New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) (21 page)

"Admiral, with all due respect, you are mistaken," Bionica said, checking something on a palmtop computer. "There are at least five known
Quasars
in Great House possession. The Blue House has one, the Purple has another, and the Green House has a whole three. All of them were built this year. It is also known that another two ships were blown up before being finished in the Tairan system, the former Red House capital, to make sure the Aliens wouldn't get their hands on them."

"You'd know better, hunk of metal. If all Great Houses were given permission to build them recently, I see nothing surprising in the fact that the Orange House got the go-ahead from the Emperor to build a
Quasar
, as well as all the blueprints necessary to do so. I even suspect that the reason for this was the battle in the Orange House Capital system. When the Sector Eight Fleet’s
Uukresh
displayed its extremely high effectiveness against a fleet of battleships, making them legal to own became non-negotiable."

I smiled at the memory. Yes, that battle had ended excellently. My fleet held out until our allies came against the whole Orange House, and the enemy couldn't do a thing to stand up to the thousands of drones from the
Uukresh
and
Curses
.

"Duke Valesy, can the
Quasar
get off the ground?" I clarified, but all he could do was shrug his shoulders.

Bionica then, studying the video, reassured me:

"The
Quasar
is in working order. The warp drives and main thrusters have already been installed. I don't see all the shield generators on the hologram, and the interior trim is not finished either. It is also totally lacking weaponry."

"In any case, this is a very valuable trophy, which must be brought to the Fia system immediately for completion. Duke, you can handle this issue yourself. Also, get together a list of the soldiers and commanders who distinguished themselves there. I will personally give them medals."

"My King, there is one more thing..."

I cut my former father-in-law off half way through the sentence and told him that he could address me as he had always done, by my first name, no titles needed. The old man smiled and continued:

"My assault troops captured the residential barracks at the Varan docks and detained over seven thousand people living there until further orders could be given. Most of them are workers at the orbital docks, but there were another couple hundred students from the Nessi Space Military Academy. All of them just graduated. They were being trained to crew the
Quasar
."

"Great news! You can let the workers go. They should get back to work. The docks will soon have some orders coming in. The students, though, should be informed of the political situation, then you should suggest that they swear loyalty to Unatari. Whoever refuses, arrest them. Those who agree should be put on the
Quasar
to fly it to Fia. They should be accompanied by the assault troops, though. Once there, my Truth Seeker will check their loyalty and out any potential traitors."

The old man took a bow and signed off. I turned to those gathered with the mission of thinking over the issue of why the Emperor suddenly changed the rules and allowed Great Houses to have heavier ships. Just a year ago, I had to explain to the Joint Chiefs why I had an
Uukresh
in my fleet, chalking it up to the unique nature of the situation and softening it by saying I was only renting the mothership from the Swarm temporarily. But now, all limitations on heavy ship ownership by Great Houses had been removed, and that was strange. Everyone went silent, not knowing what to say. I explained my interest in the issue:

"The only thing coming to mind for me is that the Imperial Fleet now has even heavier and more powerful ships, which would make the restriction on carriers in private aristocratic armies outdated. Bionica, check that out. Perhaps there is an android out there with information on superheavy ships."

Bionica shook her head in the negative.

"Crown Prince Georg, I already checked. No androids know anything about combat ships heavier than
Quasar
anywhere in Imperial space. Only the Aliens have starships of heavier classes than that."

"We should still check. This is the big-time now. Unatari is an independent government, and it is important for me to know what kind of forces other players have on the star map. Arite, I sent the money for twenty spies of your race today. After you prepare them, their first mission will be figuring out the exact size and composition of all fleets currently in Imperial space, and searching for superheavy ships."

* * *

I found myself in the medical wing of
Bride of Chaos
after some exhausting exercises in the gym. All my muscles were trembling so hard they were buzzing. My arms were shaking. A salty sweat was running into my eyes and streaming down my back. But I was prepared to make peace with all that, thinking it was the inevitable consequence of strength training. I was scared by something else, though. My heart was pounding rabidly. My upper blood pressure jumped to almost two hundred and was stubbornly refusing to go back down, leaving me with a nasty feeling, so I had to discontinue the exercising immediately.

The Crown Prince's flabby body was resisting all the use and strain, not wanting to return at accelerated pace to the more-or-less normal condition it had been in eight months prior. Pressing issues with my heart and joints crawled out of the woodwork, evidence of insufficient muscle tissue, an effect of crystal abuse. As such, I was forced to ask my personal doctor Nicosid Brandt for help. The old doctor heard my wishes out attentively, not forgetting to record the data-readers' outputs from my whole body on his tablet as he did so.

"We have already discussed how the addiction can be broken, Crown Prince. I could prepare microcapsules again, and inject them, but there's no guarantee you won't just order me to remove them again."

That meant Mr. G.I. himself had forced the old doctor to remove the capsules from my shoulders. The idiot! After my first contract, I had left him with a more-or-less healthy body, but my substitute had spoiled it all.

"I had one moment of weakness eight months ago, and now I am paying dearly for that mistake. I won't go back to the drugs ever again. You have my word as a Crown Prince!"

"Alright, I understand, your Majesty. I also understand your desire to lose weight quickly. What weight does the Crown Prince consider optimal?"

"I would like to reach one hundred ninety pounds three months from now."

The doctor stopped writing, set his tablet aside and looked me right in the eye.

"Crown Prince, you currently weigh three hundred pounds. With such a weak heart, it is extremely risky to lose weight in such an extremely short time span. As your personal doctor, I am categorically opposed to such a taxing program; it's too dangerous. I can help you lose forty pounds in three months without damaging your health, over a hundred is out of the question."

"Alright, let's say forty then. I am relying completely on your experience here. But as for my other issue, I need..."

I didn't finish the sentence, but Nicosid Brand had already figured out what I was after.

"Yes, I understand your wish, Crown Prince. I assure you that in a few months of treatment, your manhood will be back in working order. If you need it earlier... Don't be embarrassed, come to the medical wing. I can give you drugs for it. But as for your irregular heartbeat..."

The doctor's speech was interrupted by an incoming message from the communications officer.

"Your Majesty, the Truth Seeker Marian Sabati would like to speak with you. For some reason the call is coming from the Almir system, in the Imperial Core."

Marian Sabati? The ghoulish child-killing avenger of the former Orange House Head? This could hardly have been another attempt at assassination, right? I demanded the Arite be found and brought in immediately. Florianna's voice rang out in my head just then:

"She has been badly weakened by the death of her master. Crown Prince, I would be capable of holding off any attack she could make now."

The Arite appeared, and, as I commanded, changed form to that of me in ceremonial uniform. I then stood aside, preparing to watch on the reserve monitor, remaining invisible to Marian. The fat graying man plopped down laboriously into an armchair in front of a huge screen with an old man's groan. He buttoned up his collar and spoke into the microphone with a powerful voice:

"Put her through!"

On screen, a tired looking middle-aged woman appeared with a gaunt face and black circles under her eyes. Somehow, I remembered Marian Sabati completely differently. She had been a dark-haired, constantly smiling girl no older than twenty by appearance, perfectly preserved at her ninety years and change. Nevertheless, the character popup confirmed that this was precisely the same woman:

Marian Sabati

Age: 92

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Class: Mystic

Achievements: Master Psionic, Kills with a Glance, Punisher, Childkiller, Betrayed Master, Killed Master, Deserter, WANTED CRIMINAL!!!

Fame: 44

Reputation: -87

Presumed personal relationship: Unknown

Well, would you look at that! My jaw simply fell to the floor in surprise. Marian Sabati already had enough ghoulish descriptors in her info before. Childkiller, or Punisher, for example, but the list of achievements she had now looked simply shocking. And here I thought I had lots of dubious stuff in my profile. Marian Sabati's list of "achievements," though, made a somewhat bigger impression.

"I'm in no mood to joke around. I'm not planning on any acts of hostility, either," the Truth Seeker uttered, barely having looked at the Arite. "I wanted to talk with the ruler of Unatari himself, not his double."

Though it may not have been my smartest move from a safety standpoint, I came on screen and gave a slight nod of my head to greet the ghastly woman. Marian Sabati took one glance at me in my sweat-soaked work-out clothes and began to speak. I heard notes of clear desperation in her voice:

"Georg, only a few people in the whole Empire know what really happened yesterday: you, me and some people in your inner circle. Even the Truth Seekers gathered for your assassination did not know who exactly the target of the focused attack was. So, the fact that my master died at the same time was sufficient reason to suspect me of murdering Duke Avalle royl Anjer. The Orange House coroner carried out my master's autopsy with the help of an official representative of the Dark Mother, and they came to the unambiguous conclusion that he died violently at the hands of a powerful Truth Seeker. The Orange House Head, Duchess Inessa royl George ton Mesfelle immediately accused me of secretly working for Unatari and killing Duke Avalle royl Anjer ton Mesfelle, giving me a death sentence in absentia as punishment. With the death of my master, I lost practically all power. As such, the only thing I could actually do was flee Orange House space to the Imperial Core. But even here, I didn't find protection. The Imperial secretariat agreed with the Orange House accusations, and confirmed the death sentence."

The woman on screen suddenly fell to her knees:

"Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle, I officially request asylum in the Unatari State. I realize perfectly well that your Majesty has no particular basis to trust me, but I am prepared to swear by my abilities as a Truth Seeker and on my life that I will not bring harm to your Majesty, nor anyone close to you. I would do anything to prove my faithfulness to you as my new master."

Marian Sabati was kneeling in silence, awaiting my reaction. I then called my cousin Katerina royl Unatari and clarified what information was in the official Unatari State press release on the death of the Orange House Head.

"Cousin, it's a whole story... While I was preparing the official, angry version explaining the killing of Duke Avalle as a response to an assassination attempt on you, the Orange House managed to declare that the ancient Duke Avalle had died of natural causes. After that, it seemed somewhat strange and even stupid to out ourselves for having murdered the Head of the Orange House and so, I limited my scope, turning it into an official condolence letter. And then the miracles began. The Duke's own Truth Seeker was accused of his murder, and she even fled, confirming all their suspicions in the process. As you understand, it now looks like we are not at all involved in this matter. But tell me, why are you asking?"

"Duke Avalle's former Truth Seeker is requesting asylum on Unatari territory."

"Under no circumstances, Georg! She is a wanted criminal in the whole Empire for the murder of a member of the upper aristocracy! She will be given the death penalty, as will anyone who can be labeled an accomplice or accessory. Refuse her and immediately inform the authorities of the star system the call is coming from!"

I hung up with Katerina and turned back to Marian Sabati, who was still kneeling. The woman had already somehow guessed my intention to refuse to give her asylum and, looking me right in the eyes, said: