The Shattered Empire (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 2)

by Kal Spriggs

  Mason straightened and turned back to face Damien's crew and the now terrified women. “You all saw that, Damien drew on me, from behind.” His shoulder felt like it was on fire and he felt blood trickle down his back from the wound. He waved at the women, “Get out of here and spread the message.”

  His eyes went to Damien's crew. “Leave that piece of filth lie where he fell. I've got to go tell Admiral Mannetti what happened.” He stalked back through them and they parted around him. Dressed as he was, it would have looked ridiculous, except every one of them stank of fear.

  As he passed Lauren he heard her mutter, “Good riddance.”

  Mason shrugged and then winced as his shoulder throbbed, “I could have handled it better, I suppose.”

  “You handled it just fine,” Lauren said. “Frankly, if it was me, I would have just shot him first thing for what he was doing. This way you aren't in trouble for attacking him first.”

  “Yeah,” Mason said. Even so, as he stepped back onto his shuttle, he wondered if that was why he had done it. Did I really want to protect those women, he thought, or did I just want to kill the man that much? Mason found no answer in the privacy of his own mind.

  ***

  Admiral Mannetti stood behind her desk, her hands clasped behind her and her uniform spotless as Mason stepped into her office. He put as much of Stavros's swagger into his step as he could. “Admiral, I'm afraid I have to tell you of young Damien Walter's death.”

  “I already heard,” Admiral Mannetti said, her voice calm She stalked forward and stood in front of him, so he had to look down at her. “His executive officer reported in before you docked. There is even a video, from one of his men, of the entire encounter.” She stalked around him in a circle, “You are a devious man, Stavros.”

  “Admiral?”

  She leaned in close, as she made another circuit, her voice pitched low, “You knew that Damien was my favorite, didn't you, Stavros?”

  Mason shrugged and then winced again as the wound on his shoulder throbbed. Lauren had slapped some sealant on it, but it wasn't enough and he hadn't taken any painkillers yet. “I heard that, yeah,” he said in a bored tone.

  She paused in front of him and cocked her head, “But that upset you, didn't it, to see such a weak fool as my favorite. So you set him up, put him in a position where he had no choice but to attack you so that you could kill him... and take his place.”

  Mason opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Lucretta Mannetti pulled his head down to hers in a kiss. Her hot lips met his and an almost electric current went through him, along with a pulse of pure lust. Up close he could smell her, a scent of musk that almost overwhelmed him. Before he could respond to the kiss, she jerked his head back by the hair and slapped him, full on, “That was very bad, Stavros. I liked Damien. He did what I wanted, when I wanted... he was housebroken.”

  The slap made Mason's ears ring, but he welcomed the sudden sharp pain, it gave him a chance to get his own hormones under control.

  “You... you are definitely not housebroken,” Lucretta Mannetti said, her voice both sultry and dismissive. “But, you have a certain oafish charm about you.” She smiled at the expression on his face, “Yes, Stavros, you're cunning too, don't get me wrong, but you aren't smart. You have no idea what you're getting into with me, none at all... and since you did away with my... how did you put it, 'ball-less fuck-puppet' then I think you'll have to fill his shoes.” She turned away and the exaggerated swing of her hips suggested just what that would involve.

  She turned and went behind her desk and finally took her seat. “Now then, to business. You're a man of ambition, aren't you Stavros?” Mason felt far too discombobulated to speak, so he just gave her a nod. “How would you like to rule over part, a big part, of an empire?”

  Mason's eyebrows went up, “It could be a lot of fun.”

  Evidently, that was what she had expected to hear and she gave him an amused and condescending smile, “Yes, it could. A very lot of fun. But if you want that, you need to think big... stop thinking with your dick and use some of your cunning.”

  Mason stepped forward and took a seat. “I'm listening.”

  “There are people that I work with and for... we're trying to build something, to build a real power, not the broken down wreck that was Amalgamated Worlds or the kleptocracy of the Colonial Republic. A real empire, with an Emperor... and an Empress.”

  “And perhaps room for the Empress's favorite?” Mason asked with a leer.

  Her gaze went flat, “Perhaps, so long as he does what he's told and doesn't cause issues. Issues like killing off her allies nephew.” Mason frowned at that and she sighed, “See, if you had paid attention, you would have been able to find that Damien Walter was the nephew to President Walter of The Republic of Sedonia... who is Admiral Collae's brother in law.”

  Shit, Mason thought, I just killed Collae's family, there's no way he won't dig into my past now and if he looks close enough he'll see through it.

  “President Walter will not take this well at all, I'm afraid,” Lucretta Mannetti said. “Which means that they'll want your head on a spike. What's worse, you big dumb fool, is I need their help, so I can't be seen to favor you, even if I do want to rip off those hideous pants right now and make you mine.”

  “Ah,” Mason said. “I think perhaps we should discuss how I might survive the news that I've killed Admiral Collae's dearly departed nephew. Then we can get on to the pant-tearing.” He didn't have to entirely feign a slight note of panic in his voice.

  She gave him a level look. “I've been informed by my crew that some two hundred of the contract workers, almost all of them, want to take you up on your offer of transportation. That should go a long way to making you a favored son of Halcyon colony... which is good. For one thing, they'll protect you from Admiral Collae. For another, I want them to think you're a loyal servant to them... when we both know that there are far bigger stakes here.”

  “Empire, yes Admiral,” Mason nodded. “So I get their trust, then what?”

  “Leave that to me,” Admiral Mannetti said. “I've got some additional business to attend to after this raid is complete. So I won't have to be around to resist temptation... but you better believe we'll find the time when I get back.”

  Mason gave her a leer in his guise of Stavros, but inwardly he shivered at the animal way that his body reacted to her. His head felt muddled and his breathing unsteady. Some part of him responded to her with absolute desire while the rest felt nauseated and disgusted. His animal side, the wolf that Lan had spoken of, recognized the predator in her and responded to it... yet there was nothing else in the woman. To her, the universe was made up of predator and prey, hunter and food.

  “Well, you better run along now,” Admiral Mannetti said with a sly smile, “We wouldn't want anyone to start to wonder what we're doing here... or to get the wrong ideas.”

  ***

  Chapter XI

  Melcer System

  United Colonies

  October 30, 2403

  “...so you can see, Baron, the enemy is busy constructing a defense in depth of both the Tehran and Danar systems to oppose our assault on Nova Roma.” Captain Wu said. “The intent seems to be not only to slow us down but also attrition of our forces before what they see as the primary battle at Nova Roma.”

  “Yes,” Lucius nodded. It matched what he had expected, in many ways, though it showed an unfortunately acute determination of strategy on the part of the Chxor commander. He looked at Admiral Dreyfus who gave him a nod. “Thank you, Captain Wu. Before Captain Franks begins his initial briefing, I want to explain why we're bumping up our operations.”

  He stood and brought up an image of Shadow Lord Invictus's flagship, the Baramis. “I'm told that some of you would recognize this ship.” From the mutters around the room, more than a few did. “Admiral Dreyfus informed me that it was an alien ship, recovered by Amalgamated Worlds, and heavily researched. Apparently, Shadow Lord Invictu
s took it when the Shadow Lords sacked Earth. This is one trophy to them... and at this moment, all five of their fleets are poised to do the same thing at Faraday.”

  The mutters stilled. Even the men and women who Lucius suspected were part of the conspiracy to seize the fleet were still. “They are held at bay only because of a very delicate balance,” Lucius said. “And the longer we give them to wait, the more likely they are to pounce. Therefore, we need to finish our business with the Chxor and be back in position to guard our own base of operations before they find a way to break their stalemate.” It wasn't the whole truth, but Lucius didn't want the sordid tale of how the Shadow Lords had manipulated his grandmother's love life to suit their own goals to become common knowledge.

  “As Captain Franks is about to brief, we don't have time to marshal our forces, attack Tehran and then do the same at Danar, to then do the same at Nova Roma.” Lucius looked around the attentive faces and tried not to worry about how many of them were part of the plot against the United Colonies... or how many of them believed the rumors about him, anyway. “So instead, we're launching a simultaneous assault, on both Tehran and Danar. Admiral Dreyfus will command the assault on Tehran and I will command it against Danar.” It had been a long and frustrating argument to convince the Admiral of that necessity. Admiral Dreyfus still seemed to think it was some sort of honor-bound Nova Roma nobility thing that made Lucius want to lead that attack. Lucius just felt that it would be a harder fight and that he knew the Chxor tactics far better than the Admiral as well as knowing the system and having fought there before. And then there's the Admiral's lack of flexibility as far as fighter stratagems and tactics, Lucius mentally added.

  Tehran, according to their scouts, had fewer forces and looked to be the easier target, especially with a smaller assault force to engage it. Danar, on the other hand, was going to be one hell of a fight, Lucius knew. They had spent the past two days in constant discussion and planning. Even so, Lucius still felt like they needed far more planning to carry the complex operation out.

  “Now,” Lucius said. “Absent any comments, Captain Franks will begin to brief the operation.”

  ***

  Captain Daniel Beeson paused at the entrance to Baron Giovanni's quarters. The two Marines outside gave him a nod and he returned it, even as he ran their names past the growing list in his head of people he knew couldn't be trusted. They weren't on it, but that didn't mean that they shouldn't be thoroughly vetted. He would have to put Forrest Perkins on that, the ensign, despite his youthful, outgoing, and cheerful appearance had a very twisted mind and had proven very good thus far, at ferreting out people they could and couldn't trust.

  “Sir, just here with the reports,” Daniel said.

  The Baron looked up from his desk and he gave Daniel a nod. “Of course, thank you, Daniel, I appreciate it.” He didn't ask whether the reports were about the coming attack or about the conspiracy. Daniel figured it was because he didn't trust his quarters not to be bugged. Which said bad things about their internal security. Daniel mentally added a personal security detail to the list of things he needed to work. That, at least, he felt he could consult with either Alicia Nix of the FIB or Colonel William Proscia. The retired Marine officer was, officially, just in charge of the new Faraday Military Academy, but he also knew over a thousand Marines personally and had trained well over ninety percent of them.

  The Baron looked over the offered datapad and his eyebrows went up at the highlighted names. “You're certain about these?” He reached into his desk as he spoke and pulled out a small, black, box and turned it on. A moment later, a green light began to flash.

  Daniel looked at him curiously, and the Baron gave a slight smile, “Something my sister gave me, actually. It's manufactured on Tannis, designed to jam and override any bugs. She's modified it a bit.”

  Daniel wanted to wince at that. While he was sure the Baron had confidence in his sister's abilities, the people they were trying to uncover had killed before and would not hesitate to do so if they feared they would be revealed. Evidently he didn't hide his expression well enough and the Baron chuckled a bit, “Captain, let me assure you, I ran it past everything that Alicia Nix's people could put it through, it passed every test, even better than the factory specifications.”

  “Oh,” Daniel said. He shook his head, “My apologies, sir, I think the work is making me a bit paranoid.”

  “The work and the work load, I'd imagine,” the Baron responded. “I can't imagine acting as my chief of staff is easy, particularly when I'm still assembling a staff.”

  “Well, I'm managing,” Daniel said somewhat defensively. In truth, his assignment was exhausting... but it also gave him the perfect position to evaluate not just Admiral Dreyfus's staff, but also many of the senior commanders who interacted with them. What he had seen, thus far, was far from encouraging, he could privately acknowledge. Which brought him back to his report, “But yes, sir, I am certain about those names.” He grimaced as he said it, because of how bad of news that was.

  The Baron nodded, though his dark eyes showed he understood the dire situation well enough. “This reads like most of the logistical staff, short of Captain Magnani.”

  “I know, sir,” Daniel said. “And, honestly, I'm not sure how this could get by under her nose without her noticing something. There are massive discrepancies here, they've made entire cargoes of weapons, supplies, even fighters disappear. I would say it is ridiculous except I've gone over it all myself... twice.”

  “How did you get the real numbers?” Baron Giovanni asked as he examined the notes, which included page after page of discrepancies.

  “Forrest Perkins recruited a communications officer that he knew from the Melcer raid. She's very skilled with computers and she already had access. We're going to try to bring her over into your staff. Needless to say, she's also very loyal.” Michele Konetsky had somehow survived over five years aboard the Chxor mining craft, in conditions which killed most people off in a few months. She hated the Chxor with a passion... and especially hated any humans who opposed 'her' Baron, as she put it.

  “Excellent, I need a new communications officer,” Lucius said. Some edge of pain in his voice kept Daniel from asking what had happened to Commander Reese Leone-Giovanni. The rumors about that had become almost more viral than anything else and the addition of a wanted poster for the man in their archives suggested that the rumors were at least partially correct. Though, Daniel thought, I'm certain that his sister didn't draw a gun on him, that's a bit far fetched for a wife and husband.

  “What about personnel?” Baron Giovanni asked.

  “I'm certain they're fully invested,” Daniel said with a grimace. “I think that started when Captain Chu died of a heart attack, not long after the Fleet set out. Since then, the conspirators have fully invested that section, I think it's both to hide transfers of personnel and also to manipulate promotions and commands.” That they had used that power to block his own command was now a distant anger, dwarfed by how they had wormed their way through the system to put their people into key positions... and either suborned or killed the people they couldn't otherwise replace. Daniel hesitated a moment and then finally spoke, “Sir, one more thing. I've managed to identify the man killed by Anthony Doko and his wife.”

  “What?” the Baron demanded.

  “He was Private First Class Song Tran, late of the Amalgamated Worlds Fleet Marines. He shipped out with the Dreyfus Fleet and then vanished from the personnel files, officially transferred to one ship but never reported... and they never reported him missing.” Daniel grimaced, “He was one of the ghosts in their system.”

  “So these bastards tried to kill or kidnap Anthony Doko?” Lucius demanded.

  “Or his wife,” Daniel said quickly. “That's my own personal opinion, they wanted to shatter our alliance with Nova Roma, cause a rift, probably plant evidence of a murder suicide and then let Admiral Balventia... that is your political opponents within the Nova
Roma contingent to turn the Emperor against you.” Daniel could easily see how that might work, particularly if they placed some kind of incriminating evidence to implicate Captain Doko.

  “Very well,” the Baron said. He met Daniel's eyes, and his gaze was angry. “These bastards are confident enough to try to kill our people. We have to stop them and soon. Having this information puts us in position to counter them. We need to step up our operations against them and we need to form teams to arrest them, as well.”

  “It may not be that easy, sir,” Daniel said uncertainly. “At this point, I'd estimate they have somewhere around a battalion's strength of Marines who they have 'disappeared' just like Private Song Tran. We don't have visibility on them, but I know for a fact that they've set aside weapons and equipment for those personnel, to include fighters and power armor.”

  Baron Giovanni sat back and his face went thoughtful, “You're saying this might come to open fighting.”

  “I'm almost certain that it will,” Daniel said. “Which means we need to recruit elements of our own and plan accordingly.” He was no stranger to fighting, he had gone with Lauren Kelly and other volunteers to infiltrate Faraday and seize the planetary defenses ahead of the Second Battle of Faraday. He'd seen plenty of blood and death at close range in that fight. The mess that power armor and serious weapons would do to any soft target was one that made him feel extremely uncertain.

  “Very well,” the Baron almost seemed to sag in on himself. His gaze went distant and when he spoke, his voice was more so, “I wonder, sometimes, if this is something that I caused.” Daniel could see that the attempt on Anthony Doko, in particular, sat heavy on the man. He no doubt blamed himself for making his friend a target.

  “Sir,” Daniel said, “You can't blame yourself. These bastards have had this planned for decades, hell, some of them probably from before the Dreyfus Fleet even shipped out.”