Righteous Reign

by MacDonald, Thomas J

  "Yes, let's do that." I respond with a smile as we turn toward the bar. We pass the time chatting for fifteen minutes. People began leaving; so, I corner Admiral Stephenson.

  "Sir, may I have a moment of your time, in private?" I ask.

  "Certainly Kurt. And, call me Bill, in private, please!" He barked with a smile.

  I used his elbow to steer him out of earshot of the others.

  "Bill, it has come to my attention that, a young Commodore who is a deputy COS in Theatre Two is looking for a transfer. Would you help me pry her loose? I think I'd like to make her my Chief. Her name is Rohkea Sielu." I add.

  "Go ahead and make the offer. I'll text Mkali, right now. She's yours; if, she agrees." He says.

  "Thank you, sir. Having a Chief now will shorten my time putting together a staff." I reply.

  "I just love your attitude, my boy. I love the way you sought out Moe for help; and, the way you came straight to me. I think we picked the right man for the job." He laughs aloud as he finishes sending the message.

  I couldn’t believe I was so transparent that; he knew I was picking Moahu’s brain. I excuse myself and go off to prepare one of my own messages.

  MEMO

  From: Admiral Kurt Brubacher Commander OESA Inspector General Branch

  To: Commodore Rohkea Sielu Deputy COS Theatre Two Command

  Re: Offer of Promotion and reassignment

  Date: June 1, 2257

  Commodore Sielu,

  Your desire to move to a different style of Command has come to my attention.

  I believe that, the OESA Inspector General Branch (IGB), and added challenges, may be what you seek. This department will run continuous blitz type, surprise investigations of all other Commands in the OESA; except that, of the C&C Office, which falls under the pervue of an Orion Representative Assembly committee. It should be a fast-paced, exciting and busy operation. Our staff would be comprised of up to four thousand; representative of all OESA departments. A portion of each department would be engaged in managing our own operations. The rest of each department would be forensic experts in their fields; able to analyze data and evidence we recover in investigations. An additional five to six hundred would make up the investigation and enforment division of the Inspector General Branch. Though a Headquarter's Department, The Inspector General Branch would be housed aboard Mobile Fifth Command's flag ship, the Valhalla. Travel to remote investigation sites would be facilitated by the Phoenix Fleet or one of its sub-commands. We would usually be housed aboard the ESS Loki during these trips.

  I would like to offer you a transfer to the Inspector General Branch and the Position of Chief of Staff. You would have the daunting task of building a complete staff from the ground up. However, that responsibility will be mitigated by certain guarantees of staff availability made by the C&C.

  You would be promoted to the level of Rear Admiral (8) to enable your control of this operation. The Inspector General Branch is essentially a Field Command; and the Valhalla travels all over the Empire; so, you also gain the ability to see all the worlds of our realm.

  Though I would hope you will accept this offer, I will need your immediate response. Since the COS spot is the first link in a very long chain, time is of the essence.

  Admiral Kurt Brubacher Inspector General

  I send the message; knowing round trip time for a reply is two and a half days. Then, I go to seak out Malcom.

  "Hi, General Malcolm, I'm Kurt Brucher." I introduce myself with my hand extended. He takes it and we shake hands warmly.

  "Everyone knows who you are, Admiral.' He responds with smile. 'Are you enjoying your party?" He inquires.

  "Yes General, I'm getting a lot of work done." I reply.

  "Is that so. I suppose this is no social call, then." He asks.

  "We could go over and get another drink and chat for awhile. I just wanted to set a time I could see you tomorrow, to go over the Marine Contingent in my new staff." I explain as I start creeping toward the bar.

  "I have a morning meeting; but, I'll be available anytime through the rest of the day; if you come by my office." Ian responds.

  "Fine, I'll see you there. Your's is a big command; isn't it, General? Somewhere around seventy thousand with staffs, isn't it? What's it like to command an operation that big? I querie.

  "Well Kurt, you did twenty-five thousand. It's not much different; except in significant tactical situations. You have more sub-ordinates in the levels immediately below to help get the job done; so, it doesn't seem that much worse. Most tactical situations occur at the Division Level, suddenly; so, I don't see a lot of that, anymore. Tactical would only come to me; if, there was a very wide war affecting the entire Fifth, at the same time. But marine tactical plans are more like planning a skirmish. The wide area planning is actually dictated by the Theatre and Quadrant Commands; since, our forces are assigned ship by ship to each Fleet. So, I don't have the luxury of sending the fourth division here and the third there; because they will be where the Fleets take them. My job is more like a policy maker. What to do when you board a craft; or, the tactics used in ground attacks. I manage an army of one hundred forty thousand; but the Field Commanders really control its tactics. It would be a different story if I was asked to put fifty thousand troops on a planet. I would take overall command of a force like that. Why do you ask?" Malcolm inquires.

  "Oh, I don't know. I think it's because this new assignment makes me feel I will never have a larger tactical command. I think I may be trying to vicariously experience it through you." I answer with a smile.

  The party in the hangar deck is incredible. Each of these spaces is fifty percent bigger than on a standard carrier. Using one for a bash like this means you can really hold a lot of guests. The event seems familiar. It is patently Moe's doing. I brought Helena as my guest; not as a Fleet Commander. That way, she ends up seated on my left at the head table. At nine hundred in the morning, we reported to Admiral Bryant's office. George, Stephen, Bill Stephenson, Helena, Edward III, Malcolm, Blackman, Tonaka and I ringed the conversation area. The Emperor started the discussion.

  "When the first Emperor Edward founded the Empire with Old Tom he expressed his dread at a dictatorship. He and Old Tom worked to craft a constitution that would create a hybrid cooperative government halfway between a dictatorship and a democracy. What they came up with was a representative government that respected the people; but, could be controlled by my predesecors to get things done. But, through all the generations of my family since, we have all been taught to detest the fact that, we are peoples’ rulers. None of my family has ever wanted that. I don't really want that. Each Emperor planned to leave the position. People should control their own destiny; even, if they make mistakes.

  Because of the way my family has run the Empire over all the generations, people are unaware that they really live under a dictatorship. The consitution really gives all the power to the Emperor. Without my assent a bill does not pass. I have the power to start a piece of legislation and order it passed, in the end. And because, there are maybe two hundred statutes from all the one hundred worlds and the Empire's legislative Assembly that are counter productive to the people I do interfere a lot more than people realize. These aberations represent only a couple of bills on each world and for the Orion Legislature every year; so, no one really notices how much interference there is. There are more than eleven thousand acts passed every year in all the different assemblies; so, I do not step in on a large percentage of the business. I nullify about one and a half percent of the statutes sent to me every year. And, what I say is the end of the road. There is no one to check on me. This creates two problems.

  The first is that, we cannot be certain that every Delnikov will follow the pattern. It is possible for me to leave the Empire in the hands of a tyrant. This could be catastrophic. That person would have the power to make the lives of most of our half-trillion citizens unbearable. To prevent this, each and every Emperor has sought the righ
t moment and the right way to turn the Empire into a democracy. The problem is that we are all weak. People love the Delnikov dynasty because they have never been ruled by a tyrant. They love us because their lives are rich and full and comfortable. But there are no guarantees.

  The second issue is that it is a daunting job. Constitutional responsibility means I have to read and understand every one of the eleven thousand bills. Even if my Governor General on some remote planet is to sign a bill, I still have to authorize that Governor General. The law does not give him the power of assent. It places that power and responsibility in my hands. So, despite how romantic and people may see the throne, the life is actually drudgery. There are no long vacations. I have worked without a vacation for thirty years. Even my poorest subject hasn't done that. I can tell you - I am very tired. Bill, will you take over." The Emperor finished.

  "About eight years ago, I met the Emperor at a party, on Rigil. We became fast friends. When I took over Quadrant Three, he started visiting me regularly. He would talk about abdicating and ridding himself of the reponsibility and guilt. I would try to counsel him against it. I understood his arguments and empathized. But, I always counseled him to stay with the status quo. He was making the same sales pitch to all the Quadrant Commanders and the C&C. The problem was that several commanders and one Fleet Admiral were so adamant about keeping the constitution as it is, Edward was afraid he would tear the Empire apart if he relinquished his throne. And, he knew resignation would not end the system. His heir would replace him; regenerating the whole system. The meetings continued; but, now seeking a way to overcome the obstacles to changing the constitution. He did have sympathic ears in one C&C, Quadrant Two Command; and Quadrant Three Command. But that was not enough strength to force the issue.

  He met George at a promotion ceremony and took a liking to him. They became friends and he had another sympathic ear. He was smart enough to pass to George that Quadrants Two and Three and one C&C sympathized with his point of view. When George created Mobile Fifth, the Emperor began visiting him and having the same kinds of discussions he had with me. George went from sympathetic to proactive; trying to come up with a way through the dilema that would give Edward what he wanted without causing a civil war throughout such a vast Empire..." Bill was interrupted by Edward.

  "You see, by the time Mobile Fifth was about six months old. It became apparent that Quadrants One and Four would actually use force with the backing of one C&C to maintain the system as it is. In my mind, a real Civil War wouild be a failure. It would destroy the work the Delnikovs before me and all the past legislatures did to build such a wonderful Empire. About eight months ago, George came up with an idea that gave us a way through the fog. George you want to explain?" The Emperor put the ball in Bryant's court.

  George took over. " What, I realized was that people had the view they could not survive without the throne. After all these generations, there is no one who actually experienced the world the first Delnikov and Old Tom saved us from. But, we told stories, taught history and maintained libraries that reinforced the history. Everyone knows the terror the Earth had experienced. And citizens from other worlds had their own problems that had been cured by entry in the Empire; so, they fear the loss of it, too. So, what I propose is that we don't get rid of Edward. We don't let him abdicate. Instead, we crown him King." George finished and paused for reaction.

  "I don't get it! That doesn't change anything. That would make it a monarchy." I said.

  "Okay, that's true.' George and all the others except Helena and I were laughing as he went on. 'We essentially control things to create a constitutional monarchy. That's not a great term; because it generally refers to a parliamentary type system, which is based on parties. What I am proposing is a representative constitutional monarchy. It's kind of a hybrid. It's like a republican government in that it has a representative goverment with a head of state. On the other hand, it is like a constitutional monarchy because it has a representative government with a Monarch as head of state. The assembly would hold all the power. The Monarch would be a figure head. At first Edward did not like the idea. He wanted to abdicate and ride off into the sunset. But, I convinced him that the Imperialists would never let it rest. There would be an ongoing civil war; if, the Delnikovs did not stay involved in some way. So together, we constructed a step by step plan that should prevent a civil war; but, would be revolutionary.

  "Step one - Edward presents a bill to the legislature elevating him to the status of King and seeks ratification. Of course he doesn't really need it. He could just write the law and sign it and that would be it; under this constitution. Hopefully, some will wake up and realize that. The object here is to create a resistance to the move. If no one speaks up within a short period, we will generate a negative response designed to draw a following. I suspect, this will start an uproar. If it does not and the Assembly ratifies the change quietly, we have achieved the first step. If it does, it will give the Emperor an excuse to call in help to keep order. That will be Mobile Fifth Command. We would deploy in a bubble surrounding Earth and Rigil; not including the regions protected by Quadrants Two and Three. Those Quadrants would pull their inside forces in tighter to Earth. Essentially, we would be in a position to forcibly repel any other Quadrant that wished to take a stand; and, we would be in a position to detain the other two Quadrant Commanders. Once there, the Emperor would not take action to have us leave.

  Step two - would be the Emperor presenting a new constitution to the Assembly. This constitution would echo the old one in most respects; but, would rest final authority for all legislation generated by both the Assembly and remote governments, with the Orion Assembly. It will essentially remove the need for Royal Assent for a statute to become law. Any bill would be law when passed by the Assembly and would require the Royal signature as a formality. It would also rest final approval of all remote governments' legislation with the Orion Assembly; again, with Royal assent being only a formality. The new constitution would embed the same bill of rights and the same clauses for distribution of representation. It would sustain the clauses that guarantee election of the representatives by the general population. Nothing would change except Orion would be a democracy instead of a representative dictatorship. It's at step two we really expect problems.

  The first minister, half the council, one third of the assembly one C&C and two Quadrant Commands appear to be Pro Emperor; or at least, pro status quo. They like things as they are. They honor the office, throne and crown of the Emperor, not Edward the man. In a strict sense, there loyalty is not to the Empire; but, to its throne. And that's the difference. I believe our loyalties are with the Emperor, the people of the Empire; and, the representatives of those people. I also believe we are humane enough to see how much suffering this system has caused the Delnikov family over the generations they have held power. And most of all, I believe we see that Edward is right and sooner or later the nature of the dictatorship has to change. Sometime in the future our sovereignty will be ruled by an autocrat or a despot.

  If step two is received as expected, the First Minister will ask Dickinson to deploy forces to sustain his wishes; and, will attempt to declare Marshall Law and a temporary suspension of the constitution. Suspecting or even knowing Admiral Stephenson's view, Dickinson will attempt to deploy forces, on his own. We will be monitoring all C&C communications, by then; so, we will be aware of the orders. We will use your enforcement force to arrest Admiral Dickinson, at that time, Kurt." I interrupt Admiral Bryant.

  "Just a minute George, my pervue does not include the C&C of the OESA." I interject.

  "Your investigative responsabilities do not include it; but, your charter is to enforce the statutes, laws and constitution of the Orion Empire; and, Admiral Dickinson will have breached several laws and the constitution, at that point. Your authority and power is very wide ranging. Detecting a Quadrant, Theatre or Fleet Commander of attempting to carry out the order will require you to arrest the offi
cer for attempting to carry out an unlawful one. Once Dickinson is all wrapped up in the legal system, Admiral Stephenson will recommend to the Secretary of Defense and the Emperor, or King by that time, the temporary elevation of Admiral Blackman as C&C of the OESA. Whether or not the Assembly and Counsel approve the nomination, the Emperor will order it; making it a legal appointment. Throughout this entire operation, we must follow the Rule of Law. We must never be in a criminal conspiracy and must always be in a position of defending the constitution and statutes.

  Step three will be the C&C ordering a review of both Quadrants One and Four by your department, Kurt. The excuse will be that, they are suspected of attempting to act on the unlawful order. If you find they have, you will arrest them. If not, you will keep them very busy. In the meantime, your branch has to maintain your operations throughout the rest of the service. The size of your staff is not written into law or regulations; because no one knew what resources you would actually need. If at any time, you need more resources, just ask. During your examinations and investigations whether they are normal ones or special ones you are trying to identify who will support the Emperor's point of view. You may find a Theatre Command or Fleets in Quadrant One that are loyal to the emperor; or, are accepting of democracy. We need to know who we can approach and who we can't. No Quadrant or its sub-commands can act without an order, or authorization, from the C&C. Since, anyone attempting to support the First Minister's request or attempting to foment rebellion against the legal under takings of the government will be breaking the law, you will be required to arrest them for carrying out an unlawful order or for fomenting rebellion. Our effort here is to kill opposition attempts to use force by continually hammering them over the head with the letter of the law.