Chapter 103

　　Alexander typed on the terminal, putting the final touches on his message to the Guard. Addressing it from Argyle,` he sent it to their secure servers.

　　He had learned Argyle`s passcodes easily, and imitating his writing style was simple. His brother preferred direct statements with no flattery or ambiguity. Combined with this being Argyle`s terminal, the message was flawless and would be read without question when it arrived on Mars.

　　Closing the terminal, he wiped the evidence from the computer before leaving the room.

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　　"Ma`am, incoming message from Prince Argyle. Running through the clearance codes and security checks now. It`s clean." One of the Guard Commander`s subordinates was notified from his terminal.

　　Located on the central headquarters of the Guard on Mars, their group was responsible for the security of the Terran System. They had been busy for the past few weeks with the celebration on the surface, but in less than a week, it would be over, and they could get back to their regular duties.

　　"Send it to my holo." She ordered. Sitting in her command chair, the Guard Commander pulled up the holo on her secure Datapad. She reviewed it quickly. The Prince was always terse and straight to the point. She informed her group of their new orders.

　　"The Prince is worried that the protests by Unshackle Terra could embolden someone into attacking the celebrations. He wants the Guard doubled on Borealis Station and another five Starship and their crews as a strike force." She ordered her adjutant, who looked at the data on his own datapad.

　　"That will leave us stretched think across the system. Borealis Station already has five Starships, a full complement. Don`t you think that`s overkill?" He questioned.

　　"The Prince has a point. There have been rumours on the Imperial Net that they`re coordinating something. All it would take is for them to hijack a Starship and try to run the blockade around the planet. Extra ships would be useful. Have them prepped from Phobos. We`ll make do here without them." She ordered.

　　Before her adjutant could leave, she dropped her voice to a whisper.

　　"The Prince is having a private` guest arrive tomorrow. Conventional protocols. Wipe the records of their arrival and prep Borealis Station that she is to be brought to the surface on a private shuttle." She advised.

　　"The Prince`s Mistress is coming to Terra? I thought he would wait until things died down a little." The adjutant stated before nodding and leaving to confirm with Borealis Station.

　　The fact that the Prince had a Mistress was common knowledge amongst the Guard, and they were often called to make special arrangements for their rendezvous. Her arrival in secret was nothing new.

　　The Adjutant relayed the information to Borealis Station before returning to his other duties.

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　　"I had a strange conversation with my mother this morning." Mare commented to Kal as they sat together in a beach-front restaurant.

　　It was one of the rare moments they had to spend alone together, the others all busy with other things. They had snuck out to have lunch before their companions realized they were missing and tracked them down.

　　"Oh? Did she try to convince you to stop spending so much time with me?" Kal asked while taking a drink from his ice-cold water.

　　Wearing a simple white collared shirt and grey pants, he appeared comfortable and casual for a day relaxing around the resort. Mare had copied him with an unadorned white dress and matching wide hat.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

　　"The opposite, in fact. She wanted to know everything about you, what you liked and disliked, and your plans for the future. I barely managed to leave the Palace without her grilling me for more information." Mare explained.

　　"Maybe she`s finally come around to the idea of us being friends. I did make a good impression at the Ball." Kal joked, causing Mare to snort.

　　"You were barely passable. And is that all we are, friends?" Mare asked, leaning closer to him and whispering.

　　"Good friends?" Kal countered with a grin. Mare kicked him from beneath the table, making him wince.

　　"You don`t kiss friends." She replied.

　　"Some people do. Not me, but others." Kal laughed as he said it.

　　"Then you won`t mind me kissing my other friends if you say it is normal?" Mare teased, stopping Kal`s laughter cold.

　　"Point made. What would you like us to be?" Kal asked, and Mare smiled at the question.

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　　Borealis Station hung above Terra, the primary point of defence for the planet. Imperial Guard units trained and lived on Mars, but most of their duties occurred on the space station.

　　With a standard security force of five Starships, thousands of Space capable Mechs and hundreds of in-system Assault Carriers, they would scan every ship attempting to enter Terra long before they breached the atmosphere.

　　For the celebrations, the slowly spinning, ringed Station had nearly every berth filled in its starport, Ten Starships ready to jump their crews at a moment`s notice if a threat loomed.

　　Borealis station was a rotating, octagonal station with concentric rings that would orbit it. Tethers provided walkways to the central station, while Mechs and Assault Carriers drifted around it, keeping careful guard.

　　One hundred thousand Guard members were currently garrisoned in the space station, making it one of the galaxy`s most heavily fortified and defended places. With Prince Argyle`s recent orders, most of the Systems security had been transferred to the station.

　　"Incoming Jump signature." A mechanical voice sounded out in the control room at the heart of the Station. With viewscreens providing a view of everything in the system, nothing escaped the Guard while Borealis was active.

　　"Stand by for confirmation." A Guard sat at a sensor terminal, dressed in their traditional white and blue uniform. A ship emerged from the Jump, appearing well away from the Station and Terra at the designated arrival coordinates.

　　"Clearance codes confirmed. Azure Skies, welcome to Terra. We`ll have a shuttle prepped to bring your passengers to the surface." The Guard member continued, pulling up the data from the Starship. Everything checked out. No red flags had been issued.

　　The Guard was about to order a shuttle when their supervisor approached him.

　　"Azure Skies is under special classification. Prince Argyle has a guest aboard. Prep a private shuttle direct for the palace." The Guard supervisor confirmed. They had done this before with the Prince`s special guest,` his mistress secreted to the surface discretely by the Guard. No record was to be maintained of the matter.

　　"Roger that. Azure Skies, please hold for instructions." The Guard communicated through the universal channel. He ordered the VIP shuttle to be readied when the Starship responded.

　　"Borealis Station, we`re having trouble with our Engine. Minor instabilities in our systems. Our Engineers can`t pinpoint the problem. We`re dead in the water with an impending power outage. Requesting a tow to an open berth and an Engineering team." The Azure Skies Captain`s face appeared on the viewscreen. In the background, they saw flashing red warning lights and a few crewmembers hurrying to fix the problem.

　　"Permit them, have them towed to dock eleven. I won`t have the Prince complaining that his guest was delayed because of us." The Guard Supervisor muttered. An Engineering team was being gathered to respond, and they could see a large Assault Carrier approaching the Azure Skies, magnetic tethers attaching to its hull.

　　"What are the sensors showing?" The Supervisor asked, leaning over the console.

　　"Looks like the Engine is not spooling correctly. I`m getting power fluctuations. We need to get them here fast, or their artificial gravity may fail."

　　The Azure Skies drifted closer to the open dock, the tug releasing the tethers while the Engineering team waited impatiently for the walkway to attach to the Starship. As soon as the ship was next to Borealis Station, the Captain appeared again onscreen.

　　A middle-aged man appeared calm despite the warning alarms and flashing red lights. His crew was nowhere to be seen.

　　"Captain, no need to be alarmed. We`ll have you on your way shortly." The Supervisor assured him, barely paying attention to the Captain as he reviewed the sensor data. The fluctuations were worsening, and the Engine`s instability was quickly becoming dangerous.

　　He was about to order the Engineers to rush when the Captain replied.

　　"For a free Terra." He whispered before he was engulfed in white light.

　　The Engine, deliberately set to overload, exploded in a fireball of white-hot plasma. It ripped through the dock and the Station in moments. The berthed Starships, the Mechs, the station Guards, nothing was spared from the explosion.

　　A new sun rose briefly in the Sky above Terra, bathing the surface in its white glow before fading. In the Palace, Alexander watched with a smile on his lips as the opening salvo in his war was fired.