"But you're suing to make her the property of Nidu," Phipps said. "Ben Javna's going to court tomorrow to fight the case."
"The property of the Nidu government, not of the auf-Getag clan," Narf-win-Getag said. "Clans have no standing in Common Confederation courts. The auf-Getag clan is hoping that the woman is found before the ceremony needs to be performed, while the government and the auf-Getag clan are one and the same. But if she is not, then any clan could use her to complete the coronation ceremony. If they had her."
"And you have her," Phipps said.
"No," Schroeder said. "This Creek fellow keeps getting her away from us. We know they've gone off planet and we know they left from the DC area. From there it's a process of elimination. There were only so many ships that left last night."
"And what are you going to do with when you find her?" Phipps said.
"Take her," Narf-win-Getag said. "Hide her. Then use her. And if I can't do that, then kill her. Would you like another drink?"
"No thank you," Phipps said.
"Jean?" Narf-win-Getag said.
"Nothing for me," Schroeder said. "But please, Narf, help yourself." Narf-win-Getag nodded and got up; Schroeder turned his attention back to Phipps. "Now you see why we can't let you have her, Dave," he said. "We have our own plans for her."
"No matter what those plans do to the Earth," Phipps said.
"The Earth is going to be fine," Schroeder said. "Its government less so, but that's no great loss. You should know that the government of the Earth is damned no matter what. If the auf-Getag keep the throne, they're going to believe the government of the Earth actively worked to bring their downfall. That's bad news. It'll probably mean a war. If the win-Getag take the throne, they're going to remember that the government of the Earth supported their enemies in their bid for the throne once upon a time. That's also bad news. It will also probably mean a war. The difference here is that if the win-Getag are on the throne, they will be the ones to name an administrator for Earth and her colonies after the hostilities have ceased."
"You," Phipps said.
"Me," Schroeder said. "And what a political masterstroke it will be for the new Nidu government to name as Earths administrator someone with such a long and colorful history of enmity with the Nidu. It'll reassure the citizens of Earth that their government will stand up for their interests. It'll reassure the CC that the Nidu are fair and just conquerors. Everybody gets something."
"Except that in being conquered, the Earth would lose her independent status, her right to her colonies, and her right to be represented in the Common Confederation," Phipps said.
"Details, details," Schroeder said. "Yes. The Earth will lose her representation and the administration of her colonies. But it's only a temporary loss. Narf has assured me that he has no interest in our real estate or in telling us what to do. He can hardly stand humans as it is."
"Present company excepted, of course," Narf-win-Getag said, from the bar.
"So we'll be back to independent status within a decade," Schroeder said. "Mind you, it could go faster if I had help in my administration. Such as yours."
Phipps blinked. "Are you trying to bribe me?" he said.
"No, Dave," Schroeder sighed. "I've already been bribing you. Now I'm trying to buy you outright. A lot of the really good positions have already been filled by my staff over at the American Institute for Colonization, I'm afraid. But I could see my way to letting you run some portion of the globe. I hear New Zealand is nice."
"Listen to you," Phipps said. "You've traded away your birthright for a mess of porridge. You're running a group that's meant to help the Earth and her colonies prosper, not become subjugated by an alien race. I can't even imagine what your father would say to you."
"Well, first, I'm not selling my birthright for porridge, I'm selling it to run the entire fucking planet," Schroeder said, "and that seems like a pretty good deal to me. Second, it was my father and the Nidu ambassador Naj-win-Getag who got the ball rolling on this project forty years ago, so I would imagine he'd be thrilled."
"I don't understand," Phipps said.
"You think something like this happens overnight?" Schroeder said. "Yes, the part with the girl is all improvisation. But everything else about planning to take the throne of Nidu has taken decades. My father was uniquely suited to help the win-Getag clan. He was Earths first Representative to the CC, for God's sake. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. The AIC was the perfect vehicle for Dad to further the goal, to influence generations of Washington hall-crawlers and create an anti-Nidu sentiment that masked his actual agenda of bringing the win-Getag clan to the throne. It worked. It still works, even in the Webster administration. How do you think your boss got his job, Dave? It was one of Dad's last chess moves before he died."
"This is insane," Phipps said.
"I take it that means you're saying 'no' to ruling New Zealand," Schroeder said.
"I'm saying you need to rethink what you're doing," Phipps said. "You're going to hand your entire species over to war and subjugation. That's insane. I can't condone that. Jean, tell me where the woman is and we can all still get out of this with our hides intact. Otherwise I can't guarantee anything."
"Dave," Schroeder said. "You can't guarantee anything, anyway. You have nothing I need. Last chance, pal. Join the club."
"Or what? You're going to kill me?" Phipps said. "Be serious, Jean. If it came to that, I could break your neck while you were still trying to get up off of that chair."
"Oh, yes, you were Special Forces, and I'm just a soft Ivy Leaguer," Schroeder said. "I remember that. You're right, of course. I could never kill you. It would be foolish of me to try. I could never get away with it. But I know someone who could."
Phipps felt pressure a fraction of a second before he saw the tip of the Nidu spear emerge from just below his ribcage.
"Narf, for example," said Schroeder, conversationally. "He has diplomatic immunity."
Phipps grasped at the protruding spear tip and was caught off guard when the second spear came through his abdomen, in a bilaterally symmetrical position from the first. He grasped that one as well and tried to stand up, and looked for a moment like a skier with his poles stuck through his kidneys.
Narf-win-Getag came around from behind Phipps and stood in front of him. "These spears are said to have been used in battle by Zha-win-Getag, the noble founder of my clan line," Narf-win-Getag said. "You should be honored to the upon them."
Phipps burbled up blood and collapsed to his knees, pitched forward, and died. The spears caught in the chair and kept Phipps from falling forward completely.
"You were right," Narf-win-Getag said to Schroeder. "He would have upset our plans."
"I know," Schroeder said. "It's important to know what people are thinking before they do."
"What would you have done if he said he wanted to join us?" Narf-win-Getag said.
"I would have had you kill him anyway," Schroeder said. "He took bribes. He couldn't be trusted."
"He took bribes from you," Narf-win-Getag said.
"Precisely," Schroeder said. "So I know exactly how little he could be trusted." He looked down at Phipps. "That's a shame, though."
"That you couldn't trust him," Narf-win-Getag.
"No, that you had to spear him," Schroeder said. "Now there's blood all over that rug. That shit never comes out."
Chapter 11