Angels of Eternity Page 4

  “How would you all like to become Warbrides?” he asked them.

  Chapter 4

  The imperial picket ship folded space to take them right outside the orbit of Terra, the imperial capitol. On board were Shakti and her friends from Harmony by way of Trazalk. With them in the forward passenger hold was Prefect Tam, the man who’d “discovered” them after they’d finished competing in the games. The women might not have won the tournament, but they did well enough to impress him. A group of fighting women filled his order and he did what he needed to do to get them back to Terra.

  They stood on the field that day while a light rain began, unable to believe what he told them. The prefect wanted them to accompany him to Terra to become brides of the emperor. They’d be granted full pardons on the spot and allowed to leave as free citizens of the empire with all rights restored. Even Mangi couldn’t believe their good fortune.

  There was just one small catch: they would be drafted into the imperial forces when the wedding was complete. It was a twenty-five year term of service until they would be allowed to return to their new husband on Terra. In the meantime, they would deploy whenever needed by the emperor and his military. However, as warbrides, they would have the best food, training and medical attention any of them could imagine. Plus, the prefect wanted them as a complete set, if any one decided against the offer; none of them was allowed to leave.

  They asked the prefect a minute to decide and gathered off to one corner of the field to discuss the offer. Most were in favor of the offer, since it got them off the prison plant. They sat on the ground and talked it over, the field dampened by the light rain. It felt good to get out of the armor, not matter what the reason.

  Chimata and Mangi were the only two with misgivings. “What?” Chimata said to the other women. “Are we trading one prison for another? We’ll still be in chains, just longer ones.” She sat on the ground with her knees up to her chin.

  “I don’t see what we’ll gain from becoming ‘warbrides’,” said Mangi. “We’ll be wives of the emperor. Don’t you realize what that means? We can be executed for looking at another man the wrong way.”

  “I don’t think any of the emperor’s wives have been executed in the past hundred years,” Shakti pointed out. “He has several hundred wives on Terra the last time I checked, so I don’t think he’ll track every single one.”

  The women argued over and over until they finally talked the holdouts into accepting the prefect’s offer. They pointed out there was little chance to leave the prison planet unless they won the tournament the next time around. If they stayed on Trazalk, quite possibly, they would all be sent to different divisions and some of those might be pleasure houses. It was the threat of working in a pleasure house that brought the holdouts around.

  Mangi sat still at in the gathering and said, “Well, if we become warbrides it means we never have another man on top of us other than the emperor, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Shakti agreed. “He’s not a young man anymore, so no more leaning over a rail. Plus, you don’t have to do it because you need to pay the rent.”

  “Okay,” Mangi said, as she dropped a vambrace, or arm guard, in her bag, “I’m in.”

  The prefect looked up and saw one of the women walking up to him. This was the very dark lady called Shakti, he remembered. The prefect had a wife back on Terra and four children for whom he provided. Still, his heart was stirred by the site of this woman in plain tunic walking barefoot across the field. Her arms showed a muscled profile and he found it attractive.

  And then he slammed the door on his thoughts.

  He was a young court official who won his position by connections and high marks on the imperial exams when he graduated the civil service academy. His loyalty was to his emperor, relatives and immediate family. He reminded himself of this as he ran his hand through his fine black hair. Besides, these women were all convicted criminals.

  “So have you reached a decision?” he asked her. She stood in front of him and folded her arms. The heat of her body radiated into the air.

  “We’ll do it,” she told him. “When do we need to leave?”

  “Get packed,” he told her. “I don’t think you’ve lived here long enough to accumulate any attachments. We leave tomorrow.”

  He waited until she was on her way back to the gathering of the very rough women and withdrew a transmitter. It was designed to send a message to a relay satellite in orbit around the planet and from there to the palace on Terra. He made a few marks on the screen, which turned them into exquisite strokes of a brush.

  Two hours later a chamberlain observed a series of characters appear before him on a projected screen. It was the message for which he waited. This one was early, but it was still important and a bit of a relief. He memorized the characters, then immediately ran to the emperor’s bedchamber, rushing past several guards as he ran along. Then knew him by sight and let the chamberlain through. He walked up to the door and rapped on it.

  The door opened to reveal the form of a bedchamber servant who wore an outfit of black silk with a matching hood. His Imperial Majesty didn’t want to know there was anyone in his quarters at night, even if he needed them.

  “Yes?” the black figure said to him. He pulled back his hood to get a better look at the chamberlain. Once he realized who it was, he asked for a minute and went back inside.

  “He’s ready to see you,” the servant said. “I hope this is good because he had one of the favorites over tonight.”

  “It is,” the chamberlain told him. “Message just came in a few minutes ago.” He stepped inside as the bedchamber servant closed the massive door and locked it from inside.

  Reclining in an enormous bed, which took up most of the room, was the Emperor of Humanity: Bountiful Pleasure of Divine Wisdom, although he went by the pre-reign name of Shaku Chu to the people who knew him before he succeeded his father on the throne. He was a mature man and wrapped up with two of his wives in a pile of sheets on the bed. The chamberlain lowered his eyes and avoided staring at the spectacle before him. The emperor was a busy man and, at thirty standard years, has already fathered forty children. There would be no lack of candidates for the next Emperor of Humanity.

  “Prefect Tam has reported?” he asked while his wife to the left curled up to him. The other wife was asleep so the chamberlain kept his voice down.

  “Yes,” he told him. “He has your warbrides. They leave tomorrow and will be here in a few days.”

  “Excellent,” the emperor said in a lower voice. “We may have a solution to save the human race after all. Now go away as I am busy working on more heirs to the throne.”

  As if he doesn’t have enough already, thought the chamberlain. In any event, the imperial council would have plenty to choose from when the time came. It was the firstborn son of the eldest wife by custom, but the council had the power to choose another if the need arose.

  When Shakti and her companions were brought to the palace, the first thing they needed to do was get some better clothes. The tailors went to work and found some black dresses they could modify for them. Stylists completed the work of doing their hair and makeup. On Terra, most of the economy was devoted to the palace in one form or another. Even the continents were set aside as game and nature preserves for the imperial families and visiting court officials.

  “So when do we get to meet the emperor?” Shakti asked the prefect who brought them to the palace. They were walking along the battlements one evening while the other women were fitted for their formal gowns of introduction.

  “Tomorrow,” the prefect told them. “You’ll be officially introduced and made lesser wives. It’s very quick because we need to ship you out for training. I’m afraid His Majesty has great need of you.”

  Shakti stopped and Durga, who was walking behind them ten feet in the rear, halted as well. “What are you talking about?” she said to him. “I was under the impression we were to be used to put down minor rebellions
and take out pirate ships. Is something happening in the empire?”

  “Something very bad,” he told her. “We’ve been hit hard on the frontier and the troop strength is way under capacity. It’s why you are here. The emperor is convinced you’ll save us.”

  Shakti stood with her mouth open as the prefect shuffled away, begging forgiveness as something else had just come up on his communicator. Durga, who looked beautiful in her gown, walked up to Shakti and asked why the man who recruited them ran off so quickly.

  “I don’t know,” she told her, “but I don’t like the way things are moving. He says we’re shipping out right away for training.” Durga laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” her friend asked.

  “Guess His Majesty has a job ahead of him if he wants to consummate his marriage to all of us before we leave.”

  They met the emperor the next day in the courtroom of the palace. All of the new brides were brought in and presented to the emperor who sat on his throne with five more of his wives behind him. The prefect explained early in the day that he rotated wives to sit in state with him during his court appearances. Sometimes favorite wives had more face time than others did.

  The priest did the ceremony quickly as they all joined hands and the emperor stepped forth to add his hand to them all. He quickly returned to his throne as the rest of the court looked at them with discontent. Who were these pardoned convict women the emperor felt he had to marry?

  “I welcome you today,” he told them, “as my warbrides. In ages past Emperors of Humanity were forced to use their extra wives in the army when the number of eligible men dropped off. I have decided to bring back this ancient practice because of the threat the empire faces today. You will be the vanguard of our new imperial forces.”

  Shakti noted the look of confusion on every courtier’s faces. This was not something they expected at all. The palace was carved from one stone outcropping on a mountain and the various benches and entrances to the throne room were filled with people who desired an audience with the emperor.

  “The Realm of Humanity has encountered a new threat, one we’ve never had to consider before. It’s proven unstoppable, but I feel you have the ability to succeed where others have failed.” The murmuring in the hall grew quiet.

  The emperor proceeded to tell everyone about the alien wasp creatures that attacked human settlements on the outer worlds and were headed into the empire. They were intelligent, the first alien life so discovered, but not in a way humans understood. They had to be stopped. Their civilization was completely different from the human one. The audience was in complete silence.

  “And so I decided we needed warbrides, such as the emperors in our distant past used to stop civil wars and rebellions,” he explained. “But we face something far more terrifying than disunity; the very Realm of Humanity stands to be destroyed if we can’t find a way to stop these creatures. This is why I put so much faith in you. Now, leave this place and be the warrior women of the ancient past.”

  The prefect reappeared and informed Shakti she was now the commander of the emperor’s warbrides, first division. They were still in a state of shock after the announcement as the palace guards escorted them to the waiting picket ship. When the ten women were led to the landing field on top of the palace, they found packs with each of their names stenciled on them. Each pack had a small patch sewn onto it with the symbol of the Empire of Humanity, a red shield. Beneath the red shield was the image of a praying mantis, an insect only a few of the women knew about since it was only native to Terra.

  Shakti pointed to the patch on the pack with her name and looked at the prefect in confusion.

  “It’s the symbol of your warbride division,” he explained to her, “By imperial edict, only you will be allowed to use it. Be proud and go into battle with it on your banner held high. Many people will admire you. Now quick, pick up your packs and move because the picket ship needs to take you to Solace for training. Don’t worry; you’ll never have to see Trazalk again.”

  “I wonder if the empire knew the mantis kills and eats its mate,” Salina grumbled as she picked up her pack. She was young, but spent her spare time years ago reading in an effort to find better ways to make money and leave the pleasure house where she’d been employed.

  “I doubt it,” Mangi who stood next to her said, as she grabbed her pack, “probably had some prefect come up with the symbol for him. I’m okay with leaving right away since I wasn’t looking forward to spending time with His Majesty in the bedchamber.” As she walked past the taller woman, Mangi slid one hand up the back of her dress and pinched her bottom. “You, on the other hand, I wouldn’t mind spending some quality time with.”

  Shakti caught the movement of Mangi to Salina as she marched on board the picket ship with her pack. The taller woman didn’t seem to mind and giggled from the movement her co-wife displayed.

  Great, Shakti thought, now I’ll have these liaisons to worry about. The rule of the law was vague on imperial wives because there were so few. Only the emperor was permitted multiple wives, as it was needed to preserve the imperial line. Anyone else could only legally marry one other person. Other bonds were formed, but the rule of law gave them no standing. It was the fate of many of her new co-wives to have been born outside the bonds of marriage or to concubines.

  Chapter 5

  “You’re not coming along to see us into battle?” Shakti asked the prefect who recruited them on the prison planet.

  “I’d love to, but my duty is here,” Tam told her, as he bowed low and kissed her hand. “Fight well as the future of humanity depends on what you do. I’m off to another prison colony tomorrow to see if there are any women such as you who would form a warbride unit.” He stepped back just as the service doors to the picket ship closed.

  “Strap yourself in, five seconds to takeoff,” the voice of the captain boomed over the ship’s audio. “We’re making the jump to Solace one hour afterwards, so get ready for some float time. This ship doesn’t have gravity control.”

  The trip to Solace was quick after they were slammed down in their seats. Then the warbrides felt space fold as the picket ship took them to the training base on the surface of the new planet. Still wearing their black bridal gowns, they were dumped on the landing field. A drill sergeant hauled them to the barracks where they would stay for the next two weeks and replaced their black gowns with tan uniforms.

  Training was rigorous, but the warbrides had plenty of experience with practice weapons while on the prison planet. The major difference was the blades they would employ when boarding enemy ships. These were sharp. The object of using a real sword or halberd was not to knock your opponent to the ground or score points, but to kill them. They trained for twelve hours each day in combat scenarios. Their weapon masters knew the ability and use of every single weapon in the imperial arsenal.

  The standard scenario involved finding a breech in an enemy ship and pour through it, cutting down anything in their path. It was a very aggressive system and worked for a thousand years in the empire.

  The difference was the enemy this time. Never before had the imperial forces faced off against an opponent not human. The reports from the legions who’d engaged the wasps were discouraging: you could only kill a wasp by striking it in the joint area because every other part of it was armor-plated with a thick layer of chitin.

  Graduation day was quick. The warbrides were lined up in their tan uniforms with Shakti given their battle standard. The only thing that distinguished her from the other wives was the red five-pointed star over the mantis symbol on her shoulder patch. The drill sergeant, a huge man over six feet in height, awarded Shakti the banner. Most of the women were glad to leave the training grounds after the two-week regiment of drills.

  As they left the field in route for the barracks, a completely new prefect made an appearance out of the assembled crowd. Shakti groaned because she hoped they would at least have some down time before they were first sent into
combat. However, it appeared this was not to be the case.

  The new prefect introduced himself as Master Smith and was there to see them off. Since the emperor had such a great interest in the success of his warbrides, the new prefect was present to make sure their brief training was complete and successful. From what he could see, they had completed the training with stunning results. They were ready for a trial by fire: their first deployment.

  “I hoped we could sleep before leaving,” Shakti told him. The prefect was a small and pale man who carried himself as if he’d done imperial service all his life. He probably had.

  “You can sleep on the corvette,” he told them, “I already have one waiting to take you to the operation theater.”

  “You seem to be looking forward to battle,” Durga said later that day as she watched Mangi sharpen her short sword with a grindstone.

  “It’s better than a return to what I used to do,” she told her. “I’ve been on my own a long time.”

  “Did you leave any family behind?” Durga asked her. She sat down by the small woman and watched her work. She knew it was dangerous to make contact with her and kept her distance.

  “None that I remember. I had a mother once; I don’t know what happened to her. This is the only honest work I’ve ever done, unless you count selling drugs.” She looked different in her uniform and boots. So different than the angry woman when she first met her.”

  They left for their first engagement a few hours later.

  Five minutes after the audio system announced a stable orbit, the rear doors of the cabin opened and the captain stepped into the room. With him was an orderly who carried a small box. While the warbrides unlocked their safety straps on the seats, the captain moved into the center of the cabin with his orderly and looked them over.