Suddenly, Jack’s head began to ache.
“This can’t be happening,” Kimlee whispered to herself in disbelief. “This… this can’t be happening…”
Jack looked over at Amadeus, who was still in the middle of the Throne Room standing stiff as a board, his face a mask of anger and determination. His lilac eyes gazed defiantly at Anna.
“You do not have the authority!” Amadeus said loudly.
The commotion in the room disappeared as all eyes turned to Amadeus, looks of shock and surprise on almost every face. Anna gazed down toward him indignantly. “What did you say?” Anna asked, her voice cold as ice.
“I said, you do not have the authority!” Amadeus replied.
“I have all the authority I need!” Anna shot back. “I am your sovereign! I get to decide who inherits what Legacy!”
“No, only the Emperor has such privilege,” responded Amadeus. “You have yet to ascend to the throne. Therefore, Legacy Evenstar does not recognize your authority in this matter!”
With that, the room erupted into raucous commotion as Amadeus and Anna continued staring each other down. “SILENCE!” Anna screamed, instantly quieting the room as all eyes now focused on her. She glared down at Amadeus Evenstar with loathing. “I am the Blood of the Ancients,” Anna said. “Matriarch of Legacy Prime. Heir to the Imperial Throne—”
“And yet you do not sit upon the throne,” said Amadeus, not backing down. “Legally, we have not had an Emperor since your father, Tavlos the fourth. Until you are officially crowned, you do not have the power to divest anyone of their holdings.”
“I have all the power I need,” sneered Anna.
“Says every tyrant who thinks they are above the law!” shot back Amadeus. He turned to the crowd around him. “Is this what the Regalus Empire has fallen to? A puppet state where the Skyborns get to ignore the law to suit their own agendas?”
Half the room cried out in objection at Amadeus's words. Gebhard Skyborn stepped forward angrily. “How dare you make such an accusation!” he cried, his face flushing bright red.
“My father was assassinated, sir!” Amadeus replied sharply. “And now, the oldest Legacy in the Empire is being threatened with destruction by your presumptive daughter-in-law!” Amadeus turned back to the room. “I ask you all – who has more to gain with the removal of my Legacy than the Skyborns?” With that, Amadeus pointed accusingly at Gebhard, throwing the room into pandemonium as sides were quickly being taken and argued.
“My decision is my own!” shouted Anna above the commotion. “And your handling of this matter just proves that Legacy Evenstar seeks to undermine the throne and my rightful authority! You are a danger to the Empire and, thus, shall be dissolved immediately!”
“The only danger to the Empire I see is you and your reckless alliance with the Skyborns!” responded Amadeus. “You have already suspended the Directory – all but your crony, Casgor. Now you seek to squash all opposition to your actions to centralize control of the Empire in favor of your future husband and his Legacy? Not since Emperor Daemeer has such tyranny been on display!”
Anna straightened, insulted at Amadeus’s words. “I am Princess Glorianna of Legacy Prime,” Anna said through clenched teeth. “Blood of the Ancients, and heir to the throne of the Galactic Regalus Empire. I am your sovereign. I am your ruler. My word is the law. And I command you to relinquish your Legacy, under penalty of treason!”
“Legacy Evenstar does not relinquish!”
“You would disobey a direct command from Legacy Prime?” Anna asked.
“When it is unlawful and misguided, yes, I do!” replied Amadeus.
“Then you will be considered a traitor to the Empire, in addition to having your Legacy stripped from you,” growled Anna.
“So be it,” said Amadeus. “But until such time as you sit upon the throne that gives you the power to decree such a thing, Princess... Legacy Evenstar stands!” Amadeus turned toward the room once more. “Who will stand with us?” he shouted.
A roar rippled through the room as those in attendance began calling out. Shouts of “Independence” and “Down with tyranny” could be heard above the din. Amadeus and Anna exchanged one more contentious glance before he turned and marched out of the Throne Room, followed closely by those who were now supporting him. Anna watched him go, seething.
Kimlee turned to Jack, her face stunned and confused. “Um… about our date…”
“Yeah, rain check,” Jack replied, equally taken aback by what had just happened.
Kimlee quickly hurried out after her brother. Jack looked toward Anna as she huddled together with Casgor and Gebhard Skyborn. He fought his way through the crowd to try and get close enough to hear them. “Send the Royal Guards!” Anna snapped. “I want the Evenstars arrested immediately!”
“No,” replied Casgor, resting a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “Arresting them now would only give credence to their assertions that you’ve become a tyrant. They have far too many supporters as is. We need time to weaken them before we can take such an action.”
“And in the meantime, let them get away so they can shore up their resistance?” asked Anna.
“If they are back in the Redwater System trying to cling to their holdings, then they are not here stirring up trouble,” replied Casgor. “And I think it’s safe to say, Amadeus Evenstar seems quite adept at such a thing.”
“That was a shrewd move, comparing her to Daemeer,” grumbled Gebhard. “Considering the Evenstars can trace their lineage back to the brother that overthrew him and brought about a golden age within the Empire, he could very well have just set the stage for unseating Legacy Prime.”
“He’s treading on very iffy legal ground as it is. I doubt he has his sights set upon open rebellion,” replied Casgor.
“Is he right?” demanded Anna. “Can he simply ignore my decree?”
“Technically, yes,” Casgor replied. “It’s a small loophole in the Old Doctrine where the wording specifies that Legacies can only be granted and rescinded by the Emperor, and unfortunately, you are not sworn into the throne as of yet, Princess.”
“Does this mean her suspension of the Directory is illegal, as well?” asked Gebhard.
“No, under the New Doctrine, the wording includes Legacy Prime’s authority in the establishment of our current system of government,” said Casgor. “But regardless, it is now vital that she marry your son and assume the throne as quickly as possible. Once that happens, the Evenstars lose their leverage and become open traitors to the crown.”
“Legal age of assumption is eighteen cycles,” replied Gebhard. “Even if the two were married today, she is still two cycles away from legally assuming the throne.”
“Do not worry, I will push through the change,” said Casgor. “Now that I am the sole Director, it will be easy enough to amend the law with an emergency provision order to set the age of assumption to sixteen.”
“Do it,” ordered Anna. “I wish to marry and assume my birthright as soon as possible.”
Casgor bowed. “I will see it done immediately, Your Highness,” he replied.
With that, Anna turned and made her way to the private exit of the Throne Room, the Royal Vanguard in tow. Seeing his chance, Jack rushed by the sentries and followed Anna through the exit. When he got into the hallway, Anna was already halfway to the teleporter platform. Jack rushed forward, trying to catch her. “Anna!” he cried.
Quick as lightening, Seqis turned, placing his hand firmly against Jack’s chest and stopping him. “That’s far enough, Earthman.”
Jack looked at Seqis in surprise. “But, it’s me! I just need to talk to her!”
“The Princess does not wish to be disturbed,” Seqis replied. “Especially not by you.”
Jack gazed at the man, uncomprehending. Anna would never shut me out like this! thought Jack, alarmed. He looked at Anna, his head throbbing, as she continued to walk away, flanked by the three other members of the Royal Vanguard. “Anna!” Jack shou
ted. “Don’t you see what you’re doing? You’re tearing the Empire apart, right when it needs to be at its strongest!”
Anna stopped. For the briefest of moments, Jack thought he’d reached her. But when she turned to look at him, his head tingled and his vision blurred. When his eyes focused once again, an icy chill ran down his spine. A dark worm wriggled from the back of her neck, hissing at Jack. And when a sly smile crept across Anna’s face, that’s when the terrifying realization settled upon him…
…she knew exactly what she was doing.
Chapter 50
Boone’s eyes fluttered open. His head was still fuzzy, his body aching. He groaned as his wits slowly returned to him. What happened? he wondered. He remembered being trapped in the electrified cage as the robot criminal he’d been hunting laughed at him. Then, as his vision came into focus, the face of that very robot was there looking down at him.
“Oh, good!” Heckubus said. “You’re finally awake!”
Boone tried to move, but quickly discovered he was strapped, spread-eagle, to a heavy metal table that was propped up at an angle. He looked around at the restraints that held his wrists, ankles, and torso to the slab, suddenly alarmed. “What is this?” Boone demanded.
“This, is a restraint rack,” Heckubus said, gesturing to the table Boone was strapped to. “And this…” the robot said as he rolled out a strange contraption and set it in front of the table, “…is a death laser.”
Boone blinked at the device. It almost looked like a desk lamp with a really long neck mounted to a set of creaky wheels. It didn’t look as intimidating as the robot made it sound. Boone gave Heckubus his best give me a break look. “A death laser?” he said.
“It’s a laser that causes death. What would you call it?” Heckubus replied testily.
“So I take it you plan to kill me?”
“Torture first,” Heckubus clarified. “But, yes, eventually, I plan to kill you.”
“Mm-hmmm,” said Boone. “And why bother with the torture?”
“Because I wish to know just how much of my nefarious scheme the IIA is aware of, and how they plan to try to stop me,” Heckubus said.
“Stop you?” asked Boone.
“That’s why you tracked me down, is it not?” Heckubus said. “Obviously Chief Alabaster realized his error after I escaped his clutches at the spaceport and knew it was only a matter of time before I struck at the heart of the capitol.” Heckubus began to chuckle. “I can only imagine the look on his face when he realized that I, Heckubus Moriarty, the greatest evil genius in eight star systems, was here in the seat of Imperial power! Your lot must have been beside yourselves with panic this whole time, wondering what I was up to and when I would strike! Tell me, how big was the task force dedicated to tracking me down? Did they devote an entire level of the Capitol supertower to the manhunt? I’m just dying to know!”
Boone’s eyes narrowed as he processed Heckubus’s words. He glanced around at the area they were in, looking at the strange machine the robot apparently had been working on. So, he is planning something. Something big! And he thinks I came here to stop him. Boone turned his gaze back to Heckubus.
“Wow,” Boone said. “I wouldn’t have believed it possible if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. You are, without a doubt, the craziest, most delusional, malfunctioning A.I. I’ve ever had the displeasure of encountering.”
Heckubus chuckled derisively. “I am no mere A.I., fool,” he stated. “Organics such as yourself keep dismissing me as one, and they all eventually discover otherwise, much to their peril.”
“Yes, I forgot, you’re a sentient A.I.,” Boone muttered. “A so-called ‘living machine.’ Now I can understand why the Twilight Empire was such a blight on the universe. I can only imagine the horrors millions of self-aware robots caused if any of them were at all like you.”
“Oh, you don’t even know the half of which you speak,” Heckubus sneered. “But enough of the past. Let us get back to the present. What does the IIA know? Talk!”
“Never!”
“Talk!” Heckubus said again, holding up a remote trigger switch in his hand and jiggling it in front of Boone threateningly. “Because if you don’t, then I really have no further use for you. And if that’s the case, I’ll be sure to make your final moments in this life as agonizing as possible!”
Boone eyed the death laser nervously, wondering just how dire his circumstances truly were. He glared at Heckubus defiantly. “Do you expect me to beg?” he asked.
“No, Mr. Boone…” drawled Heckubus, savoring every word. “I expect you to die!”
With that, Heckubus clicked the remote trigger, activating the death laser. Boone cried out as the red-hot beam of death shot out, hitting the table between his legs. He struggled frantically against his bonds, trying in vain to escape.
“Mwuahahahahahaha!” the evil robot laughed. “MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
For the briefest of moments, Agent Boone was afraid he didn’t have long to live. What a way to go, he thought. Cut in half by a two-bit malfunctioning robot and his silly little death laser! But as he struggled to regain control of himself, he noticed that the death laser hadn’t seemed to have moved from the point on the table where it had originally hit.
Heckubus kept laughing maniacally until he too noticed the death laser didn’t seem to be moving. He regarded the laser for a moment, then tapped at it with his finger, as though to make sure it was actually working. “What the…” he muttered. “Why’s it… hmmmmm….” Heckubus twirled away from the table, looking off into the shadows of the generator room. “MINION!” he shouted. “ATTEND ME!”
Boone saw a tiny, malformed robot scuttle into the light, sidling up to Heckubus’s side. “Yes, Master?” it squeaked.
“What is this???” demanded Heckubus, pointing to the laser that was still blazing away at a comfortable distance from Boone.
“It’s your death laser, Master,” the minion replied.
“I know it’s my death laser, you twit!” Heckubus snapped. “Why isn’t it moving?”
“You said you wanted the laser to be exceptionally slow so that your victims could be in agonizing pain as they were cut in two,” the minion replied.
“Yes, but I did not mean for it to be so exceptionally slow as to not be moving!!!”
“Apologies, Master,” whined the minion. “You did not specify how exceptionally slow you wished the death laser to be, so I erred on the side of caution and made it as slow as I possibly could.”
Heckubus exasperatedly slapped his hand to his head, making a dull clanking sound as he did so. “I really must grant a bit more intelligence to my minion A.I.,” he muttered.
“Shall I adjust the speed to make the laser less exceptionally slow moving, Master?”
“No you imbecile!” cried Heckubus, delivering a swift kick to his minion and sending it scurrying away. “I’ll do it myself! You’ve already ruined the moment! The moment is gone!” Once the minion had disappeared, Heckubus turned back to Boone. “I do apologize for this,” Heckubus said, embarrassed. “You should really be in agonizing pain by now. Just give me a few moments to make some adjustments and we’ll be back on track…”
“Don’t hurry on my account,” muttered Boone as he frantically tried to think of a way to escape his current situation.
“Oh, it’s really no trouble,” replied Heckubus casually as he turned off the laser and began making adjustments to the mechanism to which it was attached. “I’m sure you’re as eager to get this over with as I am.”
“Not particularly,” muttered Boone.
“Ah, there we go,” said Heckubus as he finished adjusting the laser. “Now it should move at only an agonizingly slow pace, as opposed to an exceptionally slow one. Very well, shall we try this again? Go ahead, say that thing you said before.”
Boone looked at the robot incredulously. “Say what thing?” he asked.
“The thing about me expecting you to beg, and all that good stuff,” rep
lied Heckubus, looking at Boone expectantly.
“No,” said Boone.
“Oh, come on!” encouraged Heckubus. “It was so perfect! I got to laugh maniacally, you got to struggle against your bonds futilely… it was win-win! For me, anyway.”
“Robot,” sneered Boone, “if you think for one moment I’m going to give you any satisfaction over killing me… you best think again.”
It seemed as though Heckubus was about to reply when a voice emanated from the shadows.
“Heckubus,” it said.
Heckubus turned, staring off somewhere Boone couldn’t quite see. He saw the robot’s ocular orbs re-focus, the gears in its head whirring loudly. “You?” Heckubus said.
“I’ll explain everything,” the voice responded. “Can we talk?”
“Can you not see I am in the middle of something here?” Heckubus replied, gesturing to Boone.
“This is important,” said the voice. “Trust me, you’ll want to hear this.”
The robot hesitated a bit before finally saying, “Very well.” He turned to Boone and said, “I’ll be right back,” before hitting the remote trigger on his death laser and walking away.
The laser once again engaged, its hot red beam firing into the table to which Boone was strapped. The metal of the table slowly melted away as smoke rose from the laser’s contact point. This time, the laser definitely was moving ever so slowly up toward Boone’s crotch.
Boone looked over to his right wrist where he’d been able to loosen his restraints slightly. He folded his thumb toward his palm and tried to work his hand through the strap that was holding him there. He wiggled his hand frantically, trying to slip it out from under the restraint, but his hand was slightly too large to do so. He glanced back down at the laser and calculated that at its current speed, he wouldn’t have the time he needed to slip free.
He could hear the robot and someone else talking in the distance, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He began yanking at his hand, trying desperately to get free before the robot returned.
The laser kept creeping forward. He was still unable to make any progress in slipping his hand through the strap holding it to the table. To his horror, he realized he wasn’t going to be able to escape. The laser was just about to reach him when, suddenly, it shut off.
Earthman Jack vs. The Secret Army (Earthman Jack Space Saga Book 2) Page 56
