by David Weber
“Denat,” Julian said over the earbud the intel NCO’d installed, “if you’re having translation problems, ask me. I’ll give you the right words. You just said ‘I sneeze you in the name of The Idiots.’”
The Mardukan had been seeded with more listening devices than a Saint embassy, and the company now had a way out of the building. The sergeant major was hard at work tracing out the other hidden passageways, and if Denat truly needed help, it was possible the Marines could come to the rescue.
The locals looked at one another, and then the older female bowed slightly towards him.
“I . . . greet you in the name of our house. Won’t you take a seat?”
Denat nodded as reassuringly as possible at the worried females in the corner, guarding the children, and sat on the floor. The walls of the room were well-set stone and the room itself was a snug, out-of-the-way burrow.
“I . . . have . . .”
“A mission,” Julian prompted.
“ . . . a mission to put a human . . .”
“ . . . thing . . .”
“ . . . thing on the . . .”
“ . . . bridge . . .”
“ . . . bridge,” the tribesman finished with a snarl and a triple cough, the agreed-upon code for: GO AWAY.
“Okay, okay,” the NCO whispered. “Going into lurk mode.”
“Are you quite well?” his host asked. The old Mardukan leaned forward in concern; if the contact became unwell, it would ruin all their plans.
“Yes,” Denat answered. “I am well.”
“What is this device?” the older female asked as she poured their visitor a drink of water and proffered the cup.
“I don’t know,” Denat lied easily. He’d quickly learned the expression Poertena called a “poker face,” an apt description. “However, the humans say that it’s vital to their plans.”
“How large is it? How do you have to attach it? And where?” Sena clapped her hands in agitation. “It will be difficult to do. The bridge is well guarded.”
“It has to be attached anywhere on the underside,” Denat said.
“ . . . underside,” Julian corrected. “You just said anywhere on the ‘butt.’ Well, ‘ass’ is closer.” The NCO chuckled.
“Underside,” Denat amended.
“Ah,” his host said. The old Mardukan male looked at the ceiling of the dwelling. “This is perhaps possible.”
“How large is this package?” Sena asked, taking a seat as well.
Denat pulled the sack he’d been carrying around in front of him and opened it. Pulling out several hide-wrapped packages and partially prepared hides, he removed a final package covered in red leather. It was done up with thongs which he untied to reveal a strange shape. It looked like a small box attached to a cube of clay the size of his hand.
“How do you attach it?” Sena asked, for there were no strings or ropes in evidence.
“They told me that if I pushed it on stone, it would stay.” Denat tried it, and it adhered to the nearer wall, which was in easy arm’s reach. He pulled at it, and it came away with difficulty.
“Like glue,” Selat observed. The older female looked at the device curiously. “Very interesting. What does it do?”
“That I don’t know,” Denat lied again. He knew very well what it did, but he wasn’t about to tell the locals. “I also need to be near the river on the day of the battle,” he added.
“That won’t be hard,” Sena assured him. “Right on the river would be difficult, but there are several places on that edge of town where you’ll be outside the walls and within easy running distance. Will that do?”
“Yes. Now, how do we get the item attached?”
“How well do you swim?” Sena asked with a handclap of humor.
“Well enough to swim that little puddle you call a river.”
“There’s a landing beneath the bridge,” the little female said. “We can put you in the river upstream. You swim down to the bridge, climb up and attach your item, then swim downriver to another point, where someone will meet you to lead you back.”
“Very well,” Denat said with satisfaction. “Now, I suppose we wait.”
“Indeed,” Sena said. “And starve,” she added sourly.
“Oh, it isn’t that bad, dear,” the host rebuked. “We have enough to share with our guest. The House of T’Leen is not so fallen as to be unable to provide hospitality!”
“T’Leen?” Denat repeated, startled. “Was that a common name in Voitan? Because I know a T’Leen Targ.”
“T’Leen Targ?” The host sounded surprised. “I am T’Leen Sul. He’s my cousin on my father’s side! Where do you know him from?” he asked eagerly. “I haven’t seen him since before the fall of S’Lenna! How is he?”
“He’s well,” Denat said, glad to be able to impart some happy news. “He was one of the leaders of the force that relieved us in Voitan. They’re rebuilding the city, and he’ll be one of the leaders of that, as well.”
“Ah!” Sul clapped his hands in joy. “The shining city shall rise again!”
“Let it not be too late for us,” his wife said quietly. “Would that we could go to it before our deaths.”
“We shall,” Sul said with quiet firmness. “We shall return to the shining city. We might have only our hands to offer, but it will be enough.”
There was no doubt in his voice, but the whole group had lost its animation. Even if they returned to Voitan, it would be as beggars.
“I was surprised by your choice of messengers,” Denat said, deliberately moving away from what was obviously a painful subject. “My people wouldn’t have entrusted such a grave responsibility to a female.”
“Because we’re worthless and unintelligent?” Sena snorted. “Good only for birthing babies and cooking?”
“Yes,” Denat said calmly. “I was surprised that the people of Voitan were so accepting of women working other than in the fields and home. You keep to the Voitan customs?”
“With difficulty,” T’Leen Sul said. “Marshad doesn’t agree with those customs. A female cannot own property and she must obey the orders of any male. Such are both customs and law in this land, so it’s hard for one raised among the customs of Voitan to put up with. Females are common in weaving, but that’s because it’s work males don’t want.” The old male grunted in laughter. “But Sena was raised in the Voitan way, and she’s proof that not all females are worthless and weak.”
“So she is,” Denat grunted. He looked at the little female out of the corner of his eye. “So she is.” He gave himself a shake. “But returning to the matter of starvation.” He reached back into his sack. “I brought some food. When that runs out, we’ll have to see what we can think of.”
“Well,” Sena said, clapping her hands in resignation, “that means we can stay out of sight until we have to go to the bridge. Of course, staying out of sight means being stuck in the company of a smelly tribesman for all that time, but at least one part of the plan is working.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
“This is going too smoothly,” Pahner complained, shaking his head.
“Really?” Roger looked around the room and chuckled. “I suppose Voitan was your idea of just the right amount of friction?”
“Yes, Your Highness, it was.” The captain turned dark eyes on the prince and nodded. “We survived.” He shook his head again. “Something is bound to screw this up, and there’s not much in the way of a backup.”
“Blow the town down and take what we can?” Despreaux suggested.
“More or less.” The CO straightened and kneaded the small of his back with both hands. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”
“Seventy isn’t old,” Roger told him with a laugh. “Look at my grandfather. He lived to the ripe old age of one hundred and eighty-three senile years.”
“Not a record I hope to beat, Your Highness.” The captain smiled. “Time for bed. We’d better be on our toes tomorrow.”
Roger nodded a
good night to Pahner as he left the room, then looked over at O’Casey.
“You’ve been particularly quiet this evening, Eleanora,” he observed, taking off the borrowed helmet he’d been using to monitor the operation.
“Just thinking about our host,” the chief of staff replied with a smile. “And about universality.”
“How so?” Roger asked, mopping at his sweaty forehead. The evening was unusually hot, even for Marduk. It usually cooled off a bit after nightfall, but not tonight, apparently.
“If you don’t mind, Your Highness,” Despreaux said, “I’m going to turn in as well. I have guard duty in a few hours.”
“Take off, Nimashet.” Roger waved one hand in a shooing gesture. “I think we can guard ourselves for a while.”
The sergeant smiled at him and left the room behind the captain. Roger watched her go, and then turned back to O’Casey.
“You were saying?” he said, then noticed her slight smile. “What?”
“Nothing,” his former tutor said. “I was talking about universality. It’s not quite a given that fops aren’t to be trusted, but rulers who pay more attention to their wardrobes than their subjects have a habit of coming to bad ends.”
“Did you have anyone in mind?” Roger asked coldly.
“Oh,” O’Casey chuckled, “that wasn’t directed at you, Roger. Although, at one time it might have been,” she added pensively. “But, frankly, son, there’s not much of the peacock left in you.”
“Don’t be too sure of that.” Roger gave her a wry smile now that he realized the comment wasn’t directed at him. “I’m definitely looking forward to getting back into some civilized clothing.”
“That’s fair.” O’Casey looked down at her own stained uniform. “So am I. But I wasn’t speaking of you. I was actually thinking of Ceasare Borgia and your father.”
“Now that’s a comparison you don’t often hear,” Roger said tightly.
“Perhaps you don’t,” O’Casey acknowledged, “but before I was your tutor, I used it frequently in lectures. I suspect that was one of the reasons I was assigned to you in the first place. That and the follow-through, which is that, frankly, it’s an insult to the Borgias. They never would’ve screwed up their plot the way New Madrid did.”
“You know the whole story?” Roger asked in an odd voice. “I never realized that.”
“I’m sorry, Roger,” O’Casey said sadly. “I’m surprised you weren’t aware of how widely it’s studied. I only learned the details after becoming your tutor, of course, but the broad outline is used in political courses as a case study. It’s right up there with the takeover of the Solarian Union by the Dagger Lords.”
“Really?” Roger’s eyes were wide. “Well, you never discussed it with me!”
“It’s a sensitive subject, Roger.” His chief of staff shrugged. “I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, and I felt that you must have already learned any lessons it could teach long before I was named your tutor.”
“Really,” Roger repeated, sarcastically, this time, and leaned one elbow on the table and fixed her with a glare. “That’s just absolutely fascinating, Eleanora, because I have never known what it was that got my father exiled from Court, which makes it rather difficult to learn anything from it, wouldn’t you say?” He let out an exasperated hiss and shook his head. “I’m so glad that you were respectful of my feelings, teacher!”
“But . . .” O’Casey stared at him, her face white. “But what about your mother? Or Professor Earl?”
“Ms. O’Casey,” Roger snarled, “I don’t remember my mother from when I was a young child at all. Only a succession of nurses. From the time I started to know who she was, I have a general impression of seeing her—oh, once a week or so, whether I really needed to see her or not. She would comment on the reports from my tutors and nannies and tell me to be a good boy. I saw John and Alexa more than I ever saw my mother! And as for Professor Earl, I asked him once—just once—about my father. He told me to ask my mother when I was older.” Roger shook his head. “The good doctor was a fair tutor, but he was never very good with the personal stuff.”
It was O’Casey’s turn to shake her head, and she pulled at a lock of hair.
“I’m sorry, Roger. I just assumed– Hell, everybody probably assumed.” She grimaced in exasperation, then inhaled sharply.
“Okay. Where do you want me to begin?”
“Well,” Roger said with a smile, “I had this tutor once who was always telling me—”
“To start at the beginning, and go through to the end,” she finished with an answering smile. “This will take a long time, though,” she said more seriously, and Roger gestured around the room.
“You may not have noticed, but I’ve got all night.”
“Hmph. Okay, let me think about how to begin.”
She gazed into an unseen distance for several seconds, then made a little moue of annoyance which was clearly directed at herself.
“You know, I never really covered recent history with you too well, did I? I just let that little detail slide. Renaissance or Byzantine politics, yes, but not what was going on right under your nose. Of course,” she flashed a quick grin, “most of the time it was stuck so far up you’d never have noticed anyway.”
“True, unfortunately.” Roger chuckled ruefully. “But I have to get the story.”
“New Madrid,” she said, nodding. “As you know, there were few major military actions during your grandfather’s reign. This is sometimes pointed at as an indication that he was a great emperor, but what was actually happening was that your grandfather was almost completely ineffectual. The Fleet and Marines were being slashed to the bone, and we lost several border systems to treaties we accepted out of weakness—or disinterest—or small actions that never got much press coverage back home. There weren’t any major actions because no one was drawing any lines to stop the gradual erosion of the frontiers. And while they were crumbling, the Empire was self-destructing internally with plots and counterplots.
“New Madrid was part of that action, but not as a central player.” She sighed and looked at the prince in the glow from the camp light. “Roger, you got almost all your brains from your mother, thank God. If you’d gotten your mother’s looks and your father’s brains, you would have been shit out of luck.”
“That bad?” he asked with a chuckle. “He’s as smart as Mom is good-looking?”
“Say rather that he’s as good-looking as your mother is smart. Which is where you come in.”
“What a line!” he observed.
“John Gaston, John and Alexa’s father, died as you know in a light-flier accident. The Duke of New Madrid was part of the Court at that time, fairly recently arrived. He was, and is, a gorgeous man, and quite the ladies man, as well. However, he was very circumspect at Court. He and your mother struck up an acquaintance shortly after the death of Count Gaston, and the acquaintance slowly changed to . . . um . . .”
“Me,” Roger said with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, the ‘proto’ you. Empress Alexandra—Heir Apparent, at that time—might have been having a hard time, but she was no fool. She was more or less swept off her feet, which is why she wasn’t on a contraceptive, but she landed back on them quickly. Especially when the head of the IBI brought her a report on New Madrid’s contacts among factions known to be maneuvering to control the Empire.
“There’d never been a question of marriage, because she had to leave the way open for a dynastic alliance. With the IBI report in hand, though, she had to know if New Madrid’s interests were from the heart or the scent of power. So she let herself appear to weaken.”
Eleanora twisted her lock of hair again, and let a smile quirk.
“I understand New Madrid can be somewhat dominant, and he apparently found nothing odd in Alexandra’s suddenly becoming compliant during her pregnancy. Which was when he tipped his hand. He began forcefully lobbying her for some of the precise policies that the Jackson Cabal had
been promoting.”
“Are you talking about Prince Jackson of Kellerman?” Roger asked. “He’s one of the most important noblemen in the Senate!”
“Ummm-hummm. And doesn’t he just know it?” O’Casey wrinkled her brow. “Towards the end of your grandfather’s reign, it became apparent even to him that the Saints were becoming very expansionist. That caught him by surprise, since he’d felt that the Saints were . . . well, saints. Once he realized he was wrong, and possibly because he recognized that he had been and felt somehow ‘betrayed’ by them, he began giving a great deal of weight to the more militant factions in the House of Lords.”
“And Jackson was one of those.” Roger nodded. “He’s always been one of the more, um, hawkish members.”
“Indeed. However, your grandfather began making most of his appointments on the basis of Jackson’s advice. Many of them weren’t appointments, whether to the House of Lords or to the imperial ministries, which Alexandra thought were wise. She had long argued against the military drawdown, but when it became apparent even to her father that the Empire was in trouble, he turned not to her, but to Prince Jackson.
“It might have appeared on the surface that there was little difference, since both she and Jackson supported many of the same policies. But even then, Alexandra was more interested in loyalty to the concept of the Empire of Man than in a specific cant. Worse, all of Jackson’s choices for appointments were people he could depend upon to follow his lead.
“So when Alexandra found New Madrid spouting the Jackson line, after having been handed that damning report, she saw the situation with amazing clarity. One of the few things she managed to convince her father of in his waning years was to have New Madrid banished from Court.”
“However . . .” The former tutor gave her former student a winsome smile.
“That left me,” Roger said, his eyes wide. “I’m surprised she didn’t . . .”
“Oh, it was contemplated. She’d already had the fetus, you,” she pointed out with another smile, “transferred to a uterine replicator, so it would have been a simple matter of—”