Empire's Son: An Epic Science Fiction Novel Series

Ghar stood in front of a Remaker. The soft whirling sound coming from the machine was the only thing that could be heard in the darkened bed chamber. His eyes were glued to the small monitor attached to the machine willing it to finish. He had a lot of questions that needed answered.

A slap of boots came from behind. They marched across the stone flooring of the room and stopped a few feet behind him.

“I came as soon as I heard? Is it true?” The sound of the Admiral’s slightly winded voice asked.

“Which part?” Ghar said. “The part where Captain Hame was found in my son’s room nearly dead, the fact that Adar somehow seems to know quat-lo, or that my son was attacked yet again.”

The Emperor turned to the Admiral. The other man’s face still flush from the effort of getting here so fast. He watched the other man as the features of his faced turned to that of shock.

“Quat-lo?” The Admiral sputtered. “Are you quite certain? How would he even know such a thing?”

“I’ll give you one guess,” Ghar responded with a dry tone. “Seems Aragon has been quite a bit busier than we thought over the last twenty years.”

“Are you sure it’s quat-lo? There are other disciplines that are similar,” the Admiral said, still seeming to gather himself.

“Dur-rele seems to think it was. Isn’t that right?” Ghar threw a look over his shoulder to the man huddling against the far wall.

His aide had been silent since giving his report for the fourth time in nearly an hour. Ghar was still having a hard time believing the account, but his aide had no reason to lie or exaggerate. Even still, Ghar was mystified as to the why of all that had happened in Adar’s quarters between his son and Hame.

It was not often that Ghar’s Dome-ni struggled to understand the underlying connections, but in this case the pieces simply did not fit together. There was something Ghar was missing, and until he understood, no one was going to leave this room.

The aide shuffled forward a bit, but still kept a sizable distance from Emperor and Admiral. “Yes, Excellency. It was quat-lo, not that I’m an expert at such things, but I have seen it used enough to know those particular moves.”

The Admiral raised an eyebrow. “You hang around Protectors that much?”

Dur-rele bowed his head so he could hide it, which Ghar knew was his tendency when he was embarrassed. “A man has to have something to pass his time with. I like watching the Pledge skirmishes that cast from the College.”

“Really, Dur-rele, I didn’t think you were the type,” the Admiral replied with a touch of mirth in his voice.

That caused Dur-rele to bow his head even lower. The Admiral let out a rare chuckle.

“This isn’t the time, gentlemen.” Ghar interrupted the moment between his aide and the Admiral. “I wasn’t there, so I would assume that Dur-rele’s assessment is accurate. Until otherwise, we need to assume he is correct.”

“This changes things,” the Admiral replied.

Ghar knew exactly where he was trying to take this. Ghar suppose he couldn’t fault Ko-tus for it. It was the Admiral’s job to access threats against the Empire and the Emperor himself. Even still, the implications in the other man’s tone did not sit well with Ghar.

“Does it? He still needs a Protector, Ko-tus. You aren’t off your assignment yet.” Ghar said, reminding the Admiral of his other duty he had still yet to complete.

The other man bowed his head slightly as if to reassure Ghar that he did not mean any offense.

“Of course, Excellency, but the Prince bested your own Protector, which I was under the impression was one of the top graduates in his class. Maybe your son isn’t as helpless as you might think. Maybe instead of focusing on his protection, we should focus on your own. He’s obviously a danger to you. I heard about that little incident last night as well.”

Ghar scoffed and waved a hand. “He was just trying to get in to see me.”

“And then the very next day he’s nearly killed your Protector with a discipline he should not know. The Captain is still alive isn’t he?”

Ghar paused for a moment, letting the words of the Admiral sink in. He did have a point, but it didn’t mean he was correct. Though there was questions that left Ghar perplexed, and that was not a state he liked being left in.

Only more information would paint a clearer image of what had actually happened, and he wouldn’t get that until either his son or Hame regained consciousness. And considering the location of the conflict between the two, there had been no recording devices present to capture the event.

“The Caretaker says he will recover, but will require a week of treatments and several weeks for complete recuperation.”

“I rest my case, Excellency,” the Admiral replied as if he had just won some sort of victory.

Ghar shook his head. “What I want to know is why the Captain was in Adar’s living quarters in the first place.” Ghar turned back to Dur-rele. “He didn’t say anything before he passed out?”

The aide shook his head. The man still seemed quite shaken from witnessing the tail end of whatever had happened between Adar and Hame.

“No, Sire. The Prince had a sizable piece of glass in his side. I was surprised he remained upright as long as he did. And of course, I rushed to call a Caretaker immediately after that,” Dur-rele added the last part as if he needed to assure Ghar that he had done everything he could to help the Heir.

“Tell me again what happened. Start from the beginning. Leave nothing out.”

Perhaps a fifth time would glean new information, but mostly Ghar wanted Ko-tus to hear it all for himself.

Dur-rele took a moment as if to gather himself, and then he began to speak. First hesitantly, and then with more confidence the further he went into his tale.

“I was on the way to the Prince’s quarters to revive him for the day and see if I could be any assistance in helping him get ready. As soon as I walked into the room, I knew something was amiss.

“First, he had not answered my door chimes. Eventually, I requested the guards to open the door. I figured perhaps the Prince was simply taking a shower, and I thought I would go ahead and gather his clothes for him.

“Once I entered his room, I immediately saw his bed empty. I figured I was correct in my assessment. So I went to his closet to find something appropriate for him to wear for the day. That’s when I heard the scuffles in the washroom. Of course, I hurried over to the open door way, thinking the Prince might need some assistance.

“It was quite the shock when I looked into the smaller room to find the Prince and Captain Hame in a full out brawl. Glass and blood were everywhere and the two men looked like they had already gone a couple rounds of heavy fighting.

“They were in the thick of it. I very much doubted they even knew I was there. Hame was trying to tackle the Prince, while blood gushed out from the younger man’s side, I thought for sure the Prince would be ended right there.

“But to my utter surprise, I witnessed several quick hits and jabs that could only be identified as quat-lo. I didn’t want to believe it at first. I had never seen someone not graduated from the College preform such actions, and I was under the assumption it was illegal to know the discipline outside of the Protectorate Program.” Dur-rele stopped here as if to confirm this last part. This only hardened the jawline of the Admiral. Ghar simply nodded to the aide as confirmation and to signal for him to continue.

“The strikes sent the Captain to the floor, and he did not get back up. I wasn’t even sure he would be able to get up again, because I had heard bone snap each time the Prince’s hands made contact with the Captain.

“It was at that point the Prince noticed my presence. He seemed to try to say something, but he then collapsed, no doubt from the gaping wound in his side. That’s when I rushed to call a Caretaker and send for you, Sire.”

Ghar gave a heavy nod. He still felt the edge of the fear he had when he’d heard his son was so close to death. It reminded Ghar too much of when he’d received the news his son had been kidnapped from the palace all those years ago.

“Tell the Admiral the rest,” Ghar commanded in a sharper tone than he’d intended.

Ghar had arrived at Adar’s room shortly after the Caretaker had delicately removed the glass from his unconscious son’s side and right before he was moved by two burl guards into the Remaker, so Ghar knew the events well. But now a surge of memories of those dark days after he’d learned his wife had ran off with his son was flooding him, and he needed a few moments to get it under to control.

Dur-rele continued on with the story seemingly unperturbed by Ghar’s harsh tone. “The Caretaker was quick to respond. He was able to deafly remove the glass from the Prince’s side. Then the Caretaker and I carried the Prince to the Remaker. The Emperor arrived shortly after the treatment started to get my account of events.

“When we finally left the Prince’s quarters, he was fast asleep in his bed with a report from the Caretaker that he would require six more treatments and at least two days of bed rest.” Dur-rele said as he finished his account of events.

Ghar let that sit there for a long moment. Yes, Adar had done something seemingly impossible, but he had not walked away from it unscathed either. There was more going on than what Dur-rele had witnessed. That was quite clear.

The Admiral chose wisely not to say anything for the time being, and Dur-rele had gone back to huddling in the corner of the room.

The gentle whirl of the Remaker began to slow, and a steady beeping sounded. The door to the bed chamber opened and a squat Caretaker quickly marched across the room. He stopped in front of the machine.

After a few moments of interaction with the Remakers monitor, the door slid open to reveal the still battered form of Ghar’s Protector. The man’s eyes were closed.

“I need him awake. I have questions for him,” Ghar said.

The Caretaker shook his head. “I would advise against that, Excellency. His wounds are only newly mended. Any sort of exasperation could undo the delicate work of his treatment. I would suggest waiting until he wakes on his own.”

A stab of impatience coursed through Ghar. “And how long will that take?”

The Caretaker looked as if he was seriously pondering the question. “With the injuries as severe as they are, maybe a day or two?”

“That’s too long. I need to know what happened now.”

“With all due respect, I understand the Prince will be conscious sooner than that. Perhaps you can await for his account of events?”

Ghar had considered waiting for Adar to wake. The other Caretaker said he might still wake today. But Ghar couldn’t help but feel a doubt about whether he would get the full story from Adar, and Ghar had already thought about what the Admiral had implied. Did his son wish him ill will?

Probably. Maybe even most likely. Ghar had threatened to destroy the planet the boy had grown up on, and whether Ghar liked it or not, his son had formed strong attachments to the place and people there. But would it be enough to act in deadly intent against Ghar’s own Protector, which was in a sense, acting directly against Ghar himself?

He wasn’t so sure. There had to be more to it, and there had to be an explanation for how Adar knew quat-lo and that the Admiral had not picked up on the fact his son knew such a deadly discipline during the trip back to the Empire.

He needed Hame’s direct statement on events. He knew the Protector would not tell any falsehoods or try to hide anything from Ghar. They were blood bonded after all, and Hame had always been loyal to the Empire even before the bond.

“That’s unacceptable. I need him awake now. Leave him in the Remaker in case you need to do an emergency treatment.”

The Caretaker’s face darkened. “Excellency, that is going against my oath as a Caretaker. I cannot in good conscience harm this man in such a way, and with all due respect, not even you can command me to go against my oath to the Clergy.”

Anger washed through Ghar at the Caretaker’s obstinance, but he wasn’t surprised. All Caretakers upheld their oaths quite seriously, as well they should. They were meant to be protectors of their patients, and kept people from doing exactly what Ghar was trying to do.

“Fine,” he gestured to the Admiral. “Ko-tus, wake him up.”

The Caretaker’s lips pressed into a thin line, but he did nothing to stop the Admiral as he swiftly walked past and to the man lying inside. The Admiral held out a hand toward the Caretaker. The man in white looked even more displeased, but he said nothing as he pulled out a long device from his pocket and handed it over.

A moment later, the device was pricking the side of Captain Hame’s neck. The Admiral stepped back out of the way once the deed was done. All four of them turned their eyes to the sleeping form in the Remaker.