A King's Ship (Empire Rising Book 2) (19 page)

“I have one more question,” James said but before he could ask it Suzanna held up her hands.

“I cannot tell you, at least not yet. I need more of a guarantee than just the word of a naval captain. If your government can provide some assurances then I would be willing to reveal how our colony ship got to Haven so fast.”

“You are talking about the Gift?” James asked.

“Yes,” Suzanna said a little surprised. “Where did you hear it referred to as that?”

“Your interplanetary COM systems aren’t as secure as you might think,” James said. “I understand you are reluctant to reveal anything about it but I need to know. Is it repeatable? Could another ship make the same journey just as fast?”

“Yes,” Suzanna said. “In fact, with the shift drive, much faster. I cannot tell you the details, but you will think it even more important than the twenty systems we have discovered.”

“I see,” James said, retreating into his own thoughts as his mind raced with the possibilities.

“No more questions?” Suzanna asked a minute later, bringing James back to reality.

“No, I don’t think so,” he answered.

“Then what options do we have? How can you help us? I hope you realize I’m putting a lot of trust in you.”

“Yes,” James said resting his hand on Suzanna’s. “You have my word I will do whatever I can to help you, but as I have said. I don’t have much influence back on Earth.”

“Nonsense,” Suzanna interrupted, “don’t forget I know who you are Captain. You are the Duke of Beaufort, discoverer of the Void and hero of the Void War. Some of the news reports our spies have brought back say that you singlehandedly beat the Chinese fleet. Besides, I have seen your ship in action personally; there is no hiding your skill. I rather suspect you have a lot of influence back home.”

James looked at the floor embarrassed. “You shouldn’t believe everything you read.”

“So you didn’t save a colony ship full of helpless civilians from certain destruction against a far more powerful warship?” Suzanna pushed.

“My crew did,” James said. “I just got lucky. Truth be told, I almost ran away.” He wasn’t sure why he was sharing this with her but he didn’t want her to put all her faith in him.

“My ship was in stealth when the Chinese attacked. They didn’t know we were there. I almost ran away and allowed the colony ship to be destroyed. I was only thinking of myself. Even when I came to the colony ship’s aid it was because I didn’t want to live with the shame of being called a coward,” he continued as he brought his eyes back up to meet Suzanna’s, “so don’t think I am going to be your knight in shining armor who can fix all your problems.”

To James’ surprise Suzanna burst out laughing. “Don’t worry Captain, I’m not looking for any Knight to sweep me off my feet.”

Before James could interject and tell her that is not what he meant she went on, “And don’t forget that I have read all the reports about you. A coward wouldn’t have gone on to win the victories you did in
Raptor
. Nor would he have fought so valiantly to protect my people here on Haven. You may once have been a coward, but I think you are something more now.

“And so if I chose to put my trust in you, then that is just something you are going to have to live with Captain,” she finished sternly. “Now, tell me about your plan,” she said as she reached across and gave his hand a squeeze.

James had to pause for a moment to take in all Suzanna had said, she seemed to jump around a lot and he couldn’t tell what she thought of him. “I think there is one option that may work,” he began to say. “Though I’m not sure that you’re going to like it.”

“Go on,” Suzanna said.

“Your main problem is the Indians, for the last few decades they have been growing more and more upset as our colonial empire eclipsed theirs. If they think they can take your system and your discoveries without repercussions they will. They know our fleet is severely weakened by our war with the Chinese. Most of our largest warships are still undergoing repairs and refits. Apart from the French, there is no one else in this sector of space with the power to stand up to them.”

“And the French are too worried about the Russians to openly risk their fleet,” Suzanna guessed.

“Exactly,” James said. “If they could benefit from your discoveries they would jump at the chance but I can’t see that happening without committing military resources, something they won’t risk. The Indians are your main concern.

“Your second problem are the Earth powers who rule their colonies exclusively from Earth. I don’t think the US or the Germans would have any problem supporting your independence in the UN council. They have given full voting rights to their colonies and they are on the other side of the Human Sphere. However, other powers like Brazil and China will vehemently oppose any move to give a colony its independence. It will start to give their own colonies ideas.”

“So you’re saying keeping our freedom will be blocked in the UN no matter what the Indians or French do?” Suzanna asked.

“I think so,” James answered. “That is where my option comes in. What do you know about the Bradford colony?”

“Nothing really,” Suzanna answered.

“It was a colony established by a sub-light colony ship. In 2184 the then Lord Bradford, with aid from the British government, financed his own colony ship and set off with four thousand colonists for an inhabitable planet twenty light years from Earth.

“One of our shift drive exploration ships finally made contact with the colony in 2290. Their colony ship had only arrived fifty years previously but they had set up their own government and whilst they weren’t flourishing, they were eking out a living for themselves.

“When they were discovered, the British government wanted to integrate them into our small colonial empire but the populace was reluctant to come completely under our political control. They had forged an identity on their new colony and they wanted to keep it.

“After a lot of political wrangling it was agreed that the colony would become a British protectorate. They had to sign up to certain fundamental British laws concerning human rights and trade policies but apart from that they were free to make their own decisions. The only other requirement was that they had to contribute to the upkeep of the RSN and the warships that protected their borders.

“Once the details were worked out the population voted on the proposal and it was accepted. Because everything was done above board and democratically, the UN Interplanetary Committee was forced to recognize the people’s decision.”

“And you think that would work here?” Suzanna asked, not sure she liked James’ idea.

“Yes, it kills a number of birds with one stone.” James said, trying to reassure her. “You get to keep your internal sovereignty. You would only have to agree to a number of laws, laws I think your people already agree with. Technically you wouldn’t be an independent colony which should appease the other Earth powers. If your people voted to become a protectorate then the UN couldn’t complain and with British warships parked in orbit over Haven, the Indians would think twice about making any moves.”

“What about our Planetary Council? Will it be able to remain in power?” Suzanna said.

“That may be a little trickier,” James replied. “After becoming a protectorate parliament appointed a governor over the Bradford colony who holds ultimate responsibility for its governance. The day to day running of the planet is carried out by a planetary committee who are democratically elected but parliament insisted they appoint a governor who had veto powers over anything the planetary committee proposed.

“Given what your council has already done and the actions of your First Councilor, I’m not sure how my government will want to proceed. They may subsume your council under the authority of a governor or they may wish to disband it all together and replace it with something else.”

“I don’t know,” Suzanna said. “I’m not sure I would even accept such a proposal, never mind our people. We are fiercely independent.”

“I understand,” James replied in a conciliatory tone. “But you may not have any choice. If you don’t agree to join us you could have the Indians knocking on your door in just a matter of months. That is nowhere near enough time for you to rebuild your fleet and defenses, even if some of the other Earth powers helped you. What’s more, if my government felt the Indians were going to make a move they may make one of their own. We dealt with the Chinese threat to our expansion. The last thing anyone in London would want to see is the Indians taking their place.”

“I’m going to have to think about this,” Suzanna said. “If we were to head down this road Maximilian would have to be removed for he would never agree to it. We would then need to get enough support in the council to overthrow him. I don’t even know if that is possible.”

“It will not be easy,” James agreed. “May I make a request to help us get the ball rolling?”

“Sure,” Suzanna said, “whatever I can do to help I will.”

“I need to get word back to the Admiralty.
Innocence
, that’s the freighter you saw, is on her way back to Earth now with the sensor feed from the battle. It will cause a storm on Earth but the Admiralty will be acting on old information. They need to know that at least a part of your council is willing to work with us. And they need to know about the possibility of incorporating you as a protectorate. If they don’t get this information they may come in with all guns blazing.

“If my analysts were able to pick up the stolen freighters from reviewing the sensor data from the battle then so will the analysts at the Admiralty. When they do, all they will have to form their approach to Haven will be the knowledge you took in Chang and that you have been pirating our freighters. I don’t think that is going to make for a very good outcome as far as your hopes of freedom are concerned.”

“No,” Suzanna responded, “you may be right there. I can dispatch one of my freighters to Earth. It will take it some time to get there but at least they will get your information sooner rather than later.”

“Good,” James said. “I will put together a report and send it to you later today.”

“You are not planning to return to Earth soon then?” Suzanna asked.

“No,” James replied. “We need to know more about the Vestarians first.”

“What about these aliens, how do they factor into all this? Suzanna queried.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” James answered. “They are the great unknown. Is the story Maximilian told us true?”

“Yes, as far as I know,” Suzanna said. “They came out of nowhere and demanded we give them our military tech. Then when we said no, they attacked us.”

“In that case there are two ways it could go. Their attack on your planet will cause panic on Earth. Aliens are one thing, everyone has been aware of the possibility of a first contact situation for decades. But hostile aliens prepared to bombard civilians? It is going to change the face of interstellar politics in ways I could never predict.

“One benefit is that many of the Earth powers will want to see a powerful presence in this area of space. We know the Vestarians use the shift drive and they won’t be able to attack Earth or any of our well-developed colonies without coming through this area of space. It might just make the smaller powers get on board with accepting Haven as a British protectorate. We would be able to establish a naval base here and the RSN would bear the brunt of any future conflict.

“On the other hand, that very possibility may turn my government off the whole idea. They may prefer to let the Indians annex your systems and leave them to deal with this hostile alien race.

“The truth is, I just don’t know,” James finished.

“You are at least trying to help,” Suzanna said giving his hand a squeeze. “That counts for something. You don’t know how much I appreciate it. Since the reception I have felt completely alone. It seems as if Maximilian and the Earth powers are doing everything they can to crush the dreams of my ancestors and family.”