realization, but it was crazy, surely not! Evelyn had told them that he was still alive, could it be true? Could it be this man?
“My name is Xerxes Tell. I last saw you two gentlemen on Axis Nova.”
“Surely it’s not possible,” Blas said automatically. “You don’t look anything like him.”
“All the same, it is true. The current incumbent on Axis Nova, President Fabian Bartok, seized power illegally. I am President Xerxes Tell.”
Blas went to speak again, but Evelyn stopped him. “This man speaks truth, Constantine. He is really Xerxes Tell. What happened to him is exactly what I read in Pieter Bose’s mind.”
The room fell silent as each of them reeled with the enormous impact of the appearance of the ragged creature standing before them. Was he truly the rightful President of the Nine Systems? It would certainly explain a great many things.
“Evelyn Gluck told us of her suspicions,” Rusal said. “It seemed too incredible, and I’m afraid that we doubted her. We doubted you too, at first. I apologize. Welcome back, President Tell.”
He shook Tell’s hand warmly, and the others followed the gesture, but there was still doubt. The room seemed to fall apart in a babble of questions. Tell held up his hand in a gesture they recognized. Yes, it was him. There was no doubt about it, the old, familiar Xerxes Tell. He was back.
“Give me a little time and I will answer all of your queries. First, Max, could I ask you for a shower and the loan of some clean clothes. I’ll need a razor and a pair of scissors, I think.”
“At once, Sir. Come with me.”
When he’d gone, they sat down to discuss the incredible appearance of their President from a Hesperian prison farm.
“How the hell did Fabian Bartok manage to pull it off?” Rusal asked. “We all saw the President die on Axis Nova.”
Evelyn answered him. “The person who died on Axis Nova was a double, that much is clear, what we call a doppelganger.”
“You mean Bartok set up this whole charade?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know who set it up. Perhaps there was more than one plot to seize power, it wouldn’t be unique. The first plot was to kidnap and switch Xerxes Tell, but then Bartok murdered their man.” She smiled. “Yes, there were definitely two plots. The first was to substitute the doppelganger, and the second to kill who they thought was President Tell. It is likely that each was unaware of the other. The man that everyone thought was Xerxes Tell was killed, and Fabian Bartok was ready to step in and take his place. Remember, the other member of the cabinet, Sister Serena of Orphex, died within a few hours too. It seems that it wasn’t an accident, now that we know all of this.”
They looked up as a man descended the staircase. He smiled at their astonishment. In front of them stood the old Xerxes Tell, the man they’d last seen in Lyra city on Axis Nova. They all stood up out of respect. This was the President, their President, and the rightful President. There could be no more doubt.
“Sir, it’s good to see you again, I mean it, to see you as we last saw you.”
He tactfully avoided mentioning the lines and scars that still disfigured Tell’s face, but Tell was no fool, and he’d already looked in a mirror.
“Not quite as you last saw me, but it’ll do for now. Admiral Rusal, I had a hard five years, and it shows, so I don’t blame you for having doubts. Now that I’m back, we have much to discuss. The first question is this. Are you all prepared to stand with me to fight this tyranny that has taken control of the Nine Systems?”
“You don’t need to ask that, Sir. Every one of us here has fought for you in the past, nothing has changed.” Rusal’s expression was fierce, leaving no doubt as to his allegiance.
“We’re with you too, Mr. President. All of us,” Blas said, emotion choking his voice. The growing cruelty and the increasing hunger within the universe had made him angry, yet
“My name is Xerxes Tell. I last saw you two gentlemen on Axis Nova.”
“Surely it’s not possible,” Blas said automatically. “You don’t look anything like him.”
“All the same, it is true. The current incumbent on Axis Nova, President Fabian Bartok, seized power illegally. I am President Xerxes Tell.”
Blas went to speak again, but Evelyn stopped him. “This man speaks truth, Constantine. He is really Xerxes Tell. What happened to him is exactly what I read in Pieter Bose’s mind.”
The room fell silent as each of them reeled with the enormous impact of the appearance of the ragged creature standing before them. Was he truly the rightful President of the Nine Systems? It would certainly explain a great many things.
“Evelyn Gluck told us of her suspicions,” Rusal said. “It seemed too incredible, and I’m afraid that we doubted her. We doubted you too, at first. I apologize. Welcome back, President Tell.”
He shook Tell’s hand warmly, and the others followed the gesture, but there was still doubt. The room seemed to fall apart in a babble of questions. Tell held up his hand in a gesture they recognized. Yes, it was him. There was no doubt about it, the old, familiar Xerxes Tell. He was back.
“Give me a little time and I will answer all of your queries. First, Max, could I ask you for a shower and the loan of some clean clothes. I’ll need a razor and a pair of scissors, I think.”
“At once, Sir. Come with me.”
When he’d gone, they sat down to discuss the incredible appearance of their President from a Hesperian prison farm.
“How the hell did Fabian Bartok manage to pull it off?” Rusal asked. “We all saw the President die on Axis Nova.”
Evelyn answered him. “The person who died on Axis Nova was a double, that much is clear, what we call a doppelganger.”
“You mean Bartok set up this whole charade?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know who set it up. Perhaps there was more than one plot to seize power, it wouldn’t be unique. The first plot was to kidnap and switch Xerxes Tell, but then Bartok murdered their man.” She smiled. “Yes, there were definitely two plots. The first was to substitute the doppelganger, and the second to kill who they thought was President Tell. It is likely that each was unaware of the other. The man that everyone thought was Xerxes Tell was killed, and Fabian Bartok was ready to step in and take his place. Remember, the other member of the cabinet, Sister Serena of Orphex, died within a few hours too. It seems that it wasn’t an accident, now that we know all of this.”
They looked up as a man descended the staircase. He smiled at their astonishment. In front of them stood the old Xerxes Tell, the man they’d last seen in Lyra city on Axis Nova. They all stood up out of respect. This was the President, their President, and the rightful President. There could be no more doubt.
“Sir, it’s good to see you again, I mean it, to see you as we last saw you.”
He tactfully avoided mentioning the lines and scars that still disfigured Tell’s face, but Tell was no fool, and he’d already looked in a mirror.
“Not quite as you last saw me, but it’ll do for now. Admiral Rusal, I had a hard five years, and it shows, so I don’t blame you for having doubts. Now that I’m back, we have much to discuss. The first question is this. Are you all prepared to stand with me to fight this tyranny that has taken control of the Nine Systems?”
“You don’t need to ask that, Sir. Every one of us here has fought for you in the past, nothing has changed.” Rusal’s expression was fierce, leaving no doubt as to his allegiance.
“We’re with you too, Mr. President. All of us,” Blas said, emotion choking his voice. The growing cruelty and the increasing hunger within the universe had made him angry, yet
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