The Return to Strange Skies (JNC Edition) Read online

  O Stars around,

  Heed the hopes of your short-lived kin.

  What be our hopes?

  We wish only to be by your side

  At your final resting place.

  ...Selected verses of the imperial anthem of the Humankind Empire of Abh.

  Welcome to the Abh Empire

  ...or as they would say in their native tongue of Baronh, the great and indefatigable Bar Frybarec!

  “Bar fry-ba-rec?”

  Nope, it’s actually pronounced “Bar Fryoobar”!

  What the hey!?

  Some quick points!

  Things To Look Out For:

  It’s spelled “Abh” but pronounced “Ahv”! “Bh” is a “v” sound! Keep your eye out for other two-letter combinations that use the letter “h” to make for a single sound!

  For Example: Rébh (a passenger ship) is pronounced “REV.” The name of the language, Baronh, is pronounced “BARONYUH” because the “nh” digraph represents a “nyuh” sound.

  You’ll see a lot of “-c” and “-ec” at the ends of Baronh words. These are silent! (They’re there to mark their grammatical purpose.)

  For Example: Lonidec (a base) is pronounded “LOHNEED.”

  When “c” isn’t silent, it’s ALWAYS a hard “c” (like a “k”)!

  For Example: Cénh (a trainee pupil) is pronounced “KENYUH.”

  You’ll also see a lot of “ai”s that represent “eh” sounds (or close enough), as well as “au”s that make “oh” sounds.

  For Example: Arnaigh (an orbital tower) is pronounced “ARNEHZH.” Meanwhile, arauch (the imperial capital) is “AROHSH.”

  “Eu” is akin to a “yoo” sound.

  For Example: Reucec (gentry) is “RYOOK.”

  There are some spelling exceptions.

  For Example: It’s spelled aïbss (surface-dwelling “Lander” human) but pronounced “AEEP.”

  We’re sure you’ll pick it up as you go!

  Pronunciation Guide Legend (for things that are not otherwise obvious)

  ZH is similar to a “j” sound, but softer. (In Baronh, this is “gh.”)

  RR refers to a rolling “r” sound. (In Baronh, this is “rh.”)

  DTH refers to a voiced “th” sound (like the “th” in “the” as opposed to the one in “thin.” In Baronh, this is “dh.”)

  NOTE: The actual phonology is more varied, and these pronunciation guides are handy approximations. For example, “EH” is standing for a multitude of different sounds that are in more or less the same ballpark. The way these words are spelled are based on Baronh’s own baked-in system of Romanization/transliteration (the script is in fact written in glyphs called “Ath”).

  ALSO NOTE: After the first appearance of the majority of Baronh vocabulary, if they appear again, they will be replaced by their English equivalent in bold text.

  The language is just another aspect of what makes this magnificent space empire and its culture so fascinating! And we’re confident that you’ll know your froch from your frocragh in no time!

  CREST OF THE STARS III — The Return to Strange Skies

  Summary of Crest of the Stars II

  Though Jinto and Royal Princess Lafier managed to escape from the Febdash Barony, they weren’t able to beat the enemy forces of the United Humankind to the Sfagnoff Marquessate.

  When the duo returned to normal space in their small connecting vessel, they discovered Sfagnoff already occupied by the enemy.

  Lafier slipped away from their hostile eyes and crash-landed their ship onto the planet of Clasbule. Meanwhile, in order to protect the royal princess who found herself powerless on a surface world, Jinto disguised himself and Lafier as planet natives, with the intention of doing their best to evade the troops’ notice until Empire ships returned.

  However, a dodgy-looking group of activists who call themselves the “Anti-Imperial Front” have now brushed against Jinto and Lafier after the two successfully infiltrated the city of Lune Beega, near where they ended up landing.

  Characters

  Jinto

  ...... the son of the president of the planet Martin.

  Lafier

  ...... a trainee starpilot in the Abh Empire’s Star Forces, as well as the Empress’s granddaughter.

  Entryua

  ...... Police Inspector of the Lune Beega Criminal Investigation Department.

  Kyte

  ...... Military Police Lieutenant of the Peacekeepers.

  Marca

  ...... a member of the Clasbule Anti-Imperial front.

  Min

  ...... another member of the Clasbule Anti-Imperial front.

  Bill

  ...... another member of the Clasbule Anti-Imperial front.

  Daswani

  ...... another member of the Clasbule Anti-Imperial front.

  Undertaker

  ...... another member of the Clasbule Anti-Imperial front.

  Commodore Tlife (Tlaïmh )

  ...... Commander-in-chief of the Abh Imperial Dispatch Fleet.

  Associate Commodore Sporr (Spaurh )

  ...... Commander-in-chief of the Abh Imperial Reconnaissance Half-fleet.

  Chapter 1: Nataimecoth (Investigation)

  Entryua, Police Inspector of the Lune Beega’s Criminal Investigation Department, was in just as sour a mood as usual.

  Entryua consoled himself: At least this is a great chance to contemplate what rock bottom’s like. After all, it was never truly “rock bottom.” There was always further to dig!

  And now, he found himself treading even deeper in the sinkhole.

  “Three more to check, huh? My gut’s telling me they aren’t holed up in any damn hotel,” grumbled Inspector Entryua.

  “Then what do we do?” askd Kyte, the Military Police Lieutenant of the Peacekeepers.

  Entryua shrugged. “We do what you said — comb every last building. Not that I’m chomping at the bit to do that.”

  “It’s not a question of whether you’re inclined to do it,” Kyte carped.

  “Whatever you say,” he said noncommittally.

  If you asked him, though, this was pretty far from his actual job description.

  Sure, the Abh committed a crime, and grand theft hovercar was no light charge. It also wasn’t a grave enough charge to warrant a criminal investigation squad of this size.

  In its caprices, fate had seen fit to station the majority of the Lune Beega Criminal Investigation Department in Guzonh. Not only that, but also half of the normal officers and all of the forensics officers. The Lune Beega police force was all in on the hunt for a petty car thief.

  Entryua had divided his men and women into fifteen different teams. Four of those teams lay in wait at the airport, two were reserve corps, and the remaining eight had been commanded to inspect every single room in all of the various inns and hotels, bidden not to trust the words of the managers or proprietors. Entryua told them not to worry about search warrants, since in the end, it’d all be on the occupying army. Yes, the occupying army, not the “liberation army” or what have you. They’d never have him thinking of it as anything else, “correct” him as they might.

  He wanted to inspect the roads, too, but he lacked the boots on the ground. Besides, the occupiers were inspecting the roads, though they’d let them slip past once before. In any case, if they made the same blunder a second time, that would be no fault of his.

  On the screen at the back seat of the command vehicle, a catalog of over forty different fee-based lodgings was displayed. Every item was listed in red, save for the last three. The red text, naturally, meant that particular building had been inspected.

  Beside
that catalog, another screen listed all the suspicious persons they’d encountered. Anybody who couldn’t prove their name matched the name given for the guest list ended up on this screen, and so far around twenty people had met just such a fate.

  Citizens of Clasbule could prove their identity and status by simply presenting their wallets, so usually these “suspicious persons” were using aliases, and mostly for dumb reasons. Family affairs. Affairs affairs. Things that, while misguided, didn’t involve the police.

  There was one arrest, a man in possession of a wallet reported stolen. He had, in fact, been in possession of twenty wallets in other people’s names. That was the only fruit of their investigation thus far.

  No one “Abh-like” had yet been spotted.

  “Inspector.” The police sergeant with him in the car had a phone transceiver to their ear. “It’s Gondolin’s team. They’ve combed their target area, and now they want to know what they ought to do next.”

  Entryua mulled it over. He’d already allotted teams to check out the three places left on the list. Should I have them join them as reinforcements? Nah, those rooms are small, they’d just get in the way.

  “Tell them to come here. We’ll have them join the reserve corps, to wait there until we settle on the next course of action.”

  “Roger.” The police sergeant relayed Entryua’s orders.

  “Are there no citizens who’re likely to give shelter to an Abh?” asked Kyte, his impatience all but evident.

  “Search your democracy reeducation schools. That’s where all the people who’d harbor Abhs are.”

  “That again?” Kyte hung his head.

  “We’re giving this everything we’ve got. You’ve got to see that much for yourself.”

  “I do.”

  “Inspector,” the sergeant cut in.

  “What?”

  “It’s Sergeant Ramashdy. They’re being held up by occupier inspection.”

  “Not again.” Entryua was fed up. Their investigation had been obstructed by the occupying army ten whole times now. It seemed as though, while they’d committed the police crest to memory, they stillfound Lune Beega police crests to be a strange sight here in Guzonh.

  “You’re up,” said Entryua, poking the military police lieutenant’s flank.

  “Of course.” Kyte asked the sergeant to transfer the line over to his army’s Commanding Officer. An exchange in a language that was foreign to Entryua ensued, and his mind wandered to the number of more important cases that were nagging at him.

  “Finished.”

  “Huh?” Entryua snapped back to reality.

  “Sergeant Ramashdy is in the clear.”

  “Yeah, until the next checkpoint.”

  “That’s, uh, yeah,” said Kyte bashfully.

  “You sure you told them everything they needed to hear about us?” he grilled him.

  “I’m sure. I explained our predicament in detail to the area’s military police regiment.”

  “Then why is it they keep getting called to a halt?”

  Kyte averted his gaze. “It seems it hasn’t permeated down to the lower branches of the organization.”

  “Pains me to say it, but your ‘organization’ is pretty inefficient. Even us police’ve got this little thing called ‘lateral communication.’”

  “You’re absolutely right,” said Kyte, who was shrinking in his seat.

  Entryua almost wanted to whistle in appreciation. He’d thought Kyte a total jerk earlier, but now it seemed he had some capacity to be genuine after all.

  Again a phone rang, but this time, it was Kyte’s. Kyte took the display from the terminal at his waist, and skimmed its screen. His complexion shifted more and more as he read on.

  This piqued Entryua’s interest. “What?”

  Kyte slumped against his seat back, dejected. “The military police regiment is on the move. They’re looking to arrest the Abh, too, now.”

  “That sounds great to me. So... are we off the hook?” Entryua asked hopefully.

  “No. While I’ll hand over the documentation of our investigation, we’ll be continuing the hunt in another way. In other words... I have new orders. If we discover the Abh’s hiding spot, we are to report to Headquarters, then wait and observe to prevent the Abh from running — nothing more.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? We aren’t allowed to arrest them?”

  “That’s right. The arrest will be carried out by my army’s military police regiment.”

  “You’ve GOT to be joking! They want us to watch after WE put in all the time chasing after the Abh, and they swoop in at the last second?”

  That was it. This was an affront to the Lune Beega police force, a profession that ought to be respected. Plus, he had to balk at how the pretense their occupiers were “cooperating” with the police had vanished in a puff of smoke. They were, for all intents and purposes, just the drudges of their conquerors. “Your superior’s saying capturing the Abh’s beyond us, is that it?”

  “That’s not it,” said Kyte, but he didn’t look Entryua’s way. “At first, Headquarters believed the Abh to have escaped from the estate or base. That’s why they weren’t all that interested. They captured dozens of Abhs at the estate, so they weren’t too concerned by a single one evading them. But now the possibility the runaway Abh was crewing the small vessel that entered from flat space is more apparent.”

  “And? So what?” Entryua stared at the side of Kyte’s face.

  “There might even be a good chance that that pilot was on the enemy ship that my army destroyed in flat space. In which case, the Abh might be privy to important information.”

  “Important information?”

  Kyte waved a hand. “I don’t know what it might entail, either. And even if I did, I couldn’t say.”

  “Figures.” Entryua was not disappointed to hear that. If it wasn’t Star Forces military secrets, then it probably had to do with interstellar politics. In either case, Entryua couldn’t care less.

  “As such, the value of the Abh we’re after has risen significantly. And the Human Resources Department can’t afford to ignore the achievements of whoever captures this Abh.”

  “Ah, I get it now. You lot can’t let the likes of us ‘local police’ win the day.” Yet greater anger flared in Entryua’s chest. They did the work, others got the credit? No thank you.

  “It’s not you they don’t want ‘winning the day,’ probably. It’s me,” he grumbled.

  “Why?” he replied, surprised. “You were chosen by the higher-ups, weren’t you? I mean, a lieutenant, at your age...”

  “You think I’m young?” A self-deprecating smile broke on his handsome face. “How old do you think I am, Inspector?”

  “Lessee...” He shot older than he would otherwise.

  “27 or 28, in standard years.”

  Kyte’s smile only widened. “In standard years, I’ll be 49 this year.”

  “No way. That makes you older than I am! But then, why...” Entryua clammed up. “Oh. Genetic modification.”

  “Correct. It isn’t solely an Abh technology.”

  “But according to all your broadcasts, human genetic modification is an indisputable sin.”

  “Yes. The United Humankind sees genetic modification in people as a grave crime.”

  “Which would make you a misbegotten child in their eyes...”

  Kyte sighed. “Were it that simple...”

  “So you’re not?”

  “Have you ever heard of the Republic of Silezia?”

  “‘Fraid not,” the Inspector shrugged.

  “I see...” Kyte folded his arms and looked out the window.

  Entryua thought he’d tell him about this “Silezia,” but Kyte didn’t say a word. Finally, Entryua lost his patience. “Well? What about it?”

  Kyte mumbled his answer. “Silezia is the name of a country that, around 120 years prior, incited the Silezia War, and crumbled. Thankfully, today it forms part of the United Humankind.
Before then, the so-called ‘republic’ was in fact a military dictatorship. Around 1,000 families of hereditary soldiers held all of society in their grip. Those military families practiced genetic modification on their descendants. Their technology wasn’t as advanced as the Abh’s; it didn’t allow for, say, changing hair color or crafting specific organs. All it did was stop aging.”

  “And you’re one of them...” Entryua groaned.

  “To be precise, it was my grandfather’s generation that received the anti-aging modification.”

  “Hold on...” Entryua cocked his head. “What does any of that have to do with them not wanting to let you win the day? That’s a story from three generations ago.”

  “It doesn’t matter how far back it happened. I’m in my family register as a ‘Silezia Unaging.’”

  “But why?”

  “Because it comes up when marrying. There are heavy restrictions on us when it comes to marriage. It’s a shame, but it has to be this way. Any child conceived between somebody with the Unaging genome and somebody without always grows cancerous in the womb.”

  “All the more reason to do genetic modification, in that case,” Entryua pointed out. “Do that, and your kids could live a normal life.”

  “But genetic modification is strictly forbidden, no matter what.”

  “Even for birth defects?”

  “Even for birth defects. Even just conducting genetic testing at the fertilized egg stage is illegal. When the defect is discovered, any kind of genetic modification whatsoever is impossible, let alone gene therapy. Of course, most organic diseases can be treated through mechanical engineering.”

  “I guess.” But the Inspector was shocked. The fact that they hated genetic tampering to this absurd extent was a sickness in itself.

  “That’s why I’m still single. The Silezia Unaging population will likely die out when my generation does.”

  “That’s just awful,” muttered Entryua. “But wait, I still don’t get it. Why would they begrudge you a deed to your name over that?”

  “Please, forget I ever said that.” Kyte waved a hand. “It was a slip of the tongue.”

  “If that’s a slip of the tongue, then you let your tongue slip enough to fill a damn book.” Entryua realized Kyte had been changing the subject on purpose, and he frowned.