Chapter Twenty-Six

Planet Confederation’s Core

Palace of Her Most August and Imperial Majesty Empress Kan Maja Kalii

The dictator needs an occasional bloodbath to renew his power.

—Breen Freerunner, Revolution!

Her Imperial Majesty Kan maja Kalli I, Empress of the Indepence Confederation, held her regal pose on the simple throne in her marble audience chamber despite the tension humming along her nerves. Courtiers filled the balconey and occuped chairs on the floor, and over a dozen Imperial guards surrounded the throne platform. The pleasantly-muscled body of her favorite Silent slave was kneeling on the cushion at the base of her dais, but the look on his handsome face was far from pleasant.

“Message begins,” he said. “From Sharleman Bellimari, Executive Officer of the Prism Conglomerate Board of Directors, Chief Manager of—”

“You may dispense with the titles,” the Empress interrupted, forcing her voice to remain calm. “Both his and mine. Begin with the actual message.”

“Yes, Imperial Majesty,” said the slave without looking up. “Message continues.”

The court was holding its collective breath. The Empress realized she was clutching the arms of her throne with white fingers, but she couldn’t make herself relax them. So much depended on this single message.

The slave hesitated, and the Empress wanted to scream at him to get on with it.

“It is with great regret,” he said, “that we inform the Independence Confederation that the Prism Conglomerate is at this time unable to allocate resources to the Confederation for its conflict with the Empire of Human Unity. We can only hope...”

The court buzzed. The Empress did not sway in her seat and she did not turn pale on her throne. She did, however, stop listening. The Prism Conglomerate had turned her down. That was the only important thing. Without the Conglomerate’s support, the impending Unity war would be difficult, if not impossible, to win.

When the message ended, Kan maja Kalii dismissed slave and court. Alone in the echoing, empty room, she allowed herself to slump a bit. It felt like the weight of many worlds was pressing her down. She was so tired. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept for more than four hours at a time, and her arms and legs were heavy with fatigue. What if she just walked away? What if she just left the palace, the guards, the court, the decisions, and the bloodshed behind? What if she just told everyone they were on their own, that they would have to make their own decisions and take care of themselves?

Kalii stroked the smooth arm of the Imperial throne, the one her father had used for so many decades, and allowed herself a heavy sigh. It was pure fancy, abdicating and running away. If she did it, someone would take her place, and there was no way to know if that person would be kind or cruel, humane or inhuman. Kalii had no heirs, no one she knew well enough to put on the throne in her place. Not since her nephew had been murdered.

And how many of her subjects would see their own loved ones die in the war with the Unity?

Her Imperial Majesty Kan maja Kalli I, Empress of the Indepence Confederation, forced herself to sit straight on her throne and think hard about the problems of a galaxy.