Swords Above the Stars

by Roman Zlotnikov

  In short, total nonsense.

  It meant she was no use as a warrior or a ruler and a treat for infantile male poets. Even Tera understood that those who had lost were just letting out their rage and impotence, but it still made her angry.

  Sandra just laughed about it at first, then proposed to resume the royal hunt. Now, the authority of Tera was unquestioned, even among commoners. Secondly, the hunt had been organized to celebrate a happy event. The queen had smashed a bottle of champagne on the hull of the newly built battleship “Star of Retribution.”

  It was the latest ship, the construction of which completed a ten-year program to restore the fleet. The kingdom had a fleet once again, and it was wholly superior to the one that was destroyed at Outpost. Sandra brought many new improvements from the backwaters. Sometimes Tera wondered how, in such wild backwaters, despite their twisted behaviors, they managed to invent, for example, multiple-barrel beam weapons.

  Tera held out her goblet. Behind her, a servant immediately filled the goblet with a fantastic twelve-year-old white Arzhu wine, poured from a pitcher made from the finest glass, adorned with fancy silver flowers.

  Tera’s thoughts turned to Sandra. The old princess could not come on the hunt as she was unwell but had sent her warmest congratulations to her niece about the completion of the fleet.

  Tera smiled.

  Why?

  The program for restoring the fleet was mostly her brainchild. What advice could a ten-year-old girl give an experienced admiral?

  Tera shook her head thoughtfully. When the admiral had declared herself regent, many predicted a quick death for the girl. Sandra would have remained the only representative of the royal house with an indisputable right to the throne.

  Tera remembered Galiyat, Umarka, Evlampa, and Amalia—who was still a marquis at that time—spending the first year sleeping in her bedroom every night, expecting the door to be broken down, and Space Marines arriving to arrest the young queen on the Regent’s orders.

  Even today, Tera could not understand what motives had forced the admiral to refrain from such a step.

  However, the fact remained. It was Sandra’s strong arm that had restored order in the kingdom, but it was still shocking to the peers to see the figure of the regent’s silent male guardian stand behind the throne in the Chamber of the Peers. When Tera reached fifteen years of age, at a special ceremony, the regent solemnly handed over all the reins to the kingdom, rejecting even the honor of becoming first minister.

  “There are a lot of loyal and intelligent people around you, my girl. Let this old woman go into retirement,” she had said with a smile, and, embracing her, she added in her ear, “However, should the need arise, I will always be at your disposal.”

  Tera suddenly had an unbearable urge to see Sandra.

  Long ago, back in the days after her mother’s death, she was weaned from the childish habit of following her wishes, but her instinct to sometimes know what needed to be done made her listen to her spontaneous impulses.

  Tera looked around the merry company. The lords were already well inebriated. Some, arms akimbo, were throwing playful looks at the pretty servant-men waiting at table, while others had already retired to nearby tents in the camp. Several guitars appeared in the hands of revelers. In truth, the hunting trip could finish without her presence.

  Tera motioned with her hand.

  Captain Umarka slipped out of her chair and leaned over Tera’s shoulder.

  “Prepare a disk flyer!” Tera grinned. “I want to visit that old woman, Sandra.”

  It was already dark when they reached Sandra’s estate. When asked for the computer security code, Tera—who knew Sandra’s personal access code—smiled slyly and dialed in the numbers. The computer authorized them to land on Sandra’s private landing pad.

  Tera was the first to jump onto the flagstones and commanded Umarka. “Calm everyone down. I’ll go and surprise the old woman.” She quickly ran down the steps to a small corridor which led directly into Sandra’s bedroom.

  The guard at the door jumped to her feet in bewilderment, waving her hands around anxiously, but Tera gave her a mocking smile, pushed her aside, and stepped through the door.

  Well, well, if Sandra was not alone, finally it was time to see who had acquired a taste for her, and for whom she had refused a dynastic marriage.

  Tera opened the door wide and froze in amazement. Sandra, an ex-admiral, a princess of the blood, and former regent of the kingdom was kneeling before a large, rough-looking man, gently rubbing ointment into his shin. He was muttering to himself angrily, but she spoke almost as if to a child.

  “OK, OK, my darling, be patient, you will feel better soon. A little bit more and everything will be fine.”

  When both doors to the room slowly and silently opened, revealing the scene, then bumped into the wall, both of them jumped and turned to the doorway.

  Silence reigned for a few moments, then Sandra smiled, rose confidently to her feet, and said, “So, my dear mustachioed man, we have finally been rumbled.”

  Then, turning to Tera, she said sarcastically. “My dear, weren’t you ever taught to knock before entering a room?”

  Tera shut her gaping mouth and tried to say something articulate, but to no avail. The man on the bed shifted, attempting to stand up.

  “Stay there!” snapped Sandra and turned to Tera. “With his leg in this state he can’t wander far, so it is better if just you and I go to my office.” Then, observing a perpetual feminine habit, she turned to the mirror and looked at herself with a critical eye. “You know what, you go on ahead, I will get changed and join you.”

  Tera nodded and quickly retreated.

  Sandra appeared, five minutes later, in a comfortable house suit, with her hair coiffed. Sitting in front of the girl, she raised her eyes happily and answered the unspoken question.

  “That was nothing. If my mustachioed man’s rheumatism hadn’t come back, you could have caught us out in a much juicier scenario.”

  “Is it because of him that you decided not to claim the crown?”

  “What do you mean? Is having a toy boy so shameful in our circle?”

  Tera shook her head.

  “He’s not a toy boy.”

  Sandra smiled, then sighed.

  “As always, you’re right, my girl. I am too serious about my mustachioed man to be able to conclude a dynastic marriage, keeping him on as a lover, and I could not bear to lose him. So, I had to give up the crown, because our children together would never have become heirs, and if I slept with someone from a high family, he would give me a hell of a time. Although I must admit, a few years after I returned, I was already happy how things worked out. I loved you. Apart from that, you have all the character to become a much better queen than me.”

  “That’s really something I never expected from you, it’s an attack of self-humiliation!” Tera snorted.

  Sandra shrugged.

  “Call it what you want, but it is what it is.”

  Both fell silent. Then Tera asked cautiously. “Is he your official husband?”

  Sandra nodded.

  “Yes, under our laws we are husband and wife. The ceremony was held by the captain and the chaplain of my flagship. It took place in the vicinity of the Eagle Claw nebula.

  Tera looked at her.

  “Never heard of it.”

  Sandra smiled.

  “We know it as part of the Turquoise Wall.”

  “That’s the local name.” Tera nodded in understanding.

  They fell silent again, then Sandra asked in an unnaturally calm tone of voice, “Well, what are you going to do? Invite us before the Court of Peers?”

  Tera looked at her dumbfounded.

  “Are you crazy? If you want to sleep with hundreds of smelly men, even those from the farthest backwaters, then that is your own business!”

  She jumped up and walked around the room nervously.

  In principle, the question was clear. By the dyna
stic traditions of the peers of the kingdom, and more especially for a princess of the blood, entering into a marriage between people of unequal social rank would deprive her of all privileges, and in the case of the recognition of aggravating circumstances, she would also lose her nobility. How could Sandra even think to assume that her niece would put her through this process?

  “Ever since you walked away from the affairs of state to spend some sweet time with your ... mustachioed man, it looks like your brain has gone soft,” growled Tera angrily.

  Sandra laughed.

  “OK, calm down. At the end of the day, the queen’s duty is to observe the laws of the state and the purity of bloodline.”

  Tera gave her a fierce look, then they both broke out laughing aloud. Next thing, a startled and alarmed-looking Umarka and the majordomo poked their faces into the office. They waved them away.

  Sandra looked searchingly at her niece.

  “Well, my girl, I don’t think you visited me in an attempt to catch me in the act.”

  Tera walked around the room and halted at a holocube which at this moment portrayed the globe of the throne of the world. It was slowly rotating under a cover of clouds.

  The shadow of night had already fully captured the Aldilerski mountains. The image was synthesized from images obtained from satellites, and Tera knew that if you were to specify the program to expand, then after several seconds the globe would turn into a curved landscape, and the lights of the dozens of hunter’s campfires would shine from Aldiler.

  She paused and thought, then reached over and switched the image on the cube to that of the official map of the kingdom. The planet disappeared, and in the center of the cube, amid thousands of colorful sparks, a dozen major stars flared, surrounded by planets.

  The map was not done to scale, and because of this, the experience was magnificent. However, amongst the stars in the sky, looking uncannily like the bloodshot eyes of the Alossky bull, a sparkling dot represented the outpost captured by the unknown enemy.

  For a few moments, Tera looked at the map then expanded the view. When the lifeless ball of rock of the outpost took up the whole of the holocube, Tera turned to Sandra and asked. “Do you not think the time has come?”

  Sandra looked at the view on the screen then at the queen.

  “Is this still bothering you, my girl?”

  “What do you think?” Tera clenched her fists. “My mother and father were killed there!”

  Sandra walked slowly to the holocube and carefully inspected the outpost. In contrast to the true image of the planet, this was merely a recording. In the last ten years, not a single ship from the kingdom had come closer than two days of flight from the outpost.

  “We cannot do this alone,” Sandra said finally, looking up at her niece.

  Tera stared at her.

  “Sandra, what are you saying? We have a fleet with a firepower at least five times more powerful than the last one. If we take into account the total potential, we are now fifteen times stronger than in my mother’s time.”

  Sandra grinned.

  “Sorry, my girl, but I know what I’m talking about.” She turned back to the image. “Do you know who our enemy is?”

  Reluctantly, Tera shook her head. “You see, we know very little about them. You yourself insisted not to disturb them after three unsuccessful attempted raids for intelligence. Now we can start an intensive scouting mission. Do you agree?”

  “I’m afraid we may not find out much.”

  Tera paused in confusion. A heavy silence hung over the room. Sandra gently placed a hand on her young companion’s shoulder.

  “Look, I don’t disagree with you.” She nodded at the image. “Something must be done about this.”

  “Then I do not understand,” Tera said, puzzled. “If you mean we need allies, then tell me where can we find them? In the outlands?” She smiled wryly. “Among the wild male hunters or the Artel?”

  “What do you know about the outlands, my girl?” Sandra asked, grinning.

  “Do you want a list of all the rumors I’ve heard?” asked Tera grumpily in a voice that didn’t suit her.

  Sandra shook her head. Then she reached out and brought back the image of the main map of the kingdom to the front of the holocube.

  “Ten stars, fourteen inhabited worlds, twelve billion citizens. Looks very majestic, does it not, my dear?” Her voice sounded sarcastic.

  Tera looked at her warily. “What do you mean?”

  The admiral silently tapped a few keys on the holocube’s remote control. The picture changed. The space became filled with several hundred stars. For a few seconds, Sandra looked at the image, then turned to Tera and looked searchingly at her.

  “Don’t you realize?”

  Again, she pressed a few buttons, and in the far corner of the image, a dozen lights shone somewhat brighter, separated from the rest of the stars by dense clouds of nebulae. Tera stared and suddenly noticed something familiar about their location.

  She gave Sandra a startled look.

  “You’re right,” Sandra nodded and pointed to the star-filled holocube and said a little sadly, “This is what we call the outlands.” She pressed the button again. The picture shone in different colors, and Sandra continued casually. “This is a political map.” She made several major areas pulse in color one by one. “The Sultanate of Regulus, forty-three inhabited worlds, twenty-nine billion citizens; the Confederation of Tahir, fifty-two habitable worlds, forty-six billion citizens; The Commonwealth of the American Constitution, thirty-one inhabited worlds, thirty billion citizens; The Russian Empire, twenty-seven inhabited worlds, twenty-nine billion citizens; The Shogunate of the Nippon China Federation, the Federation of the Drago, the British Commonwealth of Nations. About two hundred states, a third of which are much bigger than our kingdom.

  Tera studied the map for a few moments then turned back to Sandra with a stunned look on her face.

  “You never told me about this ... you never ... mentioned it.”

  Sandra shrugged.

  “We’ve had a lot more pressing matters to deal with.” She paused. “I would hardly have talked about it, even now, but you’re right. It’s time to do something about Outpost. They know far more about the enemy than we could ever be able to find out for ourselves. They have fought them for half a century.”

  Tera walked around the room, scratching the top of her head, then rubbing her chin. “Well, then, the question is, who do we decide to ally with?”

  Sandra looked at her quizzically. “How do you imagine we can do that?”

  Tera looked at her, puzzled, thinking that she must have run out of surprises. “What? Are you saying that it will be impossible to negotiate with the female rulers of these nations?”

  Sandra grinned.

  “Here lies the problem. The fact is that all these countries have no female rulers,” she paused dramatically, then continued, “only male rulers. In truth, for the most part, they are utter bastards, I can assure you.” Enjoying Tera’s shocked face, Sandra explained. “You surely understand, my dear. These places are ruled by men. By the way, my mustachioed man was a figure of authority there.”

  Tera looked at Sandra for a few moments in stunned silence, then frowned.

  “This will complicate everything.” She stood up and walked around the room. “Imagine what a racket will be raised in Parliament, never mind the House of Peers.”

  Sandra shook her head respectfully.

  “You still know how to surprise me, my girl! To tell you the truth, I took that news much more to heart.”

  Tera ignored the words, intensely reflecting on something else.

  “Maybe it is too early to be worth it?” said Sandra cautiously.

  Tera turned on her.

  “No! I know it’s time to retake Outpost. If we do not do it immediately, we will lose everything, and now I know how to do it. For the last year, headquarters have worked on formulating a plan of attack, but none of them looked like bein
g successful to me. But now, when there is the likelihood of finding allies—” She clenched her lips tight. “I know I should seize the opportunity, even if in the end, they make me abdicate.”

  For a few moments, Sandra silently stared at Tera’s tense face with its stubbornly clenched lips, then quietly said, “May Eve protect you.”

  Half an hour later, when sorbet and champagne were being served, Tera came to her senses. There were three of them sitting in the office. After taking a few sips of wine, Tera put her goblet on the table and turned to Sandra’s whiskered husband.

  “Aunt, would you kindly introduce me to your husband?”

  Sandra majestically bowed her head mockingly, and imitating a master of ceremonies at a function, said solemnly, “May I introduce you to the noble don, Admiral Velimir Evgeni Krushinka, well known among the noble dons as—” she paused, smiled slyly, and playfully snapped, “Whiskered Ugly Mug!”

  Tera looked puzzled at the man whose title had begun so grandly, and ended so, well oddly ... and she laughed. Her laughter was immediately joined by those of Sandra and the deep voice of Don Krushinka. When they calmed down, Tera turned to the don and shook her head.

  “I must confess, tonight, I have learned so many surprising things that I found myself feeling like a snotty little girl again.”

  Don Krushinka slowly lifted his goblet, which more resembled a glass of punch, drained it, and said quietly, “The truth is, your Majesty, I’ll always perceive you that way.”

  When the laughter died down, Tera became serious.

  “Look, Sandra, perhaps I can issue an edict to have him adopted?”

  Don Krushinka and Sandra looked at each other and laughed like crazy again.

  “I’m looking for a way out of this situation, and you just squeal like lunatics,” muttered Tera resentfully. “Who knows who else will find out about this … peculiar … marriage?”

  Sandra patted her on the cheek.