Chương 86: Political Theater

Auctoritas Station, Terra Imperium Stellarum May 20th, 2848 The private imperial theater at Auctoritas Station had not been part of the original construction, but added later, under Empress Astrea Vesper Solaris, in what was seen at the time as a ringing endorsement of the new, free-standing holo-projector technology. That meant, rather than being nearly four centuries old, like the bones of the station, the theater had played host to less than two hundred years of exclusive entertainment for the imperial court.

Like most of the early holo-theaters, whose designers had proven overly optimistic about certain aspects of the breakthrough, The Astrea Theater's architects had chosen to emulate the old idea of theatre-in-the-round. A flat, circular area at the center of the chamber housed the holo-projectors, with seats for the audience organized into four ascending quadrants which together made up a complete circle.

The seating rose at a steep angle to the surrounding lushly carpeted corridors, where, prior to the commencement of a show, four bars, one located along each outer wall, served drinks and hors d'oeuvres. It was there that the wealthy and powerful circulated, like schools of easily frightened fish, as they both sought to come closer to Altair and his wife, and alternately flinched in paroxysms of terror at the prospect of imperial attention. Altair swirled a tumbler of Tuk'veer in his hand.

The full name of the drink - like most actual Torean names - was a long succession of syllables that quickly became too difficult for human vocal cords to pronounce; he'd asked Wik to repeat it five times, on the first occasion that they'd shared a bottle, before giving up on ever getting the sounds right. Tuk'veer trees were one of the only fruiting plants native to the long-destroyed home world of the Toreans to have thrived on the ark-ships, even after all the long years of the Harrier diaspora.

"I've never understood how you can drink that stuff," Orion muttered, keeping his voice low. The imperial guard had spent the past two days sweeping the theater for bugs, before locking the entire room down in anticipation of the day's show. Still, Altair approved of his son's caution, even when it came to seemingly harmless conversation.

"What does it actually taste like?" Isla Emonstone asked. Altair considered for only half a moment, catching his wife's eye just long enough for Cordelia to give him the barest nod.

"Try for yourself," he offered, and passed the tumbler over. Isla's dark eyes sparkled, and Altair thought that her practiced, polite smile became just a bit more genuine. She unhooked her arm from his son's elbow, passed Orion her own wine glass, and accepted the offered drink in both hands. The entire family watched as she touched her lips to the rim of the glass, tipped it back, and took a sip.

"Fruity and smokey at the same time," Isla observed, after taking a moment to really taste the Tuk'veer.

"Like a kind of black cherry, or pipe smoke. It reminds me of my great-grandfather." She passed the tumbler back, and Altair took a sip for himself without showing the slightest hesitation. There - let all the vultures see that. His son had brought a young woman before the entire assembled court, and she had been accepted by the emperor like part of the family.

"Orion tells me that you met on deployment at Proxima Virginis?" Wik Void Skimmer asked, swirling his own tumbler of the same drink about to let it aerate. Like a red wine, Tuk'veer only tasted better with a bit of time to soften. Isla nodded." The Numerian answered a distress beacon from a crew of asteroid miners," she explained.

"Once we'd evacuated them from their ship - failing air scrubbers," Orion explained, "we towed the ship into orbit and transferred the miners to a local hospital. I was the co-pilot for the shuttle flight, and Isla was working the ER that day."

"So you're a doctor," Cordelia asked. The question was a set-up: both Altair and his wife had already read an entire dossier on the young woman, provided by one of Wik's analysts.

"I'm doing my residency," Isla corrected.

"Having a duke for a father must have made it easier to secure a place at a reputable hospital," the empress pressed.

"Be nice, mother," Orion stepped in.

"This is the first time Isla and I have actually got to see each other in person for months. I'd like to enjoy it before we go back to sending messages between systems."

"Your enjoyment is not the reason you were granted leave to attend tonight," Cordelia pointed out.

"It is important that the family present a united front for this." Orion shook his head.

"I'm still not certain I understand how Cassie managed to make a mess that blew up quite so much."

"It's not entirely her fault," Isla said. Altair raised his eyebrows; the poor girl now had the full attention of not only his son and wife, but also Wik, who'd until that moment been half-focused on the crowd.

"My cousin Sloane is part of her class," Isla explained.

"We've exchanged a few messages during the term. She says this Radecki person has been just horrible."

"This Radecki person is still the son of a senator," Wik pointed out.

"Though - ah. Here we are." A man in a sharp, charcoal-gray suit hurried into the room, through the gauntlet of imperial guards, and up to the director of imperial intelligence.

"The Nusku exited the gate five minutes ago, Director," he said.

"It'll be over an hour until the courier ship docks here at Auctoritas, but we have the contents of a secure transmission from Senior Analyst Yarborough." He extended his hand, offering Wik a portable hard drive.

"This is the only copy?" Wik asked, and the agent nodded.

"Does it do what we need it to do?" At that, the man cracked a smile.

"I think you'll be pleased, sir."

"Excellent." Wik nodded, and the agent sketched a brief bow to Altair and his family.

"I suppose there's no time to review it first," Cordelia grumbled.

"Have a bit of faith in our daughter," Altair said. He nodded to Wik, who set off down the stairs toward the center of the theater, portable drive in hand. Then, he tapped the miniaturized microphone pickup he wore on his collar to activate it, sending a chime from the speakers mounted throughout the chamber. At that signal, conversations died, and hundreds of faces turned toward him. Altair permitted himself to scan the crowd for a moment. He found Senator Tarquin Radecki, his protege Amélie Lipień at his side.

She was a severe-looking woman, an appearance at odds with the way she hung about her mentor's orbit while he quite obviously worked to ingratiate himself with Altair's niece, Cressida. From the look of things, the effort had only borne mixed results. Senator U'ilani met the emperor's eyes and raised a glass in a casual salute.

She was speaking with Senator Dorotea Catalina, which meant the Altair of tomorrow was going to end up with some sort of headache, but at least he could be confident that both women had the good of the imperium as their ultimate goal - from their own perspectives, of course. There was a knot of naval officers who'd managed to isolate and trap An'cet, the former LeShaii ambassador and newly elected Senator of Bian.

There had been some difficulty with the logistics of holding elections along a war front, but Altair had insisted. If one crisis was allowed to suspend democracy, sooner or later an unscrupulous politician would use the precedent to seize power. Altair considered sending someone to rescue the poor man, but then he saw Jack Nakagami was part of the group and knew it wouldn't be necessary.

Nearly every ducal family had sent someone to accept the imperial family's invitation; there had been plenty of time to arrange transport. Mostly heirs or second children, rather than the heads of families themselves. Cressida came for the Xiāo, of course, and Malik Adnar Al Jahalin-Solaris, from Hadiqa. The addition of Fumiyo Ashitomi-Solaris, from Mikabosi, meant that every branch of the extended imperial family was present. A show of support, or circling wolves?

There were Kataris and Ascanias, Sabrans and Cardonas and Taiwos. In fact, about the only duke who hadn't sent a family member was Alvarez Montalban, which Altair was privately grateful for. The last thing he wanted to deal with this evening was one more request for another space elevator. Then again, Alvarez must have already known the results of the duel for days now. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"My very good friends," Altair began, and the speakers made certain that his voice carried to every corner of the room.

"Thank you for accepting our invitation and joining my family tonight. Many of you know that I have been an enthusiast of mech technology my entire life, and that enjoying a good duel is something of a guilty pleasure of mine." At that, a polite ripple of laughter spread throughout the room, and Altair allowed himself a smile and a shrug.

"But this evening is different," he went on.

"How often is it that a member of the imperial family is caught up in a challenge like this? I certainly can't recall a precedent." Altair looked around the room, causing several people in the crowd to shake their heads.

"As soon as the match between Senator Tarquin Radecki's son and Cadet Sandhurst was finished, one of Director Void Skimmer's agents rushed the data back from Vidako by special courier ship," Altair explained.

"Five minutes ago, that courier exited the gate at L2, and sent the footage by secure transmission. Director Void Skimmer is loading the data to our holoprojectors now. I have not seen it, nor has anyone in my family, and so I will be just as surprised as all of you at the results. Please, I invite you to take your seats." Altair extended a hand, and the knots of conversation began to break up as people filed down the stairs, leaving empty glasses behind for the staff to dispose of.

Altair offered his arm to his wife and escorted her down to where their seats in the very front row were reserved. His nieces and nephews filled out the rest of the row, while the other three quadrants were left to senators, admirals, and other such luminaries of the imperium. By no coincidence, Senator Tarquin and his party were seated directly across the room from Altair and the imperial family.

Once he'd settled into his cushioned, heated chair, Altair caught the old fool's eye, raised his tumbler in a salute, and grinned. Tarquin raised his own glass in salute.

"If the boyfriend loses, we're going to look very foolish," Cordelia whispered.

"Wik's planned for that," Altair said.

"If I may have your attention." Director Void Skimmer stood at the center of the room.

"Our analyst has edited together sensor feeds from both mechs, along with comm transmissions, data from media satellites in orbit over the dueling site, and data from the academy commandant's mech, as well. This has been done en route, to present a more cohesive viewing experience, but every effort has been made not to alter the substance of the duel itself. All of the raw data will be available upon request at the conclusion of our viewing." And with that, Wik stepped aside.

The theater lights dimmed, leaving the audience in darkness, and then the holoprojectors snapped to life with a view that sent gasps and murmurs throughout the room. The mech that flew up above the surface of Chel, picked out against the darkness of the star-strewn sky, was like no imperial line-mech. From the digitigrade legs to the ultrasonic claws on the fingers and toes, to the spread wings and burning thrusters, it had been custom designed from the ground up. A single black ace of spades decorated the torso.

Orion leaned over from Altair's other side.

"You asked Amelia Raab to oversee this duel herself?"

"I didn't have to," Altair whispered back.

"She's the commandant, and -" he paused as the recording's sound kicked in.

"This is the Revenant Wolf. Airspace is clear. I am overwatch, and I am arbitrator of this duel. Cadet Sandhurst, you are clear to launch." Altair settled back into his seat, but when the view cut over to the boy's mech, he couldn't help but lurch forward himself. He'd expected a Tyro with a low altitude drop pack, perhaps, or even an academy Kestrel if Sandhurst was really talented and had been able to test out on the model; but that wasn't what the holoprojector showed, at all.

In fact, the mech stepping out of a hangar onto the surface of Chel was all too familiar - there's been long sessions around a dinner table with every iteration of this design on a tablet, while his daughter and his wife bickered about every last detail. Lady Ren looked like a work of art, and Altair was certain that no one outside of his family - and Wik, of course - had ever seen it until now. The gold accents shone, and where light hit the white ceramic armor, the sight of it was nearly blinding.

There was a shield mounted on the left arm that had been painted in the same colors, and Altair was certain that wasn't something they'd included when it had been made.

"She gave him her mech?" Cordelia exclaimed.

"I think you may have underestimated how attached she is to this kid," Orion muttered. Altair set his tumbler into the cup-holder and gripped the arm-rests of his seat as he watched the custom Janissary fire off its thrusters, rising in a gentle curve high above the moon's surface before coming down and entering the site chosen for the duel - a series of caverns labelled, very helpfully by Wik's agent in text at the bottom of the feed, as 'The Deeps.'

He was not at all surprised to see that Tarquin Radecki's son had been supplied with a custom mech, as well - a more heavily armored version of the Kestrel called, apparently, the Karabella. Altair could feel the excitement in the room ratchet up a notch at the audience's realization that the cadets wouldn't be fighting in stock mechs. It would be clear even to the most politically oblivious, at this point, that the imperial family and Senator Radecki had both backed this fight with their own resources.

The beginning of the fight went well enough, though it was clear to Altair that Cassie's boyfriend was out-tonned and outgunned. The Karabella seemed to shrug off every blast from the Crow's Foot mines that Sandhurst had scattered about the first chamber, while the return fire from those dual heavy lasers scrapped Lady Ren's shield in the first exchange. When Sandhurst retreated, Altair caught a glimpse of the broad smile on Tarquin Radecki's face and felt a sudden burst of intense hatred.

Perhaps he should have reviewed the recording before showing it - if this particular maneuver went wrong, there was going to be political hell to pay. Then the mine took Sandhurst's mech in the back in the second chamber, and a murmur spread through the chamber. Until then, the audience had been equally divided, if not leaning toward supporting Radecki as the clear favorite.

"That mine was planted in advance," Orion said, louder than a whisper.

"What does that mean?" Isla asked.

"It's a violation of the emperor's dueling laws, if Radecki had a mine planted in advance," Malik Al-Jahalin-Solaris answered, from down the row, and Altair's nephew wasn't lowering his voice, either. When Lady Ren came out of the darkness, sliced one heavy laser barrel in half, and then kicked off the Karabela's chest, Altair actually heard cheers from around the room. When Fletcher Radecki pursued and melted Lady Ren's foot off, there were gasps.

Watching the fight had, it seemed, swept more and more of the audience up as the action went on. Radecki's words became increasingly unhinged, and when he shouted "People like you should know when they're beaten," there was a mutter of discontent among the crowd. One mech after the other broke out of a narrow passage through the rock into open air, thrusters keeping them aloft in the darkness of a vast, subterranean abyss.

Both machines were damaged, and Sandhurst had nothing left but two plasma blades, shining purple against the gloom.

"This is it," Altair whispered, in spite of himself. To his surprise, Cordelia reached over, took his hand in hers, and squeezed. When Lady Ren charged Radecki's mech, the mech's torso ripped open by one blinding blue beam from that last heavy laser, he couldn't help but squeeze back. When those twin plasma blades sunk into the Karabela's torso, Altair leaned forward along with everyone else in the room.

"Surrender," Sandhurst demanded, his voice coming over the speakers clear as a ringing bell.

"To a pathetic boy from the outworlds? Never," Radecki shot back. Lady Ren dropped one saber to grip Radecki's remaining laser barrel and force it wide, and then Sandhurst began dragging the other blade deeper into his opponent's torso. Tarquin Radecki jumped to his feet.

"Get out!" the old man shouted at his son, forgetting in the moment that everything he was watching had already happened, days before, and there was not a thing he could do to change it. The rear armor of the Karabela blew out, clearing the way for an escape pod, and the room erupted in cheers. Altair collapsed back into his seat and allowed his eyes to close for just a moment of relief - but there was more to be done this evening, and he couldn't let the mask of the emperor slip, yet.

"This duel is over," Amelia Raab declared.

"As Cadet Radecki has ejected, by the terms agreed upon, Arcturus Sandhurst is the victor." The protected image froze, and the lights came up to a roar of applause. Across from Altair, Senator Tarquin's face was nearly purple with rage. Altair rose and touched his microphone again to activate it.

"Like many of you here, I am also shocked and appalled to see evidence of apparent tampering in a lawful duel. Director Void Skimmer, can you tell us more about what happened on Chel?"

"I can, in fact," Wik said, from the top of the stairs, his own voice cutting in over the speakers.

"My agent on the scene confirmed, with witness testimony, confessions, data from the Karabela's computer systems, and a variety of other pieces of evidence, a conspiracy to fix the outcome of this duel in favor of Cadet Fletcher Radecki. I have been informed that he and his co-conspirators have all been arrested by military police and are en route to Terra as we speak."

"This is preposterous!" Senator Tarquin shouted, one hand braced against the back of his chair, the other pointed accusatorially at Wik.

"It's clear this was never a fair duel to begin with! The imperial family provided the princess's lover with an advanced mech that far outclassed anything my son could bring to the table! If that ejection system hadn't activated, the Sandhurst boy would have murdered my son right then and there!"

"I wasn't finished, Senator," Wik Void Skimmer said.

"We also have recordings of your boy offering, on your behalf, to withdraw from the duel if Princess Cascada would promise, not only to place Senator Lipień on the appropriations committee - but also that she would cede her right to stand for election, and support a candidate of your choice, after Emperor Altair's passing." Even the speakers were hardly enough to carry Wik's words above the rising cacophony.

"Tarquin Radecki," Altair declared, "I am grieved to find evidence of such corruption in the imperial senate. I invoke my right of impeachment." He waved his hands, and the waiting imperial guards hurried down the stairs to take the old man into custody. At his side, Orion placed a hand on Altair's shoulder and leaned in close to his ear.

"Sounds to me like we owe this Sandhurst kid." Altair watched as Tarquin Radecki had to be dragged up the stairs, protesting the entire time.

"I suppose that we do," he admitted.