The Minister of Trade was angry. "Bailing out on us already, eh, Tomas? Planning to get out from under before the roof caves in?"
Tomas regarded the man in surprise. "Are you insane?" He demanded. "Do you honestly believe that any of us can possibly get 'out from under'? He looked around. "Do any of you honestly believe that our political careers are not over? If any of us ever runs for so much as dogcatcher, do any of you honestly believe your opponent will not throw this in your face? Face it, gentlemen, we are finished."
The President shook his head. "No, we are not. And I will not accept your resignation, Tomas, until we do finish this debacle. We got our people into this; it is up to us to get them out, no matter what the personal cost."
The Minister of the Treasury slammed a hand on the table. "This is ridiculous! We have spent billions on your idiot nephew's so-called 'Defense Force', and we are to be beaten by savages? We did not cause this, Tomas. Your idiot nephew and his crazy idea caused it!"
Tomas shook his head. "No, Ernesto. My idiot nephew came up with a stupid idea, but the decision to adopt it was unanimous. As I recall, you were one of the most enthusiastic of us."
"Pah!" the Minister replied. "A quick surprise attack," he mimicked the Admiral, "A week to seize Homesafe, and we own the planet and can start shipping our surplus population. We should have known it was too easy!"
"Your hindsight is perfect, Ernesto." Tomas replied. "It is a shame your foresight is less so."
"Stop it!" The President smacked the table. "Recriminations are stupid. We all voted for the war. The problem is what we do now."
"No, senor Presidente," Tomas said. "The problem is what does Santiago do now?"
"Pah!" replied the Minister of Trade. " We are Santiago. Unless we tell them what to do, the Congresa will debate until the sun goes nova. No, it is up to us. Us failures. Tomas is right. Our careers are over. I fear we will go down in Santiago's history as fools and villains."
"Yes," Tomas replied firmly. "Fools and villains. Let us face it. We are all professional politicians. Vote-grubbers of the first order. We have all manipulated the government of Santiago for our own benefit."
"Speak for yourself," the Minister of the Treasury replied sourly. "I have always worked with the best interests of the people of Santiago in my heart and mind."
The President waved a hand. "Nonsense, Ernesto. What about the Ricardo Power Plant deal? No, now is not the time for speeches. I suspect Tomas has an idea, and if so, I want to hear it."
"Perhaps a suggestion, rather than an idea, senor Presidente," Tomas replied. "First, we must realize the true size of this debacle. We, everyone in this room, including you, senor Presidente, will be defeated in the elections in two years. Our careers are finished. This war will haunt us for the rest of our lives.
"And yet," he continued, "if we can face that, admit to ourselves that history will call us 'fools and villains', we may just be able to do something that will let us at least hold up our heads in our families, and perhaps even change that verdict of history."
"And what is that?" the Minister of the Treasury said with broad sarcasm. "What is this marvelous action that will save us all?"
Tomas ignored the sarcastic tone. "I think it is time for us to stop being politicians. We can no longer grub for votes or pander to the contributors; they no longer exist for us; and in two and a half years, we will all be gone from here. But if we care about our legacy in history, if we really care about Santiago, there is something we can do that no one else can."
He did not wait for the obvious question. "We can stop being politicians," he repeated, "and start being statesmen. We are in a unique situation. Our careers are ruined, and we have no possibility of being reelected. In fact, I expect impeachment proceedings to be filed on several of us. However, we are all wealthy and remain the most powerful body on the planet; we are also skilled in all the tricks of politics. I doubt any of us fear impeachment. I suggest that for the time remaining to us, we cast aside all thought of personal gain, and simply act for the good of our planet."
"Hmph. That is it? That's your grand idea?" the Minister of the Interior said incredulously. "Some idealistic nonsense? Bullshit! Oh," he continued savagely, "you're probably right about our careers. So what we should be doing is using every ounce of our power to get what we can, while we can! Statesmen? Ridiculous!"
Tomas shook his head. "And if we do that, what then? The new council appoints investigators to come after us." He shook his head. "No, Ricardo, you might want to be the richest man in the central prison, but I'd rather spend my remaining years with a family that can respect me."
"And I," the President put in, "would rather be remembered as a good man who made some mistakes than as a crooked politician who got caught with his hand in the till. All right, Tomas, suppose I agree. What do you suggest?"
"I haven't had time to give it a lot of thought, yet, senor Presidente," Tomas replied. "But I suppose the best way to start is to deal honorably with the Ilocanos and our own people."
"Hmph!" The Minister of the Treasury grunted disgustedly. "Ilocanos! You mean those savages that even now are destroying the orbital factories right over our heads?"
The President nodded. "Yes, with them. Tomas, you are right. Come, we will together draft a message to our attackers."
The meeting adjourned, with the Minister of the Interior still seething, still determined to milk every peso from his remaining time in office, and wondering how he could turn this 'statesman' nonsense to his own profit; but most of the remaining Ministers were looking thoughtful.
Cale was watching Zant's Strengl as it rained destruction on yet another orbital factory. Zant was obviously enjoying the experience, but Cale was finding, as had Emo Arror before him, that destruction for its own sake held no attraction for him. In short, he was ready to leave.
"Captain," Tess said quietly in his ear, "I'm receiving a transmission from the surface."
Cale was startled. "For us?"
"It is unencrypted, and is addressed to the commander of the Ilocano forces now in the Santiago system. It bears the seal of the President of the Republic of Santiago, and contains several attachments."
"Let's hear it," he said, then changed his mind. "On second thought, I'll hear it in my cabin." He took one more look at Zant's efforts, and then turned to his cabin to play the message.
The message opened with a distinguished-looking man seated at a large real-wood desk. "I am Alfredo Vincencio Calderon, and at least for the moment, I am President of the Republic of Santiago." The man had apparently undergone body sculpting quite some time ago, as the signs of normal aging were beginning to become apparent; but his voice was deep and resonant, his manner assured, and his standard flawless. A wry half-smile punctuated the 'for the moment' phrase.
"I hope you will cease your destructive activity," he continued, "but I have no means of enforcing that desire, and that is not the reason for this message. Two messages are attached to this one; the first I hope you will deliver to the President of the government of Ilocan. I consider it urgent, as it relates to ending this horrible war. It is my hope that to avoid confrontation, you will place the second in a message torpedo and send it through to Admiral Gonzales-Villareal at Ilocan.
"The message for the Admiral is encoded in Santiago military code, so he will know it is authentic. However, I will tell you what it says. It orders the Admiral to immediately cease all offensive military activity, and to render any appropriate aid to the citizens of Ilocan. It also instructs him to release all prisoners except those undergoing medical treatment immediately, pending discussions regarding ending the war.
"This war has been a horrible and tragic mistake, and it was my mistake, mine and my advisors'. We cannot bring back the lives lost; all we can do is try to make amends.