The Shattered Empire (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 2) (35 page)

Lucius didn't know if the Shadow Lords employed suicide attacks like that... but he wasn't willing to discount it.  Besides, if they sowed enough confusion, they could withdraw much as Lucius had in the Second Battle of Faraday.

“Emergence,” the navigation officer, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Michele Zahn said.  She paused as the sensors fed her data, “We're on target, within arrival parameters. 
Barely,
Lucius thought, after a glance at the display,
a few more percent off and we would have arrived in a restricted zone.
  It wouldn't matter what codes they had if that happened, the automated defenses would fire regardless.

“Contact!” Petty Officer Bussinik called out.  “Energy signature is cruiser sized, less than five hundred kilometers!  No transponder and it hasn't answered the challenge codes.”

“What?!” Lieutenant Commander Harper snapped.  “That's impossible, Lieutenant Chungpoole, confirm that!”

“We're being hit by targeting sensors, they've got us locked,” Petty Officer Bussinik said, before the Lieutenant could even look up from her display.

“System Control reports targeting sensor hits on the station and the solar array,” Ensign Camilla Wynkoop said, her voice shaky.  “They're demanding the identity of the ship that emerged with us, they can't fire on it, it's too close to us...”  Her face went pale, “Now
they're
targeting
us
.”

Lucius looked over at the
Nova Rosnik
's Captain.   Lieutenant Commander Harper was frozen, mouth open, his face pale.  Lucius popped his seat restraints and moved to the communications console, “Give them my identification code and tell them that the enemy ship must have a psychic navigator, that they intercepted our course in shadow space.”  The enemy ship still hadn't fired, but that didn't mean much.  Any hostile act could provoke it.  She gave him a panicked nod, but relayed his message without an issue.

A moment later, she looked up, “Sir, the cruiser is sending a message in the open.”

Lucius looked over at Lieutenant Commander Harper.  The Captain of the
Nova Rosnik
gave a shaky nod, “Thank you, Camila, bring it up on the main display.”

There was no image with the transmission, merely audio, “...for our unconventional arrival.  I am a representative of Shadow Lord Imperious and I come with an offer of alliance for Baron Giovanni and the United Colonies.  My vessel, the
Void Dragon
will power down weapons as soon as we receive assurance that we will not be fired upon.”  The man who spoke had a calm, smug tone, one that set Lucius's teeth on edge.

Lucius leaned over the communications console.  He spoke carefully, “This is Baron Lucius Giovanni, to all ships in system, I'm giving my assurance that the vessel will not be fired upon.”  He waited a moment, until he saw the alerts on the displays clear.  “You may take direction from System Control for your parking orbit.  We'll discuss when you can send your emissary down after that.”

He stepped back from the communications console and gave Ensign Wynkoop a nod, “Let me know if I have any priority messages.”  Lucius turned to look at the
Nova Rosnik
's Captain.  “Lieutenant Commander Harper, I'd appreciate it if you got me to the station as soon as possible.”  Lucius didn't say anything else as the Lieutenant Commander took charge of the bridge once more.  Some part of Lucius wanted to rub the other man's face in his mistake, but Lucius buried that bit without much effort.  Lucius worried about the way the man had discounted such an obvious issue until it became a threat to which he couldn't respond.

Lucius worried more about the fact that someone had seen fit to leave the officer in place and the effects of his attitude upon his crew in the long term.  He felt, more and more, there were issues with the Fleet, particularly those officers who came from the Dreyfus Fleet.  Somehow he had to get to the bottom of that.  He now needed to find out what the Shadow Lord's emissary wanted and, just as importantly, find out what had knocked Alanis back on her heels.

To top it off, Lucius didn't know who he could trust.  Alicia Nix, his first thought, was out of the military and the head of his civilian investigation agency.  Anthony Doko was restricted to his home and couldn't help.  Lucius figured that Reese wouldn't help him and he was out of the Fleet already.  Admiral Dreyfus was implicated, as were all of his personnel. 

Who could he turn to, who had the rank, the position, and most importantly, Lucius's trust?

***

Chapter VIII

Faraday System

United Colonies

October 2, 2403

“So,” Lucius said to Alanis, “You're keeping the baby?”

Alanis gave him a level look, “Of course I am, idiot.  I'm not going to murder my unborn child because his father just happens to be an asshole.”

Lucius snorted at that.  Alanis still looked strained, but if she was able to summon that level of sarcasm, Lucius hoped that she was improving.  “Okay, what's your plan then as far as raising your child?  I mean, being a single parent and military service can be mutually exclusive.”

“Well,” Alanis said, her voice dry, “She's going to have this uncle who I figured I could talk into watching her while I'm away.  I figure he's pretty responsible, he's, like, the leader of a nation and probably stupidly wealthy.”

Lucius shook his head, “I suppose I should have expected that.”  He pursed his lips in thought.  “I'd point out that I've fleet duties of my own, but...”  he trailed off, hesitant to bring up the issues he'd noticed.  Not because he didn't think she could handle it... but because Alanis was a much more direct person than he was.  She'd try to tackle those issues head on.  Since she'd be starting out at the bottom of the ladder, that kind of thing could be disastrous for her in the long term.  Better, he thought, to figure things out himself and not to give her preconceived notions.  “Well, I think after this campaign I'm going to need to buckle down and tackle all of my duties.”

“Right,” Alanis rolled her eyes, “I'll believe that when I see it.”

Lucius took a deep breath, “How are you handling... that is, are you alright with how it ended between you and Reese?”  He hated to talk this, but he was the only family she had. It was not something he really wanted to discuss, especially because, having just heard what happened, a big part of him wanted to send some Marines to go track Reese down.  The knowledge that he
could
order something like that made it a bit harder to restrain that impulse.

“Of course I'm not 'alright' with this,” Alanis said, her voice harsh.  “It's bad enough that Reese did what he did.  But that
I
let him back in, that I trusted him after he showed he couldn't be trusted?  That makes me hate myself.”  Lucius's mind immediately went back to the Marine option.

“But I'm better, now,” Alanis said.  “And I'm getting better, stronger, every day.”  Lucius saw her gaze go distant.  “And I'll pick myself up and move on, because what else is the alternative?”  She shook her head, “And I'm sorry I called you back here, but it all was almost too much for me, just then.”

Lucius felt his shoulder's slump a bit, “I'm sorry that I couldn't be back sooner.”

“It's fine, Lucius,” Alanis laughed.  “Honestly, just knowing that my big brother was coming meant more than you know.”  Her laughter faded, “And don't you think about sending someone to hunt down Reese, either!”

Lucius coughed, “The idea had passed my mind, but I've managed to restrain it thus far.”  Though, of course, he couldn't guarantee that someone
else
wouldn't take matters into their own hands after the story got out.

“Well, don't bother,” Alanis said.  “He caught a freighter headed for the Colonial Republic... I've passed the info on to the Faraday Investigation Bureau, don't worry.  But he's gone, at least for now.  And, as the felony charges go out, he's going to be either a fugitive or ineligible for most of the jobs he could find.  Besides, can you imagine how nervous he must feel, how afraid that someone's going to go after him just to try to get in good with you?”  She unknowingly echoed Lucius's own thoughts.  “While part of me would rather see him in jail... part of me doesn't even want
that
on my conscience.”

Lucius's gaze went to the small pistol that she had left on the end of the table.  She'd told him that as soon as Reese had left, she'd put it down and not touched it again.  Some part of Lucius worried that she'd thought to turn it on herself, but he wouldn't, couldn't, bring that up.  For that matter, he was surprised that she owned a pistol.  Lucius, while vaguely familiar with the operations of both pistols and rifles, had never really used either on any occasion other than mandatory training.  He wasn't certain where Alanis had learned to even use one... though he suddenly thought of Roberto Firnili back on Nova Roma.

That would make sense,
Lucius thought,
he had few compunctions teaching her everything else about his time in the service. 
For that matter, Reese had done a stint of duty with the Marines and had been fully trained by them in the use of weapons and ground tactics.  From what Lucius understood, he'd used those skills well in the insurgency against the Chxor here on Faraday.  He might have taught her... though it would be highly ironic for her to turn that around on him.

“Well,” Alanis said and snapped Lucius out of his musing, “Are you sticking around for a few days or heading right back out to Melcer?”  Lucius could hear an edge of uncertainty in her voice and he couldn't blame her.

“No,” Lucius said with a faint smile, “There's some things I need to take care of here, before I head back out to the front.  I'm fairly certain that Admiral Dreyfus can handle preparations on his own for the moment.”  Actually, Lucius felt more than a little concern about what was going on within the United Colonies Fleet and how much Admiral Dreyfus knew.  But for now, Lucius needed to get things moving here at Faraday.

“So, what was the crisis earlier today?” Alanis asked.  “I could hear some of the alert sirens going off.”

Lucius sighed, “We've got a visitor, an emissary from Shadow Lord Imperious.” 

“Seriously?” Alanis asked.  “Why didn't we just blow him out of space?”

Lucius snorted, “It's a little complicated.  At this point, I've already vouched for his safety.  So I might as well hear him out.”  He also still needed to field the envoy from the Shogunate and Kate Bueller had told him that there was an ambassador from the Centauri Confederation to address as well.  To top it off, the nascent United Colonies Parliament seemed stalled out.  Lastly, he had to decide who he could trust and put them into investigating the rumors and suspicions about the former Amalgamated Worlds personnel.

“What isn't complicated?” Alanis asked.  She sighed and shook her head, “I've called the Academy and discussed my options...”  She hesitated, “If I put my... if I put the fetus in an incubator then I'd be eligible to attend this year.  I could take a temporary leave of absence for the birth.  I've contacted the Faraday Birthing Center and they've given me a list of possible clinics who can do the procedure.”

“Okay,” Lucius felt his throat close up a bit.  Their mother had carried them both to term and their grandmother had been particularly harsh on the topic of those who had children through incubators.  He remembered one of her cutting lectures about it, when she saw yet another young noblewoman having a child that fashion.  Lucius himself thought it probably caused an unhealthy detachment between mother and child.  Yet, he could understand her desire to go that route, especially considering the circumstances.  It would allow her to follow her goals... and it also allowed herself to distance herself from the pregnancy and gave her time to settle her emotional conflicts about Reese. 

“Well,” Alanis said, “Thanks for coming by,” she shook her head.  “I hope you don't mind if I swing by to see you and Kaylee a bit while you're both here?”

Lucius shook his head, “Of course I don't mind.  It'll be good to spend some time with you.  And I'm glad that you're doing better.  Just let me know if there's anything you need that I can help you with.”

“Of course,” Alanis said.  “I won't hesitate to call my big brother if it's something I can't take care of myself.”  He didn't miss the sharp bite to her words... or how her eyes went to her pistol.  It was probably better for Reese that he hadn't pushed her any further, Lucius thought.  Somehow, his little sister had grown up when he wasn't paying attention.

***

Lucius walked up the steps, followed by Lance Corporal Namori and Sergeant Tamori.  At the house's porch, there was an interesting interaction.  Lucius had to hide a slight smile as the FIB agent, Nova Roma Marine, and two United Colonies Marines all sized one another up.  It was rather like several large dogs encountering one another in an unfamiliar setting.  All of them seemed uncomfortable, uneasy, and on edge.

“Well,” Lucius said politely, “I'm here to speak with Captain Anthony Doko.”

“Yes, sir,” the FIB agent said.  He toggled the intercom and spoke quietly.  The Nova Roma Marine Sergeant looked in askance at the two Marines behind him.

“They can wait out here,” Lucius said reassuringly.  He heard both Marines behind him groan slightly. 
There is a team of FIB agents, a team of Nova Roma Marines, and them out here to protect the building,
he thought,
that should be more than enough.

The FIB agent gestured for Lucius to enter.  He did so and noticed the new artwork on the wall near the front door... and the obvious signs of remodeling down the hall where a new window frame and door were.  He turned to find Anthony Doko and his wife, Princess Lizmadie seated in the living room.  “Hi there,” Lucius said.

“Hi, yourself,” Anthony Doko said and stood to extend his hand, “Thanks for coming by, sir.”

“Tony, you can't understand how relieved I am to hear that you're alright,” Lucius said as he shook hands.  “And I assure you... if Alicia Nix wasn't already working hard to find the people responsible, she would be after I talked with her.”  He let out a sigh, “I'm just glad you're both alright.”  Anthony Doko deserved far more than Lucius had been able to give him.  He hadn't realized just how much he normally delegated to the calm, capable man. 
And between what happened with Reese and losing Tony,
Lucius thought,
I feel like I have to do everything myself.

“Well,” Princess Lizmadie said, “We're glad to be alright, too.”  She frowned, though, and Lucius saw she wanted to say something else.

Before she could speak, Anthony did, “Baron, have they found anything else about our attackers or anything on my case?”

Lucius sighed.  He gestured at a chair and took a seat at Anthony's nod.  “It's... well, complicated is a good word.  There's nothing in Faraday's databases on the attacker you killed.  No identification, no records,
nothing.
  From the... material residue, the FIB is certain that he was dead.  The bullets and bullet holes are all a match for standard military-grade nine millimeter caseless rounds.”  Lucius knew that Alicia Nix didn't want that spread around, but he thought that these two deserved to know that much, at least.  “Which suggests military or professional mercenaries.”  Lucius wasn't ruling out the chance that some foreign element might seek to kidnap or kill the Emperor's sister and her new husband, possibly to destabilize their alliance.

“What about my case?” Anthony asked, eagerly.  “The Emperor said he's dropping his charges.  Does that mean I'm free to come back to work?”

Lucius sighed again, “Unfortunately, no.  Captain Wu's people are still sifting through the money trails... and Tannis's banking system is not cooperating at all.  Without some evidence to prove that she did it on purpose or at least something pointing at someone
else
, there will be too many questions if we bring you back, just now.”  Lucius wished it were otherwise.  He
needed
Anthony Doko right now, especially with his concerns about the Fleet... but if he brought the man back under the current cloud of suspicion, then it might well destroy Doko's career and professional reputation.

Anthony gave him a nod, but Lucius could see the disappointment in his eyes.

“So...” Lucius said.  He trailed off as he tried to find some other topic of discussion.  His mind continued to focus on both the Fleet, his concerns, and their military operations... all of which were not only topics that he couldn't discuss with his longtime friend, but were topics that he felt would only make Anthony Doko chafe even more at his house arrest.

Anthony smiled a bit in response to Lucius's failed change of topic.  “We really only ever talked work or a bit about family, eh, sir?”

Lucius nodded slowly, “Yes.”  He realized, once again, that his life had basically become work.  He managed to steal a few moments time, here and there, with his daughter Kaylee.  Other than that, there was commanding the United Colonies Fleet and trying to be its leader.  He looked over at Lizmadie, “You were about to say something, earlier?”

She nodded slowly, “I wasn't really sure how to put this...”  She pursed her lips, “Lucius, I think that you need to watch yourself... and I think you need to start worrying about internal security.”

Lucius felt a wooden mask settle on his face.  He wasn't sure why she might say something like that, but the way she had put it suggested that she had concerns of her own.  “I've got a pair of Marines following me around down here,” Lucius said defensively.  Even so, he knew that wasn't the heaviest security.  Still, it wasn't like he was the
Emperor
or anything like that.

“That's a start, but you need to start covering some of your blind spots,” she said.  “It's a hard lesson, but trust me, you need to learn it before it burns you,” Princess Lizmadie said.  Lucius winced at that.  He knew full well the story about how she had trusted a few people in the Nova Roma Court... and how it had led to a scandal which had seen her packed out of the palace and into seclusion. 
A few words out of context to a former friend,
he thought.  Still, Lucius took her meaning.  He did have blind spots, especially where his friends and family were concerned.  Yet the alternative was not to trust people... and he couldn't live like that.  He thought about the hell of his childhood and teenage years... and the disgrace of his expulsion from the Nova Roma Military Academy. 
I had no one to trust,
he thought,
no one with my back.