Rearrangement
© 2021 by Walter Reimer

Thumbnail art by  faust1173


‘M’ regarded her desktop, noting dispassionately that there were fewer items than normal displayed on it for her attention. It didn’t bother her unduly; the ceasefire was holding, and negotiations were ongoing. Minform and Minjustice had knuckled under after receiving the notes she’d sent, and all of her usual channels of information were open to her.

Still, the minkess had noticed the decrease in message traffic, and it had been going on for a few days now. The Emperor had not had his daily conference with her in the same span of time.

‘M’ never believed in coincidences.

The al-Sakai family were known to be careful planners, and she knew that Felix was working on some kind of contingency plan in the face of the terms that the Kashlani were demanding. So far, she was aware that a deception plan was in motion to conceal the real strength of the Confed Fleet when it came time to demobilize, and her own operatives were in place on conquered planets and stations to guarantee that any elections would return a statistically fair margin in favor of remaining in the Confederacy.

The loss of her agent on Downtime Station disturbed her. The death deprived her of a valuable information source, as well as a possible check on Ambassador Balakrishnan if her behavior became too erratic or if she began showing any disloyalty. Still, personnel rotated in and out of the station on a semi-regular basis, and the canine’s request for additional staff was a definite opportunity.

The circumstances of the death were of particular concern. That the Colonies’ own intelligence operation would have agents in place was a given, but killing one of the opposition in so obvious a fashion (an “accident” that truly convinced no one at all) would usually be enough to make her think that her own network had been compromised. She made a note to have test messages sent in order to determine that.

A small note appeared on her desktop: Briefing Emperor 1015.

The minkess allowed herself a slight curl of the lips, more sneer than smile, as she downloaded her desktop onto her padd and left the office.

“’M,’ good morning,” Felix said as one of his personal guard showed the minkess in. “Please have a seat. I hope you’ll forgive me for not having you brief me the past few days, but I’ve been busy.”

“It’s all right, my Lord,” ‘M’ said. She took a seat and opened her padd. “I know that you are planning.”

The Indochinese leopard smiled. “Yes, but to business. I’ve just had a talk with Foreign Minister Mendez about the talks taking place on Downtime Station,” and he paused as Balakrishnan’s communique appeared on the minkess’ padd for her perusal. “On the face of it, the proposed trade agreement appears to be a reasonable one, although the Labor, Finance and Trade Ministries have yet to get into the details. The prisoner exchange seems like a sensible idea, and as for a future political union,” and al-Sakai shrugged. “If it takes a century, it will come. We must soothe frayed tempers,” he said, placing his paws on his desk.

“I’ve started some planning regarding the last point in the Kashlanin terms.”

‘M’ merely nodded.

Felix leaned back in his seat. “I feel that the continuity of government must be maintained.”

One mustelid ear perked. “My Lord, you’re not really considering – “

Her voice was silenced by his glare, and the members of his personal guard almost imperceptibly tensed.

“The military oath,” Felix said as he held her gaze steady in his, “includes the phrase ‘serve the Confederacy’ and ‘serve faithfully, even it means my death.’ My family has taken that oath very seriously, even during Markus’ reign. Even up to the day she took her own life, my mother believed that she was faithfully serving the nation.”

The minkess let her gaze drop. She had sworn the same oath, but had a far more realistic attitude toward it. “My apologies, my Lord.”

“Mei ban fa, as my father used to say,” Felix said. “I’m fully aware of the cynical attitude that many have. But with the enemy so close, we must cling to our basic values, and oaths gain in importance. We must take steps to ensure that the government go on, despite the efforts of factions and movements within our society to overthrow it and try to placate the Kashlani.” He took a breath. “And that’s why I wanted to speak with you.”

Both ears perked this time. “In regard to what, my Lord?”

“One of the important jobs of the new Council of Ministers will be to maintain law and order during these difficult times,” Felix said, the leopard’s tail swishing idly. “As a result, the Ministry of Justice, with its police, courts, and prisons, will be very important. What I propose is to give you, ‘M,’ a dual portfolio. You will be both the Director of Intelligence and Minister of Justice.”

‘M’ felt a second tick by.

Fresh blood on her tongue / Raw flesh between her jaws . . .

“It would be a . . . very advantageous post, my Lord,” the minkess said.

Felix nodded. “Your access to the intelligence network, coupled with the nation’s internal security apparatus, would put you in a position to protect the established order from all of our internal enemies. Your current post is not ministry-level, so Justice will put you closer to the head of state.”

“And the current Justice Minister?”

The leopard shrugged. “Erno has proven to be ineffectual. Several riots have gotten quite out of paw, requiring more force than should have been necessary to impose order. I’ll find a place for him. Meanwhile, Madam Minister,” he said with a smile, “you will begin in your new post immediately, so that you can familiarize yourself with how things are done and how best to mesh things together.” The smile widened, showing teeth. “The intelligent administration of justice, wouldn’t you agree?”

The minkess matched his smile with her own. “Yes, my Lord.” She put her padd away at his gesture, and one of his guards showed her out.

Felix watched her go and reopened the draft plan that he was working on after the door had closed, in case her padd had contained a monitoring device. As he worked he muttered, “Mei ban fa . . .”