There are three ranks of consequence inside the Imperial High Council.
The Rank of Highlord signifies any that rule a High House.
The Rank of Warlord signifying the head of the Imperial Military.
And the Rank of Chancellor who acts as the head of the Civilian Government.
It is important to note that in times of War a Warlord's authority exceeds that of the Chancellor.
Us Undecimus Arts Centre - Awace Tau System - Orion Directorate
The grand opera house was still. The nervous anticipation rippled through the audience as they eagerly awaited the performance to begin. High in a box set apart for visiting dignitaries, Rikard sat tapping a programme against the upper thigh of his tuxedo trousers.
It was rare for the former Chancellor to take time away from the rigors of his plans or maintaining the ruse of the playboy billionaire, but it was also rare that there was a performance of this calibre on show anywhere in the galaxy, even in the Orion Directorate.
He was on a return trip to the financial capitals of the Orion Directorate, having booked passage on a Tradeliner. They were passing close to Us Undecimus, an Orion colonial holding on the edge of their territory. After the fall of the Empire, the Amsus had ceded the region to the Orions, and many artists had chosen to relocate there. Three hundred years had seen the region prosper, and Us Undecimus was a booming metropolis filled with culture and vibrancy that rivalled even the former splendour of Earth.
As ever, Tilly Harrison, his Orion secretary, posed an all too familiar reminder to the former Chancellor of the futility of escaping his role as the leader of the Denver Conglomerate. She stood behind him, dressed in a stunning gown, smiling pleasantly. The weapons and other military hardware she had secreted about her would cause even an Orion male to raise his eyebrows in surprise.
Rikard pushed the wire-framed glasses further up his nose. Visiting dignitary or not, he had every intention of enjoying himself that night.
There was a murmur. The curtain behind him was drawn back, and Rikard could detect the low whispering of two women. Tilly leaned in to speak into his ear.
"The new Imperial Ambassador, Mister Director."
Rikard angled his head and his eyebrows knitted together in surprise. Val McGregor, looking resplendent in a silken blue dress that shone with the glint of a million diamond threads woven together. She wore her long red hair back and up from her face, and her eyes sparkled with a fire that matched her gown.
The Director started from his chair. "Ambassador, it is a pleasure. I was unaware of your... proximity."
McGregor inclined her head, suppressing a tight smile as she sat down in the chair he offered out to her. "I saw the guest list for this performance, Mister Director," she replied evenly. "I take it you are here to see the Contralto?"
"I am," Rikard felt the stab of regret, remembering the last time he had been witness to such a performance, in the last days of the Empire... the Contralto's death had been one of the greatest disasters to music in a thousand years. Now, the life cycle of another Cantatorian virtuoso had begun, and their spiritual and artistic leader was able to fill his predecessor's shoes. "I believe I owed it to the Cantatorians," he stated cryptically.
"I believe you did," McGregor replied, pulling a set of glasses from her purse and slipping them on, "After all, Mister Denver, your house did abandon the Empire in its hour of greatest need."
Rikard turned to the audacious woman in genuine surprise; he hadn't expected her to be so forthright. "Well, I for one don't believe in living in the past, Madam Ambassador."
"Let's cut to the chase shall we?" McGregor set her playbill down on her lap and turned to face him, "Highlord Darien Taine liberated the Shifting Sands as well as its crew well over a week ago. The ship is on its way to Orion Territory."
"I see," Rikard said calmly, coiling his mind to strike her down, "And what makes you so certain that that ship will ever reach its port?"
"It doesn't really matter if it does or not," McGregor replied, her tone even, "They already encoded a transmission to my offices, at the bequest of Highlord Taine, who felt it prudent to advise our Orion allies of the potential conflict of interests possessed by one of their board members also being Enarbrem Sul'Rikard."
"I see," Rikard stated, smiling to himself. He enjoyed a good game of political intrigue, and this one was finally beginning to get interesting. "Well, I'm afraid you have me, Madam Ambassador." He sat upright, chuckling. "Now you are going to do what? Expose me?"
"Yes," she replied simply as she turned to the stage.
The lights dimmed and the great curtains swept back as the elegant creature swept forth and took the centre stage. A silence dropped over the room, as he began his haunting melody, a cascade of sounds produced from his many vocal chords, harmonizing into a beautiful cacophony of music.
* * *
Teal-trimmed greatcoat balanced across his shoulders, he walked down the city's grand parade. The great lamp-lit street ran a parallel course to a magnificently still river. It was truly a city of the night, the dull red moon hanging like an oil painting over the tower tops.
McGregor walked with him, the pair having left the Opera house together. She had accepted his invitation to walk with her. Her collection of Embassy guards were hanging a few steps back, along with his secretary Tilly, out of earshot, even though neither one of them had returned to the primary subject of their meeting. Their conversations had drifted away from interstellar politics and political gossip and they were now content to just talk.
"...I must have been about twenty when I first saw Paris." His laugh carried as he mused over the past long dead, "After being stuck under private tutors in dull classrooms my entire life, it was such a wonder to behold."
"Do you regret being the man responsible for its destruction?" She asked suddenly. There was no accusation in her words; she seemed genuinely curious.
He turned to her. "I have no regrets," he said evenly, "My choice was founded on logic and was the only one that would ensure order and stability in the universe."
"You destroyed the Empire..."
"I had a right to, I created it," he said with a shrug, "Why come here, Madam Ambassador? Why confront me in this fashion? Surely you know that I could kill you with ease, and any evidence you have will never see the light of day?"
"You're wrong about that," McGregor replied as she held her head up proudly and looked him directly in the eye, "I was already aboard the last Orion freighter bound for neutral space when Archduke Walker von Karin contacted me and asked me to accept being appointed Ambassador. He believed that my experience as a successful businesswoman would garner me some respect with the senior Orion board members. He had hopes that I would be able to convince them to finally lay aside their neutrality and join the Empire's struggle for freedom."
"Not that easy, was it," Rikard said with a mirth filled smile, "They are comfortable autocrats. They aren't willing to risk opposing the Hegemony, that would be bad for business."
"Which is why I knew that the only way to successfully convince them was to successfully convince you to throw the support of the Denver Conglomerate behind the Empire."
"That is the first bad play I have seen you make," Rikard laughed. His laughter faltered when he noticed she wasn't smiling. "You're serious."
"Absolutely serious, Mister Director," she said, calmly as she gestured to her guards, "And you are going to say yes." She looked over at the leader of her security detail. "I'm ready to go now," she said firmly, looking back she smiled, "I look forward to your announcement, Nicholas."