Ghosts of Empire (Book 4 of The Empire of Bones Saga) (17 page)

Horrifying, but true.

These people were nothing but puffed up pirates from a planet the Imperial lords had missed during the revolution. Or perhaps not so puffed up. They’d eliminated the system lord. And they controlled the bombardment weapons in orbit. She had no idea what their ultimate goal truly was.

Well, she could find out from “Admiral” Mertz. He’d tell her everything she wanted to know, if she could get her hands on him.

Abigail smiled. This also sealed Olivia’s doom. She was conspiring with rebel scum. That wouldn’t be too hard to spin into a death sentence. It virtually assured Abigail the coordinator’s seat and the restoration of power for the conservative alliance.

She gestured for the guards to take the prisoner away. “Put him with the others. See that they’re fed and given any mandatory medical care. These people might very well be important witnesses to a very despicable crime.”

The plan for killing them was no longer required, of course. She didn’t need to cause a split between Olivia and Mertz. She didn’t want to. Unseating Olivia would now take a very different form.

She strode back out to her vehicle, sending the driver scrambling to open the door for her. “Calder Consortium. Now.”

Her vehicle took off and curved toward the city. Once she’d had a chance to speak with Master Calder, she could make her move against Olivia without any fear of damaging her own standing.

She allowed herself a luxurious stretch and grinned. Life was looking very good.

* * * * *

The sight of the remaining patients pained Jared. These brave men and women had grievous injuries that would take months to recover from. Injuries that hadn’t needed to happen. The list of crimes Breckenridge had to answer for kept getting longer and longer.

Coordinator West sent all of the injured except for the three in intensive care to join the rest of the prisoners going back to
Invincible
. The remaining three weren’t stable enough to move. A final vehicle transported the dead. Fleet would eventually lay them to rest at the Spire.

The thought of all the bodies that had to fill the ships in the graveyard made him despair a little. The Empire would need to expand the Fleet burial ground many times over to allow room for the millions of heroes waiting to go home. Just recovering them would be a gargantuan undertaking.

Olivia seemed subdued as they waited for her car on the roof. “I’d read about their injuries, but that isn’t the same thing as seeing them. I can only imagine the events that hurt them.”

He gave the woman a small headshake. “I’m afraid you can’t begin to understand them. These are the people that survived. All told, thousands died. Not unlike those who perished when the system lord obliterated so many cities, I suspect. That’s something I can’t grasp.”

The air car settled in front of them and they all boarded. It rose and headed for the ocean.

Olivia gazed at him quietly for a minute before sighing. “We must avoid anything like that going forward. I’m taking you to see the rest of your people, but I want you to understand that I’m doing everything I can to get them released as soon as possible. If you try to send your forces after them, there are weapons that can destroy your small craft. That would prompt a stronger response from you. I beg you, let’s take this slowly.”

“I’ve sent too many people to their deaths recently,” he said. “I’d much prefer to let this situation resolve itself. I appreciate your courtesy.”

The air car flew out over the bay, giving him an excellent view of the many ships and small craft on the water. Almost all of them seemed to be purely oceangoing.

He pointed at a large container ship. “That isn’t a grav craft.”

Olivia looked at it for a moment and nodded. “No. Most bulk cargo still moves via water. Why waste the energy to move something by air when it’s more cost effective to go slowly? The economy itself dictates what works best.”

“I looked over the maps of this area shortly after we knew which city we were coming to,” he said. “There are a number of populated islands not too far away, aren’t there?”

“Indeed, though most of these ships come from more distant ports. The global trade is still intact, thank goodness. Harrison’s World is slowly getting back on its feet. Look over to the left. See that island port? We’ll land there so you can see how this works from the ground level. The camp where your people are is on the same island. We can walk from the port to the camp.”

Jared examined the port more closely as she instructed the driver where to go. It seemed to have an unending stream of large ships unloading bulky containers. Vast fields of them were stacked high in the interior of the island.

The other side of the landmass captured more of his attention when he realized it must be where his people were. A number of low buildings sat inside a fence. Small air ships circled above the area, no doubt on the lookout for potential escapees. He was just close enough to see small groups of prisoners. His people.

The air car came down on a flat pad that seemed designed for loading containers into flatbed grav haulers. A number of them were doing so nearby.

He suspected that this pad was supposed to be in use, too, based on the man stalking toward them. He wore a faded yellow hardhat and a deep scowl with equal ease.

The scowl fled when one of the coordinator’s guards got out to speak with him. In fact, he became quite a bit more accommodating. The remainder of the guards climbed out before Jared and Olivia exited the vehicle. His marines brought up the rear.

Her air car took off and allowed another with even more guards to land. Those men and women spread out around them in a close circle.

Jared had seen the Imperial Guard do the same when the emperor went somewhere with crowds.

Many of the workers stopped what they were doing to gawk. Coordinator West took that in stride, barely seeming to notice them. Her guards saw them, but only as potential threats.

That left him time to look at them as people. Perhaps that’s why he saw the man staring at him in obvious surprise.

Of course, Jared was equally shocked, though he suppressed the expression before it made it to his face. The last person he’d expected to see loading a container onto a grav lifter was Commander Sean Meyer.

* * * * *

Sean locked eyes with Jared Mertz long enough to see the recognition flare in the man’s eyes. He was dressed in an admiral’s uniform and traveling with someone important. A powerful woman with dark hair in an impeccable suit. Guards surrounded both of them.

The woman and Mertz exchanged some words. He started over toward Sean. Well, this was going to be interesting.

Mertz stopped beside him. “Pardon the interruption, but could you explain how this works?”

Sean bowed as he’d seen the foreman do with other important visitors. “I’d be happy to explain the process, sir. If you’ll step this way, I’ll show you where it starts.”

He lowered his voice. “Well, this is the last place I’d have expected to see you. Does this mean we’re going to get out of here soon?”

“I hope so,” Mertz said softly. “And how the hell did you escape the prison camp?”

“We found an unguarded access tunnel and some of the marines are good at making friends. We even have some people on shore looking for a way to get everyone to the spaceport, just in case we have to make our own travel arrangements.”

“You’re very resourceful, Sean.” His tone was admiring. “You might as well call them back. There are no spaceports. The AIs had this planet on lockdown. It blew the capital and spaceports just like they did during the rebellion.”

Mertz put his hands on his waist for a moment before raising his voice. “Tell me about how the ships are unloaded.”

Sean gestured toward the ships nearest the dock. “Each of these comes in and is assigned a docking time. The large cranes unload it and place the containers into the stacks. Each has a number that the supervisors keep track of. Based on things like the perishability of the cargo, the need for faster delivery, and other priority factors, each is loaded onto these grav lifts for transport to shore.”

“And once there, the lifts take them to other cities and so forth?”

Mertz shielded them with his body and slipped Sean his com.

Sean pocketed it and shook his head. “No, sir. Grav trains take cargo to the more distant locations. These lifts only deliver the containers to a facility similar to this on the shore. Workers there see them on their way.”

Mertz frowned. “Then why not just unload them there in the first place?”

Sean had wondered the very same thing. “The yard on shore is too small. With all of the extra cargo coming through this bay, it was easier to use the island to get all the ships unloaded. The grav lifts serve the shore port and a number of train yards. I should’ve said that up front. Sorry.”

“I hope you can get back into the camp quickly,” Mertz said softly. “We’re on our way there now. Coordinator West probably didn’t get a good look at you, but you’d best change your appearance some. A hat, shave, etc.”

Sean had been cultivating his stubble to blend in. That would be an easy fix. That and a hat would hopefully be good enough.

Mertz shook Sean’s hand. “I think I’ve got it. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

He watched Mertz rejoin the woman and her guards. They continued toward the edge of camp.

The foreman yelled for everyone to get back to work, so he blended into the suddenly busy crowd. With luck, he’d be back at the barracks and ready for visitors before they got there.

Chapter Sixteen

Abigail arrived at the Calder Consortium building and exited her vehicle in something of a rush. Her guards struggled to keep up as she breezed past the security checkpoint. The people manning it knew better than to delay her.

She took the lift up with two of her people and headed for Master Calder’s private office. She placed her guards outside the door with a gesture and stared at the Master’s assistant. “I need to speak with him. Now.”

The man smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Deputy Coordinator King. He’s in an important meeting and left instructions not to be disturbed.”

“I’m telling you to interrupt him. This cannot wait.”

The man considered her for a moment and then rose to his feet. “I’ll go do so in person, Deputy Coordinator. Please wait here.” He went into the office and came back out after a minute. “Please go in, Deputy Coordinator.”

Abigail gave the man a nod and went inside. Master Calder stood behind his desk, staring out the window at the city.

“This had better be important, Abigail. The negotiations you interrupted might not go so well when I reschedule.”

She bowed her head, knowing he was watching her reflection in the glass. “I apologize, but this is more important than your meeting, Master.”

He turned and raised an eyebrow. “Well, then. I shouldn’t delay your update with my posturing. Please continue.”

“Admiral Mertz and his people aren’t Fleet. Not ours, anyway. They’re descendants of loyalists who escaped the lords with Emperor Marcus’ son Lucien during the revolution.”

Master Calder blinked and stood stock still for a moment. Then he gestured for her to take a seat. “I grant you that’s a worthy reason for bursting into my office. I assume the rush is because he’s still on Harrison’s World and you want to take action against him and Olivia now?”

She settled into her seat and nodded. “Yes, Master. We can prove that Olivia is collaborating with the enemies of the Empire. That’s not only enough to strip her of her office, but to execute her for treason.”

“And you can legally prove that she knows who she’s dealing with? After all, you took these prisoners without cause to have them tortured. With my blessing,” he hastened to add. “But our enemies will not be fooled.”

Abigail stuck her chin out defiantly. “We did what needed to be done. Olivia is weak. These people are playing her. The others will see that.”

“Will they? After the Lord turned on us, they wasted no time seizing power. They’re not going to be eager to hand it back. They know the price they’ll pay.”

“There isn’t time to play subtle games pitting one faction against another,” she said firmly. “Mertz will have what he wants in a few days at most. Honestly, it really doesn’t matter at this point. We have enough of his people to prove our accusations at any time.

“The window to take Olivia out of play is narrow, though. If we don’t strike while Mertz is here and blame him for the attack, we’ll have no choice but to trust the political process. And we’ve seen how well that works.”

The conservative alliance had been the eyes and ears for the lords since the revolution. The system lord had rewarded them by using its influence to keep them in a dominant leadership role on Harrison’s World. Until it had inexplicably turned on them.

It had accused them of planning a coup and had used irresistible force to scour the system of all human presence. That, in turn, had led to a coalition of weaker parties wresting control of the planet away from its rightful rulers.

Master Calder considered her words while drumming his fingers on his desk. “A successful attack might very well allow you to take the coordinator’s chair. A failed one will start a civil war. Given a chance, Olivia might lead the unwashed hordes to our doors with torches.”

“If she allows them to rise, they’ll attack all of the higher orders indiscriminately,” Abigail almost sneered. “She won’t.”

He nodded slowly. “If we commit to this path, we have no choice but to push through to victory. Once the others become aware of the resources we’ve been gathering, they’ll consolidate into a solid wall of resistance. You’ll have one chance to strike the head off the snake.”

Abigail smiled. “I can do that.”

The Master walked to his bar and poured a drink. “Even if I grant you that point, these invaders control weapons that could destroy Harrison’s World. We need to expedite Project Damocles.”