by Terry Mixon
“That’s what they all say. Okay, the interface to your implants is surprisingly easy to use. It just takes a little practice. Think of this like a new sense. You can see the corridor, you can hear the people moving down it, and so on. Try to take it all in for a moment.”
He instantly saw what she meant. There were little icons scattered along the corridor now, including on and in the people passing by. He focused on Vitter and found several on her person.
“Okay, that’s interesting. You have icons on you.”
“What about yourself?”
As soon as she said that, he realized that he also had one. It must be his implants. With that frame of reference, he recognized her implants and could separate them from the other gear she had that popped up on his internal radar.
He tried to poke his implants mentally. They responded with something very much like a menu. The first thing on it was labeled orientation. That was useful.
“I found the instructions.”
“Excellent,” she said as they walked into one of the lifts. “You’ll want to spend some time studying it in more detail. Take us to the flight deck.”
He reached for the button, but she stopped him. “Tell the controls where to go with your implants.”
The next few hours were a real education, and he started to get an idea of exactly how far behind he and all of the other Fleet personnel were. The sheer number of things he could now do with a thought staggered the imagination.
The sheer number of systems on the ship daunted him. Each one allowed the appropriate people to do their jobs in ways that were barely comprehensible. A crew trained and able to do this would have significant advantages in speed and effectiveness.
Vitter left him in his quarters when they were done. He felt guilty about taking her away from her duties when he found out they had orders to leave in less than two days. She shouldn’t have wasted time on him. Hell, she shouldn’t have had to.
It was obvious that it would take him weeks just to become competent at the basics. Putting him here was a severe disservice to a probably well-oiled crew. Fleet should have left Leonidas in the exec’s position.
Well, he didn’t have the luxury of telling them that, so he’d better get his ass in gear. If they got into a fight, he had to be ready. If something took out the captain, he had to be able to step into her suddenly larger shoes.
Chapter Ten
Kelsey put her hand on Carl’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to cut your getaway short.”
He grinned at her. “Me, too, but we have a rain check from the emperor. Besides, I wouldn’t have missed the ceremony for the world. Honestly, Angela got her orders right after we got back into the city, so it wasn’t happening anyway. Don’t worry about it.”
“Where is she going?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know? She’s going to your ship, Colonel.”
“Ah. Well, I’ll be happy to have her.”
The Imperial Guards around them seemed faintly scandalized when he picked up the Imperial Scepter from its cushion, she noted.
“We’re not going to hurt it,” Kelsey assured them. “We just need to perform some tests. You’re going to be right there with us. I promise we’re not stealing it so we can sell it on the black market.”
“How much do you think its worth?” Carl asked.
“Don’t tease them like that,” she said repressively. “They leave their senses of humor in their duty lockers.”
That got a smile from some of them.
She’d checked with her father about this, of course. She hadn’t mentioned the reason she wanted to do it, though. Just in case they were barking up the wrong tree, she wanted to keep that close to her vest for the moment.
Carl’s main lab was in the capital at Imperial University, so only a short air car ride from the Palace. He’d brought down a surprising amount of technology recovered from the graveyard of dead Fleet ships at Harrison’s World, as well as some things from the Grant Research Facility, a very secret weapons research lab that had been the genesis of the rebel forces on Harrison’s World.
She hadn’t been to his lab since they’d refurbished an entire building for his use. She supposed that the prestige of having a Lucien Prize-winning scientist on their staff, as well as having the Imperial purse foot the bill, made a large facility inevitable.
In this case, Carl’s lab wasn’t just the outer research area, which was filled with scientists and research students examining various pieces of equipment, but the highly secure inner lab that was his personal domain.
Security here worked like an onion. It took clearance to get past the human guards at the door. Carl had shown them just how easy it was to use social engineering to get into one of their other “secure” labs, so he’d insisted on diligent people manning the entry points.
Once into the outer labs, only those with appropriate clearances could get into any of the more secure rooms. His personal lab had the tightest security of all, only opening to his implants or someone whom he’d approved.
That was a damned short list, considering the importance of the experiments and research in progress there.
He led her and her guards into his private domain. The wide room had a dozen tables piled with partially disassembled gear and almost as many computer terminals. No people, though.
“We’ll want to put it under a scanner and see what we can without opening it,” he said, heading for a machine with its hood already raised. “I doubt it’s booby trapped, but it pays to be cautious.”
Carl set the scepter under the scanner head and lowered the hood. A screen behind it came to life, showing them the external surface. Little points appeared on the image as the scanner determined the composition of the materials.
Kelsey watched it, but also used her implants to get a more details. Under the precious metals on the surface, there were additional high tech materials, but nothing that seemed out of place.
The scanner bumped up the power and started looking at the inner makeup of the scepter. She immediately saw advanced electronics very similar to what went into implants.
“I’m not seeing anything that leads me to believe opening it would be dangerous,” Carl said. “There is a computerized component, but I’m unsure of what it’s for at this point.”
He raised the hood and took the scepter over to a worktable. The Imperial Guards hovered a little too close, so he gestured for them to step back. “I’m going to be very careful. Don’t worry.”
Carl grabbed a headband with a magnifier. “The latches are cleverly hidden. If I didn’t know this was meant to come apart, I’d have figured it was a solid unit.”
“That makes sense,” she said. “You don’t want everyone in the Empire seeing that when you use it in ceremonies.
“I wonder if this is the original scepter, or one built after the rise of the AIs. If this key was there before the AIs, it might not have anything to do with them.” The thin scientist shrugged. “Emperor Marcus seemed to think it was relevant, so it must tie in somehow.”
He used a tool under one edge of the handle and the end of the scepter came off. From there, it was easy to remove the rest of the panels.
The interior of the scepter was made up of what certainly looked like a small computer to Kelsey. Her implants detected nothing, not even an operating power supply. After all this time, any power source was likely dead.
Carl plucked the battery out. “I have one that will work here. This is the same model I use in a few other projects.”
He retrieved an identical battery from a bin and slipped it into the appropriate socket. The lights on the computer indicated it was booting, but Kelsey still couldn’t detect it. It was very stealthy. Her Raider implants were good enough to sense most equipment at this range.
“I’m not seeing any way to connect with it,” she said.
Carl nodded. “That might be intentional. The best way to hide an access point is to make it invisible. You either have to a
ctivate it in some way or transmit in the blind. You know, like saying a code phrase and having a secret door open up.”
She smiled. “Someone has been watching too many action adventure vids. Can you see any way to trigger the access point?”
“Let me examine the rest of the scepter for a few minutes.”
Kelsey stepped back to let him work. She could do other things while she waited for him to wrap up. Like figure out what she was going to do about her mother.
The woman had left a billion messages on her com. The guards sent her packing twice last night, including once where they’d called the local police to haul her away.
She doubted they’d arrested the ex-empress. That would’ve taken colossal balls. No, they’d probably taken her back to the precinct and read her the riot act. Not that it would stop her mother for very long.
Not that it needed to. She’d be out of the woman’s grasp in two days. Then she’d have weeks or months to come to terms with what she’d learned. Her mother could find her own balance in that time, too.
No, she had to meet this challenge head on.
“I found something,” Carl said.
She shook herself out of her funk and walked back over to him. “That was quick.”
“That’s because it’s right in my face. Literally.” He lifted the handle a little. “This is a sophisticated scanner. One I’d wager is tuned to scan someone’s DNA.”
Kelsey snorted. “Then I’m screwed, because it would have to be linked to the Imperial line. My father or Jared are the only possible candidates, or one of the cadet branches of the family. That all assumes that it wasn’t set to only recognize Lucien and his father.”
“There’s only one way to be sure. We need to have one of them give it a try. Perhaps they can add people to the access list. I’m a bit nervous about hacking the computer without trying other options first. If it’s really secure, it might wipe itself if someone unauthorized attempts to get in by force.”
She nodded. “Get together with Jared and see what you can find. Since I’m not actually required for this, I should probably deal with my mother.”
He shook his head. “I don’t envy you that task. Her behavior at the ceremony last night was all the morning news could talk about. I’ll grab some portable gear and head up to Invincible. Good luck.”
“You have no idea. I’m considering wearing my powered armor. Just to be safe. Send the details to my implants once you figure something out.”
“Will do.”
Kelsey collected her guards and headed back out to the air car. Finding her mother wouldn’t be hard. All she had to do was listen to any of the ranting messages to get the address where she was staying.
* * * * *
Zia thought that Commander—soon to be captain—Leonidas’s going away party was a smashing success. Jim Richmond had outdone himself. The food was light, yet very scrumptious. Probably fattening, but medical nanites could help with that. Thank God for technology.
Danny Leonidas looked at turns sad and happy. That pretty much defined how they all felt. Except for the new guy. Brandon Levy looked depressed.
Zia wasn’t sure about what. With him being so new, it could be just about anything. She hoped he’d settle down once he was actually working his new position.
Annette Vitter slid over beside her. “He’s really not that bad, once you get past his dour and occasionally officious exterior. I mean seriously, he’s a lot less abrasive than Commodore Meyer was when the admiral had to deal with him.”
That was certainly true. Then Commander Sean Meyer had had trouble walking with that stick up his butt. He’d been arrogant and closed-minded on the best of days.
The events of Harrison’s World had proven that even the most obnoxious person had a good side, and she had to admit that Meyer was more than dedicated to his job. Even if he was snootier than the local nobles.
“Here I am being as closed minded as I accused him of being,” Zia said sourly. “Being in command has a lot of challenges. Like giving him the benefit of the doubt until he gives me reason not to.”
Annette turned so that her back was to Levy, who was chatting with Tony Hastert. The swarthy chief engineer seemed to be telling one the tall tales he was known for. He seemed to think that a story worth telling was worth embellishing.
She had to admit he had a real talent for it. He could spin out the story of Spear’s destruction into an epic tale of tragedy and loss, which of course it was.
“I wouldn’t let it get to you,” Annette said. “He has got a chip on his shoulder, but he’s starting to understand why things are the way they are. Once he’s up to speed with the new technology, he’ll find himself in command of one of the salvaged ships.”
“Sure, after we spend all the time training him,” Zia said grumpily.
Annette laughed. “All it takes is one look at the manpower requirements going forward even five years and that becomes inevitable. We’re going to be hideously short of experienced command personnel.”
That was even truer than Annette knew. Zia had been there for the full-day briefing with Admiral Mertz. The scope of the new Fleet was vast.
They’d already broken ground on a new academy, but were aggressively recruiting new people to stick into makeshift classes all over the planet. The current crop of junior officers was going to be learning on the job in positions they’d never have dreamed of getting for years.
The situation with the senior officers was even worse. Fleet had never been huge to begin with, so it taxed the current manpower levels just to crew all the ships they’d brought back. A number of older vessels were in parking orbits, bereft of everything but a caretaker crew. They’d probably be decommissioned in the near future.
That wouldn’t even begin to be enough. Recall orders would go out to former Fleet personnel and those who’d retired. That would help, but it wouldn’t fill the gap. It was going to be challenging.
Well, that was a problem for another day.
Zia picked up a fork and rang it against the glass of champagne in her hand. “Your attention, everyone. As much as we’re all enjoying this, Danny needs to get his butt onto the cutter for his new command. Danny, we’re going to miss you.”
She raised her glass. “I give you Captain Daniel Leonidas, commanding officer of the Imperial Fleet light cruiser Lightning.”
Everyone raised their glasses and shouted their congratulations.
Danny smiled and saluted them with his glass. “I’m sorry to leave you all, but I know the ship is in good hands. I won’t be too far away, either. To the Empire! May she never falter!”
Zia smiled and repeated the toast. He was going to be a great captain. Now she had to get Brandon Levy into similar shape.
“It is also my duty to welcome our newest companion. As of this moment, Commander Brandon Levy is officially Audacious’s executive officer. Welcome aboard.”
The clapping was much less boisterous, but that didn’t seem to bother Levy. He smiled and nodded to all of them. “I’m sure this is as sudden for you as it was for me, but I’ll do everything I can to get up to speed quickly. I look forward to working with all of you.”
Zia clapped, but decided to reserve judgment on that. Annette was good at reading people, but only time would tell. They were going back into harm’s way, and there was no room for petty jealousy.
“Danny, if you’ll say your goodbyes, I’ll walk you down to the bay,” she said. “I think Annette has arranged a little escort to see you safely to your new command.”
Chapter Eleven
Jared examined the Imperial Scepter closely. It was just as impressive as he’d expected, plated in precious metals and glittering with cut gems.
“What do you need me to do?” he asked Carl.
“The handle has a sophisticated scanner that I think is keyed by DNA. Nothing happens when I pick it up, but I’m hoping you get a different result.”
“With my luck, it’ll be an electrical shock.”
The young scientists laughed. “No chance of that, Admiral. It’s safe.”
Jared grasped the scepter by its handle and lifted it. The thing had more heft than he’d expected. It would make a decent club.
“I’m not feeling anything,” he said after a moment. “What am I missing?”
“See if you can connect with it. You might not sense anything to ping, but try anyway.”
Jared didn’t feel as though the scepter was available, but he tried to insert his implants into it anyway. After a few tries, he sensed something. It felt as though the device were looking back at him. He received a connection request through his implants and accepted it.
Identify yourself, a computer voice whispered into his mind.
I am Jared Mertz, Fleet admiral and prince of the blood. He’d added that last since it seemed appropriate.
The key recognizes your bloodline, Highness.
That seemed a little underwhelming. Am I authorized to use you?
This unit will work for anyone of the blood that possesses it.
“It says I’m authorized, but I have no idea what it does,” he told Carl. “What do you want me to do?”
“See if it will describe what it does. What kind of key is it?”
Tell me what you do, he instructed the device.
This unit is the key. It unlocks the repository.
This wasn’t the smartest computer he’d ever interacted with. What repository?
The Imperial Vault.
“It says it opens the Imperial Vault,” he told Carl. He connected with the ship’s computer and ran a search.
The original Imperial Palace on Terra had had a massive vault with many, many treasures from all across the Empire.
Do you mean the treasure room under the Imperial Palace?
Yes.
Do you have any other data that I can access?
This unit has no further information to share, Prince Jared Mertz.
Can I instruct you to allow contact from another computer?
Yes.
Open a connection.