The Ganthoran Gambit (The First Admiral Series)

by Benning, William J.

  “That is true Adjudicator.” Sownus smiled. “But there is another way of attaining the Imperial Throne is there not? A blood claimant, perhaps?”

  Arrad felt his mouth suddenly go dry and his ears buzz with astonishment.

  “Well, yes,” Arrad began, “but there are no living descendants of the Imperial family close enough to be considered as blood candidates for the Throne. Are you seriously about to suggest that I have a close family connection to the Imperial family, Officer Sownus? Maybe several centuries ago; like the rest of the Ganthoran aristocracy, but not now! You really are chasing a dead end there!”

  “Yes, Adjudicator Arrad, we made the initial mistake of assuming that only one of the Adjudicators was responsible for the sabotage of the Time Warrior computers.” Sownus smiled softly. “And, whatever way we looked at things, nothing made any sense. Grand Adjudicator Bellor, had he chosen, could easily have invoked Emergency Powers, ruled by decree, and, in time, taken the Throne for himself. But, Bellor is tired and disillusioned with the responsibilities and pressures of power,” Sownus explained.

  “Adjudicator Tiba is not a Ganthoran, so he would never gain the support of the Frontier Generals,” Sownus continued, “his gaining the Imperial Crown would have torn the Empire apart. And, with the Bardomil and other species quite happy to pounce on a weakened Empire, Tiba would be the last choice of even the most corrupt and ambitious Frontier General.”

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Karap Sownus was still the consummate showman.

  “And, then we come to you, Adjudicator Arrad,” Sownus began again, “everyone automatically ruled you out from the suspect’s list, because the sabotage began long before your term in office as an Adjudicator.”

  “Well, that is correct, Officer Sownus. There were two sabotaged Time Warrior rituals before I became the most junior of the Adjudicators,” Arrad said.

  However, Senior Intelligence Officer Karap Sownus, wise in the ways of the deceptions and mis-directions of the Intelligence universe, was not fooled by the Adjudicator’s feeble attempt.

  “That is true, Adjudicator Arrad. Thus, you must be innocent of ALL the sabotage.” Sownus paused, smirking at the Adjudicator. “Unless, of course, you had an accomplice?”

  “An accomplice?” Arrad smiled nervously. “You really are getting desperate now, Officer. When the sabotage started, I would be no more than an infant; rather young to be an arch-traitor and criminal mastermind, don’t you think?”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t originally your idea was it?” Sownus smiled.

  “Really, Officer Sownus?” Arrad kept up his pretence of innocence.

  “Yes, it was your father, or at least your adopted father...,” Sownus began.

  “Officer Sownus,” Arrad began icily, “my father was one of the most loyal Ganthorans to ever serve the Empire. I warn you, do not slander or abuse his good name!”

  “The one that you called father....” Sownus held up one hand to placate the Adjudicator. “He was one of the most loyal Ganthorans to serve Emperor Varnus, as both a subject and as a friend. Emperor Varnus became the architect of his own downfall when he met and fell in love with a high-born Thelian lady. Their affair was probably brief, and a child was conceived.” Sownus took a noticeable breath of air. “Varnus, being a political realist, would understand that even though the child would be legally recognised as a full-blooded Ganthoran, the Empire would not readily accept a half-Thelian, illegitimate successor. And, to prepare the Empire for the idea of a half-Thelian successor, Varnus would have to carefully prepare the ground. His alien policy became more liberal. He granted rights and recognition to alien groups, made employment available to them in the Imperial Government, relaxed the laws on movement and transportation.” Sownus paused to allow what he was saying to sink into the Adjudicator, and also to gauge his response.

  The Adjudicator sat; his face a mask of calm, bearing a slight look of amusement as to what this strange little Thexxian would say next.

  “The child, of course, being of the Imperial blood, could not stay with the Thelians,” Sownus resumed his monologue.

  “After the death of Varnus, the Thelians would have rebelled, and fought to put the child onto the Ganthoran throne. The result would have been chaos and civil war. And, of course, the child could not be brought up in the Imperial Palace. Who better to raise the child than someone close to Imperial circles, whom the Emperor trusted, and who could keep their mouth shut, until such time as the child could ascend to the throne of his father? Who better than his childhood friend, Adjudicator Delbus,” Sownus said. “Delbus was, perhaps, the only true friend that Varnus had, and he and his wife; the Lady Alithea, brought the Emperor’s child up as their own. But, Adjudicator Arrad, your real father was the Emperor Varnus himself!” Sownus let out a low sigh, satisfied that he completed his monologue.

  “Officer Sownus, this is utterly preposterous! You have nothing but sheer speculation. You ramble on about some fantasy about my father and the last Emperor, some conspiracy theory about my late father and my mother, and not a scrap of evidence to substantiate your ridiculous claims! Now, get out of my office before I make a complaint to the Emperor!!” Arrad snapped.

  “Yes, we thought so too, until we checked your genetic coding.” Sownus, like a conjuror producing a rabbit from an empty hat, dramatically swept the red folder open, and set a small blue folio sheet onto the Adjudicator’s desk.

  “The official database does indicate that you are the son of Adjudicator Delbus and Lady Alithea, but when scrutinised, the two parental codings do not produce your code – the record has been falsified – so, we took the liberty of obtaining a small sample whilst you were a guest aboard the Olympus,” Sownus said.

  With one look at the small blue folio sheet, Adjudicator Arrad’s heart sank. It was a hard copy of a Blood-Kit result with Arrad’s genetic coding.

  “This means nothing, Officer Sownus. You could easily have manufactured this!” Arrad protested nervously.

  “Very true,” Sownus conceded, “then all we would have to do is run another Blood-Kit with a sample from you.”

  Check. The term First Admiral Caudwell had used from his Earth past-time that he called “Chess” sprang to mind. The opponent wasn’t completely trapped, but it was only a matter of time.

  “Even if it were true, how would this implicate me with those traitors?” Arad blustered weakly. “You have nothing to indicate that I was disloyal to the Empire!”

  “Unfortunately, Adjudicator, the computer logs show us otherwise,” Sownus began.

  “Computer logs!?” Arrad scoffed. “What computer logs, Officer Sownus?...There was no association, so how could the computer log show any involvement?”

  “Yes, Adjudicator, the computer logs didn’t show any association with Generals Kallet, Sal’nor, Ka’val, or Timmeg,” Karap Sownus began cleverly.

  “Then why are you bursting into my office with these outrageous accusations!?” Arrad rose to his feet, starting to feel as if he was on slightly more solid ground. “I am tired of this outrage, I shall take this matter to the Emperor himself....”

  “It is the Emperor himself who has sent us to speak to you, Adjudicator Arrad!” Karap Sownus shouted down at the protesting Adjudicator, who, in open-mouthed silence, retook his seat in the face of the Thexxian’s severity.

  “We looked on the computer logs and found no association between yourself and the Generals,” Sownus began, “and then we looked for what wasn’t on the computer logs,” he smiled opening the folio folder once again, “these binary systems you use here are astonishingly primitive, Adjudicator.”

  “What do you mean, primitive?” Arrad asked.

  “Well, you see, Adjudicator, when you delete a file on one of your binary systems, it doesn’t delete the whole file...,” Sownus outlined, “it simply removes the first character of the file name, which leaves the rest of the file intact. So, the next time the computer searches for that file name, it won’t be able to find
the first character and, therefore, it won’t be able to call up that file. The data in that file, however, will remain hidden on the system until the system over-writes the area where the file is stored with new data.” Sownus was seemingly enjoying how this was playing out.

  “So, how does this implicate me, Officer Sownus?” Arrad tried his best to not sound nervous.

  “Well, Adjudicator, we have messages, meeting schedules, video monitoring and transcriptions implicating you with all of the Generals, which were all deleted under your secret pass-code,” Sownus announced.

  “So, you have deleted files implicating me that could have been placed there by this Captain Branthus, or one of his co-conspirators? Really, Officer Sownus, you’ll have to do a lot better than that! After all, they had the secret pass-codes of all of the Adjudicators, did they not?” Arrad began to perspire beneath the heavy light-blue robe.

  “Which would explain a great deal, but for the fact that most of these files were deleted after Captain Branthus, and the other traitors were either dead or in custody!” Sownus announced triumphantly. “You were the only one at liberty, with your secret pass-code, to be able to use the system.”

  Check, and Mate. Karap Sownus snapped the trap closed.

  Adjudicator Arrad sat tight-lipped in silence. They had found him out through his own stupidity. He should never have kept those files, but then again, they had been his insurance had Kallet, Sal’nor, Ka’val or Timmeg decided to opt out of the plan and betray him to the Grand Adjudicator. If they had singled him out, then he could have taken them down with him.

  “You’ve come to arrest me then, Officer Sownus?” Arrad started to spring up a hope that he could somehow mobilise the people of the Empire against the new Emperor at his trial.

  The people would understand what he had done for them.

  “No, Adjudicator Arrad, the Emperor feels that the arrest, trial and execution of a very senior member of the government, such as yourself, and your entire adopted family, would not be in the best interests of the Empire.” Sownus was well aware of how divisive a public trial for Arrad would be.

  “Then what exactly does His Majesty suggest?” An edge of sarcasm was blindingly evident in his tone.

  Calmly, Karap Sownus drew his side arm from the black holster at his right hip, and walked over to the left hand side of the Adjudicator’s desk, providing the Landing Trooper with a clear view of the proceeding. Without a word, Karap set the plasma-pistol that he had recovered from General Sal’nar’s body, down next to the brandy glass on the desk.

  “Ah...I see.” Arrad attempted to hide his nervousness as he stared fixedly at the pistol. “One shot in the chamber, and no nasty questions for His Imperial alien-ness Caudwell?”

  “The alternative, Adjudicator, is a long, shameful, public humiliation of a trial for you, and execution for you and your family,” Sownus said calmly.

  “Oh, please, thank his Imperial alien-ness for his generosity,” Arrad said sarcastically.

  “Well, the choice is yours, Adjudicator...I personally think you won’t get a more reasonable offer, and given your crimes, you don’t really deserve it,” Sownus responded.

  “Well, that’s most kind of you, Officer Sownus, but as an Adjudicator, I am entitled to my day in court,” Arrad announced defiantly.

  “Not a good choice, Adjudicator. You think the people will spontaneously rise up in revolt to set you free and proclaim you as Emperor?” Karap Sownus began to laugh. “There are twenty thousand murdered Imperial Guards to explain in the main barracks courtesy of General Kallet, hundreds of thousands of dead Frontier troops, the Frontier Fleets decimated, and then, you’ll have to explain to the Musgans, the Ragalians, and the Horvaths as to the so-called accidents that befell their Imperial candidates...they are not going to be best pleased, and will, in all probability, declare war on the Ganthoran Empire.”

  “Which will mean a war with your precious Alliance,” Arrad countered.

  “No, it will mean that we hand you and your family over to them for trial.” Sownus knew full well that a trial for Adjudicator Arrad from the Ragalians or the Horvaths would be short, and the execution, for him and his family, would be long and painful.

  “You wouldn’t dare!?” Arrad’s skin was visibly paling at the naked threat.

  “If word were to reach them, and a deportation request presented, then your new alien Emperor would find it very difficult to refuse them,” Sownus responded.

  Checkmate. Game Over.

  Once again, Adjudicator Arrad sat in an angry and hostile silence, having been outmanoeuvred by the Thexxian Intelligence Officer.

  “Take the pistol, Arrad,” Sownus said softly, “your name will go down in history as a hero who died bravely defying the traitors. Your honour will be intact. Your family will survive, and no one will ever know what really happened. I think that’s fair enough, don’t you, Adjudicator?”

  For a moment, Arrad looked at the Thexxian Intelligence Officer with a mixture of fear and loathing, and then looked down at the pistol on his desk. Slowly, Arrad reached out and took the pistol in his right hand, and examined it; contemplating the decision to end his own life.

  “I don’t think that that will be at all fair enough, Officer Sownus!” Arrad quickly rose to his feet and pointed the one-shot pistol alternately at Karap Sownus and the Landing Trooper. The Landing Trooper, an experienced combat veteran, did not move a muscle, despite a pulsar-pistol being pointed in his direction.

  “Adjudicator....” Sownus smiled and began to laugh softly, as he walked slowly to the right hand edge of the desk, passing in front of the Landing Trooper by the door. “Do you think you can kill us both with one shot?”

  “I don’t need to, Officer Sownus.” Arrad smiled triumphantly. “You are now completely unarmed, and your companion....”

  Too late. Arrad realised that the wily Thexxian had just successfully drawn his attention as he had walked in front of the Landing Trooper. In that moment, the Trooper had drawn his side-arm with the speed of a striking rattle snake, and, with clinical accuracy, had fired two plasma pellets into the stunned Adjudicator’s chest. With a searing pain burning in his wounded chest, the fatally wounded, hunched-shouldered Adjudicator clutched his free hand to his fresh wounds and found his own plasma weapon slipping slowly from his numbed fingers. Slowly, his knees began to buckle under him.

  “Curse you...,” The pain-grimacing Arrad croaked softly as the pistol fell from his fingers and rattled onto the desk; where he had plotted, manipulated, and murdered his way to his position of power and influence.

  The falling pistol knocked over and shattered his brandy glass; the contents spilling over the files and folders of his workload; filling the room with the rich, sweet, sickly smell of brandy.

  Calmly and dispassionately, the Thexxian and the Landing Trooper watched as the Adjudicator slowly fell backwards into his chair. With one last gasp, Adjudicator Arrad slumped in his seat; his head falling back - and died.

  Without a word, the green-clad Thexxian and the black-clad Landing Trooper turned and left the luxuriantly decorated room – their mission completed.

  Behind them, the slumped body, and still-astonished, bulging, lifeless eyes of Adjudicator Arrad stared, unseeing and unblinking, at the beautiful twin moons of Ganthus.

  The End

  Other books in the First Admiral Series:

  First Admiral

  The Burning Sun

  Time Commander

  Other books and stories by William J. Benning:

  First Admiral

  The Burning Sun

  Time Commander

  The Gettysburg Incident

  The Formidians

  Private Gimble

  In Search of the God Particle

  Other science fiction books from Clockwork Quills:

  They're Watching Over You by Eric Henn

  Ash On Our Altar by Eric Henn

  The Seryys Chronicles: Death Wish by Joseph Nicholson


  The Seryys Chronicles: Of Nightmares by Joseph Nicholson

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  Ash on Our Altar (http://book.mquills.com/ashaltar ) by Eric Henn

  Bronc Buster(http://book.mquills.com/bronc)by Dave P. Fisher

  In Search of the God Particle(http://book.mquills.com/godparticle) by William J. Benning

  The Formidians(http://book.mquills.com/formidian) by William J. Benning

  Unknown(http://book.mquills.com/unknown) by Lauren Grimley

  Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper (http://book.mquills.com/yourstruly) by Patrick Prior

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  Thanks to the heroic efforts of Khai’Xander Khail and his comrades, a tentative peace now exists between the Seryysans and Vyysarri, with efforts to find the Vyysarri a new home underway. However a routine exploration mission ends in the destruction of a Seryysan ship boasting the first crew of both Vyysarri and Seryysans. Khai and company are forced to make a hasty escape and stumble upon a most intriguing and hugely significant discovery: a rogue planet beleaguered in the void of space.

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