Empire's Son: An Epic Science Fiction Novel Series

"Did you get confirmation that Nathias could get the suits?" I asked as Markus followed me into the shuttle. I quickly took a seat near the front.

"Yes. I didn't enjoy delaying them like that, but it took a bit for Dexter to get permission from the Directors, load up the suits in a shuttle, and have them delivered to the Valiant. Nathias and Gayle are now in route to pavi's location with twelve MX4s," Markus said, sitting down next to me. The seat harness automatically locked him tight into his seat just like mine had done.

"How much of a fight did they put up?" I asked. Markus had told me that the suits were proprietary technology of the College, and as far as he knew, they had allowed no one outside membership to even touch one.

The other man shrugged. "Not as much as I thought they would. I know they are still going over the battle, but it's obvious even to Command that if it weren't for the MX4s, they would have had far more casualties."

I didn't disagree with that. I'd seen the footage of the battle too. In fact, I would still see the images of death and destruction as I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. I jerked my head back up and opened my eyes to dispel the image. I then heard the shuttle engines ignite, and the craft started to hum around us.

"If Nathias and Gayle are finally on their way, then maybe we should cancel the meeting and do a holo-conference instead?"

I actually did not want to go back to Rainus's office yet. After waking from my most recent journey to the Dreamscape, I spent another three hours with the science research team while we waited to speak with Havoreat. Markus had contacted Arch-Admiral Havoreat as soon as we had reached Vega Prime. We were just finishing up a meal in my quarters when we arrived at the planet. It had taken the man time not only to respond to Markus's call, but to find a moment to see us. Apparently, the Admiral was an incredibly busy man.

At least it had given the scientist and I time to come up with a viable new weapon that could be used––we hoped––to cause significant damage to the Shixxaminti ships. Admiral Vang's sonic weapons had done better than expected at the Battle of Sora X, but all of us agreed we needed something that could be used even in the deep reaches of space. Even though we had been successful in our planning, the strategy session had left my brain fried and my body itching to be anywhere else but the King's office.

"We could, but I wouldn't suggest it. Havoreat already has a strong dislike for your brothers because in past dealings they never showed the Vanguard much respect. Your sitting down in a face-to-face meeting will go a long way to making a good impression with him. Besides, I checked the coordinates that Nathias sent us; we are closer to them than they are. We can afford the time to give Havoreat a full personal debriefing before we meet up with Nathias and Gayle."

"Alright, I trust your judgment. The Admiral knows we are going after your father, right?"

Markus nodded. "Yeah. I told him, and I sent him a link to pavi's recordings, so he should have at least an idea of what's going on. Also, my father might preside over the Vanguard, but it's Havoreat who actually heads the day-to-day operations. He will definitely want to be included in on plans for getting pavi back."

"Well, our plan is dependent on having a fleet of ships."

"Yes, and Havoreat will provide them in order to get the Supreme Commander of the Vanguard back, but he's not going to do it until he's convinced the proposal to rescue him will be at least moderately successful, and for the record, if it was one of your brothers making the request for ships, Havoreat would have turned them down flat. Not unless their requests had been backed up by a direct order from the Emperor, and maybe not even then."

I raised my eyebrow at Markus. "He really doesn't like my brothers."

The other man snorted. "Like I said. They've been really rude to Vanguard senior officers over the years, especially Zorren."

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"Now you're making me nervous. What if I piss him off too?"

"Just be polite, don't talk over him, and answer questions he might have. I will be there too, and that will go a long way toward making the right first impression. He knows my dislike of the Zahn brothers rivals his own."

"Okay," I said, feeling my insides twist into a knot despite Markus's reassurance.

A lot was counting on getting the full cooperation of Arch-Admiral Havoreat in helping to rescue Rainus. After a brief discussion between Markus and me, it was obvious using Vanguard assets would be the best. Not only was the Kings' military force more motivated to get Rainus back, but the closest fleet of Legion ships besides Vang's small flotilla, which was still recovering from battle, was at least a two-day travel from the Outer Reach. All we had to do was pitch our plan and wait for the Arch-Admiral to give his blessing and his ships.

I settled into my seat as the shuttle made its way out of the Quortous's landing bay. It was smaller than the one we'd used from the College. This vessel has only six passenger seats, with a seventh one for the pilot up front. Markus and I were the only passengers. We sat in the forward seats with a good view of the large domed cockpit before us.

The sight that greeted me as we left the battle cruiser was impressive. The planet Vega Prime was massive. It sat like a titan across the field of stars, and I was certain it rivaled even the massiveness of Jupiter. The second thing I noticed was all the ships. There were plenty of operational ones either moving toward or away from planetary orbit as each went about its business, but it was the skeletons of vessels in various stages of construction that caught my attention. There were dozens upon dozens of them docked in what looked like scaffolded cradles extending from three moon-sized space stations situated around the right side of the planet.

"That's a lot of ships," I breathed.

Markus shrugged next to me, seemingly indifferent to the view, maybe because he had seen it and others like it so often that it no longer impressed him. "Vega Prime is the official headquarters of the Vanguard, so it should be at least a little impressive."

"I'm guessing that explains the ships being constructed."

Markus nodded. "It's one of the four shipyards for the Vanguard fleets. This isn't even the biggest one. And through the rumor mill, I've heard that some of the Kings are pushing to put another shipyard into operation."

We sat quietly for the short trip to the largest of the three space stations. Our shuttle docked in a section of the station that wasn't full of ships under construction. In fact, as I stepped out of the shuttle onto the landing bay's dull gray deck, I saw only a handful of other shuttles in the small area.

Markus must have seen the question on my face. "This is the bay designated for command staff and special visitors. Yes, the other bays are way bigger and busier than this one. Come on. The Admiral's office isn't far."

The man stepped out in front of me and walked through a doorway, a short walk across the bay. The corridor we entered was wide and looked similar to what I'd so far seen on the battlecruisers––dull gray and mostly empty. Though I saw a symbol I'd noticed on Nathias and other Vanguard soldiers' shoulders. The large black crescent moon with twelve smaller circles inside the celestial body dominated the left with a large gray star to the right surrounded by five smaller stars. What I learned was the Vanguard crest.

A few of the gray-uniformed individuals passed us in the corridor. Looks of surprise were on their faces, but they quickly gave me a bow of the head as they kept going to wherever they were headed. We didn't have long to walk before Markus stopped us in front of a door that a pair of Guardians stood. The man on the left gave us a quick nod before hitting the palm scanner at the side of the door.

Markus motioned for me to enter first. I stepped through the door and was immediately surprised by the bustling activity that greeted me. No fewer than half a dozen desks sat like sentries in two neat rows on either side of a wide walkway that led to yet another doorway. Behind each desk sat someone in a gray uniform, while many of the desks also had multiple people in gray standing around in conversation.

Some discussions at the desks looked like they were simply soldiers giving reports; two others looked as if there was a deep conversation in process, while at the desk to the far right there appeared to be a heated argument taking place. I stopped in my tracks as I wondered exactly what I should be doing.

I didn't have long to ponder as the only desk with no one else currently engaging its owner in a conversation stood up and came toward me.

"Highness," the woman Guardian addressed me.

Her one word cut through the room and made everyone else stop what they were doing. All eyes turned to me, which didn't help me feel anymore settled about being in here.

The woman came to a stop in front of me, gave a full bow, and then turned, gesturing for me to follow. "The Admiral is expecting you. This way, please." She marched down the center aisle created by the two rows of desks.

As I walked past, the other Guardians stood silent and gave bows. The woman leading us opened the door and stepped through, and as I followed, I heard the conversation in the room behind us resume.