Part 35 (1/2)

'She's right, you know,' said Roz, turning the volume down again. 'Peace has broken out everywhere. Everyone's certain again.'

'That, and a ma.s.sive ISN redeployment to a dozen colony worlds. Walid making a show of strength. No more monsters?

N-forms or altered humans?'

249.

'Nope. The Empire's calm. Even the resistance are quiet: they're probably trying to decide what they think of the new boy.'

'So the crisis is past. Everything's settling into place.'

'Looks like it.'

'And what about you?'

Roz lit up another cigarette. The Doctor waved the smoke away. 'The Emperor's personal secretary has offered me the position of Pontifex Saecularis. Head of the Order of Adjudicators.'

The Doctor looked at her, one of his slow, considering looks.

'Are you going to accept?' he said at last.

'I already have,' she said.

He reached out and shook her hand, solemnly.

'Congratulations. There's a happy ending,' he said.

'The position ranks just below the Emperor in importance,'

said Roz. 'I'd be in a position to shape history. Get some justice out there, clean up this corrupt dump of an Empire. Starting with the Order of Adjudicators, which is filthy to the core. I'd start by ferreting out the conspirators who murdered my nephew and niece. Purge the Brotherhood's infiltrators. If Chris wants to stay, I could appoint him Lord High Sheriff, set his family up with a nice little moon of their own.'

She took a drag, puffed out a cloud of smoke. 'It also gives the Emperor a way of keeping an eye on the House of Forrester. An additional tie with Leabie can't hurt. Keep her on side.' She sighed. 'I'd really like to believe that it really is all over. I really don't want to hear any more bad news.'

'I don't have any,' said the Doctor.

'You'll find some.' Roz sighed.

'Mmm. This peace is too quick. I don't trust it.'

'The Council doesn't reconvene for a week. That's when the real work of restabilizing the government and the Empire will begin.'

'So history is still in disequilibrium.' He waved a hand at the screens. 'One push, in the right place...'

'I'm not worried about little pushes,' said Roz. 'It's hulking great battles.h.i.+ps zooming about and blowing planets up that I'm 250 worried about.' She ground out the cigarette on the console.

'Why'd you kill the Empress?'

'Is that an official question?' said the Doctor.

Roz smiled a little. 'I'm not going to be invested for a month.'

'She asked me to,' he said.

'Yeah,' she said, 'but you were expecting that, right? You went in there with the intention of giving history one almighty shove.'

The Doctor shook his head. Roz lifted an eyebrow, but she believed him. He didn't lie to her very often.

'She would have found some way of dying,' said the Doctor.

'But she might have spent another ten years looking for it. Or she might have really been a.s.sa.s.sinated, and the Empire would be at war right now...'

'All the possibilities,' said Roz. 'As usual, we drop in, and history coalesces around us.'

'I don't think you should take that position.'

'You don't agree?'

'I mean the Pontifex Saecularis position.'

'Doctor,' said Roz. 'I'm flattered. But I can't stay aboard the TARDIS for ever.'

He was shaking his head. 'You ought to stay well clear of history. Especially now.'

'A while back, you said my life had more possibilities than Chris's life. What did you mean by that?'

'I mean, when you see history coming,' he said, 'duck.'

'Leabie was looking for you,' said Roz. 'Didn't your beeper go off?'

The Doctor pulled the map out of his pocket. 'I wondered what that was. I switched it off.'

'She's up in the observatory. It sounded important, you'd better go and see her right away.'

The Doctor got up. 'Movement at last,' he said.

'Quack,' said Roz.

Leabie was watching the stars, sitting in a reclined, padded seat, one hand on the controls of the observatory. The whole room spun slowly at her touch.

251.

The Doctor stood on the curved floor of the great observatory.

It was a translucent ball, ten metres across, able to tilt up to forty-five degrees in any direction.

Leabie moved the controls until Callisto was directly overhead.

Tiny points of light were visible, s.h.i.+ps to-ing and fro-ing from the Empire's new seat of power.

'Isn't it marvellous about Roz?' she said.