My Friend the Emperor

by William Lee Gordon

  My shocking discovery was confirmed when it became apparent that Monica was no longer spending her nights with him. She now left his cabin after dinner like the other Citizens. It was obvious from her mood change that she had experienced a falling out with him.

  The signs were plain to see, the Captain had dumped Monica for two 14-year-old girls.

  Pure debauchery.

  The Captain had just initiated a course change when Monica stormed onto the bridge.

  “Captain, this is just plain stupid,” she said.

  Everyone on the bridge hunched their shoulders, focused on their consoles, and studiously ignored her and the Captain.

  “I’m sorry you think so, Monica. We’ve been over this, more than once, and it doesn’t change the situation.”

  “You’re living dangerously Alyster, and someday it’s going to catch up with you. I just hope I’m not around to see it.”

  “You have to accept fate, Monica. I can’t change the way the world works.”

  With that Monica spun on her heels and marched to the hatch. She stopped just short and with her back still to the room she said, “Permission to leave the bridge, sir.”

  “Permission granted,” the Captain said without glancing away from the view screen.

  ΔΔΔ

  Our Legion, the 133rd, was commanded by Rear Admiral Jessop. He carried his flag on the battle cruiser Vindicator. The Rear Admiral commanded 16 sectors that bordered the Hades Forest as well as four additional very large sectors that backed up the front line and provide a defense in depth. Along with its escort ships, the C.E.S. Vindicator maintained its station roaming these four rearward sectors.

  We were headed for a rendezvous with her.

  Something about Monica’s displeasure with the Captain buoyed me inside. I knew I was attracted to her and I knew nothing would ever come of it. First of all she was my superior officer and secondly she already had a relationship with her superior officer, except… perhaps not anymore.

  I didn’t really find any hope in that, more like amusement. Even if all things were equal there was just something about her that said she was out of my league. I’m not down on myself, I’m not self-deprecating and I don’t lack confidence, but Monica had already been through more, and survived more, than I ever would. Let’s face it, I was a simple civil servant serving as an unaccomplished Ensign that may or may not have the faith of his Captain and crew. She had won Empire-wide acclaim even before being socially introduced to the highest levels of the Imperial Court. Even in disgrace she had only fallen as far as to be the First Officer on a ship commanded by someone else in the royal family.

  That was a huge gulf.

  That didn’t, however, keep me from working with her to do my duty.

  I had set my computer to notify me when I might catch her alone in any of the public areas of the ship. I was a little surprised when at 0345 the computer informed me she was by herself in the Citizen’s Mess.

  “Mind if I sit here?” I said, surprising her.

  She relaxed and settled back into her chair.

  “What are you doing up at this hour, Ensign?”

  “You’re back to calling me Ensign now? Not Jac?”

  “I’m not exactly in the friendliest of moods, Jac,” she said with a weary smile. “I’m probably not the best of company either, so tell me why you’re here or let me get back to my cabin.”

  Now it was my turn to hesitate. Why was I here? I had wanted to talk to her but now I had trouble visualizing how that conversation was going to go. Was I going to ask her if her heart was broken? Did she feel jilted? That may be what I wanted to know but there’s no way I was going to ask. I had told myself that we needed to exchange notes on this Meri Acá situation but now I couldn’t think of anything I might know that she wouldn’t. I had wanted to be a friend for her, to show support, but now I had no idea how to say it.

  So I did what all men do, I said the first stupid thing that came to my mind.

  “I’ve never been aboard a battle cruiser before, have you?”

  Her jaw didn’t actually drop, but then after a moment she allowed a small smile. The smile very quickly turned into a laugh which very quickly turned into semi-hysterical convulsions. There were actually tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “Jac, you are the most unpredictable, out of place Citizen I’ve ever met. You’re either hopelessly naïve or brilliantly clandestine, and I honestly don’t know which.

  “The one thing I do know, because every fiber of my being tells me so, is that you have a moral compass. Whatever crazy naïve things you believe you believe.

  “I guess that’s worth some respect.”

  In a much more subdued voice she said, “So why don’t you say what it really is you want to say…?”

  “Will you be leaving us when we reach the C.E.S. Vindicator?” I surprised myself by asking.

  Now was her turn to look surprised. “Why would you think that?”

  “Well, you just seemed kind of upset at the Captain. I thought maybe…”

  “Jac, you’ve got to know I have no future with the Empire. I can’t transfer to the Vindicator or any other ship for that matter. Surely you understand that?”

  “Yes, I mean… It’s just that he hasn’t exactly treated you…”

  “Jac,” she said not unkindly. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. The Captain is crazy, there’s no doubt about it,” she said laughingly. “But he knows what he’s doing and in his own way I think he’s brilliant. I cannot let my own difficulties interfere with what he needs to do. Now do you understand?”

  I nodded my head yes feeling confident that I had the situation sized up perfectly. What was it about this Captain that kept people loyal to him even after he discarded them like trash?

  They say there are several levels of ignorance. There are things that you know you don’t know. Slightly more dangerous to you can be the things that you don’t know you don’t know. Even worse are the things you know you don’t know but don’t want to know. But the most dangerous type of ignorance of them all was one that I was apparently very fond of, that is being so wrong in what you think you know that you’d be better off to just stop thinking.

  Chapter nineteen

  ENSIGN JACOBY NICOLAY

  Mental Breakdown or Breakthrough?

  “Welcome aboard Captain,” said Citizen Charles Pointer, Captain of the C.E.S. Vindicator. We were standing in the reception area just outside of the shuttle Bay. I wasn’t sure if captains always greeted other captains in person when they visited each other’s ship or if this was a special honor reserved for members of the Imperial Family. Either way we were receiving a reception with honors.

  He then gave a nod to Monica and said, “And to you also, First Officer Weigand.”

  Apparently our Captain had never bothered informing the Empire that his previous First Officer was now living a happy life in parts unknown, and since the Empire really didn’t need to know that Lieutenant Monica Stiles wasn’t still stranded, or buried, on IS 417 it all worked out well.

  I wasn’t very comfortable with any of this. I liked Monica in more ways than I wanted to admit, and if I forced myself to think about it I knew she’d been given the shaft by the Empire, or at least its heir apparent. But this was an Imperial Flagship! Gaming the system here seemed the height of disrespect – not to mention stupidity.

  I’d been looking forward to this ever since the Captain had announced our destination. It’s funny, but I never remember being excited about warships or the fleet before graduating The Academy… I guess I just matured into this gung-ho attitude.

  “The Admiral sends his regards and instructs me to extend an invitation to you and your senior Citizens for dinner in his suite tonight at 1900 hrs.”

  “Charlie!” our Captain said. “Still as formal as ever. You need to lighten up my man.” Captain Acamar had a way of breaking down protocol wherever he went. “Wow, so this is your battle cruiser. What a reward! I’m s
ure you deserve it.”

  The fact that our Captain had failed to return Charlie’s salute wasn’t lost on those present. He also ignored the other Citizens gathered to greet us in order to wander the room and inspect the accoutrements and furnishings.

  It might’ve been my imagination but I thought Captain Charles was a little red around the neck. “Captain, my stewards will show you and your people to your quarters and let you get settled in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a ship to run.”

  “Of course, of course. Don’t let me keep you from your incredibly important duties Charlie. The Empire depends upon you!”

  Monica, Maria, Felix, and Sergio were representing our ship. Of course I was along as an aide to the Captain.

  I still couldn’t perfectly read him and this was a great example. The Citizens gathered to receive us also couldn’t read him; they didn’t know whether to be offended or embarrassed for us. I’ve been serving with him for almost a year now and I wasn’t sure if he was being arrogantly superior, disrespectfully rebellious, or comically flippant. The only thing I knew for sure was that this trip would do nothing to improve his reputation as a dilettante.

  The ship was incredible. Designed from the keel up to be a flagship, the Vindicator was the plushest warship I’d ever been on. I later learned that Monica had experience better but it was hard for me to imagine how. The hallways were carpeted, the railings were brass, and the hatches disguised in real wood. I’m sure the deck we were on must have been reserved for VIPs; the entire ship couldn’t have actual artwork on the walls and statuary in the alcoves, could it? And this was just the corridor; I wondered what my cabin would be like…

  Once we’d been led to our rooms the Captain had a final word for us before he retired to his own. “I’m sure you will all find full dress uniforms in your closets. Be aware that the Admiral sets a formal table and expects proper military decorum. So you might want to take a nap and get something to eat. Tonight promises to be long and boring and you’ll be expected to do more conversing with those around you than actual eating. Oh, and have the stewards escort you to dinner at the Admiral’s mess 10 minutes early. I will, of course, be fashionably late.”

  As everyone turned to walk into his or her assigned personal cabins the captain paused and caught Monica’s eye while he grabbed my sleeve.

  He then stepped into Monica’s personal space and wrapped his long arms around her in a lover’s embrace. I was shocked and then disappointed as I watched Monica’s body language initially express surprise, and then total acceptance.

  My emotions were so conflicted that I almost didn’t hear what the Captain whispered during his embrace…

  “I’ve made a decision, Monica,” he said. “I want Jac to accompany you.”

  I was somewhat confused. I had assumed I would be attending dinner as the Captain’s aide; did he now want me to act as Monica’s escort? And my confusion deepened when I realized that Monica was obviously opposed to the idea.

  Before she could say anything, however, the Captain continued his whisper, “Have faith in him.” With that, he turned and entered his cabin.

  With an angry look on her face Monica grabbed me by my tunic and said in a much more audible voice, “Meet me out here in the corridor in 10 minutes. Don’t ask questions and keep your mouth shut. Can you do that?”

  When I nodded she whispered, “Remember, 10 minutes on the dot.”

  ΔΔΔ

  The corridors of a warship are never empty for long. Even in a plush VIP section such as this the occasional crewman or Citizen would walk by.

  I had only been waiting in the corridor for a few seconds when Monica emerged from her room. She stood beside me and when I started to open my mouth to ask her what the hell was going on the look on her face shut me up abruptly.

  After a few minutes of just standing there she suddenly grabbed my arm and we started strolling down the corridor. As distracted as I was by the turn of events I’ll admit I was a little bit slow to realize that we were following one of the crewman that had passed by us a moment earlier.

  We’d apparently left the VIP section behind us as the carpeting and artwork disappeared. The brass fittings and decorative woodwork were still abundant, however, and kept the look far from being Spartan.

  The crewman we were following paused by a hatchway and sharply knocked on the door. He then turned and continued his journey.

  Monica seemed to know what she was doing so I just followed her lead when she approached that same door and entered.

  It took me a moment to realize it but we were apparently in the triage or reception area of the largest Medical Bay I’d ever seen. I’d been in hospital emergency rooms smaller than this. At any rate, Monica approached the desk and asked for Doctor Singh.

  After a moment Citizen Singe approached us.

  “Yes, yes,” he said to us. “You’re late for your appointment but we’ll make do. Come with me.” With that he turned and walked back into an adjoining corridor without even glancing over his shoulder to see if we were following.

  Of course we did.

  After a few turns he stopped in front of another door and held out his hand inviting us to enter. Once the three of us were inside his professional behavior magically disappeared.

  “So who exactly are you?”

  Monica frowned and started glancing around the room. I’d been doing the same thing but only because it was the plushest examination room that I’d ever seen.

  The doctor spoke again, “Don’t worry, no one can see or hear us.”

  Monica quickly said, “How can you be sure?”

  “Because this examination room is reserved for the Admiral and his senior staff. I can assure you that they have no desire for anyone to know about the various medical afflictions they might suffer or contract. Otherwise we only use this room when the other examination rooms are occupied, and since you are late for your scheduled appointment no eyebrows are going to be raised.

  “But that brings me back to my original question… Who are you?”

  ΔΔΔ

  “You don’t need to know our names; you know our Captain. We require information; we also require your assistance in passing on the black box/home fleet reports we both carry.”

  I physically gasped. How did she know that I had put together a report? And what did she mean, we both have a report? Once again I was being carried along in a current and I had no idea where it was taking me. Actually, I really shouldn’t be concerned about that because right now I was literally drowning. Events had overtaken me to the point where I was physically nauseous. I actually stumbled over to a nearby chair and sat down.

  “What’s the matter with him?” the doctor asked.

  I could hear Monica’s words as if she were at a distance, “We think his Deep Core conditioning is crumbling.”

  “And you brought him here?” he exclaimed.

  “Where better?” Monica said sternly. “You’re a Doctor and this ship has the best medical facilities in the quadrant. Get him through it fast, doc, he’s got an admiral’s dinner to attend later.”

  It’s hard to describe what I was feeling, at least beyond the raging headache. Inside my head I felt like a war was going on. There were certain thoughts and patterns that were comforting to focus on and I kept trying to return my thoughts to them to gain relief, but then other thoughts, truer thoughts, would intrude and the pain would intensify. Suddenly I couldn’t help but start remembering all the inconsistencies that I’d emotionally put aside, even some that I’d apparently forgotten. But now they all came rushing back. I was dizzy but it didn’t make any difference; all I could see was the floor because I didn’t have the strength to raise my head. I threw up.

  I distantly heard the doctor say, “Lay him down over there.” I remember thinking both how angry the doctor sounded and how strong Monica must be because the next thing I remember I was floating effortlessly towards an elegantly disguised examination table.

  Again, from 100 mi
les away I heard Monica and the doctor talking…

  “The equipment I need is not in this room and I’ll have to go get it myself,” he was saying. “I can’t risk someone questioning a requisition.

  “This is a stupid stunt and if your recklessness gets us caught my ghost will haunt your dreams forever,” he finished.

  “You don’t need to worry about that, Doc. If this doesn’t work I won’t be having any dreams to haunt.”

  ΔΔΔ

  I opened my eyes and found myself staring at gilded ceiling tiles.

  I could hear two people silently conversing.

  “… telling you I don’t know. I just learned of the attack on the Meri Acá, I have no idea where they’ve taken the prisoners.”