Pathspace

by Matthew Kennedy

Chapter 94

  Aria: “you who turn the wheel”

  This time she had no patience for inching along ventilation ducts. Aria strode up to the men guarding the door.

  They eyed her uncertainly. “Er, it's supposed to be a closed meeting, ma'am,” one of them said, fidgeting.

  “I don't give a flying fork what it's supposed to be. Let me in or there will be trouble!”

  The other man coughed. “Um, actually, the word is supposed to be – “

  “The point is, there will be trouble if we do,” said the other guard. “For us, anyway.”

  The door behind the two men opened. Xander poked his head out. “Oh, good, you're here,” he said. “We were just about to send for you.”

  “Ha!” She lifted her chin and swept past the two guards who, if anything, appeared relieved to have escaped their dilemma.

  She had never seen so many people in the main conference room before. To the right of the Governor's desk Jeffrey and a couple of other men were standing. The front row of seats in front of the desk was occupied by the military and civilian advisors. Behind them sat row after row of men and women, most of whom she could not identify.

  A man in the audience was on his feet. “And just how are we supposed to believe they'll just go home and leave us alone, eh? You're saying we should just let them go back and plan a better invasion?”

  Kristana looked exhausted. Why is she listening to these fools? thought Aria. Why doesn't she just throw them out and do whatever she believes is the right thing to do? But she knew the answer to that one. Colorado is not an empire. If she starts down the road of acting like an Empress she'll never fulfill the Dream of the late General – the restoration of democracy and the Union.

  “No,” said the Governor, “I'm not saying that. But neither am I saying that we should act like an indisciplined mob. War is a funny business, people. Once the shooting is over you don't act like rabid wolves and tear your opponents to pieces.”

  “With all due respect, Governor, I wasn't asking for that and you know it.”

  “Then exactly what are you asking for, sir? That we start imprisoning heads of foreign countries? From what we know, Peter Martinez is gone. The current Honcho of the Lone Star Empire is that young man to my left. Are you saying we should put him on trial for his father's decisions?”

  The standing man scowled. “Governor, this isn't some tavern brawl. People are dead.”

  “Yes,” she said, staring him down. “On both sides. But the invasion is over. It's time to get back to the work of fulfilling the Dream. It's time to figure out how to work with our neighbors instead of fighting them.”

  There was a muttering about this in the audience, not all satisfied with the idea.

  Aria strode up the center aisle to stand in front of her mother's desk. “Governor,” she said, “may I speak?”

  Kristana glanced at her. “By all means, if you have something to say, let's have it,” she said. “Everyone else seems to be doing it.”

  Aria turned around and scanned the audience. “The new Honcho didn't order this invasion, and he's not going to be on trial.” She paused. “But even if he was, he would still have the right to speak. Have I missed something, or is everyone but him being given the opportunity? Why don't we hear what he thinks? Are we afraid to listen?”

  The murmuring began again at that, and some of it sounded ugly. Kristana slammed her palm down on her desk. “QUIET!” she roared. “I say again, we are not a mob or a pack of wild animals. This is a civil gathering, and I WILL have civility!”

  When the muttering died down again, she continued. “That's a great idea. Jeffrey, excuse me, I mean your Excellency, you have the floor. Speak.”

  Jeffrey has a haunted look, Aria thought. But how would I look, if my father had just died and I was in front of a room full of people howling for my blood? She couldn't even guess the stress he must be under.

  Jeffrey looked around the room, showing he wasn't afraid to meet anyone's eyes. When he spoke, it was in a quiet voice that forced them to strain to hear him. Aria almost smiled, recognizing the technique.

  “Most of you don't know me, and I don't know you,” he said. “You want to know what I am thinking? Let's start with this. How many of you have lost a parent? My father is dead. Now I know,” he said, holding up a hand to forestall interruptions, “that he died invading your country, and I can't blame anyone for defending themselves, so let's move on. He tried to take you over, to make you part of his Empire, and he paid the price for that. I'm not here to claim any right of revenge. War is war, after all. But even though we disagreed on a lot of things, he was my father and now I've lost him. So bear with me if what I say seems a little disjointed. I don't expect you to love him, but he was, in his own way, a great man.”

  She could see he was barely holding it together. Aria's heart went out to him. How would she have handled it? Maybe she was lucky the General died before she was born. But then, he wasn't her father . . . just the man she had been told was her father. She turned to look at Xander, who was standing on the other side of her mother's desk. If Xander had died out there on that snowy street, would she be able to address these people as calmly as Jeffrey?

  Jeffrey looked across at Kristana. “Madame Governor,” he said, “both you and my late father,” he swallowed, “had similar dreams. You both wanted to end this sorry state of affairs, this shattered land with countries fighting like squabbling neighbors.

  “I won't speak ill of my father, but I want you to know that although I was raised to rule my father's Empire I have never liked the idea of expansion by conquest, or unification by bloodshed.

  “We both know that Texas and Rado are the two most powerful countries in this region. If we chose, we could both go on fighting and weakening each other. But there is a better way.

  “Hundreds of years ago, thirteen colonies, thirteen separate countries, in effect, occupied this land, with their own separate governments, currencies, and militias. But instead of fighting it out to see which would control it all, they came together for the common good. One central government, made up of representatives from each colony, formed for the purpose of settling disagreements, regulating trade, and guaranteeing the rights of citizens.

  “It all fell apart, of course, in the chaos of the Fall of the civilization of the Ancients. But I have often thought, as did your own General, that maybe we could put it together again. I know you have been hoping to do just that for years now, but I also know that no other country has taken you seriously about it, because no one wanted to make themselves a target for my father's armies by forming an alliance with you.”

  He paused, as if gathering his thoughts again.

  “I was hoping,” said Kristana, “that they might change their minds if they saw Rado continuing to survive, despite his efforts. But go on.”

  “I cannot betray Texas,” he said. “If I go back there and announce that it's becoming part of Rado, I will just be killed, and hostilities will continue. Just as your own citizens would rise up against you, if you tried to tell them Rado was becoming a vassal state to Texas.”

  “That's not going to happen.”

  “I know,” he said. “But what if we could tell our peoples that instead of conquering or being conquered, we are both becoming part of something bigger? What if I could tell Texans that they could trade Texas beef for Rado gold? What if you could tell your citizens that they would have the might of Texas defending them?”

  Kristana considered it. “This is all very nice,” she said. “But how do we know that any alliance, any union with Texas isn't just a ruse to buy you more time to prepare a larger invasion? Trust is precious, your Excellency, and because of that, it is slow to form. You're right in saying that while I want to further my late husband's Dream, I can't do that by risking the safety of the people of Colorado. I won't betray their trust to try to gain yours. So how do we proceed?”

  There was a moment of silence. Aria ended it before the muttering
could start up again.

  “I have an idea,” she said. “But you might not like it.”