"If you think I'm handling things wrong, feel free to put in your application for my post. Oh, but you'd have to rise through the ranks first to be eligible." Aken let his gaze fall meaningfully on Dolan's bulky midsection. "I think I'll be sitting in this chair for some time, in that case."
"You don't need to step aside, Aken, you just need to listen to something besides your own pride for a change," Dolan said, aggravated. He wasn't as disheveled today, Aken noted; he had probably convinced himself that the human rebel would be able to bring his daughter home. Well, he wouldn't try to dissuade him of that notion - it kept the man from his coattails, mostly.
But not right now. Despite suffering the dire consequences of his humanitarianism, Dolan was again campaigning for the creatures; this time, he was objecting to the search and arrest orders Aken had given out. Although the prefect privately agreed that they weren't very effective in routing out more rebels or their supporters, it gave his men something to do and took off some of the edge after that Gorilla had murdered one of their comrades.
"These measures are just escalating the situation further," Dolan argued. "The harder you bear down on the humans, the more they'll chafe against their yoke! You're the HLF's best recruiter right now!"
"And what message would I be sending to them if I give in?" Aken demanded to know. "That rebelliousness is paying off, that humans can buckle under their yoke and succeed in throwing it off! Do you know how dangerous life would become for our citizens? People whose safety I have sworn to protect!" He gestured at the district's flag hanging on the wall.
"'To Serve Apekind, Protect Its Law, And Make It Prosper'. Right now, I'm upholding the law, and the law protects the safety of the apes. I'm beholden to them , not to the beasts that serve them."
"You can't put humans in the same category as goats and pigs," Dolan insisted, but Aken slammed his hand on the desk.
"Not that old discussion again! I'm not in the mood for your philosophical debates about humans!"
Dolan didn't give in. "They're too smart to be treated like cattle! Or did you ever have to stifle a revolt of cows? The pressure is rising - the humans are not just filled with fear, but also with hate! At some point, this situation will explode in our faces, and you don't have enough soldiers to protect our safety then!"
"I'll get all the men I need from General Urko, I just have to send the word."
Dolan jumped out of his seat. "Urko! Hasn't the man done enough damage here already? The district has still not recovered from the aftershocks!" He pointed at Aken. "The HLF began their operations not long after he had soaked the earth with human blood. Wasn't their leader an officer in his army? Don't you think that if even a soldier is so disgusted by Urko's treatment of humans that he turns around and founds a rebel organisation, there's something fundamentally flawed with Urko's and your approach?"
The door opened before Aken could answer; a soldier stepped in, a scroll in hand.
"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but this just arrived for you from the rebels." He put the scroll on Aken's desk, saluted, and left. Aken reached for it with a meaningful glance towards Dolan, opened it, scanned it, and wordlessly handed it to his brother-in-law.
Dolan licked his lips and began to read. "So they're repeating their demands for the return of their comrades, and for food and weapons..." He read on while Aken waited with steepled fingers.
Dolan inhaled with a sharp hiss. "They've set their own deadline! If their demands aren't met in the next two days..." he let the scroll sink and stared at Aken, "they'll kill Lora..."
"That's why we can't give in, Dolan," Aken said slowly, emphasizing every word. "You give them an inch, they'll take a mile. You give in to their demands once, and you'll have abductions up and down the prefecture." He rose and stepped to the window to look outside.
"We tried it your way. Civilly, amicably. I think it's time we send a stronger message."
"So how did you end up with the HLF?"
They were standing in the community kitchen, Lora washing the dishes, Zana drying them. Never mind that she had a university degree, Zana thought cynically, it seemed whenever they stayed anywhere for longer than a day, she was relegated to the kitchen. Lora didn't seem to mind; to her, every task was a service to the cause.
"I came home for semester break and met Gres at Summer's End dance." Lora smiled wistfully. "We danced, we talked, we discovered that we had the same views about... well everything, and a short while later, when he had decided that I was trustworthy, he introduced me to his movement."
"You never returned to university?" Zana was shocked. "What did your parents say?"
Lora shrugged. "They didn't understand it, of course. They like to talk about the poor humans, and the inherent injustice of the system, but they don't walk the talk." She let her hands sink into the soapy water and turned her head to stare across the mess, where humans and apes were still lingering at the tables. "They aren't truly committed to the cause. Not the way Gres is."
"I'm sure they're doing what they can," Zana said soothingly.
Lora just shrugged. "It's not my way, either. I'll do anything to change things for the better... overturn the old order. Like Gres. He's..." she sighed, and Zana shook her head.
"He's certainly charismatic," she said dryly. "If he can inspire you to drop out of university."
Lora stared into the sink, chewing on her lip. "You have your degree?"
"Yes, and I was working with humans, just like I always wanted," Zana said tersely. She wasn't going to tell Lora how her career had taken an unexpected dive into the abyss with her last assignment.
But the girl was sharp. "And now you aren't anymore?"
Zana raised her brows, but didn't meet Lora's questioning look. "Well, you saw me - I'm still working with them... just not under the institute's conditions. You... you could say I'm an independent scholar now."
"The scientific establishment is stifling progress, instead of fostering it," Lora agreed. "You did the right thing. And those humans looked fine - they didn't seem frightened at all. I hate that haunted look in their eyes," she murmured, and Zana's stance towards her softened. Lora had her heart in the right place; now if Zana could only set her head straight, too...
"So Gres swept you off your feet, hm?" she tried to steer the conversation back to the main culprit of Lora's predicament.
Lora grinned bashfully. "Did you know he was an officer in Urko's army?"
"Ah...," Zana said meaningfully, "men in uniform...," and Lora giggled.
Then she sobered. "He was there when they clamped down on the humans during the rebellion. He doesn't talk about what he saw... or was forced to do... but it must've been horrible." She took a deep breath. "So he left the army and founded the Human Liberation Front. I think he's trying to make up for all the terrible things he did to them, before." She looked up to Zana with wide, dark eyes.
Zana suppressed a sigh. Ah yes, such a romantic story of sin and atonement would capture the heart of any girl with a shred of feeling, wouldn't it? Perhaps she was already too old, too cynical, but from what she had seen so far, Gres didn't treat the humans under his command any differently than the average ape back in the capital.
On the other had, he did have human lieutenants. Perhaps she was being unfair.
"Lora," she said cautiously, "the prefect has my friends... my fiancé... and one of your comrades. I'm worried sick about them. I'm sure you're working for a good cause, but this situation has dangerously escalated. Won't you please come home? I'm sure your parents must be frantic right now."
"I know!" Lora exclaimed. "But this is our chance to force Uncle Aken to back down! He'd never let something happen to me! Don't you understand? It had to be me!" She threw the dishrag into the suds and turned to Zana. "You have no idea how unbearable life has become for the humans in the past year! They can't leave their villages, they can't trade, they have to show identification all the time... and the soldiers can do to them what they want without having to fear any consequences - and they're taking full advantage of that!" She shook her head. "It's not us who are escalating the situation."
"What if your uncle thinks he can force Gres to back down - by starting to execute his prisoners?" Zana asked.
Lora shook her head. "We're not going to let anybody get killed."
"How can you be so sure of that?"
"Because I trust Gres! And so should you." She took Zana by the shoulders. "He knows what he's doing. He's been leading the HFL for years now, and they were never able to shut us down." She shook her head, admiration shining in her eyes. "Gres has always another trick up his sleeve."
Zana shook off her hands. "I wish I had your faith, but I'm not willing to gamble Yuma's life - or that of Alan, or Peet - on nothing more than your word, Lora. I'm sorry. That's unacceptable to me."
Lora stepped back, all sympathy evaporated. "You have no choice but to accept it. I'm sorry, too - I'd have loved to welcome you as a sister to the cause. Now it seems I have to regard you as an accomplice of the murderous system instead."
Zana threw up her hands in frustration. "Lora..."
"There you are - that human of yours wants to see you." Mano, one of the Chimps in Katlin's company, snatched an apple from the table and took a bite while he waved for Zana to come with him.
Zana shot a fierce look to the girl. "This conversation isn't over yet!"
"You're not going to turn me away from the mission!" Lora shouted after her.