RITZA ACADEMY
LIEGEDEN, EMPORIA
FEDERATED SUNS
8 APRIL 3150
0242 HOURS
After Dame Emma shooed the other cadets toward the infirmary, with Captain Gabrielli leading the way, she turned back to Sergeant Placket. “Do you know what he wants with them?”
The sergeant shook her head. “Just that he wants to see them tonight before they go back to their dorms. He thinks it important enough that he’s ticked off every nurse and doctor in the infirmary. They found me and asked me to find them.” She gestured at the cadets.
“He’s in the infirmary?”
“Yes, Dame.”
“All right. It’s been a long night. See that these cadets get to Baron Vogel, then get examined by the medics, then go back to their rooms to sleep. No more interruptions. It’s going to be an early morning for all of us.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Sergeant Placket waited until the professor was gone to peer at the cadets. “You look well enough,” she said to Jasper. “Let me look at that,” she ordered Nadine, gesturing to the cadet’s face.
Nadine held her ground and lifted her chin. To her surprise, Sergeant Placket was gentle as she examined the still-seeping wound above her eye. Kind fingers poked and prodded tender flesh.
Satisfied, the sergeant nodded. “Nothing broken except the skin. It’ll need a stitch. Maybe two, but it won’t scar as long as you take care of it.” She hmphed at Nadine’s confusion. “I’m hard on you cadets because I have to be. I’m not heartless. I could see that was an impact wound, not a cut. That close to the eye socket, you’re lucky you didn’t break the bone. If it was bad, I would’ve brought you to see a doctor first for a quick patch. As it is, it can wait. Unless you’re seeing double?”
Nadine shook her head. “No, Sergeant.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Brother and sister followed the sergeant through campus until they got to the infirmary. It was as busy as the ’Mech bay. The whiteness and bright lights of the building was a shock after so much time in darkness. About half of the rescued adults were there, being examined by harried doctors and nurses. As soon as one seat emptied, another body filled it.
Sergeant Placket ignored all this. Instead, she led the cadets through a set of doors marked restricted. Already, members of House Vogel’s guard were there. She nodded to them and passed without a word.
Nadine and Jasper kept up with the sergeant, but couldn’t help noticing how the House Vogel guards watched them. At first, they couldn’t tell if the guards were angry or not. Then one of them waited until Sergeant Placket passed to give them a subtle thumbs up. They relaxed. Their house wasn’t mad at them.
They stopped at another set of doors. Major Jean “Franc” Leconte waited in front of it. He was old but not frail. His short, robust frame was rounder than tall, but had the barrel chest of a man with muscle. “I’ve got them, Sergeant.”
“Yes, Major. Dame Emma’s orders are: one, Baron Vogel. Two, doctors. Three, back to their dorms. No side trips.”
“I think I can manage that.”
“They are all yours.” Sergeant Placket gave Nadine a measured gaze. “It was good you proved me wrong, no matter how imperfect your plan was.” She nodded to Major Leconte and left.
As soon as she was around the corner, Jean opened his arms. “C’mere, you two.” They both hugged the old man tight. “You did good.”
Nadine looked up. “But Lady Shannon…”
“No buts. This is war. They can’t be used by the enemy anymore.”
“Is Lord Zachary okay?” Jasper asked.
“He will be.” Jean looked between them. “You listen to what he has to say. You might not understand all of it yet, but it’s important. Can you do that?”
They both nodded.
“All right.” The major pushed open the double doors.
They walked down another hallway and into an ICU suite. Lord Zachary lay in a hospital bed, hooked up to a myriad of equipment. The only thing the cadets could identify was the saline drip in his arm. Everything else was a mystery. While he looked better than he had in the jeep, their Sponsor looked terrible under the harsh lights of the hospital room.
Bruised, pale from blood loss, patched up, and in bed, Lord Zachary had never looked more vulnerable. Still, he smiled, and with the touch of a button, he moved the hospital bed from a slight incline to a sitting position. “There you are. You both made it back. Right, I don’t have much time.” He looked around. “The medics want me to rest. I want that, too—for all of us. But I needed to see you.”
Jasper and Nadine glanced at each other.
“Are we in trouble, Lord Zachary?” Nadine asked. The guilt of her sin weighed heavy on her, and she was ready to accept whatever judgment her Sponsor deemed necessary.
The baron coughed a bark of laughter. “No, cadets. Neither of you are. Not with me anyway.”
He gestured to the major. “Jean is going to continue monitoring the shortwave. The Draconis Combine doesn’t know about it, and they haven’t lifted their comm interdiction. Most likely, a lot more people are going to be using the shortwave for communications. You should establish some protocols and protected channels for your treasures. Keep doing what you’re doing, but on the down low. The academy cadre’s going to watch you a lot closer.”
Nadine nodded.
“We’ll talk more tomorrow about the shortwave information,” Jean added.
The baron’s face went serious. “Don’t let them make you a hero.”
“Who?” Jasper asked.
“Anyone. Not your classmates, your professors, people on the street. Don’t let them hold you up as an idealized anything. They’re going to want to, the other cadets. Don’t let them. The cadre is going to be hard on both of you.”
Jasper’s face clouded. “But we saved you and they yelled at us. We saved you all.”
“Not all.” Nadine’s voice was quiet.
Her younger brother settled down. “They didn’t even say thank you. You did. Lady Shannon did. Nadine told me. The rest act like we insulted them.”
Lord Zachary’s expression was sad. “The Ritza Academy leadership is conflicted. They are grateful for your actions, but you also broke their rules and violated direct orders. They need discipline to keep a bunch of smart, willful—” he paused, searching for the right words, “—previously hurt cadets in line. They’re human, your professors. Try not to hold it against them. Follow their orders. Follow the academy’s rules. Become simple cadets again. It’s going to be hard, but try.
“Also, please don’t let your friends make you heroes. We want to keep the recklessness and deaths to a minimum. Tell them the worst parts of what happened. Not the best. Don’t let them push you to lead them into even more dangerous stunts. They’re going to want you to, and the attention is going to feel amazing. Think first. Act later.”
Nadine and Jasper glanced at each other again and nodded.
Their Sponsor sighed long and low. “I’m grateful you two had the fortitude and wits to lead the rescue effort and to succeed. But I fear you have awoken the sleeping giant. You hurt the Draconis Combine and Tai-sa Yoshizawa. That man is not one who takes insults lightly.”
“I think Nadine’s crew took him down. When the Hatamoto-Suna fell and couldn’t get up, the other ’Mechs protected him.”
Lord Zachary smiled. “Most likely. Also, that means the man’s ego is hurt. This will make him very dangerous. Whether you meant to or not, you’ve pushed us into open warfare instead of the strange plan they’d been following before. More people are going to die. A lot of them. People we know.”
He looked troubled then focused in on them. “This is not your fault. It was bound to happen sooner rather than later. When the deaths come, remember that. None of this is your fault. They invaded us, captured our people, stole our food. They did this. Not you.”
The two cadets nodded, tired and confused. The baron’s next words woke them up again.
“There’s one exception to everything I told you before. The Ritza family. Protect them at all costs. The enemy knows of them now, and is hunting for them. House Ritza has gone to ground. All of them. They’ve been through sieges before, and have come out on the other side. As long as House Ritza stands, Emporia stands. House Ritza is Emporia. They are the one exception to the rule. Do whatever you must to protect the count and his family.”
“Yes, Lord Zachary.” Nadine took a half step closer to him. “Do you know where they are?”
He shook his head. “No, and that’s on purpose. If House Ritza had been captured, House Vogel would’ve gone to ground, and the fate of Emporia would’ve rested on House Vogel’s continuation. I can’t imagine the pain Aldric or Rowena are going through.” This last was muttered as the baron’s head dipped to the side and he looked at his hand.
“I think it’s about time to take the cadets to be seen by the doctors, my lord.” The major put a hand on each of the cadet’s shoulders.
Lord Zachary looked up. “Yes. Of course. Nadine, Jasper, I may seem hard on you in the near future. Especially in front of the cadre. Know that I do it to protect you. I’m proud of you and what you’ve accomplished. But now it’s time for the rest of us to take up the duties of war. You two must return to being cadets again.”
“Yes, my lord.” Jasper and Nadine said at the same time.
As if on cue, the doors opened and a medic stood there, looking stern. “It’s time to go. The baron’s vitals are wavering. He needs his rest.”
A nurse took one look at Jasper and declared him fit. “Cold compresses on those bruises should do it.” He looked at Nadine and admitted the cadet needed a stitch or two and an X-ray to make sure she didn’t have a skull fracture.
Major Leconte called one of the House Vogel guards over and presented Jasper to him. “This cadet needs to go back to his dorm. No side tours. No interruptions. No interviews by cadre. Baron Vogel’s orders.” With that, Jasper was escorted out of the infirmary.
Jean stayed with Nadine in the waiting room. He sat between her and the rest of the room, putting a glare on his face that made even the most arrogant of officers pause. No one approached or questioned either of them.
Nadine saw the looks and whispered words. She was too tired to worry about it. While she appreciated Jean at her side, and longed to talk more about the shortwave, she wished Vale were here. She hoped he was all right.
Leaning to Jean she asked, “Did any of us mention the Black Box to…anyone?” It was so late and so much had happened, she could not remember if she’d told the Vogels about it.
Keeping his voice low, Jean said, “You didn’t tell me.”
“It’s what Vale Auger was really doing in New Exeter. The broadcast message was his secondary mission. The first was to get word out on the Black Box. A last-ditch effort to let someone in the Federated Suns know we’re under attack.”
“I’d say he succeeded.”
Nadine fidgeted her hands, lacing and unlacing her fingers. “I just hope he makes it back.”
“We old men always find our way home.”
Nadine wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t until she saw Vale again.