Beyond Death (Perimeter Defense Book #2) (41 page)

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* * *

When we were landing on the planet, two thirds of the interior space in the shuttle was taken up by boxes and baskets of things for my old-new favorite. My only question was how the Veyerdean diplomat had been able to fit all this so neatly into his little ship.

Astra was in quite the elevated mood and was even singing something to herself as she stared at the surface of the endless Unatari ocean we were fast approaching. The girl had a good reason to be proud of herself. The crew of the battleship
Princess Astra
had accepted her with enthusiasm, and an image of the nude green-haired dancing beauty became the official emblem of the combat starship. Astra spent two hours there having her photo taken with anyone who wanted. She was dancing, autographing pictures of herself, and receiving compliments and confessions of love. She was even gifted a five-star admiral's uniform, which she then had to get adjusted to her size, all the while laughing infectiously. I suspect that over the approximately two hours Astra spent talking, she pumped up her personal relationship with all crew members from zero to maximum.

"Over there you can see my island now," I pointed to a small piece of dry land in the purple-blue ocean that stretched out to the horizon. "There are no forms of life dangerous to humans on Unatari, so the sea is at your complete disposal. I have purchased a small pleasure submarine to replace the ones the pirate king's guard hijacked, so tonight after a romantic dinner, we can go out on the open sea and even scuba dive if you want. The bioluminescent seaweed, endless fields of all kinds of amazing shells and corals, flashing transparent fish... Suffice it to say there is something to see."

"I have only swum in an ocean once in my life. On Tesse, near Lika’s palace," Astra admitted. "On my homeworld, Veyerde, there is a small Internal Ocean, but it is lifeless and too acidic for humans. The only thing on its shores are boulders and fields of compressed volcanic ash. So, it will all be very interesting for me, but I do ask that you arrange the submarine excursion for before the romantic dinner, so that later I won't have to rush anywhere, and can simply enjoy life."

I couldn't find a reason to object. When the shuttle had set down on the pad before the palace, I pointed my favorite to her room and ordered my servants to carry her things there. I was met in the hall by the blonde Bionica and carefully inquired whether it was Bionica herself or the Arite.

"The Arite," she said, turning into a ship technical worker for a second, before returning to the form of my secretary. "Popori de Cacha and her subordinates are still working on Bionica. Copying all the android's files and calibrating her systems takes a long time.

At that moment, Astra showed up in the corridor, already having managed to change into her swimsuit. After seeing the Arite, the girl gave a shout of joy and threw herself to embrace it:

"Bionica, I'm so happy to see you back in your normal body! We're going for a trip on the submarine right now. Come with us!"

Confused at such a stormy confession of emotion, the Arite shot me a sideways glance, clearly asking for my advice on what was happening. I gave a barely perceptible nod in response.

"Astra! I'm so glad you came back to us! I need five minutes to get dressed and I'll be ready."

I couldn't detect even the slightest trace of artificiality or overacting in Bionica's behavior. The Arite had learned very quickly and, I suppose, could already exist in human society without giving itself away at all. After a quick change of clothes, I started making my way down to the bay accompanied by the green-haired Astra and the Arite mimicking the synthetic blonde. The small silver pleasure submarine was already waiting for us. Two crew members I didn't recognize in Orange House uniforms were standing near the ramp.

"Welcome to your submarine, Prince Georg," the tall man with old-fashioned mutton chops pointed me to an open hatch invitingly. "Come into the central hall. From there, you'll get the best view of the underwater scenery. Would you like me to serve you some wine?"

I nodded “yes” and went down a very steep stairwell into the submarine below and... stopped sharply as the barrel of a sawed-off assault rifle poked into my chest. Bionica and Astra, standing nearby in fear, stretched their hands to the sky.

"So we meet again, Crown Prince," a strangely familiar voice rang out from behind my back.

I turned sharply. The man with mutton chops started tearing a thin latex mask off his face with obvious strain. Under it was Velesh the First, Pirate King of Unatari, still on the run from the law. Just then, his assistant closed the heavy metal door and said, turning to his capo:

"Captain, we should get out of here fast before the routine patrol discovers the corpses and deactivated security systems."

Velesh the First took a look at the screen of his communicator and said with a self-satisfied look:

"We've got time. There's still another two and a half minutes. Our ship will leave the lagoon and be hidden in the depths of the ocean before anyone even notices."

* * *

"So, that's the story, Crown Prince..." Velesh the First ended his long story about how he had been able to escape detection with the help of old friends, how he had gone from city to city, and star system to star system, changing names and documents along the way, as well as getting plastic surgery done, and ordering different masks. "You ruined my life, and I am simply returning the favor. An authorized representative has already gotten in touch with the Orange House Head and told him about my valuable bounty. Duke Paolo is thirsting to have your Highness in his capital as quickly as possible. All the same, we are in no rush to be guests of the Orange House Head. First, we need to get ready to make sure we don't get caught by customs when flying out of Unatari. So, you and your charming companions will be spending the next couple of days under lock and key in my underwater lair."

Velesh suddenly laughed an unpleasant overacted "movie villain" laugh.

"To be honest, I expected more from you, Crown Prince! The cops here were never the sharpest knives in the drawer, even when they were serving me, but now under a Prince and heir to the Emperor's throne with unlimited abilities... How could they have let me leave the spaceport here on the very day of your coronation on Unatari?! Why didn't anyone check the underground freight lines?! How could you hire people for a merchant fleet without a full background check?! It wasn't at all difficult for me to disappear in peace after getting to Tesse on a fake document saying I worked as an assistant on a superfreighter. To be honest, I was fully convinced that it was some kind of power play. I was being released on purpose in order to capture me later in a more grandiose fashion. But no, I was simply let go. And that was why I decided to return to Unatari, as such a slovenly security service deserves to be punished."

"So then, maybe you'll let this all go like a normal person? I'll give you full amnesty and make you leader of the planet's police force or whatever you want," I offered, dropping a hint, but Velesh shook his head no:

"No, it's too late, Crown Prince. Even yesterday I might have agreed. But not today. There's no reason to negotiate with you. Duke Paolo will still give me much more, no matter how much your Highness might offer. Also, it's a matter of principle and revenge."

I was sitting on a chair with my hands bound behind my back. The kidnappers did not tie Astra or Bionica's hands, though they did have a gun trained on them. Velesh the First was strolling nervously about the hall, turning around sharply and darting from one end to the other and back.

"No, I cannot understand," the pirate began airing his grievances once again. "How could you not have stopped to think where the hijacked submarine had gone? So much time had passed, and it still hadn't shown up in any port. It can't have been so hard to figure out that there was a secret base, right? And where could you hide a base on a planet such as Unatari? Only underwater or in the spacious caves under the islands. I ordered three storage facilities and laboratories that were in such caves evacuated, but no one even came looking for them! How is that possible?! My companion Janis the First was discovered by beachcombers near the entrance to that very underwater lair. The police shot him down, the unlucky bastard, but no one, I repeat, NO ONE, questioned the fact that a Pirate King just happened to be walking around on a tiny, uninhabited island! The place he died was no more than 200 feet from the entrance to an underwater crystal lab. But the police weren't smart enough to find it!!! Tomorrow before noon, we will be arriving to that very laboratory, and your Highness can see for himself all the amenities the underwater base has to offer. And for now, just relax. The road ahead is still quite long."

The pirate captain ordered his guards to lead the captives into a lock-up accommodation at the stern of the submarine. They started to push me there as well after finally removing my handcuffs. When the door closed noiselessly, the Arite sitting next to me whispered:

"I could leave through the ventilation or the crack under the door and take the form of any of the guards. But the pirates are all armed. I cannot copy weapons, so that may arouse suspicion. And their blasters and laser rifles are capable of harming me."

I thought over the Arite's proposition, but refused all the same:

"No, there's no reason to take that risk for now. I've got another way of getting us out of here in view, I just need to think it all out really well."

My way of getting out was Miya. The most powerful Truth Seeker had said that I could call her into the game. It may seem that one pregnant lady wouldn't be able to do much against six armed killers... But, in specifically Miya's case, I had no doubt whatsoever in her ability to deal with the pirates. The only thing holding me back was the fact that Astra was also in the room. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that Miya wouldn't like that, especially if the Truth Seeker were to uncover my favorite's pregnancy. Yes, Florianna had assured me that Miya was incapable of going against the will of her master, but all the same...

We sat in silence for another half hour. The tiny room was no larger than the end compartment of a train and contained two fold-out cots, a folding table, and a bright lamp on the table. Finally, Astra broke the silence:

"My sister Florianna has had the ability to find me since her early childhood. So, Flora will find us soon!"

I thought on the girl's words and shook my head in doubt:

"Flora went into a crystal sleep only today. For the next three or four days, your sister will be inactive. In that time, they will be able to take us off the planet. Alright, I'll have to risk it..."

I closed my eyes and decided to call Miya in any case. I had no idea how to actually call the Truth Seeker in the game from a technical standpoint, but I decided to try a few methods.

"Miya, I need you now!!!"
I mentally called.

"Finally! I was already starting to think you had forgotten about my request." At first, I thought the voice was in my head, but a second later I realized that the person talking to me was a big-bellied lady sitting on the bunk opposite mine in a bright red, free-flowing dress.

Miya?! It was that easy? I suspect that at that moment I had an impossibly stupid and surprised look on my face, as the Truth Seeker started laughing in delight:

"All you had to do was call. All the rest of the work I did on my own, and believe you me, it was no small feat."

The woman with a huge belly stood up with difficulty from the cot and looked around the small room with measured curiosity. It was just then that I noticed that Miya was barefoot.

"Prince Georg, who is she and how did she get here?" Astra asked, with notes of hysteria in her voice.

Ugh. I wish my favorite had kept quiet... Miya stopped looking at the metallic walls and slowly turned toward the girls, who were sitting with their legs on the bed. I saw the Truth Seeker's eyebrows shoot up in surprise when she saw the Arite in Bionica's form. For no less than a minute, Miya looked at the interplanetary being before moving her gaze to Astra.

"Now that's a surprise..." the Truth Seeker even got a bit lost herself, having managed to read the information in the space of a few moments and see who exactly it was before her. Miya turned toward me. The expression on her face was one of extreme displeasure, looking menacing:

"Georg, have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten our contract? It was written there in black and white: no children, not with Marta, and especially no bastards! It looks like you've created another problem I'll have to deal with on my own..."

The Truth Seeker cracked her fingers, flexed them with a snap, and turned to my favorite. I realized that if I didn't interfere right away, something terrible and irreversible would happen. The only thing I could do was hope that Florianna hadn't been wrong about Miya.

"Miya, stop! Don't you dare touch Astra, that is an order!" I screamed and, jumping up from the bed, grabbed the Truth Seeker by the shoulders and turned her toward me.

Miya's eyes were burning with a rabid flame. The metal walls began resonating from the sound of her voice.

"How dare you stop me! Have you lost all fear?!"