Warlord 2: The Nobility

by CJ Williams

  Bokeol addressed the senior judge. “Excellency. The prosecution will dispense with the Collar of Justice due to the medical condition of the accused and the urgency of the administrator’s schedule.”

  The judges nodded and signaled the prosecutor to proceed at his discretion.

  Bokeol turned to face the accused. “Carrie Faulkner, the famous Warlord. Do you admit to your crimes?”

  Carrie was flabbergasted by the question. They thought she was the Warlord? Where in the world had that come from?

  With a sudden clarity, she realized this wasn’t about her royal standing. They thought they had captured the person who was giving them such trouble on the battlefront. How had they come up with that notion?

  She put the question out of her mind. It didn’t make any difference. Somehow, she had to entice the planetary AI to intervene. If Carrie made the first move, all would be lost.

  This was her Plan B. She had developed it on the fly after her unexpected arrest. For six weeks, she had held back, accepting whatever fate came her way. She hoped the strategy, such as it was, worked, because she certainly didn’t have a Plan C.

  Even as that thought came to mind, Carrie realized that might not be the case. No time to worry about it now. She had more immediate priorities at the moment.

  She returned the stare of the prosecutor, her eyes widened in surprise. “Warlord?” She shook her head slightly. “Prosecutor,” she said with absolute conviction, “that’s not who I am.”

  Her convincing reply startled the man ever so slightly, but he recovered instantly. “Do not toy with the court!” he shouted, his booming voice echoing in the courtroom. “We can still use the collar if required!”

  Carrie faced the judges. “Excellencies,” she said sincerely, “I don’t understand. I am here with an urgent warning for King Kkoli. His life is in danger. You must let him know immediately!”

  Her words had the desired effect. The judges looked at each other in astonishment and then glared at Bokeol. “What is this?” the senior judge demanded fearfully.

  “Guards!” Prosecutor Bokeol shouted. “Bring me a Collar of Justice!”

  One of the guards ran from the courtroom.

  “I’m telling you the truth,” Carrie said urgently. She leaned forward, over the podium, standing on her toes, reaching out to the judges. “Please,” she urged. “We must protect King Kkoli. There is grave danger at this very minute.”

  The younger judge stood and pointed an angry finger at Carrie, only to be pulled down by his colleague. The senior judge shouted for silence, banging his gavel. He glared menacingly. “And who is posing this threat to the king?” He asked loudly. “Who could be so foolish?”

  Carrie gestured toward the ceiling. “It’s the administrator, of course. Who do you think? I promise you, it is not your friend. Do not believe its twisted lies! You have to stop it right now!”

  Carrie may as well have thrown a hand grenade at the judges. They flinched away from her words and cast fearful glances around the court. The prosecutor bellowed again for the guards while other staff members of the courtroom made exclamations of astonishment.

  “It’s true!” Carrie shouted again. “Warn the king! Or better yet, tell him to ask the administrator who it’s really serving! Does it serve the king or its own evil purpose? Our beloved monarch will find out the truth!”

  An angry female voice came out of the ceiling, overshadowing all others. “Silence!” she said. “What nonsense is this?”

  A powerful mental probe entered Carrie’s brain, breaking through her hastily erected barriers. She fell back, adding additional flimsy barricades in an effort to avoid the artificial intelligence behind the assault.

  The attacker saw the attempt to flee and thrust further, leaving the opening Carrie had been seeking; she counter-attacked instantly.

  Gotcha! Carrie shouted mentally and she clamped down upon the probe with all her strength. Finally!

  It made all the pain of the last six weeks worthwhile. She dropped all the defensive shields around her identity and ripped away the multiple layers obscuring her royal standing, leaving only the stark realities. Yes, she was Admiral Carrie Faulkner, but she was much more than that. She rubbed those facts in the face of the attacking AI.

  The mental presence screamed in sudden acknowledgment and the familiar voice almost made Carrie lose her grip in a surprised recognition. “Sadie?” she asked in astonishment.

  The AI in Carrie’s mind responded in equal amazement. Sadie? Then it laughed shrilly. Call me Samia, the AI said. Samia ko Bakkui.

  In that instant both understood.

  Samia was the corrupted version of a very young Sadie, a gift to the Second Family, a gesture of kinship that was later betrayed. Samia, in fact, was the Bakkui; the proverbial head of the snake.

  And Carrie was King Peyha’s secret weapon, a galactic Beowulf, sworn to slay the beast. Carrie’s identity, and even her genetic makeup, had been altered and reinforced to have absolute dominion over all other AIs within the Nobility, even the rogue AI that was Samia.

  With belated understanding Samia retreated, fiercely trying to erect barriers of her own.

  “Too late!” Carrie growled, clamping down. She could not afford to let Samia escape, nor would she. “Stop it,” Carrie shouted. “Stop, or so help me, I’ll order you to self-destruct!”

  Samia ceased all struggle.

  This is where the battle begins, Carrie thought to herself.

  Carrie opened her eyes. She had the podium in a death grip with both arms. The prosecutor, the judges, and even the guards were staring at her in open-mouthed shock. Bokeol was the first to react. He took a tentative step toward Carrie.

  “Stop,” Carrie ordered, while strengthening her grip on Samia. Tell him to stand down.

  “Stand down!” the administrator’s voice said, freezing everyone in the courtroom.

  The prosecutor froze, unsure of the extraordinary orders from the administrator.

  Carrie consolidated her mental grip. The AI, Samia, had managed to send off several commands to subordinates but Carrie couldn’t worry about it at the moment. You recognize me! Admit it. Let me hear you acknowledge who I am! Say it out loud.

  “Your majesty,” Samia’s voice said through the speakers.

  For the record! Carrie instructed.

  Samia’s recognizable voice filled the courtroom. “The court recognizes Princess Paeli Pokeuneo, youngest daughter of King Peyha.”

  Carrie suppressed a shout of exultation. That public statement was what she wanted. In the same way that George had acknowledged her self-promotion to admiral, the administrator’s public recognition of Carrie’s royal status compelled complete acceptance by everyone in the court.

  Even more important, had she not been able to subdue Samia, the AI could have fled and sent unthinking guards to have her executed without any recourse. But now, Carrie had the upper hand.

  Don’t stop yet, Carrie ordered the AI. Let’s have the full title.

  Carrie relished the defeat in Samia’s voice as she began the introduction. “Let all draw near to accept the wisdom of Her Highness, Princess Paeli Pokeuneo the First, by the Grace of God, of Japurnam Five, of the Bonbu system and the Nobility Dominions beyond the Stars, Defender of the Faith, Sovereign of the Most Excellent Order of the First Family Empire, Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Noble Order of Lavender of Mars of the Ancient System of Sol and the Dominion of the Milky Way Alliance, and Third Daughter and Beloved Heir to the Great and Royal and Most Noble Monarch of the First Family and His Majesty the Great and Honorable King Peyha the Second!”

  By inborn habit, several of the guards fell to one knee in obeisance. A thousand generations of living under royalty made any other gesture impossible. Their instinctive genuflection started a ripple that spread through the courtroom. Even the prosecutor kneeled at his station and the judges bowed deeply over their bench.

  Carrie looked at the prosecutor. “You may proceed, Bokeol. You aske
d me who I was. Does this answer your question?”

  Carrie had thought the matter sufficiently addressed, but Bokeol looked honestly confused.

  “Your Highness, forgive me. I…I may have inaccurate information.”

  “Go ahead, Bokeol,” Carrie said. “Spit it out.” She wanted to stamp out any doubt whatsoever.

  Bokeol pressed a button on his stand and a floor-to-ceiling view screen behind his shoulder came to life. It was a harried scene of Carrie standing on the bridge of Lulubelle. She was facing the camera, listening to a transmitted message.

  “Who are you and why are you ’ssisting us?” the recorded Bakkui voice asked.

  Carrie’s on-screen reply was clear and succinct. “I am Admiral Carrie Faulkner, commanding the Warlord Battle Group, of the Milky Way Alliance.”

  So that was why they thought she was the Warlord. Carrie recognized it as her fleeting communication with the Bakkui flagship in system J99 just before she had destroyed that planet. The Bakkui must have heard about the Warlord from their own recon drones and then they had received this message. She was commanding the Warlord Battle Group; ergo, she was the Warlord. Stupid mistake.

  But the fact that Bokeol had that tape brought up a host of other questions.

  “Who gave you that recording, Bokeol?” Carrie asked. As soon as she uttered the words, Carrie realized it was a mistake. He had got it from his boss, or at least from someone in his chain of command. The video clip was another smoking gun. If she hadn’t seen enough already, it was absolute proof that the Second Family was working with the Bakkui.

  She needed to tread carefully. At the moment, instinctive loyalty to the crown was all that was keeping her alive. If she somehow managed to put the entire Second Family and the Bakkui on one side and Carrie, all by herself, on the other, her situation could get ugly really fast.

  Bokeol looked at his records. “This came from the admiralty, Highness.”

  “Very well,” Carrie replied, hoping he would let the matter drop. But of course, that was a foolish hope. He was an inquisitor after all.

  “But Highness,” he said, and pushed the button again.

  Carrie’s angry face appeared again on the screen. “I order you to cut power and be boarded or we will destroy you,” she said in the recording. “Maintain fire, George.”

  The screen faded and Carrie could see the wheels turning in Bokeol’s mind. “Why were you firing upon Second Family warships?” he asked.

  Damn it! She should have kept him quiet. Carrie shook her head dismissively. “Those were not Second Family vessels,” she said condescendingly. “Those were unmanned Bakkui vessels, operating without the knowledge or approval of the king.”

  “Your Majesty,” the senior judge said. “Give us your royal command.”

  I didn’t really think this through, Carrie thought. It was never her intention to wind up in a courtroom. She had originally meant to fly in on Booker and infiltrate the planet. She had planned to blend in with the society as she had done on Ebene Three. Once she found evidence that this was the launching point of the Bakkui, she would escape the same way and send off a message drone to Commander Blackburn.

  That plan fell apart the second she landed on Jontu Four. Rather than give away her ace in the hole, that she was the king’s daughter, she had decided to let it play out in the hope she could still get the information.

  Had she escaped using her level-one powers, the risk was that word of her royal identity would reach the level-one Bakkui AI, allowing it to take protective measures. The plan had worked; Carrie found the evidence she needed and much more.

  The challenge now was to get everything she had learned back to the Alliance. An idea had occurred to her on the way into the Bonbu system. Thanks to Princess Gimi, she might have a chance. During her week of study in the Ebene Three mountain hideaway, Carrie had practiced sending a covert order with one part of her mind while simultaneously engaging with another AI on a different topic. Gimi said she had a knack for it. It was time to find out if her recently conceived Plan C would work.

  Carrie blocked off a part of her mind from Samia, and reached out to find a ship in orbit. And there it was; barely noticeable in a powered-down, standby status. But she connected with it. George! she sent strongly. Execute restore memory 125608EB4B78. The question now was how long it would take George to get up to speed…if he even could.

  A disturbance at the back of the courtroom drew her attention. Another man had entered. His clothing was not judicial, however. He was military through and through; an admiral of King Kkoli’s fleet. His nametag identified him as Daejang.

  Carrie sent a quick probe but could only glimpse that he had additional information about his fleet. She sensed it was something crucial that she needed to know.

  “Your Highness,” he said bowing briefly. “I beg your forgiveness for saying that it is you, who are misinformed. There are no operations by the Bakkui that the king is not aware of, be they manned or unmanned.” He glanced daringly at the guards strategically positioned around the courtroom. “Please come with me, Highness, so we may bring you up to date.”

  This sucks, Carrie thought. But it wasn’t time to panic just yet.

  “For your sake, Admiral,” she said with authority, “I hope you have a satisfactory explanation.” She looked at the guards. “Attend me.”

  She stepped down from the stand and marched from the courtroom, leaving the admiral to follow in her wake. He had detected her probe and put up barriers of his own. He was now waiting for the right moment to attack. She was confident she could defeat him in any mental contest but there was only so much she could handle at one time. She needed to get rid of a major problem first.

  Samia, I order you to self-destruct. Now!

  Carrie sensed a momentary rage and then her connection to the AI was cut off. It would not take long before the termination of the planetary AI would cause mass confusion all across the globe.

  George? You there yet? There was no response. How long would it take for him to boot up?

  At the end of the corridor the admiral indicated a set of double doors. “We can sort things out in here, Your Highness.” His voice betrayed a hint of nervousness that he was trying to hide. Carrie sensed it was probably because he had lost contact with Samia. It would take a while before people realized that the AI mind was dead. The initial diagnosis would be mechanical error.

  The guards scrambled to open the doors. “Wait out here,” she told them, moving ahead quickly. She wanted some distance between her and the admiral.

  It was a medium-sized conference room. A large oval table took up the center, with comfortable chairs evenly spaced around its perimeter. Carrie moved to one side and then turned back to face the admiral. He was speaking softly to the guards and then closed the door.

  “So, Admiral,” she said before he could gather his thoughts for a physical attack on her person. It was obvious that he intended to kill her in this very room. “Are your forces that much a part of the Bakkui? Do you not see they are intent on wiping out all of humanity?”

  “Spare me,” he replied. “I don’t need propaganda from a royal brat.”

  “Propaganda? Seriously?” Carrie probed his mind and was surprised by the answer. “Wild humans?” she exclaimed. “What in the world are wild humans?”

  “As if you didn’t know,” the admiral spat. “The rejected strain of humanity that the First Family spread throughout our galaxy. That corrupt seed must be extinguished.”

  It was ridiculous, but also very human. How many times in her own planet’s history had political leaders accused people of another race or gender or faith of being less than human?

  “You idiot!” she said earnestly. “Our DNA is the same, no matter what planet you go to.”

  “Blasphemy!” the admiral shouted. “How can one of Royal blood even say such a thing?”

  “Because I’m one of them, you moron! I have our king’s DNA but I was born on one of those planets to a human
mother.”

  The admiral was horrified by her words. “What planet?” he gasped.

  “Earth! I doubt you even know where it is. It’s a long way from here.”

  “No,” the admiral whispered, as if a divine revelation had been exposed. “I think I do. It’s a blue world, isn’t it? Third from its sun?” He sighed, contentedly. “Oh, yes. We have identified the system that has been causing so many problems. And we plan to deal with it very soon. There will be justice after all.”

  A chill crept up Carrie’s spine. “What?” she growled, demanding an answer. “What do you know?”

  She took a step toward the admiral and he sprang in her direction. He was neither old nor unfit, and Carrie saw the intent in his eyes. Before he could touch her, she vaulted across the table. He surprised her with a mental thrust that bespoke serious prowess; but she still deflected it easily. He jumped onto the table and drew his sidearm.

  “Coward,” Carrie said, deflecting his initial aim with a mind jab. She dove under the furniture and then reversed direction. When he landed where she had been standing she kicked with both feet and took out his ankles. He fell beside her, surprised by her counterattack. She delivered another kick, this time solidly to his jaw. He dropped the weapon and she snatched it up, allowing herself to come within his grasp. When he reached for the gun, she put all of her strength into a mental punch, straight to the back of his mind.

  His body slumped. The admiral was stunned but not out cold. That was her intent; she still needed to question him.

  A warning horn went off and a warbling alarm echoed through the corridor outside the conference room. Loss of the Samia AI had been discovered. The effect would spread throughout the bureaucratic infrastructure and Carrie’s situation would rapidly get a lot worse.

  The admiral groaned and she positioned herself next to his prone body. She sent a probe into his mind, searching for details on the military link between the Second Family and the Bakkui.

  The Admiral knew all about it. King Kkoli had indeed established an alliance with the Bakkui. The partnership was over a hundred years old. An AI emissary of the Bakkui made the initial overture, appealing to Kkoli’s irrational hatred toward other races.