Seasons of War

But now, sitting in the cool breeze of his private apartments with Sinja across from him and Danat pouring chilled water into stone bowls, the world was perfect.
    Except, of course, that it wasn’t.
    ‘Perhaps we can mend both breaks with the same nail,’ Sinja said. ‘A strong showing against the pirates protects Chaburi-Tan and warns Obar State to keep to its own house.’
    ‘And a weak showing against them?’ Otah asked.
    ‘Shows we’re weak, after which things go poorly,’ Sinja said. ‘But if we’re going to assume failure from the start, there’s not going to be anything of use that I can offer.’
    Otah propped up his feet. The palaces still felt as if they were swaying: the ghost motion of weeks aboard ship. The feeling was oddly pleasant.
    ‘On the other hand,’ he said, ‘if we plan to decimate the enemy with a flower and a pillow, it’s not going to help us. How strong is our fleet? Do we have enough men to take the pirates in a fair fight?’
    ‘If we don’t have them now, we certainly won’t next year when all the sailors are a year older,’ Sinja said. ‘Even if you magically transport every fertile girl in Galt straight to some poor bastard’s bed, it will be ten years before they can deliver us anyone strong enough to coil rope, much less fight. If we’re going to do anything, it has to be now. We’re going to grow weaker before we’re strong.’
    ‘If we manage to get strong,’ Otah said. ‘And I don’t know that we can spare the ships. We have eleven cities and the gods alone know how many low towns. We’re talking about moving half a million of our men to Galt and bringing back as many of their women.’
    ‘Well, yes, shipping out anyone we have of fighting age now won’t help the matter,’ Sinja said.
    ‘Galt could do it,’ Danat said. ‘They have experience with sea wars. They have fighting ships and the veterans.’
    Otah saw the considering expression on Sinja’s face. He let the silence stretch.
    ‘I don’t like it,’ Sinja said at last. ‘I don’t know why I don’t like it, but I don’t.’
    ‘We’re still thinking of our problems as our own,’ Danat said. ‘Asking Galt to fight our battles might seem odd, but they’d be protecting their own land too. In a generation, Chaburi-Tan is going to be as much their city as ours.’
    Otah felt an odd pressure in his chest. It was true, of course. It was what he had spent years working to accomplish. And still, when Danat put it in bare terms like that, it was hard for him to hear it.
    ‘It’s more than that,’ Sinja said.
    ‘Is it Balasar?’ Otah asked.
    Sinja leaned forward, his fingers laced on his knee, his mouth set in a scowl. At length, he spoke.
    ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Yes, it is.’
    ‘He’s forgiven me,’ Otah said. ‘Perhaps the two of you—’
    ‘All respect, Otah-cha,’ Sinja said. ‘You were his enemy. That’s a fair position. I broke my oath, lied to him, and killed his best captain. He’s a man who loves loyalty, and I was one of his men. It’s not the same.’
    ‘Perhaps it isn’t,’ Otah agreed.
    ‘Balasar-cha doesn’t have to be the one to lead it,’ Danat said. ‘Or, all respect, Sinja-cha, for that.’
    ‘No, of course we don’t,’ Sinja said. ‘It’s not my head that’s struggling with the thought. It’s just . . . The boy’s right, Otah-cha. A mixed fleet, their ships and ours, sinking the pirates would be the best solution. I don’t know if we can negotiate the thing, but it’s worth considering.’
    Otah scratched his leg.
    ‘Farrer-cha,’ he said. ‘Danat’s new father. He has experience with sea fighting. I think he hates all of us together and individually for Ana-cha’s upcoming marriage, but he would still be the man to approach.’
    Danat took a long drink of water and grinned. It made him look younger.
    ‘After the ceremony’s done with,’ Sinja said. ‘We’ll get the man drunk and happy and see if we can’t make him sign something binding before he sobers up.’
    ‘If it were only so simple,’ Otah said. ‘With the High Council and the Low Council and the Conclave, every step they take is like putting cats in a straight line. Watching it in action, it’s amazing they ever put together a war.’
    ‘You should talk to Balasar,’ Sinja said.
    ‘I will,’ Otah replied.
    They moved on to other topics. Some were more difficult: weavers and stonemasons on the coasts had started offering money to apprentices, so the nearby