Chapter 6
"I will not wear the gold," Gaius informed his servant. "I will wear the robes of my station, but I will not be adorned with the gaze of opulence."
"I understand, Imperator," the Servant helped the current head of the Marian Hegemony into the official robes, the pure white of his draped Toga intermixed with a purple sash and an olive branch crown upon his brow. A simple Bronze brooch with an image of a Marian soldier in his armor held the sash together on his right shoulder.
Turning, he left the guest quarters aboard the dropship and nodded at the two Praetorians that stood beside him, their practical bronze and red colored armor signifying their status as the Elites of the Marian Hegemony Armed Forces.
"Fredrich, Nathan, you are to remain calm at all times. At no turn will you show hostility to these men and women. Neither my father nor I have heard of any Warships among the Inner Sphere or Periphery for the last hundred years. But what we know tells me that should we anger these people, they may rain down the very heavens upon us, and we would be left with nothing but dust and ash."
"If it is as you say, then we shall remain silent," the Praetorians replied. "But should they move against you, then we will act, for war is what we have prepared for."
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The trio stood at the airlock and waited for the channel between the two ships to finish pressurizing, the red light flickering into a solid green as it finalized the processes.
The Imperator and his guards walked across the threshold and entered the Spirit of Fire. The simplistic nature of the ship and the utilitarian build almost seemed to mimic or even improve upon the same sort of aesthetic that was seen in the common Union and Danais that were found throughout the Inner Sphere and Periphery.
"Captain Cutter," Gaius greeted and gave a small bow to show respect. "It is a pleasure to meet you in person. Shall we dispense with guards and begin our discussions?"
"No," Cutter set his face firmly. "Anything that I would say to you, I would also tell the men and women under my command. We hold the discussions here."
"What is it you require to leave me and my nation, my people, in peace," Gaius asked, his arms spread as if surrendering. "Ask whatever it is that you desire, and if it is within my power. Then I will see that it is granted."
"Here is what is going to happen," Cutter's steely blue gaze matched and then overpowered that of the Imperator's. "First, you're going to find an empty lot for me and my people. There doesn't need to be anyone else there, it can even be barren. Secondly, your airspace. That belongs to us now. The void as well. Any pirates or people who work with them will be destroyed before they even reach orbit. Third, your government is based on that of the Roman Republic, yes? Then I'm purchasing the freedom of your slaves. All of them. Pursuant to UEG legal code 70.7132 slavery has been outlawed, and all colonies are to follow suit. Regardless of cultural or current local governmental structures, we are required by law to purge the institution. And if there are any signs of slavery again. We step in and make sure that it's ended. Permanently."
Cutter's gaze seemed to soften after he had spoken, and after a moment continued.
"Anything else that we need we'll do honest trade for on an agreed-upon valuation of said goods or services."
Gaius allowed himself to sigh in relief within his mind as he realized that these people didn't want to destroy them utterly. There was a chance to remain a nation. And potentially move past their roots in piracy if he played his cards right. His father had always talked about a greater future. And this could be the path forward.
"I can tentatively agree to those demands," Gaius finally spoke after spending time considering everything. "But parts of it will require me to speak to the Senate. And after they have ratified it, it will take time for the message to spread throughout the remainder of the realm. We have no HPG complexes after all."
He then recalled one of the key discussion points that had in mind from the beginning.
"However, I must ask for the return of our jumpship. They are not only rare in the Periphery nations such as ours. But they are irreplaceable, and the trade and value that they bring are intrinsic to the survival of any periphery nation. Including our own.
"No," Cutter replied. "We can discuss your people catching rides for free to local systems or within the area. But right now," Cutter's eyes hardened once again. "It belongs to the United Nations Space Corps."
"I think there is an old quote from the British Empire that sums up these terms," Senator Jackson looked through the notes that Gaius had taken.
"Oh?" Gaius raised an eyebrow. "There are many that could sum up our situation. Which one are you thinking of?"
"This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed," Jackson recited with his eyes closed. "That is what the terms regarding slavery appear as. Everything else is something that we may convince the Senate to ratify. But we will have our work cut out for us if we are to take away the other Elite's wealth."
"I agree," Gaius sat down at a nearby table. "Which is why I asked for us to be given time to bring this before the Senate."
"May we be successful in our endeavors," Jackson clasped arms with the Imperator. "I shall retire to my villa and contemplate how to best approach this task ahead of us."
"I shall remain here, I have many details to work out if we are to survive and potentially thrive as a a nation. We live in interesting times. May we succeed instead of perish."
"Come in," Cutter called out as a knock resounded on the entrance to his quarters.
The door slid open, revealing a now rested and clean Professor Ellen Anders.
"Take a seat," Cutter gestured towards the only other chair in the small room. "How're you holding up?"
"I've had better days," Ellen sighed. "Even with all of the excitement and distractions of the past few weeks I still keep finding myself drawn back to what happened."
She glanced down, an air of melancholy surrounded her stature and being.
"We could have found another way. We should have found another way. Then maybe he and the others would still be alive."
Cutter's gaze filled with sympathy as he leaned down and opened the lower left drawer on his desk, the prized bottle of aged scotch resting on the surface as he poured a few fingers into each glass.
"I'm not going to tell you to never have the question of 'what-if?'" James smiled sadly. "It's not a bad thing to look back on the past and see what mistakes we made so that we can push forward to do better in the future. The difference is in what we do after the reflection. If looking back turns into living in the past then we've gone too far. Professor, Sergeant Forge, and everyone who gave their lives did so for a purpose. They were looking beyond themselves at what the future would be like. And in the end, they made their decisions. To deny them that, would be to act as if everything they did in both life and death were meaningless. I hold responsibility for everyone among my crew. And if I had a choice, I would never put any of you in harm's way. But beyond my responsibility of being Captain of the Spirit of Fire and her crew. Is my responsibility to Humanity as a whole. Even if no one ever learns of what we did. We accomplished the impossible. And may have very well changed the course of the war. So honor their sacrifice. And find ways to avoid making the same sacrifices in the future. That's all we can ever do."
Anders simply picked up her glass and swirled the scotch within as she considered everything.
After a few moments of silence, Anders simply raised her glass in a toast.
"To friends. May they never be forgotten."
"To Sergeant Forge. The toughest son of a bitch I've ever known," Cutter clinked his glass before they both downed the scotch.
Anders coughed as she set the glass down, covering her mouth for a moment.
"Thanks, Captain."
"You're a member of my crew," Cutter replied. "My door is always open."
Anders stood up, set the chair back into its place, and stood at the door, a few tears trickling down her face before she took a deep breath, wiped them away, and palmed the door controls. The door slid open and revealed a woman whose resolve had been strengthened. Someone who now had a renewed sense of purpose.
"Serina," Anders called out as the door slid shut behind her.
"Yes, professor?"
"Set aside some subroutines to help out in my lab. We have some work to do."
Author's Note: I rewrote some sections of Chapter 5. It should be a bit better now.
