The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [198]
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137
Margaret Colicos
Margaret knew she was the only one with any hope of understanding the Klikiss. “I need to contact Chairman Wenceslas. He has no idea what he’s up against.”
Anton let out a sarcastic snort. “He rarely does.” She had moved into Anton’s small apartment, and they had spent a fine few days together, catching up, recovering.
But now the enormous insect vessels had arrived with enough firepower to eliminate what remained of the Earth Defense Forces and all the Confederation ships. And after the gigantic fissioning that had been about to occur on Llaro, Margaret doubted anything remained of Davlin Lotze inside that great, teeming hive mind. And yet the oncoming swarmships had known to ask specifically for Chairman Wenceslas. That gave her a flicker of hope. The One Breedex retained some memories . . . but memories could be turned against the human race, as well.
She also recalled that Davlin Lotze had abandoned the Hansa and gone to live in obscurity on Llaro. Davlin had severed ties with the Chairman, strongly disagreeing with some of the man’s policies and activities. If some hint of his subsumed memories had percolated to the surface of the great hive mind, including a possible animosity against Chairman Wenceslas, then humanity might be in even graver trouble.
No, the Chairman had no idea what he was up against.
Using Anton’s private comm, Margaret got to work penetrating the Hansa bureaucracy with a dogged insistence. Years earlier, when she and Louis demonstrated the Klikiss Torch, Margaret had been granted direct access to the Chairman, and she still had some of those contact codes.
Everyone was in crisis mode, but no one seemed to want to do anything. She spoke sharply with one person after another, drilling her way deeper into the system. Most people didn’t recognize her name, and those who did were dubious, since they had assumed her dead for years.
Always helpful, Anton brought her a cup of tea. She took a sip. Earl Grey. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a good cup of Earl Grey. Anton had made no secret of the Chairman’s ham-handed actions against the Mage-Imperator, and how the Chairman had forced Anton to watch over Rememberer Vao’sh on the university campus so that scholars could ply him for information, and how Vao’sh had died from neglect. He was not at all impressed with the man.
Abruptly, Chairman Wenceslas’s face appeared on the screen, startling her. “Margaret Colicos — a ghost from the past.” He paused for just a moment, then got down to business without any preliminaries. “You claim you have some specialized knowledge that can assist me with the Klikiss? I have not yet decided how to respond.”
She met him with an implacable expression. “How to respond? Mr. Chairman, you are going to do exactly as the breedex demands. Get on a shuttle and go to the central swarmship, as the Klikiss requested — and take me with you. Perhaps I can help.”
He seemed to resent the very idea. “I am still considering options.”
“They can wipe out every living thing on Earth. Speak with the breedex. It’s the only way to prevent your extermination.”
His voice was brittle. “How do you know so much about them?”
She gave the man the bare bones of what had happened to her among the Klikiss. “You need me with you . . . as well as my son, Anton. The two of us will help guide you in these delicate conversations.” Out of range of the comm screen, Anton stared at his mother in surprise, since he was barely able to stifle his antipathy toward the Chairman.
Basil Wenceslas stared coldly at her from the screen and finally nodded. “It’s a relief to see someone actually willing to meet their obligations. I will have a team retrieve you promptly.” Without a farewell, the Chairman severed the