“OK, you win, now let me listen to the awful music,” and with that, Vimes chuckle faded away to nothing, leaving him alone with his now turbulent thoughts.
Scene 23, Arisia rising
The sleek yacht containing Adam and Alexander Jumped back into the hanger it had left only a day previously, the sound of its emergence buffeting the walls for a few seconds. Once the echoes had died down, servitors began emerging from the floor in readiness to clean and resupply the craft.
Inside the yacht, still strapped in their flight seats, father and son went over the cover story they had concocted to explain Adam’s arrival. To that end, Vimes was currently ensuring the central computers records were changed to show Adam had arrived in his father’s royal yacht some time previously. Anyone checking would find he had been diverted from joining the command of Commodore Haynes before leaving the Heaven system. Vimes had also arranged for the “destroyed” yacht Adam had used to remotely pilot itself here as part of the cover, in the unlikely event it might be needed to corroborate the story. As if on cue, it popped into existence next to their ship, the concussion gently rocking them in their seats and knocking over several servitors that were too close and taken unawares. Although devoid of emotion, the reproachful look they gave the yacht and the way in which they dusted themselves down, was almost human.
Inside the command deck, their cover stories agreed, the two men sat quietly as Vimes updated them with the latest progress and status reports on the hidden fleets mobilisation. Alexander smiled inwardly as he noted Captain Cooke had accepted a commission to take over one of the new carriers and had already tentatively given it a name, subject to his approval. He understood Admiral Frith’s reluctance at transferring her flag to the new INS Dauntless and losing her First Officer at the same time, who was being promoted to Captain and given a battleship of his own to command, even though she had recommended the promotion some time ago. Unfortunately, the current Dauntless was far too recognisable in her current form and would have to sit out the first few engagements until Alexander was willing to prove to the enemy he was still alive and had escaped their trap. For now, he wanted to lure all the conspirators out into the open, once and for all.
Reports confirmed it would be at least another month before all of the fleet had been through a thorough shakedown and the crews a chance to acclimatise themselves to their ships new capabilities, although a sizeable task force could still be assembled to field test the new techniques in combat situations. The extra acceleration and manoeuvrability of the new fleet required for completely new tactics to be worked out and although Alexander, Frith and Vimes had been working on these ever since the new designs had been first commissioned, getting them from paper and into practice would take time, hence the need for a test soon, under real combat conditions.
Adam was to shadow both Admiral Frith and Alexander, then would be given a command of his own within the Arisia fleet, manned by veteran sailors and Marines to keep him out of trouble while he gained experience. Vimes would oversee his military development and ensure that he didn’t make any major mistakes; at least, that was the theory. It came as a shock to Adam but, as his father had explained, people expected their Emperor and the nobility to lead from the front and there was no better way for him to become better respected and liked than to be seen protecting his people from harm by doing it himself.
Both men finished digesting the reports at the same time and stood up, heading together towards the exit, each lost in their own thoughts. Adam had been surprised when his father had told him about the fleets of advanced ships which had been built in secret over many years and was regarding him now with a new found respect. It wasn’t that he hadn't respected him before, rather, he had taken him for granted and expected his father to somehow always know what to do. Karen’s chastisement of him back on Capital, for assuming Alexander would somehow automatically triumph, had made Adam reassess the way he viewed his father. He’d simply taken it for granted that his parents would cope and get through the rebellion, but now the magnitude of what they would be facing was beginning to come home to him, together with doubts over how he would cope with his new found responsibilities and duties. Even though his time with Karen on Earth had been short, it had been enough to make him question all the things he had taken for granted.
“Just how much must my father have been changed in his three years on Earth?” Adam asked himself as they walked in silence towards the hanger exit and the transit tube back to the surface. He stole a quick glance at his father, for the first time seeing clearly now how his face was reflecting some of the strain he must be feeling, the faint lines around his eyes more visible than Adam could remember seeing before, along with the slightly stiff set of his shoulders instead of the fluid grace he normally exhibited when walking. To Adam’s complete surprise, he suddenly found himself almost overcome with powerful emotions, the feeling so great his step faltered and he stopped walking.
Alexander halted and turned to look at his son. “What’s the matter, Adam?” he asked, searching his son’s face for an answer, taking one step forward to stand next to him and placing his hand on Adam’s shoulder, concern showing in his voice as he couldn’t recognise the look on his son’s face.
Adam, still gripped by the overwhelmingly strong tide of emotions, threw his arms around his father and hugged him close, his head resting on Alexander’s neck. “I love you, dad,” Adam said, his father returning the embrace.
Surprised, but genuinely pleased and touched by this unexpected display of affection, Alexander hugged his son back, welcoming the long overdue chance to embrace him.
“I love you too, son,” came the surprised response, Alexander being old and wise enough to know that something special had just happened in their relationship. He welcomed the change but couldn’t stop a cynical part wondering if this was going to be permanent. Deciding to simply enjoy the moment, Father and son held the tableau for a full ten seconds, then Adam stepped back. The two men, one far older and carrying the baggage of age, the other young and full of energy, stood and appraised each other, seeing a reflection of themselves and liking what they saw. Almost in unison, they gave an almost imperceptible nod to each other and smiled, neither feeling the need to say anything further nor needing Vimes to communicate. The moment passed and they simply continued on towards the exit, each in their own way trying to analyse what had just happened.
It wasn’t until they were in the transit tube that Adam felt comfortable about initiating a conversation, and even then, it was over nothing of consequence. Neither of the two men was used to this sort of emotional display with each other, at least, not since Adam was a young boy and certainly not since he’d left the Palace to live elsewhere on Capital. Both knew, however, that something in their dynamic had changed and as the tube climbed towards the surface and the awaiting officers and Marines, each felt a little more relaxed in each others company and hoped this new found feeling would continue.
Adam’s thoughts now turned to Karen and what had transpired between them both. He had been relieved to find she felt the same way about him and desperately felt like talking about it to someone, but all he had was Vimes who knew everything anyway. He toyed with the idea of saying something to his father but decided against it for the moment, unsure how he might react. Things might have improved between them but there were still limits as to how much he would open up after all these years.
High above, in orbit around Arisia, Admiral Frith was having a frustrating time, trying to juggle which of her Captains and officers were ready for promotion and transfer to what ships. In addition, the lists of new crews coming in over the next few weeks and what mix to have between battle-hardened and new recruits was an almost impossible conundrum for her to solve. In the end, she admitted defeat and passed the decision making over to Vimes and Arisia’s central AI, but not before receiving an undertaking from Vimes that she would have the final say on where those of her current Captains and officers ready for a
new assignment would go.
The commissioning of the new fleet was coming along nicely, with only a handful of ships reporting major teething troubles since being woken from dormancy. Several dozens were already out on manoeuvres, crewed mainly from those sailors and Marines based here on Arisia, making their way to the Jump Point and familiarising themselves with the revised tactics required to take advantage of the ships increased acceleration capabilities. She noted with satisfaction that the saved AI’s from her destroyed task force had been successfully transferred to their new ships and were updating and familiarising themselves with the advanced configurations. The new Dauntless, despite being significantly larger than the original, had been designed to run on a substantially reduced crew, allowing more room to be set aside for munitions and weapon systems. Instead of the wide walkways and generous crew quarters that were spread all over the original flagship, the new one boasted a heavily armoured central core, protecting living areas that were themselves heavily armoured and shielded, with automated repair systems incorporating smart-metal servitors covering the rest of the flagships interior.
In addition to the traditional point defence particle beam weapons and missiles, new weapon systems had been installed, such as drone swarms and short range pulsed gravitational lensing that would collapse and destroy missiles before they could impact on the improved shields. These had been uprated by increasing their ability to absorb and convert offensive energies, using it to reinforce themselves. Finally, using a derivative of the technology used to counteract acceleration, a ship's mass could be disguised, making them look much smaller on an enemies mass sensors when fully stealthed.
Frith waved away the holographic display being projected in front of her eyes and stood up to stretch her legs, feeling the strain of having sat down for several hours. She stretched, hearing her neck pop loudly.
“I’m getting too old for this,” she said to herself, “what’s the point of being Admiral if I end up working harder than everyone below me?” Knowing the answer, she shook her head, grinned and headed towards the wall. On a command, all of it became a screen that mirrored a huge window into space. Looking out, she could see the length of her new Flagship as it extended into the distance on either side. Ahead, several dozens of the new battleships could be clearly seen in all of their majesty, each flanked by smaller support vessels transferring materials and crews across in readiness for departure. Near the planet, multiple small specks of light could be seen rising from the surface, indicating more shuttles transporting crews and Marines to their new postings. Here, in the closed Arisia system, none of the ships needed to cloak and the fleet could be seen extending away into the distance, finally blending into infinity, their shipboard lights eventually mixing into the backdrop of the galactic lens.
“It’s all too easy to take all of this for granted,” she thought to herself, turning away from the view and walking back to her chair. Reaching it, she stopped and debated whether to sit down and continue working or take a longer break. Deciding on a break, Frith began walking to the exit, only to be halted by an incoming message from Alexander.
“Admiral, I’m now free and have Adam here with me. Is there anything you need me to do, otherwise the two of us will record some broadcasts for the population here, then join you on the new Dauntless when we are finished.”
“No, Majesty, there’s nothing that needs your attention here and Vimes has a full record of actions since yesterday. On the flight up, you might want to look over this file,” she highlighted a document and recommendation for his personal attention, “and let me know what you think about the idea. Have fun recording the broadcasts, I know how much you enjoy them.”
She laughed as Alexander cut the link, but not before sarcastically asking her if she “wanted to be Governor of a prison planet,” as his final comment. Still smiling, Frith used the internal cameras to check out how she looked. Satisfied everything was in its place, she left her ready-room and walked back onto the bridge to check on how her new First Officer, Commander Mark Vickery, was doing.
“Admiral on the Bridge,” announced the AI, causing a few to look up and turn in her direction, including the Commander, who shut down his screen and walked over to her, nodding in greeting. Frith looked at him appraisingly, but not unkindly, still wishing she had her old First Officer, although she was pleased that Captain Gomez, as he was now, had his own ship to command. Tall and of slim build, Commander Vickery had a long service and she felt he had been overdue in this receiving this recognition.
As for Captain Gomez, reluctant to lose him completely, she would be making sure his new ship, INS Pahlawan, would form part of her Flagships screening group of battleships when they finally left the system and sought to take the fight to the enemy.
“What do you make of the plans for the field test I sent you earlier?” she asked the Commander, interested to know what he would make of them, the first of many tests she had planned for her new right hand.
“Well, Admiral, on balance, I think it’s a good idea. I like the irony of using the rebels own innovation against them. They are no longer the only ones who can destabilise a Jump Point. The target is relatively weak and as we will be able to control the length of time the Jump Point is destabilised, we can stop the Jump Station from transmitting any distress calls unless or until we want them to. We go in-system at three-G with a sizeable task force, take the Jump Station, pick up any survivors on the planet with transports and head back out. If none of our people are left and it’s fallen to the rebels, we destroy whatever we can find, then leave the way we came.”
Frith nodded. “What should we do about the Jump Station? Try and capture or destroy?”
“Destroy,” came the unequivocal response, “Trying to capture a Jump Station, even a small one like this, is a major undertaking. Even if we did manage to do so without major damage to the infrastructure, which is unlikely if they put up any sort of defence, there’s still the danger of booby-traps, dormant Infiltrator Programmes, and other nasty surprises once we get inside. No, I’d rather Jump in, overwhelm the Station, send a force inwards to retake the planet and search for survivors, then Jump out to the next assembly point.”
“I agree, Commander, thank you. Please prepare Dauntless for imminent departure and advise the ships we have chosen for this assignment to get ready.” Frith smiled briefly and nodded her thanks, then moved away to talk with her Weapons Master, keeping watch on when the Emperor would arrive so that she could be at the hanger to welcome him on board.
Twenty minutes later, Admiral Frith was waiting at the head of half a dozen officers of high rank, and an honour guard of the Emperor’s personal Marine bodyguard, all resplendent in their dress uniforms and armour, each surreptitiously checking themselves to make sure everything was in order before his shuttle docked. Dauntless’s AI announced his imminent arrival, focusing everyone’s mind. Three hundred yards away, a large hole appeared in the smart-metal armoured walls leading to the outside, and through it a large transport shuttle entered, swiftly covering the distance to the dock where everyone was waiting, silently settling down in front of them. As a transit tube snaked its way across the vacuum of the docking bay to merge with the newly arrived shuttle, Frith, along with almost everyone else, sent an urgent query to the AI, enquiring why the transport wasn’t the expected Imperial shuttle.
Before they received an answer, the shuttle doors opened and out stepped the Emperor, followed a step behind by Adam, both wearing battle armour, albeit in standby mode with the weapons deactivated. Alexander stopped and looked out towards the awaiting assembly, groaning inwardly at all the pomp and ceremony but showing nothing of this on his face. Both he and Adam began walking again, closely followed by a detachment of local Marines who had been temporarily assigned to him. Underneath, large areas of the shuttle had opened up, allowing hundreds of armoured and helmeted Marines to depart and walk across the vacuum of the hanger deck towards other waiting shuttles that were being prepped for
departure. An equal number were heading towards the main airlock, to take up duties onboard Dauntless.
Frith and the assembled reception party came to attention as the Imperial party left the tube and stood before them, the Marines behind them fanning out to allow those behind them to enter.
Admiral Frith stepped forward and saluted father and son, before turning to introduce the remainder of the party, many of whom had not seen either of them in person before.
“At ease, everyone,” said Alexander, moving forward with Adam so Frith could begin introducing them both to everyone as they moved down the line, shaking hands and making small talk. It didn’t take long for the formalities to be conducted, by which time the incoming Marines, their temporary escort duty finished, moved off to join the transports assigned to them in which they would be conveyed to their new ships.
Walking side by side, Frith and Alexander headed towards the Bridge, followed by Adam and Commander Vickery.
“Do we need more time, Admiral, or are we ready now?” Alexander asked, “I know the latest reports from both Vimes and the AI confirm we can break orbit, but I want to hear it from you before giving the order.”
“We are ready, Sire, and whilst additional time in orbit is always welcome, the marginal increase in preparedness doesn’t outweigh simply getting on with the job in hand and taking the fight to the rebels.” She checked a few things with the AI before continuing, “Vimes has been his usual efficient self and I have also been impressed with Arisia’s AI. There were times I forgot it was an AI and not a person. The recent improvements are certainly noticeable.”
“Good, we will need whatever edge we can get,” replied Alexander, standing aside to let her enter the transit tube first. Adam and Commander Vickery followed, along with four of the bodyguards, the remainder waiting for the next tube. Transit time to the Bridge was less than a minute, even though the distance to travel was far longer than on the old Dauntless, for the tubes here also utilised the new inertial dampening system, allowing far greater acceleration and faster transit times. During the short journey, no-one said anything and they all sat either watching the lights flash past outside the tube or spent the time checking for messages or developments.
Imperium: Revelation: Book Two in the Imperium Trilogy Page 25