By the time Hari had the reaction drives on line, Jax had completed our clearances. Liftoff was uneventful. I began setting up our sublight course and delta-vee to our jump point. With Jax present, I couldn't talk freely with Rawl, but I couldn't think of a way to invite him to leave. His anger took care of the problem for me. As the silence became uncomfortable, Jax glared at both Rawl and me, then jumped up and stamped off the bridge, his fury unabated. Rawl and I exchanged uncomfortable grins.
Chapter II
Rear Admiral Micah Jonas was well aware that he was widely disliked. It no longer bothered him, though he still didn’t understand it. But the unconcealed hatred in the eyes of the man across the desk was annoying. It wasn’t as though Captain Jamin Van-Lyn's hands were exactly clean. In fact, it had taken Micah almost three years and a great deal of money and effort to make sure they weren’t.
Van-Lyn’s eyes blazed with anger as well as their ever-present disgust, but his shoulders were slumped, now. Once they had been broad and erect. Once, Jamin Van-Lyn had been one of the finest Captains in the Empire Fleet. Now, he looked like just an old man in a too-large Captain’s uniform. But Van-Lyn was a highly decorated and highly respected officer. That’s why he had command of one of only six dreadnoughts in the Fleet. That command was also why Micah couldn’t simply relieve him. Dreadnoughts were retirement posts for the most senior Captains in the Fleet. Command of one was an honor, and was always accompanied by a promotion to Commodore upon retirement.
For Van-Lyn, the honors assignment as the Captain of the dreadnought Nemesis and Flag Captain to the Commander, Rim Sector had been a disaster. For three years he fended off Admiral Jonas’ attempts to seduce him into Jonas’ shady and often outright illegal dealings. Then, somehow, his favorite grandson had found himself facing disgrace and even criminal charges. The boy swore to Van-Lyn that he was innocent, and Jamin believed him. Actually, he suspected that Jonas had something to do with the situation. Certainly, the Admiral had learned of the boy’s difficulty quickly enough.
Jonas’ oily attempts at sympathy had been transparent, and almost as hard to swallow as the boy’s situation. But if the boy was to avoid having his life ruined, Van-Lyn had to accept the Admiral’s help. Of course, the “help” meant that Jamin was forced to compromise his honor and his honesty. It also meant that Jonas had a hook into the Flag Captain, and had been able to slowly drag Van-Lyn deeper into his web of operations. Van-Lyn hated Jonas for that, with a passion equaled only by his contempt for the playboy Admiral.
Van-Lyn’s frown was annoyed. “You know it’s only a matter of time, Admiral. With a Fleet Investigative Service investigation under way, it's inevitable they find something. And we’ll be headed for a prison planet in disgrace.” He regarded the man across the desk. Micah Jonas had obviously been a handsome man in his younger days. The remnants of his body-sculpted features showed that, as did the mass of still-thick, wavy red-blond hair now lightening to gray.
In the years since his assignment to the rim, however, Jonas had let himself go. He’d added more than fifty kilos to his already large frame, and given up all efforts at trying to conceal the ravages of time.
Micah relaxed and smiled. “I don’t think so, Jamin. In fact…”
“You might not be worried,” Van-Lyn interrupted irritably, “But I am. I wish I'd never met you, Admiral!”
Micah’s smile faded. “Have a care, Captain. Like you, circumstances have caused me to do things that aren’t precisely legal. And the people I’ve been forced to associate with…” He shuddered
Van-Lyn's expression was skeptical. “You come from one of the wealthiest families in the Empire, Admiral. What circumstances could possibly force to you to criminal acts?”
Micah shrugged. “I may tell you sometime. But at the moment, we have more pressing matters to discuss.”
Van-Lyn snorted. “Like how to avoid spending the rest of our lives on a prison planet?”
Micah's smile resurfaced. “Actually, yes. But only as a side issue to something really important.” He dialed his desk screen for a moment, then swiveled the viewer, motioning Van-Lyn to look.
Van-Lyn stepped around the desk wearing a doubting expression. Micah dialed through the scrolling images, and pointed at one message. “After a lot of effort and an appalling amount of money, my agents were finally able to get to a subspace communications tech in the palace on Prime. This was intercepted between the palace on Prime and Cord's office on Haven.”
Van-Lyn read the message silently. He raised puzzled eyes to Micah. “But what does it mean? I mean, certainly…”
Micah shrugged. “Certainly it means what it says. The Emperor is planning to give the Rim sector to his good friend Sander Cord as a personal gift.” He ended in a sneer.
Van-Lyn looked thunderstruck. “But…”
“… But four hundred years ago, millions died to keep the Empire together.” Micah finished for him. “In fact, my family’s fortune was founded during the Horsehead Rebellion. Now this upstart of an Eron is plotting to give away an entire sector, complete with thirty-one inhabited systems and nearly a billion Empire citizens.”
Van-Lyn was frowning. 'This can't be right. I can't believe the Emperor would do this. Is this one of your tricks, Admiral?'
Micah shrugged. 'Check the authentication codes. It's a personal message from Eron to Cord. It didn't even go through official channels. I couldn't fake that if I wanted to.'
Van-Lyn looked shaken. 'This isn't right, Admiral. We have to do something!'
A slow smile spread over Micah's face. Perfect. Van-Lyn had reacted just as he'd hoped. 'We're going to do something, all right, Jamin. We're going to stop it.'
'But isn't that… I mean, he is the Emperor, and we're sworn to obey him. Do we have the right…?'
Micah's smile was firm. 'Yes, we took an oath to serve the Emperor. But more importantly, we swore to defend the Empire against all enemies, external or internal. This time, the threat we have to defend against is the Emperor himself.'
The old man was regaining his composure. His expression turned skeptical. 'And just how much of this sudden zeal to defend the Empire is due to the ongoing FIS investigation, Admiral?'
Micah shrugged, then sighed. 'I won't pretend that's not a factor. But this is one of those rare occasions where personal interest and duty demand the same response. We have to stop this treachery to the Empire.'
The skeptical expression remained. 'I suppose you have a plan, Admiral. Probably one that will make you even richer.'
Micah shook his head. 'I have a plan. Jamin, but it won't make me richer. Oh,' he continued, 'I won't deny that I'm planning to take advantage of the situation.' Van-Lyn resumed his seat as Micah began to explain.
'From the fact that the Emperor was so careful about classifying and keeping this message out of official channels, we can assume that it's a closely-guarded secret. That means most of the senate doesn't know about it, or hasn't agreed to it. Most likely, there are only a few of the most influential senators involved.
'Now, they're probably planning an intensive public relations campaign to drum up support for this in the senate and among the people. Suppose we don't give them the time to sell it? Suppose as soon as Cord announces it, we attack Haven. We could kill Cord and seize the sector while loudly proclaiming that Cord is rebelling.'
Van-Lyn's lip curled in disgust. 'How casually you discuss murder, treason against the Emperor and rebellion, Admiral.' He spat out the title, making it an epithet.
Micah frowned. He was tired of Van-Lyn's constantly obvious hatred and disgust. He was also getting very tired of wheedling and cajoling the man just to keep him from running to the FIS and confessing his sins. Van-Lyn was a true career Fleet officer. He'd bought all that Fleet propaganda and esprit de corps nonsense. The old man would never get used to being involved in illegal activities, Micah decided. He suppressed a snort of disgust.
Micah struggled to control his loathing and shook his head. 'I've just had more time to think about this than you, Jamin. The treason is Eron's. If the Emperor betrays the Empire, which of our oaths is valid? Our oath to a man who would plot to dismantle the very Empire entrusted to his keeping? Or our oath of loyalty to the Empire itself?'
He shrugged. 'For me, the answer is obvious. Eron may be the Emperor, but as far as I'm concerned, he's no better than the traitors that were hanged for the Horsehead Rebellion. The treason is his, the rebellion is his, and
