by G. P. Hudson
As Gerry holstered her weapon, the captain let out a breath in relief. “Okay, little brother. What do we do with them?”
“We put them in the brig for now. We can figure the rest out later.”
“Fine. Have it your way.” Gerry nodded to the clones holding the captain, and they promptly took him and the rest of the officers away.
“Annie,” said Danny. “I’m assuming you are able to create a jump point now?”
“Yes, Danny, although I cannot do so while in orbit.”
“Understood. Take us out of orbit, so we can create a jump point and leave this damn system.”
“Stand by,” said Annie.
The battleship accelerated and moved steadily out of its orbital position. As it moved from its post, the other Zeta battleship in orbit around Pallias demanded an explanation, hailing them repeatedly.
“Annie, send a message to the Zeta ship hailing us that we have been ordered to join the battle and support the Zeta fleet,” said Danny.
“Transmitting response,” said Annie. “They are now demanding to speak with the captain of this ship.”
“How far are they from us? Are they in weapons range?”
“Negative.”
“Can they get into weapons range before we open a jump point?”
“No. They cannot.”
“Then ignore them, and let’s just focus on getting into metaspace.”
“As you wish,” said Annie.
The Zeta battleship hailed them several more times before they grew suspicious enough to give pursuit. But Annie had correctly determined that they could not catch them, and they soon successfully cleared orbit.
“Creating jump point,” said Annie, as Danny and Gerry watched the celestial tear form in front of them.
Convinced that something was wrong, the pursuing Zeta battleship fired its weapons. A blazing silver plasma beam lanced out from the ship, and raced toward them.
For a moment, Danny thought it would succeed, but the distance was too great, and it dissipated before bridging the gap between the two ships.
Annie crossed through into the brilliant bedlam of metaspace, and the celestial tear closed behind them. They were free. For now.
Chapter 54
Admiral Cherenko marched down the long ornate hallway of the Emperor’s Grand Palace, unmoved by the priceless works of art surrounding him. A contingent of the Imperial Guard followed closely with grim determination. Cherenko barely acknowledged their presence. All he could think about was the disaster that took place in the Pallian system.
There, a major battle had been fought between the UEDF and Zeta Corp. The Emperor had ordered Vice Admiral Reynolds to retake the system from Zeta, and Reynolds did exactly as he was ordered to do. He defeated the Zeta fleet, and retook the system.
Of course, the Emperor would be thrilled by this victory, but the Emperor was a fool. Reynolds lost more than half of his fleet before Zeta retreated, irreparably weakening the Empire. How would they stop the Empire’s disintegration now?
The assassination attempt on Masterson had been a tragic mistake. They needed to hold together a crumbling Empire, not create a new enemy. It was all completely unnecessary, and the UEDF had paid dearly for the blunder. How many ships had they lost in the three battles over the Pallian system? He cringed at the thought. Something needed to be done.
Once he had received news of the outcome, Cherenko headed straight for General Turov’s office. Turov was the head of the Imperial Guard, and the man standing in the way of regime change. Cherenko would’ve never dared approach the man with such a request before, but now he believed he had enough with which to plead his case. Thankfully, Turov proved to be a wise man who saw reason when it was presented to him. Now there was just one thing left to do.
Approaching the Emperor’s quarters, the two Imperial Guardsmen who would have normally blocked his way, stood aside. Cherenko pushed the heavy doors open and strode inside the Emperor’s bedroom. The unannounced entry surprised the Emperor, and he jumped out of his bed in anger.
“Cherenko? Is that you?” the Emperor said with disdain. “How dare you barge into my bedroom unannounced?! Have you lost your mind?”
Cherenko marched straight toward the Emperor, unsheathing his energized saber as he advanced.
“What… what are you doing, Cherenko? Guards! Guards!”
“I’m doing what I should have done a long time ago,” said Cherenko, raising the sizzling weapon.
The Emperor shrank back in horror, trying to put some distance between himself and the Admiral. He grabbed a nearby chair and threw it at Cherenko, who swung his long, energized blade, splitting the chair in two.
“Don’t do this, Cherenko. I’ll give you anything you want. Just name it. Anything!”
“All I want is your head,” said Cherenko as he cornered the cowering Emperor. He swung his blade once more, and sliced cleanly through the Imperial neck, beheading the Emperor. The Emperor’s body slumped to the floor, as his head rolled toward Cherenko. Looking down on it with derision, Cherenko sheathed his blade. Accessing the Emperor’s comm system, General Turov’s scarred face appeared on the display.
“It is done,” said Cherenko.
Turov nodded, and followed with a salute. “Hail Emperor Cherenko.” Behind Cherenko the Imperial Guardsmen repeated the hail.
“Thank you, General,” said Cherenko, knowing that without Turov, none of this would be possible.
“I will send out the necessary proclamations,” said Turov. “The Senate will make their own announcement shortly thereafter, ratifying your ascension. Is there anything else, majesty?”
“No, nothing else,” said Cherenko.
Turov saluted again, and vanished from the display. Cherenko opened another comm. After a short wait, Ed Masterson’s face appeared.
“Admiral Cherenko?” said Masterson. “Why are you contacting me through the Emperor’s personal comm?”
Cherenko reached down, seized the Emperor’s head by its hair, and raised it up for Masterson to see. “I am the Emperor now.”
To his credit Masterson looked surprised for only a moment, before regaining his composure. “I see. And what does that mean?”
“It means that this conflict between Zeta and the Empire is an unnecessary distraction. As Emperor, I am proposing that it end immediately.”
“The Empire tried to have me assassinated. I’m not sure I can let that go.”
“I can assure you that the decision was Emperor Detlev’s, not mine.”
“Perhaps, but Kim Lee was a UEDF operative. Isn’t that right?”
“The UEDF has operatives throughout the galaxy. It goes hand in hand with running an empire. The order for your assassination, however, came directly from the Emperor.”
“How do I know you won’t try the same thing?”
“Let’s cut the bullshit, Masterson. The Empire has enough on its plate already. Adding a war with Zeta to the mix is the height of stupidity. Now you might be thinking that this gives you an advantage, but I can assure you that the Empire is more than capable of destroying your operation.”
“Such a campaign would require a lot of resources. It would leave you vulnerable,” said Masterson.
“It would be a calculated risk, but one I would take without hesitation. But why let it come to that? The former Emperor ordered your assassination. He is no more. Isn’t it better to simply go back to running your business?”
“I admit, the Emperor’s demise does give me satisfaction, and I agree that there is no profit in a prolonged conflict with the Empire.”
“Then you agree to ending hostilities?”
“Yes. I agree.”
“Good. I’ll have the news relayed to our forces. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do.”
“Of course, Emperor Cherenko. Until next time.”
Cherenko terminated the connection with a scowl. He despised Masterson, but had to end the conflict for the good of the Empire. One day, he
would deal with Masterson and Zeta.
He opened another comm, and this time Vice Admiral Reynolds’s face appeared. Reynolds saluted and Cherenko returned the salute.
“Reynolds, I have some important news for you, and I wanted you to hear it from me first, before it was publicly announced. The Emperor is dead.”
“What? How?” said Reynolds, shocked by the news.
“That doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is that the Senate, and the Imperial Guard have named me Emperor. As such, I will need capable people in the Admiralty, leading the UEDF. You are one of them. Effective immediately I am promoting you to the rank of Admiral.”
“I… I don’t know what to say, Sir, I mean majesty.”
“There’s nothing to say. You’re the best man for the job.”
“Thank you, majesty.”
“There’s one more thing. I’ve ended hostilities with Zeta. I know you lost a lot of good people fighting against them, and I’m sorry about that, but the entire conflict was an unnecessary distraction. We need to focus on shoring up the Empire, not waging costly wars against mercenaries.”
“I understand, Majesty,” said Reynolds. “And for what it’s worth, I agree.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. We’ll need to replenish our forces, but once we have rest assured we will launch a major offensive. The Empire will be baptized in blood, and reborn before we are done. Today is a great day, Reynolds. It ushers in a new age of glory.”
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Books by G.P. Hudson
Fall of the Terran Empire:
War Without End – Fall of the Terran Empire Book 1
The Tortuous Path – Fall of the Terran Empire Book 2
The Pike Chronicles:
Sol Shall Rise – Book 1 of The Pike Chronicles
Prevail – Book 2 of The Pike Chronicles
Ronin – Book 3 of The Pike Chronicles
Ghost Fleet – Book 4 of The Pike Chronicles
Interstellar War – Book 5 of The Pike Chronicles
Vanquish – Book 6 of The Pike Chronicles
Galactic Empire – Book 7 of The Pike Chronicles
Armada – Book 8 of The Pike Chronicles