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

  What she saw was nervousness and fear. They had operated in the shadows for so long that recent events had made them uneasy. While Command hadn't discussed it, someone had tripped security alarms on certain files. Someone suspected... and this kind of conspiracy was something that thrived only in complete secrecy.

  Camilla knew well enough that it had to be some of the Baron's agents, if not the Baron himself investigating. It was something she had expected, ever since his arrival. His people were far too capable, he showed far too great a presence and focus to ever be the figurehead that Command had hoped to use for their own goals.

  It was, in fact, why she had orchestrated certain rumors to be passed along... not with the goal of discrediting him, as Command had directed, but with the purpose of drawing his attention. If her plan had proceeded, she would have had the opportunity to deal with the situation in her own way... in a fashion that Command would not have approved.

  Yet, things had moved far too quickly. The victories against the Chxor had come too quickly. The plan to liberate Nova Roma would come soon, far sooner than even she had anticipated, and with Command already on edge over the threat of being revealed, they might just pull the trigger on Omega Protocol.

  Camilla didn't want that. At best, it would leave thousands dead and create chaos. At worst, it would trigger infighting that would tear the Fleet apart and leave it a vulnerable target for their enemies. Command knew that, but they were afraid. Fearful men did stupid things, as Camilla well knew. Fear was what had put them in this position, fear and worry about a future planned out by someone else.

  It seemed so simple to them, Camilla thought sourly, ensure that the power to control our future lay in the hands of capable men and women, not the hands of a tyrant or populist, but the hands of officers who cared about the men and women under their command.

  Camilla had seen that go wrong from the very beginning, as secrecy and fear twisted the idealism that they had started with. Part of that came from ambition and the rest from distrust. The sheer power represented by the Fleet, combined with the fact that they had already violated their oaths, meant that for those who joined their organization, this was not an opportunity they could pass up. Men and women who could have looked forward to prestigious careers could instead become rulers of entire star systems. Why should they not, when they had given up their lives, their families, and abandoned everything to save humanity?

  And since they knew that some of their fellows and that most of the crews didn't feel the same way... well, they knew they had to maintain secrecy. And that secrecy had become more and more ingrained over the past decades. At first, they had killed only to maintain that secrecy, but those times were past.

  Now their precious secrecy is at risk, she thought, and they're so close to their goals, but so afraid that Giovanni will lead them into a battle they can't win. They had lived too long, she knew, lived lives where they hadn't been called to risk themselves. The fight with the Balor at the Third Battle of Faraday had been a wake-up for many of them, a reminder that in war people died. For many, especially for Command, that was a rude awakening.

  Fear had made them jumpy, the reminder of their own mortality even more so, and now Baron Giovanni had a solid base with which to build a battle plan upon. He has forced them to act, even if he doesn't realize it, Camilla thought anxiously. Some part of her wondered if he had planned to force them into action, but she didn't think he was so drawn to risky gambits. She suspected that he'd become aware of the conspirators, but she didn't know for certain. For all she knew, one of his loyal officers had only begun the investigation when he had tripped the alarm. The Baron might not even begin to suspect the plotting going on in the shadows around him.

  Camilla had to act. Yet, at the same time, her own cautious plans were in as much disarray as those of Command. Decades of hard work could be undone in an instant and Camilla feared that even if she took action, it might only trigger the bloodbath of Command's Omega Protocol anyway.

  ***

  Tehran System

  United Colonies

  December 16, 2404

  “So, Emperor Romulus,” Lucius said, “What we are thinking is that we will begin to infiltrate human personnel in conjunction with our Chxor allies...” He trailed off as he saw Emperor Romulus IV scowl at Admiral Valens Balventia. “Is there a problem?”

  “We've... already begun infiltrating personnel and weapons to the Nova Roma system,” Admiral Balventia said as he shifted in his seat

  “What?” Lucius demanded. Around him, he heard the conference room buzz with surprised conversation. The Chxor had threatened to kill everyone in the star system if they saw any sign of aggression. Lucius found it hard to believe that the Emperor of Nova Roma had risked the lives of his people in such a dangerous fashion.

  “I requested some plans from Admiral Balventia regarding the possibility of putting people into the system,” Emperor Romulus sighed. “We have something of a... hidden resource in the system. Since we weren't entirely certain that you would move against the Chxor after their ultimatum, we thought it wise to begin our own operation... just in case.”

  Lucius ran a hand over his face, yet after a calming breath, he just gave a nod. “Very well,” he said. “What can you tell us?”

  Admiral Balventia gave a suspicious glance at Kral the Chxor, “I'm not entirely certain that we should be discussing this...”

  “Admiral,” Lucius said in as calm and even a tone as he could manage. “Kral has risked his life numerous times, including infiltrating several Chxor worlds. He has had multiple opportunities to betray us, yet every time he has proven that he can be trusted.”

  “Maybe by you,” Valens Balventia snapped.

  “Enough,” Emperor Romulus IV said as he glared at his Admiral. “I will tell you... and I will take responsibility if it turns out that this was a foolhardy risk.” He gave a sigh, “My father was... not a particularly trusting man, particularly after the coup attempt by your – by Marius Giovanni.” He pulled out his data pad and typed in several commands. “As something of a precaution, he had a secret installation built which could act as a hideaway or as a location from which to launch a counter-coup. It was code-named Theta Station. We've been slipping ships in and out of the system there and meeting clandestinely with some of the resistance groups.”

  Admiral Dreyfus leaned forward, “The Chxor occupation strategy is to seed the entire system with sensor arrays and buoys. How can you be certain they won't have found this station and they aren't already aware of your activities?”

  Admiral Balventia sat up straighter, “We are certain that the Chxor are unaware, because Theta Station is located in the Periclum Debris Cloud.”

  Most of the staff looked blank, but Lucius nodded slowly. He looked around and seeing the confusion, spoke up, “Periclum was Nova Roma's weapons testing area for over fifty years, it used to be a planetoid until it was destroyed by a collision with a comet. It is one of the densest debris fields in the system and it is also where a number of radioactive hulks and older ships were towed for use as target practice. In addition to that, it has a number of still live mines, missiles, and who knows what else.” Just the density of the cloud would make sensor readings difficult. Some areas of the debris had been bombarded by exotic particles or fused into superheavy or unstable isotopes that gave off extreme radiation that would make it nearly impossible for any sensors to get a good reading off the cloud.

  Emperor Romulus IV nodded, “And not all of the ships sent there were used as target practice. There is a small fleet, mostly assault shuttles, fighters, and light frigates, kept at Theta Station in mothball, along with large supplies of weapons and ammunition. It is positioned in between the orbits of Nova Roma and Nova Umbria, with access to both. It is also near enough to several mining operations that mining and supply ships can link up with our vessels to transfer personnel and equipment.”

  “Which isn't to say it's ideal,” Lucius said. “The Chxor are leavi
ng the orbital infrastructure intact, for now, but soon they'll take more centralized control. It's only a matter of time before either you'd have to shut down those connections or risk discovery.”

  “I was hoping that we could move before then,” the Emperor of Nova Roma said.

  “We'd better,” Captain Franks said, “else the Chxor will pile onto that station and then probably leave the rest of the system in ruins.”

  Lucius looked up at that, “You know... you may have a point there.”

  “What?” Captain Franks asked his eyes wide, “Certainly you can't be suggesting–”

  Of everyone, it was Admiral Balventia who caught Lucius's point, “That just might work.” As the gazes of the assembled officers leveled on him, he gave Lucius a small but respectful nod. “Our main issue, so far, has been to draw the Chxor away from both planets in enough size that their reserve forces could be engaged and destroyed without risking the planet. However, if the Chxor learn about a smuggling operation within the system that supplies the resistance fighters there, then they will almost certainly respond in force.”

  “Particularly,” Lucius said with a nod, “If they learn that this base is both well-defended and stocked with bombers, fighters, and light warships. They'll want to smash that kind of force before it can become a threat, especially if they think we don't know about it yet.”

  Around the table, Lucius saw heads begin to nod.

  It was Captain Daniel Beeson who spoke, “And then,” he said, “we can bring our own fleet in and smash the bastards when they're vulnerable.”

  Admiral Balventia gave Lucius a slight smile, “Okay, Baron Giovanni, that sounds like a plan I like.” It was the first time that Lucius could remember the Admiral using his title, a not quite sign of approval, and it made Lucius feel almost off-balance. “Well,” Lucius cleared his throat, “what resources do we have in place there? Whatever we can bring online will both make the Chxor more anxious to respond in force and give us a bit more of an edge.”

  “We've a small team of personnel at the station,” Admiral Mund said slowly. Clearly he felt uncomfortable having kept the secret, but just as clearly he felt better for being able to talk about it. “They haven't completed the full inventory, but so far it looks like just over a hundred and fifty of the old Canis-class bombers, forty-eight of the newer Regis-class interceptors, twelve of the Icon-class corvettes, and six Patrician-class frigates.”

  “Two wings of bombers, two squadrons of corvettes, and a squadron of frigates,” Lucius mused. He sat back in his seat and then slowly gave a nod, “It's a respectable force, one that the Chxor won't be able to discount. I'm not certain it will be enough to draw all of their forces, though.”

  Admiral Dreyfus frowned, “I assume the plan is for us to move into position to support the defense and engage them from surprise?” Lucius gave a nod and Admiral Dreyfus's frown deepened, “We'll need to draw them close to the facility. From what I understand, Chxarals operates his forces in separate task forces, he may not send all of them.”

  Lucius nodded slowly, “That is my concern, as well.”

  “Surely,” Senior Captain Gronsky said, “Some is better than none?”

  Lucius gave the man a sharp look, “If even one dreadnought is positioned where we can't destroy it or at least take it under fire, then they could still kill millions with their main armaments alone. Given enough time, a squadron could volley their missiles and kill billions.” He shook his head, “No, we need to lure the majority of Chxarals's forces to where they can't engage the planet. Which means into the vicinity of Theta Station. But we don't have anything valuable enough to do that, or at least not without Chxarals deciding to have done with it and annihilate the system.”

  “Me,” Emperor Romulus IV said.

  “What?” Lucius asked in surprise.

  “Send me. I will be a target too important for him to risk letting me escape. We leak information that I'm personally on hand to lead and direct a popular uprising against the Chxor. Given my value as a figurehead as well as the strength of my forces, we can be absolutely certain that Chxarals will try to hit me with everything he's got.” The young Emperor looked around at the surprised faces, “Better yet, we let them see what I have in position, my entire force. Allow one of their ships to get close enough and survive to report.”

  “Your Majesty,” Admiral Balventia said, “You can't be serious. If we lose you...”

  “If this effort fails, we lose Nova Roma, possibly for good. The billions of people there have no choice in how we risk their lives... the least I can do is put my own life on the line.” Emperor Romulus IV said. He looked over at Lucius, “I'm afraid that I will have to insist. It is, after all, my resources we're using to pull this off.”

  Lucius gave him a slight nod, “If you insist, then I won't stop you. I agree, the combination of your forces and yourself present will be extremely tempting for the Chxor. Even if Chxarals doesn't want to move out of position, he might be overruled.” The report of the Emperor's return to Nova Roma would certainly be information that would reach the Benevolence Council, Lucius figured.

  “This might just work,” Admiral Dreyfus said with a look at his staff. Lucius wasn't certain, but he thought he saw an expression of either distaste or disagreement on Captain Wu's face. Is that because she doesn't like the plan, Lucius wondered, or because the conspirators don't want to see Nova Roma liberated? Not for the first time, Lucius wished he had some better idea of what the conspirators wanted. Maybe, if they had come to him in the first place, they could have reached some agreement. Then again, he thought, they had already killed a dozen people between the shuttle accident and a few other deaths, possibly more from some of the new evidence Captain Beeson uncovered.

  “Very well,” Lucius said, “I want a working plan on how we are going to conduct the infiltration with a secondary organization, one the Chxor will locate, whose purpose is to leak the position of Theta Station and the Emperor's presence.” He winced as he thought about just how that would go with the men and women involved.

  “Criminals,” Admiral Balventia said.

  “Excuse me?” Admiral Dreyfus asked.

  “We send in some criminals, pirates, murderers, that sort of thing. Tell them only what we want them to know. Sooner or later, they'll slip up and the ones the Chxor capture will probably offer them whatever they know to save their own skins. If they aren't captured, your Chxor, Kral, tips the authorities off and they pinch them anyway. If they do some damage to the Chxor, fine, if not, then we're out only the cost of transportation.”

  Lucius winced again as he thought of the cold calculation of sending men in to die, yet he under-stood it. He looked at Captain Beeson, “How many of those pirates we've captured are from Nova Roma?”

  The younger man looked down at his notes, “I don't have exact figures, but I would guess about two dozen at most.” The prisoners were on the icy moon in the Faraday system, where Lucius had started a pair of prison colonies to hold the Chxor and captured pirates. Sometime in the past, someone had seeded the planet with an Earth-type ecosystem, so while it was a frigid, inhospitable place, it was inhabitable, with enough oxygen to sustain life and enough wildlife to sustain a small population. Captain Beeson looked up, “There's about three hundred of them from Admiral Mannetti's crews that we captured.”

  “That seems fitting,” Admiral Balventia said with a shrug. “Many of them are traitors and worse, anyway. Give them the option to fight for their freedom...”

  Lucius sighed. In truth, many of them were pirate scum, some of the worst sorts, yet they had already spaced the ones that they could convict of actual crimes. For that matter, many of the ones left were men who had been captured aboard Nova Roma ships and either forced into piracy or volunteered from there. While they weren't precisely innocent, it seemed rather cold to send them into this mission knowing they were going to be captured or killed.

  Yet the fates of billions were on the lines.

  �
�Fine,” Lucius said. “From here on, those prisoners will be dealt with only by Nova Roma personnel. I only want volunteers, if we force them into this it could go bad far too quickly.”

  Admiral Balventia shrugged, “Of course.” He looked at Emperor Romulus, “If it pleases your Majesty, we can offer them some sort of bonus as well as their freedom, if they survive.”

  Emperor Romulus IV nodded. “Yes, and rewards to their families, if they do not.”

  The table went silent as everyone thought through the plan. “Right, then,” Lucius said. “It seems we have something of a battle plan. Given the time frame that this infiltration will require, we need to have a plan finalized within the next few weeks and Fleet Commander Kral will need to leave, with any additional infiltrators aboard his ships, within the next month.” That would leave countless details to be planned and organized and an entire invasion to organize in only thirty days. The daunting task had to be completed between two disparate organizations, one of them secretly handicapped by a conspiracy and the other short-handed and still training themselves up to standard. Lucius could see the dismay on many faces and he gave them all a smile, “I have the utmost confidence that you can get it done.”

  ***

  Chapter III

  Nova Corp Facility 223, Kied System

  Centauri Confederation

  December 16, 2403

  “We have missiles inbound!” Lauren Kelly snapped as her fingers flashed across primary weapons control. A missile or two wouldn't be an issue given the Kraken's fire control computers and array of energy weapons.

  Fifty missiles, Mason thought, is something else altogether. The Nova Corporation defenses had already taken Captain Demitrovich and his crew. The pirate-turned-privateer had charged forward despite Mason's orders. Mason figured the man had hoped to capture the base on his own and benefit from a larger share of the loot as a result. He had paid the price for his arrogance, though, when the facility's automated defenses had opened up on his light cruiser with over a hundred missiles.