Kingdom of Cages(61)
And if she did, then what? Chena’s shoulders hunched up as she walked. She’d scare Mom and Teal to death. Mom would keep her home. There wouldn’t be any more money, and the hothousers would still do whatever they wanted.
Better to just keep on going and keep your mouth shut. Much better.
Chena headed down the stairs to reclaim her packages.
“With respect, Father Mihran,” said Shontio through gritted teeth. “Your… invaders did not even dock at Athena Station. I would be happy to show you all our computer logs and the camera records.”
Father Mihran, a blurry image on the conference room’s wall screen, waved his hand. “That is not the issue. You saw them coming and you did not warn us.”
From her place at the end of the conference table, Beleraja watched the Athena Station management committee. She wondered if they knew how shabby the four of them looked in their old coats with the missing braid and the crumpled collars. Shabby people in charge of a shabby station, she thought, ashamed, depressed, and tired all at once. Athena had gained its independence once upon a time, but it had lost everything else. Now it might even lose that independence. And she had helped bring that about, because she did not have enough ships, or enough people, to do the job she had been sent to do.
“How could I warn you when I didn’t know what was happening?” demanded Shontio.
“When did the Authority start paying you to help threaten us?” snapped Father Mihran.
“What?” Shontio’s shout pulled him to his feet.
Father Mihran remained seated and enunciated each word clearly. “How much did the Authority offer you in order to let this little demonstration of their displeasure happen?”
“Father Mihran”—Shontio dragged out the title as if it were the last thing in the world he wanted to say—“you have no right to insult me.”
“I’m afraid I have no choice. According to the treaty between Athena Station and Pandora, you are responsible for—”
“And you do not get to tell me my responsibilities!” Shontio slammed his palm against the table, making everyone in the room wince. “I am responsible for a bursting, starving station because you will not open—”
Father Mihran slashed his hand through the air, cutting Shontio off.
“And if you wish to continue to have your responsibilities, you will make sure that nothing like this happens again.”
“You’re not threatening me, are you?” said Shontio, his voice as low and dangerous as Beleraja had ever heard it. “You’re not threatening the station?”
Father Mihran bowed his head. “We are beyond threats, you and I. There are only promises left. And I promise you, I will not permit another landing on Pandora. If the Athena management board cannot keep order, then order will be kept for them.”
Shontio reached out and swatted a command key on the table’s edge, cutting the connection to Pandora and blanking out the wall.
“They mean it,” said Ordaz, the water and waste director, shaking his head until his jowls and chin quivered.
Ajitha, air director, waved her long hand dismissively so that her single diamond ring glittered in the light. “They are just outgassing, as always.” She twisted her ring. “Pandora has only one threat to use against us, so they have to use it often.”
“No,” said Shontio quietly, lowering himself back into his seat. “I don’t think so. The sacred ground of Pandora has been breached. This time, I think they’re serious.”
Beleraja watched fear settle over each one of the four directors.
“Forgive me,” she said. “What is the threat?”
Shontio’s smile was without humor. “I can’t believe you haven’t heard this one yet, Beleraja. Athena gained what independence it has during the Conscience Rebellion—you know that, right?” He watched her nod. “Did anyone ever tell you what the Conscience part of the rebellion’s name stands for?”
“I always thought that referred to the conscience of your ancestors.”
“Oh, no.” Shontio shook his head. “It was when the hothousers had all decided that in order to maintain family unity, they were each of them going to get a little artificial intelligence chip planted in their heads to help remind them what was right and what was wrong. They wanted to do the same to Athena Station, or at least the directorate. We refused and went on strike. Shut down the space cable completely, shut down the manufacturing facilities, and threatened to start destroying the satellite network.” Shontio shook his head again and stared at the wall, saying nothing more, as if he had forgotten he was in the middle of the meeting.