“Yes. But we better deal with that first.” Asger withdrew his arm from Casmir’s grip and pointed to where Zee stood like a statue, his captive still slung over his shoulder.
Surprisingly, the man had stopped struggling. He hung limp and still, the face of his helmet against Zee’s torso.
“I don’t know how to interrogate anyone,” Casmir said uncertainly.
“I’ll handle it.” Asger pulled the man off Zee’s shoulder and tried to stand him up.
But the man collapsed. Frowning, Asger laid him on his back on the deck. The man didn’t move.
“What happened to him?” Asger looked at Zee.
“I merely constrained him,” Zee said. “I did not apply enough force to damage him.”
“There’s nothing wrong with his armor.” Casmir pointed. “He definitely wasn’t crushed. Zee, can you get his helmet off?”
Zee bent, gripped the helmet, and twisted it with a thunderous snap. He pulled it off, revealing the closed eyes of a pale-skinned man of about thirty who had the pallor of someone who rarely saw the sun. He had a beard and hair longer than typical for Kingdom soldiers. He didn’t react to the removal of his helmet—he didn’t move at all.
Kim shook her head, having a feeling they weren’t going to be able to question him. “Is he dead?”
“Dead?” Casmir stared at the man in confusion as Zee dropped the helmet.
It clunked on the deck near the man’s ear, but again, there was no reaction.
Asger dropped and checked for a pulse. “Dead. I don’t know what from.” He looked at the man’s armored form. “Did he poison himself? Have his armor inject something?”
“Why would he do that?” Casmir asked.
“To keep from being questioned.” Asger rose to his feet.
“We wouldn’t have tortured him.” Casmir pushed a hand through his hair, his eyes distressed. “Why would he feel he needed to do that? I just want to know why they’re trying to kill me. I wouldn’t have…”
“He may have feared his superiors would have tortured him,” Asger said, making his voice gentler than Kim had heard. “Or he may simply have believed in his cause to an extent that he didn’t want to betray his brethren.” He rested a hand on Casmir’s shoulder. “It isn’t your fault.”
As the deck vibrated, the Dragon taking off, Casmir stuck his hands in his pockets and shook his head. “Isn’t it?”
3
The second time the Dragon landed, the pavement outside was nearly empty of ships, and a squad of soldiers in blue and gold uniforms waited outside. Asger was the one to open the cargo hatch that Casmir had fixed earlier.
Casmir still felt numb from that battle, the dead man’s face burned into his thoughts. Why had he killed himself? All Casmir had wanted was to ask why his people were trying to kill him. He wouldn’t have ordered Zee to capture the man if he’d known he had orders to commit suicide.
Casmir pushed a hand through his hair, wondering if he should have brushed it during the quick flight to this backup air harbor. After all, he hoped to see the queen. But would that truly happen?
He looked over at Asger, glad the knight had fought on his behalf—twice now—but still not certain he could trust Asger to do more than hand him over to those soldiers. Or to Guards or knights waiting inside Drachen Castle.
“Let’s go before something else happens.” Asger strode down the cargo ramp.
“Casmir Dabrowski,” Zee said from behind. “Do you still wish me to stay with Kim Sato and protect her?”
Kim stood in the middle of the cargo hold with Bonita, waiting for her turn to leave. She would probably try to slip off to her appointment while the soldiers were busy searching the ship. Casmir, not certain he would be allowed to return to the Dragon, had grabbed his tool satchel and meager belongings. He was out of tooth gel. Maybe the queen would have some he could borrow.
“Yes,” Casmir said. “Now more than ever.”
Kim looked gravely at him. “Don’t get yourself thrown in a dungeon.”
“I believe Ishii suggested it would be an oubliette. Those come with windows on the top, don’t they?”
“Trapdoors or hatches in a high ceiling that are usually never opened again. Trust me, there are no windows.”
“Ah, I forgot you’re well versed in such things. Did you throw your characters into oubliettes in your allegorical fantasy novels?”
“How else would they contemplate their life’s failings?” Her eyes narrowed.
Casmir had a feeling the sentiment was more for him than her fictional characters. “As a typical male, I contemplate such things in the lavatory.”
“There’s nothing typical about you, Casmir. Be safe. Don’t irk anyone powerful.”
“I’ll attempt to follow your excellent advice.” Casmir bowed to her, then turned to follow Asger.
He was waiting at the bottom of the ramp. The soldiers hadn’t swarmed forward to arrest him. But they wouldn’t. He was a trusted knight. Casmir was the one who needed to watch for swarms.
“Good,” Kim said, her voice trailing him. “I think Qin will be disappointed if she doesn’t get that brisket at your parents’ place.”
“We all will be. Even Asger, though he doesn’t believe that yet. My father’s brisket melts in your mouth.”
Asger glanced back but didn’t comment on the conversation. He only pointed at his side in a hurry-up manner.
“Coming,” Casmir murmured.
He lifted his chin and set his shoulders as he fell into step beside the much longer-legged Asger. As they headed for the exit, he waited expectantly for the soldiers to impede them. But they merely watched until Casmir and Asger had passed. Eight of the soldiers remained in place—one pointed at the freighter and murmured a few orders. Right, they meant to search it. Four other soldiers fell in behind Asger and Casmir. Another escort.
Casmir wondered if it was ill-timed or precisely timed that their last escort, the four fighter ships, had disappeared before the terrorists showed up. Had that been planned? Was one of the two knights who’d spoken to Asger sharing information with those people? The Black Stars group? It seemed that had to be the case, unless some disloyal servant had listened in on the conversation. Otherwise, how would the terrorists have known where the Dragon would land?
The royal air harbor was walled, with security robots patrolling the tops and human guards stationed in towers at the corners. Asger led Casmir to protected stairs that took them up to a covered bridge over a busy street, Glasnax walls providing views of the massive castle and two smaller buildings to either side, both built from the ancient stone that had been favored in the early centuries after founding, before the colonists had regained large-scale smelting abilities. Modern additions were subtly interwoven into the old structures. All three buildings—one was the Royal Intelligence Headquarters that Kim would be visiting—overlooked the ocean from a bluff more than two hundred feet above sea level.
Human and android guards were stationed at the exit from the covered bridge and along an elevated walkway that led to the castle. Drones with cameras and weapons patrolled the area from the air. Casmir licked his lips as a couple of them zipped down toward him. For a better look? To scan his face and determine if he should be shot on sight?
It chilled him to realize someone in a security office could push a button and make that happen. He wasn’t sure why that bothered him when crushers had already tried that day to annihilate him, but simply being here on these grounds made him uneasy. He was surprised that Asger hadn’t been asked yet to explain his guest. Was it because Casmir was expected? Or because knights were so trusted that they could come and go with whomever they wished in tow?
As Casmir followed him down the stairs into a walled courtyard and toward the grand double doors at the front of the castle, a shuttle roared in from the sea and headed for a private landing pad to one side of the courtyard.
Asger’s step slowed as he watched its approach. The purple hull made Casmir wonder i
f another knight approached. Several men rushed out of a side door and along a walkway toward the landing pad. They wore black-and-white uniforms. Butlers or some other staff?
“Let’s go see if that’s who I think it is.” Asger veered off the front walkway and across the manicured grass.
“Uh, all right.” Casmir jogged to keep up with him while throwing glances toward the towers and drones, afraid someone—or something—would open fire at this presumptuousness. Walking across the castle lawn. Was that permitted? Even by a knight? “Just to be clear, the only reason I’m not being shot right now is because I’m with you, right?”
“That’s right.” Asger smiled over his shoulder, his face suddenly more alive than it had been in days. “You owe me.”
“How would you like that debt repaid?”
“You could buy one of my calendars.” Asger hopped over a flower bed and found a path made from tumbled blue and green agates. “I get fifteen percent of sales.”
Casmir hurried onto the path, still worried about being caught on the grass. “Are those the calendars that women like? Where you show off your biceps?”
“Biceps, pectorals, abdominals, other things.” Asger quickened his pace. The hatch in the side of the shuttle had opened.
“Other things?” Casmir tripped, flailed, and caught himself. “Like what? You’re not naked in the photos, are you?”
“Not scandalously so. Any potentially salacious body parts were artfully covered by stone pillars, plants, mailboxes and the like.”
“Mailboxes? Asger, can’t I just give you twenty crowns? I don’t want to see your biceps, pectorals, or other things. I…”
He trailed off because a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties had stepped out onto the shuttle ramp, her arms full with a square wood box, and she looked curiously in Casmir’s direction. Or more likely in Asger’s direction. If Ishii’s female nurse qualified as a statistically significant sample size, most women would look at him whenever they stood together.
Staff in the black-and-white uniforms streamed past the woman and into the shuttle, murmuring greetings and bowing low to her as they passed. When they came out, they carried all manner of covered flowerpots, bags of dirt, and containers labeled samples or seeds. One of the staff almost bumped into the woman, apparently not expecting her to remain in one spot on the ramp. The man apologized profusely, bowing three times as he maneuvered around her. The woman didn’t seem to notice. She was staring at Casmir and Asger.
Even though Casmir had seen her face in newspapers and videos more times than he could count, it took him a few seconds to identify her as Princess Oku. He’d always dismissed her, perhaps because the journalists were so quick to do so, as merely decorative and without any real use to her father and the Kingdom government. That might be true, but she was beautiful, with elegant facial features, piercing brown eyes, and flawless bronze skin that seemed to glow with inner warmth. For all the media coverage, her thick black hair was arranged in a sophisticated bun or twist swept back or above her head, but today, she wore it in a simple ponytail.
With gloves on her hands, she was clearly working—unloading the shuttle, at least—so Casmir slowed down. He wished he could also slow Asger down. He didn’t think they should bother her.
“Your Highness, Princess Oku,” Asger greeted, dropping to one knee and bowing over it. “It’s been far too long since we spoke. You look lovely today.”
It took Casmir a moment to realize that his sturdy and stalwart knight might be enamored with the princess. Asger’s words about how the media portrayed her incorrectly and that she was smart leaped to mind. No wonder he’d said those things. He had a crush on her.
“Thank you, Sir Asger,” Oku said, her voice distracted. She was staring… not at the handsome knight bent over his knee at the bottom of her ramp but at Casmir.
What was he supposed to do? He’d never been in the presence of royalty, and she kept looking at him. Why? Because he was behaving improperly? Because he’d presumed to walk on the grass? Was he supposed to drop to one knee like Asger had? Or would a simple bow suffice? He wasn’t sure he could manage the knee without falling over. He still felt a little dizzy and nauseated from the return to gravity. And to think, he’d only been worried about puking in front of the queen.
“Uhm, greetings, Your Highness, Princess,” Casmir said, truncating his attempt to copy Asger, because he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to use her first name.
He reached the landing pad and bowed deeply, briefly dipping his knee and grimacing when his balance threatened to betray him. He swept his arm out, as if he wore a cloak, though it was only to help keep his balance. Asger was still down on one knee with his head bowed. Was he waiting for her to touch his head or some such thing so he could rise? Was Casmir supposed to do that?
“Sorry to bother you,” Casmir said, realizing that she was still staring at him—she seemed puzzled by his appearance, almost as if she recognized him, but how could that be?—and that all of the staff had stopped to stare at him too. Two burly men that had to be bodyguards were glowering down from the hatchway. “We just noticed that you were carrying a bunch of, uhm, pots.” He waved to her box. It wasn’t a pot, but he didn’t know what it was. “And wanted to make sure you didn’t need any help. Sir Asger is quite strong and could likely unload your entire shuttle by himself. He has prodigious muscles, you see.”
Head still bowed, Asger shot him a look that didn’t suggest he was thankful for this intervention.
“Yes, I’ve seen his calendar,” Oku said dryly.
She sounded amused—or maybe bemused? Casmir couldn’t tell, but he thought either reaction was superior to irritation.
“You have?” Asger rose gracefully, his chest puffed out. “You don’t have a copy, do you? Because if you do and you want, I would be happy to sign it for you.”
“I got a copy as a gift for my grandmother, actually.” She tore her gaze from Casmir and smiled faintly at Asger. “She likes to ogle young knights, and she thought you were particularly ogle-worthy.”
“I… Your grandmother did?” Asger’s eyebrows rose. He didn’t seem to know if he should consider that a compliment or not.
Casmir had no idea. All he knew was that someone should offer to carry that box for the princess. It looked heavy and awkward. It also occurred to him that it wouldn’t be a bad idea if someone in the royal family thought favorably of him. Given that the king likely wanted him flayed because of his presumptuousness over the gate, and that the queen… Well, Casmir doubted Asger had truly succeeded in setting up an appointment. Asger had gone from I-left-a-message to oh-yes-you-have-an-appointment in a short period of time. He wondered if the queen was even in the city. Or on the planet. She was known to do humanitarian and diplomatic work throughout the Kingdom and even in some other systems.
“Yes,” Oku said. “I’m certain she would be delighted if you signed it.”
One of the servants murmured something to her, hands spreading, as if to take her box. She shook her head firmly and descended the ramp.
Casmir came to a stop at Asger’s side, wondering if he should ask her about her load and her hobby. Or was it more than that? The media implied she cavorted around the systems on the government’s crowns, collecting unique flowers for her garden.
“I apologize for staring,” Oku told Casmir. “You just remind me so much of someone I used to know, but he passed away more than ten years ago, so—” Her eyebrows rose in enlightenment. “Oh, you must be the roboticist. Right?”
She knew who he was?
He’d assumed the queen was the only one who might have a clue, but could the princess also know his secrets? The secrets he didn’t know? And who did he look like that she knew? Rache was the only person it could possibly be, unless there were more of them out there. That was a terrifying thought. But why would she think Rache was dead? And in what capacity had she known him? Did she know what he was now?
Asger poked Casmir in the side.
“Sorry,” Casmir blurted. “I’m sorry.” She’d asked something, hadn’t she? “Yes. The answer is yes.”
“Are you sure?” She smiled.
It was a lovely smile, one that immediately had him feeling guilty for believing the media that she was dull and overly obsessed with galactic flowers. Even if that was possibly all true, he shouldn’t have judged her for it. What right did he have to judge anyone?
“Reasonably sure, yes. I research and construct robots. I mean, I did. I’m not sure about the state of my employment currently.” He pointed at her box. “Can I carry that for you? Or can Asger? Or can I get out of the way so you can deliver it to the garden shed or…” He looked around the castle grounds, wondering if something as prosaic as a garden shed existed among the exquisite gardens and lawns.
“No, thank you. And they’re bees.”
“Bees?” Casmir stepped back.
“They’ve been smoked. They’re fine. And they’re going to my laboratory for study.”
“Smoked,” Casmir mouthed before his memory kicked in with science trivia from his youth. “Oh, right. To mask their sense of smell and prevent them from transmitting the intruder alarm signal.”
Oku blinked. “Yes.”
“What are you studying about them?” Casmir asked before he noticed Asger frowning at him.
Maybe it was cheeky to ask the princess questions. Or maybe Asger simply wanted to be the one doing the asking. Casmir stepped back and tilted his head, inviting him to take over. It wasn’t as if he was going to ask Princess Oku on a date. He did dearly hope she would give him some more hints about himself, about how and why she knew who he was, however vaguely.
“These bees came from the Shango Habitat. They’re all that are left of the four hives we sent to assist in pollinating the almond orchard the farmers planted in the big greenhouses there. Bees are required for pollinating almond trees, and assist greatly in melons, broccoli, cranberries, and cherries. Gyzomi and makka too. Even though those crops are indigenous to Odin and have native insect pollinators that existed before humans arrived, bees have proven to be twice as effective, and since the makka grain is a staple on Shango Habitat…” She hitched a shoulder. “It’s difficult for them to maintain their independence without a way to grow it in space.”
Hero Code Page 6