My Friend the Emperor

by William Lee Gordon

  “That would be most gracious, Sir. Of course I cannot disclose any information about ship’s personnel, guest or otherwise. Now if you’ll excuse me sir, I need to file a foodstuffs resupply requisition that includes provisions for 37 individuals that are not accustomed to the Empire’s normal provender.”

  Once the view screen cleared the Captain turned to Maria and said, “Contact traffic control and get us a birth as close to my sister’s ship as possible.”

  As Maria went to work the Captain sat back in his chair. Monica said to him, “Are you going to force your way onto that ship?”

  “No. We’re going to the palace.”

  ΔΔΔ

  To call the Acamar residence a palace was a misnomer. It was much more than just an estate. It was, in fact, as large as many cities. True, much of it consisted of sprawling lawns or hills of neatly trimmed grass, gardens, woods, and forests, but it covered a lot of ground. Small clusters of elegant-looking buildings periodically dotted the greenery while less imposing but modern château’s and bungalows remained partially hidden in the foliage surrounding various lakes.

  At any given time there might be as many as 1000 Imperial guests. Another 3500 servants and retainers rounded out the population. Add in the relatively small numbers of the official Imperial family and you had a feeling of decadent isolation anywhere you went.

  The business of the Empire was conducted on the adjacent government grounds. Just as large geographically its population was thousands of times denser. Like any modern city maglev transportation was in common use, both above and below ground. This made paved roadways totally unnecessary so while obviously urban, its vast greenery made the city seem plush by any standards.

  Subterranean maglev trains provided direct priority transportation from the government seat to the palace grounds, for those so privileged as to be able to use them.

  On the far side of the government city center was the Acamar family space elevator. Even though this particular elevator carried less traffic than the other 46, its terminal resembled a busy spaceport, with cargoes and passengers in constant movement.

  The second most familiar member of our crew with the surroundings would not be accompanying us. It would take much more here than false identification to let her pass unnoticed. It wasn’t a complication anyone needed.

  Our entourage, therefore, was to be made up of Captain Acamar, myself, Felix, Sergio, and ten of Sergio’s best men and women.

  When I’d commented that it seemed a little odd that an heir to the throne would be traveling to the palace he grew up in with armed guards the Captain just smiled and commented on my naïveté.

  “Everyone will call them retainers and assistants,” he’d said. “But it doesn’t fool anyone. They’re here to protect us.”

  We took the ship’s shuttle to the orbital terminus of the Acamar Family’s private space elevator. I had assumed that the name was somewhat honorary but Felix corrected me, “Make no mistake, the family may deign to let the government center use it, but like a lot of other things the elevator is owned by the family.”

  There was something disturbing about this thought but I didn’t have the time right now to ponder it.

  The descent to the planet’s surface took a little over three hours. There was no lack of comfort, however. The family’s private car carried a complete kitchen, a dining table that would comfortably sit all our party, a common room, and individual bedrooms and lavatories.

  I’d known the Empire was wealthy. I’d also known that the core worlds were richer and more advanced than everyone else. After all, civil service had been my dream and economics my specialty, but I’d never really stopped to consider how those at the very top lived. It promised to be quite the education.

  Unfortunately, I quickly found the ostentatiousness to be annoying. I think everybody did, including the Captain.

  I was the Captain’s aide yet he was assigned additional palace staff to serve him. In addition, I was assigned an aide to aid me in aiding him.

  Once we had sorted out who was helping whom we left the elevator’s groundside terminal via a private maglev train that was reserved for the Imperial family. Although much less spacious than our space elevator car, it was opulent in its own right. It also contained its own inertial compensator which was unheard of anywhere other than on trillion denar spaceships.

  Our train did not let us off at the palace proper. We were given a floor of rooms that overlooked a serene lake. Actually, Sergio later pointed out to me that we’d been given the entire château, but I never saw more than a few floors of it.

  I was awakened early the next morning by my aide. I was still having trouble getting used to that idea but I have to admit he was very good at the way he handled me and efficient in anticipating my needs. I even noticed a couple of techniques he was using that I wanted to copy for myself.

  He informed me that the Grand Duke Acamar was planning on riding to the palace this morning and he had requested that I accompany him. My aide had taken the liberty of obtaining the appropriate riding apparel for me and had laid it out on the standing valet.

  I wondered if I was still woozy from sleep because I didn’t think I’d heard him correctly. Why would I need special clothes to ride to the palace with my captain?

  It turns out that we weren’t riding in a car, but rather on something called a horse.

  I had never seen a horse. I had never heard of a horse and I had certainly never smelled a horse before.

  After a brisk walk we had arrived at what my aide called the stables. I kept looking around thinking that perhaps these stables were hidden behind the large waste processing plant that stood squarely in front of me.

  It was explained that the building I was looking at was called a barn, and that the horses we would be riding lived inside it. Just then a large door slid open and out pranced one of the most magnificent creatures I’d ever laid eyes on. My Captain rode on its back and seemed fully in control of the creature.

  He… They, walked up to me and with a broad smile the Captain said, “It’s a good morning, Ensign. Are you ready to take a ride?”

  “You want me to get on that thing with you?” I said with horrid surprise.

  Captain Acamar responded with as large and natural a laugh as I’d heard from him in a long time, “No, of course not. We’re bringing you out one of your own.”

  Seeing my Captain in such obvious high spirits made it impossible for me to feel terrified, but I also realized that this was the first time I’d been up close to any animal that was taller than I was. It was… unsettling.

  While the Captain practiced a few turns and moves with his mount, the foreman showed me how to board my steed and command its movement. The horse was well-trained and I had a lifetime of learning how to follow directions; I very quickly learned when to rest my weight in the saddle or stand in the stirrups. The foreman complemented me with what I think was honest surprise when he realized I was controlling my mount with the lien of my body and the shifting of my weight, an obvious symbiosis with the animal below me rather than just issuing jerked commands with the reins.

  Soon, the Captain and I were moving at a slow walk in the general direction of where he said we needed to go.

  “Are you sure this is the first time you’ve ridden a horse?” he asked me.

  “There is nothing I’m more sure about,” I responded with a growing excitement in my voice. The truth is I was enjoying myself. Starlight, the animal below me, had stopped seeming a menace and now felt more like my companion, my friend. What had seemed overwhelming now seemed tall and stately. What had at first been an overpowering smell was now reduced to an animalistic musk, still indicative of manure but with dry sweet undertones.

  Combined with the openness of nature around me it was impossible not to be of good spirits.

  “Well you do seem to be doing well enough. What do you say we open things up a bit?” With that the Captain yelled an exclamation, changed his body weight, and shot
forward. When he showed no signs of stopping I realized I had no choice. Quickly going over in my mind what I’d just witnessed I prepared to do the same.

  My mount’s response was immediate.

  I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t almost fall off. I was exhilarated.

  There’s something about biological acceleration that can never be equaled by a machine. As much a head start as I thought he’d had we quickly caught up with the Captain and Thunder. Seeing us pull up beside him the Captain’s smile grew even wider and he poured on the speed again leaving us behind.

  I’d thought were already moving at maximum velocity. With joy in my heart I scrunched down and leaned forward further in my saddle. The terrain wasn’t rough but it wasn’t smooth either. I found myself naturally shifting my weight for the small jumps or leaning to help the horse with the mild curves that were needed to avoid obstacles. The occasional low branch caused a rush of adrenaline until I each time realized again I could trust the horse to know his own clearance.

  It might’ve been seconds or it might’ve been many minutes later when I trotted up beside the Captain, both of our steeds now at a comfortable walk.

  With their heads held high each pulling great deep breaths through those flared nostrils, there was no question that these beasts owned the countryside.

  “You’re a natural,” the Captain said with a grin. Who would’ve thunk it? It’s nice to know that I have a worthy riding companion onboard the Halcyon.”

  As my heart rate slowed back to normal and I heard mention of the ship’s name my thoughts returned to duty.

  “Captain, I truly want to thank you for this experience. This is incredible and I’ll never forget it, but is it truly safe for you to be out here alone?”

  “You don’t really think were alone, do you?” he asked. “Look over there, just below the crest line of the hill. And then again there and over there.”

  I hadn’t noticed them before, but sure enough there were maglev cars floating along our distant flanks.

  “That’s Sergio and a few of his men,” the Captain continued. “I would pray for a day when I could truly be alone like this.” He turned to me and said with a laugh, “Or at least almost alone.”

  “Captain, what do we expect to accomplish at the palace?”

  “I must pay my respects to my mother, and be seen doing so,” replied the Captain.

  “Were you close?” I asked.

  “No, of course not.” After a few moments he spoke again, “The way our Empire works, Jac, makes it all but impossible for familial ties to overcome the politics of Empire. I respected my mother, but the truth is I never much knew the comfort of her bosom or the security of her arms. We had Royal nannies for that sort of thing.”

  I was truly shocked. I suppose I could’ve guessed as much but now that I knew the Captain as a real human being it was impossible for me to imagine that family could treat each other so. My Imperial service kept me separated from my mom, as we both knew it would, but I was making sure that one of my Imperial salaries was deposited into her account back on Lightspar. Not because it was expected, or because of appearances… It wasn’t even because I owed her so very much. It was because I loved her.

  What it would be like to grow up in a family that lacked that kind of love was hard for me to imagine.

  “When we reach the palace we’ll be given a suite of rooms where we can clean up and dress for lunch. I’m afraid it will be formal attire and even though it will be billed as a private gathering of the family you can be assured that vids of the event will be leaked to the media.

  “Ensign, there’s something I think it wise we discuss.”

  With that slight change of tone I looked over at him expectantly.

  “Monica brought this to my attention and I think she is probably correct. Life at the Imperial court will be much different than anything you’ve ever experienced before. The language may seem the same but I can assure you it’s not. True meaning is communicated through nuance and innuendo. Newcomers are inevitably considered sport. You would think humiliation is the coin of the realm the way the courtiers count coup on each other…

  “But don’t be fooled. Intrigue is the coin of the realm, and I am afraid you are about to be caught up in it.”

  It was a comfortable conversation sitting astride our horses, moving forward at a walk. It was the content of the conversation that was alarming.

  “What is it you want me to do?” I asked.

  “That’s just it, Jac. It will not be possible for me to give you a lifetime of education during this brief ride. I would tell you to just be yourself but that may not be the best advice in every situation. Maybe the best thing I can advise you is to trust yourself. If you feel someone is trying to manipulate you you’re probably correct. If you suspect someone has a hidden agenda, you’re absolutely correct. You have proven yourself to be of strong character, so trust yourself. Also, remember everything you hear - it may help us later.”

  After a few moments of thought I said, “Okay then, tell me what I need to know. Who are the main players?”

  “I’m sure you will meet my sister Tauri,” he said. “Be especially careful of her. She is possibly the most devious… woman that I’ve ever known. She seethes with jealousy and is blinded by ambition. She would give anything to have the throne.

  “She’s always been somewhat fond of me but don’t let that confuse you. I am nowhere near the top of the list of things she cares about the most.”

  “But, you are family, right?” I naïvely asked.

  Without looking at me he responded, “She was actually sent away for two years during our childhood because she couldn’t be trusted around her older brother the Prince. She has since done a great job of making everybody think that she is content to run her Secret Police and give service to our father the Emperor, but I grew up with her. I know better.”

  “Secret police? I know she runs Imperial Security, but…”

  “No, it’s a military force, spy network, and internal security authority all wrapped into one, and don’t ever forget it. She has unlimited access and just about unlimited authority to all things Empire. Even the Citizen Business Legions and Civil Service Legions fear the IDF. Jac, it’s very important you understand this… Grand Duchess Tauri Acamar is the most dangerous woman in modern history.

  “Oh, and by the way… If anything were to happen to myself or my older brother the Prince, run.”

  I pulled back on the rains and brought Starlight to a halt. Once he’d done the same he acceded to my look that invited him to continue…

  “If anything happens to the Prince, Tauri will be next in line for the throne. She would immediately consider me her biggest threat to the ascension. Whether I survive or not you will certainly get caught up in the crossfire. So take this seriously Jac, if something happens to my brother and you can’t immediately find me, you run away as far and as fast as you can run.

  “Monica, by the way, has the same orders. I’m counting on both of you to get the Halcyon back to the frontier.”

  “But why would she think that you’re a threat to her?” I asked.

  “Because that’s the way she thinks. She would do anything to remove our older brother from the lineage and therefore assumes if I was close enough I would do the same to her.”

  “But that’s madness, it’s not who you are and it doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Jac… you’re still naïve. Always remember this… People can’t predict what you’ll do; they can only predict what they would do in your position. Liars will always assume you’re lying, thieves will always assume you’re stealing, honest people will always be predisposed to assume you’re telling the truth. People see you through their own eyes.”

  I swallowed hard, a couple of times. Then I said, “Who else do I need to know about?”

  “My older brother the Prince,” he replied. “Prince Eridanus Acamar IV. He fully expects to gain the throne someday and expects everyone to treat him a
s if he already has. He is dangerous Jac, because he doesn’t have to prove his authority to anyone. He is soft-spoken, but intelligent and efficient. If you can him help him achieve his ends you have value to him. If you can’t help him then you are invisible to him - and you’d best stay out of his way.”

  The way my mind worked with patterns there was an obvious question I was struggling to figure out how to ask…

  “In that case, if the Prince understands the threat that Tauri poses, why doesn’t he… do something about it?”

  The Captain laughed. “Every time I think you’re hopelessly naïve you say something smart. My brother can’t get rid of Tauri as long as my father supports her as head of Empire Security – it would be too dangerous. My father, the Emperor, for other reasons we don’t need to discuss right now won’t remove her from that position. So until my brother becomes Emperor, his hands are tied.”