Thomas Theisman was not what she expected.
He was not a particularly tall man; nor was he particularly imposing. Plain brown eyes flickered around the room from a weathered face capped with short, unremarkable brown hair. Nothing about the man stood out, and for a moment she wondered just how he had managed the impossible.
And then she caught his eyes, and the revelation punched her in the solar plexus.
Oh, she thought, a little dazed. That's how.
For the fire that blazed in those eyes was brighter than the hottest star, a fervency not of political belief but of love - love of his crew, his Navy, and his star nation. Come and follow me, those eyes seemed to say, and we will make our nation great again.
Deep inside the cynical, battered, wary, exhausted shell of Eloise Pritchart, her heart answered the call.
Javier's hand flexed in hers, and she winced as she loosened her grip. "You, too, hmm?" he murmured quietly in her ear, and that was when she noticed that every pair of eyes in that room was unwaveringly fixed on Theisman.
Tourville, Honeker, LePic, Javier, herself - it was a small group, almost unnervingly small.
This is it, she thought dizzily. Win or lose, the six of us will shape the history of the Republic.
"Welcome," said Theisman, very, very quietly. "It appears we have some decisions to make." He studied them all with an unflickering gaze. "As you all know, Oscar Saint-Just is… no longer among the living. The Committee is in disarray, and I have no intention of allowing it to regroup. Ladies and gentlemen, the people of Haven deserve more than what they had under the Legislaturalists and the Committee. They deserve a government by the people, for the people, of the people, which works for them and not for its own interests. They deserve the Haven that was called the 'Athens of the Stars', where peace and prosperity reigned, not fear and poverty.
"We cannot guarantee peace, ladies and gentlemen," he continued. "But by God we can work for it. And in peace or in war, we can give the people - our people, the people of the star nation we swore to serve - a truly elected government in which they can feel not just pride, but trust. Make no mistake, I have no intention of permitting a dictator - of any type - to abuse the opportunity we have here. The Constitution is coming back, ladies and gentlemen - not the Constitution of the Legislaturalists, but the Constitution of Péricard to which we still owe our loyalty and our service."
He stared at them all, unflinching, and Eloise felt her heart tremble. This was the kind of rhetoric every politician thundered from the podium but never believed themselves, and Eloise realised with a sudden shock that Thomas Theisman did believe. That here in this room was the kind of romantic about whom songs were written and epic holovid dramas made, never mind that he couldn't look less the part if he tried.
"I am prepared to give them that government, ladies and gentlemen," he continued, and the battle steel in his voice made Eloise shiver. "Which means I have only one question. Who stands with me?"
Tourville was the first on his feet. "I do."
Javier followed, then Eloise and LePic, with Honeker just half a breath behind them, and Theisman began to chuckle. "Good," he said, a smile breaking out on his face, "because if not, then I was really in trouble."
That was about the point when the entire room erupted in hysterical laughter.
When they had all calmed down again, and Theisman had settled into the chair at the head of the table, he continued on. "As I said, my friends," and here a smile flickered at the corner of his mouth, "we have some decisions to make. Here in this room are the three highest-ranking admirals of the Republic's navy. Barring any objection, I intend to keep Admirals Giscard and Tourville in service. Not only would setting either of them loose on the world of politics be a disaster of epic proportions," he said as Tourville and Javier nodded wryly, "but I have no intention of using them anywhere else. I need fleet commanders I can trust at my back. Because," he said thinly, "again, barring any objections, I intend to remain not just Chief of Naval Operations but Secretary of War."
"Well of course you are," Tourville said with a snort. "Who else was it going to be? Get on with it and stop stating the obvious!"
"Thank you, Lester," Theisman said calmly. "Denis," he nodded at LePic, who nodded back just as gravely, "has already agreed to act as Attorney General. But we still need an acting head of state. Someone who knows the political system inside and out, who has connections with everyone from the Aprilists to the former Committee. Someone who can not just survive in the political arena, but thrive in it. Someone who can make the difficult choices - the politically necessary choices - but never forget the human cost, or forget who she truly serves."
Theisman met Eloise's gaze directly, and she felt her throat close in terror. All around her Tourville and Honeker and LePic were nodding approval, and Javier was simply beaming, but she barely noticed as the goosebumps rose on her arms.
"Brigade Commander Delta and Citizen Commissioner," Theisman said levelly, "who are you, and what do you stand for?"
The words that came out of her mouth in answer felt as though they had been placed there by someone else. She could hardly think, could barely breathe, as some power far beyond her own understanding brought her to her feet.
"I am Eloise Pritchart," she said clearly as the tears ran down her face, and the words echoed distantly in her ears over the faint, invisible sound of a woman laughing in delight. "And I stand for the Republic."
Theisman's face creased in a beaming smile, and he reached out to take her free hand in his. "In that case," he said, and his voice was very thick, "I and my Navy serve at your pleasure - Madame President."
"And I serve at the pleasure of Haven herself," she replied, and shivered as a woman's voice echoed deep in her bones and whispered in her ear, oh, yes, my love. You and I, we shall do very well. We shall do very well indeed. You are mine, Eloise, for all your days.
"Hail to the chief," Javier murmured into the silence, and took her hand and kissed it. "And God bless the Republic."