"Good morning, Prince!" the android, holding flippers and a breathing apparatus in her hands and wearing a swimming suit, walked up to the vine-covered alcove where I was having breakfast with Lika.
"Hi, Bionica! Are you joining us?" I pointed at the full bowl of fruit and the plate of pastries.
"I would like to, of course, but all the same I cannot. I need to watch my figure." The robot ran her palm over her ideal thighs in a worried fashion, just like a person. "I'm on my way to the lagoon right now. I want to swim and check the underwater torpedoes we found in the palace. Well, and at the same time, as it was on my way, I brought three bills: from Tesse, for the repair and modernization of two heavy assault cruisers and frigates; from the new management of the Unatari docks, for buying equipment and materials for the remodel; and also a bill for fleet upkeep for the last month. I dealt with the little ones myself, but these ones are the biggest, and they need to be approved by your Highness."
"And how much is it in total?" I wondered, pouring myself a glass of local berry juice, which was bright blue like a copper sulfate solution but unexpectedly tasty.
"Thirty-five million eight hundred thirty-one thousand seven hundred ten credits," calculated the android.
I gagged on my juice.
"How much?!"
The robot repeated the sum and sent me a detailed report. I opened it and read the dry lines of numbers. So, this is right – eighteen million for the repair and modernization of the captured pirate ships. I understood that, and it was a reasonable price. Hunchback's Heir was fundamentally damaged, and the Surgeon, well, I still don't know how it didn't explode. I was expecting the repair to cost more. Thirteen million credits for modernizing the docks... So, I'll have to figure this out. How did that number get so high? Well, I'll allow it, it's a one-time expense after all. But now, four million thirty thousand every month for fleet maintenance!!! There was just no way I could make room for that.
I looked at it in even more detail. The main expenses were coming in from the ten heavy cruisers. Buying ammunition and drones to replace those that were destroyed, fuel for the reactors, salaries for the officers and team members, battle payouts, provisions, station upkeep... It was all right, unfortunately. The numbers for the other ships were also right. I breathed a heavy sigh. I had to admit to myself that my fleet had grown significantly, and my expenses had grown with it. But what would the future hold? In a month and a half, the Uukresh would be in working order. That's another seven or eight million credits every month for upkeep. And if we can restore the docks...
The topic of the docks was one of the most discussed in the last days. We had not saved the orbital docks at Unatari; we hadn't had the chance. The pirates blew up the space docks, warehouses and repair workshops immediately when my fleet had just barely come out of the warp tunnel near the seventh planet. Blowing up the ten megaton thermonuclear mine was either a gesture of despair or an attempt to damage my fleet. It was more likely an attempt to cover the tracks of their criminal activity, as it was at the repair docks and moorings where the large part of the starships captured by the pirates were kept, sometimes in pieces and sometimes with broken identification chips. Many ships had long ago acquired new names and been successfully legalized, making them able to travel freely throughout the Empire.
In any case, a great many of the docks and ships were totally destroyed or irreparably damaged. The shuttle moorings, freight hangars, repair workshops with complex systems of robotic arms… Everything needed to be rebuilt practically from zero. It was all the more surprising that one of the badly damaged docks had in it the two-mile-long carcass of a battleship under construction. Energy shields had been installed on the ship, and they took the brunt of the damage. The combat ship had suffered in the explosion, but the specialists who looked it over confirmed that the Tyrant battleship could easily be finished if the docks were restored and the necessary materials and financing were found. The bill Bionica had brought only had the price of restoring the docks and hadn't included the completion of the battleship, but nevertheless the total ended up being quite substantial.
I grit my teeth and paid all three bills, then looked longingly at my remaining nineteen million credits. After all, it wasn't too long ago that I had more than three hundred million. I hadn't added any ships to my fleet since then, but still I had just over a third left... I supposed that the time had come for decisive action to correct this negative financial tendency. But first, I'd have to officially become the ruler of the planet Unatari.
* * *
The beautiful silver liner touched down on the landing pad. I looked out the viewing port at the forest-covered island and the huge white skyscrapers like mushrooms growing out of a green rug. Eight low-atmosphere fighter planes, fresh off a mission, accompanied us from the front before passing us off to the airstrip's defense system.
"Astorimma is the biggest city on Unatari-VII. Its population is seven hundred thousand. It is the unofficial capital of Unatari," Bionica commented to Lika on the landscape unfolding before us.
"Just seven hundred thousand? So little?" the girl became surprised, being accustomed to the megalopolises of the Imperial Core.
"Given that just eight million three hundred six thousand people live on the whole planet, that's plenty. One in twelve Unatarians live in Astorimma."
I didn't interfere in their conversation; I was too busy negotiating with the numerous participants in the forthcoming ceremony. As always, a bunch of minor details had to be decided at the last second. A multitude of events had to be synchronized. The audience appeal of the whole grand event depended on it. It was decided that the regime change on Unatari and the coming of Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle to the capital would be furnished with great pomposity, so that even the most skeptical inhabitant would have no doubts that this wasn't the occupation of Unatari, but the return of legal governance after forty-five years of pirate chaos.
The liner hung in the air and began slowly setting down on the Astorimma airport landing pad. I took one last look through the viewing port. I saw thousands and thousands of people behind the fence, gathered to take a look at a never-before-seen spectacle. The liner touched down softly, swayed slightly and came to a full stop.
"The Prince will enter with his retinue in two minutes and forty seconds," Bryle's voice rang out in my microscopic earphone.
The old butler accepted my offer to lead the ceremony with a low bow. He thanked me for the trust I had placed in him and promised that everything would go in full accordance with all accepted Imperial traditions. I stood up from my chair and took a pause in the spacious passage. I allowed some servants to fix my hair, put the thin band of a crown on my head and smooth the wrinkles in my uniform.
"You’re on in ten seconds!"
Lika, standing next to me, was noticeably nervous. She was wearing a smart, long, light-blue dress and a gold crown in her emerald green hair. Likanna looked quite spectacular, a true Imperial Crown Princess. I winked to my daughter, and she finally smiled.
"It's started!"
Sovereignty Change
The Unatari system has been placed under the jurisdiction of the Orange House
Sovereignty Change
The Tivalle system has been placed under the jurisdiction of the Orange House
Sovereignty Change
The Sigur system has been placed under the jurisdiction of the Orange House
The Brotherhood of the Stars has ceased to exist.
Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle shall become the sovereign of the Unatari system
Global fame increase. Current value +8
Global standing increase. Current value -14
The military orchestra thundered out the Imperial anthem. I went down the gangway, smiled and waved welcomingly. At the same time, though, I found myself quite confused. After the destruction of the Brotherhood of the Stars pirates, I had requested three star systems as holdings – Unatari, Sigur and Tivalle. However, onl
y the first request was approved, while the latter two had been declined. Insofar as I understood the existing order, only the head of the Orange House, Duke Paolo royl Anjer ton Mesfelle had the authority to do that. But why would the old man want to limit my rights?
I went down the gangway and stopped at the beginning of a long carpet path. Popori de Cacha, having been officially appointed head of my security service only yesterday, was waving a staff in his hand. At the same time, the nine chameleon bodyguards surrounding me camouflaged themselves, while two chains of soldiers in Orange House ceremonial uniforms stood frozen at attention. On both ends of the carpet, the crews of all my ships were arranged in two even rectangles. There were ten people from each frigate, twenty per destroyer, fifty per light cruiser, and one hundred from each heavy cruiser. Behind them, standing in flawless rows, as if measured with a ruler, were the Alpha Iseyek assault soldiers from the Tria. Nine thousand terrifying-looking praying mantises, decorated in orange and stiff as statues. Beautiful and terrifying, devil take me! It was hard to pick out the few black and green divisions in the sea of orange rectangles. They were the local self-defense soldiers participating in the ceremony, already having sworn their loyalty, but having yet to receive new uniforms. Any observer would immediately comprehend the power relationships in the recent conflict and the greatness of the Orange House.
Slowly and ceremoniously, I walked along the rows of my soldiers, approaching the local dignitaries that stepped forward to meet me. Lika was walking next to me with the proud bearing of a natural-born Crown Princess, and she had a slight, appropriate, bored smile on her face. To the right and left of my daughter in the procession, Phobos and Deimos were walking without letting their guard down and with Orange House coat of arms painted on the little shields on their upper appendages. Two steps behind my daughter and I with a proudly puffed out chest, Bryle was walking in his ceremonial uniform. The old man was supported by Bionica, who was in an excellent dress that the android had ordered herself on the occasion of the ceremony. The two admirals and the general walked further, covered closely by Popori de Cacha.
I was greeted by the governors of every city on the planet. They were a big group of civil servants with ingratiating smiles, clearly spooked and not knowing what to expect from the new government. I saw a great many faces staring at me for a few seconds. Clearly, the local city heads had been reading up on the Crown Prince, and it was only proper that his negative standing worry them.
The tall, thin man who came out to meet me turned out to be the viceroy of Astorimma. With a bow, he handed me a symbolic ring of keys to the planet's cities and pledged his full support to the Orange House. The rest of the group followed the first's example and, one by one, pledged their allegiance to me. After that, the time had come for my first speech as ruler of the planet. I went out onto the stage and saw dozens of camera lenses trained on me.
After the prepared introduction about the responsibility placed on my shoulders, the role of the Orange House and the Empire in bringing order to the planet, and other traditional matters, I came to the part I considered the most important:
"People of Unatari! For decades, the very name of your star system would cause anyone in the Empire to immediately think of bloodthirsty pirates, murderers, slavers and drug traffickers. As the new leader of Unatari, I intend to do away with its criminal past as quickly as possible. That is why I am declaring the beginning of a great hunt for pirates and their treasure. Every Unatarian that informs the authorities about uncovered pirate assets, whether real estate, bank accounts, stocks, luxury items or other property, shall receive twenty percent of the value of said assets. Every Unatarian that points us in the direction of a pirate, slaver or drug trafficker on the lam shall receive a cash reward of one thousand credits.
And now for the most fun prize of the great hunt. A day ago, my people intentionally released the three space pirate "Kings" on different islands on Unatari – Velesh the First, Janis the First, and Gaspar the Second. Of course, you are all very familiar with the names of these bloodthirsty bandits and would recognize them if you saw them. Each of the pirate Kings has been given a bank card with a million credits and a one-thousand-credit-per-day spending limit. In addition, any time one of these cards is used, it will be broadcast in the news with a delay of exactly twelve hours. The reward for the head of each of these three Kings is one million credits plus whatever is left on their card. And also, if any of these three Kings is killed by a wanted criminal, that criminal will be given full amnesty regardless of the seriousness of their crimes. And so, let the great hunt begin!"
Global fame increase. Current value +9
Global standing decrease. Current value -16
I furrowed my brow in consternation. Not everyone had taken to my radical approach to ridding the planet of pirate contagion. But what difference does it make to me what strangers think? The important thing is that eight million people who suffered many long years under pirate oppression can stop living in fear of their tormentors and will now learn to see them as nothing more than a valuable trophy.
* * *
"Incoming call from the Veyerde system," said my communications officer late in the evening. "Shall I put them through?"
I tore myself from the computer screen that I had spent the last few hours at trying to calculate the optimum composition for a high-mobility fleet and straightened out my tired back. Veyerde? Uh, a tiny Kingdom in Sector Seven. What could they possibly want from me? I didn't really know anyone from the Kingdom of Veyerde, and it wasn't like their territory was in my Sector. Should I refuse the call? However, natural curiosity and the desire to take a little break from my work overpowered me all the same. I ordered them to be put through. An imposing man in a red robe appeared on the screen. His gray beard and silver hair spoke to his many years.
Kant royl Pikar ton Veyerde, ruler of the Star Kingdom of Veyerde
Age: 88
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Class: Aristocrat
Achievements: (see Attachment)
Fame: +4
Standing: + 11
Presumed personal opinion of you: Unknown
Kingdom of Veyerde's opinion of you: +1 (indifferent)
Oh my God! It turned out that who wanted to talk to me was the monarch of the little kingdom himself! I wonder what he wants from me? I just didn't know what to think. Could the aliens have invaded? But how could I come to his aid? A direct connection between our Sectors hasn't been discovered yet, and my fleet wouldn't be allowed to pass through the Imperial Core. However, the topic of conversation turned out to be something else entirely. After greeting me, the King suddenly declared:
"Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle, news has reached me that you have taken an interest in my daughter, Princess Astra."
There it is! But how could he have found out about my conversation with Marta?! Naturally, I asked that question to the King. And he, it seemed to me, sighed sorrowfully:
"Over the last few days, my government's counterintelligence service has caught some five or seven spies from the Kingdom of Fastel and, with various levels of pushiness, they were all interested in my youngest daughter Astra's plans. It was from these captives that I discovered, to my great surprise, that in the Kingdom of Fastel it is considered practically inevitable that Astra's betrothal to Baron Henrik ton Lavaelle will be broken, as your Highness has taken an interest in my youngest daughter. So that is why I, as a loving and caring father, wanted to speak directly with you and get the whole story first hand."
I tried to reassure the King as much as I could. I told him that I hadn't really wanted to complicate his daughter's life; I had just brought her up in a conversation with my wife as an example of a beautiful Princess. Kant royl Pikar became clearly upset.
"Too bad... It's just that I, like many others, was watching the broadcast of your enthronement ceremony on Unatari-VII and immediately noticed that the seats that, according to protocol, should be for
your wife and favorite were empty. Rumors have been flying for a long time about your not-overly-simple relationship with Princess Marta, but it was only confirmed today. So, I decided that the information from the Kingdom of Fastel might have had some basis in fact. Because, if the Crown Prince didn't even take his wife to such an important triumphal procession, that must mean that Marta really has made a serious fall from grace."
I hadn't looked at the parade through that lens, I admit. It seems that the aristocrats had looked on the ceremony as a demonstration of the fact that Marta had fallen from favor and had been sent packing back to her little Kingdom. It seemed to them that it wasn't Marta that had gotten mad at me, but I that had sent the disagreeable Princess into exile. I wonder how Marta herself had perceived it? She had probably gotten even madder. The King continued:
"Princess Astra really is my crown jewel and, as you noted correctly, is an exceptionally beautiful girl. That is why I began forming conclusions and supposed that your Highness really could have taken an interest in her, because my Astra deserves better than Baron Henrik, who's only possession is platinoid mining rights on one remote, uninhabitable planet."
I remained silent, not wanting to slander Baron Henrik, who I’d never even heard of. The Lavaelles represented the Green House, with which my relationship had publicly grown more complex, and I didn't want to aggravate that divide any further. The King clearly understood that and decided not to push the difficult topic further, instead suggesting:
"Ok, Crown Prince Georg. In general terms, I understand the situation and will not distract you further from important matters. All I ask is that you have a talk with my daughter Astra. It's just that all this fuss and uncertainty around my girl has left her very spooked and nervous, and she would like to hear that there's nothing to worry about first hand."
Sector Eight (Perimeter Defense: Book #1) Page 24