Part 13 (2/2)

This just gets better and better. Ehrie'fvil was the name of the continent on Romulus where the Remans had relocated. Remus itself was barely habitable, used only for mining dilithium and manufacturing heavy weapons. The Remans could service the Romulans there but not command their own destiny, as Remus could never be self-sufficient. This news came on the heels of a Reman couple being found brutally murdered yesterday. ”How bad?”

”At least a hundred confirmed dead in the mine. As for the farm, n.o.body was killed, but the damage was extensive.”

T'Latrek asked, ”One a.s.sumes the incident in Ehrie'fvil was deliberate. What of the cave-in? Was it truly an accident, or was it too sabotage?”

”For now, all we know is that something happened. I only have the hundred dead from Amba.s.sador Rozhenko. He was meeting with Chancellor Martok when the news came to the Great Hall. I'm hoping to get another report in fifteen minutes.”

Spock turned toward Nan. ”If I may, Madam President?”

Nan gestured toward Spock even as she took the chair opposite him, next to Esperanza. ”Go on, Mr. Amba.s.sador, you're the reason we're all here right now.”

”In coming here, I intended to propose a course of action regarding the Reman problem. The incidents that Admiral Abrik has just described simply make my proposition all the more logical.”

Nan regarded Spock. ”And what would that proposition be?”

”The Remans require their own world.”

Molmaan let out a sharp breath. ”The Remans already have a continent.”

”While Ehrie'fvil was a tenable solution three months ago, it was contingent on the Remans' being able to make use of the land to create their own economy. The disaster that Admiral Abrik has described is only the latest difficulty. There have been attacks on the Remans' crops-it has been impossible to prove sabotage, but impossible to disprove it as well. In addition, there have been continued instances of violence on Romulus itself that parallels the violence in s.p.a.ce.”

Nan scratched her chin. ”So you think getting them away from the Romulans is the right course of action?”

”Yes. The violence has escalated and is now interfering with the peace process.”

Esperanza shook her head. ”I'm not sure I like the idea of that-it sounds like we've given up on the notion of them living in peace.”

Raisa said, ”I do not believe that was ever an option; if it were, the Klingons would not be needed.”

”Or even desirable,” Jas said. ”If your goal's to bring about peaceful coexistence, you don't do it with the Klingons breathing down your necks.”

Spock steepled his fingers in front of his face. ”I share your misgivings, Ms. Piniero. I too would prefer that the Remans and Romulans live in peace. However, I no longer believe that goal is viable, much as we had hoped it would be. Between them, the Klingons and Remans have enough s.h.i.+ps to transport all the Remans currently living in Ehrie'fvil to a new world.”

Molmaan threw up his webbed hands. ”Fine, let them! Why are we even having this conversation? The Remans don't want any part of us-they made that very clear when Captain Riker offered them an opportunity to become a Federation protectorate-and neither do the Romulans. Let them all kill each other.”

Esperanza said, ”The violence is escalating, Councillor. If it keeps up, we won't be able to stay out of it.”

”Why not?” Jas asked.

”Why not what?” Esperanza asked right back.

”Why not simply let the Klingons and Romulans fight it out?”

Spock raised an eyebrow. ”You would condemn the Remans so callously?”

Jas gave Spock a withering look. ”Not to put too fine a point on it, Mr. Amba.s.sador, but they had their chance, and they spit in our faces.”

Raisa said, ”That is no excuse to simply abandon them.”

”What more excuse could we possibly need?”

Nan gave Jas a withering look of her own. ”I wasn't aware we were in need of one, Jas-I thought it was what we did naturally.”

Jas was silent.

Turning to T'Latrek, Nan asked, ”What do you think, Councillor?”

”I think removing the Remans from Romulus would defeat one of the primary goals of having the Klingons act as the Remans' protector-uniting the Romulan factions.”

”Since when do we want that?” Jas asked. ”A united Romulan front hardly benefits the Federation.”

”The benefits to the Federation are irrelevant,” T'Latrek said.

”She's right,” Nan said before Jas could object. ”A united Romulus will benefit the Romulan people-that's what I'm concerned about. If what happened on Remus today really was an accident, it happened because there isn't anyone maintaining the machinery down there. Weakened central authority-and Tal'Aura's authority is pretty d.a.m.n weak-means this sort of thing is gonna keep happening, and the victims won't be the military, they won't be the politicians trying to angle for a senate seat now that the old senate's been turned to pixie dust-they'll be the Romulan people.”

Another silence descended upon the room, before Akaar finally spoke. ”Although the councillor's theory is sound-indeed, it was one of Captain Riker's selling points of the plan-it has not been working in practice. The parties are not talking, because they are blaming each other for attacks on Klingons, or they are blaming the Klingons, or blaming the Remans. Their attention is focused-but not on what is important.”

Nan turned to her chief of staff. ”Esperanza?”

”I think Amba.s.sador Spock is right. When slavery ended in the country of the United States here on Earth five hundred years ago, the government didn't just tell them, 'You're free,' and leave it at that. Slave families-who worked on large farms-were given a segment of land and a farm animal from their armed forces that they could call their own. But it didn't work very well in practice, and the law that gave them that land was revoked. It was centuries before the former slaves were able to achieve proper equality with their former masters.”

Chuckling, Nan said, ”So you're saying the forty acres and a mule in Ehrie'fvil isn't working either?”

”No, ma'am. It was a good idea, truly, but the Romulans and Remans aren't holding up their end. We need new options here.”

”This doesn't change the fact that the Remans don't want our help,” Jas said. ”So we find them a world, so what? How do we get them to it without annoying the Klingons?”

Raisa said, ”I believe, Admiral, that you have provided the answer. The Klingons.”

Jas blinked. ”Actually, that's true. d.a.m.n, I didn't- ” He turned to Nan. ”Ma'am, as you probably know, the Klingons expanded into Sector 798-C a few years back.”

T'Latrek put in, ”The Klingon Empire refers to that vicinity of s.p.a.ce as the Kavrot Sector.”

”Whatever.” Jas glowered briefly at T'Latrek, then turned back to Nan. ”The point is, they did a huge survey of that area and have only actually planted their flag on a few worlds. They shared some of their sensor data with us a year ago-specifically the areas they scanned but didn't explore or didn't think were worth their while.”

Nan liked the sound of that. ”Check it over, Jas.” Then a realization struck. ”This may kill two birds with one stone, actually.”

”What do you mean?” Esperanza asked.

”Those refugees-this may give us somewhere to send them.”

Nan's intercom beeped. ”Madam President,” Sivak said, ”I have Ms. Huaig in the Monet Room for Admiral Abrik.”

Jas jumped up from his chair and moved toward the door to her private office. ”Ma'am?”

Nan sighed. Everyone in this room had the clearance to listen to a conversation between the security advisor and his deputy, but Abrik obviously preferred the security.

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