ICHaFBI 17

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=I, Corvus; How a Fool became Imperator of the O'Reillys - Chapter XVII -=
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----<Character & Faction Directory of I, Corvus>----
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===Meeting the Freak===
Imperial Palace Dropship Pad
Alphard IV, Marian Hegemony
3032
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The twisted creature prodded Corvus on towards the dropship Concordia. Corvus stumbled and struggled to maintain his limping ruse. A handful of shell shocked servants and functionaries followed, herded by Algenibi warriors.
 
The freak laughed as it changed tactics, grabbing Corvus by the hand and dragging him through the dropships halls. Corvus squealed as he his limbs flailed about, slamming into bulkheads and doorways as he struggled to stay upright. Finally, it pushed Corvus through the door to his usual cabin, stepped inside, and closed the door.
 
Corvus found his footing, turned, and stared at the beast. The creature, Gnasher, he finally remembered, stared back at him. He was a hunched creature, with strange lumps or growths, maybe misshapen bones down his back and upper arms. Gnasher stood perhaps five feet tall as he was, but if he had been able to stand upright, Corvus guessed he would measure at least a foot taller, and all of them functional muscle. From what stories he'd heard of the Algenibi, nothing existed that wasn't functional.
 
Gnasher's eyes darted across Corvus and around the room. They flicked around with incredible speed. Corvus took it as animal instinct at first. But too afraid to make a sudden movement for fear of startling Gnasher, he looked more deeply. Corvus looked deep into his eyes and saw the man before him for the first time. The eyes weren't flitting around looking for danger, like an animal, they were systematically scanning the room and all its contents. There was something in those eyes, the spark of intelligence. Corvus sat cross legged on the deck, eyes still locked on Gnasher. Gnasher sat likewise, his eyes now fixed on Corvus.
They sat a long time, staring into each other's souls. "H-how many know you, Gnasher? How many treat you as they ought to?"
 
Gnasher laughed, a horrific sound through broken vocal chords. He raised two fingers at Corvus. "Sean?"
 
Gnasher shook his head with vigour.
 
"Of course he wouldn't….the big one, Maximus?"
 
Gnasher nodded.
 
"The girl, Wrench something or other."
 
Gnasher grinned and nodded, then made a motion as if to blow a kiss.
 
"Wrench...Kisser? My, you've got some lovely names on your planet. The other I remember from court. Metellus Sempronius, him?"
 
Gnasher nodded again.
 
Corvus smiled and nodded back, then held up three fingers. "If our young Im-im-imperator will allow, there are a few things we'll need from my room for the journey…" 
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===Don't Judge A Person by their Clothes===
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Gnasher jumped from the nightstand to the bed, laughing and grunting as he went. Corvus struggled after him, but collapsed onto the bed just as the agile Algenibi leapt for safety. Gnasher laughed at his victory, holding the slate board close to his chest.
 
"Please Gnasher, give it up! It's t-time to move on!"
 
Gnasher pulled out the slate and wrote No, then jumped away again
Corvus shoved the tablet towards him again. "Please! You've grasped how to write, now it's time to learn to type. If you want to make yourself useful, you need to learn this."
 
NO he wrote again, in block caps across covering the whole board.
 
"You're not a ch-ch-child! If you persist in acting l-like one, th-then you'll be treated like one."
 
Gnasher stopped laughing and stood as straight as he could, somehow managing to loom over Corvus, despite his shortness. He seemed to remember himself, and shrunk back, his smile returned. My words. Only mine. He wrote, then erased them with his hand. When gone, only here. Words mine. He pointed to his head. Then he mined typing with his hands. I do, words not mine. He erased it and added: Computer mans, they find.
 
 Corvus stared in confusion. How could Gnasher know a complex word like computer, but not the correct plural of man? Why would he think the words remained if deleted?
 
 "What do you know of computers, Gnasher?"
 
 The man nodded and wrote, in smaller letters this time. Long years. Before Free. Slave of computer mans. They watch. They read. They keep all words.
 
"Who are the computer men, Gnasher?"
 
He drew the concentric double star and moon of ComStar.
 
"C-comStar? You?"
 
He nodded. Slave. Computer men make home green. Water clean. Carry things fix things. Wrench find and take away.
 
"You're telling me they can see a copy of what you type, even if it's deleted?"
 
He nodded and grabbed the imported Terran Union tablet with Corvus' hand. He studied the serial number on the back, nodded, and then began to flip through menus, entering long codes in dialog boxes Corvus didn't know existed. Eventually, Gnasher handed it back. Corvus leafed through, finding simple text files of everything he'd ever typed going back years.
 
All the words. Ever. Com* watches. Think I dumb. I watch. I learn. I own there words.
 
Corvus wrestled with the thought, all sorts of emotions flowed through his mind. The docking alarm sounded before he could reconcile them. He pointed the Gnasher, but he had already hidden the slate and chalk behind an open wall panel, then quickly racketed the bolts back into place.
 
The two of them left the cabin to greet their attache. Antonia Sato was all smiles, hugs, and pleasantries as she boarded the Concordia, but the veil dropped the moment the three of them made it to her new cabin.
 
"Is this some sort of revenge, Corvus? I was just settling in to my new career a planetary governor"
 
There was a cold edge to her speech that only those who had spent years in close contact with her would recognize, and the way she repeated her stripped title chilled Corvus to his core.
 
"It-it's not, no, it's just-" He began to wrench his neck and jaw at odd angles
 
"Oh no, don't hurry on my account. I'll wait."
 
He took a deep breath and pushed the tics away. "I did not ch-choose this, Antonia. M-might I remind you, that you earned your title under the usurper's reign? Have you c-c-considered how that makes you look in the rightful Imperator's eyes? Have you considered that perhaps the choice was between your being governor, and your joining me, but between your joining me and an execution?"
 
Sato said nothing for a moment, then turned to Gnasher. "And what might this be?"
 
Corvus was content that the message had settled in, even if she wouldn't admit it out load. He let it drop. "Gnasher Drillbiter, a nomad from Algenib. He is deaf and dumb. Imperator Sean thought it a fun jape to give me such a man as a bodyguard. Just pretend he isn't here."
 
She sized Gnasher up carefully, paying close attention to his hands. Corvus watched as her eyes flicked to the faint white dust stain on Gnasher's pants. "If I have learned anything these past three years, Corvus, it's not to judge a man by what others say of him."
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===Contentious Greeting===
Circinus , Circinus Federation
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Another world, another welcoming ceremony. Huge crowds of Circinans had gathered to watch as the dropship landed. Marian soldiers held the crowd back. The riot gear of the frontline, and the rifles carried by the second line, visible reminders that the world was still under martial law.
 
Within the cordon were assembled dignitaries. Those members of the House of Deputies who hadn't died during the invasion and occupation, or resigned after the surrender. They greeted Corvus and Sato with smiles and kind words. But the crowd beyond bayed for their blood. A smattering of fruit, water bottles, rocks and more flew over the Marian troops and fell among the dignitaries. A Marian soldier fired their rifle in the air and the crowded surged backwards. But slowly, they worked up the courage to surge forward once again, one at a time, and then all at once.
 
Soldiers had formed a Testudo around them with riot shields and the Deputies ushered them into a limousine.
 
"I expected a better welcome. I thought they considered you a hero here." Sato said as she pulled off the top layer of clothing and wrung water out of it.
 
Corvus rubbed a bit of tomato off of his face, sniffed it, and stuck a fingers into his mouth. "But not as b-bad as I had feared. Did you notice they were throwing fresh fruit? Starving people w-w-wouldn't waste food like that. We can work with this."
 
The door opened, and a woman in a green uniform stepped into the limo. Corvus froze as he recognized her from that horrible night. His whole body went tense and he could feel his heart beating fast.
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===Negotiations===
Clayborne Remembered, Circinus
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The doctors her told Josephina O'Leary that she would need at least another three months of rest and rehabilitation before they would allow her to leave the hospital, let alone leave and reenter planetary atmospheres. Five months of rest was already longer than she deserved. Five months with nothing but the memories of those lost to distract her from the pain was more than she could bear either. She preferred to work through the pain so long as it would occupy her mind. Besides, the people of her district had entrusted their future to her when they named her Deputy to the Federal Circinan Congress. They needed her voice at the negotiating table.
 
She winced with pain as she pulled herself out of the car. She waved off her staffer's arm though. She needed to be strong. To show them how quickly her people could bounce back. She stood, waiting at the back of the crowd while the dropship touched down. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She regretted it instantly. Pain wracked her body as the wounds to her stomach strained under the pressure. Her body wanted to cough, but she forced it down. The staffer offered water, but she waved it off too.
 
She could see the dropship doors opening in the distance and began to walk forward. Someone ahead of her turned, saw her, and pulled her family back. Others caught on and made way. A chain reaction rippled across the crowd and as a bubble of space formed around her. The booing silenced as they stared. Some bowed, some cheered. A few cried.
 
She knew she didn't deserve it. So many others did. It should by Colonel McIntyre, who led the assault. Major Hernandez who'd planned it. Major Thomas, who had kept the Shamrocks together through the fighting and died to buy them time. Even William, special to no one but her and their parents, who'd given his life to get her to that throne room. If anyone deserved this, it was them.
 
She winced again, but not from the pain. It felt wrong. This was Circinus, the new Circinus. No nobility. No great houses. Just people. She wished she could just be one of the people once again. She wasn't special. She wasn't deserving. She was just alive.
 
She bore it with as much grace as she could manage. It was a relief when she arrived at the limousine. She could handle a human enemy far better than the ones inside her head.
 
She sat inside and said in a flat tone. "Welcome to Circinus, Mr. O'Reilly Logan. I'm glad we're meeting under more pleasant circumstances this time."
 
The man stammered and sputtered for a long while, then the woman next to him held out a hand in front of him. He stopped and shrunk into his seat.
 
"Deputy O'Leary, on behalf of the Marian Hegemony-"
 
She didn't recognize the face without the netting, but she'd know Antonia Sato's smug voice anywhere.
 
Josephina ignored her and looked back to Corvus. "Mr. O'Reilly Logan, whatever you're going through I would appreciate it if you could find your way through so we can have a conversation."
 
She could feel Sato's anger smoldering under her proper exterior. "Corvus has had a long journey. You and I may converse in the meantime."
 
"You have no standing at these negotiations. He does. Hold your tongue."
 
"May I remind you that these talks are a courtesy to you. We
 
"While every frontline unit is mired in Bolan months away? Circinus is reduced, but not beaten. Recall which units are guarding the supply lines this very moment."
 
"A single Legion could-"
 
"S-s-sato, enough. If w-we w-w-wanted that, those worlds w-w-would be b-burning already. D-deputy O'Leary has surely s-s-seen en-nough to know that." Corvus finally choked out as his jaw and shoulders did their best to rip themselves free of their sockets.
 
They gave him a moment to take control. "Sato speaks for me. She is my personal aid. You ch-ch-chose me b-because you saw what I did on N-n-niops and Logan Prime. Truthfully, Sato is the one who did the w-work. Treat her with r-r-respect, or I f-fear for the neg-neg-...for the talks."
 
The two women glared at each other across the cabin a moment long before Josephina spoke. "I didn't get to choose my enemy on Alphard either. But I still got through to you then. Don't think I won't this time."
 
"I had the better of your last time."
 
"You had your legions to back you up then, you don't now."
 
"Because they've already done their job and destroyed two-thirds of your armed forces."
 
Josephina had a choice retort for that one too, but thought better of it. Corvus had obviously chosen Sato to throw her off guard, and it was working. She swallowed the last insult and pivoted. "Those legions are the first point of discussion. No Marian legion will enter Circinan space, unless the Circinan government agrees to it. We will, for the time being, accept Limitanei forces raised elsewhere on the five worlds whose garrisons have been rendered ineffective by the MHAF. As for the Black Warriors, they will never be subsumed into the legionary structure. They will remain as a Foederati formation for all time, no exceptions. When the Black Warriors suffers losses, they will be replaced in equal or greater numbers, with an equal or greater grade of equipment."
 
Sato nodded. "We can agree to these terms. Circinus will continue to defend itself. We will even release all captured Circinan soldiers and allow-"
 
"No."
 
"You….you don't want us to release your people?"
 
"No. I want you to release all of our people. No Circinan will be a slave, ever."
 
"Of course, we expected as much, and if you had allowed me to finish, I would have said so."
 
 Josephina knew she wouldn't have. "Nor will Circinus accept any slaves within her borders. Any slave that touches Circinan soil will be free."
 
This time Sato looked to Corvus. His mouth twitched. Was it a sign between them, or just another tic? How wily were these two?
 
"The Imperator can accept this." Sato said.
 
"Good. Every Circinan will be equal. And I mean the high as well as the low. There will be no division between plebeians and patricians in the Federation. Every citizen will be equal under the law."
 
The rest had been a show, they'd anticipated the rest of the demands, but not this one. Sato's eyes flashed with confusion (maybe it was panic?) for just a moment. "That is impossible. Promises have already been made, your Congress will never vote to allow this."
 
"It already has, on the worlds that remain free. And I promise you that I can deliver the Deputies from Claybourne. And, if pressed, I'm sure enough of those who've accepted your bribes will see which way the wind is blowing and give it up."
 
The two Marians whispered between themselves for a while. Sato took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before speaking. "The Imperator can accept this, and the continued operation of your democratic planetary and federal governments, but only with some oversight. A governor, appointed by the Imperator, to serve as your head of state which the federation President serves as your head of government. They will remain outside of your politics, but act in the name of the Imperator to stop bills dangerous to the greater good of the Hegemony."
 
 "That's bullshit! You'd make our president and minister, and rob the Congress of its power! It undermines literally everything else you've conceded!"
 
She raged on about their bad faith bargaining. Sato looked to Corvus and gave him a nod. The O'Reilly leaned forward in his seat, resting both hands on his cane. "Some safeguard must be put in place. What we've given you th-thus far, is your own m-m-military, small as it may be, your own social struct-...structure, and your own government. Something has to give."
 
 "Then let us give you a show of good faith then. So far, we have only asked for things. For your loyalty, for your revenues, and so on. But pl-please, let me show you w-what the Hegemony c-c-can do for your people. Let me show you what the Hegemony looks like at peace."
 
"You say as your legions are literally ripping their way through your next victim."
 
Corvus sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Sean is...impetuous, yes. But his ministers will reign him in. Regardless, the worlds behind the line have flourished. Allow me to show you how. You surely as many of your fellow deputies have expressed, daily, on the holos that come from the unoccupied worlds that Circinus will be carved up and forgotten. I promise you that Circinus will be preserved, and expanded."
 
"Our people won't go to war to subjugate others, Corvus. Nor will we accept our boot on the neck of conquered worlds in place of yours."
 
"These new Circinans will come willingly. You know my niece, who governs the Lothian League in the Imperator's name, her ministers have been clamouring for her to cl-cl-claim Blantleff, which was settled both Lothian and Circinans in decades past. We will accept that it rightfully belongs to Circinus."
 
"That world isn't yours to give."
 
"N-n-no, but I mean it as a sign of g-good faith. The other worlds, they will be new. Beyond the anti-spinward frontier, our explorators have found people on a world the locals call New St. Andrews. They are a primitive people, no jumpships, no battlemechs, no electronics to speak of. I will come to their world in peace, personally, as I have done in the past to many worlds, and bring the light of civilization to their world. That world will join the Federation, as will any other worlds beyond."
 
"Worlds that might not exist."
 
"No, but others do, closer to home. V-v-valerius, as my people call the world jointly claimed and settled by your people, the Lothians, and the Illyrians in the mid 2900s, was lost to all three of you thanks to nuclear war. Yet people remain. Together, we can rehabilitate this world, end the starvation, disease, and radiation sickness that p-plagues the people there, and bring it back into the Federation."
 
Josephina thought for a moment. It didn't dispel her fears about Marian control, but what choice did she have, really? Bolan was crumbling, and the legions could return within the year if she refused. She thought a moment longer, and Sato smirked a little. It pained Josephina to give the woman any satisfaction. Deep down, she knew there would be no better offer. Worse, or perhaps better, she knew the Congress would accept the deal.
 
"Deal. On one condition, you become the governor."
 
Corvus sputtered and twitched. Had she really caught him off guard? Who else would the Federation accept.
 
"I-I-I am afraid th-that the Imperator has ch-ch-chosen already. S-sato will s-s-serve as governor."
 
She could feel her cheeks heating up as the rage bubbled up from inside again. She let it flow forth. It only got worse as Sato not only weathered the abuse, but she stopped trying to hide her smirk.
 
"Now now, Deputy O'Leary, you can't let your personal feelings lead you astray. Congress will decide, after all, will it not?"
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===Attempting to Communicate===
Dropship Concordia, docked at Valerius' North Pole
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SLATE BETTER Gnasher wrote on the aforementioned device.
 
Corvus continued to shove the phone-sized play gaming console at his bodyguard. "Gnasher, we've been over this. As long as we're on Valerius, I need you on this m-m-machine."
 
NO
 
"Look! This one isn't even made by C-comStar! Nowhere near it! It's from Sierra, they've operated their own HPG for decades!"
 
Gnasher took the machine and threw it against the wall. It was robust enough to survive, thankfully, unlike the flimsier one from Alphard he'd tried to convince Gnasher to use last week.
 
"Gnasher! Look, you've been over the system, there's nothing there, nothing at all."
 
ONLY NOT FIND. IS STILL THERE.
 
Please! Valerius has no HPG, has no ComStar, has no anything! I need you to use this just as long as we're there. We can throw it in the reactor when we leave the planet. Either way, you're leaving the slate behind."
 
Gnasher reluctantly took it and began to poke around, typing with two fingers. It took him a minute to hunt the keys for his first sentence: when time i destroy
 
"Ok. D-deal." They shook hands and Gnasher settled into his bunk and poked at the console some more. It was Corvus' hope that other would see a simpleton playing games, when is reality he would keep his eyes and ears open and feed him information.
 
That's what Marius and Harcourt always did. Gnasher might not have access to the Ordo Vigilis' store of intel, but it amazed Corvus how many secrets the man had already been able to gather.
 
Corvus was used to people who thought him a fool failing to guard their tongue in his presence. But the sheer number of times Gnasher had brought him interesting information just from a single Jumpship and a flotilla of dropships with a combined crew of less than four hundred amazed Corvus.
 
It must be something in the way he looked, he thought. Even Sean, who had known Gnasher for a year and a half, seemed to treat him more like part of the furniture than a thinking human being.
 
You think you hero. they not think hero. threat. algenib life hard, algenib people proud. strong. Gnasher clacked out on the keys.
 
"This is as much for Josephina's benefit and the Valerians. We just have to make an effort."
 
Not you. you man cares for people. sound like metellus
 
He was right, of course. Corvus refused to admit it.
 
You know truth. Now you make write easy i say, maybe you want slate back.
 
He kind of did. "We'll do our best for these people."
 
Sean not cares for people. Someone needs to.
 
"Josephina is waiting for us. L-let's go."
 
promise
 
"What?"
 
That you be you. not be Sean
 
"I promise you I'll do what I can. We've come with doctors, engineers, agricultural scientists, and 30,000 tons of food. If I can't make this world better, at least for a few, with that, then I deserve to die in a d-d-ditch. Satisfied?"
 
Gnasher pocketed the console and bounded towards the door. Corvus shuffled afterwards.
 
They were late, of course. The building team was already well underway in preparing their base camp. It wasn't even for them really, as the six dropships would more than provide for their needs. But kitchens, triage tents, and the defenses to protect them were all needed. Corvus was surprised to see Josephina's Fighting Shamrocks were using their battle armour's enhanced strength to help unload the cargo.
 
"Deputy. Is it s-safe enough for your people to be helping l-like that?"
 
"I have scouts further out. Their scanners will let us know if anyone human sized or above comes within five kilometers of here, and the satellite linked to Concordia will let us know if any vehicle comes within a hundred. We're safe enough, at least from the things we can fight."
 
"And from the radiation too, strangely enough. I would have expected the landscape to be much bleaker, this looks quite livable."
 
Josephina bent down and picked up a rock covered in brown moss. "Look at this. The botany team says it's a mutated moss that eats radiation. It's all over the habitable polar regions. This is why the satellite imagery showed the world so brown. A mutation happens to local plantlife and they start eating rads somehow. Happens sometimes."
 
"I recall it happened on earth with some of the first atomic blasts. C-c-could the s-south pole have the same stuff."
 
She dropped the rock. "Could it have evolved on both poles at the same time? Uh, maybe? They're going to send a satellite to do some thermal imaging to see, but, I dunno, sounds like too much to ask for to have two miracles on the same planet."
 
"B-but here at least, there is hope, that a good portion of the people survived?"
"Yes."
 
They looked out at the field of brown ahead of them.
 
"Corvus, I should apologize. I didn't think even you could make this happen. Not this fast, for sure. We really might be able to do something great for these people."
 
"Do you want to know a secret?"
 
"Why do you want me to know it?"
 
Corvus was taken aback. "I have my reasons, do you always ask that?"
 
"From people like you, yes. Those reasons are to have power over me somehow. Secrets don't get shared for no reason."
 
"Keeping the secret did. It has no value now."
 
"This would have happened even if your people had said no to the treaty."
 
"Fuck you, Corvus. Fuck your whole goddamn country." The words were harsh, but Corvus didn't detect any anger in them. Resignation, perhaps, maybe even the beginning of playfulness.
 
"We're building a new world now, t-together. I promise to make it the best one we c-c-can if you will."
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===Shared Hatred===
Outpost 13/Ad Turres
Valerius, Marian Hegemony
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Gnasher's warning had been right, the people of Valerius were a proud bunch. Surviving more than a hundred years in a post-nuclear hellscape does that to a people. Every village the relief group travelled to, they made a trade with the locals. Food, medicine, wells, dams, mills, seeds, whatever the locals needed to survive and in exchange, they built a compound in the city for a handful of Marians or Circinans to live alongside them. These doctors, engineers, and agricultural scientists would work to keep their communities flourishing, enriching the people, but also tying them into the larger network of outposts throughout the planet.
 
The town of Ad Turres was no different. A flourishing trade center, one that acted as a population sink for the region. When sometime in the surrounding villages had ambitions or misdeeds that drove them to seek a life elsewhere, they ended up here. But the disease and starvation of the city keep the place from growing. Until now. The outpost here was one of the largest on the planet so far. It ate deeply into their supplies of food, but a success here meant the entire region would accept Marian rule.
 
It was the size and importance of the outpost that drew Corvus there for a personal visit. Accompanied, of course, by Gnasher and a contingent of Fighting Shamrocks. The place was completely safe. Every Valerian who came to their food bank had nothing but praise for the Marians, Yet Josephina remained on guard, never wavering from her watch. It eased his mind that she had taken off the battle armour months ago; they'd learned their lesson quickly that stamping into strange towns dressed like they anticipated battle was a great way to get one. It wasn't until the last local had been fed and the road was clear that she moved from her post. She reminded Corvus very much of the Praetorians that she'd fought on Alphard.
 
Corvus closed the shutters and began to secure the remaining stocks from the local vermin. He hummed a tune to himself, off in his own world. When he looked up from his work, the rest of the guards and the servants were gone, it was only he and she now. Josephina's eyes were locked on him now, the same way they had been at the crowd.
 
'Tell me Corvus, if we hadn't made this deal, your people would have come for this planet eventually. What would have happened then?"
 
"Then it joins the Pax Marianus, whether it l-likes it or not."
 
"And surely you wouldn't be willing to spend two years slowly building up the planet's infrastructure."
 
Corvus looked back at his stocks. He pulled down curtains of thickly laced wire over the shelves. "You know the answer is no."
 
Josephina sounded closer now. "Three months to establish your dominance, another three to establish a garrison and power structure, and then on to somewhere else. That's the usual cycle, isn't it?"
 
Corvus turned to meet her gaze this time. She was closer, with her arms crossed, the way she normally did when she was looking for a fight. He knew it would only take longer if he kept talking, but that didn't stop him this time. "Oh….no. Too decentralized. I'd say it might take nine months for Valerius. Algenib took a year. They were m-m-more aggressive."
 
"What would you leave behind, a garrison?"
 
"And an HPG."
 
"With the people being no better off for it, and in a hundred years the people of those worlds will still look at the Hegemony as conquerors.. Yet here we are, investing together, building things, things that will last. Healing people, healing the world. A hundred years from now, the people of this planet will look back on us as heroes."
 
"No, that's not quite a complete assessment. In the traditional manner, the people here w-would be even w-worse off than before they started. Collaborators would end feuds by accusing old enemies, villages burned here or there for refusal to pay taxes. The usual. And then there are the enslaved on top of it."
 
"You see what I'm trying to say."
 
"I've seen it since before you were born, Deputy. Your d-d-daily reminders have only managed to somehow make this job ted-tedious. The question is, what are you going to do about it?"
 
"I have done everything I can to keep my worlds free. My power ends at my district border, unless you think Sean is going to grant my planet a seat in the senate?"
 
Corvus turned his eyes back to the packets of food and pretended to count them.
 
Josephina stepped closer, stopping just a few inches away. "No? Well, then it looks like the best chance I have to do something about it is to lecture one of the most powerful men in the Hegemony."
 
Corvus backed away from her. He felt the corner of the wooden building on his back. "You th-think I have power there? I'm nothing, a court jester. I'm no one."
 
She kept advancing towards him and shoved a finger into his sternum. "Would I have stopped fighting for a court jester? You may be a joke to Sean, but are you a joke to Niops, who hold you up like some sort of scholar-prince? To Logan Prime, where you and your nephew saved their world? Do you think any Marian man but yourself could have walked out of that dropship unnamed and get pelted with tomatoes, and not grenades? You have power."
 
"I hate the Hegemony as much as any of you! Do you know how much I've lost from the machinations of the c-c-court?"
 
"No, but I do know what you've gained. A life of luxury where you can spend every waking moment reading rare books and writing your own self-indulgent histories. Living in a palace and feasting on stuffed dormice and meat fruit. Where do you think that all comes from? You're a part of the system just as much as Sean, Sertorius, Marius, fucking Johann Sebastian. You want to enjoy that? Find, just lay back and do it, but be honest with yourself. If you're benefiting from the system, and not actively doing something to change it, then you are the problem. The Seans of the galaxy can only get away with the shit they do so long as men like you are too cowardly and too complacent to do anything about it!"
 
Finally, Corvus raised his eyes to meet hers. The tics were coming fast now, but he gave up trying to hold them back. "I'm the only one in my generation who's still alive! Vibius, Ser-sertorius, M-m-marius, Sinead, Siobhan. All dead, all through v-v-violence. Who is still standing? Lucius, because he ran, and me, because I hid. Would I reform the Hegemony if I could? Of course I would! D-do you think I like to see p-p-people s-s-suffer? That palace is a n-nightm-mare, for them and for me. You w-want me to stand up to Sean, to push for reform? Let's say I do it. Who takes my place when he throws me in the arena? Would you have Lucia die next?"
 
She just shook her head at him. "You're a coward, Corvus."
 
"I am. I c-c-can admit that. And I b-b-bear the s-shame of it. And yet I live."
 
Josephina had nothing to say to that, or at least chose to say nothing.
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ICHaFBI 17