The Sword of the Morning Light - Alex did not know its name in Tsla - seemed like a ghost town. A comparably sized Human carrier should have a crew of ten, maybe twelve thousand. The Hammerhead-class were larger, sure. A couple of hundred meters longer, and that distinct wide bow, but seventeen thousand on board should have left this ship bustling. Maybe it was the middle of the night? He had no idea what ship time was. The dark gray bulkheads were all lit with bright lights, a little more red than you’d find on human ships, but nowhere near the night red the Kshlav’o had to help maintain circadian rhythms.
Obviously, they wouldn’t be everywhere at all times, but Tashen had spent the last half hour leading Alex around and they’d seen all of a dozen other people. A solid two kilometers of walking, mostly constrained to the port side of the ship. Alex assumed the presence of a Human to be a bit unusual from the looks he was getting. Just surprise so far, which felt better than a lot of other possible reactions.
“So, this happens a lot?” Alex stayed about two steps behind Tashen. He had a longer stride than the Tsla’o, but Tashen moved quickly. It evened out as long as they were going in a straight line, which wasn’t often.
“Yes. It has not always been so bad between them. The last few years have seen things take a distinct downward shift. The disaster has weighed heavily upon all.” His voice was a little higher than Alex's, likely due to the size difference, but it still carried an air of authority and more than a hint of age. Tashen was looking at that little communicator, scrolling through a list he’d referenced several times so far, and turned down another side corridor without warning. He seemed to be ignoring Alex, never looking back, never even tilting his head towards him when he spoke. He still answered without fail.
Alex wasn’t sure why that was. Might be some cultural thing. He was in a position to take whatever Eleya did extremely seriously so this could be how he spoke to royals. Might be that Tashen just didn’t like him, or know what to do with him, given that what Eleya had done was apparently illegal several minutes before she did it. “Really? You’ve been working with them for a while now?”
“Thirty two years and sixteen weeks.” He stopped suddenly, fingers tracing down the side of a wall panel before popping it open and sticking his head inside for a moment. He sniffed the air with a grimace, closing it with a solid thump and continuing down the corridor. “When Princess Tshalen was younger, they were quite close.”
“No kidding. Couldn’t tell that from what I just saw.” Alex slowed to watch the corridor markers long enough to get a visual translation out of his Amp. They were on deck six, forward section two, port passageway two. He was just starting to get a feel for the carrier’s layout. Fairly straightforward, but he’d still like a map.
“Indeed, there is nothing to joke about.” Tashen took a left suddenly, towards port passageway three.
Ah, literal interpretation there. Maybe. He was pretty sure the Empress’ secretary wasn’t being an asshole, at least, but he could have just been playing along with that turn of phrase too. “So what happened?”
“The Empress did have to explain how her life would be at some time. She was, perhaps...” Tashen trailed off and turned towards the bow on the passageway, not finishing his sentence.
“She was, perhaps?” Alex prompted him, curious as to what Tashen was going to say.
He looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowing as he checked the corridor beyond Alex. When he spoke, his voice was lower, just loud enough for Alex to hear over the steady, low noise of the ship. “She was harsh, too harsh for a young girl she had doted on before. The Empress, I believe, intentionally drove a wedge between them and now regrets it.”
Alex had gotten the impression that Eleya at least wanted Carbon to be happy, it was no stretch of his imagination to think she’d actually want a good relationship with her as well. “I’d agree with you. I think that’s the only reason I’m here.”
“There are many reasons you are here.”
That piqued his interest. Tashen seemed like he’d be privy to information that was answer-shaped, something Alex was feeling a little desperate for. “Such as?”
“You are to keep Princess Tshalen happy.”
He needed to flag that word and make sure it got an update in the translator’s dictionary. With any luck he could get Carbon to help him with that - and the other various royal titles he would likely be running into. “I got that one, not doing too well at it right now. What else?”
Tashen seemed to pick his words carefully when he spoke. “Your new status does not defend just you.”
“Which means?”
“A married couple is given preference when choosing who will next ascend to the throne.” Tashen stopped and tapped a code into a keypad next to a set of blast doors. They slid out of the way with a reluctant thrum, revealing forward launch bays. The space was nine or ten stories tall and just as deep, the far wall fully obscured by the rows and rows of fighters and bombers sitting in rigging, waiting for pilots and crews.
Alex took it in, slowing for a moment. He desperately wanted to be interested in these ships, but there was too much else going on right now. Alex jogged to catch up with Tashen at the elevator. He wasn’t aware of much of the upper levels of Tsla’o royalty, but he knew that Carbon’s mother had died. “Carbon and I are next in line to be leaders of the Empire? You’re not shi- uh, you’re not putting me on here, right? That is what you’re getting at?”
“It is more complex than that.” He looked back at Alex, studying his expression for a moment. “The old rules of succession have only rarely been bypassed. Usually when both parties are particularly unfit. One bad ruler can be navigated around when the other is well tempered.”
Alex considered that, stepping into the lift after Tashen. “So that would protect Eleya. As long as there’s not enough popular support for the rebellion to overthrow the monarchy, assassinating her would likely install a Human at the head of the Empire because everybody likes Carbon. I can still imagine that would not sit well with a lot of people.”
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He tilted his head to one side and then to the other, like a scale being balanced. Tashen picked his words as they rose towards the top floor of the hanger. “There will be push back. This is expected. The Empress anticipates that she will retain her footing, if not gain ground.”
“So just having me around with that potential outcome is going to be tolerable to... uh, the rest of... the royalty? And everyone else?” He’d have to ask about how other parts of the Empire might go about reacting to his presence once they got Carbon back, too.
“Both the Princess and the Empress have linked with you, have seen you.” He emphasized the word with his hands. “They will be taken at their word about your character and intentions.”
“Just because someone vouches for my character doesn’t mean anything.” He wasn’t exactly in the mood to ponder philosophy at the moment, but it came spilling out of him anyway, burning up a little nervous energy. “There’s no proof there. I can have the best intentions, but there’s nothing that indicates I will do the right thing, particularly by the sensibilities of an alien race.”
Tashen glanced at him as the lift stopped, eyebrows raised a little. “Have you had access to our historical documents?”
“Not really, why?” Alex followed him out onto a wide ledge behind a row of small spacecraft.
He waved a hand and walked down a gangway between two rows of long bombers, bulbous frames ending in sharp angles, atmospheric wings folded out of the way to conserve space. “What you said reminded me of a second age Emperor.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Opinion in the Empire is mixed about Humans. Your race has often been seen as brash, as un-Tsla’o. Yet you came to our aid when asked, far beyond what was expected, and you continue to help us. There is trepidation about this help. Many appreciate that, but are unsure what to make of it.” He looked over his shoulder as he continued down the row, making eye contact for a moment. “They fear it is a ruse. As long as you carry yourself in a fitting manner, you may well sway them.”
It’s no big deal. You’re the single data point that the honesty and integrity of Humanity will be judged by now. Easy. Cool. “So that’s good?”
“Yes.” Tashen stopped at the end of the path and pointed up into the equipment in the ceiling.
Amidst the gear and scaffolding Alex could just barely make out a patch of vibrant blue jacket on top of a bridge crane. He wasn’t sure how she had gotten there, with no obvious path up to her location. “Carbon? Are you there?”
A long moment of silence, then a terse reply in English. “Go away.”
That wasn’t what he was expecting. “Uh... do you want to talk?”
Only the gentle sounds of nearby equipment hummed a reply.
Tashen leaned over and spoke quietly. “It takes her some time to calm down, but she does not usually move once she has found somewhere to... To be despondent. I suggest we give her space and attempt to reach out in an hour, she is usually more willing after having some time to herself.”
Alex nodded. He didn’t like the idea of just leaving her there and the fact she had become this withdrawn bothered him deeply, but Tashen apparently had experience with this. “Carbon? If you’re going to do something stupid, let me know first so I can do it too. Okay?”
“Okay.” Her voice was soft now, drained of emotion. Hopeless.
Alex watched the blue spot for a few moments before he turned and walked back down the gangway. “Is she going to be safe up there?”
“The crane is quite wide and this area is equipped with a fall suppression system.”
“That’s something. Look, I don’t want to go too far, can we just wait in here?”
“We will wait for her at the maintenance hatch she used to get to the crane. From the tone of her voice, I do not think it will be long before she is finished.” Tashen gestured towards another heavy door down the ledge, outlined in blue and marked with a symbol that looked quite a bit like a wrench and screwdriver.
“That’s good. I don’t like seeing her like this.”
Tashen just nodded and they walked in silence through the doors. The maintenance corridor beyond was just like every other part of the carrier Alex had seen. The same paint and lighting, uniformly clean. Aside from a few structural details and the paint scheme, it was pretty similar to the Human military ships he’d visited. There were probably only so many ways to make a spaceship for bipeds.
He had barely registered the sound of an extra set of footsteps when someone ran into him from behind. Not hard enough to knock him down, just shoving him forward with a sharp pain in his back.
“Filthy unknown thieves.” His assailant hissed into his ear, the translator giving that word in the middle a little digitization so he’d know it wasn’t in the dictionary. Alex still got the meaning. He’d have picked it up from the spit on the back of his neck alone.
A fresh brace of pain radiated as he tried to yank the knife out of Alex’s ribcage, a sharp wheeze coating his tongue with the taste of blood. A second harder pull made that stab wound blossom into a ball of agony in his back. His translator pinged a warning that one of its coprocessors was offline just as another blinding shock of pain found the blade well stuck.
Alex had training for this sort of thing, to a certain extent. The Navy instructors had assumed you’d know where your assailant would attack you from. You would see it coming. Have time to take a stance, offer some defense.
Easy to do on a ship with one hallway and two airlocks.
Alex’s back was already wet with blood as he looked over his shoulder at one of the soldiers that had been on the transport that had brought him here. The one that had stood dutifully in his parents home. The Tsla’o soldier seethed, face contorted with rage as he gave up trying to get his knife back and just kicked in Alex’s knee, shoving him to the ground as the shipboard alarm started to go off.
Tashen was two steps down the hall, the small communicator back in his hand. The soldier, this assassin, stepped over his body as he went after the Empress’ secretary.
Alex already felt weak, chest aching and his breath short as he tried to right himself, the attempt rewarded with more pain. A hint of training that he now wished had been much more thorough peeked through. Medkit. Medkit in the cargo pocket, left side. Somebody was screaming as he forced his arm to work, cutting muscles in his back on the knife lodged in him as he wrapped trembling fingers around the hard-sided kit, nearly fumbling it as he pulled it out and slipped his fingertips onto the controls.
Tashen and their assailant slammed to the ground in front of Alex, almost hitting him. The visibly younger soldier was on top and clearly in control of the fight already. He put a knee in Tashen’s chest and started hammering away at his face with gloved hands, flashes of metal on the knuckles stained with deep brown-red blood. The older male's arms were slack, unconscious and unable to defend himself from the beating.
The medkit shifted in Alex’s hand as he forced his thumb into a depression on the back of the gleaming white kit, a hidden button turning it into a makeshift, probably non-lethal weapon. He reached out and jammed the injector into the soldier’s side. The last thing he heard was a solid clack coming from it as it discharged a large dose of muscle relaxant into their assailant.