The sarcasm in Bemish's voice was too evident and the Emperor looked petulant.
'The talks can take place in my palace,' sovereign Varnazd said. 'I swear that both sides will be safe here. I don't think that our troops or Earth's security services would dare to smear our traditions and start any violence in my palace. I also don't think that Mr. Shavash would dare refuse coming into his sovereign's palace when the sovereign guarrantees his safety.'
The sovereign lowered his head showing that the meeting came to an end. Bemish bowed to take a leave when suddenly the Emperor said quietly,
'What about Kissur? How is he? He looked so pale on the screen…'
'Kissur feels like a fish in the river,' Bemish assured him, 'unlike the three thousand men he killed yesterday.'
And he left.
Of course, Shavash didn't dare to ignore the guarantees given by the sovereign. Really, if an Empire's vice minister, defending the sovereign's interests, refused to come to the palace, in the least, it would look like he handed an official resignation notice.
A helicopter with Shavash accompanied by a dozen of his bodyguards landed at the sovereign's palace at six in the morning. Palace guards with expressionless faces walked the incomers to the Rainbow Pavilion where the Federation delegates had gathered.
The meeting took place on the first floor, in the Hall of White Clouds. The Earthmen sat around the table and silently studied their notebooks involuntarily glancing at the beautiful jars of pure silver decorated with dancing swans and peacocks. The palace servants brought these jars in, filled with special palace wine aged on nut leaves mixed with pine needles.
The state secretary Khodsky was probably very thirsty — he would constantly wet his lips in a wine glass, sniff at the smell that felt wrong at a diplomatic meeting and put the glass back down.
Bemish suddenly realized that conducting the negotiations in palace territory handed certain advantages to Shavash. Everything here was filled with traditions and Empire; the proficient palace servants put wondrous wine jars on the table but they didn't even think about bringing mineral water in plastic bottles. The people sitting here were quite well off and one of them had almost had to resign a year ago having spent too much money refurnishing a new Federation Defense building. However, the deeply alien luxury of this hall, scaly pictures on the walls and silver beams that were round like the sun could not but influence the delegates, albeit on a subconscious level. Shavash, on the other hand, had visited this hall for dozens of times. He was in his element.
At 6:15 they heard steps and Shavash walked into the meeting hall. He wore a European suit and he was impeccably shaved but something foreign entered the hall with him. Bemish sniffed and realized what happened — instead of eau-de-cologne Shavash used an expensive local perfume. Bemish unwillingly thought that it would throw the delegates off a bit. At the same time, when Shavash started giving interviews to journalists, he would look like a true Galaxy man — you could not film a perfume.
After some hesitation, state secretary Khodsky silently rose to meet Shavash. The latter bowed to him and took a place across the table from Khodsky. Bemish noticed Khodsky's nose twitching alertly taking the unfamiliar smell in.
'We,' the state secretary said, 'fulfilled your requirements and arrived at Weia. Now, we would like to listen to your conditions.'
'We would like,' Shavash answered, 'you to accept the Empire of Great Light into the Federation of Nineteen.'
Bemish thought that he had missed something.
'We will withdraw from the confrontation and release the remaining hostages,' Shavash repeated, 'if Weia joins the Federation of Nineteen as a federation state.'
Several seconds passed by in stunned silence.
'To achieve this,' the Fourth Space Army commander acidly noted, 'you didn't have to declare a war on the Federation of Nineteen.'
'On the contrary,' Shavash objected, 'if we hadn't declared a war, you wouldn't have even considered our proposition. You would have calculated quickly the cost of all the social programs and long-term investments that you would have to run on Weia as a Federation state. Afterwards, you would have politely told us that moral reasons would prevent you from taking actions that could be considered as a annexation of an independent state.'
Shavash was smiling. Bemish went cold. Really, incorporating Weia into the Federation of Nineteen would solve many if not all of its problems… But… Such a pile of money… Bemish imagined a barefoot street beggar getting minimal Federation unemployment benefits.
'But,' the state secretary broke off, 'there are no precedents…'
'That's not true,' Shavash replied, 'In the first century BC, Latin tribes declared a war on Rome trying to obtain Roman citizenship. During the Mexican War of 1848, the radical party of Mexico insisted that the country should be annexed by the United States. It's sad, gentlemen, that a Weian knows your history better than you do.'
Bemish grinned. Referring to the past was indeed typical for a Weian official. Shavash continued, smiling.
'Imagine that you reject our proposal and continue the war. Accordingly to well-known reasons, your mobile tactical units are unreliable and you can't use them. There are too many Weians there. It means that you will have to destroy half of the Empire with strategic weapons. The reputation of the Federation of Nineteen will be horribly compromised!
At the same time, you will exhibit unspeakable cruelty destroying a completely powerless country and you will exhibit unspeakable weakness. Really, what's can you say about the fighting ability of the country when half of its shock troops comes from a potential enemy?! The Federation's authority will be shattered. Gera and other enemies of yours will obtain a moral advantage. The Federation members, that have been demanding independence, will hurry to leave the union — they will declare that they completely disagree with Earth's politics.'
Shavash paused, sipped on his wine and continued.
'Let's imagine now that you agree to our proposal and the Federation of Nineteen becomes the Federation of Twenty. It will be a triumph of democracy and freedom! An empire, a whole planet voluntarily sheds its freedom and independence to become a member of the Federation! The Federation doesn't need any weapons — it simply wins hearts over!'
'It's crazy,' the state secretary muttered.
'This century is the time of separatism. Maybe the Empire is fated to turn this process back. Vadda desires independence. Won't its people change their opinion after the Empire's example? In any case, local politicians will find it more difficult to assure the nation that real happiness will come when the politicians don't have to obey the metropolis any longer.'
The state secretary's eyes lit up. He arrived at the Empire, having interrupted negotiations with Vadda. This planet was going to leave the Federation either with a scandal or with a huge scandal. Merry imps danced across the state secretary's eyes as he was thinking about Shavash's words.
Meanwhile, Shavash continued.
'What are the gains of winning a war? You take over a foreign country for the present and protect your future. What are the drawbacks of winning a war? The losers are embittered and they want revenge; the neighbors get wary. We offer you all the gains of a victorious war without its single drawback!
Our proposal takes care of a multitude of problems.
For instance, there is the problem of the lands surrounding the Empire. Their development has already started. It will clearly cause conflicts between the sovereign Empire and the Federation. If we are to join, the reasons for the conflicts will be gone.
If you let us get away with our actions, you will demonstrate your weakness. Having declared a war on us, you will exhibit weakness and cruelty simultaneously. Both winning and losing the war will be catastrophic for you
— you will find yourselves internationally isolated. You will look like demagogues instead of democrats. The
