Chapter 16
“Garret Atrix, you are a fool.” Masako said with a strong undertone of scorn filling her voice. The smile on her face belied the tone of her voice, but Garret wasn’t quite sure exactly what to make of her statement. Was she serious? Was she joking? Was she doing both at the same time? They’d only known each other for a few weeks, after all, and he’d never met a woman quite like her.
“How am I a fool?” He asked her after sorting through everything. It was better for him to take her seriously only to find out she was joking than to assume she was joking when she was being serious.
“You could have used that Lewis boy, wrapped him around your little finger and made him dance to your tune.” She said, wrapping several metaphors all into one neat little package. “You shouldn’t have left before he’d shot his wad with your cock in his ass.”
“Language!” Garret admonished her and she giggled. They were in the hover limousine, heading to the Deliberatorium from the capitol’s starport. He was dressed in the formal robes of Atrix (midnight blue and silver), while she was wearing a silk robe in similar colors, and had her face done up in elaborate makeup.
“Well, you could have at least given him a moment of sexual pleasure for all the heartache you’re putting him through.” She said once her giggling had subsided.
“He got a kiss, at least.” Garret said and she let out a sigh.
“You’re such a romantic.” She said with a mock forlorn expression. “If you weren’t interested only in men, I’d have to trip you into my bed.”
“Since when were you interested in men?” Garret teased and she started giggling again. Marjaan, in the rearward-facing seat across from them just frowned at them, as did the limousine’s other female passenger, Garret’s newest employee.
“Are they always like this?” Lelaine Anova asked Marjaan.
“I’m afraid so.” Marjaan said with a long-suffering sigh. “I think it’s a nervous reaction. When the two of them are nervous about something, they start joking with each other and giggling. If they have too much time before they must appear in public, it gets downright childish.”
“Hey!” Garret protested at that last statement. “Your boss, sitting right here, hearing every word!”
“I thought you appreciated honesty from those who make their living from your money?” Lelaine Anova asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.
“Oh dear, we better not get into a war of words with your new Media Relations Director.” Masako said in a fake awed tone. “I have a feeling she’ll spank us verbally before putting us to bed with our bottles.”
“Please, I do NOT need to hear about your sexual fantasies.” Garret groaned.
“Oh please, this from the guy who tells me every little detail of the pimply-faced child he seduced and then left hard-up!” Masako shot back and this time both of them were reduced to giggles.
“We’re here.” Anova said sharply and Garret instantly sobered up, straightening his robes slightly as he prepared to disembark from the limousine. It was parked right where it was supposed to be, in front of the sea of cameras and the crowd of loud democracy protestors. Local police had created a cordon from the parking area to the front steps of the Deliberatorium, and an electric fence kept the protestors off of the Deliberatorium itself. The many tall buildings around the five-story capitol dome provided many places for a potential sniper to hide, and Tremere had been able to determine that key members of the local police forces had been bribed to turn a blind eye.
That was fine; Garret had his own security team, led by Davin and Devin, who had secured the area unbeknownst to the police or anyone else for that matter.
“Are we ready?” Garret asked seriously and everyone nodded while Anova let a smile blossom on her face.
“Now there’s the starship commander I quit my job to work for.” Anova said with approval and Garret just nodded at her. She opened the door and was the first one out, heading towards several of her former colleagues as Marjaan exited and formed up on the right of the doorway. Garret emerged next with Masako on his arm, and as he stood up straight, he got his first ground-level look at nearly five thousand pro-democracy protestors.
Their signs bore the many messages he’d seen in numerous reports. DOWN WITH THE OLIGARCHY! IT’S TIME FOR THE PEOPLE TO DECIDE! LET FREEDOM RING! Those were the most polite of the messages, while many more were quite a bit more vociferous and angry. BURN THE SODOMITES IN HELL! That was probably the worst he could see. Luckily, the crowd was civilized enough that all they were throwing at Garret were words, slogans, chants, and insults.
“My they look impressive from here.” Masako whispered, barely audible over the din of noise. Garret took a few steps forward, away from the limousine and stopped in the prearranged spot. Anova was leading three reporters towards him when the signal came over his implant receiver.
DOWN!
Garret reacted with his military training and dropped to the ground, carrying Masako with him, just as the sound of a rocket-assisted bullet sounded above the noise of the crowd. If they hadn’t heard that, they saw the result of a high explosive round blowing up as it hit the pavement behind Garret. If it had hit, the round would have blown a huge hole in his chest. Garret stayed on the ground as police moved in a rush to surround him, their weapons drawn. From a building off to his right, there came the sound of gunfire, and a lone figure could be seen by five thousand pairs of eyes as it fell from the twenty-story building, a rifle still grasped in one hand.
There was a collective intake of breath at the sight, and silence descended on the great square.
“Are you okay?” Garret asked Masako as he stood up, straightening his robes and looking at her with concern.
“I am fine, husband-to-be.” Masako answered, as aware as he was of the microphones being pushed near their faces. The reporters were crowding them, but they were hunkered down, so that the people behind them couldn’t see what was happening. Anova had already set up her portable announcing system that would make his words loud enough for all to hear. Most people would assume it was one of the reporters doing the voice enhancement.
This had been risky, but so far it was going exactly as planned.
“Is this what the Republic has come to?” Garret asked in a loud, clear voice. His words boomed out over the five thousand people, and he gauged his expression as carefully as his tone; hurt pride, wounded resolve resounded in his every tone and expression. “Have we come so far from what we were that we now send assassins against each other like we were dirty Earth Imperials?”
“What would you know about what we were, clone?” A man’s voice, shouted out, picked up and amplified across the square. Garret recognized the speaker as one of Marina Lewis’s chief organizers, and carefully hid his smile. He couldn’t have scripted this, but he’d hoped for exactly this type of confrontation.
“I’m sorry, am I supposed to be ashamed?” Garret shot back to the verbal assailant, and resisted another urge to smile at the man’s shocked expression. Masako was clinging to his arm now, a look of affront on her face. “Am I supposed to be ashamed that I was born for a purpose, to replace the lost life of the original Garret Atrix? Am I supposed to be ashamed that I was born to help the Republic? How am I not supposed to know what the Republic was when I’d been raised to defend her with my very life from the time I was a little boy.”
“You were never a boy!” The same man cried out rather foolishly.
“I’m sorry, maybe you could clarify that statement.” Garret said with just the right amount of confusion in his voice. “I was born an infant, and I grew just like any other person in the Republic, becoming a toddler, then a little boy, then a teenager, and finally a man. I assure you, the mantle at home has pictures of me not only when I was a little boy but throughout my life. Are you under some ignorant misconception that a clone springs forth fully grown from some huge tank?”
“That’s not what I meant!” The man shouted, albeit a little weakly.
“Then say what you mean.” Garret shot back, letting a hint of anger develop in his voice.
“You’re the reason I don’t have a job!” The man shouted. “You’re the reason that most of the people here don’t have a job! You clones take all the work we could be doing! You fill the ranks of the military like a cancer when real humans should be there!”
“Thirty-two million, four hundred thousand, eight hundred and sixty eight.” Garret said in a soft voice.
“What?” The man stuttered, his voice barely picked up by the announcement system.
“Thirty-two million, four hundred thousand, eight hundred and sixty eight.” Garret repeated calmly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The man asked in a voice loud enough to be broadcast over the announcing system. He also stepped forward, knowing if he moved closer it would sound less like he was shouting. He wasn’t totally stupid.
“That number is the number of ‘real’ people that would have died instead of clones during the war.” Garret answered soberly. “You say that clones don’t belong in the military, but if it wasn’t for clones, many, many more people would have died. There are just over twelve billion people in the Republic right now. As it was, nearly four hundred million civilians did die during the war.”
“A failure of your clones!” The man shouted, his voice booming over the square whereas Garret’s voice wafted over them like gentle waves.
“Most of those losses were in the early days of the war, a decade before the first clones were trained and joined the military.” Garret reminded the man. “How is it I know more of our history than you do?”
“You know your version of history!” The man shouted abrasively, his voice filled with scorn. “I know the truth! You weren’t even created yet!”
“Ah, you look very well preserved for someone who is at least sixty years old, if you were a baby when the war started.” Garret said, knowing the man was little more than forty.
“That’s not what I meant!” The man shouted.
“That’s not what you said, sir.” Garret pointed out. “It is what you meant to imply by claiming I was not ‘created’. Nice choices of words by the way, refusing to admit I was born just like any other human.”
“You aren’t human, you’re our creation!” The man shouted in a fuss, even though he was close enough now to the ring of policemen that his voice could have easily been picked up in normal tones. The crowd was staying silent, listening and for those close enough, watching this confrontation.
“So you were involved in creating me, and are now involved in denouncing me?” Garret chided, knowing this was as far as he dared push this. “How convenient.”
“Silence!” The man commanded, as if he expected Garret, a clone to obey. Yes, the goading had been just enough, and now it was time for something else.
“You claim to demand democracy, but you demand my silence so my voice will not be heard?” Garret’s tone was slightly incredulous, as if he could not believe the contradiction of the two points. Now was not the time to let his opponent speak again, so Garret continued, his voice rising and falling in cadences learned during oration classes at the Academy.
“From its very beginning, the Republic has always been based on making sure the voices of the people have been heard and listened to by those in charge.” Garret continued. “We fled Earth, choosing exile over the muzzling of our voices! At first we followed the type of democracies we knew on Earth, but we soon learned that the weaknesses of that system that allowed the Jordanites to seize power still existed! In the early days of chaos and disease, a new system emerged.
“This system required responsibility by those who made the laws. With the power of vote over the laws of this Republic came the personal responsibility to the people of the Republic. The Great Houses that formed were required to live their lives in service to the Republic. Half of all their income is taxed, far more than any other person or company in the Republic pays. When the Great War came, it fell to the Houses to provide for the emergency creation of a military strong enough to repel the invaders. Ten of the Great Houses died, to the last little babe in the womb of its mother, killed by the Imperials. Six more fell to bankruptcy, giving all their money to the war until they had no more to give. Many of the remaining Houses have coffers nearly empty from the war. Those that don’t are still giving, more than their required fifty percent, so that taxes are not raised on the citizens of the Republic!”
“House Atrix has billions!” The man shouted, cutting off Garret, smiling as if he had made a point instead of giving Garret more ammunition.
“House Atrix was in conserrvatorship until I made legal claim.” Garret said with what he hoped was a sad smile. “Not more than a few weeks ago did I find out I was the heir of that Great House. As all of you know, my claim was accepted by the courts last week, over the protests of leaders of this democracy movement. Since that claim was accepted, I’ve been working to figure out how to best make use of those funds. Now, today, I am here to announce to the Deliberatorium how the funds of House Atrix will be used to lift the Republic out of its economic troubles.”
“Sure, that’s what anyone would say.” The man snorted. “You’ll get your Great House status here on Peladon, but what about the rest of the Republic?”
“House Atrix has over twenty-three billion credits in funds available.” Garret said softly, hearing a massive intake of breath from the crowd. “Some of that will be used to recreate a passenger ship fleet that will allow people to once again travel easily between Republic worlds. Most, nearly twenty billion overall in funds, will go to Economic Development grants and low-interest loans. Half of that twenty billion will go the planet that accepts my request for guardianship. I will ask the people of Calos to accept my founding House Atrix on their soil, to allow me to raise my children there. If they accept, ten billion of those funds will focus on rebuilding the world most devastated by the Great War. As for the other ten billion, those funds will be made available throughout the Republic, to any wishing to start a business on whichever of the fourteen worlds that make up the Republic.”
“You’re lying!” A female voice shouted, and Garret watched as Marina Lewis pushed her way to the front until she stood next to her assistant. “No one would just give away that much money, least of all one of you grubby, money-hoarding fiends!”
“Gospedena Lewis, I still grieve for your loss.” Garret said softly and politely. “With respect though, I submit that all you have to do is wait. The first funds will begin to be distributed within three months. Those wishing to receive a grant or low-interests loan can apply with my House offices beginning tomorrow morning. Applications are being made available as of this morning on the Republic-wide network at the House Atrix portal. A billion credits in funds will be distributed Republic-wide every three months until all monies have been exhausted. If Calos accepts my request, funds will be made available immediately. If they refuse, I’ll apply with another Republic World and additional funds will be available there.”
“You lying murderer!” Lewis shrieked, her voice going shrill and her face suffused with rage. “I know you killed my son on Braxix and I’ll see you rot in hell! That stupid idiot should have hit you!”
“Madam, please calm down.” Garret said coolly as the woman moved forward threateningly. She wasn’t rushing, he was glad to see, but several police officers moved to cut her off. “Your son was an unfortunate casualty of war. It hurt to see him die by the virulent gas the Imperials used, but it was not I who killed him. He did that himself when he dropped his gas mask and couldn’t pick it up. If I’d been closer, I might have been able to help him, but I was too far away. I’m sorry now I was not able to assist him. Nightmares of that awful experience still haunt my dreams.”
“You liar!” She shrieked and tried to rush him.
“Be gentle with her.” Garret said sadly, feeling a little moisture form in his eyes. Good, he could still fake tears if necessary. The officers who were taking her away nodded, and Garret shook his head. “I’m sorry, her son was an officer in the unit I was assigned to on Braxix. I’m sure many of you remember how awful that fighting was a few years ago. The Imperials tried to retake Calos, and they were not hesitant to use all the weapons at their disposal, including chemical weapons.
“For sixty years the Imperials tried to conquer the Republic.” Garret continued, returning to a point he’d tried to make earlier. “They could not, because the Republic proved to be too strong. They could not understand our strength, thinking us an oppressive oligarchy. It’s true that the laws of the Republic are made by a small group of people, but what they don’t understand is that those laws are not made in a vacuum. Minor Houses, only required to give a third of their income to the good of the Republic, advise the Great Houses. The Voices of the Republic’s people also are heard in the Deliberatorium. If the Voices and the Minor Houses believe an action of the Great Houses is truly wrong for the Republic, they can raise their voice in veto. Four-fifths of the Minor Houses and Voices rising in agreement will undo any act of the Great Houses. That has never happened, though, in the history of the Republic.
“Why hasn’t it happened?” Garret asked, and was pleased at the silence in the square. “It’s simple, why it has not happened. The Great Houses, by and large, remember their duty and their obligations. In democracies, as we know all too well, people compete for the affection of the public, making whatever promises are necessary to get elected to power. They must raise millions and millions to get elected and hold onto office. Every election year they must raise more, and thus become beholden to those with money and thus they turn away from the needs of the people and towards the needs of those with money.
“In the Republic, those with money and who wish to govern must give up most of their money to the needs of the people. Our system makes sure that those in power are very aware, and remember that their first duty is to the people, not to power or money. So yes, I go from here to take my place in the Deliberatorium, but I know full well it is not a path to riches, rather a path to obligation. That obligation is to make life better for not only those here, and those on all the worlds of the Republic. I ask you to think on this, and on the motives of those who would resurrect the corrupt form of government that created our great enemy, the Sol Empire.”
Having finished his speech, Garret immediately began to move forward. The crowd was mostly silent, and he was pleased to see that all the signs that had been so prominent when he arrived were nowhere to be seen. Many people even bowed their heads slightly as he passed by, his back straight, and his head locked in place, looking towards his destination. Beside him, Masako moved gracefully, a slight smile barely visible on her face. Marjaan and Lelaine walked behind them, both less successful in hiding their smiles.
“Whew.” Garret said as they entered the interior of the Deliberatorium. Marja Lars and Toshiro Ito were standing there waiting for them.
“Don’t relax quite yet.” Marja said with a smile. “As we planned, the moment someone reported a sniper, everyone in the chamber demanded the holo-network news be turned on. We got to see your little speech in full.”
“And?” Masako asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Quite moving.” Toshiro said with an artful sniff. “Marja Lars and I were rushed out of the chamber so we could greet you and bring you there forthwith.”
“Kyle Morevan has already stated that you will settle on Calos.” Marja added and Garret smiled.
He’d already won without even having stepped into the Deliberatorium, and he owed a pimply-faced young man, two years his junior, a great deal of thanks.
*~*~*~*~*
Three months flew by from that day as if time was moving in fast-forward. Garret spent nearly sixteen hours a day working on everything from the merging of BGL into House Atrix, to the selection of an apartment on Calos, and a site to build their estates, to overseeing the disbursement of Economic Development funds, and to conducting the normal business of a Speaker in the Deliberatorium.
Toshiro Ito’s assurance that Garret could lay aside his Speaker responsibilities via proxy came to naught. If Garret had even tried to do that, he suspected the riots would have resumed. As it was, when the first disbursements were announced, the Democracy Movement began to unravel.
By the end of the first quarter’s disbursements, the movement’s leaders were in deep trouble, with hundreds of people coming forward to testify as to the planning and execution of illegal activities. Marina Lewis, being held in a psychiatric hospital had remained tight-lipped right up until two days ago.
When she sang, though, Garret mused, she really did sing. The Deliberatorium, lacking real evidence of Leonev’s involvement in illegal activities, had been forced to a compromise only a week after Garret’s official installment as Speaker of House Atrix. The compromise gave Leonev the position of Supreme Commander of Republic Armed Forces, but it installed limits on certain aspects of his authority. Promotions of officers to the rank of Captain (Colonel for ground forces) and higher had to be approved (or rejected) by a Select Committee of the Deliberatorium. The same committee also had to approve command transfers for any ship bigger than a Heavy Cruiser, or bases commanded by a flag officer (Generals and Admirals). The committee also approved key posts, like that formerly held by Lefhaus Admiral Lumbardon. Garret was one of the Speakers assigned to that committee, and none of those being blackmailed by Leonev had managed to get a seat on the committee.
That would all change, Garret knew, with the coming morning. Actually, morning was already approaching on the far side of the planet where Newhaven was located. Here in New Prejat it was just approaching twenty-two hundred hours, and he was prowling the bay windows in his bedroom, waiting anxiously for that special moment.
“You coming to bed?” Deci asked from the middle of Garret’s bed. He’d been Garret’s most common bedroom companion for the past few months, and had seemed genuinely appreciative of Garret’s new interest in sex. For his part, Garret found Deci’s exuberance in bed to be quite exciting, and while Devin and Davin still occasionally wormed their way into his bed, they also seemed to be pleased that he was so interested in Deci’s amorous attentions.
“In a little bit.” Garret said softly as he looked back out on the peaceful night and the New Prejat skyline. The violence of the Democracy Movement was long dead, and the night no longer saw explosions or fires. Instead the skyline was filled with the twinkling lights of buildings, street lights, ground and air cars taking their passengers to the theater, or a pleasure house, or just out to dinner.
Life was returning to normal for the Republic, and Garret held the lion’s share of the credit for that achievement.
His reflection was dim in the windows, but he could see the smile on his own face very clearly. He’d received so many compliments on the short haircut he’d adopted to deceive the Lewis boy that he’d kept it styled that way lately. One bad thing he noted was that he was gaining a few extra pounds. His current life, as busy as it was, left little time for exercise, and for the fifth time in as many days, he promised he’d force his ‘handlers’ to fit some time in his schedule for exercise. Even just an hour a day would help a lot.
Honey, I’m home!
The mental voice was weak, but very happy inside Garret’s head, and he let out a sigh of relief. Welcome back, Ada. How was the trip?
Boring without you. She replied with a heavy sigh. The Adamant was now close enough to Peladon that she could tap into the communications network directly, and transmit a signal to him. Nothing of excitement happened, even when we stopped by that sector where we saw the courier ship. It was dead out there, and we stayed as long as we could without disrupting our schedule.
Well, maybe we’ll get someone else to pay attention to that sector sometime soon. Garret responded while suppressing the urge to chuckle. Marjaan had arranged for a three-week layover by the Adamant. The ship would be ready to pull back out to space a few days after the current session of the Deliberatorium ended. Their destination, with Garret and Masako aboard, would be Calos, where Garret would make the first formal trip to his new home.
Then Adamant would be gone again for another two months on trips, but she’d be back to Calos at the end of that time, and he’d command her for the next two months of business runs. Then he’d return to Calos for three months before heading back to Peladon for the Deliberatorium’s next session. The way things were shaping up, he might as well just turn command of her over to Harrington, and then just cruise with her as a guest commander for the few times he’d be able to get into space.
It’s time for sleep here. Garret told his ship as she began to rattle on about all sorts of events amongst the crew. The latest gossip was how Harrington had been shacking up with Gary, and Marna, who was now valued, had been spending a lot of time with the ship’s Chief Engineer. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon after the day’s session, okay?
Okay. Ada sounded sad, but the connection between them closed and Garret turned back to face his bed. Deci was lying there, propped up on an elbow, his head resting on his hand, and staring at Garret with a half-smile on his face. That brought about a slight twitch in Garret’s groin and he let a smile form on his face.
“Uh-oh, I know what that look means.” Deci said with a short laugh.
“Oh?” Garret responded with a leer. “What does it mean?”
“The military genius in you is planning how it is going to conquer my body tonight.” Deci said with a grin that lit up his entire face. “Stars, part of me is pissed I missed this all that time we were at the pleasure house together, and part of me is glad I did miss it all.”
“Why’s that?” Garret asked as he stripped off his shirt and took a few steps towards the bed. Deci was right, his brain was planning tonight’s conquest of Deci’s body. Maybe tonight they’d try that position again where Deci stood on his head, reaching his own cock with his mouth while Garret plunged into his upturned ass. That had been fun.
“If we’d been doing this while we were at the pleasure house, I’d have been too exhausted to deal with any clients.” Deci said with a blush that made up Garret’s mind. He wouldn’t try that position again. He wanted to gaze into Deci’s eyes as he fucked him.
“Milord.” Davin’s voice from the doorway made Garret want to curse, but he didn’t.
“What is it?” Garret demanded of his bodyguard/assistant.
“Sir, there’s someone here to see you.” He said with a frown.
“At this hour?” Garret asked. “Whoever it is, tell them to come back in the morning.”
“Sir, you might want to see him.” Davin insisted, his gaze going to Garret’s groin and shaking his head in regret. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think you should see him.”
“Who is it?” Garret demanded as he adjusted his erect penis in his pants.
“Aaron Lewis, sir.” Davin answered and Garret actually felt another twitch in his groin.
“What’s he doing here?” Garret asked. “Last you told me, he was working with his father in the O’Leary shipyards and they’d totally cut all ties with Leonev and the Democracy Movement.”
“They had, but he’s here now.” Davin stated. “I don’t know if you know it, but there were arrest warrants issued for both him and his father based on testimony from Marina Lewis.”
“So he’s probably here to see if I’ll protect him?” Garret wondered aloud.
“Sir, he says he’s here to warn you about something.” Davin said with a worried tone.
“Put him in the sitting room.” Garret sighed, looking down at Deci who was pouting slightly. “I’ll get dressed and be there in a moment.”
“I hate getting interrupted.” Deci moaned.
“So do I.” Garret assured him as he went to the closet. He was already wearing a pair of brown levvin pants, so he took out a dark blue shirt with a wide v opening in the front and short sleeves. After slipping it on, he put on a pair of comfortable house shoes and left his bedroom.
Aaron was standing in the sitting room, staring at the painting Masako had purchased last month. The painting was an exterior view of the Battle of Lemos, with the Adamant in the foreground, firing at a distant Mother Ship. The artist had quite a knack for coloring, and had rendered a splendid three-dimensional view on a two-dimensional canvas. What surprised Garret though was the young man standing in front of the painting.
“Aaron?” Garret asked, not quite sure if the man looking at the painting was the same man he’d met in that pleasure house. He was the same height, but he stood a little straighter, and had more muscle on him than the skinny kid he’d met. His brown hair was also cut shorter, with neatly curled brown ringlets on top that, as he turned around made him look much more sophisticated. When he was fully turned, Garret was noted that the pimples were gone, replaced by smooth skin and his smile was much better as well. He was also dressed in a better cut of clothing, dark blues mostly, but the clothes looked quite worn, as if they’d been on him for several days.
“Hi.” The voice was the same, as was the soft blush and the downward turn of the eyes.
“You look good.” Garret told the young man, who blushed even more. He slouched a little, but still his posture was better than it had been the one time they’d been together before.
“So do you, Speaker.” The boy said, still not looking up.
“What are you doing here?” Garret asked as he moved further into the room until he stood in front of Aaron. The boy started shaking as soon as Garret placed a hand on his shoulder, and Garret had to resist the urge to take him into a close hug.
“After… after mom was put in that hospital, I thought we were free of him.” Garret stuttered softly, still looking at the floor. “Dad said we were, that we weren’t going to take part in any more ‘half-baked schemes’ from my uncle. I wanted to get a job cooking, you know, but no one would hire me because of mom. Dad used his influence with the Shipwrights Guild to get me a job working on that ship for you, the Unity.”
“I know.” Garret said softly. “I made sure you were doing okay.”
“Why?” Aaron asked, looking up briefly before looking back down at the ground.
“Let’s just say I don’t think you’re that bad of a person, and that given a choice you’d do the right thing.” Garret said softly. “Besides you’re handsome and I hate to see handsome guys in trouble. Although, if I’d known you’d look like this with a little bit of cleanup, I’d have asked you out for dinner weeks ago.”
“Really?” Aaron’s voice held disbelief and this time he did meet Garret’s eyes for a protracted moment before looking down. His cheeks were blushing though. “I, well since I was making money on my own I went and got some skin cream and other stuff, and I found a personal designer to help me with my hair and other stuff.”
“Whoever they are, they did well.” Garret said while plucking a bit at the shoulder material of Aaron’s shirt. “It looks like you haven’t been able to change clothes in a few days though.”
“Yeah, well I came last night, Newhaven time, and that’s when things went to hell.” Aaron said with a sigh. As he continued to speak, though, his eyes traveled up Garret until they meet his gaze. “Dad and I were having dinner, like we always did, and I had gotten dressed to go out when the call came from Uncle Leonev.”
“Really?” Garret asked with some concern. They’d been monitoring communications between Leonev and his family.
“Yes, it was encrypted.” Aaron said with a sigh. “He uses some circuit that can’t be traced or something like that. Uncle told my father that mother had finally cracked and was spilling everything she knew. Dad just nodded, like he’d never really split with uncle at all. They talked for a bit and then I was told they had a mission for me.”
“What was that mission?” Garret asked while willing his heart to slow down. If Aaron hadn’t come forward, they’d have never known Leonev was…
“I placed several bombs in the framework of the Unity.” Aaron answered with a frown, no longer meeting Garret’s gaze. “Don’t worry, I took the cores out of the detonator, so when Dad triggers them, nothing will happen, but he had people watching me. After I did that I was supposed to take the shuttle back to Newhaven where I’d join with Dad and Uncle Leonev before they headed up to the fleet.”
“Fleet? What fleet?” Garret asked and then winced as Ada began shrieking in his head.
Garret! Fourteen ships just jumped into the system! They’re on combat alert and just fried the Andover! They’re launching fighters!
Get to the dock as quickly as possible, don’t engage! Garret ordered while looking at Aaron closely. “How did you get here?”
“I… I took over the shuttle on the way back down.” Aaron said with blushing cheeks, looking at the ground again. “I… I wasn’t as good at flying as I thought I would be, and I crashed on the outskirts of town. It wasn’t too bad, but I had a hard time getting transport into town. Most of my money is in my account and I don’t dare try to access it or use my cards because Uncle might be tracking them. He’s still got a lot of contacts in the Police, and they can track movement from those things.”
“You did right.” Garret assured him. “Your uncle, what is he planning?”
“He’s pretty sure he has control of about half the fleet, and he’s ready to use that to seize control. He said he’ll invent some story about you trying to seize power and he’s stepping in to save the Republic from you.” Aaron said in a shaky voice. “I’m sorry, if I’d known before, I’d have told you, but…”
“Don’t worry, Aaron, I believe you.” Garret said reassuringly, moving his hand so that it rubbed against Aaron’s upper arm. The young man leaned against him, and Garret took him into a hug while using his transmitter to summon Davin and Devin, as well as Deci. He’d managed to purchase a large number of the advanced civilian transmitters, and most of his staff now had them implanted along with the regular Obermin implants. The same was true for every crewmember of the Adamant.
“What is it, milord?” Davin demanded as he entered the sitting room in a rush. Devin was just behind him, and Deci entered a second later from the same direction Garret had come. Deci sniffed though, at seeing the human in Garret’s arms.
“Send a flash warning to all the Speakers on the emergency net.” Garret said with authority. “All Speakers and their families should take emergency shelter immediately. Order any friendly units to seize Banner General Leonev on sight, the charge is Grand Treason.”
“Yes, milord.” Davin said with a sharp bow before turning on his heel and rushing out of the room.
“Devin, take Aaron here and help him get cleaned up.” Garret said firmly, although he felt Aaron stiffen before beginning to tremble. “He’s under my personal protection. You are to allow no harm to come to him. If he has any more information for me, pass it on to me quickly. Once he’s cleaned up, get him to our secure bunker. He’s part of House Atrix now, you understand?”
“Yes, milord.” Devin said with a nod of his head, and he moved up to take Aaron by the arm. The young man let himself be pulled away, but he gave Garret a quick kiss on the cheek before following Devin out of the room.
“What do you want from me?” Deci asked in a weak voice.
“I assume Lelaine is staying the night with Masako again?” Garret asked and Deci nodded. “Get them up and ready to get out of here in fifteen minutes.”
“They are not going to like that.” Deci whistled, but he was already moving to obey Garret’s command. Garret took a moment to go back into his bedroom and pull out a pair of utilitarian shipboard coveralls. They were a dark blue, almost a military black, and had four gold stripes on each shoulder board. Then he put on a pair of black, utilitarian boots, all before pulling out an equipment belt he kept just for this type of emergency. Besides field tools and various other pieces of equipment, a blaster pistol was holstered in it, and as he put it on, he felt the weapon’s reassuring weight pulling at his hip.
If Leonev wanted to fight for the Republic, Garret Lars-Atrix was more than happy to give him that fight.
As with all my stories, E provides immeasurable input, grammar checking, and all those other lovely editing thingies that make the story so much better!
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