The burden of command, p.45
The Burden of Command, page 45
part #14 of Empire Rising Series
James nodded. Georgia had already survived three attack runs against enemy fleets. If she hadn’t proved to be such a skilled pilot, the odds might have already caught up to her. “Was there some reason you were looking for me?” James asked in an effort to change the subject. He had already consoled Christine about Georgia a handful of times since returning from the Flex-aor homeworld. Rehashing the same conversation now wouldn’t be helpful for either of them.
Christine sat up a little straighter on James’ lap. “Yes, there was, though given the mood you’re in, I don’t want to darken it further.”
James raised his hands to Christine’s sides and touched her with his fingernails, threatening to tickle her. “I think you better just tell me Empress, before a bunch of aides discover us and find a new list of tasks for us to complete.”
Christine moved her elbows down to protect her sides. “If you insist... I just got done with Fairfax and the forensic investigators who have been looking into the secessionist movement. There is still one problem they are struggling to solve. It has to do with Cornelius Teal and the financing of their movement. We’re still tracking down many of his accounts to make sure they are shut off and cannot be used by the groups that have gone to ground.”
“Well, that’s good, so what is the problem? James asked.
“It’s the amounts in some of the accounts,” Christine answered. “They are impressive. Very impressive. They are far larger than Teal could have accumulated himself, despite how wealthy he was. But that’s just the problem, we haven’t been able to account for where the extra funds have come from. There are plenty of other wealthy individuals or corporations who could have been secretly backing him, but there are no traces that link back to any of them. One of the investigators made a strange comment. She said it was almost as if the funds had come from outside the Empire.” Shifting on James’ lap, Christine turned to look at him. There was a worried look in her eyes.
James grasped where she was going. “The sudden appearance of the Flex-aor and the secessionist attempt happening at the same time, you’re not thinking they are linked?”
Christine shook her head, “I know it sounds silly. But as you were just saying, we’ve had twenty years of relative peace, and then both of these happen together? And don’t forget about the unknown species Jonathan encountered. The Racumin, their computer core said. We haven’t heard sight nor sound of them since, yet clearly they are willing to operate near our borders. What if there is another threat out there? Or what if the Karacknids are behind both?”
James didn’t like where his wife’s thoughts were going. It wasn’t the Karacknids’ MO to try to acquire a foreign species’ currency, and then stir up internal dissent. Yet they did often supply weapons to aggressive species to foment war in sectors they wished to later conquer, so was it such a big jump to fund the secessionists? James had a hard time believing Varma or the other politicians would accept funds from the Karacknids. But Teal, that was believable. And who’s to say they even knew who they were dealing with? James wondered. And there was the Racumin. James had thought of them often, yet hardly any data had been retrieved from the cores Jonathan’s team had collected. They were all but a complete mystery. “A mystery we need to solve,” James said out loud.
“The Racumin?” Christine guessed. James nodded. “If there is even a chance you’re right, we need to think more about this. If there is something bigger going on, then we need to know.” His face changed again as another thought occurred to him. He tried to hide it, but Christine saw through his effort.
“What is it?” She pressed. “Out with it,” she ordered as her voice changed to the tone she used when giving orders.
“Jonathan,” James reluctantly answered. “If there is something bigger going on, who’s to say we’re not sending him out into the midst of it?” Christine shared a look with James. It was a worrying thought for both of them. Then she lowered her head and rested it on his shoulder. James pulled her into a hug. Whether they were right or wrong, there was nothing more they could do to protect their children. They were grown now. They had to face the risks of the galaxy like everyone else.
For several minutes, they enjoyed just holding each other in silence. It wasn’t until Christine’s COM unit beeped that they broke apart. She sighed when she opened it. “I have to go, another minor emergency. I’ll see you at dinner? We can talk about this more with Becket.”
“Of course,” James said. “I’m looking forward to it.” He gave Christine a gentle pat on the bum as she got off him. She shot him a dirty look, but then smiled before she left.
Left to himself once again, James’ mind went to his uncle, Jonathan’s namesake. Throughout most of James’s career as a Lieutenant and Captain, his uncle had been the head of the Royal Space Navy. From his office in the British Admiralty, his uncle had sent out fleets, squadrons, and individual ships all throughout what had been the British colonies, to protect convoys and fight battles during times of war. Now I know what it’s like, James thought towards the man he still thought of as his greatest mentor. He had tasked Becket and Davenport with trying to protect the southeastern Imperial colonies. Georgia would be with them. Meanwhile, Emilie had the almost impossible task of actually trying to find the fleeing Flex-aor. At the same time, he had just sent Jonathan out into the unknown, which though hopefully safer than hunting the Flex-aor, could end up being just as dangerous. Especially if there is another species up to no good, James thought. If they were stirring up trouble along Humanities southern colonies with the Flex-aor, then why not cause trouble on the other side of the Gift, and in Conclave space too? How did you do it uncle? James asked. How could you just sit back and send people out to risk their lives for you? Even as he asked the question, James knew the answer, the burden of duty. He was now the Empire’s most experienced commander; it was his duty to orchestrate things from Earth and trust his subordinates to accomplish his purposes. It never gets easier, James thought as he shook his head. Never.
Epilogue
Pillar of Seclusion, Silizzeras home system, (four weeks later).
With a swish of her tail, Agent Rarmanca propelled herself along the smooth path that led through the outer courtyards. It felt good to be out of her prosthetics. No, more than good, she told herself as she swished her tail again. Rarmanca prided herself in her ability to slip from one disguise to another. Posing as a Human, Vestarian, Karacknid, Racumin, or Eaglaton was nothing to her. At least, for short durations. Doing so for months on end had been taking its toll. Now that she was free to be herself again, she reveled in her ability to coil herself up, and then slide her long thin body down the path. Almost, she forgot about who she was going to meet. As the massive spike that rose far above all the nearby buildings began to loom over her, she could suppress her nerves no longer. The Pillar of Seclusion was where she had grown to maturity. It was where she had been trained endlessly for decades before ever being allowed out in the field. It was also where the Assembly protected the Silizzeras people, ensuring that no other sentient species ever threatened their future. She had been summoned to give an account of herself. Only twice over the last thirty years had she been summoned before. Neither had been overly pleasant. Whilst she had supreme confidence in her abilities, Rarmanca doubted this time would be any different.
As she approached the Pillar of Seclusion, two large, black metallic doors slid open. The light didn’t come on as Rarmanca entered the darkened grand foyer. That didn’t bother her, her eyes instantly adjusted. At the far end of the foyer, one of her species awaited her. Its lower body was coiled in a circle while its upper body pointed straight into the air. Rarmanca approached, and then raised herself up to look her fellow agent in the eye. Releasing a combination of pheromones, Rarmanca communicated with the agent. “Agent Rarmanca reporting as requested.”
“The Speaker is waiting. Proceed to the three hundred and twelfth chamber,” the agent replied.
As she passed, the agent flicked out his tongue, tasting the air that wafted off Rarmanca. From the pheromones he gave off, Rarmanca sensed his amusement at her nerves and his disgust at the foreign tastes he took in. Rarmanca tried to hide her shame, but she knew her pheromones would give her away. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the smells and tastes of the foreign planets and ships she had been on from her body. Instead of hiding her shame, she mixed it with pride. The smells and tastes were like battle scars. It was the price she had to pay to protect her people.
Moving forward into the elevator, Rarmanca touched one of its buttons with the tip of her tail. The door swished closed before she could taste the other agent’s response. She didn’t care though; he could be revolted by her all he liked. It wouldn’t change how she thought of herself. Once the elevator started moving, she remembered his words. The Speaker was waiting for her! She had seen the Speaker just once, thirty years ago at her graduation. Even then, it had been from afar. Rarmanca felt all the ribs along her spine contract. She knew her sector was becoming more and more important to the Ministry of Seclusion, yet she hadn’t realized just how important. If the Speaker was interested in her report, then it meant the Karacknids and Humanity had become one of the Ministry’s primary projects. Before she was ready, the elevator’s doors opened. Knowing any hesitation would be frowned upon, Rarmanca propelled herself out of the elevator as confidently as she could. To her surprise, only one of her species was waiting for her. Coiled around a long pole, twenty meters off the ground, the Speaker looked down upon her. Moving herself to the foot of the pole, Rarmanca prostrated herself before the Speaker as she tried to hide the nervous pheromones she knew she had to be secreting. “Agent Rarmanca, here to report on the Karacknid Sector.”
“You may arise Agent,” the Speaker said. Rarmanca did so, seeking to lift her head as high as her body would allow. Still, she had to crane her neck back to look up towards the Speaker. “You know why you are here, Agent. I have been keeping a close personal interest in the Karacknid sector. You have been stationed there for eight years now. How are our plans progressing?”
Rarmanca chose her words carefully. “As I’m sure you’re aware Speaker, no covert operational plan, no matter how meticulously conceived, endures long after it commences. Nevertheless, the opening stages of Divide and Conquer have begun well. The faction within the Human Empire that we have been cultivating finally acted. They caused great disunity among the Empire’s worlds. Though other unseen events have diminished the long-term output we hope from this movement, nevertheless, significant economic and supply chain disruption has been caused. It will take the Humans months, if not more than a year, to recover from the disruption.”
The Speaker’s head moved up and down as his tongue flicked out to further taste the pheromones Rarmanca was giving off. “For the limited expenditure we allocated to this tactic, the results have met the Assembly’s approval. These unforeseen events, I presume you speak of the Flex-aor’s pre-emptive attack?”
Rarmanca tried and failed to hide her surprise. She had come straight from the Karacknid sector, she didn’t know how the Speaker had found out about that so quickly. “Yes,” she said hastily, in an effort to mask her surprise with words. “One of our arms shipments from the Karacknids was intercepted. It spooked the Flex-aor, and caused them to launch their attacks early. Nevertheless, they were still partially successful. One Human colony was destroyed. The Flex-aor High Queen was also rescued from her homeworld. Now the Flex-aor fleet has pulled back to complete its preparations in anticipation of resuming offensive operations. The Human reaction has been swift and substantial. They have diverted many thousands of ships from their defensive forts facing the Karacknid Empire to confront the Flex-aor. As a result, their defenses have been seriously weakened.”
“And yet, the Karacknids are not in a position to take advantage of this development, are they not?” The Speaker asked.
Rarmanca shook her head. “Not at the moment, I am afraid Speaker. Their civil war still rages on. As yet, the plans we have put in place to bring it to a conclusion are not ready to be put into motion. As a result, neither of the three factions are prepared to immediately move against the Humans, though I have put in motion events that may change this. There is one benefit that has come from the Humans’ discovery of the arms shipments we arranged. They now fear the Karacknids are working with the Flex-aor. It may be that we have found a way to encourage the Humans to launch a pre-emptive strike of their own.”
“Now that would be even more preferable,” the Speaker said. “In any case, it is the Assembly’s expressed wish that hostilities would resume between these two factions in the immediate future. Neither side can be allowed to become too strong. This protracted civil war is giving the Humans too much time to build up their strength…”
When the Speaker paused, Rarmanca tried to think of something to say. Yet as she hadn’t been asked a direct question, she thought it wiser to just wait. “I understand our work with the Eaglatons is coming along very nicely,” the Speaker continued, changing the topic.
“Already they have convinced the Cardicians and Bulanese to prepare for war,” Rarmanca answered. “I hope this stage of our plan will commence within the next six to twelve months. With the Humans so focused on the Flex-aor, the strike will come out of the blue.”
“Excellent, soon we will have these two great enemies at war with each other once again. Then, when the time is right, we will have the Eaglatons strike and assert their dominance. With the right interventions, we can remove the Karacknid sector from our threat board once and for all. Your efforts are going a long way in securing the future of your species Agent,” the Speaker said as Rarmanca tasted the first hint of emotion from her superior. It was a mixture of yearning and anticipation.
Rarmanca couldn’t help the pride she felt. “It is my honor to serve Speaker. Are there any updates to operation Divide and Conquer that I should know about?”
“No,” the speaker said firmly. “We never expected it to play out exactly as our planners imagined. Things are going well enough that no additional interventions are deemed necessary at this point.”
Rarmanca took the speaker’s words as a compliment. “Thank you,” she said.
“I did have two further questions,” the Speaker said, not acknowledging Rarmanca’s thanks. His tone made Rarmanca’s ribs stiffen.
“I’m here to answer any and all questions Speaker,” she said.
“The Humans’ discovery of the Karacknid arms shipments. I understand they encountered one of the Eaglatons’ client species?”
“That is the case,” Rarmanca answered, certain that any lie would be found out. “I lost many of my key contacts on Earth after the breakaway movement was put down. But those that I have assured me that very little information was learnt about them. What we have planned with the Kalrieccians and Bulanese should not be foreseen by the Humans.”
“Nevertheless, it is unfortunate,” the Speaker said as he broke into Rarmanca’s explanation. “A new unknown hostile species will raise the Humans’ suspicions. You should do everything you can to allay any new fears this might cause within their leadership.”
Rarmanca bowed her head to the Speaker. “I will do my best,” she promised. With many of her key contacts arrested or removed from their positions of power, she wasn’t sure what she could do, but it was something she would have to look into.
“And my second question then, tell me, how is your work with the Antarians coming along?”
Again, Rarmanca suspected lying could endanger her life. Quickly, she quashed her desire to embroider the truth. “That is one area where I have been unable to follow the directions the Ministry has given me. Infiltrating their species is simply impossible. Their hivemind means they immediately recognize any agent I disguise as one of their species and try to insert into one of their colonies. It also means manipulating them is extremely difficult, for changing the mind of one or two individuals has almost no impact on the collective will of their species.”
“So the projected timetable for when they may encounter the Humans or Eaglatons has not been altered?”
Rarmanca shook her head from side to side. “No, our estimates are still that first contact with either species won’t occur until sometime in the next twenty to forty years.”
The speaker didn’t reply for several moments. The silence seemed to drag on for Rarmanca. It was clear he was displeased. “If the Antarians meet the Eaglatons first and open hostilities with them, it will greatly displease the Ministry. Many decades have been spent maneuvering the Eaglatons into the position they are in now. On the other hand, the Humans have already proven themselves resourceful, significantly beyond our preliminary estimates. Our initial plans for the Karacknid sector had them being conquered thirty years ago. It was the Karacknids who were supposed to encounter the Antarians.” Rarmanca nodded, she was all too aware of this. It was what had got her predecessor executed. “If we could speed up the Antarians’ first contact with the Humans, it would give us substantially more operational flexibility. If you cannot encourage the Antarians to move towards Human space quicker, maybe you could encourage the Humans? I understand subgroups of their species are far more prone to expansion than even their administrative bureaucracy is, no?”
Rarmanca saw where the Speaker was going. She berated herself for not thinking of it independently. “Yes Speaker, I believe that is an insightful idea. As I said, my contacts are limited after many of the dissenters were dealt with. Yet I may have enough influence to attempt what you have in mind.” Rarmanca could see how it would work easily enough. Many of the Humans were desperate for the riches new worlds opened up to them. All she would have to do would be to find two or three suitable systems and make their location known to the right people. Doing so could speed up first contact between Humanity and the Antarians by ten years or more.
