EARTH
London
Earth Alliance Assembly
No. Impossible.
Jude would not commit suicide. He was too arrogant, too narcissistic to ever deprive the world of his genius. As he should be…have been.
The news had reached Pamela via her network of spies and double agents shortly after she departed Washington; it remained secret from the public for now.
He was murdered. It was the sole plausible explanation. Murdered by one of the Prevos while shackled and imprisoned.
So now they had crowned themselves judge, jury and executioner, eschewing trials or even the appearance of the rule of law.
Despots, dictators, devils as aspiring gods.
What began as the ultimate power play had now become intensely, painfully personal. Pamela would smash Romane into dust for this. She simply needed her military back to do it.
But Miriam Solovy had taken it from her. All this horror, all this conflict and destruction could be traced back to Miriam Solovy. Prevo-creator, Prevo-lover, a despot in her own right. The woman was in league with the IDCC, in league with the Federation, in league with everyone except the Alliance that had made her.
In the end, the extent of the woman’s machinations meant she may as well have killed Jude herself.
Solovy would suffer commensurate to her crimes. And soon, for Pamela’s spies also reported Solovy’s fleet approached Earth even now. Doubtless the woman thought Pamela’s authority weakened, as if an Assembly investigation and a few press harpies were anything more than flies throwing themselves against the window pane.
Solovy’s ships would be destroyed and their admiral with them. The defecting military commanders would run home in shame and genuflect before her, swearing allegiance and begging to be allowed to keep their positions. Pamela would have her military once more. She would use it to crush the IDCC, starting with Romane, for killing her son.
Yes.
Her transport alighted on the rooftop landing pad of the Assembly, a prerogative reserved for visiting heads of state and a rare few individuals who, for one reason or another, did not need to be seen traipsing across the grounds. It was enclosed by not only a protective force field but also a visual one, preventing the press from discerning what prominent person had arrived.
She enjoyed an unobstructed view of the surroundings, however, and the sight of thousands of protesters clogging the streets below greeted her as she disembarked.
Were the people rallying to her son’s cause? Standing up and demanding the government respond to Romane’s flagrant misdeeds?
Strobes projected holo placards high into the air above the protestors.
Freedom For All Minds
Prevos Are People Too
You Can’t Stop The Signal
Break Free Of Your Shackles
This was unacceptable. Where were the authorities? If there were Prevos in the crowd, they needed to be arrested forthwith.
The masses were so fickle, so easily swayed and marshaled. Jude—anger frothed in her chest at the thought of him and the fate he had suffered, but she must not show it publically. Her grief must be her own, for now.
He should never have relied as heavily as he did on crowds to press his agenda. But she did not need them to press hers. Let them protest.
She spun away from the scene and strode to the rooftop entrance. The sooner this ludicrous ‘hearing’ was concluded, the better.
The Official Summons had been offensive in its demands. She was complying only because her attorney general counseled her she was legally required to do so, but she didn’t care to explain the delicate, complex justifications for the Scythia incident, particularly since it had failed. She was mourning!
If she announced Jude’s death, Gagnon would delay the hearing. Etiquette demanded it.
No…she needed to save the revelation for the moment it could most work to her benefit. So she continued downstairs.
She was traversing the main hall to the Assembly Chamber, security and aides in tow, when her Chief of Staff called a halt to the procession. “Prime Minister, Admiral Grigg is reporting the detection of a warship by short-range perimeter alert sensors. He believes it’s Admiral Solovy’s vessel.”
Oh, thank god. She nodded understanding. “We need to move to the Situation Room immediately. Luis, transfer Admiral Grigg to a dedicated holo there and reach Defense Minister Mori as well.”