The Venusian Gambit (48 page)

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” the man said as he extended his hand. “I simply had to see you for myself.”

At this, Napoleon’s heart beat a little faster in his chest. A friend? A dire enemy? “And to whom do I have the honor of addressing?”

The man smiled and waved Napoleon toward his chair, then poured the tea for all therein. “We have never met, Your Majesty. But you met a very close, very dear friend of mine a long time ago, and it is in his memory that we come here now.”

“He must have been a fine man,” Napoleon commented, “for you to come all this way to see me at this hour.”

The man sat across from the Emperor. “He was the finest, bravest and truest of men,” he said. “His name was Dr. Andrew Finch, and he saved all England—all the Known Worlds—from your
Corps Éternel
and the threat of Althotas.”

Napoleon gently placed his cup upon the table, his hand trembling and his heart pounding. “Ah,” he said slowly, deliberately. “And I believe I know you now, sir.”

“Indeed. I am Thomas Weatherby, and this is my wife Anne,” he said. “And as I said, we simply had to see you, to know that this was done.”

Napoleon nodded. “And so it is. What is to become of me?”

Weatherby looked grave. “You will be taken to England first, where we shall make a show of consulting our allies as to your disposition. But your final destination has already been decided.”

“Where, then?”

Anne pulled out a small map of the Known Worlds from her reticule. “Here, Your Majesty, on the small world known as Flora, within the Rocky Main,” she said. “It is barely a world indeed, but one with arable land and a water source. There is a house and farm there, and you and your servants will be made comfortable. We have found debtors willing to work there in exchange for pardon. You will be comfortable.”

“And very, very far away,” Weatherby added. “Lady Anne here, of course, is King George’s court alchemist now. Did you know this?”

“I did,” Napoleon said, his hands growing more tremulous.

“Good. She and I will both make sure that when you are exiled to Flora, you will remain there for the rest of your natural days,” Weatherby said.

“And now, if you’ll excuse us,” Anne added, rising, “we must be off.”

Napoleon stood. “So quickly? There is much I would wish to know.”

Weatherby regarded the French Emperor with a withering stare. “Ask someone else, then.”

And with that, the couple left. Napoleon slumped back down in his chair and, a moment later, in a fit of pique, swept the tea service off the table in a single, violent gesture.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T
homas Weatherby has been with me now for more than 12 years, though it was only in the last four that his story was finally put to the page. With
The Venusian Gambit
, the adventure that started in
The Daedalus Incident
and continued in
The Enceladus Crisis
is now complete. I think it turned out pretty darn well—better than I could’ve hoped when I first dared to write that first novel—and I’m very gratified with how this trilogy has been received. And for that, I have you, the reader, to thank first and foremost.

Thank you for letting me tell this story to its conclusion. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Finishing this book, and this trilogy, was immensely satisfying—and bittersweet. Saying goodbye is never easy, but I’d like to think that these characters had a good run. I’ll miss them, but it’s time to let them go, and to see what other challenges there are for me as a writer.

There’s another reason why I’m a little melancholy about wrapping up this series. Those of you who pay attention to such things may have noticed that
The Enceladus Crisis
was dedicated to my mother, and that this book has been dedicated to her memory. Mary Ann Martinez passed away on July 26, 2014, after a long battle with cancer. She fought to the last, and even in the midst of her fight, her encouragement and her pride in this work was a source of inspiration. I thanked her before she passed, but I’m doing so again here. It’s only fitting.

As you might imagine, finishing this book over the summer and fall of 2014 was a difficult task, but one made easier with the help and support of so many family and friends. My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of them, and especially to my aunt and uncle, Edee and John Butnor; my cousins John, Courtney and Ashby; my aunt Joan Butnor; my mother’s amazing friends Sheila Mann and Ruth Bolton; and, of course, to my dear friends Karl Isselhardt, John LeMaire and Drew Montgomery.

I also want to thank everyone at my day job, managers and colleagues alike, for such immense support and compassion over the past year—and for all their encouragement in this literary effort since the beginning. You’re all fantastic.

The folks at Skyhorse/Night Shade Books are among the finest people I’ve worked with in over two decades as a writer, and their support and understanding during the summer and fall is doubly appreciated. Cory Allyn’s effort may be unseen in this book, but his fingerprints are all over it, and it’s a better work because of him. Thanks also go to Jason Katzman and Lauren Burnstein for all their hard work and general awesomeness.

I’ve thanked Sara Megibow before, but I’m going to do it again. She’s a great agent and someone I’m proud to call friend. Never has there been a better advocate for an author.

My thanks also go to the SF/F community at large: authors, reviewers and fans alike. Authors such as Jason M. Hough, Michael R. Underwood, Django Wexler, Beth Cato, Chuck Wendig, Mary Robinette Kowal and so many others have been a source of encouragement and welcome. Thanks also to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for their staunch advocacy on behalf of writers—and for being such a great tribe of geeks.

This book wouldn’t have received any attention without the reviewers who took the time to read and opine, and the news sites who thought my work worthy of attention. Thank you to John DeNardo and Paul “PrinceJvstin” Weimer of SF Signal, Stefan Raets of
Tor.com
, Charlie Jane Anders of io9, James Floyd Kelly of GeekDad, Dan Hanks, Abhinav Jain, Sally “Qwill” and Tracy “Trinitytwo” of the Qwillery, Matt Mitrovich, Caleb Flanagan, Joe Frazier, Feliza Casano, Luther M. Siler and so many others I’m probably failing to mention here.

I have fans! That’s been mindblowing—and such a wonderful thing. To everyone who reviewed my books on places like Goodreads and Amazon, to the folks who sought me out to say hello at conventions and events, and to those who took the time to write fan mail—it means so very, very much to me.

Finally, there’s my amazing daughter Anna, who once again took my author photo and continues to be a source of inspiration and love. She also sat through the World Fantasy Convention in D.C. this past November with good grace and a lot of patience. I’m so proud to be her dad.

And then there’s my wife Kate. I don’t think this book would even be here without her unflagging support and love over the past year. She continues to make our lives together the best sort of adventure. I love you.

The
Daedalus
trilogy is concluded. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Michael J. Martinez

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo by Anna Martinez

Michael J. Martinez is the author of the Daedalus trilogy and other works of speculative fiction. A former journalist for The Associated Press and other outlets, he now works in marketing and communications by day and, like a superhero, comes out at night to craft adventures. (OK, maybe not
exactly
like a superhero. No capes are involved.) He lives on the Jersey side of the New York City area with his wife and daughter. He can be found online at
http://www.michaeljmartinez.net
and on Twitter at
@mikemartinez72
. Mike is a proud member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.