The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

Cardamone, I was raised a Chancellor and I will be one until the day I die. My father was training me to serve in the Guard. I never expected to be flung into these incredible circumstances. But I have seen enough hatred, violence, death, and destruction from all sides. I will not justify the extreme measures Salvation has taken to save the indigenous peoples of the colonies. Brother James can speak to his motives better than I.

“My personal connection to either man who crossed the fold with me has no bearing on the decision I made to come here today.” Sam did not flinch after she told her first lie. “It is true that Salvation took me against my will. However, I have come to realize diplomacy may be the only way to avoid a war that costs billions of lives.”

Armin Lastrobe would have none of it.

“That sounds like a threat, Ms. Pynn.”

“Not at all, Mr. Lastrobe. I am here to protect life. The Guard has millions of soldiers and fleets of capital ships adept at spreading destruction. Salvation has mobile wormhole technology and Jewel hybrids who can destroy entire cities without warning. Wouldn’t it be preferable if Earth and Hiebimini coexisted peacefully three hundred forty light-years apart? And all the worlds in between could choose their future without a threat from either planet?”

“There was no threat until Salvation came along.”

Randolph Drake followed up. “Might this so-called truce you propose be a distraction while Salvation constructs more of the weapons that destroyed the Carriers? Perhaps the goal is a sneak attack in this system to obliterate all our forces at once.”

A warning bell signaled deep in Sam’s conscience. Drake voiced the fear she repressed many times during rehearsals. Though she was not privy to James’s plans, she would not put it past him. From a pure military standpoint, such an attack made sense. Wiping out all the Carriers would render Earth impotent for generations.

Six, five, four, three, two, one. Reset.

A broad smile and an agreeable nod.

“If Brother James planned any additional attacks, he would not have felt compelled to send me here today,” she said. “Salvation is protected inside the Hiebimini system. No ship will survive passage through the Nexus point. It was not necessary for him to open diplomatic talks. But he did so for the good of everyone – especially the thirty-four billion inhabitants of the colonies.”

“I see,” Cardamone said. “Brother James fancies himself their protector, does he? We’ve heard stories about his so-called miracles.”

“Brother James is showing the colonists another point of view.”

The three Chancellors shook their heads in dismay.

“I’m going to assume you don’t actually believe any of this nonsense,” Drake began. “You are a very polished young woman from a distinguished descendancy, but I also think you are entirely under his control. As much as I want to call you a traitor to Earth, I don’t think you’ve been given much choice. Had you refused this role, he would have killed you. I suspect he’s threatening you with much more than your own death. And yet, I don’t see the Chancellory as having much choice but to go forward with this truce.”

Drake’s words visibly shocked Lastrobe and Cardamone. He smiled in resignation and continued.

“Ms. Pynn is right. Their wormhole technology has left us vulnerable, and Poussard assured me any attempt to run the blockade would be disastrous. I am curious, Samantha. What is your next proposal?”

So, Drake was the moderate. She didn’t see it coming.

“There isn’t one. We ask for a truce. No more. In time, we’ll meet again to discuss details such as trade and commerce.”

Cardamone pushed back her chair. “Wait. Are you saying that’s it? We came all this way to agree to a truce on your terms?”

“Not mine. Ours. This is the surest path for all people.”

Cardamone threw up her hands. “Three days we spent on a transport. Three more going back. This did not have to be done …”

“In person?” Sam asked. “Yes, it did. We needed you to sit in our presence and look in the eyes of two humans who will never have children because of Chancellor experiments. To see them unarmed, no threat to you whatsoever. Simply dropping the terms of a truce onto admin stacks would be meaningless. You know I’m right.”

“I know you’re a tool, Ms. Pynn.” She turned to Lastrobe. “Randolph has made his position clear. And you, Armin?”

He gritted his teeth. “My position is I’m glad this meeting is off-book. If my Presidium ever knew I negotiated with terrorists, they’d ruin me and my family forever. But they won’t know, and I will not take part in a second round of this fiasco. Yes, Eve, I’ll concede to the truce. What other choice do we have?”

She pushed her seat forward and leaned across the table.

“A simply majority is enough, but a unanimous recommendation will carry more weight. Before I cast my vote, I need to know one thing.” Cardamone turned to Samantha’s right. “You,” she said. “Your name is Rosa?”

The girl looked past Sam without saying a word. Sam and Miguel shared a glance. Miguel nodded his permission.

“Yes, my name is Rosa.”

“Tell me, Rosa, you are a child. How do you know you’re immortal? I can imagine only one way to be sure of such a thing.”

“All soldiers of Salvation know they are immortal because they have returned from death. Upon our liberation, we agree to be killed so that we may be reborn.”

Sam saw a measure of dismay in their eyes but also a strange sense of wonder. None of them commented.

“This is what immortal children have been willing to sacrifice,” Sam said. “They don’t wish to fight you anymore. They simply want a home world of their own and to live in peace.”

Cardamone rapped her knuckles against the table.