Chapter 25
A gust of wind blew through the forest clearing as X removed the last batch of waffles from his portable griddle, stacking them next to the biscuits and fruit he had arranged on the small, wooden table. He looked over everything to make sure it was ready and decided that it must be, given the difficulty he was having in not eating right away. He looked around to distract himself. The sky was blue and the air was clear, but that was the case so often that it was easy to forget to enjoy it – after all, the climate was one of the reasons Koral’s group had started a colony here in the first place. Not that one could call it a “colony” anymore. Pretty much everything had changed in the last few years, since Nedward Simmons had come here looking for Koral. But, X supposed, that whole matter was also a large part of the reason why the colonists had ended up here in the first place, so he could not really complain.
X looked up as he heard footsteps approaching along the path, and a moment later Jenara appeared. If he ignored the crown and the meters of excess pastel silk billowing around her, X could still see the girl he had grown up with, her unique mixture of innocence and confidence evident behind her sparkling eyes. Jenara had changed a lot as well, of course, but in spite of her duties as Queen she had insisted that X meet her for breakfast at least once a week, so at least they were still in contact. Of course, once a week was a lot less frequent than what he would have expected a couple of years ago, but that was old news. At least he had been able to get her to agree to meet outdoors; the palace had become downright stuffy with all the business and politics lurking around every corner. Arranging security for the palace was one thing, but that was no reason why he should have to actually go there.
“Good morning,” Jenara said with her usual friendly smile. “How are you?”
“Pretty good,” X said. “No incidents, training stats are up, and traffic seems pretty normal.”
Jenara rolled her eyes. “I know that.” She reached up to give him a quick hug and pat on the back. “I mean, how are you doing? Any news from Valkron?”
X shrugged. “He’s bored. I think we’ve flown over the whole continent by now, and I don’t even have any new questions to ask him. But everything’s going okay. How is it with you?”
“I’m doing well,” Jenara said pleasantly as she sat down, her dress rustling as she eyed the food. “This looks delicious.”
X sat down across from her. “What can I say? I’m that good.”
“Do you know who wants to meet with me this afternoon? An ambassador from Jeltarix. He wants to work on a treaty. As if we could think of something to fight about if we tried.”
X shrugged. “They’re the closest thing we have to neighbors, I guess. They probably just want to check a box on a form somewhere so they can officially say they’re at peace with everyone in the neighborhood.”
“I guess so.” Jenara tilted her head as she said it, and X lost track of the conversation as her golden, meticulously-curled hair moved across her shoulder.
“You look good,” he heard himself say, then felt like he needed to back that up with something. “That should keep the ambassador a bit of guard; you could probably get him to agree to some goofy terms if you want.” He punctuated his comment with a mischievous smile in an attempt to hide the sincerity of his compliment.
“Thank you,” Jenara said, fixing him with a knowing look. She had seen through his attempted cover-up, of course, but it did not matter. They both knew how each other felt, and there was no sense dwelling on the matter.
X swallowed his sense of awkwardness and changed the subject. “So, any news on the war?”
Jenara’s expression turned serious. “Nothing new. Marnax is holding ground, and everyone’s on alert. They’re not releasing a lot of details.”
X nodded. He had taken Palandora’s limited resources into battle last time, but now that there was an entire planet to defend, everyone had agreed that defending the nebular corridor was the only priority this time around. And even if they had decided to send a ship or two, X would have stayed.
Jenara took a bite of her waffle, but she was obviously preoccupied. “I just wish we could have done something about Kayleen Rax. To think of her being a Plasma Master again…”
“I know, but once she had immunity she never broke the law, as far as anyone could tell. There was nothing you could do.”
“Where do you think she is?”
“I know where I hope she is.” X realized that he had stopped eating. It had been hard enough living on the same planet with the woman who had killed Koral Ralok, but to think that she might be involved in some new plot made his stomach turn. “What do you think will happen with her company?”
Jenara shrugged, looking disgusted. “They’ll figure something out, and if it collapses then someone else will fill in the gap. We don’t need her – we never did.”
“I guess in a sense, the fact that we are still here, living in peace is proof that she failed. I know she wouldn’t have left us like this if she had a choice.”
Jenara nodded and then washed the whole matter down with a glass of bright red fruit juice. “Wow,” she said. “What is this?”
“It’s from some kind of berry I found near Neridis Lake. They’re so squishy you can’t really eat them with your hands, but it makes good juice.”
She set the glass down with a thoughtful look on her face. “We landed on a weird planet. X. Ever wonder why we’re here?”
“Every single day. That’s why I keep looking.”
They ate in silence for a while, and X tried to focus on the sounds of animals in the trees around him even though Jenara’s presence seemed to demand his attention. It had become a weekly challenge for him to notice her without letting himself feel anything. He was still working on it. Then there was a rustling in the trees as someone hurried toward them, presumably one of the guards who would have the place surrounded for Jenara’s safety. The guard burst through the trees at a run, carrying a large metal case. Jenara rose to greet him, and the man bowed low before speaking.
“Your majesty, there’s a problem at the corridor. There’s a transport ship that refuses to turn around. The captain seems worried about something, but he will only talk to you. I apologize for interrupting your meal.”
Jenara frowned. We’ve been broadcasting the closure for days now, right?”
“Yes, your highness. We would have waited to tell you, but General Orvinder is worried that there might be some additional threat behind this.”
“Very well, let’s see what the situation is.”
The guard held the case out horizontally, and legs unfolded down to the ground, holding the case in place. A panel lifted on the top and unfolded into a pair of wide screens. One showed Orvinder, who was in command of the planetary defense force, and the other showed a business logo.
“Put him through,” Jenara instructed before the general could speak, and the other monitor changed to show a ship’s pricom. The captain was pacing and seemed close to hyperventilating.
“Queen Trennon! You have to let us in. I can’t take one more day of this…”
“Slow down, Captain. What’s the problem?”
“We… need to reach Palandora. We have some passengers that need to disembark immediately.”
“We have sealed off the nebula for security purposes. Only residents are allowed in.”
“But… but…”
“Oh, forget it,” said an exasperated voice. Looking over Jenara’s shoulder, X was not sure who it belonged to until a dark-haired woman suddenly appeared on the pricom next to the captain. Her folded arms and cross expression made it clear that the woman was quite disappointed with the conversation she had just witnessed. “You’d think I had asked you to eat the nebula, not just get inside it. Queen Trennon, I’m Mirana Kelar. I was on a secret mission to investigate something that might have happened on your planet. Less secret now.”
The captain pointed emphatically at Mirana while backing away from her. ?
??She threatened me! You have to get her off this ship!”
Jenara raised an eyebrow and exchanged a surprised look with X. This was certainly an interesting start to the day, although it was still unclear what any of this meant.
“Miss Kelar? Would you mind explaining a little further why your ship’s captain feels like he’s under attack?”
Mirana looked at the man and shook her head, then turned back to the camera with a serious expression that reminded X of a parent trying to explain to another adult what her child had done. “I didn’t threaten him. I found out that we were turning back…”
“She spied!”
“… and I explained very clearly to Captain Quirnik that if he turned around and someone found out that I had been on his ship, some very bad people would end up giving him a lot of attention.”
“She threatened to break my arm!”
Mirana’s turned to him and raised her voice. “That was only after you insisted I discuss the matter over dinner and reached for my hand, you little worm!”
Jenara’s eyes were wide with amazement at this point. X suspected that part of her wanted to watch this scene play out on its own, but at the same time it was obviously time for some royal intervention.
“It’s all right, Captain, we’ll work this out. Mirana, I don’t doubt that your concern for safety is valid, but you have to understand why we sealed the corridor. If we let in every ship that claims distress, it would be very easy to Viper to sneak his forces in here aboard one of them. And we certainly can’t be making exceptions based on threats to a Captain.”
X thought he saw a look of anger flash across Mirana’s face, but it was gone in an instant. “I understand the need for security,” she said patiently. “And I assure you, it was never my intention to threaten Quirnik. And I am not threatening you. But I am also not leaving; this is too important. If this ship turns back, I will launch my fighter and wait for the corridor to become available. Meanwhile, the moment the Ice Master learns that I am here, she will come after me. And if by some chance she defeats me, she will not just head back home. She will want to know why I came here when the battle is on the other side of the Empire.”
Jenara’s brow had furrowed as Mirana spoke. “I have to ask,” she said carefully. “If this visit is so important, why did you come aboard a commercial transport instead of your own ship? Doesn’t it turn invisible?”
“I’m not taking hostages, if that’s what you’re asking. I left Nemesis with Marnax so he’ll have something that can deal with the Vortak invasion. Surely you’re aware that we are at war.”
That last outburst had been a mistake, and X could see that Jenara was about to tell Quirnik to turn around. But he had to talk to Jenara first. “Could I have a moment?” He felt awkward interrupting, but Jenara silenced the com link and stepped out of view of the camera.
“What is it, X?”
“It’s just that…”
“Say it.”
“If Nedward Simmons were here, he would ask you to let her in.”
Jenara frowned. “If Ned were here, he could deal with her. You heard the story – this woman betrayed Marnax. She has her own agenda that she isn’t sharing. Just because Ned forgave her and she wasn’t charged with anything, that doesn’t mean we can trust her here.”
“That’s true,” X said carefully. “But she’s right about what will happen if we send her back. Quirnik will blab no matter what anyone says, not to mention his pricom crew. It would be safer to let them into the corridor at least.”
“And trap them there?”
“We could search people individually as they transfer to one of our ships, and then let them land.”
“I still don’t like it.”
X nodded. He decided not to say the other thing that was on his mind: whatever Mirana was searching for, there was a decent chance it would explain something about the ruins X and Koral had investigated without success.
Jenara stepped back in front of the camera. “I’m going open the corridor and let you come to the first checkpoint, where you will meet one of our ships. Your crew will be searched as they transfer over, and then we will ferry you down to the planet.”
Quirnik looked only slightly relieved. “What about her? She’s been sneaking into restricted areas without permission! I want her arrested!”
“That’s a matter for the Anacronian courts, Captain. My concern is the safety of this planet. Stand by for instructions.”