Euthara (34 page)

“I’m sorry,” Jon said.

“Are you sure?” Andie finally managed to get out.

Jon nodded as he spoke, “Yes, I’m sure. He was talking to Kelly when his ship went down.”

“I…” Andie started to say. Then suddenly her eyes seemed to lose all life and her face went slack as she slumped in the chair.

“Andie?” Jon said. He was a bit alarmed at her reaction to the news.

When he got no response he gently shook he shoulder and called her name again. Andie’s head turned his direction but it was if she wasn’t seeing him.

“Andie say something,” Jon said as he stood up. He shook her a bit harder as he called her name. He was staring to get a bit worried as he watched her sitting there unmoving.

“Atlantis, medical emergency have a team respond to my ready room,” Jon said.

“Are you ok,” Atlantis said as she appeared next to Jon. She was looking him over as she appeared.

“Yes, it’s not me,” Jon said. “I think there is something wrong with Andie.”

Jon stood watching through one of the large windows into the small room where Andie was hooked up to various machines. From what the other doctors had told him there was nothing wrong with her physically though mentally she had just shut down.

Sam was in the room with Oojoung waiting for her friend to wake up and Nefeit was again standing beside him.

“How can this be happening to me?” Jon said. He wasn’t really saying it to anyone and it was more of a question for himself.

Nefeit squeezed his arm as she leaned up beside him. They had become very close in the past few weeks and Jon had come to rely on her council. “Bad things happen in war,” Nefeit said. “There’s not much you can do about it.”

“Yes, but I should be more careful. I should have seen that attack coming and been prepared for it,” Jon said. “I caused Bill’s death by sending him out there when I knew that those ships had been in a recent battle.”

“No, Bill chose his death,” Nefeit said. “Not very many people get that chance. He died saving hundreds of lives. You should be proud of him and what he did. Andie’s reaction to the news of her brother’s death is nothing new. A lot of people shut down like that. She’ll come out of it when she’s ready to express her emotions. You have to be ready as they could be targeted at you. Once she’s done doing that she’ll be just fine.”

“My sister and Oojoung were hurt because I’ve been playing games with the King,” Jon said. “Deatra is in his hands because I chose to play games. Well I’m done playing games with people.”

“That’s good to hear,” a deep voice said behind them.

Jon turned around towards the voice. A large Invaru wearing a high ranking officer’s uniform stood just behind him. Four ADF marines surrounded the large Invaru at arm’s length.

“Admiral Breq at your service,” Breq said. “I know there is a lot going on right now but I think we really need to talk.” Breq looked at Nefeit and then added. “In private if we can, what I have to tell you is very important.”

Jon sat back in his chair and looked across at Breq. Breq was impressive even for an Invaru. He stood just over seven foot tall and his arms and chest told everyone there was power there. If it wasn’t for the caring eyes, that expressed his concern for other people, he would have looked like a hard man.

“Sorry for your losses,” Breq said. “I understand Captain Hawkins was your friend.”

“A very good friend,” Jon said. “We grew up together and he became an important part of the ADF. He was a good officer that cared about his people. He knew what his duty was and had no problem doing what was needed. His loss was rather unexpected as was the appearance of these Crystari. They’re nasty little things and we have yet to find a weakness to exploit. We have some of the best people working on the analysis of their ships and weapons.”

Breq shifted uneasily in his chair as he spoke, “Don’t bother with trying to analyze their ships, it will get you nowhere, and yes, they’re very nasty: they took the thirty ship fleet that I was bringing and turned it into what you saw arrive. They did it in less than thirty minutes without losses.”

Jon let out a low whistle as he thought about the fire power that would take and then about the fire power it would take to do it in that time frame. “I still don’t understand why they have suddenly shown up and what their goal was here on Euthara.”

“My father, the Emperor, is to blame for their appearance,” Breq said. “He paid for it with his life when they attacked my home world.”

“Sorry for your loss,” Jon said. Jon shifted a bit in his chair and took a sip from his coffee cup.

“I’m not,” Breq said. His face let his anger and hatred for his father through. “I never liked what he stood for or the methods he used to get where he was. Though, now I’m next in line for the throne.”

“You’re the Emperor now?” Jon said. He sat forward as he listened to Breq intently.

“Yeah…” Breq said. His voice told Jon it wasn’t something he was happy about. “I’m the last living heir, and if any of my brothers or sisters survived the attack I’m still the oldest and first in line for the throne.”

Jon leaned back and put his hands together just under his nose as if thinking. “I don’t see that as a bad thing,” Jon said. He gave a slight grin to Breq. “As a matter of fact I see that as a good thing.”

Breq reached up and scratched his head with one of his upper arms as he tried to fathom where Jon was coming from. “I don’t see where you’re going with this. I’m now head of an empire I dislike because of how it’s run. How is that good?” Breq said.

“You just said it,” Jon said. “You’re the head of the Empire. You can change anything you don’t like about it. You’re also the rally point for the rest of the races contained in the empire.”

“One problem,” Breq said. “There’s a council and those that are left will not be so willing to allow large changes.”

“You don’t have to make changes over night and those council members that are missing have to be replaced,” Jon said. “I know Sa’oliq would make a good member on that council and I’m sure you can find others.”

“Impossible, they would never accept a council member that isn’t Invaru,” Breq said.

“They would if they had too,” Jon said.

“But they don’t and I don’t even know how many of the original nineteen council members are still alive,” Breq said.

“Your father got the things that he wanted done, did he not,” Jon said.

“Through threats and or violence, I’m not that way,” Breq said. “Are you saying I should be like my father?”

“In a way yes, at least for the time being,” Jon said. “For now they expect you to be just as ruthless as your father. So, you play the part, and I’ll help you. For now, the request for the Invaru to have entrance into the ADF is in a state of suspension. Once the Invaru Council is balanced by member race representatives I’ll reevaluate your acceptance into the ADF.”

“What?” Breq said. He stood up as surprise crossed his face and then followed by a brief flash of anger.

“Relax,” Jon said. “I’m doing you a favor.”

Breq’s eyes narrowed as he crossed all four of his arms across his chest. “Doesn’t sound like it from where I’m sitting.”

“Depends on how you listen to it,” Jon said. “So, get your council right and then I want to have a meeting with all the members present. If you’re accepted into the ADF things will have to change in the Invaru Empire and most of those things you already don’t like.”

“I don’t know what your game is but I’ll try to do what you ask,” Breq said.

“Try not. Do or do not, there is no try,” Jon said in his best Yoda voice.

“What?” Breq said.

“It’s a famous quote from my planet by an alien named Yoda,” Jon said. “It means don’t try to do anything, you either do it or you don’t. To just try at something means you have already half given up on what you’ve set out to do.”

“So, your people have been in contact with people from other planets before?” Breq said. “I thought the Sol system was too far out of the way to be bothered with, and your race was considered to primitive by our standards.”

“Gee thanks,” Jon said as he scoffed.

“That’s not what I meant,” Breq said.

“It’s ok, I know what you meant, I was just giving you a hard time,” Jon said. He gave Breq a disarming smile. “To answer your question, Yoda was a character from a movie.”

“What’s a movie?” Breq said.

Jon blinked in amazement at the thought of someone who had never seen a movie. It was so common place on Earth that he never gave it a second thought. “It’s a form of entertainment we have on our planet.”

“You invited other races to be in these movies?” Breq said. “Strange, I’ve never heard of these movies before.”

“You know what,” Jon said. As he relaxed back in his chair a bit. “Never mind, it was a bad joke, and we have more important things to get on too. I’ll explain movies to you later, if that’s ok. Right now I would like to hear about how these Crystari came to arrive and set about killing everything in their path.”

“Right,” Breq said. He seemed to relax and take a few deep breaths before he continued speaking. “It was decided that we needed to expand our borders away from the Eutharan border as there was really nothing of interest in this direction. Euthara sits at the end of a spiral arm in the galaxy and there’s really nothing past it but empty space. We only expanded for two reasons, conquest or more viable worlds to sustain life and we knew there were at least two more races in the direction we wanted to expand.”

“Funny,” Jon said. “Euthara sits very close to you and has a viable planet and several major installations just ripe for the taking. Yet the Emperor and Council decide to go the opposite way. Now why would they do that?”

“I had the same thought and when I asked my father he said Euthara was being taken care of. That if we waited long enough the planet would be ripe for the taking,” Breq said.

“Strange and why are the Drovasian not a part of the Empire?” Jon said. “That is something that has been eating at me for a while now.”

“Why should they when you can buy them for whatever price you want?” Breq said. “They’re simpler to leave alone and simply employ when needed. In the past forty years they have cut off all contact with other races. It was said there was an internal change going on and they were preparing for something. A priestess named Nefeit had taken control of the Drovasian Empire and instituted massive changes as they prepared for this event. Three quarters of the Drovasian Empire supported her and her interpretation of the prophecies. There was a massive civil war that lasted thirty years. Nefeit and her supporters won, and as a result the losing Drovasian were put to death.”

Jon raised an eyebrow as he thought about what he had just heard about his newest wife, something she had failed to mention to him.

“What?” Breq said.

“Nothing, I’m just listening,” Jon said. He shifted a bit in his chair and took another sip of his coffee.

“Something is bothering you,” Breq said. “You paled when I mentioned what had happened in the Drovasian Empire. The Drovasian are here and I’m going to guess you didn’t know about that little bit of history and it makes you nervous.”

“A bit, I’m married to Nefeit,” Jon said.

“Interesting, so you’re the new High Priest of the Drovasian Empire?” Breq said. “Congratulations. I assumed they were here because the event they were referring to was the emergence of the Crystari and now I find it’s your arrival.”

“I don’t know if I like the idea of being associated with a mass murderer,” Jon said.

“What do you mean?” Breq said.

“I mean she killed all those people,” Jon said.

“It’s the way of her people and has been for thousands of years,” Breq said. “Anyway, I said that’s what the reports said, not that that was what really happened. The Drovasian Empire is very hard to spy on effectively and mostly we have to rely on second hand reports. If you want a good spy or counter spy you hire a Drovasian operative and they’ll get the job done.”

“Thought they were fighters,” Jon said.

“Not so much,” Breq said. “What makes them effective is their ability at spying and learning an enemy’s weakness. Then they exploit that weakness until the enemy fixes their weakness but by then the Drovasian have another weakness to exploit. Don’t get me wrong their shock troops are very effective and highly trained.”

This all made Jon suspicious of Nefeit all over again and he knew they were going to have a long talk once he was done with Breq.

“Talk to Nefeit as I don’t know what has really changed in the past forty years or so,” Breq said. “Don’t jump to conclusions to fast. Something you’ll have to learn is that each race out here has their own policies as to how they handle things. That’s something you will have to deal with if you expect the ADF to succeed.”

“I see,” Jon said. His voice told Breq he was unconvinced.

“One thing my father did right was allow the different races to deal with their respective people on their own terms. He tried to force them to rule the way he wanted them too and all it did was create problems. Once he let go and let their governments have free reign on how to govern their people things changed and the races became content. They still didn’t like being forced into the Empire but they dealt with it as long as they were allowed to do their own thing. The rulers of the races answered to him and their people answered to them and it made things much smoother. I’m suggesting to you to do the same,” Breq said. He gave Jon a small smile.

“Well that’s all good and fine unless you’re part of the ruling body,” Jon said. “I’m ruler of the Human population out here, head of the ADF, soon to be ruler of the Eutharan people, Ga’sahde House Primus, ruler of the Drovasian people and the supreme leader of the Castanian people through Sa’oliq,”

“You wear a few hats I see,” Breq said.

“You can say that, it’s confusing sometimes,” Jon said. “I’ve kind of rolled it all into one and deal with everyone the same. For the most part I let Nefeit and Sa'oliq run her people and my sister run her people. I’ll probably leave Deatra to her own devices when and if I take the throne with her. That of course is dependent on what’s going on here and I have a feeling it’s a lot deeper than I think.”