Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [118]
"Even one as untrained and uncertain as I am?"
Yazra'h glanced at the two historians, considering, then spoke the words she needed to say to the boy. "What you feel now is only half as important as what you appear to feel in front of your people. Maintain a façade appropriate to your role--strong, brave, dependable, in control."
Anton watched the boy search for strength, then pull himself together. The veneer was thin, but good enough to keep the shell-shocked Hyrillkans from suspecting. "Thank you. Of course, I must go down to the surface."
Though Hyrillka's main spaceport had been reconstructed, it could never accommodate the hundreds of warliners, certainly not all at once. Knowing this to be a major bottleneck, Tal O'nh had devised the swiftest and most efficient disembarkation protocol. He assigned bureaucratic kithmen to subdivide the process into manageable stages and then work on the operational details. Now the ornate vessels crowded in orbit, their crews anxious to get to work.
Warliners landed seven at a time. Solar Navy crewmen and Hyrillkan laborers swiftly removed equipment and engaged local transport vehicles to distribute the much-needed workers and equipment. Carrying only skeleton crews, the emptied warliners rose back to orbit, out of the way while the next group of seven descended. It would take days to unload everything.
Anton, Vao'sh, and Yazra'h accompanied the young Designate aboard the fourth round of shuttles. When Designate Ridek'h set foot on the damaged world, the great fanfare Anton expected (considering the Ildiran penchant for such things) was drowned out in the constant clamor of distribution operations.
The boy Designate seemed barely able to grasp the extent of the damage as he studied the burned ground, the ruined fields, the scarred landscape. "Look at all that needs to be done!"
Yazra'h's answer was both scolding and supportive. "Look at all these dedicated workers. Look at all these ships, all this equipment. How can you not succeed?"
"We haven't seen the full extent of the damage yet," Anton pointed out. "I've learned from my historical studies that it's always more of a challenge to rebuild than to tear down."
Vao'sh replied, "That, Rememberer Anton, is the thread from which we will weave our story."
They joined Ridek'h for a formal tour of the main city and surrounding farmlands. Flying low in an observation craft, they saw how much had been devastated. Even before the reconstruction crews had arrived, Hyrillkan workers had begun clearing the burned ground and replanting crops. Because the deluded Designate had uprooted food crops and devoted all fertile land to producing the drug shiing, Hyrillka's food stockpiles were quickly dwindling.
Subdued and ashamed, the people threw themselves into their labors with an abandon that showed how much they wished to atone for their rebellion. If their work continued at such a guilt-driven pace, they would surely collapse from exhaustion . . . and perhaps recover faster than expected.
As their small group inspected the damage for hours upon hours, Anton felt his mind grow numb. Vao'sh sat beside him, his large eyes gathering details, watching for small stories to retell.
Yazra'h never sat down. At the haunted look in the boy's eyes, she chided him. "If you give up, Designate, then they will all give up. Remember the old stories in the Saga. What if you were a commander of a warliner being pursued by a Shana Rei blackship? A blackship travels as swiftly as darkness, but is as intangible as a shadow. Your weapons have no effect. You cannot outrun the enemy. You would be terrified, would you not?"
Ridek'h hesitated, then chose the honest answer. "Yes."
She held up a long finger. "But even if you were quaking, you could not let your crew see the fear, for they would experience it sevenfold. You must conquer your fear and keep