THE VENGALIL ESTATE
LIEGEDEN, EMPORIA
FEDERATED SUNS
17 APRIL 3150
2100 HOURS
After Hugh showed him where he was going to sleep for the night, Jasper took twenty minutes to himself. The room had once been a playroom. Now it housed six cadets for as long as it took to figure out a new permanent home—which might end up being this estate for the foreseeable future.
The room contained two cots, a couch, and three gym mats to sleep on. Currently, all of them were empty. The mismatched sleeping spots looked out of place in the relentlessly cheerful pastel room. Part of him wondered what it was like to grow up in a house that had a whole separate room for children to play in.
Standing by the window, Jasper looked out at the slowly darkening sky and the estate grounds spread beneath it. The damage to the backyard was more pronounced than the front. Probably because of the shelling he had done to the enemy tank that had killed Ethan and the Ostsol. Despite the destruction, all signs of the destroyed tank were gone. Uprooted trees punctuated the broken ground, and the outbuildings behind the manor house were collapsed enough that they were beyond immediate use.
Jasper turned away and looked at the shortwave radio backpack. It sat on the only unclaimed mat, along with the backpack of things he’d been able to retrieve from the destroyed dorm building. That was all he had left of his old life now. It wasn’t much, especially if he never saw Nadine again. Part of him still didn’t believe she was alive, even though he’d spoken to her, heard her voice.
Thinking of his sister reminded him he’d promised to hunt down Fynn Pohl and Benjamin Delamere to figure out the infantry’s part of Operation Barbican. This first meeting was just to gauge how many infantry cadets had survived, and how many would be willing to throw themselves right back into danger.
He figured all of them would if he asked in Nadine’s name—especially if it involved saving the Ritza heir. But some of the cadets needed to stay behind and protect the estate and the civilians and injured within. He picked up the shortwave radio pack and paused before slinging it over his back. Despite the relative safety of the Vengalil estate, he didn’t feel safe leaving the shortwave radio by itself. It was too important to the plan, and was his only assured connection to both his sister and the Ritza family.
As he stepped out of the makeshift dorm room, Fynn hailed him from down the hall. “Roux! There you are. Got time for us now?”
“If by ‘us,’ you mean the infantry cadets you’ve chosen for our next mission, yes, I was looking for you.” Jasper shifted the backpack from one shoulder to both. “But it needs to be private, yeah?”
Fynn nodded, his blue eyes twinkling. “We know how Nadine works. We got this. C’mon.”
Jasper followed the tall teenager down the open mezzanine hallway overlooking the manor house’s entryway. Delany was behind her desk and talking to a couple of cadets. He wondered when she’d get to sleep tonight. She’d taken on the duty of running the cadet side of the estate until an adult came along and told her she couldn’t do it. But he bet she’d only step down if she thought that adult was competent.
Fynn continued to the back half of the manor house and up to the third floor. This floor was filled with smaller rooms for a myriad of functions. There were guest quarters, two offices, a formal library, a sewing room, an art studio, and a music room. Those were just some of the rooms he’d been able to peek into. Most were empty. To Jasper, it looked like there were so many rooms in the manor house that the Vengalils had had to invent things to do in each.
It reminded him of the main Vogel estate, which was smaller than the Vogel country estate. He’d never actually explored all the rooms of the main estate, much less the country estate. He and Nadine had spent most of their time on Emporia at the Ritza Academy.
Just as Jasper’s mind was about to lead him down a dark path of thinking about how much they’d already lost, Fynn entered a sitting room decorated in gold and red, accented with blue. There were enough couches, chairs, and loveseats dotted about the medium-sized room to allow a platoon of cadets to sit in comfort and have at least four separate conversations going.
Fynn stopped at one of the smaller conversation areas that already had three cadets sitting there. Two female cadets sat on the couch. Benjamin sat on the loveseat. There were two open armchairs, but Fynn sat next to Benjamin and indicated the chair next to him. In the middle was a low wooden table.
As always, it felt weird to sit in a plush seat rather than in a wooden chair or on a bench. It was why Jasper rarely sat at the House Vogel monthly “family dinners” except when necessary. Even now, part of him worried he’d get the plush fabric dirty as he slung the shortwave pack off, set it next to the chair, and sat with care.
Fynn gestured to the brunette with brown eyes. “This is Amelia Voigt.” Then he indicated the raven-haired girl with blue eyes. “This is Questa Blanc. And you know Benjamin.” He gestured to Jasper. “Jasper Roux, Nadine’s brother.”
Neither girl said anything, but they nodded or waved at him. Both had the serious look of teenagers who had lost more than they’d ever thought possible. Jasper understood it all too well. Questa had to be the daughter of Baroness Esme Blanc, who had died when the Draconis Combine first attacked. Lady Esme had been a well-liked and respected noble. Her loss was felt as much as Lady Shannon’s had been.
“Well,” Benjamin said, “what have you got for us?”
Jasper paused, not exactly sure what he should say. He started with Noah’s advice. “I’m sure you’ve already heard, but if you haven’t, here it is officially…Nadine is alive. She and her team succeeded in their mission, if not their goal.”
“Which was?” Questa asked.
It was clear Questa was a Blooded cadet with the same sensibility as his sister: take charge, no bullshit. Don’t sugarcoat it. Details, and even more details. She looked Jasper straight in the face and did not look away when he returned the frank look. He glanced at Fynn. Fynn shrugged.
Jasper mimicked the shrug. “To make Emporia too much trouble for the Kuritans to bother with. Nadine made it into space, and she’s currently on a Davion DropShip named the Endeavor’s Run. Before you ask, I don’t have details. I don’t know what happened. I just know she and her team are still alive.”
Amelia leaned forward. “Are we being rescued? Is the military coming? Or evac ships?”
Jasper didn’t keep her in suspense. He shook his head. “We’re still on our own. We need to save ourselves. I’m sorry.”
There was a collective soft groan and shaking of heads. Jasper saw the lines of strain and disappointment on their faces.
Fynn nodded and leaned forward. “All right. All right. What’s the plan?” At his words, the other infantry cadets straightened up and paid attention.
“Short version? Rescuing Emporia by getting the heir apparent and Dowager Countess Ritza evaced off the planet before whatever is in the atmosphere can kill them or the Draconis Combine can capture them. Details are in the works.”
Questa smiled for the first time. “Mason’s still alive?”
“Yes. Still alive and currently safe. We save him, we save Emporia. I’m going to contact the Ritzas after this meeting, but there’s a level of complexity to Operation Barbican that is designed to fool anyone listening in on the unencrypted channel.”
Fynn nodded to the shortwave radio. “I thought that was encrypted.”
“It is,” Jasper said. “But calling up to the DropShip is not. It’s open and therefore suspect. However, I have a way to securely contact Nadine. We’re going to make real plans in private and false plans in the open.”
Questa handwaved all of that away. “What do you need us to do? What’s our part?”
“You, the infantry, need to get as many operational ground vehicles together as possible. Once we know where the Ritzas are, we will know where the DropShip can land. It’ll be at least a kilometer from point A to point B. We’re going to have an entire fleet of vehicles driving together to confuse the issue.” Jasper cheered up at the looks of interest and nods. “Our ’Mech lance will be there to protect and escort. We want them confused about who is in which vehicle and too busy dodging the ’Mechs to have time to figure it out.”
Fynn looked between the other cadets. “So, find as many armored vehicles and drivers willing to make a mad dash to save Emporia’s heir. How much time do we have?”
Jasper paused. He thought about the enemy still on the ground as well as the enemy in orbit. “Not long. Basically the sooner we can get Mason Ritza on that DropShip, the better.”
“So, tomorrow?” Benjamin asked.
Jasper nodded. “If you can manage it.”
Amelia tilted her head. “Will we…any of the cadets…be going off-planet with him?”
He knew what she was asking. Are we expecting to sacrifice ourselves? He took a breath and shook his head. “I really don’t know. I wouldn’t count on it. I would plan to remain on-planet and continue to fight until we’ve run the enemy off Emporia.”
“Or fight until we’re dead.” Amelia’s voice was neutral. She and Questa exchanged a look and a nod. “All right. At least we know where we stand.”
Jasper agreed. “We fight until the enemy is gone or we’re dead. Now, I need to call Diamond—Nadine’s contact in the Ritza household—and find out where the Ritza family is hidden.”
Fynn, Benjamin, Amelia, and Questa stood almost as one. It surprised Jasper. He hadn’t meant to make it sound like a formal dismissal, but it was clear they’d taken it as one. It was just as well. He wanted to make the call to the Ritzas in private anyway.
Fynn clapped a hand to Jasper’s shoulder. “I’m three doors down from you on the second floor. Let me know if you need anything else from the infantry. We’ll get you those vehicles and drivers ASAP. Count on it.”
“Thank you,” Jasper said, and watched the infantry cadets file out of the sitting room. The sense of camaraderie left with them and cut off at the click of the door shutting behind them. As much as he missed it, he knew he needed time to think, and the conversation with Diamond needed to be quick and precise.
It took him a moment to gather his wits and figure out what to ask Diamond. When it came down to it, it was simple, really: Where are you? How soon can you be ready to leave? How many of you are vital to the health and safety of the Ritzas?
He knew, deep in the bottom of his soul, the only person who needed—needed—to get off planet was Mason Ritza. Everyone else was expendable, including himself and Nadine. But he wanted to make sure Dowager Countess Elizabeth Ritza made it off the planet as well. She was a formidable woman. Getting her off-planet to advise her grandson might get the Federated Suns to move faster in helping free Emporia.
Jasper checked the shortwave radio. There were no messages waiting. He suspected that was because everyone was watching and waiting to see who did what first. He toggled the switch and spoke into the mic. “Diamond, this is Baphomet. Are you there?”
Static greeted his ears, then came Diamond’s voice, tired and a little ragged. “This is Diamond, Baphomet. I’m here.”
“I want to keep this as short as I can. Encrypted or not. We have a plan. From this moment on, no matter what you hear from the unsecured line, the encrypted line is what you listen to. Copy?”
“I copy, Baphomet. What’s going to happen on the open channel?”
“A ruse. I will agree with Tiamat, but know that all correct details are from the encrypted channel.”
Diamond was silent for a moment then said, “Acknowledged. What do you need to know?”
“We need to know where you are so we can figure out the closest landing point to you. We also need to know how many people we will be evacuating from the planet when the time comes. How many of you are vital to the health and safety of the heir and his grandmother?” Jasper clenched his fist, hoping like hell that he wasn’t going to have to fight with them on this. He wasn’t going to beat around the bush. Nor was he going to give way.
Diamond was silent for a lot longer. It wasn’t her who answered him. “Young man, this is Grandmother. You are the brother of Tiamat, I assume?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Will the rest of the household be saved as well?”
“Those of us left behind will do our best to protect them, ma’am.” Jasper held his breath and waited. He used the word us in specific to let her know that he would not be evacuating with them. Also, it was not a lie. He and the rest of the cadets would do whatever they could to help the Ritzas’ household…along with every other civilian they could.
“In that case, three people. Me, my grandson, and Diamond. We are located at Stag’s Head. Also, young man…?”
His mind raced. Stag’s Head was a jagged mountain peak not too far away. Part of the Stonehaven Mountain Range. It was close enough to get to. “Yes, ma’am?”
“I recommend that you have a code word for the open channel that means you actually want us to follow what is said instead of the encrypted channel. Things happen.”
Jasper nodded. That was a smart idea. “Yes, ma’am. If the open channel ‘swears by the stag’s heart’ that they know what they’re talking about, follow it. I’ll tell my sister.”
“Very good, Baphomet. I expect to hear from you soon. Our situation is not dire, but it is not good.”
“Yes, ma’am. Please prep for evacuation. Anything else?”
“No. Good luck to you and yours.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Over and out.” Jasper paused before setting the microphone down. Stag’s Head. It was only a couple hours away. Assuming they had a clear enough path.
Good money said they didn’t.