"Your Reverence, I suspect I'd have done it as he did. I doubt I could have made the thrust, or completed it anyway."
I wonder, my friend, if you'd have done either one, the Kalif thought. Likelier you'd have sat through the public hearings and then the impalement. As I would have. He grunted, and felt it in his abdomen. "But you're not a self-proclaimed traditionalist," he said. "Well, the result's the same.
"What-what's the status of the College? Who died? Who's injured?"
Jilsomo enumerated.
Six dead. It could have been worse. "And the House? What's their frame of mind?"
"They're adjusting. The Diet should finish its business nicely before closing. Finding that mask of you in the building Colonel Thoglakaveera led us to, seems to have convinced everyone that it wasn't you who released the video showing Dosu upbraiding them. They're tending to blame Rothka now; of course he can't defend himself. And Uthka's in the forefront, trying to distance himself and the party from his old friend."
"I suppose you've seated a committee of evidence, on the-coup? Uprising?"
"Coup. Yes. I'm chairing it, and Tariil in my absences. We should be done in about a week."
"And public hearings?"
"They'll begin when you're fit to hold them. Unless you want me to. I believe the public will prefer that you do it."
"I'll do it," the Kalif answered, then added dryly: "I hope they won't be disappointed in me."
"Sir?"
"I'll have no one impaled."
Jilsomo's eyebrows raised. "They needn't be disappointed. If you prepare them for it."
"Exactly. I'll give it some thought. Meanwhile, we'll say nothing about it, you and I." He paused, suddenly very tired. "Are we done now?"
"I believe so, Your Reverence."
"One last thing. There's a palace to rebuild, and a barracks, and much other damage to repair, I'm sure. That will not be done with public funds. It will come out of the estates of the officers involved. The hearings should assign liabilities proportional to responsibilities. A traitor should not expect his loyal countrymen to pay for the destruction he's wrought."
"A point well taken, Your Reverence, and a worthy innovation. The committee of evidence will take somewhat longer then; perhaps an extra week."
The Kalif let his eyes close. "Soon enough. I may be fit to hold hearings by then."
Sixty
The Kalif and kalifa were reclining on a hospital balcony shaded from the morning sun, facing toward the Anan Hills and reading. A soft tone sounded; one of the medical staff was at their door. The Kalif reached down and partly turned his chair, then touched a switch, signalling the person to enter. It was a nurse.
"Yes?" he said.
"Excuse me, Your Reverence, but a military gentleman wishes to see you, a General Bavaralaama."
"Hmh!" He didn't want to see the man, a feeling that took him by surprise. He filed the reaction. "I'll see him in my parlor." He straightened his chair, locked its brakes, and looked at Tain. "I won't be long," he told her, and carefully, leaning on a chair arm, got to his feet.
And what, he wondered, does the Imperial Chief of Staff want to see me about that can't wait?
Carefully he walked to his parlor, and was waiting, standing, when the general entered. "Your Reverence!" the general said. "I'm glad you could see me. It's good to find you on your feet."
"Thank you, Elvar." The Kalif waved him to a chair and lowered himself on another. "What brings you out here? I thought the committee of evidence would be meeting."
"We're taking the day off; we'll get together again after supper. Things have piled up-other duties that need to be taken care of-things you can't delegate, you know. And we're done calling in witnesses and depositions. I expect we'll have our report completed within the next three days."
He gestured at the guardsman. "Your Reverence, if we could have complete privacy…"
The Kalif's face hardened. "General, meet Honor Sergeant Ranhiit Candrakaar, the guardsman who rescued the kalifa. Guardsmen usually are present when I discuss affairs of government."
The general's mahogany face darkened. "I understand, Your Reverence. And I compliment Honor Sergeant-Candrakaar?-on his bravery and ability. But this matter…"
The Kalif turned to the guardsman. "Sergeant, I'll be alone with the general. Come back in when he leaves."
The guardsman saluted crisply, turned and left, the general and the Kalif watching him out the door. When it had closed behind him, the general turned to the Kalif again, his face earnest.
"Before long, Your Reverence, you'll be considering your decisions with regard to persons found guilty of treason or lesser crimes."
And you want to give me a viewpoint that will be different than the committee's. What could it be that you don't want the sergeant to hear?
"One of the things that is crystal clear," the general went on, "is that Iron Jaw got his officers to participate in the coup by pitching it to them as necessary to the invasion. The invasion you propose. His stated position was that the House would never vote you the funds, and that the invasion could only happen under a military dictator: himself. He's told us this quite openly, and his officers have given us the same story."
The Kalif nodded. "So Jilsomo told me. But their motives do not excuse their acts. Acts which killed many people, nearly killed the kalifa and myself, and caused much destruction. Including the palace, a building dedicated to the memory of The Prophet."
The Kalif's voice had continued mild, but there was something implacable in it. "Nonetheless," he continued, "even before Jilsomo told me what you just did, there was never a question of impalements. Nor will there be executions of any sort. Those who bear the title of Successor to The Prophet should do their utmost to behave accordingly, and I will not degrade the throne by barbarities."
Again the general nodded, his expression patient. "But reparation demands for rebuilding the Sreegana could ruin them, leave them destitute."
"Indigent perhaps, but they won't go hungry. Prisons provide a balanced diet. If they don't, we'll need to correct that. What else do you have for me?"
Obviously the matter of reparations was not subject to dispute. The general took it with thin lips, but somehow it seemed to the Kalif that his response was not genuine, that the man was not much disappointed if at all. As if the issue was not actually important to him. It felt-it felt as if the general had brought it up to see what he'd say, to feel him out, then let him have his way with it.
"One more thing, Your Reverence. Your invasion plans have the support of virtually the entire officer corps, in the fleet as well as the army. If it so happens that the House of Nobles continues recalcitrant…"
Bavaralaama stopped short there, as if the unspoken remainder was self-evident, but the Kalif wouldn't let him off so easily. "Yes?" he said.
The general met his eyes, in a manner of speaking, but kept a screen between them. "If Your Reverence is so inclined, you could simply ignore the House. Override it. With no risk. In fact I urge it on you, if they refuse your proposal, or give you less than you consider desirable. Or try to impose conditions."
The Kalif looked at him with raised eyebrows. "I suppose I could, Elvar. But that would make me a dictator, and the law worthless. I might even get away with it-it seems likely I would-but the empire would be the worse for it. It would divide the people severely, and there could hardly be a reconciliation afterward. We'd all pay in blood, sooner or later. You, I, everyone."
He looked the general over. "I appreciate your telling me, though," the Kalif went on, "and the support you offered." He pulled himself to his feet then, indicating that the audience was over. "When a ruler plans a military venture, he likes to know that his generals agree with him."
They finished their meeting with brief formal courtesies, then the Kalif watched the general leave. The man's message was food for thought, and some of it hard chewing. Not just the verbal message, though that made it clearer. Bavaralaama had arrived without an appointment, or even advance notice. Which seemed to say that the Imperial General Staff considered themselves in charge-that the Kalif ruled now at their pleasure. No doubt they'd put up with a lot, but there were limits. They would have their invasion, and any scruples he might have, regarding the House and the law, would not be allowed to intervene.