First Deployment (Corporate Marines Book 3) Page 19

  That outpost was the Empire’s. That meant that whoever had attacked and destroyed it had attacked the Empire. The emperor, as the steward of the Kah-Choo Empire, had just been indirectly attacked by some alien race.

  Just thinking about it made Shiv’s lip curl back and his skin shiver, making his fur stand on end.

  He had to calm himself. It would not do to have a member of the emperor’s household come into the garden and see him ruffled like that. He was a senior member of his clan and they were being tasked with supervising the first strike against the enemy threat. He would not disgrace or dishonour his clan, his people, or the emperor by being impatient.

  He settled down in the warrior’s stance with his eyes closed and slowed his breathing while slowly chanting the short hunter’s mantra in the back of his mind. When he finished, he opened his eyes and slowly looked around.

  His fur was settled and he could feel the peace of the warrior upon him. He knew that the summons to the imperial city and the flight with the briefing from an aide had unsettled him. Everyone in the clan hierarchy knew about the strikes on their outposts. They also knew that a second strike had narrowly been avoided, but there were no details on that yet. Nor would there be, he knew. Security was tight in the empire, and there were good reasons for that.

  Shiv took a careful breath in. It would not do to lose that sense of calm. He focused on the garden instead.

  This garden was well known and it represented the emperor as much as the capital city and the palace did. It had stood for a thousand years and had originally been used solely by the emperor’s immediate family. The Kah-Choo had always had difficulty staying calm. Every emperor was wise. The first recorded emperor had ordered the creation of the garden as a tool to soothe the mind and the soul.

  The garden was thousands of square krens in size. Around the outside was a path that was wide enough for a war braarck with full palanquin on the back. There was no way such a dirty, foul animal would have been allowed inside the imperial quarters. But around the edge were places to sit and discuss.

  Shiv could just imagine some of the emperor’s courtesans reclining at one of these tables while sipping fermented yash juice. He could feel the almost mystical power of the room calling him in. But he would not move.

  This garden was the same as it had been a thousand years ago. Plants were replaced and grounds reset, but the layout had remained constant since its creation. There was a sense of strength and continuity in these lands.

  The dome overhead was specially built and created a microclimate so that no matter what the weather was like outside, the garden was constant.

  It was only the last emperor who had started bringing in his most trusted and worthy advisors and even allies to sit and discuss situations in the garden.

  Even as a senior member of a worthy clan that had distinguished itself during the colonization of their third word, Kriilesh-RRilen or Home Four, he was permitted access to the garden. He only had so much latitude while waiting for the emperor, however. The imperial guards that were standing inside and outside were there to show the emperor’s war face. The fact that they were armed with the latest flechette guns out in the halls and some sort of projectile weapons that he did not recognize inside the garden indicated that, while understanding, the emperor—and by extension, the empire—was not tolerant.

  No one had ever made an attempt on the emperor’s life. The guards were not there to protect, but to remove dishonour. No one ever insulted the emperor or cast doubts on his abilities. If they did, the guards would take care of them. Quickly and messily.

  Shiv could feel the relaxation spreading through his body. He had been escorted to this quiet corner of the garden and the two guards he could see could politely pretended not to be his escort. Soon enough someone higher would come along, and then this would begin. If the rumours that he had heard from within the clan were correct, then he already had an idea of what he should bring.

  The doors behind him slid open with a soft rustling and he turned slowly so as not to appear rushed.

  There were three high-ranking members of the household in front of him just stepping onto the path.

  The first was huge and obviously of the warrior class. He looked twice as tall as the average member of the race, like he ate new recruits for his first meal every day. His fur was long and black with some brown highlights. Around his one eye was a patch of almost red fur. The other side of his face had a small scar on the cheek where the fur no longer grew.

  Shiv thought back to the fairy tales that he had been told about experiments done on the older clan members of TsshhelK. Stories that he had heard as a cub with all his friends. How the clan was blessed as the first among them all so their people were larger, stronger, and smarter than all the others. It was easy to believe the stories when one saw some of the members of the clan.

  This one was clad in ceremonial armour and carrying the traditional sword and knives of his class.

  Shiv bowed deeply to the tall Kah-Choo, who simply stepped to the side to allow the others to follow. Shiv noticed that his paw never left the handle of the sword, which did not look ceremonial at all. He had to make a conscious effort not to sniff the air reflexively at the sheer awe that the huge warrior caused.

  The next member was much smaller and female, which was not common to see. Females of their race were to be protected and stayed close to home and clan grounds. To be out showed great power and confidence. It had not been that long ago that females from other clans were snatched as mates if they were away from clan grounds. The fear of inbreeding was real, but clan lines were strong.

  As she stepped in, she considered Shiv with a contemplative air. She kept watching him as she stepped to the side.

  He found it difficult to take his eyes off of her. She was a bit shorter than normal and looked incredibly delicate. Her fur had a slight reddish tinge all the way around and she had white patches on her arm that he could just see. She had a presence, and he could see that there was no hesitation in her. She was wearing no jewellery or ornamentation, which was strange too. The higher your status, the better the quality of the jewels that you wore.

  Then he saw it. The short-bladed weapon at her waist. An honour weapon. She needed no one to stand for her; that weapon meant that she would and had killed in defence of honour before.

  The third member stepped through the doorway and as soon as Shiv saw the symbol on his chest plate, he threw himself down to the floor on both knees and stayed there with bowed head.

  Shiv had only laid eyes on the last one for a second. He was of average height with fur a mix of brown and black; one ear looked damaged and he otherwise looked normal. Wearing the ceremonial armour of a house guard, he also had one thing that Shiv had never seen before, but he recognized it nonetheless: the emperor’s personal mark on an emblem attached to his chest plate.

  That mark identified him as a trusted servant of the emperor. More importantly, it meant that he, in fact, stood as a direct representative of the emperor. Anything that he saw or heard would be as if it were said to the emperor himself. Anything he said came from the emperor. If anyone raised a hand or disagreed with him, then it was as if someone had caused a slight to the emperor.

  When the emperor walked in, all the people stopped what they were doing and went to full obeisance, holding that until he had left. When in public, a privileged servant carrying the symbol would have everyone in the area taking a knee until the servant had passed.

  In this case, Shiv knew what the meeting was about and that the servant was also a highly valued aide. Going to both knees was the safest path to take until he was told how to react.

  He could hear the soft shuffling of feet and then the heavier feet of the warrior as he walked to the door and closed it.

  A soft voice spoke. “Valued Shiv, please stand. You have done a great honour to your clan and your people by arrivi
ng as quickly as you did in the city. You were out on the moon yesterday on a technical visit evaluating elements of our training, were you not?”

  Shiv smoothly rose to his feet but kept his eyes down, looking just below the symbol on the servant or aide’s chest. He also carefully kept his paws away from his symbolic weapons. No one dared touch a weapon in the emperor’s presence unless he wished to visit his ancestors early and explain his dishonour.

  “Yes, Lord. I was at the training facility watching our current class of raiders working on practice missions at the fourth site in the dark crater.”

  That same voice spoke again. “Please, Shiv, my eyes are up here. From this point forward in this conversation, treat me as another soldier.” Shiv nodded and carefully raised his face to look the other in the eyes. The face was not harsh; it was calm. He had noticed, though, that the sword at the belt was a simple soldier’s sword, yet it had seen use.

  He also noticed that the female seemed to be approving and the other huge warrior didn’t appear interested at all. He simply watched Shiv, carefully and appraisingly. As if Shiv would be interesting to dissect.

  The Lord continued. “So what did you think of this training that was occurring in the dark crater training area?”

  Shiv looked him in the face and considered. There were traps within honest questions and he was not used to dealing with the delicate nature of the imperial city, where how you ate a meal could disgrace you.

  He took a deep breath. “Lord, I thought the training was good as far as it went. Yet I think it was a bit too unrealistic for the candidates.”

  The female had tilted her head to the side. Much worse, the warrior was stroking his sword hilt with a finger.

  The Lord considered Shiv carefully and continued. “Explain yourself, then, so that I may better understand what you mean. Are you saying the training is not realistic and our troops will be poorly trained?”

  Shiv took another slow breath and started chanting the slow mantra in the back of his head again. The warrior had shifted position and he could see the two distant guards eyeing the party. He didn’t doubt that if anything happened, they could hit him at three times the distance with their weapons in such a way that he would fall and complement the artistic arrangement of the garden.

  “Lord, I have seen several cycles of the training for the raiders and the training itself is very realistic. I could not ask for a better training environment if I myself was to go out as leader of the newly trained troops. My concern is the equipment that they are issued in the training.”

  The warrior was still considering Shiv and running a finger up and down the hilt of his sword. The female had narrowed her eyes and was clearly evaluating him as if he were to be dinner. The Lord simply watched him with a curious expression on his face.

  Shiv knew his duty was to be honest and to smooth out the rough parts of his speech to what he thought would be more appealing in his presentation. Form over substance. But he was no courtier. He was a simple soldier.

  “Lord, the candidates are issued the very latest equipment and train with all the latest technology that the imperial forces are issued. Yet these are raiders. The front-line troops at the edge of our space do not work with that technology. They work with the previous generation’s technology because everyone is trained on it. The glitches that sometimes occur have been dealt with many times and the limited space on a starship means ingenuity for repair is a must. The latest technology works well on worlds and bases where we can maintain that equipment. Finally, there is not enough of the new technology to issue to everyone. Having a mixture on a raider ship would cause even more problems with maintenance and repairs.” He bowed his head quietly and felt his fur quiver and twitch.

  “So then, Shiv. You feel comfortable questioning the training methods of the imperial forces that have been in place for years. Very well, then. How is this problem fixed? Or are you simply complaining like a young cub that has had its ears smacked by a bigger cub?”

  His head jerked up and he looked at the Lord. The expression was serious.

  “Lord, I would have all candidates train on the last generation of equipment. Then I would identify those units that will be issued the new equipment and run shorter training courses to bring them up to speed on the new equipment and tactics that go with it. Entire units could then be properly outfitted and the supply issues that sometimes arise would not be as much of a factor.”

  Shiv bowed his head again and waited for the worst.

  The female spoke next. “Oh ‘valued’ Shiv.” He could hear a forced cheer in her voice. He could feel his ears pulling back instinctively while he waited for the teeth to go for his throat. “I may have noticed in reviewing your equipment logs that all of your new armour and weapons are logged as having ‘problems’ and that your technicians—accidentally, I am quite sure—signed off that the armour would need to be returned to the factory for overhaul.” The pause was longer this time. “Do you know what the factory technicians discovered when they reviewed the new armour from your unit?”

  She moved closer and he could see her feet. She cleared her throat and Shiv looked up at her. “I am not wearing the emperor’s emblem; you may keep looking me in the face. I was surprised when I talked to the technicians and they told me that the suits were all fine. Except for the fact that it seems that every backup receiver had been removed. I believe, if I remember the reports correctly, that the backup receiver has a number of issues and the recommendation was that every unit deploy with two spares, yet there is a shortage in the system. Did your people sell them on the black market or trade them for favours?”

  The look she was giving Shiv was almost feral.

  Shiv looked her in the eyes. “Neither, Lady. We gave them to another raider unit that has been issued that equipment.”

  The large warrior laughed loudly. “Well, Lord, I think you owe me lunch!”

  The Lord’s voice overrode the female’s and then he was sighing. “Now now, let’s not terrorize Shiv. Yes, Kaza, I do appear to have lost the bet to you and will buy you lunch. All the fresh meat you can eat until you look like a swollen cub’s toy.”

  Then he laughed and the other two joined him.

  Shiv looked around and his fur ruffled with agitation. The laughter did not sound mean, but that did not guarantee that he was not about to be cut down where he stood.

  The warrior, Kaza, raised his paw and spoke quickly. “The Representative was merely testing you, Shiv, to see what sort of Kah-Choo you were. The court is already aware of the issues with the equipment and there will shortly be a change in training similar to what you have suggested. It was a . . . political move to have all units issued the new equipment at once. A standard problem for the military since we first started using swords.”

  The female spoke up so softly that Shiv wasn’t quite sure he had heard her. Her voice did not carry past the four. “I can see that Shiv does not understand fully what is going on here. I will explain quickly. The third member sitting here does not exist anymore. The emperor has asked a boon of a loyal servant to effectively cease to exist as an individual and instead take on the mantle of the highest order. To become a shadow that allows the emperor to exist and make decisions elsewhere. That servant is no more. The name is gone. Yet a shadow is not the emperor. To let all high-ranked members know of what has happened, the shadow is simply called the Representative. Proper honour must be given and shown but the name cannot be given, ever. Do you understand, Shiv?”

  Shiv looked first at the nameless female and then at the shadow. “Lord . . . Representative, I will do as you command.” He felt his fur ruffle. To incorrectly refer to the shadow could mean instant execution for honour.

  The Lord—no, Representative—simply stared impassively into the distance and then spoke as if Shiv had not made an error. “Yes, Shiv. I needed to know the quality of the soldier that I was dealing with. We a
re going to a place that may see us all dead. I do not need someone who will simply agree with whatever I say. I need personnel that will do what they must to win. You are one of those.”

  The Representative continued. “I will let you know what has happened and what will happen. Later, Kaza will assist you in the choice of warriors and equipment. We will leave sooner than you would like, but later than the emperor wants.”

  He moved to a set of cushions set carefully out in a pattern and seemed to float down so that he was resting on the largest one. Kaza followed over and stood behind him, taking a guard position. His eyes never stopped moving and his finger was constantly stroking the sword handle still. He did not seem capable of relaxing.

  The female joined them, gracefully settling into a cross-legged position. I had seen thinkers use this position and understood it worked to free the mind from action and make a Kah-Choo consider the whole of a problem. Shiv had tried it once and had been up and moving again almost immediately.

  Shiv walked over and before he could hesitate with indecision on whether to sit or stand, the Representative had gestured for him to take the cushion in front of him. He was not as graceful when he sat, but his sword was not disturbed by his movements.

  The Representative put his paws together. “You know that the emperor owns everything that the Kah-Choo own. He is the steward that guides us as a species for our own good. Further, every outpost and base that we have established is the emperor’s. The warriors and armies of the empire are the guardians of the emperor’s lands and keep the peace with all other elements of the empire. Now that we are in deep space, the emperor’s lands have expanded and their defence against aliens has been added to the duties of the warriors and armies.”

  The Representative stopped and watched Shiv, who nodded mutely. Every cub learned this before they could even fully speak. The emperor was revered for all that he had sacrificed and what his clan still did.