Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [40]
Three men entered. They wore red robes that reminded Kira a bit of those of a vedek in her time, though these were shorter and tighter about the sleeves.
They also wore earrings in their right ears.
“Greetings to you from the Bajora,” said the one in the middle, the oldest of the three. “Do we have the pleasure of greeting Natlar Ryslin?”
“I am Prefect Natlar, yes.”
All three bowed their heads. “We would like to extend our respects to your provisional government, and”
Torrna stood up again. “There is nothing “provisional’ about our government! We are the Perikian Republic, and we will be treated with the respect we deserve!”
The envoys looked a bit nonplussed at the general’s outburst. Good, Kira thought. They seemed a bit too obsequious to her.
“My apologies for my imprecision in speech. Regardless, we do come to you with an offer.”
“Really?” Torrna said with a laugh. “The battle has been won less than three days, and already the Bajora have sent their envoys. Were you flown here by remla bird with this offer?”
“General, please,” Natlar said in her usual calm tone, but it was enough to induce Torrna to take his seat. The prefect then turned back to the envoys. “General Torrna’s point is well taken. You cannot have received word of our victory and composed any offer in so short a time.” The envoy smiled a small smile. Kira noted that the envoy had yet to provide a name for himself or his two aides. “You are correct. We have been in the city for several weeks now, awaiting the outcome of your war. If you were victorious, as our intelligence reports indicated you likely would be, then we were prepared to offer you entry into the Bajora. If you lost, then we would simply return and await a more felicitous time to add this region to the glory of the Prophets.”
“The Prophets?!” Torrna’s voice was like a sonic boom. “You wish to make us part of your theocracy?”
In a snippy tone that Kira recognized from certain vedeks back in her time, the envoy said, “We are not a theocracy, sir. The Bajora is a democratic government of the people of this world. Our goal is to unite the planet once and for all.”
“Really?” Torrna’s tone was dubious.
“For too long,” the envoy said, and now he was addressing the entire room, not just Torrna or Natlar, “we have squabbled and bickered in conflicts much like the one you just finished.”
“That was hardly a ‘squabble,’ ” Torrna said angrily.
“True,” the envoy said, sparing the general a glance, “many lives were lost. And they need not have been, for if we were a united Bajor, there would be no such conflicts. Sister need not fight against sister, blood need not be spilled recklessly we would all be free to follow our pagh without worrying about who rules us or who we will fight tomorrow.” He turned to Natlar. “I urge you, Prefect, to consider our offer. The Bajora can only bring benefit to you in these difficult times. You would have the service of our navy to guard your port, you would have the benefit of our assistance in repairing your soil”
“And all we’d have to do in return is worship your Prophets, yes?” Torrna said. “A small price to pay, I’m sure.”
The envoy turned to the rest of those gathered. “And does this man speak for you all? Will you let one man stand between you and progress?”
Natlar suppressed a smile. “General Torrna does not speak for us all he simply speaks loudest.” A small chuckle passed around the table at that though Torrna looked even angrier at the barb, and Kira couldn’t blame him. “The point is,” the envoy continued, “you have been weakened by this conflict. True, the Lerrit have as well, but they have greater resources. The Bajora, however, have even greater resources still, and we’re expanding. It is only a matter of time before we have united the entire planet we urge you to aid in that process.”
The envoy went on for quite some time, outlining in more detail what joining the Bajora would