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I, Corvus; How a Fool became Imperator of the O'Reillys
- Chapter XVIII -[]
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----<Character & Faction Directory of I, Corvus>----
To live or died at the pleasure of the Imperator[]
Zielinsky Colosseum
Pompey, Marian Hegemony
Late 3034
Sean cheered as the gladiators below struggled against one another. For the first time in weeks, the games felt exciting. Sean hadn't thought it was possible, but presiding over anything, even bloodsport, got tiring after a hundred straight days of it. By night thirty, he'd found himself bored to tears. By night thirty-two, he'd stopped coming.
It had been Ambrose's idea to introduce theme nights. Tonight, the sixtieth night of games, was themed around Ancient Rome. Men and women, dressed in nothing but a few pieces of thick padding and metal armor, glistening with oil, fought with spears, and swords, and shields. It was simple, but it was invigorating.
It reminded him of Algenib, although this was at least in part to members of his Algenibi bodyguard dominating the day Below, one of his bodyguards with the trident and net of a retiari stood on a platform made in imitation of a dock struggled against two slaves with the short swords and tall shields of the secutor.
He cheered along with the crowd as the retiarius impaled one of the secutors with his trident, and gasped along when trident and man fell to the ground, far out of reach of the platform. The second secutor saw his chance and smashed his opponent's leg with the butt of his shield. The retiarius fell, but with lightning reflexes hooked his net around the secutor's fish-shaped helm. As the retiarius fell off the platform, the secutor found himself stuck to it. The retiarius acted fast, fixed the net to one of the dock's posts, and drew his knife. He held it to the secutors neck, who in turn held up two fingers in the symbol of submission. Both men, along with the crowd of eighty thousand, turned to Sean's Imperial box.
Sean realized that he was on his feet. He must have jumped up with excitement without noticing. He flashed a mischievous smile at the large man sitting to his left. "Regent-Colonel, as my guest, you should have the honor. What do you say? Live, or die?"
The heavyset man in a Kashamarkan uniform covered in medals made a face and scratched his chin, making a show of deep thought. "Hmm, two against one, they should have prevailed, but the match was never in doubt. I would say, given the short length and the poor showing, that the man must die."
Sean's smile widened. He turned back to the crowd, held his thumb out level, and then pulled it across his throat, as if slitting it. The retiarius complied, and ended the life of the secutor.
The Regent-Colonel clapped for the victor. "I do say, Imperator, the new hand signals, they are far less prone to argument than the old ones. There is no way to mistake your intentions."
"That's the sort of man I am, Regent-Colonel. Direct, and decisive."
"I would not be here if you were any other sort of man."
Ambrose slipped into the room and kneeled beside Sean. "Imperator, the Quaestor is here."
"Is the special match ready?"
"Yes, Imperator."
"Good. Send her in as soon as it begins."
The Regent-Colonel lifted his eyebrows, his face a parody of surprise. "Your Quaestor? That is what in your Hegemony, like a finance minister? Do the games bore you so much that you would prefer to do some math instead?"
Sean laughed. He wished he'd thought to dabble in diplomacy earlier. His guest had the most expressive face he'd ever seen, in addition to their shared fascination with the games. "Hah! No, but my father, he would see people here, do business in the Colosseum. Just because the people get to celebrate for a hundred days doesn't mean I get to skip work. The whole place would go to hell."
The arena attendants led an albino bull into the arena. Sean couldn't hide the excitement on his face. "You'll like this one, Sigfrido. The old Romans, they had all sorts of special matches for criminals."
The Quaestor bowed low at the threshold of the box. "Imperator, may I enter?"
Sean motioned for her to come and sit to his right. He gestured to the Regent-Colonel. "Quaestor, I want you to meet my guest of honor this week. Regent-Colonel Sigfrido Diaz, currently filling in for the Duke of Silver after an unfortunate accident. Regent-Colonel, my Quaestor, Aurelia Ulpius."
She bowed to the Regent-Colonel who inclined his head slightly in turn, and then she took the offered seat. "Imperator, I have news of the raid on Zvolen. TheTerror from the Deep were driven back. The Arcadians outfitted the veteran Bolanese exiles with Star League-era weaponry and they overwhelmed the mercenaries. I urge you, Imperator, please stop these raids."
"Did they come back alive?"
"Most of them."
Sean waved it off. "Then no need to pay extra. Don't worry, Quaestor. We've gotten our own back, we proved our point. They'll come crawling to us for peace soon, if not, we can offer and make it look like we're the noble ones."
The Quaestor bowed and then began to rise from her seat. "Your wisdom knows no bounds, Imperator. The Legions will use this time wisely, and I shall do what is necessary to rebuild the strategic stockpiles."
"Good. We'll next them. In three months time, the legions are marching again."
She froze. "But! Wait, against whom?"
Sean gestured to the Regent-Colonel. "Sigfrido here has given us some info on our faithful allies in the Kashamarka Antisuyu. They're trying to hide it, but the country is falling apart. When it happens, there is going to be a feeding frenzy. Sigfrido here wants to be on the winning side."
Sigfrido spread his arms and gave a look like a child caught in a cookie jar. "Now now Imperator, no need to say it like that. I merely wish to protect the people. I care much for the people of Silver, I would hate to see their planet become a warzone. If you can bring peace to my countrymen in the rest of my country, then I will do what I can to help."
"Imperator, please-" Aurelia begged, but Sean held up a hand to interrupt her.
"Quaestor, it will be done. Make the preparations, and please, enjoy the rest of the show. Say, do you like history?"
"I guess so?"
"My uncle used to tell stories from ancient Rome. My favorite were the myths. This one is my favorite! You ever heard of the minotaur? We're about to reenact it's story." He pointed towards the arena. He tried his best to keep from giggling as the prisoner was led naked into the arena and forced onto their knees. Sean's eyes flicked back and forth from the arena to the Quaestor's face, eager to catch both the show, and her reaction to it.
The Quaestor's reaction didn't disappoint. Her jaw fell open, her eyes went wide, and slowly her hands rose to cover her face. "That's….. Nekhii!"
"The Romans used to do this with prisoners. Nekhii Khan here, she wasn't loyal to me, to the Hegemony. She wanted us to just sit back and take it from Arcadia. Fought every step of the way. Even tried to convince the Rorarii to mutiny. She was disloyal. Not like you, Aurelia. You found the room in the budget for those raids, just like I asked. Just like you're going to find room for us to help my good friend Regent-Colonel Diaz liberate his people. Right, Aurelia?"
When she finally pried her eyes off of the horror in the arena to look at Sean, the terror in her eyes was such that he worried for a moment she might drop dead. But she nodded, slowly at first, and then as fast as she could. "Yes Imperator, may I please go now? There is much I need to do to make that happen." Sean waved her off, and she practically ran for the door.
"I guess she doesn't have the stomach for the games after all!" The big man laughed as she ran.
"Aw, she didn't even get to see Theseus. That's my favorite part."
"It is good she is gone. I want to talk business. You said you are a direct man, so let me be direct with you. When you come to Silver, I will make it yours. But you must enshrine me as the Duke, none of this regent or governor bullshit. Hereditary, not appointed like so many others in your Hegemony. But more than that, I want a legion of my own and the rank of Prefect that comes along with it. I will lead your forces into the heart of my fallen nation, I do not care which Prefect you must dislodge or which legion, so long as it is complete."
Sean nodded along. "Oh, don't worry Sigfrido, there is no shortage of disloyal people in the ranks. Finding room for a loyal man like yourself will not be hard." Sean watched as a gladiator dressed as the ancient hero entered the arena to put an end to the suffering of the accused.
Not all jokes are funny[]
Labyrinth
Pompey, Marian Hegemony
Ambrose Kelly lay out across three seats in the Imperator's private box overlooking the Labyrinth. The race had ended hours ago, but he and Sean had stayed in the box celebrating in private. A private box separated from the masses by twelve inches of ferro-fibrous and a long staircase dotted with two dozen Algenibi nomads and an Ordo Vigilis protection team was the only way he felt safe getting drunk with the Imperator. The gears of the Labyrinth were still working beneath them, walls rising and falling, jets and fans still blaring, and the wreck of the Galedon Gazelle still smouldering.
"Y'know Sean, you really shoulda done the Minotaur thing here."
Sean's seat was half a level below Ambrose, on its own. Sean was splayed out in it with a bottle of Skye 50 Year Reserve. "Yeah, I know. Don't tell Corvus when he gets home, he'll pitch a fit. But the audience wasn't right here, we only woulda gotten Aurelia at the Colosseum."
Ambrose laughed at the idea of anyone being brave enough to give the Imperator shit.
Sean took a long drink from the bottle, then kicked off with a foot, spinning the throne around. "Fuck man, Metellus fucked the dog on this one too."
"Yeah? I thought he did good. He popped the Galedon guy and he got second."
"Yeah, but, I mean, he shouldn't have even been in this race. He shoulda won the first race. And yeah, he came second, but the fuckin' Atlas came in third! That thing goes like, 2 kilometers and hour! And, C'mon, he's got you working doubles to make up for him not being here, least he coulda done was to make it count."
"Hey, not like I mind spending time with you. I do a better job of it. Has that prick ever been useful in a meeting? And he's bored all the time. Not like, 'look bored but actually scanning the room' like a bodyguard should, but legit 'bored staring at the carpet'. You're better off with me."
Sean kicked off again, spinning again. He braced his leg to do it again, but Ambrose held out a hand to steady the seat. Sean looked up and Ambrose made a puking motion with his hand and mouth.
Sean dropped his leg and took another pull of his drink. "Yeah, you're way better. Like, we both learned from our dads. You think someone we'll be as good as them? I felt like they could read each other's minds. My dad would ask a question, and your dad would just nod his head a bit the right way and my ad would know just what he was trying to say. So many times I saw it. In court, in these private boxes, in the gardens. And they always had the answer, always knew all the shit about everyone and everything. It was like they were a set of psychic encyclopedias."
Ambrose leaned over the railing in front of his seats, grinning down at the Imperator. "You know how they did that right?" Sean nodded with excitement. "They kinda were psychic encyclopedias. Your dad had an eye implant, it could receive messages on the right frequency. My dad had a pad with access to all the Ordo Vigilis files on it, on everyone and everything! And a data port that could plug into his neck like a neurohelmet if he wasn't able to use it but still had it with him. They get 'em when the joined the Ordo. They do some wicked weird shit!"
"Holy fuck! How'd they never tell me? How'd you know?"
"The mystique I guess? Every dad wants their kid to think they're a superman. Kids say shit too. Don't take it the wrong way, but you at 12? You woulda held that over every kid in the schoolyard."
Sean laughed and tossed back some more of the his whiskey. "So your dad didn't say shit either then. So how do you know?"
"As your head of personal security, I get access to all the Ordo Vigilis files. They had records of the implants going in when they were 19. You wouldn't believe the shit in those files man. You have access too, you seriously never looked through? It woulda been one of the first ones of your dad."
"Oh man! No, where should I start?"
'Well, your dad for one. Your uncles, too. You know that hit on your uncle Corvus on Niops? That wasn't a rogue Niopian, that was one of our own deep cover agents. And get this: the chick that saved him was the same chick who called the hit? Your dad was furious, but didn't have a chance to settle her before the shit went down."
"You think I should? Corvus is a fucking nob, but man, that's cold. I gotta stand up for him."
"Nah, nah. This long after? Let it go. I have the Ordo following her close and she is super loyal to you now."
"Yo, what else?"
"Uhh, you know your grandfather had your great-grandfather killed, right? But your grandfather, that was natural causes. He died young, and people said he was killed too, but no, just fuckin' died young. Oh! Did you know your dad was responsible for the Lothians falling apart?"
"Yeah, he told me that. I used the same trick on the usurper!"
Ambrose laughed and held out a hand. "My man!
Sean jumped up and met it for a loud high-five and the two fell back into their chairs.
Sean polished off his bottle and tossed it off into a corner. "This must have been how our dads felt, all those late nights together. Let's call in a bunch of girls and celebrate like they did."
Ambrose laughed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, that's exactly what they would have done." Then he tossed his bottle off too. He wasn't done, but he didn't want Sean to know he was holding back. He looked back to Sean, but his smile was gone.
"What the fuck is that tone supposed to mean?" he said.
Ambrose paused, trying to think how he'd set Sean off. "I mean….it's not like our dad's were into women."
"The fuck are you talking about?"
"Sean….uhh….I mean, our dads have been together for years, like, before you were born. Ever since they met in the Ordo. How….how did you not know this?"
Sean face was shifting through what looked like a dozen emotions. Ambrose held his breath until Sean finally spoke. "That doesn't make any sense. How the fuck are we here then?"
"Uhh, the usual way? Look, I can't speak for your mom and dad, but my parents, their marriage was political. I mean, they loved each other, and they had sex long enough to have me and my sisters. But after Theresa was born they stopped. Mom had guys on the side, she's on her third now. Dad though, he did what he had to, but he was always loyal to Marius, except for his wife. Your dad probably had the same thing worked out with your mom…." Ambrose started to get quieter as he talked, until finally trailing off as he realized Sean was on his feet and fuming.
"Don't say that shit man!" Sean shouted. "My dad wasn't a f-----!" He grabbed another bottle and threw it past Ambrose's head.
Ambrose thought as quickly as his inebriated mind could for a solution, which was far too slow for Sean's rage. Sean climbed up the railing and grabbed Ambrose by the collar. "You take that shit back."
"Yeah...I do, I'm uhh, I'm sorry. It was just a...just a bad joke. I'm sorry, Sean."
Sean showed him backwards over the row of seats. "Don't fucking give me that, I am your Imperator."
The fall sobered him up enough to see clearly. The look in Sean's eyes, the same intensity they'd held when he killed Gibson and his family, the same as when he condemned Nekii Khan, and Senator Patel. For the first time since he joined the Ordo, he felt fear. He stayed on his knees and pressed his head to the floor. "Y-Yes, Imperator. I beg your forgiveness. It was a bad joke, please, I won't disparage your father liike that again, even as a joke."
He heard another bottle break, and then Sean's footsteps as he left the box. Ambrose waited a few minutes, just in case. He got up and peaked around the door. The security detail was gone and the lights turned out. The Labyrinth's machinery went silent a few minutes later leaving Ambrose in darkness.
Not that he minded the darkness, he could see fine through his own Vigilis implants.
He sat a long time, considering how stupid he'd been. Sean had seemed so strong as a ruler, but it wasn't the strength of a man rooting out threats to his rule, it was the fragility of a ruler getting rid of threats to his ego. If that was the case, then every day he stayed here brought the chance of death closer to 1. There had to be some excuse to get out. And then, as dawn broke over the Labyrinth, it came to him.