The Prodigal Emperor (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  The Baron looked a little distracted as he took a seat and Daniel wondered if that distraction was somehow related to his orders to have his offices swept. They hadn't found anything, but then again, the Baron had been very vague about what they might be searching for. Daniel really hoped that the pressure wasn't becoming too much for him. He saw the Baron take a slip of plasfilm out of his pocket and look at it, before looking up and giving him a nod, “Sorry, Daniel, you can begin the briefing.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Daniel said. He pulled up the diagrams that showed the known conspirators. There were still far too many question-marks, unknown connections and ties, but with Captain Wu tipping her hand, he finally felt like they had a glimpse at the big picture... and possibly a way to stop them.

  “As you can see, sir, we have filled in a lot more details,” Daniel said. “This conspiracy has ties to the civilians and military of the Dreyfus Fleet and their goals are to hijack the Fleet for their own purposes, either to reinstate Amalgamated Worlds or to start their own empire.” Either goal was one to prevent, Daniel well knew. Amalgamated Worlds had been more of a bureaucracy than a government, with tiers of faceless managers who controlled entire star systems and individual human lives were often lost in the overall balance of numbers.

  “Now, when we first began the investigation, we had some confusion because it seemed like there were possibly two different factions.” The Baron nodded at that, they had already seen a number of ways in which the conspirators had seemed to work against each other. “What we think is that Captain Wu's predecessor, Senior Captain Nelund, was their action commander... and that he grew more ambitious than the others could tolerate. We've seen signs of smaller cells, which seem to be acting on their own, without much outside guidance. What we think happened is that the other conspirators saw him building up a strong element within the cabal and that they had to take him out, before he made his power play.” Senior Captain Nelund's death had come just after Lucius had made contact with the Dreyfus Fleet. Daniel thought that was itself a sign that the organization must have seen him as a risk.

  The Baron leaned forward, his face intent, “So you think that these other actors are the remnants of his organization?”

  “Yes, sir,” Daniel said. He brought up the investigation report from Captain Nelund's death. “As you can see, sir, it was determined that Captain Nelund committed suicide after his son's death in a training accident.” He highlighted the investigating officer's name and then several other data points. “It was Captain Honshu Wu who completed the investigation. The pistol Senior Captain Nelund used was an M17 with an integral suppressor, supposedly checked out by Senior Captain Nelund from the armory, but there was no video confirmation.” He saw the Baron's eyes widen at that. There had to be video confirmation for when a weapon like that was checked out. The M17 was an extremely expensive design and it was famously the weapon of choice for many of Amalgamated Worlds Commandos, it was a design ideal for concealment, with a plastic and ceramic frame designed to fool sensors. It was the perfect weapon for an assassination.

  “So,” Baron Giovanni said, “we have a senior conspirator who was making his own power play and the others had him killed and put Captain Wu in his place.” Daniel could see a bit of the same shock on the Baron's face as Daniel had first felt when he dug into the files. It shouldn't have surprised Daniel that the cabal had some internal differences and the ruthlessness to kill one of their own. Yet since he had first found out about them they had seemed a faceless, monolithic group. The more he learned about them, the less he liked what he saw, though. And since I've hated what they've done to the Fleet from the very beginning, he thought, they're rapidly approaching a point at which they've no redeeming features.

  Daniel continued with the brief, “What we think is that while some of Captain Nelund's cells were absorbed into the whole, others have continued under his orders, either unaware of the overall organization or actively opposing them to meet his goals. This seems to be the root of the confusion we see in their lower ranks, some of them are working on a different playbook. The others can't or don't want to remove those cells, either because they don't know who they are or because the cell members are in vital positions and are willing to go to any lengths, including betraying the overall cabal, in order to survive... but we still haven't identified the head of that faction.”

  The Baron seemed surprised by that, “So there's some kind of quiet internal war ongoing?”

  Daniel nodded, “We think Commander Jin Wong was one of those casualties. She initially was classified as a moderate injury and admitted for overnight observation only because of a slight concussion. The medical report says that she died from an aneurysm caused by the blow to her head. But the initial brain scan should have shown that and it's missing, along with logs of who accessed her room that night and security footage of that medical suite.” Daniel hadn't been able to find out how the cabal seemed to hack the shipboard security systems so effortlessly. The only bright bit was that the Nova Roma designed computer systems seemed resistant to the conspirator’s infiltration techniques.

  Daniel gave the Baron some time to think about that... how the cabal had murdered an officer under his command. It didn't matter that Commander Jin Wong had been a member of the conspiracy, she had sworn the oath and wore the uniform and until proven guilty and discharged or executed, she was still one of Baron Lucius Giovanni's people.

  The determination that settled on the Baron's face reminded Daniel once again that no one hurt Baron Giovanni's people with impunity.

  “How soon can we move?” The Baron asked finally.

  Daniel brought up the diagram of their own network. “We're positioning people to move, after they've been fully vetted. The big issue, of course, is that they've had people in place for a long time, already. Since we want to minimize damage that they can do to the Fleet and our own casualties, we're trying to surround their known agents as much as possible. The areas we are focusing on, as much as possible, is tactical command, weapons positions, armories, and Marine units. The thing we are most worried about is where they've infiltrated senior officer ranks in multiple departments.”

  The Baron nodded at that. Part of the problem they faced with this kind of conspiracy was the very structure of the military. Officers gave orders and in an emergency, those orders must be obeyed. The conspirators would rely upon that. If they had the opportunity to move, they could command otherwise loyal units of Marines to seize key areas of ships or order ships to fire upon targets. In the confusion of that kind of mutiny, the people who knew what was happening would be the ones with power. Everyone else would be frozen, stuck reacting rather than making decisions.

  “We're positioning teams to take down the key officers so that we can mobilize the rest of the Fleet to apprehend the others, but we still think that some twenty-five to thirty percent of their personnel that remain unidentified... including several of their key leadership,” Daniel said. He pulled up the conspirator network and overlaid a diagram of their own response teams. “We know that officers aboard the Paladin are taking orders from someone, but we haven't identified who it is, either among Senior Captain Attanasio's staff or even Admiral Dreyfus's staff officers. Whoever it is, we know they have access to Admiral Dreyfus, so we believe it is essential to identify him or her to protect the Admiral.”

  The Baron studied the diagram for a long moment. “We've thoroughly vetted Senior Captain Attanasio?”

  “Yes, sir,” Daniel nodded his head. “There's no way that she could be the one. We've confirmed on two occasions when she was away from his ship that the conspirators aboard received new updates and began new propaganda missions. During one of those, she was in a secure conference room and had no way to get any messages out.” That had been the death of Commander Jin Wong and Daniel wished he had more trustworthy people to work the data. Daniel thought that a significant percentage of the conspiracy's personnel on the Patriot were part of the late Captain Nelund's g
roup, as well, but the way that both factions of conspirators were intermixed made it difficult to be certain. The very fact that much of the cabal leadership didn't seem certain of the loyalties of their personnel made the matter all the more difficult.

  “Very well,” Baron Giovanni said. “As soon as we've identified their senior man, we need someone trustworthy in position to take him down. The last thing we can afford is to lose him. No changes, I assume, to our own moles?”

  Daniel shook his head. “Lieutenant Moritz and Ensign Jiang are the only two we've identified. Given Ensign Jiang's background, we think that she's their primary operative and Lieutenant Moritz is just there to give her support and cover.” Daniel grimaced as he thought about the two members of the Barons' staff that were loyal to the cabal. Ensign Jiang seemed like a decent, hardworking woman, but he couldn't trust that. Moritz, on the other hand, was arrogant and lazy, his work was mediocre at best, and Daniel had a difficult time hiding his hatred for the man.

  “I'm worried about the damage this is going to do to morale and unit trust,” the Baron said. He met Daniel's eyes and Daniel was shocked to see the weariness in his commander's eyes. “We've managed to put together a strong fighting force, but this kind of thing is what tears units apart. Once it all comes to light, people won't be certain who they can trust... and you can't go to battle like that.”

  Daniel nodded. “Understood, sir, and we're doing what we can to find all of the bastards. I think that will make the difference, in the end. If we get all of them, if we try them all in fair and impartial courts martial, then our people will see that. They'll trust that it was done right, sir.”

  The Baron nodded. “Very well.” He gave a sigh, “And I've looked over Colonel Proscia's action plans. I trust that the final option is only for emergencies?”

  Daniel winced at that. Colonel Proscia had drafted a number of crisis response plans that ranged from small teams taking down the conspiracy's key leadership to a full-scale combat plan to seize all of the major ships and lock down everything in Faraday's orbit. The latter mobilized all personnel at the Academy, from instructors to cadets, and sent them to seize key positions on Faraday and in Faraday's orbit.

  That kind of brute force approach would not be without casualties. They would go after their targets wearing powered armor, carrying live weapons, and carried in the belly of combat-loaded assault shuttles. If anyone got in their way, loyal or not, they would use lethal force to accomplish their mission. It was very likely that good people would pay the price.

  But if they had to use that option, it meant that the conspirators would have already moved or were about to kick off their operation plan, whatever it was. At that point, Daniel didn't see any other option to prevent them from taking power and killing off anyone else in their way. He nodded confidently, “Yes, sir, that's our last resort.”

  ***

  Captain Anthony Doko yelped as his wife swatted him playfully on the backside. “Excuse me, miss, but I'm a married man,” Tony said reproachfully.

  Princess Lizmadie Isabella Doko gave him a sultry glance, “Well, handsome, your wife doesn't know how lucky she is...” She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. “Well, actually, she does. Very much.” She tucked her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly, “What'cha doing?”

  Tony's own contented smile faded, “Research.”

  She recognized his tone. “About our uninvited guests?”

  Tony nodded and for a moment, he remembered staring down the barrel of a pistol and the sharp sound of gunfire. Only his wife's excellent aim and well-trained reflexes had saved him. For that matter, only her paranoia and their constant rehearsals, as well as their safe-room, had prevented their deaths.

  “Find anything?” Lizmadie asked.

  “Nothing, yet, but I can't help but think that Alicia Nix and Lucius are both being very close-mouthed about it,” Tony said. He looked back at his computer screen, “Which tells me that it's either related to us being under house arrest... or something else.”

  She considered that for a long moment. “You think that Admiral Mannetti's mole arranged it?”

  Tony nodded, “Who else? I mean, that would be ideal, they could take us out, make it look like a murder-suicide, and then Mannetti's mole would be free and clear. But, since we survived, there's some evidence that we aren't working for Mannetti, so I'm certain that Lucius is working that angle.” Tony couldn't help but feel frustrated that he couldn't help Lucius to find the traitor. He had spent the past few days doing as much research as he could through public databases, but he hadn't found anything else of value.

  “Tell me,” Lizmadie said, as she stepped back and then pulled up her chair.

  Tony sighed and adjusted the holographic display. He didn't want his wife too involved in this business. If things went completely to hell, she had some protection being the sister of the Nova Roma Emperor. If something happened to Tony and the traitor thought she didn't know anything… that might be enough to keep her alive.

  Yet he knew her skills with a computer. If he didn't show her the little bit that he had found, then she would do the same research herself, probably quicker and definitely easier than he had. “I've been looking over the public records as far as Admiral Mannetti and her raids. Right now, the news feeds have her based in the Garris Major system, she's working as a privateer for a planet called Halcyon.”

  Lizmadie leaned in to read the details, “That seems a little small-time for her, what kind of angle is she working?” Among the many things he loved about his wife, the speed at which she processed data was certainly one of them. She would have made one hell of an officer, he knew. It was just as well that she hadn't been allowed to join the Nova Roma military, else she would probably have died like most of the other officers that Tony had known. Even working under Baron Giovanni, he thought, we lost so many good men. Nova Roma had more than a little stigma attached to women in military service, a product of the nobility and their revival of antiquated cultural norms along with a bit of frontier pragmatism. Women who served or worked jobs were women who weren't having children to provide for the next generation.

  While Nova Roma had a few female officers, women weren't allowed in the Fleet or Marine enlisted ranks. For that matter, the Army hadn't even allowed female officers. Regardless, the daughter of the Nova Roma Emperor, even an illegitimate one, would not be allowed to sign on.

  She picked out the data that it had taken Tony several hours to notice. “Nova Corp was excavating alien artifacts, think someone found something really valuable?”

  Tony nodded, “That's what I think. I passed that on to some of Alicia Nix's people, too.” They had politely told him to mind his own business, but that was expected. He was supposed to be under house arrest, quietly waiting to be cleared of charges, not trying to clear his name with the help of his wife.

  Lizmadie bit her lip, “Hmmm, weapon or technology, a single planet government like that might try to trade it to her, but they've got to know that she'd happily loot their planet as soon as she has it...”

  “Yeah,” Tony nodded. He brought up another article, “Which is probably why they hired the Nova Dogs. They've got a good reputation, for mercenaries. I've actually worked with some of them before, a long time ago.” He sort of doubted that any of the men and women he remembered were still with the group.

  “So... how does this help us?” Lizmadie asked.

  Tony shrugged, “I can't say that it does... but it might tie into the mole here, I figured. Admiral Mannetti showed up there not long after she escaped from here. That means that she probably already had it lined up and it might tie into the timing of her escape. We already know that her agent arranged for uniforms and passcodes for her here. That means that she had to have communicated to him what she needed and when.”

  Lizmadie cocked her head. “...or it means that she took orders from the agent here.”

  Tony's eyebrows went up at that, “Orders? That would make the mole, what, her h
andler?” Admiral Lucretta Manetti was a rogue military officer, Tony found it hard to believe that she took orders from anything besides her own selfish interests and desires. Then again many of her people had been very loyal. He normally didn't see that kind of thing with pirates, most of whom would sell out their mothers. While her enlisted crew had mutinied on Lucius's order to surrender, they hadn't known anything and all of her senior personnel had escaped with her.

  “I really wish I had access to some of her old crew,” Tony said, “because that's a very interesting theory.” As far as he knew, those of her lower enlisted crew who had mutinied against her upon Lucius's orders for them to surrender had been transferred to the penal colony here in the Faraday system. If Tony weren't under house arrest, it wouldn't have been hard to interview them and check what they knew against his wife's theories. Granted, he acknowledged, Admiral Mannetti is a clever opponent, it wouldn't be unlike her to keep everyone outside her inner circle in the dark.

  Lizmadie shrugged. “It doesn't really matter, right now. It doesn't change much about the situation. The pertinent information is that whoever her agent is, she knew he had to get her out in time for her to rendezvous with her other ships and sign on with Halcyon's people. At the least, that means her agent had some secure communications with her and also enough free time to make contact with her.” She frowned, “I really wish we had more access to the communications logs from the civilian ansible array.”

  Tony shrugged at that, “Everyone accessed the ansible, especially after the fall of Nova Roma, either searching for missing friends and family or making arrangements to try to get them here.” Granted, most hadn't been so lucky, but some few among the crew had managed to make contact with family and get them to a safe place... or at least as safe as any place was any more.