eased a bit.
eased a bit. Michael thought the worst of it was over.
Then, as Berry brought forward a tall and very powerful looking woman wearing a uniform Michael was not familiar with, and he heard the crowd almost sucking in a collective breath . . .
He knew who she was. Thandi Palane, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of Torch's brand new military in creation. But he hadn't had a chance to meet her yet.
The next wave of applause hit like a tidal wave. Michael couldn't help but flinch a little. Not even so much at the sheer volume of the sound, but at its timber. This was no longer simply applause. This was a snarl of pure fury. The new star nation might have adopted—cheerfully, with good humor, even gleefully—a queen with a mouse on her coat of arms. But no one would ever confuse that nation's fangs with those of a rodent.
* * *
The applause soon crystallized into two slogans, chanted over and over again, like a collective blacksmith hammering out a sword.
One of them he understood. Death to Mesa! was a given.
The other had him puzzled.
After the ceremony was finally done, he asked his daughter.
"What does 'Great Kaja' mean?"
Ruth managed to look ferocious and smug at the same time. "It means Mesa is history. They just don't know it yet."
Doc Sidhe
Aaron Allston
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 1995 by Aaron Allston
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
A Baen Books Original
Baen