The Phoenix Crisis (52 page)

Chapter 35

“
Mister Conroy?” asked
Representative Tate.

“
Aye.”

“
Mister Conroy and the
Conroy House vote Aye,” said Representative Tate. “Mister
Zhang?”

“
Aye.”

“
Mister Zhang and the Zhang
House vote Aye. Lady Florence?”

“
Nay.”

“
Lady Florence and the
Florence House vote Nay.”

Lady Florence gave Kalila a melancholy look
and Kalila acknowledged her with her eyes. The Florences were among
her father’s most ardent supporters, as were the Torres, Garcias,
and the Coles. But together their support was coming up light, and
Kalila knew that if even two more Houses declared in favor of the
motion, it would mean the Assembly had decided to revoke her
father’s legal claim to the throne.

Calvin, where are you?

“
Mister Ortiz?”

“
Nay.”

“
Mister Ortiz and the Ortiz
House vote Nay. Lady Warren?”

“
Aye,” said Lady Warren.
That mean just one more remained… one more vote and she’d lose
everything. Kalila knew she had to do
something
. And quickly. The Martel
House was next and it wasn’t a secret how Caerwyn would
vote.

“
Lady Warren and the Warren
House vote Aye,” said Representative Tate. “Mister
Mart—”

Kalila did not let the
Representative finish. Instead she stood up and spoke forcefully
into her microphone. “I
object.
”

A hush fell over the room and Representative
Tate looked at her strangely, they all did. What was the princess
doing? She was all out of order. And yet their curiosity seemed to
get the better of them. Kalila cleared her throat and spoke.

“
Honorable Members of the
Assembly,” she said, “I object to Mister Martel being allowed to
cast his vote, as well as several of his fellows, on the grounds
that he is part of an intergalactic conspiracy. I hereby formally
accuse him of sedition, and for taking part in a plot to overthrow
the king.”

The gathered mass of politicians reacted
with shock. Gasps, shouts, and conversation filled the chamber and
Representative Tate had to call the Assembly Floor to order six
times before the chamber quieted.

“
Princess, those are bold
accusations,” said Representative Tate.

“
I stand by
them.”

“
And Mister Martel, how do
you respond to these accusations?”

Caerwyn strode to the center of the Assembly
Floor and looked up at everyone. He didn’t so much as give Kalila a
sidewise glance. “My brothers and sisters of the Assembly, it is
clear what is going on. This is a desperate, late-game strategy by
the Princess to try to stop the legal process that is currently
happening. She wishes for her father to retain his crown. And is
clearly willing to do so by any means. Including filling this
sacred chamber with lies and false accusations. But they are empty
and without merit, and I invite the Princess to please put forth
any evidence she has. I am willing to hear it. Let us all hear it.
Let the whole Empire hear it. For there is nothing she can say or
do to twist her foul lie into the truth.” He finally looked at her.
Looked at her with those big round eyes of his, challenging her.
Daring her to do her worst. Kalila felt hate pour through her, but
she did not show anything.

“
The Executor is on his way
here now,” she said. “He will arrive shortly with all the evidence
you need.” She prayed that was true.     “And
how long would you have us wait for him, You Grace?” asked Caerwyn.
“Hours? Days? Decades? We cannot allow these accusations to hold
our Assembly hostage. We must allow the legal process to continue.
And in the spirit of such, Lady Tate, I cast my vote in the
affirmative. House Martel votes Aye.”

“
You are not fit to cast
that vote,” said Kalila. She looked from him to the committee
sitting on the raised platform. “You cannot count that vote.
Not yet
.”

Representative Tate frowned.

“
Need I remind the
princess,” said Caerwyn. “That the burden of proof is on her—the
accuser—to prove my guilt, not on me to prove my innocence. Until
she does, I remain in good standing with this body. And I will cast
my vote.”

“
Mister Martel has the right
of it,” said Representative Tate.

“
Please…” said Kalila, her
eyes pleading with Representative Tate. “Just a few more minutes.
He’ll come. And the evidence will be here.”

Representative Tate regarded her silently
for a moment. Then she conferred with the other members of the
committee. Eventually she said, “we will grant you ten minutes to
substantiate your accusations. After that the voting process will
resume.”

“
Thank you, honored
Representatives,” said Kalila. She returned to her seat and sent
Calvin a frantic message.

Where are you? Are you coming?

A few seconds later his reply came.

No
.

There was no explanation.
Kalila felt her mind reel and she tried to understand what it
meant, considering all the possibilities. Perhaps Calvin’s lead on
where the conspirators were hiding had proven a dead end. Or
perhaps his forces had been beaten back. She didn’t let herself
think that Calvin had been bought off, or had decided not to
cooperate with her, and betray her.
No
, there must be a better
explanation. Whatever the case, the outcome was clear. She could
not stop the vote. There was no longer any hope.

She stood up from her seat on the small dais
and left the Assembly Floor. No one stopped her. Undoubtedly they
all thought she was going to gather her evidence. But sadly that
wasn’t so. She knew that she couldn’t stop the vote, and in mere
moments the Assembly would declare that Hisato Akira was no longer
the king. Her family would have their powers and privileges
stripped, and the various officers of their
administration—including the Office of the Executor—would be
dissolved. When that happened, it would not be safe for her here.
It wouldn’t be safe for anyone connected to her or the Akira
name.

Her guards met her as she emerged from the
chamber; together they walked briskly for the cars. One look from
her and her top-ranking escorts knew what was happening.

She’d planned for this contingency. Made
certain to arrange a way off the planet. But she’d hoped
desperately that it wouldn’t come to this. As her motorcade sped
off to the private hangar, she stared out the window and watched
the Assembly Hall shrink away into the distance. She realized it
might be the last time she ever saw it.

She wondered if her father
would accept the judgment of the Assembly lying down, or if he
would fight to keep his powers. Whatever happened next… it wasn’t
going to be good—for her
or
the Empire.

***

“
Where did you tell him to
go?” asked Calvin. “Can you get us off the planet?” He looked at
Nikolai urgently, who scratched his head. Also in the car was
Rafael, but he was busy exchanging the bandage under his eye patch
for a fresh one.

“
There is one way,” said
Nikolai. “And yes, I told the driver to take us there. But it might
not be safe.”

“
Anything is safer than
staying here,” said Calvin. When he’d failed to capture the Phoenix
Ring leaders—and had subsequently lost contact with Kalila—he
assumed the worst. The king would lose the throne and then
everybody connected with the Akira name, including Calvin, would
lose all of their authority. And probably be taken prisoner by the
new regime under some kind of trumped up charges.

When he’d come to this realization, he’d
sent away the special forces teams that’d been under his
command—knowing they would be ordered to bring him into custody if
he kept them around, and probably sooner than later, and he fled,
along with his strongest supporters.

The Alpha Team leader had
given Calvin a knowing glance when Calvin ordered them away, and,
though it might have been his imagination, he could have sworn the
man had whispered to him in passing, “
we’ll
give you a head start
.”

“
This car has
got
to be able to go
faster,” said Rafael. He finished with the new bandage and covered
it with his eye patch.

“
I agree,” said Calvin,
looking out the window. For such a large vehicle it was careening
through the streets of Riverport District at a rapid pace, but
Calvin worried it wasn’t fast enough. They all did. Fortunately the
streets were still clear from Calvin’s earlier order to have the
police empty them.

Nikolai moved out of his
seat and knocked on the privacy wall that separated them from the
driver. It rolled down a crack and he shouted, “Faster! If we don’t
reach Riverwater Hangar we’re all dead. And if we’re dead,
you’re
dead
too.”

The car accelerated.

By the time sirens could be heard and
military and local police started to fill the streets with their
presence, Calvin’s vehicle screeched to a stop. He, Rafael, and
Nikolai scrambled out the vehicle and sprinted toward the hangar.
The driver sped away.

Riverwater Hangar wasn’t like any sort of
hangar Calvin had ever seen. It was right in the middle of an
urban, industrial district and didn’t look like the kind of place a
gunship could launch from. However, with a powerful screech, the
roof of the building slowly opened. Folding back large, powerful,
mechanized doors and opening the structure to the sky. Just as they
were reaching the entrance Calvin heard the roar of an engine and
watched as a shuttle appeared, poking its nose out from where it’d
been hidden in the industrial building. It took to the sky quickly,
followed by another.

“
Hurry up, let’s move,” said
Nikolai. He led them through the entrance and out onto the open
flight deck. There were soldiers scrambling to take defensive
positions and others—in Imperial uniforms—converging on them.
Ordering them to stand down. Nikolai, Calvin, and Rafael ignored
them and ran for the only remaining ships. A nearly-filled shuttle
that was about to depart and a lone multirole atmosphere-capable
starfighter.

“
Nikolai, you and Rafael
take the shuttle,” said Calvin. “I’ll take the fighter.”

“
There’s only room for one
more in the shuttle,” someone yelled at them from ahead. Trying to
wave them off. He held up a single finger, trying to indicate that
not all of them could board.

“
You go aboard the shuttle,”
said Nikolai, looking directly at Calvin. “We’ll stay
here.”

“
No,” said Calvin. “It’s
okay, I’m a pilot. I can make that bird fly. And there’s room for
two; Rafael, you can take copilot.”

“
Works for me,” he said,
continuing to sprint.

“
Power down the shuttle. I
repeat, power down the shuttle,” said a voice over a bullhorn. The
shuttle—which was undoubtedly full of members of the Akira family
and their closest supporters—responded by firing up its launch
sequence. Nikolai gave Calvin a look of hesitation and then did as
he was told, running for the shuttle like his life depended on it.
And, in actuality, it probably did. He made it in the nick of time.
Barely managing to come aboard as the shuttle began to fire its
thrusters. Several of the soldiers, who were quickly capturing the
building, opened fire on the shuttle with small arms. But to no
useful effect.

Calvin reached the fighter and started
climbing up the ladder to open the cockpit.

“
Don’t move,” someone yelled
up at him from below. He glanced down to see a soldier pointing a
rifle up at him. “Now place your hands on your head.”

“
Stand down,
soldier
,” Calvin said,
summoning his most commanding voice.

“
You are under arrest, sir,”
said the soldier. “Now place your hands on your head and slowly
climb down.

“
I’m
the Executor
,” said Calvin. “You will
stand down.”

“
There is no Executor
anymore,” replied the soldier. “New orders just came in.” He waved
his weapon, drawing attention to the fierce rifle, and continued.
“This is your final warning,” he said. “Hands on your head and
climb down
now
.”

“
I can’t climb down while my
hands are on my head,” said Calvin.

There was a gunshot and Calvin winced
automatically. He opened his eyes expecting to see his own blood,
even though he’d felt nothing. When he did look there was indeed
plenty of blood, but none of it his. The soldier slumped to his
knees and collapsed to his side. His face just above the cheekbone
was completely destroyed.

Rafael stood there, smoking pistol in his
good hand. He’d managed to subtly draw his weapon and fire when the
soldier was focused on Calvin. Calvin was almost too stunned to
move.

“
Hurry up and get that
cockpit open,” said Rafael.

“
Right,” said Calvin,
shaking himself free of his momentary stupor. There were more
soldiers now, flooding the flight deck with a sea of camouflage.
The soldiers in black who’d tried to cover the Akiran retreat had
all fled or been killed. There wasn’t one to be seen still fighting
the Imperial troops.