“We believe that a democratically-elected Parliament will have more ability to reflect the wishes of the Empire’s population than anything else,” Adeeba explained. She understood the man’s doubts, but the rebels hadn’t been able to come up with a better idea. “There will also be checks and balances in place.”
“Mars has a small population, compared to Earth,” the Big Man said. “What is to stop Earth from outvoting us?”
“Each planet will have one representative,” Adeeba said. “Earth won’t have more votes than Mars.”
“I could see that working, I suppose,” the Big Man said. “And what if I wanted support against other factions on Mars?”
Adeeba winced. They’d expected the question, sooner or later, but anticipation didn’t make it any easier. One of the reasons the various undergrounds had never united against the Empire was a simple failure to agree on a common goal. Some factions wanted to take power for themselves, others wanted to split the Empire up into smaller power groups… and still others had darker motives. Imperial Intelligence, according to the files they’d recovered on Camelot, had been encouraging infighting among the rebel groups for centuries. As long as the rebels were fighting each other, they weren’t a threat to the Empire.
“We are not going to take sides,” she said, seriously. If they supported one faction, others might unite against them — or simply tip off the security forces. “Our objective is the destruction of the Empire. We can fight over what comes afterwards once the Empire is gone.”
The Big Man smiled. “Understandable,” he said. “I will provide you both with transport to Earth and an introduction to friends of mine on the surface. I trust that will be enough, for the moment? I’d prefer not to go into detail about other steps.”
Frandsen leaned forward. “How do you propose to get us to Earth?”
“They monitor passengers coming and going from the planet,” the Big Man said. He winked at them. “They don’t pay as much attention to shipping crates. The ride will be uncomfortable, but safe enough.”
Unless someone tips them off, Adeeba thought, coldly. There would be thousands of starships unloading in Earth orbit every day. No one could inspect all of the crates before they were sent down to the surface. A few bribes would make sure of that, she suspected, if the security officers looked resolute. They’d been warned that the underground had strong ties with criminal organisations. It was the only way to survive.
“Thank you,” she said. “When do we leave?”
The Big Man grinned. “Did you leave anything in your room?”
Adeeba shook her head. She would have been surprised if he hadn’t had the room searched while they were eating dinner. The underground had only survived through extreme paranoia and careful precautions. They’d only brought a couple of small bags with them, containing nothing more than a pair of datapads and changes of clothes. By now, both of the bags would have been thoroughly searched too.
“Then you can leave at once,” the Big Man said. “We’ll give you sleeping pills once you’re inside the crate. I’d suggest taking them. It will take at least nineteen hours for you to reach Earth and it will not be a comfortable trip. And we daren’t give you anything electronic.”
“We’re prefer to stay awake,” Frandsen said. “Can you give us a book or two?”
The Big Man smiled. “Of course,” he said. “And good luck.”
Adeeba scowled. There was another good reason not to go to sleep. If someone had tipped off Imperial Intelligence, they would wake up in a prison cell with their implants deactivated — or they would not wake up at all.
As it happened, the trip was not as bad as they had feared. Adeeba had been confined in smaller spaces than the crate; the handful of blankets they’d been given were enough to lie on, even when the crate was shipped up the orbital elevator and then loaded into a starship for transport. There was some shaking, then the brief sensation of flickering through interplanetary space, followed by more shaking. Adeeba found herself nodding off in the middle of the trip; Frandsen grinned at her, then volunteered to take watch while she slept.
They both snapped awake as they felt someone opening the crate. The lid fell off a moment later, revealing two tired-looking faces peering down at them. Moments later, the side was opened, allowing them both to step out of the crate. Maintenance uniforms were shoved at them; they donned them rapidly, then followed the underground men out of the new warehouse and through a series of darkened corridors. None of the security officers even looked twice at them.
And the atmosphere was very definitely Earth’s… a faint combination of human sweat and blood, hints of pollution and something indefinably homelike.
“We’ve put aside a room for you,” one of their escorts grunted, as they reached a set of doors. “This is Earth. You are expected to remain inside until we call for you.”
“We understand,” Frandsen said. The underground would know more about sneaking around than the outsiders, even though both of them had actually been born on Earth. “Do you have food for us.”
“There is food inside, and water too,” the man said. “But remain inside. We dare not lose you now.”
The room was actually bigger than the tiny apartment Adeeba remembered from Earth, although it was smaller than her quarters on the battlecruiser she’d commanded. She allowed herself a smile as the door closed, leaving them alone. They’d made it! She watched silently as Frandsen checked for bugs, then reported the presence of a handful of optical and audio pickups scattered around the room. It didn’t look as if anyone had made an effort to hide the bugs.
This is Earth, she thought. The Empire tried hard to monitor its citizens. No one had any right to privacy. It was one of the many reasons she had to hate the Empire. Colin’s reasons had started out personal and become general; hers were general, which had then become personal. They do things differently here.
“We had better get some rest,” Frandsen said. “And…”
He tapped his lips, turning his head so the bugs couldn’t catch his movement. Adeeba understood; they didn’t dare deactivate the bugs, even though it was unlikely that anyone was watching them personally. They couldn’t afford to attract attention. All they could do was wait for the underground to make contact.
Shaking her head, she walked over to the bed and lay down.
Chapter Five
“It is done,” Major Vincent Anderson reported.
Colin nodded, not looking away from the view of the stars — and the Shadow Fleet, gathered around his flagship. It was strange to feel guilty after everything he’d done, from breaking his sworn oaths to the Imperial Navy to sending people to their deaths in his name, but he couldn’t help feeling bad. And yet there had been no choice. Commodore Quigley could have torn the Popular Front apart.
He’d been unpopular among his crews — and among his superiors, which was unusual. Even Admiral Percival, never a very good judge of character, had refused to grant him further promotion, something that had clearly rankled. The Commodore had been as ambitious as Colin himself and much less moral. By the time his squadron heard of the mutinies and the rebellion, he’d clearly been planning something for himself. Instead, he’d simply taken his squadron and defected to the rebels.