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As Bolack’s aircar flew over New Draconis, he looked down, searching for signs of what might have put the Wyvern Regiment on full alert, but saw nothing. The city seemed as quiet as always on a weekday morning because it was devoted to government business, which mainly happened indoors.
Godfrey’s aide, Lieutenant Krennek, met him on the Navy HQ roof and led him down to Admiral Benes’ office, where he and Godfrey waited. Both wore an extra star on the collar since Bolack saw them a few days earlier.
“I gather congratulations are in order?” He joined them around the low table by settling into one of the deep, leather-covered chairs.
“For everyone, Archimandrite.” Benes winked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“The Wyvern Regiment is on high alert because Grand Admiral Mandus is unilaterally changing the composition of the Hegemony’s executive branch. You might note that I now wear a fourth star. Admiral VanReeth has been relieved of his duties, along with Generals Bucco and Farrah. The Wyvern Palace has just announced they are retiring effective at midnight tonight, after long and honorable careers, so that a new slate can take over and implement the Oath. I now command the Navy, General Sarkis the Ground Forces, and General Cabreras yes, Nero Cabreras of all people, the Commission for State Security. However, none of us are members of the Ruling Council because Grand Admiral Mandus, Regent of the Hegemony and its absolute ruler, abolished it. But the four Consuls stay in place, as does the Chancellor.”
“She abolished the Ruling Council?” Bolack sounded incredulous. “Can she do that?”
“Sure. No one ever bothered drawing up a constitution that spells out how the Hegemony is governed. The only reason no previous Regent made a bid for change was because of inertia and the lack of Guards Corps support to carry out what is in effect a coup against the established order. Task Force Kruzenshtern’s return has changed everything. Both the Navy and the Ground Forces are vibrating with enthusiasm at the notion of expanding back into the former empire’s domains and won’t countenance any reticence. Since the Ruling Council, or at least part of it, didn’t show the same enthusiasm, Mandus used the occasion for a shakeup.”
“A necessary one,” Godfrey said. “The current structure would have impeded the build-up of our forces and the recolonization effort due to excessive centralization of power and decision making.”
“As a result, the Regent centralizes power even more in her own hands?” Bolack raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Not quite.” Benes’ mysterious smile widened. “For the next while, until the Conclave aligns itself with the new reality, a triumvirate made up of the Regent, the Chancellor, and you will run the Hegemony.”
“Me?” Bolack sat up, astonishment writ large on his face.
“Sure. Vigdis represents the military part of our state, Conteh, the civilian part, and you, the religious part. Think about it. The people, by and large, trust the Order. As its leader and a major voice in secular as well as religious affairs, your membership in the triumvirate will lend the new structure greater legitimacy in the eyes of the public than the Ruling Council enjoyed.”
“I didn’t know she was contemplating such a move.”
Godfrey chuckled.
“It’s been in the works since before Kruzenshtern’s return. That’s the beauty of compartmentalization. You worked with her to change the Hegemony’s path should Torma and company come back bearing evidence of another star-faring polity, unbeknownst to us. Meanwhile, we worked with her to get rid of the Ruling Council, which bears most of the responsibility for our long societal stasis, unbeknown to you. The Almighty only knows what she plotted with the Chancellor, but she most assuredly did since he’s one of the triumvirs.” Godfrey let out a contented sigh. “Getting rid of the Council has been a long time coming. Without it, we can finally push through the first genuine change in almost two hundred years.”
“Vigdis Mandus is full of surprises. Who would think she’d abolish the Council on top of everything else?” Bolack shook his head.
“Anyone who saw the naked ambition hiding behind her stone-cold competence. I’m not a fan of the great man or woman theory, but Vigdis is indeed the right person at the right time. I can only shudder at how things would have unfolded if VanReeth were the Regent instead. We dodged a bullet when she won the election.”
“What about the Conclave?”
“For now, it stays and elects the Regent and the Chancellor. The Archimandrite, of course, will be elected by the Brethren of the Order as before. But the Conclave’s role will change as we expand. Right now, Mandus needs to centralize power in her hands so she can push through her decrees and make recolonizing former imperial worlds happen. Yet as we expand, power will by necessity flow downward. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Conclave, initially designed as a militaristic version of a senate with limited powers, becomes a true legislature. Something with the powers of the one which existed in the empire’s early days.”
“And then, hopefully,” Benes said, “when we finally meet the Republic of Lyonesse head-on, it will be as equals, if not with us as superiors because the alternative is unthinkable.”
Bolack opened his mouth to reply when Benes’ communicator chimed. The latter retrieved it from his tunic pocket and glanced at its screen.
“The Regent. Wait one.” He thumbed the controls, then placed it on the low table. “Benes here, sir. Admiral Godfrey and Archimandrite Bolack are with me and I have you on speaker.”
“Good morning, Gentlemen. I’m calling to give you an update. VanReeth, Farrah, and Bucco are under house arrest, so they can’t dispute my announcement they retired voluntarily. Troopers from the Wyvern Regiment are guarding them. I set the trap to test Nero Cabreras, so we’ll soon know whether he’s driven by ambition or ideology. Can you transport the Archimandrite to the Wyvern Palace in half an hour?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. The Chancellor is coming over as well. We will make the public announcement together at noon, and that should cut short anything the opposition could be plotting. Without a Council, all those political grifters no longer have a window into the upper echelons of government.”
“How did the Consuls take the news?” Godfrey asked.
“With more equanimity than I expected, but I made it clear the first sign of opposition on anyone’s part means early retirement, at gunpoint if necessary. I doubt they’re happy they now report to a triumvirate instead of sitting on a Ruling Council, but there’s little they can do. Oh, and I’d like to shed the Regent title. Our ancestors adopted it because the incumbent was supposed to be a military stand-in for the true sovereign that will come and heal the damage caused by the Ruggero Dynasty. But there’s no true sovereign coming, and our head of state isn’t a mere stand-in sitting at the head of a Council of equals anymore. I’m open to suggestions.”
“If I may,” Bolack said. “The Republic of Lyonesse is headed by a president elected by a senate whose members are elected by eligible citizens. Since our founders designed the Conclave as something with a senate’s power to appoint a ruler, why not call our highest office president as well? It makes for a neat break with the past.”
Benes raised his hand. “Seconded.”
“And me,” Godfrey added. “President, Chancellor, and Archimandrite, the Hegemony’s new executive team. It scans. Perhaps your next move is wearing civilian clothes, sir.”
“One step at a time, Admiral,” Mandus growled. “I wouldn’t want any Conclave members thinking I’ve become ripe for the picking.”
“With the Wyvern Regiment, which you should re-title the Presidential Guard Regiment, by the way, looking out for your welfare, I can’t think of a single flag officer who’d try. Besides, most are excited at the opportunities for promotion and preferment in an expanding Hegemony, their patrons be damned.”
“Okay. Enough. I’ll think it over and discuss the matter with Chancellor Conteh momentarily. If he agrees with Archimandrite Bolack, then President Mandus I shall become when I announce that I’ve dissolved the Ruling Council in favor of a more progressive and forward-thinking executive.” A pause. “Archimandrite, I shall see you at the Palace. Mandus, out.”
“The speed of events makes one’s head spin,” Bolack remarked as Benes retrieved his communicator.
“Things barely move until everything happens at once. A piece of wisdom that survived every human calamity and is still applicable today. What did Torma say about becoming my inspector general?”
Bolack chuckled. “His exact words were ‘I suppose I have no choice’ if you’ll believe it.”
“That’s him alright. I would suspect someone too eager for the job of hiding a personal agenda. And Ardrix?”
“She’ll do as the Order commands, but I think the appointment pleased her. Our Ardrix hides an unquenchable curiosity behind that demure appearance. I suppose it comes from having a strong will along with a well-developed talent. In any case, she’s yours until you tire of her or she tires of the assignment.”
“Which could be years.”
“Probably. Ardrix is one of those who wouldn’t be in the Order except for her extraordinarily powerful talent, so don’t be surprised if she prefers adventure over worship.”
A sardonic grin tugged at Benes’ lips. “Does Torma know that?”
**
Newly minted Brigadier General Crevan Torma examined his reflection in the mirror of his freshly assigned flag officer quarters on Joint Forces Base New Draconis. The silver star on either side of his tunic’s collar opening, along with a general’s silver braid decorating his black uniform, felt unreal, as did the Guards Colonial Service badge on his sleeves. The design wasn’t much older than his promotion orders and featured the Hegemony’s phoenix, sword, and stars insignia inside the Colonial Service’s emblem, a compass rose pointing outward in every direction.
He’d received his promotion from President Mandus’ hands in the Wyvern Palace the day before, under the benevolent gaze of Vice Admiral Johannes Godfrey and the amused eyes of Ardrix, the Colonial Service’s leading Sister of the Void Reborn. Bolack was searching for a new title, something that would convey her status as equal to a prioress, but so far couldn’t come up with anything that passed muster among the Order’s senior Brethren.
“Why not keep it simple and call her Leading Sister of the Colonial Service?” He muttered to himself. “That’s the problem with theologians. They’re always arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.”
Today was his first day of duty as the newest branch’s inspector general, which suited him fine. He’d been as surprised as anyone at hearing the President appointed Nero Cabreras Chief Commissioner for State Security. When he remarked on the fact, his new commanding officer merely smiled and said Cabreras passed Mandus’ test with flying colors but wouldn’t elaborate beyond a cryptic statement to the effect that personal ambition beats ideology ninety-nine times out of a hundred. However, seeing Ishani Robbins take Cabreras’ place as the Wyvern Group commander pleased him.
Torma made his way to the Wyvern Palace’s Blue Annex, a free-standing two-story office building within the security perimeter. It was where Godfrey was setting up the Colonial Service’s temporary HQ, close to the President and inaccessible to the grifters who would inevitably clamor for a piece of the action. They’d started soon after Mandus’ announcement the previous week and only backed away after Cabreras threatened them with charges of harassing government officials, a serious crime under Hegemony law.
The Commission’s new chief also quietly spread the word that the era of influence peddling, graft, and corruption was over. Guilty parties, however, wouldn’t face execution or a long sentence in the Hegemony’s penal system but permanent exile as involuntary colonists on the worlds opened for resettlement. Whether it was working, Torma couldn’t tell, but he’d likely find out once the deportations began and the guilty parties became his problem.
The Wyvern Palace’s rear guard post let him through without fuss, his biometrics having already been entered into the security system. He parked in front of the Blue Annex in the spot marked ‘Inspector General’ and climbed out, eyes taking in his surroundings. If nothing else told the entire Hegemony that President Mandus wasn’t taking half measures with recolonizing the former empire, then placing her new Colonial Service HQ on her back step did.
Torma found Godfrey, Ewing Saleh, now wearing a commodore’s star as chief of staff, Lieutenant Commander Krennek, and Sister Ardrix in the admiral’s office, enjoying a cup of coffee.
“Ah, Crevan?” Godfrey waved him in. “The general officer’s uniform suits you. Serve yourself.”
He pointed at a coffee urn on the sideboard. When Torma had done so, Godfrey raised his cup.
“To the Colonial Service, my friends. May we reunite our species under the Hegemony banner before Lyonesse does so under hers.”