The Baroness of Surli (1)

1 

Samh 6.18.1345

Talrederick, Count of Anorraq, sat in the private dining room of his palatial castle on planet Samh, drinking his morning coffee before he went down to examine his soldiers. His dark mahogany hair was combed back without a part. His sideburns were neatly trimmed just short of his chiseled jawline. The dark blue military suit jacket he wore made his blue eyes all the more deeper. 

Outside the buildings were created in a modern, organic style with rounded corners, but inside the Count preferred décor that was reminiscent of 15th century Earth, with tapestries, faux oak furniture, and portraits painted by other people as opposed to the modern computer-generated ones.

For the past three years, the armies of the planet Xiepvu had been hitting them hard because its emperor wanted their taenite, uranium, and titanium deposits. Twice already the Count had been injured in battle so badly it was uncertain he would survive. Yet, here he was preparing to repel another attack.

Despite his years of experience, his stomach was a bundle of nerves. The planet had twelve country divisions, of which he led one. This meant that in addition to being the leader of the army, his position also carried the responsibility of having an heir in line to take over should something happen to him in battle. 

Currently, his uncle had managed to hold the country together when he was unaccounted for after a battle, but his uncle was elderly. Since he had never been considered a direct heir to the throne, he had devoted his life to military pursuits and also had never married. 

For years, Talrederick had been pressured by those around him, including his uncle, to marry and to produce an heir, but as an idealist, he would not marry for anything but love. At this point, his heart was already entangled anyway to a woman who would not have him.

It was not that he disrespected his position. He recognized the strength of the Xiepvu fighters attacking them. Without all twelve countries protecting Samh, it very well might fall. If something happened to him with no heir in line, his uncle would die, his house would fall, and his country would devolve into civil war until a new leader could rise up and control them.

Granted, they had sent out a distress signal to the Sultan of Upsilon Andromedae on Themisto, but the bureaucrats continued to debate the best way to deal with the situation. Perhaps if he could not marry before his death, the galaxy’s government would put a stop to the invasion. 

He scrolled through the military updates and his latest orders on his com-tab. It looked like today would be nothing but drills. The fighting had been centered in the North for the past few weeks. Emperor Grangschmidt believed the Xiepvuian’s strength was weaning. Talrederick was just thankful they were giving him time between battles to revitalize his troops. Although conscription was mandatory for men and women on Samh, newly conscripted recruits were little more than cannon fodder. Not all who were under his command had been as lucky as he had—if staying alive to fight another day could be considered lucky.

With a sigh, Talrederick swiped away from the last of his notifications to check the news. He was always amazed that the war seemed to take second page with journalists. As he looked down through the headlines, one in particular caught his eye:

“The Baroness of Surli, has, without knowing how, come into a difficult situation. She requests that the father of the child she is about to bear should come forward, and that, for family reasons, she has decided to marry him.” 

The lady who took such a strange step, which would undoubtably attract the ridicule of all of Samh, was the daughter of Captain Giocal Raingiovanni, commander of the citadel at Sintlycia Falls in the country of Jibialand. She was a mother of two with a previously excellent reputation, but by announcing to the world that she was both pregnant and unsure of who the father was, it was sure to remain on the front page of every gossip column for probably years to come.

Talrederick closed his eyes and massaged his forehead with his thumb and forefinger after reading the notice.

“Ahh,” he sighed, “Juliabella, why did you not take up my offer? It would have saved you much embarrassment.”  

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