by M D Cooper
“Maybe.” He frowned. “I don’t like it, but the best move might be to announce the alliance with House Laurentia.”
“Hmm. Not quite what I was envisioning, but it would work,” Pharis said. “Your engagement was a creative move, I must admit.”
Cyrus slumped in his seat.
“Oh, come on, partnering with Kristina’s not that bad, is it?”
“No, that’s not it.” He sighed. “It’s more that I’ve been getting close to Terry, and this development doesn’t leave a lot of room to see where that could have gone.”
Pharis waved her hand. “There are plenty of political marriages. I doubt Kristina is expecting a relationship in anything other than name.”
“Even so, it wouldn’t feel right.”
“You always were a monogamist.”
“Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing.”
She laughed. “I’m sorry, it’s not. I appreciate how you’ve been able to dedicate all of yourself to one person like that.”
“Even though I’ve had a bad habit of picking the wrong person.”
“This one is different?”
“Very.”
She smiled. “You care about her. I can’t ask you to give that up to solve my political problems for me.”
“It’s not only your problem. And that’s not the only consideration.”
“What else?”
“Admittedly, my reservations about marrying Kristina were initially because I was worried about losing Terry. But it got me thinking… if highborn only ever seek relationships with each other, we lose track of the people we’re supposed to be governing. They look at us as a different kind—just look at how things are now.”
His sister studied him. “Are you implying that you pursing a relationship with Terry in some way gives us a better connection to our people?”
He faltered. “I don’t mean for it to sound like a political scheme. That’s not why I care about her.”
“It wasn’t my intention to imply that it was. She gives you a different perspective,” Pharis clarified.
“Yes, and a necessary one. A union between Kristina and me won’t win us favor with the people, and that’s what we need in order to be successful in our bid against Nebracken.”
“What, then? With Jeslan betrothed to Silvan Nebracken, we need a marriage alliance of greater weight to stand any chance. A union between not just two scions, but a leader and a scion, would accomplish that. You and Kristina are the most natural choice, what with her leading Laurentia now.”
“Yes, but two scions would at least put the union on equal footing. Antaris Laurentia is unattached.”
Pharis’s eyes went wide momentarily and then she sighed. “I suppose I should have been prepared to take one for the team when I started meddling in political affairs.”
“He’s nice—you may actually like him.”
“I wonder what he’d think of me?”
“He shares your sense of familial duty and appreciates the viewpoint of putting citizens first. I could think of far worse matches.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How did this go from you being engaged to you trying to marry me off instead?”
“If I’m being honest, I don’t want to marry Kristina, even for show. But more than that, it’s about the position of power. Women in Serenity control the lines of succession. If I marry Kristina, then Laurentia is in control of our house alliance. However, if you were to marry Antaris, it would be them marrying into our family, and you would be in control.”
“Except—and this is big—I’m only a first-in-line scion, and Mother would never agree to it.”
Cyrus leaned closer. “What if you didn’t need her approval?”
“Yeah, right,” Pharis scoffed.
“Think about it. Mother already picked her side when she didn’t object to Jeslan running off with Silvan. So that means that Charlemis and Nebracken are aligned. And Nebracken is gunning for Laurentia.”
His sister paled. “Us having an alliance with Laurentia would be impossible. Charlemis can’t be divided.”
“So we either follow Mother’s lead and get on board with Nebracken, or…” He left the thought unsaid.
Pharis gathered close to the microphone and dropped her voice. “We couldn’t.”
“Can we afford not to? If you don’t take charge, House Charlemis will become a tool of Nebracken. There are no two ways about it.”
“How would we even… Our own mother!” she hissed.
“I don’t know, but I will say that it would give us the very thing you said we’d need—a leader paired with another house scion—if you ascend and were to marry Antaris.”
“I can’t believe you’d even suggest it.”
“I think you’re more upset that you’re considering it. And you’ve probably already been thinking the same thing.”
“But Mother…”
“If she’s aligned with Nebracken, that makes her the enemy.”
“I couldn’t kill her,” Pharis murmured.
“It wouldn’t necessarily come to that,” he assured her. “We just need her out of the way—enough for you to assert your claim and ascend as leader of the house.”
She took an unsteady breath. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“I have some ideas.”
* * * * *
“You’re going to do what?” Terry asked.
She was certain that she’d heard Cyrus correctly, but the plan was crazy enough that the question warranted asking.
“We’re going to post an excerpt of Pharis’s conversation with our mother where Pharis was voicing support for the strike, and Mother was shooting her down.”
“You’re insane.” Terry didn’t know what else to say.
She’d never been to the Charlemis manor, but it went without saying that anything spoken inside the walls was never meant to leave. Pharis leaking a recording like that was a huge breach of trust. A recording like that shouldn’t have even been made in the first place.
“I know it sounds extreme—”
“No, reckless,” she cut Cyrus off. “People need to be able to trust their leader. Having Pharis go behind her own mother’s back like that isn’t going to endear her to people, they’ll think she’s two-faced.”
He frowned. “Hmm, you may have a point.”
“Of course I do.”
“What do you suggest we do instead?”
“You need to get her to state it out in the open.”
“Right, like she’d willingly do that.”
“No, obviously not. But that’s where the trickery comes in.”
Cyrus eyed her cautiously. “I’ve learned to be wary when you get that look in your eyes.”
Terry smiled sweetly. “You’re learning. That’s good.”
“The plan…?”
“Okay, all that you need to do is have Pharis call a meeting to say that she wants to admit she was wrong about supporting the strike. Have her state that it would carry more weight if she makes a public declaration live. Insist your mother is there. But when the cameras are on, she needs to double-down on her support instead, and put your mom on the spot.”
“Oh, now that’s delightfully underhanded and remarkably simple.”
“Right? So, either Justina caves and support Pharis—in which case we’re good to go, at least temporarily—or she denounces Pharis, and the people will plainly see that Pharis is the one they should rally behind.”
“That’s about as close to a win-win as you can hope for in politics.”
“Not a win for Justina, but no need to get into the nuances of the phrase.” Terry smiled. “Anyway, there you have it. All the dramatic impact without needing to break the confidence of a private conversation.”
Cyrus placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’ve done nothing to convince me that you aren’t secretly a highborn politician. You’re too good at this stuff.”
“Problem-solving mechanical issues has a weirdly transferable skillset, w
hat can I say?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh. More likely, you’re brilliant and just too modest to admit it.”
“Why tell when you can show?”
“Demonstrated perfectly. Let’s set up the meeting.”
SPY OR ALLY?
STELLAR DATE: 12.24.8938 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Acadian Light, near Acadia, Serenity System
REGION: Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm
Antaris Laurentia had done his best to keep a low profile since he’d found himself uncomfortably in the middle of the Ordus’s politics.
He’d been happy to settle into a military life because there was a clear chain of command, and everyone was trained to think about their actions in terms of the larger whole. By contrast, the rulers of the Serenity Ordus were making a bad habit out of going behind each other’s backs and making their own rules.
Granted, he’d done the same with his sister when they suspected that their ‘mother’ wasn’t who she seemed, but Kristina had led that coup; it’s why he knew better than to engage except when it was absolutely necessary.
Even though he wanted to stay out of this latest round of drama, he found himself getting sucked in. Kristina was largely on her own now, and Antaris’s pledge to protect Acadia had his family at the forefront. With each call from Kristina, he grew more worried that another outright battle was just around the corner.
What happened on Perseus was just the beginning. Nebracken isn’t going to back down. This is the only time they’re likely to have an opportunity like this.
As the captain of Acadia’s flagship, Antaris would declare that the Acadian military’s might was the greatest in the Ordus. Objectively, though, they were evenly matched or outright outgunned by at least two of the other moons’ defense forces, and any alliance between other houses would leave Acadia at a distinct disadvantage.
He knew it. Kristina knew it. And no amount of political posturing was likely to get them out of that bind.
They could wipe us out. This could really be the end, and there’s nothing we’d be able to do about it.
Antaris looked around the bridge of the Acadian Light. He couldn’t share his thoughts with the crew. They’d follow him to the end, and he needed to be a strong leader for them.
“Sir, incoming private communication for you from Acadia,” the comm officer announced.
That will be Kristina again. He nodded and headed for his office. “Thank you.”
He picked up the call at his desk, with the door locked so no one could walk in on what would likely be a sensitive conversation.
“Hello,” he greeted his sister.
Her face was composed in the same neutral expression their mother had made her practice from a young age, reserved for business dealings when one didn’t want their hand shown. Kristina was normally more open with him, which meant that this wasn’t a social call. She wanted something.
“Antaris, how are you?”
The fact that she’d opened with pleasantries only reinforced his suspicion. When she was upset or happy, she always jumped straight to the news.
“What do you need?”
She smiled. “To business, then. I need you to get a closer look at what’s happening on Gallas.”
“We really don’t want to do that,” he cautioned.
“Apparently you don’t. I do. They’ve called a special assembly this afternoon, where there’s supposed to be some kind of announcement. I want to know what’s said, without the news media’s filter warping the message.”
“An Acadian military presence there will only cause problems.”
“Not if you aren’t seen.”
Antaris resisted pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m not sure what kind of tech you think we have, but we don’t have stealth technology—and if we did, it’s not on the Acadian Light. I could take a shuttle to Gallas and go anonymously, but that’s not something I could arrange before a meeting happening this afternoon.”
“So it’s impossible?”
“Well, yes.”
“All right. That was the preferable approach, but there’s an alternative. It was one of the two, so you have to agree.”
I don’t like where this is going. He braced. “Which is?”
“You go to meet with Pharis directly as a prospective suitor.”
“Pardon?” he stammered.
“It seems Cyrus has gotten cold feet about our betrothal, and it was suggested that you and Pharis might be a better political match. I don’t like it, because I’d rather have them in our court rather than the other way around, but we need an alliance one way or another. Rather, I need them to believe we do until I’m in a position to take proper control of the situation.”
Antaris shifted in his chair. He didn’t know exactly what she was planning, but her seemingly random questions to him over the past week had painted a concerning picture.
It seemed she wanted to get to the Perseus and make a direct plea to the AI Dana for assistance. The reason that Terry had been selected as a liaison for the powerful AI was to avoid that exact kind of posturing. Having seen the ship’s power up close, he was wary of having any one person in control of it.
Even my sister.
“I don’t think it’s wise to try to go around Terry’s relationship with Dana,” Antaris cautioned.
“Of course not. I simply hope to build my own relationship with her, and begin mending the wrongs of our ancestors.”
“She might not be open to a relationship with the descendants of the people who locked her up for millennia.”
“The AI accepted and forgave you, didn’t it? Why should I be any different?”
My intentions were honest when I went to the Perseus. Will Kristina be able to say the same? He shrugged. “I suppose there’s only one way for you to find out.”
“You seem upset,” she said.
“I’m not entirely comfortable with you playing these people like this.”
“It’s politics, dear brother. I thought you, of all people, would understand that.”
“I’m more soldier than politician.”
“But you understand how one must look after one’s own interests. You are well aware what a precarious situation our family has found itself in. I’d love to ‘make friends’ the right way, but I need to settle for actions what will get results.”
“Cyrus and Pharis could be real allies to us if you were willing to think about them as more than convenient pawns in your scheme.”
She fanned away the suggestion. “As a floundering scion and her deserter brother, we aren’t exactly the caliber of alliance we’d need to be to make a difference. I’m after real might.”
“I don’t feel entirely comfortable lying to their faces about our intentions.”
“Your time as a military commander has certainly put you in difficult situations before.”
“Not like this, when I know the other party has good intentions.”
“Do they, though? What do you really know about them?”
“They could have shot me or made life difficult, but everything they’ve done since then is exactly what they said they were going to do. Just look at how they’ve done with the protest!”
“They do know how to put on a good show, if nothing else,” Kristina said. “I’m afraid I can’t be so trusting.”
He nodded. “After Mother, I’m skeptical too. But, I don’t know, I just got a very genuine feeling from Cyrus and Terry. I believe what they’re trying to do would be good for Serenity.”
“And there are plenty of other things we can do that would be good, as well,” his sister replied. “We must focus on our family and our house first, and then the rest will follow.”
“Okay,” he agreed.
“So, will you meet with Pharis?”
“I suppose I don’t have a choice.”
“She’s quite attractive,” Kristina said.
“That’s beside the point. This is a reconnaissance mission, not a
n actual relationship meet-and-greet.”
Kristina smiled. “Now you’re in the right frame of mind.”
Antaris knew better than to argue with her, so agreeing to her plan, however misguided, would at least defer his problems to the future. And maybe there was something to the observation that he and Pharis would get along. Some alliances had the most unlikely origins.
REVOLUTION
STELLAR DATE: 12.25.8938 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Charlemis Estate, Gallas, Serenity System
REGION: Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm
“This has to work,” Terry said under her breath while she waited in the outskirts of the crowd gathered to watch the speech at the Charlemis estate.
The verdant terrace overlooking the city was filled with press reporters and representatives from various worker groups under House Charlemis’s management. Cyrus and Pharis were standing with their mother at the front of the platform while Terry observed from off to the side.
Even though the local workers were aware of Terry’s deep level of involvement with starting the revolt, Cyrus and Pharis thought it better to offload the credit—or blame, depending on the perspective—to Pharis, as the official face of the movement. That would make what was coming next that much more impactful.
Justina Charlemis looked annoyed, her prim smile clearly a front for the cameras and spectators.
Terry had only seen the woman in person a handful of times throughout her life, despite residing mere kilometers away from the Charlemis estate for the entire time. The family was known for being the most insular among the houses ruling the High Table. That had no doubt been an attempt to stay out of trouble, but it was their very isolation that got them into this precarious situation in the first place. If they’d been more engaged with their people and the others houses, a revolt wouldn’t have been possible.
Balance will always be restored, Terry thought to herself while she watched Justina maintain her forced smile. She can sense this is the beginning of the end of her rein.
At the scheduled time for the announcement, Justina stepped up to a podium at the front edge of the terrace, with Pharis and Cyrus standing to either side behind her. Normally, Jeslan would have stood in Cyrus’s place, and her absence would no doubt be noted in the media.