Read Online For the Love of Gelo! by Tom O'Donnell - Free Book Online

Core-of-Rock, I’d proceeded directly here with just one quick detour. I had to tell Hudka about the distress beacon. Plus, if Sheln was attempting some sort of coup, I was going to need my grand-originator to help me stop it. Hudka was a Sheln-buster without equal.
    Now Hudka, the humans, and I stood on one side of a raised stone bench. On the other side sat the four remaining members of the Xotonian Council. Behind us stood several members of the city guard, including Eromu. The only person in the room who seemed to be pleased with the situation was Sheln.
    â€œYou can’t just declare yourself the Chief!” I cried. “We have laws! Kalac’s not dead! My originator is on the surface of the new planet! I just heard a distress beacon—”
    â€œExactly!” said Sheln, interrupting me. “Kalac is absent from Gelo, and we have laws. Loghoz, you’re the Custodian of the Council. Please explain.”
    Loghoz winced, then unrolled a yellowing sheaf, a page from our ancient legal code. Loghoz read aloud, “If the Chief of the Xotonian Council is absent for an extended period of time, the Provost-General of the Council shall be temporarily elevated to the rank and shall assume all duties and responsibilities as such.”
    â€œAnd guess who the Provost-General is,” said Sheln, grinning.
    â€œGuano!” cried Hudka. “Kalac beat the ish’kuts off you in the last election for Chief! ‘Provost-General’ is just the stupid ceremonial title we give to the loser so that they don’t weep themselves to death.”
    â€œI wasn’t crying! That was allergies!” snapped Sheln. “And as it turns out, the title of Provost-General is not
completely
ceremonial. You see, for the past few months, I’ve had a lot of time on my thol’grazes. Time to study the finer points of the Xotonian legal code. I learned some very interesting things. For one, an ‘extended period of time’ is defined as three weeks under our law. Can someone refresh my memory: How long has dear Kalac been gone?”
    â€œThree weeks today,” said Dyves glumly.
    â€œBut you’re the one who wanted Kalac to go down to the surface,” I yelled. “My originator could die down there, you treacherous bag of—” Hollins placed a firm hand on my i’arda to calm me.
    â€œDoes meeting. Does of Kalac. Forty-five red sponges? Fat pudding,” said Hollins in Xotonian. The room was silent for a moment.
    Sheln continued as if Hollins hadn’t spoken. “If Kalac were to perish, Chorkle, we would hold a new election for the position of Chief of Council. But your originator isn’t dead. Kalac has merely been ‘absent for an extended period of time.’ And that means I’m in charge. And as Eromu has already informed you, my first order of business was to officially declare a state of emergency for all of Core-of-Rock.”
    â€œShouldn’t the rest of the Council vote on something like that?” said Nicki.
    â€œWe are at war with the Vorem, are we not?” asked Sheln.
    â€œOh, I don’t know, they seem all right to me,” said Becky, her voice thick with sarcasm.
    â€œQuiet, hoo-min!” said Sheln.
    â€œLook, of course we’re at war, mold-brain,” said Hudka. “What’s your point, Sheln?”
    â€œWell, I think you will find that, again, according to the law, the Chief of Council may declare a state of emergency
at will
during a time of war. It is one of just two actions that the Chief may take without any imput from the rest of the Council.”
    â€œSo you can declare a state of emergency?” said Hudka. “So what?”
    â€œWell, during a state of emergency,” said Sheln, “the Chief of Council has much
broader
powers than usual. It’s all in the legal code.” It was practically giggling.
    Loghoz sighed. “We’ve been arguing for hours, Hudka. Believe