The Prodigal Emperor (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 3)

by Kal Spriggs

  “I'm sorry,” Lucius whispered.

  “You're sorry?” Admiral Dreyfus's head came up. “You can't begin to understand what I've done. I killed my own wife, Lucius, because I knew she would never support this course of action. She was a telepath. She would have known if I planned to kill her...”

  Lucius felt his blood run cold. “The call from Senior Captain Gronsky, that was you.”

  “I orchestrated it so that I didn't know,” Admiral Dreyfus said. “And I moved on from there. I worked so that when the time came, I could take power from you, turn humanity on the right course. We have no need to be the bright and shining future built upon the blood of billions. With the right leadership, we didn't need to sacrifice so much.”

  Lucius spoke, “Admiral...”

  “Don't patronize me with ignorant statements,” Admiral Dreyfus groaned. “I've seen the future. In nine out of ten results, even with help from Shaden and Kandergain... we still lose. We lose so damned many good men and women and all of it for nothing. Do you understand, Lucius, we fight, tooth and claw and nail and we're just not good enough and we lose!”

  Lucius didn't know what to say.

  “But not this path,” Admiral Dreyfus gasped. “John Mira never saw me coming... I would master my future. I wouldn't have the blood of billions on my hands... I would succeed where you failed.”

  Lucius looked away from the terrible madness he saw in his mentor's eyes. He saw that the corpsman had stopped his work and shook his head.

  “I tried to stop it, but some things are unstoppable...” Dreyfus shook his head. “And other things happened out of order or not at all and I don't know what I changed. And you're hell bent on returning to Nova Roma, their prodigal child...” Admiral Dreyfus trailed off and shook his head.

  Lucius leaned forward, “Admiral, you're dying. Make things right. Tell me how to dismantle your organization, surely you have files.”

  Dreyfus chuckled, “Oh, yes, repent!” He glared at Lucius, “I regret nothing. I repent nothing. I am the master of my future... and if I couldn't save those billions, Lucius, at least I saved my soul from torment in the trying.” He leaned forward, blood frothing his lips. “I am but the first of many who will haunt your dreams, Giovanni...” he gasped “...and when the Balor... finally send you to hell, I'll await you.”

  ***

  “As you can see, Mr. Ambassador, I think that we can offer you an excellent compromise...” Julian Newbauer trailed off as the doors to his office slammed open and a team swarmed inside. “What is the meaning of this?”

  Lucius treasured the look of shock on the man's face as he stepped into the room behind his security team. In reality, he had no cause to confront the politician face to face. If nothing else, the events of the coup attempt had shown him that he was essential to the survival of the United Colonies... however much he might wish it otherwise.

  Still, seeing the look on Julian Newbauer's face was something that he hadn't wanted to miss.

  “Minister Newbauer,” Lucius said, his voice calm and cold. For while he felt some amusement at the traitor's expression, he felt none at all for the man's actions. “You are hereby arrested on charges of high treason against the United Colonies.”

  While Newbauer's expression was one to treasure, that of his guest was one for consideration. The Centauri Confederation Ambassador claimed to be none other than Marius Giovanni... Lucius's father. The fact that he was one of two envoys to the United Colonies who claimed that position would have been disturbing enough.

  The slight smile on the Ambassador's face disturbed Lucius even more.

  “What?” Julian demanded. “I insist that I have done nothing wrong! I merely operated off of the information provided to me by Admiral Dreyfus...”

  “The specifics of your involvement with the Dreyfus Coup are too numerous and sensitive to go into just now,” Lucius said with a nod at the Ambassador. “But I will state that they include conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to overthrow the constitution, false statements to the public, kidnapping and holding a foreign head of state hostage,” Lucius gave silent thanks that Emperor Romulus IV had survived unharmed, “and lastly, unauthorized negotiations with a foreign ambassador.”

  “Ah,” Marius Giovanni shook his head, “That's quite the list, Julian. Perhaps you should straighten this all out and we can revisit our discussions?”

  “No...” Julian said, “Please, give me asylum...”

  “That's not how this works,” Marius said with a slight smile. “You know that well enough.” He stood silent as the guards dragged Julian from the room. “That was quite the play, son.”

  Lucius cocked his head at the Ambassador. He refused to think of him as his father. “I'm afraid that due to some of the local unrest, I'm going to have to ask you to return to your ship, Ambassador.” He didn’t bother to ask the man if he even cared about Kaylee’s kidnapping… or to tell him that he had adopted young Patricia Stark after her mother died to protect Lucius’ daughter.

  “Of course,” Marius said. “I'll go there directly.”

  Lucius turned away, flanked by his escort.

  “Oh, and Lucius?”

  Lucius turned and the smirk on Marius's face showed something akin to smug satisfaction.

  “I just wanted to say that my earlier offer still stands. Think about it, full access to the Centauri Confederation's technology base, scientists, ships, and Fleets. You could end their civil war in a matter of months and then spread peace and civilization throughout human space.”

  The offer was all the more bitter for the fact that the Dreyfus Fleet lay in shambles. The damage and destruction weren't crippling, nor was the loss of human life. What had ripped the Fleet apart was the violations of trust. Crews had turned on their officers, shipmates had killed one another, all for a conspiracy that seemed to have its roots in the ambition of a few men. Admiral Dreyfus had gone from a hero to a villain of the worst sort and in the process, no one really trusted anyone else.

  Right now, Lucius didn't know if it would be possible to launch the assault on Nova Roma... which was all the worse for the fact that his people and their Chxor allies were already too engaged to pull out. If he did so now, it would be a betrayal of the worst sort and he knew that not only would they never get this opportunity again, but the people of Nova Roma wouldn't trust them. Yet if he didn't pull the plug on the operation then they would almost certainly lose.

  Marius's offer from the Confederation would give him ships and manpower to pull it all off... at a cost of their autonomy and freedom. Almost certainly it would be as much a betrayal as leaving them to the Chxor, for Nova Roma would be occupied by President Spiridon's people as soon as the Chxor were defeated. Worse, the Centauri forces would disarm any rebels as they relieved them... and no doubt take down names in case of troubles later on. Even if he trusted them to really support him in that operation, he couldn't allow them to seize Nova Roma.

  Luicus just shook his head and turned away.

  ***

  Faraday System

  United Colonies

  February 8, 2404

  “Congratulations, you have a healthy son,” the doctor said.

  Alanis gave him a smile, though as she cradled her newborn baby, she felt more than a flutter of unease. Part of that, she knew, came from the manner of his birth. Incubators were used for a number of reasons, from life-saving necessity to ease of living for the wealthy. That they created a divide between mother and child was why almost all doctors and midwives cautioned against them.

  While Alanis hadn't had much choice about the matter if she wanted to pursue her military career, she could admit that part of her eagerness to use it had been a desire to distance herself from the pregnancy. She had hoped that it would allow her to disassociate Reese from the baby.

  Instead, as she held the tiny, newborn boy, all she could see of him seemed to come from Reese.

  “He has a healthy set of lungs,” Lucius said from nearby. She looked
up and saw that he had a mix of pleasure and pain on his face. His own daughter was still missing and at this point it was almost certain that she was dead. Why else, after all, would no one have attempted to use her as leverage? How much did it cost him, she wondered, to be here and support her when he feared for his own daughter?

  Alanis gave him a nod, “You'd think we were trying to kill him, eh?” The boy sucked fiercely at the bottle in his mouth with an expression of utter concentration.

  “Well,” Lucius said, “Unfortunately, I have to go. How long until you go back to the Academy?” His voice was level, but she could hear the concern in it. That concern was well founded. The cadets had served as the lead elements of the boarding parties sent by Colonel Proscia and they had taken heavy casualties. At least a dozen people she had known, trained with, and even considered friends were dead. On top of that, the instructors and cadre had also participated and around thirty of them had also died in the fighting. Many of her fellow cadets had sought counseling. A handful had even resigned, traumatized by what they had seen and lost.

  Unlike most of her fellow cadets, though, Alanis had already suffered plenty in her life. She'd been orphaned almost from birth, been rejected by society as the daughter of a traitor, and in her escape from Nova Roma she had seen many, many people die. “I'm going back tomorrow, actually,” Alanis said. “I want to take my first year tests and I'll need to study for them.”

  “So soon?” Lucius asked, surprise clear on his face. “I'm sure if you needed more time with your son–”

  “No,” Alanis interrupted, “I'm fine.” She forced herself to smile, “You know how it is, duty calls.” Lucius gave her a level look and she could tell she hadn't convinced him. “I'll have plenty of time after the end of this trimester of classes,” Alanis said. In truth, spending time with the boy was the last thing she wanted to do. The blonde shock of hair was only the beginning. She could see subtle features of Reese in every aspect of him from his chin to his dimples, and she felt anguish as she thought about that.

  “Have you decided on a name, yet?” Lucius asked.

  Alanis felt a momentary disorientation. A name. She had thought of one... yet now it didn't seem right. She opened her mouth, “Anthony William,” she said impulsively. The one name for Anthony Doko, who had saved Lucius's life and the other for the man she had thought was a traitor, yet who had saved the United Colonies.

  Lucius smiled, “A good name. I'll see you later.” He left and for just a moment, she wanted to call him back, to open up about how she felt about her son. Yet the moment passed and she cradled the boy to her. “Anthony William,” she murmured to herself. It was a good name. Anthony Doko was a close friend and Colonel William Prosica had character aplenty. The boy would grow into those names and hopefully leave any of his father's heritage behind.

  As the boy fell asleep in her arms, for just a moment she felt the connection that she had hoped she would feel. At exactly that moment, the nurse came back into the room. “Sorry, ma'am, we'll need to take him for his examination...”

  Alanis gave the woman a tight smile, “Of course.” She passed Anthony over and felt a sense of relief as she did so. Later there would be time to bond with him. After she finished her classes there would be time for the boy.

  Even as she turned away, she knew that there would be many things to occupy her time for many years to come... and she was shamefully grateful for that fact.

  ***

  Chapter IIX

  Halcyon Colony

  Contested

  March 15, 2404

  Counselor Jessica Penwaithe sat patiently through Admiral Moore's briefing. Like most of his, it was merely a regurgitated form of what he had been given and Jessica had found that his daily briefings to the President were the best time she had to think. Time wasn't something she had a great deal of, so she appreciated his droning tone that allowed her to tune him out and think.

  Of course, her thoughts were anything from positive. Stavros had returned only a month ago, but the effects of the ambush at Anvil were still being felt. The military disaster had cost them five of their more loyal privateers as well as the entire War Dogs contingent. Commodore Pierce had pulled the remainder of his mercenaries out of the system, almost without a word. The immediate response from most of the population had been one of shock. Stavros's outlandish behavior and generous demeanor had made him something of a hero and though Garret hadn't known it, there had been a popular opinion of the local kid coming back to do right by his homeworld. The simultaneous loss of Garret and defeat of Stavros had crushed morale.

  Public support for the war effort in general had continued to go down when Admiral Mannetti brought in her Helot-class Carrier. While she said it was to help defend the planet, no one believed that, especially not when she had parked it in high orbit over the planet.

  Surprisingly, Stavros had donated money to the families of killed pilots recruited from Halcyon. Jessica still wasn't certain where that moment of generosity had come from, though she wasn't prepared to discount that it was some effort to sleep with grieving widows.

  To make matters worse, Admiral Collae had arrived with a battalion of his ground troops to provide “additional security.” At least they kept mostly to themselves, unlike some of Mannetti's people who had already been accused of a variety of crimes ranging from rapes to murders.

  Things had rapidly spun out of control, Jessica knew, yet she didn't know how. Garret is dead and so is my sister, she thought, and all I can think about is how it has ruined our plans.

  “Excuse me, Mr President,” one of the aides spoke up. “I've just heard that there's an announcement from Spencer Penwaithe.”

  President Monaghan leaned forward, “What?”

  “I haven't heard any more than that, sir,” the aide said as he brought up a video feed.

  Jessica's lips pursed as Spencer Penwaithe's image appeared. Just like every other time she had ever seen him, he wore an impeccably tailored suit and his neatly trimmed mustache and beard made him look very different from his two sons.

  Spencer Penwaithe spoke, his deep voice calm and measured, “My fellow citizens of Halcyon. I speak to you now as a fellow concerned citizen. We have all heard of the tragedies which have befallen our defenders. Some of you, like me, have lost close family to this expeditionary blunder. Some of you have lost jobs due to the disrupted economy. All of you have expressed your concerns... concerns that have not been addressed by President Monaghan.”

  “Because of the questions he has not addressed and the numerous failures of his administration, I have felt it necessary to leave retirement and I am formally announcing my intention to seek impeachment of President Monaghan and selection of an interim President until such time as a full and proper election can take place.”

  Jessica leaned back and she felt her stomach roil. It had taken a powerful alliance to force Spencer Penwaithe out of politics. Spencer knew where too many of the bodies were buried. Monaghan had managed to pull together enough grassroots support on top of the various special interests to challenge Spencer, but even combined with her husband renouncing his own father and the fact that Garret had left, Spencer had retained enough support that it nearly hadn't worked. With this disaster, it was quite possible that the public would support him.

  Jessica looked around the conference room and she saw shock and appreciation for the scope of the issue on every face. President Monaghan, of them all, had the most to lose. Unlike the others, he had been one of Spencer's close associates, a pawn, but a well-positioned one. His determination to found his own administration had given him the confidence to reject Spencer Penwaithe and stand on his own.

  Since the old bastard isn't known for taking kindly to rejection, Jessica thought, it's likely that he'll bury Monaghan if we let him back into power. Right now President Monaghan needed to seize the initiative, he needed to step forward and lead. With the right approach and enough energy, they could turn this around, Jessica felt.

>   Yet a single look at Monaghan robbed her of that hope. His face had gone gray and he sagged back like a deflated balloon. There was no energy or drive in his eyes, it was like looking into the gaze of a condemned man.

  Jessica opened her mouth, but before she could, he rose, “I think that we all need some time to recover from this. Mark, clear my schedule for the afternoon.”

  Jessica rose, “Mister President, don't you think that we should have some kind of response? Something to show that we are fixing these issues?” To allow Spencer free rein to spread whatever lies he wanted, without even refuting them, would be tantamount to giving him the Presidency.

  “I think it best that we don't give him more ammunition,” President Monaghan said, though his tone sounded more defensive than anything else. “We would just play into his hands if we took an aggressive approach.”

  Jessica stared at him in shock. It was almost as if he had given up and merely wanted some excuse to escape.

  “Very well, sir,” Mark Strombos said, “I'll be certain to follow your guidance in regards to media inquiries.” He subtly positioned himself between the President and the rest of his staff. Jessica caught the motion and she wondered if Mark's purpose were to actually shield the man or if he simply wanted to enable President Monaghan's escape... in order to better position himself to sign on with Spencer Penwaithe.

  Harris is at the economic summit, Jessica thought, he'll have seen all of this as well. Some part of her wondered at how her husband would react. With Garret, Jessica knew that some emotional outburst would have occurred first, followed by a head-on collision with his father. Harris would be more restrained, yet she couldn't help but wonder if her husband would side with his father. To be certain, he viewed the man's ethics with distaste, but he also agreed with his end goals. She knew that her husband had a full share of his father's ambition, as well, and his father might well make some appeal to that, if he hadn't already. Her husband's caution and intelligence made him a hard man to read and Jessica worried that she wouldn't know which way he would go until he moved.