The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [199]
Within minutes — an astonishingly short time, considering the distance from the Palace District to Anton’s private apartment — an abrupt and insistent pounding came at the door. Colonel Andez and four men stood there in cleanup-crew uniforms.
“How did you get here so fast?” Anton said. When Vao’sh had been dying of isolation, Margaret knew he had tried for days to get any help whatsoever.
Andez answered with a supercilious scowl. “Your persistent demands to speak with the Chairman raised a red flag, and we had already been dispatched to observe and investigate the possible threat. While we were inbound, the Chairman changed our objective.”
Wasting no time, Margaret strode out into the hall to head toward their vehicle. “Of course he did.”
Chairman Wenceslas was already aboard his refueled diplomatic shuttle, impatient to go. As she and Anton rushed through the hatch, he looked at her sourly. Without giving them any chance to settle, he said, “So tell me what the Klikiss want, Dr. Colicos. Why did the hive mind ask to speak to me by name?”
“I don’t know.” Her answer startled him.
“You are not instilling me with confidence.”
“It is not my intention to. I want you prepared. Realistically.” Margaret chose a seat across from him, as if she did this every day.
Buckling in beside her, Anton grumbled, “The Hansa knew the Klikiss were a danger, that they had wiped out numerous colony worlds. You received reports, Mr. Chairman, but you didn’t take the threat seriously.”
The Chairman twitched as if he’d been stung by invisible bees. “I take all threats seriously, but there are so many.” Margaret could tell he was nervous about the upcoming encounter. This situation was entirely out of his control, and Chairman Wenceslas obviously knew it. “General Lanyan and Admiral Diente were both killed by the Klikiss. From the presence of those swarmships, I’d say their aggressive intentions are pretty clear.”
Margaret felt the rumble of vibrations through the deck as the shuttle’s engines powered up. “Then you must reach some sort of rapprochement. I suggest you comport yourself well with the breedex.”
“I can’t wait to see what happens when they find out about your partnership with the black robots,” Anton muttered.
“That worries me more than anything,” Margaret said, and she meant it. The Chairman had no grasp of the sheer animosity the Klikiss held toward their robots. She would guide him as best she could, getting him up to speed as they traveled to the swarmships.
“I can handle it,” he said, as if it were no more than a difficult board meeting. He leaned back as the shuttle launched.
* * *
138
Chairman Basil Wenceslas
Basil would have flown the diplomatic shuttle himself if he could, just so he didn’t need to worry about the pilot balking or overreacting. The man had been competent enough flying out to the Confederation flagship, but these jaw-dropping alien vessels were something else entirely.
The fate of the planet hung in the balance — again. Alas, he could not do everything himself. He had left King Rory behind and brought along Margaret and Anton Colicos, in the hope that their insights would be useful. He listened as Margaret told him as much as she knew about the insect race, about the breedex, the subhive wars, how she had been stranded among them for years, and how they had massacred and incorporated most of the colonists from Llaro. Basil wasn’t sure how much all this information would help. He didn’t need any help.
At the end of the day, he was the only person he could truly count on. Once Basil finally faced the breedex, leader to leader, he trusted his own political skills to make the Klikiss be reasonable. Diente must have done something wrong in his earlier attempt.
As the shuttle flew onward, Basil pushed aside his hatred for King Peter, and now Deputy Cain and Sarein. He did not worry about them. Not now. The Klikiss consumed his attention. Those other problems could wait. He clenched and unclenched his fists, drew a long, slow breath.
The breedex had not included King Peter in the invitation.