The Course of Empire Read online

  The Course of Empire

  by Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2003 by Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

  A Baen Books Original

  Baen Publishing Enterprises

  P.O. Box 1403

  Riverdale, NY 10471

  www.baen.com

  ISBN: 0-7434-7154-7

  Cover art by Bob Eggleton

  First printing, September 2003

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Flint, Eric.

  Course of empire / Eric Flint & K.D. Wentworth.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 0-7434-7154-7 (hardcover)

  1. Human-alien encounters—Fiction. I. Wentworth, K. D. II. Title.

  PS3556.L548C68 2003

  813'.54—dc22

  2003014258

  Distributed by Simon & Schuster

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  Production by Windhaven Press, Auburn, NH

  Printed in the United States of America

  For Algis Budrys,

  friend, mentor, and terrific writer;

  and for Christopher Anvil, who once

  told this story his own way.

  Baen Books by Eric Flint

  Joe's World series:

  The Philosophical Strangler

  Forward the Mage

  (with Richard Roach)

  Mother of Demons

  1632

  1633

  (with David Weber)

  Crown of Slaves

  (with David Weber)

  The Shadow of the Lion

  (with Mercedes Lackey & Dave Freer)

  This Rough Magic

  (with Mercedes Lackey & Dave Freer)

  Rats, Bats & Vats

  (with Dave Freer)

  Pyramid Scheme

  (with Dave Freer)

  The Belisarius Series, with David Drake:

  An Oblique Approach

  In the Heart of Darkness

  Destiny's Shield

  Fortune's Stroke

  The Tide of Victory

  The General series, with David Drake:

  The Tyrant

  Baen Books by K.D. Wentworth

  Black/on/Black

  Stars/over/Stars

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Human characters

  Rafe (Raphael) Aguilera: Former tank commander, employed at the refit facility in Pascagoula.

  Willard Belk: Human tech at the refit facility.

  Jonathan Kinsey: Professor of history, specialist on the Jao.

  Ed Kralik: Jinau commander.

  Ben Stockwell: President of the Jao's native government of North America; Caitlin's father.

  Caitlin Alana Stockwell: Daughter of Ben, student at the University of New Chicago; Jao hostage.

  Gabe Tully: Resistance agent; forcibly drafted into Aille's service.

  Rob Wiley: Former U.S. Army lt. colonel, now military commander of the Resistance in the Rocky Mountains.

  Jao characters

  Aille krinnu ava Pluthrak: Subcommandant newly arrived on Terra; commander of all ground forces.

  Ammet krinnu ava Binnat: Female veteran of the conquest.

  Banle krinnu nao Narvo: Bodyguard/jailer assigned to Caitlin Stockwell

  Chul krinnu ava Monat: A terniary-adjunct working in the refit facility in Pascagoula.

  Dau krinnu ava Pluthrak: Pluthrak elder

  Drinn krinnu Sant vau Narvo: A member of Oppuk's service.

  Hami krinnu Nullu vau Dree: Pleniary-superior stationed in England.

  Jita krinnu ava Hariv: Commander of the Jao forces in the initial phase of the Terran Conquest, replaced by Oppuk.

  Jutre krinnu Kio vau Dano: Fraghta to Kaul.

  Kaul krinnu ava Dano: Commandant of all Jao military forces in the Terran solar system.

  Llo krinnu Gava vau Narvo: Pilot.

  Meku krinnu ava Pluthrak: Current Pluthrak kochanau.

  Mrat krinnu nao Krumat: Officer stationed at Pascagoula.

  Nath krinnu Tashnat vau Nimmat: Supervisor at the Pascagoula refit facility.

  Nikau krinnu ava Narvo: Narvo elder; one of Oppuk's pool-mothers.

  Oppuk krinnu ava Narvo: Jao Governor of Terra

  Pinb krinnu ava Hariv: Elderly Jao Subcommandant whom Aille replaces, no longer on Earth.

  Ronz: Preceptor of the Bond of Ebezon Harriers; a member of the Strategy Circle.

  Shia krinnu ava Narvo: Oppuk's former fraghta.

  Tamt krinnu Kannu vau Hij: Aille's female bodyguard, part of his personal service; later Caitlin Stockwell's bodyguard.

  Tura: Pleniary-superior of the Bond of Ebezon Harriers.

  Ullwa krinnu Sao vau Binnat: member of Oppuk's service

  Vamre krinnu Vallt vau Kannu: Production director at Pascagoula refit facility.

  Wrot krinnu Hemm vau Wathnak: Retired veteran of the conquest, now residing on Earth

  Yaut krinnu Jithra vau Pluthrak: Aille's fraghta.

  A note on Jao naming conventions:

  The Jao do not use surnames in the human manner. The designation krinnu indicates the kochan, or clan, to which the individual is affiliated. It can be translated by the English term "of the."

  If the individual is directly a member of one of the great root clans, krinnu will be followed by either ava or nao, indicating whether the individual was born in one of the primary or secondary marriage-groups of the clan.

  If the individual is directly a member of one of the lesser kochan, his or her kochan will be indicated by the krinnu designation, followed by the term vau, which then indicates the root clan to which his or her kochan is affiliated.

  Thus, Yaut krinnu Jithra vau Pluthrak can be translated as: "Yaut, of the Jithra kochan, affiliated to the Pluthrak."

  Prologue

  "The Pluthrak scion has left Marit An, Preceptor. He should be arriving on Terra soon."

  The Bond of Ebezon's strategist did not look away from the holo tank which, at the moment, was depicting the latest known activities of the Ekhat in Markau sector. "Send a courier to Terra then, Tura. Inform our agents that it is beginning."

  "Finally," she said.

  He turned and studied her. The young pleniary-superior's posture was excellent, the gestures and stance subtle and subdued in the manner that the Bond preferred in its private discourse. In public, of course, Harriers were expected to maintain a completely neutral posture at all times. Tura had risen quickly in the ranks of the Bond. The Preceptor had great hopes for her; indeed, had selected her for this assignment with the specific aim of furthering her training. Not the least of the responsibilities of the Strategy Circle was training its own replacements for the time when its existing members grew too old to serve.

  "Do I detect a trace of amusement in the lay of your ears?" He waggled his own whiskers with understated humor.

  "Not amusement, exactly. Call it . . . exasperated rueful-patience."

  The Preceptor tried to summon up an image of that combination. It could be done, by a master movement stylist, but it would be an exceedingly difficult tripartite posture. The Preceptor's old bones almost ached at the thought.

  "Finally, indeed," he murmured. "Twenty years, it has taken us."

  The pleniary-superior seemed a bit confused, and the Preceptor realized he had lapsed into a humanism again. He did that often, of late. Not surprising, of course, as long as he had studied the species.

  "A 'year,' Tura, refers to a Terra
n orbital cycle."

  "Ah." She did the calculation in her mind. It was not easy. Translating the particulate human notions of time into Jao concepts was always difficult. "A very long time."

  The pleniary-superior's eyes moved to the holo tank. It was still showing the reported Ekhat movements, but, not long since, she had seen the image of a young Pluthrak there. The same scion who was even now on his way to Terra. The Preceptor had spent much time, studying that face.

  "Do you think he can do it?" she asked.

  The Preceptor shifted into a very subtle version of the tripartite posture best-attempt coupled with uncertainty. It was very elegantly done, as always.

  "There is no way to know. We can only create the situation, which we have done. There is always the chance he will shrink from the task—and, if he doesn't, the impossibility of knowing in advance what, exactly, he will create as well as destroy. Such is the nature of strategy, Tura. The element of unpredictability is inherent to its working."

  "Yes, Preceptor," she said respectfully, and left.

  * * *

  Just before entering the doorfield, Tura paused for a moment and looked back at the Preceptor. He was turned away from her now, back to studying the holo tank.

  There was fondness in her eyes, as well as deep respect. The old Preceptor was a splendid commander, and in all respects. The greatest of the Bond's strategists, even if, officially, only one of five members of the Strategy Circle. But, also, someone who invariably treated his subordinates with courtesy and dignity.

  Tura had no doubt at all he would order her death in a moment, if he thought it necessary. The Preceptor was perhaps the most ruthless Jao in existence. But that knowledge only brought further admiration. If he found it necessary to do so, she was quite sure he would be right.

  * * *

  As she passed through the doorfield, she sternly corrected herself, remembering one of the Preceptor's maxims.

  He would probably be right. Strategy did not deal in absolutes.

  PART I:

  Firsts

  Chapter 1

  Aille krinnu ava Pluthrak found Terra a world of unharmonious contrasts. His ears, set low and back on his skull, swiveled to take in the nearby murmur of the sea, along with the unnerving screeches of an avian lifeform native to his new posting.

  Windward, water of a startling blue lapped at a pale expanse of sand, while, heartward, unbridled green plant growth vied with the graceless piles of stone and glass that guarded the periphery of the great Jao military base. In front of one building, several rectangles of red and gold fabric had been secured to the top of a pole. Even from here, he could hear the cloth snapping in the breeze. Bizarre, but he supposed they must serve some purpose.

  The compact, elegant ship behind him radiated heat from its descent through the atmosphere, its engines ticking as they cooled. His favorite kochan-mother, Trit, had thought the vessel too showy for one as newly emerged as Aille. But Meku, the current kochanau, had said Pluthrak must maintain its status for all to see. The more so since the Governor of Terra was Oppuk krinnu ava Narvo—a scion of Narvo kochan, with whom Pluthrak kochan's relations were very strained.

  Exhilarated at finally having the opportunity to be of use, Aille attenuated his perception of the moment's flow in order to better take in his new surroundings. The wind-tossed waves slowed to languid, enticing swells and reminded him that he'd had no opportunity to swim since leaving Marit An. His ship was equipped with adequate sanitary facilities, but not the luxury of an actual pool. After the long trip, his skin felt desiccated, his nap stiff, and his whiskers reduced to lifeless strings. He longed to immerse himself in this new sea, despite its alien scent, and sluice the accumulated dregs of travel away.

  First, however, he must officially accept his new command. Later, when the flow of arrival was complete, he would indulge himself.

  The yellow sun of this solar system beat down, brighter than Nir, his homeworld's star, which was farther along in the main sequence. He gazed out past the base's buildings, whiskers quivering. The land before him was so unrelentingly—flat.

  He thought wistfully of the cliffs back at his kochan-house. There, the tide pounded against massive black rocks both early and late, and the breeze was always filled with the refreshing cool tang of spray. Here, the sultry air was thick with indigenous salts and more than a hint of decay. Well, his time on Marit An had completed itself. It was the duty of all Jao scions to cast themselves into time's river in the ongoing struggle against the Ekhat, and that he would do.

  The voyage from his birthworld, Marit An, to Terra had been long but fruitful, filled with discourse with his fraghta and study for the responsibilities which awaited him. It was his last opportunity to take advantage of the older Jao's accumulated wisdom before assuming his new post as Subcommandant and he did his best to absorb as much as possible. By the end, he believed he knew the indigenous species as well as anyone could without ever having come nose to nose with one.

  Farther away, in the distance, Aille could see several ruined buildings. Those were apparently a legacy of the Jao conquest over twenty orbital cycles ago. He had detected more signs of unamended damage as he'd swept in for landing: fractured, overgrown roads, cast-off machinery, abandoned dwellings now inundated by wilderness. By all reports, this political moiety had resisted long after the rest of this stubborn world and therefore had suffered proportionally greater damage.

  They were an odd breed, these "humans," frustrating in their reluctance to be civilized and unique in many respects from any other species ever conquered by the Jao. Recorded reports detailed their long resistance to Jao rule and it seemed they were not completely subdued even now, so many orbital cycles later. Pockets of discontent and unrest apparently still persisted across the globe.

  It would take a few solar cycles for his timesense to synchronize with local circadian rhythms, but for now Aille allowed normal flow to reassert itself. Then he drew in a deep breath as his stolid fraghta, Yaut krinnu Jithra vau Pluthrak, emerged from the ship. The older Jao's vai camiti, or facial pattern, was plain yet pleasing, strong and highly visible, unmistakably Jithra to anyone experienced at reading faces. Yaut hesitated halfway down the ramp and his nostrils flared at the unfamiliar scents.

  The Jao, ever practical, used filters to sanitize their atmosphere wherever they constructed their kochan-houses so that unpleasant scents did not intrude. But, according to reports, Terrans rarely concerned themselves with such matters, although they were generally more sensitive than Jao to environmental conditions.

  According to his briefings, this particular base was one of the first built after the Jao's initial invasion of this world, and still the largest. Constructed on the site of an already extant shipyard, it had been intended to impress on the local political entity just how pointless resistance was by then. Nevertheless, almost another orbital cycle had been required to effect full control. Several major population centers, including the ones known as "Chicago" and "New Orleans," had been destroyed in the process, allegedly still sore points with the quarrelsome natives after all this time.

  Aille locked his hands behind his back, cocked his head at the precise long-practiced angle of measured-anticipation, and waited as a detail of jinau soldiers in crisp dark-blue uniforms emerged from between buildings. They marched across the hard surface, their legs matched in stride, providing his first look at the conquered species outside vids and stills.

  They were shorter than most Jao, slender of build where Jao tended to be square and solid. The outlines of bones were clearly visible through their mostly naked skin, wherever they neglected to cover themselves with fabric. Their features were not quite balanced, the eyes too far apart, the faces too flat, giving them a comic exaggerated look. The ears were the most disturbingly alien, little more than stationary rounded flaps on the sides of their heads which never suggested the slightest hint of what they were thinking.

  Of course, the most surprising thing he'd learned abou
t this species was that they were timeblind, having to rely on mechanical devices to know when something would happen, or when it was time to act.

  He gauged their approach with a critical eye. Their upper garments bore the red jinau slash, signifying Terran troops trained and overseen by the Jao. A single figure in the place of honor at the rear wore a traditional weapons harness and trousers, marking himself as Jao, but even if he had been dressed otherwise, Aille would have known by his height and breadth of shoulder that he must be one of his own kind.

  He descended the ramp, Yaut following hastily at his heels. "This is a first meeting," the fraghta said in a low voice. "Firsts are always crucial. You must begin as you mean to go on."

  Yaut was ugly, his facial pattern marred with scars earned over a lifetime of combat on assorted worlds, and proud of his hard-won skepticism. A head shorter than Aille, he had to lengthen his stride to keep up. "Let me precede you, as is proper, or they will think you have no status!"

  "Humans do not reason like that," Aille said without slowing. "According to the records, they do not deem it honorable to be always last. The psych studies indicate they are actually intrigued by novelty. They like to be first."

  "Only because they are reckless." Yaut's whiskers twitched in disapproval. "Since they breed like vermin, they can afford to expose themselves. If one falls, twenty more will take its place."

  Aille let the remark pass, as none of the natives were close. By all reports Terrans were very sensitive about the matter of "face," as several Jao studies termed it. Had they overheard Yaut's caustic comment, it would have been a most inauspicious beginning.

  From what Aille had seen so far, the older Jao, assigned by Aille's kochan upon the recent completion of his qualifying studies, was consistently and unrelentingly skeptical of Terra's worth. There was a definite possibility the current Pluthrak kochanau had even selected Yaut for that very trait, hoping to inculcate prudence in a scion more than one of his kochan-parents considered to be somewhat rash and impulsive.