Election II

Posted on Sun Jul 23rd, 2023 @ 10:23pm by Caeda & Emperor Antonius VI

Mission: Historiae Terrae Et Imperii
Location: The Pyramid
Timeline: Date 2371-08-14 at 1330
2992 words - 6 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

“The Emperor Approaches!” came the booming voice of a Herald as Antonius exited a hallway into a room with a vast glass wall, an expanse of marble floor, and a small amount of auditorium-like seats. On the floor was a semi-circular table made of light wood. On the outside of the table, furthest from the window and closest to the stadium seats, were multiple simple orange chairs on wheels. Three chairs sat on the inside curve of the table, the outer-two of which were the same as the others. The chair in the center of the inside, however, was tall-backed and made of brown leather. As he entered, a gathering of suits and uniforms hopped to their feet. He walked into the room with all eyes on him and sat down in the brown chair. As soon as his butt hit the seat, everyone else sat down as well.

The Secretariat Chamber let in the natural light, and down the street behind the Emperor, the people could be seen doing their civic duty. The seat to his right was reserved for the heir, but Paolo had not yet arrived. The one on the left, on the other hand, was occupied by the Imperial Chancellor and head of government, Richard Ramsay.

“Good morning, all.” Antonius said, clearing his throat. “I trust you heard the speech.”

“Of course, sir. It was very effective.” Richard said with a nod that indicated he believed what he was saying.

“It highlighted the important points about the Senate..” said the woman in the black dress at the end of the table. CJ, the resident propagandist, had of course seen the speech beforehand. “But reminded the people where real power comes from.”

“The people were awestruck and inspired by the magnanimity and benevolence of their Emperor. It will be considered a historic speech.” Colleen spoke up from her chair after a few others had followed CJ with their praise. Though she was soft spoken, Colleen was sitting where she was for a reason, brutal in her effectiveness and decisiveness.

“You looked larger than life itself up there.” Contessa said with a grin. She sat right to the left of Colleen, but her eyes lingered on Antonius for a moment, her words flattering but brief.

Antonius seemed relatively pleased that the speech went on well, and showed it with a somber smile. It wasn’t the first powerful speech he had given, and if he were fortunate, it wouldn’t be his last. His lips parted as he leaned back, dropping the royal “we” as he often did with his inner circle.

"Behold! In this sacred union betwixt Empire and Emperor, a tapestry of unity unfurls, a celestial dance of hearts entwined. Forged by destiny's decree, their embrace resonates with symphonies of eternal majesty, adorning the cosmic stage with hues divine, forever etching their grandeur upon the theater of time." he said, nodding at its beauty. “From the first decree of the first Emperor, Antonius I. ‘Hic Stellatus Sceptrum’, ‘This Starry Scepter’. That means our hearts must beat as one. It’s more than a sentiment, it is spiritual. I appreciate everything each of you do to bring glory to our Empire. With minds and hearts like yours under my leadership, we cannot fail.”

He shifted in his chair as the sound of a door opening from the same hallway he had come down met his ears and Paolo, dressed in a dark gray suit, entered the room.

“Paolo, my boy. It’s good to see you made it.”

“I was held up at the greeting line. I’m trying to adjust to the crowds a bit more.” Paolo said with a smile, lowering himself into the seat next to his father. “Is the agenda the same, Dr. Ramsay?”

“Yes, it is, your Highness. A standard weekly meeting setting and, beyond the election of the Senate, nothing terribly new.” he said with a grin. The group gave a gentle laugh, knowing it had been a joke. One that might reflect reality, however. It wasn’t likely the Senate would do anything successfully they weren’t specifically told to do. At least at first. “Shall we begin, sir?”

“We shall.” Antonius said with a nod.

“I call this meeting to order then, and we will start with the obvious elephant in the room. At the end of the day, we will have an Imperial Senate with a mandate for creating law. At that point, His Majesty’s new list for the Council of Lords will be published. The first task of the Senate will be to elect a First and Second Senator to lead them and then there will be a State Opening by the Emperor. Just remember, everybody, that the Emperor is an ex officio member of the Senate, which means they will…very rarely act without his involvement.” Richard tapped through his notes for a beat. “And, after they elect their leaders and select committees, it will be our job to keep them busy with work so they have almost no time to get in our way. Any questions?”

“What is the time frame for this?” Ansley asked from his chair.

“I imagine it’ll take them about a month to figure out who their leaders are. The opening is scheduled for early September.”Richard said, looking at his colleague, the retired Admiral. “By then, we should be able to formulate a comprehensive legislative agenda.”

Richard fielded a few more questions from the secretaries, making sure they were all well-informed about the nature of the change and of the process of governing before going on the the next agenda item.

“Next, let’s move on to the report from Defense. “Malik, you have the floor.”

“Thank you.” Malik said and allowed for a brief pause to sit before he began. “As some of you may have already heard, two days ago, our forces were successful in annexing Salva II and Septimus III from the Alliance. These planets are rich in resources and we will begin the process of stripping them within the next two weeks. Our efforts to claim Boreth from the Klingons, however…”

While Malik continued speaking, the door opened and the attention of the attendant next to it was drawn. The young man disappeared for a moment, then reappeared and hastily made his way toward Colleen. He bent to her ear and spoke softly.

“Silas Sharp is asking to see you.”

Colleen frowned slightly at that and moved to stand, offering a nod of apology then turned to follow the attendant out while Malik continued providing his update. She stepped out and stopped abruptly as Sharp was immediately outside of the door, barely leaving space for her to exit the room and allow the door to close. He was enraged, sweating, his eyes wide… and was that fear she saw at the edge of everything?

“Silas…?” She prompted, using his name in an attempt to get him to focus.

“Colleen.” It was spoken as more of a statement than any sort of greeting. He struggled a moment, and then soldiered on. “I’m afraid I.. I have some terrible news.”

Colleen didn’t understand why he was acting the way he was, but she stepped close and leaned in so he could speak. As the words left his lips, she finally understood. Silas Sharp feared for his life.

Back inside, the meeting continued without one of its members. The members of the imperial secretariat listened to the report on the war with interest that suggested that they all successfully read their reports the night before. Paulo, on the other hand, was slightly distracted by the departure of Colleen. He had caught a glimpse of Silas’s frightened expression before the door closed, and his mind was racing, wondering what it could all be about.

After taking a moment outside to compose herself, Colleen stepped back into the chamber. She walked with a collected and poised step though she felt anything but. Even she, a bastion of calm, was filled with dread in having to deliver this news especially given the outburst they had all witnessed their Emperor have recently. Ansley was still speaking as she moved to her chair but instead of sitting she stood behind it with her hands resting on the back either consciously or unconsciously using it as a shield against the man who sat directly across from her. She allowed Malik to finish his thought, and then cut in before he could continue.

“Excuse me.” Her voice rose more loudly than normal, and she let her eyes fall on Antonius.

Annoyance flashed mildly on Ansley’s face, but at the same time he knew she wouldn’t be interrupting if it wasn’t something important. He turned to look at Colleen, noting that she looked nervous.

Colleen took a small breath to unconsciously prepare herself for what was about to happen. “I’ve just been informed that Giuseppe Orsini has escaped his incarceration, kidnapped Jessica Orsini and Grand Duke Antonio Orsini, and fled the system to location unknown.”

Antonius noticed when Colleen left, but such behavior wasn’t terribly unusual. The Secretariat held a pivotal role in the business of the Empire and often needed to be kept informed. When she returned, he was distracted from Malik’s report by the fact that she was standing, against protocol, and seemed to be short of breath. When she delivered the news, however, his mouth hung agape as he listened, stupidly, to news which sounded to him almost nonsensical.

“Wh… I don’t…” he started, looking at her with confusion, calm and quiet. “I don’t understand. How could this happen?” The first time was to Colleen, but for the second, he turned his eyes to Silas Sharp. “How could this happen, Silas?”

Colleen wasn’t the one to answer, but she did remain standing behind her chair for the moment, forgoing protocol in favor of a safer option. Even with Antonius being elderly, he would be a man fueled by rage which was dangerous at any age. She’d live with a reprimand for standing in favor of being ruthlessly strangled for something she had no part in.

“We were betrayed.” Silas replied, having entered the room and come in about halfway between the door and the table. He was speaking loud enough to be heard, but it was far from his usual authoritative tone. “We were unable to extract all of the relevant names from Nechayev.” It was a failing on Intelligence’s part, but Silas wasn’t here to specifically point fingers. In the end, everyone had failed their Emperor.

“Adam Montgomery, among others.”

“So you’re telling me that, not only has my traitorous son escaped from your high-security prison to the embarrassment of the entire security apparatus, but that he somehow captured the pregnant wife he tried to murder and my grandson, both of which I ordered protected by the Imperial Guard…“ his tone began to harden at this and feel with the kind of anxiety every in the room was beginning to dread, “and then they both escaped without being caught, is that right? Am I getting that right?”

“Yes.” Silas replied as if it were a simple thing. He wasn’t going to try to hide or make excuses, that wasn’t the type of man that he was after all for better or worse.

Antonius lowered his head, making a weak attempt to hold back the wave of frustration that was tempting him. He wanted to explode; he wanted to make Adam Montgomery and everyone else who betrayed him a head shorter. He wanted to blast the people around them for their failure. But he knew it wouldn’t help and, in the end, would only make things worse.

When he raised his head again, his expression was serene; almost benevolent. He looked at Silas and was silent for a few moments. The question he asked was offered in a hollow voice.

“Are you working against me, Silas Sharp?”

The urge to retort that perhaps he should be looking toward the people who had not shown themselves to accept responsibility in the moment as those who were working against their Emperor was strong, but Silas bit it back. Instead, he seemed saddened and disappointed by the question directed at him. He’d proven to be nothing but loyal, but he was only a man and he was not the only one who had failed here.

“No.”

“Good, I believe you.” Antonius said. “Pick a team of your smartest and most loyal. Patriots. Set them in the Imperial Guard. I want to know everything there is to know about how this happened. Do the same with the prison.”

He turned to the secretary for Internal Affairs.

“Shut it down. I want the military to lock down every system in the empire. If there’s a shuttle flying from Vulcan, I want the crew arrested and questioned thoroughly. Malik, cooperate and out the military on high alert. This is our command center for now.”

Given the danger of an outburst seemed to be over at least for the moment, Colleen finally resumed her seat and placed her hands in her lap. She seemed deep in thought, but this was a military and security matter at the moment.

Malik nodded and stood so he could step aside and speak to one of his people to get things in motion quickly. Silas remained where he was and spoke up again, a bit more himself this time.

“Shall I order heightened security for the Empress and your daughters?”

“Yes. Top level. Giuseppe is predictable only in his depravity.” Antonius said. “I want the entire damn Supreme Council of the Armed Forces here and locked down. Everyone accounted for. Anyone not here…we will assume is a traitor.”

Silas nodded and turned much as Ansley had to start rattling off orders to his underlings. He was concerned about the family, but his chief concern was Princess Giana. While he had no love for the vapid woman in the slightest, it was not a stretch to believe that Giuseppe had been informed of the revelation she had provided to the Emperor regarding Giuseppe’s treatment of her; it was likely Giuseppe would have eventually been arrested in time anyways, but his sister’s admission had made it so very easy and with a righteous cause.

If something were to happen to her now by the disgraced prince’s hand… Silas knew he would actually lose his head.

Returning to the table, Ansley took a seat. “If I may ask,” he began and waited until he had Antonius’ attention, “when we do find the traitors or Giuseppe himself, what shall we do with them?”

“Kill them on sight and bring back their bodies as proof.” Antonius said, his tone cold and even. To think he was saying that about his son was more than he could think about now. Giuseppe was no son of his; not anymore.

Antonius looked down the table at CJ who had just finished a call herself.

“Camila, I assume the radio and news broadcast would like to release the information they have at this point?”

“Yes, sir. She said with a grandiose nod. She seemed to have no particular reaction to the events as they panned out, but said nothing until this point.

“I’d like to throw the bone to Patria and the Imperial Broadcasting Network first and then allow the rest to report in a half hour.” She said, thinking of the Patriots and monarchists seeing things first. “But I also had another idea and moved the dial on it just in case you liked it. I have assembled a call center in New York that can field emergency calls and sightings of suspicious activity related to the rebels. They would be able to sift through all of the garbage and get things sent out directly to news and security services from there.”

Paolo nodded, looking from CJ to his father.

“That’s a great idea, getting everyone involved in the search.” He said quickly. “The more eyes looking out for suspicious behavior, the better.”

“Do it.” Antonius said.

“Perhaps it would be prudent to relocate the Empress and the princesses here.” Colleen pointed out calmly. “There is no guarantee that all of Giuseppe’s collaborators have gone into hiding or retreated with him. It would be easier to focus our resources into one place.”

“I agree.” Antonius said, looking at Colleen with a heavy gaze, one that spoke volumes about what was happening in his head. He was doing better than ever in guiding the Empire toward its goals, yet his own family was crumbling between his fingers. “We will make the Pyramid the safe zone. All we need is a way…to tell who we can trust and who we can’t.”

Colleen saw the trouble in the man’s eyes and even if she didn’t understand it fully, she could see the distress that was there. “What of your more extended family? You brother, sister, and their children? Your cousin Aurelia?”

Colleen asked for clarification on the matter; she didn’t ask about every single individual or cousin, but Aurelia did wield a unique position of her own and it made sense to Colleen that Antonius might want her close.

“Bring them all.”he said, his frown tight. Had it really come to this after all they had gone through? With a war going on, were they needing to prepare for a civil war all their own?

“I will see to it.” Colleen nodded and moved to make the arrangements to have the entire family brought together. She wondered how long it had been since all of the branches of the tree were together - if they ever had been.

TBC