The Prodigal Emperor (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 3)

by Kal Spriggs

  “She came to me with a warning and Lieutenant Moritz tried to kill her,” Daniel said as he gestured for Ensign Jiang to lead the way into the conference room. “So I'm inclined to hear what she has to say.”

  Once they had retreated into the secure room, Ensign Konetsky locked the room down. “We're good. Sensors shouldn't be able to pick us up and I've wiped the records of us coming here. That should keep anyone from finding us for a few minutes at least.”

  All gazes went to Ensign Camilla Jiang. She cleared her throat, “You may not be aware of this, but there's a cabal–”

  “We know,” Ensign Konetsky sneered. “And if that's all you're bringing...”

  Daniel waved a hand to quiet her down. Michele Konetsky had lost her husband and daughter to the Chxor and she had originally received the news of the conspiracy against Baron Giovanni with anger and disgust, especially when it seemed as if the conspirators undermined the war effort. “We know some of the key players: Senior Captain Ngo, Captain Wu, Captain Magnani, and Senior Captain Gronsky. We also know that you're trying to undermine Baron Giovanni and Admiral Dreyfus and that your people have killed before.”

  The Ensign didn't look away, “Well, then, you know quite a bit, although you have some details wrong.” Her guarded expression didn't give anything away and Daniel worried that this was some fishing expedition. If the conspirators knew about the investigation, how better to find out more than to send in a false informant?

  Ensign Jiang gave a sigh, “This conspiracy, you have to understand, it didn't start out as anything like what it has become. Most of the junior officers and enlisted simply wanted to be certain that their sacrifices, that leaving everything they knew behind, wouldn't be thrown away. It is the people at the top that have manipulated it. We call them Command, it's a group of four officers, who keep their identities secret. Everyone else started in this because they wanted some accountability from their leaders.”

  “Accountability?” Michele Konetsky demanded. “So you operate from the shadows, lead rumor campaigns, and kill off people when they're in the way like Commander Jin Wong?”

  Ensign Jiang looked away. “Commander Jin Wong was one of my people.”

  “Your people?” Daniel asked.

  She nodded, “I've operated an organization within the overall cabal. My group's purpose, whether you want to believe it or not, was to diffuse the entire situation. We were organized by Senior Captain Nelund after he realized just how much Command had misled us. He was part of the secondary officers, you've named a couple of them: Senior Captain Ngo and Senior Captain Gronsky. Captain Wu took Senior Captain Nelund's position after the cabal had him killed.”

  “We suspected that,” Daniel said as he took a seat, “But we thought that this secondary group was at the head of the organization. You're saying they're not?”

  Ensign Jiang shook her head, “No, they're just the cut out, in case things go badly wrong. Most of the cabal isn't aware of Command's existence. It's the last failsafe, established since the very beginning, and I only know more because I was Senior Captain Nelund's most trusted agent.” She gave a nod at Michele, “Yes, I've cultivated a patronage relationship with Senior Captain Ngo, but the purpose of that relationship was to get closer and be able to operate from a position of trust within the cabal's ranks. I've managed to twist some of their efforts and policies and sabotage their rumor campaign.”

  “The rumors about the Baron,” Daniel said with narrow eyes, “You're saying you did that to draw attention?”

  “Exactly,” Ensign Jiang said. “Look, like I said, most of the people in the lower ranks aren't bad. They're normal men and women who just wanted to feel like they had some say in things. You have to understand what growing up under Amalgamated Worlds was like. The elite made all the decisions. We fought and bled and died in star systems that were only spots on a map to those people... and we saw far too many of our friends die because some nameless, faceless bureaucrat didn't want to upset the system and lose some face. We've an inherent distrust of senior authority, something of a survival mechanism. Because all too often, the people making the decisions about where we went did so from personal interest rather than any coherent strategy or foresight.”

  “That doesn't excuse suborning military authority in a time of war,” Michele Konetsky snapped.

  “It doesn't,” Ensign Jiang said, “But you have to understand, to many of the officers of this fleet, it's hard to wrap our heads around the fact that the Chxor are that much of a threat. For the junior officers, it seems preposterous. The Chxor had only one star system and were only beginning to understand the capabilities of the shadow space drive when we left. To think that in that time they've spread across a hundred or more star systems, even reading the intelligence reports... it is difficult to even begin to understand. And the Balor... well, they seem more like some weird boogeyman. Those officers saw the Third Battle of Faraday as the culmination of a war, rather than the opening shots. We've fought before, but in squadrons against numerically and technologically inferior opponents. We've never fought anything on this scale.”

  “So?” Daniel asked.

  “So my goal was to generate enough of a risk of being revealed that would make most of the junior members of the cabal think seriously about giving it up. Senior Captain Nelund's plan was basically to remove that power base of personnel and leave Command with little option but to either act publically or give up their own plans.”

  “I'm assuming, by the fact that you're here, that hasn't worked,” Forrest said dryly.

  She shook her head, “Things are moving too fast. The senior members, including Command, are scared. You don't realize it, but you set off some alarms when you delved into some of the old sealed documents. They know that someone is investigating things. Worse is the invasion plan for Nova Roma. It's a risky plan–”

  “No riskier than some,” Michele Konetsky said, “and at least we're hitting the Chxor.”

  “Well, to them, you're putting the entire Fleet at risk, when they feel a more moderate approach might accomplish the same goals,” Ensign Jiang answered. “And to the senior members of the Cabal, the fearful part is their own lives will be at risk. They've lived for well over a century and the last eighty years or so, they were safely cocooned away. They aren't used to danger and the Third Battle of Faraday was a wake-up call that they might well die in Baron Giovanni's campaign to liberate humanity.”

  Daniel shook his head, “You're saying they're that selfish?”

  “I'm saying they're old, and tired, and afraid,” Ensign Camilla said. “Hell, I'm old. I just hold to my oaths. Age changes things. I'm older than everyone in this room combined. I've lived that entire span in uniform, first under Amalgamated Worlds, then in Admiral Dreyfus's Fleet, and now under the United Colonies. You have to understand, that many years takes a toll. Some of these Lieutenants and Commanders have been at their ranks for decades, many of them at the same job, day after day. Even for the ones who aren't tired, the routine puts you into a sense of complacency, like nothing will ever change.”

  Forrest Perkins shook his head, “So... they're planning a coup because they're tired?”

  She shook her head, “The junior members, most of them don't even realize it will go that far. They think they'll quietly support the right officers and they'll take the senior people aside and explain the situation. Yes, this is the fate of humanity... but who says humanity needs to be a vast empire? Surely a few systems is enough, right?” She shook her head, “They don't know about weapons being set aside, about combat teams being secretly positioned. They don't know what will happen if Command pulls the trigger on Omega Protocol.”

  “Wait, what's Omega Protocol?” Daniel asked.

  “It's the final option from Command,” Ensign Jiang said. “I don't have anything near the full details, but I know they have around three battalion's worth of combat strength, a mix of Amalgamated Worlds Commandos and Marines, along with enough equipment to outfit them w
ith powered armor and mechanized support. I think they've positioned many of them ground-side, but I know that at least a few teams of them are hidden aboard several ships and even aboard the civilian station.”

  Daniel bit back a curse. They had found signs of that group, 'ghosts' in the system, men and women who had disappeared from the files, one or two at a time over decades. They suspected that the group had been behind the attempted assassination of Captain Anthony Doko and his wife Lizmadie. He had hoped that they would be able to locate them and deal with them, but it was one of the main reasons that they hadn't been able to move yet. “Okay, so Omega Protocol triggers them seizing the Fleet, to what purpose? They can't force everyone to do what they say at gunpoint.”

  “They won't,” Ensign Jiang shook her head. “These teams are trained to operate in secret. They're skilled killers and most of them are either fanatically loyal to Command or motivated from ambition. They'll eliminate their targets and then stand down. At that point, the cabal's officers will step in to restore order. It will look like there was an attempted mutiny and it was suppressed, but not without casualties. They'll kill off any senior officer and public officials they don't need and detain the ones that might be useful.”

  “Jesus,” Forrest Perkins said. “That's... that's bloodthirsty.”

  “It wasn't their optimal plan, but they're running scared,” Ensign Jiang said. “Keep in mind, the last thing they want to do is put their own lives at risk and if they try to do this against a readied opponent, it could all backfire.”

  “Yeah,” Daniel said, “You bet your ass it would. We've already got teams in place of our own.”

  “I don't know if they know that, but I've discovered a few,” Ensign Jiang said. “Which is why I came to you.” She sighed, “They need two things to trigger Omega Protocol: they need Baron Giovanni out of action and they need the majority of the Fleet in position at Faraday.”

  Daniel blanched, “Oh God... you can't mean they're behind the Baron's daughter's kidnapping?”

  Ensign Jiang blinked in surprise, “Is that what happened?” She shook her head, “As far as I know, no, they aren't. I'm seeing too much scrambling and panic, Lieutenant Moritz is a perfect example. He's here as an informant and a second set of eyes, not a trigger man. They know that the Baron is distracted, so they took advantage of the situation. They had one of their people put together a fake set of orders to move the Fleet to Faraday, in the Baron's name.”

  Daniel swore. “I should have looked more closely at it. It didn't make any sense at the time, but I thought it was tied to some plan of the Baron's.” He looked around at the others, “We're going to have to go with Plan Delta.” Plan Delta was the Baron's equivalent of the cabal's Omega Protocol.

  “Whatever you're going to do, you have to do it soon,” Ensign Jiang said. “Because Command is going to hit everyone with Omega Protocol as soon as we get to Faraday, if they haven't already kicked it off.” She pointed at the clock on the wall, “We've got less than two hours at this point, so I suggest you be ready to move.”

  Daniel frowned, “This is really going to be tight. We still haven't identified a significant portion of the conspiracy. I'll need names, especially for those in senior positions... and I need to know who runs this whole show.” Her earlier information that someone else called the shots made all too much sense, especially the apparent rivalry between Senior Captain Ngo and Senior Captain Gronsky. If someone else had maintained their own secrecy and controlled everything from behind the scenes, then it bespoke a dangerous level of competence.

  For the first time, Ensign Jiang hesitated. She looked down at her lap and gave a sigh, “I've always referred to them as Command. The only things I know for absolute certainty are what Senior Captain Nelund told me, just before they had him killed.” She looked up and met Daniel's eyes, “There are four of them... and Admiral Dreyfus is one of them.”

  ***

  Lucius looked up as his sister stepped into the room. The tiny apartment that she had procured for them as a temporary safe house wasn't much to speak of, but at least it had a decent connection to the planetary network. Lucius had managed to access some of his private communications lines and what he saw there left him with a bleak feeling.

  Alanis read his expression, “That bad?”

  “Alicia Nix and Colonel Proscia have initiated phase one of our worst case scenario,” Lucius said. “Either because Colonel Proscia plans to execute a coup or because he and Alicia think that the conspirators already have begun.”

  “Well,” Alanis said, “It could be worse, you could be in the dark.”

  “I am still in the dark,” Lucius said. He felt as if he had swallowed a lemon. “Only I have vague impressions to go on which are almost more hindrance than help.” Despite his words, he still felt he could resolve the situation... it just involved a great deal of personal risk.

  He sighed, “Apparently Alicia picked up on your disappearance as well and her messages to her agents are that you might be a kidnap victim as well. Her words on Anthony Doko and Princess Lizmadie are somewhat less generous.”

  “We didn't kill either of her agents,” Princess Lizmadie said graciously.

  “You stunned them both and then ordered your Nova Roma Marine escort to keep them secured,” Lucius said as he shook his head. “Right now, if nothing else, it makes it look as if you were involved, somehow.”

  “We are involved,” Anthony Doko said, “Just now we are taking a more active role rather than sitting on the sidelines watching.” He seemed more than a little irritated, but Lucius couldn't blame him. It had eaten at him to keep his longtime friend in the dark about the conspiracy, particularly when it had become clear that the conspirators had targeted him and his wife for abduction or execution. “So, fearless leader,” Anthony said, “what's your plan?”

  Lucius took a deep breath, “The way I see it, we have two options. The first is to go public. If you are right, most of Colonel Proscia's people are still loyal, they'll side with us. The problem is that it will gut our response to the conspirators at what might end up being a critical time.” He held up one hand as if weighing the option, “And if you're wrong, we'll not only destroy Colonel Proscia’s career but we will also cripple our response to the conspirators when they may be the ones behind this crisis.”

  No one spoke. It was the less than ideal approach, Lucius knew. “My other option is to confront Colonel Proscia directly in order to provoke a response. If he is the traitor, he'll react and we can take him down. If he isn't, then we still have his network intact and we can do apologies all around and focus on the threat of the conspirators.”

  “That second approach sounds more risky to you,” Anthony Doko said. “If he planned to kidnap or kill you, then he'll have at least one team of people willing to kill or take you hostage. They won't be far away.”

  “That's where you three would come in,” Lucius said. “He still doesn't know of your involvement.

  “Everyone is missing one particularly scary possibility,” Princess Lizmadie spoke up. She took a deep breath, her face strained, “What if our traitor and these conspirators are working together?”

  Lucius felt his stomach roil, “You mean that Colonel Proscia has worked with the conspirators, that all of our plans are known to our enemies and that they're working in collusion?” He closed his eyes as he thought that one through for a long moment. “No... that is being a little too paranoid, I think. For one thing, without the Fleet here, they can't take full advantage of the situation for a military coup. For another, they wouldn't need to go through this charade with my daughter's kidnapping... they could just move on us at their leisure without a false crisis.” He shook his head, “This whole thing is too much of a mess for it to be entirely orchestrated. One side or the other is behind my daughter's kidnapping, not both.”

  “Or maybe even a third party,” Alanis said. “We've plenty of external enemies. The Shadow Lords are known for assassination, blackmail, and kidnappi
ng. For that matter, the Centauri Confederation is too.” Her face went bleak as she said that, reminding Lucius that the Centauri Ambassador claimed to be Marius Giovanni. Would their own father be capable of kidnapping his granddaughter? Quite possible, he thought, and it was a Centauri pistol the kidnappers used.

  “Regardless,” Anthony said, “I don't think you should put yourself at risk directly confronting him, sir.”

  “I don't really have much of a choice,” Lucius said. “He's just reported to Alicia that they took down the kidnappers and that he's moving to link up with her at the primary safehouse. It's a bunker that the Chxor built for their senior officers, complete with an underground shuttle hangar for them to escape. We've repurposed it as a safe house in case the conspirators attack, tied it into the planetary network, upgraded the communications systems, and swapped out the Chxor shuttles for some spare combat shuttles. The problem is, if Colonel Proscia is the traitor, then he'll have half of the government as well as several key officers present.” He sighed, “It will require my access codes to get inside that bunker. More than that, I don't think anyone else will be able to provoke him into revealing himself. He could simply have you two arrested... and as for my sister,” he nodded at Alanis, “he can discredit what she has to say based on her position as a cadet and outside the decision making process.”

  “So your plan is that you will just walk in there and confront Colonel Proscia, accuse him of treason and a host of other crimes?” Alanis asked. “What do we do, stand by with guns ready to shoot him if he tries something?

  “That pretty much sums it up,” Lucius said.

  ***

  Lieutenant Commander Chuck Mathis blinked as Senior Captain Ngo stepped onto the Saladin's bridge. As far as he knew, the Senior Captain was supposed to be off duty for another six hours while he and the rest of the third watch had the shift. Then again, it wasn't uncommon for the Senior Captain to do inspections at random times, from what Chuck had seen since his arrival to the Saladin.