by G. P. Hudson
“Forgive my saying so, but the man is a fool. You bring him two star systems and this is how he rewards you?”
She was playing him. He knew that. But he didn’t disagree with her statement. “He is angry that I stole all the glory for myself. I am supposed to be a one trick pony. I’m supposed to go in and kill millions. Reynolds the Terrible. The Butcher of Allimania.”
“Your actions make you dangerous. Cherenko sees you as a threat now. He will continue to undermine you until he is finally rid of you.”
“Yes, that is how I see things playing out as well.”
“He thought he could control you, but you have shown him otherwise. He realizes that you are ambitious and smart. That you may one day take the purple form him like he took it from Detlev.”
Reynolds hadn’t thought of that. Cherenko took the throne from Detlev, so it made sense that he would fear someone taking it from him in the same way. The problem wasn’t that he took two systems. The problem was that he had grown too powerful and showed independence. The very qualities that could enable him to seize the throne one day.
“But this can be an opportunity,” Reese continued.
Reynolds was still too angry to think clearly, but Reese wasn’t. She was analyzing the situation. Reasoning. “Go on, I’m listening.”
“Cherenko fears you. He realizes that he cannot control you. You have become too powerful, and he now seeks to take away that power. But you don’t have to let him.”
“He’s the Emperor. How can I stop him?”
“He is an illegitimate Emperor. He took the throne through assassination. He and his cohort of nobles are the reason the Empire is in the state it’s in. As far as I see it, you are not obligated to take orders from them.”
“You are advocating treason.”
“No. Not treason. Glory. You are the most powerful Admiral in the Empire. Keep that power. Use it for a greater purpose. Fight against this corrupt regime. Bring back the Empire’s golden age.”
She was right. Even as she tried to manipulate him, he agreed with her. He had been too angry to realize it. This was his real purpose. He would return glory to the Empire. The more he thought about it, the more he saw the truth. He was Reynolds the Terrible. Only it wouldn’t be the population that would tremble with fear at the sound of his name. It would be the nobility.
“I am not strong enough to take on the Empire,” he said.
“So, get stronger. You already have the Avar and Tran fleets at your disposal. Take your combined fleet and bring the other Frontier Alliance systems under your banner.”
“Do you think they will join me?”
“Of course. Give them the same choice you gave me, and Stohl. They will join. Then, when you are strong enough, you can move against Cherenko.”
“Yes. My forces will march on Earth and cleanse it of the nobility’s influence. The Empire will be united once again. The dawn of a new golden age.”
“You will become the greatest emperor in a thousand years.”
Reynolds lost himself in a vision of the future. One of triumphs, and an adoring population. He suddenly realized that all the events of his life had led him to this inevitable moment. This inevitable decision. This destiny.
Chapter 26
Emperor Cherenko could barely contain his anger as he waited for the comm link to be established. Neither the Avar nor the Tran leaders had arrived at Earth. Nor had any of the captured warships. He knew why. Reynolds was stalling. He was trying to find a way to redeem himself, but he only succeeded in sinking deeper into the quagmire. This time, Cherenko vowed to be rid of the man for good.
It indeed was a shame. Cherenko had seen promise in him, as did Detlev. Reynolds was smart and capable, despite being a commoner. Unfortunately, his successes had made him arrogant. He forgot who he was. Forgot how grateful he should be for all he had been given. Worse still, he now came perilously close to insubordination, something Cherenko could not tolerate.
Cherenko didn’t necessarily have a problem with how Reynolds conquered the Avar and the Tran systems. He had always believed in results. If Reynolds had only explained his plan, Cherenko would have given his blessing. But he didn’t contact his emperor, and Cherenko couldn’t let that go.
He needed to make an example of Reynolds. He needed to keep the rest of the Admiralty in line. His claim to the throne was shaky at best. If he showed leniency to Reynolds, a mere commoner, the rest of the nobility would walk all over him. How long would he hold the throne then? He would be assassinated before the end of the year.
No, he had no choice in the matter, and Reynolds didn’t know when to back off. His defiance was forcing Cherenko’s hand, and barring some unforeseen explanation, he now had to take Reynolds’s command. It was a shame, but he saw no other option.
Of course, Reynolds would be honored in the process, and the Empire would see a decorated officer retiring after a lifetime of service. The masses would see a commoner who rose to the Admiralty. They would believe the vital fiction that they could do the same. But the influential people would know that he had been kicked out. Punished for his hubris. The rest of the Admiralty would think carefully before crossing their emperor.
With the comm link finally established, Cherenko’s display flickered, and Reynolds’s weathered face appeared. Cherenko briefly wondered how old Reynolds was. Being a commoner, Reynolds didn’t have access to the usual rejuvenation therapies that made it harder to guess a noble’s age. Reynolds looked old and tired. Not exactly the face of the Empire Cherenko wanted to project.
“Majesty,” Reynolds said, but irreverently did not bow his head, or even salute. That blatant disrespect brought Cherenko’s blood to a full boil.
“What are you playing at, Reynolds?” Cherenko demanded. “Where are the Avar and Tran leaders? Where are the captured warships? If you think these stalling tactics will work on me, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“I am not stalling.”
“Never mind. I don’t care anymore. I’m done with your excuses, Reynolds. I am relieving you of your command, effective immediately. Your retirement is long overdue. You will receive full honors and pension. The Empire will recognize you as a hero with all the requisite pageantry.”
“I see.” Reynolds remained stoic, which surprised Cherenko. He knew that retirement was the last thing Reynolds wanted, and he expected to see some show of emotion, however slight. “Who will be replacing me?” Reynolds said.
“Your fleet will be broken up. You’ve actually convinced me to reorganize the UEDF into fewer, more powerful fleets.”
“Well, that might be difficult,” Reynolds said, giving Cherenko the distinct impression that he was being toyed with.
“Careful Reynolds, my patience is wearing thin,” Cherenko warned. “Now explain yourself.”
“Things have changed, Emperor. I no longer take orders from you.”
The declaration sent a chill down Cherenko’s spine, surprising him. “I am your emperor!”
“No, you are not. You murdered Emperor Detlev and stole the throne. Your reign is illegitimate, and I am not obliged to follow your orders.”
“That is treason!”
“No, Cherenko. You are the real traitor. Your reign is a farce, one I no longer support.”
“I will crush you like the worm you are, Reynolds.”
“Go ahead. Try. I look forward to facing you, or one of the other so-called nobles in battle.”
Cherenko shook his head in disbelief. “After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me.”
“Are you joking? Did you conquer the Pallian system? The Allimanians? The Avars? The Tran? Did you defeat Zeta, or did I? What is it exactly that you think you did for me?”
“You would have never conquered those systems without my support. I made you an admiral. I gave you a fleet. Without my support, you would have remained nothing more than a commoner.”
“And you are a dinosaur. Already extinct. You just don’t know it yet.”
<
br /> “Is that a threat, Reynolds?”
“Do you know why the Empire is in the shape it’s in, Cherenko? Entitled nobles like yourself. What have you earned? What battles have you won?”
“I-”
“Don’t bother. You and the rest of the nobility are a cancer, destroying the Empire from the inside out. But you know what? I’m a patriot. I love the Empire, and I will no longer be part of this farce.”
“You goddamn traitor. Your days are numbered, Reynolds. I’m going to mount your head on a pike and-”
Reynolds disconnected the comm, disappearing from the display. Cherenko sat in silence, seething. Reynolds had caught him completely off guard. How could he have missed this? How long had Reynolds been a traitor? How long had he plotted this rebellion?
He had to do something. But what? The nobility would come for him now. They would smell blood. Weakness. Opportunity. He had to act fast.
He opened another comm, this time with General Turov of the Imperial Guard. The comm flickered again, and the influential Turov appeared.
“Yes, your worship,” Turov said.
“General, I am worried that there may be an assassination attempt against me,” Cherenko said. “I will need you to double my personal guard.”
“Of course, Majesty. Do you have any more information on the plotters?”
“No, not at the moment.” Cherenko wondered how far he could trust Turov. The man had betrayed Detlev to put Cherenko on the throne. Should he tell him about Reynolds? If he didn’t, Turov would find out anyway. Better to try and control the story. “Admiral Reynolds has turned against the Empire and sided with the Frontier Alliance.”
“What?”
“I know. He betrayed us all. I worry that he has co-conspirators among the Admiralty and that they are planning to move against me. Until we uncover the other conspirators, I’ll need eyes on all members of the Admiralty.”
“Of course, your worship. Leave it to me. My men will root out the traitors.”
“Thank you, General. I knew I could count on you.”
Turov bowed his head in response. “I seek only to serve.”
Cherenko started to relax. It seemed that he still had Turov’s all-important support. “Please keep me updated. That will be all.” He terminated the connection and pondered his current situation. Perhaps he could use Reynolds’s treason to his advantage after all. If the Imperial Guard remained loyal to him, he might find a way to implicate some of the others in the conspiracy and consolidate his power. Yes. The more he considered the situation, the more he saw it as the gift it was. It could be the impetus for a good old-fashioned purge.
Chapter 27
“They’re still there.” Danny watched the faint contacts on the edge of the ship’s sensor range. He had noticed them some time ago and had originally thought it might be metaspace wreaking havoc with the ship’s systems.
“Yes, my boy,” Isaac said, sitting in the ship’s cockpit with Danny and Gerry. “I see them too. It appears we have some uninvited guests.”
“How can you be sure?” Gerry said.
“You saw them stay with us,” Danny said. “We changed course, and they followed. What else could they be?”
“You’re probably right, but if it were some kind of shadow it would do that as well,” Gerry said.
“While that is true,” Isaac said. “A sensor shadow would instantly match our course correction. Our friends here hesitated, albeit slightly. It is enough to confirm our suspicions.”
“Okay, so someone’s following us. Is it Zeta?” Gerry said.
“That would be my guess,” Danny said.
“How did they find us?” Gerry continued. “We’re in metaspace.”
“I don’t believe they found us in metaspace,” Isaac said. “It probably happened in one of the systems we visited while dropping off the women.”
“But none of that makes sense. How would Zeta know about this ship, or about the women?” Danny said, sharing in Gerry’s frustration.
“It is quite the dilemma,” Isaac said. “What we can’t do is underestimate Zeta’s reach. Masterson has covert operatives everywhere. There could have been one on Tran, or Aurora station, or any of the other worlds we visited since then.”
Danny thought about that. After leaving the Tran system, they decided to return some of the women to their homes. The ones that weren’t close enough they dropped off at safe locations. Korinna and a few others decided to stay with them and go to the battleship. Danny wondered if it was possible for a Zeta operative to identify them on one of the worlds they visited. “Assuming that is what happened, how did the ships find us?” Danny said. “Suppose an operative discovered us and sent word to Masterson. We were still long gone before any Zeta ships showed up.”
“The operative would’ve identified our ship,” Gerry said.
“Still, these guys showed up in metaspace,” Danny said. “There’s no way they could find us, unless-”
“They installed a tracking device on the ship,” Isaac said.
“Shit,” Gerry said.
“Indeed,” Isaac said.
“So, what do we do? We can’t just go back to the battleship,” Danny said.
“Why can’t we?” Isaac said.
“Uh, because there are two blips on the sensors. If that is Zeta, then that means two Zeta battleships against our one.”
“It also means more Zeta clones to liberate,” Isaac said with a mischievous smile.
Gerry rolled her eyes. “Here we go…”
“I would love to free those clones,” Danny said. “But again, we are outnumbered. We won’t be liberating anyone if those ships glass us.”
“They may be more powerful than us regarding firepower, but we have a more powerful mind,” Isaac said. “Once we’re back on board the battleship we can link all our minds together and use them as a weapon.”
“The hive mind thing again.”
“Exactly. Those ships will need to come closer than in normal space to successfully fire on us. At that distance, we can reach them too, but with our minds instead.”
“So, you are suggesting we hack them?” Danny said. “Like we did when we took our battleship?”
“Yes. That is exactly what I’m suggesting,” Isaac said. “Only this time our hack will be much more powerful-”
“Because there are more of us. More minds.”
“That is correct, my boy.”
“There is one small problem,” Gerry said. “Those two ships will be firing on us during the encounter.”
“A temporary dilemma. Once we take control of the target ship, the odds will shift in our favor.”
“Two to one odds for our side, instead of theirs.”
“Precisely.”
Danny used his link to the ship’s systems to access the internal cameras and locate Korinna and the handful of other women who chose to remain on board. They were gathered in the hold previously used to keep them captive. It now served as a common area.
“You’re worried about the women?” Isaac said, noticing Danny’s activity through their neural link.
“They’re not soldiers, nor are they augmented. We should have dropped them off somewhere.”
“They chose to stay.”
“They don’t understand the risks.”
“Perhaps, but they have endured much danger in their lives already.”
“I know, but it’s not the same. They haven’t experienced combat. They have no idea what they’re getting themselves into.”
“I think you underestimate them, my boy. They might surprise you. Look at Catherine and her little girls.”
Danny had met Catherine and her daughters, Jess and Ellie, on Pallias. Catherine had introduced him to Isaac and had helped him escape from the Pallian system. All three of them were still on the battleship. “It’s not the same. Catherine is tough.”
“And what about her little girls? Are they tough too?”
“They’re her daughters. They go
where she goes.”
“Yes, but they faced the same dangers we all faced in escaping the Pallian system. Are you saying that those two little girls are tougher than the women we have on board?”
“No. But I’m worried about them all the same.”
Isaac smiled. “You rescued them, my boy. It is normal to feel protective about them.”
“Um, I played a part in that rescue too,” Gerry said. “You don’t see me chewing my fingernails over them.”
“Bah, you’ve always had a heartless streak,” Danny joked.
“And you’ve always been too soft, little brother.”
“Either way, there’s nothing we can do to change our situation now,” Isaac said. “We are agreed then? We head for our battleship and face the two Zeta ships?”
“Agreed,” Danny said.
“Me too,” Gerry added.
Chapter 28
“Welcome aboard, Danny,” the female voice said as Danny brought the ship in for a landing in the battleship’s hangar bar.
“Annie?” Danny said, surprised to hear the AI’s voice. “I thought you were destroyed on the Tran homeworld.”
“I do not know what happened in the Tran system, but I did feel the need to keep a copy of my code here on the battleship as a backup. I assume the mission did not go as planned?”
“That’s an understatement. You and your ship were destroyed there. I’m happy to see that you had a backup.” Danny liked Annie and had felt like he had lost a friend when she was blown up on the Tran homeworld. To him, she was much more than artificial intelligence.
“It seemed a logical decision. I discovered that I could create a separate instance of myself and occupy two spaces simultaneously-”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were doing this, Annie?” Isaac said.
“It was an experiment. I did not know if it would work. I knew I could make a copy of my code but did not know if I could duplicate my essence. What you would call your consciousness.”