Usurper

by Richard F. Weyand

  “It’s clearly been in the works for a while. Did you notice who’s in charge of it?”

  “Well, Her Majesty is the Honorary Chairman. I saw that.”

  “So this clearly has her stamp of approval. But the Chairman of the Board is Judge Howard Ginsberg.”

  “Ginsberg. Ginsberg,” Saaret said. “Rings a bell. Why is his name familiar?”

  “You remember Jonas v. Sintaran Star Lines? The wrongful death case?”

  “Oh, yes. Jonas was an employee, and his widow alleged SSL hadn’t followed proper safety procedures, resulting in the death of her husband.”

  “Right. And when there was a negotiated settlement, the judge got suspicious because of the small amount. He looked into it and found that the plaintiff’s attorney had been bought off by SSL to reduce the settlement amount.”

  “That’s right,” Galbraith said. “And then the judge threw the book at them. Referred all the attorneys for both disciplinary action and criminal corruption charges, awarded the widow ten times the settlement and then tripled that for willful and malicious behavior and abuse of process, and put the CEO of SSL in jail for 30 days for contempt of court, fined him ten million credits as an individual, and gave that to the widow as well.”

  “Most of that was overturned on appeal, as I recall.”

  “Yes, but it was all the attorneys could do to stay out of prison. The plaintiff’s attorney was disbarred for violating his fiduciary duty to his client, and the CEO did spend 30 days in jail and pay the fine.”

  “Well, of course,” Saaret said. “The contempt of court charges aren’t appealable. Wait a minute. You’re saying the judge in that case –”

  “Was Judge Howard Ginsberg. Yes.”

  “Oh, my. And that’s who Her Majesty has selected to head up her new bar association. Well, you can’t say she has a hidden agenda. That agenda’s pretty clear for anyone to see.”

  “And then there’s the other announcement,” Galbraith said.

  “The other announcement?”

  “Yes. A pre-publication announcement of a book – a set of books, actually – to be published by the new bar association. ‘Understanding and Applying the New Imperial Statutes, Analysis and Discussion.’ In six volumes.”

  “But we don’t have any new Imperial statutes, Galbraith.”

  “We don’t yet, Saaret. The new book is due out late next year.”

  “Eighteen months or so out. Well, that’s one way to let us know what’s coming. This should be fun.”

  Imperial Subpoenas

  “Well, Vash, what do you think? Are we ready?” Bob Finn asked.

  “I think so,” Vasilisa Medved said. “I don’t know that more work will make it any better. It’s certainly taken long enough.”

  ‘It’ was a document production request to the manufacturers of fourteen different weapons systems and their parts subcontractors, requiring the production of specific documents as well as communications regarding those documents, including internal communications and communications with Her Majesty’s government. The entire package was over twelve hundred pages.

  “How long has it been?”

  “About eighteen months. I started at the palace two years ago, but we didn’t start on this until after you were on board.”

  “Well, that’s OK. Her Majesty wasn’t ready to use it yet. But she’s moving in that direction, and I want to make sure we have our ducks in a row once she says go.”

  “We’re all set. As far as I can tell, anyway.”

  “General Daggert, have things calmed down any from a security point of view?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. I believe so. We were picking up a lot of troubling indicators after the two High Court decisions, but they seem to have calmed down quite a bit in the six months since.”

  “Good, because I am considering the timing of my next move on the bureaucracy, General Daggert.”

  “What area is it this time, Ma’am?”

  “Weapons acquisition.”

  “That one’s bound to be trouble, Ma’am.”

  “Oh, yes, I know. But it’s been over six years since the M132 explosions on Wollaston. The Throne has let this carry on too long, and Lord Pomeroy has done nothing. It has been over three years since he was told to reform weapons acquisition.”

  “Oh, I understand, Ma’am. I didn’t say you shouldn’t do it, just that it would be trouble. But I would appreciate a heads up when you make your move, so we can be ready for it.”

  “I understand, General Daggert. I will let you know.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am.”

  It was a beautiful evening in the roof garden. After swimming laps, they lay on the chaises on the pool deck, just drinking in the warm, night air, thick with the scent of the flowers in the gardens. Dinner had been braised pork chops, with a homemade applesauce and dumplings with pork gravy. A scoop of peppermint ice cream had topped it off. Dinner plus an evening on the roof erased much of the tensions of the day.

  “Bob Finn tells me Vash Medved has the subpoenas done,” Dee said. “All twelve hundred pages of them. And General Daggert says the threat level has cooled off a bit since the High Court decisions. What do you think? Time to go after the big fish?”

  “It’s what? Three years since Pomeroy was told to reform weapons acquisition?” Cindy asked.

  “More than four. I’ve been on the throne nearly four years.”

  “Ye gods,” Sean said, “has it been that long?”

  “Has Pomeroy done anything?” Bobby asked.

  “No. Nothing,” Dee said.

  “Shoot him. He’s trouble.”

  “I won’t fire the first shot in a war between the Council and the Throne, Bobby.”

  “What if the first shot takes you out?” Bobby asked.

  “That’s a risk I’m prepared to take. It sort of goes with the job. And I don’t think Pomeroy’s stupid enough to do that.”

  “I don’t share your assessment of his intelligence.”

  “I know.”

  Sean and Cindy watched this by-play between brother and sister in silence. Bobby didn’t often push back on Dee, but on issues of her safety, he would speak up.

  “Is General Daggert worried?” Cindy asked.

  “He says going after weapons acquisition will be trouble, and he’s asked me to give him advance warning. But he didn’t seem especially worried. I think he will go to a higher state of readiness, though.”

  “In what way?”

  Bobby, who was now a Major in the Imperial Guard, tensed. Of course, Dee was the Empress. She could tell anybody she wanted anything she wanted to tell them.

  “I don’t know. Not my job. Something.”

  Dee shrugged and Bobby relaxed. He looked across at Sean. They caught each other’s eyes and nodded slightly.

  “So how are you going to do this?” Cindy asked.

  “Well, the subpoenas will go out directly to the companies. I think I should probably give Pomeroy a courtesy copy, though.”

  “Give it to Saaret,” Cindy said. “Let him give it to Pomeroy. Maybe he can talk some sense into him and keep him from doing anything stupid.”

  “There’s a thought. Maybe I’ll do that.”

  “Of course, if you gave it to Pomeroy directly, and he really went off, he might give you an excuse to shoot him,” Bobby said.

  Dee gave him a sidelong glance and said, “That’s another good reason to give it to Saaret.”

  “General Daggert, you wanted me to warn you before I played my hand on the weapons acquisition reform,” Dee said.

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “I am about to do that, General Daggert. How much warning do you need?”

  “Twenty-four hours, Ma’am.”

  “Very well, General Daggert. I will do nothing until the day after tomorrow. You may begin your preparations now.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Thank you, Ma’am.”

  “General Kraus,” said General Martin Kraus, Commandant of Marines.

  �
�Hi, Marty. Brian Daggert here.”

  “Hi, Brian. What can I do for you?”

  “Marty, I need to activate some reserves.”

  “Really? You seeing that kind of threat level?”

  “Not yet, but I have reason to believe I will.”

  “All right. What do you need?”

  “I need a ready rifle company 24x7 at the Imperial Marine Combat Training Center, ready to mount up at a moment’s notice. I also need combat air response of four attack ships with thirty minutes response time or less. Both keyed to my direct orders.”

  “You know, Brian, we can have faster response time if we pre-stage. We have Imperial Marine facilities at the spaceport. I can give you ten-minute response times on both forces.”

  “If that’s not too much trouble, Marty, that would be great.”

  “We can do that, Brian. Is that it?”

  “For the moment. If things get bad enough to need more, I’ll let you know.”

  “All right. No problem at all.”

  “Thanks, Marty.”

  “Be seated, Lord Saaret.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “Thank you for meeting with me this morning, Lord Saaret.”

  “I’m pleased to be of service, Your Majesty.”

  “I’m afraid it is not a pleasant topic, Lord Saaret. I find Lord Pomeroy’s response to the order from the Throne to reform his weapons acquisition process to be lacking. Or, perhaps more accurately, nonexistent.”

  “It is a difficult process, Your Majesty, and it takes time.”

  “I understand, Lord Saaret. Nevertheless, I have grown weary of waiting for Lord Pomeroy to begin that process. And so I am beginning the process for him.”

  Dee turned to Claude Perrin, standing to her side.

  “Mr. Perrin?”

  Perrin produced a file from the file folder he carried and handed it to Dee. She removed a stiff piece of paper with the Imperial arms embossed on top as well as a copy on regular paper. Dee signed the document, replaced it in the file, and handed it back to Perrin.

  “See that this is communicated to the Council by the usual channels, Mr. Perrin.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Dee slid the copy across the table to Saaret.

  “This is a courtesy copy for you, Lord Saaret. The decree references some twelve hundred pages of Imperial subpoenas going out to arms manufacturers and their subcontractors today. I have pushed them into a shared folder accessible by you and Lord Pomeroy. The reason I am communicating this to you instead of to Lord Pomeroy this morning is that I wish you to break the news to him. I am afraid were I to communicate it directly to him, he might misbehave in such a way that I would be forced to take notice of it.”

  “I understand, Your Majesty.”

  Saaret looked over the decree quickly. It simply ordered the serving of the subpoenas, which were specified as a range of Imperial Palace document numbers.

  “I will communicate this to Lord Pomeroy, Your Majesty, as well as your displeasure with the pace of his reforms.”

  “Thank you, Lord Saaret. That is all I had to speak with you about today.”

  “Very well, Your Majesty.”

  “Good day, Lord Saaret.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Pomeroy said.

  “Why not? I told you this was coming if you didn’t make even a token effort to reform weapons acquisition,” Saaret said.

  “But she can’t do this, Saaret.”

  “Of course, she can. You seem to have a real problem understanding the concept of Empress, Pomeroy.”

  “I’ll move to quash the subpoenas.”

  Saaret sighed. He completely understood why Her Majesty had left this particular task to him.

  “In what court, Pomeroy? No court has jurisdiction over her. An Imperial subpoena is final and binding.”

  “I’ll advise the manufacturers not to comply.”

  “In which case their chief executive officers are subject to arrest, imprisonment, or execution, at Her Majesty’s discretion. As you would be yourself, for so advising them. What has got you in such a state over these subpoenas? They don’t even cover the bid and award process. It’s all about test plans and the like. Or is that a weak spot?”

  “No,” Pomeroy said, waving a hand to shoo the question away. “It’s just interference, is all. Damned Imperial interference in the operation of my department.”

  “Her Majesty’s Defense Department, you mean, over which you are, for a time, the administrator, yes?”

  Pomeroy just fumed.

  “Look. Lord Pomeroy. The way to handle this is to thank Her Majesty for the work done on your behalf to collect these documents, ask for a courtesy copy, and promise to act on them, thus regaining the initiative on carrying out the reforms she wishes.”

  Pomeroy still said nothing. Saaret shrugged.

  “Well, do as you will. I’ve advised you of the best course in my opinion. It’s out of your hands now, anyway. She will get those documents, and she has the research staff to analyze them and make such other moves as she sees fit. With or without your assistance.”

  “Now what do we do?” asked Henry Wilkins, the head of defense procurement.

  “I don’t know, Hank. These subpoenas are all aimed directly at design test. You know what that means,” Pomeroy said.

  “Design testing, yes, but only in light weapons. Not the big shipboard stuff or the mobile field guns. These weapons systems are all infantry weapons, whether individual or crew-served.”

  “Who’s department is that?”

  “Bruce Fairfield’s,” Wilkins said.

  “Then there’s a goddam rat in Fairfield’s department. She didn’t come up with all this on her own. Somebody’s pumping information into the Imperial Palace on what’s going on. Somebody in Fairfield’s department.”

  “Or somebody who was in Fairfield’s department.”

  “Find out who it is,” Pomeroy said.

  “Why? The damage is done at this point.”

  Pomeroy glared at Wilkins.

  “Oh, yeah? Well, when all those highly technical documents and specifications come in from the manufacturers, who’s going to interpret them for her?”

  “Shit. You’re right, of course. I’ll get right on it.”

  Collision Course

  “So what’s the deal with bein’ forward deployed, Sergeant?” PFC Gordon West asked as they played cards in the ready room of the Imperial Marines compound at the Imperial City Spaceport.

  “Yeah, I’m the top brass. I got all the answers,” Sergeant Clyde Mulroney said.

  “It’s clear they want somebody to be able to show up somewhere’s in Imperial City in ten minutes rather than an hour, or else we could just as well be at the training center,” PFC Mark Gore said.

  “So they forward deploy an entire battalion?” West asked.

  “If you want fast response with a company, you gotta assign a battalion. Guy’s gotta eat and sleep sometime,” Gore said.

  “Full battle-rattle makes it hard to play cards, though,” West said.

  “When the alarm goes off, we got sixty seconds to be in the shuttle, West. That’s it. There won’t be no time to have your Mama get you all dressed up for the party,” Mulroney said.

  “And don’t forget the flight crews. They’re actually sittin’ out there in the ready shuttles, hot to go. Same with the attack ships. There’s a dozen of each out there, but four of them are always hot,” West said. “What the hell is goin’ on?”

  “OK, I can tell you one thing I heard through the grapevine. If the ball drops, we’re gonna be takin’ orders from the Imperial Guard,” Mulroney said.

  “Imperial Guard?” Gore asked. “Now, that’s interesting. Some threat to the Empress or the Imperial Palace? Is a company even enough? That’s a big building. A hundred and sixty guys don’t seem like a lot.”

  “Oh, I think you could count on the rest of the battalion coming along behind. And don’t forget all the Imperia
l Guard guys already there. Imperial Marines, every one of ‘em, and all of ‘em with the combat ribbon,” Mulroney said.

  “Six hundred and forty guys? Plus the Guard?” Gore asked. He thought about it. “Yeah, that’s probably enough.”

  “There ya go. And we got all the backup we could want at the training center,” Mulroney said.

  “Criminy,” West said.

  “How will we know who the enemy is, Sergeant?” Gore asked.

  “I figure it’s simple,” Mulroney said. “There’s Marines, unarmed noncombatants, and targets. That’s the whole list, I think.”

  “That makes sense,” Gore said. “So if they’re not in MCUs or MDUs, and they have a gun–“

  “They’re a target,” Mulroney said. “Yup. That’s what I figure.”

  “Hell. Even I can handle that,” West said.

  Mulroney and Gore both looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

  “Just don’t shoot any beautiful blue-eyed blonds with big tits,” Mulroney said.

  “Why not?” West asked.

  “Because that’s the Empress.”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  Lord Pomeroy and Chief Stanier were at dinner.

  “Boy, you look upset, Larry. What’s going on?”

  “She issued subpoenas for information directly to the weapons manufacturers, George. Didn’t go through us at all.”

  “Wow. Talk about a loose cannon.”

  “Exactly. And Saaret says I can’t do anything about it. They’re Imperial subpoenas. No motion to quash, no higher authority, and if they don’t comply, she can do whatever she wants, including string people up.”

  “Damn. What are the subpoenas about, anyway?”

  “That’s the troubling thing. They’re all directed at the acceptance test plans for weapons designs. She’s requesting all the documentation behind the design of the testing. What the hell does she know about weapons testing? Those test plans are carefully negotiated with the manufacturers.”

  “That’s pretty technical stuff, isn’t it, Larry? How did she even know what to ask for?”