Hidden Empire (84 page)

Okiah, Kotto
—Jhy Okiah’s youngest son, brash inventor who designed Isperos colony.

Okiah, Marta
—Berndt Okiah’s wife.

Oncier
—gas-giant planet, test site of the Klikiss Torch.

Osquivel
—ringed gas planet, site of secret Roamer shipyards.

Otema
—old green priest, ambassador from Theroc to Earth; later, sent to Ildira.

OX
—Teacher compy, one of the oldest Earth robots. Served aboard
Peary
.

pair-pear
—Theron fruit, grows double on trees.

Palisade
—Hansa colony world.

Pasternak, Shareen
—chief of Welyr skymine.

Peary
—one of the eleven generation ships from Earth, first to depart.

Pellidor, Franz
—assistant to Basil Wenceslas, an “expediter.”

pepperflower tea
—Roamer beverage.

Peroni, Denn
—Cesca’s father.

Peroni, Francesca
—Roamer woman, in training to become next Speaker, betrothed to Ross Tamblyn.

perrin seed
—Theron nut.

Peter, Prince
—successor to Old King Frederick.

Petrov
—Roamer clan.

platcom
—Platform Commander, chief’s rank aboard Thun-derhead weapons platform in EDF.

Plumas
—frozen moon with deep liquid oceans, site of Tamblyn clan water industry.

Prime Designate
—eldest son and heir-apparent of Ildiran Mage-Imperator.

Prism Palace
—dwelling of the Ildiran Mage-Imperator.

Ptoro
—gas-giant planet, site of Crim Tylar’s skymine.

pucker
—sour Theron fruit.

Pym
—abandoned Klikiss world.

Qronha
—a close binary system, two of the Ildiran “seven suns.” Contains two habitable planets and one gas giant (Qronha 3).

Qul
—Ildiran military rank, commander of a maniple, or forty-nine ships.

Rada
—Nira’s younger sister.

Ramah
—Terran colony world, settled mainly by Islamic pilgrims.

reconnaissance outrigger
—fast intelligence-gathering ship in Earth Defense Forces.

Relleker
—Terran colony world, popular as a resort.

rememberer
—member of the Ildiran historian kith.

Remora
—small attack ship in Earth Defense Forces.

Rendezvous
—inhabited asteroid cluster, hidden center of Roamer government.

Reynald
—eldest son of Father Idriss and Mother Alexa.

Rheindic Co
—abandoned Klikiss world, site of major excavation by the Colicoses.

rindberry
—Theron fruit.

Roamers
—loose confederation of independent humans, primary producers of ekti stardrive fuel.

Roberts, Branson
—former husband of Rlinda Kett.

Robinson, Madeleine
—early planetary prospector. She and her two sons discovered Klikiss ruins and activated robots on Llaro.

Rysa’h
—Hyrillka Designate, third son of Mage-Imperator.

Saga of Seven Suns
—historical and legendary epic of the Ildiran civilization.

saltnut
—Theron nut.

Sarein
—eldest daughter of Father Idriss and Mother Alexa.

scaly
—Ildiran kith, desert dwellers.

seedberry
—Theron fruit.

Septa
—small battle group of seven ships in the Ildiran Solar Navy.

Septar
—commander of a septa.

Serizawa, Dr. Gerald
—scientist in charge of the Klikiss Torch experiment at Oncier.

Shana Rei
—legendary “creatures of darkness” in
Saga of Seven Suns
.

shizz
—expletive.

Sirix
—Klikiss robot at Rheindic Co xeno-archaeology dig.

skymine
—ekti-harvesting facility in gas-giant clouds, usually operated by Roamers.

skypearl
—rare metallic black gems found inside ekti reactors.

Sorengaard, Rand
—renegade Roamer pirate.

Speaker
—political leader of the Roamers.

Spiral Arm
—the section of the Milky Way Galaxy settled by the Ildiran Empire and Terran colonies.

splinter colony
—Ildiran colony that meets minimum population requirements.

splurtberry
—Theron fruit.

spreadnut
—Theron nut.

stargames
—a navigational-challenge game popular among Roamers.

streamer
—fast single ship in Ildiran Solar Navy.

Stroganov
—one of the eleven generation ships from Earth, ninth to depart.

Stromo, Admiral Lev
—Admiral in Earth Defense Forces.

Sweeney, Dahlia
—DD’s first owner.

Sweeney, Marianna
—Dahlia’s daughter, DD’s second owner.

swimmer
—Ildiran kith, water dwellers.

Tal
—military rank in Ildiran Solar Navy, cohort commander.

Talbun
—old green priest on Corvus Landing.

Tamblyn, Bram
—Roamer, old scion of Tamblyn clan, father of Ross, Jess, and Tasia.

Tamblyn, Caleb
—one of Jess’s uncles, brother to Bram.

Tamblyn, Jess
—Roamer, second son of Bram Tamblyn.

Tamblyn, Ross
—Roamer, estranged oldest son of Bram Tamblyn and chief of Blue Sky Mine at Golgen.

Tamblyn, Tasia
—Roamer, young daughter of Bram Tamblyn.

telink
—instantaneous communication used by green priests.

Terran Hanseatic League
—commerce-based government of Earth and Terran colonies.

Theroc
—jungle planet, home of the worldforest.

Theron
—a native of Theroc.

thism
—faint racial telepathic link from Mage-Imperator to the Ildiran people.

Thor’h
—eldest noble-born son of Jora’h, destined to become the next Prime Designate.

Throne Hall
—the King’s main receiving room in the Whisper Palace.

Thunderhead
—mobile weapons platform in Earth Defense Forces.

Trade Standard
—common language used in Hanseatic League.

transgate
—hydrogue point-to-point transportation system.

treeling
—a small worldtree sapling, often transported in an ornate pot.

troop carrier
—personnel transport ship in Ildiran Solar Navy.

Tylar, Crim
—Roamer skyminer on Ptoro.

Unison
—standardized government-sponsored religion for official activities on Earth.

UR
—Roamer compy, Governess-model, at Rendezvous.

Vao’sh
—Ildiran rememberer.

Vichy
—one of the eleven generation ships from Earth, eighth to depart.

Voracious Curiosity
—Rlinda Kett’s merchant ship.

warglobe
—hydrogue spherical attack vessel.

warliner
—largest class of Ildiran battleship.

Welyr
—gas giant, site of Roamer skymine destroyed by hydrogues.

Wen, Thara
—early settler on Theroc, from generation ship
Caillié
. First person to become linked with worldforest.

Wenceslas, Basil
—Chairman of the Terran Hanseatic League.

Whisper Palace
—magnificent seat of the Hansa government.

worldforest
—the interconnected, semisentient forest based on Theroc.

worldtree
—a separate tree in the interconnected, semisentient forest based on Theroc.

worm hive
—large nest built by hive worms on Theroc, spacious enough to be used for human habitation.

wyvern
—large flying predator on Theroc.

Yarrod
—green priest, younger brother of Mother Alexa.

Yreka
—fringe Terran colony world.

Yura’h
—previous Mage-Imperator, ruled at time of first encounter with human generation ships.

Zan’nh
—Ildiran officer, eldest son of Prime Designate Jora’h.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

K
EVIN
J. A
NDERSON’S
novels, including
Hopscotch, Climbing Olympus
, and
Blindfold
, have sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide. Nominated for the Nebula, Bram Stoker, and
SFX
Reader’s Choice Awards, Anderson established the Guinness world record for the largest single-author book signing. Kevin
J
. Anderson lives in Colorado. He welcomes reader feedback via his Web site at www.wordfire.com. Watch for Book 2 of this series,
A Forest of Stars
, available in July 2003.

1

JESS TAMBLYN

A
cross the Spiral Arm, the gas-giant planets held secrets, dangers, and treasure. For a century and a half, harvesting vital
stardrive fuel from the cloud worlds had been a lucrative business for the Roamers.

Five years before, though, that had all changed.

Like vicious guard dogs, the destructive hydrogues had forbidden all skymines from approaching the gas giants they claimed
as their territory. The embargo had crippled the Roamer economy, the Terran Hanseatic League, and the Ildiran Empire. Many
brave or foolish entrepreneurs had defied the hydrogues’ ultimatum. They had paid with their lives. Dozens of skymines were
destroyed. The deep-core aliens were unstoppable and ruthless.

But when facing desperate situations, Roamers refused to give up. Instead, they changed tactics, surviving—and thriving—through
innovation.

“The old Speaker always told us that challenges redefine the parameters of success,” Jess Tamblyn said over the open comm,
taking his lookout ship into position above the deceptively peaceful-looking gas giant Welyr.

“By damn, Jess,” Del Kellum transmitted with just a touch of annoyance, “if I wanted to be pampered, I’d live on
Earth.”

Kellum, an older clan leader and hands-on industrialist, signaled to the converging fast-dive scoop ships. The cluster of
modified “blitzkrieg” skymines and a hodgepodge of small lookout craft gathered at what they hoped was a safe distance above
the coppery planet. No one knew how far away the hydrogues could detect trespassing cloud thieves, but they had long since
given up playing it safe. In the end, all life was a gamble, and human civilization could not survive without stardrive fuel.

The ekti-scavenging crew powered up their huge scoops and containers, ready for a concerted plunge into the thick cloud decks.
Hit-and-run. Their supercharged engines glowed warm. Their pilots sweated. Ready.

Alone in his lookout ship, Jess flexed his hands on the cockpit controls. “Prepare to come from all sides. Move in fast, gulp
a bellyful, and head for safety. We don’t know how long the drogue bastards will give us.”

After the big harvesting ships acknowledged, they dropped like hawks after prey. What once had been a routine industrial process
had become a commando operation in a war zone.

When presented with the hydrogue ultimatum, daring Roamer engineers had redesigned traditional skymining facilities. They
had accomplished a lot in five years. The new blitzkrieg scoops had giant engines, superefficient ekti reactors, and detachable
cargo tanks like a cluster of grapes. Once each tank was filled, it could be launched up to a retrieval point, passing off
the harvested ekti a bit at a time without losing a full cargo load if—
when
—the hydrogues came after them.

Kellum transmitted, “The Big Goose thinks we’re shiftless bandits. By damn, let’s give the drogues the same impression.”

The Hansa—the “Big Goose”—as well as the Ildiran Empire paid dearly for every drop of stardrive fuel. As ekti supplies dwindled
year after year, prices skyrocketed to a point that Roamers considered the risk acceptable.

Five of the modified scoops now dispersed across the atmosphere, then plunged into Welyr’s clouds, storm up-wellings, and
vanishingly thin winds. With giant funnel maws open, the blitzkrieg scoops roared through storm systems at top speed. They
gobbled resources, compressing the excess into hydrogen holding tanks while secondary ekti reactors processed the gas.

As he flew his lookout mission, like a man in the crow’s nest of an ancient pirate ship, Jess deployed floating sensors into
Welyr’s soupy clouds. The buoys would detect any large ships rising from the depths. The sensors might give only a few minutes’
warning, but the daredevils could retreat quickly enough.

Jess knew that it did no good to fight. The Ildiran Solar Navy and the Hansa EDF had demonstrated that lesson often enough.
At the first sign of the enemy’s arrival, his renegade harvesters would turn and run with whatever ekti they’d managed to
grab.