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

by Terry Mixon

  He allowed her a moment to consider that before he continued.

  “If you were truly Fleet personnel, you wouldn’t need to finish restoring that ship to carry out your supposed mission to take out the system lord. You’d have brought enough force to handle that. For the life of me, I can’t figure out what you’re really doing here or who you are. Perhaps you’d care to explain it to me?”

  Kelsey sighed. “I should’ve known things were going too smoothly. Why were you about to stage a coup against the AI?”

  “I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours.”

  In spite of the gravity of the situation, she laughed. “You’re a rascal.”

  “Craig agrees with that assessment completely. Honestly, we mean you no harm. Your people control all access to Harrison’s World, so attacking you would be madness. You truly hold all the cards in this game. Can’t we be honest with one another?”

  She considered him for a moment. “It’s a long story. The basis of which is that we’re not from around here.”

  His eyebrows drew together. “You come from the other side of the Empire?”

  “Not exactly. What do you know of the Fall?”

  “I assume you mean when the AIs suppressed the Empire. I know what most people know, and a bit more handed down by tradition in secret. The AIs took over Fleet faster than Emperor Marcus could marshal forces to stop them. The AIs crushed the Imperial forces near the border of the Empire. Many of the derelicts orbiting Boxer Station came from that last stand.”

  “And the emperor perished there?”

  “Legend says no ships escaped the cul-de-sac where Fleet made its final stand. I see no reason to doubt that. We couldn’t exactly search the derelicts without raising suspicions.”

  She allowed the corner of her mouth to quirk upward. “Well, before that last battle, the emperor sent his son away to a distant world. Once the fighting ended, our world was damaged, but alive and unoccupied. The emperor’s son, Lucien, kept the flames of civilization burning, and though it took centuries to again get to the stars, here we are.”

  He stared at her for a long moment, thunderstruck. “That isn’t the story I was expecting at all. If, of course, it’s true. Why are you here in this system?”

  “To get our people back,” Kelsey said. “Taking on the AI cost us far more than any sane person would want to pay. Yes, we appropriated Invincible. Without her, we’d never have succeeded in defeating the AI and its ships. And, for the record, finders keepers.”

  William shook his head slowly. “Remarkable. I certainly won’t contest your possession. After all, you accomplished everything we’d hoped to do. Though, unless we work together, those gains may be very short-lived.”

  “How so?”

  “There are some devices in the ship’s hold. They are critical to protecting this system.”

  Kelsey nodded. “The flip point jammers, yes. We found them and have this system locked down. For the moment, we are in complete control. There won’t be any surprises from the AIs.” She put her hands on her hips. “Now, show me yours.”

  He leaned up against the leg of the cutter. “You and I have something in common. Ever since the AIs overwhelmed the Empire, there has been a resistance. A fairly ineffective one, considering the AIs control virtually all the industrial capacity. We have no ships and few troops. Yet on every world, we’re looking for a way to take the Empire back.

  “Here on Harrison’s World, the conservatives have been the spies and willing helpers for the AIs. Only in the last few decades has the resistance gained the tools it needed to have a chance of overthrowing their rule. Those flip point jammers and the almost completed superdreadnought. With those, we thought we could secure the system and rebuild the true Fleet. And we still can, if you’ll work with us.”

  She paced as she considered her response. “Some accommodation might be possible, but you need to know that your plan was doomed. Even with total surprise, the AI would’ve destroyed Invincible if we hadn’t had other ships. Even with them, we lost a lot of good people. You can prove your commitment to wanting to work with us by returning my people.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Yours? Not Admiral Mertz’s? So, you’re in command. Forgive me, but you don’t look like a military person. Even with those impressive implants. You strike me more as a member of the higher orders. Or a noble, as they were once called.”

  She nodded. “That’s true enough. Perhaps you noted my name is Bandar. My father is the sitting emperor of the Terran Empire and my brother the heir. Under the edict put forth by Emperor Marcus and by my father’s appointment, I am Princess Kelsey, heir secundus to the Imperial Throne and ambassador plenipotentiary of the Terran Empire. The true, unconquered Empire.”

  * * * * *

  Abigail left Master Calder’s office and went straight to the headquarters of the conservative alliance. Gavin Decker, his chief troubleshooter, was already waiting for her. He closed the door in the faces of her guards and led her to a sitting room decorated in dark, rich browns. She sank gratefully into a large leather chair.

  He sat on the edge of his desk. “Master Calder instructed me to cooperate in every way possible, Deputy Coordinator. What can I do for you?”

  “I need you to kill Coordinator West. I think eliminating the admiral’s companion—Miss Bandar—will sow enough suspicion so that we can spin Olivia’s death as retribution. If Mertz can be taken alive, that would be helpful, but I understand how complicated that might be. Kill them both if you need to. I need it done today. Bandar should die within the next few hours, if possible.”

  The man hid his shock well, but she saw it flicker across his face. “I have people following both groups. Lord Hawthorne and Miss Bandar are away from heavily populated areas, so direct action is possible. May I inquire why we’re embarking on this course? There will be a significant amount of blowback.”

  “I’m aware of that. The ultimate reasons are not your concern. Master Calder has endorsed my plan. Is that going to be a problem?”

  He seemed to consider her words for a moment and then shook his head. “No. Depending on the circumstances that hold sway in a few hours, the assassinations might be subtle or overt. The coordinator’s location and security posture will dictate how this plays out. Do you have any preference in regard to the methods I use?”

  “Not particularly, so long as no one doubts Mertz and Fleet are responsible for her death.”

  He smiled. “Consider it done.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Olivia turned her attention to the camp commander. “Perhaps you’d care to enlighten us, Mister Oliver?”

  The man shrank back a bit, but straightened almost immediately. He glared at the prisoner. “That’s a damned lie. No prisoners are unaccounted for.”

  “That’s good,” she said, eyeing the perspiration beading on his forehead. “I know that a complete list of prisoners was made. We’ll do a thorough head count, just to settle this. Now.”

  The man nodded. “Of course. I’ll get that started right away.”

  Olivia watched him walk toward the gate and leaned over to speak softly to her guard commander. “He might be telling the truth, but I don’t trust a man who sweats under questioning. Grab him if he tries to make a quick escape.”

  The woman in uniform bowed. “Right away, Coordinator.” She motioned for two other guards to follow and headed after the man, her com unit to her lips.

  That matter dealt with for the moment, she returned her attention to Admiral Mertz and Force Master Chief Meyer. “We’ll get to the bottom of this matter very shortly. I authorized no such prisoner removal. I swear it.”

  Mertz gave her a steady look and then nodded. “I believe you, but I also have no reason to doubt the force master chief. How will you go about finding my people?”

  “If the camp commander had anything to do with it, we’ll get that information from him in short order.”

  They’d only begun a tour of the camp when her guard comm
ander returned with Oliver in cuffs. Two men had him held between them and were forcing him to walk quickly. Her remaining guards focused their attention out on the camp guards. If there was going to be trouble, now would be the time.

  None of them seemed inclined to do more than grumble.

  “He made a break for his air car,” the guard commander said. “I had people waiting for him.”

  Olivia shook her head with mock sadness. “I’m so disappointed in you, Mister Oliver. Who paid you and where did they take these people to?”

  The man glared at her, which earned him a slap to the back of the head from one of her guards. That didn’t dampen his animosity one bit.

  “These people killed millions of us,” he snarled. “Why should we care what happens to them? You should’ve killed them all as soon as they landed.”

  “Watch your tone,” she said coldly. “We didn’t kill them because they had nothing to do with the attack on our world.”

  “But Fleet did! Screw those bastards!”

  Olivia understood his reaction. Only the cream of the higher orders knew the AIs ruled humanity. Regular people knew nothing of computer-controlled warships or the system lord. They thought Fleet was responsible, when nothing was further from the truth.

  “I gave my word that these prisoners would be cared for,” she said coldly. “Where are these people?”

  “I have no idea, and at this point, I don’t really care,” Oliver said sullenly. “My brother died because of them and they deserve what they get.”

  She felt like slapping the man, but that wouldn’t do much good. “Who paid you?”

  Oliver said nothing.

  “Take him back to his offices and hold him there,” she told her guard commander. “If he doesn’t tell you the truth before I get there, he and I are going to have a very unpleasant conversation.”

  The woman bowed and led the man away.

  Olivia turned to Mertz and Meyer. “I’m very sorry this happened. We need to account for every one of the missing people and I’ll do whatever it takes to return them as soon as possible.”

  Mertz turned to the senior prisoner. “Force Master Chief, do you have a list of the missing?”

  “Not completely, sir. If there is a master prisoner list, we could go over it and get the last few we couldn’t place.”

  Olivia found the file in her cranial implants. “I have it right here. Let’s get started.”

  * * * * *

  “That’s quite a claim,” William said. “One I’m not willing to credit without supporting evidence.”

  “And here I thought my word was good,” Kelsey said with a chuckle. “I’m not certain how I would prove something like that. You don’t happen to have any Old Empire computers lying around, do you? No? Then we’re at something of an impasse.”

  He rubbed his chin. “Actually, we do have access to a significant Imperial asset from before the rebellion. Perhaps it will allow you to prove yourself.”

  She gestured toward the door. “I happen to be at your disposal. Oh, and until we sort this out, it might be best to leave Jared and Coordinator West out of this. I’d especially like to avoid mentioning any of this unless we’re face-to-face.”

  “It shall be our little secret,” he assured her. “I’ll need to call and tell Olivia that we’ll be gone for at least a few hours. I suggest you let Admiral Mertz know as well.”

  She retrieved her military com. It linked to a long-range unit carried by one of the marines back to the pinnace. From there she could reach Jared.

  The call didn’t connect. Strange, his unit was off. That wasn’t right.

  Kelsey watched Lord Hawthorne speaking to Coordinator West and waved for his attention before he disconnected. “Is she with Jared? His com is down.”

  He asked and nodded. “She’s handing him her unit.”

  She held the civilian com up to her ear. “Jared?”

  “Right here.”

  “I tried your com, but it was offline.”

  “That’s not good. I’ll get a spare from one of the marines. I’m fine, though there are some concerns developing.”

  She listened as he described the situation with the missing people. That concerned her, and she was certain who was behind it. “It has to be Deputy Coordinator King. She’s still working some angle.”

  “I agree. I’m going to focus on this. Are you comfortable being on your own for a while?”

  Kelsey looked at William. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Be careful. I’ll ping your com unit with my new information as soon as we hang up.”

  He was as good as his word. Her com lit up with a new code and a text message from Jared authenticating it. It said All good here. I’m still not happy with what you did with Elise.

  She smiled. He was making sure she knew it was really him. No one down here knew about his love life.

  Kelsey sent a message back. You’ll thank me later. At least that’s what Talbot says.

  “Okay,” she said aloud. “We’re good. Where are we off to now?”

  “A secret base, of course. Where else would a group of die-hard loyalists live?” He led her and the marines back out to his vehicle. The driver took off and headed even further away from the city while he made a discreet call.

  She settled back in her seat. “Aren’t you worried about anyone tracking you to this secret hideout?”

  “Of course,” he said with a smile. “But they won’t know a thing. You’ll see.”

  They flew for almost an hour before landing at a small town. Specifically, at a diner.

  He held the door open for her. “Try the malthar bites. They’re fabulous.”

  Kelsey watched him order with more than a hint of confusion. She’d thought they were in a hurry.

  A man and woman dressed eerily like them came out from behind the counter and headed out toward the car. Two men in credible marine armor followed them. Lord Hawthorne drew her into the kitchen with a twinkle in his eye.

  “I doubt anyone is following us, but they’ll continue on and return here when we call. No one will be the wiser.”

  “And we’ll just wait here in the kitchen?”

  “Not quite.” He tugged her arm and led her to the freezer.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Without a word, he opened the door and stepped inside. She and the marines followed. Her breath puffed in the cold air and she shivered a little.

  He proceeded to the rear of the large space filled with meat and other perishables, and opened the top of a large box marked “malthar bites.” Instead of frozen meat, there was a ladder leading down into the darkness.

  “Malthar bites,” she said. “Clever.”

  “I rather thought so. From this point forward, the shielding will block any outside communications. Watch your step.”

  Kelsey had no trouble navigating the narrow ladder, but the armored marines did. Nevertheless, they all managed to reach the plascrete below without any problems.

  She found herself standing in what looked to be a tunnel with an arched roof about three meters overhead. It led downward at a slight angle.

  William gestured toward the ceiling as he led them deeper into the ground. “This access originally led to a small warehouse a block over, but that drew more attention than we liked. It was better if we went with a business that had lots of people arriving and departing at all hours, just in case someone was watching.”

  “Is this a pre-Fall construction?” She felt the wall, but its rough surface told her nothing. “And are you going to eat those? I’m starved.”

  He handed the food over without a word. The nuggets of fried meat were good. The savory flavor was unlike anything she’d tasted before.

  “Mmm. These are excellent! What’s a malthar?”

  “A large, flightless bird with less intelligence than my shoe. They make good food, though. The restaurant we just left is famous for its secret spices.

  “And, yes, this tunnel is pre-revolution. The to
wn is only a few hundred years old. People loyal to our cause set up shop here and are still a significant proportion of the residents. That helps with concealing everything, too.”

  “Why don’t you tell me more about this resistance movement?” she asked as they made their way onto what looked like a rail tube stop. A sleek car sat waiting for them.

  He shook his head. “I’d rather wait until we arrive at our final destination. Sometimes seeing is worth hours of chatting.”

  The interior of the tube car was old, but serviceable. She sat on a faded blue cushion next to him. The marines took the spots opposite them. The car doors closed and it took off smoothly.

  The trip lasted about ten minutes and the two of them chitchatted after they finished eating. William refused to discuss anything of substance.

  Once the car slid smoothly to a halt, he led the way out onto a stop almost identical to the one they’d left. Only this one had other people waiting for them. Half a dozen men in full armor with flechette weapons and one with a plasma rifle. The man with the latter had it aimed conspicuously at her.

  William shrugged apologetically. “I’m afraid that you’re going to have to turn over your weapons now. And, as sad as it would be, any resistance will result in your deaths.”

  The marines had already raised their weapons and closed ranks with her. The tension was like a mist in the air. She knew that the next few minutes were going to be critical and they really shouldn’t throw away this opportunity.

  “Lower your weapons,” she ordered. “We’re going to cooperate.”

  Kelsey started digging out her pistols. “You know that I’m more than capable of taking you on hand-to-hand, right?”

  “I’d really rather you didn’t,” he said in a sorrowful tone. “No one needs to get hurt. After all, if you’re telling the truth, I swear you’ll get everything back and we’ll become the best of friends.”