Chapter 14: Back to the Regency

“Queen Basarab invited us for dinner tonight. I forgot to ask you what she spoke to you about after we got back here,” said Craig. “Do you want to play borm this weekend?”

“Yes, I would love to play borm,” said Horti. “Queen Basarab thanked me for bringing the problem of the Naturalista within the military to her attention. She said she was thinking about what happened and planned to consult her people about it and would talk to us later, but first, she would meet with Orma Chatzke to ask her advice about something. Basarab is doing everything she can to protect us; she redacted our records and buried our genetic information. The records showed we were part of a pilot trial group researching the students from Earth. If any of us was injured or became ill, the doctors selected a medical team to treat us as part of the research group.”

“What do you think she will say?” Craig asked.

“She is going to blame me for getting in the way of the weaving shuttle and inconveniencing the general, who had no choice but to act,” said Horti. “I was a nuisance, and as a consequence, I must pay for the shuttle damage and any inconvenience to the general,” said Horti.

“Horti, be serious. What kind of advice did she want?” Craig asked.

“She went to see Orma Chatzke because she knows Philippa gave us some money. She wants to find out how much, and then she will charge me more to cover up the uncovered problem. She wants the Naturalistas to hassle all the students from Earth as they are not being hassled enough,” said Horti.

Craig rolled his eyes. “Any other comments or observations?”

“The Queen consulted her advisors on who should compose a new flat face song for the media to play before the news. It is a call to arms for the Dinnion to keep the newbies under the heel of the Dinnion, never to rise again.”

“Horti, you are getting worse. What else will she talk about today?”

“Today, she wants to apologize, anticipating the new onslaught which she hopes will teach the Earthlings an important life lesson. You and I are different. We are friends of the royals and are good people. We are not like them.”

Craig shook his head. “Horti, you are an idiot and nigh incorrigible.”

“Craig, even you are expressing what the Dinnion believe. We are stupid and won’t change!”

Craig laughed. “In revenge, I will slaughter you tomorrow!”

“In your dreams, buster, like last week and the week before?”

“So, I lost a few times!”

“Craig, my dear, it is going to get worse. It always does.” Horti laughed.

Craig smiled and shook his head.

“After we ate at your sister’s restaurant, we regularly ate spicy food. We acquired an Azayal chef who prepares similar food. I hope you enjoy it and it isn’t too hot,” said Queen Basarab. “Craig, I wanted you to hear what I said today; you were very much a part of the recent events, and you must support Horti until the end of term.”

“Are you sure you want me here? I am happy to leave you two to talk?”

Queen Basarab shook her head. “I want to talk to you, Horti. I know you think you did nothing special, but I know otherwise. We know several reputable people who can see the future. Our past predictions ran out after the Emperor arrived, reconciled with the Azloc, and the Gazronnaas attacked. However, my oracles are once again providing insights into the future.”

“Does anyone know if the Gazronnaas have probed elsewhere?” Horti asked.

“We had one major engagement with them and destroyed a fleet of their ships. They also unsuccessfully attacked the Azloc. They previously attacked the Destroyers in Bekta Delta, and the Destroyers resoundingly beat them back.”

“Do we know what they want?” Horti asked.

“They want to learn how our universe works, move to more suitable bodies, and destroy the Azloc, Dinnion, Uzliumbax, and Destroyers. The Emperor will deal with the Gazronnaas. We can leave the Gazronnaas to him and move on. We have a massive problem that is ours. We must deal with insidious Naturalista influence and intimidation. They may or may not be working with our enemies, but both seek the same goal, the destruction of the Regency and the Empire.”

“Queen Basarab, I thank you for what you have said, but my plan of action was to save my life. I did not deliberately uncover a Naturalista general. My friends played a bigger role than me.”

“The oracle of Orma Chatzke and our two oracles informed me I would have died without your intervention. Your plan to seek treatment from the Collective saved the life of Orma Chatzke. I will award you the Medal of the Regency, our highest honor. You also receive a lifetime income,” said Queen Basarab.

“Thank you very much,” said Horti smiling.

“Have you found the nutty general?” Craig asked.

“We finally captured her three days ago. She was the head of a prominent family. We will incinerate the family, all of whom are Naturalistas. We confiscated the family’s assets and will transfer them to you, Horti. The regency will continue to operate its corporate assets and manage the general’s planets. To others, it will appear as though we acquired these assets. We do not want to bring any attention to you; you will have another even bigger problem to face.”

“Aubrey tells me the Naturalista are making sophisticated efforts to see our records,” said Horti.

“We watched Naturalista’s efforts to obtain your records, Horti. They discovered how you performed the last term. My people ensured all investigations by your team originated from our intelligence. It would be best if you looked like an innocent struck by a shuttle. We created a second false trail here. Allegedly I sent troops to the hospital after you briefly went to a Collective hospital ship not equipped to treat you. We treated and rehabilitated you in Sennar.”

“How can Horti explain the money awarded to her?” Craig asked.

“The money I initially give Horti will come from a legitimate fund that awards money to people after catastrophic injuries. Other monies will go to your accounts in the Collective,” said the Queen. “We suspect the Naturalistas are behind a project you will receive after your studies commence in earnest. The military asked for you specifically. We cannot find who originated the request, and we do not understand why they want you, Horti.”

“What is the project?” Horti asked.

“It is in your area. Many students attempted the same project. None of them made much progress. It is a project of enormous scope. You will pass if you do as instructed by your professor. It is an appropriate assignment. The general in charge is one of our top generals. If she is your enemy, you are in trouble. She is the general who fought and destroyed a Gazronnaas fleet. She has twenty generals and thirty admirals that report to her. She controls a fleet and all our logistics assets. We all hope she is not the one. If she is, she is in a position to cripple us.”

“Won’t Horti be in danger?” Craig asked.

“If you accept the project, you may be in danger. Previously they also requested specific students. They did subsequently transfer some of them into the general’s service. The general did not harm any students. None had an unfortunate accident.”

“Could she be, as Merken believes, the head of the stinkbug?” Horti asked.

Queen Basarab shrugged. “We have one tentative clue she might be the one. The son of the bizarre general went to a clinic where the logistics and supply general allegedly had a rejuvenation. We now know the clinic is a haven for the Naturalistas. Be careful and involve our intelligence people if anything suspicious presents itself. If in doubt, reject the project.”

Horti nodded.

“It is my area. I wonder what got their interest?”

Queen Basarab shrugged. “We will find out in time.”

Craig grinned. “What else did the fortune-tellers say?”

“The influx of Uzliumbax for treatment here will change our people profoundly. There are more Uzliumbax males, 1:1 with women, and they will have children with many of our women. Half the children will be males. It will not be long before our ratio of males to females changes. They will make us less stiff, parochial, and formal and speed up our faces becoming flat. The seers predict Horti will find the head of the Naturalistas. We can say no more on that topic as you are not to know more.”