“Assassination attempts?” said Jack, shocked.
“Yes. You see, up until now, the easiest way to secure their son’s position with the Princess was for the Legacies to eliminate their competition,” said Alabaster.
“And what’s changed?” asked Jack.
“The Princess almost dying, for one,” Alabaster replied. “She is the last direct bloodline to the original Emperor of the Regalus Empire. If the Deathlords had killed her, not only would the Empire be left without a ruler, but the fortunes of the Skyborn Legacy also would be undone. The Evenstars can trace their lineage back to Emperor Nameer, who ruled the Redwater system before overthrowing his tyrannical brother and assuming the throne. This means that should the Prime Legacy be wiped out with the Princess’s death, the Evenstars are next in line to succeed them. Because of the Princess’s close-call, the Skyborns are now pushing to amend their marriage contract and move up the wedding to lock in the marriage so their son has a claim to the throne should anything befall the Princess. But the second thing that happened to change the equations is far more worrisome…”
“And what would that be?”
“The death of Paragon Shepherd,” Alabaster said. “You see, Paragon Shepherd was instrumental in keeping Princess Glorianna safe. Though she has the Royal Vanguard, Shepherd was the second line of defense which no one could ever get past. The Vanguard can protect the Princess from external threats easily enough, but Shepherd was savvy to the way Imperial politics work, and he was able to insulate the Princess from the more duplicitous elements of her court. Shepherd dealt with the Evenstars and Skyborns and kept them at bay. He was instrumental in protecting Princess Glorianna from the internal threats that the brute force of the Vanguard are powerless against. But now that he’s gone, the Princess is in a precarious position.”
“How so?” asked Jack, suddenly dreading the answer he might receive.
“The obvious threat comes from the Evenstars. If the Princess were to die before she could be married, their Legacy would stand to inherit the Empire. So it is in their best interest to see her killed.”
“You gotta be kidding me!” exclaimed Jack. “They… they wouldn’t really do that, would they?”
Alabaster shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Regardless, if the Princess is able to marry Mourdock Skyborn as planned, then it would benefit the Skyborn Legacy to kill her and marry their son into another powerful Legacy, so that they can shore up their position and keep the Evenstars at bay.”
Jack blinked at Alabaster, unable to comprehend what he was hearing. “What???” he shrieked.
“The Skyborns do not have the resources of the Evenstars, who are an extremely wealthy Legacy,” Alabaster explained. “And the Princess, despite her lineage, will bring nothing to the table once the marriage is complete and the Skyborns have legal claim to the throne. If they were to remove the Princess and marry into another powerful Legacy, that would ensure that they not only keep the Imperial throne but also marginalize the Evenstars. So as you can see, both players have an interest in seeing the Princess dead, albeit at different times.”
“That’s… that’s….” sputtered Jack.
“Scary?” replied Alabaster. “Troublesome? Yes, indeed it is. Factor in that the Princess has enough to worry about with the Deathlords trying to kill her, and you can see that she is in a great deal of constant danger.”
“Does she know about this?” Jack asked.
“No, it would do her no good to be made aware of such things.”
“But you have to tell her!” insisted Jack.
“Even if I did, she might not believe me. The only person she implicitly trusted was Paragon Shepherd… at least, until you came along.”
Jack blinked at Alabaster. “Me?”
“What the two of you did tonight just proves how much she trusts you,” Alabaster said. “I had no way of verifying your story about your defeat of the Deathlords, but after seeing the two of you tonight, there is no doubt in my mind that your tale is genuine.”
“Thanks… I guess,” muttered Jack. “So is that why you’re telling me all this? Because you want me to warn her?”
“Ah, this is where Purefoy Harmston comes back into the picture,” Alabaster said. “For a long while now, I’ve suspected that there is a mole within the highest levels of the Empire. Someone who is conspiring with the Deathlords to bring about the downfall of everything we hold dear. It is this mole who tipped the Deathlords off to the Princess’s location when she visited your planet. It is also this mole who gave the Deathlords intelligence on our subspace communications system so they’d be able to bypass the Princess’s defenses undetected. I do not know who the mole is, but I suspect that it may be associated with either the Evenstars or the Skyborns.”
“You mean to tell me they’d actually work with the Deathlords to try and rule the Empire?” Jack said in disbelief. “That doesn’t make any sense! The Deathlords want to wipe out everything! Why would anyone want to help them?”
Alabaster gripped his Optiass stone and the board reset once more, filling up with various different types of pieces. “The Deathlords are just another piece in a much larger game, Earthman,” Alabaster said. “They have their own goals and desires, but they can be manipulated just like any other piece. If the Deathlords were to kill the Princess, that would open the way for the Evenstars to assume control. But then again, had the Deathlords succeeded in their plans, they may have used this armada of theirs to have destroyed the Evenstars, allowing the Skyborn’s to have seized control based on the legal claim the marriage contract gives them. It is hard to say which, if any, of these theories actually makes enough sense to be true. I have yet to be able to find any proof to verify them. But I do know one thing which is undeniably clear… the Princess is in grave danger, and it is only getting worse.”
Jack nodded. His head was spinning. Anna wasn’t kidding when she’d told him her life was complicated. He just hadn’t had any idea how complicated until it was all spelled out for him. “Can… can I do anything to help her?” Jack asked.
“I certainly hope so,” said Alabaster. “As you can see, I am in a losing position here. But I am hoping to pull off a Swindle that will not only save the Princess’s life, but also expose this mole and eliminate it. With the loss of Paragon Shepherd, I feared I might have to go it alone. But you, Earthman, may be exactly what I need to pull this off. You come from outside the system, are uncorrupted by its machinations, and are trusted by the Princess. Most importantly of all, though, I believe I can trust you to work in her best interest. Am I correct in assuming this?”
Jack nodded. “You are,” he replied.
Alabaster smiled. “I thought as much,” he said, before turning off the Optiass game and returning it to his pocket. “If you wish to protect the Princess, then stay close to her. But stay close to the Evenstars and Skyborns as well. Befriend them. Ingratiate yourself with them. See what you can learn from them and report back to me. And most importantly, trust no one.”
“Except you?” asked Jack, suspiciously.
Alabaster got to his feet and rested his hand on Jack’s shoulder, looking down at him. “You’ve made it this far trusting your gut. Go with that, if you must. But know that should you need me, I am an ally. There are enemies everywhere, my young friend. Some you can see. Some you can’t. I do not fear the enemies I can see. But I am terrified of the ones I cannot. And when those enemies are set to strike, those who stand alone have no hope of surviving. But if I am right about one thing, Earthman…”
Alabaster gave Jack a light pat on the shoulder.
“It’s that you’re a survivor.”
And with that, Phineas Alabaster walked out of the apartment, leaving Jack alone to ponder his words. Suddenly, Jack’s head began to ache again, and he massaged his temples with frustration.
I think I preferred it when all I had to worry about were Deathlords, he thought bitterly.
Chapter 15
Synth-music was playi
ng as holographic stills of famous people from around the Empire twirled by, eventually culminating in a title graphic which read – NEWSWORTHY: A Misty Merkel Special.
“Tonight,” said a deep-voiced announcer, “a Misty Merkel Exclusive…”
The picture faded to an image of Jack sitting in a chair, talking to someone off-camera. “Yeah, I was afraid,” he said. “Who wouldn’t be?”
“And yet, you still fought. You still persevered,” came a voice from off-screen. “How?”
“I guess…” said Jack, looking thoughtful. “I guess sometimes you just have to take control of your own destiny. No matter how scary it is.”
Then played an inspirational montage of Misty Merkel, Intergalactic reporter at large, showing her interviewing famous beings from across the Empire, interspersed with scenes of her reporting from various exotic locations. Text graphics flew across the screen, reading The Hero of the Empire – The Earthman Jack Saga, right before fading to Misty’s glamorous, yet professional, visage. “Greetings,” she said. “I’m Misty Merkel. A little over a decade ago, tragedy struck when the Deathlord Planetkiller fleet attacked and destroyed the Empire’s homeworld of Regalus Prime…”
Archival footage of the battle of Regalus Prime played as Misty continued narrating.
“Since that fateful day, it seemed like the Deathlords were unstoppable, as they systematically destroyed six more planets, killing billions, and creating chaos within the Empire.”
Sorrowful images of various alien refugees faded from one to another as Misty continued her introduction.
“Despite the Empire’s best efforts, it seemed the Deathlord menace could not be defeated… that is, until now…” The images faded back to Misty, who smiled into the camera as she continued to speak. “Recently, in a battle far, far away from civilized space, the Deathlords were dealt their first decisive defeat at the hands of a civilization that was, until recently, completely unknown to the universe at large. A species known as ‘Earthmen’ were finally able to destroy the Deathlord fleet of Planetkiller ships, but at the cost of their own planet. I am joined now by the last surviving member of the planet Earth, whose bravery and sacrifice has earned him the title of Hero of the Empire, an honor which has only been granted a mere twenty times in all of history. This hero’s name is Jack Finnegan, and believe it or not, he is only fifteen cycles of age.” The camera cut to a wider shot, revealing a rather uncomfortable looking Jack seated across from Misty as she turned to him. “Earthman Finnegan, thanks for agreeing to talk to me today,” Misty said.
“Uh… no problem. Glad to be here,” Jack replied with only a small fidget which signaled he might not actually be glad to be there.
“Let me just start by saying that I am so sorry for your loss,” Misty said compassionately. “I know every survivor of Regalus Prime can identify with how hard the destruction of one’s homeworld can be.”
“Yeah…” said Jack. “Thanks.”
“How has the loss of Earth affected you?”
“Um… it’s been rough,” replied Jack. “I mean, you know… it’s easy to forget it’s gone during the day when you’re walking around doing stuff and life just seems to go on. But it gets hard at night.”
“Why is that?”
Jack sighed. “Well, when I’m alone in bed and I close my eyes, I see the faces of my friends and family… the people I lost. And then I can’t sleep, because I’m afraid if I do, I’ll dream about them. And when that happens… I just don’t want to wake up. Because I’m back with them, you know? And I don’t want them to go.”
Misty nodded. “You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t lost a loved one because of the Deathlords,” she said. “Tell me about that fateful day the Battle of Earth took place.”
Jack shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Oh jeez,” he muttered. “Well, when the Deathlords first arrived… it was a complete surprise. No one on my planet was ready for them.”
“Yes, your planet was quite isolated in a part of space long believed to be completely devoid of life, outside of the Empire’s portgate network,” said Misty. “And yet, your planet also possessed advanced spaceships used to fight off the Deathlords. How is it a society with such advanced technology remained undiscovered?”
“Uh…” said Jack. “We just… um… I guess you could say we hadn’t had the advanced technology for very long? It was discovered shortly before the Deathlord attack.”
“So this fleet of Earthships was relatively new to your people?”
“Oh, totally new, yeah, that’s safe to say.”
“So your people hadn’t had time to explore or reach out to the universe at large yet?”
“Pretty much.”
“What was behind the decision to have children pilot these ships?” Misty asked. “You yourself are still considered a child, are you not? And yet, you’re a captain of one of these advanced vessels your people created. How does that work, exactly?”
“Well, back on Earth we had these… I guess you’d call them training simulators? And all the kids played them and got to be really good at them. In fact, I guess you could say some of us grew up playing them. And our hand-eye skills got really good, and we could beat most grown-ups at them, so I guess it just made sense to use us to fly the ships.”
“Fascinating,” Misty said, intrigued. “So the fact that you were still maturing and developing played a role in you being picked as a pilot?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that…” Jack replied. “You could also say that I just kinda lucked into it, too. I came from a small town, and I never dreamed I’d have my own car one day, let alone my own spaceship. But, uh… I guess fate had a different idea in mind.”
“So how was it that Earth came to be introduced to the Empire?”
“My planet had been discovered by an Imperial Expedition team. When they saw Earth’s Starfleet, they contacted the Capitol with their findings, and Princess Glorianna herself came out to try and recruit my people into the Empire.”
“That’s somewhat unusual isn’t it?” asked Misty. “For the Princess herself to make such a journey to try and convince your planet to join our ranks?”
“Um… well… according to her, she wanted our fleet because she knew how important we could be in defending other planets. So she felt it was necessary for her to approach us personally. But she also didn’t want to alert the Deathlords about us, so she tried to keep her trip quiet.”
“And yet, the Deathlords still found you?”
“Yeah, they did.”
Misty nodded. “So when the Deathlords arrived, the Princess was on your planet?”
“Yeah. Earth scrambled its military to intercept the Deathlord fleet as soon as it appeared. There was a massive battle. I don’t think the Deathlords were expecting such resistance.”
“And what was the Princess doing while the battle was going on?”
“Um…” said Jack, looking as though he were trying to remember his lines. “Paragon Shepherd got her off planet, into one of the Regal Battleships.”
“That’s right,” Misty said. “There were four Regalus warships involved in the battle, as well.”
“Yeah,” said Jack. “The Earth fleet started destroying the motherships, and when the Deathlords realized they were going to lose, they opened fire with their primary weapons and blew up Earth.”
“So you actually saw your planet get destroyed?”
“Yes, I did,” said Jack quietly.
“That must have been very difficult for you.”
“You have no idea,” replied Jack. “It was the worst moment of my life.”
“We know from previous battles that Deathlord Planetkillers seem to be able to survive planetary explosions unharmed. What happened after Earth was destroyed?”
“Uh, well… we’d been able to damage enough of the Planetkillers so that the bulk of them were actually destroyed when Earth exploded,” explained Jack. “There were only a handful of Earthships which survived the explos
ion, mine being one of them. We were joined by the four Regalus warships, and we continued to engage the remaining Deathlord vessels.”
“And in the ensuing battle, all the other ships were destroyed, except yours?”
“Yeah.”
“If the Princess was on one of the Regalus warships, how did she survive?”
“After the last Deathlord Planetkiller was destroyed, there was only my ship and the Princess’s warship remaining,” said Jack. “My ship was pretty badly damaged and the last surviving Deathlords had teleported onboard Princess Glorianna’s flagship in an attempt to capture her. Paragon Shepherd protected her until I was able to teleport her away. He then blew up the ship himself to ensure the Deathlords couldn’t continue to pursue us.”
“So Paragon Shepherd gave his life to protect you and the Princess…” said Misty somberly.
“Yes,” said Jack with conviction. “Yes, that’s exactly what he did.”
“Such a noble sacrifice,” continued Misty. “Paragon Shepherd was a true hero.”
“He was,” said Jack quietly. “If I could grow up to be half the man as him… well, I think it’s safe to say I’d be a great man.” Jack suddenly looked away, appearing to fight back some tears. Misty took that opportunity to look into the camera and smile compassionately.
“We’ll be back with more of my interview with Earthman Jack Finnegan – Hero of the Empire – after this…”
The holo-display paused as Verna Jajjimoor, Imperial Communications Supervisor, stepped in front of it. “The Misty Merkel Interview has been picked up in every major media market in the Empire,” Verna announced happily. “Everyone from the Great Border to the Rim has seen it. It’s breaking all ratings records. I’m pleased to say, the Earthman is a hit!”
Everyone around the half-moon council table in the small Situation Room nodded and murmured in assent. All except Anna, who continued to look at the holoscreen sadly. She could tell it had been hard for Jack to lie like that and repeat the story Director Casgor had constructed. But she could also see the kernels of truth he let slip by, and how they still affected him, just as they affected her. She couldn’t help but hope her advisors had been right and this was the best course of action for everyone involved.
Earthman Jack vs. The Secret Army (Earthman Jack Space Saga Book 2) Page 19
