Act 3 - Depression[]
With A Bared Sword[]
Chapter 54[]
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Castle Davion, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
5 March 305
The dais had been split with positions for both Kate and Hammond to address the High Council, for the last time. The last few days had been draining - the only times when the High Council wasn’t questioning them, Kate had been politicking behind the scenes to try to win over the undecided and peel votes away from Hammond.
Marie couldn’t help much, she was doing what she could to hold the realm together and project enough strength to deter adventurism by their neighbors. In example, of which…
“Would you wish to comment on the threats being made by the Taurian government?” asked Pravin Singh from the floor of the hall. His homeworld was among those bordering the Taurian Concordat and he had every reason to be concerned.
“Duke Davion,” DuVall offered Hammond the first opportunity to respond.
“Having served as a marshal of the AFFC, I have every confidence of our forces ability to repel any attempt by the Taurians to seize what they call their ancestral soil,” the Minister declared confidently. “It is unfortunate that we have relatively few forces available to send to reinforce the region, but my own feeling is that the forces we do have would be more than able to see off any such attempt until we can recall our forces from where they are deployed in Lyran space.”
“Some might say that those units are already very needed there,” pointed out Singh.
Hammond smiled. “Ah, but Archon Steiner has an armistice with the Mariks, does he not? And he is hardly depending upon Federated Suns regiments to fight for him on Coventry. Besides the token deployment of the Kathil Uhlans, he seems to have no need of our aid.”
Kate tried not to let her contempt for those insinuations show. Alison Campbell joining her briefly to pass over a note was a welcome distraction. She unfolded it in her hand and read it. Then re-read it. Well, that was unexpected. It might be handy though.
“In the interests of deterring adventurism,” Hammond concluded, “I favor instructing Field Marshal Davion to advance the return of at least three RCTs from Lyran space before the end of the year.”
DuVall turned towards Kate, who tucked the note away. “And your opinion on the matter, Princess Steiner-Davion?”
She leant forwards slightly. “Grover Shraplen does not represent the Taurian Concordat’s government,” she reminded the Council. “He can talk as much as he wants about reclaiming the Pleiades - where no one in twenty generations remembers being a Taurian citizen - but the decision over whether or not to attempt that claim would come from Protector Jeffrey Calderon, not the governor of a single Taurian world.”
Kate paused and nodded slightly to Duke Singh. “If you were to discuss conquering New Vandenberg for the Suns, something I believe you have far too much sense to even consider…”
That got an amused nod from Pravin.
“Thank you,” she agreed. “If you were to make such a ridiculous claim, you would carry no more weight than Governor Shraplen because no unit of the AFFS would have orders from New Avalon to do so. Since replacing his late father, Protector Jeffrey Shraplen has been systematically standing down the Taurian Defense Forces from the war footing they had been on for over a decade. While it would be grossly optimistic to call him a friend of our nation, he is by no means foolish enough to think that either of our realms would benefit from a war.”
“If Shraplen launches raids, we will deal with them, just as we do with pirates and their ilk. But an actual invasion is unlikely in the extreme as matters stand.”
Kate straightened, waiting for the next question - which she would have to field first - only to hear a whisper of “Just a junior officer,” from near the front of the room, somewhere among Hammond’s supporters.
DuVall either had not heard or chose to let it pass. Someone else was not so sanguine.
“Who said that?” Ardan Sortek demanded, striding forward from where he had been speaking quietly to Marie.
“Marshal Sortek, you are out of order!” protested the Speaker.
The balding officer brushed DuVall aside. “Who said that?” he challenged again, scanning the crowd. “I distinctly heard one of you challenge the honor of the Armed Forces and I will not let that stand!”
Kate was started to see Tasha Miran stand. Not because she hadn’t considered the woman one of Hammond’s partisans, but because standing up to Ardan Sortek when his temper was roused was well below even her low estimation of the woman’s wit.
“What insult is that?” the representative of Defiance asked. “Katherine Steiner-Davion is a Hauptmann, or rather a Captain now. It is a matter of fact that she is a junior officer.”
“Marshal Sortek, you do not have the stand,” insisted DuVall.
“Let him speak.” Marie Davion did not rise, but her voice cut across the stand. “I grant him the opportunity to correct Ms Miran’s remark.”
The Count frowned but stood aside, leaving Sortek standing between Kate and Hammond.
“You appear, Ms Miran, to be unfamiliar with certain regulations of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns,” the Prince’s Champion said with some relish. “In particular a regulation that has been handed down from as far back as the Federated Peacekeeping Forces: which is that an officer who, under wartime conditions, serves in a position that would normally require a higher rank, is deemed to be breveted to that rank after three months with the promotion to be made permanent sixty days after that unless specified otherwise by either their Colonel or, for general officers, by the First Prince.”
Kate blinked. She… had been aware of that, but…
“The regulations do not require that the officer be serving in the role in question during the second period,” Ardan concluded a trifle smugly.
There was a choking noise from the Duke of Argyle, who was putting it together. Tasha Miran seemed to still not have grasped the reasoning and gave them a blank look.
Sortek reached into his pocket and passed Kate a pair of rank pins. “I was meaning to give them to you later today,” he said quietly before raising his voice. “As commander of the Sarna March between September of last year and January this year, Katherine Steiner-Davion was brevetted to the rank of Field Marshal shortly before Christmas and no one in her chain of command has countermanded the promotion. As a result, the rank became permanent last month.”
Kate used her thumb to turn the Field Marshal’s insignia over in her hand, then pocketed them. She wasn’t in uniform right now.
“A field marshal, Ms Miran,” Sortek concluded, “is not a junior officer. They have weighty responsibilities and are chosen carefully to bear them. I will not see my service disrespected by anyone. High Council or not.”
“Nor should you,” James Sandoval agreed from where he was seated.
DuVall cleared his throat. “Thank you, Field Marshal Sortek. If we may now continue… I think we have time for one final question.”
“Since the matter of the Sarna March has been raised,” the Duke of Robinson called, not bothering to rise. “What plans do the two of you have for the region?”
The Speaker turned and nodded to Kate who checked the note she’d been passed. No, it still said what it had a few moments ago. “I propose to annex all worlds of the Sarna March still under Federated Commonwealth control to the Suns,” she declared. “The region needs outside support to be secured, despite the heroic efforts of David Sandoval and the many fine soldiers under his command. We are far better placed to provide that support than the Lyrans and those worlds were won for my mother by regiments of the Suns.”
“And do you think your brother will stand still for that?” asked Hammond, incredulously.
“Well,” Kate said impishly, “Given he just ceded them to me… yes.”
The duke stared at her in disbelief.
She held up the note. “I have here a letter where he abdicates his position as Duke of Sarna, ceding all property and rights to the March to me in order to provide for myself, Yvonne and our future families should we be forced for some reason to leave New Avalon.” Such as by an usurping cousin.
“I…”
“Do you have anything to say?” DuVall asked Hammond solicitously.
The only reply was a shaky nod. This was evidently not the news that the duke had wanted to receive right before the vote. Kate couldn’t blame… well, she blamed him quite a bit, but she couldn’t fault his judgment. The addition of dozens of worlds and the regiments defending them greatly strengthened the Federated Suns and removed a point of contention between the two halves of the Federated Commonwealth. And given her connection to the region, the elevation made total sense.
In the worst case, Kate could leverage the position into a ministerial position in the privy council and restrain Hammond for there. More likely, her brother had just bought her at least twenty votes as members weighed the chances that if they didn’t vote for her then she might take those worlds right back to the Commonwealth…
The question was whether those votes and Ardan’s forceful show of support would tip the balance.