“Admiral, I’m picking up a wide-band message from the planet,” Kitty said. “Everyone can hear it.”
“Put it on,” Kat ordered.
The king’s image appeared on the display. He wore his military uniform, every inch the commander-in-chief. His face was grim, but resolute. Kat hadn’t seen anything like it since the day the king had addressed the Commonwealth after the war had begun. He’d told his people that there would be many hard days ahead, but they would eventually prevail. And he’d kept the political coalition together long enough to win.
“My people,” the king said. “It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that our world, our star system, our sector, has been plunged into the gravest crisis since the collapse of the United Nations and the threat of interstellar anarchy. I have discovered that elements within our planet’s aristocracy were plotting against our government, with the ultimate intention of seizing power for themselves. To this extent, they armed and supported the remnants of the Theocracy and used them to trigger a crisis that would allow them to seize power.”
Kitty gasped. Kat barely noticed.
“It was my duty to move against them. As the monarch charged with maintaining and upholding the system our ancestors devised, I had no choice but to move against them immediately. They were already conspiring with innocent parties within the Houses of Parliament, plotting to remove their rivals from power, including me, and take control for themselves. The state of emergency they fostered, by deliberately pushing for mass unemployment and civil unrest, would have given them the power to ram through their agenda and make their dominion unchallengeable. I had to move immediately.
“Unfortunately, I failed. I was unable to deploy enough loyal troops to seize their persons before they escaped and rallied support. My prime minister and many of my supporters were killed by the traitors and their backers. Others have been taken prisoner. Their forces are already battling to take control of the orbital defenses and the navy. To my eternal shame, I have failed in my duty. Tyre is now ruled by men and women who have no loyalty to anything but themselves. And I have been forced to flee.”
“Where’s he going?” Kitty asked. “Admiral . . .”
“Quiet,” Kat snarled.
“I swear to you that I will return,” the king said. “Their tyranny will not last. Those of you who join them willingly, knowing what you know now, will meet a final end on the gallows. But those of you who remain loyal, who do everything in your power to prepare for my return, or even to stand aside and refuse to help the traitors, will be rewarded. I will return.”
The image flickered, then the message started to play again from the beginning. Kat hit the console, pausing the message. It was . . . it was unbelievable. And yet, she had no doubt that there were elements in Parliament who would do whatever it took to tear down the king and gain power for themselves. Had the king discovered any real evidence? Or . . . or what?
Kitty looked up at her. “Admiral?”
“Order the fleet to hold position,” Kat said. She had a feeling she knew where the king was going. Clearly, he’d anticipated something when he’d sent Princess Drusilla to her ship. “And remind all commanding officers that the fleet is to stay in lockdown.”
“Aye, Admiral.”
Kat’s thoughts were churning. Peter . . . lead a coup? She doubted it. Her eldest brother didn’t have anything resembling an imagination. He probably couldn’t conceive of making a bid for supreme power, let alone risking everything on one throw of the dice. Falcone was powerful indeed, but not powerful enough to stand up to the king. And yet . . . there were others among the aristocracy who were ruthless bastards. They could easily have duped Peter into opposing the king.
The evidence we found could easily be twisted to frame the king, she thought. Or they might even believe the king is to blame.
“Admiral, the Royal Tyre is breaking orbit,” Kitty added. “The king’s ship is deploying chaff and ECM drones.”
Her voice rose. “And all the fortresses are going active!”
Kat gritted her teeth. The fortress crews had to be incredibly confused. They were under Parliament’s command, but Parliament itself might have been scattered. Or, worse, under the control of a single faction. They might try to hold their fire until the situation clarified itself, but if they came under attack . . . they’d fire back. And then all hell would break loose.
As if it hasn’t already, she thought.
She looked at Kitty as the younger woman turned back to her console. “Is the king on his ship?”
“Unknown,” Kitty said. “But he’s well within engagement range. If the fortresses open fire.”
And a lot of other ships are breaking orbit too, Kat thought. The king might be on one of them instead.
“William,” Tanya said, “what the hell is going on?”
“Someone is mounting a coup,” William said. He kept his certainty that it was the king to himself. “And we have to go dark.”
He cursed the timing under his breath as he brought the shuttle to a halt relative to the primary star. They’d been in transit when the shit hit the fan; too far from Violence to return to her, too close to the scrapyard for his peace of mind. Someone might easily assume, in the wake of the reports of firefights on a dozen starships and fortresses, that they were infiltrators bent on wreaking havoc. He powered down as much as he dared, hoping that the situation soon calmed down. The shuttle wouldn’t stand up to a plasma blast if someone assumed they were a threat and opened fire.
Tanya shook her head. “Why? Why are they doing this?”
“It doesn’t matter at the moment,” William said. The king’s speech had sounded impressive—he’d give the young officer wannabe that much—but had lacked substance. He certainly hadn’t named any names. “All we can do is wait to see who
