Paying the Price (Book 5 of The Empire of Bones Saga)

by Terry Mixon

  “Some, but not exactly. This next part is going to be difficult to understand. Even our experts are having some difficulty with explaining it.”

  He ran them through the AI ghost of Ned Quincy and how it had taken up residence in Kelsey’s implant storage. He stressed how the man’s detailed knowledge of Old Empire special operations was invaluable and how he could help them in ramping up for war. They rightfully looked alarmed.

  “Let me end by saying that he has only the access she grants him. Kelsey is always in control of her body and can put him to sleep, if she chooses. His memories, though incomplete, provide a wealth of training that she could never have gotten about being a Marine Raider.”

  “That concerns me in spite of your reassurances,” the emperor said. “Could he be relocated?”

  “The scientists haven’t had any luck building a computer he can run on. Frankly, he shouldn’t be possible, so we’re leery of doing anything to risk him. He’s one of a kind and all attempts to recreate lightning in a bottle have failed.”

  “And you’re sure that he can’t influence her in any way?”

  Jared nodded. “They’ve done a lot of testing and the hardware only allows Kelsey to control her body and mind. She can allow him access to see through her eyes or control her movement, but she’d in charge. And her thoughts are her own. There is no possibility of mental influence.”

  Karl Bandar rubbed his eyes. “I’ll want a full report and regular updates on that situation. It, too, is an Imperial secret. I don’t want that even put into writing. If word got out that she had someone living him her head or was hearing voices, certain segments of the senate would go insane. Absolutely no one else is to know until more time has passed. Is that all?”

  Jared smiled. “Much to my chagrin, she’s also assumed command of a Marine Raider ship, Persephone. The computer will only accept a Raider as a commanding officer, so she’s it. She’s learning to command a ship in space, too, and not doing so badly. You have every reason to be very proud of her, Majesty.”

  The emperor looked as though he’d been run over by a grav bus. “I am proud of her. It’s just going to take a while to get my head around this.”

  Yeats shook his head. “She’s smaller than my youngest granddaughter. She doesn’t look like she could lift, well, anything.”

  Jared nodded. “And yet she can do this.”

  He played the video of her lifting the weight machine in Courageous’s gym. The whole thing, weights and all.

  “Gentlemen, Princess Kelsey is the most dangerous fighter in the Empire today, bar none. And that’s what we were fighting. What we will be fighting if the Rebel Empire figures out we’re still alive.”

  “Colonel Andrews is going to kick himself for leaving me alone with her,” the emperor mused. “Or he would if we allowed this to get out. I’m declaring it an Imperial secret as of right now. I want all copies of this locked away and everyone that knows about it needs to be warned to keep their mouths shut.”

  “That might be difficult,” Jared said. “The first video is widely available on Pentagar. They’ve even produced a vid drama about us with sterling reviews. This information is going to leak.”

  “We have control over what comes in from Pentagar at the moment,” Yeats said. “We can warn everyone to keep it close. If she has even a shade of the respect I think she does, we’ll keep a lid on it for a while.”

  “We only need a bit of time,” the emperor said. “I don’t want to cause panic in the streets. Eventually, we’ll have to spread word of the enemy capabilities. Right now, there are enough other shocks to bury this one.”

  Karl Bandar shook his head. “Let me see the recording from Emperor Marcus.”

  Jared played it for them. The two men watched in reverent silence.

  “Well,” the emperor said, “that’s as clear as crystal to me. The sitting ruler of the Terran Empire issued an edict that no emperor since has rescinded. It doesn’t matter that we didn’t know it existed on Avalon. We’re at war and Kelsey had exactly the authority she claimed. I hereby endorse and approve of my daughter’s actions.

  “That might not solve all the problems, but it should make things a bit easier for you to manage, Robert. That means her promotions for you and your fellow officers are valid and sustained by me, Admiral Mertz. Congratulations on a well-deserved promotion.”

  Yeats nodded. “That will clear away many of the distractions. The Imperial Senate is going to scream, though.”

  “Let them,” the emperor said. “This is an Imperial function. We’re the same Terran Empire as the one Marcus headed. Lucien took over as emperor after his father’s death. The line is unbroken. I might not be able to sweep the table clear, but I can definitely say this one matter is settled.”

  He smiled at Jared. “And I hear other kinds of congratulations are in order. A certain little bird tells me you and Crown Princess Elise are…shall we say, good friends?”

  Perfect. Now his father knew about his love life.

  “I can assure you there was never any impropriety.”

  The emperor raised his hands. “I never implied anything else. I’m certain you’ve done everything humanly possible to bring our peoples closer together.”

  Wow. Did the emperor just make a bawdy joke? It made his head spin.

  And then he smiled. “Well, then you’ll be delighted to hear that your daughter has been making friends, too. Remind me to introduce you to Marine Major Russ Talbot. He and your daughter are living together.”

  The emperor rubbed his temples. “I thought her quarters had a few male touches. Dammit. I wonder how angry she’ll be if I ship him off to Thule?”

  Jared laughed. “If that’s the least of your worries, you’re in good shape. Frankly, the public is going to be causing you a bigger one. We arrived through flip points that didn’t exist before. With the help of an alien intelligence orbiting a black hole. One that can open gateways to other universes. How the hell do you keep something like that under the rug?”

  The emperor shrugged. “You tell them what you can of the truth. That the process is experimental and classified at the very highest level. We’ll give it a code word classification and call it Project Rainbow Bridge. We’ll need to tell everyone here to keep it under their hats.”

  Jared nodded. “I can think of a good way to hide the alien aspect of it, too. One of our scientists has been working on something in a related field. He’s developed something he calls quantum communication. It’s faster than light and undetectable, at least at our technological level.

  “It works at interstellar ranges, too. We can still talk to the alien station. And while we were there in the black hole system, we were able to talk with Harrison’s World. We can’t reach any location other than the black hole system right now, so there’s an upper limit, but it’s a significant one. With a system of relay stations, that limit becomes largely irrelevant.”

  He brought up the flip map of the Old Empire. It now had the newly created links on it.

  “As you can see, we now have a full map of the explored flip points. Carl Owlet says we have some additional information given to us by Omega, but it still needs to be processed.

  “The one I’ve highlighted is from Avalon to the Nova system. It’s almost a thousand light years away. This is by far the longest wormhole we’ve ever seen. The one to Pentagar is only slightly shorter. Carl Owlet tells me we can still communicate with Omega.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Yeats whispered. “We could communicate with ships away on an expedition.”

  “Yes, it does have some down sides,” Jared admitted.

  The older man gave him a wry look. “You’re an admiral now, Jared. That means you’ve become one of us backseat flag officers. You’ll come around. And, since we’re now both admirals, I think you can call me Robert, at least in private.

  “Joking aside, micromanagement would be something we need to avoid, but it has the potential to allow front line commanders to pass data b
ack quickly and respond to strategic changes in their orders. Finding the right kind of balance would be key.”

  “So, you intend to tell the world that this scientist designed this breakthrough, too?” the emperor asked. “He won’t be able to replicate it.”

  Jared nodded. “True enough, but since it’s highly classified, he won’t be able to share any details of what was done. Not even the theory behind it. Certainly not the equipment required to make it happen.”

  “The academics are going to go insane,” Yeats—Robert—predicted. “They’ll make all kinds of demands and probably protest. We did promise to share the technological finds with them, after all. In writing.”

  The emperor shrugged. “That’s the way it has to be for now. One day we’ll be able to share the truth.

  “The long range communications gear is a grand achievement in its own right. Undoubtedly worthy of the Lucien Prize. Give me the data on it and I’ll present it to the board when I get back home. They’re already considering this year’s candidates. Your man will undoubtedly win in the physics category. What is his name?”

  “Carl Owlet. He’s seventeen and only a graduate student. Brilliant, but somewhat of a private person.”

  The emperor grinned. “Well, he’s going to be in for a rude awakening, isn’t he?” His expression sobered. “There are a few other matters we need to discuss at length. Things like how we shift the Empire to a wartime economy. How we start building the ships we’ll need to fight the Rebel Empire with. Harrison’s World is a great resource, but need to spread out our capabilities.”

  Yeats nodded. “We’re also going to need an unprecedented number of people to man those ships. And to fight on the ground. We can’t capture those planets from orbit. We have to occupy them and root out the rebels as we go. And besides capturing the worlds, we’ll need garrison forces. The Old Empire is huge and we don’t have the people. We need to recruit and train as we go.”

  “Those are just the start of the problems we face,” Jared said. “We need to ramp up implant usage among the civilian population. We need that productivity. And with the advent of medical nanites, society will change. Lives will extend to hundreds of years.

  “Also on the military side, we need to figure out how to best use the flip point jammers, build fighters, train pilots, and develop doctrine. I then we should also begin work designing massive forts to guard the flip points, set up some kind of FTL communications network, and assess the other technology the Old Empire knowledge can provide.”

  Karl Bandar sighed. “We’ll need a lot more people to do that, but let’s hammer out a general idea of what we want to look at first. Then we recruit helping hands. Jared, I think you’d best call for that food now.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Carl was finalizing the assembly on his next piece of equipment when Major Angela Ellis stalked through the hatch. She looked angry. Big surprise.

  He set the equipment he was working on down and turned to face her. “Come back to have another go?”

  The bruise was almost gone. And he really didn’t need to antagonize her like that. It had just popped out of his mouth.

  She stopped a few feet short of him. “I was wrong to hit you. It won’t happen again. But I want to know why you did that?”

  “I’ve been asking myself that very same question. I’m not sure what the answer is. I’ll blame the other me.”

  She frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Did you read the message the other me before last left on the station? Let me send it to you.”

  He watched her reading it and knew she was done when she started shaking her head. “Why the hell would he say that? We barely know one another. Did he want me to punch you? You are kind of an asshole, so that’s not out of the question.”

  Carl smiled a little. “I did some checking over the files in his implants earlier today. I found a trove of interesting images and vid files. Like this one.”

  He sent her his personal favorite. The image was obviously from a handheld camera. It showed himself and her, cheek to cheek and grinning like fiends. She was holding the camera out and he could see the Pentagaran parliament building in the background. The two of them looked close. Kissing kind of close.

  “Did you make this? You’re sick.”

  He held up his hand. “Innocent. I found a lot of vids and images. It looks like you and earlier me were a hot item. In fact, all but one of the other Carls had vids or images that linked us romantically in multiple universes. That last one was more of a lab rat than I am. Maybe he didn’t get out enough to date.”

  She pulled up a lab stool and sat. “That makes no sense. Why? How?” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We’re not them and it was wrong of you to kiss me.”

  “I know. I will say, however, that it was worth getting punched in the face to carry out my other self’s final request.”

  “Just don’t do it again. We’re not them and…” She clamped her mouth shut. “Kelsey wants me to teach you hand-to-hand. When would you like to go to the gym and start?”

  “Never. I’m not going to be competent at fighting. Period. You and I both know that. Let this go.”

  She shook her head. “When my princess tells me to do something, I do it.”

  “Like when she told you not to threaten me and you did it anyway? I’m not seeing why this is a problem.”

  She sighed somewhat aggressively. “Don’t push me, Owlet. I can tie your skinny ass into a pretzel.”

  “I can’t see what the other me saw in you. You’re bossy, touchy, and stubborn.”

  “And, apparently, an idiot. You’re dangerously reckless and pushier than I am. We’re obviously unsuited for one another.”

  “And yet, there we were. In any case, I can’t go now. I’m working on something.”

  She looked at the oddly shaped device. It looked like a bulky arm brace. “What is it?”

  “A portable battle screen. Very similar to the one in the hammer. I built a fusion plant without the grav drive element and installed it with the screen generator in this arm brace. It’s bulky, but I’ll probably be able to make it smaller with a little work.”

  Major Ellis picked it up. “How would someone use it?”

  “Hold out your arm.” He strapped the unit onto her left forearm. “Have you ever seen a vid where old time people were fighting with swords and shields?”

  She nodded. “Kelsey made me watch one about some guy pulling a magic sword from a stone.”

  “I’ve seen that one. Excalibur. I guess I know what my next project is. In any case, this generator forms a battle screen in the shape of a rounded shield. It’s about three feet across, so it won’t protect your legs unless you crouch down.

  “There’s a control to alter the shape of the screen. To narrow it and extend it lower. That would make it a bit taller than the wearer and about two feet across. If you went sideways and squatted, it would deflect a plasma burst around you. I’m working on joining two fusion units to the next model to increase the potential size a little more.”

  He gestured toward a suit of marine armor on a stand. “I’m adding one to that, too. It’ll be significantly larger and more powerful, but will act in the same manner. The first unit is only a prototype and proof of concept. Something I can put on a dummy and fire a gun at.”

  “And we all know how well that worked out last time.”

  “You don’t have to use it.”

  The sound of someone clearing their throat drew their attention to the hatch. Doctor Leonard stood there.

  Carl retrieved the prototype. “Good morning, Doctor. What can I do for you?”

  “You have a visitor.”

  He stepped to the side and Emperor Karl Bandar stepped into the compartment.

  Major Ellis braced to attention and Carl had to force himself not to do the same.

  He bowed. “You honor us, Majesty.”

  “On the contrary, Mister Owlet,” the leader of humanity sai
d. “You honor me. I’ve heard tremendous things about your work. Your inventions and breakthroughs are going to revolutionize a lot of things in the Empire.”

  He felt his face flush as he took the hand Emperor Karl extended. “I just did my part, sir. The team deserves the credit. Doctor Leonard is the one you should thank.”

  The emperor nodded. “And I have. Yet, he didn’t create interstellar communications. He didn’t design that protective device I heard you talking about. My apologies for standing in the corridor listening. We were waiting for the right moment to interrupt you.”

  “And it turns out we should’ve done that right off,” Doctor Leonard said with a smile and a shake of his head.”

  They’d overheard him arguing with her. Dammit.

  “That will teach me to leave the hatch open. My apologies.”

  “No need,” the emperor said. “It is I who should do so. I’m sorry I listened in on a private conversation. I do hope the two of you work out your problem. In any case, I’ve come to ask a favor of you.”

  “Certainly,” he said. “Whatever you need.”

  The emperor smiled. “I need for you to deny you had anything to do with creating the new flip points and then refuse to discuss it any further.”

  Carl frowned. “That’s easy enough. I didn’t have anything to do with it at all.”

  “Yes, but I’m going to imply you did and that it’s classified. Then your denials will be true, but no one will believe you. The subterfuge is necessary to keep people from knowing about your alien friend for a while.”

  “I can’t say I’m happy with lying, but I understand. I’ll do it, of course.”

  The emperor’s smile widened. “Excellent. I’m classifying this information top secret under the name Project Rainbow Bridge. You will only speak of the alien or the process with authorized people. For now, that is Doctor Leonard, Admiral Mertz, Admiral Yeats, Princess Kelsey, and myself. And Major Ellis, of course. The fewer people that know the precise details, the better.”

  Carl nodded. “Of course. What happens now? The mission is over. Or is it? I’m a little unsure if I should be packing my bags to go back to Avalon.”