The Rising Darkness (Space Empires Book 1)

by Selby, Caleb

  Drezden tried hard to smile as he placed a hand on Fedrin’s shoulder. “I’m sure everything will work out. Etana is a capable officer and her pilots are the best of the best.”

  Fedrin shook his head. “Let’s pray you’re right!”

  10. Just a Pawn

  “They’re here!” Loson yelled down the hallway. “Their transport pod just docked in the lobby!”

  The other officers scampered around the hall, being sure that everything looked as nice as a rundown floor of a dilapidated office building could be.

  General Darion looked up in his cracked mirror to be sure that he looked as impeccable as always. Trivis, the great and powerful Senator that had gotten Darion his funds, was coming to see him. The reason for the visit, Darion couldn’t guess. But the uniqueness of such a high profile stop both alarmed and excited him.

  He smiled as he donned his handsome dress coat and began buttoning it up. He looked quite dashing, or so he thought, as he examined himself in the mirror. A chime at the main door interrupted his appraisal of himself, his favorite task on any given day.

  Three of Darion’s officers dove for the door, all anxious to greet their newest idol. The door opened and Trivis, another seemingly important dignitary, and several imposing Sentinels, clad in full body armor, entered.

  The Sentinels, an elite guard unit assigned to protect the president and other high ranking Larep political figures, wasted no time in crashing through the narrow halls, entering the small offices and securing the floor.

  “Clear!” one called out after emerging from an office.

  “Clear here!” yelled another.

  After the Sentinels finished their quick, yet thorough search of the tiny offices and meeting rooms, Trivis and his companion walked in.

  “Hello my friends!” said Trivis warmly as he saw the officers gathered around. “Nice to finally meet some of you,” he said as he reached out and shook several of the officer’s hands. “Pleasure, real pleasure,” he genuinely said with a beaming smile as he firmly grabbed each hand.

  “Right this way Senator,” Jarvik said as he ushered the group toward Darion’s office. “The General is expecting you.”

  “Thank you very much,” Trivis said as he and his silent associate made their way toward the opposite end of the hall.

  Darion stood in the narrow doorway of his office smiling brightly as he reached his hand out.

  “Darion, it’s good to see you again,” Trivis said as he firmly took the General’s hand. “I trust you’re doing well?”

  “Never better,” answered Darion.

  “Glad to hear it,” Trivis said. “Allow me to introduce one of my good friends,” he said, nodding to the well-dressed man at his side. “Darion, meet my chief advisor, Armid. Armid, General Darion.”

  “Pleasure,” Darion said as they shook hands.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” replied Armid.

  “Nothing good I hope?” Darion said and then laughed.

  Armid chuckled. “They don’t call you the playboy general for nothing as I hear it.”

  “Hey, you only live once! Am I right?” Darion said followed by another laugh, this one more obnoxious than the first.

  Armid nodded with a smile but did not reply.

  “Well hey. It’s not much, but can I invite you into my office?” asked Darion as he nodded to the room behind him.

  “Thank you,” Trivis said as he followed.

  “See that we’re not disturbed,” Armid ordered to the nearest Sentinel.

  The armed man nodded and assumed a position in front of Darion’s door, weapon at the ready, eyeing Darion’s staff suspiciously.

  “So what can I do for you?” asked Darion as he sat at his desk and motioned for his guests to sit.

  “Well,” answered Trivis as he sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “A couple of things have come up that Armid and I felt you needed to be informed of promptly.”

  “I’m all ears,” said Darion as he propped his feet on his desk in apparent oblivion that it was a rude gesture to his guests.

  Trivis looked at Armid to proceed who then pulled out a small data pad from his pocket. “Approximately two hours ago, recon satellites in the Brok system picked up a stray Krohn wave,” he began, showing Darion a schematic of the southern star system on his pad. “This wave has just been decoded by one of our advanced code teams in the Third Fleet.”

  “What did it say?” Darion asked, wondering what this had to do with him.

  Armid shook his head wearily. “It was a set of landing coordinates on Namuh Prime.”

  Darion was genuinely flabbergasted. “Landing coordinates? I don’t get it.”

  “Its likely a prelude to an invasion,” said Trivis, interpreting what should have been basic information for Darion.

  “Invasion?” exclaimed Darion, setting his feet back on the floor and suddenly looking alarmed and nervous. “Where?” he asked, looking with genuine concern at Armid’s data pad.

  Armid tapped his pad and brought up an image of the barren desert world they all called home. He then rotated the view to the bottom of the sphere where the yellow and orange sands gradually gave way to small patches of white. “It appears they have chosen the arctic peninsula,” he said, showing both Trivis and Darion the blinking red dot on their frozen southern continent “Why there?” Darion asked. “Seems to be the most inconvenient spot on the globe for an enemy to land an invasion force? There aren’t any cities or strategic installations anywhere near there.”

  “Perhaps because it is one of the few spots on our globe where the Clear Skies Defense Grid has no coverage,” Trivis suggested.

  Darion looked up in shock. “I had no idea there were any such locations. I thought the missile defense system was entirely inclusive?”

  “There are just a few holes,” Armid stated with dismay. “A few small areas over the arctic and a couple areas over the western dunes were neglected when designing the grid.”

  “The designers deemed that these places held no value to us and would be of little tactical advantage for an enemy to approach,” Trivis said with a regretful shake of his head.

  “And having a swath of solid ground big enough to land an army and establish a foothold isn’t a tactical advantage?” Darion asked with disgust as images of Krohn soldiers interrupting his lifestyle of ease and luxury came to mind.

  Trivis nodded. “It appears that there were some design flaws with the system. We are already launching an investigation into it.”

  “But how did these Krohns learn of the flaws? Or of the Clear Skies system at all?” Darion exclaimed. “I don’t get it! This system was supposed to be our last resort. Now it sounds like it won’t do a thing!”

  “We honestly don’t know how they got their hands on these coordinates,” Armid answered. “Maybe it was Fedrin or one of his fellow traitors. Who knows?”

  “But as bad as this news is, we have a lucky break of our own,” added Trivis.

  “And what’s that?” asked Darion. “Sounds like were pretty messed up from where I’m sitting.”

  Trivis answered with enthusiasm. “By knowing the exact coordinates of the Krohn landing sight, we can prepare for them right where they’ll touch down. We can set up anti-aircraft guns around the area and take down the ships one by one as they come in for landings through the narrow pass. It’ll be a bloodbath, Darion!”

  “We can also have sufficient men on the ground to engage any that do manage to successfully touchdown,” added Armid.

  “So are we assuming that the Third Fleet won’t be able to stop these Krohns if we’re already drawing up battle plans for the ground?” asked Darion.

  “The Third doesn’t have a chance of stopping them,” replied Trivis. “That’s not an insult on Sherman or the other brave men and women in uniform. I just don’t think they’ll be able to stop this Krohn fleet. It’s massive. And thanks to Fedrin’s defection, poor Sherman hasn’t been able to cycle out his ships. They’re in
no condition to fight a Krohn battle fleet.”

  Armid reluctantly nodded. “The Krohns will most likely be here within a few days. With no fleet to count on, we need to prepare for them ourselves.”

  Darion looked at the two men curiously. “So what exactly is it that you gentlemen want from me? The arctic peninsula isn’t exactly my jurisdiction you know.”

  Armid glanced at Trivis who proceeded to retrieve a rolled up paper from his suit pocket. He opened it up and handed it to Darion. “This is an authorization form from the Defense Council giving you temporary protective custody of the arctic region and surrounding areas.”

  Darion reluctantly took the paper and skimmed over the contents. “And what exactly do I do with this?” he said slowly after reading the form through twice.

  “The Defense Council is hoping that you could front the resources to set up defenses around the Krohn landing sight,” answered Armid.

  Darion sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin, trying to think of a way to not get involved without looking like he was. “And just what kind of resources would this include?” he asked as he stalled for time to think of an excuse.

  Trivis shrugged. “Three brigades including most of your big guns, hover tanks and special-ops.”

  Darion slowly nodded. “You do realize that that is essentially the entirety of my force?”

  “We are keenly aware of that,” Armid said with a somber nod.

  “And you gentlemen don’t see any problem with stripping the capital district of its defenses?”

  Trivis shrugged and glanced at Armid for agreement. “It’s not like the capital will be totally defenseless. Local law enforcement should be more than adequate to deal with anything that comes up in the few days that your army is setting up the defenses around the landing site.”

  “And if anything truly major happens, the other districts will be able to lend their troops to help out,” Armid added.

  Darion pointed to Armid and nodded. “Which brings me to why you’ve chosen my army as opposed to any of the others? Surely there are other districts that could afford to send their troops more than mine? I mean, the capital building is right down the street which is fairly important, or so they tell me.”

  Trivis smiled and shook his head. “Quite frankly Darion, I trust you more than any of those other fools. This could potentially be one of the most important battles in our time and there is no one I’d rather have at the front than you!”

  A swell of pride came sweeping over Darion, a dangerous thing for someone who nearly worships himself. “If it means that much to you...I can make it happen,” he said holding back a huge smile. “It will take some time to organize the deployment, but we can manage it.”

  “I hope you don’t think it presumptuous of us General, but in anticipation of your cooperation, I had Armid draft up the orders for you already,” said Trivis. “It should save time and effort on your part.”

  Darion smiled again, relieved that a lot of the paperwork and monotonous logistics had already been done for him. “I appreciate that but I really think that I should look over...” Darion feigned protest.

  “And in the meantime we need to discuss your accommodations,” said Trivis who then looked to Armid for an agreeing nod.

  “What did you have in mind?” asked Darion, his imagination running wild.

  Armid glanced down at his data pad and pulled up a new screen and then showed it to Darion. “Asar Stellar sold out to the Kumper Merchant Fleets last month and is leaving their eightieth floor suite in the Freedom Tower vacant.”

  “How’s that sound, General?” Trivis said with a smile, feeding the fire he noticed already burning in Darion’s eyes. “A suite in the Freedom Tower?”

  “That sounds really nice,” Darion confessed, picturing his own level of prestige rising even more.

  “I know the owner of the Freedom Tower,” said Trivis. “I’m sure I can get you in there right away. I’ll have Armid draw up the lease papers tonight. I’m sure we can get you in there for a good price...not that price matters much for you these days.”

  Darion smiled.

  “With any luck, tomorrow night you’ll be looking over the city from your eightieth floor conference room,” said Armid. “Let us know when you get settled and we can put on a little welcome party for you. Who knows, maybe even President Defuria would come?”

  Darion’s smile grew. Everything that he loved and sought in life was being handed to him one at a time. Fame, money, popularity, and just about anything else he could think of, he had. Life couldn’t get any better!

  A beep came from Trivis’ wrist. “Looks like I’m needed back at the capital,” he said after looking at his wrist. “You know how it goes.”

  Darion nodded as he stood to his feet. “Thanks for coming and sharing the news about Clear Skies and the Krohns. I’m honored that you prefer me to handle the problem, I really am.”

  “It’s nothing that you haven’t earned on your own accord,” Trivis said patting Darion’s arm approvingly. “Now I really do have to run. We’re voting on some stupid clean air bill for the Branci home world and I need to make up an opinion about it in the next twenty-five minutes.”

  “Good luck with that,” Darion said and chuckled.

  Trivis shrugged. “The life of a politician I’m afraid.”

  “I will be in contact with you about the move,” said Armid as he stepped in the hall and looked back. “Other than these offices, what else do you need moved?”

  “Nothing,” answered Darion. “This is all I have.”

  “But where are your records?” Armid pressed. “Where are all the files and archives? Surely you must have more than what can be stored here?”

  Darion glanced around and then shrugged. “If it’s not digital, it was probably lost when the defense complex burned down last year.”

  Armid glanced at Trivis, seemingly unsure of what to say.

  “The defense complex had several high security vaults,” stated Trivis, taking the lead from Armid. “I know their contents were saved from the fire because I saw the emptied vaults with my own eyes. I assumed the army took possession of the contents and relocated them, perhaps in a new vault or some other armed secure storage somewhere?”

  Darion shook his head. “I have no idea what you are talking about. Is there something specific you are looking for? I could put out an inquiry at the base.”

  “No need for that,” said Trivis quickly. “At least not right now. Maybe when things settle down we can revisit the topic.”

  “Most assuredly,” said Darion. “I’ll add it to my list.”

  “You need to go,” said Armid to Trivis. “If you miss another vote, Defuria will have your head.”

  Trivis laughed. “Well we don’t want that. Goodbye Darion. We’ll be in touch.”

  “Take care gentlemen,” Darion said as he watched the entourage quickly file out the door at the other end of the hall. As the last Sentinel left, Darion turned back into his office and closed the door. He glanced about the rundown room and then smiled. He wasn’t going to miss this place at all!

  “Do you think he suspects anything?” Armid asked Trivis as the group descended in the lift.

  “Are you kidding?” exclaimed Trivis. “I’m surprised he can tie his own shoes in the morning without help! He doesn’t have the intellect to suspect us of anything.”

  “So you think he’ll go along with everything ok?”

  Trivis nodded. “He will.”

  “What about the Origin Codex?” asked Armid.

  “What of it?” asked Trivis.

  “He doesn’t know where any of the records are. How are we going to find it if we don’t know where to look?”

  Trivis looked at Armid incredulously. “We have an entire army en route to help us find it! I just wanted to make sure he didn’t know where to look in case someone else solicits his help between now and when we kill him. From the sounds of it, he has no clue.”

  “He has no cl
ue and we have no worries,” said Armid with a smile.

  Trivis nodded but did not smile. Although their plan was coming together, there were still many things that had to be accomplished before they would get the Grimsin. Until his share was in hand, he knew he must be vigilant. Although discounted by many, he feared their ever threatening enemy, the Sions, and knew they would do all in their power to prevent them from getting the Origin Codex and the Grimsin that it would lead to.

  11. Commander Etana

  Fedrin walked from the aft Iovara hangar toward his quarters despondently. Even now, he tried to think of other options. It was useless. He knew before the impromptu meeting had started that this was the best option...his only option.

  When he finally entered his room, he sat at his desk and activated the transmission that Tenith had already set up. The screen flickered a little and then, there she was. Her back was turned and she appeared to be holding a data pad. Fedrin opened his mouth to speak but paused. They hadn’t seen or talked with each other directly in months. The false accusation of infidelity hung over Fedrin like a dark cloud and he wasn’t sure how it would affect their conversation. He wished he could say something that would dispel her doubt but the evidence that she had been presented was daunting.

  He had nearly worked up the gumption to speak but stopped again when images of Etana on the Idok Bridge surrounded by flames suddenly came to his mind. It caused a lump to swell in his throat and his hands felt weak. So strong were his feelings that he momentarily contemplated terminating the transmission and very well may have, if she hadn’t suddenly glanced at the screen.

  Etana looked at him curiously, as if she wasn’t sure what to say.

  Fedrin likewise was unsure how to proceed. He felt weak and frail, looking at his estranged wife wanting to say so much but not knowing where to start.

  “Admiral,” Etana finally said coldly, breaking the silence and setting a formal tone for the conversation devoid of all intimacy.

  “Commander,” he slowly replied in kind.

  “What can we do for you?” she asked, avoiding prolonged eye contact.