The Significant (61 page)

      
“
Elite
Isa
,” the man said. She turned around and saw Kren, an old, withered man
who had been dictator of his planet since he was twenty, standing behind her.

      
“
Kren
,”
she greeted, bowing her head and slipping easily into another language. “
It is a pleasure to see you again. Are you
well?
”

      
As she listened to Kren complain about
his old bones and how he wished he was young again, Kailynn and Rayal started
walking to the different Elites that were conversing with different planetary
leaders. Kailynn could feel the apprehension in the room, and she realized that
Rayal was right. There were far more false pleasantries in politics than in
work as a Significant.

      
They had made it back to Remus when Isa
was approached by an older, nervous man and a handsome, tall man. Kailynn
watched their interaction, seeing the way the younger man leered at the Elite,
looking her over appreciatively. Kailynn ground her teeth together.

      
“What’s wrong?” Rayal asked, seeing her
expression.

      
“That asshole,” she hissed, nodding.

      
He looked at the two and sighed.

      
“That’s Orille from Barcel,” he said.
“And one of his advisors, Syna.”

      
“Look at the way he’s looking at her.”

      
She felt even more irritated when Isa
looked at him and smiled.

      
“Don’t worry,” Rayal said with a small
laugh. “Isa can sure as hell handle herself, even with these jackals.”

      
Isa turned and smiled politely as Syna
complimented her.

      
“
I
appreciate that you’ve noticed
.”

      
“
So
confident,
” he said, laughing.

      
“
I
have every reason to be
,” she told him.

      
“
I
do hope we do not offend you
,” Orille said, fidgeting. It was clear he was
worried about upsetting Syna. He cleared his throat and laughed worriedly. “
Elite Isa, I do hope you will visit us in
the near future. We have developed a ship that—
”

      
“
I’m
sure she’s not interested
,” Syna said sharply, glaring at the older man. “
Perhaps you should sit down. You look tired.
”

      
Isa glanced between the two, seeing the
way Orille quickly obeyed, walking away.

      
“
You
have him trained
,” Isa said darkly.

      
“
Sometimes,
even great planetary leaders need to be guided,
” Syna said, standing
directly in front of Isa. “
I’m sure you
understand my meaning
.”

      
“
I
do,
” she assured, her voice strong and steady.

      
“
Perhaps
you are in need of that sort of guidance?
”

      
“
No.
”

      
“
Perhaps…
”
he looked over her slowly, his eyes finally meeting hers again, filled with
dark fire, “
there are other services that
you require
.”

      
“
I
have no need for your services, Syna
.”

      
“
I
hear that often,
” he said confidently. “
But
they all come to heel, in the end
.”

      
“
You
think you can bring me to heel?
” Isa challenged. “
You could never control me.
”

      
“
Everyone
in the Alliance calls you the white tiger.
” He gave her a half smile. “
I’m curious if you’re like that in all
facets of your life.
” Isa stared back, her eyes unblinking and her
expression controlled. “
Perhaps I should
find out for myself.
”

      
His hand reached for her waist, but she
caught it quickly, smiling.

      
“
Syna,
”
she started, “
if you try to touch me,
they will have to amputate after the damage I deal. I promise.
”

      
Syna laughed quietly, taking his hand
back from her.

      
“
What
will they amputate?
”

      
“
That
depends on how insistent you are,
” Isa said, her smile lined with ice. “
Maybe one limb, maybe two.
” She glanced
down and her smile widened. “
Or perhaps
something you value more
.”

      
She walked away, her head high.

      
Syna watched her, his eyes alight with
anger.

      
“
Bitch
,”
he grumbled, turning back to his table.

      
The pleasantries continued with Isa
receiving seven secret messages from different people in different forms.
Kailynn only saw two of the exchanges and was shocked at how easily Isa managed
everyone in the room.

      
A steward appeared at the door and raised
his voice, announcing the arrival of the queen.

      
Glynna walked into the room, her
vestments of gold and red hugging her curvy figure tightly. She wore a
headdress that extended down her nose, delicate gold chains brushing across her
cheeks. She walked toward the throne as everyone bowed their heads. Once she
passed them, they went to their tables, sitting for the start of the meeting.
Isa was the only one who remained once Glynna had walked by her. She moved to
the center of the room, standing next to the platform and waiting for everyone
to take a seat.

      
Glynna sat in her throne between a young
woman who appeared to be her daughter and Vanessa. Kailynn sat in a chair
behind the Elites at the table with Rayal, looking at the various faces around
the room.

      
“Your Majesty,” Isa started, bowing her
head once more. Isa’s voice could be heard around the cavernous room, clear and
strong. “I offer you my sincerest gratitude for your hospitality to Tiao and
the others of this alliance. Your generosity is unparalleled.”

      
“Your gratitude is accepted, Golden Elite
Isa,” Glynna said with a shallow bow of her head. “You have my permission to
command the meeting.”

      
“Thank you.” Isa reached into her pocket
and pulled out a small disk, placing it on the table. The hologram in the
center shifted and, from the center, rose a shrouded figure, the black lines of
the cloak sharp, even as they covered the figures head, exposing only a mouth
that did not move.

      
Kailynn’s eyes were wide.

      
“Is that…”

      
“That’s Venus,” Rayal answered with a
nod.

      
“Is she…is she actually here?”

      
“She is wired into the entire room,”
Rayal said with a nod. “To every table, every camera, every microphone. She is
the cornerstone of the Crescent Alliance. She logs everything about every
meeting.”

      
“
Esteemed
members of the Crescent Alliance,
”
Venus
said, her voice reminding Kailynn of the time that she was in Trid with the
computer in her ear, “
all interactions
will be recorded today. These can be accessed at any time by any member of the
Alliance. The meeting will commence now.
”

      
Isa bowed her head once to Venus, and
once again to Glynna before walking to her seat at the table for Tiao, across
from Glynna.

      
“This meeting is to discuss the threats
of the Ninth Circle,” she started once she had sat. “Gihron, in particular, has
threatened Tiao several times, and even allied with Jakra and Ulam to attack
and occupy Caroie for nearly three months, resulting in nearly two hundred
thousand civilian casualties and immense damage to the planet and the trade markets.
After the bombing and attack of the Syndicate Building on Tiao, we are here to
discuss war preparations.”

      
“You have not made a formal declaration
of war,” one woman from the table for Nexia noted.

      
“No, I have not,” Isa admitted.

      
“Yet you prepare for war?”

      
“The building in which I work every day
was bombed and ambushed with every intent to assassinate me,” Isa said.
“Clearly, there are hostile intentions. I submitted to everyone in the Alliance
the threat that Gihron sent where four of the Tiaoian Elite prototypes were
murdered and demands to dismantle the Alliance, the Elite Syndicate, and Venus,
were put forth. At this point, the attack on my Syndicate was just the first
step in a larger plan for the Ninth Circle to dismantle the Crescent Alliance.”

      
“Forgive my ignorance,” one man said,
“why are they not included in the Alliance?”

      
“They were extended the invitation to
sign with the Alliance and they turned it down upon reading the terms of doing
so.”

      
“To what terms did they disagree?”

      
“The Crescent Alliance Peace Act
restrictions on their military and—”

      
“Gihron’s entire hierarchy is military.
They are a militaristic society,” Yuta said from across the room. “The Alliance
would ask them to
destroy
their
entire society?”

      
“We asked them to comply with the terms
that all planets have submitted to as a part of this Alliance,” Remus stated
from Isa’s side. “The restrictions on the military are meant to preserve the
safety of each planet that
has
conformed to the rules.”

      
“One-hundred fifty thousand is hardly an
army,” Shane said from the table for Imala. “Perhaps if you had higher numbers
of troops, Elite Isa, your building would not have been so severely damaged.
Perhaps it is time to rethink some of the terms of the Alliance.”

      
“My troops were not deployed to handle
the ambush,” Isa said calmly. “They were not needed. And the numbers were
carefully calculated based on the average need of each planet for basic
protection against civil upheaval and foreign attack.”

      
“Tell that to Caroie,” Yuta murmured.

      
“No, Miss Yuta, I have no need. Your
abandonment of their planet when they sounded their distress signals spoke
volumes about your beliefs on use of military forces,” Isa said sharply. “Do
not stress the rules of the Alliance if you are unable to follow them.”

      
Yuta sat back in her seat, glaring, as a
few other planetary leaders chuckled.

      
“I must admit, Elite Isa,” Glynna
started, “I am concerned about the numbers of our military forces. Should the
Ninth Circle choose to attack again, and with more force, one-hundred and fifty
thousand troops does not seem to be enough to protect Tiao.”

      
“I agree,” Isa said. “Which is why I
bring to the rest of the Alliance a proposal of combining forces around Tiao
for the duration of the conflict with Gihron.”

      
“I do not see any reason for us to weaken
our own forces to protect you, Elite Isa,” Syna said from his table lower in
the room. “As I understand it, Gihron is threatening to ally with the Ninth
Circle and tear apart the Alliance. They have no regulation on their numbers,
and with Gihron being a militaristic society, their entire planet is a factory
of troops and Soldiers to attack you. This war could last for decades. If we
focus our forces on protecting Tiao, we leave ourselves open to attack.”

      
“This is not a command,” Isa reminded
him. “It is a request.”

      
“It sounds like an order,” Syna told her
darkly.

      
“Perhaps that because you feel inferior
to me. How you feel is something I cannot change,” Isa said.

      
“How dare you speak down to me?!” he
snapped, standing. “You think you are the only powerful person here?”

      
“I am the most powerful person in the
Altereye System,” Isa said simply. “You would do well to remember that.”

      
“We do not have to sacrifice our forces
and security to protect you when Gihron wants you dead because you killed their
previous ambassador.”

      
“I will not have such disrespect in my
palace,” Glynna said sharply, glaring at Syna. “Sit down and remember your
place. Tiao is the flagship of the Crescent Alliance, and we have a duty to
protect one another. Perhaps, Syna, you have forgotten the definition of an
alliance
?”