Articles of the Federation - Keith R. A. DeCandido [83]
Looking at Morrow, Nan prompted, “Well, Mr. Ambassador?”
Shifting in his chair, Morrow said, “I did say that, ma’am. They were escorted here by the Venture, and honestly, we almost needn’t have bothered. Once we left their star system, they barely answered any comms and refused to beam over at all. It’s like they were completely different people.”
Ra’ch pursed her lips. “It was almost like they were all sick-one of them did faint, also. It might’ve been simple starship lag.”
“They’ve traveled through space before,” Xeldara said. “Hell, they’re not even native to their world.”
Safranski said, “Still, Councillor Ra’ch may be right. It could’ve been some kind of illness that hit all of them.”
Xeldara tugged her ear again. “Illness doesn’t account for that-even with the fainting. This was a whole personality shift.”
Nan shook her head. “All right, how do we fix this?”
“I’m not sure that we do,” Esperanza said. “They insulted us-publicly, definitively.”
“It’s not like the world is critical.” Safranski shrugged. “Yes, they have plenty of resources we can use, but it’s nothing we can’t get elsewhere. Having them as a trading partner is more a luxury than a necessity.”
Ra’ch nodded, an action that, thanks to the horn in the center of her forehead, made the teal-skinned councillor look like she was about to gore someone. “We can’t force someone to be nice to us-the choice is completely theirs.”
Morrow shook his head. “But they chose this. They were the ones who contacted the Io, not the other way around. They pushed for diplomatic relations, and they volunteered to come to Earth rather than having us go there. They were eager to make friends with us.”
“Which brings us back,” Esperanza said, “to the president’s question of what the hell happened.”
“I don’t know, but I think it’s worth trying to find out.” Morrow sounded determined. Nan had the feeling that he viewed tonight’s events as a personal failing on his part.
“How?” Ra’ch asked.
“The Io’s still in the same sector. Why not have them swing around there in a few weeks, see what they can find out?”
Nan turned to Esperanza. “What do you think?”
“It couldn’t hurt. Worse comes to worse, Ytri/ol tells the Io to go away, and they go away. Best case, they apologize, and we can start again. We’ve certainly got nothing to lose by trying, and I trust Captain T’Vrea not to make things worse.”
Nan nodded. “All right. Ra’ch, could you talk to Starfleet, see about diverting the Io in a couple weeks?”
“Of course.”
“Okay, thanks everyone. Let’s hope we can salvage this.”
Everyone said, “Thank you, Madam President,” except for Xeldara. “Ma’am,” the Tiburonian said meekly, “can I talk to you and Esperanza for a minute?”
Xeldara had never used a meek tone of voice in the entire time Nan had known her, so it got her attention. “Sure,” Nan said and waited for Ra’ch, Safranski, and Morrow to leave.
Nan noticed a quick exchange of looks between Morrow and her chief of staff. After the door closed behind them, Nan looked at Esperanza. Nan’s earlier snide remarks about her shoes notwithstanding, Esperanza looked fantastic tonight. She suspected that fact wasn’t lost on Colton Morrow, either.
Making a mental note to tease Esperanza mercilessly about it at a more appropriate time, Nan turned to Xeldara with an expectant expression.
“Madam President, I-I’m afraid I have to resign.”
Nan felt like she’d been punched in the gut. “What?”
Esperanza looked just as surprised. “What brought this on? If it’s because- “
“It’s not because of anything either of you have done, or anything I’ve done-exactly. Look, I know you both haven’t always seen eye to eye with me, but you’ve never held that against me-which I appreciate. It’s not that I don’t love this job, but- ” She sighed. “Tonight was the most time that my husband and I have spent together since I took this job. I’ve been working ninety hours a day, fifty days a