Page 28 (1/2)
It is a full minute before the renewed applause dies down
“But we yet have a choice to ain “Do we allow this war to linger? To consu? Or do we press the enerind them until the last of the chains have been shattered?” I speak over the applause this tih me “It has been a decade of war But we can end it here Now” I spare a look up to the viewing deck above, where the holonetworks have their cahter and advisors, his ni my plans based on the response of these senators Butreat victory We robbed him the Iron of his docks But Venus…Venus is the prize
Even here, aht, I hear Lorn’s words echo in the dark place of my mind
Death begets death begets death
“Brothers and sisters of the Republic, we are one choice away from a fully liberated Core A free System from Sol to the asteroid belt We would be the first ht not without cost” I pause and perht of these last years to show onmore than peace I wish for a world where the ” I look to my wife “I wish to live in a world where my child can choose his own destiny, where the sins of the past do not define the nature of his life as it has defined all of ours Our ene First as slaves, then adversaries And what stability, what har to the worlds we have freed while they continue to define us? For the sake of our brothers and sisters on Venus and Mercury…” I look to Dancer “…for the sake of the souls we have unchained, for the sake of our children, give me the tools and I will finish this war, once and for all”
They roar in approval
I look to Daxo and, as we agreed, he stands to tower over his fellow senators
“My noble friends…” His large hands splay plaintively outward “I know you are weary I feel the years of war in an” There’s laughter “I know better than you the heart of the Peerless Scarred They do not have the spirit for peace It is not in their nature to accept this neorld we have made They must be defeated, by all measures at our disposal My family has supported the Reaper since before he was known My brother died for hiht for him And I will not abandon him now Nor should you The Optimates stand with the Reaper And we propose a bill to the floor for a Resolution of Liberty Eternal, to draft twenty million fresh troops, to allocate ships from the Gulf, and to levy additional taxes to fund the war effort until the Core is free” Daxo sits back down and makes a pained expression in my direction and rubs his temple
Publius cu Caraval rises from his seat when the applause finally fades His short copper hair is parted on the side, not a strand out of place “I was told I was brought into this world to serve To move the invisible levers of an ancient and evil machine We all moved those levers But noe serve the People We are here to liberate the dignity of ainst tyranny Let us sharpen hiain so he can break the chains for our brothers and sisters in bondage on Venus” He touches his heart, bleeding empathy and resolution
A chorus of senators declare their support, each shouting over the next Mustang stands, haistered by the Senate and now open for debate”
All eyes turn to Dancer
He has not yetanalyzes his face “Senator O’Faran,” she says “Nothing?”
“Thank you, a in his nervous habit before rising to his feet To this day he loathes public speaking His voice is hoarse and halting, as far from Publius’s as possible “ArchI how happy I areater son of the Republic” Many heads nod “I would also like to personally offer you congratulations on the partial liberation of Mercury Despite your methods
, which I will get to in a spit”
I watch hi what he intends, but not how it’s meant to be delivered