Shadow Space Chronicles 1: The Fallen Race (36 page)

Lucius went to the holograph stand and brought up a map of space.  “The Chxor have mastery of logistics and general strategy.  They invested every system around Nova Roma before they took it.  We’d have a month-long journey to the nearest inhabitable system we could use as a base.  Once we took the planet, we would face waves of succeeding forces deployed from every system in vicinity to Nova Roma.  The Chxor could coordinate those forces, with a little bit of effort on their part, we could face as many as a hundred dreadnoughts at a time.  That’s just their available forces, they could mass a much larger force given a couple months to prepare.”

The Emperor grimaced, “So... what?  We wait, while they butcher the populace of Nova Roma?  Do I set here in exile while my people,
your
people, die in the millions?”

“
Yes.” Lucius said and for once he didn't try to hide the anguish he felt.  “Right now, I do think we can launch some raids on the nearby systems, probably draw some Chxor forces away from Nova Roma.  That might make things easier on the population.”  Lucius shrugged, “If I knew a way to make things better for them, I’d do it, I swear.”  He met the young man's dark eyes and tried to make him see his sincerity.

The Emperor of Nova Roma stared at him for a long moment in silence.  His face went from angry to thoughtful.  Finally, when he spoke, his voice was calmer, “So what are you suggesting?”

“Right now?” Lucius sighed, “I’ll have to discuss it with Admiral Dreyfus, but I think we’ve got time to launch a raid, maybe two before we face the Balor.  I think blooding our pilots would be good, if nothing else.”

“
I think a raid by the
War Shrike
, the
Peregrine
, with some battlecruiser and fighter support could do a lot of damage, and certainly cause the Chxor some confusion.”  Admiral Mund said.  “I can think of a couple of targets that might relieve pressure on Nova Roma.”

Lucius nodded, “God knows, I’ve longed for another battleship to work with the
War Shrike
for years and with a proper escort…”

The Emperor frowned, “What then?”

“Then we’ll defend this system from the Balor.” Lucius shrugged, “Kandergain says, if we can stop this onslaught, the Balor are likely to leave us alone for the time being.”  Lucius didn’t mention the origins of that belief.  He believed in God, he just didn’t want to think a suicidal omniscient precognitive might
be
God.

“
Oh, of course
you
trust Kandergain,” the Emperor snapped.

“
What does that mean?” Lucius asked levelly.

“
She’s a
psychic
, Baron.  It wasn’t all that long ago that psychics were universally hated.  It wasn’t until they were nearly wiped out by the Plagues that—“

“
My grandmother was a psychic, and she died in the Plagues.” Lucius said, and he kept his voice level.

“
Yes, and Kandergain isn’t your grandmother.  We don’t know we can trust her.  She’s got her own agenda, and that agenda doesn’t include Nova Roma.”  The younger man rubbed his face, “Don’t you see?  She has influenced your mind against me this entire time!”

Lucius shook his head, “I’ve thought a lot of this through before I ever met her, your Highness.  Our best options…”

“We’ll go with your plan, for now, Lucius.” The Emperor said.  “But I don’t have infinite patience.  If you won’t help me, I’ll find those who will.  Make sure you know who your friends are, that’s all I’m saying.”  His voice seemed distant and he looked suddenly distracted

Lucius nodded slowly.

“Very well, then, Baron, you may go.”  The boy waved his hand.

Lucius bit his tongue and departed.  His stomach rolled and he felt slightly sick.

He wasn’t terribly surprised to meet Kandergain in the corridor.  “Well?” she asked.

He looked at the Marine guards, stationed to either side of the door.  “Walk with me.”

She followed him out of the building and into the garden outside.  The Emperor of Nova Roma had chosen an abandoned estate for his living quarters.  Lucius thought it a bit pretentious, but he doubted the former owners cared much.  The Chxor had exterminated that entire family.

He stopped next to a fountain.  Dead leaves choked it and only the slightest dribble of water trickled out.  “Have you influenced my thoughts?” he asked.

“No!” Kandergain said, startled.

“
What about the Emperor’s?”

She was silent.

“So you have?” Lucius demanded.

“
Yes.” Kandergain said, quietly.  “I’ve been doing my best to keep him calm.”

“
Calm?” Lucius asked, “He’s… well, I wouldn’t call him calm.”

“
No.  I’m trying to influence him without taking away his free will.”  She shrugged slightly, “Basically, I’m treading my own knife edge of morality.  I hate to do what I’ve done, but…”  She shrugged, “Lucius, he’s a kid, and he got dumped with a title he never expected to have.  His older brother should have inherited, though thank God he didn't.  On top of that, his homeworld is in enemy hands and his people are being massacred.  It’s a little much pressure for a boy of eighteen years to handle.”

“
So, what are you doing?” Lucius asked.

“
I’ve… eased the coping process.” Kandergain shrugged uncomfortably.  “Frankly, I hate to do what I’ve done without his permission.  What he needs is a therapist.  I actually recommended that to Admiral Mund.”

“
So he’s cracking under the stress?” Lucius asked, horrified.

“
Not yet, but he’s close.  I think your talk with him will help.”  Kandergain shrugged.  “Honestly, he’s a good kid.  I think he’d be great in any other position.  Now, though… I just don’t know.”

“
Okay.” Lucius sighed.  “Anyone else you’re tampering with?”

“
Now, Lucius, you got to leave a girl her secrets!” Kandergain dimpled.

“
Isn’t there some kind of code or something, for you psychics?” Lucius asked.

“
Well… it’s not polite to intrude without saying something.  Like I said, I’m bending the rules with the kid, but… I’ve bent a lot of rules in my line of work.”  She looked away, “I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, Lucius, but I’d do them again, when it comes to it.”

“
I’m not going to condemn you for it.  Does Admiral Mund know?”  At her nod, he continued, “I have a question for you, by the way.”

“
Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like it?”

“
Hm, maybe because you’re psychic,” Lucius said with a sarcastic tone.  He frowned though, “But seriously, I’m trying to find information on something that happened fifty three years ago.”

“
You want to know about your father,” Kandergain said.  The flat tone of her voice suggested that she didn't like the line of questioning.

Lucius stared at her, he hoped that he wouldn't strain their working relationship.  Still... he had to have
some
answers.  “I thought you might know something.”

She took a seat on the lip of the fountain, one hand flicked the surface of the stagnant water.  “Why do you want to know, Lucius?”

Lucius paced back and forth, hands clenched behind him.  He chose his words with caution, yet he knew the words sounded rushed as he spoke them, “Someone told me something, recently.  Apparently, my father wasn’t executed.  And—”

“
Digging into that isn’t going to do you any good, Lucius,” She sighed.  “That whole thing damn near broke your grandmother.”  Her gaze went distant, “In some ways, I think that it did... she probably could have recovered from the Plague, part of me thinks that she just didn't want to go on living.”

Lucius tucked that knowledge away even as he tried not to think about it too much.  The sudden loss of his grandmother had been part of what caused his own downward spiral when he was younger.  “So… were you involved?”  Lucius stared at her intently.

She caught his eyes, “I swear to you, Lucius, I had no part in your father’s actions.”  She sighed, “Trust me Lucius, if I could have stopped that whole affair, I would have.”

“
I’m sensing a ‘but’ in there.” Lucius said.

“
I’ve told you before, Lucius, that I’ve fought the Shadow Lords, predominantly.”

Lucius cocked his head, “Yes.”

Her lips pressed into a firm line.  She raised her head and met his gaze, “Sometimes I don’t do as good a job as I’d like.”

Lucius narrowed his eyes, “So… what, my father got caught in a Shadow Lord’s plot?”

She looked away, “Trust me, Lucius, we
don’t
want to go into that right now.”

Lucius opened his mouth, suddenly angry.  His communication unit rang and interrupted him.  He cursed as he answered it.  “What?”

“Baron, this is Colonel Proscia.  We’ve got a problem.”

“
What?” Lucius snapped.

The Marine's voice was filled with barely controlled anger, “Apparently someone broke Lucretta Mannetti out of her cell.  I’ve set up a cordon of the area, but I thought I’d let you know immediately.”

Lucius cursed again, “Thank you, Colonel.”  He took a moment to think, “Are there any ships landed at the spaceport?”

“
Yes, sir, we’ve got a couple of transports as well as our corvette and a couple of parasite frigates.”

“
I think we can rule out the frigates as her way out, but make sure we get some people stationed around those transports and our corvette.” Lucius thought rapidly, “Also, warn the watch crews aboard the
War Shrike
and the
Peregrine
.  She’s… rather possessive.  She’ll want either or both of those ships.”

“
Yes, sir.”

Lucius looked at Kandergain.  “You aren’t going to tell me any more, are you?”

“Some things should stay buried.”

“
Is my father dead?” Lucius asked.

She looked at him, and then her brown eyes went wide with surprise, “I—”

“Lucretta Mannetti told me he wasn’t executed.”

She stood up, eyes narrowed, “What
exactly
did she say?”

Lucius took a deep breath, “She said the conspiracy she was part of had its origins in my father.  She said it would have placed him on the throne.”

Kandergain began to curse.  “We need to find that woman, right now.”

***

“
I’m sorry, sir.” Colonel Proscia said, as Lucius came through the door.

“
Was that a ship taking off?” Lucius snapped.

“
Yes, sir.” Colonel Proscia shrugged.  “Whoever broke her out had our uniforms.  They showed up at the corvette a half hour ago.  The team I had in place was told they had orders to get the ship off the ground.”

Lucius shook his head.  “Did you contact our ships in orbit?”

Colonel Proscia nodded, “We’re tracking it on the screen, as well, sir.”

Kandergain stood near the window, staring out.  “Too late.”

A tech rushed in, “Colonel, it’s—she—the corvette--just made a jump to shadow!”

“
I’m sorry, sir.”  Colonel Proscia had an exhausted tone in his voice.  Clearly, he blamed himself, Lucius thought.

Lucius shook his head, “Not your fault, Colonel.  Find out how she did it, that’s the important thing.”  He looked at Kandergain, “Anything break loose that you think you can tell me now?”

She shook her head, “Nothing that will help.”

“
Great.”

***

The council room of the interim government possessed the bland, nondescript construction of many Chxor-built buildings.  From what Lucius understood, they had chosen it as a reminder of the Chxor occupation.

The room held the fifty men and women who had stepped forward with ideas on how things ‘should be.’  Of them all, only the original five from his council had any type of experience in governance.  None of the original government of Faraday had survived the Chxor occupation.

Lucius waited, politely for the introduction by Kate Bueller.  When she nodded for him to step up to the podium, he did so.  As he stood there, under the lights, he suddenly wondered if anyone recorded these sessions.   He rather hoped they didn’t.

Lucius realized, then, that he didn’t have it in him to endorse a constitution he hadn’t read.  Nor, knowing how much he would gain, however little he wanted that gain, could he stand there and read the speech Kate wrote for him.

Even so, the wrangling and delays of the interim government needed to stop.

“Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen.”  Lucius looked around the chamber.  He wondered how many of them did this from an actual desire to make the world better.  He hoped, for humanity’s sake that more did than Kate believed.  “I’m speaking to you, today, because right now, we’re in the middle of a crisis.”