Chapter 55: Principles

"Please wait a moment, Admiral Avalon," Ferrill's secretary said. "President Ferrill is in a meeting."

"Thank you, Miss Langley,” Avalon said quietly. A faint smile, the first Ellie had seen since his return, crossed his face. Because Ferrill's secretary had used his title, she realized. The smile didn't entirely fade even when, with a wince, he folded himself into one of the chairs formed from the office's walls.

Ellie joined him, eying his injured leg and trying to hide her frown.

They hadn't had to wait before. It could just be a coincidence, of course, but surely Ferrill had known Avalon was coming. The Reformer and its sister ships had done three laps around Etemenos's core during their parade.

The secretary's posture bothered Ellie, too. She had greeted Avalon warmly, even with a hybrid at his side. Now she seemed nervous. Ellie could smell the cold sweat on her palms.

Fear.

Ellie wrinkled her nose and tried not to think about it.

Instead, she fixed her eyes, and her nose, on the bowl of flowers decorating the table she and Avalon sat beside. She wondered how they grew flowers on Etemenos. Artificially, she supposed, but the results smelled real to her.

The doors to President Ferrill's office opened and an armored figure stepped through. His garb looked like a mecha, just as the marines' did, but whereas theirs aped the boxy line mecha, this man's looked almost organic.

Ellie recognized the armor immediately. It was twin to the mecha its wearer piloted. Since the wearer carried his helmet under one arm, she recognized his face, as well.

He turned to Ellie and Avalon and offered the same bland, insincere smile she'd seen when this whole nightmare began.

"Animus Hunter Zelph," Avalon said.

"Mr. Avalon," Zelph answered. "And Mrs. Ellie Hughes. I trust you'll be more cooperative now than the last time we spoke."

Ellie would sooner tear the man's throat out than answer him.

Admittedly, she would have loved to tear his throat out.

Avalon stood. He and Zelph were of a height. "My command is suspended and my rank pending review," he said, "but I am yet an admiral of the Federal Navy and will be addressed as such."

"You are a disgrace, Mr. Avalon," Zelph said.

"I am not the one committing insubordination."

"I would not be your subordinate even if you were the admiral of the Second Fleet," Zelph said. "Mr. Avalon."

"The Animus Hunters are under the umbrella of the Federal Navy, and I outrank you. It remains insubordination, Zelph, and it would please me to no end for my last act as an admiral to be your censure."

"That's where you're wrong," Zelph said. "You do not outrank me."

"Do the Animus Hunters set themselves above the navy now?"

"Not at all." Zelph's smile widened. "The Grand Admiral of the Unified Federal Defense Forces, however, clearly outranks one of his fleet admirals. Which, Mr. Avalon, means you are, however briefly, my subordinate."

Ellie smelt fear on Avalon now, too, an unfamiliar scent. President Ferrill's secretary was practically swimming in it.

"That is preposterous," Avalon snapped. "An Animus Hunter made the Grand Admiral? Your order has no hierarchy, no chain of command! No man in uniform could be less prepared for the post. President Ferrill would never agree to such an insult to the other branches of the military."

"I'm afraid it's true, Marcel." Ferrill herself stepped from her office. "Grand Admiral Zelph, if your business here is concluded, I would appreciate a chance to speak to Admiral Avalon and Mrs. Hughes."

"Of course, Madame President," Zelph said. He inclined his head to Ferrill, then strode to the door. He paused as it slid open, glanced back at Avalon. "I will await your report when your business here is concluded – Mr. Avalon."

Avalon's hands coiled into fists. He looked altogether too ready to strike a superior officer.

Ellie caught his nearer arm.

The door closed behind Zelph.

Avalon spun to face Ferrill. "Madame President, what is the meaning of this?"

"In my office, Marcel," Ferrill said. She sighed. "We have... a great deal to discuss. Mrs. Hughes may come as well, as some of it concerns her family."

"Ma'am." Ellie echoed Avalon's acknowledgment. They walked side by side into Ferrill's office. The door slid shut behind them, cutting off the sounds and smells of the waiting room. Ellie was glad to be rid of them.

"Have a seat," Ferrill said, waving to two chairs set before her desk. She settled into the one behind it and leaned back, rubbing her temples.

She didn't seem inclined to speak, and Avalon didn't seem to want to press her further.

Ellie had run out of patience. "Ma'am," she said, "what's going on?"

"A great many things, Mrs. Hughes," Ferrill said, "most quite bad."

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"And the rest?"

Ferrill smiled thinly. "The rest are worse."

Ellie expected no less. "That man, that Animus Hunter – he was the one who threatened Jack and Chloe and I back in the Prentice system. Him becoming Grand Admiral seems like 'worse.'"

"Errard Zelph is one of the founders of the Animus Hunter Corps and its most powerful member," Ferrill said. "He is a hero of the people and the Federal Senate and personally slew the Emperor at the Battle of Etemenos. While the Animus Hunters have no formal hierarchy, he stands foremost among them. If any member of their brotherhood were to be elevated to such a position – why, a reasonable person could hardly gainsay Zelph."

Ferrill's sarcastic, tired tone told Ellie the president considered herself less than reasonable in this regard.

"What happened to Grand Admiral Osterheim?" Avalon asked.

"He stepped down the day Second Fleet left for the Algreil system," Ferrill said. "As you may know, he is a second cousin of the President of Valhalla Vehicleworks and felt it was inappropriate to remain at his post under the circumstances."

"Conflict of interest," Ellie said.

"Oh, yes," Ferrill said. "The interests of the people and the interests of certain members of the Senate, in this case, but a conflict all the same."

"And Admiral Cargill?" Avalon asked. "Surely the commander of First Fleet would be the logical choice."

"I fear, he, too, has uncomfortable connections. His wife is an aristocrat, you know. The Senate considered this, too, a conflict, although Animus Hunter Zelph was so generous as to testify before the Senate that he had personally assured she was taking the proper Limiters."

Ellie's lip curled. "He's a real humanitarian, all right."

Ferrill snorted. "You, Marcel, would of course be the next in line. You lack seniority, but Second Fleet is the most prestigious command of all. Not lightly is it called the Hand of the People, as you recently demonstrated. You were, you'll be happy to know, the front-runner for the position. When news of Algreil's surrender first reached Etemenos, why, some of our most fervent opponents in the Senate actually raised the motion for your elevation."

Avalon stared into space.

"I'm sorry, Marcel," Ferrill said.

"It is I who should apologize." Avalon slumped forward in his chair. "If I had laughed off Otto Algreil's accusations, none of this would have happened. I have failed you, Ma'am."

"Nonsense," Ferrill said harshly. Her voice softened immediately. "You did your best. I never have and never will ask more than that."

"Even though my best proved insufficient?"

Ferrill had no answer.

Ellie found this silence even more uncomfortable than the last. "I don't understand, Ma'am. Even if the admirals of First and Second Fleet weren't acceptable to the Senate, that leaves eight others."

"And the General of the Federal Marines," Ferrill said, nodding. "Animus Hunter Zelph's elevation was not just due to Marcel's disgrace. With the Oligarchical rebels suppressed, the Senate wanted someone whose experience lay in fighting aristocrats."

"They plan to reconquer the periphery?" Avalon asked.

"They believe the inverse is about to happen," Ferrill said. "The aristocracy has their Heir."

Ellie gasped. "Chloe!"

"Precisely. The Senate will not care that you describe her as a reasonable, gentle and good-hearted girl. If anything, that description will terrify them. A good heart may quickly overwhelm gentleness and reason in the face of gross injustice."

"They want an Animus Hunter in charge because they think he can kill my daughter," Ellie said, mouth dry.

"They want this Animus Hunter in charge," Ferrill said, "because their estimation of his capabilities is accurate."

"Merciful Principle," Ellie whispered.

"I'm afraid not, Mrs. Hughes. It is hubris of the worst sort to ascribe concepts like mercy to the Almighty Principle. Whatever part humanity plays in Its grand design is as incomprehensible to us as any other part of It." Ferrill, it seemed, was anything but a Theist.

Or maybe she was just stressed. The last year had not inclined Ellie to a belief in an involved and merciful creator, either.

"Ma'am," she said, "you have to let me and Jack go to Chloe. We have to warn her. At best, she may even be able to do something about all this!"

Not that Ellie would encourage her daughter to lend a hand to the senate. She'd tell Chloe to run as far and as fast as possible.

Chloe might try to help anyway.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Mrs. Hughes."

Ellie blinked. "Ma'am?"

"You are free to seek your daughter," Ferrill said, "though travel to the Periphery is anything but safe at the moment. Your husband, on the other hand, is under arrest for, among other crimes, high treason. He was Otto Algreil's chief lieutenant and an officer of the rebellion."

"You're saying you can't pardon Jack," Ellie said.

"I am saying, Mrs. Hughes, that I won't."

Ellie's eyes widened. "But it was all –"

"A misunderstanding," Ferrill said. "Yes, I'm aware of that. A deeply unfortunate, even tragic, misunderstanding, that placed a good man on a bad side and made an enemy of one who should have been a fast friend."

"Then why won't you pardon him?"

"Because he's guilty, dammit!"

Ellie drew back, startled.

"Jack Hughes," Ferrill continued, "has no more excuse for his actions than any of dozens of other rebel officers. Why should he alone be spared? Because he happened to find and adopt the Heir?"

"Because he's a good man! He doesn't deserve this!"

"But many good men have undoubtedly died already over this matter. Others are sure to follow. I do not fool myself that every oligarch and Oligarchical officer who sided with Otto Algreil is a greedy, grasping monster. Even Algreil himself anchored his schemes to legitimate grievances. Do those other good men deserve death?"

"Of course not," Ellie said.

"Would you have me pardon them all?"

"Isn't that justice?"

"No, Mrs. Hughes," Ferrill said. "That is judgment. Mine, or in this case yours. Justice comes from adhering to the law. It is bigger than our opinions."

"Then I could give a damn about your justice! He's my husband, he's Chloe's father, he's a good man, and you drove him to fight you!" Ellie sprang from her chair. Avalon reached up to grab her sleeve, but she thrust his hand away.

"Your husband's fate," Ferrill said, completely unperturbed by Ellie's outburst, "will be determined by a jury of his peers. The same as any other accused criminal."

"A jury? They couldn't possibly understand the circumstances," Ellie said. "Or were you planning on declassifying everything that led to Jack siding with the Algreils?"

"No, Mrs. Hughes, I was not."

"Then you're killing him as surely as you sit here," Ellie said.

"And I am truly sorry to have to do so, Mrs. Hughes. You're probably correct, both about my responsibility and your husband's character. Nonetheless, I will not pardon him and I will not release secrets of potentially galactic import for his sake."

Ellie stared at the president, seeking some sign of remorse. Even cruelty would at least have been understandable. She found nothing.

Ferrill was either the best actress in the world or completely committed to her principles.

"You will see justice done, Ma'am," Ellie said at last.

Ferrill started to nod until her gaze met Ellie's.

"You'll see it," Ellie continued, "when my daughter destroys you, and your Senate, and your precious law."