Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike by Doug Dandridge Page B

be the Empress Mother if there was an
heir, or a Dowager Empress if there wasn’t.  Sean’s closest living relative
would be the next in line if there wasn’t an heir.
    The problem with an Imperial Wedding, at this
time, was the people who would have to miss the ceremony due to wartime
duties.  Everyone and anyone would want a seat at that wedding, and some who
would otherwise be automatic attendees would leave empty seats, which many
would be fighting for.  Security would also be a nightmare, especially with the
shape shifters, the Yugalyth, added to the equation.  Everyone would have to be
checked out, and there would be more guards than were the norm, making the
space even more dear.
    The ceremony would normally be held in the
Reformed Catholic Basilica in Capitulum, which could seat several hundred
thousand people, while several million more waited outside to see the couple
when they left the church.  They could seat more people if they held the
ceremony outside, perhaps on the palace grounds, or in a major stadium, of
which the city had many.  That would lead to even greater security problems,
with the Emperor and his bride exposed to long distance fire.  Technology could
provide some protection, but would it be enough?
    And the Lords will raise hell that the Emperor
is marrying a commoner , she thought with a frown.  It doesn’t matter that she
has been given the title of duchess.  They will still see her as a commoner,
and the Emperor’s choosing of her, and not someone from an old family line, as
a collective slap in the face.
    Samantha sighed again, wishing she was still a
serving Fleet officer.  At least then she only had to worry about dying.
    “You have a call from the Prime Minister,
ma’am,” said the voice of her assistant over the com.
    “Haruko,” said Samantha as the holo of the
Prime Minister, Countess Haruko Kawasaki, appeared.  “How goes Parliament?”
    “Like herding especially obnoxious cats,” said
the small woman on the other end of the com.  “Though I do have report a major
triumph.”
    “The Archduke?”
    “”That’s the one,” said Haruko, nodding.  “It
seems he underwent a religious conversion while he was with the Fleet.  He came
back a full convert, and immediately attacked Countess Zhee and her clique in
the Opposition Party.”
    “And Zhee?  What was her response?”
    “She was livid.  The good Countess threatened
to throw Marconi out of their party.  Then she stormed out of the chamber after
she called for a walkout.”
    “Shit.  That doesn’t sound good.”  Samantha was
already having a lot of problems with the Opposition Party.  With an angry Zhee
stirring up trouble the problem might be rising to the proportions of a true
crisis.  And I would sure hate to have to throw that clique into jail. 
Well, that’s a lie.  I would love to throw them all into a cell.  But the
problems would outweigh my pleasure.
    “Actually,” said the other woman, her smile
growing, “it was very good.  Only about a third of the party followed her from
the chamber.  The rest stayed, in a show of solidarity with Marconi.”
    “So we broke her power base?” asked Samantha
after a short laugh.
    “Or we added to his,” said Kawasaki, nodding. 
“She will never be able to muster more than forty percent of the vote for her
platform, even if she can convince all the other parties who are her group’s
historical allies.  It’s more likely that she’ll carry less than twenty five
percent of any vote.”
    “So she won’t be able to swing a No Confidence
against Sean?”
    “Not after what Marconi did after she walked
out,” said Kawasaki, smiling once again.  The woman shut her mouth and continued
to smile.
    “Don’t keep me in the dark, my dear,” said
Samantha finally, her anxious wish to know overcoming her desire to not play
the Prime Minister’s game.
    “He asked to speak before the Lords.  And he
gave a speech that made him sound like Sean’s