Imprint of Blood Page 15

  "Fantastic," said Jake. "Thank you, Metrodora."

  Metrodora - otherwise known as Commander Ginger Barnett, Rim Defense Force, Intelligence Service, Aeolian Branch - smiled back. "You're welcome. Try not to get in trouble," she said as she left.

  Jake muttered, "People keep telling me that…"

  ***

  A week later, Jake was mostly accustomed to his new environment in Aronte. While his Aeolian was near-perfect, due to the compressed machine learning provided him before his visit, it had taken a couple of days for his ears to fully adjust to the local Aronte dialect. He had gone out walking the city several times, keeping a low profile, listening a lot and avoiding conversation. He had visited the market, the city hall, the library and the university area, although he kept his distance. Of course, he had been thoroughly indoctrinated to abide by Aeolian customs. Some liberation of men had occurred in the last few hundred years, but it was still considered gauche to speak to a female unless spoken to first. And he must bow and step back if any woman of rank passed near. At the tavern, he was mostly surrounded by Earthers - the tavern was the center of the RDF intelligence efforts in Aronte - but even there, the customs were observed in order to maintain cover. So, if by chance they came into the tavern, he found himself bowing and stepping back to members of his own intelligence team. But here, things were reversed. He was incognito, male, and playing the role of a mercenary. They were ranking females, some of them quite high up in the social mix. The RDF Intelligence Force had been on Aronte for a long time.

  On this evening, his seventh in Aronte, a particularly vulgar woman came into the tavern, looking for a little excitement. Jake had the unfortunate luck to be sitting at the bar, nursing a beer, when she came in and noticed him. She came straight over to him, put her arm around his shoulders and leaned in, her breath stinking of alcohol and the hemp cigarettes so common on Aronte.

  "Hey, big boy, I think I like you," she said.

  Jake glanced at her and saw the purple stripe down the side of her peplos, denoting her as a member of the noble class. He took a quick glance at the bartender, who gave a slight shake of his head, signifying "not one of us". So, she was exactly what she seemed, a drunk woman looking for love. But a dangerous one, since as a member of the nobility, she could technically order him to do anything. Jake thought fast.

  "Oh, mum. I like you too!" he laughed. "But I am spoken for tonight, so sorry!"

  "Oh, yeah?" the woman sneered. "Tell me who, I'll get rid of them quick!"

  Jake glanced helplessly at the bartender. The man - originally from Connecticut but having lived on Aronte for sixteen years - leaned over and whispered something in the woman's ear. She blanched, and quickly withdrew her arm from Jake's shoulders. She practically ran to the other end of the room, where she turned her attentions to another man.

  Jake grinned at the bartender. "What did you tell her?" he asked.

  "I told her you were booked to go to the Palace tonight for the Empress' party," he said.

  Jake chuckled. "That was quick thinking." He pulled on his beer, then continued, "But why is everybody so afraid of the Empress?"

  The bartender looked around before answering, to make sure no one could overhear. "Because," he answered. "Nobody wants to be on her bad side. Because her bad side makes you dead."

  Jake nodded. "So I've heard."

  The bartender wandered off down the bar. In a while, he came back, polishing glasses nearby. He leaned over toward Jake.

  "That lady is still checking you out from time to time," he said. "Maybe you should take a walk for a while."

  Jake nodded. "OK. I think I'll walk down toward the river. I love the water, and I haven't had a chance to go there yet."

  "Do you want someone to go with?" asked the bartender.

  "No, I'll be fine," said Jake.

  "Be sure to take your sword," said the bartender. "Don't wander around Aronte without it - ever! Only slaves don’t carry swords.”

  "Will do," said Jake.

  ***

  An hour later, Jake stood by the riverside, breathing in the salt air and listening to the boats working their way out into the ocean. Aronte was situated on the coast, and the river Thermodon met the sea here. The broad expanse of the estuary stretched out before him, glittering in the dark. Jake loved the ocean. In his former life in San Francisco, he had sailed often, starting with a small catboat and working his way up to a full size, gaff-rigged cutter. He missed sailing. Since the arrival of the Machine Ship Pandora, all those years ago, Jake's life had been a hectic madhouse, taken up with forming the RDF, advancing the colonization of planets, and working on a plan to ally with the Aeolians. Earth now had eighteen colonies, each of which had a significant population and was contributing to the resource base of RimFed. Those colonies, together with Earth, had created an RDF that was over fifty starships strong, ranging from small corvettes to destroyers, frigates and two battleships.

  But in eighteen years, Jake and his team had yet to find a way to ally with the Aeolians. True, they had heavily infiltrated the society. The RDF Intelligence Service had over three hundred agents spread throughout the Aeolian Empire. Some served in the government; several dozen served in the Aeolian Navy. Some even built Aeolian starships, learning every aspect of their technology in the process. But every attempt to bring about any kind of relationship had run into the brick wall of Empress Miranda's enduring hatred for the concept of "Earthers" - the idea that the Aeolians had originated from another planet.

  The slightest mention of this enraged the Empress to the point of violence. A half-dozen of his agents had died in the attempt to form a point of contact. One had been killed just for mentioning the concept casually in conversation, which had gotten back to the Empress. Another had attempted to arrange a meeting with a prominent scientist who had shown some sympathy toward the "Earther Myth", as it was known. Both she and the scientist had disappeared.

  Thus, Jake’s decision to come to Aronte personally. Although dangerous, only by first hand observation of the society did he feel he could solve this puzzle. But smuggling an RDF Admiral into Aronte had been the easy part. Preparing him for the role he was now playing - a mercenary soldier from a backwater planet - had taken longer than he expected. The RDF Intelligence Service had forced him to not only learn Aeolian via compressed learning but had also forced him to further develop his fighting skills, in case his role was called into question. Jake had been a bit of a brawler in his youth - during his early days in the Navy - but the Intelligence folks had taken this to a whole new level.

  They had started with his judo skills from those early days, and layered on every known technique of Aeolian swordsmanship, along with a few Earther tricks. He had been required to spend a full three months in training and conditioning before his own Intelligence office would sign off on his visit. Jake understood their precautions - they were afraid of losing the man Pandora stated was the only hope of victory against the Bats - but Jake himself was not overly concerned about it. One indirect benefit of the antipathy held by Empress Miranda against any rumors of Earthers was that no one would voice such ideas, even if they thought it. Over the years, this reluctance to even consider that other humans could exist outside of Aeolis had helped the Earthers mingle in the society unnoticed.

  Far off, a ship horn blared, reminding Jake of San Francisco. He sometimes missed those days, when he had been a carefree bachelor in the city of the Golden Gate, not too long out of the Navy, enjoying life without a care in the world. But at the same time, he knew he would never trade his current world for that. He was made for his job. Pandora had selected well when she came to Earth. But, although best estimates claimed the Rim Defense Force still had about 70 to 80 years to prepare, Jake knew they had no hope of survival if he could not find a way to ally with the warlike Aeolian matriarchy.

  Jake sighed, gazing out to sea again before turning to go back toward the tavern. He walked, head down, lost in thought. He missed Teresa and Kirsten, bu
t he was finally coming to terms with their loss. They were gone. There was nothing he could do about that. But he could continue to try and save humanity. Every man needs a purpose, he thought. I forgot mine for a while. I need to get that back.

  Not looking where he was walking, Jake stumbled on a cobblestone. He looked up. It was getting late - probably after midnight. A bit uncertain of his way, he stopped. To his right the street angled upward quite a bit, toward the hills in the center of Aronte. Jake thought the tavern was off to the left. He saw a narrow alley leading in that direction and decided to take it. Walking into the dark alley, he looked forward and saw a gleam of light at the other end. Approaching the next street, he heard a strange sound. It was a slap of metal on metal. Jake was sure he had heard that sound before, in the training room for swordsmanship. He stepped out of the end of the alley carefully.

  In the street across from him a tall Aeolian female stood with her back to the opposite building, sword in hand. In the dim light of the street lamps, six people - four men and two women - were facing her, sword tips weaving, seeking an opening. One of the men was clutching his arm, where blood dripped. One of the females had a slash across her face, also dripping blood.

  Without a thought, Jake stripped his sword out of his scabbard and with a shouted "Ho!" charged at the nearest man. The man, surprised, turned to face him just in time for Jake to strike him hard in the head with the butt of his sword, knocking him to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the defiant woman take advantage of the surprise to strike forward into one of the female attackers, her sword penetrating deeply, taking her out of the fight. In an instant, he was against the wall beside the woman, the two of them now facing only four attackers. The attackers shuttled back and forth, seeking an opening.

  Beside him, the woman breathed throatily, "Good evening."

  Jake grinned. "Good evening. Friends of yours?"

  The woman smiled. "I think not."

  One of the men made a feint, then charged at Jake, sword targeting his arm to cut him and take him out of the fight. Jake sidestepped and with a flick of his wrist, put his sword through the man's face. Quickly jerking out his blade, he stepped back to the woman's side. The man slid down to the stones, blood gushing from the hole where his nose used to be.

  Beside him, he heard the woman say, "One for me, one for you. Careful, I don't like to lose!"

  Jake smiled. "Actually, two for me, I think."

  "No, that one you knocked out is getting up. So just one. Don't get greedy," she said.

  Jake saw that she was right. The man Jake had initially knocked down was getting to his feet again on the left. Jake had a thought.

  "I think we're on the wrong side of the street," he said.

  The woman beside him said, "I think you're right."

  Instantly, with one mind, they rushed at the three opponents who were slightly distracted watching their comrade climb to his feet. As Jake and the woman rushed them, the three blocked but they were too late. Jake plunged his sword into the belly of the woman on the left, slashing her open as he went by. Beside him, his companion did the same to the man on the right. The attacker in the center made slight contact with Jake's shoulder as he went by, leaving a bloody cut. In an instant, both he and the woman were on the other side of the street, against the opposite wall, facing two less opponents.

  "Still tied. Two and two," said the strange woman.

  Jake breathed out heavily. No matter how good your physical condition, actual combat took a lot out of you, especially in the first few minutes.

  "Maybe they'll leave now," he said.

  "They can't." said the woman. "They'll be killed anyway if they don't finish the job."

  Jake, taken aback, couldn't think of any reasonable response. At that instant, both the remaining opponents lunged at them, the woman toward his left and the man directly at him. He met the man’s rush high, knocking down the sword of his enemy and then flipping his own weapon up, into the man's chest until the man slumped down, dead. Quickly he looked over at his partner. She stood over the dead body of the other attacker, shaking her head.

  "A hard way to make a living," she said. She looked up at Jake.

  "What do you mean?" asked Jake.

  "Professional assassins," the woman said. "But not very good ones."

  Jake was puzzled. "But why?" he started. Before he could finish, the woman reached down to pick up her dropped cape, slung it over her shoulder, and started trotting off.

  "Come with me," she yelled over her shoulder. "We'll talk on the way!"

  Jake started after her, catching up and trotting beside her, looking over his shoulder for more danger.

  ***

  "Who are you?" the woman asked him as they trotted down the street. Jake was already lost and had no idea where they were headed.

  "I'm...I'm Zeno. From Barcam." Jake said.

  "And what are you doing in Aronte, Zeno?" she asked, glancing at him sideways, as she fixed her cape on her shoulders.

  Jake remembered his cover story. "Looking for work, mainly," he said. "And to see the sights."

  "And what do you do?"

  "Mercenary," Jake grunted, as they continued trotting down the streets, taking the occasional turn. "Most recently, fighting against the rebels on Maia."

  "Hmmm..." said the woman. "I know where you can get a job."

  Jake hesitated, not sure where this was going. "Well, I haven't really started looking yet. I've mainly just been seeing the sights."

  "And what do you think of them?"

  Jake looked hard at the woman beside him. Dressed in black leather pants, a black leather halter top laid over a blood-red blouse, and a cape dressed in fur down her back, she was beautiful. A true Aeolian warrior, that was obvious. And she was teasing him, he realized.

  Rising to the occasion, he remarked, "So far, exquisite."

  The woman smiled. "I'm Antiope."

  Jake nodded. "Where are we going?"

  At that moment, the woman stopped. Jake had not been paying close attention. They had just crossed a small, short bridge over water. Now he found himself beside a long wall, covered in vines and quite tall. Antiope reached out and touched a release. A door sprang open, and she walked through. Turning to Jake, she gestured at him to follow.

  Jake hesitated. "Where are we?"

  Antiope waved him in. "Come on, I don't have all night," she said.

  Jake entered and looked around. They were in a large garden. In front of him was a huge palace. Suddenly Jake realized where he was.

  "This is the Imperial Palace!" he exclaimed.

  In front of him, Antiope stood laughing at the look on his face. Grinning, she turned toward the back of the garden.

  "C'mon, Zeno. It'll be fine." she said as she walked toward the back of the garden where a barracks stood. In front of the barracks was a small guardhouse. Antiope led him in.

  Entering, he saw three men, who snapped to attention as Antiope came into the room. The men were tall and well built, dressed in breastplate and armored kilts, and had short swords hanging from their belts. But, in addition to their somewhat ceremonial garb, each had a quite deadly looking pulse pistol at his side. Two stood against the back wall, surprise written on their faces, while one stood behind his desk, apparently the officer in charge.

  “M’lady!” cried the officer, as Antiope approached the desk. Antiope smiled.

  “This man has just saved my life, Lieutenant Pallis. We were set upon in the street. He seems to know what he is about, and he is looking for work. So, I brought him to you.”

  “Aye, Mum!” cried the Lieutenant.

  Antiope grinned back at Jake. “Check him out, Lieutenant, and if he passes muster, assign him to my personal guard.”

  “Aye, Mum!” cried the Lieutenant. “It will be done!”

  With a flourish of her cape, Antiope departed, but not without a last look – and a wink – at Jake as she went by. The men stood in stunned silence for a few seconds. Finall
y, the Lieutenant sat back down at his desk, and the two guards returned to their chairs by the wall. Jake stood silently as the officer perused him.

  “So, you were set upon in the street,” Lt. Pallis stated.

  “Aye, sir.” Replied Jake.

  “How many?”

  “Six, sir. Four men, two women.” Jake said.

  Pallis shook his head. “An assassination team, then.” He looked up at Jake appraisingly. “And how many did you kill?”

  “Three, sir.”

  A grin came from the young officer. “Well and good, then. Be thankful you didn’t kill more than her; you’d never hear the end of it.”

  Jake nodded. “I got that impression. Who is she, anyway?”

  All three of the men stared in shock. Pallis shook his head unbelievingly. “Do you not know?”

  “No, sir,” said Jake. “I’ve only just arrived from Barcam. I’ve been fighting the rebels on Maia for the last two years, so not much chance to keep up with things here on Aronte.”

  “My stars, man!” said Lieutenant Pallis. “Tonight, you saved the life of Princess Antiope, niece of the Empress of Aeolis!”

  8 Lifeboat

  Sloop – a single-masted sailboat, with a fore-and-aft rig and a single headsail.

  - RimWiki, 2165 Edition

  Planet Aeolis - City of Aronte

  20 February 2140 - 18 Years after Pandora

  The next morning, they rousted Jake out early. They had dressed his shoulder wound, let him comm Metrodora to tell her where he was and what had happened, then gave him a room in the barracks to sleep. Jake’s intuition told him to ride the flow on this event, that somehow it would work out. He couldn’t explain it any better than that. But he went with his instincts.

  When they came for him at 0600 hours, he got up and dressed, and followed a slave to a gym. There, Lieutenant Pallis and two of his sergeants put Jake through a grinding ordeal of swordplay, while their boss, Captain Herakles, watched carefully. At the end of an hour, he was sweaty, bruised and cut in a few places, and realized he had a long way to go before he would be a match for these men. Following that, he found himself in an indoor shooting range, and he worked with a pulse pistol for an hour. Still sweating from the swordplay, pop-up targets came at him, some good guys, some bad guys. He had to learn the difference and make instant decisions. Jake had used a pulse pistol before in his indoctrination at Eudora, but of a slightly different design. It took him some time to get used to this one, but eventually he managed to eke out a decent score. Finally, he was taken to a dojo, where for another hour Pallis and his cohorts tossed him around the mats, taking the measure of his hand-to-hand skills. By lunchtime, Jake was barely hanging on, his body protesting violently.