He tried to ignore those words but they did strike a cord, reminding Trevor of his meetings with Lori. His fears.
"That’s right, Evan. You’re absolutely right. I don’t want to fight the people of California. I don’t want to fight the Witiko."
The Chancellor’s eyes turned full green. Governor Malloy stammered then boomed, "This is great news! You are indeed a reasonable man, Trevor Stone." Gannon echoed, "Ah, man, that’s just fantastic. Just, you know, fantastic." Trevor did not pull his eyes from D’Trayne. "I offer the Witiko peaceful passage through the runes to their home world."
The alien’s eyes flashed red for a moment, then green, then softened to yellow. Trevor found himself impressed by how well D’Trayne controlled his eyes considering the colors in his pupils apparently reflected his emotions.
"Aww Christ," Gannon huffed and slumped in his chair.
"The Witiko are our allies," Malloy attempted to counter the offer that Trevor had made on numerous occasions in recent months. "They are our partner and friends."
"Friends?" Trevor spat the word.
Godfrey said, "Think of how much greater we would be with the Witiko as allies. Don’t make the mistake of thinking them enemies. You don’t want to be on the wrong side again."
Again?
Trevor did not understand Evan’s reference, but it did remind him once more that, in the other universe, Trevor had fought for the wrong side.
Malloy reasoned, "If they were not our friends, then why would they have stopped fighting when they had us beat? You must remember this. It is important."
Trevor allowed a hint of a smile to curl at the edge of his mouth, but still kept his focus on the Chancellor who remained motionless and silent except for yellow to green pupils.
"They just stopped fighting, what, five years ago?"
"Yes. I remember," Malloy told Stone in a voice that suggested deep admiration for the Witiko’s gesture. "My predecessor, the former Governor who led the war effort, died in a tragic accident and I assumed the reins of leadership. I feared I would be remembered as the leader who watched humanity be destroyed. Instead, I was approached by the Chancellor who offered peace. I accepted, and together we washed the blood from our hands and forged The Cooperative."
Trevor saw why Evan liked Malloy so much; they spoke the same language.
"Do you want to know why the dear, peace-loving Chancellor sued for peace?" Trevor asked. Bright red flashed in the enemy’s pupils. D’Trayne tilted his head and willed his eyes green again. "The Witiko sued for peace because I shut down his gateway. I cut off his reinforcements and supplies."
More red. Then yellow. Then almost orange.
"The Witiko sought an end to the war because they feared their ability to fight that war. The Chancellor here found himself stranded with his foot on the throat of a dangerous enemy but all alone. So what did he do? He bargained. He bargained from what you thought was a position of strength, so you gave in because you thought you were saving yourselves but the truth is that you saved the Witiko."
"That’s a lie!" Malloy burst.
"Hey, man," Gannon tried his best to sound stern but came across as childish. "You don’t know what you’re talking about. D’Trayne here is, just, a great guy. They coulda wiped us out, but they didn’t."
"Oh no? Tell me something, Governor, what’s the human birth rate in California?"
Malloy straightened in his chair and wavered. Trevor held a hand aloft.
"Don’t bother, I’ll tell you. You’re at zero population growth and the life expectancy of your citizens is falling, fast. Probably because your average guy in California has to work two jobs to get enough credits to eat and usually one of those jobs is in a Witiko factory or mine."
Evan jumped, "Don’t even try that, Trevor. These are no slaves here."
Gannon spoke, "Hey, it’s just, we have limited resources so we gotta watch how many babies we’re making."
Malloy assured, "Every one in California has a role to play. There are more humans than Witiko therefore humans make up the bulk of the labor force."
Trevor nodded. "Right. Humans are the peasants while the Witiko and a few select people sit at the top like royalty."
"Don’t preach about royalty," Evan warned. "Not when you’re the undisputed leader of an Empire. California has more democracy than-"
"Democracy? I know how they work. A ruling class. Assemblymen appointed for life. Leaders come only from that pool and the only way to get in is to be selected by the Chancellor or Governor. That’s right, I know about your Cooperative because there are plenty of people living in it who want out. They’ve been talking to us for months."
Evan countered, "There’s always the disgruntled. There are always those who are unhappy. How many people back home would love to see you go?"
Trevor did not take the bait. He kept his attention on the one voice on the other side of the table that mattered; the one voice yet to be heard.
"Here’s the deal," the Emperor found the bottom line and gave it directly to D’Trayne. "I don’t want to fight you. I offer you passage to your home world through the runes. These guys may not know what that means but you do. I have fought and killed thousands of invaders and I am tired of killing. I don’t want my people to die and I don’t want to kill your people. We’ll send you home, safe passage guaranteed." Malloy, Gannon, and Godfrey all tried to speak. Their words mixed together into an unrecognizable mish-mash. Chancellor D’Trayne silenced them. "This is our planet now, too, Trevor Stone."
The alien spoke in a soft voice but his words carried much weight in part because his eyes shined a luminous green. He needed no translation device; he spoke in perfect English, apparently as comfortable with the language as-Trevor understood-all Witiko had become.
"I offer a negotiated peace. I offer to share our technology with you. I offer to merge our great races into one nation and to help you fight off the rest of the invaders. But I will not leave this planet. You will find that my people do not retreat." Trevor eased in his chair. "I offer your people a chance to return to their home. You do not belong here. I will not tolerate your presence here." Evan barked, "It is not up to you to make the decisions for all humanity."
"You have no authority to attack us," Malloy shot. "We have chosen to ally with the Witiko. Attacking us would be immoral and wrong."
"You would be nothing more than Ghengis Khan or Hitler," Evan suggested in a tempered tone that came across more a warning than an insult. "You don’t want to invade. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself."
Trevor finished, "There is nothing more to say. I have communicated with you for nearly a year. My message has not changed. We have arrived at a juncture, Chancellor. There will be no more negotiation. You must decide."
The Chancellor stood. Trevor did the same.
"The Witiko do not take well to threats."
Trevor corrected, "You mean The Cooperative, don’t you?"
D’Trayne’s eyes burnt crimson. The alien leader turned to Evan Godfrey.
"You are a wise man, Senator Godfrey. Perhaps you can still salvage this situation before it deteriorates into war."
Trevor said forcefully, "Time is running out Chancellor. I will give you a few days to consider. Your choice is simple; return to the home world from where you came, or die here, on my world in a fight you could have avoided."
The Chancellor suggested grimly, "Perhaps some things are unavoidable."
3. Maneuvers
Gordon Knox walked the first floor of the mansion, his eyes fixed on a paper. A few couriers and assistants shared that hall, each giving the broad-shouldered man a wide berth, no doubt in some small part due to his more intimidating appearance these days; in an effort to go bald on his own terms, Knox had shaved his head last year.