Chapter 33

Amnon Saxe entered the Chieftain’s office in the morning, unprepared for what he saw.  Presumably, he had been called into a meeting with Zungher Dol himself of a matter so sensitive that the meeting needed to happen face-to-face and as soon as possible.  Amnon had pushed all other appointments aside and rushed his schedule to appear somewhat coherent before the Supreme Leader.

However, Dol was nowhere to be seen.  Behind the Chieftain’s desk stood Saw Yatha, and in front of him was the usual crowd: Director Rylar, Secretary Zelus, Commander Tharn, and Director Fen.  Each man sat in various degrees of concern and apprehension, which was normally absent from such meetings.  Additionally, the members of the court tribunal were there.  This was highly unusual.  Amnon knew there were strong tendrils of Dol’s influence in the court, but he had never witnessed it so blatantly.

“Good of you to make it on such short notice,” Saw smiled, indicating the last empty seat to Amnon.  “Now that we are all here, we can get started.”

“Excuse me,” Amnon said, “where is the Chieftain?”

I saw Yatha’s mouth tense before he spoke.  “The Chieftain has taken ill…”. Before Saw could continue, there were mummers of concern among the group.  Saw held up his hands.  “He’s fine.  I assure you he’s fine.  He sends his regrets.  He has set me as his surrogate until he recovers.”

“Can we see him?” asked Tavros Fen, “It would be good to get a message out from the Chieftain that he’s doing well.  To encourage the realms.”

Saw tidied some papers on the desk.  “That is a good thought, Director Fen.  I’ll see what I can arrange.  Right now, that is impossible.  The Chieftain needs all of the rest he can, and interruptions will only slow his recovery, especially while we have this unfinished business of the Princess to address.”

Something about this meeting felt off to Amnon.  It was more than just unusual that Zungher Dol missed a meeting he called or failed to attend a meeting due to poor health.  Amnon remembered a handful of meetings where a sniffling Dol gave him and others audience while he kept his distance and wore a veil over his face.  If the Supreme Leader was so ill that he couldn’t make it to this meeting, he must be in very bad shape.  He might even be close to dying.  If he was dying, then Tavros should be given whatever access was needed to project a position of strength and not a power vacuum.  Moreover, of all the people to serve as his surrogate, why did Dol choose Saw?  Saw Yatha was a long way from the heir apparent to the Chieftain’s seat.  There were more than enough misgivings about Yatha that Amnon was told in Saw’s absence that would make Dol’s mental stability as much at risk as his general health.

Amnon decided to hold his tongue and see where this was headed, give Saw the benefit of the doubt, and see if this helped or hindered the plans he and Keetha had worked out.

“So,” Saw turned to the tribunal, “how fast can we wrap up this needless trial?”

The members of the tribunal looked at each other, stunned.  “This is highly unusual,” the Head Justice said, eventually.

“I realize that,” countered Saw, “but equally, I think we all realize that there is only one purpose of this trial, and that is to give an official airing of her many crimes to the other realms and send a message to King Valen that his reign is broken and he should surrender now before there is more loss of Coellum life.  Not that I’m against that, personally.”  Saw looked around the room to see if his sentiment was shared by others.  “So, I’ll ask again,” he said turning his one eye to the tribunal, “how soon can we move along to sentencing?”

The Head Justice blustered and stammered for a moment before asking, “Is this coming from The Supreme Leader?”

Saw sat back in the Chieftain’s chair, “Are you suggesting that I would insert my preferences into this conversation?  Are you suggesting that I would intentionally rebel against my Chieftain?”

“I would never suggest, such a — it’s only — Where we are in the trial,” the Head Justice labored on, “we have not heard all of the accusations from the government and she has not had a chance to respond.”

“Why would we give her the ability to spread her noxious filth?” Saw asked, growing agitated.

“Because, that’s how it’s done,” another justice interjected.

Saw pushed himself away from the desk and stood.  “I have not made the Chieftain’s desires clear.  I’ve asked questions because I want to be polite and respectful of your official capacities.  I realize that my presence here is almost as unusual as the request from our Supreme Leader.  However, this is not a suggestion.  This is not open for debate.  This is a command from Zungher Dol himself.  So, really what I’m asking you is this:  Think of a way to make the trial end today and, if possible, the sentencing.  Chieftain Dol wants this trial over as soon as possible, no, I’m being deferential again, the trial needs to be over.  Get it done.  This trial is an unnecessary drain on Merlain’s time, money, and other resources that would be better applied to defeating our enemy.”  Saw Yatha looked the room over before asking, “Any quesitons?”

When he got the appropriate response of no questions, he relaxed, smiled broadly, and said, “Good.  I’m glad we’ve come to an understanding.  Now, I realize that all of you have very busy agendas today, so, I won’t hold you up any longer.”

The confused group of justices and bureaucrats slowly gathered themselves together and began to make their way out of the Chieftain’s office.  Amnon was the last to stand.  When everyone else had cleared out, Amnon turned to Saw and said, “When you see the Chieftain next, please give him my regards.  I hope he feels better soon.”

Saw smiled.  “I’m sure he will appreciate that.”

“Out of curiosity,” Amnon ventured, “why was I brought into this meeting?”

The smile quickly dropped from Saw’s face and was replaced with annoyance.  “I would have thought it obvious to the Director of Prisons.  She will be found guilty of many crimes.  She will receive the harshest and swiftest punishment available, and I want no gaps in procedure.  This includes her transfer from the prison to the termination facility.  You are in charge of both her prison confinement as well as the transfer and execution of the execution.  I recommended to the Chieftain personally that you be made as aware as possible so that everything goes off without a single error.”

Amnon nodded, “That is very much appreciated.  Thank you for thinking of me, Saw.”

“If it is one thing thing I have learned in my pursuit of Lillian’s capture, it is that she will exploit the slightest weakness in your armor, so the more we can fortify our already flawless defenses, the less risk of embarrassment.  Don’t you think?”

Amnon bowed to Saw, “I could not agree more.”

“Very good.  Is there anything else?”

“No,” Amnon said.

“Good.  I want to give the Chieftain a progress report by the end of the day on how your preparations are going.”

“He will have it,” Amnon said, spun on his heels, and exited the office. As he made his way back, Amnon played out the transfer and how this accelerated timetable would affect his team’s preparations.  He needed to get to Keetha as quickly as possible.  He was confident they could still pull it off, but Drex had to let the Golds know that time was of the essence.  Amnon couldn’t believe the time to act was now.  It had been a whirlwind that got him to this point and he was still unsure that he was the leader to pull off the coup of the government he served.  Still, it was often the uncommon people who were called on to make significant changes in history, so why not him?

Amnon didn’t have time to dwell on his place in history.  He reminded himself that nothing about this effort was inevitable and that if he didn’t keep his wits about him, he could end up like Lillian or worse.  He wanted to run up to Keetha’s desk but didn’t want to call attention to himself.  The secrets of the Dol government needed to be kept secret for as long as possible, and he didn’t need to cause whispers by acting erratic.  He clipped across the plaza, not noticing anyone who might want to stop and chat.  Patiently filing into the Prison building along with the rest of the employees arriving from their morning shift, Amnon’s heart felt like it would burst.

After passing through the first layer of security, Amnon made his way to the executive transport chamber, and then down the corridor to his office.  Keetha was already at her desk and busily working on something.  Amnon passed by her desk and rapped it twice with his knuckles.  Keetha looked up and Amnon indicated with h his eyes that she was to follow him.

Keetha grabbed her device and entered Amnon’s office.

“Close the door,” he said.  “We have work to do.”