"Georg, would you please allow my girls to also feed on the energy of your adoration. Florianna is already sated, and I've also had my fill. But so much concentrated positive energy is a rare treasure to psionics. It will allow my students not only to restore their strength, but also grow stronger."
"Will they become my Truth Seekers?" I clarified, and got a negative answer from my wife.
"No. There's no reason to repeat the Emperor's error. Once, many years ago, August royl Akad thought that the adoration of hundreds of billions of subjects would allow him to support a whole group of personal Truth Seekers. But as soon as the Empire hit a rough patch, his psionics starved. The Dark Mother, Krista, Mariam Sabati and Veronica ton Taki 'ate' the lion's share of the energy, while the other Truth Seekers stopped getting enough to even maintain their own abilities, which is to say nothing of professional growth."
"Are you now talking about the split and secession of Great Houses from the Empire?" I asked, my interest piqued. But Miya answered otherwise:
"No. It wasn't today, or even yesterday. I'm referring to an event three or four years ago, when the Empire demonstrated its complete impotence against the Aliens, and the faith of its people in the infallibility and omnipotence of their ruler stumbled. Ever since then, the situation has only gotten worse due to his military and political blunders. And today's battle showed that even the very strongest of the Emperor's Truth Seekers are in quite poor shape. They had a long enough fuse to start off with a very intensive attack, and at first it really was very hard for us. Obviously, Krista was counting on taking us down in one fell swoop, but she was wrong. We held out and, in a few minutes the situation started to change. A few of the old ladies started to fade, and even Krista started trying to ration her strength. Then, after Mariam Sabati died, we got the upper hand, and the Emperor's psionics retreated. So, just two of your Truth Seekers at full strength were stronger than thirty of the Emperor's, who were so starved they could barely stay standing. Let's hope it stays like that in the future."
I trusted Miya's experience in all issues connected with the training and strengthening of the young psionic girls of the Unatari State, as she was one of the strongest Truth Seekers in the galaxy. And I told her that immediately.
"Alright, Georg. I'll serve as a retransmitter and help my girls restore their depleted energy. But in the future, all my students will become Truth Seekers for totally different people. You have appointed quite a few rulers, viceroys and military leaders to high positions. And now, they will surely need psionics to protect them, help them and give them proper guidance. And also, your daughter Likanna lost her Truth Seeker, so a replacement for little Milenna will also have to be found."
"I'VE MET ALL YOUR TERMS. MY TURRETS ARE DEACTIVATED. MY DRONES ARE ISOLATED. MY CREW DID NOT IMPEDE THE PLACEMENT OF YOUR BOMBS. NOW, I WANT TO RETURN TO NEGOTIATIONS ON THE CONDITIONS OF MY RELEASE."
Clearly, it was because I hadn't yet finished my conversation with Miya, but this time it didn't hurt at all to talk with the Queen. I even stayed on my feet.
"She's still dangerous, Georg. The Queen is temporarily weak and vulnerable. She's retreating, trying to negotiate for her life and freedom. But in the future, all that might change, and you could find yourselves in the opposite positions. If you want my opinion, do not miss such an easy chance to kill this Alien superconscience. Although... I'm reading your thoughts and seeing that you have totally different plans as for her."
"Yes, Miya. I am prepared to let her go in exchange for this huge starship and some information on the Aliens. After all, we barely know anything about them, even though we've been at war for several years. Their homeworld. Their culture. Their technology. Their plans. That is all of significant interest to me. I am also greatly intrigued by the understandings the Aliens have with humanity, and whose orders exactly they're carrying out. If the Queen answers my questions, that will be a high enough price for her freedom."
"Alright then, try. The Queen is no danger to you now, especially if she loses her ship and you tie her up with treaties and oaths. But I cannot guarantee that your gesture of good will to a clear enemy will not be looked on badly in the future."
My wife cut the mental connection, but I could still sense her strong vexation. And sure, I understood Miya's viewpoint perfectly. The Queen had to be destroyed for the peace of mind of all humanity. In part, I shared her fears — the Aliens were making an obvious demonstration of their danger to the rest of the cosmic races. Now, it would be good to hear the opinion of my other Truth Seeker as well. Perhaps, if Flora also voted for the death of the Queen, I would change my mind.
But Florianna was having a hard time answering. She just pointed to the obvious plus of obtaining the huge supercarrier for the Unatari Fleet, but couldn't decide the fate of the Alien superconscience. Astra's sister had taken a serious injury in the battle with the Emperor's psionics, and was nearly falling off her feet in exhaustion, unable to find answers to any difficult questions. The only thing Flora could think about now was taking a dose of crystals as soon as possible and immersing herself in a many-day dream.
I had to act on my own and figure it out with just my intuition. After concentrating my attention on the huge disk-shaped starship, I mentally sent my demands to the Queen. The answer came back almost instantly:
"TWO OF YOUR CONDITIONS ARE IMPOSSIBLE. I DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO REVEAL INFORMATION ABOUT MY UNDERSTANDINGS WITH YOUR RACE. ALSO, YOUR FELLOW HUMANS FORBID ME TO SHARE TECHNOLOGIES WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN THEM."
"But can you at least tell me which person precisely you were negotiating with?"
"NO. REVEALING THAT INFORMATION IS FORBIDDEN."
Well hell, what a debacle... But who could it be? It was clearly someone very highly placed in either the Empire, the Great Houses or the Antagonists. The first thing that came to mind for some reason was my late grandmother, Crown Princess Eleonora. Such a powerful personage, full of rage at the Emperor, really could have encouraged an Alien invasion to weaken the Empire. Most likely, Eleonora had not negotiated personally with the Aliens, but through a middle man of some kind. Maybe it was the "Voice of the Triumvirate," Count Albert royl Akad. Perhaps, the Count's haughtiness and pretension were explained by the fact that he knew about the agreements with the Aliens and supposed that he was capable of wielding that force.
Another candidate that seemed like a good fit for the role of Alien conspirator was the Dark Mother, who served for many years as the Emperor's closest advisor and most trusted confidant. The strongest Truth Seeker and the Emperor clearly knew much more about the Aliens than they let on. By the way... if I thought about it, I had never once heard the Dark Mother or August royl Akad express a single fear about the Aliens invading the Imperial Core. And after all, the Aliens had spent all that time just attacking systems of the Swarm, other nonhuman races, and Great House peripheral systems, but had never once touched the inner systems of the Empire. Was that just mere coincidence, or might it have been a limit imposed on the Aliens by the Dark Mother?
But both the Dark Mother and Crown Princess Eleonora were already dead, along with many other visible aristocrats, military leaders and psionics. The wars and troubles of recent years had significantly redrawn the political map and shuffled the leaders of the Empire around.
"It may be that all the people who were negotiating in the name of humanity are dead now. Then, the old understandings would no longer be in force..."
"NO, THAT IS NOT SO. ONE OF THE PEOPLE PRESENT FOR OUR FIRST MEETING WITH HUMANITY TOOK PART IN TODAY'S ATTACK ON ME. I DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO NAME THEM."
Now there's a real riddle... There were four thousand ships in my fleet, containing one hundred thousand people. Although... I probably should have been looking at just the most visible captains and admirals — the Queen would hardly have considered normal crew members and landing troops to have the authority to represent humanity. That meant the list was significantly shortened. I already wanted to give Bionica a mission to
check the service lists of senior officers of my fleet and cross reference it against those who had participated in the very first battles with the Aliens. Such facts were, after all, probably reflected in their biographies.
But I stopped, struck by a new thought. In today's attack on the Queen, other than military soldiers, there were also dozens of Truth Seekers, and thousands of androids that were externally indistinguishable from people, as well as probably a fair number of Arite Iseyek. So, the list of suspects was materially broader than I first supposed. It seemed that this mission could not be solved so easily. Alright, I'd handle it later. I had more substantive matters now.
"We know about your large fleet in the neighboring Nayal system. Tell me, can you exert influence on your fellow Aliens to make them go back and not attack us? I need there to be no battle."
"I HAVE NO WAY OF MAKING CONTACT WITH THE OTHER SHIPS OF MY RACE. THEY'RE ALREADY IN A WARP JUMP HERE. AND THEY WILL NOT OBEY. TO THEM, MY STARSHIP IS MARKED AS CAPTURED BY THE ENEMY."
Another failure! No matter what I asked, the Queen either wasn't able to answer, or simply refused. And the Alien fleet was already on its way here... I was more and more inclined to the option suggested by Miya of blowing up the supercarrier and sending it straight to hell while we still had the chance. Because, with a sober evaluation of the distribution of forces before the forthcoming battle, I most likely had no way of keeping this gigantic starship.
But killing the Queen once and for all was something I could do. That said, it was important to squeeze as much information out of her as I could.
"And how are you planning to hand the ship over to me, from a technical perspective?"
"NAME ANY PLANET WITH A NONACIDIC ATMOSPHERE. METHANE. ARGON. NITROGEN. HELIUM. AMMONIUM. OXYGEN. TEMPERATURE AND GRAVITATION HAVE NO BEARING. I WILL UNLOAD THERE."
Any planet? Was she joking?! Here in the Khell system, there was only one planet, Khell-1, and it was inhabited by people. Or was the Queen not limiting herself to just the Khell system and would consider any star system? She couldn't seriously be unaware that all warp beacons to neighboring systems were shut off and that we were cut off from the transport network, right? Or... here my breathing seized in panic... Perhaps, the Queen was able to move between the stars regardless. After all, the Aliens used some alternative methods of travel, not standard warp beacons! Alright then, let's check. I opened the star map and searched for a planet in Unatari State space that would correspond to the Queen's request.
"Hnelle-VI. A gas giant. Methane atmosphere. Does that work?"
"YES. I CAN MOVE THERE, BUT NOT FROM THIS SYSTEM. I NEED A SYSTEM WITH A DISRUPTION POINT. THERE IS ONE IN NAYAL. THERE IS ONE IN AMATI."
I tried not to get surprised that the Aliens were familiar with the human names for star systems. I also didn't ask what disruption point meant. The chance was high that the Queen would think she didn't have the right to share that information. Instead of that I, trying to imitate a careless bored mental state, offered the Queen to consider different flight routes to Hnelle.
"I DO NOT COMPREHEND. OTHER ROUTES ARE LONGER."
"Well, speed isn't always a priority. Sometimes, safety is more important. My state is currently at war with human enemies. All around are fleets hostile to my own. The path to Nayal is also closed. Going to Amati through the Forepost-10 and Forepost-9 systems may also be impossible. But I want to consider different routes. Could you give me a list of systems with disruption points? I need to see the best way to lead you around the enemy fleets."
A very strange vision appeared before my eyes, with lots of bright spots on a black background. The spots were white, gray, and blue for the most part, but one was vibrant red. Many of the dots were connected with bundles of variously colored lines. Clearly, this was the disruption-point map I'd asked for, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I needed some kind of key to match it up with the political map I was familiar with. What was more, I was accustomed to looking over only the star systems with warp beacons, and with transport routes, totally ignoring the unavailable ones. Here, I needed a specialist in star maps and navigation.
"The Senior Navigator of Joan the Fatty is needed urgently in fleet control headquarters."
Three minutes later, they brought out a mustached gray-haired officer with space captain patches. He was clearly worried, having found himself in the company of a crown prince for the first time. He was nervously kneading his hat in his hands.
Mike ton Tir
Human
Military
Space Captain of the Unatari State Fleet
"Mike, I've got a job for you," I said, pointing to the monitor with the image of the gigantic disk-shaped starship. "The Alien Queen says that she can jump from the Amati system directly to Hnelle, a star system neighboring Unatari. Speak with the Queen and figure out the technical details. I want to understand if the rest of my fleet would be able to make such a jump with her, and what would be necessary to do that. What's more, the Queen has mentally sent a map of the jump points the Aliens use. It's very interesting data, but I don't know enough to match it up to our customary map. I want you to try and do that. If you can manage, I'll give you a king's ransom. You have my word as a Crown Prince! If you cannot, I guess my flagship will have to find a more competent navigator!"
* * *
A message from inside the ship caught me just as I started my late dinner with Joan and Princess Astra.
"Crown Prince Georg, long distance call from the Damir system. Duchess Violetta royl Inoky ton Mesfelle Damir, co-ruler of the Grand Duchy, would like to speak with you."
My sister? Her and I had spoken in the last few days. On the day of her coronation, as a matter of fact. What did Violetta want from me now? She couldn't seriously want to discuss the death of our mother Duchess Elisa royl Mesfelle-Lavaelle, right? Knowing about the, let's say, nowhere near optimal relationship between Joan and her new aunty, I asked my daughter to move seats so she wouldn't be in the scene, and put a finger to my lips.
My guess was right. the Duchess was in dark mourning clothes, emphasizing the sorrow and the pain of her loss. Based on the surprise and dismay that slipped through on my sister's face, she was expecting to see me in mourning clothes as well. I realized too late that I obviously should have been showing my sorrow and should have dressed accordingly, but the late Duchess Elisa had really never been associated with the word mother to me.
"Georg, I already know that our mother died while speaking with you long distance. And I want to find out what happened in the palace on Oveyete-VII."
I put a sorrowful expression on my face, struggling to hold back a smile that was tearing itself from me. The androids under Bionica's control really had managed to destroy all recordings of what had happened. Now, my sister would only know what I told her.
"Mother called me that time to say that my fleet was in a trap, and didn't even hide her malevolence. She suggested I surrender without a fight, saying the Grand Duchy had fleets coming to Khell from all sides. I, naturally, refused and promised to destroy these ships. Then, the Duchess suggested I think about joining the Grand Duchy myself. She started telling me how much had already been done to make sure power over all the Great Houses was concentrated in the hands of our family. But she wasn't allowed to finish. Baron Maggo from the Lavaelle family shot her in the back!"
"Yes, I am aware..." my sister closed her eyes and raised her face, trying to hold back a flood of tears.
Duchess Violetta said nothing further, so I continued my story.
"Mother's guards got retribution on her murderer, although it was too late. There wasn't just one conspirator in the room. Many officers in old Green House uniforms were armed and started shooting at mother, her bodyguards and Truth Seekers. There was true slaughter in the room, resonators, plasma grenades and all. And when the dust settled, I didn't see a single survivor."
"The conspirators tried to destroy all clues. In the Palace of Oveyete-VII, not a single recording of the t
ragedy could be found. Representatives of the Lavaelles have already gotten in touch with me and assured me that someone was trying to frame them, saying they had never thought anything bad against our mother. The head of their family even expressed a readiness to undergo Truth Seeker testing to prove his innocence. Brother, I need a video of the attack on mother and the ensuing firefight. I need to prove to my subjects that it was not a random lone-wolf attack, but a planned action of the Lavaelle family. As for motive, I am quite clear. After the death of our mother, the family head Amelius royl Lavaelle is trying to claim the title of Grand Duchy co-ruler. I'll never let that happen!"
"Yes, Violetta, I'll send you a recording at once, raw footage without any edits or cutting. But only starting from mother's shooting, because the negotiations we were conducting before that were too sensitive, including secret information about the number and position of my fleet. And you'll have to excuse me here — I will help you get revenge for our mother’s demise, but I will not allow you to destroy my fleet!"
My sister nodded, showing me that she agreed to the conditions. I turned on the microphone, ordered Bionica to bring up the recording and watched it myself so that nothing undesirable would end up in it — not my address to Duchess Elisa, and not the scenes of the Arite Iseyek. Only the first and second unsuccessful assassination attempts by members of the Lavaelle family on the Duchess, then the third, which proved fatal, the death of our mother and the ensuing bloodbath. All these incriminating scenes were accompanied by hateful cries from Lavaelle officers directed at the co-ruler of the Grand Duchy. The material turned out simply murderous — iron-clad proof that the whole Lavaelle family was at fault and, at that, any expert would confirm that the recording was unaltered.
I sent the file, and my sister immediately familiarized herself with its contents. Duchess Violetta's face went dark in rage:
"That's what I thought! The Lavaelles will pay for their breach of faith. Their whole family will pay, from the very bottom to the very top, I swear it! The vile traitors! After all, I suggested to mother that we pull their family tree up by the root, considering them unreliable and dangerous allies. But she didn't listen, and paid for her trusting ways in the end..."
A Game With No Rules (Perimeter Defense Book #4) LitRPG Series Page 22
