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“So all we have to do is go
looking for someone who looks like a priest who doubles as a circus clown,”
Park commented wryly.

“He should not be too hard to
find,” Somithi shrugged. “The Premm Council is currently besieged within the
Premmia, the seat of the council, you know.”

“I didn’t,” Park admitted, “but
why are they besieged? We have not yet moved out into the city.”

“There is a faction within the
Premm Council that has reservations about the pronouncements of The Voice
regarding the Holy Prophecy,” Somithi explained.

“This is the one in which Earth
must be cleansed in atomic fire?” Park asked.

“The actual prophecy is not so
specific,” Somithi explained. “It is quite complex and
 
very vague, really.”

“I have found that most
prophecies are subject to multiple, sometimes conflicting interpretations,”
Park replied.

“As is the case with the Holy Prophecy,”
Somithi nodded. “The words of the Prophecy, at least as it applies to Earth,
tell us that the mother world was polluted and unclean, but that when it has
been purified the Blessed Ones, those we call the Originals…” The two Priests
of the First Degree whispered something that sounded like a ritual or a
blessing. “…would return to the Mother World. There is nothing in the Holy
Prophecy that says how Earth had been made unclean or that such a purification
should be done by Premm intervention; merely that the first has happened and
that at some time in the future the other will happen.

“The prevailing view, of course,”
Somithi went on, “has been that the Prophecy is a set of instructions for the
Premm, we who call ourselves ‘The Chosen,’ and there are, indeed, some
commandments in the prophecy that we are enjoined to obey, but I assure you the
part about using atomic weapons of some sort is interpretation only.”

“A very old interpretation, I
understand,” Park pointed out.

“Very old, Somithi agreed. “I have
been taught the interpretation was first arrived at one million years ago. It
is a suspiciously round number, of course.”

“It sounds strange to hear a
priest doubt something that is a part of his religion,” Park noted.

“We are allowed to doubt most interpretations
of the Prophecy,” Somithi explained. “There is nothing divine about an
interpretation and there is nothing about when an interpretation was made that
has any religious value. I believe that the phrase, ‘One million years,’ in
this case merely means a very long time ago. Saying so in public would not even
get me a glare from The Voice. What I have told you about the Prophecy, however
brands me as a member of the dissident faction. Many lower priests are
dissidents, well over half of us, maybe more. It’s hard to tell as it is not
always safe to admit that. Within the Premm Council, there are no dissidents
above the fifth degree and of them, Makreph Tolthi is the only Priest of the
Fifth Degree who sides with the dissident faction and even then, not on every
issue, but then the dissidents are not a cohesive faction and our members vary
on what issue we disagree with.

“The Voice tells us the Prophecy
demands that Earth be cleansed by the Premm and her allies, who are agents of
the Light,” Somithi went on. “The dissidents do not agree
 
on any particular interpretation, but we
doubt that it is our holy duty to essentially destroy the Earth. We do not see
that such destruction is a cleansing.”

“Nice to know,” Park told him,
“but why does that mean the Council is under siege?”

“The people, for the most part,
side with the dissidents,” Somithi explained. “There has always… well maybe not
always, but for a very long time there has been dissatisfaction among the leity
with the Premm Council. They do not disbelieve the basic tenets of our
religion, but over time the pronouncements of The Voice and the Upper Priests
have become too distant from what the people believe. Those people are now here
to embrace one of the counter-interpretations of the Prophecy. You see,
according to that way of looking at it, Mother Earth has managed to purify
herself and you, who are called Pirates, are the true Originals, the Blessed
Ones.”

“I’m no saint,” Park shook his
head.

“Perhaps not,” Somithi shrugged,
“but then I do not believe a true saint would think he was a saint. In any
case, the people want a Council that supports their beliefs. This Council does
not and the dissidents do, so the people are demonstrating on behalf of the
dissident faction and on your behalf as well.”

“The people do not choose who
becomes The Voice or an upperpriest, do they?” Park asked.

“No, they are elected from within
the Council,” Somithi explained. “All members of the Premm Council are elected
by the Council. The people, however, are dissatisfied enough that they are
willing to risk excommunication in order to demand changes. Of course if The
Voice were to excommunicate all of them he would have a full-scale civil war
here. I doubt he would be that foolish. Even the Voice cannot be so
disassociated from our followers to not realize the consequences of such an
action. The common Premm have been ignored for far too long and your arrival
has given them the opportunity to act out.”

“You do realize that we are here
because the Premm Council has declared war on the Alliance on behalf of the
entire Holy Empire of Premm, right?” Park asked.

“You are?” Somithi asked,
honestly surprised, “They did?”

“I’m afraid so,” Park nodded
trying to figure out how he was going to soft-pedal the fact of a military
occupation of the Premm worlds.

“That is wonderful!” Somithi
surprised him. “The Voice and his councilors have finally gone too far, They
won’t have any supporters besides themselves when the word gets out and I
suspect some of the Highpriests will deny any knowledge. They will be lying, of
course, just trying to get themselves elected to Voice, but I foresee real
changes for the Premm.”

Park’s torc chimed just then and
he answered it, “Holman here,” however he kept the call in private mode.”

“McArrgh,” Yorro’s voice reported
softly in his ear. “It looks dangerous down there. A large crowd broke into a
large building I am informed is the Premmia but is now marching en mass toward
your position at the spaceport.”

“Are they carrying anyone in
multicolored robes?” Park asked.

“According to my report they seem
to be surrounding a large number of men and women in priestly robes of all
colors,” Yorro replied, “but they seem to be monochrome, one color each.”

“Have one or two of the
air-support ships get a good close look at them,” Park suggested, “see if they
can figure out if those priests are leading the mob or being herded by them.”

“You know something I don’t,
McArrgh?” Yorro asked.

“Not for certain,” Park admitted,
“but I have been talking to some of the local priests. The situation may not be
what we expected. I might need some more ground support, just in case though.”

“You’ll have it,” Yorro promised.

“I really don’t think you need to
worry,” Somithi told him. “The members of the Council don’t walk anywhere. If
they are not riding here it’s because they have no choice.”

“Local bus drivers on strike
lately?” Park asked. Somithi gave him a blank look. “Nevermind. I hope you’ll
forgive me if I take a few precautions before they arrive.”

It took nearly two hours for the
mob from the Premmia to make their way to the spaceport. During that time, Park
had time to establish a cordon around the port and to make arrangements for the
members of the Premm Council.

Only a little over half the
Council made it to the spaceport. “They are old men and women,” Somithi
explained to Park. “Not all of them could walk so many miles.”

Park turned toward Tina, who had
assumed an unofficial position as Park’s adjutant, and told her, “Please see to
their comfortable transport here.”

“Comfortable?” Tina asked archly.

“I’m not here to torture anyone,”
Park replied. “If these people are not physically capable of walking here, I
see no need to risk their lives or health by making them do so. Wait a minute,
though.” He turned back to the priest, Somithi, “Does the entire Council need
to vote to make a war surrender valid?”

“I am not sure,” Somithi
admitted. “The Voice makes all pronouncements and the Council ratifies, but I
cannot recall any case in which the Council did not vote as the Voice commanded.”

“And they won’t have a lot of
choice now either,” Park replied. “Bring the Voice directly to me for his
unconditional surrender, Tina.”

“What if he refuses?” Somithi
asked.

“That’s not his choice to make,”
Park told him. “He does not have to surrender, that just makes my job a little
easier. The war is over and the Premm Empire has lost. The Diet of the Alliance
will be dictating the terms whether the Voice likes it or not.”

“What about the Dark Ship
aliens?” Tina asked. “They haven’t surrendered either and they are still out
there somewhere.”

“They call themselves ‘Gilara,’”
Somithi supplied. “I understand it means, ‘the People’ in their language.”

“Of course it does,” Park
chuckled. “What can you tell me about the Gilara?”

“Not very much,” Somithi
admitted. “The Council refers to them as our holy allies, but of course
everyone
 
is either holy or evil
according to the Council. They supposedly have a religion similar to ours in
some ways.”

“They believe the Originals are
going to return?” Park asked.

“Not that,” Somithi shook his
head, “but they have a holy prophecy involving the Forces of Light and
Darkness, just as we have, and the Council has somehow convinced them that
their prophecy is compatible with ours.”

“But you all can’t agree on what
your own prophecy means,” Park pointed out.

“There is some room for debate,”
Somithi admitted, “that is why a smart lower priest stays out of the temple
politics that go along with that debate. Besides, technically speaking one is
not really allowed to study the Prophecy in depth until they reach the Third
Degree. Of course, the officially approved interpretations are drilled into us
at the seminary.”

“Sounds like you’ve been doing a
bit of illicit interpretation, though,” Park remarked.

“Not really,” Somithi denied,
“but my instructor was a member of the dissident faction and he had a habit of
giving some, of his favorite students, uh, special instruction. Oh, don’t be
too impressed. He must have had a dozen or more so-called favorites every
semester and it wasn’t actually illegal to teach alternative interpretations.
It was required, really, it’s just that some instructors stress some
alternatives more than others. They are supposed to show how the alternatives
are wrong. It is supposed to be a study of errors, proving the official
interpretation is the only true one, but not every instructor believes what he
or she is teaching and it shows.”

Sometime later, Tina found Park
looking out at the spaceport’s field. “Admiral,” she caught his attention. “We
have most of the Premm Council assembled in the main lobby. It’s the only place
in the port large enough to hold them all at once. They are voting on
surrender. The rest of the Council is being rounded up from in town.”

“Where’s the Voice?” Park asked.

“He’s a sly old fox,” Tina
chuckled. “Feigned weariness about the same time one of his Highpriests
fainted. The people marching the Council here though weren’t fooled that much
though. They forced him to march on another half a mile, faking a limp all the
way before they let him rest. Kept him under guard too. He’ll be here soon.”

“I want to get him by himself,”
Park told her.

“Alone?” Tina asked.

“I don’t care how many of us are
there,” Park told her, “but I don’t want a single Premm, not even Somithi in
the room. I want him feeling completely without allies. Let me know when he
gets here, and find him a room where he can stew in his own juices a while.”

“Should I tell him Black Admiral
McArrgh wants a word with him?” Tina asked.

“Tell him, I’ll see him at my
convenience,” Park replied, “and let me know how the Council votes

Park only kept the Archpriest
waiting for half an hour. “I’m not afraid of you,” the Voice told him defiantly
as Park and entered the room with Tina and several Alliance officers.

“Good,” Park gave him a smile
that was far from friendly. “I don’t think of myself as a scary guy.” It was
only after he had said it that he realized that the statement was ironic in
spite of its truth. “You, on the other hand, would give Dracula nightmares.”

“By the Holy Prophecy, I know
that you are the evil that will be destroyed in the coming of the Originals,”
The Voice told him defiantly.

“Is that how you control the
people?” Park asked. “By invoking the Prophecy whenever you need them to do
something you want? Must complicate ordering a cup of coffee. Where I come from
we just say, ‘Please.’”

“What do you want?” the Voice
asked with a sneer.

“The Holy Empire of Premm
declared war on the Alliance of Confederated Planets,” Park replied. “That war
is over and you will surrender without any conditions.”

“Ha!” the Voice barked.

“If you don’t,” Park warned him,
“I’ll just deal with someone who will.”

“The Holy Prophecy commands us to
fight you,” the Voice proclaimed. “The Earth shall be cleansed in atomic fire
and the Originals, the Blessed Ones will return.”

“The Earth is already clean and
my people are the Originals,” Park replied tightly.

“Blasphemy!” the Voice snarled.
“The Holy Prophecy…”

“Bull!” Park shouted at him.
“I’ve been learning a lot about prophecies in the last few years and yours
specifically more recently. One thing I do know is that your prophecy says
nothing about fires, atomic or otherwise. You, sir, have been twisting your
Holy Prophecy for your own benefit and contrary to its original purpose. I may
be a blasphemer, but you, sir are a heretic.”