Shadow Space Chronicles 1: The Fallen Race (39 page)

“
Ah.”

Kandergain and Moira shared a look and then Kandergain shrugged, “He cooks.”

***

“That was really one of Thomas Kaid’s children?” Lucius asked, as they pulled clear of the hangar bay.

“
Yes,” Kandergain said.  “She and Shaden have been together since the beginning or near enough.”  She sighed a bit, “I envy them for that.  It’s almost sickening how affectionate they can get.”

“
Ah.” Lucius said.  He felt like a blind man scouting a river.  “You said the beginning, what did you mean?”

“
You picked up on Shaden’s last name?”

Lucius thought a second, “Mira.  That’s the same as the precog you mentioned, John Mira, right?  Are they related?”

“Yes.  In a manner of speaking.” She shrugged.  “The essential part, I think, is that John Mira gave his life to ensure that Shaden Mira lived.”

“
So, the omniscient suicidal riddler is Christ-like as well,” Lucius said.

“
Not funny,” Kandergain said.

“
Okay, sorry.”  They coasted away from the
Defender
.  “Where to now?”

“
Now… now we’re going to see a Shadow Lord.” Kandergain typed in a final command on her navigation console.  “Are you ready?”

“
Yes.”

The ship hurtled into shadow space.

They lay in the outer layer of shadow for only a few seconds this time before the ship
turned
in a way that Lucius couldn’t quite describe.  Again, shadow space altered around them.  Now, it crawled with browns and yellows, a putrid look that made Lucius slightly nauseous.

“
How long to get there?”

Kandergain typed something in on her console, a second later, the sensors brought up a contact.  “We’re here.”

“Already?” Lucius asked, stunned.

“
I asked her to meet me here.  The Shadow Lords hide their fleets away in pockets of Shadow, away from prying eyes.  With Shaden’s fleet here in real space, this is as close to neutral ground as we can get.”  Kandergain brought up her microphone again.  Lucius watched the icons grow on the sensors.

He adjusted the passive sensors for the radiation and background mess of shadow space.  Even so, he got an odd doppler effect on the screen.  “This can’t be right, I’m seeing hundreds of ships.”

“Huh, I guess she didn’t bring her entire fleet.”

Lucius felt his stomach roil, “She’s got several hundred warships?”

Kandergain nodded, “Lachesis has had a few centuries to plunder the space-ways.  She’s got a substantial armada.”

That made some sense... but to support that force, she would need a vast logistical support structure, “Several hundred warships?”

“These are the Shadow Lords, Lucius.  They loot entire star systems.  Lachesis makes Tommy King look like a humanitarian, and she’s motivated purely from self interest.”

“
Why are we asking her for help?” Lucius asked.

“
She’s not the most powerful of the Shadow Lords, either in ships or actual psychic power.  So she occasionally makes a bargain which some of the others wouldn't comprehend.” Kandergain said.  “She’s ruthless, cold and calculating, but even so, she’s occasionally done the odd act of kindness.  She helped Shaden fight the Balor at Celestia.  She might help you.”

“
What did she get at Celestia?”

Kandergain didn’t say anything.  She didn’t have to.  As they approached, Lucius picked out the sleek lines of a Balor dreadnought.  “So… Shaden got a battlecruiser and she got a superdreadnought?  Did anyone think that maybe, giving her something like that was a bad idea?”

“They didn’t have a whole lot of options.” Kandergain said.  “And weren’t you going to give Admiral Dreyfus and the good Lady Kale two thirds of the Dreyfus Fleet?”

Lucius kept silent.

They came up on the flank of the dreadnought.  Kandergain brought them into a waiting hangar bay.  Lucius stared out the canopy, stunned at what he saw.

Lush carpeting lined the hangar deck.  Potted plants and stacks of pillows made small islands amidst the brightly painted fighters crouched in their launch cradles.  “You’re kidding.”

“You haven’t seen her throne room yet.”

“
This is a
hangar bay
.  Who puts carpeting and plants in a hangar bay?!?” Lucius demanded.

Kandergain led the way out again.  This time, several people awaited them outside.  Four of them were obvious muscle.  The fifth was a youth with spiked red hair and several metal studs that pierced his face.  “Kandergain.”

“Aaron.” Kandergain nodded.  “Lead on.”

He smirked and twirled his fingers for them to follow before he led the way.

Brightly painted murals covered the gray corridors of the captured Balor ship.  Deep carpets lined the floor, and ornamental lamps hung along the corridor.  The scent of incense floated down the corridor.

Lucius thought he heard orchestral music in the distance.

The group paused at an intersection and a line of children went by, collared at the neck.  A cable ran from one collar to the next.  Lucius felt his hands clench as he realized with horror the children were slaves.

“
Lucius, don’t violate the peace of the ship, she wants to goad us.” Kandergain breathed in his ear.  He nodded slowly.  He glanced over in time to catch a smirk from their guide.

Several further atrocities paraded before them on their descent into the bowels of the ship.  The contrast of riches and cruelty displayed turned Lucius’ stomach.  At every display, he found a smirk on the face of Aaron, as if he calculated how much more would be necessary to provoke a confrontation.

But finally, they stepped into the audience chamber of the Shadow Lord Lachesis.

It was a vast room, with a vaulted ceiling.  Flags and banners of various types hung from the ceiling.  Tapestries and artwork lined the walls.  Men and woman, many scantily clad, stood in conversation in small clusters, though they left the central aisle open.  A large throne stood on a raised platform against the far wall.  It was formed of steel and wrought as if it were a rose bush in the shape of a throne.  Steel roses bloomed in perpetuity all along the arms and back.

Aaron stepped forward, “Honorable Lachesis, I introduce to your presence the rogue psychic known as Kandergain, and her… vassal Lucius Giovanni.”

“
Kandergain, do come forward,” the woman seated on the throne gestured.  Like all the powerful psychics Lucius met, she had the same young, youthful body, though there were harsh lines around her eyes.  Those cold gray eyes appraised Lucius as he and Kandergain stepped forward.  He felt dirty after that evaluation, as if he needed to wash her dark thoughts away.

“
Shadow Lord Lachesis, I’m here to ask for your help regarding—”

“
You want me to help you fight the Balor at Faraday.” Lachesis’s cold voice said.  “You offer me nothing in return.”

“
You haven’t asked for anything, yet.” Lucius said.  “Obviously, there’s something you want or you wouldn’t have met us.”

“
Ah... it speaks.”  The woman stood from her throne.  A babble of voices around the chamber suggested it was a rare sight.  The Shadow Lord sashayed down the steps, her eyes ranged over Lucius as she walked a circle around him.  “A little old in appearance to our tastes, though some do go for the gray at the temples look.  Shorter than we normally enjoy, though perhaps he has skills we could enjoy to make up for that.  His pride, oh, that is delicious, for he has the arrogance to believe that sentience begets rights.”  She stopped in front of Lucius, staring at him with thinly veiled hunger and lust.  “Do you offer this one in exchange for our help?”

Kandergain stepped forward, putting herself between them.  “His name is Lucius Giovanni.  Perhaps—”

“We know the importance of a Giovanni and there are other precogs besides Mira.” Lachesis spun, walking around the pair of them.  “There are other Giovannis, and none of the prophesies specify which will be
the
Giovanni.”  She stalked around, head cocked to one side and then the other.  “Hm, perhaps you make another offer, then?  Would you offer yourself, instead of this one?” Lachesis’s voice hummed, the words echoed peculiarly in the chamber.  “Would you give yourself, Kandergain, for us to save this one at Faraday?”

Kandergain answered softly, “Yes.”

Her laughter mocked Kandergain.  It rang out from the Shadow Lord, echoed an instant later by the gathered court.  Lachesis cut off her laughter and those of her followers with a sweep of her arm.  “Foolish of you.  Normals are common and easily replaced.  We will not take your life, tempting as it is.  We remember how you foiled us at Alpha Centauri.  We will watch the Balor destroy what you have wrought at Faraday, we will watch your efforts come to nothing, and we will
laugh
.  You may go.”

***

CHAPTER
XIII

April 7, 2403 Earth Standard Time

Lithia System

Colonial Republic Space

“
Well… that went well.” Lucius said as they left the armada behind them.

Kandergain shot him a look halfway between anger and humor.

“So what exactly happened?” Lucius said.  “I gather she’s not going to help us—”

“
Yeah, that’s accurate enough.”  Kandergain snapped.

“
But what about the rest of it?” Lucius said.  He watched her, cautious for any sign that he had asked too personal a question.

Kandergain stared out at the myriad colors of Shadow for a while.  “Lachesis has a grudge against me.  She wanted to… watch me squirm.”

“Why didn’t she just kill us both?  It’s not like we could have done much.”

Kandergain looked over her shoulder, a comical look on her face, “Are you serious?”

“Normal human politics I can grasp.  I don’t exactly hold audience with Shadow Lords on a daily basis,” Lucius snapped back.  He felt suddenly tired of being treated like a child.

“
Sorry.” Kandergain said.  She stood up, “Come on, I’ll buy you a drink.”

She led him back down towards her quarters.  She ducked inside and came out a moment later with several dusty bottles of beer.  Lucius caught a glimpse of a cluttered room, stacked with odd items.  He saw at least a couple swords before the door closed.

“Have a sit,” she pointed at the galley.

She popped the top off one of the bottles and passed it to Lucius, then opened one for herself.  “What do you know about the Shadow Lords?”

“They’re pirates.” Lucius shrugged, “But on a scale above anything else.  They loot entire worlds, when they want to.  They can intercept ships or fleets in shadow space.  They hide there, and apparently, they’re psychic.”

“
All that’s true enough.  The core of their forces are psychic too.  It allows them tactical flexibility in their attacks, and gives them shock troops with unique capabilities.” Kandergain frowned.  “Many of those psychics have become, over time, nearly as powerful as the Shadow Lords they serve.  They’re bound to their Lords with pledges and oaths, oaths that are only as valid as the word of the Shadow Lords they serve.”

“
Pirates with a code of honor?” Lucius asked.

“
Not really a code,” Kandergain said, “but close enough, I suppose.”

Lucius sat in thought for a long moment.  Finally, when he spoke, he chose his words with care.  “So if Lachesis killed us, she’d have broken her word, and her people would abandon her?”

Kandergain took a long pull on her beer, “More likely that they would turn on her and the strongest would replace her.  It’s a survival thing, they live in a totally lawless society.  If any of them doesn’t behave in the expected manner, they put her down like a rabid dog.”

Lucius shivered.

“Like I said, there are some nasty things out here in Shadow.  The Shadow Lords, unfortunately, aren’t the only ones.”

Lucius kept quiet.  He sipped at his beer and then looked at it in surprise, “Hey, this is good.”  The label was a black dog of some kind.  He didn't normally drink beer, but there was a rich variety of flavors that impressed him.

“Yeah,” Kandergain said.  “Every now and then I slip into Alpha Centauri and buy a case or two.”  She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling.

“
So what now?” Lucius said.  “As far as I can tell, I’m back to square one.”

“
No.  You’ve got that chip, it’ll help.  You’ve met Shaden.  That may prove useful in the future.”  Kandergain looked back down and met his eyes, “Also, you’ve seen the face of one of your enemies.”

“
One?” Lucius asked.

Kandergain shrugged, “The Balor and the Chxor are external threats.  People like Lachesis and those like her are the internal threats.  The Balor might wipe humanity out, but the Shadow Lords thrive in the current chaos.  They love that no one is strong enough to oppose them.  Right now, you’re a small fish.  In a few years, once your fledgling nation has had time to expand, you’ll create stability they’ll hate.”

“And then I’ll fight the Chxor, the Balor,
and
the Shadow Lords?”

“
It’s either that... or watch our race be exterminated.”

Lucius snorted, “Well, when you put it like
that
...”

They sat in silence for a long moment.  “So what got you started in the save the universe job?” Lucius asked.  “Something you were born to?”

Kandergain set her beer down.  “When I was fifteen, my mother turned me in to ESPSec.”

“
Ah.” Lucius winced.  “I’m sorry.”

“
I don’t remember it.” Kandergain spoke in a monotone, “I went to a special lab where they wiped my memories.  They experimented with artificial means to increase psychic abilities.  They succeeded with two patients, I was one.  Eventually some psychics broke me out, and, like that, I joined the greater universe.  Power brings responsibility and all that,” she shrugged.  “Really, Lucius, our lives aren’t that different.”

Lucius gave her a skeptical look.

“We both have power, Lucius. Yours is one of personality and skills.  You’ve forged a fleet that’s going to have a profound effect on the universe.  Mine is more personal.  You struggle to make things better, a fight I’ve carried for a long time.”

“
I bow to your wisdom,” Lucius said.  He stared at Kandergain for a moment, suddenly struck by her.  The determined line of her jaw, the purpose in her dark eyes, they called to him.  He looked away quickly, “Well… I’d better start getting dinner ready.”

“
Oh for God’s sake, Lucius!” Kandergain threw up her hands.  “You can lie to yourself, all you want.  You can hide your feelings from other people, but stop trying to hide them from me!  I wouldn’t need to be a psychic to see some things.”

Lucius flushed, “I’m not sure—”

Kandergain quirked an eyebrow, “I am a psychic, you know.  I know what you want to say, and you know what you want to say.  Just say it.”

He moved past her and stood looking into the tiny kitchen, “If you know what, I’m going to say, then why do I have to say it?”

“Because some things need to be said aloud, Lucius.” Kandergain smiled, slyly, and maybe because I
want
to hear you say them.”

Lucius turned, “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.  You’re more alive, more in the moment than anyone I’ve ever known.  You always speak your mind, you’ve dedicated your life to a cause, and I see in your eyes how much that has cost you.  I love you, Kandergain,” he said.  “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

She stepped forward, and for a second they shared a kiss.  She broke away slightly and smiled, “It’s a start.  Now go make dinner.”

***

Later on, Lucius lay in his bed and felt her warmth pressed against him and smelled the herbal scent of her hair. “What are we?” He asked.

“What’s that?” Kandergain asked, sleepily.

“
What kind of future can we have?”

She craned her head to look at him, “Isn’t this enough, for now?”

He smiled and kissed her, “This is more than enough, for now.”  He stared at her, “But tonight we reach Faraday.  In less than a month the Balor arrive there.”

She lay her head on his chest, her hair tickled his nose.  “We’ll deal with them.”

“And then?” Lucius asked.  “What then?  I’ll go on to fight the Chxor and the Balor, and the Shadow Lords.  Are you going to stay with me or will you carry on your own war?”  He stared at her and wondered at what secrets she hid away, at the barriers, the walls that lay between them, even now.  Even in this, they’d come to his cabin, rather than hers.  He felt, he knew, that for some reason, she could not let him inside those barriers.

She drummed her fingers on his chest, “Always asking the difficult questions.”

Lucius closed his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.  “I don’t want to lose you.”

They lay in silence for a while, then Kandergain spoke softly, “I know what it’s been like, Lucius, I know your loneliness.”  She sighed and she pressed herself against him tightly, as if she wanted to be inside his skin.  “It’s… not easy for me, Lucius.  I’ve been alone for so long, I’ve… played my war of shadows for so long…”

“I’ve never let anyone this close to me, Lucius.  I’ve never… I’ve never allowed myself to care for those I worked with.  It wasn’t safe, for them, or for me.  God knows,
this
isn’t safe.  I can’t do it anymore, Lucius, I can’t go on fighting and not have something to fight for.  You won’t be alone anymore, I swear.”

“
Well,” Lucius said, “I suppose that’s all the more reason to win, then, isn’t it?”

***

As the
Daedulus
set down in one of the
Patriot’s
hangars, Lucius felt an ache in his chest.  He looked over at Kandergain and noticed her face set back into her normal mask.  They both felt it then.  Their brief vacation from reality aboard the small ship came to its end now.

As he stepped down the ramp, he saw that Admiral Dreyfus, Admiral Mund and Captain Doko awaited him.  “Bad news?” Lucius asked, staring at the solemn faces.

“No, sir.” Anthony Doko said, “But we’ve got a battle plan, and we need to get it in motion ASAP in order to make it work, before the intelligence is out of date.”

“
That pressing?” Lucius raised eyebrows.

“
We should talk about it in a secure room.” Admiral Dreyfus said.

Lucius looked around the abandoned hangar  bay, “Aren’t we a little small to start being paranoid?”

David Mund smiled, his wrinkled face pulled tight, “There appears to be a security issue.  We can discuss it later.  In the meantime, best for you and Miss Kandergain to be briefed on the new information.”

Lucius nodded, “Lead the way.”

As they stepped down the corridors, Admiral Dreyfus spoke, “Any good news from your end, Baron?”

“
We got a data chip with suggested tactics, a promise of friendship, and a nice little notice from the Shadow Lord Lachesis that she hopes we die horrible deaths.” Lucius said.

“
Oh.”

“
Any good, non-confidential news?” Lucius asked.

“
Captain Doko just got married.” Admiral Mund said, his voice dry.

Lucius froze mid-step.  He turned, surprised, “That was sudden!”

Doko shrugged, slightly embarrassed.  “I, uh, well, Lizmadie and I didn't want to wait.”

Lucius nodded, though he felt a spurt of panic as he realized the implications.  That Tony and the Princess had gotten married was good news for them. And Lucius felt grateful that Emperor had given his approval.  He just wondered what favors the Emperor would demand in return for that approval.  He shot a brief glance at Kandergain, “Take what joy you can in this world.” He cleared his throat.  “Congratulations, Captain, and many fine children.”

Anthony Doko flushed, “Thank you, sir.”

Lucius continued down the corridor, “Though… I am disappointed I didn’t receive an invitation.”

“From what I understand, they married in private,” Admiral Mund said.  “Very private, you might even say secretive.  We only just learned of it earlier today.”

“
What
!” Lucius coughed.  He actually stumbled this time.

He looked between Admiral Mund and Captain Doko, “Please tell me you got the Emperor’s approval?”

“Baron, we're both tired of pretending.  Given the dangers we all face, the idea that we needed his—”

“
Captain Doko—“ Lucius broke off, taking a deep breath, “Anthony, use your head, this is a matter of succession.  Whether or not his approval means anything regarding the love you and the Princess may share, marrying without his approval has massive political ramifications.”

Doko leaned close, “Baron, I’m the illegitimate son of a well-off corporate executive.  What do you think the Emperor told me when I asked him?”

Lucius sighed, rubbing a hand across his face.  “He refused to approve of the marriage?”

Admiral Mund spoke, his voice dry, “I think if the Emperor used such polite words, there might have been more delay before the wedding.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard of two people getting married in anger.”

“Oh, God.” Lucius looked between the two men, and finally he burst out in laughter.  He waved a hand, “I expected all kinds of crisis, but this…”  He continued to laugh, to the growing consternation of both Anthony Doko and Admiral Mund.  “I’m sorry, I truly wish the best for you two.”

He started down the corridor again, “Any more good news?”

They finally reached the conference room.