Under a bright blue sky in mid-afternoon a young lord, dressed in fine cloth and surrounded by three guards, threaded his way through the clubs of the Open Quarters district. His hair was cropped short at the sides and long on top in the military style of northern Ginnie, gold like honey at the crown and dark around the back. His face was beautifully proportioned, with the fine cheeks and chin of his mother and strong brow of his father. On this occasion his lips were as red as if he had just enjoyed a lingering kiss. He was tired, and he looked it.
His older brother had wanted to meet in Lord Durban’s office at the base of Silahk tower, but had conceded and agreed to meet outside. So they were meeting in a private room in an eatery close to the club named Kiyiya.
Saayvas was a bundle of nerves. It was his first time meeting with Gamman since he was eleven. From his friends he knew Gamman didn’t like him, so he would have avoided the meeting if he could.
When he arrived at the little brown building he was ushered through the wood-paneled great room into a private space. Gamman was there already, casually leaning back in a deeply cushioned chair, one leg bent with the ankle resting on his other knee. He was wearing a light gray jacket which was almost long enough to reach the floor underneath where he was sitting. His tunic was rich yellow cloth, embroidered with white. Saayvas recognized the look of their father in his visage. He had checked recent footage and Gamman was exactly as he had looked in the videos. He’d pulled his rust-colored brown hair back into a short ponytail.
His expression was unreadable and he didn’t bother to rise in greeting. “Well met,” was all he said.
Saayvas nodded. “Well met.” He was greeted with silence, and so he started off gently, asking about their mother. “I haven’t seen Ma since she came to visit me last year. How is she?”
His brother’s eyes shut briefly and he said, “She is bored. I hear she is planning a visit to the city in a couple of months. It has something to do with our sister’s training.”
“And how is Kaazi doing?” As a member of the OFR Saayvas wasn’t allowed to see his sister. He was glad of it, because he knew if he could, there would be pressure on him to try to influence her in her mating decision.
Gamman’s eyebrows raised and he looked him in the eye. “I don’t think you have a right to know.”
“She’s my sister.”
“And you’re OFR.”
Saayvas clenched his fists. Will he answer if I ask about Rey’d? Reydaman was the only one of his brothers who was younger than him. “I heard Reydaman is on track in his studies. Are you sure he is going to want to be a seeker?”
“As I’ve demonstrated personally,” Gamman said, “Completing seeker training doesn’t necessitate a career underground.”
“But isn’t that a waste of everyone’s time?” Saayvas was genuinely curious about Gamman’s thoughts on the matter.
“No,” Gamman responded. “Perhaps, for a normal seeker it would be a waste, but in Reydaman’s case - as it would have been with you - he will be well-suited to help with my project. Core tech may ultimately become the most important goal of seeking - at least in the next few generations.”
Saayvas was well aware of Gamman’s ‘project.’ It was widely laughed about in the OFR and was a source of shame for him. Gamman claimed that their planet and its environs were currently under attack. And the attackers represented an alien intelligence similar to their own ‘Tharig.’
And that they were invisible.
“You realize there’s still no proof of this ‘looming threat’ you’ve discovered, right?”
“I’m a Sia, and a seeker; you’re not. So don’t speak to me about ‘proof.’”
There it is, Saayvas thought. His contempt.
“What it sounds like to me,” Sayvaas said, “is a convenient story that was manufactured by you in order to sell a pointless product that falsely increases your importance. And thus, your wealth.”
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“Well said,” Gamman sneered, “exactly what you’d expect from a boy whose worldview is limited to commerce.”
Saayvas knew better than to take the bait. At twenty he was already well practiced in scoring the cooperation of his negotiating partners. And he knew that it wasn’t time yet to broach the real topic of conversation. So he turned to another topic.
“I wanted to let you know,” he said, “that I intend to take Jiri Lanshyre as my mate.”
Gamman’s eyes narrowed. “That’s the best you can do? What is she, ten now?”
In fact, Jiri was a good prospect for someone like Saayvas. She was from a powerful family in Thurinia, but her mother was from the Jitae.
Saayvas normally couldn’t mate to a woman from the Jitae - his home city. He was a member of an organization that was condescendingly called the ‘Osroes Fawn Ring.’ He was a pariah, and no woman with a holding would touch him. He responded to Gamman, “She’s nine as of yet.”
“And what’s the point of telling me? You still have plenty of time to change your mind - it’ll be more than ten years until she’s twenty.”
“My point in telling you is that even though you and I aren’t close, we’re still family. I would ask that you remove yourself from the political contest between her father and Satza Forza.”
Gamman laughed. “That’s what you wanted from me? I can’t believe you. I was backing Torak Lanshyre before you came along. As I recall, you told him that if he wanted your support, he had to quit working with me. I can’t help it if, at the time, you didn’t have the foresight to see where that would lead.”
As if he had just realized that Saayvas was still standing, Gamman suddenly said, “Here, sit.” He waved at the chair next to him. Then he continued, “Laydeer must have known though. I am surprised he left your flank exposed like that. The fact that he had you sponsoring the girl and her brother here in the Jitae says to me that he was intending her for you all along. The best way to get a little girl’s attention is to get yourself in front of her early, while she’s impressionable. I imagine at nine she is already quite taken with you.”
“Nine is awfully young.”
“Maybe.” Gamman picked his glass up from the table between them and sipped from it. “My understanding is that by eleven a lot of females are more than ready to be noticed in that way. Tell me, do you have her living with you still?”
Bile rose in Saayvas’ throat. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not saying what you’re thinking,” Gamman said. “I’m not accusing you of doing anything improper. Although maybe I’m giving you too much credit. From what I’ve heard, you’re doing Laydeer’s bidding when it comes to transporting little boys across the continent.”
It took everything Saayvas had to keep from lashing out and defending himself. He took a deep breath and replied, “You’re just like everyone else, harping on about something you know nothing about.”
“Perhaps,” Gamman said, “But did you know that Sia Geldan was against it? And Sia Aya?”
“I know for a fact that they both participated in the trade early in their careers.”
“And they turned against it in the end.” Gamman twirled the glass on the table. “But no, even though I dislike what you’ve become, I believe you have the decency not to abuse your power when it comes to the little ones. Including the girl.”
Saayvas swallowed. He got back to the point he wanted to make. “Satza Forza is one of Ru Davi’s acolytes. If you get her elected, she’ll put up more barriers to the free trade between us and Thurinia. You have to know that it will also hurt your own trade.”
“Perhaps,” Gamman said, “But if you take her out of the picture, what are the chances that Torak will actually win? Doesn’t he stand a better chance with her in the contest? After all, if it is just him running against his son, the son has better odds. Derick is, at best, lukewarm on international trade - and he is looking for an active way to bring North Sheris under the control of the South. About that, Torak couldn’t care less.” Gamman tilted his head and looked off to the side, clearing his throat. “Anyway, I don’t have the same need for free trade with Thurina, that you do. It is amusing to think that when Torak started out, he had such a strong partnership with Davi. You really cured him of that, didn’t you?”
“It was Davi himself who ruined their relationship. Once he quit paying Torak for use of the mines that was the end of their partnership. But you’re right, politically, the connection to Davi was always hanging over his head, as a threat.”
“It still is - that past partnership,” Gamman said. “And look what his son Derick is doing to him now. I imagine Torak finds it quite painful to have his son running against him; accusing him of helping bring Ru Davi to power in the north and thus being the creator of the north-south conflict they have now.”
Having stopped, Gamman raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “Are you funding him behind Torak’s back?”
Saayvas parried. “Your support of Satza Forza - and Ru Davi’s goals - will hurt all of Thurinia. It will set them back years - decades - if she wins and they implement Davi’s idea of renouncing our technology.”
“And it will put their economy at a permanent disadvantage if their only access to heavy minerals is through Ginnie,” Gamman replied. “It is in both the north and the south’s best interest to maintain strong ties with each other. Even if it means a shrinkage of exports for you.”
“Since when do you care about their economy?”
Gamman’s eyes narrowed. His face was expressionless. He looked into Saayvas’ eyes for a long second and then said, “You’re right, it isn’t like sponsoring Satza Forza is doing any more than giving me the satisfaction of hitting back at Torak. You really want me to pull out?”
“I do.”
“You’re my brother,” Gamman said, a smile playing on his lips. “In exchange, I expect that the next time I come to you, asking for a concession, you will hear me out fully.”