“Do you have a name yet, your Majesty?” asked one of the nurses.
Sean looked up at the smiling nurse, at the moment not sure what she was asking him. The delivery room was within the palace itself, part of the fully staffed and operational hospital that served the Imperial family, court and servants.
“For the child, your Majesty. For this one.”
“Augustine,” said Sean, feeling a wide smile stretching his face. “He will be named after my father. Augustine. And when he assumes the throne, he will be the second of that name.”
“And the other one?”
“What other one?” asked Sean, frowning.
“This one,” said a second Doctor, bringing another swaddled infant into the room. “That one’s twin brother.”
“Twin? But Jennifer was only to have one child. I saw the reports myself.”
“Mother’s prerogative,” said the first Doctor, taking Augustine from his dad so the second child could be given to the Monarch. “The Empress wanted the second child to come as a surprise, and we were restricted by law in not going against her wishes.”
“Why that….” Sean stopped before he could say anything uncomplimentary about his wife. He felt like his face was going to split from the smile he couldn’t control. The second child lay in his arms, quiet, unlike his still crying brother. “I guess we should ask my wife what name she favors,” he said, handing the baby to one of the nurses.
Jennifer lay in her bed, looking pale, face sweaty, smiling as the two babies were brought into the room. The nurses unwrapped the babies and lay them on her breasts, skin to skin. Both babies settled quickly in contact with their mother.
“You did good, honey,” said Sean, putting a hand on her forehead. “An heir and a spare, all in one day.”
“Surprised?”
“You could say that. But the most pleasant surprise I’ve had this year. And now we have to come up with a name.”
“Have you thought of one?”
“I have. But I thought, since we agreed on my father’s name for the first, that we might go with your wish on the second. Whatever you want.”
“Glen,” whispered Jennifer without hesitation.
Sean felt a bit jealous at the name, the one of the lover she was engaged to before Sean met her on Sestius. He fought down that jealous feeling as one unworthy of him. From what he knew, Glen had been a fine man, a captain of the Imperial Marines, who had died leading a counter attack that had saved thousands of citizens.
“Glen it is,” he said with a smile. “And here come their guardian agents, I mean angels.”
“Your Majesties,” said a bowing Secret Service Chief of Detail, Martin Schroeder. “May I introduce the Chief of Details for the security of the two young princes.”
“You too, Martin,” said Sean with a laugh. “Did everyone in the Empire know about the twins but me?”
“Not everyone,” said the Security Chief. “Only those with a need to know.” He bowed to the Empress, then gestured at one of the women, a blond haired fair skinned beauty. “This is Special Agent Connie Washington, who will be in charge of Prince Augustine’s detail. And this,” he gestured at an ebony skinned woman of equal beauty, “is Special Agent Camilla Sung, who will be in charge of Prince Glen’s detail. Of course they will work hand in hand to guard the princes, no matter what that takes.”
Sean nodded, understanding what that meant. These women and their teams would give everything, up to and including their lives, to protect his children. He had always thought the agents of the Secret Service a little on the mad side, since no one person was that important in his mind. But these were his children, and he was glad to have people with that kind of dedication around them. Still, when he looked at the two agents, he felt looming disaster. Not for his children, but for the agents. Something was going to happen. He couldn’t tell when, or how, only that it would happen.
* * *
SPACE BETWEEN NEW MOSCOW AND FENRI EMPIRE: NOVEMBER 10TH, 1002.
“We have another force of Cacas coming through the picket,” reported the Com Officer, looking back at Rear Admiral Natasha Romanov. Some of the Klassekian Techs were on duty, the rest on breaks, but the information still came through since even an off duty tech could receive and contact the bridge. The flag had a wormhole com as well, so was still tapped into the net back to headquarters. “Make that three other forces, coming through on a wide dispersal.”
“How many ships in all?”
“Seventy-seven, ma’am. Seems like the same pattern they’ve been running the past month.”
“So it’s probably nothing,” said the Admiral, shaking her head. “Send the report up to command. If they want to have roving patrols shadow them, they will.”
I wonder when they’re really going to move? she thought. So far, over the last couple of months, over two thousand enemy ships had penetrated the screen. And as far as they could tell, all of them had come back. As far as they could tell, since the Cacas were known to piggy back smaller ships on larger. But so far they had found none of those suspected ships. So it looks like business as usual for the Cacas. And the longer this goes on, the bigger the fight is going to be when it finally kicks off.
* * *
“The Emperor is counting on you,” said the large male on the com holo. “Do not disappoint him.”
“We will not,” said the human male known as four four eight three one, who was using the name Tom Jasper for this mission. The three large Cacada males standing on the bridge behind him, what he thought of as his caretakers, also gave head motions of acceptance. Jasper didn’t think he needed the superior males along on a mission he and his could handle on their own. But he had not been asked to bring them along. He had been ordered.
He looked from face to face of the other humans on the bridge of the three million ton freighter that had been designated Laughing Troll. None of these humans had ever been around what the Ca’cadasans called Wild Humans. They hadbeen raised around the huge aliens in what were termed reserve clutches, where they had learned complete and total loyalty to the Emperor. They thought the Wild Humans as unnatural enemies that stood in the way of the divine path of their masters.
And we will bring the Wild Humans to their knees, where they belong, thought the dedicated young man.
“Prepare for launch,” said the male on the holo. A moment later the nausea of translation hit, and then they were in normal space. A moment later they were released from their attachment to the Ca’cadasan battleship they had been riding. The military force moved off, leaving them drifting in space.
“They’re out of range,” said the Sensor Chief, looking over at Jasper.
Tom nodded. The sensor suite of the freighter was on a par with the warships of their masters. One of the few things on the tramp ships that were. If the warships, moving through VII, were no longer in detection range, then whatever Wild Human ships might be following them would also be out of range to detect the freighter, especially since it would start off at hyper IV and move for several days in that dimension before moving back up.
“Prepare to jump to IV,” he ordered, looking at the holo that showed their target. It was unmistakable, unlike any other known system. Eight stars, each with its own planetary systems, in orbit around a central black hole. And one of those stars was blinking, their target. Jasper knew of one other ship on this mission, though he didn’t know their exact target. But he was sure it was a target, like his, that would cause much disorder and disarray among the enemy.
The End
Appendix A: Glossary
Aether Paddles: Grabbers. Units that utilize the space warping powers of energized superplatinum to grip the actual fabric of space and pull their attached object along. Used in everything from battle armor to large ships.
Augmentation: Also known as Enhancement. Retroactive genetic and biological engineering of humans. Through the use of nanotech enhancements are made to the human genome, resulting in faster and stronger people
with the sensory systems of the best found in nature. Upgraded glandular systems. Ninety-five percent of augmented also have reduced lifespans, though some exceptional genomes do not experience this, and pass their traits down to their descendants.
Bolthole: Imperial industrial system in the process of being established a thousand light years outside the boundaries of the Empire. Planned as a unassailable arsenal and last refuge of the Empire.
Capitulum: Capital City of the Empire, home of the House of Lords and the Imperial Palace. 3 billion citizens living in 375,000 kilometers of city.
Catastrophic Translation: The movement of an object from any of the hyper dimensions to normal space through hitting a hyper barrier or losing its protective hyperdrive field. The result is a translation in which matter is disrupted, resulting in the probably destruction of the ship and all aboard.
Class III Systems: Mostly agricultural worlds, 763 worlds in 748 systems, with a combined population of 88 billion.
Class V Systems: Economically important and military systems, 307 planets with 5.5 billion citizens.
Cloning: Reproduction of organic material by the artificial stimulation and growth of cells. Cloning of food and body replacement parts is widespread, but the reproduction of a complete sophont is illegal in any of the human polities, due to the fact that clones are somehow different. Human clones completely lack a conscience, no matter their upbringing or training. It is unknown why.
Com Net: Network established on all Imperial planets allowing all citizens access to communications and data services anywhere on the planet.
Core Worlds: Class I. The oldest and most developed of the planets of the Empire, with populations in the billions. Population is restricted, as are births, and by law fifty percent of the land area of the world must remain pristine wilderness. 98 inhabitable planets in 91 systems, within two hundred and fifty light years of the Central System. 380 billion citizens.
Cyborgs: Living beings with integrated mechanical and electronic systems, such as fiber optic nerves and communication implants. Technically, all humans in high tech society are cyborgs, incorporating as they do data and com implants, and nanite augmented immune systems. True cyborgs have much more intrusive implant architecture, including biomechanical nervous and muscular systems. All enhanced soldiers, such as Rangers, Naval Commandos and Marine Recon have passive implants such as bone reinforcement.
Developing Worlds: Class II systems. 294 inhabited planets in 277 systems, with a population of 185 billion (21 billion alien) citizens.
Dole, The: Living wage payments to the great majority of citizens of the Core Worlds. Supervised robotic factories produce the products needed to sustain society to the point where employment is not possible for most Core World citizens. The Dole allows them to survive with some luxuries such as in house entertainment, but not much else. Citizens who wish to improve their lot compete for the jobs that are available.
Donut, The: Massive century long engineering project, an enormous space station in orbit around the Supersystem central black hole, using the swirling gravitational energy of a sixty solar mass charged hole to generate wormholes.
Exploration Command: Subdivision of the Fleet tasked with exploring new worlds, making scientific discoveries, and expanding the Empire into unexplored space.
Fleet, The. Term of respect an endearment for the naval forces of the New Terran Empire, a force which has never lost a war, and is responsible for guarding the people of the Empire.
Frontier Worlds: Class IV. 8,462 planets in 8,147 systems, with a combined population of 6.9 billion citizens.
Gravitons: Messenger particles of gravity, detectable in all levels of space, including subspace and hyperspace. The manipulation of gravitons is responsible for artificial gravity and the use of hyperspace and subspace. Gravitons can be tracked through all dimensions of hyper.
IIA: Imperial Intelligence Service. Imperial Security Service responsible for intelligence gathering beyond the boundaries of the Empire. By Imperial decree they are allowed some investigative powers within the Empire, mostly those involving threats to the government.
IIB: Imperial Investigation Bureau. Imperial Security Service responsible for counterintelligence and criminal investigation within the boundaries of the Empire.
Imperial Alien Systems: 7 aboriginal systems with 3.2 billion beings. Ten alien protectorates of 89 systems, 262 billion aliens.
Implants: Electronic devices attached by nanotech to the brains of Imperial citizens, allowing them to contact com and data services, as well as emergency services. Range from basic to Governmental that allow access to classified databases and vital command and control services. By Imperial Privacy Laws the tracking feature of implants can be disabled by citizens concerned about being monitored. Convicted criminals have this feature removed.
House of Commons: Second House of Parliament, made up of elected members of the common people, based on the population of the planets of the Empire. 2,647 total members. All appropriations and infrastructure bills originate in this house.
House of Lords: First House of Parliament, made up of hereditarily appointed nobles, as well as high ranking members of the major churches of the Empire. 961 members. All military bills, intelligence bills, and treaties originate from this house. Prime Minister comes from the Lords.
House of Scholars: Third House of Parliament, made up by appointed and elected members of scientists and academics. Most members are from first tier Universities, with a small number appointed by the Lords and the Emperor. 400 members. All science, technology, medical and educational bills originate in this house.
Hyper Barrier: Effect of gravity wells on objects traveling through hyper. Vessels striking the barrier are translated out of hyperspace catastrophically. The radius of the barrier depends on the mass of the object generating it, black hole, star, planet or smaller object. For a black hole the barrier can be thirty light hours or more from the center mass. For a planetoid it might be light seconds. The higher the dimension of hyper the further out its barrier. Star systems typically have a hyper I barrier of from three to five light hours, depending on the mass.
Hyperdetection: Ability of spaceships, particularly warships, to detect other ships moving in hyper. The larger the ship and the higher the level of hyper, the longer the range another vessel can be detected at. Extreme range of a battleship sized vessel moving in VII is up to seven light years. Translations also send out a hyper signal well beyond that of traveling ships,
Hyperdrive: Graviton projection device capable of opening holes in the dimensions leading from normal to hyperspace. Also projects a graviton field around the ship while it is in hyperspace, protecting the crew and vessel from the effects of that space. Each succeeding dimension takes 4.2 times the power to open and remain in than the one below it.
Hyperspace: Upper dimensions of the Universe, corresponding to the same space time coordinates of the visible Universe, through a nesting of graduated smaller dimensions. Allows ships to travel at below the light speed limit and still traverse normal space at faster than light speeds. Hyperspace is a realm of energies and particles unknown in normal space, and is in fact inimical to normal matter. Hyperspace does not exist within the moderate gravity wells of heavy objects.
Hyper I: 9.11 to 1 ratio, .9 c pseudo speed 8.2 light.
Hyper II: 40.9 to 1 ratio, .9 c pseudo speed 36.8 light.
Hyper III: 163.44 to 1 ratio, .9 c pseudo speed 147 light.
Hyper IV: 654.2 to 1 ratio, .9 c pseudo speed 588.78 light.
Hyper V: 2,616.9 to 1 ratio, .9 c pseudo speed 2355.2 light.
Hyper VI: 10,467.6 to 1 ratio, .9 c pseudo speed 9,420.8 light.
Hyper VII: 41, 870.4 to 1 ratio, .9 c pseudo speed 37,683.36 light. .95 c pseudo speed
39,776.9 light.
Hyper VIII: 167,481.6 to 1 ratio. Only electromagnetic signals can be transmitted through VIII, and only for a very limited range.
Inertial Compensators: Devices, normally paire
d with grabber units, utilizing superiron to convert inertia to heat, then using the properties of superlead to project the heat into space. Inertial compensators allow ships to pull high gee loads, while giving off enormous amounts of heat, making them as visible as small stars to the enemy.
Inertialess Fighter: 1,500 ton attack fighter that uses a negative matter warp bubble that reduces inertia essentially to nothing, allowing extreme acceleration and the ability to attain velocities faster than the speed of light. There are two weaknesses to the process. The fighters are totally cut off from the Universe and cannot see where they are going, and the craft must leave the bubble at the same velocity as when they entered or they will suffer an inertia rebound.
Jewel: Capital planet of the Empire, based in the Home system and in a mutual orbit with the terraformed planet New Terra and the moon Ariel. Home to twenty billion citizens.
Klassekian: Alien species inhabited a planet in extra-Imperial space. Klassekians are born in litters of from six to twelve siblings, all interconnected through quantum matter in their brains. His connection allows them to transfer information instantaneously across any distance and through all known dimensions.
Klavarta: Term used both for the identification of the Modified human servant race in the Klavarta Star Nation, and having to do with that nation overall. The Klavarta servant race is divided into several subspecies of specialized functions. Pilots, or Alphas, command and control space vehicles, while Warriors fight ground and ship-board actions. Engineers handle the overall maintenance and fabrication duties, while the diminutive Assistants are able to crawl into the engineering spaces the full sized Engineers cannot.
Mag Weapons: Weapons from civilian hand to vehicle mounted cannons which fire a solid or explosive projectiles through a magnetic tube that accelerates them to the desired velocity. For hand weapons this is in the one thousand to five thousand meter per second range. Tank cannon can fire rounds at up to a thousand kilometers a second.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 10: Search & Destroy Page 35
