Imperial Twilight

by Eric Thomson

  Ostensibly, he wanted to serve the governor as a trusted aide, an adviser, or perhaps even a chamberlain, someone to help relieve the incredible pressures of ruling a star system. Never mind that Elenia Yakin could manage easily with the counsel of her chief administrator, the head of her armed forces, and the speaker of the council.

  Fortunately, a majority of the politicals took what Lyonesse offered without complaint and kept a low profile within the community, aware their fate would have been much worse if it weren’t for Admiral Morane’s rescue and Lyonesse’s welcome. But Downes nevertheless managed to assemble a small, yet vocal group of dissidents comprising those who’d been most influential at Dendera’s court before her paranoia led to their sentencing and exile.

  Morane forcefully expelled Severin Rembert Downes from his thoughts and called up Sister Gwenneth’s latest progress report on the knowledge vault, moving from the utterly useless to the most vital thing on Lyonesse.

  **

  DeCarde left Command Sergeant Tejko and Number Five Troop, B Squadron, to wait aboard the rapid reaction squadron’s combat carriers parked outside Government House’s walls, where Downes and his cronies wouldn’t see them unless necessary. She drove in with her staff car, a silent, civilian pattern skimmer painted dark green and bearing Lyonesse Defense Force markings in black on either side.

  As she came around the curved driveway, DeCarde spotted a group of civilians milling about at the top of the grand stairs leading to Government House’s main entrance. They were blocked from entering by a rank of uniformed guards from the Rifle Regiment’s full-time component. The soldiers held their carbines at the port, across the front of their bodies, ready to repel intruders without opening fire.

  Downes’ grating nasal voice assaulted her ears the moment she climbed out of the car. He was haranguing the guard detail’s sergeant mercilessly, using every insult in the upper crust dictionary. The noncom, standing stiffly in the parade rest position, face blank, did his best to ignore the former count. His composure impressed DeCarde sufficiently that she made a mental note to tell Matti Kayne the man deserved a letter of commendation.

  “And what’s this?” DeCarde asked in a loud voice after plowing through the lordling cluster without a word of apology. “Mister Downes, will you kindly stop abusing my soldiers?”

  Downes abruptly fell silent as he turned his head toward the source of the interruption. His eyes widened when he took in the oak leaf wreath and three diamonds of a full colonel.

  “At last. The organ grinder,” he sneered. “Your monkey here doesn’t seem to understand a man of my rank has automatic access to a mere honorable, though she is a star system governor.”

  “And what rank would that be?” DeCarde asked in a tone so dripping with honey that a faint smile relaxed the sergeant’s tense features. “As far as I’m aware, you’re neither a member of the defense force nor any of the municipal police forces or the Lyonesse government.”

  “I’m a count, you bloody uniformed imbecile.” Downes’ outraged glare was almost comical. “No Guards officer would dare address me in such a manner. They’re much too professional. But then Imperial Marines were never known for their couth.”

  “Aha,” DeCarde drawled, “I think I know the reason for this little misunderstanding. Would you like me to share my theory with you?”

  “The only thing I want to hear is you ordering these,” he waved his fingers at the guards in disgust as he searched for an appropriate epithet, “creatures to step aside and let me in.”

  “So I take it that’s a no? Shame, it’s such a good theory.” She glanced at the guard detail noncom. “Are you interested, Sergeant?”

  “Yes, sir,” he barked out.

  “See, I think Mister Downes is suffering from severe delusions. He seems to believe he’s a count even though there’s no such thing as titles of nobility on Lyonesse. He also appears to be under a misapprehension I’m an Imperial Marine Corps officer when this star system isn’t part of any empire. And, to top it off, he used the word Guards and professional in the same sentence when everyone knows doing such a thing violates every law of nature. What do you figure, Sergeant?”

  “I think you’re right, sir.”

  DeCarde turned a cold smile on the nonplussed ex-nobleman.

  “So, Mister Downes, am I right? Are you suffering from delusions or are you merely an insufferable twit who can’t take no for an answer? Think it over for a moment. If you’re deluded, my troopers can bring you to the Lannion General Hospital for observation in the mental ward. If, on the other hand, you’re an insufferable twit, I can toss your entitled ass out into the street, along with of your similarly disagreeable cronies. Or you could leave under your own power and never again enter Government House grounds unless invited or summoned. If Governor Yakin were prepared to receive you, her secretary would have let the guard commander know. Since that didn’t happen, I daresay you’re not welcome.”

  Downes snorted with derision.

  “I’d like to see you lay your hands on me, Colonel. Facing a court-martial will be the least of your problems.”

  “Not that I can’t pick you up by the scruff of the neck and give you the bum’s rush, Mister Downes, but here are your choices. Leave now and stay away or face arrest.” She let her eyes roam over the assembled former political prisoners. “A troop of Pathfinders is waiting by the gate for my signal to incarcerate you in the Lannion Base stockade until the Lyonesse attorney general decides whether charges for trespassing and threatening the governor’s safety are warranted.”

  Downes locked eyes with her in a futile struggle for mastery before snarling, “You’ll regret this, Colonel. Mark my words.”

  “I already regret bringing Tanith to Lyonesse, as does Admiral Morane. Don’t make us shove you back into stasis and send you off toward the galactic center at sublight speed.”

  After a final, albeit silent sneer, Downes turned to his friends.

  “I think we made our point. Hopefully, Elenia will find the courage to reconsider the foolish notions these colonial yokels forced down her throat.”

  DeCarde turned her eyes heavenward at his unthinking words. She couldn’t think of anything less likely to make Yakin take Downes seriously than an accusation she lacked courage. And since it was a given she’d been watching this little drama via the security system…

  Or was Downes really so arrogant he didn’t think belittling the woman he wanted to petition would be held against him?

  “There’s a difference between hope and fantasy, Mister Downes. Try to stay with us in the real universe.” DeCarde adopted the parade rest position beside the guard detail sergeant and watched them leave.

  Once the former nobles vanished into Lannion proper, Government House’s main door opened and Wickham Sanford stuck his head out.

  “Colonel, the governor would like to offer you a cup of tea and bend your ear for a few minutes. She understands if duty calls you elsewhere.”

  DeCarde glanced at him over her shoulder.

  “If I can beg the governor’s indulgence for a few minutes, I’d like to speak with the guard detail before accepting her kind invitation.”

  “Of course. She’s in the small conference room and asks that you join her when you’re ready.”

  Sanford disappeared into Government House’s shadows.

  DeCarde stepped back so she could take in the entire guard detail.

  “Stand easy, folks. What you did this morning was solid. Holding your ground without resorting to force was precisely the right thing to do, unpleasant as it might be. And Sergeant, kudos for making it seem as if you couldn’t even hear Severin Downes’ foul language. Decking the filthy sonofabitch would have been more satisfying, I know, but when we’re exercising police functions, we can’t go around beating up on civilians.”

  “Thank you, sir. It wasn’t easy. My parents came here to escape jerks like him and his buddies. But I figure the sergeant major would
chew me a new one if I indulged in a bit of asshole bashing. Can I ask why the Lannion Police didn’t come to deal with this? Hauling in civilians who are trespassing and threatening to riot is their job. The only thing they told me when I called was it’s on star system government premises and not their problem. When we were briefed, the centurion told us local law enforcement dealt with anything short of direct threats to the governor and Government House.”

  “No idea, Sergeant, but I’m sure the admiral will sort it out.”

  “Yes, sir. Maybe he can set up a military police unit if this is how it’ll be. We’re infantry, not cops trained to deal with unpleasant citizens.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what he does. Any more question or comments?” When the noncom shook his head, she checked with each of the Rifle Regiment soldiers, but they imitated their leader. “Then I’ll let you get back to your duties. Until further notice, report any issues to the Lannion Base operations center directly, since the local cops don’t seem to give a damn.”

  “Yes, sir. Detail, atten-SHUN.”

  The sergeant and DeCarde exchanged salutes before she entered Government House.

  — 24 —

  Morane glanced up from the weekly logistics report the moment he spied movement outside his office door.

  “So?”

  DeCarde grinned. “Problem solved with no injuries other than to Severin Downes’ damnable pride, sir, though I doubt I made much of an impression on him. The governor asked me in for tea and biscuits afterward. Seems like a lot of politicals are slamming Government House with petitions, requests, demands, pleas, and whatever since we released them into the community. Unacceptable lodgings, unpalatable food, demeaning work, impolite government officials, you name it, they complained about it.

  “Even we valiant defense force troops get our fair share of abuse. Yakin showed me a few of the more colorful messages. For example, you’re a tyrannical, self-promoted sadist with delusions of adequacy while I’d be rejected as a Guards private on grounds of congenital cretinism. And that was one of the least insulting among them.”

  Morane rolled his eyes and sighed.

  “Wonderful.” He gestured at the chair in front of his desk. “Tell me everything.”

  “The only ones not targeted for abuse are Her Excellency, Gus Logran, and Speaker Hecht, though a few apparently hinted they consider Yakin a traitor to her social class.” DeCarde sat before continuing with an air of distaste. “Setting the politicals loose gave them access to public communications nodes, and they’re vomiting up every single grievance accumulated since day one. Downes and his closest followers are merely the most vocal and active of the lot. They represent the tip of the garbage dump as Madame Yakin put it, which should tell you she’s quickly shedding her legendary politeness. She asked me to tell you she wishes we’d left Tanith to her fate in the Parth system.”

  “The governor, you, me, and everyone one else forced to deal with the whiny buggers. Except there were a few aboard who deserved rescuing, such as Friar Locarno and the abbey’s newest novice.” Morane sat back in his chair. “You know, maybe we should offer to move the lordlings and their families to an offshore island where they can set up their own little kingdom and call each other duke, earl, count — whatever tickles their fancy — and pretend the empire is eternal.”

  “Those useless twits would starve within a week. It’s a nice idea, though. But back to this morning. The governor asked if I thought her gathering the politicals together and laying out the facts of life might help.”

  “I trust you told her she shouldn’t acknowledge the complaints in any way? Petitioning a star system governor should be reserved for important matters, not the mewling of entitled layabouts unhappy they can’t live it large on the backs of ordinary citizens anymore.”

  “In the most direct Marine fashion I could muster and stay within the bounds of decorum. I also suggested we shift the guard post to the main gate and thereby avoid another mini-riot on the veranda. She agreed. I’ve asked the supply section to make a nice-looking gatehouse from a spare container, so the troops don’t stand out in the rain. As you may have noticed, this place is rather damp a lot of the time.”

  “Part and parcel of living a few clicks inland from a subtropical ocean. Good thinking, though.”

  She gave him an ironic, albeit seated bow.

  “I’m not just a scary face. One thing the governor mentioned worries me, though. Gus Logran’s been hinting he could hire a lot of the lordlings into the colonial administration — not exactly no-show jobs, but appointments with grandiose titles, a living wage, and little by way of menial work. Create several committees, commissions, advisory boards, that sort of thing.”

  An involuntary groan escaped Morane’s throat.

  “It’s all we need. Bureaucratic bloat, Wyvern-style. As soon as you make someone like Downes chair of an advisory board, he’ll damn well try to advise you. By force if necessary. Since the council needs to vote on enlarging Logran’s budget so he can pay for those not exactly no-show jobs, I trust Speaker Hecht opposes the idea?”

  DeCarde grimaced.

  “The governor says that so far, Hecht has been suspiciously quiet and why would he object if supporting the scheme means Logran owes him? Hecht is big on snaring people into his web via unspoken political favors, something I’m sure you noticed.” A mischievous smile lit up her face.

  “Logran and Hecht better not dream up a defense oversight committee staffed by Downes and company, because that’s where I draw the line.”

  “I doubt the governor would allow something that egregious, not to mention the elected council members who won’t accept a committee of appointees interfering in matters reserved for the legislature. But there are probably plenty of less visible areas where they can cause no end of mischief. And yes, I told the governor you’d react this way upon hearing about Logran’s idea and Hecht’s lack of visible opposition.”

  “Good. The last thing we need to do is resurrect the empire’s mistakes in miniature just so Gus Logran can please a handful of blowhards for reasons I can’t fathom.”

  “He’s a career colonial office man, Admiral. A creature of the metastasized imperial administrative apparatus. He doesn’t believe, in his heart of hearts, that the empire is crumbling, leaving us alone, cut off and free to choose a different path. I’ll bet good old Gus, Colonial Office drone that he is, figures kissing up to people who once wielded real power on Wyvern and might again someday, could help his career.”

  “You think Logran’s that deluded?” Morane cocked a skeptical eyebrow.

  “Yep. And he’s not the only one on Lyonesse still wondering whether we’re deserters from the Imperial Armed Services who exaggerated the situation for personal gain, now that memories of the reiver raid are fading.”

  “Where are you getting this, Brigid? Last time I checked, building an intelligence service was way down on our list of action items.”

  A smirk accompanied DeCarde’s conspiratorial wink.

  “You don’t need an intelligence service if half of your troops are part-timers who live and work among the civilian population. Matti Kayne likes to pass along the local gossip when my brigade’s command team gets together for coffee once a week. I presume he picks it up at happy hour in the company canteens after a training weekend or from shooting the bull with his own command crew.”

  “And when were you going to share this with me?”

  She gave him an unrepentant look.

  “There’s enough on your plate without you wasting brainpower worrying about local yokels, conspiracy theorists, those who are nostalgic for the trappings of empire and other strange creatures infesting our little corner of heaven.”

  “Thank you. I think.”

  “On a related note, are you seeing Emma Reyes tonight?”

  Morane’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “Not that my private life concerns you, but yes. Why do you
ask?”

  “Since we’re discussing unofficial intelligence gathering—”

  “You mean gossip.”

  “Call it what you want, admiral. Some younger Rifle Regiment part-timers still studying at the university picked up evidence that more than a few faculty members are deeply unhappy with Order of the Void Brethren working on the knowledge vault.”

  “Not surprising. Emma mentioned a number of her professors view monastics with extreme suspicion. They’d rather we leave the knowledge vault entirely to the university, never mind it doesn’t have even a fraction of the spare capacity for such labor-intensive work.”

  “That’s well known, sure. But I just remembered something Matti mentioned the other day in passing and with what we just discussed, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a connection. It seems those disgruntled academics are talking about a cabal to challenge Emma’s chancellorship so they can remove her and appoint someone less favorable to the Void Brethren. Someone who’ll exercise greater, if not absolute control over the knowledge vault rather than let, and I quote, a bunch of damned mystics and military morons mess around with humanity’s legacy. That comes verbatim from a cabal member overheard by one of our soldier students the other day. She also overheard the same academic, in a separate incident, mention former Wyvern officials who might be inclined to help.”

  “Not wise to discuss such matters within earshot of students.”

  DeCarde made a face.

  “I get the feeling Emma’s opponents believe everyone shares their enlightened opinions.”