William Zellmann - The Emperor's conspiracy

Van-Lyn stepped around the desk wearing a doubting expression. Micah dialed through the scrolling images, and pointed at one message. “After a lot of effort and an appalling amount of money, my agents were finally able to get to a subspace communications tech in the palace on Prime. This was intercepted between the palace on Prime and Cord's office on Haven.”

Van-Lyn read the message silently. He raised puzzled eyes to Micah. “But what does it mean? I mean, certainly…”

Micah shrugged. “Certainly it means what it says. The Emperor is planning to give the Rim sector to his good friend Sander Cord as a personal gift.” He ended in a sneer.

Van-Lyn looked thunderstruck. “But…”

“… But four hundred years ago, millions died to keep the Empire together.” Micah finished for him. “In fact, my family’s fortune was founded during the Horsehead Rebellion. Now this upstart of an Eron is plotting to give away an entire sector, complete with thirty-one inhabited systems and nearly a billion Empire citizens.”

Van-Lyn was frowning. "This can't be right. I can't believe the Emperor would do this. Is this one of your tricks, Admiral?"

Micah shrugged. "Check the authentication codes. It's a personal message from Eron to Cord. It didn't even go through official channels. I couldn't fake that if I wanted to."

Van-Lyn looked shaken. "This isn't right, Admiral. We have to do something!"

A slow smile spread over Micah's face. Perfect. Van-Lyn had reacted just as he'd hoped. "We're going to do something, all right, Jamin. We're going to stop it."

"But isn't that… I mean, he is the Emperor, and we're sworn to obey him. Do we have the right…?"

Micah's smile was firm. "Yes, we took an oath to serve the Emperor. But more importantly, we swore to defend the Empire against all enemies, external or internal. This time, the threat we have to defend against is the Emperor himself."

The old man was regaining his composure. His expression turned skeptical. "And just how much of this sudden zeal to defend the Empire is due to the ongoing FIS investigation, Admiral?"

Micah shrugged, then sighed. "I won't pretend that's not a factor. But this is one of those rare occasions where personal interest and duty demand the same response. We have to stop this treachery to the Empire."

The skeptical expression remained. "I suppose you have a plan, Admiral. Probably one that will make you even richer."

Micah shook his head. "I have a plan. Jamin, but it won't make me richer. Oh," he continued, "I won't deny that I'm planning to take advantage of the situation." Van-Lyn resumed his seat as Micah began to explain.

"From the fact that the Emperor was so careful about classifying and keeping this message out of official channels, we can assume that it's a closely-guarded secret. That means most of the senate doesn't know about it, or hasn't agreed to it. Most likely, there are only a few of the most influential senators involved.

"Now, they're probably planning an intensive public relations campaign to drum up support for this in the senate and among the people. Suppose we don't give them the time to sell it? Suppose as soon as Cord announces it, we attack Haven. We could kill Cord and seize the sector while loudly proclaiming that Cord is rebelling."

Van-Lyn's lip curled in disgust. "How casually you discuss murder, treason against the Emperor and rebellion, Admiral." He spat out the title, making it an epithet.

Micah frowned. He was tired of Van-Lyn's constantly obvious hatred and disgust. He was also getting very tired of wheedling and cajoling the man just to keep him from running to the FIS and confessing his sins. Van-Lyn was a true career Fleet officer. He'd bought all that Fleet propaganda and esprit de corps nonsense. The old man would never get used to being involved in illegal activities, Micah decided. He suppressed a snort of disgust.

Micah struggled to control his loathing and shook his head. "I've just had more time to think about this than you, Jamin. The treason is Eron's. If the Emperor betrays the Empire, which of our oaths is valid? Our oath to a man who would plot to dismantle the very Empire entrusted to his keeping? Or our oath of loyalty to the Empire itself?"

He shrugged. "For me, the answer is obvious. Eron may be the Emperor, but as far as I'm concerned, he's no better than the traitors that were hanged for the Horsehead Rebellion. The treason is his, the rebellion is his, and no, I won't feel guilty for executing his partner in treason!"

Van-Lyn was frowning, his expression thoughtful. After a few moments, he sighed. "Much as it worries me to find myself agreeing with you, Admiral, I'm forced to it now. Eron's betrayal is obvious." He shuddered. "I still find it difficult to believe. If it weren't for the codes on that message, I'd be certain it was one of your tricks."

Micah grinned. "If I could forge documents as good as that message, I wouldn't have to worry about FIS investigations."

The two officers set aside their mutual dislike, and set to planning their response to the Emperor's shocking treason.

"The action plan itself is simple, Jamin," Micah began. "As the Emperor's military representative, Cord is certain to invite me to the ceremonies when he assumes power. Well, we'll attend, all right. All of us. Every warship that can break orbit, and at least a battalion of Marines. We'll mount a full-scale assault on the Viceroy's palace, and seize the planet." He grinned. "This is the first time I've been glad that Haven is such a horrible place. We'll only have to control a million or so people."

Van-Lyn frowned. "Let me make sure I understand this, Admiral. You want to take our entire force? Even Nemesis?"

Micah nodded. "Of course." He raised a puzzled frown to Van-Lyn's face. "I must admit I'm surprised, Jamin. I thought you would certainly approve. After all, the more overwhelming show of force we make, the less the likelihood we'll actually have to fire on Empire citizens. And Nemesis is essential for that display. No one can ignore a kilometer-sized globe bristling with weapons. Besides, everybody knows that dreadnoughts carry planetbusters."

Van-Lyn nodded, but his expression remained troubled. "Oh, I understand that, Admiral. And I approve. But it will take months to get Nemesis ready for space."

Micah frowned. "Are you telling me, Captain, that your ship is not deployable?" His tone was dangerous.

Van-Lyn shook his head. "I'm telling you that Nemesis is two and a half centuries old. The last time she engaged in combat was over a hundred and fifty years ago. For the past fifteen years, she's been nothing but an orbital fort. Her systems consist of two hundred and fifty years' worth of jury-rigging and jerry-building. Her design specs fill four memory chips. But the documentation on the modifications, such as it is, fill sixteen chips. And that doesn't include undocumented jury rigs. Even with the base's facilities, it'll take months to get her spaceworthy."

Micah nodded thoughtfully. "Well, we should have months. Cord and the Emperor won't rush something this big. They'll take their time, make sure all the i's are dotted and the t's crossed. Of course, they won't be expecting us!"

His grin resurfaced. "We're going to mess up a lot of planning, Jamin. We'll go in hot, seize Haven, which means the sector, and then loudly announce that Cord was planning a rebellion. Then, we'll formally return the sector to the Emperor." The grin turned malicious. "The Emperor will have no choice but to accept, especially if Cord isn't around to contradict our version of events. Sheol, Jamin, he may end up being forced to award us medals for spoiling his treasonous little plan." The grin faded. "But we're going to have to get very busy. We only have a few months to get our entire fleet battle-ready."