John Ringo: East of the Sun, West of the Moon

“That is… far beyond discussion at the moment ,” Megan temporized. Christ, if he went off and forced them to form another legion of cavalry… “But it’s certainly an interesting topic. Duke, I see Commons Member Walsh and I promised him a dance. If you could excuse me? I’ll be sure to drop by the Dog…”

“Club…” Meredith whispered fiercely.

“Club sometime soon. I hope to see you there!”

“Oh, absolutely,” the duke said, beaming. “And do think about getting a pet. They’re remarkable for how they can calm one.”

“I’ll seriously consider it,” Megan said, shaking their hands and moving off through the crowd. “Blast.”

“Not bad, not good,” Meredith whispered fast and low. “Two more votes and the Nawlins port upgrades are guaranteed. I think the canal is a wash. Walsh is on the Commerce Ports Committee, which is silly since he’s from a landlocked district in Sylania. He doesn’t support them but he wants the new legion in his district. Edmund is against it since the terrain isn’t good for training, support would be difficult and it would have to be marched to the coast. Also, if we do march them off, there goes all the funds. Get him the legion and he’ll go for the port. Get a guarantee on going for the port and you’ll get Pina, especially if you can get a contract guaranteed if there’s a port. But the legion, sorry, is going to have to go to Walsh and something will have to be done about marching it off. Wife’s Henutsen, not here tonight, I don’t know why.”

“Commons Member Walsh,” Megan said, smiling as they shook hands. “I do hope Henutsen is well; I was looking forward to her company tonight…”

“Who’s the brunette?” General Galbreath asked.

Edmund looked at Herzer and raised an eyebrow.

“Meredith Tillou, one of the other girls from the harem,” Herzer said after a moment. “Got a mind like a fricking computer. I’d love to have her on my staff except she’s an absolute ball buster. She was one of Paul’s consorts before the Fall and he kept her as a brain-locked sperm receptacle in the harem.” One muscle flexed in his jaw as he watched the pair expertly work the commons member. Without a female on the commons member’s arm, Megan was leaning far into his personal space, placing her hand on his upper arm and peering deeply into his eyes as they laughed about something. Herzer’s jaw flexed again.

“Is your fiancée a natural or what?” Galbreath said, softly. “I hope like hell she’s on our side.”

“She’s on… Megan’s side,” Herzer said. “She supports the invasion of Ropasa and the military. She wants New Destiny on toast and she’ll stop at nothing to get it. That means supporting the military. But don’t think she won’t compromise if she has to. As long as the long-term objective is, in her opinion, met.”

“I hope she’s not compromising us too much,” Edmund said, darkly. “Walsh wants in the legion in Sylania . What the hell is it going to do there?”

“You want the legion or not?” Galbreath snapped. “If it has to be in Sylania, and it’s trending that way, it has to be in Sylania. We’ll deal with it. If she gets us the Victrix in Chian I’m not going to bitch.”

“Victrix?” Herzer asked.

“Caesar’s legion was the Tenth Victrix,” Edmund said. “Somebody decided it would be a good name.”

“I know that,” Herzer said, frowning. “But it’s a hell of a name to hang on a legion that’s not even been funded yet.”

“Name, hell,” Galbreath said, gesturing with his chin at the room. “Half the officers at this ball are politicking for positions in it, including the ones from the private regiments. Everyone knows it’s the last legion we’re going to form in a decade at least. And every mother’s son that doesn’t have a steady job and every officer stuck in a logistics position and every commander of a private outfit that suddenly discovered the headaches and cost is trying to get into it. I think that right there is enough political push to get it formed. But what it will be made up of—”

“Damnit, Kav, that’s your job to fix,” Edmund said. “The officers should be the tactical and leadership cream. Not the cream of… of…” He waved his hand at the well-dressed throng and frowned.

“Whoops,” Herzer suddenly muttered. “I wonder what she wants out of us?”

He smiled and held out his hand as Megan approached.

“Councilwoman Travante,” Herzer said with a grin.

“Oh, God, Herzer,” Megan said, shaking her head. “Don’t start. General Talbot, Galbreath. We may have a legion. General Galbreath, if we can get the ports in Nawlins funded, I need a guarantee that the army will start using Kanaka Beef as a major supplier. I can probably get the port guaranteed, which in general will be a good thing for the nation, if we give Walsh the legion. I can definitely get it if we put another base in his district that isn’t going to march off to war. I’m thinking a basic training base or something of the sort. I know it’s out of the way and a bitch to support, sorry. But I need something here. Oh, and I need a guarantee that the primary embarkation port will be Balmoran since I’m going to have to shaft them on the canal temporarily.”

“I think you lost me in the middle there,” Edmund admitted. “But, yeah, we can put a base in his district. Not a basic training base, something smaller. Maybe a logistics training base. It’s a stupid place for it but logistics is about dealing with the difficult. Is there something you need me to do about the Nawlins port?”

Megan grinned. “Just tell your proxy to vote it.”

“Will do,” Edmund replied.

“The contract, if we have the port, and the embarkation we can do, easily,” Galbreath said. “KBC is a good supplier and I was sorry as hell when we had to go local. But the supply was just too spotty. If we’ve got the base and it can be sailed around Flora in reefer ships, we’re good.”

“If the legion is in Sylania, part of the materials can be shipped up the Oya River,” Meredith said. “Perhaps the majority that comes from KBC. That means using the Losville locks, which means we can probably get Duke Ruta on board for the legion if not the docks.”

“Got to go,” Megan said, nodding. “Gentlemen, could I steal my fiancé for just a moment?”

“Certainly, madame,” General Galbreath replied with a bow.

Megan, silently trailed by Meredith, led Herzer just outside the ring of aides and then put her arm around his waist.

“Hold me for just a second, will you?” she asked, leaning into his bulk.

“Always and anywhere, darling,” Herzer breathed, looking down at her blonde hair. The hairdo was beginning to wilt a bit in the heat but she still was, he thought, the most beautiful woman in the room.

“I have two spaces left on my dance card,” she said, leaning back and holding it up. “Put your name on them.”

“I hate to dance,” Herzer muttered, looking at the card. “And the last dance is free for me as well?”

“I’m not going to be here for the last dance,” Megan said tightly. “I’ve got a late meeting with Duke Dehnavi. Very respectable. Public. Etc. But… well, I have to go to it without a male companion. I’ll explain why later.”

“That’s fine,” Herzer said, flexing his jaw again.

“No, it’s not.” Megan looked up at him and shook her head. “Don’t lie to me. I’ll explain why later but I just…”

“I love you and it’s okay,” Herzer said. “I just hate being away from you. I want to be joined to you at the hip. Simple as that.”

“Then come out on the floor,” Megan said with a smile. “Instead of hiding in the corner.”