Page 40 of Reformation
But that wasn’t his fate. No one else had the will and the power to move the Alliance in the right direction—a direction of consolidation, of togetherness, of cutting away the excess to pare down to the heart of what made humanity great. After centuries, millennia, of fighting to rise to the pinnacle of what was possible,it was clear that the only way to do it was to boldly, and without apology, get rid of the people who threatened to tear civilization back down.
How was it even possible that there were still people born who couldn’t handle Regen? How were there people who thought there was something guiding them across the universe, some theistic deity, rather than taking responsibility for their own fates? How could people expect not to have to strive for greatness and instead content themselves with living on the fringes of society, atypical, nonstandard, and shameful?
And the aliens, thealiens—what was there to learn from them? What could they do but dilute humanity’s grand vision for itself?
The call to action was greater now than it had ever been before. Raymond had felt the pull and answered it in his youth. Soon he would wipe the slate clean. The Alliance would start fresh, a central, powerful force that controlled its own reach, only moving as one, never in bits and pieces. No Fringe planets, no Drifters—those would be the next to go—strict policies on birth and health and death, and no contact with aliens other than getting them out of the way. It would be perfect. He was leading his species intoperfection.
Nothing worth achieving was easy. He would take the bumps and the lumps and emerge victorious in the end.
His comm beeped, and Raymond read the incoming message with a sense of gratification. Ah, lovely. His spies had found the location of Claudia Caractacus and her daughters. Raymond might have missed out on his chance to control Garrett via his husband or son—regrettable, but it was what it was—but his stepmother and sisters would make a serviceable lever in the meantime.
Shall we bring them in?
Please do.
Chapter twenty-three
Claudia
Once upon a time, Claudia had been a botanist. She had gone to school for it, graduated with honors, and gotten a job with one of the premier vintners of the Central System on her home planet of Vayaduun. She had planned to dedicate her life to the finer things in life—rare vintages, new grape varietals, and testing flowers, herbs, and additives to see what would make the most fragrant, harmonious combination on the palate. She’d had it all worked out.
That was before she met Miles Caractacus, at the time an active-duty general in the Alliance military. She hadn’t met him on duty, though; Claudia had been hired as the sommelier for a party his mother was hosting and had been required to attend it as well.Required, in those very terms—not invited. Extending invitations to the staff wasn’t something the Lady of the House did. But despite the rudeness of her interactions with her hostess, Claudia had agreed. It was an important event, fullof important people—the networking opportunities would be tremendous.
And then she met Miles.
He was older than she usually looked for in the people she was interested in, but he had a way of moving, of speaking—a brilliant vitality that drew her and every other person in the room into his orbit. He’d also been drinking a Hoffman red while eating an octopus skewer, which was just an offense to Claudia’s sensibilities.
Before she could stop herself, she’d walked up during a lull in the conversation, held out a new glass of wine—a delicate pale-pink Winnemaker from the mountains of Delgado—and said, “Excuse me, sir, but I recommend you try this instead.”
Miles had looked at it doubtfully. “I generally prefer reds.”
“I understand, but a red like that is for drinking on its own. It completely overwrites the flavor of food, particularly seafood. This wine will enhance it.”
Miles had smiled a little half smile. “I’ll let you in on a secret.” He’d leaned in close to her ear. “I despise seafood, but my mother has it at every party. This wine is the only thing I’ve found that lets me get through a plate of it without gagging.”
Claudia had blushed but managed to keep from laughing out loud. “I see. Well.” She’d drawn back and put the Winnemaker down on the nearest table. “In that case, let me get you a refill.”
“How about I come with you instead, and you can tell me more about what I could be drinking tonight?”
“Oh, please don’t let me take you away from your friends.”
“Nonsense.” He’d smiled politely at the people surrounding him. “They’re all perfectly capable of amusing themselves for a while.” He’d held out an arm to her. “Shall we?”
She’d gone with him to the bar, spent the rest of the evening at his side in easy conversation, and ended up spending the night with him. He’d left the next day, and Claudia had figured itwas a delightful interlude in her very normal life, but then he’d commed her. He’d kept in touch, at first every week, then every day, despite the distance and the challenges of a relationship between such different people. After two years of mostly long-distance courtship, when he’d asked her to marry him, she hadn’t had to think twice.
Marriage with Miles was wonderful. It was terrifying. It was more responsibility than she’d thought she could handle at first—wife of the governor? Wife of asenator?She came from a planet with fewer than a million settlers, for crying out loud! What did she know about organizing events or schmoozing with politicians or living a life in the public eye? And it wasn’t easy, even beyond that. Miles was still gone much of the time, and there were moments when Claudia missed him so badly she wept, but she never let on.
Thank god, Garrett had been around for most of her adjustment period, or she wasn’t sure how she would have come out of it sane. Who would have guessed that Miles’ son by his first marriage would end up as one of her best friends?
Then Claudia had Renee, and life became even more beautiful. Through Garrett moving away and starting his own family, through Miles almost dying during an assassination attempt, through the birth of her second daughter, Yvaine, Claudia had found her center. She had settled into her abilities, come to a reckoning with her life. She could do this. She could live and thrive and be happy, no matter what happened.
Circumstances were testing her resolve right now, though.
“Nooooo!” How could a six-year-old girl howl so loudly? “I don’twantto!”
“Well, you have to,” Claudia told her firmly. “You did it yesterday, Yvaine; why won’t you do it tonight?”
“Because look!” She pouted and pointed at her knee. “I have ascrapetoday. I can’t have a shower when I have a scrape.”
