Christopher Nuttall - Democracy's Might

Colin sighed. Nine times out of ten, someone who was essential to the smooth functioning of Earth’s depleted infrastructure was also someone the underground wanted to execute. And that someone wasn’t above making deals for immunity in exchange for sharing his knowledge of how the system actually worked. One day after the fall — one day — and the planet felt on the verge of chaos.

“It wouldn’t,” he said, as they reached the medical centre. “But we can’t please everyone, can we?”

Inside, it was surprisingly luxurious, with a dedicated medical team trained to cope with any emergency. Colin allowed a nurse to lead them into a side room, where Jeremy lay on the bed. He smiled weakly up at Colin when he arrived, then sat upright and saluted.

“I’m sorry about Shadow , sir,” he said. “I know she meant a great deal to you.”

Colin nodded. Shadow had been his first real command, even if he’d had to mutiny to take the command chair. She would always be special to him. But he’d checked the files at Morrison and Shadow had been sent to the breakers. It was possible, he knew, that her hull was still intact, but she wouldn’t be the same. He’d sent an urgent message anyway, hoping to preserve her for posterity.

“Don’t worry about her,” he said. “Are you all right?”

“I should be ready to return to duty in… well, now,” Jeremy said. “They keep poking and prodding at me, but there doesn’t seem to be anything really wrong.”

“Good to hear it,” Colin said. “And once they discharge you, properly, report for duty. We have a lot of work to do.”

“They won,” Penny said, quietly.

“So they did,” Wachter agreed.

Penny looked over at him, sharply. There was no point in lying to herself and pretending that she hadn’t fallen in love with the Admiral, but she had been nervous about making the first move. And he’d been a perfect gentleman during the time they’d shared a cabin. He hadn’t even looked at her while she was sleeping, as far as she could tell.

“They did offer you a place,” Penny said. “Are you going to take them up on it?”

Wachter hesitated, then nodded.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Penny said. “Maybe you can reform the Imperial Navy as a whole.”

“Maybe,” Wachter agreed. “The Empire just lost its core. Whatever you think of the Thousand Families, they kept the Empire together. Now their power is shattered. The shockwaves may prove impossible to navigate.”

“Not for you,” Penny said.

Wachter looked at her for a long moment. “I hope so,” he said, finally. “And you will be coming with me?”

“Yes, sir,” Penny said. “If you’ll have me, that is…”

He held out a hand to her. “Yes,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Together, they walked out to face the future.

Tiberius had overseen the transfer of most of his family to Luna, where they would be safe from the chaos threatening the security of Earth, then found himself at a loose end. The Household Troops had already been surrendered to the rebels — the Provisional Government , he had to remind himself — but he wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of the family’s holdings. Centuries of tradition and procedure had been swept away at the stroke of a pen.

Not everyone had gone along with it, he knew. Lady Madeline had vanished completely, which was surprising, while Lord Bernadotte’s body had been discovered in his mansion. A brief investigation had failed to raise any leads; Tiberius suspected, privately, that they would never discover who had killed him. There were no shortage of people who had wanted Lord Bernadotte dead.

“My Lord,” Sharon said, “you have an invitation to visit one of the rebel ships.”

“Understood,” Tiberius said. It wasn’t a real invitation, he knew, more of a polite command. The rebels controlled the high orbitals and the High City, while the underground controlled the rest of the planet. “Tell them I’m on my way.”

He’d expected to be summoned to the rebel flagship. Instead, the shuttle took him to a heavy cruiser, one that had been extensively modified. Tiberius wondered, absently, just who had summoned him; the rebels in charge of their industrial base had yet to reach Earth. Hell, they didn’t even know that Earth had fallen and the war was over. But as the shuttle landed, he put the thoughts to one side. There were no shortage of people who wanted him dead too. It was quite possible that, whatever the treaty might say, some of the rebels wanted private revenge.

The guards searched him, then marched him through the corridors and into a small room. A red-headed woman sat at a table, with a slight oriental woman standing right behind her. She looked unimportant and yet there was something about her that nagged at Tiberius’s mind, something oddly familiar.

“Good afternoon,” the redhead said. “Do you know why you were called here?”

“No,” Tiberius said. “I…”

“Next question,” the redhead said, interrupting him. “Do you know why your father and grandfather died?”

“My grandfather supported the Empress,” Tiberius said. There had been few details in the family archives about why he’d thought the Empress was worth supporting, but everyone knew the truth. But why would his father have died? “Why…”

He broke off, staring at the women. There were few pictures of the Empress available anywhere — the Thousand Families had worked hard to make her a non-person — but Tiberius had seen one of the surviving portraits. She had been short and slight… and there were limits to how many changes cosmetic surgery could make to a body.

“Yes,” Mariko said, simply. “The time has come to retake the Empire.”

Her brown eyes met Tiberius’s eyes. Despite her size, he read iron determination and a sheer strength that had kept her going during a massive reversal in fortune. But then, if she’d known that the patronage networks would eventually overthrow her, she might have been making preparations for her exile and return all along.

“I knew the Empire was doomed… and your grandfather knew it too,” she added. “Now, with the Thousand Families out of power, we can make real lasting change. And, just incidentally , preserve your position. Or do you think Colin can keep riding the tiger indefinitely?”

She smiled, almost girlishly, and held out a hand. “Join me?”

Tiberius hesitated. But he didn’t hesitate for long. There was no choice, he saw. Either he pledged himself to her or he wouldn’t leave the ship alive. And besides, she was right. The Provisional Government might not be able to keep a lid on the violence. If it lost control, he asked himself, who would look after the High City? Or prevent his workers from rising up against him?

Slowly, he reached out and took her hand.

Book One: Democracy’s Right

Book Two: Democracy’s Might

Book Three: Democracy’s Price (forthcoming)