The announcer spoke. "Citizens of the Union, representing the mighty Saran Empire, she who is Sekhet Nefertiti Elfiatra the Precious, Princess to the Saran Empire, second daughter to Her Majesty the Queen Cleotrix the Second. Commandrix of the Saran Honor Legion, Holder of the sacred ankh. High Priestess of Ra is gracing us with her presence tonight."
The man in the black cape had jumped off the beast's back and the Princess offered him her hand.
The voice introduced the man. "And Midshipman Eric Olafson, Fleet officer, chosen protector of the Princess, by Her Majesty, the Queen."
Behind them came a humanoid being, a robot perhaps of at least 100m wearing only an apron-like garment and instead of a human face it had the head of a hawk. It silently floated down from the sky. In its upturned hands, it held a throne and on it sat a woman, similarly spectacularly dressed as the Princess. The woman was announced as the Queen of Saran.
Sif barely heard it. She only had eyes for Eric, who held the hand of the lovely Princess. She did not notice the eyes of the masked girl next to her, shimmering with tears.
Stahl crossed his arms and gave Egill a side-glance. "Looks like your nephew made it after all."
***
Deep below, underneath the waves in a storage room for kitchen supplies, Steven Dunham looked at his PDD. "It is time, lock and load."
***
Rex Schwartz leaned over to the Admiral. "So this is Eric Olafson. I heard you let him play Captain on that big tub of yours. How did he do?"
"Normally I would not discuss the performance of Fleet officers with a civilian, but since you have something like family serving with the boy, I’ll make an exception. If Harris retires and Eric is around and available, I would be the first to nominate him for the post, that’s how he has done."
"He appears to have the ear of the Saran Queen, and from the looks of it, he is close to the Narth."
As he spoke, Tar Ka-Hi the Dai tribe lord and his exotic wife came over in the company of a tall, handsome looking Dai warrior, looking like a young Lucifer with his truly red skin, and jet-black hair. He had pointed ears and bright yellow eyes, as if Michelangelo had tried to create a perfect statue of Adonis, but gave him demonic attributes. The young warrior clasped arms with the Neo Viking and the tribe lord and after a short conversation put his hand on Eric’s shoulder. As common as the gesture might have seemed, Rex knew the significance and so did Richard.
Eric stepped back to give the old man from Nilfeheim some room, so Egill could shake hands with the Dai. As he did that, Eric accidentally bumped into Partner, the furry hound. Partner growled and rose.
The Neo Viking was fast! He turned while drawing the sword he carried and then something odd happened. Partner yelped like a puppy and lowered his massive head and body deep to the ground in a totally devoted position. Partner, who was very picky about who could pet him, was petted by the Neo Viking for a few moments and then Eric turned and continued his conversation with his friends.
Roy had noticed the entire incident and appeared to be quite shocked, by the look on his face. Roy was the Psionic twin of the beast and could always sense the emotions and simple thoughts of his animal friend. He said to Rex, "I never sensed great fear from Partner and we faced some scary things together. Partner actually feared that man!"
Chapter 9: Queens and Emperors
INTERLUDE: MAO
Commander Fleming had taken them to the Security Command Center after they had made it planetside in a shuttle following the Captain's yacht. Ultra Marines and black ops teams from the most elite special forces units in the Union worked together to keep the VIPs safe. In joint command was General Alycia Lichfangh.
Mao had had the same basic security training as all the other cadets and Midshipmen and he had rotated into that department to deepen his skills and knowledge. His declared goal was to become a ship’s weapons specialist, a Tactical Systems Officer, but the Navy believed in cross training, which was especially evident during their third year.
This was security and counter-terrorist activity at the most professional level. It was way beyond his league. He tried to be as alert as possible and learn as much as he could. The soldiers and special ops beings treated him with great courtesy, there was an atmosphere of split-second readiness and a level of professionalism he had not experienced anywhere. He felt more than a little out of place. Hans was in his element and it showed. He knew the teams and units and what they did, he understood every word of their conversations, which were heavily laden with terms that meant little to him.
Hans explained to him "Pluribus the planet is by and large a peaceful world and there are actually very few known security threats. Of course that does not mean there are none. This is a world of many billions and it is a great target for any enemy of the Union. The Diamond Ball is is like no other target to anyone wishing the Union harm as all the important leaders are in one spot. It is tempting and attracts more crooks, assassins and terrorists than any other event, but these are specialists and they have done this sort of thing for a long time, and today the first Narth that joined the Psi Corps team are here as well."
"So what are we going to do?" Mao asked.
"Nothing much actually, we are part of the visible security, meaning we stalk around outside a little so the spectators and guests can see us. It's called impulse threat deterrent, like if someone in the crowd suddenly gets the idea to throw an egg or something at one of the guests, or wants to jump the barrier to get an autograph or a grab a piece of clothing as a souvenir. It also gives the participants a sense of security, because they are never going to see much of the real security work behind the scenes."
"What if someone attacks from space?"
"There isn't an armed ship of unknown origin within a light year and not only the Devi, but several battle groups are in the system, not just for the parade but for security. To all this, you add the system defense forces, ultra long-range TLC sniper cannons installed on a net of deep space forts and of course, UMBRELLA. All Pluribus can be placed under a Para Dim Shield at split second notice. The Assembly, the President’s Residence and the Crystal Palace are also separately equipped with strong shield generators."
Mao looked around. "With all that, they sure don't need all this, but it is nice to know everything is safe."
"The legendary TSI Chief Cherubim once said that the enemy will always find a way, and there is always a weak link in any system. So it is our job to make sure we find the enemy first, before they find a way in."
Mao shrugged and said, "I am going outside to walk around a little, do that deterrent thing, and maybe I can slip by the kitchen and see if I can sample some of the food, purely out of security reasons of course, if that is okay."
Fleming, who stood nearby listening to the latest brief turned and nodded, showing he had followed their conversation as well. "Go right ahead Mr. Mao and later, once the party is almost over, we are usually allowed to demolish what's left of the buffet. There is always tons of stuff left!"
That was a promising outlook for Mao and he went outside. A cool sea breeze brushed over his exposed face as he walked on a wide ledge circling the Crystal Palace underneath the main level. His suit showed him the locations of other security personnel. He knew there were at least hundred Marine snipers deployed on camouflaged hover platforms all around the place and he wondered in how many target optics he was in at the moment.
Huge color-changing spotlights were submerged all around the Crystal Palace and bathed the shimmering construct in dazzling light. It was actually quite pretty.
He sat down at the ledge, let his feet dangle almost 500m above the actual water surface and then Mao activated his visual recorders and hoped he could send some of the visuals home, so his father and his tribe could see some of this. Whenever Mao sent a visual home, his entire tribe led by Mao Pappy Vouza, his father, would travel by steamship to Papua Town and the hotel owner would bring the visualizer outside and play it for them.
Mao had be
en to one of these events during his vacation before he started third year. He still loved all his family and his father, but the exposure to the universe had changed him and he knew he would never really fit back in.
Before he had left, his tribe’s mud huts, with Oagga Palm leaves looked big and perfectly all right. When he came back he found them small, shamefully primitive and dirty. He enjoyed the trip with the White Puff, one of the Steamships, at first, but then took off with his flight belt, making the trip in 20 minutes instead of seven hours. When he was a kid he had found the steamships marvelous and huge. Now he thought how primitive and slow they were. Someone who traveled across many light years aboard something like the Devi had a hard time getting excited about a rusty steam-powered ship.
When he returned to the Academy for his third year he found he had more in common with an alien spider and a chrome machine than with his family. His brooding thoughts vanished as he thought about Krabbel. He and the rest of the Olafson Gang had grown closer to him than his tribe.
The voice of his suit interrupted him. "User alert! Systems detected the power-up cycle of a Mossberg shrap gun type 18, 581m below us."
"Some security guy of course."
"No Mossberg shrap gun type 18 has been issued, the weapon is not Union standard Issue since 4855."
Mao blinked at Hans’s symbol on his retina display and established a two-way link. "My suit thinks someone activated a weapon that is not standard. Most likely one of the special forces guys. I am going to check it out though."
Hans responded, "Okay just make sure you don't get shot by a trigger-happy Spec Ops Marine and keep your Friend/Foe differentiator signal on. I linked to your suit and will check on your scanner data."
Mao pushed himself off, brushed the helmet over his head and closed the faceplate. The suit automatically activated an aerodynamic optimizer forcefield around him.
INTERLUDE: SHEA
Shea excused herself from the table to find the ladies’ room. Her highly intelligent mind analyzed her own behavior and the situation. Elfi was her best friend and so was Eric. She knew he had not asked to guard or accompany the Princess, so why was she upset when she saw them like that? Because she realized, she cared for Eric more than she wanted to admit, but she was a Sojonit, trained to think of men as helpless prey, men ruled by their simple minds and one-track hormones. Men were scum, easily baited by breasts, butts and the promise of satisfaction gained from sex in all its variations. This was the mantra of the Sojonit Order. Men could be controlled through sex and persuaded to part with their money, their riches and their secrets.
While it was true in most cases, she had learned it could be different. Rex, her stepfather, never looked at her for what she was but treated her like a real daughter. Not like the horror stories she heard in the halls of Temple, and what some fathers did to their offspring. She learned that the stories were true, but not the norm. She trusted Rex and learned to love him. He never made any attempt to see her naked or to make her come to him. Her father never touched her in any way inappropriately.
She had many challenges during the Academy, especially during basic training, but the rigid military rules protected her for the most part. No one liked her, because of the mask and the veil of abstinence. While others made friends, she remained an outsider. It was better during second year as she went the science route and her classmates were geeks for the most part. Intelligent and scientific-minded, but those who were human were not interested in friendships. The second year was intense studying and she had little time to feel sorry for herself. Of course she could always quit and go home and she had considered it more than once, but in the second year she learned what a Science Officer aboard a vessel did. Not limited to one subject or field, not just researching, but also applying science to solve a myriad of challenges. One day dealing with an alien life form and the next day observing a quasar at close range and then on to isolating a virus for the Med Department. That was what she wanted to do, and so she decided to postpone her decision to quit and go into the third year.
There, everything changed. Aboard the Devi she became part of a group and from day one no one treated her badly or tried advances and then came Eric and out of nine individuals became a family of nine friends, her first real friends. She belonged among them like she never belonged anywhere before. She would not be jealous of Elfi. If she had chosen Eric as her partner then she would rejoice for both and be their friend regardless.
She smiled at her own silly emotions. Emotions were for girls and women, She was a Sojonit and in control, and moreover, her intellect was far superior to feelings, so why could she not completely dismiss it all?
Now where was this bathroom? All that thinking made her realize she actually needed to go. Eric and Elfi had approached the table and exchanged words with the Admiral. She was sure she could fool Eric and the others, but Elfi was a woman and knew her, she might be able to see through her disguise and recognize her as Wetmouth.
The table was full so they could not stay for long, hopefully they were gone by the time she returned. Oh, how she wished she could simply go over there and tell her friends who she was.
In her thoughtful state, she had gone in the wrong direction. The ladies’ room was at the other side. Here was only an elevator. The Computronic inside would surely know where another bathroom could be found.
***
Riding the Ammutherathi through the air made me feel so certain that I had ridden something big before, maybe in a dream. There was nothing to ride on in Nilfeheim except fangsnappers.
While I was standing in the stirrups I received instructions through an earpiece; where to go and what to do.
The beast was at least 30m long and had an enormous set of leathery wings. Underneath the leathery skin were rock hard muscles and they worked these wings in a fantastic display of raw natural power and grace.
When she told me first what they wanted me to do I almost declared them crazy, especially after Elfi said that the beast was a little cranky from the long voyage in a cargo hold of a Saran ship and the subsequent security scans by Pluribus police. The beast’s head resembled, according to Elfi, that of a crocodile and it was this feature that made the Saran believe it was related to the crocodile-headed devourer of those who failed the test of the balance. Elfi tried to explain to me as much as possible.
What a crazy way to travel through the air, even though the Princess told me that her people had done that long before their industrial revolution.
The first time I approached the monster, it snapped its massive jaws very close to me and then hissed, telling me how unhappy it was. I wasn't much happier about this either and almost pulled the sword, not that I would have had much of a chance against that thing.
The handler of the beast was a woman, wild-looking, wearing tight leathers made of the hide of one of these monsters.
She was Saran, but belonged to an independent mountain tribe, rejecting modern technology. At first she was, much to Elfi's silent amusement, quite hostile to me and did not like the idea of a stranger riding her over-sized pet.
Elfi's dynasty came from the mountain tribe. The wild tribeswoman kept mocking, then the beast snapped again, close enough to smell its hot breath. I was ready to take a flyer and leave this fool’s job to someone else. Just then, the beast roared mightily at me. On impulse I roared and screamed back as loud as I could at the beast, drawing the sword and stepping forward instead of evading and I slapped the flat side of the blade across its snout. The mountain tribeswoman yelled something and I was not proud of my response to the mountain woman that I made in anger, but the huge Saran monster lowered his head and wings and the mountain woman told me how to use the reins and how to steer the beast without any further insults. The Ammutherathi reacted to the pulls of the reins. All this went through my head again as we approached the Crystal Palace. Elfi sat in a basket thing strapped to the beast’s back and behind a windshield.
I began to like it, the wind tugged
at my cape and I wondered if real warriors flying those beasts in the days of old would have worn stupid capes. I imagined how it would have been when the Saran tribes fought wars sitting on huge birds like these Ammutherathi. I wondered how someone would get the idea to ride something like that in the first place, it was as if a Neo Viking had decided to ride a rock shark or even a tyranno fin. I grinned at my own fantasies.
The ride was over faster than I liked and we landed. Elfi got out first and I waited till she had been announced and followed her, taking her outstretched hand. Then I saw McElligott on one of the tables and on another was Admiral Stahl and he was sitting right next to Exa and there was Egill, Elena and Sif. I didn't know the others, but there were two Narth and while they looked alike I knew, my throat tightened a little and I thought as loud as I could. "Narth is that you?"
"Yes Eric, it is I, and I do rejoice to see you!"
The Queen arrived behind us, sitting on her throne in the outstretched hands of what Elfi said was one of 24 modified RAMA bots the Saran Empire still used, I had no idea what a RAMA bot was but I was sure it was something big.
Almost with a slight sense of regret, I watched the Sarans take the Ammutherathi to a waiting cargo flyer. The Queen, with us following her, were guided to a large table with a Klack, a man I recognized as the Pan Saran Emperor from pictures, and two Archas!
Elfi's mother whispered to us, "It is okay if you want to go over there until they serve the food and the entertainment starts."
One of the Archas waved and scurried fast towards us, why I recognized Krabbel right away, before I even saw his version of formal dress. Someone screamed as the spider wrapped its legs around the Princess and the black-dressed women of the Queen’s Guard had suddenly appeared, deactivating their active camo-fields. To my surprise, two Klack guards near their queen collapsed and the other two lowered their spears, neither Elfi nor Krabbel had noticed. I heard her say, "Krabbel you made it! Just don't call me Elfi, I am sort of incognito here."
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 34
