Imprint of Blood

by Phil Huddleston

  Beside him, Lt. Pallis muttered under his breath. “Sailing? You had to mention sailing to her? Now that’s all she talks about!”

  Jake groaned. “Don’t I know it…there’s just no getting around it, we have to take her.”

  Pallis snorted. “Well, you can take her. We’ll be on the dock, drinking beer.”

  “Fine, fine,” said Jake. “I’ll take her out for a bit, maybe she’ll get seasick.”

  “Don’t count on it,” smiled Pallis. “Nothing’s ever made her sick yet. I think she’s got an iron stomach.” Then he dropped his smile. “OK, I’ll have four boats in the river waiting for you. Two will stay behind, two ahead. Any sign of trouble, just head for the nearest one. The others will come in and screen you.” Pallis held up a finger for a moment, then continued. “The wind is onshore, so you’ll be tacking downriver, but you’ll make good time back. Just don’t go too far.”

  They reached the dock in good order and began looking for a boat to rent. But there was nothing available. The concept of renting small sailboats seemed to be alien to Aronte. They were about to give up, when Jake saw a little sloop with a sign on it. Walking over to investigate, he saw a sign that read, “For Sale – See Restaurant”. It was a pretty little sloop, single-masted, about six meters in length. Her lines looked clean and the hull looked solid. Her sails were reefed and covered.

  Looking around, he saw an older woman perusing him from a restaurant across the street. She waved at him, and he walked over.

  “The owner is inside. She owns the restaurant,” she said.

  “Thank you,” said Jake. He walked inside, Antiope and the rest of the security detail following behind. Inside was empty of customers, and in the back an older woman was sitting behind a desk, dressed in the classic peplos. She glanced up as they came in.

  “Good afternoon,” she greeted them, rising from her chair. “Would you like a table?”

  “Actually,” said Jake, “I was looking at the boat for sale outside. How much are you asking?”

  “Ah,” said the old woman, adjusting her hair and glancing sideways at Antiope and the other guardsmen. Then she did a double take, looking closer at Antiope. “Ah, of course, for the Princess, it is hers to take. No charge.”

  Jake shook his head. “No, I’m buying it for myself. How much?”

  The woman looked troubled. “Ah, well. Ah, I’ve been asking…ah…2,000 drachmae. But...”

  She glanced once more at Antiope, who was smiling with glee.

  “But…for you…I think…ah…maybe 1,000 drachmae?”

  Jake nodded. “2,000 drachmae it is, if it’s in good condition. May I take it out for a sail to test it?”

  “Of course, of course,” said the woman. “Please, take it, stay out as long as you like.”

  “Thank you,” said Jake. “Shall I leave money with you as a deposit?”

  The old woman laughed. “I think, with the Princess with you, I can trust you to bring it back!”

  Antiope giggled beside him. Jake nodded once again, and then with a smile, turned and went outside. Antiope followed, the rest of the security detail in a loose, transparent cordon around her. They went to the boat and Jake jumped down into the cockpit. He started examining the condition of the tiller and lines when Antiope jumped in beside him.

  “Teach me,” she said. “Don’t just take me sailing; teach me how to sail. Tell me what you are doing.”

  “OK,” said Jake. He pointed. “OK. This is the tiller. It steers the boat…”

  ***

  A few hours later, Jake and Antiope were three miles downriver, well into the estuary where the river widened out. The four escort boats surrounding them were discreet, blending into the river traffic as much as possible, but Antiope had noticed them instantly. She had pouted at Jake, chastising him for bringing so much security. But Jake had held firm – it was only a few weeks since the assassination attempt had failed, and there were no reliable leads on the source. He was being cautious.

  But otherwise, the trip had been wonderful. Antiope was a natural, taking to the sail like a duck to water. She was already excellent in the tack, albeit a little aggressive for her experience level – so much that Jake had to intervene a couple of times to keep the boat from capsizing. Lt. Pallis had provided them with a basket of food and drink, the sun was warm, and the air was crisp. After giving Antiope her tutorial, she was sailing the boat, while Jake hovered nearby, ready to intervene again if necessary. Finally, they reached a point downriver where Jake was getting nervous to head back – he didn’t want to be caught out after sunset. With some convincing, he got Antiope to bring it about, and they started back upriver. With the wind behind them, the boat cut the water with a hiss, and Jake was quite pleased with it.

  Antiope yelled at him across the noise of the water and the wind, “Take it for me!”

  Jake nodded, moved into her place at the tiller, and checked the wind. He leaned back against the coaming and trimmed the sail a bit. The boat heeled, took the bit in her teeth and ran clean. Antiope squealed, a huge smile on her face. She turned to Jake and before he realized what was happening, she had walked into him, straddling his legs, and was kissing him.

  Jake, in shock, started to push her away, but before he could do so, she grabbed his collar with both hands to prevent it. He hesitated. It was a fatal hesitation. His mind knew, logically, that he should push her back, but his body was no longer his to obey. His ability to resist had disappeared.

  Minutes later, Antiope finally let him go. The sun was hanging lower over the water, and the river was quiet and smooth. He held her in front of him, looking into her eyes, while he unconsciously steered and trimmed the sail to keep them on course. Finally, her dark eyes burning into his, she spoke.

  “My first husband was Prince Hyginus. He was killed in the Rebellion on Maia two years ago.”

  Jake nodded. “I know.”

  “I thought I’d never get over that,” Antiope said. “I loved him very much.”

  Jake, silently, nodded again.

  “But I find that I’m ready to love again,” said Antiope. “And I’ve found the man I want.”

  Jake shook his head slowly. “Antiope, I’m a commoner. Just a Palace Guard.”

  Antiope leaned slowly forward and kissed him again. Then she whispered in his ear, “Not anymore.”

  9 Rules

  Cruiser – a military starship, typically between 12,000 and 18,000 tons, usually carrying between eight and sixteen missiles, four to eight railgun cannon and three to six beamers. Not counting carriers – which typically are not heavily armed - the cruiser is the second-largest capital ship of most space navies, ranked just below the battleship.

  - RimWiki, 2165 Edition

  Planet Maia - Rebellion Headquarters

  21 March 2140 - 19 Years after Pandora

  Eugenius paced around the room, pointing to various places in the holo as he went over the finer points of the attack plan he called Operation Tigris.

  “The key here is to get them all focused on something else, something out-system.”

  He looked around. “That’s where you come in, Anicetus. You’ll bring the Decoy Force in here…” - he pointed to the chart – “…while we coast in over here, back of the Lesser Moon.”

  Anicetus nodded. “But why the Lesser Moon? Wouldn’t the Greater Moon be a better shield?

  “It would,” said Eugenius, “But they have a starship servicing yard on the Greater Moon, so there’s almost always a few ships in orbit there. Our goal is to get inside the moons before we’re noticed. So, we’ll take the Lesser Moon.”

  Anicetus nodded. “OK. And once you are inside the Lesser Moon and they notice you, what do I do?”

  “Just vector off and run for the mass limit. Your ships will all be decoys, made up to look like the real thing, but with no weapons. Once the outer system task force has committed to block you, and the inner system task force detects us inside the Lesser Moon, bug out. Your job is done.”


  Anicetus nodded.

  Another of his captains, Lucas, raised a hand. “But you said that we’ll only have to deal with one or two cruisers and a couple of destroyers at Aeolis. How are you going to swing that? They have a battleship, three or four cruisers, and several destroyers there always. We can’t take on a task force like that!”

  Eugenius nodded. “But there is one time of the year when that is not true. Descent Day. There’ll only be four or five ships on hot standby – the battleship, one or two cruisers, maybe a couple of destroyers. The rest will be on ready standby, but with only a third of their normal crew on board. Two-thirds of their crews will be down on the planet getting drunk. This is the last time they would ever expect an attack.”

  Lucas protested again. “But the battleship – we can’t take on a battleship! We’ll be cut to pieces!”

  “I agree,” said Eugenius. “That’s why I’ve made provision to remove the battleship from the equation. We’ll only have to face one or two cruisers and one or two destroyers – and we’ll have five cruisers and six destroyers. It’s no contest.”

  City of Aronte

  Antiope lay on Jake's chest, breathing quietly. Her eyes were closed. Peace lay upon them like a blanket. Jake felt her chest rise and fall in opposition to his as they breathed in unison. It had been a wonderful day. They had sailed for hours, all the way to the end of the estuary, out into the open ocean, and back again. Hippolyta, Antiope’s young daughter by her first husband, Prince Hyginus, had been with them. Then they had come home to Antiope's chambers and settled in for the night.

  Suddenly Antiope raised her head.

  "I want your child," she said.

  Jake opened his eyes.

  Antiope was looking at him in the dim light of the bedroom. Jake raised his eyebrows. "What?"

  Antiope rose until she was sitting on Jake, hands on his shoulders.

  "I want your child," she said.

  "Oh," said Jake. "Well, I think the process is pretty simple."

  "No," said Antiope. "It's not that simple. There are rules."

  "Rules?" said Jake. "What do you mean, rules?"

  Antiope leaned forward and kissed Jake lightly on the lips. "Princesses can't just have a child with a commoner, Zeno. There are rules."

  Jake pulled her waist forward, bringing her closer. "What are you trying to tell me?"

  Antiope snuggled into him, settling her head back on his shoulder.

  "If I have a female child by you, you’ll be banished - exiled back to Barcam. You could never return."

  "Oh," said Jake.

  "That's the way it works," she said. "I would lose you."

  Antiope raised her head again and looked deep into his eyes. "I don't want to lose you."

  Jake stared at her. Then he gently pushed her down farther on his body, so he could pull himself up to face her.

  "Let's be realistic, Antiope. I love you. And you love me. But...we both know that this relationship cannot go on forever. We come from different paths. And we are going to different paths. So... if you want a child, then I'll give you a child. If it's a boy, then well and good. We'll have a bit longer. If it's a girl...well, then. The Creator has spoken. We'll deal with it."

  Tenderly, Antiope leaned forward and kissed him. "If it is a girl, my Zeno, and I lose you, then know that I have loved you more than any man, and always will, until my dying day."

  As the last light of the evening faded from the window, they lay quietly for a long time, until they both fell asleep.

  Helios System – Near Aeolis

  12 April 2141

  Eugenius peered at the tactical holo as they coasted into the Aeolian system, cold and dark. They had been coasting for five days now - powered down to nearly zero. The conditions on the ship were harsh, but necessary. There was no other way to sneak into the system and get close enough before detection. Fast and hot was certain death; slow and dark was a chance. The stink of their unwashed bodies was a small price to pay for the ability to surprise the AEN.

  They were now less than an hour out, on a vector which kept them hidden as much as possible behind the smaller of the two moons orbiting Aeolis – the Lesser Moon. The holo pinged, updating from their hidden QE repeater buoys. Eugenius saw two dozen AEN warships scattered around the system, exactly as reported by his scouts. There were only two battleships. One – the Merope - was at anchorage well out by the large gas giant Hypnos. Her escort of a cruiser, two frigates and several destroyers were nearby. They were eleven AU away. At emergency military acceleration, it would take them fifteen hours to get to Aeolis – not counting startup time.

  A second battleship – the Athena - turned in geostationary orbit above Aronte, the capital city of Aeolis. Her own escort of eight ships was scattered in various orbits around the planet and its moons. Only four of her task force warships were near Aeolis.

  One cruiser was 120 degrees – one third of an orbit – ahead of the Athena. Another cruiser was 120 degrees behind. Thus, the three capital ships formed a triangle around the planet, each at an equidistant point in orbit. And pacing immediately behind the Athena, protecting her vulnerable engines, was a picket of two smaller destroyers.

  Only four of the ships showed hot engines – the Athena herself, the two destroyers following close behind her, and the cruiser ahead of her. The other cruiser, one third of an orbit behind the battleship, showed cold and dark – as Eugenius watched, the holo pinged and updated with new information from the AI, and he saw her identified as the Leto - a new, recently commissioned heavy cruiser with eight railgun cannon, six beamers and sixteen missiles, just out of dock.

  Far away, at the L2 semi-stable resonance point past the Greater Moon, another cruiser sat with hot engines, 540,000 km away from the planet – the holo designated her as the Berenice, an older cruiser with only four cannon and six beamers.

  The remainder of the Home Fleet, scattered in orbits around the Greater Moon, was cold and dark, their crews enjoying the holiday weekend down on the planet – Descent Day, the anniversary of the founding of the city.

  As he watched, the holo pinged another update from the QE repeater buoys. He saw the ships of Anicetus’ Decoy Force on the far side of the system, fourteen AU away, charging at max accel toward Aeolis from a vector a few degrees off the line to the gas giant Hypnos – which would put them on a vector very close to the Merope and her task force stationed there.

  "Perfect," said Eugenius. "Pin them in place, my friend. Pin them and hold them!"

  "Time to party, boys!" Eugenius almost yelled the command, he was so excited. "Take out their net!"

  All around the system, tiny one-man ships had slipped up on the AEN’s own QE repeater buoys, getting as close as possible without tripping proximity alarms. Now they fired high-speed rockets which took the small early-warning devices offline in a shower of sparks. Within a minute, every critical QE repeater buoy in the AEN network had been taken down – leaving the enemy blind except for shipboard radar and lidar. But Eugenius and his rebels had quietly seeded the system with their own QE buoys, giving them clear visibility into the location of every ship in the system.

  Over the next few minutes, coasting ever closer to Aeolis, Eugenius saw the Merope at Hypnos powering up, all her task force ships following. He knew the Merope and her task force would deploy from Hypnos and position themselves to block Anicetus’s Decoy Force – making it far too late for them to take part in the coming action over Aeolis.

  Nearer to the planet, the sleeping cruisers and destroyers started their power up sequences, but Eugenius was unconcerned. Most of their crews were dirtside, drunk or sleeping it off after the biggest holiday of the year. They’d never get their engines and weapons up in time to do any real damage to him.

  In a few more minutes, he would be over Aronte, and he would bombard the capital with enough orbital rounds to flatten the Imperial Palace, Fleet HQ at the Navy Yard, and the Imperial Naval Academy. The impact would be devastating. Without the Imperial
family and the senior naval officers, Aronte would be at his mercy. By the time the Merope at Hypnos became aware of the situation, his troops would already be on the ground in Aronte, in control of the capital. And the Creator willing, it would be a complete surprise to the AEN. He was coming from almost directly behind the Lesser Moon, with only a little slingshot required as he flew past to put him on a direct track for Aronte. All their QE repeater buoys were gone, and he was cold and dark. With any luck at all, the Home Fleet would have less than fifteen minutes to see him and prepare. Most of the ships would not have enough people on board to fight. They would be frantically recalling their crews from the planet, but there was no possibility of getting them back in time to man the fleet. And as for the battleship holding directly over Aronte…well, for that, Eugenius had an ace in the hole.

  ***

  On the cruiser Kleitos, one third of an orbit out in front of the battleship Athena, Captain Ligeia Satra had been thinking about her daughter, Callisto. She wasn’t sure why she missed her so much this morning – but she did. Of course, Callisto was at home in Aronte, in the care of her nanny and Ligeia’s extended family. There was no place for a six-year old child on an AEN warship.

  Most of the time, Ligeia didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about family. She was a warrior, and Callisto would be a warrior too when she was adult. Warriors were not raised by their mothers; they were raised by an extended family of teachers and trainers who led them on the path of an Amazon. That had always been their way, since the Descent. The Creator had cast them down from Olympus to Aronte, to take charge of the commoners, and they had performed this duty for three thousand years. It was not her place to question the way of things.

  But there were moments. There were times on Aronte, walking the streets, when she heard the children laughing, saw them playing - and felt that brief pang of envy at the simple lives of the common people. What would it be like, she wondered, to have a house, and live a quiet life, with your husband and child at hand every day?