Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [78]
Daro'h's fearful revelation about mad Designate Rusa'h and his bizarre union with the faeros had unsettled Jora'h as much as the news about the Klikiss. Could the Ildiran Empire withstand both enemies? Could they survive either? He just did not know.
Finished with their tale, Anton Colicos and Vao'sh bowed. Zan'nh stepped forward. 'If our ancient translation programs were accurate, the Klikiss said they would reclaim all their old worlds.'
Wearing a grave expression, Nira raised an entirely different concern, one that had not occurred to him. 'What about the human colonies established on abandoned worlds, Jora'h? If the Klikiss are coming - what will happen to all those people?'
Another wave of consequences and difficult decisions rose before him. 'My primary responsibility is to the Ildiran Empire.'
From beside her mother, Osira'h spoke up. 'Ildirans may be the only ones who can do something fast enough, Father. We may be the only ones who know the Klikiss have returned. Are we not obligated to help, if we know of a need?'
Rod'h added, 'Would we not ask the humans to help, if the situation were reversed?'
Pointedly, Zan'nh said, 'The situation would never be reversed, because Ildirans would never sweep into empty Klikiss worlds. Ildirans would never assume that just because a planet was empty, we could simply take it.'
Rememberer Ko'sh stood poised with his scriber, waiting to see how the Mage-Imperator would respond. Prime Designate Daro'h also looked at his father with keen interest.
'I must contemplate this.' Jora'h stood from the chrysalis chair. 'The answer is not obvious when taken in the context of the entire lldiran Empire.'
* * * * *
During the still-bright sleeping period, Jora'h lay in his cool chambers holding Nira close. The two had first become lovers when he was the dashing Prime Designate and she a young green priest, come to study the Saga. Though so much had changed since then, they were still close, perhaps closer now than ever before. Their love forged a bond that could not be broken - not by Jora'h's ascension to Mage-Imperator, not by Nira's suffering in the breeding camps.
He held her in silence and stroked her arm, trying to forget - just for a moment - the difficult decisions that dogged him. Her soft, emerald skin was a vibrant counterpoint to the coppery-olive sheen of his own. Resting, the Mage-Imperator had unbound his long symbolic braid so that the loose strands drifted like feathers charged with static electricity. Several tickled Nira's shoulder, and she stirred in her sleep, smiling, then lifted a hand to caress him. With her hairless head on his chest, she seemed to melt against him.
Although they slept together, their relationship was no longer sexual. That was impossible for him and no longer desirable to her. As it was, they held each other with a closeness that a Mage-Imperator was not supposed to have and one that Nira had never thought she'd accept again.
Without opening her eyes, she spoke. 'What will you do to rescue the human colonists, Jora'h? They're alone.'
'I love you, Nira. I have no resentment against your people, but I am the Mage-Imperator. Ildirans are vulnerable, in danger, facing an unknown threat from whatever my brother Rusa'h has become. I do not wish to provoke the Klikiss, especially now. My Solar Navy is decimated, and the Ildiran Empire can ill afford new enemies.'
Nira opened her eyes. 'Neither can the Confederation. That's not an excuse to ignore everyone else in need.'
'Use your treeling to warn other green priests. They will find a way to mount a rescue operation.'
'Yes, I'll do that. But the other human colonies, the Confederation, Theroc, even the Hansa - they're in no position to come to the rescue.' Her voice was firm. 'This is your chance, Jora'h. You know you have much to atone for after Dobro. You can't just brush aside the pain the Ildirans have caused.'
He drew a deep breath, knowing she was right. Though the news had spread through the telink network, the Mage-Imperator had not yet spoken