Hidden Empire - Kevin J. Anderson [45]
"How will the clans react to Reynald's ideas?" she asked, glancing away from the yacht's control panels to look at the lean face of her mentor.
"Long ago, the Ildirans gladly turned over the operation of their skymines to us Roamers, but we ourselves have always been too insular to trust anyone." The old woman stared at the starfields that changed subtly and slowly as the yacht covered vast distances. "On the other hand, it never hurts to consider possible allies."
Cesca nodded. "Reynald made a good case."
"For marriage?" Jhy Okiah raised her eyebrows.
Cesca recognized the old woman's teasing tone, but she still blushed. "I meant his business suggestion. The Therons have kept their independence and held their green priests outside of Goose control."
"We have much in common." Jhy Okiah pursed her wrinkled lips, and her voice grew more serious. "Unfortunately, we simply do not need anything the Therons have to offer."
Cesca recalled the numerous feuds and disagreements Jhy Okiah had resolved during her time as Speaker. Not long ago, the angry Rand Sorengaard had pulled away from Roamer restrictions in retaliation for new Hansa tariffs. "What is to stop us from taking what we deserve? The Goose is as lawless as we are!" But Rand had garnered little support beyond a handful of restless bullies more interested in adventure than justice.
Sorengaard had been a second cousin to the Peroni clan, though Cesca did not like to speak of that connection, because the pirate was such an embarrassment. Jhy Okiah had often said it was only a matter of time before the EDF dealt with him. And, according to the news delivered by Reynald, she had been right. "Even though Rand has been brought to justice, the Goose won't let their punishment stop there. All Roamers will end up paying more than the tariffs that were imposed."
"And we'll find ways to improve our situation and come through stronger than before," Cesca responded with sincere pride. "If we have to."
After extreme measures, hard conservation, and many gambles, the Roamers were mostly self-sufficient, though they still required certain vital supplies from the outside—supplies on which the Hansa had now placed heavy taxes: foodstuffs, medicines, special equipment and instruments, as well as numerous convenience and luxury items.
Jhy Okiah viewed the expected lean times as an incentive for the Roamers to find other ways to become autonomous. During the clan gathering, her voice was dry and raspy, yet it contained an emotional power that she had developed over many years.
"If the Hansa can hurt us by cutting off the supply of a material, then they have too much power over us...and we are too dependent on that thing. Either we must give up our dependence, or find a new supply. We are Roamers. Have we not the ability to discover alternatives? We can build our own equipment, manufacture our own circuitry webs, and learn to do without comforts and conveniences. Let the Roamers have the last laugh by proving we don't need to buy from their merchants. We'll cut off that income stream, and the Big Goose will be weaker."
With those words, she had managed to stem the tide of other dissenters after Rand Sorengaard had stormed off. An open rebellion against the Hanseatic League would bring about severe reprisals. The Speaker considered Sorengaard's raids to be a crime. Worse, she feared his activities would draw too much outside attention to the Roamers. The Roamers were accustomed to living in harsh environments, but not as hunted renegades.
Now, sitting beside Cesca in the space yacht, Jhy Okiah said, "We dare not let the Goose snoop around for fugitives, or they might discover some of the shipyards, colonies, and facilities that our clans would rather keep hidden."
More than two centuries earlier, after leaving behind the tiny fledgling colony in the rubble