Chapter 25
- Krix'vorr -
This time the Nest is quieter. Few servants are milling around as we hurry through the corridors, and no courtiers are trying to harass us. The guards step back the moment they see us, and then we’re back in the Queen’s chamber.
The smell is just as full of decay as last time.
But there are fewer present. Only the Royal Mate Morr’ak, the Inquisitor and two Chief Harrowers, both old favorites of the Queen.
“Chief Harrower Krix’vorr,” the Royal Mate begins without ceremony while we’re still walking towards the throne, “Her Majesty wants to know the answers to these questions. Where is Earth? What do its defenses look like? What are their real resources? How many of these aliens are there? These are questions a Chief Harrower should have ready when his Queen allows him to appear before her. All we get from you are your alien’s strange pleas for tribute and your own vague statements! ” His voice echoes in the chamber.
I choose to ignore him. It’s a dangerous tactic, but it sometimes amuses the Queen. “Greetings, Your Majesty. How may I obey?” I go down on one knee.
Nora does the same. I have briefly told her how to behave around the Queen in a way that may reduce her risk. I have also told her to say as little as possible.
The Queen moves her head, and a servant hurries to steady it with a cushion. “Krix’vorr,” the monarch creaks. “Had any thunderstorms recently?”
“Only small ones, Your Majesty,” I reply, since she clearly knows and it makes no sense to deflect the question. “I hope they didn’t disturb the peace of the Nest.”
“The peace of my Nest will be assured when we can finally launch our Harvest,” she says.
“And while your alien is entertaining, she has a plump look to her. We find it unlikely that her planet has been destroyed in a war. She doesn’t look war-like in the least, and her species plainly lives calmly in surroundings rich in nutrition. ”
“She may not look war-like, Your Majesty,” I reply, “but in my experience, that has never been a mark of aggressive species. Indeed, soft species are often slow to wage war, but then they fight harder and fiercer than others.”
"Let her answer for herself," the Queen creaks, turning her clouded eye fully on Nora. "You. Alien. Explain your roundness to me. A starving world does not grow soft females."
I feel my antennae flatten. I hadn't prepared her for this.
Nora doesn't look at me. "The scouts were fed everything the stations had left, Your Majesty," she says, and her voice is steadier than I have any right to expect.
"Before we launched. They knew we might not come back, and they knew we might not find help for a long time.
It was thought better to send us out strong than to save the food for people who were dying anyway. "
A ripple of antennae across the chamber. I can't tell if it's belief or amusement.
The Queen is silent for three long heartbeats.
"A practical people," she finally says. "Wasteful, but practical.
" She shifts her bulk, and the cushions are hurried into place again. “Be that as it may, I can’t have the state of that planet remain uncertain. The Harvest is nearing, and soon I will unleash my Swarm. It needs a target.”
Wither, I swear internally. The Queen is obviously about to tell me to go to Earth and find if it is, in fact, ruined. And I have to obey. That will mean the certain destruction of Nora’s homeworld.
“Your Majesty, a mission to Earth now, to a planet which I believe to be ruined and worthless, will take me out of the search for a real target. It means that your best Chief Harrower is rendered ineffective at this most crucial time. It dramatically lowers the probability of finding a target worthy of Your Majesty’s Swarm. ”
The two other Chief Harrowers frown, and one of them opens his mouth to speak.
“But I have another suggestion!” I state loudly just as he’s about to protest. “Instead of sending me on a fruitless mission to Earth, I beg Your Majesty to allow me to provide a much better target.”
The Queen leans back, and new cushions are deployed to prop her up. “Oh? A better one?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The target I speak of is the Gzet homeworld.”
There’s first a stunned silence. Then the Royal Mate and the two Chief Harrowers laugh.
Beside me, Nora makes a small sound. Barely anything — a sharp breath through her nose, the kind she made when I surprised her in the training chamber.
I don't dare look at her. If I look at her now, in front of the Inquisitor, everyone in this chamber will see exactly how much her opinion matters to me.
“The Gzet homeworld?” Morr’ak exclaims. “Nobody knows where it is! And most of us don’t think it even exists!
It is well established that the Gzet live entirely in their spaceships and on small asteroids, scattered around the galaxy.
Majesty, let me rip the wings off this court jester of a Chief Harrower! He’s plainly not suited for his job.”
The Queen smiles, too. “Have you lost your mind, Krix’vorr? Does this alien confuse you and make you forget your loyalties?”
I glance at the Inquisitor. Only he doesn’t show any sign of amusement, keeping his face neutral. It occurs to me that he may be much more dangerous than Morr’ak.
“I shall find the Gzet homeworld,” I state with certainty, fully aware that I may be signing my own death sentence. “I shall find it before the Harvest, and the Swarm shall feast on it!”
The Queen chuckles. “Oh, this is the most entertaining thing that’s happened in this chamber for many longcycles!
The Gzet homeworld! Very well, Krix’vorr.
You may find the Gzet homeworld for us. If you can’t, or if this is some alien nonsense you’re bringing to my Nest, you shall indeed have your wings torn off.
And you shall be fed to your own Beast, thrown into the furnace in its center.
And your alien shall accompany you there. ”
“I understand the threat, Your Majesty,” I state, wanting to sound calm. “And it’s fair. I shall deliver on my promise.”
“But we must make sure that you do,” the Queen says. “To that end, Inquisitor Brax’tok will come along on your travels.”
The Inquisitor gives a shallow bow. “As Your Majesty commands.”
The Queen slowly turns towards him. “Inquisitor, you are to make sure that Chief Harrower Krix’vorr finds the Gzet homeworld and then reports its location and resources to me.
You are to use any means necessary to hold him to his promise.
If he fails, you are to kill him and his alien and take his ship. ”
“I obey, Your Majesty,” the Inquisitor says smoothly.
I glance at Nora by my side. Does she understand what this means? Probably she does. And this may end with me having to kill the Inquisitor before he can kill me, because my hopes of finding the Gzet homeworld were never great.
“It’s all the more important that the search succeeds,” the Queen creaks, rolling around and sending servant creatures crawling around her, “because these endless, bickering fights and Harvests and Swarms are making me tired. I long to rest. I never used to feel that way before.”
The mood in the room changes.
Morr’ak frowns and turns to look at the Queen. “Majesty?”
The Queen tries to straighten, dislodging a dozen cushions. “I have decided that this shall be my last Harvest. After its completion, I shall leave this throne to a newly hatched female and she shall be your Queen.”
The chamber is stunned to silence. Even the servant creatures freeze.
For a moment I can’t believe what I’m hearing. The Queen is going to step down? It’s hard to believe - she seemed eternal, and she must have been on the throne for hundreds of longcycles. But even she can’t live forever, and some Queens do step down before they die.
Morr’ak’s’ shoulders seem to slump, and it’s as if he shrinks in front of us. Yes - he will no longer be a Royal Mate.
“I have already found the new Queen,” the old Queen continues. “She will soon emerge. For the first longcycles of her reign, she will be helpless, and so she will need a Royal Mate to rule in her stead until she comes of age and can take control herself.”
She doesn’t need to say much more - we all know that the First Royal Mate becomes the most powerful being in the Brood, because he must fill the Queen’s functions until she has fully matured and can rule the Brood on her own.
Such First Royal Mates often become legendary.
To think that such an event would take place in my lifetime!
And also while I’m the youngest Chief Harrower in the Brood, one of the Queen’s favorites!
Clearly the Harrower who finds a ripe target for the Harvesting has an excellent chance of becoming the Royal Mate of the next Queen! Oh, the power of such a position…
Everyone is stunned, except for the Inquisitor. He’s still looking at me, and I swear a little smile is crossing his face.
Ah. Of course. He knew.
This is why the Queen appointed an Inquisitor: to make sure everything in this succession process goes smoothly. And to assure that the next Royal Mate is worthy of that position.
But now the Inquisitor is leaving the Nest and coming with me.
That can only mean… I am being considered as the next Royal Mate!
I have to support myself with one hand on the floor. The prospects are dizzying.
I glance again at Nora, who’s also looking at me. How much of this does she understand?
For one uncomfortable heartbeat I wonder what a Royal Mate's life actually looks like, and whether there is room in it for an alien female who refuses to kneel.
“But that’s neither here nor there,” the Queen says. “Bring me a target, Chief Harrowers. The Harvest is approaching. Remember that any male is judged by his accomplishments. Now go. I expect a juicy target for my last Swarm.”
Judged. Yes, she’s clearly evaluating candidates for the next queen’s Royal Mate.
Everyone scrambles to leave, except for the Inquisitor and the old Royal Mate, who is hunched over and steadying himself on a servant creature.
I take hold of Nora and walk backwards a few paces before we turn and walk out fast.
Outside I have to stop and take a breath. “That’s all extremely concerning.”
"What was that?" Nora asks, rounding on me the moment the chamber doors seal shut behind us. "You told her you'd find a planet nobody's ever found, that might not even exist, or she'll feed us to your own ship?"
“A ruler should know how to motivate,” I say weakly. “That was always one of Queen Szum-zic’s strengths.”
“She just threatened to kill us,” Nora points out. “And is that other guy coming with us?”
“The Queen has ordered it,” I state, gathering myself together. “He may be helpful in our search.”
Nora stares up at me. “He’s coming along to kill us!”
“Only if I fail,” I remind her. “And I won’t fail.”
“There must be a way out of this,” she insists. “We can’t just bring our own executioner with us!”
“The Queen has commanded,” I state. “We must obey. And so must the Inquisitor. Come, let’s see how far Lucius has come–”
“Oh, Chief Harrower,” comes a call from behind us.
I set my jaw as I turn to face him. “Yes, Inquisitor Brax’tok?”
He walks up to us, moving freely and with no hurry, his Inquisitor's sash tight against his chest. “I shall board your ship shortly. Kindly prepare a suitable stateroom for me. And I need room for the tools of my trade. A storage space about a quarter of the size of the Queen’s chamber will suffice. Add some metal piping in random shapes. About five hundred paces of it in total.”
“Of course, Inquisitor,” I say. There’s no reason to bicker about it. “Will you be bringing assistants?”
He gives me a barren smile. “Oh, my main tool is also my assistant. You will see. I so look forward to getting to know the intrepid and famous Chief Harrower Krix’vorr much better.
” He looks down at Nora. “And your intriguing alien pet. Or is she something more than entertainment, perhaps? Such a delightful mystery!”
“Actually,” Nora says very clearly, “I’m an officer of Space Force, a scout from the 102nd Recon Squadron.
Captain Nora Ellis. I am an active member of the Armed Forces, and I will absolutely take you the fuck out if you do anything I perceive as threatening.
Just so you know.” She gives him a sweet smile.
The Inquisitor’s smile fades as he hears the translation. Then he catches himself. “Ah. A fiery species. I shall take my precautions, alien. But let’s hope it all happens peacefully. I will see you very soon.”
He turns his back and saunters off.
“That,” I manage, half stunned by Nora's calm threat, “was either very stupid or only moderately so. In any case, you’re magnificent.”
Nora shrugs her thin shoulders. “He should know whom he’s dealing with. So, while we’re here in the Nest, is there any chance you could find some better clothing for me?”