“So you have a plan?” Marie asked. “A plan to restore what we’ve lost?”
“I have the outline of a plan,” I admitted. “It needs fleshing out. That’s why I’m here. My government wants to arrest me, the Imps want me dead, and the Federation would turn me over to either before I could scream. You, Princess, are the only ally I have left. I come asking for aid.”
“And what does that make me? Tinned beef?” Archduke Darius half-playfully grumbled.
I gave him a sharp look. “Technically, our nations are still at war, and you are allied with the Empire. I didn’t know if I could trust you.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Darius said. “I dislike this coup almost as much as I want this war ended. Selnikov’s a snake, and I can’t trust he won’t absorb Yezhidia once he no longer has to fight you Allies. You tell me you can stop Selnikov and the Federation before they carve up the quadrant between them? Then I’m in.”
I felt a warmth at the bottom of my chest at his words, but I could not trick him or the princess into joining me. “Are you certain? Both of you? It’s going to be rough. Honestly, I don’t expect to survive this, and I don’t want to put either of you in danger…”
“I said I’m in. Princess?”
“My guards are at your command,” Marie replied.
“There it is. Now, where do we begin?” Darius asked, cutting me off.
I grinned. “First things first – we need troops and weapons. Then we go save the Emperor.”
MICE AND MEN AT IT AGAIN
“RESTORING THE EMPERORto the throne is a fine goal, but to make it happen, we need a plan. A real plan,” Archduke Darius said.
“And someplace to plan it,” the princess added.
I looked at Princess Marie in astonishment, then met Archduke Darius’s eyes before surveying the princess’s apartment with an appraising eye.
“No,” Marie said firmly.
“This place is pretty spacious. I’m certain the ringleaders would fit in here,” I commented.
“No!”
“The color’s very soothing,” Archduke Darius argued.
“No. Captain Boylan is a fugitive, and I am one of his most visible allies. The Empire’s already watching me. They’ll be certain to notice a parade of malcontents marching through my doors.” Princess Marie practically stamped her foot.
“She’s right,” I said. “Besides, the Empire will come looking for me before long. We need somewhere safe.”
Darius raised his hand. “What if I told you I had a place we could meet and plan without any fear of Imperial entanglements?”
“I’d say we should retire there posthaste. What are we waiting for?” I answered.
With a grimace, Darius said, “Because getting there is going to be a problem. I have a cruiser in orbit, theRoyal Darius.”
“You named your cruiser after yourself?” Princess Marie asked, halfway between amusement and scorn at the archduke’s hubris.
Darius shuffled. “I wanted to call it theLion, but it’s tradition to name an heir’s ship after themself.” He quickly changed the topic. “Ordinarily, I’d portal up, but…”
“… but my presence complicates things,” I said, and Darius nodded, confirming it. “Well, all right. How do we get me through a portal a second time? Or, does your ship have a Lightbridge array?”
“If I was wealthy enough for a private Lightbridge array, I could have bought the League instead of having to conquer it.” Darius thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “We’ll need a disguise, obviously.”
“Something with a face-obscuring helmet?” I suggested.
Darius shook his head. “Too obvious. They’ll be expecting that. I was thinking you go in drag.”
I straightened. “And how are we going to do that?” I asked, gesturing to my lanky, soft-bellied, masculine frame.
