Pax Imperia (The Redemption Trilogy) (35 page)

“That we both love another, unrequitedly?”

“Seems like a perfectly good basis for a relationship to me.”

“Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?”

“Not really,” he replied, pushing a strand of her hair back behind her ear and staring deeply into her eyes.

*****

Having finished counting the number of tiles on the ceiling, and the number of chandeliers in the room, twice, Jason started to indulge in his favourite pastime—snooping. After all, he had not reached his current status in life without being more than slightly inquisitive.

It was not hard to slip away from the rest of the dinner guests, seeing as the two of them had already abandoned him. He was certain that Robert Calis would not mind him looking around, and of course what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Anyway he was still curious about this other unknown guest, unable to shake the feeling of déjà vu.

Wandering around the apartments, poking his head around doorways, peering through numerous windows, Jason found countless offices, meeting and reception rooms, and lounges. Nothing out of the ordinary. All completely normal and terribly boring. It was obvious that Robert used these apartments to entertain guests and hence everything was wide open and inviting. All except one unmarked door.

Locked.

For a person of Jason’s temperament, that was akin to painting a bullseye on it and combining that with large, flashing neon signs, complete with pointing arrows, indicating this as a place of interest. As a young boy, Jason had found that it was only behind the locked doors that the really
exciting
things could be found. Hence, like a moth drawn to an open flame, he wandered over to it, tapping on it experimentally. After all, the easiest way to get through a locked door was to see if somebody would kindly enough open it for you. Unfortunately in this case nothing happened and the door remained resolutely closed and still locked.

There was a keypad sunk into the wall next to the door, which seemed to accept a numeric code, since the keypad contained only numbers and no letters. In total there was a possible ten billion different combinations. Jason smiled, viewing it as a challenge.

With a fugitive glance around to ensure that nobody was watching, he punched in a random number and then hurriedly took a step away from the door. The code wavered on the display for a second, before vanishing into the digital ether. Not surprisingly, nothing else happened. No alarms, no hammering of boots to signal the imminent arrival of a security team, nothing. Zip. Nada.

With a broad grin, Jason started rapidly pressing keys…

*****

From the corner of her eye Miranda saw the flash of light. Having spent the past few years with Jon, constantly surrounded by people intent on killing him and, by proxy, her, she did not even hesitate. Catching Robert in a tight embrace, she pushed him off balance, causing them both to topple to the floor. Fortunately they had been following a winding path through the gardens, and Miranda’s quick reflexes had pushed them off onto the soft grass. Still the force of the impact caused the breath to rush out of her lungs. It did not help her breathing much for only moments later to have Robert’s heavy body land on top of her.

Fortunately she mostly cushioned his fall.

“And you’re accusing me of moving too quickly?” Robert wheezed, stunned by the sudden collision.

But before Miranda could reply the bolt from the pulse rifle flashed just over their heads, intersecting where they had both been standing only seconds before. Instinctively the two of them ducked back down, trying to minimise the target for the shooter, each trying to protect the other.

The end result being a jumble of entangled limbs.

“Is there something that you want to tell me?” Miranda demanded, trying to extricate herself from him and reach for the pistol she constantly carried at her side, marvelling at how much her life had changed ever since she woke in the medical bay on
Terra Nova
almost two years earlier.

“This is not the first time. My mother had a lot of enemies.”

“Charming family,” Miranda muttered, finally managing to release the pistol at her side. “Stay here. I’ll try and find the shooter.”

“I’m coming too.”

“You’re not even armed,” Miranda replied contemptuously.

“Do you usually walk around your own home armed?”

“All the time. Ever since I turned a corner one morning and found myself facing a heavily armed Syndicate enforcement squad that started shooting at me.”

Robert look stunned at this declaration, before recovering quickly and suggesting, “I’ll distract him, and you shoot him.”

“How about I distract him and
you
shoot him?”

“It’s your gun,” Robert said, but before they could argue further another bolt missed them by inches. Glancing at each other, they made a mad dash for the nearest hedgerow, together.

*****

Jason was somewhat disappointed when it only took him a few dozen attempts. Knowing for a fact that trying a different random combination, assuming a couple of seconds for each attempt, it would have taken years to find the right one, he didn’t even bother trying to guess. Instead, he just entered the various different manufactures’ factory defaults, secure in the knowledge that most people would have forgotten or simply been too lazy to wipe them after inputting their own preferred code. As always, the weakest point of any secure system was the human element. Anyway, having long since ignored the Commanders subtle edict that he needed to get out more he had memorised all the codes, having far too much free time on his hands. Besides, get out where?

It was a vacuum outside of
Terra Nova
.

The door slid smoothly open, revealing a spacious atrium with a couple of doors spaced equidistant around the edge of the room. The floor was polished marble that caused Jason’s footsteps to echo around the room as he crossed towards the fountain gently bubbling away in the centre of the room. There were statues placed around the room on raised pedestals and, stopping at one, he read the inscription. Some great-grandfather of Robert Calis it appeared. Dismissing the object, he approached the fountain, observing the crystal clear waters with various fish swimming around just beneath the surface. A raised dais surrounded the fountain on all sides, obviously so that one could sit and observe the waters. Jason idly ran his finger over the dais, wondering who might have once sat there, as the entire room was currently deserted. Swinging his gaze around he assumed that these were the personal apartments of Robert Calis and partner; wife, mistress? Knowing for a fact it was none of his business, he nonetheless approached the nearest door, quickly ducking to the side upon hearing approaching footsteps.

*****

It was still early evening after Robert had apologised for having to cut short their dinner, as urgent business had interrupted him. Sofia had spent some time reading but had quickly grown restless and decided that a walk was in order to clear her head. Not being allowed outside of her personal quarters, the route for such a walk was heavily constrained, actually limited to a walk down the corridor, a couple of loops around the atrium, a short pause, followed by a seat next to the fountain, so as not to tire herself out and to allow her to recuperate in preparation for the few dozen meters back to her room.

However, as the door to the atrium was sliding open, and just as she was about to step into the room, she sighed. What was the point? It was not going to be any different today. The same monotonous boredom she had tolerated for several weeks already, and Robert had made it clear that he was going to be busy for the rest of the evening. Hence, instead of stepping out, she spun around, deciding that a long hot bath and early to bed would be the better solution. She often found herself dreaming of Jon while she slept, and was looking forward to once again being in his embrace—even if it was only in her dreams.

*****

Jason cursed as the door once again slid shut, the footsteps now growing fainter as their owner returned the way that she had come. For Jason was certain that it was a she. He had not had time to take in many details, only seeing a flash of auburn hair and pale skin, but the glimpse had been more than enough to convince him that the occupant was definitely female. Deciding to follow the woman and find out why Robert Calis wished to conceal her presence, Jason took a step forward, only for a firm grasp to pull him away from the now closed portal.

Jason came face to face with a pair of suspicious eyes, one of the many security guards that constantly seemed to be around.

“This is a restricted area. What are you doing here?” he demanded, pushing Jason firmly against the wall.

“Is it? I was just looking for the washroom,” Jason replied, feigned the surprise in his voice perfectly. “Robert Calis encouraged me to have a look around, and the door was open.” He waved at the still open portal that he had first entered through.

The guard looked surprised at the clearly open door, but could not dispute that it was indeed open. “These are his personal apartments and hence off-limits to guests.”

“Well I am very sorry, I didn’t know. I’ll be leaving then.”

For a moment Jason thought the guard was going to argue, and was about to tense himself for the impending confrontation, when suddenly the guard took a step back, releasing him. Motioning Jason towards the door, the guard insisted. “I need to ask that you leave.”

“Of course, of course,” Jason replied mildly, stepping through the door he had entered, noting that it shut firmly behind him. Retracing his steps, he decided that upon Robert’s return there would be some questions he would be very interested in the answer to.

*****

It was not much later when Robert and Miranda returned, both looking harried.

Noticing Jason sitting at the table, alone and obviously bored, Miranda apologised. “Jason I am sorry that we were so long—”

“No problem, I found some things to keep myself occupied,” Jason replied easily, shooting Robert a suspicious glance. Rising to his feet and taking a step closer to Miranda, Jason peered at her intently. Leaning forward he plucked a blade of grass from her hair. “I think that you brought some of the garden back with you,” he commented dryly, shooting the pair another suspicious look.

Blushing, Miranda quickly recounted the events that had transpired, finishing with how their attacker had managed to slip away.

“That would’ve been because you two were both too busy rolling around in the grass?” Jason snapped, not quite able to keep the resentment from his voice.

“That's not true,” Miranda protested. “Not that it has anything to do with you. It’s not as if you are—jealous?” Miranda looked at Jason in surprise, noticing the hurt expression on his face.

“As you say, it is nothing to do with me what the two of you get up to,” Jason replied stiffly, shooting Robert another poisonous look. Jason suddenly found that he had a burning desire to find out exactly who this other woman was, and he would then take great delight in telling Miranda exactly who he had found.

Chapter Thirteen

The Relentless, Flagship of the Confederation 8
^th
Fleet, Sirius System

From the darkened room, Jon watched the massive airships rise from the swirling clouds of the gas giant’s thick atmosphere. The 8
^th
Fleet was currently in orbit around one of the many gas giants that orbited the Sirius A primary star. Its fainter twin Sirius B was clearly visible, standing out from the background of stars. Then his attention was drawn to the Helium-3 mining operation that was going on under the watchful eye of the fleet.

The atmosphere of this particular gas giant was the brightest azure-blue, caused by the composition of the upper atmosphere refracting the light from its star, or so Anna had explained several nights before. To his untrained eye it reminded him of an old holo-vid of a pair of hunchback whales rising from the depths of the ocean. However, these were no whales, but massive airships, kilometres in length, rising up by means of their massive envelopes, now full with Helium-3. He watched, enthralled, as the pair of airships docked with one of the massive bulk carriers, which would transport the Helium-3 to every corner of the Confederation. The bulk carrier was equally as impressive, easily dwarfing the
Relentless,
the largest ship in the fleet, in terms of both size and mass. The bulk carriers were the largest ships in the Confederation, over several kilometres in length. The only ship ever to match them in size and grandeur had been the Imperial Navy flagship the
Imperial Star
. Thoughts about that ship, which he had destroyed almost two years before, instinctively led to Marcus—and Sofia.

Turning his thoughts aside from that gaping wound, it occurred to him that he should consider instigating a fleet-wide reconstruction program to replace the navy warships that had been lost over the years. For the Confederation Senate had put an immediate halt to the work on any new warships under construction, wanting to reduce the size, and therefore influence, of the navy. As a result, the fleet was critically short of ships, so much so that the 12
^th
Fleet, which had been led by the
Imperial Star
, had been disbanded entirely. Hearing footsteps behind him, Jon cast that thought out into the inky darkness, to be revisited again later, during the light of the day.

Accepting the glass of amber liquid with a nod of thanks to Anna, he observed over the rim of his glass her form-fitting dress, which accentuated her willowy figure.

“You like?” she smiled, pirouetting in front of him, causing the turquoise coloured evening dress to ride up to her thighs. “I’m not much of a fan of the Confederation Navy uniform. Too much black and red. It’s morose.” She scrunched her face up to indicate her disdain.

Jon laughed at her expression, tipping his glass in her direction. “It looks good on you. Really. I’ll issue a proclamation tomorrow, banning the fleet uniform for all women. I’m sure that it will do wonders for morale.” His lips upturned in a smile, as Anna jokingly punched him on the chest. Taking a sip of the drink, he abruptly spat out the tart-tasting liquid, only just managing to avoid ruining Anna’s dress. “By the Great Maker, what is this?” he demanded aghast.