The rotund Admiral Romanski shouted over the din, “My great-great-grandfather escaped the vampire holocaust with hardly a shirt on his back. My family was slaughtered by those creatures.”
Garang aimed his formidable hatchet face at the heavily medaled sailor. “That was one hundred and fifty years ago. Surely you are past the insult now. Do you expect to find the family silver still in the cupboard when the army rolls into St. Petersburg?”
Romanski stood with jingling medals and slammed his hands on the table. “How dare you, sir!”
Adele rapped her ring loudly on the table. “Enough! I won't have this behavior.”
The admiral jabbed a pudgy finger at Garang. “Pardon, Your Majesty, but I can't stand by and let this Sudd troublemaker demean the struggle of the human race as if he was not part of it.”
“Which human race would that be?” Garang replied loudly. “The Europeans? Look around you, Admiral Romanski. How many of the people in this room, how many people on the streets of Alexandria or Khartoum or Bombay are consumed by the lust for revenge for your ancestors being driven from the north? Are we to twist the entire Empire for the ambitions of a few who have delusions of the Old Country?”
The empress said, “Mr. Garang, we are all human whether our ancestors came from the north or not. The vampires are a unique enemy, and we owe it to our brothers and sisters under their terrible yoke.”
“With respect, Majesty,” Garang said, “no, we do not.” And over the rising outrage, he continued, “How far back must we set the clock? It has been over a century. Britain is vampire. Germany is vampire. Hungary is vampire. We have too many important issues here at home to waste money and men to free Russian herds!”
“Damn you, sir!” Admiral Romanski tugged a white dress glove from his belt and hurled it at the Sudanese politician. “I demand satisfaction from you!”
“Sit down, Admiral!” Adele shouted, and when Garang began to retort, “Shut up, Mr. Garang! The next one of you to speak will be arrested.” They both opened their mouths, and Adele glared. “Test me, gentlemen.”
She waited angrily for the clamor to die down and for all eyes to return to her. She huffed and tossed her pen down. “You wish to know our war aims, Mr. Garang? Let me state clearly for you what they are not. This is not a war of imperial expansion.” Some politicians gasped. “Nor are we aiming to restore old ruling families to their ancient seats.” Other politicians gasped.
“Will these things happen?” Adele continued. “Perhaps. Will the aftermath be neat and clean? No. We may have to administer territory for years to come. Yes, it is expensive. We are already sending enormous quantities of humanitarian aid into southern Europe. And we are accepting vast numbers of refugees into Equatoria. But that is a burden we will bear as the preeminent power in the world.” She paused. “Would I prefer a reign of peace and prosperity? Yes. But the moment is here. How will history judge me? I care not. The world is on the edge of a knife and I won't have us bleed to death. Gentlemen, I would not have begun the war if I did not intend to win it, one way or the other. Humans in the north will be free and we will remove vampire power from the northern hemisphere. The day of the vampire is at an end.”
“Hear hear,” several gentlemen muttered, tapping the table. “Well said, indeed.”
Adele stood, and all others rose in response. “Gentlemen, I will expect your notes within the day.” The grandees of the Empire bowed to their empress, gathered their papers, and filed out, being careful to keep a buffer between Garang and Admiral Romanski.
When the heavy door shut, leaving her with Captain Shirazi and his young corporal, a fourth figure stirred from his spot across the room. Adele greeted King Msiri of Katanga as he stepped toward the table. He was a large man, tall and muscular, dressed in loose linen, with a regal carriage that made him unmistakably important. The Katangan sovereign pulled out a chair and dropped heavily into it with a laugh. “Excellent! You handled that admirably. It could have turned into a nasty scene. If it had been me, there likely would have been at least a fistfight, and at most a public execution.”
Adele resumed her seat with a long sigh. “Mr. Garang isn't a bad man. He's a patriot, I feel certain. And he has a point. There are vast numbers of people in the Empire who've had little or nothing to do with the vampires. These old northerners hold onto their heritage like a feeble dog with a bone. I find them annoying too. And times are changing. Generations have come and gone many times since the Great Killing. The old families from the north are disappearing into the folk of the Empire.”