Empire's Son: An Epic Science Fiction Novel Series

Rainus made his way through the debris covered streets of the College. There were more people out and about than when he'd come through just a short time ago. The gritty haze from the storm was clearing. He put his mask back on at Jamiss's request, but he could see that some people walking around were managing without one or the full body black suit he'd seen a majority use the first time he'd come through the College today.

No one paid him any mind as he and Jamiss moved swiftly down the center lane. Most of the people looked too busy trying to help those who were injured, moving heavy objects that had been thrown about by the storm, or simply staring at the destruction in disbelief. Rainus noted the efficient organization despite the chaos—teams working with purpose rather than panic, a testament to Protectorate training.

As he walked, the King maintained his mental shields with practiced discipline, but he could hear the raw emotional currents radiating from the College inhabitants—fear, confusion, determination—all pressing against his consciousness like waves against a seawall.

The mental pressure was familiar to Rainus—he'd felt similar waves after the bombing on Darat three years prior by a Fazha insurrectionist. The same mixture of shock and resolve, of disbelief coupled with duty. He adjusted his shields, allowing just enough awareness of the mental chatter to gauge the collective mood without becoming overwhelmed by individual minds.

"Majesty, I thought you were leaving?"

Rainus was a little startled to find Nathias had fallen into step beside him. He'd been so focused on what was going on with everyone else, he'd not noticed the man approaching. As usual, Nathias's mind gave very little away as he matched steps with the King. He had always suspected that Markus had trained Nathias to actively keep Rainus from reading his surface thoughts, like Rainus had once taught Markus.

"Change of plans," Rainus replied, his voice low. "There are matters requiring my attention here, but Markus and Adar are safely away from Vega Prime. How are you and your injured men?" he noticed Nathias was walking with a limp.

"My injury isn't bad. A few more treatments and I'll be good as new. The others weren't so lucky, but with time, Thatch and Roster will fully recover. I lost four men in total, one of them just a few minutes ago. He didn't make it through his first treatment."

Rainus registered the ripple of grief passing through Nathias, a momentary crack in his mental armor. Though the man's face remained stoic, the loss weighed on him.

"That's unfortunate, but they did their jobs well," Rainus said simply.

"I heard they still got Adar," Nathias said thickly. He was clearly taking the defeat hard, but then Rainus always knew losing men was difficult. He felt the loss of the men too, but he'd learned long ago to put some distance between himself and the deaths of those who served. As King, such losses were inevitable, and carrying each one would render him incapable of leading.

"Yes, but it worked out in the end. Adar is safe. You did your duty, and you and your men did it to the best of your ability. That's all that can be expected of you, Nathias." Rainus attempted to soothe the man.

This had consistently been an issue for the younger man. He struggled to cope with losses, particularly when those under his command lost their lives. This was a weakness for someone leading one of the Vanguard's Elite Defenders units, which often faced the toughest missions within the Kings's military. However, Rainus hoped the Arch-Major would eventually overcome this flaw with time.

"My men are still dead," the younger man said flatly.

Rainus decided to let the comment go. Nathias was angry, and arguing with that anger would do no one any good. The man had a right to his anger, after all. Instead, Rainus opted to refocus the Major's attention.

"There's going to be trouble soon. We need to prepare. When is your next treatment scheduled?"

"Not for another eight hours."

"Good, then––"

A shrill, piercing sound echoed through the street, causing Rainus and Nathias to halt abruptly. The King observed that everyone else around him had also come to a standstill. Though the noise was jarring to the ears, it lasted only a few moments. Once it ceased, everyone started moving in the direction the sound had come from.

"Jamiss?" Rainus looked back to his Protector.

"That's the signal for an emergency gathering. Everyone will be headed to the main assembly area." Jamiss explained, pointing Rainus up the street.

The King nodded. He knew what this was about. This was why he'd come down here after all. He was interested to hear how the College would handle the incoming invaders, though Rainus hoped that Vang and the College's outer defense would take care of the problem before the enemy got this far.

He moved with the others as the streets quickly filled with people pouring from buildings. Many had still been indoors during the storm. Rainus noted how the crowd moved with practiced efficiency despite the chaos surrounding them—a choreographed flow of bodies, each person aware of their place in the collective movement.

It wasn't long before Rainus found the assembly field. He ignored all the people swarming around him and stepped across the parched sandy ground toward where he saw a large knot of officers off to the side that included Chief Commander Dexter and Directors Shiperii and Foster. All three looked surprised to see him.

"Majesty, we thought you'd left with the Heir. Is there a problem?" Shiperii asked.

Rainus shook his head. "No problem. Just a change in plans. The Heir is on his way to Vega Prime, but I will stay here." He gave Director Foster a deep nod of the head. "It's good to see you are well again."

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Foster nodded back. "Thank you, Majesty. I'm pleased to be back on my feet," Foster replied, his voice measured. There were no signs of the injury he had suffered from Master Meh-len. "Though I wish it were under better circumstances."

Lines were rapidly forming all across the field as the Trainees and College staff arranged themselves in disciplined rows despite the debris scattered about.

"How much time do we have?" Rainus asked, keeping his voice low so only the three could hear him.

Foster exchanged a glance with Shiperii before answering. "Orbital Command reports the enemy will be in targeting range within twenty-two minutes. Admiral Vang is putting together a coordinated attack with them. If the invader breaks through that defense, we will have to be ready for engagement."

"Then we better get things moving," Shiperii frowned, giving Dexter a nod.

The Captain signaled behind him, and Rainus noticed Chief Winters as he marched out into the center of the field. Dexter followed quickly after. Winters held up a hand high over his head and another sharp shriek sounded. Those not in a line yet hurried to be in one. The loud chatter that had hung over the field quickly died. By the time Winters and Dexter had reached the center, a silence had fallen over the crowd.

Dexter nodded at Winters, and the man stepped forward to address the crowd. "COLLEGE OF THE PROTECTORATE, ATTENTION!" Winters's voice carried across the assembly field without need of artificial amplification. "WE ARE UNDER A LEVEL ONE THREAT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

The assembled crowd stood straighter, their collective focus sharpening. Rainus observed the subtle shift in their stance—shoulders squaring, chins lifting—a physical manifestation of their mental preparation for crisis.

Dexter stepped forward, his weathered face grave as he held a palm-sized voice expander in front of his mouth and began to speak without having to raise his voice as Winters had.

"I know we are still reeling from the shield dome coming down and the damage done to the College from the storm, but we have to put that aside, because we have another emergency to face. Just over half an hour ago, a vessel identified as having hostile intentions breached our outer defense perimeter of the Sora System. This is an enemy we have never seen before. It has come from beyond the Empire's borders."

Dexter gave a moment for that news to settle onto those gathered. There were many gasps from the crowd, but before the chatter could start, Dexter continued his speech.

"We don't know much about these invaders, except that they have already destroyed a space station, a Zahnian battle cruiser, and taken out the Sector Four Relay station. Their campaign of destruction ends here. If Admiral Vang's fleet of ships and Orbital Command don't take care of this threat, then we will. This ends today! Long live the Empire!"

"LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!" shouted thousands of voices across the field, as if with one voice.

Dexter waited a moment as the shout died out and raised the voice expander to his mouth again. "Admiral Vang has found a weakness that we can use. The enemy appears to be weakened by a certain sound frequency. A copy of this has been sent to all of your unity rings. Those assigned to MX4 suits will need to load it into the intelli-suit's mainframe. Those without suits will be issued R2 rifles, which, as you know, have sonic functions. Like the suits, we only have so many, so only Pledges or Disciples will get these weapons. Any Pledge or Disciple left without one of these will fall back into defensive positions around the administration building and the Hall of Renown.

"For the rest of it, we will observe standard College assault procedures. While we haven't had an attack at this location before, we have certainly drilled for it. Look to the Command officers and College instructors. They will be in key positions to make sure everyone knows what to do. For those assigned to battle groups, look to your appointed leader. All Cadets and non-essential College staff will assemble in the administration building or Hall of Renown depending on your assigned areas. Medical teams will stand by for potential casualties."

Dexter motioned to Chief Winters, who once again began bellowing commands. "FORM UP WITH YOUR BATTLE LEADERS…"

So why exactly did you come back?" Director Shiperii asked from Rainus's side.

The King tuned out Winter's focusing on the conversation at hand. "I have direct orders from the Emperor to contact the invaders if Vang cannot destroy the enemy."

The Director raised an eyebrow. "And how successful do you think the Admiral's attempt will be?"

Rainus frowned. "Considering what I have heard of these aliens so far, I think it's certainly a possibility that I will land in the position of having to negotiate."

"What makes you think the invaders will want to talk?" Director Foster asked.

"They have already made contact and expressed a desire to meet with the Emperor, but he is concerned about their aggressive behavior and wants to know as much as possible about these aliens and why they have come to the Empire. Since they have shown an ability to read minds and with my proficiency in political negotiations, the Emperor believes I am the right person to gather more information about them, and perhaps open up a dialogue."

"Dialogue? There's nothing to discuss. They are invading our territory." Nathias growled from Rainus's side.

"Be that as it may, if we are ineffective at convincing them to leave through the power of our might and weapons, then we may have to resort to a diplomatic solution, at least until we can make them leave our Empire," Rainus said.

The Directors and Nathias had nothing to say about that. In fact, a solemn silence fell over the group.

Rainus observed the Directors' faces—concern etched in their expressions, but determination in their eyes. He turned his attention to the field where the College personnel were rapidly organizing into their battle groups. Even amid the previous destruction, the Protectorate's discipline held firm.

"If I may ask, Majesty," Foster said, breaking the silence, "what exactly does one say to an invading force that's already destroyed Imperial assets?"

"That depends entirely on what they want," Rainus replied. "Every aggressor has motives—resources, territory, revenge. Understanding those motives provides leverage."

Shiperii's jaw tightened. "And if their motive is simply our destruction?"

"Then we gain time to prepare while appearing to negotiate," Rainus replied, his tone measured. "Either way, knowledge is our advantage." Rainus turned to Nathias.

"I'll need a small team of your most mentally disciplined fighters. People who can maintain a steady block under stress. I know your people still on Sora are incapacitated, so you will have to send for more men on your corvettes. I would say a couple dozen will do. Send them now or they won't have time to get down here before the enemy engages."

Nathias nodded and walked off, presumably to find a quiet spot to make the make the call to his three ships still in orbit. Rainus had previously instructed Vang to keep the Vanguard ships out of the initial battle in case the Admiral's defense failed.

Rainus turned his attention back to the Directors. "I need a secure location for my potential contact—somewhere defensible but isolated enough that if things go wrong, the damage can be contained."

"The chalet?" Foster suggested after a moment's consideration.

Rainus nodded, and then he remembered it was already occupied. "What of Zorren? Isn't he there? And isn't the foyer still a mess from Hame's attack?"

"Yes, Prince Zorren was moved to one of the lower apartments half an hour ago with a team headed by Protector Tetki to keep him secure. Though the Prince isn't going anywhere, since he's still in the forced comma." Shiperii then looked at Foster before responding. "What about the auditorium?"

That would do. Rainus nodded. "Then the auditorium it is." He turned to Jamiss, his faithful and silent shadow as always. "Let's get set up, shall we?"