and warmth by the sun, but not burnt by its continuous smoldering red eye. Likewise, the icy storms of Nightside had been gentled by the time they reached this far sunward. As a result, the city in this cleft among the rocks was forever cool and lush with growths. Permanent shadows stained the rocky walls around it.
As it was a center of culture for Ignis Glace, even Nina was entranced by the city’s uniqueness. There were rows of shops selling fine things only the richest merchants, or nobility with the best lands, could afford to buy. Nina had never been in either of these categories until recently, but she forbade herself to go on a shopping spree now. To do so would play directly into Duchess Embrak’s icy hands.
And so when she arrived at one end of the canyon and glided along its length, following the cobbles of Queen’s Highway, Nina was more plainly dressed than her escort. She carried no banner, and wore neither plumes nor jewelry. She wanted to appear businesslike and ready for battle. She had chosen this dress partly because it suited her, and partly to prevent Duchess Embrak from displaying vids of her wasting funds. But she also did it to impress her father, who she felt sure was aboard the small ship that had finally arrived. She knew her father was above all else a practical man, and she wanted to seem to be as similar in nature as possible upon their first meeting as two adults.
Internally, Nina thrilled as she rode, playing out the drama of the moment she met Lucas Droad in the flesh a dozen times in a dozen varied scenarios. What would he look like? He’d be old, but not as old as he should be. He’d fathered her in his late thirties with the then young, lovely Olivia. More than two decades had passed since then, but she figured with all the traveling he’d done between the stars he’d probably appear to be in his early forties still. Due to time dilation effects, he would have aged much more slowly than she had.
When she finally reached the spaceport, she found the ship was quarantined, as was often the case with rare unofficial visits from out-system. This quarantine was stricter than usual, due to the supposed imminent arrival of alien invaders. It was an understandable precaution, if a frustrating one. The only good thing was it gave her time to gather her knights at the gates of the spaceport. Her honor guard stood at attention behind her when the hatches were finally opened on the disappointingly small vessel.
A dozen other notables jockeyed for a spot in line when the Nexus officials finally allowed them into the ship’s landing pit. There was plenty of room, as it was built for much larger craft. Rather than dismount and be seen as grubbing with the other nobility, she sat her mount in front of her hundred knights calmly off to one side. The others cast doubtful glances at her. Some twittered, particularly the courtly girls from better families. They were future countesses and duchesses from the deepest valleys in Twilight. Their skins were fair and unscarred, as they’d grown up sheltered in the best climates and the least dangerous regions of the world. Nina ignored them. Let them gawk and whisper. She was above all that nonsense now. She led armies, rather than frittering about, creating digital sculptures to transmit to possible suitors.
The hatch finally opened, and yawned wide. It was oddly dark inside. A flashing of lights not unlike the arcing of a power-sword shone in the background. Could something be wrong with the ships lighting?
A wisp of vapor rolled out next. Dark and noisome, it caused those who stood closest to step back, holding their fine, patrician noses. This wasn’t encouraging either. Nina sat her mount sternly, however. The only hint of her concern was a growing frown upon her face.
The old knight Hans leaned close to her. “Are we certain this is a Nexus ship? Seems more like a smuggler’s scow.”
Nina ignored him and continued to stare. She did not want any distraction to prevent her from laying eyes on her father at his very first appearance.
Finally, a figure did appear at the top of the ramp. It was a male, unfamiliar, but distinctive. He was armed with a sheathed power-sword at his side, and his hand rested easily on the pommel. He had a shock of long black hair and an equally dark mustache that drooped at the corners of his mouth. The moment he saw the waiting crowd, he seemed to puff up a bit, pridefully. With a vague smile and watchful eyes, he swaggered forward and down the ramp.
The first man was followed by a woman. She looked attractive and capable. She wore a Nexus officer’s uniform and her hand hovered near her pistol. Whoever they were, these people seemed paranoid.
Nina, like the rest of the crowd, soon removed their attention from these two and turned her eyes back to the hatch. Surely, someone of importance was to emerge next. Neither of these two looked to be of high birth. Where was the diplomat, the official in charge of the mission?
Finally, a third figure did emerge. He was tall and thin. For a fleeting moment, Nina’s hopes were roused. Could this be her father? From a distance-but no, he could not be so gaunt. And the eyes-they were the shifting slits of a stranger. This third man to walk down the ramp appeared trepidatious and-odd. His hands fluttered at his sides, and-what was he doing now? Sniffing at the countess who greeted him with a traditional wreath of vines?
Nina’s eyes moved back to the hatchway, but no one else appeared. In fact, Nexus uniformed officials marched up to it and sealed it. They did more than that, they produced hand-welders and welded it shut.
She couldn’t contain herself any longer. She dismounted and marched into the milling, confused crowd. Her harsh manner and military dress caused others to give way, despite sneering at her.
Finally, she managed to make her way through the press of babbling nobility.
“So strange,” said one.
“Where is their lord?” asked another.
“Nexus people don’t have lords, Beatrice-only officials.”
“Such an odd smell!”
Finally reaching the red carpet, which was now being tread upon by everyone in a horrible breach of protocol, Nina confronted the rakish character with the dark mustache. He latched eyes upon her immediately and a slow smile spread over his features. “Who might you be, my dear?”
Nina frowned. “I’m Baroness Nina Droad. Who is your master? And where is he?”
“I’m Aldo Moreno,” he said, cocking his head. “And I regard no man as my master-no woman, either.”
“Well, please state your mission clearly. Are you three all that came aboard this ship? Why did the Nexus go to all the effort of sending three-people such as yourselves?”
Aldo nodded in appreciation. “Excellent questions. Much more intelligent than those posed by the rest of this crowd. I will show you.”
He escorted Nina back toward the ship. A Nexus official confronted them, but after identifying Nina and Aldo, he retreated quickly. They passed a velvet rope and walked under the ship itself.
“You see here?” Aldo said mildly. “This is where the breach occurred. They made their way up from the lower hold into the crew quarters very quickly.”
Nina gaped at what could only be described as a rip in the skin of the ship. It was in the lower cargo hatch, which would be a weak point in the hull.
“Who breached the ship?”
“Why, the aliens, of course.”
She stared at him. “They are real then? And they were chasing you?”
“Yes, and yes again.”
“What for?”
“Presumably, to prevent us from reaching Ignis Glace.”
Nina blinked and paused, absorbing this information. A foreboding sense overtook her. If they were capable of intercepting another ship at interstellar speeds-all the arrangements of the space defenses over her homeworld seemed suddenly insufficient.
“I’d understood them to be beasts, not technological wizards.”
“They are both, actually,” Aldo said mildly.
“What of the rest of the crew? There can’t be only three of you.”
Aldo nodded. “Right, well, there are only three survivors. It was a close thing, but we defeated the invaders.”
Nina’s heart went cold as the implications of what he was saying sank in. “Three survivors? Where are the rest?”
“The corpses of a dozen more are in the hold. Flash-frozen by the vacuum, I should think. We never ventured inside to check. But they are all quite dead, let me assure you.”
“Aldo, I must ask you this: what of my father?”
