Chapter 21; Keeth’s Fleet Arrives
The troops below would soon know how right they were. Up in space, just outside of the sensor satellite chain, carefully hidden as invisible black voids in a field of asteroids, was the Admiral Keeth and his Seventh Fleet. As the troops below suspected, Keeth had brought over ninety thousand ships and three million hearty souls. They were up there recovering from the many jumps they had taken to gather here from all over the galaxy. Each one of the Space Marines was slavering after the million credit bonus in store for the man-jack that can deliver to Admiral Keeth the Crown and Scepter. He knew that those baubles would ensure his final real ascension onto the Jeweled Throne as Keeth I.
Keeth still had nightmares about what had happened to Admiral Heren when he had dared, right after the coup began, to ascend the Throne and sit. The sensors in the Throne, not being disengaged by the Crown and Scepter nullifiers, had fried the Admiral slowly but very effectively. Twelve brave men had died that day trying to free the Admiral from this deadly chair.
Their ashes are still drifting around in the sealed Throne Room. No one can yet be coerced to even enter the room to clean up the mess. Over a thousand of the palace servants and staff died in the hands of the torture-techs before the Admiralty was able to get the story put together.
Apparently, far in the past, the 4th Emperor had been a very jealous man. He vowed that no man would sit atop the Jeweled Throne with out his direct say so. He had secretly placed this booby trap in the Throne almost eight hundred years ago. He had nullifiers placed in every major piece of Royal Jewelry to safe guard his line. Over the centuries, many a usurper, not to mention a few cleaning people, had met a slow and painful death at the hands of this device.
Meanwhile, deep in the bowels of the giant troop ships, the men were being brought out of narc-rest by the biobots on the ships. Each ship came to rest outside of the watchful sensors in the chain. The soldiers scratched themselves and grumbled.
For up to two months, they had been sleeping. Just so the stinking Admiralty could save a few credits on food. It always made them cross. Each one vowing that they were going to eat up their share of rations to make up for the weeks of food that they were owed. In their rest periods, each soldier tried to figure out how much pay they had earned while asleep.
Yet, each man and woman looked at the data screens in their lounges to see where they were and what they were up against. This is the way they would begin the process to become the savage fighters they were known to be throughout the galaxy. Each one trying to figure out how much pay they had earned while asleep.
"At last I have him," said the Admiral to his beaming staff. "For thirteen long years I have chased Royal scum back and forth across the galaxy, but no more! I will end this chase here. Captain, what do our spies in this system tell us is going on down there?"
"As well as we have been able to ascertain, Sire, is they are dug in on the fifth planet. They have been here for more than a year. These maps stolen by our spies show that they are dug in pretty deeply. We are not certain, but all indications are that their troop strength is only a million or so.”
He pointed to areas on a map, “It is our plan to land a millions troops with tech support here, here, and here on the Sea of Batt desert area.”
His younger son continued, “We intend to engage them here and here to smoke them out. Then, if necessary, commit the reserves to finish them here and here…"
"What are we do know is that the current Emperor is in residence of this planet. There are also indications that the Crown Jewels are here as well. If we can capture them here, we can begin your new reign on our return to Arth."
"Alright, I shall be in my cabin. Call me when the battle commences."
Keeth sat in his darkened cabin, thinking back on those five grim faces and how far they had come. Would we end it all today or would the Menzi luck hold? So many times they had been trapped and had somehow escaped. We were so foolish. In a way, we thought we could end it in one day. They have been worthy opponents, but enough is enough. We must end it here.
Chasing the Jewelled Throne Page 21