Exodus - Empires at War 04 - The Long Fall (Exodus Series #4)

by Doug Dandridge

  “And how long will we have to endure these austerity measures?” asked Halbrook, frowning.

  I doubt you will be facing much in the way of austerity, thought Sean, looking at the man’s fat, florid face. “I don’t see this being a quick or easy war. I talked with some of the prisoners on the trip back from Sestius.” The trip I insisted on, that almost got everyone killed, he thought with some guilt. He cleared that thought and got back to business. “This is an implacable foe, who will not quit until they have exterminated our species, or at the very least enslaved us. They will not negotiate with us, they will not sign a treaty, unless it is to go back on their word at a later date. There can only be one victor in this war, and I intend for it to be us. Which means we might be fighting for the next century, or even longer.”

  The shocked expressions were back, and with it the feeling that most of the people in the room didn’t actually believe that the threat was that great. And anyone who can’t respond to this threat in a manner that helps the species and the Empire will have to go.

  “But, the cost of such a war,” said Halbrook, shaking his head. “It will beggar the Empire.”

  “Just bring in the means to pay for the war, Lord Halbrook,” said Samantha. “We’ll figure out how to win it.”

  “And who are you to talk to me in this manner?” asked the Exchequer, staring at Samantha with angry eyes.

  “Samantha is my Regent, and speaks in my name,” said Sean, gesturing toward the woman. “That makes her higher rank than anyone in this room besides myself.”

  “I did not mean offense, your Majesty. My Lady. The stress of the moment has clouded my thinking.”

  Sean dismissed the apology, which he was sure was not sincere, with the wave of a hand. “Lord Garis,” he said, looking at the Minister of State. “How are our relations with our friends and allies?”

  “Relations with the allies are good,” said the Minister with a smile that quickly left his face. “The friends may be another matter. Our ambassador to Elysium had reported that there may be trouble there between the Knockermen and the Brakakak. I’m not sure how much we can count of them in this situation. At least until they can solve their internal difficulties.”

  And so we lose the aid of the second strongest power within the region, thought Sean, rubbing his temples. The conference went on for several hours, and at the end of it Sean felt like the burden on his shoulders was unbearable. I don’t know if I’m up to this, he thought. He thought back for a moment on CPO Gorbachev, and Sebastian Ngano, the Captain of the Sergiov. If I’m not the man the Empire needs, then I must become that man, and pretend to be him until I am.

  “Thank you for your input, Ladies and Gentlemen,” he said when he had decided that the meeting had accomplished all it was going to. “Again, I will meet with you all through the coming days. Now, I would like for my military and security advisors to remain, so we can discuss matters of a need to know basis.”

  The others stood to leave. For a moment it looked as if Lord Halbrook was going to protest, but a look from Sean changed his mind. Samantha stood up, and Sean put a hand on her arm. “You stay, cousin. You’re my Regent now, and anything that is discussed about the security of the Empire is in your purview as well.”

  Samantha nodded and retook her seat, a troubled look on her face. She’s worried too, that she might not be up to the task I’ve given her. If that’s true, I’ll replace her later. But I have a feeling that she will grow into the position.

  “You stay too, Countess Kawasaki,” he said to the Prime Minister, who looked like she wanted to escape from the pressures of her new position as well. “You need to be aware of everything that is going on, so you can push the bills we need through Parliament.”

  The small woman nodded her head and sat, and Sean hoped she would be the Churchill they needed in this hour of need.

  *

  “I want to see every R and D project we have going,” said Sean as soon as those not cleared for Ultra Top Secret military information left the room.

  “Every one, your Majesty?” asked Lady Hannah, a frown on her face.

  “Just an overview of what we’re doing will do, for now. I can look over the ones that seem to hold the most promise later.”

  “We can deploy the subspace com system pretty much immediately,” said Len, looking over at Lady Hannah.

  “And what is this, subspace com system?”

  “Well, your Majesty, it allows us to communicate through the subspace dimension,” said Lady Hannah, “letting us communicate twelve times faster than regular light speed com. There are some difficulties of course. Because of the effects of gravity, it can’t be used in close proximity to a planetary body, or within the life zones of most stars. And of course it can’t transmit through those zones.”

  “So if planet gets in the way the signal is interrupted?” asked Sean. “And it really can only be used in the outer system. How much space does the equipment take up.”

  “A couple of tons, maybe a bit more,” said Len.

  “Then put it on every ship we can,” said Sean, wondering why it hadn’t already been done. “Crank them out as fast as we can, and put them in. Twelve times light speed still gives us an advantage.”

  “It takes supermetals to construct,” said Lady Hannah. “Not all that much, but enough to cut in on some other production.”

  “So we give up a missile for each space ship we install a subspace radio on,” said Sean, looking from face to face. “And we start building more supermetal production facilities. We’re going to need more of them anyway, so we might as well start getting them up and running.”

  Sean looked at the flat screen in front of him, moving his finger down a list. “What about getting wormhole communications up and running on as many ships as we can?”

  “Great idea, your Majesty,” said Len with a smile. “But what about when you want to send those ships through a ship gate?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “As far as we know, a wormhole cannot move through another wormhole,” said Lady Hannah, nodding to Len. “Dr. Yu could explain it better, but there seems to be a problem with moving one extradimensional hole inside another.”

  “So, what happens if you try to do that?”

  “Theoretically?” said Len, shrugging his shoulders. “Best case, both wormholes fade out. Worst case, a very bad explosion, probably in the hundred gigaton range.”

  “And has this been done?” Sean asked, visualizing what would happen to a battleship if that kind of explosion occurred inside. “I mean, has anyone tried it to see what would happen? Not on a manned ship, of course. But maybe on a probe.”

  “Well, no,” said Lady Hannah, shaking her head. “It didn’t make sense to waste resources to test out something that was proven by mathematics.”

  “Test it,” said Sean, sending an order through the comp system to make it official. “Now, what about this research into inertialess drive?”

  “It shows promise,” said Lady Hannah, who Sean had to admit really knew what was going on. “Not as an interstellar transport method. It’s never going to replace hyperspace, or at least it doesn’t look that way. Maximum velocity appears to be twice light speed, and we still have to boost up to that speed. The only real problem is that it consumes negative matter.”

  “And negative matter is what we need for wormhole gates,” said Sean with a frown. “So if we want this we need to increase our negative matter production.”

  “Basically, your Majesty,” said Grand Marshal Yamakuri, “we can’t have as much of everything we want or need, at least at first. I would like more assets to protect the planets and populations I am tasked with guarding. But I know I will have to take second place to the Fleet.” He looked over at Field Marshal Betty Parker and smiled. “Well, maybe third place, after the Marine Corps.”

  “I am afraid that is the truth, Grand Marshal,” said Sean, tapping on his flat screen. “But I also want as much ground fighting capability
as we can muster. Not just for defensive purposes. I want to place troops on the planets they hold and mess with their own infrastructure.”

  “How do you plan to do that, your Majesty?” asked Parker. “Short of an invasion.”

  “I have some ideas, involving wormholes,” said Sean, smiling at the Field Marshal. “Remember, people. We have one clear advantage here, wormholes. I think we can come up with some others, but right now this is the only superior tech we have working. And we must use it to its fullest. Any trick anyone can come up with, no matter how outrageous it sounds, I want on my desk. Understood?”

  Everyone around the table nodded, or gave a verbal acknowledgement. All except for the new Prime Minister, who looked like she wasn’t sure what was going on. “I’m not really sure what part I play in this, your Majesty,” she said, looking from face to face.

  “Your part, Prime Minister, is to get me what I want from Parliament. Everything I want, or I will be forced to declare Level One Martial Law, which is something I really don’t want to do.”

  “The people won’t like that, your Majesty.”

  “But they will go along with it,” said Sean with a smile. “Believe me. I don’t want to go down in history as a despot. I also don’t intend to go down in whatever history is left as the Emperor that lost the final war. So I want the money to come in, as fast as possible, so I can pay it out to the people who will be building the infrastructure we need to win. Now,” he said, looking over at Lady Hannah, “tell me about Bolthole.”

  “Are you sure you want me to sit in on this?” asked Kawasaki, her eyes wide.

  “I am asking much of you, Countess,” said Sean, nodding. “I want to give you the same respect.”

  “Bolthole is up and running, your Majesty,” said Lenkowski. “Give it another six months and it will be at full production.”

  “Then I want seventy-five percent of that production to go into increasing production,” said Sean. “Right now I don’t think that its contribution will make that big a difference. In the future I want it to be our unassailable industrial base, putting out as much as three core systems.”

  The meeting went on for another couple of hours, until Sean was satisfied that things were going to happen as he wanted them to happen, at least by the people on his side. He had no control whatsoever on what the enemy was going to do. He could only hope the enemy didn’t start acting like tactical and strategic geniuses. And then it was time to get ready for the coronation party, the one he couldn’t get out of.

  *

  “And Marlena here will be the baby’s nurse,” said the staff member who had been showing Cornelius around the Imperial Palace.

  Walborski nodded at the smiling woman, still holding tight to the infant he had brought with him from Sestius. He held Cornelius Junior away from him so he could look into his blue eyes, orbs the color of his late wife’s. The last thing I have of her. I almost can’t stand to leave the little guy behind. But what better place to be raised than the palace, on the most secure planet in the Empire.

  The smiling Malticoran woman walked up to Cornelius and put out her small hands to receive the baby. Cornelius kissed the baby on the forehead, inhaled a last whiff of his scent, then handed him over. The infant was restless for a moment, trying to twist his head around on his weak neck to see his father, but the humanoid alien started crooning a soft tune and the baby relaxed.

  “Your baby will be happy here,” said the staff member, who he understood to be the daughter of a line in long service to the Imperial family. “There are dogs and cats to play with, lots of other children, and every adult here will look out for him.”

  Might as well be here, thought Cornelius, nodding his head and trying to keep the tears from coming. No other family that I know of, and Katlyn’s family always hated me. Hate to see how the child would feel toward me once he grew up there. Walborski took another look around the room, one of scores he had walked through on his way here. He had been in the homes of Dukes and Barons before, and they were wealthy beyond belief. Or at least he had thought so until he saw the Palace.

  “When do you leave?” asked the staffer.

  “There’s a shuttle leaving the space port in six hours,” said Walborski. “I’m to be on it to catch a transport to Ruby.” Sanctury D IV, the fourth world out from the K class star that’s the fourth out from the Black Hole. He had heard that it had just about the same gravity as Jewel, a bit lighter than Sestius, and colder than either one. The Imperial Army Officer Academy of Sandhurst was on the planet, as was the Camp Determination Training Facility, over eight hundred thousand square kilometers of military reservation. He hoped that one day Sandhurst might be his destination. But first he had to prove himself to the Imperial Army by passing basic.

  “Too bad you can’t stay for the celebration tonight,” said the woman with her hostess smile pasted in place. “There hasn’t been a coronation ball in my memory, and may not be another for over a century, given the new Emperor’s age.”

  I just want to learn how best to kill Cacas, thought Walborski. And given what’s coming at us, there’s no guarantee anyone is going to be alive in a century.

  “I might as well get going,” said Cornelius, walking over to the nurse and gesturing for his baby. “You be good, little fellow. Daddy has to go and keep the bad things away.”

  He kissed the baby one more time and handed him back to the nurse, then turned and walked from the room.

  Constance the Great Spaceport was the largest facility he had ever seen. Not surprising, as it was the largest landing field in the Empire, serving as it did the largest city on the most populous planet of that Empire. Eight thousand square kilometers of landing pads, runways, terminals, hangars and warehouses. While he waited in the military lounge with fifty-three other recruits he counted the ships coming down from space, at least what he could see from the room’s observation window. One landed every minute, many of them several thousand ton cargo jobs. A steady line of aircars arrived and departed from the several terminals. He guessed the population equivalent of Sestius came and went from this place every hour. He had been to the second largest spaceport on New Detroit of course, but thought they could drop that one into this and never notice it was there.

  Cornelius looked up as one of the other recruits approached, two more at his back. The one in the front was trying to look brave, the two behind him were not even making the attempt.

  “What can I do for you gentlemen?” asked Cornelius, staring into the eyes of the spokesman.

  “We heard that you saw the Cacas,” said the first man. “At least that’s what the Corporal said. I told these guys I didn’t believe you had.”

  “Oh, I saw them alright. Three meters tall and twice as ugly. They were on Sestius.”

  “Then how in the hell did you get back to civilization?” asked the spokesman with a sneer.

  “The new Emperor came and picked me up, with some twenty thousand of my closest friends.”

  “Bullshit,” said Spokesman, pointing a finger. “And I bet you know the Emperor personally.”

  “Why, of course I do,” said Walborski with a smile. “Doesn’t everyone.”

  “A real bullshitter, aren’t you? And how close did you get to these so called Cacas.”

  Walborski was really starting to take a dislike to Spokesman, and stood up to glare at the man. He was about ten centimeters taller, but the other guy was at least ten kilos heavier. Not the worst odds that the ex-farmer had ever faced.

  “About as close as I am standing to you,” said Walborksi, pushing a finger into the other man’s chest. “Just before I plunged a knife into his heart.”

  The other two men looked wide eyed at the once farmer, but Spokesman was having none of it. He knocked Walborski’s hand away and thrust his face forward. “Bullshit again. I bet you hid behind the skirts of some woman and hoped they passed you by.”

  Spokesman truly looked shocked when Walborski’s hand reached out and slapped him in the th
roat. A quick kick and the man was laying on the floor, groaning.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” yelled the Corporal who had been assigned to see them up to the transport. Not a hair was out of place on her head, and the service ribbons were aligned perfectly on her chest. Walborski already had her pegged as a garrison soldier, one who had never seen combat.

  “We was just talking to him and he went crazy,” said Spokesman in a groaning voice from the floor. “He’s crazy.”

  “My wife was killed by the Cacas,” said Walborski, glaring coldly at the man on the floor.

  “I am so sorry,” said the Corporal, grimacing. “But that’s no excuse to attack another recruit. You could be brought up on charges.” She closed her eyes for a moment and Walborski knew she was accessing his files. Those eyes flew open and she stared at him. “My God. I knew you had been in the militia, but I had no idea.”

  “So he got shot at,” said Spokesman, climbing back to his feet. “Big deal.”

  “You shut your fucking mouth, recruit,” yelled the Corporal, turning on the man. “If you become one tenth of the soldier Private Walborski is already, we will have gotten a good return on our investment.”

  Cornelius knew he would have his militia rank while going through basic, maybe even a little more, but he would still be considered a recruit for training purposes.

  “What did he do?” asked one of the other recruits.

  “He just killed twenty Cacas by himself,” said another voice, and everyone jumped to attention as a man in full dress uniform, Ranger tab on his left sleeve, walked into the waiting room. “How many hand to hand, Cornerlius? Six?”

  “I believe I only killed four in hand to hand, sir,” said Walborski with a straight face.