Gunboat Diplomacy (Book 14 of The Empire of Bones Saga) Read online

  Gunboat Diplomacy

  Book Fourteen of The Empire of Bones Saga

  Terry Mixon

  Contents

  Gunboat Diplomacy

  Also by Terry Mixon

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Also by Terry Mixon

  About Terry

  Gunboat Diplomacy

  Book 14 in The Empire of Bones Saga

  by

  Terry Mixon

  The war against the AIs is won but the fight for humanity has only just begun. With the xenophobic Clans rampaging though the Rebel Empire, Princess Kelsey Bandar must convince the skeptical resistance to help them to establish a base of operations to fight back.

  To do that, Kelsey needs every ally she can get and a whole lot of luck. Instead she finds herself trapped in an alien universe while her mother tries to save the day.

  As her friends struggle to accomplish the work without her, she has to decipher the alien place holding her. Even if she does get free, can she turn the situation around in her own universe before everything comes apart in their faces?

  Gunboat Diplomacy

  Copyright © 2021 by Terry Mixon

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including information storage and/or retrieval systems, or dissemination of any electronic version, without the prior written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review, and except where permitted by law.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Yowling Cat Press ®

  Digital edition date: 8/22/2021

  Print ISBN: 978-1947376380

  Large Print ISBN: 978-1947376397

  Cover art - image copyrights as follows:

  DepositPhotos | lurii (Юрий Коваленко)

  Dreamstime | Forplayday

  Luca Oleastri

  Donna Mixon

  Cover design and composition by Donna Mixon

  Print edition design and layout by Terry Mixon

  Also by Terry Mixon

  You can always find the most up to date listing of Terry’s titles on his Amazon Author Page.

  Note: the links below (ebook only, obviously) redirect you to my website where you can click a button to go to Amazon. This allows me to participate in Amazon’s associates program and earn a little more. Sorry for any inconvenience.

  The Empire of Bones Saga

  Empire of Bones

  Veil of Shadows

  Command Decisions

  Ghosts of Empire

  Paying the Price

  Recon in Force

  Behind Enemy Lines

  The Terra Gambit

  Hidden Enemies

  Race to Terra

  Ruined Terra

  Victory on Terra

  When Luck Runs Out

  Gunboat Diplomacy

  The Imperial Marines Saga

  Spoils of War

  Imperial Recruit

  The Humanity Unlimited Saga

  Liberty Station

  Freedom Express

  Tree of Liberty

  Blood of Patriots

  Single Novels

  Scorched Earth

  Storm Divers

  The Vigilante Series with Glynn Stewart

  Heart of Vengeance

  Oath of Vengeance

  Bound By Law

  Bound By Honor

  Bound By Blood

  Box Sets

  The Empire of Bones Saga Volume 1

  The Empire of Bones Saga Volume 2

  The Empire of Bones Saga Volume 3

  Humanity Unlimited Publisher’s Pack 1

  Want to get updates from Terry about new books and other general nonsense going on in his life? He promises there will be cats. Go to TerryMixon.com/Mailing-List and sign up.

  Dedication

  This book would not be possible without the love and support of my beautiful wife. Donna, I love you more than life itself.

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank the folks that support me on Patreon. You got to read this book as I was writing it and that kept me working. You have my deepest thanks.

  In particular, I want to thank those patrons that supported me at the $10 level:

  Bryan Barnes

  Robert Broadly

  Tony Craven

  Bill Colston

  Dave Dolan

  David Goldstein

  Eugene Humbert

  Mark I Marcum

  Christian A. Michelsen

  John Page

  Carl Rumbolo

  Lisa Slack

  Dale Thompson

  Raymond Wang

  Clark Williams

  Finally, I want to thank my readers for putting up with me. You guys are great.

  1

  Kelsey Bandar felt her tension rising when Persephone’s helm officer, Senior Lieutenant Jack Thompson, called out, “Sixty seconds to the multiflip point.”

  “Do you think Audacious is still in the Home system?” Major Angela Ellis asked her from her command seat at the center of the cramped bridge.

  Kelsey’s old seat.

  She shrugged. “It’s hard to imagine that she’d go anywhere without us. Getting them to rejoin the fleet before we moved on Twilight River was impossible, since we couldn’t get a message to them. I’m sure they’re still here.”

  Sadly for Kelsey, that meant that someone else would be waiting for her: Justine Bandar, her mother. The thought made her grimace.

  “Is something wrong?” Angela asked, quirking an eyebrow.

  She shook her head slightly. “I’m just not looking forward to the inevitable meeting with my mother. She’s going to go absolutely crazy.”

  Angela laughed. “Crazy will probably just about start covering it, I think. I hope you’ve had time to build up a little bit of patience for her. She’s going to be a grandmother, and having something like that drop on one out of the blue is a trial for a normal person. Justine Bandar is anything but normal.”

  “Isn’t that the truth,” Kelsey muttered with feeling. “I wonder if she’s still paired up with Don Sommerville. Maybe having a guy in her life will distract her.”

  “Your mot
her has had… a number of men in her life, and none of them has ever distracted her when it comes to you,” her friend said delicately. “Let’s not build up any false hope, shall we? Your mother is going to lose her mind when she finds out that you’re pregnant. Just accept it and focus on minimizing the consequences.”

  Kelsey hoped that her mother was still with Don Sommerville, even if he was literally half her mother’s age. The man was a former Fleet officer with the Rebel Empire, and one didn’t rise to the rank of lieutenant commander without being levelheaded and cool under fire.

  Thompson turned from the helm console and cleared his throat. “We’ve arrived at the flip point, Colonel, Major.”

  “Jack, don’t go forgetting that Her Highness is a general now,” Angela said slyly, shooting a look at Kelsey that sparkled with humor. “Admittedly, it won’t be official until somebody back on Avalon says it is, but let’s treat her rank as a brevet promotion. After all, she’s made Talbot a colonel, and she’s still his boss. That means she must be a general.”

  “Or just his wife,” Carl said as he stepped onto the bridge. “Any good husband will tell you that his wife is always the boss.”

  “Sure, but that doesn’t work in a military setting,” Angela argued. “Besides, it’s making her blush.”

  From the heat she was feeling from her face, Kelsey didn’t doubt it. She wasn’t sure why, but her hormones had been out of whack since she’d reached the third trimester. Lily Stone had locked her pharmacology unit down to keep it from interfering with the developing child inside her, and that occasionally left her open to wide swings of emotion and weird things like blushing.

  “My apologies, General Bandar,” Thompson said with a grin. “In any case, if the map is accurate, we should be popping out at the multiflip point in the Home system. The odds are good that they’ve found it by now and have it under observation.”

  “Send the probe through,” Angela said.

  “Probe away and transitioned. Awaiting scanner readings via FTL. It’s set to only use passive scanners, just to be safe.”

  Thompson abruptly straightened. “Vessel detected. Correction, three vessels detected. One right on top of the flip point and two set farther back. They look like corvettes. They’ve detected the probe, and their scanners have gone fully active.”

  “Then I suppose we best identify ourselves before somebody starts shooting,” Angela said. “Open a channel via FTL to normal space coms on the other side.”

  At his nod, she continued speaking. “This is Major Angela Ellis, commanding officer of the Imperial Marine Raider strike ship Persephone. We are on the other side of this flip point with an accompanying destroyer and request permission to enter the Home system.”

  Moments later, the viewscreen changed from showing the starscape to the bridge of a small ship. Kelsey recognized the man sitting in the central chair. His name was Gavin Sommerville, and he was Don’s older brother.

  “I have to say that I didn’t expect to have you try to sneak in through the back door, Major, Your Highness,” he said with a grin. “Though, considering that’s what you did last time, I’m glad I was sitting here to catch you. How did you know that it would lead to Home?”

  “That’s a very long story,” Kelsey said with a smile. “The good news is that we’ve beaten the Master AI. The bad news is… well, there’s a lot of bad news. Nothing that we can’t work around, but I’d much rather tell it only once. Do you mind if we come in?”

  “It’s not like you haven’t gotten a scan of the system already,” the man grumbled. “Permission granted, and welcome to the home of the resistance.”

  Commodore Zia Anderson stood to the side of the large boat bay aboard the carrier Audacious. Brandon Levy—her flag captain—and Annette Vitter—her wing commander—bracketed her. A platoon of marine honor guards rounded out the welcoming committee.

  Also present was her girlfriend, Veronica Giguere.

  Their relationship probably pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable under regulations. Still, she’d justified it because Veronica wasn’t an actively serving officer, and the Rebel Empire wasn’t part of the New Terran Empire in any case.

  At least not yet. If that changed, she’d deal with that complication too.

  Thus far, her subordinates had been supportive of the relationship. She’d half expected there to be fireworks, but it seemed that everyone else already knew that a potential romance was in the air, even before she did.

  She wanted to put an arm around Veronica’s waist and pull her a little closer, but Kelsey’s pinnace was almost there. She needed to speak with her privately and make sure that her friend understood what was going on and approved.

  Not that her disapproval would change anything unless she put her Imperial foot down, which Zia didn’t expect her to. Even then, Zia would fight back. She wouldn’t give Veronica up even if she lost that fight, and damn the consequences.

  The pinnace came through the massive airlock at the far side of the boat bay and hovered as it turned adroitly in front of them and settled to the deck. The ramp at the rear lowered almost immediately, and the marine honor guard snapped to attention.

  Kelsey Bandar, Crown Princess of the New Terran Empire and senior Marine Raider, came down the ramp with Major Angela Ellis at her side. The short blonde looked more than a bit haggard, and her petite frame seemed almost… bloated. Had she gained weight?

  She opened her mouth to welcome them aboard her ship, but the sudden realization slammed into her before she could speak.

  “Oh. My. God,” she said, her voice rising slightly. “Kelsey! You’re pregnant!”

  Kelsey sighed and shook her head as she came to a halt in front of them. “Did you have to tell everybody in the boat bay? Is it really that obvious? Please tell me you’re a really good guesser.”

  Veronica leaned slightly forward with a slight smile. “Not at all. I’m sure that almost no one would notice that belly. From maybe two kilometers out.”

  “I’m so screwed.”

  “Apparently.”

  With that, Veronica nudged Zia with her elbow. “Aren’t you supposed to be trotting out that flowery welcome speech that you spent the last hour agonizing over?”

  “I can’t remember a single word of it,” Zia admitted. “Kelsey, Angela, welcome back to Audacious. And, apparently, congratulations. It seems like you’ve got quite the story to tell. Perhaps we should adjourn to somewhere a little bit more comfortable. You look like you need to put your feet up.”

  “That works for me,” Kelsey said with a gesture toward the hatch behind Zia. “I’ve got a lot of information to pass along, and I would like to get off my feet. They’re a little swollen, as you’ve rightly guessed.”

  With that, Zia led the way into her ship, and they all took a lift up to the flag deck. She’d originally intended to take her visitors to the main briefing room, but she now suspected that her office would be a lot more comfortable. Certainly, the chairs were more agreeable to sensitive backsides.

  She discreetly sent a message to Commander Zac Zoboroski, Audacious’s chief medical officer, letting him know that Princess Kelsey was in a family way. He immediately responded that he was on his way, and she directed him to her office.

  If Kelsey had been hoping to avoid extra medical attention, she’d be sorely disappointed. The woman was a menace to her own health and well-being. Someone needed to keep an eye on her now that she had a child inside her. Or, knowing her, she’d need a lot of someones.

  Frankly, Zia was absolutely shocked that Lily Stone wasn’t with her. And Talbot. How could Kelsey have escaped that kind of attention? Zia wasn’t sure that the answer was going to please her.

  Once they were all settled into her office, including Doctor Zoboroski, who hurried in at the last moment, she decided to kick off the party with her own news. Honestly, compared to Kelsey’s pregnancy, her having a girlfriend was… downright pedestrian.

  “Before you start, I need to tell you that V
eronica and I are seeing one another,” she said in a level voice. “The Rebel Empire Fleet isn’t our Fleet, and I don’t consider us to be in the same chain of command. There’s also the fact that she’s working for the resistance and not active duty. Are you going to give me any trouble over that?”

  Kelsey grinned. “Absolutely not! Consider it blessed by me and woe to anyone that gives you flak. Congratulations to the pair of you.”

  “See?” Veronica said in a slow drawl. “I told you it wasn’t going to be a problem. You’re such a worrywart.”

  Even though she’d been sure that would be the case, Zia still felt herself relaxing a little. Just because there wasn’t much of a chance of a huge complication didn’t mean there was none. Still, the fact that the Crown Princess of the New Terran Empire had blessed the relationship meant that no one else was going to question it.

  She looked pointedly at Kelsey’s mildly swollen belly. “So, I suppose I don’t need to give you the lecture about the birds and the bees at this point, do I?”

  Kelsey laughed. “No, thank you. By now, I’m quite aware of where babies come from. Sadly, I didn’t realize that my contraceptive implant had failed until it was too late to transfer the baby—a girl, by the way—to a gestation pod.