Chapter 39
May 25th
Parliament Hall
Mach 'Beh
Suk II
The door opened on Alvarez' office and she walked in, wearing her more classic ceremonial toga. Her rubellite earrings were still where she left them, though the rest of the place had been opened, moved, lifted, and all other forms of "inspected," leaving the entire place a scattered mess. All her records, electronic and otherwise, had been taken days ago after the allegations hit.
And I was conveniently locked away in a bunker a long place from here, making anyone's apprehension about raiding my office that much easier, she thought sourly.
Her hands were shackled in front of her, though the more modest toga didn't allow for the presence she normally preferred. The guards on either side wore face masks that covered their eyes, making it more or less impossible to tell what affect she was having on them, if any.
On the satin room-sized rug, which was sitting in a bed of plastic designed to submerge something that big in liquid, was Oka Kuri, also shackled and on his knees.
The entire length of every wall and corner were guards with heavy assault rifles, shoulder-to-shoulder. They closed the door behind Alvarez and completed the wall of muscle, armor, and heavy weaponry behind her.
"Kuri."
"Your lust for power was far too great, Alvarez. But I have come to ask you this one thing, which you already know."
"You want me to restore your honor? You've hardly lost yours. I've taken most of the blame for The Langley Affair and beyond, despite it being our idea.
"See, that's where you're wrong." He stood tiredly, and lifted a plush armchair for a more comfortable seat. His voice was graveled, but he had cleaned himself up.
He sighed comfortably in the chair, then continued. His English was firm. "Keeping the RoughRiders stretched thin, busy for months, was my idea. Never, ever was I open to the idea of trading civilian lives. I've occupied planets before. There was no need for what you did." His voice was calm, and he was quiet.
There was probably at least a dozen other zingers he could have used at the end there, but chose not to. He doesn't want me angry at him. Because he wants a favor. The best favor I could possibly give him at this point.
She flushed, but fired back calmy. "True. There's a special little hell waiting for me on the other side of that myomer rope out there." She raised her shackled hands to point out the window, where thousands of her people awaited her public hanging.
The last place she'd ever be headed to. The last great public spectacle she craved.
"So why should I care about you and your little ritual at this point? My life is measurable in minutes."
Kuri smiled at her, like the way an old friend would smile. "You are the only person even close to a friend, colleague, or business partner on this planet. I simply ask one thing." He stood again and kneeled on the carpet.
In front were the two swords for his seppuku. He picked up the smaller tanto in one hand while undoing the buttons with the other, careful not to cut himself early and dishonor himself.
He gestured towards the larger sword, smiling.
Alvarez slowly picked it up, and stabbed him in the chest. The blade went clean through. To the hilt.
His face was as white as her smile. "Not the way you wanted to go, but nobody really gets what they want anymore, do they?" Her face, her arms, and her toga were splattered with his blood. Her hands were drenched with it.
Seconds later, Kuri slumped lifelessly, his larger wakizashi propping him on his knees. The guards said nothing. The camera kept rolling.
She left the sword there and walked to the door, blocked by the guard-wall. "I'm done here. No point in changing clothes anyway, so let's go get this over with, shall we?" The blood began to drip beneath her on the bare wooden floor. The guards parted, opened the door for her, allowed her to lead the way to her execution as her toga tried to pick up the blood on her hands.
Tried, and failed. There was simply too much.
