The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [247]
When the cheering died down, Estarra spoke. “The King and I welcome all peoples who wish to live in peace, so that a strong civilization can thrive in the Spiral Arm. We have seen the costs of enmity and destruction. Now let us reap the rewards of cooperation, commerce, and friendship.”
Peter continued even before the applause had quieted. “Our past was built on the whims of tyrants, the blood of innocents, the embers of stars, and the ashes of worlds.” Beside him, Estarra held the baby in one arm. He took her free hand. “Together, we build a new future for all, and together we can achieve the impossible.”
* * *
Glossary
Adar — highest military rank in the Ildiran Solar Navy.
Aguerra, Carlos — Raymond’s younger brother.
Aguerra, Michael — Raymond’s youngest brother.
Aguerra, Raymond — streetwise young man from Earth, former identity of King Peter.
Aguerra, Rory — Raymond’s younger brother.
Ala’nh, Tal — one of the remaining cohort commanders of the Ildiran Solar Navy.
Alexa, Mother — former ruler of Theroc; wife of Father Idriss and mother of Reynald, Beneto, Sarein, Estarra, and Celli.
Andez, Colonel Shelia — EDF soldier, former Roamer captive with Patrick Fitzpatrick III, chosen to lead Chairman Wenceslas’s “cleanup crew.”
Andropolis, Dr. Tito — Hansa scientific adviser assigned to assist Chairman Wenceslas in creating technological “miracles.”
Aquarius — Nikko Chan Tylar’s wental-repaired ship.
Archfather — symbolic head of the Unison religion on Earth.
Barrymore’s Rock — isolated Roamer fuel depot destroyed by Sirix’s black robots.
BeBob — Rlinda Kett’s nickname for Branson Roberts.
Beneto — green priest, second son of Father Idriss and Mother Alexa, killed by hydrogues on Corvus Landing, returned in a wooden body as an avatar of the worldforest, then later joined with verdani battleship.
Big Goose — Roamer derogative term for Terran Hanseatic League.
blazer — Ildiran illumination source.
Blind Faith — Branson Roberts’s ship, destroyed during an escape from Earth, rebuilt by Roamers at the Osquivel shipyards.
breedex — a hive mind of the Klikiss, which controls all the members of a subhive.
Brindle, Conrad — Robb Brindle’s father, former military officer, returned to active duty; when Robb left to join the Confederation, Conrad insisted on remaining loyal to the EDF.
Brindle, Natalie — Robb Brindle’s mother, former military officer returned to active duty.
Brindle, Robb — young EDF recruit, comrade of Tasia Tamblyn, captured and held prisoner by hydrogues after trying to contact them at Osquivel, rescued by Jess Tamblyn. With Tasia, Robb joined the Confederation and helps them build their military.
Burton — One of the eleven generation ships from Earth, seized by Ildirans at Dobro and its passengers used in breeding experiments for generations.
Cain, Eldred — deputy and heir-apparent of Basil Wenceslas.
cargo escort — Roamer vessel used to deliver ekti shipments from skymines.
Celli — youngest daughter of Father Idriss and Mother Alexa; she recently became a green priest.
Chan, Marla — mother of Nikko Chan Tylar, wife of Crim Tylar. Marla was killed by Klikiss during the colonists’ escape from Llaro.
Charybdis — primordial water planet, site of Jess Tamblyn’s original dispersal of wentals. Charybdis was devastated in an unprovoked faeros attack.
chrysalis chair — reclining throne of the Mage-Imperator.
cleanup crew — elite watchdog security group given special orders by Chairman Wenceslas to quell dissent. They are led by Colonel Shelia Andez.
cloud harvester — ekti-gathering facility designed by Hansa.
cohort — Ildiran Solar Navy battle group consisting of seven maniples, or 343 warliners, commanded by a tal.
Colicos, Anton — son of Margaret and Louis Colicos, translator and student of epic stories, sent to Ildiran Empire to study the Saga of Seven Suns. He was captured with the Mage-Imperator’s Ildirans and held prisoner on the Moon.
Colicos, Louis — xeno-archaeologist, husband of Margaret Colicos and father