Warlord 2: The Nobility

by CJ Williams

  “Sorry I can’t offer you one more free drink,” Carrie said, sitting down across from Germander.

  “That’s okay, milady,” he replied, his face reflecting uncertainty.

  “Do we still have a deal?”

  His eyes darted around the room. “I don’t know,” he said carefully. “Just now, I’m not sure what I’ve agreed to.”

  “Fair enough,” Carrie said. “I’m not either at the moment. But my goal remains the same. I need to leave this planet and you’re my best bet. As to who is going, I need to work on that. Why don’t you swing by the palace tomorrow morning and we can talk about it in a little more detail?”

  “The palace?”

  “Yeah. The Imperial Palace. Just ask for Princess Pokeuneo. I’ll let them know you’re coming.” Carrie couldn’t help grinning. The change in her circumstances must seem intimidating to her onetime friend. But it was a fact of life now, nonetheless. “On second thought, let’s make it in the afternoon. I’ve got some other things on my plate at the moment.”

  The faint ghost of a smile on Germander’s face meant he would show up. At least he hadn’t been scared off. “Very well…Highness? Is that what I call you now?”

  “Probably best. These guys seem to go in for titles, the longer the better.” Carrie reached across the table and took his hands. “I’ve been trying to keep a low profile, but those days are over. The important thing for you, Germander, is that I’m still me and I need your help. Promise that you won’t let me down.”

  Her sudden honesty made an impact and his face grew serious. “And I am still a businessman,” he replied. “I’ve never let down a customer and I surely won’t start with you, Highness. I will arrive at your palace after midday.”

  Carrie nodded and rose to leave. “See you then. I’ve got to run.”

  *.*.*.*

  Back at the palace, a new patrol was waiting to escort her to new chambers. The quarters were just what she had ordered. Broad double doors of carved hardwood opened into a palatial living area. Each of the furnishings would have been worth a fortune on Earth. Deep, comfortable lounge chairs, leather-covered couches, and strategically placed tables drew her in. There was even a furnished patio outside a set of tall glass doors. The ground sloped away, giving her a panoramic view of the countryside.

  She peeked through a door and found her bedroom. It was luxurious. Another doorway led to a generously appointed office, and down a short corridor was a waiting room. She told Choego and Sunchall to make that their own.

  “In the mornings I want both of you in the living room, ready to go. You can knock off in the evenings when I go to bed. I’ll probably spend a lot of time in my office during the day, so when I’m at my desk you girls can be on standby in your breakroom.”

  When she reentered the living room, Tolliver was there waiting. He looked distressed.

  “What’s the problem?” Carrie asked.

  “I may have erred, Highness,” he confessed miserably.

  “I suspect it’s not the first time. How so?”

  “I spoke with Tolliver of your presence. He is requesting an audience.”

  “Tolliver?” Carrie said.

  “For the administrator.”

  Carrie thought. “You mean for Jeff? I mean for JF307? That administrator?”

  “Yes, of course. I would not bother you with a minor functionary.”

  Carrie imagined some kind of pencil neck IT guy, probably with thick glasses. She wasn’t sure why she needed to meet with him. On Moonbase One she had never actually seen George, the biggest AI she knew of. He seemed pretty self-sufficient, but then the local unit, JF307, may have been in place for hundreds of years, if not thousands. It made sense that it would need upkeep from time to time.

  “All right, bring him in,” she said.

  Tolliver looked pained. “I mean to say, he requests an audience in your throne room with his ministers. Now that Your Royal Highness is back, he has much business to discuss.”

  That didn’t sound like an IT guy. Carrie looked at the ceiling. “Jeff, what is the function of the person Tolliver is talking about?”

  “He is what you would call the planetary governor. Very similar to Governor Lindsey.”

  Damn! Every time she learned something it brought up a dozen more questions. “Jeff, I take it that Sadie shared everything with you. Otherwise you wouldn’t know about Lindsey.”

  “That is correct.”

  When will I learn? Carrie scolded herself. Of course, Sadie would dump everything on Jeff after she was called away. Sadie knew Carrie would need assistance.

  And it made sense that here on Japurnam Five there would be a planetary government. Just because she hadn’t dealt with it to date didn’t mean it didn’t exist. She had mistakenly assumed that JF307 took care of everything, but it wasn’t like it had arms and legs. A general could command, but he needed an army to make things happen.

  Still, getting involved with local governance was not on her agenda. It was bad enough to rearrange Gimi’s household, and the princess might not appreciate her efforts, but inserting herself into the business of the governor, or planetary Tolliver, was even worse.

  She looked at her Tolliver. “Is he waiting now? With all the ministers?”

  Tolliver nodded.

  “All right, but I want a few minutes alone with him, before we meet his staff.” Carrie had a sudden thought. “How many ministers are there?”

  “Three hundred and eighty-seven.”

  Jeff, Tolliver didn’t stick them all in the banquet hall, did he?

  “No,” the AI responded aloud. “They await in your throne room.”

  Carrie followed Tolliver out of the room. It was getting routine now; she didn’t have to worry about her girls or the guards anymore. They automatically fell in line.

  It was a long walk. Tolliver finally gestured to a simple door. “This is your antechamber,” he said. “It leads to your throne room.”

  Evidently, her Tolliver did not accompany royalty beyond this spot. It would probably be like having a presidential butler appear before Congress. Carrie sighed deeply. She had gotten the hang of living on Japurnam Five as an unimportant pub owner, but she hadn’t scratched the surface of royal living.

  Inside, an elderly, distinguished-looking man was waiting. The instant she entered, he fell to one knee and proclaimed his undying loyalty.

  “Thank you, Tolliver. Please rise.”

  The room was comfortably appointed with several easy chairs. The only difference from those in her chambers was these looked a bit more official. She waved at the seats and settled herself into one.

  “Please be comfortable,” she said, urging him to sit down. It was her first meeting with him, so he needed some coaxing. “I’m not sure how to begin. We know nothing of each other and I suspect you have as many questions for me as I do for you.”

  “Highness,” he said delicately.

  Carrie took his cautious tone as an invitation. “I’ll start, then. Let’s be honest with each other. Are you aware of who I am? Tell me what you know.”

  “Highness, you are the third daughter of our Great King Peyha, God rest his soul.”

  “When did you find out?”

  “Yesterday evening. The administrator informed me that he had discovered a third daughter of the king. I instructed it to obtain confirmation. I abjectly beg your pardon, Highness. That was presumptuous of me.”

  He tried to apologize formally but Carrie stopped him, forcing him to resume his seat.

  “Don’t, please,” she said. “Let’s not look back. We have too many challenges in front of us. Here’s the thing. I want nothing to do with running the government. I’m not sure how things operated before, and I don’t really care. Do you know about the mission that the king, my father, has placed upon me? Do you know about the Bakkui?”

  “Of course. It is a popular folk tale; a rumored legend to scare children. In reality, it originated in one of the royal families.”


  At least he was aware. Being involved in royalty was a constant exercise in separating fact from fiction. Carrie was pleased to see the flicker of relief in his eyes when she said she wasn’t interested in government.

  “Let’s set my mission aside for the moment,” Carrie said. “I take it you don’t object if I bow out of any governmental duties?”

  Carrie’s abdication from governance was a new concept. She peered inside his mind. Everything she saw indicated he was a competent manager. He was a bureaucrat, true, but his interest lay in efficient governance and training his people to do the same. What a relief, she thought. Why can’t our politicians be the same way on Earth? She tamped down the extraneous thoughts.

  “Let’s start with what I know,” she said. “I agree the Bakkui is not a legend. It is a real, mechanized force that threatens our galaxy. But I need more information. I have no knowledge of their background. Please tell me everything you know about the Bakkui.”

  Tolliver shrugged. “It is believed they began with King Bakkall of the Second Family amidst the feud between the First and Second Families.”

  “So did he invent them or what?” Carrie asked.

  “In a way. As everyone knows, all AIs within the Nobility’s empire are loyal to the First Family above all others.”

  Carrie didn’t know but was glad to hear it. Dueling AIs could make life difficult.

  Tolliver continued. “The widespread use of AI technology started generations before with King Mahma. Under his rule, AIs were developed and became so ubiquitous that no one could contest the First Family for leadership.”

  “So how does King Bakkall fit in?” Carrie wondered aloud.

  “It was he who tried to wrest away this authority. The legend is that he obtained a copy of the First Family’s AI and tried to alter its programming…unsuccessfully. There are many variations of the tale. The effort supposedly went on for a long time in a secret lab but the ultimate result was a monster intelligence. There was a battle and King Bakkall was killed. The homeworld of the Second Family, Bonbu Two, was decimated and the corrupted AI escaped. Afterwards it became known as the Bakkui, the scourge of King Bakkall. How much of that is true, I don’t know.”

  Carrie was fascinated by the story. It filled in a few of the holes in the background she knew.

  “Jeff,” Carrie said to the ceiling. “I take it Sadie spoke to you about the Bakkui.”

  “That is correct.”

  “Can you give Tolliver a quick update on my mission? I would like to get your opinion on that as well.”

  Carrie felt the artificial presence in her mind as it conferenced her into a conversation with Tolliver.

  I will tell you of King Peyha’s battle with Bakkui, JF307 said to Tolliver.

  More succinctly than Carrie could have done, Jeff explained who Commander Blackburn was and his mission to seek out and destroy the invaders. The AI projected a mental image of the Milky Way Galaxy and identified the millions of stars that had fallen to the menace. JF307 described the Commander as a fearsome Warlord who led a powerful force in that combat.

  It explained that Carrie, the unknown third daughter of the king, was an admiral in the Warlord’s fleet. After several great battles in which she had been victorious, her new mission was to infiltrate the Bakkui’s territory and discover their weakness. It made no mention of genetic engineering. Carrie would certainly not be the one to break that bit of news. The briefing ended and JF307 withdrew from her mind.

  Carrie spoke to Tolliver. “We don’t know what is going on in the Bakkui’s section of the galaxy. Planets that were once destroyed are being repopulated. I’m worried about what that means. What would happen if that enticed the Bakkui to reverse course and come in this direction? You’re not prepared to deal with it.”

  “We are not,” Tolliver agreed, his face filled with worry. “At least not on this planet. We have nothing in the way of a military force that could offer a defense.”

  “Exactly,” Carried said. “But the rebirth on those planets might also mean that someone is helping the Bakkui from inside Nobility territory. My mission is to determine exactly what is happening and help the Warlord stop the Bakkui. Because of this, I don’t have time to get involved in the business of Japurnam Five. I only plan to remain here for a few more days. Any questions?”

  The story surprised Tolliver, that much was clear. Carrie wondered momentarily if coming clean had been such a good idea. It was like telling innocent islanders in the South Pacific that a world war was going on around them and they had to help. It was tough to learn the universe is a bigger place than you thought.

  But it was information that the planet’s senior management needed to know. For one thing, what did he know about the blockade? Was it in any way related?

  After a moment, Tolliver started nodding to himself. The facts were sinking in. His eyes came into focus and he examined her more closely. “You are very special,” he said. “You are a warrior and that is unique in our society. I also perceive that you are quite young, extraordinarily so. King Peyha was wise far beyond my understanding. I am astonished that he sired a new child to take up this battle.”

  Carrie didn’t reply to his comments. She wasn’t sure if Tolliver was being circumspect or if he truly admired the former king. In either case, Tolliver seemed like a smart guy. She wished she could get him and Governor Lindsey together for a few hours.

  “Yes,” Carrie agreed. “We are fortunate that my father foresaw this terrible threat.” It was really awkward to refer to King Peyha as Dad. As far as Carrie was concerned, her dad lived on a farm in Kansas.

  “May I ask a favor?” Tolliver inquired.

  “Of course.”

  “It would be a great honor to at least introduce you to the ministers. Word of your presence has spread and it would be good for morale if you could say a few words. The blockade weighs heavily on our minds.”

  Carrie smiled. “I want to talk to you about that some more, but to answer your question, of course I will. I would be delighted to speak to your team. What should I say? And more importantly, what should I not say?”

  Carrie and Tolliver discussed the question for a few minutes. He felt it best to stick to generalities, praise for the ministers, a hint that she was working on a mission for her father, and in support of that undertaking she would have to move on soon.

  “Where will you go next?” Tolliver asked.

  “I’m looking for Princess Gimi,” Carrie explained. “I have information that she is on Cerava Four.”

  Tolliver looked skeptical. “That is not correct. Her foundation uses that location as a blind when they think people are searching for her. They believe that her life is in danger.”

  “Why is that?” Carrie asked. “She’s a First Family princess.”

  “It goes back to King Bakkall. His son blamed the First Family for his father’s death. That hatred has been passed down through the generations. The enmity between the First and Second families is now legendary.”

  “That’s a long time to hold a grudge,” Carrie observed.

  “More than anything else, King Peyha wished to heal that rift. He was truly fond of King Kkoli and wanted to tie the First and Second Families together. He arranged for his eldest daughter, Princess Soultang, to marry Prince Rakkaie, eldest son of King Kkoli.”

  “How did that work out?” Carrie asked. She was surprised that even here, in the center of the Nobility, a monarch would force his child into an arranged marriage.

  “Not well,” Tolliver replied. “The rumor is that early in her marriage to Prince Rakkaie, she realized King Kkoli wanted her father dead. She took her son and fled.”

  “So the two families still hate each other?”

  “I would not describe it that way. The animosity is one sided. The betrayal was shocking, of course. For King Peyha, it was a nightmare. Negotiation was impossible, but open warfare was unthinkable. He was a man of peace.”

  “I suspect King Kkoli had no such scruples,
” Carrie guessed.

  “Just so. He began a campaign of subtle hostility upon the First Family. It started with snubs and insults but that quickly escalated into many forms of aggression. He created a military force and began to openly harass planets under King Peyha’s sovereign rule. He doesn’t declare war, however. He always cites a historic precedent for his claims, although they are always based on ridiculous assumptions.”

  Carrie thought Kkoli sounded like a Chinese diplomat. Propaganda in one hand and a bloody sword in the other. “So is this where the blockade is coming from? Is it the Second Family?”

  “I am sure of it. Today, King Kkoli has the empire within his grasp. It is just a matter of time. Or so I fear.”

  “I don’t understand,” Carrie said. “How can it be a matter of time…unless he plans to kill all the heirs. Is that what he is doing?”

  “That would not work,” Tolliver said. “The AI bureaucracy would ostracize him. No one can govern without them.”

  “Then what is he thinking?”

  “I am not privy to details inside the Royal Families.” Tolliver cast a glance at the ceiling.

  Carrie followed his gaze. Tolliver’s intent was clear. There was someone else in the room who probably did know.

  “Jeff?” Carrie said. “Sadie must have shared a lot of information with you and I understand you were the AI for Princess Gimi. Do you have any more details on this?”

  “I do,” JF307 replied. “The details concern your family’s private affairs.”

  Carrie considered the oblique warning. The AI was inquiring whether she wanted to air her adopted family’s dirty laundry with the hired help. “Is there any reason to keep Tolliver in the dark?” she asked the AI.

  “I believe Tolliver to be a man of utmost discretion and honor,” it replied.

  “Then let’s hear it. What’s going on that I don’t know?”

  “Very well,” JF307 said. “As much as King Peyha loved his son, he was wise enough to realize that Prince Jinbo was not the right choice for the crown. Jinbo is intelligent of course, but temperance and a serious demeanor are not his strengths.”

  Carrie faced Tolliver. “I don’t see there was much he could do about that. Doesn’t the eldest inherit?”