Hidden Empire - Kevin J. Anderson [57]
Cesca Peroni had lived here much of her life. She considered Rendezvous not at all strange.
She and Jhy Okiah sat inside the Speaker's office chamber hollowed out from the largest rock of Rendezvous. While much of the Speaker's business involved mitigating clan squabbles, accounting for profits, and studying resource distribution among the widespread settlements, she also heard proposals and assessed the merits of ambitious new ventures.
These meetings with engineers and clan speculators were the most enjoyable of Cesca's duties. All Roamers were encouraged to develop new concepts and consider different techniques for exploiting resources, however unlikely they might seem. Inventors modified standard equipment and vessels already in use, improving them to incredible efficiency, far beyond anything the Hansa had achieved. Nor would the Big Goose ever know.
The curly-haired engineer Eldon Clarin sat in a low-gravity seat, controlling his enthusiasm as Jhy Okiah and Cesca stared at his beautifully drawn plans for two new spacecraft designs. Clarin and his team of specialists had done their work admirably well, and he waited for the old Speaker to either make suggestions or grant him approval to pursue his new concepts.
Jhy Okiah looked over at Cesca, waiting to see her protégée's assessment. The young woman bit her lower lip, putting her mind into sharp focus. "As clearly as I can understand it, your modification increases thrust efficiency, minimizes ekti consumption—"
Eldon Clarin interrupted. "Yes, yes, and still we retain navigational accuracy. That has been a problem in the past." He sat back and looked at the two women, hoping for their acceptance. He scratched his curly hair, which hovered like a corona around his head.
Because Roamer society had been built on interconnected families, strong women often dominated their politics. Throughout human history, politics had usually been based on warfare, strength, and blustering testosterone. Roamers, however, found that female politicians were much better in the peaceful resolution of disputes. Women could talk through problems, get to the root of a conflict and ferret out the real cause for disagreement, which was often an illogical emotionally based slight. Maternal leaders were better at exchanging subtle favors that kept the society running smoothly.
Long ago, Jhy Okiah had been chosen as an acceptable mixture of bloodlines, a compromise from dozens of different clans who would thus be able to make decisions without playing favorites. Cesca, on the other hand, had been selected as the Speaker's successor because she came from a particularly strong family. She was the only daughter of a merchant and distributor, Denn Peroni, who had accomplished great things for the Roamers.
Seeing the faintest curve of a smile on Jhy Okiah's lips, Cesca realized that the old woman had already made up her mind about Clarin's proposal and was merely drawing out the suspense. The Speaker always advised against making snap judgments, because the parties in question might not believe due consideration had been given to a matter, even when the answer was obvious.
So Cesca waited as Jhy Okiah pretended to ponder the plans again. Finally, she asked for Cesca's assessment. Cesca covered her own smile, knowing the answer she was expected to give. "I believe Engineer Clarin's proposal would make a good addition to our capabilities. In fact, I would advocate that his modifications be implemented in all new vessels constructed at our Osquivel shipyards."
"Agreed. Once we know a more efficient way to do things, there's no point in continuing to use the old method." Then Jhy Okiah cautioned the elated Clarin, along with the grinning and excited team of engineers who waited behind him. "Remember that no Hansa representative should ever suspect the existence