Imprint of Honor, page 13
Something inside Orien shifted. It wasn’t instant; he didn’t wake up one morning a different man. It took a while. But something changed inside him that summer. Something went away, and something new came in its place.
Time after time he found himself sitting in a bar someplace, with his loud, boisterous, so-called friends, all of them drunk or half-drunk, many of them hangers-on that just wanted to be seen with a prince, or to borrow money from him, or to use him as an avenue to get access to the palace. And that had been fine, before. Before Toxie, it was just part of his life, and it didn’t bother him.
Then, suddenly, it did. Something had moved inside of him. He had changed.
He knew what the world thought; he would serve a few years in the Navy, get a few ribbons, then retire back to the playboy life in the Palace.
And one day, without warning, he knew he couldn’t do that anymore. He wanted to be more than was expected of him - more than he was.
Orien had been struggling in the bottom quarter of his class when he met Toxie - and had no problem with that. But he started the next school year with a different agenda. He smiled at Toxie, said hello, but abandoned his pursuit of her. Instead, he concentrated on his classes; he hired tutors, took cram courses, actually worked hard at his studies. By the end of his second year, he was in the top half of his class. Again, Toxie went off to Pertos, and Orien went back to the Palace. But this summer was different. He spent the entire summer sweating to perfect gun and sword, working with his tutors, learning every bit of naval history and tactics he could scrape together. He returned to the Naval Academy for his junior year a different person. Even his most dedicated detractors could see the change in him; one muckraking vidcast channel asked the rhetorical question, “Who is this guy and what has he done with the real Prince Orien?”
By the end of his junior year, Orien was in the top ten percent of his class. It was a change that astonished everyone who knew him - not least his sister Ligeia, and his Sister-Mother Empress Hecate.
As his class prepared to go on summer break for the last time, Toxie came up to his table in the library, sat down in front of him, and stared at him silently. He stared back, returning her gaze, not speaking. After a long minute, she at last spoke, words that sent his heart soaring beyond anything he thought possible.
“I’m inviting you to Pertos for the summer if you want. We can study together. I’ll spar you in sword, and you can show me how you managed to shoot 250 on the range. We’ll get ready to kick everybody’s ass next term.”
And with that, she handed him a formal note, an invitation from her father, Duke Aronte, to spend the summer on Pertos Island.
And that was that. Orien told Hecate he was spending the summer on Pertos, and he did. That summer, he and Toxie were inseparable. They crammed for their senior year, they fought in the sword pit until their arms nearly fell off, they spent time on the range until Toxie could shoot as well as Orien. They did something that few couples have the opportunity to do; they became friends before they became lovers. It was a miracle for both of them; for both had so long mistrusted others, tired of the artifice around them, hated the duplicity; and they found in each other the only thing they really needed - trust, honesty, and faith.
And now she’s gone. Artemis, I just can’t go on without her. I just can’t. Please tell Toxie I can’t do this. Don’t ask me to do it. Let me give up. Let me just roll over and give up. All these bastards around me can chew me up and spit me out. I don’t care.
In the back of the Retreat, Lisa English stood quietly. The door had been open. She had stepped in, ducking her head as was her wont, keeping the loosely hanging greenery off her hair. She had paused, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkened room, thinking it empty.
Then her eyes had found him. Orien fucking Satra fucking Asshole, as she had been calling him lately in her mind. He was sitting in the back pew, almost out of sight in the darkness. There was one ray of light on his cheek, though. And it glistened.
He was crying.
What the fuck?
Lisa was astonished. The XO? Sitting in the Retreat, crying? What kind of officer does that?
She realized his eyes had opened. He seemed not aware of her. He was staring at the front of the room, to the right side.
The statue of Artemis.
Oh, right. He’s Aeolian. They believe in that Universe stuff. One big happy Universe, covering all the bases.
Well, I hope the Universe forgives him. For killing my friend, Captain Sykes. I hate him. The drunken bastard.
But somehow, it didn’t work. No matter how hard Lisa tried to make it work - it just wouldn’t.
There was something about the man.
She tried again.
I hate him. He’s a drunken, over-privileged bastard.
Nope. It still didn’t work. Instead of the feeling of distaste that she was trying to evoke, another feeling came to her. A warm feeling, even a happy feeling.
The tall, rangy XO with the chiseled features and the easy-going voice sat quietly, tears on his cheeks, and closed his eyes again, still unaware of her. His lips moved silently as he prayed, or talked to himself, or whatever.
Silently, Lisa backed out of the Retreat, turning to leave.
Damn. I can’t believe it.
I can’t hate the sonofabitch.
Chapter Sixteen
Hades System
It had been a long, hard five weeks. But they had made it. In the simulated display, the Hades system loomed large right in front of them. The timer on the sidebar of Vinnie’s holotank clicked down to five minutes. Five minutes until they surfaced back into three-space, 16 AU from the star.
Earlier, Derek had sent his corvettes ahead to scout the system. They reported back that the enemy fleet stood 10 AU from the star, in orbit around the large gas giant. And they reported the enemy fleet was considerably smaller than Derek’s battle group. One battleship, three cruisers, four frigates, and assorted support ships. Challenging, but manageable, if Derek used his assets wisely. It would not be a cakewalk; but Derek definitely had the edge in numbers.
Still, Orien had a nagging feeling of trouble. It had been riding the back of his neck for hours, since the scout corvettes first reported back the enemy disposition. But as they got closer and closer, it burst into full bloom, a solid premonition.
Why sit there and wait for us? If they’re clearly outnumbered, why not run?
This is a trap. Somehow, some way, it’s a trap.
He had tried to convince Derek. But Derek was having none of it. Like most everyone else on the ship, he called their enemy ‘those backstabbing piss-ant aliens’. Ignoring Orien’s concerns, Derek was charging into the system, full-bore ahead.
“Battle stations,” said Derek mildly. There was no drama in his voice.
“Aye, sir,” answered Orien, nodding at the quartermaster. A second later, the call went out over the internal comm system.
Orien checked his board and confirmed that the other ships in the battle group were at General Quarters, with weapons armed and ready.
At least we’re going in with our claws out, thought Orien. Maybe that’ll be enough.
The countdown timer went to zero. With the firm thump that usually accompanied a large ship returning to three-space, they were in the system. Orien - as everyone else on the bridge - studied the holo and the sensors. The holo showed the enemy fleet orbiting calmly around the gas giant, the ships spread out like a string of pearls.
Derek couldn’t resist a sideways glance at Orien, as if to say, “I told you so.” Orien returned his look with a small smile. He was, after all, happy that things looked as expected.
Just sitting there fat, dumb, and happy, waiting for us. Something’s not right here. I can feel it.
At the Tac station, Lisa made her standard callouts as the holo sensors settled down and gave a clean picture of the system. “Enemy fleet straight ahead orbiting planet four, designate them as Bandits Alpha, distance 6.05 AU. Transmitting our prerecorded contact message. No response so far.”
“Very good. XO, set a vector for the enemy, 300G external. We’ll charge them. If they don’t respond to our comms by the time we arrive, we open fire. As discussed, all ships to remain synced with us until the first volley. After that, fight your fight.”
“Aye, sir.” Orien gestured to the Quartermaster, Chief Johanson, who nodded and laid in the course. Orien felt a slight push as they began to accelerate. Even with the compensator, there was always a tiny little burble as the engines began to push toward max accel. Up to their maximum compensated accel of 300G external, the inside of the ship remained at 1G. But there could still be tiny effects. Maybe a little vibration, or sometimes a feeling like a Coriolis effect, as if you had just turned suddenly, causing the inner ear to react. Orien felt that now, as the ship built accel rapidly, settling down to a steady 300G on a line directly toward the distant gas giant - and the enemy.
“XO. What’s our accel plan?” called Derek, rather too loudly.
Orien studied his console. “Um…current accel plan is…300G accel for…two hundred eighty-nine minutes, turn ship for ten, 300G decel for two hundred eighty-seven minutes. That puts us at 35 kps at merge, sir.”
“Let’s bump our merge speed down a bit, shall we? Make it 30 kps. I want plenty of time to shoot at these bastards.”
“Aye, sir,” Orien responded, gesturing to Johanson, who began keying in the revision.
“Tac. How about the last known position of the Troublemaker?” asked Derek.
“I can’t see anything at her last known position, sir,” Lisa responded.
Derek grunted. “And the Chloe?”
“Looks like…I think I can see her, sir. Or what’s left of her. Looks like a debris field about seven AU in front of us, just to the left of our present course.”
Orien could see what had happened, could picture it in his mind as if he had been there. The Chloe had come into the system almost exactly where Derek had, entering perhaps 2 or 3 AU farther out. Their skipper had been more cautious than Derek…but on the other hand, the Chloe had been alone, not heading a task force of twenty-six ships. The Chloe had run in along the same general vector they were using. Orien wondered if that skipper had moved slower, more cautiously. He suspected that he had. It would make sense to be careful when you were alone in a strange system.
But it had been to no avail. As the Chloe passed the big gas giant - the one they now called Hades d, or as some of the crew preferred, the ‘Big Bastard’ - the enemy had come out of hiding, probably from behind the field of Trojan asteroids that followed several million klicks behind the Big Bastard. It was a perfect hiding place. Each asteroid could hide one ship. A small task force could hide in that asteroid swarm and be invisible to the Chloe.
That’s what they did, Orien decided. I can see it in my mind. They waited until the Chloe was past them. Then they came out and she was trapped. She couldn’t turn and run, and she couldn’t get away by going in-system. So she stood and fought, right there. Made a stand and died.
But Orien knew the enemy would not try that same tactic again. For one thing, Derek’s task force had the corvette squadron well out in front, scouting. No way they were going to be surprised by the enemy hiding behind asteroids, or behind a planet.
This will be a different kind of ambush. But they’re out there, somewhere. Waiting for us to make a mistake.
“They’re running, sir!” called Lisa.
Glancing at the holo, Orien could see it was true. The enemy ships were breaking orbit, taking a vector in-system toward the star. It was their best bet if they wanted to escape. By heading for the star, gravity would be working in their favor. If they had accel at least equal to the Humans, they could slingshot around the star and make their escape from the system.
Derek glanced around at the bridge crew, smirking, a look of triumph on his face. Orien steeled himself. He knew what was coming. On the outbound trip, Orien had seen that same look on Derek’s face several times - and each time, Derek had worked to humiliate Orien in front of the crew, a subtle humiliation, but nevertheless a clear one.
“Told you, XO. The backstabbing little bastards are running. No way they’re gonna stand and fight three battleships!”
Orien gave a wry smile. “Aye, sir.”
“And you wanted us to surface 50 AU out? Sneak in like a thief in the night?”
Derek turned back to the bridge crew, playing to his audience. “I guess we know the lay of the land now, don’t we?”
Orien remained silent. There was no winning this kind of verbal contest, not when the captain held all the cards.
“Quartermaster. Plot an intercept vector directly to the star. We’ll try to cut them off,” Derek spoke. It was an order he should have given to Orien. But he bypassed his XO, adding to the humiliation.
“Vector plotted, sir,” called Johanson a moment later.
Derek couldn’t resist one final smirk at Orien as he issued his next order - again, direct to Johanson.
“All ships to sync to that course and execute when synced.”
“Aye, sir. Order issued. All ships acknowledged. All ships synced. Executing.”
Sitting in his XO chair, feeling useless, Orien tried to maintain some semblance of calm. This was the way it was going to be. Derek was never going to pass up any opportunity to twig him in front of the crew.
But they had bigger fish to fry. He would ignore Derek’s not-so-subtle digs. Instead, he would do everything possible to ensure the Vinnie was ready to fight. Focusing on his console, he went over the weapons status one more time.
Planet Secundus
“Vanir. I don’t understand something. How can the Krypk be so unilaterally bloodthirsty? Don’t they have any sense of morality at all? A concept of right and wrong?”
It was evening, and they were sitting on the porch of Vanir’s hut, beneath the small circle of night sky overhead the village. Vanir, looking up, gave a tiny lift of his hands, a gesture so Human Maddie had to give a smile at the sight of it.
“When we were still one people, we had a religion. But like most religions, it became perverted. It doesn’t take long, you know. Just as sentient creatures of all types are marvelously flawed, so are religions. It never takes more than a few hundred years for a religion to become grossly transformed, to become a means of preserving the status quo, instead of a means of celebrating spirituality and tolerance. Our religion was no different. It began as an attempt to understand and reconcile with the Universe. But it soon became entrenched as a method of control over the masses.
“In fact, that was the beginning of the split between our races. The Krypk used religion to justify everything they did - splitting our species into two races, forcing the Druza to become second-class citizens. Then, when the ability to control us with brain implants became known, they declared it was the will of the Universe to make us into drones and use us to conquer other races. In a sense, all the evil of our species can be traced back to the corruption of our religion by the Krypk.”
“I’m sorry. I know it must be hard for you.”
“That was hundreds of years ago, Maddie. The pain of that loss is long past. Now, we dream only of restoring our society - removing the ability of the Krypk to control us. If we can survive long enough - perhaps we can succeed. And who knows - if we do survive, and succeed in escaping the hand of the Krypk, perhaps we can restore our religion to its original mission - holding up the Universe.”
“What does that mean - holding up the Universe?”
Vanir sighed, a sigh of loss and heartache. “That was the central theme of our religion - that the Universe is held up by good, and torn down by evil. That each individual must act to give good to himself, to others, and to the Universe; and that each evil action that causes pain to others, also causes pain to the Universe; and the Universe sends that pain back to you, one way or another.”
“That sounds much like what we call ‘karma’.”
“Perhaps every species has some concept like that.”
“What do you believe in, then? What happens after death?”
“That our spiritual components go back into the hopper of the Universe, to be re-assembled as needed. But not as the same entity. Not as the same individual. Like parts for a machine, the Universe picks and chooses the ones it likes, and makes a new entity somewhere else, a new experiment.”
“How strange. That’s remarkably similar to an Earth religion I’ve heard about called Buddhism.”
“And what was your religion, dear Maddie?”
“Well, Humans…we have so many. We’ve never been able to get together on that. In my case, I was raised on the planet Aeolis. The culture there mostly follows a religion based on what we call the Great Mother. Perhaps somewhat similar to yours, because we view the Universe as our Great Mother. Everything in it, and everything of it, comes from the Great Mother. We call her Artemis. It was a name that came down from thousands of years ago, and from another planet, one we call Earth.”
Maddie sat silent for a while, staring at the night sky. Raising a hand, she gestured upward. “But isn’t it the strangest thing? The Universe? I mean, look at it. It’s beyond all understanding!”
“It is. We are tiny ants, crawling on the surface of tiny balls of matter whirling around in space, trying to make sense of it all.”
“And the Big Bang…isn’t that the weirdest thing? To have nothing - no matter, no energy, no space. Not even the fabric of space! Not even time! And then to go from that to this…”
Maddie lifted her hands again, gesturing at the fantastic dish of stars over their heads, a bowl of big dark sky pinpointed by holes of light, a wonder for every creature that could perceive it.
Vanir smiled in the darkness. There was just enough starlight for Maddie to see his smile.
“And what does that make you think about, dear Maddie?”
