It was a pity that the curtain of secrecy remained in this issue. Yes, I knew that one of the other co-rulers of the Grand Duchy was my mother, and after her death, Violetta had offered me the vacant seat. I had refused then, and now was wracking my brains trying to figure out the name of the mysterious third...
"Alright, Duke Amelius, you fulfilled your part of the deal, and I intend to fulfill mine. How many ships are in your fleet?"
"Fleet?" the Duke chuckled bitterly. "I have no fleet, Crown Prince Georg. All I have left is one cloaked cruiser, which is where I am now located along with the last few surviving members of the Lavaelle family. The captain of the cruiser is my grandnephew Crasav ton Lavaelle. The crew remained loyal to him, and only because of that fact did he manage to escape. A sick old man, a couple terrified women, an underaged great grandson and just one healthy man. That is all that remains of the once numerous and influential house Lavaelle..."
Crasav ton Lavaelle? That name was somehow familiar... I rooted around in my memory and, although it took some time, I did remember him. He was the haughty and self-assured aristocrat I had a conflict with in my very first days in Perimeter Defense. Holy shit, Crasav had survived and even become an authority to his crew and managed to evade my sister's agents. Clearly, the public loss of rank and being ejected shamefully from his ship, which I had subjected him to back then for delinquency and non-fulfillment of commander orders, had gotten through to the young man.
I listened to my senses and realized that I was not experiencing any negative emotions whatsoever toward the captain, although he had once been responsible for two of my people losing their lives. Our conflict was far in the past, and now we were in totally different political "weight classes," so it didn't make much sense for me to pay any mind to the mere junior officer or wish any ill on him.
"Duke Amelius, speaking of the pitiful state of your family, you are missing the fact that a fairly significant cohort of your ancient house live in Unatari State space. Among them are some famous politicians and military men. In fact, Vajek Lavaelle is Admiral of the Perimeter Sector Nine Fleet. I'll admit, I did once think of using them as a legal justification to declare war on the Green House. But the Green House has fallen into oblivion, and I think the time has come for your family to forget about the divide and reunite."
"I think the same, Crown Prince Georg. I hope that our relatives will be glad to see us. And if I am wrong, I do have something to placate them with." The old Duke replied, finally coming to his senses and even smiling. "I managed to keep control over all of the family bank accounts, as well as those of our family's corporations. Duchess Violetta's financiers will be quite struck when a trillion credits leave the Grand Duchy for the Unatari State!"
The old Duke laughed, bowed deeply again and signed off. My advisor Katerina, who had been hiding off camera until that point, stepped out in front and spoke with a nervous laugh:
"Now the main thing is for our financiers to also not have heart attacks when so much money comes in to the Unatari economy. I suppose I'll have to warn our economy minister so he'll be prepared. But I wanted to say something else. Georg, I must give your sister Violetta her due. She simply knows no equals in arranging the genocide of political rivals. The Purple House fell at her feet within ten days, and your daughter Joan is the only surviving member of their ancient dynasty. The Green House held out a bit longer, but also gave in to Violetta. The surviving members of the Lavaelle family can be counted on two hands, and they were forced to flee to foreign lands to save their lives. I hope these examples will serve as a lesson for you, if Violetta offers to let you jointly rule a unified government."
That was for certain. Duchess Violetta could not abide co-rulers. Every person that attempted to share power with my sister had met a horrible end.
Final Boss
I HAD TO PUSH back the date of sending the United Unatari Fleet on its combat mission several times, and every time with good reason. Many ships needed to be modernized, and outfitted with drones, which took a long time to produce in such insane quantity. What was more, we needed to install new navigation systems, and train crews how to use them... All that took resources from factories and space docks and, above all, time. But at that, I had such fantastic trump cards up my sleeve that I didn't envy the Aliens, the Perimeter Sector Fifteen Fleet, or any enemy that might stand against me. For the first time in history, I was absolutely sure that I had the strength to handle the third Queen and her armada.
We didn't show our whole fleet to the cameras. But all the same, what the journalists were allowed to see — the disk-shaped twenty-mile diameter supercarrier Red Queen, the gigantic flagship God of War, and some other ships that got slightly lost on the backdrop of all that but were still impressive: a nine-mile-long Mammoth and six-mile-long Executioner — was more than enough to label this expedition decisive and final. Eight Quasar carriers and an Uukresh (two of the ships having just passed initial inspection and joined the fleet). I also had two hundred forty battleships, all totally modernized and equipped with experienced crews, a thousand cruisers of all kinds, and nearly five thousand destroyers and frigates. All that made the Unatari Fleet a terrifying force, commanding the respect of all fleets, both in the Empire and the Grand Duchy.
Speeches by politicians and military figures of all levels were now starting to reflect a general mood that this military campaign was Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle's attempt to win a crown that was his by right, that of the whole united Empire, and that it would not end with the defeat of the Alien armada in Sector Fifteen, but in the Throne World. And although I didn't officially confirm these rumors, I also didn't deny them or give any speeches suggesting otherwise. I had no doubt that the Empire and Grand Duchy's spies were letting their masters know about that mood, and I purposely didn't impede the spread of this information, because demoralizing the ranks of our opponents could only be to my benefit.
The first step of the operation was to jump directly from the Hnelle system to Perimeter Sector Fifteen via a disruption point in space. Oh, it was a grandiose spectacle! Even I, having seen lots in my life, was amazed at the endless rows of starships hovering in space, awaiting my command to begin the attack.
But I waited, looking at the timer to synchronize our arrival time with that of the second Unatari Fleet, which was taking off from Swarm space. That was my ace in the hole, which no one even suspected existed, not my enemies, and not even my own troops with the exception of just a few particularly trusted individuals. And meanwhile, in the far off Uvi system, there were lots of other ships ready for the military campaign, not only White Queen (the second Alien supercarrier, now with a new crew), but also the remnants of the Alien armada, and several Grand Duchy ships, which had escaped the explosion of the Forepost-10 warp beacon. There were also twenty-four Trias, which was everything the Swarm had. Half of them had to be called back from many-year space flights to new unknown stars in view of the particular importance of this campaign. All landing ships were filled to the brim with Alpha Iseyek. We were ready for a harsh and uncompromising war.
And now, it was five minutes before we would jump. I took the place of the commander in the fleet headquarters, now transferred from Joan the Fatty to God of War. To my left, as always, was Bionica. My pretty assistant was concentrated and serious:
"My Prince, approximate warp time is one hour forty-seven minutes. According to recon data, in the system where we are going, Kness, there is just a very small Alien fleet: three Sledgehammers, three Hermits, and ten Meteors."
"That's barely even a mouthful for us," laughed senior tactician Max Gregor, sitting to my right in the place normally occupied by Nicole ton Savoia. The space major herself was undertaking a very important mission: leading the Second Unatari Fleet, which was taking a different route through Perimeter Sector Fifteen to meet my fleet in the final system, Oolaa.
I chuckled to myself. Long gone were the days when a small group of Alien ships caused alarm in my subjec
ts, and the appearance of just one Sledgehammer led to complete panic. Now, the situation was totally different. Absolutely everyone in the Unatari Fleet up to the very last robot janitor didn't doubt our victory for even one second.
But then...
Emperor August royl Toll ton Akad has died at the age of 340.
ATTENTION! The Empire cannot be without a leader.
Election for new head of the Empire will begin immediately.
You have the right to cast 32.7% of the votes of the Imperial Aristocrats.
Would you like to support the first in the line of succession: Count Julius royl August ton Akad, or would you like to vote for a different candidate?
Well, well, the decrepit old August bit the dust... What could I say? It was a totally predictable event. After Astra's studio released its episode about the pink frog's adventure, the Emperor's standing fell deep into the negative, which caused the flow of his subjects' adoration to dry up and, with that, the healing and rejuvenating abilities of his Truth Seekers.
But still, the death of the ruler had come a bit too fast. I thought the old man would putter on another month or two, realize the hopelessness of his struggle and, in the end, resign. In a month or two, perhaps no vote would even be needed. The war with the Aliens would probably be done by then, and my fleet would be orbiting the Throne World, indicating the right way to vote to all the citizens of the Empire with the force of its cannons.
Alright, I'd leave the dreams and return to reality. Voting for Julius, the Emperor's son, who hadn't accomplished anything at all was, naturally, not in the cards. What other options did I have? I opened a detailed list of claimants. Crown Prince Uvius royl Miro. Duchess Savuka royl Akad. Count Lestor royl Mesfelle. Who even were these people?
Obviously, the system was automatically suggesting the first people in the long line of claimants but, in modern reality, it all looked rather comical. These individuals were known only for their ancient families, and not for any present majesty or fame on the political arena. For example, fifth in line was Duke Amelius royl Lavaelle. The refugee aristocrat had lost a political struggle and been forced to leave the Green House to save his own hide. I mean, what the hell kind of Emperor would he make???
Eleventh was my sister the Grand Duchess Violetta royl Inoky ton Mesfelle Damir, and that was somewhat strange. She had announced the secession of the Grand Duchy from the Empire and, in theory, should have lost her place in the line to the throne. Although, perhaps I simply didn't fully understand all the complicated laws of succession and there were some separate paragraphs that governed this very circumstance.
I found myself twelfth in line. It was far down, of course, but we'd see... I tried voting for myself, but that was a no!
Action impossible
You have been declared a criminal in the Empire and have lost the right to vote for yourself until all issues have been normalized
Geeze! But at that, other people could easily vote for Crown Prince Georg. I watched as my percentage grew. While I just sat there batting my lashes, not knowing what to do in this idiotic situation, Bionica warned me:
"My Prince, the Second Unatari Fleet has already entered warp jump. In order not to ruin the whole plan of the military campaign, our fleet must start in forty seconds."
Ugh, I looked again with sorrow at my name in the list of candidates and chose the option "Abstain."
"We will not change our plans! All ships, prepare for warp jump!"
The new ruler of the Empire shall be Duke Julius royl August ton Akad (40.8% of votes)
Just for curiosity's sake, I opened the final results. Second was my sister Violetta with 24.4% of the votes. Crown Prince Georg was next with 20.2%.
How could that be? The total was more than one hundred percent, considering the share I was unable to make use of.
"The final result shows the percent of those that actually voted, and not of all potential votes," Bionica said, having noticed my incomprehension and hurrying to explain. "But if Your Highness had voted for himself, you would have become the new Emperor!"
I didn't answer my assistant at all, although my vexation at the missed chance made me fit to burst. Just then, on the big screen, in the image being broadcast from the external camera, space darkened and rolled up into a tunnel. The stars grew dim and began to move across the monitor with greater and greater speed. The Unatari Fleet was going to war with the Aliens in Perimeter Sector Fifteen.
* * *
"What the heck was that, Georg?!" my foreign politics advisor shouted, tearing into my personal chambers like an enraged fury and demonstrating her disapproval with all her appearance. "Not enough fun? Wanted to finish your games? The Aliens aren't enough for you? Decided to show all humanity your power? Why did you abstain and not end this idiotic war?!"
"Do you seriously think I would have refused to become Emperor, if I could have?" It would seem that, due to my severe annoyance, I overdid the volume of my voice, because my cousin took a step back in fear.
I had to apologize, then tell her what happened in a normal tone. Katerina was very surprised, because she also didn't suspect the existence of such restrictions.
"Everything turned out bad..." she said with a dismayed cringe. "Understand, cousin, that if it was simply impossible to vote for you at all, you would have gotten no votes. But in that case, everyone in the galaxy would have understood the stupidity of such a result and doubted the fairness of the election. Now though, the result has been announced, and there is no chance to protest it. But, wait... But why didn't you just vote for one of your children? They're all underage, and you'd have become their regent."
"To be honest, it didn't even occur to me," I said, admitting my slow-wittedness, but Katerina had already done all the calculations and shook her head.
"Although... no, it wouldn't have worked. Practically nobody voted for your daughters, they all have a result close to zero, and Georg Junior wasn't even in the running. So, even with the thirty-two percent you were entrusted, they'd have lost. The Emperor's son had a few percent higher, and he'd have won anyway..."
"You should have voted for me," Princess Astra piped up, at the other end of the room drawing a new dress for her miniature Elvinian girl. "I got four and a half percent. And if Crown Prince Georg had additionally put the votes entrusted to him by the aristocrats into my candidacy, I'd have won and become Empress. Then, I'd have simply abdicated in favor of Crown Prince Georg or declared you my official husband. Overall, I'd have found a way to make my master Emperor."
While saying this sentence, my favorite didn't even turn her head to us and continued drawing a design for some complicated skirt for her miniature servant on her touch-screen board. My advisor and I exchanged surprised glances, impressed not even so much by the method of victory Astra described as by the fact that Princess Astra, who no one took seriously, really could have become Empress.
"Your favorite is making me blush in shame yet again and feel like a worthless advisor," Duchess Katerina sighed. "How didn't I think of such a thing on my own? What's more, I have no doubt that Astra is not making things up. She really would have refused the throne in your favor, Georg."
"Yes, she is unique. Others would be tearing out their hair in annoyance at the missed chance. But in Astra's system of life values, a dress for her living doll is much more important than not getting the title of Empress. I wouldn't even be surprised, if my favorite thought the whole forthcoming campaign against the Aliens to be something totally pointless and dumb, that doesn't even need to be paid any mind. And maybe she even has her own way of solving the Alien problem, but isn't telling us because she knows we wouldn't listen to her advice."
I said that at quite a low volume, just to my cousin, which made it all the more surprising and embarrassing when Astra not only heard me, but answered:
"That's right, Your Highness. Why should I fill my head with the war in former Red House space, if no one has any doubt in Crown Prince Georg's eventual victory, ev
en the Aliens. And although they are prepared to sign a peace treaty on certain conditions, the Aliens aren't even asking, because they think the ruler of Unatari would refuse no matter what. And I'm in complete agreement with them there. Why should my liege make an agreement for part, when he can take everything by force?"
"What?!" Katerina and I shot out simultaneously, shocked at Princess Astra's admission.
My favorite finally tore herself from the design and, taking her living doll in her hands, walked over to us. Placing the Elvinian on the table, Astra pointed at her servant:
"This is Maoya, she's a member of the Elvinian race, which we also call 'the Aliens.'"
The shock, obviously, didn't only strike me, but everyone else in the room as well. One of my ever-present invisible chameleon bodyguards couldn't even hold it together and fell off the ceiling, becoming visible in midair and breaking a chair with a crash. But the Ravaash individual’s blunder was barely noticed, because everyone around had their attention entirely fixated on the miniature girl.
"Maoya, tell us about your race and about the conditions on which the Elvinians are prepared to sign a peace treaty," said Duchess Katerina.
I had earlier heard the Elvinian speak when Astra was playing with her living doll. In a very thin little voice, reminiscent of the tinkling of tiny bells, the doll confirmed that it was precisely her race, along with a few others that humanity collectively referred to as "the Aliens." She said that the Elvinians had obtained permission to settle human territory seventeen years ago from an authorized representative of humanity, and that they had paid a very high price to do so, giving technology and agreeing to perform a service for humanity.
A Game With No Rules (Perimeter Defense Book #4) LitRPG Series Page 31