Christopher Nuttall - Democracy's Light

If that’s possible, he thought, bitterly. The Empire had changed so much in the months since he’d first heard that Colin Harper, a mere Commander, had raised the standard of rebellion in the Harmony Sector. Who would have believed that the very foundations of the Empire would shake and the Thousand Families — and the Empress they’d betrayed — would be forced to skulk around on Earth, the seat of their power, plotting to tear down a man many of them feared and hated? No one would have predicted that it would come to this — no one, apart from Colin… and the woman facing him, smiling a very slight smile. It was at times like that when he wondered how she managed to fool the remainder of the Thousand Families, including the ones who’d known her as the Empress Janice, into believing that she was simply Daria.

They don’t want to look , he realised, and shivered. They believed, firmly, in their own prejudices and someone who came from the Freebooters could never be taken seriously. They missed the fact that Daria, a woman in a man’s world, had built up a cadre of loyal Freebooters who would do anything for her, having survived and prospered in the most brutal of environments. They might whisper insults behind her back, they might underestimate her — after all, she was only a commoner as far as they knew — but they wouldn’t take her seriously. They wouldn’t realise the truth until it was too late to save them.

She’s going to be in the most powerful position of all , he thought, grimly. If she succeeds in her plan, she’s not just going to be Empress again, she’s going to be the supreme ruler of the Empire, the most powerful person in history. She could not only avenge such insults, but ensure that her own people rise to power… and I’m committed to helping her!

The thought was a bitter realisation. He’d found himself supporting her because his father had set matters up on the assumption that he would still be alive when the Empress finally returned, but now he was committed. Even if he went directly to Colin and confessed everything, it would mean the end for the Thousand Families. Colin would have no choice, but to strike as ruthlessly and decisively as possible and he would wipe out the entire structure. Tiberius had been carefully manoeuvring to keep as much as possible, but now… now, Colin would have all the excuse he needed to obliterate the Thousand Families. Daria had entrapped him as surely as if she’d tied him to her throne and forced him to play her game, knowing that he couldn’t even run.

“I hope you’re right,” he said, neutrally, feeling his senses reeling. He found himself looking at her in a whole new way, seeing past the face to the personality underneath, hungry for power and determined to take the Empire for herself. Perhaps, just perhaps, he could unseat her afterwards… or maybe she would strike first, once he was no further use to her. “The wedding is in two weeks, so don’t you think that you should make preparations to strike?”

“All in good time,” Daria said, calmly. She leaned forward, her long red hair falling down onto her breasts. It would have been almost seductive, but Tiberius could see the cold-hearted manipulation behind the motion. Somehow, he was sure that she might be willing to seduce him, or anyone else, but it would mean nothing to her. The normal human weaknesses had been burned out of her long ago. His father and his allies had created a monster. “I imagine that Pompey will be handling the security arrangements?”

“Unless Colin and his men insist on taking the lead,” Tiberius said. It wasn’t uncommon, when senior Family Members were involved, for their security staff to insist on taking point… and Colin certainly ranked higher than most of the Families, these days. “Would that be a problem?”

“Oh, perhaps,” Daria said, as if it was barely important enough to matter. She tossed her hair back and stood up in one smooth motion. She wore the standard Freebooter outfit, a tight-fitting shipsuit, as if it were a military uniform. It was strange, he realised numbly, that he hadn’t seen that before. “I’ll get in touch with you in a week’s time to arrange for the wedding surprise.”

He watched her leaving the room and scowled. She might just intend to blow up the entire wedding hall with all the guests, including him. It was hard to see how such an act would benefit her, but he’d learned not to underestimate her before… and she had her own agenda. The only guarantee he had was that he was still useful to her… and that wasn’t a sure-fire guarantee of anything. It would be easy to inform Colin of the truth, but that would mean certain destruction.

Bitch , he thought.

“Hey, are you finished with her?”

Tiberius looked up to see Gwendolyn. For a woman who was over seventy years old, old enough to remember Daria as the Empress Janice, Gwendolyn seemed to take a private amusement in posing as a sixteen-year-old, an act that fooled almost everyone. Tiberius had known better than to trust her completely — it was no secret that she thought she would make a much better Cicero than him — but it had still been a shock to discover that she had maintained links to the Empress for years.

“I suppose,” he said, reflecting on the double or triple meaning. Gwendolyn was yet another reminder of the dangers of opposing Daria. She could remove him and ensure that Gwendolyn became the Clan Head. “What do you want?”

“Charming as ever,” Gwendolyn said, taking Daria’s vacated seat and sitting in the perfect position to show off her legs. If Tiberius hadn’t known that they had come straight from the most fashionable cosmetic shop in the High City, he might have been impressed. As it was, the display was a little childish. “I was wondering if you knew what had happened to Carola?”

It took Tiberius a moment to place the name. “As far as I know, she’s in a detention centre,” he said, finally. Colin had sent her there after the news of Cottbus had finally arrived. It wasn’t something Tiberius could fault, even if the crisis provided some grounds for their own operations. “Why do you care?”

“Oh, I don’t,” Gwendolyn said. She crossed her long legs and smiled at him. “I merely wanted to talk with her again before she left the planet. She is truly a fascinating woman.”

“Well, go show Colin your body and ask him,” Tiberius snapped, angrily. She didn’t even flinch at his anger. “Go away. I’m busy.”

I wonder if this is how Percival felt , Colin thought, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the starchart. Sitting here, doing nothing and waiting for the hammer to fall .

The thought made him smile bitterly. He’d issued orders, the best orders he could under the circumstances, and now he had to sit back and wait while others carried them out — or died trying. It wasn’t something that sat well with him. He’d always led the Shadow Fleet into battle, into the firestorms of Harmony, First and Second Morrison and Earth itself, and now that he was too important to be risked, he had to remain on Earth while his friends and subordinates fought the battles without him.

He studied the starchart and tossed possibilities around in his mind. By now, he was sure, Admiral Wilhelm would have attacked Hawthorn and probably taken the planet, unless he’d committed a tiny force to it and Admiral Garland had slapped him back out of his complacency. Colin suspected that the planet had fallen, but he wouldn’t know until the message finally arrived through what remained of the ICN, or a destroyer playing messenger boy. Katy intended, or so she claimed, to raid Admiral Wilhelm’s forward bases, but what if she’d been mouse-trapped and destroyed at Hawthorn? There was no way to know until the messages arrived to update him, by which point they would be dramatically out of date themselves.