A Galaxy Unknown 10: Azula Carver (4 page)

"I've never believed that made me unlucky. Quite the contrary. So what options do you have? Are you going to become an active member of the Nordakian nobility and spend all your time in court, doting on the king and queen?"

"Not in this lifetime. My initial plans are simple. I intend to get some rest at my estate while I establish, or reestablish, my relationship with my mother and my sisters-in-law and their children whom I have never met. I also intend to meet and greet my subjects, most of whom I have never met. The last time I was on Obotymot, agricultural efforts were just beginning to make some inroads. The former tenants were slowly returning to their farms from the cities where they waited out the atmospheric cleansing and recovery efforts. I've also been struggling to keep Thor, Cayla, and Tayna from becoming too intimate, despite nature's drive for them to procreate. Once we're off-ship and on the estate, I intend to let nature take its course."

"Just as you envy my shipboard position, I envy your familial ties. I have no one back home to return to, so my command is my family."

~     ~     ~

As the
Ares
neared the planets in what was considered the core of Region One, Jenetta ordered a change in course with Nordakia as an interim destination. It wasn't very far off the direct course to Obotymot, and Jenetta wished to speak to the king and queen. It had been many years since she'd had an opportunity to meet them in person, and she looked forward to the visit. She immediately ordered the com system in her office to communicate only in Dakis so she could brush up her Nordakian language skills a bit before she needed them.

When the ship reached Nordakia, the time at the royal palace was the Earth equivalent of roughly 0200 hours. Jenetta had sent an earlier message to the palace that she would arrive at the palace shuttle pad at 1000 hours GST. Since the diurnal period on Nordakia was almost twenty-eight Earth hours, the Nordakian clocks could be out of sync with GST by a considerable amount, but on this occasion they were fairly close. She would be arriving at the palace an hour before noon, local time.

As the time approached for her to depart, Jenetta removed her uniform and dressed in a gown suitable for the palace and the occasion. The women's fashions on Nordakia and Obotymot had changed dramatically in the years since Jenetta had delivered an original version of the Almuth to the Nordakian king and queen. The gowns that required her to wear a breath-stifling corset and were so tight they prevented her from walking at anything quicker than a snail's pace were long gone from her wardrobe. The gown she wore today was not one of the flowing gowns worn by the lower classes on special occasions, but it allowed Jenetta the freedom to walk at a pace she desired and didn't require body-contouring undergarments. While the general populace had embraced full freedom of choice in attire, the nobility had stubbornly clung to a regal sense of propriety. Full freedom of choice in attire by the nobility wasn't banned, but more conventional clothing was expected at court, so Jenetta wore a gown appropriate for a meeting with the king and queen. Nordakian males were always between seven and eight feet tall, while Nordakian women were always between six and seven feet in height. Since Jenetta's five-feet-eleven-inch height left her shorter than Nordakian women, she was wearing shoes with thirteen centimeter heels as she had done on all previous visits to Nordakia.

~     ~

The small ship touched down on the palace shuttle pad a few seconds before 1300 local time, an hour before noon in Nordakia's twenty-eight-hour daily cycle. Minister Dtaple Gkibuke, the chief of protocol for their Royal Majesties King Tpalsh and Queen Ckuhah, was waiting with a small band and a greeting party of nobles from the court.

As Jenetta stepped off the shuttle ramp, the band began playing the Nordakian Anthem. She stopped and came to attention until they completed the musical number. At that point, Minister Dtaple Gkibuke stepped forward and bowed. His position in the palace exempted him from dropping to one knee as it did everyone else in the greeting party.

"Your Grace," Gkibuke said in Dakis as he bowed his head, "it's wonderful to have you back on Nordakia."

"It's been a long time, Minister."

"Much too long between visits, Your Grace, for one of our greatest heroines, but we know how busy you've been, protecting the people of the GA."

"I'm delighted to say that things are quieter now than at any time in recent decades."

"Let's hope it stays that way— for a while at least. Your Grace, please allow me to introduce the members of the nobility who have come out to welcome you home."

Jenetta recognized about half the assembled group from her previous visits to the palace. She smiled and either nodded properly or shook hands when they were extended. After several minutes of small talk, Minister Gkibuke cleared his throat and said, "His majesty is waiting to welcome you in his study, Your Grace."

"Of course, Minister. Let's not keep his majesty waiting."

Jenetta thanked the nobles as a group for the warm welcome, then called to Cayla and Tayna. The two Taurentlus-Thur Jumakas were standing in the doorway of the shuttle, and as Jenetta turned to follow the minister into the palace, they bounded down the ramp and took their usual places by her sides. The cats had come to understand how such formal ceremonies were conducted and now always hung back a bit on these occasions unless they sensed danger.

The walk through the palace was quite a bit brisker than in past visits owing to the far less restrictive clothing Jenetta was now able to wear. The ban regarding the wearing of uniforms by women in the military had been rescinded, but Jenetta was delighted with the opportunity to wear a gown on this occasion. It had been years since she had worn anything but her uniform to formal gatherings.

When they reached the study, the protocol minister said, "Please excuse me for just a moment, Your Grace, while I announce your presence."

"Of course, Minister."

Gkibuke knocked twice, opened the enormous door slightly, and peered in before opening it more fully and stepping inside. He left it open just a crack, and Jenetta heard him speak loudly into the very large room. "Your Majesty, it is my honor to announce that Azula Carver has arrived and is waiting to visit with you."

Jenetta didn't hear a reply, but the door opened fully a second later and Minister Gkibuke stepped aside to allow her and her pets to enter the room. Once she was inside the lavishly decorated room, Gkibuke stepped out and pulled the door closed behind him. Jenetta walked towards where the king was standing, stopped ten paces away, and bowed her head. She stared at the carpet until the king said in Dakis, "Raise your head, Your Grace, and come join me."

Jenetta raised her head and smiled, pointed to the floor with both hands, then walked forward to where the king was standing. There was no one else in the room. The act of pointing was to communicate with Tayna and Cayla that they should remain where they were. Both cats understood and laid down where they had been standing.

"You're still as lovely as I remember," King Tpalsh said as Jenetta neared him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Jenetta said with a smile. "And you're still as handsome
and
as flattering as always."

Tpalsh laughed. "It goes with the territory, Your Grace. But in your case it's true. You haven't aged a day since I first met you."

"The result of the experiments performed on me by the Raiders."

"Yes, I recall you saying that previously. And you won't age until your final years? At that time the degradation will happen swiftly?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I envy you. The rest of us go downhill slowly once we reach a certain age. I would love to have the vitality of youth until my final years. But I'm sure such a discussion is not what brought you here. Is there a problem?"

"There are always problems but none I came to discuss with you and the queen. This is purely a social visit. It's been a very long time since I was last here, and I wanted to say hello while I was nearby. I hope my visit hasn't alarmed you. I've taken a leave of absence from Space Command, and I'm traveling to Obotymot for an extended period of rest and relaxation."

"That's all?"

"That's all, Your Majesty."

"I feared it might be something to do with the Dakistians."

"Do you have concerns about Dakistee?"

"Yes. Grave concerns. But let's sit down before we begin discussing them. Would you care for a beverage?"

"A cup of tea would be welcome."

The king walked to the nearest wall and yanked once on a sash cord that hung there. A second later a door on the other side of the room opened and a servant entered the study. The king told him to bring a pot of tea, and the servant disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

In just the time it took for the king and Jenetta to settle into comfortable chairs for their discussion, the servant was back with a tea service tray that held a steaming pot, cups, silverware, napkins, and a dish containing pastries. He placed the tray down on the low table in front of the chairs where the king and Jenetta were seated, and then looked at the king expectantly.

"That's all for now," the king said to him.

The servant bowed his head, turned, and walked briskly from the room as the king and Jenetta fixed their beverages to suit their personal taste using the sweeteners and creams on the tray. Jenetta smiled slightly as she took a sip from her mug and let the strong, nutty-flavored tea roll around in her mouth for a second before swallowing. Although she normally preferred Colombian coffee as a beverage, the Nordakian tea was a staple on Nordakia and was a nice change.

"Pastry, Your Grace?" the king said as he took one of the delicious desserts for himself.

"Not just now, Your Majesty."

The king finished his pastry before he began the discussion. "I want to talk to you in your capacity as the second most powerful person in Space Command. You asked if I have concerns regarding Dakistee. The answer is yes; I have very grave concerns. We've officially apologized for the acts of our distant ancestors and tried to support the rebuilding efforts on Dakistee in any way we could, but I'm afraid they'll never trust our efforts to establish peaceful, diplomatic relations. For them, the events of two hundred centuries ago seem very recent. It may take decades before they forgive my people."

"That's foolish— but understandable. The people who committed those heinous acts are long dead. Their bodies have, no doubt, turned to dust by now."

"Yes, but the people currently alive on Dakistee were alive during that time and slept through all those intervening years. For them, it's the same as if my people wronged them most grievously today and then asked for unconditional forgiveness tomorrow. The event would just be too recent in their minds."

"Yes. Perhaps in time they'll realize the folly of holding our people in this century responsible for the sins of our distant Nordakian forefathers. But history shows us that hatred often dies an interminably slow death."

"When I received your message that you'd be stopping for a visit, I thought you also had concerns about the new government on Dakistee."

"We're watching the situation closely. If you're worried they might attack Nordakia, seeking retribution for the sins of the past, let me put your mind at ease. They have no ships or weapons with which to attack you. Nordakia is safe at this time."

"Yes, we're safe now, but the rumors coming from Dakistee warrant attention. Lady Christa is doing an admirable job from what we understand, and despite her Nordakian citizenship, she has been accepted everywhere. I'm sure her Terran appearance being almost identical to that of our ancestors has an influence. Has she been in touch with you?"

"I communicate with her regularly, but it's mostly personal issues. She reports current military and political information to the Region One HQ Command Center on Earth. What is it you've heard?"

"We have several intelligence operatives on Dakistee, collecting any information they learn about the new government. Normally, all off-world intelligence gathering is left to SCI, but with Dakistee being the original home world of our people, this situation is— unique. It's difficult for our people to get close to the Dakistians because our appearance makes us so easy to identify as Nordakian, but we've managed to establish a small network of informants that provide fairly dependable and useful information." The king hesitated for a moment before continuing, as if trying to decide how much he should say. "Our latest information is that the new president and her cabinet have just signed an agreement to turn over all information regarding the manufacturing of Dakinium— or, as they call it, Wlabisnk-320— plus all information regarding the cloning process to the Raiders in exchange for a cure to their sterility."

~ August 23
^rd
, 2288 ~

Jenetta was shocked but had long ago learned to mask most reactions completely. The King only saw her poker face. "How reliable is this information, Your Majesty?"

"How reliable is any information purchased from an informant? Until we have confirmation from a different source, we're treating it as just a rumor. But we're paying a bit more attention to this one than many others because of the enormous significance if it's true."

"Yes, we must watch this closely. Have you notified SCI at SHQ?"

"Our Minister of Intelligence sent a message two days ago, detailing everything we've learned on the matter. It's not much, but we continue to pursue any new leads."

"And does your source give a timetable for the transaction, Your Majesty?"

"Our information is that no transfer of Dakinium or cloning information will take place until the formula has been delivered to Dakistee and tests in a Dakistee laboratory indicate it will actually cure sterility in their citizens of childbearing age. At that point, the planet leadership will transfer all
early
research information on the cloning process. It wouldn't be sufficient to produce clones, but it would allow the Raiders to begin assembling the equipment necessary to prepare a cloning lab like the one found on Dakistee that was later impounded and removed from the planet by Space Command. Before the second half of the information is delivered, the formula must cure a test group of female Dakistee citizens and allow them to become impregnated by cured Dakistee males.