Articles of the Federation - Keith R. A. DeCandido [25]
“All right, good.”
Esperanza braced herself before saying, “Also- “
“There’s more?” The president sounded pained.
“You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, ma’am.”
“Remember what I said before about wiseasses?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Esperanza waited until the president took another sip of her coffee. “I’m not sure about this one. Z4 got a call from Ambassador Emra.”
The president frowned. “Which one’s Emra?”
“The ambassador from Tzenketh.”
At that, President Bacco almost sputtered her coffee. “From Tzenketh?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We have an ambassador from Tzenketh?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She set her mug down. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Esperanza, but don’t the Tzenkethi hate the Federation and everything it stands for? Didn’t they react to our attempts to open trade agreements with them by starting a war? And hasn’t every peace overture with them been treated with contempt and loathing on their part toward us?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And yet they sent an ambassador.” The president rose, still holding her coffee mug, and started to pace behind the desk, staring out at the view of Paris. “The things people do baffle the hell out of me sometimes. All right, what did this Emra tell Ziff?”
Esperanza smirked. “You know he hates being called that, right?”
“Wouldn’t call him that otherwise,” the president said with a like smirk.
Getting back on track, Esperanza said, “Well, Emra and Ziff- ” She shook her head. “He and Z4 have a history from an abortive attempt at opening up trade between Tzenketh and Nasat.”
The president swallowed her coffee before saying derisively, “I’m sure that went resoundingly well.”
“The thing is-he says that he needs to talk with you. Not with the council, but with you.”
“What about?”
“All the ambassador would say is that it has to do with the Tzelnira.”
That got the president’s attention. She whirled around and looked right at Esperanza. “The Tzelnira?”
This surprised Esperanza. She knew that Alberto had been a relief worker during the war before he married Annabella, but simple recognition didn’t explain the president’s reaction. “Yeah-why?”
“This morning, during the security briefing, Holly mentioned some chatter about one of the Tzelnira’s children being sick.”
Esperanza frowned. “You think this is related?”
The president shrugged. “Who the hell knows?” She stared out the window again. “Why not just go to the council? He can request an audience when we’re in session, same as any diplomat.”
“Z4 asked that. He said he has enemies on the first floor.”
“Oh, please.” The president turned back around. “I have enemies on the first floor. What, does he think having that in common will unite us in a bond?” She moved back to her chair. “Still, set up an appointment for you to meet with him tomorrow and let me know.”
Nodding, Esperanza said, “Fine. And if he insists on seeing you?”
The president smiled. “Remind him of the fact that I wasn’t even aware of his existence until today, which should give him a fairly good idea of what level he’s at on the food chain around here. He wants to see me, and he wants to go around the council, he’s gotta do better than cryptic messages to my senior staff.”
Esperanza stood up. “Will do, ma’am.”
“Anything else?”
“Jorel made the announcement at the briefing about Delta and Carrea. I’m counting the microseconds before their ambassadors and Eleana are crawling up my ass.”
“Thank you for that lovely image. Ashante and Z4 have their recommendations?”
Esperanza nodded. “Almost. They’ll be waiting for you on the al-Rashid.”
“Okay, then.”
“Thank you, Madam President.”
Chapter Six
JAS ABRIK STARED AT the framed painting in the center of the wall opposite where he sat at the round table that took up most of the space. The painting-Claude Monet’s Bridge over a Pool of Water Lilies-was a treasure from Earth’s pre-unification period. According to one of Abrik’s aides, the style of painting was known as impressionism, so called because