Princess Rescue Inc (108 page)

“Oh.”

“Not
that father ever let me joust for real,” Deidra said darkly.

“I
highly doubt that ever stopped you,” Ryans said with a snort and an eye to his
partner. Her lips puckered in a smirk.

“You
know me too well,” she replied, wrapping her arm through his.

“The
black mystery knight?” Ryans asked amused.

“Oh
but of course,” she grinned wickedly, almost skipping.

“Of
course,” he said nodding.

“One
thing that bothers me... that sucker had a western style saddle!” Wanda said looking
thoughtful.

“Oh
I doubt it,” Ryans said.

“I
don't. I saw that thing and a couple of his miniatures. There's even a
miniature cowboy in there. Complete with Stetson hat and six shooter gun belt.
It makes you wonder just where he saw them...” Wanda said thoughtfully.

“Yeah,
it does at that,” Ryans said suddenly thoughtful himself.

“It's
no mystery. Some... riders of horses arrived through the portal many years ago.
They did not live long,” a guard said behind them.

Wanda
and Ryans turned to the guard, staring at him. “Oh,” Wanda said slowly, turning
to exchange a look with Ryans. He shrugged.

“They
made their place in history when they saved a group of people from a pack of
plains beasts. One of those saved was a King's son.”

“Oh.
So what happened to them?” Wanda asked.

“They
rode off to find their way back home,” Deidra said. “None saw them again.”

“Oh,
well, that answered that,” Wanda said shrugging.

  <==={}------------>

Ryans
walked the battlements of the outer wall with Deidra after they returned to the
castle. He noted the glittering wall catching the last of the evening light and
paused to look at it. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked.

“What?”
she asked, looking herself.

“Looks
like, yeah it is,” he smiled, watching tiny figures setting up pieces of glass
onto a frame of wood and metal. “It's a greenhouse.” He was glad; it was just
in time actually, fall was now in full spring. The alien leaves were changing
color and the last harvest was now in. Food was being processed and stored now.

“A
house that is green? It doesn't look that way,” Deidra replied. “It glitters
and has glass walls.”

“Yes,
well, that's for the light. It's not a home to live in, at least not for
people. It's a greenhouse. An indoor arboretum to raise a garden all year
round,” he explained and then pointed.

“What
about the snow?” she asked, concerned.

“It
has sloped roofs like other buildings. In fact they're pretty far up, a good
seventy degrees I think,” he explained, using his hands to model a pitched
roof.

“Ah.
Father said an angled roof makes the snow roll off of it,” Deidra said.

Ryans
nodded. “Right. That's what they're trying to do here. Sticky snow will be a
problem though. Hopefully they have a solution.”

“If
the snow becomes too heavy it will collapse the glass?” Deidra asked and then
nodded.

Ryans
nodded as well. “Yup. But a guy or gal outside with a long broom or shovel can
knock the snow off if they are careful.”

“This
is the test greenhouse you mentioned to mother and the Dominus's?” Deidra
asked. He nodded. He could see Mary overseeing the project. Good, he thought.

“Yeah,
I hope it works. Yields will be low the first couple of times, but a greenhouse
lets you grow food faster with less effort. There are fewer weeds, and the bugs
can't get to them indoors. At least not while the doors and windows are
closed.”

“What
about heat?” she asked.

“Ah,
well, see, the sunlight heats the room. At least part of the way. But since we
don't have insulating glass to keep the heat in, I think Mary said something
about using pot bellied stoves and water radiators to keep the place warm and
toasty in winter,” he explained.

Deidra
nodded. “Ah. A place to be when the winter is bearing down then,” she smiled.
“We'll have to see it sometime.” She clutched at his arm.

He
looked down, amused. “It would be an interesting place to explore. I bet there
are all sorts of hidey holes we can have fun in,” he murmured wickedly to her.
He stroked her cheek as she blushed and then kissed her. She blushed further
and looked away, then walked on, pulling him along by the hand. He chuckled,
putting up just enough resistance to make it interesting.

  <==={}------------>

“They
have some good ideas,” Serena murmured, watching the glittering building being
put together. “I hear that greenhouse thing will allow food to be grown all
year round. And flowers!”

“And
allow plants to be started as seedlings early before planting,” Yorick said
from behind him. Serena turned to him with a slightly chilly look. He put his
hand over his heart and bowed his head. “Your pardon Domina,” he said and
withdrew.

She
straightened her skirt and then looked back, primly tightening her lips in a
thin line of disapproval at the servant's interruption. Yorick had stolen much
of her thunder, she thought in annoyance. Her husband glanced at her and
snorted softly.

“I
dare say it's an interesting idea. Though the glass must be very expensive,” he
said.

“I
believe the gaijin have found ways to make it much cheaper my husband,” Serena
said with a small smile. He grunted. “How goes your campaign?” she asked.

He
frowned, looking over his shoulder and then around to make sure none could hear
them on the balcony. “It's interesting; though separating the gaijin alchemist
is proving harder than I had thought. I believe that will have to either wait
or be abandoned,” he said.

“Dare
not invite her to visit the duchy or some other remote place?” Serena asked.
The Duke shook his head. “And seduction is out?”

“She
seems unwilling or uninterested in such things. If one had to guess she is
either too busy or uninterested in the opposite sex,” Rojer said with a
theatrical sigh.

“Ah,”
Serena said with a reproving smile.

“How's
your plan progressing my dear?” Rojer asked.

“Not
so well with the princess. She's too busy and too public a figure to get one of
her former paramours to seduce her. Also only one is left in the castle, it
seems her majesty has done a rather thorough house cleaning and the others were
transferred to other castles or are out in the field on quests,” she said.

“So
you have nothing?”

“I
didn't say that,” Serena replied with a slight smile. “There's still the maid,”
she said. “But we were talking about the alchemist,” she said with a lurking
smile.

“Don't
gloat dear, it's unbecoming of you,” Rojer replied with a slight glower.

“I'm
not gloating; I'm just amused by it. I see she has guards,” she murmured. Rojer
nodded grudgingly. Apparently the gaijin leader and the Queen had wised up to
her importance. “They cannot be bribed or...”

“No,”
Rojer sighed. “No indeed. They're from the gaijin trained legion and very loyal
to the gaijin. Something I hadn't anticipated. It seems their training has...
welded them into the service of the gaijin.”

“Ah,
not a good development,” the duchess murmured. Another couple came out on a
balcony off to their left and further down. She looked down to them and then
away. “Come husband, 'tis chilly,” she murmured, smiling at him. He returned
the smile and re-entered their suite.

  <==={}------------>

Max
scowled at the mess of wire. He'd ordered a thirty gauge wire but instead the
geniuses had turned out a ten gauge wire. Nice and thick but not what he
needed. “Take it back,” he growled.

“Why?”
Marcus the foreman asked. “Thicker is better right?”

“Not
in this case. The idea is to do a standard thin wire then braid it into a
thicker rope with other strands. Then do that again and again. A single strand
this thick...” he tried to flex it but had a hell of a time getting it to bend.
When he was done it was stuck. “See? You can't bend it. The wire I wanted will
bend and flex. This will be a bitch to use and will break in the wind.”

“Um...”
the foreman took off his gaijin styled ballcap and scratched at his scalp. Max
caught sight of the mannerism out of the corner of his eye and snorted softly.
“That's a lot of copper boss,” he said.

“Right.
For the amount you've got here we could do three times as much wire. And the
smaller gauge can be used to make other things too. Although the smaller the
gauge the harder it is to get electricity to flow through it. It's called
resistance,” Max explained.

“Oh."
"But if we braid the small gauge wire into larger cords we get flexibility
of the small wire and reduced resistance of the large wire," Max said

“Look,
it's a learning experience, I get it,” Max said. At least they hadn't coated
the thing in latex yet. He waved to the native foreman. “Just reset the die
system to the proper gauge I told you and run it through until it gets down to
the proper gauge. It'll stretch the sumbitch out a lot. Just be careful you
don't overheat it and snap it.”

“Um...
okay,” the foreman said nodding.

“Once
you get a couple of spools, tell me,” Max said, waving to the empty wooden
spools nearby.

“What
is all this for?” Marcus asked, rubbing his forehead. It was hot in the
factory, very hot.

Max
grinned. “Oh lots of things. Wire can be used to make chain, nails,
transmission lines, phone lines, plus all sorts of electronic goodies.”

Marcus
blinked at him. “I see,” he said, not sounding very sure.

“Once
you've got ten gauge, it's the most common by the way, then we'll get a spool
down to thirty gauge. That's tiny. About as thin as your hair. We can use that
for wiring or other things. Inductors, speakers, heater coils, all sorts of
goodies,” he grinned.

“Oh.”

“Don't
worry about it kid, it's an honest mistake,” Max said. He'd have to check in
with Orella, the super. Someone must have upped the gauge because it had been
set on twelve when he did the run for the castle wiring. He'd have to find out
why someone mucked it up.

“I'll
correct it sir,” Marcus said, bobbing a nod. Max nodded and patted the young
man on the shoulder. Marcus was well built, one of the former soldiers who had
lost a hand in the battle. He'd invested quite a lot in this factory, his whole
life savings. He needed it to work. Max thought, the entire Imperium needed it
to work.

“You
do that. Like I said, let me know when you've got that fixed,” Max said over
his shoulder as he headed for the door. He had two other factories to check on
and then he was supposed to check in on his little loco locomotive team.

  <==={}------------>

Ryans
looked up at the sound of the soft knock. He cleared his throat and then
nodded. “Enter,” he said. The guard stationed at his door opened it and a maid
was there. She was pretty, black wavy hair, a prim maid's gown and apron,
carrying a brightly colored feather duster. She had an hourglass figure and a
set on her that must be a terrible strain on her back. She was young, in her
twenties, and had a nice dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
“I'm here to clean the room Dominus,” she said huskily curtsying. The guard
snorted, eying her from behind.

He
nodded. “Just, okay, fine. It's a little dusty,” he said. She nodded and closed
the door behind her as she entered. He opened his mouth to object but then
turned away. He tapped at his tablet and frowned at the report he was reading.

The
maid busied herself around the room, frowning prettily, and sneaking him
glances to test his attention. Apparently the gaijin was rather distracted, the
perfect situation for her. It had taken a great deal of effort to get his page
out of the way, distracted by errands and the princess timed to come in, in less
than an hour. Yet the gaijin didn't seem interested in her.

Ryans
frowned, looking over the top of the tablet to see the woman bending over to
dust the same area in front of him again. She'd dusted it three times, each
from a different angle. He wasn't sure what she was playing at but if it was
what he thought it was he wasn't sure if he should be amused or appalled.

After
her fourth bend, this time to give him a look down the front of her dress he
came to a decision and got up and stretched. He then turned to the door. “Let's
get some air in here shall we?” he asked.  He opened the door and toed a
brass gargoyle doorstop into place to keep it open. The guard looked at him in
surprise. He smiled politely and then turned to the window.

The
woman was scowling; he could see it out of the corner of his eye. He hid a
smirk as he opened the shutters and then windows and then propped them open
with a stick. “There,” he said, going back to his desk and sitting. He propped
his feet up on the stool and then went back to reading.