For a few moments there was silence in the airlock, then from the speakers above her head, came Duke Karsaven’s derisive laughter. “I'll have you know, my dear, you are talking to a field-marshal and member of the Council of Peers, and very soon you will be talking with me.”
Tera was confused for a moment, but then gritted her teeth and gestured grandly with her hand. Her escort moved forward, marching through the open doors. All the guards were in full dress uniform, the magazines were disconnected from their firearms and the weapons were clearly disarmed, emphasizing their purely ceremonial function. Her mentor was in the center of the group, walking tall and strong, carrying in her hands a velvet-covered tray holding the royal regalia.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Tera refrained from giggling, remembering that the tray holding the precious regalia was merely the frame from the back of the pilot's seat, covered with a piece of Sergeant Umarka’s ceremonial cloak. The escort came to a halt and the guards formed up behind the princess. Her mentor dropped to one knee beside her. Tera stared directly at General Santana. Santana’s eyebrows were crunching together in confusion, and the faces of the others expressed a whole gamut of feelings from gloating to extreme embarrassment. Before the general lay evidence that Tera was regent, and, therefore, any action directed against her would be straightforward rebellion.
A moment beforehand, the general could justify herself by the fact that in the dispute between equal opponents. She had chosen the one with the strongest position to avoid unnecessary casualties, but on the other hand …
But now, if she chose to rebel, no verdicts or decrees by Karsaven could make her a peer. None of the peers, even from among those who supported the duke, would ever give their vote to a rebel. It would have been an unheard-of violation of every tradition imaginable.
“Well, General, you have not answered my question.”
The general flinched and gazed into the eyes of the princess. Karsaven’s nasal voice came out of the speakers overhead. “General, no one will ever find out that it was you that handed over the royal regalia, and my gratitude will be simply immense.”
It was a move of desperation, and Santana understood perfectly. She smiled and said, “Pardon me, Duke, but it's too strong a test for my honor.” She got down on her left knee, and pulling her sword from its sheath threw it at the feet of the princess. “In answer to your question, Your Majesty, anything that you command.”
Something clicked in the speakers, and Tera realized that the fortress’ communications chief had disconnected Karsaven. Everyone else followed the general’s example. The girl looked around the chamber triumphantly nodding to them all, trying to look majestic, then said, “Most of my people have just left the usurper’s prison cells, and they need care and medical assistance. I'll be ready to meet with your headquarters staff to discuss your proposals in an hour and a half.”
With these words, Tera stepped forward, raised the heavy sword in both hands and handed it back to the general. The old warrior stood up with some difficulty and gestured welcomingly down the corridor.
Half an hour later Tera sat in a huge luxurious chair at the head of a table, in an apartment on the flagship. Her little face was level with the adults, courtesy of a pile of cushions placed on her chair.
Directly opposite her was a huge holo screen. The screen was split into several sections, showing different pictures, one of which depicted the area around the capital of the planet, and another gave a diagrammatic view of the nearest of the captured outposts in the planetary system.
Several showed some portions of the surface of the Throne of the World in large scale. Small red lights burned in all sectors. The general stood before the screen holding a light pointer, and in a well-modulated voice, reported the balance of forces prevailing right then to her regent.
Tera, with a clever, but deliberately childish, expression on her face listened to the general attentively, casting quick glances surreptitiously at the other faces around the table. When the general presented her officers, she noticed that two of them—the brigade commander and deputy commander of the space marines garrison for supply—were clearly unhappy with the turn of events. Tera had specifically forbidden the officers that had arrived with her from attending this first meeting, reasoning that the officers on the fortress would not keep their political leanings a secret from each other, and in the presence of a small, snotty girl nobody would particularly care about hiding their feelings. That’s exactly what happened. But one thing that they forgot was that from birth this little, snotty girl had learned the science of how to dominate people, the first commandment of which was to be able to guess what was going on in the mind of anyone she was talking to. Meanwhile, the general finished her report and summed up.
“So, what do we have? First of all, within the orbit of the Throne of the World, we have orbital fortress Mae, six mortar batteries, a squadron of stormtroopers, a brigade of space marines, and a "Troy" class light carrier. Secondly, we have the remnants of the fleet, which approximate data suggests consists of two cruisers, nine destroyers, seven frigates and four corvettes. So far, the degree of damage to them is unknown. There also is a rumor about a brigade of stormtroopers, but there is no connection with the fleet at this moment, so it is impossible to get accurate information. Thirdly, the ground forces on the Throne of the World. From the publication of the fact of the presence of Your Majesty in our fortress we received seven communications from peers and members of the aristocracy expressing loyalty and offers of aid, but that would amount to no more than one militia division in total.” The general snorted. “A simple job for a company of space marines.” The others stayed silent. The general paused and changed the image before them with her finger. A scattering of blue lights flashed on the screen. “These are our enemy’s forces.” The general vigorously waved the pointer around. “Here are the ships of the Second Light Division in orbit: one cruiser, two destroyers, eight corvettes, three carriers, two of the same class that we have, and one from a class above, a Trefal. On the planet there are about five brigades of space marines and the Reymeyks Expeditionary Force,” the general paused, “they don’t have enough forces to attack the fortress immediately, but when they manage to pull in other forces …”
When the general spoke these words, confusion was reflected on all the faces of those present, mixed with determination and despair, apart from two officers who attracted Tera’s attention. Schadenfreude flashed in their eyes. The girl stood up and walked over to the holo screen, “General, I'm still too young to understand military science like you, so I want to hear from you the following.” She looked around at those present. “How can I call my Fleet for help and how do we hold on until they get here?”
The general looked around at all those present then with a deep sigh, replied, “I do not know, Your Majesty.”
For a few moments silence hung in the apartment. Then the girl sighed, “Well, General, thank you for an honest answer.” She turned and stared at the two officers that had previously attracted her attention, “You two!”
They both stood up and introduced themselves, dumbfounded. Tera gestured grandly. “I demand allegiance.”
The officers looked at each other in confusion then the face of the space marine contorted in rage. She drew her sword and broke it over her knee. “I am a warrior, and no one can force me to serve a brat! In the face of external threats our kingdom needs a real leader, not a regent who is still pissing in her pants.”
Everyone froze, waiting for the explosion. But the girl silently transferred her scrutiny to the second officer, “And what do you have to say?”
For a moment she stared at the little princess, then her eyes flashed respect, and she stepped forward, slowly pulling her sword from its sheath.
The space marine choked up and asked her, “Styre, what are you doing?”
But she gently dropped down on one knee, laying her sword before the feet of the princess and bowed her head saying, “I, Vis
count Mayrat, on behalf of myself and that of my kin, swear to obey my lady, never to leave her in times of trouble, nor in joy, nor in battle or at the feast, nor her or her descendants, both now and evermore. May this oath be witnessed in the heavens, and let it be sealed by Eve our savior herself.”
“You bitch!” cried the space marine and she rushed at her with a drawn dagger.
There was a thud and she collapsed on the floor like a sack of potatoes, not far from reaching Mayrat’s back who was still down on one knee. She calmly met the princess’ eyes, waiting for the end of the ceremony. Tera raised the sword and solemnly handed it back to the viscount, “I accept your oath and that of your kin.”
The room resounded with restrained cries of "Eviva", as was dictated by tradition. Tera turned to the general, who had already stashed away the stun gun in a drawer, nodded to her gratefully, then turned her eyes back to the person kneeling before her, “I want to know why you changed your mind, Viscount. Indeed, at first you were not set in my favor, am I right?”
The viscount, with a glance, asked permission to rise to her feet, “You're right, Your Majesty. We thought you were too young and incapable of ruling the kingdom in such a dangerous time, but when you chose to accept the allegiance of all the officers present here, more specifically just the two of us, it seemed to me that I had underestimated you. And your composure, after she,” Mayrat nodded toward the motionless body, “had broken her sword, convinced me that I was not mistaken.”
The girl nodded and turned to the general, “I think it's time to invite in the other members of my entourage. Among them are experienced soldiers and they will undoubtedly be useful in the search for solutions to our problems.” She threw a look at the space marine, who had already come round, and was boring furiously into the eyes of her former girlfriend. She was standing calmly next to the Princess. Nodding toward her, Tera said, “And appoint a new commander for the space marines brigade.”
The general rose from the table, saluted sharply, and Tera noted that even her picky eyes could no longer see any shade of condescension, which until now had been present in every gesture and movement of the general. The girl grinned to herself. The general acknowledged her as regent.
***
Twelve hours later Tera stood on the pier at the berthing dock, looking at the carrier’s open airlock doors, which Sergeant Umarka had just entered. Her mentor leaned over and gently hugged her shoulders, “Maybe everything will be all right.”
The little girl shrugged her shoulders violently, throwing off her mentor’s hands, but then broke down and lifted her head to the ceiling, struggling to hold back the tears.
Her mentor stood silently nearby. Both were aware that there was virtually no chance for them. While so far none of the duke’s ships had dared enter the fortress’ kill zone, so there was no danger of attack for the first five or six hours of flight, depending on whether Karsaven wanted to capture or destroy the carrier.
But no one doubted that somewhere outside the reliable protection zone of the fortress’ detectors, the silhouettes of the duke’s corvettes and frigates lurked, ready to ambush their prey.
The route to the system in which the remains of the royal fleet were concentrated was undoubtedly closed. But it did not matter. Whichever course the carrier chose, as soon as it came out of the protective cover of the fortress, it would be detected at once and the duke’s ships would rush to a calculated interception point beyond the reach of the fortress’ mortar batteries.
The carrier was doomed, and everyone understood it. The plan was that at the time of the attack, Sergeant Umarka would be thrown forward in an escape pod and have time to get to Unira, or at least penetrate beyond the reflector field put out by the duke’s ships, and send a message to Unira.
They hoped that the Princess’ supporters on Unira could forward on the message. The power of the planetary transmitters on this planet was sufficient to force a signal through any reflector field.
If the Princess really did have enough true supporters on Unira—and that was what Tera was really counting on—then it was also likely that they had access to the planetary transmitters. Unira was carefully sheltered behind a reflective field projected by the duke’s ships. The main communication hub for the planetary system was there, and the other planets did not have powerful enough transmitters, except for the ones at the palace communication complex and fleet headquarters which Karsaven had already captured. If the escape pod was not destroyed before reaching Unira’s orbit? If the remnants of the Royal Fleet could make the flight?
There were too many ifs in all this, but everyone was clearly aware that their only chance lay with the ships of the Royal Fleet. The fortress could last out for a few days or maybe even a couple of years, if it was not attacked, but what then?
A sharp warning signal sounded above the platform, and the flight controller loudly started the countdown. Tera turned and walked away from the pier.
The command and control center was a hive of activity. When the flight controller’s signal sounded, the general rose from the command chair and stood at attention before the princess, “The enemy ships are underway. We have identified seventeen ships. Four of them are boarding craft. We can’t locate one destroyer; perhaps it has landed somewhere and killed the engines.”
The mentor murmured, “Or it is hiding somewhere behind the reflector field.”
The general nodded in agreement.
“That can’t be ruled out, as the reflector field has the ability to project a void. No radiation at all can pass through such an area, so we have deployed all our detectors in combat position and we are searching every square inch of space, but we have found nothing like that yet. So, either it is too far away, which is unlikely, because we would have definitely spotted its departure from the planet despite any reflector field reflection, or …”
The Princess nodded. A barely noticeable wave of vibration shook the floor, and the voice flight controller said, “The carrier has separated.” After a while, she announced, “Initializing engine start.” Then, “Main engine has started.”
A sigh of relief swept through the vast room. The carrier had been mothballed in the dock for a while, although this class of ship had been operated for more than a dozen years. But life is full of incidents and the risk that something could go wrong when the engine was started from cold was higher than when it was running hot; like when the ship is moored to the outer pier and the engines are idling. But the start was successful. Suddenly the communication screen lit up. Sergeant Umarka’s face appeared, trembling and shimmering on screen.
“We have a problem. Please switch to the alternative channel.”
The communications officer flipped a switch, and the image stabilized.
“What has happened Umarka?” Tera cried out worriedly.
The sergeant’s face twitched in a barely perceptible smile.
“It’s a trick, Your Majesty.” Then she became serious, “Sounds like you have someone hiding beyond the planet. Before they hit upon this frequency and code, I can say that from the moment our takeoff started the detectors recorded a strange effect, very similar to the oscillations of a reflector field. Only very much closer to the fortress, I would say that we are talking about a few miles. You could walk to it.” She smiled, and the screen went blank.
The general sighed and murmured, “That’s the missing destroyer.”
She connected the microphone, intending to declare combat readiness, but Tera grabbed her sleeve. “What do you think, General, how long have they been hiding there and why have they not attacked yet?”
Santana stared at her, then understanding flashed in her eyes, and she turned to the adjutant, “Quickly, bring the commander of the space marines brigade to me!”
The adjutant stared at the console in the armrest of the command chair on which the general was sitting, but then, some understanding came to her as well, and she rushed down the steps of the command deck. The general gave a predatory grin
and flipped a toggle switch. “Give me a view of the side of the planet on the main screen, but only with optical sensors.”
On a huge screen an image appeared with a small blurred spot in the center, Santana grinned, “Well, that’s clever, the radiation from this side of the planet is so great that it even perfectly camouflages the void, and they must have thought that we would be unlikely to observe the planet with optical sensors only.” She clucked her tongue. “But they have forgotten that two can play this game.” The general snapped the switch on the internal com system, and her soft rounded voice sounded in the helmets of all those in the control room. “If someone blurts out a single word of what the sergeant just reported, on any com line that goes beyond this room, I swear to damn Adam …” Then she recovered herself, glanced toward the princess and finished her sentence less aggressively, “it will not go down well for you.”
Tera snickered and yawned desperately. Her mentor leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Isn’t it time you took a rest, you little rascal? You haven’t slept for twenty-two hours.”
Tera tried to rebel, but felt like her eyes were sticking together, so she sighed obediently and nodded to Santana. “General, when the attack on the destroyer begins, I want to see it for myself.” Then yawning, she started down the stairs, holding her mentor’s hand.
When you're only eight years old, it is very difficult not to sleep for twenty-two hours in a row, although sometimes it must be done.
Swords Above the Stars Page 8