Paying the Price (Book 5 of The Empire of Bones Saga)

by Terry Mixon

  “I’m sure they’re fine. If not, well, we’re no worse off than we were before. Which one is which?”

  “The one closest to you leads to the world you call Pentagar.”

  “We’ll give them a look. Thank you again.”

  He smiled at Elise. “Shall we send someone through to see if your home is on the other side?”

  She nodded. “Yes. If so, we can drop off some quantum communicators and see if we can maintain a link with them. That would certainly make life easier.”

  “Yes, it would. Marcus, open a channel to Doctor Leonard.”

  “Ready, Admiral.”

  “Doctor, do the flip points look stable?”

  The other man’s voice came back over the audio channel. “They do, Admiral. I recommend you send scouts to get comprehensive scans. And Carl has care packages of quantum pairs that they can leave with instructions. That way we don’t have to risk staying too long and having an unstable flip point close behind the scouts.”

  “Get them sent over to the ships I’m designating right away.”

  “Yes, Admiral. Leonard out.”

  It only took a few minutes to get things ready and he dispatched the two scouts through the new flip points. He knew they wouldn’t be returning quickly, so he fretted. He’d much preferred using probes, but the hellish radiation would damage them too quickly.

  Doctor Leonard was designing some that would be able to handle the environment, but that took time.

  The ship dispatched to Pentagar returned first. The woman commanding it said she’d sent and received an acknowledgement from Royal Fleet about the new flip point and the care package.

  The flip point on that end was strong and looked stable. It was closer to Pentagar than the other two by about 50%. He hoped it remained open, because that would greatly simplify matters.

  The second scout returned a few minutes later with a similar report. They hadn’t called anyone, as per his orders, but the flip point looked good. It was at almost solar north in the Avalon system.

  There were no flip points in that region of space, so there was no reason for Fleet to be watching for anything.

  He wanted to be there in person to smooth things when they discovered he’d returned. He didn’t want any unpleasant surprises to turn into shots fired.

  Jared opened a general channel to the fleet. “All ships, this is Admiral Mertz. Transition in sixty seconds. Maintain signal silence unless ordered otherwise.”

  He looked up at the ceiling. “Transition on schedule, Marcus.”

  “Yes, Admiral.”

  The clock slowly counted down to zero and the ship flipped. It only took a few moments for data to start coming in from the passive scanners. They were in the Avalon system, as advertised. Their return had been a long time coming and was going to upset quite a few apple carts.

  “Marcus, signal Commodore Meyer.”

  A minute went by. “No response, Admiral. It seems there is a range limitation after all.”

  “Well, Harrison’s World is a long ways away. I know Carl has one he’s putting together that will work with Omega. Let me know if he gets ahold of him.”

  “Yes, Admiral.”

  He looked over at Elise. “Welcome to Avalon. We hope you enjoy your stay and please consider Fleet for your future spaceflight needs.”

  She smiled. “Oh, I will. Right now, I’m looking forward to seeing how you avoid scaring the life out of someone.”

  * * * * *

  Ted Jackson was bored. Not so much that he couldn’t handle the routine flight control duties for Orbital One, but enough that he was already planning his weekend. A romantic getaway with his wife out to the mountains.

  She had no idea, but he’d rented a cabin for them on the lake she loved hiking around. There was a local camp that the kids could spend a few days at and not miss them one bit.

  It was a win from everyone’s perspective.

  An icon appeared on his console. Incoming call from a Fleet ship. Call sign…Invincible? A quick check confirmed there was no such vessel.

  He shook his head and responded. “Orbital One traffic control to unknown sender. This is an official Fleet frequency and impersonating one of our vessels as a prank could get you in a lot of trouble. Take this friendly warning to heart and knock it off before I have to officially notice you.”

  This didn’t happen often. It usually ended up being rich kids horsing around in Daddy’s yacht. A single warning was usually enough to get them to clear out. Those that didn’t learn quickly ended up getting a hefty fine.

  “Orbital One traffic control, this is Invincible. I assure you we’re real. Stand by for visual.”

  Ted almost refused it, but decided he had to let this play out. He accepted the visual, opened his mouth to tear a strip off the kid, and…sat there with his mouth open in an unflattering manner.

  That wasn’t the control room of a yacht. It was a warship. One he wasn’t familiar with, but large.

  A man sat at the center of a circular room ensconced in a wide, wrap-around console, dressed in a Fleet uniform with admiral’s tabs. Other men and women were visible at stations around him.

  Whatever this was, it wasn’t the prank of some drunk kids.

  Where the hell was this transmission coming from? He traced the origin of the signal out to solar north. There was nothing out there. Maybe it was still a prank.

  He muted the com and turned to Lieutenant Randy Kingsolver. “Randy, scan out to solar north. Tell me who’s out there?”

  He unmuted the com. “This is Lieutenant Commander Ted Jackson, Orbital One traffic control. Identify yourself.”

  The man smiled. “I’m Admiral Jared Mertz. You’ll find me in your database as a commander and captain of the destroyer Athena. I’m back and I’ve brought a few friends. I’m afraid it’s a little convoluted to explain over the com. Would you be so kind as to call Admiral Yeats? I’ll wait.”

  Randy sat bolt upright. “I have unknown warships on the scanner! A lot of them. Big ones. Where the hell did they come from?”

  Ted muted the com. A glance at the data on Randy’s screen showed the impossible. Dozens of ships. Over a hundred of them. Some of them impossibly large.

  He hit the emergency alert beside his console. Alarms rang throughout the station, calling the crew to battle stations.

  The admiral came on the com moments later. He had bed head. “Status, Commander.”

  “We have an unknown fleet in the system, Admiral. I have no idea where they came from, but they’re asking for you by name. The caller identifies himself as Admiral Mertz, formerly in command of Athena.”

  Yeats blinked. “Keep the crew at battle stations. I’ll be there directly.”

  * * * * *

  Kelsey’s pinnace made it to Invincible’s docking bay just as Admiral Yeats’s cutter was starting its final approach. She’d silently watched the long conversation where Jared gave the Admiral some of the basics. He’d barely gotten started when Yeats ordered him to hold position. He’d come out in person.

  Home fleet had several heavy cruisers at hand. He’d brought all of them and their escorts out to meet Invincible and the fleet. This had to have been a rude awakening. Literally, since he hadn’t brushed his hair all that well before he called Jared.

  The man of the hour was waiting for her, decked out in a dress uniform. Elise stood beside him, radiant in a dark red dress. Kelsey had taken the precaution of putting on a blue number that suited her well.

  Lord Hawthorne stood nearby in an elegant suit talking with Reginald Bell. The latter wore a suit with an odd cut. Probably something from the Old Empire.

  This was going to be a very important meeting. Marcus was recording everything for posterity. And in case they needed it at Jared’s court martial, no doubt.

  “Well, are you ready?” she asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” Jared said with a small smile. “I’ve dreaded this moment for over a year. This is going to get really, really co
mplicated. And it won’t be pleasant.”

  “You’re a pessimist.”

  “I’m a realist,” he corrected. “One who is about to be proven right in style.”

  The sound of Admiral Yeats’s cutter docking rang through the bay. The Fleet officers and marine honor guard snapped to attention as the hatch cycled open.

  Admiral Yeats was an intimidating man, Kelsey knew. She’d met him once. He didn’t look like the kind that took surprises well.

  The barrel-chested man stalked into the bay and right up to them. A tall, dark woman came in behind him. Her rank tabs indicated she was a captain. Her nametag read Quinn.

  Jared saluted. “Admiral Yeats, Captain Quinn, welcome aboard the Fleet superdreadnought Invincible. You know Princess Kelsey. Allow me to introduce our guests. Crown Princess Elise Orison of the Kingdom of Pentagar, Lord William Hawthorne of Harrison’s World, and Reginald Bell of Erorsi. And, I should mention, a formerly serving ensign in the Old Empire Fleet.”

  Yeats’s return salute wavered at that last and he gave the old man a surprised look before he refocused on the rest of them. Other Fleet officers and marines came out of the cutter. He bowed somewhat to Elise. “Highness.”

  He extended a hand to William and then Reginald. “Lord Hawthorne. Mister Bell. Welcome to Avalon. I look forward to getting to know more about you and your worlds. I’m especially looking forward to a deeper explanation from you, Ensign.”

  The senior Fleet officer focused his attention on Jared. “Congratulations on your promotion. I don’t recall having authorized it.”

  Kelsey stepped forward. “That was my doing as the emperor’s direct representative in accordance with Emperor Marcus’s Imperial edict, Admiral. Jared logged his objections. So, if you want to yell at someone about it, start with me.”

  Yeats gave her a long look. “I might just have to do that, Highness. I can’t say I’m familiar with this edict, so I look forward to a more detailed explanation.”

  Captain Quinn extended a hand to Jared. “It’s good to see you again, Jared.”

  “You, too, ma’am.”

  “I didn’t see Athena in this astounding gathering of ships,” Yeats said. “Speaking of which, where did you find them?”

  Jared grimaced. “She was crippled and we had to leave her behind. These ships are Old Empire built and restored by us. Might I invite you to my office so we can discuss this in privacy? It’s going to be a long conversation and I have video.”

  Yeats looked over the men and women around them. “I think that might be for the best. After you. Captain Quinn, you’re with me.”

  Jared led them to his office.

  The trip through the flag bridge made Yeats stop and stare. “This ship is amazing. I couldn’t believe the size of her from the outside. Now I can’t believe how much room there is in the inside. I want this control room.”

  “This is only the flag bridge. She has a separate control center for the ship itself. She’s a wonderful ship, sir. Wait until you hear what she can really do.”

  Jared led them to seats and offered refreshment. “I know you have a lot of questions. We took the time to prepare a basic vid of what happened to us and what we found. It might be best if you watch it first. That’ll save a lot of questions.”

  Yeats accepted a drink from Jared and nodded. “Proceed.”

  Captain Quinn sat beside Kelsey. “I bet this is going to be entertaining.”

  “You have no idea,” Kelsey told the other woman.

  She sat back and sipped her drink. This was only the first of many times she was going to see it, she was sure. She might as well get used to being patient. She dreaded telling all this to her father. He was going to get very upset.

  The wall screen came to life with her image. She was the narrator they’d chosen. It had taken weeks to get everything right. And then they’d had to add parts about the black hole system and the new flip points at the last moment. It was a lot to take in and she was sure that not everyone would be graceful about it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Admiral Yeats watched the entire vid with a growing sense of incredulity. If it hadn’t been for the ships around them, he’d think the normally solid Commander Mertz was around the bend.

  Or was it admiral? He wasn’t sure of the legality of Princess Kelsey’s actions. Yes, he’d watched the last message from Emperor Marcus, but he didn’t know if the Imperial Senate was going to see things her way. Based on history, at least some of them would fight such a thing tooth and nail.

  Hell, he didn’t know if he saw it her way. Yes, Mertz deserved to be a captain. He’d worked his ass off and had the talent.

  Okay, Mertz had more than the required talent, if what they’d showed him proved true. Yeats’s realized he’d have failed miserably trying to pull off the other man’s successes. Yet there would also be elements in Fleet that resisted these promotions as political.

  He had a lot of thinking to do and very little time to do it.

  They’d been in Mertz’s office for hours. He knew people on Orbital One already knew parts of the truth and he had to make a report to the emperor soon. Best to get it over with.

  “I’m not going to lie to you, Jared,” he said. “I don’t know that the Imperial Senate will agree with the princess’s logic. You might find yourself back to being a commander in hot water before the day is out.”

  Mertz shrugged. “I didn’t ask for a promotion, so I’m good either way.”

  Yeats nodded. “What you’ve accomplished here—all of you—is tremendous, but it’s going to go before a board. There’s no question. You’ll have to justify everything.

  “But I’ll tell you right now that I am proud of what you’ve done. You’ve served Fleet and the Empire well.”

  He turned to Princess Kelsey. “I think your argument of having the authority to do any of this is threadbare. If they decide to ignore the edict, then the entire house you’ve built comes crashing down. I honestly have no idea how this will play out.

  “And there will be people like Breckenridge that say you’ve been driven mad by the torture those things subjected you to. They’ll speak with voices full of pity while they try to undo everything you’ve accomplished. It saddens me to say that.”

  “You look so normal,” Quinn said. “I have difficulty believing what I saw is anything other than concocted. And I know I’m not going to be alone.”

  Kelsey stood and casually lifted the end of Mertz’s desk with one hand. “I can demonstrate the changes, I believe.”

  “So you can,” Yeats said faintly. “And I’m certain any number of cyberneticists will be coming along to verify you really have an AI on this ship. I doubt that the Imperial Senate it will accepted it as a person or a Fleet officer, though. No offense, Marcus.”

  “None taken, Admiral. I’m content to see how this plays out before I get cranky.”

  Yeats smiled in spite of himself. The concept of a cranky computer was funny. And possibly indicative of real sentience.

  “I need to call your father, Highness. I can only imagine how chaotic this is all going to be.”

  “I’ll go with you for that, if you don’t mind,” she said.

  “Actually, I do. You’ll have time to have your say. This isn’t it. I need to give my liege an unedited report. Privately.”

  He looked at Jared. “For the moment, I want these ships to stay right where they are. Captain Quinn speaks with my voice. You will obey every order she gives. Including you, Highness. Am I clear?”

  Jared nodded. “As crystal, Admiral.”

  Kelsey also nodded. “I’m not going to mess things up now. We’ll do what she says.”

  “See that you do. Don’t make my life any harder than it needs to be. Now, where can I make a private call?”

  Jared stood. “Marcus will direct you to a conference room, Admiral. You have my word that no one will monitor your conversation.”

  He’d have to accept that, but he’d act as though they were moni
toring him anyway. “Very good. Marcus?”

  The computer—or AI if you chose to believe it was sentient—directed him to a conference room on another level. “I can initiate contact with Orbital One at your command, Admiral.”

  “Please do so.”

  Once he had someone on the orbital, he had them patch him through to the Imperial Palace. Only the emperor wasn’t there. He was on the Imperial yacht headed for Mertz’s fleet.

  Perfect.

  It took a few more minutes to arrange a connection with his liege. Karl Bandar looked stressed. Yeats understood that perfectly.

  “How are Kelsey and Jared, Robert?” the emperor asked. “Is it really them?”

  “It’s them, Majesty. They seem whole, if not completely unscarred. And they’ve brought back an incredible fleet of ships and even larger stories for us.

  “If they’re to be believed, the Old Empire is still alive, only under the control of mad artificial intelligences. And we’re at war with them. Still.”

  “The only reason we weren’t conquered centuries ago was because the computer in charge of this sector got bogged down with the planet Pentagar. If it weren’t for Athena, we’d likely already have Rebel Empire ships moving towards us.”

  Yeats sighed. “The Imperial Senate is going to go mad. And Fleet isn’t going to be happy, either. Gargantuan doesn’t begin to cover it. I’m not sure that Hercules could perform the required feats to fix this.”

  “You know how you eat an elephant, Robert? One bite at a time. I’ll be there in less than an hour. Then we’ll cut the problems into manageable chunks. Don’t do anything hasty before then.”

  Yeats smiled. “I think I can restrain myself, Majesty. I do have one bit of unambiguously good news, though. Jared and Kelsey seem to have resolved their differences. She’s stoutly defending him and they seem quite friendly. I suppose everything they’ve been through would do that.”

  The emperor smiled widely. “That’s excellent news. Now if we could just get Ethan to come around. Maybe Kelsey can finally make him see reason.”