Empire (Empire, Book One) Read online

  Vick shook his head. “No, I—of course not.”

  “Remember, Millie. Afraid of heights,” Hayden said with a grin.

  “Are there even heights in space?” She looked at Vick, shook her head and shrugged. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop now. You’re just too much fun, Vick. I can’t wait to see how you act when you meet Captain Ivan.”

  Hayden’s heart skipped a beat and his smile melted.

  Captain Joshua Ivan.

  He was actually going to meet him.

  “You okay, sir?” Millie asked. “Look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Hayden looked up, a distant voice drawing him back to reality. He shook his head. “I’m fine. Please don’t call me sir.”

  Standing out from everyone else was inevitable for Hayden, and there were times in his life where he looked down on people for not addressing him with respect. But once he joined the military, that all changed. Now he wanted nothing more than to be the same as the soldier to his right or left. But now, more than ever, it seemed people were giving him the attention he once so desperately desired.

  “He’s just nervous about meeting Captain Ivan.” Vick leaned up against the bunks, crossing his arms.

  “Why? You get on his bad side somehow? He’s been on the Empire for almost two years, so you must’ve done something to remember,” Millie said, leaning up against the wall to his right. “Sleep with one of his daughters?”

  “It’s not that. Never met either of them. I’ve never met the man, in fact. He served with my dad though, back in the Mortuk war.”

  She stood up a little bit taller. “Oh yeah, that’s right!” Her gaze wandered off, a smile growing across her face. “I bet you’ve got a lot of stories about the two of them.” Her head snapped back to Hayden. “Got any you can share that I can use for blackmail?”

  Hayden sighed and shook his head. “Not quite. That’s the problem. I used to look forward to getting to meet him so I could ask him about my dad’s military experience. He was never one for sharing, other the fact that he wanted me to join Space Fleet.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “He never told you about his time in the war? But he’s a hero.”

  “Exactly. It seems like everyone else knows more about my dad’s history than I do.” Hayden regretted it as soon as he started talking. This was oversharing, and needed to reign it in. Many times he’d killed conversations and made moments awkward when he started talking. He just didn’t know when to stop. People wanted to listen to him because of who he was, but he learned quick that all they really wanted to do was just hear him talk. Wanted to find out a secret or two that they could share with their friends, or leak to the tabloids.

  “Well, hopefully you’ll get Captain Ivan to fill you in on some of your dad’s exploits.” She nudged his arm.

  “Probably not. His dad’s the one who stationed Captain Ivan to the Empire,” Vick said.

  Hayden shot him a look, and Vick’s eyes grew wide as he stuck the figurative foot in mouth.

  “Wait, wait, you mean—”

  “Well, look who it is,” a voice boomed from the entrance to the sleeping quarters.

  Hayden looked up, and standing in the doorway was Ben Tillows. His cheeks grew hot as anxiety burned within.. Vick groaned next to him.

  Of all the people that could be sent to the Empire at the same time as Hayden, of course it had to be Ben.

  “What are you doing here, Ben? I didn’t think Space Fleet liked people who came in second place.” Hayden stood up and crossed his arms.

  A few people inhaled sharp at Hayden’s jab as the other soldiers began to watch the encounter unfold.

  “You shut your damn mouth, Key!” Ben stepped forward and pointed his index finger at Hayden as if it would shoot laser beams. He then stood up straight, his hand falling to his side, as if he’d broken character and was returning to the script he’d written in his head. “I smelled your stench from the other side of the Gettysburg. Thought I’d come and pay my respects.” He bowed with an elaborate flourish, smiling at his attempt of mockery.

  Hayden took a step forward—something he’d learned he had to do with Ben early on in Space Fleet training. “Why don’t you get out of here, Tillow? This room is reserved for people who have parents with morals.”

  Ben’s eyes flared. “You don’t know when to stop, do you, Hayden?”

  “Oh, I know when to stop. It’s your dad who needs to learn when he’s beat.”

  Ben lunged forward and swung at him. The sudden attack took Hayden by surprise, and the punch connected with his jaw. Hayden stumbled backwards, pain shooting through his head.

  “I could have you thrown into the brig and out of Space Fleet for that!” Hayden shouted, reverting to asserting his status as he normally did whenever he was embarrassed or faced with a fight he couldn’t win. It was something Hayden hated doing, but when he was backing into a corner, he couldn’t help himself.

  “I should be saying that to you, you son of a bitch.” Ben clenched his fists, seething.

  Even though Ben was a couple inches taller and did better in combat training then Hayden, he wasn’t going to let him get away with insulting his mother.

  Hayden lunged at Ben, pulling his legs out from underneath him, sending him smashing into the ground. People around him began shouting, but nobody did anything. Nobody wanted to touch Hayden, for fear of what might happen next. Hayden punched Ben in the face, and he had to admit that releasing all the pent up emotions that had built up over the past few days felt good. Really good. Almost intoxicating. Hayden got one more punch in before someone hooked their arms beneath his. He looked behind him and met Vick’s eyes.

  He didn’t fight him.

  He’d done enough.

  Ben jumped up from the ground, but Millie and a couple other people stepped in and blocked him.

  “Get out of my way!” Ben shouted.

  “You’ve done enough.” An Asian man who was just as tall as Ben pushed him back.

  Ben looked him up and down, and eyed all the other soldiers that had gathered around him. He straightened out his uniform and locked eyes with Hayden, raising that index finger once again. “You watch yourself, Key.” He turned and walked out of the room.

  “How about you watch yourself,” Millie shouted after him. “You stay away from the Sir!”

  Everyone turned and looked at Hayden. He wiped the bit of blood from his lip and smiled. “Where was that comradery when I got punched the first time?”

  A few chuckled but others just shook their heads and rolled their eyes.

  Hayden’s smile wavered. He didn’t like where this was going already. He liked it when he was put into a class of complete strangers. It was a chance to be a new person, a chance to be one of the rest of them. And yet, it always seemed like Ben Tillow was right around the corner, a gust of wind to knock down his house of cards.

  “That guy wouldn’t happen to be the son of Jonathan Tillow, would he?” Mille pointed her thumb at the door behind her.

  “Yep. That’s the one,” Hayden said.

  “Yikes. The grudge makes sense,” Millie said, letting out a sharp exhale. “Sorry sir,” she said, once she noticed the look on Hayden’s face.

  “It’s fine.” He laid down on his bunk. “And don’t call me ‘sir’.” With that, Hayden pulled the curtain to his bunk shut. He laid in the dark, rubbing his sore jaw, once again listening to the things people whispered about him just as he’d done for the past two years.

  Chapter Four

  The alarms woke Captain Joshua Ivan from his deep sleep.

  “Status report,” he mumbled, without even sitting up. The red alarm light fading in and out, bathing the room in a red glow.

  “Burst water pipe in Level A, Section D,” said the slightly robotic voice of Angelica, the artificial intelligence aboard the USTS Empire. She could detect Ivan’s voice even though it could barely be heard over the alarms.

  “WorkerBots en route?” Ivan groaned as he sat up in his bed.r />
  “Yes, sir, although I do wish you would stop calling them that. They’re much more advanced than the robots you refer to as ‘WorkerBots’,” Angelica said.

  Ivan rolled his eyes as he stood up. He couldn’t believe he was being corrected by a computer. “Yeah, yeah. Tell the WorkerBots to stand down. I’ll take care of it.” He could’ve sworn he heard Angelica sigh.

  “As you wish, Captain. Although do be careful. If you change your mind, let me know. I’ll send the MetaBots to take over should you need it.”

  “I don’t need help replacing a pipe from damn WorkerBots,” he said as the alarms shut off and the lights in the room returned to normal. “Save them for a job I can’t do.”

  “Of course, Captain Ivan. I’ll monitor the situation and inform you of any new developments.”

  Ivan threw on his clothes fast, not worrying about properly buttoning up his uniform or how his hair looked. Being the only human on an entire Bovoran class warship, presentation was the last thing on his mind, especially since he needed to hurry up and get down to the leak before the whole ship flooded.

  He entered the code in the keypad on the wall and a hissing sound emanated from it as the door slid open. Ivan jogged down the hallway toward the elevator, hoping he wasn’t making the wrong decision by not letting the MetaBots do the job. Of course, it was just a burst pipe. Nothing anyone in their mid-fifties couldn’t handle, much less a Captain in the United States Space Fleet.

  Not even supposed to be just a Captain. Ivan reached the elevator and stepped inside. He pressed the button to take him down to Section A. With every floor he passed, he grew more and more bitter. He couldn’t believe he was fixing a pipe on his own ship. He should’ve had a crew—an army of people keeping the vessel running at tip-top shape. Instead, all he had was himself and a bunch of MetaBots.

  Bunch of good for nothing WorkerBots. Technically, he knew they were MetaBots. It made no difference to Ivan, though. Way out here, hooked up to an isolated computer system on a ship way past its prime, the MetaBots were practically useless. They were always glitching, tripping over each other, never getting anything done. “Not like I’m counting on them to keep this whole place running,” he said to himself as the elevator reached its destination. “Can’t be bothered to make sure I at least got some help that’s not useless, can you?” he asked the USSF seal that sat emblazoned on the wall immediately outside the elevator door.

  Ivan walked down the hallway, the echo of his boots the only sound in the metal hallway. He stuck his hand out, tapping his fingers on the support beams that ran along the rounded metal walls. The sound of flowing water along with the puddle on the ground lead the way.

  He turned the corner, and halfway down the hall was the burst pipe, water gushing from it as it hung slightly off the wall. Ivan sighed, muttering a curse word under his breath. “Hey Angelica,” he said as he walked towards the broken pipe, the water splashing beneath him. “I’m going to need some WorkerBots to bring me a new pipe. There’s no salvaging this one, going to have to replace the whole thing.”

  “So you’re going to need the WorkerBots’ help after all?” Angelica asked, her voice sounding almost catty.

  Ivan grabbed the wheel next to the pipe, grunting as he turned it, shutting off the water valve. “Just bring me the damn pipe.”

  He stepped back and had to take a moment to catch his breath. The valve was harder to turn than he’d anticipated. He stood alone in the hallway, the sound of the last bit of water dripping from the pipe and into the pool of water that filled the hallway. He waited for the WorkerBots to come, shaking his head. Congratulations on the promotion. And the bitterness returned.

  Captain Ivan sat down in front of his computer in his quarters. He’d just showered, and felt like taking a nap. Repairing the pipe wasn’t too difficult, but the cleanup took forever. Not to mention the fact that he’d only had four hours of sleep. Still, despite it all, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep.

  He looked at the clock on his computer. It was 5:45 am on the East Coast of America. “Angelica, call Beth.”

  “Are you sure, Captain?” Angelica responded.

  Ivan tightened his fist and gritted his teeth. “I get enough insubordination from my trainees. I don’t need a damned AI questioning me!” He raised his voice, annoyance rushing through him. He relaxed himself, somewhat embarrassed he’d just blown up at a computer program. He exhaled and waited to hear the voice of his eldest daughter.

  “Hey Dad!”

  Ivan’s eyes shot open and he sat up in his seat. He smiled at his daughter’s image on the computer screen. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She sipped on a cup of tea, her glasses fogging from the steam. “Hey sweetheart.” She didn’t look a day older than the last time he saw her, back before he was alone. “What are you up to?”

  “Just about to make lunch.” She set her glass down.

  Ivan glanced back at the clock.

  5:47 am.

  “Dammit!” Computers on the old ship couldn’t get the details right anymore, and when it came to simulations, the devil was in the details.

  “When are you coming back home, Dad?” Her voice wasn’t quite right.

  Ivan took a moment before responding, studying her face. The computers were able to get her image right. She looked just like Beth, that was for sure. Now if only they could get their act together and make everything else work perfectly, just like the computers back on Earth would’ve been able to. “I don’t know, it’ll be a while.” His heart wasn’t in it anymore, but he had nothing else to do. “Got some new recruits coming in soon, so I have to go get ready for them.”

  “Going so soon?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Ivan nodded, leaning forward in his seat. “I’m sorry. I’m just not buying it this time. Maybe next time. Maybe after a drink or two I’ll believe you’re real.”

  A smiled crossed Beth’s face. One that seemed so real and perfectly Beth, it made Ivan’s stomach twist a little. “Maybe next time, Dad.”

  The image faded, and the software closed itself. He sighed and sat back in his seat. Back on Earth, the computers were able to simulate his eldest daughter perfectly. He’d be able to have conversations with her, and Ivan was almost able to believe that she wasn’t dead.

  Almost.

  Ivan picked up his cup of water and drank the last few drops. He gripped the metal tumbler tight in his hand, and tossed it across the room, the anger and bitterness taking over. Nothing ever went right on the Empire. Nothing ever worked out in his favor. If only he’d kept his mouth shut, stayed in line, maybe then he’d be able to be back on Earth. Back with people, both living and dead.

  Ivan shook his head. He knew he really couldn’t have done that. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself. He looked around his large living quarters, taking in the place that’d been his home for the past year and a half.

  He tapped the thin computer screen that sat on his desktop, pulling up the countdown. Two days, twenty-three hours, four minutes. That’s how long it’d be before the Empire had another soul besides himself on board. He knew that by the end of the two weeks training, he’d be sick and tired of everybody, longing to be left alone for just a few minutes. But the two weeks of isolation before a new shipment of recruits came grew to be torture of its own, as Ivan was now experiencing.

  Just a couple more days. He leaned back in his chair. Then this will all be over with.

  Chapter Five

  Captain Ivan sipped his peppermint green tea as he watched over the WorkerBot feeds. They were humanoid in the sense that they had two arms, legs, and a head, but that’s where the similarities stopped. Their bodies were large and square in order to hold all the peripherals they needed for any task that stood in their way. They would travel up their bulky arms, before appearing at the end of whichever appendage they needed.

  Ivan took another sip of his tea, and grimaced at the sweet minty flavor. Despite his disdain for the tea
, he’d run out of coffee a couple days beforehand and needed to get his caffeine from somewhere.

  “Aw hell,” he muttered to himself. One of the MetaBots had become disconnected from the network for a few moments. Instead of just shutting down, it continued its task until it reconnected to the network and was told otherwise. Unfortunately for the MetaBot next to it, its task was tightening up some rivets on the outside of the ship. The MetaBot’s drill dug into the one next to it. Moments later, the murderous MetaBot reconnected to the network, and stopped drilling into its robotic brother.

  “Angelica, did we just lose another WorkerBot?” Ivan asked.

  “Just a moment, sir. MetaBot 47J-02 has sustained serious damage. I’m recalling it and MetaBot 72X-87.”

  Ivan watched as the once-malfunctioning MetaBot grabbed the body of the its victim, rolling along the outside of the ship using its magnetic feet. Ivan imagined the MetaBot that had drilled into the other was now realizing its mistake, and was distraught as it pulled the shell of its brother back inside. Its body damaged and its computers shut down, it was effectively dead. But it could be repaired. There was hope for it yet. Soon 72X-87 and 47J-02 would be right back on the outside of the ship, working together like nothing had gone wrong. Like one hadn’t tried to kill the other and then had to drag the lifeless body of the other back to safety.

  A lump rose in his throat as he thought of this fantasy world where MetaBots were more than just advanced robotics, this world where they were more human than not. The lump grew as, suddenly, in this fantasy world, they weren’t just MetaBots. They were humans. They weren’t just in space, either. They were on a battlefield on some distant planet, far from home, fighting off the aliens that wanted nothing more than to see Ivan and his friends dead.

  Ivan could almost feel the body in his hands.

  Explosions and blaster shots flying all around him.

  Ships screeching across the sky.

  Blood slick as it ran down his arms and soaked into his shirt.