21. Axl

As we are walking towards the House Zu transport, I get a notification on my IC. I know from the sound it’s from the Empress. This isn’t odd. She messages me often. I check it.

Come to the palace.

Although I have officially taken leave for the next seven days I can’t ignore the Empress. As the transport doors open, I say to Georgiana, “The guards will take you home for the midday meal. Unfortunately, I have to go to the palace. It’s at the Empress’s request.”

“Okay,” she replies in the way I have come to loathe.

“I must go.”

“I understand.”

“Eat the midday meal with my family. Lia’s not nearly as scary as she makes herself out to be. But given that you just gave the High Priestess a run for her money, I don’t think my sister has anything on you. She may even give you a ribbon for being so brave in the Punishment Rooms.”

“How would she know?”

“There are no secrets in the Empire. Go home and I’ll meet you there as soon as I can. Walk in the goddesses’ light,” I add as she enters the transport. She looks back at me with confusion in her brown eyes.

The Imperial Palace isn’t far from the Grand City Temple, so I decide to walk. There aren’t too many people on the pedestrian streets today and it’s nice to be among my people. It’s a luxury few maximum class men are able to enjoy in their prime. The Empress can be cross at me for not taking a transport, but she knows I’m on my way. She knows I’m at her beck and call, and to be the best I can, I must also have these moments to remind myself what I’m working for. Usually when I take these walks through the Capital City I admire the orderliness of the city and its people. But today all I think about is how Georgiana broke that orderliness by refusing to comply with the High Priestess’s demands. And I wonder if I can convince her to stay in the next few days.

By the time I reach the Imperial Palace, before I enter the Great Hall, I can already hear the Empress. Stress underlies her voice. Once I enter the Great Hall, she pauses only momentarily in what she was saying before finishing. As I approach the throne, I bow.

“Everyone leave,” she demands. Everyone around me bows and begins walking backward so that the Empress and I have the illusion of being alone.

“Empress, as always, the goddesses guide you. I have come as requested.”

“Imperial Fleet Reserve Commander Axl, the goddesses guided you home safely. I was going to congratulate you for accomplishing your mission…”

“Empress…” I bow again.

“But, there seems to be an issue.”

“Yes?” I wonder if the middling class trader Ros was really killed or managed to survive. Maybe possibly having been picked up by the Alliance Force?

“This human woman you’ve brought home with you.”

“Oh.”

“You married her?”

“No.”

“Why is she here?”

“I lost my ship on Earth. I didn’t want to tell anyone about your request, not even Alliance Force.”

“That was clever.”

“So I made a personal arrangement with the human woman.”

“Why is she staying in House Zu?”

“Where else would she stay?”

“It looks like you are courting her?”

So my mother and sister have made nothing public. Good. I will follow their lead. “No. She is here for a rest before returning to Earth.”

“Why did you take her to the Grand City Temple?”

“Is it not my custom to go there for purification after a mission?”

“Your custom yes, not hers.”

“Is she not one of the Lost People?”

“Why was the High Priestess purifying her too?”

“Who among us doesn’t need purification?”

The Empress’s eyes narrow. “I want her moved.”

“I’m sorry, but move to where?”

“Out of your House.”

“Empress, with all due respect…”

“Don’t worry, Commander. Guards, bring the human Madame Georgiana Smith from House Zu to the palace. She will be my guest for the next six days. That is when she is slated to leave according to the official records, yes?”

“Empress, I beg of you,” I bow. “She’s only one human woman.”

“Then why does she interest you? Do you not trust me, the Empress, to look after one of my own? She is one of the Lost People after all.”

“Empress, she is…” I begin, but the Empress cuts me off.

“Thank you, Commander Axl, you may leave. Walk in the goddesses’ light.”

“May they always guide my path.” I’m escorted out of the Great Hall by the captain of the guards. He and I have never been friends.

“Oh you must be devastated not to be able to keep your human pet with you. Did you think you were going to receive special treatment again?”

“I didn’t think anything.”

“Commander, you are one of the worst at court. And now you have the audacity to bring a human woman to the Empire just to taunt the Empress. It’s a new low, even for you.”

“I serve my Empress faithfully as do you.”

“No, you’re mistaken, you do not serve like I do,” he replies. Thankfully, we are near the exit of the Great Hall, so this conversation will have to come to an end. As I walk through the doors into the waiting room, he says, “And Commander, do not worry, I’ll make sure your human gets the imperial treatment she deserves.”

“If you do, Captain, the goddesses will make sure you get what you deserve in turn.”

“Are you threatening me, Commander?”

“Yes, I am,” I say evenly and then walk out of the Great Hall as if nothing is wrong. But as soon as I exit the palace gates I begin running for the nearest line of public transports. I get in one and override the AI pilot with my clearance codes to get back to House Zu as quickly as possible. By the time I arrive, it’s already too late. I see four imperial transports taking off from House Zu and there’s no question that they have Georgiana with them.

I exit the transport and my mother and Lia come out to meet me.

“I tried to persuade them that she should stay with us,” my mother says.

“I tried to use the law that as Madame Georgiana is not an Alliance citizen she cannot be compelled by the Empress without the High Priestess’s consent, but they said orders were orders and that it was in my right to file a complaint,” Lia adds. “I’m sorry, Axl.” She puts a hand on my shoulder.

“What would a complaint do?” I ask. I don’t know the laws as well as my mother and sister.

“She’s not an Alliance citizen but she should be treated as any other citizen of the GC while she is here according to the new laws. However, imperial decisions cannot be disputed for seven days. If we make a complaint and the High Council agrees, the Empress would still not have to release Madame Georgiana until the end of next week.”

“Why would the Empress do this?”

“She’s jealous,” my mother says.

“She wants to make an example of Madame Georgiana for the other humans that are here and asking for more rights and for citizenship regardless of their marital status through proper legislation as the Lost People.”

When it’s clear I don’t understand, Lia continues, “Madame Georgiana came here with you and you are parading her around without being married like she’s equal to an Alliance woman. The other humans are asking why they don’t have these same rights.”

“Because most of them were pets before,” I say as if this is obvious. “Madame Georgiana has come directly from Earth.”

“So you’re blaming those other women for being made into pets against their will?”

“No,” I backtrack, “I’m just saying Georgiana knew nothing. She thought this was all a game until yesterday.”

“It doesn’t matter what she thought, Axl. It doesn’t change what it looks like to others.”

“Did you tell the guards we were courting?” I ask my mother.

“No, that would only make things worse. None of the other human women now living in the Empire were ever courted as far as the High Council or Alliance Force knows.”

“Nor by someone of your status,” Lia adds.

“It’s in your best interest to let her go, Axl. If you’re lucky, the Empress won’t have her killed and she’ll be returned to Earth,” my mother says.

“What if she’s not? What if the Empress keeps her?”

I look from my mother’s face to my sister’s. No one knows what to say. We have all known the Empress since she was a child. She’s not the most moral person and there have been rumors of torture from within the palace.

“I have got to get her back. Lia, will you help me make a formal complaint?”

“Are you sure?”

“What else is there to do?”

“Let the Empress meet Madame Georgiana. Once she realizes Georgiana is not a threat and only wants to return to Earth, and that she imagined all of this a game, the Empress will find another human to use as an example. A human that has a prejudice against the Empire. The Empress will take no enjoyment from torturing an unaware human who only wants to return to Earth.”

“What if I don’t want her to go?”

Both my mother and sister remain quiet. I know they want Georgiana and this whole situation to disappear. Despite them both trying to keep Georgiana in House Zu, I must acknowledge they also must be relieved that she’s been taken. It’s obvious they will offer me no further help on the issue.