The Phoenix Darkness (4 page)

“With respect, Your Highness, many of those
systems have declared for the Assembly or, even more commonly, have
taken no side. How can we be expected to protect those subjects who
do not recognize your sovereignty?”

Typical
, thought Kalila. Adiger was
not a cold man, she knew, and he was choosing not to think of the
devastation and slaughter of innocence he was essentially arguing
they should allow to happen for purely pragmatic reasons. “We must
look to the defenses of such subjects, whether or not they kneel
before me now, because I am queen of an empire. And those systems,
whether they know it or not, are part of that Empire. Now tell me,
Captain, what sort of queen would I be if I cannot defend my own
people?”

Adiger looked at her as if he expected this
to be some sort of trick question. “A pragmatic queen,” he
answered, after a moment’s pause. Still, clearly, married to his
idea of not throwing her forces, possibly to their demise, in
defense of worlds which had yet to bow to her. But she could
forgive him his pragmatism as he did not shoulder the weight she
carried, nor the guilt. Deep inside, Kalila had demons who haunted
her dreams, night and day, and would do all she could, including
laying down her own life if absolutely necessary, to right the many
wrongs which had unfolded before her. The wrongs she’d failed to
stop, she had allowed. In most cases, she’d failed even to
understand them, and the risks, before it was too late.

“I would be no better than Caerwyn Martel,”
she said, her voice firm as steel. “He looks to himself and his
own, because that's what is good for him. What kind of monarch is
that? This Empire needs a leader who will defend the whole of the
Empire, and see to the needs of all. Not just the politically
convenient, wouldn’t you agree?”

Adiger looked trapped by the question, but
gave his assent. Kalila even thought he meant it. Although she
could tell the wheels of strategy were turning in his mind and he
was doubtful committing to such an engagement would result in
Kalila ever retaking her father’s throne. Should she fight the
Rotham, her fleet would be decimated, if not destroyed outright.
With what, then, could she hope to challenge Caerwyn Martel and the
Assembly of fools he has under his thumb back on Capital World?

“Then, it’s decided,” said Kalila, “should
the Rotham threat appear, we will defend our countrymen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“But that doesn’t mean we absolutely must
fight them alone,” said Kalila. “Now, tell me, how do I look?”

Adiger looked taken aback by the question.
“Regal, Your Highness,” was all he could make himself say.

“I intend to send a message,” clarified
Kalila, “and it’s important that I look my best and appear my
strongest.”

“Who is the message to?”

“The entire Empire.”

Chapter 2

Repairs were ongoing at Taurus, but the
Harbinger
was beginning to look like the spectacle of death
it was always meant to be. Each new battle brought it new scars,
which added to its ferocious mystique and, as Raidan stared at the
magnificent dreadnought through the window of the shuttlecraft, he
couldn’t help but feel a chill trace his spine. She was still
battle-damaged; there was no denying that. And it was clear, from
the various tugs, bots, and other machinery working the starport
that new armor was still being outfitted onto the ship, while other
systems were repaired and replaced, each undergoing a series of
tests and diagnostics.

Raidan had mostly enjoyed his time on the
red, oxidized surface of Taurus IV, inside the safety of the
above-and-below ground biodome network, of course. Raidan
considered himself to be rather well-travelled, but this had been
something new. A desert planet, and a relatively minor one in the
system, with a population of only ten-thousand, whose primary work
was the excavation of an ancient society which had once inhabited
what used to be a blissful, watery paradise. Now it was an
archeological wonder lost under thousands, if not millions, of
years of rust and sand. The bits visible from the excavation biome
had proven an enjoyable, and necessary, diversion for Raidan.

But now that he was returning to his ship,
his home, and the fierce, monstrous warship had finally become
visible, he truly felt there wasn’t a sight more stirring, nor so
beautiful, in all the known galaxy.

When he went aboard and found himself back
inside the
Harbinger
’s spacious, grey corridors, bleak and
efficient, he was welcomed by some of his senior officers, most of
whom had reports to give and questions to ask. Raidan did his best
to assist them as the group made their way for the elevators and
ultimately the Bridge. It felt that, aside from the officer of the
watch, which in Raidan’s absence would be Commander Mason, nearly
every person of importance on the ship had been waiting to clamor
around him to get his attention.
Can Mister Mason handle nothing
while I’m away?

There was one notable absence, however. Mira
Pellew, who was not a member of the crew, but who cast a long
shadow on the ship notwithstanding, was nowhere to be seen. Whether
her refusal to greet Raidan upon his return had been intended as a
slight, or if she simply had forgotten, it made no difference.
Raidan would just as soon not see her either. Despite the number of
killers, murderers, and truly desperate people he’d known and
worked with over the years, only one person had actually given him
pause to fear, and that was Mira Pellew. Whenever his eyes met
hers, he didn’t see the “beautiful” amber irises which others
claimed to see; no, all Raidan saw was a cold, black void, and all
he could think was,
danger
. True, she was technically
beneath him in rank inside the Organization, but he also knew that
would never stop her from acting against him if it profited her.
And, unlike her brother, whose loyalty was easily purchased with
money, Mira’s loyalty was fickle and seemingly impossible to know
for certain at any given moment.

By the time he arrived at the Bridge, he
stopped giving orders and instead took note of the fact that nearly
every screen on the Bridge was occupied with an image of Queen
Kalila Akira, dressed in a regal outfit, sitting at the command
position of her
Black Swan
flagship, like it was some sort
of military throne and, as she spoke, her tone and all her body
language seemed to convey a sense of absolute authority and
command.
This is what we need in a monarch
, thought Raidan,
if the Empire is to survive
. He hushed the officers next to
him so he could listen.

“…and that is why I address each and every
one of you. Brothers and sisters; humans; citizens of the Empire.
We are in grave danger. For, while we fight amongst ourselves,
shedding the blood of our loved ones, family members, neighbors,
and fellowmen, we are only weakening ourselves to the point where
foreign militaries are now taking interest in us. Make no mistake,
they aim to seize our territory, as history has shown us time and
time before. They will take our worlds, enslave our children, burn
our homes, and even slaughter us by the billions.

“If we do not stand together,
united
,
as one people, I can promise us no hope. For even as we speak, a
Rotham invasion fleet is preparing to launch into our territory.
The Alliance is no more. If we do not stand
now
, together,
arms linked inside The Corridor, ready to repel the enemy, then no
one will stop them. Praxis shall fall, Thetican shall fall,
Korrivan shall fall, Brimm shall fall, and countless other worlds.
And don’t think their hunger will be sated there. The enemy will
push and capture all it can, including Capital World itself if we
allow it. And by destroying ourselves in pitched battle and civil
war, we are only enabling our enemies to destroy us. The time has
come to unite against the common foe; the true enemy. Not human
against human, or brother against brother. But man, woman, and
child against any who would destroy us or take away our way of
life!

“We must unite! Rally to my banner and save
our worlds! I hereby declare the re-instatement of the true
Imperial Assembly and strip the Assembly of Capital World of all
its powers and legal responsibilities, as it is clearly held
hostage by a dangerous usurper. I invite all sitting Assembly
members of the now defunct and illegitimate Assembly on Capital
World to reach out to me and join me to sit upon the Royal Imperial
Assembly. And to those planets who wish to elect new
representatives, because your current ones are held hostage on
Capital World and cannot or will not be recalled, I urge you to
seek new leadership. Elect your officials and then send them to me.
Coordinates shall be provided. Together, as monarch and elected
Assembly, as the Empire was always meant to operate, we will save
our worlds!”

Raidan folded his arms, wondering just what
intelligence the queen was referring to about a Rotham invasion
which was imminent. Raidan himself had alerted the queen, thanks to
Samil Cross and Tristan, that the Alliance was a deterrent of the
past only, but he hadn’t had it confirmed the Rotham fleet was
actually sighted and on its way.

That must mean Calvin got through and got
his messages out
, thought Raidan. He felt a small measure of
happiness to think Calvin was still alive out there and collecting
good intelligence, but it paled in comparison to the revelation
that the Rotham were going to attack imminently.
If only they’d
attacked before the battle at the Yards
, thought Raidan
desperately.
We could have united then and chased them back to
Ro with their tails between their legs. Instead, we butchered
ourselves and offered our necks to the Rotham…

Raidan had turned to go to his office, eager
to contact Tristan, when the queen’s message abruptly stopped
playing its loop, now replaced by counter propaganda. This time it
belonged to Caerwyn Martel, who, although not seated upon the
throne itself,
not yet anyway
, stood in the throne room as a
symbolic gesture of his claimed authority as Steward of the Empire
and denounced the queen and her warning.

“To all my children from The Rim to the
Capital, to the Far Clusters, and most especially to you in The
Corridor, I, as Steward and Guardian of this Empire, am here to
tell you,
fear not
! For there is no Rotham threat
approaching our borders; I can promise you that.” Upon seeing
Caerwyn’s self-regarding face, his eyes gleaming with power lust,
Raidan felt a profound anger swell up inside him and he wished he
had the means to dispatch an assassin and end the pretender, this
man who singlehandedly might well destroy the Empire, putting an
end to all the great wonders, marvels, and creations humanity had
brought into the universe. Caerwyn was the epitome of everything
wrong with the Empire: a liar, a sellout, vile, contemptuous,
corrupted. He was a lord of the people rather than a servant of
them. He hadn’t an ounce of patriotism anywhere in his blood and
would likely sell children for organ-farming if it meant he got to
line his pockets with a few extra Q. Hell, he probably already did
that, and worse!

“I have reports from Intel Wing and the
Fleet, and they may be corroborated as I am releasing them to the
public, which clearly indicate no Rotham presence visible by any
Imperial listening post anywhere near the DMZ,” continued Caerwyn.
That might be true enough
, thought Raidan,
but the Rotham
fleet could easily be sitting and waiting inside Rotham space
before blitzing through the DMZ and into The Corridor. And if
Caerwyn thinks to wait until a listening post detects the fleet
before marshaling a response…then his ignorance of war is even
greater than I have imagined
.

“Kalila Akira is a liar and a criminal,”
continued Caerwyn. “She has invented this pretense of danger, of
Rotham invasion, in order to spread fear mongering throughout our
systems, to rally support to her personal vendetta against the duly
elected Assembly and against me, the Steward of the Empire,
your
protector
. If she truly believed there were an imminent Rotham
threat, she would race to Capital World, submit to the Assembly,
and relinquish control of all of her forces so our great Imperial
Fleet might be whole once more. But she does not do that. Instead,
she hides on her ship like the coward that she is, and thinks to
call a false Assembly—”

“Shut off that drivel,” said Raidan. “I’ve
heard enough.”

Immediately, the screens on the
Harbinger
’s bridge went dark, or else switched back to their
normal operations. He didn’t have to ask to know the propaganda was
being sent Empire-wide, from both parties, and he expected to hear
a lot more of the same in the foreseeable future. Though, even now,
he’d had more than his stomach could take.

Politics
.
Propaganda
. It was
enough to make him sick. He left the Bridge and welcomed the
seclusion of his office. He locked the door, took off his jacket,
and then went instinctively for the bottle of whiskey he kept on
the desk. As usual, he opened the bottle and took a long stiff
drink, not bothering to decant the whiskey because, after a good
aging in a wooden barrel, what purpose could possibly be
served?

After downing the equivalent of two shots, he
set the bottle down, pleased by the burn, and wiped his mouth.
Normally, he was the type to pour bottle to glass, but today just
was one of those days when he had no time for glasses…

Tristan, I’d better hear from you soon,
and with good news. We need that deterrent now more than
ever
.

***

“And just a few more seconds,” said Calvin to
the overly crowded bridge of the
Wanderer,
which was really
more like a cockpit. He sat in the pilot’s chair, having chosen to
take a shift of his own.