anyone, and…
…soon I’d be lost in thought again, my mind spinning out of control as it skidded across columns of uncertain figures and unknowable details.
The fact was, I soon established, that this job was going to have to be done by the seat of my pants once I arrived home, no matter how much I might wish otherwise. I’d thought it was a huge task back when King Albert had assigned it to me, and now I realized that I’d grossly underestimated it even then. So I gulped, then grasped at the one straw I’d been offered. His Majesty had permitted me the privilege of selecting a few key subordinates. Carefully I set aside my useless musings and began working up a list of names.
If I could exert no control over “what”, “where”,” why” and “how”, at least I had a good handle on “who”.
6
Marcus Prime had undergone a terrible ordeal under Imperial occupation, and it took only a few seconds for an outsider to begin to appreciate just how awful it must’ve been. Our special shuttle was the first to land on the freshly-liberated planet; both James and Uncle Robert had insisted that this be so regardless of the danger. We set down by the family palace, on practically the same spot that James and I had departed from aboard the Broad Arrow what seemed like forever ago. But the only thing familiar about the place was the taxiway pattern.
Everything else was ruins, ruins, ruins as far as the eye could see. Milord’s residence was a burned and sacked mess, the neat and efficient little hanger-complex reeked as if it’d been used to house pigs, and the acres of carefully-manicured lawns had transformed themselves into an unkempt mass of weeds. Not a single fire-lily remained—they’d been systematically extirpated. “We will rebuild,” James declared as his foot touched the ground. “Immediately.” He’d intended to say something much more florid and historical-sounding, I knew, for the benefit of the handful of reporters we’d allowed to ride along with us. But my friend always had a knack for finding the right words at the right time, and this time less was definitely more.
“Wow!” Jean declared as he followed me through the hanger complex. It was the nearest thing I’d ever had to a home, and everywhere I looked I kept finding the ghost of my father. “They’ve really done a job on all this, haven’t they?”
I nodded wordlessly. Jean le Vorsage was one of the handful of cadets who’d treated me well back during my miserable months at the academy. I’d tutored him in math, as I had several other cadets. Unlike them, however, Jean was genuinely gratefully for my help and never resented that it came from a Rabbit. He’d even shared a lunch table with me whenever the opportunity arose. This was one of four reasons I’d selected him to act as my chief deputy in setting up the space fencibles. The second was that he was Heir to the House of le Vorsage. One caught more flies with honey than with vinegar, and my recent inability to find an estate supervisor willing to work for a Rabbit had taught me much about my true status in the world. Yes, I was a famous hero. But I wouldn’t remain popular very long if I tried to assert my new authority too directly on humans. Within the military, my rank badges and reputation were all I needed. Outside, however… Jean was a lordling in his own right, socially acceptable in every conceivable venue, and I expected things would go more smoothly for everyone if I worked through him as much as possible. Thirdly, Jean was charismatic and personable—I suspected that he could sell a snake shoes if he were ever of a mind to, and I planned to put him to work doing exactly that. And fourth but far from least, I outranked him. This was a rare qualification indeed, considering how terribly junior an officer I was. Jean was a lieutenant too, but my seniority was greater than his. The entire space fencibles, in fact, was
…soon I’d be lost in thought again, my mind spinning out of control as it skidded across columns of uncertain figures and unknowable details.
The fact was, I soon established, that this job was going to have to be done by the seat of my pants once I arrived home, no matter how much I might wish otherwise. I’d thought it was a huge task back when King Albert had assigned it to me, and now I realized that I’d grossly underestimated it even then. So I gulped, then grasped at the one straw I’d been offered. His Majesty had permitted me the privilege of selecting a few key subordinates. Carefully I set aside my useless musings and began working up a list of names.
If I could exert no control over “what”, “where”,” why” and “how”, at least I had a good handle on “who”.
6
Marcus Prime had undergone a terrible ordeal under Imperial occupation, and it took only a few seconds for an outsider to begin to appreciate just how awful it must’ve been. Our special shuttle was the first to land on the freshly-liberated planet; both James and Uncle Robert had insisted that this be so regardless of the danger. We set down by the family palace, on practically the same spot that James and I had departed from aboard the Broad Arrow what seemed like forever ago. But the only thing familiar about the place was the taxiway pattern.
Everything else was ruins, ruins, ruins as far as the eye could see. Milord’s residence was a burned and sacked mess, the neat and efficient little hanger-complex reeked as if it’d been used to house pigs, and the acres of carefully-manicured lawns had transformed themselves into an unkempt mass of weeds. Not a single fire-lily remained—they’d been systematically extirpated. “We will rebuild,” James declared as his foot touched the ground. “Immediately.” He’d intended to say something much more florid and historical-sounding, I knew, for the benefit of the handful of reporters we’d allowed to ride along with us. But my friend always had a knack for finding the right words at the right time, and this time less was definitely more.
“Wow!” Jean declared as he followed me through the hanger complex. It was the nearest thing I’d ever had to a home, and everywhere I looked I kept finding the ghost of my father. “They’ve really done a job on all this, haven’t they?”
I nodded wordlessly. Jean le Vorsage was one of the handful of cadets who’d treated me well back during my miserable months at the academy. I’d tutored him in math, as I had several other cadets. Unlike them, however, Jean was genuinely gratefully for my help and never resented that it came from a Rabbit. He’d even shared a lunch table with me whenever the opportunity arose. This was one of four reasons I’d selected him to act as my chief deputy in setting up the space fencibles. The second was that he was Heir to the House of le Vorsage. One caught more flies with honey than with vinegar, and my recent inability to find an estate supervisor willing to work for a Rabbit had taught me much about my true status in the world. Yes, I was a famous hero. But I wouldn’t remain popular very long if I tried to assert my new authority too directly on humans. Within the military, my rank badges and reputation were all I needed. Outside, however… Jean was a lordling in his own right, socially acceptable in every conceivable venue, and I expected things would go more smoothly for everyone if I worked through him as much as possible. Thirdly, Jean was charismatic and personable—I suspected that he could sell a snake shoes if he were ever of a mind to, and I planned to put him to work doing exactly that. And fourth but far from least, I outranked him. This was a rare qualification indeed, considering how terribly junior an officer I was. Jean was a lieutenant too, but my seniority was greater than his. The entire space fencibles, in fact, was
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