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.Martinez followed the palace majordomo through the courtyard filled withorderly rows of greenery and larger-than-life statues of Ngeni ancestors toLord Pierre s office.There were several individuals in the waiting room, notall of them human, not all of them respectable-looking.Martinez was not madeto wait.At least he ratedsome consideration.Pierre Ngeni was a broad-shouldered, round-headed young man with a resonantbaritone voice and the jaws of a mastiff.Like his father, he wore the darkred uniform that marked him as a convocate a member of the Convocation, thebody that provided the empire s top administrators, and which was permitted to petition the Shaa.(When a petition was accepted by the Shaa, it changed itsstatus to that of  law. ) The Convocation would have charge of the empire whenthe last of the Great Masters finally ended its life.Lord Pierre s uniform was well-tailored, but not the extreme epitome of style.At least he was not a glit.Quite the contrary, he was a serious man, dry, who always gave the impressionof being busy.His desk was covered with orderly stacks of papers, and twosecretaries sat in the room to take notes or dictation, as he required. My lord, Pierre said, rising from behind his desk. Lord Convocate. Martinez briefly braced himself military-style, tilting hischin high, a salute to the other man s senior status. Please sit down.Martinez sat in a straight-backed chair clearly designed to discourage peoplefrom taking up too much of the lord convocate s time.Lord Pierre s chair wasa more comfortable one, and its cushions sighed as it took his weight.Pierretilted his chair back at a generous angle and evaluated Martinez with his mildfile:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis.Dead%20Empire's%20Fall%2001%20-%20The%20Praxis.html (64 of 310)19-2-2006 4:01:15Williams, Walter Jon - [Dead Empire's Fall 01] - The Praxis brown eyes. I ve seen you in the news, he said. That rescue you helped engineer that sbeen well spoken of. Thank you, Lord Pierre. A pity you couldn t bring back Blitsharts alive, or at least the dog.Zanshaa, or at least the Terran parts of it, were displaying extravagantmourning for the dog Orange, more than they seemed to show for his owner.Martinez gave a shrug. I m afraid that wasn t up to us, he said.Page 46ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html I suppose it wasn t. There was a moment s pause, then Pierre, businesslike,inclined himself and his chair forward. How may I help you this morning? I was hoping you might be able to arrange another appointment for me.Lord Pierre seemed taken aback. As I recall, he said slowly,  my father wentto some effort to recommend you to Lord Commander Enderby. And I m very grateful to him, my lord.Pierre s look turned accusatory. But it hasn t worked out? Enderby has takensome dislike to you? Not that I know of, Martinez hedged. The problem is that Lord CommanderEnderby has decided to follow the last Shaa into eternity.Lord Pierre s eyes flickered in surprise. Ah.I see. He stroked his heavyjaw. Mostinconvenient, after all we ve done.And you have no indicationwhether his deathbed petition will recommend you for promotion? I can tcount on any such recommendation, Martinez said carefully.His handstwitched at the creases of his trousers. He s arranged for me to take a postas communications officer on theCorona.It s more or less the same job I mdoing now, but it s a small ship under a junior commander, and  A far less prestigious post than aide to the commander of the Home Fleet,Pierre said. Yes. It s almost as if he were going out of his way to demote you, Pierre said.The accusing look reentered his eyes.file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis.Dead%20Empire's%20Fall%2001%20-%20The%20Praxis.html (65 of 310)19-2-2006 4:01:15Williams, Walter Jon - [Dead Empire's Fall 01] - The Praxis He probably thinks it s time I had ship duty, Martinez said weakly. I will see what I can find, Pierre said. The problem is, I have very littleinfluence in the Fleet at the moment my great-aunt s retired, and no one inthe service owes us any favors right now. He frowned and lowered his voice,almost speaking to himself. If you wanted a post in the civil service, I dstand a greater chance of finding you something. I d appreciate anything you can do, my lord, Martinez said. And perhapsmy& recent celebrity&may be of some assistance.Lord Pierre tilted an eyebrow at this thought, then his hands reached for thearms of his chair, as if he were about to rise and dismiss Martinez from bothhis office and his thoughts.But he seemed to think better of it and settledback into his seat. How are your lady sisters? he asked. I ve seen them here and there, sincethey made their introductions here, but I haven t had a chance to speak tothem. They re well, Martinez said. Very active in the social life of thecapital. Have you made marriage plans for them?The question took Martinez aback. Ah no, he said. No plans. I wouldn tdare, he added silently. I have a cousin, Lord Pierre said,  who I believe would be improved bymarriage.His name is Pierre also, though we call him PJ.Martinez blinked [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]