Shadow of Victory - eARC (68 page)

Breitbach’s smile turned into something much less cheerful, and he nodded sharply, tasting once again his elemental rage when he’d discovered how the Mesan Alignment had played him. Not, he reminded himself once again, that the Alignment had created the Mobius Liberation Front or the circumstances which had forced his own hand long before he’d intended to launch his rebellion.

And if they hadn’t “played you,” you wouldn’t’ve sent Ankenbrandt or Summers for help and you and Kayleigh would both be dead right now. Don’t forget that part, either, Michael!

“I’m going to leave my destroyers and a pair of heavy cruisers to keep an eye on you, backed by a couple of squadrons of Captain Weiss’ LACs under Captain Laycock’s command. Combined with the missile pods we’re leaving in orbit, that should be enough to handle anything Frontier Fleet’s likely to send this way. In the meantime, we’re pretty sure you’re not the only system the Alignment’s been working on. Admiral Culbertson’s probably going to need the rest of my force back in Montana to go play fire brigade somewhere else.”

“Well, all I can say—again—is that Mobius will be eternally grateful to you and to Admiral Gold Peak. Her willingness to help a bunch of revolutionaries she’d never even heard of was remarkable. And the speed and decisiveness of your actions here in Mobius…”

He shook his head, his eyes dark, and Terekhov shrugged.

“Mister Provisional President—Michael,” he said, “I don’t doubt that Lady Gold Peak’s decision was approved the second her report reached Manticore. I can’t conceive of my Empress’ wanting me to do anything other than exactly what we did here anywhere someone takes a stand, trusting in the Star Empire of Manticore’s word…whoever actually gave it to them.” It was his turn to shake his hand. “The truth is, it’s been my honor to assist you, and my only regret is that we didn’t get here before Yucel and her butchers.”

He and Breitbach stood looking into one another’s eyes for several seconds. Then he held out his hand again, and the Provisional President gripped it firmly.

“I hope to come back and see what you’ve made of your star system, Mister Provisional President,” the Manticoran said. “Right now, however, my pinnace is waiting, so I suppose it’s time to tell you goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Commodore,” Breitbach replied. “Godspeed…and I’ll hold you to that promise to come back.”

Chapter Sixty

“Well, thank God we sent you, Pat,” the Earl of White Haven said. “These Alignment bastards are pretty ambitious, aren’t they?”

“And this comes to you as a surprise because…?” Elizabeth Winton inquired.

“It was more of a rhetorical comment than a deeply freighted analytical insight,” Honor Alexander-Harrington’s husband told his monarch.

“My own ‘analytical insight’ is that we need to nip this thing in the bud,” Patricia Givens said seriously. The Empress and White Haven looked at her, and she shrugged. “We need to assume they wouldn’t have approached just Maya and Kondratii—not way the hell and gone over on our opposite flank. Maya’s more than thousand light-years from Talbott, for God’s sake! And that means God only knows what kind of snakes’ nest is simmering away under the surface.”

“Pat has a point, Hamish, Your Majesty,” Thomas Caparelli put in. “And I’m inclined to think we need something more…proactive than Lady Gold Peak’s initial response. I think she made exactly the right decision, but we’re seeing more and more evidence of how widespread this is. I don’t think we can afford to wait for requests for assistance to reach us…especially since the ‘Manticorans’ talking to Barregos and Roszak set up a communications channel that sure as hell didn’t go to us. Unless we’re extraordinarily lucky, a lot of people who think they’ve been promised our support are going to call for it and get no answer when the hammer comes down on them, which is exactly what the Alignment wants.”

“So what sort of ‘proactive’ response did you have in mind, Tom?” Elizabeth tipped back in her high-backed chair and Ariel, her treecat companion, raised his head, watching the two-legs with bright green eyes.

“Well,” the First Space Lord said, “from what Barregos and Roszak said to Pat—and from their messages to you and President Pritchart, for that matter—they’re about as pissed off as it’s humanly possible to be. It’s also obvious they’re still too thin on the ground to take an open stand against the League. Erewhon’s actually got a lot more firepower currently in commission than they do, but even if their…partnership’s as tight as we think it is, they’d both have to feel nervous about pasting any bull’s-eyes on their chests where the League is concerned.”

He paused, and Elizabeth nodded, her eyes intent.

“I realize we haven’t heard directly from Erewhon about this yet,” Caparelli continued, “but I talked to Tony Langtry, and his analysts agree that Walter Imbesi and the Triumvirate won’t be any happier than Barregos and Roszak. He also thinks Erewhon would jump at the opportunity to get back into a…happier relationship with us. Especially now that Haven’s our brand-new ally and trading partner.

“Bearing all that in mind, I think our best response might be exactly what ‘Ellingsen’ and ‘Abernathy’ offered Barregos. And I also think we should consider including Erewhon in it.”

“Um.” Elizabeth frowned, but she clearly wasn’t surprised by Caparelli’s suggestion. She thought about it for a moment, then looked at White Haven.

“Hamish?”

“I think it’s a good idea,” he said promptly. “Of course, we need to clear it with Benjamin and with Theisman, now that Pritchart’s en route home. We could do this unilaterally, but I don’t think that would be a very smart idea.”

“You’ve been talking to your wives again, haven’t you?” Elizabeth said with a grin. “All that sneaky diplomacy stuff is finally starting to stick, I see!”

“I do my feeble best,” White Haven replied, and she chuckled. Then she drew a deep breath.

“How much firepower do you think we’d actually have to divert from Grand Fleet?”.

White Haven glanced at Caparelli for a moment, then back at the Empress.

“We could probably cover it with three or four squadrons of SD(P)s,” he said. “Especially if we threw in a couple of CLACs and a few munitions ships with Mark 23 pods. For that matter, I don’t think it would be inappropriate to offer both Barregos and Imbesi Mycroft for their home systems.”

“I’d really prefer not to let Mycroft out of our hands just yet,” Caparelli cautioned, and White Haven nodded.

“Agreed. I’m thinking we’d offer them Mycroft on the basis that an Alliance detachment would emplace, operate, and oversee the FTL platforms and control stations.” He raised one hand, palm uppermost. “I’m pretty sure they’d jump at the opportunity once we explained what Mycroft and Apollo can do in conjunction with one another.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Elizabeth said. “Tom, I’d like you and Pat to write up a formal recommendation for me to present to Admiral Theisman and the Protector. Get Sir Anthony involved to be sure it includes the Foreign Office’s perspective.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Caparelli said formally.

“How soon do you think you could have something to me?”

“By the strangest coincidence, Your Majesty,” the First Space Lord opened his briefcase and extracted a chip folio, “I seem to’ve brought it along with me.”

“Well, imagine that!” Elizabeth said while Ariel bleeked with laughter. The empress shook her head and held out her hand. “I suppose I should at least go through the motions of reading it,” she said. “Would it happen you’ve already drafted movement orders to go with it?”

“Ah, no, Your Majesty,” Caparelli replied after a moment.

“I’m disappointed, Admiral Caparelli,” the Empress of Manticore said. “I suggest you return to your lonely office and get started on that immediately.”

* * *

“And so,” Adam Šiml said from the steps of Lidový Dům, the traditional home of the Národní Shromáždění, the Chotěbořian National Assembly, gazing out across the packed expanse of Náměstí Žlutých Růží, “the task before us will be neither simple nor quickly accomplished. Some changes will come very soon; other changes will take time, effort, and the sweat of hard work. Fortunately,” he allowed himself a quick smile, “anyone who’s been associated with Sokol as long as I have understands about sweat.”

Laughter rumbled across the vast crowd, despite the overcast skies and a temperature several degrees short of warm. But then his expression sobered.

“The worries, the fears, the hopes which have led to so much unrest here in Velehrad and elsewhere across our system represent the valid aspirations of our people. The violence which cost so many lives here in our capital is not the proper way in which to express those aspirations, however, and I think it only proper that both you, the people, and those within your government, should look at that violence and contemplate both its causes and its consequences. During the riots, many of you listened to me and to other leaders of Sokol, other citizens trying to stem the tide of bloodshed and destruction. Others of you did not, and let us be honest with one another, some among the forces charged to restore order were as guilty of excess and of brutality as any of those disrupting the peace.

“I have instructed Minister for Public Safety Kápička and Chief Justice Dalibor Čáp to begin an immediate investigation of the causes of the disturbances, the steps taken to control them, and their consequences. In order to ensure transparency, that investigation will be conducted in partnership with the Národní Shromáždění, which will impanel a special committee for the purpose. The investigation will take however long it takes, but the special committee will issue public reports every thirty days. Those reports will become part of the public record and the basis for remedial action on my part.”

Another sound swept the crowd, but this one was more complex than laughter. It combined astonishment and gratification at the offer, seasoned with more than a trace of skeptical cynicism. The surprising thing, in light of Chotěboř’s experience under the Cabrnoch Administration, was that there was so little cynicism in it.

“Some of the issues which produced and drove the riots are fundamental, underlying problems,” he continued. “Fixing that sort of problem will require that hard work and sweat I mentioned a moment ago, and it will also require an additional ingredient: patience. I can’t promise all of them will be fixed at all; I can only promise we will fix all of them we can, and that we’ll do so as quickly as we can. There’s no doubt in my mind that many of you will become impatient in the process, and that’s both an inevitable part of human nature and your right as citizens of Chotěboř. But there’s also no doubt in my mind that one element which drove the riots was the sense that legitimate expressions of political opinion and the right to petition for redress have been far too…circumscribed in our public and civic life. Therefore, I am announcing today the immediate suspension of The Defense of the Republic Act.”

This time something very like a gasp rose from the crowd, followed by a total, singing silence, for it would have been impossible to find a single law imposed by the Cabrnoch Administration which had been more universally hated than DORA. Šiml knew that perfectly well, but he went on steadily, his voice clear and calm in the sudden stillness.

“Some provisions of the Act may well be necessary, but from this moment, none of those which constrain freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, or freedom to petition the Národní Shromáždění or the courts will be enforced. Further, I now announce the revocation of the State of Emergency originally proclaimed by President Hruška during the height of the Komár Crisis, and I intend to dissolve the current Národní Shromáždění and call for new elections within the next three months. When the new Deputies are seated, I will formally request that they impanel another special committee charged to review all legislation enacted during the previous administration and recommend to me what portions of that legislation require revision, amendment…or repeal. And that committee, too, shall report publicly every thirty days.”

A thunderous, tumultuous cheer roared up from the crowded square—one that went on and on for at least two full minutes. He waited until it had faded, then looked out across that enormous throng once more.

“And so, my fellow Chotěbořians, I take up the office to which you have elected me. I won’t guarantee success in all the pledges I’ve given you, because sometimes success proves impossible, however powerful and sincere the effort to accomplish it. But I will guarantee you that I will work with every scrap of energy, any trace of wisdom I might possess, and every gram of integrity, imagination, and determination within me to honor and redeem every one of them. If I do not succeed, it will never be because I willingly settled for anything less than total success. I ask you now to support me in this effort by giving me your trust, by making your own wishes and desires known, and by remembering not simply me, not simply the Národní Shromáždění, but our entire star system and every man, woman, and child in it in your prayers.

“Thank you, and good day.”

The cheers went on for almost fifteen minutes.

* * *

“That was a marvelous speech, Adam,” Karl-Heinz Sabatino said that evening, standing on a balcony above the great ballroom in the Presidential Palace with the newly inaugurated president of the Chotěbořian Republika and his vice president.

The Frogmore-Wellington/Iwahara executive had remained tactfully out of sight, aside from a very brief—and formal—greeting and exchange of best wishes following Šiml’s inaugural address. Now, at last, the final guests from the Inaugural Ball had departed, and the three men stood gazing down on the staff beginning the monumental cleanup.

“Thank you, Karl-Heinz,” Šiml said. “I hope it’ll do the trick.”

“So do I,” Sabatino said. “I have to admit, though, I feel a little…concern over that proposal to review all of Cabrnoch’s legislation. Some of its provisions—and not necessarily the most popular ones—are there for very important and valid reasons.”

“I’m aware of that.” Šiml turned from watching the work crews to face Sabatino squarely. “And I’m aware there are limits in all things. Despite that, I fully intend to carry out that review. And I intend to act on any of the special committee’s recommendations that can be acted upon. You and I both know that what happened in the riots happened because the unrest, the unhappiness with the way in which Cabrnoch tried to silence all dissent, lock anyone who might oppose him completely out of politics, built up a head of pressure that had to vent sooner or later. If the people of Chotěboř decide that all they got out of the special election was a change in faces—that there isn’t really any difference between Cabrnoch and Juránek, on the one hand, and me and Zdeněk, on the other—that pressure’s going to explode even more violently than it just did.

“I realize that as the custodian of Frogmore-Wellington and Iwahara’s interests you have to be concerned about any actions which might impact those interests. But Daniel doesn’t really need DORA or the more extreme measures Cabrnoch adopted under the state of emergency to maintain public order and prevent the government’s overthrow. He doesn’t think he does, for that matter—it was part of the reason he argued when Cabrnoch ordered him to use the CPSF against the rioters—and I agree with him. More than that, I firmly believe that providing Chotěboř with a government its citizens believe is truly committed to its civil rights and political freedom is the best way to reduce the pressure that caused the riots in the first place. I’m sure you’ll have a great deal of influence on the membership of the new Národní Shromáždění, just as you did in the previous one, and between the Deputies and myself, it should be possible to provide enough real, substantive relief of that internal pressure without having the entire structure fly apart and produce the chaos and death that could destabilize all of Frogmore-Wellington and Iwahara’s interests.”

He met Sabatino’s gaze levelly, and finally—slowly—the off-worlder nodded.

“It’s going to be a difficult needle to thread, Adam. But I’m confident that if anyone can do it, it’s you.”

“Thank you,” Šiml said quietly. “I appreciate that. And I promise you, I’ll never forget who made it possible for me to hold this office or why I’m here. People who forget their friends have no one but themselves to blame when they come to a bad end, and I have no intention of coming to any bad ends.”