Starbound: A Starstruck Novel (28 page)

The frivolous story had barely begun, however, when the vidscreen abruptly switched to the same reporter we’d seen earlier, Gaynor, looking extremely serious and concerned.
 

“We interrupt this story with some disturbing news. Almost as soon as the first passengers from Earth in over two years disembarked, certain rumors began to spread, but we at Nuathan News Network pride ourselves on reporting fact, not rumor. Now, however, two different passengers have come forward with video evidence that substantiates those rumors. While we are not yet authorized to release those videos, it is feared that our much-heralded Princess may have flouted tradition by engaging in a romantic relationship with her Bodyguard, Rigel Stuart. Moya, what do you think this will do to her chances for a quick Acclamation?”

A blonde woman appeared on-screen, her expression even more worried than Gaynor’s. “I’m afraid this revelation will come as a serious shock to many, Gaynor. You heard how upbeat everyone was earlier. This could trigger a dramatic shift in opinion. Earliest polls indicate that most want proof before condemning Princess Emileia out of hand, but unfortunately it appears that proof may be forthcoming very shortly.”

“That’s right, Moya.” The camera switched back to Gaynor. “Informatics Engineers are working now to verify the authenticity of those videos, though the odds of two separate hoaxes matching so closely seem extremely small. Assuming those omni-made videos are validated, their publication should quickly be approved by the Interim Governor’s office, in keeping with the new policy of transparency.”

I turned to Mr. O in dismay. “Will they really show that video on the
news?
”

“They’ll have no choice,” he said grimly. “I knew word would filter out, but didn’t realize the vid itself had been captured on private omnis. Because of Faxon’s secrecy and abuse of the media, there is now strong public sentiment in favor of sharing everything openly, especially anything pertaining to the government. The networks obviously take their role in that process seriously.”
 

Great. “So much for me declaring for Acclamation tonight. How long before reporters start demanding answers and interviews?”
 

As if in answer, Mr. O’s omni beeped. He put it to his ear, then snapped, “No, I’m sorry. The Princess has no comment at this time.” He broke the connection. “I won’t be able to hold them off long. We’ll need to decide—” His omni beeped again. “The Princess is resting from her voyage,” he informed whoever was on the other end. “She’ll release a statement soon.”
 

Between the calls that now came in every few seconds, he reminded me that every town, village and
fine
had its own news feed. The “official” one we’d been watching was the most widely viewed, but the smaller outlets all liked to gather their own news and put their own spin on it.
 

“That could work to our advantage if we can sway enough smaller channels to throw their support behind you despite this issue. The Nuathan Network relies heavily on the polls, so if the overall numbers start shifting in your favor, they’re likely to adjust their stance to match.” His omni beeped again before I could point out that the reverse would also be true.

Might as well hope for the best until we know otherwise,
Rigel thought, but he felt as tense as I did.

I was about to suggest we go upstairs and unpack, hoping for a lengthier private “conversation” with Rigel, when Mr. O suddenly replied to a caller with something other than his pat response.

 
“You are? I see. Yes, she’ll meet with you. How soon can you be here? Very well, we’ll see you in a moment.” He hung up and turned to me. “This is someone you do need to talk to, but not about this matter on the news. For that, you’ll need some preparation.”

“Who—?”

“A Communications Engineer from Thiaraway.” The significant look he gave me cleared up my confusion. “Eric Eagan.”

A chime sounded and Cormac went to the the fancy front door—the one we hadn’t used—and returned escorting the oldest-looking Martian I’d ever seen. His snow-white, wispy hair and deeply lined face, made him appear far older than Shim, though his short stature and general air of frailty made him much less imposing.
 

As soon as he saw me he bowed deeply. “Excellency. Thank you for receiving me. I am greatly honored.” His voice also held a quaver I’d never heard in Shim’s.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Eagan. Where can we talk privately?” I asked Mr. O.

Sean and Molly both looked confused and Cormac took a step forward. “Excellency, I must protest. Your security—”

“Is not at risk right now, Cormac, but thanks for your concern. Mr. Eagan and I need to discuss matters that are, um, classified. The
Echtran
Council on Earth was clear that I wasn’t to talk about them in front of
anyone
except him.” I almost added that Eric didn’t look like much of a physical threat, but thought that might sound insulting.

“There is a small conference room on the floor above this one,” Mr. O’Gara suggested. “I’d better remain here to field calls.” He sounded regretful—and felt avidly curious. “Cormac can wait at the foot of the stairs in case you need him.”
 

Though Cormac didn’t look happy with that arrangement, he didn’t argue. Indicating that Eric should follow me, I headed up the curving staircase with a silent promise to Rigel that I’d fill him in later. Eric and I entered the conference room, right off the landing, and I closed the door. “Sorry. Cormac is a little overprotective.”

“Quite properly so, given that all our hopes rest upon you, more than anyone yet realizes. Is this room secure?”

“As far as I know. Do you mean it might be…bugged or something?”
 

Eric pulled a tiny black box out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Let us be certain. You will be able to sweep the room much more quickly than I can, Excellency, if you don’t mind? This will emit a warning if any listening devices are present.”

I took the box from him and walked around the room, waving it in front of me. I felt a little silly. Finally he motioned me to the table.

“That will do. Thank you.” I handed the detector back to him and he pocketed it again. “After three centuries of secrecy, it wouldn’t do to slip up now, when it might do the most harm. Shall we sit?”

I took the chair farthest from the door, just in case Cormac decided to stand guard in the hallway after all and Eric moved more slowly to take the seat next to me.

“How much were you told before leaving Earth? I take it you know about the Grentl, the device?”

Remembering what I’d been told so far, a little thrill of fear went through me. “Yes, but not many details. Just that the device is at the Royal Palace in Thiaraway and supposedly only I can use it. And that if I don’t somehow respond to the Grentl soon they might do something awful, though nobody said exactly what.”

“I’m afraid I didn’t dare send much information to your Earth Council, even encrypted. But now you are here, I can tell you everything I know.”
 

“Did…you know my grandfather, Sovereign Leontine?” I couldn’t resist asking.

“Of course. And his mother, Sovereign Aerleas. In fact, I was in the room with her when she first imprinted on the device and have kept the secret of the Grentl ever since. No one else alive knows as much about the workings of the device, which, unfortunately has made me irreplaceable.”

That meant Eric had to be well over three hundred years old—
definitely
older than Shim. Wow.
 

“Unfortunately?” I echoed.

He inclined his head. “I’d have followed my dear wife to the long home ninety years ago had the Sovereigns not had need of me. It is my hope that once the present crisis is averted, another Engineer can be trained to take my place, and I can go to my long-delayed reward.”

I couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of living so long that dying would feel like a reward—but then, I was only sixteen. “So what exactly
is
the current crisis? Did that power glitch this morning somehow make things worse?”

“It would be more accurate to say that the ‘glitch,’ as people are calling it, brought to light just how dire our situation is.”

“So you think these anti-Royalists are more of a threat than everyone thought?”

Eric fluttered a wrinkled hand in the air. “Those foolish protesters had no hand in the power interruption, though it is not surprising they were quick to take credit. We should probably let them. No, it was caused by the Grentl. And it was a warning.”

I stared at Eric in horror. “The
Grentl
did it? How do you know? And
how
? Aren’t they, like, hundreds of light years away?”
 

“The same way they communicate with us, using their quantum entanglement technology. They made it clear many years ago, back during Sovereign Aerleas’s reign, in fact, that the communication device is not the only link they still have with this colony. They also have direct access to our power grid, which they, after all, created. We have never been able to determine how that access works…or how to disable it.”

This was feeling less real—but scarier—by the second. “Wait, you mean they screwed around with our power way back then, nearly three hundred years ago? We’ve
known
they could do that all this time and nobody told me?”

“We have, though by
we
I mean only the Sovereigns, myself, and two other Engineers, both now dead.”

“So the
Echtran
Council doesn’t know?”
 

He shook his head and my sudden fury at them died. “It has always been assumed our people would panic were they to learn that an advanced alien race is in direct contact with us. For them to learn that race also has the power to destroy us on a whim would guarantee that panic. Sovereigns Aerleas and Leontine both agreed that secret must be guarded at any cost.”

Since it was taking every ounce of control not to panic myself, I got that. Shim would never panic, but remembering Alistair Adair, I had to admit it was just as well the Council hadn’t been told.

“Shim Stuart of your Earth Council may guess,” Eric continued, as though he’d heard my thoughts. “I remember him from his youth, an extremely bright young man who served a portion of his apprenticeship under me and therefore knew of the device and the Grentl’s existence. Had he remained on Mars, he would have been my top choice for a successor—though I suppose he is getting on in years now, as well.”

Though the idea of Shim as a young man was strange, it only distracted me for a moment. “But what’s the point of causing power glitches?
Why
would the Grentl want to destroy us?”
 

I didn’t question that they
could.
Without power, Nuath probably wouldn’t last a day. A lot less, if the anti-grav supports were all that kept the roof from collapsing.
 

“I can only tell you that this is how they have expressed their displeasure before. The first occasion was shortly after the device was linked to Sovereign Aerleas, when a Linguist attempted to talk to them despite their prior insistence on speaking only with the Sovereign. Then, more recently, when they attempted to communicate late in Faxon’s reign and received no answer.”

“But I thought Faxon did answer them?” I was sure the Council had said so.

“Eventually, but only after two brief power interruptions—which he attributed to the Resistance, which was growing stronger as news of your survival spread.”

Nobody had told me about that part—because Eric hadn’t told the Council, I reminded myself. “So how did he figure out what was really going on, if hardly anyone knew about the Grentl?”

 
Eric hesitated, looking troubled. “The room containing the device had long been sealed so that only the Sovereign could access it, though an Engineer was sometimes allowed in to take calibrations and ensure the device was not deteriorating in any way. On learning of the room’s existence, Faxon forced entry, then compelled a fellow Engineer to help him access the device.”

“How? Couldn’t he just have claimed he didn’t know anything about it?”

“My colleague did try,” Eric said sadly. “He was loyal to the throne, but Faxon’s methods were brutal. When he threatened the man’s family as well, he capitulated—though Faxon still had him executed for his earlier resistance.”

I’d known Faxon was a monster—he’d murdered my grandparents and parents, after all—but this seemed almost worse, since he’d had nothing to gain by the Engineer’s death.
 

“So Faxon got to the device and did…what? I thought only a Sovereign could make it work?”

“Not precisely. Records show that within a decade or two of the device’s first activation, our Linguists and Exobiologists were able to establish a very rudimentary means of communicating with the Grentl. But after a few years the Grentl made it clear they wished only to exchange thoughts with Sovereign Aerleas who, in addition to being the spokesperson for our race, also showed an aptitude for the peculiar sort of communication they favor. When Linguists later persuaded her to allow them to again attempt the more direct communication method, the result was very nearly disastrous, both for the Linguist involved and all of Nuath.”

“So did they cut power again when Faxon tried to answer them?”

“They did not. I can only speculate as to the reason. Perhaps it was simple curiosity. It had been more than forty years since their last communication, so it’s possible they at first assumed he was Sovereign Leontine’s successor, though the genetic differences should have quickly told them otherwise. They did not, however, allow Faxon to access the embedded records of prior communications, as he’d hoped to do after learning such existed. Those, it seems, are available only to yourself—the only direct descendant of Aerleas and Leontine.”

Now I was more confused than before. “Embedded records? Like…a computer file with some kind of genetic password?”
 

“A crude way to put it, but yes. You’ll understand better after your first communication with the Grentl.”