Empire's Legacy

Chapter 30: The Face of the Commission

"...asleep now," Brenner was saying, out of Amy's line of sight.

"What was she doing here in the first place?" Naisbitt threw himself down into the desk chair, looking sulky, and snatched a half-full glass of what looked like water off the desk. "You know you're supposed to get permission before one of them visits."

Amy heard her father cough before he answered, "Her arrival was unexpected, Chancellor. And as I'm sure you're well aware, Annieka's business here was less in the nature of a familial visit than it was a reprimand."

Naisbitt turned his glass in his fingers. "You need to keep those children of yours in check, Seamus. Gallivanting all over the known systems, causing all manner of havoc—using your name and position to get themselves out of trouble... It won't do!"

"Rabb, in order to even see my kids, I have to get special permission. How exactly would you like me to keep them in check?"

"I don't know. Use one of your special skills. Throw them in prison. Have them killed." He must have seen something on Brenner's face, because he sighed and said, "Oh, fine. I don't know. This isn't what I do." He took a drink and made a face. "Eugh, water. Damn medic's got me off alcohol. What's the point?" Setting his glass down, he said, "Look, Seamus, I don't give a damn what you do about your kids. Send out a vid to the entire damn galaxy telling them that Annieka and Camryn Brenner no longer have carte blanche, if that's what it takes. Just get those damn kids of yours under control." He leaned forward, his eyes cold and his face completely blank. Amy swallowed. "Or I warn you, Seamus, I will." His expression abruptly flipping to a smile, he straightened and said, "And then of course you won't have anything to worry about any more. But then I won't have anything to hold over you, and that's just no fun, is it?" His smile didn't reach his eyes. "So get it sorted, Seamus."

"These frank talks of ours are the highlight of my day," Brenner said dryly as he walked into Amy's view.

"I must say, I look forward to them myself," Naisbitt said. "After all, someone has to remind you of your place every now and again. Now, to business."

Amy pressed closer to the ventilation slats. While the fact that Naisbitt was holding a death threat on she and Cam over her father's head was very interesting, and she needed to remember to tell Cam, it wasn't why she was here. Business, she hoped, would have something to do with the quarantine.

She hoped.

"The Natterby Close rioters are under control," Brenner said, and then added, "For now. They have a habit of acting up when we're least expecting it."

"So expect it," Naisbitt said. "Put them down harder. Execute the prisoners you've taken on the public vid as an example. Take a few children as collateral and execute them." He considered. "Yes, do that."

Brenner bowed slightly, his face unreadable from what Amy could see of it. "I'll put the order out, but I would advise caution, Rabb. Executing the rioters' children may simply incite more violence."

"Then torch Natterby Close and make it look like an accident," Naisbitt said irritably. "And relocate them into work camps. Call them refugees. A great tragedy, etc. We've done it before, although I'll admit that this would be rather less subtle. At the moment, Seamus, we don't have the time for a group of damned rioters. We have other things to worry about."

"Rabb, what are you planning on doing about the outliers?"

"Leave them to rot," Naisbitt said promptly. "And then reclaim the land. After a bit of of terraforming, Petruri will make an ideal getaway for the Cabinet."

"People are asking questions about the epidemic—"

Naisbitt waved a hand dismissively. "You mean that daughter of yours is asking questions. I told you she was trouble, Seamus. Even if there are others, all rampant speculations aside, there is no one outside of this room who knows the truth." He paused and directed a piercing glance at Brenner. "You did take care of the ships after their delivery to the outliers?"

"All six cruisers were destroyed with all hands," Brenner said. "It was a waste, Rabb. You could have easily sent unmanned drones to disperse the samples."

Shrugging, Naisbitt said, "They're soldiers, Seamus. They expect to die eventually."

"Unnecessarily? I wasn't aware we were fighting a war."

Naisbitt looked surprised. "We're always fighting a war. Those rioters that you keep putting down like dogs? They think they're at war, and certainly anyone in that aggravating underground network of dissenters that you seem unable to put a finger on would tell you that we're at war. We may not have distinctly drawn lines of battle, but we are nevertheless still at war. You should know that. You do know that." He picked up his glass again and idly tapped a finger against the rim. "What are the current statistics on the outliers?"

Brenner leaned against a cabinet and folded his arms across his chest. "Fatality rate is high," he said. "The exact percentages vary from planet to planet and settlement, but it's ranging between about 85 and 95 percent on the whole. Because they've been entirely isolated, with no external help arising, most of the rest are biting the dust from starvation or dehydration."

"Good, good," Naisbitt said. "That's what we like to hear."

"There are a few that have tried to get off-world," Brenner continued. Naisbitt's eyes flickered up and then returned to the glass his finger was tracing. "Mostly early on, after it became clear what was happening but before everything went entirely to hell. There have been a few in the last week, though—a couple of individuals who've escaped falling ill, and a handful still in the earlier stages—who've come out begging for the Commission to send help." He shifted position slightly and added, "They were vaporized as soon as they approached the quarantine line, of course."

"Good," Naisbitt said, standing up abruptly. "Glad to hear it. Now, I think it's time to discuss the next phase." He crossed the room and gazed out the window.

"Excuse me?" Brenner stared at his back. "You mean, for terraforming or whatever else it is you want to do once the disease has eliminated the populations?"

"Don't be thick," Naisbitt said. "Plenty of time for that. No. Clearly, this little epidemic experiment has been a success. Wouldn't you agree?"

There was an infinitesimal pause before Brenner said, "Indeed."

"It's ridding the Commission of hundreds of thousands of undesirables in one fell swoop." Naisbitt turned back to face Brenner, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "Just imagine how useful that could be if we turned it inward."

Brenner looked at him blankly. "Forgive me, Rabb, for being slow," he said after a moment, "but I don't understand."

"Your daughter must have rattled you more than you thought." When Brenner said nothing, Naisbitt continued, "Take Natterby Close. Turn the virus on them, and they'd be dead. Soon. Undesirables, dead, and by natural causes. Who could blame us? Clearly the Commission could have nothing to do with bringing a disease here, to C-Prime—someone just have slipped by the quarantine line and got into the city without our knowing. And once it was in the city, it was bound to spread through the lower parts, through all of those rather unpleasant individuals we've all wished would just disappear." His face radiated sympathy and concern as he continued, "And since we simply couldn't have known about it, it's only logical to assume that someone who was exposed managed to get off-planet before the Natterby Close epidemic, and thus the virus made its way to Neridia, and Eridani, and half a dozen of the other inner planets before we could ever have had notice to order a quarantine."