Page 17 of Destinies of Diamond
My parents’ sex life wasn’t the problem. It was the fact that they were fucking the king that bothered me—because he had killed Stella. But there was no point in mentioning that. Anyway, he wouldn’t live for much longer. “You’re right, of course, Mother. It was just a bit of a surprise. His Majesty and everyone around him had a lot to say about our relationship with Selene, you see. But we are all in agreement now, so as long as you’re happy, I have no issue with it.”
My mother didn’t seem to register the biting part of my retort. Her eyes flashed with a mix of relief and sorrow. “You were always such a good boy,” she whispered.
I could have sworn I saw a hint of unshed tears, but it must have been a trick of light. The next thing I knew, she was turning away, having apparently lost interest in me. “Philip, I take it you’ll have to return to The Grand Judiciary?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” He shot her an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry for leaving this way, at such an inopportune time.”
Ironically, I believed him, because he was staring at her breasts, not at her face as he spoke. My mother didn’t care about this detail.
“Don’t worry. I understand that both you and my husband have responsibilities. I don’t expect you to sacrifice the safety of the dynasty on my account.”
“A true woman of Chimera nobility,” the king said, already getting up.
I decided I’d stayed here long enough and I had no desire to listen to them complementing one another. “With your permission, Your Majesty, Mother, I’ll take my leave. I still have several residences to check up on and I need to contact my unit to see how they’re doing.”
“Of course, Flight Lieutenant Donadieu,” the king answered. “Go. As always, thank you for your service.”
“Good luck hunting, dear,” my mother added. “And don’t be such a stranger. Come home a little more often. And bring your Terran next time. I’d love to meet her officially.”
That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, not if I could help it. But I didn’t say it outright. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
With a final, military salute and a polite goodbye, I left my mother’s quarters. As I made a beeline for the landing strip, I wondered if the others were having better luck. I hoped so. At this point, finding some terrorists to blow up might be cathartic.
Threats
Brendan
One of the very first things Chimera royalty had built during the Apsid Wars was the Hades Moon Base. Once, it had held the largest concentration of Terran troops of all our individual bases.
Countless years had passed since then and many things about our organizational system had changed, but the security around the moon had never faltered. The individual star fleets occupied other garrisons as well, but over half of the Crius Guard Corps was assigned to the Hades Moon Base, monitoring all the angles of approach. It was why I’d always been so leery at the prospect of attacking The Grand Judiciary, even if most of its members deserved to die a very painful death. I might have been able to pass using the Typhon, but it would be impossible to launch a widespread attack without the guards realizing what had happened and turning on me.
That wasn’t something I was considering too closely today. The explosion at Tartarus Base left me anxious, as did Selene’s departure to Terra. She was still upset and not dealing with recent developments well. She shouldn’t have had to go anywhere alone. I hoped I’d be able to handle matters here quickly, so I could catch up to her and the others later.
As I approached, I contacted ground control and announced our arrival. “Typhon and Cerberus closing in, tamers Brendan Chimera and Knox Alexander. Requesting permission to land.”
“Request granted, Your Highness,” came the immediate response. “Direct your chimeras to the main hangars.”
We did, although I half wanted to turn back. It already seemed obvious that we’d come all this way for nothing, since there was no anomaly or enemy here.
But for good or ill, we’d made the trip, so we might as well notify The Grand Judiciary of what was going on. Besides, if someone had attacked Tartarus Base, they might be planning to target Hades later.
The staff of the hangars received us with the appropriate amount of deference. As Knox and I left the cockpits of our chimeras, several members of the Crius Guard Corps met us on the tarmac. That was when things got really weird. Bowing lowly, one of them said, “Your Highness, the emergency meeting is already in session. Right this way, if you please.”
I was befuddled by this turn of events. I hadn’t known anything about any emergency meeting. But I didn’t let my shock show. Instead, I went along with it, curious what incident could have caused The Grand Judiciary to organize such a meeting.
The Grand Judiciary met up often to discuss organizational matters of both the star fleets and Terran governments. Each individual member had a different role, but they discussed their common goals together, to keep their new decisions from clashing. That was why it was very unusual for emergency meetings to happen. Only a very alarming event would have led The Grand Judiciary to act this way. But what could it be?
Knox walked by my side, his stance so tense I expected him to snap any moment now. “What do you suppose this is all about?”
“No idea, but it can’t be good. If there’s an emergency meeting and our presence here wasn’t surprising, I assume the topic must require our intervention.”
After what had happened in Gaia’s Haven, I had no desire to follow their orders again. I’d just have to make a choice depending on what they asked me.
“I’m with you, Your Highness,” Knox murmured, “no matter what you need.”
His words made me feel much better and by the time we reached the main meeting hall of The Grand Judiciary, I was calm once again. The guards at the door stared at us when we got there, but they let us pass.
The doors glowed red as the sensors detected my presence and approved it. Side by side, Knox and I walked into The Grand Judiciary Main Hall—and were instantly struck by the sounds of a serious argument.
