A King's Ship (Empire Rising Book 2) Read online

  “This is outrageous,” she almost shouted as she stalked over to Maximilian who was now on his own. “You actually sanctioned piracy? Your actions could end up starting a war!”

  “Shut up,” Maximilian said, his anger overflowing. “You stupid bitch, what do you know! If you had your way, we would already be slaves to some Earth power. Get out of my reception before I call security. And don’t talk to any of the British officers again do you hear me? I can break your political career and your family’s business if I want!”

  Suzanna was too stunned to respond. She thought Maximilian was a fool but she had always thought he was a kind fool. She had never seen this side of him before. He looked ready to kill. Worse, he was prepared to use his position to get his way. That was something the First Councilor was never supposed to do.

  As she walked away she began to reevaluate everything. Has Maximilian been manipulating things from the beginning? she asked herself, deeply concerned.

  *

  James had been contemplating how best to make his escape from the reception. He had spoken to just about everyone present and he knew he wasn’t going to get any more useful information out of them. Suzanna seemed to be the only one who was willing to talk openly and James was eager to discuss things further with her.

  Across the room he heard a loud shout and before he could get a clear view through the crowd he saw Suzanna rushing from the room, her red dress flowing out behind her.

  As quickly as he could without making a scene he gave chase and when he got out of the main reception room he called after her, “Suzanna, hold on.”

  As she turned he saw that she was blinking back tears. “Is everything ok?” he asked when he finally caught up.

  “Yes, I mean no,” she said, unsure of herself. “What do you want?”

  “I was hoping to talk further, I think we both have a lot of information that could help each other,” James said.

  Suzanna took a deep breath to compose herself. “Yes... yes, you’re right,” she said as she placed a hand on James’ arm. “Maybe you would like to come visit me at my family’s gas mining station. We would have more privacy there.”

  “Eh, I don’t know if that would be proper,” James said, feeling a little flustered at how the conversation had turned.

  Suzanna couldn’t help chuckling. “Listen Captain, I like you, maybe even in that way. But there are more important things going on. Come to my gas mining station. There we can talk freely and get better acquainted if you like.”

  “That sounds like a plan,” James said, not entirely knowing what he was agreeing to.

  The sound of footsteps made them both turn to look down the corridor they were in. Two security guards were approaching them. “I can’t talk anymore now,” Suzanna said. “I need to leave.”

  “Come to my station,” she said as she turned in the opposite direction to the guards and took off at a brisk walk.

  James was left staring after her, wondering what exactly was going on. Why is a Haven councilor running away from her own security guards? he asked himself.

  Before he could think through what was going on Maximilian appeared. “Ah, there you are Captain. We were beginning to think we had lost you. What are you doing out here?”

  “Just getting some air,” James lied. “I’m used to being stuck in a cramped ship, not surround by all these high and powerful people. I needed a few moments to myself.”

  “Understandable my boy,” Maximilian said. “But I must take you back with me. You are the center of the party after all. There are more people who want to meet you.

  James suppressed a groan. “Lead on,” he said instead.

  *

  It took another two hours for the reception to fizzle out but when it did James eagerly made his way back to Endeavour and his quarters. When he got there, there was a private message waiting for him.

  Don’t make it obvious

  There was no name attached to it but James knew who it was from.

  Chapter 14 – Ms. Rodriguez

  All stories of political intrigue involve tumultuous love affairs and that which gave rise to the Empire was no different.

  -Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD

  12th May, 2466 AD, HMS Endeavour, Haven System

  “We will be docking in ten minutes,” Sub Lieutenant Malik said from the navigation station on Endeavour’s bridge.

  “At last,” James thought. The day after the reception James had requested permission to take Endeavour on a tour of the system to see all that the Havenites had accomplished on their own. He had said he wanted to make sure Endeavour was fully functional and ready to face the Vestarians if they returned. Maximilian had agreed but only under the condition that Captain Denning accompanied him. Denning had commanded the frigate that had come to Endeavour’s aid in the first half of the battle with the Vestarians and convinced the other frigates to follow Endeavour into Haven’s atmosphere in order to come to Harris’ aide.

  Denning’s frigate Dauntless was currently undergoing repairs in one of the surviving repair yards in orbit around Haven. He had therefore been free to show James around the system and supervise what James did and didn’t see. So far they had visited the small colony on Athena along with a number of the bigger mining stations and the gas mining station in orbit around Selene. Now they had come to James’ real target. Suzanna’s gas mining station.

  “I’m going to the docking access hatch. COMs let the station know I’ll be coming aboard. Becket, you have the bridge,” James said.

  “Aye, Sir,” Becket answered.

  It was good to see Becket on her feet again. The doctor was still advising her to take it easy. Certainly she wasn’t allowed to resume her training with the marines. But she was ready to stand watch. James had been glad for both Ferguson and Mallory, along with some of the other senior officers, were still on Haven. They had made a number of contacts at the reception and were spending time with them, offering their help whilst secretly trying to find out more about Haven.

  As he got up to leave Denning got out of the adjacent command chair and followed him into the corridor. Before they got to the turbolift that would take them down to the docking hatch James turned and said, “If you don’t mind, I would like to tour this station alone.”

  “I’m not sure that’s possible Captain,” Denning said. “My orders are to accompany you everywhere.”

  “And you have,” James said, “I have enjoyed your company. Your observations have been very informative. But you see I’m hoping this isn’t just a business call. I met Councilor Rodriguez at Maximilian’s reception and I was hoping this would be more pleasure than business, if you get what I mean.”

  “You sly dog,” Denning said with a grin. “You certainly move fast. I guess I can cut you come slack. I’ll give you half an hour with her, but after that I must insist I accompany you. If Harris or Maximilian hear about this, they won’t be pleased.”

  “I’m not so sure,” James said coyly. “Don’t they want closer relations between our two governments?”

  “Ha,” Denning said, he slapped James on the back, “that they do. I’m going to my quarters to call my wife. You have half an hour. After that I’m coming to find you so we can take a tour of the rest of the station. That is why you are supposed to be here.”

  “Got it,” James said, “I owe you one.”

  Denning dispatched, James turned to the task at hand. He needed to get as much information out of Suzanna as possible. When he got to the docking hatch he only had to wait a couple of minutes before Endeavour docked with the gas mining station. When he stepped through a man in a tight fitting uniform with the logo of Suzanna’s company over his heart greeted him.

  “Welcome Captain,” he said, “I am the manager of this station. Councilwoman Rodriguez is waiting for you, if you will follow me.”

  “Lead on,” James said, falling in behind the manager.

  As they walked through a number of corridors to a turbolift, James c
ouldn’t help noticing that everything looked identical to the other stations he had visited. It seemed that the Havenites constructed everything from the same schematics.

  “Councilwoman Rodriquez is waiting for you just through this door,” the manager said when he paused before a door that didn’t automatically open for him.

  As James approached it he reached over and allowed the door to scan his DNA, it swished open and James stepped forward.

  “Captain,” Suzanna said, jumping to her feet from the couch she was sitting on. “A pleasure to meet you again,” she continued as she approached him, smiling and offering her hand.

  As James kissed it he noticed that she had another perfume on, equally as intoxicating as the one from the reception.

  “The pleasure is all mine,” James said. “We don’t have long I’m afraid. Maximilian sent Captain Denning to accompany me on my sightseeing tour. He will be joining us in about thirty minutes. He thinks I wanted to meet you in private to get to know you better.”

  “Get to know me better. Is that what it is called on Earth these days?” Suzanna asked with a smirk.

  Before James could answer her face changed and she became serious. “I jest Captain,” she said as she reached out and touched his arm. “Let’s get down to business then if our time is limited, come join me on the couch. Would you like anything to drink?”

  “No thank you,” James answered as he sat down beside her, aware of how close they were.

  “If we don’t have long let us lay our cards on the table,” Suzanna said. “I want to find a way that my people can keep their freedom and not have to live in fear of an Earth power stealing everything we have built up here. Our forefathers left Earth to get away from the politics and the bureaucracy. We don’t want to go back.”

  “And my duty is to find out how your forefathers managed to get so far from Earth in such a short time and how then managed to build such a successful colony,” James said. “If you want my help, for whatever it is worth. You are going to have to tell me everything. If your people hold anything back then the Admiralty and our government will treat you as rivals to be crushed, not as potential allies. For the last two hundred years our Star Kingdom has been in a constant battle not to be outdone and hemmed in by the other Earth powers. Niceties are no longer a factor in our foreign policy.”

  “I understand,” Suzanna said, “much has changed on Earth since our colony ship left. The shift drive saw to that.”

  “Indeed it did,” James agreed. “So how do you purpose we proceed?”

  “I know you have nothing to lose from simply walking away. I am the one putting everything on the line. If Maximilian finds out I am meeting with you he could end my political career. So I guess I will go first.”

  After a deep breath Suzanna plunged in. “I know why you are really here. You were following Chang. My station’s sensors picked up the freighter that jumped into the system with you. I also managed to access Haven’s orbital sensor logs from the battle. No one else has noticed it yet but your freighter entered orbit around our planet and sent down a landing shuttle. Seeing as I haven’t heard anything about Chang since, I presume your people found him?”

  “Yes,” James said, impressed at her honesty. “Do you care to tell me why your government chose to harbor a war criminal? My government could see it as an act of war and grounds for seizing your entire colony.”

  “Fear,” Suzanna said. “I argued against it but the council voted to accept his petition for asylum. They thought the military tech and political connections he would bring would be a step towards guaranteeing our freedom.”

  “And what about the piracy your government has participated in? Was that out of fear too?” James asked, cutting to his main concern.

  A look of surprise came over Suzanna’s face and then her head dropped. “I hope you believe me when I say that I only learnt of the stolen freighters at the reception. That is why I left so early.”

  As she looked back up James saw anger in her eyes. “The council had nothing to do with that. We would never vote for such a thing. It was an act of war.”

  “Then who?” James asked, pleased that she didn’t have anything to do with it.

  “Maximilian and Admiral Harris and maybe a few other councilors working with Maximilian,” Suzanna said. “You have to understand, they fear Earth taking over as much as I do. I don’t agree with their tactics but from their perspective they are doing everything they can to keep our people free. We needed to be able to meet you as technological equals.”

  “I have to be honest,” James responded, “harboring Chang could have been forgiven, perhaps. But attacking our shipping, the Admiralty will never forget it and if it gets out to the public, there will be an outcry. Even if the government was willing to let it slide for political reasons, if it got out they would be forced to come down hard on you.”

  “So we have sealed our fate?” Suzanna asked.

  “Not entirely, I have been giving this a great deal of thought. There is one option I can see working but you won’t like it,” James replied.

  “What is it?” Suzanna asked.

  “I need some more information first,” James responded. “How long has Haven known about the other Earth powers?”

  “Our first exploration ship happened across an Indian colony seven years ago.” Suzanna replied. “The Council voted not to reveal ourselves until we knew more about how Earth’s history had progressed. We didn’t know if the Indians ruled all of human space or only their own sector. When that French cruiser stumbled across another one of our exploration vessels it was unexpected. It threw all our plans off.”

  “How many systems have you discovered so far?” James followed up intrigued by the mention of exploration ships.

  “I’m not entirely sure, twenty at least,” Suzanna informed him. “We have established mining colonies on some of them and on the one habitable planet we found we have set up a small colony. At the moment there are no more than thirty thousand colonists there.”

  James sat back and let out a long sigh. Things were getting more and more complicated. “Twenty systems, two habitable planets. You know this is going to get everyone’s attention back on Earth. This is a game changer. If the Indians or the French get their hands on your discoveries, they will dominate this area of space. You realize the Void War was fought over just such a discovery.”

  “We know,” Suzanna said. “This is why we have been so secretive. We know what this means to the Earth nations.”

  “Well I can tell you this,” James said. “There is no way you will be able to keep all your discoveries. Maybe some of the systems you have established mining colonies on, but the rest will likely be divided up according the UN border rules.”

  “We can give up most of those systems,” Suzanna replied. “We just want to retain our sovereignty.”

  “Tell me this then,” James said, changing tack now that he was sure that he was going to get all the information he needed. “When was your colony founded?

  “2256,” Suzanna answered.

  “And how have you managed to produce such an impressive colony by yourselves? Every other colony ship that left in the Sub-light Expansion Era we have made contact with was struggling badly.”

  “I don’t know if I have an answer for that,” Suzanna said. “We founded our colony in 2256, things were very hard for the first colonists but they prioritized developing a space industry. Once we had access to the resources of our solar system the colony took off in leaps and bounds. Everyone in the first generation was highly motivated. They knew what they had left and they were eager to start something new. I don’t know if you know but Harold Maximilian, the colony’s founder, brought a number of scientists with him who had been working on the shift drive. Everyone knew that sooner or later the Earth nations would be coming and they impressed on their children the importance of meeting them as equals.”

  “I have one more question,” James said but before he could ask it Suz
anna held up her hands.

  “I cannot tell you, at least not yet. I need more of a guarantee than just the word of a naval captain. If your government can provide some assurances then I would be willing to reveal how our colony ship got to Haven so fast.”

  “You are talking about the Gift?” James asked.

  “Yes,” Suzanna said a little surprised. “Where did you hear it referred to as that?”

  “Your interplanetary COM systems aren’t as secure as you might think,” James said. “I understand you are reluctant to reveal anything about it but I need to know. Is it repeatable? Could another ship make the same journey just as fast?”