Articles of the Federation - Keith R. A. DeCandido [23]
“Don’t tell him anything. The press doesn’t need to know about this.”
“And don’t tell me how to do my job,” she snapped. “It’s not a question of what they need to know, it’s a question of what they do know and might hit him with in the briefing room.”
“Fine. I need to get back to work now, if that’s all right with you.”
Sighing, Esperanza cut off the comm without a word. Arrogant, self-righteous jackass!
“Esperanza,” Zachary said a moment later, “Z4 just called-he needs to see you as soon as you’re available.”
“Well, my meeting just ended prematurely. Send him over.”
Chapter Five
ESPERANZA WALKED UP TO Sivak’s desk, located just outside the president’s office. Two members of Starfleet security stood by the door, with two more at the other door, and two more at the turbolift entrance.
“Is she free?”
Sivak didn’t even look up from his workstation. “President Bacco is reading over several important papers before her trip to Luna.”
Esperanza smiled sweetly, which nicely hid her instinct to haul off and belt the supercilious Vulcan. For years, Esperanza had been begging Nan Bacco to fire him, but she insisted that he was the only one who kept her life organized. Esperanza could think of several people off the top of her head who could have done as good a job or better-starting with Zachary-but the president insisted.
“That doesn’t actually answer my question, Sivak.”
Now he did look up. “One could, I suppose, argue that, as president of the United Federation of Planets, surrounded as she is by half a dozen armed guards, she is never truly free, is she?”
I can’t believe I’m debating philosophy with a Vulcan when I just want to see the president. Then Esperanza thought about all the times she’d had to deal with Sivak and realized that she in truth had no trouble believing it.
Sivak opened the intercom. “Madam President, Ms. Piniero wishes to meet with you.”
“Good. Send her in.”
Esperanza blinked. I don’t like the sound of that. She’d known Nan Bacco since birth, and she recognized that tone in her old friend’s voice: The president of the Federation was angry about something.
Sure enough, just as Esperanza walked past the two guards into the president’s office, the occupant of that office was screaming while holding up a padd. “Esperanza, what the hell is this?”
“It looks like a padd, ma’am.”
“It’s what’s on the padd that I’m asking about.”
Moving toward the desk, Esperanza said, “Well, ma’am, since I left my psychic powers in my other pants- “
“Nobody likes a wiseass, Esperanza.”
Smiling, Esperanza said, “Given how well-liked you are, ma’am, I’m not sure I believe that.”
“Fair point. Anyhow, this is the schedule for tomorrow’s council session.”
Esperanza moved to sit in the guest chair closest to the desk. “What about it?”
“One of the things we’re voting on is renewing the trade agreement with Aligar.”
Shrugging, Esperanza said, “Yeah, we’ve been trading with them for kellinite. We had to, during the war-the way we were losing, replacing, and rebuilding ships, we had to- “
President Bacco sat down and let the padd clatter onto the salish desk. “That’s nice, but the war’s over. You know how they mine the kellinite?”
Esperanza shook her head. “I assume with the usual equipment, they- “
“Slaves, Esperanza. They use slaves.”
That caught the chief of staff off guard. “I-I didn’t know.”
“Well, I did know-you know how I knew? Those jackasses tried to peddle their kellinite to us on Cestus right after I became governor. I was all set to do it, too-we needed to upgrade our planetary defenses-but we did a little research and found out that they oppressed ninety percent of their society. That’s not a typo-ninety percent. Nine out of every ten people on Aligar is owned by one-tenth of the population. What the hell is the Federation doing getting involved with these people?”
Esperanza let out a breath through her teeth. This wasn’t going to be