on the highway. But it soon became obvious that its destination was the estate of the
Grand Duke himself. Fortier found himself licking his lips. He’d been hoping this was
where the trail would lead. The Grand Duke’s name had also been on Helmund’s
references, and it had been at his specific direction that Stanck was hired as Sector
Marshal.
Stanck’s car was scanned and identified, so it drove through the grounds of the estate
unimpeded, screeching to a halt before the large doors of the main house. The robot
jumped out of the car and disappeared into the mansion just as Fortier’s copier was
coming in for a quick landing.
The Grand Duke’s guards came running out to inspect this unknown intruder. Fortier had
his identity card out and flashed it at the security officers. “Naval Intelligence,” he shouted
urgently. “The Sector Marshal is a fugitive and an impostor. We can’t let him get away!”
The conflicts in their loyalties, both to the Grand Duke and to the Empire, caused the
guards to hesitate as they tried to decide whether to stop this intruder or help him. That
slight pause was all Fortier needed to dodge past them and slip through the doors. He
had his blaster drawn, prepared for any surprises the robot might throw at him.
He caught a fleeting glimpse of the robot turning left at the far end of the long marble
corridor ahead, and he raced in pursuit. When he reached the crossing hallway where
the sector marshal had turned, his quarry had vanished from sight. There were, however,
some startled servants standing mystified at Stanek’s hurried flight. Fortier ran to the
nearest one and flashed his ID card again. “I’m Captain Fortier, Naval Intelligence.
Stanck is a traitor to the Empire and a fugitive. Which way did he go?”
The woman was a bit flustered at the odd events of the last few seconds. “He . . . he
went into the security council chamber over there.
Fortier ran to the indicated door, but found it locked. The door itself was carved wood
reinforced with magnisteel. The woman who’d pointed the way explained, “No one is
permitted in there except the Grand Duke and the Sector Marshal. The door opens only
to their touch.”
Fortier gave no thought to the consequences of what he was doing. He knew he was
already committed to the largest gamble of his career. If he was wrong about any of his
assumptions, court-martial would be the least serious thing that would happen to him.
Grand Dukes were the highest rank of nobility below the Empress herself. $y invading
this estate without legal authority, he’d put his neck on the block and sharpened the blade
for the headsman; the only excuse he could offer for his various improprieties was that
he’d been in “hot pursuit.” It would be a feeble excuse if his guesses were wrong.
With so much already at stake, there was no point in letting a door stand in his way.
Aiming his blaster point blank at the lock, he burned through it in just a second and
pushed the door inward with a loud crash.
The Sector Marshal was bent over a computer terminal by a desk at the far side of the
room. It looked up as Fortier came charging in, and reached to its side, as though for a
weapon. The naval officer did not hesitate, firing his blaster with deadly accuracy at the
robot’s chest. The blazing beam sizzled through the air and struck the treacherous
creation on target. The robot lurched backward against the wall, then slumped quietly to
the ground.
Fortier walked over to the desk and examined the terminal where the robot had been
working. It looked as though Stanek had been trying to erase certain information and
documents from the memory tiles, but had not yet had time to complete the job. Fortier
called up those files; it took only a casual glance at their contents to realize he’d been
correct in his assumptions. The Grand Duke was personally involved in this conspiracy.
The Captain looked up to find himself staring into the muzzle of a blaster being wielded
by the Grand Duke’s chief of security. “You killed the Sector Marshal,” the man said.
“Check that more closely,” Fortier replied. “The being you thought was Herman Stanck
was a robot, a tool of a galaxy-wide conspiracy to overthrow the Stanley dynasty.
Furthermore, if you’ll look at this display, there’s evidence against the Grand Duke
himself.”
The security chief had one of his guards verify the information about Stanck, then he read
the display on the computer terminal over Fortier’s shoulder. His eyes slowly widened in
astonishment, and he lowered his gun. Fortier relaxed with relief, but did not let it show.
“Go back to business as normal,” he told the security chief. “Under no circumstances
should you inform the Grand Duke of what’s happened here until I consult my superiors
and decide what to do.”
The security chief nodded and ordered his people back to their duties. He himself backed
slowly out of the room, leaving Fortier alone.
The captain spent the next half hour checking the files, becoming more and more awed
by how high an official he had reached within the criminal organization. The computer
memory banks contained names, dates, places-all sorts of records that would totally
demolish the conspiracy’s forces. There were cryptic entries about a woman known only
as Lady A, and the indication that the Grand Duke signed himself with the codename of
C.
The time had come for Fortier to bring his superiors into the case. He had gone as far as
he could on his own authority-and actually quite a bit beyond. He dared not move against
anyone as highly placed as a Grand Duke, even on evidence as tight as this, without
backup from Luna Base.
He was not surprised to find a subcom unit built into this office. This was obviously one of
the nerve centers for the conspiracy, and the Grand Duke would want to stay in touch
with developments all over the Galaxy. Fortier used that same subcom set to beam a
message back to Admiral Trejas, Director of Naval Intelligence, at Luna Base.
Fortier had to bull his way past innumerable secretaries and aides by insisting his
information was important enough for Admiral Trejas to deal with it personally.
Fortunately, he had enough of a reputation from his heroic actions during the Coronation
Day Incursion that he was listened to, and eventually he got Admiral Trejas personally on
the line.
Captain Fortier gave his superior a carefully edited version of his story. One reason for
the editing was that the call was not being scrambled, and he didn’t want the
information spread about too quickly; another was that he wanted to gloss over some of
his own more unorthodox behavior. Nevertheless, he was able to give his superior an
accurate rundown of his activities and a summary of the evidence he’d uncovered.
The admiral’s eyes widened at the mention of C and the linkage with the Grand Duke of
Sector Four. “Are you positive of your facts?” he asked the captain again.
Fortier could only repeat the information he had discovered within the Grand Duke’s very
household.
Admiral Trejas rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Khorosho, I believe you. But we can’t
act too hastily in this matter. Moving against a Grand Duke is a serious undertaking. I’ll
have to get authorization from higher up.”
“If you get the authorization,” Fortier said, “I’d like to be in on the arrest, if possible.”
“I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can,” the admiral promised as he broke the
connection. Then he leaned back in his chair and contemplated the terrible burden that
had fallen on his shoulders.
Arresting a Grand Duke for treason would be a difficult proposition in any case. But this
was infinitely worse, because Admiral Trejas was one of a small number of people who
knew that the Grand Duke of Sector Four, Zander von Wilmenhorst, was actually the
Head of the Service of the Empire. Arresting him would be no slight matter indeed.
Chapter 4
The Arrest of von Wilmenhorst
After pausing a few minutes to collect his wits and his courage, Admiral Trejas put in a
call to his own superior, Lord Admiral Cesare Benevenuto, the chief military officer of Her
Imperial Majesty’s Navy. Benevenuto listened to the report with a cold feeling in his heart.
Grand Duke Zander was an old and respected acquaintance, but the evidence came
from an impeccable source. Benevenuto promised Trejas a quick decision on the matter
and promptly placed another call to move the information further up the line.
Except during time of war or Imperial emergency, the Lord Admiral did not report directly
to the Empress; instead, protocol demanded that he inform Duke Mosi Burr’uk, currently
serving as Prime Councilor of the Imperial Council under Empress Stanley Eleven, just as