Evan Currie - Heirs of Empire

Few things went to the Redoubt.

The facility was the single most secure station in the empire, with the sole possible exception being the palace itself. Most likely the palace was number two, given that it was situated on an island with thirty million people surrounding it. The Redoubt was literally in the middle of nothing but sand—which made it ideal for storing some of the most dangerous items in the empire . . . and, very occasionally, the most dangerous people.

“The general, Father?”

Edvard sighed, then nodded. “We sent him there, in hopes of removing him from his supporters. Quite likely, we should have had him executed.”

Kayle grimaced, thinking about the chaos it would have caused.

“The riots alone, Father …”

“I know. That’s why he was spared, at least until memories have faded. Corian also knew things we’d have preferred not to lose. Now, however, we may have lost more than that.”

Kayle nodded. “I can take a team to investigate the situation.”

“I dispatched a high-speed skimmer three days ago. They found the wreckage of the train about halfway out. Clearing the track alone will take weeks.” Edvard sighed. “We couldn’t locate any survivors, but Corian’s corpse was nowhere to be found either.”

“Damn him to the fires above.”

If Edvard took offense at his son’s swearing, he didn’t show it. Instead he merely nodded and went on.

“There was a full crew on the engine, a half century of men-at-arms, and two … knights.”

Something about how his father slowed at that moment caught Kayle’s attention, and he looked up sharply.

“Two knights, Father?”

“One knight,” Edvard corrected, “and one Cadre.”

Kayle blinked, shocked. The Imperial Cadre were currently under a rather dark cloud politically, given that Corian was one of their number. For his father to assign a Cadre to the train was a bold statement, no doubt, but now that this had happened, it was certainly going to turn on the emperor. It would turn on them all.

“Bodies?”

“The knight was buried, his weapon at his side. No signs of the men-at-arms, nor the Cadre. We found evidence of combat, military pulse carbines, blood, and clear signs of fire from an Armati.”

“So he fought. We just don’t know on what side?”

Edvard nodded, though with a correction. “She. Mira Delsol, newly promoted to Cadre. She came up after Corian, should have been outside his influence.”

Kayle nodded unhappily, remembering the woman in question. The problem was that Corian’s influence could best be described as a sea beast, his tentacles stretching well beyond the matters he had any business with.

“What do you want of me, Father?”

“Go to the Cadre. See if you can learn where they stand and what their feelings are on this,” Edvard said. “This will blacken their reputation.”

“It will be done.” Kayle saluted, fist coming up to shoulder level as his father nodded and waved him away. Kayle turned on his heel and strode back out.

William met him at the door to the hall.

“Were you briefed?” Kayle asked as he passed, not breaking stride as William stepped into pace behind him.

“Yes, my lord.”

“We have work to do,” the crown prince said. “The Senate will not like this.”

William had nothing to say to that. It was a clear and blatant truth after all.

The Imperial Senate was made up of representative members from the eighty different precincts of the empire. Before unification, most were their own kingdoms or feudal baronies, but they now submitted to the empire. It didn’t mean that they were entirely without power, of course. Even with the Imperial Army answering to the Scourwind legacy, the precinct forces were strong enough to be reckoned as significant, and they all held economic and political sway as well.

One thing they all feared, however, was the Imperial Cadre.

This was going to give them a chance to blacken the name of the Cadre with the public, and Kayle was well aware that while he had no need to fear any other noble in the entire kingdom … the common men and women, they were a potential force that nothing the empire had could stop.

The Imperial Cadre were officially stationed at the Redoubt, though it was mostly a political fiction designed to keep the various lords, barons, and nobles from screaming about the empire’s “trained killers” sitting right in the middle of the capital.

In actuality, there was an entire wing of the castle for Cadre bunks, stores, and training.

It was there, in that familiar wing, where Kayle found himself just a few minutes after meeting with his father. The men on guard at the doors saluted as he walked past, his focus such that he barely gave either of them any notice.

Behind him, the two Cadre members exchanged silent glances, and as one they cleared the clips on their holsters. It was a subtle motion, but between two blooded warriors it was unmistakable. They’d just reduced their draw time by about a third of a second. A knife’s edge’s advantage, perhaps, but many warriors had lived and died by thinner edges.

If Kayle Scourwind was stalking through the palace with that much focus, something was up.

Once inside the Cadre wing of the palace, Kayle cut a straight line through to the administration offices, walking past the commandant’s personal assistant as though he weren’t there. The man was halfway to his feet when William put him back down with a hand on his shoulder.

Unlike most other sections of the empire, only Cadremen worked inside Cadre-controlled sections, and a face-off between Kayle and an annoyed administrator looking to burn off some energy after being stuck doing deskwork for a few weeks was something William felt was best avoided. They had enough trouble without having to renovate the Cadre’s administration offices.

General Paul Beuforte barely bothered to glance up at Kayle’s entrance, opting instead to continue working while he gestured to the empty chair across from him.

Kayle just smirked slightly and took the seat. “I take it you’ve heard.”

“We lost one of our own,” the general said. “I’ve heard.”

“Did we lose her or did she turn?” Kayle asked, his voice dead neutral.

That got him the full and undivided attention of General Beuforte, who leveled an even gaze at him that stopped just short of being a full glare.

“Mira Delsol is no traitor.”

Kayle just spread his hands, shrugging slightly. “No sign of her was found, other than evidence of her Armati being fired. That will put suspicion on her, no matter how you cut it.”

“Someone buried the knight with field honors,” Beuforte countered.

“Guilt?”

“Why no sign of the armsmen, then? No bodies, nothing,” the general growled. “Think for a moment.”

“I,” Kayle said calmly, “am not the one you need to convince. Corian was a high-ranking Cadre officer. His shadow has already tainted the reputation of the entire Cadre. This may be enough to kill it.”

Beuforte grunted but had no response.

“Fine. What are you saying?”

Kayle looked across at him evenly. “I’m saying that the Cadre needs to ready itself to weather a storm, the sort of storm you don’t fight with weapons or martial skill.”

“Pity. We’re not much good at that sort.”

Kayle smiled slightly. “Some of us are better than others, general.”

“Now you offer some respect, you little pup.” Beuforte laughed. “Takes something like this for you to visit?”

“I’ve been on mission until recently,” Kayle said with a sigh. “I had been hoping for some time to relax with family.”

The general nodded. A young Cadre officer, particularly one of the Imperial line, didn’t get much time to rest. “Anything interesting?”