He felt that he understood the aims of these toothy-snouted beings better than most of his fellow Yuiquerus. The tough-skinned, thick-tailed visitors did not want to possess and exploit Fluva so much as they wished to deny it and its resources to the humans and the thranx. An alliance would give them an outpost of influence within Commonwealth space, much as one clan historically sought to destabilize an enemy by forging a union with dissident families belonging to the same clan. Surveying the circle, he eyed his fellow Sakuntala conspirators with fond contempt. Bold, robust fighters, every one of them. But they lacked vision. They could not see beyond killing Deyzara or driving them off Fluva. As a consequence, few of them would ever rise to become anything greater than Yuiquerus. Whereas he had been exposed, from listening to these AAnn, to greater possibilities.
Properly supported and backed, a Sakuntala could aspire to rule more than a single clan. Aniolo-jat did not want Iwoko-jei’s standing, for example, or even that of Cecolou-tiu. The position he wanted belonged to the female Lauren Matthias—only it would be given to him by the AAnn, not by humans.
Let the Hatas and the Yuiquerus glory in their newfound status, in their complete dominance over their individual territories. Once the Deyzara had been dispossessed and removed from Fluva, many Sakuntala would revert to old ways. Traditional rivalries would reassert themselves even as the culture as a whole continued to make progress through further contact with the AAnn and their advanced technology. The Hatas would need someone to come to for advice. Someone to rule on internal disputes. Someone to distribute the aid and assistance the AAnn had promised to provide and to communicate requests on their behalf.