After a dozen laps, Bouchard climbed the ladder at the short end of the pool and walked up to where he was laying on the chaise. To Parnell she looked like some kind of water goddess, rising out of the water, sleek and wet as she approached him. She looked him up and down and got a smirk on her face.
“Nice tent,” she said. “We camping out tonight?”
Bouchard lowered the back of the chaise, putting him in a reclining position. She put one knee down next to his, then swung a leg over to put her other knee on his other side, straddling his legs. She pulled the bow of his trunks untied, then grabbed the waistband.
“Lift your ass.”
When he did, Bouchard yanked his trunks down to his knees. She walked on her knees, still straddling him, until her knees were almost in his armpits, then she parked her butt right on his lap.
“Come on, honey. I’ve never banged an Emperor before.”
“Sure you have. I’ve been the Emperor since before we met.”
“Uh-uh.”
She wagged a finger at him.
“No crown, no Emperor.”
Parnell laughed.
“Honey?” Bouchard asked.
“Hmpf. Wha’?”
“I’m getting cold.”
“Oh.”
Parnell wasn’t cold. He was using her, sprawled across him, as a blanket. He yawned and stretched.
“There are robes in the cabana. Come on.”
They got up and went to the cabana, each putting on a long, heavy, terrycloth robe. He put his arm around her and held her close as they walked to the escalator cupola, which was close, as they had walked almost full circle earlier. She was shivering.
He nodded to the Imperial Guardsmen there, who nodded back and followed the couple down into the warmth of the Imperial Residence.
Emperor And Empress
Bouchard normally woke pretty early, but there was a difference between ‘pretty early’ and ‘military early.’ When she got up, Parnell was already out of bed. She threw on a fleece lounging set of baggy slacks and a pullover top, and went looking for him.
Bouchard walked out of the Imperial bedroom directly into the hallway, rather than through the private sitting room. There were a pair of Guardsmen down the hall, outside the dining room door. She walked down the hall to the dining room and found him eating breakfast. The table was already back to being sized for four.
“Good morning,” Parnell said. “You were sleeping soundly, so I let you sleep.”
Bouchard nodded.
“For breakfast, Ma’am?” the cook asked from the sideboard. The cover had been removed from a built-in cooktop there.
She noticed a crepes pan and a bowl of fruit.
“How about three crepes, each with a different fruit inside, four of those sausage links, and a cup of coffee?”
“Of course, Ma’am.”
The cook prepared her breakfast and served her.
“That’s all for now,” Parnell said.
“Yes, Sire.”
The cook left and closed the door behind him.
“Did all that really happen yesterday?” Bouchard asked.
“You mean on the pool deck?”
Bouchard smiled.
“No. Earlier.”
“Oh, you mean all that other stuff? Crowns and jewels and me blowing people up and you standing there the next thing to naked in front of nine hundred trillion people? You mean that stuff?”
Bouchard laughed.
“Yeah. That stuff.”
“Oh, yeah. That happened.”
“Amazing. And now you’re Emperor.”
“Yes. Undisputedly so, by the way. No one will question that again for a long time. The newsfeeds are running pictures of the damage to the sector governors’ residences.”
Parnell looked up at her.
“They also identified you as the shooter in Imperial City spaceport last week.”
“Yes, Amanda told me that at the party. She was watching the newsfeeds while she was talking to everyone. She said it would make me even more popular.”
“Yeah, she can do that. Talk to people in real time and be in VR simultaneously. And she’s right. The instant poll numbers are in the nineties.”
“Really,” Bouchard said.
“Yes. They had a couple of interviews with people, too. ‘I like a woman who can take care of herself.’ ‘She could have been killed and she was still thinking of other people.’ That sort of thing. You’re very popular. Your individual numbers are higher than mine.”
“Amanda predicted that.”
Bouchard looked pensive for a moment.
“Daniel, I’ve been thinking. Amanda got moved down to one of the apartments in the Residence Wing. Where we were. She goes to the cafeteria and all. And she doesn’t have access to the gardens anymore. Aren’t there apartments up here?”
“Yes, of course. There are several, actually. On both this side and on the Co-Consul’s side.”
“Why not ask her if she’d rather live up here? She lived up here for sixty-plus years. It doesn’t seem fair to make her walk so far to dinner and all. I mean, if she wanted to, she still could, but she wouldn’t have to. They’ll serve her in bed if it comes to that. And cutting her off from the gardens seems wrong.”
“Are you going to be OK with that?”
“Daniel, I’ve lived with my mother or my grandmother since I was born. You did, too, before the Academy. I think it would be a kindness. From a purely cynical point of view, we could leak it. That wouldn’t hurt our popularity, either. But she would have access to the gardens, and she could have family visit her up there. Have the kids in the sandbox and all. I think it would be fun.”
“We might have to curtail romping on the pool deck.”
“I don’t think so. She wouldn’t be up there that often. And we can sneak. It makes it more exciting, anyway. We could be discovered. Gasp! Amanda would probably cheer us on, anyway.”
Parnell laughed.
“OK, I’ll take care of it, Marie.”
“Thank you, Daniel. I think it would mean a lot to her. It would mean a lot to me, for that matter.”
Parnell nodded.
“Another thing came up yesterday, too, now that I think of it,” Bouchard said. “Sandy Hayes asked me to be a senior adviser in the Co-Consul’s office. I demurred on the basis of age, but he said Amanda became one when she was twenty-five. It put her in the middle of the information stream, so she could be the most help to Bobby as an adviser, but she didn’t have to work with him during the day. He’s on a different floor.”
“Sounds good to me. And it would give you something meaningful to do. I can’t imagine you sitting around idle for long.”
“So you think I should take it.”
“Sure,” Parnell said.
“All right. It sounds like fun, actually.”
Where the Imperial Press Office was not open on weekends, the services on which the Emperor relied were. It was later that day that Peters answered the door signal on her apartment in the Residence Wing.
She opened the door to find an Imperial Guard officer there.
“Hello, Captain Nehrig.”
“Good afternoon, Ma’am. For you, Ma’am.”
He handed her a stiff white envelope.
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The captain left, and Peters went back over to the sofa and pulled out an inner envelope. It had her name on it in hand calligraphy. From that she pulled a card.
His Majesty the Emperor Trajan II
invites you to reside in a family apartment
in the Imperial Residence.
Peters heart skipped a beat, and tears welled in her eyes. She had told herself it didn’t make any difference. And, for the four months she plotted to restore the Throne to the rightful successor it didn’t. But that was all over now, the rightful Heir was on the Throne, and less busy days stretched out before her.
It turned out it did matter
. A lot.
But they were such a young couple. She remembered her and Bobby and all the hanky-panky that went on in the Imperial Gardens. Just about anywhere else, too, for that matter.
Peters put a meeting request through to Bouchard, and it was accepted immediately. They met in Peters’s cozy fireplace room.
“Milady Empress,” Peters said when Bouchard logged in.
“It’s Marie, Amanda. We’re in private.”
Peters nodded.
“Marie, I’ve just received an invitation from the Emperor to move into a family apartment upstairs.”
“Yes, Amanda, and we both hope you’ll do so. We want to see you have easy access to the gardens, which mean so much to you. We want to see your great-grandchildren playing in the sandbox and squealing in the pool. We want you to be part of the family, or, better, we want to be part of yours.”
“You’re sweet, dear, but you’re both very young and newly married, and, well, you know.”
“Amanda, I’m sure Daniel and I can find a way to squeeze a bang in here and there. And if we get interrupted, we’ll just go squealing naked into the bushes. It sounds like great fun.”
Peters laughed.
“I wanted to be sure you were on board with this, Marie. Men can sometimes do the damnedest things.”
“No, Amanda. Not this time. This was my idea.”
Housekeeping moved Peters into one of the family apartments – the one closest to the dining room and the escalator to the gardens – that afternoon. All her access rights to the Imperial Residence were restored.
While they were moving her, Peters took the escalator up into the gardens. It had been months since she had been in them.
When Peters came up in the escalator, there was an Imperial Guardsman in the cupola. She nodded to him and walked out into the gardens. There was a new feature to one side of the path when she exited the cupola. It was a one-person electric cart, with two wheels in the back and one in front, with handlebars.
The Guardsman stepped out of the cupola behind her.
“This is for your use, Ma’am. Milady Empress was concerned that you wouldn’t be able to walk the farther parts of the gardens. This way, you can cart over there, walk those parts, then cart back. The Guard will keep it charged for you, Ma’am.”
Peters was overcome for a moment, then managed an answer.
“Thank you, Guardsman.”
“You can set the maximum speed here, Ma’am, and then the hand control will run up to that maximum.”
Peters nodded. It was straightforward. She got on the cart and started off down the lane for the far end of the gardens.
She hadn’t seen that section in ages.
On Monday, the Imperial Press Office issued a press release covering the long weekend’s events. No questions were taken.
PRESS RELEASE
– For Immediate Release –
IMPERIAL PALACE – The Emperor Nerva stepped down from the Throne on Friday, naming Daniel Whittier Parnell the Heir to the Throne. Parnell was sworn in and will serve as the Emperor Trajan II.
The Emperor Trajan II on Friday established the post of Guardian of the Throne, to serve with Imperial Powers in any interregnum that may occur. The Empress Consort Marie Louise Bouchard was named the Guardian of the Throne.
The Emperor Trajan II on Friday also found five sector governors guilty of treason and had them executed. See list attached.
Another open commitment Parnell took care of as the first item of business on Monday morning. That was the issue of Chad Stimson’s assignment on Verano. He sent a mail to the Commandant of the Imperial Marines, who was currently Imperial General Russell Jones. He knew Jones from standing watch in meetings between Jones and the Emperor Trajan.
To: Russell Jones, Commandant Imperial Marines
From: Daniel Whittier Parnell, Trajan Imp.
Subject: Lieutenant Colonel Brad Stimson
During the time I was in command of HMS Illustrious and her Marine complement, I detached LTC Stimson as military liaison to the president of Verano. This is a two-year posting until Verano holds its annexation plebiscite. I believe that will also take LTC Stimson to his retirement.
We should also consider whether LTC is an appropriate rank for military liaison to the president of a planet, or we should promote LTC Stimson to COL. LTC Stimson was chosen for this assignment due to his excellent relations with the president of Verano and his knowledge of planetary political conditions.
Update Stimson service records to show this TAD.
General Jones was more than capable of reading between the lines. Parnell received the following mail message back.
To: Daniel Whittier Parnell, Trajan Imp.
From: Russell Jones, Commandant Imperial Marines
Subject: Lieutenant Colonel Brad Stimson
Confirm COL more appropriate for military liaison to planetary president. Promotion of LTC Stimson to COL Stimson submitted. TAD-Temporary Additional Duty update made to COL Stimson service record.
On Monday morning, Parnell also called the head of the new ideas group, Patrizia Gallo, who was now in her mid-40s. She was still as high-energy as she had ever been.
“Be seated, Ms. Gallo.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“As I recall, Ms. Gallo, you have a software package that can narrow down the choices for sector governor or planetary governor from the large pool of likely candidates.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Well, as it turns out, Ms. Gallo, I have a requirement for five new sector governors this week.”
“Yes, Sire. I anticipated your request and ran the software against the current database first thing when I came in this morning.”
“You have the list for me already, Ms. Gallo?”
“Yes, Sire.”
Gallo pushed him the list file. This was an in-person meeting, and he scanned the list in VR.
“Outstanding. Thank you, Ms. Gallo.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“One more question, Ms. Gallo. Were the five sector governors executed on Friday selected with this software?”
“No, Sire. They have all been sector governors for more than ten years. We didn’t start using this software until the Earth Sector Crisis ten years ago.”
“Very good, Ms. Gallo.”
“Interestingly, though, Sire, I ran the software against their then-profiles, at the time they were selected. They were rejected. Despite nice résumés, they did not have any experience in their backgrounds that would have given them the value system we look for.”
“That is interesting. All right, that will be all, Ms. Gallo.”
“Yes, Sire.”
Gallo left and Parnell pushed the list to Hayes, Bouchard, and Peters.
He started reading the bios of the top-ranked candidates.
Daniel Whittier Parnell didn’t have the transition issues that Goulet had had. He knew the job of being Emperor, was temperamentally suited for it, and had studied under one of the masters of the art for ten years.
He also had the close counsel of his own life partner, Marie Louise Bouchard, as well as that of the one woman who knew more about running an Empire than any other person alive, Amanda Joy Peters.
The Empire was back on track.
Family
Parnell also called his mother on Monday morning. There had been so much going on that first weekend – moving Peters into the Imperial Residence on Saturday, brunch with Hayes and Dominica on Sunday – and the current time displacement between Imperial City and Blossom made it difficult. His mother would be asleep through much of his day.
But Monday morning was her evening, and he caught her before bed.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Daniel! I saw the coronation. You were so handsome. And Marie is so beautiful. You said she was pretty, but you didn’t do her justice.”
Parnell chuckled.
“Yes, she’s very pretty. Like I said.”
Christine Whittier Parnell
laughed.
“And is she really the woman in the recordings of that shootout in the spaceport?”
“Yes, Mom. She’s a very capable woman as well.”
“I should say so. Daniel, she saved both your lives.”
“Yes, she did. Mother, I’ve been thinking. With Grampa gone, you’re alone in that big house now. Why not move here and live with us?”
“Where? In the Palace?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Daniel, I don’t know. I have friends here....”
“It’s up to you, Mom. Whatever you want to do. But you don’t need to live there alone.”
“Did you talk to Marie about it, Daniel? You’re not out on a limb with your wife here, are you?”
“Mom, it was her idea. She’s twenty-nine and was living with her mother when we met.”
“Let me think about it, Daniel. I’m not sure. It sounds wonderful, but let me think about it.”
“Just one more thing to consider, Mom. Marie and I have talked about it, and sooner or later there will be grandchildren.”
Peters asked for and received permission to have her whole family up to the Imperial Gardens for a get-together. Everybody who was in Imperial City, anyway. She had spent the last several months working the Succession Crisis, and hadn’t seen anybody for months. And she’d had a new great granddaughter in that time whom she hadn’t even seen, Amy Marie, the daughter of Deborah, Sean’s youngest.
Peters invited Parnell and Bouchard as well, and so Sunday, two weeks after the inauguration, found everybody up in the gardens around the pool.
Bouchard, sitting in a deck chair on the pool deck, looked around at all the activity of Peters’s family. And this was just the ones in town! There were kids playing in the sandbox, and kids splashing in the pool, and adults relaxing on the picnic tables and talking. It was a noisy, happy scene.
EMPIRE: Succession Page 24