Read Democracy 1: Democracy's Right for Free Online

another security problem, Colin knew, but it wasn't as if the Thousand Families could crew the entire Imperial Navy by themselves.  Besides, Imperial Intelligence had seeded the crews with undercover agents, hoping to catch any plans for a mutiny.  There would be some heads rolling back on Old Earth. 
     
    It was hard to gage reaction – no one became a crewman without some ability to hide what he was thinking or feeling – but he pressed on anyway.  He told them that he couldn't promise victory, or even survival, yet they had a chance to reshape – perhaps even topple – the entire Empire.  They would even have a chance for proper advancement, without the rules and restrictions that prevented anyone from the lower decks rising to a higher position.  The Imperial Navy wasn't keen on officers from the lower orders, but Colin – while he'd been drilling the ship – had spotted dozens of crewmen who deserved higher ranks.  The rebel fleet would definitely make the best use of its manpower.  It couldn't afford to blunder along through brute force and bloody-mindedness.
     
    “If you don’t want to join us,” Colin concluded, “or if you fear the consequences of victory or defeat, you are welcome to leave the ship and be transferred to a freighter that will transport you back to Camelot.  If you want to stay, you will be welcome.  Please make your choices now.”
     
    He watched as discussion broke out among the crew, blending together into a buzzing conversation.  Many of the senior NCOs were intent on joining the mutiny – several of them had been involved right from the start, while others had learned to hate their superiors – although two of them seemed inclined to refuse to join the mutiny.  The crew seemed divided as well, although the ones with longer periods of service seemed more inclined to support the mutiny than those who had only served for a few months.  Several arguments and fights broke out, only to be broken up by the NCOs before the Marines could intervene.  Colin winced inwardly.  He had known that some on the lower decks settled their differences through force, in carefully-supervised fights, but he had never come face-to-face with it before.  Admiral Percival had mentioned it once, almost in passing; his opinion hadn't been kind.
     
    Finally, much to his relief, most of the crew decided to join the mutiny.  A handful seemed inclined to worry about threats to their families or friends back home, but only a handful decided to transfer to the freighter for transport back to Camelot.  Colin felt a twinge of guilt as the Marines escorted them to the secondary shuttlebay for transfer, knowing that Imperial Intelligence would interrogate the loyalists until they were sucked dry of everything they knew about the mutiny and its leaders.  He checked his wristcom and smiled as he realised that the other ships had roughly the same percentage of loyalists, although that didn't mean that they’d removed all of the intelligence agents.  If he’d been assigned to spy on the crew, and his identity had remained uncovered, he would have joined the mutiny as well.  There would never be a better chance to infiltrate the crew and damage the rebellion from within.
     
    “Thank you, all of you,” Colin said, once the final loyalists had been gently removed from the shuttlebay and escorted out.  There was no need to use force; indeed, Colin understood what they were going through.  He had wrestled enough with his own conscience over the rebellion, back when he’d been trapped on the patrol base, after Admiral Percival had betrayed him.  Back then, the thought of betraying the Empire had been agony; it would have been easier to go after Percival instead, yet...the system itself, the one that allowed Percival to exist, was rotten.  It had to be destroyed.  “I hope that I will be worthy of your trust.”
     
    ***
    “We’ve been drilling for the last five days,” Colonel Neil Frandsen