Page 20

The Summer Palace wasn’t as imposing as the Imperial Palace, but it was taller. A hell of a lot taller. And what it lacked in grandeur it made up for in style.

Cool pale walls rose majestically from the rolling green hillside. Crystal towers and twisting spires soared into the sky, each crowned with banners that fluttered in the breeze. It looked like a fairy-tale castle, thought Kara as she gazed from the shuttle window. It even had a moat with waters so clear she could see colored fish darting about.

The palace stood in the center of the vast agricultural sector, surrounded by thousands of acres of crops and livestock. Emerald fields stretched as far as the eye could see, fed by the rain that was almost constant on this half of Vraxos.

But not over the palace. It, like most of the populated areas in the southern hemisphere, was protected by a permanent energy shield which kept it bone-dry.

Kara stepped off the transport, followed by her bodyguards. She glanced towards the east where a line of green on the horizon heralded the start of the vast Verudiun Forest. It was where she’d endured one of her shaa’baara trials.

Her mother and the rest of the human delegates joined her on the landing platform where a platoon of palace guards were waiting to escort them inside.

The palace interior was, if possible, even prettier than the outside. White walls inlaid with silver soared into vaulted azure ceilings, and the floor underfoot was made of polished crystal that gleamed like peridot.

“It looks like something out of a storybook,”

her mother muttered, not altogether admiringly. She preferred practicality over attractiveness.

“We bid you warm welcome, your Majesty.”

A group of Vraxians in ceremonial robes approached, led by a portly official weighed down by gold chains around his neck. He seemed to glide rather than walk and when Kara looked closer she saw why.

He was perched on an anti-grav disc that floated some eighteen inches off the ground to put him at eye-level with his compatriots. That meant he was short. Almost as short as she was. Practically a dwarf in Vraxian terms. She hid a smile.

The group was accompanied by half a dozen bipedal mechbots carrying trays of food and drink. They were of an unusual design and Kara examined them curiously.

Bots were commonplace in Taa’riz for carrying out menial tasks, and she’d become used to seeing them cleaning floors or making deliveries. There was even a model that acted as a prison guard, as she’d discovered when she first came to Vraxos.

But even the more sophisticated ones were dome-shaped and clunky, built for sturdiness rather than aesthetic appeal.

These mechbots, however, were tall and sleek. The Cadillac of bots. And they’d been constructed to look more like people, with two arms and two legs and a sphere on top resembling a head. No features, though. Vraxians drew the line at giving their mechanoids faces.

The floating official glided to a smooth halt in front of Kara.

“We extend our greetings on the occasion of Garana Sana,”

the Vraxian continued earnestly. “I am Bextrin Salavar, Governor of the southern province and caretaker of the Summer Palace. It is an honor to have you here, my Zhaalini.”

“Thank you, Governor Salavar. May I present my mother, the President of Earth Dana Cameron?”

President Cameron nodded courteously.

“You have a lovely home, Governor Salavar.”

“Oh, I am merely a housekeeper, Madame President. The property belongs to the Empire but I am fortunate that my post comes with a right of residency within the palace. My family and I are very fond of it.”

He waved his serpetri expansively, managing to convey that while this wasn’t his actual home, he certainly regarded it as such.

Kara meanwhile was more interested in the mechbots.

“I’ve never seen bots like this before. Are they used domestically?”

“Yes indeed, your Majesty. We have long used bots for planting and harvesting, of course. But through necessity we’ve also developed advanced models capable of more sophisticated tasks.”

“The population on this side of the planet is much smaller than in the north,”

Ela explained. “Fewer people to carry out labor-intensive tasks, so bots are used on a much greater scale.”

“Quite so,”

said Salavar. “Our limitations have encouraged us to be quite technologically creative on this side of Vraxos.”

He gestured enthusiastically towards the bots. “This is a model we developed quite recently. It was initially designed to operate transport vessels but its processing capabilities are so impressive the military considered using them to replace our brave Vraxian fighter pilots in the… er… in the…”

He trailed off, flustered, as his brain caught up with his mouth.

“In the war?”

asked Kara helpfully.

Salavar gulped, his scales shading to a deep embarrassed green.

“I apologize profusely, my Zhaalini, I meant no disrespect by mentioning the war, and of course we all thank Vannla every day for the peace talks, and for your munificence in gracing us with your presence to remind us we are no longer in conflict with humans.”

“As a former fighter pilot myself, I’m bloody glad I never faced these guys.”

Kara glanced at the President, who was eyeing the mechbots in horror. “Isn’t it great they’ve been repurposed as domestics, mother?”

Salavar tried to gloss over the awkwardness.

“May I interest you in a snack? I have researched human eating patterns extensively and I believe Earth people enjoy bite-sized food impaled on small wooden stakes.”

His expression suggested he didn’t really understand why anyone would put sharp objects into food but he was happy to go with it. Kara searched the proffered trays in vain for something she recognized. She cast a meaningful glance at Ela.

“Actually, Governor, I believe your guests would prefer to freshen up before the festivities,”

the general said smoothly.

“Of course, of course. Everyone, please come this way. And fear not, I have diligently planned for all your hospitality needs. Each of you has a bot assigned to you as your butler for the duration of your stay. Another Earth custom I believe, my Zhaalini?”

He looked to Kara hopefully.

“Oh, yes,”

she said faintly. “We all have butlers on Earth.”

“Governor, may I confirm the Zhaal and his Imperial Advisors have arrived safely?”

asked Ela as they were led through the corridors.

“Indeed, indeed. Zhaal Talvahnax and Lord Davorrian arrived an hour ago, and Lord Vantrax arrived first thing this morning accompanied by his lovely niece.”

Kara suppressed a groan. Of all the former shaa’baara Potentials she’d competed against, Layahn was very definitely the last one she wanted to see.

Salavar stopped outside a set of silver doors beautifully encrusted with stones and gems. Light glimmered off them in rainbow shards. The ethereal effect was only slightly spoiled by the hulking figures of Vahn’s three bodyguards lurking outside it.

“Zhaalini, these are the royal guest quarters. Your butler will inform you of the schedule of festivities which will begin in just over an hour’s time with a display of death-defying acrobatics.”

“Yay. We’ll look forward to that, won’t we mother?”

President Cameron essayed a smile.

“Perhaps before then you can tell me more about your agricultural operations, Governor. Your scientific applications would be of huge interest to Earth’s farming sector.”

“I’d be delighted, Madame President.”

He broke into animated conversation as the rest of the group continued down the corridor, leaving Kara with her bodyguards. She took a deep breath.

She’d had plenty of time on the flight to think about Vahn. And after she’d stormed around her cabin for a bit, throwing cushions and cursing him with every breath, she’d come to realize she couldn’t entirely blame him for his reticence in accepting her as his kalehsha.

After all, he’d literally woken up one day with no memory of her. His reluctance was entirely natural. Which made the fact that they’d shared an X-rated experience the night before utterly perplexing.

Her husband was an enigma, she decided. And she didn’t have a fucking clue what to do about him.

“Let’s just get through the rest of today,”

she muttered to herself. One problem at a time.

Gru and Valeyan took up their customary positions outside the door, shuffling into line next to the other bodyguards. They looked like a team of linebackers, Kara thought, amused.

Then she straightened her shoulders and walked in.