“Of course,” Peter said with thinly veiled sarcasm. “Let’s take away the rights of fertile men and women to decide how many children they need to sustain a colony they’ve risked their lives to establish. Now that’s a solution the people will like. I suppose you’ll want me to put on a happy face and make them accept it?”

“Yes, I will, dammit,” Basil said. “That’s your job.”

The grim news seemed to diminish everyone’s appetite. Servants came around pouring ice water, using delicate silver tongs to offer wedges of dwarf limes. Basil sent them away.

He tapped his fingers on the tabletop with uncharacteristic impatience. “We need to do a better job of making the people see just how dire the situation is. We have minimal fuel, not to mention very limited communication abilities, thanks to the continuing lack of green priests from our shortsighted friends on Theroc. Our fast mail drones can do only so much. Now, more than ever, we could use more green priests just to maintain contact between isolated colony worlds. Many planets don’t have a single one.”

He looked over at Sarein, the dusky-skinned ambassador from the forested world. She was lean and wiry, with narrow shoulders and small breasts, high cheekbones and a pointed chin.

“I’m doing the best I can, Basil. You know that Therons have never been good at seeing the forest for the trees.” She smiled to emphasize her clever choice of words. “On the other hand, Theroc has received no routine supplies, no technology, no medical assistance since this crisis began. It’s difficult for me to ask my people for more green priests if the Hansa dismisses our own needs.”

Peter watched the interaction between Basil and the pretty Theron woman; from the first days of his reign, he’d recognized the mutual attraction. Now, before the chairman could respond, Peter squared his shoulders and spoke in the rich voice he had practiced during many speeches. “Ambassador, considering the hardships faced by many of our Hansa colonists, we must allocate our resources, giving our own colonies highest priority. Theroc, as a sovereign world, is already much better off than most.”

While Sarein fumed at the verbal slap, Basil nodded appraisingly at Peter, relieved. “The king is correct, of course, Sarein. Until the situation changes, Theroc will have to take care of itself. Unless, perhaps, Theroc would care to join the Hansa… ?”

Sarein’s face flushed, and she gave a barely perceptible shake of her head.

General Lanyan drew his glance like a scythe across the envoys. “Mr. Chairman, our only choice is to take certain extreme measures. The longer we wait, the more extreme those measures will have to be.”