Alexander went to the couch and sat down.
“Well, I certainly didn’t do Sophia a lot of good either,” the prince said.
“She made her choices and she has to take responsibility for them, although her testimony against Rupert will help reduce her sentence. At least she’s not facing exile like him.”
“His father is okay with that?”
“It was either execution or exile,” the emperor said. “Old man Tagus chose the latter. I supposed it’s better than burying his son...”
“What about Kate?”
Augustus sighed and scratched his chin.
“Well,” he said, “with Rupert and his plot exposed, I’ll simply pardon her and her pirate lover.”
“Seriously? You’d pardon Durant Blixx?”
“On the condition that he returns to the outer reaches of the Imperium. His antics will be less noticeable there.”
“What if Kate wants to go with him?”
“The other condition is that she doesn’t...”
“I guess you’ve got it all figured out,” Alexander said.
“There’s always variables,” the emperor admitted. “Warlock Industries has played a role too, although I think their part was mostly monetary.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was one of their cargoes that was hijacked, but mysteriously, the same cargo was sold by Warlock later, after they collected the insurance money. I doubt it was anything more than fraud, but they were also involved with finding the ark ships.”
“What does Warlock care about those?”
“I’m not entirely sure myself actually. Perhaps as their own kind of wild card.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Think about it, my boy!” the emperor said. “Each ship has two captains and their crews, not to mention thousands of human beings. It’s the biggest news to hit the Imperium in centuries. Why do you think the Dahl kept them on ice all this time?”
Alexander’s mouth dropped. “Wait, what?”
“Not the entire time, of course,” the emperor said. “But certainly for a while now.”
“Why didn’t they tell anyone?”
“The Cyber Collective was keeping them safe. No harm was going to come to them, but then Lord Maycare got involved and Kalidas thought it might be best to let the rabbit out of the hat, so to speak.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“The Abbot of the Dharmesh Monastery kept it under wraps for quite a while, but he concluded Maycare was going to find out one way or another. It was better to have Kalidas control the situation as best he could.”
“And you agreed to all this?”
“Well, not at first,” the emperor said, “but Kalidas, as always, helped me see the light. He said the sleepers had been away on their journey for long enough. It was finally time for them to come home.”
“So, the sleeper ships are really coming here?” Alexander asked.
The emperor chuckled.
“Oh, yes,” he replied. “God help us when they do...”
Epilogue
Freed from their icy tomb, the Merope and Sterope renewed their journeys, once Maycare and Bentley fixed the navigation computers on both ships. With a little luck, the sleeper ships would reach Aldorus without another 700-year delay. While Maycare and his robot were busy, Doric tended to Henry who faced bouts of migraines and extreme embarrassment. Neither seemed interested in talking about what had happened.
On Bettik, the forces of the metal messiah hunted down and destroyed the last remnants of the Omnintelligence. Davidson announced that the Cyber Collective would henceforth be called the Cyber Republic, with every robot getting a voice and, more importantly, a vote in the governance of their nation. A day later, political parties formed and immediately started plotting against each other. Davidson felt a great debt to the Patron, not realizing that all debts must someday come due.
The crew of the Wanderer returned to Imperial space in search of their next job. Fugg suggested a week-long bender to celebrate. While Ramus refused, Gen simply wondered what needed bending. On Eudora Prime, Mel Freck went back to work in her shop, but found repairing machines was a lot easier than fixing a broken heart.
Time may heal all wounds, but the future guarantees nothing except the slowly darkening void. The Imperial Astronomical Society surveys the night skies, mapping the stars and the spaces in between. At the farthest reaches, well past the edges of the Imperium and the Magna Supremacy, the charts are blank, not because they are empty, but because they are devoid of our understanding. They are the great unknown or, as the ancient cartographers would say, “Here there be dragons...”
Character List
Abigail: A gravitronic robot who works for Dyson Yost.
Augustus, Emperor Hector: Patriarch of the Augustus family and current emperor of the Imperium.
Augustus, Prince Alexander: Mischievous second son of the emperor and black sheep of the Augustus family.
Augustus, Prince Richard: First son of Emperor Augustus.
Augustus, Princess Katherine (“Kate”): Youngest and only daughter of Emperor Augustus.
Bar-Batos, Ambassador: Emissary of the Magna Supremacy and former adversary of Emperor Augustus.
Bentley: Longtime butlerbot of Lord Maycare.
Black, Magnus: A mysterious hitman with ties to both Imperial Intelligence and criminal syndicates.
Blixx, Capt. Durant: Captain of the pirate ship the Hotspur.
Boogs, Zarro: Disreputable vendor of questionable merchandise.
Burke, Lt.: Imperial Naval officer and attaché to Lord Tagus III.
Calico, Mister Jack: Quartermaster of the Hotspur.
Crawley, Detective: An unscrupulous detective of the Regalis Police Department (RPD).
Davidson, Randall: Member of the Robot Freedom League.
Doric, Prof. Jessica: Head of research for the Maycare Institute of Xeno Studies.
Freck, Melinda (“Mel”): A tinker from the Gnomi race, Mel builds whatever she can’t steal.
Fugg, Orkney: A Gordian and the chief engineer of the Wanderer.
G, Big: Tikarin leader of the Si-Sawat crime syndicate and proprietor of the Fat Cat Casino.
Gen: A general purpose robot owned by Capt. Ramus.
Groen, Lord Radford: An aristocrat often found gambling with life-long friend, Lord Woodwick.
Gurkin, Smitty: Mysterious Gordian associated with Maal-Bok.
Hitch, Capt. Cameron: Captain of the smuggling ship the Rattenbury.
Jericho: Advanced android with a gravitronic brain.
Kalidas, Counselor: Dahlvish adviser to Emperor Augustus.
Karel: One of several avatars who command others of their kind, including sentinels.
Koshkin, Calesta: Member of the Red Lotus crime syndicate.
Lucy, Lefty: Bodyguard to Prince Alexander and former member of the Red Lotus syndicate.
Maal-Bok: A renegade Magna involved in pirate attacks against Imperial shipping.
Marshall, Duncan: Only son of Senator Joan Marshall.
Marshall, Senator Joan: Member of the Imperial Senate.
Maycare, Lord Devlin: Famous sportsman and playboy. Founder of the Maycare Institute of Xeno Studies.
Montros, Empress Isabella: The wife of Emperor Augustus, Isabella comes from the House of Montros, one of the powerful Five Families.
Ramsey, Capt.: Captain of the freighter the Steppenwolf.
Ramus, Capt. Rowan: Captain of the freighter the Wanderer. A Dahl outcast knowledgeable in the forbidden art of Dark Psi.
Riff, Henry: Overly excitable assistant to Prof. Doric.
Rossum: A sentinel avatar and subordinate to Karel.
Skarlander, Oscar: Agent for Warlock Industries.
Skeeter: One-wheeled robot and associate of Smitty Gurkin.
Sophia, Lady: The handmaiden to Princess Katherine.
Tagus III, Lord Rupert: Imperial Naval officer and son of the Tagus family patriarch.
/> Tarkio, Archsenator Malcolm: Member of the Emperor’s Council.
Tycho, Lord: A vassal of Emperor Augustus, he owns a dilapidated estate on the planet Prill.
Vicious, Kid: Boss of the Griefer gang.
Woodwick, Lord Winsor (“Winnie”): A noble of English descent and friend of Lord Groen.
Yost, Dyson: The enigmatic founder of dy cybernetics.
Yostbot: A gravitronic robot containing the persona of Dyson Yost.
Valeria, Jolana: Archsenator Tarkio’s mistress.
Glossary
Aldorus: The planet on which the Imperial government is located.
Ashetown: A district of Regalis where the poorest of the city live.
Augustus: One of the Five Families, represented by a two-headed eagle.
Avatar: A robot serving as the physical form of the Omnintelligence.
Bettik: A Dyson sphere serving as the Cyber Collective’s capital and home planet.
Butcher Boys: One of the Pirate Clans.
Core Worlds: Planets near the center of the Imperium, closest to Aldorus.
Cyber Collective: An independent, interstellar nation founded by robots.
Dahl: An ancient race dedicated to the accumulation of knowledge. Physically slight, they coincidentally resemble elves of human folklore. Several sub-species of Dahl exist in Andromeda.
Deneatin: Magna word meaning outcast. The term for a Magna who no longer belongs to a caste.
Diavol: The Magna home world.
dy cybernetics: The largest manufacturer of robots in the Imperium. Founded by Dyson Yost.
Dyson Sphere: A large space structure, measuring millions of miles across, with a star at the center to provide power.
Emperor’s Counsel: A group drawn from the Imperial Senate. Called archsenators, they act as a liaison between the senate and the emperor.
Eudora Prime: A planet on the border between the Imperium and the Cyber Collective.
Far Harbor Station: A remote space station located somewhere between Aldorus and Eudora Prime.
Fat Cat Casino: A large gambling house in Ashetown run by Big G.
Five Families: The most powerful houses of the Imperial nobility. Direct descendants of the captains from the surviving sleeper ships.
Forgotten, The: Dahlvish term for any Dahl that’s been exiled from their society. The memory of their existence is psionically erased from all non-exiled Dahl.
Gnomi: A diminutive race, no more than two to three feet tall. Disparagingly called tinks, the Gnomi are highly proficient with machines and electronics.
Gordian: A race of stubborn, boar-like humanoids with pig noses and tusks. Physically stocky, but shorter than the average human.
Gorgon, HIMS: The largest warship in the Imperial Navy, commanded by Lord Rupert Tagus III.
Griefers, The: A street gang led by Kid Vicious.
Groen: One of the Five Families, represented by a botonée cross.
Grunka: A dangerous creature native to Prill, with multiple arms and legs, and many teeth.
Gwlad Ard’un: Home world of the Dahl.
Hekla VII: A largely barren ice planet.
HIMS: Abbreviation for His Imperial Majesty’s Ship. Used when naming warships of the Imperial Navy.
Hotspur: Pirate ship owned by Capt. Blixx.
Imperial Frontier: An area of the Imperium, near the Magna Supremacy border, where law and order is less prevalent.
Imperial Senate: The highest legislature of the Imperium, made up of both commoners and nobles.
Imperium: An empire largely controlled by humans. Founded 700 years ago, after humans arrived in sleeper ships from Earth after an 800-year journey.
Lucrator: One of the lower castes of Magna society. Made up of workers and service providers.
Magna: A race of green-skinned humanoids with devil- or ram-like horns. Larger and more physically imposing than an average human.
Magna Supremacy: A major interstellar power at odds with the Imperium.
Mechanosynthesis: A method of building objects on an atomic or molecular scale.
Middleton: A district of Regalis inhabited by large businesses and, in general, middle-class neighborhoods.
MoFoCo: A disreputable mega-corporation specializing in products of questionable quality.
Montros: One of the Five Families, represented by a rose.
Naiad: The “user interface” for the Pool of Memory.
Nanomancer: A special avatar that uses flying nanobots to attack enemies.
Nobles: Families of the Imperium who are directly descended from the crews of the sleeper ships. The most powerful of these are called the Five Families. Also called the aristocracy.
Pirate Clans: Groups of loosely organized marauders who attack shipping along the Imperial Frontier.
Pool of Memory: A liquid computer in which the collected knowledge of the Dahl is stored.
Prill: A remote planet covered by thick jungles.
Psionics: Special mental abilities common among Dahl and related sub-species.
Rattenbury: Freighter owned by Capt. Hitch.
Red Lotus: A criminal organization run entirely by women, specializing in extortion and prostitution.
Regalis: Capital city and seat of government of the Imperium, located on Aldorus.
Revenna: A planet of lush forests owned mostly by the Montros family.
Robot Freedom League (RFL): An activist group within the Imperium with the sole purpose of freeing robots from servitude.
Rochan: Home world of the Tor consisting of underground labyrinth cities.
Sadira Flowers: A neighborhood flower shop in Middleton that serves as a front for Red Lotus.
Sentinel: A heavily armed and armored avatar.
Si-Sawat: A crime syndicate made up of Tikarin and led by Big G.
Sleeper Ship: One of seven colony ships launched from Earth to the Andromeda Galaxy. Only five are known to have survived the journey.
Sorcerer: Starship owned by Warlock Industries, often used by Oscar Skarlander.
Starling: A starship owned by Magnus Black.
Steppenwolf: Freighter owned by Capt. Ramsey.
Tagus: One of the Five Families, represented by a lion.
Tikarin: A feline race slightly smaller than an average human.
Tor: A race that is half bovine and half humanoid.
Underdelve: An underground community on Eudora Prime, largely inhabited by non-humans.
Veber: One of the Five Families, represented by a scallop shell.
Victoria, HIMS: Name of the Imperial yacht.
Wanderer: Freighter owned by Capt. Ramus.
Warlock Industries: A mega-corporation operating throughout the Imperium, specializing in military hardware, advanced technology, and genetic experimentation.
West End: The richest district of Regalis. Also, the location of most Imperial government buildings.
Westford: A prestigious university on Aldorus, located in the West End.
Xeno: A non-human.
Xenotech: Alien, non-human technology
THE DRAGONS
OF
ANDROMEDA
THE IMPERIUM CHRONICLES BOOK TWO
W. H. MITCHELL
Copyright © 2018 W. H. Mitchell
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles, book reviews, and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author at [email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover design: Steven Novak
First edition, 2018
Dedication
To my wife, who makes sure I put on
pants before leaving the house.
Special thanks to Brad Snyder and Judy Veatch.
Additional thanks to my beta readers:
Chris Buckland
Ward Lenz
A character list and glossary are located at the back of the book.
Prologue
The Imperial Astronomical Society surveys the night skies, mapping the stars and the spaces in between. At the farthest reaches, well beyond the edges of the Imperium and the Magna Supremacy, the charts are blank, not because these places are empty, but because they are devoid of our understanding.
These are the areas of the great unknown where dangers may lurk and the darkness is at its darkest. As the ancient cartographers would say, “Here there be dragons...”
Chapter One
On the planet Aldorus, outside the city of Regalis, a sanitation robot roamed the grounds after the park had closed for the night, emptying the rubbish bins of trash left by people during the day. On a set of six wheels, the trashbot rambled along from one bin to another, lifting each with a pair of robotic arms and dumping it into a hopper.
Near midnight, the trashbot was checking bins by the lake when sounds began drifting in from the dark, somewhere off the main trail. Unlike the animal noises common during the night, these were different, faint and rhythmic.
As the compactor in his body pressed a clump of paper cups and a small raccoon into a tidy cube, the robot rambled over the carefully cropped grass to a cluster of bushes. Peering through the branches, he noticed an outcrop of rock and the entrance to a cave. The drumming clearly was coming from inside.
Organics, the robot thought, are always up to mischief.
He entered the cave.
Inside, a group of seven people sat around a fire, the flickering light casting shadows on the walls.
Imperium Chronicles Box Set Page 28
