Khan's Legacy

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3Fortaleza Hidalgo

La Gomera

It was with some trepidation councillors made their way to the old monastery in the centre of the island, the ideal location for the Elders’ secret headquarters. They arrived, as always, with the greatest secrecy, usually at night to preserve their anonymity, their helicopters dropping out of the sky like visitors from another planet. They were a secret organisation comprising benefactors and rich industrialists whose mission was the same as it had been for the last six hundred years; to form a supporting body, designed to help all and any government around the world. They operated without any of the constraints faced by the United Nations, regarding themselves as a safety valve to mankind’s affairs; unfortunately that safety valve had ruptured. A schism within a schism had occurred. It was a nightmare scenario for those who had devoted years of their lives to the movement, though some had opted to publically declare themselves to be backing the emerging new forces, creating further tension.

The Chair of the Elders, Jade, was now in her late eighties and increasingly feeling her age as she tried to hold her beloved institution together. She had ruled wisely and been saddened as The Teacher slowly usurped her power from his role as President. Her life’s work was here as it had been for her mother and her grandmother, Victoria Silver, who was the woman credited with transforming the Elders a hundred years earlier. Her mother had taken the reins after her death and led them to a powerful position in the previous generation. Now Jade was the leader and it was her responsibility to wrestle with the increasing demands of her office. In her weaker moments she wished she could retire and had actually identified a successor, but first she must ensure the organisation’s survival.

They were a philanthropic entity and had been since Admiral Zheng He established them in the fifteenth century. They kept a very low public profile refusing all requests for interviews from the media. Being so secretive, it was often misunderstood and frequently thought of as subversive, like the Freemasons. Still, they had prospered and were the recipient of wealthy foundations, always seeking to manage the vagaries of human nature. Now for the first time they had to face internal conflict. With the challenge written into their constitution to find the great Artefacts, Jade had decided to act robustly.

A senior Elder, Dr Oboto, had informed her of the rebellion, and without his intervention she would never have known of the plot. Acting decisively she had confronted the three members who had broken the rules by meeting Jochi clandestinely, pointing out that small groups of Elders were forbidden to take the rules into their own hands.

The pressures of the modern world were creating great obstacles to the achievement of the objectives set by Zheng He. Within the last hundred years there had been two Asian breakaway movements both from Zheng Wan’s family. The Teacher was carrying on the disruptive work begun by his father; they were a family who saw the Elders and the Artefacts as power to be used for personal advancement, rather than for philanthropy. The ticking time-bomb was coming to fruition eight hundred years after the rule of Genghis Khan. The time of revelation was fast approaching; all involved intimately with the Elders knew what that meant. The Artefacts were the key; they had to be found and quickly brought under the Elders’ protection and control.

The last helicopter arrived and the final delegates made their way to the conference hall. Jade braced herself; Jochi would not be here as he wasn’t on the council and wouldn’t want to risk being near The Teacher. The meeting began in its customary darkened environment, only Jade, her secretaries Emerald and Amethyst, plus the President were visible to all delegates to ensure everyone could speak their minds freely. Her longtime aide, Indigo, had recently retired leaving Amethyst as her day-to-day support. Jade reflected on how much she depended on her two faithful aides. Emerald had always been her strong right arm, ready to go into a fight and with a significant role outside the Elders; she had advocated action against The Teacher time and time again. Amethyst was far more reflective and had always been the one to advise caution. She could see, and would consider, all perspectives. She, too, though had finally come to the conclusion that action was now inevitable. Both were what kept her sane, her female warriors, ready to fight to the end. The code names were another part of the Elders’ tradition, only Jade knew their real names. For Emerald it was a necessity, she had to preserve her anonymity from her day job at all costs.

Jade rose to her feet looking around the darkened room, a room full of memories, and delivered her opening words redefining the Elders’ true values she held so dear. Confronting Zheng needed direct action if they were to stop him using the Presidency as a means to his own ends, and leading to their ruin. “My friends, we have existed as a noble and benevolent body for many centuries, a conduit for humanity, ensuring its affairs are well managed. We have often steered politicians from conflict unless it’s irretrievable as it was in the case of the last two World Wars. We have managed to stay independent from all nations and creeds during this time, a fact I am particularly proud of. If we ever lose that independence, we lose everything. Riches and political power are strong temptations to deviate from our path, and have to be handled with great care as we manage our affairs below the world’s sight line. We have succeeded until now, but we are in danger of falling victim to the most repugnant of conflicts, a civil war that turns friends against each other and leaves all wondering who is to be trusted. All this is happening when we must be the sole guardians of the symbolic Artefacts. Our mission was laid down by our Founding Father when he landed on these shores centuries ago. It is to find those Artefacts when the time is right, and to ensure that the Khan’s Prophecy is found and made safe. Grave responsibilities that affect us all and can only be achieved through harmony; this is a most critical time.”

Zheng Wan rose to his feet. He had been named by his father, Zhou Wang, after the great explorer Zheng He. Zhou had instilled his own ambitions into his son’s mind and Zheng had forcefully carried them forward, though defiantly dropping the ‘g’ from his surname as a sign of independence. He also insisted on been called The Teacher by all those who deferred to him to demonstrate who was in control. It was only with the Elders that he had to accept the use of his real name.

“It’s clear to me,” he began, his voice clear and commanding, “That our mission is straightforward. Philanthropy is all well and good but we have to take direct action as a body and be ruthless. My philosophy has always been to lead with purpose and direction; I see precious little of that here at the moment. Indeed fiddling whilst Rome burns comes to mind. It is clear that what we have is a renegade who should be expelled. The Artefacts must be found and where I differ from our Chair is that I believe that must be done aggressively. We cannot sit back and wait for due process, listening to the ramblings of an old lady.”

Jade was stung into a sharp response. “I may be old but I understand better than you what this institution stands for,” she snapped, “we must remain neutral, if we get directly involved we are no better than those who wish to use violence. We have followed Zheng He’s principle of enlightenment for six hundred years, now Zheng Wan here seeks to damage that with his dangerous ideas. Yes! For the first time on our history a schism has been created in the movement, one that I must act to heal.”

“Forgive me, I am new to this august body,” said the Italian Fabrizio, a new entrant to the Elders. “As a robust body shouldn’t we embrace differences of opinion?”

“Absolutely, but not at the expense of our over-riding principles,” Jade stated firmly.

“So what do you propose to do to solve the problem of a fundamental difference between you and Zheng?” rasped an American billionaire called Stanton.

“My position is clear and cannot be compromised. We are bound together by our oaths of philanthropy; all other considerations should be secondary.”

“But we have a schism do we not, I see little sign of leadership either from our President or the Chair?” replied Stanton harshly.

“You are entitled to your views,” Jade conceded. Stanton was voicing her private thoughts about Zheng, now she had to persuade the majority to a course of action favoured by her and her supporters. She continued. “I will be frank. The schism does represent a failure of leadership. Fortunately, on this occasion I have been able to repair the damage. It was created by the actions of Zheng Wan. You all have the details of his misdemeanours. They are made more serious by the fact that he has deliberately kept the recovered Artefacts under his personal control. I therefore propose a formal vote of no confidence in Zheng Wan’s leadership as President,”

“Seconded,” came the voice of Dr Oboto.

“The proposition, duly seconded is before you. So please vote now,” she said, and Jade smiled with relief as six green lights came on. Her voice reached every corner of the room. “The Chair can report that the proposal is carried. Six members voted for the motion and this automatically triggers a vote on whether the current President can remain in office.”

“This is preposterous,” snarled Zheng standing up indignantly. “I was voted President for a full four year term.”

“If you check the rules,” Jade said calmly, “you’ll see such a vote is perfectly in order.”

“This is a crisis caused by your poor leadership not mine,”

“No sir, it is you who has misused the terms of your office by appropriating two of the Artefacts and not returning them,” observed Stanton.

“They are being stored safely for the Elders,” replied Zheng uncomfortably, conscious that Jochi had stolen the Shield from under his very nose.

“I for one believe Zheng’s motives are honourable,” intoned the voice of Fabrizio. “Why have a vote of no confidence at such a difficult time, I fail to see why the current President has acted incorrectly.”

“The evidence is clear,” opined Stanton, “we have not seen the Artefacts despite repeated attempts and requests to get them here.”

“I have it on good authority,” interjected Dr Oboto, “that not only has our President no intention of returning the Artefacts but has apparently lost one of them, which I would describe at best as being very careless.”

“That’s a damned lie,” retorted Zheng. “I have the Sword of Islam.”

“But that’s not classified as an Artefact. And why does the one called Jochi claim to have Drake’s Shield?” asked Oboto. It was a question Zheng couldn’t or wouldn’t answer. He tried to bluff his way out of trouble. “They will soon be back under my control,” he rasped.

“Really? I too am convinced our President isn’t fit to lead us, and decisive action must be taken before he ruins us all with his naked ambition. I for one did not dedicate my years here to go in such a direction.”

“I strongly object,” began Zheng angrily, but was interrupted by Jade. “Above all we must preserve the integrity of this institution,” she said. “Now a formal vote of no confidence please.”

“You need a two thirds vote to support a no confidence motion … eight people which you will never get,” snapped Zheng.

“Not so!” The voice of Amethyst joined the discussion. Issues of Governance were her area of expertise. “The rules state that in an emergency, as defined by the Chair, a simple majority will suffice. We are directly in danger, so six votes is sufficient from the twelve.”

“I warn you all it is a very dangerous move to allow this woman and her lackeys to bend the rules like this,” snapped Zheng looking around. “I have served this body for many years.”

“The Artefacts,” Stanton pursued his attack. “Do you deny the accusation?”

“I am merely their guardian, looking after them for the Elders. Do you think it wise to keep them in this decrepit place?” snapped Zheng.