Veil of Shadows (Book 2 of The Empire of Bones Saga) (31 page)

Jared took the tablet and held it so Kelsey could see it as well. The vid player was already up, so he hit play.

The console that Talbot had been using in the transmitter building was small and filthy, but it worked. Jared could make out a list of files. The marine selected one marked as video.

The video showed a man on what was obviously the bridge of a spaceship. Old Empire from the layout. The man wore a Fleet uniform with Captain’s tabs.

He inclined his head so steeply that they could momentarily see the top of his head. Then he looked straight into the screen and began speaking. “This man brings greetings from your brothers in the Empire, Lord. He apologizes for the lack of supplies last year. The freighter disappeared several worlds before yours. I’ve brought extra implant hardware to make good any shortages. Are there any other needs this man can fulfil for you?”

The AI spoke in a toneless voice. “You may take the immature humans from this unit’s latest culling. This unit requires nothing more. It has the situation under control and its plan is almost ready to execute.”

He heard Kelsey shouting in the recording about an incoming kinetic strike. Talbot killed the vid and began struggling to remove the data unit from the computer. That’s where the recording ended.

Jared’s blood ran cold. “How long ago was this recorded?”

“That vid was recorded about ten months ago, sir.”

Kelsey leaned forward, shock written all over her face. “What? That can’t be right. The Empire fell. Look at the Pale Ones. How is this even possible?”

Talbot retrieved his tablet. “The vid calls happen about once a year. There were some years that there weren’t any, but most happen once a year about two months from now. I think our understanding of what happened to the old Empire needs to be revised.”

Jared nodded. “This just became high priority. Get some of Mister Bell’s people to help Doctor Leonard and Carl Owlet. We need to know who they are and what they were doing with the Pale Ones. Examine every vid on that data unit.”

“Aye, sir.” Talbot nodded to Kelsey and left the bridge.

She looked at Jared with her eyes wide. “What does it mean?”

“It means something of the old Empire survived. That means we need to end the Pentagaran rebellion as quickly as possible. Our lives might depend on it.”

* * * * *

The crew was at battle stations when they flipped to Pentagar. The only concession Jared made to stealth was to keep his screens down. The main computer would raise them at the first sign of hostile action, faster than any human could react. Their missile and beam batteries were on hot standby, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Zia would go from passive scanners to active at the first sign of trouble.

Thankfully, there wasn’t any. They arrived without incident and coasted out of the defensive globe with only cheerful greetings sent their way.

He sent an outline of their successes in the Erorsi system, and requested the Crown Princess and her staff meet him in Pentagaran orbit. There would be a significant Pentagaran Fleet presence there, so
Courageous
would remain on alert.

A cutter asked for approach permission once they slipped into Pentagar orbit, indicating it had the Elise aboard. He gave them the green light and headed for the docking bay. Kelsey and Lieutenant Reese met him there. The marine wore unpowered combat armor. Kelsey had a nice dress on.

Jared gave the marine officer his final instructions. “I want a squad of marines just around any corner we happen to be at. Stay out of sight, but come running if there’s trouble.”

“I think I should be with you, sir. If someone attacks you or the Princess, I could react at once. The anti-boarding weapons aren’t designed to take down a single person.”

“I’m armed. Better yet, Princess Kelsey is armed. If someone is stupid enough to cause trouble, we can hold them off until you arrive.”

Reese frowned at Kelsey. “Where’s your weapon?”

“Just you never mind,” she said tartly. “Somewhere I can get to it quickly if I have to. Besides, my hands are more than enough for anything but a gun. We don’t need to spook them. We’ve moved past the need for an armed escort. Your presence would make them suspicious.”

The sound of the cutter docking sent Reese to join his men in an adjoining compartment.

Kelsey pointedly glanced at the flechette pistol on Jared’s hip. “Can you use that thing?”

“I went down to the range and practiced. I even got my implants to assist in aiming it. I shouldn’t need it, though.”

“Let’s hope not.”

The docking hatch slid open. Two Pentagaran Fleet sailors led the way out, with Elise right behind them. Lord Admiral Shrike and Commodore Sanders completed her party.

She grinned widely as she came up to shake Jared’s hand. “I hear you’ve taken the Pale Ones down. That’s wonderful news! The incessant attacks are finally over!” She pulled Kelsey into a hug. “You and your people have saved us. Again. It’s getting to be quite the habit.”

Jared shook the men’s hands. Sanders seemed elated. Shrike a little subdued.

“We’ve got a presentation with video in the conference room. We also have some other news that you’ll be interested in. We found holdouts on Erorsi. A facility that survived the invasion with the descendants of the original staff still there.”

Elise stared at him. “That’s amazing. What a story they must have to tell. Do they need anything that we can provide? Food, medicine, a ride out?”

“They’ll need a lot of help. The Pale Ones dropped a massive kinetic strike on the planet. I watched it hit from orbit. The planet is in for a very rough time.”

“Then they shall have whatever we can give. I’ll want to see the vid of the impact, too.”

He sent a mental command to block all transmissions from the ship for the time being. Once he told them the truth, he couldn’t allow any of them to send any surreptitious messages.

His implants showed the marines taking up positions outside the conference room once the hatch closed. He sat at the head of the table. Kelsey took the seat to his right with Commodore Sanders beside her. Elise sat on Jared’s left with Lord Admiral Shrike beside her.

He clasped his hands in front of him on the table. “Before I begin, I need to make a confession. There is one other event that I haven’t mentioned. We had an attempted mutiny.”

Elise’s eyes widened. “What! From our people?” She looked over at Shrike. “I thought the men sent on this mission were all military personnel.”

“They were. Ones that went through an exhaustive background check. Might we question them?”

Jared nodded. “You’re welcome to.” He touched the recessed console and an image of Rawlins popped up on the large screen. He’d decided to use the dead man to flush out any traitors. “Allow me to introduce you to Jacob Randall. I’m certain that isn’t his real name. When he briefly took control of the ship, he referred to himself as Commander Rawlins.

“He didn’t believe that we’d regain the upper hand and told us that a coup in your Fleet was about to happen. I’m sorry to tell you this, Lord Admiral, but I believe that one or more of your senior military officers is about to seize power. If we can trace this man to his patron quietly, I believe we can unravel this coup in a very short period of time.”

He could tell her the other reasons they needed to hurry once her people had this situation under control.

Elise nodded. “I can send orders for people loyal to me to assume command of the ships in orbit with backup from the Royal Guards. Once we query the Royal Fleet databases, it won’t take long to track who he probably works for.”

Jared started to respond, but Lord Admiral Shrike stood abruptly and stepped behind Elise. He had a knife to her throat before Kelsey and Sanders had finished standing. Jared stayed in his seat.

“Sit back down, Princess Kelsey.” Shrike kept his eyes locked on Jared’s half-sister. “Allow me to save all of us some time. He’ll lead you right to me. That doesn’t matter, though. You’re too late.” He pulled a communications device from his waist and pressed a key. “My senior people are taking control of the Royal Fleet as we speak. Your ship might be powerful, but it cannot stand up to the might of Pentagar. This is over.”

“Traitor,” Commodore Sanders spat. “You won’t get away with this.”

“Really? How melodramatic. I’ve already gotten away with it. Sit down or I’ll slit her throat.”

Jared was tempted to call for the marines, but he suspected the Lord Admiral was more than a bit mad. He’d probably kill Elise as soon as the door opened.

“This won’t end well.” Jared eased his pistol from its holster. “I’ve already locked down all communications. You’re alone here.”

Shrike laughed. “I don’t believe you. Prepare a cutter to take the former Crown Princess and myself to my flagship. Now. Delay or offer me any resistance and I’ll kill her.”

“Don’t do it,” Elise said through clenched teeth. “He cannot be allowed to leave this ship, even if he kills me. Protect the Kingdom.”

Kelsey hadn’t sat down, but it didn’t look like she could get to Shrike without going through Elise. She moved down the table away from Jared. “Let’s not get hasty. Perhaps we can make a deal.”

As soon as Shrike turned to keep Elise between himself and Kelsey, Jared raised his pistol, used his implants to target it on Shrike’s head, and fired. The high velocity flechette blew Shrike’s head apart. He dropped the knife and collapsed in a bloody heap.

Jared’s hand shook as he stood and holstered his pistol. The marines burst in just as Jared pulled Elise away from the body. Despite her brave face, he could feel her trembling. He turned her away from the body. “It’s over now. You’re safe.”

She came into his arms and buried her face against his shoulder. “Thank you.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Kelsey sat on the balcony to her room at the Royal Palace sipping a beer and watching the stars. She wondered which of them was home. Probably none of them. Odds were Avalon wasn’t visible from here, even with her enhanced eyesight.

Her keeper and constant companion, Senior Sargent Talbot, put his boots up on the railing and leaned back in his chair. “You think the Pentagarans really found all the conspirators?”

“If not, they’ve found most of them. Every senior officer is getting close scrutiny and some traitors have given up others for lighter sentences. Treason here has the death penalty. If they’ve missed anyone, that person will be the model of good behavior going forward.”

Events had preceded quickly once Commodore—now Admiral—Sanders had made a few innocuous calls to men he trusted to secure the ships in orbit. They’d even found the woman responsible for the attack at the Parliament building. Once the Pentagarans felt they had all they needed from her, the King would decide if she’d cooperated enough to earn a life sentence.

The two of them drank in silence for a while before Talbot spoke again. “What do you think about the Captain and Crown Princess Elise?”

She blinked at the unexpected question. “How do you mean?”

He gave her a look. “Come on. Everyone can see that she’s sweet on him. All those private dinners and trips out into the capital.”

Kelsey considered that with no small bit of surprise. Now that he’d pointed it out, she wondered how she’d missed it. Her half-brother was dating. She wondered if he knew yet. Elise could be very subtle.

“I’m not sure what kind of future they have,” she said at last. “We’re going to be leaving at some point and she’s not coming with us.”

“Not all relationships are long term. He did save her life, you know. That kind of intense situation makes people want to get friendly, even when they’re not usually so forward.”

She gave him a look. “You did not just tell me that she’s having a torrid affair with my half-brother.”

“Actually, I did. I can’t prove it, mind you. Even if I could, I would never say so,” he said piously.

Kelsey snorted. “Right. Well, if they are, that’s their business and more power to them. People deserve what happiness they can find in this life.” She took a deep draught of her beer. “Just like us.”

He frowned. “I don’t follow you.”

She gestured with her bottle. “The two of us go everywhere together. We have intimate dinners. We spend a lot of time alone. You do know that we’re dating, right?”

Talbot’s chair tipped over backwards and he fell with a crash.

“That’s crazy,” he said as she laughed. He tried and failed to get some of the beer off himself after he stood.

“I said it as a joke, but why not? Is there something wrong with me?”

He looked to the heavens, probably seeking strength. “Don’t you pull that girl crap on me! No, there is nothing wrong with you and you know it. If we weren’t who we are, I’d be sorely tempted, but you’re a Princess and I’m a freaking marine. I’m not even an officer. And I’m fifteen years older than you.”

“So?”

“I can’t believe you’re even suggesting that. Lieutenant Reese would brig me. The Emperor would space me. You have no idea what kind of reputation marines have.”

She smiled widely. “I think my father might have mentioned something to that effect. You know what I didn’t hear? That you weren’t interested.”

“This is crazy,” he whispered.

“You’re a marine. Be brave.”

The adventure continues in Book Three of The Empire of Bones Saga, coming December 2014.

Command Decisions

“Behold. Imperial City, the capital of the Terran Empire.”

Jared Mertz stepped up to the railing and looked out over the vast city. Monolithic buildings stretched almost as far as the eye could see in every direction. Sleek grav cars in every imaginable color flitted past at breakneck speeds. Far, far below them pedestrians dominated the ground level like a swarm of insects. They also filled wide walkways that crossed from one building to another in an endless stream.

Reginald Bell gazed down on the city with a serene expression. “New York City. The most populous metroplex in the old United States. Two hundred and fifty million people. The first Terran Emperor changed the name to Imperial City, but the residents here never accepted the name. Even though United States of America no longer existed as a political entity, New Yorkers never forgot their heritage. And their attitude is legendary.”