Steven Gordon 3: The Modloch Empire by J. W. Murison Read Free Book Online

Emperor is not shy about sending forces beyond the
great barrier in pursuit of an enemy. The Burning Wind is a prime
example of that. From my end I will have teams of lawyers and
politicians look for loopholes in legislation that will give us a
foothold in this part of the galaxy. I will also approach the
Emperor and other heads of state about the position we find
ourselves in, and we will see what solutions they offer. There has
to be some form of limited access to banks while a legal
application to join the alliance is being considered.’
    ‘ Sir, if I may?’ It
was an Australian General who had interrupted him.
    ‘ General Crombie,
isn’t it?’
    ‘ Yes sir, commander
of the Australian First Division.’
    ‘ Please, go ahead
General.’
    ‘ How close are we to
making an official application sir?’
    ‘ This is what these
celebrations are all about General. We require the support of at
least half a dozen heads of state to make the application – half a
dozen different races out of hundreds. The more support we garner
the more chance we have of gaining access to this galactic family.
We would need the support of over half before we could actually
gain galactic status, and I suspect that day is a long way away. In
the mean time we have to court those the Emperor puts in front of
us; I suspect they will do as he guides them to do.’
    ‘ So our first
priority is to win over the Emperor?’
    ‘ That’s right. We
need to impress him on every level. Make him believe he can’t live
without us.’
    ‘ Dazzle him with
bullshit sir.’
    The President laughed, ‘Exactly. At
this moment in time our biggest asset is the British King. They
seem to be able to communicate as equals. He in turn is taking
directions from us. He can approach the Emperor on an informal
level that no politician possibly could. We deal with the
politicians on an equal level and inside the Royal residence we
have the King working on our behalf. That doesn’t mean it is going
to be a cake walk. We hope for the best and plan for the
worst.’
    ‘ I can’t argue with
that sir.’
    ‘ Good, any more
questions?’
    There were a stream of them and the
President worked his way through them.
     
    When the meeting was over the President
took Steven to the side. ‘Do you have the latest reports from the
King?’
    ‘ Yes sir,’ Steven
produced a memory stick and handed it over.
    ‘ Thank you Captain
Gordon. I think I really need to meet with him soon.’
    ‘ According to Lady
Jane he wishes to talk to you as well sir. It seems he has grave
concerns about some of the problems that were brought to light in
this meeting.’
    ‘ That’s great
Captain. It’s good to know we are on the same page. I have to admit
I wasn’t sure about bringing the King on board at first, but he has
proved invaluable. He would have made a helluva
politician.’
    ‘ He is a very
intelligent man with the benefit of the best education Earth can
provide sir.’
    The President studied Steven for a
moment, ‘Of course that is exactly true. Thank you for reminding me
of that. Your ship must have exhaustive data on galactic laws and
treaties.’
    ‘ Yes sir, she
does.’
    ‘ We need that
information. Everything you have.’
    ‘ There are terabytes
of information sir.’
    ‘ I don’t care, we
need it all. Would you be able to sift through it and sort it into
categories for us?’
    ‘ Of
course.’
    ‘ Thank
you.’

CHAPTER 9
     
    Mya stood in the entrance hallway of
the grand house frightened to go any farther. Two rows of servants
lined the great hallway with their heads lowered. The giant at her
side touched her gently on the shoulder.
    ‘ Please enter Lady
Mya, this is your new home.’
    She took a deep breath, ‘It is too
much. I can’t.’
    ‘ Not to accept would
be to dishonour Gairloch’s memory and last request. That would
upset the Emperor greatly. The last thing you want to do is upset
my brother.’
    Her head came up and she had a tear in
her eye. ‘What