Atevi, too, would logically appoint one of Shawn Tyers’ relatives or in-laws to direct the station—precisely because a relative would logically want Shawn to succeed in a job that would benefit the whole aishidi’tat. Mospheirans chose appointees with heritage and interests as separate from Shawn’s as possible. Both were absolutely sure they were assuring a stable, balanced government.
“Mospheirans,” he said, “do not see benefit in supporting the Heritage Party nowadays. In recent memory, the economy suffered from its activities. The fact that Mospheiran enterprise is now deeply entwined with atevi companies means Mospheirans now see their prosperity and atevi prosperity as linked, and they now assume atevi will be as quick as they are to support what they support. They’re as dangerously mistaken as they ever were, but at least they’re mistaken in a more peaceful direction.”
“So far,” Algini said.
“So far,” he said. “Indeed, so far. And while the interface between humans and atevi becomes more and more mistaken, it becomes less and less feared—and that is dangerous for exactly the same reasons it once was. One has no idea what Tillington thinks the situation with atevi is. I doubt he thinks about it much at all. He simply runs his half of the station as if the atevi half were not there at all. Computers do the translation for supply, now. The translation programs we developed during the shuttle-building went on expanding while we were off at Reunion. There is still is no paidhi up there. Effectively, there is not. Mercheson-paidhi has resigned, as we know. Tillington disdains Jase as an ally of Sabin-aiji. So Tillington relies entirely on the computers, and Tillington and Geigi do not speak.
“When we were absent, they managed the station. They secured their food supply, independent of the world. Geigi built his landers and refused to release the remaining shuttle. Mospheira began to build its own shuttle program. And perhaps Tillington began to settle his hopes on that. Geigi built landers to recover the aishidi’tat, and Tillington occupied his own workforce in building room to receive a small number of refugees, if any did return, and by building comforts and resources, as I have understood it, should the station have a long isolation. When we came back, bringing five thousand refugees, outnumbering the Mospheiran population on the station—whatever Tillington envisioned turned inside out. Sabin’s order put them off the ship and onto the station, and this greatly upset Tillington. It was an invasion of his authority, a collapse of all his efforts. All his building had to be turned to housing. His comfortable sufficiency instantly became shortage. And the refugees sharing the Mospheiran side of the station, crowding them, but not atevi—are not Mospheirans. They are descended from people who used to be lords of the station and give orders to the ship. I do find understanding for Tillington’s situation and his emotional state, if not for his actions. One does not well judge whether he has held this anger from the beginning of his service, but it seems now to have slipped all sensible restraint. He is trying to turn one ship-aiji against another. He has made accusations which atevi cannot tolerate. He is isolating the Reunioners, so that the Reunioners have only Braddock to turn to. In the present situation—he is a danger that has to be removed.”
“Are we to remove him?” Jago asked outright, and to his own disquiet, he found himself thinking it would be so simple.
But the consequences would not.
“Politically, for the Presidenta, for the Treaty, no, Jago-ji. I cannot do it. But there is a human finesse that we can apply. I had begun to apply it—and now there is no time for intricate maneuvering. The Presidenta will act. He has powers he can use in emergency; I have informed him, and it will very soon be clear to everybody—this is an emergency.”
“The kyo have not announced themselves,” Banichi said. “But can we be sure Ogun-aiji has not confided the information to this man?”
Bren drew in a breath. “We cannot be sure. But indications are still that no one up there knows except the ship-aijiin, and certain ship’s crew, but not necessarily all of them. I suspect that Phoenix’ technicians have been closely monitoring our backtrail over this last year, in exactly this concern, and while they may have become aware of that ship, one does not believe the station has anything like the ship’s capabilities in that regard.”
Tano asked: “Can the kyo have followed us? Could they have been there all this last year, nandi, silent—as it was at Reunion?”
“That is entirely possible. If it has been there, we have no idea what prompted it to move. But for whatever reason, I gather it is moving toward us on the same side of the sun, which the kyo know will lead to discovery. So one does assume the kyo will at some point announce themselves.” Bren took a sip of tea, as thought proceeded down that track to the inevitable conclusion. “Once it does, one may assume the station as well as the ship will hear it. And when that happens, there may be panic on the human side.”
“How much shall we tell the Guild observers?” Algini asked.
“At this point, tell them all we know, and caution them not to spread the news beyond Council, and to urge Council to keep it secret, as the aiji’s business. If the Guild still has leaks—best we find out now where those channels run.”
“One agrees,” Banichi said.
“The dowager’s plane is now in the air,” Tano reported. He had been watching that situation, minute by minute.
“Good,” Bren said. “One hopes her return will be taken as typical of her sudden decisions. And once we do make the public statement to the people, we shall simply report that what is impending up there is a state visit on the part of the kyo, to which we are responding at a high level—certainly historic, but nothing worthy of general panic. People will need some image of what is happening. Best we shape it in a peaceful way.” Last sip of tea. “But one must also expect the dowager will do as she pleases about releasing information.”
“Cenedi indicates,” Tano said, “that her public reason is a visit to Najida, the matter of the new windows.”
Leave it to Ilisidi, who cloaked her reasons inside reasons inside reasons, and let everyone guess.
Bren nodded. “Once she lands, and from then until we stand in the presence of the kyo, she will be in charge. But Cenedi will need to have advice from us about travel arrangements.”
“We are in contact,” Banichi said. “We will keep him advised.”
· · ·
Mani’s plane was landing. And mani would be arriving in the Bujavid very soon, but Cajeiri had no real hope of seeing her when she did. His father would say mani had no need to be bothered, and he could not go to mani’s apartment unasked.
So he simply continued quietly making his lists of things to pack, thinking of all the things he might need, what he would want to bring, because—nand’ Bren’s aishid had warned his today—warned his aishid directly, as if he were grown-up and important—that the public thought he was going with nand’ Bren to Najida for a few days, with mani.
About the new windows.
Which was only an excuse.
But it would explain to anybody why he needed court dress despite it being the country.
Nand’ Bren’s aishid had also warned his bodyguard that he should not attempt to send letters or messages to his associates on the station, either before or after they arrived. Everything had to be kept quiet, secret, and with as little fuss as possible, because there were troubles on the station between the Reunioners and the Mospheirans, and nand’ Bren did not want him or his associates up there to be involved.