A Time for War, a Time for Peace - Keith R. A. DeCandido [100]
Letting out a sigh, Pińiero said, “I was wondering if you knew about that.”
“I didn’t just fall out of the cargo ship, Esperanza—of course I knew about it.”
“We were really worried about whether or not you’d use it against us.”
Abrik winced. “We thought about it, honestly, but—” He hesitated. “Well, in the beginning, we didn’t think you were a big enough threat to warrant it. Later, we just figured it would come across as petty and irrelevant. And it is. I don’t like to run that kind of campaign if I can avoid it, and we wouldn’t have scored enough points with it to be worth it.”
“Speaking of things that are worth it, I need to ask you something you haven’t answered yet.” Pińiero took a sip of her soda by way of strengthening her resolve. “Do you intend to reveal what you know about Tezwa?”
“I still haven’t decided yet. I don’t think this is something that should remain a secret.”
Pińiero cursed to herself. Just as I was starting to like the guy. “Even though it will guarantee a war?”
Abrik’s glower returned full force. “A hundred and forty-seven years ago, a Tholian vessel and a Starfleet ship got into a firefight in the Corwin system. That guaranteed a war, but the Tholians retreated into their territory. A hundred and thirteen years ago, a Romulan bird-of-prey destroyed half a dozen outposts along the Neutral Zone. That guaranteed a war, but cooler heads prevailed once the Romulan ship was destroyed. That same year, the Federation and the Klingon Empire had half a dozen border disputes. That guaranteed a war, but the Organians intervened. Fifteen years later, a Klingon captain tried to steal the Genesis device. That guaranteed a war, yet, once again, cooler heads prevailed. Eighty-six years ago, Starfleet personnel assassinated Chancellor Gorkon. That guaranteed a war, but we signed the Khitomer Accords instead. Sixty-eight years ago, the Tomed incident claimed thousands of lives. That guaranteed a war, but we signed the Treaty of Algeron instead.”
Before Abrik could pull out another example of averted warfare, Pińiero said, “Seven years ago, the Klingons invaded Cardassia and pulled out of the Khitomer Accords. That guaranteed a war too, and you know what? We fought it, for over a year, and the only reason we stopped is because Cardassia joined the Dominion. And that just led to a much bigger war, one we’re still trying to recover from. How about the Cardassian War, which happened despite the best efforts of the Diplomatic Corps to normalize relations with them? How about the Tzenkethi War?”
Abrik continued to glower, but said nothing.
Neither did Pińiero. He’s not going to back off on this unless I give him something, she thought. She had been afraid that it would come to this, but she was truly hoping it wouldn’t, especially since she hadn’t discussed this with the governor or anyone else yet. Helga will have a fit, especially since she wants Ross for this. For that matter, so does the governor.
She took a sip of her soda. Well, tough. Desperate times call for doing something really crazy.
Finally, she said, “Tell me something, Jas—let’s say Pagro wins. What’s next for you?”
“A position on his staff, of course,” Abrik said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I got into this thing so I could help shape policy.”
“All right, then, how’d you like to have that chance regardless of the outcome?”
Frowning, Abrik asked, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Pińiero said. “You know as well as I do what I mean. If you and I keep Tezwa to ourselves, I’ll make you the next security advisor to the president.”
Giving Pińiero a dubious look, Abrik asked, “You’re authorized to do that?”
“You’re not the only one who got into this to form policy. You, Jas, are sitting across the table from President Bacco’s chief of staff.”
“Assuming there is a President Bacco.”
Nodding, Pińiero said, “Assuming, yes. And if that comes to pass, you’ll be security advisor.