by Drew Avera
“Ah, the good doctor. Does your philanthropy know no bounds?” Herma said into the video feed. The princess spun elegantly, the glimmering of her robes dancing in the light of the sun through the stained-glass windows of her tower. “I trust your day was well?”
“Better than some, Princess” Hathlene replied, “and to answer your question, my philanthropy is coming at a great personal cost.”
“As it often does when the powerful give of themselves. How are things on Pila today?”
Hathlene sighed. “As they always are: tense with the rigid claims of sovereignty despite our silent defeat.”
Herma laughed on the other end. “Your defeat was much louder than the meek silence of your leaders,” she replied. “Their sacrifice paved the way for this world to find favor in the eyes of the emperor, my father. Without me on this rock, what would come of this world? We are but a shadow of his empire, are we not?”
“As you say,” Hathlene replied.
“To hell with ‘as I say.’ Are we or are we not a shadow of his empire?” The frustration behind the princess’s voice gave Hathlene pause.
“We are.”
The fury behind Herma’s eyes settled and she began her poignant dance in the light once again, her feet flittering against the stone floors of her bedroom. “You know I come to look forward to our talks?”
“I had no idea.”
“It’s true. Do you know why I chose you for this duty?”
“Because I’m a woman,” Hathlene answered.
“Yes! Because women have a way of forging tighter bonds than men could imagine−and waging the harshest battles when crossed,” her voice darkened as a warning when she spoke her last few words.
“It is as you say,” Hathlene said. “I have your report.”
“Tell me it, please skip the melodrama of the mean streets of Dorit erupting in protests. I am growing weary of it, and my heart aches at what may come once I’ve reached my breaking point.”
“Very well,” Hathlene said as she dropped that part of her report to the floor and moved to the next page. “Diplomats from Escher will arrive in three weeks; and they wish to meet with you regarding their surrender. They desire to have a relationship as we do.”
“Escher? I detest their king and his people. They are savages and will not bow before my father until they see what they think is weakness in my compassion. I will not grant it.”
“But Escher is important to our survival; we import most of our food from their world. Surely you can see how this relationship exists for the greater good of the Empire.” Hathlene’s voice bordered on pleading and she hated hearing it. Each day she kissed the ass of a woman who only preserved Pila because she needed the adulation refused her by her father.
“Very well,” Herma sighed. She stopped dancing and took a seat in the window overlooking the city. Even over the com-unit, Hathlene could hear the protests below, and knowing the woman in the window could withdraw her position at any moment and have the protestors murdered in the streets made her stomach churn. “What else?”
“We had an emergency landing of a space craft containing an exiled Greshian, two Lechuns, and a comatose Luthian. The Luthian had a tumor requiring removal, and initial prognosis is she will receive a full recovery and complete mental faculty.”
“Tell me about the Greshian.”
“There isn’t much to say. I had security place him in an isolated waiting room due to hostility from others in the medical center. He displayed no hostility in any way and appeared to be empathetic to those blaming him for their losses. I thought it was the right thing to do to ensure his safety.”
“I agree. Do you have any of his information?”
“Yes, I can forward it to you. When I performed a search using facial recognition, I discovered he was a Greshian naval officer and served onboard the Telran. He was found guilty of treason and exiled on a moon outside the Luthian sector. I can only assume the Luthian woman found and rescued him.”
“Please do forward his information to me. It’s been a long time since I shared the same air as a Greshian man. I may seek his company,” Herma said.
“Consider it done, Princess Herma,” Hathlene said with a forced smirk. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Yes, get me the name of his ship and his crew. Having use of my own warship may come of interest to me.”
“But he was exiled, thus his loyalty no longer lies with the crown,” Hathlene replied.
Herma laughed maniacally. “Hathlene, I’ve never met a Greshian not willing to give his life to come back into favor to the Emperor. Sometimes, you just need to give them a good enough reason to act. Best case, I ask for his help and he offers it willingly. Worst case, I remove any loyalties he has to his crew and he comes crawling back to me. Either way, I win.”
Author Note
Thank you so much for reading Shadow Empire! This book was the most difficult of the series to write. Trying to find new ways to engage the crew of the Replicade is not simple, and the looming threat of an outside force capable of drawing concern from the Greshians is no easy task either. In fact, I think that’s what took so long−trying to maintain an air of mystery for the Empire while revealing a little bit about CERCO and the mentality behind its existence. There’s more to CERCO than has been revealed, but I’m unsure whether that revelation is going to make you love them or hate them. I suppose it depends on your stance on “redacted spoiler comment here,” lol.
In all seriousness, I’m excited to begin work on the next book. The timeline shifts a bit from here and we get to see our brave crew living a normal life instead of constantly being on the run. We also get to see different sides to the characters we’ve hated, or grew to love. They say all’s fair in love and war, and I imagine it must be true because my feelings for these characters have grown and shifted across four books. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the characters you love and hate thus far in the Great War. You can shoot me a message at my website, and don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to keep up with new release information and special deals. You can do that here: www.drewavera.com.
Before I let you go, please do me the honor of posting a review. Just a minute of your time can help me promote my work and gain new readers. I would appreciate it immensely. Have a great day−and stay away from the bad Mar!
PS. All that jazz about the crew of the Replicade living a normal life is probably a lie. You’ll just have to read Regime Change to find out!
More by Drew Avera
The Alorian Wars
Broken Worlds
Deadly Refuge
Mutiny Rising
Shadow Empire
Regime Change (2018)
Orbital Decay (Prequel)
The Dead Planet Series
Exodus
Verity
Endgame
The Prospect (Prequel)
Chancerian
Darkest Beyond
Standalones and Box Sets
Scavengers
Nation Divided
Mississippi Burning
Darker Tomorrow (5 Book Box Set)
The Alorian Wars (Vol 1)
The Complete Dead Planet Series
