Empire (Empire, Book One) Page 4

  Vick and Hayden walked down the hallway towards the elevator. Hayden struggled to lift his feet with ease, as if cement blocks had been tied around his ankles. Why was he dreading this? He’d been looking forward to it almost his entire life. Those already in the Fleet always said Wartime simulations were the most fun part of Space Fleet training. A time where you’re put to the test and get your first taste of what life in the fleet will be like. But thanks to his dad, Captain Ivan was sure to hold a grudge against Hayden in his father’s absence.

  “How you feeling?” Vick asked.

  “I think I might need to throw up.”

  Vick threw his head back and laughed. “Come on, dude. It’s not like the Captain is going to throw you out the airlock. Just keep your head down and you’ll get through the next two weeks easy. We’ll be lieutenants before you know it.”

  Hayden nodded his head and let out a deep breath. “I guess I’m just bitter. This should be an awesome two weeks. A time to put ourselves to the test. Instead, I just want it to be over with. I’m afraid he’ll give me bad marks and then I’ll get stuck in some shitty assignment.”

  “You think the son of the President of the United States is going to get stuck scrubbing toilets in Alaska?” Vick asked.

  Hayden shot him a sideways glance as they reached the elevator and entered. “It wouldn’t be the first time I got stuck scrubbing toilets.”

  Vick clapped his hands together and laughed. “Commander Bivis just doesn’t have a sense of humor. That first year, too. They were trying to break you. You, more than the others.”

  Hayden nodded. “That’s exactly it. Preferential treatment is the last thing I want.”

  Vick shrugged. “You’re the son of the Commander in Chief. Whether you like it or not, preferential treatment is what you’re going to get. Good and bad.”

  Hayden didn’t respond, frowning. Vick wasn’t exactly doing a great job at making him feel better. The elevator slowed as the trip from Level B to Level D reached its end. The doors slid open and the two of them stepped out.

  Hayden looked down at the tablet in his hand and watched as his small blue dot moved along the screen towards the large red one that pulsated, signaling their destination down the hall.

  “You think we’ll know our way around this ship by the end of the two weeks?” Vick asked.

  “I don’t know. We learned the layout of the bases down on Earth pretty fast, so maybe.” They reached the meeting room.

  At least fifty people were stuffed into the meeting room in five rows of ten chairs each. Each row was staggered up so everybody had a clear view of the podium. Ahead of each row, a large desk ran from end to end where people had their tablets propped up.

  They were early—no sign of Captain Ivan yet. Hayden and Vick walked up the stairs on the side and sat down at the top row of desks. Hayden propped up his tablet using the kickstand and waited in the cold conference room for the Captain to enter.

  The door in the back of the room swung open and Captain Ivan strode out. He stood tall and fit, his hair perfectly brushed. His face was clean shaven and a few faint scars marked his skin. He walked with purpose to the podium, not making eye contact with anyone in the room. It was almost as if he was making an effort not to look at the L-Cadets.

  “Take your seats. This shouldn’t be long.” He reached the podium and placed a tablet on top.

  Chapter Eight

  Everything felt weird to Hayden. It was like he was back on Earth and was about to be lectured on how to safely perform an emergency ejection from a Mamba, or dissect the Battle of Hivlan to figure out what the leaders did right or wrong.

  “You’re all L-Cadets,” Ivan began, looking out on the crowd for the first time. “You’ve spent the past two years training for almost every job in the Space Fleet. You’re leaders, and I expect you to act as such. There are no lieutenants and commanders here watching your every move, telling you which way to go about things. If you screw something up, it’s your own damn fault. And trust me, there are people watching.” He turned and pointed up at a black camera that sat in the corner. “This feed is being transmitted across the Quantum Network back to the Space Fleet base Nile floating over the colony Cygen.” He looked back at the crowd of L-Cadets with a sideways smile. “So don’t try any shit unless you want to be expelled from Space Fleet.”

  Hayden relaxed. So there would be video evidence if Captain Ivan tried to frame him for anything. He mentally kicked himself for thinking that. This man is a hero and served alongside Dad. A wave of shame rolled over him and his cheeks reddened. Ivan would never do such a thing. But he could still very well do his best to make Hayden’s life hell over the next two weeks.

  “Now we’ll deal with the assignments. I wanted to give you these personally because, as L-Cadets, you’ve been waiting two years for this day. You deserve to be told your assignments in person, not over some tablet.” Ironically, Ivan then punched in something on his tablet, pulling up the list of assignments. “You will be rotated around so you can get their hands on everything. I know you think you know it all already, but you’ll be surprised at how much there is to learn when you’re actually in space on a warship running simulations, trust me. When you graduate to the rank of lieutenant, I want to make sure the assignment you request will be one that you know you can do and —most importantly—enjoy. That’s why I want to make sure you all get a little bit of time in each position.”

  Hayden watched as the words Ivan spoke appeared on his tablet screen, the microphone inside transcribing every word. These were all things he’d heard many times over the years and he couldn’t help but wonder if Ivan was stalling. Stop that. Not everything’s about you. He might not even care you’re here. The chances of that were slim though, and Hayden knew it.

  “First of all, there’s the assignment I know everyone want to try,” Ivan said with a sly smile, his hands wrapping around the sides of his podium, his knuckles turning white. “Executive Officer,” he said with a spark in his eye.

  Hayden looked around the room. They hung on his every word, silently begging that he’d say their name next. Hayden sunk back in his seat a little bit, dreading what would come next. There were fifty of them in the room and they only had fourteen days aboard the Empire. With any other assignment, L-Cadets could switch roles throughout the day. But not with XO. Which meant that only fourteen people could be XO—the fourteen with the highest training scores. Hayden knew there was no way he wasn’t on that list, but he silently prayed that he might be the fifteenth smartest person in the room. It was the first time he’d ever wished for a bad grade.

  “Our first XO will be Hayden Key,” Captain Ivan said.

  They all turned and looked at him and, for the first time, Ivan met his eyes. There was no doubting it this time. Ivan’s eyes bored into Hayden, along with those of everyone else in the room.

  Hayden tried his best to keep a neutral look on his face but, on the inside, he was dying. He nodded to the Captain but Captain Ivan turned back to his tablet and opened his mouth to speak again. Hayden glanced upwards at the dark metal ceiling. Prayers must’ve gotten stopped by the ceiling again.

  Would Ivan put him through hell? As revenge for what his father did to him? Or would he give him some easy assignment just to keep him out of his hair? Either way, Hayden knew he wasn’t going to get the assignment he deserved. He’d worked hard over the past two years, and it was time for him to show what he was capable of. No better way to do that than as XO. But that just wasn’t going to happen under Ivan’s command. He’d heard of the way he responded when his dad assigned him to the Empire. He’d heard rumors of the things said over the past two years. There was no way he was just going to let Hayden by easily.

  “That’s all. Get some rest tonight. You’re going to need it. Dismissed,” Ivan said.

  Chairs squeaked across the floor, Cadets rushing towards the exit. A few stayed and began talking with their friends, excited about their assignments. Others groaned and m
oaned about what they’d ended up with. A few people walked up to Captain Ivan, excited to get the chance to talk with him. They shook his hand and told him how happy they were to meet him.

  Hayden could spend all night dreading tomorrow or he could walk up to Captain Ivan and introduce himself right now. Get ahead of it all. Figure out exactly what vibe Ivan was going to have.

  Hayden stood up, tablet in hand, determined to get to Ivan before he had time to talk himself out of the whole thing. It had to happen sometime—might as well be now.

  “Where you going?” Vick ran up behind him.

  Hayden was too concentrated to respond. His eyes focused on Captain Ivan like the targeting system of a Mamba.

  But, like a stealth bomber, Ben Tillows popped in front of Hayden out of nowhere, stopping him in his tracks, three steps from the bottom.

  “Commander,” he said and gave a sarcastic salute. Snickers rose from behind him like school kids who’d just heard a dirty joke.

  “Get out of my way, Tillows.” Hayden threw an elbow in his direction.

  Ben placed a hand on Hayden’s chest and the new XO stopped cold.

  There was no way Hayden could retaliate, not with the captain in the room.

  “Not so fast, your majesty. I just want you to know that when I have the XO assignment the day after tomorrow, I’m going to wipe the floor with you.”

  Hayden rolled his eyes. Of course Captain Ivan would give Ben the assignment after him. Their rivalry was legendary. “You really are an idiot, aren’t you, Benjamin?”

  Ben’s eyes flared just as they did every time Hayden used his full name.

  “Why would you tell me what your plan is? I’ve got the assignment first. Now I’ll just wipe the floor with you so hard you’re not even going to be able to get out of bed for your assignment.” Hayden grinned.

  Ben looked away, the dumb look on his face telling Hayden that he’d realized his mistake. “We’ll see, Your Highness. Then again, in case you didn’t notice, my squad’s sharing the room with yours. Maybe there’ll be an accident and you won’t be able to get up tomorrow.” He leaned forward and spoke barely above a whisper. “I do tend to sleepwalk.”

  “Just like how your father sleepwalked through his presidential campaign?” Hayden said.

  A hush fell over the crowd that he hadn’t even realized gathered around them. They watched the two of them, as if waiting for a bloody street fight to begin.

  Ben glared at him, fire roaring behind his eyes. Hayden tried his best to stay cool. He’d learned how to deal with Ben a long time ago—which is why he knew better than to mention Ben Tillows Sr.‘s failed presidential campaign. That was the young Tillows’ tipping point.

  “What’s going on here?” a voice boomed.

  Hayden’s cool exterior faded. Capitan Ivan looked up to where he stood on the stairs. Hayden looked down at Ivan, trying his best to hide the fear in his eyes.

  “Nothing, sir. Just two old classmates catching up,” Vick chimed in from behind Hayden.

  Hayden appreciated his friend stepping in for him but he knew it wasn’t going to help. Not when Captain Ivan had a personal vendetta with him.

  “I was talking to Cadet Key and Cadet Tillows,” Ivan said, his eyes not leaving Hayden.

  Hayden cleared his throat. “We were just discussing our sleeping arrangements, sir. Mine and Cadet Tillows’ squads are sharing a room.”

  A small smile flashed across Captain Ivan’s face. It was subtle and fast enough that Hayden was sure it wasn’t intentional.

  “This discussion had better stay civil. I don’t tolerate infighting among my crew, am I understood?” Captain Ivan said, his voice holding anger that Hayden knew was directed at him.

  “Yes, sir,” he and Ben responded.

  “Good. Dismissed.” Ivan turned and walked towards the exit.

  “Watch yourself,” Ben said as he stepped away from Hayden. “Those cameras aren’t always around.” With that, he turned and walked out of the room.

  Hayden felt a knot of anxiety in his chest. Not only did he have to worry about Ivan, but now Ben as well.

  “You make a hell of a first impression,” Vick said.

  Hayden raised his eyebrows at his friend. “It’s going to be a long two weeks.”

  Vick scoffed as the two of them walked down the stairs towards the exit. “If we even make it that long.”

  Chapter Nine

  Ivan shut the door to his quarters behind him and rubbed his face. He felt as if he was on day ten of simulations, not day zero. He walked towards his couch and sat down, the confrontation between Hayden Key and Ben Tillows replaying in in his mind.

  He wanted to do much worse things to Hayden Key than just put his archnemesis in the same room as him, but he shot those ideas down almost as quickly as they came up. No matter how much he wanted to, he knew that punishing Gerald’s son wasn’t the right thing to do. He wasn’t that kind of person. He wasn’t going to make the son pay for the sins of the father. He’d looked over Hayden’s records. He was a good kid—smart, excellent scores on all his coursework, the kind of cadet he would want to have on his crew if it weren’t for who his father.

  He smiled to himself as he thought about how he’d put him in the same room as Tillows. That was about as far as he’d go. He didn’t know if the two of them had a history, but guessed it based on the fact that Hayden’s dad had downright embarrassed Ben’s dad in the last presidential election. He knew the two of them wouldn’t take things too far, especially with the cameras around and their careers and family names on the line.

  That, mixed with the fact that he assigned Hayden to go first on XO duty meant that he’d get dealing with him over with quick. After that, interaction with him would be minimal and the next two weeks should be—hopefully—smooth sailing.

  Ivan stood up and walked towards his desk in the corner of the room. He pulled out the bottom drawer, and lifted out his bottle of whiskey and a glass. He poured himself a glass of the amber liquid, and put the bottle away. He took a sip from it, the alcohol burning his throat. Another Zero Day down. He held up the glass, examining the liquid.

  “Angelica, give me a status update. Everybody in their quarters?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir. Sensors aren’t picking up any life forms where they shouldn’t be,” the AI responded.

  “Sounds good.” He took another swig of whiskey.

  Ivan pulled out his chair and unbuttoned the top button of his uniform. He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out the notebook and pen that sat inside. Pen and paper were practically artifacts but Ivan liked writing things down using the tools of another time. They reminded him of his time on the front lines of the alien war, where bandwidth was limited, so they’d have to write letters the old-fashioned way.

  He tried to keep himself away from things that reminded him of those times but pen and paper were the exception. During the period of his life where blood, death and sorrow were an everyday occurrence, the time he spent writing letters back to his home on Salmede were the beacons of light in a dark world. They were his therapy. They brought him happiness—a feeling he carried to that very day.

  Now he had nobody to write. It’d been over a decade since he’d been home to Salmede and seen his old friends. He had no family to write to—at least none that’d appreciate a letter. Even if he did, he’d have to wait two weeks and send the letter back with the recruits.

  So Ivan just journaled. He poured himself another glass of whiskey and took a few sips to gather his thoughts. He put pen to page, and began writing, his thoughts flowing from his head, through his heart and onto the parchment.

  Twenty minutes and two pages later, Ivan finished his glass of whiskey. He eyed the bottle in the open drawer next to him. He felt good. He was enjoying himself, which was something he couldn’t say often. He saw no reason to stop the good times if they were still going. There was no telling when they’d come back.

  He poured himself another glass—this one a
little more generous than the others.

  His thoughts turned to President Key and why he’d send his son to be trained by a man he hated. Why didn’t he just pull some strings and get his son to graduate without wartime simulations? Who gave a damn if Hayden objected? He’d had everything given to him on a silver platter his whole life. So why not this?

  Why don’t I ask him? He turned his head and eyed the tablet that sat on his couch. He still had President Key’s contact information stored in it from back when they were friends. Instead of spending all night racking his brain trying to figure this all out, why didn’t he just call and get it straight from the horse’s mouth?

  He stomped towards the couch and picked up the tablet. He examined it in his hands, trying to figure out if this was really the best thing to do, or if it was the drink talking. He’d thought about calling up the president every so often and giving him a piece of his mind but he never did it. He didn’t want to give Gerald the benefit of knowing that he’d won.

  But this was different. Ivan knew why he was on the Empire. He had nothing to gain from calling Gerald in the past, nothing to learn. But calling and asking why he’d send he precious son all the way to the Empire? Asking him straight up what game he was playing? That was something Gerald wouldn’t expect. Did the coward expect him to just roll over? Was Gerald rubbing it in his face that he still had a kid?

  Ivan chuckled to himself as he sat down at his desk, imagining the dumbfounded look on Gerald’s face when he got the call that he’d been expecting for two years. He took another swig from his glass and punched Gerald Key’s contact before he could think better of it.

  The longer it took for Gerald to answer, the more Ivan realized the mistake he was making.

  The call connected. Too late.

  “Is that Joshua Ivan I see?” a voice said.

  The youthful green eyes of the First Lady looked back at Ivan. He wasn’t expecting Heather to answer and it flustered him. “How are you doing, Heather?” he said with a smile, his slurring.