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

by Terry Mixon

  “Well, then, let’s not keep them waiting.” Sean led the way to the building where they’d decided they had the best chance of hitting the target. With the stunners modified the way they were, they had to make direct hits to have any effect at all. And without the color traces, they’d have no idea where their shots were really going if they missed.

  “How many people are still in camp?” he asked Ross.

  “About a hundred. They’ll scatter as soon as the air car comes down and make their way clear. We’ll be the last ones out.”

  The senior noncom eyed the stunners when the corporal laid them out. “How good is your aim, sir? You want me to take the second shot?”

  Sean settled in next to the window and picked up one of the stunners. “I think I can handle it, Command Master Chief. Why don’t you go outside and stand next to the window here. You can give us a warning and countdown to shoot.”

  “Aye, sir. Shoot on zero.”

  They only had a few minutes to wait before Ross spoke. “Here they come. Left to right, moving about thirty kilometers an hour. Two guards, the one on the left at the controls.”

  “You have the one on the right, Corporal,” Sean said.

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Stand by to fire,” Ross said. “Three…two…”

  The air car flew into view, moving slowly enough for Sean to line his sights up on the driver. When Ross said “zero” Sean pulled the trigger. Even without a beam, he knew right away that he’d hit. The driver slumped.

  The corporal missed, though. The passenger lunged for the controls.

  Sean snapped off a shot as the corporal fired again. One of them hit the man, because the air car veered off course and slammed into a building outside the fence. The impact was impressive, even without any explosions. If that didn’t get the guards’ attention, nothing would.

  “Time to go,” he said, tucking the pistol into his tunic.

  The two of them stepped outside and joined Ross on a casual walk toward the other side of the camp. A pair of air cars flew overhead, racing toward the crash site. The guards on the ground were also looking in the right direction. Sean figured that the communications channels were alive with chatter right now.

  The few remaining Fleet personnel in evidence quickly disappeared in the same direction they were heading. Three minutes later, they were under the fence and into the port. The only question now was how long it would take for one of the guards to notice the camp was deserted.

  If anyone in the port had noticed, Sean couldn’t tell. Everyone was still loading cargo. Well, everyone except for the people at this dock. His people had taken the loading crew prisoner and were efficiently boarding four lifts in small groups. It looked as though they already had more than half the camp population on board.

  As soon as everyone had boarded, Sean shook Ross’ hand. “You’ve got the coordinates to the island. Get them there safely, Command Master Chief. I’ll find our people and make my way to join you as quickly as I can. Good luck. Oh, and here’s Admiral Mertz’s Fleet com. You’ll need it to get hold of the marines on the island.”

  The older man pocketed the com. “We’ll be fine, sir. You’re the ones that need the luck. Be careful, Commander.”

  “Bet your ass. Get going. It won’t take them long to find the people we have locked up, and once they do, all hell is going to break loose.”

  Ross saluted him and made his way out to a lift. They’d kept the drivers on board, but had them under close guard. A few of his men had previously finagled their way into the control rooms and knew something of how the process worked. They’d keep the drivers from doing anything to give them away. With the number of lifts working this area of the coast, it was almost certain that no one would notice anything amiss, even after the alarm went out.

  Sean motioned to the dozen men he’d selected to join him. They’d all changed into coveralls and would be taking a small grav car over to the city. The warehouse supervisor’s car. They’d sell it to a dealer in stolen vehicles that his streetwise marine had buddied up with. It might have a hidden tracer in it, or he’d have kept it. It ran better than the ones they’d secured for their own use. Pity.

  At least that had been the plan.

  That changed as they were walking toward their ride. A large man in the same color coveralls as their own stormed up to them from the loading area. “Where are my lifts? What the hell is my cargo doing sitting out in the open?” He frowned. “And who the hell are you? I don’t know you.”

  So much for simple.

  * * * * *

  Jared explained the outside events to Kelsey, Lord Hawthorne, and the man in the Fleet uniform quickly and succinctly. “So, as much as I wish I had time for the long version of what you’ve been up to and what this place is, we need to get back up to orbit as quickly as possible.”

  Olivia gestured toward the table. “We have to take the time to sit and work our way through this. Even the coup needs to wait. I’ve made calls and you’ve taken steps to get your people to safety. Well enough, but we need to come to an agreement. If we don’t do it while we’re all sitting in the same room, we might not get it done at all.”

  She waited for them all to take a seat. “Admiral Mertz, as I explained earlier, we’ve known you weren’t what you claimed since I visited your ship in orbit. Or, should I say, our ship. The three of us are the leaders of what you might call the Terran resistance on Harrison’s World.

  “We found Invincible in its orbit and set out to rebuild her with the intention of destroying the AI in this system. We planned to restore as many of the wrecked ships to service as possible and to take back the Empire from the AIs. Our families never gave up.”

  She smiled at Jared. “Your turn.”

  Jared sent a private message to Kelsey through his implants. What do they know?

  His sister smiled. They know who I am and where we’re from, in general terms. They know why we’re here. She’s the only one in the dark.

  “Well, then,” Jared said smoothly. “In actuality, Kelsey has already let the cat out of the bag. We’re from a splinter of the Old Empire that never fell. Emperor Marcus sent his son to us and Kelsey is the daughter of Emperor Karl Bandar. She’s second in line to the Imperial Throne and an ambassador plenipotentiary of the Terran Empire.”

  To say Olivia looked shocked was an understatement. “What!?”

  Lord Hawthorne nodded and smiled wryly. “It’s true. The computer verified her honesty. Not only did it confirm her story, but it also ceded control of this facility to her. She locked us out to prove her point. I can’t think of a more convincing endorsement. And she said they have the flip point jammers in place.”

  “She graciously let us back in, but I’d rather she didn’t do that again,” Captain Black said in an unhappy tone. “We have a lot of experiments in progress and I’d rather not risk any unfortunate accidents.”

  Kelsey grinned. “No worries. I’ll keep myself in line.” She focused her attention on Olivia. “As you said, we’re short on time. I realize how much work you put into Invincible, but we bled for her. I think Imperial salvage laws apply.”

  Olivia waved her comment away. “That doesn’t matter now. You’ve achieved almost everything we’d hoped. We need to join forces and stop this coup before it undoes all the hard work so many people put into getting the conservatives out of power. They were always the lackeys of the AIs. If they regain control, we might never get them out again.”

  “Olivia is right,” Lord Hawthorne said gravely. “The resistance is small compared to the conservative alliance. If we lose control, we may never recover. We need to come to an agreement.

  “Admiral Mertz, I’m the leader of the resistance on Harrison’s World and I recognize Princess Kelsey as the direct representative of the emperor. I’m begging you to help us retain control of Harrison’s World in the name of the Empire.

  “Think of what we could do together. This world hasn’t lost any of the technological prowess
of the Empire at its height. In fact, with this research facility, we’re even more advanced in some areas. The AIs frown on a number of fields. Research in them has virtually ceased.”

  Jared gestured toward his sister. “You’re talking to the wrong person. Princess Kelsey makes those kind of decisions. If she thinks that is the right course of action, that’s good enough for me. Personally, I think it is.”

  Lord Hawthorne turned to Kelsey. “Highness? What do I need to promise? Shall I strip naked, paint myself pink, and dance in the capital square?”

  “I’m sure we’d all rather you didn’t. Jared, I’ve already done a number of searches in the computer here. I believe their story and I like their plan.”

  “Then we’re in agreement,” he said. “What should we do?”

  Kelsey gestured toward Lord Hawthorne. “That depends on how committed the resistance is. You recognize who I am and what I represent. I’m willing to consider you loyal citizens of the Terran Empire as we know it today. I’ll even concede that you are in control of what happens on this world, just as they did in the Old Empire, but I decide what happens in the system until we have a stable situation here.”

  The three people from Harrison’s World looked at one another and rose to their feet, then sank to one knee. Lord Hawthorne spoke. “On behalf of all of us, we recognize the authority of the Imperial Throne and once more swear our allegiance to it.”

  Kelsey scowled. “You don’t need to kneel to me. Please get up.”

  They rose, but Olivia shook her head. “You might not like it, but that’s really only an abbreviated version of how Imperial nobles swore public allegiance to the emperor in the old days. I’ve seen recordings of Marcus’ coronation. It was a circus. And I say that as someone who grew up in a society that positively dotes on pomp and useless frivolity.”

  “Still,” Kelsey said. “My father is the emperor and my brother the heir. You can try that on them, if you like. I’d rather have friends and allies than courtiers. We can work out the details of what this all means once we have the situation on the ground under control. Jared, we need to get the prisoners released first.”

  He smiled. “Already done, I suspect. Commander Meyer is executing an escape plan as we speak. He already had a way out of the camp, so I thought that the most prudent way to proceed. By now, they should all be on their way to the island.” He let the smile fade. “Except for a hundred people. Abigail King took them somewhere.”

  “And we have to assume she knows everything they know,” Olivia said. “Which means she knows who and what you are. In more detail than I do, but we don’t have time for the full story. It might be best if you both make your way to the island and back to orbit. Once you’re gone, she can’t use you as a weapon. I’ll find your people. I swear it.”

  “Jared can go,” Kelsey said. “They need him in command up there. I’m staying here until we get everyone back.”

  “That’s not the safest course of action,” Jared said. “You need to come with me. If they catch you, they’ll use you as a bargaining chip. If we’re both clear, we can work from orbit to help the resistance.”

  His sister shook her head. “If they catch me, they’ll seriously regret it. I’ll want a team of marines and my armor, if that can be managed.”

  “Perhaps I can offer a few compromise solutions,” Captain Black said. “We have some powered armor here. No Marine Raider armor, of course, but very advanced. I think you’ll be pleased with one as a temporary replacement.”

  “I’d rather not make any more trips than we need to,” Jared added. “Just because they don’t have ships capable of reaching orbit doesn’t mean they can’t shoot small craft down. The weapons on the island cost us some good people and I don’t want to risk more unless we have to.”

  Olivia nodded grimly. “That’s wise. We have a network of weapons capable of taking out small craft. We also have atmospheric fighters that are probably even more powerful in engaging them. I can probably arrange for a window where the weapons are offline and the fighters are…unresponsive. That would be enough to allow you to get away. I can’t say the same about anyone coming down from orbit.”

  The coordinator turned to the Fleet officer in charge of the facility. “Captain Black, is there a way we can get Admiral Mertz to the island without him being intercepted?”

  The officer smiled. “I think we might have something that will do the trick.”

  “Good. Work with him and make that happen. I’ll take Lord Hawthorne and Princess Kelsey to see if we can stop this coup and find her people.”

  “That sounds like a plan.” The dark-skinned man’s expression became cold. “Do me a favor. Kick that woman’s ass. She killed some very good people this afternoon.”

  Olivia smiled like a shark. “If by kicking her ass you mean kill her, I’ll take care of that in the most expeditious manner possible.

  Jared rose to his feet and pulled Kelsey into a hug. “Be careful. We need you back in one piece.”

  She squeezed him back hard. “Don’t worry about me. You stay safe. I imagine King has plans to attack you in orbit. Damned if I know how, but she can’t be doing all this crazy stuff without some bigger plan.”

  “Let her try,” he said. “And I’ll slap her down so fast her head spins.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Abigail glared at the man in front of her desk. She could see the slight tremble in his hands. Good.

  “What do you mean the coordinator’s computers aren’t recoverable?” she asking in a low, deadly tone.

  That made him shake a little harder. “They’ve been wiped clean, Deputy Coordinator. I’m not certain how. We segregated them as you instructed. Perhaps they had some code that triggered a hidden program. Now that it’s done, we have no way of knowing.”

  “What about backups? I need to know what she was doing. Not only for the continuation of the government, but to know who she colluded with.” Abigail narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps a computer specialist working for me?”

  The man was quivering now, obviously terrified. “The backups were wiped, too. I swear it’s nothing my people did. We’re loyal.”

  “You mean you’re useless. If I find out you had anything to do with this, you’ll live a long time, regretting your choices every minute. Get out!”

  The man fled.

  She sat behind her desk, sulking. He was innocent. Probably. Olivia had been a wily one. She had to have understood that Abigail would come for her someday. The only mystery here was figuring out which of her staff had done the deed.

  This takeover would’ve been easier if she’d had access to the other woman’s files, but she’d make it work without them. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know who her enemies were. They’d stymied her and the conservative alliance in the council often enough.

  She’d already sent teams after the leaders and prominent voices of the opposition. Supposedly to take them into protective custody. And, really, it was. For her. If they had a chance to start plotting, they’d vanish like roaches when the lights came on.

  Roaches. Odd how that was the one Terran species that seemed to have made it to every world colonized by mankind. And more than a few they’d given up as too harsh for habitation.

  No doubt, some of her enemies would escape. Then she’d have the merry task of rooting them and their sedition out before they made too much of a bother. That could be a pleasure, she supposed. Those people would be the most satisfying to see tortured.

  The com on her desk buzzed.

  “Yes?”

  “I have Mister Oliver holding for you. He says his call is urgent.”

  She frowned. “Who?”

  “The man in charge of the Fleet prison camp, Deputy Coordinator. The one Coordinator West had arrested. We had him freed as part of the initial housecleaning.”

  Now she remembered the man. A prole, but a hater of all things Fleet. Appointing him to guard the prisoners had been a stroke a genius on her part. He’d create an incident if
she ordered him to. And he’d had no problem with her taking some of the prisoners to question.

  “Put him through.”

  The vid screen on her desk came to life. The man looked even dirtier than she’d remembered.

  “Deputy Coordinator, the prisoners are gone.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “What?”

  “They escaped after Coordinator King had me arrested. I have no idea how, but they killed two of my men and they’re gone. All of them.”

  She surged to her feet. “You imbecile! How could you lose thousands of unarmed prisoners?” Abigail throttled her temper. “Never mind how, find them. They can’t have gotten far. No excuses!”

  She cut the connection and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Why was she surrounded by idiots and incompetents? How hard could this be? These people had had no contact with Harrison’s World before the Lord delivered them. They didn’t even know where to go to meet their compatriots. They’d stand out wherever they went.

  As soon as the man recaptured them, she’d have him executed. That’s what the passel of idiots surrounding her needed. A good example of why they’d best not fail her.

  She opened a channel to her assistant. “Get the Defense Force commander on the com.”

  “Yes, Deputy Coordinator.”

  Abigail hoped they’d be able to seat a reformed council tomorrow so she could officially become coordinator. It was long past time to sweep Olivia away and take her rightful place.

  “I have General Thompson, Deputy Coordinator.”

  The vid screen came to life again, showing her a powerfully built man in a light green uniform with a myriad of ribbons. No doubt, they told some kind of story about how he’d saved the world a few times. Military men and their egos demanded it.

  “General,” she said. “I’m expecting some good news out of you. What is the status of taking the island back from the Fleet assassins?”

  “We’re almost ready to attack, Deputy Coordinator. To be certain we had enough force, we’ve pulled in fighters from around the planet. They’re refueling and arming now. I anticipate we’ll attack in about two hours.”