My Friend the Emperor

by William Lee Gordon

  I frowned in confusion. “What kind of mutual benefits?” I asked

  Now she did laugh. “It can be anything. Sex is a pretty common mutual benefit but there are other kinds too. For example, when people share a common vision or goal. Sometimes when people work together long enough and work hard enough to accomplish the same things that kind of true friendship can develop.”

  “So where does respect fit in?”

  “Respect is overrated,” she laughed. “If you don’t really know someone how can you give them more than a superficial respect, or disrespect? Respect is earned. Respect happens over a long period of time. Real respect is just another way of saying true friendship.”

  We both stood in comfortable silence while I reflected upon her words. I hadn’t seen much of what she was talking about. I’m not even sure I believed it was real.

  “I used to have a big goal,” I said. “I thought I could change things in the Empire; I thought I could bring greater prosperity to my people. Not only couldn’t I find anybody else to share that dream with, I found out it was an illusion anyway. So you’ll have to excuse me if I’m not a big fan of your shared goals theory,” I said respectfully.

  As an afterthought I added, “Except for my family I’m not really sure I want to be that close to anyone.”

  “And you’ll forgive me if I choose not to believe the last part,” she said with a wistful smile.

  “But in fairness I should point out that you’re making a common mistake.”

  There it was again, that something in her voice that made me look up at her and think that she knew something I didn’t.

  “You had a bad experience,” she continued. “Because you put your belief in a thing, the Empire. I find it much more honest and rewarding to put my faith in an idea.”

  “Like what?” I asked.

  At first I thought she was ignoring my question.

  Then she said, “What does Ensign Jacoby Nikolay stand for? What does he believe in?”

  “We’ve already covered this ground. If you’re asking me if I still believe in the Empire, I’m not sure how to answer that.”

  “No, that’s not what I’m asking. I don’t want to know what thing you believe in; I want to know what ideas you believe in? What are your principles?”

  I opened my mouth to answer but then paused in mid-breath. Beyond my own family what did I believe in?

  “You see Jac, most people go throughout their entire lives never figuring out what their core beliefs are. Never defining their principles. Without understanding the principles you value you can’t really know yourself. And if you can’t know yourself it makes it really hard to respect yourself. If you can’t respect yourself you can find it terribly difficult to respect others. And if you can’t respect others you’ll never have true friendship.”

  I had no idea how to respond. I wanted to refute what she was saying if for no other reason than to keep up the friendly banter but I wasn’t really sure if I could.

  “What does the Captain believe in?” I found myself asking.

  She smiled, “You’ll have to ask him. It’s not my place to talk about someone else’s beliefs.”

  “Can I ask what your beliefs are?”

  While gazing across the room she answered, “I believe that the prosperity you wanted to create for your home world should be possible.”

  She said it as if it was a wistful wish but as she turned her gaze to me her eyes told me she was absolutely serious about it.

  Chapter thirty-three

  ENSIGN JACOBY NICOLAY

  Reflections on Empire

  The Empire was in turmoil. Civil War hadn’t broken out but it was an uneasy peace.

  The IDF forces weren’t all concentrated in a central location. Putting them together would have created the largest of the seven fleets in the Empire, but because its stated function was internal security much of it was spread out across the worlds.

  They were spread too thin to cover every planet all the time, and few planetary populations were totally comfortable when an IDF ship was in orbit above them. That presence is what insured absolute compliance with Imperial Edict. It was therefore a fact of Imperial life to accept the infallibility of those edicts.

  It was rumored that even Imperial Citizens made sure their books were in balance when the IDF was around.

  The power structure on any given planet had turned out to be the same as my home planet of Lightspar. Basically, there are three levels of hierarchy.

  At the top are the Citizens. They are the Empire. Their rulings and dictates carry the power of Imperial Law and as individuals they are treated accordingly. That’s probably why I had admired them so when I was growing up, everyone gave them deference; everyone treated them like royalty.

  Next on the hierarchy is what I now realize are nothing more than collaborators. They have no official name but are commonly referred to as Friends of the IDF. Everyone knows they are connected. Interestingly enough, it isn’t the Empire or the Citizens that are most resented by the population; it’s the collaborators.

  A word from one of them to the IDF could close a business, end an education, or force someone and their family to relocate somewhere else on the planet. Or at least that’s what we’d always been told; we never heard from any of them again.

  Because of their unofficial power their arrogance is always on full display and their corruption is accepted and expected.

  I grew up admiring the Citizens but like everyone else I had hated the collaborators.

  The last rung on the ladder is at the bottom, the people.

  It would be wrong to assume that everyone from my planet was dirt poor. We worked hard and most people were fortunate enough to be able to take two, maybe even three days off out of every twelve.

  We weren’t hungry; the food factories produced several different varieties of carbohydrate mush. Flatbread was easily obtainable and the meat vats grew several types of protein.

  Of course if you lived in some of the remote parts of the planet it was said that most of your food would be unprocessed. On the rare occasion that some of those unprocessed foods made it into the city people would scramble to get them. They were considered a delicacy.

  I didn’t think so. One time as a young boy my mother had brought home a natural tuber. She was so excited; she fawned over it. But even with all her careful preparation I didn’t enjoy the way it tasted.

  People might not be able to buy fancy foods or afford personal transportation but we didn’t consider ourselves poor. Most families had their own apartment and we had a never-ending stream of entertainment vids and games to keep us occupied. The government also encouraged athletic competition on every level and nothing brought a city or community together like cheering its team on to a championship.

  Work was something we had to do but there was plenty to occupy our free time. So it would also be wrong to assume that we were unhappy.

  I had been perfectly content until I experienced The Academy.

  No, that’s not fair. I had actually felt superior in my early Academy days because I had grown up without using the crutch of conveniences and luxuries my peers relied upon.

  With what I’d seen of the worlds I’d now visited, both physically and virtually, my awareness was evolving.

  On Lightspar the only programs on the vid net were those that the government approved. Apparently the fleet didn’t require as extreme a filtering process because I was now able to see how people on many other planets actually lived. It was hard to rationalize why the finest healthcare was reserved only for Citizens or why everyone couldn’t have as many choices on foods and clothing.

  It would be wrong to say that I resented the Empire. It protects us from anarchy and maintains order. It caps prices on goods to keep things affordable and makes sure everyone earns an equal wage - and it had given me an education. It was only because of the Empire that I’d been allowed to excel and qualify for The Academy in the first place. It’s just that some
of the inconsistencies were becoming harder and harder not to think about.

  Chapter thirty-four

  LEUTENANT MONICA STILES

  Civil War

  “What’s it like to be in love?”

  “What you mean?” Monica asked.

  “You were engaged to the Prince, right?” said Jenna.

  “Did you love him?” asked Kenna.

  Monica was in the Citizen’s mess. It was mid watch and almost empty and she’d sat down to have a quick cup of coffee. It wasn’t long before the twins had also plopped themselves down at her table.

  Technically, they weren’t allowed to be here but no one seemed inclined to worry about it.

  “Why are you concerned about love?” Monica asked.

  “You never answered the question!” Jenna said.

  Monica sighed. It would take more energy to avoid the conversation than it would to just go ahead and answer the question.

  “Yes, I thought I was in love.”

  “But you weren’t?”

  “I suppose I was; at the time I really thought I was. When I look back at it now though I’m not so sure.”

  “How can you not know if you’re in love or not?” Kenna asked.

  “Because love and infatuation are different but they can feel exactly the same,” Monica replied.

  “If they feel the same how can they be different?” Jenna wanted to know.

  “Look girls, I’m no expert at this okay? But I think infatuation is temporary and love is something that grows over a long period of time. I think I was infatuated and thought it was transitioning into love when it really wasn’t.”

  “How long do you have to know someone before you can know if you really love them or not?” Jenna asked.

  “I don’t know! Do we really have to keep talking about this?” Monica said somewhat exasperatedly.

  “It’s just… It’s just that were trying to figure out if Jac is in love with Valys,” Kenna replied.

  “Valys? You mean the IDF Lieutenant?”

  Both Jenna and Kenna were nodding their heads emphatically.

  “Do they even know each other?” Monica asked.

  “Oh yes,” Jenna replied. “They paired up at The Academy. We think she still loves him, why else would she have let him bring Consuelo and the rest of the survivors back?”

  “You’re talking about the IDF Lieutenant that scared everyone? The one that Jac had to back down in order to get the Mount Sinai people free? That Valys?”

  “Yeah, pretty amazing isn’t it?” Kenna said.

  Monica was astounded. Jac just didn’t seem like the type that a woman like that would be attracted to… someone like that could certainly choose to be with anyone… But then, what was wrong with Jac? Nothing, she realized.

  And if it was true it would certainly help explain his incredible success with the mission.

  Wow. How would anyone compete with that? She caught herself thinking.

  ΔΔΔ

  They weren’t prepared for what they found when they arrived back at the frontier.

  “Sir! The Vindicator is in orbit but she appears damaged. She’s pretty busted up,” said Durand.

  “Maria, get me a connection,” the Captain ordered.

  A few moments later the exhausted image of Captain Charles Pointer appeared on the screen.

  “Charlie, I need to speak to the Admiral but first tell me what happened?”

  “Alyster, the admiral is presumed dead. Yesterday the I.D.F. Triumphant skipped into the system and hailed us. They requested the Admiral’s presence on board and indicated they had eyes only communications for him.”

  He stopped long enough to rub his eyes.

  “We lost communications with the Triumphant when IDF troopers started gunning down the Admiral’s party. At the same time she opened up on my ship with her mag railguns. We took a full broadside and they only broke off when we were finally able to start responding. We… I, was taken totally by surprise.

  “We’re working as hard as we can but for now the Vindicator is out of the fight.”

  Monica was on the bridge observing the conversation. Jac was at his station behind her. She knew he’d be adding to his mental inventory of the Captain’s facial expressions – haunted eyes.

  “Do you have any idea why?” the Captain asked.

  Shaking his head he said, “The only thing I can tell you is that they asked your whereabouts before the shooting started. I’m assuming they’re looking for you.

  “I’m also guessing you haven’t had a chance to get an RTIC update,” he added.

  This time it was the Captain’s turn to shake his head no.

  “It’s not just us Alyster. There have been Fleet ships targeted by the IDF all over the Empire. That’s all I can tell you. Frankly, I’ve got enough to worry about right here with my own ship; we lost a lot of good people.”

  “Do you need assistance?”

  “No, once we made orbit here they provided assistance. I’ve also recalled the C.E.S. Sabre; she’ll be here to assist us shortly. We just need some time.

  “Alyster,” he continued. “You need to get away from here. Don’t let them find you.”

  “Good luck Charlie,” the Captain said as he closed the connection.

  ΔΔΔ

  A few hours later they had verified what the Captain of the Vindicator had said. Confusion was rampant in the Empire and everyone was in a state of high alert.

  It turns out the IDF had not turned on the fleet, at least not all of it.

  It appeared to be only select Fleet ships that they had tried to take out with surprise attacks.

  “Why those ships?” Monica asked.

  They were still on the bridge trying to figure the situation out.

  “If I had to guess,” the Captain said. “I think those ships represent the Citizens most loyal to my brother.”

  “So is Tauri not going to accept the deal? Is she really going to turn down being Empress?” Monica mused.

  Just then Maria announced, “Captain, we have an RTIC Emergency Imperial Proclamation coming through. It bears your sister’s sigil.”

  “Put it on the screen,” he ordered.

  The Grand Duchess Tauri Acamar appeared on the view screen. Her dress and surroundings were opulent; the high backed chair she was sitting in was gilded.

  “To all subjects of the Celcium Empire,” she started.

  “As you have no doubt heard my brother, Prince Eridanus Acamar IV, has renounced his Imperial throne as well is his intention to secede from the Empire.

  “In the 500 years of the Celcium Empire this has never happened. And I cannot allow it to happen now.

  “Since his abdication that leaves me next in line for the throne. I hereby accept the crown as the Empress of the Celcium Empire and I declare war on my brother, the former Prince, as well as the Pyrenees sector and her allies.

  “Once the leaders of this secession effort have turned themselves in and renounced all claims against the Empire we will welcome the disputed territories back into our realm.

  “Meanwhile, under threat of treason, no one is to aid the former Prince or the secessionists.

  “That is all.”

  “Monica,” the Captain immediately said. “Join me in my day room.”

  Almost as an afterthought he added, “Jac, you too.”

  ΔΔΔ

  “So, it’s going to be civil war,” Monica said.

  “My sister has never let a little blood stand in the way of her ambition,” replied the Captain.

  “What’s going to happen next?” she asked.

  “You said it yourself,” Jac interjected. “Tauri is going to come after us.”

  “If she can find us,” the Captain said. “I don’t intend to make that easy for her.”

  “Where can we go?” Monica asked.

  “Wait a minute,” Jac said. “It’s obvious what needs to happen here, we just need to figure out how to do it.”

  “The Captain
remained silent and Monica said, “What are you talking about?”

  “The Captain needs to take the throne,” Jac said. “If he takes the throne from Tauri he can stop the civil war, stop the fighting, and allow us to build our strength to face the future. Anything else will be a disaster.”