Exodus: Empires at War: Book 11: Day of Infamy (Exodus: Empires at War.) (9 page)

There were about thirty
children in the room, clustered at workstations talking among themselves and
working on their lessons.  Tomas wasn’t really sure he liked children all that
much, having never been around that many of them.  He had to admit that these
seemed to be very well behaved.  He had asked Margo one time why these kids
still needed to come to school, since they could learn everything they needed
from the city databases.

“They get socialization,”
said Margo.  “They still work at home, two days a week, and physically come to
school another two days.”  That left them with one play day each week, when
they visited the zoo or museums, or simply played in the park.

Supposedly the children
learned to get along with other children, which would translate into getting
along with other adults when they got older.  He guessed that it worked, since
he had been through the same process himself, and hadn’t turned out that
antisocial.

“Class dismissed,” said
Margo, getting up from her desk.  The students started talking louder as they
shut down their stations and gathered up their things.  Tomas watched them,
thinking that he might find them kind of cute someday, with a little work.  He
looked over at Margo, wondering if she might someday become the mother of his
child, if they could get a reproductive license.  It might take some time, but
he was sure he would eventually be able to get one or more, since his company
would not be willing to let him relocate, and he didn’t want to go to a branch
office on some no name world out in the frontier anyhow.

“How did your day go?” he
asked the love of his life as she came up to him and give him a quick kiss. 
“I’m surprised the little monsters haven’t killed you by now.”

“You know they’re not
that bad,” said Margo with a smile.

Tomas wasn’t sure why
Margo worked as a teacher, running two shifts of thirty students each through
her classroom each week.  It was nowhere near as lucrative as his own
profession, and required some altruism as well.  It was work, which meant she
was not on the dole, and it seemed to give her a purpose.  That was one of the
things he loved about her.  She was not out to get ahead no matter what, like
the people he worked with and against.  She lived in a different world, and had
made it clear that she intended to stay in that realm.

“Do you have any plans
for Empire Day?” he asked as they left the room to head for the lift.  Margo
lived in this building, as did all of her students.  It was a working class
building, again not as high of socioeconomic status as where he lived, but
respectable, since no one in this structure was on the dole.  All had purpose,
even if it was only in supervising waste disposal robots.

“I guess I’ll spend it
with you, since I don’t have anything better to do,” she said in the laughing
tone he loved.

“And what are you doing
at the moment?” he asked in a similar tone, running a hand through her hair.

“Your place or mine?” she
asked, her eyes twinkling.

“Well, since we’re only
fifty floors from your apartment, and mine is at least seven minutes from here
by aircar…”

“Mine it is,” she said
with a laugh.

Later, as they were both
laying back in her bed basking in the glow of their after lovemaking aura,
Tomas found himself turning and looking into her face.  He knew rationally that
she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world.  There were biosculpted
actresses and models, and sometimes just women of wealth, who were
breathtakingly beautiful.  But Margo had a natural beauty that those women
didn’t, something of the mythical girl next door of Old Earth.  He looked at
her through the eyes of love, rose colored glasses that made her appear much
more lovely than any of those artificially enhanced women.

And she was very good in
bed.  He wasn’t sure how good he was, not objectively, but she seemed to be satisfied,
as evidenced now by the flushed skin on her chest and face.

“I wish you would go
ahead and move in with me,” he said, reaching over and stroking the side of her
face

“I work in this
building,” she protested.  “My contract calls for me to live here near to the
school.”

“I could support you, you
know.  I could even buy you out of your contract.”

“I’m a teacher, Tomas. 
It’s what I do.”

“Then teach in my
building.  There are kids who need instruction in my building as well.”

“I really don’t think
that’s a good idea.”

Tomas lay there and
thought.  He wished had had brought the ring, and even thought about running
home and getting it.  But he thought it better to wait until the time he had
planned, when it would have the most impact.

“Look, I spend time at
your place on the weekends.  And you come over here on the weeknights, at least
some of them.  Why can’t you be satisfied with that for the time being?”

I guess I’ll have to be
, thought Tomas, now
wondering more than ever how his proposal would go over.  What if she thought
he was pressuring her, trying to make her give up her life.

“Oh, don’t be so sad,”
she said, rolling over and facing him, placing both hands on his chest.  “We’ve
got each other, we have tonight, and the future looks bright for the two of
us.”

For some reason those
words sent a shiver down Tomas’ spine.  A shiver of dread.

Chapter Seven

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain -
and most fools do. Benjamin Franklin

DECEMBER 26
^TH
, 1002.  CAPITULUM,
JEWEL.  D-6.

“Jennifer,” yelled Sean
as he walked into their living area.  This was a private room, large enough to
entertain a score of people among lavish furnishings, but only open to personal
friends of the Emperor and his wife.
 
The trappings of Christmas still
occupied the room.  A fresh cut tree that was still giving off the wholesome
odor of pine, decorations that had been in the family for generations adorning
it.  Some presents, unwrapped and scattered about.  The servants had, of
course, cleaned up the wrapping paper and other trash.  Not everyone in the
Empire celebrated this holiday.  In fact, it was little known on whole worlds,
those supporting population majorities of other faiths.  As Reformed Catholics,
the Imperial Family had followed the tradition since the founding of the
Empire, even the non-believers among them.

“I’m in the nursery,” she
called back, her voice carrying over the cries of a baby.

Sean smiled and headed
for the room that had been converted into a nursery for the twin boys.  The
room was finished in boy blue, with numerous cartoon characters on the walls. 
Jennifer knelt on the floor beside a small apparatus used for holding the
babies in place in the warm water of the small bath.  She had a soapy sponge in
her hand, and was rubbing over the back of the baby that was in the water,
holding his head up with the other hand.  The baby was not really crying in
fear or anger.  They both had gotten over that reaction to the bath, but
Augustine still complained when he was made to do something that wasn’t his idea. 
So he was irritated and showing his displeasure.

Sean looked into one of
the twin cribs as he passed by.   Glen was wide awake, looking at the mobile
hanging overhead as he kicked his legs and waved his chubby little arms. 
Frog’s legs were what Sean thought of when he saw his children lying on their
backs.  Bow legged little skinny limbs that made them seem to serve no useful
purpose but to get in the way of whatever the care givers were trying to do. 
Glen was smiling and cooing, and the Emperor was once again struck by the very
different personalities of the physically identical boys.

“You could have a nanny
do that, you know,” said Sean, kneeling down next to his wife and kissing her
on the cheek.

“I enjoy doing this,” she
said, finishing with the sponge, then ladling water over the soapy skin of the
infant with that same hand.  “They’re my babies, and I want them to bond with
me.”

Sean had to admit that
the babies had bonded with their mom.  Though he had to think that they weren’t
just his and Jennifer’s children.  They were the legacy of the Empire, the hope
of the future, if there was to be one.

“Where are the guardian
agents?”

“I told them I wanted to
be alone with my children,” said Jennifer, looking at her husband with a
frown.  “I know they’re necessary, but I really don’t like them looking over my
shoulder.  They make me feel like I’m a risk to my own children.  And this one
is done.”

Jennifer picked up
Augustine and carried him to the changing table, making sure to support his
head.  She lay the still complaining baby on the table and starting working on
him with the towel, making sure he was completely dry.

“Why don’t you dress your
son while I get the other little dirt monster into the bath.”

Sean nodded and pulled
out a disposable diaper, then arranged it under the baby.  He still didn’t have
the confidence of his wife, and was very careful with the child, probably more
than necessary.  But he had the diaper on in no time, then dressed the baby,
another skill that was just barely developed.  In one way it felt wrong for an
Emperor to have to spend time dressing a baby when they had people in the
palace to do that, well paid and very good at their jobs.  In another way it
felt so natural to take care of his own children, and it made Jennifer happy to
know that the father was taking such an interest in his children.

He looked over at his
wife as she worked on running a soapy cloth over Glen, who took it as calmly as
he took everything else.  Jennifer beamed at her son as she used a cloth that
might have been used on a common child whose parents were on the dole.  Most
people on a core world, and especially one like Jewel, would only have one
child per couple, if that, and then only later in life.  Just enough to keep
the population up on worlds that were already overcrowded.  He and Jennifer
could have as many children as they wanted, and he thought of the injustice of
such a thing.  If a commoner had more children than they were supposed to, they
would face severe penalties up to and including losing the children and having
their personalities wiped.  Every child he and Jennifer had would be celebrated
by the Empire.

Of course commoners could
always move to the frontier if they wanted large families, something that was
encouraged.  The frontier could be dangerous, especially during wartime, though
ten times more people had been killed so far on core worlds, two in particular,
than on all the frontier and developing worlds and spaceships put together. 
But the perception of less developed worlds being more at risk continued.

“Could you put him in his
crib?” his wife asked, looking over to check on how her husband had dressed the
baby and giving him a satisfied smile.

Sean put Augustine in his
bed, flat on his back, and the child was out in an instant.  The baby had a
full set of nanites in his body, as well as a basic implant, and would be
monitored at all times by one of the nurses.  There would be no accidental or
unexplained deaths with these twins, and the parents wouldn’t have to worry
about being woken in the night by crying babies needing to be fed or changed. 
That was one thing Sean had insisted on, since he needed his rest, and Jennifer
had been glad to go along with him on that insistence.

“Get this one dressed
while I get their bottles ready.”

Sean dressed Glen, again
amazed at the difference in the personalities of his children.  Augustine would
probably grow to become a feisty lad, one who would sit the throne with
authority, and probably need some tempering and control while he learned to
rule.  Glen would be calm and controlled on his own.  By precedent he would not
become the Emperor, unless something happened to his brother.  All because he
had been lined up wrong in the womb and had come out second.  Of course,
precedent had been overturned in the past, when the older sibling was
determined not to be competent for the post of ruler.  He didn’t think that
would happen with Augustine, especially since the experts were telling him that
his manner as a baby would not set his future personality as an adult.

Sean smiled at the baby
and received one in return.  He really couldn’t tell what the little being
would look like from his current baby features.   But he had seen the
geneticists’ representation of what they would look like at various ages, from
toddlers up to young men.  Both would have Sean’s complexion, a mixing of the
African-American Streeters, the Chinese Lees and the Russian Romanovs that were
dominant in his line.  Jennifer would add some lightening with her Northern
European complexion, but neither would ever be confused with pure Irish. 
Jennifer’s red hair and Sean’s ice blue eyes, looking out of strong faces that
reminded the Emperor more of his father’s than his own.

“I’m ready for bed,” said
Jennifer when she was finished putting up the bathing equipment.

“I’m ready for some sleep
myself,” said Sean.

“I didn’t say sleep,”
said Jennifer with a slight smile.  “That’s for after.”

After, Sean was too awake
to sleep, while Jennifer went under like a pole axed animal.   He retreated to
the terrace outside their room to stare into the night while he enjoyed a pipe,
an affectation he had decided to adopt after becoming a father.  He was alone,
or as alone as could be expected, to all appearances by himself, though he knew
that almost a platoon of armored Marines watched over him.  He went with the
illusion of solitude, staring out over his city, down the hill from the palace
complex.  Megascrapers dominated the twin downtown sections, rising up multiple
kilometers into the air like narrow fingers.  Most were dark at this time of
night with the exception of a few lights on in apartments and offices occupied
by night owls, and the ever present navigation markers.   Smaller skyscrapers
surrounded the megascraper areas, and the city sprawled out for hundreds of
kilometers in almost every direction.  The sky was still full of the traffic of
aircars, here and there an emergency vehicle with flashing lights running past
the queue.

In four days it would be
Empire Day, the traditional New Year’s Day by the standard calendar that was
used for Imperial business.  Government functions would be closed for the day,
all of the schools would be out, and the military parade would be held
downtown. 
And I’ll miss this year’s,
he thought.  Jennifer and the
babies would be the center of attraction, while he was off on a meeting with
the leaders of Crakista and Elysium on the homeworld of the reptilian species,
the first summit of all the major rulers since the war had engulfed them.  He
would be back soon, thanks to wormhole travel.  That thought brought a moment
of disquiet, not as powerful as a prophetic dream, but just a feeling that he
needed to take care of business and get back here as soon as possible.

Sean put the still
smoking pipe down in the holder and headed back into the house.  He walked back
into the house, ready for sleep and the start of a busy morning ahead, before
he walked through the wormhole net to the summit.

*     *     *

CAPITAL SYSTEM, CENTRAL DOCKS, DECEMBER 28
^TH
,
1002.  D-4.

“Wormhole traffic control
has cleared us for transit, ma’am,” said Captain Ahmed Shamir on the side
holo.  “We’ll be going through in seven minutes, Duchess.”

“Thank you, Captain,”
said Rear Admiral the Duchess Mei Lei, sitting back in a chair in her main
quarters and watching a holo image of the space they were moving through,
stroking the fur of the soft Himalayan cat in her lap.  Satin purred deeply in his
chest, his blue eyes locked onto the face of his mistress.  “And am I to assume
that the rest of the task group will be following us through.”

“All have been given
passage right behind us,” said Shamir, nodding his head.

“Then let me know when
central docks have us lined up for slips,” ordered Mei.  They were after all a
couple of days early, but the Admiral thought it might be good to get some of
her people leave on one of the double worlds, Jewel and New Terra, or for some
the terraformed moon of Ariel.

“At once, Duchess.”  The
holo went blank, her Captain knowing her well enough to tell when she was
through talking.

Mei sat back in her
chair, a hand on her cat to steady it as the seat reclined.  She still wasn’t
used to having Duchess on her name, but people sure liked using it.  She smiled
at the thought.  The war had been good to her, raising her two ranks and giving
her a patent of nobility.  That thought was followed by an attack of guilt, as
the faces of all the people she had lost came to her.  Starting with her Exec,
Xavier Jackson.  A man who would probably have his own ship by now, if not a
squadron, except he had done Mei’s job and had been the last person off the
ship, leading to his death when it catastrophically translated out of hyper.

Satin gave her a
plaintive meow, breaking her from her mood.  She stroked the cat and laughed. 
“I know.  You’re the important one here.”  Actually the little animal was doing
his job, keeping her from retreating into a morose haze of depression.

With a thought she
brought up a side holo, showing the ribbon of the
Donut
stretching
around the central black hole.  The hole had been cleaned up of any orbiting
matter except for the huge station, and the only indication that it was there
the distortion in space that caused it to be enveloped by a halo of starlight. 
The
Donut
itself was illuminated by the hundreds of millions of lighting
elements built into its structure, as well as the reflection from the halo.  It
all looked so tiny, until one remembered that the infinitesimally thin ribbon
was actually a hundred kilometers in width, and over fifty in thickness.  It
was the largest structure that humankind had ever attempted, if not the
greatest ever imagined.  Those would be the Dyson Spheres of legend, and the
Admiral wondered if humankind would ever attempt such a construction, which
would have to take thousands of years of effort.  She didn’t think so, since
the number of inhabitable planets, with those easily terraformed added in, was
almost limitless.

The
Donut
was the
greatest weapon of the war, taking over a century to construct, and giving the
Empire almost unlimited industrial capacity.  It was also the most heavily
defended asset in human space, more so than the capital, since it was the only
structure whose loss could mean defeat.  A lot of the experts were now calling
it unassailable, but Mei didn’t believe it.  There was no such thing.  As more
than one ancient strategist had said, any weapon developed that couldn’t be
destroyed would just attract the ultimate attention of the enemy, who would do
whatever was needed to destroy it.