Articles of the Federation - Keith R. A. DeCandido [24]
The president rolled her eyes. “Oh, for the love of everything, Esperanza, do not drag out the ‘It was war, you civilians can’t possibly understand’ Starfleet crap. I know there was a war on. I was there when it happened, and on top of that, I had a bunch of Gorns decide to blow my capital city into tiny pieces, so kindly don’t lecture me about the sacrifices you need to make during wartime.”
Esperanza closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean- “
“Yeah, you did, and you know you did-and I don’t mind the perspective, it’s the attitude I have a problem with. Like you know better than anyone ‘cause you were in Starfleet. I think you and I are both pretty cognizant of the fact that there are plenty of screwups we can lay at Starfleet’s doorstep.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Esperanza saw no reason to argue-besides, there were bigger fish to fry. “If we can- “
But the president hadn’t let this out of her teeth yet. “I understand why we had to deal with the Aligar during the war-desperate times, desperate measures, strange bed-fellows, and whatever other damn wartime cliche you want to throw at me-but the war’s been over for four years. Is there any compellingly good reason why we should be setting aside our principles now? Or has it just become second nature?”
“No, ma’am,” Esperanza said after a brief pause, “and I think you should make that argument tomorrow. But, ma’am, there’s something else-something more important. Actually, several somethings.”
The president sighed. “I don’t suppose this can wait until after I get back from the moon.”
“No, ma’am.”
President Bacco leaned back in her chair. “No, of course not, because if it could, you wouldn’t have come in here. What is it?”
“Well, first of all, Jas will be giving you a briefing in about half an hour-probably while you’re on the shuttle. They’ve picked up weapons fire in Romulan space, and they think it’s a dustup with some Klingons.”
President Bacco put her head in her hands. “Hell and damnation. Do we know anything for sure yet?”
“No, ma’am-that’s what Jas is supposed to tell us in half an hour.”
“Does it have to do with those refugees we think are heading for Outpost 22?”
“No, ma’am-it’s in a completely different sector.”
“Small favors.” The president leaned forward. “Have someone get in touch with Ambassador Rozhenko on Qo’noS, and have someone else get me a location on Ambassador K’mtok, in case we need to get him here in a hurry. And keep T’Latrek, Mazibuko, and Molmaan around.”
Esperanza understood the need to talk to both Rozhenko and K’mtok-the Federation ambassador to the Klingons and the Klingon ambassador to the Federation, respectively-as well as Councillors T’Latrek and Mazibuko, who represented Vulcan and Earth and were the chair and second chair of the external affairs council. The third councillor the president listed, though, didn’t seem to fit. “Why Molmaan?”
“Zalda’s got the unlucky position of being right near the Klingon border and the Romulan border. It’s one of the reasons why they were fast-tracked into Federation membership a hundred years ago-they kept having wrecked ships from both sides crash-land on their planet. So Zalda in general’s always kept an eye on both empires, for their own self-interest. And I know that Molmaan has serious opinions on the subject.”
Esperanza smiled. If there was one thing Nan Bacco respected and admired-and liked to make use of-it was people with serious opinons. Then again, Zaldans were never shy with their opinions, serious or otherwise. They had a cultural bias against politeness, which generally meant that Zaldans produced very entertaining politicians. Molmaan fit that mold. It’s gonna be an interesting meeting when we all get together….
Then the president looked down at the desk. “Coffee, black, unsweetened.” A steaming mug materialized on the center of the desk. As she picked it up by the handle, she said, “Bring Ross in, too.”
“I’ve already talked to Ross-he’s bringing Akaar over from San Francisco.”
“Who?”
“Fleet Admiral Leonard Akaar.