by Chris Hechtl
The emperor was the last to enter the room. "All right, let's get this started," he said, taking his place at the head of the table.
He studied them for a long moment and then took his seat. As he did so the rank and file sat down almost in relief.
Contrary to what some thought none of the remaining lords who were in the cabinet had been allowed in the meeting. The emperor turned to Catherine to assess her. She was in her flag officer uniform. He curled his lip ever so slightly. She was in operations and technically had been involved in the planning of every failure to date. Yes, she could go. Commodore Varbossa would just have to deal with it. If she couldn't handle it, he'd just have to find another person to fill her shoes too.
That decision made, he reached down and picked up his glass of water and took a sip. He stiffened as he felt his lips and throat deaden and then his entire body. He wanted to say something, but the feeling was already leaving his body and his vision was tunneling out.
His last thought was to who. The Shinobi had been careful to inspect everything, and palace security had thoroughly checked everyone. He never realized that it was the Shinobi who had poisoned his glass on Catherine's order.
"Ah, I see my father has just died and a change in leadership is in order," Catherine said conversationally. The room grew deathly still. All eyes fell to her in shock. Some of the older lords were still grappling with what she'd just said but Catherine rolled on, watching the guards and certain people with Zen-like composure. She wasn't sure who would react first.
"I realize poison is known as a weapon of a weak woman. It is nonconfrontational. It is however, what I chose in this instance. Not to be merciful, but because it was quick and simple to use," Catherine said mildly. When the nearest red guard reacted, she took off a bracelet, tapped it against the table and the memory plastic reformed into a blade.
This was the most dangerous part. She had trained for it though by her martial-arts training and by carefully studying the chinks in the armor of the red guards over the years. She used the blade to kill the one guard with a thrust to the throat, avoiding his armored chest and face as another Shinobi killed the other two red guards in a swift flurry of movements.
Duke Stayne of Purity and Enlightenment and Baron Ghadaffi were the only cabinet members to react. The baron tried to pull a weapon but a chop to the throat from the countess stopped him. Instead of reaching for his weapon, his hands went to his crushed throat and windpipe. She smirked and used a finger to push his gasping body out of the chair.
The duke turned on the countess in rage, but a katana blade tip appeared out of his chest. He looked down to it and the growing blood staining his snow white uniform and then folded, dead. The Shinobi pulled the blade clear and let the body drop to the floor. He then used the blade to stab down into the ear of the still gasping baron, ending his sounds for good. Then he wiped the blade and returned it to its scabbard with a flourish.
When it was over Catherine stood slowly and then nodded to her helpers. Each bowed slightly in return.
"Any other objections?" she asked mildly as she wiped her blade and then laid it before her on the table, the tip pointed to the group in general.
The room was again deathly silent. Everyone had their hands carefully in front of them empty. "Ah? Well, then moving on," she said, pushing her father's body aside and to the floor. She picked up the glass of water and dumped it on him, and then let the glass go as well.
"I never liked him after he married the woman who murdered my mother anyway," she said mildly as she resumed her seat.
Admiral Rico had his eyes bugged out at the tableau. Admiral Cartwright snorted. What he really wanted to do was laugh or cheer. He was past scared, too tired to be scared. Surprised yes, but not really scared. Surprised it had gone very differently than the one he'd been expecting and dreading.
He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cheer, to cry, to do something. No one made a sound though.
He did none of those things though, his iron self-control told him to remain still in the face of such a powerful unexpected predator in his midst. One he and apparently the former emperor had misjudged.
Misjudged greatly and fatally it seemed.
Catherine turned to the countess. "Oh, Countess Newberry, I have a few small matters I need you to attend to," she said casually.
"Yes, your majesty?" the countess asked cautiously.
"Namely, my grandmother, mother-in-law, their supporters, and others who might get … upset with this change in leadership. I don't need the distractions at the moment. So, if you could tidy up those loose ends for me?" she asked.
The countess nodded. "Understood your majesty. Consider it done."
"I will when I see the bodies," the empress replied as she turned to the cabinet. "Gentlemen, ladies, I propose we adjourn for a few minutes to let them clean up this mess and for the countess to make her arrangements. We'll be back here in say, ten minutes?"
A few heads nodded convulsively.
"Oh, and let's not do anything stupid? No calls other than by the countess. No stupid heroics. We don't have the time, and I need you if we're going to find a way out of his mess. Understood?"
A few people looked relieved. Most nodded as they rose from their seats. The countess was the first to bow to her. Others hastily followed suit.
-~~~///^\~~~-
Marina Stuart received the go signal and hid a cold smile. The night of the long knives, the night she'd prepared for in grave anticipation was finally about to begin.
She had agreed to helped with the assassinations if she could be on hand for them. Catherine was right, none of her siblings, nor her grandmother or mother could be left alive. At the moment they were vulnerable, especially the young like Khali.
Her people had confirmed little Khali was just as devilish as her siblings. She had to go to prevent her from becoming a threat later. It was as pragmatic as it was ruthless.
Ironically, the plan came to fruition in the Dowager Empress's favorite place, her personal salon. Marina knew why they were there, to ensure security while the emperor purged the cabinet of undesirable members.
Well, she was pretty sure the purge was happening but not in the way others were expecting.
She nodded slightly to the Shinobi guard. He hand signed something and then his hand flicked. The other Shinobi did the same and one by one the guards inside and outside the salon fell dead.
Jezebel, Khali, and Irazebeth had a mud mask and cucumbers over their eyes so they didn't see what had happened. In fact they were a bit too relaxed as the neurotoxin in their face masks seeped into their bodies to numb their bodies.
Marina had a normal mask. She sat up and pulled the cucumbers off and then nodded to the head hairdresser.
The pale man nodded back and then smiled grimly. He had waited a long time for that moment.
"Madam empress, a word," he purred in the Dowager empress's ear as he delicately pulled the cucumbers off her eyes. "Your eyes can open, but you'll find your body is numb," he said as he used the controls to tilt her up so she was nearly vertical.
Jezebel's eyes went wide. She looked out of the corner of her eye as similar attendants tilted the seats of her granddaughter and daughter-in-law. She looked across to Marina who just smiled coldly to her.
Khali let out a soft whimper as a chute opened at her feet and she slid down it. Jezebel tried to look at her granddaughter-in-law, but Marina's smile told her there was nothing she could do.
Irazebeth was still whimpering when they heard a distant scream and then the chute closed. Then it was her turn.
"Sorry but your granddaughter pays better. And she's right, we need to clear the deck and start over. The past week has proven that," Todd Sweeney, her hairdresser said casually.
"Catherine sends her regards," her hairdresser said in her ear as her seat was tipped forward.
Jezebel saw the door open below her feet and let out a weakly screaming whimper as the footrest flipped down and she was dr
opped into the chute and darkness below.
-~~~///^\~~~-
Two of Catherine's guards were assigned to protect Elvira. She was moved to a random quarters and kept there until the purge was finished. She asked what was going on, but no one would answer her until they were sure it was completed.
-~~~///^\~~~-
Kevin Ramichov had increased and improved his personal security, but it wasn't enough. He was ambushed in the showers by a group of other cadets. They put a pillowcase over his head from behind, pinned his arms and then shoved knives into his chest, killing him.
-~~~///^\~~~-
Lieutenant Joseph Ramichov was the last to live. He'd already gotten the news that his wife was dead. He was bitter when he asked if he was next.
"Should you be?" his captain asked.
"I think you are cleaning house. I'm tired. Tired of it all. Tired of the back stabbing." he said as he shook head. "As far as I'm concerned, burn it all down. Get it over with."
"I see," his captain said as he leveled his pistol. It was the last thing the lieutenant ever saw.
-~~~///^\~~~-
"This is Empress Catherine Ramichov addressing the population of the Horathian Empire for the first time," Catherine said carefully. It was her first address to the people, and she wanted it to hit just the right tone. It had taken a lot of work to get the short message out. She wasn't sure about the punch, but she wanted to get it out quickly.
It was funny, something her late and unlamented grandmother had taught her. Many people planned up to an event but rarely the aftermath.
Well, she had, but not the events around it that had led to this point she hadn't figured on. Nor the additional audience of the hidden Federation ships. So she had to be quick and careful.
"My father and family are dead. Do not mourn them, for I ended their threat to our civilization once and for all. Had I not done so my father would have defiantly let Horath burn while continuing to think he was about to win."
She waited for that to sink in.
"My father enacted a paranoid act of genocide, first with the Ministry of Purity and Enlightenment, and then with his genocidal campaign that has turned the entire galaxy against us. I won't make excuses for his actions or those who supported him. We realize now that it was a mistake, something my father could and would never admit."
"Well, he's no longer among the living so this is now our problem. Now we have to deal with his legacy. My second act as empress is to renounce the bloodlust as Admiral Irons eloquently called it. No longer will we act on our baser impulses. We are better than that."
"For now we will work on search and rescue and help those we can as I consult with my new Ministers and the House of Lords on our next course of action. That is all."
-~~~///^\~~~-
The Shinobi, ONI, and Catherine's supporters were turned loose to purge the Ministry of Purity and Enlightenment. Doctor Mengla was one of the casualties in that purge.
As the purge was underway, Catherine held a quiet meeting with her Admiralty.
"The big question is, despite the damage, can we hold?" she asked, looking at Malwin.
"None of our fortresses and mobile ships were hurt. We lost one ship to a prowler ramming it. There is some lingering damage, but the star system is otherwise secure."
"But that's not what I'm asking," she stated, still eyeing him. Each of the admirals were being kept on faith at the moment. They knew that they had a reason to be thankful but had to perform.
"If we can assemble enough of the mobile fleet and find a way through the mines to push them back to Garth and out of Finagle to get some breathing room, yes."
"If not?"
"Then we are done. It will only be a moment of time before they break us. They can deliver a Nova bomb to the star via a prowler and we'd never know it until the star started to become unstable."
"They could do that now and we'd only have minutes to react," Admiral Post murmured.
"Are we going to surrender, ma'am?" Admiral Rico asked.
All eyes fell on Catherine at the head of the table. She waited a long moment.
"No, we aren't. I hate to do it, but there is one other option." All eyes fell on the empress. "We go with the GOTH plan. We break out and then make a run for El Dorado. We pull in our horns and regroup there."
Slowly a few heads began to nod.
"But, in order to do that we can't do the attack on Garth. We can't do both, ma'am."
"I know. We're going to have to focus everything on the breakout through Finagle," Catherine stated.
"All right, next question, how do we do get past any mines there, and who do we take?" The countess asked.
"Good question. But I've got an idea about the mines," Catherine said slowly.
Epilogue
H001
Prowler UFN-055P arrived in H001 with the news and a complete download of information gathered from all of the prowlers. Once the ship cleared the defenses under construction at the jump point, the captain alerted Commodore Vargess and then the Admiralty through the ansible.
The prowler was one of the few remaining Poltergeist class and signaled she needed to be resupplied. "We shot ourselves dry. But boy did we have fun doing some damage!" the captain grinned as he talked with Commodore Vargess.
"I bet. We've got a package for you, plus fuel and food of course. My people will make the arrangements for you to dock."
"Thank you, sir. As soon as we get back there the better. I don't think this is over. Not by a long shot."
Trajan nodded.
-~~~///^\~~~-
Antigua
Admiral Irons received the news from H001 in a download. It didn't take him long to digest it. "Damn fine work. Sprite, make sure every one of those sailors gets a medal for this. They might not have ended the war in one stroke, but they damn well did a fine job cutting it that much shorter."
"Yes, sir."
According to the first part of the report an enemy fleet had gone to H001 and had been chewed up by the minefield. So, his plan had worked. Operationally offensive, tactically defensive. He'd turned his tendency to turtle into an advantage.
Most people didn't understand that. Most people didn't understand that you could build a defense for the enemy to break their teeth on and then hide behind it to forge his offensive weapon. Which was precisely what they'd done. Combine that with attrition warfare, the psych attack, and the cyber-attack and he had the means to break the enemy or at least open the door to the endgame.
Striking at the enemy's industry and fuel supply were classic strategic infrastructure strikes designed to inhibit their ability to wage war. Had the Japanese struck the fuel farms, refineries, and repair yards in Pearl Harbor they would have driven the U.S. back to the western coast for instance.
"Get ONI on the data. I realize we'll have to send the bulk of it to Garth and Monty and then to us. That's fine, have Trajan handle the transfer but get it done."
"Yes, sir. And the other issues?"
The admiral grunted. Horatio was in Pi and was most likely opening his orders right about now. "Fun," he said slowly. "You think it is nearly time to come clean about them?"
"I'd appreciate it," the A.I. said dryly.
"Well, we'll see. In the meantime, let's brief the cabinet. Liobat can release the news as soon as ONI and the Admiralty finish their own analysis of the attack."
"Aye aye, sir."
-~~~///^\~~~-
Horath
Captain Hough was still coming to terms with Catherine Ramichov's assumption of power. The latest cyber-attack at the anniversary of the eight-week promise mark had been only mildly effective. He'd anticipated that much.
All but his Poltergeist had recently departed for H001 for resupply. They would bring word to the Federation of the recent events including the change in leadership.
He was curious as to where it would all lead in the end.
-~~~///^\~~~-
To everyone's surprise Catherine
kept her word and released the Shinobi and their Daimyo on a freighter to return to their homeworld. In order to do so, they would have to go through Finagle. It would be a test to see if there were any hyper mines there.
"What are the odds they'll get through?" Countess Newberry asked as she came up to stand beside Catherine as the empress watched the ship's departure.
Catherine waited a moment. "I don't know. They are noncombatants; if they are intercepted, they can tell the Feds that. It might play in our favor."
"Ah."
What she'd really hoped for was that the Daimyo would throw in with her and become a full ally. Apparently, that had been too much to ask for given their recent history.
No matter. They'd do what they could without them she thought as she watched the blinking lights of the small freighter fade in the distant void.
"So, you intend to keep your word," Countess Newberry said, eyeing her. "No tricks. No bombs on board. They really are leaving."
"Yes."
"Even though it is foolish. You could have easily kept him and gone back on your word."
Catherine shook her head. "No, it shows I'll get it done no matter the cost but keep my honor. Respect has to be earned."
"True." The countess wasn't the only one still grappling with how Catherine was different. She had come to realize that Catherine had been biding her time but also planning, always planning. She also had a clearer vision than her father did.
"Besides, I didn't want them at my back and pissed at me. This way it is a clean break. We might still lose, we might go down fighting, but I'm not willing to make any more sacrifices to my honor."
The countess raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. To hear Catherine say that was surprising. "Good, Your Majesty. Do you remember how many people a leader will sacrifice to get the job done but still keep their humanity?"
"As few as possible if I remember the quote right."
"Close enough. I may have misphrased mine as well. But it suits you. We might be turning over a new leaf."