Hidden Empire - Kevin J. Anderson [219]
99 KING FREDERICK
A very nervous King sat on his throne, cold and overwhelmed. He glanced sideways to the green priest, who relayed a few words that—unfortunately—did not comfort him.
He'd been enormously relieved to hear from Basil, foolishly imagining that the Chairman would instantly know how to respond, would tell him how to fix the situation. But the hydrogue emissary had delivered his appalling ultimatum, and Frederick still didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe what he had heard.
The liquid-crystal alien hung in its high-pressure vessel before the King. Having delivered his message, the creature fell silent.
King Frederick, fearing that the containment globe would now withdraw and the alien representative would not parley at all, spoke quickly. "Wait! This is...unprecedented. And unnecessary! You are overreacting."
The perfectly sculptured face shifted its human expression to an inappropriate reflection of an openmouthed scream of terror. No doubt the deep-core aliens had no understanding of facial subtleties. "You have destroyed one of our worlds. There can be no peace between us."
"But your gas planets contain a vital resource that our civilization requires." King Frederick prayed that his voice wouldn't crack with fear. "To my knowledge, our skymines have caused no damage to your worlds, nor have they harmed your ecosystems or weather patterns. But we must process vast volumes of hydrogen to obtain sufficient ekti for our stardrives."
"Your request is denied," the hydrogue emissary said from his chamber. "Remove all rock-dweller parasites from our clouds, or we will eliminate them." Another squealing release of steam belched from a tiny vent.
The King looked quickly down at his ancient Teacher compy OX, hoping for some small flicker of stability and confidence. Back when he'd first begun training to become the next Great King, young Frederick had spent months with OX, learning from the compy's great store of wisdom and experiences. Now, unfortunately, Frederick doubted that even wise OX could provide diplomatic assistance against this incredibly strange alien.
"Please, listen to me." The King rose from his throne and stepped down one of the levels of his dais, closer to the emissary's containment sphere. He gripped his scepter as if it were a cane. "On behalf of our entire population and all governments of the Hansa worlds, allow me to express my deepest regrets and my most sincere apologies." There, that sounded good.
"You must understand that this has been a terrible mistake. Our test of the Klikiss Torch at Oncier was not meant as an attack against your people. We had absolutely no knowledge of your hidden empire. I give you my word as King that we will never undertake another such test. Surely there can be some reparations made?" His voice had a pleading tone, and he stood straighter, tried to sound firmer.
"Rock dwellers have nothing the hydrogues want or require," the emissary said. "You could not possibly provide reparations."
The King felt more desperate. He tried to sound benevolent, to play upon any glimmer of feelings these aliens might experience. "You do not understand just how much damage such an embargo would cause. Without stardrive fuel, commerce across the Hanseatic League will grind to a halt, and our colony worlds will starve. Think of the suffering! There must be room for negotiation. Please, let us find some compromise."
Wearing the silvery face of a dead Roamer, the alien emissary stared straight ahead. "I was not sent here to negotiate, merely to deliver my message. Has the statement been recorded and transmitted, so that all may hear my words?"
King Frederick looked over at OX, who would be preserving every nuance of the encounter. On the other side of his throne, the green priest finished sending his summary through telink to Basil Wenceslas and the Mage-Imperator on Ildira. Local media representatives broadcast these events as they happened, uploading