Shadow Space Chronicles 1: The Fallen Race (20 page)

“That includes the Dreyfus fleet?” She asked, “You wouldn’t lie about that just to get more support, now would you?”

Lucius met her eyes, “No lies.  Equal share on the Dreyfus fleet, so long as we can take it.”  He tried not to remember the brilliant officer he had nearly fallen in love with and tried to focus on the dangerous pirate she had become.  If not for the fact that she had trusted him, who knew how far her treason might have progressed?  From what he knew of her, she might have pulled it off. 
Then again, she might have destroyed the Nova Roma Empire
, Lucius thought.

She finally nodded, a half smile on her face, “I love it, darling.  I think both of us will be very happy with how this goes.  Perhaps we could make this into a more… long term relationship afterward?  Hmmm?” Her voice suggested all sorts of interesting interpretations.

Lucius smiled, “Perhaps.”

“
Well, I’ve got some preparations made, see you soon, darling.”  She cut the transmission.

“
She’s got to get her knives sharpened.” Doko stage whispered.

Lucius rubbed a spot on his chest in remembrance, “They’re sharp enough, trust me.”

***

It was several days before the next serious offer.

Captain Doko called him to the command center just after breakfast, “Baron, we’ve got an… interesting offer.”  He shrugged, “I’m for it, but Captain Reed doesn’t like it.”

“I’m on my way.”

There were times that Lucius wished he could run all the operations from aboard the
War Shrike
.  Those times included when rushing across the base to the command center.  The battleship, for all her size, was tiny compared to the base, and he’d never been more than five or ten minutes away from the bridge.

“
What’s the news?” Lucius asked, after finally stepping through the hatch.

“
We’ve got a message from a Republic officer,” Anthony said.

Nix Reed shook her head, “Oh, God, next you’re going to say he’s a patriot and a legend.”

“Well… he is… on some worlds in the Republic.” Doko shrugged, “It is Admiral Collae.”

“
He’s a leader of a rebel faction that’s tried to seize power on several worlds!” Nix said, “Not only that, but our smuggler friend ran across him once before, not too long ago.  He allied with a Tommy King wannabe, and Mistress Blanc.”

“
Mistress Blanc?” Lucius asked as he moved over to the communications section again.

“
Yeah, she’s supposed to be a psychic and very talented.  She’s also a pirate and a very nasty one.  Not nearly the same league as the Shadow Lords, but pretty nasty stuff.”

“
We’ve confirmed it wasn’t the actual Tommy King?” Lucius asked.

“
Well, apparently the smuggler and the fake got in a firefight.  The real Tommy King would have left the smuggler dead.  I guess it went the other way.” Nix’s voice was dubious, “Either Mason McGann is the luckiest man alive or that wasn’t really Tommy King.

“
Or Mason McGann is as good as Tommy King,” Lucius said, his lips quirked in a smile.

“
Doubt that,” Nix said.  “Mercenary and pirate work is a lot more lucrative than smuggling.  Anyway, if ‘Admiral’ Collae is willing to work with scum like that, we’d be better off making a deal with Thomas Kaid himself.”

Lucius shook his head, “We’ve already dealt with the devil.  We might get lucky and they’ll back-stab each other before they get around to us.”  He pressed a button, “Go ahead and connect us.”

The man who appeared on the screen stared at Lucius with cold, calculating, blue eyes.

“
It seems you had more luck with Mason McGann than I did,” Admiral Collae said.  “I trust you’ve verified his information and we’re not all dancing to his tune?”  His gruff voice immediately put Lucius on edge.

“
We’re taking precautions.  The system is currently in enemy hands.  We’ll need to defeat them—“

“
I read your message.” Collae interrupted.  “I was surprised the avenue you chose to take with this.  You’re risking a lot letting every pirate and would-be warlord know what you’re planning on doing.”

“
I’m giving them enough information so they know what they’re getting into.  We can always turn away anyone we don’t feel we can trust.”

“
True.”  The rebel Admiral stared at Lucius for a long time, “So, here is what I bring.  I have two Forerunner destroyers, a Liberator carrier, and my own ship the
Rubicon
.  All told, I’ve got twenty four fighters, four squadrons, almost a wing.”

“
And what about your allies?  Do you speak for Mistress Blanc and the fake Tommy King, as well?” Lucius smiled.

“
You have some excellent sources,” Admiral Collae’s eyes narrowed, “Tommy King, if it was him, seems to have made himself scarce.  Mistress Blanc will, graciously, accompany me.  She’ll bring her ship.”

“
Good.  Too bad we won’t have the
Revenge
along, the firepower would have helped.” Lucius matched the other man’s cold gaze.

“
Yes, the Tommy King of my acquaintance never got around to bringing it, said his crew had it someplace safe.  I think that, unfortunately, he lied.” Admiral Collae moved his square shoulders in what might be a shrug, “A pity.”

“
Yes, true that.”  Lucius nodded, “Care to discuss the distribution of spoils?”

“
No, it can wait until I get there.  I trust you’ll forward coordinates for link up soon?”

“
Yes, as soon as we’ve got sufficient forces, you’ll receive coordinates for rendezvous.” Lucius smiled, “Neutral space, safely away from well-traveled space.”

The other man smiled slightly, it looked painful.  “I get the feeling you’re concerned for the refugees you shelter.  You needn’t.  I have no interest in them or in Faraday, after we liberate it from the Chxor.”

Lucius felt his stomach flutter.  He returned the other man’s words, “You have some excellent sources.”

“
I’ve got spies everywhere, Baron Giovanni.”  Admiral Collae smirked, “Really, I just had to put things together.  I honestly felt tempted make my own move to secure the system, once I figured out the details, but I think that having the exact coordinates for the fleet will speed things up.”

“
I see,” Lucius answered.

“
I trust I am now indispensable to your efforts.”

“
Yes, we’ll definitely be bringing you along.” Lucius said.  “We’ll contact you soon.”

“
My, god, sir, what do we do?” Nix Reed looked devastated.  “He must have infiltrated my people, somehow.  I don’t even know how…”

“
No.” Lucius shook his head.  “I think it’s far more likely that he’s just a very, very smart man and we’ve got too many clues out there.”  He paused a moment in thought, “By now, information must have hit half the Republic that the Chxor found and seized a planet out there.  You were isolationist, but there were still the occasional trading ships coming through, correct?”  Nix nodded slowly.  “Put that together with a little bit of intelligence on myself, the rumor of refugees on the move, and the offer I put out there and we were bound to have someone guess at least very close to the truth.”

“
Baron, there’s no way in hell we can trust him, you have to realize that!” Nix Reed said.

“
I don’t think we’ll be able to trust
any
of the allies we make,” Lucius said.  “But no, I think more importantly we can’t underestimate this man.  If we don’t bring him with us, he’ll follow and strike us from behind after we’ve destroyed the Chxor.  Better to know he’s there with us, where we can watch him.”

***

Lieutenant Palmer chimed Lucius’ desk later that night.  “Sir, we got another one that Captain Nix and Doko have signed off on.  Some o’ them no-mad people.”

“Nomads?” Lucius asked, frowning.

“
Yes, sir, them as live on ships.” Lieutenant Palmer confirmed.  “Captain Doko’s talking to them now, they’s apparently got several ships fixin’ to fight.”

“
Thank you, Lieutenant.” Lucius said, “Let Captain Doko know I’ll be there soon.”

“
Yes, sir.”

Lucius closed out at his desk, and then murmured to himself, “Fixin’ to.”  He shook his head.  He wasn’t sure whether to be horrified or amused anymore at the butchery of the English language performed by his communications officer.

He stepped into a different atmosphere in the control room.  This time, Captain Doko and Captain Nix were both had smiles on their faces.  “I take it this is one you both agree on for once?” Lucius asked.

“
Yes, sir.” Captain Reed said, her voice confident.  “I know we can trust them.”

“
Well, we can trust them in a way, sir.” Captain Doko said, slightly less certain.  “It’s the Garu.  Several of their captains are offering to assist for an equal share for their clan.”

Lucius stroked his chin, “I honestly don’t know much about the Garu.”

“They’re… well they’re a bit like Gypsies from the stories, sir.” Doko said.  “They travel from system to system, sell their goods, buy what they need, and move on.”  He shrugged, “There’s stories of them stealing kids and they definitely are known for taking anything that ain’t welded down, but they’re good for their word.”

Lucius raised an eyebrow at Nix, who smiled, “Baron, I can vouch for them.  We’ve dealt with the Garu before, back on Faraday.  They’ve always dealt fairly with us.  They keep to themselves a lot.  And, they hate pirates, so they’ll help us to keep an eye on our other allies.”

“How are their ships armed?” Lucius asked, frowning.

Both of them shrugged.

He nodded, “Okay, let’s give this a try.”

The connection was established with a man wearing a deep purple scarf and several bright gold earrings.  “You be the Baron, then?”

“Yes, I’m Lucius—“

“
We got six caravans willing to fight.  Lots of crew skilled in boarding.”  The man spoke in a rapid staccato.  “Want our fair share, we can haggle when we get there.”

“
Right.” Lucius said, “If you can forward me your ship specs—“

“
We’re armed with energy torpedoes, two heavy and four light.  Turret mounted.  Also some missiles.  Each caravan’s got an energy screen.”  The man paused, “Ships are fast, not as fast as your ship, but as fast as that Ghornath battlecruiser you got.”

“
I see…” Lucius said.  He felt totally off balance.

“
Forward us the rendezvous point when you’re ready.” The Garu man cut the connection.

“
That was… odd.” Lucius said.

“
They’re a bit different, but they’re fair traders.” Nix shrugged.   “I’m not sure about the armament—”

“
Oh, energy torpedoes are pretty effective.  They lack in accuracy, but they pack a hell of a punch.” Anthony Doko said, voice eager.  “I don’t know how they’ve got them mounted, but those ships could do a lot of damage.”

Lucius nodded.  “They’re our best so far.”  He somehow couldn’t stop the ache of worry in his chest.  He longed suddenly for a proper Nova Roma squadron.  “If we get any other—“

“Sir, we gots a message, it’s fer you, and it’s got a priority code.”  Lieutenant Palmer interrupted.

The code started to blink on the screen and Lucius felt the blood drain from his face.

Behind him, he heard Doko’s awed voice, “That code’s reserved for the Emperor himself.”

Lucius cleared his throat, slightly, “The Emperor is dead.”

“But who else knows the commands to enter it?” Anthony said.  Lucius could hear the shock in the other man's voice along with a note of hope.  Lucius wondered how much of that hope was for the Empire... and how much for the woman Tony secretly loved.

Lucius shook his head, “I—”

“Sir, you gonna answer it, or should I tell ‘im to stuff—“

Lucius pressed the stud as much to cut off the Lieutenant’s drawl as to answer his own questions.  “This is Baron Lucius Giovanni.”

The young man who appeared on the screen was instantly recognizable, “This is Emperor Romulus IV.”  He wore the stark black uniform of the Empire, but the epaulets were unadorned.

Lucius bowed slightly, “Your Highness, I heard about your father, I’m sorry.”  Behind him, he heard muttered conversations as old hands from the
War Shrike
’s crew filled the newer people on who this young man was.  He ignored it as best he could.

The young man nodded.  “They made it a requirement of the surrender that he and my older brother be there.”  The man, little more than a boy, looked away.  “He… he wasn’t the best Emperor, but he didn’t hesitate in the end.”  He grimaced, “They had to drag my older brother kicking and screaming.