TEP Chpt 19

=The Eagle's Perch=
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==Chapter 19 - Proem==
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===Return to Atreus===
Atreus, Marik CommonwealthFree Worlds League2733
Alice Allison
The capital of the Free Worlds League had a number of titles to its name:
 
Atreus, the Capital. For that was what it was, the Capital of the Free Worlds League.
 
Atreus, the Giant. For it stood head and shoulders amongst all other worlds as a beacon of commerce, politics, martial and civilian culture.
 
Atreus, the Compromise. For it was the compromise option between the three founding provinces. A single, well inhabited world close enough to the midpoint of the founders' capitals.
 
As a consequence, it was deeply nestled within the Free Worlds League. As the years went by, the distance between it and our enemies only grew, with more defenses being layered atop each other. For hundreds of years, it stood as unassailable. The one place no enemy of the League has ever successfully assaulted.
 
Except for now.
 
It was a surreal feeling to lead the assault into the untouchable heart of the Free Worlds League. Neither I, my crew, nor our ancestors, imagined anything close to this. Then again, no one would have predicted the series of events that would have led to this.
 
"We're receiving hails from planetside, ma'am. It's them."
 
Of course, not one of us would dare to dream that an assault against Atreus would have been successful, if not for Them. 'Them' being our secret weapon that assures victory in the face of impossible odds. They were turncoat agents, deeply embedded within The Bitch's lair. So not only do I stand on the bridge of an Atreus-class Battleship conquering Atreus, but I'm also having it delivered to me on a silver platter by those Elise trusted to be her hound dogs.
 
"That can't be right…"
 
"What's wrong, lieutenant?" asked Captain Kirkland.
 
"The-they're, uh, they want head of the Ministry of Intelligence, Hero Jefferies, to talk with Duchess Allison, ma'am," she dutifully relayed.
 
For her part, Captain Kirkland turned to me and merely raised a brow.
 
I cleared my throat and clarified, "This was part of the plan. He was one of ours since the start, as well as all of MoI. Understandably, Boris and the Council thought to keep that classified." Work around me stopped suddenly. Disbelief spread across the ranks of the surrounding Spacers. I wouldn't blame them for the break in discipline, if I hadn't heard it from Boris himself, I'd have decried that as bad writing. In our hour of need, we were aided by a brave man, literally named Hero. "Let's have it on the big tank. His greetings should be interesting."
 
Kirkland scoffed at that. "With all respect, that's an understatement, ma'am."
 
There was an air of agreement by the rest of the Spacers as they returned to work. The big holotank of the bridge was primarily used for helping the bridge crew contextualize and orient their efforts and their ship in space. A big, highly detailed hologram would show where everything was in relation to their ship. Extremely useful, and recent. The hardware couldn't have been more than a fifty years old.
 
Hero Jefferies head appeared shortly after.
 
I took a moment to study his face, committing everything I could to memory. This was probably the slipperiest spook to have ever graced the Free Worlds League, and we had publicly known private finishing schools for assassins and saboteurs, which said a lot about his skills. Though, it said nothing about the man himself.
 
From what I recalled, he was originally a member of the 1st Marik Militia as a Light Mech scout. The Avenging Angels earned their name back in the Age of War. They had a different nickname then, 'The Big 1'. Then the first Andurien War happened. The campaigns that followed were brutal. The Capellans then were fans of the worst excesses of autocratic regimes, and their reprisals could and did depopulate whole worlds. The 1st, earned their nickname when they collectively swore to avenge every world wronged by the Capellans. Every world. Not just League worlds. Their anti-Capellan sentiment was probably why they and he got through intact, with little scrutiny during The Cleansing.
 
After that, he left the Militia and joined the Ministry of Intelligence. Decades toiling underneath Elise's regime as her hound dogs, chasing out her detractors and enemies from the dark corners of the League. He rose through the ranks by styling himself as the 'Devil's Advocate'. The one man that says 'No', when everyone else says 'Yes'. Based on that, I would guess that his rise was as much a result of his skill as opportunism against his rivals failures.
 
So is it opportunism that motivates him now, or was it something else?
 
"Greetings, Duchess Allison. I hope you're all doing well." He smiled as he cordially welcomed us. "My apologies for taking so long, but the timing was… delicate. Some of my people needed to be evacuated from the crossfire, you see."
 
"Delicate indeed," I carefully replied. "I appreciate the risks you and the Ministry have taken to secure the capital for the Parliamentarian cause. It was brave to lie within the lion's den, and fortuitous to strike so cleanly now. Your people have saved many lives by preventing further bloodshed."
 
He still wore the same easy smile when our conversation started. "Think nothing of it, Duchess Allison. Truthfully, none of our recent triumphs would have been possible had Elise not stretched SAFE so thin across the League, nor pitted Ministry against Ministry in her paranoia. By spending so much time and resources watching for imaginary traitors, they missed the very real traitors hiding in plain sight." He paused, looking slightly sorrowful, before adding, "Shame about the Ministry of Taxation though. Agatha deserved much better."
 
I couldn't have heard that right. Ancient Agatha and the MoT falling out with the Tyrant? "Oh? What happened to old Agatha?"
 
"You know how the old bird always droned on about reforming the tax system? She took her chance again. Elise thought it would have been political suicide to alienate what little allies she has left to change a system that was functional even in the Age of War. She was very upset."
 
Murmurs spread throughout the ship, and I clicked my tongue. Agatha was famous throughout the League as a champion for tax reform. No more honor based system that carried us through the darkest ages of humanity. A 'proper system' for was necessary for the modern age, she'd preach.
 
Politely put, she wasn't popular. She only hung on to the MoT post because of her immense wealth and banked favors. Everyone owed something to her. When Elise executed her coup against Parliament, Agatha managed to hang on to the post again because she was popular with the Federalists.
 
A woman like that doesn't stay in the ring of politics for long without good political acumen. She should have known, pushing her pet reform issue now would end her career and certainly her life.
The implications weren't fit for public discussion. Not now. Not when we've all but claimed victory.
 
"That's a shame, Jefferies. Old Aggy may be a dog, but she only wanted the best for the League," I said remorsefully. "The traitor Mariks will answer for that. They've taken too many good souls."
 
"And led too many astray," he hissed. There was an edge to his smile that no one watching could mistake as friendly. That felt like genuine hate. "It's a good thing we've caught them all, then. I'm sure Parliament would have a field day giving Elise's cronies their day in court."
 
It was sweet to know the promised revenge would be fulfilled. "We all will, Jefferies," I said, smirking. I thought of who's reactions would I enjoy seeing the most. It was hard to choose, all three of loyalist high command were guilty war criminals in different ways. Herod for ordering the violation of the Ares Conventions. Charles for perpetrating the worst crime against humanity unseen since the Tintavel. Bertram, for being the leader and ordering or condoning the worst that the civil war brought out.
 
There was a witch hunt brewing, and the public wanted blood.
 
While my peers and I had a low opinion of the baying masses, we tended to, on this we were agreed. The loyalists high command were dead men, and we'd tear apart anything that got in the way of our promised revenge.
 
Jefferies sighed heavily, before continuing our conversation. "But enough that, we've had enough gloom for ten life times. The garrison has been pacified and we await your arrival. It's time we ended this war. Let us put an end to madness."
 
"Yes. Let's."
 
"I'll be seeing you." He ended the call.
 
Drat. He's a good verbal fencer.
 
Beyond learning that he, might, genuinely hate the traitor Mariks for leading good Federalists astray, I've learned nothing else about the man. If he didn't drop that bomb about Agatha and the possible state of the League's finances, I might have dragged the conversation on long enough to find something.
 
I suppose that's why he's head of MoI and survived to accomplish this.
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===The deafening roar of approval===
There was an impromptu parade down the main street of Atreus City. For all that Atreus and the Marik Commonwealth were the center of the Federalist cause, there was very real enthusiasm for the rebels marching down the city's thoroughfares. My Atlas taking the pride of the vanguard.
The megahighway was a sea of vibrant colors. Handkerchiefs, ribbons, and ticker tape were thrown through the air as we marched past. Flags of the provinces and of the Free Worlds League were waved enthusiastically by men, women, and children crowding the sidewalks, parks, and balconies of the arcologies and skyscrapers.
 
It beggared belief to see this. Although, in hindsight, it should have been obvious. Elise has the subtlety of a brick, and obvious evils are obvious. The massive violations of the social contract between nobles and the lay can only be tolerated for so long. Elise's insistence that all people live under constant fear for disloyalty would have ground down any loyalty by the plebeians.
 
The आग would have only cemented plebeian opposition to her. The citizenry of the Marik Commonwealth have a well known martyr complex, widely and loudly proclaiming their grand sacrifices for the League, as if they were the only ones doing so. It's functionally impossible to keep news of the आग from being spread. It would have been more than enough to turn public opinion against the Tyrant, once they heard of the worlds sacrificed upon nuclear pyres.
 
But like Elise, Commonwealth citizens are as subtle as a brick, loudly proclaiming their grand sacrifices to all.
 
How long has it been since the loyalists walked through these streets. How long since they've last talked with the everyman and woman, that they would have been blind to their discontent. How long since they've last looked at these people's faces.
 
The people waving their flags. The children running down the streets. The tears in their eyes and the indistinct voiced relief are all so genuine.
 
How could the loyalists have missed this, laying right beneath their nose.
 
Too soon it ended.
 
The distance to Parliament Hill quickly closed, and there at the open gates stood Jefferies. Among him were the Jules Damion, head of the Ministry of Justice, and Kantor Kanata, head of the Human Services.
 
That was three of the nine ministries there. All of them directly dealt with people, especially Kanata's MoHS. It was hard to miss the symbolism.
 
I slowed my Atlas to a stop just before them. Clambering out the hotseat, I pushed open the cockpit hatch and stood upon my mechs shoulder, looking down at the welcoming party.
 
The people of Atreus still surrounded us, the sea of human bodies only ending at the border of Parliament Hill, the wrought iron fence keeping them neatly away. They quieted after a single heartbeat. A tense anticipation swept through the crowd.
 
Kanata stepped forward. "Parliament Hill is ready to receive its august body." he boomed aloud for all to hear.
 
"And as representative of Parliament, the rightful government of the Free Worlds League, I state clearly and unequivocally, we are eager to return," I shouted in return. "We have returned!"
 
The roar of the crowd was deafening.
 
I couldn't think of a better way to lose my hearing.
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