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

by Lawrence White

  Her light moved in his direction, though she kept it out of his eyes. “I’ve been briefed on the whole plan. Did I miss something?”

  “No, Ma’am.”

  “Walters, are you going to pull an Orion III on us?” she demanded.

  He squirmed. “Maybe. Depends. We won’t know until we’re in there.”

  “Your job is to blow it up and get out. That’s all. What if you stay and get overwhelmed? They’ll have access to the guns.”

  “Stevens rigged a dead-man’s switch to the explosives. If we stay, it will be activated. One way or another, that control center will be dead when we leave.”

  She considered. It was a daring plan and it carried risk, but it also offered rewards. Trexler might not stop every single ship from coming to Struthers’ rescue. One single ship getting through could wreak havoc on Josh’s plan. Or worse yet, what if Struthers was willing to sacrifice himself just to get the Queen? Chandrajuski was taking this very message back to Trexler.

  Every level of command had prepared a plan of attack based on its own mission objectives. Each plan consisted of the most likely scenario, several less likely scenarios, and one or two worst case scenarios. Struthers’ willingness to sacrifice himself was the single worst case scenario for the overall operation. It opened doors that would be difficult, if not impossible, to close off. If Josh declared that scenario active, everyone reverted to one single focus: get Ellie out alive. Two primary exits had been planned for that scenario: a quick pick-up on the plateau, or retreat back through the tunnel system. Using the tunnels would take hours and require a major attack against the spaceport serving Crystal City. There would be high losses, including civilians.

  Reba liked the possibilities presented by Captain Stevens’ plan. “Would it help if I stayed?”

  Walters removed his helmet and rubbed the top of his head. “Hmm. Maybe. Don’t you have other stuff to do?”

  “I’m leading Protectors to their posts, but once they’re there, I’m free. Once the fighting starts, I’d just slow them down. Like you, they move fast. Really fast.”

  Walters frowned. “Okay, let’s leave it like this: if you’re back by the time we attack, you’re welcome to join us. If you’re not back by then, don’t come.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll see if I can get a uniform.”

  “That’s a requirement. Don’t come without it, and don’t come without a change of clothes. As Imperial Marines, we’ll be shot on sight by our own guys when we get out of this network of horrors.”

  She stared at him in amazement. “You too?”

  He shuddered. “This place gives me the willies.”

  Chapter 23

  Three nights before the start of the senate convocation, Josh, Val, Mike, and Reba escorted a dozen scouts to various hiding places throughout the complex, all of them hiding above the ceilings or within empty rooms along corridors. Josh had already scouted out the hide sites and was certain they would work. These men would have plenty of time to place charges in strategic locations that would eliminate some of the gleasons and other defenders as they raced to engage Josh’s men, but most important, they would provide intelligence on enemy movements.

  The next night, Josh personally escorted three reconnaissance teams of two men each to locations he had previously picked out in the park in front of the Senate Chamber. These men, extremely talented at hiding, would continuously observe Rebel movements on the senate grounds and would likely be the first to know of Rebel reinforcements approaching from above ground. The men had already modified the Ghilley suits and other materials they would use to create their hide sites. Locations were limited in the open parkland, and Josh had decided they would use trees. The men inched their way through the darkness, their bodies covered in space blankets which almost completely eliminated radiated body heat. Once in place, one-way view nets the same color as the surrounding lawns went up around the bases of trees. Bushes were planted strategically to camouflage the camouflage, allowing these men to literally blend in to their surroundings and retain a relatively unrestricted view through scopes. Messages between these men and Josh’s command staff would be typed. There would be no speaking during their time in the hide sites.

  The main body of 600 Protectors, equal numbers of Great Cats and Terrans, made the long march through the tunnel, arriving a full day before the senate convened. They were not given time to rest. Josh, Mike, and Reba led them to predetermined exits from the tunnel system, in most cases directly below their fighting positions.

  Val pulled Reba aside before she set out with her first group. “I’m off to get cleaned up.”

  She stopped what she was doing and turned off her headlamp, then stepped into his arms. “I wish it was me leaving,” she said, laying her head on his shoulder. “I’m just about at the end of my endurance with this underground living.”

  “We all are. It’s been a long road. You’ve made it a lot better than it would have been.”

  “Well, Mr. Right Arm, it was never really optional for you. It was for me until I met you. It’s not any longer, so it’s your fault.”

  “When we’re done here, I want to take some time to ourselves. We have plans to make.”

  She leaned back to look into his eyes. A sprinkling of lights lit the tunnel, though they left pools of darkness here and there. Val’s eyes gleamed back at her from within such pools. A smirk lit her face. “And what plans would those be, Sire?”

  “I think you know.”

  “We can’t. You haven’t even met my family.”

  He shrugged. “I have your Dad’s permission.”

  “What!”

  “I’ve had it for two years. He asked that we wait until they can attend, but he’ll understand if we don’t.”

  She closed her eyes and pressed up against him. He couldn’t see it but a tear fell from her eye in spite of the smile on her face. “This is not the time or the place,” she finally said. “We’ll talk later. Ellie might want to have a say.”

  He took a step back. “As you command, My Lady.” He took her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. “I love you,” he whispered.

  “I love you. We’ll talk two nights from now.”

  “That we will.”

  He left, but not for Crystal City. Not yet. He had a few more goodbyes to say. He headed back into the tunnel network in search of his sister. She had last reported in about halfway between the Senate Chamber and the military end of the plateau. When he found her, he found Otis as well.

  Otis left the side of Krys’ floater and stepped up to Val. “You’re leaving?”

  “I am. I have to get cleaned up if I want to make it past security. We’re a pretty smelly group down here.”

  Otis sat on his haunches. “We have shared a long road to this place.”

  “We have, old friend. A road that began on Hespra III.”

  “I didn’t need the Leaf People to convince me you were special.”

  Val shook his head. “We didn’t need the Leaf People to know we were a family. By tomorrow night we’ll know success or failure.”

  “It’s too soon to discuss the future, but I wonder what it holds for us? I hope we are around to find out. My battle will be the most difficult of my life.”

  “A battle you were bred for, Otis. There’s no one I would rather see leading us.”

  “Josh leads. I lead only the fight against the gleasons. My vision sees no farther at the moment, nor should it. His does. He and Mike will remain with the Queen.”

  “I know how hard it is to give up that place. You’ve been her Protector for all of my adult life.”

  “And a lot of mine. No matter. Our plan is good. Say goodbye to your sister and be off.”

  Krys held a hand out to him and he took it. Her face looked haggard in the harsh light of his headlamp. “Are you well?” he asked in surprise.

  “Physically, yes. These tunnels will be a source of nightmares for the rest of my life. I can’t wait to get out of here.”r />
  “Remember your answer when Mother asked you what you most enjoyed at the orphanage?”

  The hint of a smile flitted across her face, and she nodded. “Stories of Queens and Knights and princesses. Adventure. I wish this was just a story.”

  “It will be one day. Your story will brighten the nights of many a young maiden.”

  Her grip on his hand tightened. He thought it was because of what he’d said, but he quickly realized she sought more. He waited until her eyes opened. “Anything?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m checking for visions with as many as I can. So far, only Forg, and his does not apply to this battle.”

  “Maybe that’s a good sign.”

  “That we don’t need any help?”

  “Our plan is good, Krys, and your presence here, no matter how hard it’s been, is making it even better. I have to go.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it, then leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. She put her arms around him, but only briefly. No more words were needed. He turned to Tarn and shook his hand, then left for the long trek back to Crystal City.

  When he emerged from the corridor entrance into the warehouse, Ellie was there dressed in a brown hooded cloak and surrounded by a crowd of Protectors, both Great Cats and Terrans. She spotted him and left the crowd to join him.

  He apologized for his appearance, but she waved him off. “No matter. I’ll be smelling like that by tomorrow, as well. You’re no worse than you were on the day I met you.” She smiled fondly at the memory. “My one-legged beggar is a man now, and a Knight. I couldn’t be more proud of you, Val.”

  He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I remember you walking down that aisle between all the well-wishers on Hespra III. You were Daughter then, so beautiful and so proud. And now you’re Queen. Tomorrow your Empire will see you at your finest, and there will no longer be any doubt that we have a Queen. Finally. It’s your day, and I get to be there to watch. I know you’ll be grand.”

  “You’ll be watching weaponless.”

  He shrugged. “Otis taught me that as long as we have a mind we are not without a weapon. I’ll be fine.

  * * * * *

  The two Queens walked side by side through the tunnel wearing plain brown cloaks, taking only short breaks until they’d reached the upward sloping spiral at the end of the first twenty miles. There they took a long break before continuing. Each of them sat against the tile wall doing their best to focus on anything except what lay ahead. Both failed miserably.

  Nancy Shaw kept having to stop herself from making inane conversation. She had been fully briefed on the gleasons, and the fact that she’d be their target was doing its best to control her every thought. She refused to let it, but then again, our minds have ways of getting what they want. She suddenly felt herself hyperventilating and had to stand up and move. When Ellie touched her arm, she shrieked. Instantly remorseful, she turned and apologized.

  “No, it was my fault. I should have known better,” Ellie said. “I know what’s going through your mind. I would trade places with you if I could.”

  Nancy shook her head. “What matters is that without me you’d be their target. I’ll deal with the gleasons, but you have to deal with everyone else. We have a saying where I come from: divide and conquer. I think that’s exactly what we’re doing tomorrow, all of us.”

  Ellie’s lips thinned. “You have the worst of it. I, on the other hand, have the consequences of my own vision to deal with.”

  Nancy’s brow furrowed. “I don’t think I heard about this.”

  Ellie shook her head, not wanting to even think about it, but Nancy deserved to know she wasn’t the only one fighting demons. She looked into Nancy’s eyes. “Michael will carry me from the chamber in his arms. I am completely limp.”

  Nancy’s eyebrows rose in a question, though she did not voice her question. She didn’t have to.

  “That’s all we know. We don’t know if I am dead or alive.”

  “Oh, Your Majesty!” She tried to take Ellie in her arms, but Ellie would have none of it.

  “I’ve been living with it for over a year, almost two years now. It will be a relief to finally know. Whatever happens, I’m determined on one account. A Queen will stand before the senate tomorrow, and they will acknowledge me.”

  “But you’ve been Queen for a long time.”

  Ellie’s eyes rose to the ceiling, then lowered to take in the multitude of soldiers moving past her, soldiers going to do battle in her name. She had addressed as many of them as she could during the past few days, creating logistical nightmares for her Protectors, but it had been a high priority for her.

  She focused once again on Nancy. “I have been Queen, yes. Great battles have been fought under my banner. I have encouraged and ordered and manipulated, but in truth I have been Queen only in name. Tomorrow, my Empire meets its new Queen and it will acknowledge me. I will finally be Queen, and I will be a Queen the likes of which no one has ever seen. It is my way of giving all that I am. For everyone else, that giving will cease with the end of this war. For me, it will end only after I have taken my last breath.”

  “You’ll have Mike by your side.”

  Ellie’s eyes crinkled as a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “A King like no other, I suspect.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what his Empire will say when they learn he’s from an emerging world, but that’s never been an issue to me. I love him. What else matters?”

  “I hope I’m alive to see what his Empire thinks. I really, really want to see what they think.”

  “You have 600 of the most lethal warriors in the galaxy between you and the gleasons. I think you’ll see it, and I hope it’s with Raymond Trexler at your side. Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  * * * * *

  Out in space, Chandrajuski knew the Rebels expected the Queen to come to the meeting, but they could not predict how she would get there which meant they had a lot of bases to cover. The gleasons were there in case she came in on the ground. A huge number of ships were positioned to handle a standard, long, hard drive toward the planet, and more ships were positioned to thwart an attack by fast ships near the planet. Nearly a thousand additional squadrons had been positioned in a close orbit about Triton, creating a nearly impenetrable shield. These ships, Chandrajuski knew, were his real opponents. He could ignore the ships farther out in the system since he only needed to provide support to the ground operation for a couple of hours - three hours at the most. If things went badly down there and the Queen had to retreat through the tunnel system, his strategy would have to change, but any Rebel ship positioned more than a few hours away from the planet would likely never reach the battle. Any Rebel ship positioned farther out than a day would definitely never reach the battle.

  Chandrajuski had been in position for two weeks with his beacon off studying Rebel deployments. The Rebel shield went up a full day before the senate convocation began.

  “They’re getting smarter,” he said to Trexler and M’Coda, both of whom stood around the display studying the Rebel dispositions.

  M’Coda’s upper hands preened busily while his mind sorted through options. “They are learning. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Chandrajuski said. “How?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  Trexler had the details in his mind now. He turned his back on the display and considered. Options were always limited in an attack and they were generally fairly clear, especially when the attacker had an excellent view of the battlefield as he did now. However, in this particular case, though he was the attacker, he was also the defender. He had to attack through the Rebel shield, but once through that shield he became the defender. He had to prevent the Rebels from reaching the plateau with a single ship.

  Added to the mix were two other things: he had to deliver Waverly’s Raiders, and he had to do it without transgressing a 100 mile wide no-fly zone set up by the
Rebels. That zone, cylindrical in shape, extended from ground level to the edge of space. Anything in the zone not cleared by the Rebels would be shot down by the ground defenses.

  He turned back to Chandrajuski. “Any ideas?”

  Chandrajuski looked across the display at Trexler. “I have a few thoughts, but let’s be realistic here - you’re our idea man. You have been since the very beginning. What do you think?”

  Trexler turned to M’Coda. “How about you?”

  Hands busily preened away. “We need to draw the shield away from the planet. A diversion of some kind, or maybe a quick, hard attack, then retreat, pulling them after us.”

  “That might work, I agree. Let focus our thoughts in a different direction for a few minutes. We’re getting pretty good with space battles, but this feels like a new kind of battle to me, something for which we have not trained. It’s a battle not in space but in atmosphere. We start out as attackers, but our true purpose is to defend. We have to defend the plateau against every single Rebel ship.”

  He gave them time to consider the idea. M’Coda’s preening stopped, then started, then stopped again. Trexler felt that amazing mind focused on him even if those amazing eyes were not.

  “I wonder if we can race through their shield and create our own shield inside theirs,” he said to M’Coda. “I’m talking about a cylinder or sphere centered on the plateau with a diameter of several hundred miles. I don’t have a lot of experience with battles in the atmosphere. Can it be done?”

  M’Coda’s hands stilled for a moment, then they resumed a feverish preening, this time working on just one antenna. His many legs sort of drifted him into a corner where he stood with his head toward the wall for a long time. Trexler watched him for a while, but he had learned over the years not to disturb his mentor at such times.

  He turned back to Chandrajuski. “How would you defend against us if you were a Rebel commander?”

  “Don’t we need to figure out how we’re going to attack first?”