The Hata-yuiqueru’s tone was acidic. “No Sakuntala is at war with the pannula.” A few laughs greeted his response. They were less in number and intensity than previously and possessed of an underlying nervousness.
“Nor, I must say, is any Deyzara,” added a well-known and floridly attired merchant from the other side of the dome.
“It is not a question of making war, but of danger and damage from wider conflicts spilling over to affect the pannula, who, after all, are unable to move out of the way of such clashes.” She did not smile. “I assure you that the Commonwealth government takes such things very seriously.”
“This a joke!” The speaker and several of the Sakuntala seated around him started to slip from their chairs, preparatory to walking out of the summit.
“If the Sakuntala or anyone else,” she declared firmly, turning up the volume, “willfully disregard this judgment, they will have to deal with Commonwealth justice. Given the sensitivity of the matter, I am informed that more peaceforcers will soon be arriving to reinforce those already under my authority. As the safety and security of a newly eligible intelligent species is involved, they will be bringing with them heavy weapons of a type not yet seen on Fluva.”
The dissenters paused. The warriors of the Sakuntala were bold, skillful, and brave, but they were not stupid. They knew what modern weapons could do. Those that had been obtained by the radicals for use against the Deyzara were impressive enough. They did not doubt that the Commonwealth to which they now belonged could fabricate devices even more lethal.