Sir Trent had sensed the ill intent of the purge guards almost immediately. He seeming to have a much greater sensitivity to the fluctuating reactions of the Eye of the Emperor to people’s hearts then most. This allowed him to avert noble bloodshed when two of the purge guard commanders refused to stand down, one even attempting to take the king and queen of galaxy 189 hostage. Combined with this new knowledge provided by Bia’Opi, he quickly thought back to the planning of the operation to escort his daughter to Alutia’Earth.
He clearly recalled the discussion of Yukie's safety with his fleet admirals, and Torici's vocal insistence that just Yuloo's standard, 5,000 starships strong, Emperor's Escort Fleet would not be sufficient. The man had offered, rather aggressively, to personally command one of his purge fleets to provide an extra 100,000 starship escort. It seemed reasonable at the time, Yuloo actually wanting to send all his fleets in escort, his daughter's safety his primary concern. Except now, it seemed rather suspect; Torici showing an unusual amount of concern for a job that was outside his normal responsibility and interest. Though Yuloo found he cared little for the reason; no matter if Torici was responsible or not. Someone had threatened the life of his daughter and they were most likely somewhere closer to Yukie than him.
He had to act.
“I want you to recall Knight High-Admiral Asula and Torici immediately...do not inform them why,” he instructed Novi while staring at another man he didn't trust, “Sir Evulia, please confer with Knight High-Admiral Yutomian and present me a plan to deal with the full review of the purge fleets,” he turned back to Novi, ignoring the scornful looks he knew covered the two aged knight high-admirals faces. “Precursor Novi, I leave to you the investigation of who is responsible for these threats. Do not kill them, however, I want them presented at my feet,” Novi nodded stiffly as Yuloo turned to his next command. “Knight High-Admiral Chisito, take your entire fleet...leave no starship behind...and go rescue my daughter and bring her safely home to-”
“Majesty,” Novi cut him off. “There was something else that Bia'Opi saw...” Emperor Yuloo felt his nerves start to grate. What else could go wrong? Novi pushed Bia'Opi forward.
“Your Majesty,” the old servant took a deep breath. “In...In the young empress’s quarters, last evening I...I saw someone...but...but I don't know who. They vanished when I entered...but the empress’s sheets...her sheets...” Again, Bia'Opi lost her composure and Yuloo couldn't help but look to Novi in confusion.
“She's not lying, Majesty...and I saw Yukie's bed sheets. Someone thought she was asleep in her bed and tried to...” he took a deep breath and Yuloo, in sudden fear, knew what was coming next. “Poison her, majesty...or so we think...the substance is of a structure we have never seen before. We will have to wait for the academy to provide a detailed report before we can be certain.” Gasps of disbelief erupted all around him, but Yuloo went cold, calculating.
Are these events related? He asked himself. Are the same people that threatened my daughter actually trying to kill her? He continued, trying to formulate a believable theory. Or are there multiple enemies, with different agenda's, that are suddenly appearing all around me, at the same time?
“If that’s the case...” he started, realizing that his daughter may not be safe, anywhere.
“Chisito...prepare your fleets and await my order,” Knight High-Admiral Chisito stood with a crisp salute, a broad smile on her lips. “The rest of you...I want this resolved...immediately. Do you understand?” His icy words echoed throughout the great hall. The high-admirals nodded understanding, and then quickly exited, only Novi, who was passing the exhausted Bia'Opi off to a guard, remaining behind.
“Novi...we must speak,” Yuloo said as Novi approached, grasping the handle on the side of the emperor's throne, while placing a foot on the small platform that extended from its base. The throne hovered, floating up the 203 steps.
“I do not know what to do, Novi,” he admitted honestly, his catillian appearing on his shoulder to coo its concern.
“But you do, Majesty,” Novi replied honestly, his own catillian appearing on his bald scalp.
“She is all I have,” Yuloo pleaded, knowing what Novi referred, but not wanting to accept it as the only option.
“And may be dead, if she were here,” he responded, clearing the doubt from his mind.
“Shall you tell them for me, Novi?” he asked, already knowing his answer.
“No, Majesty...it must be from you. I would wait, however, since the tides may change and such a thing may not be required,” Novi grinned. “Have I ever failed you in past, Majesty?”
Yuloo couldn't help but shake his head. “No...and you are right,” he sighed, “tell me everything you know so far, Novi, and how you plan on moving forward,” he instructed, listening intently to the Agent of the Emperor who stood at his side, hoping beyond hope that the two agents who he'd entrusted his daughter were as trustworthy as he.
Chapter 8
Clouds of grey dust swirled across the desolate landscape as the shuttle continued its descent, only broken by small pockets of scraggly vegetation and the silver domes of the planet’s meager inhabitants. One would think such a miserable planet would not be chosen for human colonization, since any exposure to the toxic surface would guarantee death. But that mattered little in the face of the abundant rare metals, stones, gems, fresh water, and substantial amounts of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen which could all be easily harvested from the planet's surface. So despite the dangers, a protected colony was built, called Ju'Lew A03, its petty citizenry forced to live and work inside massive habitation domes that provided them protection from the toxic atmosphere and the unpredictable surface temperatures born from Ju'Lew A03's parent star's instability.
When galaxies were initially chosen for colonization, NHA survey ships accompanied the massive SJS Gate construction fleets that were responsible for building the galaxy's primary SJS Gate network. These survey ships traveled throughout the galaxy, mapping each star in passing and classifying them based on their spectrum, orbital bodies, initial radiation signatures, and any other anomalies that may be present. This early exploration had classified the star that Ju'Lew A03 orbited as a class 2, its yellowish-white spectrum and initial low radiation readings making it likely to contain a class C or higher habitable planet. But this basic survey was only meant for use by the Emperor's Cartographers, to assist them in choosing the sector for the new galaxy’s kingship, the area around the planet chosen for the galaxy capital that falls under the direct control of the galaxy king. So once the survey had been completed, and the kingship decided, it was then the new king's responsibility to employ explorers, either private or vassal, to visit each star system and conduct an in-depth analysis, including both habitability studies and resource deposit allocation surveys.
This process was tedious, and expensive, the majority of the 203 NHA galaxies still having yet to be completely explored, since most contained between 200 and 450 billion stars, with many having well over a trillion. So the kings, not wanting to wait the tens of thousands of years it would take to completely explore their galaxies, or fully bear the high cost of hiring explorers, would instead, use the initial survey to decide the borders of the duchies that would be constructed within. This allowed the formal colonization to begin, and the kings to start receiving the all important tax income, in the manner of fleets, resources, and NHA credits. But this still left the majority of the galaxy unexplored, requiring the newly appointed dukes and duchesses to hire explorers to perform the detail surveys of their new duchies. Most, however, would follow in the king’s footsteps, completing the full exploration of their dukeship, the area surrounding the duchy's capital planet ruled directly by the duke or duchess, then hand the responsibility of further exploration to the earldoms and marks.
This system led to the creation of numerous baronies that appeared to contain desirable stars, based on the initial survey. But when the detailed surveys were performed, many, to the chag
rin of the ruling barons and baronesses, ended up having to be reclassified. This had occurred with the star system containing the planet, Ju'Lew A03, which had been reclassified from the desirable class 2, to the dreaded class 5, based on an unexpected instability missed during the initial survey.
Ju'Lew A03's star released a steady stream of electromagnetic radiation that overwhelmed the surfaces of the planets orbiting within the habitation belt, causing random temperature spikes. This had not always been the case, however, the star having become unstable sometime over the past 50,000 years. This allowed a habitable planet to form during the time of stability, permitting carbon based life to emerge. But the vast majority of that life had long since died off, not being able to withstand the constant stream of radiation, with only a few of the hardier plant species to survive. This led to Ju’Lew A03 being classified, class H, uncolonizable, because of the dangers of the radiation and temperature swings caused by the unstable star. But in a barony that had fallen under the curse of being created through the use of the initial survey, it found itself with few suitable planets for colonization, and it was deemed an acceptable risk to go ahead with the colony construction.
Ex-TSB Lieutenant Daniel turned away from the shuttles projected viewport, disabling the text scrolling within, finding that reviewing the history behind Ju'Lew A03's colonization did little to help his mood.
“What's wrong, Sir Daniel?” Baroness Ninifis Ju'Lew asked as she leaned over to peer out the projected viewport.
“Nothing much, my dearest Ninif, I just cannot wait to finish our business on this gloomy planet and return to your residence on Ju'Lew.” He ran a hand down her rosy red cheek, causing her to gush, like always.
Baroness Ninifis Ju'Lew wasn't Daniel's normal type of prey, being twice his age and a stickler for protocol. But on the other hand, she was gorgeous. Her smooth, bronze skin made her stunning, shoulder length silver hair shimmer mysteriously, as if each strand emitted a light of its own. It flowed down her tender cheeks, framing her perfectly uniform, but still exotic, “noble perfect” features that fit splendidly with her robust, hourglass figure. Just the way Daniel loved. Plus, she was a single ruling baroness within the Ulgvont Duchy, which Daniel, not one to miss an opportunity, took advantage of without delay.
The lie had come simply and without regret, as well as the seduction. It was during one of the many noble banquets he'd been attending discreetly since he landed on Ulgvont, the capital planet of the Ulgvont Duchy. Ninifis had been alone in the corner when his eyes had first gazed upon her, sipping a beverage and surveying the room with nary a thought in her mind. Daniel approached her warily, like a tiger stocking a mouse, careful not to startle her into flight. He had provided himself a noble name at the mysterious voices urging, the voice that had first appeared after his foray on Earth before it was destroyed. It told not to worry, that his tall figure, dirty blond hair, and sculpted, noble-like appearance would provide little reason to question his claims. Then, when he knew she wouldn't query him further, he presented her with a spiked beverage. She giggled, unable to respond coherently to his flirtations, and Daniel knew he'd found the perfect little lamb.
She'd been a virgin, which he found very odd for a woman in her 50's. But he still enjoyed the experience immensely. There was something uniquely satisfying about being someone's first. In the morning, when the drug had subsided and the baroness realized what had befallen, she announced Sir Daniel as her betrothed. It was beyond his expectations, but within a two periods of arriving in the Ulgvont Duchy, or 20 days, his plan for revenge was already progressing at full speed.
“Revenge against...” the mysterious voice whispered through his BC node, the man who turned my life upside down, Daniel’s inner voice took over, the man responsible for all the torment I’ve faced. “The hobo Earthling who is now a true noble, as you will soon be,” the voice assured, a vivid image appearing alongside of a despicable man, a man he would never forgive, a man who he would utterly destroy.
The man named Trent.
Daniel, Ninifis, and her entourage had hastily left Ulgvont the same morning as their betrothal, at Daniel’s insistence, setting course for her barony within the Mark of Dulvont, called Ju'Lew, in the hopes that he could head off any questions of his background, not fully trusting the voice’s reassurance that all queries would return Daniel as an unlanded noble. So just in case such a situation arose, he started fawning over Ninifis constantly, knowing the attention would cause her empty mind to start dancing with thoughts of him, and only him. It was going well until they arrived on Ju'Lew IV, the capital planet of the Ju'Lew Barony, and he realized why an attractive, ruling baroness had stayed single for so long.
The Ju'Lew Barony consisted of three habitable planets in the two thousand or so star systems it encompassed. None of the planets were highly coveted; all requiring protected living enclosures with either filtration systems or full habitation domes. But even with this limitation, there should have been many more commons willing to work and live within, if only for slightly higher compensation, and a much larger concentration of heavy industry. It was only after he met with the barony's administrator that he learned the culprit.
The Ju'Lew Barony was directly against “The Wall”, the unbroken line of defensive fortifications meant to prevent any intrusion by the enemy of humanity, the Anti-Sapien Unification, or ASU. This had been the death blow for the small barony with only three habitable planets, few commons wanting to live on the desolate worlds with the constant fear of being caught in any possible incursions.
But Daniel wouldn't be swayed. He had plans, plans for power, plans for revenge, and this was the best place for him to start. So he took control of the barony, using sweet words and false promises to convince Ninifis to provide him full authority. Then he went to work, dismissing the administrator in charge, who seemed content to keep things as they were, and assigned himself the vacated role. It wasn't hard at first, the main colony being of only 100,000 commons with a small garrison of guards, while the other two planets were colonized by petties, only requiring little of his attention and few of their resources. But then the bureaucratic mess of requesting assistance from the Mark of Dulvont, for the construction of new mines and cultivation areas, blocked his plans before they could begin.
The only redeeming quality of the Ju'Lew Barony was its many star systems with abundant deposits of raw materials, and the massive, Type 4 Nebula, located within only a few parsecs of Ju'Lew IV. If the star systems and nebula could be properly exploited, the additional revenue streams could be used to improve the environment of Ju'Lew's habitable planets through terraforming, allowing an increase in immigration, and in turn, an increase in tax revenue and manpower. But of course, proper channels needed to be utilized, which he found to be so convoluted that only those with formal administrative training could comprehend their requirements. So Daniel, not being a trained administrator himself, was forced to put forth a request for applications.
One man had responded immediately. A shady, shifty eyed little noble called Sir Pariya, who somehow, knew his secret. When he questioned the mysterious voice about how this was possible, he’d been met by silence, the voice nowhere to be found, as if it had never existed in the first place. So he turned to negotiation, Pariya as crafty as his looks, and in the end, Daniel bought the man's silence, and his assistance.
Over the next few periods, hundreds of new raw material mines, an “artificial” neutron star cultivation factory, and a “dark matter” farm were accepted for construction, and he thought little could stop his plans from proceeding. But, as if Trent was haunting him from the far side of the galaxy, a major problem appeared.
The petty world of Ju'Lew A03 had fallen out of contact, and the few freighters under Ju'Lew’s ownership had all vanished without a trace, and with them, the income Daniel required for the barony's expansion. At first, he planned to send the Ju'Lew Guard alone to investigate, but for some irrational reason he couldn’t begin to comprehend, B
aroness Ninifis had decided she would go along as well, deciding this to be a good time to tour her holdings. Of course, this also meant Daniel would accompany her, and have to listen to her endless prattling about the most mundane things.
“Pretty,” her voice sounded as empty as usual, her eyes fixated on the desolate surface below.
He held back a sigh. “Yes, Ninif, my dearest. But remember, we are not here for a vacation, but for business,” he explained, her childish pout exposing her response.
“You keep telling me that, but I don't care about business!” He clenched his jaw, knowing for just such a reason her barony was in such dire straits.
“I understand, Ninif, but please...please let me take care of the business first, then I'll accompany you in any way you would like,” he told, somewhat honestly. Her pout vanished as she pointed towards the swirling grey dust clouds.
“I want to play in those clouds! It looks like it would feel ever so good,” she said, no joking in her tone. Daniel thought the idea appealing, but quickly shook it off. No dancing unprotected in deadly dust storms until after our marriage of elevation, he mused.
“Ninif, the environment may be habitable, but exposure without protection is extremely dangerous,” Daniel explained.
“You said you would do anything I wanted!” She pouted again; tears forming at the edge of her fluttering lashes.
“Yes...I know Ninif, but I thought you meant trying on the local fashions or eating the local delicacies,” Daniel diverted her attention skillfully, like a father dealing with a spoiled daughter. Ninifis’s eyes went wide, obvious delight dancing within her empty head at the thought of new clothes and food.
“You must be careful, Daniel,” the voice whispered, reminding him such lies may cause trouble later, there being no local fashions or delicacies, since Ju'Lew A03 was a petty world. But it would keep her mind occupied as he took care of the business at hand, and once completed, he'd deal with finding a way to appease Ninifis on their journey home.
The Noble Petty, Complete Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 2) Page 25
