Hounds of Orion

Everything came to a complete stop the moment Logan opened his mouth. No one moved a muscle, not even the guard, who stopped mid arrest, looking at Logan with a raised eyebrow, before turning to scan the rest of the room, trying to gleam a shred of clarity on what had just been said. Luckily, he had a few options to choose from. The first, was that of a shared look of disbelief and anger on the faces of the former King and Lendrick. Then there was the earthling, Sybil, jaw agape and eyes wide like she would have never considered such a thing to be said. Finally, Queen Miranda’s reaction was one of pure confusion, as she looked between everyone else.

A veil of silent tension filled the room, and the guard felt, for lack of a better term… awkward. He turned to face the queen, clearing his throat and drawing her eye.

“Your majesty… I’m sorry, but… did you wish for me to arrest Captain Rake? I don’t mean to sound insubordinate, it’s just that his proclamation sounded rather… official? I wouldn’t want to be interfering in interspace business while in the process of performing my duties.”

Miranda blinked, then shook her head, clearing the fog of confusion that had set in.

“No, you’re fine Sarmis… Please, return to your post. And close the door behind you when you do. Do not come in unless you specifically hear my voice calling for you.”

The guard nodded, doing an about face and marching through the doorway. All eyes were on him as he grabbed the doorknob, easing it shut. Then as if the audible sound of the latch clicking into place was the primer, the room exploded into a cacophony of voices all at once.

“You can’t do that!” Lendrick bellowed “It’s his right as a free-space citizen!” Marcus said, finally speaking up as he took a step towards the rest of the group.

“Gentlemen, what’s -” Miranda began to speak, when she was cut off by the all-encompassing argument.

“Seriously Logan? You’d invoke that right on my son?” Augustus growled, mouth agape in shock.

“I thought he wasn’t your son anymore Augustus?” Logan shot back. “Why do you give a shit all of a sudden?”

“Why you little -”

“Erm… excuse me?” Miranda tried again, her voice a little louder as she tried to be heard.

“I won’t stand for this!” Lendrick shouted, his face turning red in a fury. “Prince Caustos won’t stand for this.”

“Well both you and the prince are more than welcome to sit,” Logan said, leaning in till his face was inches from the diplomat. “Because last time I checked, you don’t get a say in this!”

“How dare you!”

“HEY!” Miranda shouted, her voice going up several octaves in a screech that brought all other voices to a screeching halt. Logan, Lendrick, Augustus, and Marcus all turned to her, eyes wide in surprise, their mouths closing as they adjusted themselves back to a more dignified state.

Miranda took a moment to center herself, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. She ran a hand through her greasy black hair, pushing it back behind her ears, before exhaling slowly, not looking up as she spoke in a soft, warning tone.

“I understand tensions are high right now. I also understand that there are… conflicting opinions in this room concerning this… invocation. But today is not only my first day as queen, but my first day hearing about something so polarizing. So do you think it all possible that one of you could stop this pissing contest for FIVE MINUTES, and tell me what Forced Relinquishment is?!”

The silence in the room was deafening. None of the occupants made a sound as Miranda scanned the room. None, except for Sybil’s faint, breathy giggling. All eyes turned in her direction, and unlike everyone else, she hadn’t moved an inch in all the commotion. There she was, lounging against the wall, a glass of whiskey in one hand that swung freely, while the other, she held up to her stomach, trying to contain her laughter.

“My my,” She said after a moment, the familiar knowing smirk on her lips as she looked out towards the faces gazing on her. “I’ll give you this, you lot are the most entertaining group of people this side of the sector. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve been so entertained.”

Miranda’s temples throbbed in frustration, though she kept her calm enough to speak in a more subdued and diplomatic tone, even if it was through clenched teeth.

“Do you know what they’re talking about Sybil? This… forced relinquishment?”

“I do…” She said cryptically, casting her eyes down to stare at her drink, which she was swirling in her palm.

Miranda felt her eye twitch and had to take another deep breath before responding. “Would you please enlighten me as to what it is?”

A smile appeared on Sybil’s face, though she stayed quiet for a time, choosing instead to drain the rest of the alcohol in her glass. She gave a satisfied sigh, setting the drink down, and just when Miranda was getting ready to truly lose her patience, was when she answered.

“Forced Relinquishment, a by-product of the Free Space Pioneering Act of 2175. Back then, Earth’s fleet was stretched thin from rapid colonization, yet they still wanted visibility in the eastern arm of the galaxy. To that end, they decided to rely on private corporations to go out and explore, promising tax breaks and relaxed government oversight. But, they still needed the bodies to fill the ships. So, using an old tactic from the ancient British Empire’s colonization of Australia, they found them.”

“British Empire? Australia? I’m not sure I follow.” Miranda said, her eyebrow raised in curiosity and confusion.

Sybil shook her head, waving away her questions.

“Not important. Just a fun little historical fact. What is important however,” She said, slowly raising her gaze to look from Miranda to Logan, her gaze a cold and powerful beam that seemed to gaze into his very being, “is that Mr. Rake here has potentially found a loophole to get Cameron out of prison.”