Jeff sat there dumbfounded and started to talk, but only managed to stutter something unintelligible. The expression on his face changed to that of anger then resignation as he realized that he couldn’t win this argument. Jeff rose from his seat in an exaggerated motion and walked out of the office.
George turned to Paul. “I figure we have about three minutes before my communicator starts going off. I understand you are persona non grata in the administration. So what did you want to say to me?”
“I wanted to let you know that Gibbon is going to be out of power very soon and, if you want your faction to remain in control, you had better begin thinking about an alternative.”
“You realize that if I told Gibbon what you just said he would have you arrested?”
“I know that, but having me arrested wouldn’t do you any good. There is going to be a major shift in the Consortium’s military forces, and you need to be positioned to take full advantage of the situation.”
A worried look flitted across George’s face. “I’m not sure what you are talking about.”
Paul knew that, if Gibbon’s influence with the Assembly had not been waning, George would not have continued the conversation this long. He must have already been thinking of other plans. Paul continued, “Your faction has to dump Gibbon and back another candidate that would be able to patch up the Consortium and negotiate peace with the Horologii.”
“Sounds defeatist to me. Why would we want to do this?”
“You know we aren’t winning the war.”
“We aren’t losing it either.”
“True, but is that what you want, a long stalemate that drains our resources? I don’t see that as helping anyone. And what about the allies?”
“I have to admit that the Assembly has been very upset with Gibbon’s actions, and the opposition has been tearing us a new one because of it. The war has become very unpopular. What exactly are you suggesting?”
“You need to be ready to remove Gibbon and replace him with someone who will not only try to end the war peacefully but also give your faction the credit for ending it.”
George smiled, “Who do you have in mind for the replacement? How do we know this replacement would be willing to give the credit to our faction?”
“I will leave the replacement up to you. It has to be someone who is aware of all the different twists and turns that are in process and is acceptable to both factions. As to your second question, I’m sure you’ll pick someone who’ll do what you want.”
“Like you?” George’s communicator was now signaling an incoming call. They both knew it was Gibbon. “How will I know when the time is right?”
“Oh, you’ll know.”
“Interesting idea. Let me think it over.”
“Okay, I’d better leave before we both end up in the river.” Paul could not tell if he had influenced George, but he knew George was an astute politician who had no desire to lose power. If he stayed with Gibbon and Gibbon went down, George and his faction would too. If nothing else, they had to be thinking about an exit strategy. Paul had just given them one.
As soon as Paul got back to the administration building, Gibbon called him to his office wanting to know exactly what he’d said to George. Prepared for Gibbon’s questions, Paul explained that he and George had been discussing pending legislation. Gibbon didn’t believe him but couldn’t get Paul to budge from his story. Paul could tell that Gibbon was extremely angry with him and thought he would be dismissed. But, Gibbon just gave Paul a chewing out and shortened his leash even more. Paul now wasn’t allowed to talk to any member of the Assembly, period. He had to refer them to Jeff, who would respond to any inquiries. Paul knew this wasn’t going to go over very well; Jeff didn’t really know that much about what Paul did. But by this point, Paul didn’t really care. The important thing was that he’d gotten his message across to George—even if it wasn’t necessarily accepted.
~
As another month passed, Paul began to feel powerless in a position that was considered to be one of the most powerful in the administration. The only real outlet he had was with Cherie and even that contact was cut back due to Gibbon’s suspicions. Fortunately, Gibbon wasn’t suspicious enough to end his meetings with Cherie entirely. Through her, Paul continued to coordinate his plans with the allies.
On the agreed day of September 26th, Dran had called a press conference just outside the Council building. All the major press outlets were gathered in a semi-circle around a podium. Paul was in his office watching the conference in real time on his desk viewer and could tell the press were puzzled by the short-notice press conference. Dran was not known for talking to the press, and they were thinking that this must be important for Dran to make a public address. At 1000 hours precisely, Dran walked out of the building and up to the podium. Dran was very well dressed in a stylish, modern-styled suit and look calm and expressionless. Paul could tell he was a little nervous by the fact that Dran was calm and expressionless. Dran tapped on the podium to signal that he was ready to talk, and the buzz in the gathered reporters quickly died down.
Dran cleared his throat and said, “It is the unanimous decision of all the members of the Consortium, excluding Earth, to withdraw their financial and military support for the current hostilities against the Horologii. We will independently try to negotiate with the Horologii for an armistice. This decision is final and effective immediately. We hold no animosity toward Earth and wish her the best in her continuing struggle. The member states of the Consortium have decided to take this path in order to protect the security of our respective worlds. I will not take questions.” He turned sharply and walked back into the building. As he did so, the stunned silence was suddenly broken by the cacophony of the reporters yelling questions.
The effect was immediate and explosive. Within hours, Gibbon’s administration imploded, and Paul was at the epicenter of all of it. He was questioned by Gibbon and the press about his knowledge of the allies’ actions. It took all of his considerable diplomatic skills to convince Gibbon’s administration that Dran’s announcement was a complete surprise to him. The fact that Gibbon had had Paul under constant surveillance for the past 12 months also worked in his favor; IEI couldn’t find any evidence of Paul talking with allied representatives about their planned withdrawal. Paul knew they would figure out the connection with Cherie eventually, but he was confident it would take a while. In the meantime, the pressure on Gibbon was intense. Paul did his best to insulate himself from the political fallout that began to strike Gibbon; but his hero status was taking some hits. Paul knew that this announcement at a time when the Gibbon’s support was at a nadir should be enough to topple him from power.
~
Paul also knew Gibbon was fed up with him; his time in Gibbon’s administration was clearly at an end. So it came as quite a surprise when Gibbon asked him to accompany him on Tuesday of the following week, October 2nd, to the christening of a new warship at a large spaceship yard near the capital. It was a “support the troops and rally the base” type of event. Paul was very conflicted as to what to do about the invitation. He didn’t want to accompany Gibbon to such a public function because Paul’s appearance could be construed as supporting Gibbon and may be used against him should Gibbon fall from power. But, if he said no, he may be tipping his hand and confirming Gibbon’s suspicions. Plus, Paul still had enough ego to enjoy public speaking and the acclaim that it brought. Even though Paul knew Gibbon’s people would control the audience and the media, he thought he could still give a speech that would be ambiguous enough to sound patriotic without specifically supporting the administration’s policies. This wouldn’t be the first time that Paul had made a bad decision based on his ego.
The following day Paul rode with Gibbon in his official limo to the shipyard. Gibbon seemed to be in a good mood and made small talk with their fellow passengers, including Paul. Considering the trouble Gibbon was having, Paul wa
s surprised by his upbeat mood.
When they arrived, they were escorted to a platform where a communications system was already set up. The dignitaries, who were there to give speeches, introductions, or just be seen, consisted of other members of the administration, Assembly members, labor leaders, and prominent supporters of the war. Most of these were already seated on the platform when Gibbon’s group arrived. The crowd, composed of mostly workers from the shipyards and some army units from a nearby base, was very responsive, clapping and cheering periodically. This was not surprising; the worker’s jobs relied heavily on government purchases, so they tended to be pro-administration—at least as long as the orders kept coming. Paul’s speech was well received, probably more for it’s brevity than its rhetorically excellence. Paul was half asleep by the time Gibbon finished his final presentation. As the crowd began to break up and the speakers were heading back to their transportation, Gibbon walked up to Paul. “Nice speech. What did ya think of mine?”
“I thought it was very optimistic and upbeat.”
“I hope that’s not a criticism?”
“It’s not. Overall I thought all the speakers did a good job. Everyone managed to avoid talking about the war in spite of the fact we were launching a starship.”
Gibbon made a soft guttural sound that could have been a laugh or a disgusted grunt and turned away to talk to someone to his right. A number of Paul’s friends had come to the event and came up to greet him.
Paul spent about a half hour talking to his friends and to a couple reporters. When he turned to check with Gibbon on when they had to leave, he couldn’t spot him on the speaker’s platform and expanded his search into the area behind the platform where the limos were parked. He spotted Gibbon approaching the limo with his security detail. Paul was surprised that Gibbon hadn’t told him that they would be leaving. Paul thought Gibbon was going to leave without him, Paul smiled to himself. He knew Gibbon could be petty, but that was beneath him.
Paul watched Gibbon walk over to the limo, a good 100 meters away from the platform. When Gibbon got to the door he made no effort to open it; instead he turned around and located Paul on the platform. Gibbon locked eyes with Paul, and a mischievous, half smile spread across his face. An electrical shock raced through Paul’s body. Paul knew that something was very, very wrong, and he was immediately terrified. Without knowing why, as if by feel, Paul turned to his left and saw the blue flame of a JART headed in his direction. He was frozen to the spot, like a frog in a flashlight’s beam, and it seemed as if time had slowed down. Many thoughts became jumbled in his head as he realized that the last thing he would ever see would be the blast of this missile. Oddly, his fear was replaced by a great sense of regret. As he watched the JART get closer, Paul began to realize that the missile was heading slightly to his right. He watched in fixed fascination as it passed within two meters of where he was standing. As he started breathing again, Paul suddenly wondered, if he wasn’t the target, who was? He turned to look directly at Gibbon. Gibbon’s smile melted as the missile passed Paul, and his expression passed quickly to one of surprise. He turned to reach for the door of the limo, but it was too late. The impact point of the missile was right at Gibbon’s feet.
In the next micro-seconds, the blast obliterated Gibbon and two of the security men next to him, hurling the limo backward a good twenty meters. The blast wave hit Paul and scores of other people in the area, knocking them off their feet. Paul lay on his back for a few moments, then swiftly rolled over onto his hands and knees and began vomiting.
After that, events got blurry. Paul remembered being grabbed by his security team and half dragged, half carried to a security car. He was whisked away to a nearby military hospital to be checked out. Aside from a minor cut on his forehead and the shock, he was fine. He was released later that day with an expanded security detail and returned home.
It wasn’t until he got back to his office the next morning that he really began to think about what had happened. There was no doubt in his mind that Gibbon believed Paul was to be the target of the assassination, but someone had double-crossed Gibbon and saved Paul. For an assassin to get that close to the speakers’ platform, there had to have been a huge breach in security; no doubt allowed by Gibbon. Paul knew the way Gibbon thought. Gibbon had wanted to provide a martyr to the cause, draw attention away from himself, and get rid of a thorn in his side at the same time. But whomever he worked with to set this up must have decided that getting rid of Gibbon would be the better option. But who?
The news on the assassination reported that the killer had been found almost immediately and killed. He had connections to the Horologii, and officially they were believed to be behind the assassination. Paul knew that wasn’t true, but he could never prove it—nor would he want to.
~
The days following Gibbon’s assassination were hectic as the Assembly, Consortium, and Council tried to sort things out without a leader. A state funeral was being arranged for Gibbon, and flags were to be set at half-mast for a month. Two days after Gibbon’s death, Paul got a call from George Saunders informing him that his name had been submitted to the Assembly as the interim replacement for Gibbon. Paul was surprised by the appointment in spite of the fact that he considered himself the logical choice, but he had gotten used to his judgment being wrong. His status as a hero, though heavily tarnished, didn’t hurt. It was nice to see that he had the backing of George and his faction. The quickness of the appointment supported Paul’s belief that Gibbon’s assassination had been arranged by his own faction in the Assembly. Gibbon made a much better martyr than a disgraced politician.
Paul called for a meeting of the Council the day after his appointment. He also went to Gibbon’s office and began accessing all data on the present situation of the government and the military. He had to bring himself up to date on what had been happening in the war since he had been shut out of the loop; it proved to be very interesting.
~
Early the next morning, just after Paul had dictated a letter to be sent to Stephen Stimpson stating that his services were no longer needed anywhere in the government, General Robert Holts entered his office looking winded and excited.
“The Horologii have made a major attack on the Grottering system,” he said quickly.
Paul knew that the system was one of the smaller satellite systems that Earth controlled. It was not considered very strategic. “Why would they attack us there?”
“I think they saw it as an easy target, and I think they coordinated the attack with their assassination of Gibbon.”
Paul knew that was not true, but the Horologii may have moved up their attack to take advantage of Gibbon’s death and the subsequent confusion.
Holts continued, “In any case, we had been monitoring their communications traffic for quite a while, and we knew they were planning to move in that area. So, we laid a trap for them. We hid a number of automated defenses in the system and stationed a large portion of our fleet nearby. When the Horologii attacked, the defenses caught them by surprise and did considerable damage. We then hit them with the fleet as they tried to retreat. We wiped out almost the whole Horologian fleet with minimal loss to us. It is a great victory.”
Paul was stunned by the news. “How great a victory?”
“It may actually end the war in our favor. At the very least, it should bring the Horologii to the peace table.”
“That’s wonderful news.”
“Too bad Gibbon didn’t live long enough to see it.”
“Yeah, too bad,” Paul replied without expression. “Listen we have to head to the Council meeting. You’ll have to brief them on this.”
~
By the time the General and Paul arrived at the Council conference room, all the members were seated and talking excitedly. Holts took his usual seat, and Paul took Gibbon’s seat as head of the Council. He had had the platform under the seat removed
earlier, so when he began the meeting, he spoke from the same level as the rest of the council members seated around the table.
“Hello, everyone. All of you are already aware that I’ve been appointed as Gibbon’s interim replacement on the Council, and, as such, I will function as the temporary head of this Council. This morning we have received amazing news about war; I’d like General Holts to bring you up to date.”
Holts began his synopsis of the victory at the Grottering system and went into much greater detail than he had with Paul. He diplomatically emphasized the contributions of the allies in the victory, which had not had time to withdraw their contingents, and stated that the venture would not have been possible without the support of the Allies. When he finished, the members were noticeably elated and all trying to ask questions simultaneously. It was a full hour before the questioning and discussions had died down enough for Paul to be able to move on to other actions. He suggested sending a peace feeler to Horolog and was supported unanimously by the Council members.
~
Things moved quickly over the next few months. The Assembly approved Paul as Earth’s permanent representative to the Consortium Council, but he then stunned them by recommending Dran as the First Consul. This move was overwhelmingly approved by the Council. The Horologii welcomed the peace feelers, and negotiations began almost immediately. This time the peace agreement would be approved by both sides and be upheld by all parties. In fact, within twenty years, Horolog would join the Consortium. The Horologii continued to hate Paul and actually tried to have him assassinated a few more times, without success. Paul decided being on the Council was not a very healthy place to be, considering that the Assembly most likely killed their last appointee and that the Horologii still wanted him dead. Instead, Paul retired after a year in office and became the man to consult on matters of diplomacy. When asked to give the main speech at the unveiling of a statue to First Consul Gibbon years later, Paul found it very hard to speak while biting his tongue.
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