“Foaming?”
“Like a rabid dog.” Casmir doubted he had ever foamed, but he’d definitely drooled. Unfortunately. Sometimes, he was glad he was on the inside and couldn’t see what he looked like to others.
“My ability to detect sarcasm is not as keen as would be preferable,” Zee said.
“Nah, you’re doing fine.” Casmir reached over and patted the solid tar-colored arm, nothing about Zee’s current humanoid form hinting that he could liquefy, slide under locked doors, and reconfigure himself into whatever shape with equal mass that he wished.
“What are you doing, Casmir?” Kim asked, stepping into the ship’s lounge with Sir Asger coming in after her.
Their faces gleamed with sweat. She carried a towel and her wooden swords—bokken. Asger was empty-handed, his legendary pertundo perhaps deemed inappropriate for a friendly sparring match, though he hardly appeared unarmed, not with bare muscled arms the size of Casmir’s thighs. They looked like marble rather than flesh and blood.
Casmir wondered how Kim had fared. She was closer to his height—he refused, as always, to admit, she was a half an inch taller—with limbs of normal breadth and density.
“I’m bonding with Zee,” Casmir said.
“It looks like you’re making a mess.” Kim waved at the tools scattered around his work area as she headed to the kitchen where she filled two water bottles.
“You only say that because the deck looks like the living room back home.”
Home. Casmir felt surprisingly intense nostalgia and longing for the cottage they shared back on campus. The Stellar Dragon was heading to Odin, but until he had a chance to find and stop the terrorists who’d been sending stolen crushers after him for reasons he didn’t yet know, it wasn’t safe to return. He wasn’t even positive there was a home to return to. The last time they’d seen their cottage, a crusher had lurked on the threshold.
“Will you put a scoop of protein powder in mine?” Asger asked as Kim turned away from the kitchen and started to toss a bottle toward him.
“No.” She finished tossing it, then stepped over a couple of tools so she could sit at the table.
Asger blinked a couple of times as he looked down at the bottle. Casmir suspected others didn’t deny knights’ requests often, not others who weren’t of the nobility.
“Kim believes in people who can do things for themselves doing things for themselves,” Casmir explained, waving that the robot could step back and join the nine others lined up against the wall opposite Zee. The cadre of battle-bots, as their manufacturing plaques identified them, lacked Zee’s chattiness.
“Or at least putting in the request beforehand,” Kim murmured.
“I realized my macros are off for the day. I have to keep my physique in top shape, especially now that we’re returning home. If I don’t get arrested for assisting a felon, I have a competition next month.” Asger wriggled his eyebrows and flexed his biceps.
Kim rolled her eyes. If a man’s physique had ever impressed her, Casmir wasn’t aware of it.
“I’m thinking of asking the princess to come,” Asger added. “She probably won’t—I’m not even sure if she’s on-planet, right now—but as long as I need to take you to the castle anyway…”
“Princess Oku?” Casmir started picking up tools and returning them to his satchel. “Would she go to a bodybuilding competition? I thought her interests were travel and flowers.”
“Travel to pick out flowers,” Kim said.
“Right.”
“She has a lot of interests. She’s very smart. And beautiful.” Asger flattened a hand to his chest, and he sighed deeply, his eyes growing wistful.
“The princess is very smart?” Casmir asked. “That’s not the impression one gets from the media.”
“The media.” Asger snorted and waved a dismissive hand. “She lets them think whatever they wish. She may even encourage them to think she’s not very bright. If anything ever happened to Prince Jorg, she would be next in line for the throne, which would probably result in people trying to use her, and her younger brother trying to get rid of her. Prince Finn is a spoi—” Asger paused before continuing. “Finn wouldn’t be my first choice as a monarch.”
As Casmir finished putting away his tools, he grew concerned that he might have to interact with these royal celebrities that he’d largely ignored and knew little about. “You don’t think I’ll run into any of the queen’s children, do you? And need to be aware of more than their names? I know some people pay a great deal of attention to the hobbies, dalliances, and adventures and misadventures of the royal family, but I do not.”
Asger shook his head. “Probably not. I’m going to have to… not sneak you in exactly, but it’ll be desirable if we run into as few authority figures at the castle as possible.”
“Is that because the queen doesn’t know I’m coming yet?”
“I’m still working on securing your appointment.” Asger offered another dismissive wave, as if this was no great obstacle.
Casmir reminded himself that Asger read books on philosophy and was likely smarter than his biceps-flexing persona suggested. He wasn’t sure if he should trust the knight or not.
Kim stood up, having drunk and recuperated, and pointed the tip of her water bottle at Casmir. “You should have joined us in the cargo hold for some exercise.”
“I still have bruises from the last time I sparred with you.”
“It’s been weeks since we sparred. If you’re still bruised, you may want to get an exam, assuming you’re not on any anticoagulant medications or anti-platelet agents.”
“Just anti-foaming ones.”
Her brow furrowed slightly. So did Asger’s. Zee, the only one who might have gotten the joke, did not react. A tough room.
“With my limited athletic ability, I believe practicing swordsmanship isn’t the highest and best use of my time,” Casmir said. “I’ll stick with my current method of defending myself from bad guys.”
“Hiding behind your robots?”
“Precisely. I believe Qin would enjoy exerting herself physically with you two, if you intend to return to it.”
“She would be welcome to join us,” Kim said.
Asger didn’t scowl outright, but he did clench his jaw and adopt a mulish expression.
Did he still believe that Qin was the genetically modified cat woman who’d killed one of his knight friends? Even though Casmir had told him otherwise. Or was he, because of his ingrained Kingdom prejudices, simply positive that anyone genetically modified had to be evil?
As if someone with unicorn candles in her cabin could be evil.
As someone who prided himself on being able to get colleagues with strong personalities to work together, Casmir had been debating ways that he might do the same with them, but since he wasn’t in charge of either of them—if anything, Asger considered himself Casmir’s keeper—it was a challenge. Asger and Qin had worked together to help him take over the cargo ship, and they were the only reason he was still alive, but as far as he knew, they hadn’t spoken since returning to the freighter.
“Professor,” Bonita said, leaning through the hatchway. “I need you in navigation.”
“Of course, Captain.”
All day, Casmir had been expecting Bonita to let him know that she’d flown as close to Odin as she dared and it was time for him, Kim, and Asger to transfer over to the knight’s shuttle for the rest of the trip. Currently, the Dragon was towing it. At first, Casmir had been surprised Asger hadn’t opted to remain in it instead of flying on the century-old freighter, but his keeper had an easier time keeping an eye on him here. He might deem it likely that Casmir would hare off on his own instead of going to see the queen.
Casmir was nervous about essentially turning himself in. He doubted he would have chosen this route if he didn’t so long to talk to the queen, the person who’d originally sent a knight to warn him that people were trying to kill him. The person who had to know whose genes Casmir
carried in his blood.
“You, too, Señor Knight,” Bonita called, waving for Asger to join her and Casmir in the corridor.
“It’s Sir Knight.” Asger frowned at her as he stepped out of the lounge and strode straight toward the ladder to navigation, as if he expected a comm to be waiting for him. Maybe he did. “Or Sir Asger,” he called back.
Bonita rolled her eyes. “Are all knights this difficult?” she muttered to Casmir.
“I haven’t interacted with that many, but they’re all talented warriors supremely confident in their ability to handle any situation, and they all come from the nobility, so they have a tendency toward…” He groped for a diplomatic way to finish that sentence.
“Assholeness?”
“Hubris.”
She rolled her eyes again, probably preferring her word.
“You can call me Señor Professor, if you like. That sounds rather exotic.” Casmir was fairly certain that meant Mr. Professor and was an invitation toward excessive honorifics, but he had no pride wrapped up in his title.
Bonita squinted at him. “You don’t have a lot of Mexicans in the Kingdom, do you?”
“Mexicans? Oh, people whose ancestors originated from Central America on Old Earth? No, the two colony ships that came to System Lion were from Europe and Japan. The Kingdom does allow immigration to Odin and our space habitats, but obtaining citizenship is more complicated than wiring up an eight-limbed Slatern-79 house-cleaning robot, and you’re encouraged to assimilate once you’re here.”
“Yeah, my understanding is that people who came from the minority world powers on Earth were never real eager to assimilate themselves once they found spots out there.” Bonita limped toward the ladder leading up to navigation, not quite hiding a grimace as she stepped onto the first rung.
“Oh, Captain,” Casmir blurted, reminded of earlier research he’d done for her. He rushed forward, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. “I assume you’re not going to take us all the way to Odin, and since we have Asger’s shuttle, that shouldn’t be necessary, but when I sent you the schematic I patented, I believe I promised I’d get you in touch with some people who might be interested in buying it.”
Bonita stepped off the ladder and faced him, eyebrows raising.
“There may be many more, of course—” Casmir unfolded the paper and showed her the names and contact information he’d scribbled on it, “—but these are three companies on Odin that make and sell medical equipment. Kenko, right in the capital, has done other dispensing systems, so they may be interested in my bandage machine. My department has worked on a couple of things for them before, so you may find it useful to mention me. They also have a sister company that performs stem-cell-based therapies. I’m not sure how much value my patent will ultimately have—the entrepreneurs are always quick to point out that value is whatever someone will pay—but maybe you could negotiate for a discount…” Casmir waved to her legs since he’d seen her limp on both, though she tended to hide it if someone was watching. “On therapy. If that’s something you need or have ever considered. Maybe after things have settled down and Forseti Station has hopefully forgotten about you.”
Casmir smiled and offered the paper, hoping he wasn’t stepping across any of her boundaries. She never spoke of being in pain and seemed to have some of Asger’s pride herself, so she might not appreciate any help from him, but he did owe her for the transportation she’d given him and Kim.
“Huh.” Bonita accepted the paper. “Thanks.”
She climbed up the ladder, turning her face to the side, so he couldn’t see it this time if she grimaced.
Not sure if he’d offended her or pleased her, Casmir trailed her up to navigation where Asger was on the comm with someone. Two someones. A man and a woman were visible on the forward display, and they wore purple knights’ cloaks with earthy beige, brown, and green shirts and jackets that suggested they were enjoying Odin’s gravity rather than flying around in space somewhere a galaxy suit—or a knight’s liquid armor—would be more typical. Casmir had never seen a female knight, though he was vaguely aware that they existed. From what he’d heard, at any given time, there were only a couple dozen women who wanted the job, had the right blood, and could qualify for the stringent physical tests. Cybernetic implants weren’t forbidden on Odin, but the knights had always taken pride in being unchanging throughout the history of the Kingdom, including remaining purely human, and he didn’t think there were many exceptions.
“My understanding is that the bioweapon was destroyed by Captain Rache, along with Saga’s two refineries,” Asger was saying when Bonita and Casmir stepped into navigation.
“Your understanding?” The woman had short hair, broad features, and looked like she spent a lot of time angry. “That’s not good enough, especially when your reputation suggests your understanding is mainly of how to look pretty and model.”
Asger’s hands, which were down at his sides and out of sight of the camera, curled into fists. “The captain said that’s what happened, there were other witnesses, and I’ve seen no sign of it on the ship.”
“Whether it’s there now or not, that captain disabled Forseti Station’s weapons and threatened a knight with a deadly virus in order to escape,” the woman said.
“Technically, I threatened him with garlic and basil,” Bonita said.
The woman ignored her, perhaps because she wasn’t visible behind Asger’s broad back. “She’s not to be allowed anywhere near Odin. If you weren’t on board right now, with your shuttle toddling along behind, we’d be sending fighters to blow that old freighter out of the stars.”
“Old,” Viggo’s indignant voice came from a speaker.
Casmir wondered what his own status was with the various law enforcers, but he didn’t want to ask. He leaned against a side wall, staying out of sight of the camera pickup.
“If this freighter is denied access to Odin, simply say so,” Asger said. “I will transfer to my shuttle and part ways with the captain.”
“Of course it’s denied. And if you’re not a complete idiot, you’ll arrest the captain and bring her down to stand trial.”
Bonita’s eyebrows flew up.
“Right now, you’re on thin ice,” the female knight added. “Captain Sora Ishii’s report has filtered up to the head of Royal Intelligence and the king. You had better be prepared to explain yourself when you get home.”
“I am prepared to explain everything,” Asger said. “I have done nothing wrong.”
The woman opened her mouth to speak again, but her male comrade bumped her arm. He’d worn the unfocused expression of someone accessing the network or reading a message on one’s contacts, but it sharpened as he looked at Asger.
“I’ve received an update from Chief Superintendent Van Dijk,” he said. “Is Kim Sato aboard?”
“Yes,” Asger said.
Casmir grimaced. Kim wasn’t, as far as he knew, a part of any of the trouble he’d gotten himself in, but since she could be linked with him, he hated to have her presence announced.
“We’re willing to allow that freighter to land, providing the captain is willing to allow it to be searched. Van Dijk requests Sato be brought to the Royal Intelligence office for an interview.”
“I’ll let her know,” Asger said, even as Casmir shook his head off to the side.
He suspected this was about the Kingdom wanting the new strain of bacteria Kim had made, so she ought to be safe, but he still worried that she, as his friend, might be targeted by someone trying to get to him.
“I’ll transmit the coordinates of the air harbor where you’ll be permitted to land,” the male knight added. “Expect an escort to arrive shortly to help you find the location.”
“I’m sure I know all the air harbors on the continent and can guide the captain down,” Asger said dryly.
The knight’s eyes narrowed. “You will be escorted. Do not let the captain diverge from the coordinates. I trust you are capable of kee
ping a seventy-year-old woman in line.”
Now, Bonita’s fists clenched. One even twitched toward her DEW-Tek pistol, as if she might shoot the man through the display. Or maybe she was considering shooting Asger for presuming to talk to such a man.
“Of course,” Asger said. “Asger, out.”
The display went dark, and he turned to face the seething Bonita. She wasn’t speaking, but her face was red, and she looked like she might spring for his throat at any second.
“I believe,” Casmir said, raising his hands, “that Laser has already decided she isn’t going to accompany us to Odin, Sir Asger. She’s been more than accommodating already in transporting us this far. Don’t you think we could go to these special coordinates in your shuttle?”
Asger’s eyes narrowed to slits as he regarded Bonita and ignored Casmir. “I have orders to bring the ship down.”
“I’m not taking the Dragon down to Odin, not with escorts, and not at all,” Bonita said. “Not when we’d need your precious and monitored launch loop to break atmosphere again. Step aside, Sir Asger.” She pointed at the piloting pod behind him.
Asger didn’t move. He wasn’t as tense and poised-to-spring as Bonita was, but he did look determined.
“Asger?” Casmir asked, stepping closer to them, even if putting himself in a knight’s path seemed dangerous—and he wasn’t sure how wise it was to step in Bonita’s way right now either. “Should I be concerned that your knight friends didn’t mention me at all?” Casmir looked up at Asger, noticing how much taller the knight was than he, and patted him on the chest. “My modest pride isn’t at all crumpled by having Kim receive more attention than I, but you’d mentioned arranging that meeting with the queen for me. Do you think that will still happen? Your fellow knights seemed less than delighted with you.”
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