Spirit of Empire 4: Sky Knights (35 page)

“More circles,
”
she said.

“This is what we refer to as your star system,” George said. “Each world circles the sun on its own path. They have done so since the beginning of time.” He enhanced each planet until the detail let her distinguish which was which from his earlier, larger display. Tranxte was the second planet out from the sun, a blue and white gem.

“Is this a light-year?”

Hawke answered for George. “Sorry. It’s not even close, but it’s so far that not even the Sky Lord and I can fully appreciate the distance. We understand it on a conceptual level, but we can’t feel these sorts of distances.”

George added, “I can and I do. It’s one of the things that makes me alien.”

The four of them stood looking down on the Tranxte system for a long time. “In it’s own way, it’s beautiful,” Atiana said. “It feels so perfect.”

“It is perfect, but only from a distance,” Havlock said. “The sun is so hot that nothing can get near it. Most planets are either too hot or too cold to support life. Civilizations like yours are so rare that we consider it our duty to protect them. It’s a real shame what’s happened to Tranxte.”

“But it has happened, and we’re going to fix it. Is my lesson over?”

Havlock squeezed her virtual hand. “No, it’s just begun.”

“I hope you stay long enough for me to understand this in its fullness some day.”

He grinned. “Do you see me doing anything else?”

“Truthfully, no. I think we’re both staring at our home.”

George interrupted. “You’re nearly done for today, Atiana. I just want to show you a little more. He brought another star into her view. “The new star is Aldebaran, our destination. It, too, has a system of planets. Aldebaran is the planet closest to its sun, so we call it Aldebaran I.”

A moment later, a few more stars appeared, then many more. Before long, thousands and thousands of tiny lights filled her view.

“Each of these stars is home to a civilization of one kind or another. They comprise our Empire,” George explained.

“So every star has its own civilization, most of them more advanced than Tranxte?”

“Not exactly. These stars have civilizations, yes, but they are only a tiny piece of the whole.” George added more stars, then all the stars in the galaxy. The blackness turned light, so many more stars springing into view that their light filled the room. In places, there were so many stars that they appeared as a haze.

“These are the rest of the stars. Though there are many civilizations in our Empire, they comprise only a tiny, tiny part of the whole galaxy. That is why Tranxte matters to us. We treat all life as a rare and precious thing.”

* * * * *

Havlock found himself wide awake in the early hours of the morning. He tossed for a while, then just got up and dressed in clean clothes for a new day.

“George,” he asked into the room, “This uniform will be out of place when we get to Aldebaran. I haven’t given up my military rank yet, but I’m sort of a civilian now. Do you carry any extra clothes on board?”

“No, Gar, but I have the ability to fabricate most items. What would you like?”

“Something appropriate for a governor, I suppose, but not formal. Got any ideas?”

“The Queen dresses formally only for special occasions. I think she’ll wear what she calls ‘comfortable working.’ Everyone else will follow her example.”

“The Queen! She’s on Aldebaran?”

“Unless she’s traveling, which she does a lot. She made Aldebaran her temporary home until the Palace is ready.”

He considered Atiana. “Queen Atiana said she would wear no fine clothes until the last gleason is gone from her lands. I don’t think that’s going to work here. If it’s not asking too much, she needs another set of whatever she’s been wearing. Something similar would work for me as well.”

“You might want to consult with someone else. I’m not the best judge when it comes to clothes. In the meantime, her outfit appears to be made of leather, suitable for riding gorlacs and saurons I suppose. I can duplicate it but make it finer in the process. Your’s could be similar.”

“Actually, her clothes were made on our transporter. I was thinking of something more stylish, but what she has will work. Can you make something for me and the rest of my people that resembles hers? I don’t want her feeling out of place.”

“She looks like she’s from a frontier world, which she is. All of you will. Terran officers who come aboard usually wear a non-formal uniform from their own world. You’ll stand out just as they do, but you won’t look poor. I’m better than that.”

“Hmm. Okay, if you’re that good, can you make a fine dress?”

“She said she would wear no fine clothes.”

“I hope to make an exception. Depends on how long we stay on Aldebaran. I’m hoping to take her out on a date.”

“Would a queen’s gown suffice?”

“No. That’s too formal.”

“Sorry, Gar. You’re out of my knowledge base now. I suppose I could copy something other females have worn on the ship, but most of them have been working.”

“Let me do some checking around. I’ll get back to you. Do you by any chance have music?”

“Lots of it. I’ll send you a list. Check your pad.”

* * * * *

He was busy working on the wish list he hoped to give to Governor Seeton when he heard knocking on his door. “Open,” he said to George.

The door snicked aside and Atiana stepped into the room. “Doesn’t look like I’m interrupting your sleep,” she said, smiling. “May I come in?”

“Please,” he said, standing up and pointing to a nearby chair. To George, he said, “Leave the door open, George.”

“Aye, sir.”

Atiana sat and stared up at the ceiling. “You have musicians aboard?” she asked. “I didn’t know!”

Havlock stepped behind her chair and put a hand on each of her shoulders, then leaned forward and kissed the top of her hair. “Good morning, My Lady.”

She leaned back into his hands with her eyes closed and a warm smile lighting her face. “You’ve just made it a wonderful morning, sir.”

He kissed her head again and stepped around to the front of her chair. “And you’ve made mine. I could get used to this.”

She sobered instantly and stood up, standing very close to him, the faint music no longer on her mind. “Do you mean that?”

He looked into her eyes without answering, his eyes betraying an inner turmoil. She tilted her head in a question, but he still did not answer. When he finally spoke, he spoke softly, having made a decision to say something that could never be unsaid.

“In truth I think of little else these days. I’ve been sitting here for an hour trying to work on a list of things we need for Tranxte, but my mind has been more focused on the fact that you were sleeping just through that door.”

A frisky smile found its way to her eyes as she chided him. “Sky Lords dream of maidens from a backward world?”

“In fairness, you’re not a maiden, you’re a queen. Not that it matters.”

“All the wealth of my kingdom, of my province, could never compare to what you have grown up with, sir.”

“The wealth of your kingdom lies entirely within its queen, and she has more value to me than anything or anyone I have ever known.”

Her light attitude evaporated. Her gaze delved into his as she questioned the words she had just heard. When she read the truth in his eyes, the corners of her mouth trembled and her eyes glistened. To hide her eyes from him, she stepped into his arms and pressed her head to his chest with a fierceness that surprised him. Gleasons, emerging worlds, even space ships and Riders became distant concerns for both of them. When he reached a hand to her head and leaned back, she did not hesitate. Her lips found his, hungry but soft. Her arms went tightly around his neck.

She eventually lowered her head back to his chest, and the two of them stood there for a long time. Thoughts of the outside world did eventually creep in, forcing both of them back to reality.

He was the first to pull away, though not completely away. “I won’t lie to you, My Lady. My world just changed.”

She reached trembling hands up to his face. “I have so wanted to hear those words, Gar. I’ve sensed your feelings, but you are, after all, the Sky Lord.”

He nodded. “Aye, and you’re Queen. You and I will have to figure out how to exist in two worlds at the same time. The coming few weeks will challenge you.”

“Not if there’s a third world, a world of just you and me, the world that matters most.”

He smiled in relief. He was so far out of his comfort zone that the words he had said had been almost as difficult for him as had talking to the gleason. “We’ll be busy, but I'll do my best to make sure there’s some time just for us. I'll help you through what will certainly be a strange time for you, but in truth, I might need your help, too. Compared to the people we’ll be with, I’m just a lowly soldier. You’re a lot more comfortable with knights and governors and such.”

“I disagree. The work you’re doing on Tranxte has brought you to their level. Already you’re in the presence of four Great Ones, and each of them respects you. I dare say your Queen will, as well.”

He chuckled. “She rules hundreds of thousands of civilizations, Atiana, and she’s embroiled in a war that’s engulfed all those stars we showed you. I hear she’s a bit like you, leading her forces from the front line, but the enormity of her task defies comprehension. If we’re lucky we might actually see her from a distance, but we won’t be introduced to her. I doubt if she even speaks to her servants. She might not even know what a gleason is. Do you know even one of the lowest farmers in your kingdoms?”

She stood taller. “Actually, yes, many of them. Certainly not all of them.”

“And your servants. Do you know their names?”

“Every single one. And my courtiers and my guards and my advisors.”

He blinked, frowning. “Hmm. Maybe I’m the one at fault here. I haven’t even noticed most of them.”

“As a guest, you weren’t supposed to. Will you let me introduce you to them when we get back?”

He took her in his arms again. “I’d like that, M’Lady.”

* * * * *

George welcomed Atiana into the net each day. He spent a little more time on space and light-years with her, but not a lot of time, and in truth she didn’t really comprehend much beyond the fact that great distances separated worlds. Instead of belaboring the point, George brought her into the world of small. He started with
Resolve
, leading her through the different levels of molecular and atomic structure that formed himself. When she got over her amazement enough to form a basic comprehension, George wanted to move on to biology, but she stopped him.

Looking directly at Havlock, she asked, “George, how does a blaster work?”

“Do you have ten years to devote to study?”

“No.”

Havlock interjected. “George, how about a class on elementary electronics. You know, how a light bulb works, nothing more.”

George transitioned her from the atoms in his hull to the basics of electrons and their flow through wires. She didn’t get it until Hawke chimed in.

“You’ve seen lightning, Atiana. It’s electricity, but it’s not confined and not particularly useful. When we confine lightning inside metal, it follows the path of that metal and we can use it to do things like light up or become blaster bolts.”

“Well! Of course! Why didn’t you tell me that, George? It makes complete sense.”

“I guess there’s a reason I’m a ship and he’s a Teacher,” George grumbled. “Can we move on to biology now?”

Organs, cells, blood, germs, bacteria and viruses, toxins, antibiotics, each of these things opened her eyes to a world she had never suspected. DNA and heredity were beyond her grasp, though the concept made sense and stayed with her. With George’s ability to let her see and touch each organism within the net, she actually came away with a reasonably clear picture of the basics, basics that would have been centuries beyond Tranxte’s present level of development had the Empire not intervened.

Two days out from Aldebaran, Tarn joined them in their lesson. A little while later a short, rotund teenager joined them. Tarn introduced him as a friend, and all of them participated in the class. The teenager was sharp, usually one step ahead of everyone else, and he had a sense of humor, pulling several pranks on Havlock and Atiana.

“Please, tell me your name,” Atiana asked eventually. “I don’t recall seeing you on the ship.”

“You haven’t met everyone on the ship yet. Why get entangled in names? Isn’t George giving you enough to remember?”

“That he is!” she exclaimed, laughing. “I’ll never remember all this.”

“But you’ll remember the concepts. You won’t have to worry about the details, not right away, but I suspect you’ll learn them eventually.”

“Why don’t I need to know the details?”

“Because your Rider will know them. Whatever she knows will be available to you with just a thought.”