by Z H Brown
Xandarius was sitting under the massive light in the same throne that Ansaria had seen him in on the bridge. He was apparently lost in contemplation, as he did not take notice of Ansaria as she entered his inner sanctum. A chair, just the size for Ansaria, was sitting across from Xandarius.
As Ansaria approached, her Emperor finally became aware of her presence. His gaze, which before had been fixed on a point only he could seemingly see, flittered to her. His hands, which had been knitted together under his chin, came apart. Ansaria, who had been walking forward at a steady pace until then, came to a stop and dropped on to one knee.
“Sire,” she said, her voice sounding dry and croaky to her ears. “Forgive me for taking so long to report to you as you asked.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, sergeant,” said Xandarius. “While it’s true I have been eager to see you, you have not taken what I would consider an inordinate amount of time. Now please, come and sit.”
Ansaria rose, and saw Xandarius gesturing to the seat across from him. Ansaria tried to overcome the dryness in her mouth while her heart hammered away as she walked toward the seat. As she sat, she was surprised at how comfortable the chair was, but even more surprised when it rose into the air, until Ansaria was nearly eye-level with Xandarius.
“I prefer to have chats like these at a more equal level. While this is a debriefing, it is also an opportunity for you to tell me everything you’ve obviously come so far to tell me.”
Ansaria nodded, readjusted herself on the now-floating seat, and began to tell him everything:
She told him about how her squad had been assigned to the backwater colony, Oasis. How one day, a ship had crashed; its occupant, the Imperial Security Agent Jandor Rall, living just long enough to tell them to trust no one and to give them a box containing a secret: that an outside force was sabotaging the Empire, and that the saboteur was now targeting the Emperor.. She told him about the other occupant of the crashed ship, a seemingly unstoppable android named Reno, able to regenerate into more powerful forms after taking damage and programmed to recover the information Rall had and to kill all who made contact with him. About how Reno, thought deactivated, had attacked them again, leading to the destruction of their base and Ansaria’s decision to deliver the information to Xandarius themselves.
She detailed to him their adventure on Myrthal, a planet forced into isolation by its governor, Solemn, so he could complete an experiment that separated conscious thought from a living body, and how Solemn had promised them a ship in return for getting him a crucial component for his experiment; how they had traveled to Brakka to retrieve the part, only to find the planet under siege by armies of vicious monsters, results of an out-of-control experiment. She told him about how, working with Imperial soldiers protecting the planet’s survivors, they had recovered the part, found the source of the disturbance, and halted the fog and the invasion, as well as drove off Reno once more.
Ansaria found it hard to talk about her experiences on Brakka. She had seen fellow soldiers cut down by mindless beasts, people she had only known briefly but well enough to still hurt to remember them. She did not let memories of the nightmares she’d had of the King of the Jukai become known to her sovereign as she recounted the monster, but a waver had entered her voice that she could not hide. After taking a moment to compose herself, Ansaria continued.
She told him about how Solemn had completed his experiment, apparently freeing his consciousness from his corporeal body, and about how they had raced toward their destination, only to find the remains of an act of sabotage at a refueling station. She glossed over the part about being ambushed by the station's robotic defenses and having to fight them off with the aid of a team of explorers from an alien system, mostly because she wasn’t sure exactly how to address the matter of what basically amounted to collusion with a potentially hostile enemy force, and partially because she found the thought of Eberius…distracting.
The rest of the story poured out of her, as if she were eager to just get it out in the open, to tell someone about everything her and her squad had been through: about arriving at Imperial Military Center Epsilon, ahead of Xandarius, to their surprise, then how they had set down in a small town to kill the remaining time and take some well-earned rest, only to be attacked by a small gang of insurgents (led by Ansaria’s former lover, though that was another detail she did not share with Xandarius), and finally, Reno’s reappearance and its dismembering of Slog.
The finale to their journey, Xandarius was already somewhat aware of. Ansaria and her remaining squad members had finally destroyed the assassin android and raced to the Throneship to complete their mission and get medical care for the wounded private. Delta, working for whatever saboteur was targeting the Empire, had tried to preempt their meeting with Xandarius until it was too late, but Ansaria had had none of it. Leading her squad in a mad rush through the ship, the sergeant had burst onto the monarch’s bridge.
From there, both Xandarius and Ansaria were on the same page.
Xandarius was silent for most of the telling, allowing Ansaria to speak without interruption. Occasionally, he made an interested noise or asked her to clarify this or that, but mostly he let her speak.
Even after she had finished her story, Xandarius still remained contemplative. Ansaria waited, not sure what she should do now that (and this thought came to her as a surprise) her mission was finished. What would happen to them now? Would they be sent back to Oasis? Would they be reassigned, or was Ansaria overlooking their acts of desertion, theft, and attacking fellow soldiers?
Xandarius seemed to take notice of Ansaria’s growing discomfort, as he finally spoke. “I am indebted to you for going above and beyond your duties to bring me this information, Sergeant. What you have told me changes many things, and it is obvious my attention is needed elsewhere. I am loathe to allow the Imperium to operate uncontested, but it is clear this is a threat that cannot be ignored.
“Of course, there is still much to do before we can act. While I would prefer to get started immediately, I am aware that you have come far and done much in a very short time. According to the ship’s clock, it is late night on Xenlong; you and your squad may retire for the ‘evening’ and after taking a morning meal, I would like you and your android private to join me in my workshop. We still have much to discuss, both concerning the data in Agent Rall’s Voidbox, as well as…other sources.”
Ansaria was both surprised and grateful to be given the opportunity to rest. Truthfully, she felt like she could have slept a week, but she was happy just to hear that her and the others would be getting some real R&R, even if only temporarily.
So excited was she to collapse on a bunk that she was about to ask for permission to leave, when something held her back. There was something pricking at the back of her mind, something she was forgetting about; it had started to bother her after something the Emperor had said, and she racked her memory to recall what it was and what it related to until the Emperor's previous words entered her mind: '…it is obvious my attention is needed elsewhere.'
Yes, the Emperor’s attention was needed somewhere else, but not exclusively on the saboteur. Ansaria knew how to prioritize, she knew that some things had to take precedence over others, but after everything she had seen and been through, she had made a promise to herself: that after she had delivered her information to her lord, she would ask him to address some of what she had seen.
“Sire, I understand how important this matter is, and of course you are right to focus your attention on it, however, I cannot in good conscious ignore the offenses that I have seen on my travels: colonies allowed to be turned into prisons by their governor, worlds overrun by monsters and gone silent, with no one investigating them.”
Xandarius regarded her for a few moments before speaking. “You are correct in that these are matters that must be addressed. I promise you that when next we speak, I will have dispatched aid to both Myrthal and Brakka. These… oversights are a re
grettable fact that happens when one rules an interstellar empire. Indeed, it must be nothing less than providence that you have brought so much critical information to me.”
Relief flooded through Ansaria. She was aware that her outburst had boarded on insubordination; after all, what did she know about running an empire? Still, while she understood how such things could have happened, she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she didn’t at least bring the matters to someone that could do something meaningful about it.
Now that she had gotten out the last of what was bothering her, Ansaria felt lightheaded. It was as if everything that she and her squad had been through had hit her all at once. She felt so exhausted, she was actually uncertain she’d be able to make it back to her quarters without aid.
Still, she wasn’t about to collapse in front of the Emperor. She leaned forward. “In that case, sire, may I be given leave to retire until the morning….such as it will be?” Xandarius smiled and waved his hand. The floating seat that had kept her elevated and near eye-level with him gently lowered to the ground. She stood up, but before she left, she felt she had one last thing to do.
She bowed once more. “I would just like to say: it has been an honor speaking with you, Your Majesty.”
Xandarius smiled once more. “The Empire has a bright future ahead of it if even half the soldiers are as dedicated as you are, sergeant.”
Chapter XX
Decrypting
*ATTENTION*
**ALL IMPERIAL FORCES BE ADVISED**
An unknown and hostile force has been utilizing the Imperial Information Network to sabotage and control Network-connected systems and technology. All Imperial forces are advised to run Security Scan Program X-12-A on all incoming messages. Any flagged messages are to be IMMEADIATLY reported to a supervisor through analog-methods ONLY.
--Emergency message broadcasted across Imperial space after the return of the Throneship.
Ansaria wasted no time getting to her resting place for the evening. Just as she reached the lift outside the hallway leading to Xandarius’ private sanctuary, she got a message telling her the deck and room her squad had been taken to; Ansaria input the location into the lift and arrived a few minutes later.
She wasn’t sure what to expect when she entered the room. Half of her was anticipating finding her squad waiting expectantly for her return and recounting of her meeting with the Emperor. The other half (and the one she hoped was correct) expected everyone to be asleep, her squad assuredly as exhausted as she was.
Instead, what she found was a mix: Alvara was curled up in a corner of a bunk, a light blanket wrapped around her shoulders; while at first she looked asleep, her tired eyes opened at the sound of the cabin door opening. Tread was in the other room, working fervently with something on his TIG. Of Critter, she saw no sign.
“We decided we couldn’t sleep until you got back,” said Alvara, though she looked so tired that Ansaria could scarcely believe she had decided she couldn’t sleep. “Poor Critter passed out not long after they brought us here. ‘Course, can’t say I blame him, since he had about three helpings in the mess.”
Ansaria gave a tired laugh. “Sounds like he was the smart one; I’m afraid there’s not much to tell. The Emperor wants us all to get some rest, and then he wants Tread,” she nodded at the android, who now stood in the doorway “and me to join him for some more discussion ‘in the morning’. While we’re doing that, M, you and Critter head to the infirmary and check on Slog; hopefully there'll have been some improvement.”
“The Emperor wants to see just the two of you? Why not all of us?” asked Alvara.
“Well, I’m sure he wants to see me ‘cause I’m the CO, while Tread he wants to see because of his tech expertise. I promise you though, once we’re done, I’ll make sure everyone is in the loop: you, Critter, and Slog.”
Alvara accepted this without another word. She curled up tighter in her corner, while Tread bade them both good night and closed the door to his room. Ansaria thoroughly checked the remaining bunk in the room to make sure Critter wasn’t sleeping there, before stripping off her heavier armor and then collapsing. She was asleep just seconds later.
Ansaria awoke the next morning to find her body sore, her shoulder wound tender, her mouth dry and her stomach empty. Alvara was already up, doing stretches impossible for anyone without a snake tail comprising the bottom half of their body. Tread’s door was open, and she could see him once again messing around with his TIG.
Alvara noticed her stir. “Morning, Sarge. I was going to wake you in a little bit if you hadn’t already. It’s a few hours since the early morning shift change and all of us are ready for another meal.”
Ansaria stretched as she got up, grimacing as her wound twinged with dull pain. “A meal is exactly what I need, though I wouldn’t say no to a good scrub as well; I feel as dirty as my armor looks.”
Alvara laughed. “None of us smell like flowers, Sarge, even Tread. Who knew an android could stink?”
“I would smell less repulsive,” said Tread from the other room. “If organics would stop getting their blood and other fluids all over me every time we go to a new planet.”
Ansaria laughed as she stiffly began putting her armor back on. The first thing she was going to do once she and Tread were finished meeting with the Emperor was give herself and her gear a proper cleaning…provided she didn’t go back to bed first.
Once everyone was properly geared and composed, the squad set out for the mess. Critter, who had been sleeping in a padded niche in Tread’s room, rode on Ansaria’s shoulder, glad to see his friend again.
The mess they entered was the same one they had eaten the Xenlongian night before. Now, as it was then, the hall was mostly empty, with only a smattering of crewmembers present. Ansaria noticed that all their eyes (or whatever primary sensory organ they happened to possess) turned toward them, before returning to their meals. Even as Ansaria and her squad collected their food, they could feel the others watching them, some subtly, others openly.
“I guess word about us has gotten around,” said Ansaria quietly as they all sat down at a table removed from the others.
While Ansaria expected someone to come over and begin questioning them, she was surprised that they were left to eat in peace. Ansaria was going to say as much when Tread nudged her.
“This went out over the network last night,” he said, his voice low. His TIG was displaying a message that ordered all crewmembers of the Throneship to avoid speaking with Ansaria and her squad until after Xandarius released an official statement.
“I can only imagine what stories they’re spinning about us in the barracks,” said Alvara, as she ate a spoonful of some brown liquid.
“I just hope Slog keeps from talking too much,” said Tread.
“I don’t know, he gets awfully chatty around a pretty face, and professional grade pain killers aren’t going to help matters,” said Ansaria. “Still, I doubt even he could get us into any real trouble at this point.”
The rest of the meal passed in silence. As Ansaria finished the last of her food, she found herself once more nervous about her impending visit. She was far less anxious now that she had already had her first face-to-face with Xandarius, along with food and rest. Still, she was uncertain exactly what more she could tell her sovereign that she hadn’t already. It made sense that he’d want to talk to Tread; the android had been the one to crack the Voidbox, as well as stopping Delta and saving the ship, but why did he need her again?
She waited for the rest to finish their meals so they could all go to the lift together. As their car arrived, Ansaria and Tread turned to Alvara and Critter. “We’ll contact you once we’re finished with the meeting. Give Slog our best.”
“Will do, Sarge,” said Alvara, giving a half-serious salute.
With that, the two stepped into the lift and took off for the Emperor.
The lift deposited them in a hallway identical to the one outside Xandarius
’ private quarters. However, as they passed the first set of doors, they found a small antechamber, with an open doorway flanked by two Royal Guards. The room beyond was lit with a gentle, bluish-white light.
Ansaria and Tread passed the guards without comment and stepped into the room. The lab was more cramped and cluttered than Solemn’s lab on Myrthal had been: that lab had been set in a huge room, in a massive house, with space for the equipment and plenty to spare. Xandarius’ lab was smaller, being on a warship, with computer screens covering all the walls. Three or four long, stainless steel tables floated side by side in the center of the room, and above each table hung a massive dish with over a dozen mechanical arms dangling down from it, each arm ending in a different tool or device.
Xandarius was leaning over the table on the far right, the furthest from the door. It wasn’t until Ansaria and Tread got closer that they saw what was on the table: the slightly charred and inert body of Administrator Delta. The Emperor acknowledged them as they approached.
“Sergeant Dormus, Private Tread, thank you once more for joining me in such a timely fashion. I’m sure both of you would prefer to rest more after your trial, but alas, time is of the essence.”
Ansaria and Tread both gave a slight bow.
“We are ever at your service, sire,” said Ansaria. She turned slightly to look at Tread, expecting him to say something similar. However, Tread’s eyes were locked on the still form of Delta.
“To business, then,” said the Emperor. “Sergeant, since our talk last night, I have been examining the information in the Voidbox. I would like you to go over it with me, so I can get your input and perspective on the information.