"Yes, I'll be ready in a few minutes. But before that, admiral, a number of issues that have become extremely important have come up, and I need a qualified advisor. To me, you are the incarnation of honor and conscience and never put forth ideas that contradict army traditions or Imperial law, and I need just such an advisor at this moment." I pointed the graying admiral to the unoccupied seat, and Kiro Sabuto took it.
"My Prince, I'm all ears."
I took a look at Bionica, who was sitting on the edge of her seat, and asked my first question:
"Admiral, I would like to know: are regular mandatory medical checks carried out on captains of the ships in my fleet?"
"In general, such procedures have never been necessary before, but if your Highness thinks such procedures necessary, they could be implemented," the admiral answered cautiously, clearly not totally understanding why I was wondering about such a topic.
"In other words, admiral, there is no guarantee whatsoever that none of the captains or officers of my fleet are actually merely humanoid robots?"
The question made Kiro Sabuto think. The graying admiral sat in silence for half a minute, then was forced to agree that such a thing was totally possible.
"And so, my third and most important question. If even you and I, the two people most well-informed about the composition of the Sector Eight Fleet, cannot tell the difference in behavior between a human captain and an android captain, perhaps we should carry out an experiment to determine the difference in combat effectiveness. What do you say? I think we should appoint an android captain to one of the frigates, but to keep the experiment pure, not tell anyone in the fleet about it. And based on the results of some extended period, let's say half a year, you and I will take a look at the effectiveness of that frigate in comparison with the other similar ships and come to a conclusion on whether it makes sense to have android captains or not."
Kiro Sabuto considered it, then suddenly asked:
"And what if that frigate becomes one of the best in the fleet? Wouldn't such an experiment have a negative effect on the fates of thousands and thousands of normal living human captains?"
"Admiral, I really like how our thoughts coincide so often," I chuckled. "I also first thought about the possible consequences for the members of my own race. That is why I answer you: it will not reflect negatively, because you and I will not allow it to. And I will point out another danger that needs to be taken into account: the android captain must have remote control turned off, so incoming system messages don't interfere with its work at an inappropriate time. So, we've considered the potential risks. And now I need to know your opinion, admiral."
Kiro Sabuto thought a bit longer and declared:
"Your Highness, you have made decisions that looked strange and paradoxical at first glance in the past, but every time the result has proven you right – which is why I am all for it. We should try. What's more, I would be very interested in seeing the result of this experiment myself. I'll even help that android captain create a personal record through the fleet staff service so no one will suspect a thing."
When the admiral had gone, I turned to the satisfied and smiling Bionica:
"My decision is positive. The gift frigate will be accepted into my fleet. Now it's all up to the android captain, whether he will be able to keep the secret of his true nature. And yes, Bionica, I decided to reward you for the initiative. Take a look at your account. Now you're the galaxy’s first android millionaire. You can raise your authority up even faster!"
The artificial blonde started smiling even stronger and answered:
"Thank you, my Prince. I am very pleased that you valued my initiative. And I want to say that a ton of opinions have already come in about your positive decision. But you are totally right about the other part. Yes, my contract with you really is the highest valued among all androids, but I am not nearly the richest. There are rumors that there are quite a few robot millionaires, and even some billionaires, especially among those that do stock trading on wealthy planets. It's just that androids don't normally try to loudly broadcast how wealthy they are, and rarely share it with other robots. I have received unverified information that there are even androids who are the shadowy owners of huge, famous corporations, and hire themselves there for the longest possible term in some rank-and-file job. And it is these rich individuals who are ready to pay in their own money to transport millions of androids to territory under the control of Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky and also to invest money in projects for your Highness."
I wasn't prepared to discuss that then, and there wasn't time. As such, I extended my hand, helping my translator stand up from the deep armchair and said:
"Bionica, this is a whole other big topic, let's discuss it later with my cousin Katerina ton Mesfelle. And with her, we can also figure out if it is legally possible to avoid paying out the contracts of ninety android workers to their remote manufacturers... And now it's time for us to run to the shuttle. Everyone is waiting for us."
* * *
The beautiful and even somewhat pompous swearing-in ceremony came to a close, and I, accompanied by three admirals, set off to a ceremonial banquet that had been organized nearby on Emperor August to celebrate the significant addition to the Sector Eight Fleet. On my way there, I got a call from Nicole Savoia, who said:
"My Prince, Captain Mwaur Zen-Bey has provided documents that confirm his authority to remove the Alien battleship. Also, the captain explained his refusal to participate in the ceremony, declaring that he had received an unambiguous and curt order from the Throne World to maintain neutrality and not interfere in the internal Orange House conflict."
"And what about Florianna? Is he taking the paralyzed girl?" I wondered. The reply surprised me:
"No, Captain Mwaur Zen-Bey will not be taking Florianna with him. Instead, he has taken a whole team of medics with him who are preparing to study the injured child right here in the Hnelle system. In fact, the doctors are already in the medical wing looking the girl over."
I invited Nicole to the ceremonial dinner, and she agreed. The event in the small hall was elaborately adorned and catered. My butler Bryle had really put his heart and soul into decorating the Emperor August's small hall and organizing an excellent celebratory feast. I had barely taken my assigned place at the table when Princess Astra took a seat just to my right.
That seat should have been for Katerina ton Mesfelle, but my cousin didn't object and gave me a sly wink, taking a seat next to the captain of Emperor August, Bayazid Krom. He had an Emerald Star shining on his orange uniform, one of the five Imperial orders delivered today from the Throne World by the Imperial messenger.
In the place to my left, there was a gap. It was intended for Crown Prince Georg's favorite, but now it was left empty. Hesitating to choose between Bionica and Nicole, I... invited Space Corporal Beston Maf to sit next to me. It was precisely that embarrassed, short young man who had, as Oorast Pohl had put it, “drawn the short straw” and would have to command the Warhawk with an android crew. Probably, inviting the modest young captain to a ceremonial dinner in a narrow circle of high officers and their associates seemed somewhat strange, but all the other participants looked on my decision with simple curiosity, none too surprised at the Prince’s desire to have a look at the person left with such an unusual assignment. And not many knew that this young man was no man at all.
Beston Maf behaved completely naturally. He got embarrassed and was openly timid in the company of these high officers. As such, he tried, not overly successfully, to put on a showy confidence. I gave my servant instructions to fill the young captain's goblet with wine and asked that the "most junior in title make the first toast." Even with all my diligent observation, I didn't notice even the slightest sign the young captain's behavior was unusual. He acted just like a person. He stood, said some nice words about the greatness of the Empire and the Orange House, got slightly off track, then, with obvious strain, drained the excessively large c
ontainer of alcohol to the very bottom.
"Give it your all, kid! Show these hunks of metal the meaning of discipline! Teach them their place!" said Oorast Pohl, encouraging the young captain.
The feast continued, and I turned to Admiral Nill ton Amsted, who was sitting across from me, and asked him to tell me about what happened on Tesse. The redheaded admiral frowned from the unpleasant memories and said:
"What can I even say here...? Right after your Highness captured the ships in Himora, a fleet descended upon us from the head of the Orange House in Tesse. Crown Prince Roben royl Inoky was arrested on charges of 'supporting and financing rebels’ and taken away to the Orange House Capital. And since then, there has been no news about your brother's fate. His wife Verena and the young child are under house arrest in one of their castles – where exactly is not known. There is little information about them. All that is known is that they are alive and more or less healthy, insofar as that word ever applies to Roben's heir. Telecommunication service from Tesse has been cut off. Authorized representatives of Duke Paolo are stationed in all key locations. Roben's appointees have had a fall from grace. Some have even been arrested. Then, the order came in to send all the Tesse Fleet combat ships toward the Nessi star system and join Duke Paolo royl Anjer's fleet..."
"Stop, stop," I said, putting an end to the story. "That means some of the Tesse ships went to Nessi and on to Ulia, and some came here to Hnelle? Did any stay in Tesse?"
"Ships commanded by the Duke's appointed Viceroy, Count Avalle royl Anjer ton Mesfelle. He is the one in charge of Tesse while Roben is away. The Count has a large fleet. Up to two hundred fifty ships, four of them battleships and fifty cruisers.
I drummed my fingers on the table, hurriedly trying to come up with a new action plan in my head for the changing situation. There turned out to be extremely little information. The temporary regent of Tesse's fleet looked very threatening and, to top it all off, it wasn't at all clear where the main part of the Orange House Fleet was. It was one thing if they were in Ulia. Then they would need more than seventeen hours, including recharging time to get to Tesse. It was another thing entirely if the Duke was keeping his fleet in the Capital or Nessi. In that case, the fleet could jump to Tesse at the first alarm signal...
I needed the Truth Seeker right away, and I asked to be put through to Nicosid Brandt to ask how Florianna was doing and see whether the medics had finished looking her over. The old doctor answered the call almost immediately, but the information he had to tell wasn't at all what I wanted to hear:
"My Prince, the representatives of the Dark Mother that came studied the child and gave her crystals. I'm afraid that the girl will be unavailable for the next two or three days, as she will be in a crystal sleep."
I thanked the doctor for the information and signed off. Aw, hell! What a bad time it was for this! Risking the fleet and sneaking to Tesse when the situation looked so much like a trap would be just dumb.
But then I noticed that everyone around the table had stopped talking amongst themselves and were looking at me, clearly intrigued at my stormy reaction to Nill Amsted's story and were waiting for an explanation. I was in no mood to explain myself yet, as I was too busy trying to think everything through. I couldn't choose for myself if it was worth using the information from the admiral to attack Tesse while the enemy fleet was divided.
Too bad the Truth Seeker had dozed off. Wait a second... There was another way I could check!
"Bionica, I need information. Does Duke Paolo royl Anjer have android servants? And if so, can you talk to them and figure out what star system they are in?"
My pretty translator delayed for a few seconds, then stated:
"My Prince, Duke Paolo does not allow android servants. And if I may note, it is highly improper on your Highness's part to pressure android servants into spying against their masters..."
Space Corporal Beston Maf, sitting to my left, suddenly hiccupped loudly and tried to stand and apologize to those in the hall for his tactlessness. He made another blunder and tipped a wine glass over onto his pant leg.
"So, the kid is cut off!" Kiro Sabuto said, giving his thoughts on the episode.
I was looking at something else entirely. The android used his red-wine-soaked finger to write something on the white tablecloth hanging down from the table. When the young captain took his hand away, I was able to read it. There was just one word scribbled there: "Ulia."
Leaving my glass to the side, I stood decisively and said to those gathered:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I beg all of your forgiveness for having to end this wonderful dinner so early. If everything goes according to plan, we will continue our feast in seven hours in the flying palace. Admirals, prepare the fleet for war. We are headed for Tesse.”
Regent
As I had ordered, the fleet left the warp tunnel as close as possible to the Tesse station. I supposed that Count Avalle royl Anjer ton Mesfelle's ships would be guarding the warp beacon, meaning they wouldn’t be too far from our exit point. The best thing, of course, would be if they were docked right on the station. If that were the case, like with the Alien invasion of the Nayal system, the battle would begin with a one-sided mass shooting while the enemy ships were still tied down.
However, I was wrong. There were no defenders near the station.
"Enemy ships not detected on the tactical grid! Just a container ship and two passenger liners charging up."
"Checking on the directional scanner. I’m picking up a huge number of combat starships. Four battleships: two Tyrants and two Monarchs. Twenty-six heavy cruisers. Thirty light cruisers. Sixty destroyers. One hundred ninety frigates. Determining their locations now..."
"Prince, the enemy fleet is orbiting Tesse-III near the space docks."
"Necessary time for warp jump: eight minutes," reported Admiral Kiro Sabuto, calmly awaiting my orders.
What to do: immediately attack Count Avalle's fleet before they figure out what's going on and get ready for battle, or first turn off the Tesse warp beacon so the enemy wouldn’t be able to get reinforcements from neighboring star systems? I chose option one.
"All ships, move out toward the third planet! One minute until warp tunnel can be opened! Set warp tunnel exit point to one thousand miles from the planet's surface. Communications officer, transmit an order to the Tesse station to put out the beacon!"
Nicole Savoia, sitting next to me, took off her headphones and, muting her microphone, suddenly asked me to explain my last command. The lieutenant reminded me that Duke Paolo had placed his people at all key positions in Tesse – including, logically, the strategically important warp beacon as well.
"Maybe they'll roll, and we'll manage to avoid an assault on the station..." I smiled in reply to my excessively serious assistant. "Action in five! Four. Three. Two. One. WARP!!!"
To be honest, I was very worried. The fleet of Count Avalle royl Anjer ton Mesfelle, the second highest figure in the Orange House court hierarchy, could in no way be considered easy pickings. Four battleships and fifty-six cruisers were a terrifying force and surpassed my fleet’s firepower by approximately one and a half times. Also, the Count's two hundred fifty small ships made the mission of getting my heavy ships out to optimal shooting distance very, very complicated.
Probably, my worry was rubbing off on those around me. I could see the officers looking at me, and they were also anxious. I had to quickly force an expression of confident ambivalence on my face.
"There are still seven minutes before we come out of warp. Bionica, be a pal and fetch me a coffee and some kind of pastry!" I asked the android girl. "They tore me away from the celebratory feast, but my stomach had already managed to work up an appetite. I don't like to fight on an empty stomach."
Seeing their fleet commander noshing on custard pies at a relaxed pace had a very calming effect on my subjects. As soon as the officers around me stopped worrying, I also felt my usual self-confidence return. Finally, I crumpled up the n
apkin and sent it into a far off trash can with a light flick.
"Be ready in fifteen seconds! As soon as we arrive I need a tactical map. It's started!"
We came out of warp facing the dark side of the planet. Even from so far away, Tesse-III at night was illuminated by what looked like a great many bonfires, marking the planets megalopolises with its six-billion-strong population.
"The enemy fleet is two hundred fifty miles away. The heavy ships are in a dense group, moving perpendicular to our position. Frigates and destroyers are surrounding the heavies in a sphere."
The position seemed to lend itself to a quick attack. If we can hurry and place webs on the enemy battleships to stop them from turning toward the attacking ships, Count Avalle's most dangerous guns would be stuck in a difficult position for getting off shots and could use barely even a third of their cannons. But every second left before the enemy came to and took countermeasures was valuable.
"All ships, advance! Heavies, standard formation. Electros, keep forty back. First and second divisions of Pyros and ten Safas, turn up your thrusters to maximum and reduce distance to enemy into a tight ring so you don't get one-shotted. Your mission is to get up to the enemy heavy ships! A medal and a crate of wine for the first one who gets me the jump coordinates next to the battleships! All other ships, stay at the ready! When you receive the coordinates, immediately warp to zero and get webs on the battleships as fast as you can..."
"My Prince, they're retreating! The enemy ships are warping out!"
And in fact, one after the other, Count Avalle's ships disappeared from the tactical map. At first it was just one or two retreating, but the flight gradually began to take on a mass character.
"Capture the valuable ships! Don't let them get away!" I shouted into the microphone in a voice not my own.
But there was little point left. Only the Safa-6 had been able to catch anything in a warp disruptor, a Thrush light cruiser. The other frigates didn't manage to catch anyone. After cursing my ham-handed captains out on the fleet channel, I demanded that the fleet prepare to go after the fleeing enemy, and that the officers immediately calculate where in the Tesse star system Count Avalle royl Anjer ton Mesfelle's fleet had warped to by the trajectory of their exit.
Beyond Death (Perimeter Defense Book #2) Page 7
