There were many reasons that Rixie was grateful for the fate that had brought Alex into her life; his ability to talk to anyone about anything was high on the list.

It wasn’t that Rixie wasn’t a skilled conversationalist, she was. Even if she hadn’t spent the last Imperial quarter-century working as a consigliere to Pryvani, she had all her Imperator training to fall back on, not to mention the calmness in a crowd that had allowed her to succeed as Iron Maiden.

But Iron Maiden had been taciturn for a reason. And while she was happy to chat with friends or family or allies…there had been many times in her life that she’d been grateful that her husband was willing to take the load of the conversation off of her.

“So that was the second time she saved my life, and it wasn’t the last,” Alex said, finishing up the story about the Narena mission. “I’m not sure why she puts up with me, to be honest, but I’m glad she does.”

Rixie rolled her eyes; he’d left out all of what she considered to be the best parts. (And the worst parts, but she understood why he left those out.) “Well, it might be because, first, Dorok took a shot with a stun baton. And it connected. And Alex – who, I will stress, was not using a hologram at the time – attacked him. Gave me time to get free, and counter.”

“Vwofa,” Isku said. “And I thought I was brave for putting a block on Bagkhi Erlasen.”

“Erlasen. Isn’t he the guy who’s like one-point-one units tall and about as wide?” Alex asked. Rixie gave him a smirk; she could tell he was trying to steer the conversation away from his own heroism.

“That’s the guy. Didn’t know you followed knadlegr,” Isku said. “But you went after a guy who was twenty-some units high by your lights. How’d you manage that?”

“Poorly,” Alex said. “He threw me aside pretty fast.”

“Eh, mids tend to be small and quick, and our left mid, Solvrit Niesgun, she’s barely point nine units. She’s all about quickness and precision. And those times she ends up throwing a block, well, they don’t hold for long. But we know they won’t. Even if they just slow the other side’s defenders up a touch, well, that can be enough. And she knows that the worst she’s gonna need is to sub out and get under the bone-knitter for the rest of the half, maybe take some cortexifan.”

“I hope you killed him for that,” Kaearte said to Rixie.

“Kit!” Swipul said.

“What? I do! Bastard deserved to die.”

“Yes, he did,” Rixie said. “And he did.”

“Um…you know, before you say that, as an attorney I’m technically bound to report….” Swipul began, but Kullervo just laughed.

“Swi, settle down. She’s got a gold comet, and this was in the line of duty. Swi has always been by the book,” the Prince said to Rixie. “And that’s a good thing. But I’m willing to bet that a Flag Imperator didn’t kill him just for revenge.”

“He tried to use the baton again, kept trying to go after me. I turned it on him in self-defense. He ended up getting a lethal dose of electricity,” Rixie said with a shrug. “I found out after the fact that back on Archavia he’d assaulted both Naskia Freeman and Nonah Armac, and given the nature of the latter assault…well, there have been people I’ve had to kill in the line of duty that I feel bad about. He isn’t one of them.”

“Nor should he be,” Kullervo said. “Now you said there was a ‘first,’ what were the other reasons you put up with Alex?

Alex shook his head just enough for Rixie to catch it; he’d almost dodged it.

“Well, Alex told you I got shot – that’s why I’ve got the artificial larynx. Anyhow, while I was bleeding out from my throat, Alex…he came over to me and talked me through. Told me I needed to survive, that he loved me. And this wasn’t easy – I mean, it was a crime scene and a medical emergency, and there were a bunch of lumbering Titans wandering around, and he didn’t care about anything but me. And….”

She winced a bit, because the eyes of everyone in her father’s family were on her. She still wasn’t comfortable with this. But hells, Alex had talked her up in front of the whole Empire.

“Anyhow, I came closer to death there than I ever had before, or ever have since,” Rixie said.

“Well, there was Titan Station,” Alex interjected.

“We were a good thirty seconds away there. If Jani hadn’t gotten pressure on right when she did…and if Alex hadn’t been right there to give me a reason to hold on…well, I wouldn’t be here to have this conversation.”

“Gods,” Kaearte said. “And you couldn’t talk, not with the injury…that must have felt awful. Not the wound, though…well, that probably didn’t feel great,” she said, wincing at herself. “But not being able to at least say you loved him to. I mean…I assume you loved him then, I…feel like I’m talking too much.”

Rixie laughed. “No, no, I definitely loved him then, though neither of us had said it. We had a lot of trouble saying it for a long time, for a whole bunch of bad reasons. Even after that. But yeah…I knew how badly I’d been injured. I knew that it might be the last time I saw him, and…I hadn’t told him. And…if I’d died without him knowing that I felt the same….”

“Yeah,” Alex said quietly, “so Rixie, who was literally seconds away from death, dipped her finger in her own blood and wrote akapos on the ground. I had to ask Jani what it meant, couldn’t read Archavian yet. I guess I’m glad she went with Archavian and not Jotnar, not sure Jani would have been able to translate raksiit.”

The Jarlkon of Naesavarna had been quiet up until now, but Lady Aachi nodded and smiled. “You know, Rixie, I wasn’t sure what you’d be like, having grown up in the Empire. It may be bigotry, but…well, it’s easy for Imperials to become a bit soft. I’m glad to see you’re very much a Jotnar.”

“Mommy is Jotnar! An’ daddy’s anthar,” Asteria said, not looking up from the video on her pad.

“The first part is true, Asteria,” Kullervo said. “But I daresay, your daddy might be part Jotnar too.”

“So wow,” Kaearte said. “I’m never gonna complain about being worried about the tenure committee again.”

“Well, you may notice that when they recalled me this time, I had the sense to ask for very safe desk duty,” Rixie said. “I’ve…had enough near-death experiences for the Empire, and so has Alex.”

“Now it’s our son’s turn,” Alex said, “and frankly, he’s made it through as bad a near-death experience as his mom, so I’m hoping that the Prince Antero has a very safe, successful, and dull voyage.”

“So say we all,” Thyllia said. “Except Ryan. But then, he had these two as parents, he was going to end up wanting to save the universe.”

* * *

Aboard the ISS Prince Antero, Captain Ryan Carey sat at his desk pouring over the mountain of paperwork that apparently came along with taking a brand-new ship from shakedown to commissioning. Thousands of details required his attention, everything from personnel files to how many ona-clamps to keep stocked in the engineering department. They were currently docked at the New Trantor shipyard, waiting for their final inspections to complete and the dock masters to pronounce them spaceworthy.

This was proving to be a much more aggravating and time-consuming process than Ryan had ever realized. The door chime interrupted his train of thought. Which was just as well, Ryan mused cynically, as it would no doubt be heralding more things that required his immediate response. Ryan shook his head and ran a hand down his face, subconsciously tracing the seam scar that bisected his appearance and marked where old skin met new. He knew, intellectually, that the line was almost invisible to everyone but him; but to Ryan it felt like a neon tattoo. Banishing such thoughts, he pressed the button on his console that opened the door to his office.

A moment later, a young Dunnermac officer in a command red uniform entered. “Commander Neb, what can I do for you?”

Commander Falub Neb stopped in front of his CO’s workstation and saluted. “Sir, I have crew transfer requests that require your approval.” Captain Carey winced, but tried not to let his subordinate see it. He’d been expecting this, unfortunately.

“How many?”

Commander Neb hesitated only for a moment, before answering. “Twenty-seven, sir.”

The bottom fell out of Ryan’s stomach. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “Denied.”

“…All of them, sir?”

“You’re right. I should reconsider.” Ryan quickly scanned through the files. “No. All denied. Human soldiers are not going anywhere and the sooner these people get used to taking orders from one, the better off they’ll be. If they want a transfer, they’ll have to go over my head. And there’s a war on, in case people hadn’t noticed; nobody’s going to be in the mood.”

Commander Neb rolled his shoulders in the dunnermac equivalent of a nod. “Aye sir. I’ll file the paperwork immediately.”

“Very good, Commander.” Ryan said as he turned back to his computer screen.

“You are dismissed if there is nothing else.”

“…Actually sir…” Neb began. “Senior Crewmate Rockfist said she wanted a word with you.”

This time, Ryan did visibly wince. SC1C Aletsia Rockfist was the ship’s chief engineer, and the last thing Ryan wanted to hear was that there was already something broken on his ship. “Immediately?”

“That was the impression I got from her, yes.”

“All right.” Ryan groaned and saved the file he’d been working on. “Let’s go see what’s wrong with my ship.”

“Will you be taking your hover platform sir?” Commander Neb asked. Ryan shook his head, even as he climbed down from his desk platform and began walking towards a human sized door on the side of his office. (He did have the option of projecting holographically at Titan-size, and perhaps at one point in the future he would. But right now, he felt it was important to be human.)

“No, I’ll take the hamster tube.”

Neb blinked rapidly, a dunnermac expression of unease. “

Sir, with all due respect, I wish you and the other humans wouldn’t call them that. I’m aware of what a hamster is and, well, I feel it sets a bad precedent.”

“Noted.” Ryan said, looking up at his subordinate. “And appreciated. However, it’s just a joke. A little self-deprecating, to be sure, but sometimes the best way to take the sting out of an insult is to use it first.”

“Yes sir.” Commander Neb sighed. “I will meet you in engineering.”

“Very good.” Ryan said as the door opened. Just inside was a small dock in front of a long tube that faded into shadow. Just beyond the door, waiting for Ryan’s use, was a sphere made of a clear plastic-like substance. A pair of seats was inside the sphere. The seats were gyroscopically situated so they would always remain upright. These were the human gyroscopic ship-wide access tunnels; affectionately referred to by the human crewmembers as hamster tubes. This style of tunnel was being built into every new ship that came off the line (and retrofitted into many ships with a large enough human compliment.)

There was also a walkway if one didn’t want to take the sphere and had a bit more time. This was generally Ryan’s preference, as riding in the sphere made him feel like he was trapped in a billiard ball. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that kind of time. So he climbed into the sphere and strapped himself in, before reaching for the console and selecting his destination.

“…Sure plays a mean pinball…” Ryan muttered to himself in a singsong voice as the sphere suddenly shot down the clear tube at what would probably be a dizzying speed if the gyroscopes didn’t cancel out the feeling of inertia. “Not sure if I’m glad Dad taught me that one or not,” he muttered.

The tube was clear, so Ryan was able to look out into the corridor and watch as his Titan crewmates walk by. He reflected briefly on how far things had come in just his lifetime. He had been born on the streets of Archavia, and now? He was a Captain of one of the newest ships in the fleet. He was married to one of the wealthiest (and prettiest, if Ryan did say so) people in the Empire. He’d earned some of the Empire’s highest honors, and they called him a “Lord.” Not bad for a human, really.

Further ruminations were cut short as the sphere began to slow and gradually coast to a stop. Ryan undid his harness and stepped out of the plastic hamster ball. He quickly dusted off his uniform and readjusted it before stepping out of the door and into the chaos of engineering.

Ryan caught a brief glimpse of several Titans bent over consoles or with their heads through access panels, making sure all the ship’s systems were in working order. “Captain on Deck!” There was a loud thunk and a barely muttered curse as several Titans jumped at the command, nearly injuring themselves in the process.

“At ease.” Ryan called out, after sending a mildly rebuking glare at the crewman who had suddenly announced his presence. “Continue with your work, please.”

The door to Engineering opened and Commander Neb stepped through. The Dunnermac officer briefly glanced around until he spotted the Captain, at which point he quickly crossed the room to where Ryan was standing.

“Where is Senior Crewmate Rockfist, Ms. Oronar?” Captain Carey asked a passing titan woman.

The junior crewmate looked nervous to be addressed by her commanding officer. “I… I think I saw her over by the phase conduit array, sir.” Ryan nodded to the young woman and proceeded down the catwalk towards the section she’d indicated, with Commander Neb walking along beside him.

“Is your uniform on too tight or something?!”

Ryan winced. He recognized the voice all too well. He quickened his pace, but he knew even if he was standing directly behind her, his presence wasn’t likely to dissuade Aletsia Rockfist from tearing a strip out of whoever had earned her ire. As he rounded a corner, Ryan saw the woman in question glaring up at a young titan man in the uniform of one of the station’s dock workers.

“There’s no call for that kind of language!” The man spluttered incredulously. “We’re here doing you a favor, after all.”

“Favor!?” Aletsia spat angrily. Ryan was certain that if her skin tone had been a few shades lighter, her indignant rage would be turning her face the same color as his uniform. “Thanks to you and your team of blundering ignorami, the third through sixth conduits are out of synch with the rest of the array. That’s going to make it mighty hard for this ship to go at top speed.”

“The phase variance is well within normal parameters.” The dockworker muttered indignantly, still not quite sure how to handle a dressing down from someone who could fit in his hand. “Sure, for a Magilna class. The technology has improved ever so slightly since then. Perhaps you should update your training manuals to the current decade!”

“All right, I don’t have to sit here and take this. Least of all not from some blasted human!”

It didn’t seem possible, but Aletsia’s demeanor became even angrier. “Listen here you –”

“Crewmate Rockfist, as you were!” Ryan barked. “Commander?”

“I think it would be best for you to return to the station, Miles-Deputandum.” Commander Neb said, interjecting himself between the dockworker and the irate human standing on the gangplank. The Titan man frowned, but he recognized a dismissal from a superior officer when he heard one. Well, as long as that superior officer wasn’t a human, at any rate.

“Aye sir.” He muttered sullenly and gathered up his tools before exiting Engineering. “I had it handled, sir.” Rockfist said hotly.

“I’m sure you did, Senior Crewmate.” Neb said levelly. “However, one of my duties as Executive Officer is to ensure that conflicts aboard this ship remain at a minimum.”

“How bad is the botched repair?” Ryan asked his chief engineer.

The woman pursed her lips. “Well sir, we can still fly, but until we get those conduits back in sync you’re going to be limited to half our top speed. Maybe three-quarters in an emergency.”

“And how long is resynching going to take?”

“It’s at least a day and a half worth of work, sir.” Aletsia replied. “Assuming I don’t get distracted by something else.”

“Better get on it then.” Ryan said, nodding. “But I assume that wasn’t what you called me down here for, was it?”

“No, I…” Aletsia hesitated, her eyes flicking to where Commander Neb was standing, overlooking the hustle in main engineering. “Shall we step into your office?” Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, probably best to.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow, and Aletsia sighed. “I mean, aye, sir.”

“Commander Neb,” Ryan said, “if Senior Crewmate Zinter has competed his final check of comms, have him report to engineering to assist Senior Crewmate Rockfist in repairs.”

“I don’t need Nom….”

Aletsia stopped as she saw the look Ryan was shooting at her.

“Aye, sir,” Neb said. “Anything else?”

“No, commander. Dismissed,” Ryan said.

Neb came to attention, turned, and walked away, leaving Ryan and Aletsia standing together. Ryan gestured to the hovercraft that had been parked on the table; Aletsia got on and took the stick, and Ryan sat down in a chair behind her.

They didn’t talk as Aletsia guided the ship across the Engineering deck to a berth outside her office. She got off, and let her captain lead her inside.

When the door closed, and not a moment before, Ryan said, “Crewmate Rockfist, what in the name of Earth are you doing?”

“Ryan, I….”

“’Ryan?!’”

“I’m…sorry. Sir. I just….”

“You just went in on a subordinate who was a loaned officer to this ship, rather than explaining the problem and working to fix it. Called him a gorram idiot. Do you think that helps fix the problem? Do you think that helps this ship fly better?”

“Sir, he….”

“If he was a member of our crew, maybe some tough love would be in order, but he isn’t, he’s Induperator Iamai’s problem, but if I go to Iamai now, she’s gonna just hear that my gorram chief engineer insulted him.”

“Well I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen to me! You heard him, you saw what he thinks of humans….”

“Oh, right, yes. He’s a bigot. You haven’t met bigots, Crewmate? Darren Xanthopolous used to tell us about your some-odd-great-grandpa Degu. I know he dealt with bigots. I know your tribe has dealt with bigots. I mean, Yamanu Neutha was a member of your tribe, wasn’t he?”

“He’s…he was an honorary member, but….”

“But nothing! How did Dr. Neutha die? Swearing a blue streak and telling that bitch off? Or doing what he could to keep the people around him calm?”

“I’m not gorram Yamanu! And what the frak good did it do, he’s still dead! He told her the truth, she wouldn’t listen! They never listen! And if we don’t stand up for ourselves, they’re never gonna respect us! So we have to tell them in no uncertain terms that THEY CAN FRAK THEMSELVES IF THEY WON’T LISTEN! AND IF YOU WON’T STAND UP FOR ME, I’LL FRAKING DO IT MYSELF!”

Ryan let that retort hang, because he’d been waiting for Aletsia to say it for several weeks, all through shakedown.

Rockfist looked down for a moment, and said, “I’m…I’m sorry, sir. That was…that was completely….”

“There are officers in this fleet who would have you busted to Junior Crewmate Third Class for that,” Ryan said. “Officers in the Avalonian Guard, too.”

“Sir….”

“I’m glad you’re using the proper form of address, crewmate.”

Aletsia swallowed hard. “I’m…sorry sir. It’s…there’s enough stress without people questioning my orders. I proved myself under Capt. Atern on the Paradox, and I helped them put this ship together.”

“I know your curriculum vitae, crewmate. I asked for you as my chief.”

Aletsia looked back up. “I…I didn’t know.”

“You know this ship as well as anyone. Your work with the build-out team was exceptional. But that was when you were a team lead, not a chief.”

“They…they just accepted me. Two of the engineers had served on the Gyfjon with Capt. Ibanez, and they were with me from the start, but here….”

“Here, there are bigots. At least a couple dozen of them,” Ryan said. “And out there, in the wider universe? There are a lot more. Trust me, my dad has stories that will make your hair stand on end. There are some sick frakkers out there. But you have three squares on that collar, and that means that you can’t spend your day yelling Equality Now! slogans, you have to be better than that. Because if you look like you’re not in control, if you look like you’re flying off the handle about any little thing, you give those bigots all the ammunition they need. ‘See? They’re too emotional. Too immature. They only live one-sixth as long, and they’re not Avartle, they don’t have a knack for engineering.’ Oh, yes, I know exactly what they’ll say. And frak them for it.”

“They’ll say it anyhow,” Aletsia said. “You know that.”

“Yes,” Ryan said. “I do. But have it be a slur. Have it be a gorram lie. Because they’re not the problem.”

“I know, it’s me,” Aletsia said.

“The frak it is! No, the problem is the others. The people who don’t care and don’t know whether humans are equal. They’re gonna act like we are, more or less, unless they have a good reason not to, because that’s how the system works. And if we’re doing our jobs and the bigots are just lying, then most of them aren’t gonna listen to the bigots. But if the bigots can point out one little mistake….”

“It isn’t fair,” Aletsia said.

“Frak no, it isn’t,” Ryan agreed. “And there will come a time, five, ten years from now, when our kids will have room to push back. But that room comes because we proved that we can be as good if not better than the titans are. Now,” Ryan said, “are you going to continue to attack people?”

“I mean…in some cases, aye, sir, I will,” Aletsia said.

“Good. That is part of your job. But make sure they earned it because their work was shaka. Understood?”

“Aye, sir,” Aletsia said. “Sir…permission to speak freely?”

“Granted.”

“Sir…Captain Atrern always said you were more easy-going than she was.”

“Yeah, well, Jolu’s a lot more easy-going than she used to be. And a bit of Jolu’s hardarse nature rubbed off on me.”

“Aye, sir,” Aletsia said. “I’m…sorry, sir.”

“Don’t be sorry, just fix it. And if I ask the Ops Officer to come down and help, don’t tell me you don’t need him.”

“It’s…Crewmate Zinter is a good man. And he listens. And he knows a lot about engineering for someone in IS and comms.”

“He learned a lot on Freeman.”

“Aye, sir. It’s just…when he’s around, or when Commander Neb is, well…they end up saying what I’ve been saying, but suddenly people listen to them.”

Ryan smiled. “Yeah, Nom mentioned that to me. Part of why he’s coming back down is that he intends to make that clear to people.”

“Sir?”

“Crewmate Zinter is going to repeat what you’ve said, and when people hop to, he is going to stop them, and ask them to explain why they waited for him to say it when their department head already had. And he is going to state that he is very tired of them wasting his time, and Neb’s time, and especially your time. And he is going to make clear that things are going to go very, very poorly for them if he has to keep repeating what you say, rather than them just listening in the first place.”

“I appreciate it, sir, but….”

“I know, you want to stand up for yourself. But crewmate, part of your job is recognizing that we are a crew, and we work together, and we stand together. And if one of us needs help, the rest of us help. Understood?”

“Aye, sir. Now, with your permission….”

“Yes, yes, get back to it, though for the record, while I’m not thrilled that we’re gonna need to keep it at Warp 7.5 for starters…we probably weren’t going to open it up past Warp 7 on the way to the rendezvous anyhow.”

“To be honest, sir, anything below Warp 9 is probably fine, and in a pinch I could get you all the way to Warp 9.7. But I’m not going to get my point across to anyone if I tell them that it shaved four percent off our max.”

“No, you aren’t,” Ryan said. “So feel free to tell people that they need to get their arses in gear. But don’t do it to look tough or demand respect. Do it to get my ship fixed.”

“Aye, sir. I will, sir.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll point me to the hamster ball pick-up, you are dismissed to fix things.”

“Thank you, sir,” Aletsia said. “And sir…I am sorry about blowing my top.”

Ryan smiled. “Aletsia, 27 people requested transfers off this ship because they didn’t want to serve under me. If you think I don’t understand why you blew your top…trust me. I do.”

Aletsia blinked. “Did you transfer any of them?”

“Nope.”

She smiled. “Well. They’re gonna learn who’s in charge, aren’t they?”

“One way or another,” Ryan said. “One way or another.”

* * *

“That went pretty well, honestly,” Rajenlif said. “I think they liked you more than they liked Aud.”

“Do not damn her with faint praise, my wife,” Tiernan said with a chuckle. “I believe they liked rashes more than they liked Aud. At least at that first meeting.”

“So Aud being rude to Ryan was not an unusual thing?” Rixie asked.

“Aud’s defenses are always up,” Rajenlif said. “Always. And because of that, she does a good job of pushing others away. But I don’t really want to discuss Aud right now. Speaking of Ryan, Thyllia, how did he take the news that he’s the son of a princess?”

“He doesn’t know yet,” Thyllia said. “The Antero was on shakedown, and he hasn’t had any leave, so…well, Rixie knows this better than I do….”

“Interfleet comms, even from a flag officer, sealed and secured to a captain, are logged and recorded,” Rixie said. “Given how sensitive this is…well, I didn’t want this sitting on a datacube somewhere, waiting to be found by accident. I’ll tell him when he gets leave.”

“You’re right about interfleet comms. Of course, there are exceptions. Communications from the Department Heads can be sent through flagged as do-not-record. So can communications from the Imperii. And of course,” Tiernan said, with a twinkle in his eye, “so can communications from the Sovereign.” He pulled out his pad, and checked something quickly. “According to fleetcoms, this is a daypart that Capt. Carey has listed as awake time. Would you like to tell him now?”

Rixie blinked. “You know? What the frak. Let’s do it,” she said. “If only because I know Thyllia would like to say hi to her husband.”

* * *

Kullervo and Tellervo had just departed in their shuttle, and the prince and princesses Throden waited for theirs to arrive.

“So what do you think?” Kaearte asked.

This was, of course, the real “what do you think,” not the one that they’d given their father.

“I like her. I like him,” Isku said. “And before you start, not just because she admitted she was Iron Maiden. Though it is really, really cool that Iron Maiden is our sister. Of course, don’t tell anyone….”

“Just admit you like her because she’s Iron Maiden, it would be okay,” Swipul said.

“No, really, I mean it. I mean, that’s cool, but – compare her to Aud. Rixie’s been out risking her life for the Empire. Hells, Alex has too. Aud has a huge inferiority thing going, but those two, they could be the opposite. I mean, they had Sen. Tarsuss’s sister tagging along just to help deal with their daughter! And yeah, she’s their daughter-in-law, but she’s also the CEO of Darkstar. I mean, if that was Aud coming back, she would have thrown that all in our faces, right?”

“Yeah, I agree,” Kaearte said. “She had every right to spend the whole night saying, ‘See how successful I am? Take that!’ but she didn’t. She just seemed pretty nice. I’m jealous of her and Alex, though. Why can’t I find someone who loves me like that?”

“A human? There are a lot of them that could use a good home.”

“Swi? What the frak?” Kaearte said after she processed what her sister had said.

“I don’t…I don’t mean it like that,” Swipul said. Then looking at her siblings, she added, “Okay, I meant it like that, but I don’t….”

She sighed. “That was a stupid thing to say. I just…you’re jealous of her and Alex. I’m jealous of everything.”

Isku and Kaearte looked at each other, then back at their sister. “What are you talking about?”

“Look at everything she accomplished in her life. Flag officer, universally renowned competitor, hero of the Empire, Bearer of the Sword of Savarna, married to a rich businessman, steady hand of Pryvani Tarsuss, for frak’s sake! Oh, also, the rich businessman is a member of a persecuted group and she fought for his freedom and they won it, their son is as decorated as she is and the head of House Carey, his wife is Thyllia Gorram Fand, and their daughter will probably grow up to be Empress of the Galaxy. She’s accomplished more than the three of us put together, and she did it in spite of being sent to live with the Hoplites. Or maybe because of it. I mean, how can any of us compete with that?”

Isku shrugged. “I didn’t figure it was a competition. Don’t think she sees it that way either. You mad that you’re no longer the smart one or something?”

Swipul glowered. “It’s not that. After all, Kit is the smartest of all of us. I just wonder….Dad pushed us, hard. And I know why he did, so we wouldn’t end up like him. But I wish he’d pushed us even harder. Look at her! Think what we could have become!”

“I don’t want to be her,” Kaearte said, quietly. “I don’t want to get my throat shot out, have my boyfriend nearly killed trying to save me. I want to watch the pretty patterns that money makes when it moves around, and try to teach those patterns to other people like me. I enjoy it, and I’m good at it, and I’m happy with that. I mean, she had to write that she loved him in her own blood, you heard that, right? I couldn’t do that.”

“That’s what I’m talking about, it’s heroic, it’s….”

“It’s a nightmare is what it is,” Isku said. “And you know it. I remember when I got a compound fracture in club play back when I was 21, and even knowing that the bone-knitter would take care of it, even knowing that I’d be back on the field in a week, I was shaking, because my body didn’t know. All it knew was that I was hurt bad. Took a long time for me to get over that. If it had been serious? Life-threatening? Nah, not for me. She had to do it. And yeah, maybe if you or I’d been thrown into it, we would have ended up good as her – or maybe I’d end up like the folks who died trying to keep the bugs off of Freeman Colony, and all of them were brave and noble and they’re dead now. You watch them when they told that story? They were singing in the cemetery. They both knew they’d almost lost each other – and it left a scar on both of them to this day.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Swipul said. “Alex didn’t want her to talk about his part. Probably doesn’t bring back good memories.”

“He didn’t get to the end of her story, either. Just told the good parts, the ones that made him look like a bit of a goof. Because he wanted her to look good. And the rest of the story is better, or at least…more interesting,” Kaearte said. “But it’s not what he wanted to talk about. She only brought it up because she wasn’t going to let him look like a fool when she knew what a hero he was. Because those two are vwofas ridiculously in love and that, I’m jealous of.”

“Oh, you’ll get there Kit,” Isku chuckled. “I went through enough locker loiterers in my youth, and it was fun and all, and after a while I started to get bored with all of it. And then I met Miin. And you know Miin, just about the opposite of everything I ever said I wanted – and couldn’t be more perfect for me. And Áibmu is the only person I’ve ever seen win an argument with Swi, other than mom. And I know that makes the two of you perfect for each other.”

“I was never going to marry anyone who was going to roll over for me,” Swipul said.

“Right? So you’ll meet someone. Could be some guest-lecturer. Could be a shopkeeper. Could be a human, or a Ler, who knows? But when it’s right, you’ll know. Anyhow, all of us are doing better than Aud.”

Kaearte snorted. “Skor isn’t ugly, but he’s not the sharpest axe in the shed.”

“Yup,” Isku said. “And none of the rest of us would marry someone who wasn’t smart. Not even Rixie. Alex is a human but you kinda forget it when you’re talking to him. And I know he isn’t the only human like that, but he’s smarter than the average anyone.”

Swipul was quiet as her shuttle descended. “Please don’t ever tell either of them what I said earlier. That was…awful, and I’m better than that. I felt inadequate next to her, though. Because whatever she did, she earned it. And I really wonder if I’ve earned what I have.”

“Swi,” Isku said, “Áibmu didn’t marry you because you were a princess, and you know that. I don’t know if you or I have earned anything else, but you know you earned that.”

“I don’t deserve Áibmu,” Swipul said, as the shuttle grounded.

“Nobody deserves anyone. I don’t deserve Miin. She probably doesn’t deserve me. I mean, you think dad deserves mom? But she loves him anyhow, because he does, in his own way. And I do deserve Miin, and she definitely deserves me. Are you…is this making sense?”

“No, but I get it,” Swipul said. “And I need to get over it, I guess. She is nicer than Aud, but it makes it harder,” she added, as the shuttle door opened.

“Makes what harder?” Kaearte said.

“You know,” Swipul said. “Feeling superior to her.”

* * *

After the day he’d been having, Ryan returned to his quarters hoping to take just one hour to decompress. Maybe read. No, not reading, too much thinking there. A video would be good. Something that required no thought. Maybe one of the twentieth-century Earth sitcoms, his dad always said they were aimed at the lowest common denominator.

He had just about decided to see if “Friends” was as mediocre as Alex had claimed when there was a comms chime.

Ryan sighed, heavily. “Carey,” he said.

“Captain, we have a communication for you,” Nom Zinter said.

“Kinda figured.”

“It’s…it’s classified Orange Orange, sir.”

Ryan sat forward in his chair. “What?”

“That’s confirmed. Emperor’s code checks out, Do-Not-Record. Sir, you can override….”

“If the Emperor wants something not recorded, we don’t record it. Code lock it, secure it, reverify it, then route to my quarters. Delete on termination.”

“Aye sir. Coming through.”

There was a long bleep, and the terminal said, “Orange Orange communications. Voice authentication code required.”

“Carey, Ryan, Captain, ISS Prince Antero. Tef-Lama-Three-Three-Kape-Six-Upsilon-Null-Eight. Confirm.”

“Identity verified. Scanning area for any additional observers…none identified. Connecting.”

There was another pause, and the communications screen lit up, but not with the face of the Emperor. Ryan took a very long moment before he said, “Mom?”

“Hi Ryan.”

“I…uh…I’m really happy to see you, but…I mean, this came through….”

“I’m here, captain,” called the Emperor’s voice. “Don’t worry, your mother has not hacked the fleet’s communication system to impersonate me. Not that she couldn’t if she wanted to; at the very least, she could hire someone to do it. No, your mother, father, sister, and wife are visiting with the Empress and me here on Jutuneim. She has some news to share with you.”

“It can’t be that I’m a father, right? It’s too early.”

“No, Ryan, don’t worry, I’m fine,” Thyllia called.

“Okay. Good. I mean, that Thyllia’s fine. Okay, what’s…going on?”

“Well,” Rixie said, “you might want to sit down for this. You know how you found out who you’re descended from?”

“Yeah?” Ryan said.

“Well, I found out who I’m descended from.”

“Oh? That’s great! I know you always wondered, even when you said you didn’t. So who are they? Did you get to meet your family? It’s not anything weird, like you’re related to Pryvani, I hope?”

“That would be weird on many levels, and no, at least, not directly,” Rixie said. “But yes, I have spoken to both of my parents, and I met my father and his family tonight.”

“So that’s why you’re on Jutuneim? Nice! And….”

Suddenly, Ryan stopped.

“Ryan?” Rixie asked.

“Yeah, uh…so you’re on Jutuneim, visiting the Emperor and Empress…the same night you met your father?”

Rixie smiled. “I remember when you were worried that not being our son by flesh made you less than fully ours. But that’s exactly the thought I’d have had.”

“What thought is that?” Tiernan asked.

“How exactly my father connects to you two,” Rixie said. “And yes, Ryan, he does. My father – your grandfather – is Prince Kullervo.”

Ryan did finally take his mom’s advice, and sat down.

He was quiet for a good thirty seconds, before he said, “Okay, so I’m getting why this is coming in Orange Orange then. Clearly this is not for sharing with others. Thyllia knows, obviously. I assume Pryvani knows. Anyone else?”

“I do,” Alex said. “And Asteria, though she gets it about as much as you’d expect her to at her age. And that’s it.”

“Okay. Well. As tempting as it will sometimes be to pull out ‘my mom’s a princess,’ I won’t. Are you good with this, mom? Is this…you okay?”

“I am,” Rixie said. “It’s a lot. But I…I’m glad I know.”

“One other thing, if I may,” the Emperor said, gesturing to Rixie. She got up, and let him sit down in front of the terminal. Ryan was slightly awed to see Tiernan treating Rixie as…well, as his niece.

“Lord Carey,” Tiernan said. “I first wanted to tell you that despite the strange circumstances – which your mother will explain in full when you do get time back dirtside – both Raja and I are quite delighted to be able to claim you and your family as a part of ours, at least privately. And perhaps more than we have a right to be. Your parents, your wife, and of course, you yourself are among the finest people in this Empire. I just wanted….”

Tiernan paused for a moment, and wiped his eyes. “Captain, when I was told that you would command the ship named for my son, I thought it was perfect. Antero was a fierce proponent of human rights. He would have been proud to have any human commanding a ship that bore his name, and especially proud to have one who had proven himself in the same battle that took his life. But I knew, even then, that through you, a member of our family would be the first to command this ship. Antero’s cousin, my grand-nephew – you. Nobody but you could have been the choice to lead that ship.”

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Ryan said, mostly because the weight of this was getting unbearable, “your son’s name already shines. We who serve on the Antero have to maintain a high standard to match his legacy. I remind my crew of that every day.”

“I’m sure you do. But Ryan, I want you to know that I did not grant you a house flippantly, or without consideration; nor did I do so because I knew you were related to me – and I did, even before your mother knew it. I did so because of the man you are. I meant it when I said you were among the finest people of this Empire. I have no doubt that your ship is in good hands.”

Ryan smiled wryly. “Since I guess you are my great-uncle, I will confess, there are days when I lack the confidence you seem to have in me.”

Tiernan laughed. “Ryan, any leader who does not wake up some days and wonder why anyone listens to you, and when exactly they’ll all realize that you’re a fool and a fraud – those who never wonder that are the ones I fear. Good leaders know they are just people, and that people are not perfect. But I do not expect you to lead perfectly. I expect you to lead well. And you will.”

“And know,” Rajenlif said, “that whatever course you set for the Antero, we trust you to have steered it the best you know how to. That is all any of us can do. And it is enough.”

“Thank you,” Ryan said. “I won’t let you down.”

“Of course you won’t,” Tiernan said. “Now, Rixie, Alex, do you have anything else?”

“First, Ryan – take care of yourself. One near-death experience is enough,” Rixie said.

“It’s too many,” Thyllia added.

“Agreed. And second…if I could ask a favor?” Rixie said.

“Of course,” Tiernan said

“Strictly speaking, you should be in the room the entire time this call is in progress, but…I meant it when I said Ryan and Thyllia haven’t had a chance to talk in a couple of weeks, and that I know Thyllia wants to say hi.”

Tiernan looked over at Rixie, and smiled. “And a husband and wife should be able to speak in private for a while. Here,” he said, setting a timer on the terminal. “After twenty minutes, I will come back in to end the call. If you wish the call to end sooner, simply hit this green button, it will call me.”

Thyllia shook her head, and smiled. “Thank you both.”

“Not at all,” Tiernan said.

“We love you Ryan,” Alex said. “Give the bugs hell.”

“When I get through giving a few members of the crew hell, we will,” Ryan said.

“Gurrah!” Rixie called with a grin. “That’s a captain. Love you, kid.”

“Thanks, mom. Love you all. And thank you, Your Imperial Highnesses.”

The room emptied, and when the door closed, Thyllia said, “I don’t think I can do chat-sex right now, Ryan, not knowing that your mom set it up.”

Ryan laughed. “Me either. But I don’t think mom expected us to do that. I think she just wanted us to be able to talk. I mean, I’m sure she wants us to be able to if we want to, and that she wouldn’t want to think about it any more than that. But she also knows that just being able to talk to each other in private for a bit…whatever we want to talk about…that’s the most important thing.”

Thyllia nodded. “I made out a lot better than you for in-laws.”

“Pryvani and Zhan are great,” Ryan said. “And Syon is a small price to pay for you, princess. How are you?”

“I’m a bit stiff, and I have to use the bathroom every half-hour,” Thyllia said, “and I miss you. But I’m good.”

“I miss you too. So much. And…since she’s gone…is mom really okay with all this?”

“She’s…your mom,” Thyllia said. “She’s tough. So it’s hard to know. I think she is. But…it’s a lot.”

“I bet. It’s a lot for me, and I’m not even really related to them.”

“The Emperor certainly thinks you are,” Thyllia said. “And you are a prince, after all.”

“I thought that Kullervo’s grandkids wouldn’t be princes, isn’t that right?’

“Not talking about that. I’m talking about the fact that you married a princess. And that makes you a prince.”

Ryan smiled. “Well. I guess it does. I’ll add that to the list of everything good that came from marrying you. And it’s…everything.”

“It is,” Thyllia said. “Everything.”