Chapter 61 - Part 2

Lucius turned slowly away from Zorn to look back at Skylar. The mysterious, blank mask stared at him. Something about it unnerved him, especially being so close to it for so long.

“I wanted to speak with you to bring to your attention something you may not be aware of, Skylar. When you were brought to this station, we performed a detailed scan of your body, analyzing you down to a molecular level.”

Skylar squirmed involuntarily in his seat. He had no idea they did such a thing. Though he did remember waking up during the procedure where the one doctor wanted to continue with him still conscious. The nature of that operation, however, was never given to him.

“We found something interesting,” Lucius said, drawing Skylar’s attention back to the present.

“My lord, you should not be telling him this.”

Lucius held up a hand but refused to look at Zorn.

“We found a small implant in your brain. Just beneath the medulla oblongata. No wider than a couple microns. It’s amazing we were able to find it.”

Lucius tapped a few commands into the holoprojector’s keyboard and pulled up a scan of what looked like a boy, around eleven or twelve years old. Then he realized it was him. It zoomed in on the portion of his brain mentioned to where there was a small red dot gently pulsating. The image enlarged to reveal what looked like a microchip, though not like any Skylar had seen before. It reminded him of a stone tablet akin to those found in Mesopotamia if his memory of the history classes he took at Silver Ridge Academy was correct.

“We have no idea where it came from or exactly how long it’s been there. Obviously we can narrow it down based on your age. It seems to be extraterrestrial in nature, which can hardly be surprising in this day and age.” The Emperor put his hand to his chin as he stared at the slowly spinning image. “We’re also not sure what exactly its purpose is. From what we can tell, it’s not harmful. We think it may improve reflexes, but that’s merely conjecture.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Skylar couldn’t keep the skepticism out of his voice.

“Yes, why are you telling him all this?” Zorn said, folding his arms and staring at the Emperor. “He’s nothing more than a cadet. Not even a particularly good one, despite what some of the others might say. They say he’s special and give him top marks but hidden under that is just a little boy who’s entirely out of his depth and is going to get himself killed. And good riddance when that happens.”

Skylar’s face heated, and his hands balled into fists. His stomach churned. He thought for sure that his heart was going to beat straight out of his chest. In that moment, he didn’t care the Emperor was watching or what might happen to him. He just wanted to finally make Zorn hurt as much as possible.

Before Skylar had a chance to strike, Lucius held up a hand to him.

“Is that really how you feel, General?” His voice was soft and calm. “You want to be rid of Skylar Reid? Is there any particular action of the boy’s that has caused this?”

“He’s arrogant.” Zorn smirked, sitting back in his chair and folding one leg over the other. “He believes himself above following even the simplest order given to him. To him, war is nothing more than a game.”

“Interesting. You see, General Zorn, I have been very interested in your career ever since I ascended to the throne.” Lucius flicked between several documents, glancing at each one for a moment before going to the next. “Venator. New Carthage. Dawnpoint. Arcadia. Invicem. Now Stariek. Everywhere you’re stationed, everywhere you go, there is an increase in reports of misconduct or requests for transfer. Nothing was ever done, of course, until Invicem, because the reports were withdrawn and requests approved without question or delay. But even after Invicem, you managed to wriggle your way free. And I thought it was worthwhile to give you one final chance. One last opportunity to prove that you were an asset rather than a liability to our Empire. And you’ve done nothing but squander it.”

“Squander.” Zorn’s face turned purple with barely restrained rage. His chest rose and fell with each deep breath he took. He grew louder and louder with every sentence. “Everything I have done is to ensure the Hyperion Empire reclaims its place as the greatest empire in history. None of that bullshit of qualifying it as the greatest human empire. It deserves to sit at the top of the food chain. No one would dare question our superiority, we wouldn’t be in a pointless war for the last six years, if we maintained a fraction of the discipline your father brought to our military.”

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“I am not my father.” Lucius kept his voice quiet. It sent a chill down Skylar’s back.

“Clearly!” Zorn stood and towered over the sitting Emperor. “Otherwise, you would have listened to the recommendations I made. Your father believed me to be one of his best advisors. He would have ended this war before it started. But you? Oh, no. You let it drag on for the better part of a decade because you refuse to see how our society languishes.”

“I am not—”

“I don’t give a damn who you are!” He leaned down into what would have been the Emperor’s face. Spittle hit the man’s mask. Skylar could do nothing but sit in stunned silence, hoping the general’s wrath would remain directed toward someone else rather than himself. “You go on and on about how you’re not your father. Let me be the first to tell you what everyone’s thinking: No. One. Cares. We all know you’re not your father, and it’s painfully clear with the piss-poor direction the Empire has been heading the last twenty years, ever since you took the throne as a child. You were, what, twelve? Not even finished with school, never set foot in a military academy, and suddenly you’re thrust into leading an empire of trillions of people. I don’t care what anyone says. You were not, are not, and will never be ready to be emperor, no matter how long you play pretend. Meanwhile, everyone around you is expected to act as if you’re our new god, the next emperor to guide us to prosperity. Then there’s people like me, who fight tooth and nail, give flesh and blood, for the Empire and receive nothing in return. Enough is enough!”

Zorn slammed his fist into the desk, leaving a small dent in the metal. The noise echoed in the small room.

“You speak of honor, yet break deals that stood for centuries before you were even born. You speak of bravery, yet never served on the frontlines. You speak of loyalty, yet would sell our Empire to the highest bidder at a moment’s notice. And you want your soldiers to obey these tenets? When you cannot even follow them yourself? The supremacy of our military is no more, thanks to the fickle leadership of the likes of you.”

For several seconds, the only sounds were that of Zorn breathing heavily and his spit falling from his mouth to splat against his desk. No one spoke. Lucius stared back at General Zorn, as much as he was able to from behind his mask. Then, he slowly stood. Though the Emperor was several centimeters shorter than Zorn, the general took an involuntary step backwards.

“Knight Redman, arrest General Augusta Zorn for treason.”

The words were quiet yet clearly audible throughout the entirety of the room. For a moment, Skylar was left wondering who the Emperor was talking to. But as the thought passed through his head, a man seemed to materialize as if out of the wall. A visor covering his face slid backwards over the top of his head. He was middle aged, his hair cut short and just showing tinges of gray. The armor he wore was similar to that the guards in the assembly hall wore, though it shimmered slightly and made it difficult to focus on. In his hands, he held a small, yet deadly looking, submachine gun. Zorn took another step away from the man towards the bay of windows.

“Come quietly, General, and we can make this easy.” The mystery man, Redman, spoke with a slight brogue to his voice. He stepped closer to Zorn, though his rifle was pointing at the ground with his finger off the trigger.

“Treason.” Zorn scoffed, looking between Lucius and Redman. He looked like a tiger trapped in a cage, trying to find a way out. “You call what I’ve done treason? I’ve done nothing more than love the Empire I grew up in. Then you come along and want to tear down everything I’ve worked for. Everything that all those who came before me worked for. I believe in the Imperial Mandate as much as anyone else. More so than you do, apparently. Have the Fracturists gotten to you? Is that what this is?”

“I’ve had enough of your nonsense.” When the Emperor spoke, it was still quiet but held a fury unlike anything Skylar had heard before. “You speak of my father? He was a fool. You helped him get the power he so desperately craved, so he let you do whatever you wanted. Enough. If you truly believed in the Imperial Mandate, you would support me without a second thought. Instead, you seek nothing but your own glory. You will be punished for what you’ve done. History will remember you as nothing more than a stain, which is more than you deserve. Get rid of him, Redman.”

“Aye, sir.”

The knight rose his weapon and fired off a single shot before Zorn could issue a rebuttal. A bang echoed through the small chamber, making Skylar jump at the noise. At once, Zorn toppled to the ground, though no blood seemed to come from his body. Instead, he convulsed slightly on the ground for a moment before laying still. Redman approached and bound Zorn’s hands together behind his back.

“One thing before you go, Knight.” Lucius stepped forward and pulled the pendant from around Zorn’s neck. He looked at it for a moment before holding it out to Skylar. “I believe this belongs to you.”

Skylar’s hands shook as he took the necklace. How many times had he seen his father wearing it? He couldn’t remember a time he left home without it. A few times, he mentioned how it was a constant reminder of the promise the Reid family made to Stariek. Now it was his, even if he was not going to be Provost of the planet like his father. Taking a deep breath, he slipped it over his head and around his neck. It felt heavier than he thought it would. But right. Having it against his chest brought a surge of pride to him.

Lucius returned to his seat behind Zorn’s desk. As if on cue, two other soldiers, each without rifles but with the hilts of laser swords at their waists, entered the room. Together, they lifted the unconscious body and carried him by the arms out. Redman followed in their wake, bowing to Lucius as he went.

Suddenly, Skylar became acutely aware it was just him and the Emperor in the room. Before either could say anything further, a rumble went through the station, followed closely by the sound of klaxons and flashing red light.