The Lead Governor froze.
“Does this clarification have any significance,” Van Stryke temporized but another of his governors, not so faint of heart, was not hesitating to charge directly in where his fellows hesitated to tread.
“Does that mean you’re withdrawing your support?” Governor Manning asked sharply.
I turned a flinty gaze on my former subordinate.
“You can’t, Admiral! You’d be sealing the fate of billions of voters!” exclaimed Magistrate Trevon, looking agitated.
“I’m in exile and you’re trying to tell me that it’s all on me?” I asked with disbelief, “that this entire region will be going back up in flames as countless worlds are consumed by the bug menace if I don’t act, and at the same time, because I wasn’t here I have no right to take you to task for failing to build up your military? Is that what I’m hearing, that I am to yet again be unfairly castigated as the man who let everyone die when I could have saved them?” I continued in a rising voice, “and this despite the fact I’ve been given the back of the hand by everyone in the Spine, I’m still laboring under a sentence of Exile, that my mere presence here risks not just my life but every member of my fleet if either Empire or the Confederation finds out,” I finished with a growl.
“Do you have a point somewhere under all of those complaints,” Manning snapped, “yes you got a raw deal. Yes, we never expected a multi-sector wide bug strike. Yes wrong choices were made. Are you going to help or not!”
I gave him a dead level look. Who were these people, that thought they could ask my help on the one hand and then berate me on the other?
“My point, as you so succinctly put it, is that my services are not free and this is going to cost you. Plenty,” I said flatly.
Commodore Hammer frowned and started to open her mouth and then stopped.
A wise choice.
Several of the Sector Governors on this ruling council of theirs on the other hand shared looks that indicated this was not entirely unexpected.
We’d see about that.
“This Regional Authority has been made aware of the deals you cut with our predecessors in the failed rebel New Regime and the government of Sector 25, and we’re prepared to make you a similar offer,” said Van Stryke, turning to receive a small stack paper flimsies from his secretary.
“I have in my hands a signed proposal from all seven governors appointing the individual of your choice the new Regional Commandant. It has to be co-signed by all seven governors, effectively endowing him, her, herm or it, the sector commandant—of all seven sectors—with all the resulting rights, privileges and responsibilities traditional to that office. They will also—”
“Him, her, herm or it? There’s only one top commander in my fleet and that’s me,” I interrupted.
The Lead Governor winced.
“I hope that you can understand our position. Your appointment is politically untenable,” he said.
“What do I need to understand… that you’re cowards?” I asked.
“That’s uncalled for, Montagne,” Governor Manning said.
I turned to him.
“So, I need to lock it down, shut up, rise to the occasion and do it all by standing aside is that what you meant?” I asked.
Manning grimaced.
“That’s a harsh way of looking at it. But there’s no call for throwing around names. No one here is looking to screw you. We realize we’re asking a lot but you have to realize we wouldn’t have turned to you if we had any other choice. You’ve given more than enough for the Spineward Sectors; we respect that,” he said.
“Except that by me rising to the occasion, you really mean I need to swallow a fist full of insults when I offer a simple greeting to this body and then be alternately implored, questioned and berated when I ask a simple question, why you haven’t taken the chance my people died to give you, to build up your defenses,” I said sardonically, “so while I genuinely believe that you wouldn’t have turned to me if you had any other choice, the rest of this sounds like hogwash. But hey, I could be wrong.”
“To be honest, I could care less about any ranks, titles or any other so called honors on offer. I mean they seem pretty useless considering you wouldn’t even meet me in the Spine itself, insisting we rendezvous on your governmental monitor way out here in the Rim,” I continued, “so, no. I have a different deal in mind. Consider this my counter offer.”
“If you would at least look at our offer, I think you’ll find there’s no need for any threats,” said Governor Van Stryke.
“When I threaten someone, you’ll know it,” I informed him shortly and then pulled out my data pad. I briefly scanned through the documents they’d provided before dismissively tossing them aside. Well… more like passing them into the waiting hands of my Chief of Staff, Lisa Steiner, but there was a toss involved.
I didn’t have to read through everything to tell what it said.
In short, they wanted my Fleet but they didn’t want me.
“This document of yours is a non-starter. If that’s all you’re offering then we’re done here,” I told them flatly.
“Thus condemning billions to die over your ego? I don’t think so. That’s not your speed, Montagne,” Manning said flatly.
“I agree that it doesn’t fit his psychological profile, Governor,” Van Stryke said to his fellow governor before turning to look at me with assessing eyes, “however, time in isolation and exile can change a man. Perhaps this isn’t exactly the same man you knew,” he added, eyeing me with a hooded expression.
I crossed my arms.
“Then let me be clear. You may be a King in your home system but if you stand by and do nothing out of spite, the Regional Authority acting under my leadership is prepared to restrict the Caprian Star System’s status, stripping it of several privileges as well as all voting rights,” the Lead Governor informed me with a challenging gaze, “we may just have to do that anyway since they voted you in as King. But in this particular case it wouldn’t be a chore, it would be a real pleasure.”
“So that’s how you want to play it,” I said in a hard voice.
“I will do whatever it takes, beg, borrow or threaten whoever or whatever it takes to save those worlds, Mr. Montagne. Never forget it,” said the Lead Governor. The other governors behind him stood in silent agreement.
“So, you are willing to do whatever it takes. Now you’re talking my language,” I said firmly.
“If you want to take it that way, I wouldn’t say you’re wrong,” Van Stryke said stiffly.
“First off, if you want me to stay in this room, sanctions against Capria and giving me the boot from my own fleet are non-starters. Keep them on the table and I walk,” I said opening up a file and shooting it over to him.
“What is this?” Van Stryke asked cautiously.
“Consider it my terms of service in exchange for helping you all out of this mess you went and got yourselves into while I wasn’t looking,” I said dismissively.
For a moment, several of the Governors standing behind Manning and Van Stryke looked mulish. One of them even stepped forward.
“Who are you to negotiate with the elected representatives of seven sectors and more than seven hundred inhabited worlds?” he demanded.
I bestowed a flinty look.
“Jason Montagne, Admiral and King, let’s forget for the moment that you and just about everyone else in the Spine owe their free and semi-independent return to the galactic community to me and just go with I’m the man with the warships you believe you need to save our people,” I said magnanimously.
The Governor turned purple.
“Your background file never really mentioned the size of your ego, Your Majesty,” Van Stryke deadpanned.
Manning snorted.
“I tried to keep it in check for the good of the Spine but when your region throws you away, such impulses tend to fade,” I snarked back.
&nbs
p; I gave them a challenging look before I felt my point was made.
Separating me from my fleet was not an option. At no time up to this point had any person in this room, including Manning and now Leonora Hammer, convinced me of their pure motives and good intentions to the point that I would trust them with the lives of my people. Trusting them with the lives and deaths of the people of the Spine was bad enough considering how badly they’d just bungled things.
I wasn’t about to let them get their hooks into the Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet or separate me from it. They just hadn’t earned it.
“Perhaps we can table the discussion indefinitely. Officially, we will agree not to take any action against Capria or further actions against Tracto not already taken or mandated by treaty, and officially you agree to non-binding agreement that says you’ll stay in Tracto. Officially, you’ll agree to stay there for the duration of the conflict. Unofficially and without the blessing of this Governing Authority, you can do whatever you want so long as your fleet manages to achieve victory and the bugs are driven back,” said Van Stryke.
Meaning I could be present but they’d expect me to lead the fleet to victory against the bugs and they still might come back on me later if the bugs did too much damage or they just decided they didn’t like my face. In short, I had no legal protection from the Spine, if the Empire or the Confederation decided to come back on me, I thought sourly. With ‘heroes’ like this running the Spineward Sectors, it was no surprise it was on the brink of disaster.
“Fine. Then with my preconditions out of the way, this leads us to the final item in my proposal,” I said.
“Haven’t you already asked enough?” asked the now purple-faced governor.
“Hardly,” I replied calmly. I’d come here hoping for sanity and maybe even a little glad-handing as they told me what a wonderful guy I’d been in the past, so sad how things turned out, what a raw deal and so on and so forth before they gave me a pat on the back and sent me back out to go slay the mighty Sky Demons. Instead I’d received….
“So far, all I’ve basically said is hands off what’s already mine. You came to me. Not the other way around. Frankly, this fleet has sacrificed more blood, sweat and treasure in defense of the Spineward Sectors than any other person or organization than anyone else in the room, including him,” I said pointing to Governor Manning.
“Calm yourself, Governor Chu Xia,” the Lead Governor said to his agitated colleague.
The other man took a breath and then the Lead Governor turned back to me.
“What do you want, Admiral?” he asked.
“You know at first, I was thinking a simple service fee would do it but now I’m leaning toward a flat tax,” I said.
The Lead Governor blinked, Commodore Hammer blinked and the rest of the Sector Governors looked at me nonplussed.
“I beg your pardon? I don’t think I heard you properly. You want to do what exactly?” asked Van Stryke.
“Announce a flat tax,” I said patiently.
The purple-faced governor of moments before now looked like he was about to have a stroke.
“This is usurpation of our authority and rebellion against the state!” shouted Governor Chu Xia.
Van Stryke gave him a sharp look before turning back to me apologetically.
“Only the Regional Authority or the Sector Governors can propose sector-wide taxes, Admiral,” Van Stryke pointed out tactfully, “and they then have to be ratified by the individual sector assemblies.”
“I wasn’t thinking about sector-wide taxes, rather something more in the line of contributions from those worlds directly in need of assistance,” I mused.
“In other words, what you’re asking is impossible,” Governor Manning said flatly, “we’re here to save worlds, Jason. Not restructure the tax code, refight every budget battle of the past two years or—and I’m sure you didn’t actually mean this—line your pockets.”
I paused thoughtfully. Was I thirsting for vengeance or acting irrationally… maybe. I tended to think of it more as making sure the mistakes of the past weren’t repeated at the expense of my fleet but I could be wrong. Either way, Manning was wrong. Someone was going to have to pay for this and I wasn’t going to act first and then wait for the Confederation at large or the Regional Authority to pay whatever bill I handed in.
“No,” I announced with authority.
“I honestly think a flat tax of 4% on each planetary economy in need is more than fair. It’s not like any of those worlds has paid one credit toward the upkeep of my fleet or into the pensions of my fallen sailors, lancers or officers, and yet at the same time, the amounts they’ve spent on their SDF’s have clearly, at least in their own opinions, proved insufficient as they are now begging for our assistance,” I said motioning Steiner forward. I received the sheaf of flimsies she pulled out of a protected carrier on her shoulder and then turned to Van Stryke.
“Well as they say, beggars cannot be choosers. And as Governor Manning has so bluntly pointed out, I was the only person present in the room the last time a negotiation of this magnitude went down and thus have only myself to blame if I am unhappy with the results. Well let me be clear, I have no intention of walking out of this room dissatisfied with the results of this negotiation,” I said.
“No,” Governor Chu Xia said with ringing finality.
I cocked an eyebrow his way.
“If you think my Sector Government will give into these terrorist demands, you’re dreaming,”
“Okay. Your sector can stand on its own,” I shrugged.
“Did you fail to hear me? I said we would rather die than pay your blood money!” shouted Chu Xia, who despite his very Asian-sounding name looked decidedly like a white Caucasian to my eyes.
“Control yourself, Governor,” I said looking at him quizzically, “your people won’t be forced to pay a thing. You can live and die by your own efforts; I won’t interfere one way or the other.”
“This is blackmail! You can’t extort us like this and get away with it, Montagne. This is illegal,’ Chu Xia said stormily.
“It’s not blackmail, because I don’t even know which world or sector you represent. All I’m proposing is a voluntary tax for my volunteer force,” I said.
“I’m afraid you’re not volunteers if you’re asking to be paid, Admiral Montagne,” Van Stryke pointed out.
“You’re absolutely wrong, as I believe the esteemed leader of the Absolute Choice party would tell you if she were here at this very moment. I believe the Confederation made living wage payments mandatory for all volunteers,” I shot back.
“The Grand Assemblyperson is under indictment!” raged Chu Xia.
“I still can’t help the laws you ratified in my absence,” I said, waving the protest away.
Governor Chu Xia advanced on me, now breathing heavily.
“Control yourself, Governor,” Van Stryke said sharply.
“Listen you can’t honestly be saying that a flat tax on our world governments in need is in any way comparable to an individual’s living wage requirements. A requirement, I’ll add, that might have been passed in the core worlds but technically speaking hasn’t even been ratified by the Spineward Sectors,” he continued.
“And never will be,” Manning muttered beside him.
“Please be reasonable; a tax like you’re proposing is simply too much,” argued Van Stryke, but I held firm.
“My fleet accountants vigorously disagree with you. 4% is what we estimate will be needed to sustain a roving independent force large enough to bail out the Spineward Sectors each and every time it gets in trouble of this nature,” I countered sharply.
“Isaak was right. You are insane,” Chu Xia fumed, physically barred from coming at me by Manning’s suddenly outthrust arm, “we are not wealthy shopkeepers to be squeezed and would never accede to your protection racket regardless.”
“What I am proposing is the furthest thing from insanity. In fa
ct, it’s the very opposite. What’s insane is rebuilding roads when what you need is battle fleets. What’s insane is fiddling in the summertimes and then screaming for the Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet to come bail you out every time you run headlong into a sector-wide or multi-sector threat you can’t handle,” I said hotly, “as it is, she,” I pointed at Hammer, “decided her principle was more valuable than your billions of credits and so that ship’s sailed, and you lot,” I said gesturing to the rest of them, “tried to pawn me off with a few honors and talk of patriotism to a government and people who have rejected me.”
“No,” I said decisively, “this is going to cost you. Plenty!”
“You think you can dictate terms to the Spineward Sectors Regional Authority,” Van Stryke asked pointedly.
“You think I can’t?” I lifted an eyebrow. I mean all they had to do was say no and I was out of here.
Beside Manning and Van Stryke, Chu Xia stood and spluttered.
I eyed the small group of sector politicians before me clinically. I might feel an attachment to the Border Alliance Worlds, maybe even to those small and independent planets that weren’t yet large enough to afford a fleet large enough to protect themselves, but the lazy core-worlds that ratified my exile and then failed to build up sufficient defenses to protect themselves from the bug threat? Not so much. And these guys represented those very worlds.
There was little likelihood that some local politician, a man or woman from a not very populated, not very strong and not very industrialized planet was going to seize the reins of power over an entire sector.
“It seems you have us over a barrel, Montagne,” Governor Manning said bitterly, “I don’t know why I’m surprised. You’ve always been willing to do whatever it took to achieve your objective.”
Behind him, Commodore Hammer had gone pale-faced as she stared at me.
“I’ve stopped droids, two imperial invasions and I’m willing to do what I feel is necessary to stop this bug Swarm,” I said evenly.
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