“Heesa, that is so. But not all strength is in arms and tongues. Humans have better weapons than Sakuntala.”
“Not anymore!” shouted someone Naneci-tok could not identify. “We have them now also. Buy and trade for them. For ‘protection’ from Viisiiviisii and for ‘hunting.’ ”
“We do have them,” Aniolo-jat readily agreed. “And from our other sources. But still not so many as humans do. And if necessary, they have bigger weapons they can bring to Fluva. I have learned of these things. They have machines that can find person in middle of night, in depths of Viisiiviisii. They can hear sound of talking from ship in sky. We learning of these things and how use them—but we still not have all, or enough. Someday, heesa, but not yet.
“Besides, are other punishments humans can use. We do this to all Deyzara, maybe humans just go away.” Listening closely, Naneci-tok admired how the Yuiqueru’s shrewdness came into play. “Commonwealth go away, Fluva and Sakuntala revert to living in stick-and-sap houses in trees.” Reaching to his waist, he tapped his small communicator. “How many here want to go back to talking with howler drums? How many like watch vit recordings? How many getting rich trading with and working for humans? No Commonwealth—no wonderful technology toys. No money.”
It hit home, she saw clearly. Anyone could rouse a crowd against the Deyzara. It took a chief with a mastery of both warcraft and wordcraft to make the often fractious Sakuntala listen. Every chief present in the High House knew that being in the Commonwealth offered advantages too great to abandon.