Chapter 29: The Empress Alana

“As is well known, the priests are the most evil enemies—but why? Because they are the most impotent. It is because of their impotence that in them, hatred grows to monstrous and uncanny proportions, to the most spiritual and poisonous kind of hatred. The greatest haters in world history have always been priests; likewise, the most ingenious haters: other kinds of spirit hardly come into consideration when compared with the spirit of priestly vengefulness.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals / Ecce Homo.

Jason was struck by how beautiful his aunt was as the hologram firmed. She had long, straight black hair and wore a blood-red dress. She had startlingly brown eyes and looked self-confident and sophisticated. Alana was the epitome of elegance. Next to her sat a distinguished-looking gray-haired man with a military bearing, who looked much like Jason.

“Empress, I’d like to present your great-nephew, Jason Kargo, Adm. Peter Kane, Adm. Andrea Phillips, Adm. Felicia MacDonald, Gen. Matilda MacArthur, and Gen. Linda Andrews. Behind us are Colonel Phoebe Harris and Colonel Janet Malone.

“Pish, Morgan! Call me Alana at this meeting. Jason, I have already met twice. Jason, this is your cousin Bertie.”

Jason waved.

“Welcome to the Empire. When you finally get here, Cassius and I insist you stay with us. You surprise me constantly, nephew; you find exceptional people in the middle of nowhere. Your great-grandfather had a similar skill at acquiring, befriending, and leading amazing people. I’ll refer to you as a nephew and him as a grandfather. The great greats are redundant when we know with whom we speak. I can never remember how many greats define our relationships; besides, it is a bore. From your expression, I suspect black clouds on the horizon are coming our way.”

“We have much to report, but I would like first to ask how is my grandfather?” Jason asked.

Alana smiled and waved. “Jason, your grandfather, is in deep trouble but in no immediate danger. You will play a critical role in unlocking the political impasse we face. You are the key. I’ve done as much as I can and more than I should. We’ll talk about that later when you are here with us. Now can someone tell me briefly what this is about?” Alana finally asked imperiously, raising her eyebrows.

“Aunt Alana, I will summarize what you already know and update you so we are all up to date, including Bernie. Papa Zora’s priests tried to kill me before we left Earth. Two months into the trip, one of Papa Zora’s priests tried to poison me one night via my replicator. My guard animals,” said Jason pointing to the dogs who manifested in front of him in all their glory, sprouting lightning and spitting fire, caught the poisoner, and dragged him into my room. He had a large briefcase of vials that contained poison for food replicators. The poison targets males, damages them, and makes them infertile. Priests widely distribute the toxin throughout the Empire. The priests have been poisoning males in the Empire for nearly three thousand years using the replicators they manufacture. They insert the poison at each service. That is why males are frail and infertile. I sent you what I found on Papa Zora. Have you received it?” Jason asked.

“Yes, I did, Jason. You handed me a hot verdu.”

“I might be able to help you resolve the impasse. Mob pirates directed by the priests attacked us en route, while priest saboteurs rendered us almost defenseless. We did what we could, repelled the pirate ships, and thwarted a determined boarding attempt, thanks to onboard Marines and pilots. I am sending you the videos. After rearming ourselves, we went on the offensive and captured a nearby cruiser stolen by the priests from one of the storage planets. After interrogating the priests, we captured another four cruisers trying to intercept us. I am sending you those holovids for your records. We discovered two planets where Papa Zora grew clone armies and took over those planets. We captured the fleet stolen by Papa Zora and met with Admiral Peter Kane and General Morgan James, thanks to the clones. The priests hold hostage Admiral Kane’s family.”

“Is that all, Jason?” Alana asked, smiling.

Jason grinned. “I wish it were, but it gets worse. I’ve sent you the evidence we found on the battleship of heinous crimes committed by Papa Zora. We later found further information, which I include in today’s package. We discovered Papa Zora and the Mob penetrated the intelligence and the military operations of the Empire on a much bigger scale than during previous Mob wars.”

Jason paused. “We discovered assassins surround you in the palace. Aunt Alana, you are in grave danger. We’ve encountered two of these assassins here. One of the assassins had black blood.”

“We know some of what you tell us and are decontaminating our military services. We had the same problem during the Second Mob War. We will find a way to act against Papa Zora, but our constitution protects him.”

Alana leaned forward and peered at Jason. “You have something else?”

“Admiral Peter Kane will brief you on the rest of the sorry saga, and then we will ask your advice.”

“Empress,” began Admiral Kane, “The Patriarch holding my wife and son captive on Nirvana abducted me to do his bidding. His thugs imprisoned me in Nirvana and forced me to meet The Mob Leader, Nimrod Khan. I met him and his associates along with the priests who suggested an attack on the core planets of the Empire.”

Alana leaned forward and looked intently at Admiral Kane.

“Papa Zora has known The Mob for thousands of years but didn’t meet those he expected. I believe his cronies were refugees from a minor insurrection in the Empire. He didn’t take to Nimrod Khan and, after one meeting, delegated the other meetings to us. An unknown group somehow gained control of the Mob, instigated the first war, and progressively consolidated their power over the original inhabitants.”

“That placed you in an impossible situation,” said Bertie. “What did you do, Peter?”

“I persuaded the Mob and the priests to change direction. I convinced the Mob to attack five to seven of the Empire’s remote industrial planets. They do this to acquire much-needed technology and expertise. They will take scientists and engineers back with them. The Mob intends to ship hundreds of thousands of people for sale to parties unknown. I am sending this information to you along with Jason’s information. I persuaded the priests to attack the Mob core planets instead of the Empire Core planets.”

“Peter, as Bertie remarked, you were in an untenable position, but you did well,” said Empress Alana. “Once more, the Mob will attack us.”

“Jason and his brave followers surprised us. I knew about your expedition to fetch him, but I didn’t expect so young and expert a leader. His forces took the clone planets and the fleet the priests stole. I’ve had his staff prepare for you brief holovids of the pirate defense and his counterattacks. His presentation was far too humble, as are the naked simulations. He follows in the footsteps of the king and is a credit to the family,” said Peter Kane fervently.

“Our legal team prepared a full brief of all the evidence we have collected on Papa Zora. The ship was replete with evidence of his crimes and activities in the Empire,” Jason said before continuing. “Papa Zora doesn’t know he’s lost his assets. We continue to feed the priests disinformation.”

Peter Kane looked at the Empress. “You have the Papa Zora evidence, Jason’s campaigns, and my information in the form of a report on the Mob’s intended targets. I both regret and am proud of my role. Had I not been involved, they would have hit the core planets with two clone armies and the full forces of the Mob. I regret helping Papa Zora under duress. We hope to help the Empire as much as we can.”