“I apologize for my impropriety.” It seemed Barowz would be the one. “By all rights, we should request you pass your eyes over all of the documents, Lonh-Dreur Haïder, but regrettably we couldn’t manage it all in time that way, so we implemented what measures we could implement without Your Excellency’s consultation. I ask for your forgiveness.”
“I don’t mind at all, but...” Jint thought it strange. “Why are you in such a hurry, sir?”
“First, if you could,” said Barowz, inviting him aboard the transporter.
“Mr. Samson,” Jint whispered, “what are these documents you’ve brought along.”
“Oh, I brought everything. Including top secret stuff. You kept us waiting for ages. Though thanks to that, I got to drink stuff you can’t get outside Lacmhacarh, so it’s not like I was hurting.”
“You were waiting for me?”
“Surely you must understand, Lonh-Dreur Haïder. We simply cannot disclose the information in top secret documents without Your Excellency’s permission,” said Barowz. “That is why we brought Your Excellency here.”
“I see.”
To be frank, he’d have liked it if they just did as they pleased. While Jint loved his home star system of Hyde, he had little to no interest in the territory-nation known as the Countdom of Hyde. To him, it was a legal fiction that supported him monetarily and allowed him to throw the occasional banquet. And he was far more interested in the banquet Atosryua would hold at The Stylet anyway.
If they’d just asked, I would’ve granted them all the license to act in the world, he grumbled inwardly. That being said, he was happy to be reunited with Samson. I know, I should invite Samson to the banquet. I’m sure he’d like meeting back up with old acquaintances, and there’s no way Atosryua’s stingy enough to object to the guest list going up by one. Senior Staff Officer Sobash will be thrilled too, probably.
“Disclose to whom, though?” Jint chose to forget about the banquet for the time being.
“The Hania Federation’s Ambassador Teen,” replied Barowz.
“A Federation ambassador?” Jint was even more confused now. Could they be trying to cede the Countdom to the enemy? That was unthinkable. Hyde was too far from the Federation.
“The Hania Federation has agreed to a plan to be absorbed into the Empire. In fact, the plan is already underway,” said Barowz.
“Uh, I don’t mean to be untoward, but...”
“Put simply, the Federation’s making the same choice the Hyde System did,” said Samson.
“Please, hold on. What do you mean it’s already underway?” Jint was taken aback, to say the least.
“The Star Forces are on the move to disarm the Federation and seize its territory,” stated Barowz nonchalantly. “Though the plan is still in its preparatory stages. Before initializing the plan proper, we would like to use the Countdom of Hyde’s past and statistical data as reference.”
“You’re using the Countdom as reference...? But Hyde can’t be the only star system that’s surrendered.”
“True, but few have surrendered in exchange for being incorporated intact as a territory-nation. The Countdom of Hyde is the newest example of such a thing.”
“I see.” Jint’s feelings were a tad mixed. “So, does this mean a great number of landworlder grandees are about to appear?”
“No,” said Barowz, shaking his head. “Not a great number. That aside, it is true that several landworlders who hadn’t even been imperial citizens before becoming grandees are soon to be with us. It appears Mr. Ambassador wishes to know whether that’s possible, and if it is possible, how the grandees’ houses ought to be administered.”
I think maybe I can already head back, mused Jint. All that was being asked of him was permission to disclose information. If someone wanted to know about the Countdom of Hyde, he had but to say “Here you go, all the documents you want,” and his role in this would be over. Jint had no intention of concealing anything.
“Depending on how things play out, we may be forced to visit the Federation,” said Samson.
“Me? The Federation?” said Jint, slightly panicked. “Please, wait a minute!”
“Don’t fret, laddie. I won’t let my Lord come to harm. I’ll go in your stead.” He thumped his chest gallantly. “Come to think of it, I’ve never been to a world outside the Empire.”
“Me neither,” said Jint. “Well, apart from how my home world used to be outside the Empire.”
“I’ve never been outside the Empire either,” said Barowz.
“Then let’s all go!” said Samson, chuckling.
“Umm, thanks, but I’ll abstain,” said Jint hurriedly. He wanted to remain on the Flicaubh. Which was to say, he wanted to remain by Lafier’s side.
Eventually, the transporter rolled into an area with a different feel to it. The walls of the corridors leading up to this place bore imagery of prairies and forests and the like, but here they were adorned with richly colored abstract patterns. This was the space given to the Hania Federation as a diplomatic division.
It was ironic to think a foreign country’s territory would lie in the deepest recesses of the Empire. Even Hanian guard soldiers were here. They were, however, deliberately cut off from the flow of information. One couldn’t even so much as connect to the compucrystal net using their wristgear. That was why they had had to carry the documents by hand.
At the far end of this foreign land lurking within the Imperial Palace was a bronzed door, beyond which lay Ambassador Teen’s office. Upon dismounting the transporter, Barowz walked at the head of the trio, leading the way for Jint and Samson.
“You have my sincerest gratitude for coming,” said Ambassador Teen, the man of the office. “I stand humbled by your presence.”
Jint and Samson likewise greeted him in accordance with formal etiquette. Jint sat in the seat suggested by the Ambassador. Next to him was Samson, who was answering the Ambassador’s questions. As Jint listened, he once again wondered whether it wasn’t all right if he just headed back.
At first blush, the Ambassador seemed quite ardent and keen to know, but Jint got the impression that was all on the surface. Once Samson had finished explaining, Ambassador Teen made a big show of his gratitude. “Wow, I learned a great deal, thanks to you.”
“What star system will you be receiving, Your Excellency?” asked Jint.
“Who, me?” Teen smiled a hard-to-read smile. “I don’t plan on becoming a grandee. I wouldn’t be a grandee for the world — ahem, pardon me. In any case, all I want out of my remaining years is to build a house someplace warm with some nice scenery and paint.”
“Is that so? I would have guessed—”
“You thought I looked like I want to be called a marquess or a count?”
“Yes,” Jint admitted.
“Some of the people who hold the keys to making this plan a political reality do desire the status of a grandee, and I needed the Empire’s firm promise in order to convince them,” he explained. “Now that the conferral of their noble ranks is in sight, it appears they’ve suddenly begun to feel uneasy, and they wish to learn about your home’s experiences. If they get bent out of shape at this late hour, a state of affairs that would be unfortunate not only for us but for the Empire might spring up. That is why I had Your Excellency come here. I must say, I am most embarrassed about all this.”
“I see.” Jint now understood that to Teen, this was somebody else’s problem and not his, which went to explain his general attitude.
“Now, while this won’t nearly suffice to thank you for Your Excellency’s kindness, as a small token of our deepening amity, I have reserved you a seat to a nice meal,” said the Ambassador. “If you would be amenable, I would very much like to have a taste of the cuisine of my native land, which will soon be part of the Empire.”
Jint glanced at the timetable on his wristgear. If he left now, he’d probably make it back in time for The Stylet. While he wasn’t disinclined to partake of the much-vaunted Hanian cuisine, it couldn’t win out against the sheer appeal of a banquet put on by the Baroness of Febdash. “Ah, I thank you for thinking of me, Mr. Ambassador, but I’m currently in military service.”
“A shame.” Teen made sure to look disappointed. “Your Excellency must be busy. But please, I would be gratified if you take us up on our offer sometime before you leave the capital.”
“Thank you very much.”
Unaware of the banquet, Samson looked less than pleased by this. But it seemed he didn’t intend to object to his Lord in another’s presence. And Jint knew he’d thank him later. After all, while Hania’s food culture was said to be excellent, it was also said that they had no decent booze to speak of.
Jint bade the Ambassador adieu, excited to get away. It was when Barowz and Ambassador Teen exchanged words of parting that the alarm sounded.
“What’s going on, sir?” Jint asked the Ambassador.
“I don’t know.” Teen looked at Barowz, a bewildered look on the Ambassador’s face.
“I don’t know, either.” Barowz was just as perplexed. “This isn’t an Empire alarm. It’s your nation’s alarm, is it not?”
“That is true.” Teen picked up the archaic telephone on his desk, but nobody came on the line.
Since their wristgears were lacking their communication functionality at the moment, all that the three Empire men could do was look on. Then the door opened, and in stepped a Hanian guard soldier, white in the face. He and the Ambassador traded a few words in a tongue Jint didn’t comprehend.
“What’s wrong?” asked Barowz.
“I’m not sure, but your nation’s soldiers, they’re...”
But the Ambassador didn’t finish that sentence. There was no need. The soldiers behind the disturbance had arrived. It was the honor guard corps. They were indispensable when it came to highly formal ceremonies, but they were also elites tasked with protecting the Empress’s person.
“Pardon us for imposing, Mr. Ambassador,” said the commanding officer courteously, “but Your Excellency’s diplomatic immunity has been revoked. We will also be shutting down this division.”
“May I be allowed to ask what happened?” asked the Ambassador, whose face had turned pale.
“Your nation’s fleet has invaded the Clybh Monarchy,” he replied coldly. “Said fleet is headed straight for the capital.”