Prologue
Beginnings
“Alright, we’ll hold position until you both arrive,” Vicky replied. The words echoed around the vaulted room and reflected back at her. It was deeply creepy, but after three weeks in this strange place, she was getting used to it. “Good luck with the trial.”
“Thanks,” Lucy replied, her voice tense even if it was distorted by the strange metals in the wall of this weird hollow moon. “Nellie’s tearing her hair out over this already. The faster it is over, and we can start our vacation, the better.”
Vicky heard the line close, shaking her head.
“Weird place for a vacation,” she muttered.
Her boots clicked over the marble floors as she returned to her team, the vast windows making up all eight walls showing the impossible geography outside and the even more impossible star that lit the interior of the moon for eighteen hours at a time.
It was precisely eighteen hours; she’d timed it every single day with her implant. It shone like a sun for exactly eighteen hours and then went dark. Eight hours later, to the moment, it lit again. You could set a clock by it if anyone ever used that kind of thing anymore.
“We expecting visitors?” Ezra called, wiping the smooth metal of his Boost Suit for the fiftieth time since he had last actually used the thing. The man was obsessed.
“Nope, they got shit to do,” Vicky said, walking straight past him as she headed for their makeshift canteen. “Please tell me Sam’s cooking tonight?”
“Hah! You wish,” Ezra chuckled. “It’s Elsie’s turn.”
Vicky turned smartly on her heel, walking back the other way.
“Yeah, good call.” Ezra grinned. “I’d eat the foam in this suit before I let that demon feed me again.”
Climbing into her own Boost Suit, Vicky powered it up and started to patrol the area. The whole place was sized for thousands, so her little fifty-person crew was lost in the impressive hall.
Breaking into a trot, she jogged past the first of the great doors in the ancient walls. The golden oval iris opened as she passed, the mechanism sliding smoothly despite it having been made what had to be thousands of years ago. Like the rest of this place, it seemed completely impossible.
Dodging past one of the empty stands with its crystal glass walls, Vicky passed the second iris, which opened as well. It was only those two that would open as yet, but that was the Queens’ problem. Not hers. Just like the strange letters or whatever they were carved above each arching door.
Not her problem.
She trotted past another four irises, completing her circuit, and leaped, firing the thrusters in the feet and back of her suit. She sailed up almost two stories before landing on the wide platform that ringed the central atrium they were in.
Navigating the densely packed columns of stone—who knows what the point of them was—Vicky completed another circuit before kicking off again.
The top floor of the atrium was simply breathtaking—the only layer of the building that was completely open, and it offered unparalleled views of the interior.
The crystalline dome that stretched over the vast building came down to meet the inlaid floor here, and stepping to the edge, she could see the rest of the complex spread out below her. Vast buildings with ornate rooves covered the area between the six hazy segments that rose in the distance until they curved and finally met back up at the ‘top’ of the moon’s interior. Each segment was sealed behind some kind of energy field, each of a different color. It made everything hazy, hiding the details of whatever waited behind those irises below.
“Nellie’s going to love this place,” Vicky said, shaking her head in wonder.
“Boss! Boss! Elsie’s trying to make me eat chili again!” Ezra’s voice shattered her moment of peace.
She sighed and walked over to the edge, looking down into the space below.
“Coming,” Vicky replied, leaping out into space.
/====<<<>>>====\
“Why the hell are we waiting around here again?” Buddy’s voice crackled out of the built-in speaker on the shoulder of Colby’s new, custom-made armor.
“Because I want Queen Lucy to verify you aren’t slowly killing me,” Colby replied.
“Aww, where’s the trust?” Buddy chuckled.
“If I do, you die,” Colby replied happily.
“Well, shit! Let’s get in there and get it done already!” Buddy said, panicking.
“Relax, we need to wait for them to finish with Sec’s trial.” Colby sighed, leaning back against the cool, enameled wall beside the door and crossing his arms. The two massive royal guards turned their heads, cold blue eyes staring at him as his dirty duster left marks on the wall.
“What are you two asshole’s looking at?” Buddy hissed. “Mind your fucking business, you overgrown tin cans!”
Colby reached out and plucked the speaker off his shoulder. The detachable nature of the thing was—
“Kiss my ass, you shiny pricks!” Buddy continued.
Frowning, Colby checked the speaker.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Yeah, baby, I’m wireless now!” Buddy said happily; the speaker still working was unfortunate…
The nearest guard turned to face him.
“Oh, shit,” Colby kicked off the wall.
“Colby!” Loras came stalking down the hall, her dark hair swinging as she stomped over the smooth carpet, looking irritated it was ruining her entrance.
“Good timing, Lor,” Colby grinned happily as the Royal guard turned away. “How’s tricks?”
“How’s tricks?” Loras growled. “How’s tricks? You go galavanting off, are reported dead TWICE, and then just appear on the station list without coming to see your superiors?”
“You were never my boss, Loras,” Colby sighed. “Besides, I’m on assignment, remember?”
“That’s no excuse!” Loras stopped in front of him, staring at him in disgust. “Why are you wearing that filthy coat?”
Colby pulled aside his lapel, showing the metal badge pinned there.
“You joined them?” Loras stepped back in shock. “But, but, but…”
“Lor, you okay?” Colby stepped forward, reaching out to take her shoulder.
“No!” Lor shook him off, “You can’t just join the Imperium!”
“Well, I didn’t,” Colby reassured her. “Things just kind of happened.”
“Weird, concussion-y things,” Buddy added.
Loras yelped, slapping the speaker out of Colby’s hand. It flew down the corridor, bouncing once before it came to rest in front of one of the royal guards.
“Guys! We can—”
The metal foot crushed the speaker.
“Damn it! Now I have to grow that back!” Colby yelled.
“Don’t. Yell. At. A. Royal. Guard!” Loras punctuated each word with a slap on his arm.
“You know, you’ve gotten more violent since I last saw you,” Colby laughed, catching her hand. To his surprise, she snatched it back despite his nanite-improved strength.
They stared at each other for a moment.
“You’ve got nanites!” They both called.
“I was needed!” Loras sniffed.
“I was concussed and shoved into an escape pod,” Colby shrugged. “Stuff happened, and I ended up a Marshall.”
“Shit!” Loras stamped her foot, “Now the whole delegation has changed sides. Lewisham is going to have to head back alone!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Colby said, relaxing back against the wall again. “Loads of new I.P.A. people are heading over here to help with the Imperial Reclamation Service.”
“They are?” Loras said. “How come I don’t know this, but you do?”
Colby showed his badge again and grinned.
“You’re even more irritating than you used to be,” Loras gave him a half-smile.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” Colby shrugged.
The doors opened for a moment, and an angry-looking woman strode out into the halls, grumbling to herself.
“Isn’t that Hellena Starsong?” Loras whispered. “She’s got her own system, I hear.”
“How’d it go?” Colby called, startling Loras, who blanched.
“A waste of time. Like I said,” Hellena stopped, looking a lot better than the burned and blistered woman she had been when they last met. “You want a lift back?”
“Yeah, cheers,” Colby nodded. “This shouldn’t take much longer, right?”
“Okay, I’ll see you in bay twelve when you’re done.” Hellena nodded. “We’ll make sure they spare him, don’t worry.”
“I’m not,” Colby smirked. “He’s Sec; he always gets away with it.”
“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that,” Hellena looked back toward the doors. “But, well, there’s always a place for him in Star’s Song.”
“I’ll make sure he knows.” Colby nodded.
“Who’s in there?” Loras asked as Hellena walked away.
“The guy I’m here to save and the one who tried to kill me.” Colby sighed.
“Which one is this ‘Sec’ person?” Loras asked.
“Both of them,” Colby said, smirking as the guard waved him over and the doors opened.
/====<<<>>>====\
“We really have to do this, don’t we?” Nellie asked Lucy for the fifth time. It wasn’t that she didn’t know the answer, it was just that she didn’t like it, and bitching made her feel better.
Lucy just gave her a thin smile and squeezed her hand as Hellena left the room.
Nellie winced as Crush led Sec into her office, the space suddenly seeming confining in a way she had never felt before. Everything in her wanted just to wave this away, but Sec had really gone beyond the pale this time.
As much as she cared for the Cents, especially the ones who used to work for Banjo, there was a limit. If she didn’t deal with something like this, then what kind of nation would the Imperium end up as?
Everyone had to draw a line in the sand, and attempted murder was hers.
“The moment this is over, I want that vacation,” Nellie muttered, sitting forward.
“It’s all set up,” Lucy promised. “You, me, and a mysterious moon. You’ll love it.”
“I just hope I don’t have to do something drastic,” Nellie nodded to the royal guards, and they waved Sec to sit in a chair to the left of Nellie’s desk.
“Now, I know this is a complicated—” Nellie started.
“One second! One second!” A man came bursting into the room, sweaty and pale from being checked out by the guards. “I’m sorry I’m late! We can start as soon as I have had a moment with my client.”
“You’re what?” Nellie asked. “And who are you?”
“Oh, my apologies, your majesties!” He bowed hurriedly, his loosely combed brown hair flopping comically as he did so. “Allow me to introduce myself. Archibald Harrison, Sec’s lawyer.”
“You’re what?” Nellie turned to look at Sec, who gave a nervous smile.
“My idea,” Crush said levelly. “This is a serious matter, and since the issue is within my own department, I can’t exactly be impartial.” He gave a lazy smile. “Just looking out for my people.”
Nellie huffed. “Do we have lawyers in the Imperium?”
“You do now, Ma’am,” Harrison bobbed his head. “May I have that moment with my client?”
Nellie waved for him to go ahead.
“In private?” Harrison asked.
“Not unless you leave the Imperium,” Paren chuckled, walking into the room.
“Hello?” Nellie frowned. “Did you want to be here?”
“Oh, yes,” Paren said, glaring over at Sec. “I definitely want to be here.”
“Hi, Mum,” Sec swallowed.
“Where’s—” Lucy started but stopped as Paren’s partner and boyfriend walked into the room, a serious look on his face.
“Hey, Dad!” Sec said, looking relieved.
“Hey, Sec,” Carl smiled. “Stay calm, okay?”
“Don’t baby him,” Paren snapped.
“Inside voice, sweetie,” Carl admonished.
To the surprise of everyone in the room, Carl was not instantly killed for his choice of words or tone. Instead, Paren took a deep breath and sighed. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” Carl nodded to Paren and took a step to one side, so he was just behind her left shoulder.
While Sec and his lawyer chatted in the corner of the room, Nellie looked over at Paren. Her look had changed again, the punk-rock meets scientific genius look being toned down to become more of a gothic genius look with notes of Librarian.
She was doing her best to look angry, but the way she was fidgeting was giving her anxiety away. The Cents, especially Sec and his siblings meant a lot to her.
“I believe I am ready to begin,” Harrison turned and nodded to the Queens.
“May I?” Crush asked, and Nellie nodded.
“I hereby bring the trial of Sec, of the Banjo Cents, Marshall of the Imperium, to order,” Crush intoned. “The charges are misappropriation of Imperium technology, assault on an ally, behavior likely to cause injury, dereliction of duty, and attempted murder.”