I woke up knowing I was going to be facing a very difficult day. Kimball didn’t say a thing, something I was grateful for, because I was about to face a harsh reality that I knew was coming for a long time, but that was difficult for me anyway. It wasn’t the first time I had to face a change of government, and I had already let go of two of my positions, but it was harder because I knew it was no turning back from it, I was about to leave my position as Prime Minister, my time was ending and there was nothing I could do to change that.
I knew that it was inevitable, and in a way it was something I was looking forward to, it had never been in my plans to be in front of the Dominion for so long, it was just the way things had happened. When they first called for Prime Minister elections, I had thought I had run out of time, but they had surprised me by electing me again, and the second time I had arrived to the meeting feeling confident I would get elected again, but not again, my time had run out and there was nothing that could be done about it. The situation was complicated, but I had known for a long time that that moment was going to arrive sooner or later.
The holograms of the leaders of the different leaders of the countries in the Dominion started appearing around me. In just a few seconds every country in the Dominion was virtually represented in that room.
“Greetings to all of you,” I said, as soon as the last hologram showed. “Today we don’t have much to discuss, our most important issue is the next elections that are fast approaching. We have been through this a couple of times, and most of you were already at the front of your own countries on at least one occasion, you all know the procedure, and the first step is to choose the candidates you think will best represent all of you.”
“Are you aware that this year you can’t be considered a candidate?” someone asked.
“I’m aware of the rules,” I simply said.
“And you won’t do anything to change them?”
“I will follow the rules, the same way I did it the first time. All I ask if for you to think carefully about your picks. From the time the Dominion was liberated from their previous rulers, I have been the only Prime Minister, now is your chance to get a new vision, a new way of doing things. Don’t waste it, don’t give your vote to someone that won’t be able to face the different challenges we often face, or that will put his or her personal interest over the Dominion’s. Whatever decision you take now, will follow you for the next few years.”
Several of the leaders started a discussion, and a while later the first nominees were named, after that a few other less important issues were discussed, but it was obvious that no one was focused on anything else after the subject of the incoming elections. Finally the session ended, after setting a date for the vote.
Once I was back in my office, several of my most loyal guards entered the room. I would have been very worried by watching them all walk inside if it wasn’t for the fact that I had absolute trust in them, and that the feelings I felt from them were anything but threatening.
“What’s going on?” I asked Ivan, who was clearly leading the group.
“A new Prime Minister is going to be chosen very soon,” he said, “and we know you will have to leave your position, this time there’s no alternative.”
“That’s right,” I wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, but I knew that whatever it was, it was very important to them.
“Our positions depend on the Prime Minister, we are in the employ of the Dominion,” I knew he was right, even if it was something I hadn’t thought about, or more accurately, something I had refused to consider. Most of the warriors that were part of my guard were more than employees to me, they were my allies, maybe even my friends, not having them with me would be a very strange experience, it would be a change that would leave me with a big hole inside, “once the change to a new Prime Minister is done, most of us will be reassigned.”
“But once you leave the position a small guard will be given to protect you and your family, it’s one of the benefits you will be given after serving the Dominion for so long,” Tatyana said.
“It would be only twelve members, the advantage is that you will get to select those you prefer to keep working as part of your guard,” Thalia added.
“The problem is that those that want to stay with you are more than twelve,” Yoweri said.
“We know that choosing among us won’t be easy, so we hope this would help you,” Ivan gave me two lists of names.
The first had names I was very familiar with: Ivan, Thalia, Fatima, Yoweri, Soriya, Zhou, Youssef, Lukas, Tatyana and Sefina. The second had the rest of the names of those I had come to consider my most loyal guards: Franz, Morgane, Rasmus, Konstantinos, Reka, Connor, Alea, Zoran, Marco, Mihaela, Ivana, Huriye, Khalid, Azhlei, Karthik, Nasim, David, Yusra, Erkebulan, Haziq, Menkhu, Lim, Uktam, Weza, Kgalefa, Ludomir, Tarik, Onyesha, Leabva, Razak, Kebe, Mamadou, Thandi, Gina, Matthew and Fetu.
“The first list has the names of those of us that are willing to leave our position in the Dominion to follow you and stay under your command in any way we can,” Yoweri said, and I wasn’t surprised by it, but I was surprised by some of the other names in the list.
“The second has those of us that would like to keep working for you, but would prefer to keep our positions in the Dominion,” Thandi explained. “Any of us would be happy to be chosen to keep being part of your guard, if you want to, but we have no problem moving to the service of the new Prime Minister and his family if needed.”
I noticed two names I was expecting, missing: Sensei Ueshiba and Agata, but then I remembered that they were already under my direct command, even if they somehow worked for the Dominion. Even if Ueshiba was part of my guard, and also one of the main trainers of my guard, he worked under temporary contracts, and some of them were signed directly for me, not my position. Agata, on the other hand, couldn’t work for the Dominion because of her past as a hired assassin, because of that she was directly under my command, even if sometimes she worked with Ivan, and with other members of my guard, I always tried to keep her apart from the others to avoid problems or scandals. I didn’t know what would happen to Ueshiba, I was almost sure he wouldn’t renew his contracts, he would most likely go back to his school and his other responsibilities, because his responsibilities with me were already done, but I was sure that Agata would stay with me, as much for her own sake as for everyone’s, it was important to keep her focused and out of trouble, because her powers were extremely dangerous if left without the proper supervision.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” I said sincerely, going over the first list again, “but this will certainly make my work easier. I understand why not everyone is ready to drop everything and follow me, I’m actually surprised to see so many that are willing to follow me, and I will do my best to do right by you. The work we have done here has been very important, and the truth is that most of it wouldn’t have been possible without your help. I’m very grateful for your loyalty and I will talk to Kimball this afternoon to try and come up with a just arrangement for those of you willing to follow me.”
“Then you will accept to keep us with you?” Yoweri asked, and even if his voice was even, I could feel his vulnerability showing with his emotions.
“I feel honored that you want to stay with me, and much more calm till a certain point, but before you take a definitive decision, I would like to make sure I can offer you what you deserve, and I will also like to talk to you, just so you know what you are getting into. If you think that once I leave this place I will go back to a quiet and simple life, then you will be disappointed.”
“It’s precisely because we know the new challenges you will be facing that we are willing to stay under your command,” Fatima said, “your work is not done yet, you still have a lot to do.”
“Have you had a new vision?” I asked immediately, my curiosity getting the best of me, she hadn’t said anything about knowing my plans of having information about what was going to happen.
“I just know that there will be a lot of changes in the future, and that you will need our support. The mzansiers will be with you, but it would be best if you have your own people at your back,” Fatima said, and I had to agree with her, the Shadows were my ticket in, but I had to have something that was just mine, or I would lose some of the recognition I already had. “Now, if we are finished with this little intervention, I would like to ask when are we going into the fog and start working on the next steps to take.”
I took a moment to check my schedule, looking for an empty space, one big enough to give our investigation the time it needed. “I will be busy most of the day, but if it’s ok with you, I will try to be free by 6 o’clock, that would give us a few hours before we have to stop.”
“I will be ready and waiting. Do you want me to ask Sofia to join us?”
“No, not at this time, if we need her, I will ask her to join us at a later date.”
Once they had stated their case, the rest of the guards left the place, only those who were assigned to guard me at that time remained. Their words and the two lists had given me a lot to think about. Not only I had to think about the warriors that would stay with me, Fatima had reminded me that we needed to think about what was going on in the Empire. I knew the reunion would be soon, but I needed a specific date so I could program Kimball’s and Ethan’s trip. It was also important to make sure nothing would happen to them. I knew that if something happened to either of them, I would feel too much guilt, I needed to do my best to minimize risks. Despite all the tasks I still needed to finish before meeting with Fatima, my mind kept going to her and our task.
“Why are you so pensive?” Kimball asked when he arrived with some food for me and I didn’t even notice him.
“You knew about the offer some of my guards made to stay under my command?” I asked, as I showed him the two lists.
“I didn’t know, but I was expecting something like this. I didn’t know when you would realize what stepping down would mean, relative to your guards. I’m not surprised some of them are willing to quit and follow you, in fact, I was expecting more names in this list.”
“Can we hire them?” Kimball smiled at me in a way that made me hesitate between feeling flattered or insulted.
“You never took advantage of your position, but you still managed to gather an important sum of money during your time as Prime Minister, besides, as leader of Aquarium you get a part of everything generated there, from goods and research both. Just with that you would have enough to hire them, but we still can add the money I get from my patents, and even from Ethan’s, to cover any expenses we have.”
“I would never take Ethan’s money,” I protested automatically.
“But you can take mine?” Kimball said, trying to appear angry, but I knew he was just playing, ever since we had left the Empire behind, he had insisted that everything he had was mine, and he never had been angry at me for taking advantage of that, maybe because everything I owned was also his, and because he was the one that was mostly in charge of taking care of those things.
“Of course,” I answered. “So, if there is no problem with hiring them, could you take care of it?”
“Sure, I will start working on that as soon as possible. But about the guards that will stay under the Dominion’s contract, I would recommend for you to wait to chose them until after the new Prime Minister is chosen, that way you will be able to see how compatible they are with the new person, and take those you think would have the most problem adapting to the new regime.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea.”
After Kimball left, time started to move slower, but eventually the time to meet Fatima and start walking the fog to find what I needed, arrived. I knew that a reunion with all the clan leaders was about to happen, not because of a vision, but because it was traditional, and even a necessity. I also knew that Malkia was going to be there, and that Greca would be with her, mostly because I was aware I couldn’t keep her away from the Empire anymore and that her sister would be with her. I also knew, mostly because of my knowledge of how the Empire worked, that the reunion was the perfect opportunity for the Clan of Shadows to claim his place in the Empire. What I didn’t know was when the reunion was going to take place, or what risks my loved ones would find during it. Time was a difficult concept to grasp in the fog, but it was very important to have the exact time line so Kimball could arrive at the right moment. It was also important to walk several paths so I could get a better idea of the situation they would find.
Having Fatima with me helped with some of those tasks, she was giving me the anchoring I needed to have a better grasp of what was going on in the fog, and because of that I was able to find the date I needed relatively fast, the problem was that the timing couldn’t be worse for me. The next reunion of the clans of the Dark Empire, the time when Kimball and Ethan would be risking their lives facing Pompeyo and demanding a spot in the Empire, was the same day that the next Prime Minister was going to be elected.
Kaiserin Novel 