The Remnant

by Paul B Spence

  Mason asked him what was going on, but he refused to answer until everyone was present. Jeroen paced by the window, glancing impatiently at the doorway as people came in. She and Seshadri talked quietly, wondering what had the young man so agitated.

  "What's going on, Jeroen?" Tebrey asked. Ana stood close to him, holding his arm. Hunter was visible in the hallway behind them.

  "Trouble, friends," Jeroen said to the assembled group. Everyone was there except Corporal Cook, who was watching the gate. "This morning there was another riot by the docks. The emperor issued a proclamation to suppress it. He ordered the military to go in and kill everyone in the district."

  Mason gasped. "But all those people!"

  "Everyone in the Riverfront District?" Tebrey asked. "That's insane."

  "It gets worse than that, I'm afraid," Jeroen said. "My uncle intervened and ordered the military to stand down. They didn't, so he sent troops loyal to him in to kill them."

  "Good," Seshadri said. The sentiment was echoed around the room.

  Jeroen smiled grimly. "Yes and no, my friends. My uncle has gone against an imperial decree. That is treason. Orders have gone out for his arrest. Most of the city guard is loyal to the emperor. The military seems divided between the marquess and the emperor. Unfortunately, most of the forces loyal to my uncle are outside the city."

  "I'm happy he has it, but how did the marquess gain so much support in the military?" Bauval asked.

  "He served as supreme general for many years. He led his men to victory over and over again; he is very popular. The people here in the city are behind him, as well. His hand-picked successors in the military control six divisions. Only one of those is in the city. They are opposed by two divisions here in the city; one of them is the Praetorian Guard, very capable fighters. Two others haven't chosen sides yet."

  "What's going to happen?" Mason asked.

  "If the other divisions join my uncle, they may be able to force a peaceful settlement," Jeroen replied. "It is going to be difficult under any circumstances. However, the emperor will never forgive such an action. It would still be unsafe for us here."

  "And if they cannot reach a settlement?" Tebrey asked. "Or the other two units side with the emperor against your uncle?"

  "Then we face an imminent civil war."

  "I think I need to talk to your uncle," Tebrey said.

  "He wants to speak with you. I'll escort you to him," Jeroen said. "In the meantime, the rest of you need to start packing up your belongings and books, just in case."

  Tebrey went up to his bedroom and got his weapons.

  "Hrothgar?"

  Ana was standing in the doorway, wringing her hands. "What about me?"

  "If there's a civil war, you don't want to be in the city," he replied. "I want you where I know you'll be safe."

  "Do you think it's going to come to that?"

  "Sounds like it." He gave her a fierce hug and kissed her. "You'll come with us?"

  "I'd follow you anywhere," she said. "I'm not going to let a little thing like a war get between us."

  He smiled. She was so small in his arms.

  "Tebrey!" Jeroen called from downstairs. "We need to go!"

  "I'll be back soon, love," he whispered in her ear. "Pack your things." Ana had been staying with him for the last two weeks. Hunter, keep an eye on her.

  Of course, Hunter replied. Be careful.

  I will.

  He reluctantly let go of Ana and trotted down the stairs and out the door. Jeroen and a full company of guardsman were standing just outside the gate. Corporal Cook looked uncomfortable standing there with her rifle ready for trouble.

  "Commander?" Christopher had come out behind him.

  "I'll be back before dark, Lieutenant. Get those people moving. We're probably going to have to move out without much notice. I'll try to secure some wagons for us, but no guarantees. Double the guard and don't let anyone in or out until I get back."

  "Will do, Commander."

  He turned and went out to Jeroen. "I'm ready when you are."

  "I brought an extra horse for you. We need to move fast."

  "Is the marquess in the same home?" Tebrey asked as he mounted the horse, a large black stallion. He sensed its fear and soothed it mentally.

  "No, it wasn't safe for him there. He's moved into the Riverfront District. The people there won't betray him after he saved them, and the city guard won't go in there for fear of their lives."

  "I don't suppose the mob is going to recognize us as being loyal to the marquess."

  "Probably not."

  "Joy."

  The Merchants' Quarter was in good condition, Tebrey noticed as they rode through the narrow streets. None of the houses were burning. He winced as they came to the gate to the Riverfront; the guards had been torn apart. It took Jeroen a few minutes to convince the men holding the gate to let them through. It was only Jeroen's men's livery that convinced them. They wore the colors of the marquess.

  The Riverfront District was devastated. It had never been a pleasant place to live – it was home to most of the city's poor – but now half of the buildings had been put to the torch, and the other half were burning out of control. Between the mobs and the Praetorian Guard, the whole district looked to be razed to the ground before the week was over.

  Tebrey could see evidence of how fierce the fighting must have been. Dead soldiers and civilians lay in drifts along the streets. The ground was soaked in blood, and insects and carrion birds had already begun to work on the bodies. In the late summer heat, the bodies were going to putrefy quickly. They'd have disease if they didn't get the mess cleaned up soon.

  The marquess may have intervened, but the emperor was probably going to have his way after all. Between the fires and disease, and those who had been killed already, Tebrey didn't see much hope for the people in the district.

  The smoke was thick, and several times they were almost attacked by forces loyal to the marquess before they could declare themselves. It was chaotic, and Tebrey felt overloaded by the time they arrived at the fortress that guarded the port.

  "Here we are," Jeroen said. "The men will wait here with the horses."

  Jeroen led him into the house, past the guards and the soldiers cleaning and sharpening weapons. Tebrey was surprised to see primitive firearms among the weapons. It was the first evidence he'd seen that they had gunpowder. He mentioned this to Jeroen, who shrugged.

  "They aren't very reliable," he said. "But my uncle likes to be prepared for anything."

  "I'm just surprised to see them."

  "Why?"

  "I don't know."

  Jeroen gave him a quizzical look, but the guard captain saved Tebrey from explaining further.

  "My Lord Jeroen, I'm glad you made it back. I'm to escort you directly to the marquess."

  "That's why we are here."

  "Yes, my lord." He gave Tebrey a suspicious glance, but must have had orders concerning him. "Please follow me."

  The marquess was standing over a map of the city spread out on a table. Several of his commanders were discussing the situation with him. He gestured the men out as Jeroen came in with Tebrey.

  "Well, Lord Tebrey, you may get a chance to earn your title of Lawbringer."

  "Marquess," he replied with a slight bow. "I'll help all I can, but I can't fight an army for you."

  "I don't expect you to," he answered. "Good to see you made it back in one piece, Jeroen. Any trouble?"

  "Nothing much, uncle. The men you supplied took good care of me."

  "Good." He turned back to Tebrey. "The situation in the city has become bad, as you could probably tell. It isn't safe for your people here anymore. I've made arrangements to get them safely out of the city. They can go to my summer chateau in the mountains. As I said, I'd like for you to stay, though."

  "Of course."

  "Jeroen, I want you to go with them."

  "Uncle! I want to stay here and fight!"

  "None of your no
nsense, boy! You'll obey me!" His gaze softened after a moment. "Jeroen, I need you to do something very important for me. Something that I can't afford to do myself."

  "You just want me out of the way."

  "Yes, I do," the marquess replied. "But that doesn't diminish the importance of the mission that I have for you."

  "How can I serve you?"

  "First, I want you to escort Tebrey's people out of the city. Then I want you to take word to the troops stationed outside the city. I'm hoping that the commanders will still be loyal to me and the Empire, and recognize that the emperor needs to be overthrown."

  "I'm honored, uncle."

  The marquess smiled. "Then take your smug self out and give word to my commanders. You'll need wagons for the scholars."

  "Right away." Jeroen gave Tebrey a grin and left the room.

  "I assume that you have something special in mind for me?" Tebrey asked.

  "Jeroen told me of how you rescued your sergeant."

  "About that," Tebrey said. "I'm sorry about your other nephew. I didn't know."

  "These things happen in war," the marquess replied pragmatically.

  "Still, I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do once he'd been exposed to the radiation."

  "Jeroen said you didn't have an antidote. I'm sure you would have provided it if you'd had it. Jerrod knew what he was doing when he aligned himself against me. He would have known that the sergeant was under my protection. He got what he deserved for resorting to such cowardly tactics. We'll speak no more of it. We have other things that are much more pressing."

  "As you wish."

  "Jeroen said that you were able to navigate through those tunnels under the city."

  "Yes."

  "Do you think that they lead to the center of the city? To the palace?"

  "I would assume that they are under the entire city."

  "I want you to lead a team of my men and take the palace from within."

  Tebrey caught his breath. That was going to take some planning. "Okay. Are you going to wait until the other troops arrive?"

  "They won't make it here in time to make any difference. I'm not going to sit in this fortress and allow the emperor to burn the city down around me. I'm not going to let him continue to kill my people."

  "You plan to be the next emperor?"

  "You don't want it, do you?"

  Tebrey laughed. "No, thank you."

  "I didn't think so, but someone has to take over. I may be biased, but I feel that I have the best interests of the people in mind."

  "For what it is worth, I think you'll make a good emperor."

  "Thank you."

  "Now, what exactly do you want me to do?"

  "I want to capture the emperor alive. I want to hold trial and publically execute him, nothing secretive. He has to die where people can see it, so they will believe it. The man has to pay for his crimes."

  "How sure are you that he is responsible?"

  "Always the Lawbringer, eh? He is the emperor. He is responsible for the safety of his people. He ordered them killed. He has to be punished."

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  "Tebrey! What's going on? How did the meeting go?" The scientists and students gathered around him when he and Jeroen returned. He gestured for them to enter the parlor and tried to ease their concerns. Their need for information was like a physical thing. He noticed that Anderson was nowhere to be seen. Thank god for small favors, he thought.

  "Everything is going to be okay. I need for everyone to remain calm," he began.

  "What happened with the marquess?" Bauval interrupted.

  "I was getting to that. The marquess has asked me to remain and give him assistance in liberating the city. The rest of you will be escorted out of Bellejor to his chateau in the mountains, where you will be safe. You can take your books and such with you when you leave, but leave you must. This is non-negotiable."

  There was a babble of complaints, but Bauval's voice cut across them. "Commander, we can't do a forced march into the mountains carrying heavy books."

  "You won't have to," Jeroen said. "My uncle is sending wagons."

  "How long do we have?" someone asked.

  "Hours at best," Tebrey replied. "The city is rapidly falling into civil war. Soon it will engulf all of the quarters and districts, and no place will be safe. The marquess is trying to minimize the damage and keep this from spreading out to the rest of the Empire. You need to get packing now."

  "All right people," Bauval said. "You all heard the commander. Pack only what you most need. Ramon? Why don't you supervise the packing of the books and papers into those trunks. Tie the books together in stacks if you run out of space. Mason and I will pack our food. No sense in leaving that. Everyone else, either help us, pack your own stuff, or stay out of our way."

  Ana tugged at Tebrey's arm.

  "What about me," she asked quietly.

  "I want you to go with the others," Tebrey said. "Stay close to Christopher; she'll take care of you."

  "I don't want to be separated from you."

  "Ana, I'm going to be fighting. Things here in the city are going to get extremely ugly. You can't be a part of that, and I need to know that you're going to be safe. Please," he pleaded. "Please, I need to know that nothing is going to happen to you."

  "You will come back for me?" she asked plaintively.

  "Ana, love, you know I'd never leave you. We won't be separated for that long, a few days at most, I promise. The marquess has a plan to end this quickly. I think it's a very good plan. My part in it is very small but important. Once I do it, I can leave the city and go to the chateau. Then things will be safe for everyone."

  She nodded and pressed herself close, her head against his chest. There was nothing else to say.

  That afternoon, Sergeant McGee escorted a guard captain into the house as Cook and Stevens stood watch on the gate. They were taking no chances with anyone and had their laser rifles ready and armed. McGee kept his pistol trained on the man's back the entire time, even though his weapons had been left outside the gate.

  "Lord Jeroen, sir," McGee said as they entered the study. "A Captain Vareth to see you."

  Jeroen looked over from the window. He had seen the captain and his men come up to the house. Even though they wore the livery of the marquess, he hadn't been sure whose men they were until the sergeant escorted Vareth in the door. The men were bloody, clothes torn. But he knew this man well. Vareth had always served his uncle faithfully, and he was on the list of loyalists that Jeroen's uncle had made him memorize. "Good to see you, Captain." He gestured for the man to approach. "Thank you, Sergeant." He nodded for McGee to leave. "I'll be fine."

  "I'll be just outside the door, sir," McGee said with a final glare at the captain. He turned and shut the door behind him.

  "Well," Vareth said. "I'd wondered what had become of you, my lord. I had heard that you were in town. Your new friends are quite interestingly equipped."

  "Under the circumstances, my uncle felt it best that I lie low for a while," Jeroen replied. "Would you care for a glass of wine?"

  "No, thank you, sir. I feel I should dispatch my duty to you as soon as possible."

  "Very well," Jeroen said with a sigh. He had hoped that there would be more time.

  "The marquess has requested that I escort you and your companions safely from the city within the hour. He feels that the situation has become – how shall I say it? – volatile."

  "So I understand," Jeroen replied. "When I talked to him earlier, he thought it would be a day or two before it became necessary. What has changed?"

  "There is civil unrest amongst the lower classes, sir. City guards have been attacked by mobs in all quarters; several have been killed. There is open fighting by the imperial palace. One of the Praetorian cohorts has been attempting to carry out the emperor's orders, on the whole city."

  "By the gods," exclaimed Jeroen.

  Captain Vareth smiled humorlessly. "My division has been
sent in to stop them."

  Jeroen took a quick breath. "So it is to be war," he said. He had so hoped that the coup would be peaceful, the way his uncle had originally envisioned it. He knew his uncle had something special in mind for Tebrey, but not what.

  "It looks that way, sir," Vareth said, nodding. "We don't have much time. I have two wagons and a few spare horses for those who can ride. As I said, we need to leave within the hour. The fighting is threatening to spread quickly."

  "I can well imagine," Jeroen replied. "Very well, let's get these people moving. They have been packing since this morning. Can you spare a few men to help carry goods? These books should all be saved if possible."

  Vareth eyed the stacks of books around the room and sighed. He should have known it wasn't going to be easy. "I'll detail men to it, sir, but we may not have room for it all."

  "I understand," Jeroen said. "Well, we'll do what we can."

  "It's all we can ever do, my lord."

  "How far is it to the chateau?" Bauval asked as he climbed into the wagon.

  Jeroen leaned in from where he sat on his horse. It had taken longer than an hour to get the scholars and their books loaded. Captain Vareth was chafing at the delay. He'd had to detail men to appropriate another wagon to hold everyone. "It's two days' ride to Paridor, and another from there to the chateau in the mountains. I'll ride with you to there, but then I'll have to carry on my uncle's message to the units camped on the border."

  "How far do you have to go for that?"

  "Not far," Jeroen replied. "A couple of hours, at most."

  "Do you think the other divisions of troops will rally to your uncle?"

  "I hope so. If they decide to side with the emperor, they'll execute me for treason. If I'm lucky."

  "If you're lucky they'll execute you?" Bauval asked with raised eyebrows.

  "Oh, yes, it would be much worse if they brought me back to the emperor for punishment. He has particular ways of entertaining himself. I'd still be dead, but it would be a lot less pleasant than a clean sword stroke."

  "I don't envy you what you have to face."