"You're making progress," I said to the girl in approval, but the Truth Seeker just screwed up her lips into something resembling a smile.
"My Prince, you just thought my progress wasn't that great while watching me."
How hard it was to falsely compliment or flatter a Truth Seeker, they instantly sensed the lie. No longer trying to show approval to the girl, I asked her to tell me her presentiments. My sister's easy compliance with my offer of mediation had put me somewhat on guard, as had the fact that the Duchess hadn't even yet touched on such an important topic as the Quasar. A three-day period of silence on my sister's political plans was a very insignificant price to pay for saving the life of the main competitor to the throne and the loss of a flagship. And also, Violetta hadn't been very specific naming the size of the expanded Unatari Fleet. "One medium-sized fleet" in modern reality could have meant a thousand ships with a hundred battleships.
"I mean, what's there to think about? It's an obvious trap," Florianna declared dogmatically. "The size of the Unatari Fleet doesn't mean much, because the Purple House and their allies will have many more no matter what. Our enemies would even be glad to see the Unatari State send as many ships as possible; that would mean Your Majesty would have that many less at his disposal."
"Flora, I still have to intervene. This isn't just about Crown Princess Joan, locked up valuable ships and the unfinished Quasar. It's indicative of something greater. I promised to help. They're relying on me, counting on my help. And at that, billions of watchful eyes will be waiting to see if I can justify the hope of these people my sister has condemned to death. It is a test for me as an independent political figure. Am I capable of going against the will of the Antagonists, or the Grand Duchy, as they've begun to call themselves? So, it's very important for me to find a way of pulling Crown Princess Joan out of the trap along with her blocked fleet. I'm really counting on you telling me the right decision."
"My Prince, I have no idea about interstellar politics, or military matters. My abilities as a Truth Seeker are also very modest, and do not allow me to give Your Highness any sound advice in this situation."
Yes, perhaps I really was asking too much from my Truth Seeker. She was still a little girl, and didn't nearly have enough experience. On the other hand, Flora was already in the top twenty strongest psionics in the galaxy, and I suspected that was nowhere near the limit of the girl's growth.
"Thank you for your faith, Crown Prince! But I really do not see any way of helping Crown Princess Joan. Either there is no way to save the trapped fleet, or there are even stronger psionics on their side working against me. But at that, I have discovered something that might be of interest to your Highness. In seven minutes, a ship containing my sister will be docking on our ship."
"Princess Astra has come here to the front in Perimeter Sector Ten?! It looks like your sister has some bats in the old belfry! It’s dangerous here, there's a war, any enemy frigate we missed along the way could have destroyed her yacht! I hope she at least was smart enough not to have brought our son with her."
"No, I do not sense little Georg. Astra left your son at home."
"I can at least be happy about that. Although... if we approach the issue from a purely technical standpoint, how did Astra manage to get through the warp beacons, which were off during the war??? Only I can give the command to turn them on, but I don't remember being asked. And I wouldn't have allowed Astra to take such a risk."
A call came in from the internal network. My Beta Iseyek First Advisor, Apasss Ugu hurried to tell his ruler that the White Queen had arrived, and a request for her ship to dock had just been received.
"Allow them to dock. Take Princess Astra to the sixth deck of my residential wing. Provide her everything necessary there and renew her pass to all rooms on the starship, except the potentially dangerous ones. And compose a full list immediately of those who, in violation of my instructions, turned on the warp beacons for her, after which you must bring them to justice."
The gigantic pill-bug flailed his many whiskers, touching a glowing display with his appendages, then chirring out in surprise. My bodyguard Rosss translated for me:
"No one turned on the warp beacons. The White Queen came on a Mechanoid."
* * *
"No, anything but that!" I stopped sharply in the doorway to the bunk, remarking on my favorite's new style: bright crimson hair falling freely over her shoulders and a form-fitting orange dress that emphasized all the curves of her flawless feminine figure.
Princess Astra turned sharply, slowly hiding something in her hand behind her back. The joyful smile slowly faded from her beautiful face, doubt and worry taking its place.
"Is something wrong? Is the Crown Prince not glad to see me?"
"Astra, I'm always glad to see you. But I already have enough women in my close circle with fire-engine red hair. There was really no reason for you to copy that aggressive style from Miya."
"But this hair color and crimson clothing looks very good on the Queen! Your Highness's wife always looks exceptionally beautiful and stands out in any crowd. People don't even notice me when she's around. I look plain and pale. Bionica told me, so she advised me to dress like this!"
I just shook my head in reproach — she'd found a truly great source of advice! My android secretary Bionica had long been jealous of Astra and this wasn’t the first time she had given her rival such "useful advice." Probably, my synthetic assistant knew perfectly well that my favorite wearing such a getup would cause me to reject her.
"I'll have a serious talk with Bionica. And you should have realized already that the tastes of androids don't always correspond with those of people. You shouldn't try to look like Miya, because you are completely different. She is a burning flame, arousing fear in everything that lives, the Red Queen, who should be wearing such frightening crimson attire. But you are a fragile shimmering snowflake. The White Queen, spellbinding with your beauty and elegance. With you, I can relax and not be constantly on-guard like I’m leading troops into battle. I value that quality in you very much, and also your spontaneity and joy at life, excellent knowledge of palace etiquette and ability to give timely advice."
At the end of her long speech, I spent a few seconds distracted, looking at a massive pile of boxes sitting in the corner containing the Princess's things. Then, turning back to Astra, I was amazed at the changes that had happened in such a short time. The girl had managed to change out of the clothes I had criticized, and was now in nothing but her birthday suit. Having no shame at my stubborn gaze, Astra walked up to a large mirror and, smiling shamelessly, spun around in front of it in a dancing motion. At that, the girl was still squeezing something small in the fist of her right hand.
"I'll admit, I'm very flattered to hear that my knowledge is something Your Highness needs. Do you know what advice you need now, Crown Prince?" my favorite asked, stopping her dance and breaking the prolonged silence.
I could barely hold back a smile, because my "expert advisor" looked more like she belonged on the cover of a glossy men's magazine than at a government meeting, especially in her present appearance. Nevertheless, seeing her earnest desire to help, I told her about the situation in the Purple House with the trapped fleet. Astra thought for just a few seconds, after which she gave a solution that was absolutely genius in its originality:
"Your Highness must adopt Crown Princess Joan! She no longer has any living relatives or legal guardians so, there’s nothing stopping you in Imperial law!"
I'll admit, at first, I didn't understand all the advantages of her suggestion and hurried to express skepticism:
"What rot! What would something like that do to change the political landscape? Other than the fact that my sister the Duchess Violetta would then be killing not just some girl trying to claim her throne, but my adopted daughter?"
"And her niece," Astra corrected me. "But this isn't all about family status. From what I understand, your sister won't be stopped by that at all,
despite the serious standing fall if she killed her own niece. The problem is something else: if rescuing a daughter, and also a Crown Princess, Your Highness would be legally allowed to bring combat ships through the Imperial Core without the preliminary agreement of the Imperial Secretariat and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It will be enough to inform the authorities after the fact and pay for recharging energy at the warp beacons. There are precedents in Imperial history, so the law would be fully on Your Highness's side."
The ability to pass through the Core? The traditional route around the Core from Perimeter Sector Nine to Seven took around thirteen or fourteen days. But if I went straight on the shortest route? I turned on a data screen, brought up the star map on the monitor and calculated a route to the Veyerde system. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Just fifty-three hours! And at that, my fleet will arrive to the Nayal system next to Veyerde by a little-used route, through the uninhabited Forepost-10 system. No one will be expecting us to come that way!"
I called Katerina on an internal line and asked her to check what Astra had said about combat ships passing through the Core. Astra walked aside as not to show up in the picture but, for some reason, she was in no rush to get dressed. My cousin then stayed silent for thirty seconds, checking something on her computer, after which she answered:
"Georg there really are a few exceptions in the law about fleet movement for Great Houses and allied Kingdoms. And one of them says: 'When an emergency action could save the life of a titled aristocrat of the Empire, who is close relatives with the fleet commander or ship pilot, the passage of one or several military starships of classes higher than frigate through the Imperial Core shall be allowed.'"
"Are there any limits described on the composition of the ship group? Do they have the right to pass through the Core, or must they only enter and wait, hiding from their pursuers in the safe system? I need to understand if, using this excuse, I could bring three thousand starships from Sector Nine to Seven."
My cousin's eyebrows jumped up in astonishment.
"Cousin, I am not at all sure that this loophole could be interpreted as a way to attack an enemy from an unexpected system!"
"But still, Katerina, you haven't answered my questions."
"No, there are no limits imposed by Imperial law," my advisor was forced to admit. "After all, traditionally, the Imperial Fleet surpassed any potential violators in force and would simply destroy those acting inappropriately. What have you thought up, cousin? I'm very scared of you asking questions like this."
I wasn't planning to hide anything from my advisor and told her in detail about the situation with the Purple House and Astra's suggestion. Katerina always figured things out fast, and here she immediately found two hidden obstacles in the plan:
"The Blue House is at war with us. Yes, now the blues are giving up position without resistance, but that is only because we have a significant advantage both in spacecraft and in number of terrestrial soldiers. Go ahead and take three thousand starships from the front, and that's it — everything will start rolling back! The Blue House will be able to resist effectively, and you won't be able to land Alpha Iseyek landing forces because the Tria's won't be able to make it through."
"I agree, cousin. Before starting anything against the Purple House, I should first finish the war against the Blue House."
"Exactly, Georg. Now, we're getting five to seven, or maybe more Blue House systems. There is a very high probability that, after a peace treaty is signed, all these systems will remain ours. And now think, is that blocked fleet worth the potential benefit we would be giving up by rushing this military campaign that has turned out so well for us?"
I went silent, because the question was of course right-minded — was the Quasar and my promise to help the Princess in peril worth ten or even more lost star systems? Then Katerina continued:
"A second rather important aspect you are for some reason overlooking is that Joan royl Reyekh is an Imperial Crown Princess by birth and has priority in the line of succession over untitled individuals. Cousin, are you really prepared to impinge on your son George Junior's rights by placing Joan before him in the line of succession to the Unatari State throne? And it also seems quite obvious that Queen Miya will object, because Joan is older than little Crown Princess Deianna and would thus come before her, if you're planning to truly adopt Joan with all the legally required rights and privileges of a daughter. And half measures are out of the question here. After all, you only have the right to go through the Core to rescue a full relative. Technically, of your children and close relatives, only Likanna wouldn't be affected by these cardinal changes, because your eldest daughter was born two months before Joan."
I noticed that my advisor tactically mentioned "close relatives" there, without pointing to her own position. After all, Katerina would also be dropping as well. Yes and, based on the way Princess Astra was listening carefully to the conversation, and her obviously bewildered expression, my favorite hadn't thought through the consequences of her suggestion.
"Thank you, Katerina. I have seen these hidden obstacles and agree that it is a very difficult choice. I'll think it over and do some calculations. But in any case, I consider it premature to discuss any options without first speaking with the new ruler of the Blue House. Duke Mark royl Ovar ton Miro has received just a quarter of the votes in the election for the new head of the Blue House. His position as ruler is very shaky. And right now, while the Duke has yet to come to power, we need to figure out what terms he would find acceptable for his much-desired peace treaty."
Katerina promised to arrange a conversation for me with the Blue House ruler and signed off. I then turned my attention back to the fact that Astra was still not dressed, and was squeezing something tight in her hand. I wondered what it was. I didn't manage to ask my question, because Florianna gave away the farm on her sister:
"My Prince, as soon as she arrived, Astra went to the medical wing of the starship and was looking for Nicosid Brandt there. But when she realized the old physician had been fired, she spent a long time loafing around the hallways of the big starship in confusion, accompanied by a guard team until she randomly bumped into a condom machine. Astra was terribly embarrassed, but bought a couple. And now, she is deciding whether to allude to her desire to Your Highness, and is also afraid of Miya, because she isn't at all sure that the Queen will allow her to make such a change in contraception."
"Flora, you should be ashamed of yourself for spying on your sister! Do something useful for the next few hours, search for the missing First and Second Blue House Fleets," I said out loud, after which I asked my bodyguards to leave my cabin, and suggested to Astra that we look over her purchases together.
Shades of Blue
"GET READY! One minute until go time! Georg, adjust the collar of your uniform! Bionica, see that lock of hair sticking out to the left? Get it behind his ear!" for some reason, my cousin Katerina was really stoking it, although I didn't expect any breakthrough solutions in the peace treaty with the new head of the Blue House.
Duke Mark royl Uvar ton Miro had barely ascended to the throne and was probably still getting a handle on things and familiarizing himself with his ministers and advisors. What was more, the extremely low percent of aristocrats who'd voted for him, less than a quarter of those who had the right to vote in the Blue House, meant that the new ruler could expect serious resistance to any initiatives he undertook, both in his lands, and at a gathering of Great House deputies. It was obvious that the Duke would very soon be having a discussion with more influential politicians, be offered something and thus increase the number of those on his side. But for now, my opponent had a very shaky position. Any unpopular decision, and the deputies could initiate a vote of no confidence, launching new elections. Because after all, a decision to make peace by giving up territory would be just such an unpopular decision.
"Ten seconds!" said Duchess Katerina ton Unatari, standing next to me with her face towa
rd the camera.
My cousin looked exceptionally bright today and horribly official in her traditional diplomat’s uniform with all appropriate Imperial regalia alongside that of an Unatari State upper aristocrat. The Duchess's crown looked stylish on her well-treated chestnut hair. A blue ribbon diagonally across her chest meant she was absolutely untouchable to the Swarm. Above the ribbon, there were several medals attached, including three military ones: the Black Star for having participated in the now legendary invasion of Alien space, the Sapphire Comet for having been an active participant in the epic battle with the Alien Queen's fleet in the far-off D56KT system, and also the Silver Brooch with the number 47 on the four-pointed star, meaning she had participated in forty-seven space battles.
Miya was standing to my right-hand side, brilliant as ever and dangerous in her glamorous orange and crimson dress. The golden crown of the Queen of Unatari shimmered with little flames in her red hair. Very few knew that the role of my wife today was being played by an Arite, because the real Miya was currently off in the Unatari system, teaching the many psionics who had come to our invitation. But Katerina had insisted that my spouse be present, even if it was only a copy. In my cousin's words, the only condition voiced by the Blue House was that Miya not be used during the negotiations for her murderous abilities. And so, as they were afraid of Miya, I just had to draw attention to our power by bringing the very powerful Truth Seeker into the negotiations.
My personal assistant Bionica, was standing on the far left. The synthetic beauty, who could afford the most luxurious dresses and outfits from the best couturiers in the galaxy, was wearing a simple space fleet uniform today. But the strict military uniform only emphasized Bionica’s beauty, while the military medals and particularly the Emerald Star given by the Emperor, spoke for themselves.
A Game With No Rules (Perimeter Defense Book #4) LitRPG Series Page 14