Behind Enemy Lines (Empire of Bones Saga Book 7)

by Terry Mixon

  Audacious could swat that ship down with zero effort. Hell, it could do the same for several of them, even without its fighters. Her little destroyer wouldn’t have had a chance.

  It didn’t take her long to forget about their surroundings, though. The more people she spoke with, the more confused she became. She followed Levy’s advice and asked a wide array of questions about people’s backgrounds and origins. She asked them what they knew about the fall of the dictatorship.

  Their answers were not what she expected. As with any group of people, there wasn’t a lot of consistency in the wording they used, and some even made contradictory statements. Just like she’d have found asking people back home about the fall of the dictatorship.

  Yet these people all seemed to believe that Levy’s version of the truth was what had really happened. More chillingly, even the lowest ranking of the crewmen spoke like someone born to the middle orders.

  They seemed educated and bright. Even more unusually, they didn’t have the general fear of officers that Fleet seemed to inoculate them with. Everyone she spoke to seemed reserved, but unawed by her, or even Captain Levy.

  It was surreal and more than a bit frightening.

  He allowed her to see her crew. He didn’t take her in to speak with them, but he did show her the large cargo spaces his people were using to hold them. They seemed to have everything they needed and were in good spirits.

  After watching her people interact with one another without interference from Levy’s people, she allowed him to lead her back to her new accommodations without comment.

  Two marines with rifles stood outside the hatch. They stepped clear to allow her access while still covering the doorway.

  She turned to Levy before she entered the suite. “I’m still not certain what you’re playing at. I’ll tell my officers what you’ve said and what I’ve heard, but I don’t expect any of us to believe this pile of horse manure.”

  He shrugged. “I can’t control what you believe. All I can do is make sure that you have enough data to make an informed decision.

  “Once you’ve slept on it, you might consider looking at some of the records available in the ship’s library. Then we can speak again.”

  She nodded and went into the suite. The hatch slid closed behind her.

  They’d already relocated her senior officers to the suite. They gathered around her and started asking questions.

  She held up a hand. “Let me sit down for a second. I need to get this straight in my head, and then I’ll brief you on what happened. The good news is that our crew is safe. I’ve seen them, and they’re in good spirits.”

  A lot of senior Fleet officers didn’t care how the lower orders fared, even under good conditions, but she’d surrounded herself with men and women who cared about the people under them. She was convinced that was why her efficiency rates for ship performance were so high.

  Someone brought her a cool drink, and she took a sip. After a moment, she set it on the coffee table and launched into a concise description of everything that had happened while she was gone.

  It would take a while, but the discussion afterward should be damned interesting.

  10

  Talbot guided the pinnaces down to an isolated spot. He’d sent drones ahead to be certain their landing zone was clear, so all he had to do was redirect them toward the cultivated fields after the pinnaces landed.

  The temperature outside hovered somewhere between cool and cold. There were no crops currently growing in the fields, but there was evidence that someone had tilled them recently. There were people around somewhere.

  He dispatched two squads to set up a perimeter around the pinnaces and then sent the drones farther afield.

  It only took twenty minutes to locate a village. The people were dressed in rough, homespun cloth. Their grooming was on the unkempt side. Definitely not an advanced people.

  The only people in sight were male. That seemed somewhat odd. Perhaps the women were inside the buildings, such as they were.

  The locals had used roughly hewn logs and stone to build their dwellings. A few of them looked somewhat lopsided. Definitely not put together by professionals.

  The drones were low profile, so he didn’t expect any of the locals to notice them. That gave him plenty of time to record them in their natural setting.

  That’s when the first of the incongruities appeared. Once he had the long-range microphones on them, he realized that their basic conversation didn’t match the technological level at which they were living. They spoke standard and occasionally mentioned things that were technological. Tablets mostly. They seemed to miss them.

  Talbot eventually decided that he wasn’t going to learn any more without approaching them. He weighed the pros and cons of appearing on foot or bringing one of the pinnaces in for a landing near the village.

  Since they seemed to have some understanding of high technology, he decided on the latter. There were fewer chances for misunderstandings that way.

  He did take the opportunity to relocate his marines closer to the village beforehand. If one of the locals tried something, he wanted his snipers in position to take them out safely.

  Once everyone was in position, he had the pilot bring his pinnace around and landed beside one of the fields nearest the village. He dropped the ramp and walked down it slowly.

  The air smelled of vegetation, and the wind bit at him through his uniform. He should’ve brought a jacket.

  The people in the village noticed the pinnace landing, of course. It only took a few minutes for a small delegation of men to approach. Their expressions were closed, their faces hostile. This didn’t look promising.

  “What do you want?” one of the men asked. “You’ve already collected your damned bounty for the year.”

  “I just want to talk,” Talbot said, his hands out to his sides a little. “There’s no need for trouble.”

  The men glanced at one another in evident confusion. The man who’d spoken seemed to consider Talbot’s words and then stepped forward. “Very well. Talk.”

  “Whoever you think I am, you’re mistaken. I just want to find out who you people are.”

  The man blinked in obvious surprise. “You know who we are. You come every year to take the crops you demand we raise for you. Why are you playing this game?”

  Talbot shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. We just arrived in this system and found the derelict ship in orbit. I have no idea who you people are.”

  His words caused more consternation amongst the men. They had a brief, emphatic discussion in hushed tones before the first man once more turned to face Talbot.

  “You’re telling me that you’re not one of those rebel bastards?”

  “Maybe if we start with a simple question. How did you people get here?”

  For the first time, Talbot saw something that looked like interest or excitement on the man’s face. “You’re truly not one of them? Are you with Fleet?”

  “I’m Major Russel Talbot, Imperial Marines.”

  The man took two steps forward and fell to his knees. “Thank the gods. We thought no one would ever rescue us.”

  Talbot smiled. “Well, we’ve found you now. Who are you, and how did you get here?”

  The man wiped tears from his face. “My name is Arthur Craig. I was a civil servant on Gibraltar before those bastards captured the freighter I was traveling on. They banished me here. They said all the higher orders were banished here.”

  Talbot checked the man. He had implants. They all did. Based on what he’d just heard, they were nobles from the Rebel Empire. Or at least wealthy families. They sure didn’t look like it now.

  The princess had chanced across a planet where someone—likely the ghosts—were putting their high-ranking prisoners. These people wouldn’t be at all happy to learn whom he represented. In fact, their corrupted implant code would force them to attack him if they knew.

  “I see. The people that captured you live s
omewhere else but force you to grow food for them. Is that right?”

  “Yes,” the man said. “It’s those damned ghosts. The gods only know how long they’ve been doing this. We’ve had contact with other villages where none of the original prisoners is still alive. Some of the villages claim they’ve been here since the despot was overthrown. Have you come to take us home? Please tell me you’ve come to take us home.”

  Talbot hedged his bets. “Since we’ve just found you, I can’t speak for my commanding officers about what’s going to happen next. We never expected to find anyone here, so they’ll need to devise a plan. I feel certain that they’ll wish to speak with someone to get more information.”

  The man surged to his feet. “I’ll go with you. I’ll explain everything. I even have some information about the ghosts. Critical information.” The desperation in his voice was painful to hear.

  The marine nodded slowly. “Very well. I can take you up to our ship, but I can’t say when you’d be coming back.”

  “I hope I never come back,” the man snarled. “This place is hell. A frozen hell.”

  Talbot sent instructions for the marines to regroup at the other pinnace and then gestured for the man to come with him. “I’ll take you up now. If your people have any specific needs that we might be able to meet, such as medical care, I’ll see to it as soon as we get to the ship.”

  “Thank you,” the man said, tears streaming down his face. “I thought this nightmare would never end. They make us live like animals just to feed them. They make sure to tell us about the warm, beautiful worlds where they take the women and the lower orders just to torment us.”

  The ghosts sounded like a bunch of asses. Or pirates.

  That explained why Talbot wasn’t seeing any women. The marine kept an eye on the rest of the men as he led Craig into the pinnace. He didn’t want them to rush him. He only spoke again once he’d safely closed the ramp.

  “Well, I can assure you that we’ll get to the bottom of this,” Talbot said. “Let’s get you strapped in and start up, shall we?”

  Annette walked into a compartment and eyed the researchers gathered there. It had taken her a while to figure out where the marines had stashed them. With over ten thousand people under lock and key, it wasn’t easy to keep track of specific individuals.

  Unlike the last set of people that she’d dealt with, these were all civilians. In fact, she couldn’t imagine a more diverse set of people. They ranged from young to old, male and female, and any number of body types. Many of them reminded her of Carl Owlet. She supposed that wasn’t surprising.

  This compartment had originally been a storage area, but they’d moved all the crates against the bulkheads. Someone had scrounged up a few tables and chairs to go with the bedding on the floor. They really needed to come up with a better way of housing so many people.

  She cleared her throat. “May I have your attention? My name is Annette Vitter, and I wish to speak with the most senior person.”

  A middle-aged woman with dark skin and curly hair rose from one of the tables. “I suppose that would be me. Jacqueline Parker. Is someone finally going to tell us what’s going on?”

  Annette gestured for the two marines at her heels to stay where they were and walked forward with her hand extended. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll do what I can to explain everything and try to reduce the stress that you’re undoubtedly under. Might we sit somewhere?”

  The woman gestured to the table that she’d risen from. “Join me. Who are you people? What’s going on?”

  Annette verified the woman had implants as she sat. She couldn’t tell her the unvarnished truth until they’d scrubbed the code. “I just need to verify some facts first. Once I’ve done that, we’ll give you an examination to be sure you’re healthy. Then I’ll explain why we’re here and what we intend to do.

  “Let me begin by assuring you that we mean you no harm. We are not going to hurt any of you. In fact, we’d prefer to be your friends.”

  The woman gave her a lopsided smile. “You certainly have an odd way of showing friendship. Well, it seems I have some time available in my schedule, so go ahead and ask your questions.”

  “Are you all scientists and researchers?” Annette asked.

  “Yes, though not all of the researchers are here,” the woman said, her expression strained. “Are they all right? No one’s been hurt, have they?”

  “No one has been harmed,” Annette said. “We just didn’t have room to place everyone together, and I’m afraid we didn’t realize we had missed some of you. If I could get a list of names, I’ll have them moved here so that you can all be housed together.”

  “That would be good,” Parker said. “It would take a lot of the strain off of my shoulders.”

  “What precisely do you do here?” Annette asked.

  “I work in the gamma lab. I’m responsible for the people there and the research that we conduct.”

  “What are you researching?”

  The woman smiled wanly. “It’s classified. I may be your prisoner, but I still can’t reveal the secrets of what we’re working on.”

  Annette smiled. “We’re going to find out one way or the other. Why don’t you make it easy on yourself and just tell us?”

  “Because I’d like to live,” the woman said.

  “It may not be readily apparent, but you’re safe now. No one is going to harm you.”

  “I don’t think you understand,” Parker said. “We physically cannot tell you any aspect of what we’re working on. To even attempt to do so would mean death.”

  Annette gestured around them. “No one can get to you here. You’re safe.”

  “You definitely don’t understand. We have explosive devices implanted in our skulls. If any one of us attempts to speak about classified projects with someone not cleared to hear the information, the explosive device will quite literally blow our heads off.”

  That information flabbergasted Annette. That was a new low, even for the Rebel Empire.

  Now she was afraid to ask the woman any further questions. She couldn’t risk someone with critical information blowing up in front of her very eyes.

  “I assume that it’s somehow linked with your implants,” Annette said. “Would it object to a medical examination? In other words, can we look at it?”

  Parker shrugged. “No one has ever had problems with an examination before, but these are new waters. None of us is particularly happy to have devices like that ready to snuff our lives at a moment’s notice. I’ll volunteer on one condition.”

  “What’s that?” Annette asked.

  The woman smiled widely. “I want us to get better food and some strong drink. It’s been a tough couple of days.”

  11

  Kelsey stood in Audacious’s landing bay as the cutter transporting the senior prisoners from the orbital landed. She’d decided it was time to relocate them. She had to admit she really wanted to meet this Castille. He sounded like quite the character.

  The marines escorted the prisoners off the cutter and herded them into a small group in front of her. She stepped forward and cleared her throat.

  “May I have your attention, please? My name is Kelsey, and I’m going to see you situated. I’d welcome you aboard Audacious, but that feels a little pushy. You didn’t exactly have a choice about coming over.”

  Commander Raul Castille stepped forward to meet her with his hand extended. “My name is Raul. I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but the circumstances are less than ideal. In any case, I suppose we’re at your disposal.”

  “Has anyone told you that you’re refreshingly honest, Commander?” Kelsey shook his hand. “Well, we might be enemies, but there’s no reason we can’t be civil. Perhaps even cordial.”

  He inclined his head. “This is also true. What do you have in mind for us? Forgive me, but I don’t know your rank. Or even your last name.”

  She smiled. “We’ll get to that in due time. First, let’s get you to the suit
e of rooms we’ve set aside for you. I assure you, they’re much more comfortable than the officers’ mess on the orbital.

  “Also, since you’re no longer aboard the orbital, we can remove the jamming devices that were blocking your implant access. The unclassified portions of our ship’s library are now available to you.”

  The other male senior prisoner stepped up to join them. “Forgive me if I seem to be butting in. My name is Edward Irons, and as the operations officer in charge of—or formerly in charge of— the Dresden Orbital, I must ask what you intend to do with the remaining prisoners.

  “The conditions that they’re being kept in are not conducive to good health. They need to be able to get out and move around.”

  Kelsey inclined her head toward him. “Commander Irons. We find ourselves in agreement. I want to move all the prisoners that we can, but it will take time to prepare accommodations that are more spacious.

  “I can assure you that our medical personnel will continue examining them and make absolutely certain that they are in the best health possible as we work on that.”

  The third member of the senior officers’ cabal stepped forward. “My name is Jeanette Martin. What are you going to do with us? How long are we to be your prisoners? When can I see the people I’m responsible for?”

  Kelsey held her hands out. “I will answer those questions as soon as we get you settled into your new quarters.”

  She looked over to where Commodore Murdock stood glaring at them. “It’s my understanding that you have placed some type of restriction upon Commodore Murdock. While it’s unusual for prisoners to have prisoners, we’ve decided to allow that.

  “One set of rooms in the suite can be secured from the common area. So long as you do not attempt to harm the commodore, we’ll continue to allow you to restrict her movement.”

  Kelsey gestured for the marines at her side to lead the way. The prisoners fell in beside her while the other guards brought up the rear.