Imperium: Coda: Book Three in the Imperium Trilogy

by Paul M Calvert

  “I hope you are right, Janice, I really do,” Adam replied.

  SCENE 21,

  HENRY V, ACT III SCENE 1

  Duke Gallagher was lying down on the operating table, held completely immobile by powerful force fields that acted on every cell in his body. With only his head and mouth able to move normally, he was bombarding the surgeon operating on him with questions. To his right, cell and gene printers were producing copies of his skin and muscle, using undamaged cells taken from his left shoulder as a template, which in turn were being picked up and stitched into his body by the other machine next to him.

  Despite the machine moving too fast for the human eye to follow, Gallagher knew the damaged or missing tissue in his shoulder was being removed and replaced by the newly printed flesh and bone, molecular sized needles weaving it into place and filling in the gaping wound that had once been his right shoulder. Although a far faster and less stressful process than artificially accelerating the body to repair the damaged areas itself, it did require the Duke to be kept motionless for several hours, keeping him away from the Bridge of his flagship. Honeyman had instructed the ship’s AI to restrict access to the Duke while he was being operated on, and although Carmen had easily gotten around the restrictions and was providing him with important information, Gallagher was itching to take his seat on the Bridge with his Officers.

  Finally sufficiently annoyed at the constant interruptions from Patrick, the Surgeon told him to be quiet and let him finish, so the Duke reluctantly kept his questions to himself and closed his eyes, thinking back on how he had ended up here...

  Gallagher had been in the forefront of the Marine attack to take back control of Duke Vincent’s extensive Palace, receiving his wound when one of the Rebel Duke’s personal bodyguard had managed to get through his defences and slice with his sword through Gallagher’s armour, taking a section of his shoulder with it. Fortunately, the suit had flooded the wound with medical coagulant foam that stopped him from bleeding to death, then oxygenated the remaining blood in his arm to keep the cells from dying before proper medical attention could be received. The pain had been tremendous, and even though it had lasted for only a few seconds before analgesic blocks were instigated by the suit into his nervous system, the shock of the wound had very forcibly reminded the old Duke of his mortality. Pulled out of the front line by his own bodyguard, Gallagher had tried to follow events by tapping into his Marines’ tactical sensors, but the blood loss, shock and effects of the drugs injected by the suit meant that his recollection of events was at times hazy.

  Following the successful rescue of Commodore Skye, the Jump Station had been the next to come back to the Imperial side, albeit not without considerable bloodshed. Despite the proofs offered that the Emperor and Crown Prince still lived, a small but defiant group of Marines on the Jump Station had refused to lay down their arms, requiring them to be overcome by force, the last ones surrendering after almost a day of fighting. Leaving a large contingent to guard the Station and Jump Point for when it stabilised, Duke Gallagher had begun the long flight in-system towards the planet, nearly ten days distant. Several days in, Alexander’s hidden drone sent Gallagher a personal message, confirming Adam’s decision to reveal the secret Jump technology. Shortly afterwards, another message confirmed that Adam had used the technology to retake the system for the Empire and Gallagher had decided to follow his example.

  Like Adam before him, the rebels had been caught unawares by the sudden appearance in orbit of his fleet, and Gallagher was able to not only subdue the orbital defences but destroy the Palace shield emitters before they could be activated. Unshielded and unable to fend off the attacking Marines, Duke Vincent and his loyal bodyguard had no choice other than to descend deep underground into bunkers from where they would make their last stand. This required the attacking Marines to fight their way down through layer after layer of stubborn defenders. Despite knowing he was defeated and help would not come, Vincent refused to surrender, even when Gallagher repeated again his offer of quarter.

  As the highest ranking Noble outside of the Imperial family, wherever possible Duke Gallagher was expected to lead his forces from the front and set an example. Despite having proven himself in battle on numerous occasions and loved by the Marines under his command, Gallagher had a personal score to settle with all of his traitorous peers and had jumped at the chance to lead the fight.

  Knowing how bravely Marines fought, he hadn’t expected it to be easy, far from it, but the ferocity of the defence had surprised him. The outer defences had been manned by Vincent’s shock troops, mercenaries brought in from outside of the Imperium, probably seduced by the false promise of wealth or glory. They fought well, but in the end died, spilling their blood on an alien planet far from home. Frustratingly for Gallagher, he had made it down to just outside Vincent’s inner sanctum before being wounded. The Marine who took him on had been a worthy adversary and Gallagher might have spared his life if not for his own bodyguard having permanently taken care of him seconds after striking the blow which injured him…

  “Wake up, Your Grace, everything’s finished,” said a voice, waking the Duke from an unexpected sleep.

  Gallagher sat up slowly and looked at the Surgeon. “You sent me to sleep didn’t you?” he asked, accusingly.

  A corner of the man’s mouth twitched upwards. “Yes, I did. I was finding your questions distracting so gave you a mild sedative. Now, your shoulder will be numb for a few hours while the medical nanites reconnect damaged nerve pathways. While they are doing so, it will tingle madly, but that is a good sign and nothing to worry about.”

  The surgeon’s face blanked for a second as he checked Gallagher’s medical history. “I see you have had this procedure performed many times, Your Grace. Goodness, over the years there doesn’t seem to be much of you that hasn’t had some sort of work done to it.” He looked the Duke straight in the face. “No point in telling you to take it easy then, is there?”

  “No there isn’t, but thank you for the advice and history lesson,” Gallagher replied, not knowing whether to be annoyed or amused by the Surgeon. “How are the other casualties?”

  After a short pause, the Surgeon spoke, “All of those who received treatment have survived, but many weren't as fortunate with their injuries and will need to have limbs regrown. The medical facilities on the planet were virtually unaffected by the fighting, so what with those on the fleet, we have sufficient regeneration tanks and equipment. It could have been a lot worse, Sir, if it hadn’t been for the new Jump drive. I dread to think how many more would have been hurt in a long engagement either in space or on the ground.”

  Gallagher swung his feet off of the medical table and stood up. He stumbled slightly as his blood pressure adjusted, the Surgeon reaching out a hand to steady him.

  “Thank you,” Gallagher smiled and nodded, then walked over to where a change of clothing had been placed by Carmen several hours previously. Taking this as his cue to leave, the surgeon left to attend to another patient. Feeling better by the second, despite his numb and now tingling right arm, Gallagher quickly dressed and picked up the two bodyguards waiting patiently for him outside the Surgery, answering their questions as to the state of his health as they took a tube to the Bridge.

  Before reaching his destination, Gallagher received notification of a personal message from Alexander and diverted the tube to take him to his suite, the two Marines taking station by the entrance.

  Gallagher sat down at his desk and called up the message, quickly reading it then instructing Carmen to contact the still hidden drone which had taken station close to his flagship, INS Waylander. Within moments, the connection was made, and he was face to face with Alexander.

  “This is a first. I never thought I’d see the day when you would make the secret Jump Drive public knowledge, Alex,” he told his friend.

  “Neither did I, but my son has a mind of his own. It will be his responsibility now. However, I’ve noted he hasn�
��t released news of the instantaneous communication, just the travel. I have a feeling he is keeping that quiet. How are you feeling, old friend?”

  “Itchy. I’d almost forgotten how annoying the whole healing process is. What can I do for you?” Patrick asked his friend, absent-mindedly rubbing his tight arm and shoulder.

  “I need you to bring the bulk of your fleet to rendezvous with me here. We have a short window before news of our new Jump Drive gets back to Frederick and his fellow plotters. I’ve despatched battle groups to each of the Rebel Sectors, and they are ready to strike at the Dukes when I give the word, using the tactics you and Frith have proved so effective. You and I are going after Frederick. Once we cut off the snake’s head what’s left of the body will die.”

  Gallagher immediately picked up on an absence. “What about Adam? What are your plans for him, as I note you missed him out just now?”

  “I’ve ordered him to collect his partner, Karen, and wait for me on Capital. He won't like it, but I need him to start arranging things for…” Alexander paused and took a deep breath before continuing, “…for Christine’s funeral and his coronation. He also needs to debrief Karen on what she learnt from Freya and her reaction to the new Jump technology. Adam decided to provide her with full plans of the new Jump Drive and Karen went alone to hand them over. Admiral Frith will return with Adam’s fleet and rendezvous with us shortly, once he is dropped off on Capital.”

  He looked at his friend and sighed. “Even for me, who is used to the technology, it is going to take time to start thinking in terms of everyone Jumping from system to system in a matter of minutes rather than weeks.”

  Gallagher said nothing at the news, letting his quick mind sort through all the ramifications of what he had just been told. Alexander waited, giving him time to go through it all. Finally, Gallagher nodded.

  “It makes sense. We maintain the balance of power with the Felidae and at the same time put them in our debt, assuming the Felidae even think of that concept in the same way we do. If I am any judge of things, Karen made a damn good impression on Freya, and I think it was the right thing to do. The Felidae would have managed to obtain access to the technology eventually, and it will still take them decades to retrofit all of their ships.” He looked at his friend closely, “Whose idea was it, yours or Adam’s?”

  Alexander smiled. “His. My son has finally come into his own and is making good choices now. He’s not going to like being kept away from the final battle, but I want him safe.”

  Gallagher shook his head. “No, Alex, Frederick is yours, and you want Adam out of the way so you can deal with him yourself. That’s the truth of it, isn’t it?”

  Alexander said nothing for a few seconds, then nodded. “Yes, you are right, Patrick. I don’t want to have to worry about him or Karen. This is something I have to do for my own piece of mind. I would feel a lot happier having you by my side when I go after that bastard. I know I can rely on you in a fight. Until he’s had a lot more experience in close combat, he’d be too much of an unknown quantity.”

  His voice took on a grim tone, and Patrick noticed how much colour had drained from his friends face just by mentioning Fredrick’s name, a tell-tale sign of his inner rage to anyone who knew Alexander well. As the two men were speaking, Carmen had been checking when the fleet could be made ready to Jump, juggling the needs of the occupying force with resupplying and appointing an interim ruling class to take over from those involved with the rebellion.

  “I can be with you in eighteen hours, Alex, with ninety percent of my original fleet. Is there anything else you need me to do?”

  “No, old friend. It will be good to fight one last battle with you.” And with that he cut the connection, leaving Patrick to stare at the empty space for several seconds before instructing Carmen to begin making preparations for what was to come.

  SCENE 22, CAPITAL

  Immediately after returning Freya and First Mihos to the Progression fleet, Karen had been at a loss where to go or what to do next, her immediate role completed. Indeed, she needed time to assimilate all the new information given to her by Freya, yet had to let Adam know her meeting had been successful. In the end, Karen remembered the safe place Vimes had taken the yacht to when transferring her car and had told Vimes to Jump there.

  Alone in the vastness of interstellar space, Karen turned the hull transparent and sat quietly in her command chair, letting the sensor data flow gently through her body, enjoying the now familiar feeling of wellbeing given off by the yacht’s systems. Distant stars hardly impacted at all on her awareness and at this distance from anything, her mass sensors were silent. Pulsars sang their regular song, registering as faint pulses in the background of her mind.

  Thinking about what she had learned, Karen now had a much better appreciation of how the Felidae saw the universe and their place within it, especially their views on other races and she was grateful the Empire had never sought to break or test the treaty in any way. Words Churchill had once used to describe the Russians came to mind, “A riddle wrapped up in an enigma,” and she knew this nicely summed up the Felidae. Appreciating the silence, she looked back at the past few hours, using her perfect recall to run through events…

  Before leaving Karen’s yacht to continue her Progression around her Empire, Freya had formally invited Karen and Adam to visit her on Mau Prime once the Rebellion was over and he had been crowned Emperor. With that, she had left Karen alone with First Mihos to say his farewells. To her surprise, the warrior had treated her almost warmly, although she thought it might have been her imagination. “Perhaps he thinks me part of his pride, now,” she had thought at the time, especially after he had provided her with a set of identification codes to be used so any Felidae ship would immediately know her status and provide clear passage or assistance. Freya’s perspective on the War between them and the Empire had left her with a better understanding of their beliefs. Despite Freya having imparted this all to her without any caveats, Karen found herself strangely reluctant about having to share it with anyone, feeling it was somehow private. Vimes quickly assured Karen he would only pass over such information to the ISS and Diplomatic service as he deemed appropriate, reassuring her that Freya obviously must have known he was listening to everything she was saying.

  Finally having sorted through her thoughts and feelings, Karen messaged Adam with the news of how the meeting had gone and was told to Jump to Capital and await his imminent arrival. During their conversation, Karen could see Adam was not happy with missing out on the final assault, obviously preferring to be with both Duke Gallagher and his father when they took down Frederick. Reluctantly, he had accepted the wisdom of his father’s orders and agreed, seeing sense in his making preparations for Christine’s State Funeral and his impending coronation. Adam had praised her efforts with Freya, and Karen suspected the deciding factor for his agreeing to miss the final battle was so that they could spend time together, something both of them needed but for differing reasons.

  Still, despite assurances from Vimes, she remained apprehensive about how he would take news of the baby. Even had she wanted to keep it secret for a while longer, her body had begun to betray her sufficiently for anyone who knew her intimately to notice the differences. Karen looked at herself using internal sensors, noticing the slight bump and larger breasts, grateful for the way her clothes adapted to any change in her shape.

  “This is getting me nowhere. Vimes, please return me to the private hanger on Capital. I need to freshen up after spending so much time in the heat enjoyed by the Felidae,” she told her companion.

  By way of a response, Vimes began the short Jump countdown, this time keeping his thoughts to himself, knowing the two young lovers needed to spend the first few hours alone.

  Several thousand light-years away, Adam was also contemplating their imminent meeting, his body having reacted instinctively to the thought of seeing Karen again.

  “Admit it, you didn’t put up too much of an
argument with father because you wanted to see her again, didn’t you?” he told himself, telling Vimes to be quiet and not say anything. “I miss her so much. How must my poor father be feeling over losing mother, knowing he will never see her or feel her touch again?”

  The thought dampened his mood and Adam spent a few moments trying to think of ways he might be able to share his father’s pain, only to realise that in the end, this was a burden only his father could carry, one that all relationships, no matter how loving or long, would eventually face. Adam grimaced at the thought, trying to dismiss it by turning his mind to the logistics of what he had to do next.

  Admiral Frith had already offered to take her Flag to another battleship and allow him to Jump with Britannia to Capital, but Adam had insisted his ship and crew deserved a chance to be there at the end, insisting she remain on board and just drop him off before returning. Both of them found themselves trying to adjust to the new reality of space travel, one where a ship such as Britannia could Jump instantaneously to anywhere and be back at the starting point within minutes of leaving. Yet again, Adam had reason to question the wisdom of making this technology known.

  He stood up from his desk and looked around the room, quickly deciding on what he might want to take with him, but nothing immediately came to mind. Servitors would put his personal things, such as they were, into storage and Frith would move hers and Tara’s into his quarters for the duration.