Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [173]
The patriotic vehemence of a certain segment of the citizenry served to justify Basil's firm belief that he was right. Since he listened only to those who cheered his actions, the Chairman no longer needed dissenting opinions, rational arguments, or alternative ideas. Cain, deeply disturbed by what he saw, felt unnecessary. Recently, the only thing Basil trusted his deputy to do was tailor press releases and crack down on any misrepresentations that were not approved misrepresentations.
Chairman Wenceslas summoned Cain, and together they rode in a shuttle up to where Lanyan's restocked and refuelled Juggernaut waited, looming like a military monstrosity protecting Earth. ‘It's time to put the genuine fear of God into everyone - not just the citizens of Earth, but also all the outlaw colonies that deserted the Hansa in its time of greatest need.'
The fear of God? Isn't that what you're having the Archfather do with his speeches and rallies?‘
‘It's time for more than words. I've had scholars dig up scriptural bases for him to cite. We can twist the sacred words to our own needs, and the people will march blindly along while they rattle their swords.'
Cain felt a knot in his stomach, and it wasn't from the shuttle's artificial gravity generators adjusting as they reached the Juggernaut. He decided to try one last time. ‘Mr Chairman, you've always been a rational man, but you're forcing the human race to take giant steps backward. Why would you encourage mere paranoia and superstition? This isn't what a true religion stands for.'
‘The Archfather is fully behind this action.'
‘Since when have you cared about what the Archfather thought, sir? He's just an actor.'
‘Indeed, I don't care what he thinks. I care what he says, and he says what I tell him to.'
When they docked in the Jupiter's yawning hangar deck, they were received by an EDF escort party led by a stiff-backed and haughty-looking Lieutenant Commander Shelia Andez. Cain remembered her as one of the POWs rescued from the Roamers at Osquivel. She had olive skin, cinnamon hair exactly at regulation length, and eyebrows like dark parabolas on her face. Andez had been quite outspoken against the Roamers, making public statements that the Chairman couldn't have scripted better himself.
‘The General will see you, Mr Chairman. We're looking forward to what you have to say.‘ When she marched off, her movements barely made a wrinkle in her crisp uniform. The two representatives were flanked by an honour guard.
Walking through the Jupiter, Cain looked around uneasily. This had been Admiral Willis's ship, but Lanyan seemed to have instituted tighter procedures, stricter formalities. His headlong collision with the Klikiss on Pym had shaken him badly.
The General gave a brisk salute when they appeared on the bridge. He seemed eager to shake off any lingering impression of failure after his recent retreat, but Cain could see Lanyan had a shadow of worry about where the Chairman might send him. ‘The Archfather won't explain what you mean by a “righteous punishment action”.'
Righteous punishment action? The Archfather stood like a lord on the Juggernaut's bridge, his voluminous robes making him take up twice the space of an ordinary man.
The Chairman said, ‘Lieutenant Commander Andez, please call up standard library images of the Hansa colony Usk. Play them on the screen so that I can explain your mission.'
‘We shall go to Usk,' the Archfather said, his voice ponderous and overly important. Cain wondered if the religious leader had been instructed to maintain his new persona even here on the Juggernaut's bridge.
Andez moved quickly, stabbing buttons on the control panel as if they were small creatures to crush. ‘Here it is, sir.' Stock images of a Hansa colony world appeared on the main screen.
Cain vaguely knew about Usk, had read reports here and there. A pleasant and innocuous world. He saw images of green fields,