Beyond Death (Perimeter Defense Book #2) (3 page)

"Almost eight hundred people are waiting to speak with you long distance," an officer reminded me delicately.

"First put through my daughter, Likanna, then the monarch of the Kingdom of Veyerde, if they are still in the list. The rest you should reject, or at least let them wait until tomorrow. I just don't have the energy to talk any more today."

"Dad!" My daughter's joyful scream forced me to smile. "We were watching every broadcast in the palace! I was so worried for you! You're like super cool. I'm so proud of you."

Tears of joy welled up in my eyes. These are truly the moments you live for! Whether I was in a game or not no longer made any difference. I had accepted this world and considered it real. I would defend my daughter from danger and was prepared to give my life for her, if it was required. I promised Lika I would fly to her in Unatari in a day and quickly hung up as not to cry in front of her.

The incoming call signal interrupted my thinking. I was expecting it to be Astra's father, so I could fulfill my promise, but it turned out to be someone else on the line. The Dark Mother! I could not have been more surprised. The old woman, clothed head to toe in a black robe, was smiling from ear to ear and said:

"Your servant tried to reject my call. Let him know the muteness will pass in two days. That ought to calm him down. As a matter of fact, August asked me to remind you that he expects his experts to have unrestricted access to the Hnelle system and the captured Alien ship. Captain Mwaur Zen-Bey is coming. You should remember him. He inspected the battle site at the Vorta beacon. I, though, wanted to talk about something else entirely. How is the paralyzed girl doing?"

With difficulty, I picked my jaw up off the floor. We basically hadn't told anyone about the tragic event yet. How could the Dark Mother know anything about the incident? The old lady laughed:

"I could say a great many words about my infinite power, and you would believe me. But the truth is much more banal. Your doctor was wondering about unusual symptoms, making a bunch of requests, including to various archives. I was told about his interest in a strange injury, and putting two and two together from there was quite simple. Was it Miya?"

Lying to such a powerful Truth Seeker would be useless and dangerous to boot, so I confirmed the Dark Mother’s suspicions, telling her the slightly condensed version I had earlier told Katerina ton Mesfelle.

"That means Miya is pregnant... That's what I thought, to be honest. A daughter? Well, let it be a daughter... An interesting picture is coming together. I don't envy your wife, Marta, right now. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

I nodded and answered:

"If Miya's child is born and we are legally married, she will become a crown princess with full rights to the thrones of both the Orange House and the Empire. If Miya is not my legal wife before the birth, my daughter will just be a 'ton' without rights to thrones, or she could even end up a complete bastard, not belonging to the aristocracy at all."

"That's right. Knowing Miya's character, I can say confidently that she will only except the first of those two options, which is what puts Marta in such an unenviable position. It wouldn't be good for Miya to kill her, given that that would seriously complicate her own life. But she could mess up her nerves. Alright, I'll try to protect Marta..."

Having unexpectedly made up my mind, I asked a question I had long ago wondered about, secretly hoping that by doing so I wasn't revealing my complete ignorance:

"Dark Mother, I recently realized that I know almost nothing about Miya. She's been my Truth Seeker for quite a long time, but before she left, it never occurred to me that she could be hiding something. The fact that Miya was there was all that mattered. But now, with Miya gone, I look back and realize that I know very little about my companion. What can you tell me about Miya?"

The Dark Mother cackled back her reply:

"Oh, Georg, Georg... What do you want to know from me? You lived side by side with Miya for fifteen years, and you think
I
have anything to tell
you
about her? Well, OK. I'll tell you what I know. She first caught my attention as a talented Truth Seeker sometime around the end of the war with the Iseyek. At that time, Miya was in the retinue of Admiral Mayf ton Mesfelle, and his fleet finally began to push back against the Swarm. Perhaps you'd be interested to know that it was Miya and several other Truth Seekers that served as the reason for the Iseyek to begin their research in the field of psionic defense.

After that, Miya fell out of my field of view for a long time, then suddenly, seventy years later, she appeared with your father, Inoky. For a mediocre man who was in no way remarkable, Count Inoky’s rise was sharp and sudden. He received the Tesse star system and the very rich ice system Damir for his service, becoming one of the most influential aristocrats in the Empire and a clear candidate for Head of the Orange House at the same time. Miya progressed together with her master; they understood one another perfectly. The only thing that could bring an end to your father’s blistering ascent was his untimely death. The downing of the shuttle was investigated thoroughly. I also looked into the crash site, but it really did appear to be an accident.

You know what comes next: Tesse was given to Roben, Damir to your twin sister, and you were given Miya. All the aristocrats were waiting with bated breath for the day the unusually skilled Truth Seeker’s power would be revealed, and your rise would begin, but instead you fell in love with your Miya... And only now, a decade and a half later, has your rise begun. Clearly, Miya spent a long time planning and arranging the current circumstances, and her pregnancy was part of that. Only when with child can a Truth Seeker truly make the most of her powers... Anyway, enough about Miya. Together with Captain Mwaur Zen-Bey there will be medics coming to take the wounded girl from you. I'll see if it's possible to help her in any way."

F
inally, for the first time in several days, I was able to get a good night's rest! I woke up in an excellent state of mind, a bit earlier than my alarm clock even, and the first thing I saw next to me was Astra in another transparent night shirt.

"That's a fun tattoo! It's a good picture of Boydur the Hero, even though it's strange to see him on the body of such a stern crown prince, the vanquisher of the diabolical Aliens."

I figured out that the Princess was talking about the winged donkey on my shoulder. And yes, I was also bothered by the tattoo. I hadn't stopped thinking about it since my first day in the game. How many times was I ready to sink into the ground when I saw my burly fitness instructor or some stern assault soldiers training in the hall, straining to hold back laughter when looking at my left shoulder?

"An error of my youth," I tried to joke. "I just can't find the time to have it removed or changed into something more appropriate to my status."

"My Prince, you know, I could help you fix it!" Astra suggested unexpectedly. "I'm not bad at drawing, and I could tattoo anything you like on your skin. I've even practiced on Flora alread
y–
she has a pretty bouquet of flowers on her back between her shoulders and a phoenix that fell into a spider web on her left leg.

I imagined Mr. G.I.'s reaction seeing, instead of his beloved winged donkey, a grinning skull or a fiery bird flying among the stars on his shoulder, and agreed to have it done just for that. The girl moved closer, allegedly to take a better look at the drawing, but she also tenderly ran her palm over my shoulders and chest, cooing:

"The price of my work is a romantic evening together. Sound good? I spent the whole day yesterday cooped up in here. Your Highness had all kinds of adventures and entertainment: the battle with the Aliens, news reports being sent to the whole Empire, the assault of a large ship, a conversation with the Emperor... And this whole time I was sitting around here with nothing to do!"

I laughed happily. It was just too unexpected to hear that yesterday, I had not been fearlessly repelling an Alien invasion, but was in fact high on the hog having the time of my life. Understanding Astra and her interpretation of reality wasn’t always easy. When the girl tried to caress me again, I tenderly stopped her hand and pulled the Princess to myself:

"I agree to your price. And this is just an advance," I embraced Astra and kissed her on the lips.

The Princess froze in fear for a second, then began returning the kiss. The fact that Bionica opened the door at that very moment with a tray was, well, not very timely.

"Hey, I asked you to knock before coming in to the Crown Prince's room!" Astra said judgmentally.

The android girl said nothing, simply placing the tray of teacups on the table, before closing the door behind her on her way out. I waited a few more seconds to be sure and pulled my playful favorite back to me. We joked around and talked for three minutes, kissing and stroking one another, when suddenly the door opened again.

"Not again! I swear I'll kill her!" Astra whispered, bristling.

However, it was not the android that came into the room, but Katerina ton Mesfelle with a digital tablet in her hands. Astra darted out of the room, covering herself with a big pillow, and went to go get dressed.

"I see I have not come at the best time," my cousin said, instantly appraising the situation. "It's just that your translator told me that you were already awake, so I decided to come down and discuss some issues."

Making a mental note to talk with Bionica, I calmed my cousin down and invited her to a light breakfast. Katerina looked tired, which I told her honestly right then.

"I still haven't gone to sleep. I'm not even done dealing with the consequences of yesterday yet," my assistant laughed, gratefully accepting a mug of energizing drink from my hand. "I talked to all the important people in your name already. The ones you didn't get to anyway. By the way, Georg, you shouldn't have rejected so many calls. The Imperial Space Marshal was there, and the head of the Joint Chiefs, and Duke Takuro royl Andor from the Purple House. They are very important people and are not accustomed to being refused a conversation. I did a pretty good job on damage control though. No one was especially offended. The old Duke was almost brought to tears when he found out that the flagship of Fleet Eight is named
Joan the Fatty
in honor of his beloved great-granddaughter. So the Purple House offers support to your fleet in the form of experienced officer squads and access to their combat ship market. That last one is very useful to you, by the way, and will allow you to get around the ship embargo Duke Paolo placed on you.

I commended my cousin for the excellent work, though I noted that I would only be able to receive destroyers and frigates from the Purple House. Only they could be disassembled and transported through the Core without breaking any Imperial laws. Unfortunately, the same trick wouldn't work with larger ships. I would only be able to buy those at Sector Eight docks, which were now closed to me – or begin building my own, given enough materials, experienced specialists and orbital docks.

"And another thing: I found some kind of sketchy ‘Sector Eight Fleet Aid Fund,’ which has been collecting funds in the Imperial Core, supposedly for your benefit. I sicked the financial inspectors on them. Let the investigators figure out what kind of fund it is and how much they were able to collect."

I heard my cousin out carefully and expressed for the hundredth time how helpful a decision it had been to bring her over to my side. When I told her, Katerina began to laugh:

"Georg, I've already told you that my defining characteristic is my quick decision making. And it was precisely that characteristic that brought me here. Before you were brought to report to the Emperor again, I carefully studied all the accusations against you and figured out that you would most likely get out of it again. And so I thought: on the one hand, I had the possibility of going pale before the Emperor himself when the accusations inevitably melt away a second time; or, on the other hand, I could come over to Crown Prince Georg's side, who is quickly gaining in popularity. I chose the second, and that was why I got in touch with you and warned you about the danger. During my conversation with you, I kept trying to think up any reason for you to offer me a job. But it turned out that I didn't have to think anything up. You offered me more than I was expecting to receive all on your own."

We both laughed and agreed that the situation came together quite successfully and our cooperation was beneficial to both of us. Making use of the occasion, I asked the long-ago-unanswered question about what my new assistant was expecting to be paid. Katerina dealt with that issue with surprising indifference:

"Georg, it's up to you. I know you won't insult me, and this job has already paid dividends for me. After all, the most important thing in my line of work is name awareness."

Intrigued, I opened the popup on my cousin:

Katerina ton Mesfelle, speaker of the Sector Eight Fleet

Age: 28

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Relation to you: Your second cousin

Class: Aristocrat

Achievements: Master of Rhetoric, Participant in the capture of the Alien battleship in the Hnelle system.

Fame: +9

Standing: +8

Presumed personal opinion of you: +30 (warm)

At first, I got caught up on the part about "participant in the capture of the battleship" and didn't understand right away what she was talking about. Then I looked at her fame and couldn't even believe my eyes. With the series of reports from the attacked Hnelle system, Katerina had been able to raise her fame by seven points in one go! That's what I'm talking about! I wonder what mine looks like. However, when I opened my own characteristics, I was met by something of a disappointment:

Fame: +11

Standing: -14

Yeah, they had gone up, though not nearly as much as my cousin's. But all the same, I was in quite a good mood.

"Name your price, cousin. How should I pay you? I could offer you a luxurious island with a palace on Unatari, I could give you profit shares from the ice processing facility on Tivalle, or if you prefer the boring way, I could pay you in money."

"I don't need a lot. Any of those would make me happy. What kind of palace are we talking about here?”

I started describing the tropical island with the wonderful palace, many rooms and all that, but I was suddenly interrupted by a whole bouquet of incoming system messages.

Global standing decrease. Current value -15

Standing change. Green House (Empire) opinion of you has worsened.

Present Green House (Empire) faction opinion of you: -31 (opposed)

Standing change. Green House opinion of Orange House has worsened.

Present Green House opinion of Orange House: -7 (mistrust)

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

Present Kingdom of Veyerde opinion of you: +5 (warm)

I raised my eyes, perplexed, and saw that Katerina had also clearly been thrown off. She was smiling only with the corners of her mouth and said, not hiding her surprise:

"I just received a strange message. The Green House reduced their opinion of me and the whole Orange House. It can't have taken that long for the news about me switching sides to the Orange House to have reached Duke Amelius royl Mast ton Lavaelle, can it?"

"I don't think you're the reason, cousin. It's just that I also just got my own set of relationship worsening messages from the Green House and at the same time an improvement with the Kingdom of Veyerde. It was probably something connected with Princess Astra again. You were included just for being here and of course as a belated 'thank you' for switching sides to the Orange House.”

Just then a message came in from the officer about a long-distance call from the Kingdom of Veyerde.

"Now we'll get this figured out!" I smiled to Katerina and gave permission for the call.

The monarch, Kant royl Pikar ton Veyerde, was looking especially regal today. With a proud face, a luxurious royal robe and a gold crown on his head, he looked to be at least one of the first in line to the Emperor's throne, and not the ruler of a puny settlement on a remote planet.

"Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle, I'm glad I got the chance to speak with you. I have noticed that your Highness has grown close with Princess Astra, and I am sure that my daughter will do her best to make sure you keep liking her. I am confident that you will not leave her without support in any case. That is why I today, with a light heart, refused Baron Henrik ton Lavaelle and officially broke Princess Astra's engagement with him."

"Yes, I already noticed the Green House's reaction to that," I said with dissatisfaction in my voice.

The King smiled sadly.

"Your Highness may think me out of place and even tactless, but I had my reasons, and I will try to explain. As you perhaps already know from the news, seven hours ago the Aliens attacked the Nayal system and cut our star system off from the Empire. The Sector Seven Fleet retreated, and now we're expecting the Alien ships to arrive in our system any minute. My mother-in-law, Fesilia, Astra and Flora's grandmother, was a spontaneous Truth Seeker and somehow foretold this tragic day, even naming this very date. And though she wasn't always right in her predictions, I always held this date in mind and tried to have all my daughters out of here, safely in the Empire in any case. Also, my trusted representatives have taken most of the Kingdom's children out under various pretexts. The men are staying to fight. Yes, we are fully aware that there is no chance of rescue, but the soldiers of the Kingdom of Veyerde will fight to the last breath to defend our motherland. My whole fleet, just four outdated frigates are prepared to meet the enemy and die with honor..."

The King froze, clearly listening to a message, then went silent and asked to be put through to his daughter. It wasn't possible to get ahold of Astra. She clearly heard the conversation with her father and was now standing in her room, pale and worried.

"My daughter, the Aliens have just arrived in Veyerde. I've been informed about two
Hermit
destroyers and many flat disks that these invaders carry their landing troops in. This is our last conversation, and there's so much I wish I could tell you... You know how difficult it has been for me to collect dowry for your sisters. After paying for Rosa, Liana and Fialka, there was only forty thousand credits left. Under different circumstances, I would be ashamed at having left such a modest dowry for my daughters, but I simply had no choice. Astra, you are my favorite daughter, but I have nothing to give you other than a father's advice and parting words. And before the enemies cut off the line, I'll rush to give you my final instruction. It would be hard for you to wish for a better patron than his Highness Crown Prince Georg. Help him, hold on to him, find your special place in the Crown Prince's retinue and never give it up to anyone. Remember old Fesilia's prediction. There was a lot about you specifically. I'll leave my crown by the small waterfall, in that little hole where you used to hide your toys from your sisters. And if you ever get back to Veyerde, the symbol of its power will await you.