Orion Gambit - Traci Ganner series book 2

Orion Gambit - Ch 4

Chapter 4

First Principles

Scott Pearson walked into the council building at the capital with an entourage of command staff, aides, assistants, and his own marine guards. In addition, the vice chancellor had provided a security detail and an administrative liaison to meet the admiral’s party at what was left of the capital spaceport. When he arrived at the regents’ building, he was surrounded by a literal administrative army.

“Make sure priority is given to potable water and basic necessities first. Also, I want to make sure power is restored to all functional government buildings here in the capital. Then begin working outward to command and control centers across the planet. Let’s get the functional government working properly again, so we can begin restoring basic services.” The admiral spat out commands as he walked. In each case, he would select one of the administrative aides and give them an assignment. If the aide responded that it was not their area, Scott would stop and stare at the man or woman until they understood that they were to carry out the order regardless of whose area it was. That they merely had to figure out the proper person to relay the instruction to was not of concern to Admiral Scott Pearson.

As he reached the foot of the giant marble stairway in the atrium of the government building, he encountered another small administrative army assembled there. The two divisions parted to allow the admiral and vice chancellor to meet and exchange a few pleasantries, and then the two men moved to the vice chancellor’s suite and closed the door. Those who were not invited into the room were turned away by security forces and instructed to carry out the orders they had been given.

“Your arrival has been most welcome, Admiral. Do please come in and sit down.”

The admiral and his top officers found chairs in front of the vice chancellor’s enormous mahogany desk. The room itself was serene and inviting, with portraits of various past leaders on the walls. The desk was dark and had various recording devices stacked on it. The arid climate of Alpha Centauri did not favor mahogany trees, so the desk had been imported directly from Sol. It was a very expensive desk.

As the vice chancellor seated himself, he came to the point. “Admiral, we received the late emperor’s final dispatches several months ago. Since that time, we have been cut off from the rest of the Empire, and so we are anxious to get caught up on the status of yourself and Admiral Mihialovich. Is the latter still in possession of a star fleet?”

Scott sat forward in his seat. Not feeling completely comfortable looking up at the vice chancellor, he rose and stood in front of the desk instead.

“Unfortunately, Admiral Mihialovich is still in control of Fourth Fleet, as far as we can tell. However, since we have been concentrating on pushing the Valdi invaders out of the core areas of the Empire, we have not been apprised of his whereabouts or status. We believe he has retreated into the southern colonies.

“Also, you may not have heard that we were forced to join forces with the Orion fleets during this emergency. They are the reason we were able to break into Alpha Centauri and effect your freedom. As soon as we have established a safe protective zone for the Centauri worlds, I intend to push toward Sol and extend relief there as well.”

The vice chancellor rested his elbows on the expansive table and steepled his fingers. For a moment he looked Scott in the eye and said nothing.

The term “southern colonies” was an indication of the arrogant geocentrism within the Terran Empire. Instead of a more galaxy-oriented notation of territory, such as “spinward” or “outer rim,” the Terrans tended to think in terms of what could be viewed from the imperial palace on Earth. The northern and southern night skies, as viewed from the potentate’s point of reference, were what dictated the drawing of every map in use throughout the Empire. Even here, on Alpha Centauri, the vice chancellor was forced to think in those terms.