Admiral's Throne Read online

  Blood started to fill the water as the two leviathans tore into each other and I worried for my hook. I only had a dozen of the things. Once they were gone, I had to give up and go home for the day.

  For a minute, I thought all was lost and then my sea beast pulled itself away, leaving a trail of blood behind as it went. It was going in the wrong direction but a few tugs of the pole later and it was headed back on a course parallel to the shore.

  “Work it, baby! We’ll have some sea steaks tonight,” I said, using pole and reel to bring the creature closer to the shore, all the while ignoring the incensed creatures slamming themselves against the force field below me.

  Ever closer to the shore swam my limper and it was finally to the point I was actually starting to feel hopeful.

  The last gauntlet was still ahead but I could feel it; this one was a keeper, a winner in other words, with the will to survive!

  Placing the butt of the pole into the holder on the right arm of the chair, I fumbled around for the blaster rifle attached to the holster built into the left arm. Once the sea monster got close enough, I was going to have to fight for my dinner with the rest of the beasts, which was why I needed make sure the power cell was in and the rifle ready to go.

  I had just thumbed the blaster rifle active and returned my attention to the pole, when I heard the sound of a throat clearing behind me.

  I ignored it in favor of reeling in more line.

  “I hate to interrupt—” started someone, a man, by the voice.

  “Then don’t,” I cut in, determined to ignore whoever it was, especially considering I was pretty certain I recognized them. Not entirely certain, understand, but…

  Several minutes of blessed silence followed. I half thought whoever it was had taken the hint and left for greener pastures, when out of the blue my ‘non-conversational’ partner decided to make another sally.

  “What are you doing out here? If I may be so bold,” he eventually asked.

  I immediately tensed up. I couldn’t help it. Hearing that voice confirmed things and now I knew exactly who it was. I also had no intention of catering to whatever his desires were. This was my free day and I was out fishing.

  I deliberately un-tensed. Never let them see you sweat was part of my motto.

  “Why here?” he prompted and I could just imagine him looking down at the vicious sea monsters below my rocky spur, all of them eager to kill and eat me.

  “What can I say? I’m sitting on a beach earning twenty percent,” I said flippantly. I’d heard it in an old holo-vid about some bank robbers and it sounded cool, so I decided to run with it.

  “Some beach you have here, Admiral,” he replied.

  I nodded breezily.

  “It really is. It makes the saying really mean something, about how it’s not what you’ve got that’s important, it’s wanting what you’ve got,” I said, more than willing to fill the air with random noise and mindless platitudes all day long if that was what it would take for him to give up and go away.

  Nothing to see here, I silently instructed, projecting my desire to be left alone out into the ether, just another broken-down sedentary fisherman working to bring home the bacon so the family could have a fish fry later on tonight.

  “Surely, you want to do more with your life than sit here killing mindless sea monsters for sport,” he said.

  “I don’t know. It may look like it’s all fun and games, but I’m still performing a public service,” I said seriously; meanwhile, vicious eighteen- or twenty-foot serial killers threw themselves at the cliff face in an attempt to eat me.

  “Dragging in sea monsters?” he asked gravely.

  “Someone’s got to do it,” I nodded, “these things will eat people right off the beach and it’s not like this is my full-time job. I’m a family man now, with kids and responsibilities and all that. Did I mention the kids? They could use a second mention… I can finally give them the time they deserve. It’s actually a relief in many ways,” I riposted.

  “How so?” he asked.

  “Why, because they actually seem to appreciate it when I do something for them,” I deadpanned.

  There was a pause as my latest sally was digested.

  “Is this really what you aspire to? Hunting down killer sea monsters with rod and reel,” he stressed after another break in the conversation.

  “Well, Judge,” I said wryly, “I used to aspire to a great deal more. I was even willing to lay down my life for those hopes, dreams and aspirations. Life, liberty, the Spineward Sectors and all that rot,” I continued blithely, “but as you are well aware, my actions were not much appreciated and I was exiled to my wife’s rocky, sparsely-populated planet the moment it became politically expedient to do so.”

  “I understand your anger and feelings of betrayal. But we were all placed in an untenable situation, Admiral. At least you had the power to impact the course of events, no matter how badly that attempt ultimately turned,” Kong Pao said unhappily. “Unfortunately the empire had us over a barrel and there was little we could do. They still do in many ways, if you listen to CNN.”

  “I try to avoid CNN,” I lied. I’d turned into an avid news hog the further I’d moved from the levers of power. “Too much fake news about me personally, you understand.”

  “That said, supposing I were a man who aspired to something more than what I have here. You know, a planet that needs me, a family that deeply loves me for my efforts and consistently fails to revile me. I might feel forced to point out that from a strictly military standpoint, our situation back then was far from impossible. I might be compelled to say that seeing as how we had the Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet, Manning’s First Fleet, another full-on fleet fresh from Sector 22 stationed on the border of Sector 24/25… and when factoring in Admiral Davenport’s orders to avoid serious losses to the Imperial 5th Fleet. Well if we’d had anything resembling balls, we had anything but an impossible situation on our hands. But I digress,” I said, turning and flashing a smile.

  In my quick look, I took in the distinguished Asian-looking man behind me, his clothes in disarray from the strong wind at the top of my fishing spot. Yep, it was the Sector Judge.

  “Thankful for all involved, I have better things to do than reflect on those past aspirations and any resulting grudges I might be forced to feel, or even seek justice or retribution for if I were to start looking backward instead of forward, or any which way you might term it instead of being content to tending my affairs here at home,” I finished with a hint of frost in my voice.

  “We can argue about justice as far as the day is long and I’ll add that retribution isn’t justice and holding a grudge helps no one and nothing, but we can agree to disagree,” Kong Pao said wearily.

  “I know there is more here than the carefree fisherman I see before me. Unless what you’re trying to tell me is you’ve set aside all those warships you captured, along with your ambitions and left them to sit in orbit? That all those warships I saw on my way in the system are carefully constructed illusions? Otherwise, I’d have to say Tracto’s system defense force has never been so numerous or so strong.”

  “If that’s a roundabout way of asking if I’m a full-time house husband, the answer’s no. On the other side, if I keep my hand in with the fleet, then let’s just say our expansion efforts haven’t gone as smoothly as I’d like, but with time, we’re getting there. Despite all the roadblocks the new government has thrown our way with their trade restrictions and embargos,” I said coolly.

  “That’s… not exactly what I was asking but it is comforting, in its own way,” the Judge said, letting out a breath and at my inquiring look he added, “at least I haven’t come to the wrong place.”

  “Oh, you’ve definitely come to the wrong place, Judge Pao,” I assured him.

  “While I’m glad you find comfort in Tracto’s continued military expansion, you can kindly see yourself out. I’d say through the front door but since
we don’t have one, feel free to beat it,” I said turning back to my pole only to realize the line had snapped at some point while I’d been talking and only the self-clamping holder built into my chair had kept me from losing the pole too.

  “Blast it all! That was a two-ton test line,” I cursed.

  “If you would just listen to my proposal,” started the Judge.

  “Nope. Not interested,” I said.

  “Admiral,” he tried again.

  “I asked you to leave nicely,” I said flatly.

  “The Spine is in trouble. I’m afraid—” said Kong Pao.

  “You’re beginning to test my patience, Judge, and that’s not a very safe place to be. If the Spine wanted my opinion, all they have to do is rescind the order of exile,” I interrupted with a warning.

  There was a pause.

  “We need you, Jason,” the Judge tried a different tack and I immediately tensed up.

  Smoothing out my blaster rifle, I pointed it behind me without looking where it was aimed, which brought an immediate and blessed silence.

  “If you find yourself afraid, it’s for all the wrong reasons, Kong Pao. The likes of you are not worthy of speaking my name, let alone speaking to me. You’re a liar and a defender of liars and you spit on it and on me every time you open your mouth,” I said levelly, still not looking behind me. There was a muffled gasp.

  It was good to finally get that off my chest. I wasn’t to the point I’d actively search out a man like the Sector Judge who promised the moon and delivered the bitter ashes of dreams and broken promises instead, but if he was foolish enough to seek me out, I was more than willing to give him a piece of my mind. I didn’t even really care if it was a fair comparison or not. I really didn’t at this point.

  Where was Kong Pao when I was exiled? Heck, where was he when Empire invaded the Spine? Whistling in the bushes, that was where, while honest people like my officers and crew risked everything only to be given the back of the hand. I wasn’t ten clicks past done.

  “Billions could die. Kill me if you have to, but can you live with something like that on your conscience?” asked the Judge, just not knowing when to stop.

  I mean if a man pointed a blaster rifle at me, I’d at least try something different even if I was stupid enough to keep trying.

  “I’m pretty sure you felt compelled to ask yourself that very same question when you were asked to exile me, and were okay with your answer at the time. You remember, when you voted to cast me away like yesterday’s newspaper,” I snarled, turning around ready to take this thing to the next level.

  “This is not about you! Can’t you see that? This is about the people of the Spine that you claim to love,” urged Kong Pao, “I’m not lying when I say without your fleet, the death toll could rise into the billions!”

  I openly scoffed.

  “From what, pirates?” I shook my head, “go ask the Confederation for help. That’s what you’re paying them for. In case you failed to remember, I’m not in very good clover with that lot right now.”

  “That’s a problem,” Kong Pao admitted, “but one that can be worked around—”

  “Worked around!” I roared with fury, “if you think I’m going to throw away all the hard work and sacrifices my people have had to make over the past two years for some lame work-around that’ll no doubt blow up in our faces just like every other work-around you’ve offered us, and for you of all people, you’ve got another thing coming,” I finished, eyes hard.

  After the Spine had rushed back into the the welcoming arms of the old Confederation without so much as a backward glance at what they were throwing away, many members of MSP had quite reasonably wanted to go home. Of course, I’d let them and promptly lost at least half of my original crew.

  We’d struggled to build back up and half the Border Alliance transplants decided they wanted to go back home too. I’d even lost half my ships’ captains! It wasn’t just the Border Alliance; many of our early recruitment drives had sourced green personnel straight from more than a dozen non-border worlds deep inside Sector 25, who were more than happy to take the skills we’d taught them and take them home.

  I was less sanguine about their losses but if they didn’t want to stay, I refused to have them, and now after all that, men like Kong Pao had the gall to come to us, and come to me, like they had some right to my service?

  “Bugs, Admiral,” said the Judge, snapping me out of my inner contemplations, “as you pointed out, I’m the last person who should be here. I have no right to ask this, I know that, but there are Swarms of them hitting or about to hit dozens of worlds,” said Kong Pao.

  I paused and then stonily picked up my hookless fishing pole, turning away. I wouldn’t be tempted with pleas against my better nature. Not by this snake oil salesman. Not anymore.

  I’d worked hard to rebuild the Fleet and the Judge thought he could just whistle me up whenever he needed and toss me aside when done. Nope. Not on my watch.

  “We’re done here,” I said.

  “Please, just think about it,” he urged.

  I gave a one-finger wave over my shoulder as I put away the blaster rifle and walked away.

  Kong Pao didn’t care how I’d had to consolidate and retrain entire ship crews after the war was over, how the MSP had been forced to fill its missing ranks with colonists, belters and Tractoans, mainly more Tractoans. The administrative headaches. The additional schooling time alone, needed by many of our Tractoan candidates, was a not insignificant expense in both time and money.

  Even offering large bonuses and incentives to retain people hadn’t been enough. I’d been forced to ask Akantha for funds to set up a small academy where the locals could qualify for space before they were allowed to join the fleet.

  I had more than 400 warships but could I crew them? No. He was whistling in the dark if he thought I could save the Spine with what I had on hand.

  He should have known better; he probably did know better, which meant they really must be desperate but… Nope! I was not going there. I could come and I could go but I would not come and go on command like those little lapdogs the noble ladies of Capria so seemed to love.

  The need to reorganize after losing half our original officers and crew to the news of my Exile had stopped my expansion efforts cold, and we were only now recovering. Yet it was at this very moment, during the first big push of our recovery efforts, that he showed up? I didn’t buy it and what’s more, I refused to let them whistle me up like some trained performing monkey.

  ‘I,’ the exiled Admiral everyone loved to hate, was supposed to save everyone out of the goodness of my black heart, the very same heart they cursed as they spit in my face and offered me up to the imperials for death?

  Something didn’t wash with this request; in fact it stank to high heaven and I refused to play along. That was the moment when I remembered I’d lost the fish, which soured my mood even further. I’d been planning on eating that one too.

  Chapter 2

  Isaak’s Trial

  “That is why, esteemed members of the tribunal, I urge you to remember that my client never authorized the use of bio-tech weaponry. He never ordered the Senator’s death and most importantly of all, was never even present when the actions he is being tried for took place!”

  “If you’re looking for the man responsible, then you need look no further than one Jason Montagne, rogue Vice Admiral and Warlord extraordinaire,” cried Isaak’s Lawyer, wrapping up an impassioned closing statement and foisting all the blame away from his client. “I urge the Tribunal to do the right thing,” he finished with a sharp nod before sitting down.

  The Imperial Tribunal quietly conferred for several minutes before turning back.

  “All rise,” ordered the Bailiff.

  The Chief Justice cleared his throat.

  “After weighing all the evidence, the Imperial Tribunal dictates that since Isaak was the ultimate civilian authority and i
n all cases of Confederation Law the precedent is clear that the military answers to civilian authority, thus, he was in fact the man ultimately responsible for the rebellion in the Spine and the actions of the rebels and traitors which killed Senator Cornwallis!” the Judge said in a deep voice.

  “No!” Isaak bolted out of his chair with a cry.

  “Speaker Isaak Newton of the rebel regime and so-called New Confederation, you were the highest authority in your government, and as such, this Tribunal considers you directly responsible for the actions your military took against the empire, the 2nd Reserve Flotilla and our citizens in the Spineward Sectors. As such, you are hereby sentenced to be hung by your neck until dead as is the traditional punishment for all traitors against humanity,” the Tribunal Judge said grimly.

  “I’ve been framed! No. This isn’t possible. This is all that traitor Montagne’s fault! The record is clear that I don’t even like the man, in fact I detest him! To hold me accountable for his crimes is unreasonable when I did everything within my power to stop and then punish him after the fact,” shouted Isaak.

  “Don’t insult our intelligence. Your attempt to cover your tracks was pathetic, your own staffers turned imperial evidence to avoid extradition and gave you up. We have audio files where you call… and I quote, “Jason Montagne’s a fool, a rube, a chump and a patsy! That manipulating him was easy.” Do you really expect us to just assume you were spouting lies in the privacy of your own office surrounded by trusted advisors?”

  “B-b-but,” Isaak Newton visibly gobbled with alarm, finally bursting out, “I’ve been framed by my own staff! Any such lies are simply desperate attempts by loyal-less traitors to save their own skins!”

  “Jason Montagne Vekna is a loose cannon and the greatest threat this galaxy has ever seen!” he cried.

  “Do you actually expect us to buy that you would continually hire and then officially ‘betray’ your top military commander? The only man standing between your people and the darkness beyond the galactic rim?” said the Judge.