The Burning Crown (Stone Blade Book 4) (28 page)

Something Big happened. Micah knew that. Outremin rushed about at a frenetic pace, meeting with one House personage and then another. Some he charmed, others he bullied. Yet others he simply informed. Micah learned that Hausmoot had been called to gather. The reason: censure against the Great and Noble House of Brightcrown.

"Be thankful that you are here and alive to see this, Stone," said Outremin, and not for the first time, "This is justice. Justice! After centuries of insult. I cold only wish Hermann du'Varl here to witness it alongside us!"

Micah forbore comment. From what he read of the man, Hermann du'Varl would dispatch House Varl and more than a few others, personally.

Of the current Laird of House Varl, Micah learned he'd arrived just after Outremin. He didn't particularly care to meet the man personally, nor did he care not to. From what Micah learned he would wait to meet the man before passing judgment on him. As for judgment, Laird Fadding would visit it upon the alleged criminal before they all left for Barinhall. Given the rabid slaver Outremin took on when speaking of the returned exile, Micah could only imagine Fadding's disposition toward him.

At long last Outremin finished meeting the various Nobles and Notables. Almost all of them on Astraboria had already left for Barinhall but Outremin still managed to find enough to satisfy propriety and law, albeit lesser scions and lower blood. To Micah's outward disdain but inner amusement, Lord McConney and Sir Simmons ranked among the highest blood remaining on the planet. According to Outremin that would put them beside Laird Fadding in the Seats of Judgment. Not that Outremin doubted their verdict. No, he assured Micah, they simply did not have the right or the appreciation for the execution they would command.

"It is an honor they do not deserve," said Outremin. Also not for the first time. "That such weaklings should have a hand in du'Varl justice is unconscionable. At times I wonder, Stone. Perhaps our civilization has declined past the point of recovery. Are we indeed worth the effort of preserving?"

"Of course, Sir Beau! We..."

Outremin smiled and held up his hand.

"I know, Stone. The human eye sees the single dot and not the vast expanse of blank page surrounding it. Prepare well tonight and comport yourself properly tomorrow. If you serve m'Laird Fadding with honor you may well receive a title on the spot!"

***

Thompson applied a very slight correction to his vector. The ship hummed around him eagerly as she adjusted and that filled him with a satisfaction that only a mater pilot could understand.

After Kidwell's sudden change in attitude, the which he still didn't understand, she, Blue, Karr and all the others swarmed into frantic action. That left him to his own devices and that suited him six-sigmas!

After he absorbed all he could from the news, Thompson powered up a terminal, connected to the House Lore archives and researched what he could of the original incident. He didn't find much. Someone had indeed stricken all mention from every official archive they could find. Thompson focused on that last part: apparently the Crown citizens loved their prince and House Lore, the masters of archival technology, managed to hide a few tidbits.

Thompson still had trouble connecting Prince Gunter - Elmer! He'd give Ferrel grief over that, to be sure - with his slpatfest-loving genius astrogator and burner friend, but slib. He had twenty-five credits from Kidwell. Wagers, she told him, she'd have lost to Micah or Ferrel. And, truth for blather, now that half the Crown wasn't trying to persecute him, they turned out to be really decent folks.

Decent and well-connected, he corrected. Once the swarm accomplished some goal known only to themselves, they began discussing how quickly they could make the trip to Astraboria. He knew not what they planned to do there or what they might find, but unlike any of them save Kidwell he'd seen Stone in action. Moreover, he remembered the look on the man's face when they discovered a farm full of innocent casualties. No, he decided, even Kidwell likely hadn't seen Stone that way. House Varl had best look to what little sense it had and Keep Ferrel alive and unharmed. Otherwise Stone would wreak such havoc on them that the Consortium would feel it!

The ship hummed louder now and Thompson tended her. Time to Astraboria: five hours plus tariff.

"It's still at least a three-day trip," said Blue, almost apologetically, "McReelys have a few surprises but there are physical laws at work."

Then they entered the hangar and Thompson saw one of the most beautiful ships he'd ever seen! She was long, sleek and streamlined to any atmosphere, but more than that. Thompson saw the domed ports and careful crafting of the hull that meant hyperstreamlining and optimization. Ruddy few ships outside the Navy could make active links faster than this one and even fewer pilots could handle them!

"How long did you say," he asked.

"Three days and a few hours," replied Blue.

"Let me drive," he said, "I'll make it in two!"

Thompson missed that particular mark but not by much! The ship came with two McReely pilots, Grover Jackson and Annabeth Callidora, but neither had Thompson's skill! They both cringed at the link he plotted but, gamely, they committed to it.

"My turn, Captain Johnnie."

Thompson smiled but didn't look away from the console. Callidora strapped in beside him and, after a few minutes to acclimate, switched her console to active.

"You go get some rest, now," she said, "and don't you dare leave without telling me goodbye! Hot pilots flying hot ships make me... interested."

"My pleasure, my lady!" He powered down his console, stood and stretched stiff muscles. Absolutely he would not leave and the entire Elder Guard would not stop him from seeing her!

***

Kidwell took a sip of lukewarm chog and instantly regretted it. Her stomach quivered and waves of nausea washed through her.

"Steady, Vera," said Blue, herself not discomforted at all, "L-sickness usually passes quicker than this. Do you want some halcinox?"

"No," said Kidwell, "but thank you. Standard links are bad enough but I'm used to them. This is normal for me."

Kidwell spent most of the miserable trip absorbing information from Blue, Karr and the others on the ship. From them she learned the true character of Brightcrown, its allies and also its enemies. It relived her considerably even though it did cause her to revise her opinion of Quinby and Catonatta. From Karr she learned more of intra-house politics and interactions. It confirmed many of her social observations and gave them further depth and context.

"Outsiders rarely see the best light on us," he'd explained, "Because they look on us with the eyes of outsiders. They see nothing more than quaint and antiquated ceremony and ritual. Or, perhaps, a people mired in ancient tradition best left in the Collapse. Did you perchance study the concentration of affluence and the flow of it through our worlds? Its effect on our citizens' quality of life?"

"No, Piotr. That wasn't really on my scanner at the time."

"Then you must do so. One thing even House Varl takes seriously is fealty to its members. It is the duty of each House to care for any who swear allegiance, no matter their blood or station in life. Even the poorest among us have shelter, sufficient food and enough for life's necessities. Even the occasional indulgence or luxury. Can the rest of the League make that claim?"

"Unfortunately not."

Karr smiled. "Indeed. Besides life's essentials, House affiliation also gives our citizens something to work toward greater than themselves. Belonging. It guarantees us all that we shall never be alone. In that we are no different from the League itself! If that does not suffice, there is always the Elder Guard and its Orders. Unaffiliated artisans can join Halls of craftsmen like them. No Crown citizen need ever fear the lack of a place to go or to be."

"But what happens in situations like this?"

"Power does corrupt, m'lady, and greater power corrupts more. No argument there, but for every greedy Varl noble or Binkor-Sud scion there is a Brightcrown or Gladius to hold them in check. Failing in that, the Hausmoot and the King have final authority. Any citizen of the Crown has the right to appeal to either, though few do. That is what makes... this... so truly distressing. That House Varl would stoop to such depths as to consort with the League's blood-enemy is repugnant. It is obscene! Once King Hartwig hears word of this the sanction against House Varl will be... severe."

"The League and the Guilds won't be pleased, either. I promise you that."

"Aye. As to that, my lady, my hope is that you can help direct their anger where it should truly go. Do not fear objection from the Houses or the Moot, either. Even House Gladius is blood-loyal to the League. Its members may speak words of more self-reliance, but did any catastrophe befall the League worlds outside the Crown, they would be the first present, ready to aid or protect at need."

"Polar. May that not happen soon!"

Karr smiled. Then, in a softer voice, "Tell me of Prince Gunter, m'lady. He was beloved of House Edders and many others besides. We received occasional word of him ere he left the Navy. What can you tell me of his life afterward?"

Now Kidwell smiled. "First of all, Sir Karr, Charlie is well and truly a credit to the League. Life around him is never dull and he works harder at being lazy than most people work at work."

Kidwell then recounted, and edited, some of her more interesting adventures and misadventures with Ferrel. Then she threw in a few more with Micah. He hung attentively on each word.

"But in all that time," said Kidwell, "He never mentioned the name
Elmer
."

"Likely because it was painful to him, m'lady. By precedence he was fourteenth in line to the Crown. Given the stable nature of the Crown and League today it is most unlikely he would have been called to wear it. Still, it is traditional and not unwise. Before the King or Queen takes the Crown he or she is blood of one of the Noble Houses or noble blood from another House. Afterward, though, he or she must be of all Houses, Greater or lesser, Noble or not. Therefore, members of the Royal line adopt a greater name upon taking their Oaths.

"The tradition itself began not long after the Tragic Schism. Many of House Brightcrown and House Varl still found contention with one of the other House raised to the Royal line. King Gunter I, originally Sven Velten Lord Yorgens of House Sjoerd, was the first to forswear his House name and take one greater. That did little to settle the dissent between House Brightcrown and House Varl but it did give them fewer levers to grasp."

Kidwell nodded. "What about Precedence and Peerage? I've read some of the decrees and John told me some of what he found but there's more I don't understand."

"That is a wide topic, m'lady," chuckled Karr, "Well more than we can cover before we ground. If you have specific questions I shall try to answer them. If not, perhaps I can convey the gist of it.

"The wisdom of Precedence grew out of the Collapse and blossomed during the Interim. Peerage came much later but its roots lie in Precedence. The three men counted as the true founders of the Crown worlds are Hermann Rene du'Varl, Ulfric von Halm and Appius Livius Quadratus. Quadratus was an Imperial high commander with three strong legions more loyal to him than to the Imperium. That was understandable since he was alone in a relatively barren edge of the Imperium. The stars in this region of space made hyperdrive chancy and the Imperium did not try to expand beyond them.

"It is not clear how du'Varl and von Halm befriended Quadratus but befriend him they did. The common belief is that they were dissidents, activists with the abhorrent idea that ordinary people were capable of making their own decisions and tending their own lives. We do not know why Caesar didn't simply execute them, but instead chose to exile them.

"What is well-known and recorded is that Quadratus offered them sanctuary. He had his manor and his legions' base on Stercoreum, which is now Barinhall, and he gave them a home there as well. Since they were at the edge of the Imperium and the journey inward was treacherous - remember, m'lady, we are talking hyperdrive as linkspace had not yet been discovered - the worlds about Stercoreum were used as dumping grounds for people the Imperium did not want. Because of that and their isolation the Collapse did not affect them as greatly.

"With the aid of Quadratus and his legions, du'Varl and von Halm kept the people alive and united on as many worlds as they could. Since the worlds did maintain more of their civilization than most others, pirates and technology raiders were rife. That left the question of keeping their worlds afloat and united.

"All three men were intelligent, educated and well familiar with political dynamics. They organized the groups that would become our Houses and worked to structure a government that would endure and that would not fall prey to what brought down the Imperium. Loyalty and fealty they had aplenty, but only toward themselves. Hence, the Stercoreum Provisional Senate soon fell to squabbling and wasting resources away from the necessities of survival and defense. After a handful of assassinations and near misses, Quadratus summoned his First Legion against the Senate itself!

"Things might have turned to disaster had not von Halm spoken. He stood between Quadratus and the Senate and he swore that any man worth his weight in... Ahem. Any man worth his weight in sewage could swear fealty to one stronger, but that only a true leader worthy of command would swear so to one weaker.

"From thence we have Halm's Oath, or the Fuer Halm Oath. One who swears it pledges fealty not only to the Crown but to all the citizens within it: his life for theirs and their burdens his. In essence he swears against enemies of the Crown but also injustice
within
it. He then by his own words swore his oath to his comrades and all the citizens the Senate was supposed to serve.

"Quadratus then slit his palm and swore Halm's Oath over the drippings of his own blood. He further swore that any Senator not willing to take the Oath could leave without dishonor, but any who remained would swear it or die. No few of them did leave, but all those who remain did swear Halm's Oath and did spend their lives upholding it. That is when all decreed that any who served would swear the Oath and live by it or die betraying it.