the same time was sufficient reason to suspect me of murdering Duke Avalle royl Anjer. The Orange House coroner carried out my master's autopsy with the help of an official representative of the Dark Mother, and they came to the unambiguous conclusion that he died violently at the hands of a powerful Truth Seeker. The Orange House Head, Duchess Inessa royl George ton Mesfelle immediately accused me of secretly working for Unatari and killing Duke Avalle royl Anjer ton Mesfelle, giving me a death sentence in absentia as punishment. With the death of my master, I lost practically all power. As such, the only thing I could actually do was flee Orange House space to the Imperial Core. But even here, I didn't find protection. The Imperial secretariat agreed with the Orange House accusations, and confirmed the death sentence."
The woman on screen suddenly fell to her knees:
"Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle, I officially request asylum in the Unatari State. I realize perfectly well that your Majesty has no particular basis to trust me, but I am prepared to swear by my abilities as a Truth Seeker and on my life that I will not bring harm to your Majesty, nor anyone close to you. I would do anything to prove my faithfulness to you as my new master."
Marian Sabati was kneeling in silence, awaiting my reaction. I then called my cousin Katerina royl Unatari and clarified what information was in the official Unatari State press release on the death of the Orange House Head.
"Cousin, it's a whole story... While I was preparing the official, angry version explaining the killing of Duke Avalle as a response to an assassination attempt on you, the Orange House managed to declare that the ancient Duke Avalle had died of natural causes. After that, it seemed somewhat strange and even stupid to out ourselves for having murdered the Head of the Orange House and so, I limited my scope, turning it into an official condolence letter. And then the miracles began. The Duke's own Truth Seeker was accused of his murder, and she even fled, confirming all their suspicions in the process. As you understand, it now looks like we are not at all involved in this matter. But tell me, why are you asking?"
"Duke Avalle's former Truth Seeker is requesting asylum on Unatari territory."
"Under no circumstances, Georg! She is a wanted criminal in the whole Empire for the murder of a member of the upper aristocracy! She will be given the death penalty, as will anyone who can be labeled an accomplice or accessory. Refuse her and immediately inform the authorities of the star system the call is coming from!"
I hung up with Katerina and turned back to Marian Sabati, who was still kneeling. The woman had already somehow guessed my intention to refuse to give her asylum and, looking me right in the eyes, said:
"Your Majesty, allow me to say a few words. After all, I am not simply requesting asylum, but offering you my services. Yes, I have now lost nine tenths of my power, but that is merely temporary. I promise that I will be able to quickly restore my power and become one of the top ten Truth Seekers again. I have a huge amount of experience, and it is not exclusively in murdering enemies of my master as many believe. I could heal your paralyzed girl Florianna, and your personal assistant Ayna, for example. I could also help Valian ton Corsa, who you clearly have some affection for. She still needs to use powders and creams to cover up the traces of burns and scars on her face, you know."
Well, shit... I started thinking. The things this dangerous wanted criminal was offering me were things that were very important to people close to me. But all the same, I intended to refuse Marian Sabati, as the harm from providing asylum to her was no less than the benefit she offered.
"That is not all... Ruslan. I know a great deal about many aristocrats, including Crown Princes and Crown Princesses, and this knowledge is of great value to a number of political forces. I'm sure that I have something I could offer to whatever new master I may have. I really do prefer to live amongst allies than enemies."
"Ruslan, she called you by name, did you catch that? She wasn't able to read any information during this conversation. I am completely protecting your thoughts. Miya also renewed her protection. The defense probably failed all the way back during the battle in the Orange House Capital. Marian Sabati is the only surviving member of the group that attacked you back then."
A very unambiguous hint. This Truth Seeker was offering to help, and if I refused, she was threatening to reveal my secret identity.
"Marian, even if I gave my permission, I don't see how I could get you to Unatari space due to the blockade on the part of the Orange House."
The woman on screen smiled and said in a silken voice:
"The only thing I ask of your Majesty is to provide me with asylum. Let me deal with how I will reach Unatari State space. Although... I am reminded of a diplomatic ship currently rushing to get out of the Throne World. It will soon be flying through the Almir system. That little ship would be perfectly capable of picking me up on its way. I am a very easygoing passenger. I'll sleep the whole way. It's been so long since I could really immerse myself in a crystal dream. But my being on board is also a guarantee that the starship will not raise the attention of any Orange House intelligence service, and will sneak through Sector Nine with no problems."
"How do you know all this?" I couldn't hold back my surprise.
Marian Sabati smiled:
"Crown Prince Georg, even in my weakened state, backed into a corner as I am, I am still capable of a lot, if it means saving my own life. I mean, I'm a wanted criminal in the whole Empire, and whoever gives me shelter will have plenty of bad things to worry about. But whoever helps me get to safety, I am willing to give a great deal. I know many secrets of the Great Houses. In addition, I have brought a crystal memory drive with blackmail material on practically all prominent Imperial aristocrats. This information could destroy a great many of your enemies, Crown Prince. I will try to restore my power quickly, in parallel healing and training your girl Florianna."
"Alright, Marian. Your request for asylum is granted. I expect a full oath of loyalty from you the very moment we meet in the Swarm capital at Queen Nai Igir's palace."
Standing change. Marian Sabati's opinion of you has improved.
Presumed personal opinion of you: -3 (indifferent)
"Thank you, your Majesty. You made the right choice. You will not regret this decision. And finally, I have information that, in eleven minutes, an order from Duchess Inessa royl George ton Mesfelle will completely cut the Unatari State off from all Imperial communication channels. Time enough, as it were, for me to swear an oath, and for your Majesty to send a message to the Swarm ship to pick me up in the Almir system. And that, let's say, is to pay for my ticket. Check the balance in your account. I have just taken funds from all of my former master's accounts before his heirs could get their hands on it, and given it to you. As the Orange House declared an economic blockade on Unatari, you can consider these funds a military trophy."
The account balance change alert beeped. I opened the finances window in the internal interface and froze in shock. Marian Sabati, my new partner, had just sent me a money transfer of eight billion credits. It would seem that I had just become an accessory in the robbery of a dead man.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Ruslan. To be honest, her methods frighten me. Look at the crime blotter from the Almir system. An hour
ago, the Almir-V police searched a container ship coming from the Orange House Capital that was not responding to landing service transmissions. The whole crew of the freighter was dead. No one knows exactly how they died. I’m fairly sure I could guess the name of their cause of death, though. Right now, Marian Sabati is still weak, but she will restore her abilities quickly, and even a month or two from now, she will be beyond my control. No matter what happens, you've let a dangerous predator into your home. Although, I admit, I was hoping you'd make this choice, and am thankful to you for the healing I will receive."
* * *
The same day, at night (though the words "night" and "day" were used only out of force of habit during interstellar space travel), when the battleship Bride of Chaos was charging at the Forepost-13 station, my assistant Ayna found me to complain:
"Crown Prince, I just found out that you ordered your butler to set a table in your cabin for two people to have a romantic dinner. I wanted to remind you that your wife Miya left me an order to stop her husband from such liaisons."
"Yes, yes, I remember you talking about 'hound dogs' and 'crystals.' Let's just say you did warn me, and even tried to stop me in many ways, so you can have a clean conscience. It's just that my wife and I have our own understandings, and I am in no way planning on violating them. By the way, Ayna, I have great news for you. I found a way to heal your wounds. Soon, the Truth Seeker Marian Sabati will come to Unatari territory. She's a master psionic and one of the strongest Truth Seekers. She found herself out of a job after the death of Duke Avalle royl Anjer, so I invited her to come here. Unlike my wife Miya, this Truth Seeker is capable of more than just killing and maiming. She can also restore damaged organs, for example."
My assistant suddenly began crying, then said with tears welling up in her eyes:
"Crown Prince Georg, you have no idea what an important thing you've just done for me. I am so grateful to you! You have given me hope after so many years of despair. I would do anything for you now, Crown Prince!"
Standing change. Ayna Mentor's opinion of you has improved.
Presumed personal opinion of you: +73 (trusting)
Just then, the elevator doors opened and Valian ton Corsa came out in our direction. The beauty's red hair, just having grown all the way back out, was carefully smoothed and wonderfully shiny. The bright crimson lipstick she was wearing combined perfectly with her haircut, as did the chic evening dress with a very deep neckline she was wearing. By the way, the dress was very familiar to me. Bionica had ordered it for herself in the Damir system, and had been wearing it for Astra royl Veyerde's coronation. Valian, though, hadn't been at the coronation. The girl had been undergoing treatment in the burn unit, so there was no way she could've known the dress's history.
I suspect that Valian had asked her synthetic friend Bionica to lend her the beautiful dress for the evening. And the android, from all her innumerable outfits, had chosen precisely this one, knowing perfectly well that I would recognize the dress. It wouldn't have been the first time I had caught my android secretary playing games, and this subtle sabotaging of a romantic rival was just her style. And it turned out that Bionica was well informed of where her friend was headed...
"Alright, I did my job, my conscience is clean. I will not stop you now," Ayna smiled craftily, then hurried to leave.
Popori de Cacha appeared from invisibility, saying that he needed to go to a training session with his Chameleons in the gym, so there wouldn't be any invisible bodyguards around me until morning. He would also be taking Phobos with him, as my huge bodyguard also needed to get exercise every so often.
"Where are they all going off to?" Valian asked in surprise, watching as the herd of creatures of all races headed for the elevator.
"They all have their own things, but suspiciously well timed. The Crown Prince wanted to spend a quiet evening with a red-headed beauty he hadn't seen for seven long months. He naively supposed that a modest dinner for two wouldn't attract the attention of the others. But now, it would seem that the whole battleship crew has been made aware of our date. All four thousand of them, both people and unpeople. They might as well have announced it over loudspeaker."
Valian chuckled happily:
"I'll never get used to it. I remember a year ago, when your Highness held me up for the whole Universe as his lover. All the news channels were yammering on about it. But, this time, it was surprising. I go down the ship's halls, and everyone turns to look at me. Some were even congratulating me on something. Doctor Nicosid Brandt intercepted me near the elevator and asked me to give you a sealed box with something, saying: 'The Crown Prince will know what's inside.'"
"I can guess," I smiled, taking the plastic box with little pills shaking around inside. "As everyone on the ship already knows about our dinner together, what is there to be embarrassed about? Come in." I opened the door to my cabin with a wide gesture, inviting my new favorite to come into the room.
A Glimmer of Hope
Despite the fact that our internal clock on Bride of Chaos was showing early morning, I had already been up for some time working behind a computer screen. I was trying to figure out the optimal composition for a heavy fleet arranged around a core of three carriers. For once, I had the funds, available docks and construction materials to build starships. Now was precisely the time to put together the basis for Unatari's future power. But the question now was what ship class should be my focus. Should I invest in heavy battleships with huge firepower? Or build several hundred stealth bombers that could turn enemy ships to dust? Should I make a whole fleet of electronic warfare cruisers that could render the enemy ships totally helpless? Or should I focus on combat drones, and build another two huge motherships at my docks?
I looked at the clock. There were twenty minutes left before Bride of Chaos came out of the warp tunnel into the Fia system. I had woken up at this ungodly hour not so much out of a desire to get to work bright and early as from anxiety about the news from the border between Perimeter Sectors Seven and Eight. Six hours earlier, the automatic probe installed in the Parn system had sent a short encoded message saying that the one-thousand-five-hundred-starship Green House armada had arrived in the star system, and was now past Perimeter Sector Seven. I was calculating how much time they'd need to charge energy before the next jump to the Forepost-31 system. I got approximately four hours, due to the huge number of battleships in the fleet of Crown Prince Demyen royl Amelius ton Lavaelle and the limited number of charging ports available in the system.
The estimated time had already passed two hours ago, and I wanted to know the results. All the same, while Bride of Chaos was still in the warp tunnel, I couldn't get any messages from outside, so I had to wait. In twenty or so minutes, I'd find out whether the enemy had moved on yet... I was so anxious to know the result at this point that it hurt. I felt like a fisherman waiting for a very big fish to bite. But no fisherman in history had ever gone after game of this size.
I shuddered, as the door into the hallway slid aside, and an enraged fury burst into my cabin, screaming from the moment she crossed the threshold:
"Georg, have you lost your damn mind?! Is everything OK with your head? What body part were you thinking with when you gave asylum to a dangerous criminal, wanted the Empire over?!"
My cousin flew into the room without warning or even so much as a knock. The Duchess of Unatari had a pass that gave her the right to open whatever door she chose on the ship, as well as ignore guard posts. I looked in shame at Phobos, frozen next to the door, but the huge, ten-foot-tall Alpha Iseyek could only guiltily pop his eyes into his shell, and fold up his upper appendages, not wanting to intervene in this argument between cousins.
"Don't make a sound. You'll wake Valian," I pointed to the sleeping red-headed beauty.
Katerina stopped abruptly in the middle of the room and went silent, looking with interest at the traces of the previous day's impetuous merrymaking. A bold declaration written on the wall with a laser pisto
l, women's shoes on the table next to boxes of candy and unfinished cake. Carelessly thrown right into a puddle of spilled wine was a once chic, light-colored dress. My cousin had enough energy to lift up Bionica's dress and, shaking her head in judgment, stared at the raspberry-colored stain in the fabric.
"I'm not sleeping. I'll leave. I don't want to get in the way of your conversation." Valian ton Corsa, awoken by the scream, and having become an unwilling observer to a shouting match, jumped up from the bed and, covering her nakedness with a pillow, hurried to leave my cabin, not even daring to take the dress from the terrifying Duchess.
My cousin Katerina cast a long gaze at the retreating beauty and, when the doors had closed behind Valian, said with a smirk:
"It looks like leaving your bedroom naked is becoming a tradition for her. In her frightened state, though, she must have forgotten that this isn't Queen of Sin, where she'd only need to walk a hundred steps in the nude. On this huge battleship, she'll have to take three elevators and walk down almost a half mile of crowded hallways to get from your bunk to the women's dormitory wing."
I waved it off carelessly:
"Don't you worry about Valian. She won't get embarrassed in the least. At the same time, her fame will shoot up sharply, and her personal relations are sure to go up with any soldiers from the battleship crew she meets along the way, so she'll make out quite well."
My cousin looked at me somewhat surprised and anxious:
"Georg, I barely recognize you. I feel some kind of apathy and indifference in you. Was the redhead not enough?"
New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) Page 17
