Knights of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book Two)

by Lawrence P White

“I know that Mzdak is aware of Struthers’ interest in you. I believe his plan is to ferret out the Queen, and it looks to me like you fell for it.”

  “What is his plan?”

  “It’s two-fold. He hopes you will steal the cruiser, and if you do, it will be tracked to the Queen. There have been some tracker failures in the past, so he’s loaded the ship with a fatal toxin, enough to kill a world if it is released properly. The ship’s AI has been programmed to make that release at the appropriate time. He wants to kill her and everyone with her. If he takes out a whole planet in the process, he doesn’t care.”

  Krys paled. Tarn went to her side and put an arm around her as everyone stared at each other in horror. Borg, efficient as always, stayed one step ahead of them. “How is it that you know all this?”

  “I’m a senior engineering officer at the overhaul facility. There is not much that escapes my attention.”

  “If you’re right, your warning is in time, and we thank you.”

  “You’re not in time.” She turned to Krys. “You’re here, My Lady, and he’s not going to let you get away unless it’s on that cruiser.”

  “We’ve been in difficult situations before, Commander. Because of you, we’re forewarned, and we’ll make good our escape. Thank you.”

  “I believe there’s more,” Borg stated, unperturbed but very focused.

  “No, sir. Not anything of significance.”

  “Flan says there is, something to do with your work here.”

  “I don’t see how that will benefit you.”

  “What is it that you do?”

  “I’m in charge of all work associated with the Chessori. My main project is to upgrade the Chessori ships. A smaller project is to supervise the modifications to our own ships that will enable the Chessori to install their hypercoms.”

  Borg stared at her. “And you think that’s not important?”

  “Of course it’s important, but there’s nothing you can do about it. As I said, both projects are on hold. When, or if, they resume, we’ll have some surprises for the Chessori.”

  Stven was more concerned about escape. “What is the status of the cruiser and the Chessori ships parked beside it?”

  “The cruiser is a decoy. They’re hoping you’ll take it, and we’ve installed a hypercom that’s just a shell. The military ships have been here for over a year. We installed new shields and weapons, but their drives cannot supply enough power to run them. We’ve removed their drives and started rewiring them for our own, larger drives, but Struthers placed a hold on our work. He wants the plans for the hypercom in exchange for our plans for better drives, weapons, and shields. Until an agreement is reached, the ships here will remain decommissioned. After what Flan told us, we’ve been trying to somehow disable the cruiser, too, but we haven’t been allowed inside. It’s fully ready to go once it gets a crew.”

  Stven’s head swung from side to side. He felt a puff coming and swallowed it, then looked like he regretted the choice.

  M’Sada said the words that were on everyone’s mind. “Do you know how the hypercom works?”

  “I do not, Lieutenant. I’ve never been allowed to see schematics of the system, only its power requirements.”

  M’Sada started a rapid preening of his antennae as he considered her words, but Tarn didn’t wait. “Can we get our hands on one of the units?”

  “It wouldn’t do you any good. They’re too large and heavy to carry, and they’re well protected. Besides, reverse engineering of a system that complex is probably not possible.”

  “How well protected?” Washburn asked.

  “We were working around the clock until Struthers called a halt. Now, there’s little activity in their area, but they never leave it unguarded.”

  “How many guards?”

  “They always seem to do things in two’s and three’s. They’ve had three since your arrival, around the clock. I don’t know why, but we’ve been told that one of them is enough.”

  Washburn’s gaze moved to Krys, and when she noticed him, he raised an eyebrow.

  She stared back at him with a frown, then turned to Tarn. “I want to think about all this. I’ll see Commander Skvechavka’a in my quarters in half an hour.”

  * * * * *

  Tarn and Borg escorted Akurea to Krys’ suite, and on the way, Tarn gave her very simple instructions. “She’ll be meditating. You will not speak to her, nor will you distract her in any way. I want you to walk silently to her and take her hands. When she comes out of her meditation, she might have some questions for you.”

  “Surely you jest.”

  Tarn held out his own Knight’s pin, and she paled. “Two Knights on the same mission?” she asked. “I don’t understand, Sire.”

  “Explanations might come later. Just do as I say, Commander.”

  “Yes, Sire.”

  The door to Krys’ conference room was open, and they all walked in together. Akurea stepped softly up to Krys and took her hands in her own.

  When Krys opened her eyes, she stared at Akurea with a frown on her face. “Will you wait outside, please? I’ll call you back in shortly.”

  Borg escorted Commander Skvechavka’a to the corridor and closed the door, leaving Krys and Tarn alone. Tarn waited as she considered what she’d seen.

  “She’s staring at a computer screen, Tarn. I’ve never seen one like it. It’s boxy, and it has a red screen. On the screen are lines and characters I don’t recognize. It appears quite technical.”

  “Is that why you don’t understand them?”

  “Maybe, but I get the feeling they’re not Galactic High Standard.”

  “I’ve never seen a computer with a red screen.”

  “Nor have I. I think it’s a Chessori computer.”

  Their gazes locked. Tarn was the first to speak. “The plans for the hypercom?”

  In a small voice, she said, “I think so.”

  “Did you see anything else?”

  “No, but it came with words:

  ‘To be Named a Knight is a call to even greater sacrifice in my name.’”

  She gave him time to consider the words and their relationship to the vision, then she rose and stood before him. He, too, rose, and they held each other for a long time. His skills at interpreting visions were not needed this time, and they both knew it. One of them was destined to make a great sacrifice in the coming days.

  “I hope it’s me,” he said softly into her hair.

  “I don’t.”

  “If it’s you, I’ll be beside you all the way. I won’t desert you.”

  “Nor I you. I love you, Tarn. Know that nothing will change that, and there is only one higher calling to which I answer, to which we answer.”

  “Who? The Queen, or is it whoever’s sending you these visions?”

  “Neither, my love. We answer to the Empire. These messages are not for us or the Queen, they’re for our people. I won’t shy away from danger if it means the Chessori will enslave everyone we’re sworn to protect. Nor will you.”

  He squeezed her harder, then they parted. Tarn walked to the door and motioned Borg and Akurea back into the room. Krys was seated with dry eyes, and she invited Akurea to sit on the couch.

  “Tell me what you know of the Chessori, Commander.”

  “That’s a pretty open-ended question, My Lady. I know a lot. I speak their language fairly well, and I’ve spent a lot of time with them on technical issues.”

  “You speak their language? I’ve never met anyone who spoke their language.”

  “I’ve been working with them for over a year now. When we ran into the power problems on their ships, they sent some scientists and engineers, and they didn’t speak our language at all. It was a difficult time. Now, I speak some of theirs, and they speak some of ours.”

  “Can you read their technical prints?”

  “I have to, My Lady. My understanding is a working knowledge, not a scientific understanding.”

  Krys nodded. “T
heir office computers . . . what do they look like?”

  Akurea smiled. “Antiquated, My Lady, and hard on the eyes.”

  “Hard on the eyes? Why?”

  “I think the Chessori see differently than we do. Their screens are red, and the symbols are blue. You can imagine how hard it is to stare at them for long periods of time.”

  Krys’ gaze went to Tarn. He stood up with pursed lips and stepped around the couch to face Akurea. “Commander, are the plans for the hypercom here on Grnlee?”

  “I can’t say, Sire. There’s a well-protected computer that might have the whole system, but I’ve only been allowed to work with the input and output sections of the hypercom schematics. Power requirements mostly. I don’t know what other information the computer holds.”

  “We have reason to believe the complete system is within a computer here. If it was, would it be that one?”

  Her eyes rose to the ceiling as she considered. “Probably. It’s the most protected computer they have, and they’re not shy about protecting it. I’ve never been allowed to page through it to see what else was there.”

  “How hard would it be to steal this computer?”

  She stared at him, surprised and taken aback. “Sire?”

  “How hard, Commander?”

  “The Chessori offices are adjacent to their ships. They occupy a full corner of the hangar. There are three guards outside their facility that I know of, and there are usually a couple more inside.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I have free access to the facility, Sire. It’s part of my job.”

  “They let you in whenever you want?”

  “Yes, Sire. We share the same work space for this project.”

  “Do the Chessori live there when they’re off duty?”

  “Not in the laboratory, of course, but they live nearby.”

  Borg stood up from his sitting-at-attention-while-guarding pose and padded up to Krys. His eyes shined, and she sensed the blood lust in them.

  “My Lady, you need the rest of your officers in here. It appears that we have plans to consider.”

  * * * * *

  Admiral Mzdak came aboard just after sunset the following night, much to his displeasure. Tarn didn’t waste any time. “We’re considering absconding with your cruiser, Admiral.”

  Mzdak’s eyes started moving in all directions. “Sire, you’ll blow my cover! Please reconsider.”

  “We will not blow your cover. It’s a simple theft of a ship you’ve entrusted into the care of the Chessori while they work on it. They will be blamed. Have they completed their work?”

  “Almost. I’m told they’ll conduct their final tests in two or three days. The regular crew will board as soon as they’re done.”

  “The ship is fully operational, and it’s just three Chessori guarding it?”

  “That’s what I’ve been told. I haven’t verified if there are more Chessori inside. Please don’t do this thing, Sire.”

  Krys chose that moment to enter the lounge, and Tarn introduced her as a ship’s officer. “If we take the cruiser, she’ll be the one flying it,” he told Mzdak.

  Krys saluted Mzdak, then held her hand out to him. “It’s an honor to meet such a brave officer,” she said.

  Mzdak’s chest swelled, and though it was not one of his customs, he shook the outstretched hand. Krys took his hand in both of hers and held to it for a long few heartbeats. She then stepped away, saying, “What is the latest opportunity for us to abscond with your ship?”

  “Tomorrow or the next day will be your only chance.” He turned back to Tarn. “I hope you decide against, Sire. The loss of that ship might cost me my job, and I’m the right one to be leading this repair facility for the Queen.”

  “I understand, Admiral. I’ll let you know my decision tomorrow. Good night.”

  Borg saw him out. Krys sat down on the couch with pursed lips. “No luck?” Tarn asked.

  She shook her head. “No luck. Where does that leave us?”

  Tarn paced back and forth before the couch. “If we have the opportunity to abscond with a hypercom, we should do it, but which one? The computer or the cruiser? The evidence, and more important, my gut instinct tells me that taking the cruiser would be a mistake. I don’t like Mzdak, and Akurea’s description of what they’ve done to the cruiser sends chills down my back. But we have Akurea’s vision. I believe it points us down the true path, as all your visions have.”

  He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, then stepped away with his back to her, rubbing his chin as he considered what it would mean to the Queen’s forces to have the hypercom. Swift communication with ships would allow forces to be spread much thinner, and with fast ships, reinforcements could be called in from anywhere in good time.

  His eyes narrowed as another thought came to mind. He considered the hypercom signals themselves. Was the beam, or whatever it was, directional, or did it go out in all directions, permeating all space? If the beam was broad enough, everyone could hear everyone else’s messages, and it might be possible to eavesdrop on Rebel/Chessori plans. Chandrajuski could easily develop a code to prevent them from listening to his messages.

  So, too, could the Rebel/Chessori forces, but if they didn’t know that the Empire had the hypercom, they would have no reason to code their messages.

  If they stole the computer, they should do it in such a way that the Chessori did not know they had it.

  He turned back to Krys.

  “I’m troubled by just one thing. I can’t find the riddle in the words of Akurea’s vision. I’m missing something, and it could be important.”

  She stood up and came to him, taking his face in her hands. “The words speak of sacrifice, my love, not death. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

  “I’m trying not to. If one of us is to die, wouldn’t you have been sent a vision of it?”

  “Who can say? We’ve agreed to give all that we are to restore the Empire. It’s our duty to go for it. Just . . . if one of us has to make a great sacrifice, I hope it’s me.”

  Tarn’s eyes widened. “Maybe that’s the riddle,” he said. “The word Knight is singular, but we were both Named knights. It might mean that we both have to make a great sacrifice. Did you get any sense of timing, My Lady?”

  “I did not.” She stared into his eyes for a time, then buried her head in his chest.

  * * * * *

  Washburn was certain he could get a team into the facility without setting off alarms. It was one of Delta’s specialties, and using stunners, the attack would be silent. The Chessori added an unusual twist: he had to prevent a single Chessori from getting a mental message out to the rest of the Chessori.

  Akurea would have to accompany the team. He purpose was to identify the computer, then disconnect it without damaging it.

  Once the attack started, Washburn allotted two minutes for his team to be back outside. The risk of discovery was much higher on the way out, and it was this portion of the operation that he focused on most intently.

  Krys was resolved to go through with the operation, and she insisted that Washburn use whatever resources he needed, even if it meant leaving her and the ship undefended for a little while. Borg objected, but she overruled him. Washburn and Borg decided to go with two full teams, six Terrans and six Great Cats. The cats would have to remain outside the building, but they would provide cover during the escape.

  The teams would use skimmers to return to Resolve if they could, but in a worst case scenario, O’Brien would move Resolve to them for the pickup.

  In order to muddy the waters for Chessori investigators later, O’Brien would bombard the Chessori ships and the facility as they left the planet, focusing on the Chessori offices and living quarters. The goal was to create so much destruction that no one would ever know the computer was missing.

  Admiral Mzdak was misled into believing the cruiser would be taken immediately after the Chessori completed the hypercom installation two days hence. He
resisted, but he was reminded that a Knight’s word was the Queen’s command on all worlds of the Empire.

  Akurea led the Terrans into the facility. She was dressed in a fresh uniform, and the teams were dressed in flowing robes that hid weapons. She led them on a long tour of the facility, pretending they were visiting dignitaries, and they ended the tour in front of the entrance to the Chessori offices. Three Chessori stood guard outside the door.

  Akurea, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, walked up to the door and entered her code into the lock. The moment the door slid aside, three Terrans stunned the Chessori, and the team entered the engineering office. Two more Chessori guards inside glanced up and were stunned before they even knew there was a problem.

  She immediately went to the computer and disconnected it, then motioned to one of Washburn’s men to carry it out. They would not risk Akurea dropping it to the ground if the scree sounded. They made their way back out, passing several Rebel guards and workmen who had been stunned by other members of the team while they were acquiring the computer. No alarms had been raised, and the teams loaded onto two skimmers and made it all the way back to Resolve without discovery.

  Washburn and his men immediately went to the bridge and plugged in. Now all weapons were fully manned. O’Brien lifted the ship and made one slow pass over the Chessori facilities allowing Resolve’s guns to obliterate the Chessori work spaces, living quarters, the hangar, and several nearby ships. The scree sounded strongly, but they were away quickly. Port gunners were slow to react, and they never got a shot off before O’Brien headed toward space.

  Stven and M’Sada joined O’Brien on the net. “We can just jump away, you know,” he said to them.

  “It would be nice to be free of all this, but we’re not giving out the secret of fast ships,” Stven completed his thought. “It’s still a last resort.”

  “Stick with the plan,” M’Sada said. ”The operation has been a success so far, and there will be a lot of confusion among Mzdak’s men. He wasn’t expecting us to move for another day. His assets will be in place, they just have to get the order to move. We can expect ships from all over the planet, and there will be more ships farther out waiting for a signal, probably just a short jump away. Whether they’re Chessori or Rebel, we don’t know, but we do know they won’t be fast ships, so we’ll have some time. For the moment, our concern is ships on and near the planet.”