“While many of my decisions will be subject to review, Mr. Prime Minister, one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty at this time is that my Empress and her government have no intention of adding independent star systems forcibly to the Star Empire. Nor are we interested in controlling nominally independent star systems through puppet governments and protectorate arrangements. In fact, our recent expansion is going to leave us with some significant problems when it comes to integrating our new citizens into our existing political and economic system. We still don’t know how those problems are going to work out, although I’m optimistic that they
“Because of the nature of our conflict with the Solarian League, however, it’s inevitable that we’re going to find ourselves doing very much what we did here—taking star systems away from
“As I see it, that means our best course of action is to encourage the formation of stable system governments.
She paused to let that last sentence sink in, then leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs and clasping her hands under her chin.
“Should King Lawrence be interested in forming such a government, and should he be prepared to demonstrate guarantees for his subjects’ rights and safety, I’m prepared, provisionally, speaking for the Star Empire of Manticore, to acknowledge him as the rightful sovereign of the Meyers System, and to offer him a military and economic alliance with the Star Empire. We’re
Montview sat silent, gazing into her eyes very intently for several seconds. Then he drew a deep breath and squared his shoulders.
“Obviously, I’ll have to discuss this with His Majesty, Milady. I believe, however, that you’ll discover this is no more than what he’s always wished it had been within his power to accomplish. I don’t say there won’t be problems. Among other things, I expect the Damien Moons to argue in favor of independence from the Kingdom. That’s where the most…recalcitrant of our people have relocated since Frontier Security’s arrival. They haven’t thought much of our ‘inner world’ softness and collaboration.” He smiled briefly. “Hard to blame them, really, but I’ve often wondered if they realized how much that ‘collaboration’ of the King’s had to do with Frontier Security’s leaving them alone out there.
“Aside from that, I think the political equation would work itself out much more smoothly than you might have anticipated. I also think our local police forces would be extremely grateful if we could establish a clear-cut source of local authority as quickly as possible. At the moment, everyone’s operating in something of the vacuum, and that means all of them are also looking over their shoulders, wondering what’s going to happen if and when you and your ships pull out.”