I grinned; she hurled the book at me and told me that if I ever did anything like that again, she would strangle me, and that she could do it because she always was better in our defense courses than I was. Well, it was true. She was. Then we hugged and made up and went to find Magdy, so we could pester him in stereo.
Ten days later, Roanoke was attacked by Nerbros Eser and about a hundred Arrisian soldiers, that being Eser’s race. Eser and his soldiers marched right into Croatoan and demanded to speak to its leaders. They got Savitri, the administrative assistant, instead; she suggested that they go back to their ships and pretend their invasion never happened. Eser ordered his soldier to shoot Savitri, and that’s when they learned how a sapper field can really mess with their weapons. Jane tuned the field so that it would slow down bullets but not slower projectiles. Which is why the Arrisian soldier’s rifles wouldn’t work, but Jane’s flame thrower would. As did Dad’s hunting bow. And Hickory’s and Dickory’s knives. And Manfred Trujillo’s lorry. And so on.
At the end of it Nerbros Eser had none of the soldiers that he’d landed with, and was also surprised to learn that the battleship he’d parked in orbit wasn’t there anymore, either. To be fair, the sapper field didn’t extend into space; we got a little help there from a benefactor who wished to remain anonymous. But however you sliced it, Nerbros Eser’s play for the leadership of the Conclave came to a very sad and embarrassing end.
Where was I in all of this? Why, safely squirreled away in a bomb shelter with Gretchen and Magdy and a bunch of other teenagers, that’s where. Despite all the events of the previous month, or maybe because of them, the executive decision was made that I had had enough excitement for the time being. I can’t say I disagreed with the decision. To be honest about it, I was looking forward to just getting back to my life on Roanoke with my friends, with nothing to worry about except for school and practicing for the next hootenanny. That was right about my speed.
But then General Gau came for a visit.
He was there to take custody of Nerbros Eser, which he did, to his great personal satisfaction. But he was also there for two other reasons.
The first was to inform the citizens of Roanoke that he had made it a standing order that no Conclave member was ever to attack our colony, and that he had made it clear to non-Conclave races in our part of space that if any of them were to get it into their heads to make a play for our little planet, that he would personally be very disappointed. He left unsaid what level of retaliation “personal disappointment” warranted. It was more effective that way.
Roanokers were of two minds about this. On the one hand, Roanoke was now practically free from attack. On the other hand, General Gau’s declaration only brought home the fact that the Colonial Union itself hadn’t done much for Roanoke, not just lately but ever. The general feeling was that the Colonial Union had a lot to answer for, and until it answered for these things, that Roanokers felt perfectly justified in not paying too close attention to the Colonial Union’s dictates. Like, for example, the one in which Manfred Trujillo was supposed to arrest my parents and take them into custody on the charge of treason. Trujillo apparently had a hard time finding either John or Jane after that one came in. A neat trick, considering how often they were talking.
But this folded into the other reason Gau had come around.
“General Gau is offering us sanctuary,” Dad said to me. “He knows your mom and I will be charged with treason—several counts seem likely—and it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that you’ll be charged as well.”
“Well, I did commit treason,” I said. “What with consorting with the leader of the Conclave and all.”
Dad ignored this. “The point is, even if people here aren’t in a rush to turn us in, it’s only a matter of time before the CU sends real enforcement to come get us. We can’t ask the people here to get into any more trouble on our account. We have to go, Zo?.”
“When?” I asked.
“In the next day,” Dad said. “Gau’s ship is here now, but it’s not like the CU is going to ignore it for long.”
“So we’re going to become citizens of the Conclave,” I said.
“I don’t think so,” Dad said. “We’ll be among them for a while, yes. But I have a plan to get us somewhere I think you might be happy with.”
“And where is that?” I asked.
“Well,” Dad said. “Have you ever heard of this little place called Earth?”
Dad and I spoke for a few more minutes, and then I walked over to Gretchen’s, where I actually managed to say hello to her before I broke down in sobs. She gave me a hug and held me, and let me know it was okay. “I knew this was coming,” she said to me. “You don’t do what you’ve done and then come back and pretend nothing has happened.”
“I thought it might be worth a try,” I said.
“That’s because you’re an idiot,” Gretchen said. I laughed. “You’re an idiot, and my sister, and I love you, Zo?.”