The White Base crew arrived on Jion without incident on March 3, 0080.
After going through intense security, they met with their tour guide, a
civilian named Ansgar Morales, in a conference room. Morales had longish
hair, glasses, and the look of a professional poet.
"I've been assigned to give you a rundown on on Royal protocol and the do's and don'ts of Jion society", he told them as they settled down comfortably in padded seats, cups of very good coffee in hand. "For starters. The Queen is referred to as Your Majesty the first time you address her, and ma'am after that. The Prince Consort is Your Highness, and same rules apply. The same with the dowager Princess Zena, although it's very unlikely you will meet her. On meeting the monarch....
"....finally, drinking age for beer and wine on Jion is 16, hard alcohol is 18. Do not even THINK of breaking the liquor laws or you may find yourself experiencing the best known quirk of the Jion legal system: being guilty until proven innocent. You will be detained until trial, although if you are allowed bail, you will simply not be allowed to leave the country. However, bail simply does not exist for some crimes, most notably anything to do with narcotics although marijuana is okay with a doctor's note. Are there any questions?"
The laws given were actually fairly libertarian and the only one who had a question was Kai. "Um, Mr. Morales, is jaywalking illegal?"
He looked puzzled at the question. "Perfectly all right, but if you get hit it's your fault. All right. You're all free until tomorrow at 0800 when we'll convene for breakfast and a review of protocol."
"Coming with us, Sayla?" Frau asked her in their hotel room shortly after.
"No. I'd really rather stay here."
Frau walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Right. I keep forgetting you're not really from France. I guess this must be a really weird situation for you.
"I barely remember this place. I don't really want to get to know it again, not without my family here."
"Want me to stay with you?"
"No. I need to process things a bit. I'll be all right."
Frau left her and Sayla rested her forehead against the window which gave a view of the Zum City skyline. She left it to watch TV for a while, but even after Frau returned, it ended up being a very long night.
******
"All finished, Your Majesty. What do you think?"
Kishiria sat in front of a vanity mirror in her room. The man who had just finished working on her hair and makeup was a famous and expensive cosmetician most in demand from Jion actresses on awards nights. Solana Vargas had recommended him, perhaps as a sign of forgiveness for Kishiria's poaching Char. Kishiria could see why Miss Vargas liked the cosmetician so much. This morning she'd met him with her hair down and unbrushed, her eyes puffy after a restless night. Now she was a ravishing beauty who exuded glamour.
She blinked at her reflection. "I can't believe it's me." She turned her head back and forth a little. "How will I ever compete with myself with looks like these?"
"Wait until Prince Char sees you, ma'am."
"He'll have to wait a few minutes." Kishiria was only perfect above the neck. She was still in her dressing gown. "That'll be all for now. Follow Maria out. She'll brief you on where you'll need to be for my touch- ups throughout the day."
Once he was gone, three ladies-in-waiting and a crew of seamstresses brought in The Dress. Kishiria had come to think of it as the couture equivalent of a mobile suit. For today, she would be in a white silver brocade gown, floor length, sleeveless, with black velvet panels in front adorned with the stylized eagles of Jion in gold. Arm-length white gloves completed her outfit.
"You LOOK like a queen, ma'am," Hamaan Khan said, her eyes round.
"One last thing, ma'am. The cape."
Kishiria wasn't looking forward to this, but Lord Elsinore, Master of Etiquette, said it was part of the costume. She stood still as the black velvet monstrosity was buttoned to her shoulders. It was also embroidered in gold and stretched fifteen feet along the floor behind her. There would be pages carrying it, but still. Her shoulders felt the weight within seconds.
"I'd like to have a moment alone, please."
Her entourage dispersed. Kishiria stood alone in the room, looking at herself in the mirror.
This wasn't supposed to be happening so soon. She'd always assumed she'd be on the throne eventually, but not at 25.
Despite her request for solitude, the door opened a crack. "Is it all right if I come in?" Char asked.
"It's all right."
He was wearing an equally elaborate version of his habitual uniform. Kishiria ran her eyes over all the gold braid, piping, and military honours and laughed a little. "You look like a Christmas fruitcake!"
"You look incredible. How're you feeling?"
"Strange. I'm happy to be queen, but I didn't think my father would be dead so soon." She fiddled with the fingertips of her gloves. "I'm missing Garma, too. He was supposed to go onto the throne before I did. We knew he wouldn't live very long, not with his health, and then it would be my turn."
"I have something for you. The mint just sent over the first Queen Kishiria dollar."
He pressed a gold-tone coin into her hand. On one side was her profile, done in sharp relief with the words "KISHIRIA D.G. REGINA IIONIS" and the date. The other side was a picture of Side 3.
"I remember that when the ones with Dad came out, he gave the first ones to us kids," she reminisced.
"It's a weird feeling. My father is still on the twenty."
A knock came on the door. "Your Majesty? We need to be leaving."
"We'll be right there," Char said, and Margaret retreated. He pulled on his own gloves and offered Kishiria his arm. "Here we go, milady. It's showtime."
*****
The White Base crew had seats on the floor of the cathedral and were seated with Bright on the aisle with Mirai, Frau, Hayato, Kai, and Sayla seated inward from there. Bright was uncomfortable, Kai and Hayato were joking with each other and drawing glares from Sayla. Frau and Mirai were actually enjoying themselves, looking around at the crowd and commenting on decor and outfits.
"You know, for someone who doesn't want to be here, you're taking this awfully seriously," Hayato said to Sayla.
"It's an important day in diplomacy," she responded, crossing her arms.
"Shh, they're starting!" Mirai hissed at them at the first notes of a trumpet fanfare.
A parade of royal guards in gaudy livery, Jion nobility in glittering gowns and uniforms, Cardinal Veronica O'Rourke and her subordinate bishops, the Grand Rabbi and most prominent imam in Side 3 processed down the aisle first. After them came the queen herself, followed by her consort.
Sayla couldn't resist taking a peek at her sister-in-law, but Kishiria was resolutely staring straight ahead.
Char, however, turned his head at precisely the right moment to lock eyes with his sister. Sayla gulped, and then he was gone.
"That's one good-looking couple," Kai commented to Hayato as the rest of the procession was simply the Prime Minister and other politicians. "If she and Char every get deposed, they could do porn for a living."
Hayato snickered.
"Boys!" Sayla pleaded.
"What a dress!" Mirai said to Frau.
The ceremony was two hours long. The rabbi read prayers in Hebrew, the imam in Arabic. There were readings on the nature of kingship. The rabbi administered the oath. Jion nobles presented the queen with a sword, scales, a copy of the constitution and other symbolic objects. Kishiria was beginning to look strained by the time the archbishop and Prime Minister finally lowered the crown onto her head and placed the ruby-tipped staff of office in her hand. Not that she had any relief in sight just yet as the nobility came to kneel in front of her and swear fealty. The last one was Char, who stole a kiss from his wife as he rose from his knees.
A reception followed an hour or so later in the palace ballroom. Mirai stood in the crowd with Bright and looked towards the corner where the monarch was settled into a stuffed chair. "It looks like whoever is running this show finally had mercy on that poor girl," Bright said. "Even I can see she's half-dead on her feet."
"I wonder if that crown is heavy," Mirai said.
"It looks like it weighs about a kilogram, but metal and jewels aren't what make a crown heavy."
"Uneasy lies the head and all that?" Mirai asked.
"Exactly. There's already been one assassination attempt, remember."
Now that food was being circulated by perfectly-trained waiters carrying it around on trays, Kai and Hayato were happy. Sayla stuck close to Frau, who was still fairly entertained and aware that she was being a security blanket for the other young woman. Fortunately, this was a role she was used to.
Things wore thin after a while and the White Base crew found themselves milling around with a copy of the newspaper, trying to decide which of the dozens of street festivals they'd attend afterwards. As they were trying to decide between taking the shuttle out to Neo-Aztlan for a Mexican event or something closer to the palace where the headline musical group was "Garma Zabi's old band" they were interrupted.
"The Asocials," said a red-haired page girl coming up behind them. "They perform now in their officers' uniforms. It somehow makes them even more punk, not less."
They collectively blinked at the girl.
"They're pretty good, if you like that kind of thing, but they did lose something with His Highness. I think he was the best bass player since Tina Weymouth, myself." She smiled at them. "That will have to wait, though. Miss Mass? Her Majesty would like to meet you."
"I've been assigned to give you a rundown on on Royal protocol and the do's and don'ts of Jion society", he told them as they settled down comfortably in padded seats, cups of very good coffee in hand. "For starters. The Queen is referred to as Your Majesty the first time you address her, and ma'am after that. The Prince Consort is Your Highness, and same rules apply. The same with the dowager Princess Zena, although it's very unlikely you will meet her. On meeting the monarch....
"....finally, drinking age for beer and wine on Jion is 16, hard alcohol is 18. Do not even THINK of breaking the liquor laws or you may find yourself experiencing the best known quirk of the Jion legal system: being guilty until proven innocent. You will be detained until trial, although if you are allowed bail, you will simply not be allowed to leave the country. However, bail simply does not exist for some crimes, most notably anything to do with narcotics although marijuana is okay with a doctor's note. Are there any questions?"
The laws given were actually fairly libertarian and the only one who had a question was Kai. "Um, Mr. Morales, is jaywalking illegal?"
He looked puzzled at the question. "Perfectly all right, but if you get hit it's your fault. All right. You're all free until tomorrow at 0800 when we'll convene for breakfast and a review of protocol."
"Coming with us, Sayla?" Frau asked her in their hotel room shortly after.
"No. I'd really rather stay here."
Frau walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Right. I keep forgetting you're not really from France. I guess this must be a really weird situation for you.
"I barely remember this place. I don't really want to get to know it again, not without my family here."
"Want me to stay with you?"
"No. I need to process things a bit. I'll be all right."
Frau left her and Sayla rested her forehead against the window which gave a view of the Zum City skyline. She left it to watch TV for a while, but even after Frau returned, it ended up being a very long night.
******
"All finished, Your Majesty. What do you think?"
Kishiria sat in front of a vanity mirror in her room. The man who had just finished working on her hair and makeup was a famous and expensive cosmetician most in demand from Jion actresses on awards nights. Solana Vargas had recommended him, perhaps as a sign of forgiveness for Kishiria's poaching Char. Kishiria could see why Miss Vargas liked the cosmetician so much. This morning she'd met him with her hair down and unbrushed, her eyes puffy after a restless night. Now she was a ravishing beauty who exuded glamour.
She blinked at her reflection. "I can't believe it's me." She turned her head back and forth a little. "How will I ever compete with myself with looks like these?"
"Wait until Prince Char sees you, ma'am."
"He'll have to wait a few minutes." Kishiria was only perfect above the neck. She was still in her dressing gown. "That'll be all for now. Follow Maria out. She'll brief you on where you'll need to be for my touch- ups throughout the day."
Once he was gone, three ladies-in-waiting and a crew of seamstresses brought in The Dress. Kishiria had come to think of it as the couture equivalent of a mobile suit. For today, she would be in a white silver brocade gown, floor length, sleeveless, with black velvet panels in front adorned with the stylized eagles of Jion in gold. Arm-length white gloves completed her outfit.
"You LOOK like a queen, ma'am," Hamaan Khan said, her eyes round.
"One last thing, ma'am. The cape."
Kishiria wasn't looking forward to this, but Lord Elsinore, Master of Etiquette, said it was part of the costume. She stood still as the black velvet monstrosity was buttoned to her shoulders. It was also embroidered in gold and stretched fifteen feet along the floor behind her. There would be pages carrying it, but still. Her shoulders felt the weight within seconds.
"I'd like to have a moment alone, please."
Her entourage dispersed. Kishiria stood alone in the room, looking at herself in the mirror.
This wasn't supposed to be happening so soon. She'd always assumed she'd be on the throne eventually, but not at 25.
Despite her request for solitude, the door opened a crack. "Is it all right if I come in?" Char asked.
"It's all right."
He was wearing an equally elaborate version of his habitual uniform. Kishiria ran her eyes over all the gold braid, piping, and military honours and laughed a little. "You look like a Christmas fruitcake!"
"You look incredible. How're you feeling?"
"Strange. I'm happy to be queen, but I didn't think my father would be dead so soon." She fiddled with the fingertips of her gloves. "I'm missing Garma, too. He was supposed to go onto the throne before I did. We knew he wouldn't live very long, not with his health, and then it would be my turn."
"I have something for you. The mint just sent over the first Queen Kishiria dollar."
He pressed a gold-tone coin into her hand. On one side was her profile, done in sharp relief with the words "KISHIRIA D.G. REGINA IIONIS" and the date. The other side was a picture of Side 3.
"I remember that when the ones with Dad came out, he gave the first ones to us kids," she reminisced.
"It's a weird feeling. My father is still on the twenty."
A knock came on the door. "Your Majesty? We need to be leaving."
"We'll be right there," Char said, and Margaret retreated. He pulled on his own gloves and offered Kishiria his arm. "Here we go, milady. It's showtime."
*****
The White Base crew had seats on the floor of the cathedral and were seated with Bright on the aisle with Mirai, Frau, Hayato, Kai, and Sayla seated inward from there. Bright was uncomfortable, Kai and Hayato were joking with each other and drawing glares from Sayla. Frau and Mirai were actually enjoying themselves, looking around at the crowd and commenting on decor and outfits.
"You know, for someone who doesn't want to be here, you're taking this awfully seriously," Hayato said to Sayla.
"It's an important day in diplomacy," she responded, crossing her arms.
"Shh, they're starting!" Mirai hissed at them at the first notes of a trumpet fanfare.
A parade of royal guards in gaudy livery, Jion nobility in glittering gowns and uniforms, Cardinal Veronica O'Rourke and her subordinate bishops, the Grand Rabbi and most prominent imam in Side 3 processed down the aisle first. After them came the queen herself, followed by her consort.
Sayla couldn't resist taking a peek at her sister-in-law, but Kishiria was resolutely staring straight ahead.
Char, however, turned his head at precisely the right moment to lock eyes with his sister. Sayla gulped, and then he was gone.
"That's one good-looking couple," Kai commented to Hayato as the rest of the procession was simply the Prime Minister and other politicians. "If she and Char every get deposed, they could do porn for a living."
Hayato snickered.
"Boys!" Sayla pleaded.
"What a dress!" Mirai said to Frau.
The ceremony was two hours long. The rabbi read prayers in Hebrew, the imam in Arabic. There were readings on the nature of kingship. The rabbi administered the oath. Jion nobles presented the queen with a sword, scales, a copy of the constitution and other symbolic objects. Kishiria was beginning to look strained by the time the archbishop and Prime Minister finally lowered the crown onto her head and placed the ruby-tipped staff of office in her hand. Not that she had any relief in sight just yet as the nobility came to kneel in front of her and swear fealty. The last one was Char, who stole a kiss from his wife as he rose from his knees.
A reception followed an hour or so later in the palace ballroom. Mirai stood in the crowd with Bright and looked towards the corner where the monarch was settled into a stuffed chair. "It looks like whoever is running this show finally had mercy on that poor girl," Bright said. "Even I can see she's half-dead on her feet."
"I wonder if that crown is heavy," Mirai said.
"It looks like it weighs about a kilogram, but metal and jewels aren't what make a crown heavy."
"Uneasy lies the head and all that?" Mirai asked.
"Exactly. There's already been one assassination attempt, remember."
Now that food was being circulated by perfectly-trained waiters carrying it around on trays, Kai and Hayato were happy. Sayla stuck close to Frau, who was still fairly entertained and aware that she was being a security blanket for the other young woman. Fortunately, this was a role she was used to.
Things wore thin after a while and the White Base crew found themselves milling around with a copy of the newspaper, trying to decide which of the dozens of street festivals they'd attend afterwards. As they were trying to decide between taking the shuttle out to Neo-Aztlan for a Mexican event or something closer to the palace where the headline musical group was "Garma Zabi's old band" they were interrupted.
"The Asocials," said a red-haired page girl coming up behind them. "They perform now in their officers' uniforms. It somehow makes them even more punk, not less."
They collectively blinked at the girl.
"They're pretty good, if you like that kind of thing, but they did lose something with His Highness. I think he was the best bass player since Tina Weymouth, myself." She smiled at them. "That will have to wait, though. Miss Mass? Her Majesty would like to meet you."