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"Shouldn't your people get to know me first? I'm still a stranger here." Peter shook his head, still not understanding why Alexa and Idriss had simply assumed he would welcome the role. "I was the mouthpiece for the Terran Hanseatic League. I had to issue some terrible orders, caused a lot of suffering. Does everybody know that it was really Basil behind the worst of it? I wouldn't think the Therons trust me yet."

Estarra put her arms around his chest from behind, pressing her overlarge stomach against the small of his back. "Nahton knows you very well, Peter, and all the green priests know what Nahton knows. He never let them be fooled about the things you hated to do."

Celli let out a bright laugh. "Besides, Estarra seems to think you're good enough. We're choosing her to be our next Mother, and you just happen to come along as part of the deal."

Later in the day, they all gathered in the fungus reef's large audience chamber. Feast tables crowded the rooms and platforms: A banquet of fresh fruits, edible flowers, and the most succulent insect steaks had been laid out from the bounty of the worldforest.

Estarra remembered her first taste of chicken and beef in the Whisper Palace's dining hall; though they had still been strangers, Peter had tried to make her feel at home. Now she reciprocated, though the King wasn't nearly as shy as she had been. She wondered if he would savor the tender morsels of pupating larvae cooked in their own cocoon casings. Her stomach growled, and she realized she'd been having strange cravings for Theron food.

First, though, they had their roles to play, and an extremely important announcement to make.

When she and Peter stepped up to the tall chairs in the throne room, Idriss and Alexa removed their headdresses and gave warm blessings to the King and Queen. Idriss boomed out to the people: "I present to you your new rulers, Father Peter and Mother Estarra of Theroc!" The people cheered, and green priests used the interconnected trees to send the news and receive greetings from treelings on all the scattered planets.

Estarra knew their most important work was just beginning. Human civilization would have to change, starting with the government.

While flying to Theroc aboard the alien derelict, she and Peter had had many long discussions. Even if Earth survived the massive hydrogue attacks and the Soldier compy uprising, the Hansa was fatally flawed. Chairman Wenceslas had alienated his allies, provoked unnecessary confrontations, and withdrawn supplies and defenses from colonies that depended on them. Basil was a divider, exactly the wrong sort of leader to bring humanity back from the edge of a terrible precipice.

"After everything that's happened, Peter, we've got to be as strong as a real King and Queen--not just showpieces."

Peter considered all the opportunities he had lost. "We'll be as strong as we should have been from the start."

Together, they had developed a breathtaking scheme. While settling in on Theroc, they had discussed the idea with Estarra's parents, and they had already dispatched messages and proposals via telink to representatives on the orphaned Hansa colonies. Their suggestions had met with a great deal of support.

Now it was time to make it official.

With everyone gathered close for the coronation ceremony, Peter addressed all Therons. He was the Hansa's Great King and now the Father of Theroc. Yarrod waited near the flower-strewn stage, touching a small tree to report King Peter's message via telink; word would spread instantly.

"Earth has survived the attack by the hydrogues, but the Hanseatic League has fallen," Peter announced. "Even before the warglobes came, the Hansa was crippled from within by greed, arrogance, and corruption. Many of you saw it--especially those colonists who relied on Hansa support and the Roamer clans who were crushed simply because they demanded fair treatment."

Beside him, Estarra added, "All the colonies that signed the Hansa Charter agreed to certain