Chapter 21

  “Let me begin by introducing myself. I am Bastian Montifered, appointed by His Excellency Emperor Leopold on behalf of the fourth Prince Fredrich. I have been given the job of delivering the nation’s thanks and clarifying any questions,” the ambassador spoke.

  “What does that title entail? Paledes doesn’t have a tradition of nobility, so while I can easily authorize the wearing of the foreign medal with the uniform, I am unsure how well we could respect the title.” Bastian nodded, as if he had expected this answer.

  “New Prussia is aware that few of our fellow League worlds share a similar structure. The ‘Baron of the Far Reach’ title was specifically designed for use by ship captains. New Prussia names the ship as the sovereign territory of the noble instead of land on its surface—in practical terms, this means we register them as diplomatic vessels with the League, subject to all the protections from search and seizures that entails.” He then gave me a stern but not unfriendly look to underscore the severity of his next statement. “This does, however, mean you are subject directly to the Emperor’s judgment if you are found to be misusing this privilege. The last time that occurred was a century ago, and the then-emperor solved it by having the captain tied over New Prussia’s flagship’s main cannons—I do believe it still holds the dubious distinction of being the largest weapon used by a firing squad in history.”

  I gulped and nodded my understanding. I had never intended to do anything illegal before, and I definitely wasn’t inclined to start any time soon. The ambassador nodded slowly. “Yes, that is a compromise we can definitely accept. We will go ahead and register the vessel.” Then the ambassador trailed off, and I realized she didn’t know the name of my ship or any of the circumstances of what was going on. Still, until someone in my chain of command asked for a report, I wasn’t going to break the Inteligencia’s cover of the operation.

  “It’s the Armed Transport Paladin, Ma’am.” She pulled out her Comm-D and began to make notes. “And what hull design was the Armed Transport based on?” I paused for a moment. “The original civilian hull? I’m not actually sure offhand. She’s a Longbow-class cruiser.”

  The ambassador stopped typing and looked at me. “You have a privately owned Longbow-class cruiser? How is that possible?” The envoy also looked interested. “I must admit, I am somewhat curious myself—the fourth prince wouldn’t share the story with anyone but his father, but he did mention that your ship and crew were impressive.”

  I shared the story of my final research project, about finding the Paladin derelict but salvageable and how my family’s business helped me get it fixed up. When I finished, Bastian let out a thoughtful noise. “That is a fascinating series of events—it may help explain the final two parts of my instructions, if I may?”

  He showed me his Comm-D, which appeared to contain the ownership papers. I nodded, and a moment later mine pinged with an incoming file.

  “The normal gift for a new baron of the reaches is a small personal yacht to count as the new noble’s territory. The Emperor has, on the advice of his son, decided to forgo that this time and instead gift the new Baron Miles a Hussar-class assault shuttle.”

  I was shocked—the Hussar was New Prussia’s newest shuttle, designed for landing under fire. It sports an impressive level of armor and hardpoints for ground attack weapons, and it can land a light armored vehicle or thirty troopers in any environment. It was state-of-the-art, and a comparable model wouldn’t be on the civilian market for probably two decades.

  “Lastly, I would like you to come aboard and meet some people.” I looked over at the ambassador, who gave a subtle nod. “You’re seconded to the diplomatic core for the rest of the day. Please do as the envoy requests.” The meeting continued for another half hour as the ambassador and the envoy finalized the technical details.

  The Paladin was redesignated as an authorized auxiliary, as the Hussar was current military hardware being transferred from a foreign power our level of authorization wouldn’t allow us to have on board permanently. The change in status meant that the Paladin could be activated—like the Betty could—if the Militia was ever called upon, and we were legally bound to aid any Paledes ship or citizens found in distress, which was fine since it was something I would have ordered anyway.

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  The benefits of this status were well worth the extra responsibility. First, we could purchase smart rounds for the secondaries from Paledes manufacturers; and second, any services rendered by the Paladin to Paledes would count toward the service requirements for anyone on the crew—meaning that by doing government supply contracts such as the fighter carrying we had done in the past, and by providing assistance we would have provided anyway, the crew as a whole would get credit.

  The meeting broke up, and I agreed to meet the envoy at his ship in two hours. After he left, the ambassador turned to me. “Flight officer, I think you’d better explain to me exactly what happened with the fourth prince.” I straightened to attention. “Ma’am, I am more than willing to, but I need to review the seconding orders from the Militia and have you make it an official order—the Inteligencia is involved, Ma’am.”

  Fortunately, the ambassador did not take my need for clarification personally and gave me time to review the seconding orders. Everything was done properly, and for the time being the ambassador was my legal commanding officer. With that verified and the official written order given, I proceeded to give a full report on the raid on Uvilidey.

  When I finished, the ambassador spoke. “I understand why you didn’t mention this to anyone ahead of time; however, Paledes is not a League world. In the future, any involvement in major events such as this should be reported to the proper authorities so that we are not caught flat-footed again. This time it was a good surprise; next time it might not be.” I understood where she and the government were coming from—and she had a point. The League might be our ally and a major galactic power, but we were still independent. “Understood, Ma’am.”

  Seeing that I got the message, she went on, “I agree with the Inteligencia’s assessment on this one. I am going to classify this event; please inform your crew—I know they’ve kept it to themselves for now—that a reminder and an official government position won’t hurt. I would also expect Paledes O.N.I. to be sending a request for the details in the near future, so you may want to prepare the data.” With a promise that I would take care of both, she dismissed me from her office to go meet with the envoy.

  I retraced my steps back to the hangar; the flight crew had refilled the plasma core’s reaction mass. After a quick preflight check, I climbed into Betty’s cockpit and took off for the New Prussian ship. I called them, and their communications department directed me to a hangar bay amid the ships; a crewman then directed me to a landing spot near a Hussar shuttle.

  I landed and opened the cockpit. A whistle sounded, and a nearby speaker—not the ship’s PA—announced, “Baron Miles arriving.”

  The envoy was standing by politely, and behind him I saw two groups of individuals in what I assumed were New Prussian uniforms. On the left was a formation of twenty-five individuals, with two in front of them—all well-armed and with two kit bags each at their feet; on the right was a group of four in what looked like flight suits. The envoy first walked me over to the four individuals on the right.

  “These pilots have volunteered to join your household; the emperor has agreed to pay their salaries for the first five years.” We shook hands, and they introduced themselves. Lt. Kiara Grey and Ensign Leo Kent were the pilot and co-pilot of the Hussar, respectively. Lt. Harriata Carlson and Lt. Derek Grey both served as fighter pilots in the League Navy until recently.

  I thanked them for joining us before moving on to meet the other group. The two in front saluted in the League style, and I returned the salute. The envoy then introduced, “First Lieutenant Norman Conrad and Sgt. James Sherman.” I shook hands with them.

  “My lord, the 4th Fusiliers stand ready. The unit is newly assembled from volunteers from the Imperial Army who responded to the prince’s offer. None of us have worked together before, but we have all seen action in the League military and stand ready to serve as your household guard!” I nodded, and after a moment of hesitation, made my decision.

  Turning back to the envoy, I thanked him again, and he passed me all the official paperwork to go with my title and the medal, then left me to get organized. I was slightly overwhelmed. I looked at the pilots. “Lt. Carlson, can you fly a Panther?” she asked briskly.

  “Yes, my lord. My flight training was done in an equivalent League model from that era; Lt. Grey and I have been using the simulator to familiarize ourselves with the Panther and the two Hawkers we were told you had purchased,” I nodded. “Okay, you go ahead and fly the Betty back for me. I am going to ride with the 4th for this trip and help them get organized when we land.”

  “Yes, my lord!” With that, we all began to load up for the trip back to the Paladin.