“I thought so. Then may I ask you your name, Honorable Fïac ?”
“I am Ablïarsec Néïc-Dubreuscr Bœrh Parhynr Lamhirh .”
A solemn pall of silence.
The militants of the Clasbule Anti-imperial Front were too busy processing this fresh revelation to make a sound. It was Jinto who broke the silence, concluding that now that Lafier’s social status had come to light, there would be no point keeping his own hidden.
“As for me...”
“Nobody asked for your name, imperial citizen ,” Bill butted in.
“All right then.” Jinto clammed up. On second thought, while it was true that keeping it hidden would be pointless, he realized revealing it would be just as much so.
“I did think it was strange,” said Min. “I looked into it, and the Marquessate of Sfagnoff has two ïarlymec (noble princesses); the oldest of them is eight years old.”
“Oh, things’re strange, that’s for damn sure,” griped Undertaker. “The hell’s a royal princess of the Empire doing in a place like this!?”
“Did you hear that, Jinto?” Lafier’s eyes sparkled. “Even terrestrial citizens know the difference between an imperial princess and a royal princess .”
“Hold a grudge much? You’re just that type, I guess. It’s not like I meant anything by it, so whatever.”
“‘Whatever’ is right; just answer the question,” Undertaker grumbled.
“We were aboard a certain patrol ship ,” said Jinto, taking it on himself to explain. “That patrol ship got attacked. I wasn’t a starpilot , so...”
“Must’ve been an NCC ,” said Bill.
“Nope, not an NCC , either. I was just hitching a ride.”
“Hitching a ride?” Marca cocked her head. “You can hitch a ride on a patrol ship ?”
“I can. Just so happened to be of noble rank ,” he said nonchalantly. “And as I’m not a soldier , I was told to flee from the field of battle. But I can’t work a connecting vessel ’s controls, so Lafier was assigned to me. Aboard the patrol ship , she was just another trainee starpilot , you see.”
“Hold on,” said Marca, confused. “You’re a noble , too?”
“Yep. Least, that’s what I ended up becoming.”
Bill whistled. “You really don’t look like one.”
“I get that all the time,” he quipped. “Wonder why.”
“Lots of questions today,” said Marca. “But let’s narrow question time down to what I’m more immediately interested in. Our hostages are a member of the Imperials and a noble . Plus, I’m fairly sure ‘Néïc-Dubreuscr’ is a surname associated with the monarchy to which the Empress belonged. Am I off the mark?”
“I am Her Majesty the Empress ’s granddaughter, and Jinto is the noble prince of a countdom ,” said Lafier. “We are not, however, your hostages.”
“I assure you, you are,” she said flatly. “How could we possibly let such valuable hostages go? Forget about exchanging you for spaceships; we might even be able to come by Min’s ultimate dream — independence.”
“I am grateful to all of you,” said Lafier. “As such, I must tell you the truth. Misfortune has dogged all who have attempted to extort the Empire to the ends of their days. Referring, of course, to those few who survived to see another day.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Yet another shudder ran down Undertaker. “I’m miserable enough as it is.”
The windows gleamed. The peak of the mountain that towered over the horizon was brightly aglow. Lightning whipped the peak from the heavens above, sending rays of light out into a crazed dance each time.
“Must be the Abhs’ above-surface assault...” muttered Min.
As though any one of them didn’t already know.
“What could they be attacking, in a place like that?” Jinto wondered aloud, spellbound by the sheer spectacle.
At last, the rumble of thunder reached them.
Something dawned on Marca. “Bill, is the jamming still in effect?”
White noise permeated the car.
“Still no good,” said Bill, shaking his head.
“I see. And I thought for sure they were attacking the radio stations.”
“No, you’re probably right. There used to be a really strong signal source until a bit back, but now it’s gone. Looks like they paid the wider-area station a visit.”
“Any other places?”
“Dunno. Weak radio waves are coming in from all over the place. No clue how many sources.”
“All likely the work of daimbusec (EM wavebugs),” Lafier conjectured. “The Star Forces possess similar devices.”
“EM wavebugs ? Bugs that generate EM waves?” said Min, curious.
“They’re self-propagating nanomachines, and they’re a pain to exterminate.”
“Now I know. By the way, I wonder if the Abh will attack the capital?”
“I don’t think they will.”
“You don’t ‘think’?” Min had been expecting a more concrete reply.
“Full-scale land war is the endgame stage for the Star Forces . Before reaching that stage, they generally destroy means of communication and transport, or might send in the byrec üacér (aerial fleet). I doubt they’d attack the capital so suddenly.”
“Where do you plan to imprison us?” Jinto asked, apprehensive. They could very well be exposed to Star Forces fire depending on the area.
“We plan on using Undertaker’s place. You yourself must be well aware—”
“I told you, no way in hell,” Undertaker protested.
“Then we’ll have to make it where Undertaker works.”
“Why’s it always me!?”
“Where else could we? Besides, you want to go tell outside cells about a get this juicy?”
“I say Min’s holiday home’d be way better.”
“Are you nuts?”
“Think about it, they’d never suspect we’d choose to go back right after what happened...”
“It’s just too much to hope for.” And with that, Marca shot down the idea. “It’s settled, Bill. We’re headed for the funeral hall.”
“I think for the time being, we’d maybe better focus on giving this place the slip,” urged Bill. “It’s the heat. They’re on our tails.”
“Eh cohn! Eh cohn! ” barked Sleet.
After the large curves in the road drivers inevitably encountered upon leaving Guzonh Dream Park, the way to the streets of Guzonh-proper continued dead straight. Entering that unbending stretch, the hovercars zipping in the distance would then come into view.
“Do you not have vehicle-equipped weaponry?” asked Kyte.
“No, of course not.” Entryua folded his arms and pressed a foot against the seat in front. “No need. The crime’s not that serious ‘round these parts.”
“That’s a shame.” Kyte pushed the gun he’d regained to Entryua’s head. “In any case, I do believe you ought to adjust your posture, Inspector. You’re our prisoner.”
“Is that right,” he replied, cocking an eyebrow. “I thought you hired me to give directions.”
“DON’T DEFY US!” Kyte shouted in his face. “Just do as we say, you mental slave.”
Entryua concluded that open opposition was inadvisable. After all, he was dealing with an unstable child. If he was stupid enough to persist in stubbornness, then theirs would amount to no more than a spat between schoolboys. Only in this playground quarrel, one of the kids held a lethal weapon.
“As you wish, master.” Entryua dropped the foot.
“Eh brik !” Sleet commanded.
At that cue, the occupation soldiers leaned out the windows and started firing.
“Those aren’t police! The police don’t pack that kind of weaponry!”