Out of the Ashes (Rise of the Empire Book 3) (23 page)

Chapter Thirty Two

February 2172 – Nuva

Fleet Commander Adrian Farkas watched as Sahib, took his opponent down. The First Fleet had returned to the Nuva system, just on the heels of the news from Earth. It had hit them hard. Adrian had reviewed the battle against the Ra’a’zani ship. And he knew that the Fleet Commander Stern wasn’t at fault for the way the battle went. A great many commanders would have lost that battle. The Ra’a’zani ship was vastly superior. If she hadn’t drawn it into a trap and disabled its drives, the Ra’a’zani ship would have destroyed the entire fleet. He told her the same in a message that he sent to her in Sol. He knew very well how it felt to lose people under your command, and felt that she needed to know that it wasn’t her fault. Her people were doing their jobs, and gave their lives to defeat the enemy. She should grieve, yes. But not blame herself.

Out on the tatami Sahib helped his opponent to her feet, they bowed to each other, and Sahib came to stand close to Adrian.

“She is good. You should take her to Master Hayashi when you go back to Sanctuary.” Sahib said. Adrian nodded.

“I will, but it will be at least two years until we get back to Sanctuary.” Adrian said. Their orders were to stay in Nuva system until the Fourth Fleet finishes its construction, two years from now. Then they would rotate, with Adrian’s fleet going back for retrofits, they would get their own drone squadrons.

“The Home Fleet is leaving soon?” Sahib asked.

“Yes. In a few days.” Adrian said. The Home Fleet reinforcements will return to Sanctuary, now that their mission in Sowir space had ended.

“Hm…” Sahib let out the noise.

Adrian waited, and when Sahib didn’t continue he turned to him, “Say it.”

“You should talk to her again.” Sahib said.

Adrian grimaced. “It is done, she is already married.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time people divorced.” Sahib said.

“I couldn’t do something like that.” Adrian said. “I had my chance, and I blew it.”

Sahib remained silent. Finally, after a while, Sahib moved back on the tatami. He looked at Adrian and motioned with his hand in a challenge. Adrian smiled and stepped on the tatami.

***

Bethany sat in the CC of the Prideful as it reached the hyperspace barrier of the Nuva system. There was still no discovered trans-lane route from Nuva to Sanctuary, so they were forced to use hyperspace. She prepared herself for a nine month trip. As her ships prepared to enter hyperspace, Bethany glanced at her comms. A part of her had hoped that Adrian would send a message. After their talk, their interactions were professional, and less tense. But they didn’t really speak outside of the official channels. And even though a part of her was hopeful, another was relieved that he didn’t call. She shook her head.

“The fleet is ready to enter hyperspace, Fleet Commander.” The Navigation Handler said.

Bethany turned to him, “The fleet is free to enter hyperspace.”

Then her fleet left Nuva system behind. She knew that it would be at least two years until she saw Adrian again.

***

Sanctuary

Lanai Sumia sat on the specially made chair that accommodated her tail, in the Tomas Klein’s office. She had heard about what had happened to the human home world, and had already expressed her sorrow, at such death. Nel had experienced the same at the hands of the Sowir Dominion. As Sumia sat and watched Tomas Klein study her, she wondered why she was there. After Seo-yun gave her the gift of a house, Sumia decided to stay on Sanctuary for a while more. She could be appraised of the situation on Nuva with the FTL comms easy enough. And there wasn’t really that much to do there. Finally the human decided to speak.

“Lanai Sumia, you are the representative of your people on Nuva.” He said, and Sumia got the impression that it was more of a question, than a statement.

“Yes, I am their voice.” She said not sure where he was going with this.

Tomas nodded, “You have made a two requests of me some time ago. The first was for an alliance with Sanctuary, the second was for something more. I chose not to respond, because I wanted the chance to convince the people of Nelus to make an alliance with us.” Tomas said, and Sumia felt hope rising in her chest. Tomas continued, “Today, I have an offer for you.”

Confused, Sumia looked at him, “An offer for me?”

“Yes. I want your people to join with mine. But not in the same way that you requested.” Tomas said.

Sumia narrowed her eyes inquiringly, “What do you have in mind?”

Tomas simply pushed a human datapad across the desk. Sumia took it in her hands, and saw that it was written in Nel. She read a little and her eyes widened. She looked back at Tomas and was about to speak when he raised his arms.

“No, don’t say anything. Speak with your people, decide with them, and then give me your answer.” Tomas said.

“But this… This is so much more than what I hoped for.” Sumia said stunned.

“Yes, but it also carries with it a great responsibility. If you accept this, your world will change. Everything will change.” Tomas said.

Sumia looked back down at the datapad, “Yes. It will.”

Chapter Thirty Three

March 2172 – Sanctuary

Tomas sat in the same conference room from which he and his four friends and advisors led Olympus. Laura, Elias, Seo-yun and Nadia sat in the room just like they did so many times before. But today there were two more people present. One was Lanai Sumia that sat on Tomas’ right besides Seo-yun. And the other was the person that was sitting on the other side of the table besides Nadia, Doctor Asis Singh.

No one knew what Tomas wanted to say. They knew parts, and could guess something from the presence of Lanai Sumia, but no one knew the full picture.

“Thank you all for coming.” Tomas started, “The last month or so, has been one of the hardest periods in the human history. And I have thought long and hard about what we need to do.” He paused and looked around the room. “As all of you know, this last month I had our people vote on whether or not they still wish for me to lead them. The response has been almost unanimous yes. The people of Olympus had always trusted me, and I feel like I had not lived up to that trust.” He took a deep breath. “So from this moment on, I proclaim Olympus no more.” Tomas said. Elias, Laura, and Nadia started to speak, but he cut them off. “Olympus has served its purpose. Olympus was a company that became something more. Its structure cannot sustain us for much longer. In its stead, I create the Empire.”Stunned silence met his words. After a moment, he continued, “I proclaim the Sanctuary system as the heart and the capital of the Empire. And as my first act as the Emperor, I accept the Nuva system and all of its people into the Empire
.
The people of Nuva had chosen Lanai Sumia as their leader. If she accepts the Empire’s offer, then Nuva will no longer be just a colony. I will rename it to the Nuvan Clan, the first Clan of the Empire. Sumia will no longer be Lanai, but Clan Leader Sumia. The leader of the Nuvan Clan. From that point on, they will be free to expand and colonize the new system in the name of their Clan and the Empire. And to govern themselves in whatever manner they wish. As long as they follow the Codes of the Empire.”

“The Codes of the Empire?” Nadia asked softly.

“A Clan owes its loyalty to the Empire as a whole first, and the Clan second. A Clan cannot knowingly  take any action that will result in harm coming to the Empire. Each Clan is required to further the goals of the Empire, expansion and growth. The Empire as the whole is required to provide protection to all Clans.”

Tomas turned to Sumia, “Do you and your people accept my offer?” He asked.

Sumia stood up and then bowed, “The people of Nuva, and I as their elected leader accept your offer. We swear our loyalty to the Empire.”

“And I as the ruler of the Empire, promise to you and your Clan, that the Empire will always protect and serve your people.” Tomas said. He stood, and gave Sumia a bow of his own.

They sat back down, and Tomas looked to the rest of the room. “Things will be changing. I am taking all the responsibility of ruling the Empire on myself. But the way we govern our people will change, as we grow and colonize new worlds, they will become Clans. And then all the Clan Leaders will form the Council of Clans. They will be there to advise me in the rule of the Empire. But I won’t be making the mistake of letting the power of ruling seep to the council, they will be advisors in the matters of the Empire. Within their own Clans they will be free to do as they wish. As long as they obey the Codes. I have picked the most likely systems for colonization, and will allow people to petition the Empire for the right to colonize and create a Clan. But I will explain that more to the people in the future. As for you four,” Tomas said, addressing Nadia, Laura, Elias and Seo-yun. “You will remain as my personal advisers, and rulers of Sanctuary. I plan on it becoming the heart of the Empire.” He then looked over to the last person in the room. Doctor Asis Singh.

“As you all know, we are few in numbers. And with what happened to Earth, humanity is in trouble. If we don’t increase our population, and do it soon, we risk going extinct. And I will not let that happen. Doctor Singh, had been working with me for the past weeks. We had done projections, and devised a way to increase our population tremendously in a short time. But it will require strict laws.”

“What kind of laws?” Nadia asked, it looked like she had recovered a bit from Tomas’s proclamation.

“We need children, and we need to boost our population and fast. To that extent we have decided that we will offer encouragements to have more children. Offering rewards and enticements for every child after the fourth. But also that every woman older than the age of eighteen, will be required to donate her eggs twice a year until she haves her first child, and continuing after five years have passed since her last pregnancy. All men older than sixteen will be required to donate their seed twice a year, always. The eggs would be artificially inseminated, and placed into artificial wombs. The children would come to term in this manner. And after their birth cared for by special institutions, that would place them into small familiar groups with five other children. They would be cared for in group homes where they would go through their education, and after they reach sufficient age, allowed to choose their future.”

“And you think that our people will accept this?” Nadia asked.

“They will have to. There is at best ten million of us left in the universe. And their lives will not be affected at all. Their donations will be paired randomly and be anonymous. The process of having children brought to term in the artificial wombs has been practiced for a hundred years. It is perfectly safe, and the children are completely healthy. Doctor Asis Singh would oversee the project. And she can tell you how much of an increase in population we can expect. Doctor?”

Doctor Singh got to her feet, “According to our calculations, if we pass this law, within ten years we can expect our population to reach forty million, within twenty years double that, after twenty five years the rate of population increase will rise significantly. Thirty years from now our population would reach two hundred and thirty thousand. And hit a billion by the fiftieth year.”

Stunned the others looked at the doctor and then back at Tomas, “How long do you plan to keep this law active?” Elias asked.

“At least one hundred years, by then our population should hit one hundred and thirty billion.” Tomas said.

“But, that much of an increase. It can’t be right.” Nadia said.

“The real numbers would probably be a bit smaller, but not by much. It discounts natural deaths. We don’t age, if you take that into account the numbers make perfect sense.”

“What about the Nel?” Seo-yun asked glancing at Sumia.

“They will be exempt from the law. If your people manage to acquire agelessness for the Nel, then we will speak again.” Tomas said.

“Can we even sustain such a growth?” Nadia asked.

“With the help from Nuvan Clan, we can.” Tomas said. They grew silent then, thinking about everything that he had said.

“We will have more meetings in the next few days as we start changing our society. But for now I need you all to review the new laws, proposals and plans, that I have sent to your imps. We will go over them on our next meeting.” Tomas said and then turned to Sumia, “I have sent everything to your datapad, but we really should look into getting your people implants. Perhaps you can talk with Seo-yun about it.” With that Tomas dismissed them, all save for Elias. He motioned for Elias to follow, and led him to his library. He moved behind his big wooden desk and sat down in the comfortable chair. Elias stood in front of his desk. Tomas looked at him and Elias studied him in turn. Then the corner of Tomas’ mouth twitched, “You can say whatever it is you need to.”

Elias studied his friend for a bit before responding, “I have watched over you for a long time Tomas, and I saw you resist power at every turn.”

Tomas angled his head and raised his eyebrows in an inquiring fashion. Elias looked at him for a minute before saying anything.

“Power corrupts. Both of us had seen it happen.” Elias said.

Tomas just smiled at his friend, “I knew that you would say that.” He smiled at his best friend, his brother, the person he trusted the most in this world. Then Tomas let his smile slip, and he grew pensive.

“You are right my friend. And I know that I could one day become something twisted. That is why I need insurance, I need something to keep my power in check.” Tomas said.

“I thought that you didn’t want to give power to this Council of Clans that you plan on creating.” Elias said.

“And I won’t. Giving power to oppose me to those that will have their own interests in the future is true folly.” Tomas said, “I know that if I try to rule over a vast Empire it will ultimately shatter. That is why I will create the Clans. Each independent but still tied to the Empire. But giving them so much autonomy will eventually lead to them trying to separate. That is why I need something that will draw a string through all of the Clans, something to keep us all tied together. And that something or better yet someone, will be the same thing that will keep my power in check.” Tomas said and looked at his friend. Elias narrowed his eyes, he knew Tomas, they were like brothers. Elias is one person who would know when Tomas stepped off the right path, and probably the only person capable of keeping him in check. Elias thought about it, not knowing what Tomas really wanted but getting the picture. Elias didn’t refuse, he knew that Tomas wouldn’t ask without first thinking about all the possibilities.

“What are you thinking?” Elias asked.

“I need a symbol for the Empire, a hand of law that will keep both me and the people in check. Someone to enforce the Codes. And make sure that no one in the Empire dares to work against it. But also someone that will keep the people safe, and make sure that they always stay equal. That law applies to everyone, even me.” Tomas said looking at Elias.

“And what do you need from me?” Elias asked Tomas, the man that he loved as a brother.

Tomas reached into the drawer of his desk and brought out a black object, he pointed it at Elias and said sadly, “I need you brother mine, to die.”