They stepped aside and came up the rear, trailing behind Kris’s second section.
The major domo was soon huffing and puffing. He quickly fell behind.
Inside, servants moved quickly to open doors. It seemed that a lot of servants stood around a lot of doors just waiting to open them. The humans marched through one door after another, upstairs and down halls.
At one door, the servants were slow to open the doors, but when they saw the serious intent of armed Marines, they hopped to it.
The rooms they marched through now had flowing hangings, in softer colors.
“You are now in the women’s quarters,” Ron said, in a choked voice.
Kris glanced around; there were no more Iteeche guards trailing her Marines. “My troops are eyes front,” Kris said, “and besides, we can’t tell a male Iteeche from a female one.”
“Oh, denizens of the depths,” Ron moaned.
The Marines were not looking, but that didn’t keep Iteeche in gossamer gowns and a flood of pastel colors from collecting along the edge of the wide aisles. No one ran screaming from these barbarians. From the sound of it, they were very excited to have a break in their day.
“Kris, some of them are wondering about the women among the Marines. Them and you. They can’t believe woman could be counted among the warriors.”
“Tell them,” Kris said.
“No, don’t,” Ron said, but Nelly was already answering the question that was on so many lips.
“You humans are more destructive than a hurricane,” Ron said, his voice tired. “You blow everywhere and leave the waters roiled and everything flat.”
“Yes, I think you’re right,” Kris answered.
What Ron said next, Nelly did not translate.
KRIS, I’M REALLY NOT SURE HOW TO TRANSLATE WHAT HE JUST SAID. I THINK IT’S IN AN ANCIENT VERSION OF THEIR LANGUAGE. I KNOW A FEW WORDS OF IT, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO FOLLOW IT.
THAT’S FINE, NELLY, WE’LL PARDON HIS FRENCH.
AH, AN ANCIENT LANGUAGE FROM EARTH OFTEN USED IN REFERENCE TO OBSCENE WORDS.
Kris just smiled.
They came to a guarded stairwell. Again, the guards stood aside. This time, Jack led them up two flights before turning to a door where two burly Iteeche with pole axes stood. At that, the parade came to a halt.
Ron hurried forward, with Kris and Megan in his wake. Ron spoke quickly, leaving Nelly nonplused by the verbiage. Some of it again were words Kris’s computer did not know. Finally, the guards stood aside and two much smaller Iteeche moved to open the door.
“Kris, you must leave your escort outside the garden. I am amazed that you have gotten this far.”
The two Iteeche with pole axes were breathing heavily. Likely they had been rushed here to try to stop this human invasion. Ron must have worked hard to get them to step down.
“Jack, form the platoon outside this door, then catch up to me.”
“Aye, aye, Admiral.”
The Marines deployed through the door onto the roof of the palace. Ten meters away, a garden began with bushes and flowers everywhere underfoot and several very tall trees. A hundred or so meters away, a golden roofed pergola gleamed in the sun.
No doubt, that was Kris’s goal.
16
Ron immediately entered the garden, walking quickly for the gaudy bower.
Kris waited for Jack to rejoin her after getting the Marines into an alert, but not threatening, deployment. Once he was on her left, with Megan on his, Kris strode forward.
She advanced, with Jack a step behind her, and Megan a step behind him, through sweet smelling green with splotches of every color that was pleasing to the eye. The path was not straight. She had been careful to follow with her eyes the course Ron had followed.
She followed in his footsteps.
At last she came out of the bushes to find a tiny grassy meadow. Across it, under a gold awning, with banners of light cloth blowing in a soft breeze, sat the old Iteeche. Around him, axe men stood, terrifying in their sharpness, muscle, and mass. Directly behind him, a half-dozen Iteeche in red, snake bowls held in their arms, also stood. In front of him, Ron kowtowed before him. A naked young Iteeche, splayed out on the floor, and speaking even as he gasped for breath, was the only one talking to Roth.
Kris suppressed a frown at that. What? No phone. No radio communications. The only way that the chamberlain could get a message to his boss was to send a kid racing by a different, longer path, to get the word to the head fish.
Oops. Watch your tongue, young lady.
Still, it was getting harder and harder to keep animosity out of her attitude toward her hosts.
AS YOU GUESSED, KRIS, THE YOUTH IS TELLING ROTH THAT WE DID NOT FOLLOW THE PATH WE WERE SUPPOSED TO.
THANK YOU, NELLY.
When the youth finished gasping out his message, Roth addressed a short question to Ron. He shot back a short reply, and the head honcho barked a laugh.
ROTH ASKED RON HOW WE MANAGED TO GET HERE SO FAST. RON JUST TOLD HIM YOU WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH THE FIFTH FLOOR WOMEN’S QUARTERS. AS YOU CAN SEE, HE FOUND THAT FUNNY.
OH, KRIS, HE JUST SAID YOU MAY APPROACH.
Kris stepped forward, and bowed her head, much as she would to her grandfather.
Again, the Iteeche barked a sharp laugh.
“You, human, are as quick as your grandfather,” Nelly translated, “to cut to the heart of the briskis weed. So, you have strolled through my clans’ women’s quarters.”
“It was not my intent to offend. I only wished to hasten to you to discuss matters of our mutual interest.”
“That is what you humans do. You hasten to everything. One day, you will hasten to your death.”
“I pray that will be a long time from now for my great-grandfather and myself. However, if we cannot do something about the poor quality of support that I am getting as Commander of the Imperial Battle Fleet, my passing may happen very soon. I foresee, however, two possible ways for me to pass very quickly. I could pass to my eternal reward if we can’t get the Iteeche Battle Fleet into greater fighting fiddle. Or, I could pass up the beanstalk and take my embassy and fleet back to Wardhaven, leaving you to save your bacon on your own.”
Roth eyed Kris for a long moment. “You are troubled that much?” he finally asked.
“I am angered that much. The Emperor has given me command of His Battle Fleet. Where is my chief of staff? Where is my copy of message traffic so I may see what the fleet I command is doing? How it is deployed? Where are the after-action reports I asked for? I took four of the flotilla out to train and exercise and had to blow half of them away when they attacked me.”
Kris paused to let Nelly’s translation catch up with her, then quickly continued, allowing no time for her to be interrupted.
“No doubt, Your Eminence is aware a major effort was made tonight to kill me, my husband, my children, much of my embassy, and several millions of your people, if not also your Emperor.”
“Yes, I am aware of that. We are overturning every stone to find the disgusting bugs that did such a foul deed.”
“I am glad that you are involved in such a wise and important action. However, that was only the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Here, Kris paused to let Nelly translate the full meaning of her words into Iteeche.
Again, the powerful Iteeche laughed. This time he had to rest all four hands on his large belly. The laugh went on for quite a while. So long that even Ron was glancing up worriedly at Kris.
“You are so much like your grand chooser, my young girl, when you are angry. Or wish me to think you are angry. He, too, raged at me when I could get no one to risk their neck to a headsman by signing off on the treaty we had agreed upon. He also said that he was ready to pack up his people and we could fight that deep, dark war until the oceans froze clear to the bottom. He did indeed frighten me, and I put that fright into the rest of the Imperial counselors that were there to see if a peace could be hauled out of such troubled wat
ers. Waters that ran with the flesh and blood of so many good young warriors.”
He paused. “Enough of this, we are not at court. Let us relax and smell the flowers as we search for the path through this coral reef. Can someone find a seat for my wise chosen one and for our Royal human emissary to our ever worshipful and wise Emperor?”
A stool was brought forward for Ron. The child, axe men, and snake wranglers were dismissed and Kris found that there was nothing for her to sit on.
Nelly didn’t allow that to happen. Nanos began to coalesce into a pleasant chair for her and two lesser ones for her subordinates. There was just a hint of surprise in the eyes of Ron’s Chooser as he watched something appear out of nothing.
“You humans and your conjuring. Did you actually mold an entire palace out of a brick that you brought down from orbit? I heard that your sorcery made it appear that your landing craft disappeared away to nothing.”
“It was done as you heard,” Kris said.
“What could I trade you for that kind of wizardry?”
“Nothing, wise counselor. The wizardry was done by a computer, and she decides for herself whom she and her children will work for.”
Roth appeared to be speechless for a moment, then he went on. “You are angry enough to walk out on us. It may surprise you, but I am not surprised. Too many have done their best to stymy you. If it was me swimming in your spawning pond, I would challenge many people to duels and there would be more blood in the water than eggs. So, what do you demand from us to keep you here?”
“When I was hurrying to keep my meeting with the Emperor, I met Coth, Admiral of the First Grand Order of Iron. He offered to assist me, but when I asked your wise chosen one for him to come calling, he said he had been ordered away and no one knew when he would return. Unless someone can point out a reason why I should not work with him, I want him as my chief of staff for the entire Iteeche Battle fleet.”
Roth glanced away, as if losing himself in thought. “I have heard good things of this man. He has risen from below to well above his birth pond. Ron, have you any thoughts?”
“He stepped forward when none would talk to me or this Royal Emissary. When I called to have him come to her side, I heard good things about him. His enemies who sent him away are good enemies to have, from where I float.”
“Ha. So we now measure a man not by his friends but by his enemies.”
“A wise man has told me that we live in strange times.”
Roth barked a laugh. Kris strongly suspected she knew who the wise man was that Ron was quoting.
“Okay, yes. I will see that he is ordered to your side. Now, go on, angry warrior, who I understand told the women of my clan that women can be warriors.”
“It seems only wise,” Kris said. “The side with the biggest battalions usually wins. How can you raise bigger battalions if you ignore half of your people?”
“Yes, I heard that from your grandfather. And now I am seeing such a warrior. You, Kris Longknife, may succeed in making an old man change his ways. Speak on.
“I need to know how your battles have been fought. Surely you write after-action reports so that you can learn from your mistakes. Improve. Get better. I need copies of your battle reports so that I may study how the enemy deployed and, in turn, set traps for them. I also need to study how you deployed so that I can see which was a strong array and which were weak when the rebels attacked.”
“I am not sure that we have much of those. There have been few survivors among the admirals that have swum into battle. Maybe I can get you a few of the surviving captains. Most of them have been beached for being part of a losing armada. We do not reward losers.”
“Their defeat may have made them wiser. Also, didn’t you say that these had fought the rebels to a bloody stalemate.”
“They had.”
“Yet you punish them. Do the rebels do likewise?”
“Some beheaded them,” Ron put in.
“Is that true? Are you sure?” Kris asked.
“That is what we heard,” Ron said. “We do not know enough about what actually happens on the rebel planets to know anything for sure.”
“Let me have any of these experienced commanders,” Kris said. “Any that are not needed other places.”
“You may have them all,” Roth said, magnanimously.
“Lastly, I need ships and crews. I do not want flotillas or armadas with hidebound admirals that may or may not support my efforts or the continued rule of your Emperor. I want ships with young crews. Young officers that want to win and are willing to learn to fight, outnumbered, three to one, and win.”
“That is impossible,” Roth said.
“My fleet was attacked by two flotillas,” Kris snapped back. “We were outnumbered two to one and we blew away the sneak attackers and lost no ships ourselves.”
“That is because you have conjured up that crystal armor. We need that crystal armor. Why won’t you let us have it?”
“So that the rebels can have it in the blink of an eye. You must admit, your Empire leaks like a sieve.”
“Sadly, we do. So, if you will not give us this magic skin for our ships, how will you do this fight, outnumbered, three to one, and win?”
“Our ships go faster than yours do. Our ships dance around faster than yours, so that they are more likely not to be hit, and our ships hit their targets more often than yours do. All these changes can be made to ships if you can give me younger officers, tired of losing and eager for victory. Can you give me a thousand ships? Are there younger officers with strong backs and smarter brains, willing to learn? I do not need old captains that already have aching backs. They will never risk their bones to my tactics. I need young warriors who hunger for battle.”
“That we will have to think on,” Roth said. “I am not opposed to giving you a thousand ships for your private training establishment. However, finding ships that are crewed by young, hungry, eager men. That will be a problem. Our promotions are given to those with the most years of experience. Too often, that means only that we promote the oldest men, the men next in line. I think you already know that many ships in the fleet beside flying the Emperor’s flag, also fly the flag of a Satrap. I do not know how we will work around some of those stumbling blocks. I do know that we can and we will.”
Roth paused to eye Kris. “You are right to think that some of those who acquiesced to your appointment looked for you as a, what do you say, straw dog. If you burned, the fault would be you humans, not us. I fear that many of my fellow counselors are already looking for how they can splash into the new ocean that they see coming. We need a victory. Can you give us that victory?”
“Give me what I asked for and you will have it.”
“It is late. You young ones should sleep on all of this. Maybe some of us older heads can do a little magic ourselves. Longknife, look for my messengers before the sun is at its zenith tomorrow.”
Kris stood. Roth stayed seated. Everyone else stood with her.
“I look for your messenger tomorrow before noon.”
“Good, good, now go, and please, do not disturb the sleep of my clan’s ladies. Let my wise chosen one lead you out of here quickly, but not so spectacularly lacking in good manners.”
“As you would have it,” Kris said. She bowed her head. Her fellow humans bowed from the waist. Ron bowed even more deeply. Then Ron led them from the Imperial Counselor’s presence.
17
The next morning, Kris spent with her kids.
“There’s a swimming pool, Mommy,” Johnnie enthused.
“A big one,” Ruth added.
“Can we go swimming?”
“All the other kids are.”
What Kris suspected was that all the other kids’ mommies and daddies were getting this same kind of rush. Whatever was going on elsewhere, Kris found herself with her pair taking the elevator down to the middle level of the castle. All the outer windows served apartments that were rapidly filling up. Inside, howe
ver, was one huge pool.
Ruth and Johnnie stripped off their clothes even as they ran, jumping in the pool only seconds after their last stitch was tossed.
“What happened to swimsuits?” Kris asked Abby, who was watching her two.
“Hard to tell,” Abby drawled. “Our fleet came to Alwa from all over, and several places weren’t averse to skinny dipping. Some backwoods places on Wardhaven don’t much use ‘em, either. Anyway, beaches, lakes, rivers, and pools went from clothing optional to no one who wasn’t. You want to try to make suits mandatory in your pool?”
“I’ve got too many bigger fish to fry, or to keep from frying me. I can’t afford to sweat the small stuff,” Kris admitted.
“Was last night's display of fireworks and laser lights what I thought it was?” Abby drawled.
“A go at frying all of us,” Kris said. “Oh yeah.”
“Nelly, you are good,” Abby said.
“You bet I am,” Nelly said. You could not accuse her of humility, but then she had done a magnificent job of landing 75,000 tons of dead weight.
“So, you want to tell me why I, all our kids and half of this damn embassy was standing in what damn near ended up a big hole in the ground?” Abby growled.
“Yeah,” Jack added.
“Maybe I was a bit overconfident. Maybe I wanted to put on a show for these squids that might get us some cooperation. Some respect. It started out as just a remote-controlled landing on an empty palace, but the Emperor is only four kilometers away, and the Iteeche admiral that controlled the air over the capital wasn’t game for it. I had to add more skin to the game. I ended up with more skin on the playing field than I’d planned. Maybe I should have backed down.” Kris said, then shook her head.
“I wanted to get this embassy off the ground, fast. No, on the ground and up and running fast. I wanted to knock their socks off and awe them at the same time.”
Kris Longknife - Admiral Page 11