The Admiral and the Assistant

Elias Rhade shambled down the streets of Techterra, crying his warning to any who would listen. He'd lost a shocking amount of weight. He was still tall and broad-shouldered, but now he was bony, his flesh pulled tight. His beard and his hair were both matted.

"Judgment!" he shouted. "Doom comes for you, Techterra! Doom comes for the Imperium! Flee to the corners of the galaxy! Flee the coming destruction!"

A nearby mother towed her child away.

"Momma, what's he saying?" the child asked.

"Don't look at him, hon. He's just one of those Techterra crazies."

"But what's wrong with him?"

"I have seen the terror of Brolla!" Elias said. "I have seen the justice of the universe unfolded! That same justice seeks you!"

"Come on, hon." The mother pulled her child away, walking more quickly now.

Elias hissed. His thin finger jabbed at a man across the street.

"And you! Traitor and fool! Why do you seek the destruction of mankind?"

The man was dressed in a black coat and a wide-brimmed black hat, pulled low. He carried a box under one arm.

With a grin, he turned to Elias and touched the brim of his hat.

"Love to chat, but I have to make a flight," he said, and hurried on.

"Doom!" Elias cried. "Doom comes for us all!"

"Then why are you here?" A couple street toughs surrounded him. They wore the insignia of the Riftborn gang.

"I bring a warning--" he cut off as one of the thugs shoved him roughly. He stumbled backward.

"Hey, nobody wants to hear your psycho yelling. You're scaring people. Keep your craziness to yourself."

Elias snarled.

"I tried," he hissed, "but a fire burns within me. The warning will remain unheeded. But still I must cry out."

The toughs sneered.

"We can help you keep it to yourself." The lead tough grabbed Elias and flung him to the ground. The others surrounded him and began kicking him. "Maybe this will help you with that fire!"

Elias curled up into a ball, crying out as he was pummeled by the boots of the thugs.

Herin paused at the door to the shuttle. If he'd had the capacity for sentimentality, he might have shed a nostalgic tear. He looked back at the city that had been his base of operations for his whole life so far. Smoke rose from distant fires, and the distant sounds of rioting and battle could be heard faintly.

He'd done what he could to get the chaos started, and his efforts were planted in willing soil. Gang war would sweep the city, and without Chief Roeder, there would be no one to stop it.

It all seemed fitting. He grinned.

"You'll never be the same, Techterra," he said. Then he stepped on board the shuttle.

Senn Sehren gnashed and fumed and twisted in his restraint jacket. His arms were bound up, wrapped around himself, and his room had a thin foam on the walls and floor, making them squishy and harmless.

A narrow window graced one side of the room, but it was silvered so that he couldn't see through it. He could only see faint shadows and vague movements.

Shadows began moving on the other side. The observers had arrived again.

"I'm not crazy!" he blurted, surging to his feet. He had to make them understand. He stumbled to the window and pressed his face against it. "I'm not crazy! They're coming from another galaxy! That's why you haven't seen them yet, but they're coming! They're going to eat us! I told you! Herin Kasra sent them! Transfer me! Just transfer me to a different planet! They're coming!" His face distorted as he pushed it harder against the glass. "You have to let me go!"

The shadows continued moving behind the glass and didn't respond.

The Emperor sweated in the vestibule. He just needed to put the finishing touches on his efforts.

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He finished at last and stood back and admired his handiwork. It was not his tidiest job, but it would do. He walked back into his bedroom. He moved one of the chairs from the vestibule to just inside his bedroom, and positioned it facing out toward the little antechamber.

Next to the chair he carefully piled the food he'd been collecting. He didn't actually need to eat very often, so he'd been saving up as many parts of the meals they'd brought in as he could manage-- mostly the parts that would keep well, or were packaged. They made a tidy stack next to his chair.

He smiled. Everything was ready. Now all he needed was a guest.

He closed his bedroom door and settle himself in the seat, waiting, with a smile on his face.

Grimthorn sat on the sofa in their nook, with Kinnit curled up and tucked under his arm. As usual, he was reading through his physical copy of Origins of the Imperium, and she was reading another space adventure novel on her scanner. They had their shared bedroom, but they still spent good bit of quality time in their nook. It was quiet and cozy and still a place they enjoyed spending time together.

Kinnit reached the end of her chapter and lowered her scanner, looking thoughtful.

"Grimthorn?" she said.

"Mmhmm?" he replied distractedly, his eyes still on his book.

"Do you think the galaxy will ever be at peace?"

He looked up from his book.

"What do you mean?"

Kinnit stared off into space.

"Well... it's just that, since we started working together, everything's been so tense. It seems to all be getting worse. Is it like this all the time? Is the Imperium just... constantly under threat?"

Grimthorn laid his book aside and rubbed her arm with the hand he had around her. He thought for a bit before he answered.

"Not really," he said finally. "For a long time, there weren't any real threats to the Imperium. When I started as a young captain, there were battles, of course. Pirates. The Fyronix, they were always agitating, raiding or launching surprise attacks on our outposts, but it was nothing like we've experienced in the last year." He frowned. "Most of the battles early in my career were battles of expansion. We were growing the Imperium. Now we've settled down some. I think we've found most of the advanced spacefaring species in the galaxy. Found them, and either subdued them or had them join the Imperium."

He looked down at her.

"That's why the Navy was in such a poor state. Captain Denth was a coward and a traitor, but he was right about one thing: the Navy was getting flabby and ineffective. We had no real threats, but we still had these massive fleets. It became a safe place to build a career, rather than a place for brave young citizens to stand up against the enemies of the Imperium." He paused, then backtracked a little. "It's important to have a powerful Navy, of course. The looming existence of the Navy has protected us from far more threats than fighting ever did. Nobody dares to attack the Imperium any more."

Kinnit looked thoughtful.

"So what happened? Why did everything get so, so crazy?"

Grimthorn frowned.

"I don't know." He looked at his book lying on the table. "Much of this latest upset has centered around Sehren Senn's conspiracy. He lead the conspiracy that brought the Oryndrax in, and the investigators think he was behind some of the unrest in Techterra as well. The arrival of the Feeders, well, I guess that's just bad luck on top of everything else."

Kinnit frowned.

"I don't want to wish ill on anyone, but... I hope Senn stays in prison for a long time. And I hope he doesn't like it."

Grimthorn smiled.

"Well, nobody's ever escaped from the cells below Techterra. I doubt Senn Sehren will be the first."

Kinnit sighed.

"Why did he even want to ruin the Imperium?" she said.

"Probably just a crime of opportunity," Grimthorn shrugged. "I suppose that an Imperium at peace looks like an Imperium that's weak. Many people-- most people-- will just live their lives if you let them. But there are always a few folks that will want to take and destroy. Like pirates. That's where having the Navy as a powerful deterrent comes in. Destroying a few bad actors in shocking and colorful ways keeps the rest of the bad actors in line so that the majority of the citizens can live in peace."

Kinnit laid her head against Grimthorn's shoulder.

"This is not what I thought living in the Imperium would be like," she admitted. "I want to be with you, spend my time loving you, not just fighting enemies. It's exciting, but... I want time for us to be a family. I want us to be more than just co-warriors together."

Grimthorn smiled, warmth filling his chest.

"It will get better," he said. "We'll destroy this last threat to the Imperium, then I'm sure things will calm down." He tapped her nose playfully. "Then we'll build our family. Together."

She snuggled deeper into him.

"I'd like that," she said. "My whole life, I've struggled. Against the cat-bears on Takkar. Against starvation. Then later, against the laws of the Imperium, and also her enemies. But now I have you." She looked up at him. "Now it's not just me against the galaxy. It's us." She snuggled into him. "The galaxy isn't so scary with you in it."

Grimthorn chuckled. "You're probably the only person who would ever say that," he said. "But I'm glad." He squeezed her. "I want to make sure the galaxy is only filled with wonderful things for you." He rested his chin on her head. "You deserve it," he said quietly.

She closed her eyes and relaxed in the circle of his strong arms.

The planet Ceon 12, home of Techterra, spun through the Ceon system. The golden beams of the system's star glittered off the sprawling city laid out on its surface. The eleven planets that circled closer to the star gleamed dully, their surfaces baking under the scorching heat.

Steady traffic shuttled to and from the surface below, aimed at the transports and haulers that hung high over the surface of Ceon 12. The flight control station that orbited over Techterra kept up a steady chatter, directing the constant flow of ships streaming into and out of the jumphole of the Ceon system.

Goods and people and money flowed in and out of the system ceaselessly, as they had for uncountable years. Nobody spared a moment to worry that it might all end in an instant.

With unsettling suddenness, the Ash-Tongue's boneship appeared. It hung silently for a long moment, gazing down at Ceon 12, the planet teeming with rich food.