So two years ago today, give or take a few hours, I started posting this monster. It still isn't the longest thing I've ever written, but it's rapidly approaching that point. I'm averaging just over a chapter a month (ouch). Why are you people still even reading this thing?!
Seriously, though, thank you all for reading and commenting. We may write for ourselves, but we post for our readers, and you guys are the absolute best. *hearts*
This was going to be fun.
Caine kept his face straight as he and Stinger and six more Stormbreakers escorted Jupiter up to the topmost deck of the Windy City. Somehow she had managed to keep the details of this last modification from the other Skyjackers, and Caine was really looking forward to their reactions when they saw it.
The rest of the party included a wildly curious Kiza, and Dr. Thompson, who mostly smelled amused. Stinger was puzzled and a little suspicious, while the others were intrigued, and Caine carefully kept his face straight.
I'd have liked to surprise you too, Jupiter had told him back when she'd first explained her plan. But I need a Royal guard with me when I consult with Miss Traduce, and this way I can check on progress without having to try to hide too much.
It made sense, and Caine was happy to be of service in any fashion, but he'd also been a little surprised at how good it felt to be in on the secret. It wasn't often that he had inside knowledge of anything pleasant.
Manager Traduce was waiting by the big airlock that had been fitted into the wall. Nearly the entire deck had been converted into one space, with just a corridor ringing it, but there was no hint of what lay within, and Caine had been truly impressed with how quickly the station personnel had modified the ship.
I was right. They will do anything for her.
The little Splice's hands were clasped in front of her, and she smelled a trifle nervous, but nothing like she'd been before - just the anxiety of an artist whose latest work was about to be revealed. "Your Majesty," she said, and bobbed her head. "It's ready for your inspection."
Jupiter's small grin belied her excitement; judging from the pheromones rolling off of her, his Queen was primed tighter than her yacht's retuned drive. "Go ahead, Miss Traduce," she said.
Traduce bobbed again and touched the 'lock's panel. The huge circle opened in a twisting motion, and a rush of rich, humid air blew out and over them all. It smelled of moisture and greenery and life.
Jupiter's grin widened, and she beckoned, and they all followed her through the 'lock and into the gigantic space beyond.
It was a garden, but it was as far beyond the Windy City's garden room as the yacht itself was beyond a skimmer. It took up almost all of the deck, a distance Jupiter referred to as a "mile", and the hull, paneled to produce light like Earth's star, was almost a third of that distance above.
The space was landscaped within; soil had been brought aboard to cover the deck, and there were slopes and valleys, paths and beds of plants and groups of trees. And everywhere, there was grass, lush and green.
It was stunningly beautiful, and everyone but Jupiter and Traduce was gaping. With every breath, Caine could scent different flowers blooming, and he knew from seeing the plans that there were plots throughout the garden, mostly Earth-native plants and a few others that were compatible.
Jupiter started to laugh, a bright happy sound. "Miss Traduce, it's amazing."
Traduce flushed with pleasure and bowed. "We are glad to serve," she said, and Caine could hear her sincerity.
A low hum reached his ears, a familiar sound; Caine saw several Stormbreakers go on alert, but they too knew it by now. Jupiter held out her arms.
And the bees came.
They formed a haze around Jupiter, a living smoke that haloed her head and eddied back and forth as she moved. Jupiter turned up her face to them, murmuring something Caine couldn't quite catch over the vibration of so many wings, but some of them broke off to go whirl around Stinger and Kiza.
Kiza was laughing too, and cupped her hands for the bees to climb into, but Stinger just stared up with the air of a man dreaming as bees surrounded him. His eyes were gold, and they glittered with something more than light before he closed them.
Jupiter lowered her arms, though most of the bees lingered. "Pretty cool, huh? It's big enough for flying, so you all are hereby ordered to make use of it any time you want to stretch your wings."
One by one the Stormbreakers turned to look at her, and Caine noted that every one of them had let their mouths fall open. Then Honch stepped forward and bowed low, wings swept back, before leaping into the air.
That did it. The others did the same, each one giving Jupiter a deep bow before taking to the air, Soren and the twins, Sheneto and Banti and Rush, and the rich air was made wind by the beating of their wings.
Jupiter laughed again, a happy sound, and nudged Caine with one shoulder. "You too," she said.
Caine smiled down at her. "You have no idea what you've done for them," he told her, as the whoops and shouts faded into the distance.
She laughed, and waved off a few bees. "Maybe a little. Go on - I know you want to."
Of course he did; Skyjackers were built to fly, after all. Caine took a step backwards so he too could bow, wings held at the correct respectful angle, and then sprang upward.
It was no open sky, of course, but in the depths of the Void it was far more than any one of them could have thought to ask for. Caine spiralled upwards almost to the ceiling before cutting back down at an angle; he could see Kiza running down one of the paths towards a small meadow full of some white-petaled flowers, and even at that height he could hear her laughter. Dr. Thompson was following more slowly.
And Stinger was kneeling at Jupiter's feet, head bowed. Caine felt warmth swell up in him at the sight, because he knew that half the reason Jupiter had called the garden into being was to give Stinger and Kiza someplace that felt more like home; and now Stinger knew it too.
Every time I think I cannot love her more, she surprises me.
Jupiter crouched down to catch Stinger's hands and pull him up and into a hug, and Caine watched his commander's arms carefully close around his Queen.
Satisfied, Caine shot away down the length of the ship, to obey Jupiter's command; he'd go back for her in a few minutes, to lift her up into the little space she'd created and try to show her how much it meant, to have someone who cared so much for all of them.
But first he would show the others how to really put on some speed.
Much later, Jupiter climbed the grassy little hill that formed the highest point in her new garden, admiring the stone path that had been laid to make the climb easy. At the top was a little patio, also stone, with benches; and in the center sat her telescope.
The Stormbreakers had worn themselves out chasing each other before the twins split off to go get the rest and show them the garden. Jupiter had wandered around with Manager Traduce, discussing details and possible future changes while she looked the place over; Kiza had darted back at one point to present them both with flower crowns and a wild grin, and Jupiter secretly treasured the memory of Traduce with a ring of blossoms set on her tidy brown hair.
Now they were all gone, and she was alone but for the guard at the airlock. Jupiter sat on one of the benches and looked around, satisfied at what she saw. They really did do a terrific job.
It felt good, to have a piece of Earth with her, however artificial it was underneath. And the garden had one more trick up its sleeve…
"Jeeves," Jupiter told the air, "give me the window, please."
"Of course, madam," the ship's presence replied, and Jupiter swung her legs back and forth as the room's light gradually faded.
Just before it reached complete darkness, the ceiling went away...and the stars appeared.
It was why the room had an airlock, though the hull window was as strong and resistant a material as could be had anywhere in the known universe, or so Traduce had assured Jupiter. It didn't matter; what she cared about was the view.
And it was spectacular. Substation 6-A was all by itself in a long orbit around a planetless star, but it was much closer to the center of its galaxy than Earth's solar system, so what Jupiter could see of space was thick with stars.
She sighed happily, and bent to look through the telescope. Jeeves was on hand to give her any information she wanted about what she saw, but at the moment Jupiter was content to just look, and admire.
It seemed a bit silly to use an old-fashioned glass-lens instrument to observe stars that she could see up close and in person if she chose, but Jupiter didn't care. Doing it this way reminded her of home, and her father, and the family she loved. For a little while, she could tuck being a Queen into the background, and just be an aspiring astronomer and Maximilian's daughter.
It was quite some time before Banti, who was on duty at the airlock, signaled her; Jupiter pressed the correct button on her bracelet this time. "Your Majesty," his artificial voice said in her ear, "Mr. Wise would like to enter."
Since she was out of his sight, Jupiter rolled her eyes. "Sure, let him in."
A few minutes later she felt the air stirring. The Stormbreakers could fly silently if they wanted to, but even the most experienced Skyjacker couldn't defeat physics entirely. Jupiter smiled, not turning until she sensed the faint shock of Caine touching down behind her.
"I told you you could come in any time." He was barely visible in the starlight, a tall shadow with eyes that reflected just a hint of light.
His wings were still half-extended, a deeper shadow behind him. Caine cocked his head. "I didn't want to disturb you."
Jupiter didn't bother to point out that he could have flown through ninety percent of the garden without her even noticing he was there. "You don't. Want a peek?"
Caine obediently bent down to look through the telescope, but even in the darkness Jupiter could tell he wasn't really interested, so after a few stars she put the instrument away in the storage space inside one of the benches. No one would bother it if she left it out, but the garden had a rain function and she didn't want it to get wet.
Caine watched her as she broke the telescope down, and despite the dimness she could feel the weight of his gaze on her skin, speeding her heartbeat.
As soon as the lid was closed, Jupiter stepped up into Caine's space, flattening her palms on his chest. Beneath the vest, his heart was running as fast as hers, and she smiled up at him. "What do you want?"
His hands rested lightly on her waist. "To fly with you," he said softly, the words a bit hesitant still.
Jupiter let her smile widen. They'd flown together earlier, in a wild game of chase with Laur and Forthwith and Sheneto, but now they were essentially alone. "Just flying?"
Slowly, Caine smiled back. Jupiter stood on tiptoe to put her arms around his neck, and he lifted her and spread his wings in the same smooth motion, crouching and then springing up.
It took them a long time, afterwards, to find Caine's pants in the flowerbeds below, but in Jupiter's opinion it was completely worth it.
The receiving airlock of the Windy City was so heavily ornamented that it was hard to tell its purpose. Agatha's eyes, used to the blunt functionality of NASA's designs, found it all distracting, but as two of Jupiter's crew worked at the control console she focused on the coming meeting. My first non-Jupiter Entitled. This will be educational.
"You ready for this?" Jupiter glanced back at Agatha, looking a little worried, and spoke softly. "She can be kind of, well, snooty."
"I'll be fine," Agatha assured her. Of course, there was no guarantee of that, but one didn't teach high school for over a decade without picking up survival skills.
Besides, she's an aristocrat, and Jupiter outranks her. She can hardly order my beheading.
The airlock door spun open, and two guards came through first to take up position on either side of the portal. Next was a crowd of people, all wearing strange clothing, but it wasn't hard to pick out Lady Kalique; all of them focused on her, almost as if they were living, conscious ornaments to her beauty. And she was beautiful; beauty as sharp as a knife.
Agatha stayed to one side as Kalique clasped hands with Jupiter; it was easier to observe that way, and there really wasn't room for her among Kalique's entourage. But she could see enough to pick up some of the dynamics between the two...and they were interesting.
Jupiter had spoken enough about Kalique for Agatha to see that she liked Kalique, but was wary of her; quite a healthy reaction, in Agatha's opinion, given the huge unknowns of the situation. At the same time, Kalique's expression was both fond and condescending, but something about the intensity of her gaze made her look - hungry.
But not, Agatha thought tentatively, in a predatory way; more as if she wanted something from Jupiter. Agatha made a mental note, and then stepped forward as Jupiter gestured.
"Kalique, I want you to meet my financial advisor, Dr. Agatha Thompson. She's from Earth," Jupiter added; from the slight rise of Kalique's eyebrow, Agatha didn't think that was news to her.
"Lady Kalique," Agatha said, and bowed slightly. It went against the grain, but… When in Rome, etcetera. She was here to support Jupiter, and that meant conforming to necessary protocol.
Kalique inclined her head, polite and disinterested, but spoke to Jupiter. "My dear, I'm glad you're increasing your staff, but from Earth? The complexities…"
Agatha bristled, but silently. She couldn't tell if Kalique was insulting her origins, or just concerned for her lack of galactic knowledge. Possibly both, but I suppose if it's the latter, it is somewhat justified.
Jupiter's chin went up. "I need someone who shares my perspective. And she's not the only one I've got, Kalique...but you know that, don't you?"
Kalique's laughter was a chime of bells, as carefully presented as the rest of her. "A touch, crude as it is. Well done. You're making progress, though we still need to assemble you a proper retinue. I'll introduce you to some distant cousins, minor nobility of course, but worthy of attending you…"
Jupiter's nose scrunched up, but she didn't refuse, instead taking Kalique's arm and guiding her down the corridor towards the reception room. Curious, Agatha followed them, figuring she could continue observation since she hadn't been dismissed. Two of the most elaborately dressed of Kalique's entourage immediately moved to cut her off, drifting subtly in ahead of her at a diagonal.
Hmm. Minor nobility? It would be interesting to see what happened if she put Jupiter's higher rank up against her own status as a mere employee. Why not.
Agatha kept it equally subtle, merely lengthening her stride enough to stay in front of them, and kept her gaze forward. And to her satisfaction, they gave way.
Definitely interesting.
She wasn't a sociologist, but any in-depth understanding of economics required a certain knowledge of how human beings behaved. And from what little I've seen, this Entitled setup isn't far off from many of Earth's societies. Plus, years of teaching had taught her plenty about hierarchies...and it hadn't all come from the students.
Jupiter had solved the rank issue for lunchtime, anyway; the meal was set up in one of the yacht's dining rooms as a widespread buffet, and everyone in Kalique's group was invited to partake as they pleased. Agatha noted that all of them still waited until Jupiter and Kalique had made their selections, and then sorted themselves out in a pattern she couldn't quite make out. Agatha lingered within earshot of Jupiter and Kalique, nibbling on fruit and listening.
Kalique was mostly talking about a series of events she had planned for Jupiter, completely ignoring the others standing about. Jupiter was nodding as she listened, asking the occasional question, and Agatha wondered if she'd give in on the entourage question. It's a sure bet that anyone Kalique provides will report back to her, but from what Jupiter says she's already got spies in the household...I wonder if that's an official title with these people, Spymaster.
And should Jupiter be sending out her own spies in turn? It seemed alien to the girl's straightforward personality, and Agatha wasn't sure that they could provide any useful information at that point. Jupiter believes that Kalique doesn't mean her harm at this time, that she genuinely wants to help. So far, that looks to be the case. Kalique had already had several opportunities to capture, harm, or otherwise subvert Jupiter, and she hadn't. It may be that what Jupiter says is true, that Kalique sees her as a shiny new toy to play with.
Which didn't make Kalique safe, but at least she wasn't an immediate danger.
You're getting paranoid. Agatha shook her head over her own thoughts, and then suppressed a snort. Is it paranoia if they're really out to get her?
The trouble with being on top of the heap was that there was always someone trying to knock you off…
Agatha handed her dish to a passing servitor, with a nod of thanks that made the man blink, and chose a target. The older-looking Splice with the beaky face was holding a sheave and watching Kalique, and everything about him shouted employee rather than nobility. Agatha strolled over to one of the Skyjackers posted on guard around the room. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing with her chin.
Soren's blank expression didn't change, but her voice was easy. "Malidictes, Lady Kalique's majordomo."
"Thanks." Agatha tucked her hands in the pockets of her blazer and moved slowly in the man's direction.
He was interesting. Agatha had seen quite a few Splices by then, but most of them were mostly human-looking like Stinger or Caine. She didn't know Urdur well, and Virtu simply didn't draw the eye the way the majordomo did. But Malidictes wore his feathered hair and beaked face as if they were a sign of rank. They may be. Assumptions are dangerous, here.
Agatha was both amused and slightly irritated to observe that the majordomo ignored her completely as she neared - not ostentatiously, or with obvious intent, but simply as if she didn't exist, in the same fashion as the servants coming and going with platters for the buffet.
Agatha wasn't having it.
She stepped up next to him, preparing to clear her throat, but to her surprise Malidictes turned to regard her. "Dr. Thompson," he said, his voice rich and cool.
Agatha cocked her head. "Mr. Malidictes. Nice to meet you."
"Indeed." The majordomo's glance was not rude, exactly, but it was a definite summing-up. "How are you finding galactic society?"
"It's fascinating," Agatha said honestly. We'll leave out "horrifying and really strange" for now. "Sometimes extremely beautiful."
Malidictes nodded. "You are seeing the best of it," he said. "There are few who can equal the House of Abrasax, and none who outrank them. In time your mistress will eclipse all but the brightest."
"Employer," Agatha corrected, giving him a smile as cool as his voice. "Yes, I expect she will."
If Malidictes noticed the reproof, he didn't show it. "Lady Kalique was so pleased to find her mother's Recurrence," he said. "It is a pleasure to see them together again; one does hope that her Majesty will see fit to continue the relationship."
He's fishing. "Mm," Agatha said. "That's not my remit, I'm afraid. You remember Queen Seraphi?"
Malidictes' gaze slid briefly to one side, looking into memory. "I do. She was...magnificent, a power."
"I suppose she had time to achieve it," Agatha said. Might as well do a little fishing myself.
"Yes." Malidictes took a glass from a servitor and sipped the contents. "The House of Abrasax is not only one of the most powerful dynasties in the Universe, it is one of the oldest as well. Your employer - " There was the barest hint of emphasis on the word. " - has much to live up to."
"Yes," Agatha agreed wryly. "She's noticed."
For a moment they were both silent, watching Kalique introduce a pair of her bejeweled ladies to Jupiter; they looked Jupiter's age to Agatha, but she doubted they were anywhere near that young.
"Who are they?" Agatha asked.
"The twin Duchesses of Maladra Gornfrie," Malidictes replied. "They are cousins of the House of Abrasax, not closely related but quite suitable to attend her Majesty."
"And what does 'attending' involve?" Jupiter's expression was polite but less than enthusiastic, though she greeted both women with a smile. They were beautiful, but seemed a little overwhelmed as they curtsied to her.
"They will serve as courtiers and - should she so choose - handmaidens. Her Majesty has shown innovation in gathering a court already, but her choices are...eclectic." Malidictes' expression was very muted distaste. "Rank requires consequence. Useful as they are, a mixed rabble of guards and commoners will lend her no prestige. Indeed, they will detract."
Agatha wasn't sure he intended to insult her specifically, but she let the comment slide by, faintly amused. "Does that sort of detail really matter, if she has so much power?"
Malidictes' look hinted at shock. "Protocol is essential. It is part of - " His gaze shifted again. "Pardon me."
He stepped past Agatha and was gone, hurrying to Kalique's side with a dip of his head to Jupiter. Agatha pursed her lips, and then went to find another snack.
And another target.