Dan's head came up with a snap, and his voice had a similar sharp edge. "I'll see that for myself." He turned to his sister. "Coming, Riva?"
Riva frowned. "Thanks, but I'm here to have fun."
Shaking his head in disbelief, Dan said, "You're wrong about him."
Tamara reached out and squeezed Dan's arm. "We're not wrong, Daniel." She swallowed hard to choke back tears. "We still love him, and that's what hurts so much."
Dan turned abruptly and began to move through the crowd. No one could change that much. I know the trial was hard on him, and I know the holovid companies played up Justin's hatred for the Federated Suns fighters. But a man is what he is and nothing could have changed Justin that much.He remembered Jeana and what she had said to him back on Tharkad. The Justin he had grown up with was still there somewhere.
"Justin! Justin, wait!" His brother stopped, and Dan grinned in anticipation of their reunion. The smile died on his face when Justin slowly turned toward him.
His brother's voice was as cold and lifeless as the expression on his face. "Good evening, Captain."
Bile burned as it rose to Dan's throat. "Captain? Justin, I'm your brother. . ."
Justin stiffened, but Candace Liao's intervention prevented any reply. Smiling cordially, she bowed her head toward Dan, then turned to Justin. "Citizen Xiang, you have not introduced me to this handsome gentleman."
"Forgive me, Duchess," he said, with the merest hint of a smile. "Captain Daniel Allard, this is Candace Liao, Duchess of St. Ives." Turning to Candace, he added, "And, Duchess, this is the son of the man who was my father."
Dan was stunned by the coldness and hatred in Justin's voice, but he took Candace's right hand politely and pressed it to his lips. "Meeting you is a great pleasure, Duchess." Dan indicated Justin with a nod of his head. "At one time, he would have introduced me as his brother."
Justin's head came up sharply. "Half-brother, but not even that anymore. Hanse Davion said Quintus Allard no longer had a son. By imperial decree, he wiped away everything I had ever been. I lost a father, a brother, a family, a whole life."
Dan stiffened at the venom in his brother's voice. "Justin, wait." Dan fought to control his breathing while his heart raced out of control. "What happened between you and Hanse Davion doesn't change things between us. We're still brothers."
Justin shook his head slowly. "That's impossible. Our relationship belongs to a system and a society now closed to me. This isn't a game, Captain. No one is going to yell, 'Ollie, Ollie outs in free' to end it. All the confidences we shared, the secret clubs we formed, and the cyphers we created are no more. It's all gone. All of it." He stepped closer to Dan, and looked him squarely in the eyes. "Justin Allard died a year and a half ago!"
Dan stared blankly at Justin for seconds that seemed to last for hours. When he finally gained control of his anger, he raised himself to full height and glared down at the man who had been his brother. "I don't believe you, Citizen Xiang. I don't believe Justin Allard is dead. Instead, I choose to believe that, like King Arthur or General Kerensky, Justin Allard is a hero just waiting for his chance to return. When he does, Citizen, tell him that his brother waits to stand gladly beside him."
26
ComStar First Circuit Compound
Hilton Head Island, North America, Terra
17 August 3028
The jostling of well-dressed guests finally forced Dan away from Justin. For half a second, Dan fought against the tide of people shifting around and pressing back from the doorway, but there was nothing more he could say to the man his brother had become. How they must have hurt you, Justin.
Like an automaton, Dan turned and let himself be moved toward the far end of the hall. Standing on a raised platform against a white silk banner emblazoned with ComStar's logo, a red-robed Precentor held up his hands in an effort to get the attention of all who were gathered here.
Dan narrowed his eyes. Looks like Ulthar Everston, Precentor of Tharkad. Makes sense. He's part of the First Circuit and this is a momentous occasion.When Dan turned to the man standing next to him to confirm his guess, he was startled to discover Morgan Kell at his side. "Colonel!"
Morgan nodded. "I saw you speaking with Candace Liao's escort. He is your brother Justin?"
Dan looked down and shrugged. "It depends who you ask, I suppose." Catching the puzzled look on Morgan's face, Dan opened hands and raised them shoulder-high. "Sorry, Morgan. You don't deserve that. In body, that was my brother. In mind, however . . ."
Morgan reached up with one hand to squeeze the thick muscles at the back of Dan's neck. "Are you all right?" Dan nodded. "I'll live ... The hurt tells me that much.”
“People change, Dan."
Dan smiled weakly, wondering how many more people would tell him that about Justin.
Precentor Tharkad was lowering his hands in a gesture that cut off virtually all conversation in the room. "It is my very great honor to welcome all of you to our Compound," he said. The man smiled so guilelessly that Dan sensed that the speaker's words echoed his true feelings. "We are all present to witness and bless a most hallowed event in our lives, the lives of the Archon-Designate and Prince, and, indeed, the lives of all who inhabit the Successor States." Looking around the room, the Precentor seemed to sense how quickly he had established a rapport with his audience. "It is the hope of every member of the First Circuit, and all members of ComStar, that the Peace of Blake be upon you during your stay with us. If there is anything we can do to make your visit more pleasurable—within the bounds of reason, decency, and nonviolence, of course—please ask it of any yellow-robed Acolyte you see."
Clasping his hands against his chest, Precentor Tharkad closed his eyes and smiled. His lips moved as though mumbling a prayer, then he bowed his head. "It is my very great pleasure and honor to introduce your host, ComStar Primus Julian Tiepolo."
Polite applause rippled as Precentor Tharkad stepped back to allow the Primus to take the platform. Dan narrowed his eyes as the hawk-nosed ascetic walked slowly to centerstage. He looks barely alive,Dan thought. I wonder how true are the rumors that he is really a revivified Jerome Blake.As Tiepolo faced forward, Dan answered his own questions. No. Even a reanimated corpse would have more humanity in his eyes.
As Tiepolo removed his hands from the broad sleeves of his dun-colored robe, Dan wondered if the Primus had some hidden reason for wearing so plain a garment. Does he mock his richly dressed guests with humility, or is this a graphic demonstration of the poverty ComStar claims so that it can keep communications possible between the stars?Dan chewed his lower lip, realizing that here was a man whose every word and action would have many levels of meaning.
Tiepolo smiled as though the effort were more strenuous than lifting a cubic myriameter of uranium. "We greet you in the name of the Blessed Blake and trust that you will find this place as hospitable as your own domains while you are with us. It is said that one should treat guests as family, and family as guests. This we shall endeavor to do during your stay."
Morgan leaned toward Dan. "Given the history of patricide in the Successor States, I've had warmer greetings in hot landing Zones."
Tiepolo's strong voice swallowed Dan's chuckle whole. "Most honored guests, we of ComStar are not divided by location or nationalities. We have renounced all title and ties to the structures of power so that we may more perfectly serve the divine mission placed upon us by the sainted Jerome Blake. Through strict adherence to the Word of Blake, we have recaptured, in ComStar, the unified spirit that mankind once knew and cherished."