I couldn't believe my ears. Krista was also one of the Emperor's Truth Seekers?!
"Yes, Georg. Though I cannot prove it, as Krista is significantly stronger than I am. But as for Marian Sabati, I have long known, but she tied my tongue. Her mission was to wriggle into your circle, gain your trust and figure out if there was any truth to the rumors that Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky had been replaced by a man named Ruslan. It should be noted that Marian Sabati did a brilliant job of dealing with the first part of the mission. She murdered Duke Avalle royl Anjer, who had long been a thorn in the side of the Throne World, and she emptied the Orange House treasury; both deeds were elements of the same cunning plan. Yes, Georg, it was Marian Sabati who killed the Head of the Orange House, as little Flora didn't actually have the strength. I once told you that the Dark Mother couldn't have been mistaken in accusing Marian Sabati of the murder. But, Marian Sabati wasn’t able to find confirmation of the mystery of your true identity. Your mind was too well shielded."
"Then why did she flee if she hadn't yet completed her mission?" I asked in surprise.
Miya smiled and pointed at Ayna:
"That little spy couldn't get the information directly from you, so she went to look for other options. She was not able to go through Florianna either; the paralyzed girl's brain is closed to reading just as well as yours, and she herself is infinitely loyal to her master. Marian even tried to enlist Ayna, supposing that she, having been maimed in the ring, would be grateful to her for the healing. But Ayna told me everything at the first opportunity, and I took her with me to keep her from Marian Sabati's rage. That little spy, of course, realized she'd screwed up. And so, on an order from the Throne World, she fled from Unatari, making sure to gather all data on the new government's military power and a whole suitcase of blackmail material on its ruler."
"But why would the Throne World want to blackmail me? I’m doing exactly what the Emperor told me to do: strengthening my new government."
Miya started thinking, spending practically a whole minute frozen in place. After that, she teetered back. Only Ayna's help stopped my spouse from falling over. Ayna sat her boss down on the couch carefully, but Miya quickly came back to her senses and answered in what was now a normal voice.
"It is extremely difficult to read any information on the Throne World's plans. It takes a huge amount of effort. But, in essence, I figured out what exactly the Emperor is afraid of. This isn't about you, and isn't even about your real identity. The Swarm is increasing in power much faster than humanity is."
"And what? Why are they accusing me of something here?!"
"If there is a serious internal conflict between human forces, all sides will take heavy losses and be weakened. If that happens, the Iseyek may take advantage of the situation and attack the Empire. So, in the light of the Emperor's expected campaign against the Antagonists, or the totally probable loss of control over the Green House, there are sure to be several such conflicts between humans in the not-too-distant future. If and when they do come to pass, the Swarm invading human space is considered a near certainty. So, the Joint Chiefs have already de facto taken the decision to make a preventative attack against the Iseyek. Emperor August is familiar with the plan, and has approved it in its entirety. The Empire will need Unatari space as a launch pad for the attack, and it is also trying to lure the Iseyek ships in the Unatari State Fleet into a trap to destroy them all in one go, taking advantage of the insects' trust in Swarm Five-Star Admiral Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky. That is precisely why the ruler of Unatari will be accused of a great many serious crimes at the forthcoming trial and will be given a choice: either give up territory and agree completely with the Imperial Joint Chiefs of Staff's demands, or Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky will be declared a wanted criminal with all the consequences that come with it. And the ruler of Unatari's guilt will be affirmed by the strongest Truth Seekers in the galaxy, and that will be more than enough in the eyes of the Imperial citizenry."
I went silent, digesting the new information. Then I chuckled at a thought that came to mind:
"Miya, I've just had an idea that is just screaming to be let out! Why don't we simply send the real Mr. G.I. to the Throne World instead of Ruslan! He would just beat his chest and affirm that he has no knowledge of the violations of Imperial law he is being accused of! He would pass any Dark Mother check, even with a whole pack of other Truth Seekers to boot..."
I went silent, thrown off by my spouse's abruptly deadened face. I also noticed that Ayna reached for her weapon, looking at Miya as if awaiting an order. For some reason, I thought that her pair of Chameleons would be attacking me any second, tying my hands behind my back, and that Ayna would be pulling the trigger and shooting me directly in her forehead with her resonator, ripping any living tissues to shreds. What was this foolishness?
Florianna's voice rang out in my head:
"This is not mere foolishness. Such visions sometimes come over Mystics. It is one possible future. That really might happen."
Miya readily supported Florianna in the mental conversation:
"That's right. Ruslan has touched on a forbidden topic and spoken names that must never be said aloud. I cannot kill him while he is in the body of Crown Prince Georg. That was why my servants were supposed to do it. They have clear instructions on this. But the situation has changed."
"Leave me alone with my husband," Miya said in an icy voice.
The room emptied out. Ayna and the Chameleons that appeared almost ran to get on the other side of the door. Only little Deia remained next to her mother, clinging to the fringes of her long dress.
"Flora, you may continue listening in, but if you try to give him any more information, you will die a painful death. Ruslan, the option of sending Mr. G.I. to the Throne World instead of you is appealing, but not possible. My spouse, Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle died four months ago. It was his death that served as the reason for the second contract. I managed to get your consciousness into his brain before it was completely extinguished."
"But how did I have a conversation with Mr. G.I. in my dreams after that then?"
Miya cast her eyes downward and smiled sheepishly.
"I tried to imitate him, but was not able to do a good enough job. You know his habits too well. You recognized right away that it was an impostor. It was an idiotic idea, so I never tried again."
I gathered more air into my lungs, trying to ask the question that was most important to me with spirit:
"So, what now? When this contract is up and I go back into my own body, Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky will die?"
The redheaded beauty looked away, spent a few seconds in silence and answered, barely audibly:
"There's nowhere for you to return to now, Ruslan. You died in the restaurant. The pills you took at the end of our conversation contained a deadly poison. I had to do it to be able to transfer your consciousness into the body of Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky. Now, you are in fact an Imperial Crown Prince, and Ruslan is gone for good."
* * *
I took the news fairly well. I mean, there was a twenty-minute period of swearing and hateful yelling that looked like hysteria, and the promise to do horrible things to Miya. I even slapped her around a few times. I suppose that only the presence of the little Deianna and Miya's absolute submission, promising to accept any punishment, saved the life of the red-headed murderer. I suspect that was exactly why Miya left her daughter in the room, and was behaving so accommodatingly.
When the stream of my hateful words had run dry, the Truth Seeker said calmly:
"Georg, you got an interesting life, full of action in a world you always dreamed of. That world is fully real, and you are free to act as you like in it. What could you possibly have to be upset about?"
"What do I have to be upset about?! You murdered me!!!"
"No need to repeat yourself. You've already said as much a few dozen times. But a dead man can hardly walk around a room or speak, right?"<
br />
Seeing that I was starting to boil over again, Miya changed her tone:
"Alright, I agree that I did a bad thing, and I will accept any punishment you want to give me. But now, I suggest we get back to business. Your being called to the Throne World threatens tragedy not only to some ephemeral video-game character, but to the completely real Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky. We have very little time to prepare."
Fifteen minutes later, Miya and I were already having a totally peaceful conversation about interstellar politics with my cousin Katerina. Katerina was describing the situation as she saw it:
"The main two reasons the Emperor has called you to the Throne World are the Swarm growing unacceptably strong and the continuing blockade of the Green House armada. If we can solve both of those issue before the trial, there won't be any serious complaints left, just minor stuff like the unfinished Mammoth, the agreements with the androids, and our secret plans for the Blue House. None of that would be enough to sanction the Unatari State and its ruler."
Miya and I exchanged glances, and my spouse confirmed that Katerina was, in essence, correct. The redheaded beauty, not looking away from Deia as she played on the floor for even one second, stated decisively:
"We must conduct negotiations with the First Green House Strike Fleet right away. My presence will serve as a guarantee that there will be no excesses from the Truth Seeker Baroness Veronica ton Taki. In theory, we could even try to kill her. Florianna and I working together have pretty good chances. It isn't good timing, though: I still need energy for other things. But the Swarm issue is for you to solve, Georg. I don't understand insects very well. I was only trained to kill Iseyek, not negotiate with them."
"Whereas I, on the other hand, am more accustomed to solving issues with them by diplomacy. And I believe that the most proper option would be to honestly warn the Swarm on the Joint Chiefs' plan, and suggest my ideas to avoid a big war."
* * *
Queen of Sin finished docking at the huge orbital fortress of the Throne World. I immediately sent the three little Crown Princesses on a shuttle to the surface of the planet, then sat to wait for my call to the Emperor. And I didn't have to wait long. After just ten minutes, a demand came in from the Imperial secretariat to come to the Silver Palace within two hours. But the Unatari delegation shuttle didn't even manage to finish its flight through the atmosphere before I received a call from Swarm Ambassador Triasss Zess. He was right there on the station, and requested an immediate audience.
"My Prince, I have cut down the time needed to land and fly to the Emperor's palace," Popori de Cacha said. "Just invite Triasss Zess to join us in the shuttle."
The Swarm Ambassador immediately agreed to the conditions, and the ten-foot-high snow-white praying mantis with a dark blue sash across his shell squeezed into the shuttle. Our shuttle had barely left Queen of Sin before the Alpha Iseyek imitated a deep bow and said:
"Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle, the Swarm thanks you for the warning on the Imperial Joint Chiefs of Staff's plans. Nai Igir has already familiarized herself with the important information, and has also thought through the suggestion of preserving her consciousness in an android's body."
Global standing increase. Current value +15
Standing change. Iseyek race opinion of you has improved.
Iseyek Prime race opinion of you: +27 (friendship)
"And what has the Swarm Queen decided?" I wondered.
"Nai Igir thanks you for showing you care about her, but she must refuse. Iseyek philosophy dictates that we not hang onto the old, and constantly change and move forward. So the Swarm Queen will not freeze her consciousness in the body of an android, and will be leaving the path open for a new leader. According to Swarm law, the new leader will be the most popular Iseyek from among those in the Queen's inner circle. In three days, the time will come for Nai Igir to lay her clutch, so she is in a rush. In her message, there is a suggestion from the Queen on how to overcome this situation."
With those words, the Swarm Ambassador made a deep bow and extended me a sealed tube of some kind. My bodyguards, worried, scanned the incomprehensible object, but found it safe. I removed its polished-stone stopper, pulled a scroll out from inside, and unraveled it. Half of the text, engraved on a thin sheet of metal, was written in Iseyek symbols. The other half was written in human language. I read it, and my eyebrows shot up in surprise. After giving the whole text a close look three times, I handed the scroll to Phobos so he could check the quality of the translation. My bodyguard confirmed that the texts were absolutely identical in both languages.
"There's no time-frame indicated here," I noted.
Triasss Zess bowed again and explained.
"Swarm laws dictate that our monarchs rule for life. Nai Igir is an exception due to the urgent nature of this situation."
"Then I agree to be the new ruler of the Swarm and unite the territory of the Iseyek with that of the Unatari State. I am prepared to swear to protect all citizens of the unified government at any cost, regardless of their race."
A number of system messages ran before my eyes, indicating sovereignty changes for a great many star systems after my choice. But I closed that interface window and said with a smirk:
"Triasss Zess, I give my permission, but would like to publicly announce my decision at the meeting with the Emperor. There, the news will go off like a bomb and blow my foes' plans to smithereens."
"As you say, my King! And given that everything went according to plan, this is no longer necessary." the praying mantis said, pulling out his neck and removing a circular object from a slot between layers of chitin, then handing it to Popori de Cacha. "This is a powerful bomb. The Swarm couldn’t allow the invasion fleet to be led by the greatest Imperial fleet commander, after all."
* * *
For the second time, my visit to the Silver Palace felt all wrong. I didn't feel any childlike wonder from the grandeur of the rooms. I was totally lacking in timidity before the powerful of this world and, also, the Emperor himself didn't arouse feelings of piety or an irresistible desire to fall to my knees as he should have. A year ago, I saw him as a God of this world, capable of ending the life of billions with one twitch of his brow. Now, though, the man before me looked to be an ancient, ailing fart, who was insanely tired after many years of rule, but was still trying stubbornly to hold on to power, because it helped his decrepit body stay alive.
I could have said the same about any of the Great House Heads in the room. A year ago, any Duke would have seemed at an unreachable height, but now I wasn't able to call up any kind of submissive feelings before them at all. What was there to admire here? Duchess Ovella was an underage witch that the Truth Seeker Krista had placed on the Blue House throne and was using as a marionette. Duke Takuro from the Purple House wasn't a bad old man, but he understood perfectly that his time had already passed. Then there was Duke Amelius ton Lavaelle, who did nothing to hide is hatred of me. I chuckled, imagining the face of the Green House Head in a few minutes.
"Georg, it seems to me that your happiness is misplaced," Emperor August royl Toll ton Akad stated harshly, taking a seat at the head of the large table. "The accusations against you are many, and they are quite serious in nature. This time, it will be I who reads them."
Katerina tapped my foot imperceptibly under the table, calling me to act serious. I nodded to the Emperor and tried to get the stupid grin off my face. At that time, the chair at the Emperor's right hand was occupied by the Dark Mother, and to the left, Space Marshal of the Imperial Star Fleet Abram Kovel was taking a seat.
"Georg, fix your Crown, it is leaning to the right. The camera is not centered," Popori de Cacha's voice came through the micro-headphone in my ear. He was watching through a camera affixed between the huge rubies on my crown. I readjusted the golden band.
"So then, we have quorum. Let's begin, I suppose," said August, asking me whether I understood why I was being called for a trial before the Emperor.
Once again, I was not able to hold back my smile, as August couldn't maintain his imperturbable visage, and was starting to look angry. I suppose that a significant number of the accusations the Emperor was planning to roll out against me were connected precisely with Marian Sabati's activity. I, though, was working proactively.
"I have evidence that the wanted psionic Marian Sabati was working for your Imperial Majesty," I stated, as August was taking too long to answer. "If need be, I could present it."
New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) Page 35