Beyond Death (Perimeter Defense Book #2) (38 page)

"My Prince, please forgive me. I didn't recognize you! Do you order me to take me to the operations headquarters to give your Highness control over the soldiers?"

"No, I don't care about the headquarters. Professionals should be in charge. I don't understand a damn thing in land battles and would only get in your way here. So then, stand, major and continue your work as if I wasn't even here."

"As you command, Crown Prince!" the soldier stood and really did go to the side, leaving Astra and I alone with our bodyguard companions.

* * *

That was the weirdest night of my life. First we spent a long time exploring the palace ruins with flashlights. We even crawled around in the half-filled basements, all the while with Astra telling me about each room, each burnt-up picture frame on the wall, and each collapsed staircase and tower. Katerina was writing everything down, constantly clarifying this or that detail and filming as she went.

Afterwards, when it was totally dark out, the Princess dragged us both out on a mountain path that wound around between the stones. We went out to the small lake with a ten-foot-high waterfall cascading into it. With absolutely no regard for the others present, Astra threw off her clothes and immersed herself in the black water.

"Whoa! This water is ice cold!" the girl told us, her teeth chattering as she went deeper and deeper in.

Suddenly, Astra dived underwater. I had to hold back my bodyguards, who ran out in front to help her. The girl really did not need any help. In fifteen seconds, Astra had already resurfaced and was on her way to the bank, holding a golden crown inlaid with rubies.

"There it is, the Crown of Veyerde!" The Princess was showing off her trophy to everyone there with pride. "There is a prophecy that my granny Fesilia made on the day of my birth, that my fate was to refuse a small crown, but that I would receive a large one in exchange. I really did refuse the baron's crown when I broke my engagement with Henrik ton Lavaelle, and exchange I'm holding a King's crown in my hands..."

"And before the future Queen comes down with bronchitis, I suggest we quickly go dry off in front of the fireplace," Katerina ton Mesfelle said, finishing her sentence.

And so we sat on some stones that were still warm from the day, heated up some army rations on the fire in cans, and found some strange fruit from the nearby garden for roasting. It had the flavor of a fresh semisweet melon. We drank bagged juice and something like a mix of strong brandy with a dry fruit compote. That was what we found in the army flasks labeled: "Restorative." The night sky above us was illuminated with bright flashes and dashes. The space armada was still bombing the surface of Veyerde, helping the soldiers in their mission. In the nice army binoculars, which had been gifted to the Crown Prince by an unfamiliar landing captain, I could even see and recognize the ships above us in space: there's a
Meresh
with its characteristic shapes, and that's a battleship, probably
Bride of Chaos
or
Knight of Light
.

From time to time, the rocket installations next to us sounded off, and the AA turrets flew into action. A shot-down low-atmosphere ship flew past in the night sky like a meteor, leaving a trail of flame behind it. A few times, a medical rotor-wing plane landed very near us and unloaded wounded soldiers. Some I had never met before walked up to our fire, mostly people, but also the occasional Alpha Iseyek. We let anyone stay as long as they wanted, and even treated them to our cans of food and drink. Once we even saw a female spider-esque Glorvian, all wrapped up in armor, surrounded by twenty ghastly-looking huge males. The Glorvians were also taking part in liberating Veyerde.

I greeted the soldiers, toasted and drank with them, heard out their wishes and pledges of eternal loyalty. It was probably a hard night for my bodyguards, given that there were always a ton of armed people and nonpeople hanging around me. But the Truth Seeker, who had also come to visit her home planet with the next group of landing soldiers, did not sense any risk. In fact, Florianna was getting drunk on the atmosphere of admiration and would periodically ask her minions to pour a little bit of strong alcohol right into her mouth.

Astra was also at the center of attention. She was getting her picture taken with anyone who asked, drinking and dancing with officers and normal soldiers, hearing out laudatory speeches and soldiers’ assurances that the Kingdom of Veyerde would soon be all hers. Katerina was the only one who kept working. She was making reports from the headquarters and the palace ruins. She was filming Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky surrounded by Orange House soldiers and Astra with the crown of Veyerde in her hands.

Katerina's work had good effect too. Standing change messages from all kinds of people and factions started coming in practically once a minute. My fame grew by seven points over the fantastic night to +30. I also reached the same number in my relation with the Imperial Military. But when morning had almost arrived, and Astra was asleep, wrapped up in the camouflage raincoat given to her by some soldiers, a miracle occurred.

"Your Highness, incoming call from the Emperor!" the communications private, his eyes widening in astonishment, couldn't believe what was happening.

I stood, gave a slight shake to get the dry grass and dirt off my suit, quickly combed my hair and demanded he be put through. Today, August was wearing a white military uniform with gold epaulets and a sash bedecked with medals. I bowed down and one knee, and the guards and other soldiers who happened to be on screen around me did the same.

"My Emperor, the Nayal system has been cleared of Aliens. The enemy fleet has been completely wiped out! Space control in the Veyerde system has been restored. The Alien landing fleet has been shot down, and the assault of the planet Veyerde is underway."

"Stand, Georg," the Emperor demanded. "To be honest, when I saw that your fleet was on its way to Sector Seven, I got upset and even a bit angry about the fact that you’d made such a bad use of my gift. Though now I see that I was wrong in my intentions. I've already been told that you were fulfilling a promise to help defend Sector Seven, which is quite an honorable thing to do. It was an exemplary battle in the Nayal system, followed by a strong bid to liberate Veyerde. Such acts demand their due valuation. Also, your raid on Alien territory must not be forgotten. I'll begin with your aid to the Swarm. I have included the Black Star in the official registry of Imperial combat medals by executive order. I have also officially affirmed the thirty-percent increase in salary given to all holders. But as for Veyerde... where, by the way, is the Princess?"

The soldiers stepped aside, and the Emperor saw Astra sleeping wrapped in a raincoat. One of the soldiers jumped to wake the Princess up, but August stopped him:

"No, no. I don't need to talk with her. Let her sleep. My gift to the Princess of Veyerde will be for the Empire to pay for her coronation ceremony in full. I can hardly be there in person. Those years are behind me, but on my volition, I give you, Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle, the right to crown this brave girl in my name. Give the five soldiers and commanders who fought best in these battles an Emerald Star. My messenger will deliver you the medals soon. I have certificates for another two Emerald Stars that I've already signed for Katerina ton Mesfelle and Nicole Savoia. Katerina for her distinguished reports from the hottest spots in the war with the Aliens. Nicole is also to be promoted to space captain, all of this is for her brilliant knowledge and skills in commanding ships. My personal gift to you, grandson, will be five extra days added to your deadline. You know what I'm talking about."

* * *

The grandiose ceremony came to an end. The party guests and refugees returning to Veyerde were already gradually setting off to relax in the temporary, guarded village made for them. In the Veyerde Palace, already totally repaired in even the tiniest details, the only people remaining were Astra's many relatives with their families and servants.

The Queen of Veyerde herself, standing on a small balcony extending out toward the mountain lake, was tracing the last wisps of light from the just-set local sun with her gaze. The Queen's robe on the girl's shoulders and the golden crown on her head were surprisingly suited to her. It was as if she was made for this regalia from birth. The only problem was the fact that there were no traces of joy on the girl's face.

"Georg, you aren't gonna agree to be the monarch of the provincial Kingdom of Veyerde, huh?" my former favorite asked, after a very long period of silence.

I shook my head. No, I had a whole bunch of reasons that I didn't want that for my future.

"I understand," Queen Astra royl Veyerde sighed sadly. "That means that you'll be leaving me forever tomorrow then?"

"Today, actually. The shuttle is already waiting. My fleet cannot stay in Sector Seven forever, and the time to return home has come. But as for 'forever,' I can't say. Come visit if you get bored," I tried to smile, though inside, something was just bursting.

"And at what status? You're married, Georg... By the way, the Kingdom of Fastel sent me some luxury saplings to replant the burnt-up garden. Marta royl Valesy ton Mesfelle-Kyle even wrote a touching letter congratulating me. It seemed sincere..."

Astra kept silent. I made no rush to break the silence, with no idea what we could keep talking about after we separated. An android servant came out onto the balcony with some wine glasses on a tray. It was one of the thousands I had gifted Astra. I wanted to say no, but at the last second I had a change of heart, and took both:

"I know it's dumb, but let's drink to us finding a reason to meet in the future!"

The Queen of Veyerde took the glass with her flawless fingers and, meeting eyes with me, smiled sadly and said:

"Thank you, Georg. To a reason to meet in the future!"

Astra drained the glass and set it down on the handrail. I set mine down next to hers, and, without saying goodbye, turned sharply and rushed off to the shuttle that had already been waiting for me for some time.

M
y fleet spent no more time dallying in Sector Seven, and the ships set off toward the Parn system. The status of this system, having been opened to connect Perimeter Sectors Seven and Eight just a week and a half ago, had not yet been legally settled, so I was in a rush to be the one to resolve it. The mission looked extremely simple: include the Parn system in Perimeter Sector Eight, in my zone of responsibility, before any indications about it come down from the Throne World. On our way, my fleet had grown significantly, having picked up the brand new
Tyrant
battleship from the dockyard. The awesome starship was given the name
Crown Princess Likanna
. The dock workers had proposed a list of ten names, including that one and, for understandable reasons, I stopped on precisely it. When I sent my daughter the two-minute video of the new battleship from all angles, Lika sent an answer back instantly:

"Daddy, I love you!!! By the way, Joan royl Reyekh cried for three days when she heard
Joan the Fatty
had been shot down. Her and I made up, so let me know if you have any other ships without a name. Dad, It’d be a big help."

"Alright, I'll figure something out for your buddy," I answered. A few seconds later, I saw a popup appear before my eyes:

Standing change. Joan royl Reyekh's opinion of you has improved.

Presumed personal opinion of you: +12 (warm)

Standing change. Purple House (Empire) opinion of you has improved.

Present Purple House (Empire) faction opinion of you: +11 (warm)

Bingo! A perfect example of why you should never underestimate a little crown princess, especially when that Princess is a Great House Head’s favorite granddaughter.

I did have a ship with no name: there was another
Tyrant
battleship in the final stages of construction waiting for me in Unatari. The only problem was that I had been dumb enough to promise a girl that spent a long time around me that the ship would be named
Princess Astra
, and I could not break my word as an aristocrat.

That was why I had Katerina ton Mesfelle have a talk with all battleship owners in Sectors Seven, Eight, and Nine that we thought might not be especially sympathetic to Duke Paolo royl Anjer. There were more than enough to be found, but those that also were looking to part with the awesome starships, even for serious money, were a bit harder to track down. Even my brother Roben refused to help, despite having recalled the Tesse ships from the United Orange House Fleet.

And only for a disgustingly huge amount of money, half a billion credits, did the independent Kingdom of Reikorel from Perimeter Sector Nine agree to part with its
Monarch
-class flagship. I ordered the captain of the ship to go to Unatari through Swarm territory. Yes, there was some risk that the Swarm Queen, the Iseyek Prime Nai Igir would refuse to let the lone human ship through her territory, but in that case, I had a home-brewed remedy already in mind.

At the next charging station, I visited the
Meresh
. To be honest, having already visited the large
Tria
starship several times, I was expecting huge open spaces and hallways that stretched to infinity, like on the other Swarm ship. But this one was like nothing I'd ever seen before, or even imagined. The interior of the
Meresh
was very reminiscent of the
Umoyge
light cruiser. It had the same narrow winding corridors, high number of air-lock doors, scanner frames and internal security checkpoints. These internal security mechanisms were the Swarm's way of uncovering Arites on their ships, but the battleship captain, Daisss Pi, an Arite Iseyek himself, served as a living example of how ineffective it had been. The captain of the huge Swarm battleship was a large twelve-eyed centipede of a muddled green color, though I understood well that this was only the Arite's external appearance, which he had grown comfortable in, and accustomed to. My Arite, for example, preferred looking like the blonde Bionica and stayed in that form almost all the time now.

"Crown Prince, Triasss Zess has already been thawed out. He will soon be waking up. Would you like to take a look at your enemy?" asked my Arite, translating the chirping of the other.

"I suppose I would. I've never seen an Alpha Iseyek wake up from a state of suspended animation before."

The metal curtain went up, and I saw a large cocoon lying in a dark capsule. His straitjacket was made of the same type of fabric the Iseyeks all carried rolled up on their belt. The just barely stirring Alpha Iseyek was separated from me by a thick wall of armored glass. The cocoon gave a twitch, wobbled over, and suddenly a long, spindly appendage started peeking out of a slit in the fabric. After that, it was like the fabric retracted from his curled up body and folded itself. A dark, thick slurry rushed out onto the floor, leaving Triasss Zess in a puddle with no way out due to his still disobedient appendages. It should be noted that my old acquaintance's small arms had already grown back.

"He has woken up and is able to hear, your Highness," my Arite translated the other's words once again, while the creature lying in the puddle clearly tried to listen in.

"Triasss Zess, can you hear me?" I clarified.

The enormous insect turned toward the sound. The Alpha Iseyek's eyes were deeply set into his head and covered with a transparent film. The praying mantis's vision had not yet returned, but his hearing was working fine.

"Yes, Crown Prince Georg, I can hear and understand your Highness. And I am ready to accept any punishment for my mistake, which has come at a very high price to both your fleet and the Swarm."

I frowned in dissatisfaction:

"You're lucky that you didn't come across one of my soldiers right after what happened in Kej. Then no one would've even given one rusty nail for your life. But now, I've signed a treaty saying that I have no more grievances against the Swarm. This treaty protects you specifically. As such, I will not be taking revenge. I'll say more. Now I offer you the chance to earn Nai Igir, the Swarm Queen's, forgiveness."

The creature on the floor gave a start and tried to pull his eyes out from his chitin head, though he did not find success.

"I agree to any conditions in advance, Crown Prince. What will I have to do?"

"As soon as you wake all the way up, you will take one of my fleet's frigates and go to the Dekeye system capital as fast as you can possibly get there. There you will meet with the Swarm Queen and give her a small package from me."

The praying mantis clearly got tense, so I hurried to calm him:

"The box is not sealed, so you and any of the Iseyek Prime's guards can make sure that there is nothing dangerous to the Queen in it. I'll tell you what's inside though: an Emerald Star medal and the certificate to go with it with the name Nai Igir printed inside. It is a sign of the Empire's recognition for the help the Swarm has given us in the war against the Aliens. Also inside the box, you will find a scroll with a message to Nai Igir from me personally. If you bring both of those objects to the Queen, I can guarantee that she will forgive you."

* * *

And there it is, the Parn system. Two gas giants and a whole swarm of different-sized satellites slowly orbiting a dull brown dwarf. The gloomy star system had no planets or moons suitable for human life. It was also expected to be difficult to grow normal human plants in space greenhouses there, due to the particular characteristics of the local star, and its distance from large centers of civilization... All the same, even without my advisor Katerina ton Mesfelle's hints, I understood perfectly how high the value of the Parn system was as a conduit between two huge star regions. The Parn bypass allowed freighters to save up to three weeks when going between Perimeter Sectors Seven and Eight, as well as being the only possible path for heavy combat starships to take.

That was why the first thing I did upon arriving was to head out to the scout ships that discovered the Parn star system for humanity and installed a warp beacon in it. The huge starship, no smaller than my
Uukresh
, was a full-fledged, self-sufficient flying city, with around fifteen thousand people living in it. The huge, five-hundred-yard-high gold letters on the side of the giant flashed back in an orange flame in the light of the Parn star, revealing the words "Star Mutt."

"The ship was built more than seven hundred years ago in the Throne World and, since that time, it has been furrowing the endless depths of space," Bionica informed me, clearly having found the information in some encyclopedia. "
Star Mutt
has found more than one hundred thirty new star systems on its path and has installed twenty-four warp beacons for humanity, all of which are still in use today. This is the very ship that discovered Tesse three hundred eighty years ago and, before that, it also made Nessi, Unguay, and Himora accessible to humanity as well. An interesting fact about this scout ship is that it has only hired crew one time. All of its current inhabitants are the descendants of the very first astronauts who set out on their mission seven centuries ago. There is a strict caste system on the ship and complete control over birth rate: every crew member knows when to have children, and how many they can have."

I stopped my secretary's intriguing story with a wave, as we had arrived. It was a huge titan of a ship. It's dock entrance was guarded by energy shields and an uncountable number of high-speed turrets. Someone was waiting for us when we got out. A tall, gray-bearded man was standing in front of me in a pair of gray overalls. There were ten armed figures wearing dark armored space suits.

"Crown Prince Georg?" I couldn't see any distinguishing features on the old man's face. The popup information was also missing, so I asked the name of the man who had addressed me.

"Tazar ton Akad, twenty-third captain of the
Star Mutt
. I suspect it must have been just curiosity that brought a man as busy as your Highness to visit my ship. Let's go to my office, Crown Prince. There we'll be able to talk face to face. But, if possible, could you leave your people, and especially that huge praying mantis here? My team leads a very isolated lifestyle and I'm not sure how they would react to outsiders like that."

"All clear. He is not thinking of doing anything bad," Florianna reassured me.

I answered the captain, that only the Truth Seeker and her silent minions would be with me. The captain quickly sized up the little Flora with a look, then took a slightly longer look at the four gigantic pill bugs around her, and gave his permission. I asked all my guards, even the Chameleons, to stay by the shuttle. The captain's guards also mostly stayed in the hangar. Only two bodyguards came with us. We went up on an elevator several stories and came out into a big, verdant greenhouse. On the plastic path, which wound whimsically between ponds of brightly colored fish, Tazar ton Akad led us to a transparent door, with a small office behind it. The captain pointed me to a soft couch, having already taken a seat on the one opposite it.

"Crown Prince. Let me try to guess why you're on my ship. You're thinking of acquiring the Parn system. Am I right?"

I was not able to hide the surprise on my face at the captain's insightfulness, and Tazar ton Akad smiled happily, clearly satisfied at the impression he'd made.

"How much for the system?" I asked, deciding to take a similarly direct line.

Katerina and I had already tried to calculate how much I could afford to pay for the strategically important star system, and had come to three billion credits. I would need to spend another billion and a half on building a nice station with freight terminals, defense systems and a large number of starship charging slots. That was why I listened to the captain's offer carefully, somewhat worried inside that I would have enough money in my budget. But, the
Star Mutt
captain's answer surprised me:

"Crown Prince, it must be hard for you to understand, but not everything in this world can be measured in money. Here on board
Star Mutt
, for example, we have no use for it. People simply live, do their job and get the goods they need. What do they need money for?"

"You must need something, though," I hinted, not believing it could be true. "Fuel for the reactors, replacement parts, new kinds of crops, more powerful computers, fresh star maps..."

Tazar ton Akad, shaking his head "no," while still holding a well-meaning smile on his face, replied:

"The Empire provides us all these things for absolutely nothing. We're gonna get a new warp beacon in a few weeks, too and, many years from now, we'll place it in a new star system we've discovered for our race. That is our work, our holy mission, and humanity provides us with everything we need to carry it out... All the same, there is something that would make me agree to give your Highness ownership of the Parn system."

I looked inquisitively at the captain, but he suddenly interrupted me, asking both of his guards to leave and keep watch over the door. The two identical armored figures unquestioningly carried out their captain's order and went into the greenhouse.