We return to Kensington Palace to find Akari waiting for us at the entrance. Getting out, I wave at her and walk over.

“Sora, the Chinese Ambassador has requested a meeting.”

All I can think is, ‘Crap! There goes my plans for this afternoon!’ Ignoring my being irked at his timing, I nod, and tell her, “Alright, tell him that I’ll be happy to meet with him in my office at his earliest convenience.”

Basically, political speak for, ‘Tell him to get his ass over here, right now.’

She says, “Okay.”

I give Ryu and Chinatsu a kiss, then gesture for Akari to follow me, and we head to my office. Along the way, I tell her, “Please call Anne, and ask her to join me.”

“Of course.”

Anne shows up a few minutes later, and we’re chatting while having some coffee. Thankfully, it isn’t a long wait for him to get here. Akari escorts him in and leaves.

He bobs his head at me and says, “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Your Majesty.”

I stand up and gesture for him to take a seat on the loveseat. Smiling politely, I reply, “My pleasure, Ambassador Li.” He sits while I sit back down beside Anne. “I’m sure that you remember Duchess Anne.”

“Of course. Your Grace, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” he replies as he bobs his head at her.

She smiles, “You as well, Ambassador,” she tells him, then falls quiet.

“Ambassador, may I offer you something to drink?”

Irksome though it may be, I have to follow the political niceties. Even though I don’t care much for beating around the bush. Especially when it’s him. I’ve Always found him to be really overbearing and annoyingly vain. Can you believe that this idiot actually tried flirting with me when I first met him? You can guess how well that worked out for him.

“No thank you, Your Majesty.”

I nod. Sitting down, I cross my legs and ask, “Then, what can I do for you, Ambassador?”

The horny old goat stares at my thighs as he licks his lips, then he finally looks up when I clear my throat, and says, “My government has requested that you remove your trade embargo.”

I drop my polite smile. “That’s not going to happen, Ambassador. Your government has made its bed, now it has to sleep in it.”

He closes his eyes and sighs. “I told them you would say something along those lines, Your Majesty. Our people are suffering greatly under your embargo. Food shortages, unemployment, and rioting are at unheard-of levels because of it.”

“Ambassador, while your people have my sympathy for what their government has brought upon them, I don’t see how those are my problems to solve.

“I’ve said it before: until General Secretary Huang presents himself before me and apologizes for what your government did, the embargo will remain in place. I will not compromise on that stance even one iota.”

Uncrossing my legs, I lean forward and place my elbows on my knees. Smiling viciously, I continue, “Oh, and before he begins blustering again and threatening war, I suggest that you remind him of our overwhelming military advantage. I suggest you be certain that he understands that I needn’t endanger one single soldier either. Within minutes of my order, we can drop enough kinetic weapons from orbit to turn all of China into a wasteland. Regardless of that, I think he’d find a ground war against the commonwealth military just as devastating. Am I clear?”

He blanches and says, “Crystal clear, Your Majesty.”

“Then, if that’s all, Ambassador.”

He remains seated and chews on his lip. “Your Majesty, if I may?” I gesture for him to continue. “Then, I’ve been authorized by my government to request admission into the commonwealth.”

I quirk an eyebrow at him. “That isn’t happening either, Ambassador. I was very clear about what would have to happen first and foremost for us to move forward, was I not?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. I wasn’t very clear about what I meant. The General Secretary has agreed to come here to apologize, but only if you agree to allow our admission into the commonwealth.”

“Ambassador, we’re going in circles here, and I have many other things I’d be much happier doing. For the final time, until General Secretary Huang presents himself before me and apologizes, there’s nothing for us to discuss. Period. End of statement, and with that, we’re done here.” I stand up, and Anne follows suit. “Have a good day, Ambassador.”

He sighs and stands as well. “Good day, Your Majesty.”

We walk him out, and once I close the outer door, I turn to look at Akari. “How much of that did you hear?”

She grins. “All of it.”

“I swear those jackasses never learn. Did they honestly believe that I’d simply change my mind?”

She chuckles for a moment, then says, “It’s been my experience that a lot of men believe that they can use their imagined importance to get their way.”

I blow out my breath, roll my eyes, and shrug. “Uh-huh, whatever. Color me unimpressed. If his office requests a meeting again, then you are to decline unless they state that General Secretary Huang will be attending to apologize.”

“Of course, Sora.”

Anne says, “Sora, you handled that extremely well.”

“Thanks. He was really irking me though. The horny old bastard was licking his lips while staring at my legs.”

She barks out a laugh. “As if I couldn’t see. Regardless, you kept your cool and handled him like a pro.”

“Pro or not, people like him…” I shiver exaggeratedly and frown. “Well, let’s merely say that they aren’t my favorite type.” The two of them laugh, and I shrug. “It’s gross!” which only makes them laugh harder. When they can finally control themselves, I continue. “That idiot is rather good at pushing my buttons, and I’m much less likely to go off on him with you there, so thank you for coming.”

She pats my shoulder reassuringly as she says, “That’s what I’m here for, Sora.”

“And, here I thought it was because you loved me,” I state, then grin impishly.

She laughs. “You know that I love you like you were my own daughter, but helping you learn the ropes is part of it, too.”

“I know, Anne.” I smile warmly at her and touch her arm. “I love you, too. Well, now that the fun is over, what do you say we call it a day?” Anne nods, and then I look at Akari. “Go home. There isn’t anything that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

“Mhmm. Good night.”

“Good night, Your Majesty.”

I stick my tongue out at her, which makes her laugh. Turning around, I head upstairs to find my husband and wife. I want to go out to dinner and dance tonight. It’s a bit late to make reservations, but there are times when it’s good to be the Queen.

[Wednesday, September 20]

The message alert on my phone wakes me up. Groaning, I pick it up to see that one, it’s 4:30 in the morning, and two, it’s a priority email from Erica. Scooting up against the headboard, I open it and read. A minute later, I send her a reply telling her that I’ll be there as soon as I can. Then I compose one to the headmistress explaining that I would be absent today.

Getting up, I head into the bathroom to take a quick shower. After applying a minimum of makeup and not bothering to do more with my hair other than to brush it out, I pad over to my closet and select a pale yellow, long-sleeved, button-up blouse, navy pencil skirt, nude lace-patterned stockings and pick up my yellow ankle strap heels. Once I’m dressed, I head over and kiss Chinatsu to wake her.

“Good morning.”

Chinatsu opens her eyes, glances at the window, sees that it’s still dark, and says, “Good lord, Sora. It’s still dark, and why are you already dressed?”

“I have to go to DTI for a meeting with Erica.”

She sits up and stretches while asking, “Are you going to make it to school today?”

I shrug. “I have no idea. All the email said is that she needs to see me.”

“I hope you do. You know how touchy Mrs. Vorhagen is about missing her class. Honestly, I believe she thinks the world revolves around her class.”

I chuckle for a few moments. “Well, history is important, but this is most likely more important. Erica knows better than to make me miss school if it isn’t. Regardless, it isn’t as if I don’t already know what she’ll be lecturing about today.”

“True. Alright, give me another kiss.”

Leaning in, I give her a long, deep kiss, then lean over her and kiss Ryu on the forehead.

Standing up, I tell her, “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” I turn to leave, and she says, “Don’t forget to eat something before you leave. You’ve been losing weight.”

I look over my shoulder and ask, “Have I?”

“Mhmm. It isn’t a lot, but there’s very little that I don’t notice when it comes to you.”

“Alright, I promise I’ll eat something.”

As I descend the stairs, I call out, “Michael?”

Moments later, he appears and says, “Yes, Your Majesty?”

I have serious doubts about whether the man ever actually sleeps. No matter what time of the day or night it may be, if I call for him, he’s awake.

“Please, inform Jackson that I need to go to DTI, but before that, ask Cookie to make me something to eat. And, how many times have I told you to call me Sora?”

Yes, Cookie truly is her name. I asked, and she told me that her parents are more than a little odd.

“Your Majesty, how many times have I told you that it would be inappropriate for me to refer to you in such a familiar manner?”

I shrug. “Probably about as many times as I’ve told you to call me Sora.”

He smiles while I laugh. He may be a little stiff and formal, but I like the man, and he keeps the palace running smoothly.

　◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

The pilot lands at DTI HQ, and Jason and I make our way up to Erica’s office. When we enter her office, I take a seat as she tells me, “Good morning.”

“Good morning. Well, I’m here. What’s so important?”

“You know how a lot of people freak out in dimensional space?” I nod. “Well, Jason, has been working with Astrid on a project to fix that little problem. They came up with what they are calling a subspace field that isolates the ship when in dimensional space. It allows the crew to go about their duties instead of being strapped down into their chairs for the entire trip.”

“Excellent. How hard will it be to retrofit the ships we already have built?”

“Not hard at all. The power requirements are well within what the ships already produce, and the device is small enough to mount anywhere in engineering. Would you like to see it for yourself?”

From behind me, Jason says, “Hold on. Do you mean to see the device, or to get her on a ship and jump somewhere?”

She looks surprised because Jason normally never says anything. “I… uh, I meant for her to jump somewhere. I thought she’d enjoy it.”

“Knowing Sora, she would, but that’s not happening. I’m not saying anything would happen, but if something did, and we lost Sora, everything would fall apart.” He reaches over and places his hand on my shoulder. “Sora, I’m sorry, but we can’t risk it.”

Looking over my shoulder, I smile as I reach up and pat his hand to assure him that I understand. “I know, so there’s no need to fret about it.” Turning back to Erica, I continue, “I’d love to try it, but as you can see… Regardless of that, I would like to see the device.”

“Sure, Sora. Oh, I almost forgot. Enrico developed a much smaller version of his QC device for use in armored spacesuits.” She pauses to smirk. “It’s only good for 500 kilometers, though.”

I laugh, and she joins me. No man-portable personal transmitter that I know of has that kind of range. I may be busy, but I try my best to keep up with current technological innovations.

“Anything else that’s new?”

“Astrid developed miniature shield generators for the armored spacesuits, too.”

“Awesome! I hope we never need them, but…”

“I know, better to be safe than sorry. It isn’t as if space is the safest environment.”

“Mhmm. Well, We’ve been selling them to the commonwealth military for use in the ships so far, but General Chambers mentioned buying more to deploy them with ground troops as well. You might suggest that they also develop a scaled-down version to sell to civilians.”

“That’s an excellent idea. One I hadn’t thought of, although I should have with how quickly we’re building and selling the Sumo class ships. We’re back-ordered for at least two years.”

I shrug. “So, build a couple more factories to produce them. I’m sure that DTI has more than enough money and resources to do it. If not, tell me, and I’ll have Athena release however much you need from my personal account. Plus, I believe manpower won’t be an issue soon.” She quirks an eyebrow at me. “Let’s just say that the Chinese Ambassador came to see me yesterday.”

“It took them longer than I thought it would.”

“Well, it’s probably not what you’re thinking it was about.” I shrug. “Regardless, while I’m here, how about we fly over to the research center, and you can walk me around and catch me up on the current projects.”

She glances at her desk, and then back to me. “It isn’t as if I have anything that pressing.”

I smile and say, “Perfect!”

Getting up, we walk out to my plane while Jason makes a call to our four escorts to inform them of our plans. Less than 15 minutes later, the Peregrine and our escorts land at the airfield for DTI.

Heading up to Katsuo’s office, we walk in, and I say, “Hi there, old man.”

He cries out, “Sora,” leaps out of his seat and comes around the desk to hug me, “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“I didn’t expect to be here either,” he releases me, and I gesture over my shoulder to Erica, “but someone decided that they needed to see me, and since I already took the day off from school, here we are.”

“Whatever. I’m happy to see you. So, I expect you didn’t just come here to see me.”

I shake my head. “Nope, though seeing you is a nice bonus, and I’m happy to see that you’re looking much better.”

“I’m feeling a lot better. All of those aches and pains, running short of breath, all of it is gone. I feel 50 years younger.”

“Good. I’m happy to hear it. By the way, your wife and daughter need to come to see me soon.” He merely quirks an eyebrow. “Nanites for them, too. Remember?”

“I do, but it keeps slipping my mind to remind them.”

“That’s alright. Call them, and we’ll do it while I’m here.”

He nods, takes out his cell phone, and calls them. Once he ends the call, he says, “So, why did you two come?”

“Nothing important, we merely came to see everything they’ve been working on.”

“Sounds like a plan. Come on.”

He leads us out, and we walk around the center as they explain where they are in their projects, and any improvements they’ve made.

The metallurgy department told me of a new type of armor they’ve developed out of the new type of metal that was found in an asteroid, Duraminium. They tried to explain its properties to me, but I stopped them mid-stream. It was enough to know that it’s far stronger, denser, and more flexible than the titanium we’re currently using as a composite armor. They did explain that when they ran a small current through it that it had the effect of polarizing it and making it even stronger.

In a demonstration, they took an AS-1 Talon Armored Spacesuit made with the new armor and shot it with a 5-gigawatt laser. Without the shields, it took 17 shots to penetrate the armor, which also repaired itself within 20 seconds of the breach.

Most of the other departments we visit have made similar small improvements to whatever they’ve developed. After we visit the final department, we head back to his office to find Saya and Nami waiting for us.

“Hi, Nami. Nice to see you again. Saya, you as well.”

Nami and Saya stand and curtsy. “You as well, Your Majesty.”

“Stop that! I’ve told you two before that when we’re in private, you should call me Sora.”

Nami grins and Saya says, “Gotcha! I told Mom you’d say that.”

I stick my tongue out at her, then grin. “That was mean, Saya. Are you two ready?”

They both nod, and Nami says, “Yes. More than ready. I hope I look and feel as good as Katsuo does now.”

“Oh, trust me, you’ll feel like a new woman.” I lean close to them and whisper, “I hope you really like sex because my nanites make you rather sensitive and randy to put it mildly. Be sure to use condoms as well, unless you want babies.”

Nami’s eyes widen in surprise, but she smiles happily. “I never thought I’d have another child.”

Anyway, we head down to medical, where they draw two syringes of my blood and inject Nami and Saya. Afterwards, while they’re walking me out to the Peregrine, I tell them, “Those will take effect within 24 hours, and you’ll quickly begin to see changes. Longer hair, and bigger or smaller breasts are the most noticeable. Also, you might be a little achy for a few days, but nothing too worrisome. These seem to have an ideal body in mind, and will keep you that way.”

I give them all hugs, tell them goodbye, then Erica, Jason, and I board. Once they’re clear, we lift off, along with our escorts, to head home.