The Empress

Sixteen

When Nina got the news that a ship was landing in Lavender City, she gathered company of her finest knights and rode out immediately. They could have reached the spaceport faster by taking a skimmer, but where was the grandeur in that? Instead, she rode her mount at the head of a column of exquisitely dressed and armored knights. Every banner fluttered, every power-sword and power-lance was set to zero-a setting that caused the weapons to run with plasma but which would do no injury if accidentally touched. It was a power level reserved for parades and the like, which was exactly what this was.

Lavender City was built within a natural canyon. Long and gently curving, the deep cut in the stony crust of Ignis Glace was one of the most thickly inhabited regions on the planet. The canyon was built in a two-third’s sunlit region. By virtue of being surrounded by higher land, the city in the shadowy depths of the canyon was given light and warmth by the sun, but not burnt by its continuous smoldering red eye. Likewise, the icy storms of Nightside had been gentled by the time they reached this far sunward. As a result, the city in this cleft among the rocks was forever cool and lush with growths. Permanent shadows stained the rocky walls around it.

As it was a center of culture for Ignis Glace, even Nina was entranced by the city’s uniqueness. There were rows of shops selling fine things only the richest merchants, or nobility with the best lands, could afford to buy. Nina had never been in either of these categories until recently, but she forbade herself to go on a shopping spree now. To do so would play directly into Duchess Embrak’s icy hands.

And so when she arrived at one end of the canyon and glided along its length, following the cobbles of Queen’s Highway, Nina was more plainly dressed than her escort. She carried no banner, and wore neither plumes nor jewelry. She wanted to appear businesslike and ready for battle. She had chosen this dress partly because it suited her, and partly to prevent Duchess Embrak from displaying vids of her wasting funds. But she also did it to impress her father, who she felt sure was aboard the small ship that had finally arrived. She knew her father was above all else a practical man, and she wanted to seem to be as similar in nature as possible upon their first meeting as two adults.

Internally, Nina thrilled as she rode, playing out the drama of the moment she met Lucas Droad in the flesh a dozen times in a dozen varied scenarios. What would he look like? He’d be old, but not as old as he should be. He’d fathered her in his late thirties with the then young, lovely Olivia. More than two decades had passed since then, but she figured with all the traveling he’d done between the stars he’d probably appear to be in his early forties still. Due to time dilation effects, he would have aged much more slowly than she had.

When she finally reached the spaceport, she found the ship was quarantined, as was often the case with rare unofficial visits from out-system. This quarantine was stricter than usual, due to the supposed imminent arrival of alien invaders. It was an understandable precaution, if a frustrating one. The only good thing was it gave her time to gather her knights at the gates of the spaceport. Her honor guard stood at attention behind her when the hatches were finally opened on the disappointingly small vessel.

A dozen other notables jockeyed for a spot in line when the Nexus officials finally allowed them into the ship’s landing pit. There was plenty of room, as it was built for much larger craft. Rather than dismount and be seen as grubbing with the other nobility, she sat her mount in front of her hundred knights calmly off to one side. The others cast doubtful glances at her. Some twittered, particularly the courtly girls from better families. They were future countesses and duchesses from the deepest valleys in Twilight. Their skins were fair and unscarred, as they’d grown up sheltered in the best climates and the least dangerous regions of the world. Nina ignored them. Let them gawk and whisper. She was above all that nonsense now. She led armies, rather than frittering about, creating digital sculptures to transmit to possible suitors.

The hatch finally opened, and yawned wide. It was oddly dark inside. A flashing of lights not unlike the arcing of a power-sword shone in the background. Could something be wrong with the ships lighting?

A wisp of vapor rolled out next. Dark and noisome, it caused those who stood closest to step back, holding their fine, patrician noses. This wasn’t encouraging either. Nina sat her mount sternly, however. The only hint of her concern was a growing frown upon her face.

The old knight Hans leaned close to her. “Are we certain this is a Nexus ship? Seems more like a smuggler’s scow.”

Nina ignored him and continued to stare. She did not want any distraction to prevent her from laying eyes on her father at his very first appearance.

Finally, a figure did appear at the top of the ramp. It was a male, unfamiliar, but distinctive. He was armed with a sheathed power-sword at his side, and his hand rested easily on the pommel. He had a shock of long black hair and an equally dark mustache that drooped at the corners of his mouth. The moment he saw the waiting crowd, he seemed to puff up a bit, pridefully. With a vague smile and watchful eyes, he swaggered forward and down the ramp.

The first man was followed by a woman. She looked attractive and capable. She wore a Nexus officer’s uniform and her hand hovered near her pistol. Whoever they were, these people seemed paranoid.

Nina, like the rest of the crowd, soon removed their attention from these two and turned her eyes back to the hatch. Surely, someone of importance was to emerge next. Neither of these two looked to be of high birth. Where was the diplomat, the official in charge of the mission?

Finally, a third figure did emerge. He was tall and thin. For a fleeting moment, Nina’s hopes were roused. Could this be her father? From a distance-but no, he could not be so gaunt. And the eyes-they were the shifting slits of a stranger. This third man to walk down the ramp appeared trepidatious and-odd. His hands fluttered at his sides, and-what was he doing now? Sniffing at the countess who greeted him with a traditional wreath of vines?

Nina’s eyes moved back to the hatchway, but no one else appeared. In fact, Nexus uniformed officials marched up to it and sealed it. They did more than that, they produced hand-welders and welded it shut.

She couldn’t contain herself any longer. She dismounted and marched into the milling, confused crowd. Her harsh manner and military dress caused others to give way, despite sneering at her.

Finally, she managed to make her way through the press of babbling nobility.

“So strange,” said one.

“Where is their lord?” asked another.

“Nexus people don’t have lords, Beatrice-only officials.”

“Such an odd smell!”

Finally reaching the red carpet, which was now being tread upon by everyone in a horrible breach of protocol, Nina confronted the rakish character with the dark mustache. He latched eyes upon her immediately and a slow smile spread over his features. “Who might you be, my dear?”

Nina frowned. “I’m Baroness Nina Droad. Who is your master? And where is he?”

“I’m Aldo Moreno,” he said, cocking his head. “And I regard no man as my master-no woman, either.”

“Well, please state your mission clearly. Are you three all that came aboard this ship? Why did the Nexus go to all the effort of sending three-people such as yourselves?”

Aldo nodded in appreciation. “Excellent questions. Much more intelligent than those posed by the rest of this crowd. I will show you.”

He escorted Nina back toward the ship. A Nexus official confronted them, but after identifying Nina and Aldo, he retreated quickly. They passed a velvet rope and walked under the ship itself.

“You see here?” Aldo said mildly. “This is where the breach occurred. They made their way up from the lower hold into the crew quarters very quickly.”

Nina gaped at what could only be described as a rip in the skin of the ship. It was in the lower cargo hatch, which would be a weak point in the hull.

“Who breached the ship?”

“Why, the aliens, of course.”

She stared at him. “They are real then? And they were chasing you?”

“Yes, and yes again.”

“What for?”

“Presumably, to prevent us from reaching Ignis Glace.”

Nina blinked and paused, absorbing this information. A foreboding sense overtook her. If they were capable of intercepting another ship at interstellar speeds-all the arrangements of the space defenses over her homeworld seemed suddenly insufficient.

“I’d understood them to be beasts, not technological wizards.”

“They are both, actually,” Aldo said mildly.

“What of the rest of the crew? There can’t be only three of you.”

Aldo nodded. “Right, well, there are only three survivors. It was a close thing, but we defeated the invaders.”

Nina’s heart went cold as the implications of what he was saying sank in. “Three survivors? Where are the rest?”

“The corpses of a dozen more are in the hold. Flash-frozen by the vacuum, I should think. We never ventured inside to check. But they are all quite dead, let me assure you.”

“Aldo, I must ask you this: what of my father?”

Aldo finally turned back to regard her thoughtfully. “Your father? Yes. You would be about the right age I suppose. Lucas Droad is your father, I presume?”

Nina steeled herself for grim news. She felt tears gathering, and she sternly ordered herself not to allow them to bubble up and stream down her cheeks. Why should she cry for a man she’d never met upon hearing of his death? She tried logic and willful stubbornness, but still she suspected she was about to begin bawling in front of this handsome, capable stranger like a princess who’d spilled her ice cream.

“He’s not aboard, my dear. He didn’t come on the trip. Instead, he sent an ambassador, who is now deceased. He also sent me to aid him.”

Nina felt numb. She was relieved and crushed all at once. “He sent others? Why didn’t he come himself?”

“He said he had some kind of-arrangement. With your mother, I believe.”

Nina sighed and walked to examine the rip in the hull more closely. “I see. My mother…of course.”

“I can tell you are upset he did not come himself. But consider: he may not have survived.”

Nina wasn’t listening to him. “My mother drove him away, and forbade him to return, I understand now. She truly was a witch.”

“Olivia Droad is your mother?” Aldo asked. “I am to speak to her.”

Nina gave a harsh laugh. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because I ran this very sword through her body some months back,” Nina said, giving her brother Leon’s sword pommel a resounding slap. “I am Olivia’s heir, the new Baroness of Droad House. You will speak with me privately tonight, after these fops are done pawing at you.”

Aldo’s eyes ran up and down her person, as if reappraising her. He nodded slowly. “Very well, Baroness.”

Aldo found that the ‘fops’, as Nina called them, were about to descend. Once they figured out no one else was coming off the ship, and realized these three disreputable-looking characters were the only living creatures aboard, they became the center of attention. Aldo, Joelle and the crazy skald Garth were all swept along in a sea of finely-scented, furred and jeweled persons. All of them spoke at once, saying useless things, but when one known as Duchess Embrak appeared, the others quieted. They soon learned the Duchess ruled here in Lavender City. It was her family’s fiefdom.

The Duchess moved through the crowd as if they were not there, and they melted at her approach, forming a bubble of space in the press. She was tall, blonde, and sour of face. She inspected each of them with cold, calculating eyes.

Aldo stood tall under her inspection, although not so tall as the Duchess herself. Joelle looked annoyed, while Garth appeared addled as always. The skald’s fingers twitched and his face moved in odd patterns. He appeared to be trying to locate an escape route. Aldo smiled faintly, he could not blame the man for that.

There was no escape for any of them, however. As she introduced herself formally, Aldo realized there were strict protocols of behavior in these situations on Ignis Glace, and no warden of protocol was more watchful than Duchess Embrak.

She waved her hand toward a large, ornate building with a roof in the shape and color of a red onion. “Let us walk.”

They followed her, and the crowd slipped away on every side as they approached. Others clearly wanted to greet them, but dared not interrupt while they were in the presence of the Duchess. If for that reason alone, Aldo appreciated her company.

“You three are the ship’s complement-in its entirety?” the Duchess asked.

“We are the survivors, yes,” Joelle answered.

The Duchess’ eyes flicked to her, then back to Aldo. “Who is in command here?”

“I am the Nexus officer in command of the ship,” Joelle said.

Again the Duchess eyed her momentarily, before regarding Aldo again. “And you are?”

“Aldo Moreno, madam. Aide to the deceased Ambassador Garant. Effectively, I’m the diplomatic representative of the Nexus Senator Lucas Droad.”

Hearing Droad’s name, the Duchess recoiled slightly, but recovered. “The original Ambassador is dead, and you claim his title?”

“I do.”

“Ambassador,” said the Duchess thoughtfully. “A respectable position.”

“That is my title,” Aldo said, deciding on the moment he liked the ring of it. Clearly, these people liked titles.

“And why have you come, Ambassador?”

“To warn you of the coming ship. The aliens aboard are very capable-like nothing humanity has faced before. We have excised them on two worlds, but only after millions lie dead in each case.”

“I see,” the Duchess said, “you realize, of course, that your government has already transmitted this warning?”

“Yes, but it is the experience of Nexus officials that local colonial governments do not always grasp the depths of the danger.”

The Duchess nodded slightly, then looked over her shoulder toward Garth, who followed them with a stumbling gait. At that moment, Garth was engaged in systematically plucking single hairs from his own head. Her lip curled a fraction. “And who is that person?”

“A skald,” Joelle said, “do you have them here? They have battled with these aliens in the distant past.”

“A skald, do you say? We have no such-persons.”

“Odd,” Aldo said. “I thought they wandered every system in the Faustian Chain.”

“Perhaps I’ve never been made aware of them. I doubt that, however. They are-distinctive.”

“Yes, well…” Aldo said, seeking to change the subject. “About your preparations for war… What kind of fleet do you have to defend this world? Have they been deployed into high orbit to intercept Gladius?”

Duchess Embrak made a flicking motion with her fingers, as if to rid herself of some fleck of filth. “The coming ship is the concern of Nexus officials. We have increased their funding, three-fold, and they have assured us they can handily destroy a single freighter the moment it enters our system.”

“Uh, right,” Joelle said. “Is there any way we can meet with these Nexus people?”

Duchess Embrak made a face that indicated a hint of disgust at the prospect. “As you are a Nexus official yourself, you should be able to pass their security curtains. People of high birth do not normally associate with off-world officials here, be warned.”

“This matter must rise above local traditions and politics, Your Grace,” Aldo said. “The aliens that are coming will not have been idle during their long years aboard Gladius. They will probably reach Ignis Glace, and wreak havoc here.”

Duchess Embrak looked surprised. “We are quite capable of defending ourselves, Ambassador, should such a thing occur.”

Aldo sighed quietly. As they passed through a vast portal into the red-onion building, he began to realize why Lucas Droad had sent him to this world. They weren’t going to drop their mindsets and cooperate easily.

He glanced sidelong at the Duchess. She was clearly a major player in world politics here. She was not his usual type, but then, exploration always had its own rewards.

Forcing a confident smile, he began to flirt with her in his own swaggering fashion. She seemed distantly amused.

It was a beginning.

Aldo and Joelle were left on their own in the spaceport terminal when the Duchess declared their interview at an end for the time being. She offered them accommodations at the local hotel named Gloaming Splendor, and suggested they meet at a later date at her own residence. She then took her leave.

The moment she left, the crowd of lesser nobility descended. Everyone wanted a holo-pic, a tapping of fists in greeting, and cheek-touching hugs. Aldo found these repetitive actions pleasant with the younger females, but tiresome with the rest.

They finally extricated themselves from all these hangers-on and reached an official purple door with a bored-looking guard standing nearby. Joelle straightened her uniform, approached the guard and presented her credentials. He waved her toward the door.

She attempted to open it with her pass, but it simply made a bonking noise and remained sealed.

“Excuse me,” she said to the guard.

“Yes Miss?”

“Why is this door locked?”

“It’s ninth-day,” he said, as if this information conveyed every possible nuance of meaning.

“So? I’m a Nexus official, and I require access to the command center.”

The guard looked her up and down bemusedly. “You aren’t serious, are you Lieutenant? Like I said, its ninth-day. Those doors won’t open to anyone until one-day. Come back then, ten a. m. sharp. You might think about showing up early, there is generally a line at opening on one-day.”

“Are you telling me there is no one inside the headquarters?” Aldo asked, stepping forward.

The guard shrugged. “There is the AI, I suppose. A few mechs, doing clean-up.”

“What if there were an emergency?”

“You mean, like a fire? The doors would open automatically in that case.”

“No, like an invasion.”

The guard blinked at them. He shook his head. “A what? Here in Lavender City?” He began a rumbling laugh. His belly, which spilled out beneath the lower edge of his uniform and overflowed his utility belt, bounced. “Don’t worry about that. Those mechs will never get within a hundred leagues of this town. We aren’t some cut-off hick fief in the wilds. We’ve been fire-walling our perrupters, too.”

Having no idea what he was talking about, Joelle and Aldo retreated away from him. They exchanged concerned glances.

“They don’t seem to be taking the alien threat seriously,” she said.

“They are barely aware of it. Odd, isn’t it? How humanity is so masterful at self-delusion?”

“What delusion are you talking about in this specific case?”

“The delusion that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday, if only because it always has been. Complacency has destroyed countless populations historically, you know.”

“I had no idea you were such a scholar.”

Aldo turned her a sour eye. “You are not being helpful. May I ask as to the source of your irritation?”

“It’s you, Aldo.”

Aldo took several steps toward the street exit, attempting to digest Joelle’s odd mood. “Was it the attention I paid to various females today? I am a diplomat, after all Joelle. Such things are to be expected.”

“Polite talk and graceful conduct, I expected that. But not your eyes, crawling over every half-attractive woman in sight. You’re the same old Aldo, aren’t you?”

“Bitterness does not become you.”

They barely spoke on the cab ride to Gloaming Splendor. The cab itself was an odd contrivance. Shaped in the general configuration of a wheeled egg with an open-air top, it glided over the cobbled streets smoothly. Both Aldo and Joelle were entranced by the streets themselves. Every shop and building was unique in its shape and configuration, but similar in materials used. Cut sandstone formed brick walls and every doorway and window was arched at the top. The hotel was no less ornate and enchanting than the rest of the city structures. An elaborate fountain in the center lobby spat an endless stream of cobalt water and was thronged by buzzing creatures called humming-birds. Strange fish swam and sang quietly in the bowl of the fountain, while the birds themselves did not chirp.

“Where did that skald go?” Joelle asked as they admired their surroundings.

Aldo glanced behind himself in surprise. “He did not join us for the cab ride. He was so quiet, I forgot about him. At some point, he must have slipped away.”

“Can he care for himself?”

Aldo shrugged disinterestedly. “Probably better than most of the inhabitants of this pompous world.”

Joelle and Aldo separated in the lobby with little more than icy nods for one another. Aldo took a room and immediately bathed. He took the next hour to locate suitable clothing.

He liked some elements of Ignis Glace’s society already. They liked to dress-up, which he found enjoyable. They also did not stigmatize a man for wearing a power-sword on his belt. Most of theirs, however, were longer, thinner blades with ornate, bejeweled pommels and scabbards covered in colored velvet. His was plain and functional, with a black, rook-hide sheath and only one jewel on the pommel, which doubled as a selector stud to power the weapon.

As he ate dinner alone in the guest ballroom, Aldo began to appreciate the colony even more. The food was delicate in flavor, and yet inspiring. He had a flavorful meal the waiter assured him provided a mix of local tastes. He’d reached the third course, which was an oddly flavored blood-pudding, when a familiar face appeared. It took him a moment to recognize the girl. She was no longer wearing military garb, but instead a green chiffon gown that trailed to her ankles.

“Nina Droad?” he asked. “Won’t you join me?”

She did so, and he found her company pleasant, but slightly disturbing. She was pretty, young and vivacious. She was so like her father-but with an extra spice of fire added into the mix. It was the similarities to her sire that he found most disturbing. Lucas Droad had become a friend after sharing years adventures together. Droad had gained Aldo’s respect as few others had in his lifetime.

This made for an awkward situation, because upon his very first meeting with Nina Droad, he’d immediately determined he wanted to bed her. Normally, he’d ignore any qualms or perhaps ask the father’s permission. Neither of these were easily done, however, as Droad had earned his respect and loyalty, and he wasn’t on hand to discuss the matter. Even if Aldo took the step of transmitting the question on the deep-link to Neu Schweitz, it would take years to reach the distant planet and further years for the response to come back.

In the end, Aldo took his usual course in such matters: he shrugged his shoulders and stopped worrying about it. One could only fuss and worry about such niceties for so long, life was stunningly short and may be artificially shortened further at any moment. And so after the third hour and the third glass of wine, he no longer cared that Nina had her father’s thoughtful eyes and an identical shade of brown hair. Her intense personality wasn’t quite the same, and he found it magnetic.

He relayed to her in detail all the horrors of the coming war with the aliens. Nina explained to him in turn that the Nexus people had presented to the populace that they had the alien situation well in hand-that the warning they’d been given had provided sufficient time to exterminate the enemy in their vulnerable cargo vessel long before they could reach Ignis Glace. Mostly, the local news stories concerned themselves with who among the government was going to accept responsibility for destroying Gladius, as the ship was of incalculable value.

Aldo chuckled at their naivete and smug self-confidence. “I’d also hazard the Nexus people are more worried than they are letting on. But someone in charge fears a panic and isn’t allowing all the news out. That’s the wrong choice. Panic has a way of getting people to cooperate if it goes on long enough.”

Nina stared at him. Aldo found her gaze piercing and felt as if she knew more of his thoughts than he normally allowed others to divine.

“I like you, Aldo,” she declared suddenly. “And I will allow you to proceed with your intentions.”

Aldo’s eyebrows shot high, and he laughed. “So direct! I’m impressed, and burning with curiosity.”

That was it-the seduction, in its entirety. He marveled at her self-confidence, rare in one of such a young age. She had simply called his bluff and said yes to his non-verbal request. Other men might have been frightened by such a woman, but not Aldo. He was rarely frightened by anyone-at least not anyone human.

He followed her up creaking steps to a fine bed of alien-smelling feathers. There, he indulged his curiosity, and he did not find himself disappointed.