Dia was the only moon of Jupiter which had not been named after a daughter of Zeus.
The destination data on the screen of Endovelicus's boardcom revealed it was twelve million kilometres from Jupiter, but one glance out of the windows – real ones, this time –at the rocky, meteor-scarred, steeply-curved landscape, told me that it had to be only a few kilometres across. The moon probably didn't contain anything more interesting than iron and nickel, so it would be low on anyone's list to mine, which might have been why the Justinians had chosen to build a retreat here.
We had barely finished materialising in the small, but exquisitely decorated living room of the villa, before one of the doors flew open and four men skidded through it, raising unirifles.
"Phoenix! Phoenix!" shouted Chernobog, as they all took aim.
"What the hax...?" said the man in the lead. He was in his late twenties, with very short dark hair, dressed in a black J.I. special forces officer's uniform.
"Isobel Chernobog. Imperia Intelligence," said Chernobog. "We're here to..."
"Don't move," said the officer, not lowering his rifle. His name tag read Domitian. He held out one hand. "Credentials."
Chernobog pulled out an ID card and handed it over.
"You as well," said Domitian, gesturing at me, as he slipped Chernobog's ID card into a mini-scanner clipped to his belt.
"I don't have mine with me," I said, keeping my hands where they could see them. Official identification was not something you thought that you'd need while wearing full dress blues.
"We're here to...," Chernobog began again.
"Not so fast," said Domitian. "You've got five seconds to explain why Lord Alator isn't here in person, and why he's sent a foreign national."
"He's one of the ChronOps representatives for the wedding," said Chernobog. She frowned. "And it wasn't Lord Alator. It was Lord Endovelicus."
"OK. Correct. Phoenix is Captain Endovelicus's personal code," said Domitian. He held up Chernobog's ID card. "But while this is genuine, it says you're an intern and that you're under internal review. And I've got no way to know if that's a genuine uniform. Cuff them."
I gritted my teeth in frustration as two of them stepped forwards, pulling out flexicuffs. I couldn't fault Domitian's professionalism, but this was the worst time for it.
"I'm not an intern, I'm a...," said Chernobog. "Listen, he sent us because the I.I. may be compromised at the highest level. Call Endovelicus. He'll confirm it."
"ChronOps as well. They'll confirm who I am," I said.
"Will they?" said Domitian. "So the captain sent you here without mentioning that we're under a comms blackout? That's interesting to know."
I turned my eyes to the ceiling. We were going to spend the next few hours in their custody, with no way to get back to Ganymede, or know what the hax was happening there, particularly whether or not Eris had identified Megan.
"What is going on?"
A door slid open and a blond woman in her mid-thirties marched in. She looked like she had been born to be a nanny or a governess, but as she saw us, she stopped dead and her knees and hands tensed and then flexed in a way that showed combat training.
"I'm finding out, Miss Hestia. Get back in your room," said Domitian.
"Phoenix. Matthew Endovelicus sent us," said Chernobog. "There's a high chance this location had been compromised. We need to move the princess."
"They don't have proper credentials," said Domitian. "We're not going anywhere."
"No, lieutenant. We are," said Hestia. "If they're here, we have been compromised. We're moving to location gamma right now."
"Beta's closer," said Domitian.
"It's also obvious," said Hestia. "Wake her highness, Neptune."
"You don't have to," said another voice. "How am I supposed to sleep with this racket?"
We all looked around as a girl – about eleven – with long, straight light brown hair and the Justinian nose walked in behind Hestia, rubbing her eyes. She was dressed in slippers, dressing gown and pyjamas with the Justinian lion embroidered on them.
"What's going on, Theresa?"
"You need to get dressed, your highness. We're leaving," said Domitian.
"No. Just get your bag, your highness. You can dress when we get there."
"Not until someone tells me what's going on. It's bad enough that I have to miss the wedding," said the girl, who was obviously Princess Anna. She blinked as she saw me and Chernobog. "Isabel?"
"Hello, your highness," said Chernobog. "Matthew Endovelicus sent us..."
"Be quiet. Ignore her, your highness. I'm not sure he did," said Domitian. His expression had gotten darker as the princess recognised Chernobog, and I realised that someone who Princess Anna knew – and therefore, might be willing to trust – turning up, only made him more suspicious.
"Shut up, lieutenant," said Princess Anna. She didn't raise her voice, but it still contained all the royal authority of her ancestors, making it very clear that she wasn't going to be browbeaten by him. "Why did he send you?"
"Because he thinks someone who shouldn't knows that you're here. He sent us to warn you," said Chernobog. "Miss Hestia is right. We need to leave."
"Are we going to the palace?" said Princess Anna, looking hopeful.
"No. We're going somewhere safe," said Hestia. "You know it is your duty to miss the wedding this time."
"Sure, and how soon is anyone else going to get married?" said the princess. "And why does it have to be mine and not one of the boys? They don't care about the wedding. But fine. I'll get my stuff."
"Just your bag. Leave your toothbrush," Hestia called, as the princess went back out of the room.
"Good. Where are we going?" said Chernobog.
"You are not coming," said Hestia.
"Daxing right," said Domitian. "Secure them to the wall."
"No, they might get free," said Hestia. "We can't take any chances. Stun both of them."
"No! Your other locations might be compromised too," said Chernobog. "Lord Endovelicus said to get her out of Imperia territory. He suggested Free Mars."
"Free Mars? OK. He definitely didn't send you," said Domitian.
"All right, Luna," I said. "ChronOps HQ. You do the teleport yourself..."
Something smashed in another room. Princess Anna screamed. Domitian and Hestia instantly forgot us, spun around and raced through the door, with the other soldiers right behind them. Chernobog and I ran after them.
We all crowded to a stop in the doorway of Princess Anna's bedroom. A large oval section had been sliced out of the wall. The edge was still glowing molten and smoking from the laser. A force shield was rippling across the hole, stopping the atmosphere escaping onto Dia's surface. Three men in light combat spacesuits with tinted helmet visors were in the room, two of them pointing unirifles at Hestia, Domitian and the guards, and one holding the struggling Princess Anna against his chest with his forearm.
"Let go of me of, you unspeakablwwmh!" said the princess, before he clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Put them on the floor," he said. His voice came through his helmet's external speaker and it was impossible to tell what his accent was.
"Never," said Domitian, staring at him down his rifle sights.
"Your decision. We don't need her alive," said the intruder. His two companions moved behind him, standing as close together as they could so they could aim over his shoulders.
"No! Wait!" said Hestia, stepping in front of Domitian. Her cold professionalism had disappeared, and she sounded absolutely terror stricken. "Don't hurt her! Take me!"
"What the shav would we want with you?" said the intruder. "If you want to live, get back in the other room. Don't follow us and maybe you'll get her back alive at the end of this."
"No! Please! I'll do anything!" said Hestia, moving forward again.
"Last chance," said the intruder, holding out his unirifle one handed to stop her coming any closer. "Get back in..."
Before he could finish, Hestia grabbed his rifle and drove backwards into his visor, knocking his head back. She sprang forwards, grabbed the princess and simply dropped, letting her weight pull Princess Anna free from under his arm. Even before she hit the floor, Domitian, the guards and the other intruders all opened fire.
Chernobog and I dropped flat as laser bolts flew in both directions at less than two metres range, burning through the walls, floor and ceiling. One of the intruders fell on the far side of the room and I couldn't tell if he was stunned, wounded or dead. Hestia pulled Princess Anna underneath her, and then twisted around and rolled onto her side, facing us.
"Take her!" she screamed, and threw the princess - who was almost white with terror - towards us. Domitian and the other guards jumped out of the way and then moved back to cover us, still firing as I lurched to one knee and awkwardly caught Princess Anna. Her momentum broke my balance and I fell backwards and rolled into the other room. Chernobog crawled after us on her stomach, trying to type on Endovelicus's boardcom at the same time.
"Luna! Hurry!" I yelled.
"What do you think I'm doing?" she shouted back, as we dematerialised.
* * *
We rematerialized inside a large, empty room. The princess was shaking in my arms.
"Oh, Darwin. Oh, Darwin. Oh, Darwin," she said. "Theresa..."
"We'll send help," I said. I put her down, but kept my hands on her shoulders in case she fell. "Don't worry. We'll..."
I stopped as I realised that we weren't in ChronOps HQ. Instead, we were in a white marble room, with a ceiling as high as the rooms in the palace. There was no furniture, but the oversized metal doorknobs were carved with the Justinian lion.
"What the hax?" I said. "I said Luna!"
"I know! I set it for Luna!" said Chernobog, stabbing at the boardcom's touch screen. She banged it twice with her other hand. "It brought us back to Ganymede. It's not working!"
"Oh, for Darwin's sake!" I said.
The old saying that humans had left Earth to find Murphy and his law waiting for us in the rest of the Solar System had proven itself once again. Of all the possible things that could have gone wrong, this was the worst. From what we'd just seen, Endovelicus was right in his suspicions about Thoth. But thanks to his own boardcom, we had brought the only free member of the Justinians straight into the danger zone.
"Wait, this is the palace!" said Princess Anna. "Oh, thank Newton. We can get the guards..."
"No, we can't," I said. "Where can we find another teleporter?"
"Everywhere. The problem is that Duong cancelled my access," said Chernobog, just as the door opened. I froze, but then relaxed as Endovelicus came in.
"Oh, good," he said. "You did it."
"Your haxing boardcom isn't working properl...," said Chernobog. She stopped as she noticed the unigun in his hand, aimed at us.
"It's actually fine. I just locked it," said Endovelicus. His voice and eyes were completely calm and unworried, but colder than they had been. "I needed you to go there and come back. Nowhere else."
Two more of the J.N. groomsmen came through the door behind him, both of them holding unirifles and wearing anti-laser vests over their clothes. My heart sank through my shoes towards Ganymede's core.
"No," said Chernobog, sounding stricken. "You sent us..."
"Sorry. It wasn't part of the original plan," said Endovelicus. "But the capture team reported that they weren't sure if they were going to be able to get close enough undetected. I had to improvise. Thanks for making it work so well. This way, please, your highness."
* * *
In the lounge, everybody was kneeling on the floor with their hands behind their heads.
I was almost surprised the room was big enough to hold all of us, but with the sofas and plant pots pushed back against the walls, there was more than enough room. Thoth and Odin, Duong, Eris and all the guards, Megan – I was breathed out to see that she was not yet in I.I. custody – Zeus, Ishtar, Washington-Allah, Oannes and the film crew and the prince were on their knees in the middle of the room. Some of the potted trees had been tipped over and the furniture had been scorched by laser fire. Three exploded stun grenades were lying where they had landed or rolled to on the floor.
All of the J.N. groomsmen were standing around the edges of the room, unirifles in their hands, apart from one who was working at the wallcom, typing alternately on it and a heavily customized boardcom. He glanced up as we came in with Endovelicus. The name tag on his uniform read Tanis.
"We're good," he said. "All three floors sealed. I don't think Central's realised anything's happening yet."
"Excellent. Get started," said Endovelicus. "Any sign of the Titan girl?"
"No, probably run off to look for her uncle. But she's definitely inside the perimeter. I'll find her."
Endovelicus gestured for us to kneel with the others. Thoth's furious expression morphed to terror for a moment as he saw the princess.
"I won't insult your intelligence by asking what the hax you think you're doing, Matt," said the prince. His voice was calm, but I could see the shock, anger, betrayal and pain he was keeping controlled behind his eyes. "Let's go straight to why."
"The fact that you even have to ask, Will, proves us right," said Endovelicus. He also sounded calm, but slightly regretful. "I am sorry. But we're doing what's necessary. The dream isn't going to work. We can't trust the J.R."
"Where the hax have you been?" whispered Mirabi, as we knelt down with them.
"Will, what's going on?" said Princess Anna.
"It's all right," said the prince, putting his arms around her shoulders.
"Quiet, please, your highness," said Alator.
"Whatever your reasons are, Endovelicus, they don't stop this from being treason," said Thoth.
"That's a matter of opinions, Lord Thoth," said Endovelicus. "We all swore vows to serve and defend the Imperia. I swore mine because I believe in it. So did our fathers and grandfathers, all the way back to the beginning. But now you want to change what the Imperia is. Are we just supposed to follow you blindly?"
"That's exactly what my family has expected the Nobilita to do since the foundation," said the prince. "It's why we're giving you a real voice in government now. And change is inevitable. The Imperia today is not the empire we had a hundred, or even twenty, years ago."
"We're not trying to stop time," said Endovelicus. "But peace with the J.R. is a pipe dream. We've been doing this for too long. There's been too much bloodshed on both sides. They won't be willing to accept that their sacrifices have been for nothing, or live with this compromise of yours forever. Hax, they've spent the last few weeks proving just that."
"You misjudge us," said Odin. "Not my former colleagues on the supreme council; you sound exactly like them. And you're right about what we've lost. But there comes a point, where you learn the hard way, that in the long run the old ways won't work. And there's another point where it just becomes sickening, no matter how righteous you think you are."
"True," said Thoth, looking across at him. "There are some things that can never be forgiven or forgotten. But the consequences of pursuing them can be even worse. There comes a time where you have to stop."
Odin met his gaze, two old soldiers on their knees, and I saw then why neither of them had refused to work with the other.
"You were opposed to the olive branch," said Endovelicus.
"Because it didn't go far enough," said Thoth. "If we'd been more generous, we could have avoided the split in the J.R. Instead, we made it clear from the start that there was a limit to how far we were prepared to trust them. Is it any wonder not all of them were prepared to trust us? Suspicion and caution may keep you safe, but it also slows you down. Too much traps you in place. Trust is the only thing that allows you to move forward."
"The same mistake we made with the release program," said Odin.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," said Endovelicus. "Everyone knows how much you've lost, Thoth. Do they mean nothing to you?"
"Spoken like a man who hasn't lost anything personally," said Thoth. "I live with the loss. Every waking hour. Do you really think I've never done anything about it? I have. Officially and unofficially."
"He did. It's why I stopped attending the funerals of my men," said Odin.
"But it's been years of hard work and what do I have to show for it?" said Thoth, as he and Odin shared another glance. "The empire is no safer than it was when I started. You are about to start walking the same road."
"I am going to save the Imperia and our citizens," said Endovelicus. For the first time, there was an edge of anger to his voice.
"The J.R. are our citizens," said the prince. "We've been making war on our own people for three hundred years and neither of us are winning. Do you seriously think you can do better than everyone else?"
"I've got a different question," said Mirabi. "Have any of you idiots ever read a history book?"
All of the J.N. members looked at her.
"Of course," said Alator.
"Next time, try going further than the title page," said Mirabi. "I backstep for a living. I lost count a long time ago of the number of peoples, families, tribes and countries I've seen that have been killing each other – in the most gruesome ways they can think of – for centuries. But come back after a few centuries, sometimes even a few decades, and all the hatchets are buried. The former enemies are living, working and celebrating together. And marrying each other."
"Absolutely," I said. "It happens everywhere. Every time and place. Even after attempted genocides."
"She's right," said Benjamin Washington-Allah. Everyone looked around in surprise as he spoke. "The two sides of my family used to hate each other. They'd been business rivals for decades. They were outraged when Jason and Ruqayyah went public with their relationship, and even more when they got married. Neither of them had a single relative at the wedding. But over time, both families saw how well they worked together, and how many new doors it opened for them. And they realised what might be possible if they joined forces."
"Don't try and brag your way out of this, oil man," said Alator, touching the trigger of his unirifle. "You're still going to die first."
"Yes," said Endovelicus. "Thank you for the insight, detectives, but I'm not interested in taking the risk. And believe me, Odin, no one's going to interested in forgiving the J.R. after the scale of the massacre they are about to commit on your orders."
"Does that mean you're doing the princess?" muttered one of the other groomsmen.
"No. Don't worry. We'll use one of the robots," said Endovelicus.
"The twelve of you are going to have fought off a J.R. attack large enough to kill the whole family, the entire household guard and every independent witness?" said the prince. "Very plausible, Matt."
"Obviously," said Endovelicus. "But they will believe the Last Guard did."
The prince's eyes twitched.
"I won't activate them for you," he said.
"You don't need to. Lance can do that," said Endovelicus, nodding to Tanis at the wallcom. "All I need from you is DNA. If it's any consolation, the history books will say you died a glorious death, holding the terrorists off for long enough to activate them, then dying from an injury taken in the first few minutes."
"That's very nice of you, but the history books don't have to say anything," said the prince. He looked around at all the groomsmen. "Because I promise you, contrary to what I know you're telling yourselves, that it is not too late. You are all valued friends. Stop this now and we can..."
The wallcom suddenly bleeped and then hummed. Tanis spun back to it.
"What was that?" said Endovelicus, looking over his shoulder and then quickly back at the prince, as if he was worried it had been a deliberate diversion.
"The security system just reactivated," said Tanis, typing fast.
"Well, deactivate it."
"I am. It's not the whole system," said Tanis. "It's individual ones. Don't worry, we're still locked down. No alarms. It's only the internal..."
One set of the doors slid open slightly. The nearest groomsmen spun around, raising their weapons, as Titus slipped in through it, frowning at stolen boardcom. He paused, looked up and stopped as he saw the scene in the room.
"Ah. Sorry," he said. "Please excuse me, everyone. I thought you were all busy."
"Don't move a haxing milimetre!" said Alator.
"I told you to include the cells," said Endovelicus.
"I did!" said Tanis.
"Do you really have to ask?" said Mirabi.
"Yes. You do need some better cryptography on the locks downstairs, Captain Duong," said Titus.
"I'll take him back down there," said one of the other groomsmen.
"Don't be an idiot. If he did it once, he can do it again," said Endovelicus. "Kill him. Wait, leave his face intact. We'll say he was working with the J.R."
"AG," said the groomsman.
"All right. I'm happy to help," said Titus, raising his hands. "Just make it quick."
The groomsman aimed at his chest. Before he could fire, Titus stepped forward, his chest connecting with the unirifle muzzle, knocking it back into the groomsman's chest. Titus grabbed it and forced it up into the air between them. They grappled. As the other two nearest groomsmen moved to help, I saw Titus's other hand grab one of the stun grenades on JN member's belt.
"Eyes!" I shouted, squeezing mine shut and clamping both hands over them.
Titus and the J.N. member were standing close enough together that their bodies shielded most of the blast; making it's central-nervous-system-shocking effects far less effective than usual. My head span behind my closed eyes and the room seemed to tilt ninety-degrees, but it faded quickly. Someone screamed, a unirifle fired and something smashed, but then my head cleared and I opened my eyes.
Most of the groomsmen were still on their feet, staggering as they tried to shake off the affects, apart from the J.N. member who'd been fighting Titus, who was out cold. Mirabi and I, Duong, Thor and all the guards who were still conscious, threw ourselves at the nearest groomsmen.
Laser bolts tore into the walls and ceiling. The room turned into chaos as combined fist and gun fights broke out everywhere. I glimpsed Odin shoving Thoth out of the way as Endovelicus fired at him, and then he and Duong leaping at the coup-leader together. The prince – who had thrown himself on top of Princess Anna to shield her from the grenade – had caught some of the stun blast and was unconscious and the princess was trying to wriggle out from underneath him. I threw the groomsman I had just punched aside and leopard-crawled towards her, laser bolts burning ozone inches above me, pulled her free and shielded her with my body.
"Oh, Dear Darwin!" panted Oannes, who was right next to us, with the film crew. "Phil, tell me you're filming!"
"Yes!"
"Thank Newton!" said Oannes. She looked half-terrified and half-ecstatic. "A coup attempt as it happens! We're going to win everything! Every award!"
"Look out!" screamed Chernobog. She dived to the floor on my other side as more laser bolts burnt past above us.
Across the room, Alator, who was grappling upright with Thor, proved that his wrestlers build was not just for show by throwing the colonel halfway across the room. He landed next to us and Juturna and Tiberinus grabbed him to stop him going spinning across the floor.
"Keep low!" I called to him. Despite the criss-crossing gunfire, I could just about tell that we were winning. More guards than groomsmen were on their feet. I glanced around and saw Washington-Allah, Megan, Zeus and Ishtar crawling out of harm's way behind the furniture.
"For Darwin's sake!"
Titus skidded across the floor and arrived next to us, still typing on his boardcom.
"This is not what I was... Uagh!"
I released Princess Anna and grabbed him in a headlock. Stopping him escaping should have been a pretty low priority in this situation, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"You're not going anywhere!" I tried to bat his hand away from the boardcom, where he had a teleport link set up.
"I'm not trying to, Erik!" said Titus. "I've got a job to do!"
He stabbed one button and we dematerialised.