Crisis On Sandar

By Juliet Sem

Separatists have called for Sandar to secede from the Union. When their demands aren't met, they take action, crippling Sandar's economy. To prevent panic, King Ismer sends Princess Keestu on a secret mission to obtain a rare mineral used to manufacture their money. However, the Separatists will stop at nothing, and they put a bounty on Princess Keestu while planning another devastating attack on Sandar.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Juliet Sem
• Release date: Nov 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301315833

Juliet Sem

Juliet Sem began writing as a young teen to alleviate boredom she experienced in school after she wasn't allowed to skip grades. At the time, most of the major female characters in books she read were written as beautiful but useless in conflict. Juliet's first novel, The Tourney, is the result of her desire to write stories featuring strong female characters who are more than just eye candy waiting around for their men to come rescue them. She continues to read and watch fiction and is relieved that strong female lead characters are no longer the exception in books, movies, and TV shows.She lives in Arizona with her husband and cat in addition to caring for several abandoned outdoor cats. Her hobbies include outdoor activities, fiber crafts, reading, games, and ciphers--she designed all the games and writing systems mentioned in her Union series books.

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Crisis On Sandar

By Juliet Sem

Copyright 2012 Juliet Sem

All rights reserved

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite book dealer and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table Of Contents

Chapter one

Chapter two

Chapter three

Chapter four

Chapter five

Chapter six

Chapter seven

Chapter eight

Chapter nine

Chapter ten

Chapter eleven

Chapter twelve

Chapter thirteen

Chapter fourteen

Chapter fifteen

Chapter sixteen

Chapter seventeen

Chapter eighteen

Chapter nineteen

Chapter twenty

Chapter twenty-one

Chapter twenty-two

Chapter twenty-three

Chapter twenty-four

Chapter twenty-five

Chapter twenty-six

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Chapter one

The emergency siren went off in the passenger cabin of the flitter. Eighteen and a half year old Keestu Ranell, Crown Princess of Sandar, dozing in her seat after a long day traveling to a hospital dedication on another continent, awakened and reacted immediately to it, as did her younger brother, Prince Skomer. They pulled out and put on their breathing masks, unbelted from their seats, grabbed the safety line, making their way to the cockpit as the flitter started to shudder. Opening the cockpit door and looking at the front canopy, Keestu saw that the improbable had happened--a direct lightning strike had blasted a hole through the canopy and had struck both the pilot and co-pilot, rendering them unconscious. The wind howled through the hole as the flitter began to lose altitude.

Blinking back tears caused by the rushing air, Keestu fumbled for the emergency kit while Skomer was bodily moving the pilot from his seat to the next one back in the cockpit. Keestu grabbed a pair of goggles and passed them to Skomer, who was already belting into the pilot's seat and grabbing at the yoke. She waited while he slapped off the autopilot, which had automatically engaged when the flitter was hit by an energy bolt of considerable power. After making sure Skomer had his goggles on, Keestu put hers on before dragging the co-pilot's large and heavy body out of his chair. At times like these, she missed her personal bodyguard's presence. Gontu would have had no trouble heaving the man into the next seat back and belting him in, but he had gone on an extended vacation to attend his sister's wedding on the Union's capital planet Uriel, and with their parents busy with other matters, Keestu and her younger brother Skomer had been dispatched to honor the hospital opening alone. Keestu finally wrestled the man into place and secured the harness around his limp body, and none too soon. She was thrown forward against the console as the flitter's nose was shoved downward by the wind, striking her right thigh painfully on its edge. A quick look at the gauges informed Keestu the flitter was being buffeted around by hurricane force winds, as their pilots had flown into an unexpected spring storm. She glanced at her brother and saw Skomer was having difficulty controlling the yoke.

Keestu fumbled her way into the co-pilot's seat, dragging at the safety harness and getting it only halfway fastened before Skomer called out to her in desperation. Hurry up, Kee! Hydraulic power is out on the steering vane, and with this wind I can't level us out by myself! We need to pull the yoke back and turn it starboard!

Leaving the rest of her straps unfastened, Keestu grabbed the co-pilot's yoke, her eyes darting to the screen. Seeing from instrumentation that they were, indeed, losing altitude and yawing to port, she hooked her arms into the steering vane and yanked with all her strength, slowly helping Skomer pull back and turn the yoke to starboard to level out their flight.

Keestu had been on better terms with her younger brother after she had visited the Autocracy, a group of ten planets located in a nearby star cluster, two and a half years ago in what was nearly a disastrous first solo diplomatic trip for her. Keestu and her entourage had been attacked by a large group of noble men that hated the ruler of the planet she had been visiting. They had mistaken Keestu and her group as supporters of the unpopular man and had attempted to take them hostage with disastrous results. Keestu's defense trainer, Tenget Ayden, had suffered the worst injury, having his left arm severed at the elbow, while Keestu had been attacked while trying to ford a river, and had been knocked into the icy water and swept away. She was presumed dead and a report sent home indicating such until her body wasn't found by searchers dragging the river and searching its banks over the next few days. Instead, Keestu had been rescued by a group of commoners called Dunnes by the Autocracy, and hidden among them until she could make her way to Vulo's spaceport in a bid to leave the planet, as she was under the impression that the men who'd attacked her group were working for the ill-tempered Prató, or king, of Vulo. She had reached the spaceport and boarded an outgoing ship only to see on the video screen that a Sandarian military ship and her royal liner had come to search for her. She was attacked again as she left the passenger ship and ended up confronting the Prató of Vulo, who ordered another man to attack her for standing up to him. Keestu, who was better trained than the man in handling a staff, had soundly beaten him before rejoining her entourage, battered and bruised, but very much alive. As all of Sandar was preparing to go to war after word of the attack and her disappearance reached home, there was much rejoicing when Keestu was discovered alive and went on to successfully complete her mission to negotiate a trade agreement between the Autocracy and the Union, of which Keestu's home planet Sandar was a member.

Upon her arrival home, decorum had been abandoned as her family had rushed to embrace her after her several-month absence from her homeworld. Keestu had been surprised to see Skomer's eyes tearing up along with the rest, though he gave her what she felt was a manly hug, which was brief and ended with a rough thump on her back with the palm of his hand before he had shoved her away.

I thought I told you before you left not to start an interstellar war? His words had been harsh, but his voice had cracked as he spoke.

Keestu had kindly ignored her brother's unusual show of emotion and had retorted, What and let you miss out on a chance to lead the fleet against our enemies? They told me you demanded to avenge me. They had laughed together and had gotten along much better ever since. Keestu surmised it was because she'd somehow proven herself to her brother by managing to escape her attackers, hide out for several days, and arranging to sneak herself off an alien world right under the noses of the authorities of that planet. The pictures of her injuries that were released to the public also didn't hurt her reputation--that she came from tough Sandarian stock, being the grandchild of the legendary King Brei, the man who'd united all of Sandar under one family using his military might and cunning, skills that apparently lived on in his descendants. In addition, Skomer had finally had his growth spurt, and along with his larger stature had come a more mature attitude.

Once Keestu determined that Skomer's gruff exterior masked a true understanding and respect for the difficulties she faced as heir to the throne, their verbal sparring had reduced to only the occasional friendly jibe, making it much easier now for her to surrender command of the flitter to her younger brother, who she was now allowed to admit was the better pilot. He had always excelled at it from the start of their flight training, which had begun soon after her return from the Autocracy. Keestu knew she was being taught how to fly because she had reported the necessity of her walking thirty kilometers to the spaceport, and therefore breaking into and jump starting the engines of flitters and groundcars had been part of her training and that of her two brothers--her younger sister Hemda was still too short to easily reach the controls of either vehicle.

Okay, we've finally leveled out. Check our altitude while I reboot the GPS and find out our position, Skomer ordered her, one hand racing over the controls.

Right, Keestu kept her reply short, so that Skomer would know she had heard what he needed her to do while they scrambled to avert further disaster.

Keestu took her left hand off the steering vane and punched the appropriate keys on her own console. Checking the altimeter when it came up in the menu, she felt a sharp stab of fear when she read it. We're really low, Skomer, only seven and a half meters off ground level! We've got to pull up or we're going to hit something!

Too late, Skomer cried out, his voice panicked as the GPS finally came back online and responded to his query. We're already well over CeCe and headed straight for the palace!

Do they know what happened?

No time for coms, Skomer said tersely as he rapidly reread the GPS to check how far they were from their home.

The palace leaped into their vision and vanished just as quickly as another lightning bolt split the dark, showing them they were headed straight at the tall cliff that the palace butted up against. There was no way they could gain enough altitude to clear the cliff or palace in time.

Swearing, Skomer yanked the yoke hard, yelling at Keestu, Starboard! Keestu automatically helped him, as Skomer killed power to the engines and simultaneously activated the braking thrusters and flaps to stop them from hurtling at atmospheric speed directly into their home or the tall granite cliff it stood against. The flitter bucked like a crazed beast, shaking them about mercilessly, and they hung onto their steering yokes with difficulty. The canopy lit up with lightning again, but this time it was upside down, and Keestu realized that the flitter had been turned upside down by Skomer's desperate maneuver, and the ground was rushing down at them as they plunged towards the earth inverted. Skomer saw it, too, and in desperation briefly fired the portside vertical thrusters in a quick burst that sent Keestu's inner ear into fits and her stomach roiling in protest as several more flashes of lightning showed them that the flitter was flipping back over. Skomer didn't waste his breath to tell Keestu to brace for impact, as he was too busy piloting for their lives. His move was perfectly timed, however, as he slapped the braking thrusters on full and yanked the nose of the flitter up just before they plowed into the ground right side up, hitting so hard that Keestu bit her lip as she was thrown forward in her half-fastened harness.

They rumbled to a stop in the middle of the empty block that lay directly outside the palace's gates, cleared fields where no one was allowed to build houses that could provide cover for attackers. Keestu found herself grateful for that fact now, as she slowly released the steering yoke, unbuckling her harness with shaking hands.

A large hand clapped down on her shoulder from behind, and she was unable to stifle her scream of surprise. The co-pilot laughed behind her, and the pilot laughed behind an equally shaken Skomer.

The door to the fitter whooshed open, the lights coming up, revealing that the flitter was undamaged, and in fact wasn't a real flitter at all, but the palace's flight simulator, and Keestu suddenly remembered she had been roused in the middle of the night for a simulated flight, the final test of her and Skomer's flying skills to see if they qualified for their licenses. Given the state of their crash landing, she doubted it.

Their father came in yawning, and Keestu saw he had dark circles under his eyes, but his expression was happy. Congratulations! You both passed!

Passed? Keestu was shocked, her voice muffled by the breathing mask, which she belatedly removed. But we nearly collided with the palace, and the flitter wrecked! How can that simulation be determined to be a pass?

Because you didn't crash into either the palace or the cliff, and you managed to land the flitter right side up in a clear field without hitting anything despite that last minute obstacle the program threw in your way by turning you upside down. In addition, all computations of damage based on your speed and trajectory indicate that the flitter would not have rolled on impact, and therefore everyone in the cockpit and passenger compartments would have survived the crash with minimal injuries since you followed procedure and belted everyone in adequately. Skomer, you now officially have your pilot's license, and Keestu, you've earned your co-pilot's license! Great teamwork, you two.

King Ismer hugged his children, urging them to return to their beds after he dismissed the official flight test team.

Ku, Skomer exclaimed as he reeled towards his room after they had taken the family's private lift from the ground floor to the royal bedrooms on the third level, I fell asleep waiting for the test to begin, and when I woke up, I thought it was for real!

So did I, Keestu told her brother. I think that's why they waited until we were both asleep before they started the test. You did a great job in there, Sko. Got us home in one piece!

Couldn't have done it without you, Skomer admitted. Yoke was too hard to turn by myself. 'Night, Kee, he half lifted his hand in farewell as he wearily trudged to his room and put his thumb to the lock by the door.

Keestu moved past one of the night sentries patrolling the floor, nodding silently to him as she turned down the hall to her own room. She put her thumb to the lock, sighing as the door opened for her. She checked that it securely locked behind her out of habit, and then crossed wearily to her dresser.

She pulled off her Crown Princess's three-pronged four-tasseled headdress, took the bun and braid out of her hair, and then sat down on her bed to take off her shoes before crawling on top of the covers fully clothed to go back to sleep, feeling no triumph for having passed her co-pilot's exam, only exhaustion, as she had spent many hours that day at a hospital dedication and had returned home on an uneventful flight, a fact she thought was a dream when she woke up during the simulated test flight. Feeling a chill, she roused herself only enough to drag the comforter up before she fell back into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter two

Keestu woke two hours later than usual the next morning, stretching idly as she realized today was a rest day. She got out of bed and took a leisurely shower, shrugging when she spied a bruise on her thigh before dressing in casual pants, shirt, and athletic shoes. She plaited her long brown hair into a simple braid before going downstairs to the dining room to eat a late breakfast. Her father was still there, listening to the news on the infocom and drinking a mug of javene, his curly hair for once not crushed down by a crown, as he, too, dressed casually on rest days.

Good morning, co-pilot Keestu, he greeted her, and she grinned and gave him a hug, kissing his temple before sitting down.

Morning, dad, she yawned as she filled a mug with javene from an insulated pot on the table and dressed it to her liking. Anything interesting on the news? The hot javene stung the cut where she had bitten her lip during the test, and she set it aside to cool for a minute before she resumed drinking. She hit the call button on the table next to her to alert the kitchen staff that a member of the royal family was ready for breakfast.

Ismer shook his head. We have not and will not issue a press release about your and Skomer's flight training. While it's well known now since your trip to the Autocracy that you've had extensive physical self-defense training--drat that video of your staff fight on Vulo following you home!--it's not known that we also train all family members to defensively drive groundcars, fly flitters, and understand the basics of starship flight. You probably won't ever be called on to pilot any of them, but emergencies do happen, and King Brei set down some basic skill training rules that I believe in, though I pray to Rentham that you never have to use such skills again. I can tell you that the days I thought I'd lost you were the blackest days of my life. I felt like my heart had been cut out of me, Kee, we all did.

Tears sprang to Keestu's eyes. Even after all this time, it hurt her terribly to know the pain her family had suffered thinking she had been killed on an alien planet light years from home.

She grabbed her father's hand, squeezing. I can't tell you how sorry I am that it happened. After that scum cut off Tenget's arm and I was pushed into the river, I thought they must all be dead, and I was not going to let them get me if I could help it, especially since everyone else gave themselves up in order to secure my freedom. I have to say that my physical training helped me through that. I had no problems carrying two burden baskets filled with Dunne tithe items thirty kilometers to Vulo's Spaceport City in two days despite my injuries.

And waiting tables in a tavern on your way for your room and board, Ismer said, eyeing his daughter fondly. If only those people knew who was doing the waiting!

Keestu smiled at her father again. Well I'm glad they didn't know, though I am happy to hear that the tavern owner where I worked, Linson, along with his sister Anthan and her husband Dex are now honored friends of the Vuloan ruler because of their association with the former Praté, who stepped forward to help her nephew the Praton when he became Prató. I hear Pulon's made some much needed changes there in his time as Prató.

Well how can he not since he has the assistance of the former Praté and her Dunne husband, Éfand of the marvelous tenor voice, and his sister Shariel? I'm just surprised to hear no one has challenged Pulon in all this time since he ascended to the position. From what you've said, that's unusual for the Autocracy.

After his father, Fernuin, attacked Béjan and ended up dying in the Tourney because Pulon warned the new Autocrat in time for him to react and Béjan awarded him the title of Believer In Autocratic Order, I think the people of Vulo were so greatly impressed with his conviction that the Autocracy system works that they are loathe to make changes. After all, he's not the misogynist tyrant his father was; his Praten is a woman he is not related to, and everyone in the Autocracy knows she was chosen after all the records were searched and she appeared at the top of their fighting hierarchy once all of Fernuin's changes to the records were expunged and all the people he had secretly murdered were removed from the listings. However, I was surprised to hear he's the first Autocracy ruler to decree that it's okay for Vuloan nobility to marry members of the Dunne class, though their children still may not wear official noble clothing or inherit noble estates, but they may now openly receive recognition and a stipend from their noble parent, and then with his aunt and uncle's help he did design noble-esque clothing and a rank badge their half Dunne children can wear, which I understand has now been adopted throughout the rest of the Autocracy. After seeing what I saw on my trip, I think that's quite a remarkable change for them in such a short time.

Don't forget they are also allowing their children the option to wear the Dunne clothing they're used to wearing with the new rank badge displayed front and back, so someone approaching them from behind can still immediately tell they are the half-blood child of a noble, which I think was a stroke of brilliance, Ismer added. As it allows them to interact with both the classes they come from in greater comfort if they prefer to wear Dunne clothing and yet need to identify themselves as half noble. I must say I'm not surprised to find that their registry very quickly reached numbers in the tens of thousands.

I was surprised Pulon chose the main planetary color for their clothing since usually only an Autocratic planet ruler's family uses it. But, since he wanted the half Dunne children to stand out and the majority of the nobles in the Autocracy wear their planet's secondary colors, he broke with tradition to allow the main planetary color to be worn by them as long as they have their rank badges displayed front and back and leave out the stripe in the secondary planetary color that the rulers and other nobles wear. I'm also very gratified that he's allowing Éfand to release his recordings here in the Union, Keestu added, sighing in delight as she remembered his amazing tenor. I can't tell you how eager I am to hear his songs sung by him in Unity now that they have been properly translated for him. He's got the most incredible singing voice I've ever heard!

Well, you'll be the first person in the Union to hear them, seeing as you are overseeing trade between our societies for that item. I think it's a fine idea to test what you learned from Shina about being Trade Liaison on the Hub, King Ismer chuckled at his daughter, Giving you the perfect excuse to get your hands on his work all the sooner!

Keestu laughed with her father. So you found out my ulterior motive. But, seriously, I think he's that good. There is something special about him as he performs that allows him to enchant an entire audience no matter what their station. I would never have expected the nobles to participate in the sing-along, but they were belting out that last song with as much gusto as the Dunnes.

The dining room door chimed a warning before a member of the cooking staff came in pushing the serving cart. The woman nodded to them before passing a tray through the scanner, which checked all the food on the tray for any known poisons and beeped its clearance, before setting it in front of Keestu and quietly smiling at Keestu's heartfelt, Thank you, before she left the dining room.

Keestu took the top off her tray and inhaled in appreciation. Fresh biscuits steamed gently. They were made with Rillul red fruit cooked inside, a dish she had first sampled on Autocracy Station during her trip. She cut open her first biscuit to butter it, and smiled as she thought of the renewal of trade with Rillul after the Union had negotiated a trade agreement with the Autocracy. The Rillul had only occasionally traded with the Union before that, though more than a century before, they had traded rather extensively with Weegai, another Union planet, for their major export, fish, since the green-skinned humanoid Rillul needed a light-protein heavy-carbohydrate diet. However, after the trade agreement went through with the Autocracy, more Rillul ships were traveling to the Hub, the Union's centrally located space station, where the majority of the Union's member planet trade took place, and their red fruit was currently a popular trade item, as it was delivered fresh year round. The Rillul had also discovered a liking for the high-sugar nectar produced on the sentient insect inhabited Union planet Chtawlikt, which had necessitated the opening of a single Chtawlikt kiosk on the Hub, an unprecedented move for the species, who usually delivered their foodstuffs directly to the planets they traded with.

She was glad to learn during her trade internship on the Hub that some Rillul ships now preferred to trade for Autocracy items at the Hub, since travel between Rillul and the Hub took less time to schedule, though there was a longer lag between allowed ring exit windows compared to those that directed traffic to Autocracy Station. The increase in traffic at the Hub had been beneficial to all the member planets of the Union as well as their new trading partners, and Keestu had learned from her aunt that the restaurants specializing in Autocracy cuisine were always full of customers eager to sample their foods before making purchases at their Hub kiosks and taking the exotic foodstuffs with them when they went back to their own planets.

Ismer's next question interrupted her thoughts. Did you ask Rue if she's gotten another letter from Prató Dinus of Phaet?

Keestu smiled. He still sends them like clockwork once a month. Keeps asking her to return to Phaet for another visit. I think he still wants to marry her. She says he said things are going well there since Dinus' sister Hatari dropped rank after her marriage and first pregnancy and his cousin Bital rose to the position of Praton, so they are enjoying a period of relative stability in leadership on Phaet, since Bital shows no signs of wanting to challenge Dinus, and the people ranked below Bital haven't been able to beat him.

Well, it certainly can't hurt that Dinus' father is the new Autocrat. Humph, I say new, and he's been ruler for two and a half years now!

Well, since he will reign for fifty years uncontested, he is still new to the position, Keestu reminded her father.

Ismer shook his head. I can't say I understand their system of rule all that well, but it certainly does seem to work for them.

Kang had a lot of detailed questions for me on that after my return, Keestu said, thinking fondly of her other brother, who she considered an expert in exoplanet customs, since studying them was his hobby, And since he met Autocress Herini during her visit to the Hub three months ago, I think he understands the mentality behind their ranking system better than anyone else in the Union.

I'm glad she came, Ismer said. As you said, she's a really tall and muscular woman--would have to be to have the strength to fight her way to Praté and thus to Autocress--but she downplays that quite a bit when you speak to her. I think she's a very charming woman. I'm glad she won, and I had the opportunity to meet her in person.

I really liked Praté Enfré, too, Keestu told her father. I think either one of them would have discharged the responsibilities of that office equally well. Actually, I liked all the Autocracy's rulers, with the exception of the unlamented Fernuin, his wife, and initially his daughter Shariel.

Yes, Ismer said. It's a shame how controlling Fernuin was, and surprising that his wife was found to be in collusion with him, helping him poison his family and drug Shariel, which is why he insisted that Bott prepare all the family's food while the kitchen staff cooked for the servants. It's probably best that they both died during the Tourney.

Keestu nodded, remembering how Fernuin's wife had commit suicide by throwing herself against the electrified security screens after seeing her treacherous husband struck down by the newly declared Autocrat when he tried to take the title from its rightful winner by force.

I still find it hard to believe that Fernuin was drugging Shariel, Keestu said. It's sad that he didn't listen to any doctors, because it was the combination of steroids and psychiatric medications that caused her to have such terrific weight gain and changed her personality. I find it hard to believe that he considered her his favorite child after discovering just how badly he was treating her.

Well, I think it explains his misogynistic views somewhat, Ismer said. Since he was trying to force her to become something she wasn't, a carbon copy of himself, and after she reacted poorly to the medications, he got it into his twisted psyche that women were unfit to handle anything other than basic domestic duties. It's just fortunate that she continued to be his favorite child, because he never stopped trying to mold her into what he thought she should be, as it saved not only her life but also that of her brother. His private notes revealed that he decided to spare Pulon when his initial experiments on Shariel failed, and after he eliminated the rest of his family and Shariel continued to suffer the effects of the drugs he fed her, he continued to need Pulon in the position of Praton so he could control Vulo.

What I don't get is that if Bott was cooperating in Fernuin's plots is why she never said anything to him about Shariel pilfering food from the kitchen. She had to have noticed the large volumes of food that regularly went missing, and yet there was no mention of it in Fernuin's records. I'm sure he would have set up surveillance in the kitchen to find out how Shariel managed to get to the food if he had known.

I'm not sure why she didn't mention it. It could be that she actually loved Pulon, Ismer explained, Or it could have been guilt over the deaths of her other children, extended family members, and the others she helped Fernuin kill that caused her to keep silent, as I'm certain that if Shariel had managed to stabilize or improve that Fernuin would not have hesitated to eliminate Pulon as he had the others.

Well since no one suffered more at his hands than Shariel, I'm glad to hear that she's made a full recovery after receiving her final endocrine system treatment, Keestu said.

Yes, and now that she's back to normal, she's helping her family run Vulo. I'm glad to hear that Pulon put her in charge of both Dunne and noble women's special services, since she knows first-hand the horrors some women have to face.

Well, I certainly can't blame her now for what happened to us on Vulo, Keestu said. Though I did at first. If she hadn't been seen eating from the tavern's garbage bin, we never would have been led out into that alley, and Tenget would never have been hurt.

At least we know the truth of why you were attacked now. Fernuin left you to find your own dinner because he was busy trying to put down an uprising, and while he blamed it on Shariel's actions of demanding tithes of food from all the locals, she was only doing it because of the intense hunger she suffered due to the medications Fernuin forced on her, and because of the psych meds didn't remember her actions after the fact, so the vendors never received credit for feeding her the extra food she asked for. It was a vicious cycle that Fernuin started, but luckily it's now over, Ismer said. And we can be confident that with her health and mental capacity restored that Shariel will help those women who need it the most, having more reason than anyone else on Vulo to help correct Fernuin's wrongdoings.

Her father changed the subject. Did I tell you I've commissioned a jewelry designer to incorporate the ruby Prató Gépar of Thetron gave you as well as some smaller rubies from the same mine on Thetron into a proper queen's daily crown for you? It should be ready for you by next year.

Well, I certainly am not eager to put on a queen's crown, Keestu said. I still have much to learn and besides you're still young, so it'll be years before you, you pass rule to me, Keestu finished in a rush before changing the subject. I was sorry to hear that Gépar's wounds prevented him from remaining Prató after the Battle, though I heard via Dinus that he still plays a significant role in the running of Thetron.

It's unfortunate that changes in the Autocracy's ruling hierarchy can occur every month. It's a major downside to having such a fluid system in place, but the Autocracy seems well able to deal with it. Ismer shook his head and then asked, When do you think you'll go back to the Hub to finish your internship with Shina?

I was thinking after Coronation Day. I still can't believe how complicated aunt Shina's job as Sandarian Hub Trade Liaison is. What an eye-opening internship that was!

The infocom had a field day with that. The speculation that I was going to pass you over in favor of Skomer and have you take over at the Hub after Shina retires was my favorite rumor. Like I could be angry with you for what happened during your successful trip to the Autocracy, Ismer shook his head. Sometimes I really wonder how they come up with such drivel.

So did you ever find out who brought that copy of the video of my staff fight on Vulo back to the Union and gave it to the infocom? It had to be someone on either the Jewel or the Enforcer.

No, Ismer said, frowning. The military, though loyal to the crown, is a very tight knit community, and if it was someone on the Enforcer, no one who serves on her is going to turn them in, not even Admiral Kurzon. I really doubt any of the crew of the Jewel did it, though I could be wrong. We'll just have to live with the fact that all of Sandar now knows you train with the stun staff and other ancient weapons, which by the way Tenget has talked to me about.

And what did Tenget say about ancient weapons this time? Keestu thought fondly of her defense trainer, who was still overseeing her training despite the fact that he was still recovering from his left arm injury. The tissue and bones of his arm had been medically re-grown within a year, and the nerves regenerated over the next, but now Tenget would need to spend at least another year in muscle retraining before he could hope to be back to the level of fine motor control he had enjoyed before he was maimed. Fortunately, he was right-handed and could still use that hand, and with his broad knowledge base still continued to direct her training, though he had no material need to do so--the Autocracy had granted him a generous lifetime compensation for the pain and suffering for the injury he had sustained while visiting their planets in an official capacity.

"He wants you to be able to improvise weapons in the wild. He thinks it's not enough that you know how to use something like a sling--he wants you to be able to make