The Tourney

by Juliet Sem

  Rue smiled, and then yawned hugely. It had been a busy day. "Well, I'll have Gontu to discourage them if they get too insistent."

  "And you've given me a perspective I hadn't thought of before. I'll know to watch out for people asking too much about you or paying special attention to me while we're in the Autocracy."

  Rue yawned again, making Keestu yawn in reflex. "It's been a long day, hasn't it? Why don't we get some rest? We can do more shopping tomorrow."

  Rue tried to suppress another yawn, gave up and let it out. "Not so much long as exciting. I can't wait to tell Marinat about the Hub. She's going to be so jealous. I wonder if we could tour all the levels so I could show rather than describe them for her when we get back home? "

  "I can ask Gontu to come with us, since we shouldn't go to the storage or residential levels alone."

  "Good idea," Rue said. "No one will question us if we have an adult along."

  "I'll ask him to come with us in the morning or in the afternoon for a quick stop on every level we haven't been to yet so you can get pictures. Which would you prefer?"

  Rue yawned again, getting up to go to her room. "I'm so tired right now, I can hardly think. Can we decide in the morning?"

  "Oh sure, sorry Rue. It's just so seldom that we have so much time together to talk alone even when you do sleep at the palace."

  Keestu went to her own bedroom, changing into her pajamas before following the instructions imprinted beside the door to close, seal, lock, and set the alarm on it. She set the infocom to wake her for messages from her aunt and emergencies only. She flopped down on the extra large bed and found herself going over the day's events in her mind, trying to remember all the things she'd seen in the shops before she fell asleep.

  Chapter eight

  The infocom chimed with a message from her aunt. Keestu rolled over, groaning, trying to ignore it, but the insistent ringing finally got her up. She wondered what time it was. She hit repeat and listened in.

  "Keestu, sorry to wake you early," Shina's voice said, "But Prince Dinus has indicated that he's going to want private discussions with me all day long, and he'll be here for breakfast, so you and Rue will be on your own. The kiosk level opens with the first watch, and I wondered if you and Rue didn't want to try breakfasting there since the restaurant level never closes. It's really quite serene early in the morning."

  Keestu turned off the infocom after the message. Now that she was fully awakened, she felt more rested. She unsealed her door and went to the bathroom to shower.

  After she was done, Rue came out, looking tired as she took her shower.

  Gontu and Tenget met them downstairs.

  Keestu looked around for Vahin, and Gontu informed her, "Vahin will be sitting in for Rue today in the discussions between Princess Shina and Prince Dinus. Since nothing will be finalized today, it's considered beneath the Crown Princess to be in on such meetings, but not beneath Princess Shina as Sandar's Trade Liaison."

  "Well, let's go get breakfast," Keestu said. "We were hoping to tour the rest of the Hub, every level, so we get a better feel for it, and then we'll release you to your own designs while we put in another day of shopping," Keestu said.

  "Where would you like to eat?"

  "Oh, somewhere with spiced javene. I think I've got some space lag," Keestu said, yawning hugely in spite of her returning energy.

  Rue tried to suppress her own yawn, but failed, yawning as she mumbled. "Me, too."

  "Any preference other than that? I think most of the Hub's restaurants offer spiced javene," Gontu commented.

  "Well, we'll have to see once we get down there," Rue said as they were now in public. She led them towards the nearest lift bank. "I think something light after all the recent heavy formal dinners would be good."

  Keestu, walking beside her friend, thought she was getting the hang of being Crown Princess quite readily, and nodded her agreement that light food would be best as they waited for the lift. It was empty except for their party, and it was early enough in the day that there were no stops as they dropped to the restaurant level.

  As the doors opened, the scents of breakfast made Keestu's mouth water. The lights were still in twilight mode, but despite this, the foot traffic was steady.

  One Kielra restaurant smelled particularly inviting, and the Hub's lights came up fully as they arrived, so they chose to breakfast there.

  Once a cup of hot javene was in her hands, Keestu felt more herself. It was lightly spiced, sweet, and creamy--just the way she liked it.

  Keestu looked over her datapad menu, and feeling adventurous, ordered Kielra lerj eggs scrambled with various Kielra fungi.

  She relaxed as she enjoyed her javene until Tenget nudged her. "You should not let your guard down in public, ever. No one is likely to recognize you here, but even if they think Rue is you, you're still a target since you're with her." He kept his voice down with difficultly, as the restaurant was quiet. "I know it's hard, but you must be alert in public at all times no matter how many guards are with you."

  Keestu looked up to see Gontu's eyes constantly flicking around the restaurant. He didn't look restless or paranoid, but he was definitely alert. Keestu glanced herself around several times trying to see if there was anyone she should be watching.

  "Now, without looking again," Tenget said, "Can you tell me where the other two exits are that you could take?"

  Keeping her eyes on the table with effort, Keestu thought about it, trying to envision the restaurant's layout, and frowned. "Other two? There's only the one we came in and the one out the other side of the concourse."

  "Wrong. You could also go into the kitchen and out the service entrance. Try to think outside of what you see as a member of the public."

  Keestu looked around again, this time seeing the way to the kitchen, which was close to their table. "Is that why you indicated we should pick this table? Not just because we could see both entrances?"

  "Yes," Tenget said. "It's also the one least likely to be guarded by an amateur attack force."

  "The drink serving station is right there, too," Rue put in, "Good cover?"

  "Yes and no," Gontu chimed in keeping his voice low as other customers were seated nearby. "Yes in that it could block energy blasts, no in that projectile weapons or explosive charges could detonate the canisters of carbonated drinks. You'd have to decide as you moved whether to stop there for cover or sprint for the kitchen all at once based on whether your attackers were using energy weapons, explosive charges, or projectile guns."

  "So I'd not only have to see my enemy, but also what he's carrying?"

  "It's partly how you'd know he was an enemy," Tenget said dryly. "Armed and charging at you is definitely a hint that they aren't on your side."

  Gontu snorted into his javene, coughing a little as he choked back outright laughter as their server brought their food.

  Keestu tasted her eggs. One of the fungi was rather salty. It was crumbled up finely and evenly distributed, and contrasted nicely with several other spicy Kielra fungi and mosses.

  Rue had chosen her lerj eggs to be scrambled with various root vegetables and topped with a light cheese. Gontu and Tenget also had lerj eggs, a high-protein meal that would stick with them, but they had theirs scrambled with meat, cheese, and a thick white gravy rather than a lighter fungi or vegetable filling.

  When the meal was finished, they made their way to the lowest level of the Hub. To Keestu it looked identical to the upper residential and was a disappointment to her. Somehow, she'd expected the lower level to look different from the upper. Having been brought up in a society where elevation meant more status, it was a letdown to find this hierarchy was unknown at the Hub. Rue also looked disappointed, but she dutifully took several pictures to show Marinat when she got home.

  The next three levels up were the vast storage holds, but they only toured the lowest one. They were restricted to narrow walkways while the massive conveyor system carried stacks of crates to the ships
awaiting them. She was surprised to see people supervising the movement of goods, standing at a heavily shielded monitoring stations located at regular intervals. The workers were wearing protective goggles and sound dampening headphones, probably in the event of a power failure, like the one that had freed the bile nippers the day prior.

  "Note that the equipment never carries cargo over the heads of those using the walkways," Tenget pointed out. "We are stopped at this junction until this load goes by, to insure maximum safety. This was implemented during the early years of the Union and Hub after a visiting delegation from Shatopa and their hosts got flattened by an equipment malfunction as a load was moving over their heads. After that, the force fields were installed to protect us should a malfunction occur. However, this assumes that the cargo is not a living one that can break out of a shielded area."

  "Do you know what's in any of these containers?" Keestu asked, seeing only planet-of-origin and planet-of-destination designations blinking brightly on every side of each container, even the bottoms.

  "All manner of raw and finished goods," Tenget said. "All live animals are supposed to be kept under strict force field quarantine when passing from ship to ship, which is supposed to take place on the top storage level. I imagine Shina will petition the other Hub liaisons to specify that every live cargo is clearly marked, whether they are shipped in stasis lockers or not."

  They spent little time on the fifth level, which was filled with the Hub's offices. The morning's work had started, and the corridors were crowded with people clutching printouts of their bills of lading or ships' manifests.

  Since they had already seen one docking level, they opted to skip those, as Rue could take pictures on their way back to the Jewel. Likewise, they skipped the trade floor, and the restaurant/entertainment level, which they were already familiar with and which Rue had already photographed, and went directly up to the hotel level.

  The tour ended up being somewhat anticlimactic for Keestu. She realized that while all the levels had different purposes, they were no more exotic than anything she saw at home, and the separation of living areas from shopping and eating were nothing out of the ordinary. She couldn't remember which had been built first, the Hub or CeCe since the same logic appeared to be applied to both their layouts. She either needed to pay more attention to her history classes, or she should consult with her brother Kang, who was not only interested in protocol, but also history.

  Gontu escorted them to the shopping level and took his leave. Rue was eager to see what Sandarian products were offered on the Hub, so they concentrated on looking inside their home planet's kiosks. One specialized in wish balls, but most of them were made of materials never used on Sandar. "Oh, Marinat would love this," Rue said, fondly caressing a tiny carved wish ball made of a red colored crystalline rock.

  The shopkeeper finished attending to an exiting customer, and she turned to Keestu and Rue. She got halfway to them before stopping and staring, her eyes and mouth opening wide in surprise. Recovering, she hustled forward, bobbing a curtsey.

  Keestu held up her hand, urgently quelling her, looking wildly around the shop. There were other humans in here looking around, but fortunately, none of them saw the shopkeeper's display. The woman stopped, gulped, quivered a bit until she managed to regain her composure, and said in as mild a manner as possible, "May I help you with anything, um, er, ladies?" Her eyes remained riveted on Keestu who nearly swore aloud. Did no one warn the Sandarian shopkeepers she was coming?

  "Yes, I was wondering if you offer custom carving on the crystal wish balls?" Rue indicated the one she thought Marinat would like. The shopkeeper's eyes were still fixed on Keestu until she tilted her head towards Rue and lifted her eyebrows emphatically.

  The shopkeeper, finally having been given direction, swallowed before gushing, "Of course. We have lasers on hand that can cut any wish you'd like into the ball using any script found in the Union. That style you hold is very popular on Kielra and Uriel for younger girls."

  "Really? They are quite different from the ones I've seen at home, on Sandar that is," Rue said.

  The shopkeeper, flushed with pleasure, was recovering her composure. She leaned towards them and whispered, "I know they aren't traditional, but I got a good deal on these natural crystal globes, and it was so easy to cut one end flat and then engrave them rather than paint, since you can easily read the lettering. It can also be carved in bas-relief, but that would, of course, greatly reduce the size of the ball. If any future carving is desired, any skilled laser decorator can add it. The only bad thing is that the decoration is permanent, but I found that offworlders don't care about following our tradition to the letter."

  "I like its uniqueness," Rue said. "I'd like this one inscribed 'To Marinat from Rue, may all your wishes come true.'"

  The shopkeeper turned hopefully to Keestu. "Yes, I think my sister would also like one. She likes green things, so this medium green globe should do for her. I'd like it inscribed 'To Hemda from Keestu, good wishes from the Hub' and today's Sandarian date, if you would please."

  "That's a great idea," Rue agreed. "Please put the Sandarian date on mine as well."

  The shopkeeper bobbed another half a curtsey at them, straightening up reluctantly, and Keestu could tell that she clearly wished she could be more effusive in her display. Keestu leaned forward, touching the shopkeeper's hand conspiratorially, and the woman leaned towards her eagerly. "I'm traveling under cover on orders of my father. I can tell they didn't have time to inform you that I'd be coming through the Hub. The King would greatly appreciate your discretion on this matter, as would I. Please pay no more attention to us than you would any other customer."

  The shopkeeper beamed at them, happy to be taken into their confidence. "Of course, Your High, er, of course. I'm honored." She made a bit of a scene in confirming the spelling of the names before she took the balls to the back room to be carved, merely nodding to them as she came back out and helped other customers who had arrived in the interim.

  Keestu sighed. "I'm glad she didn't hover. Some can't help it."

  Rue grinned at her as they waited. "I know. I see it all the time."

  "Thing is," Keestu whispered to her handmaiden as they waited, "I don't feel like I deserve special treatment. It's just an accident of birth that made me Crown Princess."

  "Your family united our planet and stopped all the bloody regional conflicts. The rest of us can't help but appreciate that and the freedom that comes from being able to travel about our own world without worrying that some opposing faction won't shoot at us just because we're dressed differently!"

  "I hope I can live up to the hype when it's my turn. I'll definitely be needing your advice then, Rue."

  "Don't put yourself down, Kee," Rue advised her. "With King Ismer training you and the experiences passed down through your family in those journals they kept, I'm sure you'll do fine."

  Keestu looked at her friend, so trusting in her untried abilities, and hoped she could live up to Rue's confident expectations.

  The shopkeeper had taken more wish balls to the back for carving and returned with two boxes, beckoning them to the counter. "Ladies? The carving is done on your order. Please check it for accuracy."

  They looked over their wish balls, and satisfied with the results, took the free delivery option, paying for their purchases using Registered Units and taking their receipt chits.

  As they were leaving, the shopkeeper sighed heavily, nodding happily at them as she wished them the best and bade them return to her shop the next time they were visiting the Hub. Since Keestu had heard her exhort other customers to do the same, she smiled and nodded pleasantly to the woman as they left.

  "I wonder how long it will be before she spills the news of your visit to a friend," Rue commented as they continued shopping.

  "Hopefully not until after we've left the Hub."

  No one else recognized Keestu as they explored more shops and had lunch on the restaurant level, th
is time choosing a Uriel salad buffet. Soon enough, it was time to return to Shina's apartment. A servant told them that dinner would be an informal affair, just Shina, Keestu, and her entourage, as Prince Dinus would be dining with his own people on his ship while he finalized preparations for their trip to Autocracy Station.

  Shina returned to her apartment before Vahin, Tenget, and Gontu. She looked over Rue and Keestu and nodded approvingly at the pantsuits they wore to dinner. "I see you got my message. Dinus wanted to extend his regrets to you, Rue, for not coming to dinner again tonight. I think he's quite taken with you."

  Rue flushed and nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."

  "Well, you'd have to tell him before the ceremony that you're not really Crown Princess if you were to become his wife," Shina winked conspiratorially at Rue, who flushed at Shina's suggestion.

  "I don't know if I'd want to live in the Autocracy, and I don't know if he'd want to live on Sandar," she said. "So we'd have a lot of talking to do if he wanted to continue pursuing me."

  "Ah, but you no doubt could have your pick of noble men at home, so if he were to try and entice you to the Autocracy, he has to know he'd need to do some hard bargaining."

  Keestu laughed. "Ever the matchmaker, aren't you Aunt Shina? With all this talk of having any noble man you'd want, I'm surprised you haven't met someone yet."

  "Well, unfortunately, not many men are willing to take on a Princess who has a position of considerably power--though it's not the crown--and who lives most of the time in space. Show me a man who's not claustrophobic about living on the Hub, who isn't afraid of my royal title, and who also understands the responsibilities of being Sandar's Trade Liaison with the Union, and I'll snatch him up in a minute," Shina sighed. "Rentham knows I haven't been able to find him on my own. Maybe I should just admit defeat and look for a noble donor for my lonely eggs. I'd know his name, would have to so my children wouldn't grow up and accidentally marry their cousins, but that seems far too impersonal to me."