Chapter 41
Scarlet
The rotunda seemed even more intimidating today than it had when she had known she was walking onto the floor to speak to the universe as a whole.
Their fate was decided today and, despite what Alanna and Havali said about it not being the end even if they lost, she couldn’t help the gnawing sense of apprehension that plagued her.
Last she checked, the vote was still too close to count.
And since Peony gave birth, she hadn’t had time to check on how that might have changed.
She felt like if it was a shoo-in at this point, Alanna would have said something.
But her friend just continued to sit on Havali’s other side where he took pride of place at their half circle table, swaying to a song in her own head.
“Easy, Scarlet,” Havali said, taking her hand and holding it under the table. “It will be fine. No need for all this nervous energy. You know the answer, one way or the other. We even know how we’ll react to either of them. Calm yourself.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re already in the Coalition.”
He chuckled at her snark as he used his free hand to pull up Atem’s notes.
“So, how does this go? Do we just go down the line, reading off numbers and votes?”
“Something like that,” Havali nodded. The movement came so naturally to him now.
“We’ll begin at the first species and start going down.
Each species will have a moment to present one last plea, and their lead detractor one last chance to put in their own rebuttal.
Then, afterwards, the vote is cast. It is tallied immediately, and the High Imperium reads the result. ”
“What if they vote yes?”
“Then, we meet with the High Imperium to begin discussing plans.”
“What if they vote no?”
“Then, we regroup and make our plans for next year.” He smiled at her. “This won’t be the end, Scarlet. I promise you. I won’t ever give up fighting for you or your people.”
Scarlet returned his smile with a weak one of her own. Before she got a chance to respond, however, from above, the High Imperium’s mechanical voice rang out:
“Thank you, all representatives, for checking in. This has been a productive and fascinating year. It has been my honor to see so many of you again as well as to meet all the new faces. We should not ever forget that, no matter how big and powerful it has become, the Coalition was built upon the foundation of friendship, understanding, and mutual enrichment. No matter how the voting goes today, it has been my honor to be here with all of you.” They waited for the clapping and growls and stomps and fluttering sounds – a variety of different variations of applause – to die down before continuing.
“Thank you. We will now begin today’s proceedings. ”
Scarlet sat back, getting comfortable. The domini were number 168 of 214. There was a lot of waiting to do.
True to Havali’s word, every vote came with about a two-minute speech from both the party in question and then their greatest detractor. Then they voted. The High Imperium declared the decision, and that was it. They moved on to the next.
The High Imperium had brought nothing for his species, the vitulli, so they started with the second species instead.
It was a long, boring process. Like watching politics on basic cable.
Scarlet had to fight back yawns as she waited and Havali worked.
He didn’t even need Alanna for this since Atem had given him all the notes and votes he needed for the day.
The two humans were there only to hear the result of the voting.
There was nothing to do, and she didn’t want to distract Havali, so she just sat, silent and bored and yet somehow tense at the same time.
The High Imperium, who had barely spoken at all throughout the tendays worth of arguments and discussions, was leading today.
They declared the start and finish of each portion of the vote, then declared what would happen afterward, including any decisions that must be made after voting.
That included just setting up times to meet with the affected parties later.
After they had all left the orbital above the lights, the High Imperium had sent a formal apology for what happened.
Just like the attempted kidnapping that had earned the reward for Scarlet in the first place, the High Imperium had taken the fault for the accident upon themselves.
They had assured her that the streaming team as well as the pilot that sent the drone would be punished for the danger they put them in – it was well known that floating drones could not be allowed that close to delicate instruments – and they would make it up to her and the others.
Scarlet thought it was unnecessary, but she wasn’t the only one wronged this time and thus couldn’t reject his offer alone. Really, so long as the streaming people were punished for endangering Peony and Viktor, that was enough.
The voting took hours. No one seemed to be in a rush, though this, hopefully, would be the last day of voting. Provided there were no ties.
Oh, no. What if their vote was a tie?
That new, terrifying thought clawed at Scarlet’s throat as slowly, painfully slowly, the High Imperium went down the list.
By the time they reached the hundredth species, it had been over eight hours of deliberation.
One-hundred-fifty, and they passed the twelve-hour mark. There were only ten marks in a Standard day, and they had already burned through six of them. And the group showed no signs of stopping. Once the voting began, it would not end until all issues had been voted on.
Alanna brought Havali food while Scarlet offered him a stimulant pill to help keep him awake. He accepted the former but not the latter as he focused on his voting. At least they were moving at a brisk pace, as no one wanted to be here for days on end, but it was still exhausting.
Fourteen, nearly fifteen hours later, and finally-
“Next is species 168: Domini. Representative Havali has taken over for Representative Atem due to the birth of the latter’s youngling. Please present your closing arguments now.”
Scarlet’s stomach was twisted up in painful knots, so tight she wanted to retch. Her hands clenched tight into the pants of her romper as Havali activated his mic. His two minutes had already begun.
“First, we wish to thank the Coalition for their careful consideration,” he said, his booming voice confident and powerful in the massive, dark chamber.
“I know that the decision to allow Earth and the humans that inhabit it to become a protectorate is not an easy one, but it is the right one. Human females are delicate, and they can be cross bred, and their prodigy are fully reproductively capable with their original paternal species. And that is just what we have learned from five, individual, randomly selected human females. Think of what we can learn from an entire planet. The knowledge, the culture, the understanding. All things this Coalition claims to promote. And I know I can no longer present evidence to you in this case, so I can only give you my word, but it was recently discovered that human blood has… interesting properties that I believe merits further research. And protection. These five females were unfairly, unjustly, and illegally ripped from their homes by a Coalition species. It is only fair and just and right that we allow them the option to return. Think of all we can gain. Think of all we can learn. And vote with compassion. I yield my remaining time.”
“Thank you, Representative Havali. We shall now hear from your greatest opponent. Representative Tsok, please present your closing arguments now.”
A different box in the rotunda lit up and, across the distance, Scarlet could make out the feline face of Char Tsok.
He activated his mic and spoke clearly and plainly.
“I formally and officially redact my arguments in this case. I attempted to pass this on to another, but I was rebuked by all other detractors. We have no case to present. I yield my remaining time.”
He sat back, the light in his box going off.
Scarlet, stunned, quickly shared a look with Alanna. She appeared puzzled and shook her head, shrugging, indicating she had no further understanding of what just happened than Scarlet.
Before they could ask, the High Imperium continued-
“If there are no further arguments to be presented, I shall open voting now. Everyone, please, place your votes at this time.”
Her heart was pounding in her throat. Her mouth was dry, tongue sticking to the top of her mouth, suddenly too fat to fit inside comfortably. Her belly was a riot of emotions, none of them good, each threatening to make her sick.
She watched, panicky and uneasy, as the words-
Motion to grant protectorate status to the planet known as ‘Earth’ and the non-Coalition species known as ‘humans’ with sponsor species 168 – Domini and co-sponsor species 134 - Ratchi.
-Approve--Deny-
-appeared on Havali’s holodisplay.
Confidently, he clicked on approve, then clicked again on the confirmation of his answer. The screen returned to his notes. His hand lowered and took hers, squeezing it reassuringly.
It was over in seconds.
The longest, most tense seconds of her entire life.
Waiting with intense fear and apprehension as two-hundred-fourteen people decided the fate of her planet after only a couple weeks of arguments.
It didn’t seem like enough. They should have done more.
They should have tried to bribe their way to approval, domini honor be damned. They should have-