CHAPTER SEVEN
 

Sivya stepped out of the cart at the rental desk, finding a lot of people standing there.  "Hello," she said with a bright smile. "Coming to see us off or to try and smite us?"

The person with the tag which said 'manager' walked forward and shook her hand.  "Thank you for shopping with us, Empress.  Would you like to make a speech?  I hear you're quite good at it."

She smiled. "I didn't know I'd need to, I don't have a thing prepared," she offered.  He shrugged and grinned at her.  "All right.  I suppose."  She smiled and waved at the others gathered around.  "Thank you for hosting and helping us on this trip.  I had a lot of fun and I believe this trip has shown my spouses how I really am at times."  That got some tittering. "I seriously didn't expect to have to make a speech this time and I refuse to be long-winded and boring so I'll simply leave it at the thank you and I'll probably be back on my way to Riven.  For those who have shown the utmost care and patience with us, there's an extra thank you from us.  We know we can be trying and that attending to the massive group that decided to follow me at times can be a bit of a pain, so we appreciated all the patience and the help.  Now, we'd best get back," she sighed, looking at her people.  "Come.  Which ship are we going to?"

"The Imperial destroyer Curantes is waiting," Lasarae said, leading the way.  "The one you were supposed to take on the way up, Empress."

"Fine, be a nag, but be a nag at the person who decided against it," she said lightly, following her out to the docking section.  They boarded and had just gotten the doors closed when the decompression alarm sounded, sealing off the docking bay.  "What's happened now?" she complained, looking out a port window.  "Who is the person in the mask?"

"It's hopefully maintenance," Brast said, moving her away from the windows.  "In case it's not, we'll be in our quarters.  Rethna?"  He followed them down, letting Lasarae take a count of the others in the party to make sure they were all there. That also got them somewhere more defensible and out of the direct line of fire.  He settled her onto the bed and turned, finding the Captain behind them.  He nodded at her.  "Are we all in?"

"Yes, but departure has been halted until they find out what's wrong.  In truth, we were expecting more to ship back within the holds, so we've got extra room.  Would it bother you to take some of the clan members back?  Or even some animals that they're going to be shipping?"

"It's your ship," Sivya noted.  "I plan on trying to sleep, and failing miserably because the ship moves.  That way I'm not in the way, no one has to go out of their way to be polite, and I can continue that trend while the new legislation comes out."

The Captain smirked at her.  "I've seen the military preview copy, Empress.  It is very well written, explained, and the timetable isn't reasonable."  She smirked.  "In another twenty years, Central, there's going to be some planets that won't even have finished debating it, much less implemented it."

"There was a section put in to add to the deadline for such things, like on Racosta, where everything is so heavily related to their religion that nothing ever seems to change.  Mostly the changes bring everyone in line with the eight tenets that rule the empire.  We agreed that there would only be eight of them and that everyone had to follow them.  I'm sticking up for that and all of them will be followed or else bad things will happen.  I know that'll upset some planets, and frankly, they're probably the ones that need to be brought in line the most."  She shifted on the bed.  "I simply set up a framework for enforcing the law."

"If you wish it.  Do you know how odd it'll be to find a male in a command position?"

"Yes, but we've proven that some men can do that," Brast said dryly, smirking at her.  "There will probably be a few that have been held down.  She was letting you guys decide that and again, you've got twenty years Central time."  He shifted some, leaning against the side of the bed.  "Besides, you have three men who have proven themselves worthy enough to move through the ranks to First Mate, even though it's practically unheard of.  What about them?"

"They would be the obvious choices, and one's on this ship," she admitted casually, "but he said he didn't want to command more than he already did."

"Not even a smaller ship?  That would seem to be the way to go, and one of the best being given a battle cruiser of some sort."

"Actually, there is one," she admitted.  "He's a hotshot.  He's smart, a good tactician, and he's hell to work under.  I hate the man personally, but he gets the job done and his Captain's not that effectual with her crew.  I'm not sure it wouldn't go to his head however."

"Then another one would be chosen and he'd be retired suddenly," Brast pointed out with a small half-shrug.  "You've seen it before when the wrong woman was chosen.  Plus there are male- dominated or truly equal worlds where men do command within the military.  Look at some of them."

"It is a wise idea and I'll send it back to our commanders.  Settle in, we'll be leaving in a few hours.  Empress, I promise, the ride will be as smooth as I can make it.  You should be able to rest if you want."  She walked off, going to get an update from her people.  She looked at her First Mate, then around.  "It looks like you could be one of the choices, I'd make your feelings known," she offered.  "She's adamant that she's enforcing all the laws."

"They do have an 'out' clause," he reminded her.  "They all state that they only work if they're not affected by the other eight.  So all religions are welcome and equally as important, unless you're using it to hurt children or your general populace."  He shifted his weight around, leaning more heavily on his other side for a moment.  "Then again, her new law does tighten that out clause and it does state how and why.  She explained it so even the most dull individual can understand it, which is good for some of the politicians."

"It is," the Captain agreed.  "She also had another point.  The people who won't like it the most are those who it'll touch directly."

"Eeh, those not-pirates, the slavers, deserve whatever the rest of the military can give them," he said smugly.  "I'm sure most of those heading after them will be more than capable of spreading enough pain for their victim's pleasures."

She shook her head.  "She said that those few planets that were devoted to those ideals were now forfeit to the victims or going up for auction to those who do not take part in such things. She's determined to stamp them out."

"I'm thinking she's had some experience with them," her First Mate said wisely.

"Possibly. She seemed so nice, yet a bit cold and distant."

"Exactly what a priestess is supposed to be," he pointed out.  She nodded and clapped him on the arm.  "Do we have permission to leave yet?" he called to the officer on the communications panel.

"Not yet, sir.  I've asked again and they've said that we'll be going first.  They've found the glitch and the reason for it.  They're forwarding a report to us so it can be seen if it should pass up the levels of administration."

"Good job," the captain assured him.  "Carry on and tell me when."

"Yes, ma'am," he said more stiffly.  "Is the Empress all right?"

"Just fine.  She's napping.  She has a problem sleeping on ships."

"We're always smooth transport," the First Mate defended.

"Apparently it's all ships," she said with a small shrug.  "She seems to need a planet beneath her.  The rumors said she didn't sleep that well in the hostel either.  Some people need a planet, the rest of us live in space."  She turned to check the other sections of her ship.  They couldn't afford to look bad in front of their boss.  She might make them refit or split the crew apart.
 

~*~*~*~

Brast looked out the window, mapping the stars mentally to get an idea of where they were.  "Why are we heading back toward Central World?"

"Because all legislation has to be announced there," Rethna said bitterly.  "I had forgotten about that."  He looked at the meditating woman, then at Brast.  "I've only got my one weapon on me."

"Fortunately I've got most of mine and Constantine's guards are more armed than we are," Brast said, giving him a look.  "Didn't expect anyone to come up to us?"

"I usually don't wear more than my regulation ones," he defended.  "Not all of us come armed to every event."

"That may change," Brast pointed out with a bit of fake cheer.  "We can probably borrow some spares off the crew.  If not, we'll land and head directly to my house, where she'll change, I'll change, and we'll raid my stash of weapons."

"That would be fine," Rethna agreed.

"I'm wearing the new blue outfit," Sivya muttered.  "Deal with it."

Brast looked at her, then shook his head.  "That's a bit showy, Sivya."

She opened her eyes to look at him.  "Which is, as you've pointed out many times, the sole purpose of my job.  To be the showpiece of the empire."  She gave him a smug look.  "I like the blue outfit and I doubt you've seen this one unless you were packing up the shopping bags."  He shook his head.  "That's fine."  She stood up and walked out into the hallway.  "Lasarae, I need into my new things so I can make that stupid speech.  Do you know where they're being kept?"

"No, ma'am, but I can figure that out for you," she offered, leading her to the bridge.  That wasn't her intention, she had meant for her charge to go back into her room, but one couldn't argue with the woman most of the time.  "Excuse me," she said with a smile when the First Mate jumped.  "We are heading to Central Worlds?"  He nodded quickly.  "Then she'll need to change.  We're sorry to interrupt."

"It's not a problem," he offered with a shy smile for the young Empress.  "I'll have someone lead you down to the area we've got everything stored.  There are animals down there too but they shouldn't be near your new things."

She shrugged.  "As long as they don't mess them up I like animals," she admitted.  "Nature is a great thing and all animals are a part of nature, even the more uptight ones."  He chuckled and waved one of the security guards over.  "I thank you.  I didn't want to interrupt anything important, like driving the ship."  She followed the young woman out off the bridge and down the hallways, heading for the back of the ship. "I had no idea that this ship was so big," she said, looking around.

"The rumors are that you don't like ships," the security officer said gently.

Sivya shook her head quickly.  "I'm not a big fan of being off firm ground.  It makes my head hurt."  She touched her Thinker's chain, and the officer looked like she got it.  "I wish I could fly more often, everyone seems to think it's great fun, but it gives me headaches.  I suppose that's why I joined a Nature sect."  The officer smiled at her.  "Also, Brast was thinking that he might need to borrow a few weapons possibly," she said quietly.

"I'll talk with him on the way back, Empress," she said gently.  "We understand that there are those who would not be happy with you."  She palmed the control and the door opened.  "This is the storage area, Empress.  What did you need?"

"My new blue outfit.  The one I got while I was ignoring my husbands and wives."  She looked at her guard.

"The blue hide trunk, Empress."

"Thank you."  She walked over to it and opened it, digging inside until she came up with all the pieces of her new outfit.  She smiled as a milk beast came over.  It looked like a furry footstool, but they were all very gentle.  She patted it on the head, making little sucking noises.  "Hello, friend.  How are you enjoying space?"

"Empress!" one of the men in there said suddenly, jumping up.  "We didn't see you come in."

She smiled.  "I simply had to have something to wear.  There'll be a short stop on Central World so I can announce some legislation.  I'm not sure if we'll be coming back or if we'll be taking another ship back."  She picked up something from inside the trunk, then closed it and stood up, patting the milk beast one more time. "She's adorable."

"How can you tell without looking?"

She smiled.  "Females have a special mental feel to them. It's part of my former life. This one's going to go into heat soon," she said with a small wink.  "I'll leave you to your tending.  Has anyone seen the blasted crown?"  They all pointed at a stand in the corner. "Thank you."   She walked over to grab it, but a goat got in her way.  These were the main meat beasts of the Empire, and they were quite tough to deal with.  They routinely attacked humans and tried to eat them.  They were not genial in the least.  They hated the scent, sound, or touch of a human.  She hummed a calming song as she walked around it, grabbing the heavy crown and hurried away just as it tried to bite her.  It caught the edge of her skirt but it didn't rip.  She waved from the doorway and headed off with the guards.  "That was rather close.  The last time I got that near to one it bit me on the thigh."

Lasarae gave her a look.  "Why did you get that close to one?  Even the ones who breed and raise them don't get that close to them without safety equipment and clothes that they can't bite through."

"I was blessing a new breeding herd," she said dryly, smirking at her.  "They were not happy to be at the temple at all."  She tapped on the door before walking in.  "I'm back.  The guard is outside, Brast."  He nodded and took Rethna out so she could change.  She took off the breast cups and the two-panel skirt she had been wearing, folding them carefully, then put on the new set.  This one was in a luxuriant fabric that had been found among her husband Henri's people, velvet.  It was warmer than her other, but she had been chilled anyway.  It was also slightly furry and quite soft.  It felt like when she was holding the baby Ferganis who had let her pet her, only with shorter fur.  She sat down at the mirror, looking at her mass of hair.  She'd let Brast deal with it or she'd have to braid it again.  She looked at the necklace that she had adored, then at her Thinker's collar.  She sighed.  Regulations said she could not take the dual collars off, nor should anything cover them.  That was the law.  She slid the necklace on underneath it and arranged them so the first chain was inside the necklace, basically resting on top of it.  That also left the light deflector open to being seen.  She sighed and took off the necklace, laying it back in its box.  "I'm done," she called.

Rethna walked back in, blinking a few times.  "That was fast.  Most women take nearly forever."

"Well, I'm not one of them.  The only problem I'm having is that the law requires nothing to obscure my Thinker's chain."  She touched it.  "And I can't figure out how to do the necklace with that restriction."

"Let me," Brast said as he walked in. He paused to look her over.  "I like that fabric," he admitted.  "Human?"  She nodded.  "What's it called?  It looks very comfortable."

"It's called velvet.  It's quit soft."  She let him test the hem of her skirt.  "The law says I have to have the collar showing, that nothing can obscure it."

He looked at the chains, then her necklace.  He sighed and put the necklace under her chain then made sure that the chain rested along the bottom of the necklace, but she winced so it was apparently a tight fit.  He touched the necklace, finding a spot on it.  He smiled as he traced the channel, sliding the marked chain into the slot made for it.  "There, how's that?"

"Better," she said happily.  "Braid the mass of hair?"

"No," he snorted, sitting down with one of her new brushes to work on the messy mass.  "When is the procurer coming?"

"She'll be meeting us back at the palace.  He had to write home to get her to come."

"That's fine."  He worked on pinning the sections into a pattern on the back of her head.  It looked like a mass of swirling waves, but that was fine for him and for her.  He made sure she had room for he crown, then put it onto her head to make sure once he was done.  He folded up the bottom and pinned it to the base of her head, then let the rest cascade down her back.  The anti-gravity pins were used in the bundled and folded mass, that's where they were best hidden.  Then he went to work with the longer pins to hide them as well.  Just in case. The ship's stores didn't have that many spare weapons, but they should be fine.  They were going to land beside the coronation chamber and then walk in from there.  People had already been alerted that she was on her way.  The docking ring had been cleared, that left someone trying to shoot in the see- through panels in the coronation chamber, or blowing up a ship so they could land.  Not that he had any illusions about the military being on their side of this matter.  There were going to be some among them who were going to be upset with her as well, men and women.  He got her settled on the bed and picked out his out attire, retiring to the bathroom to change clothes.  It wasn't immodest or anything but he didn't want to give her any ideas.

Sivya lounged with a book she had found, translating as she read.  "What is that?" Rethna asked.

"It's a book about Empress Crathanas' first year," she said absently. "It's written by her people."  She flipped onto her side, then had to shift so she wasn't lying on her hair any longer.  She went back to her reading.  It was really fascinating.  The woman had tried all this years before and had almost made it.  She had failed because the men of her time were wary of being taken from their homes.  She had ruled just as the Great Troubles ended.  She had also had an unpopular First Husband and hadn't liked women so her First Wife was in name only.  The men of her time had started a civil war to keep themselves from getting voting rights and the ability to be free.  She was to the point of the wording of the edict.  Her eyes were covered and she sighed, looking up at her husband.  "Black today?"

"It's easier to hide blood if it becomes necessary," he said quietly.  "Are you sure you want to go in that?"  She nodded.  "Absolutely certain?"

"Yes, Brast, I'm certain.  It's comfortable, I can move in it, and it's hardy."  She went back to her reading.  "Are we looking at a lot of opposition?"

"Possibly.  They can't clear the ring totally because one of the shipping rings was shot at last night and it's shut down."  She nodded for him to go on, putting her book aside.  "Which one was that?"

"Crathanas."

"Oh."  He blinked a few times.  "Taking lessons?"

She grimaced. "Hoping to avoid the civil war from the men."  She stood up, shaking out her skirt.  "Are we nearly there?"

"Not quite.  We've got another few hours.  I wanted to go over the security measures with you.  You're smart enough to follow orders for your own good, yes?" he asked.  She nodded, letting one shoulder shrug a bit.  "Good.  Then Lasarae will be in front of you."

"That's not how the procession works," she pointed out.

"Let me finish.  Until the doorway, then she'll be falling back to right behind you.  Pisha didn't want to come for this one, she feels safer on the ship.  Also, if there is a fight, this ship will leave if it comes into serious danger."

"Of course!  I don't want the others on board to die!"  She glared at him.  "I'm not stupid, Brast."

"Good, just stating the obvious so you know," he said calmly.  "You've not been in many situations like this before."

"No, but I am very careful with my safety most of the time.  How is Constantine coming in?"

"She's not.  She's sent out a general message that she supports this action, but she's not coming inside with you.  It'll be you, me, Rethna, and Lasarae.  The people who report on these things have been told that your First Wife has a headache at the moment.  Besides, I can handle the information for the family while she handles all the official correspondence for you."

"Oh, bless you, Brast," she said, kissing him on the cheek.  "That would take a lot of work off my shoulders."  She smiled at him.  "Anything else?"

"Can you shoot?"

"I can point the blaster in the general direction and hit the switch," she offered. "I'm more used to farming weapons, the shock sticks and things.  The blasters feel funny in my hand."

"Very well," he agreed.  "We'll be working on that once we get home.  Fortunately a few other members of your personal guard are on Central Worlds because they had to change ships and planned it that way when they heard you were announcing major legislation.  It was a good idea to do it during the trip.  That way you'd almost have to give them a day to calm down before you could make the official announcement."

"Actually, I planned on hiding on the ship until we landed," she admitted dryly, smirking at him.  "That way they could be outraged and get it all out, and then come to me in a more reasonable mood."

"Hiding isn't a bad idea at times," he agreed with a smile.  "Let's do your makeup."  She groaned.  "I know, you hate it.  We still have to do it."   He sat her down in front of the mirror and picked out what he wanted to use to highlight her features.  It may not have been the most correct thing with that outfit but it would make her look good.  He got done right before someone tapped on the door, so he grunted.  Rethna and Lasarae walked in together and stopped to look at her. "Is she decent enough?"

"She's quite pretty," Rethna admitted.  "That fabric does good things for her skin."  He shook himself. "There's a blockade," he said grimly.

Lasarae nodded.  "Sixty ships, two military."  She looked at Sivya.  "There is a solution to that.  There is a small transport on board.  It's a jump ship, a Marine's ship."  Brast whimpered.  "That would make it past there.  He has offered it to you."

"I can do that," Brast agreed grimly.  "It's not the option I would choose first."

"Can we all fit?" Sivya asked.

"No," Lasarae said, shaking her head.  "Only you two can fit and it'll be a tight fit.  Their personal ships, the ones they use for duty, have everything a single Marine needs to survive."  Sivya groaned.  "They don't fly double, but occasionally they do fly in pairs, at which time they tend to link their ships.  If we had two, I'm qualified to fly one."

"No, you stay and help the crew," Brast said.  "They'll let you help, even if it is with a decoy ship or however."  She nodded.

"No, no decoys.  Can we slip away unnoticed?" Sivya asked.  Everyone stared at her. "There are other civilians on this ship, plus their animals, the things that their families depend on.  I will not have them hurt.  If we can depart without being noticed and make it around the blockade, we will.  Then this ship can seemingly comply and turn around and head back to Alesar."

"It's a good idea," Rethna admitted.  "The military minds on the bridge might mind."

"It would protect them for a later fight and protect those they carry," Sivya pointed out grimly. "That is more important than anything else."

"Yes, Empress, if you so desire.  I'll tell the Captain."

"No, I'll tell the Captain," she said, walking out and up the hallways.  All the hallways led to the lift, which went to the bridge at the top of it.  She walked out and coughed gently, startling the Captain.  "I have an idea and my guards said you'd hate it."

"We will gladly ram through them if you want, Empress," she said grimly.

"No, I don't want.  I want you to protect the others you carry."  The Captain gaped at her.  "They're more important.  You can't risk the civilians and I understand that.  Is there a way we can launch that Marine's ship without bringing notice?"  The Captain straightened up, nodding, giving her a long look.  "Then we'll do that.  Even if I have to fly the stupid thing myself because my husband's giving me odd looks again.  Then you can choose however to seem to capitulate to the blockade and go back to Alesar with everyone on board."

She nodded.  "That would be the wisest action," she agreed.  "Fortunately your husband can fly very well."

"It's very fortunate he's so good.  It was a stroke of luck that my Second husband found him for me," she agreed with a small grin for the other woman.  "That would suit you?"

"It's the most preferable option I've heard yet," she admitted.  "I thank you for looking out for us."

"I would never throw the military into a campaign that's suicide.  That's a waste of life and of the skills.  That sort of battle always has another option, even if it isn't as effective and it makes the battles last longer."

"Thank you, Empress.  We look forward to working for you," the Captain said, holding out a hand.  Her boss shook it and nodded, heading back to her room.  She grabbed her crown, her book, and the small belt she wore most of the time, heading after her husband once he had gathered a small bag.  "She agreed."

"It saves her crew, of course she did," Brast agreed.  He led her down to the launching bay, noticing the ship they were going to be using.  It was fairly beaten up.  It had a pointed nose, like they all did in that class of ship.  There were view panels, there was a square section behind it for living areas.  It was a small ship, even smaller than his personal one.  It was also better armed, faster, and more maneuverable than his ship.  If he could have gotten his hands on one, he would have, but that was illegal and there was a shoot-on-sight order for anyone caught in one who wasn't a Marine.  He looked at the nearest crew member also watching.  "The Marines know we're using it, right?"

"Definitely.  The Marine himself called his Captain over a secured line.  He's cleared you to use his ID and all that," the First Mate said with a smirk.  "How long have you wanted to pilot one of these?"

"Years," he moaned.  "I thank you.  Be safe on your journey to Alesar."

She shook his hand.  "I hope to see you again," she said softly, heading after her husband.  He climbed in and she followed, looking at the sparse, small, tidy areas of the ship.  There was a bed, a small cooking area, and a bathing and elimination facility combined in one.  She looked at him.  "Do they like this?"

"No, but the ships are pared down until they're the fastest and most deadly," he said grimly.  "They'd love better ships, but we can't get the design changed."  He walked her up to the control panels, sitting in the seat.  He pointed at a small chest beside his seat.  "Sit there, Sivya."  She sat down, putting the crown next to her with her book inside it.  He looked at her.  "You didn't bring other clothes?"

"I'm sure we left some back there," she pointed out.  "Besides, I can live in the same clothes for a day or even a week if necessary.  It wouldn't be the first time I've been camping."  She shifted to get comfortable.  "Are you sure you want me up here?"

"No, but I figure it's safer to have you up here and if we need someone called you can do that."  He flipped on the switches and activated the AI in the computer system.

"You are?" the system asked firmly.

"Empress Sivya," she said quietly.  "And my First Husband Brast."

"Very well.  I do have you as an authorized one time user, m'lady.  Will you be piloting?"

"No, he will.  He's a pilot."  She curled up a bit more.  "Are we prepared to leave?  I don't want to endanger the ship any more than I have to."

"Nearly.  We are still at half fuel levels," the computer told her.  "All weapons systems are charged and full.  All personal systems check as clear and full.  Are you sure you want to be up here?"

"No, but he doesn't trust me to sit in the back and read quietly," she said with a grin.  She could learn to like computers like this one.  "Have you been in many battles?"

"Quite a few, Empress.  My Marine is about to retire and then I'll be training someone new."  The computer paused then growled.  "The fuel stores are not filling.  There's a block in the line.  May we switch fuels?"

"Will you run on it?" Brast asked.  "Also, link into the main ship's computer and view so I can plot a path past the blockade."

"I will run on it, it's the better fuel anyway."

"Please, use the best available," Sivya agreed.  "I don't want you to be hindered in any way.  I don't want any of you to be."  The computer let out a purr and the fuel switched, loading the auxiliary tanks.  The first was finished pouring in eventually, while Brast was plotting their course.  "Can we go around them or will it take too long?" she asked quietly, pointing at a red line on the map.  "Or is that a shipping one?"

"It is a shipping lane," he agreed.  "The military uses separate lanes for speedier travel and they're forbidden to cross over unless there's an emergency, which I suppose this is.  Can we do that, ship?"

"Do you have a name?" Sivya asked.

"My Marine calls me Princess after his daughter.  We can briefly pass into them and then dodge back around.  It would add about an hour to the flying time to get around the blockade farther up the way," she offered.  She plotted a course for his amusement, since he laughed.  "Would that be acceptable?"

"It would," Brast agreed.  "As long as you don't get in trouble for it."

"Why would I?  You're the human," Princess said smugly. "We're ready to launch."

"Good, launch as quietly and discreetly as possible," he ordered, flipping on the engines for her.  He touched in the standard commands to disembark and back out of the launching bay. They lifted up and he smirked.  "You're not so different, just faster and smarter than my ship."

"Hmm.  It happens sometimes," she agreed.  She flew backward, launching into space with little exhaust trail.  Then she took off behind the ship, speeding up and going into stealth mode as soon as was nearing the end of the ship.  They sped for the shipping lanes, it was nearby.  "There are two ships following us, Lord Brast."

"Can we evade or should we fight?"

"One's a military destroyer," she said.  "We can wound it and make them float dead in space, but it is a risky procedure.  The other ship is a personal ship and they would be easier to get off our backs.  The destroyer will be harder to get away from."

"Using military moves or untraditional ones?" Brast asked.  "I've gotten away from destroyers and cruisers before."

"Lord Brast, you know Pirate maneuvers?" Princess asked.

"I am a pirate."

"Ah."  The computer's voice sounded a bit more smug.  "That's fine.  Teach me them so I can teach them to my next trainee."

"Sure.  Plot me a trajectory."  The computer plotted one and he spun the ship around to get the personal ship.  The ship tried to fire on him but he spun the marine's ship and came in at a different angle, hitting him in the fuel cells.  Then he moved behind it to get the destroyer from behind.  He suddenly dove and went underneath the ship, taking out the loading bays.  "That is the major weakness in those ships," he told his wife, who was pale and clutching the back of his seat.  "If you want, you can go lie down."

"No, I'd never be able to rest."  She winced as the ship above them tried to launch something and her husband lunched a missile up at them then disappeared very quickly.  "You're right, this is a very fast ship," she said, clutching his forearm.  "We are taking a slower way home, yes?" she asked.

He chuckled. "If we can manage it, I'm going to get my personal ship out of storage and I'll fly you back, Sivya.  It's much more comfortable and a bit slower."

"Thank you."  She kissed him on the cheek and forced herself to quit watching the stars so she could go back to her book.  It would take her mind off the people who wanted to kill her and what she was going to say.  The crown shifted next to her so she plopped it back on her head.  "Good, now you can figure out what I'm going to say," she muttered.  The crown laughed in her mind and together they worked out what they were going to say while she read.

Brast checked on her now and then, but she was absorbed in her book.  He wished he had that gift.  He couldn't ignore what was going on around him, even if he wanted to.
 

~*~*~*~

Sivya walked off the ship and had to duck from the person shooting at her.  "Fine, be that way," she growled, sending a heavy thought at the shooter, making their limbs feel heavier than they should.  He moaned and fell to his knees so she stood up and dusted off, looking at him.  "Do not try that again," she ordered.  Someone came running so she glared at them when she noticed the weapons.  "Going to try what he did?"

"No, Empress, I am part of your personal guard," the large blond man said, his voice loud and strong.  "Come, I will escort you.  Where is your mate and your crown?"

She touched the top of her head then sighed and went back to retrieve all that, taking the crown when Brast held it up. "Thank you.  My belt?"  He handed that over as well.  "Book?"

"In my bag."

"Thank you.  Some of the other guards are here."  He nodded, standing up so he could slip something into his pocket.  She saw him but he only grinned and looked quite innocent.  "Fine, I won't ask as long as it doesn't hurt someone else."  She handed him his bag and walked back out with the crown hanging off her wrist.  The guards looked shocked.  "What?"  She stuck it onto her head, letting it wiggle until it was comfortable in her mass of hair, then they strode on, the guards surrounding them.  She paused outside the doors, taking a few deep breaths, then nodded for the guards to open the door.  They remained closed so she looked at them. "Problems?"

"It's locked."

She tested it, then grunted in annoyance.  She kicked at the lock until it broke, then she walked in at the shocked looks. "Next time, don't try to lock me out of my own room," she told them, going to the front.  "Sit!" she roared.  Everyone went silent and sat.  "Thank you.  I do not appreciate being shot at.  It has put me into a bitter and in contrary mood. Now, I know you have seen the advance announcement of the legislation.  Did you need me to read it to you, explain my reasons to you, or should I just announce it?"

One of the reporters raised her hand slowly.  "I think it was pretty well explained in the release, Empress," she said hesitantly.  "Do you think that the men won't fight it this time?"

"I would like to think so.  I know that some will be wary of it, but I want to assure them that they are already entitled to these rights.  Even if they don't use them. I'm not going to force them to use them.  If a man doesn't want to work and doesn't have to work, then I will not make him work.  The same as I will not make a man vote if he does not want to.  I want no man to be forced to do anything, I only want to give them the option to do so if they want it.  As the law already states, they have these rights.  I know I included that part, which related back to why I'm restating it now.  I want no man to be obligated to use them if they do not want.  I want no woman to be obligated to use her full rights if she doesn't want them either. Use it or not, it is there for your own protection and your own good.  The same as putting a male Justice on the court boards to protect men.  There have been many men who have been wrongly accused of things so their wives would not have to buy their contracts out at the end of their relationships.  I know a few myself.  Who speaks for these men?  Other women, who will believe another woman first?  No.  There has to be a male there to help them.  The same as they have the right to a male representative and a male advocate in the courtroom."

"There are many who would not want this, and I'm sorry you feel that way.  I want all men, even the lowest of the low and the most common of the common, to have their rights.  Our rules state that everyone is equal, no matter what.  We have not used the full definitions in years, and that is what is worrying the crown.  She has tried to show you before and you have fought it.  You may want to fight it this time.  I wish you would not, but that would, again, be your choice.   You may wish to protest and complain, which you certainly do have the right to do.  I am not announcing anything new, I'm only stating my position and how it will be enforced.  The fact that I choose to enforce it by ordering that men who want it and have earned it are to be allowed to move higher than before is nothing that is so unusual.  We have among the empire peoples who are male dominated.  We also have ones that are truly equal.  Most of them seem quite happy and the crown agreed with me on this.  As for the other things I'm going to introduce soon, I will announce them now.  I am taking the hair restriction off from now on.  It is unreasonable to force us to carry twice our height in hair.  It hurts, it's painful, and it doesn't help the crown weigh any less.  Constantine was quite pleased with that.  Even though I cannot change it for myself, I will be changing it for those after me.  A reasonable length yes.  This much, no.  Especially not to have it called treason if we get breakage."  Everyone wrote that down.

"The next thing I will be changing is that I do want to order the military to look at all new designs.  I want them to have the best of the best available.  For them, for the Marines, and for the militaries that come to aid our forces.  I want to encourage them to create new ideas and to help themselves.  I also want you to know that I have been hearing pleas from some of the representatives.  Let me make myself known now.  The representatives are there to serve your people, not the entire empire.  The entire empire is not there to serve you either.  Your budgets are now for decorating or for official functions. Not salaries."  The reporters gasped.  "If they want salaries then they should be working for their people and ask their people for them.  They come to me to work with me and to bring information to my attention that needs it.  I welcome that.  I'd adore a good working relationship with my ambassadors.  I do not want them to suckle on the tit of the Empire however.  Your budgets other than what I have set aside are to come from your own planet."

"Empress," the brave reporter shouted, raising her hand quickly.  "What if they walk out?"

"Then I welcome their people sending me a representative who truly serves their people. I cannot help the people if I do not know what they need.  Those who take money presently seem to be...biased isn't the right word and neither is favoriting.  If you find that, fill it in," she said with a wave of her hand.  "They seem to be partaking of more complaints from certain individuals and businesses.  I want them to represent their whole populace.  Everyone on the planet, even the ones who don't directly give them money. I will miss the ones who leave, but I will welcome the new ones with open arms."  She looked at Brast and smiled.  "I do believe that's all I wanted to say."

"Empress," another reporter asked.  "What of the shipping crisis?"

"I have been in talks with smaller shippers to lay out a plan of strategy.  I will let everyone know this.  From what I have seen and heard, the prices that are presently being charged at ten or fifteen times what is necessary to ship materials or food.  That will stop or I will be helping the shippers form their own guild."  The reporters babbled and wrote that down.  "I am more than willing to support private shippers or even small companies who want to help with this madness.  Again, in case you did not know, we are offering a sell-off of some older ships we have in the fleet.  The majority of them should be in flyable shape if I heard right.  I welcome anyone to deal with this problem.  By charging a reasonable rate, it is going to help everyone.  Is there anything else?"  They all shook their heads.  "Good, then I'm going to leave now.  I need a nap."

"Can you not sleep on ships, Empress?" that first reporter asked.

"No, I'm afraid I can't.  I miss having the ground beneath me and I hate having to work to get to sleep because there is a vibration around me."  She smiled.  "Thank you for your patience."  She took her husband's arm and walked off with him, heading for the docking ring.  Their guards joined them at the bottom of the dias and she gave them a light nod of regreeting.  They almost made it to the door before anyone screamed at them and pulled a gun.  Brast put her behind him and pulled his blasters, the other guards doing the same.  Someone pressed one into her hands so she helped whenever she could get a good shot.  There was a whole group of them blocking the doorway.  One of her guards was hit on the arm so she took more careful aim at the person who had done that, getting them back.  One of the guards gave her a surprised look but she wasn't caring at the moment.  She fired at more of the people, and kept firing until the group moved.  She found the blaster taken from her by her spouse.

"Next time, try aiming," he complained.

"I told you I can only do the basics," she complained back.  "At least I was trying to help." She followed her guards back to their ship, climbing in gratefully to take a seat in a corner so she'd be out of the way.

"Are we all in?" the blond man asked.

"Yes," she said, counting heads.  "Go."  He nodded and tugged in the last guard so he could close the door.  "Was that intentional for them to pull back so we could get away?"

"Probably," Brast agreed, heading for the pilot's section.  He moved one of the pilots and got into their seat, starting the disembarkation procedures.  "Hold on.  We're going to land in my private hanger."  He called his ship while they waited for the airlock to get off the ship, then eventually had to shoot at someone to get them to duck back inside so they could go.  The safety systems wouldn't let the airlock go while there was a human nearby.  Brast gave the ones behind the safety shield a cheerful wave and a grin through the view panels, then he released the docking clamps and let the ship float backwards into space.  As soon as he had cleared enough room, he rolled the ship out of the way and took off.  His monitors had said three ships were waiting on them to enter the standard departure trajectory, and he wasn't going to tempt fate today.  He still had a few of his new shirts that he wanted to wear.  "Did someone get our bag and her belt?" he asked the copilot, who was a bit pale under his dark blue skin.  He nodded quickly.  "Thanks."  He zipped down to the main planet of the Empire, the head of the bureaucracy.  Fortunately he had been living here for the last year and a half while his ship was repaired.  He only hoped they were done now.  He keyed in the special code for all Imperial flights and the person on the other end of the landing computer nearly threw a fit.  He keyed in a nearby landing place and they started to fuss so he turned it off and brought the ship in for a manual landing.

"You...you can't do that.  They'll fine us!" the copilot complained.  "Or we'll crash."

"Little one, I've landed something the size of a cruiser before without any computer," he said impatiently. "As for the fines, they'd rather that we exploded over the city when the other ships decided to shoot us out of our standardized landing trajectory?"

"Well, no," he agreed.  He squealed and covered his eyes as they moved around the elevator shaft that ran to the suborbital landing station and didn't uncover them until he felt the ship touch down, nearly as gently as if the computer had done it.  "Are we down?" he asked timidly.

"We are and we're safe now," Brast said, clearly talking down to him.  He walked back and opened the door with an eye roll for the guards.  "He didn't think I could land this without the computer's help."

"I thought everyone had to be taught that," Sivya said as she followed him out.  One of the guards tried to stop her but she glared at him.  "I doubt he put us somewhere where we can be shot at," she said patiently.  She let him help her down then walked in beside him.  "Where are we?"

"My house."  He smiled at her.  "Welcome, Empress."

She pinched him.  "Do not call me that," she hissed.

"Fine," he said patiently.  "Go sit down while I ready the ship to take off again."

"That one?"

"No, mine," he said, giving her a little nudge toward the doorway nearest them.  "Go through there and find a chair."

"Fine.  It's not like I can't help."

"A man's ship is like his child, he always wants to take care of them himself," the blond guard said, leading her away.  "I'll stay with her."

"Thank you."  Brast opened another door, heading into the other hanger. "Is she ready?" he called as he shut the door.

"This way, Empress," the guard said gently, leading her away.  "Do you think he'd mind if we used the sanitary facilities to clean up the few wounds we have?"

"Can I help?  I hate sitting around and I'm used to helping animals."

"We'd appreciate that," one of the men agreed, letting her help him clean the burn on his arm.  He looked at the burn critically.  "I didn't think anyone used the older style of guns anymore," he complained.  "The blasters are so much more efficient."

She gave him a gentle smile.  "Perhaps they had them stored and brought them out like they did in the old days," she offered.  She gently dabbed at the burn to clean any residue out of it, then searched the bathroom for any medical supplies.  She found a soothing and pain relief cream.  "Want this?"

"Please," he agree with a grin.  "You've got a very gentle touch.  I can see you with children some day."

"I don't think I'd make a good mother," she noted. "I'm not that patient with littles.  With adults yes, but I like to be able to reason with things and people.  Then again, I get on well with animals and the only time I've ever been around a nursery, I treated them all like they were milk beasts."  She shrugged as she dabbed the cream over the spot, then stepped back and capped it.  "There you are.  Is anyone else injured?"

"A few injuries to the clothes mostly.  We were wearing our armor underneath our regular clothes."  He led her back to the main area, noticing one of the guards was cooking.  "It's going to be that long?"

"One cycle of the glass," he said, pointing at the timepiece on the wall.  "I had no idea he was from Tilians."

"Yes, he is," she said, coming over to help.  Or more likely watch.  "I have no idea how to cook.  I always made soups and things when it was my turn."  The guard smiled and let her help him with the little things, like stirring the pots. It kept her from dwelling on the fact that people wanted to kill her.

Brast walked in, looking oddly at them.  "We have that much time?"

"One cycle of the glass," the cooking guard reminded him.  "I doubt either of you ate breakfast?"  Brast winced.  "So therefore you will eat before we leave.  That will also give you time to pack a few things you might want to keep in case someone finds this place."

"After all, we did," the blond guard agreed.  "How is Lasarae?"

"She's fine.  She's on the other ship.  We ran into a blockade," Brast noted, heading for his bedroom.  He found his bed neatly made, everything dusted, and no clothes on the floor.  "I thought Constantine didn't stop here," he complained, just loud enough to be heard.  He looked out of his room when he heard the laughter. "Something funny?  She knows better than to go into my room, even to clean it."

"No, sire, your wife just blushed," the guard cooking said with a smirk at him.

"I'm sorry, Brast.  My gifts tend to reach out to, well, clean thing when I get too upset.  My trainers couldn't figure out how to stop it since they liked it so much."

"They do what?" he asked, coming out to look down at her.  She wasn't that much shorter, but at the moment she looked like a naughty child.

Her cheeks stained a bit darker.  "My powers are under perfect control, until I get too worried.  Then they decide to come out to wear off the excess energy.  So they clean, usually.  Though there was that one nasty gardening incident during my training," she said with a frown.  "Fortunately whatever couldn't be put back in could be eaten."  She shrugged a little bit, looking hopeful.  "I'm sorry."

"Where were you trained?" he asked grimly.  He wanted to have a word with those folks.  Such powerful gifts couldn't have even the least bit untrained portion.  That was a good way to get people dead.

"Alectran."

"Alectran?  The people who developed the training systems for thinkers?"  She nodded, beaming at him.  "Why were you taken there?"

"They take anyone above a level six," she told him.  "Yerthes probably trained there as well.  At first, they found it an amusing way to wear out the frustration with the training, and then it was really not the most important part of my training.  They actually trained me as an aide for someone and they figured that was a better release valve then me exploding on someone and making them miserable, or worse, dead."  He nodded slowly.  "I'm sorry if it upset you," she said gently.  "I didn't mean to touch your private things."

He smiled at her.  "It is odd, but I can accept that valve as well.  Then again, the cleaning men have been wondering why there's been nothing to clean."

"Usually I don't dust," she offered with a slight grin.  The guards chuckled at that.  She looked at them.  "I grew up on an Ag world.  There was always dust and dirt around and it usually had nasty things in it like fertilizer.  Dusting was always a punishment to me."

"I'll remember that in the future," he assured her, heading back to his bedroom to pack some of his other things.  Most of the house would be packed and put into storage as soon as he left again, but the rest would have to go onto his ship.  Fortunately most of his things were portable because of how he lived in the past.  Only the furniture would be going into storage, plus a few boxes of mementoes that he couldn't seem to make himself get rid of. Such reminders could be costly in his life but he couldn't make himself forget them.  He sent everything out to his ship on the grav- lift platform, then packed the rest of his clothes.  He had only packed the necessities before but the mad escape from the coronation hadn't allowed him time to come back to get everything else.  Fortunately his ship had some storage room.  Then again, his wife might be sleeping in that storage area on the trip back.  He was going to have to travel at the usual speed of the rest of the ships in the universes to camouflage them.  That would make their one and a half day trip turn into a four day trip. Hopefully things wouldn't fall apart by then.  He heard a squeal and walked back into the living room, frowning at his wife.  She was talking to someone wearing veils on his communication system.  "That is not conductive to high security," he said dryly.

"She's my choice for High Priestess," Sivya told him with a smile.  "I just told her, she squealed.  She has no idea where we are."  She looked at her former assistant.  "That suits you.  You know what was going on with the town, you know the various power plays.  You even know all the people who would try to get around us on things.  I leave the temple in good hands with you.  I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, but I was torn between you two."

"It's all right, Sivya, I understand," she said calmly, smiling beautifully at her.  "We all have many ideas about the tremendous responsibility on your shoulders.  As Alia wills it, we all knew that you'd be calling sometime this week.  We figured you'd be calling between runs back for the main palace."  She bowed to Brast.  "Honorable one, I thank you for letting her call us.  It was quite good of you to help her settle the last of her affairs with us."  She looked at Sivya again.  "Is there much you need?"

"My notes, my books, and the rest of my things," she admitted.  "I miss my books, especially the catacombs I was working from.  You might want to check to make sure they're not the temple's books, but some of those are my family's catacombs."

"As Alia wills it, Sivya, I will send you those things on the next shipment out.  There should not be that much.  Whatever I cannot, I will leave here for your return.  You will be returning?"

"I can only hope so, but I don't know the protocol for such things," she admitted.  "I know we're going to Riven next.  I said so."  She smirked at her.  "I would have myself be comfortable.  After that it's an industrial world and then an educational center.  Do you think us coming there would help the locals?"

The High Priestess looked thoughtful. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'll ask."  She smiled at Brast again.  "I'm sure he can help you with your boxes of books."  She smiled at her former boss again.  "Is there else we can do?"

"If you could find my photo album, I'd really like it. I lost it the month before I got snatched," she admitted bitterly.

"If possible.  If I remember, you left it in your desk in the office.  I'll clear all that out for you so I can stuff with it my important things.  Be safe, Empress. Remember, you now serve the many instead of the few."  She bowed again then blew a kiss before leaving the conversation.

Sivya turned off the communication screen, looking at her husband. "I charged back to my old account.  Which I'm going to close as soon as we get back to the palace."

"That's fine," he said calmly, staying quiet.  "It was obviously important for you to talk to them."  He gave her a gentle smile.  "I'm almost done.  Is the food ready?"

"Nearly.  If not, we can bring it onto the ship," one of the guards told him.  "Do you need help stocking the ship?"

Brast looked at them.  "My ship only fits three comfortably," he noted. "Unless you guys want to sleep in the landing bay?"  They shook their heads.  "You planned your own way back?"

"We're commandeering a military transport," the blond guy said with a small smirk.  "They wouldn't dare refuse."

"Say, Lord Brast, if you had asked us to update the star charts on your ship, we would have," another guard noted as he cleaned his weapons, not looking at him.  "Especially since it was noted that you did download that information from the Marine's ship."  He smiled slightly.  "I would expect such offers in the future.  Especially since we all know of your nature and how well you suit your former profession."

Sivya coughed.  "Do not pick on him," she ordered calmly.

"We're not," the man cleaning his gun noted, looking over at her.  "Simply stating that we had noticed he had copied the information on the star charts.  We really would update his ship for him," he assured her with a faint grin.  "After all, he'll be your last line of defense."  He went back to his weapon. "Need help loading things into the ship?"

"No, I should be able to do that," Brast said dryly, shaking his head.  "You boys are insane."

"Excuse me," Sivya said politely, heading for the sanitary facilities.

"She's really new to this, isn't she?" the blond guy asked.
 

Brast gave him a look.  "I'm sure she is.  The petty politicking at a temple can't be the same as what she's doing now.  I've heard that they mostly keep it polite.  She's only a bit naive, she's got plans on how to use her gifts to best suit her.  I don't think she realizes that *everyone* around her will want something yet, but she'll learn.  That's part of this first year's duties, to learn that you have no friends at the palace.  Even your spouses probably have their own agendas."  He shrugged and went back to his packing, finding his wife folding the shirts he had laid on the bed. "Thank you."

She looked at him.  "I really did realize that, Brast.  I'm not an infant."

"I know you're not, but I didn't want you to have to think that way yet."  He took the current shirt from her hands and tossed it back onto the bed.  "I'm assuming that's what happened with Pisha?  Her ambition got more than you could take?"  She nodded, watching as he pulled down more clothes to be put into his bags.  "When did I get so many clothes?" he complained.  "They'll never all fit."

"Probably while you did the same thing to my wardrobe," she said with a touch of smugness.  He frowned at her so she grinned.  "It's the truth."

"Yes, but you're supposed to look pretty and ornate.  I'm there as window dressing."  She grimaced.  "Point?"

"Point taken, but it still is very upsetting to me," she reminded him. "At least I can get out of some of that next year," she complained. She stood up, taking the other clothes to fold for him.  "If you packed properly, it would all fit. You simply have to pay attention to how wrinkles form.  I learned that watching the helpers pack everything before the move," she instructed, packing his shirts carefully, but rolled together.  She made everything but three shirts fit, and those she handed to him. "Use those to cushion something else," she suggested. Then she smiled.  "You learn a lot watching those efficient people you had come in.  Need more help?"

"No, I think that's most of it," he offered, smiling at her back as she left.  She was trying very hard to make him like her.  That was half the problem, he did like her.  If he continued to like her, he might want to stay and this was only a contract. He couldn't stand to live in this life forever. He brought out the last few things, stuffing those shirts into his bag with his charts, going to stuff them into his ship.  His storage area wasn't that small so he had the room.  He checked everything, noticing that the food he had ordered had been delivered and one of the workers had put it up for him.  He checked on the status of the last repair, a tricky under-wing seam repair.  The worker let him check, maybe an hour more.  "Good job," he encouraged.  "As soon as possible."  The worker nodded and he went back inside, going to play host.  He caught the guards trying to teach her to play cards.  "What did you do when you were bored at the temple?" he asked.  "Surely you ladies must have done something as a group."

"You mean like chores, prayers, and meals?" she asked.  "Or our free time, when I usually studied?" she asked absently.  She pointed at one card.  "That one?"  He nodded and she discarded that one, picking up another one with a frown.  "Well, that's unhelpful."

"That's about half the point of the game, to get around the unhelpful ones," the blond guard said.  "Lord Brast, the food's ready if you want some."  He discarded two and picked up another two, grunting in irritation.  "I agree, this dealer is not being helpful."

"I get the unhelpful cards too," he offered.  "All of the helpful ones are lower in the deck."

"Is it polite to discard my whole hand and restart?" she asked.

"You can't do that," the guys chimed in, then smirked at her.

"You can, however, sit this hand out by folding and pouting at us for being so mean," one of them offered with a small smirk. "That's how my sister does it.  I always thought it was a girl thing."

"It's possible. I've never been overly pouty, but this hand does make me feel like one's coming," she admitted, trying another discard.  This time the new card was mildly more helpful.  Not much, but she could almost make a hand with it. If only she had that three of ships.  "How many cards are in a deck again?"

"Seven suites of eight cards," her instructor reminded her gently.  "This deck has one duplicate suite and you're trying to get part of a suite or a duplicate match.  The three special cards aren't what you want in your hand and you can discard two of them but the third will be yours until the round where you pick from someone's hand."  He glanced at her cards for her.  "Not too bad," he offered, not meaning a word of it.  "Finish this set," he said, pointing at them.  "Rearrange those if you have to."  She rearranged them by suite and he nodded.  "Good girl, erm, Empress."  She laughed and hit him on the arm.  "Sorry."

"That's all right.  In situations like this, I am a simple female of simple means.  Which is why I know nothing of cards.  Do people actually bet money on this?"  Everyone nodded.  "Why?"

"Because they like to think that they'll win," Brast explained. "It's all luck but they think they can bring luck to their side."

"Usually they think they can rearrange the odds in their favor," one of the guards corrected.  "I usually do pretty well but not tonight."  He put down a card and sighed.  "One more round and then we can draw off each other."

"Hopefully it'll get better," she offered.  "It can't get much worse."  The other guys nodded.  "Is this because there's too many of us playing?"

"Theoretically there's a top and a bottom limit.  It's no fun to play with less than three and over ten is impossible," her teacher offered.  "There's only five of us so we should be fine."  He frowned at the dealer.  "This had better not be a nasty trick."

"Sorry, I must have shuffled bad or something.  I'm not doing any better than you guys are."  He started off the last discard and draw round, sighing and putting that card into his hand.  "I'm definitely not doing better."

"Let's redeal," Sivya suggested lightly.  The others agreed and the cards were gathered and reshuffled.  She sighed in pleasure with this one.  "I like this one much better."  The guys just grunted and nodded while they arranged their cards.  "Okay, point of rules.  Do I *have* to draw if I don't want to?"

"Yup," the dealer said with a smirk.  "It's one of those rules that turns a good hand into a bad hand fairly quickly if you don't plan it out well.  Three discards and one draw from another hand."

"I wish we could use the discard pile," another of the guys complained. "It would make it easier to play."

Brast looked at his wife's hand then whispered in her ear to help her.  She smiled at him and did as he said, coming out mildly all right as long as someone didn't take one of two key cards in her hand. When she laid down, only one person had a slightly better hand, so she didn't win but she didn't lose miserably either, like a few of the guards had.  He looked at them.  "Hopefully you two don't gamble."

"No, we try very hard not to," one of them offered with a smile for him.  "Thanks for that advice though."  He glanced toward the kitchen.  "I'm going to get some more soup.  Anyone need a refill?"  They all got up to get some food, it was the last time they'd have some before they raced off for Alesar and the safety of the palace there.
 

~*~*~*~

Brast showed Sivya the lone bedroom on the ship.  "You can have this.  There's an auxiliary bed in the kitchen that I'll take."  She frowned at him but he held firm.  He would have to if he didn't want to sleep with her.  "Don't worry, I won't intrude on your privacy.  Go rest, it'll be a long four day trip, Sivya."  He went to start his ship, checking that the upgrades had taken as well.  "How are you?"

"We're at optimal mass for lift-off, the engines are running cleanly, and the upgrades are fantastic," his computer told him in a sweet, honeyed female voice.  "How did you get a Space Marine's charts?  Or shouldn't I ask?"

"I asked his ship for them," he said dryly.  "Lift off when ready, watch out for attackers.  Set optimal path to Alesar."

"Alesar?"

"Home of the present Palace, Alesar."

"Yes, Brast."  The computer did the calculations for him then showed him before opening the hanger doors above them so she could lift them off and take them up into the air.  "Traffic Control is not responding to hails.  Should we land again?"

"No, that's all the more reason to go," he reported.  "Go faster, dear."

"Yes, Brast."  She sped up, taking them into low orbit within minutes, and from there to a departure point away from their expected path.  She could always swing back around to go in the other direction.   "First jump in progress," the artificial intelligence reported. "Two hours before we stop, turn, and jump again inside the shipping lanes."

"Thank you."  He settled in with a book to watch for people intruding on their trip.  It really was quite rude of them to try to kill them, but he would forgive them after he had retaliated.
 

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To Chapter Eight