Empire of Bones (20 page)

“Why don’t you take the fight to them? Since they attack without reason they might not have a very good defense.”

The man held his hands out to his sides. “We cannot. We know the theory of traversing the space-time bridges, but we have no access to several critical elements necessary to construct the drives. We are prisoners in our own system.”

Jared glanced at Kelsey. “That explains why you haven’t journeyed in the direction we came from.”

“We might not go there even had we been able. We believed it to be a cul-de-sac.”

“You know?” The admission surprised Jared.

“We do. The rebels destroyed our spaceports and the orbitals, and they used EMP weapons, but some records survived on an asteroid mining outpost. Some of the surviving computers there contained basic maps of the local area.”

Jared felt himself sitting up straighter. “Do you know where Terra is?”

“Very generally. We have detailed maps of our sector and general maps for the rest of the Empire. Pentagar was far from the center of the Empire. The knowledge you came into this system through an unknown kind of space-time bridge will both excite our scientists and fill the Royal Fleet with dread. Where you find one, there may be others. What if the Pale Ones find one and pour in on us unannounced?”

“That would be a disaster,” Jared admitted. His communicator chirped. He unclipped it from his belt. “Mertz.”

“This is Graves, Captain. The last of the hostile vessels was just destroyed short of the planet.”

“Did they get any missiles through to the surface?”

“Not that we could see, sir. Even the active scanner readings are vague from this far out. There seem to be a number of orbitals that shot down everything they fired.”

Oliver sighed and smiled. “Thank the gods.”

Jared returned his smile. “Do we have any ships on the way out here?” he asked.

“About a dozen have changed course toward us. We’re looking at them arriving in our area of operations no earlier than five hours from now. Longer if they intend to decelerate.”

“Understood. Keep an eye on things and I’ll be back up there before they get too close. Mertz out.”

He put the communicator away and smiled at Oliver. “Good news. It appears there isn’t a large loss of civilian life. I hope your fleet losses were light.”

“They won’t be,” the engineer said with a deep sigh. “They never are. I saw many of the interdiction stations blown apart. Thousands are dead. No doubt, the losses in the ships engaging the Pale Ones were also heavy. You escaped lightly with only two casualties, Lord Captain.

“Still, you’re right that we will celebrate. Once more, we have survived, and another attack will not come for a few years. We have time to repair the damage.”

Jared took a sip of his beer. “Are you certain they won’t come through again to surprise you?”

Oliver nodded. “We have many years of experience with them. They will lick their wounds and build their strength to try again. Why they only attack with everything at once isn’t known to us, but they do.”

“Perhaps we could provide the elements you lack to build flip drives. You could then attack them in their home.”

The engineer smiled. “That would be wonderful. Such a gesture would be a great boon. The King and his ministers would be willing to negotiate most heavily for such when you meet, I am sure.”

“I know we’ll talk about many things, but first we need to keep them from shooting at us. Will you tell your people we’re not Pale Ones? The very least thing I want to do is fight with your people.”

Oliver rose to his feet and bowed deeply. “It will be my greatest pleasure, Lord Captain.”

Kelsey stood in the main cabin of the Pentagaran ship that they’d saved and tried not to think about the terror she smelled in the air. Not her own, but the stench of people expecting death or worse. Oliver stood beside her and two marines in full combat armor with the full panoply of war covered her from behind.

She’d once again tried to convince Jared to let her proceed without them and failed. He adamantly refused to allow her to meet the representatives from the Royal Fleet without them. That was after he’d tried to block her from being the primary contact at all. Her arguments that the presence of armed men risked a lethal misunderstanding didn’t deter him at all. The man was maddening.

If he could’ve had an armed pinnace with its weapons covering everything, she suspected he would have insisted. Thankfully, she’d negotiated an initial meeting without any armed ships. Three people from the Royal Fleet would come across in an unarmed cutter. Two of those people would be armed marines.

“Princess, the Royal Fleet cutter is about to dock,” Talbot said. “I have a vid feed inside the airlock. If anything looks off, I want you in the compartment behind us before the echo of my voice fades.”

At Engineer First Williams’ insistence, she’d agreed to the use of her honorific. She was surprised at how little she’d missed it.

Kelsey had played cards with the marines so many times she couldn’t count them anymore. Talbot’s normal easygoing nature was completely absent. She had absolutely no doubt he’d stuff her in the other compartment himself if she hesitated to run on his command. Her orders were to obey his instructions if there was any trouble, much to her annoyance.

“Yes, Senior Sergeant.” The tone sounded exactly liked she’d said ‘yes, Mother’.

The ship jolted a little as the cutter docked. Oliver smiled at her. “Do not worry. They will do exactly as they have agreed. I have the word of Commodore Sanders.”

“I’m sure they will,” she said.

“Three people have entered the ship,” the marine said. “Two heavily armed and one with only a pistol. That’s not according to protocol.”

“I never said he couldn’t be armed.”

“He hands his pistol over to one of the marines before he approaches your person or we’re done.” Talbot’s tone brooked no argument.

The hatch in front of them cycled open and the two marines came in. Apparently they deemed it safe for their officer to enter, because a young man wearing a bright red tunic trailed in behind them.

Kelsey held her empty hands out at her sides. “I greet you in the name of the Terran Empire. I am Princess Kelsey Bandar. My marine guard insists that you lay aside your pistol before you approach.”

The young man bowed slightly. “I am Lieutenant John Fredrick of His Majesty’s Royal Marines. We are not allowed to be unarmed during possible combat situations.”

“Then this meeting is over. Withdraw.”

She suspected this was some kind of test. Perhaps merely male posturing. The two occasionally looked very similar. From the tensing of the marines behind the officer, her Fleet marines had backed her up with some posturing of their own.

Oliver took one step forward and stood board straight. “Lieutenant, I am Engineer First Oliver Williams. I vouch for these people. I beg you not to allow a rule to come between our people on this important occasion.”

The officer looked at Oliver for one long moment and then bowed again. “I meant no offense, Your Highness. I crave your forgiveness.” He pulled his pistol from its holster slowly and set it on the deck, before kicking it to the wall behind him.

“On behalf of my King and Commodore Walter Sanders, I welcome you to Pentagar. I am instructed to ask what ransom you demand for the return of our people.”

“You misunderstand, Lieutenant,” Kelsey said. “Your people are not prisoners. You may take them with you as soon as you feel comfortable. Engineer First Williams may return with you now to make arrangements, if you wish. They can be transported here for you to pick up.”

He nodded. “Allowing the Engineer First to return to my ship is within the bounds of my instructions. I will accompany you in turn. Commodore Sanders wishes to have at least some examination of your ship before it is allowed deeper into our system.”

“That is also within my instructions. Once your marines are gone, I will allow you to take up your arms, as a show of trust in your honorable behavior.” She felt it was the right thing to do, no matter how much her marines might disagree.

“You honor me. I give my word in turn that I will not take up arms against you this day, unless I believe my life or mission is threatened.”

“Accepted. And I in turn give you my word that you will be given access to all areas of the ship to examine and you will be allowed to return to your fleet unharmed as soon as you choose to do so.”

She turned to Oliver and held out her hand. “It has been my pleasure to meet you, Engineer First. I hope that we meet again soon.”

He bowed low over her hand and kissed it. “May that day come speedily, Your Highness. Until then I bid you a peaceful farewell.”

The Royal marines gave Oliver a thorough search and escorted him out of the compartment. Kelsey said nothing until Talbot spoke. “They’ve left the ship, Princess.”

“Please pick up your pistol, Lieutenant Fredrick. As soon as your cutter departs, ours will come for us. Tell me, what precisely are you looking for on
Athena
?”

Fredrick knelt to retrieve his pistol, stood up slowly and holstered it. “I’m just to see that nothing looks overtly dangerous to the fleet or the Kingdom. Once I have done so, I will return to the fleet and brief the senior officers. The next steps are up to them.”

“Well, it is a warship…and has missiles.”

The Royal marine smiled. “So I’ve heard. Any destroyer that can take two Pale Ones without suffering grievous damage has my deep respect. However, those are not the kinds of danger I’m to look for. Truly, I suspect my superiors only want to know more about you.”

Ten minutes later, they were on their way back to
Athena
and docked without incident. Jared and two marines stood waiting for them. While his guards were not wearing armor, they were armed.

Jared, too, was armed. She’d never seen him wear a pistol, though he now had one strapped on his hip. She wondered if that was to make a point of his own to the Royal officer. On the other hand, perhaps he was sending a message to her.

“Lieutenant Fredrick, I am Commander Jared Mertz, Captain of the Imperial Fleet destroyer
Athena
. On behalf of the Terran Empire, I welcome you aboard.”

The Royal officer bowed, but not quite as deeply as he had for Kelsey. “And I in turn welcome you to Pentagar, Lord Captain. My orders are to examine your ship so that I may report fully to my commanders. Will you allow me free access to see all compartments and question your crew?”

Jared nodded. “I will, with the understanding that there may be some classified subjects about which they may not answer.”

“Of course. May I first see your bridge?”

They proceeded on a long tour of the ship. Kelsey sent the armored marines on their way and followed Jared and the Pentagaran officer. They visited the bridge, engineering, several weapons rooms that she’d never been in, and then the medical center.

Fredrick asked many questions of the people they encountered, some of a military nature, but mostly about Imperial society. He seemed to be looking for an understanding of their culture.

He spent a lot of time talking to Doctor Stone. He didn’t ask about
Courageous
. Kelsey couldn’t imagine how he’d know about it, but Doctor Stone was smooth. It didn’t seem like she was worried about the old Empire bodies they had aboard at all.

The Lieutenant asked to see the people they’d rescued. The number of them determined to tell him about their ordeal and rescue quickly overwhelmed him. They also wanted to know the fate of their loved ones.

He promised them a speedy repatriation and that he would personally convey the status of their families as soon as he knew himself. He seemed nonplussed that most of them didn’t seem to feel any rush to go back to his ships. Most seemed content to wait where they were until they could go home.

He smiled lopsidedly when he came back over to Kelsey and Jared. “I can think of no better marker of your character than the fact they seem so disinterested in leaving. Princess, Lord Captain, I am ready to be taken back to the intermediary ship. I will consult with my commanding officers and I feel confident they will feel more comfortable with your presence.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Kelsey said. “We look forward to speaking with them at length. Our peoples have much to say and many ways to help one another.”

They escorted him back to the cutter and he declared the marines were the only escort he needed going home. Jared agreed and they parted there.

Once he was gone, Kelsey turned to her half-brother. “Don’t yell at me about allowing him to keep his pistol.”

He smiled. “I think that was an appropriate gesture of trust. I saw the vid of the meeting. You showed a lot a spine telling him to go home when he showed up armed, but allowing him to regain his lost face. Well done.”

She relaxed a little. “Thanks. And you armed yourself because of him being armed?”

“It seemed like the right thing to do.” He headed back to the lift and instructed it to go to the conference room. “We need to decide what we can tell them and what matters we need to keep to ourselves.
Courageous
is off limits for now. So is the fact that we’re trapped. Our isolation might make them attempt to take undue advantage. We’re the only flip capable ship in the system.”

She sat down at the table. “We need to tell them before too long. It would be grossly unfair to let them think we might be able to help them directly with their war effort. Besides, they’ll figure it out soon enough. We are stuck here…in
their
territory.”

He nodded. “We might eventually tell them about
Courageous
, too. That would provide us a measure of leverage if we share some of the technology. I want to help them, but it has to be contingent on help from them.”

“Do we tell them about the Pale One body we recovered?”

“You heard Oliver. They’ve captured some live ones. They’ve seen much more that we have. The only bit of information we have that they don’t is the link to the old Fleet implants.”