Voice of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book Three)

by Lawrence White

  “This is possible?”

  “It has conditions. The sensors are very sensitive, too sensitive to see through shields.”

  “The ship has to be unshielded? We’re back to Trexler’s guys flying it?”

  Jons nodded. “We are. Mike actually envisioned space stations surrounding Earth, but Serge took it a step further, believing that our commanders would eventually need the capability in other systems. He modified a space tug, putting sensors all over its hull. The ship has no shields and it has no weapons. It’s just a listening station that can vector other ships to their targets. Actually, until they’re more fully tested and equipped to carry command staff, they will tightbeam all the information to our commanders on larger ships. It’s not perfect, but we’re converting as many tugs as we can.”

  “Mike is from an emerging world. Where did he come up with such ideas?”

  Jons shook his head. “I don’t know how good a First Knight he will be when all this is over – he’ll be dealing with a completely different set of problems - but for the moment he’s perfect.”

  “When this is over, he’ll no longer be First Knight. He’ll be King, and I happen to think he’s going to be one fine king.”

  Jons nodded. “He’s going to have his hands full with Serge, that I know. Serge has been moving stuff to Earth for a while now, stuff we knew nothing about, including a bunch of scientists who are working in an orbiting facility he moved there.”

  “I thought he was just getting started with moving manufacturing facilities.”

  Jons frowned. “It’s not a manufacturing facility, it’s a laboratory. I stumbled upon it by accident during my last visit. I’m not certain why he chose to move it to Earth - I’m guessing that he’s scattering his resources - but they’re hard at work on some real science there.”

  “What science?”

  “His drive scientists and engineers are trying to figure out why our drives work. At this point, we know they work, but we don’t really know why.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “It’s true,” Akurea chimed in. “We know how to use them, but we don’t really understand how they work. They just do.”

  “Serge’s scientists on Earth are studying that,” Jons continued, “and I think they figured it out, though they won’t admit it. One of them intimated to me that the drives are not pushing us as much as they’re pulling us, and he suggested that they might be pulling on dark matter, or maybe dark energy.”

  “I’ve heard of dark them.”

  “Dark matter is everywhere in space, and there’s a whole lot more of it than there is of the stuff we can see, but they’re trying to take it a step farther. They’re trying to get a handle on dark energy. This is all just in the theoretical stage so far.”

  “What good is knowing that, other than to scientists?”

  “Well . . . Serge is not going to be happy when he finds out I know. This information should not leave this room, Your Majesty.” She nodded, and he continued. “They’re trying to build a dark energy drive.”

  “I thought you said that’s what we have?”

  “Not even close. If they’re successful, it’s a whole new drive. I have no idea of its capabilities, nor do they, but I think their purpose is to build a drive that has no detectible drive signature.”

  “So they can be more productive smugglers?”

  Jons frowned. “Maybe.” He considered, then said, “Probably. But Mike really shook up Serge with the Chessori thing. I think the new drive is for Earth.” He held up a hand. “It probably won’t be ready for a long time, certainly not in the time frame we’ve constructed for stopping Struthers. It’s for later, for when Mike takes the battle to the Chessori empire.”

  Ellie went silent for a long time. Akurea and Jons looked at each other, then at Nancy Shaw. Nancy grimaced and indicated they be seated. She had grown accustomed to Ellie's periods of deep concentration.

  Ellie finally looked up. She pushed herself off the desk and faced them squarely. With the Queen standing, both of them stood as well.

  “Congratulations, both of you. I’m sure you know that you’ve exceeded my expectations.” She held out a hand. “Each of you carries a locket. I’d like the lockets back please. Today is your Naming day.”

  Jons and Akurea exchanged looks of astonishment. The lockets came out and disappeared into one of Ellie’s voluminous pockets. She motioned to Jons. “Kneel before me if you will, Admiral.”

  Jons went to one knee with his head bowed. Ellie reached down and lifted his chin, her words very personal for this man whom she had grown to know well during the past two years. Nancy, ignored by everyone as she blended into the side of the room, studied everything Ellie did, not because she would be knighting anyone but because it spoke to her of Ellie’s inner workings.

  “Admiral Jons, this day is long overdue. Besides rescuing me from the Rebels, you have labored long and without complaint in my name, and you have worked wonders. To be Named a Knight is a call to even greater sacrifice, and we both know what your sacrifice entails. You desperately want to command a squadron again. Your wish is not likely to be granted, at least not as long as this war continues. You have done your job too well. For that, I thank you. The Empire needs you to continue, but with Earth part of the picture now, your duties take on a whole new magnitude.”

  She knelt down before him, something she had never done during a knighting. “You are a warrior, my friend, but you are more. You have become a diplomat of no small skill. It is that talent, a talent Earth desperately needs, for which I Name you.”

  She stood up and placed her hands on his head. “Do you swear fealty to my crown and to my calling?”

  “I so swear, Your Majesty.”

  “With those words you have chosen to join the Great Ones of Empire, Great Ones who are leading us into the future. I Name you Sir Leland Jons. Please rise.”

  She held out a hand to him, a Knight’s Pin resting in her palm. She took one of his hands, turned it palm up, and placed the Pin in that palm. She then closed his hand into a fist and placed both of her own hands around that fist. Her eyes closed for a time.

  When she opened her eyes, she opened his fist and dropped her hands away. “This Pin will open only for you and for me as long as both of us lives. If either of us dies, the Pin dies. The Pin is recognized as irrefutable truth that the bearer is my Knight. Open the Pin.”

  Jons knew the drill. As a fleet officer he had been trained in the proper protocol of welcoming a Knight should the need ever arise. He passed his other hand across the Pin without touching it. The Pin sprang open to reveal Ellie’s countenance.

  She reached out and closed his fist over the Pin, then took it from him. She reached up to his collar and fastened the Pin in place, saying, “With this token, I knight thee Sir Jons, Knight of the Realm. From this day forward your word is my command on all worlds of the Empire.” She kissed him on the cheek, then turned to Akurea.

  “Hmm. An enigma. One who is already called Lady by some, including a certain Captain O’Brien. I only wish he could be here for this.”

  “He left a month ago, Your Majesty.”

  She directed a piercing glance to both her and Jons. “From now on, to you I am known as Ellie in private. Only in public am I to be addressed as Your Majesty. Got it?”

  Both of them nodded. She looked to Akurea again. “I know. He, too, might kneel before me one day. All of Captain Stven’s crew might. Certainly Captain Stven himself. They have worked miracles, they have become statesmen, and they have cared for my daughter. Their judgment is unquestioned. I wasn’t so certain of you at first. After all, you worked with the Chessori, actually helped them. Had you not been Tested, your loyalty might still be in question, though you had proved yourself to Krys before I ever met you. Your actions have proven to everyone that you are not only true to your oath but that the Empire holds a place in your heart. I want you, your creativity, and your leadership on my team. Will you join me?”
<
br />   “I already have, Your Majesty. In my heart I know there are many who believe as I do. It just so happens that I have been in the right place at the right time to come to your attention. I’ll never be in Krys’ category. She’s a real Knight. I will always look at her with awe.”

  “So will I,” Ellie said softly, looking off into the distance. “I wish you could have seen her the way she was when we met, so thin it looked like a good wind would blow her away. She was just an orphan with a twin brother who was a beggar. Whoever would have thought they would become what they are? When you find others like them or yourself, bring them to me. I need you by my side, and I need them. My Knights are few, they will always be few, and they are my family.

  “You have almost singlehandedly impacted the course of this war,” she continued. “Who can say what the consequences of a hypercom will be? Already, it is a key tool for saving this world and Parsons’ World. Equally possible, it might one day play a role in saving Earth which is always in grave danger. It will be used to relocate our forces where needed, and it will keep me and all of my leaders informed. Beyond its use in this war, it will change civilization, bring us closer together. Yes, my dear, you were in the right place at the right time, to our advantage. Even without knighting, you are already a Great One.

  “Your plan for the Chessori - how elegant. You inspire all of us to greater things. To make it work you will, at the very least, have to speak in my name. I know you will speak wisely, and you will speak with conviction, but not all manufacturers will agree to your terms.”

  “Probably not,” Akurea agreed.

  “My Knights not only speak in my name, they act in my name. These are great corporations, powerful corporations you will be dealing with. As my Knight you will, if necessary, bring them to their knees in my name. Understood?”

  Akurea swallowed hard. “I’m just a commander, Your Majesty.”

  “In about 30 seconds you will be much more than that. Kneel before me if you will.”

  Akurea, rarely hesitant to act, had trouble moving.

  Ellie smiled. “You are not the first to hesitate. Krys needed help, and my husband actually refused.”

  Akurea’s eyes widened. “Your husband is a Knight?”

  Ellie blinked. “You don’t know?” She looked to Jons who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. She turned back to Akurea. “My husband is your First Knight, and he is King. I foresee a long evening of story-telling tonight. He’s from Earth.”

  “Earth! Our First Knight is from an emerging world?”

  Ellie leaned away slightly with a knowing grin on her face. “Would you have guessed Tom O’Brien was from an emerging world when you met him?”

  “I didn’t even suspect. He led us through great battles.”

  “So did my Michael.” She looked kindly upon Akurea, “You have to kneel before I can continue. Will you?”

  Akurea knelt. A wrench and a meter fell from pockets as she did so, but she ignored them.

  Ellie did not. She picked them up and held them before Akurea. “These define the person that you were. I suspect they will remain a part of the person you become, but as a Knight your tool bag includes the power of the Queen, the power of the Empire. As a Knight you represent me, you speak for me, and you speak for the Empire. I ask in return only that you swear fealty to me, to my crown. Will you?”

  “I do swear fealty to you, my Queen,” Akurea said staring into Ellie’s eyes then bowing her head.

  “I Name you Lady Akurea Skvechavka’a. Please rise.”

  Akurea stood before her Queen, the impact of what had just happened sinking in. She closed her eyes, but she felt the room spinning around her and had to open them again. Ellie had already reached out to steady her. The two of them completed the process of empowering the Knights Pin, then Ellie attached the Pin to her collar and kissed her on the cheek.

  She turned with an outstretched arm to take in Jons. “Some prefer a time of privacy to adjust to what just happened. The choice is yours, but we don’t have a lot of time. Tonight is story night. It’s important that both of you know everything that has happened since the coup. Decisions you make in the coming months and years will have a basis in what has already transpired.”

  To Jons, she said, “You have always kept to your own schedule, and that will continue.”

  To Akurea, she said, “You and I leave in a week, sooner if you can be ready before then.”

  “Your Majesty?”

  “I’m Ellie, remember? One of the things you will learn tonight is that your First Knight gave me that name and I cherish it. We leave as soon as you’re ready. I’m going with you to Aldebaran I. Governor Seeton will point us in the right direction for our next stop. If I can, I want to accompany you on your first visit to a production facility. I want to get a feel for what you are up against. After that, I’m not certain where my travels will take me.”

  “I can be ready tomorrow.”

  “No. We have to find you a ship and a crew. You’ll need Protectors, lots of them.” She turned to Ralph. “Can you start the process?”

  “Already begun, Your Majesty. Before Otis left with Lady Krys he sent a message to Governor Seeton. A squadron and a private ship will be waiting for Lady Akurea upon your arrival there. He also gave me instructions to select her Protectors.”

  “He knows me that well,” she said in amazement.

  “The Great Cats have been selected. The Terrans are nearly ready to be interviewed.”

  “Nearly ready?”

  “They do things a little differently than us. They called for volunteers, and everyone volunteered so they formed a competition. It’s nearly complete. Lady Akurea will be able to interview the winners tomorrow.”

  * * * * *

  The first moment she had alone with Ralph, she said, “We need to make plans for Nancy Shaw.”

  “Already done, Your Majesty. The outside world will see nothing different here. The players will change, but those changes will only be known to a few. If you agree to my plan, you’ll leave Shipyard with great fanfare and she’ll be with you. When you reach Aldebaran I, Governor Seeton will provide her with a private squadron, a fast squadron. She will return to Parsons’ World as you, and she will remain there.”

  “She’s not a fighter, Ralph.”

  “Too true, but I’ve watched her carefully. She’s become harder.”

  “Don’t confuse what you think you see with despair. She’s giving it her best, but she feels like a spectator at her own hanging.”

  “Her training begins on the voyage to Aldebaran. That training might never end. She’ll learn to protect herself, and she’ll learn how to work with her protection team. We anticipate a serious, well-planned effort by Struthers to assassinate her. We’ll be ready. It’s what we do.”

  “What sort of attack do you expect?”

  “It could be anything. They likely believe they get one chance before alerting us. The attack will be executed as well as their resources here permit. Serge’s top security people are aware of the issue, though not that you have a double. It will not be easy for anyone to breach her protection, but we will actually make the effort easier than it would otherwise be.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “We want them to make it through the first two levels of our security. That places them half way to Ms. Shaw, but it also clears away all the chaff. They will be so exposed that they will stand out to every member of our team.”

  “What if Struthers sends gleasons?”

  Ralph growled low in his throat. “Every approach will be monitored, and remember - we have an acute sense of smell.”

  “I don’t like her odds.”

  “Nor do I, but better her than you. I completely support this subterfuge.” Ralph padded away for a few steps, then turned back to her. “Your Majesty, have you considered letting her be killed?”

  She stared back at him, then decided he deserved an answer. “I did . . . briefly. To some, misleading Struthe
rs would make sense. To me, it is wrong and I will not condone it. More important, it is not necessary. We want the Empire to believe it has a Queen. Starting rumors to the contrary would put us right back where we started. Our own forces would suddenly be adrift again.”

  She stepped up to him. “She must live, Ralph. Her death would force me back into the limelight, and I want my travels known only to those I want to know.”

  Triton

  Chapter 12

  Mike would never look at a bathroom the same way again. He had become an expert on their operation and he was thoroughly sick of his job.

  The four of them were becoming intimately familiar with the Palace and its environs. With the aid of their Riders they had reached the point where they only got lost occasionally. The first belowground level was laid out simply and conveniently. Levels below that, used to move staff and supplies around, became increasingly more complex.

  The team focused first on their jobs, then on learning their way about. Professor Harylda and his son spent hour upon hour leading them through the less traveled service corridors helping them consolidate a mental image of the many levels of the main buildings.

  And the Professor tested them. He and Mike were working their way through the lowest level beneath the Senate Chamber when Mike pulled out his pad and began a search. The search came up blank and he frowned.

  “You said you’d shown us all the service corridors, but I know there are more levels. There have to be.”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “I’ve designed buildings, remember? Things are more modern here and I don’t know specifics of tensile strengths and construction processes, but there have to be sewer lines and utility lines. We’re right below the senate bathrooms here. There has to be a way to get all that waste out of here.”

  The Professor grinned. “Excellent deduction! I wonder if the Rebels have figured it out?” He eyed Mike carefully. “I’ve been saving this until you were ready. I have never personally been into the next level. If anyone has been there in the last hundred years or so, it was only a technician fixing something. It’s a build-and-forget technology down there. Theoretically it never needs attention, and it hasn’t during my tenure here.”