Clad in a bathrobe, I sat on the edge of the bed and held my head in my hands.

Why a bathrobe?

Because the maids had ensured there wasn’t a single scrap of clothing in the entire suite other than a bathrobe and fluffy bunny slippers for me to wear.

After stumbling out of the bathtub in a daze, it was Ghost who directed me to the bathrobe, otherwise I would have meandered about naked had it not been for his intervention. Afterwards, when my cognitive functions recovered to the point where I could think for myself, I’d searched the suite to find all the drawers, shelves, wardrobes, and closets completely empty.

Hence, my options had been limited to bathrobe or no bathrobe.

The next problem to address was whether to flee the suite wearing only the bathrobe or regain my composure and calmly take stock of the situation.

I chose the latter, which was why I was now sitting hunched on the edge of a four-poster bed fit for an Empress, inside a bedroom that was larger than my old dorm apartment.

With my head in my hands, I stared down at the bunny slippers on my feet.

Little by little they irritated me until I finally kicked them off, sending them flying across the bedroom.

“Princess….”

Bowing my head, I whispered, “I don’t want to hear it….”

“I am sorry, but I cannot comply.”

I released a heavy sigh. “Ghost—”

“You had questions to ask, and your meeting with Sanreal is nigh upon you.”

“I’m not ready to see him….”

No, I wasn’t ready to see him or deal with anyone else.

I could barely think at all, let alone listen to or hold a conversation with someone.

I’d read about the five stages of dealing with loss and grief.

The first is denial, followed by anger, then a need to bargain, then getting depressed before finally reaching acceptance. In my case I wasn’t facing a loss and I wasn’t overcome with grief but instead overwhelmed by disbelief laced with cold dread. So was it possible to apply the five stages to my circumstances and state of mind? Was disbelief another form of denial? Assuming that it was, then I could expect anger was next in line for me. I had kicked the bunny slippers clear across the room, but I didn’t feel I was at the anger stage just yet. However, when the time came for me to express my anger, who would I lash out at?

I thought of Erina. Perhaps the next time I saw her I would throttle her, but right now I didn’t feel the urge to strangle her.

What of Geharis Arnval? He was a choice candidate but first I needed to equip with my guns and Regalia since he was a tough nut to crack.

Moving on past anger came the bargaining stage. This was something people did before a loss, such as attempting to bargain with a higher power, but in my case, I’d already lost something – my life as Ronin Kassius.

No, again that wasn’t right.

I was never Ronin Kassius to begin with – merely a copy of his consciousness and memories – so what had I lost?

My innocence?

No, my ignorance.

As they say, ignorance is bliss so give me back my ignorance.

Nonetheless, assuming I could make a bargain, what did I have to offer? That would depend on what the Sanreals expected from me, and what they wanted from me. Winning the Gun Princess Royale had come up before, so staying alive was a given. However, outside of behaving and co-operating with them, what was it they truly wanted from me?

Mulling the question over, I stared at the carpeted floor beneath my bare feet.

If Phelan Sanreal tells me I’m going to be boxed, what will I do—no, what can I do?

While I silently pondered the question, my gaze drifted over the floor and settled on the bunny slippers lying on the opposite side of the spacious bedroom.

So girly. So feminine. So…revolting.

Yes, part of me found those slippers utterly repugnant, while another part of me accepted them for what they were: nothing more than fluffy, bunny slippers.

I really am inside a female body…with all the right plumbing.

Inhaling deeply, I cerebrated a related matter.

This body was meant for Clarisol. Is this why it can fall pregnant? Was it to give Clarisol a chance to start a family of her own, far away from the danger posed by the Empress?

I dropped my head back onto my hands.

I don’t belong in this body. I know it’s not my fault, but I feel like a thief—

“Princess.”

Without looking up, I sensed Ghost approach me.

At another time, I would have felt unsettled by this, especially since he was merely a projection inside my mind, thus how was it possible for me to sense his presence. But in my preoccupied state, I simply took it for a given. Thus, I was aware of Ghost drawing nearer and then dropping to one knee.

True enough, when I raised my head a little, I saw him on bended knee before me.

“Princess, I am sorry.”

I frowned unhappily at him. “You have a lot to be sorry about. So what is it this time?”

“I am sorry for revealing your potential to bear children. I had hoped you would find out in due time, and yet I shot myself in the foot.”

“In due time?” I snorted softly while weakly shaking my head. “You mean after I fell pregnant?”

“Princess!”

I shook my head again, then closed my eyes. “Yeah, I would have found out eventually. But your timing does suck….”

Oddly, rationalizing the situation in that manner made me feel a little better. Maybe later I would resume wallowing in denial, disbelief, and self-pity, but for now my head felt a little clearer.

“Princess, you had questions for me, and time is short.”

I may have felt a little better, but I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. “I don’t feel like asking anymore….”

“Very well, then allow me to anticipate your questions.”

Irritation flickered to life within me.

I truly didn’t want to talk or listen to Ghost.

I simply wasn’t in the right frame of mind for more of his good news, and the grip on my composure was far too tenuous to handle another reality shattering revelation.

“Ghost, just let me be….”

“Princess, I talk. You listen. That is all that I ask.”

I exhaled curtly. “You’re not going to shut up even if I tell you to, are you?”

“You would be wise to heed advice when it is offered to you.”

I straightened sharply. “You are beginning to piss me off.”

“And you are frustrating beyond measure.”

I tapped a temple. “Get out of my head.”

“Not until I get a few things into that thick skull of yours—starting with where you are right now.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “My thick skull?”

Ghost bowed his head and appeared to be struggling to remain calm.

Well, this is new, I admitted, surprised that an Artificial Awareness needed to make the effort in the first place, but though I was seriously disgruntled with him, I had to admit that maybe I was pushing him too far, and that began to worry me as the silence between us dragged on.

After a long while, Ghost eventually spoke up.

“Princess, we are short on time. I simply need you to listen. Nothing more. Is that so much to ask of you?”

Short on time?

As the thought crossed my mind, I felt it would be churlish of me to point that out.

More than likely, it would lead to another argument with Ghost, and that didn’t appeal to me because it made realize that I was treating him the way I treated Erina. While true that Ghost had progressively worked his way under my skin, I wasn’t making things easy either. There was a limit to how stubborn and recalcitrant I should be, but I was having trouble controlling my emotions as though the dial in my head had been spun to Bitch Mode and was now stuck on that setting. Thus, it was no surprise that Ghost was growing increasingly vexed with me, and so was I.

Ghost started to rise to his feet. “Very well. Have it your way—”

“Wait.” I raised a hand to stop him. “I’m listening.”

He halted and regarded me with a dubious look.

Perhaps engaging in a calm, rational conversation would nudge the dial in my head away from Bitch Mode. Regardless, I needed to break out of the vicious downward spiral I’d fallen into, even if it were easier said than done.

Sitting up straighter, I exhaled loudly, then slowly folded my arms under my breasts as I locked stares with him. “First question. Where am I?”

Ghost searched my face, undoubtedly gauging whether I really intended to hear him out or not. After a short while, he seemed satisfied and resumed kneeling on bended knee before me.

“Princess, do you recall the Citadels you saw in Clarisol’s virtual prison?”

“Yeah, I remember them. Those big wheels with cogs. You said the cogs are like a docking mechanism for Citadels so that they can hook up to each other.”

“That is correct. Transporting a Citadel through the Conduit is impossible. A Citadel is over nine kilometers in diameter. The Conduit is barely wide enough for a compact military truck to pass through. However, it is possible to transport a small Fabricator through the Conduit, and a small Fabricator can be used to make a larger Fabricator. And then a larger one.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“What for?”

“To make the facilities to construct a Citadel.”

Inside my head, the proverbial penny dropped with the weight of an anvil.

Aboard Clarisol’s boat, the Carnal Sin, Mat had told me the same thing. It was impossible for a Citadel to travel through the Conduit to this universe. What he didn’t tell me was that a Fabricator could build one on this side.

I quickly wondered why he’d kept this tidbit from me?

Was it because he didn’t know there were Fabricators in this universe? I believed that to be unlikely, so why didn’t he tell me? Was it because I had a lot on my plate at the time? Was he being considerate or was there a sinister motive at play?

I found myself questioning my trust in Mat, however, I’d have to dwell on it later because for the moment Ghost had more to say.

“Back in Ar Telica, Arnval said it was necessary to get you and Erina to a safe place where House Cardinal couldn’t reach you. And that is why we are here, aboard House Novis’s Citadel.”

I arched my eyebrows at him. “We’re inside one of those cog wheels?”

“No, it is a completely different design.” Ghost gently waved a hand between us like a magician. “Observe.”

In my vision appeared a three-dimensional image of a ship of some sort. The representation was only a couple of feet long and quite detailed with a surprising amount of realistic rendering. Because of this, it resembled a plastic model floating in the air before me, and it looked nothing like the cog wheel Citadel I’d seen in Clarisol’s Virtual Prison.

Ghost pointed at it. “This is the Sanreal Novis, and she is named after the Noble Family that presently rules House Novis.”

The vessel was best described as a cross between an ancient Typhoon class submarine and a late 21st century battle-carrier. There were four enormous thruster ports at the stern, and a collection of eight smaller thrusters were located beneath the belly of the ship. Aft of amidships, stubby pontoons were mated flush to the hull. The dorsal superstructure supported two wedge shaped landing decks roughly a third the length of the ship. Rising from the flat decks were two conjoined, elongated domes. Four long cannons speared out from the bow like giant horns, and four more cannons lanced out from the pontoons. Thus, the Citadel had the appearance of a vessel that was both a starship, an aircraft carrier, and a submarine all rolled into one.

I had to admit that I was impressed by it.

As a kid, I’d been fascinated by starships as much as the next boy, and this hadn’t changed since becoming Mirai, so I grinned inwardly at the prospect of having a model of the Sanreal Novis resting on my shelf, especially if it had working lights and could be flown remotely.

“How big is she?” I asked.

“From bow to stern, the Sanreal Novis is over eight and a half kilometers long.”

That was a little hard to accept. “Are you serious…?”

“I am indeed. Her main body is 8,500 meters long, 1,200 meters wide, and 400 meters high. If you include her forward guns, the pontoons, and ventral and dorsal flight decks, the Sanreal Novis measures 8,700 meters in length, is 2,200 meters wide, and 950 meters high. Yet her estimated displacement is a rather paltry 156 million metric tonnes.” He changed the image with another gentle wave of his hand. “This should help you visualize her scale.”

I stared in awe as the model was displayed in comparison with Ar Telica’s harbor and the surrounding city. It was fair to say that Telos Island could fit inside the Citadel several times over.

“My gods,” I whispered. “She’s enormous….”

“Indeed, she is. However, she is significantly smaller than the Citadels from my universe.”

The image changed again to include the cog wheel Citadel. Nearly ten kilometers in diameter, and more than twice as tall as the Sanreal Novis, the circular Citadel had more volume, yet failed to dwarf the rectangular shaped vessel. In fact, the Sanreal Novis compared quite well against its brethren from the other universe, and that got me thinking again.

“Why so big?” I asked Ghost.

“A number of reasons. A Citadel is a home, a capital, a fortress, and a warship. It is a source of pride and power for a Noble House. A prestige if you will. And it is a seat of power for the family that rules the Noble House at the time.”

“At the time? What do you mean by that?”

“Within a Noble House there may be several Noble Families. For example, the Sanreal Family is one of many families within House Novis. However, it is the Sanreals that presently rule over the Noble House. If they were to fall or be usurped by another family, then the Citadel’s designation, its name and ownership, would change to reflect the new leadership.”

This came as a surprise to me. “There are other Noble Families within House Novis?”

“Correct. One such family is the Praetor Family into which your friend, Matrim, was adopted. They are a first-tier family with a close association to the Sanreals. At one point in time, they even ruled House Novis before losing out to the Sanreals two generations ago.”

So that’s how it is.

I then wondered what the other families thought of the Sanreal Family’s leadership.

The Noble House had lost its high rank of Alus and been demoted to Elsis. They had challenged the Empress and were now in her bad book. I couldn’t imagine how anyone would be happy with the present state of affairs. So how secure was the Sanreal’s grip on power? Was it possible for them to face a leadership challenge? And if they lost what would that mean for me?

All of this made me question why I was really brought here.

Was it to protect me from the Empress and House Cardinal? Or was it to keep me safe from the other Noble Families within House Novis?

I shook my head inwardly and cautioned myself.

Speculating blindly is dangerous. I need to know more, but how do I go about asking?

My gaze ended up settling upon Ghost.

Can I trust him?

He gave me a questioning look. “Princess?”

I wet my lips quickly, hoping I hadn’t betrayed my doubts. “Tell me more about the Citadel.”

“As you wish.”

The floating model grew larger in my eyes as Ghost zoomed in on the elongated, bulbous domes rising from the flat dorsal decks. The portside dome was highlighted by a warm orange glow that surrounded it.

“This is the Estate,” Ghost explained. “It is the enclosed area within which you are currently residing. As you can see from this representation, the house, the pool, and the gardens occupy a small percentage of the Citadel’s internal volume.”

Before my splashdown into the pool, I’d glimpsed the large scale of the house and surrounding lands, thus it was hard to grasp that we were inside such a small section of the ship. In fact, I was almost inclined to doubt him, but in the end, I chose not to.

He continued his virtual tour of the Citadel. “Moving along toward the bow of the ship, we come across the Habitat.”

The image of the Sanreal Novis enlarged and changed to reveal the ship in cross-section. I saw a city nestled within the front half of the immense hull. There were parks, stadiums, amphitheaters, and a vast monorail network comprising multiple tracks winding their way through scores of mid-rise buildings with large windows and countless balconies. It reminded me of Ar Telica, but it was a lot greener, and its skyline was much lower, though there was one building that stood taller than the rest. It appeared to be a tower that resembled a narrow tree with leafless branches reaching upwards toward the habitat’s ceiling.

Ghost pointed at the city’s image. “This environment is three kilometers long, one kilometer wide, and 220 meters high. To put it in another context, it is a little smaller than Central Park.”

“Central park? What’s that?”

“On Earth, there used to be a place called Central Park located on an island called, Manhattan. However, it was lost to the rising sea levels caused by global warming.”

“Oh….”

Ghost looked briefly disappointed with my lackluster response before continuing. “As I mentioned earlier, a Citadel is a prestige, but she is also something of an ark—a home away from home for her people. At present, the city has a population of thirty thousand individuals, however most of them are Simulacra. But if necessary, it is possible to accommodate another seven hundred thousand souls within the Sanreal Novis. However, whether the Citadel will become an ark for House Novis is something that only time can tell.”

I had a question on my lips.

Why build her as an ark?

Regardless of everything else the Citadel happened to be, I suspected she had been designed from the outset as an ark. But why was that? Was it because the Empress was planning to evacuate her people from the other universe? And why would she feel the need to do so? Did she believe their planet was heading towards annihilation like the fiction world of Krypton?

Despite these questions lapping the inside of my head, I found myself asking something else. “You said she was a warship. Does that mean she’s armed?”

Ghost gently nodded. “Yes, she is.”

The cross-section of the ship vanished, and the model was restored to its two-foot length within my vision. The long horns extending from the bow and stubby pontoons were next to be highlighted.

Ghost sounded pensive. “She would not be much of a Citadel if she was not armed. The four guns up front, and the four guns at her midships, constitute her secondary armament. Her primary armament are these four hyper-wave cannons constructed within the bow, and the two collapsed antimatter cannons situated in the side pods.”

“So she really is a warship….”

“Indeed. Comparing her to the Citadels from my world, the Sanreal Novis is faster, more maneuverable, and her armament bears all the advances made since the last war. If the two faced each other in battle, the Sanreal Novis would be the winner in under a minute.”

As fascinating as this was, the thought of two giant ships blasting away at each other didn’t thrill me. “What if she faced one of our Terran War Fleets?”

His casual reply sent a chill up my spine. “A War Fleet poses no threat to her.”

Of a sudden, my fears surrounding an invasion threatened to resurface, and I struggled to keep them hidden, but if Ghost was able to notice my unease he made no mention of it, and moments later he resumed his explanation.

“I should point out that the Sanreal Novis is not the only Citadel in this reality. Every Noble House that has secured a sizeable foothold in this universe has been granted permission by the Imperial family to build themselves a Citadel.”

“Are they all like the Sanreal Novis?”

“No. However, the Imperial family is a fan of conformity. As such, while there are notable differences between Citadels belonging to the various Noble Houses, their overall specifications—crew complement, civilian population, offensive armament, defensive shielding, and so forth—are homogenized.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the Imperial Family does not want to be surprised by the other Noble Houses. If they all have the same kind of Citadel, even accounting for variances between them, their capabilities are nonetheless well known. In other words, if the Noble Houses revolted against her, Kateopia would know what she is up against.”

“Wouldn’t it have been smarter not to allow them to build Citadels?”

“That could have proven even more dangerous.”

“Why?”

“Let us just say, that Kateopia is appealing to their vanity and avarice.”

I nodded slowly in understanding. “She’s allowing them to keep their toys, thus keeping them happy.”

“In a nutshell, yes.”

I gave the image of the Sanreal Novis a thoughtful look. “So how many more of these ships are there?”

“By my estimates using the intelligence data garnered by House Novis, there are nineteen other Citadels, including the Imperial Citadel.”

I arched my eyebrows at him. “The Empress has one too?”

“Naturally, and it is known as the Feylan Aventisse.”

Growing curious, I asked, “Do you know what it looks like?”

“No.”

“What do you mean, No?”

“I mean, No. We do not have any data on the Imperial Citadel other than its derived name.”

I gave him a doubtful look. “Then how do you know it exists?”

Ghost responded with a glum expression. “Knowing Kateopia, it definitely exists.”

“Because of her vanity and avarice, right?”

“Bingo, Princess.”

“Does that mean you don’t know where it is either?”

“True. But the situation is actually more complicated than that.”

I sighed loudly and dropped my chin onto an upturned palm. “Really? How so?”

“Because no one knows the location of the other Citadels, and that includes the Imperial Citadel. However, all of them must report their location to the Feylan Aventisse.”

I slowly frowned at him. “Are you saying, we don’t know where anyone else is, but the Empress knows where all the Citadels are?”

“Correct.”

“How is that possible?”

Ghost pointed up at the ceiling. “The Citadels supply their location via a network of satellites that scramble and encrypt the data packets during transmission. Any attempt to infiltrate the satellites to learn the location of the Feylan Aventisse will not go about unpunished.”

I glanced upwards. “Is that so…?”

“If a Citadel falsifies its location, it runs the risk of being discovered by a spot check conducted by one of the Feylan Aventisse’s scouts. The Noble House in command of the Citadel would incur severe penalties for lying about the location of their capital vessel.”

It sounded like Kateopia was overly paranoid, but she had faced a serious challenge to her leadership of the Empire, and that got me thinking along different lines. “The Noble Houses have to build their Citadels to a set of rules, right?”

“They do.”

“But she doesn’t have to follow those rules.”

“I sincerely doubt she would.”

“Then she’s probably got the biggest, most badass Citadel around.” I raised my chin off my palm. “Then what’s stopping her from using it?”

“Using it for what? To invade this universe?” Ghost subtly shook his head. “That would be a mistake and unnecessary.”

“Why?”

“Because Kateopia has seen enough war to last her a lifetime. She has seen what war has done to our Empire, and to our world. It would also harm all our interests here in your universe. A century of establishing a sizeable foothold into this reality would be placed at risk. That is something none of Noble Houses and the Imperial Family wish to entertain. It is something to be avoided at all costs.”

That gave me food for thought.

Wars didn’t always involve guns.

There were corporate wars. Legal wars. Wars fought across the battlefields of commerce. If the Empire’s technology and science was far ahead of ours, they could establish themselves at the forefront of every human industry. Certainly, it would take time. They couldn’t just unveil some new gizmo that would set them ahead of their competition. It would be a gradual process. Meanwhile, they were also advancing their own science and technology, thus keeping that lead they had on us. But ultimately it was a bloodless invasion, so then why make the Citadels more powerful than a War Fleet, and why design them as heavily armed arks?

Those questions alone made me doubt his words, and as he rose to his feet, I was certain that Ghost wasn’t telling me the full story.

“Princess, I understand your curiosity regarding the Empress, and I am willing to discuss her with you later. But for now, we must move onto question number two.”

Curiosity?

I wouldn’t quite put it that way, and folding my arms once more, I smirked up at him. “Changing the subject, are we?”

“Princess,” he insisted.

I didn’t like being pushed along, but I relented to the pressure in his voice. “All right. Question Two. Tell me about Geharis Arnval.”