“Send him in, Marjorie,” she finally said when she thought she could delay no more. “And send in some tea.”
“Yes, ma’am,” replied the secretary who was her right hand.
Haruko got up from her desk and walked around to the sitting area of the large office. She chose her seat with care, aware of the power games the man liked to play. She sat in the seat and opened her flat comp, then waited for the door to the office to open.
“My dear Countess,” said the familiar if disliked voice as that door slid open. “How very nice to see you. You look lovely, as always.”
And you’re a liar, as always, thought the PM. She knew she was not the most attractive of women. Her worth lay in her brains, and she had prepared herself for any challenge through education. Or at least I thought I had.
“Gregor,” said the PM with a smile she didn’t feel. “Please, have a seat.”
The smile left the Archduke’s face, though he was politic enough to keep a frown from taking its place. The Countess smiled up at him. He was her social superior, the civilian figurehead of an entire planet, while she was just the leader of a region of a continent. But dammit, I’m the Prime Minister, and his superior in the government. And this is my lair.
The Archduke realized he wasn’t going to get the subservience he desired and took the offered chair. Before he was even settled the servant was bringing the tea into the office, and asking the Archduke how he wanted his beverage. As soon as he left the Archduke turned his burning eyes on her.
“We are not happy, Haruko, about the behavior of this young Emperor.”
“And what, pray tell, do you expect me to do about it?” asked the Countess. “He is, after all, our Monarch. We swore oaths of fealty to him. Not he to us.”
“And he is too young for the position.”
“He did not choose to be Emperor at his tender age. He did not ask for his father and older brothers to be killed by a traitor. And how old is old enough? He was a serving naval officer with an adequate record. He was only a decade younger than that reprobate Streeter tried to foist on us, and said cousin had a horrible military record.”
“Agreed,” said Stoyanovich, nodding his head. “That was a bad choice, but this one is not much better. Yes, he was a serving Fleet officer, in charge of the laser ring of a battleship. Does that give him the experience he needs to rule an Empire? It would be one thing if he just assumed the throne and left the ruling of the Empire to Parliament, and the running of the war to his military leaders. Instead, he tries to run everything himself, and now is talking about leading from the front, like he is some kind of Medieval monarch who must fight in front of his men to prove his courage.”
“I don’t like that part any more than you do, Gregor,” said the PM, grimacing. “But it is his prerogative to do so. And the military people I have talked to have faith in him, based on his decisions thus far.”
“And my military experts feel that he is rash and impulsive,” shouted the Archduke. “Our oaths of fealty should not be construed as a suicide pact. We have a responsibility to the Empire to make sure it survives.”
“And your solution?”
“We should hold a vote of all the houses of Parliament, a vote to determine our confidence in the Emperor.”
“That hasn’t been done in four hundred years,” said the Countess, horrified by the suggestion.
“And the Empire has not faced such a dire situation since then. Nay, this is more dire. We’re talking about the survival of the Empire.”
“What would you replace him with?”
“He has an older sister.”
“Who turned down the throne and the succession years ago,” said Kawasaki.
“And who could perhaps be talked into taking it in this hour of need,” said the Archduke, looking into her eyes.
“The other houses will not go along, even if you could get a vote through the Lords.”
“Then we may need to take more immediate action.”
“You’re talking treason, Gregor, and I will have nothing to do with treason.”
“Then I am sorry that I wasted your time,” said the Archduke, coming to his feet. “Thank you for the tea.” He gestured to his untouched cup, then turned and walked from the room.
“Marjorie,” said the PM into the intercom. “Please get me the head of the IIA.”
Moments later the holo sprang to life over the conversation area table, with the face of Ekaterina Sergiov, head of the Imperial Intelligence Agency, enclosed. “You wanted to speak with me, Madam Prime Minister?”
“I think we have a serious problem, Director Sergiov. One that I think will require your attention.”
*
“What was her answer?” asked the man over the secure com.
“No,” said Gregor Stoyanovich, not really trusting any com system, even one guaranteed to be secure.
“I warned you not to approach her,” said the man. “Now we have another problem.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Nothing, Archduke. Nothing at all. This is my area of expertise. So go back to your office and leave it to me.”
Chapter Eighteen
All subjects are responsible for the safety and welfare of the Empire, under applicable laws. Article Seven, Imperial Bill of Freedoms and Responsibilities.
CAPITULUM, JEWEL, MAY 7TH, 1001.
“As far as we can tell, the Fenri are going to sign an alliance with the Ca’cadasans,” said Ekaterina Sergiov, pointing to the holo of a large Cacada male walking into the palace of the Fenri Emperor. The small, meter and a half tall mammalian creatures looked puny in comparison to the three meter high Ca’cadasans.
“They have to know that the Ca’cadasans will eat their Empire as well when they are done with us,” said Sean, staring at the creature who had to be the alien ambassador on the holo. I didn’t think those assholes even had ambassadors. Must be something they’ve instituted just for their war with us.
“We have never lost a war with the Fenri,” said Admiral McCollum, looking over at the Monarch. “They utterly hate us for all the systems they have lost.”
“The aliens we liberated sure don’t hate us,” said Lord Garis, the Minister of State. “They think we’re angels from whatever God they worship, sent from heaven to liberate them from the little demons.”
And I really judged you wrong, my Lord, thought Sean, looking at the older man. Originally he had thought the Minister of State would be an impediment to his rule, a member of the old guard who didn’t think Sean was ready to rule. Instead, he had found the man to be a staunch supporter.
“So they really really hate us,” said Sean, looking around the table at the people he had invited to his war council. “What else is new. And they’re going to act like complete dumb asses, totally blind to the danger they are going to put themselves in by bedding the Cacas. You think the Cacas are going to try to ally themselves to the Lasharans next?”
“I wouldn’t put it past either of them,” said Garis, who had once served as an Ambassador to the Lasharan Autocracy, until it had been decided that those people were just too bat shit crazy to even bother treating with. “The Lasharans can’t think past their next meal, or religious ceremony.”
And now we pay the price for our past successes against other alien powers. But what were we supposed to do, lose. Then we would be worse off than we are now. Would any of these other powers refuse to turn us over to our ancient enemies when they came a calling. I really doubt it. “So, what are we going to do about it. Just let the Fenri come into our space when they feel like it.”
“That’s not what I would do, your Majesty,” said Sergiov. “I would pull a preemptive strike on the little furry bastards before they had a chance to attack us. Hit them with everything we have in that sector. Hit all of their military bases near the border, then move in, don’t give them a chance to organize.”
“I agree with her, your Majesty,” said the CNO, nodding at the IIA Director.
“We stand to lose more by waiting for them to strike. I don’t really want another war at our borders, but I’m afraid we’re going to have one either way.”
“Lord Garis. Director Sergiov. How confident are the two of you in your information?”
“It comes directly from our Embassy on Fenri, your Majesty,” answered Minister first. “In fact, besides some record keeping messages through normal channels, it is the last information of import we have received. I fear for the staff of that Embassy.”
“And we received the message from an Elysium freighter that has known ties to their intelligence apparatus,” said Sergiov. “The Captain is known to me, personally, and I trust that the information is real.”
Sean looked down at his flat comp for a moment, looking over the ships dispositions for the Empire. “OK,” he finally said, looking up at the CNO. “Plan a preemptive strike and I will sign off on it. Where do you propose to get the ships?”
“I think we can pull ships in from Sectors I and II, your Majesty,” said the CNO, looking at her own flat comp. “I think the situation with Elysium has stabilized enough where we can risk moving everything but standard anti-pirate patrols out of there.”
“And the rest of Sector I?”
“That fronts mostly open space,” said the CNO, throwing up a holo of the Empire over the table. “I really don’t think something is going to come out of empty space and hit us.”
“Sector IV fronts mostly empty space as well,” said Sergiov. “And look at what came out of there. Just saying.”
“We have to take some risks,” said the CNO, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the intelligence chief. “We don’t have enough to do everything we want.”
“Very well, Admiral,” said Sean. “Make your deployments, and when you’re ready hit the Fenri with everything you can bring to bear. Move ships from the other quiet sectors as well. I know the people in those sectors won’t like it. Tough. We’ve got a war to fight. And I think it might be a good idea to pull out all the stops, hit them with every tech advantage we have. I want them to be in a total panic after we strike.”
“What about Klashak and Margravi?” asked the Minister of State. “Their Ambassadors seem to feel that they should be fighting by our sides.
“I think they do us service right now by watching the Lasharans,” said Sean. “Not meaning to insult them, but most of their ships are a generation behind ours, about what should be expected from our hand me downs. They are on par with the Lasharans, and after the beating we gave those people the Klashak and Margravi should have no trouble handling them. Now, how is the net working?” He looked at the time on his implant and felt just a little bit nervous. Where in the hell is the PM. She should have been here at the beginning of the meeting.
“The net is working as expected, your Majesty,” said the CNO, pulling up a holo of the open space between the New Terran Republic and the Fenri Empire, with icons marking where the ships were stationed that were monitoring the most likely approach from the Ca’cadasan Empire. “So far we have picked up everything coming down the corridor. And anything looking like a lone courier had been taken out. I have to caution your Majesty, that if we keep hitting their couriers they are going to figure out that something is going on.”
“You talked about taking risks, Admiral,” said Sean, staring at the holo and wondering if he might be able to use those deployments to get even more out of them. “I think it’s worth the risk to interfere with their communications.”
“Yours to command, your Majesty,” said the CNO. “And the High Command of the NTR seems to agree with you. But, then again, they are in more danger of just being overrun right now, and are willing to take more risks.”
“So I guess that leaves us with the Crakista,” said the CNO. “We still don’t have any idea where they are going to come in on this.”
“And that is another thing that is keeping me up at night,” said Sean, ordering the holo to reorient to that part of space with his plant. “What the hell will those Lizards do? They don’t really have any reason to like us.”
“Or really to hate us, your Majesty,” said Garis with a smile. “They may be lizard form, but they do not act from emotion. They feel we have fought them honorably in the past, and hold no animosity toward us.”
“So you think they will side with us?”
“I have no way of knowing, your Majesty,” said the Minister, bowing his head. “They are truly alien intelligences. They could come in on either side, or just sit this one out.”
“What do you want us to do on that frontier, your Majesty?” asked the CNO.
“Weaken it by twenty percent,” said Sean after a moment’s reflection. “Send those ships to reinforce the NTR. I’m willing to take a risk with Crakista, but not too big of one. I…”
“Your Majesty,” said one of his security detail, running into the chamber.
“What is it,” said Sean, a feeling of dread shooting through him.
“It’s the Prime Minister. Her aircar has been shot down, and no one has heard from her for several minutes.”
That dread grew to near panic in the Monarch. There were not many reasons someone on a Core World could not call for help, and death was the most likely.
*
Countess Haruko Kawasaki was really too busy to leave her office for too long a period of time. That said, part of her job was to get a firsthand look at the preparations of the Empire for the current war. She didn’t have to leave the system, at least not yet, until the wormholes opened up fast travel. She had been invited to the Donut, and was really looking forward to a tour of that marvel. But for now, the Home System was as far as she had gone.
“What did you think about the division, ma’am?” asked Constance Furst, her aide, who had accompanied her on the tour of the base.
“I was most impressed,” said the Prime Minister, thinking back on the images of the entire armored division standing out in the hot sun for her to look at. Hundreds of tanks, most over a thousand tons. Thousands of men and women in heavy combat suits. Flights of aircraft, gunships and troop carriers. It makes me feel better to have that unit on my planet, she thought. Unfortunately, this will be their last day on my planet.
Tomorrow the entire division would board shuttles that would take them up to transports in preparation for their voyage to the front. A small cadre would be left behind, while some newly trained troops would fill their slots. And over the next couple of weeks a new armored division would be formed up at that base near the city of Frisco, on a peninsula off the northwest area of the continent. And they just won’t be as good as the unit they are replacing, not for quite some time. She shook her head, wondering what she was complaining about. There were people out on the frontier that needed these men and women more.
She looked out the window of the troop carrier she was riding in. The native temperate forests of Jewel passed by below. Every once in a while a habitation swept by, a small resort town, a lake fishing village. There were few roads to be seen, and those only the ones close to those habitations. Travel between cities and towns was by air, so there was no need to break wilderness areas up by running hardtops through them. There were, of course, ultra-high speed rail lines, all of them underground. And that kept the natural areas of the planet as clean and pristine as possible.
“I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes,” said the Aide, looking out another window. “They don’t have a chance on the ground when battleships come calling.
“Just don’t say that in public,” advised the PM with a frown. “I don’t want it on the news that any of my staff are harboring defeatist sentiments.” She left the rest of the message unspoken, that any such staff might find themselves without a job and shuttled as close to the battlefields as possible.
And actually, those men and women have a very good chance of surviving any kind of bombardment from space in their heavy armor, she thought, recalling the briefing by the division commander. Much more than light infantry or civ
ilians, even down in shelters. The real trouble comes when the Cacas start landing on the planet. But then, that’s why they’re there in the first place.
She looked out the window again, catching sight of the mountain range that ran down the center of the continent. The sun was low on the horizon, painting the peaks red and orange. Not long now, she thought. Ahead would be the coastal flatlands that led down to the city of Capitulum, and her home.
“Hold tight,” yelled the voice of their pilot while the aircraft dove and banked at the same time. The move was even beyond the capabilities of the inertial compensators, and the PM winced as her head hit the wall of the cabin, which was not padded like a normal civilian aircar.
The stingship flying alongside exploded, showering the woods below with pieces of flaming craft. Two more explosions boomed in the air, something coming in too fast to see being hit by something that also was moving too quickly to notice. Pieces of metal hit the side of the craft, and holes appeared in the hull.
Haruko screamed in terror as Constance’s head split open and her brains splattered the inside of the cabin. Something slammed into her, sparking off two of the nodes of the lift harness she wore while aboard the military transport. Something hit her in the head, and her vision blurred with red as pain shot through her skull. And then she was out in the air, her harness, damaged but still in operation, lowering her toward the ground. Even in her confused state she could tell that it was not working the way it was supposed to, and she was dropping faster than she should be.
Above her the aircraft she had been riding in blew apart as it was hit again. She cried out again and wanted to cover her eyes. She resisted that impulse, knowing that it would do her no good. And then she was falling through the trees, hitting branch after branch, one time smacking her head against a trunk and losing consciousness.
It was dark when she regained consciousness on the floor of a dark woods. It took her a moment to remember what had happened, and her head still hurt. She was sure that the nanites in her body would have repaired any serious damage, so the headache had to be residual.
Exodus - Empires at War 04 - The Long Fall (Exodus Series #4) Page 29
