I breathed a heavy sigh.
"I do not know myself, cousin. Valian is pretty, happy, affectionate, and energetic... But she simply is not good enough to be my favorite. I find myself constantly comparing her with Astra, and every time, Valian comes in second. She would not be capable of simply existing at my side, adorning my retinue with her presence alone. Valian needs constant action, activity, and conversation. She can't even understand in theory the idea that a Crown Prince might have other business, or that he doesn't want to deal with his favorite all the time. She'd get bored right away, and try to attract my attention to her in different ways. Valian ton Corsa is an excellent, experienced and passionate lover. It is nice to spend an evening with her, blowing off steam. But with her temperament, she would never simply wait patiently for her master, then have a nice conversation with him over dinner. She'd go out looking for adventure on the side. I mean, judge for yourself. Do you think Astra would have left the room when you walked in? Not for anything in the world! She basically considered my cabin her legal property from day one. But Valian left, because she thinks of herself as a temporary guest here."
Katerina smiled, running her hand through my hair, tousling it.
"Don't be sad, cousin. You'll find another favorite, and you can just give Valian something to remember the nice evening by. But it cannot be money or jewelry. That is vulgar and shameful for any woman. She’d feel like her services were paid for. You need something immaterial that gives her reason for pride. The title Baroness of Unatari, for example. Or commission a picture of her from a famous painter, and hang it on the wall in fleet headquarters."
I smiled, thanked Katerina for the practical advice, and suggested we return to the topic she had come here to discuss. My cousin heard out my version of what had happened carefully. I told her in depth about all the pluses of giving asylum to Marian Sabati. Of course, I opted not to tell her that my real identity could have leaked, but there were enough rationales even without that.
"The eight billion is a convincing argument in her favor. And also, her abilities will clearly be of use, as will the blackmail material on other Imperial aristocrats. And, Georg, I just realized..." Katerina suddenly came to life, like a hound after picking up a scent. "Would a Truth Seeker even be capable of killing her master without dying shortly thereafter? As far as I've heard, a Truth Seeker should die, if they kill their own master. There's some kind of energy proximity with the master, or something like that. Why, then, is everyone wholesale accusing Marian Sabati of murder, not taking that mitigating factor into account?"
To be honest, I had never heard of such a limitation myself, which is why I had a personal consultant on such issues. I mentally called Florianna and asked her. The paralyzed girl answered instantly:
"Theoretically, a Truth Seeker is capable of attacking and killing her master, though she would suffer greatly in the process, and could even die from losing her energy source. There have been examples in history of visible aristocrats dying at the hands of their personal psionics. Though it is also known that the connection between master and Truth Seeker constantly grows stronger with the passage of time. At a certain point, a Truth Seeker will become completely dependent on her master and then, she really would not be able to harm him. For example, Miya is theoretically incapable of attacking anyone from the Mesfelle family. She wouldn't even be able to refuse an order from a Mesfelle. As such, it all depends on how long that Truth Seeker has been with her master."
I asked Katerina how many years Marian Sabati had been Avalle royl Anjer's Truth Seeker, and got an answer back immediately: seventy years.
"That is a very long time, Georg. Marian Sabati wouldn't have been able to kill the head of the Orange House. She would have died even thinking about killing the Duke like that."
I told Katerina Florianna's expert conclusion.
"We need to make an official declaration on it then, presenting her long term of service as evidence that Marian Sabati is not guilty!" My cousin became inspired, but then stopped herself. "Hold on! We can't do a thing. We're cut off from the Empire, and cannot send messages."
I opened up the Perimeter Sector Eight map on the screen and brought up a countdown timer separately, showing slightly less than nine minutes.
"I hope very much, cousin, that the ability to send messages will soon return to us. Let's wait another nine minutes and see. I'm right in the middle of a hunt for huge game here: the one-thousand-five-hundred-starship Green House Fleet has already crossed the Perimeter Sector Seven border and is in the Parn system. If they keep going all together like that, without providing defense for the rear, the warp beacons will be turning off in eight minutes on my order in the Closed Laboratories and the Parn system, trapping Crown Prince Demyen royl Amelius ton Lavaelle in the Forepost-31 system. Everything there is already ready to greet the uninvited guests. All the greenhouses in the Forepost-31 system have been destroyed. Stores of food and seeds have all been collected from the station and removed to Tialla. I do not know how much provisions the Green House ships brought with them, but in any case, it won't last too long, given it'll have to feed two million people."
Katerina kept silent for some time, staring at the map. After that, she turned to me:
"Don't you think this is all a bit too easy? It's a very crude trap. Do you not think that Crown Prince Demyen, considered one of the best fleet leaders in the Green House, might have seen through it?"
"They are moving fast. As far as they know, all the systems on their path are loyal to the Orange House. Truth be told, if it hadn't been for the hint from the Purple House head, we wouldn't even know this armada existed. After all, look, neither Marat ton Mesfelle, nor my own sister Crown Princess Violetta warned us about the threat, which is very strange. Do you really think it's possible that the Perimeter Sector Seven fleet commander could possibly not know about a huge military armada passing through territory under his control? Marat definitely knew, but didn't tell us. My twin sister also would've known. The Green House fleet's route went straight through her system, Damir. There's no way around it. But Violetta chose not to warn me about the threat either!"
"It really is strange. After all, we thought they were totally loyal. Practically our allies. Maybe they didn't get a chance? Strict surveillance from the Orange House, then the communications blockade and all..."
"As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. The Green House doesn't know that their plans have been revealed. If the trap works, the retransmitters from the Closed Laboratories and the Parn system will still be on before the Orange House turns off the communications link from their other beacons. You could easily make a couple of reports and official messages from the Unatari State. So then, get ready to go live."
"No, I think I'd better wait out the remaining four minutes with you. I'd like to see how it all ends. If the trap works, I swear I'll call you the greatest strategist in the Empire in my report!"
She began sauntering around the room, and picked up Bionica's wine-soaked dress again.
"It was a nice dress. It's too bad it was damaged beyond repair. Damir single-fiber silk looks fashionable, and is very pleasant to the touch as well. But you cannot wash it, as the thread dissolves in water. Your robot secretary ordered the dress from the same designer I ordered Astra's coronation outfit from. Such a nice dress is probably worth sixty thousand credits, maybe even seventy."
"I'll make sure to compensate Bionica for the loss then," I promised. "By the way, speaking of androids... Katerina, are you aware that the robots that arrived to Unatari brought significant capital to invest in state projects?"
My cousin laughed happily:
"You're asking if I know about that?! You can't be serious! Bionica and I started working on this plan way back when you were regent of Tesse! The last few days, your synthetic secretary and I have been spending fifteen hours a day sitting and looking through proposed investment projects, calculating balance sheets, capital efficiency, and all the rest. Those andr
oids brought us four billion credits, which is enough to turn Unatari-VII into an industrially developed planet with an orbital elevator, and high-speed magnetic train tracks between the huge islands. We’ll also be able to organize the settlement of the unused polar regions, and the installation there of three thermonuclear power plants..."
"Don't forget about the Fastel system. There are two inhabitable planets there with decent industry. They probably have quite a few development projects as well. Plus, it just seems like the human thing to do, supporting my father-in-law and paying him back for all he's done."
Katerina nodded in the affirmative. The time had come! Bride of Chaos emerged from the warp tunnel into regular space. I was instantly inundated by a wave of messages that had accumulated over the last few days. Something important flashed by. A large font system message, so I took a closer look:
The Head of the Orange House, Duchess Inessa royl George ton Mesfelle has died at age 152.
ATTENTION! The new head of the Orange House will be Duchess Silva royl George ton Mesfelle (50.3% of votes)
Utterly flabbergasted, I looked at my cousin. Katerina was looking at me, no less lost herself.
"Gather all the information you can on the death of Duchess Inessa immediately!" I ordered my officers, continuing to read incoming messages as I did.
There it was! The pre-established signal from the Parn system. The little birdie flew right into the trap!
"Communications officer, I order you to open the envelope and send the enclosed signal to the warp beacons in Forepost-31, the Closed Laboratories, and Parn."
Around a minute went by, and a series of new system messages ran before our eyes:
The Orange House has lost sovereignty over the Parn system
The Unatari State has gained sovereignty over the Parn system
The Orange House has lost sovereignty over the Closed Laboratories system
The Unatari State has gained sovereignty over the Closed Laboratories system
The Orange House has lost sovereignty over the Forepost-31 system
The Unatari State has gained sovereignty over the Forepost-31 system
"That's all, cousin. Now we wait for the Green House to react. They should realize what's happened soon enough. And yes, send congratulations to my brother Roben royl Inoky ton Mesfelle in my name. Somehow, Roben has become Count of the Orange House, first in line to the ducal throne!"
* * *
I was in a shuttle en route to the orbital laboratories, when a call came in from my brother Roben royl Inoky. To be honest, my first reaction was apprehension. My brother hadn't called me in a very long time, and with the very harsh limits on all contact from Unatari, such a call looked, at the very least, strange. But Florianna confirmed that it really was my brother on the line.
"Hey there, little brother!" Roben was looking tired and haggard. "I received your belated congratulations, and decided to get in touch."
"Sorry, Roben. We were under complete communications blockade, which is why we just found out about the death of Duchess Inessa. But, tell me, what happened to her? I can't find any information, everything is classified."
Roben took a heavy sigh and even slumped a bit.
"What really happened there, I don't even know myself in earnest, little brother. According to the official version, the Duchess was on her yacht on the way from Sector Nine to the Throne World, accompanied by a large escort of ships. And in the Kammo system, when trying to dock at the station to charge her yacht, the mechanical hauling arms punched through it broadside, breaking the vacuum seal. As a result, two neighboring cabins lost pressurization and fifteen people died instantly. One of the damaged cabins happened to belong to Duchess Inessa. And also, for some reason, the automatic danger alarm didn't sound. The emergency repressurization system and rescue system both malfunctioned as well. Her experienced bodyguards, who had almost twenty seconds of time after the disaster, got confused for some reason, not able to even do simple tasks like lowering the face masks on their armored space suits, so they all died together with the civilians they were guarding."
"That's not possible!" I confidently declared to my brother. "I have watched bodyguard training with my own eyes a number of times, and have even participated in spacesuit demonstrations so they could practice rescuing me. Those guys pressurize their space suits as a reflex at the first sign of any abnormal situation. In a whole twenty seconds, they should have been able to secure themselves and remove the individuals they were guarding to a safe place, providing them protection and air to breath along the way."
"You're right, it isn't really possible. But are you not bothered by the rather improbable accident, as well, brother? How often do upper aristocrats' pleasure yachts, having the best captains and crews around, crash into space station equipment? The last time something like this happened was around three hundred years ago, and I'm not even sure that was an accident. The fact that the Duchess’s cabin precisely was damaged, that doesn't surprise you either? Brother, it's no coincidence. In the last, not-even-full year, the Orange House has changed leadership four times! And how many other aristocrats have been removed from the list of heirs, including Crown Princes, Viscounts and others! Little brother, I'm really scared, because I don't understand what's going on. Someone's clearing a path to the Orange House throne. That much is obvious, but who? Of course, it couldn't be you or Violetta. I do not suspect you. All the more so now that you’ve voluntarily crossed yourself out of the line of succession. But then who? I mean, you congratulated me for receiving the title of Count, but my gut tells me the higher I go up the line of succession, the shorter my life gets. Remember my words, Georg. It won't be even a year before I’m also out of the picture. I’m having some very bad premonitions, little brother!"
"If it's all so rancid, then to hell with the Orange House. Join Unatari!" I offered, but my brother could only laugh in reply:
"If only it was that easy... Right now, the Orange House spooks and troops placed in Tesse number many times more than my forces. All I have to do is mention leaving the Orange House in passing, and that same day I'll be replaced, and maybe even buried immediately. I cannot allow that, even if it is for my son and heir. So, forgive me, Georg, I'll have to take a pass again. I do not want to take part in any new adventures. I will follow all laws and norms of the Orange House to make sure no one suspects me of separatism, and I will be left in peace."
"But does this conversation not constitute a breach of Inessa royl George's rules?"
"Don't remind me of that name! That bitch is dead. She died and turned into a desiccated hunk of meat. On Tesse, we had a state holiday to mark the occasion. The whole planet hated the Duchess. Over the few days her harsh rule lasted, she put thousands of people behind bars and nationalized the property of hundreds of Tesse companies for the Orange House's benefit. The new Head, Silva royl George has yet to confirm whether these recently passed laws are still in effect, though she has spoken on the blockade of Unatari."
Roben suddenly grew gloomy, his tone becoming anxious and tragic.
"I complete forgot... Georg, did you know that your daughter Likanna has disappeared? Investigators recently came to my palace. They had information that she had allegedly been invited to Tesse, together with some friends, and that she had promised to return some papers from here to her school. But, I swear to you, brother. I know nothing whatsoever of your daughter nor the other Crown Princesses that disappeared. Information on what happened is subject to very strict censorship, but rumor has it that the group of girls disappeared directly from the Throne World school they were studying at."
I scratched my head in contemplation, digesting the information I'd received. Afterwards, I tried to calm my brother in any case:
"Everything with Lika is fine. All it is, I've been told, is that there are some unknown figures using fake documents who want to kidnap my daughter directly from school, but I managed to hide her in a safe place. As for the other girls, I have no idea. My trus
ted representatives were only supposed to pick up Likanna."
Just then, I discovered a letter from Lika among the bunch of information that came in four days ago, and I opened it right away:
"Dad, everything's fine. We already left the Throne World. I asked my two best friends, Crown Princess Joan royl Reyekh and Crown Princess Natalie royl Cruz to come with me, and they agreed happily. The girls didn't write to their parents, though. They were afraid their parents would say 'no.' So, you should warn the Purple and Blue Houses before they get worried. Everything over here is good. Cool even. The captain gave each of us one big Alpha Iseyek, and I taught my friends how to paint them. Not too long ago, we picked up a tired old lady named Marian Sabati at a station, and now she's coming with us. She's been sleeping for three days already. She hasn’t even woken up once. Joan royl Reyekh even gave the old lady a new haircut so she’ll have something to be happy about once she wakes up. Kisses. Dad, you're the very best."
I released a dying groan and held my head in my hands. So now, beyond sheltering the wanted Marian Sabati, I would also be accused of kidnapping three Crown Princesses. Just what I needed. Ugh. Why am I being punished like this?!
The proper thing to do here was immediately inform the Purple and Blue Houses of what had happened. And also inform the Imperial secretariat. No matter how you looked at it, the missing Crown Princesses were studying on the Throne World, which meant they were technically under the protection of the Emperor. But there was one small nuance. After announcing the fact that the girls were safe, I would certainly be ordered to say where they were as well. And I couldn’t get away with just lying, either. The consequences were too serious. If Triasss Zess's ship was still in Perimeter Sector Nine space, it would be captured, regardless of its diplomatic status, all the Princesses, including Likanna, would be picked up, and Marian Sabati would be arrested. Triasss Zess didn't answer my attempt to call him. Clearly, his ship was in warp jump and thus unavailable. I would have to wait to figure this all out.
New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) Page 18
