“We need to find my sister.”
“I have.”
Juster rarely showed emotion, but his jaw fell at those two simple words. “Sire?”
Struthers chuckled. “I’ve found her, and I’ve found the source of her advanced ships. We’re going to put that fleet you’re gathering together to work. The sooner the better.”
“Where is she?” Juster breathed.
“Ever heard of Parsons’ World?”
It was Juster’s turn to stare off into the void. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t recall details.”
“It’s a world settled long ago by a right wing religious group. Since then, their religion has become their economics. They are a bunch of thieves and smugglers doing their best to avoid paying us our fair share. One of them decided to sell what he knew to us.”
“And?”
Struthers’ face lit in a grin. “She’s there.”
Silence hung in the air between the two men as Juster contemplated the words. They’d found his sister! It had been a long, frustrating search, but if the information Struthers had was correct, they had found her. His mind flew through options, then his hands balled into fists and his back straightened.
“We can’t attack,” he said.
Struthers frowned. “Don’t go getting soft on me now. We’ve been over this before.”
“It’s not the fact that she’s my sister, and certainly not the fact that she’s Queen,” Juster shot back. “It’s because the second I show up, she’ll leave. You saw what her ships can do. We’d lose her again.”
Struthers whirled from him, his body language easy to read. Clearly, he’d been living this moment for some time now, and suddenly his hopes were dashed. He headed for the liquor cabinet and picked up a bottle and glass.
“Sire, no!” Juster called. He stepped over to Struthers and took the bottle and glass from his hands. “You’re better than this,” he said, glaring into Struthers’ eyes from inches away.
Struthers took a step back. “Are you threatening me?”
“Stop being stupid. We’re in this together up to our eyebrows and we’re still in charge, but there’s no turning back. We focus forward, and we don’t give up or get stupid. We outsmart her.”
Struthers seemed to shrink. “We have to get her,” he mumbled. He lifted his gaze to Juster. “Our plan fails if any of the Chosen survive. We’ve known that from the very beginning.”
“It’s still true, but I need you to get out of this funk. I need you to lead again.”
“What can we do?”
Juster turned from him and walked across the room. He closed the door, then locked it. When he turned back to Struthers, the man had not moved. Juster walked back to him and leaned into his face. “What’s the penalty for striking the Emperor?”
“I’m not Emperor yet. You know that.”
Smack! Juster struck with an open hand and he didn’t hold anything back. Struthers’ head shot to the side. He went to his knees, then his hands. He stayed that way, just looking at the floor. After a time, he shook his head and stood up with his back to Juster. He brushed himself off, then turned, a hand rubbing his cheek.
Juster stared into his eyes looking for something. He wasn’t certain it was there or not, but he relented. “Are you back?”
The glare in Struthers’ eyes sharpened into a look of calculation. “You get only one of those.”
“So do you. We can’t afford any more mistakes. We’re going to get her, and we’re going to be smart about it.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“I just heard about all this.” He lifted a sharp eye to Struthers. “Give me a minute. Our options are limited. We get only one chance.”
Struthers stepped back to the window, then changed his mind and sat on a nearby couch with his back to the Palace. “You say we can’t send a fleet until she’s dead, and I agree. We’ll have to deal with her privately. Then we can move in and convince Parsons’ World to part with their secrets.”
“We’ll make an example of them while we’re at it,” Juster said as he sat in a padded chair. “You say they’re traders. If they developed the fast ships, their traders are probably equipped with the drive.”
“According to my informant, they are.”
Juster’s eyes wandered the room as he considered. When they stopped moving, they focused back on Struthers. “I’ll capture one of them. We’re going to start inspecting traders when they land. The beacons will tell us who owns the ship and where it’s been. It won’t take long to locate one from Parsons’ World.”
“Will that do any good?” Struthers asked.
“I don’t know. Some things can be reverse engineered and some can’t. We won’t know until we have one in our hands.” He paused, then said, “We can set up the Parsons’ World end of this pretty quickly. I’ll have my fleet waiting nearby in,” he cocked his head to the side, “say . . . six months or so?”
“I need you out in the sectors. I’m not willing to give up any more of them.”
“Yes you are,” Juster said firmly. “I’m no good out there right now. Until we upgrade the Chessori and maybe get some improvements from Parsons’ World for our own ships, engaging those fast ships will just cost me more men and ships. The Queen is our focus, and I’m prepared to give up a few sectors to get her.”
Struthers blanched. “Did I hear you right?”
“You did. I’d rather lose a few sectors than the whole war. We have plenty of other sectors.” He stood up and held his arms out wide. “Think about it from her perspective, Sire. She’s Queen, but she’s holed up on Parsons’ World. You know her. How long is she going to stay out of the picture?”
Struthers leaned forward. “I’m surprised she’s stayed out of it as long as she has.”
“She hasn’t, not completely. She was at Aldebaran. We don’t know if she was at Orion, but she might have been.”
“What are you saying?”
“She’s the last of the Chosen, Sire. They’ll keep her safe, but she’ll travel from time to time. We need to be waiting wherever she shows herself.”
“It’s a big Empire out there.”
“Then we make her come to us. One duty she cannot escape is to Name new governors.” Juster’s lips firmed. “I’d be willing to forfeit a sector or two if it meant we knew where and when she would appear.” He stared into the distance, then shook his head. “I don’t know how we do it, but we don’t have to be the experts here. We hire experts.” He thought again, musing out loud, “There’s only one time I can say with certainty that she’s vulnerable. It’s at the moment of Testing.”
“She’s never without her Protectors.”
Juster nodded. “I know. Failure is a possibility. We need a back-up plan.” At one time he’d known his sister well, but once she’d been named a Chosen his contact with her had diminished considerably. He put himself in her shoes and wondered what her focus would be during the coming months. Then it hit him.
“It’s time to convene the Imperial Senate, Sire.”
Struthers blinked. “It’s past time, but there are a lot of unresolved issues. I can’t take any chances. I have to come away with a win.”
“Sire, if we’ve taken her by then, the senate will do whatever you command. If we fail to take her before the senate meets, she’ll come to us. She will not let that convocation take place without making a personal plea to the senators. It’s her way.”
“She’d dare us right here on Triton?”
“She will if she has to. We might even want to make it easy for her.”
“Why? How?”
“Reduce security until the convocation starts. Then, go all out. To speak before the senate, she will have to be there personally. She would never settle for a recording. The moment she sets foot on the grounds, she’s vulnerable. That’s when we strike, and we strike with overwhelming force.”
“It could get dangerous for me. I’ll be there, and she’ll come with a sizeable force.”
“I don’t want her getting inside the Chamber.”
“I agree. There’s been enough public culling. To date there is no hard evidence that we instigated the coup. Killing her in front of the senate would be hard evidence against us.”
“If she makes it into the Senate Chamber, I won’t have any choice, evidence or not. Once I’m Emperor, no one can touch us, so it won’t matter.”
Juster nodded. “It’s a last resort.”
“The Chessori could help us.”
“Sire, you joke,” Juster said, staring at Struthers aghast. “We can’t let the senators experience the scree.”
Struthers smiled grimly. “The moment the senators feel the scree, they’ll be down. They’ll never know it came from the Chessori, and they’ll never see the Chessori take her out. We might even get away with claiming the scree was a weapon used by the Queen.”
His smile disappeared, and he changed the subject. “The Chessori have not lived up to their promises.”
“They are not invulnerable, as we first thought. However, they outperformed us at Aldebaran. We need more of them, lots more.”
“I don’t know how extensive their resources are.”
“They have a whole empire, Sire. If they want to continue trading here, they’re going to have to live up to their promises. That’s the deal.”
Struthers turned away, his gaze narrowed. “Suppose they don’t live up to the deal. Or suppose we decide we no longer need them. Can we back out of our arrangement?”
“Why would you want to do that? We’ve all invested heavily in this.”
“I don’t.” Struthers stepped over to a couch and sank into it, looking toward the locked door then up at Juster. “Do you ever get the feeling we’re being manipulated?”
Juster swallowed, unnerved. “No, Sire. I spend a lot of time with them. They’ve been working hard for us, and a lot of them have given their lives for us.”
“Is it for us or is it for themselves?” Struthers shot back. Then he dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand. “Never mind. It’s probably just my imagination. We have a plan. Get some people to Parsons’ World quickly. I’ll see about setting up a convocation of the senate.”
Juster stepped to the door, then turned around. “It’s nice to have you back, Sire.” To himself, he wondered how long it would last. Struthers had led them through the coup, and he had led effectively, but since the last Chosen had surfaced he’d been unfocused. Was his time past? Was it time for new leadership?”
His eyes shifted uneasily as he turned away.
Chapter 7
The Queen had to address the Imperial Senate. She didn’t know when that would be, but she knew Struthers could not wait much longer so it would be sooner rather than later. To address the Senate, she had to go to Triton, the headquarters world of the Empire, a world controlled by Struthers and his Rebels now. A means had to be found to spirit her into the Senate Chamber right under the noses of the Rebels, give her time to make her speech, then spirit her away. Since she was the Last of the Chosen, there was no room for error. Whatever plan they came up with had to be perfect.
Ellie lay in Mike’s arms in their bed on Parsons’ World. They were both ready for sleep, but he felt her anxiety. “What’s the problem?” he breathed into her hair.
“How do we do it?”
“Do what?”
“Get me into the Imperial Senate.”
He sat up straighter, still holding her tight. “I don’t have a clue. Is that what’s been bothering you?”
“Actually, no. I know you’ll come up with something.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s me. I’m scared out of my wits, but I can never let it show.”
He brushed strands of hair from her forehead and kissed her there. “You know that’s not true.”
“I’m Queen, Mike. Queens never show weakness.”
“Since when was fear a weakness? Besides, that’s not true. Outside this room it’s true, but in here you’re my Princess. Out of the whole galaxy, in this one place you can be yourself.”
She smiled and snuggled closer. “I hoped you’d say that. You might not always like what you see, but I need to be normal once in a while. You’ve taught me that. I can’t let it show to anyone else.”
“Not true. All of your Knights have seen you at your best and at your worst. They’re not exactly running for the exits.”
“My Knights are wonderful, each one is special, and I won’t let them down, but they’re not you.”
He grinned. “So that’s it? You think you’ll let me down?”
“Will I?”
“You will if you’re not yourself with me. We both need support once in a while. Isn’t that what marriage is all about? Let me in, Princess. I can’t support you if you won’t let me.”
She nodded. “But just in this room.”
“No, not just in this room. We have other ways of communicating with each other. A look, a smile, a touch, they’ll be enough.”
She closed her eyes, a feeling of warmth coursing through her, marveling at the man she’d fallen in love with. The day was bound to come when he needed her support. Considering the number of years ahead of them, barring an early death from this war there would be many opportunities. She would be his strength during those times, just as he was hers right now.
“I’m worried about you,” she murmured.
“Well, so am I. I haven’t even seen Triton and I’m scared. I need Otis, but he can’t go. Great Cats are no longer welcome there.”
“Val will figure things out.”
“He’s my Right Arm, but he’s not the expert we need. I’m taking Josh if I can talk him into it.”
She sat up, pulling her legs up to keep her balance while she faced him. “I feel better already. I don’t know him all that well, but Otis speaks highly of him.”
“He’s the best there is. If anyone can do it, he can.”
“Does he know?”
“No. He’ll need a Rider. That will be his hang-up.”
“Why? They’re a gift.”
He smiled. “You’ve never fully appreciated what I felt like when I woke up to Jake in my body. To someone from Earth it’s impossible to see the gift through the horror. Not for a long time anyway.”
“Reba did.”
He nodded. “She did, right from the start. When it actually happened, she had her sights on Val who already had a Rider. She was predisposed.”
“I suppose she was. I’ll talk to him.”
“No. Leave it to me. It’s my team even if he’s our leader.”
* * * * *
When confronted with Mike’s plan, Josh balked. His chosen place was by the Queen’s side, and he was determined to stay there.
“I’ve taken personal responsibility for Ellie,” Josh argued.
“Trust me,” Mike argued back. “There’s no one I’d rather have beside her, but I need you with me on Triton. Let’s be honest about this: every one of the Protectors you brought from Earth are as good as you are. They’ll take good care of her.”
“Then take one of them. I’ll be happy to make a recommendation.”
“I need you, Josh. You’re far more than just a soldier. Ellie will have first rate protection while you’re gone, and this mission is critically important to her long-term survival. She’s Struthers’ number one target, and you can bet he’s hoping she’ll be there. He’ll be ready, too. How better can you protect her than by creating our plan?”
Mike gave that time to sink in, then added, “But you can’t go without a Rider: you’d be discovered in a heartbeat. Your language skills and general knowledge of Empire ways are not good enough yet. A Rider will give you the tools you need, the tools all of us need you to have.”
Josh glared at him, and Mike knew this man well enough to kn
ow that the look was a clear refusal.
“If you have one serious shortcoming, my friend, it’s that you want to be on the front lines with your men,” he said to Josh. “You want to share their danger. I understand, but what your men really need from you is for you to command. It will be a big operation. What better way to protect them than to plan this mission personally?”
He paused for a moment, then added the clincher. “Would you rather leave the planning to me?”
Josh turned a hateful look to Mike. “Not fair. You know there’s only one answer to that. You went through Protector training with us, but as a soldier, not a leader. You don’t have a clue how to plan our operations, and you know it.”
Mike fired his last bullet. “I know it very well. Your Delta Force operators have spent years honing their skills, and our training with the Great Cats made them even more lethal. If it’s any consolation, Ellie jumped at the idea of your leading this operation. You can’t believe how relieved she was when I told her you might be going with me.”
Josh turned away. When he turned back to Mike, he shot some bullets of his own and his aim was perfect. “I’ve been making plans for my retirement, which isn’t that far away. I’ll never be able to return to Earth and look anyone in the eye if I take on a Rider.” He looked hard into Mike’s eyes. “Will I even be human? Are you human, Mike?”
Mike had considered the issue many times. “I can’t answer that,” he replied gravely. “For a while I was certain I wasn’t, but I’ve come full circle and now I believe that I am. Jake enhances me, there’s no question about that, but he has not changed my ‘human-ness,’ nor has he tried. He counsels, he is an incredible source of information and guidance, and he’s my friend, but he never, ever controls. He only helps. That’s the way of his kind. Jake hasn’t turned me into something I wasn’t before I met him. He and I still make mistakes, you’ve seen plenty of them, yet his presence has enhanced my value to the Empire, and in that respect, you, too, would be enhanced.”
Josh’s expression didn’t change, so Mike continued. “I told you that Riders are the single most valuable ‘commodity’ in the Empire, and there’s a reason for that. I’m walking proof of it. I’d be nowhere without Jake’s guidance. He comes from a long line of politicians, and if you carry one of his offspring you will have instant insight to things you never dreamed of. We need you, Josh, but you have to speak like a native if you go to Triton. Your Rider will help with that. To top it all off,” he added, “you’ll never be without a friend. You’ll never be alone again as long as you live.”
Voice of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book Three) Page 11
