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He waved Gustave over. “Pick something, please.” With the simple request, he handed back the menus.
She chuckled. “Well, that’s one way to do it.”
“It’s effective,” he agreed.
She fidgeted with her fork. “So… you invited me, and here I am.”
“Yes. Tell me about yourself.” He opened with the first question that Freya suggested. It seemed appropriate.
She started hesitantly. “I’m an only child. I come from the north, by the Great Lakes. There’s no university up there because the lakes are poisoned and nobody wants to live there anymore.”
“Poisoned?”
“Polluted. By radiation and stuff. From the war with you.”
Talking about the past was proving awkward. He changed tactics. “What are you studying?”
“Infrastructure and politics. Because we’re having to rebuild following your invasion. It’s a long, slow process.”
He ignored the reference to the war, unlike infrastructure, which was more relevant. “We have plenty of experience at world rebuilding.”
“To your specifications, I assume.”
Gustave arrived with a basket of bread rolls. “I’ve chosen the steak for you. Wine?”
“You will select the optimum palate cleanser,” he batted back. Gustave hastily retreated. “Yes, we have requirements when we build colonies. What about politics?”
“We have to reestablish our institutions. Globally and nationally. The Earth Defense Council sets the agenda. Lots of committees and councils.” She sighed, puffing out her lips. “I guess I want to help in some way.”
“We have councils too. War councils, mainly.” He had failed to establish any line of conversation that caused her to smile.
Gustave poured red wine into the glasses.
She pinched the glass stem hard with two fingers. She was still nervous and hunching her shoulders into a ball. There was nobody watching or listening to them. Jamen had checked his room for infiltration devices and covertly carried an alerter around with him. If anything dubious came close to him, it set off a warning alarm. Vendu spy detection was far more advanced than the humans. Plus, Gustave had ensured Jamen always had space around his table.
“Councils,” she said slowly. “Who gets to be on them?”
“Senators. Members of the imperial family and advisors to the emperor.”
“You’re not elected?” She took a quick sip of the wine, which then turned into a longer mouthful.
“We are appointed by the emperor from a list proposed by the governors of the colonies and clans. No citizen need be involved in governance. They are productive in their own ways.”
“Hardly a democracy, then,” she said before drinking half the contents of the glass.
Jamen wondered if the wine helped her relax, because it seemed to have the opposite effect. She continued to wriggle and glance around the room, as if she expected somebody to leap out at her.
“We don’t pretend to be democratic. When you have a huge empire, it is too complex to manage a democracy. Earth should take lessons from us. The Empire is strong because we rely on few leaders and obedient citizens.”
“Like you.” There was a soft smirk accompanying her snark. He let the disrespect go on the basis she was struggling with something. He wanted to know what that was.
“Yes. I have been selected to serve as a Halos senator. My family are warriors.” He was one of twenty-five senators put forward by the warrior clans of Halos; the other fifty were appointed by the governors of conquered worlds. Only the colony on Earth had not appointed a senator. The reason was obvious. The Vendu couldn’t appear to be in control of the planet, even if they believed they could overrun it with ease. The humans were not a species to be subjugated. They were to be the Vendu’s allies and hopefully in the future, provide mates. In return, Earth gained from the technical advances gifted to them by the Empire. He made a mental note to speak to the Imperial Bureau for Environmental Regeneration about the Great Lakes. Perhaps their scientists could help clean them.
“You must have it easy, especially as it seems unelected representatives can do whatever they want. So why come here when you govern so much better than us?” Her aggressive tone starkly contrasted with her cowering demeanor—she spoke words but acted edgy and uncertain. He really didn’t think she was trying to insult the Vendu, because her questions came across as ill-conceived and somewhat reckless.
“It isn’t our place to interfere with Earth’s political state.” He savored the wine—a full-bodied flavor. He enjoyed Earth’s drinks more than their food.
She dissected a piece of bread, but didn’t eat a crumb of it.
