Schism of Blood and Stone (The Starfield Theory Book 1)

by Brian Frederico

  “Neither have I, but I still claim allegiance to House Sten through your house's vassalage to them,” Reyna said, turning towards him and placing her hands in her lap. “You should, too.”

  Aaron put down his pen and pushed away the paperwork. “And what are you trying to get at?”

  “You don't give Damien enough credit,” she said bluntly, then returned to spinning back and forth.

  Aaron arced an eyebrow. “How, exactly?”

  “Damien is your mentor and there is a reason why he picked you and not any of those thick-headed fools who have been sycophants to Damien and other nobles waiting for gifts of territory and wealth. You have proven yourself in battle as both a fighter and a leader. Damien believes you are capable of defending Goteborg. He's not stupid. He needs you here and confident. Damien has greater plans for you.”

  Aaron frowned. When the Mercer homeworld of Haberton fell to Pershing's army, Aaron began making preparations to return home to fight, but Damien kept him at Goteborg and a part of his army. His family also ordered him to keep away from Haberton. Even when word that his brother and father had died in battle, they still kept him away. He struggled to accept reasons why his family refused to allow him to return home to fight the Dominion when they died in his place. Staying at Goteborg and supporting Lord Damien was more important, his mother told him so he played the role of the loyal son and obeyed.

  “Why do you think that?” He asked slowly.

  “He wouldn't have given you command of his army and told you to protect Goteborg if he didn't trust you,” she said.

  “What about my obligations to my family?” Aaron asked quietly.

  “Are you considering taking your new army to Haberton and leaving Goteborg to the Dominion?” She asked.

  Aaron mulled this over. Damien had entrusted his army to him, but he wondered if he might be bale to take it to his family's homeworld and dispatch the Dominion garrison. He could reclaim the world in the name of his dead father and brother and put his house back on a path to reclaim its former glory.

  He declined to answer Reyna's question.

  “They understand,” she said. “Your mother and sister know why you're here. They believe in you and trust you just as Damien does.”

  A sudden blizzard of suppressed emotions threatened to overwhelm him. He took a deep breath, shoving them back where they belonged.

  “I ought to have been with them,” he said, “Fighting to protect Haberton.” He looked away, trying to hide his reaction. Anger began to boil to the surface. “I should have been with my family and my people. How do I look to them now? I am the coward that hid behind Lord Damien while they fought and died in my place.”

  “If you have been on Haberton, Pershing would have killed you too. Don't confuse bravery with stupidity,” Reyna said none too gently. “You are the heir to your house now. You have a responsibility to live to carry on the family legacy.”

  Aaron blinked regaining control of himself. Damien had said the same thing to him on several occasions as he pointed out the foolish actions of glory-minded knights. Damien had always told him never to consider the “what ifs” of a conflict. Recognize only that different choices could have been made and remember that those choices existed in the future, but to dwell on past mistakes was even worse than forgetting them.

  “What do you think about what Lord Damien told us, about Archduke Peter's secret children?” He blurted out, desperate to change the subject.

  Reyna crinkled her brow, taking the change in stride. Damien's revelation seemed to be something she had been considering, but didn't necessarily enjoy the ramifications. “It's hard to say. I don't know what Damien hopes to accomplish by manipulating them. Kristoffer is going to be a target for Salena's assassins, no doubt. If the kid lives another week I'd be surprised.”

  “If he is who Dietrich claimed he is, we have to find him and keep him alive,” Aaron said. “Those were our orders.”

  “Even if Damien doesn't return?” Reyna asked.

  Aaron frowned. “What happened to giving Lord Damien credit?”

  “You must consider the very real possibility that Damien does not return from Magdeborg.”

  “I'm surprised he went,” Aaron admitted.

  “I cautioned him against it, but he was insistent. If he refused he would send a very powerful message but it would let Salena control the dialogue. Damien was invited to Magdeborg for his brother's funeral. By not attending, he shows he cares little about his brother and publicly snubbed Salena. It doesn't matter who you are, that sort of behavior is dangerous. He needs to be present to control the discussion.”

  Aaron exhaled. “Do you think he will come back?”

  Reyna licked her lips and thought about the question. “He might, or he might not.”

  “Don't you have that silly equation you use to determine those things?”

  Reyna laughed. “And you rely on the Goddess Amrah to make those sorts of decisions?”

  Aaron shrugged helplessly. “It's outside our control. I can't be worried about it. I have to worry about Goteborg.”

  “You've already thought about this?”

  “I've had to. If something happens to Damien, I'm left here with his army. Salena will want to know what I intend to do with it.”

  “That's true. You'll become a power player in the Commonwealth. You will have a choice. Either you keep it here and protect the border from the Dominion or you take the army to Magdeborg, overthrow Salena and free Damien.”

  Aaron took a deep breath. “What should I do?”

  “You're asking for my advice?”

  “You're here to advise me, are you not?”

  Reyna smiled. “That's what your mother sent me here to do.”

  “Well?”

  “You're not going to like what I have to tell you, but you should go to Magdeborg and free Damien. You owe him too much. He brought you here from Haberton, gave you a spot in his inner circle and has taught you all he knows.”

  Aaron nodded. “What about Goteborg.”

  “You have a choice to make then. Do you wish to protect Goteborg and kill Pershing or do you want to save Damien.”

  “Pershing must die,” Aaron hissed, clenching his fist and feeling his breath quicken. “But I can't leave Lord Damien to die at Salena's hands either.”

  “Then you have some thinking to do. Don't let these potentials take you by surprise. Be ready for them. We already lost the initiative when we found out Pershing was sprung. Let's not screw that up again.”

  “Lord Damien was always better at predicting these outcomes and being ready for them.”

  “It's true. Damien paves the way for many things to happen, but some are out of his control. The best he can do is be prepared. A good leader uses foresight to be prepared for the worst and the best. You need to start doing that, too.”

  “You act like Damien's already dead,” he accused.

  “I am preparing for the possibility. As you should, too.”

  Aaron scratched at his desk and took a deep breath. I can't imagine life without Damien. If he's gone, that leaves me to fill his shoes. I don't think I can.

  “You're right,” he admitted. “Let's plot out a response, but first I want us in position to get Kristoffer when he gets back to station. I can't chase him into Dominion territory, but I can ambush him when he returns. No mistakes this time,” he said. “I want this done.”

  Reyna smiled happily and squeezed his shoulders reassuringly.

  Kristoffer

  Captain of the MacCleod

  21 February, 23,423

  MacCleod, Letterkenny, Caeph Dominion

  ______________

  The MacCleod squeezed back into existence on the fringe of the Letterkenny system. Just a few thousand klicks away floated the outer proto-planet of the system, designated LNK X. The ice ball rotated slowly, barely a speck visible in space. The Letterkenny sun, a dim M-type II star, was a similar speck, barely discernible from the tens of thousands of o
ther stars visible. Despite its small size, the sun was still powerful enough to host two barely habitable planets, both ClassEs, which the Dominion used to mine minerals.

  More importantly, it was also the staging area used to launch the assault on Mkuranga two years prior that crushed local Commonwealth forces and initiated the new round of conflict between Dominion and Commonwealth. So far no counter attack had yet been made. Lord Damien and his border forces were still waiting to blunt Dominion advances before attempting to retake lost territory.

  Chris watched the ice ball for just a few moments longer through the tiny reinforced ferro-glass windows that ringed the bridge, wondering why anyone would fight and kill for such a worthless hunk of rock before an alarm blared through the vessel and brought him back to reality. The high pitched shrill was the one alarm Chris had been hoping to avoid.

  “Hostiles bearing one hundred degrees absolute north and closing fast. One shuttle and two frigates,” Proda barked from his sensor station.

  “Dominion ships? Tell them to stand down, we're not looking for a fight,” Chris ordered.

  “They're not Dominion, Chris,” Nick said quietly. “Out here it's probably Orieti or Black Lotus. My bet's on the latter,” he said naming the pirates that often operated in the outer reaches of core solar systems, far beyond the military patrols.

  “Do they have any markings?” Chris asked.

  “Yeah, Nick was right. They're Black Lotus,” Proda whispered confirming his fears.

  Chris felt an ominous lump form in his gut that twisted its way up to his heart. He'd only heard of the Black Lotus in his schooling and the vicious stories spread about them by the locals. They were notorious for preying on mining vessels and colonies across the Core and Fringe of human space. Their origins were in legitimate mining prospects across the Core for a firm called Lotus, but when legitimate wealth was not enough, they formed a militant wing to raid other firms and governments to increase their profits. They were named the Black Lotus, after a flower found growing in swampy mud of the corporation's homeworld. The white lotus bore cultural significance as a representation of purity and non-attachment so, obviously, a black lotus carried none of those characteristics. As the legitimate side of their business became blacklisted throughout the entire Human Core, they abandoned it and enhanced their pirate fleets. Now they lived off of what they captured and sold on black markets and back channels to the Great States. Now they had the MacCleod in their sight.

  “Get the Hronguards on the guns,” Chris ordered. “I don't think we can talk our way out of this. Our cargo is more valuable than any bribe we can give them.”

  “Can we really overpower two frigates?” Proda asked.

  Chris ignored him. “I think we need to speak with Lord Morlan and ask for his assistance.”

  Nick whipped his head around, “You're not serious. You're going to trust them?”

  “We're not soldiers, Nick,” Chris said. “We have a Dominion general on board who's seen his fair share of combat. Besides, if they board us they'll take him as a hostage. I think he has a stake in the outcome here.”

  “I'm more worried about him trying to commandeer the Cleod for themselves,” Nick persisted.

  “Stop,” Chris said holding up a hand to stem any further discussion. “We don't have long and we need some help here. Alert Pershing to the situation and bring him here quickly.”

  Nick pursed his lips, but obeyed his friend's order. Resigned, he jogged from the bridge, his feet echoing down the corridor before the hatch clanged closed behind him.

  Chris kept his eyes on the screen that tracked the position of the Lotus vessels. The MacCleod was not intended as a combat vessel and had no strategic tank which made tracking and observing the movements of other ships difficult. Chris could only rely on what the external cameras and sensors told him. The frigates slowed as they neared then drifted apart. One held its position, its guns locking onto the MacCleod. The other continued its approach, its sensors likely sizing up the ship's defenses. The shuttle held back, awaiting orders to launch its boarding party. The MacCleod was turning sharply at high speed, but not fast enough. The Lotus ships had set a trap and the MacCleod was headed right into it.

  A warning klaxon blared loudly, demanding attention. “Incoming fire,” Proda reported with the calm of announcing paint dry. “It's going to miss. Warning shot across the bow. Hang on.”

  He'd been harassed by Azuren legates, even been in a few fistfights with grumpy spacers and their hired thugs, but never had pirates attempted to board his ship. His stomach rolled with anxiety and he began to feel ill. If the Lotus ships boarded, there was going to be a fight. Even if the Hronguards could fend off the boarding attempt, the Lotus frigates would destroy them before they could make good an escape. The situation did not appear favorable.

  Briefly, he wondered if he could bribe them. They didn't have much on board, just personal effects, some weapons, and the drive mask and jump drive. Nick would likely be happy to be rid of Pershing, even if the Lotus ransomed him back to the Dominion themselves. That would make Drayton extremely upset. Such a bribe would probably fail, Chris concluded. They'd probably want MacCleod herself and I'm not willing to give up my ship.

  “There's a transmission coming in now,” Proda said after hitting a few switches.

  “Put me through,” Chris said with more confidence than he felt. He fumbled with the headset and finally got it over his head.

  There was a burst of static, then, “Captain of incoming vessel, you are in violation of Black Lotus space. Power down your engines and prepare your ship for boarding. Consider your cargo confiscated.”

  Chris shook his head. “This is the captain of the MacCleod in contract with Drayton Logistics and Transportation. Firing on this vessel is in violation of the Azuren Free Trade Act. You risk retaliation from my company and Azuren forces. Identify yourself,” he commanded.

  The voice came back again, laughing at him. “This is Labored Soul captained by Nordu Yurani.”

  Chris shot a glanced at Proda who shook his head. He didn't recognize the name or the ship.

  “Azuren armies have no sway out here. Considering you did not arrive in this system at its stargate suggests you are in possession of technology dubbed illegal by the Azuren. You will receive no help from them. Again, power down your engines or we will disable them,” the voice demanded.

  Chris swallowed hard. They called his bluff.

  “We have no valuable equipment on board. We are on our way to a pick up and have nothing in the bays. You're only wasting your time,” Chris said, trying a new angle.

  “We'll determine what's valuable and what's not, Captain. If nothing else, your ship will be a pitiful, but useful addition to my fleet. Now this is my final warning, shut down your systems, or I will shut them down for you.”

  Chris exhaled heavily. There's no way to wiggle out of this one.

  “Labored Soul, we are powering down,” he said finally.

  At a signal from Chris, Proda cut the transmission without bothering to wait for a response.

  “Sir?” Chen asked quietly, waiting for direction.

  “Do it.”

  Slowly, Chen began shutting down the ship's power. The main lights on the bridge went out. Back up emergency lighting flickered on and cast everything in a tangerine glow.

  “Where are we? Are the Dominion people in position yet? What about those Hronguard troopers?” Chris demanded.

  “The Hronguard troops are setting up defenses now,” Proda said. “The Lotus shuttle is small enough to fit in our docking bay. I don't think their ships will fire on us if their marines are inside.”

  Chris arced an eyebrow. “Would they? They are pirates after all. I don't think there's much camaraderie among their kind.”

  “Either way, they'll make for the bridge to gain control of the ship.” Chen said.

  “Then let's make sure to harass them the whole way in,” Chris said.

  “And if they get in?” Pro
da asked.

  Chris closed his eyes and mentally took a deep breath. If they get through that door I don't expect they'll show us much mercy.

  Chris ignored the question and continued. “Get all non-combat personnel to the bridge. I don't want anyone caught out there,” Chris said, then turned back to the screens.

  “What about the Lotus ships?” Proda pushed. “Even if we fend off their landing force they can still rip us to shreds.”

  Kerali sat upright in her chair. “We can use the mask.”

  “The drive mask?” Chris asked.

  “Yeah. I mean, it's not exactly a drive mask, that's just how it's configured. It can mask the electronic and magnetic signature from pretty much any piece of equipment, kind of like a white noise generator. I can configure it to mask the power flow to the gun ports. It won't take a moment,” she said.

  “Do it.”

  “I have to be in the engine block,” she said hesitantly, glancing at the screens displaying the approaching Lotus vessels.

  “Run,” Chris grunted, but Kerali was already out the hatch.

  If her plan worked they'd be able to keep power to the guns right under the noses of the Lotus ships. A surprise attack might disorient them long enough to escape.

  Chris watched the shuttle move towards MacCleod and pause a few kilometers away. He couldn't so much see the physical craft as he could determine the outline by the stars the vessel blocked out. He figured they were running sweeps of the Cleod's weapons systems, seeing if they were active. Seemingly satisfied, the ship slid forward into the open landing bay.

  The MacCleod had no internal cameras, so the command crew would be blind to the battle as it progressed. Any reports would be filtered through the radios. From now on, Chris would be nearly powerless to control the battle. It was in the hands of the combatants now.

  “You know, I was in the Commonwealth armed forces for a few years after school,” Proda said abruptly. “I have weapons training, but I haven't fired a gun in years. Do we even have anything to defend ourselves with?”

  “Not on the bridge. If they get this far, it'll be over anyway. We might be better off pleading for our lives,” Chris said. “We have no cargo and nothing valuable except the ship and the drive mask. Maybe that will be enough for them. They might be able to ransom back the Dominion officers if they don't kill them all,” Chris said.