FSE

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After writing this chapter, I lost interest in this series. At this point, I'm at a loss for ideas so for now the story ends here.

Posted to DA on 3/24/09

Posted to FA on 8/25/09

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"Meeting the Emperor"

With no guilt on my mind I set to reading books of a philosophical nature. With his considerable interests in terrans, it was no surprise that my Master had several copies of influential books from my home world. The works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Mark Twain, and many others were present in both English and the language of the Arc Empire. I figured this was a logical step up from an atlas of the galaxy.

While reading Letters from the Earth, my Master came in and asked something that left me incredulous. He explained that he had an audience with the Emperor, and wondered whether I wanted to go along. While I was still nervous about meeting others, particularly one of such high standing, the political junkie in me could not resist such an offer. While on the familiar trip to Ergotha, I asked my master about the political structure of the empire. Master explained that the government of the Arc Empire could be best described as a constitutional monarchy like that of the United Kingdom. Most day-to-day decisions were handled by a legislative body composed of representatives from throughout the empire. Each of the 654 settled worlds of the empire had 2 representatives elected to decade long terms with each election being held at five year intervals so only one rep per planet was up for election at a time. As for the emperor, his responsibilities were similar to the US president, except for the circumstances of his rise to power. Like the kings of middle ages europe the title of emperor was hereditary and chosen on the basis of merit. As a result on several occasions an empress had ruled the Empire when the sovereigns male heirs were less qualified.

As our ship approached the largest city of the capital planet, I noticed a large pyramid structure, which had escaped my attention in past trips to Ergotha. Most of the structure was sheathed in a mirrored obsidian black surface with the exception of the uppermost segment, which was covered only in blue stained glass. The ship landed on a large pad at the base of the structure. Looking at the structure, I estimated that it was roughly 1000 feet tall and the sides were angled at roughly 60 degrees. The colossal structure was located on a hilltop and, as such, was easily taller than it's surroundings. My master explained that this tall building was the emperor's palace, and that the upper most section was the throne room. The quarters for the royal family were immediately below that followed by the guard's quarters and reception halls for visitors. At the end of a strait walk way was a tall door which led into an entrance foyer. My master and I walked briskly towards the door way which had two guards is armor that was of a ceremonial rather that practical nature. After a brief exchange between my master and one of the guards, the door opened automatically and the two of us entered the foyer.

My master walked in a relaxed pace towards what looked like a reception desk. I walked close by at his right side even thought he left plenty of slack on the leash which linked his right hand to the collar around my neck. The ceiling in this room was much taller than the tallest hallway in my master's house and was decorated with elaborate paintings of what I assumed to be various significant occasions in the history of the empire. Around the walls were many columns, which like the guards armor was more for looks then function. Arriving at the desk at the other end of the hall the receptionist greeted my master in a cheerful fashion.

"Good to see you Lord Entei, His Majesty is expecting you. I will call a guard to lead you up." She then looked over the desk our eyes met. "I see you got yourself a terran, he's quite the cute one. "

My Master looked and sensing my worry said in a bemused tone "You'll have to excuse his shyness, He's barely warmed up to my immediate family."

After a minute of uncomfortable silence, a guard arrived and gestured the two of us to follow him. I could tell immediately that he was not an Arc. His features were of a reptilian nature and he was roughly the same height as my Master. After leading the two of us through several hallways we arrived at what looked like an elevator. Judging by its size it was probably an express elevator that traveled from the ground floor to the throne room. As the elevator started up I quickly noticed that back wall looked out on the cityscape. Climbing higher on the side of the palace my unease increased as our transport approached the citadel of the tower. Master Entei sensed my unease and while gently placing his right hand on left shoulder spoke in a gentle reassuring tone.

"Don't worry, just follow my lead and you'll do just fine."

His words set me at ease as the elevator stopped and the door through which we entered opened on to the unknown. The room that the elevator door opened on to made the reception hall look like little more than a small bedroom. While its layout was like a cathedral it was much larger than any on earth and was in many ways more comparable to the superdome in size. At the opposite end of the hall was a throne on a raised dais, upon which sat an Arc who I presumed to be the emperor. Along the walls there were stationed guards at regular intervals dressed in armor that was even more decorative then that used by the guards at the entrance. Other then these features the room was essentially bare leaving a relaxed airy feel to it not unlike the crystal cathedral. We continued walking towards the other side with my master walking at a more relaxed pace that his longer legs allowed for as I took in the sights. As we neared the throne I noticed something that had escaped my observation earlier. Sitting on the Emperors lap, nestled in an embrace I had shared with my master was sure enough, one of my kind. Like me he wore a robe that matched his masters along with the standard fur lined collar. While observing him and trying to keep up with my master I noticed something about the Emperors pet that nearly made me jump with surprise. As our eyes met I instantly recognized him as a good childhood friend of mine who simply disappeared of the face of the earth over two years ago. Judging by the look on his face I could tell that he recognized me as well. My Master noted my reaction and quietly commented "Something interesting."

"Yes, the fellow on the Emperors lap is a good friend of mine, some one I knew since grade school." I replied with a similar tone. "His name was Rob Hummel and he inexplicitly disappeared with out a trace during our junior year. Now I know why no one was able to find him."

The two of us slowly closed the distance between us the Emperor after which my Master came to a stop at the base of the dais on which the throne sat. Gracefully, he dropped to his right knee and held his right arm across his chest. Taking his earlier advice I followed suit as smoothly as I could. With a tone that showed considerable reverence he spoke "Hail Karnac son of Naru, Lord and Sovereign of The Arc Empire, I come to provide pleasant company for thee." With a bemused tone Emperor Karnac responded, "Really old friend, must keep the needless formalities."

"Very well" said my Master as he arose to a standing position. Lord Karnac and I followed shortly afterwards. The Emperor set Rob down beside him and whispered something in his ear. With this both Rob and Karnac slowly stepped down from the throne with Rob walking towards myself, and his master walking towards Entei. As I watched my master and the emperor talking like childhood friends, I was caught off guard by one of Rob's strong bear hugs, which he usually reserved for his immediate family. Despite being pleasantly surprised at this I managed to reply "Nice to see you to Rob." He responded to me in a similar tone, "It's Kabano now, but we might as well use the names we know each other by my good friend Vasili." He continued, "So where to begin."

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the company of a childhood friend and gained considerable enjoyment out of his company. I told him of how on the day after he disappeared, a food fight broke out during our lunch period. I also told him of all the chick fights that he had missed in his absence. For these two things he half heartedly kicked himself for missing two of the few good things about high school. We recalled the lazy days we spent in gym class doing absolutely nothing. Of course the teacher of that class treated it like recess, so he was quite well liked. Rob told me of the circumstances of his disappearance, which bore an expectable similarity to mine. Like my case he had been taken from a secluded place, and put up for sale in a shop not unlike the one I spent three or more weeks in before meeting Entei. While there he ran into some one who we both despised from our days in middle school and while in uncertain circumstances the two made up and became good friends. He had been at the shop for five weeks when the emperor made an unexpected visit and decided to adopt him. While he had enjoyed the pleasant company of the emperor, Rob had missed my company during that time period. It was a sentiment which I had complete familiarity with.

Having finished catching up on all that had transpired since we last saw each other, Rob removed from one of the pockets on his robe a deck of playing cards, and asked with a playful tone "want to play rummy?" Remembering all the times we had spent together, this was an offer I had no desire to refuse. We spent the rest of our time together playing that variant of rummy which we loved so much. Rob mentioned that he had shared this game with several of the guards, and eventually two of them decided to join us. While they were good, considering that they had nowhere near the experience that Rob and I had, if we had been playing for money Rob and I would have cleaned them out. The two of us lost track of time and before long, my master call to me saying it was time to go. With this I said goodbye to Rob knowing we would meet again and set off into the night on the way home with master Entei.