Vorgens nodded. “And the official Terran price for peace is submission to the Empire. The Marines were sent to this planet to smash the rebellion and restore order under Terran terms.”
One of the Shinarians protested, “Surely you cannot have called us here merely to tell us this!”
“Of course not,” Vorgens replied. “I’m only trying to show that inflexibility on either side will only prolong the fighting.” Turning to Altai, he asked, “Doesn’t Merdon realize by now that if the Terrans should leave Shinar, your planet would become a prize for the Komani?”
Altai glanced at her uncle, then answered, “Merdon believes that once the Terrans are driven off Shinar, Okatar Kang will want to attack the Empire somewhere else. He believes that we can be strong enough to prevent the Komani from overpowering us.”
“You know the rebel situation as well as Merdon does. Do you believe this too?”
“Merdon is our chief. He knows better than I.”
“But do you agree with him?” Vorgens asked.
After a long pause, she said, “I’m only a girl. My opinion counts for very little.”
Clanthas broke into the conversation. “Perhaps I should recapitulate the history of this rebellion. It started when the Empire began installing nutrient processing plants and uprooting our farmers. We appealed to the Terran governor, to no avail. We organized demonstrations, and the governor used troops to suppress us. Riots broke out. Many of the younger people—my son among them—decided to fight force with force. The governor was assassinated. The Marines were called in. The younger rebels asked the Komani to help us….”