by Kal Spriggs
“We have completed a complete genetic analysis of the two men who claim to be your father,” the Iodan said. “Both the Marius Giovanni who works for Shadow Lord Imperious and the Marius Giovanni who serves as ambassador for the Centauri Confederation.”
Lucius waved a hand. When he realized how ridiculous that was, he spoke, “We know that already, go on.” The entire idea had been to find some way to discredit both emissaries, in such a way as to put them on the defensive rather than to give them an excuse to attack. Now that the various Shadow Lords had withdrawn, it seemed unlikely that Imperious would attack without provocation. President Spiridon of the Centauri Confederation was a bit more of a conundrum. On the one hand, he was already involved in a multiway civil war in which even his closest allies might turn against him at any perceived weakness, such as starting a new war on a new front. On the other, the man was known for holding grudges and for his diabolical machinations. It wasn't unlikely that he might maneuver someone else into attacking or to try to hurt Lucius some other way.
“After thorough analysis, we have confirmed that both men are indeed genetic matches to your father, both down to the genetic level as well as fingerprint, retinal, and even deep tissue scanning. In essence, they are both perfect copies, not only of one another, but of your actual father.”
President Sara Cassin grimaced, “Well, that's no help then...”
Lucius frowned, though, “Wait, you said actual father?”
The Iodan's voice showed no excitement, but its tentacles seemed to quiver a bit faster, “Indeed. Through atomic analysis, we have determined that neither one is your actual father. If they had been, their molecular make-up would be tied to your world of birth. Even after living for half a century off of Nova Roma, their bone and fatty tissues would still retain a majority of isotope similarity to that of other inhabitants of Nova Roma, such as yourself. Instead, key isotopes are missing while others are present.” The Iodan activated the holographic projector and brought up a star map. “These two copies, and the others we think were made, came from material in the Altara star system. We have narrowed this down to almost exact certainty, given the slight changes in both samples isotope spectrum from the time of creation, which we project as approximately thirty Earth years ago.”
“Could you be mistaken?” Alicia Nix asked.
“This is possible, but extremely unlikely. Every star system has its own, unique spectrum, a mix of isotopes found in greater or lesser quantities. This acts as an almost infallible fingerprint and is in fact a key aspect to how Iodans organize our biometric data.” The Iodan seemed to consider that for a long moment. “The atomic makeup of any being's body is formed from what they consume with no exceptions. Lucius Giovanni has a pattern entirely consistant with someone who was raised on Nova Roma and has traveled to many worlds. He ate food grown and produced on Nova Roma which matches not only the planet but the system's isotope spectrum. It is possible that Marius Giovanni ate food entirely produced and grown in the Altara system, but this is unlikely, especially given the presence of two of him. Thus, the assumption that the two duplicates were made in the Altara system.”
Kate Bueller spoke up, “Did you say made? Don't you mean cloned?”
The Iodan spoke before Lucius could, “Cloning would not produce a subject as identical as these two specimens. Environmental factors have a significant effect upon maturation characteristics and would require extreme surgeries and attention to produce even basically similar characteristics. So too, nanoreconstruction would leave telltale signs at the deep tissue and bone layers. In essence, it would fool a careful look, but not a scientific evaluation. These two specimens are, to all intents and purposes, flawless to someone who did not take the time to do a full isotope analysis, which took us these past few months.”
There was silence in response and the Iodan added, “In essence, these two specimens were constructed, entirely exact in every detail that matters. We are very interested in this because it is a process that we have never before encountered.”
Lucius nodded. The question then, of course, was who had the technology to do that... and why they had done it with his father. For that matter, he thought, who else they have done it with. “You mentioned others?” Lucius asked.
“Indeed,” the Iodan said, “One of the things we found at the atomic level was a slight variance with the presence of sulfur isotopes. It was a tiny thing, but one that stood out when we checked ratios, it is a simple binary code, built into both specimens at a level of detail which would be almost impossible for anyone to spot, outside their original manufacturer. The Marius Giovanni working for Shadow Lord Imperius is labeled two and the emissary for the Centauri Confederation is labeled five.”
Lucius sat back. “So there could be as many as five of these... duplicates running around, along with the possibility that my actual father is still out there somewhere. Do we have any idea why?”
“Indeed,” the Iodan said. “Additionally, judging by the samples, we believe that the brain chemistry of both specimens has been altered, perhaps to enable them to think in certain ways so as to achieve certain goals. These changes are so slight as to be minute but might make one duplicate inclined to take an action that another might not consider.”
“Right,” Lucius said. “So, now we know.” He looked at Kate Bueller, “How do we want to handle this?”
She looked troubled, but after a moment she composed herself, “That depends on whether you want to change our plans in light of recent events or move ahead.” At Lucius's level look, she quirked a smile, “I thought not. Most of those who are willing to step out of line and forge either alliances or even sign on to the United Colonies are ready. There's a handful of holdouts, who either want to get a better deal or are uncertain how things will shake down after the Dreyfus Coup.”
Lucius winced at the name. He had tried to shift the public's attention to some of the other conspirators, but they had latched onto Admiral Dreyfus's betrayal the strongest. He wasn't certain who had used the title for the cabal's actions first, but it had been stamped into the public's mind. While Lucius couldn't argue with the root of the conspiracy, he still felt that the man behind it shouldn't be reviled after all the good he had accomplished in his life. I just wish I could have won him over, Lucius thought, and whatever visions he had of the future, I refuse to live in fear because of them.
“Very well,” Lucius said after a moment. “We'll go with the original plan, then. Denounce them both, give a condensed version of the Iodan's research as proof, and then announce our new alliances.”
“Do we want to try to get more out of our allies?” Kate asked. “Some kind of auxiliaries to support our attack on Nova Roma?”
Lucius frowned as he considered her question. In truth, that was his major concern. At the moment they could utilize most of the Dreyfus Fleet, yet he had no question that it would be a disaster. Several of the ship captains had dumped their computer cores, wiping out not just records of the cabal but also the entire ships' data network and coding necessary not only to operate the weapons, but also the reactors, the engines, and the navigational systems. They had brought some of that back online, but only the Patriot was fully operational of the six massive fortress ships. The Crusader and her sister ships were all completely inoperable without weeks or months of programming work. Many of the other ships, including almost all of their battlecrusers and over half of their cruisers and destroyers were in the same situation.
Even if their data networks were functional, their crews were not. The destruction of trust had almost shattered the Fleet. Even officers who had been loyal were looked on with suspicion from crews... even though they had uncovered the vast majority of the cabal's members, everyone knew that they had missed some. Of the four members of Command, they knew Admiral Dreyfus's name for certain. Alicia Nix suspected that Minister of War Newbauer was another member. The third and fourth leaders remained unknown, and all of the senior leaders below them had either died
in the fighting or committed suicide shortly afterward.
That they had possibly missed one or more of the senior leaders of the conspiracy meant that they still weren't certain if they had removed all of their supporters. That uncertainty could be felt at all levels. How could a crew trust their officers when they knew that some of them might well have supported the coup, if only passively?
Also, a small but still sizable minority of the 'lost' crew and Marines still remained at large. Lucius hoped that as they continued to identify remains, more of them would be found among the dead, but he couldn't discount the possibility that the conspirators had some kind of backup plan.
All of which came back to the fact that well over ninety percent of the Fleet wasn't fit to fight.
Lucius realized that he had been quiet too long. “What will it cost us?” he finally asked. “Because while I'm willing to work trade concessions and technology transfers, what it comes down to is the quality of the forces we would be buying.”
She nodded, “Understood. In truth, I don't think we would get much in the way of quality support. Most of the systems that would give it for cheap are already in need of whatever we can give them and they're basically willing to sign on just for the opportunity to be protected. Others...” she shrugged, “we're already giving them damned good options and they are either too far away to help, like the Shogunate, or they have problems close to home, like Wenceslaus.”
Lucius nodded. The attack at the Wenceslaus Colonial Republic Fleet Base had been a shocking raid, conducted by allies of Admiral Mannetti. Fortunately for the United Colonies, just after the raiders withdrew, Enjeer Stangaard of the planet Schwartzkrieg had seized the base and those ships that the raiders hadn't taken. His emissary, in fact, had wanted to sign on with the United Colonies right away. The problem, of course, was that the nearer Colonial Republic worlds had immediately sent forces to put down his uprising. Stangaard had managed to hold out so far, but Lucius knew he wouldn't have forces to spare.
“Very well,” Lucius said, “We'll go with the original plan, then. Those signing on with the United Colonies will have to hold their own until we liberate the Nova Roma system, at which point we'll retask forces for security of systems that have signed on and then our allies.” Even if the Fleet were at full strength that would stretch them very thin. On the other hand, it would also give them some strategic depth. While there was nothing to stop an enemy from launching a direct attack on Faraday, given the limited shadow space routes to the system, it would take them some time to reach there, possibly enough time that their allies could get them warning.
Besides, all or nothing attacks like that were dangerous. Too many would-be warlords had found their own systems conquered by their erstwhile allies while their fleets were away.
“In that case,” Lucius said, “I think we’ll go ahead with the original plan and denounce the duplicity of certain envoys and our new alliances.” He smiled a bit at that. While he only vaguely remembered his real father, the two men who had introduced themselves as Marius Giovanni had both rubbed him the wrong way from the start. Both of them had tried to manipulate him through either false affection or family duty to agreeing with their positions. Lucius quite looked forward to the opportunity to pull off their masks and reveal them as mere copies.
***
Lucius sat down as the envoys from Halcyon stepped into the conference room. He had already heard the summary of what they had to say. In many ways, he didn't feel much sympathy for them. For their people, to be certain, but not for the leaders who had been forced to flee.
The first man into the room, however, wasn't one of their envoys. Lucius nodded respectfully, “Commodore.” Lucius had never personally met the man, but he knew of him by reputation. The fact that he had signed on with Halcyon was a mark in their favor. The fact that he had stood by them even after Admiral Mannetti sent them running was another mark in their favor.
“Baron Giovanni,” Commodore Pierce said with a nod of his own. A moment later, he was followed by a tall, blonde woman and an even taller black man. “This is Jessica and Harris Penwaithe, of Halcyon.”
Lucius gestured at them to sit. “Tell me what you think I can do for you.”
The woman, Jessica, looked defensive. “We haven't come empty handed.”
“No,” Lucius agreed with narrowed eyes, “you haven't. But you have admitted that you were involved in an unprovoked attack designed to cripple this nation. You have offered in trade what Admiral Mannetti currently possesses and what I would have to spend lives and resources to reclaim.”
Her answer was at least sincere, “Admiral Mannetti misled us. We thought that we could control her, but she and Admiral Collae worked together to outmaneuver us... and then Admiral Collae withdrew.” The bitterness in her voice showed that she hadn't taken well to the failure.
Lucius grimaced. He had heard that it was even more complicated a situation than she had just described. A message from Mason McGann had accompanied them and he said that Lauren Kelly and he had attempted to infiltrate and sabotage Admiral Mannetti. Lauren was probably dead and Mason had said that he was going to make use of the letter of marque that Lucius had given her.
To top it off, he had said that Lucius's former brother-in-law, Reese, had blown their cover and that he was somehow involved in Mannetti's efforts there on Halcyon. It strained Lucius's credibility to think that Reese had infiltrated himself into her trust so quickly, so it was likely that he had betrayed Lucius long before.
“I understand your position,” Lucius said in a more diplomatic tone. “However, that doesn't change my own. We are about to begin a large military operation...”
“What if we offered you more than a portion of the alien fleet?” Harris asked.
“I'm not in this for the power,” Lucius cautioned, “and from what I gather, that fleet is either crippled or sabotaged. Either way, it is of little use to me.”
“How about a new member for your United Colonies?” Harris said. “A full member, one that brings a fleet of warships, right now. Admiral Mannetti interned our warships and crews at Heinlein Base. If you free them, you'll add a sizable force to your side.” He frowned, “More importantly, my people believe in your stated cause: freedom for mankind from tyranny.”
Lucius cocked his head, “You think your people would sign on? I'm not a warlord, I could care less what your politicians would say. I want to know if your people would readily sign on to the constitution.”
“We've tried to go it alone,” Jessica said in a subdued voice. “Fighting for independence from the Colonial Republic and Nova Corporation didn't go well. We tried to use mercenaries and privateers to do our work for us, but that just created the problem we have now. Mannetti will use our people for her own ends and then discard them.” She shook her head, “Some part of me hopes that you are different, but the cynical side of me says that you don't get in your position without a healthy dose of ambition.”
“You might be surprised,” Lucius said as he thought back through the various twists and turns that had made him the leader of a nation. “If you are asking to join the United Colonies, that's a very different proposal from what you've told my people so far.” In truth, it had originally sounded like they wanted to hire them like mercenaries. Fighting to liberate a world, however, was something that his people could get behind. Even more so, he knew, after the events of the coup. The damage to morale might be healed a bit by fighting someone like Mannetti.
The problem, of course, lay in the execution. Emperor Romulus along with all of his forces had already left for Nova Roma. The Halcyon delegation had not been here at Faraday long enough to realize that most of the massive fleet in orbit was barely fit to defend itself, much less conduct a war.
Tommy King will be there, Lucius thought as he remembered the Mason’s message, for the man had used those words even as he referenced the Trinity system, they'll have the War Dogs... and I might be able to scrape together enough forces to turn t
he balance. It would be good to end a threat like Lucretta Mannetti once and for all and if he could free a planet in the process, so much the better.
And there is also the matter of the alien base and the fleet it holds, he thought. If anyone could get it running... Lucius brought up a comm link off the terminal, “Send Rory and Feliks in, I think I have something for them to work on.”
The two had been just down the hall, he knew, discussing with Matthew Nogita a process to streamline the retrofit of the captured Balor ships. The two would know best what Balor ships would be operational in the next few days and they might know something about the alien base, perhaps dormant or active defenses that could be a threat or benefit. Lucius was a bit fuzzy on the different extinct alien races, but he thought that Rory had mentioned some knowledge about the Zar. He met Harris and Jessica's gazes, his expression calm, “All right. No guarantees, but we'll look into it.”
***
“This is amazing,” Rory said as he finished looking over the base schematics that Jessica Penwaithe had provided. “This is what we call a Gamma Base, I've read about them from translated files... but I never dreamed we would find one intact.”
“It is definitely a Gamma Base,” Feliks said with a nod. “This is groundbreaking, phenomenal, even.”
“Yes,” Lucius said, “we know, an entire fleet. I'm certain it will be very useful once someone gets it operational.”
“No, no, no!” Rory shook his head, “The fleet, yeah, sure that's impressive. But the base itself? That's groundbreaking. We've found bits and pieces of their technology, mostly weapons lost in their final war with the Illuari, but an entire base? You're talking maintenance facilities, store-rooms, defenses... stuff that we know they had, that we can see from the limited databases we've recovered. All of it is centuries beyond our current technology, but still technology that we can take apart and begin to understand.”