The Last Starship (2 page)

Chapter 4

Emperor Island was busy. That was the first normal thing Jake had seen in the last few hours, but he didn’t recognize anyone.

Had the Emperor replaced all the staff in the time since Jake was last there?

Anything was possible.

After what felt like hours, someone noticed the group. Surprise filled Jake’s eyes, and he walked over to them.

“Captain Jake Larson?”

Nodding, Jake studied the staff member, trying to work out what his job might be.

“We weren’t expecting you here so soon.”

“Be honest with me.”

“I am.” The staff member shrugged. “I was told it would take you until tomorrow, and if you weren’t here by then, we were to send out a search party.”

“Whom were you told this by? I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”

“My name is Tobias.” He brushed a hand over his forehead. “The Emperor’s personal assistant told me that about an hour ago before he went off to do something for the Emperor. I’m not certain what. I’m not exactly high up in the hierarchy here. I do what I’m told. That’s what I’ve always done.” His eyes squinted somewhat. “Has there been some sort of problem?”

Jake looked over his shoulder at Joanna. She nodded, and he turned back to Tobias. “We were attacked by aliens on the way here. I don’t know if there are more of them out there or not, but it might be an idea for you to find out.”

“Aliens aren’t meant to be in New York.”

“I thought the very same thing before we were attacked by them.”

“You were attacked.” Tobias shook his head. “There have been some strange things happening in the past couple of weeks, but it never crossed my mind something like that might be happening.”

Joanne stepped forward. “We might need your help, Toby.”

“Jo?”

“I came down with the Atlantis.”

“What might you need my help with?”

“There’s something very wrong. The strange things you mentioned, I think, have something to do with what’s happening, and I need you to sort some things out for me. Can you do that?”

For a moment, Tobias looked uncertain, and then he nodded. “I can do anything you need me to. You should be out in orbit.”

“We’ve been thinking the same thing.” She brushed a hand through her hair. “New York is a ghost town. Everyone is hiding away while things are normal here. I need you to send a group you trust over to the city and make certain there are no more aliens there. Then I need you to get some mechanics out. No one is in the dock. That was our first sign something was very wrong because the dock is normally bustling with people when a ship’s coming in.”

“You think the Emperor is working against us?”

“Right now, Toby, I don’t know what’s happening. I know what I fear, what I don’t want to be happening, but I’m not going to fill your head with things which might not be true. Rely on what you know, what you think, and go from there, because that’s what we’re doing.”

“We don’t have another option, Tobias.” Knowing he was a friend of Jo’s made it much easier for Jake to talk to him. “The Emperor called us down, and we have to follow his orders. His orders could have got us all killed if we hadn’t stopped to think about what might be happening down here because I don’t know any other Emperor, who would have done what he did. As the only ship left the Atlantis should have been left in orbit until another was sent up.”

“Captain, I had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen. No other ships were going to be sent up.” Tobias ran his tongue over his bottom lip. “I do a lot of work in the hidden places of this area. That’s how I met Jo in the first place. People don’t know I can hear what they’re talking about, so I get to overhear a lot more than I should, and the last conversation I overheard between the Emperor and his personal assistant was about the fleet. They were saying it wasn’t cost effective to build any more ships. It was better that the Atlantis do what needed to be done until there was no other option.”

Jake laughed. “That sounds about right. Thank you for telling me.”

“If the Emperor is working against us I want you to know everything I do.” Tobias shrugged. “I think it’s important you know what’s coming next, as much as you can, even though I know I can’t be much help.”

“Knowing the Emperor isn’t planning on creating any more ships is a wonderful help.” Jake looked at his crew. “Do you think you can take us to wherever the Emperor is now?”

With a nod, Tobias gestured for them to follow him. “I don’t believe his personal assistant is going to be back for a couple of weeks. When he does return, I’ll make certain I’m in the right place to overhear whatever conversation they have.”

“Thank you.” Jake put a hand on Tobias’ shoulder. “The people of Earth need to stick together because we don’t want the aliens taking over our home.”

“No, we don’t, and if the Emperor is working with them that’s what’s going to happen.”

“You’re certain of that?”

“I am. He’s been talking about things I didn’t truly understand until your arrival. I believe, although I can’t be sure, he’s been talking about being in charge of another world, and I thought we’d got lucky in our hunt for another world we could call home. But now I think it has something to do with the alien world. If they’re here, maybe they’ve managed to convince him he can take control of their world. He’s always wanted more than he has here.”

Chapter 5

Jake, followed by his crew, walked into the receiving room.

The Emperor was on his throne, and when he saw them, his eyes widened. “You’re early.”

“No, Your Eminence, we’re here.” Jake smiled. “After being ambushed by a group of aliens…”

“There were aliens in New York?”

Being careful was the most important thing. Jake didn’t want to accuse the Emperor of anything, just in case they were wrong, but it wasn’t easy to find the right way of putting things.

“Unfortunately, yes, there were.” Jake sighed. “The people of the city are in hiding, so they must have been there for a while. You haven’t heard anything?”

“I haven’t.” The Emperor looked uncertain. “My assistant has been keeping things from me.” He shook his head. “He’s been strange, recently, and I’ve been worried he might be working against me. Could he be working with the aliens? I don’t know. I don’t think I want to know, to be honest, although I’m going to have to find out the truth in the end.”

“You called us back for a reason?”

“We’ve been checking into the finances, and I’m afraid I have some bad news for you, Captain. I hate to say this because I know how important the fleet is, but we don’t have enough money to replace the lost ships. We don’t have enough money to replace one of the lost ships.”

Joanne stepped forward. “Where has all the money Father put aside for the fleet gone?”

“Jo, I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t. I leave these things up to other people, so I don’t know what’s happened to it, and I’m beginning to realize I made a huge mistake when I trusted certain people to do things I should have done myself. Being the Emperor isn’t an easy job.”

“No, it’s not.” She shook her head. “Father made certain he checked everything done in his name, which was how he knew the money for the fleet had been drained. There have been people in power who have been far less scrupulous than he was - and it seems like you’re dealing with someone who takes what they want when they want.”

As Joanne spoke with the Emperor, Jake noticed a real hand had replaced the man’s amputated one, which was removed due to complications at birth. It was something Jake knew he needed to bring up but didn’t know how to broach it. There was no way anyone on Earth could have replaced the hand.

Was it the aliens? Was that why the Emperor was working with them?

Jake shook his head, trying to work out what his next step should be, but he couldn’t work it out. He was tired, stressed, and couldn’t keep pushing himself when all he really wanted to do was rest.

For a few seconds, he seriously thought about giving up and then accepted the way he felt wasn’t truly the way he felt. Someone else was making him feel that way. Could it be one of the aliens?

“Maybe I am.” The Emperor sounded worried. “I don’t want to believe that about one of my own people, but anything is possible. Very few people were happy when I was chosen as the next Emperor. They didn’t believe I was the sort of person who could do the job well… and I’m beginning to think they may be right. Aliens in my city.” He shook his head. “This isn’t going to happen any longer. I’m going to put a stop to it all.”

It was hard to believe the Emperor was that good an actor. He was beginning to make Jake think it was possible someone else was involved in what had happened, but he knew that wasn’t true. If it were, the Emperor wouldn’t have a new hand.

As Jake opened his mouth to say something about it the Emperor looked at him, and he closed it again. “I think the best thing I can do is let you rest for now. Fighting a group of aliens alone can’t have been easy for you, so I’ll get someone to make you a meal, you can relax, and then we’ll talk again in a couple of hours. In that time, I’ll try to work out what my next step should be.”

Did that mean talking to the aliens? Even though Jake didn’t want the Emperor to have any time to create another story, it made sense for them to have a chance to think things through as well.

Hopefully, he’d be able to get in contact with the crew he’d left on the ship. He needed to know if the aliens were able to make someone feel something. If they could, that might be the reason the Emperor was working with them. Or it could just be down to greed.

When they left the receiving room, Tobias led them through the halls to a massive room. “The cook’s going to be a little while. No one knew you’d be here today, so we don’t have much.”

Jake smiled at Tobias. “We don’t need much.” Their eyes met for a moment. “When you were in the hidden places have you ever started to feel different?”

“Yes, I have. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, good, I’m not the only one.” Joanne sounded relieved. “I thought I was going mad when I started to feel different, but then I realized someone had to be making me feel that way because I wasn't angry until that point. An alien?”

“Possibly. We don’t know what they’re capable of, Jo, and that’s beginning to worry me. The Emperor might have been around aliens for months, or years. If he has been, it’s possible he’s had his emotions molded by them.” Jake sighed. “We needed to find out everything we can and it would be useful to know when the Emperor’s hand was replaced.”

Tobias walked back into the room about an hour later. “No one has seen the Emperor with his new hand, which means it could have happened today. I was close to the receiving room a couple of days ago, and I didn’t see it then.”

“Okay.” Jake looked at Joanne. “That doesn’t help us work out how long the alien might have been here.”

“I might be able to help you with that. One of the guys working here has been in contact with his wife, and it seems that New York has been dealing with aliens for just over a week. Everyone is terrified because they don’t know how it happened. They kept thinking the Emperor would do something about it - and then he didn’t, so no one quite knows what to think. Some people did see your firefight with the aliens, however, which has increased morale a little. A couple of people, even though they were terrified, went to the dock, where your ship is, and they begged the crew you left behind for help. They’re doing what they can. From what was said it seems like they’re creating something that’s like a laser gun, but isn’t.”

Jake smiled. “That sounds like my crew. Thank you for helping us, Tobias.”

“Joanne, in the not so distant past, was one of my closest friends.” Tobias shrugged. “I’ll do anything I can to help her because she was there for me at a difficult time and I don’t know how I would have dealt with it alone.”

“She’s a good person.” Jake’s eyes sharpened on Tobias’s. “I want you to be careful. The last thing we need is for the Emperor to find out how you’ve been helping us.”

“He won’t find out. The Emperor doesn’t care what’s going on around him and without his personal assistant here there’s no way for him to find out what I’ve been doing. In the future, he might learn something of what I’ve done, but by then it’s going to be too late. I’ll be gone. It’s obvious I’m needed far more out there than I am here.”

“Toby…”

“Don’t, Jo. I know to be careful. I’m not going to do anything stupid, I promise.”

“Okay.” She shook her head. “Come by the ship when we’re done here. I should be able to help you out with some money and some weapons if you want them.”

“I want them. If there are aliens in New York, it seems likely there are aliens in other places, and the Emperor isn’t doing anything to fix things.”

“Does he want us yet?”

“He hasn’t said anything.”

“Without us in orbit…” Jake didn’t like not being where he knew he was needed. “I think we need to go back and get this conversation finished because there is a chance he’s putting us off.”

Giving a solid nod, Joanne stood. The rest of the crew did the same. “Lead the way, Toby.” Joanne smiled at him. “I’ll make sure this won’t be blamed on you.”

“He won’t know who it was.”