It sounded like he wasn’t expecting us to grant it.
“Majesty, if I may,” said Jon.
The king nodded, and Jon rose.
“The Imperium welcomes contact with all, and we value friendship and trade. We do not force our welcome on anyone. If you wish us to withdraw, we will withdraw. We came seeking one of our own, we found you in need of help, and we helped. We will depart in friendship, if that is your wish. However, we can offer you access to trade with the Imperium and beyond, without compromising your desire for isolation. You would not be the first.”
I saw Syrinx nodding. As far as I knew, her people still didn’t allow travelers to their world. And I knew for sure Tanith’s people didn’t either. Jon went on.
“If you wish it, it is within my power to seal your jump point so no-one can ever come through it into this system again.”
The king looked shocked, as did quite a few of the crowd.
“And we can also put a station in orbit, connecting to our worlds for trade and diplomacy. You could step through a doorway here, and walk to where I live, be my guest for lunch, and be back here in time for your dinner.”
Now disbelieving looks.
“We have much to offer, and I’m informed you have much to offer us. All we ask is you take a little time to explore your options before you close all doors.”
He nodded to the king, and sat. The king was looking at a well-dressed short man who was also in the first row with us. The man smiled, and nodded to the king.
“Lasencion,” said Chaos in my ear. “Another leader here.”
“It never hurts to talk things out,” said the King. “But not during a feast. But first, several small matters need to be addressed. Knight Colonel Willow. Present yourself.”
Willow rose from where she sat towards the rear of the court, and stood before her king. She was wearing some form of metal armour without any helm, but I had to wonder if it actually was armour, or just an extension of her dragon skin. She did a short bow.
“Knight General Willow, we thank you for your service.”
She bowed even lower this time, and returned to her place near the back.
“Fleet Captain Murdock. Present yourself.”
George startled, surprise on his face. Miriam next to him poked him in the ribs, and he rose, moving to stand where Willow had. He didn’t bow as such, but offered a deep nod.
“I understand your coming to us was an accident, although some claim divine intervention. However, we are in your debt. Never has an outsider risked his life for ours without thought for recompense before. We have nothing to offer you in the way of honors, since we’ve not needed such in many centuries. Yet there is a reward for valor. Kneel please.”
He rose, and George knelt, looking confused. The sword came out of its scabbard, and he laid the flat down on George’s right shoulder, left it there a moment, whisked it over his head, and laid it on the other shoulder. He stepped back, and sheathed the sword.
“Arise Knight Colonel Murdock. And while you leave us shortly, know your name is now known to us, and will be remembered always.”
Exactly how long did dragons live anyway? I put the thought aside.
George rose, blushing, and offered the king a deeper nod, before resuming his seat.
“We feast!” yelled the king, who offered his hand to his queen, and the two of them left through the same side door.
Willow escorted us down a set of modern elevators to a ballroom, where musicians were playing, food was set out, and short waiters were standing by with various kinds of drinks. Before the group broke up, Jon caught our attention.
“There will be a light supper on BigMother later on. Main living room, as soon as we get back. Enjoy yourselves.”
“So what’s good to drink?” I heard Ron Greer ask George.
“All of it,” he said, grinning. “Which reminds me. Dreamwalker?”
“George?”
“Tell Rockmonster they make a mean Irish Mist here.”
“Will do.”
Chris was now grinning, and I could tell he intended to try it out himself.
“You are not getting drunk,” I told him.
“Why not? Seems like a perfectly good opportunity to me.”
I told him why not, and his grin widened.
Forty Five
The feast was as good a feast as I’d ever been to.
I was congratulated by everyone I knew, and a lot I didn’t. I wasn’t sure what being a Knight on this world meant, but Jon waylaid me at one point, and said Jane was already working on an insignia addition for me. I hadn’t seen her down here. In fact, I hadn’t seen any of the AI’s, and mentioned it Jon.
Turned out they were doing their own ceremony at the moment, transferring Gor to their homeworld, and setting him up with a primary-self there. I was glad to hear it, and even more glad I’d made him stay on the planet in safety.
I saw Willow being congratulated by her own people, and at one point saw Jon having a few words with her. So when we formed a group hours later to be magic jumped back up to BigMother, I wasn’t surprised to see her with us.
Others were waiting for us, and I recognized a few captains who hadn't joined us, and all the XO’s who also hadn't joined us. Hobbes the Keerah tiger, and Roo the Ralnor, were also waiting for us. Given the dragons hated the tigers, Jon had been wise to leave them up here.
I did however catch Willow staring at Hobbes.
“He’s one of ours,” I told her. “One of the good guys, and a lot of us owe him our lives.”
“Does he know what I am?”
“Probably, but he may not know the significance, as he’s like us, estranged from his people. But even if someone does explain it to him, I doubt it will be a problem for him.”
“Will we cause problems if we come out of isolation?”
“I doubt it. We have treaties with the Keerah now, and they might be upset to have your kind rediscovered, but Jon is quite capable of making sure they never bother you again.”
“He’s your leader?”
“Imperator means Commander. So he’s like a king, but he limits himself to being our military leader. We have a council which administers the Imperium. Jon makes sure he rarely ever sits on it. But as it happens, the war is our first priority.”
“He’s your leader,” she repeated, “but you call him by his familiar name?”
I chuckled.
“I first met Jon when he didn’t know which end of the gun the pulse came out of. We’ve been friends for years. He was made a Duke for services in another war, and gave it up to save the universe and come here. We tried to make him an actual king, but he wanted none of that, so we settled for him being our military commander, and didn’t let him refuse it. It’s pretty close to what was anyway. But he’s not formal with friends.”
“Save the universe?”
“A long story. I’ll tell you another time, if you’re really interested.”
“I am.”
“ATTENTION TO ORDERS,” bellowed Jane.
The room came to attention, and I saw Jon was over against one wall, with some space around him. Jane was standing next to him.
“Lieutenant Commander Tapping, front and center please.”
I saw Grace startle, but she put her game face on, and walked through the crowd to brace before Jon.
“Grace, Grace, Grace,” he said. “What am I to do with you?”
He was shaking his head, and sounded like he was seriously pissed off with her, but he was smiling. The back of Grace’s neck started going purple.
“I gave you specific orders. And the only reason I’m not busting you down to pilot officer, is while you bent those orders ten ways to Sunday, the Trixone have learned to fear the colour pink.”
There was a titter of laughter. I’d been regaled with stories of what Grace had been up to lately, and was quite frankly awed at what she’d done, and jealous it hadn't been me doing it.
Jon grinned suddenly.
/>
“You. Chaos. You’re promoted to full Commander, and officially appointed captain of the Chaos class dreadnaught, Chaos.” He paused to allow people to cheer and applaud. “Well done, Grace. You did break the spirit of my orders, but that’s what I pay you for, and it’s why I put pilots in the center seat of dreadnaughts.”
The applause started up again. He whispered something to her, and she stepped back and moved to the side, but otherwise stayed close by.
“Fleet Captain Murdock,” bellowed Jane. “Front and center.”
Now it was my turn to be startled, again. Willow punched me on the arm, and I moved forward, and braced before Jon. He grinned at me.
“I love this part of my job. I’ve received permission to create a new title for military personnel who do outstanding things in extraordinary situations, where recognition in terms of promotions or medals is either not enough, or inappropriate.”
He paused and looked directly at me, now looking serious.
“George, I hereby bestow on you the title of Imperium Knight. And you will now be addressed as Knight Captain Murdock. This is not a knighthood in the old sense, but a completely new order. And as such, you are also its First Knight. Congratulations.”
He offered his hand, and I shook it, feeling thankful he hadn’t been waving his sword around. That thing could have cut my head off if he twitched.
“Stay close,” he whispered to me, and I stepped back, and over next to Grace.
“Knight General Willow,” bellowed Jane. “Front and center.”
I craned my head around to see her reaction, and she almost hid her surprise, but not quite. She took the place I’d just vacated, but obviously had no idea about bracing.
“Knight General,” said Jon. “The Keerah seem to regard your people as extinct, and at the same time, something to fear. Regardless, your people have skills of use to the Imperium. You are offered a commission in the Imperium military with the rank of Knight Brigadier General. I don’t expect you to decide now, as you’ll need to discuss the offer with your king and officers. But the offer is open ended. We can use a unit of your people, and would welcome whoever wants to join us. Please present this offer to your knights, and to those military of shall we say, a lesser stature than yourself?”
He smiled at her, and she smiled back, and nodded.
“On behalf of some of us here, and at a more personal level, I’d like to offer our thanks for your actions in keeping that big lug over there safe during the recent battle. I don’t know why, but we really would have hated losing him. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Imperator.”
She stepped back, and came to my side.
“Chaos and Dreamwalker,” bellowed Jane. “Front and center.”
Grace shot a look in Chris’s direction, and he joined her in front of Jon.
“Now we have an Order of Imperium Knights, I hereby bestow the title on both of you for your recent outstanding service. Congratulations Knight Commander and Knight Captain.”
He shook hands with both of them, and they returned to where Grace had been standing together. Jon remained where he was.
“I’ve a few more things to say before we take the load off, and attempt to eat again.” There was a general chuckle. “Over the last week I’ve managed to move enough Keerah and Ralnor fleets into blocking positions to be able to free you all up for what you did this morning. For the moment, we move into a phase of protecting our own space, while we build more Chaos class dreadnaughts. I think Grace proved her design is a winner.”
Clapping erupted, and Grace went pink.
“I’m going to be reassigning people shortly. The war is about to change for us. We can’t sit still and wait the Trixone out behind our defenses. Jane has provided us with a look at just how bad the situation is going to get, and at some point if we wait, they will swamp us like a tidal wave. I don’t believe they thought anyone would be able to stand before them, which is the only reason they haven’t already. I won’t let that happen. So there are going to be some changes, and you’ll get your orders in due course.”
He looked at me.
“Come see me after dinner.”
He looked back around the room.
“Light supper is served in the dining room,” he announced, and led us next door.
Forty Six
Supper wasn’t a long affair.
Fortunately. I didn’t need to eat much, and neither did Chris. We excused ourselves, and Tanith jumped us back over to Chaos.
An hour later, we were lying naked on the bed together, having sated ourselves, for the moment.
“Did you see George with Willow during supper?” I asked Chris.
“They seem to be well on the way to being good friends.” He paused, thinking. “More than friends, maybe?”
I chuckled as a thought popped in.
“George and the Dragon.”
We both chuckled, and started all over again.
Forty Seven
Jon waved me to a seat on the other side of his desk.
“Bad news,” he said.
I’d been expecting it.
“Scimitar is a write off. Bob’s reviewed the condition of the hull, and doesn’t think it’s worth repairing her.”
“I thought as much.”
“She and Katana are really old, as old as BigMother is. I know we repaired BigMother after crashing on the asteroid, but the real repair was done by whichever higher added the titan turret. But Scimitar didn’t have that benefit.”
“Scrap her then?”
“Hell no. Scimitar and Gorilla will be decommissioned, and placed into a new Imperium museum as its first exhibits. Place of honour for their sacrifice. What do you think?”
I choked up for a moment.
“I think Sim and Gor will love that. What do you want me to do?”
“Do you want another carrier?”
I thought for a moment.
“Actually, I’d rather like one of Grace’s dreadnoughts.”
“You’re not the only one. Miriam and Ron Greer have already requested them. Bob’s already building them. One comes out of the yard tomorrow. You want it?”
“Yes please.”
“Fine. Knight Captain, you’re appointed captain of the Chaos class dreadnaught, Mayhem. You’ll find a mark four Excalibur in the hanger. If Sim and Gor want to go with you, they can. If not, Jane will clone to Mayhem, who can spawn an avatar.”
“Thanks. I hope they’ll stay with me.”
“I’m going to give Miriam the next one out, and Greer the one after. So they’ll get Bedlam and Havoc respectively. It’ll probably mean if I group you up, Greer will command, as he’s the senior captain. Any problem with that?”
I grinned at him.
“Hell no.”
I’d flown with both Greer and Miriam before, back in the Midgard war. They both had my respect as both pilots and leaders. I could certainly take orders from either of them.
“Good. Oh, and by the way, I’ve told Lacey you’re due for a callsign change.”
“Really? What to?”
“Dragon.”
Jon Hunter will return
in
Imperator.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to –Jeff- for the model of the Scimitar class of carrier.
Thanks also to Egosoft for the background image, from the game X4: Foundations.
And special thanks to Dan C. Rinnert, for help assembling the cover.
A Message to my Readers
This was a different challenge for me. I started writing George’s story, and with a few chapters in, I had all of the first part of Grace’s story flood my mind, and wrote that at well. So it looked like I had two books in progress at the same time, with Grace’s being the sequel story to Georges. But less than half way through both, it suddenly occurred to me this was all the same book, just with two different points of view, covering the same six days, and so I merged them together, and kept writing. Hence my firs
t book with two first person points of view.
And now we’re properly set up for the next Jon book, which I’ve been telegraphing for some time, but didn’t seem to be getting there.
Timewise, we’re still around the same time as Snark’s Quest in the Gaia galaxy. But my sense of timing is slipping so we might be into early Destiny Stone time now.
Lots to come. Please stay with me.
If you’ve enjoyed this book, I hope you will take the time to leave a review on the Amazon site. All reviews are greatly appreciated, as they help assist purchasing decisions by other readers.
Sales and reviews help me to focus on my next challenge. I'm a full time novel writer and as such, sales and KU reads pay my bills, and my ability to continue writing is dependent on sales of this series, and what comes after.
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Timothy Ellis
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Imperium Knight Chaos Rising (The Hunter Imperium Book 6) Page 20