by Jessie Wolf
“We have already deduced that you are planning on reviving the Knights of the Republic, my Lady. Brother Timothy brought the possibility of this happening to our attention earlier this evening. I will save you the time of asking; yes we will take on the responsibilities of forming, training, and leading this new Brotherhood. Since none of us belong to the Brotherhoods here, but are free monks we do not need the Reverend Father’s permission to leave. We only have one question for you. What is the name of our new Brotherhood?”
“The Black Swords of Saint George.”
“So my dear Lady, you need Dragons to train your Dragon Slayers. Well from the looks of it you have everything covered, but one field.” When I looked at him like he was crazy he laughed. “We need a sword master and martial arts specialist.”
This time I giggle. I just cannot help it. Brother Yumi may think I have forgotten the one little fact, but he is wrong. “Oh, I believe that I have that covered, if I am not mistaken your lance mate Brother Felix is a Master in four different martial arts, and Brother Mathew is a well-known Weapons Master. Please, don’t try to fool me sir. I know full well who I am dealing with.”
“I see that your reputation is well deserved, Lady Maiha. When would you like us to arrive at our new Temple?”
“We leave tomorrow afternoon gentlemen. While these young ladies are touring Fiddlers Green, I will be having the House Engineer packing all he’ll need to begin construction of the new Temple on the school grounds. While my family and I will be returning to JES, it is my hope that you will be taking up residence at our brother school of Jacob Salomon.”
“I take it that you are still awaiting word on that, my Lady.”
“You are correct, Bother Yumi; however I fully expect to have that confirmation by the time we leave here tomorrow afternoon.”
“Very well then, we’ll go gather what we need, and meet you at the transports. Until then, Lady Maiha, we bid you goodnight. I have no doubt that you shall obtain the needed permission from this other school for us to begin our forming and training of the Brotherhood of Black Swords.” I watch as all four men give me a deep bow of respect then turn and leave.
“Well, daughter, that went better than I expected.” I could hear the humor in mama’s voice.
“Why do you say that, mama?”
“Kitten, you have a habit of pissing off the Temple staff in ways that are epic in proportion. The fact that you got all four of them to go along with your idea and come out of retirement to do it is fantastic. The fact that you were able to do it without threats, begging, or bribery, but with diplomacy is to be blunt amazing.” The fact that Alice was saying all this was not lost on me.
“Why in the world would you say that, Alice? I have always treated the people of the Temple with great respect. I may not understand them or their beliefs, but I do respect them.”
“Oh no, kitten, I never said that. I just pointed out that you normally have to resort to one of those three things to get something done. We’re all just surprised that they’re so willing to go along with your forming of new orders to go against the Imperial Temple, is all.” for some reason Alice was trying to get me to see something but I just wasn’t getting it. Thankfully mama was able to help out.
“Daughter, you are starting to use true diplomatic skills, instead of your tried and true method of ‘gunboat diplomacy’.” The smile on mama’s face is all the reward I needed. The fact that I just might be learning the skills that I have lacked for the majority of my life is a refreshing thought.
“I know that one of the reasons you wanted me to go back to school was to learn how to act more like a girl, mama, and to gain certain social skills that I’ll need as I continue to be the Head of House for our family. I guess that you can sometimes get more done with honey than vinegar.”
“Finally, she gets it. Now, if I can only get her wife and sisters to grasp this concept.” She gives my wife and three sisters a very pointed look while saying this.
“HEY!” all four of them voice their disapprovals of mama’s comment, me, I just giggle. Their stances all mirror the looks on their faces. This just made me giggle even harder. Then of course Nanami had to go and make it even funnier. “At least we don’t use practical project cannons to kill flies like sissy.” The thought of using something like that to take care of such a small problem is beyond insane. Then again compared to most problems that I have had to deal with lately, it would be par for the course.
Nanami’s comment got everyone to laughing; it was just the thing to relieve the stress of the past two days. Once everyone was once again in control of themselves I sent Dana, Taylor, Combs, and Ravenswood on their way, telling them we didn’t need them for the rest of the night. I could see by the looks of relief on Taylor’s and Comb’s faces that they’re really looking forward to getting out of that Land Warrior armor. If I had to guess I would say it weighs close to fifty pounds if not more. Personally I don’t want to find out, not that I can as it takes someone of their size or near it just to be able to wear the stuff. Turning to my family I smile and say.
“Nanase and Nanami why don’t you two take the first watch as the rest of us get some sleep. Mama and Fuyuko will relieve you in four hours. Alice and I will take the last four that way most of you will be rested enough to act as tour guides for our new sisters in the morning. I am pretty sure no one else is going to try anything, but who knows.”
“Um…Maiha, what about all the noise from earlier? Why haven’t we heard from the House Guard about it yet?” it was nice to see Fuyuko and the others were thinking beyond the Temple action.
“We can thank Dana for that dear sister. She was the one handling all the communications with our House Guard Watch Commander. She informed the man that this was a Temple matter and not to interfere. Any more questions, if not the Nanase and Nanami need to start their watch while the rest of us get some sleep.” I watch as the twins head off to take up positions at the north and south of the cocoons. The rest of us start to clean up the bodies of the Black Rose before getting some sleep.
Mama wakes me up about an hour into her watch. “Maiha, I hate to do this child, but you need to get over to the House Communication Center.” I could tell from the look in her eyes and sound of her voice that something bad has happened.
“What happened mama?”
“They would not tell me, child, all they would say is that you’re needed in the Communication Center. The officer on duty is scared, Maiha. Whatever it is has the whole C and C staff on edge.” Now I know I have a problem.
I don’t even wait around to wake Alice and head straight for the Communication Center. As I cross the interior of the estate compound from the Temple I notice that the Wolves have taken up positions all around it. From the looks on their faces I pity anyone foolish enough to try attacking us again. If I had to guess I would say these men and women were pissed that someone had dared to attack the Temple. I was surprised when Colonel Fujiyama stopped me halfway to the main house to apologize.
I stop him half way into his apology. “Colonel, please you have no need to apologize to me or anyone else. This was a purely Temple matter between two orders. As much as I would love to use you and your troops, I cannot. The Black Rose order challenged our right to form. This fight was a Trial of Refusal and as such only the members of the order could be involved.”
“It is still not right my Lady, but I will abide by your decision to handle the matter on your own. That doesn’t mean I have to let the bastards have a second go at you or the new Sisters.” The big man had a look of pure rage in his eyes over the fact that someone would attack a Temple.
“Thank you, Colonel. The fact you and your troops have taken this matter as a personal insult tells me more than anything these people will fail. Now if you’ll forgive me, but I am needed in C and C at the moment.” I give the man a bow of respect, which he returns and continue on my way to the main house and the C and C room.
As I walked the halls of the main ho
use on my way to the C and C room I could see real respect in those I passed. When I reached my destination there were two young House Infantry soldiers standing guard outside the door. They didn’t wait for me to greet them; they just opened the door and waved for me to enter in a hurry. The fact that the only person in the room was Major Howard did not bode well. Major Howard has been a friend to me from the time I first set foot outside of my reconfiguration cocoon.
“Good evening Major, what brings you here at this time of the night?”
“My Lady, as always a pleasure seeing you, however this is one time it was under better circumstances.” I could tell that something has him very upset and unsettled.
“I take it by the look on your face and the fact that you had me haul backside to get here the odorous brown substance has made contact with a rotating oscillator.”
The big man chuckles at my use of language. “I see that being at an all-girls school is already having an effect on you my Lady. However, you are correct in assuming that we have a major problem on our hands. The Emperor is currently on hold awaiting your pleasure. My Lady, the man is, in a word, pissed off about something. He is refusing to talk to anyone, but you. I know that is His right, but he wouldn’t even let our most trusted techs reroute the call to the Temple.”
“Major Howard, with what all has been going on I am surprised he didn’t have our whole coms system locked down with an Imperial override.” When I mention the override the major cringes. “I take it that is exactly what he has done.” Howard just nods his head yes. This is not good. If the Emperor has locked down our com system we can’t talk to anyone outside of the estate. “That man is going to be the death of me one day, or I his. Thank you major I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you go get some rest or whatever; I’ll notify the duty officer when I’m done.”
“I’ll be just outside the door, my Lady.” the man was visibly relieved to be dismissed. I waited until I was alone before stepping over to the control console and activating the uplink to the Emperor. It took a few seconds for the system to establish the connection, but once it did I could tell that the Emperor was contacting me from his personal quarters on Earth Prime.
“Hello old friend.” I great him as cordially as possible, I can tell that he is extremely upset over something. “Care to explain why you’ve locked down my com system and handicapping my House?”
“As always straight to the point, Lady Maiha. I doubt that you will ever change.” The Emperor sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples as if to relieve a headache. “It seems that I have a problem, and you my old friend are at the heart of it. Can you please explain to me why on earth you have decided to go to war with the Imperial Temple?”
The fact that he knew that I was actually going to war with the Imperial Temple and a certain Cardinal told me that either the Black Rose or Silent Sister had gotten off a signal to someone. That or I still have a traitor in my family’s Temple.
“May I know how you have come by this information, Sire?”
“If you have to ask me that old friend then you do not know the full danger you are in.”
“Damn it all to hell! Tell me what is going on King Snake. What does Cardinal Richelieu have on you, anyway? Why haven’t you dropped the hammer on this man and his private little army? Why are you allowing them to abuse the members of the Silent Sisterhood? Damn it I need answers here, ‘old friend’? Are you willingly allowing this to go on? If you are I would remind you of a promise I made not too long ago.” I had let my anger get the best of me, as toward the end I was screaming at the top of my lungs, and both of my primary weapons had deployed.
“As much as I want to turn my Death Dealers and Hunters loose on the Imperial Temple I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t, Sire?”
“Can’t, damn you! Don’t you see if I go after Cardinal Richelieu and his supporters I break the separation of Church and State? As much as I want to remove the threat my hands are tied. And since I can’t get rid of him I use him and his spies to keep ahead of other threats to the Empire.”
“Fine, if you won’t remove him, I will. I told you that I will no longer stand for you, the High Families, or anyone else to abuse the people of this Empire. For too long you and your family have been forced to use the Death Dealers when things have gotten too far out of hand. Well, no more. Within six months I’ll have a force of Peacekeepers that will tear out the heart of the corruption that has plagued this Empire for too long. You have a choice to make, Emperor. You can either help me or get out of my way, but if you get in my way I will carry out my promise. Do you understand, Sire?”
“Very well, if you are so dead set on tearing down one of the most fundamental pillars of our Empire on your own I’ll not stand in your way. This is after all a Temple matter. However I must insist that you send my daughter home. I’ll not have her involved in your private war.”
“I hate to tell you this old friend, but she has already joined the fight of her own free will.”
“WHAT?!”
“You heard me; she is already in the fight. You sent her here to punish her and her friends. All because she would not let you dictate her life. She wanted to serve the Empire as an APS pilot, and common soldier, but that would not allow her to marry some High Family prince. No one wants to marry a girl who is just a common soldier, oh no that’s just not done, especially for a princess of the Empire.” My voice dripped heavily with sarcasm.
“You will send her home to me, or I will declare your House Outlaw.”
“You do and I’ll march a force of twenty Death Dealer divisions, plus whatever the Prince of High Winds will lend me against you. Believe me your Majesty as of this moment you sit on the throne at my pleasure. I can have a military force strong enough to rip through anything you can field on Earth Prime or any planet you choose to hide on in a matter of weeks. I have told you before that I have no desire to park my arse on that throne, however if you push me, I will take it from you and your line.”
“If I didn’t know you as well as I do, I’d take you up on that challenge. The sad fact is I know that is no boast, for some reason even the Hunters and Death Dealers are more loyal to you, than Me.” sighing the Emperor leaned further back in his chair. I could see that my old friend knew he was backed into a corner. “Do me a favor, Death, and try to bring my daughter home alive to me. I may not be too happy with her right now, but she is still my little girl.”
“I’ll do my best, Sha; I know how much she means to you. Can you answer a question for me?”
“Let me guess, did I know about JES and JS becoming more Juvenile Detention Center than schools? The answer is yes, I am ashamed to admit. Before you ask I did not want to send Daniela there. I did it as part of a compromise with a certain Cardinal within the Imperial Temple.”
“What does the man have on you? Just what does your daughter have to do with it? I need to know if I’m going to put an end to his madness.”
Once again my friend had a look of extreme pain come to his face. “She is not my real daughter. Eliza my fourth wife and Daniela’s mother had an affair with one of her bodyguards. A certain young man that was very near to both you and me, my old friend is her father.”
“What happened to him?” I had a deepening feeling of fear and dread. I don’t know if I even want to know the answer, but then again I need to know what is going on.
“He and the rest of his team of Death Dealers were killed to the last man during a mission.”
“Who was he?”
“I cannot tell you my friend.”
“Once again is that can’t or won’t?”
“Again, I tell you it is can’t. I gave my word to her mother and father that I would never reveal his name to anyone, not even her.”
“Fine, I’ll leave it alone, but she needs to know. I’ll leave that up to you when you tell her. For now though I need to know how this relates to what is going on with the Black Rose, Crimson Shield, and Cardinal Richelieu.”
<
br /> “He was Eliza’s Spiritual Advisor and confessor. She told him of the affair and the fact she was carrying another man’s child other than mine.”
“And he is holding this fact over your head as she is your only living heir. If this gets out your family’s rule ends with your death as she won’t be able to inherit. Let me guess with my showing up he has you over the barrel because I have just as strong a claim as you or your daughter.” The Emperor just nods his head when I finish. “Ok, not a problem. I’ll handle the god fearing Cardinal and his fanatical followers for you. Just keep the rest of the Government out of my hair long enough for me to drop the hammer on this shit head. As for your daughter I’ll do what I can, but she has joined the one military force that you have no control over. You were the one who pushed her into this position, not me. I will not try to hold her back while her Sisters and Brothers place themselves on the ragged edge. I will make sure she has the finest training possible.”
“Very well, Lady Maiha, I see that you are still as honest, fair, and uncompromising as always. I will keep the Parliament, Hall of Lords, First Lord of the Military, and Hall of Judges out of your fight with the Imperial Temple. I will tell you this; it will take Richelieu at least ten months to gather enough forces to be able to attack you head on. I might be able to extend that time to a year by keeping their transport options down to a minimum, but don’t count on it.”
“Any help will be welcome, Sire. Like I said; I take care of this for you, just stay out of my way. Besides, with what I have already learned from a member of the Black Rose, this fight is personal. If only half of what he said was true then Richelieu was behind the deaths of my son and daughter. For that alone I would rip them apart with my own House troops and every mercenary company I could get my hands on, but now they have dared to threaten my new family outright along with those entrusted to our care. When I get done there will be nothing left, but ashes and dust.”
“Go with God and my blessing, old friend. You do know that if this goes wrong that your family Temple will be declared heretics by the Imperial Temple and outlawed. If that happens my hands will be tied and you’ll have to face more than just the Imperial Temple Guardians. There still more than a few High Families that would happily lend the good Cardinal the military forces to crush you and your House.”
