Command Decisions (Book 3 of The Empire of Bones Saga) (17 page)

“Good idea. I’ll send them away right now. Take command of the search. I want them found at once. The very safety of the Empire lies in getting that deluded woman back under our control.”

“I won’t fail the Empire, Captain. Meyer out.”

He turned to them. “If I go with you, I won’t be able to delay the moment he discovers you’re truly gone and opens fire. I’m sorry, Highness.” He spun on his feet and headed for the lift.

She wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. “We’ll be back for you. Don’t lose hope.”

Jared pulled her into the cutter and Kelsey closed the hatch behind them. Jared rushed for the flight deck while she strapped herself in. The cutter unceremoniously undocked and acceleration pressed her into her seat.

All she could think about was the man who’d just doomed himself for her. She had no idea how she could make it right.

Chapter Seventeen

Commander Meyer’s ruse worked far better than Jared had hoped. The cutter made it almost all the way back to
Courageous
before there was any sign of activity from
Spear
. Jared had already sent a tight beam alert to Graves.
Courageous
was at battle stations, their weapons on hot standby and battle screens ready at a moment’s notice.

Jared wasn’t sure what Breckenridge would do when he figured out where they’d gone. Everything was on the table with that man. In the end, he didn’t even bother to call them to rant.

The heavy cruiser and its two remaining destroyer escorts began accelerating away from
Shadow
in formation toward the weak flip point. They didn’t respond to calls from the confused Pentagaran warships or
Courageous
. Jared more than half expected him to open fire on the crippled light cruiser, but he left her be.

Their cutter docked without incident and they made their way to the bridge. He interfaced with the ship’s scanners and watched the three ships fleeing the system.

Graves gestured at the screen. “We can catch them before they make the flip point.”

“And do what? Open fire on them? That’s not an acceptable course of action, Charlie. We let them go and hope for the best. What’s the situation?”

“Recovery operations are still under way. It’s possible we’ll find more trapped survivors on
Shadow
, but not very likely. At this point we’re only expecting to retrieve the dead.”

“Do we have any of the survivors aboard?”

The exec shook his head. “Breckenridge was adamant that all survivors be brought to
Spear
. He knew what he was going to do before we made it back. They’ll be in position to flip in about nine hours. Are we really just going to let them go? They could run right into the bad guys.”

“Give me a plan that doesn’t require me killing several thousand Fleet personnel. In the meantime, what’s the status of the interrogations?”

“The officer still isn’t talking, but some of the enlisted are. We’re trying to make sense of what they’re saying, though. It seems like they don’t really have a clear picture of their own Empire. All of them that have talked are part of what they call the lower orders. I’m guessing that’s a social distinction. The officers come from the higher orders.

“And Jared, they’re afraid of their officers. Genuinely afraid. Just seeing me in uniform caused a physical reaction. They mostly answer the questions I give them, as if they can’t imagine not responding to something an officer asks them.”

Kelsey cleared her throat. “Have you tried having one of the ratings talk to them? Or a civilian?”

Graves nodded. “They responded much more openly to our ratings, but they didn’t seem as likely to answer questions. I haven’t tried any of the civilians. I don’t want one of them to attack someone unable to defend themselves.”

“I should talk to them,” Kelsey said. “They might open up to me. In any case, they won’t be too much of a threat to me physically.”

Jared agreed. She’d be perfect for the job. “I like it. What about the officer?”

Graves shook his head. “Even without the viral programing in his implants, he’s uncommunicative. At least he isn’t aggressive anymore.
Courageous
reports that he’s attempted to access the ship’s systems numerous times.”

“Perhaps you should let him,” Kelsey said. “A limited set of files. Historical ones of the Old Empire. Nothing that pertains to our current circumstances, of course. What have the enlisted prisoners said about the rebellion?”

“That it took place. That they overthrew the corrupt emperor and freed the people from slavery. Detailed questions about the Old Empire confuse them. Apparently their history books are a little vague.”

“That sounds like propaganda,” Jared said. “Tell people something long enough and they’ll believe it. What about the AIs?”

“Nothing. The officer’s implant code was corrupted, so they must be lurking somewhere behind the scenes, but the general population seems to be unaware of them. That matches up with the data we’ve retrieved from the destroyer. They wiped the main computer, but we recovered a number of tablets and data chips. We’re still putting everything together, but it’s obvious that they didn’t exterminate the core worlds of the Old Empire like we thought. There are specific mentions of Terra as the hub of the Rebel Empire.”

Kelsey’s face paled. “They kept the major population centers and remade society in the way they wanted. At least some of them. The rebels won.”

“The AIs won,” Jared said. “For now. We still don’t know the scope of space they occupy. We’ll need to gather all the data we can about that. Damn that idiot Breckenridge. He killed our one chance of taking a computer intact. And he vaporized all those implants. Honestly, I’m not sure how he could have executed the plan any more ineptly. Other than getting all his ships destroyed.”

“Captain, we have an incoming call from a ship at the Pentagaran flip point.”

Jared turned toward the front of the bridge. “On screen.”

The main screen cleared to show the bridge of a ship. Admiral Walter Sanders, the freshly promoted commander of the Pentagaran Fleet sat in the center seat. Crown Princess Elise Orison stood at his side.

The sight of her made him smile. “Elise! Welcome to Erorsi. Admiral.”

“Lord Captain,” she said with a smile of her own. “Kelsey. I came to see how things are going for myself.”

That took the edge off his pleasure. “It could’ve gone better. We lost three ships and far too many people. Plus, there are other complications. Captain Breckenridge has decided to strike out on his own.”

Her eyes widened. “What? That’s sheer folly! You should order him back at once, Kelsey.”

Kelsey shook her head with a wry smile. “That’s not likely to be effective after he attempted to take me prisoner. He’s made his choice and I can’t do much about it.

“On the good side, we captured the destroyer escort. Unfortunately, Captain Breckenridge destroyed the freighter with all its cargo. We have prisoners, so we’re hopeful we can get some badly needed data on our opponents. At the very least, we’ve put off the day they discover your presence. That gives us all a fighting chance.”

Admiral Sanders grimaced. “That’s better than it could’ve been, but worse than I’d hoped. I see that your wayward officers are heading for the weak space-time bridge. What are the chances that it leads somewhere disconnected from the areas controlled by the enemy?”

“Unknown. I pray it leads close to Avalon and far away from this Rebel Empire. We’ll send a probe once they’re gone and see how it matches up to the flip point maps in
Courageous
’ data banks.”

“We’ll be at your location in a few hours,” the admiral said. “Perhaps together we can come up with a plan to make things right.”

Jared nodded. “We’ll get a tow on
Shadow
and start moving her toward Erorsi. If nothing else, we can put her in the operational shipyard to see what repairs are possible. The same for the destroyer.”

“That sounds like an excellent first step. Sanders out.”

Jared rose to his feet. “Zia, see if our Pentagaran friends will tow
Shadow
and the destroyer to Erorsi. Pasco, what would you estimate their arrival time to be?”

Ramirez checked his console. “Probably sometime tomorrow.”

Kelsey stood. “That’s better time than
Athena
made out to the Courageous flip point. Why did it take us four days?”

Jared put his hand on her shoulder. “Because I was too stubborn to ask for a tow. That was
Athena
under her own power. We need to go work on the prisoners.”

She nodded. “I should probably make a run at the officer. Come with me. Perhaps the two of us with implants can make some headway on him.”

He doubted that. The man seemed determined not to talk with them. Still, what could it hurt? “Okay.”

They’d housed the majority of the prisoners on the cargo deck, but the officer warranted a cell in the brig. A man with implants might be unexpectedly dangerous. Jared should know.

The layout of
Courageous
’ brig was similar to the one on
Spear
. Except that he didn’t have extra marine guards in the corridor. He trusted the ship’s AI to keep unauthorized people out of the facility.

The duty officer stood when Jared came into the compartment. “Captain.” Three marines with sidearms stood along the bulkheads.

“Lieutenant Gonzales. How is the prisoner?”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Benjamin Gonzales had been a supply officer on
Athena
. The destroyer hadn’t needed dedicated security people. The young officer had stepped up when Jared formed the new department.

“He’s been fed and is just as uncommunicative as before, sir.”

“Open the cell.”

The marines moved to have a better line of sight, but Jared waved them back. “Let’s keep this as casual as we can.”

The hatch slid open. The cell was spartan enough: a bunk, a head, and one small shelf, empty. The prisoner had been lying down, but he sat up as they entered. His already closed expression soured when he saw who his visitors were.

Kelsey stepped around Jared and centered herself on the bunk. “Lieutenant Commander Richards, my name is Kelsey Bandar. We’ve met, though under less than preferable circumstances. In your computer center.”

She paused, perhaps to allow him to speak, but he remained silent.

“Fifty-seven of your people survived the battle. We have them on board
Courageous
. Would you like me to give you an update on their status?”

He looked torn, but shook his head.

“Not even the people in the computer center with you?”

The man looked down for a long minute. “Yes.”

That was the first word he’d said since his capture. Jared suspected that it wouldn’t be his last. Kelsey was a miracle worker.

She waved Jared back and squatted to bring her eyes close to the man’s level. “One woman had some broken bones in her hand, but they’ve been set and she’s going through a regeneration regime. The others all came through the fight without injury. If you like, I can arrange a visit.”

The man’s expression closed down again, but Jared sensed some relief under the surface. “For a price, I assume. Tell me, what exactly do traitors like you want? I’ll never betray Fleet or my oath to the Lords like you did.”

“It might surprise you, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t know your civilization existed until a few months ago.”

Richards sneered. “Tell me another one. Only members of the higher orders or Fleet officers get implants. You’re no Fleet officer, so you were a Lord. You and your traitor friend broke all the oaths you ever swore. I can’t imagine how you stole those ships, or crewed them for that matter, but Fleet will find you and crush you.”

Kelsey pursed her lips. “I know you’ve heard of the rebellion against the Old Empire. The rebels crippled this ship. We only found it a few months ago. As for my implants, you can thank those psychopathic monsters you were trying to resupply for them. Tell me, why would civilized people aid a rogue AI in enslaving savages and turning them into ravening beasts bent on destruction?”

To say her words surprised the man would be an understatement. He gaped at her. “You’re lying.”

“I am not. I was just a normal person before they captured me, cut me apart, and made me one of them. I’m just lucky my brother rescued me before they altered the programming in my implants. I’d imagine your implantation wasn’t nearly as traumatic as mine was. We used the Old Empire techniques to remove the viral code from your implants, by the way. You’re not under anyone’s control now. At least not in your head.”

“I wasn’t under anyone’s control before,” he snarled. “What did you do to me?”

Jared spoke for the first time. “We overwrote your implant with the original Imperial code, Commander. That’s the only reason you’re not frothing at the mouth and trying to kill us with your bare hands. Unless that’s how you normally behave.”

If the man’s eyes had been weapons, he’d have burned Jared to a crisp. “How could you betray Fleet, traitor? After everything they did for you. What were you before? A lieutenant? An ensign? Why settle for being a commander? Why not go for captain? Or admiral?”

“Because I’ve never been part of your Fleet. Our people escaped the rebellion. I’m the other Fleet. The one your rebel ancestors tried to destroy.”

The man gaped. “That’s not possible. We overthrew the Old Empire and crushed its corrupt masters.”

“You’ve been sadly misinformed, but it’s not my duty to correct that lapse. You’re aboard the Fleet battlecruiser
Courageous
. You and your fellows are my prisoners. In case you don’t remember my name, I’m Commander Jared Mertz, commanding officer of this vessel. I’ve been a Fleet officer for over two decades, just not your Fleet.

“At Princess Kelsey’s suggestion, I am going to authorize you to access the ship’s library. You should be able to find enough to entertain and educate yourself. I’m sorry to inform you that the contents are sadly out of date, but the ship has been floating in space since before the Fall. We’ll speak again.”