Christopher Nuttall - Barbarians at the Gates

He smiled. “If we gain access to Hartkopf’s space without fighting, Admiral Justinian won’t know about our advance until our missiles strike his bases in Marx. And by then it will be too late for him to react effectively. He will have to fight us on our terms—the one thing he has consistently refused to do—and he will lose that battle.”

“You seem very sure that he will lose,” Alison pointed out.

“I am confident,” Marius admitted. “We have worked our crews hard, training them and preparing for the grand offensive. The admiral cannot have massed the same level of mobile firepower. It all comes down to sheer mass and firepower, Senator, and we will have the advantage.”

For once, he was grateful for their limited understanding of military affairs. The bare bones of the plan were sound, but he’d altered several details. If Admiral Justinian did receive warning—perhaps even a detailed copy of the operational plan—he’d be misled. It would work either way; if the admiral took precautions, it would divert him from the real target, and if he failed to catch wind of the plan, he would miss the preparations entirely.

And, best of all, there would be no leaks because the only person who knew the real plan was Marius himself.

“We will consider your proposal,” Brockington said after another long pause. “We wish, however, to detail another operational change.”

Here it comes, Marius thought.

“It is regrettably true that many units of the Federation Navy have shown remarkable disloyalty in this time of chaos,” Brockington said smoothly. “We have had entire squadrons going over to warlords, or turning to piracy and carrying out depredations on entire planets. This cannot be tolerated.

“It has therefore been enacted that all starships will carry with them as part of their crews a Senatorial Commissioner, whose task will be to ferret out disloyalty and corruption wherever it might fester. The larger starships will also carry with them a company of Internal Security Division troopers, who will provide the muscle to deal with any disloyal officers and crew. The Marine detachments who would have normally provided internal security will be reconfigured into landing parties for the conquest of warlord-held worlds.”

Marius kept his face impassive, but he knew Vaughn wouldn’t be happy. Nor would anyone else.

“Furthermore, as there will be delays in communicating with the Senate, the commissioners will have command authority, with standing orders to overrule any orders that suggest disloyalty,” Brockington said. “We trust, admiral, that you will make their introduction as smooth as possible.”

If he hadn’t been warned, Marius knew, he would probably have been staring in horror.

“Senator,” he said carefully, “while I understand the need to ferret out disloyalty, I must protest at granting commissioners command authority. It is a principle of the Federation Navy that only the captain possesses absolute authority onboard his vessel. Adding in a separate source of command authority would only cause confusion at the worst possible time…”

“The commissioners are loyal,” Brockington said flatly. “It is that loyalty that makes them suitable for their role.”

“But do they know what they are doing in a war zone?” Marius asked angrily. “A person issuing orders without the right military background could…”

“Enough,” Brockington said sharply. “We have enacted their function into law. Further arguments are counter-productive. We will consider your proposal, admiral. Until then, I must ask you to wait outside.”

Marius nodded, saluted, and left the room.

“A very dangerous man,” Alison observed after the door closed behind the admiral. “Did you see his reaction to the commissioners? Why would he have such a reaction unless he had something to hide?”

“His concerns are valid,” Rupert pointed out dryly. “An untrained man could do a great deal of harm with a starship at his command.”

“But he was willing to offer Hartkopf the chance to live,” Alison countered. “How can we trust him to know where his best interests lie?”

“They lie with his wife, now,” Rupert said. “We chose carefully. They will not be able to help falling in love. Despite their different ages, they have a great many things in common.”

“Enough,” Brockington said. “We agreed to use Drake and we have no alternative, not now. We need to agree to his proposal and allow him to approach Hartkopf. We can always go back on it later.”

He stared down at his hands. “And when the war ends…?”

“We remove Drake,” Alison said flatly. Her voice, cold and ruthless, would have shocked many of her constituents. “We can deal with the other warlords without him.”

Rupert wasn’t too surprised. Like all of the Senators, Alison was more interested in maintaining her power than anything resembling fairness and justice.

Rupert allowed himself a cold smile. “And what about Lady Tiffany’s feelings?”

“Not our problem,” Alison said sharply. “The feelings of one little girl are of no concern to us, not when the entire Federation is at stake. She will find someone else.”

“Agreed,” Brockington said. “A trial would be too dangerous, not with the degree of loyalty Drake has built up over three years. We have the tools on hand. I’ll issue the orders personally. Once the war is over, Admiral Drake will be a dead man.”

From: The Chaos Years (5023)

Admiral Drake’s grand plan to terminate the war, once approved, went ahead at considerable speed. New warships were fitted out, new crews were trained and put into position and research into new weapons and tactics went on apace. In the meantime, the shooting war between the two rogue warlords continued, although neither side launched a major offensive.

The Senate’s paranoia, however, was growing ever stronger. The assignment of political commissioners to the Federation Navy was only the start. New Internal Security Divisions were created and sent to garrison worlds that were even mildly suspected of disloyalty. Thousands of undercover agents were infiltrated into every spectrum of society. The penal worlds soon started receiving thousands of unwilling colonists who had been accused—often with very flimsy evidence—of disloyalty.

It wasn’t long before the first effects were seen on Earth, or the Core Worlds. Historically, the Senate had been more careful, for the citizens of Earth and the Core Worlds could vote the Senators out of office. But now, the Senate was willing to flex its collective muscle on Earth, using its power to crack down on all kinds of discontent. Striking workers were arrested and jailed at their command—without trial—and the military was used to maintain order. Would-be politicians were arrested, charged with pro-rebel sentiments and exiled from Earth. Planetary Governments, historically autonomous, were overruled at will. Press freedoms, long held inviolate by the Senate, were slowly weakened until most media outlets became nothing more than mouthpieces for the Senate. Protest groups, always swift to form when the Senate overstepped itself, were harassed and broken.

And the tighter the Senate cracked down, the greater the cracks that appeared within the Federation…