A Confusion of Princes Read Free Page B

to my mind directly, or sometimes via secure pods that were also brought to my rooms. Practice weapons came from the armoury and went back there at the end of a session.
    ‘No. I have nothing. Uh . . . where are we going and . . . why are we going anyway? Surely it would be better to stay here and . . . um . . . plan . . .’
    My voice trailed off. Though I had long imagined the day when I would become a full Prince, none of my daydreaming had included being almost killed and then having to flee. Mostly it had consisted of looking at the specifications of various extremely fast and deadly starships.
    ‘We can’t remain here,’ explained Haddad. ‘This temple will not allow you to stay beyond the first hour, Highness, and we must reach a place of relative safety, somewhere where you can access the Imperial Mind. Had you planned which service to join for your initial career?’
    Princes supplied the officers of all the key services of the Empire: Navy, Marines, the Diplomatic Corps, Survey, Imperial Government, Colonial Government . . . but they all sounded like hard work, and though I had expected I would join one of them at some stage, the thought of yet more training did not appeal to me. Also, it would mean putting myself into a hierarchy of Princes where I would be the lowest of the low. It would be much more fun to simply go somewhere interesting and be a Prince at large, preferably the only one around. Then I could do whatever I wanted.
    ‘Uh, I don’t want to commit to any service and all that training malarkey,’ I said. ‘I want to enjoy myself first. Get a ship—you know, a corvette or maybe something smaller, of course with high automation, head out for some distant stars, see something beyond this mouldy old temple, smoke a few Naknuk ships or the like. . . .’
    I looked at my Master of Assassins.
    ‘That’s not going to happen, is it?’
    ‘Not advisable,’ said Haddad tersely. ‘The nearest shipyard that might have a vessel not already earmarked for a Prince or under the aegis of a Prince would be . . . Jearan Six. We’d have to go commercial from here, several changes, several lines—the risk would be extremely high. Also, it would mean delaying your connection to the Mind.’
    ‘Can’t I connect here, before we leave?’ I asked. I knew the procedure. Though I would later be able to communicate with the Imperial Mind wherever there were available priests to relay, my first connection needed to be from within the inner sanctum of a temple.
    ‘It is forbidden for Princes to enter the sanctums of temples other than temples of their own service when on duty, or on direct Imperial orders,’ said Haddad.
    ‘But I go to the sanctum here often . . . ah . . . when I was a Prince candidate I went there . . .’
    ‘Exactly, Highness. The optimum possible node now is the Temple of the Aspect of the Noble Warrior on Kwanantil Nine, which serves the Kwanantil Domain Naval Academy of the Imperial Navy.’
    ‘But you said a Prince can only enter the sanctum of a temple of their own service, or with direct orders,’ I said. My augmented and accelerated brain clearly wasn’t working as it should.
    ‘Yes, Highness,’ said Haddad.
    ‘You mean I’ll have to join the Navy.’
    ‘Yes, Highness.’
    My dream of a slender space yacht, lavishly appointed and crewed by suitably attractive mind-programmed servants, disappeared, driven away by the fresh, sharp memory of the flower-trap’s sunbeam going over my head. Next time, there might be more than one assassin, more than one sunbeam. . .
    ‘In addition to connecting to the Imperial Mind, the Navy would also offer you a high level of protection, Highness. Apart from the vacation period, cadets at a Naval Academy or officers on active service may not be assassinated. Not legally, though accidents do happen. You must always be vigilant.’
    ‘It just gets better and better, doesn’t it?’
    Haddad nodded. I wasn’t sure if this was in agreement or just