The Forum reverberated with a hissing sound: the word disrepair spoken with contempt. Against the feigned politesse of the admiral, defiance reasserted itself. "The hard lines were deliberately destroyed," the President said coldly.
Admiral Fowler nodded. "That would seem likely."
"Do you claim this was not the military's doing?"
She shrugged. "We aren't certain. We suspect the Apparatus is responsible. In any case, we four do not represent the military per se."
Confusion filled the Great Forum now. Nara could read nothing useful from the officers. They were soldiers on a mission, hard-minded, determined not to consider the greater implications of their actions. Whatever Fowler's claims, the four were following orders.
"You carry a writ from the Emperor himself?" Drexler asked.
Fowler shook her head. "We don't represent the Emperor, either. Can we speak in private, President?"
"The Senate is in session, Admiral. We are conducting a trial."
Fowler looked about the hall, begrudgingly recognizing the hundreds of senators surrounding her. She sighed, and turned to address them all.
"Two of us are here to speak for the Home Fleet and certain ships of the High Fleet. My own flag vessel, for one." She indicated the men on her left. "And these fine officers represent ground units of the Capital Guard and Home Reserve. But not much of the latter, I fear."
Nara Oxham swallowed. The military was divided.
Drexler raised his eyebrows. "The situation is complicated, then, in terms of your chain of command."
Admiral Fowler nodded slowly. She glanced nervously around the Forum, as if wishing again for a smaller audience. Then she shifted her weight, looked at the gray marble floor, and spoke carefully.
"Yes, but perhaps you could clarify matters for us, President Drexler. Due to the communications situation, the War Council has rendered an incomplete vote on an issue of great importance."
"An incomplete vote?"
"Eight members have voted, President, and the result is a four-to-four tie. Certain members of the military command structure insist that the Emperor's vote should break the tie, as per tradition when the council is not at full strength."
The admiral cleared her throat.
"But others of us would prefer to wait for the vote of the ninth member of the council, given the importance of the issue. Should she be available."
For the first time, the admiral looked at Oxham. Nara could read nothing in the woman's expression. Fowler's mind was clean, as if she were a disinterested, slightly bored observer at some hoary political convention.
"What is this issue?" Oxham asked.
The admiral spoke officiously. "The council has voted--partly voted--on an order to the Capital Guard. The order is to suspend temporarily the normal operations of the Senate. To arrest Senator Oxham and turn her over to the Apparatus."
"To cross the Pale?" Drexler hissed.
Admiral Fowler nodded. "That exceptional action was explicitly dictated."
Drexler's face darkened.
"Thus, in a manner of speaking, we four are authorized to be here, President," the admiral continued, "by partial vote of the council. But, being on this side of the Pale, we discover the ninth member of the council."
The woman bowed to Oxham. Finally, emotion finally surged from all four them to reach her empathy. Strong affect, focused directly on her.
"Should she be available."
President Drexler spoke carefully, joining the admiral's dance of words.
"Senator Oxham's membership in the War Council has been suspended, as you may know, pending the result of this trial." He looked down from the dais at Oxham, raising one eyebrow.
For a moment, Nara wondered if this was a charade, all a trick. Her empathy was mostly suppressed; she couldn't feel the emotional reality of the situation. The confusion of the divided city raged around her, but the emotions of these officers were too subtle to read. But one thing was certain, Nara had to act.
Four to four, she thought. The Plague Axis had made good on their promise. And now she could break the tie. "President Drexler, I rest my defense. And call for a vote on my expulsion."
The young Secularist who had replaced her as party whip, rose.
"I second the call. A fast vote, if the President pleases."
Puram Drexler's gavel thundered. "Senators, you have fifty seconds. Vote by standard gestural code."
A few objections were raised from the shocked Loyalist benches, but Drexler gaveled them into silence. The Senate was stunned for a few moments, but then votes began to tally. Oxham almost failed to cast her own, forgetting that she had never been officially removed as His Majesty's Representative from Vasthold, Senator of the Empire, and that she had every right.
The Senate voted.
Half a minute later, it was over. Even a sizable number of Loyalists--whether from confusion, the realization that defeat was certain, or a final faithfulness to traditions even older than the Emperor-- voted with the majority. Nara Oxham had been overwhelmingly acquitted of treason; the motion for her expulsion had failed.
The suddenness of it all left her empty inside; relief would take a long time to come.
"Senator Nara Oxham is returned to full status and duties, without prejudice or delay," President Drexler announced.
The old man turned to the officers.
"She is available, Admiral," he finished.
They turned to her.
"Senator, we await the final vote of the War Council."
Still stunned at the speed of events, Nara gathered herself. Enough of the military had dared to forestall the Emperor, Drexler had supported them, the Senate had acted quickly and true. All that was left was for her to finish the job.
Again, it all came down to a word.
"I vote against the proposal, Admiral," she said quietly.
"Thank you for the clarification," Fowler answered. She turned to face the Senate. "We apologize for this intrusion. Certain elements under our command will remain--outside the Pale--to render technical assistance and all necessary protection to the Senate."
"That is acceptable," Drexler said.
"Death spare the Senate," Fowler said.
"Death spare the Senate," came the murmured response of the assembly.
Three of the officers turned and strode from the Forum, hurrying back to the Pale and the military infostructure, where they could give orders to their troops and ships. But one of the navy men stayed behind, and took a step toward her.