“Court? What court? I see nothing but a shivering coil of human shit standing before me. I demand my rights.”
“The court sentenced you in absentia due to the clear danger you pose to all around you by your history of unpredictable and violent actions,” I continued calmly, delivering the speech we had agreed to on Darius’s cruiser. “You are guilty of treason, attempted regicide, and anti-Imperial behavior, and have been sentenced to be shot.”
“Where’re you going to find the firing squad—” Selnikov began, but stopped as I leveled my lancer between his eyes. I had the momentary satisfaction of seeing fear in a demon lord’s eyes before I pulled the trigger and those eyes popped, his boiling brain spilling from every hole in his skull a moment later.
No one talks about the smell of a boiling brain, but I promise it’s vile, like burned meat and rotten eggs.Nevertheless, that gut-wrenching stench was one of the sweetest odors I had ever been pleased to smell.
And it was over. As Selnikov’s corpse hit the floor, I felt the ending of this era. The pomp, the parties, the putsches and politics all culminated with this.
I had won.
I took a moment to breathe in the silence, enjoying the calm as all eyes rested on me. Then, straightening, I holstered my lancer, sheathed my zeroblade, smoothed my pressure suit’s front, and turned to my Emperor.
“My Emperor, there is a throne which requires your presence. Shall we?” I extended my hand. Wonderfully, Astrid took it.
We walked onto the dais together, Emperor and Consort, bloody and bruised by the ordeal, but not beaten. Now it was time for the Emperor to decide the quadrant’s future.
Astrid let me lead her to her throne, gracefully sank into the cushioned pearl-and-platinum seat, and waited. She extended one hand expectantly, and Ingvar appeared to place a goblet in it. Sipping her drink, the Emperor surveyed the battle-ruined wreck of the once-grand Great Hall, getting as comfortable as she could in her injured condition before she spoke.
“It has come to my attention that not all of you accept my position as Emperor. Some of you want a different person on the throne. A few of you may even consider my choices to be dangerous and foolish. I am here to tell you, you are wrong. I am the Emperor, and I rule this Empire. My foe lies slain before me, killed by my Consort and my guards, not because I ordered them to, but because they love and believe in me.
“Before that traitor’s ill-conceived and illegitimate coup, I had a rough peace agreement with the Allies, but the actions of certain nations have revealed which of them truly desireour friendship and which wish to manipulate us. As such, I have altered the deal.
“First, representatives of the Urgan Despotate, present yourselves.” The soiled, rumpled lords commander stepped forwards, anxiously peering up at the Emperor. “It has been revealed to me that the accusations of Fall Propagation against your government are scurrilous lies. In addition, I appreciate your sacrifices in restoring me to my throne. Thus, your nation shall be allowed to exist.” The Urgan officers began to express their thanks, but the Emperor raised a finger. “Do not think you will emerge unscathed. Much of the blame for this war lies in your reckless expansion into former League space. I intend to strip many of those systems from you. The Urgan Despotate’s precise shape remains to be seen, but at least your nation shall survive.”
Next, the Emperor called upon the representatives of the former League of Sovereign Stellar Nations. Only Princess Marie-Christina and Archduke Darius stepped forwards – all the other delegates were still in their chambers. “The League shall be abolished. Two hundred years have shown that experiment to be a failure. The League’s component nations squabble amongst themselves rather than defend each other from their neighbors. So we shall consolidate the former League nations into a few stronger states as a more stable arrangement. Yezhidia shall receive the lion’s share, having been a steadfast Imperial ally throughout the war and the attempted usurpation, but Stelsylvania’s spirited defense shall not be forgotten. Once the new borders are drawn, we shall discuss which nations shall be bound by alliance to bring stability and security to a troubled sector of our quadrant.”
Darius fell to one knee. “If I may, Your Imperial Majesty, I wish to propose an alliance now. The Princess Marie and I have grown close during these tumultuous days, and we foughtside by side to restore you to the throne. Although we were enemies during the war, we have proven steadfast when our aims were aligned. I would like to continue aligning our two nations, to learn more of their culture, and hopefully, to grow closer with…” The archduke trailed off, looking hopefully at Princess Marie.
“Princess? Is this your wish as well?” the Emperor asked.
Princess Marie blushed, but only a little. Quietly, she said, “It is, Your Majesty.”
Astrid gave an imperious nod. “Then let it be so.”
Finally, the Emperor called upon the delegates from the Royal Commonwealth. “Your nation has been the most steadfast enemy of the Empire since the inception of this conflict and beyond. You blunted our invasion ten years ago. You held firm during the intervening decade of attritional warfare. Even two hundred years ago, it was the Royal Commonwealth who delivered the final defeat which convinced Emperor Simeon the Great to abandon his plans of conquest. Yet, when the time came, you chose to stand by my side and return my crown to me. I appreciate your assistance, and admire the skill, tenacity, and honor with which you prosecuted this war. In recognition of your behavior, both in war and in resisting the usurpation, I hereby decree all Royal Commonwealth territories are restored. The Empire shall withdraw from all occupied Commonwealth worlds, and the Federation will relinquish its control over the Commonwealth’s Fallspace colonies. The Commonwealth shall be as it was before the war.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. Incredibly, Lady d’Lyre stood, drawing attention to herself, and she had the audacity to look furious.
“We had an agreement,” the senator said.
The Emperor guffawed in astonishment as much as mirth.“And you expect it still stands after what you did? That agreement was stipulated on the condition that you refrained from fomenting rebellion against my rule. You violated that vital clause.”
“Nowhere was that clause written,” d’Lyre insisted. “Nor was it discussed.”
The Emperor sipped her wine as she studied the Federation woman, a delaying tactic to find her words. “It was so obvious, I did not imagine it would need to be. Your tenuous grip on reality concerns me, and furthers my conviction that any deal with the Federation would not be in the Empire’s long-term interests. Only a truly litigious and morally bankrupt society would attempt to enforce a deal made under false pretenses. Only the worst of transhumanity would risk tripping a Fall to gain a better place at the bargaining table. But since you and your ilk seem unable to understand that, let me say this – the strong do as they will, and the weak suffer what they must. In the past, that saying has applied to military strength alone, but during this war, we have seen other forms of strength. Moral strength. Ethical strength. The strength of loyalty. In every one of those measures, the Noble Federation falls short. I would hesitate to call your society noble, considering that you seem to possess no concept of nobility beyond fancy titles bought by the rich. It is that weakness which has led to your downfall today. Had you possessed the moral fortitude to stick by your initial overtures, you may have received nearly all your desires, but now, you will get nothing and like it, and you will thank me for not continuing this war against your Federation.”
D’Lyre protested, “Our allies would stop you from conquering us—”
The Emperor laughed. “After you tried to sell them for a better deal? I think not.”
Lady d’Lyre looked about the hall, and I watched as she realized not a friendly face remained alive to console her. Everyone here despised her, and when her eyes met mine, I did my best to communicate the depths of my disgust for her.
The Emperor gestured with her good hand, still holding a glass of wine. “You will be confined to your quarters until a new treaty is drafted, and then you will sign it, without revision. Any refusal will be viewed as an act of further warfare, and war shall be prosecuted so forcefully that your government shall be wiped from this galaxy like the stain it is.”
Lady d’Lyre must have thought she still possessed some bargaining ability because she simpered and gave the Emperor a sultry stare. “Your Majesty, surely you and I should talk in private and come to a more pleasurable arrangement?”
The Emperor’s eyebrows rose. “You’re right. I can think of a more pleasurable arrangement. I have heard the Federation profited greatly during the war’s first five years by remaining neutral, absorbing the Allies’ wealth through predatory pricing on war materiel. I think that debt should be forgiven, immediately, without any further collection of interest.”
