Exodus: Empires at War: Book 14: Rebellion.

by Doug Dandridge

  Today a half dozen aircraft hung in the air over the palace, taking up blocking positions to intercept anything that might be launched at the balcony. Interspersed among them were scores of soldiers in heavy armor, grabber units suspending them in the air. Higher up were more capable fighters, ready to swoop down on any threat. The palace grounds swarmed with more soldiers, and included some dozens of the mecha, the machines which had proven to be outclassed by the tanks of the humans. Still, they had their uses, and remained formidable weapons when used against lightly armed insurgents.

  “How many rebels did we take out last night?” he asked Pellishar, his chief of secret police.

  “Eighty or ninety at most,” said the male, looking away, not wanting to look at his leader after such a failure. “They have ceased gathering and marching. Now they strike from the shadows, killing every policeman, secret or otherwise, they can get in their sights.”

  “Can’t you take out their headquarters?”

  “We probably could if we knew where it was. Even the prisoners we captured didn’t know the location.”

  The Emperor didn’t need to ask if the prisoners taken might have withheld information. The Secret Police were very good at extracting it, and maybe one Ca’cadasan in a thousand could withstand the first rounds of interrogation. One in ten thousand might hold out for a week. All eventually broke.

  “We already know where their headquarters is,” growled Jresstratta, pointing a pair of right index fingers at the massive Cathedral standing twelve kilometers away. The spires reached three kilometers into the sky, the base covered over eight square kilometers. The only building larger in the city was the palace, a purposeful decision by Emperors past.

  “Do you really want to strike at the Church so openly?” asked Pellishar, staring at the Cathedral, slightly bowing his head. “The people won’t stand for it.”

  “The people will stand for whatever their Emperor decrees,” said Jresstratta, glaring at the Chief, challenging him to disagree. “I am the supreme power in this Empire. It’s about time that the Church learned its place in the hierarchy.”

  “How do you want us to do it?” asked the Chief, shrugging both sets of shoulders in acceptance. “From space? An airstrike?”

  “Nothing so crude. I want my soldiers to take the priests hiding in that structure. Kill any who resist, take the rest prisoner. We will have a public trial for treason, with executions to follow after they are pronounced guilty.”

  The Chief gave a head motion of agreement. There was no need to ask what would happen to any found to be innocent. The guilt of any captured in the Cathedral would be assumed. Only the fiction of a show trial needed to be presented to the public, who could be expected to rally to the side of their Emperor. Wouldn’t they?

  “It will take more than your Guard. More than my police force.”

  “Then I will order the First Division to participate as well.”

  The Chief looked doubtful at that pronouncement. The First Division was also considered Elite, with the best training and equipment in the army. However, they were not considered as utterly loyal as the other elite forces. They would harbor a much higher percentage of true believers, males who would have difficulty deciding who their fealty was truly pledged to. The secular, or the spiritual.

  The Emperor saw the continued doubt on the policeman’s face. He felt some of that doubt himself. He might be setting something into motion that he could no longer control. But did he have control of it now? He didn’t think so. He needed the new weapon to stop the human invasion of his space in its tracks. All the analysts agreed that the war had tipped to the point where conventional forces could no longer carry the day. If the humans won it was the end of the Empire, the end of the position of Emperor, and he could not allow that.

  “I want the strike to go in by this afternoon. Kill anyone who tries to get in the way. Resistence is treason. Understood?”

  The Chief gave another head motion of acceptance, then turned and walked away, face showing the concentration of one totally into link. The Emperor watched him go, satisfied that his commands would be carried out. He was sure with that one, since Pellishar had been instrumental in the lack of security around his father during the assassination. Some of the others were not such a sure thing. He would have to sit down with the ones he was sure of, after all of this was over, and determine who among his inner circle could be trusted, and who needed to disappear.

  Transfers first, he thought. Then the disappearences wouldn’t be as noticeable. Males left the planet to go to war all the time, and not coming back would arouse no suspicions.

  * * *

  “You need to see this, Primate,” came a voice over the Cathedral com system.

  The Supreme Vicar of the Church of Ca’cadasia turned to the holo that was appearing to the side of his throne. An aerial view of the great square in front of the Cathedral, swarming with troops in a skirmish line, moving forward with weapons at the ready. With a thought he moved the view, watching more formations arrayed around all sides of his Holy Seat.

  “It must be an entire division out there, Holy Father. What do you want us to do? The weapons systems are ready to fire.”

  The Cathedral didn’t have enough weaponry to defeat a force like this, but the invaders would take heavy casualties. The Primate thought about it for a moment, then dismissed the notion.

  “Not that,” said the Primate, another thought coming to mind. “Put me on the speakers. I will talk to my children.”

  “You’re on,” said the voice of the assistant in charge of the defensive systems.

  “My children. Think of what you do. An attack on the Church is an attack on the Gods. You put your souls at risk with such actions.”

  The Primate thought about saying more, but figured he had said enough. If they didn’t heed his words now, he couldn’t think of what else he could say that would get their attention. He watched as several soldiers lowered their weapons and stopped walking forward, followed by more, until it was apparent that almost half of the troops were standing still in confusion, while the others looked at them with varying degrees of disdain and disbelief.

  The Primate thought he had deescalated the situation. Then the first shots burst from the muzzles of particle beam rifles, and the slaughter was on.

  * * *

  “You, warriors. What in all the hells are you doing?”

  The trio of men from the first division said not a word as they kept the muzzles of their weapons lowered. Their lips moved as they said silent prayers, while the colonel from the Elite Guard continued to scream at them.

  “Cowards,” yelled the officer, his hand on the butt of his holstered pistol. “You will do your duty to your Emperor, or you will be branded traitors.” He pulled the pistol from the holster and held it by his side.

  Still the males didn’t move, and worse for the officer, more males stopped in place and lowered their weapons. The situation was threatening to get out of hand, and the colonel, not the brightest of males in the best of times, could only think of one solution. He raised his particle beam pistol, aimed at the face of the warrior in the center, and sent the angry red beam into male. The warrior’s face turned into a spreading cloud of superheated steam, the body falling backwards.

  He brought the pistol over to shoot the one to the left, while a captain at his side took out the third. That was their last action, as a dozen rifle beams intersected their bodies and blasted them to steaming pieces.

  The Elite Guard looked on in shocked silence for several seconds, before the more reactive members of that unit started to shoot down any males from the First Division that were within sight. Those other troops were slow to respond, but when scores of their own had fallen they started to return fire, burning down all of Guardmen and Secret Policemen they could target.

  A close range fight using weapons like particle beams couldn’t last long, despite the armor the males were wearing. The beams were too powerful, there were too many
of them, and there was almost no cover. Within five minutes ninety percent of the Ca’cadasans who had surrounded the Cathedral were no longer standing. They were not capable of standing. Most of the casualties were dead, large parts of their bodies broiled or vaporized. The wounded ranged from minor burns to warriors who would never be capable of movement again without the intervention of massive medical resources.

  The unwounded, what few there were, dropped their weapons and started on first aid, trying to stabilize those still alive and make sure they remained so. Groups who moments before had been trying their best to kill each other now worked to save the lives of their enemies. Ambulances appeared in the sky, while more police, these the standard order keeping variety, moved in to assist. The assault was over before it had really begun, with results beyond the wildest fears of those who had put it into motion.

  * * *

  The Primate stared in horror as the firefight kicked off. He had not wanted what had happened. The hope was that enough soldiers would refuse to go forward out of concern for their souls that the assault would ground to a halt. He hadn’t counted on military discipline, and the actions of officers who couldn’t stand to have their commands circumvented.

  “At least we didn’t lose anyone,” said one of the prelates watching from the audience chamber.

  The Primate targeted the other male with a glare, and that prelate wisely closed his mouth and stayed silent.

  “The Emperor won’t let this stand,” said Norrasta, his head moving in the motions of negation. “I expect they will move almost immediately.”

  “Do they have the forces near at hand?” asked another prelate.

  “Maybe not the ground troops,” said yet another church elder. “But they can strike at us from the air. By the gods, they can strike at us from space. And there is nothing we can do about it.”

  The Primate simply stared into space. The Church had its resources, mostly in the form of volunteers and resources given them by the people. Being the church of the official state religion, they also received funds from the government. It never seemed like enough, not with all of their commitments to the people. Those people included the slave races, who though they were raised in different religious traditions, worshipping other gods, were still considered by the Church of Ca’cadasa to be children of their gods as well. Just lesser in the scheme of things.

  “We hoped for the best,” said the Primate, standing to look out over the hundreds of senior clergy gathered in the room. “Now we must prepare for the worst. I hereby order all elders not needed for the defense of the Cathedral to evacuate. You will repair immediately to your regional seats, those who have them. As many as can get off world must do so. There you will continue to attend to the people. And spread the word about the crimes of the Emperor against our gods.”

  “We can’t leave you to the mercies of the Emperor, Holy Father,” protested an Over-prelate, the calls of other clergy added to his.

  “To stay here will be to die,” said the Primate, giving a head motion of negation.

  “Then why should you stay here?” asked Norrasta, closing his eyes and mumbling a prayer for them all.

  “It wouldn’t do for the leader of the Church to run and hide,” said the Primate, turning a smile toward the elder that was one of his favorites. “It is imperative that I stay at my post. And that everyone, the Emperor included, know that I am still here. Now, there will be no further arguments. I want all of you, with the exception of the few volunteers needed to keep the organization running, to leave within the hour. Pack up whatever you need, but don’t take too long. I suspect the young hot headed fool will act soon.”

  The other males talked among themselves, many still protesting. But they were obedient members of the Church, and the commands of their leader were as those of the gods themselves.

  Soon the Primate was left in the audience room, alone except for his personal secretary. He thought of ordering that male away as well. The loyal male would not leave the building unless escorted out by armed guards, and all of those had been ordered from the building as well. Besides, he couldn’t mistreat the young male like that. And he had decided he didn’t want to face the end alone, if it came to that.

  “Pray with me, Plloplop,” he told his secretary, bowing his head.

  “Who will we pray for, Holy Father.”

  “For the souls of our people. For the survival of our culture. And most importantly, for the Emperor.”

  “Why him?” blurted out the young male, a look of disdain on his face. “He is the cause of all of this.”

  “And that is why he needs our prayers. That his soul is not consigned to the deepest hells.” It was something that the Primate would wish on no one. Unfortunately, for all his power in the Church he was not a god. The destination of them all were the purview of those gods. He feared that the young Emperor would soon be standing before those gods, thrown from the edge of heaven into the abyss.

  * * *

  “We can have another division of soldiers in place by morning,” said General Hafftralas, the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army.

  “It might be better if we brought in Marines from the system defense fleet,” countered Great Admiral Mstrawara, the CIC of that system defense fleet. “I can guarantee their loyalty.”

  “And are you saying that my men aren’t loyal?” growled the general, taking a step toward the other flag officer.

  “Those out there today didn’t show much in the way of loyalty,” screamed the admiral.

  “Both of you. Shut up,” yelled the Emperor, standing up from his chair and staring both men back into theirs. He looked over at the admiral. “How many of your people are believers?”

  The admiral looked aghast at the question, and the Emperor had to guess that the male was most likely a true believer himself. Most of the military were, since they were asked to risk their lives on a daily basis, and needed the comfort of the holy myths. He was afraid that the only people he could count on to not believe were scientists and some few of the intellectuals in the government. And, of course, the large number who had lost their belief through the years, still a silent majority, and not in a position to actively aid their Emperor.

  “That’s what I thought. You are both dismissed.”

  The two flag officers looked at each other, doubt on their faces. They looked back at the Emperor, who didn’t like the expressions they were trying, without success, to hide from their faces. Two more to add to my list of males to watch, thought the Emperor, wondering how long that list would be before he got the situation under control. He wasn’t sure how he would get it under control, but if he was to survive as Emperor he needed to, and soon.

  “You are not a believer, are you, Chief?” he asked the head of his secret police.

  “Not for hundreds of years,” said the male, the look of concentration on his face showing that he was wondering why the Emperor was asking him such a question.

  “I want that Cathedral to fall on the heads of the clergy. But I can’t have something as blatant as an air or space strike. So, what can your people do? And can you trust them to keep their mouths shut afterwards?”

  “The people I have for missions like this will always keep their mouths’ shut. Or they will find a hidden grave for their efforts.”

  Good enough, thought the Emperor. He was sure that many of the believers would lay the blame at his feet no matter how it was handled. Without proof they could talk all they wanted. With the head of the Church gone there would be no rallying point. And as soon as the humans were turned back the majority would come to accept the measures their leader had found himself forced into for the good of the people.

  * * *

  “Your Holiness. We have found something in the subbasement. I think it is an explosive device.”

  The Primate felt a chill run up his spine. He had been waiting all day for the Emperor to strike. Something that would attract the notice of the populace, and make its way to the other worlds of
the Empire, and the military stationed on them. He hadn’t expected them to smuggle something in that might kill everyone in the Cathedral, while allowing them to make up any story they wanted to spin.

  “Send out a cast to all of the temples on the planet. And make sure that all of the news outlets get a vid of the device.” That would at least ensure that any story the Emperor told would be countered by the vid. Unless they spun a tale that the Church had the device for their own purposes, and some fool had set it off by accident. Not what he would consider a realistic story, but without a counter argument it might be believed by some. He hoped by not too many.

  “Can you disarm it?”

  “I don’t think so. It’s a common fission device, with a simple trigger that’s counting down, fast. By the time we get the cover off it will have detonated.”

  And if they shoot such a device with a particle beam, it will still go off. The Empire rarely used such devices. Fusion weapons needed to go off in a desired sequence or they were nothing but a small hydrogen blast, while anything that set off the high explosive triggers as close to simultaneously as a beam weapon would cause the fission explosion. A more primitive weapon might cause it to blow without going critical, but they had no projectile weapons at hand.

  “How much time do we have?”

  “We..” The communication died, at the same moment as the floor rumbled underfoot. The Primate had time for one last thought, and it wasn’t about him. The Church had to win, or the gods would turn their backs on the people.