Ghost star the shadow sp.., p.15
Ghost Star (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 6), page 15
And then there's Marius, she thought, looking at the man who claimed to be her father. If he really was Marius Giovanni, and not a clone... then he had led a failed coup attempt against his nephew, then Emperor Romulus III. Alannis knew all too well how many military officers and enlisted men had died in the attempt. He'd officially been executed for the crime and her mother had killed herself only a few weeks later.
In the time since, he'd backed Admiral Lucretta Mannetti, a pirate who had murdered her way across dozens of star systems. Admiral Mannetti had led a failed coup attempt of her own against Emperor Romulus III, destroyed colonies, trafficked in slaves and weapons, and had tried to kill Alannis's brother at least twice.
Marius had since backed Reese in his efforts to unlock alien technology, which had left a trail of bodies, including some of Alannis's friends and people she'd served with.
She wondered if any of them would be willing to trust or share power with any of the others. Certainly Spencer Penwaithe had betrayed Lucretta Mannetti at Halcyon, and by extension, Marius Giovanni. Each of them had to have plans to remove one or more of their partners.
And here we are, she shot Lizmadie a look, prisoners to these nut-cases.
***
After the luncheon finished, the standard eight guards escorted them back to their quarters. As they stepped inside, Lizmadie stumbled a bit and caught herself on the arm of their couch. None of the guards stepped within reach to assist her, and they kept hawk eyes on both of them as Lizmadie straightened, "Sorry, a bit too much wine for me, I suppose."
Two of them pulled out wands and began to frisk them down, while two more kept their weapons ready.
After that was complete, the guards departed and Alannis moved over to the couch and took a seat. "Well, that was educational," she said, even as her hand dropped down into the join between the couch cushion and the arm. She'd barely noticed when Lizmadie had adjusted her boot at lunch, and only because she had did she take note of her friend's action when she'd stumbled just now.
They both operated under the assumption that they were under constant surveillance. The knowledge that they were on a planet, or massive station, completely under Marius Giovanni's control only reinforced that assumption.
"Yes, wasn't it?" Lizmadie said dryly, taking a seat across from her in the chair.
Alannis's fingers brushed the back of something angular and metallic. Price's pistol. Alannis remembered how it had fallen to the floor and slid under the table. Lizmadie must have stopped it with her boot and then slipped it inside when she bent over to adjust it.
Now they had a weapon. A real weapon. They knew where they were, they knew that there was breathable atmosphere outside, which meant there should be wildlife of some kind.
"We need to plan," Alannis said, thinking both about the escape and about how to stop Reese and Marius. If they could get out, they could bring back a fleet. Her brother would send an entire fleet, if necessary.
“Do you know anything about Golgotha?" Alannis asked.
"Everything I know, I learned today," Lizmadie snorted. She went to one of the windowless walls and tapped at it. "I thought this was some kind of industrial plastic or ceramic... now I'm not sure."
"Too tough to cut through," Alannis said, "even if we had a knife." This had been the topic of so many of their conversations that Alannis didn't know why they bothered. Any escape would have to go through the door... wouldn't it?
"We know it is an alien facility," Lizmadie said. Alannis followed her friend's gaze to the bathroom. Aliens wouldn't use a human-shaped toilet... That meant it was likely retrofitted... toilet, sink, possibly the shower, too. In theory, it would be as sturdy and hard to break as the walls, but the join between the existing wall and the new fittings might not be.
Alannis smiled a bit. They had a weapon. They had a plan. They were going to get out of here.
***
Reese stared at the image of his wife, projected from his datapad. He reached out a finger and ran it over the holographic projection. The smile that Alannis wore was so familiar... yet he knew that she didn't smile for him.
He rubbed at the scars across his forehead and his fingers trembled. She hated him. He'd tried to explain to her, tried to get her father to explain to her, but she didn't understand. Why doesn't she understand... everything I've done I've done for her.
His hands clenched into fists. He would make her understand. So far, Marius had refused to use his mental abilities to compel her, but Reese knew that sooner or later they'd have no choice. Alannis had to be made to understand.
Reese closed out the security footage and brought up a schematic of the Star Engine. He couldn't begin to understand the device's full functions, but he was on his way to understanding what he needed to know. Ever since the Temple of Light he had found himself understanding and learning more and more.
But he needed to know far more than he did. Time was not on their side. Sooner or later, the Balor would come to Golgotha and there was no way that Marius could face them. Reese smiled a bit as he considered what they'd told Colonel Price. It wasn't the full truth... the Star Engine itself wasn't a weapon... it was a key.
Reese had begun to figure out how to use the key... he just needed a little more time.
***
Chapter VIII
August 29, 2410
Gogotha System
Unclaimed Space
Colonel Price had spent the past three days touring Marius Giovanni's facilities. Overall, he was impressed. Both by the organization and their numbers. The Lord Admiral had put together a disciplined, capable force and he'd shown none of the squeamishness of his son. Those who didn't serve voluntarily were mentally conditioned to do so. It was a brutal, but effective, means to compel loyalty... and it had allowed Marius Giovanni to assemble a truly impressive force.
Admiral Collae's forces were extensive enough, with over a dozen converted Chxor dreadnoughts that served as carriers and over a hundred cruisers. Most of the Colonial Republic personnel were actual volunteers, many drawn from worlds that had already been overrun by the Balor. The level of dedication that brought was something that Colonel Price appreciated.
Marius Giovanni's people, on the other hand, had only a core of his key personnel who had none or minimal mental conditioning. The vast majority of the rest had been programmed for loyalty. Colonel Price had already met Lieutenant Patricia Hersey, who'd formerly been of the United Colonies, but he'd also recognized dozens of 'missing' officers from several nations who'd apparently been recruited and reprogrammed.
Marius seemed to have tens of thousands of people and hundreds of ships. Many of them were stolen or purchased Colonial Republic vessels of dubious quality... but many more were state of the art ships he'd recently captured from dockyards in the Centauri Confederation. In all, Colonel Price wouldn't pit their forces against the entire might of the Dreyfus Fleet... but he would give them even odds against any other major force in human space.
Of course, the downside of an alliance with the man was that he seemed entirely focused upon this alien technology when, in Colonel Price's opinion, he should be focused on tactical and strategic methods to fight the Balor. On top of that, Marius Giovanni was a psychic, with Psi Kappa and probably Psi Gamma capabilities.
He walked with the Lord Admiral, even as he wondered if he could trust his own senses. Of course, I've taken a few precautions of my own. He glanced back at his escort, men he'd trained and worked with for decades, men who knew how to watch for psychic meddling.
“Tell me more about your mental conditioning program,” Colonel Price said.
Marius raised an eyebrow, “Are you concerned that you're a target?” He didn't wait for Colonel Price to answer, but instead gestured down a side corridor. “Not a worry, Colonel. I entirely understand your interest. It's a fascinating way to build up forces. My indoctrination facility is just down here, actually.”
Colonel Price went down the corridor and waited patiently as the Lord Admiral used the biometric scanner. After a moment, the doors opened and they stepped into a large, open room. Hundreds of raised pedestals held men and women, each cocooned in a network of cables and equipment.
“It's a procedure that I actually uncovered in my research of this system... though it has no direct relation to the technology found here. I've said before that they utilized conscript labor. Many of those first conscripts were criminals that they re-purposed for the task using mental conditioning.” He gestured at a platform. “They had mixed results, they were able to erase and rewrite memories as well as adding skills and training, but they many of their subjects suffered mental breakdowns.”
“Oh?” Colonel Price asked.
“Yes, I think they were either too invasive and erased too much, or they didn't take enough of the core personality out. From what I can find, the project was abandoned before they could iron out the issues. I found some cryptic notes about a secondary program, something called Archon, but it doesn't look like they did any more research into the project.”
Colonel Price went still at the mention of Project Archon. He wondered if Marius Giovanni even suspected the importance of that project... but he decided to change the subject. “So you use it to indoctrinate captured personnel?” Archon was a failure that is best forgotten, he thought to himself.
“To greater and lesser levels of success,” Marius replied. “It took me ten years of fine-tuning to get the systems up and working, and each subject has to undergo a series of mental scans and tweaking.” He walked over to one of the platforms and rested a hand on the machinery. Inside, Colonel Price saw a young woman, her eyes wide and unseeing, the muscles of her face twitching as the equipment rewrote her mind.
“I've found that younger people, those with fewer life experiences, are far easier to fully condition. With them, you can replace one authority figure for another. Some minds are more malleable and adaptable, others... not so much.”
“What happens to someone you can't program?” Colonel Price asked.
“There are some,” Marius snorted. “But they're fewer than you'd think. With older people, it's much harder. It would take me at least a month to program a man like you and if I did, I'd lose a great deal of your critical thinking skills. You'd probably be severely reduced in mental capacity.” He said it off-handed, as if it were of minor consideration.
Colonel Price scowled, “You think it would be that easy?”
“Not easy,” Marius turned, “Simple, but not easy. This is a process I have developed and refined over two decades, Colonel. And in any case, this process is only for full conditioning. I have other methods, some designed to compel someone to accomplish a single task and others are more complicated.”
“And if I refuse to give you access to my antimatter production facility?” Colonel Price asked.
“Then I will allow you to leave, Colonel,” Marius said, “I promised you safe passage to and from my base of operations. I am a man of my word, Colonel. I will allow you to leave unhindered, if you decide to do so.”
And I’ll trust that just as far as I can throw this facility, Colonel Price told himself. If he'd had an alternative to being here himself, he would have taken it. As it was, he'd planned in multiple fail-safes, to include orders for his people to kill him rather than to allow him to be taken hostage or mentally programmed.
“In any case, most of those I program are happy to serve. They're ideal people, dedicated to the cause, eager to defend humanity, and fully trained in military doctrine.” Marius Giovanni stepped away from the platform and led the way out of the room. “I'm showing you all of this so that you see the value that I bring. With my help, you could increase your forces rapidly, Colonel. I've taken pirates and riffraff and turned them into loyal Marines and spacers. Give me a year and I could give you an entire army, all of them entirely loyal to you.”
“What about ships?” Colonel Price asked.
Marius hesitated. When he did speak, his voice was reluctant. “Colonel, there is only so much that I can provide. I have limited access to shipyards, most of my vessels I've acquired are filling those slots undergoing refits. I would assume you have access to at least some vessels?”
The honesty threw Colonel Price off, a bit. He had expected an offer of vessels as a matter of course. “I have a few ships,” Colonel Price admitted. A single squadron of destroyers, though he wouldn't tell Marius that. Ships and crews were in short supply, throughout human space. The wars with the Balor and the Chxor had destroyed thousands of vessels. Normally there were some available for purchase on the black market, but the two recent campaigns against pirates, led by the United Colonies, had destroyed dozens of those types of ships.
“I can't expand my forces quickly enough, you understand” Marius said. “Though I'm certain if I provide you with the manpower, you'll be able to acquire further vessels of your own.”
That was true enough. With more manpower he could hijack vessels, much as Marius had. He'd also be able to leverage some of his other resources. Speaking of which, he thought. “Did your people find the stock of Illuari artifacts I told Admiral Collae about?”
“They did,” Marius smiled, “Reese heard back from the team we sent there. Regardless of what you decide, here, I've already transferred payment for that information. And should you have additional locations, we will pay quite well for those, too.”
Colonel Price didn't mind selling further locations. The Illuari artifacts discovered by Amalgamated Worlds ranged from non-functional to extremely hazardous. He'd overseen the burial of several facilities, where Amalgamated Worlds had used convict labor load up abandoned mine shafts in several star systems with dangerous artifacts and then sealed the entrances with concrete. Most of the time, the work crews were sealed inside to maintain secrecy. Price knew about several other locations and while some had been looted over the past ninety years, many more had not. Despite any shortages, enough money will buy weapons and ships, he thought to himself.
And selling the locations to Marius bought goodwill, so in the remote event that he was successful, then Colonel Price at least would be on good standing with the man.
They continued down the corridor and then stopped at what he assumed was their destination. The chamber overlooked a broad valley, with several large projections rising from the surface. “What are we here for?” Colonel Price asked. He saw a cluster of guards around Alannis Giovanni, the young woman so clearly a prisoner. This coming show will be as much for her sake as mine, then. Colonel Price wondered if her estranged father had spent time showing her his mental conditioning system... and whether she'd be cocooned inside some of the equipment someday soon.
“A slight demonstration,” Marius said. He brought up a display, showing a planet and a variety of ships in orbit. Colonel Price stepped forward and he recognized the identification symbols on the ships as Centauri. He looked back at the Lord Admiral, raising an eyebrow.
“This is the Volaterra system. It is live footage, transmitted from a civilian freighter that I've rigged up as a covert observation platform,” Marius said. He toggled the controls and brought up a second system, “This is the Lavinium system. Both systems requested my support, both were taken by Centauri and their...” Marius trailed off and his lips twisted in a sneer, “their imposter. Since that time, President Spiridon of the Centauri Confederation has utilized his secret police and the threat of orbital bombardment to keep both systems in lock down. All Nova Roma military personnel have been disarmed and their ships interned.”
“I believe both systems asked your son for help,” Colonel Price said, gauging the other man's reaction. Unlike Reese's intense, almost obsessive attitude, Marius didn't seem unhinged, he seemed focused, dedicated, and calculating. Despite himself, Colonel Price found himself liking the man. Still, he wanted to see if he could get under his skin.
“They have,” Marius said. “But Lucius doesn't want to risk going to war with the Centauri, not that I can blame him. The Balor and Chxor are both significant threats, as are the Shadow Lords.” Marius gave a cold smile, “I am not so constrained. I have no nation to defend, no systems to garrison besides this one... and no one currently knows the location of my forces.”
He adjusted the controls and centered them on the two fleets of ships. “As I told you before, the core power for this station isn't online and we're missing the ignition system. But the facility retains secondary power systems, enough to power lighting, support systems, and a few weapons.”
As he said that, one of the pillars in the valley lit up. A solid column of baleful blue light jabbed upwards, driving through the night sky, lighting up the entire world for the span of a few seconds. It was a harsh, blue light, one that disturbed Colonel Price, it was seemingly unnatural, almost cobalt in color, and indescribably alien.
The display lit up with synchronized flashes of light. It took a moment for Colonel Price to make sense of what he saw. The same blue energy appeared, leaping from ship to ship, rupturing hulls and detonating power relays, even as it seemed to consume the vessels. The attacks took less than a minute, but at the end of it, the ships in both systems were gone. Moments later, a returning column of blue energy drove out of the sky above them and down into the valley, where it vanished. On the screens, there were no spreading clouds of debris, no wreckage at all. The ships were simply gone... as if they had never existed. Colonel Price looked over at Marius Giovanni, whose cool smile didn't so much as waver. “What you see is in real time, Colonel. I just destroyed two forces of warships over a hundred light years away.”
“How?” Colonel Price demanded. He didn't see why Marius would fake such an attack. If this were totally fabricated, then Colonel Price would be able to confirm it within a few hours or days. If he'd somehow managed to sabotage those vessels, then this could be some kind of bluff, but again, Colonel Price didn't see the margin in it.
