In the war chambers standing around a massive circular table, Saturna, Anton, Gondee, Oron and Yuko looked at the complete Solar System depicted by semi-transparent, rotating, hypercubes in a four dimensional image. The colorful planets and their moons revolved ever so slowly around their green sun Zetus, floating realistically in real time above the table’s surface. It was an amazing visual effect and extremely detailed, so much so, that Saturna unbelievingly watched as a space ship approached one of the living space stations situated not far from the moon Royd.
By touching the images with his hands, Anton began to manipulate the position of the planets. He located Zard and zoomed in by pushing the image forward and down. Zard became larger and larger until the borders of the planet could no longer be seen. Adjusting slightly, he created a falling effect speeding closer and closer to the planet’s surface.
Saturna felt dizzy as she watched him scan the screen quickly and then manipulate the image again. Anton scanned one section at a time, shrinking and expanding the angle at a rapid pace. What is he looking for she wondered, noticing his intense concentration. When he finally stepped away, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“Are those actual inhabitants on Zard?” she asked.
“Yes, My Queen. They are sentries at a remote base. With this new system we’re able to get a surface visual of any part of any planet or moon in the Solar System,” replied Anton.
“It’s amazingly clear, I can’t believe it! What exactly are we looking for?” questioned Saturna closely peering to the section Anton had highlighted.
“Yesterday, two military bases on opposite sides of the planet were broken into at approximately the same time. We have already had a visual of one of them and now we’re looking at the second base. You can see the entrance hole here in the wall,” Anton said, pointing to an opening, almost hidden by vegetation. “Yuko, it looks very similar to the other blast hole. What’s your opinion?”
“It looks identical to the hole cut in the wall at the western base. The same size…I assume they used a Quander laser with a charger to soundlessly penetrate the rock,” said Yuko, bending forward for a better look.
“Do we know yet what items were taken?” asked Gondee.
“Only weapons, these bases held ammunition depots. The perpetrators took every weapon available,” answered Anton.
Yuko turned and looked up. “And this happened at both bases. They knew exactly where the weapons were kept, plus the break-ins were perfect timed.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Oron.
“Because yesterday most of the sentries were at the competitions, there was only a small crew at both bases,” he paused for a moment and then said, “Someone must have known that we are installing force fields, which will be activated in two days. If they hadn’t stolen the weapons when they did, they wouldn’t have gotten away with it!”
Saturna asked naively, “Who would steal a massive amount of weapons?”
“That’s the mystery, My Queen. The Kievils we arrested gave the same story. They said they were hired to retrieve merchandise and were told when and how to get it,” replied Yuko.
“We have to assume it was an inside job because the organizer would have had to have access to the castle’s records to find out which bases were the ammunition depots,” said Anton. When he looked into Saturna’s eyes, he sensed her fear. “Although we need to be concerned, the castle is perfectly secure now, My Queen.”
Saturna nodded, but didn’t reply. She understood Anton was trying to protect her. Yet, she was the Queen and needed to know the truth. Was someone planning to take the kingdom? Was there a possibility of war? She felt like she needed air. Gripping the chair in front of her, she stared at the crystal clear image of Zard and tried to breathe calmly.
Oron realizing Saturna was distressed instantly called an end to the meeting. He shuffled Gondee to the side of the room. “It’s too soon to include the Queen in this type of discussion. She’s not ready!” he whispered sternly.
“You are wrong, Oron. She is more than capable of handling this information. I feel it strongly in my auri. Furthermore, I want to tell her tonight about Detis.”
“I can’t say I agree, but you know her best, Gondee,” Oron replied, returning to his place, but giving him a look of warning to be careful how he worded the next bit of bad news.
Anton and Yuko left the room. Saturna, deep in thought, sat down in the chair Gondee provided unaware that only the three of them remained. Every meeting seemed to lead to problems and she didn’t know what to do or how to make any of the awful occurrences right. The carefree days of her childhood were gone and the burden of the kingdom was hers alone. Although she knew her position was one many wanted, to Saturna, it seemed to be a depressing, never ending responsibility.
Gondee stood at the head of the table holding an envelope. “A secret was kept from your father after his marriage to Detis. You see, it is written that once a royal marriage has taken place, any information that could slur it, is forbidden. Because of this regulation, Oron and I could not do anything with this very upsetting news we received five years ago about Detis.”
Saturna closed her eyes and contemplated what had been said. “Regulations of this sort seem to be archaic and unreasonable in this day and age. I’m surprised my father wouldn’t have wanted this information about his wife, regardless of the regulation.”
“Yes, we both agree. However, as the ruling was still in place at the time, Gondee and I made the decision to not expose the information to your father, but to seal it until today,” said Oron, carefully observing Saturna’s response.
“We have a letter that proves Detis was carefully selected and groomed to become Queen following your mother’s parting,” said Gondee. “Detis is not a Zardite as she led your father to believe, but Veectoreze.”
“Why would Detis pretend to be a Zardite? I don’t understand!” said Saturna, puzzled.
“As you know, My Queen, Zard won the Great War eighteen years ago against Jattee, Veectors, and Eros. Although it was never confirmed, it was felt Veectors started the war, not Jattee. Veectors once ruled the kingdom five hundred years ago and a plot was uncovered during the Great War that they planned to relocate the kingdom from Zard back to Veectors,” he paused and looked at her. “Thus conditions were put into place after the war, one of them being that a Veectoreze can never be placed on the throne. This is for the protection of the kingdom on Zard because if a Veectoreze inhabitant is allowed to marry into the royal family, Veectors would have a legitimate claim to rule the kingdom. Your father never would have married Detis if he had known she had a drop of Veectoreze blood. And of course, Detis aware of this, pretended to be a Zardite.”
Oron gave her a moment to absorb what had been said before he added, “An exception was already made for Detis because she was very close to being a commoner. To marry into the royal family, protocol insists one must be royally related.”
“An exception made because she was beautiful?” asked Saturna, sarcastically.
“Because she was the second spouse, because you were the heir,” answered Oron. “But you must understand the reality of the situation. If something happens to you before the production of another heir, Detis will become Queen since she was legally married to your father.”
“How was this information discovered?” inquired Saturna, feeling angry by the deception.
“It was brought to my attention by a Zardite widow, a Duchess, named Raja. She came to me in the darkness of night, secretly, very late, the night of the wedding. It took much time to convince her to tell me why she was so upset about the marriage, as she had been a big part of the wedding celebrations. You see, Detis was not her daughter as we thought. Her real daughter had been kidnapped around the time of your birth. The moment your mother passed away, the planet Veectors plotted to put a Veectoreze on the throne.” Becoming emotional, Oron shook his head, still disbelieving what he k
new to be true. “Duchess Raja was told by the Veectoreze not to alert the authorities about the kidnapping and in return for the sparing of her own daughter’s life, she was to declare Detis as her own flesh. Raja did as she was told and claimed young Detis as her own. She always prayed for the safe return of her real daughter, but that never occurred.”
“We must find her real daughter, Oron. Do we know what became of her?” Saturna asked with concern and sadness.
“Raja waited too many years before she came to me and unfortunately it was too late. Three days after the marriage, Raja became ill and passed into the next world. We tried to locate the daughter on Veectors, as we thought it was where she would have been taken, but all traces of her had vanished. So, Gondee and I sealed the handwritten note and placed it in the vault instead of destroying it as protocol dictated.”
Gondee produced a worn envelope with the royal seal. Taking it, Saturna broke the seal and began to read the words of Raja, feeling very unhappy for an inhabitant she didn’t even know. “Can we use this information against Veectors and Detis?”
Oron shook his head. “Veectors would deny the letter is real and unless we catch Detis in an act of treason, there’s really nothing we can do. I have observed Detis over the years and believe the letter is genuine. Though, I don’t understand why the Veectoreze planted her in this position, or what they plan to do now that you are Queen.”
“Evil is growing in the kingdom and the root stems from Detis. We must be on guard,” said Gondee.
“If evil is growing in the kingdom then it’s our fault for not steering the inhabitants in the right direction,” replied Oron with a look of warning to Gondee to say no more.
“Oron, my trusted servant, as Keeper of the Faith, it’s your job to look for goodness in the inhabitants and push them in the direction of purity. However the office of Gondee, as the Wisdom Keeper is to protect the crown. My father placed you in these positions to create balance, and that is what I am seeing now. We must continue to support Detis in any acts of goodness and yet hold a watchful eye for signs of discontent. Thank you for telling me the truth. I shall retire and mull the information over,” she said, feeling thoroughly exhausted.
A diplomatic response, thought Gondee. She is learning quickly.
As Saturna was escorted back to her chambers, she reflected on all the problems and issues which had surfaced since her father’s death, and realized again how sheltered her upbringing had been. She had been totally unaware of the political strain between Zard and Veectors. During her lifetime there had been only peace in the Solar System. And now the unfortunate information about Detis being Veectoreze--was Veectors conspiring with Detis to over throw Zard? She had a hard time believing the pleasant Veectoreze diplomats she had met at the coronation dinner could be involved in such a plot.
Trying to empty her mind of worries, she reminded herself Gondee and Oron would advise her on the best action in dealing with the problems of the kingdom. She didn’t have to make every decision on her own. Quickly checking on a sleeping Peep, she let Maize undress and tuck her in.
Maize read her auri and said softly, “Concern yourself with one day at a time, My Queen. Deal with the present and the future will take care of itself.”
Smiling, Saturna fell into a deep restful sleep.