by Jim Rudnick
The Caliph stared at her, his face frozen with no expression.
“So,” the Baroness said, “we roll out the vaccine as of tomorrow. Please just place any orders with our new vaccine order department,” she said as she sat and smiled at them all.
Interesting, the admiral thought. The greatest thing to come to the RIM—so for four credits, he could live to be two hundred or so. He’d spend the four credits, he knew, as would, he thought, every single other member here.
“Item number four. The presentation of the Duchy d’Avigdor by Ambassador Bedre,” the clerk read.
The admiral leaned in to get a feel for what was to come. A realm of six planets with no head of state was something that hadn’t happened before, and this was going to be interesting …
#####
Tanner grinned at Helena and squeezed her hand in response to the huge round of applause for them on the landing pad at their resort.
It was time to leave Bottle and get back to the real world, he knew. She had simply nodded and agreed with him a week back as they made their plans as to what to do about many things when they returned. He had smiled at her often over the next few days as he had proposed one thing—and she had to yet again remind him that as a Royal, he wouldn’t be doing those kinds of things any more. He would need to find staff to do them. In his mind, he replayed his conversations with Helena about the issues he wanted to address
He wanted to find a real replacement captain for the Atlas. She was over off Ghayth, as a part of the xeno team deployment, and right now was under the temporary care of Captain Eleanor Vennamo. He’d pushed that one through back when he’d been admiral, and now he needed to choose what to do with the captaincy. Then Captain Vennamo could go back to the Gibraltar, her own ship currently in dry dock for major updates. Helena had reminded him that this task was no longer his but belonged to the admiral of the Barony fleet.
The fact that there was no such admiral was another task—he’d have to find someone to do that—and he thought he had a great candidate. Of course, that would put the Barony fleet under someone else’s control, he’d told Helena, and she’d just shrugged. “No matter,” she’d said. “As a Royal, you command.”
He’d nodded and then went on with more and more issues. He had been in the process of having brand new buildings contracted over on Neres at the naval yards, and he wanted to find out the status of their development. Helena had shaken her head and said, “New admiral’s job.”
He wanted to take on more of a role with the Captains Council and formulate new bylaws and such so that each Barony captain knew where they were all the time. “Admiral,” Helena said, sipping her drink.
He wanted to go to Ghayth to see the latest findings of the xeno team. He nodded to her when she said that could be accomplished at any time—but it was not behooving of a Royal to check on such a project in person. “Better just take the reports for now,” she’d said as she turned over on her hip to reach for more sun butter to rub on her legs.
He wanted to also go back to Neres City, to the naval yards, and scoop up his aide, Lieutenant Ayla Kiraz, and make her a part of his “Lord” staff. He broached that to Helena who was busy rubbing the cream onto her thighs, and she nodded back right away.
“Excellent idea. Finding someone who you can trust as an aide is one of the hardest things to do as a Royal. If you want her, get her. But a short reminder, honey? Taking her out of the mainstream of navy life might mean that she loses out on chances therein. Are you sure you wouldn’t be hurting her long-term career?”
He sighed, accepted the sun butter tube, and rubbed a healthy dose of same across his brow and ears too. That would require some discussion, he accepted, and he moved on.
“Bram. I want to help him somehow, yet not tag him as a ‘teacher’s pet’ and yet somehow move him up, naval officer style.”
Helena looked off at the far horizon and held a hand across her brow to shade her eyes.
“You know, as far as I can remember, there’s never been a Barony captain who’s Issian … and we do have, what, six new ships coming online in the next few months. After the Seenra deliver same, they’ll all need crew and captains,” she said as she returned her arm to her side and relaxed in the bright Bottle sunshine.
He had sighed then and realized that being a Royal was a lot more difficult than he’d imagined.
And today, after packing up their ship, the Sword, and getting ready to depart, the whole staff of the resort had stopped him and Helena. They had circled around them, which made the EliteGuardsmen all anxious until they’d been waved away by Helena.
“Lady and Lord, may we just thank you for your time spent here on Bottle,” the Concierge said nicely. He moved over to give some hyacinths to Helena, freshly cut and smelling wonderfully. She accepted very politely and smiled at the assembled group of staff. Everyone from chefs to maids, bellmen, gardeners, and pool-boys were there. As well, the administration for the resort, including the resort general manager, had come by to shake their hands and wish them safely home.
“What I can tell you all is that the past few months here with you on Bottle have been about the best form of rest and recuperation for both myself and Lord Scott. As you all know, we came here after that dreadful incident at our wedding—and never have we felt more at home than here on Bottle.
“Once we’re gone, as your general manager already knows, there will be more guests vying for rooms here than ever before. We wish you well, and we will be back!” she said, and she dipped her head to them all as a sign of respect.
Tanner had just nodded and led his bride into the Sword. On the bridge, he said, “Lieutenant Cooper, back to Nere’s City, please, and place her down on the Barony Palace small landing field. We want to go home.” He and Helena turned to their right to go down the short corridor to their quarters.
They had just closed the door to their sumptuous quarters and grinned at each other when a chime went off from their AI. Helena walked a few steps to sink into a loveseat of the most wonderful shade of orange, and she waved at him to go ahead.
“Yes, AI,” Tanner said, wondering what was so important that the AI had rung them before they’d even lifted off.
“Lord Scott—sorry to interrupt your pleasant trip home, but there is an urgent EYES ONLY that we were told to hold for you. It’s from Admiral McQueen, Lord Scott,” the AI said.
He looked over at his bride and lifted an eyebrow, and she nodded back to him.
“AI, please play the message here to me, I authorize other eyes,” he said, and the AI chimed three times to acknowledge his authorization.
On the close bulkhead wall, a sudden frost of blue wavered into existence, and the blue turned into a full picture of Admiral McQueen as the EYES ONLY began to play.
“Lord Scott—hope you’re feeling fine, but I thought that I should EYES ONLY you as soon as this came to light. At the RIM Confederacy Council meeting in a few days, there was news about the duchy and it’s going to be presented by their Ambassador Bedre.
“I have no idea what they’re planning to present, but I did want you to know, that it seems that you are a part of it—at least that’s what my sources tell me.
“Message me back if you wish, but until the presentation, I’ve no further news yet, and sorry to somewhat ‘muddy’ up your honeymoon, lad. Over and out,” he finished.
The recorded vid stopped and went back to the blue screen, and then it all winked out.
He looked over at Helena and lifted up a hand, palm open. “So, I thought that the duchy offer was confidential for a year—at least that’s what the ambassador said to me.”
“You wouldn’t be the first Royal to be lied to,” she said sweetly, rubbing her mid-thigh to ease the teeniest of sunburns.
He nodded.
If the ambassador did not want him to take over the duchy, this perhaps was one way to attain that goal—make the duke’s offer public to create a huge grassroots backlash.
But if the
man did want him to take over—then why do it this way?
Of course, there was no way yet of knowing what the presentation to the Confederacy Council even was, so maybe it was too early to come up with an answer.
He sighed. Being a Royal was a lot more difficult than he’d imagined.
The AI chimed twice, and then a small message appeared on the front-facing bulkhead that read “Leaving Bottle,” and while the inertial dampers worked perfectly, he thought that he could feel the ship surge up and spin to port with his “space legs.” Using the Barony Drive meant they’d be home on Neres, which was fourteen lights away from Bottle, in a few seconds.
“AI, put the bridge forward screen on, please,” he said, and the message disappeared as the Sword flew up through the atmosphere of Bottle, and then in low orbit, it slowed to orient itself toward the Neres system. As the star was found and then targeted, the sidebar showed it as their focus, and the sudden growth of the star itself on the screen showed them moving at FTL.
“No sense in getting comfortable,” he said as he flopped down beside Helena and smiled at her.
“Lord Scott, I thank you for your time—but you did need to rest and recuperate. Now, it’s back to reality,” she said, and she sighed too.
#####
She walked a bit quicker as this hallway was somewhat scary to her, but she had checked and there were two EliteGuardsmen just a few steps behind her. She’d never been in this part of the Barony Palace before, and the fact that it was hidden made it seem even scarier. The Baroness shuddered for a second or two.
“Ma’am, are you cold?” one of the guards asked, and she shook her head and continued to follow her aide.
The corridor was carpeted with a deep plush that made their steps disappear. It had no art, photos, or pictures on the walls, which were painted a dark brown that made her think of a cave. There were a few lights on the ceiling, but no fixtures; the naked bulbs hung from wires. It was anything but what one would call attractive or, for that matter, normal.
Yes, normal was the word, she thought. And why should a Baroness—THE Baroness in fact ever have to visit something so dark and dank. Wait, dank meant smelling of water … and that wasn’t it either …
She shook her head. Such thoughts are not fit for a Baroness.
They continued walking. They’d begun in the area of the palace where the new wing had been built for Helena and Lord Scott. Making the new wing meld with the much, much older building in that area had meant that the construction crews had to open up a complete set of hallways and rooms that were going to now run directly into the new wing. Seemed like the right thing to do, and she thought she’d nodded a year ago when the plans had to be okayed.
Her aide had informed her that the demolition had revealed a corridor, which was behind all the rooms on one side, the interior side, of the older palace structure. Someone at the time had made notes on that, had explored the whole area, and had made some discoveries. With the huge to-do she called the assassination at the wedding, the gentle apologies, and making all things right with the heads of state, she had put off this trip to see the newly opened area. Until today. And now she was following this aide down a long dark corridor with a few doorways to her left.
On her right was a solid wall, and she’d asked about it a hundred feet back. The aide had shared that this wall was the interior wall of the whole area that held the large conservatory rooms in the palace. The Baroness had spent some time there every so often, but she had never questioned the wall behind the glass-walled plant and root area that let in so much sunshine. She had thought the wall was just there and hadn’t given it a second thought.
As the corridor up ahead was ending at a doorway, she shivered and held up a hand to quiet the EliteGuard behind her. As the aide stopped, she opened the door and then stepped to one side to allow her Baroness to go in first. And the Baroness did just that, entering the darkened room and taking five big steps ahead.
The room must have been connected to the palace AI, because just her entry illuminated the whole room—and it was big. She blinked a couple of times, and then she gasped at what she saw.
Ahead of her, in very tall glass cases, were trophies—dead animals that had been somehow stuffed and then arranged in poses that were threatening. She knew what a Jael was, and there was a pair of them in a huge case, each attacking a common enemy or prey. Beside them were Garnuthian laxes—cat-like beasts that were big and strong and fast . Over on the right side was a case with what looked like weasels, but some looked like they were five feet at the shoulder and weighed more than a hundred pounds. Again, she shivered, and this time it was for what it might be like to face any of these in a battle for life. She shook her head and slowly walked around the multitude of glass cases.
Some had animals that looked like they were from off the RIM. One cabinet was more than twenty feet tall, and the enclosed animal was from a water world—it had fins and a tail, yet it had forearms with huge claws and jaws that held hundreds of teeth. She shuddered. Not the world to go to for a swim, she thought.
One of the cases held what looked almost human-like. Well, maybe alien-like weasel would be more truthful, she thought, wrapping her arms around herself. Its skin looked like polished glass with pearly, pink highlights. The animal had a look on its face as if it were questioning the viewer. The Baroness took a step back and wrapped her arms more tightly around herself as she imagined the creature asking, “Wonder what you’d taste like?”
The creature was more than ten feet tall with enormous, curved, and sharp talons on its rear feet—and there were four of those. The predator had three forearms—two on its left side, and it looked like scars on its right side where it had lost an arm. Its massive teeth and four giant flared nostrils were at odds with the beast’s mane of bright pink hair that was thick and curly.
Whatever had taken that one arm was something to stay the hell away from, she thought, and she turned to find her aide.
“Okay … Nancy, right? Okay, Nancy, so what am I doing here? Trophies are pretty impressive—I suppose that barons before me liked to hunt. So …” she said. She wasn’t tapping her toe, but everyone in the room knew she was impatient for the answer to her question.
“Ma’am, let me just hit this button. Manual control only—at least as far as we know …” Nancy said as she approached a small kiosk that sat at one side of the rows of glass cabinets. Pushing the button, she stepped back and looked up at the black ceiling.
Above their heads, the RIM suddenly appeared as a star map, lit in bright shades of purple, including lilac, fuchsia, and mauve. The planet that they were on—Neres, the home world of the Baronial realm—was colored red at this point, and the Baroness thought this meant that was where the viewer was. She nodded and then sent a questioning look toward her aide.
The aide nodded, took a few steps to stand in front of the cabinets that held the two Jaels, touched the glass itself, and then she looked up again.
On the star map above them, the world of Anulet, in the Duchy d’Avigdor, suddenly turned red, and the planet jumped up in size. The planet name was there, along with the name of the animal and information about the Jaels too.
She nodded and smiled a bit. “I take it then, that if you touch the glass of any of these cabinets, their world will show up above us, correct?”
That got a nod from the aide, but then the woman moved to her left and touched the glass of the cabinet of the alien-like weasel animal, the ten-foot tall beast, and she smiled as she looked up.
On the star map above, the RIM decreased in size, and the visual display moved inward. It moved inward what looked like a large distance, and the world this creature came from was highlighted and enlarged.
“Planet’s name, Ma’am, is Peltola, a water world, but it did have small groups of some islands. It lies more than four thousand lights inward, number two in its system, Ma’am …” she said her voice trailing off.
The Baroness shook her head and stopped hers
elf from looking surprised.
Four thousand lights.
She noted that a red dwarf star, past ten thousand lights away inward, was the sun for this Peltola planet.
Someone had gone from Neres to Peltola to capture this trophy. In pre-Barony Drive time frames, the best speed of the fastest destroyer class ship, with three Tachyon engines, was about 2.5 lights per day; a trip to Peltola would have taken more than four years each way.
The ability to do that was within reach for any baron in the last thousand years since the Tachyon Drive had been invented and rolled out all across the galaxy. But who in the world would sit for more than four years, waiting for a hunt, then hunt, then pack the trophy up, and take four more years to return home? More than eight years on this trip alone—wait.
“How many of these are from inwards, and at what distances, Nancy?”
Nancy referred to the kiosk tablet and then began to hit various onscreen icons. “These, Ma’am, are all more than eight thousand lights,” she said, and five cabinets in the grouping lit up within. “These, Ma’am, are all around five thousand lights.” More cabinets lit up. “Here’s the closest group, all within four or so thousand lights,” Nancy said, and the final cabinets lit up.
The Baroness nodded. There were more than forty trophies from as far inward as ten thousand lights. A lot of travel using the Tachyon Drive … and much time spent not here in the Barony, she thought, wondering which baron it might be.
“Wait,” she said suddenly, “is there any way to ask the AI who shot these—and how long ago?”
Nancy nodded and pressed some more icons. All the cabinets went dark except for the farthest one at ten thousand lights that held the alien-like weasel. She clicked one more tablet onscreen, icon and above their heads, beside the display of Peltola, a picture of the hunter showed up, along with dates and even a small group of photos of the hunt.
“That’s my husband, the late baron,” she said right out loud.
