Arrival

Servos whined and the dropships airframe shuddered, heralding the thrust vector pivoting with a stomach-churning lurch and howling to a juddering crescendo. Their descent slowed by degrees, while the internal gravity field shifted uncomfortably.

For a moment, everything vibrated. Hard. Until with a last bone jarring thump and they finally touched down. The engines whined down to idle, leaving an absence of noise rather than a silence, filled with the hubbub of small sounds of the crew readying for disembarkation.

At a little over six hundred light years, the journey had taken three weeks

And now they were finally here.

Her lips compressing into a thin line, Ophelia glanced around her retinue; her own apprehensions tinged with those that she sensed from each of them.

“Ma’am?” Major Xia looked towards her in askance.

Ophelia nodded and activated her barrier shield “Proceed”

Locking bolts thumped back into their housings and a moment later the stern ramp whined open, letting in a wash of hot air and hazy blue-white sunlight that widened into a view of the landing pad and the steaming jungle beyond.

“Go” At Xia’s word, the Royal Guard thudded down the ramp two by two, their battledress camo-nets shimmering into blinding Eudokian silver and white as they emerged out into the sunlight.

Following them onto the top of the ramp was like walking into a sticky oven. Even lightly dressed as she was, Ophelia’s skin prickled with sweat.

Outside, the air was thick with insects and fecund with the strange smells of spice mingled with the distant undertones of rot. While the shield prevented the biting insects from attacking her exposed skin, their buzz and whine was a constant background hum, occasionally punctuated by the snap of their smoking bodies as they contacted the energy barrier.

The platform they had landed on was atop a structure built high above the trees, affording a view of the verdant expanse of the jungle beyond, which stretched away into the distance as far as the eye could see.

For someone like Ophelia, used to the snow and tundra of her home world, the jungle assailed the senses with colours and shapes that defied the imagination. Towering trees with iridescent leaves reached towards the sky, their branches festooned with mossy creepers and vines.

Shimmering clouds of insects swarmed everywhere through the air above the trees in huge swarms that twisted and coiled like smoke, their segmented bodies glittering in the blue-white sunlight.
It was all so much to take in.

Ophelia took a breath, her nerves jangling. Soon she was going to have to try and survive here.

Calm. Her mother’s thoughts pierced the mental chatter across the landing pad. She’d travelled ahead and had arrived several days ago. You’re Eudokia’s Crown Princess. Breathe. Straighten your back. And don’t pout!

Ophelia saw her a moment later, emerging out onto of the landing pad behind the Apollyon reception committee. She couldn’t help but smile. It had felt odd to be out of mental contact with her and other members of her family these last few weeks.

Yes mother.

And don’t ‘Yes mother’ me. There was humour there, tempered with subtle shades of concern for both Ophelia’s wellbeing and wanting to avoid anything that could constitute a diplomatic incident. You look great, by the way.

Straightening and raising her chin, Ophelia made her way down the ramp towards the Apollyons as they made their approach, finally meeting them at the bottom in the dropships shadow.

A deeply tannned middle-aged man stepped forward from. One of the Apollyon royals it appeared, given the amount of skin he was showing and the way the insects avoided a hemisphere around him.

He gave her a curt bow. “Your Royal Highness” he said, his voice a bass rumble “Welcome to Casmin”

Who’s this clown? Ophelia asked her mother, waiting with Major-Domo near the exit.

Duke Terrion. Calculated snub. He doesn’t think so, but it’s fairly apparent.

“Your Grace” Ophelia replied coolly “Thank you for the welcome. It’s a pleasure to finally be here.” It wasn’t. She had been looking forward to this damn charade like a hole in the head.

His face split with a perfect smile. Small white teeth. “I sincerely hope you enjoy your time with us”

The weird thing was that he was being entirely genuine. His surface thoughts betrayed no hint of irony, nor any clue about the forthcoming trials, leading Ophelia to assume he’d been selected for both his ignorance and patriotism for the express purpose of greeting Eudokians.

“If you would, your Highness” he continued, gesturing towards the exit “This way please”

The pleasantries complete. The Royal party were ushered into the elevator and after a bit more small-talk were soon being whisked through the treetops in a gravcar cavalcade.

Ophelia sat in silence opposite Terrion, watching the treetop buildings going past.

I was surprised to see you at the spaceport. Her thoughts were immediately picked up by her mother. Chatting to her even in different cars was child’s play.

About that. I needed to see you before the evening’s festivities to warn you to be extra vigilant.

Always. But why?

Major-Domo informs me that our assets on Casmin appear to have been liquidated.

What?! Despite her shock, Ophelia betrayed none of it. All of them?

Investigations are ongoing, but it would probably be wise to assume so.

As an intelligence operative, Ophelia knew only too well that all the great houses maintained their spy networks. There were always casualties, usually on a tit-for-tat basis, but to lose all your assets in one go was highly unusual. Some subcells may still be in play, but either Apollyon had got much better at spycraft or something else was going on.

Probably both, Queen Astar agreed.

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