Free The Shadow of Cincinnatus by Christopher Nuttall

Somewhat to his surprise, the office was plain and remarkably businesslike. The walls were bare, save for a large map of the planet’s surface and another showing the star system itself. But it was the governor himself who dominated the room. He was taller than Roman had expected, and quite remarkably fat, even though there were no shortage of treatments one could use to slim down. It was a message, Roman suspected, even though he wasn’t sure he could read it. Perhaps the governor was hinting at his enormous appetites.
    “You’re young,” the governor said. His voice was jovial, yet there was a hard edge that reminded Roman of some of the tutors at the Academy. “How are you in command of an entire fleet of warships? What connections do you have?”
    Roman felt an odd flicker of irritation at the man’s tone. If he’d been promoted so quickly in peacetime, there would have been resentment from his peers and he would have had to work hard to prove he could handle it. If, of course, he hadn’t been summarily demoted after the Promotions Board reviewed his case. Even the highest level of connections had their limits. But now, in wartime, he’d moved up quickly, like so many others. He was far from unique.
    “A great many people died,” he said, recalling the hellish hours on Enterprise . He’d been...what? Tenth in the chain of command? And if there hadn’t been a minor error on the ship’s blueprints he would have died too, leaving Enterprise at Admiral Justinian’s mercy. “And I was lucky.”
    “You must have been very lucky to be assigned a whole fleet,” Governor Barany said. He waved a hand towards one of the chairs. “Please. Be seated.”
    Roman ignored the gesture. “There are a number of questions I need answered, governor,” he said. “Starting with the existence of a starship of alien design in orbit, one that was not reported to Earth.”
    “It was hard to say who it should be reported to,” Governor Barany said. “The Federation was in turmoil.”
    “You should have reported it to the Federation Navy,” Roman snapped. “And you have also not reported your own economic successes here. Why not?”
    The governor shrugged. “Because the Grand Senate would come and strangle the life out of it,” he said. “They always react badly to success that doesn’t take place under their mandate.”
    “The Grand Senate is gone,” Roman said. He met the governor’s eyes. “I have orders from Emperor Marius to relieve you of your position, pending a full investigation into your conduct. You are under arrest.”
    He nodded to the Marines, who stepped forward and grabbed hold of the governor. The governor opened his mouth, then squawked loudly as cold hands started to search him thoroughly, removing a pair of data terminals and a device Roman didn’t recognize. He watched, as dispassionately as he could, as the governor was pushed down into a chair, then cuffed. The governor didn’t seem to be carrying any weapons.
    “I suggest you tell your people not to offer any resistance,” Roman said. Without the governor, the planetary defenses would likely be too confused to do anything, if they wanted to fight for their former leader. And if they didn’t, nothing the governor did would make any difference. “The Marines are on their way.”
    The governor stared at him. “This is...this is intolerable! I make this world a success and you come to take it from me!”
    “You will be investigated,” Roman said. “Should you be found innocent, you will be released.”
    Elf glanced at him. “The shuttles are inbound,” she said. “ETA; five minutes.”
    Roman nodded, feeling his entire body tense. If the locals planned any resistance, the shit would hit the fan just about...now. But nothing happened. He let out a breath as the Marine companies landed, then swarmed out to take control of the palace. None of the governor’s servants raised a hand to defend him. Relieved, Roman ordered the next wave of