“But he isn’t the only one,” Montero countered. Just as she had unsettled him with her angry outburst a moment ago, so, too, did he take her by surprise with the softness in his voice now. “Speaker Niles seems as adamant about what he wants as does Salera.”
“But he’s right!”
Montero held up both hands, palms out. “I know, I know; and I agree with the sentiments behind his philosophy.” He peered deeply into Adela’s eyes. “Isn’t that what this mission is all about? Holding the Empire together, just as he wants to hold his world together? But he seems, in many ways, as unwilling to bend in what he wants as Salera.”
Adela was forced to admit that the Commander was correct. She glanced once at Woorunmarra, who shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement to make it unanimous.
Thirty-six hours later, Niles appeared in the holoconference room once more. The Westland Speaker had readily agreed, as he had in the past, to further discussion of the situation and, as he had before, came to this session full of hope. Adela felt ashamed by what they were about to tell him and, even though his image was holographic, she had difficulty looking him in the eye as he waited patiently for the proceedings to begin. Salera, on the other hand, had been nearly impossible to pin down and had made several excuses and postponements of this session. It was he, in fact, that they waited for now.
Niles sat patiently, his elbows on the armrests of his chair, hands steepled before him. Only initial pleasantries had been exchanged among them once his image had appeared in the room, but that was normal. In holoconferences planned with both Speakers, no discussion was undertaken until both were present. He seemed to sense, however, that this meeting, called at Montero’s urgent request, was different and that the Imperial starship Commander had come to a decision regarding his home. He waited wordlessly, a noncommittal look cloaking his features.
There was a brief crackling in the air on the other side of the room, then a flicker of light before Salera’s image took shape across from them. He, too, had a look of anxious anticipation in his eyes that he tried with little success to keep hidden. Like Niles, he did not seem surprised that Adela, Woorunmarra and Montero had been joined by First Officer Nelon and Weapons Master Kyovska. Again, a few brief pleasantries were exchanged.
“A decision has been made,” Woorunmarra began without preamble, addressing the two Speakers. “It is with great regret that a satisfactory agreement could not be reached between your two Congresses, and the Empire will take no enjoyment from what it must do.” The brief statement of purpose completed, he looked to Montero, turning the rest of the conference over to him.
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Montero’s face was grim, and Adela noted that the man was deeply pained by what he was about to say. Far from the warmongering Imperial Commander she had first imagined him, she realized, perhaps for the first time, just how heavily this decision had weighed on him. He sat straighter in his chair and regarded Speaker Niles. “First, it has been decided that all support services, including—but not limited to—personnel, armament, transportation, medical, reconnaissance, and electronic and software services will be immediately withdrawn from Westland.”
Salera allowed a smile, pleased that the decision seemed to be going in his favor. In contrast, all color drained from Niles’ face. His breathing came in sharp gasps and his mouth worked futilely as he attempted to respond.
“Please remain silent,” Montero said before he could utter a word. “All parties will be allowed to speak when I’m finished. The audio of anyone attempting to disrupt these proceedings will be muted.” He turned then to face Salera. “Second, Pallatin is hereby notified that it will be quarantined until a resolution—peaceful or otherwise—is reached between your respective Congresses.”
“Quarantine?” Salera asked, his smile fading.
“All off-planet communications will be jammed. Incoming communications, regardless of their source, will be blocked. Other than orbital activity to service satellites and regular translunar traffic, all of which will be watched extremely carefully, no ships will be permitted to leave the Pallatin system. The rest of the Hundred Worlds will—”
“This is not acceptable!”
Montero nodded to Nelon, who touched a key on a handheld keypad. Instantly Salera—on his feet, his arms gesticulating wildly—fell silent as the audio portion of his feed was cut. Realizing he’d been muted, he sat grudgingly back down. The glow of anger on his face remained.
“Speaker Salera,” Montero said calmly as if nothing had happened, “Speaker Niles, the rest of the Hundred Worlds will be informed that a state of civil war exists on Pallatin, and a general noncontact order will be issued.”
Adela watched the reactions of the two men. Niles was in shock, a look of horror at what was about to happen stood immobile in his eyes. His holographic image was several meters away on the other side of the holoconference room and it was difficult to be sure, but… was he shaking? While Niles clearly was terrified at the prospects of what would happen, the Eastland Speaker seemed to have calmed down. Clearly he was coming to realize that the Imperial noncontact order was not all that far removed from what his goals were. Of the two, however, she wasn’t sure which reaction disturbed her the most. Are we doing the right thing here? she wondered fearfully. Was I right to encourage Montero to take this course of action?
Montero leaned forward in his chair, his gaze shifting from one Speaker to the other. Again, his professional manner and the strength with which he spoke made Adela remind herself that, yes, this forceful Commander was the same man who put people to sleep at routine briefings.
“Speaker Salera,” he continued, extending his hand palm-up to him, “you wish for the Empire to leave Pallatin alone, to be able to govern your own affairs without interference. I grant you that wish. The Levant will remain in orbit until a resolution to your conflict has been reached, at which time diplomatic negotiations will be reopened with those remaining in power. As we speak, self-contained and -powered observation stations are being established in several remote, unpopulated areas on both sides of Arroyo as well as on some of the larger islands on the far side of Pallatin. These stations will be protected by shield projectors utilizing a level of sophistication not found on Pallatin. Technology of this type is among the ‘Imperial contamination’ you would like to bar from your world, Speaker Salera. The stations will be untouchable. Rest assured, however, that they are being set up to monitor and enforce the quarantine only.
“Speaker Niles…” He turned to the other. Although Adela knew he favored the Westlander’s cause, Montero’s voice and manner of speaking remained the same as when he had addressed Salera. “You want only to bring the two halves of your world together, united in a common goal. I grant you your wish, as well.”
A puzzled expression washed over the Westland Speaker’s face. “But… but how?” Niles asked plaintively. Montero didn’t mute him.
“Because,” he replied, his voice taking on a deadly serious tone, “we feel that your forces are far superior to those of Eastland’s. Officer Kyovska?”
“Sir.” The Weapons Master stood, hands clasped at the small of his back, and addressed Niles. “Because of the effectiveness of their first strike against you, and because they now control a major portion of the pressure-tap network, the Eastland Guard has a tremendous advantage over your forces. However, during our brief period of cooperation, we were able to determine the full extent of your own Congressional Guard and find you to have a number of advantages. Westland’s greater size and population, for example, have enabled you to draw from a greater pool of personnel for the Guard. Your industrial facilities received more severe damage during your big quake than did those of the opposition, but were rebuilt with higher technological standards than the older, existing facilities in the east. Further, your troops are greater in number and better trained than those we’ve monitored in the east. We’ve run several hundred simulations based on the statistical strength and tactics exhibited by the opposing forces, and have found that Westland will ultimately achieve victory.”