Using Wieck’s intelligence network, the Marauders had learned much about the movements of many high-ranking Nietzschean officials in the system, but they’d not been able to access anything that hinted at the emperor’s schedule, or what sort of protections he had at Casa Mons.
Leslie was of the opinion that Rika should simply bring the Fury Lance into low orbit over the emperor’s residence and rain nukes on it until the mountain was a crater. Rika had argued that they needed to strike in a way that it would be clear that the emperor had been killed by Genevians. Preferably a method that left them with an identifiable body.
Her reverie was interrupted by cheers from the room below, as the main holodisplays reported that the ship was moving under its own power. It was just a fractional burn, but it was the first one the ship had ever made without tugs attached to the hull to steady it.
The Pinnacle moved to a higher orbit and began to unfold its additional hulls, then fired its engines again, all of the balance indicators staying well within acceptable parameters. Another round of cheers came from the engineers.
Following that burn, the engines shut down, and the ship drifted for a few minutes while the teams below reviewed data and ran diagnostics, ensuring that nothing untoward had been missed.
* * * * *
“Holy shit, Jeremy,” Murel said as she clamped a hand on his shoulder, raw glee evident in her voice. “It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Stars, the Pinnacle performed better than in the sims! We’re going to get commendations for this.”
“We’re not over the hump yet,” Jeremy replied, trying not to cringe at the Nietzschean woman’s touch. “We’ve still several more burns to do.” He gestured at the pre-plotted course. “Once we make it out past the half-AU marker, then I’ll be ready to jump for joy.”
“Stars, Jere,” Annie said from his left. “You did it! You figured out what the fleet design engineers back at Pruzia couldn’t. You’ve made this bird soar!”
Jeremy gave Murel a mollifying look. “A lot of people were involved in this. It was a team effort.”
Murel laughed as she looked up at the holo. “You be sure to tell them that when they ask, Jere.” The engineering chief glanced around at her teams. “OK, people, let’s get ready to do burn config two! We’ve got an emperor to impress!”
* * * * *
<Looks like our friend Jeremy’s thrust balancing solution is working,> Niki reported to Rika as she finally reached the entrance to the network datastore. <We need to hurry, though. Once they prove it out, they could distribute the updates to other ships at any point.>
<Yeah,> Rika replied with a laugh. <No pressure or anything.>
<Well, I wouldn’t be too upset about it. You do really well under pressure.>
<Damn, there’s a secret that’s biting me in the ass.>
<When do you think that was a secret?> Niki asked.
Rika decided to ignore her AI’s jibe and reached out to Keli and Kelly. <Ready, ladies?>
<Not yet,> Kelly said. <Keli and I are trying to decide on an emblem.>
<Sorry, what? What do we need an emblem for?>
<Not ‘we’,> Keli corrected. <Us. Kelly and I. We’re obviously going to need one as the ‘Queen’s Guard’.>
<Oh for fuck’s sake, would you two stop that? Right now, you’re the ‘Colonel’s Guard’, and the colonel wants you to get off your asses and get ready to secure that watch station.>
<Sure. On it, my—> Kelly began.
<Don’t.> Rika’s voice was deadly calm.
She could have sworn that she heard Kelly gulp. <Uh…ma’am. My ma’am. It’s a new saying.>
<Shut up, Kelly.>
<You’re saying that a lot to me lately, Rika. It’s starting to hurt my feelings.>
Rika groaned. <Dammit. Just get in position. I’m breaching the chamber door.>
Keli and Kelly sent non-verbal acknowledgements, for which Rika was glad, and she set to the task.
<Do you want a hand?> Niki asked as Rika carefully infiltrated the door’s locking mechanism, looking for responses that would tell her which hardware and software versions it was running.
<No! I mean…no. Sorry, Niki.>
<Why does it get you so bent out of shape when Kelly jokes about you being a queen?>
Rika held back a sigh. <Because I’m pretty sure that she’s not joking. She thinks that I should be queen of…whatever, and if I let her think I’m OK with it, she’s going to start getting the other mechs onboard.>
<Well, for starters, I think she’s going to do that whether you push back or not. In fact, if you push back on her, she might just get more mechs onboard even faster.>
Niki’s argument made sense, and matched Kelly’s behavior well.
<Dammit, you’re right. So what do I do?>
<Well, here’s a question: why are you fighting it so hard?>
<What?> Rika was momentarily flabbergasted by the question and lost her concentration, nearly tripping an alarmed system inside the door. She pulled back from that route and tried another.
<Why fight it?> the AI reiterated.
<Well…because I really don’t want to be a queen. Or a president. Or a prime minister, a hegemon, dictator, tyrant, big boss, head honcho, or grand fricking poobah. I want to be Rika. Even being ‘Colonel Rika’ is a bit much for me. I only went along with that so I could give my mechs autonomy and not have anyone telling us what to do.>
<The door’s open,> Niki said.
<I know.> Rika rose and took a deep breath, wishing Niki hadn’t picked that time to dig into her feelings on leadership.
<You should probably go inside and close it before someone walks by and wonders why the datastore’s door is wide open with no one around.>
<You’re so helpful.>
<I try.>
<Kelly and Keli,> Rika called out. <I’m going in.>
<Understood,> Kelly said with an uncharacteristic formality to her voice. <We’ll keep close watch, Colonel Rika.>
The words ‘Kelly, shut up’ rose in Rika’s mind once more, but she quashed them down and sent a simple acknowledgement before moving into the datastore and closing the door.
The room was cool, not that the chill in the air bothered her, and stretched for dozens of meters in every direction. Every two meters, a tower rose out of the deck, laden with mounts holding either rewritable storage systems, or immutable crystal storage.
<Damn, a haystack of haystacks, and we’ve gotta find our needle,> Rika said. <This could take hours.>
<Better not,> Niki advised. <Looks like the Pinnacle is on its third thrust test. We have about half an hour to find the master record and update it.>
Rika nodded absently as she moved to a console that stood several meters into the chamber. She connected her hard-Link cable to it, diving into the network, sifting through the endless information within, navigating through the Nietzschean data architecture.
<So…you didn’t really answer my question,> Niki prompted.
<About why I don’t want to be lord and emperor?> Rika asked. <I thought I told you. I don’t even really want to be a colonel.>
<I don’t believe you. Sure, not having to listen to dicks like Major Tim may be why you did it at first, but you forget, I see everything you do, and I can usually tell what you’re feeling when you do it. You definitely like leading your Marauders. And there’s no doubt that they like you leading them.>
Rika grunted in agreement as she traversed a datamatrix filled with thousands of entries for NSAI comm systems, looking for the one they wanted to update.
<Sure, yeah. We’ve built up a sense of comradery. We are all part of a symbiotic organism that works together to kick Nietzschean ass.>
<OK, so when you take this system, you know that it’s going to need to have a government, right? The Genevia System is where you’ll have to operate from for a while, while you prepare to strike at Pruzia, right?>
<Yeah,> Rika replied as she foun
d a promising entry, only to realize it was for a comm NSAI only used in shuttles. <Your point being?>
<Well, who should run Genevia while all that is going on?>
<Someone who knows what they’re doing, who is ready to make a difference. There have to be tons of people out there that can do that once we defeat the Niets.>
<Oh?> Niki asked. <Think so? Who would they be? Ass kissers who’ve been working for the enemy this past decade? People like Leader Oda? I don’t disagree that there are good folks out there, but they’re not used to action like you are. If they were capable of taking a leadership position, they’d be doing it right now. I think you’re going to be disappointed by anyone who steps forward—at least at first.>
Niki’s statement pulled Rika out of her search, and she opened her eyes, looking around the room, a shuddering breath passing her lips.
<Stars, Niki, that’s depressing.>
<I’m just layin’ truth down at your feet here. We could be just a few weeks from having to make this sort of decision.>
An idea occurred to Rika, and she sent Niki a grin in her mind. <You know, why don’t you become the queen of Genevia? You’re smart, have gobs of experience; you could whip this place into shape in no time.>
<Umm. No.> All humor was gone from the AI’s tone.
<Oh? Now that the shoe is on the other foot, it’s not such a welcoming thought, is it?>
<It’s not unwelcome at all. The problem is perception. Chances are that the only AIs in the Genevian System right now came with your fleet. These people are not in any position to be led by an AI. They need someone they can see, someone they can rally to. You name someone else other than yourself that you would accept as a leader, and I’ll back down.>
Rika snorted. <Easy. Tanis.>
<Cheater. I meant for Genevia.>
She knew what Niki meant, but try as she might, Rika couldn’t think of anyone—barring Tremon. Of course, he didn’t want the job, and there was a strong possibility that the people would outright reject him.
<Here’s something to chew on,> Niki said. <Don’t think about it like you’re committing to some sort of life-long position. Instead, your job is just to hold things together until someone better suited comes along.>
Rika considered that mindset and found herself nodding in agreement. It was the same sort of mentality she had with her mechs. She didn’t think that she was the perfect commander for her Marauders, she was just the best they had available at the time.
Of course, her suitability for that position was bolstered by the fact that her mechs seemed to idolize her.
<OK, Niki. I can work with that rationale.>
<Good. The data we need to alter is in that tower over there, by the way.>
A column ten meters away was highlighted on Rika’s vision, and she let out a sigh.
<How long ago did you find it?>
<Five minutes.>
<Five—we’ve only been in here for five minutes.>
<I know,> Niki said, laughing softly in Rika’s mind. <You’re smart, kid. Real smart. But don’t forget who’s been at this shit for a few-dozen centuries.>
<OK, Niki. I’m sorry, I’m just trying to get better at it.>
<Nothing to be sorry about it. Let’s get this little seed of destruction planted.>
* * * * *
Constantine purposefully allowed a smug smile to form on his lips as he glanced at Garza. The Pinnacle was just thirty seconds from completing its full-thrust burn, and the ship was performing flawlessly.
Prior to the day’s events, the emperor had spent some time reviewing the specs from Orion, and he could see that the Pinnacle was on the cusp of outperforming the optimal numbers from the original designers.
It was just more proof that Orion was old, spineless, and weak. Once Garza’s people no longer possessed a technological advantage that they only held due to centuries of hiding, they would fall to Nietzschea.
It was inevitable.
“You’re to be congratulated,” Garza said when he caught Constantine’s eye. “I’m impressed. Putting our faith in Nietzschea was not a mistake.”
Though the words were meant to sound complimentary, Constantine could hear the insults in them. Everything was either a near slight, or cleverly worded non-praise. It was almost as though Garza were goading the emperor to take some sort of action against him.
For a moment, Constantine considered it. The room was lined with his guards, and though a few members of the admiralty had been swayed by Garza’s charm and promises, the vast majority placed their fealty in the right place.
He could snap his fingers, and the man would be dead.
Not yet, he cautioned himself, willing his ire to fade away. Not until the jump gates are operational and under Nietzschean control.
“Congratulations, My Emperor!” Admiral Hammond called out a minute later as the ship completed its trials. He brought his hands together, starting a round of applause. “The Pinnacle is the perfect warship! Fleets of these mighty vessels will crush our enemies. The Might of Nietzschea will spread across the stars.”
Constantine inclined his head a centimeter, acknowledging the compliment before he turned to those assembled.
“You’ve done well. Continue to serve the empire with such fervor, and we will soon stretch across the Orion Arm. In just a month, we’ll begin our assault on Septhia. When they see waves of Nietzschean ships in their skies, they’ll rue the day they ever joined the Scipian Alliance.”
<Be sure to commend the Pinnacle’s captain, Admiral Hammond. My personal regards.>
<Of course, My Emperor.>
Constantine smiled, basking in the glow of success—until he realized that Garza was following behind. The man didn’t speak, but even his presence put a damper on the emperor’s joy.
Stars, can the man not leave me alone for one minute?!
He resolved that once he returned to Casa Mons, he would summon Danella and begin the transfer to his new body. He no longer cared if a hair follicle was out of place; a few miniscule imperfections would be worth it if he could free himself of the general’s dominion.
“Garza,” Constantine asked, not bothering to look over his shoulder. “Now that the fleet’s construction is back on schedule, will the gates finally be completed? I grow vexed that I’ve invested all this effort in building a great fleet that will take half a year to reach its targets without those gates. Need I remind you that we’re following your plan to make a simultaneous strike across the entire Septhian Alliance?”
“I’ve not forgotten that,” Garza replied. “They’ll be completed within the week. It’s no small thing to set up a hundred gates in secret, but my engineers are on schedule.”
Constantine wondered about that. From what he understood, the enemy built their gate components elsewhere and shipped them to their destination, where they only needed to be assembled. Spies who had recently returned from Thebes confirmed this.
In short, the Transcend could build gates in hours, not months. The only thing that explained Garza’s delay was that either Orion’s gate manufacturing site had suffered some sort of delay, or the general’s engineers were actually building them from scratch within the Genevia system.
Both seemed hard to believe, but it was what the evidence suggested.
He didn’t press the general further as they walked through the station, losing himself in thoughts of the dominion that would be his with the jump gates.
So deep was Constantine in his thoughts of conquest, that when Hammond first called out for him to drop, he didn’t even realize the cry had been directed at him.
Then something struck the emperor in the back, and he slammed his face into the side of a decorative fountain.
“Stay down, My Emperor,” a voice said next to his
ear, and he recognized it as belonging to one of his personal guards.
The sounds of weapons fire echoed all around for nearly a minute, punctuated by shouts and screams, until all at once, they stopped and the guard rose, extending a hand that Constantine ignored as he climbed back to his feet.
He glanced at Admiral Hammond, who was standing several meters away, chest heaving and pistol in hand. He followed the admiral’s gaze and his mouth fell open as he saw a figure writhing in an a-grav suspension field.
“A Genevian mech?” he asked, shocked to see one of his old enemy’s killing machines up close and personal. “How did it get here?”
A laugh came from his left, and Constantine’s head whipped around to see General Garza chuckling as he approached the mech.
“I lured it; that’s how it got here. Constantine,” the general gestured at the woman, who had grown very still at his words. “Say hello to one of Tangel’s little pets—a mech named Rika.”
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes prior….
Rika stepped back from the data storage column, nodding with satisfaction that the crystal appeared to be completely unaltered.
<Checks come up good,> Niki confirmed. <Unless someone brings clean source code from Nietzschea, they’ll never be able to tell that it’s been modified.>
<Handy stuff, the ISF’s nanotech,> Rika commented. <The ability to rewrite immutable crystal storage sort of…>
<Breaks one’s ability to believe that anything is really true?> the AI asked.
<Yeah,> Rika replied with a laugh. <Something like that.>
She returned to the console near the entrance and confirmed that it was in the state she’d found it, and then locked the terminal down.
<How’re things looking out there?> she asked Kelly and Keli. <Safe to exit?>
<The coast is clear…of Niets, at least. Are we safe from you?> Kelly asked. <You were getting a bit testy there.>
Rika sent her friend a sour-looking expression and then laughed. <Yeah. We’re good. Niki talked me off the ledge. But I expect you to fall prostrate whenever you see me from now on.>