Three Imperial Weeks Later

Palsa Temis shook his head in wonder at the sight.

Two Imperial peacekeeping battalions had grounded in Walak. He had hoped to see this, on the night of Cesil’s attempt at secession, but he had assumed it would be after a long battle, and that the people of the Federation would be angry and embittered by their loss.

Oh, to be sure, there was anger – support for Cesil had not evaporated overnight, nor had Temis expected it to. But it was down to the true believers now. The folks who’d backed the Titan Party while ignoring the Block – or out of fear of the Block – or in spite of the Block – they’d abandoned the government en masse. Even some of the Blockers had rebelled after hearing of Cesil’s treachery. It’s one thing to stand up to the Empire when you’re discussing human emancipation, but quite another to agree to fight on the side of the bugs, to help them kill Titans.

Within 84 hours of Temis’s address, Walak had fallen to loyalists. The peacekeepers had battled amongst themselves for a couple of days before finally excising the most unrepentant Blockers and partisans. Once Walak fell…well, from that point it was all over but the shouting. There were still low-level clashes going on – the Block still had enough young gangsters that they would be causing problems for years. But they’d be an organized crime problem, perhaps a minor terrorist insurgency at worst. They wouldn’t have the backing of the government anymore.

And now, at Temis’s invitation, 6400 Imperial troops had occupied the worlds of Sol Federation, in addition to the 400 on Diona and 600 on Profa. Kembror had accepted a small detachment. At this point, only Dicat had yet to be occupied, and that was primarily down to its remoteness; Federation peacekeepers there were getting things ready.

In the end, the Empire would only land 10,000 officers, rather than the 75,000 they’d planned for invasion and occupation. Of course, there were a good many reasons to keep the Imperial footprint small, most of them in Hive Prime, but Temis was also pleased that it would allow the Federation itself to take the lead in restoring order. Yes, he and the council had given Floor Leader Armac carte blanche in the post-secession period. That wasn’t just obviously necessary, it was morally necessary. Even Momp Lystar had said as much, in an interview with Temis upon his return to Walak.

Momp Lystar, Temis chuckled. The man had a Block tattoo on his shoulder, and on his frakking heart, and Momp Lystar was saying that it had gone too far, that the guide had been wrong, that they needed more checks, more Imperial oversight.

Temis knew that it could all fall apart very soon. The Titan Party had been disbanded, but the ideology that had fueled it was still there. Which was why he hoped that the last couple of loose ends could….

There was a knock on the door of his temporary office. (They were still deciding what to do with the Palace of the Guide, but right now, Imperators were taking it apart from the inside out.) The door swung open, and Yrusa Tam walked in, with a smile that told Temis immediately that a loose end was being tied off.

“Magister-Imperator Tam, you bring good news?”

“We’ve just received word, from outside Krogh Fazala. They’ve found Cesil.”

“Good work,” Temis said. “Under arrest?”

“Well…if we can get through the crowd…we hope.”

“Crowd?”

“For better or worse…well, locals figured it out.”

“Ah,” Temis said, leaning back. “I see.”

* * *

The door to the safehouse groaned, as the battering ram hit it. To be precise, it wasn’t a battering ram so much as a tree trunk that the mob had picked up, and was now using as part of their attempt to break through the door.

“Give us the traitor!” a woman screamed through the broken glass of a window, as she banged on iron bars with a pipe, trying to dislodge them.

The last of the Block had fallen back to the basement. Kris Dicy was sitting by his brother, who lay on the floor, dead.

It was Kris who’d blown their cover, by mistake. He’d tried to get some kapskrasi for the Poron, but he’d been seen, and while once upon a time, the sight of Kris would have been enough to strike fear into the hearts of everyone, instead the men who saw him had chased him, one of them wielding a butcher’s knife. Karon had been at the small shack by the gate to the compound, and he’d come out to try to help Kris, but someone in the pack drew a blaster – who knows where they got it – and fired. Kris had dragged him back inside, and as the door opened, the crowd saw through the doorway the Guide of the New Archavian Empire, wearing a bathrobe and an expression that suggested that he was upset that a man was dying, but far more upset that there wasn’t any more kapskrasi on the way.

Now, Cesil sat in the sub-basement, where Jothe Dicy was listening to him as he smoke what would be his last burnleaf blunt.

“It will be okay,” he said, gruffly, trying to kill the hangover. “Scylane was preparing troops on Dicat. The counteroffensive will begin any day. Then they’ll be sorry.”

This was the ninth safehouse in six weeks for the Poron; they had wanted to get him off-world, but he refused. They would turn things around. Soon, he’d be back in charge, and the traitors would pay.

“They’ve breached the living room!” a Blocker shouted into the room. “We’re falling back to the basement!”

The basement was the last redoubt, and had the one door to the sub-basement where they hid. They closed it, and locked it, and Cesil turned back to Jothe, who was ignoring the tears of her grand-nephew, who was sitting by his dead father and numb uncle. Instead, she smiled at the light of the Federation.

“A brilliant plan, my guide, truly brilliant,” she said. She hesitated to add this, but she thought it would be good to know the plan. And while she didn’t doubt him at all, it was getting late in a hurry. “My Guide….it is probably time he brought them in. Why hasn’t he yet?”

“I don’t know,” Cesil said. “I’ve ordered he do so. Mr. Eneri, have we heard back from Scylane?”

The shouting in the adjacent room grew louder, and then there was a bang on the door.

Uryst Eneri had arrived early that morning, and was cursing his timing. He had come to try to find the Poron, and convince him to come in quietly. To try to convince him of the truth – that it was over. He’d been planning to break the news once they’d brought him kapskrasi – he was easier to deal with, they’d found, when drinking.

But there was no time left. So while he kept his weapon on the door, he said, softly, “My Guide, Scylane Rimosi did not go to Dicat. We received word from an officer who was serving on the Gleebo…he has taken the Gleebo and gone on the run. We believe he was heading for the Kokonit Restriction Zone….”

“That frakking traitor!” Cesil shouted. “He frakking lied to me! Mr. Eneri, tell all loyal peacekeepers that Scylane Rimosi is a traitor to the New Archavian Empire, and should be killed on sight! So what…so what of our forces on Dicat? When will they be ready?”

Eneri looked down. “There are no forces on Dicat, Poron. Rimosi lied about them.”

Cesil looked up at the door. He stabbed out the blunt. “I guided the Federation true for twenty-two years. While others were willing to capitulate to the mewling tupps of the Empire, I put us on a path to greatness. The plan was simple. Only an idiot could frak it up. But Rimosi….”

Cesil shook his head. “Rimosi played me. Gorram.”

He blinked. “It’s over,” he said. “If there are no forces on Dicat…the war is lost.”

The door flew backward off its hinges.

Eneri dropped his weapon and put his hands up; the crowd shoved past him. Kris remained sitting, uncomprehending, but Jota Dicy, Karon’s oldest son, leaped up and grabbed his father’s blaster. He fired three shots, dropping the man at the front of the mob, but the woman behind him had a blaster of her own, and she fired, catching him square.

He dropped backward, dead, atop his father.

Jothe stood up, and looked to the guide for the answer, for the way out. But there was none. Only a dozen angry, screaming men and women who had only one goal.

“My people,” Cesil said, standing up, “I am….”

But nobody heard what Cesil was going to say. The mob was upon him moments later, and it is probably for the best that he did not survive for long.

* * *

“They recovered his body. Well….by the time they were able to get through the crowd and to the scene… it’s most accurate is that they recovered most of his body.”

“Dear Emperor, Mabra. Well, a dark moment in Imperial history comes to a close. Again, repeating our top story – Jota Cesil, the self-styled Guide of the New Empire, who allied with the Insectoids against the Empire, has been killed by Federationers outside of Krogh Fazala. Servant-Leader Palsa Temis has called for calm, and for Federationers to resist the impulse to further take the law into their own hands. He also called on Scylane Rimosi, Cesil’s top lieutenant and the last senior leader of the secessionists unaccounted for to turn himself in….”

“That’s not gonna happen,” a man said, looking at the viewscreen. “So we’re set?”

“Yes, we are. Though you’re not going to be happy about what you’re getting for the Gleebo.”

“Can’t be helped, nobody’s gonna be able to move it. Best we were ever gonna do was strip it for parts. Hopefully the cloak and the weapons systems were enough.”

“We got you a Levra – first model, used – and enough credits to operate for a few years. But to really make you disappear, you’re going to need genetic reassignment, and that’s beyond our capacity right now.”

“I understand, Ms. Snyusia,” Scylane said. “The main thing…I want to get my family out. Set them down on a small rock.”

“There are a couple of underground colonies in the restriction zone. I wouldn’t recommend staying here on Kaol, though – it’s not a planet to build on, really.”

“No, I suppose not.”

“And you can help us,” Salaha said. “We have a few pilots running info already. We’ve been knocked backward, no question, but…well…”

Salaha didn’t finish the sentence, and neither did Scylane. They both knew that this was the endgame. She had tried to talk to the overseers, but they had been…well, insanity was the best way to describe it. But she’d gotten the strong sense that the loss at Tau Ceti had been far more damaging to the Insectoids than anyone could imagine. As for Scylane…he was a dead man, and he knew it, but maybe he could get his family settled, and maybe, just maybe, take a few more self-righteous Imperials down on the way out. And if they got really lucky….

“We will continue to try to figure out how the human pulled it off,” Scylane said, raising his glass. “A blast that could destroy a Hive could destroy a planet. And with a weapon like that…there’s always hope, right?”

Salaha raised hers, defiantly. “There’s always hope,” she replied.

* * *

It was amazing what six Imperial weeks on Kembror could bring. With the blazing fire of periastron now a memory, the “second spring” was upon the planet. The grasses and plants which had withered in the heat were blooming again. Insects and small animals which had hibernated through the inferno were active again. The air hung with a scent that was gorgeous and clean, one that echoed the scent of the early spring on any number of worlds, but which differed in a way that simply cannot be described unless you’ve been there. In the worst of times – the deep freeze of apastron, the blast furnace of periastron – Kembror seemed like a slightly-upmarket version of Hell. But in the times between, it was spectacular, as beautiful and captivating as any world in the Empire.

“It’s up here, over this rise,” Jolu said, directing a small group through the now-verdant drift. “I can’t thank you enough, by the way.”

The young woman walking beside him nodded. “We’re happy to be here for a good purpose. Last time I was in the Federation people were shooting at me.”

“That how you got the arm?” Lil asked.

“Yeah,” Garae said. “During the Walak riot. Got cornered by a gang, they shot me. I’ll get the bioreplacement when I get back home, but it works for now. Anyhow, this is much more fun.”

“I bet. And I’m sorry,” Jolu said. “Those frakkers were probably like me. Blockers. Full of hate and stupidity, and gorram sure that they were smarter and better than anyone around.”

“You wear your mistakes heavily, Mr. Ikno,” Xealo said. “Do not. A nightmare can become a lovely dream, if one is willing to ride through the worst of it, and then to take charge, and begin imagining the world a better place. And that is what you are doing, now.”

“Thank you, Sacred Dreamer. I’m not faithful, you know, but…well, I appreciate that,” Jolu said. “You know, it’s funny, few weeks ago, couldn’t have imagined saying that…and meaning it.”

“Dream of a world where we dare to grasp our enemies’ wrists, and you will find a world where you are at peace with your friends,” Xealo said.

“It sounds nice,” Jolu said. “Okay…it’s in there.”

“I will wait outside with Decanus Ikno,” Xealo said. “You four go ahead.”

Jolu lead the small group into the small cave, and looked around. It was deserted, and for half a second, he thought perhaps he had remembered incorrectly, but he realized that it was obviously deserted; if twenty-unit-tall monsters wandered up to the city, he’d hide too.

“We are not here to cause trouble or harm,” Jolu said. “You helped me when I was near death. I am here only to return the favor. Ask us to leave…and we will.”

Garae nodded. “We want to talk to you. That’s all.”

When there was no response, Garae knelt down, and placed the last two members of the delegation on the ground.

“I can definitely understand your worry. Better than they can, I’ll bet,” Thomas said, taking a few steps forward. “If you don’t want to talk with them, I understand. But I would at least hope you would talk to us.”

Amelia walked toward what Jolu had described as a crack in the wall, and smiled. She held up both hands, in a universal symbol of peace. “Seriously, folks, we’re unarmed. And if you didn’t want anyone to ever find you, you would have let Jolu die.”

“Maybe we just didn’t want to have to move his body,” a man standing in the shadow of the small cave entrance, said, just loud enough for the humans to hear.

“Nah, that’s not why. If you needed to move his body, you’d have figured it out,” Amelia said, with a wry smile. “I’m willing to bet you’ve moved things bigger.”

“Not much bigger. But you’re right, young lady, we knew the risks.”

“Pipidu,” the man said, bowing slightly to the woman sweeping by him, “it is dangerous.”

The old woman waved him down. “Yes, very dangerous. Two humans, two Titans, all acting very calm and nice. Hello, young lady. Welcome to our home.”

Amelia gave a slight bow, and walked toward the older woman. “Thank you very much, ma’am. My name is Amelia, and this is my friend Thomas. You’ve met Jolu, obviously; the other woman with us is Garae. Can we talk, please?”

Pipidu looked over the group, and said, “And what if I tell you to go away, and never return?”

“Then we do just that,” Amelia said.

“And I should believe this?”

“Yes. Because we’re free humans, like you,” Thomas said, walking to Amelia’s side. “We aren’t pets. They don’t own us.”

“And yet they bring you here,” Pipidu said. “Just like owners do.”

Amelia spun on her heel, and said, “Garae, you and Jolu need to wait outside the cave. We’ll call you when we’re ready.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Garae said. “Jolu, come with me.”

“You…you are sure they’ll be okay?” Jolu asked.

“Doesn’t matter if I am or not,” Garae said. “The Aenur Foundation is human-led. I’m here to support Amelia and Tom. They ask us to back off…we follow.”

Jolu nodded. “But they’re just humans. Are you sure they can….”

He stopped himself. “Sorry. That was…not what I want to say.”

“Mumbles, you ever want to see what we humans can do, you come on to Avalon. Jacks can always use a good sparring partner,” Amelia said.

Jolu laughed. “Heard about them. They were taking out insectoids on Tau Ceti. You know…I’d almost like to see how you go about it. Anyhow, again…bad habits stick around.”

“Jolu, trust me, if anyone knows bad habits, it’s Amelia here,” Thomas said. “You’re working on it. It’s okay. But we do need you to go now.”

“Right. Got it,” Jolu said. “And Pipidu…thanks again.”

“I am hoping that you might’ve been worth it. Now, you two,” she said, with a smile, “you may follow me.”

* * *

Terta carefully slipped the slumbering couple off of her stomach. Pesa stirred a little, and Enti woke for just a moment and smiled up at her. She set them carefully on the bed, and slipped on a robe. Grabbing her pad, she stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room of the small rental suite.

“Fasa,” she said, answering the call. “Are you okay?”

The teenage girl on the other side of the call looked shaken, but that was understandable. They hadn’t talked since before Dr. Neutha’s death, and things in the Federation had gotten very bad since then.

“Hey, Terta…I…Poron Cesil…he’s dead. He was killed in Krogh Fazala.”

Terta blinked. “Wow. Imperial Peacekeepers?”

Faserae shook her head. “Just…people. They found him, killed him. I mean…he was helping the bugs, Terta.”

“Yeah, I know. The Foundation…Dr. Freeman was on its advisory council – both Dr. Freemans were. And Navarchos Bass, his wife is good friends with Gae Neutha and Thurfrit and Zhay Maris and a lot of the other staff. So they’re still pretty broken up.”

“You and your friends brought down Cesil, you know. He’s dead because of the human rights issue.”

Terta studied her sister. Finally, she decided to ask. “So is that a good thing or a bad thing in your eyes?”

Fasa frowned. “Terta, I still don’t get how you ended up backing humans. You know they aren’t strong enough to get by on their own.”

“They are, Fasa. Cesil was working with the bugs, you think the Titan Party hasn’t lied about anything else?”

“But everyone knows….”

“Everyone knows a lot of things. Everyone is wrong, Fasa,” Terta said.

“Yeah…I still don’t know. But I know you do. I saw…when they attacked that one human that got killed, I saw in the video, you were there. You got hit. Mat and pat…I know they haven’t been talking to you…but they were worried. They thought that one hit to the head….”

“I had a bit of a concussion, but nothing a shot of cortexifan couldn’t cure.”

“It was pretty brave. To take the hit when you knew that it was coming, and not swing back….”

“I was just part of the group,” Terta shrugged. “The brave ones were Dr. Neutha, and Mr. Maris, and Pesa, and Enti. The humans were the brave ones. The Titans…we were just there to help.”

“Yeah. Still. I…I’m glad you’re okay.”

“How are you?” Terta asked. “I know, the news said it got rough….”

“It was really rough. There were riots, you know. All over the place, but the ones in Honarai were really awful. We were lucky, we had food, but not everyone did…I mean, there wasn’t time to prepare, just suddenly, we’d seceded, and nobody had money…it was bad.”

“You didn’t get caught up in them, did you?”

“No, no,” Fasa said. “They did arrest mom and dad, though. Just for a day.”

“What? Why would they do that?” Terta asked.

“Because of you. They wanted to make sure we weren’t troublemakers like you.”

Terta slumped in her chair. “Frak me.”

“Funny thing, you know. Pat and mat worked hard to win over the Titan Party folks, went to fundraisers, donated to the right candidates. All that was gone, though. And while they were in jail, their office…well…it isn’t there anymore. ‘Burned down in the riots.’”

Terta covered her face. She hadn’t wanted this. She just wanted her friends to be seen as people. That’s all.

“Are mat and pat okay?” Terta asked, knowing that they couldn’t be – couldn’t possibly be.

“They’re alive, they’re healthy. They’re worried about you.”

Terta laughed bitterly. “They’re a lot worse off.”

“No, they aren’t, Terta. Like I said, they went to these fundraisers, grabbed the right wrists…and those people turned on them in a New Trantor minute, because their daughter was wrong about something. And mat and pat – they tried to keep playing the game. Told ‘em that they disowned you, that they didn’t care if you lived or died – they ended up on the news, saying it.”

“I suppose, given everything I put them through….”

“Terta, don’t you get it? They were lying. They saw what their friends did to them. Even if we were hardcore Blockers…they know gorram well that even if you’re totally wrong about humans, you weren’t wrong about Cesil and the Block and the Titan Party. But they also know that you might’ve seen the stories, and…they saw you take that hit to the head. I did too. And we all lied and said we didn’t care about you, when you took a hit to the head for what you believed in, you coulda died…and we were all gorram cowards.”

“You don’t believe that, do you?” Terta said. “Fasa…I hadn’t seen the stories, but I don’t blame you guys. I just…I did what I had to do, but I hope you all can forgive me for what you went through. Are they gonna be able to rebuild the firm?”

Fasa shrugged. “It’s weird here right now. I mean, like, a third of the people never liked the Titan Party. Of the rest of us, maybe half were going along with the Titan Party for the same reason mat and pat were – just the way it was. Now that they’re outlawed, mat and pat and a lot of people are feeling kinda embarrassed, and they just want to forget it. Yeah, humans and Dunnermacs and whatnot are gonna have more rights, but at least they weren’t working with the bugs. But then the rest of folks…nobody’s talking up Cesil right now. Everyone will say he’s a traitor. But there are still plenty of folks who are mad about humans, mad about the way it went down. And then there’s that sliver of folks who were Blockers – I mean, they’re all backing away, at least, the ones who don’t want to go to jail. But you know they didn’t change their minds. And so, if they rebuild the firm, and start up…they don’t know who’s gonna go back to work with ‘em and who won’t – and they don’t know whether they want to work with some of the people who were denouncing ‘em ten minutes ago.”

Fasa shook her head. “I’ve decided, though…I want to look for a college outside the Federation. Not saying I want to leave for good, but I don’t know if I can stay, either. What about you? You ever coming back?”

Terta sighed. “I’ve got an offer to finish up my degree at Senedj I University, and I almost have to take it. I mean, it’s the best university in the Empire, other than maybe Tannhauser Gate and Husmu Daraean. But after that…we’re probably going back.”

“’We?’”

“Me, and Enti, and Pesa. We’ve been talking to the folks running the Aenur Foundation. You said it – not everyone in the Federation’s gonna accept humans. I reckon that a good attorney will help those who aren’t accepted right away.”

“You guys, like, dating?” Fasa asked.

“Yes, we are,” Terta replied. “I know, it’s weird.”

“It’s gonna be hard, you know,” Fasa said. “You remember Sula and Kranggg – they were damn near run out of town.”

“I know,” Terta said. “But someone’s gotta go back, and stay. I’m smart, I’ve made some fairly powerful friends, and Enti and Pesa are tough enough to keep me together when I get scared.”

Fasa smiled. “Sis…I never even imagined you dating humans, much less how I’d feel about it….but I’m happy for you. And proud. I don’t know if I agree with it, you know…it’ll take some getting used to.”

“Fasa…that’s better than I was expecting you to be. I don’t know how I’m gonna tell mat and pat, but….”

“Yeah, I don’t know how accepting they’ll be, but…well, they’ll listen, I think. Even though they don’t agree with everything you did…they’re proud of you, Terta. So am I. No matter what we said.”

“I’m just sorry y’all went through that,” Terta said. “I had to help Enti and Pesa, I had to, but…I never wanted you guys to get hurt.”

“Yeah, well, we survived it. I’ll tell mat and pat to call you later, if that’s okay.”

“It is. And tell them…Fasa, I love them. And that whatever they said to stay alive and safe…they did what they had to do. I love you guys.”

“We all love you, Terta. Talk soon,” Fasa said, and the call ended.

Terta leaned back in the chair. She wondered if her parents’ love would survive finding out that their daughter wanted to marry humans someday. Maybe, maybe not. But her parents had survived the worst of it. And her sister was awake now. It could have been a lot worse.

“Hey, Terta! You want breakfast?” a small voice called.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you guys?”

“Nah, it’s about time to get up anyhow,” Pesa said. “At least for us. You probably have about ten more hours of sleep left.”

“Well, yeah,” Terta said, “but I’m not gonna pass up breakfast, so I’ll make it. I’m not going crazy, though. Korafian ubmat, some royal berries, and mosaberry juice?”

“That works for me,” Enti said. “And Terta…we love you, you know, but we don’t want to be a problem for you and your family.”

Terta paused on the way to the kitchen, turned around, and walked back, keeling down on the floor.

“Enti, my love…you’re my family. You and Pesa. And you’re worth every problem that could ever be. Each of you. Together? You’re worth everything there is.”

She waited for them to get to her, and scooped them up in her hand, lifting them to her breast and holding them tight, holding fast against the troubles that were sure to come.

* * *

“I still do not know if you are liars.”

“Zete, these are guests,” Pipidu said.

“Pipidu, you are wise, and have led us well since the death of Holusem. But they come here with a fantastical tale of freedom, and you say we should listen to them?”

A younger man shook his head at the woman currently laying into their leader. “You did not see, Zete. She told the titans to leave and they did. The female with the metal arm said that the humans were her leaders.”

“And you say they may not be faking? Pretending to trust the humans? Viotes….”

“Enough!” Pipidu said. “Again, these are guests, and we make them uncomfortable by airing our disagreements in front of them. You must forgive us, Amelia and Thomas. It is our tradition that discussion is to be open at all times. But you are not a part of the Drifters. And our disagreements about you should not be held in front of you.”

“It’s all right, Pipidu,” said Amelia. We understand Zete’s doubts. Humans in the Empire have been free for less than an Imperial year, and humans in the Federation not even since the hot season here. You’re all descended from pets, except the ones who were pets; you’d be foolish to just accept what we tell you.”

Pipidu smiled serenely. “And this, Zete, is why I believe they may be telling the truth. That, and the fact that if the titans meant to take us back into their possession, they would not come to us with lies. They would simply open up the doorway using their laser cutters and they would take us.”

“Maybe, but then, why do you come to us at all? If we are to be left to live as we want, why bother coming into our home to tell us that?”

The three dozen Drifters who were around them nodded their agreement.

“Because we want you to know that you are supported,” Thomas said. “Garae, and Xealo, and Amelia and I work for an organization that protects the rights of humans. We want to provide you with any assistance you may need in securing your home for generations to come. We also want you to be able to take advantage of the laws which protect you, and can help you. You are all Imperial nationals, and entitled to legal protection. Furthermore, you have the right to education for your children, and based on legislation that’s working its way through the legislature, you’ll soon have the right to education for the adults as well.”

“Education. Learning. All well and good, but it doesn’t feed us,” a woman grumbled.

“And do you think, Zemba, that you did not learn to find deepworms? That you do so by magic? Learning is how we know how to live. More than that, we know that the titans are able to preserve their knowledge through symbols. If we could learn their symbols, what more could we find?” Pipidu threw her arms wide. “We have built a life for ourselves, and we live free. But that does not ever mean that we live perfectly, nor that the cave cannot be made better.”

“I want to know if there are others like us,” a young woman asked. “You said you grew up on a planet of humans, but are there other groups like ours, living free in the titan world?”

“The leader of our organization is a man named Thurfrit Maris,” Amelia said. “He grew up in a group much like this. They hunted and gathered, and built a life for themselves as free people. Eventually, they met titans who wished to work with them, to help them. Not to own them, but to help them stay free and safe.”

“Their tribe is much bigger now,” Thomas said. “And very prosperous. But it is theirs. They count some titans as members, but only as members, each one no more or less valuable than any human member.”

“Their ways changed, I would imagine,” Zete said.

“But of course they did!” Pipidu said, rising. “Zete, do you think that our ways are no different than they once were? And do you think that our ways are perfect? Or do you remember that there have been years in our lives when the deepworms were scarce, and the berries came late, and Drifters died because we had not enough food to eat? Do you think I push us to keep our stores up because I am foolish?”

Zete frowned. “No, Pipidu. My sister….”

“Exactly, Zete. We wish to remain free. But if we can receive help from others – help that is not tied to our being pets – then I will take it. But I suspect there are responsibilities that fall on us if we do.”

“You have a responsibility to help others,” Amelia said. “And to treat others in accordance with the rules of the Empire. But most of those are, in the end, about fairness – not killing or stealing, respecting the rights of others. And those rules protect you. Kembror has a rule that anyone may stake out a claim to land in this area, as long as they occupy it for an Imperial year. You have occupied this area far longer than that; by Kembroran law, this is already your land. The Council has acknowledged that. So while you could not simply take things from Kembror City, neither can they take things from you.”

“This is much to take in,” Zete said. “Pipidu, I do not know that I trust them, but…if we could know this land was ours. That it could never be taken. We have lived in fear of losing it, you know, for so very long.”

“That won’t happen,” Thomas said. “Like I said, our organization fights for humans. If anyone were ever to try to take this land from you, we would be here in a moment, defending you.”

“Why?” Viotes asked. “I understand maybe why you humans do. But why would titans?”

“Because they know you are people,” Amelia said. “And that’s what good people do – they help other people along. Same reason you saved Jolu Ikno – you didn’t have to. But he was a person, and he was dying, and you gave him water and helped him because you don’t let a person struggle if you can help them.”

Pipidu nodded. “Amelia, Thomas, we are grateful to have met you. We have much to think about. Will you return to us after the sun has risen and set twice? We have much to discuss. If things are as you say…we will still have to approach them carefully. That may sound foolish to you, given what you offer….”

“Pipidu, before I was born, my mom was the leader of the Avalonian Guard. There was a breakdown in our world, and people were starving. A friend of hers, a titan woman named Zara, was willing to bring all the food my home city of Atlantis could ever need. She didn’t want to make us pets, or anything, she just wanted to help, and my mom was happy to take the help. But it didn’t make it easier for us. Some people didn’t trust her, and even those who did…well, they knew that if you just start taking food from the titans, pretty soon you’re depending on it. And then you forget how to make your own. And soon enough, you’re waiting for titans to give you their scraps, like a good little pet.”

“So your people refused the food?” Zete asked.

“Not entirely, but we set guidelines. We told Zara that we didn’t want her just giving us things. Your and my peoples are not pets, and never will be. We’ll help you out, help you learn and grow – and there are times when maybe we do help you out by giving you food to get you through a lean year. Titans helped us through a few lean years, but they did so by asking us how best to help, and if you want help, that’s what we’ll do. We don’t just bring it to you, dump it here. We ask what you need, we work with you, and then, when things are better, maybe you end up helping us in a lean year. Or maybe you reach a point, like we have, where a few of your people go out to other groups like yours, and offer them help.”

“You understand our worries well,” Pipidu said. “We will want to work with you, I think, but we have to discuss how we do that. Because you are right, it is not enough to live on your gifts. That is not a free life.”

They wrapped up the meeting, and reemerged into the cave; soon enough, they were being carried back to the city in Garae’s jacket pocket.

“Thanks for not mentioning that Zara’s one of my moms. It would’ve confused them,” Thomas said.

“Yeah. And it would’ve made them question us. I mean, your mom and my mom dang near caused a revolution in Atlantis, all because they wanted everyone to eat. Kinda wonder if their kids are the right ones to be spreading the gospel of human equality.”

“I don’t know about me, Amelia, but you…you’re amazing. Teddy couldn’t have given a speech that well.”

Amelia snuggled closer to Thomas. “I didn’t know what I was doing when I decided to work for the Foundation. Just knew that you were, and I was interested in you. You’re the one who wanted to make the galaxy a better place. I just wanted to go somewhere where everyone didn’t know my family name.”

“That’s never gonna happen, Amelia. ‘Cause if they don’t know the name Xanthopolous now, thanks to you, they’re gonna.”

“I just hope that we can live up to it, you know? You’ve got all your parents, and Manto, and now Joseph, not to mention all the others, and I’ve got mom and dad and Teddy and….”

“I don’t need to ‘live up to them,’ and neither do you. Your dad always said that you don’t get to greatness by trying to be great, you get there by doin’. Well, I’m doin’, and you’re doin’. And I don’t know if it will be great, but it’s pretty good. And if all I get is ‘pretty good’ and you, well…that’s enough.”

“Yeah, it is,” Amelia said. “It really is.”