by Kal Spriggs
Captain Bowder didn't allow any of his worry to reach his face. Instead, he scowled at the Admiral. "If you are insinuating that I was some part of the Dreyfus Coup, I assure you, I was not. I fought those bastards, and it cost me dearly, I barely survived and they killed ninety percent of my crew!"
"Indeed," Admiral Collae said. "I read the commendation you received. But as I said, I'm a methodical person. The Dreyfus Fleet personnel records were all archived, as I said, and gaining access on Elysia is a bit difficult for idle curiosity. The Centauri Confederation doesn't seem to support my interests, for some reason."
Internally Captain Bowder gave a mental sigh of relief. Externally, though, he adopted a confused expression, "I'm not sure--"
"The Mars records on the other hand," Admiral Collae went on, "those are another matter. The former military facility on Mars is now a civilian colony. They actually do business in selling that old, archived information. They were only too eager to take my money as I put some of my people to reviewing all of the Dreyfus Fleet's personnel records against those available in to the public in the United Colonies."
He shrugged, "My people were very thorough, they found over a dozen discrepancies. Some of those could be excused as data corruption, others as the United Colonies giving cover identities to conspirators who contributed evidence against their fellows... but some, well, some might provide clues about the identity of conspirators who remained hidden."
Captain Bowder didn't respond. He stared at Admiral Collae's cold, dark eyes. He knows he has me, he thought, if he hasn't turned me in, it means he wants something.
"Now," Admiral Collae said. "The easiest way to identify the wolves from the sheep was to then compare those discrepancies against the Amalgamated Worlds archives. We identified three of the conspirators who must have turned evidence in return for protection. All three retired immediately after the coup. We further identified the other eight as being errors, data that became corrupted and that we could then verify. But you and one other... that's where things became interesting. Both you and Gunnery Sergeant Rollins are the only survivors of your units, all other surviving personnel who might readily identify you are gone." Admiral Collae's craggy face showed no emotion. "Gunnery Sergeant Rollins's facial features are a ninety percent match for Captain Burbey, an Amalgamated Worlds Marine Corps officer who served under Admiral Collae several times and who departed with the Dreyfus Fleet."
Ah, Captain Bowder thought, Doug Burbey did survive, good to know.
"But Captain Brian Bowder? Your facial features are a ninety-four percent match for Lieutenant Brian Bowder, but your DNA, acquired on your last visit to this fine establishment, is not a match. In fact, your DNA wasn't on record with those archives, not even at the highest level of security that I could access."
Captain Bowder gave a slight smile, "Well, it's good to know that money can't buy everything."
"Not quite," Admiral Collae said. "In the past thirty days, I ran a very comprehensive records search, timed for the era of the Dreyfus Fleet's departure. Facial, DNA, and any other bit of data we could pull off of you. We found the most luck with your voice pattern, actually. My linguistics analyst was able to ascertain that despite your excellent concealment, your speech patterns contained certain key elements of word choices and patterns, typical of late Earth's European region. They further narrowed that down based off the pull required to remove someone's files."
Admiral Collae sat back, "Colonel Tee Price, a senior commander of the Bureau of ESP Security, was killed in a freak car accident, only three weeks before the Dreyfus Fleet departed. He was a key figure in counter espionage and he'd served with distinction in both the Amalgamated Worlds Military and Bureau of ESP Security. He distinguished himself, in particular, during the fighting in New York City, where he ruthlessly hunted down rogue psychics as well as insurgents."
Admiral Collae cocked his head, "Tell me, Colonel, were you motivated through patriotism or ambition as you ordered women and children gunned down?"
"I have always done what my duty required of me," Colonel Price snapped.
"Of course," Admiral Collae nodded, "in that we are similar. The question then becomes, where do we go from here? In theory, I could turn you over to the United Colonies, who no-doubt would be glad to have you. But that would be a short term reward. And any payment they give me will be paltry beside the astronomical cost of the research required to identify you. The Martian Archive charges by the minute, did you know?"
Colonel Price sat back shrugged, "I assume you want me to act as your agent?"
"Hardly," Admiral Collae snorted. "A man like you can't be trusted as a blackmailed subordinate. You'd feed me information to your own agenda or that of the organization you've no doubt begun rebuilding. Any material assets you give me would need to be exhaustively investigated. The handful of files my people have identified about you suggest you worked as an assassin, killing dozens of enemies of Amalgamated Worlds, including some dangerous psychics."
Colonel Price sighed, "Those records were supposed to have been removed. Apparently Captain Wu's incompetence extends that far back."
"Ah, so she was the one who cleansed your records?" Admiral Collae nodded, "Once we had a name, there were some breadcrumbs to follow, mostly in joint reports where she would have had to access several systems at once to wipe them."
"I should have done it myself," Colonel Price wrinkled his nose in disgust. "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing yourself." He cocked his head and stared at Admiral Dreyfus, "Very well, I assume it's something of an alliance that you want?"
"Of course," Admiral Dreyfus said. "Which I would assume is why you are here, drinking the swill this place calls alcohol." He held out a hand to one of his bodyguards who passed him a bottle. "This, on the other hand, is a bottle of scotch, fifteen years aged, from New Glasgow."
"Well, now," Colonel Price felt a real, genuine smile form. "What should we drink to?"
Admiral Collae returned the smile, "How about to new friends?"
***
Chapter VI
Location Unknown
(Status Unknown)
December 27, 2409
Lieutenant Commander Forrest Perkins blinked against the bright lights as someone pulled the bag off of his head. Having been kept in a dark cargo hold, followed by a dark prison cell, interspersed with periods of a musty bag over his head, it took him some time for his eyes to adjust.
"Ah," a soft voice spoke, "welcome, Lieutenant Commander, a pleasure to finally meet you."
Forrest squinted at the blurred figure. As he finally made out the man's features, he felt his stomach sink, "Aw, shit."
Marius Giovanni gave him an amused nod, "So eloquent. I dare say, you're a master of few words." Forrest was too worried to speak, he'd already assumed that Reese's people had captured him. As Lucius Giovanni's military aide, he'd been made aware of the copies of Marius Giovanni, the one employed by Shadow Lord Imperious and the other employed by President Spiridon of the Centauri Confederation. The latter had been killed, but this could be the real Marius, the copy working for Shadow Lord Imperious, or another copy. The Iodans figured there were five copies, he reminded himself.
"Sorry," Forrest said, "It's hard to be friendlier to the man who killed three-quarters of my crew and has me in captivity." In truth, he wondered if even that many of his crew survived. There had only been a couple of officers in his cell with him: Lieutenant Elvis Medica and Ensign Patricia Hersey.
"My sincere condolences, Lieutenant Commander," Marius Giovanni said. "In truth, I had no more desire to order that ambush than I did to meet under these... less than ideal circumstances." He gestured around at his office, which appeared to be carved out of solid rock. "However, the situation being what it is, it proved necessary. The surprise on your face already tells me most of what I needed to know: Admiral Mannetti's surviving personnel didn't know enough to say who backed her. My son and daughter as well as the United Colonies remain ignorant of my
existence."
Forrest clamped his jaw on a response. Anything he said would only provide the man with more information.
"I already know about my clones that others have used to try and sway Lucius," Marius said calmly. "While I'm not certain how they came to be, not yet, I have people working on that. Whoever is behind it, they'll pay for that, but I want to assure you, I am the real Marius Giovanni."
Forrest's lips twisted in sudden dark amusement. Even though he knew better, he couldn't help but smirk, "You know, that's what the other two said, too."
Marius's face went hard. "Do not misunderstand my courtesy for passivity. I have toppled the governments of star systems and I very nearly held the throne of Nova Roma... taunt me further at your own risk."
Forrest felt his stomach twist and his smirk died. There was a magnetic presence about the man, one like a dark echo of what Forrest felt around Emperor Lucius Giovanni. Yet while Lucius seemed to inspire courage and other positive emotions, Forrest felt only fear and dread in Marius's presence.
Marius Giovanni, if it was the real Marius Giovanni, gave him a satisfied nod. "Now, let us go for a walk, shall we?" He gestured behind Forrest and someone un-cuffed his hands and turned him around. Forrest noted the pair of armed guards, both dressed in the space-black uniforms and body armor of the Nova Roma Marine Corps.
The female officer who had un-cuffed him held a pistol aimed at his sternum and the look on her face warned him against making any sudden moves. He didn't miss how she circled to the side to keep Forrest in a safe field of fire while Marius Giovanni walked around, so that any stray rounds wouldn't risk her superior or either of the other two guards. At no point did Forrest feel he had even a chance to escape or attack. Protective, Forrest thought, and well trained.
Marius led the way out of the room.
The hallway outside was as utilitarian as the office, carved out of solid rock with lighting and power conduits run along the walls and ceiling. Marius glanced at Forrest as they walked, "Tell me, what have you been able to ascertain about this facility?"
"Slightly lighter gravity than Earth-standard. We're deep underground," Forrest nodded at the rock, "Utilitarian construction, but without military-grade reinforcement." A military bunker would have some kind of shock-protection whereas most civilian underground facilities did without. "I'd guess an old mining colony."
"Good," Marius nodded. "Any guesses on the system?"
Forrest just shrugged at that. The travel time had been somewhere around a week, but that guess could be off by a large margin. He'd been unconscious for most of that time from slamming helmet-first into a bulkhead. The ship could have jumped to shadow space once or twice or not at all. Their ambushers might have remained in the system awaiting a follow-on force or made several short jumps. Lieutenant Elvis Medica had tried to keep track of time, but they could have gassed their prisoners or some other method that they wouldn't have noticed, especially in the dark with no point of reference.
That said, Forrest didn't think they would be far from the 767A36 system. Otherwise Reese wouldn't have used that ansible platform to do his work.
They came to a cross-corridor and Marius led Forrest to the left without hesitation, then right again. As they walked past numerous cross corridors, Forrest began to get a sense of scale to the place. The corridor just seemed to wind onwards and as they passed more and more men and women in Nova Roma Imperial Fleet and Marine Corps uniforms, Forrest's stomach began to sink. This was far more resources than anyone had expected Reese to have. At best, they had assumed he'd have a ship or three.
The resources required to assemble a base like this...
Marius turned off into a side passage and then out onto a platform. Forrest's eyes went wide and he had to fight a moment of vertigo. They stood on a platform overlooking a massive hangar bay. Dozens of ships and hundreds of fighters filled the open space. Thousands of men and women moved and worked among the vessels. This was a fleet, Forrest saw, and Marius Giovanni was preparing for a war. The noise and bustle was as much of a shock as the sheer numbers and it stunned Forrest into silence.
Marius led him along the platform, clearly pleased by Forrest's obvious shock. "I've made a bit of study about those close to my children," Marius said as they walked to an observation platform. As they stepped inside, Forrest realized that it functioned as a command and control room and he saw dozens of people at work, many of them speaking into headsets and working at screens. Someone could fight a battle from here, probably almost as effectively as they could from aboard a ship's bridge.
Forrest knew enough to realize that this was a display of power. Marius Giovanni wanted Forrest to know that he wasn't a fugitive with no resources. He had the power to conquer star systems. That led to further questions, of course… like why no one had seen or heard from him, but Forrest would worry about those later.
Emperor Giovanni needs to know about this, Forrest thought, Alannis needs to know that her renegade father is the power behind her crazy ex-husband. When he thought about it that way, it made his head hurt a bit.
Marius Giovanni led the way to his command chair and took a seat, "So," he said, "you served as the aide to my son, apparently with more than moderate success, assigned as the assistant tactical officer to the newest ship out of the yards, then shortly afterwards as the commander of a ship. You're also dating my daughter, a fact I find to be of interest. Tell me, is it ambition that drives you? Social status?"
Forrest scowled, "I don't give a shit about that. I like Alannis." He blurted the words before he could stop himself or even to ask how Marius knew so much.
Marius Giovanni smirked, "Of course you do. But it doesn't hurt that my daughter is independently wealthy and second in line to the throne, does it?"
Forrest just glowered at the man. Marius seemed to know far too much.
"Raised on Saragossa to a moderately poor family. You had an abusive father who was sent to prison for aggressive tendencies where he drank himself to death in short order..." Marius shook his head, "A stepfather who worked in the Saragossan Defense Fleet, a native of New Texas, which is where you have adopted most of your mannerisms I would guess. He helped you to get a scholarship to the Saragossan Fleet Academy, where you then took a commercial transport commission and served in their Merchant Marine." He shook his head, "Your stepfather died in the attack on Saragossa, your wife and daughter shortly thereafter... tell me, is it revenge that motivates you? Nova Roma destroyed Saragossa in order to lure the Chxor to invest their forces there rather than an attack on Nova Roma holdings. Does it make you feel powerful to have a Nova Roma noblewoman as your lover?"
Forrest gritted his teeth so hard that his jaw creaked. He didn't respond, though. He didn't care what the bastard thought. Forrest liked Alannis. That was it.
"Interesting," Marius said after a moment, "I almost expected you to attack me, but you've apparently grown some restraint. It must come from your work in helping to uproot the Dreyfus Conspirators. Patience and restraint were key there, working day-to-day with men and women who planned to have you and my son killed at their convenience."
At this point, nothing that Marius said surprised Forrest anymore. Clearly their efforts to remove Admiral Mannetti's spies hadn't been entirely successful. Maybe because they were Marius Giovanni's spies, he thought to himself. It was one more bit of information to pass along when he made it back to the United Colonies.
A tiny voice in the back of his head warned him that Marius wouldn't have shown him all this if he intended for Forrest to ever go free, but he wouldn't consider that just now.
"You're an interesting man, Lieutenant Commander. You've the discipline of a military officer, a keen mind, and sharp wit. You can fight, too, when there's plenty of intelligent men who are cowards," Marius Giovanni sat back in his command chair. "Tell me, how would you like a position with my forces? How would you like to be Captain Forrest Perkins?"
"I can't say that appeals very much," Forrest replied. "
Especially since your son will be along shortly, I'm certain, to kick your fleet's ass."
Marius's amusement faded and he stared at Forrest with cold, dark eyes. His fine features hardened into a lean, predatory look. "I'm not without limits to my patience. I warned you once, I will not do so again." He smiled, then, and Forrest couldn't repress a shudder, "And believe me, if my son or anyone else comes after me, they'll find far more difficult a fight than they'd expect."
His face softened a bit, "But you misunderstand me if you think my goal is the harm of my son or daughter, much less my grandchildren, both natural born and the dear adopted girl." He gestured around them, "All this, everything I have done is for them. But they'll know that soon enough."
Marius Giovanni interlocked his fingers and stared at Forrest for a long moment. "You're a man of honor, by everything I've learned of you, so I know you won't give me a false oath and take off to warn my son of my ‘nefarious’ plans. Even if you could do that, I've... safeguards for such things. I will give you some time to consider things. Don't think only of yourself, either, I've room aplenty for those officers and crew of yours who wish to sign on, to fight for humanity from the shadows."
Despite himself, Forrest felt the magnetic pull of Marius, every bit as strong as that of his son or daughter. Yet there was also a repulsive element to it, a darkness that terrified Forrest in a way that facing death in battle couldn't.
"Consider my offer, Lieutenant Commander Perkins, it certainly beats the alternative." Marius Giovanni gave a wave of dismissal, "That will be all... for now."
