P.D. 950
The Conspirators
On Darwin
The third person at the meeting sat slightly apart from the other two. Arrogant, vain, xenophobic and ruthless in the sureness of his superiority, Prince RaShahid was a Royal Born of the Tilleke Empire. But he was not in his homeland now. He was visibly uncomfortable in such close physical proximity to free born commoners. The prince had taken the chair furthest away from Hudis and Dreyer, but they were well within his privacy zone and Prince RaShahid made no effort to conceal his discomfort. Nor his distaste. On Tilleke, after all, a commoner was not allowed to be closer than twenty feet of a Royal, on pain of death. For Hudis and Dreyer to even sit in his presence would have been an unpardonable insult on Tilleke.
Inwardly, Hudis despaired. How would he ever forge these three wildly disparate nations into a force to defeat the Vickies? He restrained a sigh. One must work with the tools at hand, he reminded himself.
Hudis cleared his throat. “I think perhaps it is time we also hear from our honored guest from the great Empire of Tilleke. Prince RaShahid, you honor us greatly with your presence here.” From the corner of his eye Hudis could see the grimace of distaste of Dreyer’s face. Didn’t she understand the need for this?
Prince RaShahid bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement of Hudis’s homage. “I send you greetings from His Most Sovereign Majesty, the Emperor of Tilleke. My father…” The Prince paused slightly, savoring the words that bestowed on him his personal power and status. “My father has sent me as his personal emissary to hear your concerns and convey his wishes in this matter.” Another pause. “I speak for the Emperor.”
Hudis raised an internal eyebrow. Did he really? If this arrogant young pup was authorized to speak for Emperor Chalabi, that meant that the Emperor was not merely interested in what the Dominion and Cape Breton wanted to do, but that the Emperor had already decided on a course of action. He glanced at Dreyer, who stared back with studied, professional blandness. Good, she understands as well, he thought with relief.
“What are the Emperor’s thoughts on this matter?” Hudis inquired.
Prince RaShahid bowed his head again. “As you know, my father, His Most Sovereign Majesty, has as his first and most pressing duty the safety and well-being of his people.” Hudis kept his face expressionless. Just a week earlier, as part of his briefing for this meeting by the Dominion Intelligence Directorate, he had been shown video footage of the now-famous Arcadian delegation that had affronted the Emperor in some way. It had given him nightmares.
The Colonel from the Dominion Intelligence Directorate who briefed him had been a short, stocky man with a no-nonsense attitude and a scar across his cheek that suggested he had not always served the DID from behind a desk. He had been characteristically blunt when briefing him about the need for proper etiquette around the Tilleke royalty.
“Do not fuck with these people, Citizen Secretary. These people think they are God,” he warned flatly. “Once the Prince is in the same room, be respectful at all times and keep your physical distance. On his home world no commoner may get closer than twenty feet to him, under penalty of death. The Prince’s protocol officer has granted you a special dispensation: you may sit in his Royal presence, but you may not sit within ten feet of the little bastard. Get any closer and it is a sign of disrespect. Do not challenge him directly. Do not make any jokes at his expense. In fact, stay away from humor entirely. The Tilleke have no sense of humor and are suspicious of those who do. Whatever you do, do not say anything disrespectful about the Emperor. These people are very, very touchy.”
“For the love of God,” Hudis had complained. “We are meeting in the heart of Darwin! What is the Prince going to do, challenge me to a duel?”
The DID officer had stared at him with a flat look that made Hudis squirm. “No, Citizen Secretary, the Prince will not challenge you to a duel. He does not duel with people who displease him, he kills them. What he will likely do is call in one of his fucking trolls, the Savak, the Creche-born monsters that make up his personal guard. He, or it, or whatever the fuck it is, will twist your head until your spine snaps, then he will cut it off. The Prince will add it to his little collection.” Unspoken was the fact that the DID would not prevent it from happening. If Hudis slipped up and displeased the Prince, he was expendable; the Citizen President had been clear about that. The Dominion of Unified Citizenry needed the Tilleke’s participation if this…this enterprise was going to succeed.
Then the DID officer had shown him the video.