Story Hub: [link]
Maia 29th 758
One week after the disastrous
sparring match, the three princesses and their attendants were herded into the
Moon Machine
and shuttled directly to the Multiversal Power Stationtm. Serena had
to keep Irene pinned the whole trip lest the young princess try to climb out
the window. Princess Atlanta stared out the window, ignoring Orion’s attempts
to attend to her. Lastly, the second princess was just sitting there with her
hand in her lap, a smile on her face, and her eyes closed. Caenia was at the
second’s side, checking her charge’s hair with a compact mirror.
Serena watched Caenia go about her
job with so many questions in her mind. Setting aside the matter of Caenia’s
sudden and inexplicable return, there were many more confusing points
surrounding the second princess. Serena observed the young girl and her long
lilac hair that turned a deep red at the tips with a degree of concern. This
was the first time she had laid eyes on this princess since her own competition
with Aré last month,
and this was the closest look she’d ever gotten.
‘I know the rumors of her being
disabled or… ‘invalid’ were false, but,’ Serena paused for thought. ‘Actually,
Aphros never denied the rumors. She just referred to them and—No! Bad line of
thought—anyway, I never see her around. Nobody talks about her. Heck, I don’t
even know where her room is. She’s an anomaly, even in this wacky job. And I
don’t know how you can help her fix her hair when her eyes are closed, but who
am I to question the great Caenia? And then there’s her name…’ Serena glanced
out the window and realized they had almost arrived. ‘Forget it. I’m not the
one who has to say it out loud.’
The Moon Machine was brought down to
a slower speed, not just because they had reached their destination but also
because there was a massive mob of press and paparazzi between them and their
goal. The situation made Serena wonder why the Moon Machine was ground-based
and not a hovercraft like most other vehicles in this day and age. But, at risk
of repeating herself, who was she to question the decisions of the palace?
Princess Atlanta moved up to the front of the Moon Machine in a huff and
pressed the intercom button on the wall.
“Orpheo, get the press out of the
way, I don’t care what you have to do,” Atlanta ordered.
“Apologizes, Princess Atlanta,”
Orpheo softly refused, “but as I have told you many times, I am not at liberty
to run over your own citizens, even if they’re paparazzi.”
“Then do something!” Atlanta huffed.
“As you wish,” Orpheo began
liberally applying the vehicle’s horn.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Thankfully, an armored car blaring
its horn had the universal meaning of ‘get out of the way,’ and the sea of
press parted for the royalty’s vehicle. Now, all that lay between the trio of
princesses and their attendants was a thin strip of concrete leading up to the
power station’s main gate. If only they weren’t surrounded on both sides by
relentless news media personalities trying to get exclusive interviews.
As the station’s metal gate opened
outward, forcing some of the paparazzi to the side, a flood of workers exited
the back of the Moon Machine and formed a pair of human walls. Then, the
passenger door of the vehicle opened. Orion got out first and took Princess
Atlanta’s hand as she stepped out of the Machine to a wave of camera flashes.
Caenia and the second princess exited next to slightly less fanfare. Finally,
Serena and Irene came out last to a different kind of welcome.
“Serena Diane, can you explain the
nature of your relationship with Lady Aré?” “…Is it true you used to be a low
noble?” “…rumor has it the palace’s gardens were destroyed. Do you have any
comments?” The press pestered the young maid with a barrage of questions. To
her credit, Serena kept her head down and hands together at her waist. She
focused on her primary duty, shepherding Irene to the power station safely.
Thankfully, Irene was willing to follow along and not make trouble. She was far
too amused by all the attention on Serena. As for the others…
“Your Highness, is it true you and
your fiancée are fighting again?” “…how much validity is there to the rumors
you’re being passed over for the throne?” “What’s your shoe size?” Princess
Atlanta was met with much less flattering questions. She had attempted to enter
into the public eye today with an air of dignity and grace, but her façade was
crumbling as her frustration bubbled over from the invasive questions. At least
Orion was there to deflect the worst of the questions.
“Your Highness!” “Caenia!” “Your
Highness, what actually is your name?” “Caenia, is it true you tried to quit
working at the palace last year?” “Your Highness!” “Caenia!” A much less
ordered barrage of questions was directed at the duo in the middle. It seemed
the one-two punch of having the rare second princess and the star of the Diane
family in one place was too good to pass up, but no one had the chance to
prepare any actual questions to ask them.
“Whoops,” Caenia exclaimed as she
‘accidentally’ knocked a camera to the ground after it got a little too close.
“My apologies, but you should be more careful with such delicate equipment,”
she feigned innocence, which did little to appease the owner of the now smashed
camera. Caenia didn’t even give them another glance as she quickly guided the
second princess past the crowd.
‘I wonder if Caenia always had such
a charming personality,’ Serena considered. ‘She’s certainly at the peak of
physical and mental ability but has zero patience for anything outside her
control. It’s no wonder Irene ran her down so fast. But maybe I’m jumping to
conclusions.’ The maid decided to cut her predecessor some slack.
With the three princesses safely
guided through the gate, the human wall of workers moved to form a wall behind
the trio of royalty and followed them past the threshold as the gate closed,
locking out the press.
Inside the gate, waiting for them,
was a sweaty and squat man with short, greying brown hair and a panicked look
on his face, flanked by a young but jaded-looking man with short and
well-combed blonde hair. The squat man was elated by the princesses’ arrival
and rushed to great Atlanta.
“Welcome, Your Highness. I’m so glad
you could make time in your schedule to tour our new facility,” he attempted to
bow. Alas, his body did not agree with an attempt at bending his spine, so it
looked more like an awkward lean forward.
“It is the duty of my family to
ensure all aspects of our kingdom are run with dignity and efficiency,” Atlanta
replied, bemused by the man’s presentation, “it is but a trifle.” Despite being
at most half his age, the young princess was slightly taller than the man.
“We’ve got a wonderful facility,
I’ll tell you, we produce over 80,000 TWh a
year,” the man declared.
“We produce roughly 8,000 TWh a
year, rounded up, sir,” the blonde man corrected.
“Uh,” the squat man stuttered, “and
we’ve got the best structures and security in the business. I can’t wait for
you to meet Leo. He’s our head of security.”
“Leo is on sick leave this week,”
the blonde man corrected again. “He asked you three times if it was okay, and
you assured him everything would be fine.”
“Ah, but I get ahead of myself,” the
other man course-corrected, “I’m Anax Pylo, the administrator, and this boy is
Carus Lambros, my chief engineer.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Atlanta was
already nearing her limit. Orion panicked at her side, looking for a way to
ease her frustrations.
‘Off to a lovely start, I see,’
Serena thought.
“Please come in. We’ve got a great
tour for you today, isn’t that right, Carus?” Anax asked his engineer.
“Certainly, sir,” Carus replied with
all the warmth and motivation of a dead fish. “Let’s begin before the press
gets any more glamour shots of you.” The princesses and their attendants were
led further into the power station, away from the prying eyes of the press. The
reporters and news personalities cursed their misfortune. Now, they’d have to
wait hours to even get a chance at another photo of the princesses. However,
the press would be patient. They had trained their whole lives for such
matters, and knowing when to wait was just part of the business. All of them
except for one.
\\~~~\\
II //~~~//
Among the crowd of press badges,
microphones, and TV cameras stood one man more frustrated by this turn of
events than any other reporter. He lightly brushed his greased black hair as he
let out a low hiss. In contrast to all the clean suits and dresses surrounding
him, his press uniform was nothing more than a well-worn brown jacket, a black
shirt, and a pair of jeans. The man was stuck near the back of the crowd, far
away from the gates and the makeshift runway for the princesses. He couldn’t
even get a decent picture of them, let alone an interview. This wouldn’t do, he
had a reputation to uphold maintain build salvage…well
he had a reputation.
“Theo, this won’t stand,” the man
said to his assistant. Theo was a somewhat shorter man with shaggy, pale blonde
hair but wore a classy blue velvet suit. “How are we supposed to put the Velvet
Chamber on the map when we can’t even get close enough to get a decent
picture?”
“Besides a much-needed name change?”
Theo said with a smirk. “Well, not sleeping in would be a start. Then maybe
you’d have been close enough for that one maid to smash your camera, too.”
“Yeah, yeah Vassos boy,” the
black-haired man dismissed his assistant.
“Mr. Giles, need I remind you that
I’m one year your senior?” Theo pointed out.
“Whatever,” Giles brushed the fact
off, “I’m going to make the boss proud. We need to press for more of the story,
more of the drama, and the best way is to get inside that fence line.”
“Mr. Giles, I’m morally obligated
and legally required to remind you that the boss insisted you not get the
Velvet Chamber sued once again,” Theo rattled off as if he had said the same
thing a thousand times. “We can’t handle another trespassing or breaking and
entering charge.”
“That’s only if I get caught, and I
bet all their security is focused on this front gate or following the
princesses, so if I went in the back or the side…” Giles considered.
“Mr. Giles, I heavily recommend
against such actions. I’m not going to vouch for you if you get caught again,”
Theo warned.
“Sure thing, Mr. Responsible, and
when I bring in a juicy story tonight, you’re not going to be part of the
victory party,” Giles mocked his assistant. He marched off on his own, armed
with only his camera and (totally legal and not at all acquired through sketchy
means) aftermarket lockpicking kit.
\\~~~\\
III //~~~//
The tour proved to be nothing
spectacular, not that anyone (sans Orion) expected much from the event. Still,
they weren’t ready for how dull it would actually be.
“And here we have the MGRS 4000,
beautiful piece of machinery,” Anax declared for what felt like the twelfth
time.
“MGRS 5000, sir,” Carus corrected
him.
“Er, anyway,” Anax stuttered. “I’m
sure you know we draw endless, squeaky-clean energy from a universal grid that
flows through everything,” the administrator continued, “we collect the energy
in the station and send it to the power grid or put it in those Xe Crystalstm
everyone is talking about.”
“Charming, really,” Atlanta feigned
interest at the sights and sounds of the station.
“Hmm,” Orion had been taking notes
the entire tour.
‘Where have I heard this before?’
Serena suppressed a grumble. She wasn’t ignorant to the fact the
administrator’s spiel was a mangled version of what Aphros had read verbatim
from the station’s brochure. ‘Well, it may be dull, but I haven’t seen any giant
cows or slugs yet, so it has that going for it,’ Serena looked on the bright
side as she observed her surroundings.
The interior of the Multiversal
Power Stationtm was mostly what one would expect. Large rooms, high
ceilings, reflective floors, enormous machinery, and intricate mazes of
catwalks twisting in every direction. Serena was surprised at how quiet the
machinery was. It was not silent but more of a low hum in the background, akin
to a noise machine. She had assumed such powerful machinery harnessing energy
from a ‘multiversal power grid’ (whatever that was) would be ear-splittingly
loud, but no, it was an almost soothing noise.
On an unrelated note, an
earsplitting and explosive sound erupted nearby. Serena, Orion, and Caenia
nearly jumped into combat stance before they realized it was not a random
bombing but an actual part of the power station working as intended.
“Oh yeah, the power flare vents,”
Anax gestured to three (lightly) fenced-off giant vents on the floor. Huge
bursts of what looked like raw energy were firing up from the floor, like a
rocket’s engine, but more colorful. In fact, each vent spewed a different color
of energy, either red, blue, or yellow. She called it raw energy, but Serena
couldn’t quite wrap her head around what exactly was being vented. It wasn’t
quite fire, nor did it seem to be plasma (Serena noted it felt hot, but not
9,700 degrees Celsius hot). “Those things go off every hour on the hour. It’s a
power management thing, so don’t worry.”
“Sir, you’re thinking of the power
flare balancer,” Carus interjected, “the power flare vents are a primarily
aesthetic method to dispose of unused energy that we only had installed because
of a mandate passed down from General Chrona. For the publicity photos,
remember?”
“Uh, yeah, what he said,” Anax
didn’t miss a beat, although everyone saw that brief look of panic on his face.
‘Cool, more needlessly dangerous
stuff that has Chrona’s grubby mitts all over,’ Serena sighed, ‘that’s going to
get somebody killed, I just know it.’ The maid grabbed Irene’s arm tightly, as
she could already sense the child’s intent to hurdle herself toward danger.
“I wanna see if it makes a cool
sound when I squirt it with water,” Irene whispered to Serena. The princess
revealed a small water gun she had somehow smuggled into the station.
“Princess Irene, where did you get
that?” Serena attempted to confiscate the toy, but Irene snapped her fingers
and made it disappear into thin air like a magic trick. ‘I guess that’s how,’
Serena groaned. Looking for anything else to think about, she glanced back at
Caenia and the second princess, who had been quiet the whole tour. The newly
minted duo had just been standing around looking pretty for the most part. Not
a single word had been said by either, which wasn’t unusual for the princess,
but Serena had never seen Caenia so reserved before. It was almost…unnerving…
‘Just keep your wits about you, and
this day will end like any other,’ Serena said to herself as she realized she
didn’t like where her thoughts were going.
Instead, she returned to glancing
around the room, but all she saw were the power station’s employees and the
expanded servant staff accompanying the princesses. Jace, Medy, and Penelo had
integrated into that larger group of roughly a dozen workers. As expected, Medy
was heckling Jace while leading Penelo by a rope tied to the latter’s waist.
‘Looks like Medy realized Penelo can’t be trusted to walk in a straight line.
I’m not the only one playing babysitter today,’ Serena commented to herself as
she tried to snatch the water gun that had reappeared in Irene’s hand, but it
quickly vanished before she could grab it.
\\~~~\\
IV //~~~//
Giles snuck around the backside of
the Multiversal Power Stationtm, eyes open for a convenient way
inside. While he ran off on this quest without much thought, even he was
surprised he had met zero resistance. With the royalty visiting and it being
such a major press event, he expected to see tight security around the entire
perimeter that he’d need his ‘expert skills’ to stealth around. But no, not so
much as a guard or even a security robot. He assumed most of their exterior
security was busy keeping the press out. Sure, the conveniently unlocked gate
he walked through to get this far was weird and a little concerning, but he
wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
As Giles approached the building, he
spotted a small side door, likely for maintenance or an emergency exit. The
reporter smiled at his good fortune and rushed forward, briefly pausing to
check for a security camera. Lucky for him, the only nearby camera was pointed
away from the door at an odd angle.
‘Jeez, whatever’s in the direction
must be important. It doesn’t even look like the camera turns to scan the area,
weird,’ Giles noted. ‘Well, it works out for me. Now let’s hope this door is
one I can pick from this side and not one of those one-way doors,’ he stepped
up to the door. However, as he inspected it for a keyhole, he noticed it was
ajar. ‘Strange, it’s not even locked,’ he pulled on it freely, ‘in fact, it
looks like the lock’s already been broken. I’m starting to think something
devious is going on.’ Giles opened the door, uncertain of what he might find on
the other side. What he did see made his stomach drop.
At least a half dozen men and women,
bound and gagged, their clothes ripped and their faces beaten and bloody. While
all of them looked hurt, none appeared dead, thankfully, but none were awake
either. Whoever did this to them was very thorough, as even if they did wake
up, none of them would be able to so much as stand or even call for help with
their bindings.
‘Well, either something’s up, or
this is some impromptu adult entertainment gone horribly wrong,’ Giles joked.
‘Now, most would see this as a sign to run and never look back, but as an
intrepid reporter, I see this as a golden opportunity to find a juicy story.
Looks like Theo will be eating his words tonight.’ Giles took hold of his
camera and went into stealth mode. He silently skidded across the wall,
searching for the perpetrators, but he didn’t have to go far.
“Everyone have what they need?
Because it’s ten minutes to show time, and I won’t tolerate any mistakes,” a
cloaked figure declared to his equally cloaked group. Giles couldn’t get a bead
on the exact number as they huddled in the shadows, and their cloaks did a
wonderful job of breaking up their silhouettes.
“Well, boss, can I run back for my
music? I think some dramatic theming would do some good when we enact the plan,
no?” A shorter figure joked.
“Shut it, Idiot,” the first figure
snapped. “Just do your job with none of your usual mistakes today, or I’ll
leave you to take the blame.”
“Roger, boss,” the ‘Idiot’ squeaked.
“We’re ready,” a pair standing next
to the first figure nodded.
“I’ve triple-checked the floorplan.
I know this place better than the guy who built it by now,” a short man
boasted.
“I’ve already spied a good perch
from here,” a tall man answered.
“My units are all nearly in
position,” an even taller woman added. “I have every remaining employee and
guard in my sights.”
“Enough talk,” an absolutely massive
man, whose cloak barely covered him, stepped forward, “I’m only here to fight
Caenia. The rest of you can do what you want, just don’t get in my way.” He
marched off on his own, the ground subtly shaking with each step.
‘Okay, I’m definitely in over my
head and should get out of here and call the authorities,’ Giles resolved, but
quickly realized his phone had no reception. ‘50G global coverage my ass,’ he
cursed.
“Cover the door, I don’t want any
runaways or unwanted guests,” the lead figure ordered. The tall woman nodded,
and emerging from behind her was another cloaked figure, which seemingly glided
across the floor and parked itself right in front of the door.
‘Well, that’s unfortunate,’ Giles
went pale and retreated into a nearby corner, behind some crates and empty
barrels. He hoped he could stay here until this whole thing blew over, but
feared it wouldn’t be so easy. Giles watched the rest of the cloaked figures
move out, realizing things were about to get much worse.
\\~~~\\
V //~~~//
The tour continued above on one of
the station’s many catwalks. The group circled past a large cylindrical machine
before stopping just before a four-way intersection of catwalks. They were at a
nexus point of pathways, surrounded by parallel and perpendicular catwalks at
all angles. It was troublesome because it forced their extra staff to awkwardly
follow at a distance or on adjacent paths. This part of the power station was
also oddly dark compared to the rest, with some overhead lights seemingly malfunctioning.
“Er, Carus, which way was the master
control room from here?” Anax spoke to his assistant, not quite as quietly as
he thought.
“There’s no direct route from here,
sir. We’d need to circle back to go there,” Carus answered dryly. “That’s also
not until the end of the tour itinerary. You wanted to go straight from here to
the security office, remember?”
“Er wait, I thought the main core
was last?” Anax muttered.
“That was removed from the tour two
drafts ago, sir,” Carus replied.
“You sure?” Anax mumbled.
‘Just great,’ Serena felt her eyes
roll back into her skull. ‘I knew this would be a wash, but now he’s lost in
his own building, seriously?’ Serena glanced at her companions to gauge their
reaction. While Orion maintained a professional expression, it was clear
Atlanta was equally annoyed by this turn of events. Caenia was just as
unimpressed as ever, and the second princess still had her eyes firmly shut.
She could be sleepwalking for all Serena knew. ‘How does she navigate
everywhere with her eyes closed? Does she-?’ A sudden dread overtook Serena’s
entire being. It had been a while, but her danger sense was on high alert. It
hadn’t been this bad since the assassination attempt on Irene last year. A
brief glance at Orion at Caenia confirmed they felt it, too, but the princesses
seemed oblivious.
‘Great, where the heck is the danger
coming from? Is the station going to blow up, or have the assassins returned to
take another crack at all three princesses this time?’ Serena tried to scan the
area without raising too much alarm, while Caenia and Orion did the same. It
felt strange to Serena. Suddenly, there was an unspoken communication between
the three of them. It made some sense since this wouldn’t be the first time she
and Orion confronted danger together. But Caenia slotted in so naturally to their
dynamic that it was almost surreal.
‘It’s getting closer,’ Orion
communicated wordlessly.
‘Which direction?’ Serena asked.
‘Can’t tell,’ Orion replied, his
concern mounting.
‘I know why,’ Caenia answered.
“We’re surrounded,” she said aloud. In a sight that was disturbingly familiar
to Serena, a series of cloak figures emerged from the shadows all around them.
First, a group of six appeared, blocking each path out of the four-way
intersection. Then, the surrounding catwalks were filled with additional
hostiles. Some even appeared from behind others in a chain, like a magic trick.
“Attention royal family of New
Celene, I request your immediate surrender,” the figure whom Serena presumed to
be their leader stepped forward. Three others at his side drew guns and pointed
them at the group, and not simple pistols either. They were high-end rifles.
Serena wasn’t sure if they were the bullet kind or the laser kind, but she
didn’t want to find out. “To make your decision easier, I’ll inform you that we
have the entire power station rigged to blow.” He presented a detonator in his
right hand.
“Since when?” Serena challenged. It
was a gutsy play, but she figured there was no way they could rig the whole
station to blow right under their noses. Not unless the station’s administrator
was in on it, but he appeared ready to void his bowels on the spot, so Serena
gave him the benefit of the doubt.
“Since now,” a voice said from
behind Serena. The maid glanced back to see a small cloaked figure had somehow
gotten the drop on her. Then she looked ahead and realized the group in front
of them was suddenly one member short. On instinct, she tried to elbow the guy,
but he disappeared from her sight so fast it was almost like teleportation.
‘Okay, if they’ve
got someone this fast, I might just believe them,’ Serena silently admitted.
“Tighten the formation, don’t let
any of them escape,” a tall, lanky figure with a woman’s voice ordered. In an
eerie harmony, the additional cloaked figures closed their formation around the
group. Seemingly gliding along the tops of the catwalk’s railings as they
trapped the princesses and their servants. Serena didn’t spot any weapons being
carried openly, but she wouldn’t be surprised if they were using the cloaks to
obscure their method of attack. The extra staff of servants was also
apprehended, unable to do anything against such a large force appearing from
nowhere.
“And before you get any bright
ideas,” a third, medium-sized figure announced from a catwalk above, “any
sudden moves and I’ll put a bullet between the eldest’s eyes.” Orion put his
arm over the princess defensively, but Atlanta remained surprisingly stoic at
the threat. Irene retreated behind Serena’s leg and clutched her attendant
tightly, while Serena took her own defensive hold over her ward. Caenia seemed
almost eerily calm, while the second princess didn’t even appear to notice the
threats. Anax was blubbering in a cold sweat but was obviously too scared to
move. At the same time, Carus bit his lip and tried to look as small and
unimportant as possible.
“Now, do I have your cooperation,
Princess?” The leader asked smugly as he put his finger on the detonator.
Serena’s danger sense went haywire as he did so. He was not bluffing.
“Very well, what are your demands?”
Atlanta acquiesced.
‘Well, this can only get worse,’
Serena realized.
To be Continued…
>>>~~~~<<<
Even routine formalities can be disrupted by unexpected problems. It is important to always practice a level of vigilance, lest you fall for the traps of negligence.
Author's Note: Another chapter complete, and now we're getting down to business right away. This one took me a bit to get done with all the editing, I just could not find the time some days. Thankfully, the next chapter is already set to be edited, so it shouldn't be too far out.
As for the chapter itself, I can't get into too much without spoilers, we've only just begun the main plot of this volume after all. I can mention I've already grown a little fond of Giles, he's amusing to write and he was created because I felt like I needed an outside perspective on this situation. As has been emphasized many times before, the world inside the palace is very different from the one outside, and we could use a reminder that isn't Serena lamenting the trajectory of her life. That disparity will become more relevant in the coming volumes, but for now, we have Giles.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
