Free Hunt for the Saiph (The Saiph Series Book 3) by PP Corcoran

them."

CHAPTER FIVE
    Earth First
     
    HOUSE OF THE SENATE - GENEVA - EARTH - SOL SYSTEM
     
    The Speaker of the Senate House banged his outdated but traditional wooden gavel on his equally traditional wooden lectern. Modern electronics, concealed within the very fabric of the lectern, transmitted the bang of the gavel to speakers placed throughout the Senate Chamber.
    Slowly, almost begrudgingly, the assembled senators grew still and awaited the first business of the day: a statement by the Chair of the Colonization Oversight Committee, Senator Mathias Grant III. It didn’t escape the speaker’s notice that, for what was billed as “a mundane report on the issue of colonization license application procedures and the funding of mining operations,” there appeared to be a surprising number of senators present in the chamber. The speaker smelled something off and quietly sent a messenger to alert the president's office.
    Senator Grant was the latest in a long line of Grants to take his place in the Senate. His family was from what was euphemistically called “old money” and generations of Grants had walked the political tightrope, always working behind the scenes creating and exerting their influence on matters which, if you listened to the skeptics, enriched their own power and influence, rather than that of the people they had been elected to represent.
    Recently, however, Mathias Grant III had emerged from the shadows. More and more he was held up as the leader of the group known as the Earth First Movement. The movement appeared shortly after the Others’ assault on Earth, riding the wave of fear and hatred the attack had spawned. The Earth First Movement preached an anti-Commonwealth policy, insisting that Earth abandon its allies and go it alone.
    If the TDF had not gone to the aid of Garunda, the Others would’ve remained unaware of human existence and would have been no threat to humanity in the first place, Earth First said.
    If First Fleet hadn’t rushed to defend the Empire of Alona, an empire which committed interstellar theft by stealing the gravity drive technology and placing a stranglehold on Commonwealth commerce within the Empire, then the fleet would have been in a position to easily defeat the Others, Earth First said.
    Their version of the facts, however skewed, was appearing more and more in the news vids. This Senator Grant intended to become the king and not the kingmaker as his ancestors had been.
    The speaker banged his gavel once more before announcing, "The Chair recognizes Senator Grant."
    The hush that followed the loud bang of the speaker’s gavel seemed somehow to intensify as all heads in the ornate chamber turned to regard Grant. For the senator’s part, he allowed the silence to continue unbroken for a few minutes as he absently arranged the items on his PAD display, giving the impression he was unsure of how to begin.
    The speaker was not deceived for a second and he surreptitiously sent another message to the president's office urgently requesting she contact her supporters in the House and get them to the chamber. Something was in the offing here and the speaker knew if it came from Grant then it was not good for the government.
    Looking up from his PAD, Grant cleared his throat. "Mr. Speaker. My fellow Senators. Today I was due to give you a report on the progress I and my committee have made over the issues involving our colonization program, but instead I beg the chamber’s indulgence and request I be allowed to speak on a separate matter."
    Damn , thought the speaker. He knew Grant was up to something, but what? He needed to delay whatever it was long enough for the government's supporters to reach the chamber.
    "Perhaps the esteemed senator could deliver his report first and then a vote could be taken by the members present to gauge whether they are inclined to hear your follow-up statement?"
    From his seat, Grant gave the speaker his best conciliatory look. "I fear, Mr.