Empire of a Thousand Universes Ch. 05

House Trieste

Paolo Trieste watched the Deuffel ship as it vectored toward them. It was a Clipper class, meaning it was thin, agile, and meant more for speed than battle.

Battles in space were a different animal than dogfights in an atmosphere. Rule number one in space was to keep the long lines of your ship facing away from your enemy and bring all shield power to the bow, or front, of the ship. That gave your foe the least available target, and kept your main batteries facing in harm's way. Rule number two in space battles; refer to rule number one.

At the onset, both ships would get into optimal firing range, and then move laterally, forever keeping your nose facing towards your enemy, and then it was a war of attrition.

Loops, barrel roll, and keeping on your targets six were a thing of the past. All of those antiquated moves could easily get you killed, for it exposed too much area of your ship and its shields even for a critical few seconds.

With computer aided targeting, a weapons officer could make an opposing ship mincemeat in a matter of moments, and being on someone's tail doesn't afford you much help when your adversary can pivot one hundred and eighty degrees, bringing all of his guns and shields to face you. It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't romantic, it was war at its most efficient and most brutal, for there were few survivors.

For Paolo, the most disturbing part of this whole encounter was that he had never faced off in anger towards a real foe. Sure he had hundreds of hours in the simulator, but he had never done battle on a ship. In fact, the simulation software that he used had to be smuggled into where he had been exiled in the Imperial Palace.

The problem being was that the entire time he was a ward of the Emperor, he was a de facto prisoner, and the Imperial administrators in charge of his internment were not about to give him control of a warship.

This was to be his first real trial under fire, yet he wasn't nervous, just excited. One reason for his lack of nervousness was that this Deofol clipper was not following the status quo. For one thing, it was accelerating when tactics would dictate deceleration. At this rate, the clipper would be flying by him and in close proximity.

"Commander, we are being hailed by our Defense Department. Two of our Guard's gunships are in immediate pursuit of the Deofol clipper."

Paolo brought up the system map, and sure enough, there behind the speeding clipper were two green blobs denoting the gunships.

It became immediately evident that the Deofol weren't attacking them, instead, they were fleeing the gunships and using the Vincennes as a screen. It was an incredibly good tactic since the gunships couldn't fire on the clipper without risking hitting Paolo' s ship.

"Inform the gunships that we will be moving to their starboard. Mr. Como, and on my mark, rotate to port. Once we get a good angle, bring all cannons to bear on that clipper."

"Mr. Como. initiate sequence in five, four, three, two, Mark."

Paolo' s ship initially took several minutes to make the move, fighting inertia the whole time, and the Deofoll ship tried to adjust its flight pattern so as not to lose its advantage, but they were going too fast, and eventually the slightest angle, augmented by the gunships who also took a lateral tact, and the Deuffel gave up and tried to male a break for it, but when the cannons from the three ships hit, at three different angles, it's shields couldn't hold, and the ship was rent apart.

"Good shooting, Mr. Como" Paolo shouted, and a cry came up from the crew as the clipper was now shrouded from view from the smoke and light of the explosion. The crew was obviously happy, having succeeded in their first ever enemy engagement, but Paolo knew the clipper had little chance of escaping even if they hadn't been there to help intercept, and the reality was the gunships had done most of the damage.

How a Deofoll clipper had penetrated so far into their system, and how it was not discovered earlier by the Trieste' s outer defenses, was Paolo's immediate concern. He had no time for celebrations but he let the crew calm down before reminding them of their duties

The news of the Deofol ship's penetration into the system's "airspace," reached Trieste long before the Vincennes had time to land at the planet's starport. Paolo supervised the docking, and was the last to exit the ship, but he could see on his Troon that the media was abuzz with their "knee-jerk" speculations and innuendo.

The usual talking heads were stoking the public into a frenzy as they made conjectures about an imminent Doefol attack. It had gotten to the point that Paolo, and the captains of the two gunships, had been ordered before a Senate investigatory committee concerning the incident, and his father, the Duke, was scheduled to talk at a news conference later that night.

Even before the smoke had cleared from the Deofel ship, Paolo had recognized the incident's importance and had requested a recovery ship so that all the debris could be collected, inspected, and shipped to the starport. Paolo and the Vincennes were to rendezvous with the recovery ship, and he had sent the gunships back on patrol for fear of further Deofol incursions.

While he watched the recovery ship enter the scene and start its clean up, he had the presence of mind to send Genevieve a message, telling her that he and his crew were uninjured, but he doubted that he would be able to go riding with her that night.

Her immediate response was a mixture of disappointment and confusion stemming from her apparent ignorance of the whole incident. An incident that was causing panic throughout the system.

He had to laugh at his sister. She cared little for current events, and also the politics that impacted so profoundly upon her life, and cared more for the trivial incidentals that colored that life.

He was torn between his impulse to tell her the news, and his instincts to insulate her. He finally opted for the former rather than the later, realizing that her worrying was less contentious than her anger at being kept out of the loop.

"Commander Trieste?" Ensign Como interrupted Paolo' s thoughts and brought him back to his present responsibilities.

"Yes, Mr. Como?"

"The recovery ship is hailing us."

"Oh, sorry," Paolo said and connected to the message coming through from the ship's captain.

"Yes, captain?"

"Commander, I think you need to see this debris, or at least what we've been able to recover so far."

"Very good, captain. I'll make my inspection as soon as we dock with your ship."

"Yes, sir."

That was peculiar, Paolo thought. What the hell had the recovery ship found so soon?

When Paolo finally entered the hall where the Senate investigation was being held, he was startled by the all of the chaos. It was if war had broken out, and the enemy were upon them. That was how desperately the general public feared the Deofol. They were like a modern day Boogieman.

The Senators, in the mean time, were seated on the dais at the front of the hall grilling the two gunship captain's who were seated at a long table, but Paolo didn't have a chance to listen to their testimony, for as he walked further into the hall, he was immediately greeted by his father's people, and then shuffled into a private room.

There in the room, which was just the nondescript office of some bureaucrat, was his father, the Duke. It struck Paolo how everyone in the room seemed in panic mode, yet his father seemed in control, concerned but in control.

The Duke, on the other hand, didn't see his son at first, what with the hordes of assistants and advisors huddled around the old man, but when he did see his son he motioned for him to come over, and took him to a corner so as to talk in private.

"It's good to see you in one piece," said the Duke putting a hand on his son's shoulder as if to be physically assured of the boy's presence. "What happened out there?"

"Not sure. The ship was on us without warning and by then the gunships were already giving chase."

"It doesn't make sense. The Deofol haven't been seen in this quadrant in decades, and I've never in my life seen them in this system."

"It wasn't the Deofol. It was a decoy."

"Excuse me, that wasn't a Deofol ship out there?"

"Oh it was a Deofol ship all right, but it had to have a cloaking device. That is the only way it could have penetrated our defense grid."

"But the Deofol don't have that kind of technology, and besides they would never use it if they did. That's not their way."

"I said it was a Deofol ship. I didn't say the crew were Deofol. Initial examination of the crews remains, or what little we could recover, is that they were human."

"Human?"

"Yes, someone went to a lot of trouble to distract our defense grid, and then they paid a price for it."

"But who?"

"I don't know yet. Are you going to inform the Senate?"

"No, not yet. Someone has played their hand, so let's just see how the cards play out. Oh, and by the way Paolo, we just got word through diplomatic channels that the Emperor has died."

The Imperial Palace

"Why can't I have Elan back?" Tolem said to his mother as they sat at the breakfast table in his private kitchen. A much more formal table adorned the more public part of the apartment, but here in the kitchen, it was more casual.

The food on the table was much too rich and fattening for Xho shi's taste, so she ate only some fruit that was evidently meant more for decoration than for consumption.

Tolem himself ate excessively, but she didn't protest, for at eighteen he was still growing, and besides his daily workout regimes were almost Spartan in their exertion. She had never thought that anyone could do a thousand crunches in a day.

"I told you," she explained as if he were a child. "He is not your friend. He was placed here by people who don't have your interests at heart."

"But he was my trainer. I need him for my workouts." Xho Shi pondered over her son's speech. When he was alone with her and felt safe, his stuttering was practically nonexistent.

"We'll find you a new trainer. Forget about him."

"It won't be the same. He won't be as good." Tolem started to pout.

Xho Shi Sat back in her chair wiped her mouth and looked down the table at her son. "Let me ask you something. Have you and Elan had sex?"

"Wha..., Wha..., What? the boy said startled. Wha...wha...why would you ask that?" The boy blurted out the typical non-denial denial.

"It's just that you seem to regard him with more affection than a man should for a mere servant."

"He's just a servant."

Xho Shi took a moment and then spoke again. "You didn't answer the question. Were you having sex with Elan?"

"It wasn't sex. I'm not gay. If that's what you're asking."

"There's nothing wrong with being gay, but if it wasn't sex, what was it?"

"He just did things to relieve my stress. They won't allow me to have women, you know?"

She sat there taking it all in. She then stood up and undid her robes, and with a flourish she left them on the back of her chair. With her breasts swelling in her mechanical bustier, she sashayed towards her son.

"Wha...wha...what are you doing?" Said Tolem as his eyes widened.

"Do you like mommies body, Tolem?"

"Ye...ye...yes. Your ve...ve...very pretty."

"And what I did for you yesterday, did you like that?"

"Ye...ye...yes."

"Oh, okay. I was just wondering if you'd rather have Elan do that for you?"

"No. I t...t...told you. I'm not g...g...gay."

"Still, you've been pouting about Elan all morning, and you haven't once looked at me. A girl needs some attention, you know."

"S...s...sorry."

"Come here," Xho Shi said and took her son by the arm and guided him to a standing position. As she did she moved in close to him. "Have you ever kissed a girl, Tolem?"

"I t...t...told you. They don't let me have any women." He averted his gaze from her as he said that, almost out of shame.

"Well, we'll have to remedy that, won't we? Come on," she said taking his hand and guiding him into the bedroom. He came along like a new puppy, and she could tell his eyes were on her ass.

Once in the bedroom, she guided him towards the grand four poster bed replete with curtains and what seemed like scores of pillows.

"Sit," she said and patted the bed next to where she had just taken a seat. Again, the puppy obeyed hoping to get a treat.

"Would you like to kiss me, Tolem. I've been told I have very soft lips."

"Ye...ye...yes."

"Well then come here," she said and taking him by the chin she pulled him towards her. At first, he was tentative, shy even, but as he became more comfortable he pressed his lips harder into hers.

And then he did something surprising, he put his hand on her breast. Xho Shi smiled. Maybe her son had some balls after all.

She put her arm around him and pulled him closer, and then she slipped her tongue into his mouth. He stiffened a bit, not knowing what to do, but then hesitantly he met her tongue with his.

This was nice, she thought. Her initial intent was mercenary, of course, but now she was starting to enjoy his attentions, his mouth on hers, his hand on her tit. She had enjoyed being with the Captain of the Guards the other night, but that was more wanton sex. This was sweet.

And with that, though she wasn't sure if she had instigated it or if Tolem had, the hooks and eyes of her bustier started to open exposing more and more of her girls.

Soon she was laying back on the pillows, and her son Tolem was kissing and nuzzling her breasts. He was then between her legs, and she could feel the soft grinding of his cock against her.

She had had her eyes closed enjoying his little kisses on her nipples, and then the feel of his tongue on them, but then she looked down when he stopped.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I want to fuck you."

"You do, do you?"

"Yes."

"Then you better take your clothes off, huh?"

She laughed as he madly scrambled to take his clothes off, yet she in turn just lay there, her bustier spread apart and her breasts open to his gaze, but she made no attempt to take off her leggings.

"What about you?" He asked kneeling naked in front of her, his cock at full mast before her. She hadn't noticed the day before, but he really had a handsome cock.

"What about me?"

"Aren't you getting naked?"

"No need to," she said and with that a fold in the crotch of her leggings opened up exposing her sex, her labia red and swollen with excitement.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately started to breathe hard. "My gods, you are beautiful," he said and wasted no time getting between her legs.

"Easy now," she instructed. "You're not ramming that big cock in me right away. Take you time, and go slow."

"My cock is big?"

"And oh so handsome." She could feel it sliding along her slit. He was so anxious to enter her, but she let him chill his heels. "Put it in, but only a little bit." She held up her thumb and forefinger to show how much he could put in her. Meanwhile, she was rotating her hips back and forth so that his cock ran up and down her slit, and on doing so brushing up against her clit. She liked that.

She felt him enter her, and she grunted as if he were huge, though it was all just a show. This was his first time, and she wanted him to have all of it.

"A little more," she said and he pushed in obediently, she could see the joy in her son's face as he did.

"Okay, all the way in," she smiled, and he moaned as he slid all the way into her, filling her up.

"You're doing it, baby, you're fucking momma. You like that baby?"

"Oh gods, yes momma."

While still holding him inside of her with her legs, she pushed him off her and onto his back, sliding on top of him.

"Mommy first, okay baby?" She said to answer the questions in his eyes.

"You are going to come in five seconds. Let's see if I can get off before that, huh?" She laughed, and then she started to rock on top of him, pulling his cock onto her clit at the bottom of her swing.

He just lay there, the wonderment and joy on his face.

"You don't need Elan, do you baby?"

"No mom."

"And you will do everything I ask you, won't you Tolem?"

"Yes, mom."

"Good. We are family, and like we are one together now, we have to be one unit against all of them, or we are dead. You hear me Tolem?"

"Yes, mom."

"Good. You can come in me, baby. I want you to," she said huskily as she started to feel her orgasm building inside of her.

"Oh gods, mom. You are so beautiful."

"Hold momma's tits, baby. I'm going to come, baby." As she said that she leaned down kissing her son softly on the lips, feeling the waves of orgasm flow over her. She then heard him moan and felt the sweet sensation of his warm come flowing up inside of her.

She had him, she thought, and all she had to do was fuck him, and she would continue to fuck him because surprisingly she had really enjoyed it.

Spent, Xho Shi rolled off of her son and lay out of breath beside him. She could see the contented look on her son's face, and she smiled.

"Mother?"

"Yes, Tolem."

"You keep talking about the Empress Dowager, but what about Phryne?"

"Your sister?"

"Yes, who else? She is older than me."

"I wouldn't worry about her. The dynasty doesn't run through the female heirs. Besides, I haven't seen her since I returned to the Palace. I wouldn't doubt that the Dowager has gotten rid of her already."

"Killed her?"

"That remains to be seen. Anyway, she shouldn't be a concern."

"Oh. Mother?"

"You want to go again, don't you?"

The boy just lay there grinning like an idiot.