Man O'War by Shatner William

Author:Shatner, William [Shatner, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy
ISBN: 9780441004546
Amazon: 0441004547
Goodreads: 1582929
Publisher: Ace Books
Published: 1996-04-02T08:00:00+00:00

16

HAWKES SET ASIDE THE HAND SCREEN HE HAD BEEN studying for hours and then stretched his arms out to both sides, as far as he could. It had been two days since he had reached the surface of Mars. If he thought he was tired then, he had forgotten what kind of energy it took to stave off angry civil wars. He was bone tired—more weary and drained than he had ever been before in his life.

His opening gambit had succeeded well enough. None of the parties to the negotiations had been totally prepared. The management of Red Planet, Incorporated, and those designated to speak for the workers had brought the most material to the table. The Earth League monitor, the representatives from Lunar City, and those picked to audit the proceedings for the Asteroid Workers Federation came with far less, but that was understandable. They were there mainly as observers in the first place.

All five groups had been a bit miffed when Hawkes merely gathered in the materials they had brought, thanked them politely, and then dismissed them. But he had gotten what he wanted, and that was all that mattered.

As he had explained to Martel later, "They're all annoyed with me right now. Hopefully that's good. Mad at me, they might not take it out on each other—yet. It might keep the lid on things for another few days."

"But," she countered, "isn't it possible that someone might think you're just going to stall everyone and go ahead and step up some violent plan they have?"

Hawkes had nodded in agreement, admitting, "Chance we take."

After that, he had sent his aide to get some rest, and then had done so himself. Twelve hours later, after two showers, two meals, and as much sleep as he could manage with all the reading he had to accomplish, the ambassador sat down with the head representatives of each faction and had a far less dismissive meeting than the first.

He blamed his manner from the day before on a desire to get down to business, combined with a level of fatigue he found he could not combat. "I have to apologize. Never having been through anything like the last few days, I simply didn't realize how great a toll everything had taken on me. Before you know it, I'm going to have to admit I'm not twenty anymore."

He was gracious and humble, stepping back from his gruff attitude the day before. Putting everyone at the table more or less at ease, he then proceeded to solicit their opinions on how fast things should progress, what everyone felt were the most important points to cover, and in what order they should be covered. He allowed no arguments, gently reminding everyone that in the end all decisions would be his.

Finally, after several hours, Hawkes declared that he had everything he needed to proceed. Assuring the assembly that he would be ready to meet with them again in two days, he bid them all farewell. To those

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