Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [30]
“That would be just about fast enough for me,” Fitzpatrick said with a scowl.
Zhett instructed some compies to finish stacking the crates, and pitched in herself, while the prisoners sat idly watching. The Roamer girl ignored them, apparently immune to their surly stares and happy to prove her superiority. Fitzpatrick tried not to let it get to him.
Chapter 13—CESCA PERONI
The old woman drifted in a sling chair connected to the rock wall. The former Speaker looked like a collection of dried bones held together with sinew, leathery skin, and sheer force of will. She’d been retired for six years and had not left the Rendezvous asteroids in all that time; her eyes were still bright as black skypearls.
“Now that you have clear evidence against the EDF,” she said to Cesca, “what does your Guiding Star tell you?”
Cesca closed her eyes. She had carefully schooled herself never to show vulnerability or indecision, but here behind closed doors in consultation with the only person who could truly understand her predicament, she let down her walls. “How am I supposed to see the Guiding Star when I’m buried deep inside solid rock—both literally and figuratively?”
Jhy Okiah smiled with her parchment lips. “You have to make decisions for yourself, child.”
The Speaker’s office was one of the first chambers that had been hammered out by the settlers from the Kanaka. When the old generation ship had dropped off a fraction of its colonists here, the people had by no means been assured of their survival. But those predecessors of the Roamer clans had been tenacious and resourceful. The colony had survived and grown, eventually becoming a thriving base.
Roamers made their own decisions and survived—not relying on the blessings and gifts of others, but on their own ingenuity. Kotto Okiah was a perfect example: Even after his high-risk metals-processing settlement on a near-molten planet had failed, he had immediately begun work on a supercold frozen world from which he was sure he could wring vital resources.
Cesca needed to remember that and remind the other clan members. “I wonder how many of our predecessors sat in this same place, facing similarly difficult decisions. When you first became Speaker, did you require so much advice?”
“Of course I did. We all do.”
Cesca shook her head, unable to imagine that this strong and decisive woman could possibly have experienced self-doubt. “So how did you manage? Tell me the secret.”
“The secret is to realize that despite your worries, you are still the best-qualified person to make these decisions. The Roamer clans chose you. They believe in you. And when you do your best, that’s the best the Roamers have to offer.”
Cesca made a wry expression. “Then maybe the Roamer clans are in trouble after all.” She turned to the former Speaker and a hard look entered her eyes. “The Big Goose stole our cargo, killed our people, then pretended nothing happened. We have something they want, and they seem to assume that a war gives them the right to just take it.”
“The Hansa is a formidable enemy—should the clans provoke them?”
“We can’t just ignore their acts of piracy.”
“No. The Big Goose has treated us with disdain for years. This is nothing new except for the level of violence. Remember that whatever you do will have tremendous repercussions.”
“Some of our hotheaded clan leaders might get incensed and forget about that. They can outvote me. I only speak for them—I can’t coerce them.”
“Worse, most of them are men, and therefore prone to the need to prove themselves.” The old woman slowly shook her head.
Cesca paused for a long moment. “If they take the obvious option, I dread the consequences for all of us.”
“Every decision has consequences. You’re the leader of the clans. It is your job to make them see wisdom, make the best decision, then follow through with solidarity, no matter what. We are all Roamers.”
“Yes,” Cesca said. “We can’t forget who we are.”
Chapter 14—DD
Inside the hydrogue citysphere beneath the clouds