Ghosts of Empire (Book 4 of The Empire of Bones Saga)

by Terry Mixon

  Ghosts of Empire

  Book Four of The Empire of Bones Saga

  by

  Terry Mixon

  Ghosts of Empire

  When on deadly ground, fight!

  Jared and Kelsey won the battle for Harrison’s World, but the enemy holds thousands of Fleet personnel prisoner. They must get their people back without revealing who they really are or the sentient AIs will eradicate the new Terran Empire.

  Coordinator Olivia West sees an opportunity to free her people from Harrison’s World now that the AI that had crushed them under its heel was no more. To do that, she must outwit the Fleet officers holding the keys to her planet’s destruction.

  But foes striking from the shadows will go to any length to derail their plans. Can the three of them settle their differences before the ghosts of the Old Empire return to haunt them all?

  Works by Terry Mixon

  The Empire of Bones Saga

  Empire of Bones

  Veil of Shadows

  Command Decisions

  Ghosts of Empire

  Paying the Price (May 2016)

  The Humanity Unlimited Saga

  Liberty Station

  The Freedom Express (February 2016)

  Anthologies Terry Has Appeared In

  Dirty Magick: Los Angeles

  Dirty Magick: New Orleans

  Do you want Terry to email you when he publishes a new book or when one goes on sale? Go to TerryMixon.com and sign up. Those are the only times he’ll contact you. No spam.

  Ghosts of Empire

  Copyright 2015 by Terry Mixon

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including information storage and/or retrieval systems, or dissemination of any electronic version, without the prior written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review, and except where permitted by law.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Yowling Cat Press™

  Cover art - image copyrights as follows:

  BigStockPhotos/goinyk

  BigStockPhotos/egal

  DepositPhotos/Luca Oleastri (innovari)

  DepositPhotos/Andrea Danti (Andreus)

  DepositPhotos/Sébastien Decoret (sdecoret)

  NASA/JPL-CalTech

  Cover design and composition by Donna Mixon

  She may be reached at: MixonEnterprises@gmail.com

  Print edition interior design and composition by John McCarthy

  He may be reached at: SurfsideJack@gmail.com

  Follow him on Twitter: @SurfsideJack

  Logo design by Emily Karnes

  She may be reached at: SilkSpinner@ComplexActions.com

  Dedication

  To my wife Donna. I love you more than life itself.

  Acknowledgements

  This book was more challenging and rewarding than the first few books in the series. I wrote it after my layoff and it’s the first book I’ve created totally as a full-time author. Let me tell you, that can be scary.

  So many people have bought my books and left kind reviews. Thank you all so much. Every one helps.

  Finally, thanks to those who beta read this novel: Tracy Bodine, Michael Falkner, Cain Hopwood, Rick Lopez, Kristopher Neidecker, Bob Noble, Jon Paul Olivier, Tom Stoecklein, Dale Thompson, Donn White, and Jason Young. I would look like such an amateur without your keen eyes and incisive commentary. Thank you so much.

  Special thanks go to John McCarthy for formatting the print version of this book, along with all the rest. And for putting up with me. Seriously.

  A second special thanks goes to Veronica Giguere for doing the fantastic audio versions.

  And yet one more special thanks go to Scott Pond for his assistance with the cover.

  Numerous others have participated through comments in one way or another. Thank you all.

  Chapter One

  “What the hell is that?” Princess Kelsey Bandar asked.

  Commander Scott Roche, captain of the Imperial Fleet destroyer Ginnie Dare, leaned over Kelsey’s shoulder and frowned at the derelict tumbling on her console. “A mystery. I’ve been studying the Old Empire Fleet databases and that ship isn’t in it.”

  Kelsey knew that for a fact. She’d downloaded all the available ship’s databases—military and civilian—into her implants before they’d started this survey of the graveyard, the name she’d decided fit the swarm of wrecked Old Empire ships orbiting Boxer Station.

  Admiral Jared Mertz—her half-brother—had tasked Commander Roche with watching over the sector base and examining the graveyard while he handled the negotiations with Harrison’s World to get their captured people back. Since those talks were going nowhere fast, she’d decided to take a pinnace out to the destroyer and explore the sea of dead ships.

  The horror floating before them in the cold darkness was mind-numbingly vast. They’d tallied tens of thousands of wrecks. All of them filled with dead Fleet personnel, she was sure. They’d been resting here since the destruction of the Old Empire more than five centuries ago.

  They’d only examined a small area of the graveyard. The worst-case estimates were between forty and fifty thousand derelicts in wide orbits around Boxer Station. And those were the ships the rebels hadn’t destroyed outright. She still couldn’t imagine how many desperate battles the Old Empire had lost to fill this terrible place.

  Most of the ships they’d found weren’t salvageable, but the Terran Empire needed every one that was. Or they would once the enemy, the terrible shade of the Old Empire, discovered they hadn’t won a complete victory. The AIs that had crushed the Old Empire would attack the reborn Terran Empire ferociously.

  Commander Eliyanna Kaiser and the destroyer New York were on their way to the Pentagaran and Erorsi systems. They’d bring back as many people and ships as their allies could spare. They’d need every one.

  Jared’s ragtag fleet consisted of two destroyers that weren’t capable of fighting Old Empire ships of any class, two heavily damaged Old Empire battlecruisers, and a severely battered Old Empire superdreadnought, Invincible.

  Of the battlecruisers, the ship they’d arrived in—Courageous—was still capable of all operations, but the other one—Scott Pond—wasn’t able to flip. That meant it couldn’t leave this system.

  With more people, they could bring Boxer Station—the massive Old Empire Fleet base in this system—back online and put their ships into the construction yards for repair.

  Which brought her full circle. The AIs that had brought the Old Empire derelicts here after defeating them in battle had sorted each group of ships into classes. This single ship floated alone and none of the probes had seen anything remotely like it.

  One of the obvious differences between it and the other ships was its size. This vessel was only about four times the tonnage of a marine pinnace, but it had flip drives. From the outside, it didn’t seem badly wrecked. There was a large hole in the hull amidships, but the damage looked contained.

  Kelsey turned in her seat and devoted her full attention to Commander Roche. On one of the Old Empire ships, she could’ve used her implants to continue examining the ship through the scanners, but on Ginnie Dare, she was limited to what she could see with her own eyes.

  “Maybe it’s some kind of scout ship,” she said. “Though, it seems as though there’d be more of them and th
e databases would at least know what it was.”

  “Something that small wouldn’t take long to explore,” he said. “I don’t like things I can’t explain. We should check it out.”

  “Good idea. I’ll take my security detail over for a look. If you’ll get a technical team together, they can assess things once we clear it.”

  The Fleet officer nodded. “I’ll get them down to marine country. I feel obligated to tell you to be careful. Admiral Mertz wouldn’t be pleased with me if anything happened to you.”

  No, her brother would be pretty upset. That made her feel good inside. Their relationship had really improved over the last half-year. Her father was going to be shocked and pleased about that when she finally got home.

  Her twin brother, Ethan, was going to be surprised as well, though hardly pleased. He hated Jared and didn’t trust him. She hoped that the events of this expedition would help change his mind, but she wasn’t going to hold her breath.

  “I promise to be cautious,” Kelsey said. “Besides, I’ll be in commando armor. I doubt anything over there would be able to harm me. I’ll stay in constant contact. You can mother hen me if you feel the need.”

  “I’m so reassured.”

  She laughed. “You’ll get used to me after a few more months. Then you’ll barely cringe when something terrible happens.”

  Kelsey had to smile at his suddenly stricken expression. “Lighten up, Scott. Everything will be fine.”

  After a beat, he sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the second in line to the Imperial Throne calling me by my first name.”

  “Relax,” she said. “We put our pants on just like everyone else. With servants to hold us up and slide them on while we drink ridiculously expensive tea served in tiny cups made from the bones of our enemies.”

  He smiled. “Just like I’d always imagined. Be careful, Highness.”

  * * * * *

  “Your demands are unacceptable,” Deputy Coordinator King said haughtily. “I cannot comprehend what you hope to gain by defying me. I am one of the higher orders and I demand you comply with my lawful directives.”

  Jared was glad this conversation was taking place in his office. He was doubly glad that the woman was talking with him remotely. If she was this bad on screen, he could only imagine how obnoxious she was in person.

  Deputy Coordinator King was the most trying individual he’d dealt with since leaving Avalon. The only person who rubbed him worse might be his half-brother Ethan. And Ethan wanted to kill Jared.

  He tamped down his temper and gave the woman a bland smile. “My demands, Deputy Coordinator King, are not defiance. You have Fleet personnel in your custody. Several thousand people that you have no right to hold under any circumstances. If you want to discuss other matters, I’m more than willing to do so, but only once you return my people to me.”

  “Perhaps if I made examples of a few of them it would shake you out of the belief that you can dictate terms to me or Harrison’s World,” she said coldly. “Those people were transported here as prisoners by the system lord. You would do well to remember who you truly serve, Admiral Mertz.”

  Her less than subtle emphasis on his rank had far less impact than she probably expected. Three days ago, he’d been a commander. The shock of his sister promoting him still hadn’t worn off.

  Not that he was going to share that point with Deputy Coordinator King. He wasn’t even a member of her version of Fleet. Harrison’s World was under the control of what his people called the Rebel Empire. The Old Empire his people had fled from had fallen to the rebels and now answered to the AIs that had killed uncounted trillions of people.

  Of course, Harrison’s World hadn’t been in the good graces of the system AI when Jared and his people snuck in. Jared had no idea what they’d done to warrant imprisonment, but the AI had placed three weapons platforms in orbit and had destroyed a number of urban centers.

  In other words, the woman on his screen had a lot of nerve talking to him as though she had any leverage. Particularly with the Rebel Empire Fleet that she believed he represented. And he wouldn’t tolerate her threatening his people.

  “With all due deference, Deputy Coordinator King, you’re full of crap.”

  Her eyes bugged. “How dare you! I’ll have you flogged for speaking to me in—”

  “You seem to have forgotten your circumstances,” Jared said harshly. “Are you claiming the system lord imprisoned you unjustly? I’m a duly appointed Fleet Admiral with the full backing of the Empire. One in complete control of the orbital bombardment platforms. I suggest you remember how precarious your position truly is before you make threats like that.”

  Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “The Lord made a mistake. Not the only one, based on your mission here to deal with it. I feel confident that your orders also include instructions to do exactly what I’ve been insisting on.

  “We’ll find out when I come up to discuss the matter in person tomorrow morning. You will send a cutter for me. I suggest you take whatever steps you need to salve your bruised ego, Admiral, because this matter is going to be decided in my favor.”

  She disconnected without another word.

  Jared rubbed his eyes. “Can she really be that stupid?”

  “I’ve discovered that rhetorical questions often have yes for an answer,” a mellow voice said through the overhead speakers. Invincible, the AI they’d installed inside the hull of the same name was fully sentient, just like the lords of the Rebel Empire, only without their homicidal core rules.

  “That’s because we have to ask to be sure we heard the idiots correctly the first time,” Jared said. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. “Which doesn’t explain why she’s so certain that she’s going to get what she wants. Does she know something we don’t?”

  “Almost certainly. Until we can unlock the memory of the AI from Boxer Station, we have no idea what caused it to suppress this system. Though the presence of this vessel does indicate some kind of revolt was in progress.”

  They’d found Invincible floating in the graveyard when they’d snuck into distant orbit around Boxer Station. Rebel Fleet personnel and civilians from Harrison’s World had restored it to complete functionality, minus any computer system. They’d also shielded her power systems, so they’d obviously desired to avoid discovery.

  The final messages from the people onboard had strongly hinted that they were going to rebel against the AI. They would’ve failed, but they wouldn’t have known that until it was too late. It had taken the addition of his ships to make the battle one they could win. Barely.

  The senior Rebel Fleet officer had left a message to the woman ruling Harrison’s World, Olivia West. She must’ve been in on the coup. Jared didn’t know the reasons why, but there was more going on than met the eye.

  “At least we have all night to figure out how to handle her,” Jared said. “And with the flip point jammers in place, we can finally be mostly certain no one is about to spring a surprise on us. How goes the scan of the system?”

  “Our probes are still searching the more distant areas, but they’ve located a single weak flip point. I only received the data a few minutes ago.”

  Weak flip points were a previously unknown version of regular flip points. Unlike the normal kind that assured reliable travel across hundreds of light-years, the weak ones were hard to detect. And, in at least some cases, didn’t assure two-way travel. Hence, his people being trapped so far from home.

  The science teams were working overtime to understand them more fully, but he didn’t trust having one in his lap.

  He grunted. “So there’s a backdoor? Wonderful.”

  “If I might be so bold, Admiral, you’ve never had anyone sneak out of one to surprise you.”

  “Unless you count Captain Breckenridge.”

  The disgraced Fleet captain was in Invincible’s brig. He’d betrayed his oath to the Empire and attempted to kidnap Princess Kelsey. His retreat thr
ough another weak flip point had led to the crippling of his ship and the capture of thousands of Fleet personnel. The very ones Jared was trying to get back.

  “We should send a probe through,” Jared said, “but I’ll hold off until we know a little more about the situation here. We absolutely don’t need a second front to this war. Any word from Kelsey?”

  “She’s exploring an unusual derelict,” the AI said, “but everything looks safe enough, according to Captain Roche. He’s listening in as they check it out.”

  “Well, I certainly hope she doesn’t find anything dangerous. She has a knack for turning up trouble in the most unusual places.”

  “The odds of that seem unlikely.”

  “That’s only because you don’t know my sister. If there’s something dangerous on any of those ships, she’ll find it.”

  * * * * *

  Kelsey headed into the lift. It took her swiftly down to the appropriate level and she made her way to Ginnie Dare’s marine country.

  It was kind of spooky. Ginnie Dare had the same layout as Jared’s old ship, Athena. Kelsey had many fond memories of spending time with the marines there.

  Bittersweet, too. So many of the men and women she’d befriended were gone now, killed in the various actions against the Pale Ones and the AIs. The worst loss was Lieutenant Tim Reese, the commanding officer of the marines on Athena and then Courageous. He’d died taking Boxer Station.

  Kelsey put on a neutral face and walked in. This wasn’t the time to bring everyone down.

  The marines were bustling around doing tasks that she actually understood now. Commander Roche must’ve called ahead to start people moving.