Chapter 1

Daira, 25 Shiaa, 4400 Orthodox Calendar
Saturday, 30 November 2013, Terran Standard Calendar
Daira, 25 Shiaa, year 1326 of the 97th Generation, Karinne Historical Reference Calendar
KMS Abarax, en route to coordinates CM117 212X-334Y-105Z, system designation Exile

Jason was not a fan of extended hyperspace travel.

They couldn't make the jump all at once, because the planet Aura named Exile was halfway across the galaxy. It would take nearly 47 minutes of continuous hyperspace travel to reach the planet, and none of them could have handled such a long journey in one stage. So, Sevi and the Abarax, carrying the Grand Duke Karinne, Meya and Myra, Aya, Shen, Ryn, Deri, Suri and 10 others of the Ducal Guard, First Lieutenant Kyva and 4 other Gladiator pilots along with their mecha to serve as major ground power in case of an emergency, and Chieftess Aura of the Exiled, made the journey in 15 stages of three minute jumps and a final two minute jump, with twenty minutes of rest between each jump. They were in a hurry to get there, but so much hyperspace exposure so fast was not worth the risk, that was something that was only done in emergencies. So, they were enduring long jumps, and then taking a break between so everyone could recover from the long jump. Jason spent the time between jumps getting updates from home, for they were still giving him regular hourly reports on repair status, and now interdictor status. The interdictor was now their utmost priority, even over getting their fleet back in fighting shape, so he wanted regular reports on how the construction was going.

Slowly. None of them had ever built one before, and they were having to build many of the components that it ran on from scratch. Myleena was all but living in Kosigi now, personally overseeing the construction of those components with her entire engineering team, except for Jyslin. Jyslin was staying at home, watching Rann and Danelle. Jyslin and the Marines often looked after each other's children, so Jyslin was more than happy to look after Myleena's daughter while she was busy. The interdictor would be done in about three weeks, and those were three weeks that Jason would barely sleep.

When not keeping track of what was going on back at home, Jason learned much about Exile from Aura. They sat in his cabin, him and her and five of his guards, as she showed them the city using images the Scimitar had taken when it landed, pointing out all the important landmarks. The city was built on the shore of their island on a terraced slope with a highly salty brine lake on one side and farmland and plantations of fruit-bearing and utilitarian trees on the other. There were three flat areas with very gentle slopes between them, and the larger buildings were constructed on the flat terraces while the gentle sloping land between them was populated by private dwellings. They had industry in their town, located at the top terrace near the Hall of Council, their government building, consisting of what automation they had, their small factory that made silver wire on one side and their mills on the other, both textile and grain grinding mills. All of their factories were powered by steam generated in copper boilers; the only metal resources the Exiled had were silver, copper, lead, and zinc, and none of them were sturdy enough for heavy industry. They had made due with the four metals they had, alloying the copper, lead, and zinc together to form a metal that, while nowhere near as sturdy and effective as steel, was nevertheless just sturdy enough to allow them to build a few things. There were hot springs at the top terrace and a large stream that bubbled out of the ground nearby and then flowed down to the sea, which served as their main source of fresh water and source of energy for several mills, which used waterwheels. They used large windmills for producing electricity, located on a high knob above their farms and plantations, and then their hand-made silver and copper wire spread it through their town along hand-cut and shaped poles. They utilized steam power, using massive boilers built using their alloy that was thick enough to contain the pressure, and that steam power was conducted through copper piping to drive machinery in their small factories, but instead of cutting down their forest to get the heat, they used their advanced knowledge of chemistry, mining elements out of the mountains and combining them to produce intense heat. They didn't have an abundance of metal resources, but their island was rich in many other elements like phosphorous, sulphur, and carbon, which was put to good use by their advanced knowledge of chemistry.

The island was very large, about half the size of the Japanese island of Kyushu, and could support a population of millions, but the Exiled remained in their one small area, leaving the rest of the island to nature. Their island had four active volcanoes on it and a very small yet rugged chain of mountains running from east to west across its center, effectively bisecting the island. There had been reports and rumors that the Gruug, their main competitors and enemies on the planet, had spread to their island on the northern side… but how, they had no idea. Aura said that the Gruug were primitive and violent, but Jason suspected it was possible, given the images he saw. The northern tip of their island was only about three days from the mainland in a canoe, only about sixty miles away. It was entirely possible that the primitive Gruug had built boats and settled the island. The city was built in a natural harbor, for there was a fourth, much steeper terrace that dropped down into the water, deep enough for the Scimitar to land and pull up to one of the wharves they'd built for their fishing vessels, which were as intricate as any one would see, sailing vessels utilizing electricity generated from fans on the masts. It had to be frustrating for them to have the knowledge to build steam-powered ships, but not having the resources to do it. Their copper-zinc-lead alloy was sturdy enough to use as a boiler, but only when it was so thick that the weight made it impractical to use on a ship.

After Aura showed them the island, she discussed her people with him. She explained that, like any Faey anywhere, they couldn't be grouped together. She was sure that most of the Exiled would want to return to Karis, but there would be some that wouldn't entirely be enthusiastic about it. Some would go only because of their spouse, some would go only to fear being left behind, and there would be some that would absolutely refuse to leave their home. Those called themselves Exiled, but to them it was just an empty title. Their world was their home, and they would not leave it. Jason and Aura discussed what they would do for those who left behind, since Jason had no intention of just leaving them to fate. There were supplies to be left behind, and the main ones would be industrial replicators capable of replicating titanium and heavier elements that they could use to build machines and equipment that had previously been denied them. Other equipment would be given to them, but out of protection for his own people, nothing that was Karinne technology. There would be no singularity power plants, no pulse weapons, no interfaces, nothing of the sort. They would be left with Faey technology, not Karinne technology, all of it stock Imperium equipment, bought right off the shelves. They would leave them a threaded hyperspace communicator that would let them communicate in real time between Exile and Karis, hoverpods to move heavy equipment, farming equipment, water reclamation equipment, replicators, medical equipment, basic equipment that a colonizing ship might need. And they would also be left weaponry. They would be left not with MPACs or the inferior hot plasma weapons, but with railguns, since they'd have a replicator on hand to manufacture unlimited ammunition for them. Railguns were actually rather low-tech as tech went, they were just an ingenious adaptation of that low tech to match higher tech weaponry. Jason was willing to supply them, but he could not leave them anything that could be captured and used against the house. They could have no technology that Karinne protected, nothing that anyone could not get by walking into a store on any Imperial planet and buying, except the railguns. They would also be left 20 Karinnes that would train them in using the new equipment, who would stay for three months before returning to Karis, and then those who remained at Exile would basically be on their own. Exile was too far for the KMS to quickly respond if they were attacked, and Jason would make sure to impress that fact on them. If they called for help, that help would not arrive for nearly 67 minutes, given eight 6 minute jumps, the longest jump time usually permitted to Faey, with just a couple of minutes of rest between them. For those 67 minutes, they were on their own.

But there was only so much they could go over before they had everything covered. They were in their last rest cycle before jumping again, and it was only natural for them to drift into personal conversation. Aura had already met Jason's family and seen his friends and his life, but she had more questions, some of them quite insightful. So, you have a wife, an amu dozei, and an amu dorai, but you have five children by neither your amu dozei or amu dorai?

Yeah. Before we found Rahne, everyone thought that I was the last human descendent of the Karinne nobles. The girls didn't like that, they felt that one accident would make my line extinct. So, they baked up this harebrained scheme to give me children from multiple mothers, to protect my line. I have five kids, Aura. Rann is the oldest and is the heir, then there's Kyri, the daughter of Yana. Then there's Aran, the son of Maya. Then there's Sora, the daughter of Zora. And my youngest is Zach, the son of me and Ilia. I admit I wasn't too happy with their plan, but I can't deny that I'm not ecstatic with the result. I love my children more than life itself.

I remember them from the dinner, she mused. The one with green hair was Aran, yes?

That's him, though it's been darkening lately. My son Rann, he was born with orange hair, then it turned red, and now it's slowly turning blond. I wish it'd make up its mind, he sent with an audible chuckle. What about you?

Well, I was married and had a child, but they walk with Trelle now, she told him.

I'm sorry.

It was years ago, she told him, a little dismissively. Since then, my duty to my people has made it hard for me to devote myself to the family life. How many Karinnes–true Karinnes–are there left?

Well, if we include the Exiled, there's about two thousand, he answered. We've been tracing bloodlines to find the descendents of the Karinnes still in the Imperium, those whose ancestors married into other houses, and we're trying to reconstitute the blood descendents. But they don't have any special place in the house, he warned. The descendents of Karinnes are the equal to those we've invited into the house when we first reclaimed it and started working to repopulate Karis. It doesn't even mean very much to have a noble title in the house, he chuckled. Our nobles roll up their sleeves and work, probably even harder than the commoners. I'd expect nothing less from them.

It is the duty of the rulers to provide for the needs of the ruled, she nodded in agreement.

Well, we tend to let the house members rule themselves, he told her. Every city has a mayor and town council, and we let them basically run things. Each city handles its own affairs, taking care of the small things and the things that matter to them. They only bring the important things to the Ducal government, and it's us that also deal with the unclaimed land, planetwide changes in status like marriage permits, hovercar licenses, and birth certificates and such, and the central government provides power and water to all cities. Outside of that, the other main duty of the Ducal government is defense.

How do you pay for everything?

Well, on the planet itself we don't really have to pay for anything, he answered. The Ducal government operates outside of money. When something is needed, we supply it. If something needs to be built, we build it. Outside of that, where we do need money, we have three main sources. First, we have the Academy. It does turn a profit, and half of those profits go to the house while the other half goes to the Academy for expansion. The second source is through the contract with have with House Suralle for farming Terra. The contract actually favors Suralle heavily, they get the lion's share of the profits, but it's a good contract for us in that all the responsibility is also on the Suralles. Third, well, let's just say that the house is heavily involved in commerce. We don't tax our citizens, instead we make our money through wise investments and selling goods produced by the house's manufacturing companies. One of our biggest sellers is precious metals like iridium, tungsten, silver, and copper. We have replicators that can make them where the Imperium doesn't, so we replicate the metals and sell them on the metals market under a front mining company. The Ducal government also manufactures and sells some common household appliances in the Imperium from factories on Karis, then we filter it into the Imperium through Terra. We actually do a pretty good business, since Karinne technology lets us manufacture faster and cheaper than most of our competitors.

You sell Karinne technology?

He shook his head. We make what you'd find anywhere in the Imperium, we can just do it better and cheaper. We sell under several brand names, Vultech being the biggest one. So, Karinne makes most of its money off good old fashioned capitalism. The Academy and our contract with the Suralles is guaranteed low return income, where our business ventures are our primary source of income. We pay for everything literally by selling copper and tungsten, cutting knives, house cleaning robots, and a type of sonic generator that drives insects away from a back yard so you're not bothered with pests. Those are our three biggest manufactured products.

Clever.

Thank you. Karinnes were always good at science, so now the house uses that bent to make its money. Oh, how the Trefanis hate us, he laughed.

Who are they?

He didn't have to explain the structure of the nobles houses of the Siann to her, since that was part of the education she received from her ancestors and it was all still viable, so he explained what some of the nobles houses were up to. He told her about the ambitions of the Highborn houses, particularly the Shovalles now that the Trillanes were completely crushed, and the unique aspects of some of the lesser houses, like the Trefanis, who all but owned all organized crime in the Imperium. He explained how the Karinnes danced around the Trefani stranglehold on non-noble commercial shipping due to the utter fear the Trefanis had of Jason, fearful that he would turn his creative mind to ways to disrupt their criminal enterprises, of which he had almost traitorous knowledge. The Trefanis knew that somehow, the Karinne Grand Duke had way too much knowledge of their schemes and plans for him not to have a spy somewhere in their organization, and that knowledge of their operations made them give him a wide berth. He exercised that power by chasing them away from Karinne-backed businesses, preventing them from taking their pound of flesh from his house through their control of so many aspects of general business and commerce. The Trefanis had their claws in the spheres of cargo transport through non-noble companies, mercenaries, illegal arms sales, and they owned the black market of inter-civilization trading, and through that, had a great deal of control over the legitimate trade that passed between the Imperium and its neighbors. The Trefanis controlled both the normal markets and the black markets with the Skaa and the Alliance, where they controlled the food and raw materials bartering between the governments on the surface while goods and technology were bought, sold, and moved in back room deals. It was jokingly said that in order to get a bottle of Bari-Bari juya wine, one should just give half the shelf price to the Trefanis. That wouldn't be an incorrect saying. The Trefanis were the most powerful of the lesser houses, and more powerful than about half the Highborn houses, but they actually preferred staying in the background. They made much more money controlling the shadows than they ever would walking the lit path.

Ah. We don't have that problem. We use favor at home.

Favor?

Favor. Ours is a barter economy. We trade goods or services with others for what we need. A woman's wealth is measured by how many favor slips she has collected from others, promises to do a service or promise of goods. She who is owed the most is the wealthiest.

Well, that would work for a small society like yours. What happens to the poor?

No one is poor, she told him. Any woman can pick up a hammer and swing it, and so she always has something to barter for the goods she needs.

True. I hope your people can adapt to the idea of money.

We understand the concept. It will be new, though. So much will be new, but I am looking forward to learning.

We'll enjoy teaching you.

She looked him up and down. Why did they put you in that armored suit when it takes us so long to get there? she asked, sending privately.

You are, he answered honestly, also privately. Aya will never let me leave the house unarmored if I'm not completely safe, and she considers you a security risk.

Really! she huffed, offended.

Aura, Aya considered the Empress a security risk, he sent bluntly. Aya does not like me out of armor unless she has complete control of my environment and is absolutely sure I'm safe. When I took the Empress home just before you arrived, I was in armor, even though I never left the ship.

Well, I guess I can forgive your guard captain if she is always so careful.

She's worse than a nanny, Jason complained.

I'm sure she'll love hearing that, Dera teased. Dera was like Symone, capable of hearing private sending, and her skill was one of the reasons why she was with them for this trip. Dera would pick through all the private sending to ensure nobody was planning anything underhanded.

If she finds out, I know who to spank, Jason shot back privately at her, which made her giggle silently. Anyway, look at the situation I'm about to enter from Aya's perspective. An alien world filled with unknown Faey who might not like me swooping in and destroying the entire society you've built over the last thousand years. As to her putting me in it when we left, well, it's how she makes sure I stay in it. And it's also how she tells me to be careful. Any time she makes me armor up before I even get out of my house, it keeps me on my toes.

That would focus you on the task at hand, she agreed, then she started sending openly again. How much will my people be allowed to bring?

Anything but heavy equipment, I'd reckon, Jason answered, scratching his cheek. They won't need anything big, but we'll have plenty of room for all your people's possessions. This is big ship, Aura. It has plenty of room.

I can almost not believe how big it is, she told him, her disbelief at seeing the ship for the first time bleeding into her thought.

This one isn't the biggest. The Aegis is nearly five times bigger than the Abarax. I would have sent it or one of the heavy battleships, but they're all in spacedock being repaired. This is the biggest ship I have right now that's functional, and it'll be put in for repairs when we get home. Besides, if this ship isn't enough, we have a task force with us. They'll have extra room, just in case.

And for extra protection.

The Grand Duke wanted to come with three ships, Aya sent, a little accusingly. After what happened at Karis, the Grand Duke isn't going anywhere without a task force to protect him.

All sections report jump readiness! an open sending boomed through the ship.

Time to strap in, your Grace, Aya called. This is our last jump and then we're there.

Thank God, Jason grunted as he and Aura got up and went to the secured chairs. Jason's backplate of his armor sealed with his chair, immobilizing him, while Aya and Shen helped Aura strap into her chair. They locked themselves down as well, and Aya nodded to Ryn. The Ducal party is secure and ready to jump, Ryn called over the sending chatter as sections reported in to the bridge.

I do understand your aversion to this travel, Aura sent openly as she took a deep breath. It's like being poisoned by a mindwrack snake.

I'd give my hair to the person that invents a way to jump hyperspace without the effects, Jason grunted as he leaned his head back against the headrest.

Thirty seconds to jump! the first officer's sending called.

Be glad you're not a Marine, then, Shen told them. Hyperspace training is mandatory for them. They have to be able to handle a six minute hyperspace jump.

Well, they're braver than I am, Jason replied, which made the guards grin at him.

He hated jumping. He kept his eyes tightly shut and tried his best to ignore the cacophony of sounds and smells, even the sensations that rippled through his body, as his three-dimensional senses tried to decipher multi-dimensional space, and failed miserably. It went on, and on, and on, feeling like it was taking forever, and for an irrational moment he had this terrifying flash of being trapped in hyperspace, being driven mad by the environment. Two minutes in hyperspace was an eternity, and not even gripping the hands in his gauntlets into fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked registered to him.

And then, after an eternity, it was over. The sounds snapped away, and he felt normal again, if a little disoriented. He opened his eyes and felt his senses try to realign themselves, saw the room swim to his eyes, and then everything came back into focus as his mind cleared. He had his gestalt release him from his chair even as he reached out for the glass on the table across the cabin. It rose up from the table and floated over to him quickly and effortlessly, and he grabbed it in his gauntleted hands and took a deep, cleansing drink, getting a sandy taste out of his mouth that had persisted through most of the jump.

I cannot get used to seeing that, Aura told him.

You actually won't see it often, he answered. I don't practice often enough to suit my teacher.

Who is your teacher?

I can't tell you. She keeps her talent a secret.

Ah. Well, I can respect that. She gave him a curious, sidelong look, her gold hair tilting with her head. You keep many secrets, don't you?

Way too many, he answered honestly, going over to the table and opening the sliding shields on the port windows. Aura's planet, blue and green and white, filled the window, some twenty or so thousand miles ahead. As was normal, they had to jump outside the planet's gravity well and travel to it, which would take about a half an hour. The bow of the Aurora, one of two destroyers assigned as primary escort to the Abarax, was just visible at the edge of the window, slowly sliding into view as it took a lead position in front of the heavy cruiser. The destroyer had a nasty black scar on its flank, starting right at the bow and extending nearly sixty feet, and there was a rough scar that looked worse than it really was in its amidships, from where debris had struck it and bounced off, debris from a Consortium vessel that had tried to ram but had been destroyed. The destroyer couldn't get out of the way of the debris fan, and had been struck by a sizable piece. The Veriven, named for a past Empress, ghosted into view on the right, and it had a series of patches on its bow, impacts from a torsion weapon, but was otherwise remarkably undamaged.

Evidence of the ferocity of the battle that had taken place just days ago.

There were 14 other KMS vessels behind them, cruisers and destroyers that were part of the task force to defend the Grand Duke Karinne while he visited Exile, with the Abarax serving as the flagship of the formation. Jason had originally scoffed at the idea of mobilizing every single ship that could function, but both Aya and Myri flatly told him that he was too important not to go around without all the protection they could give him. Aya almost didn't let him come because she didn't think they had enough ships, but Jason had talked her into it.

Jason looked at the planet, and was amazed at how much like Earth and Draconis it looked. This, he realized, would be an outstanding planet to claim for House Karinne. It was all by itself way out in the galaxy, known only to Karinne and to the Consortium, and it was an arable planet, a farming powerhouse. There was no technologically dominant race on the planet, just the Gruug, which he could probably approach and offer to accept into the house if they wished it. With Exile as a base of operations, Karinne could claim the planet as their own. They'd just need a Stargate and some planetary defense systems.

That would have to wait, though. Right now, protecting House Karinne and Karis took priority. They could come claim this planet after the threat of the Consortium had been neutralized.

That's your planet, Aura, he told her as she came to the window and looked out, her eyes wondrous.

No longer. My home is now the home of our ancestors, she sent strongly. I'm just here to bring my people home.

Jason put his gauntleted hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and smiled. Well, to be honest about it, I look at Exile as the newest world belonging to House Karinne. Your planet is rich and beautiful, Aura. I think I'm going to secure it for the house. I can put a Stargate right over there, and we can build a nice little colony on your island, as well as a few other continents. This planet would be an excellent farming colony.

You think so?

Oh, yes. Arable planets with a climate like this are very rare in the galaxy. And nobody else is around to claim it. So why not us?

Why not indeed? she smiled. How long would it take you to claim this planet?

Well, it won't be immediate. We're way too busy right now recovering from the Consortium attack, there are too many things for us to do. But in a couple of years, when we get a Stargate built, we can put it here that gives us immediate access to the planet. When we do that, we can move in and claim it for ourselves.

That sounds wonderful. My people who remain behind will truly come to be part of the house. How long until we arrive at the planet?

Probably about a half hour, but lemme check. He expanded his sending to reach the bridge. Sevi, how long until we're in orbit?

About twenty minutes, your Grace. I've already got the landing bay preparing your dropship. You can go there at your leisure.

Thanks, Sevi. Do your people know you're coming back?

Of course they do, Aura told him. Mistresses Meya and Myra promised my people to have me back within five days.

I hope they're ready, Jason noted. That they don't think you vanished forever or something.

Many were very excited about our return, she told him. I'm sure that they'll be ready.

I just hope we can convince them, Jason sent uncertainly.

You are a silver-tongued devil, as the Terrans say, your Grace, Ryn sent cheekily. I've seen you charm your way into anything you want.

Those are Faey I know and understand, Jason returned. The Exiled are very different.

They still know a handsome face and a warm smile when they see it, Dera told him. Just be yourself, your Grace. It gets you very far with Faey.

Yes, like into the Empress' bed, Shen sent with a teasing grin. How much further could he go?

I'm about to make you walk home, Shen, Jason threatened, looking back at her.

I wish I could have met the Empress, Aura sent. I would like to meet this woman that is your amu dorai and take measure of her.

Why?

A man can be measured by the women who woo him into their bed, she answered. It's often a window into his mind.

Jason laughed. Please don't hold Symone against me.

Against you? Symone is a wonderful woman, you could do much worse than her. She is earnest, fun-loving, charismatic, and kind. She is an ideal amu dozei.

Thank you for seeing what I see in her, he sent with a smile. And why are you trying to look into my mind, hmm? he asked with a playful undertone.

I'm about to place the safety and well being of my people in your hands, Grand Duke Karinne, she told him seriously. I would be a poor leader of my people if I didn't try to learn everything about you I can.

I can't argue with that, he agreed after a second's thought. Am I passing the test so far?

So far, she answered with a smile. So, when will you make the Empress an amu dozei?

Well, that's not really my choice, now, is it? he answered, a trifle uncomfortably. That's an issue between Jyslin and Kellin, not me and Dahnai.

Oh, your Grace, your Grace, your presence is required in the landing bay so we can fall down and worship you, Myra sent tauntingly.

Woman, you'd better hide by the time I get there, he warned. Better yet, I think I'll leave you behind. I can turn Exile into the place I send all the troublemakers.

Why Jason, if you did that, you'd be the first one you'd have to banish here, Meya sent lightly.

I think someone wants to keep her sister company.

Sevi owes me too many favors to leave me behind, Meya teased.

I'll just threaten to take her off the Abarax, Jason sent with a sly twist. She loves this ship more than she owes you, Meya.

Damn you, evil man, Meya laughingly sent in response.

Of course I'm evil. Look at who keeps me company.

It's so nice to be appreciated, Aya sent dryly. Now let's move along, your Grace. You can make empty threats when you're in the landing bay. I want to get you on the dropship so we can launch as soon as we're in orbit.

Bully.

Always.

They went down to the main landing bay, where a wingless dropship had its rear hatch open, and Ducal guards running all over the place. The dropship and two Raptors were preparing to depart, along with a single Gladiator wearing an external harness that would let the mecha fly with more speed and control than they usually had. Gladiators were capable of flight, though not very fast and very clumsy in the air, but for something like a landing on a planet from an orbiting ship, they didn't have enough control to descend safely. The harness looked like a giant backpack containing a gravometric engine with short, stubby wings over the shoulders. When attached, the external engine was the one that produced the flight power while the engines in the mecha concentrated on stability and flight control, which stabilized the mecha in flight and made it controllable at high speeds. Myleena had built the external flight harness a year ago for the Gladiators for making planetary landings without a mecha dropship, and it had been tested, but they had never had any reason to use one of them until today. Today, a Gladiator would be making the first non-test descent to a planet, and there was no better Gladiator pilot to do the drop than Kyva. Meya and Myra were standing by the ramp talking to her. She had a golden phoenix on the shoulders of her armor, the emblem that she had been awarded the Ducal Medal of the Champion, the highest award a member of the KMS could receive. It was just outside her Lieutenant's insignia, and would forever be a part of her military rank. Why the war machines? Aura asked.

Protection, Aya answered. They may be our people, but you know the history of our people, probably better than most Faey. I want more than enough on hand to protect the Grand Duke in case someone attacks him.

You worry too much, Mistress Aya, Aura sent dismissively. Do you really think we would attack those we have waited for for over a thousand years?

I take no chances with his Grace's well being. Empress Dahnai would slaughter me, she sent forcefully. Let's get moving here, ladies! I want the Grand Duke on his way as soon as we're in stable orbit!

Jason kissed Kyva on the cheek on the way into the dropship in greeting, then went in and took his proper seat in the pilot's chair. Aya seated the copilot's chair, and Dera and Aura sat in the chairs behind them. He started the engines and got the dropship ready to take off with practiced ease. Is everyone aboard? he called, his mind ready to raise the stern ramp.

Hold up, I'm almost there, Myra called. He looked through the rearview camera, which pointed down the ramp, and saw her rushing up into the dropship. She closed the ramp herself using her interface, then hurried out of the camera's view. Stern ramp closing, and we're all in.

Sevi, the dropship is ready to go. He used his gestalt to contact the controller through gravband. [Abarax control, this is Karinne One, ready for departure.]

[Understood, your Grace, we're three minutes from orbit,] came the controller's response, translated into communion by his gestalt

"Everyone get locked in back there!" Jason called over his shoulder. Kyva, stop playing around and saddle up, he sent to the Gladiator pilot, who was standing by the leg of her mecha. I swear, woman, two days and those bars are already going to your head.

I am going to get you for promoting me, she sent in retort, a bit indignantly, as she put on her helmet and then floated up to the chest of her mecha using the flight engines in her Crusader armor. They want to give me command of a squad of Gladiators!

You'd do very well at it, he told her as she locked herself in place, and then the heavily armored chestpieces of the unit folded over her, all but entombing her inside. Jason had piloted that very same mecha, and he knew what it was like in there, the pilot literally could not move, literally encased in a heavily armored box inside the chest, the most heavily armored part of the mecha in order to protect the pilot from injury. The mecha was flown using the interface, it did not even have manual controls. While Kyva piloted the device, she literally was the mecha. Her mind moved it the same way it moved her own body, with the same grace and agility. Unfortunately an interface could only transmit such things, not receive, so she still had to rely on her eyes and ears for sensory information during combat, all presented to her on a heads-up display transmitted into the visor of her Crusader armor, a display she controlled utterly by interface, letting her see anything around her mecha she wanted at any time. But still, even with that, any ship or mecha piloted by interface could outperform anything controlled manually. You're nasty enough by yourself. Put five other of my best Gladiator pilots with you, and that's one nasty fighting squad that would scare the piss out of any enemy. Actually, I like that idea. I'll talk to Sioa about it when I get back. I'll have all your Gladiators painted black, so the enemy knows they're about to die.

That's asking for trouble, your Grace, Kyva sent mirthfully. If you build a squad full of aces, you're just concentrating the estrogen.

Pft. I'd also have a crack ground squad that could do anything.

Flatterer.

You know it. I'll call you Karinne's Baddest Bitches.

Well, I do like that name, Kyva mused, which made Jason laugh.

[Karinne One, Control.]

[Control, Karinne One, go ahead.]

[You're cleared to depart, your Grace. The lane is loose.]

[Understood. We'll be taking off in just a second.]

[Be aware that heavy mounts will be tracking you down.]

[Understood,] he said, having the computer take friendly computer locks off the alert, so the computer didn't go nuts when his own ship locked weapons on him as a means of tracking him and keeping their weapons focused on his area. If he was attacked, the weapons would immediately switch targets and be able to fire almost immediately. The engines gave that high-pitched whine as they were brought up to power, and then settled into a soft hum. Sound off when ready to move, he sent through the landing bay.

Gladiator One ready, Kyva called.

Raptor One ready.

Raptor Two ready, the two fighter pilots answered.

Follow me down, ladies, Jason told them. [Control, Karinne One. We're departing now.]

[Trelle be with you, Karinne One.]

With practiced ease, Jason lifted the dropship off from the deck. The two fighters and the Gladiator also rose up from the deck, and they followed the ship through the airskin shield that prevented the landing bay from decompressing. Jason followed the vector supplied by the dropship, through his gestalt, then the five craft entered an entry vector that would bring them down through the planet's atmosphere at a speed that was slow enough to prevent heating but fast enough to get them down in about twenty minutes. Aura, we'll be coming down out to sea and approaching at sea level. As soon as we're in range, you need to warn your people that we're coming, and not to panic when they see the Gladiator. Make sure to tell them it's there just as my escort.

I'll make sure of it.

They made a nice controlled descent down into the blue sky of the planet, and while they did so Jason kept an eye on the Gladiator. Kyva did a perfect job of flying the unit out of her normal element, flying along with them at Mach 4 and rock solid in the formation, bringing up the rear as the Raptors flanked the dropship. The flight harness looked to be another Myleena success, and it opened the doors for the Gladiators to be used in an entirely different manner. With those harnesses, Jason could even see them used in space as fightercraft, landing on the enemy ships and wreaking havoc. After all, in space, there was no air resistance, and the engine in that external harness would give the Gladiator speed and agility. They leveled out about twenty miles from the island and then turned towards it and slowed down, to give Aura a chance to contact her people without them coming up on them too fast. At about seven miles out, Aura received a reply from her continuous sendings. Seven miles, that wasn't bad, they had some strong telepaths. Chieftess, we are so happy to hear from you! Did they bring you back? a female replied.

Orri, yes! The Grand Duke Karinne himself has come! Tell everyone that they are bringing flying machines to Exile, and not to worry. Just to warn you, one is in the shape of a giant Faey, it is one of their land defense machines.

Why did they bring such weapons?

Just as a precaution. They were attacked by those who attacked our ancestors, so they are keeping protection with the Grand Duke.

Ah. Understandable, but it worries me that they might bring our ancient foes back here.

Orri, we are leaving Exile. We are going home!

Not everyone wants to leave, Chieftess.

We'll discuss that when we get there. We should appear over the sea any time now. Please tell everyone that they should send to our guests, their spoken dialect is different from ours..

I'll pass the word.

Jason slowed them down to a crawl as they approached the island. The city of Exile was exactly the same as the images the twins took of it, a nice town with buildings made from stone and whitewashed wood with white tile roofs to reflect the sub-tropical heat, a sea of white nestled in green trees that looked like a cross between palms and willows, rising up in three distinct terraces from a blue sea with about fifty sailing ships. Each house had a flat tilted roof that pointed downhill, where gutters poured rainwater into cisterns at the corners of each house, and every house had a small garden behind it. Jason saw an open area on the middle terrace, some kind of park or square, so he slowly swung out over the town of about a thousand Faey, then gently and slowly set the dropship down. When the ship was fully settled, he shut down the engines as Aya ordered the guards to prepare to disembark. The Faey of Exile were surrounding the four ship, flinching and backing up a couple of steps when Kyva shifted the Gladiator to face the dropship; she would remain within the Gladiator. Aura hurried out into the large hold of the dropship as the stern ramp was lowered, then she hurried past them and down into town, hurrying towards several Faey wearing white robes, where most of the Faey were wearing wraps around their torsos with only one sleeve… and some men and women went topless in the summer heat as quite a few of them were completely nude, mainly the younger ones. These Faey had the same concepts of modesty as the rest of the Faey.

That was an important signal to him. These may be Faey who had lived in isolation for a thousand years, but they were still Faey. They had clung to their beliefs and culture, but not Imperial culture, Karinne culture. That was an important distinction. The guards filed out as the Raptor pilots opened their canopies, and Aura greeted her people by touching hands, kissing cheeks, and sending strongly enough to overpower all the chatter going on around them, almost a cacophony to his mind. She was reassuring her people, telling them that the Grand Duke Karinne had come, and she was sure to warn them that their new Grand Duke was not entirely Faey, only part Faey, but he was the one to which the fabled living computer gave homage.

It's safe to come down, your Grace, Aya told him from outside, while Shen, Ryn, Dera, and Suri stayed with him. Meya and Myra joined him as he walked down the ramp and was gawked at by several hundred faces, since he didn't have his helmet on and they could see his human face. He heard quite a few sendings commenting on his strange pink color and round ears, but also picked up quite a few comments on how handsome he was from the women. Even the Exiled considered him attractive. Jason was escorted by the six women as he stepped out onto a grassy lawn in the center of the city, a city that had stone streets that looked like cement, power poles with electrical wires running along streets, and carts being pulled by huge bipedal bird-like creatures, the Exiled's beasts of burden. He could see the factories with their hundred-foot tall stacks wafting out steam and smoke from their chemically-induced fires that generated steam for them, and he could see a small waterfall towards the lake which was the stream as it tumbled from the top terrace down to the middle terrace.

Jason drew up his thoughts as he stopped, then sent openly with enough power to cover the entire town. I am the Grand Duke Jason Augustus Fox Shaddale Karinne, he told them. I, like you, am a long-lost child of the house, descended from the line of Sora Karinne, the product of my noble line and the indigenous race on the planet to which my ancestors fled after the Third Civil War and the destruction of our house. But we are lost and destroyed no longer. The House has been reformed, and even now, we scour the galaxy searching for the lost children of Karinne. On behalf of the house, I bid you greetings, give you my joy in finding more of the scattered remnants of Karinne, and I welcome you, our long-lost kin, back into the House if that is what you desire.

As I'm sure Countesses Meya and Myra told you when they left, I have come here to offer you a chance to end your exile and return to Karis. We will welcome you with open arms and allow you to take your place among us. But, if leaving what you have built here is more than you can bear, we do understand. It's hard to leave everything you've ever known for an uncertain future. As my own ancestors can attest, sometimes what you are forced to call home eventually becomes home, and you may not want to leave it. So, for those who wish to go home to Karinne, we will welcome you. Those who wish to remain here, we will help you. No matter what you choose, know that House Karinne will do its best to see that you are happy.

So, that's it. The truth. I know I'm not exactly what you expected to see in a Grand Duke. I'm not even fully Faey, he smiled. But, I am a Karinne. I know my heritage, and I work to restore many of the Karinne ideals.

People of Exile, Aura sent strongly, let us welcome our long-lost kin to our homes. Everyone, please, consider this day a day of rest and celebration while the council and the Grand Duke meet to discuss his offer to take us home. And everyone, please, think about what you want to do. Think about it carefully. If you wish to stay here, the Grand Duke has agreed to leave us machines to make our lives easier and a means to communicate with Karis. If you wish to return to Karis, he has already built us homes and has our kin waiting to show us the wonders of which we have only read and dreamed. So consider what it is you wish to do.

If we don't like it there, can we come back? someone sent.

Jason smiled. You may have to wait a while, but yes, if you really, really want to come back here, I'll make sure it happens. You deserve a choice, and you also deserve the right to change your mind. So, if you go and decide you want to come home, you may. If you stay and later decide you'd like to go to Karis, we'd be happy to help you move. Just keep in mind that it's a very long way to Karis from here, so if you decide to move back or forth, you may have to wait a while until a ship is coming here, and then make the journey. And, understand one thing. Just as our ancestors did, we guard technology the rest of the universe hasn't yet attained. If you decide to stay, and you learn the secrets of the Karinne technology through training or education, you can't come back here. You'll be a permanent part of House Karinne and sworn to keep those secrets from both friend and foe alike. So please don't think you can run back and forth between Karis and Exile whenever the mood strikes you. It's a choice you should carefully consider, just as your Chieftess has suggested.

We'll discuss this in more detail at a meeting of council, and the councilors can tell you what was discussed, Aura sent. Your Grace, if you'd follow us, we'll retire to the council building.

Jason turned. Kyva, wait here. You'll knock down all their wires if you try to walk around.

I'd rather stay close to you, your Grace. I can't protect you from here.

I have the others for that. Just protect the ships.

Alright, your Grace.

A child hurried up to the foot of the mecha and stared up at it in surprise, a little eight or nine year old girl wearing nothing but a little sari wrap around her waist. "It's a giant metal Faey!" she exclaimed.

No, there's a Faey inside it, Kyva answered, sending in the manner that children could hear. What you see is just a machine, sweetie. There's a living Faey inside, she added, touching the chest of the Gladiator with a hand.

"Woah!" the child gasped, gaping up at the seventeen foot tall mecha.

Jason was escorted with Meya, Myra, and nine of his guards along streets paved with what looked like concrete, for it was definitely not natural stone. His boots clacked along it as Aura and nine others walked with them, led them up a terrace with quite a few Faey following behind them, sending excitedly among themselves. They were led to a large three story building with large glass windows and a balcony that ringed both the second and third floors. They were surprised when Aya held them outside and sent her guards in the inspect the area, to which Jason apologized rather contritely. I'm afraid they take my safety very seriously, he explained. I'm amazed Aya didn't insist I wear my helmet.

That is armor of some kind, your Grace? one of the others asked. I thought it was some kind of decorative metal suit.

It's armor, he nodded, rapping his knuckles on his chest, right over the Karinne crest.

Your Grace, that crest, it's different from the one we know.

The crest was changed when I reclaimed the house, he explained. The bird here is a symbol of how I came to claim the house. The Empress made a gift out of my new signet ring, now that I recall. I'll explain it to you later.

She made you change the crest? one of them asked, a bit scandalized.

Well, to be honest, I was the one that wanted to change the crest, he told them honestly. I didn't just walk into the palace and claim the house, I had to fight for it. This bird is the symbol of that struggle. It's also a symbol of change. I adhere to many of the tenets of those who held the throne before me, but there have been changes. This change in our crest reminds us of who we are and where we came from, but also reminds us that we are not the Karinnes whose footsteps stretch behind us in the sand. The fact that a part-Faey man sits on the throne is just one of the biggest pieces of evidence of it, he sent with wry amusement. When I told the Empress of my desire to change my crest to add the Legion Phoenix, the symbol of those that followed me before I took the throne of Karinne, to the Karinne crest, the Empress did it before I did. A member of the house drew the design, which I think is rather nice, he added appreciatively. It fits almost perfectly between the waves and under the star.

Aya finished her sweep and allowed them in, and they did so. Aura led them all to a large audience chamber with a long table on a dais where the councilors sat facing rows of wooden chairs, and the original Karinne crest on a large flag behind the center of that table. Instead of going up to their table, they instead rearranged the chairs in a rough circle. Jason, Meya, and Myra sat down with the Chieftess and her nine council members, whom she introduced one by one, while Aya and her eight guards took up defensive positions at the three doorways leading out of the room.

For nearly two hours, Jason, Meya, and Myra explained their plan to the council. Jason stressed that they were not forcing anyone to do anything, and now that they knew about Exile, they were going to make sure that those who did decide to remain behind would be very well cared for. Jason and Aura explained their plan, and Jason used sending to show them images of the town that would be theirs, a nice town surrounded by green and with mountains in the distance to the north, a modern place still sealed in bioplas and waiting for them to move in. He explained how they would be cared for, how volunteers would teach them everything they wanted to know, help them integrate back into House Karinne. He had a detailed plan for that, a plan of education and training for everyone and advanced training and formal education for anyone who wanted it, as well as an offer from teachers on Karis to work with their own teachers of the kids here on Exile to work out a new education plan for the kids to help teach them about Karis and their new lives.

After what was awaiting them was explained, Jason went on to explain what would happen here on Exile for those who remained behind. He explained the machines he intended to leave to help them improve the quality of life and the twenty volunteers that would remain behind to train them in how to use the machines. He told them about the communication device they would leave here that would let them talk with Karis, but he also stressed that it would take many hours to travel from Exile to Karis, so if they had some kind of an emergency, help would take a while to reach them. For that time, they would be on their own.

I don't understand what you mean by replicate, one of the two male councilmen, a tall blonde Faey named Harel, sent, his confusion swirling in his thought.

The term isn't used as a literal description of the device, it's just a term for what it does. What the machine does is rearrange matter at a subatomic level to produce raw elemental material. For example, you could pour waste from your kitchen table into it, and it would use that matter to create, say, pure silicon. It does have a limit, though, it can only produce lighter elements. It can't produce iron, but it could produce anything the atomic weight of titanium or lower.

I thought you said– Aura sent privately to him, but he cut her off.

I told you, we couldn't leave them any Karinne technology. What we're leaving is a standard Imperium replicator.

Ah, I see.

What use would it provide us? Harel asked.

The main thing you don't have here is access to strong metals. Well, one of the metals that the replicator can make for you is titanium, Meya answered. Titanium is extremely strong, and you can use it to build many of the devices you keep in your history but never could because you don't have the right materials. The replicator can only produce one element at a time, but remember that it can create it in almost any shape you want, so you wouldn't have to forge and shape it yourself.

Another advantage is you can produce pure hydrogen, sulfur, phosphorous, and quite a few other combustible or useful chemical elements like sodium, which you could use to power your furnaces or use in your chemical shops. No more mining sulfur and phosphorous from the volcanoes, Jason added. It can also produce different structures of elements, which lets it replicate an extremely hard crystalline form of titanium, or diamonds for industrial use, or isotopes.

Yes, that would be useful, he nodded.

But that's just what we're leaving. For our own safety, we're not leaving anything that has technology in it we keep from the rest of the universe. Those who come to Karis will see much more powerful machines, and may even learn of them, if they decide to foreswear the chance to come back here.

That condition may not set well with some, a female councilor, Devanne, told him.

It's an unavoidable necessity, he answered seriously.

We can't teach others our secrets and then let them go, Meya agreed. You know what the ancestors were like. We're no different in that regard. The secret unspoken remains a secret, as the cousins say.

That produced quite a few nods of understanding. They again returned to Karis and the town and discussed things more, like food, energy, recreation, and education, but one councilor brought up something Jason hadn't even considered. It's a lovely place, your Grace, but it may not suit us.

You mention that now, after we've talked about it for five hours? Jason asked, a bit tartly.

Well, it serves our needs, but… it's not on the sea. We have lived by the sea for nearly seven hundred years. To live in a place without smelling sea air or hearing the waves, well, that might unsettle some of our people. If we can, we should live by the sea. To keep at least one feeling of continuity, if nothing else.

Jason was about to send in reply, but came up short. He thought about it a moment, then finally nodded. Well, I can see that as a potential necessity. We'll let the people decide. We'll ask them if they'd rather live by the sea, or in this grassland town surrounded by ample arable farmland. We can let them vote. Whichever side wins is where we settle your people.

I think they'd like that. It would give them much more of a feeling of control, Aura nodded.

I think this would be a good place to stop for now, Jason offered. I'm hungry, for one, and I'd like to take a bath and spend a little time out of my armor.

We have a wonderful hot spring not two hundred paces from this building, Aura offered. And we would be honored to prepare a meal for you, your Grace.

A hot spring, you say?

Oh, it's quite popular, Harel noted.

Could you show Aya where it is, so she can inspect it? She won't let me out of my armor unless she feels I'm safe.

You're right, I won't, she sent strongly.

I'll take you there, Harel offered, standing up.

Very good. Ryn, Dera, Uva, Shiri, come with us. Shen, you have command here.

Yes ma'am, came several replies.

Jason chatted amiably with the councilors and Aura as the guards checked out the hot spring, hearing about how fishing, shellfishing, and hunting large creatures that looked like gigantic seals for their blubber combined with agriculture, tending fruit plantations, and hunting large wild herbivores that looked like hairy armadillos and other smaller game fed the entire town, with a surplus every year that was saved for times of bad harvest. They even had access to oil in the form of a natural well a ways from the village, which they had somehow managed to refine into a plastic, as well as tar, kerosene, gasoline, and lubricants. Their refinery was a surprisingly small little complex about four kathra from the village–to keep the smell away–that brought the finished products to town on carts and wagons pulled by those large bird-like animals, which they called striders. The sending image of the refinery showed him a small complex of copper tubes, vats, and towers, where oil was vaporized and recondensed to separate it, then it was converted to tar, a rough and unrefined form of plastic, combustible liquids like kerosene and gasoline they used sparingly. Their ingenuity with only having copper and zinc available as hard metals in any real abundance was quite admirable. It showed they were truly children of Karinne, not primitives. All they lacked were resources; if he supplied them with all the resources they needed, he had no doubt they'd have PPGs and fusion powered devices here within twenty years, since all the instructions for building and maintaining them were still in their records.

The Exiled were amazing, in his opinion.

Aya reported that the hot spring was safe, so Jason found himself going with Meya, Myra, his guards, Aura, and two council members, a tall redheaded man named Zeran and a willowy young white-haired woman named Luza, as the rest went out to spread news of their first meeting through the town. The hot spring was a spa of sorts, a large wooden building with a large fence around the back, containing the hot springs. They passed down a long hallway that bisected the building, and then Aura led them into the last doorway on the left, into a large room filled with simple benches and little shelves on the floor with many legs under it. There was a folded robe on the top of the shelf, and a pair of slippers in the nook under it. We commonly undress and leave out clothes and shoes here, then step out to the spring, Aura explained, already reaching for the tail of the tee shirt she'd been given on Karis. They'll bring us dinner out at the spring. It's often quite relaxing to enjoy a light meal while soaking in the hot water.

Aya, can I take off my armor? Jason asked, a bit cheekily.

Go ahead. We have the spring area secured, you'll be safe.

Jason was helped out of his armor by Meya and Myra, then in turn helped them out of their armor as Aura, Zeran, and Luza removed their clothing and waited, quite comfortable standing there nude. Jason also couldn't help but notice the appreciative stares he got from Aura and Luza after the twins helped him completely out of his armor, and he couldn't help but notice that Aura was stacked. She had a body much like Dahnai's, both pleasing curves and sturdy muscle, the body of a sexy woman who also did a lot of manual labor. She wasn't as tall as Dahnai, and her legs weren't as long, but she was still very nicely proportioned. Her breasts were larger than normal for a Faey and also resting on a platform of muscle, just like Dahnai, but Aura had slightly narrower hips that Dahnai. Their pubic hair was similarly eye-grabbing, though. Dahnah's bronze hair just dragged one's eyes right to her genitals, and Aura's brilliant gold pubic hair, almost glowing with its vibrant sheen just like the hair on her head, did the same thing when contrasted to her blue skin. His eyes were locked right on her female equipment for several long seconds, captivated by that golden attention-getter. He could not help but admire her handsome body a bit longer than what was normally good manners among Faey, gone from admiring to staring, and Aura seemed to notice his look. She just gave him a slight smile and moved her hands, allowing him to see all of her he wished to see.

Why Jason, you little slut, Myra sent privately to him, though she did include Meya in her sending, giving him a teasing look. Stop fucking Aura with your eyes.

I am not. I was just admiring her. Her body is similar to Dahnai's, and that caught my attention.

Given how hard you were staring right at her pussy, I think something got your attention, Myri teased.

Well, he has good control, Meya noted dryly. I don't see his dick even twitching. I guess that was mental sex, not physical.

Oh, push off, you two, he retorted, but he kept his eyes on Aura's handsome body as he did so.

You wear nothing under it? Luza sent, a faint undercurrent of desire lurking under her sending, something she might not even have realized was there.

Jason blinked and broke his long, assessing stare of Aura's sexy form, and chose to ignore that undercurrent. There's no room, he explained. The exacting fit of the armor is absolutely critical for it to protect us. There is no open space inside it, it minimizes the chance that any kinetic energy is absorbed by the body inside. This gel backing fills all space inside the armor not taken up by my body. He flipped over a piece of Myra's armor and showed her the gel backing on the inside of the piece.

What is this gel?

It's a very soft material that also holds its shape. It cushions the armor without sliding out of position, but when its struck by a powerful blow, it stiffens up to help prevent any transfer of kinetic energy to the wearer. It's soft and comfortable until you hit it, then it congeals quickly to the same hardness as leather.

It also makes the armor comfortable to wear, Myra added as Jason and Myra unlatched her breastplate and backplate for her and helped her take them off, leaving her naked from the waist up. It's like being surrounded by cool silk.

I wonder what it's like to wear it, Zeran noted.

We can't show you, you wouldn't fit in his Grace's armor, Myra sent to him with a smile, boldly looking him up and down. His Grace is a bit bigger than most males.

Yes, we noticed, Luza sent with a light smile.

Jason blushed slightly.

The hot spring was indeed very nice. The water was heated by geothermal activity, and had a strange smell that wasn't unpleasant, smelling of minerals. The water was hot but not scalding, and the water came up to his ribcage when he sat down on the sandy bottom. A meal of roasted meat and strange purple fruits was offered to him. The meat tasted like venison, and the purple fruits were quite tangy and delicious. Wow, these are good. I wonder if they'll grow on Karis, Jason mused, taking another bite.

We call them bitterfruit, because if you eat one before its ripe, it's very bitter. And I'm sure we can take some seeds or saplings back, Aura told him.

You definitely need to bring seed and any animals you want along. I think your bitterfruits would be very popular on Karis.

I'm glad you said that, for anyone who owns a strider or a chechi will definitely want to bring them.

What is a chechi?

Luza showed him an image of a feline animal with striped black and gray fur, that had a very long tail and large, eerie blue eyes. That's a chechi. They're our pets. Them and the striders are the only animals we've ever domesticated.

Why didn't your people ever try to domesticate the large animals you hunt for meat?

Because they're very, very bad tempered, and there's a lot of them, Aura answered. And they're stupid. There's no need to domesticate them, since they're abundant, and no rancher would have the patience to try to manage them. We domesticated the striders when we first arrived. They're very intelligent animals, and easy to care for. They're omnivorous, so we can feed them whatever we have at hand. They eat almost anything, from roots and berries to meat. They can even eat bones. She accepted a tray from a young girl with a nod and a smile, and the girl, nude, gave the guards a frightened look as she hurried out of the spring chamber. I'd like to hold a townwide meeting tomorrow at noon, she told them. Our people have had days to think about it since I left with Mistresses Meya and Myra. I'll give them one day to make up their minds after the word is spread, and then they have to choose. I'd like us to be finished with the packing and on our way back to Karis in five days.

That's not much time, Luza noted.

If we give our people all the time in the world to decide, some will take all that time without committing, she answered. I want them to choose, not walk in circles and make everyone wait for them to decide.

It's going to create some friction.

I'm not going to please everyone in this, so I'll just look to cause the least inconvenience to the fewest people. So, do you like our spring, your Grace? she asked him.

He leaned back against the wooden walkway around the pool, using it as a backrest, and nodded. We have artificial bathtubs that let us soak in hot water, but there's something to be said for this place.

The water is good for you, Zeran told him. It invigorates the skin and soothes away tension.

I know all about that. I've spent hours soaking in my tub back home.

Are you married, your Grace? Zeran asked.

He nodded. I have a wife and five children.

You sound like a busy man, Luza smiled.

He laughed. I guess I am at that. But my wife isn't the mother of all of my children. He explained the plan that they pushed on him, how four of the nobles in his house bore children to bolster the numbers of the Terran Karinne nobles. It turned out that I'm not the only Terran descendent of a Karinne noble, but we didn't know that at the time. We only just found Rahne a couple of weeks ago. My wife's been trying to get pregnant again, though. She's been trying ever since we had Rann, but no luck yet.

Just be patient, and Aris will grace you, Zeran sent confidently.

So you and this Rahne are the last of the Karinne nobles? Luza asked.

He shook his head. There are exactly two hundred and seventy four of us, including infants. All of us are directly of Sora Karinne's line, but I'm the one that discovered that truth first and reclaimed the house. That makes me the Grand Duke.

But what if one was of a higher generation? Would you not stand aside?

Jason started a little at that, but then he remembered that that was how the Generations identified themselves within the house. The generation mattered. Jason was known to Cybi officially as Jason Karinne of the 97th generation. The commoners had no idea what that meant, but they had picked it up as a means of identifying nobles over time.

I am of the highest generation, Luza, he sent carefully. I'm of the ninety-seventh. Almost all of us are. Some are ninety-sixth or ninety-fifth. By rank or blood, I'm the highest ranking of the leftover Karinnes. The ancestor that came to Terra and created the Faey-Terran line was a member of the Royal family. Cybi says so.

Cybi?

The living computer, Aura told her. It exists! I stood before it and it welcomed me to Karis!

I can prove my rank easily enough, he sent casually, wrapping Luza in his power. He lifted her out of the pool with his telekinesis. Luza gasped when she was pulled into the air, then she laughed as she hung there, suspended against gravity. Is that good enough for you, Luza?

I suppose it is. May I get down now? I'm feeling just a tad bit exposed here, she sent with that same desirous undertone, and Jason realized he was looking up in a manner that showed him everything she had to offer.

I never expected a Faey to complain about being exposed, Jason teased as he put her back down gently. I guess the Exiled are indeed different from other Faey.

Oh, we're not different, she smiled. I'm sure you noticed when you arrived, but we consider clothes an adornment, not a necessity. Many refuse to wear them at all.

Yes, I noticed that. It's not far from Faey society today, so you aren't much different.

Well, I think maybe we hit a little snag in our thought there. I didn't mean exposed so much as vulnerable.

Ah. Yes, those two words have a similar meaning in my native tongue. I must have assigned the word to the thought, then took it for its alternate meaning. Sorry.

Not even talent is infallible, Luza smiled. But, I must say, your Grace, you are the strongest telepath I have ever met. Even stronger than the women!

It's true proof that you are a Karinne noble, Zeran nodded. Only a male Karinne could have such strength.

I'm nothing compared to my wife, he sent honestly. She can tie me in a knot. I may be a Karinne noble, but I'm still a man, and that means I'm weaker in talent compared to the Karinne women.

Your wife is of your generation?

Actually, she's a commoner from the Imperium, he answered. In the years since the Third Civil War, I think the basic power of the average Faey has increased. Some of the strongest talents in the house are only Karinne by title. Yana is the most powerful telepath in the house, maybe one of the strongest alive, and she's not a Karinne. But our daughter, he sent, then he shuddered. She'll put us all to shame. I'm the father of Yana's daughter, he explained. Her name is Kyri. I guess it was a good match, our daughter was born with her talent awakened, and it never faded. She's been expressed since she was in the womb.

Wow! Zeran sent with an audible gasp.

Yes, I'm very proud of Kyri, Jason sent with a smile. My oldest son, Rann, just expressed last week, at the age of five.

Congratulations! Zeran and Luza sent in unison.

Thank you. My wife is very happy, she was a bit jealous of Yana's daughter's talent already being expressed.

I see Faey competitiveness has not dimmed over the years, Luza laughed.

Not one tiny little bit, Meya agreed with a smile and a nod.

It actually gets them into trouble sometimes, Jason sent teasingly, giving Meya a sly smile.

We don't get in trouble! We just never get caught, Myra corrected him roguishly. You're the one that always gets caught, Jayce.

You're just asking for it. I think after we prank Kumi, I'm gonna come after you two.

Anytime, anywhere, baby, Myra sent mockingly. You know we own you.

Not for long.

Why do I feel we're missing half of this conversation? Zeran asked with amusement.

You are. The Grand Duke and us go way back, Meya said, reaching out and patting Jason on the shoulder. To long before he was anything. So we get be meaner than you do.

Oh gee, thank you so much for that, Jason sent darkly. And I think it's time to pull out the toy box for you two.

Oh joy, we get special toys! Myra sent with a snarky tilt to her thoughts. You never did build My Little Pony, Jayce. I wanna ride your pony!

Eh? I didn't understand some of that. What are you going to ride? Your small… what? Aura asked.

Jason supplied an image of the ancient My Little Pony toys. A child's toy from my home planet.

How can you ride that? It's too small, Luza protested, which made the twins burst into laughter.

The twins were more than happy to explain some of Jason's background to them as they all got out of the pool and dried off with towels offered by young teenagers that worked at the spa, who were also nude. So, we've known him a long time, way back to when he was just hiding out in the wildlands of his planet. We've been friends a very long time, Meya finished up, kissing Jason on the cheek fondly as he dried his hair.

Is she your amu dorai, your Grace? Luza asked.

The twins? Nah. We've never really felt it was necessary to go there. We're just good friends.

Well, we've thought about it, Myra winked at Jason. But we kinda like our friendship the way it is. If we show him what a real woman is like we'll change our friendship, and also ruin him for his wife and his lovers.

So sure of yourself, Jason murmured mentally.

Jyslin and Symone and Dahnai, even Kumi would be so jealous if we seduced you, Meya mused, giving Myra a sly look.

This is the perfect place. All by himself, no one to protect him from us.

He's certainly not hard to get horny, she noted, giving Aura a cursory look.

We do know all his buttons, Myra agreed.

Girls, you can't call it a seduction when you're standing here planning it in front of me.

Alright, let's plan his rape instead, Myra grinned.

Hmm… if he gets it up, can we really call it a rape? I mean, he's willing at that point, Meya sent, quite seriously, which made Jason laugh helplessly.

God, I missed you two.

We know, they sent in unison, smiling at him.

That was so much the truth. The twins were always a delight to be around, for Myra was sly and teasing, playful and bold, where Meya was more intellectual, more cerebral, more acerbic. But when they were together, they were nothing but fun.

Jason returned to the dropship after they were dressed, walking down in the warm afternoon sun. I'm going to send down a dropship to replace us and wait until tomorrow's meeting on board the Abarax, he told Aura. That way you can contact me if there's an emergency, and the team staying behind can get a head start on looking over the city.

But we can–

Aya won't let me stay down here overnight, he cut her off. Thank you for the meal and the wonderful soak in the hot spring. I really enjoyed it, and talking with you in your territory. You're much different when you're not constantly amazed, he sent with a sly smile. It was nice to talk to you.

She laughed. I'll do my best to amaze you tomorrow, your Grace, she answered. And I'll do my best to have everything ready for you tomorrow, she promised. We should know by tomorrow how many are going back, and how many are staying.

I know you will, he assured her as they reached the dropship. I'll be back about an hour after sunrise tomorrow morning, alright?

Fine. We'll probably hold our meeting about an hour after that, so you can attend.

Works for me.

Jason said his goodbyes to Aura, the council, and waved to those citizens who were still at the square. Aya herded him and the guards into the dropship, and Jason took the pilot's seat with Meya beside him, Myra behind him, and Aya in the fourth seat. Well, that was interesting, Jason noted as Kyva and the Raptor pilots prepared to depart. This place is very interesting, and the Exiled are impressive people.

They did do a great job here. I wonder how many will want to leave, Meya mused.

From hearing Aura talk, almost all of them. But from hearing the council, I'm not quite so sure, he answered. About half of them were more interested in what we were leaving than what preparations we were making for them on Karis.

I noticed that as well, Aya agreed. We'll debrief up in the landing bay and get an idea of how the citizens were like. Kyva and the guards we left at the dropship should be able to fill that in. They interacted with the common citizens, where Aura restricted you to the politicians.

"Yeah," Jason said aloud.

Meya laughed. "Sending all the time does kinda make you keep doing it," she noted.

Well, it is the best way to communicate, Aya sent with a sly undertone.

"You are so biased, Aya," Jason teased as the Raptor pilots got back into their ships and closed the canopies. Everyone call out when you're ready to depart. [Control, this is Karinne One.]

[Karinne One, this is Control, go ahead.]

[Sevi? What are you doing sitting in the comm chair?]

[I was waiting to hear from you. You haven't reported in since you descended!]

[Well, I was having fun.]

[Oh really? And just who were you having fun with?]

[You'll never know,] he teased. [We're preparing to take off.]

[Hold on, let me pass you on to the comm officer, since you're gonna be all mean to me.]

[Such a flirt,] Jason laughed.

[Karinne One, Control,] came a new voice. [ You're cleared to ascend. The lanes are loose, so approach at your discretion, call in at ten kathra from the bay for landing instructions..]

[Understood. Have the engineering team come down, meet the town council, and start their surveys.]

[They're all ready to go, they were just waiting for your orders. They'll pass you on the way down.]

[Understood. Be home soon, guys.]

[We'll be waiting,] came the light yet earnest response.

Back up on the Abarax, Jason met with the Sevi, the Raptor pilots, Kyva, and the guards who remained with the ship to get their impression of the people. On the whole, they had nothing but good things to say. They said that the citizens were curious, friendly, inquisitive, and charitable. They were all brought food, offered places to rest, were even offered a ride on one of their sailing vessels. All in all, those who had interacted with the citizens were quite pleased and impressed by them. Jason told them about meeting with the council, and his misgivings about how many might remain behind, but there really wasn't anything they could say. There was nothing but waiting until tomorrow to find out how things went.

Jason returned to his cabin after the meeting to catch up with things. His first call was to the command center, and he got Shey instead of Myri or one of the command staff. "Shey, what are you doing on duty?"

"I traded shifts to get tomorrow night off, your Grace," she answered. "Did you receive my report on all of my evil activities?"

Jason laughed, for she had indeed sent one. It was full of all sorts of laws she broke and such, but it was all presented in a very serious manner which made it even more funny. Shey's subtlety extended to her writing. "I did. You are a bad girl!"

"I'm certain we already established that fact days ago, your Grace," she said mildly. "Did you want a progress report?"

He nodded as he unlocked his gauntlet from his armor and pulled it off. "Shoot."

Jason removed his armor and put on a soft knee-length robe as he listened to Shey tell him what progress had been made on the interdictor and the repairs to the other ships. "The Kimdori report the Dreamer will be back in service tomorrow morning. It's been ordered to jump to your location with the Raena and the Dela's Star. The San Diego, Liberty, and Defiant are being scheduled from release from drydock tomorrow afternoon, but no plans are yet being put up to have it deploy."

He sighed. "Who's taking the chair of the Defiant?"

"The first officer of the battleship Trelle's Gift was awarded the chair," she answered. "Commander Hiae Joralle. She's already received her field promotion and been given the flag."

"I've always loved her name," Jason chuckled. "Hee-ay. It just rolls off your tongue."

"Too bad it means evil omen. I wonder what possessed her family to name her that."

"What are they saying about the Aegis?"

"No change in the estimate, your Grace. Two weeks."

Jason grunted. "Thanks, Shey."

"Thanks for undressing in front of me, your Grace. It almost felt like one of your middle of the night calls there for a moment."

Jason laughed. "I hope you were entertained."

"Oh, very much so, thank you," she said with a light smile, and then Jason cut the comm.

He called home next, and was greeted by a hologram projected into his cabin of Jyslin, Symone, Tim, Rann, Danelle, and Kyri, all sitting around the dinner table. "Daddy!" Rann called, waving. "Are you coming home yet?"

"Not for a bit, little man," he replied. "How are things going?"

"Fairly well," Jyslin answered. "Miaari is keeping us all up to date with what's going on. Myleena's up on the moon right now, and Yana asked us to watch Kyri tonight. She's working with Myri on something."

"Well, it sounds like a slumber party tonight," Jason smiled. "I wish I could be there."

"Then come home, papa!" Kyri stated.

Jason laughed. "I should be home in a few days."

"What is it like there?" Tim asked.

"The Exiled are amazingly resourceful," Jason answered. "You wouldn't believe some of the technology they've set up here, and without any heavy metals or rubber to form an industrial base. They have an agrarian society, but they also have electricity and use steam technology to power a couple of small factories."

"How long will it take to move them?"

"I'm more worried about how many are gonna move," he answered. "I didn't get the feeling that as many want to come as Aura was saying. They're supposed to have a town meeting tomorrow to discuss the matter."

"Well, Aura is really excited to come here," Jyslin noted.

"Yeah, I hope that her enthusiasm isn't clouding her judgment about her people."

"It can happen. I don't think you'd ever think badly about any Karinne, despite the fact we have a few in jail right now," Symone smiled.

"At least they're only in jail for little things, nothing like murder," he replied. "From what Kyva said, the people of Exile are polite and friendly. She was with them most of–"

Jason stopped and turned when a powerful sending boomed through the ship, the klaxons blared, and the red lights began to blink, warning of a general quarters exercise. Battle stations! Sevi called in a powerful, urgent sending. All hands to battle stations! This is not a drill!

What's going on, Sevi?

Six Consortium ships just jumped out of hyperspace behind the planet and are moving this way! she replied. They haven't detected us yet because the planet's in the way.

"Fuck!" Jason gasped, jumping to his feet. "I have to go now, everyone, we got trouble!"

"Jason? What trouble? Jason!" Jyslin said urgently, standing up.

"The Consortium has come to Exile!" he said. "Six ships! I'll call you later!" he said, ending the call with his gestalt as he sent to Sevi. Six ships? What classes?

I'd call one a battleship, with two cruisers and three destroyer escorts. Our hyperspace probes picked them up the second they jumped into the system, and they still haven't detected us. They're no match for us, but there's no telling how many are behind them!

Jason thought furiously as he rushed back to his armor. Sevi, form up a strike force of the Abarax and ten ships. I want the Shemali and two destroyers to enter the atmosphere and defend the Exiled's city from a possible surface attack, and the rest to stay in orbit over the island. Go destroy those ships before they can escape!

But you're on board, your Grace! she protested. I am not going into battle carrying my Grand Duke! Are you insane?

That order was not up for negotiation! Jason barked harshly. Send down the orders now!

But–

OBEY MY ORDERS! his sending absolutely thundered across the ship, and he sent openly.

There was a startled silence. At once, your Grace, she sent, fear tingeing her thoughts. She wasn't afraid to fight, but it seemed she was terrified of going into battle carrying Jason on board.

If we're going to go through with this insanity, your Grace, then I insist you go to the deepest part of the ship, Aya sent urgently, and openly. He had no doubt the entire ship heard her. Where you have the most protection.

Yes! Sevi sent in agreement, along with about two hundred others on board.

I will, he acceded openly. As soon as I get my armor on.

Right now, your Grace. And that's an order from the woman who is responsible for your safety.

Jason had to laugh. Alright. Take me where you feel I'm safest, Aya.

We are going into battle carrying our Grand Duke, Sevi's sending flowed over the ship, urgently, almost desperately. We must defeat the Consortium quickly!

Jason listened as frenzied sending rippled through the ship. Aya, Dera, Shen, Ryn, and Suri escorted a robed Grand Duke along passageways where Faey, human, and Makati crew ran back and forth, preparing for battle, Suri and Ryn carrying his armor as they hustled him into an elevator. Jason listened as the first officer relayed what was going on to him through sending. She shared an image with him of the fleet breaking up, as ten others ships followed the Abarax and moved away to circle the planet, a cruiser and two destroyers descended into the atmosphere, and the three ships took up a low synchronous orbit over the island as an extra layer of defense should any Consortium ships break through and attack the planet. The elevator let them off at a middle deck, and then the guards hurried him deep inside the ship, as deep as he could go, until he was in a small maintenance shop that repaired and cut conduit. Jason disrobed and was helped into his armor by Aya and Dera as the others cleared all small objects that could fly around from the shop, securing them. With the Imperial guards helping him, he got fully armored up in two minutes, as he saw a sending image of the six Consortium ships on the viewscreen on the bridge. There was one really large ship of the same design as all others, crescent bow, narrow neck, spiky wings on a flared aft section, but Jason also saw that instead of accelerating to attack, the ships were instead turning. They were trying to escape!

Don't let them jump out! Jason sent urgently.

They've probably already warned the Consortium that we're here, Aya told him, keeping her sending in the room.

I know, but if we destroy them here, that's six fewer ships that might come back, Jason sent grimly.

Through the first officer, Jason watched. He saw them closing on the Consortium vessels, and closing, and closing. He could sense her anxiety as Sevi kept calling out time until in range, then best guess as to how long until they were far enough out to jump. Those two numbers were almost identical. [Every ship coordinate to target all of the enemy ships, we only get one shot at them!] Jason heard through gravband once he ordered his gestalt to listen in on KMS gravband command and tactical frequencies.

At full speed, the eleven ships charged down the enemy vessels, which were picking up speed instead of slowing down to jump, then they turned around again. [All ships slow to one quarter and watch for enemy attempts to ram!] Sevi called. Jason saw why. Ships that used gravometric engines had to be all but at a dead stop in order to jump or the engines disrupted the hyperspace jump, they could only be going a maximum of .1223 engine power to safely jump, and they'd never make it before being attacked by the KMS ships with their superior weapon range. Those ships also used gravometric engines, and they had to slow down before they could jump out, which would let the KMS ships catch them before they could escape. Since they knew they couldn't run, they were turning to fight. And since they were heavily outnumbered by ships that would get the first shot, they would try to ram or conduct other suicide attacks. The insectoids that manned those ships would not allow themselves to be captured alive.

Jason could never fault the Consortium's insectoids for nearly insane bravery. They charged right at the Karinne ships in a curious single-file formation, literally lined up stern to bow, with the biggest ship leading… shielding the smaller ships so they could get in weapons range before they were destroyed. Sevi correctly deployed a counter-strategy, having the ships spread out to give them a very wide arc of fire to prevent the battleship from protecting the cruisers and destroyers behind it. Jason looked a the tactical, then saw something interesting. He had his gestalt open a channel to the Veriven, directly to the captain's chair. [Captain Koye, this is Karinne One. You see that destroyer at the end? See how it's got its nose all but up the ass of the destroyer in front of it?]

[I see it, Karinne One,] Captain Koye answered.

[Do you think you can hit the destroyer in front of it directly in its engines in such a way that it causes an engine breach? They use gravometric engines the same as we do, you know.]

There was a brief pause, then Koye laughed. [That's devious, Karinne One! Yes, I can do it!]

[Go sic 'em.] He switched over. [This is Karinne One. I want a detachment of marines assembled on the Resolute to prepare to board an enemy vessel! I want crack troops, ladies, this is going to be dangerous! Commander Resolute, I want you to swing wide to the starboard of the enemy formation and prepare to grapple the trailing enemy vessel!]

[At once, Karinne One!] the captain of the Resolute, Captain Joni, acknowledged.

What are you up to? Aya asked.

"It's simple, Aya," he said aloud as the squadron closed on the Consortium ships. "Koye's gonna hit the engines of the second to last ship with a particle beam right in the engines, which will cause a breach of the engines, and that'll unleash a gravometric shockwave," he explained. "That's a wide sphere of wild gravometric flux. The insectoids in those ships are low gravity organisms, and they're very vulnerable to high gravity effects. If this works, they'll be killed by the shockwave and we'll capture that ship intact."

Aya gave him a startled look, then grinned viciously. I knew there was a reason I liked you so much, your Grace. That's a pretty damn clever idea!

Well, I am known for a certain amount of ingenuity, he sent with false modesty, grinning at her.

Jason watched through the eyes of the first officer as the enemy rushed into range. The KMS ships folded around them like an attacking army as the Abarax opened fire with its five particle beams. The five beams crisscrossed through the lead battleship and effectively cut it to pieces, an explosion in the stern scattering the huge sections in every direction as the ships behind flew right through the explosion. The other ships opened fire as well, but Jason had Giya, the first officer, focus her attention on the Veriven. She complied, and he saw the destroyer surge forward, hooking around the formation just enough to get in range of its target. Its single particle beam fired, sending a deadly white lance not through the ship, but focused on one point. The particle beam punched through the aft section of the destroyer, and it was right on target; thanks to Myleena and the engineering team, they had a detailed understanding of the layout of Consortium ships, so Koye's weapon officer knew exactly where the engines were. The stern of the destroyer seemed to buckle, then it swelled, and then it exploded violently, sending a dull wave of shimmering distortion before it.

A gravometric shockwave.

The shockwave washed over the destroyer behind it, flowed over and through it until it dissipated to nothingness about a mile beyond the stern of the ship, its power weakening as it expanded. The lights of the destroyer shuddered, then blinked out and remained out. The destroyer itself was pushed back by the force of the explosion, knocked out of formation, and what mattered most to Jason, it did not try to correct. He saw the Resolute charge forward as the right side of the formation curled around, then turned his attention back to what was clearly a turkey shoot. The Consortium ships couldn't close to firing range before being sheared apart by Karinne particle beams, though their tactic of lining up very nearly let them do it. The last two ships probably would have been able to fire their torsion weapons, had the second to last not been destroyed and its explosion knocking the two ships on either side out of position. The ship in front of it had seen it coming and broke formation, then it seemed to understand what they were doing. It turned on the drifting ship as if to fire on it, but a brilliant white beam erupted out of its bow as the Resolute ripped into it with its particle beam. That beam raked all the way through its bow, cutting the bow off just behind where the crescent attached to the rest of the ship, and then the entire ship exploded in a massive greenish-red fireball.

In less than thirty seconds, the firing was over. A cloud of debris drifted towards the formation, which moved to evade it, while troop dropships launched from the Resolute and raced at the tumbling Consortium vessel. The Resolute was right behind them, and it used towing beams to stabilize the ship, stop its tumbling drift and bring it to a stop. When the ship was stable, the troop ships moved in.

That would never have worked had they not been stacked one on top of the other. A shockwave of the kind that came from breached engines only had real power at close range.

Jason could only wait anxiously as Giya sent him images of four separate boarding parties of marines attaching portable airskin shields around different sections of bulkhead at different parts of the ship, cutting into it to form large holes, then disappearing inside. The four parties had invaded the ship near where they were fairly certain the bridge, engineering, the computer core, and primary landing bay were located. Her view switched to the view of the Lieutenant commanding the boarding party nearest the bridge, broadcast from her helmet cam as Jason found the frequency they were using on his gestalt.

[I found one, Lieu! Eww, it exploded!] he heard, and the Lieutenant's camera fixed on a what could only be called a pile of green gore splattered all over the deck of a narrow, low-ceilinged passage that almost had the feel of a hive's tunnel.

[We've found one of the crew,] the Lieutenant called over the command frequency. [It looks like it was crushed by a giant boot. There's also no power in here, just some emergency lighting. Orders?]

[Search the ship for any survivors,] Joni ordered. [Quickly! Remember, any survivors will try to destroy the ship rather than let us capture it! So your asses are on the line, ladies!]

[That's why we get the big credits,] the Lieutenant answered calmly. [Push in, ladies! No pulse weapons, MPACs only!]

[I think your plan worked, Karinne One,] Koye called over command frequency, with a chuckle.

[Well, it hasn't worked until the boarding party has that ship.] Uhh, Sevi, can I come out now?

Not til you apologize for putting my Grand Duke in danger! she sent back, a little heatedly.

I'm sorry, and you're forgiven. Now let me go back to my cabin.

As soon as I get some distance away from that enemy ship, yes. Wait just a moment, your Grace, I'm backing us off from it as we speak.

Now that the panic was over, Jason grimly realized that the Exiled no longer had a choice. The Consortium had come back, come back to the planet they'd visited a thousand years ago, but why? Were they looking for more information? Checking to see if there were any Karinnes left here? Or was it part of a plan to lure the Karinnes to this planet, far, far away from any reinforcements? No matter why they had come, he had no doubt that the Consortium now knew that the Karinnes were here. Those ships had plenty of time to send a warning, they had the same ability to communicate through hyperspace in real time as the Karinnes. Now it was going to be a race.

Sevi, call Karis.

I did that ten minutes ago. A Kimdori task force should be here in about fifteen minutes.

Good girl.

I'm not a fool, your Grace. I'm not hanging my naked ass out in the open without plenty of people to look at it.

Jason chuckled. Well, I'm sure you'll have plenty of appreciative viewers. It's a very cute ass.

Why thank you, your Grace, Sevi sent with a teasing undertone. Want me to swing by your cabin later and show it to you without my armor getting in the way?

I don't think that's necessary, but thanks for the offer.

While Jason waited for the all clear to return to his cabin, he pondered what to do. There was no choice now, all the Exiled had to be evacuated. They just could not guarantee their safety, and Jason was not leaving them there at the mercy of the Consortium. With the Kimdori protecting them, they would have time to evacuate all the people and whatever they wanted to bring, but they couldn't linger. Jason wanted everyone away from Exile and back at Karis in five days. He didn't want to do it, both because some of the Exiled wouldn't want to leave and also because this was a very rich planet in resources and was fully arable. If he could secure this planet, he'd have a good farming planet, and also many of the plants and animals could be transplanted to Karis to help the planet return to life, the same way they'd been bringing plants from Terra, Draconis, Makan, and several other Imperium worlds and introducing them into the ecosystem, to see how they shook out and what kind of ecosystem developed from them Sevi, I want you to warn the engineering team to stop what they're doing and pull back to the dropship, and send down another dropship big enough to carry twenty people. Tell the team to find Chieftess Aura and the council, get them in the dropship, and get them up here as fast as possible. The Consortium remembered Exile. We can't leave anyone behind now. We have to tell them that they all have to leave.

Yeah, I figured. I'll send the orders, your Grace.

Good girl. Oh, have them tell my wife and family I'm just fine. I think I might have scared them. Tell them I'll call as soon as I'm back in my cabin.

Will do, your Grace. Oh, you're free to go back to your cabin now, we're far enough away that I feel it's safe.

"Alright, let's go back. And someone get my robe!" he called as Aya formed up the guards.

Jason listened to gravband on the way back up, and heard what he wanted to hear as soon as they were back out in the passageway. [Resolute, this is Lieutenant Yoe. We've secured the bridge of the enemy ship. All the crew we've found so far are dead.]

[Good work, Alpha Team. Beta Team, Gamma Team, Delta Team, report.]

[Beta Team, Lieutenant Xeri. We've found engineering and are securing it as we speak. There's no power down here either, not even any emergency power for their consoles. That shockwave must have blown their power system. All we have is emergency lights. All enemy combatants we've found are dead. It looks like someone came in here with a giant fly swatter and smashed them all.]

[Gamma Team, Lieutenant Rora. The main landing bay is halfway secured. There are sixteen small ships in the bay, and we're searching them and the command center one by one for the crew. So far, all crew we've found are dead. Lieutenant Xeri's description is pretty much how they look here, too.]

[Delta Team, Lieutenant Weah. We haven't found the computer core yet, but we've found what looks like a major control center, it might be a secondary bridge or a computer control room. I have one squad securing it now while the other keeps looking for the computer core. There's no power here either. Same here as to the crew, they've all been squashed.]

[It looks like our clever Grand Duke secured us an enemy ship,] the comm officer noted. [Can't we give the Grand Duke a medal?]

[I'll recommend him for one,] Sevi answered with a chuckle. [In the meantime search that ship from bow to stern, make sure there isn't a single bug alive. Resolute, Veriven, sweep the ship with sensors. Start a data log the engineers can use when we get it home.]

[Understood, starting a complete sensor scan,] Captain Joni answered.

[Beginning sensor scans now,] Koye acknowledged.

Back in his cabin, Jason immediately called home. Half the neighborhood was now crammed into his dining room, the Marines and their kids with his family. They all sighed explosively when the screen came up showing them, which meant his face was now in the screen by the table; there were too many in the room to use the holographic projector. "I'm alright," he said right out.

"Jayce, what the fuck happened?" Symone asked. "What's going on?"

Jason summed up what happened. "They're searching the ship now, and I have the ground team rounding up Aura and her council. I'm afraid they have no choice now. I'm not going to leave them here, and I can't spare ships to defend a thousand Faey in a defenseless colony. I'm afraid that whether they like it or not, they're coming to Karis."

"Is the ship intact?" Jyslin asked.

"I think its power system got fried, but outside of that, it seems intact."

"Well, that might cause some friction to force them to leave, but at least you got a prize. Myleena's gonna kiss you when you bring that home," Jyslin smiled.

"Kiss? She'll do a lot more than that!" Symone laughed.

"Eww," Jason intoned, which made most of them laugh. "Anyway, let me get ready to talk to Aura, and break the bad news to them. I'll call tomorrow when I have more to tell you, okay?"

"Be careful, my love," Jyslin said, blowing him a kiss.

"Always," he answered with a nod, then he cut transmission.

Careful? Grand Duke Jason I'm going personally into battle Karinne? Aya accused.

Oh hush, you forget how I came to be Grand Duke, haven't you? I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty when it's necessary. Let's monitor what's going on while the ground team gathers up the council.

The Kimdori task force arrived a few minutes later, as Jason and his guards listened in on the command frequency. They had sent nearly a hundred ships, from small, sleek destroyers to a broad-beamed behemoth of a command ship with three nacelle-like wings in a triangle around a beefy hull that settled in over the Abarax like a protective mother, literally putting the heavy cruiser between the two lower nacelles. Jason used the same screen to talk to the Kimdori commander of the task force, a tall, slender female with reddish fur. "I am Jeyaar Ixtmerr, Task Force Commander," she called, saluting him sharply. "Are you unharmed, your Grace?"

"I'm fine," he answered.

"I see you have captured an enemy ship. My congratulations."

"Thanks. I have a team of Marines in it as we speak searching it. What I'd like you to do is spread out some of your ships and form a perimeter around the planet. I have about a thousand Faey down on the planet I need to evacuate, and we're going to need time and space to get them ready."

"Understood. I will coordinate with your task force commander. Your commander will hold the flag for this operation."

"I know, you won't initiate combat without orders," he said with a nod. "Thank you for getting here so fast, Jeyaar."

"We protect our own," she said simply.

Jason watched on as the Kimdori surrounded the planet, powerful warships armed with Karinne weaponry, deadly adversaries for any Consortium ships that jumped into the system. The marines searching the ship finally reported in that there none left alive, and when they evacuated the ship, it was thoroughly scanned for any life signs to ensure that no insectoids had evaded the search., a process that took nearly five minutes. Outside of microbes, they found none, which meant that the ship was theirs. A horde of dropships rushed towards the ship, filled with engineers and technicians, waiting outside as a group of technicians installed a temporary airskin shield over the entire bay doors, then technicians went in with marines to discern how to get the doors open to let the dropships in. It took them about five minutes for them to figure it out, manually unlocking the doors and having a dropship pull them open with a grappling arm, the dropships drifted into the bay so the Karinnes could start inspecting the ship.

When the ground team called up that the council and Aura were on their way up, Jason went down to the landing bay to meet them. He reached the bay just as the dropship landed, and Aura and the council came down the ramp. The council members were a bit awed at being inside the ship, looking around with amazed faces, but Aura's face was locked on Jason's, and it did not bode well for her. My Grand Duke, why did you call us here so quickly?

The plans have changed, he told them. Let's go to a council room so we can talk.

What happened?

The Consortium showed up here, he sent openly. Not an hour ago, we chased them down and destroyed them before they could escape. Aura, they knew your people were here from when they came and captured some of your people and took your original ships, and they came back. Why, I don't know, but they came back. It's not safe here for your people anymore. I can't defend a planet so far from Karis without fatally dividing my forces, because it's just too far away. They have to go back to Karis, Aura. All of them, at least for now. I'd like to keep this planet for Karinne, but right now it's just too dangerous. Until I can get a solid foothold here on this planet, the Exiled have to leave.

She gave him a long, sober look. We do need to talk, she nodded.

The council members were herded to a room, and Jason, standing there in his armor, laid it out to them in a very blunt manner. He made sure to be ready with a recording of the battle viewed from the Abarax's cameras, showing them the Consortium ships. About two hours ago, those ships tried to approach the planet. They are the same aliens that attacked your ancestors, Jason stressed. The ones that kidnapped some of your people and took your landing ships. They attacked Karis a few days ago, but we repelled them. And then they show up here. They know you're here, he told them. They know you are here, and that means that you are not safe. And I will not leave you to be captured by the Consortium. You are Karinnes, and it's my solemn duty to protect you.

What do you mean, your Grace? Zeran asked.

I mean that there will be no one left behind, he told them directly. Anyone who stays behind faces certain capture by the Consortium, and that's a death sentence. I want to secure this planet for Karinne, add it to the house, but given everything that's going on right now, the attack on Karis and the depletion of our military and the need to protect our homeworld against another Consortium attack, I just don't have the resources to spare to Exile right now. This planet is too far away for us to protect it, we can't possibly leave you here. So, I'm not going to ask your people who wants to go, I'm going to order them to. They are Karinnes. I am their Grand Duke. They may hate me for it, but they will obey.

Many will be very unhappy, another council member warned.

I know, but I'm not changing my mind. I'd rather them be pissed off at me and alive, than happy I left them and dead. This isn't a matter of choice. I have no choice but to take them all home, and they have no choice but to obey. Believe me, I'd leave them here if I could, but I just can't risk it. I won't leave my people in that kind of danger.

Are you sure about this, your Grace? Are you sure they came to make war?

Oh, I'm sure, he sent darkly. They know about the Karinnes and our power and our technology, and they want it for themselves. They tried to capture the living computer when they attacked Karis. They are our enemies, and I will not leave my people defenseless in the face of our enemy that knows you are here, he stressed.

But we should be given a chance to–

"No!" Jason growled, making sure to speak using the same archaic words they used, drawing on the encyclopedic knowledge of Faey that Jyslin had given him. "Don't you understand? Let me say it out loud to you. They will kill you if I leave you here!" he said hotly. "They will destroy your town, take you from this planet, torture you for information, and then kill you! I will not let that happen to my people! I know you don't like it, I don't like it either, but I have a duty to protect you, and I cannot protect you if I leave you here. It's that simple!"

But some will choose to take that risk, the councilwoman sent with calm dignity. To some of us, this is our home. You're asking us to abandon our home in the face of an unseen threat. What proof do we truly have that we are in danger? All we have is the word of a man that claims to be the new ruler of our house. For all we know, the promises he made to us just hours ago were never meant to be kept, that this was his plan all along

Janu! I have seen the living computer! I have seen Karis! Aura protested. I know he speaks the truth! Didn't you see the black scars on the ship we are in when we came up? That is the mark of a ship that has been in combat! Or were you too busy gaping at that tremendous ship that sits over this one like a strider warming an egg? Why is it protecting this one, Janu? Perhaps, to keep us safe?

Let's put this in very simple terms, Jason sent, giving the woman a hard stare. Are you a Karinne?

I am, but–

No buts. Are you a Karinne?

Yes, I am a Karinne.

Then you are duty bound to obey the ruler of the house. Jason took off his gauntlet and showed her his signet ring. This is the signet ring of the House Karinne. Who would wear this ring?

The Grand Duchess.

Or the Grand Duke, Aura added.

Thank you, my wife would be very angry if she found out she married an ugly woman, he sent, which made Aura splutter with laughter in spite of the grave situation. Now, if you are a Karinne, and I wear the signet ring of Karinne, then that means that you are my subject. That means that you will obey me, and I am ordering you to leave this planet and return home..

I detest pulling rank on people, and you seem to think that I enjoy this, but I assure you I don't. There's not a single person on Karis that doesn't want to be there. I loathe to bring people to Karis that would rather be somewhere else, because it goes against one of the basic tenets upon which the new house has been built. But I simply have no choice. I will not leave you here, because I can't protect you, and the enemy knows you're here. They will come back, and when they do, they will destroy everything you've built. I can't say it any simpler, or enough times. You have only two choices. Come with me and live, or stay here and die. And I'm not going to let my people commit suicide.

When he saw their angry faces, he blew out his breath. Let me tell you a little story about a young man who found himself in a similar situation. He was a simple young man who found himself living under the rule of an oppressive invader. Instead of accepting his lot, he instead ran away and hid, and then rebelled against the invaders occupying his homeland. He had a little success, because he was lucky, and because he had some support from friends and other rebels like himself. But in the end, he ended up captured by his oppressors and forced to make a choice. If he continued to rebel, then not only he would die, but so would quite a few others, and his homeland would remain in the clutches of the oppressive invaders. But if he joined, he could force the invaders out of his homeland and free his people. In the end, he chose to sacrifice himself to save his people. He joined them, and in the end, the invaders were forced out of his homeland, and his people were freed.

I know that doesn't sound like it has anything to do with this, until you learn that that young man was me, and I came to take the house of Karinne not entirely by my own choice. It was the only way to save my people from the tyranny of another Faey noble house who were occupying my home planet. I won't bore you with the specifics of the story, but I will tell you this one simple truth. I know what it feels like to be forced into a situation you would not have otherwise chosen because it was your duty. Because I know what it's like, believe me, I would be the last person to ever force another into the same situation I'm in right now, forced into a life you didn't choose because of hard necessity. But dammit, I'm in this chair now, and I'll be damned to hell if I don't do everything in my power to save you, even if it means uprooting you and taking you back to Karis with me.

I know you're going to hate it. I know you're going to pray to Trelle that my hair falls out or my skin turns green or something. I can live with that. But you seem to be forgetting, this isn't a permanent situation. I want to return to Exile and claim it for House Karinne, and when I do so, the Exiled will be free to return. This move is just temporary, because I can't protect you right now, we just don't have the resources. It may take a few years, but you will eventually have the chance to come back.

He gave them a steely, adamant expression. So. Listen to me now, subjects of House Karinne. Your Grand Duke is ordering you to prepare the people of Exile to move to Karis. We have five days to get you and as much as your people can pack up onto ships and away from here. Five days. So, we're all going back to your city, you are calling your people together, and then I will tell them the bad news. I will make sure they understand it's all coming from me, and you objected, so they won't hate you. Then, after we're done, all of us are going to be up all night hammering out a plan to get your animals ready, collect your planting seed, your personal possessions, your art, and your important artifacts. Once we have that plan set up, we carry it out. In five days, House Karinne is leaving Exile, and all of us are going home. Do you understand? And mind, that is a question that only has two answers, yes or no.

His eyes dared them to make any other comment, and they couldn't stand up to that withering stare for long. One by one, they lowered their eyes and nodded or sent that they understood. Good. I'm sorry it had to come to this. I hate using my title like a club, but this is not a situation where I have any choice in the matter. I must protect you, even if you object to that protection. To walk away and allow you to die would violate the sacred vows I made to myself and to the memory of our house when I became Grand Duke. There are too few Karinnes, and it would be a crime to allow you to blindly walk into death. So. Stand up. We're going to the city, right now. He looked to Aya. Do what you have to do.

She gave him a look that said she was proud of him, and nodded. She started barking orders via sending, orders that went through the entire ship, calling the Ducal guard, Raptor pilots, and Kyva to duty to go down to the planet.

He knew that they were angry with him, and felt betrayed, but they didn't understand the full situation, and he wasn't about to leave anyone behind. Anyone who stayed behind was going to die. It was just that simple.

It was a quiet and tense ride back down to the city, and he saw that the entire town was gathered up in the square. Jason landed the dropship in almost the exact same spot as five Raptors and Kyva's Gladiator landed around him protectively, and as the three KMS ships he'd sent down still hovered in the air like giant birds, blatantly visible to the citizens, since the three ships were in a defensive position only about ten thousand feet up.

Jason wasted no time. As soon as the ramp was lowered, he stepped out and beckoned to the council, then addressed the gathered citizens. He sent powerfully, and he also sent in a way that would allow the children to hear him. This was news that everyone needed to hear and understand. Sending in that manner with that much power was going to give him a headache pretty quick, but it was necessary.

Hear me, people of Exile, he called. As I'm sure that many of you have come to notice, something has happened, he noted, pointing up into the twilight sky, where three triangular ships hovered overhead. About two hours ago, our ancient enemy appeared here at your world. They are the aliens that attacked your ancestors and stole the ships you came here in, and also the same aliens that attacked Karis itself just a couple of days ago.

He ignored the sudden fearful voices and sendings, moving forward. Because it's clear now that our enemy knows you are here, that they remembered where they found your ancestors, it changes everything. Let me say this plainly and from my heart, people of Exile. I can't protect you. I told you that before. This planet is too far away from Karis for me to defend. And since it's now abundantly clear that our enemy knows you are here, I cannot in good conscious leave you here. I'm afraid all of you must leave Exile and return to Karis. I didn't want it to be this way, but I won't leave you here defenseless. Let me make this clear; anyone who remains here will be attacked by our enemy, which calls itself the Consortium. To stay behind is a death sentence, and I'm not going to let any of you commit suicide.

Your council and your Chieftess have argued quite vociferously against my decision, he stressed. They don't want me to force those who wish to stay here to leave. But I'll tell you the same thing I told them. I am your Grand Duke, and your safety and protection are the most sacred of my duties to you. I cannot protect you if you stay here, and this planet is so distant, if I were to try to split my forces to defend this planet, I would be fatally weakening the defenses of both Exile and Karis. To try to protect both planets would cost us both planets, and destroy House Karinne. The only way I can protect you is to bring you to Karis.

I know many of you will hate this decision, and hate me. I understand. I accept full responsibility. This was not the decision of your council or your Chieftess, it was mine, and mine alone, and it was not a choice that I wanted to make, but my duty to protect you overrides my desire to accede to your wishes in this matter. But I am not going to change my mind. In five days, we will leave this planet and return to Karis. The Chieftess and the council and I are going to return to the council chamber and work out a plan to evacuate the city, which we'll initiate tomorrow morning. What I want you to do is go home and consider what you want to take with you. You are free to bring anything you wish except for things like tools and machines you use in your day to day chores and work. New tools and machines will be provided for you on Karis, so follow this simple rule when you pack; if you can get a new one on Karis, don't bring it with you. But everything else is going. Your striders and chechis are coming, all the contents of your houses is coming, and we're even going to pick up and move your statues of art and other important landmarks and artifacts. We have plenty of room to carry your things, so bring everything you can manage to pack except for those tools and machines that you won't need to bring with you.

I will make you this promise, though. This move is only temporary. The house simply cannot protect you if you stay here, but the house also is not going to just abandon this planet. Right now, we don't have the resources to defend both planets from attack, since they're so far away from each other. We can get around the distance problem, but it requires us to build huge, complicated machines that are very expensive and take a long time to construct… but we don't have the resources to devote to it right now. Our factories that could build this machine are too busy reparing our damaged ships and building new ones to protect us from our common enemy, who are called the Consortium. But, when we are suitably equipped to protect ourselves from our enemy, we intend to come back and claim this planet for Karinne. When we come back and reclaim this planet, you will be allowed to return, when it is safe to do so. I know this is going to inconvenience you, to leave and have to come back and fix everything that broke down from neglect, but there's just no other way.

So, I swear to you, people of Exile, that when Karinne comes back to this planet, you will be allowed to return to this town, your home. But you won't be alone, for the House Karinne will be returning with you to claim the planet for the house. You can help us when we return, for you know this planet. You know the plants, the animals. We could definitely use your help. But until then, we simply have to do what is safest, and that is remove you from the planet until we can come back and protect both it and Karis.

He looked around at startled and sober faces, even has the headache from such prolonged, powerful sending so kids could hear started to affect him. So, hate me if you must, but understand, I am only doing what I feel is best for you. So everyone, please. Go home. Go home and start planning on how you are going to pack, what you are going to take, keeping in mind that we have room to take anything you want to bring, but we only have five days to get it all done. We will help you in any way we can to get your possessions ready to move. Your Chieftess and your Council and I are going to go work out a plan to get everything we can moved onto the ships in those five days, and we'll tell you about the plan in the morning.

Again, let me say that I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to do this, and I know I'm uprooting you from your homes. All I can do is promise that you will be coming back, as soon as it's safe to do so.

Everyone do as the Grand Duke commands, Aura called strongly. We'll discuss it in greater detail in the morning at a town meeting, when we tell you of our plans. Until then, please, no questions, no demands. Let's save the discussion for tomorrow. Tonight, go home and consider what you wish to bring and how you're going to go about getting it ready to move. Until tomorrow, this town meeting is adjourned, she sent with strong formality and finality, which caused muttering and dark-faced townsfolk to disband and disberse back into the city.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"I am happy to help you, my Grand Duke," she smiled in return.

Jason and the council did exactly as he said, they returned to the council chambers, but not alone. Sevi was summoned down with the captains of the cruisers to help, and Jeyaar also came down. She entered with two Kimdori in the guise of Faey, but they returned to their normal shapes once inside, which cause gasps and exclamations of astonishment from the council.

"These are our cousins, the Kimdori, who have come to help us," Jason said aloud. "Because they cannot send, we must do our best to conduct this meeting by speech. I know enough of the old language to keep up with your discussion, and I can send to explain to those who don't comprehend your words."

"From our very legends!" Zeran gasped.

"Truly. To meet a cousin, it is an honor!" Orii gushed, bowing to Jeyaar as she came up to Jason.

"It is unseemly for us not to be properly introduced, and then we can continue with the conference," Jeyaar said with a nod to Orii.

Jeyaar did more than anything else so far to convince the council that Jason was the real deal. The council seemed awestruck by her and her two officers, the almost mythical Kimdori, and their deference to Jason was solid, concrete proof that he really was a Karinne noble, really was the Grand Duke he claimed to be. The Kimdori only acted with deference outside of their race to the Karinne nobles, that was a fact plainly stated in the history they had of the house. They didn't know why, but they knew it was a fact, and that fact helped the council accept that Jason really was their ruler.

The council, Jason, his commanders, and Jeyaar talked all through the night. They worked out a detailed plan to pick up virtually everything in Exile and move it onto ships, leaving behind only empty buildings. They would even pick up and move the machines that they wouldn't need on Karis, if only to keep them out of the hands of the Consortium. They had even worked out a plan to pick up their sailing ships, stepping down their masts and storing them in the landing bays of assorted vessels. They worked out a schedule where ten different moving teams would systematically move through the town, coming to a house, helping the residents pack everything up, then moving both the items and the people out. The items would go to storage on one of the destroyers, and then the people would be taken up and given comfortable quarters to await their return to Karis. When a ship was filled to capacity, it and two escorts would begin the journey back to Karis, along pre-planned and determined stops where Kimdori ships would be guarding the rest points. It was decided that one council member would be going with each ship, and the first would be the most senior member of the council, Orii. They were going to maintain a presence of authority among the Exiled, there to calm them and answer their questions, and also they would be there on Karis so they could help their people and coordinate with the volunteers at Karis, but Aura would be the last to leave to maintain a presence on Exile. It would be an around-the-clock operation, packing up and moving the factories and other public buildings at night, so as not to disturb those residents still awaiting their turn to be moved. They even had plans to pick up all the crops planted and many of their orchard trees, scooping them up right out of the ground and moving them within their native soil, then placed on ships under artificial sunlight that would exactly mimic the characteristics of the system's yellow star and keep the plants alive while they were transplanted to Karis. The astrobiology department was already hard at work determining if the plants of Exile would be able to thrive under Karis' blue sun, or if they'd need to be put in greenhouses under lamps that would emulate the yellow sun of Exile.

While they were talking, the ships above were also busy. The entire area was saturated with hyperspace probes, covering literally the entire end of the galaxy's arm, which would give them a good ninety second warning if any ships entered the covered area in hyperspace. The ships were also busy building weapons platforms, temporary ones they would recover when they left that would serve as additional defense of the city in case the Consortium returned in force. The planet was also being patrolled by flights of Raptors, on constant alert for any sudden appearance or attack. The fighters had proved themselves in battle against the Consortium, for their pulse weaponry gave them powerful weapons that could do real damage to the enemy's ships. He had seen a swarm of fighters cripple a Consortium cruiser during the battle, all by themselves. The Raptors were a force to be reckoned with. Stellar Cartography was hard at work calculating the possible route the attackers had taken to reach Exile, to try to ferret out whatever base they were using.

By sunrise, they had their plan. The ships above were already preparing, and a fleet of dropships with nearly a thousand workers from both fleets, pulled off the ships, was on its way down. The Kimdori were going to help them pack up the Exiled and move them. Jason was tired, but he felt satisfied that everything would go according to plan. They emerged from the council building to find most of the town outside, waiting anxiously for word of what was discussed. Jason let Aura explain to them what was going to happen, how they were taking everything but the buildings, even taking the ships, and she explained the plan of dividing the town among ten different teams that would help the citizens pack up their belongings and move them to the ship, then send them on to Karis one ship at a time in a constant stream that would last five days. They were assured that all their animals would go, that the crops, even many of the trees, were going to be picked up and moved in their native soil, which should save their crops.

If everything goes as planned, everything will be ready to move in five days, and I mean everything, Aura sent. Our factories, our machines, our possessions, our animals, our ships, even our crops and trees, they will all be picked up and stored for the move. When we leave, we take everything with us but our houses. A printed schedule of the moving teams will be distributed to everyone in the city by noon. So, that's it, my people. When you get the schedule, find out when the movers will come to your house and be ready to show them how you want everything packed. When your house is packed, then you will be flown up to their big ship where you will stay in a comfortable cabin and wait to be taken to Karis. Councilwoman Orii will be going with the first group to go to Karis, to serve as a liaison and assistant to the Karinnes on Karis who will receive us and help us settle in at the city where we are being taken. There will be a council member on every ship.

The townsfolk didn't look entirely happy, but they at least nodded in understanding of the plan, and they disbersed to begin the tasks… grudgingly. Jason blew out his breath and scrubbed his hair with a gauntleted hand, but Aya tapped him on the shoulder and made him look at her.

It's done now, and this is a potential battle zone, she told him sternly. You are going home, your Grace. I absolutely insist. I will not let you stay here now that your presence is no longer required.

But they might need me.

No. They know what's going to happen, and I'm not letting you stay here. You can protest all you want, but you will do it from the safety of Karis. And I'll ignore you no matter where you do it.

Jason chuckled in spite of himself. Such the bully.

Where your safety is concerned, yes, I am a bully, she sent with complete confidence and unwavering resolve. Now say goodbye to Aura, for you, you silly man, are going home.

"Yes, mommy," Jason said teasingly aloud, which made her flip him off, an entirely Terran gesture of defiance and insult. That made him laugh. Aura, Aya has just told me that I am being sent home like a misbehaving child, he sent with a slightly offended undertone, sticking his tongue out at Aya, which just made her laugh silently. She feels that me being here, where the Consortium might appear at any moment, is too much to risk. She even pulled rank on me, he sent, bristling slightly. And I know better than to argue with her. If I defy her, she'll just tie me up and lock me in my room until we're back on Karis.

Damn right I will, she confirmed, which made Ryn, Suri, Dera, and Shen grin mischievously.

Aura gave him a strange look. Was it regret? I understand, your Grace. This is not the place for you. I will do my best to ensure that all goes smoothly in your stead. Will you let me come to see you when I reach Karis?

Of course, he agreed, impulsively taking her hand, then kissing her on the cheek. They'll tell me when you arrive, and you're welcome to come have dinner with me and my family.

I would be honored, your Grace.

Captain Sevi, I want ten ships prepared to return to Karis, carrying the Grand Duke, Aya called to Sevi, who was about to board a dropship and return to her vessel. The ships will be going back as quickly as possible, Captain Sevi. Six minute jumps. I want his Grace's vulnerability limited as much as possible.

Oh joy, Jason grumbled mentally.

You like to say you get your hands dirty, your Grace. Now you get to do hyperspace jumps like a woman, Aya grinned.

I think this is when I claim male softness and whine to get the jumps reduced, he teased, which made Aya laugh silently.

We'll give you a treat when you get home, your Grace, Dera winked. We'll all dance the Beya naked for you.

A reward? A reward for who, Dera? I've already seen all of you naked, what more can you possibly show me that I can't get a better look at from my wife and Symone? he sent teasingly, which made Dera laugh, a soundless wheeze.

Well, variety is the spice of life, as humans say, Ryn winked.

Two minutes surfing viddy channels and I can get all the variety I need, he retorted, which made Ryn smile broadly. It is absolutely impossible to surf viddy for more than two minutes without seeing at least one naked Faey.

But that's not live, your Grace. That's viddy! And you get to choose your vantage point when it's live, you don't always get to see the good parts of a girl on viddy unless she bends over or sits down and spreads her legs. Girls are lucky, the good parts of the boys are hanging out right where we can see them easily, she winked.

True, but viddy offers much better closeups, fast forward, reverse, slow motion, and pause, so a man can savor a really, really nice closeup, he remarked dryly, which made all of them, even Aura, laugh.


He didn't want to leave, but he was, quite simply, bullied into it.

Ten ships took the Grand Duke home, led by the cruiser Demir's Sword. The Demir's Sword was commanded by Drae Feralle Karinne, the wife of a human telepath, a tall, skinny woman with long chestnut colored hair and large rose-colored eyes, almost the same hue as Myleena's eyes. Drae put Jason in her personal cabin, which was just off the bridge, through the ready room that served as her official office for ship business. Drae's cabin was cluttered with all kinds of books and old artifacts; Drae's hobby was Imperial archaeology. Jason didn't get much chance to explore her old artifacts, though, for his guards had him strap down and prepare for his first extended jump almost as soon as he was in the cabin.

He didn't like short jumps, and he found that he liked maximum exposure six minute jumps even less. It felt like an eternity in hyperspace, and when the first leg was over, he felt a little dizzy and disoriented. Aya made Drae and the task force wait to give Jason a little extra time to recover, nearly fifteen minutes, and then they jumped again. By the time they were nearly home, Jason had to admit that he was at least able to tolerate it a little better.

It's like anything, your Grace. Training and repeated exposure can help you build up a resistance to it, Aya told him as they prepared for their last jump, which would take them to Karis.

The final leg was only a minute or two, and he had managed it fairly well as he blinked to clear his head, and the familiar continents of Karis were visible in Drae's window. "Home," he sighed in contentment. "Do they know I'm coming?"

Aya nodded. I called ahead.

"Good. It would have been nice to surprise Jys, but that's fine. What time is it at Foxwood?"

About five in the morning, she answered.

"They should be up, then. Good. I think I'm going to take Jyslin right back upstairs when I get home."

The guards gave him sly smiles. You were only gone two days. Such a weak will, Shen teased.

"What can I say, I'm weak," he said blandly, which made them all laugh soundlessly. "You forget, I'm used to having a woman available to satisfy my lust at all times."

You're the Grand Duke, just grab some woman subject and ravish her, Ryn winked.

"Ravishing is only fun when you ravish the willing," he answered her. "That way you don't walk out with scratches, bruises, and bite marks all over you."

Well, you can if you do it right, Ryn grinned.

"I'm no bondage boy. I'll leave the rough stuff for people braver than me," he said blandly, which made her laugh. "I'll leave the extent of my kinkiness to sharing my bed with our amu dozei."

Pft, that's not kinky, Aya protested. That's an entirely proper and healthy relationship. An amu dozei relationship between two couples should definitely be celebrated together, in the same bed. To separate it would be little more than having an amu dorai.

To Faey it's a proper and accepted practice. It's considered kinky to humans. Couples don't commonly share beds with other couples, and certainly not when both couples are married. It's considered kinky just to have two partners in bed with you at the same time. One couple is the accepted practice, and in many cultures, that couple is only being proper if they're married. Sex before marriage and out of the marriage, with a partner not your spouse, is considered improper in many human cultures.

Trelle's garland, no wonder Terra has such a violent history. Such sexual repression must inevitably lead to frayed nerves and tension that has to be released somehow.

Jason chuckled. "You know, I'm not going to argue that point. But I can say that the Faey don't have any kind of excuse. You're just as violent as the Terrans, and it's not an issue of sexual tension."

True, but at least we're much more relaxed and happy when we're making war on each other.

Jason laughed helplessly.

Jason was home about an hour after the ship arrived at Karis, mainly because Jason stopped over at Orbital One to talk to the command staff about the progress of repairs and the interdictor. When he finished, he returned to Foxwood, and found Ayama waiting for him with a plate of eggs. "Welcome back, your Grace," she said, sitting him down. "I'm afraid you're the only one here, your Grace. Lady Jyslin is over at Symone's house, and Rann and Danelle and Kyri spent the night at Maya's. Go ahead and eat before going over, I know you must be hungry."

"You're a lifesaver, Ayama," he smiled, sitting in a padded chair he often used when sitting at the table in his armor. "Can you go lay out some clothes for me please? I'd like to get out of my armor before going over to see Jyslin."

"Certainly," she smiled. "I'll put out a robe for you, and pack your clothes in a bag to carry with you."

Jason laughed. "That would probably be safest," he said mildly. "I'm not entirely sure when we'll be back."

"I have to go to market this morning anyway," she smiled.

After a light breakfast, Jason went up and took off his armor, stored it away in its special locked cloet to keep Rann away from the dangerous weapons, put on the robe, picked up the little canvas carry bag, and headed out for Tim and Symone's house. They lived next door, and the garden behind the house connected Jason and Tim's houses together. That was the path he commonly took to their house. He entered through the back door and went upstairs, confidently navigating the dark halls since he spent enough time here, and found Jyslin, Symone, and Tim asleep in the master bedroom, Jyslin nuzzled in between Tim and Symone. He couldn't resist leaning over Symone and blowing lightly in her ear.

Symone's eyes fluttered open, then she looked up at him and smiled broadly. "Jason!" she exclaimed, twisting to a sitting position and giving him a strong hug as Jyslin and Tim stirred. When did you get back?

"Just now," he answered, sitting on the edge of the bed. Aya forced me to come home, she said it was too dangerous for me to stay there.

Well, she was right, Jyslin told him, leaning over Symone and giving him a loving kiss. Why didn't you call ahead?

I didn't want to bother you, and besides, I figured that Myri woulda told you I was coming. She knew I was on my way home.

I guess she didn't want to disturb us, we were just a little busy last night, Symone laughed.

Well, I'm just glad I got here in time, Jason sent with a smile.

In time for what?

Before you began the morning session, he sent, letting his desire and ardor bleed into his thoughts as he looked down at Symone's bare breasts, then pulled down the bedspread to gaze at her platinum blond pubic hair, and the delights hiding just beneath it.

All three of them laughed, and both Jyslin and Symone grabbed hold of him and pulled him down into the bed, stretched over both of them. Well, c'mere you horny boy, let's see what we can do about that, Jyslin sent with lust swirling through her thoughts, kissing him quite passionately.

Chapter 2