Conquest (Rise of the Empire Book 9) Read online

  “Affirmative, Sentinel. Pods on their way.”

  The Erasi responded with a weak attempt to retake the turrets, which her team repelled easily.

  They stood in silence, her team holding the position though there weren’t any more attempts at retaking the turret.

  “So, how did your night go?” Vas asked her over their private comms.

  Ryaana turned and frowned at him, which he couldn’t see because of her helmet. “It was fine,” she said.

  “Just fine?” Vas asked.

  “All right, it was great, actually,” Ryaana said, a small smile forming on her face.

  Ryaana had been very surprised when the tiny tech–well, tiny compared to a Shara Daim–had asked her out. So surprised in fact that she had thought that the tech–Marie–might’ve confused her with someone else. In the end, before Ryaana even knew what had happened, she had managed to make Ryaana agree to meet in the Herald of War’s mess hall, and then they spent most of the night walking through the ship and talking. It had been nice, and Marie had been nice as well.

  “You should see her again,” Vas said.

  Ryaana gave him a droll look and didn’t comment. Then Ryaana noticed new arrivals on her HUD and turned her eyes toward the sky. Her HUD zoomed in and she watched as hundreds of drop-ships flew toward the ground, eventually landing in the city below. The Erasi civilians had been mostly evacuated; the Empire had taken a long time reaching the planet, and they had allowed civilian ships to leave. The only ones left were their military. Ryaana was relieved that the authorities on the planet had seen reason; this had not been the case everywhere they had attacked. In most cases the military or those in charge had refused to let the civilians evacuate, making their jobs far harder. The Empire was not willing to cause the deaths of civilians in the name of conquest.

  A single drop-ship landed near Ryaana’s position and army squad left taking over the point from Ryaana’s team. “All right, people, all aboard the ship. Our job is done for today,” Ryaana said to her team as the army took over the point for them. Her team entered the ship tiredly in silence.

  Ryaana leaned her head back in her seat and relaxed as the ship took them back to the fleet. This was the tenth planet they had been deployed to in the last year since the war began, and it had taken its toll.

  * * *

  Several hours later, on the Herald of War, Ryaana walked out of her quarters after having showered and rested for a while, making her way to one of the meeting rooms. She arrived to find Vas waiting for her at the entrance. She smiled weakly at him and they entered. She made her way to her seat next to the head of the table and Vas took his position behind her. They were the first ones there but quickly the room started filling up. Next came Fleet Commander Johanna Stern and her second, the commander taking a seat next to Ryaana and nodding to her in greeting. After them came Lurker of the Depths, who took a seat across from Ryaana on a special chair that accommodated his Sowir build. After him came a large Guxcacul, Sentinel Riss, who knelt beside Lurker of the Depths on his six legs as he did not need a chair. Finally, Ryaana’s mother entered, followed closely by her father.

  The Lord Commander and the Kar Daim made their way to the head of the table and took their seats there. Ryaana’s father smiled at her as he took the seat next to her.

  “Welcome all,” the Lord Sentinel began. “I have called you all here to discuss the best way to proceed with our invasion, now that the Krashinar have been forced to retreat most of their forces as well as abandon their push against the Erasi’s rimward border. As you all know by now, the Erasi have sent several invasion fleets into Krashinar territory, forcing them to focus on defending their territory. They will not be pulling all of their forces back, however–Old Scar will remain here with us. But this means a significant change in our plans.”

  Ryaana’s mother leaned forward. “Our original plan did not account for them in the first place. We can manage without them,” the Kar Daim said.

  “Our original plan underestimated the Erasi technological advancement in the years since the last war,” Fleet Commander Johanna Stern interjected. “We’ve been advancing slower than projections indicated, even with the help of the Krashinar.”

  The Lord Sentinel nodded. “That is true, but the reason we are advancing slower than anticipated is because it is taking us longer to take planets. The Erasi are using civilians as shields.”

  “We should blockade them and move on, then. We are losing far too much of our momentum,” Sentinel Riss said.

  “I agree,” the Kar Daim said, turning to look at Ryaana’s father. “We need to hit their core before they manage to fortify those systems even more than they already have.”

  “Their core fleets are already on their way,” the Lord Sentinel said. “It would be better if we forced them to fight here where they do not have the defenses of their core systems.”

  Fleet Commander Stern grimaced. “That would tie us up here in their outer territories for a while. Breaking those fleets will not be easy. They will have their new Devastator-class ships in those fleets and they will negate our Sovereigns to a degree.”

  Ryaana agreed silently. The Devastator-class ships might not be able to hold against a Sovereign one on one, but the Erasi did have more of them.

  “We do have other plans in motion. We need only time,” the Lord Sentinel said.

  “I am not at all convinced that it will work, Adrian,” the Kar Daim said. “You trust in that plan to much.”

  “It is an opportunity. The Erasi are too large to conquer in the way that we are used to,” the Lord Sentinel said.

  “We could split the fleets and send some to the core. It would at least force them to keep something back,” the Kar Daim said.

  The Lord Sentinel looked thoughtful for a few moments. “We do know the locations of some of their military systems, shipyards and research facilities. Taking those targets out would hobble their efforts, slow down their efforts to resupply, and their shipbuilding.”

  “We are agreed then?” the Kar Daim asked.

  “We are. I’ll assemble a task force,” the Lord Sentinel responded.

  “And who will lead it?” Fleet Commander Stern asked.

  “We’ll decide after we make a plan. For now, we should plan out our next moves,” the Lord Sentinel said, turning on the holo-map on the table. The rest of the meeting was spent discussing their strategy and adjusting their invasion plans.

  Chapter Two

  As everyone slowly exited the meeting room, Adrian noticed Lurker of the Depths lingering behind. And as the rest of the people walked out, Lurker of the Depths turned to look at him. Adrian remained in his seat and waited. Lurker of the Depths just looked at him, studying him. Adrian brought his hand up to his head and made a Nel gesture for inquiry. Lurker of the Depths turned his head toward the closed doors, and Adrian felt him swipe the area around them with his mind. Adrian raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t comment–and then his former teacher finally spoke with his mind.

  “How much do you know about the man serving as your daughter’s second?” Lurker of the Depths sent.

  Adrian leaned back in his seat, surprised. “You can tell what he is?”

  Lurker of the Depths leaned his head to the side. “I don’t know what he is, but I know that he is not what he appears to be. You are aware, then?”

  “How could you tell?” Adrian asked, standing up and stepping closer to Lurker of the Depths. “He feels human to all of my senses, except one. I didn’t think that anyone other than me could tell.”

  “His mind is obscured, hidden. It feels almost exactly as a human mind should, yet I noticed a glimpse of something else behind the facade. What is he?”

  Adrian shook his head. Lurker of the Depths never ceased to amaze him. He might not have the power that Adrian possessed, but he was still a powerful telepath, certainly even more skilled than Adrian. And while Adrian was rated as the Empire’s strongest telepath, it was mainly because of his raw
potential. Lurker of the Depths was the most skilled telepath, and he fell behind in power relative to Adrian only because Sowir bodies had less access to energy. In truth, Adrian knew that his former teacher had been pushing himself constantly since his battle with the Weaver, and he would not be surprised if Lurker of the Depths had surpassed him once again. The thought made Adrian excited–he lived to overcome challenges.

  “He is one of the Enlightened. I don’t know which,” Adrian answered.

  In a span of mere moments Lurker of the Depths transferred his thoughts to Adrian. Surprise, fear, and worry, accompanied by a question.

  Adrian processed the thoughts and sent a response back. “I can see what he truly is, and we are grossly outmatched. And I don’t want to do anything to force him to act. I believe that he is here only to gather information, and is not aware that he has been discovered.”

  “Are you sure that this is wise? Should we not act?”

  “I have some contingency plans in case that he turns hostile, but for now I think that it is best to just let him be. It is not like he could learn anything really useful; he could learn the same things just by watching information feeds. And we can learn more about him by keeping him close.”

  “Are you not worried about Ryaana?”

  “I do not think that he would risk exposure by harming her, and telling her what he is would only put her in more danger. She is not as adept at keeping secrets. Better that she doesn’t know. I plan on watching him closely.”

  “You really think that you can learn something from him?”

  “I believe it is something that I must attempt. We know next to nothing about the Enlightened’s goals.”

  “As you wish, Adrian. I shall keep the secret.”

  “Well, now that you know, I think that I should place you close to him. You might see something that I don’t. At this point any insight is valuable.”

  Lurker of the Depths sent him feelings of agreement, and Adrian nodded. It would be good to have another person knowing about Vas, especially one as powerful as Lurker of the Depths.

  “You did not tell Anessa?” Lurker of the Depths asked.

  Adrian grimaced. “No matter how they try to deny it, Ryaana and Anessa are very much alike. She would not be good at keeping it a secret either, and she would want to act.”

  “You are certain that we cannot best the Enlightened?”

  “I learned more about the power they wield from Axull Darr. We might prevail, but it would not be without a heavy cost. And it is only one of them. As long as he is here, we know where one of them is, and that they are probably not going on the offensive. I am confident that they are looking for information. Keeping him occupied here buys us time.”

  “I hope that you are right, Adrian,” Lurker of the Depths sent. “You are playing with the lives of everyone in the Empire, in the galaxy even.”

  “I know…” Adrian said.

  “I trust you, Adrian. I just need you to be careful.”

  “Of course.”

  “Good,” Lurker of the Depths sent.

  They fell into a comfortable silence, one which Adrian had only ever been able to achieve with Anessa. It spoke volumes of the connection he and his former teacher shared.

  “I wanted to speak with you about something, about the Sha,” Lurker of the Depths sent.

  Adrian simply returned feelings of curiosity.

  But Lurker of the Depths hesitated. “I’ve discovered something in my training. I think that you would find it very interesting. But I wonder if it is best left for a later time, once you are not so preoccupied.”

  Adrian started to object, not wanting to be left in suspense, but Lurker of the Depths raised his hand.

  “No–I shouldn’t have mentioned it. You need your focus firmly on the war. Already you have too much to worry about. If I tell you now, you will want to pursue it, and I know what you are like when you have something new to challenge yourself against. After the war, we shall speak.”

  Adrian opened his mouth to deny Lurker of the Depths’ words, but then closed them. Lurker of the Depths was one of the people who knew him best–and despite Adrian’s curiosity, if his former teacher thought it best to wait, who was he to disagree?

  * * *

  A few days later Adrian sat in his ready room on board the Herald of War. He had assembled a small task force that they were going to send deeper into Erasi territory. Hopefully having a task force acting inside their core would force the Erasi to readjust and slow their response in their outer territories.

  The more time passed, the more he realized that the war was not going how he had planned it. They were on track to get bogged down in this conflict for a long time. It would take them decades to just consolidate the systems they took and fortify their positions in the Erasi’s outer systems, and they hadn’t even attempted attacking the core. They had made a large push when they’d had the Krashinar Great Packs helping them, but now only one of them was able to remain and help. Even with as much firepower as they possessed, it was not going to be enough. A traditional conflict was going to last a long time, but thankfully Adrian had never intended on making this a simple invasion. He’d had centuries to plan and set things up, and now he only needed to execute his plans.

  However, this was something not as easy as it might seem. For his greater strategy to work, many factors had to align properly, and he did not have control over most of them. He had done as much as he possibly could to nudge things into place over the centuries, but now he could only wait and see if hundreds of years’ worth of effort would pay out.

  He glanced to one of the message prompts above his table. That the single line of text had reached him through channels that were so secret that no one aside from him knew anything about them was reassuring, but he had nothing to go by aside from the word of someone he knew nothing about–aside from their short moniker: Opal. So many lives depended on it, yet Adrian dared not ask for more. He understood that the thing he and whoever it was on the other end were attempting took time. It was a gamble, but one he was willing to take.

  With a sigh, Adrian closed down the prompts and stood, going to bed.

  Chapter Three

  Sanctuary – The Empire’s capital

  Tomas Klein, Emperor, stood by the window of his office and looked down into the garden where a group of children played. Sons and daughters of the palace staff, and among them, his own son. Barely eight years old, and a handful, an unrelenting charmer with a dazzling smile. Heir to an empire, and a gift to Tomas and his mother, Seo-yun. Already Tomas knew that he would one day break hearts with that smile. Tomas had done many things in his life–he had taken humanity from Earth to the stars and he had founded the Empire–yet to him, it was that little boy down there who he considered his greatest achievement, his greatest treasure.

  He allowed himself this minute of peace, watching their innocent and happy faces. There was no war for them here, nothing to fear. But Tomas knew better; even Sanctuary was vulnerable. He had made a mistake of thinking otherwise before, and millions of innocents had paid the price. All that Tomas did he did to make the Empire safe for its people.

  A chime at his door startled him, and he turned away from the window before walking toward his table and opening the door with his imp. The doors slid open and Nadia stepped inside. He sat behind the table and Nadia took the seat in front. Working together for the better part of six hundred years meant that he knew immediately that she had something important to tell him.

  “What happened? Word from the front?” Tomas asked.

  She shook her head. “No, it is something else.”

  Tomas raised an eyebrow at the way she said it, and then gestured with his hand for her to continue.

  Nadia took a deep breath and then spoke. “A sizable force has just arrived at our core-ward border. It is the Josanti League. They’ve identified themselves as a diplomatic team and have asked to be escorted to a system where they could speak with someone in charge
.”

  Tomas frowned. The Josanti League was a galactic power, one of the oldest and largest star-nations, and one that controlled a sizable piece of the galaxy’s core systems. Tomas knew that the Sentinels had made contact and that the Empire’s request to pass through Josanti territory had been denied. The report had painted the Josanti as somewhat arrogant and dismissive toward the Empire. It hadn’t really surprised Tomas when they had refused to allow Empire ships through, as few star-nations would allow such a thing. But Adrian had felt that it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

  His plan to take a force to the other side of the galaxy and search for the containment zone created by Ullax Darr required charts and routes. Their own charts were fairly outdated and Adrian did not want to travel blindly. Both Adrian and Tomas agreed that they did not want to encounter a threat they could not handle before they reached the zone. It was their hope that, once there, they would be able to converse with the old AI put in charge of the machine fleets and armies that kept the Enlightened contained. The scout ships that the AI had sent to the Empire were simple computers allowed to act only in the manner programmed by the AI.

  The fact that the Josanti refused the request meant little for the Empire; they would find another way. In the worst case they would simply need to go around their territory, and while that might make their trip significantly longer than by going in a straight line, it would not hamper their plan.

  But the fact that the Josanti sent a diplomatic team did not fit in with what Tomas knew of them. If he remembered the brief on them correctly, they never sent diplomatic teams to other star-nations. They did not need to, as all others came to them. That they had chosen to do so now and after they had been dismissive toward an Empire’s Sentinel meant that something significant had changed.

  “How many ships? And did they say why they sent a team now?”

  “Five hundred ships, and if our info on them is correct, they are all of their latest designs. True warships from their inner races,” Nadia said slowly, and her face grimaced in way that Tomas knew well–it meant she just couldn’t fit the pieces together. “But… They are acting very courteous, nothing like what I would expect based on our previous dealings. They are keeping their ships far away at the edge of the system, with their weapons and shields powered down, and they were content to wait until the local head sent word to us.”