“What number is that?” she persists.
She must suspect that I was bluffing.
“I can’t even tell you. There’s not many, if that’s what you mean.”
“I just think it’s weird for a slave-owning Empire to use robots to serve food, and not slaves. Especially for a prince. Are you Mareliux’s slave, Bellatriz?”
“No,”the sword snorts. “I’m a legendary sword, passed down in the royal lines of Khav for many centuries. I am now serving Prince Mareliux from my own free will and enjoying it a great deal. But perhaps you think of Vera as your slave?”
“Vera? I don’t look at her like one,” I tell them. “If she didn’t want to be on my wrist, I wouldn’t keep her there. How many slaves do you own, Mareliux?”
I think fast, but I can’t see how to get out of this. “Well, me… me personally… none.” I sigh. “All right, Umbra. You got me. We don’t actually use slaves. We abhor the practice. The Empire fights slavery wherever we come across it.”
“So your threat was empty? About selling everyone on Earth as slaves.”
I manage to not writhe in my seat. “That part was perhaps not completely— yes, Caret’ax?”
The bodyguard enters the mess, saving me from further embarrassment.
“Sir, there are many messages from your armies. There’s been a major Vyrpy attack on Cur. It looks like they were so many that the Imperial forces had to retreat.”
“Cur is lost?” I ask, struggling to maintain composure. “But that planet is only two solar systems from Khav itself! How could they get so close?”
“Military Intelligence is blaming weakness of the Syntrix,” Caret’ax says. “They can’t do their work well when they have no guiding strength.”
“The Emperor must give that strength!” I seethe as I get to my feet. “It’s irresponsible for him to stay on the throne when he can’t even provide minimal guidance and force to defend our Empire!”
“Shall we set course for Cur, sir?” the caveman asks, keeping his voice neutral.
I think about it. “We must get this taken care of. Cur is lost, and we will reconquer it when we have the strength. We’ll speed up and get to Grefve before the whole Empire collapses. When I’m fake married, perhaps I can persuade the Emperor to step down before there’s no Empire left for him to rule. Now, please excuse me, Umbra. I have to contact my generals. Caret’ax, give her a tour of the ship whenever she wants it.”
I get up and hurry to the conference room. All the highest officers of the Imperial Army are ready and waiting, their holographic images shimmering from light years away.
“Greetings, Imperial generals, legates, and tribunes,” I begin. “I understand there’s bad news…”
12
- Umbra-
Caret’ax stays in the room. The robots clear the table so fast it’s like a hurricane swept it all away. But they work much more quietly than a storm.
I turn Vera on. “Can you translate so Caret’ax understands?”
“I can try,”she chirps.
“Caret’ax, how many are aboard this ship?” I ask.
Vera translates, and she seems to do it well.
“Right now,” he says, “there’s only the prince, you, and me. Then there’s your AI and Bellatriz the sword.”
“No slaves aboard the ship?” I ask innocently. I have to find out.
“Slaves?” Caret’ax says, clearly surprised. “No. The Khavgren Empire doesn’t condone slavery. No Imperial citizen is allowed to keep slaves. It’s a serious breach of the law.”
“All right,” I say and get to my feet. “Can you please show me the ship?”
He gives a short nod. “It would be an honor.”
