The whole thing had taken only seconds, but it was still time enough for the Eastland Lieutenant to bring his rifle to bear on the Aborigine. Adela jumped to her feet, drawing his attention—and the barrel of the rifle—away from Billy just long enough for him to hurl a third stone mat smashed into one of the man’s hands. He yelled in pain and she thought she heard the sound of the man’s fingers breaking just before the gun fired, wide of her and harmlessly into the ground. She kicked the rifle, knocking it from his hands, then quickly scrambled to pick it up and covered all three of the Eastlanders—not that any of the three posed a threat at this point. The two on the ground appeared to be recovering from the surprise attack against them from the most ancient of weapons; the Eastland Lieutenant stood passively, cradling his injured hand.
Adela shot a glance at the hopper and was relieved to find no indication that they’d been seen yet, or at least that there were no soldiers coming to their commander’s aid. Then again, perhaps they were aiming the hopper’s guns on them…
A sudden, overwhelming buzz filled the air so fully that even the two men on the ground stirred and covered their ears as they gazed skyward at the four Imperial combat shuttles dropping in a diamond formation out of the sky, taking positions effectively boxing in the entire perimeter of station 67.
Several soldiers had dropped from the underside of the hopper to aid the Lieutenant, Adela saw, but now didn’t know what to do—some of them dropped to the ground and attempted to cover themselves while others stared dumbly at the descending ships. Three of the shuttles formed a hovering triangle around the hopper while the fourth came to rest on the concrete apron and began a shutdown cycle as its thrusters powered down to standby.
Adela stood straighter, lowering the pulse rifle and thumbing the safety back on, and looked the commanding officer over. His eyes moved frantically from the descending array of armed shuttles to the craft on the apron, then to Adela and the others, and then back again. He was very young, she realized, like most of the soldiers she’d seen on both sides of this conflict. He nodded his head once in acceptance of his situation and turned to face the shuttle sitting on the apron and waited.
Adela couldn’t be certain, because he had turned away so abruptly, but she thought she saw a look of quiet thankfulness spread over his features at being relieved of a burden he found too heavy to bear.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Montero sat impassively, quiet for the first time since the briefing had begun several hours earlier. At least he’s stopped shouting, Adela thought. Perhaps now we can actually get something accomplished.
Emotions finally out in the open, the meeting proceeded apace, and would end with a holoconference with both Salera and Niles. There was still much ground to cover until the two national leaders joined them, however.
The Commander was infuriated by what had happened at tap station 67, not to mention the offensive mounted by Eastland in general, although Adela suspected that it was a fury brought on by feelings of deep, intense frustration with the situation rather than a personal reaction to the blatant aggression itself.
“I can obliterate Pallatin,” he was saying. “The Levant has planetbreakers, and I’ve been given full authority to use them should I deem it necessary for the successful completion of this mission.” He paused again, then looked her and Woorunmarra straight in the eyes, adding as a postscript, “The last thing Commander Fain told me—with Emperor Javas’ endorsement, mind you—was that Pallatin could not ultimately refuse the Hundred Worlds, that no world could leave the Empire without the Empire’s approval. If Pallatin is allowed to leave, then others might follow, effectively dismantling the Empire itself. Doctor, you, of all people, should realize the effect this would have on the project to save Earth’s Sun.”
Adela started to protest, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand. “No. No, I understand your feelings regarding your project, and while I don’t concur with the importance of it, I do agree with you and with the Emperor that a bloodless agreement from this key world would carry far more weight in swaying other members of the Hundred than would its destruction. Believe me, I don’t want to do that.” She stared at him wide-eyed, and he chuckled at her reaction. “Surprised?”
“Frankly, yes.” Adela turned to Woorunmarra, attempting to see if he might have known anything about the Commander’s sentiments beforehand, but his normally expressive face remained impassive. “May I ask what changed your mind?”
He smiled, chuckling again under his breath. “Nothing changed my mind. Nothing at all.”
She regarded him with a new respect, at the same time chiding herself inwardly not only for having prejudged him but for carrying her original impression of the man far longer than she should have. If she gained nothing else on this trip, this newfound knowledge about her character would serve her well as the project progressed. If it progressed, she reminded herself.
The meeting went on. Other personnel—First Officer Nelon, Weapons Master Kyovska, Imperial geologists and technicians—came and went as they were called in for their expertise, then dismissed. Many possible courses of action were suggested and discussed, and, while many had merit, none would be decided upon until after a final meeting with the two Speakers.
All other parties heard from, only Montero, Adela and Billy Woorunmarra attended that final portion of the meeting. The Speakers themselves took part from their respective capitals: Salera from the former Joint Dominion Capitol in Eastland, Niles from his own government headquarters at Newcastle. Like Salera, Niles appeared holographically, which surprised Adela somewhat. Adela remembered that his own office was not holographically equipped, and realized that he must be using another facility for this session. She wondered idly how desperate this man, who preferred simplicity in most of the things he did, must have been for a settlement of the conflict with Eastland for him to use the higher technology of holography rather than the simple flatscreen he favored in his own office.
The holoconference room aboard Levant was specifically designed for meetings of this type and had ceiling-mounted projectors arranged in a circular pattern rather than a holo display area located in one corner or along a single wall frame as did most of the other rooms aboard the ship. There were actual chairs here, an even dozen of them, in a semicircle on one side with an open area on the other to allow for the received projections. The room seemed half empty with only two projections on the receiving side, those of the two Speakers. The two men were projected with their chairs next to each other, although the perspective on their end was probably different. Most likely so, in fact; little chance of these two willingly sitting next to one another, even if holographically.
“We are adamant!” Salera was saying, pounding a fist on the armrest of his chair. The man had changed physically since the last time Adela had seen him weeks earlier. His face was thinner, his body gaunt, and large circles could be seen hanging opaquely beneath tired eyes. Although the Eastland Congressional Guard retained its possession of the most strategically located sites of the pressure-tap network and enjoyed virtual control of Pallatin itself, that control had not come without a price. A number of the hopper raids on the abandoned manned stations had been intercepted by Westland forces. The casualties were many, and the numbers of Eastland soldiers now being held as prisoners of war grew daily. The conflict had taken a severe emotional, and now physical, toll on the Speaker that was plain at even a casual glance. “We want neither interference from the Hundred Worlds, nor interaction. We wish simply to be left out of Imperial matters entirely. Tell me why that is so wrong!”