Admiral's Nemesis Part II Page 13

  Media sucked in a breath while Policy lifted both hands.

  “No one’s going to prison. This is our time of greatest threat but also our biggest opportunity. The reason we agreed to support the new Grand Admiral may have been primarily the rebellion issues, which was only a factor because we didn’t have the strength to defeat him, but support him we did. We can use that,” said Policy.

  “How?” asked the Captain.

  “We attempt to lull him into a false sense of security,” said Isaak, “first we give him everything he needs, and then as much of what he wants as we can without actively cutting our own throats. We get out and push if need be and then we wait. An opportunity will present itself,” he smiled direly, “opportunities always present themselves,” he finished certainly.

  “That’s very cynical,” said the Captain.

  “But necessary,” Policy put in, “listen, first we strip away his supposed protection in the eyes of the people, his status as an Old Confederation officer, and then maneuver him into putting himself between us and the Imperial Fleet by helping to build a new robust Confederation Fleet.”

  “One that draws personnel from every world in this Sector,” cut in the former news anchor, a light growing in her eyes.

  “And from outside this Sector if possible,” cut in Isaak.

  “We can build a narrative that will have the populations of the Spine pull together in a big way,” she continued.

  “And have the people all but begging their leaders to increase our—I mean Confederation level—tax revenues,” Isaak smiled like a crocodile.

  Military grimaced at that, but Policy nodded and Media didn’t seem to care.

  “You make it all sound so cynical,” the Captain sighed.

  “You’ve been with us long enough to know how things work…Captain,” Policy added pointedly after a noticeable delay.

  The Captain flushed. “I’ve already said—“ he started

  “Peace. This isn’t about your ego,” Isaak snorted, “nor, sadly, is it about mine. We’re here to do what we’ve been doing ever since the Confederated Empire withdrew from these sectors: ensure the prosperity of our people and our own survival.”

  “If that’s your position and patriotism is almost meaningless, then war almost seems counterproductive,” replied the Captain.

  “If any man can win this coming war, much as I hate to say it, the Grand Admiral probably has the best chance of pulling it off,” Policy said.

  “I am a patriot, never doubt that, but I'm also a realist,” Isaak said firmly, “and the reality is that the Spine will get the best deal possible by one of only two ways: through outright victory in combat, which the Little Admiral will give us the best chance at, or by doing enough damage that when we get to the peace table we’re able to negotiate a favorable settlement.”

  “Again, an outcome depending on the Little Admiral,” sighed the Captain.

  “Yes, but in only one of those scenarios is the Tyrant of Cold Space likely to have a power base strong enough that we would have to continue accommodating him,” said Policy.

  “Right,” Isaak agreed visibly brightening. He rubbed his hands together, “But enough about another blasted Montagne. Right now what we need to be worried about is how we’re going to acquire the Speakership.”

  “You mean how we’re going to make you Speaker,” said the Captain.

  “Potato/Potahto,” Isaak said dismissively.

  “The same dynamics that existed at the start of this convention are with us today. No one wants to see an MDL-Faction dominated Assembly,” Policy said smoothly.

  “The only difference is that now that they’ve seen the Governor, they’re still not flocking to our banners. I can spin anything and make it look good, but first you have to give me something to spin!” said the former news anchor.

  “Supporting the Tyrant into the top slot in the Fleet hasn’t just sat poorly with our own Sector Delegates, it's hurt us among the hard line anti-machinist faction in MDL. They were starting to break away with their current leadership over the issue when we threw our own support behind him,” agreed the Military Adviser.

  “We have no choice,” stated Policy bringing the eyes back on him, “we have to secure the Speakership for our party, and right now that means the Governor,” he nodded in Isaak’s direction.

  “We’ve got to have something to hang our hats on,” Media said with certainty.

  “I hate to admit it but if we can’t swing things with our current strategy then we might have to consider drastic measures,” Policy said finally.

  Military pressed his lips together tightly.

  When it became clear he wasn’t going to speak, all eyes swung towards the Governor.

  “Sir, I’m afraid…” Policy trailed off leadingly.

  “I know what you’re about to say, but put that on hold for now,” Isaak said giving the other man a flinty look, “despite your lack of faith in me, I do have another plan. If that fails then we can consider drastic measures.”

  “Then please let us in on your plan, Sir,” said Policy, “otherwise all we’re left with currently are grand and potentially self-destructive gestures to try and sway things.”

  “Such as?” asked the Military Adviser, realizing from the looks of things he was the only one who didn’t know what they were talking about.

  “Resignation, followed by a grand speech on the Assembly floor calling for unity,” Media said shortly and condescendingly.

  Isaak grimaced. “In essence, yes,” he said and then fell silent, “but, like I said, put that on hold for now.”

  “Again, what’s your plan?” said his top adviser.

  “As we are all well aware, for some time the new Grand Assembly has been struggling to decide on the location of its meeting place. No one is happy with basing it permanently in one Sector—unless of course it’s theirs,” he smiled wryly.

  “Your point? I take it you mean to concede the Capitol issue even though we’re currently winning it,” said Policy.

  “I plan to both concede and, at the same time, to win with style,” Isaak gloated and then looked up sharply, “you remember when we spoke about a mobile headquarters for the Assembly.”

  The older adviser nodded.

  “You said you had a promising lead and then we got busy and I heard nothing for a while and we got busy. It honestly slipped my mind,” said the older adviser.

  “It didn’t slip mine,” Isaak said.

  “What have you got?” Policy asked looking excited.

  Isaak smiled. “There will soon be the arrival of an aged monolith which, ironically enough, used to be a mobile Sector headquarters more than two century ago before it was decommissioned,” said the Governor.

  Policy looked surprised. “I know for a fact we didn’t have anything of the sort in this Sector two centuries ago,” he said with certainty.

  “Nobody said that it belonged to Sector 25—or even the Spineward Sectors for that matter,” said Isaak with relish, “it was an old heartlander construction dated back to shortly after the AI wars and only decommissioned recently.”

  “Two hundred years is a short time ago?!” his Military Advisor protested.

  “Compared to the AI wars it is,” Policy said shortly.

  “Does it still run? That’s the real question,” said their Media Advisor, “something that old, well…if anything went wrong with the ship everything would be laid right at the feet of the esteemed Governor.”

  She looked surprised when the Governor turned suddenly hot eyes on her.

  “Well it would,” she protested defensively.

  “That’s not what I was upset by,” he replied turning his gaze away.

  She released a pent up breath. “They built those things to last,” said the elderly adviser, steering the conversation back to where it belonged.

  There was a pregnant pause before Isaak grimaced and gestured at the table where a new image immediately sprang up.

  “It was co
mpletely refurbished into a floating pleasure palace…” eyes perked up around the table, “before it was captured by pirates and converted back into a mobile slave auction and clearing house,” reported the Governor.

  “Converted ‘back’ into a mobile slave auction house,” the Captain’s said hollowly.

  “It was originally intended as a prison transport, and served that purpose for several decades before being mothballed later due to politics. Eventually it was converted into a mobile Sector headquarters as a cost saving-measure and, although it was never actually used, it was maintained in service at inactive status for several hundred years before finally being sold off,” explained the Governor.

  “Intense,” Media said, her eyes shining as she immediately began contemplating new media strategies based around this new addition to the political equation.

  “It served the heartland well and now it will serve its new function as host of the Spineward Sectors’ Grand Assembly moot just as effectively,” Governor Isaak said with satisfaction.

  “Assuming the Grand Assembly will accept it,” cautioned Military.

  The Governor and his former colleague, the Policy Adviser, shared a chuckle. “We sacrifice basing the new Grand Assembly in Sector 25 and provide them a mobile base that not only can visit any of their Sectors at any time, but also allows them to avoid an Imperial attack on a fixed position? They’ll be all but jumping at the opportunity,” Policy said dryly.

  “It also has the beauty of allowing a speedy government evacuation so that the Spine can heroically keep fighting long after Jason Montagne has been destroyed by Cornwallis,” Isaak sneered, “or, alternately, to quickly arrive at the scene of victory to laud our hero, pin on a metal, and then snatch up as many hulls for the Confederation as our tow ships—and an emergency bill rammed through the Assembly—can manage.”

  “After all, the Grand Admiral,” he sneered, “will be fighting a full-fledged Imperial fleet this time, not the hum scrum of an Imperial cadre in local ships and overwhelmingly manned by Spineward locals. Either way, the losses the Little Admiral and his accursed MSP sustain will have to be brutal.”

  “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves here and start counting our chickens before they hatch,” warned Policy, “we want to be the ones giving the other side enough rope to hang himself by, not the other way around.”

  “A definite point, and well taken,” Isaak said, the raging fire in his eyes banking back into a fitful slumber.

  “I hate to be the stick in the mud here but can we afford all this? The Monolith, I mean,” the Military Adviser asked uneasily, looking up from the ship specs for the old monolith now that there was a break in the conversation.

  “Commodore Bluetooth can be…persuasive, when it suits him,” chuckled the Governor, “and I did mention before that it was being used by slavers.”

  “I didn’t mean that,” the Captain said with a grimace, “I meant the refurbishment. That’s going to burn a hole through somebody’s budget and if it’s not done on time…”

  “Oh the refit’s almost done,” the Governor said dismissively, “the Aegis Yards were more than happy to accept the business, part of the reason they were willing to hold their votes on Montagne during the Grand Admiral issue,” he said wryly, “as for budgetary concerns, let’s leave that to the treasury, hmm? You just focus on the military picture while I lock down the political side of things.”

  “This will definitely help things,” said Policy with a satisfied nod, “I knew there was a reason I hitched my star to yours—besides pure, blind idealism of course.”

  “You are the least idealistic person I know,” grunted Isaak.

  The other man just smiled like a well fed snake. After a while the smile slowly faded and he turned serious again.

  “While this will help, and I dare say secure your position as faction leader for the foreseeable future, it may still not be enough for the Grand Speakership,” said the Advisor.

  The Governor’s eyes immediately cut back toward his adviser.

  “I wasn’t aware that my position was quite that unstable,” Isaak said stonily.

  “Well now you know. It’s my job to keep you focused and on task. You knew there was a risk and now there isn’t. That still leaves securing the top slot,” said Policy.

  The Governor gave a humorless smile. “You and I are going to have to work on our lines of communication,” he said.

  “Of course,” Policy said unrepentantly, “but if we can’t lock up both the faction and the Speakership we need to consider alternatives.”

  The Governor took a deep breath. “This is not what I wanted to hear. We took great risks sending the flotilla into Sector 26 to secure this Monolith and now you’re telling me after everything it’s still not enough,” said the Governor.

  Policy splayed his hands. “Nothing is certain in politics, you know that,” he said with a hard look, “at a certain point there’s only so much the rest of us can do for you. You are the one who has to lead, Isaak.”

  Isaak nodded sharply and then sat back. He poured himself a cup of water and slowly drank it.

  “While I prefer to win outright, I do have a fallback position,” he said humorlessly.

  “What, Minister of Defense? Head of the Budgetary Committee?” asked Media with surprise.

  “Nothing so plebian…” he said, pulling back with a frown.

  There was a pause as everyone looked at him expectantly.

  “Confederation Prime Minister,” Governor Isaak said at last.

  “Prime Minister?” Military asked with surprise.

  “It’s a generally powerless head of state position that no one really wants. But,” Isaak smiled darkly, “while the Head of State in the old Confederation was a powerless, toothless position, a Moral Authority in name only, and one that no one wanted, who’s to say that Prime Minister of the Confederation of the Spine wouldn’t be an entirely different affair…especially depending on who the first Prime Minister is?” he added leadingly. “In the beginning a Prime Minister had wielded actual power in the Old Confederation, it was only later that the powers of that office were…curtailed.”

  “For good reason,” Policy remarked firmly, “too much concentration of power in one person’s hands…” he trailed off and a smile started to grow on his face, “it would have to be very carefully done, but I suppose it’s doable. We did base our new constitution on the original Confederation charter after all,” he said finally.

  “We just have to ‘guide’ which amendments the assembly brings up for consideration,” Isaak agreed.

  “Or slightly modify the original wording,” said Policy.

  The two old politicians shared a meaningful look of mutual understanding.

  “This doesn’t sound entirely legal,” said their Military Adviser uneasily.

  “Of course it’s legal! We’re lawmakers,” Isaak said firmly, “or at least I’m a lawmaker and you all are on my staff. It’s literally your job to help me draft bills that will be voted on to make new law. But you’re right, in a way. We don’t want to be brought up on ethics charges.”

  “We’ll need a patsy,” said Policy his eyes suddenly calculating.

  “Someone stupid enough for the job,” said Isaak.

  “But well enough connected that it could realistically seem like it was his or her idea,” agreed Policy.

  “Now that I think on it a moment, I have just the person in mind,” said Policy.

  Chapter 15: Easy Haven Receives Troubling News

  “Is it confirmed?” McCruise asked heavily as her hatchet face twisted into an even more ugly than usual expression.

  “A local mining freighter carrying the Grand Fleet of Liberation’s general broadcast message put sensors on the fleet before being escorted away from the formation, boarded, and its computers files copied before being allowed to return to leave the Overton Exanse and return to the Spine with its cargo intact,” reported the captain, “they got the whole database.”


  “So they know everything that freighter knew about the Spineward Sectors. Blast,” McCruise cursed in a low voice but with feeling, “well there goes any hope of keeping Easy Haven out of this mess. Faint as it was,” she turned to look at him, “now what was it I hear about fleet codes?”

  “The codes embedded into the general broadcast check out with security,” the Chief of Staff said neutrally, “it would appear that, by order of the Grand Assembly, all Confederation forces are to submit themselves to Imperial inspection and are to render any and all assistance in turning this region of space over to the Empire.”

  “They can’t do that! It’s a complete violation of the Confederation charter,” exclaimed Captain Far-Bright.

  “Legal informs me that, technically, a case could be made that we are in a state of rebellion, due to unpaid taxes…of more than five years now. Technically the Confederation has the right to seize anything up to entire planets to pay back taxes using the eminent domain clauses. It’s only been exercised a few times our history but…” McCruise said neutrally.

  “So because they abandoned us, cut all communications and then blew up what little mega-governmental structures remained and we couldn’t find a way to send a treasure fleet back to the Confederation capital after all this, they get to say we’re rebels because of back taxes and can sell us to the Empire? This is outrageous,” the Captain said with growing fury.

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying,” she retorted sharply, “my point is that we are sworn to uphold the Confederation charter and according to that very charter, if they can do it legally then our oaths are still valid,” McCruise said unhappily. “We may hate it and we can petition the Fleet, the Government and the Civil Liberties watch dog organizations for help. We even have the option to resign our commissions in protest. But if we stay in this fleet and we fail to follow orders then this goes beyond a series of just actions taken while cut off from Confederation authority and the chain of command—it goes straight into mutiny and, potentially, treason charges.