The Alembic Plot Part 51

"I hate what you've done, but I keep remembering that you were once one of the greatest princes of Heaven, and I'd like to see you back in that position."

"We shall see." Lucius made an abrupt gesture with his hand, then turned his attention back to Cortin. "Would you care to concelebrate Ma.s.s with me Sunday, Excellency, then be present for my announcement of these policies?"

Cortin thought about that, then said, "What do you think, Captain Odeon? Would that be appropriate for the Protector's Herald?"

Lucius frowned, sent Odeon a thought. *She is still unaware of her true status?*

*Yes. Jeshua said she'd be happier not knowing, and I agree.*

*Happier, perhaps, but what makes you think she will be able to remain ignorant, now that she is being hailed and wors.h.i.+pped as Protector?

Although it is small as yet in her case, that wors.h.i.+p does generate energy, and it is focused on her; she will soon begin to feel and manipulate it, whether she recognizes it or not. I suppose trying to protect her as you are doing is praiseworthy, but I question both its wisdom and its fairness.*

*Umm. I don't like it, but you may have a point.*

*I do indeed. Will you tell her, or shall I?*

*I'll do it, since you don't seem to be leaving me much of a choice.*

Odeon looked around at the Family, then concentrated on its head.

"Joanie . . . I've just been told I've--we've all--been doing you a disservice, thinking it was a favor."

Cortin frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Michael--" Chang said cautioningly.

"If I don't tell her, he will." Odeon sighed, rubbed the back of his neck. "And there's no way to break it easy--"

"I am the Protector, then," Cortin said flatly. "When that man called me that yesterday, I had the oddest feeling . . . tried to tell myself it was only because he believed it, but . . ."

"Acting, but yeah. He says you're going to start feeling the wors.h.i.+p directed at you soon."

"I already have, I think. The other part of what made me think he was right. Sort of a cross between extra energy and feeling like I've eaten too much." Cortin smiled at him. "Keeping it from me this long was a favor, Mike--and now, telling me that I'm only Acting is a definite relief. I can handle it for awhile, knowing I won't have to do it forever." She turned to the Pope. "How long, and who's the real one?"

"Less than six months, and I do not know. If I did, I am certain I would not be allowed to tell you." He gave her a thin smile. "Despite my powers, I do operate under constraints; only the Creator is all-powerful, and I, like you, am one of the created."

Cortin chuckled. "Less than six months I can handle, and I'm sure I'll know the real one when He or She appears."

"At the proper time, if not immediately. In the meantime, can you answer my question?"

"Mike?"

"I don't see any harm," Odeon said.

"I'll do it, then. Provided Mike and Dave are also concelebrants."

"That would be even better," Lucius agreed. "It would also be well if Lieutenant Chang were to offer the Communion of Promise afterward."

"I would be pleased to do so," Chang said. "Does your change of heart include reparations for the damage you did to Colonel Cortin?"

"I hadn't considered that, but I suppose it should include correcting the damage, though I will not modify the added sensitivity you gave her; that is the best I can do in the way of reparations." He paused for a few seconds. "There, done. I can do nothing about your fertility, Colonel; that, if it is done at all, will be up to the true Protector."

Cortin smiled. "I never thought I'd be saying this, but thank you.

This whole thing is a great relief to me--the real Protector coming, the Brotherhood ordered disbanded even if most of it won't obey, you supporting the Families and promoting devotion to the Protector . . . I wouldn't have believed any of it a day ago. Everything coming together so well, and so suddenly--a much better ending than I'd dared hope for."

"Ending, Colonel?" Lucius shook his head, his expression grim. "An end to this phase, perhaps, and some time to prepare for the next--but this phase has been nothing but a preliminary. We have not yet even reached the decision point--which will, by the way, not be the sort of confrontation you fear; no one will come to harm there. The decision made at that point will be the true beginning, and the best-case outcome will be a war more destructive of life than any so far in this universe's history."

26. Imperial Contact

St. Thomas, Monday, 27 July 2572 CE

A soft knock on the door and a barely-audible "Excellency?" from outside it woke her. It was Matthew's voice, so she let the gun stay under her pillow and got up, grumbling to herself as she put on a bathrobe and went to open the door. "What is it, Matthew?"

"A call from His Majesty, Excellency. He apologizes for waking you, but we've just captured an Imperial scouts.h.i.+p, and he would like you to be ready to interrogate the prisoners as soon as they're brought in.

That should be about two hours."

"So they finally got this far out. d.a.m.n. Is His Majesty still on the phone?"

"No, Excellency; he was confident of your response." Matthew smiled.

"Breakfast will be ready as soon as you finish Ma.s.s--shall I wake Captain Odeon to a.s.sist?"

"What time is it?"

"Five o'clock, Excellency."

"Late enough he'd be upset if I didn't--go ahead." As her butler left, Cortin scowled. The Kingdom Systems couldn't avoid Imperial notice forever--they'd been lucky to get the roughly four hundred years they'd had--but she wasn't at all sure she cared to live under the Terran Empire's rule.

Not, she thought as she showered and got into uniform, that they'd probably have much choice in the matter. The Empire claimed to be a benevolent umbrella government, that it didn't interfere in local affairs unless absolutely necessary, which Mike's studies of comm intercepts tended to confirm--but it was hard to believe that their non-interference policy could stretch to include the Kingdoms. Well, she'd find out--at least she'd find out whatever the scouts.h.i.+p's crew knew or believed about it.

She got her usual deep pleasure out of saying Ma.s.s, a.s.sisted by both Mike Odeon and Dave Bain, who claimed he'd been awake anyway. Cortin had her suspicions of the reason, with Sis at the unusually early Ma.s.s, and approved heartily. Sis was five months pregnant, but that was no reason to deny herself the pleasures of any of the Family's husbands, and Cortin was of the opinion that Dave was good for her.

After Ma.s.s, the clean-up that had recently become necessary afterward, and breakfast, Cortin, Odeon, Chang, and Bain went to her ground-floor office to wait for the prisoner. They were silent at first, but at last Bain said, "Joanie?"

"Hmm?"

"We're in trouble, aren't we?"

Cortin sighed. "I can't be sure, but I think so. That's because they scare me for some reason--even though there's no evidence I can point to that'll justify that fear. But I'm the wrong person to ask about the Empire; Mike's the one who's been studying them."

Bain turned to his co-husband. "Mike?"

"I can't agree with Joanie on that issue," Odeon said. "As I told her a few months ago, I'm only able to scratch the surface--comm intercepts and the little bit of the Founders' records that survived the Final War don't give you much. Still, what I've seen in those don't scare me at all--truth to tell, I think it's rea.s.suring. You know they ended a ten-year-long war about three years ago?"

"Vaguely. Some sort of non-humans surrendered, didn't they?"

"Not exactly. The Traiti were losing badly, but if I'm reading the intercepts right, they have a psychological block against surrender.

Instead, they took a Ranger prisoner, and a couple of months later, their leaders pet.i.tioned for members.h.i.+p in the Empire."