Olivia looked around at the council table and the assembled faces of her peers. A lot had changed since she’d last sat at a full meeting. The table was new, a long oval of dark, polished hardwood that would have been an impossibly expensive antique back on Earth. There were chairs along the wall, away from the table, where various government functionaries and secretaries sat to listen to the proceedings. Strangest of all was the deference and respect people in the administration building had shown her as she walked through the foyer, the short hallway, and into the council chamber.

A seat to her left was empty—Bronwyn’s spot. She sighed heavily, realizing her friend, her love, had been right about needing to leave the colony. “Oh, Bronwyn,” she sighed softly, “I’m going to learn a spell to send you messages as soon as I get back to the academy.”

“What’s that?” Maria asked from the seat to her right.

“Just talking to myself,” Olivia said, favoring her with a smile.

“I can’t get over how all of you have changed,” Maria said, gesturing across the table to where Morgan sat, towering over the people nearby, his wings jutting up behind his shoulders. Issa was in a chair along the wall behind him, talking softly to a short, black-haired woman.

“Yeah, it's really something, isn’t it?”

“These, um, changes are all due to remnants in your DNA that the System brought forth?” Maria asked, clearly referencing a conversation she’d had with others in which they’d been speculating.

“Mostly, though, in my case, there are external factors—things to do with my class and my affinities. I’ll document everything when I have some time and make sure the colony gets a copy.”

“That would be very welcome,” Maria said, nodding.

“We’re all here. Shall we start the meeting?” Arthur asked from Olivia’s right. He sat near the end of the oval table, and his voice carried clearly through the room, though he didn’t shout or raise it. Olivia saw his palm resting on a smooth polished stone inset in the tabletop. Every seat at the table had a similar stone in front of it.

“Does that stone amplify his voice?” she asked Maria.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Simply rest your hand on it, and it will do the same for you.” Olivia nodded and waited while the conversations around the room died down, and Arthur cleared his throat to speak again.

“We have a lot of new business to discuss today, and we’re nearly at a full council for the first time in a while. Bronwyn Tallow was called away on important business, but Ms. Bennet has her proxy. Is that right, Olivia?”

“That’s right.” She looked around the table at the other council members and continued, “She sends her regrets, everyone. She really wanted to be here.”

“Thank you, Ms. Bennet. Please use the speaking stone should you need to address the table again—we’d like everyone to be able to hear and record your words.” He gestured to the people around the edges of the room, and for the first time, Olivia saw the airship captain sitting in a chair near the far door. Olivia just nodded. “Very good. Let’s begin with old business and updates.”

Arthur and the regular council members spent a good hour discussing day-to-day things in the colony. There were updates from engineers on various construction projects, including, apparently, a road between First Landing and Tarn’s Crossing. Olivia was interested to learn that a full-blown sewage system had been installed throughout most of the colony and that land claims were being offered as rewards for contributing to the settlement. The claims were for farming, mining, and logging rights, and Olivia began to realize how out of touch she’d grown with the goings-on in First Landing.

“Before we move on to new business, I’d like to give our guest speaker, Captain Gella, a chance to address the council. He’s been on the schedule for next week’s meeting, but I thought today would be opportune, considering Ms. Bennet, at least, might be leaving shortly. Any objections?” Arthur looked around the table, but everyone’s eyes had fallen on the captain, who stood with his tall uniform hat in his hands before him.

“Thank you! Thank you so much for letting me sit in on this meeting and for giving me the chance to address you all. I might say, I’m very impressed by the egalitarian approach you humans take with governance.”

“Are things not democratically decided where you’re from?” Olivia had spoken without thinking, putting her hand on the stone to amplify her voice.

“Ah, well, the Ridonne Empire is a quasi-democracy, I’d say. We do have a ruling class, though they are limited by the Imperial Charter, and local governments such as this council are not unheard of in our smaller towns. Merchants and their organizations operate with great autonomy and often hold more sway on local economies than the empire.” He looked at Olivia to see if she had a follow-up question, but she sat back and waited for him to continue.

“Well, the reasons I’m here are manifold. One, I’m serving as a sort of liaison between Ridonne and your new community. Two, I represent the interests of a very powerful family, and Lord ap’Gravin has authorized me to offer opportunities to your populace. Three, we, myself and those I represent, are eager to learn more about your people and customs.”

“Ap’Gravin?” Olivia interjected again.

“Ms. Bennet, please do hold your questions until the good captain has had a chance to speak,” Arthur said, clearly worried his guest would become offended by the interruptions.

“No, no, that’s quite alright, Mr. Ballard. Um, Ms. Bennet, was it? Yes, my sponsor and the owner of the Skybreaker is Lord ap’Gravin—the head of the Mercantile Guild in Gelica.”

“Is he related to a professor ap’Gravin at Fainhallow academy?” Olivia couldn’t stop the scowl from drawing her eyebrows down, nor the slight flare of blue fire in her eyes.

“Um, why, yes. That would be Lord ap’Gravin’s second son.” He cleared his throat and continued when Olivia didn’t respond, “I’d like to discuss some of the opportunities I have to offer your people if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course, please continue,” Arthur said.

“Well, Lord ap’Gravin has many businesses—hundreds of them. Additionally, he has close dealings with all of the guilds in Gelica, a city of more than a million souls. He’s sent me with authorization to enter into contracts with the citizens of First Landing. I have opportunities for apprenticeships in nearly every industry, as well as military, exploratory, and privateering contracts. He’s offered generous signing bonuses and relocation stipends. We want the Human race to thrive here on Fanwath, and Lord ap’Gravin knows that your growth can’t happen in a vacuum. He wants to take this early opportunity to earn your friendship.”

“Thank you, Captain Gella,” Arthur said when the man fell silent. Then he looked at the table and asked, “Any questions for the captain?”

“How many people are you looking to take away, Captain?” Maria asked before anyone else could speak up.

“Skybreaker has room for more than two thousand passengers. I’m authorized to call for another ship should demand be high enough.”

“What?” Maria exploded. “How can we function as a society if you take away half our people?”

“Your people would be stronger and in a more secure position should you all integrate with our society and gain valuable knowledge and skills in your new positions.”

“So your goal is to dissolve our populace into the cities of the Ridonne Empire?” Olivia scoffed.

“I wouldn’t say that’s my goal, more like a side consequence. Why struggle out here in the frontier when you could join our great society, given a leg-up by Lord ap’Gravin and his generous contracts?”

“Arthur,” Olivia said sharply, touching the stone in front of her chair, “I’d like to speak about the . . . opportunities the captain has brought before us, but I’d like to speak freely.”

“Yes,” Morgan said, finally breaking his silence. “I second that. Captain, thank you for your words, but I think we’ll continue this discussion in a closed meeting. Anyone object?” Morgan looked around the table, allowing his eyes to fall to rest on Arthur.

“Of course,” Captain Gella said, bowing. “Please keep in mind that my purpose here is to benefit your citizens.

“Yes, thank you, Captain,” Arthur said, “I’ll find you at Green’s Tavern later to give you an update.”

“Great choice!” Alec Green said, “Captain, you’ll enjoy the menu tonight—it features my mom’s meatloaf recipe.”

“I look forward to it. Thank you all,” the captain bowed again, then exited via the door. When it clicked closed behind him, the table exploded into chaotic conversations.

A shrill whistle stopped the noise, and everyone looked at the source: Morgan. “Listen, we all have a lot to say, but I want to start with Olivia.” He looked at her and then continued, “What do you know about this ap’Gravin family?”

“I know that the professor is a creep. He’s aligned with a student who was giving me trouble and tried to help her frame me for a crime. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that if the father is anything like the son, I wouldn’t want to do business with him.”

“Alright, so that’s one anecdotal problem. Another I see is what Maria brought up: do we want First Landing to thrive? Do we want Human autonomy, or do we want to disappear into the masses of Ardeni, Shadeni, or whatever society?”

“This conversation smacks of racism,” Dr. Kerns said, clearing his throat. “Do you really worry about the different races we might ‘disappear into?’ I’d have thought you’d have a different outlook, considering your relationship with Issa,” he nodded toward Issa sitting behind Morgan, and she scowled at him.

“That’s not what I meant, dammit!” Morgan growled, “I mean, we, as humans, have a history. We have an obligation to make sure our people thrive here and don’t disappear. If millions of us were on this world, I’d have a different perspective, but less than five thousand? Aren’t you all worried that we could disappear, that our descendants won’t even know about Earth in a few generations?”

“Of course, that’s a real concern!” Maria said. “If Gella took two thousand of our people, we’d have a hard time maintaining a viable community. It would be catastrophic! We’re already dependent on non-human citizens to maintain our current growth.”

“Aside from all that, we should be worried about the contracts,” Olivia said. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her, waiting for further words. “If he’s using real, binding, artificed contracts, people need to read them carefully and ensure they understand all the clauses. If you make a mistake, you could, quite literally, become enslaved by a contract in this world.”

“Which brings up another concern,” Rene Bisset said. “What do we know about this Ridonne Empire? Do their values coincide with ours? Is slavery allowed there? Indentured servitude? Do they value personal liberties? Rights to privacy, speech, personal autonomy?”

“Issa?” Morgan said, looking over his shoulder at her. “Do you know much about Ridonne?”

“Probably as much as Olivia,” Issa shrugged, “We’re deep in what they call ‘the frontier’ or ‘the borderlands.’ I’ve heard about wars they’ve been in, and I’ve heard about some of their cities, but I’ve never been.”

“Thank you, Issa,” Arthur said, clearing his throat, “I’ll repeat her words for those who couldn’t hear.” He carefully said almost exactly what Issa said, using his amplified voice. “Olivia, anything to add?”

“Yes, I do. First, Fainhallow is outside the empire, but many of the people there are from Ridonne. Second, it was my understanding that Gelica is a border city, just on the edge of the Empire. If this Lord ap’Gravin operates from Gelica, you have to wonder what people from deeper in the Empire will think of us. I know the Ridonne Empire is constantly in conflict with its neighbors, including rather large, powerful city-states on their eastern border. I know that there is most definitely a class system in place—the wealthy live very different lives from the common folk.

I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that, but I have access to histories and experts at the academy. I just wish I could communicate with you all more easily. If I could, I’d return in the morning, do some research and fill you all in.”

“That might be possible,” Morgan said, touching his amplification stone. “I’ve cleared more of my tower, and I have the means, now, to semi-permanently open a portal to different locations. I could send one of my portal stones with you, and you could set it up on the academy end. Then we could easily stay in communication.”

“Really?” Olivia’s heart lurched in her chest. Did that mean that she’d be able to visit regularly? Better yet, did that mean that Bronwyn could visit her?

Other conversations started to break out around the table as people took in the gravity of Morgan’s words. “Morgan,” Arthur said, “How many such portals can you make? Does this mean we might have access to a larger city?”

“My tower has six portal gateways, so, yeah, I imagine so. I mean, as long as someone traveled there and set things up in a secure space.” Once again, conversation broke out, with people loudly speculating and others shouting for them to return to their discussion of Gella’s presentation. Olivia sighed and sat back, realizing this meeting wasn’t going to be over anytime soon.