The Prize: Book One (40 page)

With the great wheel of the Milky Way galaxy forever turning, and the star system and planet all in constant motion, every star system had to be surveyed.  With their base line position, and orbital motion entered into the central navigational data bank, ship navigators referenced the destination stars, and set his system to that of Telluria Prime.  It was the same as setting the ships clock to GMT on Earth.  You had to have a base line from which to start from to calculate the exact position of the star system you were jumping from, and the star you were jumping too.  With a known value, its relative motion to the rest of the star system, and to the rest of the galaxy at large, it was relatively easy to calculate where you were going to from any location.

“It's like using GMT to calculate your time/distance journey for ships before the invention of GPS.”  Penn muttered off-handedly, rubbing his chin and deep in thought.

“If we could get into the central data banks on Telluria Prime and erase the information to Earth's location, the Empire wouldn't be able to pinpoint it.  They'd have to resurvey the whole region from some other known location first.  That could take up to five, maybe ten years.  That would give us time.

“But how are we going to manufacture what we need?  The Empire just about destroyed all our manufacturing facilities, especially the high-tech stuff,” Ellis asked.  For a moment, Penn continued pacing back and forth, and then stopped in his tracks.

“You said something about replicating food for us to eat down in the weapons bay… what did you mean?”  He asked, looking at the ball.

“There is a devise that will replicate a wide range of items.”

“…of course there is!”  Ellis stood and punched Penn on the arm.

“Ouch!  What?”  Penn asked in surprise.

“Where do you think all those monsters and things came from?  Ellis pointed over her shoulder at the glowing ball.  ”He manufactures them as needed.”

“Makes sense to me…”  He said, rubbing his arm.  ”Do you have such a device?”

“I have many such devices of various sizes throughout this structure.”  Penn stood there, eyes wide as the implication of that statement sank in.

Down in the fake weapons bay he'd seen weapons and ships of all shapes and sizes, or at least he thought he did.  Apart from the tank he'd actually been in, or the rifle crate he'd opened, he suspected that the rest were nothing more than shells.

“Can you give us the design, or whatever for this replicator?”

“I can.  I have the design for a replicator that is within your present level of technological development, however is has limitations.”

“Such as?”

“I cannot give you any design for weapons.  You will have to do that yourself within your own technological abilities and limitations.  Secondly, any design must be complete down to the molecular structure of the material you will be using.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes.  Its capability depends on the complexity of what is being replicated, and the availability of sufficient materials.”

“This all sounds wonderful, but we're stuck on this rock, remember?”

“Not so, Sub-Major Ellis.  I have the means of transporting you anywhere you wish to go.”

“A ship?”

“Yes Mr.  Penn.  It is part of a museum exhibit at another location.  You would have to travel there by other means since no ship can take off from this planet.  Deliberately so since the Edifice went on line.”

“Then how do we get… wait a minute!  If you can't land here, how did your people get here to be tested, and how do we get off?”

“Through the inter-dimensional transportation system of course.”  Somehow, the sphere made it sound as if it was something everyone should know.

“Of course.  Why didn't we think of that?”  Ellis snorted sarcastically.  ”So we can go anywhere, even back to Earth?”

“Yes, Sub-Major.  My creators mapped every galaxy and star system in the known cosmos.  I constantly update that information as new star systems come into existence.  It is possible for you to travel to any one of them.”

“So, how do we get to Telluria?”  Penn asked the glowing ball.

“Either by ship or through that doorway.”

“And?”  Penn asked skeptically.

“Not very informative is he.”  Ellis whispered.

“You step out onto the surface of Telluria.”

“We human are a little dense.  We also like a little more information then you are probably used to giving.”  For a moment, the glowing ball was quiet.

“That is an oversight on my part.  My builder's race needed no such explanation as to the workings of the teleportation device.”

“Taught at school?”  Ellis guessed.

“No.  For the last few million years of their existence, they had no need for the device or for ships.”

“So how did they get from planet to planet?”

“My builders learned to harness power of their mind.”

“You mean they could transport themselves anywhere they wanted to go… just by thinking about it?”

“Yes, Sub-Major Ellis.  Exactly.”

“Good grief!”  The thought was staggering.  Ellis looked up, seeing the infinite distance of the galaxy in her mind's eye.  ”Penn, can you imagine a race that could transport itself anywhere in the galaxy in the blink of an eye?”

“Ultimate freedom…”  He murmured absently, looking up as well.

“No want, no hunger, no poverty…”

“No hate, no war.”  Penn added.

“All those things ended with childhood, Mr.  Penn.”  The ball of light said very softly, knowing how deeply the revelation affected the two humans.

“One day.”  Penn sighed.

“We'll get there, Richard.”  Ellis leaned over and kissed him.  Penn mind returned to the problem at hand.  They couldn't teleport the way the old race did, so, as usual, they would have to get there the hard way.

“Can you transport us inside a building?”

“Not at this time.  I have not mapped the inside of every structure on every planet since my builder departed, as there was no need.  Buildings are transient, and have little meaning over the life span of the planet.  I can, however, deposit you on the surface”

“I can see that.”

“Once you have entered any building, I can immediately construct a digital image of the whole structure.

“So, where on Telluria do we want to land, Richard?”

“As I said, we need to get inside the startograph building and erase Earth's location.

“Penn, outside of the Royal Palace that is the most secure, and heavily defended building on planet.”

“So, we need to create a diversion to draw off the troops.”

“A diversion…”  Ellis looked pensive.  ”How about a couple of large explosions… somewhere harmless.”  Even before she'd finished outlining her suggestion, Penn was shaking his head.

“At best, that, would draw off the local guards, and the civilian emergency response teams.  No, we need something that will draw in upper level Security forces.  Can you show us Telluria as it is now?”

“Yes Mr.  Penn.  I can show you the planet you call Telluria from any time since it came into existence until the present.”

One wall of the room turned into a huge screen showing an inky, star-studded blackness.  They soon realized the view was traveling at an incredible speed toward a pinpoint of brightness at the center.  The point quickly evolved into a glowing star, then veered away toward the fourth planet of the system.  At last, it felt as if they were in orbit around Telluria.

“What would you like to see, Mr. Penn?”

“Can you locate the Royal Palace?”  The view blurred for a moment, rushing across the surface and stopping at last directly over the Palace at the heart of the Imperial City.

“Can we get a more panoramic view?”  Gradually the angle flattened until they had a more three dimensional view.  They could see people and transports buzzing excitedly around the Palace.

“Looks like they are dressing the place up for a party, Richard.”

“Wait a minute … is this real time?”

“Yes Mr.  Penn, it is.”

At every turn, this building held more and more surprises.  Penn couldn't even begin to comprehend the level of technology the builder had mastered.  It boggled the mine to think these people could see any point in the cosmos in real time and travel there in the blink of an eye.  So much for the speed of light.  With what he and Ellis had seen to date, the amount of power the pyramid used accounted for a fraction of the energy the outside of this building absorbed every second.

“What is the date on Telluria right now?”  The glowing ball of light rattled off a string of indecipherable numbers.

“No very helpful.  How about something us humans can understand?  The ball of light responded with a date every soldier in the Empire knew by heart.  Ellis's jaw dropped.  Penn said nothing as he sat down.

“It's the Emperor's birthday party.”  She whispered.  At last, Penn spoke, softly.

”I remember another birthday party a long time ago where a lot of beautiful young girls died.”

“Richard… you can't blame yourself for that!”

“Yes I can.  They died for nothing!”  Ellis sat down next to him.

“I once condemned you for that, and I'm sorry.”

“Don't be.  I deserved it.  There had to be a better way, but in my arrogance and anger, I couldn't see it.”

“The road to hell is always paved with good intentions, Richard.”  Penn looked away.  He could no longer bear the memory.  He looked up at Telluria on the screen.

“You realize I could probably go and kill the Emperor directly?”  Ellis nodded, though she couldn't be sure Penn was talking to her.  ”But what's the point?”

“It would get rid of one more asshole.”

“But would anything be better after I did?”  He asked, looking into Ellis's eyes.  Ellis shook her head.

Whatever the entity had done to them when he repaired their bodies, it had also affected their brains.  Ellis knew she was thinking clearer than she had in her whole life, and she knew what Richard meant.  Killing the Emperor wouldn't change a thing.  They'd just put another head on the snake and the Empire would just go on, just like the Roman Empire did.  There had to be another way.

“What do you have in mind, Richard?”

“Like I said, we need to create a diversion.”  The grin on Penn face was infectious, and a moment later Ellis was smiling as well.

“If someone were to attack the Emperor, or start a fully fledged fire fight in the Palace, what do you think would happen?  He asked.

“They'd call in every swinging tit, dick and ass within fifty miles of the place.”  She laughed.  Penn laughed uproariously at Ellis's description of events, looked up at the ball.

“We need to find a nice quite place for us to land… and the appropriate dress for the Emperor's birthday party.”

“What time of day would you like?”

“Early morning.  That would give us the time we need to create as much confusion as possible.”  Ellis pumped her fist in the air.

“Oh yes!  They'd have to pull in Security force from around the city, including the Startograph Institute.”

“Right.”  Ellis grinned at him.

“Wouldn't it be great if we could grab the damn Director of IMPSEC at the same time?”  Ellis mused, seeing Penn rub his chin thoughtfully.

“From what I know of that asshole, he's probably as well defended as the Emperor.”  He said at last.  “The best we can hope for it to get to the main comm center, or his office and send a message in his name withdrawing the troops from Earth.”

“Why not withdraw Imperial troops from all the occupied worlds?”  Penn laughed.

“Boy, would that throw the whole stinking pile of shit into confusion, and maybe start a few civil wars.”

“If that happened, it would give us a window of opportunity to sort things out on Earth, and get some sort of viable defense set up.”

“Oh yes!  Between putting down rebellion all over the place, the Imperial navy wouldn't have enough ships to put on a low level task like re-surveying a region of space for some lost planet.”

“Yes, especially a place like Earth.  They'd probably think it would be better off not finding it again.”

“True, and hopefully they won't figure out they can find Earth for a while.”

“By that time they find us again, we have something to fight them with.”  It was a sobering thought.

“Tell me about this ship we can have.”

“At this moment it is in a museum at another location.  I have communicated with it, and the ship is readying itself for your arrival.”

“It's in a museum you say?”  Ellis asked, sounding dubious.

“Yes it is, Sub Major Ellis.”

“Somehow, I don't think you want to know how old it is.”  Ellis looked at him. 

“Err… yes, I guess I don't either.”

CHAPTER - FORTY:              The Emperor's Birthday Party - Telluria Prime

Imperial weather control performed perfectly, ensuring the Royal Palace sparkled in the bright morning sun, the walls clean and fresh from the overnight rain.  Colorful bunting fluttering from the rooftops and soaring minarets.  Servants and slaves had scurried about inside since midnight, while others worked in the lush gardens, adding the final touches to the birthday decorations.  The cold stares of stone-faced IMPSEC guards watched everyone, including the slaves turning the freshly scattered ashes of the recently departed into the rich, black soil, thereby continuing some luckless individual anonymous service to the Empire.  The ashes nourished the bright flowers that decorated the Emperor's breakfast table.  A few slaves shed silent tears for the departed, taking great care that none of the wandering IMPSEC guards, or floating spy cams saw the tears.  Fear was their watchword, fear of punishment, fear of pain, fear of death, something they all learned quickly once pressed into servicing the needs of the Royal Palace.

The IMPSEC gate guards in their comical ceremonial uniforms were already sweating in the cool, early morning air as they scanned each guest in.  They knew this was the start of a long day, as the seemingly endless line of magnificent ground cars began to pull up at the main entrance, each delivering their lavishly clad occupants to the early morning celebrations.  None of whom wanted the Emperor, or the Director of Imperial Security to think they didn't want to come.  The guards looked forward to the afternoon, and the main rush of guests, praying the day would have a few incidents.  They knew from experience it was a foregone conclusion, there would be a few incidents.  Uninvited guests arrived alongside dignitaries from all parts of the Empire, and the guards knew that no matter how complete their lists, there were always people turning up who weren't on it.  The dignitaries would fume and yell, all thinking they were somebody for having been invited to the Empire birthday party, and the uninvited guests would scoff at the suggestion that they weren't invited.  Some they could turn away with a soft word, a few needed a heavier hand.  The problem became compounded when some of the less than civilized citizens who barely spoke a coherent language, came without their mandatory translation disk and earpiece.  They would scream at the guards as if they were the Emperor himself, instead of some backwater hick with barely two thin credits to rub together.  The guard in question would have to bite his tongue, as he was in no position to tell the stupid clown why he was really here, but heaven help the poor bugger who stepped out of line.  There would be hell to pay if they came down hard on the wrong person, but this duty was nothing compared to an undetermined sentence in a penal Battalion.  Such was the life of an IMPSEC guard at a royal function.

The 30 hour day wore slowly on as the bright summer sun, a G0 primary, bathed the Capital of the Tellurian Empire in bright yellow/white light.  The star climbed slowly into the heavens as the endless line of ground vehicles snaked its way into the Capital.  Clogging street and boulevard in a snarl of honking traffic and swearing citizens.  Some dignitaries decided to walk, rather than wait until they arrived at the gate, thereby complicating the orderly screening process.  The guards did their job patiently, if not enthusiastically, but secretly they were all waiting for some unsuspecting mucky-muck on the wrong side of a prescription order to show up.

The back room of the guardhouse had a special place for the daylong 'interrogation'.  Most of the guards felt it was a bonus if the stupid bugger brought his wife and children with him.  An additional bonus to the meager pay, was the credits they could shake out of them to ensure the safety of their family.  Of course, with the money in hand, the guards never really felt the need to uphold their end of the bargain.  On days like this, there were several proscription order on the books, and that’s when the gloves came off.  Thankfully, blood didn't stick to glazed tiles, and the oxygen fed furnace under the Palace took care of the remains, their ashes helping to bring out the rich colors in the Palace flowerbeds.  As each guest presented their invitation, the guards checked their wrist screens with anticipation, or traded quick glances with each other if an attractive wife or daughter accompanied the guest.