Empire's Son: An Epic Science Fiction Novel Series

Rainus read over the quarterly economy report for Avi-da for the fifth time and still could absorb any of the information. He closed down the viewing screen projected from his unity ring with a heavy sigh. Rainus found that immersing himself in work was failing to provide a suitable distraction.

He stood up from the lounge area of the bedchamber that he'd been attempting to use as a makeshift office. Normally, he was good at compartmentalizing himself from present concerns as he focused on work. It was a necessary requirement for running a kingdom, because there were always things to worry about, whether they be concerned over his subjects or personal matters. Though today, he seemed to be having difficulty refocusing from wondering how Markus and Adar were faring.

They should be in the administration building and safely under the care of the security personnel there, but something in his gut told him otherwise. He had tried to push the uneasy feeling away, but it had only grown over the last few minutes. Finally unable to settle himself down, Rainus palmed the door open.

All seemed quiet in the chalet residence except for the howling of the storm that raged outside. He looked to the right, where he knew he'd find Jamiss on guard. One thing he could always count on was the steadfastness of his Protector. Though it seemed the other Protector, Tetki, was nowhere to be seen.

"Have you heard word from Markus?" Rainus asked.

"Tetki has gone to assist him," Jamiss said.

"Assist him?" Rainus asked with alarm. That had not been a part of the plan. "What has happened?"

"Majesty-"

"No," Rainus interrupted the Protector with a firm tone, reminding the man who was the King and who was the bodyguard, because sometimes Jamiss forgot that, placing his duty before everything else. "I know you want to protect me, Jamiss, but if something has happened to my son or the Heir, you will tell me now."

Jamiss clenched his jaw for a moment, and then spoke. "They were ambushed in the tunnel. The Heir has been taken. I sent Tetki down to assist. I have also alerted crisis management, though with the storm locking down the College, only those currently in the administration building can respond."

"Then why are we waiting here? Let's go!" Rainus heard his voice booming in rage at his Protector for not informing him of this earlier. Though it wasn't a surprise. The Protector knew how Rainus would react.

"Majesty, I will not willingly take you into an unknown situation, especially when I know a place has been compromised. I must insist we stay here until we hear word that the administration building is secure."

Rainus felt his heart pounding in his chest, anger and fear warring within him. He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. As much as he hated to admit it, Jamiss was right. Rushing headlong into an unknown situation would be foolish, especially for a king.

Yavit. Ranius knew something had gone horribly wrong. Part of him wanted to order Jamiss to go after them anyway, but the king in Rainus refrained. He had a duty to his subjects first and foremost, even above being a concerned father. Markus was well trained for this sort of thing. He would be alright, and he'd bring Adar back. Adar had to be okay; there was too much at stake for it to be otherwise.

"Very well," Rainus said, his voice tight with restrained emotion. "But I want an update as soon as it comes in. The moment we have confirmation that the tunnel and administration building are secure, we move."

Jamiss nodded, his expression grim. "Of course, Majesty."

Rainus retreated into the bedchambers and began to pace the room, knowing any pretense at working was gone. Had it been Captain Hame that had attacked? How had they known about the tunnels? And most importantly, where had he taken Adar?

The howling of the storm outside seemed to mock him, reminding him of why they were in this position in the first place. It was clever of Hame to use the storm as a cover for his attack. Almost too clever. How had he known in enough time to use it to his advantage? The last Rainus had heard, Hame was hiding out somewhere in the desert. How had the man brought the shield down and staged this attack and not draw any unwanted attention? Every person in the College was on the lookout for him.

He must have had help. That was the only explanation. Could it have been someone inside the College? Shiperii and Dexter had assured them they had found all the traitors. Rainus wasn't so sure. This attack had gone too smoothly for a man on the run to have implemented it so successfully.

"Majesty, I just heard from Tetki. He says all is secure." Jamiss's voice came from Ranius's unity ring, an indeterminable amount of time later.

This caused him to stop his pacing as he responded. "What of Markus and Adar?"

"Tetki says they are with him, and he has Prince Zorren in custody."

That last part sent surprise rushing through Rainus. Zorren? He'd actually come here to the College? Well, he supposed that explained the smoothness of the plan. Zorren did nothing by halves. Though Rainus was surprised the Prince had risked himself personally.

The King made for the bedchamber door and quickly stepped out into the living area. "Then let's go." He made for the transporter, not even waiting for Jamiss to follow. If Zorren had allowed himself to get caught, then that meant they finally had the evidence needed to bring charges against the man. Rainus smiled. Maybe this attack hadn't been such a disaster after all.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

***

As soon as Rainus laid eyes on Markus, the King knew something had changed. There was a lightness about him that Rainus had not remembered seeing in his son since before his mother had died. He also seemed to stand just a little taller, with his grey eyes holding a new determination. And there was… was that a golden aura around him? Rainus closed his eyes and reopened them, thinking he might see things, but the aura was still there like a faint mist, barely there but undeniably present.

Rainus stepped into the Chief Commander Dexter's office, where Jamiss had been told to bring Rainus after they'd come out of the tunnel connecting the chalet to the administration building.

"Were you hurt? Where's Adar?" Rainus immediately asked his son.

"I'm fine, pavi. Adar's with a Caretaker who's looking him over. He was injured down in the caverns, but he'll be alright. Most of it has healed already." Markus reassured him.

"What?" Rainus blinked at his son as if he hadn't heard correctly.

"How's Nathias?" Markus asked, with concern for his friend on his face.

He and Jamiss had passed the Major and his unit on the way to the tunnel. "He has a minor injury, but a few treatments will set him right. Unfortunately, two of his men were killed and three are seriously wounded. He opted to stay with them until they can get proper care."

His son looked relieved. "I'm glad to hear more weren't killed. MX4 suits were used. It could have been a lot worse."

Rainus turned to the other man in the room with astonishment. "How did that happen? I was under the impression the suits were supposed to be under tight supervision, especially after Markus liberated one last week."

His son flinched at Rainus's remark. Well, at least the boy seemed to have some remorse for his actions in abducting Adar in his misguided way of trying to protect the Heir to the Empire.

The question had gone to the grim-faced man standing off to the side of his large wooden desk near the back wall of the room. He'd been silent since Rainus had entered, but even without the Empathic Dome-ni, the King could sense the Commander's anger.

"It seems Kaller Hame had all the right access codes that allowed him to take out two MX4 suits from the armory depot a little over an hour ago. He even had my code, which we added as an extra security measure since the incident last week."

Shock rushed through Rainus. "How?"

Commander Dexter pointed at the unity ring laid out on his desk. "It appears Prince Zorren hacked into the College's most protected files using Protector Roterick's security codes."

The only thing that surprised Rainus about that statement was that Zorren had Roterick's access codes. Zorren himself wasn't a Nanite Network hacker, but the man knew the right people to make that happen. If he had the right key to open a door, there was no doubt in Rainus's mind that Zorren had ferreted out every secret the College had. Rainus just thought a Protector would be more careful about sharing confidential information about the College, even to his charge.

"Isn't it against the rules to share that sort of information with a charge?" Rainus asked. He didn't know for sure, but it seemed like a prudent step for the Protectorate to take with its members. Sure, the College provided protection to the noble houses, but that service only went so far.

"It seems breaking rules is the theme of the day." Dexter threw Markus a rather dark glower.

Rainus turned his attention back to his son. "What did you do this time, Markus?"

"What I had to do. Adar would have died otherwise," his son replied.

"What?" Rainus asked in alarm.

"Zorren knifed Adar," Markus explained. "It was bad. By the time I caught up with him, he was bleeding out. If I had tried to move him to bring him up here for a treatment, he would have died before we even reached the transporter. I did the right thing, and the Commander here knows it. He's just doesn't like that I broke another one of the Protectorate's stupid rules."

"We have them for a reason, Nador. What you did has consequences. He's now more vulnerable than ever."

"I will protect him." Markus said stubbornly.

"And how will you protect him from your own death?" Dexter's heated voice asked. "If you die, he dies. That's how double bonding works. And that is exactly why we have a rule against doing it. We are here to protect our charges, not to give their enemies another way to kill them!"

"Well said, Commander." Everyone in the room turned to find that Director Shiperii had entered. He stood there a moment, taking in Markus, Rainus and Jamiss, the last of whom was standing in a guard position just inside the door, and then marched past Rainus to take a seat in Commander Dexter's chair like it belonged to him instead.

"But even though I don't like what's happened." Shiperii continued as he settled into the chair. "What's done is done. The double bond in permanent, and there's nothing we can do about that. So we are going to have to move forward and plan accordingly, but let me make it abundantly clear, Protector Nador, that you are under reprimand and will receive remediation for some time to come for this breach."

Markus seemed unperturbed by this as he stood there without comment and with an almost bored expression on his face. Rainus turned his attention back to the Director.

"I feel lost here. I thought Markus had been permanently removed from Protectorate membership?" Rainus asked, more than a little perplexed by the conversation.

A heavy silence hung in the room for a long moment before Shiperii finally responded. "Forgive me, King Rainus. We rarely share our most closely guarded secrets with those outside the membership of the College, but considering what's happened, I suppose we will have to make an exception to that.

"I will save you from the same lecture we give the Disciples first hearing this. You see, in order to become a Pledge, Disciples moving into their Eighth Year of the Program have to sit through a series of presentations, giving them vital information about the bonding process. This is proprietary information. We keep this secret for obvious reasons that you will hear for yourself soon. Only those who agree to move forward as a Pledge are allowed to keep their memories of these presentations, so to keep the information secret.

"Because of what has happened with the Heir, we believe you need this information and are free to relay it to the Emperor, but we ask that you do not share this with anyone else or talk about it with any who are not already in the know." Shiperii paused a moment to give Rainus an expectant look and even threw one to Jamiss behind the King.

The King gave a slight bow of his head. "I assure you that anything you reveal to me in confidence will remain so, except for when I speak to the Emperor, and I will pass on your desire of secrecy to him as well."

Director nodded and seemed pleased to have that reassurance. "Thank you, Majesty. Then I will make this as short as I can, and you can review the files at your leisure."

The Director gestured to Dexter, who opened a screen on his unity ring, selected a handful of files, and stepped forward to tap his ring to Rainus's. He then stepped back beside his desk. Rainus ignored the files for the moment as he gave the Director his full attention.