“These human invaders,” Goro said, “must be dealt with. Given our long and violent history with them, we know what language the giants speak. They must receive the only communication they understand—a swift and violent lesson by combat. Their kind has brought only ruin upon our shores, and it is up to us to visit vengeance upon all our enemies.”
FM leaned over and whispered to me. “He says violence is the only language we speak, but he’s the one who keeps trying to attack us.”
That was an interesting argument. I wanted to hear more, but it was apparently Kauri’s turn.
“The humans aren’t our enemies,” Kauri said. “They have come by my invitation to collect their friends who arrived here by accident, and who are even now receiving medical treatment. They also bring with them a promise of an alliance, which they have already established with the UrDail.”
Most of the audience eyed Alanik, and Alanik stared back at them, stone faced.
She wasn’t any better with people than I was, but at least she didn’t go around referring to them as lesser. She leaned over to me. “You could just fight him,” Alanik said. “He is literally asking for it. Any of us could beat him in combat.”
“If we do that,” FM said, “we’ll only solidify their image of us as dangerous, violent, and aggressive. All the things we’re trying to prove we aren’t.”
Besides, the kitsen were fast and trained in dueling. I wouldn’t put it past them to get a good blow in on one of us and seriously injure us. I doubted they’d manage to kill us, but I didn’t want any of it on my conscience.
If Spensa were here, she would have seen it differently. She would have dueled the kitsen and probably won spectacularly, and would have somehow spun that victory into an alliance. But she wasn’t here, and I was doing the best I could.
“Of course they say they come in peace,” Goro said. “But we all know what humans are like.”
“I don’t think we do!” Kauri said. “Humans invaded us in the past, but these humans have a common enemy in the Superiority. I was there when Winzik summoned a delver to destroy the humans.”
“It was in that battle that we lost our most Honored and Revered One Who Was Not King!” Goro said. “If we had not meddled in interstellar affairs, he would be with us even now.”
“It was Lord Hesho’s decision to answer the Superiority’s call,” Kauri said. “Do you question his will?”
Goro sputtered. “No, but—”
Kauri continued as if Goro hadn’t interrupted her. “The delver immediately turned on Winzik’s own people, but still he persists. He offered us a path to primary citizenship, but we were only pawns meant to enact his violence for him. If we don’t begin to forge alliances, we will stand alone when the destruction comes.”
“This is fearmongering,” Goro said. “The humans are the real threat.”
Kauri replied and the two of them went on, arguing back and forth.
Juno, the kitsen lorekeeper, sat in the front row near my feet. I leaned forward and whispered to him. “Is it always like this?”
Juno leaned toward me. “No,” he said. “Our senate is young. Before we lost our king he made the decisions, instructing our people how to vote. It was easier then for us to arrive at decisions. Our wills were aligned, and we had unity.”
Alanik bristled a little at the wording, but I saw his point. That was the way the DDF worked. Our admiral made the decisions, and the rest of us carried them out. We could act quickly that way, and decisively.
But it also meant we could swiftly make the wrong decision, if the person at the top made the wrong call.
I thought about what Arturo said, that our lives were easier when we could think about things simply. We had to kill the Krell because they were trying to kill us. There was no moral ambiguity, no diplomacy to navigate. I supposed after a fashion my parents had been doing something brave, trying to pioneer a new way.
In other circumstances, they might have been heroes.
Goro looked ruffled, like he felt he was starting to lose the argument. “We must settle this matter decisively,” he said. “Allow my champion to fight a champion of the humans’ choosing. Our might will decide the victor.”
He seemed to have only that one argument, and I noticed no one in the senate had brought a champion with a sword. We hadn’t seen anyone else dressed like Goro in the city either. He was the only one insisting that a trial by combat was a reasonable course of action.
“The humans have already said they mean us no harm,” Kauri said. “They don’t want to fight with us. A physical fight between kitsen and giant would only cause unnecessary pain.”
“To them maybe!” Goro said. “My champion will fell the giant like our heroes of old! They will not stand before the blades of—”
Yeah, his argument was starting to reach the fever pitch of someone who knew they were losing. But the senate members hadn’t given their opinions yet, so why would he be?
Goro looked over at me and seemed…confused.
Was he trying to bait us into fighting him? That would certainly make his argument easier.
Kauri followed his gaze and I raised a hand, indicating that I wanted to speak.
“For my next argument,” Kauri announced, “I would like to introduce the witness testimony of Flightleader Weight.”
Goro hunched a bit, looking disgruntled.
“Jorgen?” FM whispered. “What are you doing?”
“Trying something,” I said.
“This is preposterous,” Goro mumbled. “A human should not speak to the senate.”
“Kauri is allowed to enter the testimony of another to make her argument for her,” Adi said imperiously. “Flightleader Weight, you may speak.”
Stars, I wished I was more prepared for this. I’d have preferred to have FM do it, but there wasn’t time. She was right. If we gave even the slightest indication that we would participate in Goro’s duel, we solidified their already terrible preconceptions of us. “On behalf of my people,” I said, “I’m sorry for what you’ve suffered at human hands. But we aren’t interested in fighting you.”
“They arrived with destructors on their ships,” Goro said, “and they expect us to believe—”
“You will wait your turn,” Adi admonished him, and Goro snarled a bit but shut his mouth.
“Our destructors are used in defense,” I said. “Of ourselves and of our allies. And we would very much like you to be our allies.”
Goro’s furry little brow bunched, and his champion leaned over and whispered something to him, though Goro waved her off.