Debt of Honor (The Embers of War) by Christopher G. Nuttall

Author:Christopher G. Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

* * *

TYRE

Father definitely had the right idea, Peter thought as he listened to yet another long-winded Member of Parliament droning on about his constituency’s interests. There’s no reason I couldn’t vote by proxy, or even have each debate summarized for me . . .

He glanced at his datapad, wondering when, if ever, the MP for Hawking Park would get to the point. It felt like he’d been talking for hours, despite the speaker putting a strict time limit on speeches. The man definitely loved the sound of his own voice. Peter rather thought he’d said the same thing over and over again. By the time the MP sat, to a ripple of relieved applause, Peter was nursing a pounding headache.

The speaker stood. “The Honorable MP for Gridley wishes to propose a Private Member’s Bill.”

Peter sat upright, feeling a sudden flicker of excitement. Anyone could propose a PMB, but it wouldn’t be put up for debate unless a handful of other MPs had already agreed to sponsor it. And then . . . the MP was gambling. If his bill didn’t receive a certain level of support from the Houses of Parliament, according to the rules, he’d have to face a vote of confidence from his constituents. The MP for Gridley—an independent MP, according to the man’s file—was taking a huge chance. His constituents might not thank him for failing to represent them properly.

Particularly as an independent will have problems getting the backing to get anything done, Peter thought. Party MPs had much more clout. They may come to regret electing an independent.

“Honorable Speaker, Honorable Members, I will be brief,” the MP for Gridley said. “We have spent the last week dancing around the question of passing the budget bill and arguing—pointlessly, I daresay—over our duty to the liberated worlds. To me, the issue is not up for debate. The liberated worlds are not members of the Commonwealth, we have no treaties with them that we should honor . . . and, as many others have pointed out, what commitments were made were made without Parliament’s consent.”

Dangerous waters, Peter thought, amused. The MP hadn’t mentioned the king, but everyone knew who’d made the commitments. His career will either rise to terrifying heights or come crashing down in flames.

“I say that we have no commitments,” the MP for Gridley said, his voice rising. “And I say that we have no interest in trying to civilize the barbarians. The people of Ahura Mazda do not want to live in a civilized society, and all our efforts to impose a new order on them are doomed to failure. There is literally nothing to be gained by an expensive commitment to the liberated sector. The Royal Navy exists to protect our worlds and our shipping. It does not exist to play galactic policeman!”

He paused, significantly. “I propose the immediate withdrawal of our ships and our bases from the Theocratic Sector. Let the locals handle their own defense, if they are so inclined; let the barbarians wallow in their own barbarism.

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