EMPIRE: Conqueror (EMPIRE SERIES Book 6)

by Richard F. Weyand

  Once all were seated, Dunham jumped right in.

  “You five are the heads of state of the five remaining independent star nations. It is important to me you remain independent, and I’d like to explain why.

  “The centrifugal forces in anything as large as the Empire is now are huge. We hope to reduce them by promoting a very broad prosperity, and encouraging a high level of interstellar trade. We will also roll out VR implants to every citizen of the Empire, so everyone can communicate with everyone else, have access to all the same entertainment, have access to all the same news, and have access to the same or similar schooling.

  “The schooling in Terre Autre will perforce be in French.”

  All five heads of state chuckled. It was as much a release of tension after learning the Empire would let them remain independent as it was in humor at his dig at Terre Autre. Terre Autre had a reputation for going its own way, and everyone suspected it would remain that way even within the Empire.

  “Another way we can reduce centrifugal forces in the Empire is to give people some other place to go. Your five nations, while comprising only about five percent of the entire human race right now, nevertheless contain forty-four thousand planets. Surely someone dissatisfied with life in the Empire, and determined to leave it, can find someplace he would be happy among forty-four thousand planets.

  “The existence and independence of your five nations – Abelard, Bordain, Doria, Sirdon, and Westhaven – thus serve as a safety valve for the Empire, and are important to my plan for long-term stability.

  “The other effort we will be making along the same lines is to encourage colonization of systems to our mutual galactic west. We all border the unsettled part of the Perseus and Orion arms to our west. The Empire will be subsidizing adventure-seekers who want to go out and settle new planets there. We will commit to each of them remaining independent for fifty years, at which point they must have elections to decide if they wish to remain independent, join with each other, or join either the Empire or one of your nations.

  “In order to make this arrangement binding on my successors, I am writing each of you an Imperial Charter to remain independent star nations for the indefinite future.”

  Dunham pushed to each of the five leaders the digital version of the document for their nation, crypto-signed by the Emperor. The simulation played it as him handing each of them a document.

  “While a future Emperor could potentially revoke these Imperial Charters, the Throne has historically maintained its commitments across multiple rulers.”

  Dunham sat back, his presentation finished. The other heads of state each read their document, then looked back to him.

  Finally, Bentley stirred.

  “Well, Your Majesty, I have to say I am relieved. We weren’t quite sure what to expect this morning, but I had noted to my colleagues you have never forcibly annexed anyone – save perhaps the DP, and that was a special case. Never anyone our size, anyway.

  “It occurs to me that safety valve works both ways. Our disaffected also have a place to go – to the Empire. It seems to me Westhaven at least would want to make some sort of mutual immigration pact with you.”

  “That would be fine, Mr. President,” Dunham said. “Even better from my point of view.”

  “I had one further question, Your Majesty,” Bentley said. “Could we make your colony efforts open to our people, too? For the same reasons? I understand the Empire will be funding the colonies, but we, all together, would likely represent no more than a five percent increase in your expenses.”

  That was one Dunham hadn’t considered, but it made sense. Genetic diversity was important to colonies And it didn’t pay for the Empire’s neighbors to be unstable, either.

  “That would be acceptable to me, Mr. President.”

  “I had a question as well, Your Majesty,” Genghis Khan said.

  “Yes, Your Lordship?”

  “Joining the colony effort, at least to the extent of supplying colonists is certainly welcome. Could we also negotiate trade agreements with the Empire? And what about a defense treaty? While none of us here now anticipates a war with any of the others, such a war seems silly with the Empire and the Imperial Navy over our borders. I would just as soon not have a navy, not spend the money on a navy, and instead spend it on trade with the Empire.”

  “All of that is also possible, Your Lordship. We can have our foreign service staffs work out the language.”

  “That would be excellent, Your Majesty. Thank you.”

  Dunham nodded.

  “Any other questions for this meeting?”

  Dunham looked back and forth among them.

  “Very well. We’ll leave it there for now. Please feel free to contact me at any time, either singly or in groups, to discuss any other matters you think are appropriate. And thank you all for coming today.”

  Dunham cut the channel.

  The seventy-nine sector governors of the Empire gathered in a single room in VR. Seating was arranged in three circles, each on a slight riser from the one inside it. The seats were assigned alphabetically by sector name, first around the twenty-five seats of the inner circle, then the twenty-six seats of the second circle, then the twenty-eight seats of the outer circle.

  They were all here. The sector governors of the original Sintaran Empire. The sector governors of the independent nations that sat out the Sintar-Alliance War, Michael Roberts and Howard Walthers. The sector governors of the former Alliance nations, like Anne Bowdoin, Albert Rottenburg, Francis Schmitt-deVries, Jiang Jin, and Mark Roberts. The sector governors of the former Democracy of Planets, including Seth Glick and Roddy Riley.

  At the appointed time, Darrel Hawker appeared in the speaker’s well. Someone somewhere banged a gavel. The sector governors, standing around and chatting, stopped talking and took their seats. When all were seated, Hawker looked around the room. Satisfied, he made his announcement.

  “His Majesty, the Emperor Trajan.”

  Hawker disappeared from the speaker’s well, and a couple of seconds later Dunham took his place. The sector governors all stood.

  “Be seated.”

  Dunham waited for everyone to sit back down before beginning. He roamed around the speaker’s well as he spoke, making eye contact with his audience as he moved.

  “The Empire has transitioned from a strong central government model ten years ago to a strong sector model today. This is part and parcel of how the current Empire was assembled from formerly independent nations, as well as the Throne’s desire to avoid the problems we have had with the strong central government model in the past, including the recent past.

  “One of you asked me about the possibility of there being a group like this, to allow you to discuss problems and ideas, and advise each other as you carry out your duties. I think that is a good idea, as many of you are new to your duties, while others have held your positions for quite a while.

  “That said, know that this group represents a potential threat to the Throne. So I am imposing some rules on this group, whose bounds must never be crossed.

  “You can call this group a club, or a group, or an association. You may not call it an assembly, a congress, a parliament, or anything that implies it has power in and of itself.

  “You may not have any leaders. The only position above sector governor in the Empire is the Throne. Were you to elevate one of your own to a leadership position, that person is a threat to the Throne. If you wish to have someone chair your meetings, that assignment must be on a meeting by meeting basis, and rotate among you by alphabetical order of your sector names.

  “You may have ideas for the Throne, and you may submit them. You cannot make demands on the Throne, or pass any rules binding on you all, or make any agreements among yourselves. The only rules binding on any of you are those that come from the Throne. This is a discussion group, no more and no less.

  “Stray from these rules at your peril. You must all realize by now I am in no way abo
ve executing you all for treason and starting over. For treason it would be to step outside these rules or imperil the Throne. I have had to make exactly that decision once already, with regard to the Imperial Council. That worked out very well for the Empire, and so I shall not hesitate to make such a decision again if you make it necessary.

  “Know that I make such a strong statement to protect you from error. You have each been selected to the position you hold by the Throne. You each govern over the lives of trillions of Imperial citizens. You have positions of ultimate trust and responsibility. I do not expect trouble from such an illustrious and able group this year, or next year, or in the next decade.

  “But as time wears on, as people come and go from this group, the temptation will arise. And so for that reason, there is one more rule for this group. At the first meeting in any given calendar year, this recording must be replayed at the start of the meeting.

  “With that, let your discussions begin.”

  Dunham disappeared from the channel.

  Gandon Sector Governor Seth Glick had brought a simulation of a gavel and striking block to the meeting. He got up from his seat and walked to the speaker’s well and around the circle until he came to the sector governor of Accordia Sector, Melanie Kmetz, and handed her the gavel and striking block. The assembled sector governors applauded.

  Melanie Kmetz banged the gavel three times, and called the first meeting of the Sector Governors Association to order.

  Coronation

  In the Throne Room of the Imperial Palace, on the Palace Mall, in Imperial City, on the planet Center, the capital of the Galactic Empire, an event was about to occur that would ring down the centuries in its significance.

  The coronation of Emperor Trajan, the First Emperor.

  Once more Geoffrey Saaret stood at the top of the stairs on the threshold of the entrance to the Throne Room of the Imperial Palace, the giant gothic nave at the front of the original palace of the Kings of Sintar. The old palace was long gone, the current palace having replaced it over three hundred years ago. But the ancient gothic nave of the original palace had been retained.

  For this coronation, there was a new feature. The sector governors lined up behind him, down the stairs and down the sidewalk. They weren’t actually here, but were in VR. The Palace was using the VR projectors Democracy of Planets politicians had used for decades to address crowds without weeks spent in interplanetary travel or risk of assassination. The sector governors were together in a single VR channel, wherever in the Empire they were, and they were projected here, looking real, looking present. They alone were not physically here. Saaret, the Emperor, and the crowd were.

  At eleven-fifteen, a trumpet fanfare was played, and Saaret walked down the center of the enormous nave, filled with people, between the rows of Imperial Guardsmen forming the aisle.

  He reached the front of the lines of Guardsmen, to where their lines turned left and right, forming the forward barrier of the crowd. He stopped just in front of them, and the sector governors split and walked out to either side until the line of them, there in front of the Guardsmen, stretched across the nave.

  “Not long now,” Brenda Connolly said.

  They were waiting in the anteroom off the Throne Room. General Daggert was also there, as were Lieutenant General Kurt Leitner and Brigadier General David Mercer, who had participated in Dunham’s coronation as Emperor of Sintar a decade ago.

  “Oh, I know. I’m not so nervous this time,” Amanda Peters said. “Thanks for being here, though. It’s a kind of symmetry.”

  “I know. We’ve done all this before.”

  As the first time, Peters wore a simple white dress with no undergarments to trip her up, and was barefoot. Her dark brown hair, as before, was up, and entwined with multi-colored roses from the Imperial Gardens. It was her signature look, the look of her public pictures. She would not change it now.

  At eleven-thirty a trumpet fanfare sounded again, and General Daggert entered from a side door, walked to the dais and up its side steps to the top, and then across to the center. He was wearing the Imperial Marines’ Marine Dress Uniform with the gold fourragère of the Imperial Guard, perhaps for the last time. He turned and faced the crowd.

  “We are gathered here to witness the coronation of Robert Allen Dunham IV as the Emperor Trajan, the first ruler of the Galactic Empire.”

  At that, Dunham entered through the side door on the other side, walked around to the front of the dais, and up the stairs. He knelt on a pillow on the floor in front of Daggert. He was wearing a simple black tunic over black slacks and black shoes. No uniform. No medals. He was dressed as the commoner he considered himself.

  Kneeling in front of Daggert, Dunham recited a modified oath, a more expansive oath than the ancient Pledge of the Empress, an oath that would hold sway across the centuries of rulers to follow.

  “I, Robert Allen Dunham IV, pledge to perform the duties and responsibilities of Emperor, wielding authority with compassion, justice with mercy, and power with finesse, for the benefit and well-being of the people of the Galactic Empire and all humanity, now and into the future, until I die.”

  At that point, Amanda Peters entered the Throne Room from the same side door as Daggert had, carrying a square purple pillow with gold fringe and tassels. On it was a woven gold circlet with a single large blue jewel in the center – the Star of Sintar, now renamed the Star of Humanity, and so described in the official narration – and overlain with a gold representation of a laurel wreath. She walked around to the foot of the dais in front, and up the stairs to Dunham’s right, stopping one step short of the top.

  General Daggert took the crown and placed it on Dunham’s head. Peters backed down the steps and stood at the foot of the dais.

  Lieutenant General Kurt Leitner and Brigadier General David Mercer entered from the same side door as Daggert had, carrying between them an accordion-folded purple cloth. They were also wearing the Imperial Marines’ Marine Dress Uniform with the gold fourragère of the Imperial Guard. They walked around to the foot of the dais in the front, and up the stairs until they were on either side of Dunham, one step down from the top. They held the cloth up to Dunham’s shoulders, and Daggert took a clasp from each side and fastened them in front of Dunham’s neck. Leitner and Mercer unfolded the cloth by lowering it to the floor, revealing an imperial purple cape, chased at the hem, plackets, and collar with an intricate design in gold thread.

  Leitner and Mercer backed down the steps and stood to either side of the dais, with Leitner next to Peters.

  Daggert walked to one front corner of the dais and stood facing Dunham.

  Dunham rose and stood. He walked forward to the Throne and mounted the one single additional step in front of it. He knelt before the Throne and bowed deeply to it, then kissed the end of the left arm of the Throne, then the right. He stood and turned to face the crowd, bathed in the midday sunlight streaming through the skylight above. The gold of the crown and cape glinted in the sunlight, and the Star of Humanity on his forehead shone with a blue fire.

  Daggert called out, “The Emperor Trajan.”

  Daggert, Leitner, Mercer, and Peters all went down on one knee and bowed their heads as the trumpets started the Imperial Fanfare. Saaret and the sector governors all went down on one knee and bowed their heads, followed by the crowd. The two lines of Imperial Guardsmen, who had been standing at ease, turned toward the Throne and came to attention, then, as one, saluted and held the salute through the fanfare.

  When the fanfare was finished, Dunham sat down on the Throne.

  “Please rise.”

  At his command, everyone rose.

  “Consul Saaret,” Daggert called out.

  Saaret approached the dais, climbed the stairs, and knelt on the pillow. He bowed to the Emperor.

  “I pledge my obedience, Your Majesty.”

  “Thank you, Consul Saaret.”

  Saaret rose and returned to his place.

  “Phalia Sect
or Governor Anne Bowdoin,” Daggert called out.

  Bowdoin’s avatar repeated Saaret’s actions.

  “I pledge my obedience, Your Majesty.”

  “Thank you, Governor Bowdoin.”

  Bowdoin rose and withdrew.

  Daggert proceeded through the Call of the Sector Governors, what had once been the Call of the Imperial Council and then the Call of the Departments, and each sector governor came up to the Emperor to kneel, bow, and pledge their obedience as they followed the ancient ritual. Francis Schmitt-deVries, Albert Rottenburg, Howard Walthers, Michael Roberts, Julian Wendover, Gerald Monroe, Seth Glick – one after another, seventy-nine in all, they came up to swear their obedience.

  When Daggert had completed the roll, Dunham looked down the great nave, through the open doors, to the lifelike, cast-in-color statue of his sister, Deanna Dunham Garrity, the Empress Ilithyia II, atop its pedestal, framed in the arched doorway. Bathed in the light of the reflectors that sculptor Salvatore Accorso had placed on the exterior side walls of the Throne Room nine years before, the statue was almost alive.

  Dunham would have sworn she was smiling at him.

  From the Encyclopedia Hominum

  Galactic Empire – also known simply as the Empire. Capital: Center (was Sintar, a variant of Slavic ‘cintar,’ meaning center). The Galactic Empire was the first political unit in history to unite all of humanity under one central government. The foundation of the Empire is usually dated to the accession of the Emperor Trajan to the throne of Sintar, though it would take ten years of war and annexation to unite all of humanity under his rule....

  Robert Allen Dunham IV – Reign name: Trajan. Also known as the First Emperor. Emperor Trajan founded the Galactic Empire through a series of wars and annexations that extended throughout his first ten years on the throne of the Sintaran Empire. At his re-coronation, the words ‘Sintaran Empire’ in the Pledge of the Emperor were replaced with ‘Galactic Empire and all of humanity.’ Dunham was born into poverty on Travers World, a planet in Ostrova Province, Colinas Sector....