Chapter 21
Concessions and Compromises or Power to the People

Gabrielle walked into her office and put down the thick sheaf of papers that contained her proposal to the Council. She'd stayed up late the night before to finish it, with Tala's constant input, and she was pretty sure she was ready to face what she knew would probably be some serious opposition.

It had been two weeks since the trial had been concluded, with Riku being acquitted of the charges of murdering Tormu for raping Lena, Riku's daughter, and things had started to return to normal. It was almost as if the trial had never happened; Gabrielle didn't hear anyone talking about it anymore and she figured everyone was trying to put it behind them, having had enough of the whole proceedings to last them a lifetime.

So, it was time to stir things up again and Gabrielle was sure her proposal would do just that. But as far as she was concerned, it had to be done. The Irokan people needed a voice and equality and her proposal set out to give them just that.

Gabrielle looked over her papers once more and then picked them up to carry them with her to the Council room. Almost everyone was already there and the place was packed, since this was the full Council meeting that was held at least once every week. Gabrielle took her seat and rehearsed what she planned to say. A few minutes later, with the last arrivals finding their places around the table, Gabrielle called the meeting to order.

"Good morning, everyone. I know there are a few issues several of you brought up to me in private that you wanted to discuss today, but I'm going to be a little selfish and ask that my own proposal be heard first. Are there any objections?" Gabrielle asked.

Everyone shook their heads and waited, curious about what would cause the normally patient Chief to assert her right to submit her own agenda first before the rest of the Council members' presentations.

"Thank you." Gabrielle began by handing the stack of papers to Tristan and motioned for him to take the top packet and pass on the rest. "This is an outline of my proposal for equalizing the laws, mandates, and rights of New Gaia for all of its citizens. I believe the trial was a prime example of how sorely we are lacking in this area and it's time we did something about it."

The copies that Tala had generously and meticulously made for Gabrielle, since the printing press still hadn't reached a very usable point yet, finished making their rounds. The last one was given to Gabrielle, since she'd forgotten to take the original for herself before passing them out.

"'Mandatory language training'? Are you crazy? We can't order everyone to learn to speak Iroki!" Robbie said loudly, as he began reading, and then looked up at Gabrielle as though she'd lost her mind.

"We ordered the Irokans to learn English, I think it's only fair that everyone learn Iroki as well," Gabrielle calmly replied.

"But they joined us!" Robbie continued to argue.

"And why does that make a difference? We're talking about a single community. The Irokans themselves will have to learn how to write their language, in addition to learning how to speak and write English. The burden is definitely on them, so I really don't think you have anything to complain about," Gabrielle said.

"What about this committee you want to establish? They're the ones that decided we do things better than they do, not us," Julia commented.

"The Cultural Resources Committee will investigate that assumption. Everyone, including me, decided that because our technology is more advanced, it's automatically better, and I don't think that's true. Have you noticed the beading that many of the Irokans used to wear all the time? I've seen less and less of it because they've been bringing their clothes to our tailors, and when those clothes are too badly damaged to repair, they're replaced with our own tailors' work, which is much less decorated."

Gabrielle tried to make eye contact with each Council member, as she continued.

"These are skills that will be lost very quickly if we don't actively work to keep them in our base of knowledge. It's also a major part of their culture and it needs to be preserved. Just like Luis's knowledge of how to make tamales. It's a little thing, but it'll be gone if we don't keep using it," Gabrielle declared.

"Well, I think this law class is a good idea," Justin piped up. "Maybe Riku could teach it, since that's sort of what he's already doing."

"That's what I was thinking," Gabrielle replied, relieved that someone had finally agreed with her on something.

"I don't know about this translation thing, though," Larry said, having a bad feeling that he'd end up stuck with the job, since he was one of the only people who could currently write in Iroki.

"I know it's going to be a huge job, and for things that simply aren't necessary right now, like the fiction library, it'll be on an as-needed basis, or teachers can give the work out to students as assignments to help them learn Iroki. But all the signs, all public records that are regularly accessed, everything that we take for granted because we know the language, needs to be translated into Iroki, so that they can exercise the same freedoms that all of us English-reading people enjoy now."

Gabrielle could see the opposition building and decided to take a different tack. She had to find a way to get through to them.

"All right, I want each of you for just a moment to imagine that you can't read and that all of the people in control use a language you hadn't heard before a few months ago. You're expected to learn that language, and learn it well, but none of those people have to learn yours. And there's no way for you to let those people know how you feel about any of it because neither you nor any of your friends or family have been given permission to join the leaders, and even if you had, you wouldn't know what to do about it because you don't know how the new system of leadership works. Does this sound even remotely fair to any of you? Or would you feel a little marginalized by the people in control? And how long would you take this kind of treatment before you began to resent those leaders? And then how long would it be before you began to start thinking of ways to change the situation? Forcefully." Gabrielle enunciated the last word clearly.

She had let an edge enter into her voice and noticed that several of those present had begun to follow where she was leading. The alarm on their faces was plain, and it quickly spread to the rest of the group.

"Has Tala mentioned something?" Gregory asked seriously.

"No. In fact, she's promised me that she will do everything in her power to keep that kind of thing from happening, but that's beside the point. The fact is that I really blew this one from the beginning with not making Tala my Co-Chief and incorporating Irokan laws into our own codes."

"Gabrielle, that wasn't just your decision. We all believed that was the way we should combine our two peoples. But you're right. We need to fix it now before we have a more serious problem to deal with," Tristan said. "So why don't we stop arguing for a few hours and take a good look at this proposal?"

He looked around the table for consent and received shrugged shoulders, resigned sighs, and a few encouraging nods. Gabrielle sent a small smile to her First Advisor and he winked at her. She knew he wasn't too wild about the language thing, but at least he could see what she was trying to do and she knew he supported her goals, if not the means of achieving them.

As the hours passed, Gabrielle came to the conclusion that bureaucrats weren't born; they were formed over long periods of time in a small room with people they eventually came to despise.

Gabrielle shook her head. It wasn't quite that bad, but it seemed that if there was something to question or disagree with, someone would. Like Julia's objection to the Cultural Resources Committee. Unfortunately, the Second Advisor wasn't alone in her protest and Andrea fully supported her with what sounded like logical reasons.

"It shouldn't matter what culture a particular skill comes from. Whatever works best should be the way it's done," Andrea stated reasonably.

"Yeah, I thought we were trying to create one community, as you put it? If the Irokans want to abandon their own culture in favor of ours, why shouldn't we let them?" Julia asked.

"You're missing the point," Gabrielle sighed. "What we do isn't always better. Sometimes it's just easier, and there's a difference. Back home, it would have been easier to make cars all the same shape and not painted them or anything, but nobody did that, did they? It was the extra effort that made it interesting and pleasing to look at. Rarely has anything been created simply for utility. We like to enjoy our work..."

"Well, obviously, they didn't, or they wouldn't have stopped," Julia cut in.

"Not all of them have stopped making their own stuff. It's mostly the young people. They see what our own people put out and want to mimic it. It's a form of praise. Unfortunately, very few of our people are interested in returning the compliment, so we're losing a lot of artistic expression from our Irokan citizens, while our people have gained quite a lot," Gabrielle informed them.

"I don't think that's all there is to it. I've seen some instances of flat out prejudice concerning Irokan art," Paul interjected quietly. "Some people have said that it looks like bad knock-offs of Native American work they've seen in stores back in our time."

Gabrielle tried to hold in her outrage, but she didn't do very well.

"What?! Are people stupid or something?! These are Native Americans! If you want authentic Native American artwork, this is it. Jesus Christ..." Gabrielle muttered and worked to calm herself down.

Tristan leaned over to her and whispered into her ear.

"Have you ever considered converting? He might listen if you stopped all that pagan nonsense," Tristan smirked.

Gabrielle couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped. She looked at Tristan and nodded in thanks for the comic relief. She took a few deep breaths and continued in a much less confrontational tone.

"All right, look. I'm not saying we're going to force anyone to do anything they don't want to do. If the people who make our clothes don't feel like taking the time to make their work visually interesting, I'm not going to stand over their shoulders and tell them they have to. The Committee is just supposed to be a kind of reservoir of the knowledge that comes from culturally specific backgrounds." She paused as an idea hit her, and then quickly continued. "We could even create a museum. Our people could visit the CRC, the Cultural Resources Center, and enjoy just getting to know who we are as a people. They might not want to run out and become Picasso themselves, but the knowledge will be available to anyone who wants it."

Gabrielle could tell that the museum idea had caught on, so she decided to quit while she was ahead.

"I just think it's important to preserve these kinds of things for future generations. However they choose to use the information is up to them," Gabrielle concluded.

No one spoke for several moments, as they considered her words and what everyone else had said before. Finally, Tristan took the lead.

"Are we ready to vote?" Tristan asked the Council.

Almost everyone nodded and no one said they had any objections, so he continued.

"Everyone in favor of creating the Cultural Resources Committee, please raise your hand?"

Everyone raised their hands eventually, though Julia was the last one to do so. It was clear that she was still against the whole thing, but she didn't want to be the only one who didn't raise her hand.

Tristan had to admit he'd done that on purpose, knowing that she wouldn't ask for a secret ballot, even though she could have. Everyone on the Council had the right to request private voting without fear of reprisal. But that didn't mean Tristan was going to make it easy for Julia to block his best friend's plans, no matter what her personal reasons for doing so happened to be.

Larry recorded the vote and then Gabrielle brought up the next item on her proposal. It went about as well as the first few items had, and lunchtime came and went, as the discussion showed no signs of ending.

"All right, but like you said yourself, they wouldn't even know what to do if they joined the Council. How can you even suggest holding elections without first offering training to the candidates?" Julia questioned.

"None of us ever had any real training for the jobs we hold now. They'll learn the same way we did, by experience," Gabrielle answered with thinning patience.

"But will they even understand what it is they're supposed to be doing? And what about the language barrier?" Jonathan asked.

"First off, we're not talking about mentally inferior people here, guys. Just get a grip," Gabrielle said disgustedly. She was really getting tired of this line of thinking. "They can learn anything we can, so just knock it off with the superior crap. And Tala and myself, as well as Larry, and at least a dozen others, can speak both English and Iroki fluently. Until everyone can understand each other no matter what language is being used, we'll just have to rely on interpreters. The United Nations did it for years, I think we can handle it."

"You realize that will slow down the whole process we go through here," Andrea nitpicked.

"Or maybe it'll speed it up, since it'll probably keep people from going off on tangents the way they do now," Paul remarked perceptively.

Gabrielle tried not to smirk at the jab that was directed to certain members of the Council, but she wasn't very successful. She caught Paul's eye and he winked at her. Normally, Paul seemed content to keep his opinions to himself and just ran the Hunters League in conjunction with the Defense Department and the AgriGuild, but lately, he'd been jumping in more often than not to say the things that no one else seemed to have the guts to.

Gabrielle shook her head a little and then brought her attention back to the people at the round table.

"Listen, this is not something we can put off. The more the Irokans learn about us and our culture, the more they're going to realize exactly what I have; they've been refused a voice and have yet to be seen as equals under our system of government. They shouldn't have to ask us for this. It's as simple as that," Gabrielle concluded.

There were more nodding heads than before, but it still wasn't even close to unanimous, which made a vote pointless, so Gabrielle redoubled her efforts.

By the time there was a general consensus among the entire Council, Gabrielle's voice was hoarse and the dinner horn had already sounded an hour before. Gabrielle had been surprised that Tala hadn't shown up to pull her out of the meeting yet, but she figured her wife had realized the importance of what she was trying to do and had decided to let her off the hook this one time.

"So, we're agreed. Tomorrow, I'll announce what we've decided here and we'll go from there." Everyone nodded, some less than enthusiastically, and Gabrielle smiled. "Then this meeting is adjourned. Go eat," she lightly ordered, and finally received some smiles in return.

As Gabrielle made her own way outside, she saw her tall companion waiting for her on the steps of the Main Hall. Gabrielle relaxed into the arms that opened for her and took a deep breath of Tala's scent into her lungs.

"We did it," she whispered, and Tala hugged her tighter.

"You did it," Tala corrected.

"No, I couldn't have done this without your help. You're the one that came up with that committee thing."

"No, I said our people must share the work and learn from each other. You said we should form a group of people to make sure that my people's traditions aren't lost."

"Well, it was still a joint effort," Gabrielle gave up on the debate.

"Come on. Let's go eat," Tala offered.

**********************

The whole town gathered in front of the Main Hall and Gabrielle took center stage on the top step of the building's entrance. She waited for the conversations to quiet down and then began.

"Good afternoon. As some of you may have already heard, yesterday's Council meeting concerned some issues that I believe it's time we addressed."

Gabrielle translated her opening statements into Iroki and then continued, stopping every few sentences to keep all the listeners informed on what she was saying.

"As leaders of two separate tribes, Tala and I inadvertently combined our peoples when we joined. This was done without your prior consent, but you stood by us and trusted us. You believed in us and that we would always do our best to make the right decisions for our people."

Gabrielle paused after translating to put her thoughts in order. Then she continued.

"I'm afraid I have failed in that duty. I didn't see what was wrong until it was almost too late."

There were many shaking heads of disagreement, but Gabrielle went on.

"The trial of Riku two weeks ago showed me the problems in our community and I would like everyone's help in rectifying the situation."

As Gabrielle translated, she studied the crowd and tried to gauge their reactions. Some seemed very open to what she had to say and appeared eager to help. But a good majority looked as though they had inside information and knew what she was about to ask of them and wanted no part of it.

"When Tala and I first met with the Council to discuss what was going to happen to our tribes as a result of our joining, it was suggested that our people must learn each other's languages in order to co-exist. That idea was subsequently dismissed. But I have decided, with the support of the Council, that we do need to be able to communicate with one another if we hope to continue to live and work together."

The sea of shaking heads was almost dizzying.

"I don't know about anyone else, but there's no way I have the time to learn some language I don't need," Rebecca commented, as she rocked her son Adam in her arms.

"But you do need it. And not just because everyone in this community should be able to talk to everyone else. There are other tribes in this area. Tala has told me there's a special language that merchants use that is made up of many different languages and dialects, and if we hope to work with any of them, we will need to be able to communicate in those languages. This is a very large world we live in and we are currently the only English-speaking people on it. We are not the majority anymore."

"Chief?" Gabrielle pointed to Judy, who had her arm raised, waiting her turn to speak. "I'd like to do what you're asking, but I've never been able to learn a foreign language. I took Spanish in high school and then tried French in college. I just can't do it."

Gabrielle nodded and translated the question into Iroki for everyone and then answered.

"I know learning another language is not going to be easy. For some, it may be near impossible, but the point is that you try. And this won't be like taking a class where you only use it when you're trying to please the teacher. You all hear these so-called foreign words every day. You probably understand more than you're giving yourself credit for."

She translated and then Dyani spoke up.

"Irokans don't need you. Why should we learn to speak like you?" she asked.

Gabrielle translated into English and then answered in Iroki.

"But you do need us. We've made your people strong. Look at how big our tribe is. No one goes hungry and everyone is cared for. No one dies from coughing now. And if another tribe attacked us, do you think they would even stand a chance against us? Together, we make Iroka and New Gaia better than they are apart."

She saw many nodding heads among the Irokans, as she translated her response into English. But there were several dozen people among both groups that had their faces set in denial. Their apparent leader spoke up.

"What will you do if we refuse?" It was David, one of her own people, who asked the question.

"Well, there's not a whole hell of a lot I can do. Unfortunately, as our community progresses, those who are set in their ways will be left behind. But that will have been their choice, not mine, and when the time comes, I'm sure the Council and whoever is in charge then will do whatever they can to help them."

Gabrielle thought for a moment and then did what she always did; she offered a compromise.

"All right. How 'bout this? Everyone agrees to try to learn the other group's language for three months. If you don't see any benefits from this, then by all means, quit. On the other hand, if you do find that things work better with improved communication, then you promise to keep learning.

"And I don't want some half-hearted attempts that you know will fail. I want you to do your best. I want you to use what you've learned every day by talking with native speakers. Ask for help with pronunciation and meaning. I believe everyone can do this, if you give yourselves a chance."

Gabrielle translated into Iroki.

"Now, do I have everyone's word on this? Your personal honor is at stake."

After translating back into English, Gabrielle mentally crossed her fingers. It would be so much easier if everyone understood both languages. Then she could stop repeating everything she said and speak in whatever language suited her at the moment without fear that someone would be left out.

Gabrielle also knew that being able to understand the other group's language would break down a lot of the walls she could see were still up between their peoples. Who wanted to try to talk to someone when you knew you couldn't understand most of what they were saying and they couldn't understand you?

With what appeared to be a unanimous sea of nodding heads, Gabrielle moved on.

"Okay, great. Thank you, everyone. But I don't want us to get stuck on just the language problem. There are other issues that the Council has agreed we need to work on. First, there's the issue concerning the recent loss of Irokan skills. New Gaian technology is unquestionably far advanced of Irokan, but that doesn't necessarily make it better. Unfortunately, that's an assumption that even many Irokans have made and I think we need to change that belief."

Gabrielle translated and then continued.

"The culture of a people is made up of many things. One of those is artistic expression. And I'm afraid we're destroying our unique collective culture by not recognizing this. Sometimes, it's better to do things well than to do them easier. With that thought in mind, the Council has voted to establish the Cultural Resources Committee as a subset of the Historical Society. The CRC's goal will be to catalog our community's cultural skills and resources. This will include folk tales, weapons crafting, sewing, hunting and tracking, recipes, dances, rituals, and anything else that is culturally based. And the focus will not just be on Iroka. Our community has many diverse cultures, only a few of which we could bring items with us to remind us of where we came from. The Historical Society has also agreed to begin work on building a museum to showcase our people's art and history, and it's hoped that it will be a place for all to come and visit and remember their ancestors."

Gabrielle grinned inside, as she saw understanding dawn on many faces. She had hoped the original New Gaians would be more amenable to her plans, if they could see that their own ancestry was included in the need to preserve cultural integrity. And the Irokans were obviously pleased to see that their people were being recognized as important in the eyes of their new leader.

As Gabrielle looked over the crowd, she nodded to herself in satisfaction. They were all listening and seemed more open to the changes she was proposing than they had been in the beginning. It was time to announce the biggest change of all. She started off in Iroki.

"Riku, I know you haven't had much time to educate everyone about New Gaia's form of government, but I think it's time to put those teachings to the test. In one week, we will hold a ballot to determine the top twenty-one Irokan nominations for seven new seats on the Council. One week later, there will be a vote to decide which seven of those candidates will join the Council."

Gabrielle translated into English and watched as the shock passed throughout the group.

"You're going to put one of them in charge?!" David yelled out over the rumbling voices of many people talking at once.

"Seven, actually, and no, they're not going to be any more in charge than the current members of the Council. The Council works as a group. No single person has any more power than any other. And there is one new seat for each department of the Council, so none of the electees are going to be running a department by themselves. They're going to get plenty of guidance and on-the-job training, which is more than we had when we first began planning this new community.

"But how can they even understand..." Margaret began.

"Riku has been teaching our Irokan citizens about our government and customs for the past two weeks, and everyone I've talked to has shown a very good understanding of the concepts involved. And Tala, Larry, me, and plenty of others can act as interpreters until those on the Council are comfortable with using both languages."

"Shouldn't we get to vote on this? I seem to remember a rule about if two-thirds of the community disagree with the Council, then we don't have to accept it," Sharon spoke up, as she looked around for support and received a fair amount of it.

Gabrielle smiled, but it wasn't very friendly.

"Have you noticed lately what half of our community is made up of? By all rights, according to our own laws, half of the Council should be Irokan. We've created a democracy and everyone in the community must be given a voice within the government. We have fallen incredibly short of that goal and it is time to remedy that fact. There are currently fourteen people on the Council, so we're talking about giving the Irokans of our society only one-third of a deciding block. Even if they all voted together, they still couldn't force the Council to decide on anything against the current Council members' wishes."

The information seemed to calm down the majority of the opposing group's fears. But then she continued.

"However, since we're having a Council election anyway, I've asked that anyone currently on the Council who wishes to step down for any reason should do so within the next few days, so that their space can be filled. I will announce it immediately, if anyone chooses to leave the Council. Though the seven new seats are restricted to Irokan nominees, any current vacancies will be opened up to everyone in the community, so anyone can fill it."

"So, all that talk about them not getting a majority vote in the Council was bullshit, if enough people step down," David announced.

Gabrielle saw Tala heading for David and discreetly waved her away.

"Everyone gets to vote in the election. If you choose to base your vote on a candidate's nationality, then by all means, don't vote for an Irokan. That's your right and your choice." Gabrielle redirected her comments to everyone. "But now might be a good time to start talking to your fellow Irokans. Get to know each other and make sure your vote is based on their merits, not their race. If you need an interpreter, I'm sure Tala or Larry or any of our other bilingual speakers will be glad to help," Gabrielle volunteered them.

Gabrielle stood up a little straighter.

"Tomorrow evening, I'll be announcing exactly how the election will take place. This meeting is adjourned."

The crowd broke up and everyone went back to their respective duties. Except Tala, who slowly climbed the steps to hug Gabrielle.

"You were great," Tala congratulated her.

"I don't know about that. I don't understand the animosity I keep seeing. First Julia, now David. They act like your people can't be trusted and yet they won't even try to talk to them."

"They do not know us," Tala replied in Iroki.

"And people fear what they do not know," Gabrielle concluded.

"You know us because you know me. You love us because you love me."

"I do love you. I want to raise a family with you and I want the world my children live in to be a good one. I thought we left all that fear and hate behind, but I guess we just brought it with us."

"Fear lives inside all of us. How could you leave it somewhere?" Tala asked curiously.

Gabrielle switched back to English.

"We were supposed to be morally superior to the masses of our world. We didn't discriminate against anyone because of their sexual preferences, or their race, or their religion. But throw in a people who speak a little differently, and use wood and stone and bone for their main tools, and suddenly they're not worthy of our respect."

They began walking back to their hut, as Gabrielle continued to voice her grievances.

"I mean, I admit, I thought we were better in some ways because we were more advanced, but I got over it. Why can't they?"

"Gabrielle, you speak truth even if you must speak that you were wrong. Even I do not wish to do that," Tala admitted.

"But what's the big deal? We made mistakes. We're just going to end up making more if we don't admit it and deal with it. That's why we have to have this election and get some of your people on the Council. Only your people can tell us what's important to them and help us make this an equal society."

"You must explain this election to me."

"I will, tomorrow night. The Council has to get the full details from the Lawmakers Guild before we can proceed, so that's what we'll be working on all day tomorrow. We should have worked this out in the very beginning. I just hope we've learned from our mistakes soon enough."

"I believe we have."

"I sure hope so."

**********************

"Well, all of that's fine and good, but how are they going to be able to vote if they can't write?" Andrea asked.

Robbie and Justin had run the Council table for over an hour, as they talked in tandem about how the election should take place. Now that they were done, open discussion had begun.

"She's got a point," Julia commented.

"Well, we never considered how we would hold a vote in an illiterate society," Robbie replied sarcastically.

"Enough," Gabrielle admonished. "We'll just have to adapt the system to fit our needs. We know our goals, so how do we reach them? Ideas?" she asked.

There was silence for a while, as everyone tried to think of a solution. Finally, Joshua spoke.

"We could make up a list of all the Irokans and they could tell us who they want to nominate and then Tala or somebody could translate it and write it down and then we could cross them off the list. That way no one could vote twice and we could mark off how many times each person gets voted for."

"Problem. Voting is supposed to be anonymous, so there's no pressure," Paul pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but they can't write. They're going to have to tell someone who can," Courtney argued.

"Not necessarily. They may not be able to read someone's name, but I bet they'd recognize a face. We could use pictures," Gregory suggested.

"There are over sixty possible nominees. You want to draw that many faces? And each one would have to be drawn almost two hundred times to create each ballot," Andrea criticized.

"We could create little boxes with a face on each one and then every one who votes for someone could put a marker in the appropriate box," Larry modified.

"But how do we ensure that no one rigs the markers? I mean, if you're talking like a piece of paper or a rock or something. Plus, we need to make sure that the nominees are connected to the department they're being nominated for," Justin added.

"Number and color them," Gabrielle announced. "We etch numbers into sticks or some other item and then color them so that they're associated with each department. We make seven sets of numbers, each set colored to match a department, and put each set in a separate bag. Everyone gets one vote in each category, so when someone comes to vote, they pull one marker from each bag and place it in the box of the person they vote for in that department. That way no one is identified by their marker, we know exactly what position someone is being nominated for, and all we have to do is count the markers to know whether they add up," Gabrielle said, as she continued to bring all the pieces together. "And we can set up the voting boxes inside a tent, so that no one sees where anyone is placing their vote. Two people behind the boxes, someone from the Council and myself, can guard the boxes to make sure no one is rearranging their contents while they're voting. If we set up the boxes right, we won't be able to see who's voting, so the voters' identities will still be protected."

"Anyone see any holes?" Tristan asked.

There was silence as everyone tried to come up with an objection, but finally everyone shook their heads.

"So, we're agreed?" Tristan continued.

He received nodding heads all around and nodded in turn to Larry for him to write down the vote and accompanying details.

"Okay, next?" Tristan looked to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle consulted the written agenda in front of her.

"We need to come up with accurate descriptions of what each department does and what will be expected of those who join the Council. I don't want anyone accepting a nomination and then later finding out that they don't want the job."

"Right. Julia and I were talking about that before the meeting and we think the best way to handle it is to have the head of each department write up a list of duties and overall description of what they do, both in their departments and on the Council." He looked around the table. "Talk to the others in your department and include the most relevant items," Tristan requested.

Everyone nodded and Gabrielle spoke.

"There's one more thing that I didn't put on the agenda. Jonathan has explained to me that he wants to spend more time with his wife and new baby girl, so he's decided to step down from his position as Third Advisor."

Everyone looked at Jonathan, and he tried not to feel uncomfortable from the stares he was getting, since he hadn't discussed his decision with anyone other than his wife.

"That means there will be an eighth color and we're going to have to have portraits done up for everyone, except for those of you already on the Council and myself," Gabrielle said.

"Well, now that we've figured out how we're going to do this, it shouldn't be too difficult to make the necessary arrangements," Justin said.

"In fact, we've been thinking. Now might be a good time to institute the laws governing your position, Gabrielle," Robbie announced.

"Now, wait just a minute..."

"What are you saying?"

"Gabrielle's our Chief..."

"That's going too far..."

"We can't have everything change at once..."

"Quiet, everyone," Gabrielle stopped the uproar.

After everyone quieted down, she spoke.

"I think it's a good idea." She held up a hand as several mouths opened to protest. "If New Gaia wishes new leadership or old, the elections will reflect that."

"I'm a little surprised. I didn't think you'd be very open to the idea," Robbie admitted.

Gabrielle grinned.

"Well, I have no intention of simply giving up my position, but I'll earn it just like everyone else."

Tristan studied Gabrielle's demeanor and decided he would talk to her about the whole thing later. Gabrielle appeared to be genuinely confident, but he still didn't understand why she wasn't more upset at the prospect of losing her place as Chief.

No one else seemed to be able to argue any further on the subject, so Tristan did his job.

"I guess we're agreed then."

He received hesitant nods from everyone. Tristan turned to address Gabrielle.

"So, you'll make the announcement tonight. I guess we're adding a ninth color."

"Wait," Julia held up her hand. "If Gabrielle's stepping down as Chief..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I want to resign as Second Advisor and go for it. I want to be Chief," she declared.

Gabrielle just sat there, stunned. She had absolutely no idea what to say. She wanted to move her mouth to speak, but the signal seemed to have gotten sidetracked somewhere along the way. Luckily, Tristan still appeared to be in control of his faculties.

"Ookaay. I guess that makes it ten colors." Tristan looked over the room. "Anybody else want to announce their resignation?"

No one spoke and Tristan nodded for Larry to write it down.

The meeting slowly got back on track as they went on to discuss the other policies that had recently been announced, and Gabrielle finally adjourned the meeting a few hours before dinner.

Of course, they gathered together again an hour later outside the Main Hall for the town meeting. Gabrielle relayed the details the Council had hashed out for how the elections would take place and everyone seemed to agree with their decisions.

"I would also like to announce that there are three positions open to everyone in New Gaia, in addition to the seven new seats on the Council. Jonathan, our Third Advisor, is stepping down in order to spend more time with his family. Anyone can be nominated to take his place."

There were murmurs throughout the crowd and while Gabrielle repeated herself in Iroki, she prepared herself for the other half of her announcement.

"Julia, our Second Advisor, is also stepping down in order to... Well, to take advantage of the other position that has been opened up to everyone in New Gaia, which is my own. I'm not stepping down, but it's been decided by the Council that it's time to implement our government fully, which means setting time limits on government positions, particularly Chief."

"What about the rest of the Council? Why not just elect an entirely new government?" David asked disgustedly.

"We discussed that, but those currently on the Council need to remain in order to help train their new Irokan counterparts," Gabrielle answered seriously. "However, after this election, there will be a time limit of three years placed on all Council positions, which will include the elapsed time for current Council members, so that the elections will be staggered and we're not replacing the entire Council each time. That means the next election will be held next year. Each Council member can hold office as many times as they are voted into it, but there is a limit of two consecutive terms. So, two on, one off, and so on. The Chief's position will last for five years and can be held as many times by the same person as they are voted into it, but there can be no consecutive terms. That means if I'm voted to be Chief again, I will not be able to run for office in the next election."

Gabrielle translated into Iroki again and watched as everyone digested that information. Suddenly, five years sounded like both a very short and a very long amount of time. If Gabrielle won, she would have five short years before she had to step down. Then it would be five long years before she could try to get it back.

Kuta raised his hand and Gabrielle pointed to him.

"So, Tala could be Chief?" he said in Iroki, and then repeated himself clearly in English.

"Yes," Gabrielle replied, and looked at Tala.

Tala seemed undisturbed by the fact that they could very well end up competing for the same position. Tala nodded her head slightly to indicate that they would talk later.

After a few more questions and answers, the meeting broke up so that dinner could be prepared.

**********************

Tala stood up from their bed of furs and paced.

"Then I won't accept the nomination for Chief, only for Council," Tala said defiantly. "It is my choice and I choose you to be leader."

"Tala, you're just as capable as I am. You deserve to be Chief, if that's what the people want," Gabrielle replied.

"But it is not what I want and it would not be..." Tala switched to Iroki. "...good for our people at this time."

Gabrielle started to interrupt, but Tala stopped her.

"Quiet yourself and listen to me."

Gabrielle was surprised at the reprimand for a moment, but then she nodded her acquiescence.

"Good. Thank you," Tala said, and took a second to regroup, before continuing with what she'd been saying.

"The people of Iroka may want me as leader again, but they don't understand that it would be wrong at this time. Gabrielle, your people and mine must become one, but they will not do that if I am Chief. Your people will not follow me yet because I have yet to prove myself to them. It is a different way your people have. There are many things I must do before they will listen to me without question, as they do you."

"Oh, they question me all the time. Weren't you there at the meeting?" Gabrielle joked in English.

Tala responded in Iroki.

"No, they question your ideas, not you. They trust you. They trust your intentions. You are honorable in their eyes. If I were Chief, they would not even hear my words because they do not trust me."

Gabrielle considered what Tala was saying as the woman continued.

"You must be the leader of all our people for now. Your people will follow you and my people will follow you because I follow you and they follow me. It will not work the other way because your people will not follow if you follow me."

Tala went silent, as she watched Gabrielle think it over. Finally, Gabrielle nodded her acceptance.

"Well, what are we going to do then? You're going to be nominated to take my place, there's no escaping that," Gabrielle said.

"I will not accept. Only for Council. And I will work with Gregory. I will be his Second," Tala said confidently.

"Are you going to inform him of that before or after the elections?" Gabrielle chided.

"We have talked," Tala said cryptically.

Now, Gabrielle was intrigued.

"Oh, you have, have you?"

"Yes. While you stayed at the Hall, Gregory came to tell me what happened in Council today. We spoke. I told him I will not be Chief and he asked that I join the Council as Second Warrior. I know the ways of the other peoples that live near us. Gregory says that together, we will make our people the strongest of all the tribes. He said if there were no elections, he would make me Second Warrior himself."

Gabrielle nodded.

"I wish it was that easy, but things just got complicated all of a sudden."

Tala lay back down on the bed and pulled Gabrielle down next to her. She began slowly kissing the Chief. It was one of the ways Tala had of changing the subject when she'd decided they'd said everything that needed to be said. Gabrielle had a tendency to worry too much and the physicality of kissing and touching always helped her to calm down. In fact, Gabrielle was very relaxed by the time the dinner horn sounded.

**********************

As the time neared for "Nomination Day," everyone on the Council, and others like Riku and Tala, spent their time talking with the Irokans and educating them on the upcoming elections.

Tala in particular used the talks as a kind of campaign for herself and Gabrielle. She made sure to tell everyone that she wouldn't be accepting any nominations for Chief, just a seat on the Council as Second Warrior to Gregory. She received a lot of arguments, but she always had the same response.

"If you honor me, you will place Gabrielle as Chief and me as Second Warrior on the Council."

Almost everyone agreed to her wishes and told her they would make sure she got on the "Gaian's" Council.

"It is our Council, too. Or it will be soon."

**********************

"Hey, Gabrielle? You busy?" Tristan asked from the doorway of her office.

"A little, but come on in," Gabrielle told him.

He walked in and sat in the visitor's chair in front of her desk.

"What's up?"

"I was just wondering if everything was okay with you," Tristan began.

Gabrielle furrowed her brow.

"Well, yeah, I guess so. I mean, things are a bit hectic right now, but I'm sure everything will calm down after the elections."

"Yeah, about the elections..."

"You want to know why I agreed with Robbie," Gabrielle guessed.

Tristan nodded.

"Gabrielle, you're our Chief. You said yourself that we need the stability of one leader..."

"While we were still in the process of getting established here. I think we're pretty well established. Having a new leader, as long as it's a good leader, won't hurt us."

"And what if it's not a good leader?"

Gabrielle looked away from his sharp gaze. She knew he was referring to Julia. Gabrielle wasn't very happy with her Second Advisor's decision to try to take her job either, but there was no reason to fault the woman for having ambition. And Gabrielle didn't think Julia would really be a bad leader. Gabrielle would never vote for her, but that was beside the point.

On the other hand, Gabrielle thought she had a pretty good idea why Tristan was so worried. He still hadn't forgotten how Julia had continually tried to seduce his friend, even though she'd been obviously uninterested. Even after Gabrielle had announced her relationship with Tala, the woman still flirted with Gabrielle, even though Gabrielle pretended to be unaware of it.

"Well, there are provisions within the government to depose a bad Chief," Gabrielle replied logically. "A unanimous vote by the Council, along with a two-thirds majority vote of the community, and a new election can be held to vote in a new Chief. You've read Robbie and Justin's outlines. They've pretty much thought of everything. And if something comes up that's not covered, I trust the Council to be able to handle it."

Tristan stared at her for a long moment.

"Do you not want to be Chief anymore?" Tristan asked quietly.

Gabrielle looked up from where she was making notes to a report.

"I want to be Chief. Don't doubt that. But it's not the only thing I can do and it's certainly not the most important thing in my life. I trust you, Tala, Gregory, and there's a few others that I would certainly vote for Chief if and when I can no longer do the job."

Gabrielle pushed herself away from the desk and leaned back.

"Tris, I want a family. I want to spend the rest of my life with Tala. I want to explore this world. There are so many things to do in this life that we've made here. If New Gaia chooses a new leader, I will certainly feel bad. How could I not? But I'll move on. So, if you're worried about me, don't be. I'm fine. Really."

Tristan nodded.

"Okay. That makes a little more sense to me than you just acting like being Chief doesn't matter to you."

"Was I really acting that way?"

"Kind of. You just accepted it too easily, I guess. Especially after Julia's announcement."

"Hmm, that's definitely not the vibe I want to be sending."

"Maybe you could talk a little more about how much you love being Chief? You know, do a little campaigning."

"Oh, joy. Did I ever tell you how much I hate politicians?"

Tristan laughed.

**********************

"Nomination Day" finally came. After a quick consultation of the Council, it was decided that Gabrielle and Robbie would be the ones to guard the ballot boxes, while Tristan and Andrea would keep watch over the bags of markers. Larry and Gregory did a final check outside the tent that had been set up to house the ballot boxes to make sure that everyone had a complete set of markers and understood what they meant and what to do with them.

The first to vote was Tala.

She entered the tent and looked at all the boxes that had been covered with pictures of most of the people she knew. The only faces missing were those who had refused to accept any nomination whatsoever.

Tala's first few votes were easy. She took her white stone and moved to the box with Gabrielle's face on it. She shoved it through the little hole above the picture and then walked a few steps to the box that had her own picture on it. She took her red marker and pushed it into the hole.

Next, she found Riku's face and slipped her yellow marker for the Lawmakers Guild into the hole. She'd originally considered Riku for the Historical Society because of all the books and Riku's love of storytelling. But after the past few weeks spent learning and teaching about the laws of New Gaia, Riku had requested that everyone who was inclined to vote for him should make him a Lawmaker.

Tala pulled out her blue marker for the Healers Association and placed it into the hole above Kuta's face. Kuta had been working with both the AgriGuild and the HA due to his extensive knowledge of the local plant life and their uses, but she knew Kuta was a healer, not a farmer. She hadn't told Kuta of her plans to vote for him, but she didn't think he would refuse if he were offered the seat on the Council.

Tala let the red marker with the black arrow painted on it slip into her right hand and debated. Hateya was a great tracker among her people, but Dyani was the best hunter she knew, besides Gabrielle. She walked to Dyani's face and pushed the marker into the hole to vote for her for the Hunters League.

Her next few votes, black for the Technology Department, brown for the Historical Society, and green for the AgriGuild were based on her knowledge of her people, as well as the requests that had been made of her by some of the people in question.

With two markers left, she found herself torn. There was the gray one for Third Advisor and the other gray one that had two black dots on it for Second Advisor. It had been decided by the Council to not put three dots on the Third Advisor marker in order not to confuse the Irokans. More usually meant a higher rank, but in this case it didn't.

Tala looked at both markers and then back up at all the boxes. She just couldn't decide where to put them. If Gabrielle didn't make the nominations for Chief, she at least wanted Gabrielle to have a chance at remaining on the Council as an Advisor.

But Tala also knew that it was possible that she herself wouldn't make it as Second Warrior and she had a duty to her people to at least be on the Council in some capacity, and advising Gabrielle, or whoever became Chief, would be an important position.

With that thought, Tala made her decision. If Gabrielle weren't Chief, then Gabrielle should be an Advisor. If Gabrielle were Chief, then even if Tala weren't Second Warrior, everything would still be okay with Gabrielle as Chief.

Tala pushed the gray markers into the hole above Gabrielle's face and left the tent.

**********************

Gabrielle heard the footsteps of the most recent voter retreat and yelled out to Larry and Gregory.

"Stop the voting for a moment."

After sitting in silence for the first hour and listening to only seven people complete their vote, Gabrielle and Robbie had realized they'd neglected to do a little basic math to account for how long the voting itself was going to take.

They walked around the boxes to the front of the tent and opened the flaps. Neither of them left the tent, instead remaining just in the entrance in order to keep an eye on the boxes.

"Is something wrong?" Larry asked.

"Yeah, this is taking too long. At this rate, we're not going to be able to finish today," Gabrielle replied.

"Okay. Well, what can we do about it?" Gregory asked.

"We should have set up more booths," Robbie said.

"Well, we didn't. I think we're going to have to extend the voting. We figured out at ten minutes per voter, we're looking at a good three days of voting at almost ten hours a day," Gabrielle told them.

"All right. I'll set up guards around the tent tonight," Gregory offered amiably.

"Sounds good," Gabrielle agreed.

"I'll go make the announcement," Larry said and walked off to tell everyone.

"Okay, lets get back to it," Gabrielle said, and she and Robbie returned to the tent.

**********************

Three days later, Gabrielle found herself watching over the counting of the votes. Joshua and Larry had taken over, and with Courtney's help as accountant, they sorted out the votes fairly quickly.

"That was the last one," Joshua announced.

"Well, then, I guess we're done. Three counts and they're all the same. I'd say that's a pretty good sign," Courtney said.

"So, what have we got?" Gabrielle asked, as she looked over Courtney's shoulder at the pieces of parchment littered with names, numbers, and equations.

"Do you just want to know about the Chief's position or..."

Gabrielle ducked her head.

"Sorry. Was I being that obvious?"

"Not really. But I won't keep you in suspense any longer. You, Julia, and Tala are the top three nominees. But Tala has her pick. She's in the top three for Chief, Second Advisor, Third Advisor, and Second Warrior. Once she makes her choice, we can pull the fourth place person for the jobs she declines. By the way, you're in fourth place for Second Advisor, and fifth for Third Advisor."

Gabrielle looked down the page and started picking out the names that Courtney had marked.

"Well, I guess it's time to start calling people in and find out if they accept their nominations," Gabrielle said.

"Why don't we start with you? Do you accept your nomination for Chief?"

"Yes," Gabrielle said without hesitation.

"Great," Courtney circled her name. "That's one down."

"At least another twenty-nine to go," Joshua added.

**********************

Gabrielle sat at her desk and impatiently crossed out another line of text in the proposal she was checking over. She'd just finished a very annoying meeting with Andrea and was still in a sour mood from the minor confrontation.

The head technologist was requesting far too many resources for one of her pet projects, an electric wooden car. After consulting with Tony about the specifics, he'd recommended working on several other more attainable projects before attempting this one, and Gabrielle trusted his judgment. For one thing, she knew how impatient Tony was to get their colony back to its twenty-first century roots, so if Tony said wait, there was a good reason.

"We have a problem," Tristan announced, as he walked into Gabrielle's office.

"What now?" Gabrielle groused, and almost tossed her quill across the room as she sat back in a huff.

Tristan paused for a moment at the sharp tone, but then decided it would be better just to ignore her.

"We only have two candidates for Chief," Tristan told her, as he took a seat.

"What?"

"Well, Tala accepted the nomination for Second Warrior, so that dropped her from being in the running for Chief. All the remaining candidates have refused their nominations. So, it's just you and Julia."

"Great," Gabrielle said without enthusiasm. "But what's the problem? The laws say that if there are only two candidates, the elections proceed as normal. And if there's only one, then the nomination is treated as the election and the nominee immediately takes on the job they were nominated for."

"Well, that's not really the problem. The problem is that Julia is saying you shouldn't be allowed to run for Chief because you've already served a term and there are no consecutive terms for the office of Chief."

Gabrielle opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She flashed on a scene of herself challenging Julia to a fight and kicking the woman's ass, and she suddenly wished that her people had joined Tala's instead of the other way around, so that she could fulfill her little fantasy.

Gabrielle took a breath and calmed down. Anger never really solved anything, though it certainly had its time and place. However, this wasn't one of them. Brains would win this fight, not brawn.

"Okay, we already talked about this. The government will be fully implemented after the elections. That rule doesn't apply yet."

"That's what I tried to tell her, but she says she wants to put it to the Council."

Gabrielle thought about it.

"You're worried that there's enough people on the Council who might decide it's an easy way to get rid of me for five years?" Gabrielle guessed.

"It crossed my mind. Julia's pretty good friends with most of the Council."

"And she's probably already started making promises about letting people get their way if they put her in office."

Gabrielle could just see Julia telling Andrea she loved her idea, and after the heated argument they'd had less than an hour ago, it was a good bet that Andrea wouldn't be on Gabrielle's side. Then there was Robbie, and...

Gabrielle dropped her head onto her desk and groaned.

"Gods, why do I even want this job? Am I stupid or just insane?"

Tristan smirked.

"You really want me to answer that?"

"It was a rhetorical question," Gabrielle muttered.

Gabrielle sat back up.

"All right. Let me ask you this. Is there anything on the books that says once someone accepts or rejects a nomination that it's final?"

"Actually, there's a time limit of forty-eight hours. Nominees can change their minds as many times as they wish until then," Tristan said with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Great. Meet me in the Council room in about an hour. Call a meeting, if Julia hasn't already done so."

"Sure. But what's going on?"

"I'll tell you later." Gabrielle quickly straightened the papers on her desk and put them away. "I'll be back in an hour," she said, as she headed out the door.

"Okay," Tristan said to the empty room.

**********************

Gabrielle and Tala walked into the Council room. It was rather full, since the entire Council was there. Julia was across the room, talking with several members, and she barely glanced at Gabrielle as she entered.

"Gabrielle!" Tristan called her over.

Gabrielle nodded her head and she and Tala joined him, Gregory, and several others of the Council.

"So, you gonna tell us what your plan is?" Tristan asked.

"No," Tala spoke before Gabrielle could.

"We're hoping we don't need a plan," Gabrielle expanded on Tala's response.

"That's it?" Tristan asked in mild alarm.

"It'll be okay, Tris. Go start the meeting," Gabrielle tried to soothe him.

"All right, but if Julia becomes Chief, I'm resigning," Tristan threatened.

"No, you're not," Gregory said a split second before Gabrielle could. "You'll be needed to make sure she leads us well."

"Gregory's right. Now go," Gabrielle prodded him towards the table.

Tristan stood in front of Gabrielle's usual chair and called the meeting to order. Everyone took their seats.

"This meeting is now open. We're here to settle a dispute brought by Julia concerning the nominations. Julia?"

Julia stood up and smiled.

"Good afternoon. I just wanted to bring it to everyone's attention that I think a mistake was made during the nominations. The law states that a Chief can't hold office for two consecutive terms, but Gabrielle was allowed to participate in the nominations even though she is currently Chief."

There were murmurs around the table and Tristan cleared his throat.

"Robbie? I believe we discussed this in Council. The new laws won't go into effect until after the elections. Isn't that correct? Otherwise, the entire Council could have possibly been replaced during the elections."

Robbie looked around as everyone waited for his response.

"Well, actually, this is a little different. The discussion was about whether to put the current Council seats up for election and it was decided that doing so would have a deleterious effect on the government of New Gaia. We never actually said that the laws concerning all government offices wouldn't count until after the elections."

There were more murmurs and Gabrielle felt her stomach drop. It wasn't until she was facing the real possibility of losing her position that she realized exactly how much it meant to her.

"So, she has a valid argument," Andrea said.

"Yes," Robbie replied.

"Then this would invalidate the whole election," Tristan said.

"No, just the votes concerning the nominations for Chief," Justin replied.

"Not necessarily," Robbie argued. "The nominations still reflect a viable candidate. It would just be as if Gabrielle declined the nomination."

"Are we voting on this?" Barbara asked.

Everyone looked to Tristan and he looked helplessly at Gabrielle. She nodded in understanding.

"Larry?" Tristan questioned.

Larry stood up and passed out the voting strips and everyone grabbed a quill. Tristan looked around the room.

"We need to clear the room during the voting."

Gabrielle, Julia, and Tala walked out and stood out on the steps. No one talked and Gabrielle couldn't help but worry about what she would do if the vote turned out to be against her.

It took longer than she'd thought it would. The sun had moved considerably by the time she, Tala, and Julia were asked to return to the Council room.

Gabrielle immediately looked at Tristan's face to try to read how the vote had gone by his expression. It didn't look good and Tristan wasted no time in confirming her worst fears.

"The Council has voted. Six to five, in favor of counting Gabrielle's current status as Chief as a legal term of office under the laws of New Gaia. Gabrielle, you are disqualified from running for office in the current elections."

Tristan sounded like he'd been punched in the gut recently and Gabrielle felt like she had. Her mind latched onto a small detail, though, and she spoke.

"Then I have my own dispute to bring before the Council."

Tristan nodded for her to continue.

"I've only been Chief for three years, not five, and I was only voted to be Chief two years ago. The year before that, there was no formal vote. Therefore, I would like to submit that the election for Chief shouldn't take place for a minimum of two more years and a maximum of three."

Tristan grinned.

"She has a point. That's what we're doing with the current Council seats. The same should be applied to Chief," Tristan agreed.

"Wait a minute. The nominations have already been held. The office was put up for grabs. You can't just stop the elections," Julia argued, as she realized she might have just shot herself in the foot by disputing Gabrielle's right to participate.

"No, she's right. If we're going to abide by the laws, then her term of office hasn't ended yet and the elections are illegal. We just need to decide when her term officially started," Robbie said.

Robbie didn't sound angry and Gabrielle realized he wasn't out to get her. He just had a rather severe adherence to the letter of the law.

"Well, if there hadn't been that vote the day after we came back, I'd say it started three years ago, but we did have a vote, so I have to go with two years," Justin concluded.

Tristan looked up at Julia and his two best friends.

"We have some things to discuss. We'll let you know the outcome. And I think we can officially say that the elections for Chief will not be taking place next week. Sorry, Julia," Tristan said very unapologetically.

"I don't believe this," Julia grumbled and stomped out.

Gabrielle watched her go and then turned back to the Council.

"I'll await your decision," she winked at Tristan and then left with Tala.

**********************

Tristan poured fruit juice into each of their glasses and replaced the jug in the middle of the table.

"Thanks," Gabrielle said, as she picked up her cup and took a sip.

"So, are you going to tell us?" Tristan asked impatiently.

"Yeah, Tala, were you just muscle or what?" Gregory asked his best student.

Tala looked at her arms and flexed her biceps. Gregory laughed.

"No, she was my backup, but not like that," Gabrielle admitted.

"So, what was the plan?"

"If Gabrielle could not be Chief, I would have changed my decision and accepted the nomination for Chief," Tala said quietly.

When Gabrielle had found her on the practice field and told her what Julia was doing, she'd suggested a more direct approach, like killing Julia, but Gabrielle had talked her out of it.

"Damn, so that's why you wanted to know about the time limits," Tristan realized.

"Yeah. I was hoping it wouldn't come to that, though, and luckily, I was right."

They ate in silence for a while and then Gregory cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. He blushed and smiled a little shyly.

"So, um, have you talked to Claudia yet? About... you know."

He quickly picked up his drink and swallowed almost all of it.

"No, I don't know. What?" Gabrielle kidded him and Tristan tried to kick her under the table.

"Leave him alone. He's shy about these kinds of things," Tristan defended his lover. Then he leaned in a little closer to Gabrielle. "But he is so cute, don't you think? The way the blush just sort of creeps up from his neck..."

The two friends burst into laughter and Gregory groaned. Tala watched the banter quietly and then spoke.

"The answer is yes. We spoke with Claudia yesterday and she has told Gabrielle how to learn the best time for..." Tala turned to Gabrielle, having forgotten the word.

"Conception," Gabrielle supplied. She turned back to the two men. "She said it will take a couple of months to get a good idea of what my menstrual cycle looks like. Once we have the pattern figured out, we can narrow down the time for when we should try. She says there's about one week in every cycle that's particularly fertile. Unfortunately, that's based on the assumption that I'm fertile and you have a normal sperm count and there aren't any other abnormalities with my physiology that we don't know about."

Tala looked at Gabrielle in absolute confusion and the blonde repeated herself in Iroki. Tala nodded and they continued with their conversation.

"So, it'll be a few months?" Gregory asked.

"Yeah, at least."

Gregory felt relief flood through him and Gabrielle reached out a hand to him.

"Gregory? It's okay. You know, you don't have to do this, if you don't want to. Claudia did say that it was possible to do artificial insemination. She did bring a lot of equipment with her, so it wouldn't be impossible. I mean, it might even be easier..."

"Is that what you want?" Gregory asked seriously.

Gabrielle took a moment to really search her heart. She'd talked about it with Tala, numerous times, and she'd always come to the same conclusion.

"No. It's not. But if it's the only way, then that's the way I would have to do it."

Tristan sat back in his chair and hooked a leg over Gregory's thigh. The contact always seemed to calm him down when he was nervous.

"I know we just sort of leapt to you guys having sex to make the baby, but can I ask why you want to do it this way if you have the option of AI?" Tristan asked.

Gabrielle took her cue from Tristan and moved closer to Tala. It felt good just to lean against her and feel Tala's arm encircle her shoulders.

"Well, you guys know I'm pagan. It was one of the reasons I wanted to create New Gaia. I wanted to live naturally, in harmony with Mother Gaia. I just... I know thousands of babies have been made from artificial insemination, but I want my child to be created from a more natural act. I want that energy present at its conception. I don't think it's wrong to do it the other way, but it just doesn't feel right for me. I almost feel like that would be taking the easy way out or something. I mean, I just lay there while Claudia shoots some sperm into me? If there's no other way, then yeah, I'd do it. But if you guys are willing, I want... I want to make love."

Gabrielle felt her own blush rising and Tala squeezed her shoulder in support. Tristan smiled gently and looked at Gregory, who had a soft look on his own face as he gazed at Gabrielle.

"You know, if I wasn't gay and completely in love with Tristan, I could probably fall in love with you, Gabrielle," Gregory said quietly.

Tristan nodded his head.

"Oh, I've already told her I'm in love with her, it's just that whole lesbian thing that keeps getting in the way," Tristan joked.

"Asshole," Gregory scolded him for trying to break up the mood.

"Prick," Tristan taunted back.

"Guess we fit together then," Gregory came back, and they were all surprised at the comment coming from the normally straight-laced man.

"Oh my god, I think I'm finally starting to rub off on him," Tristan exclaimed, and Gregory lightly backhanded his chest.

"Abuse, abuse!" Tristan yelled, and tried to get away from his lover.

Gregory grabbed him and pulled him down onto his lap. Tristan turned his head to look at his best friend, who was laughing so hard, she could barely breathe.

"You're just going to sit there and do nothing?" Tristan asked.

Gabrielle laughed harder, and Tala had to hold onto her to keep her from sliding to the floor.

"Oh, you're a big help," Tristan continued.

Gabrielle finally stopped the giggle-fit she'd fallen into and tried to breathe deeply to keep from starting up again. She sighed.

"Well, I think we should be getting home. It looks like you have things well in hand, Gregory. Just make sure he can work in the morning," she told him, and he smiled.

"I won't hurt him too bad," Gregory promised.

"What the hell was in that fruit juice?" Tristan asked, looking very comfortable in Gregory's arms.

"Goodnight, guys," Gabrielle waved.

"Goodnight," they replied in unison, and Tala nodded her farewell and followed Gabrielle out.

**********************

Most of the citizens of New Gaia seemed relieved when Gabrielle made the announcement the next morning that she would be keeping her position of Chief for another three years, according to the Council's decision that it was the formal vote two years earlier that had begun Gabrielle's term of office.

Only Julia's supporters and the Irokans who had been pushing for Tala to become Chief appeared unhappy with the situation. However, since Tala was still going for a seat on the Council, the Irokans didn't waste a lot of time on their disappointment.

And it didn't take much for Julia to get the Council to agree that her earlier resignation was null and void, since she never would have stepped down if the Chief's position hadn't been available. Though her term would be up in a year, she would still be able to go for re-election. And there was no doubt that, when Gabrielle really did have to step down, she would be trying for Chief again.

But that was a long time away, so Gabrielle refused to think about it. She had much more pressing matters to deal with, like the upcoming elections. Now that the two-day deciding period was over and the candidates had been firmly established, she was trying to work with the Council on setting up a training program for the new members that would soon be joining them.

Her ideas were morally sound, but carrying them out was another matter entirely. Most of the candidates spoke little or no English and only a few could even write their names, let alone read a report about the latest crop yield estimates, in either language. However, with Larry and Tala's help, whether Tala made it onto the Council or not, along with her own translating skills, Gabrielle hoped to put together a group of translators that could effectively work with the Irokan members without isolating them from the group dynamic of the Council.

And Gabrielle knew that was a real possibility if they weren't careful. They could easily end up with an Irokan sub council within the main Council and that was not what she wanted. If Tala ended up on the Council, Gabrielle had a feeling the other Irokans would turn to her as their spokesperson, and Gabrielle wanted each member of the Council to be able to speak up on their own.

So, Gabrielle had talked with Tala to make sure that she knew not to tolerate that kind of behavior. At first, Tala hadn't understood why she shouldn't act as Chief of her people, but Gabrielle had explained that each Council member was like a mini-Chief. They needed to be confident in themselves, and if Tala always acted as a buffer between them and the rest of the Council, they would never form a single group. Tala immediately saw the weakness in that setup and agreed that if she became Second Warrior, she would only act in that capacity and not as a secondary Chief to Gabrielle.

With that settled, Gabrielle focused her efforts on speaking with the current members of the Council about how they intended to work with their newest members once they'd been elected. Some of them had the idea that the Irokans would be their subordinates and would only be allowed to work on the tasks that the "real" Council members didn't have time for or weren't important enough to warrant their attention.

Gabrielle quickly squelched that idea and explained that the Irokan members of the Council would have as much say and responsibility as the rest of them. Their jobs were to educate the new Council members on their roles and help them understand anything that was out of their personal experience. There were arguments, of course, but Gabrielle always seemed to find the right words to persuade them that helping the Irokans to fit in would benefit them all.

As "Election Day" neared, Gabrielle worked hard to talk with the original New Gaians, and she personally introduced the various Irokan candidates to as many of their English-speaking counterparts as she could.

Tala did the same, mostly working within the Warriors and Hunters League, since she had so many friends within those two groups. She wasn't quite as diplomatic in her approach as Gabrielle, only talking about the people she intended to vote for instead of treating all the candidates equally, but it was still useful.

Gabrielle had been pleased to hear several lively debates between both the Irokans and the original New Gaians about who would make the best Council members for different departments. It showed that her people were starting to accept Tala's people as equals, instead of separate entities. It also showed that Tala's people were starting to accept their new allies as a part of their tribe, rather than something they needed to tolerate because their leader had fallen in love with Gabrielle.

By the time the elections did start, there were very few voters who didn't have definite preferences between the candidates. Since there were fewer choices, and most of the materials had already been made, setting up extra booths for taking votes was a fairly easy task, and the voting was completed in a single day.

The next morning, the votes were tallied and Gabrielle had the privilege of announcing the newest members of the Council later that afternoon.

Gabrielle stood on the top steps of the Main Hall and looked out over the crowd. She could feel the anticipation as everyone waited to learn the results of the voting. For the Irokans, it was a new experience to choose a leader without a physical test of strength. But having spent the past few months living among the New Gaians, they were learning that there were other ways to measure a person's abilities. After reading over the names of those who had been chosen to join the Council, Gabrielle felt confident that they'd understood quite well how to choose people for the various departments of their new government.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Gabrielle began and then translated into Iroki. "The votes have been counted and it's time to announce the new members of the Council."

Gabrielle again translated into Iroki and then looked at the sheet of paper in her hand that listed the names of the new Council members.

"Lets begin with my new Third Advisor, David."

With a nod of her head, David took his cue and walked up to stand beside her and the rest of the Council. There was applause, which the Irokans curiously joined into, and then the sound faded away as Gabrielle continued.

"Our new Second Warrior is Tala."

Gabrielle couldn't help beaming as her wife walked up the steps amidst a deafening roar from the Irokans. They didn't clap, but the howling and stomping made it clear how they felt. When it was obvious that they weren't planning on quieting down anytime soon, Tala issued a sharp command and the group went silent. Gabrielle didn't miss the slight smirk on Tala's face. She was very proud that her people still honored her.

"Okay. Um, Etana has been voted into the opening in the Hunters League," Gabrielle continued into the silence.

Etana quietly took her place next to Tala, and though the hollers weren't quite as loud, it was still a respectable amount of praise.

"Next is Riku who is now a Lawmaker," Gabrielle announced.

Riku made his way to stand next to Etana and smiled shyly at the hoots and hollers that accompanied him up the steps of the Main Hall.

"Meda has been helping Claudia ever since our people joined together, and she will now be sitting on the Council as a representative for the Healers Association."

The congratulatory yells and applause were more subdued for the elder woman, as she moved to stand next to Riku, but Gabrielle was pleased to see the respect that showed on even her own people's faces for Meda.

"Netis? You are now a member of the Technology Department," Gabrielle told the young woman.

As soon as she was standing next to Meda, Gabrielle continued.

"The newest member of the Historical Society is Aiyana."

The thirty-year-old woman took the steps two at a time and stood next to Netis.

"And Nawat is now on the Council as a member of the AgriGuild."

The young man smiled proudly and practically jumped up the stairs to stand next to Aiyana.

"Let me be the first to welcome you all as members of the Council of New Gaia," Gabrielle said, and the rest of the Council stepped forward to shake the newcomers' hands.

There'd been some surprise on the part of the Council at the majority of women who had been nominated, but Gabrielle had simply reminded them that Tala's tribe followed a matriarchal system of leadership. The real surprise to Gabrielle was the fact that any men had even made it through the elections. She'd had a lot of hope for Riku since he was Tala's brother and really was the best choice for the position in the Lawmakers Guild, but Nawat had been a shock; his pride at having won the job was definitely merited.

Gabrielle smiled as she watched the citizens of New Gaia congratulate the new Council members and the ceremony broke up into various groups. She knew they still had a long way to go, but they'd taken a huge step today and she was quite proud of her people. All her people. What had taken her birth nation's founders over two hundred years to accomplish, and it still hadn't been complete, they'd been able to start remedying in just a year.

If everything went the way she hoped, by the time she stepped down as Chief of New Gaia, there would be no more talk of Tala's people and Gabrielle's people. They would all simply be New Gaians.