The Phoenix Requiem (The Phoenix Conspiracy Series Book 7) (59 page)

“You’re saying all leaders kill their opposition? I find that hard to believe.”

“Not at all. In fact, killing your opposition is usually a messy and risky affair. But you leverage them, you pressure your supporters to withdraw business from them, or to smear them, you discredit them. You may kill them literally, but I find it far more effective to kill their viability, or their credibility, neuter them as a threat. Sometimes they will even offer you support and switch their loyalty if it means relief from the pressures you’ve put them under. Leaders who keep their crowns must be aware of the enemies conspiring in the shadows; they must be looking all around them, even within their own circles—
especially
within their own circles—for the overly ambitious, or the suspiciously loyal, or to anyone else who may, through clever maneuvering or subtle manipulation, present a credible future threat.”

“So, you’re saying…there are no truly good leaders?”

“There are, now and again,” said Kalila, “But such leaders, who cling to ideals and hold unshakable faith in their friends, and spend all their attention looking forward, at the needs of their people, and never behind them. Well, they just don’t last. It’s a fact of politics. If you don’t look behind you, you’re certain to be stabbed in the back. By an enemy, by a false friend, by a true friend who simply finds the opportunity too rewarding and tempting to resist; it does not matter by whom. It will always happen, because whenever you have something that people want—especially positions of prestige and power—there are
always, always, always
, those out there who want whatever you have, and want it
more
. And they will take it, all of it, by any means, if you do not guard yourself. And sometimes that protection—indeed usually—comes at a price of some idealism, innocence, or even integrity.”

“You mean what you’re saying, don’t you?” asked Calvin; her words seemed as much a confession as anything he had ever heard.

“Every word of it. You see, from the bottom gazing up, it is easy to see a universe of blacks and whites and good and evil. But from the top looking down, things become very grey indeed.”

“You have a very grim view,” replied Calvin.

“Call it grim, call it cynical, you may call it whatever you wish, but no name nor classification can ever change the fact that it’s true. No one’s hands are truly clean. Leaders most of all.”

“I sure hope you’re wrong about that,” said Calvin, considering such an idea to be either false or a chilling revelation about reality that he would prefer not to believe. Although it did strike a chord with him, as if resonating with other truths he already had known and accepted. “But let’s say you’re right. How in the hell does that begin to justify all you’ve done?” he asked. “Making secret pacts with the deadliest and darkest forces in the universe? To incepting—then losing control—over the Phoenix Ring, which aimed to destroy the government? To creating and secretly manipulating The Organization? Even commanding Raidan to his death?”

“You give me far too much credit; never did I issue any such order,” said Kalila.

“Spare me,” said Calvin. “We both know that what he did was exactly as you intended.” Although he admitted inwardly that he could not be certain of his every accusation, he hoped they would prove themselves, by how she reacted to them. “Not to mention,” Calvin continued, “To giving our alien enemies access to schematics of some of our most dangerous warships, including yours, years ago, so that they could make a replica and use it to attack a human world and lay waste to it? To arranging for the abduction—or murder—of the rest of the Royal Family, including the king himself. How do you justify such things?”

“If you must know, I will tell you. It would be a relief for someone else to know the truth before I meet my end,” she glanced at the gun in Calvin’s hands.

“Oh, this should be good,” said Calvin. “Let’s see if the spider can spin one final web. Something that weaves it all together.”

“I swear to you; this is the truth.”

“Your word means very little to me. But I will allow you your deathbed confession.”

“So be it. Whether I am believed or not, this is how it all happened. After the Great War, the Rotham showed us their true colors by invading Imperial space and betraying many of our squadrons in their effort to claim the border worlds inside Polarian space and Imperial space.”

“Yes, I’m familiar with history. The Polarians started the war—as far as we could tell—then we agreed to help the Republic resist Polarian invasion and then it transformed into this quagmire where all sides were at war with all sides, but the Rotham’s betrayal hit us much harder than anything the Polarians ever did to us. So when the war ended, the Republic desperately wanted to have peace, and gave us gifts as compensation, agreed to the creation of the DMZ, and so on. To try and prevent Imperial retribution. This worked.”

“It did work,” said Kalila. “If you understand that the Rotham did it all to buy more time to start a new war, one against us, for our border systems in The Corridor, which they have always coveted—and still covet even now. This time they would be better prepared, take us unaware,
and
arrange for the Polarians to remain neutral. It would be Republic against Empire, but the Republic would strike the first blow, possibly capture the Apollo Yards in their initial blitz, and from there enjoy a commanding foothold inside Imperial space. One that we would be unlikely to retake, and then we’d negotiate a peace, but what would follow would be a series of wars, some give and some take, but a long, slow cycle of death as human worlds fell, one by one.”

“Bold accusations. Very bold,” said Calvin. “Do you claim to be some kind of seer? Some kind of revelator? Your hunch sounds more like a prophecy to me.”

“Calvin, it was no hunch. I have always made certain to have any…
friends
I could have, as dispersed as possible. It is difficult to acquire Rotham intelligence, harder still to acquire Rotham informants. Polarians, ironically, are much easier. So long as they aren’t too lost in their own delusional practices.”

“Their religion.”

“Yes. Well, through these deals you so quickly condemn, along with great expense, I was able to obtain copies of plans, snippets of recordings, and all kinds of evidence to corroborate that the Rotham had such a plan. Except it was even worse than we’d thought. Rather than keeping the Polarians neutral, they were developing protocols to bribe, trick, or otherwise convince the Polarians to go to war against the Empire also. The Rotham greatly resented the terms of the treaty that ended the Great War, and they became a machine of subterfuge and preparation for war. We had some time to act, but otherwise things looked grim.”

“Even accepting all of that as true,” said Calvin, “None of it justifies what you did nor any of the deals you made. Especially the blood you allowed—even encouraged—to be spilled, simply taking it on faith that ENIGMA’s information was true; all so that, ultimately, the throne would be
yours
. Is that not so?”

“I have many regrets, Calvin. Even more than you know, and they weigh upon me heavily each day and night,” said Kalila. “But trying to save the Empire will never be one of them. After I understood the Rotham threat, I brought it to my father and family. They were more cautious, and more blind, and were happier with the peace and trade that had been arranged between the Empire and the Rotham; they could not fathom another war with them, so soon, on the horizon. I pointed out repeatedly the consequences should they be wrong, but, in my family, I was always the gifted one. The others…they were noble and lovely and, indeed, the very best family one could hope for; however, if great-great grandfather’s blood ran through anyone’s veins, it was mine and mine alone. So I knew I had to act unilaterally, since they could not be made to cooperate.”

“And somehow, this led you to creating dissident, seditious, rogue elements inside the Empire and having them fight one another?”

“No. This led me to seek out a greater diplomatic and clandestine influence within the Polarian states. If there would be war with the Republic, as seemed a foregone conclusion, I would not have the Polarians join their side. And perhaps I could convince the Polarians to remember the terrible destruction the Rotham unleashed upon them, possibly convincing them to join our side instead. Well, as I asked my questions and sent my operatives, and recruited more, I was conveniently—a little too conveniently, in hindsight—contacted by a powerful element inside Polarian Space. Hailing from the uncharted Nether Space itself.

“This was ENIGMA, who claimed to want to strike a bargain of mutual benefit and, without any other practical option, and convinced by the impressive intelligence they had, I could not pass it up. Especially as my operatives were disappearing, dying, and no other opportunities seemed likely to materialize. I did not know then that my new Polarian contacts, ENIGMA, were as evil as they turned out to be—nor did I know that it was they who were eliminating my operatives inside Polarian space, effectively forcing me to deal with them exclusively.”

“I see,” said Calvin. “But I still don’t understand how all of this leads to the outcome we all saw and suffered through.”

“Indeed. Well, ENIGMA wanted to discuss terms as soon as possible, to which I agreed. We never spoke directly; they rarely sent anyone here and I never went there, and most of our communication could not be trusted to kataspace. So I sent ambassadors, firmly under my control, to meet with them, as did they. We exchanged sealed terms and instructions which were for my eyes only, and the leaders of ENIGMA. I explained the threat and they promised to assist in procuring a permanent alliance with the Polarian Confederated States and also to wage war with the Republic at its first sign of aggression. And, like I’d hoped, they delivered copious amounts of intelligence regarding the Rotham Republic—only later was it discovered that much of it was fraud.”

“Sounds both risky and unreliable.”

“It is easy to condemn a mistake in hindsight,” said the queen. “But, to me, I
had
to act. Not to do so would mean watching the collapse of my great-great grandfather’s legacy.”

“So they made you grand promises, the exact ones you were hoping for; I’m sure they asked for something grandiose in return.”

“Among other intelligence, they wanted warship specifications. Including those of some of our alpha-class dreadnoughts, such as the
Andromeda
and the
Black Swan
. I admit I arranged this.”

“And that didn’t seem treasonous to you?” asked Calvin. “Isn’t spying for the enemy a capital offense?”

“I suppose that is for you to decide,” she said, glancing once more at the handgun Calvin held trained upon her. “But, for whatever it is worth, I was
not
spying for the enemy; I was negotiating a trade, one we both desperately needed.”

“Did they? Did they desperately need those ships?”

“Perhaps not,” admitted the queen. “But their needs are immaterial. The fact was, I made the exchange out of, what I understood to be, our own best interests. Obviously that particular deal, like many with ENIGMA, proved to be a mistake. Since they used those designs not just to build replica starships, but to use one to frame
me
—of all people—for the very crisis that …” her words trailed off suddenly.

“Go ahead, say it,” said Calvin. “Admit it.”

The queen remained silent.

“The very crisis
that
…” he said, waiting. Then, when it was clear she would not finish her sentence, he did so for her. “The very crisis that
you
arranged to occur! All the blood of Renora is on your hands, whether it was your ship that caused the destruction or not!”

“I was not told what form the crisis would take,” said the queen.

“But, essentially, with that and other deals, ENIGMA asked you to sow the seeds of civil war inside the Empire, and you complied?”

“I did not believe it would lead to civil war—I only wanted there to be some minimal and controllable civil unrest. It also seemed a chance to eliminate some dangerous political enemies, while, simultaneously, creating a justification for the monarchy to extend its powers.”

“And by political enemies, you mean the Martels, don’t you?” asked Calvin.

“Yes. I arranged for Brinton to move away to Thetican System, knowing he was the voice of reason in the family—this I accomplished by making it lucrative for him to do so. He never knew where the money and other luxuries came from; he was made to believe they were the fruits of his business enterprises. Without their father’s oversight, this allowed Zane and Caerwyn the freedom, and resources, to take action their father never would have allowed. I spread information and rumors, which were designed to push them into action, and then left the brothers alone. I did not know that ENIGMA would take those seeds and so nourish them that the Phoenix Ring would grow, neither that dreaded evil nor the unnecessary, bloody civil war.”

“Then you recruited me as Executor to hunt after a group you knew existed, and even knew who was behind it, and set me up to fail from the beginning?” asked Calvin, astonished.

“Not exactly. At the time, I did not know ENIGMA had so assisted either of the Martel brothers, and so I did not know it was either of them behind what was going on. And, as a matter of fact, you were supposed to succeed!”