Keeper of the Sun (Starhold Series Book 3)

by J. Alan Field

  The auburn-haired Tezrinan slowly exhaled a deep sigh of frustration. “It’s everything. I guess I’m just feeling sorry for myself today.” She stared at the datachip in her left hand, toying with it in her fingers as she talked. “Things aren’t going quite the way I planned. I thought we would have won this war with the Jangsuvians months ago. I thought Rennie Darracott would have come around to my way of thinking by now. I thought having Brin Choi eliminated would bring me peace.”

  “Well, all things considered, we’re in a good place,” said Yamazaki, raising Maxon’s hand and kissing it gently.

  “I know, I know. The war is the war, and we will win that in time,” she said, wheels starting to spin inside her head. “Let’s turn our attention to a situation we can more directly affect —Her Majesty Renata.”

  “That’s going to be difficult,” said Maxon’s partner, quickly slipping into professional mode. “She’s still very popular, although I have noticed a small slip in her polling lately. As the war drags on, her numbers are taking a hit. Unfortunately, so are yours.”

  Maxon leaned forward, elbows on the table and holding the datachip up before her, as if she were examining a fine diamond. “You know, when I sold the Directorate on the idea of making Rennie the Empress, I was sure her lust for power would make her a good partner. I thought she would relish playing her role, but instead she’s doing everything she can to make things difficult.” Maxon gazed at the small crystal in her hand, its beautiful shimmering edges having a near hypnotic effect. “Well, if she’s not with us, then she’s against us. Until now, I’ve been more than patient with her, but she is never going to come around. Renata Darracott has to go.”

  “You sound so bitter,” scoffed Yamazaki. “You have only yourself to blame. She’s where she is because you put her there.”

  “I know.”

  “Twice now, by the way. You not only made her Empress, but before that, you gave her the Consulship. She would have taken a starliner back to Odessa long ago if you hadn’t kept—”

  "Damn it,” shouted Maxon as her right hand slammed down on the tabletop. “Stop haranguing me, woman! You sound just like Brin used to.”

  Yamazaki folded her arms and lifted her head haughtily. “Guess I’d better shut up then, before you have some OMI assassin kill me too.”

  Maxon cringed. “Don’t joke about that—not even when we are alone. You might let it slip out someday.”

  “Relax. Everyone knows the OMI had her assassinated. Choi was a traitor who deserved to be executed for her crimes, especially after what she did to you.” Yamazaki stopped and seemed to be waiting for a comment, but Maxon wasn’t in the mood to talk about her former lover’s betrayal.

  “Rumor was that Casca was also killed that night in Beresford,” Yamazaki continued. “Do you think that’s true?”

  “Don’t be so thick. That’s nothing but a rumor.”

  “Well then, maybe you could get him to take care of Renata for us,” joked Yamazaki. All her comment earned her a scornful stare, so she turned serious again. “So, how do you really want to handle her?”

  Maxon concentrated for a moment, laying the datachip gently on the table in front of her. “I think it’s time we press Her Majesty a bit. Have Captain Barzilli get ready to release that stuff on Prince Karl.”

  Yamazaki shook her head. “That’s premature. We should let the death of Leonardo Sanchez take hold. Timing is everything, darling. The idea that Renata had something to do with Sanchez’s death is gaining traction. They were political opponents and old friends who separated under bad circumstances… Give my people a chance to do their jobs. We can whisper this into a real crisis for her.”

  A twisted smile came to Maxon’s face. “I’m sure you can, but once this stuff on her husband comes out, the idea that Renata had something to do with Leo’s death will gain even more ground. Besides, I don’t want Leo Sanchez to become a martyr. The news of Prince Karl’s antics will distract from the praises of the late admiral and suggest to people that Renata or Karl had a motive for killing him.”

  “His helicraft accident—it was just an accident wasn’t it?” asked Yamazaki. Maxon knew this woman. She asked the question, but the only thing Ume wanted to hear was a soothing lie. It was a weird game she played to make her feel that her hands were clean.

  “I suppose so,” said Maxon blandly. “He and the Reformists were becoming bothersome though, and his untimely death presents us with an opportunity to rid the Empire of an irritant. Let’s just say it was a fortuitous accident. Besides, Leonardo Sanchez betrayed me the day he abandoned his post under the cover of retirement. He quit on me—and on Rennie too. I shed no tears for the man.”

  The fiction of an accident seemed to set Yamazaki’s mind at ease. “By the way, who is the source of our little morsel of information on Karl? Are we paying him off?”

  “Don’t concern yourself with that. Just make sure you and your people cash in on this opportunity.”

  “Relax, I’ve got this. We have something special planned,” Yamazaki said confidently. “Since we are discussing business instead of having fun on the couch, let me bring up one other thing that needs to be addressed: the aliens. Any word from Tempest yet?”

  “No, but there should be soon.” Maxon had almost forgotten about that, which was bizarre. How do you forget about humanity’s First Contact with aliens?

  “This won’t remain a secret forever, you know,” Yamazaki pressed ahead. “People are already talking, speculating. Either we craft the message or it comes out randomly.”

  Yamazaki edged closer. “Channa, the arrival of the aliens is a blessing from the Many Gods. The public is tiring of the war, and the buzz about the aliens is an excellent distraction.”

  They had had this discussion before, and it never ended well. Today it was putting Maxon in an even fouler mood. “It didn’t help that Admiral Tovar panicked and moved First Fleet to ALERTCON One,” the Fleet Admiral groused. “That made the entire system wonder what was happening. I see now it was a mistake to bring Nathari Tovar here to Artemis. When the time is right, I’m going to have her shipped out to some remote system, like Hybrias.”

  Ume didn’t seem concerned with Admiral Tovar. “So, may I craft a campaign to alert the public about the aliens—on our terms?”

  “No,” said Maxon firmly. “It stays an official secret for now. People will panic about the aliens and be even more desperate to stop the war. After we subdue the Jangsuvian Worlds, then we can use the alien threat to unite humanity around the Empire, but not before the Jangsuvians are mine.”

  “All right, if you insist.” Yamazaki stood. “I’m going then. Nothing to be done here—no aliens to reveal, no sex to be had…” Her comment made Maxon smile. “I’ll get my people ready for the release of the news on Karl. I think we’ve crafted a clever strategy on that. You’re going be very pleased, darling.”

  “I always am,” said Maxon, standing to embrace her woman for a goodbye kiss.

  “What time will you be home tonight?”

  “Late. I have a meeting at the Home Ministry this evening.”

  Yamazaki frowned. “That’s the third meeting at the Home Ministry this week.”

  “Can’t be helped.”

  “This meeting—it’s with Mia Van Eyck, isn’t it?”

  “It is. Just as you are the real power at Culture, she is the de facto leader of the Home Ministry. I operate through her.”

  “I’ll bet you do,” fumed Yamazaki. “You’ve had a hard-on for that woman ever since you first laid eyes on her. Is Mia Van Eyck your little whore on the side?”

  “No, that would be you,” said Maxon smirking.

  Yamazaki quickly brought her right hand up to slap Channa’s face, but Maxon blocked it with her left arm. As the woman raised her other hand, Maxon caught it and spun her around, driving Yamazaki into the nearby wall while twisting her arm behind her back.

  Maxon whispered into her ear. “A while back, I had another woman, a woman
I loved and trusted. Her name was Brin. You know what she did one morning? She stuck a knife in me and left me for dead. Hope you understand how testy it makes me when the person I’m sleeping with attacks me.”

  Yamazaki spat out a word that Maxon didn’t catch and tried to struggle free.

  “Stop struggling or so help me I’ll break your arm,” Maxon said, pulling it higher while Yamazaki shrieked in pain. “Stop it! Stop it right now! That’s not very gracious behavior for the future Empress.”

  The storm calmed as Yamazaki relaxed. Maxon started to release her, but then roughly spun her around, pinning her to the wall once again. Pressing against her, Maxon kissed her hard as her hands prowled across Yamazaki’s body.

  “What did you say just now,” Yamazaki managed to ask between smothering kisses.

  Maxon didn’t stop. She licked Yamazaki’s cheek and pressed her tongue back into her lover’s mouth. The two wallowed against the wall, writhing in pleasure.

  Yamazaki finally managed to push her away for a moment. “Answer me—what did you say just now? You called me the Empress.”

  “Future Empress,” corrected Maxon. “When Renata vacates the Throne, however that might occur, the Directorate will offer me the Crown, and I will refuse it.”

  “Refuse? I don’t understand.”

  Maxon planted a few kisses on her neck before continuing. “If I become Empress, command of the Space Force will pass to someone else. That’s the source of my power, and I won’t give it up. However, when I decline the Throne, I’ll recommend the perfect person to take the position. A woman who is smart and charming, beautiful and—”

  Channa Maxon didn’t get to finish her thought. Ume Yamazaki’s mouth crashed into hers and the woman’s hands once again pulled at Maxon’s uniform.

  And unlike Renata Darracott, this new Empress WILL belong to me…

  11: Blood

  City of Villanueva

  Planet Quijano

  Maybe she had made a mistake.

  Etta Sanchez loved her Uncle Leo, but as she sat through the seemingly endless memorial service, sullen thoughts gathered inside her mind. Perhaps coming here was a waste of time, time that could have been used to track down her husband.

  She arrived on Quijano two days ago, only to be thrust into a whirlwind of family, funeral arrangements, and politics. Leonardo Sanchez had been a famous man on this planet of twenty-one million, and his death hit people hard. Every local politician within a hundred kilometers wanted to be seen consoling the family and assisting the grieving relatives—so much so that the relatives themselves barely had time to grieve.

  The funeral had been moved from the small village of Saovina to the largest city on the planet, Villanueva. It had been turned into a public spectacle, a strange mix of somber admiration for the life of Leonardo Sanchez and political protest against a government that many saw as increasingly despotic. Most people still weren’t buying the conspiracy theories of assassination, but plenty were taking to the streets to demand the return of both starhold-wide elections and the Union Assembly, positions endorsed by their late native son. Even the Empress, who had always been a popular figure on Quijano, was feeling the sting of the crowd. Pictures of Renata were being defaced and her name was booed at every mention.

  Following the service, a private reception was held for family and friends in a downtown hotel. In its own way, it was grimmer than the memorial had been. Uncle Leo had been a widower whose two daughters, Cammy and Connie, lived off world. Both were corporate executives now, and both had disapproved of their father’s excursion into politics—not doubt fearing it might jeopardize their careers. They had come to Quijano for the memorial and were scheduled to leave directly afterward. When they were all young, Sanchez considered these cousins to be more like sisters, but now they were strangers. Leonardo’s daughters sequestered themselves in a corner of the reception hall, shunning the other members of the family. It was clear that they couldn’t wait to leave this place, this planet that their father loved so dearly.

  Leonardo’s mother was still alive. Mimi, as everyone called her, had always been the Grand Dame of Clan Sanchez—steady as a rock and twice as hard. Even at the age of ninety-six, she was in good physical health and had been active and engaging until last week’s accident. Now she sat in the corner, staring across the room at nothing, barely interacting with anyone.

  “The old adage is brutally true, I’m afraid,” commented a man standing near Sanchez. He was a big man of African descent whose once trim body now wore some extra pounds.

  “I’m sorry,” said Sanchez. “Old adage?”

  “That no parent should outlive their child. Poor Mimi. Excuse me for not introducing myself. My name is Auric Banks.”

  Banks was a longtime friend of Leo Sanchez, both in and out of the military. He was also the number two man in the Reform Party and one of Renata Darracott’s most vocal critics.

  “So Captain Banks, now that Uncle Leo is gone, I suppose you will be taking the reins of the Reform Movement.”

  Banks took a sip of tea before answering, his cup shaking slightly in his hand. “I don’t go by captain these days, Ms. Sanchez. My years in the military are long behind me. As far as the leadership position, it depends on what the Party executive council decides. You see, unlike our tyrannical government, in the Reform Movement we actually vote on policy and direction.”

  “Still, the government has allowed the Reformists to operate, to speak out in public,” said Sanchez, pushing this man a little to see what came of it.

  Banks frowned. “Darracott only tolerates the party’s existence because it gives the illusion of political freedom. Your uncle was leading us toward something more, something real—that’s why they killed him.”

  “They? All the reports say it was a helicraft accident.”

  Banks placed his teacup down on a nearby table. “My apologies, Ms. Sanchez. It was unseemly for me to raise this topic. Clearly the wrong time and place. I hope things turn out well for you, and my condolences on your loss.” He gave a slight bow and then quickly withdrew.

  The next day, Sanchez rented a flyer and headed west to the village of Saovina. She had agreed to spend some time at her uncle’s ranch with family before leaving. Just a quick visit, no more than a day or two, then off to find that pitiful, misplaced husband of hers—if he was still out there to be found.

  It was an eighty-minute trip across the great grasslands that dominated the eastern part of the continent. Most of Quijano was wrapped in rainforest, so when humans arrived on this world, they concentrated a majority of their settlements in and around the Pampas.

  As the small solo flyer zipped over the countryside, Sanchez spied one of her favorite sights in this entire world—great herds of horses roaming free across the savanna. The Diaspora from Earth had been a messy affair, setting science and technology back for generations. Luckily, some had already planned for the worst. The Global Genome Initiative, begun in the twenty-first century, had placed the DNA of terrestrial plants, animals, and even micro-organisms into stasis, waiting for the time they would be needed. The extinction event those scientists feared happened two centuries later, and the seeds of life on Earth were transported to the new worlds upon which humankind settled.

  Predictably, releasing foreign animals and plants into the biosphere of an alien world didn’t always work out well. Birds had trouble flying in the heavy gravity of Rusalka. They were all killed off by predators within weeks. Wheat introduced on Essadon developed a fungus that spread to other plant life on that planet, nearly causing a global catastrophe. And of course, one species was introduced onto each world that began to relentlessly disturb the balance of nature as soon as it arrived—humans.

  Her flyer now passed over the tiny hamlet of Saovina and traveled an additional six kilometers beyond. Finally, she sat the small craft down on a helipad next to a neo-pueblo style ranch house where she was greeted by Augusto Francisco Sanchez. Gus, as everyone called him, was her Uncle
Sebastian’s son who, along with his wife Elena, managed the ranch to which Leo had retired four years ago. Even though Etta had seen him only yesterday at the memorial, she could never get enough of her favorite cousin.

  “No wonder Uncle Leo liked to fly everywhere,” Sanchez said that night as she and Gus relaxed with some after dinner drinks on the spacious veranda of the main house. “I forgot how far out in the middle of nowhere this ranch is.”

  “Well, it is a ranch,” laughed Gus. “I don’t think the livestock would be comfortable in downtown Villanueva.” The hacienda raised cattle and creek aurochs, which were a cow-like animal native to this world.

  “Guess I’ve lived in the city too long,” she said. “I’ve forgotten the long trips we used to take to town when we were young.”

  “Are you going to go over to check out the old place while you’re here?”

  The coffee plantation on which she had grown up was sold after her mother’s death three years ago. “No point—it’s not my place anymore. My old home is locked up in here,” she said, tapping her head with an index finger.

  “Sorry Frank couldn’t come with you. I know his work takes him away from time to time.” The family didn’t know exactly what her husband did for a living, just that he was in the military. Gus had worked some of it out, and he respected her privacy enough not to pry. Unfortunately, others in the family took Frank Carr’s frequent absences as a sign of marital strife. She was forever reassuring them that things were all right.

  “He would have been here if he could,” she said curtly, reaching for another bottle of soju. “Been ages since I got buzzed on this stuff. Tastes good.”

  The breeze also felt good compared to the stuffy streets of Villanueva, although some of the pungent ranch smells were a bit overpowering. She had come to the conclusion that growing up on a coffee plantation was aromatically superior.

  “I’m a little surprised Connie and Cammy didn’t come out here to visit, even for just a day.”