GENESIS - THE BEGINNING. Book 1

CHAPTER 30 ... Prime Minister Wilhelm Hollard

"Gentlemen and ladies." She held up a hand and the clapping subsided.

She stood on a large and hastily erected podium. "I thank you all for coming and I apologize for making you wait so long. I was tired as it's hard work trying to stop a million people or so from taking your job away from you."

Laughter. Fresh cheers. Clapping. She lowered her hand and everyone took to their seats. "Firstly. Those at the back, can you hear me? I have been assured that the acoustics in this hall are excellent. You can? Perfect. Now then, I have called you here because although I am new in this post as Emperor and still trying to find my feet, in the next few days I have to consider each and every one of you. Your qualifications. Your previous performance. Are you the best person for the post you occupy? There is much to consider and my time is going to be in short supply. Therefore I have instructed the law Polrob to do the necessary investigations." The immediate protestations caught her by surprise. Calls of arrogance and overstepping the bounds of proprietary. Women should stay at home and have babies yelled across the hall. She waited as the flood of joy and cheering changed to anger and dismay.

She held up her hand and the heckling subsided. "You are all under a misrepresentation if you believe that, because I am a woman, I will be a pushover."

Heckling at the back again and spreading. Katya turned to one of her bodyguards. "Kill the one who started that."

The Polrob shot out in a blur of movement. It was so swift that few noticed. It returned to its position above Katya's head before any realized there was something wrong. Screams came from those close to the dead official who lay slumped over his plate of finger food. A precise, cauterized cavity the size of a hundred credit chip had suddenly appeared in his back. Material surrounding the blackened, seeping crater glowed here and there from the sudden intense heat from moments before. Smoke curled lazily upwards and the smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.

"Do I have your attention now?"

Where the dead man lay, officials had moved far back to form a wide area around the cooling corps.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she said in a calmer voice. "Never interrupt me again and never steal from me. The Empire is mine and I am jealous of my property. Never lie to me and above all, never make false accusations. Never abuse your positions. All of these things I have mentioned will seal your fate." She stared over their heads, meeting eyes widened with horror and fear. Here and there, she saw a knowing smile or somebody sitting back with folded arms and nodding.

"I am not your friend. I am not going to be your friend. You will see to it that I am obeyed at all times. When I require advice, I will ask for it. If you should have a suggestion or believe you have a better idea than mine, say so. As long as you respect me, I will respect you. Disrespect me and you die. Are there any questions?"

Officials whispered in hushed voices to each other from behind a hand or ducked behind the person to say something that only those closest to them could hear.

"Good. Then we can get down to business." She paced the floor fingering her sheathed sword. "You will have noticed by now I'm sure, that I'm not going to be the pushover you possibly thought I was. I would advise you to do your homework on me and you will discover that I am the worst choice you could ever have had as an Emperor. When I ask you a question, you will be short and concise in your answers. You will be truthful and not try to pass the blame to the next. Before I proceed further, somebody please bring me a chair, I'm tired of walking up and down." There was a short scramble for an empty chair.

She sat down and noticed how the men's eyes darted to her naked legs. The name of the game was to keep them off balance. "Now then, what is this I hear about some of you being dissatisfied with the way things are done in the Empire?" she looked from face to face and noticed the stoniness on some of them. "It seems that some of you have seen fit to destroy equipment in the Palace library." Faces went white as blood drained from them. Others asked questions of their neighbors. Heads shook in denial. Others refused to answer or take their eyes off their new Emperor. Katya turned to one of her bodyguards, indicating it should come closer. She whispered and it shot back up to its comrades and carried on circling.

"Six people have died and two more have disappeared. Emperor Prolit was poisoned." She stopped and waited. The murmuring and questions grew intense. She held a hand up for silence. "It gets worse. Much worse; Some of you have seen fit to contact old earth!"

The hall erupted into chaos. Rubbish! Where's the proof? Members argued with each other. Chairs flew across the room as accusations turned to pushing and shoving and then to fists and kicking. Those not wanting to be involved moved away. Nobody really noticed as a corpse with a hole in its chest slipped silently to the wooden floor.

Katya sat quietly with a slight smile on her face and watched as some men pulled the scuffling brawlers apart.

"Sire." A large man stood separate from the rest. He held up a hand. "Sire, I object!" he said.

"You object?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Sire, this is a heinous accusation. In fact they all are. Eight people dead or missing. The Palace library ransacked. Old earth. Forgive me for saying this but, you have only been Emperor for approximately seventy two hours or so."

"Proceed, sir," she said. The slight smile never leaving her face.

"Sire, again, forgive my being so forward." The hall had quietened down as the officials returned to their seats. "Of those seventy two hours, you have slept for forty eight of them and before that the ceremony was long and protracted."

The soft hear-hear from different areas could be heard. Others turned around and shushed them.

"And your point is, sir?"

"Sire. Forgive my impertinence. We want proof of these accusations, Sire. That's the bottom line." He turned around and smiled at the members behind him. Their nods of agreement gave him strength.

Katya stared down at the man that dared to call her a liar in front of everybody. His smug smile said that he was now in charge and was showing this uppity woman a thing or two about politics.

"Pardon me, sir. Is it not customary to state your name and position to your new Emperor before accusing her of fabricating a lie?"

He turned white as he realized his blunder.

He bowed deeply. "Forgive me Sire for I meant no disrespect."

"No, you did not. You meant only to show the Empire's Governing body what a stupid woman I am. Too stupid, too inexperienced and too immature to be an Emperor. You Sir, have still to supply me with your name and position. I am waiting."

"An unintended blunder Sire, for I in no way meant any disrespect. In the heat of the moment I made a stupid mistake."

"You have made more of a mistake than you believe, sir," she said softly. So softly that he could only just hear her words.

He blanched and swallowed repeatedly. "My name, Sire, is Lord Wilhelm Hollard. I am Prime Minister of Overlord."

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