The Inaugural Address

PART III - CHAPTER VI

6.

"We have to find him, and we have to before they do." Alexandria declared on a video call with her advisors, which included many of her newly-appointed territory representatives from all across the commonwealth and any House of Scorpius member she managed to get to join the call.

She was sitting hunched over false letters in her luxurious office, reeling through the reality that her long lost twin brother may still be alive, and despite her former understanding, he never wrote to her regarding the rebellion he took a huge part in orchestrating. He suddenly became a wild card in her mind. Perhaps, wherever he was now, he thought of her as a wild card as well.

"And by who, who do you mean?" Alexandria's second in command, Penelope Scorpius, replied. The entire call was waiting for further direction from Alexandria.

"Who? What?" Alexandria mumbled in response. She was admittedly distracted by the immense amount of pressure placed on her. She had to decide something, but her mind remained clouded. "Oh, I mean Alexander, of course. We need to stop Alexander before they find Philip." She knew that Alexander IV orchestrated this mess to catch her off guard, and she was upset to know that it was working. She had to get it together.

"What about the rebels?" Penelope rebutted.

"They're the least of our concerns right now, Penelope," Alexandra replied instantly.

"I don't know about that, Divine Rule–" Alexandria heard the feminine voice of one of her new territory representatives begin,

"Alexandria, please," She was sick of the formalities, and even sicker of the collective paranoia all of her advisors seemed to share.

"Alexandria," The same voice continued, "Your citizens in the Cancer district are being bombarded by propaganda from Courtney Silverston, she's–"

"Well, considering her entire family was murdered by Ariesan soldiers without any form of investigation or trial, I can see how she would feel the need to protest. Wouldn't you?" Alexandria was becoming agitated. "Let's call this for what it is. The tour of the territories did what our predecessors failed to do – unite the nation through classic collective problem solving, bringing forth real issues from real people. It may have been treasonous under the last administration to support such an impressive movement, but it is not treasonous under this administration – my administration."

"Empress, with all due respect–" The General replied, but her efforts to chime in were ignored by Alexandria.

"I know many of you believe that it is more dangerous for us to embrace new perspectives on the way things are run here. I know many of you see these rebels as immature, reckless, dangerous, ignorant... however - what I see in these rebels is the future. In them I see a more just and equitable society that works for the majority, not the power hungry minority. The sooner we accept that, the sooner we will understand what our governance will eventually turn into."

"Accepting radical ideas... like demands to reform the birth equality stipend, would end up doing more damage than good, Empress. Our relevance as a governing body depends on our firmness with policies that have made up the framework of the commonwealth since its founding." Penelope began, unintentionally causing Alexandria to feel the need to veer further into a tangential rant. "If we didn't have things like the stipend, the Royal Birthing Bureau, poorer districts would be–"

"Less crowded? Less overwhelmed?" Alexandria rebutted.

"They would be less assisted, less supported..." Penelope said, beginning her defense.

"Oh, if we're going to talk about the stipend, let's not shy away from the fact that the system, as it is now, actually benefits richer territories more so than the poorer territories it's meant to uplift."