“A lot can happen in a decade,” Wachter pointed out, smoothly.
“Not in the Empire,” Colin said. “The Thousand Families will start fighting each other; their subordinates will start considering how best to take advantage of the chaos. Worlds will struggle for independence, independent freighters will seek to replace the authorised shipping lines. All of the Empire’s victims, the abused and exploited, will rise up and demand their freedom. The Empire will rip itself apart.”
He leaned forward. “You have a point,” he admitted. “Humanity’s unity is important. But, right now, there is no unity left. The Empire holds the human race together by force. Sooner or later, that force will prove insufficient to handle the task.
“We can reform the Empire if we take power now,” he insisted. “End the worst of the abuses, reform the economy, purge the Imperial Navy of the patronage networks that prevent competent and far-seeing officers from rising to positions of authority… we can save humanity’s unity. But if we fail to reform the Empire, the results will be disastrous for humanity.”
“You’d weaken us,” Wachter pointed out.
“We’re already weak,” Colin countered. “Tell me something. What do you think would happen if we ran into a peer power, now?”
He saw Wachter’s wince and smiled, inwardly. The Empire had no peer, not since the First Interstellar War. Their last war with an alien race had been almost pitifully small compared to the First Interstellar War — or Colin’s rebellion. But if the Empire had run into a peer power, one that actually maintained its starships, the war would have been lost very quickly. There would have been no time to repair the effects of years of stagnation on the Imperial Navy…
Colin had read the reports from Morrison. If the rebels had attacked the planet with a squadron of superdreadnaughts, just after the start of the rebellion, they might well have won outright. The same could be said for Earth. Wachter had worked miracles in getting the Morrison Fleet up and running, even though it had earned him the hatred of almost all of the patronage networks. But if the Empire had run into a peer power, the results would have been disastrous.
“You know just how badly the Empire treats everyone,” Colin added, smoothly. “Why not help us reform the system? It might help it to survive.”
He glanced briefly at Penny. Just how much influence did she have over the Admiral? She could easily have been abandoned to the tender mercies of Imperial Intelligence or merely discharged from the Imperial Navy. And Wachter would have been free to choose his own aide. Could she help talk him into joining the rebels? Or…
One death is a tragedy, Colin remembered, feeling a twinge of guilt. A million is a statistic.
The thought made him shudder. He had known, intellectually, that the Empire was far from perfect. But it hadn’t been until Percival had used him, then discarded him that he’d really seen the Empire for what it was. And yet he’d still been driven partly by personal ambition. It had taken Hester and her comrades to change him into a full revolutionary…
But what would change Wachter’s mind? How loyal was he, really? He came from minor aristocracy, which gave him a stake in maintaining the system. But he had to know that the system was rotten to the core… and that it was on the verge of collapse, with or without the rebels. If he understood that, perhaps he would understand the need to take power quickly…
Or would what had happened to Penny be more real for him?
“I have a proposal,” he said. “If we win the war, if we take control of Earth and the levers of power, join us then.”
Wachter smiled. “Why then?
“You are admired and respected by naval officers on both sides,” Colin said. It was true enough. “If you joined us, it would make the transition easier…”
“And prevent a second round of mutinies,” Wachter commented.
“Quite,” Colin agreed. “The officers who would be capable of launching a mutiny would understand that we didn’t intend to purge them, while we did intend to purge the incompetent and the politically-connected.”
“Not all of the connected are incompetent,” Wachter pointed out. “Or am I incompetent?”
“True,” Colin agreed. “But you can help us sort out the competent from the incompetent.”
He smiled. “For the moment, your war is over,” he said. “I won’t force you to make up your mind now. But when we win, if you truly believe in human unity, you could help us reform and shore up the crumbling Empire. Because the alternative, as you pointed out, is chaos.”
“True enough,” Wachter agreed.
Colin looked at him for a long moment, then rose to his feet. “For what it’s worth,” he added, “you’re the only senior officer who’s ever managed to impress me. I’d like to have you on my side.
“I know it wasn’t your fault that the POWs were sent back to Earth,” he added, after a moment. “I don’t blame you for that, Admiral. But you might want to think about what it means if your word can be discarded so easily.”
“I know,” Wachter said, tiredly.
Penny looked up at Colin. “And what happens,” she asked in a very small voice, “if we refuse to join you?”
“It depends,” Colin said. He couldn’t help feeling a twinge of pity. A full interrogation could leave its victim a trembling wreck. Penny’s medical file had suggested that she had been lucky to survive without brain damage. As it was, she might need medical treatment in the very near future. “For the moment, you’ll stay here. Later, we can intern you, if you refuse to join us, then discharge you after we win the war. I’d prefer to avoid purging people who only did their duty.”
He allowed it to sink in for a long moment. Admiral Wachter had saved other returnees from Imperial Intelligence, but he wouldn’t be so lucky himself, not if he returned. The Thousand Families had plotted to kill him, even as they had tried to make use of his skills. Colin had read the secret orders sent to the Blackshirts. When Director Smyth gave the word, they had to kill the Admiral and his entire command staff. And they would have done it even if Wachter had won the Second Battle of Morrison. They had decided to dispose of him before he could become a threat to their power.
“I’ll have some books sent in,” he said. “And…”
Colin shrugged and walked towards the hatch, which hissed open at his approach. He turned and nodded goodbye, then walked through the hatch and out into the corridor. Once the hatch was closed, Colin walked down towards the second suite. Gwendolyn and Pompey Cicero had been brought back onboard just after the Fall of Morrison. Neither of them, according to their escorts, had seemed very happy with their lot.
His lips twitched. Gwendolyn had spent her time trying to seduce everyone, male and female, who crossed her path, while Pompey had just read his way through countless technical manuals and cheap novels. Colin hadn’t been sure if that was typical behaviour or if they were merely biding their time, although there were plenty of horror stories about how the aristocratic youths behaved in the High City. But in the end, it didn’t matter. He didn’t have any other pipeline back to the Thousand Families.
“Good afternoon,” he said, as he stepped into the suite without knocking. “I trust that you find the quarters acceptable?”