Chapter 9 Chapter 9: The Emperor's Pants

"What's going on?" Artemisia didn't have to pretend to be uneasy, she was talking to Gilbret who was standing at the door with the captain of the guard.Behind them five or six soldiers in uniform paced up and down solemnly.So she asked tactfully, "What's the matter with my father?" "No, no," Gilbret reassured her. "It has nothing to do with you. Are you asleep?" "Just going to sleep," she replied. "The maids have been going about their own business for hours. I have no one to answer the door for me except myself, and you almost scared me to death."

She turned around suddenly, and said very bluntly to the captain of the guard: "Is there anything you can do for me? Mr. captain, please tell me quickly. It's not like the daytime, and it's not the time to listen to the teachings." Without waiting for the man to open his mouth, Gilbret said first: "There is something very interesting, Atta. You know, that young man with what name is running away, and broke the heads of two guards on the way. We cannot afford to take him so cheaply. Now we are pursuing the fugitive with a platoon. I have pursued it myself, and my zeal and courage are appreciated by our good captain."

Artemisia pretended to be completely bewildered. The captain of the guard cursed inwardly, his lips barely moved.Then he said: "I beg your pardon, my lord, but you have gone too far. We should have delayed the matter. Miss, the man who claims to be the son of the late Wildmoth rancher has been convicted of treason He was arrested. But he managed to escape and is now missing. We had to search all the rooms of the palace in order to track him down." Artemisia took a few steps back and asked with a straight face, "You want to search my room too?" "With your permission, miss."

"Oh, but I won't. If there were any strange man in my room, I wouldn't be unaware of it. It would be extremely indecent to suggest that I was with such a man, or any man, at this time of night. Would you please?" Let me show some respect, Mr. Captain." This trick works.The captain of the guard had no choice but to bow his head and hurriedly said: "I have no such intention, miss. Please forgive me for disturbing you so late. Of course, it is enough for you to say that you have never seen the fugitive. In this case, we must implement A question about your safety. Because he's a dangerous guy."

"However, it is certain that he will not be so dangerous that you and your guards cannot deal with it." Gilbrecht's tenor broke in again: "Mr. Guardsman, come, come. The amount of time you've had with my niece in a courteous exchange is enough for our men to turn over the armory. I think so." : You put a guard at Artemisia's gate, so that no one will disturb her when she sleeps again. Unless, dear."—he gave Artemisia a quick wag of his finger—"Do you want to Join our team." "Thank you. I'd rather lock the door, lie on the bed, and think about what's going on." She said coldly.

"Pick a big guy," Gilbret said loudly. "I say, that's it. Artemisia, look how beautiful our guard uniform is, just by looking at it, you'll know it's us." guards." "My lord," said the captain impatiently. "There's no time. You've delayed things." As soon as he waved, a guard walked out of the queue, saluted Artemisia through the closing door, and then saluted the captain of the guard.The sound of neat footsteps gradually drifted away in two ways. Artemisia waited, then gently opened the door an inch or two.The guard stood erect with his legs spread apart, his weapon in his right hand and his left resting on the alarm button.He was the big guard that Gilbreth had named.He was as tall as Byron of Widemoss, though not as broad in his shoulders.

At this moment, she felt that, although Byron was young, and some of his views were quite unreasonable because of it, at least he was tall and big.Muscular, which is very useful. It was not wise for her to be mean to him just now.Besides, he looks quite likable.She closed the door and went to the dressing room. Byron watched nervously as the door reopened, holding his breath and stiffening his hands. Artemisia stared at his whip gun and said, "Be careful!" He breathed a sigh of relief, and stuffed two whip guns into each pocket.The whip gun was uncomfortable in his pocket, and he didn't have a proper holster."I'll use this in case anyone finds it," he said.

"Come out. Speak softly." She was still in her pajamas.The pajamas were made of a smooth material Byron had never seen before, and were trimmed with tufts of silvery down.The weak static gravity of the material itself made the pajamas cling to her body.In this way, all those buttons, tabs, cords, and plackets are all unnecessary.Therefore, wearing this pajamas, Artemisia's skin is only slightly blurred. Byron felt his ears burn, and he liked the way he felt. Artemisia waited for a while, then stretched out her index finger and drew a small circle, signaling him to turn around and avoid, and said, "You don't mind?"

Byron looked up into her face. "What? Oh, sorry." He turned his back to her, but still couldn't take his attention away from the rustle of changing his coat. It didn't occur to him to think about why she didn't go to the dressing room, or change her coat before opening the door.This is the deepest mystery of women's hearts, and this kind of female psychology that has not entered the world can never be fathomed. When he turned around again, he saw that she was dressed in black, and the two-piece suit did not reach her knees.She was dressed more for going out than for a ball, and it made her look even more plump and round.

Byron couldn't help asking: "Shall we go?" She shook her head. "I have to get your business done first. You need to change yourself. Go to the other side of the door and I'll call the guards in." "What guard?" She smiled. "According to Uncle Jill's suggestion, they left a guard at the door." The door to the hallway moved smoothly an inch or two along the chute.The guard was still standing there, rigid and motionless. "Guard," she whispered, "come in. Quick." An ordinary soldier should not have any hesitation in obeying the daughter of the governor of Rhodia.He walked into the door that opened slowly, and said respectfully, "I'm waiting for your order, little..." Immediately afterwards, he felt the weight on his shoulders drop from the sky, bending his knees like a mountain pressing down on him.At the same time, he felt that his throat was strangled by an arm, and he couldn't even speak out before he could breathe heavily.

Artemisia quickly closed the door. Looking at the thrilling fighting scene in front of her, she felt dizzy and almost fainted.The court life of the Hinriad Dynasty was peaceful and almost lifeless, and she had never seen a man with such a bloody face.Due to suffocation, he could only breathe out from his open mouth, but not breathe in.She turned away. Byron gritted his teeth, tightened the muscles in his arms, and strangled the guard's throat. The guard's hand gradually lost strength. He pulled Byron's arm a few times in vain. At the same time, he kicked and kicked, and Byron did not let go Lift him up off the floor. Then, the guard's hands fell to his sides, his legs drooped indifferently, his chest twitched violently in vain, and then gradually fell silent.Byron lowered him gently to the ground.The guard lay limp on all fours, like an empty bag. "He's dead?" Artemisia asked in a panicked whisper. "It's hard to say," Byron replied. "It takes four or five minutes to strangle a man like this. But he won't wake up for a while. Do you have anything to tie him up?" She shook her head, at this moment, she felt powerless. "You'll have to get a pair of 'Serrette' socks," said Byron, who had already stripped the guards of their weapons and coats. "I want to take a shower. To be honest, I have to take a shower too." Bathing with the detergent spray in Artemisia's bathroom was a real treat, though it made Byron a little too scented.But, he thought, as soon as he was out of doors, the aroma would spread into the air.This bath is obtained by passing through a fine suspension of liquid droplets.Fine droplets were sprayed powerfully on him by the warm air current.He is clean and dry when he comes out of the suspended droplet, so no special drying room is needed.There is no such bathing device in Wildmoss, or, for that matter, on Earth. The guards' uniforms were a bit tight, and Byron didn't like the way the rather ugly conical military cap was put on his broad forehead.He stared at his own reflection in the mirror with some dissatisfaction. "What do you think I look like?" "Like a soldier," she said. He said: "This whip gun is up to you. I can't use three guns alone." She held one between two fingers.Throwing it into her handbag, the handbag hangs from her wide belt with another slight force, so that her hands are free. "We'd better leave now. If you meet anyone, don't speak. I'll deal with it. Your accent is wrong. Besides, when I'm around, unless you speak directly, otherwise, no matter what, you can't speak." It's rude. Remember! You're an ordinary soldier." The guard lying on the floor began to struggle a little, and rolled his eyes.His wrists and ankles were strapped tightly to his back with socks.Those Celite socks have a higher tensile strength than an equal amount of steel wire.His tongue tried to push what was stuffed into his mouth, but it was in vain. He has been pushed aside.That way, you don't have to step over him to get to the door. "Here." Artemisia whispered. They had just turned the first corner when footsteps sounded behind them, and then a hand was lightly placed on Byron's shoulder. Byron stepped aside, turned, and grabbed the man's arm with one hand and the whip gun with the other.However, it turned out to be Gilbret, who said, "Take it easy, soldier!" Byron let go of his grip.Gilbret rubbed his arm. "I've been waiting for you, but you can't break my old bones for this, let me enjoy it, Farrier. Your clothes are like wrapping around you, but it's not bad--very good. You You don’t get a second look at you when you’re dressed up. That’s the beauty of the uniform. People always take it for granted that the person wearing the uniform is definitely a soldier and nothing else.” "Uncle Jill," Artemisia whispered anxiously, "speak less. Where are the other guards?" "None of them are talkative," he said sullenly. "The rest of the guards went up to their towers. They decided that our friends would never stay lower than the towers, so they kept only a few Major exits and ramps are guarded and a global martial law regime is in place. However, we are still able to move through unimpeded." "Sir, they won't think of you, will they?" "Me? Ha. The captain of the guard was so happy to see me go away, he wished he could kowtow to me. I promise, they won't come looking for me." They had been whispering and chirping, and now even that was gone.A guard stood at the end of the ramp, and two other guards stood on both sides of the two huge carved palace doors leading to the field. Gilbret called out, "Soldier. Any news of the fugitive?" "No, my lord," agreed the nearest guard.He saluted by touching his heels together. "Then you have to keep your eyes open." Saying that, they passed the guards and walked out of the palace gate.A guard at the gate carefully shut off the alarm on that part of the palace gate as they departed. It was night time outside the palace, the clear night sky was full of stars, and a large piece of dark nebula with ragged edges wiped out the little stars near the horizon.The Central Palace was blackened behind them, and the palace landing pad was less than half a mile away. But after five minutes on the silent road, Gilbrecht looked restless. "Not right," he said. Artemisia said, "Uncle Jill, you haven't forgotten to prepare the spaceship, have you?" "Of course I haven't forgotten." He snatched her up in almost the harshest whisper. "But why is the tower of the landing pad brightly lit? It should be dark." He pointed to the towers beyond the woods, which looked like a hive of white light.Typically, this indicates that something is happening at the landing pad; a spacecraft has taken off or arrived from space. Gilbret murmured: "There's nothing in the plan for tonight. That's for sure." They saw the answer in the distance, or rather, Gilbret saw it.He stopped abruptly, blocking them both with his arms outstretched. "It's over," he said, giggling almost nervously. "Xinrik has really messed things up, idiot. Here they come! Tyranids! Don't you understand? That's Aratap's special armored frigate." Byron saw that this armored spaceship shone slightly under the light, and it stood out from the rest of the ordinary spaceships.Compared with the spaceship of Rhodia, it has a smoother surface, a thinner shape, and more dexterous movements. Gilbrecht said: "The captain of the guard said that he would receive an important person today, but I didn't take it seriously. Well, it's all over now. We can't fight the Tyranids." Byron thought of something, and he stopped Gilbret suddenly and said, "Why can't we fight the Tyranids?" He said sharply, "Why can't we beat them? They can't possibly suspect that something is going to happen, and besides We've got weapons in our hands. We're going to take the Commissioner's own spaceship, which is like ripping off his pants and immobilizing him." He walked forward, out of the more secluded woods, into the open fields.The other two followed behind him.They don't need to hide.Because they are two members of the royal family and an escort guard. However, they are now fighting the Tyranids. When Simok Aratap of Tyron star saw Rhodia star for the first time a few years ago, the royal palace garden had left a deep impression on him, but now, all that remains is what left him a deep impression body.Its interior is nothing more than ancient ruins.Two generations ago, Rhodia's legislative assembly met in this place, and most of the executive offices were located there, and the Central Palace had been the administrative center of a dozen planets. Today, the Legislative Assembly (which still exists because the Khan never interferes with local legislation) meets annually to approve the executive orders of the past twelve months.The Supreme Executive Council still meets nominally continuously, but the ten people who attend the Executive Council spend nine out of ten weeks in their own estates.All sorts of administrative structures are still in play, because they are still indispensable whether the governor of Rhodia or the khan is in power.Now, however, these agencies were scattered across the planet; they depended less on the Governor and more on their new masters, the Tyranids. All this left the palace with an air of exactly the same majesty it had always had in the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.The governor's family lived in the palace, a few attendants, and a few guards of the planet. Aratap felt uncomfortable and unhappy in this shell.It was late and he was tired.His eyes burned so badly that he wanted to take off his invisible glasses.And chief among all his unhappiness was his disappointment. They have no plan of action!He glanced now and then at his adjutant, and the major was listening to the governor with an expressionless face.As for Aratap, he was not much interested in what the governor said. "Son of the Wildmoss rancher! Really?" he would say absently.Then add: "You arrested him like that? Excellent!" But it didn't mean much to him because of the disorganized speech.Aratap's methodical mind could not accept the idea of ​​unorganized and far-fetched juxtaposition of isolated facts. The Wildmoss rancher is a traitor, and the son of the Wildmoss rancher attempted to join the governor of Rhodia.When his first attempt to go there in secret failed, he became so impatient that he concocted a wild story of an alleged assassination plot in order to do so openly.To be sure, this must be the start of a course of action. Now that plan fell through again, and Hinrik meanly tossed the little fellow out in a hurry, looking as if he wouldn't even make it through the night.However, doing so can only be self-defeating and counterproductive.Otherwise, Aratap may not yet know the whole truth. His attention returned to Shinrik, who was repeating what had happened.Aratap felt a sudden sting of pity that the man had grown so cowardly that even the Tyranids themselves were growing impatient with him.However, this is the only way to ensure absolute loyalty. Wildmoss was not cowardly. He rebelled against the fact that his own interests were closely related to the maintenance of Tyrannian rule.Hinrik, on the other hand, was cowardly, sitting there trying so hard to win some kind of approval that he couldn't talk coherently.Aratap knew that the major would say nothing, the man had no imagination.He sighed, wishing he didn't have the imagination himself.Therefore, he said in a somewhat encouraging tone: "Exactly. I appreciate your decisiveness and your enthusiasm for serving the Khan. You can be sure that His Majesty the Khan will know all this." Xinrik suddenly understood, obviously relieved. "Okay then, bring him up and let's hear what our aggressive cock has to say," said Aratap, trying not to yawn.In fact, he was not at all interested in what the "little rooster" would say. But when Hinrik was about to ring the bell for the Captain's arrival, there was no need to do so.Because the captain of the guard had already stood at the door without notification. "Your Excellency," he called, and stepped through the door without waiting for permission. Hinrik stared intently at his hand, which was inches from the bell.He seemed to wonder if his will had somehow produced enough force to take the place of his action. He asked puzzledly, "What's the matter, captain of the guard?" The captain of the guard said: "Your Excellency, the criminal has absconded." Arataph suddenly felt tired and subsided, what's going on? "Be more specific, Captain!" he ordered, straightening up in his chair. The captain of the guard reported the matter straightforwardly and briefly, and finally said: "Your Excellency, please declare a global martial law. They have only escaped for a few minutes." "Yes, it's going to do everything," Hinrik stammered, "it's going to do everything. Worldwide martial law, yes. Worldwide martial law. Quick! Quick! Commissioner, I really don't understand how this can happen. Captain of the Guards , Mobilize all people to participate in the hunt. Commissioner, this matter needs to be investigated, and if necessary, all guards can be fired! Fire! Fire!" He repeated the word almost hysterically.The captain of the guard still stood there without moving.Obviously, he still has something to say. Aratap said, "What are you waiting for?" "May I have a few words with your Excellency alone?" said the captain of the guard unexpectedly. Hinrique shot a timid glance at the impassive, unflappable Commissioner.Then, with a bit of sullen expression on his face, he said, "There is no untold secret, they are our friends, they are ours..." "Say what you want to say, captain of the guard." Aratap interrupted him lightly. The captain of the guard touched the heel of his shoe and said: "Since I have been ordered to speak out, I regret to inform your Excellency that Miss Artemisia and Master Gilbret also fled with the criminals." "How dare he kidnap them?" Hinrique stood up. "Can my guards allow him to kidnap?" "They were not bound, my lord. They escaped with him of their own volition." "How do you know?" Aratap became excited.He has no sleep at all.Now it seems that this is a plan of action after all, and it is a more ingenious plan than he expected. The captain of the guards said: "We have the testimony of the guards they fell and let them escape unintentionally." She was already going to sleep. Then I suddenly realized that when she said these words to me, her facial expressions were completely faked. By the time I returned, it was too late. This matter was not done well, and I should be punished .After tonight, I will ask Your Excellency to accept my resignation. But, can I still get your permission to sound the global martial law alarm? I dare not alarm the royal family without your permission." At this moment, however, Hinrique stood there staggering, just staring at him blankly. Aratap said: "Captain, you'd better take care of the Governor. I suggest you call his doctor." "What about the global martial law alert?" repeated the captain of the guard. "No global martial law," said Aratap, "you know what I mean? No global martial law! No more fugitives caught! This is the end of the matter! Send your soldiers back to their own barracks as usual On duty, watch over your Governor. Come on, Major." As soon as they left the grand central palace, Major Tyronn began to speak nervously. "Aratap," he said, "I thought you must know what you were doing. It was on this supposition that I kept my mouth shut." "Thank you, Mr. Major!" Aratap liked the night air on a planet full of greenery.The Tyron star has its own more beautiful side, but it is a terrifying beauty composed of rocks and mountain peaks.It's all dry, all dry! He added: "Don't you catch Hinrik, Major Andrews, he will weaken and eventually collapse in your hands. He is useful to us. However, it will take some small treat." The major ignored the words. "I'm not saying that. I'm saying, why not martial law around the world? You don't want to catch them?" "Do you want to?" Aratap stopped. "Let's sit here for a while, Andrews. There's a long chair beside the path, with a green lawn at our feet. What could be more beautiful than this, and better to avoid the place where the microwave speed is monitored? Why do you want to catch the young Where is the man? Mr. Major." "Why should I arrest all traitors and conspirators?" "Yes, if you only caught a few pawns and didn't touch the root of the cancer, why bother? A little guy who doesn't understand, a silly girl, an old idiot?" A nearby artificial waterfall splashes a little bit of mercury.Although the waterfall is small, it is also an embellishment.Now, to Aratap, the waterfall was nothing short of awe-inspiring.Just imagine, that clear running water, trickling out, pouring aimlessly on the rocks and the earth, scattered and lost.For this situation, except for a little indignation, he never allowed himself to be too excited. "Like this," said the major, "we get nothing." "We've learned a course of action. When the young man first came, we linked him to Shinrik, and that kind of confuses us, because Shinrik is—very kind of. Still, that's It was a last resort. Now we know that it had nothing to do with Shinrik at all; it was a misdirection to focus on Shinrik. Shinrik was a front and he was looking for Shinrik's daughter and Don That, brother, makes more sense." "Why didn't he call us right away? Instead, he waited until midnight." "Because he's the tool of whoever comes first. I'm sure it was Gilbret's idea to arrange this late-night meeting as a sign of his great enthusiasm." "You mean we were called here for a purpose? To prove that they escaped?" "No, that's not the case. Think about it, where are these people going?" The major shrugged. "Rhodia Star is very big." "Yes, if young Farrier was the only one involved, perhaps. But where can two royals go without being recognized on Rhodia? Especially the girl." "So they have to leave the planet? Yes, I agree with you." "Where did they come from, then? They're fifteen minutes' walk from the palace landing pad. Now you can see why we've been brought here?" The major said, "Thinking about our ship?" "Of course. A Tyranid ship would be ideal for them. Otherwise, they'll have to choose from a cargo ship. Farrier was educated on Earth, and I'm sure he'll cruise Flying ship." "There is a problem here. Why do we allow nobles to send their sons far and wide? Why should a commoner know more about travel than he needs to do business in his country? We have made our own champions against us. " "However," said Aratap politely and nonchalantly, "at this moment, Faril has finished studying abroad, so let's treat this issue objectively, and we don't need to get angry. The facts also make me sure that they have hijacked our Cruiser." "I do not believe." "You are wearing a watch walkie-talkie. If possible, please contact the spaceship." The major tried, but couldn't make contact. Aratap said: "Contact the navigation tower at the landing field." The major tried what Aratap said, and a soft, slightly anxious voice came through the micro receiver: "But, sir, I don't understand—something must be wrong. Your pilot is very Flew away minutes ago." Aratap smiled. "See? As long as you understand their plan of action, you can see the details and predict things like a god. Now you understand my reasoning?" The major understood.He slapped his thigh fiercely and smiled hey. "Of course!" he said. "Well," said Aratap, "of course they won't know that they've ruined themselves. If they can see the most lumbering Rhodia cargo ship in the landing pad, they will almost certainly get away with it." , and I—how do you say that?—I might make a fool of myself tonight by stripping off my trousers. And now, look, my trousers are in good shape, and nothing can save them Their lives. When I think of getting them back."—he emphasized the phrase triumphantly—"I'll get the rest of the conspirators too." He let out a long breath, feeling sleepy again. "Well, we've been lucky. Don't rush now. Call to Base Camp and ask them to send another ship to us."