Imperium: Betrayal: Book One in the Imperium Trilogy

by Paul M Calvert

  Harris has not seen Kiyami like this before, as she hadn’t been asked to pilot any shuttles down to the planet on her previous visit to the system. Drawing her eyes away from the beautiful planet, Harris turned the fighter away and towards the area where she would begin familiarising herself with it. Twisting and rolling under various degrees of thrust, Harris sought to test the operational limits of both herself and the fighter. Although the calibration could have been done in a testing rig, she preferred to let the fighter’s AI learn itself what she was capable of withstanding, allowing it to build up a pattern of her behaviours and reaction times for any given action. Harris spent an hour flinging the fighter around before deciding to finish. By now, she was feeling sweaty and in need of a shower, despite the best efforts of the environmental controls to keep her cool, so terminated the testing and called Courageous to let them know she was coming home.

  Ten minutes later, INS Courageous came into view. Four large flight deck hangers were arranged around a central core containing engines and living quarters. Each of the hangers was completely self-contained and in an emergency could fight or flee independently of the main ship. Her main offensive armament consisted of a massive railgun which ran the entire axis of the central body, capable of taking out a Capital ship or bombarding a planet, together with a myriad of point defence systems covering every available space on the five hulls. The carriers design was very striking, reminding her of a word of advice she’d been given in flight training by a seasoned carrier pilot, “Don’t make yourself conspicuous as it draws fire to you. That’s why we call carriers missile magnets.”

  Closing with the carrier, Harris again felt the familiar sense of unease as her fighter passed under the watchful eyes of its powerful point defences. Approaching number two hanger, the slight resistance of the invisible shielding indicated she was about to relinquish control back to the AI for docking.

  The AI took over, linking with the carriers PCH to bring her in. Passing through the enormous hanger bay doors, Harris tried to take in as many of the new sights as possible, realising she would never view them again in the same way. As on Dauntless, her fighter passed rows of other craft, all neatly docked in their cradles for immediate launch. Her fighter now finished loweringitself into its allotted bay, she observed a group of pilots watching it closely from inside the waiting area. Squadron Leader Harris realised they were her new squadron and from now on would be her responsibility. She just hoped she would be up to the task.

  Scene 23, Capital

  Vimes interrupted Christine at breakfast, confirming the first set of financial and other requested data had arrived from a number of central banks and he had begun processing the information. It had taken far longer than expected to arrive and at least ten of the Sectors were still collating the information, something Vimes noted for future investigation. The requested non-financial information would now probably arrive before the last of the central banks responded.

  “Are you all right Ma’am?” asked Ayumu, an old retainer who had known Alexander as a boy.

  He was sitting directly opposite her on the other side of the table. They had been discussing how lovely sea-views were from the residential areas of the Palace, when Vimes had interrupted.

  “You seemed distracted for a second. Forgive me if I’ve gone on too long on the subject.”

  “Not at all, Ayumu. Our talk simply brought back a memory of when I first came here and looked out over the sea. I got lost in the recollection for a moment, please continue.”

  “I was saying I’d read in the Palace history that the views here were one of the reasons why the original Alexander chose this site. He was said to have once commented that the views were some of the most spectacular on Capital.”

  Christine nodded. “Yes, that’s true enough, Ayumu. When I first looked out from the Palace across the sea it felt as though I’d been looking for somewhere like this all my life.”

  She paused for a moment as Vimes answered her request for additional information.

  “The original Palace was only a quarter of its current size and has been remodelled by almost every Emperor or Empress. My husband is one of the few who has not made any changes, as he feels it’s perfect just the way it is. Now, tell me about your family and those great-grandchildren of yours.”

  The conversations moved back and forth across the table, covering various subjects. Some related to the running of the Palace whilst others on political or social issues experienced by the diners. Christine made a careful note to have her administrative staff look into the more serious and report back to her so she could provide feedback or take action if required.

  Breakfast over, everyone stood and bowed as she left the room, heading back across the lawns and gardens towards her private quarters. Thankfully, today held no formal meetings in either the Grand Hall of Empire at the east end of the Palace, or the less formal audience rooms to the west, which gave her enough time to read some of Vimes preliminary findings before knuckling down to the business of running Sector 1.

  Later, after a quick freshen up, Christine left her private quarters and walked along one of the many corridors to meet with her advisors in the rooms reserved for Sector 1 business. Facing inwards towards the gardens, with a clear view over the refractory and the lakes beyond, these offices were the central hub for the Sector from where the activities of its two hundred and five Lords and Ladies were monitored and controlled. Although each solar system was the personal fiefdom of the noble, it was prudent to keep watch to ensure abuses or unrest were quickly dealt with. Just as the Crown kept watch over them, they in turn did the same for the Earls, Viscounts and Barons who reported to them.

  Christine entered the meeting room, noting the leathery scent of new chairs as she walked to the head of the table. As with all the others on this side of the Palace, the room faced inwards over the grounds. A long, narrow table dominated the centre of the room, its deep brown wood heavily polished and reflecting the sunlight coming in through the large window. Bottles of water and fruit juices were arranged neatly along both sides of the table, designating where everyone would sit. On entering, all the small groups broke up and took their places, waiting for her acknowledgement. When everyone was ready, she acknowledged their presence with a nod of the head and sat down, bidding them all to do the same and relax. Everyone sat and began arranging their personal spaces to suit their personalities, moving cups and tablets around until satisfied, quietly checking none of the others had encroached on their space.

  Christine looked down the length of the table, looking for any signs of concern or nervousness amongst the officials. Two of them, seated halfway down the table, seemed unduly tense, so she decided to begin with them once her personal assistants had finished going through the order of business and previous actions from the minutes.

  Formalities over, Christine asked the two men for an update, noting they represented a group of twenty-two systems which ran along her Sectors border with their closest alien neighbours, the Felidae. It transpired a number of ships, whose origins and configuration could not be identified, had been sighted along the buffer zone between Empire and Felidae space. Although probably of Felidae origin, a race whose aggressive reaction to interlopers meant any stranger entering their territory would be immediately attacked without warning, the size and configuration of the ships did not match any of their known designs. The two delegates sought assurances that additional security measures would be taken along the border and the Felidae Ambassador asked to comment.

  Christine could appreciate their nervousness. In 3842, First Contact had been made with the Felidae, almost immediately erupting into a full-scale war across Sectors one, two and thirty-six. Twenty-one years of constant, bitter fighting led to a peace of sorts being brokered between the two empires by Alexander’s Grandfather, Richard IV. The Felidae were the first, and so far, the only, feline based race encountered. Averaging the same size as a male human, they resembled large cats, especially when the
y chose to travel on all fours. Bi-pedal for short periods, their front paws had adapted to using tools, helped by two of their five paw pads being opposable. Their society was known to be Matriarchal and distrustful of other races. Clothes were not usually worn, although comprehensive combat armour complete with retractable claws had been recovered and studied at length. The full extent of their empire remained unknown at the end of the war, with little more known today although the Imperial Intelligence Service estimated it was comparable to that of the Empire in volume, albeit with fewer inhabited systems.

  Vimes had already begun checking the reports for her and projected a hologram above the middle of the table so that all the other delegates could see a simulacrum of the unidentified ships. Comparable in size to their own ships of the line, these were unmistakably built for combat. Multiple weapon configurations and point defences could be clearly seen, and the speed demonstrated when they became aware of being observed, indicated powerful engines. The room filled with voices as most began questioning their neighbours or commenting on the hologram.

  “Thank you for the report,” Christine’s voice cut through the noise, subtly enhanced by Vimes through the rooms PA system.

  Everyone fell silent and turned to look at her as the hologram faded away.

  “Although I am surprised that this hadn’t been brought to my attention before now. When did this happen?

  “We only received the images and notification today by courier signal from the border, Ma’am, and as we were meeting with you today thought we would bring it to your personal attention rather than pass it up through official channels.”

  The two looked abashed but continued on.

  “The respective Nobles along the border have all been informed and no doubt they will each send their own personal representations in due course.”

  In her mind, Vimes confirmed to Christine that a meeting with the Chiefs of Staff would be set up immediately and fast courier messages sent to both Sectors thirty-six and two, advising Dukes Markham and Gallagher of the development. “I’ll wish to extend my own personal greetings before sending, Vimes. Please remind me to do so immediately after this meeting.”

  Looking at the two officials, Christine thanked and reassured them the matter would receive immediate attention. Relaxing noticeably, they nodded gratefully and both leaned back into their chairs, pleased to have spoken first and could relax a little now.

  The meeting continued on for another four hours, covering various matter of importance, however, during this time Christine allowed Vimes to conduct most of it while she pondered over this latest development and wondered if or how it might be connected with the attempt on Alexander’s life. She had met a Felidae Matriarch only twice before, once on her marriage to Alexander when their Empress honoured them with her presence for a brief period, and again on the Matriarch’s death when they returned the honour and met with the new Empress, Freyja, on her home planet, Mau Prime. Aloof, disdainful, cunning, yet extremely honourable and intelligent, the Felidae had no sense of mercy or compassion whatsoever, making them implacable and unpredictable opponents. From the little anyone knew of their behaviour, it would be out of character for them to break any agreement, so Christine decided it was likely the detection was not chance at all, rather a deliberate showing of force to keep the Empire at arm’s length.

  Much to everyone’s surprise, and the intense annoyance of the Imperial Intelligence Service, Christine and Freyja had appeared to bond well, even to the point where they corresponded infrequently. Exactly like a cat Christine had once owned before becoming Empress, Freyja seemed to be fascinated with her for short periods, communicating regularly, then lose interest for long periods before contacting her again.

  “I’ll let the Chiefs of Staff run with this one,” she thought to herself and Vimes, “We don’t want to get distracted from uncovering who was behind the assassination attempt. Please ensure your counterparts on the border are quietly updated by IQA and find out why this news hadn’t been communicated to us the same way.”

  With that final thought, Christine brought herself back to the meeting at hand, focusing on what else was happening in her Sector.

  Scene 24, Dauntless

  The reception for Duke Frederick and his retinue was going well. The annoyance Alexander had expected from Frederick didn’t materialise and to his surprise, the Duke seemed to have positively embraced visiting the flagship, only insisting on being able to stream the reception to his planet.

  The practical and political arrangements for the visit had been made between Vimes and Fredrick’s personal AI. Vimes had twice complained to Alexander about how pompous and arrogant Frederick’s AI had been, causing him to chuckle. Admiral Frith had wisely excused herself from the reception an hour earlier, citing pressing ship matters, which meant he couldn’t use that excuse himself.

  Deborah, the longest lasting of Fredrick’s many mistresses, had taken Frith's seat to Alexander’s left and was trying on and off to make half-hearted small-talk with him. She seemed unhappy to be at the reception and a quick query to Vimes confirmed the reason. Vimes had told him Court rumour had it she was soon to be permanently replaced by Frederick’s new favourite, the stunningly beautiful woman currently sitting to the Dukes right in a position of honour.

  The finest musicians and entertainers on the planet had been retained on short notice by the Duke for the event and were living up to their reputations. In addition, the old Duke was in fine form, complementing Alexander and earnestly inquiring as to the health of his wife and son. He wanted to know if Christine, who he hadn’t seen at the last Council meeting, was at the Palace or out on a Royal Progress of the Sector and when Adam was likely to join the Navy.

  In return, Alexander, his memory aided by Vimes, asked after the individual members of his large family, promising to spend time on Kiyami as his guest once the border issue was settled. The Duke seemed particularly interested in Adam meeting several of his great-granddaughters, even though the Alexander Doctrine forbade any heir from marrying within another Noble family. His insistence that Adam should come to visit gave Alexander pause to wonder whether Frederick might like the idea of having one or two royal bastards in the family line. He dismissed the thought, knowing that Adam, for all his stubbornness, was well aware of the risks that came with fathering children outside of an Imperial marriage bed. Over the millennia, a number of Emperors had been killed putting down revolts led by usurpers, almost all bearing the royal bloodline from one illegitimate son or daughter born as a result of an ill-thought through affair or tryst.

  Not yet wishing to reveal Adam was no longer on board and had been sent away, Alexander fielded the Duke’s questions away.

  Bringing his mind back from thoughts of royal intrigue, Alexander focused on the musicians. The group currently on stage were playing a song which had become popular throughout the Empire. Unfortunately, it was not to Alexander’s tastes so he took the opportunity to let his mind drift again and review the data Vimes had forwarded onto him from the local branch of the Imperial Intelligence Service, containing details of sightings and attacks on Imperial ships travelling within Dubunni space. Neither he nor Vimes could make any sense of them, nor determine a pattern to their behaviour, so he forwarded a copy to Admiral Frith for her assessment and response once the reception was over.

  The food was excellent, with many of the delicacies sourced both locally and from across Sector 12 proving particularly popular. Surreptitiously, so as not to cause offence, every item of food and drink shipped up from the planet had been inspected at least once for locally occurring toxins or anything more sinister. With the exception of several varieties of shellfish, flagged as carrying a potentially nasty micro-organism likely to cause problems for anyone not sensitised to it, everything had proved safe to consume.

  Alexander hadn’t eaten or drunk much this evening, just enough not to offend his guests, preferring sparkling water instead of wine. He needed to keep a clear head and despit
e advanced medicines and his efficient metabolism, did not relish waking up in the morning with any sort of a headache or fuzzy mind. Perhaps, when this minor campaign and flag-waving exercise was over, he might open a bottle of wine with Frith and her partner in celebration, but not before.

  Interestingly, amongst the data from the IIS was a Quantum Signature, allegedly of a system holding the location of a potential base of operations for one of the raiding groups. According to the report, the location of system DU-449 had been obtained several weeks ago through bribing a Dubunni trader suspected of providing the raiders with supplies. The clear threat of having her ship impounded, plus the promise of favourable trading terms with the Empire seemed to have persuaded the trader to co-operate. As good a place to start the campaign as anywhere else, he highlighted the passage for Frith with a suggestion they discuss it tomorrow. From the details provided, their current task force should be more than sufficient to deal with the base and it would provide some action for the Marines who had been cooped up in the fleet for several weeks now and were becoming restless, wanting to either fight or go home to their families. DU-449 lay in the fifty light year buffer zone separating the Empires current border from the Dubunni, therefore the chances of running into any of that empires warships were remote. The last thing he wanted at this point was another diplomatic incident.

  Frederick turned to him, politely clapping as the musicians on stage finished their song. Alexander joined in, privately hoping the next set of entertainers would be more to his liking.

  “Ah, I so enjoyed that Alexander, didn’t you?” asked Frederick, reaching for his wine glass and smiling broadly.

  Alexander noted the smile hadn’t left his face all evening and Frederick seemed inordinately pleased with himself, even for someone as annoyingly self-satisfied as the Duke.