by Terry Mixon
That wasn’t to say they were alone. There were dozens of ships protecting the flip point, and they’d put the blocker into place at the hostile flip point before they’d left Erorsi. No one would be sneaking up on them.
One of his people turned to him. “Incoming message, Admiral. It’s for you.”
“Put it on screen.”
A familiar face appeared. Lieutenant—no, Lieutenant Commander—Parker of His Majesties fast courier Lance. The man smiled. “Lord Admiral Mertz. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“For me, too, Commander Parker. What can I do for you?”
“I have instructions to ferry you and Princess Kelsey, as well as some of your other senior officers, to Pentagar at once. I have my trusty new ship standing by to get you there faster than ever.”
Jared frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“Not that I’m aware of, Lord Admiral. All Crown Princess Elise told me was that events there were moving faster than anticipated and that your presence is required.”
“Is see. Who are you supposed to bring?”
“Yourself, Princess Kelsey, Count Talbot, and the officers that originally served as your command staff on Athena. Her Highness urges you to hurry.”
He rose from his seat. “Then I’d best get moving. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Once the connection closed, he headed for the lift. “Marcus, see that everyone else is notified that we’re needed on Lance.”
“Already done, Admiral. Your sister is still in Erorsi space, but Persephone should be here in about fifteen minutes.”
In all, it took about half an hour to gather everyone on the new Lance. While the old fast courier had been—well, fast—the new ship was the best the Old Empire had to offer. It would get them to Pentagar in an hour. Quickly by anyone’s estimation.
Kelsey sat down beside him. “What’s this all about? I was just getting Angela into the implantation machine for her first session. Well, technically her second session. She already has her implants and nanites.”
“What is she getting?”
“The Old Empire went slowly with their Raiders. The implant procedure took six sessions. First was the cranial hardware and nanites. Session two is the optical, olfactory, and auditory hardware. Three is supposed to be the pharmacology unit, but I’ve decided to lump that in with session two. The last three sessions are the artificial musculature and bone reinforcement. So, we’ll use five sessions.”
He frowned. “Are you sure you should be combining them like that? They had them separate for a reason.”
She nodded. “It’s fine. Even Ned agrees. He says they’d been recommending this change for longer than he’d been alive. The Imperial bureaucracy wasn’t renowned for its speed. Angela will have about a week to adjust to the new hardware before we start on the artificial musculature and bone reinforcement.”
Jared looked over at where Talbot was talking to Charlie Graves. “What about him? I’d have expected he’d be demanding his turn.”
She smiled. “He is, but you caught us right before we put him in. Angela was actually the second person in line. We’ll get him going once we take care of the fire here. Any idea what’s going on?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Elise usually sends enough detail to know what’s happening, but not this time. It can’t be too bad if they need us without our ships. Since we have the time, let’s go over what you’ve found out about the target system.”
“There isn’t much,” his sister said. “Before the rebellion, Dresden was an out of the way backwater. It still is in many ways. The databases have nothing on it at all, but a few prisoners have indicated the planetary population is low.
“There’s a lot of manufacturing capability in orbit, though. If this is where they made the Raider implants before, it might have been a secret facility and is only used intermittently.”
“Do we have any idea where the equipment might be?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not for certain, but they only have one orbital. We’re going to have to improvise and overcome. On the plus side, I don’t think they’ll have a large Fleet presence. This ambush group was stationed there. No one is talking about what kind of firepower they left to guard the place, but it can’t be much.”
He brought up the image she’d sent him from the freighter’s computer core. The planet looked nice enough, though the color was more green than blue. There was a single large orbital. It massed about thirty percent more than a superdreadnought. Not huge, but not insignificant, either.
“Recovering the equipment is going to take time,” he said after a moment. “We’ll have to search all the orbital and pull out what we need in a hurry. Anyone could come along while we’re doing it.”
Kelsey grinned. “If it was easy, anyone could do it.”
Jared started to respond, but a call from Elise interrupted him. A check indicated they were almost to Pentagar. Time had flown.
He could’ve done this as a mental conversation, but he chose to imagine he was sitting at a real com console and actually speaking. That made his life a little easier.
“Elise,” he said aloud. “What’s going on? What’s the emergency?”
His fiancé smiled. “No emergency. Well, not really in the way you mean. After all the fighting, I decided that we couldn’t risk waiting any longer. It happens tonight.”
He frowned. “What happens?”
Elise gave him an exasperated look. “Our wedding, of course. I’m making you mine before anything else happens. You’ll want to tell Kelsey and Talbot. We have a lot of work to do if we’re going to have a double wedding in less than four hours.”
* * * * *
Kelsey buried her head in her hands. “We’re never going to pull this off.”
“You are such a pessimist!” Elise scolded. “We have the resources of the entire Kingdom at our disposal. We can manage this.”
Kelsey laughed. She thought she sounded a tad hysterical. “I’m sorry, but I can’t imagine how that’s even possible. The cake takes time, so do the flowers. It can’t be possible.”
The woman smiled. “You’d be surprised how motivated one becomes when the Crown Princess calls. And, for this, I am ruthlessly using my father to personally exhort each of the major players to produce miracles.”
“Not even your father can change the laws of physics.”
“You’d be surprised. You have a wedding dress to select. I’ve taken the liberty of arranging a fast car to get you to the most prestigious firm specializing in that immediately. They have a team standing by to receive you.”
“Aren’t you coming?”
Elise smiled. “I already have a dress. I hoped this day would come and wanted to be ready at a moment’s notice. Now go pick the dress you’ve always wanted.”
The car turned out to be really fast. It broke every speed regulation imaginable as it literally screamed across the city to Royal Bridal.
A distinguished man with a head of silver hair bowed as she exited the car.
“Princess Kelsey, my name is Edward Pollack. Rest easy. I will make absolutely certain that we produce the dress of your dreams, even if I have to make it myself.”
He gestured to the woman standing beside him. “If you will accompany my assistant, she’ll get your measurements and you can begin selecting the style of dress you’d like.”
Kelsey found herself hustled into a room. The woman who’d accompanied her gestured toward a booth. “My name is Jinny, Highness. If you’ll strip and climb inside, the scanner will get all your measurements. Follow the instructions on the screen. Call out when you’re dressed again.”
The woman stepped out and Kelsey stripped and stepped into the booth. The screen told her how to stand, and had her run through a series of motions. She couldn’t imaging needing to squat in her wedding dress, but it seemed she’d be able to.
Once the machine finished scanning, she exited the booth, dressed, and called out to Jinny. The woman led her
to a computer terminal where they both sat.
“We can narrow down the style of dresses you’re interested in here,” Jinny said. “It’s a simple matter of putting them onto your scanned picture. We’ll broadcast a full-sized image into the attached holotank.”
Jinny brought up a sample dress and threw the image into the tank. It really did look just like a full-sized version of Kelsey wearing the dress. It spun slowly and allowed her image to move, demonstrating the flow of the gown.
“I’ve always had something in mind,” Kelsey admitted. “It’s probably long out of style, even on Avalon, but I saw it in a wedding when I was a girl. I can describe it.”
“That might not be necessary. Once we made contact with the Empire, we immediately began researching weddings and dresses. Master Pollack is already planning to expand there. Was the wedding for someone notable?”
“One of my distant cousins, Angelina Kerr.”
Jinny brought up a search screen on the computer. “This dress?”
A picture from the wedding appeared on the screen. It had a long, flowing skirt and a simple cut with a medium neckline. There were undoubtedly more technical descriptions, but she’d never bothered to learn wedding dress terminology.
“That’s the dress!” Kelsey said.
Jinny nodded. “It has classic lines,” she agreed. “The style isn’t in fashion in the Empire at the moment, but I’ve discovered that people like yourself define the styles in demand rather than following trends. Let me compare this to the dresses we have ready for fitting. If one of them is similar, that will save time.”
Jinny pulled up a number of dresses and seemingly disregarded them at once. Then she hit on one that made her pause.
“This is close. We’d have to do some work on the neckline, and redo the skirt, but I think that’s doable. Let me see if we have it in close to your size.”
Kelsey thought that unlikely. Not unless they normally had children getting married. She was much shorter than the average bride.
“We have one that can be pulled in, I think. Let me call the Master and see what he thinks.”
He swept into the room with a confident air a moment later. He must’ve been close by.
“We have an historical dress from Avalon that Her Highness wants,” Jinny said. “I have a possible match on screen.”
He considered the wedding photo and the potential dress for less than three seconds before he shook his head. “That won’t work. The modifications to bring it down to size are too extreme. It will compromise the flow of the fabric. Move over, please.”
He sat at the chair his assistant vacated and began playing their system like a virtuoso with his favorite instrument. Images flew across the screen as he scanned a wider selection of dresses. He froze on one image. The dress was more cream than white, and it seemed to be made for a child.
“I think we have a candidate,” he said, looking over at Kelsey. “This was a dress made for a younger bridesmaid. Since the one you want to emulate is of a relatively simple cut, it would be easier to add the skirt and adjust the neckline.”
Kelsey examined the dress closely. “I like the color, though I had wanted white. If you think it’ll work, that might be the closest we can come.”
He scowled at her. “I’m not satisfied with close enough, Highness. A white version will be extremely challenging, but we are up to the task. Jinny! I need everyone to gather in my office in five minutes. We don’t have a moment to waste!”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Zia watched Jared driving the tailor to distraction with amusement. “Admiral, you’re going to look lopsided if you keep moving around like that.”
The room was filled with stands, partial mannequins, and fabric. The older gentleman working on Jared had a distinguished white beard and a walrus mustache. If his own suit were any indication, the admiral would look fabulous.
The tailor gave her a withering glare. “He will not! I assure you that I can compensate, though this is wasting valuable time.”
“I was thinking exactly the same thing,” Jared said. “While I love Elise, we’re critically short on time. I should be getting the fleet ready.”
“Delegate,” she said. “If you spend any more time worrying about this, you’ll be late for your wedding. I don’t believe that I need to stress that your bride is a lot more demanding than Fleet. Particularly today.”
The tailor—Renaldo—pulled Jared up short. “Stop fidgeting, Highness.
“You’ve fought in space and hand-to-hand,” Zia said. “This is only a wedding. Don’t panic. If you do, the Royal Guard will efficiently tackle you and deliver you on schedule.”
“That’s very reassuring, Zia,” Jared said dryly. “Thanks.”
She laughed. “I’m lucky. I got the word to bring my dress uniform. Someone is getting it updated for my new rank as we speak. I can do this all day.”
Renaldo gestured for Jared to stand on a small dais. “I’ve made certain the suit is very close to your uniform measurements, but that is not bespoke. You should rectify that, Highness.”
“Maybe for my dress uniform,” Jared allowed. “The others are designed for working.”
The other man clucked with his tongue. “That is a common misconception. Well-fitted does not mean unusable. In fact, you will find them even more durable and functional than anything you buy off the rack. You should have your steward contact someone.”
“If I ever get one, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You don’t have a steward?” The man looked scandalized. “All officers of flag rank should have someone to take care of the everyday details of their lives. A forward thinking captain would do so, I assure you. This is particularly true now that you are a high noble.”
Jared shook his head and the man handed him a shirt. “I’ve been dressing myself my entire life. I can manage to tie my shoes now that I’m a flag officer. Or a noble.”
The tailor seemed unconvinced.
The entire exchange amused Zia. Having taken the step of getting a steward, she could heartily agree with Renaldo’s assessment. In fact, she’d already tasked her own steward with finding someone for both the admiral and Princess Kelsey.
It took a surprisingly short time to get the admiral ready. Renaldo handed the last piece of clothing off to one of his assistants and shooed Jared toward the door.
“They will handle your makeup next door while I complete my Herculean task. Don’t dawdle, Highness. The clock is ticking.”
The statement made the admiral frown. “Makeup? I don’t need makeup.”
“Preposterous,” the tailor asserted. “The lights will make you look like a corpse. Leave this to the professionals or no one will see you in the right shade.”
“I don’t get it. The lights here are fine. Why would they be any different at the church? Or wherever we’re getting married. I don’t think anyone told me where that will happen.”
The other man rolled his eyes. “Your ceremony will take place in the Royal Cathedral. The lights are for the cameras, so that everyone in the Kingdom can see the crown Princess marry. And your sister, too, of course.”
That made Talbot look uncomfortable. “Oh, crap. You’re talking millions of people. Talbot will love that.”
“Indeed. Hundreds of millions, at a minimum. Likely billions. Oh, and since the heir to the Imperial Throne is going to be there with you, I’ll assume that the viewership in the Empire will be quite high. You’ll want to look your best.”
Zia imagined it would be far higher than that, if one considered those who would be seeing the ceremony in the years and decades to come.
“Focus, Your Highness,” Renaldo said sternly. “A groom makes the bride wait at his peril.”
“Truer words,” the admiral muttered.
“I need to head out, too, Admiral,” Zia said as she headed for the door. “Keep your chin up.”
* * * * *
Jared thought he looked excessively orange, but they assured him tha
t the bright lights focused on the dais would balance things out. He’d have to trust them on that one.
Renaldo had him dress and made a few last-minute tweaks before pronouncing himself moderately satisfied. “This is good enough for the ceremony. I will see that other suits are made to match it, but I’ll take my time to be certain they will last longer.”
“You mean this will fall apart?”
“No, Highness,” the man said with exaggerated patience. “Only that the seams are rushed. It won’t last as long as a bespoke suit should. Before you profane this room with the declaration that you can just have more made, I’ll remind you that quantity does not make up for quality, no matter what the old saying says.
“Imagine taking one of your new ships up against a group of Fleet’s current ships of the line. Quality counts for even more in my line of work.”
Jared didn’t know enough to argue the point, so he shut his mouth.
The older man gave him one last walk around. “I believe you’ll do, Highness, and just in time. I believe I hear your keepers coming.”
The door opened and Jared saw Royal Guards outside. “Your car is ready, Highness,” one of them said.
They rushed him through the halls and out to the landing pad. A classic-looking air limo awaited. Standing beside it was Talbot, looking sharp in a suit very much like the one Jared wore. He still managed to look slightly rumpled, but the small man beside him was still working on that.
“Thank God,” the marine said. “I can’t get this guy to leave me alone, and they insisted on making me look like a clown.”
“No one is going to make you look like a clown, Talbot. Did they tell you why we’re wearing makeup?”
The small man shook his head vigorously, just out of Talbot’s range of vision.
“No,” Talbot said. “Why?”
“The lights,” Jared said as he climbed in. “It’s bright in the Royal Cathedral.”
“Oh. That makes sense, I suppose. Do you think the ladies are ready?”