“Next?” asked the general. “What do you mean?”
“I mean Alamar will soon be a city flush with food in a country that is starving,” explained Lyra. “What will the Katana do when he finds out that Alamar has food?”
“He must not find out,” Mayor Reaker interjected nervously. “He would strip this province clean.”
“The Imperial Guards from Okata are afraid to visit this area,” declared General Manitow. “How will he ever find out?”
“News other than your food can bring his armies back here,” replied Lyra. “Even though they do not yet know about your food, you must plan for the day when they do learn about it.”
“You know something that you are not sharing,” replied the general as his eyes narrowed. “What has brought all of the citizens into the streets today?”
“Duran and Zaramilden have become Sakovan cities,” declared Lyra. “It is only a matter of time before the Katana learns of this.”
“He will send his armies to crush those cities,” gasped the mayor. “He will want ships from Alamar to transport his troops. We are doomed. When they see our food and no diseases, they will forget about Duran and ravage our city.”
General Manitow stared at Lyra for a long time. He turned and gazed at the quiet crowd of citizens waiting for something to happen. The people were streaming in from every part of the city, but none of them were saying anything. They stared intently at Lyra and the general.
“Why is the crowd here?” the general finally asked. “Have you stirred them up to revolt against me?”
“I have not incited them,” replied Lyra. “They do know about Duran and Zaramilden, though. The defections were not something that could be hidden from the crew of the ship that I traveled on. I could be wrong, but I think they are here to express their views about it. You should ask them.”
“I have no need to ask them,” retorted the general. “You have used food to buy their allegiance. Now you will buy their deaths. Is this how Sakovans think friendly neighbors should act?”
“This is not her idea,” declared Chargo as he mounted the steps and halted a few paces away. “The Star of Sakova begged me to cancel this gathering. She is very much afraid of what your soldiers might do to us, but we are not afraid. This city is alive because of the kind acts of the Sakovans. Omunga has done absolutely nothing for us, and I do not mean just during this famine. Omunga has never done anything for us except collect our taxes. We would rather be part of the Sakova.”
“Are you mad?” shouted the general. “Do you have any idea what you are saying? You are guilty of treason. I could have you hung just for what you have already said.”
The crowd shouted threats and surged forward. The Imperial Guards on each side of the steps drew their swords and prepared to defend the general. Chargo held both hands high over his head to stall the attack.
“You could not hang me and keep your word to the Star of Sakova,” Chargo stated loudly. “I have declared myself as a Sakovan, as have the people behind me. You have given your word to protect the Sakovans. That now includes us.”
“You can not do that,” the general replied while frowning and shaking his head. “You cannot just declare yourself Sakovans.”
“Why can’t we?” countered Chargo. “I saw the cities of Duran and Zaramilden when the Star visited them. The people were literally dropping dead from lack of food. Omunga has not sent a single stalk of grain to either city. What do those people get for their taxes? Why should they belong to Omunga? Worst of all, what is the difference between them and Alamar? I say that there is no difference. Omunga is a country with only western provinces. The east has never mattered to them, and it still does not.”
“And what would you have me do?” spat the general. “Do you expect my thousand men to hold off the entire Omungan nation? Do you have any conception of the death and slaughter that will be rained down upon Alamar? You are a fool.”
“We may be fools,” retorted Chargo, “but we will be loyal fools. This city is now Sakovan, General. Your men may stay and join us, or they may leave and dine in Okata. We will not supply food to Omungans who are intent on destroying us. I trust that you will let each soldier choose for himself?”
General Manitow surveyed the crowd again. People were no longer joining the crowd, but the reason was not one of lack of support. The streets were full as far as the general could see. If any more citizens were trying to reach the area, they would not be able to. There was no room.
“I need time to think about your proposal,” the general said loudly. “Disperse now and go to your homes. I will instruct my men not to take any actions based upon the words spoken here today. You may leave peacefully.”
“We are not leaving,” shouted Chargo. “This city does not belong to you, General. It belongs to the citizens. Your purpose here is to protect us. We are giving you leave to desert your post without violence. If you cannot understand that Omunga has no use for Alamar other than taxes, then you need to find your reality somewhere else. We are staying right here until you decide.”
The general turned and stormed into the building. The mayor started to follow him when Chargo shouted his name. He turned and faced the sailor.
“Are you with us or against us, Mayor Reaker?” shouted Chargo.
The mayor stared at the crowd briefly before answering. “I want what is best for the people of Alamar,” the mayor said loudly. “If you truly want to be part of Sakova, then I will stand with you, but I warn you that it is a dangerous path that we are embarking upon.”
Cheers erupted from the crowd as the mayor turned and entered the building. Lyra followed him in. A hundred Imperial Guards were gathered inside the doors. They were awaiting orders to quell the disturbance. None of them looked very happy at the thought of beating their friends and neighbors.
Lyra followed Mayor Reaker to the general’s office. More than one Imperial Guard bowed his head slightly as she walked by. She smiled at each of them. When they entered the general’s office, Lyra half expected to find the general throwing something against the wall. Instead she found him sitting calmly in his chair behind the desk. The mayor silently ushered Lyra into one of the chairs before the desk and then sat in the other one.
“I really did not want this to happen,” Lyra said, breaking the silence. “While I would love to have Alamar on my side in this war, I would prefer that there was no war at all. I asked Duran and Zaramilden to defect precisely because they are so remote that the Katana would not waste his armies conquering those cities. Alamar is different.”
“That is what bothers me,” sighed the general. “The sailor is right in everything that he said. Omunga does nothing for Alamar. It never has. We are Omungan because we have always been Omungan. There has never been a choice. You, Lyra, have brought that choice to us. Were it a decision that could be made in peace, it would be easy to decide, but that is not the case. The Katana cannot stand idle with half the country defecting. He will forget about conquering the Sakova and concentrate on punishing those who have deserted. That is what the sailor does not understand.”
“I think he does understand,” replied Lyra. “I mentioned as much to him, but it fell on deaf ears. I think seeing how Omunga treated the remote cities is what got him worked up. I know that I was devastated walking through those streets. I would not let an enemy suffer as those people have.”
“You bought those cities with food, didn’t you?” asked the general.
“That was my plan,” nodded the Star of Sakova, “but I could not go through with it. I ordered the food shipped in before I even talked to them. I could not stand to see them suffer. You must understand me, General. I am Omungan, or at least that is how I was raised. I grew up north of Gatong in my father’s academy. I knew nothing about the Sakovans until Kaltara chose me to lead them, but I know their hearts well now. None of my people would want to see anyone starve to death. If we had not enough food for ourselves, we would give half of it to others who were less fortunate. I cannot stand to use food as a weapon.”