Day of Honor 01_ Ancient Blood - Diane Carey [117]
“The what?”
“Sindikash has the right to set its own course. Independence was once a concept to be warred over, but I see it as the right of any colony that can prove itself self-reliant and stable. There’ll be a muscle-stretching period, a generation or two of struggle, hunger, weakness, and, if they survive, they’ll probably join forces with us again someday.”
“Assuming they don’t self-immolate! The whole area will be unstable for decades! How many colonies flare briefly, only to be snuffed out in power struggles? The toll is always high—”
“And the story disastrous and the songs very sad,” Picard filled in, “but that is part of political autonomy. It’s up to them, Commissioner, not us. In all conscience, I can’t deny the people of Sindikash the same advantage of hindsight with which I look upon the early United States.”
Toledano put a pointed finger on the edge of Picard’s desk, tried to think of something more to say, then decided he’d be better off saying it to the Federation Council. He stalked out.
Riker let out a long breath, and sat down. “What a week, sir.”
“On two fronts,” Picard agreed. He leaned back and crossed his legs. “I’ve got a peculiar taste for a rum toddy tonight. Isn’t that odd? Care to join me?”
Riker tipped his head. “Are you worried, sir?”
Picard raised and dropped one shoulder. “It’ll be a black mark on my record. There’ll be people who want my head on a pike. Sindikash voted for independence, but its new governor wants a relationship with the Federation. The Council can work with that, don’t you think?”
“Yes, sir, I do think that.”
“As for me… if I lose the ship, well, nothing lasts forever. Maybe I’ll never get an admiralty, but I’ll be able to sleep at night. So we made a value judgment—if not us, then who? And don’t forget, if you look at history, it’s simply not believable that the United States actually won the Revolutionary War. So keep up hope, Mr. Riker. Save the galaxy a couple of times, you get some friends in key circles.”
Picard puffed up and raised his chin.
“After all,” he declared, “we’re not brutes, you know.”
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two