“If it’s line-related, couldn’t you fix it from here?” Gossamer asked.
If it was line-related, he could have. “Vega said a line-security issue. And to make myself available, at the earliest.” Besides, he wanted to know what had happened to Radko.
Bhaksir came out with Hana. Hana rubbed sleep out of her eyes. Sale came out from her room.
Guilt swamped Ean. He looked at the growing crowd of people. “It can probably wait until morning.”
“Ean,” Sale said. “Once you’ve asked for something, don’t weaken your position by saying it’s not important.”
“Besides, it’ll be good to have Radko back,” Bhaksir said.
Except Radko wasn’t back, and her own team leader didn’t know that yet.
Jumps weren’t permitted close to other ships. They waited in the shuttle for the Lancastrian Princess to come in closer before they went to meet it. If human ship lines developed to the level of the alien ship lines, there would be no need to jump so far out. If they could jump as accurately as the Eleven had earlier, they’d simply jump directly into position.
Ean listened to the chatter of the ships as they waited. Abram was going out to the Lancastrian Princess as well.
Bhaksir and Hana listened to the Lancastrian news feeds—no longer in real time although still more current than they had been—switching between channels when something bored them. Ean hadn’t kept up with Lancian news. He didn’t plan on keeping up with it, either.
Some of the news was about the war. Gate Union had attacked the mining colonies at Aratoga.
“At least it’s a change from the usual complaints about how restrictions on jumps are harming the New Alliance world economies,” Bhaksir said. “Wait,” as Hana poised to flick the channel again.
The reporter was the striking woman Ean had seen on the news vids earlier, Maxine Oroton. On-screen behind her was a picture of Michelle, wearing a formal blue jacket encrusted with jewels. Her dark hair was swept up in an elegant chignon, and she wore a tiara glittering with more jewels.
“News in from the palace,” Oroton said. “His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Yu, has announced the betrothal of his oldest daughter, Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Michelle, to the Factor of the Lesser Gods.”
The image changed to display a man—equally formally dressed—with cropped black hair and a wide, sensuous mouth.
He looked—to Ean’s prejudiced gaze—like a man who thought a lot of himself.
“We go now to Professor Ghyslain, to tell us about the Worlds of the Lesser Gods.”
The image crossed to a man standing in an open area, long coat streaming in the wind. A massive castle filled the screen behind him. “I’m standing here in the capital of Aeolus, the largest and most populous of the Worlds of the Lesser Gods.”
He had a booming voice that didn’t so much compete with the wind as quell it. “The building behind me is the Factor’s primary home. This is where Her Royal Highness Princess Michelle will reside after her marriage to the Factor.”
Michelle had four and a half years left on Haladea III before she went anywhere. New Alliance council members were elected for a term of five years.
“Professor Ghyslain, can you tell us more about the people and the worlds Her Royal Highness is marrying into?”
“Of course. There are ten Worlds of the Lesser Gods. They’re in the Redmond sector.” A galactic map filled the screen. Six worlds were highlighted in the center. “These are the Redmond worlds, which we all know.” The image moved to the top right corner and zoomed in to an edge of the sector. “These are the Worlds of the Lesser Gods. They are named after ten of the gods in Greek mythology. That’s an Old Earth mythology,” he added. “Aeolus, Asclepius, Amphitrite, Dionysus, Hebe, Hellas, Maia, Nemesis, Pan, and Persephone. Named, I might add, because the first three worlds discovered personified these gods.”
Ean had never heard of them.
“Aeolus is the god of winds, and as you can see, this place is most definitely windy. Asclepius is the god of healing. It was on Asclepius that we discovered the restorative compounds so vital in regeneration. Amphitrite is the goddess of the sea, and that world is totally covered in water.”
The overlay disappeared, and the image returned to Ghyslain.
“The worlds are relatively new and unknown. They are 150 years old, and most of their trade to date has been with Redmond, so this political marriage is a major step up in galactic power for them.
“They have a lot in common with Lancia, in fact, and a lot to offer us. Like our own world, a single family has ruled since humans settled there. The leader of that family—of the whole ten worlds—is known as the Factor. His full title is the Factor of the Lesser Gods.”
“And when her Royal Highness marries the Factor? What is her title?”
“She doesn’t take a title,” Ghyslain said. “She becomes the Factor’s partner. She will retain her own titles at home, of course, and on other worlds she will still be known as Lady Lyan, but on the Worlds of the Lesser Gods she is a commoner, at the command of the Factor in all things.”
The Factor sounded like someone Michelle should avoid.
Even Maxine Oroton looked a little nauseated. “Her Royal Highness is a working royal. I cannot see her accepting that.”
Ean liked Maxine Oroton a lot better, suddenly.
“I am sure our princess is willing to do what needs to be done for the good of the New Alliance.”
Ean couldn’t imagine Michelle giving up on her duties or ceding power to a husband.
Oroton seemed as unconvinced as Ean. “The Worlds of the Lesser Gods have been closely associated with Redmond until now. Why do you think they seek an alliance with Lancia?”
The wind was so strong, Ghyslain’s smile was almost pasted on. “Emperor Yu is famous for initiating political alliances that benefit Lancia, and a pact with the Worlds of the Lesser Gods certainly will be that. Particularly as Lancia requires only fourteen votes on the New Alliance council to gain a majority. I am sure His Majesty must be considering that.”
So would the rest of the council, many of whom were worried about Lancia already. Ean could name three worlds immediately that would look askance at this. Probably more.
“It’s perfect timing,” Ghyslain said. “Some months ago, Redmond and the Worlds of the Lesser Gods had a falling-out. Redmond stopped supplying pelagatite, which is essential to manufacturing on the Lesser Gods worlds. The Factor had been sounding out Gate Union—”
“Aren’t Redmond and Gate Union allies?” Oroton asked.
Ghyslain laughed. “Of course, but there’s no love between those two, and both of them will use any political clout they can get. Anyway, it’s too late, for His Imperial Majesty stepped in. For, you see, the only other known pelagatite mine is on Lancia.”
If you asked Ean, a world—or worlds—so dependent on one mineral was not a stable world or a rich world.
“The mine under Settlement City? Wasn’t that closed down years ago?”
“It was, yes, but it may be viable to reopen it, especially if Lancia is prepared to mine it at a loss in order to bring the Worlds of the Lesser Gods into the New Alliance. And it’s already being rumored that the marriage agreement is dependent on the Factor’s bringing his worlds across. This could be counted as a coup for Emperor Yu, who single-handedly brings ten worlds into the alliance, while strengthening Lancia’s position and power.”
The unemotional words went on.
Ean watched Bhaksir and Hana, both of whose faces lost all expression as they listened. Radko sometimes went blank-faced. Usually when she didn’t want people to know what she was thinking.
It was a pity they were in the shuttle. On ship, Ean could have worked out how they really felt about it.
* * *
AFTER seemingly forever, the Lancastrian Princess came into range,
and their shuttle moved toward it. They docked just after Abram did.
Abram waited for Ean. Since Vega was pacing in Michelle and Abram’s workroom, Ean went with him. Ship mood was anxious. Ean sang to the lines as he walked, but it was nothing he could fix. Should he ask about Radko? Maybe not right now. It didn’t feel like a good time.
Helmo joined them outside the workroom.
So far as Ean knew, Vega had never been in Michelle’s workroom since her introductory tour, and while Helmo talked to Michelle a lot, he often did it from the bridge. Yet Michelle wanted them here. She felt safe here. That came through on line one.
Michelle should feel safe anywhere on the Lancastrian Princess. Was this about her impending marriage?
Michelle settled onto her couch with a sigh. “Where do I start?”
There were no preliminary explanations, and she didn’t treat Ean as if he shouldn’t be there. Ean sat down quietly in his regular seat, as if he had every right to. Abram had a regular seat as well, but he didn’t sit there today. Instead, he sat beside Michelle, leaving Helmo and Vega to sit on his couch.
“One month ago, my father sent a delegation from Lancia to help on the council. He does that all the time,” she said to Ean. He was the only one who didn’t know that, for everyone else nodded. She looked around at the others, so the next bit was for everyone. “He wanted Sattur Dow to head the delegation.”
“Not exactly a smart move, politically,” Vega said.
“No,” Michelle agreed.
When Ean was a boy, Emperor Yu had gifted Sattur Dow with Settlement City. Dow had given the residents two days to get out. On the third day, he’d sent in demolition crews. By nightfall, the city was razed. Those people who hadn’t got out in time were dead. The rest had flooded in as refugees to the slums at Oldcity, where Ean lived, causing turf wars that lasted years.
It would be a kind of justice for all those people Ean had known if Yu kicked Sattur Dow off that land now so they could reopen the old mine under it. Especially since he’d spent billions of credits in the intervening years building a factory on it.
“Naturally, we told him he couldn’t come,” Michelle said.
She rubbed her hands together as if they were cold. It was an uncharacteristic movement from Michelle, who could normally keep her feelings hidden when she needed to. Ean could hear through the lines that this next bit was important. “Then my father called me home.”
“To talk about Dow?” Ean asked. Or to talk about her forthcoming marriage?
Vega said, “I recorded the feed if you’d prefer me to show it.”
“Thank you. I would.”
They watched in silence as Emperor Yu accused Abram of treason, then attempted to trump that by telling Michelle she was to marry the Factor of the Lesser Gods. They sat silent a moment longer after it finished.
Abram blew out his breath. “I knew there were rumors about a blowup regarding pelagatite, but I cannot see the Worlds of the Lesser Gods allying with Lancia and the New Alliance over it. Not unless there’s something in it for them. Something big.”
Maybe they thought the New Alliance would win the war and wanted to be on the winning side.
“The Factor has a smooth tongue,” Michelle said. “Even so, my father isn’t normally taken in by clever words.”
“Not unless he has plans of his own,” Abram said.
Like gaining an extra twenty votes in council for Lancia. “We heard about the engagement,” Ean said. “It made the news.”
Michelle made a face. “I would have preferred more time to sort that out privately. However, that’s not my concern. My father is paranoid. I have seen how he acts when he believes someone is undermining his power. He starts to worry aloud whether that person truly supports him. He starts to believe his own questions. I have seen other people, good people, destroyed for that.”
And Yu was questioning Abram now.
“He’s getting really bad advice,” Vega said.
“And Settlement City,” Helmo said. “Why give that away when he’s already promised Michelle? He has to compensate Sattur Dow then.”
“As to that,” Vega said, and her look at Ean was veiled, “I expect it’s an excuse. I imagine he’s promised Dow one of the alien ships. Or access to it, anyway. If you won’t let Dow come here as part of a business delegation, he has every right to come here to see his wife. Her Royal Highness isn’t the only one who was betrothed yesterday.”
She glared around at them all.
“He’s also remarkably well informed, for he knew exactly whom to target.” Her glare stopped at Ean.
What had he done?
“Radko,” Michelle said.
At first, Ean didn’t understand. Then he did. “Are you saying Radko is to marry Sattur Dow?” The ship lines sang with his incredulity.
Helmo winced.
“Worryingly well informed,” Abram said.
Yu had no right to tell Radko or Michelle whom they were to marry, and Sattur Dow was not getting anywhere near Radko. Not if Ean could prevent it.
“Where is Radko?” Ean asked.
Vega glared at him again. “Spacer Radko is on special assignment. Organized two weeks ago. I’m trying her out for a team-leader position.”
Two weeks. “She didn’t tell me she was on special duties.”
“She didn’t know about it until last night, Ean,” Michelle said. “You should pretend you both knew about it.”
“When will she be back?”
“When this business is over,” Vega said. “Not before.”
If Ean had anything to do with it, it would be over soon.
“So what do we have?” Abram counted them off. “A plan involving Sattur Dow and access to the linesman. A plan to bring votes into the New Alliance by allying Lancia with the Worlds of the Lesser Gods. Are they related, do you think?”
“My father always has many plans on the go.”
“Probably not, then. And we have Emperor Yu starting to question my abilities as admiral.”
“Because you’re not doing what he wants you to,” Vega said.
Abram worked for Lancia, and anyone who had listened to the lines would know that. Except Yu, it seemed.
Abram blew out his breath. “Misha, unfortunately, you’ll have deal with the fallout from the Lesser Gods. I’ll help where I can, but you’ll get the brunt of it.”
“It might even be a good thing,” Michelle said. “A base that close to Redmond might give us a chance to strike at them.”
Close was only relative when you were talking distances in space.
“Or it might simply make the Lesser Gods an immediate target,” Abram said, and Vega and Helmo nodded. “Take them out before they have the New Alliance behind them.” He blew out his breath again. “If I were the Factor of the Lesser Gods, I’d be asking Lancia for protection, just in case.”
“Have they?” Vega asked.
Abram shook his head. “Which is worrying in itself.”
Redmond was building ships based on alien technology. They were building weapons based around the same. Kari Wang had been testing them, back before her world, Nova Tahiti, had defected from Gate Union to join the fledgling New Alliance.
The Worlds of the Lesser Gods were pastoral worlds. If Redmond chose to attack them, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Even if there were only six Redmond worlds to the Lesser Gods’ ten.
If Gate Union chose to help—not that Redmond and Gate Union were working much together at present, but they were still formally allied—the fight would be over even faster.
“What about Dow? If he wants access to Ean, he’ll find a way to get out here.”
Vega looked as sour as Ean had ever seen her. “You have already denied him access to Haladea III. There is only one place he can come.”
The Lancastrian Princess.
>
“I must host him when he comes,” Michelle said. “He is a close friend of my father’s.”
“I can deal with Dow,” Vega said. “If Radko’s not here, he has no access to Lambert. But it would be better if Lambert wasn’t on ship at the same time at all. They can’t help running into each other. Lambert will have to remain on Confluence Station.” Vega had always wanted Ean off the Lancastrian Princess, but right now, she looked as happy about it as Ean was.
“I’ll put Orsaya in charge of the confluence linesmen’s security,” Abram said. “She’s got Rossi there as well, so she has a reason to own it.”
“Let’s hope we get Ean back,” Michelle said. “She’ll love to have Ean under her charge.”
Everyone laughed, and the sudden relaxation of tension emphasized just how much there had been in the room beforehand.
The worry soon flooded back as little eddies of song—different tunes for different people. Vega’s worry was about the ship and how she would make it secure. And about Ean, which was unexpected. Then, she didn’t know Orsaya, who didn’t ally herself with Lancia—she was part of the other main power group in New Alliance politics—but was line obsessed. Orsaya would look after Ean. She wouldn’t give away line knowledge if she could prevent it.
Helmo’s worry was centered around Michelle, and line eight was strong.
Abram’s worry likewise had a lot of Michelle in it, but it was normal Abram, only stronger. Ean took that to mean these were the things Abram normally worried about. Like keeping Lancia strong, keeping Michelle safe.
Michelle’s worry was a swirling crescendo full of the sound of Abram, so loud it almost drowned out the others.
“Bhaksir’s team will stay with Lambert, of course,” Vega said.
Abram nodded.
“Everyone in Sale’s teams will need to stay on station as well because if he can’t get Ean, that’s who he’ll try next.”
Abram nodded again.
At least Ean wouldn’t be totally alone although he wasn’t sure how Bhaksir and Sale would take the news that their temporary relocation wasn’t as temporary as it had been.
Michelle blew her breath out in a manner reminiscent of Abram. “Any suggestions for what we do about the Worlds of the Lesser Gods? The New Alliance will see this as a power grab by Lancia, which it is. We are not going to make friends with this.”
Confluence Page 7
