Even so, not everyone was willing to commit to joining him. It wasn’t too surprising. The Imperial Navy’s usual way of dealing with a newly-discovered black colony was to demand surrender and transport the population elsewhere, if they didn’t just launch a missile at it and destroy it in nuclear fire. Colin suspected that even if the rebels won, even if they defeated the towering monolith that blighted so many lives, few of the hidden colonies would declare themselves. The habit of hiding was too ingrained by now.
“I know,” Colin agreed. It was quite possible that Imperial Intelligence had its own agents on the asteroid; that they knew about Sanctuary and had simply chosen to leave it alone and try to use it to find other colonies. Anderson’s warning was well-taken. He’d also talked Colin out of returning the freighter crews at once, pointing out that the longer the Empire remained uncertain of what had happened to the Annual Fleet, the fewer precautions they would take. “I don’t think that we have a choice.”
Shadow was lurking outside, the most powerful ship in the system, and he had a full company of Marines covering his back. Even so, he knew that he was dangerously exposed… and he loved it. For the first time in years, he truly felt alive, something he knew that was shared by most of his crew. His crew reassignments — promoting officers and men to their level of competence — seemed to work better than the Empire’s haphazard approach to promotion. They might have been assured of certain death if the Empire ever caught them, yet they didn’t seem to care. The Empire had created a system that bred resentment and hatred on a massive scale. All it had needed was someone to stand up and throw the shackles off.
He looked up as Daria entered the compartment. “I brought three people who wanted to meet you in person,” she said. She looked back outside. “Come on in.”
Colin lifted an eyebrow, which rapidly became a smile as he saw the first person entering the compartment. The man was a legend. The second was a woman he didn’t recognise at first, but the third had to be a Geek, if only because of the biomechanical implants inserted into his body. Colin almost felt sick as he considered the warped and mutilated flesh. The Empire banned implants, outside the Thousand Families, the Marines and certain special cases, but the Geeks delighted in flouting that law. The man he was looking at was more machine than human being. The Geeks, according to rumour, could link into computers and control them directly. Colin could believe it.
“Admiral Walker,” Daria said, with a hint of formality. Her face seemed more composed than normal. “Please allow me to introduce Captain Jason Cordova, Hester Hyman and Salgak.”
Colin found himself coming to his feet, for Captain Cordova was a legend. Everyone in the Imperial Navy knew the story, even though Public Information had been trying for years to rewrite it, or even just to convince the crewmen to forget about Cordova. Hell, the man had inspired Colin himself. Twelve years ago, just before Colin and Admiral Percival had their fateful meeting, Captain Cordova had found himself ordered to scorch a planet that had been unable to pay its taxes. The Empire didn’t tolerate planets that refused to pay and didn’t accept excuses. Cordova had refused the order and, when other starships had arrived to arrest him, had taken his starship and loyal crew out beyond the Rim. Since then, he had been a lurking presence on the border, even though he hadn’t been able to do more than irritate the Empire. His ship, the Random Numbers, was only a heavy cruiser.
Cordova took Colin’s hand, shaking it firmly. Perhaps it was just a trace of hero-worship, but he seemed somehow larger than life, with a long golden beard, a massive bright smile and a uniform that seemed to come from a bygone age. In some ways, he seemed too good to be true, leaving Colin feeling a twinge of jealousy. Cordova could probably have talked Stacy Roosevelt into surrendering without ever needing to board her ships; hell, his mere presence would probably have caused Admiral Percival to wet himself. Colin reminded himself that he’d taken nine superdreadnaughts and, in an afternoon, inflicted more damage than Cordova, in all his years, had ever done. The man might have been a legend, but he was still only a man.
Hester Hyman was, in her own way, just as much of a legend as Cordova. She looked middle-aged, her face bearing the scars of a botched rejuvenation treatment. Her long dark hair was streaked with grey and she held herself as if the only thing keeping her on her feet was her own force of will. She looked unremarkable, even to Colin, until he saw her eyes. They told the full story. This was a woman who had seen terrible things.
Colin knew her story, or at least the legend. Hester Hyman had been a housewife on an isolated colony world that had the misfortune to be governed by one of the worst governors in the Empire. Hester had been picked up one day, taken to the Governor’s Mansion, and raped, along with many other girls from the colony. Hester had been thrown out afterwards and the governor had forgotten about her, a grave mistake. She had gone back to her family, rallied her support and led an uprising against the Empire. The Blackshirts had put it down eventually, but by then the Governor and most of his cronies had died in the fighting. Hester had been captured and sentenced to life on a penal colony, yet somehow she’d broken free, led her fellow prisoners to take over the penal ship and escaped out to the Rim. Since then, she had been another thorn in the Empire’s side. The price on her head was second to none.
And, compared to two living legends, the Geek was almost unremarkable.
“You did extremely well,” Hester said, once they were all seated. Colin had poured them all a glass of wine from Stacy Roosevelt’s private stock. It would have cost a Captain a year’s salary to purchase even a single bottle of Old Scotch, yet Stacy had nine bottles in her cabin. “The Empire will not soon forget what you did.”
“Thank you,” Colin said. Hester’s voice had surprised him. It was harsh, almost atonal, a chilling reminder of what the Empire had done to her when they had her in their clutches. She had once been pretty, perhaps beautiful. Now… her face was scarred and her body seemed to be in constant pain. “It’s only the beginning.”
“It will require time to assimilate the materials that you have brought us,” Salgak stated. The Geek leader — or representative, seeing the Geeks used a democratic system to make decisions — spoke with a harsh, buzzing voice. At some point in the past, he’d removed his vocal chords and replaced it with a mechanical speaker. Colin wondered — he had no intention of asking — if the Geek had also replaced his genitals. There were some questions he really didn’t want to know if they had an answer. “We can produce certain materials for your ships at once; more advanced ships will take time, at least six months.”
Colin smiled inwardly. Not even the Thousand Families could keep something the size of the Empire in technological stasis, no matter how much they might wish to try. Even so, they were determined to limit technological advancement as much as possible, fearful of the consequences if something were to be developed that would change or undermine the economic base of the Empire. The scientists in the Empire either worked for the Thousand Families or they found themselves transferred to planets so primitive that they thought that a time machine meant a watch — or they ran off to the Rim and joined the Geeks. Or, if they were focused on the biological sciences, they joined the Nerds.