Empire Reborn (Taran Empire Saga Book 1): A Cadicle Space Opera A.K. DuBoff (guided reading books TXT) 📖

operation were prized for their versatility. Powering everything on ships from the jump drive to subspace communications, PEMs also had numerous applications on space stations or planetside to support all manner of offensive, defensive, and general operational needs.

“I can think of a lot of good uses for a robust PEM in the Outer Colonies,” his son said. “But the circumstances don’t add up for this being a pirate operation, especially since Darin indicated that they had a salvage contract with Renfield.”

“Ah, I’d meant to follow up on that lead but haven’t had time yet.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “That’s why you have a team. You can ask for help, you know.”

I’ve always been bad about that. Wil smiled. “And rob you of the opportunity to take the initiative?”

“Uh huh, sure, Dad. Anyway, I did some digging while you were on Tararia. Turns out that Renfield was working as an intermediary… for MPS.”

“Monsari?” Wil’s smile faded.

“Not directly, of course. But the chain of subcontracts can be traced to Monsari Power Solutions corporate. That’s weird, right?”

“Very.” Wil folded his hands on the desktop. “High Dynasties always exert minimum effort in their dealings. They’re so wealthy, their business models are based on speed and efficiency. So, ordering a salvage from a remote location like this goes against all of those things.”

“Typically, I’d suggest that this was a clean-up effort to hide something,” Jason said.

“Eliminating evidence of a past dealing out there, perhaps?”

His son shrugged. “I can’t imagine it would be related to anything tracing back as far as the war. They’ve had decades to address it, if that was the concern.”

“And MPS had very little involvement in the war. Aside from the TSS purchasing power cores.”

Jason sat in quiet thought. “Unless…” he said, barely above a whisper.

“What?”

His son shook his head. “No, never mind.”

“I brought you in because I wanted another perspective. Please, share.”

“I was thinking, if MPS’ only tie to the wreckage in that area is the power cores, then that, logically, is what they were after. And, following your statement that the High Dynasties always take the most efficient path, then that would mean that all other avenues would have been exhausted already. So, either they want the power cores themselves, or they need some component from the cores.”

“It doesn’t make sense, though. Out there?”

“You’ve said thousands of ships were destroyed over the centuries, right? The Kryon Nebula is a cosmic graveyard—everything in the region works its way toward there. At a certain point, salvage does become an easier endeavor than mining.”

“Not the way they have mining operations set up. The ore goes straight from the mines to the refineries and production plants.”

“So long as those mines are producing, at least.”

“That’s never been a concern.” Wil faltered. “In the past, anyway.”

Jason gave a slight shrug. “Like I said, it might not mean anything.”

The situation defied conventional logic. Monsari was one of the most powerful of the High Dynasties, with resources to rival those of Sietinen and SiNavTech. In fact, since SiNavTech had relinquished its ship manufacturing division to its rightful Dainetris ownership, the argument could be made that Monsari now held the most power. After all, everyone needed energy cores.

Everyone needs them… The civilization had always operated under the assumption that there would be an endless supply of cores to fuel the Taran Empire’s expansion. Wil had fallen into that same mindset, having no evidence to suggest otherwise. Perhaps, though, that hadn’t been the correct assumption.

“What if they can’t keep up?” He met his son’s gaze. “After all, we hit a production capacity limit for starships during the war. There’s no reason energy core manufacturing would be any less restricted.”

“So, they’re trying to salvage old cores?”

“It would be an easy way to keep up with demand in the less sophisticated markets that wouldn’t know old from new. I mean, an old core really shouldn’t make a difference.”

“Even those from a critically damaged ship?”

He thought about it a little more. “I should say, in most cases it wouldn’t make a difference. But MPS has a reputation to uphold, so I’m not overly concerned about safety. Regardless, I don’t want to make any accusations without allowing MPS the opportunity to explain their actions.”

“Going to them offers the opportunity for them to sweep it under the rug if there’s anything shady going on.”

“It does, but the TSS is already in a precarious enough position politically. If we’re wrong about this, it could damage our standing.”

“Go through Ryan, perhaps?” Jason suggested.

“I don’t know that he’s cozy enough with Monsari yet to get an honest answer from them. I’d say my dad would have enough sway, but DGE does significantly more business with MPS than SiNavTech does.”

“It’s your call. Either it’s a business matter or a public safety one.”

“When you put it in those terms, it’s our TSS responsibility to see it through.”

“I suppose it is.”

Wil nodded. “An exploratory call will be very telling.”

—     —     —

Jason had hoped that his father would dismiss his hunch about the Andvari being connected to a larger issue. They had enough going on already. But, if it was connected to the civil unrest or an issue with one of the High Dynasties being unable to fulfill their duty, then it was an important lead to chase down. People did crazy things when they felt cornered and desperate. The Andvari venturing into a forbidden former war zone on an off-the-books contract may be a symptom of the greater sickness they were trying to root out.

He could hardly believe how much had changed about the outlook for the Empire in just a few days. There had been peace for years. Prosperity. Hope. As far as he knew, no one had seen this kind of unrest coming.

With a twinge in his