by neetha Napew
“She certainly did.”
“Please come with me.”
* * *
Nyk looked over Janna's bedchamber. The walls were draped with brocaded curtains. Ambient light emanated from fixtures dripping with iridescent baubles.
“I recognize this room,” he said. “Janna answered my vidphone call from here.” He approached the wide, canopy bed, sat on it and bounced up and down. “It'll be quite an experience sleeping in a princess's bed. I wonder if this is where Mykkoin was conceived.”
“That I don't know,” Andra replied. “I do know Janna and Mykko are devoted to each other. Daya tells me they sleep together every night without fail.”
“So, no swapping bedpartners for them.”
“I wasn't invited to spend the night with either of them,” she replied.
“Were you expecting to?”
“Janna and I used to make love at Vebinad.”
“I had surmised as much.”
“Their sort of fidelity reminds me of Earth practices,” Andra observed. She unclasped the buckle, slipped out of the shield-belt and stepped into a private lavatory.
Nyk turned down the covers and slid in. Andra stepped from the lavatory and lay beside him. He rolled to face her and stroked her white eyebrows. “My kindred spirit and friend- for-life,” he said. He leaned toward her and kissed her lips. Then he took her hand and placed it upon his chest.
She shook her head. “We shouldn't.”
“You're not in the mood?”
“How would Sukiko feel?”
“She and I have talked about the differences between Earth and Floran attitudes.”
“Does she understand?”
“I don't know for sure.”
“Nykkyo, as much as I love you and want you, I want your happiness more. Your happiness depends upon a loving relationship with your Earth woman. You and I dare not do anything to jeopardize that.” She stroked his cheek. “I spent time on Earth -- enough time to pick up a bit of the language and some of the customs. Some day, Sukiko will understand the Floran way -- and, she will do so with her heart. Until then, we mustn't.”
“Of course, you're right.” Nyk slipped his arm around her and she cuddled against him. “What if something happens to either of us and we're unable to reach that day?”
“If that's the path Destiny is tracing for us -- so be it.” She kissed his cheek. We'll forever have those days in Sudal.”
* * *
Daya pinned Andra's hair back and handed her the tiara. “We must hurry -- the press conference is about to begin.”
Nyk followed Andra and Daya to the auditorium where they had heard the schoolchildren. A pair of chairs had been set on the stage. The seats were filled. Wygann was standing on the stage behind a curtain. “The conference will be broadcast colony-wide. I've instructed the cameraman not to dwell on my consort, but to make it clear she's by my side.” He crooked his arm and Andra slid hers through. An aide parted the curtains and the two stepped onto the stage.
Nyk stood beside Daya and watched the proceedings on a vidisplay. The camera held a medium shot on the two of them engaging in small talk. Wygann patted Andra's forearm and she looked ahead, sitting straight with her hands folded in her lap. The camera zoomed to a tight shot of Wygann.
“The poise they're taught,” Nyk said. “It's amazing.”
“She's so convincing,” Daya replied. “I must keep reminding myself it's not Janna.”
Wygann began fielding questions from members of the audience. The image in the vidisplay cut back and forth between the tight shot of Wygann and shots of the audience.
“Who's the one who seems to be trying to get Andra's attention?” Nyk asked, gesturing toward a disheveled-looking older man with long, unkempt grey hair.
“That's Zygon Vellod.”
“That's Vellod? You let him into the palace?”
“Vellod's still a member of the colonial senate, and a citizen of this colony. Until we can prove he's involved in something illegal, we can't touch him. He's been cautious not to do anything that can be directly tied to himself. Even the threats he delivers are constructed so he can credibly deny them.”
“At least as long as he's in the palace, an assault is unlikely.”
“That's some comfort, I guess.”
“Andra's ignoring him. Was she briefed he might be here?”
“No. I think she knows instinctively how to deal with someone who's trying to be disruptive.”
“I've always hated the finishing schools,” Nyk said. “I had a poor opinion of the ax'amfinen. Now that I know Andra, I see how wrong I was.”
“I felt the same way. After Mykko won the chancellorhood and we heard he was looking for a consort, I felt he was making a big mistake. Then, notices were posted that Janna needed an assistant. I needed work, so I interviewed and was awarded the job. I fell in love with her almost immediately. She's strong but kind -- so beautiful and so gracious...”
Wygann took the last question. The image on the vidisplay cut to the colonial emblem. Nyk could hear the hub-bub of the audience filing out of the hall.
“Mykko!” From his vantage behind the curtain, Nyk heard a voice. He stood close so he could hear. “I have a proposal for you.”
“What now, Zygon?” he heard Wygann answer.
“A plebiscite! Turn the question over to the people.”
“Zygon, I'm not about to subject the population to another election.”
“You fear the results.”
“I know the outcome. There's no need to subject Lexal to the expense and inconvenience of an election when the outcome is clearly predictable. We've already had two elections on the issue.”
“But, not one with observers.”
“What do you mean?”
“Outside observers to monitor the fairness of the vote. We could enlist the services of impartial third parties.”
“Parties from where?” Nyk heard Wygann ask.
“From wherever. I'm sure some other colonies would be more than happy to provide monitoring teams.”
Nyk peeked through the curtains. Andra was still seated with her hands in her lap. Wygann was standing at the edge of the stage, bent over speaking with someone on the floor below.
“Fair enough,” Wygann said. “We'll call another plebiscite.”
“I'll make arrangements for impartial observers.”
“And, I'll make arrangements for observers to watch the observers,” Wygann replied. “To make sure the watchers are as impartial as the election will be. Now, Zygon, if you'll excuse us.”
Nyk watched as the old man turned and headed down the aisle toward the door. Andra stood and walked with Wygann through the curtains.
“In a way, I wish he'd try something,” Wygann said. “It would give us an excuse to detain him or at least ban him from the palace.”
Nyk followed Andra and Daya as they headed back to the chancellor's quarters in the palace. “I'll order lunch,” Daya said.
“I don't understand why Wygann doesn't simply haul Vellod in,” Nyk said.
“Mykko's not a monarch,” Andra replied. “This colony is still governed by the rule of law. One reason the people are so solidly behind Mykko is his respect for their rights.”
Nyk looked out the dining room window. A dense fog was settling around the palace.
“Looks like a spell of dirty weather.”
* * *
Nyk lay in Janna's bed with Andra sleeping at his side. He could hear her deep, regular breathing. He closed his eyes and attempted to will himself to sleep. A heavy rain pelted against the floor-length windows. Images danced in Nyk's head. He wondered how Suki was doing on her dig in Turkey. He thought about Janna and Mykkoin on Floran. Slowly he pushed intrusive thoughts aside and began to empty his mind. He relaxed his body and modulated his breathing.
Something made a tap at the window. His eyes opened wide and he felt his heart jump. He heard the sound again.
Nyk jumped up and in the dim light proceeded to the
dresser. He found the drawer from which Janna had withdrawn her handgun. He opened it, grasped the weapon and stood near the door, facing the window with his hand on the ambient lighting actuator.
The window cracked open and a figure slinked into the bedchamber. Nyk switched on the lights. “Freeze!” he commanded, pointing the handgun at the intruder. “Freeze or I shoot.”
The intruder shouted a word out the window and Nyk saw a skimmer pull away. “You'll have to kill me,” the intruder said. He walked toward Nyk. “Shoot me. Go ahead -- press the trigger.” Nyk backed away from him until he was against the wall. “Do it -- press the trigger ... coward.”
The intruder grasped the gun barrel, wrenched it from Nyk's hand and threw it onto the floor. Andra sat up and screamed. She pressed her hand over the proximity pad beside the bed. The door to the corridor opened and Daya stepped in. She saw the intruder and pressed an alarm button.
Guards, weapons drawn, began streaming into the room. The intruder attempted to make a run for the window. One of the guards lunged and tackled him. Two other guards jumped on him.
“It appears an attempt to abduct you, Princess,” Daya said. “Everything's under control.”
The guards escorted the intruder down the corridor.
“Perhaps you should return to the guestroom for tonight,” Daya said.
Nyk picked up the handgun and replaced it in the dresser drawer. “It's a good thing I couldn't sleep.”
“Why didn't you shoot him?” Andra asked.
“I couldn't. I didn't have the interlock key.”
Daya led them to the guestroom Nyk had been using. “We'll post a guard. I'm sure the security forces will want to go over Princess's bedchamber with a fine comb.” She snapped her salute and left the guestroom. Nyk slid into bed.
Andra snuggled against him. “That was too close.”
* * *
Daya entered the dining room, picked up a breakfast cake and sat at the table. “What do we know about last night?” Nyk asked.
“We know someone slipped a skimmer past our perimeter guard. With the weather so bad, it wasn't too difficult a thing to do. Someone on the palace staff defeated the alarm and jimmied the latch on the bedchamber window so it could be pushed open from the outside. We're collecting physical evidence to determine who the culprit might be. Until then, the private quarters are off-limits to all except those whose loyalty is unimpeachable.”
“What of the intruder?” Andra asked. “Has he been interrogated?”
“No. He's dead.”
“A suicide?” Nyk asked. “Is Vellod desperate enough to send operatives on suicide missions?”
“It's even more intriguing. It appears our intruder had been ... equipped with a medical implant. This particular drug has the property of interacting with truth drug -- with fatal results.”
“Vellod has interrogation-proofed his operatives.”
“I wonder if he knew the purpose of the implant,” Andra added. “This certainly demonstrates to what lengths our enemy is willing to go.”
“He was armed with an injector loaded with a strong sedative,” Daya continued. “No doubt the plan was to drug and abscond with the princess. Our security guards shot two more dead in Mykkoin's nursery. Chancellor is very distressed. His security chief has tendered his resignation.”
Wygann entered the dining room. “I'm terribly sorry,” he said to Andra. “On the other hand, if you had not had a bed partner, you might be in Vellod's hands right now.”
“What do you think he would've done once he realized Andra wasn't the princess?” Nyk asked.
Wygann shook his head. “I don't know. I'm ordering the palace closed. There will be no more tours or live audiences. My experts are going over the bodies of the intruders looking for anything that'll connect them to Vellod so we can move against him.”
“What were their IDs?” Nyk asked.
“They're all Altians,” Wygann replied. “I don't know how much stronger evidence we need of inter-colonial collusion in this affair. I don't understand why the HL is so blind.” He handed Nyk a handheld vidisplay. “This is a statement from Vellod. 'Lexal chancellor refuses to hold monitored elections.' It's utter rubbish.”
“What's on the agenda for today?” Andra asked.
“Nothing. I'm meeting all day with my security chiefs.” Wygann bolted down a breakfast cake. “We have re-established offworld communications -- on a limited basis. We have the palace vidisplays back online. The rest of the colony is maintaining a communications blackout.” He headed out of the dining room.
* * *
Nyk sat at the vidisplay in his guestroom.
“All deniable,” Kronta said. “I agree with you and Janna that, at the very least, Altia is involved in this. But, until someone does something that's undeniable, the HL won't commit the strike force.”
“Not even in defense of the legal and rightful government of one of the colonies? Certainly the other colonial governments are uncomfortable with the notion of one colony working to destabilize another.”
“They're even more uncomfortable with the notion of the HL intervening in colonial affairs,” Kronta replied. “Look, Nyk -- I've met with Janna and I agree with you and with her. But -- we must have undeniable evidence.”
“What about Janna's credentials?”
“The Altian and Deltan delegates' credentials are equally valid. Its her word against theirs.”
“Then, what about the Altian agents who attempted to abduct Janna and her child?”
“The fact someone was born on Altia doesn't make them an Altian agent. Again, it's the issue of deniability. Look, Nyk -- I'm as frustrated in this as you are. My hands are tied. I want you and Andra off that planet. I want both of you on the next packet if you have to stand.”
“We can't. Wygann's ordered the planet sealed. He's closed the shuttleport and ordered the fleet parked on the runways to prevent any craft from taking off or landing.”
“I'll work with Veska to find a way to get you two off that colony.” The vidphone session went dark.
The doorchime sounded. “Come,” Nyk said.
The door slid open and Andra walked in. “Nothing to do but wait,” she said.
“I hate being cooped up.”
“Wygann doesn't even want us walking in the courtyard,” she said. “He's afraid one of the perimeter guards might get trigger-happy.” She slipped off the belt-shield. “Let's get ready for bed.”
“After last night, I'll feel more comfortable sleeping in my clothes.” He stretched out on the bed and laced his fingers behind his head.
Andra lay beside him and kissed his cheek. “Being together takes some of the sting out of confinement, doesn't it?”
Nyk extinguished the ambient lights. He closed his eyes and relaxed.
His slumber was shattered by a loud explosion. Andra sat up. “What's happening?”
“Vellod's assault, no doubt.”
Klaxons were sounding and Nyk heard shouting and more explosions. The guard opened the door. “Quickly,” he said. “Into the bunker.”
Nyk pulled on a pair of shoes. Andra headed out the door.
“Wait! The belt -- don't forget the belt!”
Andra snatched the belt-shield and buckled it around herself. Nyk followed the guard down several flights of stairs, into the basement of the palace and through a tunnel. The tunnel opened into a low room of polymer concrete. Dull thuds of explosions could be felt through the bunker.
Wygann was pacing in his dressing-gown. “Our worst fears have materialized,” he said. He looked at Andra. “As soon as it can be arranged I want the two of you off planet. The last thing we need is for Vellod to claim we're being helped by the homeworld -- or the ExoAgency.” Wygann turned his back to them. “The Lexalese are a strong people. The truth will win, eventually.” He turned again and faced Nyk. “Eventually the HL and the whole hegemony will know what's happened here, and who the perpetrators are. The other colonies will not stand for this.”
One of Wygann's aides stepped to him. “The shuttle's ready, Chancellor.”
“Nykkyo, Andra -- you have my thanks. My wife and son are out of harm's way. May you have a safe journey.”
One of the guards handed Nyk a pair of handguns. He handed one to Andra.
She snapped open a clip on the side. “It hangs on your belt, thus.”
“Let's hurry,” the aide said and led them into another tunnel. “They're using artillery to breach the outer wall. This tunnel leads to the palace landing strip.”
Nyk ran down the tunnel, hearing and feeling more thuds as rounds hit.
The aide led them up a set of steps onto a polymer concrete apron. The chancellor's shuttle sat with its hatch open. Nyk climbed in and gave Andra a hand. He pointed toward the palace. The structure had sustained heavy damage and fires burned in several areas. A thick black smoke hung over the complex. Lexalese guards stood on the perimeter wall firing on their assailants.
The shuttle's hatch snapped shut. Nyk took a seat in the forward cabin. A woman in a blue jumpsuit sat behind the controls. “I'm Nayva,” she said. “Where to? I should warn you, we're apt to be followed.”
“To Floran,” Nyk replied. We might as well take this right to the HL's back door.”
“To Floran it is,” Nayva said and began the launch sequence.
9 -- Marooned
The shuttle nosed up and shot skyward. Nyk looked down on the palace. Outside he could see troops with assault rifles using groundcars for cover, shooting up at the palace guards. Behind them a group of men were dropping rounds into a mortar. “Well, now we know for sure where those Earth weapons ended up,” he said.
“I can't believe Zander could supply so much,” Andra replied.
“He didn't. I'm sure the Earth material served as patterns for manufacture elsewhere. Perhaps that's where T-Delta comes in.”
The shuttle rose out of the Lexalese atmosphere and into a parking orbit. “We have company,” Nayva said. She pointed to a sensor display on the control panel. “They're coming in close -- no doubt to prevent us jumping.”
