| |
The first phase was complete.
It had not been easy, but they had done it.
Ashira, Jeck, and Ervik were walking along a corridor to the throne room.
After more than three years away, the place did not feel at all like home. A place that had been home for more than a decade was now strange.
It still felt familiar to Ashira. She had walked these halls more times than she could count over the years. Even so, there was an alien quality to this place and all it represented.
The plan had been audacious. But armed with all the information Alvon had presented her, Ashira was confident it would work.
Phase Two was fraught with uncertainty. It also presumed that the conspiracy went no further than the CSA and Ashira’s own research had uncovered. Yet it was a necessary part of the plan.
Lu was aboard the Dawnstrider, monitoring their communications and conversations on an open channel, recording everything. Though she could not be armed, she still provided backup.
Fortunately, Lu was not their only backup.
Ashira tensed as they reached the large, imposing double doors into the throne room. Though they had been expected, a pair of guards awaited them.
Ashira stood behind Jeck and Ervik as they reached the doors.
“Yes?” one of the guards addressed them.
“Greetings, I am Captain Jeck Murtsharn of the Dawnstrider. I have an appointment with the regent.”
The guard tapped on a screen mounted on a swing-arm attached to the wall beside the door, apparently checking the appointment calendar.
“Yes, I see,” the guard agreed. Without more than a glance at Ervik or Ashira, the first guard gestured to the second.
The other guard tapped a controller, and the double doors split lengthwise down the middle and began to slide apart.
“The regent will see you,” the first guard said.
“Thank you,” Jeck replied cheerfully.
They all stepped forward into the large throne room.
The palace had been constructed by Petra’s great-great-great-grandmother. The old palace had not been to her liking, and as a part of her legacy, she had commissioned the new.
The throne room was opulent without being completely over the top. It featured smoky glass columns arising on the outer edges, forming a gallery area along the walls. The ceiling arose over one hundred feet to pointed arches.
The room was one hundred feet long and sixty feet wide. On the far side from the doors was the raised dais. A pair of comfortable seats sat there—the thrones. To the left was a semi-circle of seats facing a single platform, and to the right a conference table with ten chairs.
At its center was a table and a rather comfortable-looking business seat and desk. Ashira saw that, as regent, Erit Palto had not claimed a throne for himself.
“Please, come in,” the regent said.
The doors glided closed behind the trio as they made their way forward. Ashira walked a pace or two behind Jeck and Ervik.
“I was informed by the Council that this was of the utmost importance,” Erit Palto continued.
“Yes. Thank you for seeing us,” said Jeck as they approached the dais.
One of the more wondrous aspects of the room’s design was acoustics that allowed for almost normal conversation from one end of the room to the other. It would disengage when all parties were on the dais, or if it was manually switched off.
Ashira maintained her calm as they stepped up and approached Erit Palto’s desk. She was fighting an internal struggle between her rage and her fear over this situation.
They stood before his desk, and Erit Palto arose and offered his hand. “Regent Erit Palto.”
Jeck took his hand. “Captain Jeck Murtsharn.” Jeck gestured to his side, “This is my quartermaster, Ervik Gellard.”
They shook hands.
“And my ship’s engineer, Lu Miltull.”
Ashira stepped between Jeck and Ervik to shake Erit Palto’s hand. The former captain of her guard showed no sign of recognition at all.
“The Council told me you had a once-in-lifetime opportunity for the Kingdom?” Erit Palto prompted.
“Yes,” Jeck agreed. “But we want to only explain this once.”
“Of course,” Erit Palto said. “The ministers will be here in a moment.”
As if on cue, they came into the throne room from the private entrance on the dais end.
“Apologies. We had some unexpected business. I am Prime Minister Aneera Golmar.” As she reached the far side of the desk, she and Jeck shook hands. “And this is the Shardaelian Foreign Minister, Lon Comaer.”
“A pleasure, Captain.” Lon shook Jeck’s hand as well.
Handshakes and introductions were made among all. Aneera did not recognize Ashira, but Lon paused after shaking her hand.
“Apologies,” he said. “But have we met before?”
“Yes, we have.” Ashira replied.
Lon nodded. “Indeed. Where did we meet?”
“Oh, you might not remember,” Ashira said, keeping her voice as level as she could. “It was a very long time ago. Well before you held this position.”
“You just seem so familiar,” Lon mused.
“We should get to business,” Jeck interrupted.
“Of course,” Erit Palto replied. He gestured to the conference table. “Shall we?”
“Please,” Jeck agreed.
Erit Palto, Aneera Golmar, and Lon Comaer all moved toward the table.
Jeck, Ashira, and Ervik all drew their daggers and converted them to pistols. The trio of Shardaelian officials didn’t miss that.
“How dare you!” exclaimed Aneera Golmar.
“Please,” Jeck said, gesturing with his pistol. “Your weapons. Remove them slowly and set them down on the floor, then take a seat.”
“How did you smuggle weapons in here?” asked Erit Palto.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” Jeck said, with no change in his tone. “But we will if you don’t comply. Trust me, your guards are not going to be coming. Please, remove your weapons.”
All three Shardaelian officials had daggers. They removed them and set them down before taking their seats at the conference table.
Ashira knew that all three officials had comm units on their person. But as soon as Aneera and Lon had entered the chamber, Ervik had switched on the jammer in his pocket.
Smuggling in the daggers had been an interesting trick. They had, of course, been searched at the entrance to the palace. But Ashira had known their security and knew that they would not be patted down.
To hide the daggers from the scanners, Jeck, Ashira, and Ervik had utilized small dampening fields.
Much like the personal dampening field that had protected Ashira when she’d stowed away on the Raja’s yacht after his attempt to murder her, this one had a very small focus. It rendered a single metallic item, like a dagger or datapad, invisible to scanning devices.
Though the CSA had been loath to part with this sort of technology, Alvon had seen to it. The Agency used it to keep their agents equipped in circumstances in which they might be asked to surrender their weapons and datapads.
Jeck used his foot to slide the daggers away and behind him.
“What is going on here?” Aneera Golmar demanded.
“We are going to have a little chat,” Ashira told her. She looked to her brother. “Think harder, Lon, and it may occur to you why I am familiar.”
Lon paled. “No. It...it cannot be.”
Erit Palto also looked ill. “This is not possible.”
“Oh, but I am afraid it is,” said Ashira, her voice sarcastically sweet. She removed her glasses. “I have made my way home.”
The trio were silent a moment. Erit Palto did not hide his stabbing at the comm on his wrist.
Ervik held up the jammer. “That’s really not going to work, Regent. The jammer is tuned right into the guard channel.”
Erit Palto stopped toying with his comm and dropped his hands to the desk. “Say what you will: you’re dead anyhow. Eventually the guards will wonder why you have not left. You waited a long time, Ashira.”
“I needed to have all of the facts in order.” Ashira gestured to the doors. “As we speak, you should know that your guards are being relieved.”
“I am the regent,” Erit Palto said. “On whose authority?”
“Mine,” Ashira replied. “I am the rightful Queen of Shardaelia. The Council was very kind in arranging this meeting for me.”
“The Royal Guard still answers to me,” Erit Palto said angrily.
Ashira smiled at him. “I am well aware of that. That is why Cosmic Security Agency forces are relieving them at this moment. The Council will have oversight of the Agency forces until such time as they sort things out and create a new police force for the palace.”
This had been a part of the “resources” of the CSA Alvon had offered Ashira.
The Shardaelian trio looked defeated.
“We are going to have a little conversation here, and then you will be dealt with,” Ashira informed the trio. She gestured at Jeck and Ervik. “Do not even think about trying anything. Both of my friends here are trained soldiers. They are far more capable than any of you.”
Ashira paused a moment to let that sink in. “I must say, you created a rather impressive plan. It was intricate, well thought out, and took years to unravel. I am fairly certain that the Raja knows I am still alive. But he did not tell you that, did he?”
The three Shardaelian officials said nothing.
“Be that as it may,” Ashira went on, “I knew that I could not just return and reclaim my throne. If would not be safe for myself, nor any that I care about—so I have bided my time and put in a lot of diligent effort to get to the bottom of this.”
She paused and turned to face the three of them, leaning in and placing her palms on the table. “I trusted each and every one of you. My brother. My friends. And in return you betrayed me. Why? Profit. Power. Each of you would go far with Petra and me out of the way.”
Ashira looked to the regent. “Erit Palto. Petra and I trusted you with our lives. Her blood, which you swore an oath to protect, is on your hands. It sickens me that you have been raising our son after conspiring to have us both murdered.”
She turned her gaze on her brother. “Lon. Though you are my brother, we have never been close. But this betrayal...? You are my flesh and blood. Yet in your love for this woman, for your secret ambition and wealth, you have betrayed that. You have a share in the responsibility for my wife’s death as well.”
Now she looked at the prime minister. “And you, Aneera Golmar. The master manipulator. Scheming and plotting against not just your spouse, but the kingdom. Plots within plots—you are the puppet master. I could scarcely believe it when I first learned of your involvement. But the depth of this plot is simply stunning. You should be congratulated on such an intricate and well-executed plan.”
Ashira arose. “But that is not to be. After today, it is all over.”
“Do you believe that you can just reclaim the throne?” Aneera Golmar sneered. “You cannot undo what we have done. And do you think the Council has the power to help you?”
“Funny you should say that,” Ashira replied. “You see, before this meeting, I officially endowed the Council with full executive power.”
“You cannot do that!” barked Erit Palto. “I am the regent, and I do not authorize this!”
Ashira laughed. “But you are not the regent any longer, Erit Palto. I am the rightful queen, which the Council has recognized and had proven. My DNA has been confirmed, so you were removed from authority about an hour ago.”
She paused, then continued. “So, as queen, I passed full executive authority to the Council. They will be choosing a new prime minister and a new foreign minister in the coming days. But they have a lot of work ahead of them.”
Ashira took a seat across from the Shardaelian trio. “I have become aware of the majority of your scheme, Aneera Golmar. You are correct: I cannot undo much of what you have done. But then, I would not, as that which benefits you benefits the whole of Shardaelia. But your gain? That I can do something about.”
Ashira withdrew a datapad and slid it across the table to Aneera Golmar. “That is the sum total of your scheme, all spelled out. While much of it is speculative, it is not all that hard to add one plus one and get two, nor to connect the dots and see it for what it is.
“Your partner, the Raja, knows all of this, of course—as do most of your Karvama Union associates. You know who was unaware of this? Your husband.”
Now Aneera Golmar looked ill. After a moment, Ashira continued, “You see, a CSA agent just transmitted all of that data to Colun Golmar. Further, the CSA is offering him protection, since they speculate you are plotting his murder next.”
The trio looked at Ashira and her companions but said nothing. They looked defeated.
Ashira arose. “So, you see, this is all over. You are finished. Once we depart from this throne room, the CSA forces will come in and place you under arrest. The Council will decide how to handle your trials. I’ll leave that to them.”
Ashira gestured toward the private entrance. “We will be collecting my son. The prince will be returned to my care, and we will be leaving this place.”
Ashira went to the daggers the trio had dropped on the floor, bent down, and scooped them up. She turned to them again. “I recognize, Aneera Golmar, that I cannot reclaim the throne. Your machinations have seen to that in many ways.
“Maybe, when he is old enough, Lii will claim the throne. Or perhaps the monarchy ends here. The Council is democratically elected, and with executive authority will be forming the new government.”
Ashira passed a dagger each to Jeck and Ervik, holding the last without dropping her own, still set as a pistol. “You conspired to take my life and those I love from me. While I cannot return to what was, I have a new life, and that is something you cannot take. I may be done with Shardaelia, but I assure you that is nothing in comparison to how it will be - now that Shardaelia will be done with you three.”