“We don’t want him for any crime he’s committed,” Alabaster replied. “The robot is in possession of important intelligence that is vital to the Empire. I am tasking you with tracking him down and bringing him in safely for interrogation.”
“Safely?” inquired Boone. “Wouldn’t it be easier just to EMP him and yank his memory banks?”
“Normally, yes,” said Alabaster. “But not only is this particular robot a sentient A.I. and therefore technically alive according to Regal law, it also happens to fall under a direct order of protection from Princess Glorianna herself.”
Boone looked at Alabaster, mildly surprised. “A robotic criminal under the direct protection of the Princess? I take it back. Now I’ve heard everything.”
“I want you to start trying to locate him immediately,” Alabaster said. “He arrived here in Capitol City two days ago and promptly gave us the slip. I’ve had the city surveillance network scanning for him, but he seems rather adept at keeping out of sight. Most likely he’s hiding somewhere in the lower stratums where we don’t have as many eyes.”
“Or he’s off planet completely,” theorized Boone. “You realize, if that’s the case, it will be almost impossible to track him down.”
“Something tells me this particular robot will not stay hidden for long,” said Alabaster. “Most likely he’s still in the city plotting some type of criminal activity. Best you find him before he causes any unnecessary trouble.”
“And if he does start causing trouble?” Boone asked. “Just how far does this Royal Protection order extend, Chief?”
“We will cross that bridge if we should come to it,” replied Alabaster with a sigh. “For now, just find him. The sooner the better.”
Boone nodded. “I’m on it,” he said. “Is there anything else?”
“No,” stated Alabaster as he packed up his things for his briefing. “I’ll have all the relevant intel transmitted to your station. You will have as many resources as you need for this assignment. All I ask is that you complete it as quickly as you can.”
“I shall hit the ground running, sir,” Boone said, flashing his trademark cocky smile before taking his leave.
When Boone had gone, Alabaster began making his way to the teleportation station. Capitol City was so large, and the supertowers so massive, it was necessary to travel via teleportation to get anywhere in a decent amount of time. Because Capitol City was now the seat of power in the Empire, the supertowers had become quite an important feature. With a hundred planets represented, there were incredible influxes of population from all over the universe. The lesser populated planets didn’t warrant their own supertowers, but the larger planets would have millions of their inhabitants moving to or visiting the capitol. When they did, they often wanted a place which was representative of their home planet, which different towers provided. If it were not for the gigantic structures, there simply wouldn’t be enough room in the city for everyone who was there. This meant they were great for housing the population but not so great for getting around easily.
The Capitol Tower was the seat of the Regalus Government. It housed all the major branches of the Empire, such as the Judiciary, the Council of Juniors, the Council of Elders, and the Directory, not to mention all the various offices, committees, agencies, emissaries, ambassadors, and support staff. For the sake of convenience, all the government officials and their families tended to live within its walls. The five members of the Directory, the Empire’s executive body, lived toward the top of the tower, which was where Alabaster was now headed.
He was the first to arrive in the secure briefing room, as always. It was located in the middle of the level’s floorplan, built with shielded and re-enforced material to prevent any and all types of surveillance. However, the walls were all outfitted with digital windows that wrapped around the length of the room, making it feel like it was overlooking the bright, shining city of the Capitol.
A pentagon-shaped table, where the Directors would all sit for their briefing, rose up from the middle of the floor. As Alabaster networked his datapad with the room’s computer, he tried to imagine how the different Directors would react to what he was about to share with them. Though all five members collectively ran the Imperial Government, they each had a great deal of autonomy over how they governed their individual sectors of the Empire, which meant they didn’t always operate in concert with one another. He’d found this particular incarnation of the Directory extremely difficult to deal with, since they were often at odds.
Alabaster kept extensive files on all the Directors, most of which he made a point to commit to memory. He had a descriptor for each Director which he assigned in his head, to help him remember how to best deal with each one.
There was Spetiels Phenberg, the visionary. He’d spearheaded many popular government reforms after the fall of Regalus Prime, helping to return more power to the planets so that they could better govern themselves and defend against an attack. Though many of his innovations were good, Alabaster suspected he did them more for political gain than from actually believing in their merits.
There was Bickmort Zersee, the pious. He was a devout member of the Church of the Great Observer, and a champion of its faithful followers. Being the primary representative of the Empire’s official religion within the Imperial government made him very popular, even across star system borders, which meant he had a great deal of political clout. However, his ridged adherence to the tenants of his faith did not always jive well with the practical reality of governing.
The name Alabaster had for Cam Jamerones was “The Hammer.” He was a gruff, no-nonsense type who had little patience for pleasantries. He was known to force through his initiatives when he was a member of the Council of Elders by bullying the other representatives into backing him. Though he could be aggressive and overbearing, he was exceptionally skilled at cutting through red tape and actually getting things done. However, Alabaster did not always agree with what the man wanted done.
Then, there was Letty Ridsco, the idealist. He was the oldest of the bunch, and yet despite his age and experience, he still stuck to many lofty and naive ideals, which most seasoned politicians would have given up on long ago. This made him a real man of the people, and he was quite popular with the working class of the Empire. However, after extensive dealings with the man, Alabaster had serious doubts as to how bright he was. It’s one thing to be good at shaking hands and giving rousing speeches; it’s quite another to be good at actually leading and governing.
Finally, there was Uleeg Casgor.
Alabaster’s term for him was “the cunning.” If ever he’d met a true politician, Casgor was it. Smart, ambitious, and ruthless to a tee. Before Regalus Prime had been destroyed, he’d been a bureaucrat of little merit, relegated to overseeing some oversight committee on an outpost of the Rim. But he’d quickly capitalized on the fear and tragedy of Regalus’s destruction and had created a coalition of Rim colonies and settlements to help propel him into power. His close friendship with Legacy Skyborn, the biggest Legacy of the Rim, didn’t hurt either. Alabaster had also seen plenty of proof that Casgor wasn’t afraid to play dirty when he needed to. The Director’s machinations within the Capitol had garnered him quite a fearsome reputation, and many learned the hard way what would happen to their careers should they cross him.
Director Casgor was the last to arrive for the briefing. He was clad in the typical formal robes of a member of the Directory. Today, they were burgundy with a deep purple vestment which sported the golden eye of the empire. His wavy salt-and-pepper hair was neatly combed, and his puffy face was framed by a white beard which was long enough to hide his bulbous neck. He wore wire-framed infoglasses, which were networked right to his compucrat android, allowing him to call up any and all information he needed during briefings and making him look more dignified than his humble origins would lend themselves to.
“Gentlemen,” Casgor said in greeting as he made his way to his chair.
“You’re late, Uleeg,” grumbled Jamerones. “This is a blasted priority one briefing.”
“My apologies,” Casgor said as he sat down. “There was an uprising in the mining outposts of the Glamouria moons last night. They’ve declared themselves an independent republic free from Imperial rule. As you can imagine, it’s been quite a busy morning.”
“It seems like more and more Rim outposts are rebelling lately,” said Phenberg. “We really should start looking at the concept of allowing them to be commonwealths of the Empire, as opposed to official territories.”
“Please, not this debate again,” moaned Ridsco, rolling his eyes.
“All I’m saying is that the Rim settlements are far too remote to effectively enforce direct Imperial rule,” pressed Phenberg. “If we were to allow them more autonomy—”
“Then they’d be breaking off left-and-right because they’d get it in their heads they don’t need us,” snapped Jamerones. “The Empire cannot survive on matter replication alone. The process takes far too much energy. Those Rim mining colonies are vital for providing the resources we need to exist.”
“This is why I feel it necessary to send more missionaries to the Rim,” spoke up Zersee. “Religion can tie together a people far better than government can.”
“Taking the power away from us and delivering it to the Church,” said Ridsco. “And history has proven that type of thing never goes wrong.”
“Gentlemen, please,” said Casgor, raising his hand to quiet the group. “I’m sure Chief Alabaster did not call us all here to debate Imperial control of the Rim in front of him. As was so kindly pointed out to me when I arrived, this is a priority one briefing. So, Phineas, what important matter do you have to discuss with us today?”
Alabaster cleared his throat. “Two days ago, Princess Glorianna returned from her expedition to the alien planet Earth,” he stated.
A look of surprise and relief washed over the faces of the Directors. “Praise the Great Observer!” said Zersee. “She’s alive!”
“That is excellent news, indeed,” said Ridsco. “Did she give any explanation as to why she hadn’t communicated with the Capitol in a month?”
“Forget why she hadn’t communicated with the Capitol,” growled Jamerones. “I want to know why we’re only now hearing about the Princess’s return two days after it happened.”
“Upon arriving, the Princess immediately invoked Protocol 13,” Alabaster replied. “I’m afraid that prevented me from informing you until such time as it was lifted.”
“Protocol 13?” said Phenberg, looking troubled. “Is Princess Glorianna all right?”
“She is,” replied Alabaster. “She returned on a spaceship of unknown origin with a group of unknown individuals. After debriefing the Princess and her companions, I was able to get a sense of what had happened to her and why she’s been out of communication for the past month.”
“Well, don’t just beat around the bush, man,” said Jamerones. “Let’s hear it!”
Alabaster paused, being sure to pay careful attention to the reactions he knew were about to follow. “It would appear as though the Deathlord Planetkiller fleet has been completely destroyed.”
Everyone looked at each other in shock. There was a long moment of silence as the brains in the room processed the news. “The Planetkiller fleet,” said Ridsco, leaning forward in his seat. “The entire Planetkiller fleet? It’s been destroyed?”
“According to the Princess, yes, sir, it has,” Alabaster replied.
The looks of shock quickly turned to ones of amazement and curiosity. “Great Observer,” muttered Zersee. “Do you know what this means? For the first time since Regalus Prime fell, the Empire is safe! Without their fleet, the Deathlords will not be able to destroy any more planets!”
“Now, hold on just one moment here,” interrupted Jamerones. “Do we have any proof that what Princess Glorianna is telling us is true? Her Highness has been gone for the better part of a year. We’ve had no contact with her expeditionary force for the past month. She left here with only four warships. If four warships were enough to defeat a fleet of Planetkillers, we’d have won this war long ago.”
“Perhaps she found the Ancient weapon she was searching for?” replied Ridsco.
“Perhaps we should let Chief Alabaster finish his briefing and find out, hmmmm?” said Casgor softly. All eyes returned to Alabaster.
“Thank you, Director,” Alabaster said. “I’m sad to report that according to the Princess and her companions, all four of our warships were destroyed by the Deathlords, including another planet.”
“Dear Observer,” lamented Zersee. “Which one?”
“It was the planet of Earth, Director,” said Alabaster. “The one where the Princess was searching for the Ancient weapon, in the Taligari section of the Expansion Zone.”
“Well, at least it was some backwoods world instead of a member planet,” said Ridsco. “The Taligari section is largely devoid of life, and there are no Imperial colonies there. Earth’s loss is not a great tragedy.”
“Apparently, that’s not exactly true, Director,” said Alabaster. “One of the Princess’s companions, a boy she credits with the destruction of the Planetkiller fleet, was an inhabitant of Earth. According to him it had billions of sentient beings on it, all of whom closely resembled Regals.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” said Jamerones. “Did you just say… a boy was responsible for taking out the Planetkiller fleet?”
“That is apparently the case, Director, yes.”
The Directors all shared a skeptical look. “I say,” mused Zersee. “Is he some type of ‘chosen one’? Is there a prophecy we’re not aware of? Something about a savior from an unknown world?”
“Criminy, Bickmort, would you lay off the prophecy nonsense for once?” replied Phenberg.
“Phineas,” said Casgor, “would you be so kind as to just cut to the chase and tell us what happened?”
“As I previously said, two days ago, the Princess returned to the Capitol on a ship of unknown origin, along with a small group of companions. These companions are Professor Thadius Green, a Trundel scientist from the Imperial Exploration Department, as well as this Earthman, a Rognok, a Visini, and a robot. They claimed to be the only survivors of the Princess’s expedition to the planet Earth.”
“Did I just hear you right,” asked Ridsco. “A Rognok, a Visini, and a robot?”
“That is correct, Director,” replied Alabaster. “Each one of their stories about the events surrounding the destruction of the Planetkiller fleet seems to match up, except for the robot’s. At the time of their arrival it was not known the robot was actually a sentient A.I. It asked to be taken to Maintenance for repairs where it then disappeared. I have men out looking for it, but according to the others, the robot is a known criminal in a few star systems and probably will not want to be found.”
“A robotic criminal?” said Director Phenberg, as though he didn’t believe it.
“Apparently the Rognok, the Visini, and the robot were all prisoners aboard a Deathlord mothership. The Visini and the robot were both captured when the mothership attacked a prison transport they were on. I’m still trying to determine how the Rognok ended up on the Deathlord ship.”
“I don’t understand,” said Zersee. “Deathlords don’t take prisoners.”
“Apparently, they do,” Alabaster said. “It would seem they run their ships off the lifeforce of living beings. They collect them and use them as fuel.”
An uneasy murmur went through the room. “That would explain the disappearance of some of our colonies from the Rim and the Frontier,” said Phenberg. “If they require lifeforms to fuel their ships, then the attacks on the smaller colonies now make sense.”
“It would also explain why it takes so long for them to attack planets,” muttered Jamerones. “If the fleet had to amass fuel after each attack, then that answers why they simply haven’t been annihilating member planets constantly after they atta
cked Regalus Prime.”
“Indeed, it would appear the Princess discovered quite a bit from her ordeal we did not previously know about the Deathlords,” said Alabaster.
“Which I’m sure we’ll all learn about in time,” said Casgor. “But for now, I want to know the details of the Planetkiller fleet’s destruction. Did the Earthmen mount a counteroffensive? Were their spaceships advanced enough to successfully destroy Deathlord motherships?”
“No,” Alabaster replied. “In fact, the Earthmen were barely capable of spaceflight. The Princess and her companions escaped on a ship which appears to have been built by the Ancients and hidden on the planet. However, the ship seems to only respond to the Earthman who was in the Princess’s company.”
“The one who supposedly defeated the Deathlords?” asked Jamerones.
“The ‘Chosen One,’” corrected Zersee.
“Oh, would you shut up about that?” grumbled Ridsco.
“Yes,” said Alabaster. “Apparently, the Princess was captured by the Deathlords, who intended to use her to unlock an Ancient prison where a fleet of invincible spaceships was being held. The Deathlords apparently planned to use the fleet to systematically wipe out all life in the universe. The Earthman and his three companions somehow managed to escape captivity and come to the Princess’s rescue. They destroyed the prison the Deathlords had been trying to unlock, along with this so-called ‘Invincible Armada’ and the entire fleet of Planetkiller motherships. The Earthman even claims to have single-handedly defeated the Deathlord Supreme.”
“He… he what?” said Jamerones, his eyes wide.
“According to him, he defeated the Deathlord Supreme in a one-on-one face off.”
Another moment of silence. The Directors all eyed each other with looks of disbelief. “The Earthman defeated the Deathlord Supreme?” asked Jamerones again. “The boy? This single, alien boy?”
“The Chosen One!” insisted Zersee.
Earthman Jack vs. The Secret Army (Earthman Jack Space Saga Book 2) Page 6
