1.9
Cameron was feeling reinvigorated as he and Logan made their way onto the palace grounds. Of course he was exhausted, and fairly certain he’d broken a few ribs from where Logan had kicked him off the plateau, but none of that mattered to him right now. Instead, there was a sense of freedom coursing through his body. A feeling of visibility that he’d been missing for a long time. That feeling lasted for all but a fleeting moment until he saw who was standing there to greet them on the steps leading up into the palace proper.
“There you are. I was afraid we’d be forced to send the guard out to collect you from whatever tavern you passed out in. Happy to see that I was wrong” The king’s booming voice seemed to melt away the feelings of happiness and levity that had warmed Cameron’s soul since the moment they left the train station. He was standing there expectantly, adorned in a gilded blue robe. Flanking him on both sides were the ambassadors, Lendrick and Darwin, the former flashing a toothy, false smile, while the latter’s vacant gaze slowly drifted between Logan and Cameron.
“Good morning Father.” Cameron said, forcing a trademark grin to appear on his face as he took a step forward. “A bit early to be taking the dogs for a walk don’t you think?”
Augustus looked momentarily confused before looking between Darwin and Lendrick, then back to his son, his tone dropping into an irritated growl. “A bit early to be making such childish comments, boy.” He said, emphasizing the last word of the sentence like it was a curse.
Cameron gave a shrug, his mood souring by the minute, “And yet I made them, anyway. Funny how that works isn’t it?”
Augustus’s face went a bright red, a vein protruding from his brow, as he opened his mouth to no yell. Then he caught himself and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath while rubbing his temples. “Enough. I will not play these games. The day of Miranda’s coronation draws closer, as does your ascension to Seneschal. The ambassadors have requested an assessment of your combat abilities. I’m of the mind to oblige them ”
Another voice joined the exchange then. Logan’s gruff timbre filled the air as he couldn’t stop himself, more so shouting than speaking. “He’s not ready!”
All eyes turned on Logan, including Cameron’s. He saw worry in the mercenary's eyes, which didn’t help him feel better about the prospect of whatever his father had in mind for an assessment. Yet, judging by Logan’s outburst, it couldn’t be good.
“What do you mean ‘he’s not ready’?” Lendrick called out, his pretentious, slurry, highborn accent dripping with a bored pretentiousness. “Haven’t you been training the boy for the past few weeks?”
“Yes…” Logan said slowly through gritted teeth. “But he’s not combat ready yet. I was under the impression I’d have more time to teach him.”
“That’s rather… disappointing Mr. Rake.” Lendrick shot back, not bothering to hide his disdain. “His Majesty has done nothing but speak of your accomplishments and accolades both within the kingdom as well as the fleet. To hear that you cannot accomplish the simple task of preparing a noble scion of the Ketrisite kingdom is simply-”
“I’ll do it.” Cameron said, his voice deep and firm with a determined finality. All eyes broke from the exchange between Logan and Lendrick, focusing on him instead.
All was quiet for the longest time, the only noise being the soft trill of birdsong coming from the trees above. Then, as if a starting pistol had sounded, a cacophony of voices erupted all at once, each vying to be heard over the other.
“That’s a good son.” Augustus said, nodding in gruff approval.
“Wonderful,” Lendrick agreed, clapping his hands together triumphantly.
“Are you insane?!” Logan exclaimed, voice straining from the volume and intensity of his statement.
Cameron felt an iron like grip on his shoulder, and before he could react, Logan had spun him around, looking at him wide-eyed. “Kid, you don’t know what all goes into a combat assessment. Just please, listen to me on this. You’re not ready.”
He looked back at Logan, eyes firm and jaw set. Cameron knew he wasn’t ready. Even with Logan’s hellish training, most of it had been done outside of a Squire. What the hell was he going to do in a combat environment? And yet… he didn’t care. All that mattered to him was being in the cockpit again. There was a fire burning inside of his very soul. An almost primal need to do this. It was like this is what he was born to do. To actually pilot an A.R.M.S. unit. So when he turned to his father and spoke, he did it with an unyielding conviction.
“Tomorrow. Midday. Tell me where you need me to be and I’ll be there.”
A growl of frustration came from behind him, but Cameron didn’t dare look back. He’d made his decision and was more than prepared to live with the consequences.
His father simply nodded, flashing a wry smile, that was a rare sight for Cameron. “Very well. Be at the guard barracks by midday and we’ll go from there.”
With that the king turned and was about to walk away, but Logan wasn’t quite done voicing is displeasure.
“Augustus!” He shouted. Cameron watched as both of the dignitaries flinched involuntarily, though the king simply turned back, eyeing Logan from where he stood on the steps.
Logan walked forward, passing by Cameron without so much as a single glance, making a beeline to where the king stood. When he was nose to nose with the man, Augustus based on his place on the steps and Logan based on his augmented physique, he spoke again, no longer yelling, but letting the dangerous growl that left his throat be heard by everyone around.
“We need to talk.”
The tension in the king’s office was tense as he and Logan entered. They practically marched through the entryway with loud, heavy footsteps that echoed off the surrounding walls. This was further punctuated by a loud boom that vibrated the walls as Logan slammed the door shut, his rage boiling over before the latch had even clicked.
“Are you fucking insane?!” He bellowed, staring daggers at Augustus who was matching Logan’s furious glare with one of his own. “Cause the only explanation as to why your throwing your son into a squire combat assessment has to be that you’ve lost you goddamn mind!”
“First of all,” Augustus began, speaking through gritted teeth while sitting down in a plush leather office chair. “Lower your voice. Regardless of our previous relationship, and your lack of citizenship, I am a noble of the planet Ketris and a proxy of the mother planet. I will not be shouted at like a misbehaving toddler. Second, yes, Cameron is my son. However, he is also the future Seneschal of the planet. His duty to the people, outweighs my duty as his father.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Logan growled. “It takes guard cadets a year at least of study and practice before they’re ready to take a combat assessment. You know this! Throwing Cameron into one after only two weeks isn’t just incredibly harsh and shortsighted. It’s incredibly stupid as well. Hell, if you want him dead so badly, I’ll give you a rail pistol and you can go out there and do the job yourself instead of wasting everyone’s time.”
Augustus looked at Logan for a moment, studying him in silence before reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he expelled a weary sigh. “I know that you’ve been away from politics for a long time Logan. But please try to use your brain in this situation.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Logan said, looking at Augustus like he was crazy.
Augustus simply responded by motioning for Logan to take a seat. He did as requested and watched as the King reached beneath the desk and brought up a decanter of whiskey and two crystal glasses, pouring a generous amount of liquid in each. After handing one glass to Logan and taking a long drink from his own, draining nearly half of the alcohol from the glass, the king finally spoke.
“Do you know why, out of all three planets in this system currently colonized, that Ketris is the richest and most developed?”
Logan honestly couldn’t answer. He’d heard stories of the state of Makir and Amreith but had never felt the need to investigate for himself. He slowly shook his head, and watched as Augustus leaned back in his chair, exposing a window behind him, and pointing out it towards the star-port off in the distance.
“We possess the only intersystem port. Without Ketris, food, supplies, and luxury items from throughout the galaxy could not enter the system.”
Space travel had existed since the mid twenty-first century, but early pioneers were limited to staying within their own system. It was only with the invention of the Rail Engine in the 2250’s, that inter-system travel was possible. But it was a finnicky process, still within its infancy even six hundred years later, with strict classifications and rules in place regarding density and volume ratios for the engine to work properly, and as such, large ports such as the one on Ketris were few and far between.
“Without Ketris,” Augustus continued, “Three kingdoms fall. And the other rulers know this. They know how much money and luxury our port brings in, how important it is to our planet.”
“Okay? And?” Logan said, still struggling to make the connection.
Augustus sighed heavily, before giving Logan a stern look, “They also know that they don’t need a Ketrisite ruler controlling the trade.”
It clicked for Logan then, the mental puzzle pieces falling in place as his eyes went wide. He looked from the port then back to Augustus. “You tax them on every import they bring in, don’t you.”
The king nodded, “As is my right as planetary ruler. I will not be shamed for giving my people a prosperous world to call home.”
“So you’re essentially holding two planets hostage and pissing off the two people who’s egos rival your own.” Logan said, taking another sip of his drink, his eyes settling on Augustus again, who’s face was turning a bright shade of pink from irritation.
“In a manner of speaking…” Augustus growled through gritted teeth, “Yes.”
“Then that makes even less sense.” Logan shot back, cause a wave of confusion to flash across Augustus’s face.
He blinked, looking at Logan for questioningly, an eyebrow slowly raising. “Explain.”
Logan drained the rest of his whiskey, setting the crystal glass down on the desk with a heavy thud and leaned back in his chair, speaking as he stretched.
“Why don’t you simply just pull a veteran guard and make him seneschal? There’s nothing wrong with that. Unless breaking tradition is too taboo for you.”
The king had a surprised look on his face that swiftly morphed into confusion, before settling on an amused smirk. “Is that why you think I haven’t done just that? Tradition?”
Logan gave a sheepish look, raising an eyebrow. “Well… Not if it makes me sound like an idiot.”
Augustus gave what must have been the first genuine smile Logan had seen since the day he landed, then, the king gave a heartly laugh. “No, Logan. It’s not your fault. I wouldn’t expect you to think the way a royal does. That’s not an insult either. I wish I had your outlook. Strength and ability. That’s the world you live in, whereas I live in the world of perception.”
“Meaning what exactly?” Logan asked, feeling a little less embarrassed by his ignorance.
“Meaning that, in my world, as well as the world all monarchs and nobles belong to, perceived strength is just as if not more important than actual strength. If I were to simply take a veteran and promote them to seneschal, that would solve my problem of actual strength yes. But it would also be seen as a weakness. A tradition of over four hundred years, done away with just like that?” Augustus asked, snapping his fingers to emphasize the point.
“Every noble in the system would see this as a weakness. They’d assume that I have no faith in Cameron, and as such, no faith in Miranda either. My offspring would look weak in the eyes of the interplanetary stage and would be beset on all sides by aggressors and usurpers, throwing Ketris in a conflict, simply because I tried to do the right thing by son.”
Silence fell over the room, followed by a thick air of tension. Logan felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders. A weariness that mentally exhausted him. He sighed, bring his hands to his face, running them over it and up across his bald head. “So,” He began, his voice an even, drained tone. “It’s not that you’re demanding Cameron do this because you want to punish him. It’s because you have to.”
Augustus nodded, looking sad and shameful, yet determined at the same time. “I love my son. And I wish nothing but success for him in this endeavor and throughout his life. But, he is one man on a planet of millions. One man, with a very important role to play in the coming days. I have faith that he can pull through and pass this exam. Perhaps not unscathed, but certainly pass. But should he fail… It will be in service to Ketris and her people. In short, if he dies, he dies. We will carry on with the next Seneschal down the line.
Logan ground his teeth, feeling his anger rise up again from the King’s callousness. But he couldn’t fault his old friend. He was responsible for the safety of an entire planet, and Logan believed that Augustus would do anything and sacrifice anyone including himself if it meant securing that safety. Logan on the other hand, only had one person to look out for and that was himself. Even so, he’d started to grow attached to Cameron in the past few weeks, and that meant something to him.
“Fuck this.” He said, voice cold and sharp as he turned away and walked towards the door, the gears in his head turning as he formulated a plan.
“Where are you going?” Augustus’s voice rang out behind him.
“To prep him.” Logan said flatly, turning the nob and throwing open the door. “I already taught him how to pilot a mech. Now I’m going to show him to kill with one.”