Defender of the Empire: Cadet #1 (40 page)

             
In the hour before our summons I kept finding myself pulling at the collar of my uniform, convinced the darn thing was trying to choke me. Jason, the bugger, laughed at my discomfort. “Get used to it, Rylynn, Dress uniforms are
never
comfortable.” Jason told me.

             
“Says the kid with any experience.” Westley said wryly fixing his cuffs. He looked pretty good in uniform. Of course, I had seen him in a similar color once before. The only difference between the dress uniform and the daily ship uniform was the stiffness of the cloth. It was meant to remind its wearer that they were to stand as straight as possible.

             
Jason opened his mouth to say something, but then reconsidered. 

             
Marius chuckled and said “Just think how amazing we all look in these spiffy things.” And I had to admit that he also looked good. The dark navy helped to make him look even more handsome. It also brought out his bright, oft mischievous green eyes. Glancing at each of them I had to be honest with myself. They all looked amazing in uniform. I remembered hearing stray comments from other female cadets. If they weren’t talking about me they were admiring my friends. I absently wondered if it had been a woman who knew what color brought out the best in men who had designed the uniform.  Marius caught my veiled appreciative looks. His eyes danced at the opportunity I had unfortunately given him. “Rylynn knows what I’m talking about, don’t ya Ry?”

             
The other two looked up at me and I decided that now would be a good time to check if my boots were on right. I was saved from further scrutiny by the summons. Like I said, it was about time.

             
We were led to a high ceilinged rectangular room. It was simply furnished, but it was an elegant simplicity. A rectangle mahogany table dominated the center of the room. Its surface was lacquered smooth and inlayed with iridescent shells. It was a work of art. As beautiful as it was, it couldn’t distract any one from those sitting around it for long. Where the table dominated the floor the people around it dominated the room. There were five chairs and each was occupied. They varied in age, gender, height and appearance, but all of them had a gold diamond winking on their collars.

             
The Admiralty Board.

             
Oh dear Lord in heaven…
I started to pray. Thankfully I already met most of the board. Unfortunately I knew only one really liked me. One I knew was my enemy. The other I had only just met. Admiral L’Seral nodded to us when we entered, a small smile of welcome on her lips. It made it easier for me to breathe. The beautiful Admiral Bieri watched us enter, her blue eyes glinting with secrets. I figured we were called when we were because they had been waiting for her to arrive. It made me wonder if that meant the
Hail Mary
was also back. Admiral Knight’s watchful brown eyes gave nothing away. His face was an expressionless mask. It was unsettling, but I think I preferred it to glee. The other two men I hadn’t met. One had golden skin and had the build of a warrior. The other was a dark man with violet eyes that were striking against his skin. He reminded me of the picture of Dr. Clayton’s family. Her husband was from the Prime World of J’Ara. If this admiral was from there as well then I guessed he was Admiral Kielaun Jus’ka, the representative of the civilian exploration branch of the Legion Fleet. Which meant his golden skinned companion was Admiral Lauzlo D’rz from the Prime World of Gi’eon.

             
We filed in under those powerful eyes and saluted before standing at attention. “At ease.” Admiral L’Seral ordered after a moment. I was proud of us, we moved together. We stood with our feet shoulder length apart with our right hands clasped about our left wrists behind our backs and stared straight ahead.

             
“Welcome, cadets. You were called before this board because of the events of the last few days.” We were told by who I assumed to be Admiral Jus’ka. His voice was deep and I fancied that I could feel the timbre of it through my feet. “Your loyalty to your crewmate and your resourcefulness must be commended.” He continued. He actually smiled at us and I felt a moment of pride. It was short lived, however because I could sense the undercurrent behind his words. There was another shoe and it was about to drop.

             
“However,” Admiral Knight’s rich baritone sent a shiver of distaste down my spine. “We cannot ignore many of your actions. As 1
st
Cadet Trin established for us, a light hand does not discourage behavior we cannot have.” Westley was to my left and I could sense his mostly smothered flinch at the admiral’s words. Admiral Knight continued “You disobeyed orders, something else I believe Westley has done before, stealing an LFA, and endangering others in your recklessness.” There has got to be a school that commanding officers attend to learn the fine art of turning their voices into whips. Because all of us were flinching with each syllable he spoke. “All that needs to be decided is your punishment.” He concluded with an irritated glance at L’Seral.

             
The petite woman smiled at him before saying “As I told you before, Admiral Knight, we
need
more young people who are able to take the initiative in our ranks. Too many are sheep these days.” And that is when I realized that we were going to have to stand there and listen to them argue about our fate. And I could figure that we were to be silent the entire time. It was a punishment on its own.

             
“Admiral L’Seral has a point.” Admiral D’rz said. “We cannot punish them for doing what any of us would have done for any of our own crews.”

             
“But we cannot have all of the cadets feeling that they can steal LFAs whenever they want or disobeying orders.” Admiral Knight pressed.  “And what about the two crews they endangered?” He added looking pointedly at Admiral L’Seral.

             
“Two crews that, I remind you, who were already looking for the boy. We all, as do our crews, know the risk of our profession. It was responsible of them to acknowledge the fact that they needed help. Otherwise they would be dead and we wouldn’t know that the Zar’daken’s are up to something again.” Admiral L’Seral replied.

             
There was a moment of silence as our judges absorbed that. “We really do have a conundrum before us.” Admiral Bieri murmured. She glanced at us before saying to her colleagues. “Why don’t we reward them by letting them resume their Academy careers as if none of this has happened? No suspension as would be the normal consequence for theft and blunt disobedience.”

             
Admiral Knight shook his head. “That isn’t enough, though.” He said coldly. I had to bury my reactions deep in my mind to keep my eyebrows from rising at the realization that the man was pissed that we had messed with his plans. He wanted us to pay. “The other cadets would see that there is no real consequence if they decide to do something similar.” He reasoned.

             
Admiral Bieri raised a cinnamon brow at him. “You didn’t let me finish, Knight. They were winning the Admiral’s Challenge, were they not?” My breath stopped. “Remove them from the competition for their actions.” She shrugged “Besides, they didn’t finish the third challenge.”
Oh please no!
I thought desperately. It didn’t seem like anything to them, but it was like the end of everything for me. The only worst punishment would have been being expelled from the Academy.

             
Admiral L’Seral glared at the red head. “That wasn’t their fault!” She said sharply. “They were attacked by mercenaries, which were
not
part of the exercise! If you want to punish them for rescuing their teammate then make them second or third place. They deserve that much.” I had hope, but it started to vanish with each shake of the other admirals’ heads.

             
“Admiral L’Seral is right.” Another voice said from the doorway. A voice that was captivating in its timbre. The admiral’s rose to their feet so fast several chairs scraped the tile floor. Each of them bowed at the waist before standing straight again. I glanced at Westley to see how he reacted. He seemed just as lost as I was and settled for coming to attention. Jason, to my right, started to tremble slightly before putting his clenched right fist over his heart and bowing his head. Great, three different responses… what the hell did
I
do? Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marius do the same as Jason. So I did that too and Westley was quick to do the same.
Who was this newcomer?
I wondered. Apparently unbothered by the varying responses, the voice continued. “The fault is mine.” Whoever it was, they didn’t have to speak loud to command an entire room and I was dying to see who it was.

             
Boy am I slow some days…

             
“Emperor, it is an honor and surprise to see you.” Admiral L’Seral said in greeting. I swayed where I stood and glanced through my lashes at the most powerful man in the empire. By this time he had come far enough into the room for me to see him and he was not what I expected. He was of average height with dark hair and sun bronzed skin. He wore a plain black dress shirt and pants. The only hint of his office was the iridescent sword hilt at his hip. I remembered once thinking that my chances of seeing the emperor was the same as my being able to survive seeing the core of a star. Since one had come true, I was praying that I wouldn’t tempt the other into becoming necessary. I prefer stars at a distance.

             
“I’m sure it is, Admiral L’Seral.” He said flicking his gaze at the four of us sweating cadets. Before I looked down hurriedly I saw that his eyes were tri-colored, similar to Jason’s. But unlike Jason’s emerald, crimson, and royal purple, his had the same purple but paired with sky blue and gold instead. Considering how similar the two appeared I figured I had my proof that Jason was an imperial prince. Which made me wonder why he had said that he was from a destitute noble family on Terress. That word again…

             
“It is my fault.” The emperor said again eying Jason. “If I hadn’t allowed my son to attempt his foolish plan this wouldn’t be happening.”

             
Jason’s head snapped up and he actually glared at the emperor. “Just because you don’t agree with it doesn’t make it foolish, father! No one knew who I was. Besides I’m not anywhere near being Heir Apparent, not with four older siblings.”
              “Silence, Gaelen.” The emperor said softly.

             
“No.” Jason, or Gaelen, or whatever said just as softly, but with more obvious heat. “Why do you object to my wanting to make something of my life? Something without guards constantly underfoot? You and I both know I would have received special treatment if I had gone as ‘Gaelen Imperen’.”

             
“Some of our people have died because of your subterfuge.” The emperor said in the same tone, but I saw his eyes flash angrily.

             
“Then let him honor that sacrifice by living up to his potential.” I shocked myself by saying. Both the emperor and Jason (I can’t think of him as Gaelen) turned to look at me. I felt Westley draw in a surprised breath.  I met the emperor’s gaze for a moment before remembering that probably wasn’t the best idea. I licked my suddenly dry lips before continuing my eyes slightly averted, “He is the best human calculator we have. He is also talented at linguistics and is courageous in the face of danger. He could have shut down on that Telmick ship. The Lord knows I probably would have especially after undergoing the beating he had. But he didn’t. He did what needed to be done.” My fingers were sweating and I was trembling something fierce, but my voice remained steady.

             
Westley took a breath and added “Begging your imperial pardon, sir, but Rylynn is right. Jason or Prince Gaelen, is an asset to the Legion Fleet.” He, also apparently, was having trouble deciding what to call my fellow 5
th
class cadet. I saw Marius nod in agreement with what had already been said.

             
The emperor blinked slowly like a cat at us before glancing at the stunned admirals behind him. When he turned back his gaze was admiring and he was smiling. His humor made the gold in his eyes glitter. “Thus the loyalty of friends raises its head once again.” He said. He glanced at his son. “You are lucky to have such friends.

             
Jason stood taller and met his sire’s gaze squarely “Whatever happens, we are in it together.” He said quoting Westley.

             
The emperor nodded slightly and studied the four of us. I caught his glance at someone near the door, but because I was at attention I could not see who. But I could see the admirals… The sight made me swallow uncomfortably and wish I could adjust my collar again. What trouble had I gotten us into? The emperor turned to see everyone in the room. “When I came in you, my admirals, were deciding to remove them from the Challenge. Doing so is your prerogative, however they have done more than win and have already gotten to meet you and I. Which, unless I am mistaken, was part of the prize.”  L’Seral smiled at his words and nodded. And I realized he was kind of right. But I hadn’t wanted to meet them so they could decide my punishment. I wanted to have a place to go once I got through the Academy.  “That said, it is my prerogative to reward them for rescuing my wayward son. And unless I am mistaken, they have proven themselves capable and far ahead of their peers. I want them active as soon as possible.” I stopped breathing again as what he was saying became clearer and clearer. Was it possible I was hearing him right and could he
actually
do it?