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Archimandrite Bolack found Hermina and her flock sitting around a corner table, waiting for him. He entered and stopped a respectful number of paces from them, then bowed his head. All eight stood without a word and faced him.
“My name is Bolack, and I head the Order of the Void Reborn. Though I regret the circumstances that brought you to Wyvern, I hope you’ve been made welcome here.”
“We have. I’m Hermina, Prioress of Hatshepsut.” She also bowed her head and then introduced her companions, who greeted Bolack with the same respect as they would their Summus Abbatissa.
Bolack gestured at the table.
“May I join you?”
“Do we have a choice?”
“Of course. If you don’t wish to speak with me, I shall leave.”
Hermina locked eyes with him, then shrugged.
“Your house, your rules. Please take a seat.”
Bolack dropped into one of the vacant chairs and looked around the table, meeting eight pairs of eyes that gave no hint as to their owners’ thoughts.
“Colonel Torma and Sister Ardrix briefed me on everything you told them and everything they told you. I find it fascinating how we went down separate yet parallel paths, both leading to the Almighty in the Infinite Void.”
“Except your path takes Void Reborn into the heart of secular affairs while ours learned at great expense the dangers of doing so. And that’s without mentioning abominations like Ardrix, something we’ve also learned to avoid at a high cost. Oh, I know.” Hermina raised her hand as if waving away an unvoiced reply from Bolack. “Different circumstances, different times, different needs. Yet the Almighty is an absolute, and so are our vows of service.”
“I can’t argue with you on that point, Prioress. The Almighty is indeed an absolute but will forgive our ways because we either took part in secular affairs or would have watched our Order die out in the Hegemony. That would have left the people with no spiritual guidance and little hope for a better future, not to mention our traditional teaching and healing works would have disappeared.”
“Fine words, but things changed since the collapse. I doubt there’s a need for your involvement in politics, let alone policing nowadays.”
“I’m not so sure. We continue to be a moderating influence on an autocratic regime which, if left unchecked, would turn the Hegemony into something worse than the Ruggero Dynasty’s empire. But other than that, we’re not terribly different, you and us. Based on what you told Colonel Torma and Sister Ardrix, we believe in the same things, work with the community in the same ways, and offer succor where it’s needed.”
Once again, Hermina stared at him for a few seconds before replying.
“I will confess that the Sisters and Friars of this priory, the services, the scriptures, your adherence to the Rule, and everything else that makes Grenfell a House of the Order of the Void differ in no discernible way from how we live back home. The most visible distinction is your orb, but I suppose using a phoenix as a symbol of the Order Reborn is apt. Of course, a different version of the same mythical bird is also used by your government, which doesn’t quite make you outwardly independent of the secular powers.” A bitter smile crossed her lips. “And now you’ll be sending Void Reborn missions to reclaim fallen worlds, just like we do, and prepare them for Hegemony control.”
Bolack nodded.
“We either leave our four star systems and re-enter the wider galaxy, or our society will crumble. Perhaps not as violently as the empire did, but with the same end result and with countless millions dead before their time. Stasis always leads to decline and eventual collapse.”
“And so, we once again find ourselves with competing interstellar polities, each seeking the upper hand as the sole legitimate heir of our species’ patrimony. Considering the Hegemony’s aggressiveness, that cannot end well.”
“Aggressiveness?” The Archimandrite’s eyebrows shot up. “Did anything you saw or heard give you the idea we were more warlike than your own people?”
Hermina let out a bark of grim laughter.
“Your Hegemony is a military dictatorship, and history teaches us such regimes are always prone to solving problems, be they internal or external, through force. Yes, you’re by definition more warlike than our republic, which is built on consensus between the government and the people. What do you think will happen when our respective navies meet in a star system such as Hatshepsut, with each commander claiming it for his or her people?”
“They’ll negotiate? Or refer the matter back to their government?”
“That’s what ours would do, provided yours doesn’t open fire first. Can you say the same?” A faint smirk briefly crossed Hermina’s face, and Bolack understood she was gently goading him.
“If the commander is under orders to withdraw rather than risk a deadly confrontation, and why wouldn’t he or she be, then yes. The Hegemony may be a dictatorship in everything but name. However, neither our leaders nor our military personnel are foolhardy and itching for a fight. Remember, we still bear the intergenerational scars of the last genocidal war. Besides, the galaxy is huge, and the number of human star systems languishing since the empire’s collapse is so great that by the time we face each other, we’ll both have devised ways of avoiding the errors of the past.”
“So you hope.” She eyed him speculatively. “And when will you return us to Hatshepsut? Or will we stay your captives for the rest of our lives? Perhaps you might consider that freeing us will go a long way in regaining our government’s goodwill and building the foundations for more friendly relationships as we each pursue our vision of reuniting humanity. Besides, we’ve told you everything we ever will about Lyonesse. Not even an abomination like Ardrix can wring more from us.”
“She may be an abomination in your eyes, but her work with the Commission saves lives. Yes, she will enter minds uninvited, but only in the course of her duties. She cannot do so in any other situation thanks to the conditioning our most powerful talents undergo.” He shrugged. “But I won’t argue the point with you. I understand where you’re coming from, and I respect that. Perhaps, during your stay with us, we could explore that difference of outlook further. We are eager to learn about your evolution since your forerunners settled on Lyonesse during the last years of Dendera’s reign. Perhaps we’ll find that our path needs adjusting so we can more closely match yours.”
“Start with Ardrix and her like. That’ll go a long way.” Another pause. “And if you’re thinking about a merger, then you must fix the issue of men as head of the Order, abbeys, and priories.”
He gave her an amused smile.
“Or you might relax restrictions and make the best use of the people available, regardless of gender. In any case, I just wanted to meet you and introduce myself, not enter into a debate over our minuscule differences. If you wish, I’ll answer questions at this point.” He met each of the Lyonesse Brethren’s eyes in turn once more. When no one took him up on the offer, he said, “Thank you for your time. We will speak again. Meanwhile, I’ll explore returning you to Hatshepsut now that our government has dropped restrictions on official travel beyond the Hegemony’s sphere. Perhaps we can charter a hardy merchant captain.”
A smirk spread across Hermina’s face.
“Isn’t that how we ended up as your involuntary guests in the first place?”
“True, but this time, said captain would travel with the government’s permission.” He stood, imitated by the others.
“We won’t hold our breaths. Your government will balk at releasing us after everything we learned about you.”
“Perhaps, which is why I make no promises, but I’ll try. And even if I receive permission, it might take a while.” Bolack bowed his head. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
Then he swept out of the refectory.
“Not quite what I expected,” Metrobius said.
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. Bolack reminds me of no one quite so much as the Order’s Chief Administrator back home, Friar Odabo.”
“Don’t get sympathetic with our captors, Metrobius,” Hermina warned. “But you’re right. There are a few minor points of resemblance.”
“Including a talent for managing expectations.” The Friar sighed. “We’re never getting home, are we?”
“Probably not. It’s best if we consider ourselves on a mission to guide the Void Reborn back into the fold.”
**
After the prioress, Torma, and Ardrix saw him off, Bolack settled in the back of the aircar, his forehead creased in thought. He couldn’t see Mandus ever allowing the Lyonesse Brethren off Wyvern. Based on Torma’s account, the folks on Hatshepsut knew people from something called the Hegemony visited and took eight of the ten Lyonesse Friars and Sisters with them, but nothing more. Mandus would likely want the Hegemony’s identity, never mind everything that Hermina and her flock learned, kept from the Lyonesse government for as long as possible so the first wave of expansion could be carried out unhindered.
His personal communicator, one provided by Admiral Godfrey and using the sort of encryption proof even from the Commission’s best, chimed for attention. He retrieved it from a pocket hidden inside his voluminous black robes.
“Bolack.”
“Godfrey, here. Where are you?”
“I just left Grenfell Priory after visiting Torma, Ardrix, and our guests.”
“Could you divert to Navy HQ, please, and land on the roof? Admiral VanReeth and General Bucco are demanding the Conclave come together and vote on the Regent’s decrees forming the Colonial Service, calling them illegitimate as they were issued without the Council’s legal support.”
Bolack frowned.
“The Conclave’s sole reason is electing the Council members. It has no say on policy.”
“They’re looking for a way of invalidating her actions, something they can point at and say she should no longer serve as Regent. I think they fear the Council’s end as the supreme governing body is nigh.”
“I suppose it’s one last desperate attempt to wrest power from Vigdis.”
“Perhaps, but I’m seeing signs of support for their actions from outside government, interests who didn’t enjoy being caught flat-footed with announcements that drastically change the balance of power.”
“Will enough Conclave members respond to get a quorum?”
“That depends on how many have patrons pushing them. Ishani Robbins is trying to find out, but she’s proceeding cautiously. Her own superior, Commissioner Cabreras, hasn’t declared his views, though it’s well known he wants the top job, and if this attempt at stopping Mandus fails, it might well become vacant.” Godfrey fell silent for a moment. “This is interesting. I just received word the Regent quietly placed the Wyvern Regiment on full alert.”
“Really? I can’t remember that ever happening.”
“You wouldn’t. The last time was during Guillermo Toshida’s term as Regent when you and I were mere toddlers. It didn’t end well for the cabal of disgruntled senior officers intent on overthrowing him. Half of the Council was in on it. By the time things settled down, the three services were under new chiefs and Wyvern a new Consul. The previous incumbents vanished into unmarked graves. I wonder whether the Wyvern Regiment’s intelligence analysts suspect VanReeth and Bucco are doing more than just agitating for an ad hoc Conclave meeting. They’re damn good at sniffing out threats to the Regent. This new development makes it even more imperative you land at Navy HQ.”
“I shall join you as fast as possible. Was there anything else?”
“No. Godfrey, out.”
Bolack sat back, staring at the communicator in his right hand. Why were some people so concerned about personal power when the future of the Hegemony was at stake? It couldn’t be simple greed, but then, the pathological urge to enrich oneself was always reliably the source of so much political turmoil throughout history.
Yet more important matters were at stake, such as Sister Jessica’s prophecy that the two halves of what was rent asunder will reunite. If it comes to pass, then the new union of human star systems must happen under the Hegemony’s banner and the Void Reborn’s Phoenix Orb.
The old Order, with its outdated views, its strange scruples, and its refusal to use the abilities of all Friars and Sisters to the utmost couldn’t be the way of the future.
No, that future belonged to the Void Reborn, and if it must, his Order would have no problems weaponizing powerful minds, such as Ardrix’s.
**
“What did you think of the Archimandrite?” Torma and Ardrix met Hermina halfway around the priory’s walking meditation circuit not long after Bolack’s aircar vanished over the mountaintops, and all three stopped by common accord.
“I’m sure you don’t want to hear my impression, Colonel.”
“Strangely enough, I do.”
A faint air of annoyance crossed her face.
“He’s intelligent, with a stronger mind than I expected in a Friar. Definitely not one to trifle with. But he’s a politician as well, and that isn’t what you want in a monastic.”
“Why do you call him a politician?”
A bitter smile twisted her lips.
“Because he can equivocate and manipulate with the best of them rather than speak the Almighty’s naked truth openly. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
And with that, Hermina walked away.
Torma and Ardrix looked at each other in surprise.
“She’s not wrong, you know,” the latter finally said.