Beyond Death (Perimeter Defense Book #2) (28 page)

* * *

Nicole Savoia was showing me her brand new uniform with Orange House Space Fleet captain's insignia. I congratulated my assistant on her speedy rise up the career ladder and even compared it to the return of Napoleon. Either the girl really had not understood, or she simply didn't want to fall out of the game atmosphere and talk about events from real history. I hurried to change the topic:

"Nicole, I need a full report on the results of the battle and the condition of the fleet."

The girl was clearly fairly well prepared for the question, and so began giving detailed answers, including exact figures without even having to look down. I closed my eyes, listened and tried to memorize them. The Alien fleet had been totally wiped out. Not a single ship had escaped though our victory had come at a very high price. Both of my battleships were able to move again, and
Bride of Chaos
could even shoot, but both of the ships would need a couple months minimum to be repaired after they got to a real dock. There were thirteen heavy cruisers left in working order:
Emperor August
,
Boydur the Hero
,
Hunchback's Heir
,
Pride of the Nation
,
Supernova Rage
,
Wrath of the Gods
,
Nita the Beautiful
,
Queen of Beauty
, and five
Legashes
. If you counted the rest of what survived the last few days' troubles, there were twenty-four light cruisers, fifty-five destroyers, one hundred seventy-two frigates, twenty-four cloaked frigates and the
Tria
. It was not a bad picture at the end of the day. Sure, the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet had taken heavy losses in battle with the Aliens, but it had done a great job demonstrating its terrifying power nevertheless. The officer finished her speech:

"In the neighboring Khe system, our spies are reporting on a small Alien fleet: seven
Sledgehammers
, two
Chainsaws
, and eleven
Meteors
. The Aliens are behaving passively, simply circling not far from the warp beacon. Easy prey. Taking them out should be no problem."

I couldn't hold in the smile, despite my cracked lips and sewn-up cheeks. Not long ago, Nicole had fallen into a state of near panicked desperation when seeing just one
Sledgehammer
. Now, when she saw a fleet of twenty Alien ships, she called it "easy prey." My young ward was learning. Clearly...

"Your Highness, I have completed the ship roll call. My opinion is that the fleet will need around two days to complete repair work currently under way, get the slightly damaged ships back in order, and re-equip
Emperor August
as a flagship. But the commander situation is worse. Admiral Kiro Sabuto will be out of commission for at least a week and a half after his operation. Admiral Kheraisss Vej is prepared to take control of the fleet temporarily, but only if no other candidates can be found, as he has little experience commanding human and Chameleon ships. The simultaneous interpreter problem then arises too. Admiral Kheraisss Vej cannot constantly translate his own orders to all different species. That was why the question worried me: would your Highness be able to leave the hospital in two days and lead the battle?"

"I will be able to walk. My leg is just twisted. It'll be better soon. If I really have to, I'll borrow Florianna's flying chair for a bit. But then talking and giving commands... I just don't know. So, Nicole, you will be leading the fleet into battle in the Khe system. I will be there next to you to keep you calm, but nothing more. And the language problem has already been solved: General Savasss Jach has found an excellent translator among the Iseyek. She speaks human language quite workably, though she will have to study up on fleet terminology. Do you feel ready to lead ships into battle?"

"Not yet. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this to come so soon," the officer admitted candidly. "But I can be ready in two days. I will not let your Highness down."

The door had barely closed behind Nicole when Popori de Cacha slipped into the hospital room. The Chameleon came up to my cot, bent down low on his haunches, and laid his two blades down before me on the table.

"Tuki-tuka-de-sa, it would be within your rights to punish me for usurpation of power, but first I ask you to hear out my justification. After the
Behemoth
's explosion I..."

"We can skip over the episode with Phobos attacking me," I said, interrupting my bodyguard head's speech. "What I want to know now is where Bionica's head is."

"Here it is," said the Chameleon, taking the android's decapitated head from his backpack and placing it on the bedside table.

My heart skipped a beat. Bionica... How I need you now... No Iseyek Prime can take the place of my synthetic blonde...

My subjects have already checked: the memory crystals have not been damaged. The control unit is also intact. The chips are just fine. I would think the service company could find a new body for your secretary no worse than the last one, and restore Bionica's personality as well."

I looked at the head of my guard. So he knew the android could be fixed and did everything necessary to save Bionica's memory from the dying cruiser?

"You are totally forgiven, Popori de Cacha," I declared, ordering the Chameleon to stand with a majestic wave of my hand. "On the day my secretary returns to us, you will be generously rewarded. You have my word as a Crown Prince!"

"As you wish, tuki-tuka-de-sa! There's one more thing though. After the ceremony in the holy cave on Sss, my body began to change gender, and the unpleasant situation and change in circumstances over the last few days only sped-up the process. As of now, I am a female for the next few years, as I was at birth until becoming a male warrior. And it is for that reason that I am asking your Highness to remove me from my duties as guard commander and give them to a male."

Just to make sure, I took a look at the character information.

Popori-de-Cacha, bodyguard division commander

Race: Chameleon

Gender: female at present

So then! That was it! I just had one man's man left in my close circle, and now he had changed gender! All that was left was for Phobos to lay eggs, and I would be surrounded by nothing but members of the fairer sex.

Popori de Cacha remained silent, waiting for my decision. I was not prepared to release the Chameleon, who had shown her reliability and mastery many times before.

"Listen, de-sa, is there no way for Ravaash females to be warriors? The captain of
Surprise-1
is a young Chameleon female, and no one has any doubts in her abilities."

"The laws of the Ravaash race do not forbid females from being warriors, unless de-sa is preparing to have children soon. But the most capable warriors in history are thought to have been males. Their physiology is better suited to hand-to-hand and long-range combat. Your Highness's other bodyguards are the best warriors my nation has. And a female appearing among them could be perceived negatively, which might lead to your Highness's standing taking a dive."

"Alright, Popori de Cacha. Listen to my decision: you will remain in charge of my bodyguards until you yourself think that all the other Chameleon guards have surpassed you in ability, or you decide that the time has come for you to make for the island of young females on Unatari."

The head of my guard took a bow, picked up Bionica's head, and set off for the exit. I stopped the Chameleon at the door:

"The arrested corporal from
Surprise-28
was brought here to the Iseyek cruiser on a rescue shuttle from
Joan the Fatty
, but I haven't heard anything on his further fate. Where did he get sent off to?"

Popori de Cacha started to think, but then answered, not hiding her surprise:

"I can say with absolute confidence that the three arrestees died in the explosion of the first
Behemoth
. I saw their dead bodies with my own eyes. As such, I'm not sure I understand your Highness's question. Perhaps the Crown Prince is confusing the dead corporal with someone else of similar appearance?"

"Perhaps... Alright, you can go."

That means he wasn’t able to get off the dying ship after all... I looked at Astra, listening to music in her headphones, then turned my gaze on Phobos. The Arite could be anyone. I had to keep that in mind all the time now.

N
icole was doing a great job at the reins. She had competently led the Sector Eight Fleet to the Khe system at four hundred miles from the Aliens, confidently arranging the ships into combat formation. Both battleships were slightly in front. Six miles behind them were thirteen heavy cruisers. Antisupport and electros were another thirty behind them. The frigates were split up into two groups, waiting for the Aliens to take maneuvers.

I myself would have done it a bit differently, perhaps more aggressively. The enemy had very few small ships, which could have all been taken out in one quick attack, then I would have had our electros deafen the
Sledgehammers
' weak sensors and fully paralyze the enemy ships until our big guns could arrive. All the same, I did not intervene in my assistant's work, simply observing her actions.

Nai Igir was to my right. Today was the first day she was appearing in public, though her arrival was taken with complete apathy. It wasn't at all the reaction I was expecting from the Iseyek, so I requested that Nai Igir remove the armored suit hiding her transparent-blue wings, and she agreed. And the Iseyek Prime had barely opened her wings before the reaction of the Iseyek in the fleet surpassed even my wildest expectations. The enthusiastic yelping, crackling and howling from the mass of insects on the common fleet channel was such that I even had to remove my headphones so as not to go deaf.

"I've never felt the like, Crown Prince. The wave of admiration rushed in with such ferocity to this butterfly and her commander that it vastly surpassed that time in Hnelle, when I lost control over myself. The fleet Iseyek are prepared to devour any enemy, even going in unarmed. They would die for you without a second of hesitation as long as you have this flying translator at your side. I'm simply overflowing with energy right now. I have started feeling things that I never could before... By the way... The Arite came after your Highness to
Emperor August
. It's very strange, given that it would have had a much easier time dissolving into the crowd on a Swarm cruiser. And another thing... Prince Georg, the Aliens will not accept combat. They are fleeing to the Lobj system as we speak!"

"Nicole, they're retreating!" I warned my assistant, though it was already too late, as I watched the Alien ships leave the tactical grid one after the other.

"Did I do something wrong, Prince Georg? What did I do?" Nicole Savoia turned to face me, expecting reproach.

"It isn't your fault, Nicole. I didn't see any errors on your part. It's just that the Aliens have begun behaving differently, more calmly. They are learning from their experiences in previous battles and are afraid of us.

"Computer extrapolation of their trajectory shows that the Aliens are heading toward the Lobj system!" said the young tactics lieutenant, Max Stegor, who had previously served on
Boydur the Hero
, but was now taking the place once occupied by Valian ton Corsa in the headquarters.

By the way, Max had a rare talent for tactics. He had the best results, not only when answering typical examination situations, but also when solving nonstandard assignments I had come up with, thereby winning the prestigious place in the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet headquarters from among more than three hundred other candidates. To be honest, Max Stegor's tactical abilities surpassed Valian ton Corsa's by several times. All the same, when visiting the intensive care unit on
Master of Tesse
, I promised Valian that she could always count on coming back to her place in the headquarters after recovering. The doctor of the burn ward informed me that the girl was in a critical condition, and she needed some encouragement to keep her holding on. Submersed in an oxygen-enriched gel bath, Valian heard out my words and nodded, though it was barely perceptible.

"We are clearing the station of Aliens, and recharging our ships... Attention!!!"

The last word I screamed out, because a red dot had appeared on the tactical map next to my fleet from out of nowhere. The Alien frigate marker split, clearly then releasing a bomb and... it went off without exploding, due to all my destroyers' high-speed laser turrets striking it simultaneously. It wasn't for nothing that we had done all that practicing in Sss, working on our bombing technique, as well as out bombing defense!

"
Warhawk-22
, take point on the enemy!" came a voice that sounded familiar to me.

"Do not shoot at the enemy frigate!!! Blind its electronics, and hold it in webs and disruptors! General Savasss Jach, I need that ship whole. We've never seen one like this before. Try to take some Aliens alive too!
Warhawk-22
, excellent work! I promise that as soon as Admiral Kiro Sabuto is better, he'll figure out what medals you've earned, and also..." I took a quick look at the report sent by Nicole, "...
Vassar-3
and
Flycatcher-4
, who destroyed the enemy bomb and saved a great many of our ships in doing so."

Warhawk-22
. Why was that ringing a bell...? I opened up a list of all ships in the fleet. That's right! How could I have forgotten about the experiment! Beston Maf, the android captain of the android-crewed frigate! It seemed he had survived, and had even been able to prove himself a hero. I would have to talk with Admiral Kiro Sabuto. We could now declare the experiment a success.

"Excuse me for interfering in your command, Nicole, it's just that the situation required an immediate reaction. You'll see yourself. The Aliens will learn from their mistakes quickly, and in parallel, will start trying to copy our successful strategies. I don't yet know what kind of bomb the Alien cloaker launched at our fleet, but I suspect it would have blown up, if given the chance. I will now leave the headquarters, but you make sure General Savasss Jach's praying mantises capture the station and board the held-down Alien frigate. As soon as they're done, let me know."

With Florianna and a whole horde of visible and invisible bodyguards accompanying me, I set off for my cabin. My cheek, which had just barely started growing back together, was starting to hurt again, as if the doctor would have to sew it shut yet again. Unexpectedly, a soldier with gunner-private patches approached me in the hall and tried to get my attention.

"Your Highness, do you have a few minutes for a conversation?"

"The battle isn't yet over. Why are you not at your combat post, private?" Popori de Cacha came out of invisibility and displayed the appropriate level of caution.

"My Prince, it's the Arite! He is not dangerous, and has finally come around to the idea of talking about working together."

"The reason he is not at his combat post, is because there is already an identical copy of him in the cannon tower, right where he should be... You are the Arite, after all, or am I mistaken?"

In the space of a second, the contours of the private dissolved into a thick white cloud. It can't be that the Arite is afraid of being uncovered, can it? But the Truth Seeker was not wrong. The extraterrestrial creature merely gave a dramatic demonstration of my accuracy, then changed form into... Bionica!

"This form was not among those listed as forbidden by the Prince. No, your Highness, you were not mistaken, I am the Arite. Can we have a talk?"

* * *

I suspect, that to an outside observer, what were in fact the first official negotiations between two space-faring species looked like nothing more than a shared meal between the Crown Prince and his newly repaired secretary. Bionica's death was already known in the fleet and, as such, the android's reappearance next to the commander in an intact and undamaged state was noted immediately by a great many. Popori de Cacha instantly blocked the spread of information on the Arite, and released a fake story that the robot translator had been repaired to cover it up. Those unfamiliar with the true state of affairs may have been surprised by the perhaps excessive quantity of armed bodyguards keeping all the cruiser crew members away from Georg royl Inoky and his translator.

Pseudo-Bionica and I were in a separate room in the officer's dining area. The Arite was omnivorous, and had at least a slight idea on the way table utensils were to be used, but he was approximately as far removed from Bionica's perfect manners as my hulking, awkward body was from the elegance and grace of a ballerina. My clearly starving table-mate was gulping down food with squelching and slurping sounds, all the while dropping bits of food and dribbling trails of sauce on the tablecloth. For that reason, there wasn’t a second of doubt that this could never have been the real Bionica. Though I immediately noted that the Arite learned fast. It started using a napkin, following my example. It also started eating more carefully. The table manners of this representative of a civilization previously unknown to humanity sitting across the table from me aside, it was much more important to figure out what the Arite was offering, and in fact it was very much worth my while.

Pseudo-Bionica said that it was speaking in the name of his whole race. Its offer was to open the Arite system warp beacon to my ships, as well as any other Swarm beacons, and provide unimpeded passage for the Sector Eight Fleet to the Empire and basically wherever I wanted throughout Iseyek territory. It also promised to introduce a bill in the Swarm through an individual with the right to vote in a high place in the Iseyek hierarchy to compensate Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle for the incident that took place in the Kej system and even to get it passed. In exchange for everything I've just listed, the Arites wanted three important things: my help in liberating the Arite systems from the remnants of the Iseyek armies, diplomatic and military pressure from the Empire on the Swarm with the goal of a peace treaty with the Arites under the condition that the insects pay compensation for the damages incurred over the two-hundred-year-long war, and also the conclusion of a mutual-assistance and military alliance treaty between the Empire and the Arites against any enemy, be they Swarm or Alien.

The problem was that the Arites would only go through with the agreement if it was accepted wholesale. If even one point wasn't agreed on, all the others would be void. So, without my official agreement to return the Swarm-occupied Arite system, there could be no discussion about opening the warp beacon for my fleet, and the Arites could guarantee me no compensation from the insects until a military alliance could be concluded between the Arites and the Empire. Everything I said about not having the authority to make such treaties in the name of the Empire were simply ignored by Pseudo-Bionica. At some point, I would have to admit that the negotiations with the Arites had reached a dead end and suggest setting them aside for a bit.

"Alright, my Prince," Bionica agreed. "I hope I will be allowed to keep this appearance on your ship? Insofar as I understand, the individual, who normally occupies this appearance is in an inactive state, so I will not be getting in her way. The other crew members had no negative reactions to my appearance in this form. I can do the usual functions this individual does in order not to arouse suspicion."

"Then you'll have to be my translator. You do in fact know the Iseyek language, so I don't see that as a problem. But promise you won't suddenly disappear. Androids can't do that, and you'll raise a bunch of unpleasant questions if you turn into a cloud in front of my officers. Bionica had some other duties as well..."

A sudden incoming emergency call interrupted my explanation. I took a look at who was calling and smiled involuntarily. It was Colonel Gor ton Vulf! Clearly he wanted to tell me that the station and cloaker have been captured. However, I was wrong.

"My Prince, the Khe station is mined! Some of the sections are totally blocked off. There are no doors in. But the engineers are saying that their readers are picking up antimatter behind the thin dividers!"

I switched over to the internal fleet channel:

"Attention! This is the fleet commander. Take the ships away from the station immediately! All frigates and destroyers, and also the
Tria
should immediately warp to the first planet at twelve hundred! What's the deal with the Alien frigate?"

"The frigate is under our control, but we were again not able to capture any of its occupants alive. The engineers are attaching the trophy frigate to
Bride of Chaos
. They'll need a couple of minutes.

"Got it. Cruisers and battleships, leave the station, pick up the landing groups and also get out to the first planet. Landing groups are to collect trophies and immediately evacuate the station to the nearest fleet ships!"

I signed off and took a look around. False Bionica had already made her way off somewhere, not having waited for me to explain all its duties. I was waiting impatiently for Pseudo-Bionica to mess something up with her ignorance. I really needed to discuss the Arite issue with my advisor and fast, before Florianna accidentally revealed the presence of the unknown race on the ship. I asked my cousin Katerina ton Mesefelle to come to the officer's dining area.

My cousin was totally unsurprised by the discovery of a new space-faring species and immediately joined the discussion, describing me her questions and suggestions. What struck me most in my cousin's speech, was something I hadn't yet found the resolve to say out loud: