The call had come soon after the bombing. An emergency session was to be held at the senate.

He sat there now, watching as his agitated colleagues shouted over each other, all trying to make statements that were either obsolete or irrelevant.

Those mattered little to him, however. The ones to watch were the silent ones. Those who thought things through and waited for the most appropriate time to speak—when they’d be sure the others would hear them.

There were only a handful. Lekili Abbadar, of course, who would occasionally throw glances in his direction—he wasn’t sure what to make of that. Then there was Atros Kalen, a young and brash man from Burnos who, despite his temperament, knew when to keep quiet and when to make a point. Malach Noori was an egocentric prick with a questionable lifestyle. Zax had heard rumors about the guy’s sexual preferences that had made him feel sick. If they were true, the man belonged in a cell. He’d sent some of his agents digging, but they had yet to uncover any evidence.

Udhi Moran wore her heart on her sleeve, which was rarely a good thing for a politician. Still, she was smart and strong. But Gulen Vadesh was the craftiest of the bunch. A brilliant mind in an oversized and hideous body. Because of his appearance, everyone tended to underestimate him. A situation he was well aware of and used to his full advantage.

The words ‘war’ and ‘aliens’ stood out from the gibberish some random senator was spouting, catching Zax’s attention. He focused on the tall redhead who was floundering in his attempts to make a point no one seemed interested in hearing.

With a frown, he lifted his wristpad and went through the latest holoflux. He cursed at himself as he read about the invasion. Of course, something like this would happen when he wasn’t paying attention. He’d normally have heard of this as soon as it’d hit the news, but he had been too busy setting things up...

And this changed everything.

Or maybe not.

His fingers drummed against the armrest of his chair, pondering.

“Something on your mind, senator?”

The question came from his assistant, who sat behind him. She had leaned closer to whisper in his ear and not disturb the ongoing monologue.

He shook his head and leaned forward—as much to put some distance between him and the young woman as to focus.

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The senate on Xovu was quite different from all the previous senates Zax had been in. Unlike the others that dealt with local issues, this one handled matters that impacted the Imperium as a whole.

Though the Emperor was on Assalin, the Imperial Senate was on Xovu. Just like the IAS was on Bernice and the thilium reserves on Effarat. An old tradition, thousands of years old, meant to separate the various seats of power in case some disaster occurred. A disaster like, say, an alien invasion. Despite all of his failings, Nashadan Prime had had the sense to maintain things as they stood when he’d usurped the throne.

Still, Zax doubted the young Emperor would be able to handle the situation properly.

He needed to speed things up.

The question was: how much time did he have?

“The bastard who blew up the Regency while we’re being attacked by aliens should be trialed for treason and executed on the spot.”

Kalen’s voice was calm, strong, clear. He had spoken during a lull in the other’s speech. All eyes turned on him now. A feral smile crept across his lips.

“I’m sure we can all agree on that, at least.”

Abbadar cleared her throat.

“Perhaps a better use of our time,” she said, “would be to find a way to evacuate the worlds on the aliens’ path in the quickest and most efficient way possible.”

“What of the victims here at home?” asked a local senator. “I’ll be honest, I’m more concerned about what is affecting us now than what might affect us tomorrow.”

“And that is why you’ll never go anywhere,” muttered Zax to himself.

Abbadar made a dismissive gesture. “We can’t help the dead, senator. Though I’ve read reports stating that Apanax has offered to provide free food for the families of all the victims.”

So Zintra listened to my suggestion after all, thought Zax with a smile.

“A most generous offer,” conceded the local senator, “but what measures will we take to avoid this from happening again? Obviously, the previous ones were insufficient.”

Noori grunted. “I hardly think that’s a priority now.”

“What if the madman does it again, despite the invasion?” insisted the other.

“We will hunt him down and feed him to my dogs,” Kalen hissed.

A moment of silence followed the statement.

Zax coughed, drawing everyone’s attention. He stood.

“May I make a humble suggestion?”

Abbadar nodded. “Please do, senator.”

“If we can determine the exact path of these aliens—”

“They are headed straight for us,” said Vadesh in a monotone voice.

Zax glanced at him. Nodded. Looked at his audience again.

“Well then, it is a simple matter, isn’t it? We know the safer worlds where to send people. Obviously, we cannot have everyone go to the same place, that would create mass panic. We need to organize this properly...”

“You said you had a suggestion?” asked Kalen.

Zax sighed. “I did, didn’t I? Yes, my friends. I suggest we use gateways to evacuate people. Quick and efficient, as requested.”

The younger senator made a face. “There wouldn’t be enough of them to be so efficient. Typically, one per city. And only the larger cities have them. It’d take forever.”

“Ah, yes, if we stick to the public ones. But this is war, my dear friends. Martial law allows us to arrogate private gateways.”

Chaos followed his statement as all the wealthiest senators began to protest the proposition.

It would do them no good, of course.

Martial law was now the rule.

Zax smiled as he sat and watched.