Nightingale Read online

  Nightingale

  The Apprentice, Volume 6

  EG Manetti

  A Twelve Systems Chronicle

  The Twelve Systems Chronicles

  The Cartel: The Apprentice, Volume 1

  Bright Star: The Apprentice, Volume 2

  Transgressions: The Apprentice, Volume 3

  Fortuna: The Apprentice, Volume 4

  Serengeti Valor: The Apprentice, Volume 5

  Nightingale: The Apprentice, Volume 6

  *** Coming in February 2019 ***

  Bond Proof: The Apprentice, Volume 7

  Copyright

  ©2018 by Buniac Entertainment, LLC.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or used in whole or in part by any means without the written permission of Buniac Entertainment.

  All Rights Reserved.

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

  978-0-9997371-2-5

  In Memory

  Dean Emerson Richard Covert

  1931—2018

  A gentle man, a gentleman, and an inspiration

  Contents

  List of Characters

  The Twelve Systems

  1. Hostile Attention

  2. Travel Plans

  3. Planet Exit

  4. Shimmering Horizon

  5. Bright Dawn Horror

  6. Settlement Day on Fortuna

  7. Adelaide’s Wraith

  8. Concerts and Receptions

  9. Apollo’s Will

  10. Hull Launch

  11. The Nightingale

  12. The Governor’s Gala

  13. Villains and Penitence

  14. Fire Sword

  15. Sabers and Stimulants

  16. Poison

  17. Alcove Politics

  18. Sinead’s Scourge

  19. Flavia’s Contrition

  The Apprentice Protocol

  Devotional Litanies

  Glossary of the Twelve Systems

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  List of Characters

  ~The Glossary of the Twelve Systems can be found at the end of the book.~

  The Serengeti Group

  Blooded Dagger Cartouche—Vistrite

  Lucius Mercio, Monsignor—Preeminence of Serengeti and Blooded Dagger

  · Nickolas Cyncad, Protégé

  · Lilian, Apprentice

  · Marieth, Executive Servitor

  · George, Lucius’ driver and bodyguard

  · Diana, Western Fisheries Master

  Marco, Seigneur—Bright Star

  · Blythe, Apprentice

  Solomon, Seigneur—Vistrite Conservator (fallen in battle)

  · Amanda, Chief Refiner, Vistrite Refinery

  · Mabel and Ned, Vistrite miners

  · Cedric, Refinery Master, Desperation in the Sixth System

  Jurian, Seigneur—Vistrite, Metricelli Deuce

  Rachelle, Seigneur—Serengeti and Blooded Dagger Research and Development

  · Irina, Protégé (fallen in battle)

  · Chrys, Apprentice

  · Simon, Senior Associate

  · Magnus, Associate

  Trevelyan, Seigneur—Serengeti and Blooded Dagger Security-Privilege

  · Deidre, Associate

  · Malcon, Master Associate

  · Tabitha, Associate

  · Rebecca, Apprentice

  · Rodolfo and Joyce, Associates, also known as the ‘Grim Twins’

  Sheila, Commandant—Blooded Dagger Militia

  · Mr. Stefan, driver and bodyguard

  · Mrs. Zdenka, security guard

  Nemilis, Seigneur—Blooded Dagger Media Management

  · Gil, Associate (self-slaughtered)

  Hadrian, Seigneur— Serengeti and Blooded Dagger Financials

  · Daphne, Senior Associate

  · Demitrov, Senior Associate

  Grey Spear Cartouche—Logistics and Distribution

  Hercules Mehta, Monsignor—Preeminence of Grey Spear

  Sebastian Mehta, Monsignor—former Preeminence of Grey Spear (banished from Serengeti)

  · Martin Argon, Protégé (banished from Serengeti)

  Aristides, Seigneur—Serengeti and Grey Spear Media Management

  · Douglas, Associate

  Ayesha, Seigneur—Grey Spear Logistics and Supply

  Damocles, Seigneur—Serengeti and Grey Spear Security-Privilege (Despoiler, executed)

  · Emalia, Apprentice (fallen in battle)

  Gwyneth, Seigneur—Bright Star

  · Jasper Mollari, Protégé

  Garwynn, Seigneur—Grey Spear Financials (kinsman to Sebastian Mehta)

  Thorvald, Seigneur—Serengeti Training and Militia

  Ann Hunter, Associate (murdered, former sycophant to Martin Argon)

  Okoth Custennin, Seigneur—Fourth System

  · Natalia Custennin, Seigneur Okoth’s heir and Lilian’s former friend

  Graham Tudorian, Senior Associate—Fortuna Logistics and Supply

  Vanek, Seigneur—First System

  Iron Hammer Cartouche—Controller Fabrication

  Elenora Odestil, Monsignor—Preeminence of Iron Hammer

  Kemeha, Seigneur—Iron Hammer Engineering

  · Fletcher Detrenti, Protégé

  Herman, Seigneur—Legalistics Lead, Cartel and Cartouche

  · Clarice, Apprentice

  Tristan, Seigneur

  · Verity, Apprentice

  Roger Macomber, Associate, sycophant to Martin Argon (Despoiler, slain in battle)

  Cartel

  Straus, Associate Master

  · Vicenza, Apprentice (fallen in battle)

  · Fyona, Apprentice (Despoiler, slain in battle)

  Liger, Archive Master

  The Matahorn Alliance

  Broken Blade Cartouche

  Horatio Margovian, Monsignor—Preeminence of Broken Blade and Matahorn

  · Damien St. Gervais, former Protégé

  · Basil Vylasi, Protégé

  William, Seigneur—Bright Star (Horatio’s son and heir)

  Dark Axe Cartouche

  Omar Petrovich, Monsignor—Preeminence of Dark Axe

  · Gregor Matwan, Associate, Crevasse City (executed)

  Fenrir, Seigneur—Bright Star (executed)

  · Mayling Boreas, Protégé

  Bright Fire Cartouche

  Sarah Guedez, Monsignor—Preeminence of Bright Fire

  Benmyn Empire, Seigneur—Financials

  The Leonardo Society

  Steel Spike Cartouche

  Angus Blackthorn, Monsignor—Preeminence of Steel Spike and Leonardo

  · Declan Red-Eagle, Protégé

  Aidan, Senior Associate

  Pippa Kailani, Associate

  Red Saber Cartouche

  Coyote Meterand, Monsignor—Preeminence of Red Saber

  Crevasse City

  Amaranth, Seigneur, supplier of Crevasse conduit

  Apollo Acacia, Adelaide’s Lord Prelate

  Aurorabella, Solomon’s daughter

  Brianne Detrenti, Fletcher’s twin sister

  Bronwyn, Conrad and Tobi’s daughter

  Cesare, Lucius and Estella’s son

  Chloe, Lady, Solomon’s wife

  Conrad, Seigneur, Persia’s son

  Pallas, Lady, Pippa’s mother

  Elysia, Lucius and Estella’s daughter

  Estella, Lady, Lucius’ wife

  Gilead, Jonathan’s Lord Prelate

  Gloribelle, a sparkly tree wombat and Katleen’s pet

  Harold,
Conrad and Tobi’s son

  Helena Faesetili, Lilian’s mother and Sinead’s Seer

  Hidaka, café owner and friend to the Faesetilis

  Hilda, odds manager

  Jamal Argon, Nickolas’ cousin

  Jenica, Marco’s daughter

  Joachim, Conrad and Tobi’s son

  Katleen Faesetili, Lilian’s sister

  Kyndel, Rimon’s Shrine Keeper

  Lynette, Lady, Marco’s wife

  Marigold, Estella’s personal servitor

  Marisa, Aristides’ daughter and heir

  Micah, Solomon’s son and heir

  Moira, Third System Lady Governor

  Nessa, Raphael’s personal servitor

  Persia, Monsignor, Preeminence of the Third System Commodity Exchange

  Raphael, Lucius and Estella’s son

  Remus Gariten, Lilian’s father (deceased)

  Sabri, Lucius’ personal servitor

  Sam, Mercio pastry chef

  Spider Stone, enforcer for Tiger Sylvester

  Signy, Captain, Third System Militia

  Tiberius, Lucius’ father (deceased)

  Tiger Sylvester, black commerce raider

  Tobi, Lady, Conrad’s spouse

  Tulip, driver and bodyguard for Raphael, Cesare, and Elysia

  Virgil, Socraide’s Shrine Keeper

  Waiman, Sinead’s Shrine Keeper

  Other

  Andreas, Master Scholar of Ancients Studies and Lilian’s former lover

  Karin Kailani, Fourth System Mulan acolyte, Pippa’s cousin

  Joseph, Dean, Preeminence of Mulan’s Temple and Lilian’s foster father

  Jason Margovian, Preeminence of Socraide Prime’s Medical Enclave, Horatio’s brother, and former suitor to Lady Estella

  Newton, rogue prelate of Rimon’s sect

  Orpheus, Master Scholar of Rimon’s Canon, University of Socraide Prime

  Rhyliss, Chrys’ sister and youngest sibling

  Rupert, Dean, Preeminence of Rimon’s Academia and Rebecca’s academic bondholder

  Sinjin Kailani, Lieutenant, Fourth System Militia, Pippa’s brother

  The Twelve Systems

  The society of the Twelve Systems is dominated by the warrior elite, the genetic descendants of the Five Warriors of Antiquity. These five warlords ended three centuries of interstellar warfare known as the Anarchy and established the modern Order and its governing protocols. In the millennium since the end of the Anarchy, the warrior elite have consolidated societal control into a handful of vast commercial interests. The most powerful and wealthy are the cartels.

  Owned by the great warrior families identified by their emblems, or ‘cartouches,’ these commerce enterprises are locked in fierce competitive struggles. To command any cartel is to control immense wealth and influence. To command one of the five largest cartels is to number among the two score most powerful people in the Twelve Systems.

  Under the command of the devious, ruthless, and unconventional Lucius Mercio, the Serengeti Group has catapulted from fourth to third among the cartels. For centuries, the Serengeti Group has controlled Vistrite, the semi-liquid crystal essential to all advanced technology and the cornerstone of Serengeti wealth and prestige. To advance his ambitions, Lucius abandoned a millennium of tradition to develop a synthetic form of Vistrite known as Mercium. Lucius also formed the Bright Star Consortium, the first significant attempt at stellar expansion in over two centuries. These two endeavors propelled Serengeti to the third position and will forever alter the commerce of the Twelve Systems.

  After a decade of strife, Lucius has succeeded in deposing Sebastian Mehta of Grey Spear, his rival for control of Serengeti. Guilty of treason against the cartel, Sebastian was ruled Disordered in His Wits and banished to a distant system.

  Known to only a few is that Lucius’ notorious apprentice, Lilian, is at the center of both ventures and the downfall of Sebastian Mehta. In the aftermath of her father’s execution for terrible crimes, Lilian was convicted of Guilt by Blood. In return for her life, Lilian vowed to serve three years as Lucius’ indentured servant, yielding him total control of her body, intellect, and will. In anticipation of Bright Star, Lucius acquired Lilian for her exceptional intellect and abilities with complexity and risk analysis. Lilian proved to be a great deal more than brilliant; her loyalty and courage were the catalyst for Mercium well before Bright Star was formed. The recent journey to Fortuna to inspect the construction of the Bright Star stellar exploration vehicle resulted in further consolidation of Lucius’ control of the consortium as well as revolutionary breakthroughs in communications and navigation.

  With Lucius’ ascendance, few in the cartel openly torment Lilian for her despised father’s crimes and her corrupt genetics. But there are other forces moving within Serengeti. An industrial disaster in the Desperation Refinery put Lilian’s conservatorship at risk. Intervention by Lucius averted the failure of her trial, but it required that Lilian submit to brutal discipline. Once recovered, she discovered that Damocles, Sebastian Mehta’s former favorite and the Serengeti security-privilege seigneur, was a traitor and, with Sebastian, had resurrected the Despoilers, an evil and ancient cult.

  In a desperate attempt to rescue Damocles, his followers invaded Serengeti and set siege to militia central when the cartel was empty of all but sixty loyal Serengeti to defend it, including Lilian and her small cadre of allies. Serengeti prevailed but not without cost: Lucius’ kinsman and friend, Seigneur Solomon, fell to the Despoilers, as did one of Lilian’s consortium and a score of others.

  With the cartel secure, Lucius prepares for the launch of the SEV1 hull into orbit around Fortuna. Although Lilian was a hero of the battle, her role remains masked in subterfuge to prevent the Despoilers’ return from becoming public knowledge. With but half a year left of her bond, many continue to hope that she will fall to the rigid demands of Trial by Ordeal or the insult, spite, and physical assault that await her beyond Lucius’ sphere of control.

  1. Hostile Attention

  In the century after the Code of Engagement and Governing Protocols were established, the Five Warriors’ judgment councils began to license militia to administer judgments and maintain civil order. By the third century, the licensing of militia for system governors and commercial enterprises included controls on the acquisition and use of fireburst weapons. When civil authority or commercial interests lacked the funds for licensure, they hired independent security forces, often former members of civil or commercial militia forces, who would take contracts for a specific term or act in return for a single payment or prize. In the fifth century, civil unrest led to a surge in independent security forces known as prize hunters, who were as likely to engage in criminal acts as in legitimate protection. To control the prize hunters, the Governing Council enacted prize hunter protocols defining licensing requirements and permissible activities. While these protocols did much to contain the most lawless aspects of prize hunting, into the modern era, prize hunters are known to cross the narrow boundary between legitimate prize contracts and assassination. ~ excerpt from The Foundations of Order, a scholarly treatise.

  Sevenday 126, Day 1

  Shadeless scum . . . impalement . . . dismemberment . . . anarchy’s whore . . . crevasse-crawlers devour you. Rubbing her eyes, Lilian puts aside her slate as the transport nears Serengeti Headquarters. When milord authorized the transport and assigned Mr. Stefan as her driver, his stated purpose was to protect his property. Lilian cared naught for the justification, thrilled at both the shortened transit time and the ability to execute tasks while in transit. Since the Despoiler defeat, she has used the transit to scan the hostile and anonymous alerts that arrive daily. The threats are not new, the content unchanged in the almost three years since her protocol review.

  In that first season, Lilian read each vile missive, seeking any credible threat against Katleen and Maman. Within a season, she created filters that scanned her alerts and archived those that posed no true threat whi
le flagging the few that were credible. After two and a half years, only a handful of miscreants continued the harassing notices. Until the battle of Serengeti.

  In the battle’s aftermath, the ugly correspondence has spiked. Although most likely due to her inclusion in the list of Serengeti’s valiant defenders, it is possible vestiges of the Despoiler cult have targeted her for her role in capturing Damocles and defeating them at the battle of Serengeti. Unfortunately, the filters do not scan for Despoiler-specific details and she has lacked the periods to update them. That none of the threats in the past month have been plausible does not release her from the burden of review. It will take but one.

  “Mistress Lilian?” Mr. Stefan stands on the pavement, gloved hand outstretched to assist her from the transport. Tall, broad-shouldered, garbed in the uniform of the Serengeti Militia, and sporting a fireburst pistol holstered at his hip, Mr. Stefan has a fierce, intimidating presence that is immensely comforting. The Blooded Dagger badges on his shoulders are polished to a bright shine, evidence of his recent promotion to the Blooded Dagger cartouche as well as the Serengeti Militia. As is so often true of milord, the advancement served more than one purpose, recognizing Stefan’s valor in battle and ensuring that Lilian’s bodyguard was subject to Blooded Dagger security-privilege.

  “Thank you.” Lilian exits the transport. Mayhap Seventh Day will offer her sufficient periods to update the filters.

  »◊«

  In the back corner of the riser carriage, Lilian stifles a yawn. Since the battle, slumber has proven elusive, abandoning her in the small bells of the night and refusing to return. This day, she woke at fourth bell after a scant three periods of sleep. Working the forms of her discipline brought serenity but not the return of slumber. Not that she lacked occupation; her assignment queue is longer than it has ever been. Not for the first time, Lilian regrets her sensitivity to the stimulant wafers that are a common solution to lack of sleep. Tea would help, but apprentices are forbidden food and drink at their worksites. With but five months until her bond completes, Lilian will not risk a stricture violation.