Empire's Son: An Epic Science Fiction Novel Series

It had started with a piercing alarm waking him. Markus bolted straight up. He blinked and looked around. He was still in Gayle’s room. Since he wasn’t technically supposed to be at the College, he had no room available to him and hadn’t had time to find an empty one to squat in. Gayle had offered him the use of her small sitting area after a few hours of Markus getting caught up on all the going ons at the College and the two of them making plans on moving forward. He had gladly taken her up on it so he could get at least a few hours of sleep before dawn.

By the look of the deep shadows in the room, Markus doubted he had gotten more than an hour’s sleep. He felt the heavy pull of his eyelids wanting to go back to sleep, but he shook it off. He searched for the source of what had waken him. A red flashing light came from something on his wrist. Markus zeroed in on it. A moment passed as his brain caught up to why his unity ring might be going off.

Yavit!

It was the sensor alarm from the four sphere’s he’d activated earlier. Something or somebody was moving around the chalet. Markus scrolled through the data the censor had picked up. It clearly showed a person dressed in black had walked right through the front door of the chalet only a few moments ago.

Markus shot up out of his chair. He quickly checked himself to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind while he’d been sprawled out. Markus hadn’t bothered to undress or take any of his weapons off before settling in to get some rest. Everything looked in order, so he started for the exit.

“What’s going on?” Gayle asked from the side of her bed. She had moved from a sleeping position to a standing one in almost a blink of an eye.

“There’s someone entering the front door of the chalet,” Markus threw over his shoulder as he kept going.

“Maybe it’s someone who belongs there,” she replied with irritation in her voice. Markus knew from experience Gayle hated being awaken for no good reason, but she was also able to be roused from a deep sleep and ready for action within in moments too. Just like any good Pledge or Protector could.

“At this time of night? You already said there’s no one but Adar staying there. Besides, if he, the aide, or Haxley had left for some reason, the sensor would have picked that up too. I’m only getting one person going in, and he’s dressed for concealment.”

“Yavit. They sure aren’t wasting time are they? What do you want me to do?”

“Wait here. I will call if I need help.”

Gayle snorted. “Yeah, just like you, Nador, to take all the fun for yourself.”

Markus threw Gayle a sharp look before he slipped out of the door. “If something does go down, I may need you to save my ass. Keep your comm open.”

He then hurried out the door and quickly moved through the building. It wasn’t long before he was out on the street. He gave a quick look around to make sure no one was about, but first light was still at least half an hour away. Maybe the trainers had the Cadets and Disiples up at all hours of the night, but Pledges had earned at least the ability to sleep in until dawn. There wasn’t a soul moving around this part of the College. Markus started a light jog toward the chalet.

The first thing Markus noticed when he rounded the sand dunes and began the walk down the pathway to the client residence was that the entire compound was pitch black. For safety reasons, there should have at least been running lights down the path and a soft glow in the front courtyard near the entrance. That in itself was a warning that something was off.

It was further confirmed when Markus walked right into the middle of courtyard and didn’t set off the alarms. At this time of night, no one should be entering the compound. Any movement within the courtyard larger than a small animal would trigger an earsplitting alarm and the immediate response of an assault team on standby. The only way to circumvent that alarm was a Pledge or Protector of a guest exiting the chalet inputing codes into the system, or someone had bypassed the alarm, or by the look of the lights, managed to cut the power to the chalet altogether.

In the interest of keeping his presence discreet, Markus pulled a stun baton from an inside pocket of his dark brown coat rather than his fire arm. It was a lot more effective if you could sneak up on someone and give them a good whack on the back of the head, then trying to shoot someone from a distance in the dark, and quieter too.

He also pulled out night shades from another pocket, slipping the slender arms behind his ears. Immediately, the attached lenses sparked to life to illuminate the courtyard in a deep green, and clearly showing the solid outlines of the building and surrounding landscape. There were no obvious warm spots, confirming there wasn’t anyone lurking in the courtyard.

Markus moved to the front door and found it had been jacked open and a clamp keeping it agape. It was a quick and effective way to open a door and keep it that way if there was no power to work the door palming system. He slipped quickly into the large open foyer, and stood still as he scanned once again for warm spots. Nothing. Markus hit a button on the side of his night shades and a faint red trail appeared in the air before him.

“Got you,” Markus mumbled as he followed the trail across the foyer to the transporter on the right.

He stood in the alcove, peering at the column of green circles. He did not know which set of rooms Adar would have been given, but it would stand to reason that he would have gotten the best, which meant one of the two topmost suites. It was a fifty-fifty chance. Good thing Markus didn’t have to guess. There was the faintest impression of red on the button for the suite on the right. If Markus had been here even a few more moments later, he would not have seen the quickly dissolving heat print at all.

Markus pressed the button and braced himself for it to activate. It was standard practice for transporters to store backup power just in case the power went out, so he wasn’t worried about it not working. Markus was concerned about what he’d fine once he transported to the suite.

The sensor had only shown one person entering, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have gotten more than one person in somehow. What was worse was his night shades would not work while in the embrace of the transporter. He’d be blinded for a few seconds while the shades adjusted to the darkness again.

As he felt the tingling sensation of the transport working, Markus grasped his baton and steadied his breathing. The moments ticked by as he closed his eyes. This was something else he had gotten good at––using sound and the feel of the room to strike, because you never knew when you might go into a situation blinded for one reason or another.

The space around Markus shifted and he knew he had arrived at the transporter space at the top right suite. He also felt that something fast was coming for his head.

Fun fact. There is a steady humming noise a transporter makes when it is activated. That hum can be heard on both ends. The end that is activated and the other end where the person or persons is trying to transport to. So if there is a person in the room you are being transported who is even somewhat aware of their surroundings or the sounds in them, they’d have about six seconds to react to the humming of the transporter. More than enough time for a competent person to respond.

Said competent person had reacted alright with a right hook that would have knocked Markus back into the transporter wall, if he hadn’t been listening. It was a small sound, or maybe more of a feeling than a sound. But it was that distinct feeling he’d learned to rely on that made him duck just in time.

He didn’t even wait to come out of the duck to lash out with his baton. It hit its target, which sent a sharp jolt through Markus’s opponent. But his adversary was good, because just as Markus had straighten up and was ready to go for hit number two, the attacker was already spinning out of the way. And then twisted back toward Markus with a punch to the wrist wielding the baton. The weapon clattered to the floor.

It didn’t even phase Markus as he used his left hand to throw out a punch of his own. That hit made contact and so did the kick Markus followed up with. The attacker stumbled backward. At that point, the night shades had come back online and Markus could get a good look at the invader.

The assailant was clearly male. He was dressed all in black and didn’t appear to be very muscular like a lot to those in the Program. His black bodysuit was stretched over a tall and lean frame with his head and hair hidden by a mask. Whoever this guy was, he didn’t want anyone to know his identity even though he was slunking around in the dark.

Markus moved to give the guy another kick before he could recover, but paused as he caught his first clear sight of the room and a body that was lying in a rapidly growing pool of blood. He was too late!

Yavit!

He automatically found himself moving to the downed person. His gut twisting in dread to know for sure who it might be, but stopped before he got more than a few steps, not wanting to turn his back on the man he’d fought. But the attacker had taken Markus’s temporary inattention to make a dash for the transporter.

Markus hesitated a moment, trying to decide if he should pursue or tend to the person on the floor. The transporter made up his mind as the green light filled the room. Markus didn’t waste any more time as he turned to the body.

A few more paces, Markus was able to make out the facial features of Pledge Haxley. The man’s eyes were staring up lifeless to the ceiling and already a pool of blood was expanding out across the floor. There was a jagged cut to the man’s throat that ran from one ear to the next. Even if the power was on and Markus could call up a Remaker and Caretaker right then, there was no saving this man. Remakers could do a lot, but this was beyond the machine’s ability to repair.

Yavit.

Markus hadn’t know him well. Haxley had been a different year of training than Markus, but he knew of his reputation and of course had seen his service file. He was not just a good Pledge, but a good man as well. He would have made an excellent Protector. This was a terribly loss for the College.

Fear rippled through Markus. As his eyes fell to the door closest to where the Pledge had been stationed. It was closed tight. Had the intruder had enough time to take out Adar too? There hadn’t been much time between when Markus’s sensor alarms went off and his confrontation with the man, but still…

He could feel his heart speed up as he moved to the door, but stopped as he realized he would have to open it manually with the power out. That was a good sign, because the attacker would have had to do the same thing and there was no obvious evidence the door had been jacked.

Markus turned to the wide open balcony. Unless, the man had gone through the balcony. Markus rapidly made his way there careful to step around Haxley and all the blood. He walked right out into the night, quickly passing the living area section on to the bedroom area.

He didn’t even pause before stepping into the room. His pulse pounding loud in his ears as he made for the large bed against the opposite wall of the living area. Markus’s night shades clearly showed a form sprawled out just beyond a thin white curtain that surrounded the bed.

His eyes swept the body for any obvious marks or blood. Markus didn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean much. The attacker could have used poison. It was a common way to assassinated those of the noble houses. Just a pinprick by a ring, short dagger, or even a little mixed in an evening drink before bed. The real trouble was getting past the Protector, and Haxley had obviously been eliminated. Had the attacker had time to make it in here before Markus had shown up?

He hadn’t even thought to bring a health scanner. So Markus moved as silently as possible toward the bed, hoping the still form laying there was simply asleep. He moved right up to the edge of the bed and pulled back the flimsy white curtain.

The man laying there matched the image Nathias had shown Markus at the fighter’s circle. This was Adar, and he was all grown up. Markus felt a lump form at his throat. Had it really been twenty years since he’d last seen him?

Markus shook himself out of his reverie and stretched out a hand to the side of his once friend’s neck. He gently placed fingers at the side and waited. There. A pulse! He counted the beats, and after a minute was satisfied that it was within normal range.

He nearly sighed out with relief, but caught himself just in time. He slowly pulled his hand back, eyeing the man carefully to see if he might be wakening, but Adar still seemed fast asleep.

Markus took two large steps back and stood there for a moment, trying to decide what to do next. Haxley was dead. But it seemed Markus had gotten here before the intruder could make his way to Adar. Markus felt enormous relief that he had thought to put those sensors up before he had left to find Gayle. Otherwise, he was sure the College would have woken up to a very nasty surprise besides a Pledge’s death.

But Markus had let the intruder get away once he’d seen the downed body. Whoever had been in here was long gone now, and who knew when or how he would strike again? Markus’s best advantage was that no one knew about him, not yet anyways. If he stuck around here to keep watch over Adar until he woke up or even alerted anyone to what happened here, everyone in the College would know about Markus, then his advantage would be gone.

Sure, the intruder knew someone had come in to check things out, but had the man actually seen Markus’s face? Maybe. Maybe not. It was dark and the man in black did not appear to have night shades like Markus had, but with that mask on, it was hard to tell. But it certainly wasn’t unheard of for assassins to navigate solely by sound, touch, and instincts. Markus could certainly do it and most of the time preferred it that way.

The fact was the intruder could easily just assume Markus was an ambitious Pledge looking to get bonus points for keeping an extra eye on the Heir of the Empire. It had certainly happened with other highly placed nobles seeking a Protector. Sometimes it even led to that ambitious Pledge getting the job. Markus could imagine many of the Pledges waiting to bond a charge were now chaffing because they weren’t on Vang’s first pick list, including Gayle.

No, it wasn’t worth losing his greatest advantage, and Markus very much doubted the intruder would be stupid enough to come within a hundred yards of this place any time soon, especially since he was so keen on keeping his identity a secret. The best thing at this point was for Markus to leave with no one the wiser that he had been here.

He threw a look to the man on the bed. Markus wasn’t happy about leaving him with no protection at all. But he still had his sensors activated. He’d simply reset them when he left, and wouldn’t go back to Gayle’s until he was sure new protection had been sent. He’d also make sure to deactivate them when the investigation team started looking around to figure out what happened. They’d be sure to catch Markus’s four spheres.

The Trainee Depot was just before the dunes and the entrance to the walkway leading to the chalet. No one would be using that building for hours. Long enough for Adar to wake up and reach out for help.

Decision made, Markus threw the man one last look before silently stalking across to the room’s attached washroom. He quickly checked it to confirm it was empty. Markus then carefully went through the other three room, their bathrooms, and then checked over the living area one last time.

Besides, a snoring aide and the cooling body of Pledge Haxley, the residence was empty of any others. Finally satisfied, Markus made his way to the transporter. He stopped when he saw a silver cylinder about the size of his thumb on the floor where he had fought the attacker. He bent and picked it up.

He let out a low whistle as he examined the device. It was a mex––slicer. And it was used to hack the power of any building as long as you had the right codes. This sort of thing was very hard to come by. Not only was it highly illegal, but it had an astronomical price tag. No Pledge could afford this. Maybe no one at the College could except maybe the Directors themselves.

That made Markus pause. Would one of the Directors really be in on the assassination of the Heir of the Empire? That didn’t track. If something like that happened while Adar was here on College grounds there was no doubt that the Emperor would most likely shut this place down, or at least make this place wish it was. No one who wanted to preserve the College would do such a thing, at least not while the Prince still had his boots on the ground.

Maybe a Pledge or even a retired Protector had been sent to do the deed, because it was obvious by their short fight that the intruder had not been a Cadet or a Disciple. He had been someone who knew what he was doing. But the intruder hadn’t done this on his own. Someone else had masterminded this event and probably provided the device and the code. There was only one person that Markus knew who had the kind of resources that could do both those things, was motived to strike out against Adar, and didn’t care about the fate of the College.

Markus gritted his teeth. He knew the possibility of Zorren being involved in an attack was high, especially after what Nathias had said on Cresta about Kaller. But actively funding tonight’s activities and maybe even providing a hard to get access code was more than putting a few choice words in a person’s ear. Zorren was risking himself by playing such an active role. Would he risk it? Markus thought so, especially if Zorren thought he could cover his tracks by planting false trails and using a bunch of fake names.

He supposed it didn’t really matter if Zorren was in on it or not, the fact that a code that only those in high Command would be privy to was the issue. If Markus was fighting against someone at the top of the College and Zorren, then he wasn’t sure he was prepared for that kind of fight. Not on his own and with the little resources he had at this point in his life. Maybe not even with Gayle’s help.

Yavit.

Gayle wouldn’t like this. It might even be enough to cause her to back out on her deal. If she did, he’d let her go. He wouldn’t commit her to something that had the real potential to get her killed or kicked out of the College. If that happened, Markus would have to reevaluate. He might even have to do the unthinkable and reach out to his father for help.

Markus shook his head. Nope! Only if every other plan failed first. Then he might consider it. For now, he’d just have to tread carefully and see how things played out. Markus considered how he was going to break the news to Gayle once he was safely tucked away in the depot. His eyes leery of every shadow between the chalet and the training facility.

Just as he reached the dunes and the edge of the chalet grounds, Markus doubled clicked the button of the cylinder device. He noted the night lights coming to life, signaling the power was back on. Satisfied, he stuffed the device into a pocket and continued to where he could stand watch until Adar’s new protection could arrive.