Chapter 45

Camari’s impassive gaze roamed the faces of the Solar System’s leaders at the conference table. The discussions had quickly degenerated into an open clash of wills between Camari and Narval. The other INOR Chiefs of State sat back to enjoy the contest, posing occasional questions to Camari or Narval, or to both. All knew they were in a waiting game.

Camari went along, drawing Narval out. Each was eager for a message from the Planet Pluto Special Zone that would present a new reality and the defining course for the conference.

Narval realized that he was being goaded by his INOR allies to exacerbate the confrontation between the Regions. Noting the time, he decided to drop the first bombshell.

“We have been called together to prepare a course for the future,” he rumbled, looking about with scorn. “Yet we of INOR sit here and quibble among ourselves, lacking a unified will to confront the UIPS directly and compel them to respect our demands. The circumstances of the times call for the raw strength of an iron fist, not for a press of beggars with outstretched, pleading palms.”

“I take exception,” President Straber of Titan leaned forward and waggled his finger at Narval. “We are a confederation of nation-states. Are you suggesting that we abdicate our sovereignty to a single authority? If we were to do that we face the same chaos that preceded the separation of the Regions. We of Titan would find that intolerable.”

Narval seized the moment to pave the way for the supreme power he felt would soon be his. The message from Drummer would surely come within minutes.

“The old United Planetary System from which we broke away,” he countered, “was based on so-called democratic principles and due process. The United Planetary System fell apart. The fragmented, international order that replaced it, this grotesque arrangement of nation-states, is equally ineffective and therefore obsolete. Our system of authority and governance must be raised above the antiquated, interminable rules of the desperate bickering we now witness here at play among us. I will personally impose such changes.”

“Through tyranny?” Camari’s words were dry as the desert winds of Mars.

Narval’s eyes narrowed to slits of hatred as he glared at Camari. Damn, where was Drummer’s message?

Camari continued in the same tone, confronting Narval directly, “I voice the profound hopes of the peoples of our diverse cultures, and yet, of our common species, that your threat is nothing but idle chatter.”

He turned his head to right and left, taking in the others at the table.

“What say you, leaders of INOR, to this threat from a criminal let loose among us from Callisto? Will you yield to Narval your constitutional rights and authority so that he personally assumes the power to dictate to your nation and to your people?

“I, for one, reject his proposal with contempt and declare, here and now, that the UIPS will fight to the death any attempt by Narval to impose his will on the United Inner Planetary System or, for that matter, on any nation in the Solar System.”

Around the table, and in the seats beyond, a shocked silence fell. They were indeed cynical and self-seeking politicians, and devious ploys were their stock in trade for getting and holding power. Narval’s past was well known to them all. His words were a direct challenge to their positions, their regimes, and their lives. Faces clouded, they appeared overcome by the realization that Narval’s capture of the Terminals was merely one part of a far greater conspiracy to destroy their sovereignty.

Advisors leaned forward to whisper to their Masters. Suspicious glances were cast at Narval who responded with a look of mocking amusement.

“This is all without significance,” he thought, “by now INOR military forces are committed to me.”

Camari sat quietly, letting it all happen. The dice had been cast elsewhere.

Ram entered and strode swiftly around the conference table toward Camari. Something in the way Ram’s elongated frame stooped and flexed as he walked created an impression of suppressed excitement. Camari tensed with apprehension. Ram caught Camari’s eye as the UIPS leader leaned back in his chair.

Ram bent and whispered into Camari’s ear. His urgent manner and Camari’s close attention stirred the conferees. Several at the table and in the seats beyond glanced at each other, eyebrows raised; others eyed Narval. This was to have been his show.

Narval sat motionless, eyes hooded, his normally ruddy face visibly graying.

Camari held up his hand for attention. It was an unnecessary gesture; all eyes had been on him and Ram from the moment Ram entered.

“I understand an unusual spunnel communication has arrived from the Planet Pluto Special Zone.” Camari announced. “It is addressed to all Heads of State attending this convocation. The message calls for an audio-visual presentation in the view tank. Any objections?”

Without waiting for a response, he nodded over his shoulder. Ram murmured into the tiny transmitter in his hand.

The view tank, centered above the conference table, lost its soft neutral glow, blinked, and the Planet Pluto sector appeared. The tank displayed the debris of a space battle: ruptured ships, unrecognizable masses and fragments, and bloated human bodies. In the background were the Slingshot Terminals, intact.