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Union Ambassador Beryl adjusted their tie. This meeting wasn't going at all like they had thought it would. "I'm sorry, but I really can't officially give any leadership advice to you before the popular vote result shows that the people want to be under Union governance."
The woman on the other side of the camera - a Queen, apparently, who even had queens anymore - leaned forward. "Please? I'm floundering here, and if your election observers aren't going to arrive for a year, someone has to keep this planet running."
Beryl pinched the bridge of their nose. "All right. Unofficial, generic advice: If you don't know what you're doing, find someone who does. If you want to figure out how to give people what they need, the first thing to do is try asking them. And try not to get deposed before we get there or everything is going to get very complicated."
Queen Adelaide Simmer sat upon the royal throne. Molly had gotten her to wear a crown, but otherwise she insisted on wearing a well-tailored modern charcoal suit instead of any kind of formal gown. A page entered the chamber.
"Announcing her ladyship Baroness Clara de Cardona!"
The Baroness entered and curtsied before the Queen. "Your highness."
"Prithee, my lady, wherefore dost thou bob and weave? Before you stands no other than thine equal! Perchance thou believest that our darling sniper might burn thee with her eyes alone?" Jester dropped from the ceiling, rolled across the carpet, and sprung up in front of the Baroness. "'Tis good to see thee again, my lady! For thee," she proclaimed, holding out a bright yellow flower.
As they spoke, Adelaide leaned back towards Knight and muttered, "She's laying it on a bit thick, isn't she?"
Knight leaned down and murmured back, "Hey, it worked on you, didn't it?"
Adelaide turned bright red. "Fair point."
Renna walked into the royal office with two mugs of espresso. "Coffee?"
"Oh, you're a lifesaver, Renna." Empress grabbed one and held it to her against the creeping cold of the evening.
Renna looked at all of the papers spread out on the desk. "Getting everything sorted out?"
"I think so," said Empress. "I meet with the guy we put in charge of Kree-Upon-Stone on Tuesday, date night with Quinn on Tuesday night, Wednesday the Baroness and I chat with the architect's guild to start the new better housing initiative, Wednesday night is date night with you, Thursday morning we're expecting a bombing attempt but Thursday afternoon I get to speak with the so-called 'Allied Nobles' Council' which ought to be real fun, but then Thursday evening is team movie night, then Friday we have a meeting with the sanitation guys and the King's Rangers about getting proper water treatment plants and wetland management in that big swamp to the north, and then Friday evening is date night with Molly. Still not totally sure where I'm going to have time to talk to someone about getting a printing press up and running so we can start getting a newsletter out, but we'll get it sorted."
Renna stared at Empress. "How in the world do you keep all that straight?"
Empress's eyes gleamed behind her half-moon data glasses. "Spreadsheets."
In the early hours of the morning, an assassin crept through the corridors of the castle. The guards were mostly elsewhere, dealing with the attempted bombing of the castle, and the few remaining ones were easy to avoid. He avoided the cameras, sticking to their blind spots and the shadows, and carefully opened the door to the new Queen's chambers.
Quinn, of course, watched the whole thing on her set of cameras, which were much better placed for this. The assassin crept forward towards the bed, whose occupant turned over and let out a sigh. He froze, hiding in the shadows until the figure began softly snoring again. He drew his knife slowly.
Quinn sipped her coffee. The assassin raised his dagger overhead and plunged it downwards into the sleeping figure. Through a mouthful of doughnut, Quinn said, "Note: no battlecry. Assassin probably professional hire rather than politically motivated. May be willing to compromise employers with right leverage." The assassin was struggling with the knife, which refused to leave the figure. A gust of wind from the open window blew the sheets off of it, revealing a strange tarry blob instead of a person.
The assassin tried to jump backwards, but the blob had grown to encompass his hand, too. A bright red dot appeared on his forehead, and Empress's voice filled the room. "Don't move, unless you like your head in multiple pieces. We've got some questions for you."
Quinn yawned and drank more of her coffee. Honestly, a pretty solid start to a Thursday.
Molly was having a dozen conversations at once. This man needed a new plow for his fields; that woman wanted to know what the import taxes on silks were going to be so she could plan for her shop. This child had gotten lost at the parade and couldn't find his parents, that old man was going on a tirade about how much had been taken away from his family by the King. Everywhere across the empire she tried to listen and understand and help relay that information to Empress, and slowly, things changed.
It might have gone faster if she didn't jump in every body across the whole continent when Empress kissed her.
One year later
"Well, that was a nice parade," said Knight.
"I thought the big float of you holding the King's severed head was a nice touch," said Jester.
"Bastard deserved it. I'm just glad that the vote ended up being pro-Union. Those results were a little too close for my liking."
"What, you don't want to keep being Queen?" teased Jester. "The people really like you!"
"If I'd known that being a good leader meant that I might have to keep doing it I would have done a worse job."
"I can't believe it's been a whole year," said Knight. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get back in the cockpit. I haven't been able to fight anyone in months."
"Absolutely. Hey, would you two mind going ahead to get the ship ready? Molly said she might be a little late."
"Sure thing, Princess." Jester grinned. Adelaide rolled her eyes and pulled her into a kiss, Jester's arms snaking around her for a moment. Then she stretched up onto her tiptoes to kiss Knight, who grabbed her and twirled her around. "Don't make us wait too long, Princess," she laughed.
Adelaide waved the two of them off and laid down on the grass, enjoying the warm evening air. The sun began to set and the stars came out, one by one.
"Sorry! I hope I didn't keep thee waiting!"
Adelaide sat up to see Molly running towards her, a group of larger robots carrying a large egg-shaped machine behind her. "No, you're fine. I- oof!" Molly had collapsed on top of her, squashing her against the grass. "Hi."
"Hi."
They kissed, and as the moment stretched out, Molly's face began to glow from within. Adelaide grinned. "It's cute that you still do that. Come on." She helped Molly get up, and the two of them gazed down the hill at the shining city below them. "Do you think you're going to miss the place?"
Molly entwined her fingers with Adelaide's. "Yea, I believe so. A part of mine self shall always live here. After all, this is where I first met thee." Molly turned to gaze at Adelaide, who blushed, smiling.
"You charmer. Come on, I've already got a new job lined up. After all, we spent all our profits from this one one the ship."
Adelaide and Molly walked hand-in-hand towards their ship, a gleaming, elegant vessel large enough for four, the exterior shimmering black with ribbons of rainbow colors running across it. They entered together, and a few moments later the ship blasted up through the atmosphere and into the vast, starry sky.
