The Impossible Future: Complete set Frank Kennedy (freenovel24 .TXT) 📖

James shrugged. “We don’t talk as much as you assume. Since we arrived, they’ve taken a step back.”

“Ah. They want to see how we fare without them. You’ve told me this repeatedly, James. But I wonder. Now that we’ve lost almost seven percent of our population and one-third of our Scram-class fleet in a single defeat, they must be worried about us. Yes?”

There it was. The first mention. You were waiting for the perfect moment to strike, brother.

“I’m sure they are, Valentin. But why would they confide in someone as arrogant and reckless as me? Perhaps they’ll set their sights on a stronger and more competent brother.”

Valentin dropped his eyes and said nothing. James found fleeting humor in Kane’s awkward attempt to avoid contact with either brother.

“I think,” James told Kane, “this is the point where Admiral Valentin dismisses you.”

“Yes, Admiral Kane,” Valentin said. “Perhaps it would be best. Begin initiating my orders. And Rafael, choose the most experienced Slope navigators who also have training with weapons consoles. We might have to send them out there alone.”

“Understood.”

After Kane departed, Valentin threw away the holowindows and turned his back to James.

“I congratulate you, brother,” the Admiral said, surprising James.

“For what, Valentin?”

“You cost the lives of dozens of our beautiful and passionate warriors, most of them mere children, but your fiasco tipped the Chancellory’s hand. They’d have never sacrificed those facilities and their people unless their work was finished.”

“You’re guessing, brother.”

“No, James. I was a soldier of the Guard and the son of Emil and Frances Bouchet. I revered men like Augustus Perrone. I recited the core principles of Elevation Philosophy as a daily mantra. I assure you, they are coming for us.”

“So, now we go to war.” James watched Valentin carefully for any signs of a crack. “You are about to work our people into a frenzy, and they don’t yet know what happened. Are you going to hide our shame and hope the fight of their lives will distract them?”

“Our shame, you say?”

James shrugged. “I gave the order, but you drew up the plans, Valentin. You gave our soldiers the motivational speech. And then, you stayed behind, comfortable on Lioness.”

Valentin started to pivot but stopped. James sensed his brother fighting the rage.

“If I had gone, I would be dead, too, and you would be leading our people into ruin. I’m not taking your bait.”

“So, Admiral, how do you intend to break the news?”

“What you mean to ask is whether I will expose you and use my leverage to gain concessions regarding the future of the immortals. Don’t deny it.” Now, Valentin swung about, a confident air about him. Shoulders firm and tall, nose perched.

James fumed. “Is that how petty you think I am?”

“Petty? No. Paranoid? Off the scale.”

“It has to be addressed, brother.”

“I intend to craft a statement. They will be lauded as heroes. We will blame the Guard for triggering a fusion bomb in the Void as we were on the brink of victory. It’s not far from the truth. They will see images of the catastrophe on Tamarind. This will incite them when I announce the coming invasion and justify a delay in any official period of mourning. They will be too busy to cast blame.”

“Not bad. Very nuanced. I wonder …”

“You will receive no mention one way or the other. Their orders will be clear: All military matters will come through me and Rafael Kane. This includes the hybrids. I expect you to deliver that message to the collective mind. Understood, James?”

“Certainly. But my people will grieve in spite of themselves. Just as they did with Sister Ursula. They will ask difficult questions.”

“You will not answer, James.”

“Ah. I am what, now? Your puppet during a time of war?”

“You are no one’s puppet, James.”

“But you intend to override my orders?”

“On all military matters, absolutely.”

“What happened to deference? I am your older brother.”

Valentin rolled his eyes and shuffled toward the exit.

“A Chancellor tradition. Honor the eldest sibling, for he or she was the first chosen. Hmmph. I turned my back on the Chancellory three years ago. I clung to tradition out of respect. But that’s gone now.”

“The tradition or the respect?”

“Yes.”

Valentin opened the door, but James was not through with him.

“What should I do, respectful brother, while you plan for war?”

“Do what suits you best. Return to JaRa and scheme with your wife. But James,” Valentin said, hogging the threshold, “I would take care, if I were you. The ground beneath your feet is softer than you think.”

“Are you threatening me, brother?”

“No. But our people would be confused at best and enraged at worst if they knew the full litany of decisions you’ve made these past four months. One week after we set foot on Aeterna, I organized scouting sorties to survey every uninhabited system along the Fulcrum. All one hundred sixty-three. I said the Carriers likely offloaded some of their military assets during the evacuation to Earth. The Admiralty would choose one off-book location to park an invasion fleet.

“You thought I was being an alarmist. You said we needed to preserve all our ships for planetside and diplomatic missions to the colonies. You canceled my sorties. Now, they have had months to solidify their fleet and retrofit with their new technology. Right out of our own playbook, James. We can’t hide this time. Our people will be so confused. They’ll be devastated. And the Guard will surely end us.”

Valentin didn’t wait around for a response. After the door slid shut, James pounded the table.

Why didn’t he see it sooner? Valentin would use war as a cover to assert control. After their inevitable victory – guaranteed, because the Jewels long ago showed James a future empire stretching out