Lamagh’s eyes asked for a more detailed explanation. Teen’s expression turned yet more serious.
“From here on, I will be saying what I couldn’t tell His Excellency the Chancellor.”
“You mean you can only tell Us?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“We feel as though listening will hurt the Chancellor’s feelings.”
“I am truly sorry about that. However, it’s a matter of the gravest importance...”
“Oh?” Lamagh chuckled lightly. “If this alliance has some catch, then that will be just another reason We won’t accept your offer.”
“It’s nothing that will harm the Empire. That being said, in the unlikely event that the people in my nation learn of this conversation, I’m afraid I will be misunderstood as a traitor.”
Lamagh erased her smile. “The Empire is not well-disposed to those who would betray their country, even enemy countries. Furthermore, our two nations are not in opposition. We admit that we are not on particularly friendly terms, either, but we do enjoy something of a fellowship. If We were to take up a traitor’s proposal, the Empire’s prestige would be marred. To be frank, Mr. Ambassador, your nation is not worth that price.”
“Your Majesty misunderstands. It is simply a difference in opinion as to nations. If you call this a betrayal, then your nation is guilty of the same. And as of very recently, I might add.”
“Now that, I cannot dismiss. You’re not saying We had committed an act of treason, I trust?” Her lips curled once again. It was the infamous smile of the Abh.
“It happened after the beginning of Your Majesty’s reign,” he said, staring the Empress right in the eyes.
Lamagh’s voice was firm. “We suppose We shall hear what this is about.”
“The Hyde Countdom,” replied the Ambassador.
“Oho. How intriguing,” she said, from the heart. Her interest in their little chat was no longer faint. Far from it; once she surmised what Teen was getting at, she felt equal parts fascination and disgust. “In other words, as a part of the Empire, it...”
“Your Majesty,” he interrupted, with shocking, foolhardy courage. “If you were to grant me the honor of inviting me onto the galaxy-famous Gaftnochec, I could explain in a little more detail.”
Lamagh’s smile returned. Only this time, it was a smile with a modicum of warmth.
“Very well, Mr. Ambassador. We shall bring you to the Imperial Palace. There are two others We would like to accompany us.”
“Two others?”
“We shall summon the Chancellor and the Military Command Director.”
“As Your Majesty wishes.” Teen bowed deeply, his smile assured of his victory.
The transporter stopped. Lamagh, having just disembarked from the Empress’s ship Gaftnochec, headed to the Chamber of Larkspurs within the Imperial Palace, and without a moment’s rest. Normally, she would have been able to enjoy some solitude during her return trip, but the Hania Ambassador’s ardor had robbed her of her blissful alone time. Yet this was no trifling concern.
“What do you think?” she asked, as she crossed into the Chamber.
Chancellor Brahsh and Director Faramunsh followed her from the Gaftnochec.
“It smacked of rationalization, but it was relatively plausible at the same time,” said Brahsh. “From the beginning, the peoples of the Hania Federation have lacked much of any interest in space. The only reason they ended up colonizing multiple systems is because their population had gotten too big. Despite how similar their landworlds are... or maybe because of it, the majority of them are self-sufficient, with surprisingly little exchange between systems. If planar space navigation became impossible at this very moment, most of their worlds could cope. In fact, they might not even notice. They’re only a federation to begin with because they don’t want to fall under the rule of other interstellar powers.”
“Ah,” nodded Lamagh. She had never harbored any interest in the temperaments of the peoples of other nations. She was interested solely in the nature of their militaries. Apart from that, the most she was willing to learn about was their underlying political systems. She had no interest in their futures. She reigned over the Empire and oversaw its army. She was Empress. It was lords and ladies who needed to be preoccupied with the spirit of their peoples.
“As such,” Brahsh continued, “the Ambassador’s proposal isn’t so outrageous. They want to leave tiresome 3-space matters to the Empire and enjoy life on their landworlds. Of course, I’m sure they’d like to maintain at least a little influence in space, in order to safeguard their security.”
“But there’s no way we would allow them to do so,” said Lamagh.
“Exactly. It would just be the next-best thing, from where they’re standing. On the other hand, from their point of view, if it ever became clear that they would get swallowed up by another power, it’d be reasonably wise of them to choose the Empire. They must trust the Empire to some extent.”
Ambassador Teen’s suggestion was that the Hania Federation submit itself to imperial sovereignty. It seemed as though if their dissolution was imminent, they wished to accept the Empire as its ruler. But the offer wasn’t so simple — the hidden implication was that while they wanted to leave space to the Empire, they wanted to be left alone on their landworlds to rejoice in their prosperity. The Ambassador stated it would not be mere subservience, instead using the term “osmosis.” From the Empire’s standpoint, they would be absorbing the Federation, but from the Federation’s standpoint, they would be instilling the Humankind Empire of Abh with Hanian elements.
The obvious question to ask was: if the Empire were defeated, would that not leave Hania in an even worse position than before? The Ambassador replied that Hania’s fate would amount to the same in either case. The Three Nations Alliance would “liberate” the poor, poor landworlds that were sold off to the Empire, and the Federation’s central government would be dissolved.
What the bureaucrats of the central government demanded in return was surprisingly miniscule. First, they wanted some of the bigwigs of the Federation to be appointed as the grandees of important star systems, following the precedent set by the House of Hyde. They didn’t mind if the other systems had grandees appointed at the Empire’s complete discretion. Second, since they weren’t concerned with former federal territory, they wanted an unoccupied habitable planet. There would be those who found the idea of absorption into the Empire disgraceful. Those who endorsed the dissolution of the Federation would probably have reason to fear lynch mobs. Consequently, they desired a planet where proponents of federal dissolution and their kin could live out their lives in peace. Of course, if the Empire lost the war, then the fates of the planets where the grandees’ houses and the dissolutionists lived would take a nasty twist, but according to the Ambassador, they were willing to take that risk.
Lamagh recalled the late Chancellor. He might have wanted to live on such a planet.
“What do you think, Director?” she asked.
“I think Your Majesty ought to reject the proposal,” responded Faramunsh, his tone as calm as ever.
“Explain why.”
“There are a lot of strings attached. We would have to send troops to defend the Hania Federation, or rather, the former Hania Federation. But not before needing troops to disarm them. To tell the truth, managing the fleets would be a difficult proposition.”
The most salient condition behind the proposal was the Empire’s obligation to defend the Federation’s constituent systems. That was much more troublesome than the other demands. The Star Forces’ operations would be severely hampered.