Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [182]
Finally her father showed a flash of impatience. “Sarein, dear, look out the window at all the work being done. Do you see any representatives of the Hanseatic League offering assistance? Do you see a single team of civil engineers from the Earth Defense Forces helping us rebuild? No, you do not. You see only Roamers. Why should we reward anyone else?”
Alexa stood up from her gilded chair. “I have no wish to continue this discussion until you have made overtures to Cesca, Sarein. It would be best for the two of you to speak face-to-face and settle your differences. If the hydrogues hadn’t killed Reynald, she would be your sister-in-law now. Your father and I very much want you to be friends.” She took Idriss by the arm and left Sarein standing there, feeling like a little girl.
Sarein found the Roamer Speaker in a soot-covered forest meadow and asked her for a private conversation. “My parents insist that I speak with you.”
Speaker Peroni raised her eyebrows. “And why is that?”
“They say my suspicions and doubts are unfair to you people.”
Cesca’s dark eyes widened slightly. “ Your suspicions and doubts? That’s interesting, considering that the Hansa has hounded, cheated, and persecuted us for generations. When I learned that you’d returned to Theroc, I hoped you would act as an intermediary between the Hansa and the Roamer clans, since you are Reynald’s sister. Therons are independent, so I thought you might be more open-minded.”
It occurred to Sarein that if she could heal this breach, then Basil would be indebted to her for years. “Restore ekti deliveries, and I’ll consider intervening for you with the Hansa.”
“Do you represent the people of Theroc, or are you merely a mouthpiece for Chairman Wenceslas and his Eddy guard dogs?”
Sarein was affronted. “You descend to the lowest insults when I’m trying to settle our differences?”
“Insults? I’m exercising admirable restraint. The Chairman already knows what he needs to do before we’ll resume ekti deliveries. The ball’s in his court.”
Sarein knew she was in the stronger bargaining position. “Don’t make the mistake of assuming that ekti gives you the power to coerce the Hansa in any way. Earth has already received several shipments from our cloud harvester on Qronha 3. Once we establish other such facilities, and after our transportal colonization initiative takes hold, we’ll no longer need Roamer ekti at all. Then where will you be?”
Cesca did not rise to the bait. “Self-sufficient and independent, I believe. Just think it through, Ambassador. The Hansa stole from us and committed murder—why else would we have stopped selling ekti? It was our most profitable export. But I’ve seen what the Eddies do to our helpless cargo ships and the innocent men and women who work on them.”
“Fabricated stories.”
“I have indisputable proof,” Cesca retorted. “Would you like to see the wreckage for yourself? See the jazer burns?”
Sarein hardened her expression, refusing to believe. “Chairman Wenceslas would never authorize such outrageous acts, and the King would certainly never condone them.” But in the back of her mind, Sarein remembered some of the shadowy things Basil had already done. Was hijacking a Roamer cargo ship and stealing its ekti much different? She didn’t want to consider the possibility.
“Then why hasn’t he bothered to deny, or even address, our grievances?”
The heavy lifters droned overhead, carrying fallen trees. Earthmovers pushed broken debris aside while groups of green priests found fertile patches of soil and manually planted treelings. The two women seemed to be in a bubble of emptiness, while activity continued around them. Sarein’s back was straight, and her lips were pale. All her muscles remained tense.
Suddenly, a florid-faced Roamer in a uniform covered with embroidery and pockets came running up. “Speaker Peroni, there is an emergency! It’s Hurricane Depot!”
With a sidelong look at Sarein, the man leaned close to whisper to Cesca Peroni. Her face grew dark with rage, then she turned to glower back at Sarein. “As if we needed more proof! A battle