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Chapter 18 - Best Served Cold[]
WarShip Dire Wolf, Transfer Orbit
Diosd, Clan Wolf Occupation Zone
June 12th, 3052
The Grand Council, fourteen Khans of the invading Clans attending in person, the others via real-time HPG relay from the homeworlds, had just decided to honor ilKhan Ulric Kerensky's truce with ComStar and retain him in the office of ilKhan. Lilly had all but laughed at some of their arguments, particularly that Ulric "has assured his dominance over us in a way that Nicholas Kerensky never intended when he created the office of ilKhan." Knowing what she did about how Nicholas had used his authority as ilKhan, that assertion was hilariously ignorant.
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Sovietskii Soyuz-Class Heavy Cruiser, Dire Wolf
"There is one more piece of business this Grand Council should resolve before adjourning.” Ulric said. "I was tasked by this Council with resolving the threat of bandits purporting to be of The Not-Named Clan. I have done this, and ascertained the truth behind them. To ensure the Council is properly informed to decide how best to respond moving forward, to give testimony before this Council I present Star Colonel Lilly McEvedy of Clan Wolverine."
Gasps of shock and cries of outrage met the taboo name, and Phelan would swear Ulric had taken a perverse pleasure in speaking it out loud before the assembled Khans.
A door opened, and Lilly entered the chamber. The sight of the assembled Khans in their ceremonial leathers and Clan totem masks stunned her momentarily, made her feel inadequately attired for the occasion, until she wrapped her military bearing and training about herself. I wear the fatigues of a true warrior, not the ceremonial garb of one who plays at war through ritual.
Everyone in the chamber was too stunned to make any objection until Lilly had mounted the dais beside the ilKhan. Then, however, they came fast and furious. The shouts mingled together in a cacophony, with only a few single words intelligible. Words like "treason.” "traitor.” "monster.” and "annihilation."
"She cannot speak here!" Khan Lincoln Osis managed to be heard above the others, largely due to his sheer lung capacity as an Elemental. "The Not-Named Clan was Annihilated! They no longer exist! They have no standing and must be killed on sight! THAT IS THE LAW!"
Ulric stroked his goatee, waiting patiently for the Khans to exhaust themselves. Once they were reduced to venomous glares through their enameled masks, Ulric spoke calmly. "We are still under the Martial Code as set forth by Nicholas Kerensky. As such, any individual, regardless of their current standing under Clan law, may give testimony before the Grand Council at the discretion of the ilKhan. This is to prevent petty politics from keeping this body from hearing that which it needs to hear."
"I refuse!" the Snow Raven Khan shouted through the viewscreen. "Refuse! Refuse refuse refuse!" Lilly had to stifle a smile as she pictured him petulantly stomping his foot outside the view of the camera.
"Declare all the Trials you wish.” Ulric replied. "Once the testimony has been heard, and there is something to declare a Trial against."
Uproar again filled the chamber, and Ulric and Lilly again waited patiently for it to die down. Lilly had known walking into the lion's den -- or Wolf's den, as the case may be -- stood a good chance of being a one-way trip, but this. . . this was worth it.
Finally, the noise in the chamber died down again. "Now, if you are all quite finished, I give Star Colonel McEvedy the floor."
It was several more minutes of caterwauling before Lilly could speak, and when she did, she launched into the story of Clan Wolverine -- the real story. It was a tale she knew by heart, and she had refreshed herself on it again and again on her journey here, to ensure she told it as completely and accurately as possible. Shouts of protest arose at several points, but Lilly refused to rest until she'd told the whole story. . . even the parts where the Wolverines were, unequivocally, at fault. The truth was of greatest importance to Clan Wolverine.
Immediately after finishing her story, the accusations flew.
"There is no proof!" the Snow Raven Khan cried. "It is lies, lies made to cover their evil!"
"Actually, there is.” Ulric said, holding up a holodisc. "The private diaries of Nicholas Kerensky have long been the sole property of Clan Wolf, available to its Khans. They paint a somewhat different picture than Star Colonel McEvedy. . . and a drastically different one than the official history. But they corroborate much of what the Star Colonel says, and the discrepancies are easily attributed to Nicholas Kerensky not being in possession of all the facts. After all, if he had known in what numbers Clan Wolverine escaped his judgment, they would not have."
"They were Annihilated!" Lincoln Osis shouted, pounding his massive fist on the table. "They are The Not-Named Clan! We will not recognize them!"
"As if we want to be part of your collective of bellicose arrogance.” Lilly shot back. "We are quite happy with what we have made for ourselves, far from you and the so-called 'great vision' of Nicholas Kerensky. But remember this well;" Lilly leveled a finger at the assembled Khans. "You made us monsters. You made us your nightmare. Reject the truth now, and you abdicate your right to complain when we embrace it. In the black gulf between stars, we lurk. Behind the next hill of every world, we wait. Every time you claim a prize, you can lie awake at night wondering when Clan Wolverine will come and take it away."
"We are the Clans!" Osis roared. "We are seventeen, you are but one! You cannot hope to match our breeding, our training, our equipment! You have no chance to stand against us!"
"Yeah.” Lilly replied with a sadistically gleeful grin. "And doesn't that just scare you to death, query affirmative?"
No outrage or shouting answered. Only stunned, fearful silence.
"I believe that is sufficient.” Ulric said into the silence. "The witness is excused."
"She is not!" Lincoln Osis snapped. "I declare--"
"Star Colonel McEvedy, I offer you hegira."
Everyone in the chamber gaped at Natasha Kerensky, thoroughly confused.
With a grin, Natasha elaborated. "Star Colonel McEvedy challenged me to a Trial of Grievance over this very matter when we first met, when I was gathering intelligence on the Wolverines for the ilKhan. I won. That means it is my right, and mine alone, to grant her safe passage from this place."
Lincoln Osis' fists knotted, he looked on the verge of a rage-induced stroke. "That's not how hegira works!"
"Isn't it?" Natasha asked calmly.
Lilly nodded. "I accept your offer, Khan Natasha Kerensky." Lilly made her way out of the chamber with as much haste as dignity allowed, leaving Lincoln Osis and his apoplectic rage far behind.