“I heard about Erik Sørensen,” he said.
Anna seemed uncomfortable. “Apparently he's some sycophant who's been waiting for a day like this for a long time. He's greedy, but not stupid.”
Damien ran a hand through his gray hair and exhaled slowly. “She hasn't wasted any time shoring up her power base,” he said more to himself than anyone else.
“You know, I have to wonder. Why in Ithix are you here? I'm surprised you're not dead,” she said with such seriousness that Damien actually blinked.
He half smiled. “I thought you'd be happy to see me.”
“Don't get coy. You're not in the clear, yet,” Anna said flatly, but Damien detected a hint of steel behind her voice.
“I mean you know this is a trap. Salena sees you as a threat and she's not going to sit around and wait for you to overthrow her. What are you trying to accomplish here? Are you actually trying to destabilize her regime? Do you have your eyes set on the throne?”
She was not accusing him of anything, really. She spoke to him not as subject to her lord, but as a former lover. She still cared about his well being apparently. For once, she was setting her personal feelings above her political objectives, a kindness Damien had certainly not granted her in the past. He felt his heart sink a bit as he realized the unfairness of the situation.
Damien sighed. “When Peter died, I was next in line for the throne, regardless of whether he declared an heir. I was his brother and hereditary rights give the throne to me. But there have been complications,” Damien began.
“Salena's impatience for one,” Anna noted.
“No, that was but a reaction.” Damien hesitated. Beyond his small command group he had not told anyone of Peter's twins. Anna would find out eventually. Either way, she would certainly be offended if he had decided to withhold the information from her. He'd already hurt her far too much for that.
Damien took a deep breath and began: “Twenty-six years ago, Peter fathered twins. In reaction to Arthur's inadvertent assassination, they were born in secret on Anarrk and inserted into the population on Goteborg with Sørensen agents as surrogate parents. They survived their upbringing and the male works for a shipping firm, the female was lost to surveillance about five years ago. Dietrich Sørensen declared the eldest, Kristoffer, the heir. By now, Chris and his sister, Claire, likely have three groups of people after them: the Sørensens, Aaron, and Salena's assassins.”
Anna blinked, surprised at the sudden revelation. She recovered quickly, suppressing any further physical reaction. “I doubt the Sørensens actually managed to dispatch anyone to pick them up. No Sørensen vessels left the system since the Remmington Summit. When will Aaron's assassins strike?”
Damien shook his head. “No. Aaron has been instructed to apprehend him and keep him in one place until I return.”
“And basically you're planning on using one or both of them somehow to counter Salena,” Anna observed.
“Well-”
“Please Damien. If you weren't going to use them somehow you'd have offed them yourself by now.”
She can still read my intentions like a book. I can't remember if I loved that about her or feared it, he thought sourly.
“Chris has more value alive than dead especially now if what you say is true about the people not all believing the Sørensen coup story so that means Aaron had better be successful in protecting them. I can't start a rebellion without him.”
Anna arced an eyebrow. “You're really going to use him then? He sounds like just a boy, Damien. If Peter went through such lengths to keep him hidden, maybe he wanted the twins to stay out of Commonwealth politics. Did you ever think that maybe your brother just wanted to be survived by somebody?”
Damien looked away. No, that hadn't occurred to him. But if Peter had wanted to keep them away he'd have never let the Sørensens keep an eye on them and recommend them for the throne. Peter had plans for them he just did not live long enough to see them through.
“That's just not logical. Peter was an Archduke, he is obligated to produce heirs to succeed him when he died. Their conception and birth served a purpose.”
“Political tools? Just like everyone else to you?”
Damien frowned, though more hurt by her matter-of-fact statement than he let on. “They're not merely tools. My own ambitions aside, Chris is the heir apparent to the throne. That fact alone will rally others to his cause. If the Sten House Guard refuses to ally with Salena, then perhaps they can be persuaded to support Chris. I need to talk to my uncle. Do you think you can arrange that?”
Anna seemed to shrug with her eyes then looked off into the mountains outside Magdeborg where the old lord-colonel and his bodyguard unit had retreated. He had been silent ever since Salena's coup, neither declaring allegiance nor opposition. He and his unit's support would be more symbolic than anything else. The Sten House Guard, one the house's few standing military units, was small. They had at their disposal maybe a dozen sections of knights and sergeants, plus the necessary transport and support units. Despite their small numbers, the resumption of their duties would indicate their support of Salena, further entrenching her as Archduchess.
“I'm not really in that business anymore, Damien. I'm sorry,” she said, refusing to meet his gaze.
“Anna, please,” he begged.
“I don't want to play these games anymore. I'm not the same person I was. There are more valuable things in my life now.”
Damien took her hand in his own. The sudden physical contact startled her, but she did not pull away. “What do you want me to do?” He asked.
“Let younger men fight the wars and do the talking. Let Aaron be a general. Let the younger generations do the killing and dying for a change,” she said, now meeting his gaze and piercing him with her serious eyes, then leaning in to embrace him.
Damien blinked and gently returned the gesture. She was not the young master of secrets and contacts she used to be. She wasn't broken or weak. She was tame. Matured.
“You don't want me to leave Magdeborg again,” he said quietly. She nodded against his chest. “You know I can't stay. I'm on Salena's hit list. Sooner or later, she will come for me.”
“Then we can go together. Start a new life on Hidelborg or some other place. If Peter managed to hide a Commonwealth prince for a quarter of a century, surely you can perform the same vanishing act. You must take me with you when you leave.”
Damien gently patted her back while feeling his soul being torn in two. Half of him was embracing her, while the other half was fighting the Dominion on Goteborg.
“I can't promise that I-”
She pulled away suddenly, gripping his forearms tightly, her face contorted in angry defiance. “Promise me, you bastard. Or I'll never help you again! I swear it!”
Damien felt every muscle in his body tense and his hand started to move for his weapon reflexively. She saw the movement, but didn't stop him as if daring him to shoot her.
The moment stretched and Damien felt his souls fighting, slashing and stabbing while the laughing fire watched on, mocking him with its dancing shadows and hidden meanings. She would never be safe on Goteborg. Maybe Hidelborg. He knew people who keep her safe, other Praxis Theorists who owed him favors. Maybe he could do this.
“Alright. Anna, I promise, no matter what happens, we won't separate again.”
She continued to glare at him, her gaze like a loaded weapon. Her grip was convincingly strong.
“I promise,” he repeated.
She lowered her eyes and Damien relaxed a bit. She gently released her grip, taking his hand instead.
“Alright. If you swear it then I'll set it up,” she said, almost reluctantly. “I still have a few contacts in Conrad's camp.”
“How soon?”
“Tonight. Can you get out of the city? I don't think Conrad is going to want to leave his fief.”
Damien nodded. “That's fine. I just need a ride up there.”
“You won't be trave
ling in the style you're familiar with, Lord Damien, but I think I can arrange transportation,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Contact me via the usual channels,” Damien said. “I'll be waiting at the palace.”
Damien turned to leave, but Anna kept hold of his hand, forcing him to turn back. “You know,” she said. “Not everyone acts like a strictly logical machine. Some people do things just because it makes them happy.”
Then she released his hand and walked back the direction she came, leaving Damien to look after her, chewing on her words and finding them hard to swallow.
Sir Aaron Mercer-Sten
Knight of Scion of House Mercer
8 March, 23,423
Scarlet Light, Goteborg, Magdeborg Commonwealth
______________
Aaron rubbed his face in exasperation. Nothing seemed to be going right. He had successfully detained Kristoffer and Claire Sten or whomever they believed they were, but he had also discovered they were involved in some less than legal business activities and someone wanted them dead over it. They wouldn't come clean about it, still thinking that Drayton or some authority would come to their rescue. No authority existed to do so. Out here, Aaron was the authority.
I could make them disappear and no one would ever know, he thought sadistically.
He sat alone in his quarters staring outside the windows at the MacCleod. It hung there, drifting alongside the Scarlet Light, still showing the pitted scars and rents from combat. There was no denying that surviving not one, but two engagements with the Lotus was impressive. Of course, Kristoffer hadn't gotten away unscathed. A dozen of his mercenaries were dead and one of his crew members perished in the linking of their ships. It was a damn foolish idea, even if it worked.
Kristoffer's insolence was bothersome. If he won't come clean I'll have to get it out of him another way. We can't index him, but there are other means of extracting information.
Now there was the question as to what to do with them. Damien instructed him to keep them safe. Well, they'd nearly gotten Aaron and his entire command killed. They were up to something. The Black Lotus wouldn't spend the resources chasing someone until they had done something to them or had something they really wanted.
What was the young man up to?
Aaron ordered the ship to Goteborg, making safer use of the jump drive and immediately dispatched the present Commonwealth fleet to hunt the Black Lotus pirates who'd ambushed him. If the MacCleod's crew refused to talk maybe a few captured pirates would in return for their lives, however, a search of the system turned up no pirates. They were long gone.
As much as Aaron hated to admit it, he realized it was only Chris' illegal jump drive that saved them, as much as Aaron did not want to admit it. He was indebted to Chris. Though rare, average citizens did intervene in what would be almost certain death for a nobleman. Typically, that individual would be granted land and wealth made a baron or some similar low ranking hereditary title. If the incident occurred in battle, the individual would be offered land and promotion, and in rare cases, even elevated to noble rank himself.
But this case was much more difficult. Chris was technically Archduke and how could Aaron possibly repay an Archduke? Likewise, if whatever transgression he'd committed was serious enough did Aaron have the authority to punish him? As long as Chris did not know about his ancestry he wouldn't put Aaron in the difficult position of needing to answer those questions. If he demanded his freedom and did so by ducal order, Aaron couldn't refuse him. Silently, he began to wish Damien were back to offer some guidance. If he was even still alive. At this point it seemed wisest to keep Kristoffer here and ignorant until Damien returned.
If Salena's coup turned out to be permanent and if Damien was dead, Chris would have to fight her to obtain his throne if he even wanted it. Or if Damien was dead maybe it would be best to leave the matter rest. Punish him for whatever then let him go and await the arrival of the Dominion. So many “ifs.” At the very least, Aaron owed him his service in Damien's memory. But without Damien, or even the Sørensens, such a war would be violent and pointless. Aaron's border army would be crushed and Salena's armies depleted and sitting ducks for the Dominion. That kind of civil war would destroy the Commonwealth entirely. It would not be worth it.
The light on his desk flashed indicating an incoming message. “Go ahead.”
“Sir Aaron, we have picked up an inbound Commonwealth vessel. Sir Slader is, uh, requesting docking permission,” the deck officer said.
The officer's stressed use of the word 'requesting' probably meant Slader had threatened physical violence upon him if he did not immediately open up the bays and allow him to land. Aaron gave the necessary permissions then hung up the phone while feeling his stomach bottom out. Slader wasn't dropping by for a pleasant chat to catch up on the times. He wanted something and Damien would not be here to handle his rash, aggressive cousin. He would need to deal with Slader. Alone.
On his way out the door he paused then returned for his sidearm and sword. Making sure it was within easy reach he hurried to the bridge.
Slader was already waiting for him giving dirty looks to the crew and looking decidedly unpleasant. A dozen of Aaron's household warriors were present and eyeing Slader suspiciously. He was dressed in black with his hair dyed the ridiculous red and black pattern he insisted on. At his hip was a long sword that could nearly have been Aaron's height. Aaron took a silent deep breath and went to do battle with the beast.
“Well, do you have them, yet?” Slader barked when he saw Aaron.
“Let's find a more private room to talk, Slader,” Aaron tried compromising. There was no need for the crew to overhear this discussion. Though mostly lowborn, the crew would wonder just who was so important to arrest and why they were risking their necks for them. The fewer who knew the better.
Slader rolled his eyes, but followed Aaron from the bridge to a small conference room down the hall. Slader did not seem in the mood to make any pleasantries and Aaron obliged him. Once he closed the door Slader once again launched into his tirade.
“You'd better have found those that bastard by now, Aaron. Damien would not be happy to hear they still elude you.”
“I have done one better, cousin. I have both of them twins in custody.”
Slader raised both eyebrows in pleasant surprise. “Both, eh? Maybe you're not so worthless.”
Aaron ignored the insult. “We have them safely on board the ship. Shortly, we'll take them down to Goteborg for better protection. There have been Black Lotus pirates in the system who are apparently looking for them as well,” Aaron explained.
“They were looking for them all right. They found you instead. I saw the damage to your ship.”
Aaron narrowed his brow. “What they did do? What were they hauling?”
“I know something you don't know,” Slader sang. “You haven't figured out what they were doing in Dominion space? There are many more capable, more pure-blooded Stens who should be running this,” Slader snapped.
Aaron stood his ground, feeling strength wrap around him like a blanket. “You dishonor yourself, Slader.”
“I want them turned over to my authority, now,” Slader demanded, pounding his big fist into a table. Aaron didn't look, but he feared he would later find a huge dent in the metal surface.
Aaron shook his head. “If you've found something, you need to tell me. I'm responsible for their safety-”
“Listen, cousin. I don't have time for your excuses. I've received intelligence that says they've been up to treasonous activity, probably the reason why your Lotus friends are looking for them.”
“What have they done? Why wasn't I made aware of the intelligence?”
“It's on a need to know basis,” Slader offered a smug smile. “I need to know and you couldn't find out if you wanted to so I will handle this matter internally. They will be interrogated and when they admit to committing a crime – and it is a juicy one – they will be executed for i
t.”
Aaron narrowed his brow. Would Damien actually go so far? “Kill them? Are you mad?”
“If they pose a danger to us they must die.”
Aaron shook his head. “I'm not allowing you access to them, Slader. Now get off my ship before I have you removed,” Aaron said, reaching for the phone to call for a security detachment when Slader moved towards the door.
Aaron side stepped to block him which was about as intelligent as stepping in front of a destrier. Slader bowled over him, shoving him into the wall. His head struck hard and his ears rang with the impact as he slumped to the floor. Slader was gone before the ringing stopped.
“Amrah damn it,” he hissed. He collected himself, secured his weapon and took off after Slader.
Lord Damien Sten
Duke of Hidelborg, Defender of the Border, The Gray Knight
8 March, 23,423
Sten Palace, Magdeborg, Magdeborg Commonwealth
______________
Damien had quietly managed to slip out of the palace again without raising any eyebrows. He walked through the city to the park where they had agreed to meet. His heavy coat was pulled tight to ward off the cool night breeze and he kept his hands in his pockets and his head bowed when he passed the few civilians. A storm was rolling in, Damien could smell it in the air. There were few people out, most were finding a late dinner and many were bundled up in preparation for rain. She was waiting by the curb and waved for his attention when he came into view. She took him to her car with barely a greeting. Except for instructing Anna to make a few random turns and backtracks to throw off potential pursuers, they drove in silence.
Schism of Blood and Stone (The Starfield Theory Book 1) Page 25
