Spirit of Empire 4: Sky Knights (30 page)

“His vision includes the Teacher forming a network of mentors who will spread out across the planet. These teachers will give everyone an equal chance to learn, which he hopes will make it harder for large or aggressive kingdoms to swallow the smaller ones. He expects disagreements, maybe even wars, but he hopes to keep them to a reasonable size since he claims that one day we'll be able to blow up our whole planet.”

She stood up, frowning in concentration. She was speaking for Gar, and she really had no right to do so. More important, she might not have it all right.

“My Lady, his vision might be at odds with your own because I’m certain he does not want the Empire to rule Tranxte. He wants us to rule ourselves. Actually, he envisions some form of an Empire presence that has as it's ultimate goal that of working itself out of existence. He hopes the day will come when Tranxte no longer needs or wants the Empire’s help. Whenever either of those two events comes about, the Empire must be willing to leave.”

"Not so easily accomplished when you factor people into the issue. Empire administrators and their staffs will build little domains of their own and settle in."

"Well, it won't be Gar's problem, but it will be mine to whatever extent I can influence things from my little province."

“Not his problem?”

Atiana smiled sadly. "Tranxte has become more a part of him than he knows, but when your main forces arrive here, everything will get turned over to General Stymes, including Gar’s vision of the future. He’ll no longer be Sky Lord. He’ll just be one officer among many.”

"Hmm. I see what you mean. I wonder if General Stymes has a similar view of things?"

"Gar assures me he is an excellent soldier and a good leader."

"My Queen has been fortunate in her choices of leaders, military and otherwise. A small handful of them have been visionaries.”

“If General Stymes ever succeeds in clearing Tranxte of gleasons, your Empire will send experts to help us start the process of rebuilding. I hope you send experts with vision.”

“I’m sorry to tell you this, but there are no experts to send, Atiana. We have people with ideas, people who would make wonderful advisors, but I like the idea of starting that process now, not waiting until the gleasons are gone. There is great power in bringing people together in crisis rather than afterward.”

Despite her blindness, her eyes seemed to focus on Atiana. "You're a queen, and I suspect you’re a good one. You even rule other kingdoms. That can't be an easy task."

"It was all set up by my father before the gleasons came. I haven't been tested yet."

"Surely you jest. Every minute of every day has been a test. You've led your kingdom through difficult times, you’ve adapted to strangers from the stars, and you're encouraging Colonel Havlock as he struggles to keep to the high road. Those are qualities of a good queen, maybe an excellent queen. I’m certain my words do not surprise you.”

Atiana sat down and fidgeted, suddenly uneasy. "Your point, My Lady?" she asked formally.

"You're an expert manipulator. I'll bet you guided your father for years without his knowing. Are you manipulating me as well?"

Atiana blushed furiously. Krys could not see it, but Atiana sensed correctly that Krys knew and was enjoying catching her out. But she would not lie to this Great One from the stars.

"Perhaps a little."

Krys chuckled, her whole face joining in the process. "You call this
a little
? You're mapping out the future for a whole world."

"We deserve to map out our futures, My Lady, and you have the power to help us. I’m not beneath groveling if that’s what it takes.”

“We’ll have no groveling here. Clear, intelligent discussion works better.”

“Well, I’ve described Gar’s vision, though I’m sure he’ll present it better when he gets here. You deserve to know that my part in his vision includes all the people of Tranxte, not just those under my immediate rule. I seek no advantage for my province.”

"We wouldn't be having this conversation if that was not the case, my dear. And it's Krys, remember?"

"Krys."

"So let's back up a little. The Empire has always had a complete hands off policy in regard to emerging worlds, meaning we do everything we can to prevent their learning about us. Occasionally a world slips through the cracks and discovers us. Tranxte and Earth are both in that unfortunate group, and my Empire is now attempting to guide two emerging words at the same time. Since there are no experts, everyone is learning right along with you and Gar. We’ll undoubtedly make mistakes along the way, but we want to limit those mistakes. Whatever we learn here might help us with Earth and vice versa. We have to find a mechanism for comparing notes as we go.”

Atiana swallowed hard. “You said you were keeping this other world’s existence a secret. Why are you telling me?”

“Because from the moment you came aboard, I knew you were a key player. I don’t see you fading into obscurity. One of the problems we have with helping Earth emerge is that many different nations are fighting for superiority. There is no one single person who can speak for all of Earth. The same thing could happen to Tranxte. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could change that?”

“You're inviting me to help?"

"In this business of running an Empire, people tend to invite themselves. I could see you becoming Tranxte’s voice.”

“I hope to, but let’s face it—I don't even know what a light-year is."

"I was only 16 when I was called, and I'd never been tested in life. You're far more mature. It's people like you who end up making all of this work. Without even having met him, I suspect this Colonel Havlock of yours is one as well."

"Where is this going?"

"There's someone I'd like you to meet. He's been listening to our conversation at my request. I lean heavily on him for advice, and Tranxte might truly benefit from his insight here."

Atiana stood. “Bring him in."

“We'll . . . it's not that simple. He's not human."

Atiana sat back down, her body ramrod straight. "I've been aboard the transporter. I'm over that shock."

“Hmm. I doubt it. Nevertheless, I want you to meet him. He’s a close friend who just happens to be the captain of my ship. Stven?”

The door to the corridor opened and Stven ambled in. Atiana sucked in a sharp breath as she took in the dragon. His fearsome head nearly brushed the ceiling as his nostrils tasted the air. Shiny, purple scales covered him from nose to tail, scales whose edges, tipped in bright yellow, created the illusion of a body flowing across the deck. Wise, purple, kindly eyes met her astonished look.

Stven lowered a knee as his head swooped down to her level, a dragon’s method of bowing. "Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty," he said in a mellow voice.

Atiana stood without thinking, her eyes taking in this awesome creature. She took a step toward him, then another and another, finally reaching out a hand to brush her fingers lightly across the scales on his head.

She looked directly into his eye and said, "You're so beautiful you take my breath away."

"Well! I think you'll fit right in," Stven answered. "You're supposed to fear me. I guess I'm failing as a dragon."

“Fear? I grew up with tales of dragons, magical creatures who always came to our rescue. Are you magical?"

"Sorry. No magic spells here, though I do breath fire from time to time."

"I can't speak for all of Tranxte, but you would be welcomed everywhere in my province."

Krys interrupted. ”My dear, you're speaking to a Rress. His people are one of the most ancient and revered species in our Empire. What’s more, he, too, is a Knight of the Realm."

A hand came to her mouth in horror. “Of course you would be. I'm forgetting myself." She backed away and went to a knee with her head bowed. "I'm so pleased to meet you, Sire."

"The pleasure is mine. We don't stand on formality much here. Please make yourself comfortable. I’d join you but dragons don't sit in chairs."

"Thank you, Sire."

“I’m not Sire aboard this ship. I’m Stven or Captain. Your conversation intrigues me. I have a feeling those experts who come to Tranxte might include some of my people—the Rress. We're widely recognized as educators and philosophers. Some of them will want to observe the process you’re going through here and possibly comment on it from time to time.”

“If they come, they will be welcomed. Their words will be heard, more because they’re dragons than because of what they say.”

"You say you can't speak for all of Tranxte. What if we asked you to do just that?"

A hand came to her throat. "I beg your pardon?"

“You heard me. I know you enough to know you know what I mean. Sir Galborae has been a good beginning, and I suspect he’ll remain an important part of the picture, but at heart he’s a soldier.”

“Be careful what you say, Sire. I’m a soldier too. I constantly find Sir Galborae one step ahead of me, and he has a remarkable ability to show up just where he’s needed the most. He’s far more than a soldier. He’s the glue holding all of us together, including the Sky Lord.”

“Hmm. I stand corrected. Such activities remind me of our First Knight. It sounds like Sir Galborae is everything we hoped he would be. Still, he’s not a queen. His words will not carry the same weight as yours.”

“I will do whatever I can, Sire, but the process we’re discussing will take generations. I’m already an old maid. Gar has brought together a group of six, including himself. Realistically, if we’re to succeed, our most important gift to Tranxte will be to find individuals to carry on the work we’ve begun.”

“Hmm. There is that, I admit. In the meantime, let me reiterate something you inferred earlier: the people of Tranxte will never be restored to what they were. I believe you’re right, Your Majesty. Furthermore, I believe that whatever your people are destined to become, the process of getting there has already begun.”

She frowned. "It looks a little different when the problem is right now instead of later."

"But conceptually nothing has changed. The problem exists, the process of resolving it has already begun, and there are no experts to whom you can call for help. From what you’ve told us, Colonel Havlock is already focused on this issue. He has, in fact, been focused on this big picture from the very beginning.” She stared at him, but she did not reply so he said gently, "He can’t do it alone. He’ll need help, a lot of help. I hear your people calling you, Your Majesty. Don't you?"

She stood up and started to turn away to consider his words, then she remembered she was not a queen presiding over her advisors. She was the guest of Great Ones. She turned back to him and said, "You know I do. Outside my province I have no authority, but still, I hear their call."

"Authority is not the problem. Your responsibilities as queen might be an impediment, but your position as queen legitimizes you.”

"I'm queen for life. The people of my province must come first.”

“If that’s the case, maybe you’re not the one we thought you were. We can't make that choice, nor will we."

Atiana turned to Krys. "Who's manipulating whom, My Lady?"

"All of us in this room are skilled manipulators, I'm afraid. You've been making a case for Colonel Havlock since the moment you boarded our ship. We, in turn, are making a case for the broader issue: your people—all of your people. You, Sir Galborae, and Colonel Havlock appear to have made a good start. Will you help them further the process?”

Stven nodded in agreement, meaning his whole neck rippled up and down, the light dancing along his scales. “Sir Galborae has already answered our call, Your Majesty, a call we made on behalf of his people and our own. We won't argue the point that others will answer our call—we have yet to meet your Colonel Havlock for example—but you . . . you we do call. We call you in the name of our Empire and on behalf of the people of Tranxte to lead them through their emergence. If you’ll allow me to be presumptive, I hope your leadership will one day help bring ‘the Tranxte that would have been’ into our Empire.”

Havlock shuttled up to
Resolve
and brought Galborae’s wife, Milae, and Sergeants Hawke and Kori with him. None of them had ever met a Knight, and none of them had taken the time to change into dress uniforms, under the circumstances a major discrepancy for a marine, though they had dressed in fresh body armor. Borg escorted the four visitors to an already crowded lounge where most of the crew awaited. Atiana and Galborae, with Limam by his side as always, waited with them.

Milae stopped in amazement at the sight of the great dragon, her mouth dropping open and tears filling her eyes to brimming. Tarn made introductions and invited everyone to sit down, though Galborae and Milae distanced themselves and remained standing. Hawke and Kori sat at attention on the very tips of their chairs, and Havlock was only slightly less at ease.

He asked the question uppermost on his mind at the first opportunity. “Sires, My Lady, am I to understand there are three Knights on the same ship? I didn't think it worked that way."

"Actually, Colonel, there are four Knights on this ship,” Krys answered. “Our artificial intelligence, whom we call George, was also knighted by the Queen." She sensed the marine’s confusion and was not surprised. "He's a special AI. The Queen would not be alive today without his good judgement. George?"

"At your service, My Lady. Colonel Havlock . . .Teacher . . . Healers, welcome aboard. We know your stories and we're proud to serve beside you. I might mention that our crew includes two admirals. We're not exactly a standard ship of the line."

Havlock did a double-take. Almost afraid of the answer, he asked, "George, is the Queen here?"

No, sir, but I believe that day is not far off."

"Define I."

"No problem, Colonel. I know very well who I am. Your First Knight gave me my name, and believe me when I say I understand your confusion. Perhaps I can best explain by telling you I am not entirely of Empire manufacture. I suggest you do not dig deeper at the moment."

"It's probably fair to assume a suggestion from a knighted AI is an order?”

"In this case, yes, but you'll find us open minded about most things. We are definitely not here to instruct you. We are here to counsel and learn."

Havlock shook his head. Was he really holding a conversation with an AI?

Captain Stven rescued him from his own thoughts. "Colonel, I'm intrigued by something Queen Atiana said yesterday. She claims you not only spoke with a gleason but that you want to save them. Out of the whole Empire, I believe you stand alone in that belief."

"That's possible, Sire. I admit to some incredulity myself. Don't worry. It will not color my first responsibility here which is to help clear them from this world."

"Au contraire, Sky Lord. I hope you’ll accept my command that it become a first-order responsibility. The solution you seek is precisely what your Queen would demand of you if she was here. On a personal note, I find it a very Rress-like solution. I wish I had seen the issue in the same fullness you have."

"Sire?"

"You heard me. My further advice is that you take a pat on the back when you can. They come rarely enough. How do you intend to 'save' the gleasons?"

"I don't have a clue, Sire. In my mind I've imagined finding a planet somewhere that would actually benefit from their presence." He looked down for a moment, then back up with his arms spread wide. “Trust me, Sire. I know how ridiculous it sounds.”

"But despite its improbability, you continue to hope."

"I do, Sire. Consider the gleasons' home world. According to the gleason we spoke to, things are very bad there. They would welcome fresh meat, and it's a big galaxy out there—there could well be another world in similar straits. While I don’t condone rampant killing for killing’s sake, it’s not my place to judge them.”

Stven nodded. "Since hearing your remarkable story from Queen Atiana, George has been running a search. So far he’s come up empty."

Havlock's shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry to hear that." He lifted his head and spoke to the room. "Will you keep searching, Sire?"

"I will, Colonel. There's a lot of unexplored galaxy out there."

"Thank you."

Stven continued. "We're led to believe that you've taken your responsibilities far beyond the loosest possible interpretation of your orders. I'm referring here to your plans for the planet after General Stymes arrives." His head swung over slightly to take in Sergeants Hawke and Kori. “You are known here as the Teacher and the Healer. You, too, have gone far outside the parameters of your assigned duties.”

Though Stven was a great Knight, both of them lifted jaws in defiance at his words.

Havlock stood and looked to Atiana with sadness in his eyes. He said to her, “I had thought you understood, Your Majesty."

“I understand more than you think, Sky Lord. Hear him out.”

He stared at her for a moment, then turned back to Stven. "Sire, they’re volunteers acting under my direct orders."

“I don’t doubt it, but I prefer to think of it as acting within the highest standards of service to our Empire. They saw a need and responded in a way that made sense. I might add that, according to Queen Atiana, they responded quite effectively. Our Queen will hear of it, and she will be pleased."

Jaws dropped on all three of them. Havlock was the first to respond. “You support our activities?"

"I applaud them, Colonel. All of you have acted outside the boundaries placed around you by your positions within the Imperial Marines, but all of you have acted in a way that makes me proud."

Stven turned to Sergeant Hawke. "Do you like what you're doing, or would you prefer to return to your piloting duties?"

Hawke stood. "I've made a personal investment in this world, Sire. I've been trying to find a way to continue what I've been doing after General Stymes arrives. It doesn't seem likely."

"It's far outside the realm of the Imperial Marines, I agree. You could always resign and throw in with Queen Atiana."

Hawke glanced furtively toward Havlock, then to Sergeant Kori. Her lips pursed, but she nodded her head ever so slightly. Hawke returned his focus to Stven. "Sergeant Kori and I both discussed that very thing, Sire. We're pretty sure she'd take us on, but marines don’t resign in the middle of a deployment."

Stven nodded. "There is that, I agree, and it's a big one. It's just as well. If you did resign, you'd probably be stuck here forever."

"There are far worse fates, Sire, even throwing gleasons into the pot. With our duties, forever isn't likely to be all that long anyway. Had it been possible, it’s a price we were willing to pay."

A small puff escaped from Stven. He ignored it, though no one else could. Hands waved through the air to clear away the obnoxious odor. “Danger? What danger? I was under the impression you two dealt on diplomatic levels with various kingdoms."

“Uh . . . well, Sire . . . diplomacy here comes out of a gun. I take whichever nobles are willing to go with me and we join one of our caravans. They learn how to use our weapons and they learn how to kill gleasons. It’s never a sure thing. We’ve had losses, both among our marines and among the locals.”

"If your deployment was scheduled to end tomorrow, what would you do?"

Hawke glanced apprehensively toward Havlock. "Sorry, sir." He turned back to Stven and squared his shoulders. "I'd resign and stay here."

“Every marine who serves here will get special attention later. Let’s face it—out of the whole Empire, how many marines will ever be able to say they fought gleasons? Your very presence here has opened doors to a future of your choosing in the Imperial Marines.”

Hawke did not hesitate. "Sire, when will another opportunity like this come along? We don't allow emerging worlds to know about us, so the opportunity to interact with one will never happen again, especially not for a marine. I’m good at what I'm doing, and I make a difference. I like making a difference.”

Stven turned to Sergeant Kori. "Your duties place you in danger as well?"

She stood up. "They did at first, Sire. Now, only during major battles, though life in the cities I visit can be worse in a way. I'm training other healers, and some of that training takes place on the battlements during attacks. It's always confusing and dangerous when a gleason makes it over the wall. I never go anywhere without my weapon. Besides, gleasons aren't the only danger here.”

"They're not?"

"No, Sire. Between wounds and rampant disease, I don't save everyone. Many a sword or knife in the hands of a grieving friend or relative has been swung at me and Milae."

"And you like this life?"

"Not all of it. The hours are long, it's dangerous and dirty and uncomfortable, but I like making a difference. There will be no end of local healers who could benefit from my teaching. To me, every life saved by a healer I trained is a life I saved. I will never willingly give up this calling.”

She looked toward Milae and said, “Ours is a team effort. Without Milae, our efforts would not be nearly as effective. She gets me into places that would not otherwise accept a sky knight, and her own medical abilities have come a long way.”

Stven shifted his gaze between the Healer and the Teacher, that gaze as stern as a dragon could make it. "Think hard on this, both of you. As Knights, we have the authority to reassign. Queen Atiana will gratefully accept your services." He moved his focus to Havlock. "What do you think, Colonel?"

Havlock felt heat rising up through his body and his vision narrowed. Despite the presence of four Knights, he leaned back on the couch and shut out the rest of the room while he thought. When he returned to the room, he sat up and said, "Please excuse my rudeness, Sire."

"Deep thoughts are exactly what we need here. You’re troubled."

Havlock frowned at the Knight’s choice of words. "It won't work, Sire. At least not very well. They'll both need equipment, supplies, transportation, and eventually classrooms and a support structure. Queen Atiana can’t provide those things on the scale they’ll need. In order for him to make the impact he wants to make, Sergeant Hawke needs the respect and unfettered backing of the Empire’s local commander. He might have that, but he might not. As for Sergeant Kori, what she really needs is the resources to teach herself out of a job. Her students could become teachers and doctors themselves, not just healers.”

"How would you envision things here in 50 or 100 or 300 years?” Stven asked.

Havlock blinked, caught off guard by the question. He peered hard at Stven and asked a question of his own. “I’d heard you Knights take the long view.”

"We take whatever view we have to take in order to resolve the problem we're dealing with. I'm asking for your advice here."

“Can I have some time to think about it?”

“Come, Colonel. I won't believe you haven't given it some thought already. A lot of thought.”

Havlock had, in fact, given the issue plenty of thought, but it was complicated. “Sire, we've already discussed the gleasons. They have to be eliminated or sent away. During that process, the Imperial Marines will make contact with as many kingdoms as they can. Since Sergeants Hawke and Kori can’t be everywhere at once, they’ll have to train some of General Stymes’ forces to do what they’ve been doing. A lot of that training will be in the field. Queen Atiana is our best diplomat, but she can't be everywhere at once either and her own people need her.”

He glanced over to Atiana—the two of them had discussed these very issues—then back to Sir Stven. “Once the immediate threat ends, once we’ve dealt with the gleasons, our relationship with the various kings and queens will change. Right now we’re accepted because we’re killing gleasons—the details about who we are and where we've come from are less important than the results—but the day will come when we have to explain ourselves. Beyond that, we have to figure out how to enrich local populations in a controlled manner. They’ll need mentoring and guidance, guidance which always focuses on the long term. It won't be easy duty either. There will be disagreements and disputes, possibly wars when we fail, and those wars will be fought with weapons the Empire issued to locals to fight the gleasons. If we’d had the foresight, we’d have given them weapons that could be disabled with a signal from orbit if and when things got out of hand.”

He frowned at the oversight, though he had sent several messenger drones to General Stymes, and a request for such modified weapons had gone on each one of them. His gaze moved between the Knights, then to each of his people. It settled on Atiana, though he continued speaking to Stven.

“Let’s face it. Tranxte’s future is pretty much ordained: they’ll eventually emerge and enter the Empire. But on that day, will it be them, or will it be an Empire creation we welcome into the fold?”

He shifted his gaze back to Stven. “Sire, I’d like to think we’re smart enough to create an environment here that forces the people of Tranxte to choose their own way, that lets the people of Tranxte be who and what they choose to be, not what the Empire chooses for them. To do that, we’ll need expert advice and a place to keep those experts out of harms way while they work. The locals here have already seen some of our technology, and I don’t just mean our weapons. They’ve seen lights that don’t require flame, they’ve seen our ships that fly through the air, and they’ve used our radios and translator devices. We'll probably end up giving them other technology, but we can't give it just to some. We have to give it to everyone at the same time. That's going to take a lot of coordination, and it will require a large budget.