Beyond Death (Perimeter Defense Book #2) (14 page)

"Realignment into battle formation is nearly complete!" I took my place at the console and took over control of the fleet. "Both battleships, advance. Twenty heavies go with them. Electros and anti-support, put on your brakes and stay twenty-five behind the heavies. Frigates, get ready. Your mission is to blast off suddenly and catch the cruisers on my command."

"Crown Prince, incoming call from
Fastel Beauty
."

"All ships, continue approach!" When we get to one hundred twenty out, the frigates will jump in front and capture everything valuable. But do not open fire first! I repeat, do not open fire! Put me on with their flagship."

A gray-haired, and very, very well fed man appeared on screen. That's the guy: the King of Fastel himself. I could remember the way the fat drooped down around his eyes from studying family pictures!

Valesy royl Pir ton Fastel, ruler of the star kingdom of Fastel

Age: 78

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Class: Aristocrat

Achievements: (see Attachment)

Fame: +5

Standing: + 19

Presumed personal opinion of you: -25 (strong dislike)

Kingdom of Fastel's opinion of you: -13 (dislike)

"Crown Prince Georg, I'm glad to see you at the borders of the Kingdom of Fastel," declared the fat man, though I didn't notice any happiness in his body language.

"I cannot answer you in kind, dear father-in-law," I honestly admitted. "The fact that the King himself is on the flagship has upset my plans.

To be honest, I remember these ships from when they were in my own fleet. If you had been not the monarch, but just some admiral, I really would have attacked and captured or destroyed these ships, as they are my formal enemies. And what's more, I would have been legally justified in having done so. You invaded the Li Colony system without being invited, and I have been its ruler for just going on forty minutes now." Yes, the pretext was stretched quite thin, but it served perfectly well as a
casus belli
.

Clearly, the attack would be canceled no
w–
a direct assault on the ruler of a Kingdom allied to the Orange House would be equivalent to aggression against the very Empire or Emperor himself. I called off the frigates, which had already jumped out in front and brought his fleet to a stop.

"Crown Princess Likanna is ready for her trip to the Kingdom of Fastel. Her things have been packed for some time now. I'll send her to you in a shuttle in ten minutes."

The fat man on the screen smiled an exhausted smile, constantly looking with the corner of his eye to the side, clearly at a tactical map. It seemed that the King still couldn't believe that a hundred and a half frigates that had been tearing off toward his fleet had stopped sharply and gone back the other direction.

Standing change. The Kingdom of Fastel's opinion of you has improved.

Present Kingdom of Fastel opinion of you: -12 (dislike)

"Crown Prince Georg, I understand perfectly that you don't especially like the fact that my fleet has come to the Li system. I promise that my ships will return immediately to Fastel as soon as they've recharged for another jump. For now, I want to make use of the occasion and ask you a question that's been on my mind for some time. Could you explain to me directly and openly the status of the refugees from Veyerde in your retinue?"

I could understand that the King wouldn't have much of an interest in the paralyzed Flora, but her older sister could easily make him ponder. By the way, who was Astra to me? I thought and laughed happily.

"If only I knew that myself... I can't exactly send the foundlings back, as their home has been captured by Aliens. A pretty doll, a true Princess with flawless mannerisms, a favorite and just a fun companion. Are you interested in whether or not she is my lover? I will answer you honestly: no, she is not. Not for now."

“I have no interest in who is or isn’t your lover, Crown Prince. But is your Highness preparing to end his marriage with my daughter and take this sponger as a wife?"

"Ask your daughter about that," I answered, redirecting the monarch's implacable curiosity at someone else. "After all, Marta often threatens me with divorce and promises to send the papers as soon as possible. I would be perfectly happy with her as a wife if she could remember how princesses are supposed to behave and reign in her vocabulary, or as my android translator would put it, 'turned on her obscene language filter.' And if Marta also began taking care of herself and lost a few hundred pounds, I might even be perfectly happy with her as a woman."

I thought Marta's father would be insulted. But he only smiled back at my sharp words:

"She really took after me. There's nothing to be done; it's just our nature. But I will tell her your wishes, Crown Prince Georg. Thank you for your answers. I found out everything I wanted to know."

Standing change. Valesy royl Pir's opinion of you has improved.

Presumed personal opinion of you: -10 (disapproval)

Standing change. The Kingdom of Fastel's opinion of you has improved.

Present Kingdom of Fastel opinion of you: -11 (dislike)

I answered the monarch with a similar improvement in relations, then added:

"I admit, dear father-in-law, we haven't always seen eye to eye. Sometimes we had our reasons, sometimes we really didn't. Probably, my scandalous behavior in the past served as the reason for the Kingdom of Fastel joining my enemies. But times have changed. Now I give your Highness one piece of advice as a close relative. I know of your loyalty to the Orange House, but try to keep your distance from Duke Paolo royl Anjer. The head of the Orange House is losing support quickly, though he hasn't realized it yet. In a month or two, everything will become clear. And if the Kingdom of Fastel doesn't change its policy and sends ships to the United Orange House Fleet, it will simply be losing them in vain. Think about my words. And for now, I'm signing off. I need to say goodbye to my daughter."

* * *

"Your Highness, I still recommend you strongly against coming down to the planet!" The head of my guard was being very stubborn today. "The level of radiation on the surface of Sss is so high that a person could easily develop severe radiation sickness before the end of the two-hour-long ceremony."

"But I have already visited your planet, Popori de Cacha! And nothing bad happened. I'm still alive, as you can plainly see!"

The Chameleon made a fairly faithful imitation of a human smile:

"My Prince, last time you were on the plains. The level of radiation is much lower there than here at the mountain temple, where the ceremony will take place. Also, when you visited last, the Ravaash, honestly, couldn't have given a shit about the health of any humans visiting their planet. They came to a dangerous planet of their own free will. Let them worry later about getting the radionuclides out of their bodies. But now, everything is different. Your health and long life are extremely important for my whole species. There is no reason whatsoever for you not to participate in the burial ceremony for the remains of the heroes and the later swearing in remotely, sitting in your star cruiser over the planet Sss. I assure you, Crown Prince, all my compatriots will approve of your doing so."

I thought for a few more seconds, then waved my hand:

"Alright, I’m convinced. Just explain to me now what I need to say and do not to make a fool of myself in front of your tribe."

Popori de Cacha laughed:

"Your Highness need but stand in silence before the big screen and nod with an important look from time to time. The whole ceremony will be held in the Ravaash language, so without Bionica's help you won't understand what is being said. But it wouldn't really be possible for the android, or anyone else really, to be next to the new ruler during the ceremony. The Ravaash nation's whole attention must be focused only on the new ruler."

"Yes, I remember. You said that. Alright, if it's important to your nation, I am prepared to stand in silence for two hours before a screen, nodding from time to time."

"Thank you, my Prince. It's just that any other way the Chameleon nation will not understand why they suddenly need to listen to and obey a human crown prince. My nation simply doesn't have the vocabulary to express concepts like 'viceroy' or 'star system holder.' There is the ruler that was chosen by the Ravaash nation, and it will be precisely you that is named ruler at the end of the ceremony. And now I must leave your Highness and go to the planet. I must be personally present at the mountain temple to bid farewell to the ashes of my fallen subordinates."

* * *

I stood in silence in the center of the large hall of
Emperor August
feeling somewhat stupid. The huge hall was lined with stern looking Alpha Iseyek assault troops, space fleet officers in Orange House uniforms, landing troops in heavy armor and Security Service soldiers in dark suits, all standing in ceremonial divisions. They were given very specific instructions not to move from their places or come closer to me.

The ceremony was being broadcast especially for me on the big screen. It was taking place in the mountain temple, which was holy to the Ravaash. To be honest, I didn't see what all the fuss was about. It was just a spacious cave cut into rock, which was now filled with Chameleons of all colors. There were three of them leading the ceremony. Perhaps they were priests or rulers, who’s to say? I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they were taking turns making speeches, which were punctuated by the ring of a gong. At the end of each, the crowd would howl in reply. From time to time, one of the Chameleons would camouflage themselves or become visible. It went on this way for an hour and a half, after which the one-note activity changed rather sharply. The leaders began pointing at the cameras, and the thousands-strong crowd of Chameleons all turned to me at once. I do not know if they could really see me or not, but I strove to act out the role I had been prescribed: I kept silent and nodded importantly.

"Tuki-tuka-de-sa!" one of the leaders squealed, pointing his flexible arm at me, and the crowd repeated its words back in elation.

Standing change. Chameleon race opinion of you has improved.

Chameleon race opinion of you: +18 (loyal)

After that, the same "tuki-tuka" was repeated hundreds of times in various intonations, and every time the crowd echoed back the leaders. My head was starting to hurt from the repetitive chanting, but just then the ceremony finally came to an end. Crowds of Chameleons flowed out of the cave on screen. Popori de Cacha, and I was able to recognize my bodyguard among the hundreds of other Chameleons, approached to the camera:

"Everything went wonderfully, my Prince. Now, to my nation, you are the legal ruler, and the Ravaash race will consider itself a part of the Orange House."

"That is all excellent. And what does 'tuki-tuki' mean?"

"My Prince, tuki-tuka-de-sa means 'elder female' in the Chameleon language."

"What???" I exclaimed, becoming surprised and indignant.

The head of my guard explained:

"In our culture, only four figures are considered worthy of leading the Ravaash nation: the elder priest, the greatest warrior, the alpha male, or the elder female. Unfortunately, we wouldn't have been able to get your Highness elected as a priest. A priest must be familiar with our rituals and norms. It wouldn't have worked to name you the greatest warrior. That title can only be earned in the ring by fighting and defeating other experienced Chameleons."

"But why female, and not male?"

Popori de Cacha smiled sneakily:

"Is your Highness prepared to mate with a vast number of Ravaash females and provide them all with healthy descendants?"

"So then, what is required of the elder female?" I asked, suddenly filling with worry at what the answer might be. The last thing I needed from this was another set of responsibilities.

"The elder female is responsible for providing and defending the sanctuary where my nation's females stay in the later terms of pregnancy, and where our offspring are raised for the first few months. That is precisely what your Highness offered my nation by giving us an island on the planet Unatari-VII for those exact purposes."

"Ah, well that's ok then. In that case, I truly am prepared to rule as elder female. Such an island has already been prepared for settlement. The first females can start their journey there tomorrow with the freighters taking armor plates to the Unatari docks. I'll order a space cleared for them, and make sure all their needs are provided for."

"Yes, tuki-tuka-de-sa, I will tell all the Chameleons everything is ready," Popori de Cacha made a low bow, clearly with more honor than I had noticed him giving before.

Standing change. Popori de Cacha's opinion of you has improved.

Presumed personal opinion of you: +100 (completely faithful)