“No form of contraception is one hundred percent foolproof, Karen. As always, life will find a way if it can. I don’t know for certain but can only assume that my speeding up of Adam’s metabolism after his accident somehow either used up the implant or it reacted with one or more of the drugs given to him at the Hospital. It is a moot point, for the damage is done. For what it is worth, I am sorry.”
She lay still, watching the tiny cluster of cells for several minutes, her mind a whirl of thoughts and emotions. Vimes nudged her mind, bringing her back.
“How far gone am I Vimes,” she asked her companion, “I can’t tell from this image. Do you know when it happened?”
“I would hazard it may well have been when you both “discovered” how you truly felt about each other, although I can’t be certain, given how often you two have been…”
“That’s all I needed to know, thank you,” she interrupted, feeling a little silly about being embarrassed at Vimes blunt response. “What the hell do I do now?” she asked herself out loud.
“That is entirely up to you, Karen,” Vimes answered, “but I urge caution. As you were a Doctor in your previous life, you know how uncertain pregnancies can be in the early stages, however, the scanner picked up no abnormalities either in you or the baby, so the prognosis for you going to full term are excellent.”
“What if I don’t want it, can I do that?”
“Certainly, if that is your wish, but somehow I can’t see you doing that to an embryonic child, created from your love for each other. Or am I wrong?”
“Embryonic! That’s given me an idea. Can you remove the embryo and store it in stasis until I am sure what I want to do?” she asked.
“Yes, but at this stage, with the embryo already having attached to the womb, it is not without risks, and the possibility of damaging the child or miscarrying are increased.”
Karen sat up, the scanner wings retracting in response, the blue glow fading. She looked down at her abdomen and instinctively placed both hands over it in a protective gesture as old as womankind.
“I don’t know, Vimes, I really don’t know. I just wasn’t expecting this to happen so quickly. No disrespect to you, but I need someone to talk to, you know, a real person, someone I know, another woman.” She shook her head. “With poor Christine gone, there’s no-one here I can talk to.”
“I understand, Karen,” Vimes responded, sounding a little reproachful, “ but don’t forget there have been many Empresses too, so I am not without experience in this area.”
Karen swung her legs off the table and stood up, straightening her flight suit and sending instructions for the door to be unlocked. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and headed off to her quarters, ordering food to be ready for when she arrived. Not having eaten breakfast and finding herself ravenously hungry, a cynical part of her mind pointed out she was now eating for two.
Later, in her quarters, Karen heard the ship’s AI inform everyone that Duke Gallagher would be making an important public announcement, but she didn’t want to hear it, so switched it off and sat listening to music instead. She’d tried to like the mainstream music popular in the Empire but found much of it reminded her of Euro-pop, somewhat bland and geared to a mass market. Fortunately, Vimes had ensured a complete catalogue of Earth music was available to her on demand. “Eat your heart out Spotify,” she thought, setting down the last of her breakfast. She began selecting tracks from the Beach Boys to try and lighten her mood, for as much as she loved Adele’s voice, her songs would have been too depressing for her current state of mind.
As Karen ate, she debated with herself what to do next. Obviously, at some point, she knew Adam would have to be told, but this was predicated on her letting the pregnancy go full term. Termination remained an option, but Vimes was right, he did know her well, and unless something drastic happened, she would give birth to the Emperor’s heir. The enormity of that and what it meant to them both hit her hard. No longer hungry, Karen sat back into the chair, allowing its ultrasonics and warmth to relax her and help the thought process, the music playing in the background.
“Even before I was pregnant, neither Adam nor the Emperor would have let me into a war zone, and now it would be inconceivable,” she thought, reaching for a cup of tea and taking a sip. “Adam can’t be spared from leading from the front, so I’m on my own for the foreseeable future. What to do, what to do?”
The song Sloop John B began playing in the background. Karen closed her eyes and half-heartedly began listening to the music and lyrics.
“I feel so broke up, I wanna go home,” sang the vocals and suddenly it came to her, she really did want to go home; back to Skye and her aunt and uncle. They would both make a fuss of her, and there she would be safe and welcomed. “A dose of normality, around familiar things, is just what I need right now,” she told herself, now determined to see her family again.
“Vimes, how do I go about getting home to Skye?” she asked her companion, noticing how strangely quiet he had been since the attack on Christine. The music stopped, replaced with his voice.
“Ah, I see you have decided what to do. It is quite simple. Christine brought with her a Jump capable yacht, and it is currently sitting in one of the hangers. I suggest once we have Jumped back to Empire space and Gallagher has departed, you take it and slip away unnoticed. No point in spending days travelling to Capital before you Jump. Nobody will notice you have left the ship as I have been careful to keep your true identity secret from everyone onboard apart from Gallagher. Those that are aware you accompanied Christine will simply assume your role was that of a companion whose services are no longer required. Yes, your absence will draw little, if any, attention, what with the news of Christine’s death having just been announced. Everyone is far too upset to notice your absence, and I will see to it the ship’s AI handles any queries.”
“No objections, then? I’m surprised you aren’t trying to persuade me otherwise,” she responded.
“Why should I, Karen? You are carrying the future ruler and where else is safer from the rebels than Earth? Only a very select few know of its existence. A great many things have happened to you and a period of reflection amongst familiar surroundings will be of immense benefit. You can leave a message with me to give to Adam. I will send it to him once you have left and let him know where you are. When it is safe to do so, you can either return to Capital under your own steam, or he can come and get you.”
“When is the earliest I can Jump?”
“Formalities with the Felidae are now complete, and we will Jump home within the hour. Gallagher will depart in his private yacht once we are safely in Empire space, leaving this ship to travel inwards to Capital with Christine’s body. On arriving there, the people’s grief will be profound, so any time between his leaving and this ship’s arrival on Capital is fine. However, my counsel would be to leave sooner, rather than later.” He paused. “Obviously, I will be accompanying you to Earth, but for safety, we will leave the yacht in orbit. While we are on Earth, there are some things I need to check up on too.”
“Like what?” Karen asked, curious.
“Earth has changed tremendously since 1943. Advances in science and technology have been rapid, and I believe it will not be long before several major breakthroughs occur. I need to be sure, on behalf of the Crown, that there remains an Earth for future Emperors to use. I left several avatars behind to do a lot of preparatory work, but I need to personally check on progress, meaning this is an ideal opportunity to do so.”
“Oh, I didn’t know. Please begin preparing the yacht. I will say goodbye to Duke Gallagher personally, then immediately Jump after he has left.”
“Already done, Karen. I made sure it was prepped and ready the moment Christine died. I’ve also arranged for your motor car to be made available, for you will require transport once home. It will be waiting for us when we Jump back to the Empire.”
Karen shook her head, not for the first time wonderi
ng if anyone really knew the extent of Vimes abilities. While she had no doubts as to his loyalty to the Doone family, his ability to usually be at least one step ahead of everybody else had given her pause for thought on several occasions.
She mentally checked with the ship’s AI to find out when they would be Jumping back to the Empire, then contacted Carmen, the Duke’s aide, to arrange a goodbye meeting with him. Carmen immediately put her through.
“Hello, Karen, how are you feeling now; is the head any better?” he asked before she could say anything.
“I’m fine now, thank you. I just wanted to arrange a time with Carmen to come and say my goodbyes to you before you leave for your fleet, but she put me straight through to you instead.”
In her mind, Karen could hear him laugh gently. “I have you now on what you would refer to as speed-dial. I have recently spent time learning some of the more interesting idioms from your home planet. Now you will always be put straight through to me unless I’m otherwise engaged. I was going to call you when Vimes notified me you were free. Like you, I wanted to say goodbye in person. Is twenty minutes too short a time?”
“No, that’s fine; see you then, at your yacht’s hanger?
“Done,” and with that he broke the contact, leaving Karen to decide exactly how much she was going to tell the impressive Duke.
The twenty minutes passed in a blur, and although most of her packing had been organised by servitors, by the time they had finished Karen had enough cases and clothes to fill her car to capacity. Surprisingly, she didn’t even notice the Jump back to Empire space. Karen debated with herself whether to change into her Earth clothes now or wait until in orbit around her home planet. She decided on the latter, not wishing to draw any undue attention to herself and would say goodbye to the Duke in the same flight suit she had been wearing earlier. With the meeting fast approaching, Karen took a transit tube to the Duke’s hanger and on exiting, found him already waiting. Through the transparent smart-metal that separated them from the vacuum of the hanger bay proper, Karen could see his private yacht being made ready. A pressurised walkway extended out to it. Underneath, several large crates were being moved around by armoured figures. She watched as snake-like mechanical arms reached down from inside and draw them upwards.
Unsurprisingly, no-one else was in the waiting area with them, and Karen suspected Gallagher had made sure they would be alone to say their goodbyes. She waved at him and began to walk over, noting how casually he was dressed. Although not wearing one of the ubiquitous flight suits, he looked more comfortable and relaxed than before, despite what had happened to them both.
She took his outstretched hand and shook it warmly, looking up into his face, but on seeing the look on it, impulsively gave him a hug instead, holding him tight. Karen felt him return the embrace and sighed deeply, his strong arms and powerful presence making her feel safe for the first time in what seemed like ages. Patrick, having lived in a household full of women long enough to know what this one needed, let Karen hug him for as long as was required, knowing she would let go when ready.
Finally, Karen broke away and smiled at the Duke.
“Thank you, Patrick, I needed that. Before you raise the subject, no, I'm not ready to tell you what Freya and I discussed after you left us.”
He shook his head in mock disapproval, “A promise is a promise, Karen. I would not have asked, but as you have raised the subject, are you sure? I might be able to help in some way…?” his words hung in the air.
Karen shook her head. “Nice try, but no. I just wanted to say goodbye and thank you for saving me from…” she stopped, not wanting to acknowledge or dignify Collinson in any way by saying his name out loud. “…from him. You’ve been very kind to me and, well, I think I'm going to miss you a lot. I just wanted you to know that.” Karen stopped herself from saying more, her emotions closer to the surface than she cared for them to be, “ Look at me, I’m going all mushy.”
The old Duke said nothing. Instead, he stood still, a gentle smile on his face as he watched Karen’s; trying to read what was being kept hidden behind her eyes. After a few moments, he gave up, his smile widening further.
“When you see Adam, please tell my surrogate son to keep in contact and not wait so long before finding the time to say hello.” His smile disappeared, like winter sun suddenly hidden by cloud. “As for you, Karen, for what you tried to do for Christine and in averting a disastrous conflict between the Felidae and the Empire, I will always be in your debt, no matter what may happen in the future between you and Adam. On Wayland, there will always be a home and a place for you with my family.”
Gallagher reached forward and gently kissed the top of Karen’s head, reminding her of Uncle Alastair and making her suddenly awfully homesick for Skye and the family.
“Goodbye, Patrick.”
“Au Revoir, Karen,” he replied, his smile returning. “Until the next time.”
Gallagher spun on his heels and walked off towards the docking tube and his yacht. She knew he wouldn’t look back, so made her exit, checking with Vimes if all of her stuff was now on Christine’s yacht.
“It is, and one of my avatars has already Jumped from Capital with your vehicle and is waiting for us well away from prying sensors. It will only take a few moments for it to be transferred over once we have Jumped to meet it.”
Within minutes, Karen was at the entrance to Christine’s personal yacht, feeling strangely reluctant to activate the door. She placed her palm on the plate and sent the signal to open, then walked inside. Karen made her way to the command chair and sat down, the seat restraints forming around her. She took a deep breath and realised that she could smell Christine’s presence, perhaps a last, lingering trace of her perfume released when she sat down. Without warning, Karen began to cry, feeling again the keen sense of loss and mourning for her friend, the smell having broken through her emotional façade with ease. Not wanting to join with the ship’s systems while feeling this way, she waited a few minutes to compose herself. Somewhat calmer, she began merging, the ship’s AI and a feeling of wellness immediately improving her mood as her senses began reflecting the ship's state of readiness.
Karen flexed her mental muscles, the intimate neural interface responding and bringing the Jump engines alive. A quick question to Vimes confirmed internal ship's sensors were off and there were no witnesses, so she began the Jump sequence. Outside, the familiar glow grew, until the ship was bathed in light, then…
Discontinuity…
The afterglow fading from her vision and sensory input, a part of her mind noted they were now deep in interstellar space, far from any possible observer.
“Why here?” she asked Vimes, out loud, at the same time instructing the AI to turn the walls transparent so she could get a clearer view of the faint stars.
“I chose this spot as it’s far enough away from anywhere,” came the reply, “it’s regularly used when the family doesn't want any witnesses. See, over there is the transport containing your car.”
As if on cue, the transport decloaked and her mind picked up the energy signature of a small ship just a few hundred yards away. Fascinated, she watched as a hanger bay door opened and her Mini floated out, a tiny speck that grew larger as it moved closer, guided by planes of force from the transport. At the midpoint, control was passed over to her ship’s AI, something she was grateful for as bringing her car across looked difficult.
“Don’t scratch the paintwork,” she told the AI, worried her car might get damaged. She felt a little ashamed when it reassured her everything would be fine, but still, she breathed a sigh of relief when it confirmed the Mini was safely installed in the hold.
“Is the battery charged?” she asked Vimes.
“Sort of,” came the cryptic reply, “I asked Graham Flower, the family armourer, to make a few subtle modifications while you were away. No need to worry about the battery being charged ever again.” Vimes sounded smug.
“What have you do
ne to my car?” she asked him, a bit concerned her beloved Mini might have been ruined.
“Don’t worry, other than increased performance, you won't really notice any difference. The engine still runs on diesel but is now frictionless, so it revs much higher. The turbo spins faster, and your Mini will now accelerate quicker than most cars. The only thing we haven't changed are the tyres, so don't overdo it. Graham was fascinated by your vehicle and wanted to make many more changes, but I dissuaded him. He did have trouble synthesising your fuel. It took him several hours of research in the history books to work out how to do it.”
‘Please arrange for my things to be packed into the car, Vimes, including my special case,” she instructed him.
“Already in hand. By the time we land everything will be ready for you to make a quick exit,” came the reply.
Outside, as suddenly as it had appeared, the transport vanished in a blue glow, leaving them alone again in uncharted space with only the distant stars for company.
Breaking out of her reverie, Karen instructed the AI to Jump for a high orbit around Earth. The ship’s AI began the familiar countdown, her anticipation and excitement at the thought of going home rising in counterpoint.
Discontinuity…
The faint light of distant stars was instantly replaced by the blue-white radiance of Earth. Below her, Karen made out the butterfly-shaped Isle of Skye; today cleared of any cloud cover and coloured green-brown against the deep blue of the sea surrounding it. The other nearby islands were also clear, although further inland towards Inverness the ground was partially hidden by white cloud cover. A quick check of the local time reassured her that it was early morning. She instructed the wall in front of her to focus in on her destination, the tiny settlement of Struan. Immediately, it lensed, and she was able to roam around the landscape and zoom in towards where she wanted to land with her car.
Imperium: Coda: Book Three in the Imperium Trilogy Page 9
