Henneman, at least, didn’t have that particular problem, and Theisman had deliberately scheduled this meeting so that all of its participants could watch this interview with him.

“Well, Roland,” Senator McGwire replied now, “that’s a complicated question. I mean, while the President and Secretary Giancola have, of course, consulted with Congress all along, the entire situation where the Manticorans are concerned has been in something of a state of flux ever since the collapse of the Committee of Public Safety.”

“Don’t you mean, Senator, that the Manties have persistently refused to negotiate seriously with us? Or, for that matter, that they’ve systematically rejected, ridiculed, or ignored every proposal our negotiators have made?”

Theisman winced internally. Henneman hadn’t raised his voice, and his expression remained courteously attentive, but that only lent his questions even more weight.

And that, the Secretary of War thought unhappily, is because he isn’t saying anything a surprisingly large percentage of the electorate hasn’t already thought.

“I don’t think I’d put it in quite those terms myself, Roland,” McGwire reproved mildly. “Certainly, the negotiations have dragged on far longer than anyone might have anticipated. And I would have to admit that it’s often seemed to me, as to many of my colleagues in the Congress and, especially, on the Foreign Affairs Committee, that Prime Minister High Ridge and his government have preferred for them to do so. So I suppose I would have to agree with you that the Star Kingdom has declined to negotiate in what we might consider a serious or timely fashion. But I assure you that they have not ‘ridiculed’ our negotiators or the Republic.”

“I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree—respectfully, of course—about the exact verb we want to use for what they have done in that case, Senator,” Henneman said after a moment. “But you would agree with me that the practical effect has been a complete deadlock?”

“I’m afraid I’d have to say yes,” McGwire agreed, nodding regretfully. “In particular, I would have to acknowledge that it doesn’t seem to me, both as an individual and as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, that the present Manticoran government has any interest whatsoever in restoring the occupied systems of the Republic to our control.”

One of the other officers in the conference room inhaled sharply, and Theisman bestowed a wintery smile on the HD. He couldn’t really say McGwire’s pronouncement came as a surprise, but it was one the senator had been careful not to make publicly before Pritchart’s speech.

“You believe that they intend to keep all of those systems permanently? Like Trevor’s Star?” Henneman asked intently, and McGwire shrugged.

“In fairness to the Manticorans, Trevor’s Star is something of a special case,” he pointed out. “Given the brutality with which Internal Security and State Security operated on San Martin, I would have to say I don’t find it surprising that the San Martinos should desire a complete break with the Republic, despite all of our reforms. At the same time, Trevor’s Star is one terminus of the Manticorans’ wormhole junction, and the Star Kingdom no doubt has a legitimate interest in maintaining its security. I don’t say I’m happy by the precedent the star system’s annexation represents. If it does turn out that they’re inclined to keep other occupied systems, they might choose to argue they were doing nothing more than following the example set in Trevor’s Star’s case and for the same reasons. Should they choose to employ that pretext—which, I hasten to add, we’ve seen no indication they intend to do—it would be a lie. But despite any concerns I might have for the future, I believe we have no choice but to accept the Star Kingdom’s decision to permanently retain control of this particular star.”