Christopher Nuttall - Democracy's Light

The Marines had arrived four hours later, which meant that someone had to have returned from Cottbus to report on the battle to Colin and his allies. Carola was actually quite interested to know what had actually happened — the report hadn’t included any data on losses to either side, although it had implied that the losses had been decisive for the Imperial Navy — but the Marines weren’t talking. They had merely walked into her Embassy and invited her to come with them. She hadn’t bothered to pretend that she had a choice in the matter, although she had been careful to film her departure between the two armour-clad men. If everything worked out as she hoped, it would serve as great propaganda.

Interesting , she thought, as the Marines led her into the Parliament Building. Hundreds of men and women were running around, some of them in a state of panic, much to her private amusement. Cottbus was over a thousand light years away, after all, although she had to admit that Wilhelm could have come directly to Earth in the wake of his victory. She doubted, however, that his forces had escaped unscathed, even with the help of the Nerds. Her husband would have to spend some time regrouping before he could advance.

Perhaps we should have just set out to attack Earth first , she thought, although she knew that that would have been a mistake. They might have managed to break through Earth’s defences — Colin had proven, after all, that they weren’t unbeatable — but they would have still had to reckon with the other rebel formations in the Core Worlds, to say nothing of the first-rank worlds. Luring a force out to Cottbus, where it could be broken, had been the only remaining possibility… and it had worked. The Parliament Building wouldn’t be in such a panic unless the losses had been serious, which meant that there was very little between her husband and Earth.

Her eyes flickered over the interior of the building as she was escorted into a section she didn’t recognise, although she had studied the building’s plans carefully. It looked more faded than the remainder of the building, as if it hadn’t been used for centuries, which was actually quite possible. Parliament hadn’t had a serious role for centuries. No one had been interested, until recently, in actually redecorating the building and it was a tribute to how well the original building had been constructed, back when Parliament might have had a serious role, that it had lasted so long. She already knew who she was going to see and, as the Marines ran her through a series of security checks and gently, but firmly, removed her terminal, she prepared herself.

The door opened, allowing her access to Colin’s office. He was standing in front of a holographic starchart, studying the blinking icons thoughtfully, before blanking it and turning to face her. She took the opportunity to look around his office, noting that it was barren, almost empty, apart from a comfortable chair. It took her a moment to realise that it had probably been pulled out of a starship’s bridge and wondered if it had come from the Lightning , the first starship Colin had captured and used against the Empire. There was no way to know, short of asking Colin, and she wouldn’t lower herself to ask.

“I imagine that you know why you’re here,” Colin said. His voice was curiously flat, something she decided probably concealed anger, or fear. His entire plan to reform and rebuild the Empire had just taken a serious beating. He had to be furious about the disaster, and yet there was little sign of it on his face. “What are you and your husband thinking?”

Uncharted waters , Carola thought, gleefully. Colin had been capable — hell, he’d been more than capable — when it came to fighting the Empire, when everything had been black and white. Now, facing a multi-sided war and knowing that the wrong action could cause more damage in the long run, he had far more difficulty in taking action. It wasn’t an unprecedented situation — human history had been full of them — but it was the first Colin had faced in his entire experience. She doubted that there was anyone alive with the kind of experience Colin needed.

“That we saw our own chance at power and took it,” she said. It felt so good to say it, after spending weeks buttering up the egos of power-seekers on Earth, while trying to mislead Parliament into accepting the Cottbus Sector as an independent state. She hadn’t been brought up to be bluntly honest, in a universe where speaking truth to power could have disastrous consequences, but when she was Empress of the Empire, she would change that. How could anyone survive and prosper when no one dared to tell them when they were making a mistake? “How are we any different from you?”

Colin looked at her, his expression unreadable. “You’re in this for power,” he said, slowly. “I wanted to reshape the Empire itself.”

“The same as us,” Carola said, calmly. “Dare I assume that you have a message you want me to pass on to Markus?”

“There will be no message,” Colin said, flatly. He looked down at her thoughtfully. “I studied the records of the battle carefully. Your husband lured my people into a trap, just as he did with the cruisers, and opened fire. There will be no peace.”

“I didn’t expect that there would be peace,” Carola said, keeping her voice calm. In one respect, it was little different from facing the social kings and queens of the Empire, although she was partly aware that the consequences would be less devastating. Colin, at least, had a sense of honour. He wouldn’t blast someone, or crush him or her socially, just for disagreeing with him. “I shall convoy that message to Markus…”

She stood up. “Sit down,” Colin said, sharply. Carola obeyed, surprised. “Who are your allies?”

Carola lifted an eyebrow. “Allies, sir?”

“I studied the records of the battle carefully,” Colin repeated, almost as if he was forming a case in front of a judge. “Your ships weren’t just brought up to their design specs, but equipped with technologies they shouldn’t have had. Where did they come from?”

Carola shrugged, as if it wasn’t important. “Cottbus was governed by a Clan that wanted to overthrow and replace Cicero as the premier shipbuilding Clan in the Empire,” she said. “They created an entire pool of talent that they intended to use to create new starships. Duplicating the arsenal ships was simple enough; duplicating everything else you showed the Empire took longer, but it was far from impossible.”

She leaned forward. “I should point out that, under the Moscow Accords, you have to return me to Cottbus,” she added. “You can’t keep me as a prisoner.”

Colin snorted. “Did you know that the Victorious attempted to launch missiles down towards the planet?” He asked. “The point defence caught them all, but if they had missed… shipkillers against a planetary surface is two-thirds of a scorching. The Victorious is nothing more than vapour now…and, as for you.”

He stood up in one smooth motion. “I rather feel that the Victorious’s attempt to decapitate the Provisional Government and, just incidentally, kill you as well puts us beyond the provisions of the Accords. You will be held as a prisoner until the war comes to an end, one way or the other.”

Carola stared at him. “The Victorious had no orders to bombard the surface of the planet,” she protested. “It only had orders to withdraw…”

“Perhaps your husband doesn’t want to share his power, or perhaps someone on the ship decided that it was their only chance to hurt the Empire badly enough to make organising resistance tricky,” Colin said. The door opened and a pair of armoured Marines entered. Carola couldn’t tell if they were the same Marines as the ones who had escorted her to Colin’s office. “Take her to the detention centre and hold her there.”