Price of Imperium

by Dave Robinson

  The looks on the others' faces ranged from one of patience on Lenys Kharan's to blank incomprehension on that of Lieutenant Pirk. "Before I go further, I think some introductions are in order. Lieutenant Pirk, this is my exec, Lieutenant Commander Lenys Kharan, and my tactical officer, Lieutenant Fahad Vidall. Commander, Lieutenant, this is Lieutenant Miron Pirk, of the Eleventh Strike Command, Imperial Marines."

  "Commander, Lieutenant." Pirk nodded twice as Tam spoke.

  "Good to have you aboard, Lieutenant." Lenys said. "Welcome to Talon."

  Vidall simply nodded.

  "Now for the mission." Tam leaned back and clasped his hands across his stomach, taking a pose of comfortable assurance he wished he felt. "We have been ordered to lift for Earth where we are to make contact with His Imperial Highness the Prince Jhon and return with him to Altiar. To assist with that mission, we will be taking aboard Lieutenant Pirk and the Fourth platoon, Seventh of the Eleventh. in case ground action becomes necessary."

  Fahad Vidall raised a hand slowly. "Did you say, Earth, sir?"

  "Yes Lieutenant, I did." Tam leaned forwards to look his subordinates in the eye. "The Imperium is in State Omega and we have been directed to Earth."

  "What about the Interdict?" Lenys asked, "and why us? Wouldn't a Guard battle cruiser be more appropriate?"

  "The Interdict still stands." Tam said flatly. "Admiral Calthran does not have any battle cruisers on station at the present time, and even if he did, it would not make it past the Interdiction Force."

  "Would not make it past the Interdiction Force?" Vidall spoke slowly. "What exactly do you mean by that, sir?"

  "The Interdiction Force is not aware of our mission and will not be informed." Tam leaned back. "This mission is quite probably the single most important thing any of us will do in our careers, and we will do it."

  Lieutenant Pirk broke the silence that followed Tam's words. "I wasn't briefed on this, but isn't Prince Jhon dead?"

  "He committed suicide while serving on ISS Lancer about ten years ago, didn't he?" Lenys leaned forwards. "It would have been huge if the rest of the Imperial family hadn't died right around the same time."

  "That is what we thought until quite recently," Tam saw no reason to explain exactly how recently the information had come to light. "However, we now have information that Prince Jhon's 'suicide' was part of a plot against the Imperium. A plot which has been almost entirely successful." He took a breath, tasting the recycled air of a ship that had been in service a long time. "One of the conspirators had a change of heart, and rather than killing the prince, he drugged him and dropped him on Earth, as Lancer was attached to the Interdiction Force at the time."

  "So we are going to Earth in the hope he survived the last ten years on a primitive planet?" Lenys Kharan sounded disbelieving. "What are the chances of that?"

  "The same as the Imperium's, Commander." Tam said. "If we can't recover the prince we won't stand a chance." Vidall shuddered at Tam's words. "However, I have it on good authority that the Prince's chances of survival are better than most would expect."

  "Yes sir," said Pirk. "My people will be aboard within an hour, and if you can find him, we can extract him."

  "That's another question," Vidall said. "How are we going to find him, we're looking for one man on a whole planet."

  "It's four weeks to Earth, Lieutenant. I would advise that you start working on that problem. We are under a time limit."

  *

  "He's here," One-tooth said. "Garth'll have puff."

  "Just remember who gets first puff." The young one stuck out his chest.

  The others nodded, John kept his mouth shut. He could see a light coming towards them, maybe a cigarette coal, bobbing up and down at mouth level, flaring when the smoker took a drag.

  "What can I do for ya, Mr. Garth," the young one said, pushing himself to the front of the little group. "Need me to carry something for you?"

  "In a bit Tommy, in a bit." The voice was low and deep. Garth was a big man, well dressed and clean shaven, but the look in his eye reminded John of a gargoyle. In the flickering light dancing above the fire barrel Garth looked like he had come from hell itself.

  "Now who's this, Tommy? I don't think I've met your new friend." Garth said like a disapproving father.

  "He's new Mr. Garth," Tommy said. "Just showed up tonight."

  John ducked his head as Garth looked his way. Watch him, the voices whispered.

  "So, what's your name?" John wondered if anyone else could hear the undertones.

  "John." he didn't look up, not wanting to meet Garth's eyes.

  "Well, hello, Johnny," Garth said, not extending his hand. "My name is Garth, Tommy and the others work for me. If you need work, let me know, I can always find something."

  "Thanks," John muttered.

  "Puff, please." One-tooth spoke up.

  "There'll be time for puff later, Freddy." There was ice in his slow deliberate words. "Business first." He waved a man forwards from the shadows behind him. The newcomer reeked of the street, with oversized pants belted around his thighs and a chestful of gold chains.

  "This is Cool-T," Garth said. "He needs someone to hold for him tomorrow down in White Center. You'll get puff before and after, coffee, a pack of cigarettes and ten dollars, twenty if you don't fuck up."

  "You don't wanna fuck up," Cool-T said, looking them over.

  "Let me deal with them." Garth snapped over his shoulder, then continued. "You all know the drill."

  "What about him?" Tommy pointed at John. "Johnny don't know no drill. Johnny's new."

  "Johnny works for me now too," said Garth. "He's a bright boy and he'll learn fast. It's not hard, just do what Cool-T says. One thumb one bag, two thumbs two bags." He smiled but it didn't reach his nose. "Just don't give to nobody Cool-T doesn't touch on the shoulder."

  "Yessir," the three chorused. John stayed silent.

  "You understand me Johnny?"

  "Uh huh," John nodded.

  "Good," said Garth. "Now who wants puff?"

  Tommy shoved One-tooth and the other into a line behind him. "I do."

  Garth reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like an inhaler. "One puff now, another tomorrow. Be in White Center in the morning." He held the inhaler to Tommy's mouth and pressed the button.

  John could see Tommy's mouth close around the plastic, as he tried to suck something deep into his lungs. His eyes closed and his whole body shook like a dog spraying water after a bath. Garth pulled the inhaler away and Tommy collapsed to his knees, straining for breath.

  Freddy, One-tooth, was next in line. His lips wrapped greedily around the inhaler and the sight almost made John look away. Garth pushed the button, sending Freddy into the shakes like Tommy. The moment Garth pulled the inhaler away Freddy dropped like a sack of cement.

  "Joey?" said Garth. "Do you want a puff?"

  The third man nodded vigorously. "Yessir, Mr Garth."

  "Get on your knees."

  Joey didn't hesitate; he dropped before Garth had even finished speaking. This looked like a game Garth had played before, he held the inhaler down by his crotch and pulled Joey's head onto it, spraying a puff into the kneeling man's mouth before pushing him aside.

  "Mr. Garth," Tommy said, "Freddy's not breathing, I think he's dead."

  Garth kicked Freddy in the ribs. There was a meaty thud, but Freddy didn't move; Garth hauled off and kicked him again, harder. "I think you're right Tommy." He shrugged. "He was almost used up. Get rid of the body, Johnny can take over for him."

  "Yessir," said Tommy. "Johnny, drag the body away, don't want it stinking things up."

  John kept his head down as he picked up the body. The old man was lighter than he looked, most of his bulk coming from the heavy coat he wore. One thing was certain, John didn't want a puff.

  *

  Jayne slammed the filing cabinet shut and stomped back to the computer. Bill was such an asshole, not everything was about sex. These men were
as much victims as anyone. Her job was to give them a place to sleep so that they could get off the streets, not throw them out.

  At least it's almost over, she thought as she turned off the coffeepot. Time for me to go home and get some sleep, maybe a hot bath. John Doe wouldn't be having a hot bath, he was out on the streets and she put him there. Jayne checked her purse for her whistle, not that she'd need it, everyone around here knew her. The whistle was on her keychain, right beside a twenty. There was a little store down the street, she could pick up some food for John.

  "I'll show Bill," she muttered.

  The theme song for "You have the right..." caught her attention and she glared at the old TV, reaching for the remote to turn the channel. "Tonight we're in Seattle," said the announcer, and she froze, her fingertips just touching the smooth plastic. That was the man who had approached John, the one who had given him the fifty dollars. If this was the episode John appeared on she might be able to see where he hung out. She might be able to find him.

  Keeping most of her attention on the set, she poured herself a cold coffee and made a face at the stale burnt taste. Most of the show was what she expected. Drug busts and family squabbles, police and sheriffs taking care of disputes. Drunk people yelling at each other for no discernable reason. A scathing indictment of the state of dentistry in King County.

  Then she saw Bill appear on screen, while the interviewer asked him the usual questions about how he became a cop. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he told the man it had been a lifetime ambition. Jayne knew the truth, something Bill had told her late one night when they had both had too much to drink. It had been the blond woman on the cop show that had done it. The one that starred the actor who had been on that Sci-Fi series way back before she was born. "And he accuses me of having a bad case of the hots."

  Then the camera panned away from Bill, showing two figures on the sidewalk. One was John, the other was a taller man who came charging at him like a huge bear. She caught her breath, then watched John put the man down with a single blow. Bill was out of the car now, the cameraman following, and she could see John squinting against the patrol car's spotlight. The rest of the scene was something Jayne had seen dozens of times before, Bill putting John into custody. He was all efficiency, a perfect by the book police officer.

  The show ended right at ten, the same time her shift did. Jayne nodded to the night staffer, a man half again her age, and went to get her purse. The store was just a few doors up the street.

  Her cellphone rang and she answered without thinking. "Hello."

  "Jayne, it's Bill." Her back stiffened as she recognized his voice.

  "What do you want?"

  "I've been thinking about the other day," he said. "And I can't let you go out there alone. It's just not safe."

  "So what are you going to do? Take me home and tie me up? This is no time for your fantasies," she snapped, reaching to flip the phone closed.

  "No, it's not like that," he said. "Let me help, it's not safe."

  "If they see a cop they'll scatter." Jayne let a little warmth into her voice. "They aren't afraid of me."

  "Look," he said. "I just got off shift. I'm still in uniform but I've got my own car. I'll come get you and stay in the car when you find him. I'll be your backup, just in case."

  "Okay," Jayne replied, maybe he was coming to his senses. "I still say you're overreacting, but I'll do it your way. Meet me at the little store down the block."

  "Sounds good," he said, though from the tone of his voice she didn't believe he thought it was good at all. "I'll be there in ten minutes, and please stay under the light."

  "Worry wart." Jayne smiled and shut the phone.

  Chapter 9

  Four weeks in fivespace, more than enough time to prepare. More than enough time to make contingency plans for any possible situation. Four weeks in a crowded destroyer, with the crew hot-bunking to make room for a platoon of marines who took up the mess hall for PT at least twice a day. Four weeks Tam Holron could spend with his senior staff trying to figure out a way to find one man on a planet.

  Tam was on the bridge when they approached Sol system. The screens were dark, reflecting the emptiness of the system's outer reaches. Emptiness was perhaps the wrong word, there were tens of thousands of bodies out here, dozens of them of planetary size. But in comparison to the space around them there was less than nothing. People talked about a system's halo being full of objects, and they were. But what they forgot was the sheer volume of space that contained them. In comparison to the inner solar system the outer reaches were empty. The region was that much bigger.

  The Interdiction Force was out there, squadrons of starships on watch, maintaining the privacy of humanity's ancient home. Members of the Fleet, standing watch to make sure that no one got through. Tam wasn't sure of the precise composition of the Interdiction Force. What he did know was that there was at least one battle squadron: Four superdreadnaughts and who knew how much more.

  The capital ships weren't the problem. Anything that size gave off more than enough interference and background radiation that a ship like Talon could slip through the net. No, the problem was the lighter units, cruisers and destroyers. Scout ships cris-crossing the paths that a ship might come in on. Vessels that could localize and hold an invader until the line could arrive to finish them off. Ships lying doggo waiting for the tell-tale sign of another dropping from four or fivespace. Ships with passive arrays strung out a thousand or more kilometers astern just waiting for something, anything, to trip their alarms.

  Tam squeezed the arms of his command chair, then forced his hands open the moment he realized what he was doing. He didn't expect anything on the screens, and Talon was buttoned down tight. They had killed as much velocity as they could in fivespace, and then again in fourspace, keeping the ship's velocity below effective c for each translation, trying to avoid the Cerenkov flare.

  "Finished with Generators, Commander Kharan." Tam spoke quietly. "You can let Lieutenant Deggon know that we shouldn't be needing them for a while."

  "Aye sir," Lenys Kharan said.

  "All stations report rigged for full stealth, Captain." Vidall spoke without taking his eyes off the tactical plot. Tam had been in his position before, waiting for enough data to come in for the passives to give him a decent picture of what was happening. It was hard to wait when a quick sweep with active sensors would tell them all they needed to know. That they'd been found and were at most hours away from destruction. "So far I'm not picking up anything active, and nothing in the fourspace bands. All evidence is that the Interdiction Force is lying low."

  "Very good Mr. Vidall." Tam leaned back a little in the chair. "Helm, take us in."

  "Shaping orbit for Earth, sir." Lieutenant Thorn said from his post at astrogation. "We should be in Earth orbit within ninety-six hours."

  Tam nodded. "Thank you Mr. Thorn." He pulsed his implant once, activating the all-hands circuit. "All hands, this is the Captain. We have reached Sol System and are now proceeding to the planet Earth, where our mission is to recover His Imperial Highness the Prince Jhon and bring him home to Altiar where he can ascend the throne. I apologize for keeping you in the dark about this, but we are here now and we will do our duty to the Fleet and to the Imperium. We will be in full stealth for the duration of our time in-system and I expect everyone to follow procedures. We have the chance to do more for the Imperium than most Admirals could ever dream of. I'm proud of you. Captain, out."

  Tam cut the channel and turned his attention towards his repeater screens. They had been only a few minutes in threespace, and nothing was showing yet. Most of the outer-system bodies were hard to find on passives, even optically; and a large optical sensor brought its own problems to a ship under stealth. A glance at the screens showed that coolant levels looked fine, and he took a moment to breathe deep. As long as he had enough coolant he could keep in stealth, but the moment they had to start dumping waste heat somebody would notice them. />
  He could have had Thorn plot a course that would have taken twice as long, with lower drive usage and far less heat dumped into coolant. If he had, they might have run out of time. They had to find one man on a planet, and Tam wanted as much time as he could get for that miracle.

  A yeoman came up and placed an insulated mug beside him, Tam took a sip and almost made a face. Burned coffee, but at least they hadn't got to the cold coffee yet. Stealth meant cold coffee. Cold coffee and lots of sandwiches. Cooking meant heat, heat and in some cases emissions. Neither of which were good for a ship in stealth. "Picked up anything yet?" He turned towards Lenys who was checking the returns from the passive array.

  "Nothing yet, sir." She replied without looking up, her words coming slowly. "Unless they're lying ballistic I expect we should be able to localize any capital ships, but I can't speak for anything else. Possibly the heavy cruisers if we're lucky."

  "I want to know what you've found as soon as you've found it."

  "Aye sir."

  Tam sat back in his command chair, working on his own plots for where the Interdiction Force might be. It all depended on whether response time or stealth was going to be more important, that and how far out they wanted to intercept. Most probably they would be somewhere in the Oort, near one of the larger bodies using it for cover. The other possibility, if they had to come in close was probably something like the night side of Jupiter. The planet was big, almost enough to be a star, and threw out enough background radiation to easily mask a squadron.

  They've got something there; he tapped his finger on the representation of Jupiter. Whatever they've got for either last response or close watch will have their heavy units right in tight against Jupiter. At least the Interdiction Force wasn't tasked with close surveillance, but rather with keeping others out. If Earth had been a normal member of the Imperium, he would have known which side of the Sun they would be coming in from and planned accordingly. Unfortunately, with the Imperium keeping the whole system under interdiction, there wasn't a lot of information about where the planets were in their orbits.