The Terra Gambit (Empire of Bones Saga Book 8)

by Terry Mixon

  He shook his head sadly. “I’ll admit I’ve allowed myself the fantasy. Who wouldn’t? I’ll try not to make an ass of myself, but I’m putting you on notice. If your relationship doesn’t work out, I intend to try again.”

  Olivia rubbed her face. “Why does everything have to be so complicated? You need to find a woman in your universe. One that can make you happy. Our time is done.”

  “I disagree. In fact, I resoundingly reject your premise. Aaron and Lord Hawthorne have everything there well in hand. Since I’m not alive here, we decided I would make the perfect emissary from our universe to yours.

  “If the two Grants can work together, imagine what they can do. We could potentially double our capacity for research at the very edge of Imperial technology. And part of that mission means bringing our peoples closer.

  “Though I’m not staying here after I make the introductions and start the process by sending some of your people back to my Grant. Lord Hawthorne ordered me to accompany this Admiral Mertz on this mission to learn what I could. So, I’ll still be with you for a while.”

  That was just about the worst thing for them both, she imagined. Could she order him to remain here? Ask Jared to block him from the mission?

  Probably not and develop the kind of relationship the two Grants needed. One more complication. Sean would be thrilled.

  Well, more thrilled than if she was staying here on Harrison’s World with Drake, in any case.

  She stared out of the grav car. They were passing over the farmlands surrounding the Grant Research Facility. It was closer to the spaceport than the city, only in the opposite direction.

  That was by design. They’d wanted covert access to the flight patterns to insert their own traffic. No one knew it, but the flight controllers at the port were all members of the resistance. Anyone with insight into the traffic around the port went through intense scrutiny.

  They were almost to the small town nearest Grant when she looked back at Brian. “I can imagine what is possible, but I don’t want you to have the unreasonable fantasy that Sean and I will break up. That isn’t going to happen.

  “In fact, I’ve been expecting him to propose to me at any time. Meeting you will almost certainly speed things along on his end. In fact, if he doesn’t mention it before we leave on this mission, I will. He and I cannot and will not have you dividing us. I’m sorry.”

  He grunted as if someone had punched him in the gut. “That’s hard, but you were always the kind of person that squarely faced her problems. I’ll bet you make one hell of a coordinator.”

  “You’re damned right I do.” After a moment, she sighed. “Don’t take this rejection personally, Brian. I loved you so deeply that I couldn’t imagine life without you. Now, when I’ve finally found a way through the pain, you can’t expect me to come running back into it.”

  “What a difference a few months could have made,” he sighed. “It’s going to take me a while to get over you again, but seeing you happy will help. Hurt, but help, if you know what I mean. Maybe that’s what I need to move on.”

  The grav car started descending. He smiled as he looked down at the town. “I want to get some malthar bites. I can’t tell you how badly I’ve missed them. In fact, I’ve been authorized to negotiate a shipment for my Grant.”

  She laughed, more than happy to move past the awkward conversation they’d absolutely had to have.

  “I’ll see that we send some back. I’d imagine there are plenty of wild malthar back there. I can probably manage some processing equipment to help you get the plant back up and running after you clear enough of the autonomous weapons platforms.”

  “It’s going to take years to clear them out,” he said glumly.

  “Maybe not. I’ve been thinking about that. Harrison has the original data cores from the System Lord here. I’ll wager the override codes are buried in the data somewhere. If we can send them back, you might be able to order the platforms to shut down all at once.”

  He frowned. “Who is Harrison?”

  Olivia smiled widely. “That’s an even longer conversation. I’ll tell you on the way back to Invincible. Right now, you need to focus your attention on making a good impression.”

  “That didn’t work so well with you,” he grumbled.

  “Let it go.”

  He nodded, but she wasn’t convinced he was ready to release all hope of a reconciliation from beyond the grave. That would cause them problems going forward if she didn’t scotch it early.

  Well, she had time once they got back to the ship to deal with it. Maybe she should ask Jared to marry them. That would end this particular issue. She hoped.

  It was late when Elise finally got Jared alone for dinner. Getting their visitors moved to Boxer Station had taken more effort than she’d imagined, but it was done.

  And, now that Olivia had returned from Harrison’s World, the fleet was—finally!—on its way to the meeting place to give the Rebel Empire their false report.

  The defenders at Harrison’s World had turned off the flip point jammer long enough to send a stealthed probe through. No ships were detected, so the Rebel Empire was still unaware of the change in management.

  With safety assured, the destroyer Athena had led the way through. Sean Meyer was in command of her for now. This part of the Rebel Empire was basically empty of inhabited worlds, so they had a week or so until they needed to get some real distance from the fleet.

  It would take them a bit more than a week and a half to get to the destination. They’d join Sean on Athena once they needed the separation from the fleet.

  But enough of that for now. Her days in this luxuriously large stateroom—relatively speaking—were limited, so she planned on savoring them, not worrying about the future.

  “Has Olivia spoken with you?” she asked once they’d finished their meal and were relaxing on the couch with wine.

  “About what?” Jared asked.

  “I’ll take that as a no. Sean.”

  He frowned a little. “Why would she talk with me about Sean? Is there a problem?”

  “You could say that,” she said as she put her glass down on the end table. “Its name is Brian Drake.”

  That caused her husband’s frown to deepen. “He’s a problem? I thought they used to be close friends.”

  “And he’d like to make that true again.”

  His expression cleared. “Ah. Ouch. That is a complication. How can I assist her with that particular problem, though? It seems as if the chance for that is gone. I could’ve made sure he stayed at Harrison’s World if you’d told me. You being anyone, actually.”

  “No, you couldn’t,” she said firmly. “Think about it. How would that have affected his people’s relationship with us?”

  Jared opened his mouth to respond, but paused, obviously reconsidering his first thought. “Maybe not in the best way,” he admitted, “but those were waves we could have managed. What can I do now?”

  “Marry Sean and Olivia, as soon as they ask. And they will. Do not delay.”

  “You sound so sure. Of course, I’ve never met anyone as canny as you at predicting this kind of thing.”

  “That’s very kind and most diplomatic,” she said dryly, “but Olivia is much more shrewd and I know it. Believe me, the education I’m getting on this trip will be well worth my time.

  “If they wait a full day, I’ll be shocked. My advice is for you to prepare to hold the ceremony within an hour’s notice. Get all your ducks in a row and be ready to execute the ambush.”

  His eyebrows crept up. “Ambush, is it? How much warning do you think Sean is going to get?”

  “Virtually none. Are they scheduled to come to Invincible tomorrow?”

  “We’re having a briefing, but I’d assumed he was doing it remotely.”

  “Mark my words,” she said with a smile. “He’ll attend in person. Olivia will be having that discussion with him tonight. Or, if she’s feeling particularly subtle, tomorrow morning.”
>
  “An ambush, indeed. I’m not betting against you. I’ll review the details in the morning. It’s a good thing I have recent familiarity with the marriage ceremony.”

  She tipped her glass back and finished her wine. “I’m certain there are significant differences between the Pentagaran ceremony and what Fleet does. Have you ever performed one?”

  “I’ve never had that privilege,” he said as he finished his own glass and set it down.

  “There you go,” she said as she stood. “It will be a pleasure, I’m sure.”

  His smile widened as he stood. “That word brings something completely different to mind for me. Are you ready for bed?”

  “Yes,” she said as she extended her hand toward him. “But I’m not at all tired.”

  “Me, either.”

  21

  Kelsey stared uncertainly at Doctor Stone and the pair of Doctor Guzmans. They were kind of spooky standing together like that.

  “Are you sure this is the right first step?” she asked. “It seems as if replacing my eye would fall later in the process. Isn’t that kind of a big thing?”

  “It is,” Lily Stone confirmed. “It’s also the largest impediment to the regeneration process. Forgive me, Highness, but that’s a far larger—and uglier—prosthetic than you need. The Old Empire had the technology to make them look lifelike. Yours is anything but.”

  As if she needed to hear the woman say that. Kelsey knew how hideous she was, inside and out. The Pale Ones had turned her into a beast and she’d fought like one.

  She was really getting tired of hearing how well her doppelganger had done in comparison, though. Even when she wasn’t explicitly mentioned.

  That woman had caught all the breaks. Everywhere Kelsey had bad luck, the other woman had good. It was almost as if she’d been stealing luck across universal boundaries.

  Well, it hardly mattered where she started the healing process started, did it?

  “What’s involved?” she asked the Guzman twins.

  Having them both there was an odd experience and really pressed home that she was in another universe. The two men were identical, other than some purely cosmetic differences in appearance like hair length and different rank tabs on their uniforms.

  That reminded her that she needed to tear a page from her doppelganger’s playbook and promote some of her people when she got back.

  “It’s not as complex as it sounds, Highness,” the Justin Guzman from this universe said. “And it’s absolutely necessary to give us access to the tissue on your face. The plate has undoubtedly scarred the flesh beneath it.

  “With the assistance of your nanites, we can regenerate that to a great degree. Perhaps even completely with a number of sessions, though I hesitate tempting you with an outcome that may prove elusive.”

  “What are the risks?” she asked. “I’ve become a bit risk adverse in the last few years.”

  “None, really,” Stone said. “The optic nerve is sound, so the hardware replacement is straightforward. The new prosthetic eye will fit into the socket more easily and look completely natural.

  “From the conversations I’ve had with the techs who built the eye, they’ve worked hard to duplicate all the Raider enhancements your natural eye has now and added even more capability.

  “They were a bit cagey with the specifics, but they were trained by Carl Owlet, so that’s not at all surprising. He loved surprises. And geekdom.”

  “I’ve heard his name before in passing,” Kelsey said as she tried to get into the right mental space to agree to this surgery. “I didn’t know him in my universe. You speak of him as if he were dead. Did you lose him?”

  “More like we’ve misplaced him. He’s away on the same mission the other you is on. We’re hopeful they can get home with the data and equipment they stole from the Rebel Empire soon, but we do worry.”

  “What kind of data and equipment?”

  “The manufacturing specifications and equipment to make Raider implants and sentient AIs.”

  A cold chill washed over Kelsey and her throat threatened to swell shut. “I’ve spoken with Marcus, but the idea of making more of those things fill me with dread. What could possibly go wrong?”

  “Why don’t you lay back so we can get started,” Stone said. “As for AIs, we’re behind the Rebel Empire and really don’t have a choice if we want to beat the bastards.

  “Trust me, our allies are a lot more like people than the Lords. Marcus and Harrison are firmly on our side. Harrison is really the driving force behind the repair ships in the graveyard. Without him running everything, I can’t imagine we’d be nearly as far along.”

  Kelsey lay back on the operating table. “Is this going to hurt?”

  “There will be some pain once the procedure is complete, even with regeneration,” her Guzman said. “We’re going to be reworking the tissue under the current prosthetic plate. With your pharmacology unit, that should be more than manageable and will abate over the course of the next several days.”

  “Let’s get it over with, then.”

  “The somatic unit will put you out without transition and you’ll wake up the same way,” Stone said. “Basically, you’ll blink and it’ll be over.”

  “And I’ll feel like you punched me in the face. Got it.”

  Stone laughed. “Nothing like that. The pain will be more of a dull ache.”

  “Like the rest of the dull aches I have? Wonderful. What’s that plan on addressing my other damage?”

  “You’re stalling,” Stone said accusingly. “Goodnight, Highness.”

  Kelsey opened her mouth to object and blinked when Stone suddenly was on the other side of her. Neither Guzman was in evidence. They’d vanished.

  “That was very disconcerting,” she informed the Fleet physician. “You might want to make note of where people are when you put someone under just so you can make the return a little less jarring.”

  Stone nodded. “I hadn’t considered that, but it’s a good idea. Put the primary surgeon as the only visible person and make sure that things are the same once the surgery is complete. I’m still getting used to the Old Empire technology, even after a few years.”

  “I take it everything went okay?” Kelsey asked. “My vision seems about the same. The new eye works to that extent.”

  The doctor put a hand on her shoulder when Kelsey made to sit up. “Let’s give your body a few minutes to adjust. Here’s a mirror.”

  Kelsey took the small mirror the other woman offered and examined her face. To her pleased astonishment, the metal plate was gone and her left eye looked just like its natural counterpart.

  The flesh around it where the plate had been was red and rough, but it was there. And the nasty scar that was the testament to the wound that had taken her natural eye was much reduced.

  “Wow. I never expected to look like a human being again,” she said, her throat threatening to close up with unexpected emotion. “I was always going to be that cyborg woman.”

  “You will look completely normal once the tissue has a few more regeneration sessions,” Stone assured her. “And to answer your other question, I expect we’ll be able to remove the visible scars all across your body now that we can use the full-body regenerator.

  “The micro scars inside your body may or may not completely heal even with a combination of regeneration and your new Raider nanites. Only time will truly tell. At the very least, the pain your pharmacology unit is suppressing should disappear.”

  Her face ached a little, but nothing like Kelsey had expected. Perhaps this was going to work out.

  “How many regeneration sessions are you anticipating and over what space of time?”

  Stone’s expression took on a calculating air. “Let’s plan on five initial sessions, one per day. It will take more, but I need to see how they progress before I can make an educated guess at the overall duration.

  “No more than ten sessions, I’d imagine. By the time you need to depart for the des
troyer, we’ll almost certainly be done.”

  Kelsey sighed. To look like a regular person again. That alone made this trip so worthwhile.

  “What about the eye? Did your tech friends tell you about their special sauce?”

  “They did not,” Stone said, somewhat peevishly. “They insist on going over it themselves with you later today. Let’s sit you up and start checking basic things like your balance. You should be fine, but I want to be sure there is no subtle difference in the combined input to your brain.”

  “Can we do lunch afterward? I’m starving.”

  “Why don’t I have something delivered?” Stone countered. “We’re going to be busy for the next few hours.”

  “I suppose,” Kelsey grumbled. “I hope I get used to my metabolism one day.”

  Sean was shocked at the speed at which his life was changing, but still thrilled. He hadn’t expected a matter-of-fact proposal over breakfast, but that’s what he’d gotten.

  Much more surprising was her proposed timetable. He’d hoped to marry her soon, but had expected a little more than two hours’ notice.

  She was obviously as concerned about Brian Drake as he was, if for somewhat different reasons.

  While she made sure that he understood she wanted this because she loved him, there was also a somewhat cold-blooded element of political expediency behind her desire to make it happen quickly.

  He wanted to seal the deal so the other man would back off. She felt the same but also had to make sure there was no damage to the political relationship between the two Grant facilities.

  Sean admired the way politics flowed in her blood, but it was sometimes a trifle annoying.

  And then she’d dropped it on him that she intended to ask Admiral Mertz to marry them as soon as their planning meeting was done this morning. His objection that they needed time to prepare was met with amused derision.

  Olivia had been busy last night before she’d come to bed. She’d enlisted people to make sure her dress was ready, his dress uniform was perfect, and that her friends received more notice than he did.