Empire of Bones (3 page)

Her father looked confused. “Jared? How is he rubbing anyone’s face in anything? I’ve never seen him anything but polite. Even when others are not,” he added pointedly.

“I mean him continually forcing himself on us like this.”

“He’s not arranging these visits. I am.”

She stared at him. “You? I don’t understand.”

“I’ve apparently been too vague with my intentions. My apologies. I invite Jared to visit us several times a year so that all of you can come to know one another.”

Kelsey sat down in one of the comfortable chairs scattered around the small room. “We’ve always assumed he was behind them. Ethan is quite certain the man is out to steal the Crown Jewels. And he will not be joining us tonight.”

The revelation didn’t seem to be that big of a surprise to her father. “I’ll talk with him. Again. I’m sorry for giving you both a false impression. I suspect that Jared doesn’t enjoy these gatherings any more than you do. I’d hoped to ease him into the family, but I’ve probably botched that, too. Perhaps you’d be so kind as to explain to me how can I rule dozens of worlds and yet screw up my personal life so badly?”

“I’m going to treat that as a rhetorical question. This…changes things. It’s a bit embarrassing.”

Her father sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I specifically invited Jared to dine with us tonight because he’ll be leaving on a long-term mission tomorrow. He’ll be gone at least a year. Probably two. So you’ll have a while for this new information to sink in.”

She perked up with genuine curiosity. “Really? What far frontier are you banishing him to? Thule?”

Her father smiled. “That’s for marines and it’s not so far away. You should hear the horror stories they tell about the winter training there. You’d think their commanders were all sadists.” His expression grew thoughtful. “Well, they
are
marines, so it’s a distinct possibility.”

“That’s your Fleet prejudice talking,” she said primly. “Maybe I should join the Imperial Marines to bring some well-needed perspective to this family.”

He laughed before he could stop himself. Clapping his hand over his mouth only made his mirth more obvious. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. The Imperial Marines are a fine group of men and women. I just have difficulty imagining you in their ranks. In spite of your occasionally combative nature, you’re a little…petite for a combat role. And you just don’t have the requisite killer instinct.”

She stood and stared at him haughtily. Unfortunately, her eyes were still at almost the same height as his. “Are you saying that my lowly one point five meters makes me unsuitable for hand-to-hand combat?”

“Yes. I’m afraid that’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m positive the smallest woman I’ve seen in the marines topped you by a head and weighed half again more than you weigh. It might be…embarrassing to the Imperial dignity to have them hold you at arm’s length while you swing futilely at them.”

Kelsey sighed theatrically and sat back down. “I suppose I need to cancel my order for combat armor and automatic weapons.”

“That might be for the best, yes.” His eyes twinkled. “Despite my questionable sense of humor, any service would be better for having you, though I really don’t think you’re suited for the marines.”

“Maybe I should date one.”

His shocked expression made her laugh. “You should see your face. It’s like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He made a gesture for warding off evil. “Don’t even joke about that. My heart might fail.”

She tilted her head a little to the side. “Why? I thought you said they were fine men.”

“They are. Just not the kind of men a father wants his daughter to date. I’ll make sure to send any you find attractive to Thule for an extended period. Perhaps a decade will do as an example to the rest.”

Kelsey gave him a gimlet eye. “You think you’re funny, but you’re not.” She resumed her seat with a sigh. “I doubt I’m a good candidate for the military at all, honestly. I’ve tried to get into the social scene, doing good works there, but I’m not satisfied. Thinking about Jared made me realize that he’s achieved so much in his chosen field. He commands a ship in the Imperial Fleet. That’s huge!”

Her father nodded. “That’s a very significant thing indeed. I served in Fleet long enough to gain a tremendous respect for the kind of person who commands a ship in space. The very least of them is a leader of some note. Your half-brother is far from the least of them. His commanding officers all respect him. Admiral Yeats told me that if he’d had his way, Jared would be commanding a cruiser task force by now. One day he’ll be an admiral. Not because of his connection to our family, but in spite of it.”

“That won’t go over well with Ethan,” she mumbled only barely audibly.

She gave him a haughty stare. “And just so you know, that doesn’t make me feel any better. I mean, hello, this conversation is about me and my options…or lack thereof.”

“You know you can literally do anything. What do you enjoy doing that might translate into some career?”

“I don’t know. I’m good at the things you’ve trained me to do as an Imperial ruler, but that isn’t likely. Ethan is depressingly healthy and I like you too much to have you assassinated.”

“Well that
is
an obstacle to your ascension to the Imperial Throne. Remind me to hire some food tasters at once.”

“Right after dinner.”

“Ha! Good one! Honestly, there are careers that are perfectly suited for your skills. For example, you trained with that young man from the Department of Imperial Affairs for a while. They handle diplomatic affairs of all kinds inside the Empire. That’s something we’ll always need.”

She nodded slowly. “True. Carlo Vega. He’s a senior attaché, and I admit that his work always seemed interesting.”

“I’m sure there are other avenues you could pursue. You’ve been spending a great deal of time in the Imperial Archives, for example. Are you researching something?”

“Aren’t your spies following me? I figured they’d already told you what I’m looking into.”

“Perhaps I should actually hire some. I’m certain there’s a conspiracy going on somewhere that I should know about.”

She gave her father a stern look. “Don’t try to fool me. Everyone knows you have secret police to spy on everyone.”

“Secret police? I had no idea.” He smiled. “Seriously, I haven’t felt the need to set my spies on you. I’m certain they have far more pressing matters requiring their attention. What have you been researching?”

Kelsey crossed her legs. “If only it were something spies would be interested in. I’ve just been reading up on the old Empire. Speculation on what sparked the rebellion that led to the Fall. I wanted to see if I could find anything in the restricted stacks about it.”

“Hmmm…The rebellion and the pre-Fall Terran Empire,” her father said, his eyes sharpening. “That
is
worthy of study. I seem to recall seeing quite a few new books on the shelves on the subject in the library. What’s driving this sudden interest?”

“I read a first person account of the exploration mission Grandfather sent out. The book has been out for over a decade, but I missed it somehow. Maybe I was a little too young to be interested back then.” Or too distracted by her family situation.

“It’s a fascinating story,” she said. “Imagine exploring the worlds of what used to be the Terran Empire. Finding the ruins of civilization. Searching for lost Terra. That kind of thing could excite anyone. You really should consider sending out another expedition.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “That’s a good idea. I’ll look into it.”

“You should. So, what is this mission that’s taking my half-brother away for so long?”

“Well, that’s an interesting story—”

The buzzer on her father’s console sounded. He tapped the screen. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty. Commander Mertz has arrived at the first checkpoint.”

“Send him up as soon as he’s in the Palace.”

Her father stood. “I should go get dressed. I wouldn’t want to have you tell me what a disgrace I am for wearing this jacket to dinner again.” He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. “Please, do try not to blame Jared for my actions.” A smile crept across his lips as he looked into her eyes. “See you in a bit.”

Kelsey watched him leave and sighed. As much as she doubted she’d be any more comfortable with her half-brother, she’d try for her father’s sake. She headed for her room. She had just enough time to make herself presentable.

Jared exited his grav car at the secure parking lot just inside the security checkpoint. The Imperial Guardsmen then scanned his person completely. He knew better than to bring anything with him on these visits. That was an invitation to have it confiscated. These people made the security sweeps at
Orbital One
seem negligent. He sent his holiday gifts weeks in advance rather than bringing them himself.

As the silent man in pressed whites ran a wand over him, Jared wondered what became of the gifts he gave his half siblings. They probably threw them out. Prince Ethan most likely burned his.

The Imperial Family sent a combined gift, almost certainly picked out by his father. Usually something useful to a serving officer, though expensive.

When he was a child, his mother regaled him with stories about when she worked in the Imperial Palace. He’d hung on to every word and dreamed of what he’d ever do if he met the Emperor.

Of course, he’d had no idea just how well she’d known the ruler of the Empire.

He’d graduated the regional Fleet academy and was taking his final acceptance physical here on Avalon. It was significantly more thorough than anything he’d gone through before, but he hadn’t been concerned. At least until they took another tissue sample for ‘further DNA testing’.

He’d sat waiting for the results in a small medical room for so long that he’d begun to suspect he had some subtle genetic flaw. Looked at in the proper light, he supposed he did.

In the end, the doctor was not who came in to tell him the results. The Emperor himself did.

Of course, he’d known who the Emperor was. Even asteroid miners who’d been born in the depths of space knew what the Emperor looked like. Jared had watched every State of the Empire speech since he’d decided to become a Fleet officer.

That had been the least of the shocks on that cursed day. Finding out his mother had fathered an Imperial bastard had set his world off course. For his own part, the news was so far out of his realm of experience that he rejected it. Someone had to have made a horrible mistake.

Only they hadn’t.

The next few months had been a special kind of hell. Why the man had decided he needed to tell anyone else was beyond Jared’s comprehension. One couldn’t turn on a vid without seeing something. The only thing anyone talked about was the disintegration of the Imperial couple and the bastard child who caused it.

Worst of all, everyone around him knew. He could feel them stating at his back, whispering about him when they thought he wasn’t listening…blaming him.

Then there was the small minority of people that thought they could benefit from cozying up to him. Those unfortunate few were sadly mistaken in their estimation of his influence. Imperial blood brought him no power. He tirelessly avoided the appearance of ever trying to exert any sort influence, while also going out of his way to preserve the appearance of loyalty to the Imperial House, no matter how he might feel inside.

He struggled with the effects of that day even now. The guard finished scanning him, his expression blank. Jared had met this particular man a dozen times over the years, but he’d heard scarcely a handful of words from him. Did he despise Jared? Did he fear that Jared would take some action against his master? Perhaps he was just being unapproachably professional.

Jared would probably never know. It hurt to be isolated this way from everyone around him. To have everything he did dissected to reveal any suspected hidden motives. He could never be certain what people really thought about him.

“If you’ll come with me, sir, I’ll escort you to the Palace,” the man said. Much the same as he had during the last half dozen visits.

A heavily armored grav car took them to the Palace proper. The grounds were huge and beautiful, as always. That was the one thing he really did envy his half-siblings for, their easy access to such lush and lavish parks at a moment’s notice. Jaxton was much rockier and barren. All he’d known growing up were flat, dusty stretches of land.

The car entered an underground parking garage and his keeper handed him off to different guards, who treated him with the same sterile attention. They scanned him again. Of course.

He raised his arms as one guard ran a scanner over every part of his body. A second stood close by, her hand resting on her belt beside her holstered weapon. Once the man was certain Jared wasn’t about to explode, he checked Jared’s ID and took another ocular scan.

Only then did they allow him to pass, but never without an armed escort, of course. Everyone seemed to have a weapon, but him.

Jared stopped at the elevator and examined his dress uniform in the mirror. He made one last check that the gold rank insignia on his black jacket and shined boots were free of smudges. His black beret with his ship’s insignia completed his uniform. The red striping along the black pants legs gave just the right flair, in his opinion. Not that anyone had consulted him during the last uniform redesign. He hadn’t even been born then.

They rode up to the residence level in silence. The guards took him through enough halls that he was almost certain he’d never be able to find his way back out on his own. As far as he could tell, they never brought him in the same way. While it probably wasn’t true, the special care they took to turn him around made it all feel…personal.

Then again, perhaps they only rearranged the artwork. The collection of paintings and statues was never the same. A significant number of them were on loan from the Imperial Museum, pre-Fall works from the homes of the wealthy here on Avalon, and recovered from the worlds they’d rediscovered since they returned to space. It probably didn’t hold a candle to what had been in the Imperial Palace on Terra, but it was enough to interest even someone not into art, such as himself.