Saga of the Bridgers-Year 6

Chapter 9: Diplomatic Plays

March 25.

A knock on her office's door. "Come in." said the Empress and the door opened, revealing the head of the Imperial Guard, who stepped in.

"My Lady, we have arrived." the Colonel reported with a quick salute.

"Thank you, James." Benedetta replied kindly. She closed the huge list of documents she was trying to read during the voyage, all were reports of what the various Ministers and the Parliament were doing, so she could stay updated on the issues going on back home.

She was already dressed with her white uniform, so she headed out of the door, with James following at protocol distance.

"Has my son called?" she asked.

"The Prince only sent a message saying that the audience will start in..." he checked the clock. "42 minutes."

"Let's hurry up, then." she said as she reached the access shaft, finding Howard already waiting for her.

The ramp of her ship opened, revealing the company of the Palaven Guard waiting to greet her in grand style. The Empress strode down and aimed a salute at the soldiers as was her custom, until she arrived at the end of the parade line, where waiting for her was Adrien Victus, Primarch of Palaven since the Reaper War, and who had announced since the beginning of the war with the Empire that he would like to resign his position and take back his position in the Armed Forces as General. With him was his wife Lisaria, waiting patiently beside him.

The Empress walked in front of the Primarch and they shook each other's hands.

"Your Majesty. Palaven is honored to receive your visit." said Victus.

"Greetings, Primarch Victus. I'm glad to see you're doing well."

After also greeting Lisaria and leaving the Consorts to chat behind them, the two Heads of State started walking toward the exit of the spaceport, where a convoy was waiting to bring them to the tribunal.

"What's the current situation for Admiral Edrix?" the Empress asked calmly.

"Your son has been...quite persuasive during these days. I'm impressed at how passionately he is defending the Admiral." Victus stated in admiration.

"Claudio rarely does favors to anyone. It's safe to say Edrix left quite the impression on him during their service in Andromeda."

Victus sighed. "Just by looking at the reports, it's clear that the Admiral should have already been given a second chance, instead of a court martial. But alas, our people doesn't take kindly a sound defeat."

They reached the convoy and mounted on the reinforced astro-car in the middle as they kept talking.

Victus was right: Turian would cover in honor and glory a victorious general, but harshly punish one if they failed on the battlefield, even if that defeat wasn't so catastrophic. Sure, Lantillies had been a hard blow, but Edrix had managed to pull out two thirds of the allied forces before he was forced to surrender, and those survivors had had the chance to regroup and halt the imperial counterattack toward the Outer Rim. It was a stain on the Admiral's career, but Benedetta found it excessive to have him court-martial.

At the same time it was incredible how Claudio vehemently asked to assist Edrix's defense at the trial. The Prince was a Human, and he had been just the second-in-command of the federal forces in Andromeda, so he had no reason to be there. Yet he decided to expose himself for the Admiral. Clearly, he must have seen the problems in this proceeding, as well.

Yet it wasn't for nothing: Edrix earned many merits in Andromeda, so it seemed like the court was still split between those who thought he should be demoted and those who were willing to give him another chance.