"Your Grace, could you at least allow a brigade or two to hold the advanced position?" Maggie said, actually passing along the message in General Pemberton's own voice as well as words.

  Vicky reviewed this situation, then asked herself what Kris Longknife would do. Lieutenant Longknife would have led the charge. Admiral Longknife, wife and mother, would let Jack take the lead.

  "Okay. Fine, General, and yes, you, too, Admiral," Vicky said, giving Admiral Bolesław the stink eye, "I will travel with the middle brigade. Can we provide air cover?"

  "Several of the battleships have Ground Assault Craft. Some of them are actually working," said Admiral Bolesław with a grimace.

  Vicky knew that the GACs were left over from the Iteeche War ninety or so years ago. That any of them could still perform a drop mission and stay in the air was a major miracle.

  "Order them to drop so that they are over the space elevator landing when we are in range of any ground lasers. Also, see if any longboats can be armed and have them back up the Ground Attack Craft."

  "On it, Your Grace," Admiral Bolesław said, and moved to do it.

  "Maggie, do we have the station under our control?"

  "Yes, Your Grace."

  "Does the ground know we have control of this station?"

  "From the networks below that I am monitoring, there is no evidence that they do, Your Grace. It is one in the morning in Anhalt, and I would suspect that even those on duty are napping."

  "Captain Blue, where is the best place for you to observe and intervene in any anti-air defense or maybe even suppress an effort to shoot some ferries off the beanstalk?"

  The captain studied the overhead for a short minute, then focused on Vicky. "I should stay on the station. I'll also see what I can do about getting some jammers on the longboats that cover your landing. I may be able to put some bedazzlers and confusers on the ferries."

  "Do your best, Captain."

  "Aye, aye, Your Grace," Captain Blue said and retreated to his station at the sensor stations. Soon, several of the junior officers and petty officers were racing out to fulfill his orders.

  Vicky studied the screens and what they told her. She had Maggie expand the map of the palace to cover the route between it and the beanstalk. It took her only a moment to make up her mind.

  "Let us go calling on my father, the Emperor, and see whom we may surprise. Maggie, tell General Pemberton I wish to start loading ferries as quickly as possible. I also wish to board a ferry as soon as possible."

  "He says a platoon of armor and infantry fighting vehicles can be spared from the guard around the Victorious. You may advance to the ferry station when you wish."

  "Maggie, find the nice man who is standing in for my husband. Tell him it is show time."

  "He is informed. He will meet you on the pier."

  "Very good. Admiral, let's go pay or respects and fealty to the Emperor."

  17

  The drop down the beanstalk was much more comfortable this time than her last trip up. That trip had been anything but comfortable. This trip she spent most of the drop in the VIP lounge, sipping on an orange juice. Just an orange juice.

  Between these two rides, she'd learned several hard lessons, and one was to keep her mind unclouded.

  Still, with the lounge almost all hers except for a squad of armed and armored Marines, Admiral Bolesław, and General Pemberton, it was a much more pleasant ride than sharing a coffin with a recently murdered Marine general.

  Vicky had had several small air holes to breathe through then, but still, the scent of death and corruption was heavy in that confined space. Just thinking about it made her shiver.

  "Are you okay, Your Grace?" Admiral Bolesław asked.

  Vicky glanced down at her dress whites with the few battle ribbons she had acquired. The garish orange sash and starburst of the Order of St. Christopher, Star Leaper, has been awarded by her father for following Kris in her circumnavigation of the galaxy. Vicky sure didn’t shine like Kris.

  She did, however, have on the spidersilk undies that Kris had been kind enough to provide. She turned to Admiral Bolesław.

  "I was just thinking about how different my return is from my leaving." She paused before adding, "And how different this return is from the one my late and unlamented stepmother had planned for me."

  The admiral said nothing, just nodded. The general looked slightly puzzled, but also said nothing. He was a recent addition to her small court and was aware that there were things about the Grand Duchess that he was not included in.

  Halfway down the space elevator, the ferry did its flip and began decelerating at one gee. Vicky knew what to expect. She'd finished her drink before they got to the flip and waited until after it to ask for a refill.

  A good-looking sergeant was functioning as bartender when he wasn't doing sergeant things with his squad. Vicky settled for a soft drink to settle her stomach. She didn't want to encourage it to go acidic on her.

  Ten minutes before the first ferry was due to pull into the station, and twelve minutes before Vicky would arrive on the third ferry, they moved to their assigned vehicles. After serious consideration, Vicky asked Admiral Bolesław to share her armored infantry vehicle.

  On the vehicle deck, the two of them and her fake husband were taken to ten-wheeled vehicles that had been painted a solid green. No insignia, no numbers. No nothing.

  "General Pemberton?" Vicky asked.

  "We figured you'd choose one of those and we'd keep the rig you're in moving between those other nine to confuse anyone targeting you."

  Vicky eyed the Number 10, then headed for the one with a big Number 12 on it.

  "You don't want to be in one of those?" her stand-in husband, asked, pointing at the newly painted rigs.

  "I'll make you a deal. You can ride in any one of them. I'll ride in this one. We can talk about it when we get to the palace."

  The fellow grinned. It wasn't Mannie's lopsided grin that made his whole face crinkle and his eyes twinkle, but it was a delightful smile. "Far be it from me to doubt the paranoid wisdom of a Peterwald. You lead, I'll follow."

  The three of them boarded Number 12.

  General Pemberton chose to ride with the other mechanized infantry battalion.

  "Captain Blue reports that there are no activities at the air defense centers," Maggie informed them when they were four minutes from grounding. Now the ferry was traveling at a much slower speed. It could be easily picked off.

  "Maggie, thank Captain Blue for me," Vicky said.

  Maggie made no reply. There was no need in the moment of battle.

  "I have accessed the ferry station's central control room, Vicky," Maggie said. "There are only four men in it and they are playing a game of cards. From the dress of two of them, I think they are from the janitorial service."

  "So, the place isn't even getting cleaned," Seth said. "Wife, are you sure you want to have anything to do with ruling a place like this?"

  "My democratic husband," Vicky said, grinning, "you must keep in mind that I am an autocratic Peterwald and anyone who attempts to steal my toys is going to lose their fingers at least. Hand, if they're lucky. Head, most likely."

  "Oh, right, you are so kind and gentle in bed, I keep forgetting that you are one of those damn Peterwalds."

  "I love you, too," Vicky said, but could not suppress a grin. This was just the type of banter she would have been shooting back and forth with Mannie at a tense time like this.

  Of course, he would be in her bed.

  Vicky asked Maggie to give her a view of the command center, then a virtual tour of the station. A holographic screen appeared in the air in front of her, and she found herself looking at a 2D video monitor take from a security camera. The card game was barely in sight.

  Takes from other security cameras showed the station dead as a mausoleum on the day after Halloween. She found herself battling between two opposite feelings. Was there really a chance that she might race in, free her dad, then race out without any shots fired?

  The other thought was much bloodier and less optimistic. She remembered how her stepmother's assassins and kidnappers had murdered Captain Morgan and set Vicky up for a messy and bloody death.

  Of course, she'd managed to kill all her kidnappers. All it took was getting two of them busy raping her and she'd slit their throats. Talk about nightmares that could put a girl off sex for life!

  Still, Vicky had walked out of the place of her captivity, covered in blood. Their blood.

  No. Vicky could not assume anything about these Bowlingame bastards. They might be slipshod one second and viciously effective the next.

  The ferry came to rest, and Vicky found herself going nowhere.

  "Maggie, why aren't we moving?"

  "Your Grace, there are only two vehicular hatches on this ferry. But it gets more complicated as we try to leave the station. Although there are four large boulevards headed away from the station, there are only two decks in the station for vehicles to move over. Right now, the first two ferries are dismounting their brigades. Both have their armored vehicles turn right for the ramps that will take them to the south and west four-lane street."

  The computer paused for a moment, "General Pemberton is waiting to see if there will be space for your brigade to also exit to the right and head up the northern boulevard. A tank and an infantry fighting vehicle have just been released to attempt the wheeling turn after exiting."

  There was another pause. "Both fighting vehicles succeeded in staying clear of the other two column movements. We are now exiting the ferry."

  Which was not to say that they were actually moving.

  Vicky began to wish again that she'd put herself in the lead rig, but it was too late to change that. She did her best to stay poised and quiet.

  It was not easy.

  She took the time to check in with Maggie. "Have you launched any scout drones?"

  "All the Smart Metal we have has now been formed into small winged craft. They have examined the local area and are now expanding their coverage. The area around the space elevator station is very quiet. There have been a few people peeking through their windows. Not many, just a few."

  "And how have they taken to seeing tanks in the street?" Admiral Bolesław asked.

  "Without exception, Admiral, they take one peek, and do not risk another."

  "Do you know if there is any landline traffic?" Vicky asked.

  "I have inserted myself into the main telephone exchange. Not a single call has originated in this area."

  Vicky sighed. "Are my people so cowered that the sight of tanks in the street sends them scurrying for the cellars?"

  "Your Grace, it is a wise civilian who goes elsewhere when he sees strong men armed and on a mission."

  Vicky quirked an eyebrow at the admiral, but he said nothing more. Vicky reviewed the situation and came to the same conclusion. Without five brigades behind her, she'd likely go into hiding.

  Just as she had when she was running from her stepmother and her assassins.

  "Okay," Vicky said to the admiral. "You win that one on points."

  "Yes, Your Grace. You have become most wise," Admiral Bolesław said, with only a half-suppressed grin on his face.

  Vicky could stand the waiting quietly no more. "Maggie, what's the hold up?"

  "There is no hold up, Your Grace. Vehicles are exiting the ferry in two columns from each deck. They proceed to the exit ramp. At the bottom of that ramp, the two lanes become four and they move forward to fill up the boulevard. These heavy fighting vehicles cannot move too fast or they risk missing a turn or running into each other."

  "Thank you, Maggie," Vicky said, trying to sound as grateful as she could.

  Now the admiral did grin. "Patience, My Liege. Rome was not invaded in an hour."

  "If you'd said a day, I would have screamed."

  "Yes, Your Grace. I know that very well."

  "So, Admiral, you know me very well, huh?"

  "Yet you will always be a mysterious woman."

  Now it was Vicky's turn to grin. "Good save, Admiral."

  "My wife has taught me well," he answered.

  "Doubtlessly, I will teach Mannie well."

  "I'm sure he looks forward to many years of education."

  This banter might have continued much longer, but their armored car began to inch forward on its ten huge tires.

  "At last," Vicky breathed.

  "Don't expect too much too soon," Admiral Bolesław said. "There is a long line ahead of us and a lot of hard turns."

  He, of course, was correct. It took twenty minutes of inching forward and tight turns before the armored rig and its half squad of troopers picked up speed as it headed down the ramp and out onto the boulevard. There, it merged into four lanes of wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, tracked tanks, artillery, and rocket launchers. There were other rigs for the combat engineers and several large vans with red crosses on them.

  This was a fully capable, combined arms task force.

  "General Pemberton," Maggie reported, "is ordering 1st and 3rd Brigades to move toward and use the large, limited access highway to take the direct route to the palace. The 2nd and 4th Brigades will form battalion task forces, and each will cover a street running parallel to the main expressway. The 1st Brigade will detach a two-battalion task force to race ahead and occupy the grounds of the palace."

  Vicky considered the plan and found no fault with it, so she said nothing. Did Admiral Bolesław ever so slightly nod his approval?

  Was he approving the plan or her silence? That was a question best not asked.

  They began to move faster. Her 3rd Brigade found an opening and rolled onto the freeway. It spread out, blocking traffic in all the lanes. Only a handful of civilian trucks and cars collected behind them. Vicky knew it was three in the morning. Still, the lack of traffic was hard for her to fathom.

  How bad was commerce here, in her father's capital?

  Her task force picked up speed. Soon they were at the limit of the tanks, ninety kilometers an hour. Vicky wondered how much farther ahead of the main force the vanguard was.

  "General Pemberton has detached the infantry to speed ahead of the vanguard's tanks," Maggie reported. "They've been ordered to advance at one hundred and twenty kilometers an hour."

  Someone besides Vicky was worried about striking fast. She considered ordering her own infantry to maximum speed, but dropped it.

  She'd been ambushed along this stretch of highway when she arrived back from the circumnavigation. No doubt by some of her stepmother's thugs. Jack, Kris's husband, had also been attacked along this freeway, and they'd used anti-tank rockets that time.

  Today she sped along in a rig that was not only armored, but ready to shoot back.

  It was tempting to have someone pipe in the command net, to let her hear what was going on. It was a temptation she chose to forgo. General Pemberton commanded here, and she was a Grand Duchess under his protection. He had years in this business.

  With a sigh, she reminded herself that the Peterwalds had gotten themselves in this mess by ignoring the advice of people smarter and wiser than them. She had gotten this far by listening to such people and relying on them.

  She spent her time taking deep breaths and hunting for the words she should say when she greeted her dad. It would be complicated.

  She was a daughter. He was an emperor. Still, she commanded half an Empire and he appeared to barely be able to heat and light a few rooms in an otherwise abandoned palace.

  This meeting would be difficult.

  "Your Grace," Maggie said, her voice just barely above a whisper. "The advanced infantry battalion has arrived at the palace. They are deploying to search for the rooms that are warm."

  "Thank you, Maggie."

  Vicky found herself having to make herself breathe.

  "Your Grace, I regret to inform you that the rooms have been found and your father is not there. There are three elderly women. They say he was removed two days ago."

  "About the time we docked," Admiral Bolesław said softly.

  "Maggie," Vicky said. "Find me the address of all the Empress's uncles."

  A map appeared in the air before her with five large green areas. No doubt, they had quite fantastic ducal estates.

  "Which one belongs to the eldest uncle?"

  One turned red.

  "Maggie, pass this map along to General Pemberton. He may choose to redeploy his troops accordingly. As soon as I can verify the situation at the palace and talk to the Emperor's caretakers, I will advance as quickly as possible to the manse of the eldest uncle." Vicky eyed the map." "Do not assault any of the other ducal manors until I am outside the Duke of Wannsee's chateau."

  "Understood," Maggie said in General Pemberton's voice. "I will split 2nd and 4th Brigades between four of the targets. I will move a two-battalion task force from 1st Brigade toward the prime target. Second Brigade will remain with you."

  "Very good. Now, can my infantry vehicles accelerate to get me to the palace ASAP?"

  There was a pause as the general weighed her desires against his responsibility to her safety. Her desires won out. That, and the need to keep this invasion moving fast.

  "I am ordering the two infantry battalions in the 2nd Brigade to advance at the maximum safe speed."

  Vicky knew the order had been given before Maggie got a chance to report it. She was forced back into her seat as the speed jumped from 80 to 120 kilometers an hour.

  18

  Vicky sat in the gunner's seat as her armored vehicle slowly made its way onto the palace grounds. Through the gunner's armored bubble, she watched as her father's pride and joy came into view, bathed in moonlight.

  From the looks of it, it would have looked sad and pathetic even at high noon.

  Walls were half up. Some had fallen down, sending blocks tumbling, some in slabs of wall, some in shattered chunks of stone. Blocks of marble and granite lay scattered about, left wherever they had been when the workers walked away, likely demanding wages they had not been paid.

 

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