The Grand Reopening
02 Nov 2021Seth Bradwell
Dyson City, 09:00, 25 October"...and by the authority given to me, I declare the station fully open." the hologram of Hadrian Duval announced.
There was a uplifting fanfare which was barely audible amid the standing ovation given by everyone in the main promenade. Soon after the first ships started to arrive, a host of mighty Beluga Liners bringing the first of Dyson City's surviving inhabitants home. It had taken a whole week, but finally enough materials had been brought in to enable the station to be fully repaired.
"Mr. Bradwell, you are aware that the Imperator seeks a private audience with you?" a smartly dressed Nova Imperium official asked me.
"Certainly."
"He wishes to see you in two hours' time, and it would do him an immense disservice if you were to snub him."
"I would not dream of committing such a great insult." I reply. That's what you think, I thought to myself. Once this ceremony is formally over, I am getting everything off this station and then going about getting my Python all tuned up, ready to take on anything that the galaxy can throw at me. Sooner or later we will find out where the NMLA are hiding and I will take pleasure in taking the fight straight to them. Now the repair work is done, I cannot wait to see the back of the place, and more to the point, get back into a more agile ship that can defend itself. I could do with some down time, away from vital missions to save humanity. Things are looking quite grim as of late. You have Orion University wanting to evict an centuries-old spacefaring tribe from their home on a technicality, which seems pretty unfair to me. What's more the Imperial Senate is discussing some protection arrangement with Hadrian Duval - seems like they are trying to make an offer he cannot refuse, like going into protective custody, probably on condition of giving up leadership of Nova Imperium. Rumours have it that our esteemed Emperor is under similar protection already, which would explain why she has not been heard of in months, so is it really 'protection' or is it more like house arrest? There are some really sinister games afoot in the Empire, and there are numerous possibilities, such as deep infiltration by the Club, or a ambitious bid for a power grab by a handful of ambitious Senators - and it wouldn't surprise me if Patreus had a role in it. The Empire is being subverted from within, and that is deeply worrisome. But there's not much one small player like me can do about it, not until events unfold for all to see. I have also been thinking about who has been benefitting from these NMLA attacks. Stations require many different materials in order to be repaired, beryllium being the main one, but there are over a dozen others which need to be fetched from mining and refinery worlds. During my various repair runs I have noticed that the nearest sources of these materials are often found in Anarchy systems, where there is no formal government and in the majority of cases, no rule of law, with order being enforced by whoever packs the most guns. It's therefore quite plausible that several of these criminal factions are running a racket with the NMLA, where a station gets attacked and they can hike up the prices and the NMLA gets a cut of the proceeds. Then there are worlds within the Empire that also produce these materials, and Zemina Torval has recently gotten very rich off a deal consolidating her mining interests. Coincidence? Maybe, and I am aware that speculation without evidence means naught. It can also be argued that the Empire would never go against their own, but someone is benefitting from the NMLA's campaign of terror, and I am cynical enough to not put beyond the realms of possibility that a scheming rouge Senator is using the NMLA to undermine the Empire in order to make a grab for the throne. The threat is certainly grave enough that Arissa Lavigny-Duval still remains in hiding, meanwhile it seems nothing can be done to stop the NMLA, and they get more and more brazen with every move. Yet all I can do is keep being prepared for the next conflict. But right now, I want to take time away from all of this, be it using the pirate scum that infest the RESes as target practice, or just exploring some new world some thousand light years from inhabited space, undiscovered until I jumped in. I definitely need some R&R after so long hauling repair materials from the same systems over and over again.
***
15:00, Hangar 40
I walk up to the gangplank of the Hercules, getting ready to take her to where the Edge of Sanity is waiting for me to go cause trouble at some RESes once more. I just think I have gotten away with avoiding a stuffy meeting and giving a big middle finger to the expectations of a good Imperial citizen when I hear a "Halt!"
I turn round to see two of Nova Imperium's security, they were armed but their weapons weren't raised. "Listen," I said, "I can explain..."
"We are sure you can." said one of the security guards himself. "Right now, in fact. Your Grace, this is the pilot."
Another figure emerges from the shadows, and as he moves into the light I clearly make out the sight of Hadrian Duval himself, self styled Imperator of the Nova Imperium. I immediately do the smartest curtesy I can manage.
"So this is him, the pilot who thwarted a spacejacking, rescuing my people from a most dreadful fate, and helped save thousands of other lives during this crisis, not to mention his commitment to our cause during that nasty conflict with the Federation a few months back when they tried to capture me. For someone who had the benefit of a privileged upbringing, you do not seem to have much care for protocol, Mr. Bradwell. But given that you did so much for us over the past few weeks, I will forgive that slight. However I just had to meet you in person, before you left us to return to your mercenary ways."
I pause for a moment, not sure whether it would be impudent to speak, then risk a response. "Well, I am astonished that you would go to so much effort, Your Grace."
"I had a feeling you wouldn't willingly come to a formal audience, Mr. Bradwell. But after all you have done I just had to find you before you left again."
"I humbly apologise, Your Grace. But I have my reasons..."
"...which I am not interested in. Here we are now, so let us move on to why I wanted to see you. You have contributed tremendously to the survival of my realm, and indeed possibly the Empire as a whole, not to mention saving thousands of my citizens. I am most deeply thankful for all that you have done."
"I am guessing that is not the only reason why you went out your way to find me."
"Correct, Mr. Bradwell. As someone who, for whatever personal reasons, is committed to the survival of the Empire, and the defeat of the NMLA, I commend you, and wish you good fortune in that endeavour. However I must warn you to be on your guard. Your actions, noble as they may be, have made you many enemies across the galaxy. Be careful who you trust, even in the Empire. However, be rest assured that you will now will always be given a warm welcome wherever you are in Nova Imperium space."
"May I ask a question, Your Grace?"
"Certainly."
"I have read Galnet, and I am sure you will have too. Should you decide leave Paresa, what will become of Nova Imperium?"
"That is a matter for whoever I name as successor as leader of Nova Imperium - assuming it remains Nova Imperium. But no matter what, they will contribute to the survival of the Empire to the best of their ability."
"Do you trust the Senate? After all no one has heard from Her Majesty for months."
"Her Majesty has very good reason to have gone into hiding. You are aware of how ruthless the NMLA are, and how they seek to obliterate any trace of the Duval family from the galaxy. If they can nearly succeed in assassinating me twice in the space of a year, imagine the effort they are putting into hunting down the Emperor. Any public appearance represents far too grave a risk right now. As for whether I trust the Senate, that answer is no, I most certainly do not, no one in Imperial politics survives long if he or she puts any trust in them, that has been true right from the earliest days of the Empire. But I do trust several key Senators, who for obvious reasons I cannot name. Whilst there are many Senators who definitely have the knives out for me, there are also several who are ready to push for my case. Also no one in the Senate would dream of actively seeking the harm of a Duval at this time, even one who is as out of favour as me."
"Regardless of what you eventually do, Your Grace, I wish you the best of luck, and hope that your honour, reputation and person survives the challenges to come. It has been a great honour fighting with your forces in defence of the Empire, and contributing to limiting the loss of life recently, in spite of the efforts of the NMLA." I give a solemn bow.
"That is greatly appreciated, Mr. Bradwell. I do not know if we will meet again but I wish you all the best fortune out there among the stars."
"Thank you, Your Grace. I am glad that we got to meet after all."
***
8 days later
Just read the Galnet report, Hadrian Duval has accepted Senate protection, and Nova Imperium are now fully integrated into the Empire as Nova Paresa. I understand his decision, the NMLA will not stop until every Duval is dead and he has a wife with child to consider as well, and now is not the time for any Duval to try to do their own thing when they are just as fair game to the NMLA. I hope that he won't just disappear, doomed to live in obscurity "for his own good", but I have confidence that this is not last the galaxy has heard of him. He may have been softly spoken as he was when we met, he is an incredibly canny individual and as long as he can survive I am certain he will be a continuing thorn in the side to those in the Senate who wish to undermine the Empire from within. I have been busy gathering materials and going across the Bubble to various Engineers this past week, finally got some heavy duty shields and shield boosters and started practicing my railgun and plasma accelerator skills at various RESes. I felt guilty for not heading down to either the Pleiades or the Witch Head Nebula to do evac runs after the Thargoid attacks, but I have a severe case of mission fatigue and I remember what happened the last time I went beyond my limits. Besides, I am still positively contributing by enhancing my combat skills for the next big conflict, be it with the Fednecks or the NMLA, but till then I am happy to go back to doing what I do best, sending space scum to Void and getting paid for it. Railguns take some getting used to, the delay between pulling the trigger and firing in particular along with the very finite amount of ammo, so one has to make sure to know where their target is likely to be in the next three seconds and make every shot count. But I am impressed with how quickly they shred the hulls of the smaller ships once I do get a decent shot on them. Should the Fednecks raise their ugly heads once more they won't know what's hit them...