The Sovereign of Psiere Read online

  It was a little more than twelve rotos ago that Castellan walked into Base Academy with an interest in metalworking. But channels and the fact that she tested abnormally high on her academy exam, the Psi Defense Corp practically begged Castellan to switch schools so she could go into the officer program. Even after four miserable rotos in Dromea, she never once regretted her choice.

  Despite the heat and humidity, Castellan Tosh presented perfectly no matter the time of dae. Her hair was smartly parted and combed to the right, the back and sides cut to military regulation length of shortness. The wind blowing in from the water never even mussed the sun-bleached hairs out of place. Castellan had a strong jaw but unexpectedly fine eyebrows that had also bleached nearly white in the hot suns over the southern continent. Her eyes were deep and brooding like she held the weight of the world, or at least knew all its secrets. It was those eyes though, combined with full lips and her tall soldier’s body that meant she never lacked for company in her off oors. One of Castellan’s lovers once said that while her eyes competed with Illeos’s blue beauty, her smile was as radiant as Archeos.

  Castellan didn’t know about that, but she was well aware that nobody appreciated a big head. Having come from a family of illeostone miners, she knew that life wasn’t made on looks alone. It was built on the back of hard work and perseverance. Her maman would tell stories of manually hauling carts of illeostones to the special temple room that was designated for recharging, even when she was pregnant with Castellan. By the time her younger sibs came along, the Resource Corp engineers had perfected the automated carts that would take illeostones in and out of the chamber. But the work ethic Castellan had learned from her maman and papan was exactly what made her such a good officer.

  Her Psi Defense Corp success was certainly aided by the fact that she had an absurdly high channel track. Rivalling past royals, she had a rare five channels, all of which were of good rating or better. She was the highest strength of any telekinetic and intuitive that the academy had even seen. But she also had five ratings in both, levitation and telepathy, and a three rating in ferrokinesis. So she could intuit any situation, she could read minds, she could move objects with her mind, she could move herself with her mind, and she could manipulate metal. All good skills to have.

  Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention back to the bridge. She brought her spyglass up and watched as one lone tentacle rose from the blue depths. She grabbed her voteo from her belt and called out to all the troops. “’Ware the bridge, leviathan on the southern end!” Rail guns moved swiftly along their track to the opposite end of the wall and within five secs from her warning they began laying down fire. The large brass shells made almost no sound, being propelled by compressed aether alone. But they could accurately target and fly at least a mahl. Average cycle speed on the speedway was only sixty mahls per oor. It was an impressive distance when talking about weaponry that would blow the tentacle off a creature easily as large as three fishing vessels. Castellan watched as that questing tentacle was indeed blown completely off. It landed harmlessly back into the water below the bridge, rippling the surface as it sank again. No other tentacles came up. She grinned and called out to the woman working the rail gun that had hit the beast. “Nice job, Bombardier Gant!”

  The woman spun in her rail seat and gave the lt. commander a thumbs-up. “Thank you, ser!”

  She grabbed the voteo again and called off the alarm. The small device was perhaps the best thing that had ever come from the Psi Divinity Corp. She would never have guessed that the engineers, interpretists, and adventurists devoted to the Divine Mystery could come up with such an amazing invention. Before the discovery of voteos, they had to resort to primitive electrical pulse signals, or light and mirror signals over long distance. The new voteo was nothing more than a box the size of two fists. She knew the basics of the design, having studied a number of tech items while still training. As long as the thumbnail sized illeostone inside was charged, it would release aether that powered a miniature speed turbine. That produced electricity that created voteo signals. Those signals would be sent and picked up by other voteos. There were larger ones of course that could send signals much farther. But they took even more illeostones to power and were quite heavy. A com soldier would only be able to carry the voteo pack and their rifle.

  Castellan nodded as the bombardier turned around again, ever wary during the final phase of bridge completion. The bridge itself had been a regional dream for many rotos. The island of Arafa was massive and lush at nearly seven hundred and fifty mahls at its longest, but it lacked any good ports for ships. Lord Pon Havington started out as the magistrate of the southeastern most state of Dromea and had worked his way up to Praefectus of the entire southern continent. He had been pushing the bridge project for rotos. The Queen finally signed off on it a roto and a half before and automatons were brought in to aid in construction. Of course Queen Olivara Dracore would have never signed the allowance had Castellan not secured both sides of the straight between the island and mainland ahead of time. Large walls ran along the coast of both, and each wall had a rail gun line along the entire length. Once the bridge was complete, weaponized automatons would be stationed on the expanse every ten yords or so along to further discourage the Atlanteens from attacking.

  A shadow rose up from the ground by her feet and she turned to see the imposing bulk of Lord Havington himself approach. He had only been Praefectus for two rotos and Castellan had never taken a liking to the powerful continental governor in the entire time that she had been stationed in Dromea. But she knew that both their successes hinged on the other so she remained cordial and diligent with her duties. “Ah, it’s nice to see plans come together at last! Well done with the oversight on this one, Tosh. I’ll be sure to personally let the Queen know how indispensable you’ve been for the people here in Dromea.”

  He was busy looking out toward the crowning glory of his career so he missed the eye roll Castellan tossed over her opposite shoulder. “Thank you, ser.” She didn’t acknowledge his title because he didn’t acknowledge hers and it was within her right to give such a response. It was true that while they were always polite to each other in public, both were high enough telepath rating to know that they despised each other. Because of that knowledge, Castellan assumed he was merely spouting a line of lies for the benefit of information specialists and the rest of the soldiers. But a person could not lie mind to mind and some of his mental thoughts about her had been less than respectful.

  However, Lord Havington had excellent Psi shields and because his shields were so good she also knew that she had only overheard the slanderous thoughts because he wished her to hear them. It would have surprised the lt. commander completely had she known he was being completely serious with her about the recommendation.

  What Castellan Tosh did not know was that Praefectus Havington would put in a good word with Queen Olivara because he desperately wanted the intelligent and highly capable Lt. Commander gone from his continent. He had plans and they required a more...lenient approach at military awareness. Yes, it was nearly time for him to begin.

  Chapter Two

  OLIVIENNE WOKE AND stretched then glanced at the clock on her bedside stand. It was a beautiful piece with complicated gears and levers all moving in synchronized harmony. It featured an ornate winding mechanism, though she never had to wind it herself. The cleaning staff took care of such things. It was early still and thinking about the beauty of motion made her turn her head in the other direction toward her bedmate. Benicia was a rising star in the world of professional pipeball and had made no secret of her admiration of both Olivienne’s body and her position. With short brown hair, big eyes, and lush lips, she was sought after by many. But Olivienne wasn’t lured by a pretty face alone and had rules for such dalliances. Before the Connate took anyone to her bed, she made it quite clear that it was for sport only, not for anything more serious or promising. Despite being the heir to the Divine Cathedr
a, Olivienne Dracore simply had too many other interests and pursuits to be tied down in some sort of royal consorage.

  Being driven in her profession, she spent wekes and sometimes even lunes traveling around the continents searching for artifacts and information relating to the Makers and the Divine Mystery. The information she uncovered was often given to the interpretists and inventors to create more devices for use in everydae society. It would surprise many to know that Olivienne herself was the one who discovered and helped translate the schematics for the devices dubbed ‘voteos’ by the various Psi Corps. They had revolutionized the communication industry across the continents. The biggest discovery before that was for the wind and water turbine schematics that brought power to the cities via underground copere lines.

  Olivienne was frequently impulsive when it came to her adventures. She also hated apologizing to people, and loathed goodbyes. All three of those character traits made for a bad potential par so she avoided such things. No, consorage was certainly not for her...at least not for many rotos. There was still too much to do before she inherited the Divine Cathedra and was required to settle down.

  The Divine Mystery alone was enough to keep her busy many lifetimes over. No one knew where their race had come from or why they had the powers they did. Each continent had a colossal pyramid with a network of tunnels and rooms inside. The Temple of Archeos was located at the mouth of Mir Tessere, just outside the largest city of Endara. Tesseron overlooked the beautiful Bindle Bay and was the capital of the largest continent, just as Ostium was the capital of Dromea. But Tesseron was also the location of the royal palace and over-arching government of Psiere. The other known major pyramid, the Temple of Illeos, was just to the northeast of Ostium. There were rumors of a third great temple but it was yet to be discovered or even proven.

  The pyramids were full of oil-sealed schematics in encrypted code. It took tens of rotos for the scienteres and interpretists to discover the cipher located in each pyramid and twice as long to figure out the key for each pyramid’s documents. However, nothing found had yet explained who built the temples or where the mysterious builders had gone. The temples had only been unlocked for five generations, long enough for the interpretists and historians to begin decoding the secrets of the illeostones and archeostones, but not nearly long enough to solve the mystery.

  The only certainty was a race that may or may not have been like their own had built temples and other civilian structures on the two known continents of Psiere. Besides the temples, citizens and adventurists had been finding encrypted documents and other artifacts scattered throughout the land. Some were easily translated with one or the other of the two known encryption keys, but more than a few remained indecipherable.

  Growing up in the capital city, Olivienne had spent a lot of time exploring the great pyramid and unlocking a few secrets of her own. Even at a young age, she vexed her guardians to no end with the things she’d get into. It was that fascination as a child that led to her occupation as an adult, besides that of the Royal Sovereign Connate. Olivienne Dracore was a historical adventurist, investigating clues and translations about the Divine Mystery. Her favorite part about the job wasn’t just going out and finding lost information and artifacts. The thrill of adventure was easily rivaled by seeing the creations that came from her discoveries, like the voteo or the proto-cycle. Adventure was in her blood, and the drive to solve the Divine Mystery was in her heart, neither of which left room for being a sovereign. That was why she was labeled as difficult by her past Psi Shield Corp captains, because she resented all the pomp and protections that came with being Connate to the Cathedra. She resented the duties that took her from her career and the adventures that she loved so much.

  It was because her adventures and duties took her far afield that she greatly appreciated those nights she could sleep in her own bed. She liked it even more when she didn’t have to spend the evening alone. No matter her personal preferences on attachment, Olivienne couldn’t help appreciating Benicia’s smooth lines and her cleanly muscled body. And the woman didn’t just look the proper form for an athlete, she had the stamina to match. The Connate smiled remembering how they writhed together for oors until they both fell asleep in a sweaty tangle. As if sensing the Olivienne’s hot gaze, long lashes raised and the Sovereign’s gaze was met with a pair of dark yellow eyes. She grinned at the woman in her bed. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” Benicia stretched, drawing Olivienne’s eyes to the small breasts that had come out from under the coverlet. She wanted to taste them again, but before she could act on her impulse, the chime to her royal residence rang. If she still lived in the main palace, she would have illeostone powered air flutes to announce her guests, but she opted for the semi-autonomy of the guesthouse located near the outskirts of the royal property. She raised a single dark brow at the fact she had a visitor. If her parens wanted to speak with her, they usually called on the teleo, rather than send a messenger.

  She sighed and gave her bedmate a regretful look. “I must apologize for not following through with my promise of breakfast in bed but it seems I have company.”

  Benicia smiled at her seductively. “I could wait here if you like...” Both the statement and intent were left open and Olivienne took a few secs to consider the option. Finally she shook her head and crawled out of bed.

  “No, I wouldn’t have a visitor unless it was important. Perhaps we can schedule our breakfast on a later date.”

  The famous pipeball player pouted but understood the rigors of duty so began dressing as well. “My season is just beginning so it will be a trial to find the time for meals, or dalliance, but I think we can manage.” The Connate smiled at her.

  When they were both finished dressing, Olivienne saw her down the stairs to the front entrance of the guesthouse. Benicia opened the heavy wood door as she looked over her shoulder at the Connate. “As always, dinner was excellent but dessert was better. I look forward to breakfast next time.” She ran a finger across her lower lip before licking the tip with her tongue. It was lewd and naughty and Olivienne knew exactly what was promised.

  “It is nice to know our daughter keeps her guests well fed.”

  Benicia immediately blanched when she realized who was at the door. She spun her head around and bowed deeply to the Queen of Psiere. “Cathedress! My apologies for being so crude in the presence of your greatness...” She rambled quickly, appalled that the ruler of the known world had witnessed her bawdy display.

  Olivara waved a negligent hand through the air. “It is of no consequence, Psera Demeer.” The Queen of Psiere laughed at the look on the younger woman’s face. “Surprised I know your name?” Benicia nodded mutely. Olivara answered her but her gaze was for her daughter. “Olivienne is the Royal Sovereign Connate, heir to the Divine Cathedra, nothing she does is unknown to those that wish to keep her safe.” She turned her eyes back to her daughter’s guest once she could see she’d made her point with Olivienne. “Now if you will excuse us, we have much to catch up on. Good dae, Benicia Demeer, and good luck on your upcoming season.” While the Queen was as polite as could be expected, she made it quite clear that Benicia was being dismissed.

  Benicia took the hint and quickly exited the guesthouse. Olivara shut the door behind her and muttered under her breath. “Service Corp are certainly a thick bunch, aren’t they?”

  “Really, maman? You have all the subtlety of a railer trying to make schedule. Now what was so important that you had to interrupt my first morning home in three wekes?”

  The Queen’s riding boots clacked on the polished stone floor as she made her way into the cozy receiving room. Wearing a cream colored blouse covered by a hardened leather corset and dark brown riding pants tucked into her boots, she looked more like her adventurous daughter than ruler of the people.

  She had a small satchel resting at her hip, its strap slung across her chest. There was also a pistol holder and pistol on the left side of her waist, ready for an inst
ant cross-draw. She may have been the Queen but she hadn’t been helpless since she was old enough to fire a pistol in the right direction. Despite the casual dress, Olivienne had no problems seeing the station rather than the mother she had come from, with Olivara’s carefully pinned up hair and regal mien. Her mother interrupted her thoughts when she spoke. “That’s precisely why I’m here. I haven’t seen you for nearly a lune, and when I do I only get a quick nod during events of state.”

  Olivienne scowled. “So is this an official visit or a familial one?”

  The Queen patted the lounge next to her and smiled. “It’s just me wanting to visit with my daughter. Do you have some time to spare?”

  If it was an official visit, she knew her mother would grill her about replacing the captain of her Psi Shield unit. It had only been a few daes since his accident but they were bullish about security for the royal family, especially the sovereigns. Her mother would also try to encourage Olivienne to pick up more royal duties and adventure less. Such conversations always led to a fight that in turn led to more adventure and even less royal duty. Perhaps her mother was starting to understand the truth of who Olivienne Dracore truly was on the inside. But since it was not an official visit, the tense set of Olivienne’s shoulders relaxed and she smiled back at her mother. “Of course I have time for you, maman.”