Starbound: A Starstruck Novel (29 page)

He sounded more confident than I was that I’d get the chance, but I saw no point in saying so. “The Council said that the Grentl somehow took Faxon out. Is that right?”

“Indeed. They allowed Faxon two fairly lengthy sessions with the device, but when he attempted a third, they used the device itself to render him unconscious—much as they did to that Linguist, back in Sovereign Aerleas’s time. Fortunately, I was at hand and managed to drag him from the chamber and reseal it before calling upon the assistance of the few other loyalists who remained in the Palace. Together, we imprisoned Faxon and spread word of his overthrow before his own forces had time to react. Without his guidance—or threats—they quickly acceded to the will of the people.” He gave me a thin smile.

It was hard to imagine frail Eric dragging anyone smaller than a child, but maybe he’d been stronger a few months ago—or was simply stronger than he looked, like most Martians. “So why did they mess with the power this morning? Kernan, the head security guy, said it happened once before, too?”
 

“More than once, though the earlier ones required sensitive equipment to detect. As before, they appear to be warnings, sent when no one responded to the Grentl’s most recent attempt at communication.”

“The Council said the device activated again a couple of weeks ago. Did it?”

He shook his head. “I told them that in hopes of hurrying your arrival here, but that proved impossible by then. Not until last month’s power interruption did I finally have enough data to predict how long we might have before the next. This morning’s outage precisely confirmed my calculations. Now that you are here, we can decide how best to proceed before the Grentl take stronger action.”

I swallowed. “How much stronger?”
 

He regarded me for a long moment with those watery blue eyes, as though gauging how close I was to panicking. “Each power interruption, dating from the very first, in Sovereign Aerleas’s time, has been longer than the one before, occurring at ever shorter intervals after an unanswered message. This morning’s lasted two point four seconds, long enough to be noticed by the population at large. According to my algorithm, the next will occur within ten days and last more than seven seconds. That will have the potential to cause at least minor damage and will likely cause panic among the populace. The one after that would follow less than three days later and last long enough to compromise the very integrity of the colony’s physical structure. It is
imperative
that you be Acclaimed so that you can respond to the Grentl before that happens.”

“Ten days?” My voice squeaked and I had a sudden flashback to my birthday party, when I was told how soon I’d be leaving for Mars. “I’ll, um, do everything I can,” I promised.

His expression softened slightly. “We must hope it is enough. This news about your dalliance with Rigel Stuart couldn’t have come at a worse time, unfortunately.”

Because so many secrets were being shared in this room, I decided to share another.
 

“It wasn’t…isn’t…a dalliance. Rigel and I are
graell
bonded. We have been since shortly after we met, seven months ago.”

I waited for the usual disbelief, but it didn’t come. Instead, Eric nodded his white head. “Yes, I remember a flurry of rumors when the news first came that you were alive. Most discounted that one, of course, but I’ve lived a long time and seen many things most people would not believe. I trust you would not make such a claim if it were not true.”

“Thank you.” I felt a rush of relief. “Everyone else who knows—the O’Garas, the whole
Echtran
Council—wants to pretend it never happened.”

A thin hand grabbed my wrist with surprising strength and Eric’s pale blue eyes burned into mine. “And so must you, Princess! At least until after you are Installed as Sovereign. You
must
gain access to the Royal wing of the Palace and appease the Grentl.”

I started to protest, but he only tightened his grip. “You are young. If all goes well, you will have many, many years, more than you can now grasp, to live out whatever dreams you have. But if it does not—” he paused, commanding my absolute attention— “
no one
will have that opportunity.”

grechain
(gree-SHAYN):
Nuathan information network, both personal and mass-media; news channels within the greater
grechain

Eric asked for my secure code before leaving, forcing me to make one up on the spot. In a rush of nostalgia for those earliest days with Rigel, before everything got so scary and complicated, I blurted out, “Cornfield.” Eric nodded, then synched my omni with his so I could easily reach him.
 

“Only contact me when you cannot be overheard,” he cautioned, “and leave no unencrypted messages. None should be necessary, as I will have this on me at all times. Should the Grentl device activate again, I will of course contact you immediately.”

“Thank you.” I stood, holding out my hand—something I knew held particular significance from a Sovereign, an extreme level of trust.

Even though he had grabbed my wrist before to make his point, he hesitated before taking my hand. “My honor, Excellency. I know you will do great credit to your noble forebears. I feel it in my old bones.” Stepping back, he bowed deeply.
 

We went back downstairs to find Cormac standing rigidly on the bottom step and the others standing around, looking nearly as tense.
 

“What?” I asked. “Did—?”

“Yes, they aired the videos,” Mr. O said heavily, muting the vidscreen. “And your approval numbers are dropping even more quickly than I’d feared.”

I glanced at Eric, since only he knew exactly how bad that news was, but to my surprise he just smiled. “It sounds as though you have your work cut out for you, sir. As do you, Excellency.” He directed a final bow and a last, significant glance my way, then allowed Cormac to show him out.
 

You okay?
Rigel thought to me as they went. I wasn’t, and he could tell. I promised again to fill him in later, then turned to Mr. O.

“How far have my numbers dropped?”

He looked grim. “Your approval rating is already below fifty percent and still falling.”
 

That rocked me back on my heels. “That much? That fast? Seriously? How did they even
do
another poll so quickly?”

“The same way they do all of them.” Sean shrugged. “Same way they do elections and the way you’ll get Acclaimed, eventually. Instant input into the network—everyone has access and a unique ID.”

Mr. O’Gara nodded. “I fear our people have always been rather too easily swayed. It’s a big reason Faxon was able to do what he did. Instant feedback tends to encourage a bandwagon effect.”

I had to remind myself that even with a quarter-million people, Nuath was only the size of a large-ish town on Earth, so what might be impractical or even impossible for the whole U.S. would be much easier here, especially with their advanced technology.
 

“Well then, we’ll just have to reverse that trend. Any suggestions?” I tried to sound matter-of-fact, to keep panic at bay even as my worst fears materialized. How would I ever get to the Palace, to the Grentl device, in time?
 

“Rise above the rumors, as I said before. It’s all you can do. When you’re questioned—as you will be—keep everything you say focused on the good of Nuath, on what you hope to accomplish as Sovereign. Don’t deny anything that can be proven true, but the less you say about this matter, and the less defensive you sound, the less they’ll have to spin against you.”

Cormac, returning, nodded his agreement, though I could sense both concern and curiosity from him.

“How long before reporters actually come pounding on our door?”

Even as I asked, the door chime sounded loudly through the room.

“Not long.” Mr. O’s expression was wry. “Why don’t you go upstairs and unpack while I handle the first onslaught. Sean, Rigel, it’s probably best if you go up to your rooms, as well.”

Sean looked like he wanted to argue but just said, “Which rooms? Which floor?”

Remembering my earlier hope, knowing it was probably futile, I said, “Can’t we all be on one floor? Wouldn’t that be safest?”

Mr. O’Gara shook his head as the chime sounded again. “Your suite, which Molly and Cormac will share, is the entire top floor. Sean, Rigel and I can all take rooms on the floor below, if you’d prefer it.”

“I would. Thanks.”
 

Since the doorbell was getting more insistent, all of us except Mr. O piled into the elevator with our suitcases and headed upstairs.

I’d thought my suite on the ship was overkill, but this one was bigger than my aunt and uncle’s whole house in Jewel. There were three large bedrooms off the huge, luxuriously furnished main area, while my own bedroom constituted a palatial apartment of its own. The over-the-top opulence was both impressive and slightly appalling.

“Sheesh! All six of us could stay here and still have room for more. Is this somebody’s actual house?”
 

“Not precisely.” Cormac set down my big new trunk before returning to the elevator for Molly’s bags and his own small satchel. “It’s a residence set aside for traveling dignitaries—members of the legislature, primarily. Prior Sovereigns have stayed here on occasion as well.”

I regarded Cormac with sudden interest. It was hard to gauge Martian ages, but he wasn’t a particularly young man. A tiny bit of gray showed at the temples of his dark hair.
 

“Prior Sovereigns? Did you know my parents? Or grandparents?”

He nodded. “I was on your grandfather Leontine’s security detail and served briefly as your father’s personal Bodyguard before he left for Earth.” Though his face revealed nothing, I felt a wash of sadness from him.
 

An answering surge of emotion swelled my own throat. I had to swallow once or twice before finding my voice again. “Can you tell me about them? Not the stuff in books, but what they were really like? I was too young…” I trailed off.

“I remember,” he said gently. “You were a…charming baby, Excellency. All of Nuath doted upon you. The news of your supposed death affected the people nearly as profoundly as your grandfather’s assassination. It’s a pity you never really knew your parents. Your father, Mikal, was extremely intelligent as well as a dynamic speaker, with all the makings of an excellent leader. Sovereign Leontine predicted that his son would outshine him one day, perhaps become the best leader Nuath had ever seen.”

“And my mother?” I prodded, overwhelmed at discovering such an unexpected source of information.

Cormac smiled for the first time since I’d met him this morning. “Consort Galena was an amazing woman. Beautiful, of course, but also kind and compassionate. Before Faxon—” he nearly spat the name— “she already had built a reputation as a tireless humanitarian, spending a great deal of her time improving the lot of our less fortunate. How anyone could have—” He broke off, the subject clearly painful to him despite his stoic demeanor.

I totally understood, but I had to ask one more question. “Did…did they love each other?”

He gave a terse nod. “They were both such completely admirable people, how could they not? Even though their joining was a matter of tradition and political necessity, over time they developed great affection for each other.”

Turning slightly away to hide the tears I felt threatening, I let out a long, shaky breath. “Thank you, Cormac. I hope you don’t mind if I ask more about them later?”

“Of course not, Excellency. It will be my honor to share whatever I can.” His voice was gruffer than usual.

Molly awkwardly cleared her throat, clearly affected by the exchange, as well. “I’ll, um, go unpack for you.”
 

I followed her into my absurdly huge bedroom, still trying to get my emotions under control. I’d thought learning a little about my parents would make me happy, but it only brought home more forcefully what I’d lost. Maybe, if I’d grown up knowing them—
 

M?
Rigel’s thought came faintly, distracting me from my melancholy.
Can you hear me?

I can!
Are you in the room right under mine?

I think all of our rooms are under yours, since you have the whole fifth floor. I was worried it would be like on the ship—

But it’s not!
I sent excitedly.
This is great! I can tell you all about—
I broke off when I noticed Molly looking at me strangely. And no wonder, since I’d stopped dead in the middle of the room to stare into space. I gave my head a little shake and smiled at her, then went to help her unpack my clothes.

It turns out this Grentl thing is even scarier than I thought,
I continued, putting underthings into a drawer
. After we all go to bed tonight, I’ll tell you everything. We can finally talk as long as we want!

Okay, tonight. Try not to worry till then. I love you, M.

I sent all the love I could back to him. Tonight couldn’t come soon enough—especially since the intervening hours would probably suck, what with reporters and political opposition and all. I was glad I had Rigel to look forward to.

Molly unpacked her own stuff while I freshened up in my bathroom, by which time Mr. O had messaged Cormac that we could come back downstairs.

Sean and Rigel joined us in the lift—Rigel and I managed to brush hands for a delicious half-second—and a moment later we were back in the living room. “Did you get rid of the reporters already?” I asked.

“Only for the moment.” Mr. O grimaced. “And only because I promised them a press conference first thing in the morning. I told them you were resting from your journey now and could not be disturbed.”

“A press conference? I’ll have to talk to all of them at once?”

“It’s your best chance to start spinning things back our way before your opponents can organize. We’ll go over appropriate answers to the questions you’re most likely to be asked. I’ve already made a few notes based on what they were throwing at me outside just now.”