Starbound: A Starstruck Novel (37 page)

“Well said, Princess,” came Devyn’s response. “I have a daughter only a few years older than yourself, and I would not dream of prying into the details of her romantic activities—though in her case, of course, the Sovereign bloodline is not at stake.”

Gordon immediately leaped on that. “In this case, however, that bloodline is of
supreme
concern. I have spoken with countless Nuathans in recent days and many are reluctant to vote for Acclamation without
proof
that their would-be Sovereign has not been compromised, perhaps even now carrying a mixed-
fine
child. Are you willing to have your story independently verified, Princess?”

Mutters swept through the audience, some nodding in agreement while others shook their heads and frowned at Gordon. I glanced at Mr. O’Gara, sitting in the back next to Sean. He lifted a shoulder and gave a small nod, as if to say there was only one way to settle this.

Beyond tired of tiptoeing around the issue myself, I lifted my chin and spoke to the whole room. “Yes. Fine. I’ll submit to whatever tests are necessary to
prove
that I haven’t been ‘compromised.’ Bring in Healers, Geneticists, whoever you trust, and let’s settle this, once and for all.”

After several seconds of stunned silence, Rory Glenn protested from the audience. “Surely no one is suggesting that the Princess
herself
be subjected to any sort of distasteful or degrading procedure? I, for one, won’t stand for it.”
 

Nearly everyone in the room seemed to agree, much to my surprise—and secret relief, since a virginity test
did
sound pretty degrading. Maybe they had some kind of infallible lie detector they could use on me instead? That wouldn’t be nearly as icky. I was about to suggest that when Gordon spoke again.

“Certainly not.” He managed to sound nearly as shocked as Rory had. “The Princess need not be involved at all. With her permission, our Mind Healers can perform a simple memory extraction on the Stuart boy and discover
exactly
what occurred that fateful night. Then our people will be able to choose a proper course with all facts in hand. Thank you, Princess, for agreeing to set everyone’s minds at rest.”

Pryderi
(PREE-dairy) (pop. 1,127):
Nuathan town southwest of Thiaraway, home to most major Healing facilities

“What?” I stared at Gordon, aghast. “That’s not what I—” But Mr. O’Gara shook his head urgently from the back of the room, so I broke off. “I mean, we should make sure that’s okay with Rigel and…and his grandmother first, shouldn’t we?”

Gordon just smirked, clearly believing my backpedaling was an admission of guilt. I thought Devyn and Nels both looked a bit smug, as well. Finally, belatedly, the moderator took control again.

“Any details can be worked out later,” he said. Then, to the audience, “Are there any final questions for any of our participants? We have time for one or two more.”

Now that I’d defused the personal issue—at least temporarily—the questioners seemed willing to return to matters of policy. It was good I’d been drilled so thoroughly or I never would have managed coherent responses, I was working so hard not to panic in front of everybody.
 

Thankfully, after another ten minutes, the debate was over. We each gave our prepared closing statements—again, I was grateful for all that rehearsal—and then the audience members came forward to shake our hands and chat. I excused myself as quickly as I reasonably could, trying to signal to Mr. O that I needed to talk to him
now.
 

He must have caught my frantic silent plea, because he announced loudly, “Anyone with further questions or communications for the Princess, please message me. I need to get her to her next appointment.”

I made my way to his side and he and Sean shepherded me back to the car, Molly and Cormac just a step behind.
 

Not until we started back to Tullymayne did Mr. O’Gara turn to me, worry creasing his brow. “What is it? I hope you’re not having second thoughts, now that you’ve so effectively undercut one of the main arguments against your Acclamation. I would have suggested this course sooner if I’d thought you’d agree.”

“But I don’t! I thought I was volunteering to have
myself
tested. I figured it would be embarrassing, but worth it to shut up all the gossip. I
never
would have suggested it if I’d known they’d go after Rigel!”

Mr. O shrugged. “The traditionalists hold you—your bloodline, at least—in too much respect to allow any tests on you. This is a far better solution and should be just as effective.”

“No, it’s not,” I assured him. “Believe me, we do
not
want them extracting that particular memory and making it public.”

He frowned—though not as ferociously as Sean did. “But you’ve claimed all along that nothing of significance happened that night. Are you saying now that’s not true?”

“Nothing to ‘compromise the Royal bloodline.’” I used air quotes. “But we did talk about stuff that shouldn’t be made public—unless it’s time for our last-resort backup plan?”

Mr. O’s eyes widened as my meaning penetrated. “But you promised the
Echtran
Council—”

“Only because that was the only way they’d agree to let Rigel come along. So I…waited till we were already on the ship.”

Sean and Molly looked back and forth between us in growing confusion until Sean broke in angrily. “So you’re saying that you and Stuart really did—?”

“No.” I glared at him just as angrily. “We didn’t. We haven’t. Why does
everyone
find that so hard to believe?”

“Then what—?”

“Not now, Sean,” his father snapped, still frowning at me. “You’re telling me Rigel
knows?
”

I nodded. “He was my Bodyguard. It only made sense.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cormac, who was driving, twitch slightly.

“So if they extract his memory of that evening and make it public…”

“Then
everyone
will know. Yes.”

“Know what?” Sean and Molly demanded together.

Mr. O’Gara huffed out a frustrated sigh. “Matters of state that neither of you are cleared for at this time.”

“Except Stuart knows?” Sean was glowering at me again. “If he knows, why—?”

“I said, not now, Sean,” his father repeated sharply. “While a panic might achieve our ultimate goal, it would be at far too steep a price. No.” He thought hard for a moment. “We’ll simply have to limit who witnesses the extraction and then trust to the common sense and patriotism of those present to prevent word spreading further.”

“Word about
what?
”
 

“Not
now,
Sean. Ah, good, we’re back. I need to make some calls.”

So did I.

The moment we were inside, I excused myself to my room so I could securely text Rigel—though by now he’d probably seen my goof himself, on the news. I also called Eric Eagan, on the off chance he’d missed it. When he didn’t pick up, I left an encrypted message about what Rigel’s memory would reveal.
 

Mr. O was just setting down his omni when I got back downstairs, looking somewhat relieved. “The memory extraction is set for tomorrow morning and they’ve accepted our conditions. Other than the necessary Healers and Rigel’s grandmother, only Devyn, Gordon and Nels will be present, as will you and I, Princess. The networks will of course petition to have reporters there, but none will be granted admittance. We’ll have to trust your opponents will see the wisdom of keeping what they learn to themselves. I’ve also sent a message to the
Echtran
Council, apprising them of the situation.”
 

“Dad…” Sean began. Molly also looked pleadingly from me to her father. Cormac looked as stoic as ever, but I could sense his curiosity, too.

“We might as well tell them,” I said. “I trust Molly and Sean—and Cormac—way more than I trust Gordon Nolan to keep it quiet.”

After a long, tense pause, Mr. O exhaled noisily. “I suppose you’re right. No sense leaving them to speculate.” He turned to the others. “It happens that there is a lot more riding on Emileia’s Acclamation than almost anyone realizes.”
 

He went on to briefly explain about the Grentl and the threat they posed, to include the power glitches. I watched—and felt—the others’ growing horror, though all three of them did their best to hide it. Interestingly, even though Cormac looked the calmest on the outside, I felt more fear and confusion from him than I did from Sean or even Molly. Maybe because he’d never lived anywhere but Mars?
 

“So, if Eric Eagan’s prediction is correct,” Mr. O concluded, “the next power failure will happen late tomorrow. Assuming he believes what he learns, Nels Murdoch
should
have time to put extra safeguards in place to minimize the potential damage.”

There was a long silence. Molly was biting her lips, but wasn’t falling to pieces like I’d worried she might. “What…what if M
can’t
convince the Grentl?” There was only the slightest hint of panic in her voice. “Once she gets Acclaimed, I mean.”

“I’ll just have to make sure I do.” I pretended a lot more confidence than I really felt and was rewarded when her fear started to ebb.

“Dinnertime,” Sean announced before anyone else could voice their worries.
 

More questions were asked and answered over dinner—I noticed that not even Sean ate quite as much as usual. By the time we’d watched the day’s news recap (I’d edged ahead of Devyn again in the polls) everyone was ready to call it an early night.
 

Before turning off my light I checked my omni one last time, but unlike last night, no happy surprise awaited me. Neither Rigel nor Eric had responded to my messages. Devoutly hoping tomorrow’s procedure wouldn’t blow up in all our faces, I eventually fell into an uneasy sleep.

Breakfast the next morning was subdued. Sean and Molly were still clearly a bit freaked by last night’s revelations, Mr. O’Gara was deep in thought and I was worried because I still hadn’t heard back from Rigel
or
Eric. I mentioned the latter worry to Mr. O, who frowned, then shrugged.
 

“Time enough for that later. There’s little he can do to help until you’re Acclaimed.”
 

Since they weren’t among the agreed-upon witnesses, Sean and Molly remained behind when Cormac drove Mr. O and me to the Pryderi facility where the memory extraction would take place.

“How will this work, exactly?” I asked on the way there. “Do they, like, download a particular memory into a hard drive or something? How do they know which memory is which?”

“I don’t know all the technical details, but memory engrams have specific characteristics that vary by age, allowing them to pinpoint a time range for a memory. It’s how they erased Allister’s knowledge of the Grentl after he was ejected from the Council in December. As for what they’ll do with it…you’ll see. It’s really rather impressive technology.”

From someone who’d spent his life on Mars surrounded by technology way beyond anything we had on Earth, that was saying something. Worried as I was about what was going to happen, I was also increasingly curious.

The Mind Healing Facility was one of dozens of large, angular, crystalline structures lining the main thoroughfare of Pryderi. We were ushered through a sky-blue lobby and down several corridors of the same, soothing color. A few people did double-takes, then bowed, as they realized who I was.
 

When we reached a sealed silver door, our guide touched a panel in the wall next to it and the door slid silently into the ceiling. The man then bowed and hurried back the way we’d come. Cormac took up a position in the hallway and Mr. O and I entered a large, sky-blue room. The entire opposite wall was transparent, with a dozen or so chairs lined up in front of it.
 

At our entrance, Nels Murdoch, Devyn Kane and Morag Teague turned, then bowed, as did an auburn-haired woman I hadn’t met. I noticed she bowed more deeply than the others.

“Welcome, Excellency. I am Adara Walsh, head Mind Healer, and I will be overseeing today’s procedure.”

I nodded, then peered through the window into the next room. Rigel, attended by two other Healers, reclined in a sleek gray chair with several bizarre-looking instruments attached to it. It reminded me slightly of a dentist’s office.

“This won’t hurt him, will it?” I asked anxiously. Rigel appeared conscious, but unnaturally relaxed.

Are you okay?
I thought at him through the glass, as Adara assured me the procedure was painless.
 

The only thing that indicated he might have heard me was a slight movement of his eyes toward the window. There was no change in his expression, and no response.

“Is he all right? What have you done to him already?”

“Just a mild sedative,” Adara said soothingly. “The procedure works best when the subject is in a dreamlike state.”

“So he doesn’t know we’re here?”

“It’s doubtful.”

I stared through the window, aching with all my being to tell him how sorry I was, how much I missed him. To touch him.
Rigel? Rigel, can you hear me?

Still no response. I tried, hard, to tap into his thoughts but all I sensed from him was calm tainted by a tiny bit of confusion. Had they even told him what they were doing? I was about to demand more information when Gordon Nolan entered the room.
 

“Sorry if I’ve kept you waiting.” He made a perfunctory bow in my direction. “There were a few things I had to take care of before, well, let’s get started, shall we?”
 

“A moment.” Mr. O pulled out a tiny black box like the one Eric Eagan had used to make sure the conference room back in Tullymayne was secure. Standing in the middle of the room, he turned in a slow circle, the box held in front of him. Suddenly the box chirped—and Gordon flinched. The box was pointed right at him.

“Did you perhaps forget to turn off your omni?” Mr. O asked with exaggerated politeness.