Twenty-five Archavian years later:

“Eller, do me a favor and send a message to Mr. Takuatas that Dusty has recovered fully from his surgery so he can come pick him up tomorrow.”

“Of course Dr. Shied, right away.”

Fara smiled at her young assistant and stepped into her office. It had been a long day at her clinic in Narena, but a rewarding one. She’d had a long career in veterinary medicine, and it had taken her a long time to get up the courage to step out and open up a clinic of her own, but the risk had paid off.

Fara’s pad buzzed and she glanced over at it curiously. She didn’t recognize the number, but the prefix code told her it was from somewhere in the Vorsha/Azatlia Provence. She clicked the answer button.

The face of a red-haired Titan woman filled her screen. It took her a moment to recognize Brinn Pria. She had met the woman only one time, at Tylum Mavoy’s wedding, but she had quite liked her fellow veterinarian, and the two of them had spent a long time at the reception talking shop.

“Brinn!” Fara blinked. “Didn’t expect you to be calling me today, but it’s certainly nice to hear from you. Something I can help you with?”

Brinn chuckled. “Actually, yes. I’ve been asked by Empress Rajenlif to put together a committee of sentient and veterinary medical professionals to work out an action plan and a timeline for the transition of human care from the veterinary field to the sentient one.”

Fara blinked. “So human emancipation is that close?” She asked in a hushed voice, excitement making her heartrate increase just a little.

“The Empress believes so.” Brinn nodded. “She wants to be prepared so she is asking me to quietly get the ball rolling so we can hit the ground running when the time comes. As a veterinarian who understands human equality, I’d like you to help me with that.”

“Of course!” Fara said without hesitation. “It would be my pleasure. Do you mind if I ask who else is involved?”

“Not at all.” Brinn responded. “I haven’t had a chance to ask everybody, or get confirmation, but at the moment my tentative shortlist is: Myself, of course. Along with my husband Nick Archer; Dr. Geof Geen of the Great Ocean Science Council; Dr. Klgaxxzr from the Medical College of Fibbulus Xax; you, and Dr. Eyazon Faid from Korafia.”

Fara blinked. “Lezah Maris’s husband?”

Brinn shrugged. “Zara and Tylum tell me he’s been working miracles with the Maris Tribe. They both recommended him to me, along with yourself, because you’re both vets who ‘get it’.”

“Well that’s certainly true.” Fara nodded. “I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to assist you in any way he can. Just like I am.”

Brinn’s face split into a wide smile. “Fantastic. I have to be going, lots to plan, but I’ll be in touch as soon as the details are finalized.”

“Excellent. Talk to you soon, Doctor.” Fara smiled as the call ended on her pad.

Of course, now she had to find someone to look after her clinic.

*.*.*

Myona Barreda sighed and rubbed her temples as she closed the communication with the last meeting on her schedule. She leaned back in her chair and mused that if she’d known there was going to be so much actual work involved in running Tremarla Lumodynamics, she would have told Pryvani Tarsuss to find someone else to do it.

Then she chuckled to herself. No, she wouldn’t have. True, there were some days, like today, where it was all work and no play. And then there were other days where she got to play with some of the neatest toys in the industry. Where she got to have a hand in shaping the future of her industry, to dance on the very cutting edge of the technology.

And, fortunately for Myona, the latter days outnumbered the former. Plus the fact that if Myona had turned Pryvani down, the next likely candidate would probably have been Shaar. And if nothing else, Shaar was better off not being in her position.

Her pad chirped again and Myona suppressed a groan. She was tempted to ignore it until she peeked at the number on display.

With a girlish giggle she answered the call and the face of a handsome man appeared on her screen.

“Hello Derrill.” Myona purred. “Finished with your work already?”

“I have.” The man answered with a smile. “And I heard from your secretary that you’re all done with your conference calls.”

“Word travels fast.” Myona chuckled. “But I’m not done for the day. I still have to make a quick inspection of the hardware labs.”

“Too bad.” Derrill tutted. “I was hoping we could have some fun.”

Myona smiled, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “You could come with me. Nobody would need to know…”

“Well, I’m right outside your office…”

Myona rolled her eyes. “You could have said something earlier, silly.” With an exaggerated sigh, she pressed a button on the keyboard in front of her and the door to her office rumbled open.

It took her a moment to spot Derrill’s small figure on the floor, but after a moment she spotted the finger sized man as he trudged into her office. As soon as he stepped inside, she closed the door behind him.

It took great effort, but she resisted the urge to pounce on him. Instead she waited patiently as he made his way across the floor of her office to her desk. Fortunately, Vorsha’s low gravity made it so it wasn’t really a long trip.

Derrill was born and raised on Avalon. He was a holographic technician who had recently transferred to the Vorsha branch of the company, although she’d met him before. He wasn’t the first Avalonian to work in the Titan sized company, (there was practically an entire town’s worth of them living on the company property) but his rugged good looks had caught her eye almost immediately.

It wasn’t anything serious. It never was with Myona and she made sure that all her lovers (whether they were human or titan) understood that going in. Luckily, he was only interested in a bit of fun, same as she was.

Actually, he confided in her one night; (After traversing the length of her torso) that he had a bit of a crush on Shaar. Myona, after she had recovered from a fit of giggles that threatened to send Derrill tumbling back down to her thighs, flatly disabused him of that idea. She’d known Shaar for years now, and not once had the taciturn young woman ever expressed any sort of romantic interest in anything; human, titan, or otherwise.

“What took you so long?” Myona joked as the young man finally finished shimmying up the power cord of her computer and onto her desktop. “I was starting to get lonely.”

“Did your office get bigger?” Derrill panted, sitting next to her keypad. “I don’t remember it being that long.”

“Aw, poor thing.” Myona tutted sympathetically as she gathered him between her fingers. She raised him up to her chest and pulled the collar of her blouse open. “Perhaps a nice long rest while I finish up the last of my work will help you recover.”

“Couldn’t hurt.” Derrill’s voice was muffled by her clothes, but she felt him settling in against her body. Myona giggled and put her datapad into her bag, before throwing the strap over her shoulder. Suddenly, the idea of touring the labs didn’t seem nearly as tedious.

*.*.*

In the woodland surrounding a farm in Korafia, pair of women were carefully making their way through the trees. The elder was a tall woman whose blonde hair was only starting to show the slightest bit of silver and her companion was a  teenager with hair the color her mother’s likely had been, and whose body language suggested she’d much rather be romping carelessly, but showed remarkable restraint in the placement of her steps.

Much of her restraint was due to the small figure straddling her shoulder. She was a human girl, of roughly the same physical age as herself, with tanned skin and dark brown hair.

The two were chattering aimlessly to each other, but the older woman paid little attention to her daughter or her human sized friend.

Instead, Aezhay Maris looked at the trees that surrounded them on either side of the path. They had been mere saplings those many years ago when the Tribe and her family had been rather abruptly forced into a partnership.

Not that she wasn’t glad, of course, but Aezhay was well aware that if it hadn’t been for TETH, perhaps the two parties would still be ignorant of (or ignoring) each other. Still, that partnership had served them all well. It had given them all much, not the least of which were Aezhay’s children. The youngest of whom was walking beside her now.

Her daughter’s conversation with her friend stopped abruptly as they reached a clearing in the woods. Around them was the home of the Tribe. It had grown beyond the capacity of the Great Tree, in which only the elders and their families now lived, and expanded into a village built among the roots of that venerable tree. Dozens of houses of various sizes and shapes surrounded them and the Titan sized women very carefully picked their way between them. Fortunately, the village had been built with Titan visitors in mind, and there was ample room for Aezhay and her daughter to walk.

Eventually, the two of them stopped in front of a small cottage near the base of the Great Tree. In front of the door of this home, a middle-aged red haired human was sweeping her front porch and humming to herself.

“Hello Molly!” Aezhay greeted.

“Hello Aezhay.” Molly Olson responded, leaning her broom against her porch. “Thank you for escorting Brigid home.”

“It was getting dark.” Aezhay replied with a shrug before smiling wryly. “And I figured this would be a good excuse for me to pull Thurfrit away from his work.”

Molly chuckled and watched as Aezhay’s daughter carefully lowered her own to the ground. “Did you have a good time up at the house?” She asked as the young girl climbed out of the giant palm of her friend.

“We did.” Brigid responded.

“And what did you and Daz do?” Molly asked.

“Oh you know, stuff.” The Young teen shrugged. “Nothing much.”

Molly rolled her eyes and shared a look with Aezhay. “Teenagers. Did you at least thank Aezhay for letting you visit?”

“Oh, right. Thanks Aezhay for letting me come over.” Brigid said dutifully, before turning to her friend. “Bye Daz. Don’t forget you’re sneaking me in to see Aunt Charlotte’s new movie tomorrow!”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Daz confirmed with a smile, as she watched Brigid dash back into the house.

“I’d be mad that you’re sneaking friends into a movie.” Aezhay sighed. “But I know they wouldn’t allow her in anyway, so I guess it’s all right.”

“Consider it a type of protest.” Daz said cheekily. “If you want, we’ll give Charlotte the money for her ticket directly.”

“Oh go on.” Aezhay snorted, before looking back down on Molly. She didn’t particularly like looming over the human, or her house, but this part of the village was too densely packed to allow either of the giant sized women to sit down.

“Molly that reminds me, Lezah told me to invite you and the kids up for supper tomorrow.”

“It’s a good thing we’re small, or I’d be worried her feeding an extra four people would be an imposition.”

An incredulous laugh escaped Aezhay’s mouth before she could stop it. “Right, because she doesn’t already make too much food, even for a family our size. I’m sorry Molly, but you’re stuck, because she won’t take no for an answer and neither will I. Frankly, you’re practically the fourth Maris sister as it is. You’re lucky we don’t make you change your name.”

Molly rolled her eyes and smiled. This conversation was well-treaded ground and she knew her lines well. “Yeah, I know, I even look like Lezah’s little sister.” Molly acted exasperated, but she appreciated the way the Marises had always been welcoming to her and her adopted brood.

“Sometimes more than Aisell and I do.” Aezhay responded with a grin. “So… It’s agreed then? We’ll see you all tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Molly chuckled. “After the girls get back from their movie. Now go snag your husband before it gets too dark to pick him out of the rest of the office.”

Aezhay laughed. “Oh believe me; I could spot his adorable bald head from a kilounit away and in pitch black darkness.”

*.*.*

The spaceport was crowded, and frankly a little intimidating to a young thirteen year old girl traveling by herself for the first time. Nevertheless, Yurea Dande-Pria took a deep breath and continued to look for her aunt and uncle, whom she would be visiting.

Fortunately, and much to Yurea’s relief, it didn’t take long before she spotted her Uncle waving to her at the other end of the terminal.

“Hey kid, how was your trip?”

Yurea looked up at her uncle Ohsen excitedly. “Oh it was amazing. I can’t believe Mom let me travel all by myself!”

Ohsen chuckled and wrapped an arm around the young girl’s shoulders. “Well, they let your older brothers and sisters travel by themselves when they were about your age, so I can’t really say I’m surprised.”

Yurea looked around. “Where’s Aunt Tylum?”

“She’s at the luggage area getting your bags, come on.”

The two of them quickly made their way through the crowds to the baggage claim area where her Aunt Tylum was waiting, with Yurea’s bright purple bag in her hand.

“Hi Aunt Tylum!” Yurea rushed forward to give her aunt a tight hug, which Tylum happily reciprocated.

“Where are Talicent and Pierce?” The young girl asked after pulling away a moment later.

Tylum chuckled. “Well, Tali fell asleep on the way here, and we didn’t want to wake her; so she and Pierce are waiting for us in the shuttle. Come on, they can’t wait to see you.”

Yurea took her bag from her aunt and followed the two adults out into the parking lot of the spaceport. She blinked in the suddenly bright sunlight and looked for her aunt and uncle’s shuttle.

“Over here.” Ohsen said. “Too bad we couldn’t find a better parking spot.”

Eventually, though, they made it to the shuttle where Yurea could see her cousin Pierce sitting in the back. Excitedly, she ran up to the small craft and knocked on the window. With a grin, Pierce reached over and unlocked the door. Yurea quickly climbed in.

“Hi Pierce!”

“Hi Yurea, glad you made it okay!” Pierce was about the same age as Yurea, with his mother’s dark hair and his father’s green eyes. He wore his hair short and just above his shoulders.

“Me too! Where’s Tali?” Yurea asked, looking around for her older cousin.

“Oh right!” Pierce gently opened his shirt pocket and peered inside. “Hey, Tali, Yurea’s here.”

There was a soft mumble from inside the pocket and a moment later a young girl with long blonde hair poked her head out. Her hair was disheveled and frizzy from sleep, but she woke up the moment she saw Yurea.

“It’s about time you got here!” Yurea’s human cousin crowed happily. “I thought your shuttle was never going to land.”

“Try being in it!” Yurea agreed as Tylum and Ohsen climbed into the front of the shuttle after loading Yurea’s bags in the storage compartment.

Tylum smiled as she watched her children chat with their cousin in the rear-view mirror. It was good for them to spend time with their cousin, and she was sure that Yurea appreciated being away from Avalon for a while.

Of course, she’d considered moving close to the moon herself after she found Tali. It had because of her work with Aenur Foundation. They’d cleared out a poorly run human shelter and she’d found the little human girl huddled in a corner, dirty and malnourished. Her heart had melted instantly and Talicent- as she was later named- seemed to bond with her as well.

So, she took the girl in. With the help of her inlaws, she educated and nursed the girl back to full strength. Tylum had resigned herself to single motherhood of a human child, because she didn’t think she’d find someone else who understood that Tali was her daughter, not her pet. That is, until she met Ohsen. He’d worked briefly with Aenur for a few months before moving on to other things. But that had been enough time for mutual attraction. Tylum liked him, Tali liked him, and he liked them. They were married within months of meeting each other.

Soon after, Tylum gave birth to a son, who they named Pierce.

By some miracle, Tali never became jealous of her brother. Indeed, she was perhaps more protective of him than their parents were.

And as unorthodox as her own family was, it was nothing compared to Zara’s, so she knew there was no chance of Tali not being welcomed from that side.

Ohsen’s parents were another matter, unfortunately. They never fully accepted Tylum, let alone their children. But, that was fine. They didn’t see them much, which was how everybody seemed to prefer it.

Things had gone quiet in the back of the shuttle, so Tylum glanced in the mirror again. Pierce was idly staring out the window at the passing landscape, Yurea was reading something off her pad, and Tali… Tali had drifted off to sleep again, this time on top of her cousin’s thigh.

Well, that was really no surprise. Tali was a human, and she had been awake for almost twenty hours getting everything ready for her cousin’s arrival.

*.*.*.*

Tiernan Colvanos, Fourth of that Name; Emperor of Archavia and All It Possesses, swept into the legislative building with the confidence of… well, the Emperor of an interstellar nation. His two bodyguards trailed at a discrete distance, and only a handful of people avoided the temptation to gawk at the entourage as he swept past them.

Tiernan ignored it when it did happen; he was more than used to it.

Instead, the imposing monarch made a beeline for the office of one Representative in particular. It wasn’t often that the Emperor himself made his way through the halls, so everyone who saw him knew that something extraordinary must be going on.

“Please tell the Representative that I would like to speak with her. Thank you.” He said to the flabbergasted secretary, and without waiting for an answer, strode into Forna Qorni’s office to wait for her to appear. His guards took up post on either side of the door, which shut quietly behind him.

Tiernan glanced at the chronometer on his data pad before looking around at the office he found himself in. It was, all things considered, fairly ordinary looking. A simple desk made of wood. A pair of chairs in front, and the Representative’s chair, which was significantly more comfortable looking, behind. On the desk sat a computer and a holographic screen, which currently showed sleep-mode images of twisting color patterns. Surrounding this were photos of Qorni, along with her husbands and children.

Ordinary.

He had a little time to kill before the Representative arrived. She would certainly hurry; in fact he was guessing she was probably sprinting at that very moment. Still, it was a long distance to traverse from the floor to her office. So the Emperor contented himself with examining his surroundings a bit more. He idly pulled open a drawer, deciding it was the Emperor’s prerogative to snoop a little.

A small, childlike smile lit up his face when his discovered what appeared to be the Representative’s stash of Royalberry candies. He wondered if she understood the irony, seeing as the sweets were made from juice gathered at Maris farms.

He unwrapped one of the hard candies and popped it into his mouth, sucking on it idly as he waited for Qorni to arrive. He considered what type of impression he wanted her to have as she entered. Should he be standing, or seated? Should he perhaps be seated in her chair?

Tiernan discarded that idea almost as soon as it crossed his mind. There was being adversarial, and then there was being downright combative. He wanted this to be a productive meeting. Still, seated seemed best. He wanted to leave no doubt as to who would be leading their discussion.

So Tiernan lowered himself into one of the chairs on the outside of Representative Qorni’s desk and arranged himself casually. He glanced at his chronometer again and figured he had another minute or two before she arrived; assuming she’d left the moment his summons had reached her.

And, of course she had.

Right on time, the office door opened and Forna Qorni strode into the room. To her credit, she only looked a little flustered. He remained seated as she entered. As was protocol.

“Your Imperial Majesty,” she said, politely. “What a lovely surprise.”

Tiernan raised an eyebrow, and just barely managed to hold back an amused snort. Instead, he merely nodded to her in greeting. “No, it isn’t.” He said to her, as she crossed the room towards her desk. “I imagine you’ve been cursing my name from the floor to your desk. Don’t worry, Representative Armac and the Floor Leader both gave their word that they won’t try to trip Representative Brid up while we talk.”

“Did they?” Qorni said with a frown as she seated herself at her desk.

“Yes, they did.” Tiernan responded, this time allowing some of his amusement to show through. “I can’t swear Brid won’t find a way to screw up on his own, of course….”

Representative Qorni sighed and shook her head. Emperor Tiernan understood why. Representative Brid was an unfortunately necessary ally for her, though it was well understood he was generally incompetent.

“Well, Your Imperial Majesty, I do appreciate the visit. May I ask what prompted it?”

Tiernan leaned back in his chair, tenting his fingers in front of him. He was certain that “appreciative” was entirely the wrong word to describe Forna Qorni’s current mood, but decided not to comment on it this time.

“Have you ever heard of an Earth game called poker?” He asked her instead. “Fascinating game. Ambassador Martin taught it to me. It’s all about understanding the strength of your position, and trying to read your opponent.”

Qorni blinked. “I…I’m not sure I follow.”

Tiernan leaned forward, and stared across the desk at her. The chair creaked as he moved. “Do you really think you can hold this delay long enough to claw your way back to a majority opposed to this bill?”

“I just need eight members to switch,” Qorni responded, and Tiernan was sure he could detect the note of desperation she was trying very hard to keep out of her voice. Of course, it could’ve been just his imagination. “Maybe less, not all the yes votes are solid. And my no votes are. If we can gum things up until break, a few of them go home and get an earful from their constituents…not to mention that every day that goes by makes the Armac-Zeramblin marriage of convenience that much more strained. We have enough votes to force consideration of matters of urgency, we can’t hold out forever, but we don’t have to.”

The Emperor reached over to his side and picked up the folder that he’d brought along with him, placing it on the top of Qorni’s desk between them. “That’s the hand you’re playing. All right. Well, let’s see what my cards say, shall we?”

The Emperor opened the folder and removed four sheets of paper. Tiernan was briefly amused at the look on Quorni’s face as she beheld actual paper- something not terribly common in the Empire anymore, although Tiernan himself tended to prefer it. He placed each of the sheets face down in front of her.

“Now as you noted, you mean to delay this indefinitely.” Tiernan’s tone was conversational. “Quite simply, I find that intolerable. So twenty hours from now, if you have not consented to allow debate on the Zeramblin Bill, I file this with my Secretary.”

The Emperor quickly flipped over the first sheet of paper and pushed it forward so the Representative could read it better. He watched her face as she read the brief Act of the Emperor that he’d set in front of her. He could almost see her mouth the words as she read.

Humans are hereby declared Class One Sentient Beings under Imperial Law, with all the consequent rights and liberties that follow.

“It’s been since Kraon XVII that an Emperor has authored legislation on anything remotely controversial,” The Emperor told her matter-of-factly. “And I would prefer not to break that streak. But I will. And once it is done, you will no longer be fighting to defeat the Zeramblin Bill. You will be fighting to strip rights from Imperial citizens.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Forna said, looking at the bill in disbelief. After a moment she looked up and her eyes met his. He could see the shocked disbelief written all over her face. “You’d be…you’d be reviled. I could get this overturned. You know it.”

“It’s possible,” Tiernan acknowledged with a shrug. “Which is why it will be followed by these.”

The Emperor reached over the desk and revealed the second and third pieces of paper. On the first was a written order to dissolve the house and force new elections. The other was Tiernan’s own Declaration of Abdication.

“Now, the next legislature could reject my order, and maybe they will.” Tiernan acknowledged the representative’s argument before she even had a chance to make it. “But do you know who would be able to vote in those elections, as full Imperial citizens, knowing their liberty was on the line?”

The look on Forna Qorni’s face alone just about made all of this worth it. “Representative Qorni, you won your last race by just under three million votes. There are four million adult humans in your district. How many of their votes could you win? I know this will cost me my job. I cannot do this and remain as sovereign. It may cost my family the crown. But you will be departing office with me.”

Tiernan could see it. He could practically read in her eyes all the foul things she was calling him inside her own head. But she dare not breathe a word of it. He was still Emperor, at least for the time being. After a moment she was able to recover herself and shook her head to clear it.

“You know I won’t allow the legislature to dissolve. We’ll fight this, tooth and claw. It will create a Constitutional crisis. It could destroy the monarchy. Humans might become citizens…but you…Emperor, I will not allow this to become precedent. I can’t. And the people will back me up.”

The Emperor nodded. “I understand. And you may be right. But then, I haven’t had a chance to explain why I’m willing to do this.”

He grasped the corner of the final piece of paper and flipped it with a flourish.

Actually, in reality it was two pieces of paper, attached at the corner. The smaller piece on top was a photograph. Representative Qorni’s eyes were drawn immediately to it, which Emperor ColVanos had expected. Instead of looking down at the page, since he already knew what it was, he watched her face to read her reaction.

At first there was confusion. She was looking at a picture of Tiernan’s daughter Rhionne and her family. Her wife, and their three children. Qorni’s brow knit and then… then Tiernan saw the woman’s eyes widen as comprehension dawned.

There weren’t five people in the photo. There were six. The final being a small, almost unnoticeable figure straddling Daz’s shoulder. A human male.

Her hand trembling, Qorni lifted the photograph and peered at the clinical looking form underneath it. It was a genetic readout for three individuals. Two of them listed ColVanos, Rhionne as the mother, and the third ColVanos, Daz. The father, however…

Qorni’s eyes met Tiernan’s and they were wide with shock.

“Nobody has contested my grandchildren’s parentage.” Tiernan said quietly. “Rhionne and Daz are quite happy. As is their husband.”

“They… they’re… Emperor, your…” Representative Qorni was at a loss for words.

“Yes, my grandchildren are hybrids. They are half human. They’re half Titan too, for that matter.” Tiernan chuckled mirthlessly. “A week or two after the Zeramblin Bill passes, or the day I file this legislation – whichever it ends up being – I will formally introduce Pierce ColVanos, Boyar of Aement. He has been a good partner to my daughter and daughter-in-law, a good father to my grandchildren, and a good person in general.”

“But…”

“I have kept this quiet out of respect for the process. I have kept this quiet to allow you to act. I will not keep this quiet another day.”

Qorni seemed to finally find her voice again. “Emperor…you would throw the government into crisis over one man?”

Tiernan glared at the Representative. “You call him a man,” he said, “and you dare to ask that question?”

“Emperor, I….”

“Enough!” Tiernan roared, leaning forward and slamming his hands on the desktop between them. “No, I’m not doing this just for Pierce, nor for my grandchildren. I am doing this for all the Pierces in this Empire – the Niall Freemans, the Nonah Armacs. The Yamanu Neuthas, the people working down at Tribe Maris Orchards and anybody who has ever cooked a piece of meat at a Rixie’s. For Darren Avery, Ammer Smit, the people who live on Avalon, the people who live throughout the Empire. Hundreds of millions of them – and billions on Earth! I am doing this for them, Representative Qorni. And if it destroys the monarchy, then so be it and let it be destroyed!”

Tiernan suddenly surged to his feet, looming over the shell-shocked Representative in front of him. “My crown is not worth the servitude of billions. Nor your office. Nor this Empire! It is time to act. It is time to move forward. Together. I will risk everything to force this. And you…your carefully-crafted plan to be Floor Leader? It will be dead, killed by the chaos caused by my actions. No matter what comes out of this…you will be finished.”

His words seemed to ring in the sudden silence that followed. When Tiernan next spoke, it was with an almost unnatural calm.

“So I have laid my cards on the table, and pushed all my chips in. Are you going to call me, Representative Qorni? Or are you going to do the smart thing, and fold, and live to fight another day?”

Qorni stared at the papers laid out in front of her. Tiernan could see her mind racing, trying to see a move that would get her out of the box he’d placed her in. Ideally with her career still intact. But there wasn’t one. The Emperor had made absolute certain that there wouldn’t be.

“You have time. Twenty hours.” Tiernan said as he gathered the papers into a neat pile and slid them back into his folder. “Who knows? Maybe I’m bluffing. And if debate hasn’t started on the Zeramblin Bill within the time that I’ve allotted… well, then I guess we’ll find out.”

Qorni rose, and her eyes shot daggers at the monarch in front of her. “Your Majesty,” Qorni ground out between clenched teeth. “I dearly wish I could swear at you right now.”

“I understand, Representative.” Tiernan chuckled, tucking the folder under his arm. “As the humans say, I can be a right bastard sometimes. Don’t worry, I’ll show myself out.”