Louis Collins: A Post-American Odyssey

Chapter 13

The plane dropped below the clouds over Austin. Louis looked out at the Colorado River and the city below. The plane banked over the airport. Across the aisle, Angelique sat with a folder open on her lap, her face turned toward the same view. She had barely spoken since boarding. The folder stayed open, but she had not turned a page in several minutes. She gave him a wink when no one was watching.

By the time the aircraft rolled into position, the reception was already waiting on the tarmac. Two ranks of honor guards stood in the glare, dressed in black uniforms and white gloves, rifles in hand. Behind them rose the flags of the Dominion and the Collective. A military band waited in full dress, brass catching the sun.

The cabin door opened. Heat entered first. Louis stood in the aisle with the others, just out of frame, while Constantine descended. Harvey Hawks, First Consul of the Free State Collective, waited at the foot of the stairs in full dress uniform. He was bald, broad through the shoulders, with a scar through one eyebrow. Medals and ribbons covered his chest in orderly rows. Constantine reached the bottom step. Harvey took his hand hard.

“My friend!”

“Good to see you, Harvey.”

He pulled Constantine into a brief embrace, then turned with him toward the press line and raised their joined hands. Cameras clicked.

Judith came next. Maria followed. The First Consul’s wife, Nova Hawks, stepped forward, kissed Judith lightly on the cheek, then took Maria’s hands in both of hers.

Angelique descended after her mother. Louis followed a step behind. He stepped into a hard white glare off the tarmac. Photographers turned toward the younger members of the two families. The band began with the Dominion anthem. The Collective’s followed. Cadets presented flowers to Judith and Maria. Two younger civic academy students shook hands with Angelique and Serana. An officer saluted Jacques. Jacques hesitated, then returned it. Nova met Louis with a firm handshake.

“We are honored to receive your family, Mr. Collins.”

“Thank you.”

Harvey led Constantine toward the honor guard with an arm thrown briefly around his shoulders, already talking. Constantine laughed. Harvey barked something back and kept one hand on Constantine’s shoulder for another step before letting go. They walked the line together, still talking under the sound of the cameras. The honor guard did not move. White gloves stayed fixed on rifle stocks. When the commander called the salute, the rifles snapped up as one. Constantine returned the nod and went back to the platform beside Harvey.

At the end of the line, a battery fired the first round. The shot cracked across the tarmac. A few people flinched. Louis glanced at Angelique. She watched the soldiers without moving. Her face did not change. The guns kept firing. Louis stayed still beside her. Around the fourth shot, he caught her eye. She tilted her head slightly. Only the corner of her mouth moved.

They were moved toward the waiting motorcade. The black diplomatic vehicles gleamed in the sun, small flags stirring on their hoods. The route to Civic Citadel had already been cleared. Officers waited at the intersections as the convoy moved through Austin.

Louis sat across from Angelique in the second car. He watched streets pass outside the window. Their knees almost touched.

“They take this very seriously,” she said, low enough for the driver not to hear.

He turned from the window. “The Collective likes its ceremonies.”

“Not as much as they like reminding everyone who has the guns.” She looked out again, her face unchanged.

He smiled. “That too.”

“The First Consul seems rather fond of your father,” Angelique said after a moment.

“They’ve known each other a long time,” Louis said. “Last year my father gave him a custom airship for fifteen years of diplomatic relations.”

“I remember that,” Angelique said. “Tengri was full of clips of him reviewing troops from the deck. A pity they put it in storage after the Dallas airport bombing. I would have liked to see inside.”

Louis smiled. “Harvey would have insisted on giving you the tour himself.”

Angelique’s mouth curved slightly. “No doubt.”

The convoy reached Civic Citadel without incident. It entered the plaza beneath the central tower, where the flag of the Collective flew overhead. The cars passed through the first gate and stopped in the courtyard.

Aides led them through the main doors into the hall. Banners of the member states hung from the walls. Paintings from the founding war lined both sides. A single large portrait of Harvey Hawks hung at the far end. On the rear wall, words were cut deep into the stone in tall block letters.

My place is earned in service.

Louis read the words once and disliked them at once. In Sacramento, his place had never needed earning. He looked at Angelique. She was reading them too, her face giving nothing away. Then their eyes met. She raised one eyebrow.

They were taken to the press room. Louis sat in the front row with Angelique beside him. He could feel her knee close to his without looking.

The joint statement began. Harvey spoke first. He set both hands on the lectern and looked over the room.

“Today, I welcome Supreme President Constantine Collins, King Philip Bourbon, and their families to our great nation!”

Cameras clicked.

“Let me say this first. The Collective and the Dominion are not the same. Everyone knows that. We do not share the same culture. We do not share the same government. We do not share the same laws. But we share something more important than all those things together.”

He leaned into the microphone.

“We share the world that came after the fall. The same ruin. The same history. And the same hard choices about what it takes to keep a people safe.”

He paused. The room was quiet. Angelique’s hand rested in her lap. Louis glanced at it, then back to Harvey. Harvey’s face hardened.

“We also share the memory of the Holy States of Dixie, a terror state, a cancer of North America. A threat that has not gone away.” He turned slightly toward Constantine. “The Dominion understands this. We have stood together against their violence before. And we will stand together again until we exterminate every Dixie terrorist! They will not have any place left to hide! Not on this continent, and not anywhere on this Earth!”

Applause rose. Angelique brought her hands together with the rest of the room. Louis followed half a beat later. The First Consul let it run for a few seconds before raising a hand to bring the room back to silence.

“That is why today, we reaffirm our friendship. We will expand trade between us. We will cooperate on security. And we will welcome more investment from the Dominion into our industries. Because a strong, prosperous Collective is a good neighbor to a great nation like the Dominion!”

Cameras lifted and clicked across the room. Harvey nodded.

“Now, I want to talk about the last time I visited Hawaii. They have great casinos there, and I lost my shirt in a poker game. So, Supreme President, next year, I am coming back to win it all!”

The room laughed. Louis felt Angelique’s knee touch his. When he looked at her, only the corner of her mouth had moved. Harvey waited for it to settle.

“And that is why I am happy to introduce my good friend, the Supreme President of the Dominion of the Pacific, Constantine Collins!”

Harvey stepped back. Constantine took the lectern. He smiled and tapped the microphone.

“Harvey, you’re not going to win your shirt back. But I’ll buy you a new one.”

The room laughed again. Constantine looked over them.

“The Free State Collective is the most honest friend in North America. I respect your people. I admire what you’ve built from the same ruin we all came from. I trust your First Consul. And I believe our friendship is essential for this continent.”

He paused.

“Today, we gather in Austin, capital of a nation that has earned its place in history. And here, we make our own history. We strengthen our bond, we expand our cooperation, and we send a clear message to our enemies that we are ready. We send a clear message to our people that we are working for their safety and prosperity.”

He leaned forward.

“Before I came here, my son asked me a question. He said, ‘Dad, what’s the difference between a citizen of the Dominion and a citizen of the Collective?’ And I told him. In the Dominion, you can have fun, as much as you want. In the Collective, you can have a gun, as much as you want. And I said, ‘Son, if you want to have a good life, come with me. If you want to have a good fight, go see Uncle Harvey.’”

The room erupted. Harvey laughed, deep and loud. Louis felt the back of his neck tighten. He had not asked the question like that. Beside him, Angelique lifted a hand to her mouth. Her eyes narrowed with suppressed laughter. Louis kept his eyes on the lectern. Constantine smiled and raised a hand to quiet them.

“But seriously. We have different ways, but we share the same goal. The future belongs to whoever remembers what happened when America failed. The Collective remembers. The Dominion remembers. And we are not done building!”

The applause came hard from the officials and guests behind the press rows. Cameras lifted. Constantine stood at the lectern and let it continue until the sound filled the hall.

Hands went up. Questions came one after another: trade, investment, Dixie, security cooperation. The last question came from a French reporter.

“Supreme President Collins, First Consul Hawks,” she said, “by receiving Philip Bourbon and his family with full honors today, is the Free State Collective acknowledging that the Navarre question is still open?”

Louis looked at Philip. Philip did not move. Then Louis looked at his father. Constantine smiled.

“Europe is entitled to its own history,” he said. “The Collective and the Dominion have our own.”

The First Consul leaned into his microphone.

“And the Free State Collective,” Harvey said, “recognizes its friends. Long live King Philip Bourbon!”

The officials behind the press rows stood first. Applause followed, louder than before. Louis looked at Angelique. She kept her eyes on the stage, her face still. Then her gaze moved to him. One shoulder lifted a fraction. Louis had to hold back a laugh.

“Welcome to Texas,” she murmured.