Crown of Slaves

Ruth muttered. 'Should be right around this bend… .'

* * *

Her estimate was correct. But the proof of it caused the two girls to draw up short for a moment. Ginny Usher was lying on the corridor floor, right in front of the door to the suite. Sound asleep, apparently.

'Hm,' murmured Ruth.

' 'Hm' is right,' whispered Berry. 'I think we ought to-'

What she thought went unspoken, since Ginny opened her eyes at that moment. Gave them a sharp look, then, apparently satisfied they posed no problem, stretched and sat up. She reminded Berry of a very good-looking cat.

'What's up?' Ginny yawned.

'We need to talk to Victor,' replied Ruth.

Ginny shook her head. 'Not a chance. He needs some, ah, rest. That's why I'm camping out here, to make sure nobody disturbs him.'

She said the words placidly enough, but it was obvious to Berry that she'd be immovable on the subject.

Ruth had apparently reached the same conclusion. 'Okay, then. We can probably start with Lieutenant Palane instead. Do you know where we could find her?'

'Sure.' Ginny hooked a thumb at the door against which she was now leaning. 'She's in there with Victor. Resting. I use the term a bit loosely, you understand.'

Ruth and Berry stared at her. Ginny grinned.

'So there's not a cold chance in Hell I'm letting you in there. Forget it. I don't care if you're on a mission to save the galaxy. The galaxy will just have to wait.'

Ruth and Berry stared at each other.

'Oh,' said Ruth.

Berry was more loquacious. 'Oh. Yeah.'

Ruth sighed and leaned against the wall of the corridor. Then, sighing more heavily, slid down until she was sprawled on the corridor floor. 'Damn.'

Berry sat down next to her. 'Look on the bright side. At least they'll be in a better mood in the morning than they were just a little while ago. Well. I hope, anyway.'

A noise came through the door. There were no distinguishable words. Berry had an image of a tigress in heat, howling mezzo-soprano passion.

'Oh,' repeated Ruth.

'Much better mood,' said Berry firmly.

Ruth shook her head. 'Yeah, sure, but… Damnation, we have got to start making plans.'

Ginny was now giving them a quizzical look. 'Plans for what?' She held up her hand. 'Never mind. I can figure out the gist of it. Victor Cachat lunacy. That being the case, why wait for the madman? I'm sure the two of you can make up a crazy scheme all on your own.'

Ruth and Berry peered at her. Ginny's grin was back.

'Try Grand Suite Sutter's Mill 57,' she suggested. 'Two floors down. That's where most of Thandi's wrecking crew is spending the night. They could probably serve you as a sounding board. And if they can't, I'm sure the Ballroom maniacs could. By now, I suspect most of them are there too.'

Ruth lunged to her feet. 'Great idea!'

Berry rose also, but was less sanguine. 'Uh. Uh.'

'Oh, don't worry about it,' said Ginny. 'That's a huge interconnected suite, with a central salon about the size of a tennis court. Most of the actual orgying will be taking place in the bedrooms. I'm sure you can find somebody who'll talk to you.'

Berry was less sanguine than ever. 'Uh…'

But Ruth had her by the collar and was marching her down the corridor. 'Don't be a prude,' she said firmly. 'They have orgies all the time in Mount Royal Palace.'

Berry gaped at her.

'Well.' Ruth's face was firmly set, in the way a youngster's will when she's making pronouncements about subjects she knows absolutely nothing about. 'Not my aunt, of course. But I'm sure the servants do.'

* * *

'Not like this, I bet,' chortled Berry under her breath, after one of Thandi's Amazons let them into the suite. Yana, that was. The two girls were following the woman into the central salon, doing their best to ignore the fact that she was nude and seemed utterly oblivious about it.

'Someone to see you,' Yana said lazily, to the two people sprawled on a couch. 'I assume it's you they need to talk to, anyway. Sure as hell isn't me, since by now Donald ought to have his energy back.'

Yana headed for a nearby door, smiling. It was an odd sort of smile, combining ease with anticipation. As she opened the door and slipped through into the room beyond, Berry caught a glimpse of a large man raising his head from a pillow. She had to stifle a cackle. The man's expression was priceless. Anticipation combined with… something not too far from sheer terror.

'What's up, girls?' asked the woman on the couch. That was Lara, also nude, and more or less draped over another man. Berry wasn't sure, but she thought that was the one known as Saburo X. He was wearing exactly as much in the way of clothing as Lara, but seemed much less insouciant about it all.

Berry was at a loss for words. Fortunately-or otherwise-Ruth wasn't. Although Berry noticed that the princess kept her eyes firmly fixed on the opposite wall as she rattled off the nature of their mission.

When she was finished, Lara lifted her head and looked up at Saburo. 'You want to deal with this, or not?'

Berry suspected the man was sardonic by nature. His smile on this occasion certainly was.

'Amazing. You're actually asking me something?'

Lara grinned. 'What are you complaining about? Just think how much scheming and plotting I saved you.'

'True enough.' Saburo ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. Then, spoke very softly, in words which Berry overheard but were obviously addressed to Lara alone. 'I'm not sure this is going to work, but… if it does, it'll be because we give each other plenty of room. Agreed?'

Lara's answer amounted to a purr, accompanied by an affectionate stroke along Saburo's thigh. 'Sub-human or not, I could really get used to you. Yes. It's agreed.'

She rose quickly and padded over toward another door. 'We'd better get dressed, then. You want that crap you had on, or will you settle for one of the resort's luxury robes?'

'Robe'll do.' Saburo turned his face toward Berry and Ruth. 'Give us a moment, will you? Lara could probably manage it-being a superwoman and all-but I'm just not up for first-class plotting and scheming in the raw.'

'No problem,' stated Ruth firmly. Berry didn't think the little squeak in her voice detracted much from the dignity of the moment.

She herself said nothing. She felt silence would be sufficient. After all, she wasn't the member of a royal house perched in the middle of a wild orgy between sub-human terrorists and maniacal superwomen. She was just-

'Daddy's gonna kill me,' she hissed. 'I'm dead. Dead-dead-dead.'

'He'll never find out,' Ruth whispered back.

'Yes, he will. Anton Zilwicki finds out everything.'

* * *

'That should do it,' Lieutenant Commander Watanapongse said. The Solarian naval officer leaned back in his chair in the space station's central com room and glanced up at Walter Imbesi. 'It's your call, of course.'