ARisingThunderHonorHarrington,BookThirteen

DavidWeber

DavidWeber,2012AdvanceReaderCopyUnproofedCoverartbyDavidMattingly

“I’drathernotgothere,butifwehaveto,wemightaswellgoalltheway.”—QueenElizabethIIIofManticoreChapterOne“Getyourgoddamnedshipsthehelloutofmyspace!”Theburly,dark-hairedmanonCommanderPangYau-pau’scomwasred-

facedandsnarling,andPangtookafirmagriponhisowntemper.“I’mafraidthat’snotpossible,CommodoreChalker,”herepliedascourteouslyasthecircumstancespermitted.“MyordersaretoprotectManticoranvesselspassingthroughthisterminus

ontheirwayhometoManticoranspace.”“Idon’tgiveadamnaboutyour‘orders,’Commander!” Commodore Jeremy Chalker spat back. His six destroyers

were2.4millionkilometers—eightlight-seconds—fromPang’scruiser,andonemight have thought it would be difficult to maintain a properly infuriatedconversation over such a distance, especially with the delays light-speedtransmissionsbuiltintoitsexchanges.

Chalkerseemedabletomanageitquitehandily,however.“You’re in violation of my star system’s sovereignty, you’ve evicted

SolarianAstroControlpersonnel from theirduty stations, and Iwantyourassgone!”

“Sir, it’s notmy intention to violate anyone’s sovereignty,” Pang replied,choosing to let the rather thornier question of the Solly traffic controllers lie.“My sole interest at this time is the protection of the Star Empire’smerchantvessels.”

Sixteenmoresecondstickedpast,andthen—“Shut yourmouth, return control of this terminus to thepersonnelwhose

controlstationsyou’veillegallyseized,andturnyourassaroundnow,orIwillbyGodopenfireonthenextfuckingMantyfreighterIsee!”

PangYau-pau’snormallymildbrowneyeshardened,andheinhaleddeeply.“Skipper,”aquietvoicesaid.Thesinglewordcouldn’thavebeenmorerespectful,yetitwasedgedwith

warning, and Pang hit the mute button and glanced at the smaller screendeployed from the base of his command chair. Lieutenant Commander Myra

Sadowski,hisexecutiveofficerlookedbackathimfromit.“Iknowhe’sapainintheass,”shecontinuedinthatsamequietvoice,“but

we’resupposedtodothiswithoutmakinganymorewavesthanwehaveto.Ifyouhandthisguyhisheadthewayyouwantto—thewayhedeserves,forthatmatter—Ithinkitwouldprobablycomeundertheheadingofatleastarippleortwo.”

Myra,Pangreflected,hadapoint.Therewas,however,atimeandaplaceforeverything.Forthatmatter, theAdmiraltyhadn’tsentPangandHMSOnyxto theNolan Terminus to let someone like JeremyChalker make that sort ofthreat.

No, theydidn’t, anothercornerof thecommander’sbrain toldhim.At thesametime,Idon’tsupposeit’stoohardtounderstandwhyhe’ssopissedoff.Notthatitmakesmelikehimanybetter.

Atthemoment,Onyx,hersistershipSmilodon,theRoland-classdestroyerTornadoand themucholderdestroyerOthellowereoversixhundredandfiftylight-years from the Manticore Binary System and barely two hundred light-years from the Sol System. It was not a particularly huge force to havewanderingaroundsodeepinincreasinglyhostileterritory,asPangwasonlytoowellaware.Infact,NolanwasaprotectoratesystemoftheSolarianLeague,andChalkerwasanSLNofficer,theseniorFrontierFleetofficerpresent.Helookedold forhis rank,whichsuggestedacertain lackof familial connectionswithintheSLN,althoughhemusthaveat leastsome influence tohaveendedupwiththe Nolan command. The system’s proximity to the Nolan Terminus of theNolan-KatharinaHyperBridgewaswhathadbroughtittotheOfficeofFrontierSecurity’sattentionahundred-oddT-yearsago,and the localOFSandFrontierFleetofficershadbeenrakingoffacomfortablepercentageoftheterminususerfeeseversince.JudgingfromthereactionoftheSLNcaptainwho’dcommandedtheOFS-installed terminus traffic control staffwhenPangorderedhim to turnhiscontrolstationsover toManticoran personnel, another chunk of those feeshadprobablybeenfindingitswayintohispockets,aswell.PreciouslittleofthatrevenuehadendedupinNolanitself,atanyrate.

Well,at least this timewecanbeprettyconfidentwe’renothurting someinnocentthird-partystarsystem’srevenuestream,he thought .And it’snot likewe’re planning to keep the terminus…just now, anyway.We’llgive it back tothemwhenI’msurewe’vegottenallourshipssafelythroughit.AndifsomeonelikeChalkertakesoneinthebankaccountinthemeantime,I’msureI’llbeabletolivewithmyregretsomehow.

Of course, Pang never doubted that the rest of theSolarian League Navy

was going to be just as infuriated as Chalker by Manticore’s “arrogance” inseizingcontrolofSolarian-claimedterminieventemporarily.WhatwasgoingtohappenwhenLacoönTwokickedinhardlyborethinkingupon,althoughanyonewho really thought not executing Lacoön Twowas going to make one bit ofdifferencetotheSollieswasprobablysmokingthingsheshouldn’t.

“I’m not the one making the waves,” he told Sadowski out loud, thenglancedacrossOnyx’s command deck at Lieutenant Commander Jack Frazier,histacticalofficer.

“Ihopewe’renotgoingtohaveanybusinessforyou,Guns,”hesaid.“Ifwedo,Iwanttoholdthedamagetoaminimum.”

“You’rethinkingintermsofsomethingmorelikewhatAdmiralGoldPeakdidatNewTuscanythanwhatshedidatSpindle,Sir?”

“Exactly.”Pangsmiledthinly.“DoyouhaveChalker’sflagshipIDed?”“Yes,Sir.”Fraziernoddedwithanansweringsmile.“Ido.Bythestrangest

coincidence, I’ve just thisminute discovered that I’ve got her IDed, dialed in,andlockedup,asamatteroffact.”

“Good.”Pangpausedamoment longer, taking an additional few seconds tomake

surehehadhisowntemperundercontrol,thenun-mutedhisaudiopickup.“CommodoreChalker,”hesaidinahard,flatvoicequitedifferentfromthe

courteousonehe’demployedsofar,“allowmetopointout twothingstoyou.First, this terminus is, in fact, not in Nolan’s territorial space. Unless myastrogationisbadlyoff,it’sfivelight-hoursfromNolan,whichputsitjustabitoutsidethetwelve-minutelimit.

The Solarian League’s claim to its possession rests solely on the SLN’ssupposedpowertocontrolthespaceaboutit.

And,second, in regard to thatsupposedpower, I respectfullysuggest youconsidertheactualbalanceofforcewhichobtainsatthismoment.Basedonthatbalance, I submit that it would be unwise to issue such threats againstManticoranshipping…andevenlesswisetocarrythemout.”

“Wellpissonyou,Commander!Youandtherestofyour‘StarEmpire’maythink you can throwyourweight around anyway you like, but there’s a colddawncoming,andit’sgoingtogetheresoonerthanyouthink!”

“Ihavemyorders,Commodore,”Pangresponded in that sameflatvoice,“and Idon’t intend todebate thequestionofwho’s responsible for the currentstateoftensionbetweentheStarEmpireandtheSolarianLeague.

I fully intend to return control of this terminus to the League—and,obviously, to restoreyourpersonnel to their stations—assoonas I’vesatisfied

myself, as my orders require, that all Manticoran merchant vessels in thisvicinityhavebeengiventheopportunity to return toManticoranspace throughit. I regret”—neither his tone nor his expression was, in fact, particularlyregretful—“any inconvenience this may cause for you or any other Solarianpersonnelorcitizens.Ido,however,intendtocarryoutallofmyorders,andoneof those orders is to use whatever level of force is necessary to protectManticoranmerchantshippinganywhere.And‘anywhere,’CommodoreChalker,includesSolarianspace.So ifyou intend to fireonManticoranfreighters,whydon’tyoujuststartwiththeonesrighthereundermyprotection?Goahead—bemyguest.But before you do,Admiral, I suggest you recall theRoyalNavy’spositionwheretheprotectionofmerchantshippingisconcerned.”

Hesatwaiting,watchinghiscomforthesixteensecondshiswordstooktoreachChalkerandforthesignaltocomeback.Preciselyonschedule,Chalker’sfaceturnedevendarker.

“Andwhatthefuckdoesthatmean?”theSolariansnarled.“Itmeansmytacticalofficerhasyour flagship identified,”Pangsaid,and

hissmilewasarazor.For another sixteen seconds, Chalker glared out of Pang’s display. Then,

abruptly,his facialmuscleswent absolutely rigid, as if somemagicwand hadturned his face to stone.He stayed thatway for several seconds, then shookhimself.

“Areyouthreateningme?”hedemandedincredulously.“Yes,”Pangsaidsimply.“Iam.”Chalker staredathim,andPangwonderedwhatelse theothermancould

haveexpectedtohappen.“You think you can come waltzing into Solarian space and threaten

Solariancitizens?TellaSolarianwarshipyou’llopen fireon it?”Chalkersaidsixteensecondslater.

“It’snotmywish to threatenanyone,Admiral. It ismy intention tocarryoutmyordersandtodealwithanythreattothemerchantshippingforwhichI’mresponsible, and you’ve just announced your intention to fire on unarmedmerchantvessels.Shouldyoudoso,Iwillfireonyou,andIsuggestyourecallwhathappenedtoAdmiralByngatNewTuscany.Ifyouactuallyintendtoattackafterdoingthat,goaheadandlet’sgetitoverwith.Otherwise,Sir,Ihaverathermoreimportantmatterswhichrequiremyattention.Goodday.”

Hepunchedthestudthatcuttheconnectionandsatbackinhiscommand

chair,wondering ifChalkerwas furious enough—or stupid enough—to accepthischallenge.

IftheSollyofficerdidanythingofthesort,itwouldbethelastmistakeheevermade.TherewasnoquestionaboutthatinPang’smind,althoughhewasabitlesscertainaboutthepotentialconsequencesforthefuturecareerofonePangYau-pau.

Bettertobehungforahexapumathanahousecat,hethought.Andit’snotlike I could’ve found some kind ofmagic formula to keep the jerk happy, nomatterwhat Idid!At least thisway ifhe’sstupidenough topull the trigger, itwon’tbebecausehedidn’tknowexactlyhowI’drespond.

He watched his tactical repeater, waiting to see what Chalker would do.Onyx andSmilodon were bothSaganami-Cs, armed with Mark 16 multidrivemissiles andmounting eight grasers in each broadside.At themoment, SLNSLancelot, Chalker’s antiquated Rampart-class destroyer flagship and herconsorts were far outside the effective range of their own pathetic energyarmament, and the situationwas almostworsewhen it came to missiles. TheSollies were within their missiles’ powered engagement range of Pang’scommand, but Lancelot was barely twenty percent Onyx’s size, withproportionately weaker sidewalls and a broadside of only five lasers and amatchingnumberofmissiletubes.IfChalkerwasfoolishenoughtocarryouthisthreat, he could undoubtedly kill anymerchant ship he fired upon.Lancelot’schanceofgettingalaserheadthroughOnyx’santimissiledefenses,ontheotherhand,much lessburning through the cruiser’s sidewalls, ranged frompreciouslittletononexistent.

GoodthingChalkerwasn’tonstationwhenwearrived, though, Isuppose,Pang thought.Godknowswhathe’d’ve done if he’d been inside energy rangewhenwetransitedtheterminus!Andwhenyoucomerightdowntoit,it’sagoodthinghe’ssuchaloudmouthedidiot,too.Itwasonlyamatteroftimeuntiloneofthe incomingSollymerchies diverted toNolan to let someone knowwhatwasgoingonouthere.Ifthejackasshadbeenwillingtokeephismouthshutuntilhemanagedtogetintoenergyrange,thissituationcould’veturnedevenstickier.Infact, it could have gone straight to hell in a handbasket if someone stupidenoughtopullthetriggerhadmanagedtogetthatclosebeforehedidit.

Without a clear demonstration of hostile intent, it would have beenextraordinarilydifficultforPang to justifyactuallyopeningfireonunitsof theSLN.Hewouldhavehadlittlechoice—legally,atleast—buttoallowChalkertoapproachallthewaytotheterminusthreshold,andthatcouldhaveturnedreallynasty.Fortunately,Chalkerhadbeenunabletokeephismouthshut,andhisopenthreattofireonManticoranmerchantshipsconstitutedplentyofjustificationfor

PangtogivehimtheJosefByngtreatmentifhekeptonclosing.Thankyou,CommodoreChalker,hethoughtsardonically.Asamatterof fact,althoughPangYau-pauwasn’tprepared toadmit it to

anyone, even Sadowski, he was only too aware of his own crushingresponsibilitiesandthesheervastnessoftheSolarianLeague.Norwashegoingto admit how welcome he’d actually found Chalker’s bellicosity under thecircumstances.AnyofficerwhocommandedaQueen’sstarshipknewsoonerorlaterhewasgoingtofindhimselfoutonalimbsomewherewherehe’dhavetoput his own judgment on the line, yet at this particular moment CommanderPangandhissmall command had crawled out to the end of a very, very longlimb,indeed.

TheywereamerethreewormholetransitsawayfromtheManticoreBinarySystem, but it certainly didn’t feel that way. The Dionigi System was onlyninety-six light years fromManticore, but it was connected to the KatharinaSystem, over seven hundred and thirty light-years away, by the Dionigi-KatharinaHyperBridge.And theNolan-KatharinaBridge, in turn,was one ofthelongesteversurveyed,atninehundredandfifteenlight-years.Evenallowingfor the normal hyper-space leg between Manticore and Dionigi, he could behome in less than twoweeks, instead of the eighty days or so it would havetakenhiswarshipstogetthereonadirectvoyage.

Itwould have taken a shipwith a commercial-grade hyper generator andparticlescreeningbetterthansevenmonthstomakethesametripthroughhyper,however, as opposed toonly thirty days viaDionigi, which rather graphicallydemonstrated the time savings the wormhole networks made possible forinterstellarcommerce.Andthat, inturn,explainedthesheereconomicvalueofthatsamenetwork…andManticore’scommandingpositionwithinit.

WhichexplainswhytheSolliesbackinOldChicagoaregoingtobeatleastaspissedoffasChalker,Pang reflectedgrimly.They’ve beenmad enough foryearsaboutthesizeofourmerchantmarine,thewaywedominatetheircarryingtrade.Nowthey’reabouttofindoutjusthowbaditreallyis.Oncewegetallofour shipping out of Solly space, they’re reallygoing to be hurting, and we’llhavedoneitbysimplycallingourownfreightershome,withoutusingasinglecommerce-raider or privateer. But when Lacoön Two activates and we startclosing down asmuch aswe can of the entire network, it’sgoing to get evenworse. They don’t begin to have thehulls to take up the slack even if all theterministayedopen;withtheterminiclosed,withevery tonofcargohaving tospendfourorfivetimesaslongintransit,toboot…

Onthefaceofit,itwasridiculous,andPangwouldbesurprisedifasmuchasfivepercentofthetotalSolarianpopulationhadaclue—yet—aboutjusthow

vulnerabletheLeaguereallywasorhowbaditwasactuallygoingtoget.Something the size of the Solarian League’s internal economy? With

literally hundreds of star systems, systempopulations running into the tens ofbillions,andthemightiestindustrialcapacityinthehistoryofmankind?

That sort of Titan couldn’t possibly be brought to its knees by a “StarEmpire”whichconsistedofnomorethanacoupleofdozeninhabitedplanets!

But it could, if its pigmy opponent happened to control the bulk of theshippingwhichcarriedthateconomy’slifeblood.Andespeciallyifthepigmyinquestion was also in a position to shut down its arterial system, force itsremainingshippingto relysolelyoncapillaryaction tokeep itself fed.Even ifSolarian shipyards got themselves fully mobilized and built enough ships toreplace every singleManticoran hull pulled out of the League’s trade, it stillwouldn’tbeenoughtomaintaintheshippingrouteswithoutthetermini.

Ofcourse, it’snotgoing todoour economy any favors, either, Pang toldhimself.Notaninsignificantpoint,especiallyaftertheYawataStrike.

He wondered if the Star Empire’s continued possession of the terminiwouldbeabigenougheconomiccrowbartopryafewSolarianstarsystemsfreeof the League’s control. If the bait of access was trolled in front of systemeconomies crippled or severely damaged by the termination of cargo service,would those systems switch allegiance—openly or unofficially—toManticoreinsteadoftheLeague?HecouldthinkofquiteafewintheVergewho’ddoitinasecondifthey thought theycouldgetawaywith it.For thatmatter,hecouldthink of at least a handful of Shell systems that would probably jump at thechance.

Well,Iguesstimewilltellonthatone.Andthere’sanothergoodreasonforus tomake surewe’re theoneswho control the hyper bridges, isn’t there?Aslongaswedo,noonecanlaunchnavalstrikesthroughthematus…

andwecanlaunchnavalstrikesthroughthemattheLeague.Attackingwelldefendedwormholeterminialongthebridgesbetweenthem

was a losing proposition, but the tactical flexibility the network as a wholewould confer upon light, fast Manticoran commerce-raiders would bedevastating. For all intents and purposes, the Star Empire, for all its physicaldistance from the Sol System and the League’s other core systems, wouldactually be inside the Sollies’ communications loop. The League’s limiteddomestic merchant marine would find itself under attack almost everywhere,whereas the Manticoran merchant marine would continue to travel via thetermini,completelyimmunetoattackbetweenthestarsystemstheylinked.

No wonder Chalker was so livid. He might be so stupid he couldn’tvisualizethenextstep,couldn’tseeLacoönTwocoming,butheobviouslydid

grasptheManticoranmobilityadvantagewhichhadbroughtPang’ssquadrontoNolan.Hemight not have reasoned it out yet. Solarian arrogancemight haveblinded him to the possibility thatManticoremight actually conduct offensiveoperationsagainst theomnipotentLeague insteadof huddling defensively in afrightenedcornersomewhere.But themerepresenceofPang’s ships thisdeepinto the Solarian space would have been enough to push his blood pressuredangerouslyhigh,andPangsuspected thatdeepdown inside,whetherChalkerconsciously realized it or not, the Solarian officer probablywas aware of theimplicationsofManticoranmobility.

Heglancedat thedate-timedisplay in thecornerof themasterplot.Overtenminutes since he’d biddenChalker good day, he noticed. If the Solly hadbeeninfuriated—andstupid—enoughtodoanythinghasty,he’dprobablyhavealreadydoneit.Thefactthathehadn’t(yet)didn’tmeanstupidityandarrogancewouldn’t eventually overpower common sense and self-preservation, but itseemedunlikely.

“Unlikely”wasn’t exactly the same as “noway in hell,” Pang remindedhimself. All the same, it was time to let his people get a little rest…and itprobablywouldn’thurtforhimtodisplayhisownimperturbability,either.

Confidencestartedatthetop,afterall,andhelookedbackdownathislinktoAuxCon.

“IthinkCommodoreChalkermayhaveseentheerrorofhisways,Myra,”he told Lieutenant Commander Sadowski. “We’ll stand the squadron down toReadinessTwo.”

“Aye,aye,Sir,”sheacknowledged.ReadinessStateTwo,alsoknownas“GeneralQuarters,”wasonestepshort

ofBattleStations.Engineering and life-support systems would be fully manned, as would

CIC,althoughAuxiliaryControlwouldbereducedtoaskeletonwatch.Theshipwouldmaintainafullpassivesensorwatch,augmentedbytheremoteFTL

platforms they’d deployed as soon as they arrived, and the tacticaldepartment would be fully manned. Passive defenses would be active andenabledundercomputercontrol;electronicwarfaresystems and active sensorswould bemanned and available, although not emitting; andOnyx’s offensiveweaponswould be partiallymanned by their on-mount crews.ReadinessTwowas intended to be maintained for lengthy periods of time, so it includedprovisionforrotatingpersonnelinordertomaintainsufficientcrewattheirdutystationswhileallowingthemembersoftheship’scompanytorestinturn.Whichstillwouldn’tpreventitfromexhaustingPang’speopleiftheyhadtokeepitupindefinitely.

“LetPercytakeAuxConwhileyouheadbackovertotheBridgetorelieveme,”hecontinuedtoSadowski.

Lieutenant the Honorable Percival Quentin-Massengale, Onyx’s assistanttactical officer, was the senior of Sadowski’s officers in Auxiliary Control.“We’llpullSmilodonandthetin-cansbackandletOnyxtakepointforthefirsttwelvehours,oruntilourfriendChalkerdecidestotakehimselfelsewhere.Afterthat,Smilodoncanhavethedutyforthenexttwelvehours.We’llletthecruisersswapoffwhilethedestroyerswatchourbacks.”

AndwhilewekeepOthellooutofharm’sway,headdedsilentlytohimself.Unlikehermoreyouthfulconsort,Tornado, theelderlydestroyerwasn’tarmedwithMark16s,andPanghadalreadydecidedtokeepherasfartotherearashecould.

“Runacontinuallyupdatedfiringsolutiononhim,Guns,” thecommandersaidoutloudtoLieutenantCommanderFrazier.“AndhaveCICkeepacloseeyeonhisemissions.Anysignofactivetargetingsystems,andIwanttohearaboutit.”

“Aye,aye,Skipper.”Jack Frazier was normally a cheerful sort, fond of practical jokes and

pranks,butnotraceofhisusualhumorcoloredhisresponse.“Good.” Pang nodded curtly, then looked back down at Sadowski. “You

heard,Myra?”“Yes,Sir.”“Well, I figureyoualreadyknow this,but tomake itofficial, if it should

happen that Chalker is stupid enough to actually fire on us or one of themerchies,you’re authorized to return fire immediately.And if that happens, Iwanthimtakencompletelyout.Clear?”

“Iacknowledgeyourauthorization to returnfire ifwe’re firedupon,Sir,”Sadowski said a bit more formally, and Pang nodded again, then stood andlookedbacktoFrazier.

“You have the deck until the XO gets here, Guns, and the sameauthorizationapplies toyou,”hesaid.“I’llbe inmydaycabincatchinguponmypaperwork.”

April1922PostDiaspora“Liketheoldstoryaboutthemule,firstyouneedtohititbetweentheeyes

withabigenoughclubtogetitsattention.”—HamishAlexander-Harrington,EarlofWhiteHavenChapterTwo“Youcan’tbeserious!”

Sharon Selkirk, Shadwell Corporation’s senior shipping executive for theMendelschon System, stared at her com display, and theman on it shook hisheadregretfully.

“I’m afraid I am,” Captain Lev Wallenstein of the improbably namedManticoranfreighterYellowRosetheThirdsaid.“Ijustgotthedispatch.”

“But…but—”Selkirkstoppedsputteringandshook herself. “We’ve got acontract,Lev!”

“Iunderstandthat,”Wallensteinsaid,runningonehand throughhisunrulythatchofredhair.“AndI’msorryashell.Itwasn’tmyidea,Sharon!Anddon’tthinkforoneminutethatthefrontoffice’sgoingtobehappywhenIgethome,either! Running empty all theway back to the Star Kingdom?”He shook hishead.“Idon’tknowwhosebrainstormthiswas,butit’sgoingtoplaymerryhell,andthat’sthetruth!”

“Lev, I’ve got one-point-sixmillion tons of cargo that’ve been sitting inorbitalwarehousesforovertwoT-monthswaitingforyourarrival.One-point-sixmilliontons

—youunderstandthatnumber?That’sthenextbestthingtoabillionandahalfcreditsof inventory,and it’ssupposed tobe inJosephine in less thanfourweeks.Ifyouleaveitsittinghere,there’snowayIcanpossiblygetitthere.”

“Iunderstand.”Wallensteinshookhisheadhelplessly.“AndifIhadanychoiceatall,I’dbeloadingyourcargorightnow.ButI

don’t. These orders are nondiscretionary, and they don’t come from the frontoffice,either.TheycomedirectfromtheAdmiralty,Sharon.”

“But why?” Selkirk stared at him. “Why just…yank the carpet out fromunderme like this?Damn it,Lev, you’ve been on this run for over twelveT-years!There’sneverbeenaproblem,notfromeitherside!”

“Sharon,itdoesn’thaveanythingtodowithyou.Orwithme.”Wallensteinsatback inhischairaboard theYellowRose,gazingat the image of awomanwho’dbecomeafriend,notjustanotherbusinesscontact.

“You’reright,there’sneverbeenaproblem…nothereinMendelschon.”Selkirkhadopenedhermouthagain,but sheclosed itoncemoreandher

eyesnarrowedathislastfourwords.Oratthetoneinwhichhe’dspoken,tobemoreaccurate.

“Youmeanthishastodowiththatbusinessin,wherewasit,NewTuscany?AndSpindle?That’swhatthisisabout?”

“Noone’sspecificallysaidso,”Wallensteinreplied,“butifIhadtoguess,yeah,that’swhatit’sabout.”“Butthat’sstupid!”Shesatbackinherownchair,throwingbothhandsup

in frustration. “That’s seven hundred light-years from Mendelschon! What

possiblebearingcouldithaveonus?”Despitehisveryrealaffectionforher,Wallensteinfound itdifficultnot to

rollhiseyes.Unlikethemajorityofpeoplewhofoundtheirwaytoherseniorityin a Solarian multi-stellar, Sharon Selkirk had always been friendly andcourteousinherdealingswiththemerchantserviceofficerswhotransportedtheShadwellCorporation’sgoodsbetweenthestars.She’dneverheld thefact thatWallensteinwasn’taSolarianagainsthim,either.Infact,thatwastheonethingaboutherwhichhadalwaysirritatedhim.Shedidn’tevenrealizeshewasbeingcondescending by not holding the fact that he wasn’t a Solarian against him.Why,shewastreatinghimjustlikearealperson!

He was confident she’d never actually analyzed her own attitude, neverrealizedhow it could grate on anyone’s nerves, because shewas, frankly, tooniceapersontotreatsomeonethatwayifshe’deverrealizedshewasdoing it.Butthatwaspartoftheproblem.

Solarianarrogance,thatbone-deepassumptionofsuperiority,wassodeeplyengravedintotheSolarianLeague’sDNAthatSolliesnevereventhoughtaboutit.

“Look, Sharon,” he said after amoment, “I agree thatwhat happened inNewTuscanyandwhathappenedinSpindledon’thaveanythingtodowithyou,orme,orMendelschon.Buttheyhadonehellofalottodowiththepeoplewhogot killed in both those places, and youmay not realize just how completelyrelationsbetweentheLeagueandtheStarEmpirearegoingintothecrapper.Buttheyare,believeme.Andlookingattheseorders,Ithinkit’sgoingtogetahellofalotworsebeforeitgetsanybetter.”

“Butthat’scrazy.”Selkirkshookherhead.“Imean,Iagreeit’shorribleallthosepeoplegotkilled.AndIdon’tknowwhathappenedanymorethanyoudo.But surely nobodywants to getmorepeople killed! They’ve got to settle thisthingbeforethathappens!”

“Iagreewithyou,andIwishtheywould.But the truth is, itdoesn’t looklike that’s going to happen. And I’m guessing the government back home’sdecided it’s time to get the Star Empire’s merchant shipping out from underbeforeitallcomesapart.”

“Ican’tbelievethisishappening.”Sheshookherheadagain.“I’msurethatif your people would just sit down with our people we could work this out.There’s always a way to work things out if people are just willing to bereasonable!”

“Unfortunately, that requires both sides to be reasonable,” Wallensteinpointedout,andSelkirk’seyeswidenedinsurprise.Shestartedtosaysomethingback,quickly,butstoppedherselfintime,andWallensteinsmiledabitgrimly.

Almostsaidit,didn’tyou,Sharon?hethought.Ofcoursewe’resupposedtobe reasonable. And I’m sure youmeant what you just said about reasonablepeopleworkingthingsout.Unfortunately,theSolarianviewof

“reasonable” is people “reasonably” agreeing to do things the League’sway.ThenotionthattheLeaguemighthavetobereasonabledoesn’tevencomeintoit,doesit?

“Well,ofcourseitdoes,”shesaidinsteadofwhatshe’dbeenabouttosay,andshehadthegracetolookalittleuncomfortableasshesaidit.Butthenshescowled.

“Soyou’rejustgoingtoturnaroundandheadbacktoManticore?Justlikethat?”

“Actually, I’m going to turn around and head back toBeowulf,and fromtheretoManticore,”hesaid.“But,yeah,that’sprettymuchit.”

“Andourcontract?”“I’mafraidyou’regoingtohavetodiscuss thatwith thefrontoffice.”He

shrugged unhappily. “For that matter, you may end up discussing it with theForeignSecretary’speoplebeforethisisallover.Sincetheorderscamefromthegovernment, I’m guessing the government’s going to be responsible for anypenaltiestheshipperscollect.”

“Iftheycollectthem,youmean,don’tyou?”sheaskedbitterly.She’dhadmore than one unhappy experience dealing with the Solarian government’sbureaucracies.

“Idon’tknowhowit’sgoingtoworkout.AsfarasIknow,nobodyknowshowit’sgoingtoworkoutintheend.

AndIknowyou’reunhappy,butyou’renottheonlyone.Don’t forget, Sharon, I hold a reserve commission. When I get back to

Manticore, I’mlikely to findmyselfcalled toactiveduty. If this thinggoesasbadlyasitcould,I’mImayjustenduphaulingsomethingbesidesfreightbackintotheSolarianLeague.”

She looked at him blankly for a longmoment, as if she simply couldn’tcomprehendwhathewassaying.Thensheshookherheadquickly.

“Oh,no,Lev!It’snotgoingtocometothat!Iknowyourpeopleareangry,andIwouldbetoo,ifwhattheythinkhappenedhadhappenedtomynavy.AndI’mnotsayingitdidn’thappen!”sheaddedevenmorequicklyasWallenstein’sexpressionhardened.“ButsurelyyourStarEmpireisn’tcrazyenoughtoactuallygotowarwiththeLeague!Why,thatwouldbelike…like…”

“LikeDavidandGoliath?”Wallensteinprovidedabitmoresharplythanhe

usually spoke to her, and her eyes widened. “I think that’s probably thecomparison you’re looking for,” he continued. “And I’ll even grant that it’sappropriate.Butyoumightwanttothinkabouthowthatparticularconfrontationworkedoutintheend.”

Theylookedatoneanotherinsilenceforseveralendlessseconds,andashegazed intoSelkirk’s eyes,LevWallenstein sawunderstandingdawning at last.TheunderstandingthatManticoransreallyweren’tSolarians.

That they truly could conceive of a galaxy inwhich theSolarianLeaguewasn’ttheultimatearbiteranddictatorofterms.ThattheymightactuallybesolosttoallreasonthattheytrulywerepreparedtofighttheSolarianjuggernaut.

Forthefirst time,SharonSelkirksawhimassomeonewhotrulybelievedhewasherequal,whatevershethought,andhewonderedifintheprocessshe’dfinallyrealizedhowunconsciouslycondescendingshe’dalwaysbeenbefore.Hewassurprisedandmore thana littledismayedby thesatisfaction thatdawningawarenessgavehim,andhedrewadeepbreathandmadehimselfsmileather.

“OfcourseIhopethat’snotgoingtohappen,”hetoldheraslightlyashecould.Whatever else, she’d always been courteous, and he owed her a littlegentlenessinreturn.“Infact,IhopeitallblowsoverandI’mbackonmyregularrunASAP.Andifithappens,thefrontofficemayfinditselfcuttingsomespecialdealsinordertoearnbackallthegoodwillthisisgoingtocostus.Butwhateverhappensdown the road, I don’t have any choicebut to follow the instructionsI’ve been given. That’s why I commed you in person. Like you say, we’veknowneachotheralongtimeandwe’vealwaysdonerightbyeachother,soIfiguredIowedyouapersonalexplanation.OrasclosetoanexplanationasIcangiveyouwithwhatIknow.

But either way, I’m supposed to be underway for Beowulf within sixhours.”

“There’sgoingtobehelltopayforthis,Lev.Youknowthat,don’tyou?”Selkirkasked.“I’mnottalkingaboutbetweenyouandme.Imean,Iunderstandit’snotyourideaandyoudon’thaveanychoice,butmybossesaren’tgoingtobe happy about this.And their bosses aren’t going to be happy about it.Andeventuallyit’sgoingtogoallthewaytothetopandmembersoftheAssemblyaren’tgoingtobehappyaboutit.Forthatmatter,ifManticore’sreallyrecallingallofitsmerchantships,thisisgoingtohammertheinterstellareconomy.It’snotjustthetransstellarsthat’regoingtobepissedoffoncethathappens—it’sgoingto be everyone! ” She shook her head. “I don’t know what your governmenthopesthisisgoingtoaccomplish,butIcantellyouwhatit’sreallygoingtodo,andthat’stosquirthydrogenrightintothefire!”

“Maybeitis,”Wallensteinconceded,“butthat’sadecisionthat’swayabove

mypaygrade,Sharon.”Hesmiledagain,abitcrookedly.“Takecareofyourself,okay?”

“You,too,Lev,”shesaidquietly.“I’lltry,”hetoldher.“Clear.”***“Idon’tcarewhatyourdamnedorders say,”CaptainFreidaMalachaisaid flatly. “I’ve

gotthreeandahalfmilliontonsof cargoonboard, and I’msupposed todeliver it inKlondikeoneT-

monthfromtoday.Doyouhaveanyfriggingideawhatthenondeliverypenaltyonthat’sgoingtobe?!NottomentionthequestionofpiracyifIjustsailoff

withitintothesunsetwithit!”

“I realize this is highly…inconvenient, Captain Malachai,” CommanderJaredWurepliedasreasonablyashecould.“Anditwasn’tmy idea in thefirstplace.

Nonetheless,I’mafraidtherecall’snondiscretionary.”“Thehellitis!”Malachaishotback.“I’mafreesubjectoftheCrown,nota

damnedslave!”“Noone’strying toenslaveanyone,Captain.”Wu’svoicewas tighterand

harder than it had been. “Under the Wartime Commerce Security Act, theAdmiraltyhastheresponib—”

“Don’t yougoquoting theWCSA tome!”Malachai’s blue eyesglitteredwithrageandhershort-cutblondhairseemedtobristle.“Thatthing’sneverbeenappliedinthehistoryoftheStarKingdom!Andevenifithad,we’renotatwar!”

Commander Wu sat back in his command chair and ordered himself tocounttoninetybythrees.Itwasn’tgoingtodoanygood—probably—tolosehisowntemperwithher.Hewastemptedtotryitanyway,butfromwhathe’dseenofCaptainMalachaiofthegoodshipRMMS

Vortrekker,a tantrumonhispartwouldonlymakeherdigindeeper.Andthehellofitwasthathesympathizedwithher.

Vortrekkerdidn’t belong to one of the big shipping houses. TheCandidaLineownedonlyfourships,oneofthemVortrekker,andMalachaiwasowner-aboardofhership.Sheowned, infact,afiftypercentshareof theship,whichmeantfiftypercentoftheprofitsbelongedtoher.

Butsodidfiftypercentoftheexpenses…andanypenaltiesVortrekkerwasforced to pay for breach of contract. The mere thought of how much thenondeliverypenaltyonclosetofourmilliontonsofcargocouldrunwasenoughtomakeanyonewince.Andthatwasassumingtheadmiraltycourtsdidn’tdecidetoattackonadditionalfeesorfinesfordamages.

“Captain,” hemade himself say calmly after he reached ninety, “I trulyunderstandwhatitwillmeanfinanciallyforyoupersonally,notjustCandida,ifyoufindyourselfliablefornondeliveryofyourcargo.Iunderstandthenumbers,andIknowyou’reanowner-aboard.Isympathizewithyourconcerns.ButyouknowaswellasIdothattheWCSAgivestheAdmiraltytheauthoritytoissueamandatory,nondiscretionaryrecallofallManticoranregistrymerchantvesselsiftheCrowndeterminesthatastateofwarisimminent.WhileI’mheretotellyouastateofwarwith theSolarianLeague isdamnedwell is imminentas itgets!We’ve alreadydestroyedor captured seventySolarian superdreadnoughts.YouthinkManticoranmerchantshipswandering around inside the Solarian Leaguearen’tgoingtofindthemselvesatriskifthiscontinues?!”

Malachaiglaredathim,butshealsomadeherselfsitbackvisiblyanddrewadeepbreath.

“Youmayunderstandthenumbers,Commander,”shesaidthen,hernostrilsflaring, “butwhateveryou think, youprobablydon’t have a cluehowbad theconsequenceswouldbe.I’vegotanotecomingdueinsixT-months.Abigone.IfIaforfeitthischarter,I’llprobablycomeupshortontheduedate.IfIgethitwithanondeliverypenaltyontopofthat,I’llcertainlycomeupshort.AndifIdo,Ilosemyship.”

“You’re right, I didn’t know about that part of it,”Wu said after a long,silentmoment.“AndI’msorrierthanIcansaythatyou’refacingthatkindofaproblem.Buttheorderisn’tdiscretionary—notforyou,andnotforme.

You’rerequiredtoobeyit,andI’mrequiredtoenforceit…bywhatevermeansarenecessary.”“ButKlondikeisn’tevenaSollysystem,”Malachaipointedout,and there

wasanoteofpleadinginhervoice—anotethatobviouslycamehardforher.“We’dbeinhypertheentireway

there, and nobody could even findus there, much less touch us. I drop intoKlondike, I offload my cargo, and that’s all there is. Then I’ll come straighthome,Ipromise!”

Wustaredintothoseangry,pleading,desperateblueeyesandhatedhimselfandhisorders.Buttheywereorders,andhewasresponsibleforenforcingthem.

The government’s got to come up with some kind of compensatoryarrangement, he told himself. They have to know what kind of economic

hardshipthiskindoforder’sboundtoinflict,andit’snottheCrown’sjob toputhonestmerchantsskippersoutofwork.Takeawaytheirlifesavings!

Unfortunately,no requirement forcompensationhadbeenwritten into theWartimeCommerceSecurityActwhenParliamentpasseditover threehundredT-yearsearlier.Maybenobodyhadthoughtofitatthetime,butmaybesomeonehad,too.Maybesomebodyhadrealizedjusthowstupendousthepricetagmightbecome,giventhesizetheManticoranmerchantmarinemightattaininthenextthreeT-centuries,anddeclinedtoobligatethegovernmenttopayit.Andeveniftheyhad,wherewas thegovernmentgoing to find thecash topay it after theYawata Strike?And especially if it was calling home the enormousmerchantfleetwhichprovidedsomuchofitstotalrevenueflow?

And then there was the minor question of just how the Star Empire ofManticorewasgoingtomanagetopaythebillsforawaragainstsomethingthesizeoftheSolarianLeague.Evenwithahealthytaxbase,thatwould’vebeenaHerculeantask.WithwhattheYawataStrikehadleftbehindandtheinevitablelossofSollytrafficthroughtheJunctionontopofeverythingelse…

Ifthereiscompensation,it’slikelygoingtocomeslow,hethoughtgrimly.Ahellofalottooslowtopayoffanotethat’sdueinonlysixT-months.Andit’llbecoldcomforttoMalachaiifshefinallygetsacashsettlement—

evenassumingit’snotdiscounted—whenshe’salreadylosteverythingshe’sworkedforherentirelife.

“Captain,” he said finally, “first, I don’t see how you could possibly beaccused of piracy.You’re covered by the fact that youwere ordered to returnimmediatelytothestarkingdom.Anyaccusationsofpiracyortheftonyourpartwouldfalllegallyatthegovernment’sdoor,notyours.

Second,Ithinkit’shighlyprobablethatthe‘actofGodoractofwar’clauseofyourcontractwouldprotectyouagainstanynondeliverypenalty.Obviously,Ican’tguaranteethat,becauseI franklydon’tknowhowthecourtsaregoing tolookatthisafterthedustsettles.ButmylegalofficerandIhavediscussedthis,andthat’sheropinion.”

“Andifshe’swrong?”Malachaidemandedharshly.“Ifshe’swrong,she’swrong,andyou’rescrewed,Captain,”Wuadmitted.

“I’msorry,butthereitis.”“EvenifIdon’tgethitwiththenondeliverypenalty,I’mgoingtocomeup

shortonthenote,especiallyifIhavetositinaparkingorbitsomewhereinthehomesystembetweennowandthen,”shepointedout.“Ashipthat’snotmovingisonly ahole in space that peoplepourmoney into. It sure ashell not aholemoneycomesoutof!”

Well,that’strueenough,Wureflected.Andwhatareyougoingtodoifshe

refuses?HMSCometarywasamerelightcruiser.Admittedly,shewasanoldership,

which meant she carried a larger Marine detachment than most currentbattlecruisersdid,buthecouldn’tgopeelingoffdetailsofhisNavypersonneltotake over the engine rooms and bridges of freighters and passenger liners. Intheory, he could order his Marines to take control of Vortrekker and forceCaptainMalachaiandherowncrewtosaildirectly toManticore,yet he shiedawayfromthepossibility. Itwasn’t theRoyalManticoranNavy’s job to seizecontrolofhonestmerchantships,damnit!Butifhedidn’tdosomething…

“Klondike, you said,”heheardhimself say, and swore at himself silentlywhenMalachai’seyeslitwithsuddenhope.

“Right,Klondike.”Shenoddedvigorously.“Icanbe there in three and ahalfT-weeks.AndfromtheretoBeowulf’sonlyanotherthreeT-weeks.JustsixT-weeks—

that’sallIneed.”“Andit’sonlytwoT-weeksfromHypatiatoBeowulf,”hepointedout.Her lips tightened, but she didn’t say anything. She only looked back at

him,blueeyesunaccustomedtoaskingforanythingpleadingwithhimtorelent.He lookedbackather,wrestlingwith thoseeyesandhisown temptation.

HehadnodoubttheAdmiraltywouldhavequiteafewchoicethingstosaytohimifhegrantedanexemptionfromanondiscretionaryorder.Worse,oncehestarteddownthatslipperyslope,wheredidhestop?

How did he justify letting Vortrekker slide if he wasn’t going to grantexemptionstoeveryoneelsewhoasked,aswell?Hypatiawasn’tamajortrafficnode,anditwasunlikelyhewasgoingtoseealotmoreManticoranshipsbeforehisownorderstookhimhomeagain,butstill…

You’reaQueen’sofficer,Jared,hetoldhimself.Youtookanoathtoobeyalllegal orders, and the shit’s busy hitting the fan on a scale you never evendreamedof.It’snotyourjobtogoaroundsecond-guessingtheAdmiralty.

Especiallynotatatimelikethis!

All of that was true, but there was another side to the coin, as well.Cometarywasonlyanold,obsolescentlightcruiser,butshewasstillaQueen’sship and JaredWuwas still her commanding officer.And thatmeant he wassupposedtohavethegutstodowhathisordersrequiredhimtodo…andtobewilling to put his own judgment on the line when it came to those selfsameorders.

“CaptainMalachai,”hesaidatlast,“Ihaveexactlyzeroauthoritytoignore

theordersI’vebeengiven.Yourealizethat?”Malachai gave a single, choppy nod, her face grim, her eyes bleak once

more.Heletsilencelingerbetweenthemfortwoorthreebreaths,thensquaredhisshoulders.

“Ihavenoauthority,”herepeated,“but…I’mgoingto,anyway.”Thelastfourwordscameoutinmoreofasighofresignationthananything

else, and he felt himself shaking his own head in disbelief as he said them.Malachai’s eyes lit up like light-struck sapphires, though, and her faceblossomedinanenormoussmile.

“Understandme, Captain!” he saidmuchmore sharply,waving an indexfingeratthecompickup.

“StraighttoKlondike,unloadyourcargo,thenstraighttoBeowulfandbacktoManticore. Idon’twant tohearaboutanyotherchartersyou’vegot. Idon’twant you picking up any other cargoes. You’re dropping off what you haveaboard,andyourheadingstraighthome.Isthatperfectlyclear?”

“Perfectly,Commander!”Malachaisaid,noddinghard.“Ihopetohellitis,”hesaid,“becausefrankly,we’rebothgoingtobeina

world of hurt if you don’t do exactly that. I remind you that the WCSA’spenaltiesfornoncomplianceareugly,Captain.”

“Don’t worry, Commander,” Malachai said, her voice far gentler thananythingWuhadyetheardfromher.“Ioweyoubigtimefor this.”Sheshookherhead.“I’mnotgoingtodoanythingtoscrewyouover,Iswear.”

Wulookedatherhardforseveralseconds,thensmiledfaintly.“Gladtohearit.AndI’mgoingtoholdyoutoit,too,Captain!”Theireyes

heldforanotherheartbeat,andthenhewavedhisrighthandatthepickup.“Now,goon.GetoutofherebeforeIcometomysensesandchangemymind!”

ChapterThree“Oh,crap.”Thewordswerespokenquietly,almostprayerfully.Foramomentor two,

Lieutenant Aaron Tilborch, commanding officer of the Zunker Space Navy’slight attack craftKipling, didn’t even realize he’d spoken them out loud, andtheywerehardlytheconsidered,detachedobservationonemighthaveexpectedfrom a trained professional. On the whole, however, they summed up thesituationquitenicely.

“What do we do now, Sir?” Lieutenant Jannetje van Calcar, Kipling’sexecutive officer, sounded as nervous asTilborch felt,and Tilborch thought itwas an excellent question. Not that there was much Kipling’s small ship’scompanycoulddoabouttheeventspreparingtounfoldbeforethem.

TheZSNwasn’tmuchasnavieswent.Therewereseveralreasonsforthat,

andonewasthattheZunkerSystem’snominalsovereigntyhaddependedforthelastT-decade and a half or so upon a delicate balancing act between the StarKingdom of Manticore and the Solarian League. The Office of FrontierSecurity’s local commissioners had cast greedy eyes upon the Zunker Systemeversincethewormholeterminusassociatedwithithadbeendiscovered,buttheterminuswas thenextbest thing to sixandahalf light-hours from the systemprimary.

That put it well outside Zunker’s territorial space, which meant simplygrabbingoffthestarsystemwouldn’tnecessarilyhavegivenOFScontroloftheterminus…

especiallysinceitsotherendlayintheIdahoSystem.Inpointof fact, the“ZunkerTerminus” had been discovered by a survey

crewoperatingoutofIdahoseventeenT-yearsearlier.AndIdaho,unlikeZunker,lay only seventy-two light-years from the Manticore Binary System—threeweeks’ hyper flight for a merchant ship from the Manticoran WormholeJunction.Actually,thesurveyshiphadbeenManticoran,notIdahoian,althoughithadbeenunderchartertotheIdahogovernmentatthetime.

PriortothediscoveryoftheIdahoHyperBridge,Idahohadbeenarelativebackwater, completely overshadowed by the bustling trade and massiveeconomy of its Manticoran neighbor and fellow member of the Manticoranalliance.

For Zunker,whose existence had always been even more hand-to-mouththanthatofmanyotherVergestarsystems,theconsequenceshadbeenprofound.ThehyperbridgebetweenitandIdahowasoverfourhundredlight-yearslong,andthesystemlayroughlyahundredandninetylight-yearsfromtheSolSystemandjustoverahundredandfiftylight-yearsfromBeowulf.Infact,itlayalmostdirectly between Beowulf and Asgerd, closing the gap between the BeowulfTerminus of the Manticore Wormhole Junction and the Andermani Empire’sAsgerd-Durandel Hyper Bridge. That had turned both Zunker and Idaho intoimportant feeder systems for the ever more heavily traveled ManticoranWormholeJunction.

Thesuddeninfluxofsomuchtraffic,andthekindofcashflowthatwentwithit,dwarfedanythingZunkerhadeverimagined…andithadturnedouttobea mixed blessing. The cascade of credits and the frenzied construction ofshipping and support structures for the traffic that produced it had fueled aneconomicboomsuchasnoZunkeranhadeverdreamedwaspossible.Overthelast fifteen T-years, something like decent medical care, a proper educationalsystem, and the beginning of true prosperity had sprouted in LieutenantTilborch’s home star system. Yet that same abundance of cash had inevitably

attracted the avarice of the Office of Frontier Security and its transstellar“friends.”

UnfortunatelyforOFS,Idahohadnodesiretodobusinesswithyetanothertentacle of the OFS/corporate monstrosity. So when Frontier Security startedsniffing around Zunker, Idaho mentioned the sudden upsurge in Solariancompassionandphilanthropicurges to its neighbors (and allies) inManticore.And those neighbors (and allies) in Manticore had intimated to PermanentSenior Undersecretary of the Treasury Brian Sullivan, Agatá Wodoslawski’simmediatepredecessor,thatSolariantransitfeesthroughanyoftheManticoranWormhole Junction’s many termini might well experience an inexplicableupsurgeifanythingunfortunateweretohappentotheZunkerSystem.

TheresultwasanofficialSolarianconsulateinEffingham,Zunker’scapitalcity,anequallyofficialOFS

observation post right next door to it, and a clear understanding thatalthough the Leaguewould be permitted influence in Zunker, it wouldnot beallowedthesortofpuppetmastercontrolitexercisedinsomanyother

“independent” star systems.As a sort ofquid-pro-quo for theLeague’s…restraint, it was understood that Zunker fell ultimately under Solarian“protection,”ratherthanManticoran.Theterminusitself,ontheotherhand,wasgranted Idahoian extraterritoriality, recognized by both Manticore and theLeague, although PrimeMinister Cromarty ofManticore had insisted that theZunker System government receive one third of all transit fee revenues itgenerated.

AllofwhichmeanttheZunkerSpaceNavyconsistedoflittlemorethanadoublehandfulofLACs,suitable forpolicing the trafficwhichflowed throughthe star system’s freight-handling and servicing facilities. The ZSN certainlydidn’t possess anything remotely like a truewarship, although it did assign asquadron of its LACs to Zunker Terminus Astro Control, where it worked inconcertwithasimilarforceofIdahoianvessels.

WhichwashowLieutenantTilborchandthecrewofZSNSKiplingcametohavearingsideseatforwhatpromisedtobeamostunhappydayinnear-Zunkerspace.

“Whatdowedo,Jannetje?” he asked now, never looking away from thedisplay where a single Solarian merchant ship headed directly towards theterminus,escortedbysixSolarianLeagueNavybattlecruisers.“Whatwedo isgetthehelloutofthewayandcomhometoEffingham.”

“Butwhatabout—?”vanCalcarbegan.“TheMantiesaretheoneswhoannouncedtheywereclosingtheterminus

to Solarian traffic, and Idaho backed them,” Tilborch replied, cutting her off.

“Youknowwheremysympathieslie,butwe’vegotnoofficialbusinesspokingournosesin.Besides”—hesmiledhumorlessly—“it’snotlikeKiplingwasgoingtomakeanydifference,isit?”

***

Captain Hiram Ivanov watched his tactical display and frowned as heconsideredtheoddsandhowtheymustlookfromtheotherside.HisdivisionofSaganami-C-classheavycruiserswasoneshipunderstrength, leavinghimonlythreetoconfronttheoncomingSolarianbattlecruisers.HealsohadfourRoland-class destroyers, however, which actually gave him the numerical advantage,although destroyers and heavy cruisers were scarcely in the same league(nominally, at least) as battlecruisers. On the other hand, all of his ships hadMark23-stuffedmissilepodstractoredtotheirhulls,whichputratheradifferentcomplexionontraditionalcalculationscombatpower.

Unfortunately, it appeared these particular Sollies still hadn’t workedthroughtheimplicationsoftheBattleofSpindle.

“Howdoyouwanttohandleit,Sir?”CommanderClaudineTakoushaskedsoftly fromhiscommandchaircomdisplay. Ivanov lookeddownather imageandraisedhiseyebrows,andsheshrugged.“Iknowwhatwe’resupposedtodo,Sir.I’monlywonderinghowmuchtalkingyouplantodofirst?Imean,this”—she twitched her head in the direction of her own tactical plot—“is just a bitmoreblatantthanweexpected.”

“Blatantisn’tpreciselythewordI’dchoose,Claudine,”Ivanovrepliedinajudicious tone. “In fact, on reflection, Ibelieve‘stupid’comes a lot closer tocapturingtheessenceofmyfeelingsatthismoment.

‘Arrogant’ and ‘pigheaded’ probably belong somewhere in the mix, too,nowthatIthinkaboutit.”

“Doyouthinkit’sthelocalFrontierFleetCO’sidea?Orthatitrepresentsordersfromtheiradmiralty?”“I’minclinedtothinkit’sthelocals,”Ivanovsaid.“EspeciallygivenCommissionerFloyd’sattitudetowardstheStarEmpire’s

‘interference’inhispersonalarrangements,”headded,eyesdriftingbacktohisowndisplay.

Theincomingiconshadmadetheiralphatranslationthebetterpartoffiftymillion kilometers from the terminus. That represented either pretty poorastrogationorelseadeliberatedecisiontogiveanyManticoranwarshipsplentyof time tosee themcoming. Ivanov suspected the latter. It was entirely likelythatsomeonelikeCommissionerFloydwouldfiguretheManticorans’

nervewouldfailiftheyhadtowatchtheslow,inexorableapproachofthe

Solarian League Navy. Whether or not the Solly flag officer assigned to themissionwouldshare thatbeliefwasanotherquestion,ofcourse.Eitherway, itwasgoingtotakethemawhiletoreachIvanov’ssmallforce.

The velocity they’d brought over the alpha wall into normal-space wasbarelyathousandkilometerspersecond,and theiraccelerationrate,helddownby the4,800,000-ton freighter at the coreof their formation,wasbarely2.037KPS2.At that rate, itwould take themover twoandahalfhours to reach theterminuswithazero/zerovelocity.

“It’sonlybeenaweeksinceIdahoannounceditwasclosingtheterminustoSollytraffic,”Ivanoffcontinued.

“That’snotenoughtimeforthewordtohavereachedOldTerra,muchlessfororderstodeliberatelycreateaprovocation to’vegottenall thewayoutherefromOldChicago.And this isadeliberateprovocation if I’veeverseenone.”Hesnorted.“It’ssureashellnotacaseofasinglemerchiewhosimplyhasn’tgotten theword,anyway!”Heshrugged.“IknowAstroControl’s transmissionhasn’t had time to reach them yet—they’re still the better part of three light-minutesout—butI’llbetadollarIknowwhatthey’regoingtosay—ornotsay,morelikely—whenCaptainArredondoordersthemoff.”

“Notakershere,Skipper,”Takoushsaidsourly.“Well,until theygetaroundtonotsaying it, there’snota lotwecando.”

Ivanovshruggedagain.“We’lljusthavetowaitandseeiftheyreallyarestupid—and arrogant and pigheaded—enough to keep coming. And after theydemonstrate that they are,” he showed his teeth, “we’ll just have to see ifwecan’tconvincethemto…reconsidertheirintransigence.”

“Youknow,Skipper,”Takoushobserved, “I’ve always admiredyourwaywiththelanguage.”

***Although therewasnoway forCaptain Ivanov toknow it,RearAdmiral

Liam Pyun, the commanding officer of Battlecruiser Division 3065.2 of theSolarianLeagueNavy,ratheragreedwiththeManticoranofficer’sassessmentoftheordershe’dbeengiven.Unfortunately,they

wereorders, legally issued by one Hirokichi Floyd, the Office of Frontier

Security’scommissionerfortheGenoveseSector.Floydwasoneofthepeoplewho’dmostresentedOFS’failuretoaddZunker(andtheterminusassociatedwithit)toitslonglistof

unofficiallyannexedstarsystems.Itaffrontedhissenseofthewaytheuniversewas supposed to run…and deprived him of his custom-hallowed rakeoff from

theterminus’lucrativeusefees.Tomakemattersworse,he’dbeendeprivedbythethen-StarKingdomofManticore,themostuppityoftheneobarbstarnationswhichweredisinclined to grant theSolarianLeague thedeference towhich itwassoobviouslydue.And, justfor thefrostingonFloyd’scakeofdiscontent,the Star Kingdom had pulled no puncheswhen the terminus was discovered.Despite(orperhapsbecauseof)thefactthatitwaseventhenfightingforitslifeagainst the People’s Republic ofHaven in awarwhich had begun at a placecalledHancock less than threemonthsearlier,Manticore’sexplanationofwhytheLeaguemightchoosetokeepitsfingersoffZunkerhadbeenpresentedrathermore bluntly, onemight almost say forcefully, than anyone ever spoke to theSolarianLeague,andFloydhadbeenamemberofthedelegationtowhichthat“explanation”hadbeengiven.

HirokichiFloydwasscarcelyuniqueamongSolarianbureaucratsinhavingpersonal reasons to loathe the Star Empire of Manticore and its intolerableinsolence.RearAdmiralPyunwasonly toowell aware of that.Most of thosebureaucrats,however,werefar,farawayfromLiamPyun,andhewishedFloydwereequallyfaraway.

“Sir,”LieutenantCommanderTurner,Pyun’sstaffcommunicationsofficer,saidquietly,“we’vereceivedatransmissionfromAstroControl.”

“Havewe?”Pyunnever turned away from themaster display.Therewassilence on HMS Belle Poule’s flag deck for several seconds. It was a ratheruncomfortablesilence,andPyun’s lips twitchedhumorlesslyashefinally tookpityonthecomofficerandlookedoverhisshoulderathim.

“Whatsortoftransmission,Ephram?”heasked.“It’saddressedtotheseniorofficerpresent,Sir.”Turner looked relieved by Pyun’s even-toned response, but he clearly

wasn’thappyaboutthemessageitself.“ShouldIputitonyourpersonaldisplay,Sir?”

“No.”Pyunshookhishead.“Putituponthemaster.”“Yes, Sir.” Turner didn’t—quite—shrug, but there was an undeniable, if

respectful,elementof“ifyousayso”inhisbodylanguage.Amomentlater,theface of a dark-haired, bearded man appeared on the main communicationsdisplay.

“IamCaptainFergusArredondo,ZunkerTerminusAstroControlService.”ThebeardedmanspokewithapronouncedManticoranaccent,despite thefactthatheworetheuniformofthenominallyautonomousZTACS.Notsurprisingly,Pyunreflected.IdahowasaMantyally,andmostoftheexperiencedpersonnelhandlingtrafficthroughtheZunkerTerminuswereactuallyManties“onloan”toZTACS.

“Youareherebyadvisedthat,byorderoftheRoyalManticoranNavy,thisterminus is closed to all Solarian warships and Solarian-registered merchanttraffic,”

Arredondo continued. “Be aware that the Royal Manticoran Navy hasissuedinstructionstoAstroControltoinformallincomingshippingthatvesselsapproaching this terminus are required to activate their transpondersimmediatelyupon receiptof this transmission. Inaddition, allSolarianvesselsare prohibited from approachingwithin one light-minute of the terminus. TheStarEmpireofManticorehasdeclared thisvolumeof spaceaprohibitedzoneand will act in accordance with international laws governing such zones.Arredondo,clear.”

“Well,that’scertainlyclearenough,Sir,”StevenGilmore,Pyun’schiefofstaffsaidalmostwhimsically.

“Arrogant,maybe,butclear.”“Andnotexactlyasurprise,”Pyunagreed.“InterestingthatIdaho’stellingustheTerminusisclosed‘byorderoftheRoyalManticoranNavy’ratherthanonitsownauthority,

though,isn’tit?”Hesmiledhumorlessly.“There probably isn’t anything Idaho could’ve done to keep the Manties

fromclosing the terminus,whatever theirownfeelingsmightbe.But thiswaytheygettohidebehindtheStarEmpire—‘Lookwhattheymadeusdo!’—

withoutofficiallydoinganythingtopissusoff.”Hiseyesstrayedtothesinglegreenlight-beadoftheZambeziTreasure,the

freighter Floyd had ordered his division to escort through the terminus, andwonderedhowCaptainMcKenziehadreactedto the transmission.Hedoubted,somehow,thatMcKenziewasanyhappieraboutitthanhewas.

Not that theManties are likely to start right out shooting at him if pushcomestoshove,therearadmiralreflected.

“Anysignthey’vereinforcedtheirpicket,Josette?”heaskedhisoperationsofficer,andCaptainJosetteSteinbergshookherhead.

“No, Sir. I can’t speak to what they might have lying doggo with itsimpellers down, but judging from the signatureswe can see, it’s still just thethreecruisersandfourofthosebig-asseddestroyersoftheirs.”

“Seven-to-sixodds, their favor,”Gilmoreobserved.“Inhulls, anyway.Ofcourse,thetonnageratio’sinourfavor.”

Pyun nodded. His six battlecruisers were all Indefatigable-class ships,ratherthanBattleFleet’snewerNevadas,buttheircombinedmasswasstilloverfive million tons, whereas the Manty picket couldn’t mass much over twomillion,despitethefactthattheManticoran

“destroyers”were larger thanmostSLN light cruisers.By any traditionalmeasure,hisforceadvantageoughttobeoverwhelming.

Oneofthenagging littleproblemswith traditions,however,was that theyweresubjecttochange.

Iwonderhowmanymissile pods they have?he thought.WhateverFloydthinks,theyhavetohavesome.Imean,Idaho’sbarelyseventylight-yearsfromtheirhomesystem!Nomatterhowmuchdamage they’ve taken, they’ve got tohavescrapedupatleastsomeadditionalfirepowerifthey’regoingtocountononlysevenshipstocovertheentireterminus.

Hewouldhavebeena lothappier ifhe’dhadbetter informationonwhathadhappenedintheSpindleSystemlastmonth.Hewassuretheofficialversionwas on itsway toGenovese fromOld Terra, butGenovesewas twenty light-years further from Sol than Zunker. It took the better part of a T-month foranythingfromOldTerratoreachGenovese,asopposedtotheoneweekofhypertravelbetweenZunkerandGenovese,soatthemomentallhe—

andCommissionerFloyd—hadtogoonwerethereportswhichhadcomethroughfromIdaho.WhichmeantalltheyreallyknewwaswhattheMantieshadtoldthem.Well,whattheMantieshadtoldthemandthefactthatsomeone

—andnot,apparently,theSLN—hadkickedtheever-lovinghelloutoftheMantyhomesystemshortlyafterwhatever they’ddone toAdmiralCrandallatSpindle. Assuming, of course, that they’d actually done anything to AdmiralCrandallatSpindle.

CommissionerFloydwasinclinedtothinktheyhadn’t.RearAdmiralPyunwasinclinedtothinkCommissionerFloydwasanidiot.“Anythingfromtheirpicketcommander,Ephram?”heaskedoutloud.“No,Sir.Notyet,atleast.”“Isee.”Pyunturnedhisattentionbacktothemasterdisplay.***“I don’t suppose we’ve heard anything back from our visitors, Justin?”

CaptainIvanovasked.“No transpondersignals?Nosnappy littlecomebacks toCaptainArredondo’sinstructions?”

“No,Sir,”LieutenantJustinAdenauerreplied.“SomehowIthoughtyouwouldhavementioneditifwehad,”Ivanovsaid

dryly, then looked down at the display screen connecting him to AuxiliaryControlatthefarendofHMSSloanTompkins’corehullfromhisowncommanddeck.

“Iguessit’stimewegotintotheact,Claudine,”heobserved.

“Boundtogetinterestingwhenwedo,Sir.”“There’salotofthatgoingaround.”Ivanovsmiledgrimly.“Itseemswe’ve

beencursedtolivein‘interestingtimes.’”“True.” Takoush nodded. “Of course, we can always try to make things

moreinterestingforothersthanforus.”“Mygoal in life,” Ivanov agreed, then turnedback toAdenauer. “Record

fortransmission,Justin.”***“Admiral, we have another message,” Ephram Turner announced. “This

one’snotfromAstroControl.”“No?”PyunturnedawayfromthemasterdisplayandcrossedtoTurner’sstation.

ZambeziTreasure(andhisbattlecruisers)hadbeeninn-spaceforalmostexactlytenminutes.During that time they’d covered almost amillion kilometers andraisedtheirclosingvelocityrelativetotheterminustoapproximately2,200KPS.He’d wondered how long the picket force commander was going to wait tocontact him. In fact, he’d just won five credits on a side bet with CaptainSteinbergonthatverypoint.

“Goaheadandplayit,Ephram,”therearadmiralsaid,standingatTurner’sshoulderandlookingdownatthecomofficer’sconsole.

“Yes,Sir.”Turnertouchedastud,andabrown-haired,green-eyedmanintheuniform

ofasenior-gradeRMNcaptainappearedonasmalldisplay.“IamCaptainHiramIvanov,RoyalManticoranNavy.”Ivanov’svoicewascrispandprofessional,and ifhewasdismayedby the

disparitybetweenPyun’sforceandhisowntherewasnosignofitinthosegreeneyes.“I’mawarethatyou’vebeen instructedbyAstroControl toactivateyouridentification transponders and that no Solarian warships or Solarian-registrymerchantvesselsareallowedtoapproachwithineighteenmillionkilometersofthis terminus. Be informed at this time that while my Empress continues todesireapeacefulresolutiontothecurrenttensionsbetweentheStarEmpireandthe Solarian League, I have orders to enforce my government’s directivesconcerning this terminus by force.Moreover, I also hereby inform you that Ihavenochoicebuttoconstruethepresenceofsomany‘unidentified’

battlecruisersincompanywithasinglemerchantshipasadeliberateeffortonyourparttodefythosedirectives.

Shouldyoucontinuetoapproachthisterminuswithoutactivetranspondersandclosetoadistanceoflessthanthirtymillionkilometers,Iwillengageyou.Iwouldprefertoavoidthat,butthechoiceisinyourhands.Ivanov,clear.”

Ivanov nodded almost courteously, and Turner’s display blanked. Pyunstoodgazingdownatitforaheartbeatorso,theninhaleddeeply.

“Thank you, Ephram.” He patted the com officer on the shoulder andwalkedbackacrosstheflagbridgetoCaptainGilmore.

“Well,that’sclearenough,too,”heobserveddryly.“Yes, Sir. And that thirty million-klick tripwire of his is consistent with

whattheysayhappenedatSpindle,too.”“Agreed. On the other hand, it would be consistent, don’t you think?

Whetherthe‘BattleofSpindle’everreallyhappenedornot.”Gilmorenodded,buthis expressionwas unhappy,which pleased the rear

admiralnoend,sinceitindicatedthepresenceofafunctioningbrain.PlentyofFrontierFleetofficerswerejustasweddedtothenotionofSolarianinvincibilityasanyBattleFleetpainintheass,butPyunhadn’tchosenhisstafffromamongthem.NoonecouldeverreasonablycallStevenGilmoreanalarmist,yethewasat least willing to admit the Manties might actually have learned a littlesomething—or evendeveloped a fewnewweapons systems—in the courseofsurvivingatwenty-T-yearwaragainstthefarlargerPeople’sRepublicofHaven.

Ofcourse,neitherhenorPyunhadbeenanywherenear theTalbottSectorwhenthatincomparablemilitarygeniusJosefByngmanagedtogethisflagshipblown away atNewTuscany.Nor had they been in the vicinitywhen SandraCrandall set out to avengeher fellowgenius, so therewas noway they couldhave any firsthand impression of the weapons Manticore might have used.Unlike Gilmore, however, Pyun had enjoyed the dubious pleasure of actuallymeetingCrandall,andbasedonthat,theManties’versionofwhatshe’ddoneatSpindle carried a pronounced ring of truth.Which suggested the rest of theirversion of the Battle of Spindle was also at least reasonably accurate. Pyunmight bewilling to play devil’s advocatewithGilmore,buthe shared his opsofficer’s disinclination to simply dismiss the “preposterous” rangeswhich hadbeen reported by at least some Solarian observers even before whateverhappenedtoCrandall.

Thirtymillionkilometersstillsoundedliketoomuchtobetrue,but…Pyun considered his orders once again. Theywere as clear as theywere

nondiscretionary, yet he hadn’t earned flag rank in the SolarianNavywithoutdiscoveringhowmuch easier itwas for peoplewhowere going to be far, farawayatthecriticalmomenttoissuesuchunflinchingdirectives.

Maybeitis,buthe’sstilltheCommissioner,andyou’restillaFrontierFleetofficerassignedtohissector.

“CopyCaptainIvanov’smessagetoCaptainZyndram,Ephram.Informthe

CaptainthatIseenoreasontoalterourintentionsatthistime.”“Yes,Sir.”He folded his hands behind himself and stood gazing into the master

displayoncemore.***“I don’t suppose the Admiral actually replied to this, Vincent?” Captain

NereuZyndram,COofSLNSBellePoule,asked.“No,Sir,”LieutenantVincentWürtzreplied.Thecomofficerstartedtosay

somethingelse,butthenheclosedhismouth,andZyndramsmiledthinly.Würtzwasyoung,theflagcaptainthought.Infact,hewasyoungerthanhe

thought hewas, prey to both the confidence and the trepidation of his youth.Therewas noway, in youngWürtz’worldview, that any neobarbNavy couldpossiblystanduptotheSLN.Asfarasthelieutenantwasconcerned,theMantyaccounts of the Battle of Spindle could only be disinformation. No otherpossibilitywas admissible.Yetdespite that, another part of the youngsterwassecretlyafraid theMantyclaimsmightcontainat leastaparticleof truth,afterall.AndlikethevastmajorityofBellePoule’scompany,Würtzhadneverseenactual combat. The possibility that he might see it very soon now had to begnawingawayinsidehim.

Fairenough,Zyndramthought.Youhaveseencombat,Nereu.Andyou’vebeen around long enough to have a better feel than young Vincent for whensomeone’sshootingyoua lineofshit, too.Which iswhyyou’re feeling a littlenervousjustthismoment,yourself.

NereuZyndramhadfeltprofoundreservationsaboutthisoperationfromthemoment Rear Admiral Pyun shared their orders with him. Those reservationshadn’tgrownanysmallersince,either.Ontheotherhand,he’dknownPyunforalotofyears.Therewasn’tmuchchancetheadmiralwasgoingtostartignoringordersjustbecausehethoughttheywerestupid.

***“Hedoesn’tseemveryimpressedbymywarning,doeshe?”HiramIvanov

observed as the icons of the Solarian formation continued their remorseless,silentadvanceontheterminus.

“Typicalpain-in-the-assSolly response,Sir, if you don’tmindmy sayingso,”LieutenantCommanderBrianBrockhurst,SloanTompkins’ tacticalofficer,replied,hisvoiceharsh.“OrmaybeIshouldsaylackofresponse!”

“Idon’tmindyoursayingit,BB,”Ivanovsaidinarathermildertone.“On

the other hand, let’s not jump to any conclusions. We’re a long way fromSpindle,andthere’snowaythisfellowcould’vegottenanydetailedinformationfromOld Terra yet. All he’s got is whatever’s come through from Idaho andtrickled into his information net. So it’s entirely possible he’s basing hisassessment of the opposing force levels on…flawed data, let’s say.” Thecaptain’sexpressionturnedbleak.“Hemaybealmostasill-informedaboutouractual capabilities aswewere aboutwhoever ripped up the home system lastmonth.”

Brockhurst’s ownmouth tightened.His older brother, his sister, and theirfamilieshadlivedonaspacestationcalledHephaestuspriortotheattackontheManticoreBinarySystem,andapartofhimwantedvengeanceonsomeone—anyone. If he couldn’t get at the peoplewho’d actually launched “theYawataStrike,”he’dsettleforanylegitimatetargethecouldgetat.NorwasheinclinedtobeanymoresensitivetotheStarEmpire’senemies’

perceptions,orthereasonsforthem,thanhehadtobe.“Closing velocity when they get to thirty million klicks?” Ivanov asked

afteramoment,andBrockhurstpunchedinthenumbers.“Justashadeundernine thousandKPSwhen theycross the line,Sir.”He

looked back up at his CO. “That’ll add about another three-point-twomillionklickstothepoweredenvelope.”

Ivanovnodded.He’dfactoredthatintohiscalculationswhenhewarnedtheSolliesnottoapproachwithinthirtymillionkilometersoftheterminus.Thatwasactually exceeding the letter of his orders, but the Royal Manticoran Navy’stradition was that an officer was expected to use his own judgment—anddiscretion—within theunderstood intentofhisorders.CaseLacoön, theRoyalNavy’s long-standing contingency plan to close all termini normally under itscontrol to Solarian shipping, didn’t really apply to blowing Solarianbattlecruisersoutofspacethirtymillionkilometersshortofanyoftheterminiinquestion.Ontheotherhand,itwasobvioustheNavywasshortlygoingtomovetofullimplementationofofLacoönTwo.Whenthathappened,Manticorewouldbeginseizingcontrolofevery terminus itcould,whoever those termini legally(or nominally, at least) belonged to, and closing all of them to the Sollies, aswell.

Whateverthattook,andwhatevertherangeatwhichtheNavyfounditselfopeningfire.

Thefatiswellandtrulyinthefire,nomatterwhathappens,HiramIvanovthought grimly. If those bastards in Old Chicago were going to do thereasonablething,they’dalready’vedoneit.Sincetheyhaven’t,thingsaregoingtogetahellofalotworsebeforetheygetanybetter,andIthinkit’stimetobegin

makingthatcleartotheotherside.“Allright,BB,”hetoldBrockhurstafteramoment.“We’llgowithVolleyAlpha ifouruncommunicativefriendsdocross the

line.”Brockhurstlookedasifhe’dliketoobject.Hehadn’tbeenahugefanofthe

VolleyAlphaopsplanwhenIvanovfirst trotted itout,andhestillwasn’t.Butwhetherornothewantedtoobject,whatheactuallydidwasnod.

“VolleyAlpha,aye,Sir,”hesaid.“I’llgetitsetupnow.”***“Cominguponthethirtymillion-kilometermarkinoneminute,Admiral,”

LieutenantEstelleMarker,RearAdmiralPyun’sstaffastrogatorannounced.“Thankyou,Estelle,”Pyunacknowledged,andcockedhisheadatJosette

Steinberg.“Status?”heasked.“We’re as ready as we’re going to be, Sir.” It wasn’t the most formal

readiness report Pyun had ever received, but Steinberg had beenwith him foralmostthreeT-years.

Unlike Battle Fleet, they’d actually accomplished something during thattime,too.

“Haloisdeployedandpreparedforfullactivation,”the ops officer continued. “Captain Zyndram reports all missile-defense

systemsaremannedandready.Therestofthedivisionisgreen-board,aswell.Idon’tknowwhat thesepeople think theycanhituswithat this range,Sir,butwhateveritis,we’rereadyforit.”

“Thankyou,”Pyunsaid,and returned to his contemplation of themasterastro display. The distance to the terminus was as ridiculously high asSteinberg’sreadinessreportimplied,andhefoundhimselfwishinghesharedtheops officer’s dismissal of the range at which the Manties claimed to havedevastated Sandra Crandall’s command. For that matter, he was pretty sureSteinbergwishedshereallyandtrulydisbelievedthoseclaims.

Whatever else happens, at least the SolarianLeagueNavy knows how tomaintainabraveface,hethought.

Thethoughtamusedhim,inablack-humorsortofway,yethe’ddiscoveredhevastlypreferredSteinberg’sattitudetothepanickyresponsehesuspectedtheManticoranreportshadengenderedelsewhere.Notthatalittlepanicwouldn’tdocertainBattleFleetofficershecouldthinkofaworldofgood.Atthemoment,though—

“Missilelaunch!”oneofSteinberg’sratingssuddenlyannounced.“CIChasmultiplemissilelaunchesatthree-zeromillionkilometers!”

***

HMSSloanTompkins,likehersistersBristolQ.YakolevandCheetah,wasaSaganami-C-classheavycruiser, and eachof themmounted twenty launchers in each

broadside.With theRMN’sability tofireoff-boremissiles, thatgave themtheabilitytofireforty-missilestrongdoublebroadsidesinasinglelaunch,andtheywerearmedwiththeinternallylaunchedMark16dual-drivemissile.

Becauseofthat,theirtubes(and,justasimportantly,theirfirecontrol)hadbeendesigned takeadvantage of theMark 16’s drive flexibility and firewhatwereactuallyquadruplebroadsides—salvosofeightymissileseach,not

“just” forty—in order to “stack” their fire and saturate an opponent’smissiledefenses.

Atthemoment,HiramIvanov’sshipshad literallydozensofmissilepodslimpeted to their hulls, as well, and thosemissile pods were loadedwith fullcapabilityMark23

multidrive missiles, with even more endurance and powered range (andheavierlaserheads)thantheMark16.

MDMswere inshortersupply thanMark16s, though,andIvanovhadnointentionofusingthemupunlesshehadto.

SoVolleyAlphausedonlythecruisers’internaltubes,andeventheRoland-classdestroyersattachedtohisforceweremerespectatorsatthemoment.Theyhadbarelyaquarterofthecruisers’magazinecapacity,andIvanovhadnomoreintentionofwastingtheirlimitedammunitionthanhedidofwastingMDMs.

Whichwaswhy“only” twohundredand fortymissiles, launch timesanddrive activations carefully staggered to bring all of them in as a single salvo,wenthowlingtowardsRearAdmiralLiamPyun’sbattlecruisers.

***“Two hundred-plus inbound,” Josette Steinberg reported tersely.

“Acceleration approximately four-five-one KPS-squared. Activate all Haloplatformsnow!”

“ActivatingHalo,aye,Ma’am!”“Damn,” StevenGilmore said, so quietly only Pyun could possibly have

heardhim.“That’sgottobeawarningshot,Sir!”

“You think so?” Pyun’s eyes were on the tac display now, watching thescarleticonsoftheManticoranmissilesstreaktowardshiscommand.

“Hastobe,Sir.”Gilmoreshookhishead.“Evenassuming they’vegot thelegstoreachuswithoutgoingballistic,theirtargetingsolutionshavetosuckatthisrange.”

“Iimaginethat’swhatSandraCrandallthought,too.”Pyunshowedhisteeth.“AssumingtheBattleofSpindlereallyhappened,of

course.”Gilmorestartedtoreply,butafreshreportfromSteinbergcuthimoff.“Admiral,assumingthesedrivenumbersholdup,thosethingsaregoingto

beclosing at better than a hundred and seventy thousandKPSwhen they gethere.”

ShelookedoverhershoulderatPyun.“It looks likeImay’vebeenwrongaboutwhetherornottheycanreachus,Sir.”

“Time to attack range fourminutes,Ma’am,” one of her ratings told her,andshenodded.

“Haloactive,”anotherratingconfirmed.***“Thisisnotgood,”LieutenantCommanderAustellPouchardmutteredunderhisbreath.“Ithinkwecouldallagreewiththat,Lieutenant,”Commander Hiacyntá Pocock, Belle Poule’s executive officer observed

caustically,andPouchardgrimacedasherealizedhe’dspokenmoreloudlythanhe’dmeantto.

“Sorry,Ma’am,”hesaid.“Butifthesenumbers—”Heshookhishead,anditwasPocock’sturntogrimace.Pouchardwas the

flagship’s senior tactical officer. As such, he, like Pocock, was assigned toControl Bravo, the SLN’s equivalent of the Manticoran Navy’s AuxiliaryControl. Control Bravo was a complete duplicate of Captain Zyndram’scommanddeck,taskedtotakeoverifanythingunfortunatehappenedtoControlAlpha.

Because of that, Control Bravo’s personnel were supposed to be just ascompletelyimmersedinthetacticalsituationasanyoneinControlAlpha,poisedtoassumecommandinstantlyinanemergency.Inpractice,though,therewasatendencyforControlBravotobejustalittledetached.Tostandbackjustabitandwatchtheflowofasimulationortrainingexercise,lookingforthepatterns.

Except,ofcourse,thatthiswasnosimulation.Nonetheless, Pouchard had a point. If those incoming missiles could

maintain their current accelerationnumbers all theway in, stopping themwasgoing tobea copperplatedbitch.And somehow shecouldn’t convince herselftheMantieswouldhavefireda“warningshot”

quite so massive. Even with pods, three heavy cruisers couldn’t haveunlimitedammunition,andshecouldn’tseethemexpendingthatmanymissilesiftheydidn’thavethelegstoreachtheirtargetswithmaneuvertimestillontheirclocks.

In theory, a purely ballistic missile with the standoff range of a modernlaser head was just as accurate as one which could still maneuver. Even animpeller-drivestarshipcouldn’tproduceenoughDeltaVtochangeitspredictedpositionsufficiently togetoutof thelaserhead’seffectiverangebasketduringthethreeminutesorsoofthemissile’sflight.Buttheoryhadatendencytocomeunglued when it ran headlong into the reality of that same impeller-drivestarship’s maneuverability within the range basket coupled with theimpenetrabilityofitsimpellerwedge.Theactualvulnerableaspectsofamodernwarshipwereremarkablynarrow,unlessonecouldattackthethroatofitswedge,andaship’sabilitytomakeradicalmaneuversatfourorfivehundredgravitiescoulddoalottodeny incomingmissilesa favorableangleofattack.Amissilewhich couldn’tmaneuver to pursue its targetwas unlikely, to say the least, toachieve that angle. Which didn’t even consider a ballistic target’s totalvulnerabilitytodefensivefire.No.Likeanoldpre-spacewet-navytorpedoatthevery end of its run, amissilewhich had exhausted its drive endurance beforereachingattackrangerepresentedanegligiblethreattoanymaneuveringtarget.

Which was why Hiacyntá Pocock was grimly certain those accelerationnumbersweregoingtostandup.

***

“GoodtelemetryonboththemissilesandtheGhostRiderplatforms,Sir,”Lieutenant Commander Brockhurst reported. “Halo emissions match AdmiralGoldPeak’sreportsalmostperfectly.”

CaptainIvanovonlynodded.Hisattentionwasonhisrepeaterplot.***“Admiral,CIC’spickingupsomething—”LiamPyunturnedtowardsCaptainSteinberg.Theoperationsofficer’seyes

wereonasidedisplay,thenshelookedupattherearadmiral.“It’s coming up on the master plot now, Sir,” she said, and Pyun’s eyes

darted back to the display. The new icons pulsed to draw the eye, help himseparatethemoutoftheclutter,andhefrowned.

“What the hell are those?” he demanded as the absurdly low ranges

registered. Those things were less than ten thousand kilometers clear of hisflagship!

“Wedon’t know,Sir,” Steinberg’ admitted. “Allwedo know is that theyseemto’vebeenthereallalong.Theyjustpoppedupasecondagowhentheycuttheirstealth.”

“Cuttheirstealth?”CaptainGilmorerepeated.“YoumeantheMantiesgotreconplatformsthatclosetouswithoutoureverevenseeingthem?”

“That’swhatitlookslike,”Steinberggratedharshly.“AndIdoubttheyjustdroppedtheirstealthfornoreasonatall.Theywant

ustoknowthey’rethere.”“Ma’am,”oneofherassistantssaid,“we’repickingupgravpulsesallover

theplace.Dozensofpointsources.”“Arethese”—Pyunusedalightpointertojabatthenewiconsinthemaster

plot—“someofthosepointsources,ChiefElliott?”“Uh,yes,Sir.Ithinktheyare,”thechiefpettyofficeracknowledged.“Oh,shit,”Gilmoremuttered.Weare sogoing togethammered, a quiet little voice said in the back of

Pyun’smind.“How the hell did they fit FTL emitters into something that small? ”

Steinbergdemandedalmostplaintively.The questionwas obviously rhetorical, whichwas probably just as well,

since no answer suggested itself to Pyun. Not that it would have made anydifferenceatthemoment.Whatmatteredwas that theMantieshadmanaged todoit.Unlesshewasbadlymistaken,thosehadtobereconplatforms—dozensofthem,asChiefElliotthadjustpointedout—andiftheywerecapableofwhatthewilder theoristshadproposed, theywerefeeding thoseMantycruisersdetailedtrackinginformationatFTLspeeds.

Whichmeant theirmissile control loophad just been cut inhalf, and theimplicationsofthat…

BellePoulevibratedascounter-missilesbegantolaunch,butitwasalreadyevident to Pyun that his shipsmounted far too few counter-missile tubes andpointdefenseclusterstodealwiththissalvo.

***“CominguponPointAlpha,”Brockhurstannounced.“Executeasspecified,”Ivanovsaidformally.“Aye,aye,Sir.Executing…now.”***TherewaslittlepanicaboardSLNSBellePoule

,butonlybecausehercrewwas toobusy for that.Therewasno time forthosewhocouldactuallyseethedisplays,recognizewhatthereadoutsmeant,toreallyconsiderwhatwashappening,thestunningrealizationthattheytrulywereasout-classedasthe“preposterous”reportsfromSpindlehadindicated.

Andtheywereout-classed.The Manticoran missiles came flashing in, still at that incredible—

impossible—acceleration rate, and just before they entered the counter-missilezone,theelectronicwarfareplatformsseededamongtheattackbirdsspunup.

Of the two hundred and fortymissiles launched byHiram Ivanov’s threecruisers, fifty carried nothing but penetration aids, and they’d been carefullysavedforthismoment.Now“Dazzler”platformsblindedSolariansensorsevenastheiraccompanying“DragonsTeeth”suddenlyproliferated,producingscoresof false targets to confuse and saturate their targets’ defenses. The Solarianbattlecruisercrewshadneverseen,neverimagined,anythinglikeit.IgnorantoftheenergybudgetstheRMN’smini-fusionplantsallowed,theysimplycouldn’tconceive of how such powerful jammers could be crammed into such tinyplatforms. The threat totally surpassed the parameters their doctrine and theirsystemshadbeendesignedtocopewith.

Pyun’s battlecruisersmanaged to stop exactly seventeen of the incomingshipkillersintheouterzone.

Theotherhundredandseventy-threestreakedpasteverycounter-missiletheSolarianscouldthrowwithalmostcontemptuousease.

***Liam Pyun watched his command’s destruction ripping through his

defenses. He’d always been more willing than most of his fellow officers toconsider thepossible accuracyof theoutlandish reports comingback from theendlessManticore-Havenwar.He’dhad tobe careful about admittinghewas,giventhecontemptwithwhichvirtuallyallofthoseotherofficersgreetedsuch“alarmist”rumors,butnowhekneweventhemostbizarreofthosereportshadunderstated the true magnitude of the threat. No wonder the Manties hadmanagedtopunchoutByng’sflagshipsocleanlyatNewTuscany!

His peoplewere doing their best, fightingwith frantic professionalism toovercome the fatal shortcomings of their doctrine and training in the fleetingminutes they had. They weren’t going to succeed, and he knew it, but theyweren’t going to simply sit there, paralyzed by terror, either, and he feltbittersweetpride in themevenashecursedhimself forhavingwalkedstraightintothisdisaster.

ButhowcouldIhaveknown?HowcouldIreallyhaveknown?AndevenifIhad—

AndthentheManticoranmisslesburstpast the inneredgeofthecounter-missilezone.Theycamedrivinginthroughthedesperate,last-ditch,last-minutefire of the battlecruisers’ point defense clusters, and the laser clusters werealmostasuselessinthefaceoftheMantyEWasthecounter-missileshadbeen.Theymanaged topickoffanother twelvemissiles,but thatstill left a hundredand sixty-three shipkillers, and Pyun felt his belly knotting solid as his ships’executionerscameboringinonthethroatsoftheirwedges.Theyweregoingto—

Onehundredandsixty-threeMark16missiles,eachwiththebetterpartofthirty seconds’ time left on its drive, swerved suddenly, in a perfectlysynchronizedmaneuver,anddetonatedasone.

***“Nicely done, BB,” Hiram Ivanov said approvingly as the FTL reports

cameinfromtheGhostRiderdronesandSloanTompkins’CICupdatedthemastertacticalplot.“Very nicely. In fact, I think that rates a ‘well done’ for your entire

department.”

***“Theyhitourwedges!”Steinbergblurted.“MyGod,theyhitourwedges!”Hertonewassodisbelieving—andsoaffronted—thatdespitehimself,Pyun

actuallyfelthismouthtwitchontheedgeofasmile.TheopsofficerwasstaringincredulouslyatherdisplaysasCIC’sdispassionatecomputersupdatedthem.

Itwastrue.Ithadhappenedsoquickly,theX-raylasershadcascadedininsuch a massive tide, that it had taken Steinberg (and Pyun, for that matter)several endless seconds to graspwhat had actually happened—to realize theywerestillalive—yetitwastrue.

TherearadmiralwoulddearlyhavelovedtobelieveHalohadsucceededinits decoy function. That the Manty missiles had been lured astray by hisbattlecruisers’

sophisticated electronic warfare systems. But much as he would havepreferred that, he knew differently. No defensive system in the galaxy couldhavecausedeverysinglemissile in an attacking salvo towaste its furyon theroofsandfloorsofhisships’impellerwedges.No.Theonlywaythatcouldhavehappenedwasforthepeoplewho’dfiredthosemissilestohavearrangedfor ittohappen.

“Christ!”CaptainGilmoreshookhisheadlikeamanwho’dbeenhitonetimetoomany.“Howthehell—?”Hestoppedandgavehisheadanothershake,

thengrimaced.“Sorry,Admiral.”Pyunonly lookedathim, thenwheeledbacktowardsSteinbergat theops

officer’s inarticulate sound of disbelief. She looked up and saw the admiral’seyesonher.

“I—”Itwasher turn to shakeherhead.“Sir,according toCIC,RetaliatetookonehitandImpudenttooktwo.

That’sit.That’sall!”

“Casualties?”Pyunheardhisownvoiceasking.“Nonereportedsofar,Sir.”“Butthat’sridic—”Gilmorebegan,thenmadehimselfstop.“Ridiculous,” Pyun agreed grimly. “Except for the minor fact that it

happened.WhichsuggestsitwaswhattheMantiesintendedtohappenallalong.Infact,thehitsonRetaliateandImpudentmust’vebeenunintentional.”

He smiledvery,very thinly. “I suppose it’snice toknownot evenMantyfirecontrolisperfect.”

Steinberglookedbackupathim,andGilmoreinhaleddeeply.“Sir,areyousuggesting theydeliberately targetedourwedges?” thechief

ofstaffaskedverycarefully.“Thatitwassomekindof…ofdemonstration?”“Idon’thaveanybetterexplanationforit,Steve.Doyou?”“I—”“Excuse me, Captain,” Lieutenant Turner interrupted respectfully, “but

we’rereceivingatransmissionIthinktheAdmiralhadbetterhear.”“Whatkindoftransmission?”Pyunasked.“It’s fromtheManties,Sir.But it’snot a direct transmission from any of

theirships.It’scomingfrom…somewhereelse.”“‘Somewhereelse’?”“Yes,Sir.”Thecommunicationsofficer seemed torn between relief at his

continuedexistence andunhappiness at somethingelse.“Sir, I think it’s beingrelayedfromanotherplatform.Fromseveralotherplatforms,actually.”

Pyunonlylookedathim,andTurnersighed.“Sir,itlookstomeasif theymusthaveat least tenor fifteenrelayplatformsout there,and they’re jumpingthe transmission between them to keep us from locking them up. And, Sir, Ithinkthey’retransmittingtousinrealtime.”

Pyunstartedtoprotest.Theywerestilloveralight-minuteandahalffromtheManties.Thereoughttobeaninetysecond-plustransmission lag.But thenherememberedallthosegravpulses,andhisprotestdied.

“Verywell,”hesaid.“Putitonthemaindisplay.”“Yes,Sir.”Thesamebrown-haired,green-eyedmanappeared, and Pyun felt his jaw

musclestighten.“I trust,”CaptainIvanovsaid,“thatyourealizewejustdeliberatelydidn’t

destroyyourships.AsI’vealreadysaid,myEmpresswouldprefertoresolvethedifferencesbetweentheStarEmpireandtheLeaguewithoutfurtherbloodshed.Thatdoesn’tmeanmorebloodwon’tbeshedanyway,butI’dreallyprefernottohaveithappenhere,today.Ifyoupersistinapproachingthisterminus,however,Iwillhavenochoicebuttocontinuethisengagement,andthenextsalvowon’tbe targeted on your wedges. You have ten minutes to reverse acceleration ortranslateintohyper.

Ifyou’vedoneneitherattheendofthosetenminutes,Iwillopenfireoncemore,andthistimewe’llbefiringforeffect.Ivanov,clear.”

ItwasveryquietonBellePoule’sflagbridge.Noonesaidaword.Infact,forseveralseconds,nooneevenbreathed.AlleyeswereonLiam Pyun as hestood continuing to gaze at the blank display from which Hiram Ivanov haddisappeared.Then theadmiral squared his shoulders, drew a deep breath, andturnedhisbackonthedisplay.

“Captain Gilmore, instruct Captain Zyndram to reverse accelerationimmediately.Andtellhimtogetourhypergeneratorsonline.”

ChapterFour“This,”YanaTretiakovnaannounced,“isbooooooring.”Thetall,attractive,andverydangerousblondeflungherselfbackwardinto

the threadbare armchair. She leanedback, crossedherarms, and glowered outthehuge crystoplastwall atwhat any unbiased personwould have to call themagnificentvistaofYamato’sNebula.

Atthemoment,shewaslessthanimpressed.Ontheotherhand,shehadalot to not be impressed about. And she’d had a lot of time in which to beunimpressed,too.

“I’msureyoucouldfindsomethingtoamuseyourselfifyoureallywantedto,” Anton Zilwicki said mildly, looking up from the chess problem on hisminicomp.“This isoneof thegalaxy’sbiggestandmost elaborate amusementparks,youknow.”

“Thiswasoneof thegalaxy’sbiggestamusementparks,”Yanashotback.“Thesedays, it’soneof the galaxy’s biggest deathtraps.Not tomention beingstuffedunnaturally fullofBallroom terrorists andBeowulfan commandos, notoneofwhomhasafunctioningsenseofhumor!”

“Well,ifyouhadn’tdislocatedthatniceBeowulfanlieutenant’selbowarmwrestlingwithhim,maybeyou’dfindouttheyhadbettersensesofhumorthanyouthinktheydo.”

“Yada, yada, yada.” Yana scowled. “It’s not even fun to tease Victoranymore!”

A deep basso chuckle rumbled around inside Zilwicki’s massive chest.When Yana had first signed on to assist in his andVictor Cachat’s high-riskmission toMesa, she’d been at least half-frightened (whether shewould haveadmittedittoalivingsoulornot)oftheHavenitesecretagent.She’dagreedtocomealong—mostlyoutofadesiretoavengeherfriendLara’sdeath—andshewasahardysoul,wasYana.Still,thenotionofplayingthegirlfriend(althoughtheancientterm“moll”mightactuallyhavebeenabetterone)ofsomeonemanypeople would have described as a stone-cold, crazed sociopathic killer hadobviouslyworriedhermorethanshe’dcaredtoadmit.Infact,Zilwickithought,Cachat had never struck him as either stone cold or crazed, but he could seewhereotherpeoplemightformthat impression,givenhisHavenitecolleague’sbodycount.Asforsociopathy,well,Zilwicki’sinternaljurywasstilloutonthatoneinsomeways.

Notthathehadn’tknownsomeperfectlynicesociopaths.Besides,Zilwickihadobserved thatwhowas thesociopathandwhowas thedefenderofall thatwasrightanddecentoftenseemedtodependagreatdealontheperspectiveoftheobserver.

Andsometimesthecigarreallyisacigar,ofcourse,hereflected.That’soneofthethingsthatmakelifesointerestingwhenVictor’saround.

Over the course of their lengthymission onMesa, Yana had gotten pastmostofherownuneasinesswiththeHavenite.Andthefour-monthvoyagefromMesa back to the Hainuwele System had finished it off. Of course, the tripshouldn’thavetakenanywherenearthatlong.Theold,battered,anddilapidatedfreighter Hali Sowle their Erewhonese contacts had provided had been asmuggler in her time, and she’d been equipped with a military grade hypergenerator. It wasn’t obvious, because her original owners had gone toconsiderablelengthstodisguiseit,andtheyhadn’ttinkeredwithhercommercialgradeimpellernodesandparticlescreening,butthathadallowedhertoclimbashigh as the Theta Bands,whichmade her far faster than the vastmajority ofmerchantvessels.

Unfortunately,thehypergeneratorinquestionhadbeenlessthanperfectlymaintained by the various owners through whose hands the ship had passedsince it was first installed, and it had promptly failed after they managed toescape Mesa into hyper. They’d survived the experience, but it had taken

Andrew Artlet what had seemed like an eternity to jury-rig the replacementcomponentthey’drequired.

They’ddrifted,effectivelymotionlessonaninterstellarscale,whileheandAntonmanagedtherepairs,andevenafterthey’dgottenthegeneratorbackup,using theMesa-VisigothHyper Bridge had been out of the question. They’dbeenbetterthanninehundredandsixtylight-yearsfromtheirbaseinHainuwele(andwelloverathousandlight-yearsfromTorch)butgiventhe…

pyrotechnicswhichhadaccompaniedtheirescape, they’ddarednotreturnto theMesaTerminusand take the shortcutwhichwould have delivered themless thansixty light-years fromBeowulf. Instead, they’dbeen forced todetourbyway of theOFS-administered Syou-tangTerminus of the Syou-tang-OliviaBridge, thencross thefourhundredandeighty-odd light-years fromtheOliviaSystemtoHainuwelethehardway.

Thetriphadgiventhemplentyoftimetohonetheircardplayingskills,andthesameenforcedconfinementhadgiventhecoupdegracetoanylingeringfearYana might have felt where Victor Cachat was concerned. It had also givenCachat and Zilwicki plenty of time to debrief Herlander Simões, the MesanphysicistwhohaddefectedfromtheMesanAlignment.Well,“plentyof time”was probably putting it too strongly. They’d had lots of time, but properlymining the treasure trove Simões represented was going to take years, and itwas,frankly,ataskwhichrequiredsomeonewithalotmorephysicsbackgroundthenZilwickipossessed.

Enough had emerged from Simões’ responses and from themaddeninglytantalizing fragmentswhich had been proffered by JackMcBryde, the Mesansecurityofficerwho’dengineeredSimões’defection,totellthemthateverythingeveryone—even,orperhapsespecially,thegalaxy’sbestintelligenceagencies—hadalwaysknownaboutMesawaswrong.Thatinformationwasgoingtocomeas a particularly nasty shock to Beowulf intelligence, Zilwicki thought, butBeowulfwashardlygoingtobealoneinthatreaction.Andasthey’dmanagedtopiece togethermorebitsof themosaic,discovered justhowmuchnooneelseknew,theirploddingprogresshomewardhadbecomeevenmorefrustrating.

There’dbeen times—andquite a fewof them—whenZilwicki hadfoundhimselfpassionatelywishing they’dheaded towards the Lynx Terminus of theManticoranWormholeJunction,instead.Unfortunately,theirevasiveroutinghadbeen more or less forced upon them initially, and it would have taken evenlongertobacktracktoLynxthantocontinuetoSyou-tang.Andthere’dalsobeenthe rather delicate question of exactlywhatwould happen toVictorCachat iftheyshouldsuddenly turnup in theManticoreBinarySystem, especially afterthe direct Havenite attack on the aforesaid star system, word of which had

reachedtheMesannewschannelsjustovertwoT-monthsbeforetheirsomewhathurrieddeparture.IthadstruckthemasunlikelythatoneofHaven’s topagentswouldbereceivedwithopenarmsandexpressionsoffondwelcome,tosaytheleast.

Forthatmatter,exactlywhohadjurisdictionoverSimões(andthepricelessintelligenceresourceherepresented)wasalsosomethingofadelicatequestion.

Theiroperationhadbeen jointlysponsoredby theKingdomofTorch, theRepublic of Haven (whether or not anyone in Nouveau Paris had knownanything about it), the Audubon Ballroom, the Beowulf Biological SurveyCorps, and Victor Cachat’s Erewhonese contacts. There’d been absolutely noofficialManticoraninvolvement,althoughPrincessRuthWinton’scontributionshadn’texactlybeeninsignificant.

She’dbeenactinginherpersonaasTorch’sintelligencechief,however,notinherpersonaasamemberoftheStarEmpireofManticore’srulinghouse.

Bearing all of that in mind, there’d never really been much chance ofheading straight for Manticore. Instead, they’d made for Hainuwele, on thedirectlinetoTorch.Itwastheclosestsafeharbor,giventheavailablewormholeconnections, and they’d hoped to find one of theBSC’s disguised commandoships in-system and available for use as a messenger when they got there.They’dbeendisappointed in that respect,however;when theyarrived theonlyshiponstationhadbeenEMSCustis, an Erewhonese construction shipwhichhadjustaboutcompletedtheconversionofParmaleyStationintoaproperbasefortheBSCandtheBallroomtointerdicttheinterstellartradeingeneticslaves.

Artlet’sandZilwicki’s repairshadbeen less than perfect, andHali Sowlehad limped intoHainuweleonwhatwereobviously her hyper generator’s lastlegs.

Custis’captainbeenoutoftouchfortwoorthreemonthshimselfwhilehisconstructioncrewsworkedonParmaleyStation,buthe’dbeenable toconfirmthatasfarasactiveoperationsbetweenHavenandManticorewereconcerned,ahiatusofmutualexhaustionhadset in following theBattleofManticore.BothAnton and Victor had been vastly relieved to discover that no one had beenactivelyshootingatoneanotheranylonger,givenwhatthey’dlearnedonMesa,butithadbeenobviousthegoodcaptainwaslessthandelightedatthenotionoffindinghimselfinvolvedinthesortofshenaniganswhichseemedtofollowtheteam of Zilwicki and Cachat around. He’d apparently suspected that hisErewhoneseemployerswouldn’thaveapprovedofhissteppingdeeper into themorass he was pretty sureHali Sowle and her passengers represented. Theymight have convinced him to change hismind if they’d told himwhat they’ddiscovered onMesa, but they weren’t about to break security on that at this

point.Whichmeantthebesthe’dbeenwillingtodowastotakehisownshiptoErewhon(which,tobefair,wasthenextbest thing to twenty light-yearsclosertoHainuwele than Torchwas) to fetch back a replacement generator forHaliSowle.Intheprocess,hewaswillingtotakeanencrypteddispatchfromVictortoSharonJustice,who’dbeencoveringforhimastheRepublic’sseniorofficerintheErewhonSector,butthatwasasfarashewaspreparedtogo.

Zilwicki didn’t try to pretend, even to himself, that he hadn’t found thecaptain’sattitudeirritating.Fortunately,hewasbynatureapatient,methodical,analyticalman.

Andtherewereatleastsomeupsidestothesituation.NeitherhenorCachatwantedSimõesoutoftheirsight,andwhiletheyhad

noparticularreasontodistrustCustis’captainorcrew,theyhadnoparticularreasontotrustthem,either.Ifevena

fractionofwhatJackMcBrydeandHerlanderSimõeshadtoldthemprovedtrue,itwasgoingtoshakethefoundationsofstarnationsallacrossexploredspace.Theyliterallycouldnotriskhavinganythinghappentohimuntilthey’dhadtimeforhimtotellhistale—indetail—totheirownstarnations’intelligenceservices.

MuchastheymightbegrudgethemonthorsoitwouldtakeCustistomakethe trip toErewhon, theypreferred to stay rightwhere theywere until JusticecouldarrangesecuretransporttoTorch.They’dbothbreatheanenormoussighofreliefoncetheyhadSimõessafelysquirreledawayonTorchandcouldsenddiscreet dispatches requesting all of the relevant security agencies send seniorrepresentativestoTorch.

Nooneexpected it tobeeasy,andheknewCachatwasasworriedashewas over the possibility that the Star Empire and the Republic might resumecombatoperationswhile theywaited,butbothof themwereaware that they’dstumbledonto thesortof intelligence revelation that came along only once incenturies.Assumingitwasn’tallpartofsomeincredible,insanedisinformationeffort,theMesanAlignmenthadbeenworkingonitsmasterplanforthebetterpart of six hundred T-years without anyone’s having suspected what washappening.Under those circumstances, therewere quite literally no lengths towhichVictorCachatandAntonZilwickiwouldn’tgotokeeptheirsolesourceofinformationalive.

Whichwaswhy theywere all still sitting here aboardParmaleyStation’smolderinghulkwhiletheyawaitedtransportationelsewhere.

“Youknow,”Yanasaidabitplaintively,“nobodytoldmeweweregoingtobegoneonthislittlejauntforanentireyear.”

“Andwehaven’tbeen,”Zilwickipointedout.“Well,actually,Isupposewehave,dependingontheplanetaryyearinquestion.ButintermsofT-years, it’s

beenlessthanone.Why,it’sbeenbarelytenT-months,whenyoucomedowntoit!”

“Anditwasonlysupposedtobefour,”Yanaretorted.“Wetoldyouitmightbefive,”Zilwickicorrected,andshesnorted.

“Youknow,evenScragscandosimplearithmetic,Anton.And—”The powered door giving access to the combination viewing gallery and

sitting room was one part of Parmaley Station which had been thoroughlyrefurbished.Nowit opened rather abruptly, interruptingYana inmid-sentence,and a dark-haired man came through it. Compared to Zilwicki’s massivemusculature and shoulders, the newcomer looked almost callow, but he wasactuallyawell-muscledyoungfellow.

“Ah,thereyouare!”hesaid.“GannyElsaidshethoughtyouwereinhere.”“And sowe are,Victor,”Zilwicki rumbled, and raised an eyebrow. “And

sinceweare,andsinceyou’rehereatthemoment,mayIaskwho’sbabysittingourgoodfriendHerlander?UnlessI’mmistaken,itisyourwatch,isn’tit?”

“I leftFranksittingoutsidehisdoorwitha flechettegun,Anton,”Cachatrepliedinapatienttone,andZilwickigrunted.

The sound represented at least grudging approval, although one had toknowhimwelltorecognizethatfact.

Ontheotherhand,FrankGillichwasacapablefellow.HeandJuneMatteswerebothmembersoftheBeowulfBiologicalSurveyCorps,partoftheoriginalBSCteamwhichhaddiscovered theButreClanhereon Parmaley Station andbrokered the deal that left the Butres alive and turned the station into aBSC/Ballroom front. Most people (or most people who didn’t know VictorCachat, at least)would have consideredGillich andMattes about as lethal asagentscame,andZilwickiwaswillingtoconcedethatGillichcouldprobablybecountedupontokeepSimõesaliveforthenextfifteenortwentyminutes.

“I thought I was the hyper-suspicious, paranoid, obsessive-compulsiveone,” Cachat continued. “What is this? Are you trying to claim the title ofParanoiacinChief?”

“Hah!”Yanasnorted.“He’snottryingtodoanything.He’sjustbeenhangingaroundyoutoolong.That’senoughtodriveanyone

—exceptKaja…maybe—aroundthebend!”

“Idon’tseewhytheentireuniverseinsistsonthinkingofmeassomesortofcrazedkiller,”Cachatsaidmildly.

“It’snotlikeIkillanyonewhodoesn’tneedkilling.”He said it with a completely straight face, but Zilwicki thought it was

probablyajoke.Probably.OnecouldneverbeentirelycertainwhereCachatwasconcerned,and theHavenite’s ideaofasenseofhumorwasn’tquite likemostpeople’s.

“MayIassumethere’sareasonyouleftFrankplayingbabysitterandaskedGannyElwhereyoumightfindus?”

Zilwickiaskedoutloud.“Actually, yes,” Cachat replied, dark brown-black eyes lighting. “I think

I’vefinallyfoundtheargumenttogetyoutoagreetotakeHerlanderstraight toNouveauParis,Anton.”

“Oh?”Zilwicki crossed tree trunk arms and cockedhis head, consideringCachat the way a skilled lumberjack might consider a particularly scrubbysapling. “And why should we suddenly depart from our agreed on plan ofparkinghimonTorchandinvitingallthemountainstocometoMohammed?”

“Because,”Cachatreplied,“adispatchboatjustcameinfromErewhon.”“A dispatch boat?” Zilwicki’s eyes narrowed. “Why would anyone in

Erewhonbesendingadispatchboatouthere?”“ApparentlySharondecideditwouldbeagoodideatoletanyonefromthe

BallroomortheBSCwhocheckedinwithParmaleyStationknowwhat’sgoingon,”Cachatreplied.Heshrugged.“Obviously,shedidn’tknowIwasgoingtobehere when she sent the boat—she sent it off about three weeks ago, and theearliestCustiscouldgettoErewhonistomorrow.”

“I’mperfectlywellawareofCustis’schedule,”Zilwickirumbled.“Sosupposeyoujustgoaheadandtellme‘what’sgoing

on’ that’s so important your minions are throwing dispatch boats around thegalaxy?”

“Well,ithappensthataboutthreemonthsago,DuchessHarringtonarrivedinHavenorbit,”Cachatsaid.

“Thenewsgotsentouttoallofourintelligencestationsintheregulardatadumps,butitstilltookoveramonthtogettoSharon,andshesentthedispatchboatouttodistribute it toallourstations in thesector. ItstoppedoffatTorch,too,accordingtoitsskipper.Wewerethelaststopontheinformationchain.”Heshruggedagain.“I imagine theonlyreason itgotsenthereatallwasSharon’susualthoroughness.Butaccordingtothesummaryshegotfromthehomeoffice,DuchessHarringtonisinNouveauParisfortheexpresspurposeofnegotiatingapeacesettlementbetweentheRepublicandtheStarEmpire.”

AnyonewhoknewAntonZilwickiwouldhavetestifiedthathewasahardman to surprise. This time, though, someone had managed it, and his eyeswidened.

“Apeacesettlement?Youmeanaformaltreaty?”“Apparently that’s exactly what she’s there to get, and according to

Sharon’ssummary,PresidentPritchartisjustasdeterminedastheDuchess.Onthe other hand, after twenty years of shooting at each other, I doubt they’vealready tied it all up in a neat bow. And since Duchess Harrington actuallybelievedbothofusbeforeweeversetoutforMesa,Idon’tseeanyreasonshewouldn’tbelieveusifweturnedupwithSimõesintow.Forthatmatter,she’llhavehertreecatwithher,andhe’llknowwhetherornotwe’retellingthetruth.OrwhetherornotHerlanderis,whenyoucomedowntoit.”

“Andifthere’sanyoneintheStarEmpirewhocouldconvincetheQueentolistentous,it’sHarrington,”

Zilwickiagreed,noddingvigorously.“Exactly.Somythought is thatwe leave therecordingsofour interviews

withHerlanderhereonourstationtobepickedupbythenextBSCcourier tocomethroughandtakenontoTorch.Redundancyisabeautifulthing,afterall.In themeantime, though, you and I commandeer Sharon’s dispatch boat, loadHerlander on board, and head straight for Haven.” Cachat grinned. “Do youthinkfindingoutabouttheAlignment’sexistencemighthavesomesmallimpactonthenegotiations?”

ChapterFiveInnokentiyKolokoltsov rose asAstridWang formally ushered his visitor

intohisoffice.Hissecretarywasmoresubduedthanusual,anditwasobvioustoKolokoltsovthatshewasonherbestbehavior.

Astrid always did have a good set of instincts, he thought.Not that ourmannersaregoing tomake verymuch difference this t ime around.Whateverelseisgoingtohappen,theMantiesaren’tthekindofneobarbswecanimpressinto acknowledging the Solarian League’s supremacy. The pain-in-the-assbastards’vemadethatclearenough!

“Mister Ambassador,” he said, with a small, formal bow instead ofextendingahandacrosshisdesk.

“Mister Permanent Senior Undersecretary,” Sir Lyman CarmichaelrespondedinapronouncedManticoranaccent,withanevenshallowerbow.

“Mayweofferyourefreshment,MisterAmbassador?”“No,thankyou.”Therewasadistinctedge of frost in that reply,Kolokoltsov noted.Well,

thatwasn’tunexpected.LymanCarmichaelwasacareerdiplomat,buthedidn’t

really have the disposition for it, inKolokoltsov’s opinion.He felt things toodeeply,without the professional detachmentwhich ought to be brought to thetask.Nodoubt therewas a place for passion, for belief, even for anger, but itwasn’t at the table where interstellar diplomats played for the highest stakesimaginable.Thatwasaplaceforclearheadednessanddispassion,andamanwhocouldbegoadedintointemperancewasadangerousloosewarheadforhisownside.

“Asyouwill.”Kolokoltsovinclinedhisheadagain,thistimeindicatingthechaironthefar

sideofhisdesk,andCarmichael’s lips tightened ever so slightly.Therewas amuch more comfortably and intimately arranged conversational nook in theangleof thepalatialoffice’spicturewindows, lookingoutover the towersandcanyonsofOldChicago.ThatwaswhereKolokoltsovmetwithvisitorswhenhewas prepared to pretend other star nations were truly the Solarian League’speers.Itwasparticularlyimportanttomake thepoint that theStarKingdomofManticorewasnot theLeague’speer,however,andsoheseatedhimselfagainbehindhisdeskandfoldedhishandsontheantiqueblotter.

“How may I be of service, Mister Ambassador?” he asked with apleasantnesswhichfooledneitherofthem.

“I’vebeeninstructedbymygovernmenttodeliveraformalnotetoForeignMinisterRoelasyValiente.”

Carmichaelsmiledthinly,andKolokoltsovsmiledback.

Whatever the official flowchart of the Solarian League Foreign Ministrymightindicate,CarmichaelknewaswellasKolokoltsovthatRoelasyValientewas nomore than a figurehead.Whoever the notemight be addressed to, theManticoranAmbassadorwaslookingatitsactualrecipient.

“MayIinquireastothenote’scontents?”Kolokoltsovaskedwithastraightface.

“Youmay,”Carmichaelreplied.Hedidn’tsayanythingelse,however,andKolokoltsovfelthisjawmuscles

tighten ever so slightly as the Manticoran simply sat there, smiling at him.Waiting.

“And those contents are?” he asked after a lengthymoment, keeping hisvoiceeven.

“As you’re aware, Mister Permanent Senior Undersecretary, mygovernment is deeply concerned over the escalating series of…incidentsbetweentheSolarianLeaguemilitaryandtheStarEmpire.Werealizethere’sadifference of opinion between Landing andOldChicago about precisely how

those incidents occurred and who was responsible for them.” His eyes metKolokoltsov’scoldly.

“Regardlessofwhobears responsibility for thosewhich have occurred inthe past, however, my government is desirous of avoiding any additionalincidentsinthefuture.”

“I’msurethatwillcomeasverywelcomenewstoForeignMinisterRoelasyValiente,”KolokoltsovsaidwhentheManticoranpausedagain.

“Ihopeitwill,”Carmichaelcontinued.“However,inpursuitofthatobject,the Star Empire, as you may or may not be aware,Mister Permanent SeniorUndersecretary, has issued a general recall of its merchant shipping in theLeague.”

Kolokoltsov stiffened. He’d only just begun receiving reports aboutdisappearingManticoranmerchantvessels.

Notenoughofthemhadcomeinyetforanysortofpatterntorevealitself,but according to at least some of them themerchant vessels in question hadcanceledchartersandcontractualcommitmentswithoutexplanation.He’dbeeninclined to discount those particular reports, given the hefty penalties thecaptains and shipowners in question would face, but if the Star Empire’sgovernmenthadissuedanondiscretionaryrecall…

“Inpart,”Carmichaelsaid,“thatrecallrepresentsaneffortonourparttobesure none of the…unfortunate incidents which have so far involved only ourmilitaryvesselsspilloverontoourciviliantraffic.Obviously,wedon’t thinkaSolarianwarshipcaptainwouldlightlyopenfireonanunarmedmerchantvesselinafitofpqiue,but, then,wedidn’t thinkafleetofbattlecruiserswouldopenfire on a handful of destroyers riding peacefully in orbit, either.” He smiledagain,asmileascoldashiseyes.

“Accidents, it appears, do happen, don’t they? So my government hasdesiced to ensure that no more of them transpire. There is, however, anotherreasonfortherecall,aswell.”

“Andthatreasonwouldbeexactlywhat,MisterAmbassador?”Kolokoltsovtonewaslevel,itsneutralityadeliberateemphasisofhisdecision to ignore theManticoran’slatestbarb.

“Youmight thinkof itasanattempt toget the League’s attention,MisterPermanent Senior Undersecretary. We appear to have been singularlyunsuccessful in our efforts to accomplish that so far, so my government hasdecidedtoresorttorathermoredirectmeasures.”

“Are you implying that the recall of your merchant shipping should beviewedasanunfriendlyactdirectedagainsttheSolarianLeague?”Kolokoltsov

askedinavioicehe’dsuddenlyallowedtobecomefrigid.“IfailtoseehowsimplywithdrawingourshippingfromSolarianshipping

lanes could be construed as ‘an unfriendly act,’ Mister Permanent SeniorUndersecretary.”

Carmichaelshruggedslightly.“Ontheotherhand,IsupposeitwillhaveanunfortunateimpactonthemovementoftheLeague’sinterstellarcommerce.”

Kolokoltsov sat rigidly inhis chair, gazing acrosshis foldedhands at theManticoran.Hewasnoeconomist,noexperton internationalshipping,but theentireSolarianLeaguewasonlytoowellawareoftheextenttowhichthelife’sbloodofitsinterstellareconomymovedinManticoranbottoms.ItwasoneofthereasonssomanySolarianssointenselyresentedanddetestedtheStarEmpireofManticore.Anditwasalsothereason—coupledwiththeManties’controloftheManticoranWormhole Junction and its commanding position among thewarpbridges in general—that such a pissant little star nation had been able to…constrainSolarianforeignpolicyrepeatedlyoverthelastcoupleofT-centuries.But inall thoseyears,Manticorehadnever threatened toactuallywithdrawitsshippingfromtheLeague!

“I’mnotanexpert in interstellarcommerce,MisterAmbassador,”hesaidafter a few seconds. “Itwould appear tome, however, that the Star Empire’sactions will result in the violation of numerous commercial agreements andcontracts.”

“That, unfortunately, is correct,Mister Permanent Senior Undersecretary.It’s regrettable,ofcourse,but fortunately themajority of the shipping lines inquestionarebonded.Inthoseinstanceswheretheyaren’t,theinjuredpartieswillof course be able to seek redress through the courts. With what degree ofsuccess”—

Carmichaelsmiledthinly—“noonecansayatthispoint.Isupposeagreatdealwilldependuponwhosecourtajudicatesthematter,don’tyou?”

“You’re playing with the lives and livelihoods of millions of Solariancitizens,MisterAmbassador,”

Kolokoltsovpointedoutrathermoresharplythanhe’dintendedto.“Isupposeitcouldbeinterpretedthatway.Consideringthecurrent—andapparentlystilldeteriorating—relationshipbetweentheStarEmpireandtheSolarianLeague,however,

mygovernmentbelievesitwillbesafestallaroundforourmerchantvessels toremainsafelyinManticoranspace—or,atleast,outsideofSolarianspace—

until the matters under dispute between the Star Empire and the Leaguehavebeensatisfactorilyresolved.Atthattime,ofcourse,wewouldlookforwardtorestoringourfreightersandpassengerlinerstotheirnormalruns.”

SteelshowedinCarmichael’ssmilethistime,anddespitehismanyyearsofexperience,Kolokoltsovfelthisownfacedarkeningwithanger.

“Some people,” he said carefully, “might interpret the Star Empire’sdecisioninthismatterasanactiveeconomicwaragainsttheLeague.”

“Isupposetheymight.”Carmichaelnodded,thenstabbedtheSolarianwithhiseyes.“AndsomepeoplemightconsiderwhathappenedinNewTuscanyandSpindle acts of war against the Star Empire, Mister Permanent SeniorUndersecretary. I suppose it would behoove both the Star Empire and theSolarianLeaguetodemonstratetotherestofthegalaxythattheywishtofindanamicableresolutionofallofthetensionsand…disputedmatterscurrently lyingbetweenthem.That,asI’msureForeignMinisterRoelasyValientehassharedwithyoufromourearliernotes,hasbeentheStarEmpire’sviewfromtheverybeginning.”

Kolokoltsov felt a very strong temptation to reach across the desk andstranglethemansittingonitsotherside.

“I’msureallof thosedisputedmatterswillbe settled indue time,MisterAmbassador,”hesaidinstead.

“Oh,soamI,MisterPermanentSeniorUndersecretary.SoamI.”Carmichaelsmiledthinly.“I’ll pass your note to the Minister this very afternoon, Mister

Ambassador,”Kolokoltsovpromisedcurtly.“Wasthereanythingelseweshoulddiscuss?”

“Actually, there is one other small matter, Mister Permanent SeniorUndersecretary.” The Manticoran’s smile turned positively sharklike, andKolokoltsovfeltastirofuneasiness.

“Andwhatmightthat‘smallmatter’be?”heinquired.“Well, it’s occurred to the Star Empire thatwhile removing its merchant

shippingfromSolarianspace represents the bestway to avoid the potential ofincidents between them and Solarian warships, we would be derelict in ourresponsibilitiesifwedidn’ttakemeasurestoprotectSolarianmerchantshipping,aswell.”

“Protect Solarian shipping?” Kolokoltsov repeated a bit blankly, andCarmichaelnodded.

“Yes. It’sunfortunately true thatpublicopinion in theStarEmpireat thisparticularmoment isvery…exercisedwhere theSolarianLeague isconcerned.I’msureyou’vehadreportsfromyourownambassadorsandattachesintheStarEmpire about demonstrations, even someminor vandalism, I’mafraid. It’s allverysad,butunderstandable,Isuppose.”

His tone could have turned the Amazon Basin into a Sahara. His ownembassyhadbeenbesiegedliterallyforweeksby“spontaneousdemonstrations”ofSolariancitizensoutragedby“Manticoranhigh-handedness”anddemandingjustice forAdmiral Josef Byng and Fleet Admiral Sandra Crandall. Some ofthosedemonstrationshadturnedevenuglierthantheirorganizersintheMinistryofEducationandInformationhadintended.

“Atanyrate,astheauthoritieshereinOldChicagohavepointedouttomystaff, it’s not alwayspossible to constrainprivate citizens fromactingon theirangerandtheiroutrage,howeverinappropriatelyplacedthoseemotionsmaybeandhoweverhardtheauthoritiestry.

Unhappily,thatsituationobtainsintheStarEmpire,aswell.Morethanthat,mygovernment has decided that it’s absolutely imperative there be no furtherincidentsuntilthecurrentoneshavebeenthoroughlyinvestigatedandresolved.Whilewe don’t believe that theRoyalManticoranNavywas the instigator ofanyofthe…episodeswhichhavesofaroccurred,we’reawarethatmanyintheSolarian League, including the Solarian League government, don’t share ourbelief.Infact,manyofthembelievetheRMN

was the aggressor in all of these unfortunate cases. To date, our owninvestigationdoesn’tsupportthatconclusion,butwearen’tcompletelypreparedto rule it out. Somy government has decided it will be best to separate ourwarships from proximitywith your own…andwith yourmerchant vessels, aswell.”

“You’re withdrawing all of your warships to Manticoran space?”Kolokoltsovsaidslowly.

“No, I’mafraid thatwouldbequite impossible,MisterPermanentSeniorUndersecretary. TheRoyalNavy’s responsibilities are far too widespread anddemandingforustodosuchathing.Unhappily,thatmeansouronlyalternativeis to close all Manticoran warp termini to Solarian traffic, beginningimmediately.Couriervesselsandnewsservicedispatchvesselswillbeallowedpassage regardless of registry, but all Solarian registered freight carriers andpassengershipswill,unfortunately,bedeniedpassageuntilthecurrentdisputesareresolved.”

“What?!”The one-word question erupted from Kolokoltsov before he could stop

himself. For the first time in decades, his carefully cultivated professionalcomposuredesertedhimandhestaredattheManticoranincredulously.

“Youcan’tbeserious,”hesaidinamarginallymorecontrolledtone.“Thatwouldbeillegal.Itwouldconstituteanactofwar!”

“On the contrary, it’s completely legal, Mister Permanent Senior

Undersecretary,”Carmichaelrepliedcoolly.“TheShingaineConventiononfreepassagemandatesthatallwarptermini

beopentoalltraffic,”Kolokoltsovshotback.“Does it?” Carmichael arched his eyebrows, then shrugged. “Well, I’m

prepared to take yourword for that,Mister Permanent SeniorUndersecretary.Unfortunately, theStarEmpireofManticore isn’tasignatory of the ShingaineConvention.” He smiled pleasantly. “Besides, it’s my understanding that thatparticularprovisionoftheConventionhasbeenviolatedseveraltimesalready.”

Kolokoltsov’smolarsgroundtogether.TheShingaineConventionhadbeensponsoredbytheSolarianLeagueseventyT-yearsagoexpresslyasameans topressure the then-StarKingdom ofManticore. The StarKingdom had alreadybeen beginning its preparations for its decades-long war against the People’sRepublicofHaven,andithaddemonstratedthatitwasonlytoopreparedtouseits control of the Manticoran Wormhole Junction as a lever to pressure theLeague’s foreign policy in its own favor if it decided thatwas necessary. TheLeaguewasn’t used to dancing to anyone else’s piping— itwas supposed toprovide the dance music in its relations with other star nations—so it hadconvenedameetingof“independentstarnations”

in the Shingaine System which had obediently produced the ShingaineConvention.TheSolarianLeaguehadimmediatelyrecognizeditasthebasisofits“opendoor”

policy,withtheclearimplicationthatitwouldenforceitsinterpretationofinterstellarlawbyforceifnecessary.

ButasCarmichaelhadpointedout,theStarEmpirehadneversigneditandso, technically,wasn’tboundbyitsprovisions.NorhadManticoreevershownany particular desire to kowtow to Solarian pressure on the matter. For thatmatter,asCarmichaelhad implied, theLeaguewouldbeonshakyground if itdidinsistonenforcingthoseprovisions,sincetheOfficeofFrontierSecurityhadexcluded independent Verge star systems from warp termini it controlled onseveraloccasionsoverthelasthalf-T-centuryorsoasameanstopressure themintoacceptingOFS“protection.”

“WhetherornottheStarEmpireconsidersitselfboundbythetermsof theShingaineConvention,”

Kolokoltsovsaidcoldly,“thishigh-handed,unilateral,hostileaction isnotgoingtopassunremarkedintheLeague.Howeveryoumaycaretodressitup,itdoesconstituteanactofeconomicwarfare,asyourgovernmentisperfectlywellaware,MisterAmbassador!”

“I suppose it could be described that way,” Carmichael concededjudiciously. “On the other hand, it’s far less destructive than a salvo of laser

heads,MisterPermanentSeniorUndersecretary.MygovernmenthasattemptedfromtheverybeginningtoresolvethetensionsbetweentheStarEmpireandtheLeaguewithoutfurtherbloodshed.

Your government has steadfastly refused to meet us halfway. Or even athirdoftheway.Allowmetopointouttoyouthathowevermuchdamageyoureconomy may suffer from the Star Empire’s reasonable and prudent acts todefuse further incidents, it will suffer far less than it would in an all-outwaragainsttheRoyalManticoranNavy.

Youmaynotbelieveme,butmygovernmentistryingtopreventthatall-outwar.We’ve trieddiplomacy.We’ve tried theexchangeofnotes.We’ve offeredjoint investigations. We’ve provided you with detailed sensor records of theincidentswhichhaveoccurred.NoneofthatappearstohavemovedtheSolarianLeagueinanyway.”

HelookedlevellyacrossthedeskatKolokoltsov,andhiseyescouldhavefrozenhelium.

“TheStarEmpireofManticorecannotdictatetheSolarianLeague’sforeignpolicytoit,MisterPermanentSeniorUndersecretary,norwillitattemptto.Butitwillpursueitsownforeignpolicy,andifwecannotgetyoutolistentoreasononeway,wewillseekanother.”

April1922PostDiaspora“Everythingwe’veeverseenoutoftheMantiessuggeststheirfirstreaction

toanythreat,especiallytotheirhomesystem,isgoingtobetokillit.”—Assistant Director of Defense Justyná Miternowski-Zhyang, Beowulf

PlanetaryBoardofDirectorsChapterSix“Permanent Senior Undersecretary Kolokoltsov is here for his fifteen

hundred,Mr.President.”“Ah!Excellent—excellent!”PresidentYeouKunChol,ostensiblythemost

powerfulmanin theentireSolarianLeague,beamedasInnokentiyArsenovichKolokoltsov (who arguablywas themost powerfulman in the entire League)followedShaniaLewisintohishugeoffice.Thepresident’sdeskwasbiggerthanmostpeople’sbeds,andhehadtophysicallywalkaroundittogetcloseenoughtoKolokoltsovtoofferhishand.

“Thankyou,Shania,” thepresidentsaid tohispersonalsecretary.“I thinkthatwillbeall—unlessthere’sanythingyouneed,ofcourse,Innokentiy?”

“No.No,thankyou,Mr.President.I’mfine.”“Good. Good!” The president beamed somemore and nodded to Lewis,

who smiled politely, bestowed a slight bow onKolokoltsov, and disappeared.“Sit,Innokentiy.

Please,”Yeoucontinuedastheexpensive,inlaiddoorclosedsilentlybehind

her.“Thankyou,Mr.President.”Kolokoltsov obeyed the invitation, taking the comfortable biofeedback

armchair facing the desk, and watched Yeou walk back around to his ownthrone-likechair.Thepresidentsettledhimselfbehindhisdeskonceagain,andthepermanentseniorundersecretarycrookedamentaleyebrow.

YeouKunChol,inInnokentiyKolokoltsov’sconsideredopinion,wasprettymuchanidiot.He’dattainedhis immenselyprestigious(andutterlypowerless)positionbecauseheknewwhen tosmile for the cameras and because the truepowerbrokersoftheSolarianLeagueknewhewasanonentity,thesortofpersonwhowouldhavebeenineffectualevenifhisaugustofficehadretainedashadowof true power. There were other factors, of course. Including the fact thathoweverineffectualhemightbe,hisfamilywasimmenselywealthyandwieldedquitea lotofpowerbehind theLeague’s façade of representative government.Lettinghimplaywiththeprettybaubleof thepresidencykept themhappyandhim from interferingwith anything truly important (like the family business),whichhadpaidoffquiteafewquietdebts.Andtogive themanhisdue,Yeouwas sufficiently aware of reality to realize his office’s powers were far moreceremonialandsymbolicthangenuine.

Thatwasonereasonitwasunheardofforthepresidenttoactuallyinviteapermanentseniorundersecretarytoanaudience.Hedidn’tsend

“invitations” to them; they toldhimwhen they needed to see him for thesakeofofficialappearances.AndatanyothermeetingKolokoltsovcould thinkof,thepresidentwouldhavejoinedhim,takinganotherofthepalatialarmchairsarranged in front of his desk to allow comfortably intimate conversations.Hemost definitely would not have re-seated himself behind the desk, andKolokoltsovwonderedexactlywheretheunusualattempttoassertsomesortofformality—possibly even authority, if the thought hadn’t been too absurd forevenYeoutoentertain—washeaded.

“Thank you for coming so promptly, Innokentiy,” Yeou said after amoment.

“You’rewelcome,ofcourse,Mr.President.”Kolokoltsov smiled. Therewas no point being impolite now that hewas

here.AslongasYeoudidn’tstartmeddlinginthingsthatwerenoneofhisaffair,atleast.“Mytimeisyours,andyoursecretaryindicatedtherewassomeurgencytoyoursummons.”

“Well, actually, there is some urgency to it, Innokentiy.” The presidenttippedbackinhischair,elbowsonitsarmrests,andfrownedeversominutelyatthepermanentseniorundersecretaryforforeignaffairs.“Ijustwantedtodiscuss

withyou—getyourfeelingabout,asitwere—thisbusinesswiththeManties.”“Ibegyourpardon,Mr.President?”Kolokoltsovcouldn’tquitekeepatrace

ofsurpriseoutofhistone.

“Ah,exactlywhichaspectofit,Sir?”Kolokoltsov was aware that in most star nations a head of state would

alreadyhavebeenthoroughlybriefedabouthisnation’srelationshipwithanotherstar nation against whom it was very nearly in a state of war. Even forKolokoltsov itwasmore an intellectual awareness than anything else, though.Yeou had received memos and reports from the permanent seniorundersecretarieswhoweretheLeague’struepolicymakers,butnoonehadeversomuchasconsideredpresentinghimwithanysortofgenuinebriefing.Forthatmatter,evenunderthedeadletteroftheConstitution,theofficeofthepresidenthadbeenalmostentirelysymbolic.HadanyonebeenpayinganyattentiontotheConstitution,PrimeMinisterShonaGyulaywouldhavebeentheactualheadofgovernment,andanybriefingswouldhavegonetoher,nottoYeou.

“I’vereadthereports,ofcourse,”Yeoutoldhimnow.“And I appreciateyour efforts—bothyours andyour civilian colleagues’,

andAdmiralRajampet’s—toclarifythe…unfortunateeventswhichhaveledtoourcurrentsituation.”Thepresident’s

expressionsobered.“Naturally,Ican’tpretendI’mhappythinkingaboutallthepeople who have already lost their lives and where this all may be headedultimately.But Imust say I findmyselfparticularlyconcernedat thismomentabouttheManticorans’decisiontorecallalloftheirmerchantvessels.”Heshookhis head, his expression even more sober. “It’s a bad business all around,Innokentiy,butI’mworriedabouttheimmediateconsequencesforoureconomy.SoIwashopingyoucouldsortofbringmeup todateonexactlywhat’sbeenhappeningonthatfront.”

***“Yeouaskedyouaboutthat?”

AgatáWodoslawski’s gray eyeswidened, then narrowed speculatively as

Kolokoltsovnodded.Theattractive,red-hairedpermanentseniorundersecretaryofthetreasury’sholoimagesatdirectlyacrossthevirtualconferencetablefromhim.Actually,ofcourse,shewasseatedbehindherowndeskinherownoffice,andnowshesatbackinherchair,shakingherheadwiththeairofawomanwhowonderedwhatpreposterousabsurditywasgoingtohappennext.

“So he’s finallywaked up to the fact that something’s going onwith theManties,hashe?”MalachaiAbruzzi’sholo image saidsarcastically.Thedark-haired,dark-eyedpermanent seniorundersecretaryof informationwas a short,stockymanwithpowerfulhands,oneofwhichhenowwaveddismissively.“I’mdazzledbytheforceofhisintellect.”

“‘Dazzled’maynotbeexactlytherightwordforit,”Permanent Senior Undersecretary of Commerce Omosupe Quartermain

said,“butwhenyou’vebeenlookingintoacompletelydarkclosetlongenough,evenacandlecan seem blinding.And let’s face it, our beloved President is averydarkclosetindeed,”sheadded,andKolokoltsovsmiledsourly.

Between them, she, Abruzzi, Wodoslawski and Kolokoltsov representedfourofwhatcertainnewsies—

headed by that never-to-be-sufficiently-damned muckraker AudreyO’Hanrahan—had begun to call “the Five Mandarins.” O’Hanrahan had beenforcedtoexplaintheterm’sorigintoherreadershipinitially,butonceshehaditcaught on quickly. Abruzzi’s publicity flaks were doing what they could todiscourageitsuse,butitcontinuedtospreadwithinsidiousinevitability.Bynow,evensomeof the tamermembersof theLegislativeAssemblywereusing it innewsconferencesandspeeches.

Itwasn’tgoingtodothemalotofdamagehereonancient,weary,cynicalOldTerra.OldTerransunderstoodhowthegamewasplayed,andtheywerefarpast the stage of expecting that ever to change. Besides, all politicians—andbureaucrats—werethesame,really,weren’tthey?Andthatbeingthecase,bettertostaywiththemandarinsyouknewratherthanstirupalltheturmoiloftryingtochangeasystemwhichhadworkedforsevenT-centuries.

But therewereotherplanets,otherstarsystems,whosewells of cynicismweren’t quite so deep.Therewere evenplaceswhere people still believed thedelegates they elected to the League Assembly were supposed to govern theLeague.OnceO’Hanrahan’s damned clever turn of phrase reached those starsystemsandtheyfiguredoutwhat“mandarin”meant,thereprcussionsmightbemuchmoreseverethanhereontheLeague’scapitalplanet.

“Ican’tfaultyourobservation,Omosupe,”Wodoslawskisaid,“butwhydoIhave thefeeling this particular glimmer

didn’tcomefromtheforceofhisintellectatall?”“Becauseunlikehim,youhaveameasurableIQ,”Kolokoltsovreplied.“Although,tobehonest,itdidtakemeseveralminutes

torealizeIwasbasicallytalkingtohisfamily’sventriloquist’sdummy.”“Ah!”Wodoslawskisaid.“Thelightdawns.”

“Exactly.” Kolokoltsov nodded. “Yeou Transstellar has a lot invested inPresidentYeou.”Andinallofus,aswell,hecarefullydidnotaddoutloud.“I’minclinedtothinkthisisatleastmostlyacaseofKunSangremindingusofthatinvestment.”

QuartermainandAbruzzigrimacedinunderstanding.YeouKunSangwas thepresident’syoungerbrother.Healsohappened to

beonOldTerraatthemoment(officiallyona

“personal family visit” to his older brotherwhich just happened to havebeen announced as soon as word of the New Tuscany incidents hit hishomeworld’s faxes)and thePresidentandCEOofYeouTransstellar Shipping.Yeou Transstellar was one of the Solarian League’s dozen largest interstellarshippers,and,likemostofthoseshippers,itactuallyownedveryfewfreighters.Itsbusinessmodel—

like its competitors’—relied on leasing cargo space frompeoplewhodidownfreighters…whichmeantthatwhetherthegreatcommercialdynastiesoftheSolarianLeaguelikedManticoreornot,theydidagreatdealofbusinesswithit.

“I’msurprisedKunSangdidn’tgodirectlytoyou,Omosupe,”Abruzzisaidafteramoment.

“SowasI,atfirst,”Quartermainagreed.“ButnowthatIthinkaboutit,KunSang’salwaysbeeninclinedtostayoutoftheday-to-daydetailsofmanagingtheclan’s business with Commerce or Interior. And the Yeou family’s really oldmoney,youknow.They’vebeenoneof thefirst familiesofSebastopolfor thebetterpartofathousandyears,andtheyliketopretendallthatsordidbusinessoftradeisbeneaththem.”

“Yeah.Sureitis.”Abruzzirolledhiseyes.“Well, part of the pretense is that everyone knows it’s only a pretense,”

Quartermain pointed out. “And the fact that Kun Sang started out as a mereplanetarymanager andworkedhisway to the top tends tomake it a bitmorethreadbare in theYeous’case.Still,nowthathe’sat the top,he’smoreor lessrequiredbytraditiontoworkthroughtheinterfaceofprofessionalmanagers.The‘hiredhands’ thatdoallof thosesordid,business-relatedthingsthearistocraticfamily doesn’t sully its own digits dealing with, especially where politics areconcerned.”

“Exactly,” Kolokoltsov agreed. “Which I think is part of the point he’smaking, assuming I’m reading the situation accurately. He still keeping histhumbsoutofthesoup,butatthesametimehe’slettingusknow—indirectly,atleast—

thathe’ssufficientlyconcernedtobeonthebrinkofcomingintotheopen.”

“Which,forafamilythat’sspentsomuchtimeoperatingintheSebastopolmode,indicatesalotofconcern,”Quartermainsaidsoberly.

“Exactly,”Kolokoltsov repeated. “I’m pretty sureKunCholwas readingfromapreparedscript,andwhatitallcamedowntowasfindingouthowmuchworseweexpectthistogetandhowlongweexpectittolast.”

“Ifwehadtheanswertoeitherofthosequestions—”Abruzzibegan,thencuthimselfoff,shakinghisheadgrimly.“I notice neither Rajampet nor Nathan has joined our little tête-à-tête,”

Quartermainobserved.“No,theyhaven’t,havethey?”Kolokoltsovshowedhisteethforamoment.NathanMacArtney,thepermanentseniorundersecretaryoftheinterior,was

thefifth“Mandarin,”andFleetAdmiralRajampetKasulRajaniwastheSolarianLeague’schief

ofnavaloperations.“Isthereareasontheyhaven’t?”Wodoslawskiasked.“Nathan’soutoftheofficeatthemoment,”Kolokoltsovreplied.“He’sonhiswayouttoElysium—family business, I think—and I don’t really trust the security of his

communicationsequipmentuntilhegetsthere.Besides,he’salreadyoutbeyondMarsorbit.Thelight-speeddelaywouldbealmostaminuteandahalf.”

Thepermanentseniorundersecretaryofstateshrugged.“I’llseetoitthathegetsacompletetranscript,ofcourse.”“Ofcourse.”Quartermainnodded.“AndRajampet?”

“AndIthinkweallalreadyknowwhatRajampet’scontributionwouldbe.”

Kolokoltsov’scolleaguesallgrimacedatthatone,andheshrugged.“Under thecircumstances,Ithoughtwecouldjusttakehisexcusesandposturingasagivenandgetonwithbusiness.”

Quartermain nodded again,more slowly this time. The permanent seniorundersecretaryofcommercewasastrikingwoman,withgunmetalgrayhairandblueeyesthatcontrastedsharplywithherverydark,almostblackskin,butatthemomentthoseblueeyeswerenarrowedinspeculation.ShehadnodoubtNathanMacArtney was exactly where Kolokoltsov had said he was, but she wasn’texactlyblind to thefact thatasmuch asMacArtney personally despised FleetAdmiral Rajampet Kaushal Rajani, he was also the closest thing to an allyRajampet had among the civilian permanent senior undersecretaries whoactuallyruledtheSolarianLeague.Thatwasinevitable,really,giventhefactthattheOffice of Frontier Security belonged to theInteriorMinistry,whichmeantMacArtney’spersonalempirewasevenmoredirectly threatened thanmost by

thespecterofasuccessful“neobarb”starnation’s resistance toOFS’splans.Not tomention the fact

thatFrontierSecurity’sentirepositiondependedon theperceivedomnipotenceoftheSolarianLeagueNavy.

“Sowhat,exactly, is thepointof thismeeting, Innokentiy?”Wodoslawskiasked.

“I realize there’s not a lot we can do about the Manties’ shippingmovements,”Kolokoltsovrepliedjustabitobliquely.“Atthesametime,IfeelprettyconfidentthatwhileYeouKunSangmayhavebeenoneofthefirsttoaskthose questions of his, he’s damned well not going to be the last. Under thecircumstances,Ithinkweoughttobethinkingabouthowwewanttorespond—notjustinprivate,Malachai,butpublicly,with thenewsies—when thoseotherpeoplestartasking.And I’dappreciate it ifyouandOmosupecouldgiveusabetterfeelforhowbadthisisreallygoingtobe,Agatá.”

“Exactlywhatdoyouthinkwe’vebeentryingtodo?Especiallysinceyourlittletête-à-têtewiththatson-of-a-bitchCarmichael?”

Wodoslawskidemandedtartly,andheshrugged.“I know you’ve been warning us we were headed for trouble,”

Kololokoltsovsaidinaslightlyapologeticterm.“AndImaynot’vebeenpaying asmuch attention as I should have. I’ve

knownitwouldbebad,butIhaven’treallytried toconceptualize thenumbersformyself,becauseit’snotmyareaofcompetenceandIknowit.Iknowthey’rehuge,butI’vebeenalotmorefocusedonfindingwaystopreventitfromeverhappening than on trying to really grasp numbers that big. I’m trying now,though,socouldyougoaheadandgiveitanothertry,please?WhatI’mlookingforisn’tthereamsofnumbersanddetailedalternatecontingencyestimatesandanalyses in all of those reports of yours but more of a broad overview.Something even an economic ignoramus can grasp. In that sort of terms, justhowbadisthisreallylikelytoget?”

“ThatdependsonhowfartheMantiesarepreparedtopushit,nowdoesn’tit?”Wodoslawskisnorted.“Wecangiveyouapretty fairestimate, I think, forwhathappensiftheysettleforsimplyrecallingalltheirownshipping, though.”SheraisedhereyebrowsatQuartermainasshespoke,thenreturnedherattentiontoKolokoltsovwhenthepermanentseniorundersecretaryofcommercenodded.“And theshortanswer to thatpartofyourquestion is that itwill really, reallysuck.”

“I’mnotpreciselysurewhat that technical termmeans,”Kolokoltsov toldherwithanoff-centersmile.

“Itmeans FeliciaHadley has a point,”Wodoslawski replied without any

answeringsmileatall,andKolokoltsovscowled.Felicia Hadleywas the seniormember of the Beowulf Delegation in the

Legislative Assembly. That gelded body had exercised no real power incenturies,butitstillexisted,andBeowulf,unlikemostoftheLeague’smembersystems,stilltookitseriouslyenoughtosenddelegateswhocouldsealtheirownshoeswithoutprintedinstructions.Hadleywasaprimeexampleofthat,andeversincethecurrentcrisishadbegun,she’dbeenapersistent(andvociferous)criticof the government’s policies. She’d even formally moved that the Assemblyempanel a special commission of its own to investigate exactly how thosepolicies had come to be put into place! Fortunately, there’d been too fewdelegatespresentforaquorumwhenshemadethemotion,andJasmineNeng,the Assembly Speaker (who, unlike Hadley, understood which side of herpersonalbreadwasbuttered)hadkilleditonproceduralgroundsandremoveditfrom the vote queue beforemost of the other delegates (or any of the ’faxes)evenrealizeditwasthere.

It was equally fortunate the newsies knew as well as anyone that theAssemblypossessednorealpower, becauseGod only knewwhatwould havehappened if they’d actually bothered to cover its sessions. If any of theirstringershadbeentheretoreportHadley’spassionateaddresstotheemptyseatsofAssemblyHallthepublicmightactuallyhavebelievedwhatshewassaying—

mightevenhavestarted insistingsomeone ina realpolicymakingpositionlistentoher!Ofcourse,therewasnomechanismforthattohappen,butalotoftheSolarianelectoratedidn’trealizethat.

Hadleyhadalsobeenwarninganyonewhowouldlistenfromthebeginningthat the League was playing with economic fire. She’d actually producednumbers to support her allegations, althoughKolokoltsov hadn’t paid a lot ofattentiontothem.Hehadn’tneededhertotellhimitwouldbebad,andashe’djust admitted, he wasn’t a number-cruncher, anyway. He’d acceptedWodoslawski and Quartermain’s warnings that the situation was potentiallyserious, but he’d left that side up to themwhile he concentrated on trying tocontrolthenon-economicaspectsofthecrisis.Afterall,ifhe’donlybeenabletoconvince theManties to see sense, they wouldn’t have pushed things to thispointinthefirstplace.Thewayhe’dseenit,allhereallyneededtoknowwasthat there would be serious consequences if he couldn’t make the Mantiesrecognize reality,and tobehonest,hehadn’twanted thedistractionofdealingwith hard potential numbers like the ones Hadley had been throwing around.Now,though…

“Sohowgoodapointdoesshehave?”

“Adamnedgoodone,andifyou’dactuallyreadthereportsmystaff’sbeengenerating for the last couple of T-months, you’d already know that.”Wodoslawski said bluntly. “Better than two thirds of our total interstellarcommerce—the percentage is higher for freight; lower for passengers andinformation—travels in Manticore-registered bottoms at some point in thetransportcycle,Innokentiy.AlmostthirtypercentofittravelsinMantyshipsallthewayfrompointoforigin to finaldestination;another twenty-sevenpercenttravelsinMantybottomsforbetweenthirtyandfiftypercentofthetotalvoyage.And another ten or fifteen percent of it travels inManty bottoms for up to aquarter of the total transit.” Her expression was that of someone smellingsomething which had been dead for several days. “As you can see, simplypullingtheirownshippingoutof theloopwill reduceouravailable interstellarliftbybetterthanhalf.”

Kolokoltsov looked profoundly unhappy, andQuartermainmade a soundhalfwaybetweenasnortofamusementandagruntofdisgust.

“AgatáandIhavebeen tellingand tellingallofyou theMantiesare inapositiontoinflictplentyofgriefonus,”shepointedout.“AndIhavetoaddthatthe figure she just gave you is what we’re looking at if the Manties simplydecidetogohomeandtaketheirshipswiththem.

Now that they’re closing their termini to our shipping, it’s not just thereductioninthenumberofhullsavailabletous;it’showmuchlongerthosehullsaregoingtotaketoreachtheirdestinations.Iftransittimesdouble,effectiveliftgets cut in half, which means things are going to get worse. A lot worse.Unfortunately, howmuchworse is impossible to predict at this point, to behonest.Theshippingnetworkshavealwaysbeen incrediblycomplexandfluid,andIdon’tthinkanyonecouldgiveushardnumberson justhowbadlysimplytakingtheManty-controlledterminioutofitisgoingtoextendshippingtimes.Icantellyouit’sgoingtobebad,though.Andthatassumestheystopatclosingjusttheirtermini.”

Kolokoltsovlipstightenedatherlastsentence.ReportsofwithdrawingManticoranshippinghadbeentricklingintonews

accountsforweeks.AlthoughLymanCarmichaelhadofficiallyOldChicagooftheStarEmpire’sdecisiontorecallallitsfreightersandpassengerlinersonlytheweekbefore,itwasobvioustheordermusthavegoneoutatleastacoupleofT-monthsearlierthanthat—

probablyassoonaswordoftheBattleofSpindlereachedManticore.Ithadtakenpeopleawhiletonoticewhatwasgoingon,mostlybecause thedelay intransmitting instructions across such vast distances, even with Manticore’scommandingpositioninthewormholenetwork,meanttherecallhadreachedits

recipients piecemeal. By this time, though, the trickle of withdrawingManticoran merchant vessels had become a flood. More newsies than justO’Hanrahan had picked up on it now, and Kolokoltsov wondered how thosenewsiesweregoingtoreactonceitfinallyleakedoutthattheStarEmpirehadofficiallynotifiedtheLeagueof its intentiontocloseallManticoranwormholeterminitoSolarian-registryvessels.

Rajampet,predictably,hadwavedoffthethreat.Itwasonlytobeexpected,he’d pointed out, andwhile itmight be an inconvenience for the League, theimpact on the Manties themselves would be even worse, given how huge apercentage of their total economy depended on servicing Solarian shippingneeds.Besides, itwouldonlybe temporary—just until theSLNgot around topinningbacktheManties’earsandtakingcontrolof thewormholenetworkforitself.

Funny how the man in command of the navy responsible for protectingSolarian commerce can be so blasé about watching that commerce go rightdown the crapper, Kolokoltsov thought bitterly. I guess he doesn’t see what’shappeningastheNavy’sfault.Afterall,noone’sactivelyraidingourshipping,nowarethey?

AlthoughexactlywhatelseweshouldbecallingwhathappenedatZunkereludesme.

The reports from Zunker and Nolan had arrived, almost simultaneously,over theweekend,and thenewsieshadn’tyetpickedupon them.Thatwasn’tgoingtolast,though,anditwashardforKolokoltsovtodecidewhichincidentwould ultimately prove more infuriating to the Solarian public. The ZunkerTerminus was officially the territory of a Manticoran ally, so closing it toSolarian traffic presented no gray areas. The Idahoans hadn’t signed theShingaine Convention either, which meant were arguably within their rightsunder interstellar law todeny terminusaccess toanyone theychose.And theywerealsowithintheirrightstorequesttheRoyalManticoranNavy’sassistanceinenforcingthatdecision.ThefactthatthelocalMantycommanderhadactuallyfired on Solarian battlecruisers showed just how far the Star Empire wasprepared to escalate things, however, and the “insult” was going to arouse apassionate fury inat least someof theLeague’scitizens,especially thosewithwhom Abruzzi’s propaganda had been most successful. Unfortunately, othermembersofthatsamecitizenryweregoingtorealizeitwouldn’thavehappenedifthatfoolFloydhadn’tpushedthings.Evenmoreunfortunately,someof themwere going to figure out the Manty commander had deliberately not blownAdmiral Pyun’s battlecruisers out of space. When they recognized theimplicationsofthat…

As far as public opinion was concerned, though, what had happened atNolanmightbeevenworse.UnlikeZunker,theNolanTerminuswasclaimedbythe Solarian League, not by theManties or one of their allies.Andwhen theterminus astro control staff—all of them Solarians—had refused transit to theManticoran freighters queuing up to return home (he made a mental note toremindAbruzzitoplaydownanyreferencestotheShingaineConventionwhenhe spun that one), the Manty naval commander had marched them to theirpersonalquartersalmostliterallyatpulserpointandputhisownpeopleaboardthecommandplatforms.Andthenhe’dofferedtoblowawaythelocalFrontierFleetdetachmentifittriedtointervene!

Kolokoltsovcouldalreadyhearhowthe’faxesweregoingtoplayup that“blatantactofaggression”inSolarianspace!

“How much of the League’s gross product are we talking about here,Omosupe?” Abruzzi asked, and Kolokoltsov felt a flicker of surprise as herealizedhe’dneveraskedthesamequestion.

“Damnedneartwentypercentofourtotalgrossproductdependsentirelyonourinterstellarcommerce,”

Quartermain said in a flat tone. “Another fifteenpercentwill, at theveryleast,beseriouslyimpacted.”

“And,” Wodoslawski added grimly, “something Rajampet seems to havefailed to keep in mind is that seventy percent of all federal revenue derivesdirectly or indirectly from shipping duties and tariffs.The other thirty percentderivesprimarilyfromprotectorateservicefees.”

Which meant, as her listeners understood perfectly well, the tributeextracted from OFS’s empire of protectorate star systems. That particularrevenuestreamwasscarcelywhatanyonemighthavecalledenormouscomparedtotheLeague’soveralleconomy,butitwasstupendousinabsoluteterms,anditbelongedentirely to theLeague’sbureaucracies.Thatwasonereason—indeed,thereason,really—FrontierSecurityhadbeenallowedtobuilditsempireinthefirst place. And, of course, it was also the primary reason nothing could bepermittedtoundermine theLeague’sgripon theprotectorates,whichhadbeentheentirereasonforthebelligerentpolicywhichhadgottenthemintothismessinthefirstplace.

Unbelievable,Kolokoltsovthoughtforfarfromthefirsttime.Unbelievablethatthemonumentalstupidityofjusttwopeoplecouldsetsomethinglikethisinmotion!

Ofcourse,asmallcornerofhisbrainremindedhim,notevenJosefByngandSandraCrandallcouldhavebrought theLeague tosuchapasswithout the

helpofKolokoltsovandhisfellowMandarins.Damnit,nowI’mstartingtousetheword!hethoughtdisgustedly.“Soyou’retellinguswe’reinapositiontoloseuptothirtypercentof the

entireLeague’sgrossproduct?!”Abruzziaskedincredulously.“We’re telling you we’re already losing a big chunk of that thirty-five

percent,”Quartermainreplied.“Exactlyhowbigachunkwewon’tknowuntilthedustsettlesandweseehowmuchdamagetheMantieshaveactuallydoneus.ButIdon’twantanyonethinkingthat’sallthat’sgoingtohappen.There’llbearippleeffectacrossourentireeconomy,onethat’sgoingtoleadtoasignificantdrop in activity in almost every sector if it lastsmore than a very short time.And,asAgatá’s justpointedout, even inabest case scenario, this isgoing tohammerfederalrevenues.

Mostofthesystemgovernmentswon’tbehurtall thatbadlyat first, thankGod,butifthisgoesonfortwoorthreequarters,that’sgoingtochange.”

“Shit,”Abruzzimuttered.“Thereareacoupleofbrighterspotsburied inall this,”Quartermainsaid

afteramoment.“AsRajampet’spointedoutoftenenough,what’sgoingtohurtusbadlywillhurttheMantiesthemselvesworse.Inalotofways,thisreallyisacaseoftheirhavingcutofftheirnosestospitetheirfaces,asmymommausedtosay.Andthat’sjustlookingatthe immediateeconomicandfinancial impact.Ifthey throw us back on our own shipping resources, and if they close thewormholesso thatweneedmoreshippingthanever tomeetourrequirements,it’s got to lead to a huge upsurge in our own shipbuilding. Eventually, ourmerchantmarinewillhavetoexpandtofillthevacuum,andoncethathappens,it’llbedifficultforManticoretoevermaneuveritselfintoasimilarstrangleholdpositionagain.”

“Assumingthere’sstillaManticoretodoanymaneuvering,”Wodoslawskiadded.

“Exactly,”Kolokoltsovsaidbleakly.Hesurveyedhiscolleagues’ faces forseveralmoments,thensighed.

“AssumingRajani’sstrategywithFilaretaworks,allofthisbecomesamootpoint.Assumingitdoesn’twork,thingsaregoingtogetalotuglierbeforetheyget any better. In fact, my greatest concern right now is that if the Mantiesbasically tell Filareta to pound sand—and, worse, if it turns out Rajani waswrongabout theirability tomake thatstick—we’regoing tofind itdifficult toreverttothat

‘shortofwar’diplomaticstance.”Headsnoddedinglumagreement,andKolokoltsovcastigatedhimselfagain

forallowingRajampet’s opportunism to seduce him into accepting theCNO’sstrategy. He should have known better than to listen! Yet given what hadhappenedtotheManties’homesystem,thetemptationtodoubledownhadbeenoverwhelming.

Surely their morale had to crack under the one-two punch of such adevastatingassaultandtherealizationthattheLeaguewasn’tgoingtobackoff!Ithadtobethatway,didn’tit?

Anditstillmaybe.Sure,they’rerecallingtheirfreightersandclosingtheirtermini, but they’re doing all that with no idea Filareta’s close enough to hitthemthisquickly.Whenheturnsupintheirownbackyard,thingscouldchangeinahurry.

Unfortunately…“IftheMantiesdon’tcave,andifwe’relookingatthiskindofnosedivein

revenues, can we go back to that position at all?” Abruzzi’s question putKolokoltsov’sownthoughtsintowords.

“Idon’tknow,” thepermanent seniorundersecretaryof state said frankly,andAbruzziscowled.

Kolokoltsov didn’t blame him.He stillwasn’t positive his own proposedstrategy—buyingtimebynegotiating

“moreinsorrowthaninanger”untiltheNavyacquiredweaponscapableofoffsetting theManties’ tactical advantages—wouldhaveworked,when allwassaid.

PatiencewasnotaSolarianvirtue,especiallywhere“neobarbs”wereconcerned.Thatwasonereason he’d been convinced to

backRajampet’snewstrategy,despiteitspotentialtorestricthisfutureoptions.Butuntil thismoment,hehadn’t fully realizedhowbadlya failurebyFilaretawouldrestrictthem.

If the Manties defeated Filareta—and especially if they also turned theeconomicscrewsWodoslawskiandQuartermainweredescribing—itwould beimpossible to convince the public that a return to diplomacy stemmed fromanything but fear of stillworse to come. Itwould be seen as an admission ofimpotence. Of ineffectuality. And that was the kiss of death. If the peoplerunning theLeaguecouldn’tdemonstrate theyweredoing somethingeffective,theelectoratemightstartlisteningtoloosewarheadslikeHadleyanddemandingchanges.Evencompletelyleavingasidepersonalconsequences,thepotentialforpoliticalandconstitutionaldisasterthatrepresentedwasterrifying.

“Idon’tknow,”herepeated.“Idoknow that if Rajani’s brainstorm turnsintoaspectacularfailure—

another spectacular failure, I should say—the situation isn’t going to

improve! In fact, wemay find ourselves essentially forced to do what Rajaniwantedtodointhefirstplace.”

“Whoa!”Wodoslawskistaredathim.“I thoughtwewereall inagreementthatjustservinguptheNavyastargetpracticeforMantymissileswaswhattheycallalosingproposition,Innokentiy!”

“Westillare.Butwhateverelsemayhavehappened,theMantieshaveto’velosta lotof theirmissilemanufacturing capacity. Rajani has to be right aboutthat,evenifhe’swrongabouteverythingelse!Sotheoddsarethatthey’dhavetostandonthedefensive,ratherthancomingafterus,atleastuntilthey’reableto regenerate their industrial base. And as we’ve just been saying, they’ll betrying to do that at a timewhen they’ve cut off the lion’s share of their owninterstellarcashflow.”

“Andthishelpsusexactlyhow?”Abruzziasked.“Itmeans they can’t reach just down our throats and rip out our lungs,”

Kolokoltsov said flatly. “Not right away, at least. It gives us time towork onwaystonegatetheircombatadvantages.Forthatmatter,itgivesustimetoseeiftheireconomycan survive, especially after somuchof their home systemgotclearcut.And,ifwespinitright,wecanusewhatthey’vedonetoourshippingroutestoexplainwhywe’renotyetinapositiontotakethewartothem.Whywehave to ‘hold the line’ until our economyandnaval logistics recover fromtheir‘treacherousblow.’

And—”“Andatthesametimewefocustheangerovertheeconomicmeltdownon

them,notus!”Abruzziinterjected,andKolokoltsovnodded.“That’sstillgoingtobetoughtopulloff,”Quartermainpointedout,blueeyesnarrow.“Noquestion,”Kolokoltsov acknowledged. “And I can think of a fewof

ourmembersystemswhowon’tdoathingtomakeitanyeasier.”Quartermain’smouthtightened,hereyesglitteringwithmorethanahintof

anger,andKolokoltsovsnorted.“Wealwaysknewthatwasat leastapossibility,Omosupe.AndI’vebeen

thinkingaboutwaysto,ah,rectifythesituation.”“Oh?”Quartermain cocked her head. “And have any solutions suggested

themselvestoyou?”“Asamatteroffact,oneortwohaverearedtheirheads,”Kolokoltsovsaid.

“In fact, one of them came from Rajani, although I rather doubt he’s beenthinkingaboutitthesamewayIhave.Letmeexplain…”

ChapterSeven“Excuseme,Sir,butanAdmiralSimpsonisonthecom.She’saskingfora

priorityappointmentwithyou.”“AdmiralSimpson?”Gabriel Caddell-Markham, the Director of Defense for the Beowulf

PlanetaryBoardofDirectors,archedaneyebrowatTimothySung,hispersonalaide,whoseholo imagefloatedabove thedirector’sdesktopcom.It had takenCaddell-Markhamyearstomastertheartofmovingonlyoneeyebrowwhiletheotherremainedmotionless.

DespitehiswifeJoanna’smoreorlesstolerantamusementattheaffectation(the acquisition of which she ascribed to his many, many years in starshipcommandswithnousefulskillstospendhistimemastering),he’dactuallyfounditquitehandy sincehe’d resigned from theBeowulfSystemDefenseForce topursueapoliticalcareer.

“Yes,Sir,”Sungrepliedinanswertohisquestion.The dark-haired, brown-eyed Sung’s rather pale complexion contrasted

sharply with his boss’s very black skin, yet there was an oddly familialresemblance between them. Probably because the defense director’s aide hadbeenwithhim for thebetterpartofelevenT-years.Given thatSungwasonlyforty, that meant he’d been young andmalleable enough to be influenced byolder,more evil examples. That was Sung’s own explanation, anyway. Someseniorgovernmentofficialsmighthave taken thatexplanationamiss,butgiventhat the theory had originally been propounded by Joanna Markham-Caddell,Caddell-Markhamwasn’tinthebestofpositionstodothat.

Besides, theyoungerman’s insouciancewas one of themain reasons thedirector had chosen him as an aide in the first place. Sung had performed hisown military service in the Biological Survey Corps, which was scarcelyrenowned for its spit-and-polish attitude, and the arched eyebrowwas usuallygoodforasnortwhenCaddell-Markhamuseditonhim.Today,heseemednoteventohavenoticed.

“She’snotoneofourofficers,”Sungcontinued.“Infact,Iunderstandshe’sonAdmiralKingsford’sstaff.”

Caddell-Markham’s eyebrow came down and his face tightened ever soslightly. It would have taken someonewho knew him aswell as Sung did tonotice,buthisaidenodded.

“Yes,Sir.Sheobviouslydoesn’twanttogetspecificwithme,butfromherattitude,IthinkshehastobehereaboutFilareta.”

Timothy Sungwas thoroughly briefed in on a vast assortment of highlyclassifiedinformation,whichwaswhyheknewabouttheplantosendMassimoFilareta to attack the Manticore Binary System, despite the plan’s Utter-Top-Secret,

Burn-Before-Reading-and-Then-Self-Terminate Classification. And, like

hisboss,hethoughtitwasthestupidest,mostarrogantexcuseforastrategyhe’deverheardof.

What Sung wasn’t aware of—yet—was that the Beowulf systemgovernmenthadveryquietlyusedanextremely

“black”communicationschanneltowarnManticoreFilaretawascoming.“Sinceyousayyouthinkshe’shereaboutFilareta,Iassumeshehasn’tsaid

anythingspecificaboutthereasonshewantstoseeme?”“No, Sir. As I said, she obviously doesn’t want to get specific with an

underling.”Sunggrimaced.“Shewasprettyemphaticabout theurgencyofherneed to speak to you as soon as possible, though. And she did say it wassomething she didn’t want to discuss—with you, presumably, since she was‘discussing’damn-allwithme—

overthecom.”“Isee.”Caddell-Markhampursedhislips,thenshrugged.“I further assume that as the skilled bureaucrat and politician-minder

you’vebecome,youhaven’ttoldherI’mimmediatelyavailable?”“No,Sir.”Thistime,Sungsmiledslightly.“Infact,Itoldheryouwereout

of the office and that I’d see if I could contact you. I’m afraid I may haveimpliedyouwereclosetedwithsomeoftheotherDirectorsatthemomentanditmightnotbepossibleto‘disturbyou.’”

“So sad to see a stalwart military officer descending to such depths ofchicanery,”Caddell-Markhamobservedwithasmileofhisown.Thenthesmilevanished,andheshrugged.“Inthatcase,tellherI’mafraidIwon’tbeabletoseeheruntil sometimefairly late thisafternoon.Goaheadandfeel free to ‘imply’that I’moutof thecityat themoment—I’mprobably inGrendel, in fact,nowthat I think about it.At any rate, I’ll be happy tomeetwith her absolutely assoonasIcangetbacktoColumbia.Andassoonasyou’vefinished‘implying’thattoherandschedulingthemeeting,pleasebegoodenoughtogettheCEO,Secretary Pinder-Swun,Director Longacre, and Director Mikulin on a secureconferencelink.”

***“SohasanyoneeveractuallymetthisAdmiralSimpson?”ChyangBenton-Ramirez,theChairmanandCEOofthePlanetaryBoardof

Directors,was about eight centimeters taller thanCaddell-Markham’s hundredandseventy-five centimeters.He also had dark hairwhichwas turningwhite,despitethefactthathewasbarelyseventy-fiveT-yearsold.Personally,Caddell-

Markham suspected Benton-Ramirez preferred things that way, on the theorythat it gavehiman interestinglydistinguished look in a societyaccustomed toprolong’s extendedyouthfulness.And the snowinessofhishairmade a nicelydistinctivevisualcontrastwiththedarknessofhisbushymustache.Thepoliticalcartoonistsjustlovedit,regardlessoftheirownpoliticalpersuasions,atanyrate.

HisBoard colleagues lookedaroundat one another’s images, then turnedbacktohimwithvariouscombinationsofshrugsandheadshakes.

“Marvelous,”hesaiddryly.“I’ve never met her, Chyang,” Director at Large Fedosei Demianovich

Mikulin said, “but I did have a chance to give her dossier a quick once overbeforetheconference.”

DespitethefactthathewastheBoardofDirectors’oldestmember by the better part of two decades, the blond-haired, blue-

eyed Mikulin actually looked younger than Benton-Ramirez. He was almostthirteencentimeterstaller,aswell.Aphysicianbytraining,he’dbeenamemberof the Board for over thirty T-years, always as a director at large rather thanheading any specific planetary directorate. His colleagues in the Chamber ofShareholdersandChamberofProfessionshadreturnedhimsopersistentlytotheBoardbecauseofhisdemonstratedabilityasanall-around troubleshooter, andBenton-Ramirez,likehislasttwopredecessors,hadlearnedtorelyonMikulin’sadvice…especiallyinintelligencematters.

“Andherdossiertoldyouwhat,Fedosei?”theCEOaskednow.“She’sKingsford’soperationsofficer,”Mikulinreplied.“She’salsosomesortofcousinofhis,andshe’sconnectedbymarriageto

Rajampet,aswell.Despitethat,she’sonlyarearadmiral,andaccording toherdossierher lastshipboardcommandwasas thecaptainofa superdreadnought.As far aswe know, she’s never commanded a fleet or a task force or even asquadron in space. She does have a reputation as an operational planner, butthat’s an SLN reputation, so I’d take it with a grain of salt, especially whensomeonewithher familyconnectionshasn’tbeenpromotedbeyond junior flagrank.

She’s obviously trusted by her superiors when it comes to politics andbureaucraticinfighting,though.AsnearlyasIcantell,Kingsford—orJennings,atleast—hasusedherasgo-betweenonsomefairlygrayoperationsthatnoonewantedofficiallyontherecord.”

Benton-Ramirez nodded. FleetAdmiralWinston Seth Kingsford was thecommandingofficeroftheSolarianLeagueNavy’sBattleFleet.ThatmadehimRajampet’s heir apparent as chief of naval operations, and Admiral Willis

Jennings was Kingsford’s chief of staff. Neither was any stranger to theinternecinewarfareoftheLeaguebureaucracy.

“Ithinkwecansafelyassume,then,”theCEOsaidoutloud,“thatnoneofusaregoingtobetoohappyaboutanyminorgrayareasshemayhavebeensenttogobetweeninourcase.”

“Probablynot,”DirectorofStateJukkaLongacreagreed.“ThethingIhavetowonderishowunhappywe’regoingtobe?”

Thedirectorofstate’samethysteyesnarrowed.Thoseeyeswerehismoststriking feature—especially against hisdark complexionand depilated scalp—buthispowerful,hookednoseran themaclosesecond.Caddell-Markhamhadalways thought that with the possible addition of a golden earring, LongacrewouldhavemadeawonderfulHD

pirate.Infact,he’dbeenChairmanofInterstellarPoliticsattheUniversityofColumbiabeforehiselectiontotheBoardsevenT-yearsearlier.

“You’rewonderingifsomething’sleakedaboutourwarningtoManticore?”Benton-Ramirez’tonemadethequestionastatement,andLongacrenodded.

“Idoubtit,”SecretaryJoshuaPinder-Swunsaid.Althoughhisofficial titlewassimplySecretaryof thePlanetaryBoardof

Directors, the red-haired, blue-eyed Pinder-Swun was actually the ViceChairman and CEO of the system government. He was a little unusual forsomeoneofhisexaltedpoliticalposition in thathe’dcomelate topolitics,andthen through the Chamber of Professions, rather than the Chamber ofShareholders.OneofBeowulf’sleadingphysicistsbeforehis“temporary”

electiontotheChamberofProfessionssometwentyT-yearsbefore,hestillcherishedtheillusionthathewouldsomedaybeallowedtoreturntohisbelovedresearch.

Everyoneelseknewthatwasn’tgoingtohappen.“Idoubtit,”Pinder-Swunrepeatedwheneveryone’seyesswivelledtohim,

and shrugged. “First, from all I’ve seen, no one has a clue our conduit toManticore even exists. Second, if anyone on Old Terra had figured out we’dwarnedManticore,theywould’vesentsomeonealotmoresenior—andprobablyalotmoreofficial—to…remonstratewithus.”Heshookhishead.“No,thishassomethingtodowithFilareta,allright,butIdon’tthinkit’sanythingtodowithourhavingalertedtheManties.”

“IthinkJoshuahasapoint,”Caddell-Markhamsaid.

“The problem is that if she’s not here to break our heads over our littlesecurityfauxpas—andJoshua’sdefinitelyrightaboutthat;ifthatwaswhattheywanted, theywould’vesentsomeonemoresenior—thatmeansRajampet’s had

anotherbrainstorm.Onethatinvolvesus.Andgiventhefactthatwe’retwoT-monthsfromManticorethroughhyper-

space even for a dispatch boat, and that Filareta’s supposed to be leavingTasmania(assuminghemanagestomakeKingsford’sschedule)inlessthantwoweeks, whatever brilliant inspiration he might’ve had has to concern ourterminusoftheJunction.”

Facestightened,andMikulinnoddedgrimly.“Ican’tseeanythingelsethatwouldcausetheNavytosendusapersonal

representative,”heagreed.“Ifitwereapurelypoliticalmatter,wewouldn’tbelookingatsomeonefromthemilitary,and theywould’vecometocallonyou,Jukka,notGabriel.Orifthey’dwantedtohandleitatahigherlevel,onyouorJoshua,Chyang.AndGabriel’srightabouttheJunction.It’sabitlateinthedayfor themtosuddenlydecide to ask us ifwe have any insight intoManticorancapabilities which might have somehow eluded their own inspired analysts.”Mikulin’s contemptwaswithering. “Whichmeans some ass inKingsford’s orRajampet’s office has decided there’s some way to use the Junction againstManticore.”

“Irealizewe’renottalkingaboutmentalgiants,”Pinder-Swunobserved, “but surely theyhave to realize any sortof attack

throughtheJunctionwouldbesuicide!”“You’dthinkso,wouldn’tyou?”Caddell-Markhamsaid.“Ontheotherhand,callingthegeniusesrunningtheSLN—andtherestoftheLeague,forthatmatter—‘imbeciles’wouldbeagrossslanderonimbeciles.”“AreyoupositivethisiscomingoutofRajampetorKingsford?”Longacre

asked.

“No, but who else would be sending Kingsford’s ops officer as hismessengergirl?”Caddell-Markhamasked.

“Thatdependsonwhatitisthey’rereallyafter,”Longacrecountered.“I’llgrantthatKolokoltsovandhisapparatchikshave

been acting as if they don’t have two brain cells amongst them, but as far asgamingthesystemheunderstandsisconcerned,he’srightthereinMachiavelli’sleague.Theproblemisthathedoesn’tseemtograspthepossibilitythatthere’sany universe outside the system he understands. Or, at least, that he failed tograspitintimetoavoidourcurrentdebacle.”

“And?”Caddell-Markhamknewhe looked skeptical, and he twitched hisheadapologetically.“I’mnotdisagreeingwithyouranalysisofKolokoltsovandtheMandarins,Jukka.Ijustdon’tunderstandwhyhe’dsendsomeonefromthe

militarytodeliverapoliticalmessage.”“That’s because you grew up as a straightforward military officer!”

Longacresnorted.“Maybehedid,”Mikulinsaid,“butIstillthinkit’savalidquestion.”“Ofcourse it is.But thinkabout this.” Longacre looked around the other

faces, ice-blueeyesmore intent thanever.“We’reagreedKolokoltsov and theothers—

probablyespeciallyMacArtney—stumbledintothisbecausetheyweretooarrogantandfullof theirownomnipotence to realizewhere itwasheaded.Bynow, though, Kolokoltsov, at least, has to’ve realized he’s looking down thebarrelofapulseratafull-fledgedpoliticalandconstitutionalcrisis.Rajampet’stwistingArticle Seven like a pretzel to coverwhat he’s already done, far lesswhatheplansondoing.Intheend,thatpretzelmaybreak.Ifitdoes—whenitdoes—theshit’sgoingtohitthefaninawaytheSolarianLeague’sneverseen.And even if none of theMandarins suspect we’ve already warnedManticorewhat’scoming,theyallknowhowcloseourrelationswiththeStarKingdom—Empire,Imean—are.”

Hepaused,andCaddell-Markhamnodded.TheStarEmpireofManticorewasfarandawayBeowulf’sbiggest trading

partner. Given that fact and Manticore’s unwavering support of Beowulf’scrusadeagainstthegeneticslavetrade,ithadbeenoneofBeowulf’scloseralliesfor over three T-centuries. Indeed, unlike any other Solarian militaryorganization, the Beowulf System Defense Force had a tradition of closecooperationwiththeRMNandcarriedoutfrequentjointexercisesindefenseoftheBeowulfTerminus.More than that,Manticorans andBeowulfers had beenintermarrying(amongother things)eversincetheJunction’sdiscoveryin1585PD. At least four members of the Planetary Board of Directors, including itsCEO,hadrelativesinManticore.Forthatmatter,quiteafewBeowulfers(again,includingmembersoftheBoard)hadlostfamilymembersintheYawataStrike.Eventhemastermindsresponsiblefor theSolarianLeague’sforeignpolicyhadtograspwhatthatwasgoingtomeanwhereBeowulf’sattitudewasconcerned.

Asfarasthatgoes,thedirectorofdefenseremindedhimself,bynowitsureashelloughttohaveoccurredtosomeoneinKingsford’sshopthatwemust’veknowna lotmoreaboutManticore’s capabilities thanweever sharedwith theNavy. It couldn’t be any other way, given all those joint exercises. So by thistime, somebody’s got to be asking himself why we never mentioned thosemultidrivemissiles.Ofcourse,nooneeveraskedusaboutthem,butstill…

“Well,”Longacrecontinued,“supposeit’soccurredtothemthatwe’renotgoing to be happywhenwe find out about the attack onManticorewe’re not

supposedtoknowanythingaboutatthemoment.Andsupposeit’salsooccurredtothemthatif itcomesdowntoagenuinedebateovera formaldeclarationofwar, we’re certain to exercise our veto to prevent it.What do you think theymightwanttodoaboutthat?”

“Idon’t thinkthere’sanythingtheycando,”Caddell-Markhamreplied.“Ithinkthey’reinsodeeptheyfiguretheonlythingtheycandoiskeepbashingstraightaheadandhopeforthebest.”

“Probablyso,butthat’snotgoingtokeepsomeonelikeKolokoltsovfromtryingtoshoveanaceortwouphissleeve,Gabriel.”Longacreshookhishead.“No, he’s going to be looking for someway to change the equation.Andonewaytodothatmightbetogetusinvolvedintheattack.IfwehelpthemattackManticore,we’llberightinthesameboatwiththemwhenitcomestodefendingouractions.”

“But no onewith even half a brain could believewewould help them,”Pinder-Swunobjected.“NotonlydowehaveobviouscommercialandculturaltieswithManticore,butourAssemblydelegates’vebeencallingformoderationever since theMonica Incident. Not tomentionHadley’smotion!Andwe’vebeensteadfastinrejectingthehysteriaabouttheGreenPinesbombing,aswell.They have to realize how Manticore’s allegations of Mesan involvement ineverything that’s happened to the Star Empire are going to play with ourcitizens!”

The secretary had that right, Caddell-Markham reflected. Indeed, Pinder-Swun himself was an outstanding example of why that was true, since hismotherhadbeenaliberatedgeneticslave.Liberated,infact, ifmemoryserved,byacruiseroftheRoyalManticoranNavy.

“Of courseKolokoltsov’sperfectlywell awareof that, Joshua,”Longacreagreed.“Butifhe’stakingthelongview—tryingtopositionhislittlequintetforan actual war, or at least a protracted crisis—then what he may want is todiscredituswiththerestoftheLeague.

“Trythisscenario.TheNavywantsourassistanceincarryingoutitsattackonManticore.MaybetheywanttheBSDFtoparticipateactively,ormaybetheyjustwanttousetheJunctiontothreatenManticorefromtherearandexpectustohelpwiththenecessaryshipmovements.

Anyway,whatevertheywant,theytellusaboutit,andweturnthemdown.Under Article Five of the Constitution, we can refuse to place the System-DefenseForceunderfederalcontrolunlesstheLeague’sformallyatwar,andtheBeowulf Terminus of the Junction is outside the twelve-minute limit, whichmeansit’snot‘our’propertytodisposeof,anyway.Theymightnotwanttobuythat interpretation, especially given our treaty withManticore, but technically

BeowulfAstroControl isacharteredprivatecompany,notanofficialorganofourgovernment,anditleasestheterminusfromitsManticorandiscoverers.

Sowe’vegotplentyofwiggleroomtokeepthelawyershappyfortheodddecadeortwoiftheytrytopushit.

Whichmeans that ifwe do turn them down, refuse to cooperate,we canlegitimatelyarguewe’rewithinourrightsundertheConstitution.

“Fromtheirperspective,though,oneoftwothingsisgoingtohappenwhenFilareta reaches Manticore. Either he succeeds and the Manties back downwithoutafight—

whicheveryoneofusknowsperfectlywellisn’tgoingtohappen—orelsethere’s going to be a battle. Kolokoltsov and the others may actually believeFilaretacanwin,givenhowbadlyManticore’sbeendamaged.Ofcourse,ifanyof their so-called analysts think anything of the sort after what happened toCrandall, I’d like to distribute a few kilos ofwhatever they’re snorting atmynextfundraiser!

At any rate, either Filareta wins, in which case our refusal to cooperatedoesn’thurtanythingsincethecrisisisover,orelseFilaretagetshammered…inwhichcase,theyblamehisdefeatonourlackofcooperation.Youcanbetyourbottom credit thatwhen the official report gets presented,we’ll be the reasonFilaretagotblownoutofspace,whichwillundercutourcredibilityasopponentstoanypost-Filaretahard-lineposition.”

“Youreallythinkthey’dbelievetheycouldgetawaywiththat?”Caddell-Markhamwishedhisowntonesoundedmoreincredulous.

“I’mprettysuretheywould,”Longacrereplied.“Believetheycouldgetawaywithit,atanyrate.Ithinkthey’dprobablybe

wrong,butlet’sbehonest,Gabriel.Itwouldn’tbeanyrawerthanalotofother‘facts’ they and Abruzzi’s shills at Education and Information have sold thepublic,nowwouldit?Idoubtanyofthemthinktheycouldcountonbrushinguspermanently out of theirway—even in theLeague, the truth has an annoyingtendency of coming out eventually. But if there’s any basis tomy suspicions,then what they’re after is a tactical objective, rather than a strategic one. IfFilareta’soperationblowsup in their faces, theMandarinswantusneutralizedduringanyimmediatepublicdebateoverexactlyhowthathappenedorwho’stoblamefortheresultantbloodbath.

“In the longer term, they’ll hardly be heartbroken if they can keep ussidelinedlongenoughtoget theentireLeaguecommittedtotheirpolicyvis-à-visManticore.Weallknowfrompersonalexperiencethatonceapolicy’sbeenset,it’salothardertochangeitthaniteverwouldhavebeentonipitinthebud.AndtheyprobablyfigurethatiftheAssembly’ssignedoff—evenpassively—on

whateverpolicy theychoose, it’s a lot less likelyanyone’sgoing tobeable togenerateanyeffectiveresistancetothatpolicy.”

Thedirectorofstateleanedbackinhisofficechair,foldinghisarmsacrosshis chest, and the other participants in the holo conference looked at oneanother’s images. Caddell-Markham was pretty sure most of the others werethinkingthesamethinghewas.Unfortunately,whatLongacrehadjustsuggestedsoundedentirelytoolikelyforcomfort.

“Allright,”Benton-Ramirezsaidafteramoment.“Personally, I hope you’re being excessively paranoid, Jukka. I’m not

preparedtobetagainstyou,though.Sothequestionbeforeusbecomeshowwerespondtowhatever

‘request’thisSimpsonisheretomake.”“You want my honest, off-the-cuff, immediate reaction to it, Chyang?”

Pinder-Swunasked.TheCEOnodded,andthesecretarygaveaharsh,barkinglaugh.Itsounded

like thehuntingcry of some forest predator, and Pinder-Swun’s always ruddycomplexionwasabouthalfashadedarkerthanusual.

“Okay,”hesaid.“What I’d really like todo ispoint themat the terminusandinvitethemtogorightahead!”

Hesmilednastily,andCaddell-Markhamwinced.TheceilingonanysimultaneousmasstransitoftheManticoranWormhole

Junctionwasaroundtwohundredmilliontons.ThatmeantthelargestforcetheSLN could throw through the Beowulf Terminus in a single wave would beabout thirty of itsScientist-class superdreadnoughts, after which the terminuswouldbedestabilizedanduselessforoverseventeenhours.Thatsoundedlikealotofships…

untilonereflectedthatasinglemissilesalvofromaforcecomposedsolelyofcruisersandbattlecruisershadcompletelydestroyedtwenty-threeunitsofthesameclassintheBattleofSpindle.WhattheManticoranHomeFleet’sships-of-the-wall—or even just the Junction forts—could dowouldmake Spindle looklikealovetap.

“While I’ll admit to a certain vengefulness ofmyown, Joshua,”Benton-Ramirezsaidafteramoment,histonemild,“wemightwanttobearinmindthatthe spacers aboard those ships wouldn’t be the ones who decided to attackManticore in the first place. Not to mention the fact that they’re our fellowSolarians…andsomebody’shusbands,wives,sons,ordaughters.”

“Isaiditwasmyimmediatereaction,”Pinder-Swunreplied.“You’reright,

though,ofcourse.AlthoughwhenIthinkabouthowoftentheNavy’ssatonitscollective ass and watched slavers go trundling past, my sense of empathybecomes oddly deadened. Despite that, I agree we shouldn’t be encouragingRajampet andKingsford to get job lots ofNavy personnel killed in one-sidedmassacres.”

“Sowhatdowedo?”Benton-Ramirezlookedaroundhiscolleagues’facesoncemore.“Suggestions,anyone?”

***“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me so promptly, Director,” Rear

Admiral Marjorie Simpson said, reaching across the desk to shake Caddell-Markham’sprofferedhand.Hersmileactuallylookedgenuine.

“I’msorryIwasn’tavailablewhenyoufirstscreened,Admiral,”Caddell-Markham replied with an equally warm (and false) smile. “According to Mr.Sung’s message, though, it sounded fairly urgent, so I cleared space on mycalendarasquicklyasIcould.”

“Iappreciatethat,”Simpsontoldhim,butshealsocockedherheadat thefair-haired,gray-eyedwomanwho’drisenfromoneofthearmchairsinfrontofCaddell-Markham’sdesk.Therearadmiral’sexpressionwaspolitely inquiring,andCaddell-Markhamreleasedherhandandgesturedattheotherwoman.

“Allow me to introduce Assistant Director of Defense JustynáMiternowski-Zhyang,”hesaid.“JustynáistheassistantdirectorfortheBSDF’snaval component.”He smiled. “Given your own naval rank, it seemed likelyyour errand here on Beowulf was going to involve Justyná’s bailiwick.Assumingitdoes,itseemedsimplestandmostefficienttohaveherhereattheoutset.”

“Isee.AndIappreciateyourforethought,”Simpsonsaid,althoughherownsmile seemed just a little forced as she reached out to shake Miternowski-Zhyang’shandinturn.

“Please,” Caddell-Markham said then, waving at the waiting armchairs.“Let’sallhaveseatsandgetdowntowhateverbringsyoutoBeowulf,Admiral.CanIofferanyrefreshment?”

“I’mfine,Director,”Simpsondemurred,shakingherhead.“Perhapslater.”“Fine.”Thedirector of defense tippedback slightly in his ownchair and

wavedonehandinaninviting“go-ahead”gesture.Simpsonpausedforamoment,as ifmakingcertainhermentalnotecards

wereproperlyarranged,andhe tookadvantageof theopportunity tostudyherunobtrusively.

Shewasn’taparticularlytallwoman,althoughshewassolidlyifcompactly

puttogether.AccordingtothedossierMikulinhadsharedwithhim,shewas inherearly seventies, butherhairwas still dark,without ahintofgray, and herbrown eyes were commendably open and mild. Earnest. Even guileless, onemightalmosthavesaid.

Which,givenherpositionandduties,hadtobedeceptive.“WhatI’mabouttodiscusswithyou,”shesaidfinally,“isTopSecret,LevelSevenclassifiedmaterial.”Shepausedagain,briefly,asifforemphasis.IntheSolarianclassification

system, therewas only one level above that, and Caddell-Markham remindedhimselftolooksuitablyimpressed.

“I’msureyouandAssistantDirectorMiternowski-Zhyanghavebeenfullybriefed on what happened to Admiral Crandall’s task force at Spindle,” sheresumed.

“ObviouslythatcameasashocktoallofusintheNavy.We’renotconvincedbyanymeansthattheManties’versionofwhathappened isaccurate,ofcourse. In particular, givenwhat

weknowofAdmiral Crandall’s standing orders, it seems unlikely her actionsand attitudes were actually as provocative as they’ve been portrayed. It doesseem probable that she…mismanaged the situation badly, but some of ouranalystsbelievethecomrecordstheMantiessentushavebeenskillfullyedited.Be that as it may, however—whatever actually happened and whoever reallyfired the first shot—we’re all left facing the consequences of Manticore’sactions.”

She paused again, as if inviting a response to what she’d just said.Particularly,Caddell-Markham suspected, to her version of justwhose actionswere responsible for the consequences in question.BothBeowulfers had theirexpressionsasthoroughlyundercontrolasherown,however.

“Clearly,”shecontinuedwithanairofcandorwhenneitherofthemrosetothe bait, “what happened toAdmiral Crandall indicateswe in the Navy havebadlyunderestimatedManticoranmilitarycapabilities.Ouranalystsarefirmlyofthe opinion that themissile performance we observed at Spindle never camefromanythingthatcouldbelaunchedfromcruiserorbattlecruisermissiletubes,whatevertheymaybeclaimingorseekingtoimply.Butevenwiththatcaveat—even assumingwhat theyactually usedwere heavy system-defensemissiles—theircapabilitieswere,frankly,littleshortofterrifying.It’spainfullyevidentthatatthemoment,atleast,theMantynavyhasasignificanttechnologicaledge.

“At the same time, however, the Solarian League has a tremendousquantitativeadvantage.There’ssimplynowayanythingthesizeoftheManties’‘StarEmpire’couldpossiblymatchourproductivityandavailablemanpower.In

theend,thoseadvantageshavetoprovedecisive.“Unfortunately, despite the fact that their defeat would be ultimately

certain,Godonlyknowshowmanyofourownpeoplewouldgetkilledalongtheway.”Sheshookherhead,expressiongrave.“Evencompletelyignoringourmoral responsibility not to throw away lives unnecessarily, those sorts ofcasualtylevelswouldinevitably—andrightly

—leadtouniversalrepugnanceintheLeague.Bearingallofthatinmind,itseemed evident to everyone on Admiral Kingsford’s staff—and to AdmiralRajampet and his staff, for that matter—that Assemblywoman Hadley had apoint.

Even if not everyone agreedwith her logic, the ultimate conclusionwaseffectively the same: despite the Navy’s understandable fury and desire forvengeance,anysortofprecipitousoperationsagainstManticorewereoutofthequestion.Attheveryleast,everydiplomaticavenuehadtobeexploredfirst.”

Shepausedagain,and this timeCaddell-Markhamallowedhimself tonodinsoberagreement,despitehisquicklickofangeratSimpson’sclumsyefforttosuggestsomesortofagreementwithFeliciaHadley.

“Unfortunately,” the admiral went on, “it’s become evident to ForeignMinisterRoelasyValienteandtoPermanentSeniorUndersecretaryKolokoltsovthatManticorehasnointentionofnegotiatingingoodfaith.”

She sighed. “WhateverAssemblywomanHadleyand thosewho shareherconcernsmay think, theManties’ diplomatic correspondence—not tomentiontheobviousduplicityof theway inwhich theymisrepresented theRepublicofHaven’sdiplomacyintheresumptionoftheirlong-standingwaragainstHaven;theshameless,cynicalimperialismofcoldbloodedlypartitioningasovereignstarnationintheSilesianConfederacy’scase;theunilateraldecisiontoclosenotjusttheirownJunctionbuteveryothertermiustheycontrolagainstSolariantraffic;andtheirquestionableactionsintheTalbottCluster—allmakeitcleartheyhaveeveryintentionofpressingtheircurrentmilitaryadvantageforallit’sworth.”

Thatwasn’t,Caddell-Markhamreflected,thewayhewouldhavedescribedtheStarEmpire’sdiplomaticexchangeswiththeLeague.Oranyoftherestofitsforeignpolicyoverthelast,oh,fiftyT-yearsorso.Asfantasieswent,though,itstuck together fairlywell,hesupposed.Orwouldhave,assuminganyonewiththeIQofagnathadbeenpreparedtobelieveasinglewordthatcameoutoftheOfficeofFrontierSecurity.

And isn’t it interesting that she never even mentionedGreen Pines? hethoughtsardonically.

“ThatwastheunpalatablesituationintheimmediateaftermathoftheNewTuscanyandSpindleincidents,”

Simpson said. “More recently, however, that situation has changedradically. I’m sure you here inBeowulf have an even better appreciation thanmostforjusthowbadlytheMantiesweredamagedbythatattackontheirhomesystem.”

For just a moment, despite her obviously formidable self-control, thosebrowneyeshardened.ObviouslysheandhersuperiorssuspectedBeowulfreallydidhaveafarbetter“appreciation”foreventsinManticorethanithadchosentoshare with them. Caddell-Markham and Miternowski-Zhyang only noddedcourteously,however.Herlipsthinnedeversobriefly,butthensheshruggedandactuallysmiled.

“Wedon’tknowwhowasresponsibleforthatattack.Iassureyou,ONIisworkingovertimetofigureoutwhoitcouldhavebeen!Theobviousfactthatatleastoneothernavyalsohascapabilitieswecan’tmatchatthemomentdoesn’tmake any of us very happy.At the same time, it’s clear thismysterious thirdpartyhasmanaged to significantly prune backManty capabilities. In fact, ouranalysis suggests the Manticoran heavy industrial structure’s been effectivelydestroyed, with obvious consequences for their ability to support sustainedoperations. None of which has done anything to mitigate Manty ambitions,unfortunately.Tobehonesttheyseemtohavebecomeevenmoreambitious—oraggressive,atanyrate—judgingbytheiractionswherethewormholenetworkisconcerned.Infact,wehavereports—unconfirmedatthistime,butfromusuallyreliable sources—that they’ve begun to go beyond shutting down their owntermini by actually seizing control of any other termini they can reach,regardlessofwhotheymaybelongto,toclosethemagainstus,aswell.

“Given the Manticorans’ clear, unwavering intention to hold to theaggressive course they’ve set, Prime Minister Gyulay concurs with AdmiralRajampet’sview that itwouldbe criminallynegligent togive them thegift oftimetorebuildtheirmilitary.Ultimately,thatwouldalmostcertainlyresultinanunconscionabledeath toll forourownmilitary.For thatmatter, itwould resultultimately in a staggering death toll for theManties, oncewe fullymobilizedagainst them. So, theNavy intends tomove quickly, taking advantage of thiswindowofopportunity.

Wehappentohaveaforceofapproximatelyfourhundredships-of-the-walleitheralreadyatorwithinaveryfewdays’hypertraveloftheTasmaniaSystem.Withinthenexttwoorthreeweeks,thoseships,reinforcedbyeverythingwe’vebeen able to get to them, will advance on Manticore under Fleet AdmiralFilareta.TheyshouldreachManticorenolaterthanthemiddleofJune.”

Simpson’svoicehadbecomedeeperandmoremeasured,andthistimetheBeowulfersallowedtheirowneyestowideninsurpriseleavenedbymorethana

hintoftrepidation.“Admiral Rajampet fully realizes the grave risks of the operation he’s

instructedAdmiralKingsfordtomount.Obviously, we hope the combination of the damage the Manties have

alreadysufferedandthespeedwithwhichAdmiralFilaretacanreachtheirhomesystemwillconvincethemtoseereason.Failingthat,webelievetheirdefensivecapabilitieswillhavebeensufficientlyreducedforAdmiralFilareta tosucceedindefeatingtheirremainingforceswithaminimumofcasualties.

Nonetheless,thepossibilitydoesexistthathe’lltakeseverelossesifitturnsout their defensive canopy hasn’t been quite so badly eroded as our currentanalysessuggest.WhichiswhatbringsmetoBeowulf.”

Shestoppedspeakingalmostabruptlyandsatbackinherownchair,gazingatCaddell-Markhamlevelly.

“I beg your pardon?” he said. “I’m afraid I don’t quite understand howAdmiral—Filareta, you said?—and his operations affect us here in Beowulf,AdmiralSimpson.”

“It’sactuallyfairlysimple,Director,”Simpsonreplied.“Inanidealuniversethepsychologicalaspectsofthisoperationwillallow

Admiral Filareta to succeed without firing a single shot. The idea is todemonstrate to theManties thatwhatever their present, transitory advantages,theycan’tultimatelyhopetodefeatsomethingwith thesizeandstayingpoweroftheSolarianLeagueandtheSolarianLeagueNavy.Tohelppushthatlessonhome,weneedtoapplypressurefromasmanydirectionsaspossibleascloselytosimultaneouslyaspossible.”

“Waitaminute,”Caddell-Markhamsaid(afterall,itwouldn’tdotoappeartoo obtuse). “Idohopeyou’renotproposing to launcha secondprongof thisattackthroughtheBeowulfTerminus,AdmiralSimpson!”

“That’sexactlywhatwe’reproposing,Sir.”“Well,I’mafraidIcan’tagreethatit’saverygoodidea,”hetoldherflatly.“Whynot?” IfSimpsonwasdismayed (or surprised)byhis response,her

tonegavenoindicationofit.“Severalreasonsoccurtomerightoffhand.Firstandforemost,there’sthe

questionofpre-transitintelligence.”Caddell-Markhamshookhishead,hisexpressionsober.“I’m sure you realize how much Manticore’s closure of the Junction is

hurtingushereinBeowulf.They’veshut itdownfromtheirend,notours,butwith Manty merchant traffic all heading for home or already there and theJunction closed to all Solarian traffic, one of ourmajor revenue producers iseffectively completely off-line. I’m sure Admiral Kingsford and Admiral

Rajampetwereawareofthatwhentheysentyoutomakethisproposaltous,andno doubt there are some people right here on Beowulf who want to see ourterminus reopened justasbadlyasanyone inOldChicagomight.Butwhetherthat’strueornot,thefactthatit’scurrentlyclosedtoSolariantraffic—

including ours—means we don’t have a clear idea of what’s currentlyhappeninginandaroundtheJunction.

Everything we have heard and been able to piece together, however,suggests they’ve concentrated their defenses to cover the Junction from theirsidemorethroughlythanatanytimesincetheStarKingdomtookTrevor’sStarawayfromthePeople’sRepublic.Attheveryleast,theforcestheyalreadyhadinplacehavetobeataveryhighlevelofalert.

“Even leaving that consideration aside, though, there’s the problem ofcoordinatingourownforces.

Manticoremay be only a singlewormhole transit fromBeowulf, but it’slight-centuries away in n-space. Trying to coordinate simultaneous assaultsbetweentwoforceswhichareliterallymonthsapartintermsofcommunicationstimestrikesmeasarecipefordisaster.

Especiallywhen,ifIunderstandwhatyousaidearliercorrectly,therewon’tbetimetogetadispatchboattoAdmiralFilaretawiththenewsthatyoursecondforceisevencoming!”

“You’re right,”Simpson conceded, “andwe’ve considered that.We can’tcommunicate directly with Admiral Filareta, of course, but we’ve alreadyinfiltratedoneofourowndispatchboatsintotheManticoreSystem.

It’scoveredasanewsservicevessel,sincetheMantiesareso‘graciously’allowingevenSolariancourieranddispatchvesselspassage,andwe’vearrangedto rotate additional couriers through the Junction under similar coversthroughouttheentireoperationalwindow.TheManties’

ownmovements shouldmake it evident to everyone in the systemwhenFilaretaarrives,atwhichpointourdispatchboattransitstoBeowulfandanotherthirtyorsoofourSDs transitdirectly into theJunction.Thesuddenarrival ofanothertaskforcethatpowerfulintheirrearshouldcertainlydrivehometo theMantiesthesheerdisparitybetweenourresourcesandtheirs.”

“Even assuming your courier boat’s allowed to make transit—which itmightwellnotbe,onceFilaretaarrivesand thesystemgoes toahighstate ofmilitaryalert,”

Miternowski-Zhyangsaid,speakingforthefirsttime,

“whatmakesyouthinktheMantieswillletyoumaketransitwiththatmanywallers?”Theassistantdirectorofdefensewasn’tmakinganyparticulareffortto

disguiseherownincredulity.“I’massumingfromthenumberyou’vejustgivenus thatyou’re talkingaboutasimultaneous transit, butwhether you plan on asimultaneoustransitoraphasedtransit,thoseshipsarestillgoingtobeemergingsuddenly, without clearance, when the Manties are already facing the openarrival of four hundred Solarian wallers. As Director Caddell-Markham justpointed out, all our sources indicate their Junction defense forces are at astrength and readiness level we haven’t seen in years. And, to be blunt,whoever’s incommandof those forces isgoing to shoot first andworryaboutIDslater.”

“That’sclearlyapossibility.”Simpsonnodded.“FleetAdmiralBernardandtheOfficeofStrategyandPlanningfeel theoddsare infavorof theirstandingdown—orbeingmomentarilyparalyzed,at least—in thefaceofsuchasuddenmultiplicationofthreataxes,however.”

“‘Theoddsareinfavor’oftheirstandingdown?”Miternowski-Zhyang sounded as if she couldn’t believe her own ears.

“You’retalkingaboutsendingbetterthanthirtyships-of-the-wallwith—what?Ahundredandeighty thousandmenandwomenonboard?—intoasituationfromwhichtheycan’tpossiblyretreat,becausetheodds‘areinfavor’oftheMantiesnot pulling the trigger?” She shook her head. “Fleet Admiral Bernard doesunderstandManticore’sbeenatwareffectivelycontinuouslyfor twentyT-years,doesn’tshe?”

“Of course she does.” Simpson’s tone had become a bit testy at last. “Iwouldsubmit,however,AssistantDirector,thatthere’savastdifferencebetweenfighting something as ramshackle as the People’s Republic of Haven andfighting theSolarianLeague.And thathas tobeespecially trueafter they justgottheirentiresystem-defenseforceroyallyreamedbywhoevergotthroughtotheirindustrialplatforms!”

Miternowski-Zhyangshovedherself furtherback inherchair, shakingherheadyetagain.

“I’msurethere isa‘vastdifference,’Admiral,”shesaidwithanoticeableedge of frost. “At the same time, I think we’ve probably seen a bit more ofManticoreherethantheOfficeofStrategyandPlanning’sseeninOldChicago.I’mnottryingtocastanyaspersionsontheanalystsandplannersinquestion”—theremight,Caddell-Markham thought, have been just ahintof insincerity inthatlastlittlebit—“buteverythingwe’veeverseenoutoftheMantiessuggeststheirfirstreactiontoanythreat,especiallytotheirhomesystem,isgoingtobetokillit.

AndwhatevertheymayhaveusedatSpindle,Ithinkwecansafelyassumetheyhaveevenheavierweaponsdefendingthehomesystem.”

“Whichsomeoneelsehasalreadyclearedapath throughforus,”Simpsonpointed out. “Andwhich the damage to their industrial capacity will preventthemfromreplacing.”

“Assumingtheyhadn’ttakentheelementarymilitaryprecautionofhavingmore of them stockpiled in secure areas, well away from their industrialplatforms,”

Miternowski-Zhyangshotback.Sheshookherheadyetagain,moresharplythanever.“I’msorry,AdmiralSimpson.

Irealizethisisn’tyourplan,thatyou’resimplyinthepositionofdescribingit to us. But speaking as someonewho’s spent the last thirty or forty T-yearshelpingmanagethenavalsideofourownsystem-defenseforce,there’snowayIcouldpossiblysignoffonsuchahigh-risk,no-fallbackoperationalplan.”

“And if Justyná couldsign off on it,Admiral,”Caddell-Markhamput in,“I’mafraidneitherChairmanBenton-RamireznorIcould.”

“Isee.”Simpson sat for a moment, looking back and forth between the two

Beowulfers.Thensheshrugged.“I’m sorry to hear that.We’d hoped the BSDFwould help flesh out the

secondaryforce.Infact,I’mafraidmyinstructionsaretoofficiallyrequestthatof the Planetary Board of Directors, even if Chairman Benton-Ramirez is aslikelytorejectourrequestasyou’resuggesting.

Fortunately,we should be able tomake up the necessary numbers out ofSLNunits,althoughwithoutBeowulfansupportwewon’thavetheredundancytofollowuponcetheterminusstabilizesagain.IhopetheChairmanwillatleastconsider the…advisability of providing that minimal level of support to anoperationofsuchobviouslycriticalimportance.”

Well, score one for Jukka’s “paranoid” analysis, Caddell-Markhamthought. Although, to be honest, I find it difficult to believe anyone even inRajampet’s office is crazy enough to think something like this could possiblysucceed!

“IfyouintendtomakeaformalrequestforBSDFsupport, Iwillofcoursepresent it toChairmanBenton-Ramirez,”hesaid

out loud. “And while I understand your viewpoint, I’m afraid my ownrecommendation will be that he turn it down. I’m sorry, Admiral, but I fullyshare the Assistant Director’s view of the probable outcome of any suchoperation.Underthecircumstances,Ican’trecommendanythingwhichmightbeconstruedasapprovalofit.”

“Obviously, that’s your privilege, Sir,” Simpson said more than a littlecoldly.

“I see it not as a ‘privilege,’ but as a moral duty, Admiral,” Caddell-Markhamsaidequallycoldly.“Infact,tobefrank,myinitialreactionisthatthisentireplanisbasedonoverlyoptimisticandextremelyproblematicassumptionswhich rest on completely unverified—and unveri fiable—estimates of theManties’currentvulnerability.I’mperfectlypreparedtoreviewany intelligenceanalyseswhichwouldappeartosupportthoseassumptionsandestimates,butalloftheintelligenceavailabletoushereinBeowulf,rightontheothersideoftheterminus,suggeststhatJustyná’sviewoftheManties’

probableresponseisunfortunatelyaccurate.Indeed,IsuspectthePlanetaryBoardwillofficiallygoonrecordasopposingtheentireoperationashasty,ill-conceived,andlikelytoresultinextraordinarilyheavycasualties.”

ChapterEight“Idon’tknow,Luis.”GovernorOravilBarregospausedandtookasipof thereallyniceMayan

burgundy Admiral Luis Roszak had chosen to accompany dinner. It wasn’tactuallyverymuchlikeOldTerranburgundy,despitethename.FermentedfromtheMayangoldenplum,notgrapes, it remindedRoszakmoreofa rich, fruityport, but no one had consulted him when it was named, and it was one ofBarregos’favoredvintages.

Thegovernor’sexpressionwasnot thatofamansavoringa special treat,however,andhesighedasheloweredtheglass.

“Idon’tknow,”herepeated,gazingdowninto its tawny heart. “After thewayyougothammeredatCongoandgivenhowthatmaniacRajampetseemstobecallingtheshots, IhavetoadmitI’mfeelingat leastaminorcaseof…coldfeet,let’ssay.”

Roszaksatback,nursinghisownwineglass,andstudied theMayaSectorGovernor across his small kitchen table. He’d known Oravil Barregos a longtime,and“coldfeet”weresomethinghe’dneverbeforeassociatedwiththeotherman.Especiallynotwherethe“SepoyOption”

wasconcerned.Then again, the admiral thought,we’ve never been this close to actually

pulling it off, and none of our calculations considered the possibility of anoutrightshootingwarbetweentheLeagueandsomeoneliketheManties.Throwin”mysteryraiders”with invisible starships, and I suppose even Alexander ofMacedonmightexperiencetheoddmomentoftrepidation.AndOravil,blesshisMachiavellianlittleheart,neverbelievedhewasademigodtobeginwith!

“Iagreewegothammered,”hesaidafteramoment.“Andwhenitcomesrightdowntoit,it’smyfaultwedid.”Hemadetheadmissionunflinchingly,andraisedhisfreehandinasilencing

motionwhenBarregosstartedtocontesthisselfindictment.“I’mnotsayingImadewrongdecisionsbasedonwhatIthoughtIknew,”

hesaid.“IamsayingIwastoodamnedcomplacentaboutthinkingthatwhatweall thought we knew was accurate. Or, rather, that we understood all itsimplications, let’s say.”He shrugged. “WeknewMesawasusingLuft andhispeople as deniable mercenaries, and we assumed—on the basis of whathappened at Monica with the Manties—that they might reinforce them withheavy Solarian-built units, which is exactlywhat they did.Ourmistake—mymistake—was toassumethat if theywereusingSolarian-builtunits, they’d beusing SLN missiles, too. I built all my tactics around the assumption myopponents would be range-limited, unable to reply effectively.” He shruggedagain,darkeyesbitterwithmemory.“Iwaswrong.”

“If youwerewrong, sowas everyone else,”Barregos pointed out. “EdieHabibandWatanapongseboththoughtthesamething.”

“Ofcoursetheydid.They’renomoremindreadersthanIam,anditwasalogical assumption.And therewas no sign they had anymissile pods on tow,either, since they didn’t. If theyhad been towing pods, though—ifwe’d seensomethinglikethat—evenImighthaverememberedthoselong-rangedmissilesTechnodyne provided for Monica and at least considered the possibility thatMesahadgivensomethingsimilartoLuft.

“My point,Oravil, is that Iwas the commanding officer. There’s an oldsaying,oneIthinktoomanyofficersandpoliticiansroutinelyignore:‘Thebuckstopshere.’Iwasthecommander;theresponsibilitywasmine.AndwhatmadeitmyfaultwegothammeredwasthatifI’dthoughtaboutitatall,Ididn’thavetoclose as far as I did. Evenwith those ’cataphract’missiles,we had them out-ranged.

ButIwantedtogetrightinontheedgeoftheirpoweredenvelope,getthebestaccuracyIcouldwhilestayingtoofarawayforthemtofireeffectivelyonus.IfI’dbeenmorecautious,settledforpoorerfiringsolutionsandjustacceptedthatIwasgoing toexpendmoreammunition, theywouldn’thavebeenable tohurt us anywhere near as badly as they did. In fact,we probablywouldn’t’vegottenhurtatall.”

“I still say it’s not your fault.”Barregos shookhishead stubbornly. “Youhave to go with the information you’ve got when you plan something like abattle. Imay not be an admiral, but I know thatmuch!And no plan survivescontactwiththeenemy.Idon’tknowhowmanytimesI’veheardyousaythat,andit’sastrueinpoliticsasitisinthemilitary.Itworksbothways,too.Theymayhave surprisedyouwith the rangeof theirmissiles,butyousurprised thehelloutofthem,too!Andyourdeploymentgaveyouthereservetorunthetable

onceyou’dtakenouttheirbattlecruisers.”Thegovernorshrugged.“Yougothurtalotworsethanweeveranticipated,butyoustillwon thebattle—decisively—becauseyouwerepreparedtodealwithMurphywhenheturnedup.”

“Allright,I’llgiveyouthat.”Rozsaknodded.Thenhesmiled,andhiseyesnarrowed.“AndwhereIwasheaded,usingthestrategyoftheindirectapproach,was topointout thatyoudoaprettygood jobofdisaster-proofingyourplans,too.Wealwaysknewweweregoingtohave tomakea lotof itupaswewentalongwhen the token finally dropped, Oravil. You’ve laid your groundwork;despiteallthepeopleImanagedtogetkilledatCongo,we’vestillgotmostofourcriticalsenior personnel in position; and I can’t really think of somethingclosertoproducingtheconditionsSepoyenvisioned thanwhat’sgoingonwiththeMantiesnow.WejusthavetobereadytoimproviseandadaptwhenMurphystartsthrowingcrapatusonthepoliticalfront,aswell.”

Barregos gazed at the admiral for several seconds, then snorted in harshamusement.

“‘Indirectapproach’isit?Allright,yougotme.ButthisisalittledifferentfromdefendingTorchagainstanEridaniviolation,Luis.IfIpushthebuttononSepoy, it’s for all themarbles.We have to come out into the open, and that’sgoing to putusup against Frontier Fleet,maybe evenBattle Fleet, andwe’renowhereneartheManties’

sizeandweight!”“I thinkyourplans for staying in the shadowsabit longerwill holdup,”

Rozsakdemurred.“Oh,there’sarisktheywon’t,butdon’tforgettherumblingswe’regettingfromotherFrontierSecuritysectors.Ithinkthesituation’sgoingtogoalotfurthersouthonKolokoltsovandRajampetthantheyeverimagined.It’sgoingtohappenalotfasterthanevenyouandIassumeditwould,too,andthisconfrontationwith theManties iswhat’sdriving it, because it’s destroying theLeague’s perceived omnipotence among the independent Verge systems. I’msure the fear of where that’s going to lead is a big part of what’s drivingKolokoltsov to back MacArtney and Rajampet, but they don’t seem to’veconsidered that a lot of the more restive protectorates may have read theevidencethesamewayastheindependentsystems.Ithinkthey’reinforarudeawakeningonthatfrontsometimereallysoonnow,andwhentheshitstormhits,they’regoingtobesobusyworryingaboutoutbreaksclosertohomethatwe’regoing to sort of disappear into the general chaos, at least at first. They aren’tgoingtobesendinganymajorfleetsoutherewhilethey’redealingwithforestfires in theCore’s front yard. Especiallywhenwe keep explaining thatwe’rereallygood,loyalOFSthugsjustdoingwhatwehavetotomaintainorderintheLeague’sbenevolentname.”

Barregos frowned thoughtfully, his eyes focused on something only hecouldsee.Hestayedthatwayforawhile,theninhaleddeeplyandrefocusedonhishostacrossthetable.

“All right, I’llgiveyou that,” he said, deliberately reusingRozsak’s ownwords. “And you’re right aboutwhere their attention’s likely to be focused…assumingtheydon’tjustgoaheadandsteamrollertheMantiesafterall.Butthatcouldstillhappen,especiallyaftertheYawataStrike.”

Rozsaknoddedsoberly.NooneintheMayaSectorwasyetclearonexactlyhow much damage the Manties had taken from that surprise attack. It hadhappenedbarely fiveweeksago, and theMayaSystemwas tendays from theManticore Binary System by dispatch boat even using the shortcut from theManticoranWormholeJunctionviaHennessy,TerreHaute,andErewhon.Whattheydidknow,though,wasthatcasualties—civiliancasualtiesthistime,unlikethosesufferedintheBattleofManticore—hadbeenhorrific,anditsoundedasifManticore’s industrial capabilities had taken a major blow. That had to haveserious implications in any conflict with the League, and the absence of anyevidence as to who’d actually attacked theManties increased the uncertaintyquotientexponentially.

“I’mnotgoingtosaytheMantiesaren’tinadeepcrack,”theadmiralsaid.“We don’t know how deep it is, but it’s not someplace I’d like to be.On theotherhand,they’vebeenincracksbefore,andit’susuallyworkedoutworsefortheothersidethanforthem,soI’mnotpreparedtowritethemoff.Andevenifthey do go down, they’re not going easy. Old Chicago’s still going to beconcentratingprimarilyonthemforatleastawhile,andthefactthatErewhon’sno longer part of theManticoran Alliance works for us, too. No one on OldTerra’s lookinginErewhon’sdirectionat themoment,andifourreportsgoonstressinghowourinvestmentinthesystemisgivingusadditionalclouttosuckthemdeeperintotheLeague’spocket,wecankeepitthatwayforquiteawhile.”

“Probably,”Barregosconcededwithanod.Thathadbeenpartofhisowncoreplanningfromtheoutset,afterall.

“Well, newconstruction’s alreadymore than replaced everything I lost atCongo,” Rozsak pointed out. “We’re two and a half T-years into our masterbuildingprogram,too,andtheCarlucciGroup’sactuallyabitaheadofscheduleonthewallers.Notalot—we’restilllookingatsomewherearoundtwomoreT-years beforewe’ll be able to put the first SD into commission—but the lightunitswillbereadyalotsoonerthanthat.They’realreadystartingtosupplyuswithall-upmultidrivemissilesforourarsenalships,aswell,andhowever longthepodnoughtsaregoingtotake,weshouldhavethefirstpodbattlecruisers inanothertenmonthsorso.Callitmid-Octoberforthefirstunits’builder’strials.

Whatever happenswith theManties, I’m pretty damn sure they’ll last at leastthatlongagainstanythingathumb-fingered‘strategist’likeRajampetcanthrowat them, if only because of the transit times involved! And, like I say,KolokoltsovandMacArtneyaregoingtobealotmoreoccupiedwiththeunrestthat’sheaded for themout in theopen thanbyourowndiscreet activities.Onthatbasis,I’dsaywe’realmostcertaintogetatleastafewsquadronsofwallersready for service before Rajampet decides we’re another nail that needshammering.”

Barregosnoddedagain.Itwasn’tasifRozsakweretellinghimanythinghedidn’talreadyknow.Andastheadmiralhadalsosuggested,OravilBarregoshadknownfromthebeginningthathisplansweregoingtorequirefancyfootwork.He’d seen this storm coming long ago, even if he’d never counted on actualhostilitiesbetweentheLeagueandsomeoneliketheStarEmpire.ThecataclysmpoisedtodemolishtheLeague’sarrogantcomplacencywasgoingtocomeasaneven greater shock to the men and women who thought of themselves as itsmastersthanhisoriginalplanshaddaredanticipate,buttoreachhisdestinationhe’dhavetoembracethestorm,useitsdowndraftsandsavagecrosscurrents.

Andskydivinginathunderstormneverwasthesafesthobby,wasit,Oravil?he asked himself dryly. I guess it’s time you find out whether you’ve got theintestinalfortitudetoreallydothisafterall.

He took another sip of wine, thinking about all the years of effort andcarefulplanning,ofcautiousrecruitmentand trust-building,whichhad ledhimtothispoint.Andashedid,herealizedthathowevernervoushemightfeel,whathefeltmoststronglyofallwaseagerness.

Noonewho’devermetOravilBarregoscouldhavedoubtedforamomentthathewasintenselyambitious.Heknewithimself,andhe’dacceptedthathewasthesortofmanwhowasnevertrulyhappyunlesshewastheonewieldingauthority.Makingdecisions.Provinghewassmarter,better,morequalifiedforthe power he possessed than anyone else.Nor, he admitted,was he averse towealthandallthatcamewithit.

That, in many ways, was the perfect profile of an Office of FrontierSecuritycommissioneror sector governor, and it explained a great deal abouthowhe’drisentohispresentposition.Butitdidn’texplainallofit,andthatwasimportant,becausethebureaucratswho’dacceptedhimasoneoftheirownhadmade a fatal mistake. They’d failed to recognize that unlike them, Barregosactuallycaredaboutthepeoplehegoverned.

That he’d recognized the rot, seen the corrosion, realized the reactionFrontierSecurity’sabuseoftheprotectoratesmustinevitablyprovoke.

Whether or not he and Luis Rozsak and the other men and women

committed to the Sepoy Option succeeded, the storm was coming, and theLeague’sconfrontationwiththeStarEmpireofManticorecouldonlyspeed theday its winds swept over the explored galaxy. And that was really the point,wasn’tit?Whenthatstormbroke,thechaosandconfusion,thewarlordismandtheviolence,whichfollowedtheshipwreckofanyempire,weregoingtosweepacross the protectorates, as well. They were going to sweep across theMayaSector,andMaya’swealthcouldonlymakeitevenmoreattractivetobrigandsandpiratesandpotentialwarlords.

Thatwasn’tgoingtohappentothepeopleOravilBarregoswasresponsiblefor.Onohsomanylevels,itwasn’tgoingtohappen.Andforhimtopreventit,heandRozsakhadtobuildthestrengthtostandagainstthehurricane.

Tostopthewarlords,theyhadtobecomewarlords…andthebiggest,nastiestwarlordsontheblock,atthat.“You’reright,Luis,”hesaid,settingtheglassdownwithasnap.Helooked

acrossthetableattheadmiralwhowasnotsimplyhisaccompliceintreasonbuthisclosest friendandsmiled.“You’reright.So let’s justconsidermycoldfeetwarmedup.”

Rozsaksmiledbackathimandraisedhisownglass.“I’lldrinktothat,”hesaid.ChapterNine“I don’t suppose we’ve received any updates on those damned missile

ships?”Fleet AdmiralMassimo Filareta’s hundred and ninety centimeters, broad

shoulders, close cropped beard, strong chin, and dark eyes gave him anundeniablycommandingphysicalpresence.Whenhewas angry, that presencetended to become actively intimidating, and at the moment, Admiral JohnBurrows, his chief of staff, estimated, he was somewhere well north of“irritated” and closing rapidly on “irate.” The rest of his staffers were busyfinding other places to park their gazes, and quite a few seemed to havediscovered that the wallpaper on their personal computers had becomedownrightfascinating.

“No,Sir,wehaven’t,”theshort,fair-hairedBurrowssaidcalmly.He’d been with Filareta long enough to develop a certain deftness at

managing the fleet admiral, and to Filareta’s credit, he realized he needed amanager.Hehadn’trisentohispresentrankwithout familyconnections,but inBurrows’opinionhewasalsooneofahandfuloftrulyseniorofficerswhowereactuallycompetent.Hewashardworking,levelheaded,andpaidattention to thedetails all toomany other flag officers simply ignored or shoveled onto theiroverworkedstaffs.Atthesametime,though,hewasamanofpassions,unruly

emotions,andhugeappetites,andheneededsomeonelikeBurrowstokeephimbalanced…oratleastfocused.

Whichwas one reason JohnBurrows routinely faced an irritated Filaretawith a confidence which filled lesser staffers with the sort of admirationnormally reserved for counter-grav-free skydivers, alligator wrestlers, andsimilaradrenalinejunkies.

“Of course we haven’t!” Filareta more than half snarled, and this timeBurrowssimplynodded,sinceheandFilaretawerebothawarethefleetadmiralhadknowntheanswerbeforeheeveraskedthequestion.

Filareta clamped his teeth hard on his frustrated anger and turned to thebriefing room’s smart wall bulkhead and the distant, fiery spark of the starnamed Tasmania. He clamped his hands equally tightly behind him andconcentratedonfightinghistemperundercontrol.

What he reallywanted to dowas to turn that temper loose.Agood. old-fashioned,red-in-the-face-and-screamingtantrummightrelieveat leastsomeoftheanger,frustration,and(littlethoughhecaredtoadmititeventohimself)fearswirlingaroundinsidehim.

Unfortunately,anyreliefwouldhavebeenpurely temporary,andhedidn’tneedtobedisplayinghisownreservationsinfrontofhisstaff.

Especially not on the eve of the biggest combat deployment in the eighthundred-yearhistoryoftheSolarianLeagueNavy.

“All right,” he said, once he was fairly confident he’d locked down histemper. “Sincewe’re stuck here, twiddling our thumbs until theydodeign toarrive, I suppose we should look at the results of yesterday’s exercise.” Helooked over his shoulder at Admiral William Daniels, his operations officer.“Supposeyoustarttheballrolling,Bill.”

“Yes,Sir.”The brown-haired, brown-eyed Daniels had been with Filareta almost as

long as Burrows, but he wasn’t as good at fleet admiral-managing, and hecouldn’t hide his relief as themeeting turned to something less inflammatorythantheammunitionships’much-discussedtardiness.

“First,Sir,”hecontinued,“I’d like toobserve thatAdmiralHaverty’s taskforcedidparticularlywellinthemissile-defenserole.WeallknowONI’scurrentopinion is that whoever leveled theManties’ home system has to’ve blown ahugeholeintheirmissileumbrella,andIknowweallhopethat’strue.Ifitisn’t,though,we’regoingtoneedthekindofperformanceHaverty’speopleturnedin.In particular,” he activated his previously prepared report and a stop-motionhologramofadetailedtacticalplotappearedabovethebriefingroomconferencetable,“I’dliketodirecteveryone’sattentiontothismissilesalvohere.”Aflight

ofmissileiconsblinkedscarletontheplot.“As you can see, we adjusted the simulation’s parameters to reflect the

reportsofextendedrangeswe’vebeenreceiving.Asofthistime,westilldon’tknowwhattheiractualrangesare,ofcourse,butthissimulationassignedthemafifty percent increase in powered envelope, andwedidn’twarn anyone itwascoming ahead of time.Despite that, though, ifyouwatchwhat happenswhenAdmiral Haverty’s task force detects them incoming,” he entered a commandandthemissileiconsbeganmovingsteadilyacrosstheholographicplot,“you’llseethat—”

***“What did you think of Daniels’ analysis of Haverty’s performance?”

FilaretaaskedBurrowssomehourslater.The twoof them sat inFilareta’s dining cabin, forming a small island of

humanity at the enormous compartment’s center, with the remnants of asumptuous lunch on the table between them. Burrows was always a littleastonishedFilaretacouldeatasheartilyashedidwithouteverappearingtogainasinglegram.Ofcourse,thefleetadmiraldidworkoutregularly,andtherewerethose…

otherinterestsofhis.“Ithoughthewasprettymuchonthemark,Sir.”Thechiefofstaffsipped

fromhiswineglass.“Ithinkweprobablyneedtopushthesimulatorparametersfurtherout—Iagreewithyou there,entirely—buthewasrightabouthowwellHavertydidwithin theexisting parameters.And, frankly, there’s at least somequestion in mymind about how farwewant to go in simulating Manticoranrangeadvantages.”

Notmanyofficerswouldhaveadmitted thatso frankly, Filareta reflected,butBurrowshadapoint. If they startedputting their fleet through simulationswhich assumed the Royal Manticoran Navy’s effective missile ranges reallywereasextremeassomereportsclaimed,itwoulddevastatetheirownmorale.

Andif thebastardsdohave thatkindofrange—andaccuracy—there’snopointtrainingtofightthem,anyway.

We’llbedeadmeatnomatterwhatwedo!Itwasn’tathoughthewasprepared toshareevenwithBurrows,although

he suspected the chief of staff had reached the same conclusion.On the otherhand,Burrowscontinuedtobelieve—probablycorrectly,Filaretathought—

that theMantymissilesatSpindlemusthavecomeoutofsystem-defensepods, not shipboard launchers.Nomatterwhat else,missiles that long-rangedhad tobehuge,whichmeantnomobileunitcouldcarry them in the numberswhichhadbeenreported.Andiftheyhadcomeoutofsystem-defensepods,then

eventhatincomparablemilitarygeniusRajampetwasprobablyrightabouthowthe January attack on theManties’ home system had depleted their supply ofthem.

Unfortunately,thatattackhadoccurredatleastsixT-monthsbeforeFilaretacouldpossiblygettheretoexploitit.Hewasn’tasconfidentasRajampetthattheMantieswouldn’tbeable tomakea lotof thatdamagegood in themeantime.And,evenmoreunfortunately,therewereafewthingsBurrowsdidn’tknowandFilaretawasinnopositiontotellhim.

Thefleetadmiralpickeduphisownwineglass, sippingwith less thanhisusual appreciation while his mind flowed down internal pathwayswhich hadbecome entirely too well worn over the two T-weeks since he’d received hisordersforOperationRagingJustice.Actually, they’dstartedwearing theirwayintohiscortextheinstantheheardaboutSandraCrandall’sdebacle.Or,atleast,theinstanthefirstheardtheManticorans’analysisofhowCrandallhadcometobeaimedattheminthefirstplace.

Burrows, he knew, put zero credence in Manty claims that Manpowerand/orotherMesa-basedtransstellarshaddeliberatelyfomentedtheincidents intheTalbottQuadrant.Thechiefofstaffwasnoinnocentvirginwherecorporateinfluenceonnavalpolicieswasinvolved,butitwaspreposteroustosuggestthatany transstellar, however powerful, could actually control major fleetmovements!

Thatwas thestuffofparanoidconspiracy theories,as farasBurrowswasconcerned.

Itmightnothavebeenifhe’dknownwhatMassimoFilaretaknew.Filaretacouldn’tbepositiveCrandall had been influenced byManpower,

but he knew for damned certain that he had. He knew all about his ownreputation as a hard-partying fellow, and he knew there were rumors aboutcertain other of hismore…esoteric tastes. As far as he knew, though, no oneknewabouthismostdeeplyhiddencravings.Noone,at least,buthis“friends”at Manpower, who’d long since fallen into the habit of providing for thosecravings.Thosesame“friends”hadeasedhiswayinotherfashions,aswell,andhe’dalwaysknownthatsomedaythey’dwantpayback.Buthe’dbeenallrightwith that; it was the way the system worked, even if his particular set ofincentiveswouldhavebeenregardedasbeyondthepaleevenbyjadedSolarianstandards.

Sohehadn’tbeensurprisedwhenoneofhis“friends”explained why they wanted him in command of the task force to be

deployed to Tasmania. They wanted a Solarian naval presence close to theManties—closeenoughtodiscouragethemfromdivertingstrengthtoTalbottto

respond forcefully to Manpower’s proxies—and they wanted its CO to besomeonetheycouldtrusttomakethatpointtoManticoreiftheneedarose.

And you just can’t quite brush off the suspicion that theymay have sentCrandall out to Talbott with exactly the same “you’re just a diversion”explanation,canyou,Massimo?Especiallywhenyou’resittingherewaitingforthedamnedmissilecolliers.

Thatwasthefinalelementwhichhadhimconsideringthesortof“paranoidconspiracy theories”withwhich Burrows had so little patience. The order toprepare to receiveamassive influxof reinforcementshadarrivedonApril theeleventh,withinstructionstosortienolaterthanthetwenty-fifth.Obviously,thereinforcementshewastoexpecthadalreadybeenputintomotion,andalthoughthe timetable had been tight, he’d felt reasonably confident of making theordereddeparturedate.Exceptthattwodayslater,he’dreceivedorderstoawaitaconvoy of ammunition ships loadedwith the latest Technodyne ship-to-shipandsystemdefensemissilevariants.Asa follow-updispatchhadexplained, itwould delay the operation by no more than forty-eight hours, assuming themissilecolliersexperiencednodelaysoftheirown.

He’dbeensurprisedTechnodynewas supplying anything, given the legalfirestorm still swirling around the huge arms manufacturer. But then he’dexaminedtheneworderabitmorecloselyanddiscoveredthatthe

“Technodyne”shipmenthadactuallyoriginatedintheMesaSystem.Whichwasodd,since therewasnoTechnodynemanufacturing facility in

thatstarsystem.TechnodynedidhaveacorporateheadquartersonMesa, so itmight have

made sense for shipping orders to originate there, but there was no way themissiles themselves should be coming from that star system. Not if they’dactuallybeenbuiltbyTechnodyne,at least.Unless,perhaps, theywerecomingoutofammunitionstockpilesalreadyamassedbysomeone—someoneotherthantheSolarianLeagueNavy—intheaforesaidsystem.

AsfarasFilaretaknew,notevenBurrowshadnoticedthatdiscrepancy.Norhadthechiefofstafflookedatthetransittimesinvolved.Oh,ifanyonedidlook,they’dprobablyfind that thecolliershadbeen“diverted in transit” fromsomeother, reasonably innocent destination, just like quite a few of his reinforcingsuperdreadnought squadrons.Massimo Filaretawasn’t “anyone,” however.Hewasascertainasamancouldbe that themissiles inquestionhadactually leftMesabeforehisorderstosortiehadbeenwrittenonOldTerra,and theyhadn’tbeen

“diverted in transit,” either. They’d been intended for Tasmania from theoutset…which, in turn, suggested that the same someone in theMesa System

from whose stockpiles they’d been drawn had calculated that Filareta’scommandwasgoingtoreceiveexactlytheordersithadreceived.

And those orders had been written only as a consequence of what hadhappenedtoSandraCrandall.

Given all that, the Manties’ “preposterous” claims about Mesa began toseema lot lesspreposterous.And the fact that“Technodyne” justhappened tohave been developing a longer-ranged, tube-launched shipkiller missile at theverymomenttheanalystsbackhomeinOldChicagohadfinallybecomeawareofManticoranmissilerangeswasanotherofthose“coincidences”Filaretafounddifficulttoswallow.

No,hethoughtnow,loweringhisglassandstaringdownintothewine.No,you’re a pulser dart aimedatManticoreby your “friends,”Massimo. And sowasCrandall.Andsomeoneelse—someonebackintheSolSystemitself—hastobe in on this, too. It’s the onlyway those oh-so-fortuitously availablemissilescouldhavebeenslippedintotheorderqueuesosmoothly.ItcouldbeKingsford,Isuppose.He’sspent longenough learning topunchRajampet’sbuttons.Or itcouldbeRajampethimself. I never would’ve thought hewas smart enough tomakeagoodconspirator,butsomeoneelsecouldbecallingtheshotsforhimthesameway theywere forCrandall…orme, for thatmatter.Andwhenyoucomedowntoit,itdoesn’treallyhaveto’vebeensomeoneatthetop.Someonein therightposition inLogisticscould’vestage-managed thewhole thing,at leastasfaras themissilesareconcerned.Not that it reallymattershow theymanagedthatpart.No,whatmattersiswhethertheypre-positionedmejustincaseI’dbeneeded, or because they figured all along that Crandall was going to getreamed? Because if they deliberately set her up to getwasted, they could bedoingexactlythesamethingtome.

On the face of it, he couldn’t see any advantage for anyone in theMesaSystemingettinganotherthreeorfourhundredSolarianships-of-the-wallkilled.Ontheotherhand,hewasdamnedifhecouldseewhatadvantagethey’dgottenoutofwhathadhappenedtoCrandall.Soeitherthey’dmiscalculatedinhercase,orelsetheysawanadvantagehecouldn’t.

Itwasoddhowneitherofthosepossibilitiesreassuredhim.***Thebored-lookingelectronicstechswipedherIDandpresentedapalmto

thescannerbeforesteppingontoSLNSPhilip Oppenheimer’s flag bridge. The scanner considered the card’s

biometricdata,comparingitbrieflybutthoroughlytotheDNAof theprofferedhand.Thenitblinkedagreenlight,andtheofficerof thewatchglancedin thenewcomer’sdirectionwitharaisedeyebrow.

“Permission to enter FlagBridge,Ma’am?” the tech asked with a salutewhichmighthavebeenabitsharper.

“DowehaveafaultIdon’tknowabout,PO…Harder?”theofficerofthewatchresponded,checkingthereadoutfromtheIDforthe

tech’snamebeforeacknowledginghersalute.“I don’t think so, Ma’am,” Harder replied. “Just a routine, scheduled

maintenancechecksomebodyforgottomake.Orforgottolog,anyway.”Harder’stonemadeitclearshedidn’tappreciatehavingbeensenttotidyup

someoneelse’smistake.“TheChiefEngineer sentme tomake sure it’sdoneanddoneright,” she

continued.“Everything’sprobablyfine,really,butCaptainHershbergerwantstobecertainitreallyis,underthecircumstances.”

“Well, I’mnot about to arguewith that,” theofficerof thewatch agreed,andnoddedforHardertogetonwithit.

The noncompulled up hermincompwork order, then doublechecked thecommandstationnumbertobecertainbeforesheheadedacrossthebridge.Shepulled the access panel on the back ofAdmiralDaniels’ console, laid out hertoolkit,floppeddown,onthedecksoleandslidunderthecomplexcollectionofmolecularcircuitrywithhertestingequipment.

***“Well,there’sathing,”AntonZilwickisaidmildly.He sat at the communications officer’s station on the Havenite dispatch

boat’scrampedbridge.Suchbare-bonescraftcouldn’tbegintomatchthesensorreachofarealwarship,and theirmuchsimplersensorsuiteshadnodedicatedplot,either.Instead,theyusedthemaincomscreentodisplaysuchdataastheymanagedtocollect,anditwascustomaryfor thecomofficer toberesponsibleforthem.Asithappened,thedispatchboat’sofficialcomofficer—whoseemedto be about twelve, anyway—was in sickbaywith, of all ridiculous things, animpactedwisdomtooth.

Thesituation,Zilwickithought,saidvolumesaboutjusthowpoormedicalcare, and especially preventative medical care, had been under the People’sRepublicofHaven.TherestoredRepublicwasworkinghardtogetthebacklogofcompletelypreventablecomplaints—likedentalproblems—undercontrol,butithadn’tcaughtupyet.

FortunatelyforLieutenantDahmer,theboat’sskipper,AntonZilwickihadforgottenmore about sensor systems and communications equipment than hisailing com officer had yet learned. Which explained why Zilwicki wasmonitoring the display as the small vessel accelerated towards the planet ofHaven.Nowhe leanedforward, fiddlingwith thecontrolsand frowningat theiconsbeforehim.

“What?”VictorCachatdemandedafteramoment,andZilwickilookedupoverhisshoulder.

“What‘what’?”“Yousaid,andIquote,‘Well,there’sathing.”“Did I?” Zilwicki raised both eyebrows and sighed. “A bad sign, Victor.

Talkingtomyself, Imean.”Heshookhishead.“Ihopeyouavoid thiskindofmentaldisintegrationwhenyougettobemyage.”

TheHavenitegloweredathim.VictorCachatwasextraordinarilycapable,evengifted,incertainveryspecific,verynarrowtypesofhumanendeavor.Youneeded someone killed? Victor Cachat was your man. A lock picked, anextortionist shown the error of his ways, a counterespionage sting run withconsummate artistry, a planetary régime destabilized? Pish-tush! Merebagatelles!

Anyofthoseminorchallenges,andhewasquiteliterallyinaleagueofhisown.

Stepoutside those…call them his “core competencies,” however, and hisexpertise disappeared rapidly. When it came to electronics (other than thosespecificallyassociatedwithexplosions,arson,andgeneralmayhem,atleast)hewasnot,toputitcharitably,athisbest.Indeed,ThandiPalanehadbeenknowntoobservethathewastheonlymanintheuniversewhocouldmakeastandardwristchronoexplode…accidentally.Zilwicki,ontheotherhand,wasoneofthegalaxy’stophandfulofhackers,cyberneticists,andmollycircwizards.Worse,atthe moment, he was a trained naval officer, fully at home on the bridge and(unlikeCachat)abletoabsorbandinterpretitsdisplaysasnaturallyasbreathing.

“You know,” Cachat said now, “it would be a tragedy if the workingrelationshipyouandIhavedevelopedshouldcometoacatastrophicenddue tothesudden,unanticipateddemiseofonehalfofthatrelationship.”

“Really?”Zilwicki’s tone remained grave, but theremight have been themerest hint of the twinkle in those dark eyes, and his lips twitched ever soslightly.“Areyoufeelingill,Victor?Youdon’thaveabadtooth,doyou?”

“Oh,no.”Cachatsmiledsweetly.“I’mfeelingjustfine.”“Oh,stopit,youtwo!”Yanasaidfrombehindthem.Bothmenlookedather,andsheshookherhead,herexpressiondisgusted.

“Iswear,I’veknown three-year-oldswithhighermaturityquotients thaneitherofyou!”

“Hey,hestarted it!”Cachat saidvirtuously, jabbinga finger inZilwicki’sdirection.

“Didnot.”“Didtoo!”“Didn’t!”“Did!”

“Stop it!”Yana thwackedCachat on the backof the head, thenshook an

indexfingerunderZilwicki’snose.“Victorisn’ttheonlyoneyou’reteasing,Anton,sodon’tthinkI’mgoingto

letyoukeepthisup.”“Justasamatterofidlecuriosity,whatdoyouproposetodoaboutit?”he

inquiredmildly.“Me?Nothing.” Yana’s smile was even sweeter than Cachat’s had been.

“Notdirectly,anyway.No, I’ll justmentionyourbehavior toHerMajesty. I’msureyoudon’twantBerrytakingyoutotaskforpickingonVictorthisway,doyou?”

Zilwicki regarded her thoughtfully, then shrugged. His daughter wasunlikely to“takehim to task,’ but that didn’tmean she couldn’t findways todemonstrateherdisapproval.AndYanahadapoint.Berrydidhaveanespeciallywarm spot in her heart for Victor Cachat, galaxy-renowed assassin, ice-coldkiller,andgeneralpurveyorofdoom,chaos,anddespair.Besides…

“All right,” he said. “There’s good news, and there’s bad news. The badnews is that there’s no sign of Eighth Fleet. The good news is that the starsystem’sstillintact.

So we’re not likely to find Duchess Harrington on-planet, but it doesn’tlooklikethetalkscould’vecollapsedtoodisastrously.”

“Areyousureyou’dbeabletofindEighthFleetifitwasstillhere?”Cachatasked.Zilwicki lookedathim,andheshrugged.“You’re theonewho toldmeoursensorswere crappy,Anton, and everybodyknowsManty stealth is betterthananyoneelse’s.”

“That’s true,” Zilwicki acknowledged. “On the other hand, according toyour friend Justice, Eighth Fleet wasn’t making any effort to hide. First, Iimagine,becausethewholepointwasforthePritchartadministrationtobewellaware— painfully well aware, if I may be so bold—of the iron fist insideDuchessHarrington’svelvetglove.And, second, because sitting therewith itsstealthandEW

onlineforsuchextendedperiodswouldgiveyourNavyentirelytoogoodalookat theircapabilitiesunderwhatwouldamount to laboratoryconditions.Inotherwords,iftheywerestillhere,we’dbeabletoseethemevenwiththisone-eyedbastard.”

He jerked his head at the display pretending to be a plot, and Cachatnodded. Itwouldhave taken someonewho knew theHavenite spy aswell asZilwickididtorecognizetheworryinhisexpression.

“Hey,it’snottheendoftheworld,Victor,”Zilwickisaidmoregently.“LikeI said, the system’s still here. For that matter, I’m picking up Capital Fleet’stransponderbeacons. If the talkshadcomeapartspectacularly, there’dbea lotfewershipsandalotmorewreckage.”

“True enough, I suppose.”Cachat nodded brusquely, then gave himself amental shake. “I could wish Duchess Harrington were still here, for a lot ofreasons.Butallwecandoisthebestwecando.Arewecloseenoughformetocallin?”

“You’llstillbelookingatatwenty-fiveminutetwo-waylag,”Zilwickitoldhim. “Do you want to send a one-way burst, or are we going to have to gothroughsomekindofchallenge-responsevalidation?”

“Burst,I think,”Cachatsaidafteramoment’s reflection.“Wecanat leastgettheballstartedrolling.”

“Fine.Inthatcase,you’dbettergetstartedrecordingit.”***The officer of the watch looked up from her own paperwork as Petty

OfficerHarder finished re-securing theaccesspanelandstarted foldinguphertoolkitoncemore.

“Anyproblems,PO?”“No,Ma’am.”Hardersmiledwryly.“Matteroffact, it looksliketheydid

catchuponthelastinspectionandjustforgottologit.Everything’sfine.”“Good.”Theofficersmiledbackandshookherhead.“Sorryyouhad tocomeall thewaydownforsomething thatwasalready

done,butCaptainHershberger’sright.Everythinghastobefour-ohonthisone.”“Yougot that one right,Ma’am,”Harder agreed, and headed for the flag

bridgehatch.***The uniformed four-man escort waiting dirt-side for the shuttle seemed

unable to decide whether its passengers were honored guests, prisoners, orhomicidal maniacs. Since the escort was meeting Victor Cachat, Zilwicki

thoughtthatwasn’tanunreasonableattitudeonitspart.“OfficerCachat,”theseniormansaid,lookingatCachat.“Yes,”Cachatrepliedtersely.“AndthiswouldbeCaptainZilwicki,then?”“Yes, and this isYanaTretiakovna.”Cachat’s tonehad takenonacertain

dangerouspatience,Zilwickinoted.“Thank you, Sir. But I don’t believe anyone’s told me who this is,” the

escortcommandersaid,twitchinghisheadinHerlanderSimões’direction.“No,theyhaven’t,havethey?”“Sir,I’mafraidI’mgoingtohavetoinsistonsomeidentification.”“No,”Cachatsaidflatly.“OfficerCachat,Irealizeyou’reseniortome,butI’mstillgoingtohaveto

insist.MyordersaretoescortyoudirectlytoPéricardTower,andIdon’tthinkPresidential Security’s going to be happy about admitting someone they don’tevenhaveanamefor!”

“Thenthey’rejustgoingtohavetobeunhappy,”Cachattoldhim.“I’mnotsimplyposturing,Officer…Bourchier,” hewent on, reading the otherman’s nameplate. “This man’s

identity—forthatmatter,theveryfactofhisexistence—isstrictlyneed-to-know.Frankly, I’d be a lot happier if you’d never even seen him.But the only fourpeoplewhohavetheauthoritytodecideyouhaveaneed-to-knowwhoheisareDirectorTrajan,DirectorUsher,AttorneyGeneralLePic,orPresidentPritchart.Now, do you want to get one of them on a secure com to get that kind ofclearance,ordoyouwanttojusttakemywordforit?”

“Believeme,”Yanasaidinanexaggeratedstagewhisper,onehandcuppedbesidehermouth.“Youwanttojusttakehiswordforit.”

Bourchier looked at all of them for a longmoment, then inhaled deeply.Obviouslyhe’dheardthestoriesaboutVictorCachat.

“Fine,”hesaid.“Have ityourway.But ifAgent Thiessen shoots him onsight,nobodybetterblamemeforit.”

***Approximately ninety minutes later, Cachat, Simões, and Zilwicki were

escorted into amaximum security briefing room. Yana had declined Cachat’sinvitationwhenshefoundoutwhoelsewasgoingtobepresent.

Apparentlytherewerelimitstoherinsouciance,afterall.Actually, Zilwicki didn’t really blame her as he surveyed the briefing

room’soccupants.PresidentEloisePritchart,SecretaryofWarAdmiralThomasTheisman, Attorney General Denis LePic, Vice Admiral Linda Trenis of theBureau of Planning, andRearAdmiralVictor Lewis, theCO of theOffice of

Operational Research, sat waiting for them, alongwith threemembers of thePresident’ssecuritydetail.Allofwhom,Zilwickinoted,lookedjustasunhappyasOfficerBourchierhadsuggestedtheymight.

Well, that was fine with him. He wasn’t especially happy himself. ToBourchier’s credit, he’d refused to allow even Victor Cachat to simplysteamrollerhim.Instead,he’dflatly insistedonclearingSimões’presencewithsomehigherauthoritybeforehe’dgoanyfurther.WilhelmTrajan, theDirectoroftheForeignIntelligenceService,hadn’tbeenavailable—hewasoff-planetatthemoment—

so Bourchier had gone directly to LePic. Who, not unreasonably, hadinsistedonmeeting Simões himself before he’d even consider authorizing hisadmittanceintoPritchart’spresence.

Zilwickihadnoproblemwiththat.Whathedidhaveaproblemwithwasthattheirinterviewwiththeattorneygeneralhadbeenthefirstanyofthemhadheardaboutwhathadhappened—or,atleast,whatMesaclaimedhadhappened—in Green Pines. Discovering that he’d been branded as the worst massmurdererinrecentmemorytendedtobejustatadupsetting,he’ddiscovered.

And thinkingabouthowthepeoplehe lovedmusthaveresponded to thatliewasevenmoreso.

“So,ourwanderingboyreturns, Isee,”Pritchartmurmured.Sheregardedallofthemforamoment,thenlookeddirectlyatZilwicki.

“I’mafraidthegalaxyatlargethinksyou’re,well,dead,CaptainZilwicki,”shesaid.“I’mpleasedtoseethereportswereinerror.AlthoughI’msurequiteafewpeople inManticorearegoing tobe justascurious toknowwhereyou’vebeenforthelastseveralmonthsasweareaboutOfficerCachat’swhereabouts.”

“I’msuretheyare,too,MadamPresident.Unfortunately,wehadalittle,um,enginetroubleonthewayhome.Ittook

usseveralmonthstomakerepairs.”Zilwickigrimaced.“Weplayedalotofcards,”headded.“Iimagineso.”ThePresidentcockedherhead.“AndIimagineyou’vealso

discoveredtherehavebeenafewdevelopmentssincewhateverhappened—andIdotrustyou’regoingtotelluswhatitwasthatdidhappen—inGreenPines?”

“I’m sure thatwill be covered,Ma’am,” Zilwicki said grimly. “Itwasn’tmuchlikethe‘officialversion’I’vejustheard,butitwasbadenough.”

Pritchart gazed at him for amoment, then nodded slowly and looked atSimões.

“ButIdon’tbelieveIknowwhothisgentlemanis,”shecontinued.

“No, Madam President, you don’t—yet,” Cachat replied. “This is Dr.HerlanderSimões.OftheplanetMesa.”

Pritchart’sspectaculartopazeyesnarrowedslightly.Thefirst-classbrainbehindthoseeyeswasobviouslyrunningattopspeed,

butallshedidwassitbackinherchair.“Isee,”shesaidafteramoment,gazingspeculativelyattheMesan.“MayI

assumeDr.Simões is the reason you’ve been…out of touch, let’s say, for thelast,oh,sixorsevenT-months?”

“He’soneofthereasons,Ma’am.”“Then, by allmeans be seated,” she invited,waving a hand at the empty

chairsontheothersideofthetable,“andlet’shearwhatyou—andDr.Simões,ofcourse—havetotellus.”***

“Readinessreportscomplete,Sir,”AdmiralDanielsreported.“Allsquadron

andtaskgroupcommandersreportreadytoproceedasordered.”“Thankyou,Bill,”FleetAdmiralFilaretaacknowledged.Hestoodon theflagbridgeofSLNSPhilipOppenheimer, flagshipof the

SolarianLeagueNavy’snewlydesignatedEleventhFleet,gazingattheendlessrows of status reports and thinking. The missile ships had taken a few dayslongerthanexpectedtojoinhim,whichhadgivenjustenoughtimeforalastsetofdispatchesfromtheSolSystemtoreachTasmania.Which,inhisopinion,wasverymuchamixedblessing.

The news that the Manties were closing wormhole termini to Solariantrafficwasnotsomethinghe’dwantedtohear.Whateverelseitmightindicate,ithardlysoundedliketheactionofastarnationreelingfromasurpriseattackandterrifiedforitsverylife.OnemighthaveexpectedpeopleinthatpositiontobelookingforwaystoavoidinfuriatingsomethingthesizeoftheSolarianLeague,whichdidn’t appear to have even crossed theStarEmpire’smind.Thatwas adisconcertingthought,andthefactthatneitherRajampetnorhiscivilianmastersseemedtoshareitwasevenmoreunpleasant.Judgingfromtheiramendmentofhisoriginalmissionorders,however,theonly“thinking”theyappearedtohavedonewastofastenonitasyetanotherManty“provocation”tojustifytheirownactions.Theycertainlyhadn’tbeendissuadedbyit,atanyrate!

TheyprobablythinktheMantiesarejustrunningabluff,tryingtoconvinceustobackdown,hereflected.

Andmaybe theyare.Butmaybe theyaren’t, too.Maybe it’san indicationthey’regenuinely thatconfident theycan standup tous, instead,and I sortofwish at least someone in Old Chicago was willing to at least consider the

possibility.That’dbeaskingtoomuch,though,Iguess,sinceitwouldrequireabrainbiggerthanapea!

He shook his headmentally. Itwas far too late to beworrying about theblindness—ordesperation—ofthepeoplebehindhisorders.Itwastoolatetobeworrying even about how large a handManpowermight have had in draftingthoseordersinthefirstplace,andatleastfourhundredandtwenty-sevenofthefour hundred and thirty-one ships-of-the-wall which had been ordered to joinhim had actually arrived. That was a phenomenal accomplishment, by SLNpeacetimereadinessstandards.Infact,hesuspectedthestatusreportsonahalfdozenor soof hisSDshadbeen fudged by captainswho had no intention ofbeingcaughtshortatamomentlikethis,butaslongastheyweren’tcoveringupfundamentalproblems,thatwasfinewithhim.

Themore themerrier, he thought sardonically, yet not even his cynicismwasproofagainstcommanding themostpowerfularmada theSolarianLeaguehadeverlaunched.

Ashe lookedat thosestatus reports,at theglitteringseaof icons,hewasaware of the true size and power of the Solarian LeagueNavy in a new anddifferent way. His concerns about Manticoran weapons hadn’t magicallydisappeared, by any means, yet despite those concerns, what he felt at thismoment was the ponderous, unstoppable power of all those millions uponmillionsoftonsofstarships.

Fourhundredandtwenty-sevenships-of-the-wall.Thirty-twobattlecruisers,thirtylightcruisers,andforty-eightdestroyersto

screen thebattlesquadrons and provide the scouts they’d probably need.Andfifty fast freighters (and personnel transports), all with military-grade hypergenerators and particle screening. All told, his command counted almost sixhundred starships, massing over three billion tons. Indeed, his wallers alonemassed 2.9 billion tons, and counting the freighter and transport crews, hecommanded over 2.7 million naval personnel, which didn’t even count thetransports’421,000Marinesandsupportpersonnel.Byanymeterstick,itwasanenormousforce,andfiftypercentofthemissilesinhisSDs’magazineswerethenewdual-driveTechnodyneCataphract-Bs.Hewouldhavepreferred a heavierwarhead,but thatwaswhat thefive thousandpods loadedwithCataphract-Cswerefor.Atoversixteenmillionkilometers,theirpoweredenvelopewasbetterthantwicethatoftheTrebuchetcapitalmissilesthey’dreplaced.

Hewasstillalongwayfromtrulylevelingtheplayingfield,assumingtherewas any truth in the Manty accounts of Spindle. As it happened, he wasconvinced therewas quite a lot of truth in those accounts, but almost despitehimself,he’dbeendeeplyimpressedwhenhesawtheCataphracts’performance

numbers.Whetherthey’dcomefromTechnodyneorthetoothfairywasfarlessimportant than how enormously his fleet’s effective reach had been increased.Hewasgoing tobeoutrangedbyanysurvivingMantysystem-defensemissilepods,butheshouldatleastcomeclosetomatchingtheirshipboardmissiles. IftherewasanyvalidityatalltotheOfficeofStrategyandPlanning’sassessmentoftheStarEmpire’smorale, thatought tobeenough toconvince themthatnoqualitative advantage couldultimatelyoffset the sheerquantitative edgeof theSolarianLeague.

Sureitwill,hetoldhimself.Yougorightonthinkingthatway.Butdon’tgetyourasssoweddedtotheconceptthatyouendupgettingyourselfandacoupleofmillionotherpeoplekilled!

“Very well,” he said at last, then drew a deep breath and turned to faceDanielsoncemore.

“IbelievewehaveadatewiththeManties,Bill.Let’sgetthisshowontheroad.”

May1922PostDiaspora“Whatthehell.I’vealwayslikedachallenge.”—QueenElizabethIIIofManticoreChapterTen“Morecoffee,YourMajesty?”Elizabeth Winton looked up at the murmured question, then smiled and

extendedhercup.JamesMcGuinesspoured,smiledbackather,andmovedonaroundthetable,refillingothercups,andshewatchedhimgobeforeshesipped.Itwas, as always, delicious, and she thoughtyet againwhat a pity itwas thatMcGuinessmadesuchsplendidcoffeewhenHonorcouldn’tstandthebeverage.

Thefamiliarreflectiontrickledthroughherbrain,andshesetthecupbackdownandgaveherselfamentalshake.NodoubtherstaffbackatMountRoyalPalacehad itshands fullcovering forherabsence,but theywere justgoing tohavetogooncopingforawhilelonger.Despitethegrindingfatigueoffartoomanyhours, far toomuchadrenaline,and far toomanyshocks to theuniverseshe’d thought sheunderstood, sheknewshe andEloisePritchartwere still farfromfinished.

She looked across the table in the admiral’s dining cabin aboard HMSImperator at the president of theRepublic ofHaven,who had just finished aservingofMcGuiness’ trademarkeggsBenedictandpickedupherowncoffeecup.Despiteasleeplessnight,followingadayevenlongerthanElizabeth’shadbeen,theotherwomanstilllookedimprobablybeautiful.Andstillradiated thatformidablepresence,aswell.Elizabethdoubtedanyonecouldhaveintentionallyplannedagreaterphysicalcontrastthantheonebetweenherownmahoganyskin

anddarkeyesandPritchart’splatinumandtopaz,andthey’dbeenproducedbypoliticalandsocialsystemswhichwereatleastasdifferentastheirappearances.Yet over the last day or so she’d come—unwillingly, almost kicking andscreaming—totheconclusionthatthetwoofthemwereverymuchalikeunderthesurface.

IwonderifIwouldhavehadthesheernervetosailstraightintomyworstenemy’shomesystem—especiallyafterwhatthose“mysteryraiders”didtous—andadmitmysecretaryofstatedoctoredthecorrespondencethatsentusbacktowar?Afterso long,somanydeaths,because I gotplayed,maneuvered intodoingexactlywhatsomeoneelsewanted?EvenhavingSimões’storytobackmeup,sellingthattosomeonewithmyreputationforcarryinggrudgestothegraveand back again took more plain old-fashioned gall and guts than any threewomenoughttohave.EspeciallyafterI’dproventhis

“Alignment”couldplaymejustasthoroughlyasiteverplayedher.Elizabeth’smindflickedbackoverthelasttwoManticorandays.Evenher

formidable intelligence was having difficulty coping with the tectonic shockwhich had just rumbled through her entire known universe. It seemedimpossible,preposterousontheveryfaceofthings,thatameretwodayscouldhave changed everything she’d thought she knew about twodecadesof bitterwarfareandmillionsofdeaths,yetithad.Anditexplainedsomuch.

“So,” she said, sitting back from the table she shared with only Honor,Pritchart,andThomasTheisman,“isSimõestellingthetruthornot,Honor?”

ThetwoHaveniteslookedatHonorwithslightlysurprisedexpressions,andHonorsmiled.Nimitzwassoundasleeponhisperch,andafterthenightwhichhadjustpassed,shesawnopointinwakinghimup.

“There’sareasonHerMajesty’saskingme,insteadofNimitzorAriel,”shetold her guests. “As it happens, I’ve been hanging around with treecats longenoughtohavecaughtat leastsomeof theirabilities. Ican’treadminds,butIcanreademotions,andIknowwhensomeone’slying.”

Itwasastonishinglyeasyforher tomake thatadmission to the leadersofthestarnationshe’dfoughtherentireadultlife.

Pritchartblinkedather,thenthosetopazeyesnarrowedinthought,andthePresidentbegannodding—

slowly,atfirst,thenmorerapidly.“So that’swhy youmake such a fiendishly effective diplomat!” she said

withsomethingverylikeanairoftriumph.“Icouldn’tbelievehowwellatotalnovicewasreadingus.NowIknow—youwerecheating!”

Thelastwordcameoutinsomethingverylikealaugh,andHonornoddedback.

“Where diplomacy’s concerned, according tomy mentors in the ForeignOffice,thereisnosuchthingas

‘cheating,’MadamPresident. In fact, oneof thosementorsquoted anoldaxiomtome.Wherediplomacyisinvolved,hesaid,ifyouaren’tcheating,youaren’ttryinghardenough.”

Elizabethsnortedinamusement,andTheismanshookhishead.“In this instance, however,” Honor continued more seriously, “what Her

MajestyisaskingmeiswhetherornotIcantellifDr.Simõesistellingthetruth.I already informed her”—she looked directly at Pritchart—“that I knew youwere, Madam President. On the other hand, I also assumed you would haveexpected from thebeginning thatNimitzwouldhavebeen able to tellme andthatIwouldhavepassedhisobservationsontoHerMajesty,soIdidn’tfeelanyparticularscruplesaboutthat.”

Pritchartnoddedagain,andHonorshrugged.“What I can tellyouaboutSimões is thathisanger—hisoutrage—at this

‘Alignment’isabsolutelygenuine.Thepaininsidethatmanisincredible.”Sheclosedhereyesforamoment,andhernostrilsflared.“EverythingIcan‘taste’abouthis‘mind-glow’tellsmehe’stellingusthe

truth,insofarasheknowsthetruth.WhetherornotMcBrydemighthavebeenpassingalongdisinformationismorethanIcansay,ofcourse.But,onbalance,Ithink he was telling the truth, as well. It all fits together too well with whatwe’vealreadyseen,andwithwhatSimõescantellusabouttheirhardware.”

“Andtherearestillsodamnedmanyholesinit,”Elizabethhalf-snarled.“Yes,thereare,”Honoragreed.“Ontheotherhand,I’dsaytheStarEmpire

knowsinfinitelymorethanweknewyesterday,Elizabeth…giventhatwedidn’tknowanythingatthatpoint.”

Elizabethnoddedslowly,thenlookedatPritchart.“So,Iguesswhatitcomesdownto,”shesaidslowly,“it’swherewego fromhere.Whateverhappens, Iwantyou toknowI’m

enormouslygratefulfortheinformationyou’veprovidedus.AndIthinkwecanbothagreethatthewarbetweenHavenandManticoreisover.”

Sheshookherhead,asif,evennow,shecouldn’tquitebelievewhatshe’djustsaid.Notbecauseshedidn’twantto,butbecauseitseemedimpossible,likesomething which couldn’t possibly be true because of how badly everyonewantedittobetrue.

“Mindyou,”shecontinued,“Idon’texpecteverybodytobedelightedaboutthat. For thatmatter, a few days ago, I probablywould have been one of thepeoplewhowasn’tdelightedmyself,”sheadmitted.

“Trustme, there’s the odd couple of billionHaveniteswho probably feelexactlythesameway,”Pritchardsaiddryly.

“And that’s thestickingpoint, isn’t it?” Elizabeth asked softly. “Stoppingshootingateachother—thatmuchI’msurewecanmanage.Butit’snotenough.NotifSimões’andMcBryde’sstoryistrueafterall.”

“No,it’snot,”Pritchartagreedquietly.“Well,” Elizabeth smiled with very little humor, “at least I can feel

confidentnowthatyou’llkeeptheRepublicanNavyoffourbackslongenoughforustodealwiththisAdmiralFilareta.”

“Actually,”Pritchardsaid,“Ihadsomethingelseinmind.”“Somethingelse?”Elizabeth’seyebrowsrose.“Your Majesty—Elizabeth—the Mesan Alignment wants both of us

destroyed,startingwiththeStarEmpire.Idon’tknowifithonestlybelievestheSLNcandothejobwhereyou’reconcerned,orifitwasanticipatingwe’ddoitwhenwerecognizedtheopportunityithadgivenus.Butitdoesn’treallymatter.Whatmatters is that the Solarian attack on you is simply onemore step in astrategydirectedagainstbothofus.SoIthinksomethingabitmorepointedthansimplystoppingshootingateachothermightbeinorder.”

“Suchas?”Elizabethaskedslowly,eyesslittedinconcentration.“Iunderstandyourmissileproduction facilitieshavebeen takenoff-line,”

Pritchard said. “Tom here tells me you’ve undoubtedly got enough of thoseungodly super missiles in your magazines to thoroughly kick the ass of thisFilaretaifhereally insistsonfollowinghisorders.But that’sgoing tocut intoyourreserves,andgiventhattheAlignmentmanagedtoripthehelloutofyourhome system, I think it would be a good idea for you to conserve as muchammunitionasyoucaninhopeswe’llfindsomeoneabitbettersuitedtoplayingtheroleoftarget.”

“And?”Elizabeth’seyeswereopeningwiderinspeculation.“Well, it just happens thatThomas here has amodest little fleet—twoor

threehundredofthewall,Ibelieve—waiting approximately eight hours fromTrevor’s Star in hyper. If you’re

willing to trustus inManticoran space, perhapswe could help you encourageFilaretatoseereason.AndwhileI’mwellawareourhardwareisn’tasgoodasyours,everyindicationI’veseenisthatit’sonehellofalotbetterthananythingtheSollieshave.”

“Are you offeringme amilitary alliance against the Solarian League? ”Elizabethaskedverycarefully.

“IfMcBrydewasright, thereisn’tgoingtobemuchofaSolarianLeagueverymuch longer,”Pritchart repliedgrimly.“Andgiven thefact that the same

bunchofmurderous bastardswho shot up your home system are also directlyresponsibleforyouandIhavingkilledacoupleofmillionofourownpeople,Ithink we could say we have a certain commonality of interest where they’reconcerned.

Andit’snotacaseofselflessaltruismonmypart,youknow.We’rebothontheAlignment’slist.Don’tyouthinkitwouldbesortofstupidforeitherofustolettheotheronegodownandleaveusallalone?”

Brown eyes and topazmet across the table litteredwith the remnants ofbreakfast,anditwasvery,veryquiet.

“We’restillgoingtohavethoseproblems,youknow,”Elizabethsaidalmostconversationallyafteramoment.“Allthosepeopleonbothsideswhodon’tlikeeachother.Allthatlegacyofsuspicion.”“Ofcourse.”Pritchartnodded.“And then there’s the littlematter of figuring outwhere thisAlignment’s

realheadquarters is,andwhoelse is frontingfor it,andwhatotherweapons ithas,andwhereelseithasprogrammedassassinstuckedaway,andexactlywhatit’sgotinmindfortheRepubliconcetheStarEmpire’sbeenpolishedoff.”

“True.”“And,nowthatIthinkaboutit,there’sthequestionofhowwe’regoingto

rebuild our capabilities here, and how much technology sharing—and howquickly—wecanconvinceourseparatenaviesandouralliestoputupwith.

You know there’s going to be heel-dragging and tantrum-throwing theminuteIstartsuggestinganythinglikethat!”

“I’msuretherewillbe.”The two women looked at one another, and then, slowly, both of them

begantosmile.“Whatthehell,”ElizabethWintonsaid.“I’vealwayslikedachallenge.”Sheextendedherhandacrossthetable.Pritcharttookit.***“You’rejoking!”Chairman Chyang Benton-Ramirez looked incredulously at Fedosei

MikulinandJacquesBenton-RamirezyChou.The three men sat face-to-face in the Chairman’s high-security private

briefing room, buried under the roots of the West Tower of the ExecutiveBuilding indowntownColumbia.Benton-Ramirezhad beenmore than a littleirkedwhenMikulininsistedonmeetinginperson,ratherthancom-conferencing.He had plenty of other things he could spend time doing besides hiking clear

overhereand then taking the liftshaftdownfivehundredmeters,butMikulinwas his most trusted advisor. That was why in addition to his at-largedirectorship hewas Commissioner of Central Intelligence for the Republic ofBeowulf.

AndwhyBenton-Ramirezhadacceptedhis“invitation”tojoinhimheredespitetheinconvience.Benton-RamirezyChou,ThirdDirectoratLargeofthePlanetaryBoardof

Directors (and one of the Chairman’s cousins), on the other hand enjoyed acarefullyill-definedrelationshipwithCentralIntelligence.Thatwasbecausehewas also the Planetary Board’s unofficial ( very unofficial) liaison to theAudubonBallroom.ItwouldneverhavedonefortheBoard(or—especially!—itsintelligenceservices)toadmitovertcontactwiththeBallroom,evenhereonBeowulf.Ifanyonehadwonderedwhy,thewayManticorehadbeenhammeredover the Green Pines Incident made the reasons crystal clear. Despite which,everyoneknew thatcontactexisted,andmostpeoplewerepretty sureBenton-Ramirez y Chou, as the ex-chairman and current vice-chairman of the Anti-SlaveryLeague,didthecontacting.Itwasoneofthose“don’task,don’ttell”

situations,andthefact that thecustomarilyaggressiveBeowulfannewsieshadneveronceaskedthequestionsaidvolumesabouthowBeowulf ingeneralregardedthegeneticslavetrade.

Thatwasn’twhyBenton-RamirezyChouwashere today, though.No,hewas here because another of the Chairman’s cousins was deeply involved inwhatMikulinhadjustreported.

“I’mabsolutelynotjoking,Chyang,”Mikulinsaidnow.

“Irealizewe’renotsupposedtospyonourfriends,buteveryonedoes,andIdoubtanyoneinManticoresmartenough tosealhisownshoesdoesn’tknowwedo.

Although,tobefair,I’mnotsurehowhappythey’dbetofindoutjusthowhighlyplacedsomeofour…assetsactuallyare.”

“Yourniecewouldn’thappentobeoneofthem,wouldshe,Jacques?”“No, she would not.” Benton-Ramirez y Chou’s voice was considerably

colder than the one in which he normally addressed the Chairman. Benton-RamirezyChouwasasmallman,withdarkhairandsandalwoodskin.Healsohadalmondeyes,whichhesharedwithhissister…andhisrathermorefamous(orinfamous)niece.“AndifI’deverbeenstupidenoughtoaskhertobecomeanysuchthing,shewouldhavetoldmetopissuparope,”headdedsuccinctly.

“Oh, I doubt shewould’ve put it thatway,” Benton-Ramirez saidwith achucklewhichwasoddlyapologetic.

“I’m sure Duchess Harrington would have been considerably less, um,earthy.”

“NotifI’daskedhertospyonElizabeth,shewouldn’thavebeen,”Benton-RamirezyChousmiledtartly.“Infact,whatshe’dprobablyhavedoneisripoffmyheadforasoccerball!”

“Allright,pointtaken,”theChairmanacknowledged.“But I assume from what you’re telling me, Fedosei, that whoever our

informantis,wecanplacesignificantconfidenceinthisreport?”“Yes,”Mikulinsaidflatly.“Damn.”Benton-Ramirezshookhishead.“Iknowwewerehopingthey’d

at least stop shooting at each other, especially afterwewarned both of themFilaretawascoming,butIneverexpectedthis!”

“Noneofusdid,”Mikulinagreed.“But,tobehonest,thefactthatElizabethand Pritchart have decided to bury the hatchet is actually a hell of a lot lessimportantthanthereasontheydecidedtoburyit.”

Therewassomethingveryoddabouthisvoice,andtheChairmanglancedatBenton-RamirezyChou.Theotherman’sexpressionwasan interestingmixof agreement and something that looked like lingering shock, all backed by awhite-hot,blazing fury.Despite the self-controlhe’d learnedover thedecades,JacquesBenton-RamierzyChouhadalwaysbeenapassionateman,yetBenton-Ramirezwasmorethanalittletakenabackbythedeadlyglitterinthosedark-browneyes.

“Whatdoyoumean?”TheChairmansatback,eyesnarrowed.ThefactthatEloise Pritchart had gone unannounced to the Manticore Binary System andapparently agreed to some sort of alliance against the Solarian League,especiallyafterhowsavagelytheStarEmpirehadbeenweakened,struckhimasone of the more fundamental power shifts in the history of mankind. So ifMikulinfoundsomethingelseevenmoresignificant…

“I think thenotionofaManticore-Havenmilitary alliance is going to beinterestingenoughtotherestoftheuniverse,Fedosei,”heobserved.

“I’msureitis,”Mikulinsaidgrimly,“butwhat’sevenmore‘interesting’tome—and to the rest of Beowulf, I’m pretty damn sure—is that the reasonPritchartmadethistriptoManticoreisthatZilwickiandCachathaveresurfaced.And it turnsout thatwhere they’vebeenall this timewaseitheron theplanetMesaorontheirwaybackfromit.”

Benton-Ramirez’snarrowedeyeswidened,andMikulinshrugged.“Weonlyhaveveryapreliminaryreportatthispoint,Chyang,”hepointed

out,“andoursourcehasn’tbeenabletogiveuseverything.Orevencomeclose

to everything, for that matter. But from the little bit we do have, it seemsZilwickiandCachatwereinGreenPines—bothofthemwerethere,together—about thetimetheexplosionswentoff.And it sounds like theywere involved,albeit peripherally, as well. Hopefully we’ll have better intelligence on thatprettysoon,but thekeypoint is that theybroughtoutaMesanwith them,andtheMesan in question is providing all kinds of information. Information that,frankly,contradictsalmosteverythingwe’vethoughtweknewaboutMesa.”

“Ibegyourpardon?”Benton-Ramirez’tonesoundedpreposterouslycalm,butitwasn’treallyhis

fault.Itwassimplythatnoonecouldprocessinformationlikethatwithouttheequivalentofamassivementalhiccup. If therewasasinglestarsystemin theentiregalaxyuponwhichBeowulfanintelligencehadexpendedmoreeffortthanMesa,oraboutwhichitwasbetterinformed,hecouldn’timaginewhichoneitmight be. Ever since LeonardDetweiler and hismalcontents had relocated toMesa, the system had been Beowulf’s dark twin. The source of one of thegalaxy’smostmalignant cancers, and the undying shame of the society fromwhichitsfoundershadsprung.

The possibility of errors in Beowulf’s intelligence appreciations ofMesawasonething.Infact,Benton-Ramirezhadalwaysassumedtherehadtobesucherrors,sinceMesawaspainfullywellawareofBeowulf’sinterestinitandhadalwaystakenstepstobluntCentral Intelligence’soperations there.ButMikulinclearlywasn’tsuggestingmere“errors”—notinthat toneofvoice,orwith thatexpression.

“Ifwhatwe’veheardsofarisanyindication,mostofwhatwethoughtweknew about Mesa isn’t just mistaken, it’s a deliberate fabrication on Mesa’spart,” Mikulin said now, his voice harsh. “I’m not ready to sign off on thereliabilityofwhatwe’rehearingatthispoint.Tobehonest,there’sabigpartofmethatdoesn’twanttoadmiteventhepossibilitythatwemighthavebeenthatfar off, and themeeting between Elizabeth and Pritchart took place less thanforty hours ago. All of this is still pretty damned preliminary, and God onlyknowshowmanyholestherecouldbeinit.But,assumingthere’sanyvaliditytoitatall,Mesa’shaditsownplans—plansthatgoahellofalotdeeperthanjustmakingmoneyoffthegeneticslavetradeorevenrubbingourcollectivenoseinhowmuch contempt they have for theBeowulf Code—literally for centuries.Not only that, but theManties have been right all along in saying it’s behindwhat’sbeenhappening inTalbott and theYawataStrike,aswell.And not justbecauseTalbottbroughttheStarEmpire’sborderstooclosetotheMesaSystem,either.Apparently,they’vegotplansoftheirownwheretheentirehumanraceisinvolved, and I thinkwe canbepretty sure that if theyhadplans for the Star

EmpireandtheRepublicofHaven,they’vegottohaveapageortwofordealingwithus,aswell.”

ChapterEleven“What are the odds your people will actually ratify this, do you think?”

ElizabethWintonaskedalmostwhimsically.“Notasgoodastheywouldhavebeenonceuponatime,”EloisePritchart

admittedfromtheothersideofthesmallMountRoyalPalaceconferencetable.“I’veusedupalotofcreditwithCongress—andthevoters,forthatmatter

—in the last threeT-years.AndadmittingourSecretaryofStatedoctoredthe correspondence in the first place isn’t going to make our firebrands anyhappier.”

“That’swhatIthought,too.Pity.Iwashopingyou’dhaveabetterchancewithyourlegislativebranchthanI’mgoingtohavewithmine.”

Elizabethpursedherlips,lookingatthedocumentonthedisplayinfrontofher. As treaty proposals went, it was about as bare bones as things got, shereflected.NeithershenorPritcharthadtradedawaytheirstarnations’

sovereigntyforahandfulofbeads,butshewassurecriticsandpartisansonbothsidesweregoingtocarryonasif theyhad.Andlittlethoughshelikedtoadmit it, therewasstillplentyofwiggleroom.Theyhadn’t triedtonail thingsdown in fully finished, set-in-stone form. Instead, they’d roughedouta list ofabsolutely essential points to be submitted to the Havenite Congress andElizabeth’sownParliament,coupledwithaspecificprovisionthatother treatieswould deal with the still-outstanding points a little thing like twenty years ofbitterwarfarewerelikelytohavecreated.

Still,ifsomeonehadtoldhersheandPritchartcouldaccomplishthismuch,agree to this much, in only seven days, she would have suggested they beconfined in a nice, safe cell. Yes, there were still huge gray areas, but whatthey’d gotten down inwritten formproved that knowing onewas about to behanged (or invaded by the Solarian League) truly did concentrate one’smindwonderfully.This treaty, rough as itwas, created an alliance between theStarEmpireofManticoreandtheRepublicofHavenwhichcommittedeachofthemtothedefenseoftheother.

There hadn’t been time—with one exception—to consult with the StarEmpire’sallies,butEloisehadbeencareful tobringeveryoneof thoseallies’ambassadors on board, and most of them had initialed the draft on theirgovernments’ behalfs. TheAndermani ambassador hadn’t, yet thatwas hardlysurprising,giventhetraditionalAndermanirealpolitik.By thesame token(andfor the same reasons), he hadn’t voiced any official opposition to it, either,though,andtheAndermaniEmpirewasan

“associatedpower”rather thana fullmemberof theManticoranAlliance,anyway.

TheoneallytherehadbeentimetoactuallyconsultwastheProtectorateofGrayson,threeandahalfT-daysfromtheManticoreBinarySystembydispatchboat.

Elizabeth had sent Benjamin Mayhew word of Pritchart’s totallyunexpected visit the day the president arrived, andBenjaminMayhew,with adecisivenessandspeedunusualevenforhim,hadneededonlyhours todecidewherehestood.He’dsentbackhisenthusiasticsupport…andhisonlybrotherashispersonalenvoy.

Michael Mayhew had arrived yesterday, just in time to put his ownsignature on the draft as Grayson’s plenipotentiary. Which, given mostManticorans’ attitude towards their most constant ally, could only be amajorplus.NottomentiondemonstratingtoalltheStarEmpire’salliesasconclusivelyas humanly possible that William Alexander and his government were notMichaelJanvierandhisgovernment.

SonowalltheyhadtodowassubmititfortheapprovaloftheManticoranParliamentandtheHaveniteSenate.

“All,”shethoughtglumly.Asin“allwehavetodoisfindthephilosopher’sstoneandwecanturnasmuchleadintogoldaswewant.”Wecanaskbothofthemtoexpediteonanemergencybasisandpointoutthatthere’snotimetobesending drafts back and forth for revision, but how much good is that reallygoing to do?However big the crisis,we’re talking about politicians, and thatmeansanynumberofwannabecookscanbecountedontoshovetheirspoonsinandstartstirring,damnit.

“Actually,Ithinkyou’rebothbeingoverlypessimistic,”anothervoicesaid,andtwopairsofeyes,onebrownandonetopaz,swiveledtowardsthespeaker.

“Ihatetopointthisout,Admiral,”Pritchartsaidwithalopsidedsmile,“butIsuspectyou’vehadabitlessexperiencedealingwithlegislativeidiotsthanHerMajestyandIhave.”

“Iwouldn’tbetoosureaboutthat,actually,Eloise,”Elizabeth said, and grimaced when Pritchart looked back at her. “Don’t

forget,she’sasteadholder.IrealizesteadholdershavethesortofabsolutepoweryouandIonlyfantasizeabout,butshestillhasherownChamberofSteaderstodealwith,andshe’sbeenprettyhands-onaboutthejob.Wheneverwe’veletheroutofuniform,atleast.Forthatmatter,she’sasittingmemberof theConclaveofSteadholdersonGraysonandourHouseofLords.She’sspenthertimeinthetrenches, and shewas front andcenterof theOppositionduringourdelightfulinterludewith that assHighRidge.Sheknowsa lotmore abouthow itworks

thanthatinnocentdemeanorofhersmightsuggest.”“Isupposethat’strue.”Pritchartcockedherhead.“It’shardtorememberjusthowmanyhatsyou’veworn,YourGrace.”“Her Majesty’s comments aside, I won’t pretend I’ve had as much

legislative experience as you two,” Honor replied. “On the other hand, she’srightthatI’mnotacompletestrangertouglypoliticalfights,andbothofyouarejustaboutdeadonyourfeet.Myfeelingisthatbothofyouaresowornoutfromworkingonthisthingthatit’dbeamiracleifyoudidn’tfeelpessimistic.Infact,if I’d thought itwould’ve done any good, I’d’ve chased you off to bed everynighttomakesureyougotatleasteightsolidhours.”

Pritchartconsideredherthoughtfullyanddecidedshewasn’treallyjoking.AndwhilethePresidentof theRepublicofHavenwasn’taccustomed tobeing“chased off to bed,” she rather suspected Honor Alexander-Harrington couldmanageitifsheputhermindtoit.

“Interestingyoushouldsaythat,Honor,”Elizabethobserved.“Mybelovedspouse was saying something rather similar last night. Or was it the nightbefore?”

“Probablythenightbefore.Justin’salotbetteratmakingyourestthanyouareatrememberingtorest.”

“Idon’tdoubtheis,”Pritchartsaid.Shekepthervoice light,althoughsheknewHonor,atleast,hadsensedthespikeofpainwhichwentthroughherassherememberednightsJavierGiscardhadmadeherrest.“At themoment, though,I’m more interested in why you think our estimate is overly pessimistic,Admiral.Idon’tdoubtyou’rerightabouthowtiredwebothare,andIknowhowfatigueandworry affect people’s judgment, but that doesn’t necessarilymeanwe’rewrongandyou’reright.”

“Ofcoursenot,MadamPresident.”Honorleanedback,sippingfromasteinofOldTillmanandshrugged.

“Despitethat,though,Ithinkyou’rebothunderestimatingthesellingpowerofwhateachofyouhavegottenoutoftheother.YouroffertohelpusdealwithFilaretawhenyoudidn’thavetodoanythingofthesort—whenyouhadeveryreasonnotto,infact—isgoingtobuyyoualotofgoodwillintheStarEmpire.And Elizabeth’s renunciation of any reparations will smooth a lot of ruffledfeathersinNouveauParis…nottomentioncuttingthelegsrightoutfromunderthatsnotYounger.”

Shesmiledalmostdreamilyatthethought.“YourownsuggestionthatwehandallofSecondFleet’sunitsback to the

Republic won’t hurt, either, Honor,” Elizabeth pointed out, and this timePritchartnodded.

“Itcertainlywon’t.AndneitherwillAdmiralTourville’sglowingreportonhowwell his peoplewere treated after surrendering,” sheagreed, then sighed.“I’vealways regrettedordering that attack, and thenumberofpeoplewhogotkilled—onbothsides—becauseIdid isalwaysgoingtohauntme.Butat leastsomethinggoodmaycomeoutofitintheend.”

It was Honor’s turn to nod, although the good Pritchart was referring tohadn’t come solely out of the Battle of Manticore. Thomas Theisman’sdeterminationthatanyprisonershisRepublictookwouldbedecentlytreatedhadgonea longwaytowardswashingthe tasteofStateSec’sbarbarismsoutof theStarEmpire’smouth.Andforthatmatter—

“Your decision to bring all the tech people Admiral Griffith captured atGrendelsbanealongwithyouisgoingtodoevenmorefromourside,”shesaidquietly.

“Especially the fact that you brought them all home—made theirrepatriationaunilateral concession—withoutknowingwhetherornotwewereevengoingtotalktoyou.”

“Thatwasamasterstroke,”Elizabethput in,hervoiceequallyquiet, andshruggedwhenPritchartlookedbacktoher.“I’mnottryingtosuggestitwasallpoliticalcalculation,andneitherisHonor.Butonceitsinksinthatyou’ddecidedto repatriate forty-two thousand Manticorans without any preconditions—andforty-twothousandtrainedandexperiencedshipyardworkers,at that—onehellofa lotofentrenchedill feelingisgoingtotakeashotonthechin.EspeciallygivenhowdesperatelyweneedpeoplelikethataftertheYawataStrike.”

Pritchartshruggedalittleuncomfortably.“Well,we’ll findoutsoonenoughwhetherwe’rebeing toopessimistic or

Duchess Harrington’s being too optimistic, I suppose,” she said. “EspeciallywhenwegopublicaboutmypresencehereintheStarEmpire.”

She still wasn’t positive that was the best idea. They couldn’t keep herarrival a secret forever, of course—in fact, she was amazed it hadn’t alreadyleaked, given the number of ambassadors who’d been consulted—but onceElizabethhandedthetreatyovertoParliament,thatlittlesecretwasgoingtobeasthoroughlyoutedasanyinthehistoryofhumanity.Norwassheblind to thePR

advantagesinpublicizingher“daringmission.”Yetshewasstillthewomanwho’dordered theresumptionof hostilities almost three T-years ago…and theonewho’dorderedThomasTheismantoLaunchOperationBeatriceagainstthisverystarsystem.

“Oh,I’mnotworriedaboutthat.”Elizabethwavedonehand.SheandPritcharthaddiscussed thepresident’sconcerns indetail,and the

empresswasconvincedtheotherwomanwasworryingunduly.Yes,theBattleofManticore had killed an enormous number of people, but far fewer than theYawataStrike, andallof themhadbeenmilitarycasualties.Unlike the peoplebehind the Yawata Strike, the Republic had scrupulously avoided preventableciviliancasualties.AfterfifteenT-yearsfightingthePeople’sRepublic,eventhemostanti-HaveniteManticoranhadbeenonlytoowellawareofwhatachangethat represented, and thecontrastwith the slaughterof theYawataStrikeonlyunderscored the difference. Saywhat themost bigotedManticoranmight, therestored Republic had fought its war with honor, and the majority ofManticoransknewit.

“Tobehonest,I’mmoreconcernedaboutSimões,”Elizabethwenton.“We’vegottogopublicwithmostofwhatCachatand

Zilwicki brought back from Mesa, or we’re never going to sell this to yourCongress,Eloise.Forthatmatter,thereareenoughdiehardHaven-hatersintheStarEmpiretomakeitahardsellherewithoutthat,evenwithFilaretabearingdownonus!But thebottomlineis that it’sstillawfullythinforanyonewho’sinclined to be skeptical about what we’ve been saying about Mesa—orManpower,atleast.And,frankly,withthebestwillintheuniverse,there’sonlysomuchSimõescanconfirm.”

Pritchart sighed heavily in agreement. Then she surprised both of theManticorans—andherself—withasuddensnortofamusement.

“What?”Elizabethaskedafteramoment.“IwasjustthinkingaboutaconversationTomTheismanandIhadonthat

very subject,” the President replied, and cocked her head atHonor. “I believeyou’vemetAdmiralForaker,YourGrace?”

“Yes,Ihave,”Honoragreed.“Why?”“BecauseI’veturnedouttobeevenmorepropheticthanIexpected.Right

afterCachatandZilwickibroughtSimõesin,wewerediscussingtheintelligencewindfallherepresented,andTomwaswaxingprettyenthusiastic…untilIaskedhow valuable an intelligence source he thought Shannon Foraker would havebeenoutsideherownspecialty.”

“Oh,my.”Honorgazedatherforamoment,thenshookherhead.“Ihadn’treallythoughtofthatcomparison,butitdoesfit,doesn’tit?”

“Toowell,actually.”Pritchartsmiledtartly,buttheunfortunatetruthwasthatHerlanderSimões

reallywasamaleversionofShannonForaker…andinmorewaysthanone.LikeForaker, he’d been so immersed in his tightly focused researcher’sworld thathe’d been almost totally oblivious to the “big picture.” For that matter, thepeople responsible for the Mesan Alignment’s security had obviously taken

pains toencouragehis tunnel-vision.Also likeForaker,however,hisapoliticaldisinterest in the system in which he’d lived had been shattered. Foraker’sawakening had led directly to the destruction of twenty-four State Securitysuperdreadnoughts in a star system called Lovat, and while it was unlikelySimõeswasgoingtoinflictanythingthatovertlydramaticupontheAlignment,thelong-termeffectsofhisdefectionwerelikelytobefarworse,eventually.Butthatwastheproblem,because

“eventually”mightnotofferagreatdealofshort-termbenefitwhenitcametogettingthedrafttreatyratified.

NoonewasevergoingtogetSimõesbackintoobliviousnessagain,yethisfierce determination to do anything he could to smash the Alignment didn’tchange the fact that he could offer virtually nothing concrete about theAlignment’s master strategy, its military resources, or exactly how the MesaSystem’sopenpowerstructurefittedintotheAlignment’scovertstructure.

NoneofthosethingshadmatteredtohimbeforeFrancescaSimões’death,andhehadn’texactlybeentakingnotesforafuturedefectionafterhisdaughter’stermination,either.

Thepresidentthoughtoncemoreof thetragedyofJackMcBryde’sdeath.Mostofwhatthey“knew”abouttheAlignmentcamefromtheinformationhe’dproducedtoconvinceVictorCachatandAntonZilwickitohelphimandSimõesdefect. Kevin Usher’s Federal Investigation Agency had turned up forensicevidencewhich strongly corroborated at least some ofMcBryde’s allegations,and Pritchart was thankful they had even that much, but without McBrydehimselftobedebriefedindetail (and trottedout to testifybeforeCongressandParliament), they still had far more questions than answers. Questions whoseanswers almost certainly would have helped enormously with the ratificationfightsheexpected.

Andlet’sfaceit,Eloise,shetoldherself,McBrydewould’vebeenalotmoreconvincingthanSimõesasa

“talkinghead”infrontofthemedia,too. IbelieveeverythingSimõeshastoldus,andGodknowstheman’sgotmotivationbythemegaton!Buthesimplydoesn’tknowenough—notfirsthand,notintheareasthatreallymatter—toselladetermined skepticour versionofTheTruth.And,blesshim,but theman isageekoftrulyForakerianproportions.

Sheshudderedat thememoryofthelast timeForakerhadtestifiedbeforetheSenateNavalAffairsCommittee.

Even today, her inability to translate her own technical expertise intopolitical-speakwasawesometobehold.Intheend,TheismanhadbeenforcedtotrotoutLindaTrenistointerpretforhispettechwitch.

“Youknowalotofpeople,andnotjustMesansorSollies,aregoingtosaythiswholethingisonehugefabrication,”shewentonoutloud.

“Ofcoursetheyare,evenifnoonewithafunctionalcortexisgoingtobeable to come upwith a reasonwhywe fabricated it.”Elizabeth’s voicewas agrowlofdisgust.

“Imean,obviouslyit’shugelytotheRepublic’sadvantagetomakeitallupas a way to justify stepping into the ring against something the size of theSolarianLeaguebesidethestarnationit’sbeenfightingforthelasttwentyyears!

The fact that I can’t imaginewhy you did that isn’t going to keep idiotsfrom figuring there has to be a reason. Not that they’re going to be able tosuggestonethatholdswater,either!”

“Well,atleastthe’catswillvouchforSimões’truthfulness,” Honor pointed out, stroking Nimitz, who lay curled in her

lap.Thetreecatraisedhisheadwithanunmistakablycomplacentpurr,andArieladdedableekinglaughofhisownfromthebackofElizabeth’schair.ThetwoofthemlookedsosmugHonorlaughedandgaveoneofNimitz’searsatug.

“AsIwassaying,”shecontinued,“andattheriskofoverinflating—furtheroverinflating,Ishouldsay—twounnamedfurryegos,the’catscanconfirmhe’stellingthetruth,andalotofpeoplehereonManticorewilltrusttheirjudgment.That may not cut much ice anywhere else, but nothing we could say wouldconvincesomeone likeKolokoltsov to just take ourword for it, anyway.AndwhileIcouldwishhe’dbeeninvolvedindevelopingthis‘spiderdrive’oftheirs,instead of the ‘streak drive,’ the stuff he’s already given Admiral Hemphillmakes it obvious he knowswhat he’s talking about.Andwhat he does knowaboutthe

‘spiderdrive’dovetailsentirelytooneatlywithwhathappenedtousforhimto be some delusional nut. Not to mention”—her voice hardened—“prettythoroughlydemonstratingthatMesamusthavebeenbehindtheattack,sincenooneelsecould’vecloseenoughtohitusthatway.”

Somethingicyflickeredinhereyes,andNimitz’spurrcutoffabruptlyashehalf-rosewithasuddensnarl.Itwasveryquietforaheartbeator two,but thenshegaveherselfashake,touchedthebackofthe’cat’sheadgently,andsmiledapologeticallyattheothertwowomen.

“You’rerightaboutallofthat,ofcourse,Admiral.”Pritchart agreed in a tonewhich diplomatically failed to notice the anger

andpainwhichwereseldomfarfromHonor’ssurface thesedays.“And itmayconvinceus,andprobablyevenCongressoryourParliament.But it isn’tgoingto tochange thewoman-in-the-street’smind ifshe’snotalready inclined togoalongwith it.Andnoconspiracytheoristworthherparanoiabadgeisgoingto

buyitforaheartbeat.”“The best we can do is the best we can do, Madam President,” Honor

repliedinsomethingmuchclosertoanormaltone.ShesmiledherthanksfortheHavenite head of state’s tact, then glanced at her chrono. “And assuming thenewsgotreleasedonschedule,we’llbefindingoutinthenextcoupleofhoursjusthowtheManticoranpublic,atleast,isgoingtoreact.”

***“—mostridiculousthingI’veeverheard,Patrick!”Kiefer Mallory snorted several hours later. The tall, handsome political

columnistwasoneoftheStarEmpire’smoresoughtaftertalkingheads,andheknew it. Now his dark eyes glittered as hewaved both hands in a gesture offrustration.“Mindyou,we’reallawareofthethreattheStarEmpireingeneral—andthisstarsysteminparticular—

faces. And I won’t pretend I wouldn’t be delighted to find someonepreparedtosupportus.Butreally—!”Heshookhishead.“IknowI’mnot theonlyonewhofindsallofthissuspiciouslyconvenientforthepeoplewhogotusintothismessinthefirstplace!”

“Oh?” Jephthah Alverson, a longtime Liberal MP who’d thrown hisallegiance to Catherine Montaigne following the High Ridge Government’simplosion,leanedforwardtolookdowntheHDset’sconferencetableandraiseasardoniceyebrow.“Letmesee,now…ThatwouldbeBaronHighRidge andElaineDescroix,wouldn’tit?”

Mallory,who’dbeenassociatedwiththeProgressivePartyforatleastthreedecades (and who’d served as one of the now-vanished Descroix’s publicspokesmen,beforeherspectaculardownfall),flushedangrily.

***“My, he didn’t take that onewell, did he?” Emily Alexander-Harrington

observed.“No, he didn’t,”Honor agreed.Which, she thought, stretched out on the

comfortable couch in Emily’s private suite, was remarkably foolish of him.Nimitzwascomfortablyensconcedonherchest,andshe tastedhisagreement.Evenacompletenoviceshould’veseenthatonecoming!

“That’sbecause,despiteanysurfaceslickness,hecomesfromtheshallow—veryshallow,inhiscase—endofthegenepool…intellectuallyspeaking,thatis,”Emily replied from the life-support chair parked at theheadof the couch.She’dfollowedHonor’sthoughtalmostaseasilyasthe’cat,andthetwoofthemglancedateachotherwithmatchingsmiles.

HamishwasstuckinLanding,submergedinthelatestdelugeofAdmiraltybusiness,butHonorhaddecidedshedeservedatleastonedayathomeatWhite

HavenafterherparticipationintheElizabeth-Pritchartpoliticalmarathon.She’dspentmostofthatdaywithherparentsandheryoungerbrotherandsister,andherfamily’sstillsharp-edgedgrief,especiallyherfather’s,hadtakentheirtollonherandNimitz.AtleastAlfredHarringtonwasfinallybeginningtodeveloptheemotionalscartissueheneededtosurvive,yetHonorwasgrateful tohave thistimewithEmilytoherself.Sheneededtheolderwoman’sserenityatmomentslikethis,andtherewasn’tamoreinsightfulpoliticalstrategistintheentireStarEmpire.

Whichmay be evenmore useful than usual over thenext fewweeks, shethought,watchingthebroadcastasMalloryrespondedtoAlverson.

***“There’salimittohowlongtheGrantvilleGovernmentcangoonblaming

HighRidge for its own current problems.”Mallory’s tone could have meltedlead,butatleasthe’dpausedlongenoughtobesurehehadhistemperonatightleash. “No one’s trying to pretend mistakes weren’t made on High Ridge’swatch, although someofus continue toquestion thewisdomof sentencing anex-primeministertoprisonfortheactionsofhisgovernment.Iknowthat’snotapopularposition,buttheprecedentofcriminalizingpoliticalopponentsislikelytoproduceallkindsofuglyfalloutdowntheroad.Anddraggingout the‘usualsuspects’towavelikesomeredherringwheneversomeonecriticizesthecurrentgovernment’s policies is scarcely a reasoned response to the criticism, Mr.Alverson!”

“Really?”Madeleine Richter asked. “I was under the impression he wasconvictedofbribery,vote-buying,perjury,extortion,andobstructionof justice,not the actions of his government. Did I read the news accounts incorrectly.Kiefer?”Shesmiledbrightly.“AsforJephthah’spoint,whileI’llagreeit’snotanextraordinarily polished response, in this instance it does have the virtue ofcutting to the heart of thematter.And it’s not like your criticismwas exactlynuancedandcarefullythoughtout,either.”

Mallory’sflushdarkenedandRosalindaDavidsonshookherhead.Richter,thesittingMPforEastTannerton,wasaseniormemberoftheCentristParty.Assuch, her support of the Grantville Government was as much a given asMallory’soppositiontoit.Davidson,ontheotherhand,hadbeenaLiberalPartyMP until she gotwashed out of office in the post-HighRidge tsunami. Sincethen,she’dearnedherlivingasacolumnistandlecturer,andalthoughsheandMalloryweren’texactlybosombuddies,theywereunitedintheirdistasteforthecurrentgovernment.

“Youknow,”shesaid,abitpointedly,“bashingpeople forpastorpresentpoliticalaffiliationsisn’tthereasonwe’reheretonight,Madeline.OrIwasunder

theimpressionitwasn’t,atanyrate.Minerva?”She turned to Minerva Prince, who with Patrick DuCain, co-hosted the

awesomely popular and long-running Into the Fire. The syndicated showwasonlyoneofthefloodofprogramstryingtocopewith thebombshell revelationof Eloise Pritchart’s presence in theManticore Binary System, but it had thehighestviewershipofthemall.

“You’reright,ofcourse,Rosalinda,”Princereplied.“Ontheotherhand,youknowPatrickandIusuallyletourguestshaveat

leastsomevoiceinwherethediscussiongoes.”***“That’s trueenough,”Emilyagreed,smilingmore broadly atHonor. “All

thatbloodinthewater’sjustwhattheirratingsneed!”“I remember,” Honor said feelingly, recalling her own Into the Fire

appearance,whenshe’dbeenbeachedby theJanacekAdmiralty.“And they’renot above steering their guests’ ‘voices’ when the water isn’t sufficientlychummed,either.”

***“At the risk of undermining my own reputation as a troublemaker,”

Abraham Spencer said from the HD, “I suggest we all hang up our partisanpolitical axes for the moment and concentrate on our official topic.” Thephotogenic (and incrediblywealthy) financier smiled charmingly. “I know noone’sreallygoingtobelieveI’mnothidingintheunderbrushtobashsomeoneovertheheadmyselfwhenthemoment’sripe,butinthemeantime,there

isthis little matter of the Empress’s proposed treaty with Haven.And that

otherminorrevelationaboutthe‘MesanAlignment.’”“Youmeanthatso-calledrevelation,don’tyou?”Mallorysnorted.“It’snotas ifanyone’soffering thekindofevidencewe

couldtaketocourt!”“Whether the allegations are accurate or not, there’s not much question

abouttheirexplosiveness,Kiefer,”DuCainpointedout.“Assuminganyoneintheentiregalaxy—outsidetheStarEmpire,atleast—

isgoingtobelievein thisvast interstellarconspiracyforamoment,”Davidsonriposted.

ShegaveAlversonascathinglook.“EspeciallygiventheopentiesbetweencertainmembersofParliamentandtheAudubonBallroom.”

ItwasAlverson’seyes’ turn tonarrowdangerouslyat theobviousshot at

CatherineMontaigne,butRichterintervenedbeforehecouldfireback.“Youmightbesurprisedhowmanypeoplewillbelieveit,Rosalinda,”she

saidcoldly,reachinguptostrokeherdarkbluehair.Thathairhadn’tbeendyedorartificiallycolored;itwasthelegacyofagrandparentwho’dbeendesignedtothe special order of a wealthy Solarian with idiosyncratic tastes in “bodyservants.”

“Iwon’tsaythedevilisbeyondblackening,”shecontinued,“butIwillsaythatanyonewho looksatMesawithanopenmindhas toadmit theentirestarsystem,notjustManpower,hasnevergivenasingle,solitarydamnwhattherestof‘theentireexploredgalaxy’thinksofit.”

“YouknowmyownfeelingswheretheBallroomisconcerned,Rosalinda,”Spencerputin,hisexpressionturninghard.“NomatterhowmuchIsympathizewith genetic slaves and detest the entire loathsome institution, I’ve neversanctionedthesortofoutrightterrorismtowhichtheBallroom’sresortedfartoooften. I’venevermade any secret ofmy feelings on that subject. Indeed, youmayrecallthatlittlespatKlausHauptmanandIhadonthesubjectfollowingtheliberationofTorch.”

Oneortwooftheguestssnortedoutloudatthat.The“littlespat”hadtakenplacerighthereonIntotheFire,andtheclashoftwo

suchpowerful(andwealthy)titanshadassumedepicproportions.“But having said that,” he continued, “and even conceding that this

informationappearstohavereachedusatleastpartiallythroughtheBallroom’sauspices,Ibelieveit.Alotofoddmysteriesandunexplained‘coincidences’

suddenlymakealotmoresense.AndasMadelinesays,ifanystarsystemin thegalaxy is corrupt enough tohavegivenbirth to something like this, it’ssureashellMesa!”

“And on that basis we’re supposed to believe there’s some kind ofcenturies-long conspiracy aimed at us and theRepublic of Haven out there?”Davidsonrolledhereyes.

“Please,Abraham!I’mentirelyprepared toadmit theMesans are terriblepeopleandgeneticslaveryisahorribleperversion,butthey’rebasicallynothingmorethanexamplesoftheevilsofunbridledcapitalism.And,no,I’mnotsayingcapitalism automatically produces evil ends. I’m simply saying that whereManpowerisconcerned—andlookingatalltheothertransstellarsheadquarteredinMesa with it—we’re talking about something that makes the worst robberbaronsofOldTerra’shistoryseemlikepikers.

Peoplelikethatdon’ttrytodestabilizesomethingliketheSolarianLeaguewhenthey’redoingsowellswimmingaroundinthecorruptionofitssewers!”

“Then why do you think President Pritchart made this unprecedented,dramaticvoyagetoManticore?”Princeasked,andDavidsonturnedback to thehostesswithashrug.

“There could be any number of reasons. It’s even possible—howeverunlikely I think it is—thatshegenuinelybelievesMesa isafterbothofus.Ontheotherhand,Ithinkit’salsopossiblesheandher intelligence types,possiblywith thecooperationof theAudubonBallroomand its…allies”—shepointedlyavoided looking inAlverson’s direction—“concocted the entire story.Or leastembroideredit,shallwesay?”

“Forwhatpossiblereason?”Spencerdemanded.Davidson lookedathim,and itwashis turn to shrug.“AsKieferhimself

pointedoutamomentago,theRepublic’sstandingwithusagainsttheSolarianLeague.Couldyoupossiblysuggestany logicalmotive forpeoplewe’vebeenfightingfortwentyyearstosuddenlydecide,completelyoutoftheblue,togetbetweenusandsomethingthesizeoftheSolliesatamomentwhenwe’remorevulnerable than we’ve been in over a decade? Forgive me if I seem obtuse,Rosalinda,butforthelifeofme,Ican’tfigureoutwhyanyMachiavellianworthhis—or in this case, her—‘I-am-devious’ Evil Overlord’s badge would dosomethingthatstupid!”

***“IbelieveAbraham,touseHamish’sdelightfulphrase,isaboutreadytorip

someoneanewanalorifice,”Emilyobserved.“Odd,”Honorsaid,“Idon’tseemtorecallhisusingthosetwowords.”“That’sbecausehedoesn’t,”Emilyrepliedwithasmile, thenelevatedher

nosewithasniff.“I,ontheotherhand,amfarmoregenteelthanheis.”“That’sonewaytodescribeit.”“Hush!”EmilysmackedHonorontheheadwithherworkinghand.“Iwant

toseeifRosalindahasastrokeonsystem-wideHD.”“Youwish,”Honormuttered.***“I just acknowledged that Pritchart might genuinely believe all this,”

Davidson told Spencer tightly. “I think there are other possibilities, aswell—convincing us we’re both on someone else’s ‘hit list’ in order to extort suchfavorablepeacetermsoutofuscomestomind,forexample—butofcourseshecould really believe it. Which doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t sold her afabricatedbillofgoodsandusedhertosellitto

us.YoujustmentionedtheBallroom.Surelyifitwouldbenefitanyoneinthe

galaxy for us and the Republic to turn on the Mesa System with everything

we’vegot,itwouldhavetobetheBallroomanditsideologicalallies,don’tyouthink?”“That’sthemostparanoidthingI’veeverheard!”Alversonsnapped.“AndIcan’tbelievethementalhoopsyou’rewillingto

jump through to avoid admitting even thepossibility that thisMcBrydemightconceivably’vebeentellingthetruth!Forthatmatter,thetreecatsverifythatDr.Simões,atleast,definitelyistellingthetruth.Whichmeans—”

“Ifyou’repreparedtotakethetreecats’word,”Malloryinterrupted.Severaloftheotherslookedathimincredulously,and

he scowled. “What Imean is thatwe’vehadplentyofexperiencewith peoplewho’ve been brainwashed—or simply misled— into genuinely believingsomethingthat’sdemonstrablyfalse.SofarasI’maware,noteventhetreecats’most fervent champions have claimed they can know when that’s the case.Suppose for a moment Rosalinda’s right about someone like the Ballroomwanting to fabricate a story like this. I’m not saying that’s necessarily whathappened;I’mjustaskingyoutoconsiderthepossibility.Inthatcase,knowingyouweregoingtohavetosellyourstory to theStarEmpire,wouldn’t itmakesensetobrainwashyour‘starwitness’intoabsolutely

—andhonestly—believingwhatyou’veprimedhimtotellus?”“Oh,fortheloveof—!”Richterbegan.“And, on that note, we have to go to break,” Prince interrupted, smiling

brightlyatthecamerawhileDuCainstruggledmightilynottolaugh.“Don’tgoaway!IntotheFirewillbebackinjustafewmomentstocontinuethis…

livelyexchange.”June1922PostDiaspora“IwanthimhammeredsohardevenSollieshavetoget themessagethat

this…isawar—theirwar—andthatwarshaveconsequences!”—Admiral Lady Dame Honor Alexander-Harrington, Steadholder and

DuchessHarringtonChapterTwelve“Well,thisisunexpected.”Admiral StephaniaGrimm, Manticoran Astro Control Service, looked at

CaptainChristopherDombroskiandcockedherhead.“Sincethisisallyou’reshowingme,”shecontinued,withoutlookingaway

from him as she twitched a thumb at the terse message he’d relayed to herdisplay, “and since you’re a reasonably competent sort, I assume you queriedthemforadditionaldetailsandtheydeclinedtoprovidethem?”

“That’saboutright,Ma’am.Theywerepolite,buttheywouldn’tsayaword

about who they’re sending. They just repeated that they’ll be inserting ‘anunscheduled diplomatic courier’ into the queue. They did apologize for any‘inconvenience,’ but that’s about it.Given everything that’s been happening, IthoughtIshouldcallittoyourattention.”

“Isee.”Grimm looked back at her display. A little explanationwould have been

nice,shereflected,butitwashardlyhisfaulthedidn’thaveone.Dombroski’s official title on the Junction Astro Control Service’s

organizational chartwas “SeniorOfficer, TrafficManagementDivision.” Thatmadehimresponsible for imposing order upon thousands of Junction transits,and his usual, unflappable composure had begun to fray. Grimmwasn’t eventempted to hold that against him given how hectic his task had become. Firstthere’dbeen the torrentof recalledmerchantmen.Then,asLacoönTwo hit itsstride,there’dbeenthescoresofSolarian-registryvessels

—mostwithindescribablyirateskippers—who’dsuddenlydiscoveredtheyweregoing tohave tomake it home the longway.Andas if thathadn’t beenenough,there’dbeentheneedtoaccommodatethemovementofallthewarshipsandmobilerepairplatformstheNavywasjugglingintheYawataStrike’swake.

No,itwasnowonderDombroskilookedalittlestressedthesedays.Shefrowned,tryingtoparsethemessage’sofficialese.

Onthefaceofit,itwassimpleenough,butthere’djustaboutbeentimefor

newsofEloisePritchart’spresenceonManticore—andof thebombshell she’dbroughtwithher—

togetbackthroughtheJunctiontothepeoplewho’dsentit.Andthatsuggestsit’sanythingbut‘simple,’shethought.“All right, Chris,” she said finally, “I’ll seeMount Royal’s informed. At

leasttheygaveusacoupleofhours’warningbefore they jumped thequeue.” She shrugged philosophically. “I

knowit’llcomplicatethings,butitshouldn’tmaketoomanywaves.”“Ma’am,they’resupposedtotellusaboutthiskindofthingahellofalot

furtheraheadoftime.”TherewasalotofirritationinDombroski’svoice.“Theyknowthat,andIdoubtitjustslippedtheirminds.”

“I’mawareofthat,Chris,”Grimmsaidpatiently, remindingherselfof thestrainunderwhichhe’dlaboredoflate.“There’snolegalrequirementfor themtowarnus,though,whateverthecustomaryproceduresmaybe.”

Shegavehimapointedlook.Ifhewantedsomeofficialprotest,hewasn’tgoing to get one, howevermuch she sympathized.Sheheld his eyes until shewassurehe’dgottenthemessage.Thensheshruggedagain.

“Iadmitit’saviolationofgoodmanners,”shetoldhimabitwryly,“butwehave toassume theyhave their reasons.Andeven if theydon’t,Beowulfdoeshappentobeasovereignstarnation.”

***“Idon’tunderstandwhyIhave to be here,” Honor Alexander-Harrington complained. “I’ve been

away from Trevor’s Star way too long already.” She crossed restlessly to awindow, gazingout across the landscapedMountRoyal grounds. “Alice is ontopofthings,butIshuddertothinkabouteverythingthatcanstillgowrongonthatfront.AndHamish’sdelightfulphraseaboutexcretingbricks isprobablyapretty fair description of how ACS is going to react when Theisman startsbringingtwoorthreehundred

RepublicanpodnoughtsthroughtheJunction!”Sheheardtheplaintiveness(itwouldneverhavedonetocallitpetulance)

in her own voice and grimaced.Alice Truman, theCO of Task Force 81 andEighthFleet’s second incommandwas fullycapableofhandling things inherabsence,andsheknewit.Infact,ifshe’dwantedtobehonest,whatreallytickedheroffwas that she’d far ratherbeatWhiteHaven thanhere inLanding.Notthatshehadanyintentionofadmittingthattoalivingsoul.

“IfIcouldtellyouwhyyou’rehere,Iwould.”TherewasacertaintartnessinElizabethWinton’sresponse.

“Unfortunately,I’vealreadytoldyoueverythingIknow.Beowulf’sspecificallyrequestedyourpresence,buttheirnote’sremarkably

shortondetails.Itdoesn’tsaywhy.Itdoesn’tevensaywho.Itjustrequestsyoubeheretomeetthis‘specialembassy.’”Theempress’seyesnarrowed.“IfIwereabettingwoman,I’dbewillingtowagerithassomethingtodowithrelativesofyours,butthat’ssolelyaguess,Honor.”

Honor grimaced again and rested both hands on thewindow sill, leaningclosertothecrystoplast.Forher,thatwastheequivalentof fidgetingviolently,and Nimitz crooned softly in her ear. She glanced at him, and his fingersflickered.

<Worried about more bad news,> those agile fingers signed. <Worse,worriedwhateverthisiswilldarkenDeepRoots’mindglowagain.>

Honor looked at him, then, almost against her will, nodded. Ever sinceshe’d learned her father’s treecat name, she’d thought it was even moreappropriatethanmost.Hisrootstrulydidrundeep,andhe’dbeen the toweringcrown oak under which had sheltered her more times than she could count

duringherchildhood.But those rootsofhis, the thingwhichanchored him sosecurely against life’s tempests and undergirded somuch ofwho andwhathewas,hadbeenhissenseoffamily.Hisawarenessofwhohewas,wherehecamefrom,andeveryonewho’dgonebeforehim.

Thatwastherich,sustainingsoilfromwhichhe’ddrawnhisstrength,andtoomuchofitwasgonenow,searedawaybytheYawataStrike.Hisrootswerebeginning to recover,buthealingwasanothermatter entirely, one shewas farfromcertaincouldeverbeaccomplished.

AndStinker’sright,too,shethought.Itdoesn’tmakesenseonanyrationallevel,butwhatIreallyamisafraid.

AfraidsomemessagefromUncleAlorsomebodyelseonBeowulfisgoingtostarthimbleedingalloveragain.

Whichisprettystupid,whenyoucomedowntoit.IsortofdoubttheBoardofDirectorswould’vesentanofficialdiplomaticmission—especiallyundersuchmysteriouscircumstances—justtodeliverafamilymessage.Sheshookherhead.AmIreallythatfragile,myself?Runningscaredenoughtojumpatthatkindofimaginedshadow?

“You’re right,” she admitted out loud, leaning forward until her cheektouchedthetreecat’snose.“AndIguessitisprettysilly.It’sjust—”

“Justthatyou’rehuman,”Elizabethsaidquietly.Honorlookedather,andtheempressshrugged,strokingAriel’searsashe

layacrossher lap.“Icanreadsign, too,youknow.AndIknowyoubothwellenough to follow the subtext.” She smiled sadly. “You’re not the only personwho’sbeenhithardenoughtobealittleillogical,either.

SometimesIthinkthesmarterweare,thebetterweareatfindingwaystohammerourselveswithimagineddisastersaheadoftime.”

“Idon’tknowaboutsmarter,”Honorsaid,walkingbackacrosstheroomtothecouchfacingElizabeth’sarmchair.“Idothinkpeoplewithmoreimaginationdoabetterjobofputtingthemselvesthroughthewringer,though.”

“All right, I’llgrant that.”Elizabeth’ssmile turnedmischievous. “But if Ido,thenyouhavetogrant—”

Adiscreet,mnusicalchimeinterruptedtheempress,andsheglancedatthesmallcomunitonthecoffeetablebetweenthem.

“Ah, ourmystery guests have arrived!” she said. “I wonder if Ellen andSpenceraregoingtoletthemjoinuswithoutdemandingsomeID?”

Shesmiledwhimsically,andHonorchuckled.“Idoubtit,”shesaidoutloud,shakingherhead.“Ellen’s theonlyperson I knowwho’s evenmoreparanoid thanSpencer.

Now,atleast.”Her voice dropped and her eyes darkenedwith the last threewords, and

Elizabeth looked at her sharply. The empress started to open her mouth, butHonorshookherheadquickly.ThememoryofAndrewLaFollet’sprotectiveness—ofall theyearshe’dservedherandofhowhe’ddiedwhenshewasn’teventhere—couldstillambushherwithnowarningatall.But itwasgettingbetter,shetoldherselffirmly.Itwasgettingbetter.

“Anyway,” shewent on in a determinedly brighter tone, “if one of themdoesn’tinsistoncompleteidentification,youknowtheotheronewill.AndEllenisn’tabouttoletanyoneintoyourpresencewithoutacompletebriefingon—”

ThedooropenedandColonelEllenShemais,who’d headed the empress’personal security detachment since she’d been a little girl, appeared as if themention of her name had summoned her. Elizabeth looked at her, eyebrowsraised,butthecolonelonlybowedtoher.

“Your Majesty, Your Grace,” she angled her bow subtly in Honor’sdirection,“the…specialembassyfromBeowulf.”

ElizabethdartedasurprisedglanceatHonor.Alljokingabouttheirsecuritypersonnelaside,thelastthingtheempresshadexpectedwasforthemysteriousenvoytobeshownstraightintoherpresence.ButHonorwasjustasperplexedasshewas.Allshecoulddowasshrugattheempress,andthetwoofthemstood,facingthesmallpresencechamber’sdoor.

Perhapsadozenpeoplefiledthroughit,andHonorfelthereyesgowideassherecognizedmostofthem.

“YourMajesty,”ChyangBenton-Ramirez,Chairman andChiefExecutiveOfficeroftheBeowulfPlanetaryBoardofDirectors,saidwithasmallbow,thesortheadsofstatebestowedupononeanother,“Iapologizefortheunorthodoxyof this visit, but there are a few things we need to discuss privately. Veryprivately.”

***“Iguess,”ElizabethWinton said severalhours later, in tonesofprofound

understatement,“thatIshouldbegettingaccustomedtohavingforeignheadsofstate drop inwith nowarning, but I keep thinkingwe ought to get a little…Idon’tknow,

regularity,Isuppose,intothissortofthing.”“Regularity?”WilliamAlexander,BaronGrantvilleandPrimeMinisterof

the Star Empire of Manticore, shook his head. “At this point, I’d settle forrationality!Doesitoccurtoyou,YourMajesty,thatwe’vesomehowstumbledthroughthelookingglass?”

“It does seem thatway,” she acknowledged. “I guess the realquestion is

whetherornotthegoodsurprisesoutnumberthebadones.Iremembermyfathersayingtrueleadershipisn’ttheabilitytoaccomplishthethingsyouplanon;it’stheabilitytocopewiththethingsyouneverinathousandyearssawcoming.”Shesmiledabit raggedly. “I seem to’ve been getting a lot of practice at thatlately.”

“All of us have, YourMajesty,” Sir Anthony Langtry, the Star Empire’sForeignSecretary,agreedwryly.“Mypeoplearesupposedtohaveatleastsomevaguenotionofhowotherstarnationsarethinking—especiallytheoneswe’reongoodtermswith!—butthisblindsideduscompletely.”

“There’sbeenalotofthathappeninglately,Tony.”Baroness Morncreek’s, tone was desert dry. She and portly, fair-haired

BruceWijenbergweretheonlyothertwomembersofGrantville’sCabinetatthetable.HamishAlexander-Harringtonhadbeenpresent,but he and Sir ThomasCaparelli were currently closeted in a separatemeetingwithGabriel Caddell-MarkhamandJustynáMiternowski-Zhyang.

Honor was no longer in Landing. She’d tried to stay, but Elizabeth andHamishhadputtheirjointfootfirmlydown.Ithadbeenaprettynearthing,evenso,buttheCEOofBeowulf’ssupporthadturnedthetrick.

“Francine’s right, Tony.” Wijenberg nodded in wry agreement withMorncreek. “And I doubt you’re anymore surprised than she and I are! TheExchequer and Ministry of Trade do have our own high-level contacts inBeowulf,andweneversawitcoming,either.”

“Well,nowthatwe’veallexpressedoursurprise,whatdowedoaboutit?”Elizabethasked.

“YourMajesty,forgiveme,butthat’sano-brainer,”Grantvillesaid.“Ifanyoneatthistablecanthinkofanythingmorevaluable

thanaddingBeowulftoourlistof‘associatedpowers,’pleasetellmenowwhatitis!”***“Jacques!”OneofthethingsHonoralwaysassociatedwithhermotherwasherability

to take surprises in stride. There was nothing phlegmatic about Dr. AllisonHarrington.

Indeed,whatmostimpressedpeoplewhometherwereherwickedsenseofhumor (there was a reason the treecats called her “Laugh Dancer”) and

enthusiasm.Herability to focuswith total intensityuponwhatever her currentprojectmightbewhilestillboundingeffortlesslyfromonefocustoanother.Shewasn’terratic;shesimplymultitaskedwithajoyousabandonanyAIcouldonlyhave envied. Yet under all that zest, there was a calm balance, a treecat-likesenseofcomposurewhichmeteventhemostunexpectedeventswithoutmissingabeat.

Butnottoday.She took one look at the small, almond-eyed man who’d followed her

daughter from the air limo inHarrington Steading’s colors, then flung herselfinto his arms, and her daughter could taste the incredible brilliance of hersorrow-burnishedjoyandastonishment.

“Hello, Alley.” Jacques Benton-Ramirez y Chou voice was husky as hehuggedhistwinsisterfiercely.Sheputherheadonhisshoulder,andhenestledhischeekagainsther.

“It’sgoodtoseeyou,too.”***“I’msorryIdidn’tgetheresooner,”Jacquessaidsometimelater.He lookeddownat theglass inhishand, then raisedhisheadand leaned

back. He sat with his sister, his brother-in-law, and his niece on the terraceoverlookingtheWhiteHavenswimmingpool.Thesunwassetting,andthislatein the local year (and this far north) evenings were chill, even onManticore.Wispsof steamrose from theheatedpool,gleaminggold in thesun’s slantingrays,andhewasgratefulforhislightjacket.

“I’msorry,”herepeated, looking intoAlfredHarrington’seyes, “butwithsomuchpurehellbreaking loose, I justcouldn’t justify takingpersonal time.”Heshookhishead.“Altoldmehowbaditwas,butIknewyouandAlleyhadeachother,andIfigured,well…”

Hisvoicetrailedoffintosilence,andAlfredshrugged.“We got your letters, Jacques. It’s not like we didn’t know you were

thinkingaboutus.AndI figuredyouprobablyhadyourhandsfullbackhome.Besides,”his tonedarkened,despitehisverybest efforts, “likeyou say,Alleyand I had each other. And the twins. And Honor, once she got back fromNouveauParis,forthatmatter.”

Jacquesstartedtosaysomethingmore,thenstopped.Itwouldn’thavedoneanygood…andtherewasnoneedtoactuallysay it,

anyway.HeandAlfredhadbeenfriendsforalmosteightyT-years.Infact,ithadbeen Jacques who (much to the surprise of the rest of his all-too-prominentfamily)had introduced the towering youngManticoran naval officer, yeoman,andex-Marinesergeanttohisyoungersister.

Technically, JacquesandAllisonwere fraternal twins, althoughhe’dbeenborn five T-years before she had. Their parents had filed for a single-birthpregnancy,onlytodiscoverthey’dconceivedtwins.Thesecondchildcouldhavebeenplacedforadoption,ofcourse,butthey’dknowntheywantedafourthchildafter they packed their eldest off to college and qualified for another. So thesecondembryohadbeenheldincryountil thatday,andJacqueshadendedupwithayoungersisteraswellasatwin.

He’d always adored her, and he’d developed a fiercely protective streakwhere she was concerned as they both grew older. There’d been times whenshe’dcuthimdowntosizewithbloodyefficiencyfor“interfering” inher life,buthehadn’tletthatfazehim.Itwasn’teasybeingaBenton-RamirezyChou,and he’d known howmuch Allison hated the thought of being squeezed andmolded intooneof therolesexpectedoutofher family.Hehadn’twantedherforced to be anyone she didn’t want to be, and he’d been damned if he’d letanyonedothattoher,evenifhis

“nosiness” and “rock-headedness”hadpissedheroff uponoccasion.Andhe’dbeenpickyashellaboutwhohe encouraged to get close to her, too.Yethe’dneverhadasinglequalmaboutintroducinghertoAlfredHarrington…

andhe’dstoodasAlfred’sbestmanatthewedding.There’dneverbeenamomentinalltheyearssincewhenhe’dfelttheleast

traceof regret,either.JacquesBenton-RamirezyChouhad twobirth brothers,andhelovedbothofthem(althoughAnthonycouldreallypisshimoff;notallsibling rivalriesdiedwith themerepassageof time),yet the truthwas thathewasclosertoAlfredthantoeitherofthem.

God, he looks awful, he thought now, and the frigging strike was threedamnedmonthsago!Hemust’vebeenabasketcase,rightafterit,andI letmygoddamned

‘responsibilities’getintheway?Christ!Fourfuckingdays.That’showlongitwouldhavetaken.Icouldhavegivenhimthe fourdays

toatleastcomeouthereandtellhiminpersonthatI—Tell himwhat?Thequestion cut Jacques off inmid-thought.He couldn’t

havetoldAlfredonethinghedidn’talreadyknow.Couldn’thaveaccomplishedanything Allison and his daughters and son couldn’t. Yet he knew he wouldneverforgivehimselffornotsomehowaccomplishingsomethinganyway.

“Daddy’s right, Uncle Jacques,” Honor said now. “We knewwhat you’dhavesaid.Youdidsayit,inyourletters.

Andit’snotlikewe’retheonlyfamily—hereoronBeowulf—who’s had to deal with the same thing.We’re…handling it as well as

anyoneelse,Ithink.”

“Icanseethat,”Jacquesreplied.ButheandHonorhadalwaysbeenclose,andheknewshesawthequestionbehindhislie.Ifyou’rehandlingitthatwell,whyareallofyoustillhereandnothomeonSphinx?Hesawtheawareness inhereyes,butsheonlylookedbacksteadily.

“Atanyrate,I’mherenow,”hesaidmorebriskly,“anditlookslikeI’mgoingtobeabletostayforatleastawhile.”“Really?”Allison looked across the lawn table at him, and he heard the

happinessinhervoice.“Howlong?”“At least—” he began, then paused and quirked an eyebrow at Honor.

“What,anotherT-weekorso,youthink,Honor?”“Aboutthat.”Shesmiledcrookedly.“Maybeadayortwolonger.”AllisonandAlfredboth lookedsharplyat theirelderdaughter,andHonor

tastedtheiremotionsastheydidthemath.Itdidn’ttakelong;everyManticoranknewwhentheSollyattackwasduetoreachManticore.

“Well,we’llbedelighted tohaveyou,”Allison saidafter amoment. “Ontheotherhand,ifyou’regoingtobeherethatlong,maybeweshouldgoaheadandreopenHarringtonHouse,Honor?”Shegaveherdaughterahalf-humorous,half-resignedlook.“Hewouldn’tbestayingso longif itwasn’tofficial,and ifthat’s thecase,heprobablyneeds tobeclose toLanding.Besides,your fatherand I have been imposing on your and Emily and Hamish’s hospitality longenough.”

“You know perfectly well that you haven’t been imposing on anyoneMother. But if you want the house, of course you’re welcome to it. For thatmatter,I’vetoldyoubefore;it’syoursandDaddy’snow.IspendeveryminuteIcanhereatWhiteHaven,anyway,anditmakesalotmoresenseforyouandthetwinstousethehousethanforittojuststandempty.”

Sheshrugged,although“standempty”wasahighly inaccuratedescriptionof her Jason Bay mansion’s normal state. It was fully staffed at all times,whethersheherselfwas in residenceornot.For thatmatter, itwasHarringtonSteading’sembassyonManticore,anditsofficialfunctionsnevershutdown.Butthe true reason she’d avoided the cliff-top mansion since coming home fromHaven were all the memories it held of Andrew and Miranda LaFollet, ofFarragut,andofSergeantJeremiahTennard.Eventuallyshe’dhavetoreturn,sheknew,butshewasn’tpreparedtoconfrontallthoseremindersjustyet.

AndMotherknowsthat,too,shethought.ButifshethinksDaddy’shealedenough togohome—as farasLanding, at least, even if he’snot ready for thefreeholdyet—that’sgottobeagoodsign.Andshe’sright,havingUncleJacquesalongwillhelpalot.Besides,itreallyismorehomeforthemthanitisforme.That’dbetrueevenifIhadn’tmarriedHamishandEmily,givenhowmuchtime

Ispendcompletelyoff-world.“That’ssettled,then,”Allisonsaid.“I’llscreenM—Imean,I’llhaveMac

screenthestafftowarnthemwe’recominghome.”Itwas such a brief pause, and so quickly corrected, that onlyHonor and

Nimitzcaughtthewayshe’dalmostslippedandsaid“Miranda.”

“Well, it would appear it’s a good thing the two of you have finishedsettlingmyfate,”Jacquessaidwithasmile.

“I seewe’re about tobedescendeduponbywhat I believe is technicallycalledathunderingherd.”

Hepointedtothesmallgroup(orperhapsnotsosmallasallthat,actually)spillingoutofthehouse’sFrenchdoors,andHonortastedthewaythealertnessof the posse of armsmen (and one armswoman) scattered around the terracespiked,asthey,too,noticedthenewcomers.

Theyweremorefocusedthanever,thoseguardians,aftertheYawataStrikeandAntonZilwicki’sbriefingsaboutnano-programedassassins,andshe tastedheruncle’scold,grimapprovaloftheiralertness.

Once,sheknew,he’dfoundwatchingherlearntoputupwithherpersonalarmsmenamusing,eventhoughhe’dunderstood(betterthanherparents,really)whythatsortofsecuritywasnecessary.Yettodayshesensednoamusement inJacques Benton-Ramirez y Chou’s mind-glow as he gazed at that protective,green-uniformedcordon.

AndMotherandDaddyhavechangedtheirattitudes,too,shethoughtsadly.There’dbeenatimewhenherparentshadputupwiththetwins’personal

armsmenonlybecauseGraysonlawrequiredthemto.They’drealizedJeremiahTennard and Luke Blackett kept a watchful eye on them, as well, but they’dregardeditasanecessary(ifrathertouching)nuisanceintheirowncase.Onetobeevadedwheneverpossible.

NotsincetheYawataStrike.NotsinceAllisonHarringtonandhergrandsonhadlivedonlybecausetwoofthosearmsmenhaddiedforthem.

They hadn’t raised even a token objection when Honor informed them,firmly,thatfromnowon,theyhadtheirownpersonalarmsmen.Anddespiteaninitial standoffishness—adefensive reactionbornof thehurt ofLaFollet’s andTennard’sdeaths—they’dadjustedbetterthanshe’dbeenafraidtheymight.Notthatshehadn’tputsomecarefulconsiderationintopickingtheproperguardians.

First,she’ddecided,anycandidateshad tobeprolongrecipients.Noneofherownoriginalarmsmenhadreceivedtheantiagingtherapies.Sheknewhowthatfelt,andshewasn’tabouttohaveherparentswatchsomeone thatclose tothemgrowold anddiebefore their eyes.Yet thathadbeenonly thefirst (and

least difficult) of the qualifications she’d considered when she and SpencerHawkestartedreviewingdossiers.

SergeantIsaiahMatlock,herfather’sarmsman,wasaveryrarebird:thesonof a forestry ranger on a planet whose wilderness didn’t precisely welcomehuman intruders. The hearty souls who ventured out into it anyway wereregarded as dangerous crackpots by their stay-at-home friends and neighbors,butMatlock’sfamily,hadbeeninvolvedinmanagingGrayson’sforestsforthreehundred T-years. They had a love for those forests which was possibly evendeeper than that of a Sphinxian like Alfred Harrington, probably preciselybecause theirhomeworld’swildernessdid its levelbest tokill themeveryday.HonorexpectedIsaiah toembraceSphinx joyfully, despite its gravity, and shewaspleasedwiththecompatibilityalreadyapparentbetweenhimandDr.

Harrington. If anyone was likely to understand her father’s need for anoccasional fishing or hunting foray, it was going to be Isaiah…who wouldundoubtedlyhelpbrowbeattherestofthesecuritydetailintosubmission.

She’d expected choosing her mother’s guardian to be more difficult,however.Allison’sBeowulfupbringingmadeitstillharderforhertoacceptthenotionthatsheneededtobeprotectedagainstpeopleshe’dneverevenmet.Shecouldgrasp it intellectually,butevenaftermultiple attempts to assassinate herelder daughter, she found it emotionally incomprehensible that completestrangersmightwishherharm.Besides,anyBeowulferwasboundtohaveafewproblemswith thenotionofapersonal retainerprepared todie inherdefense.Ontopofwhich,andalsoasaproductofthatBeowulfupbringing,she…tookalittle getting used to for even the most liberal minded Grayson armsmanimaginable.

Honor had been painfully aware of theHerculean task she faced findingsomeway todealwithallof that,whichwaswhyshe’dbeensodelighted byhow quickly she’d discovered Corporal Anastasia Yanakov, the very firstGraysonwomantocompletetheharsh,demandingarmsman’strainingcourse.

Adouble handful of additionalwomenhad followedher since, andmorethanhalf of themhadendedup in theHarringtonSteadholder’sGuard.AbouthalftheothershadbeensnappedupbytheMayhewGuardandPalaceSecurity,andtheremainderwerescatteredaboutintheguardsofsomeofGrayson’smoreprogressivesteadholders.

The real dinosaurs were going to resist such a bizarre notion to the lastditch, but their loss (and stupidity)wasHonor’s gain,andAnastasia (a fourthcousinofHighAdmiralJudahYanakov)wastheperfectexampleofwhy.

Herdeplorablyradical fatherhad sent her off-world toManticore for herschooling, where she’d completed a master’s degree in criminology and law

enforcement (and captained her college pistol team) before going home andfightingherwayintothearmsman’sprogram.She’dgraduatedthirdinherclass,as well, and there was no question she was headed for officer’s rank. Allarmsmanofficersrosefromtheranks,however.Everyoneofthemstartedasasimple armsman, andwhile any woman intruding into that traditionally malepreservewas likely to find the climbmore difficult than her X-chromosome-challengedfellows,Anastasiaclearlyhadaheadforheights.

Inthemeantime,shewasverymuchtheproductoftwoworlds.ShewastheperfectinterfaceforsomeonelikeAllisonHarrington,andwhileshepossessedasly sense of mischief, she was enough unlike Miranda LaFollet to avoidreminding Allison (or Honor) of another Grayson woman who’d learned tostraddlebothofhersteadholder’sworlds.

Atthemoment,MatlockandYanakovwerestationedwithherowntrioofpersonalarmsmen.ThefiveofthemhadspreadoutfarenoughtoallowHonorand her family an island of privacy, but they formed an alert, ring around theterrace’sperimeterastheywatchedthenewcomersfinishtroopingoutthedoors.

Emily’s life-support chair led the parade, accompanied by her personalarmsman,JeffersonMcClure.FaithandJamesHarringtonwalkedoneithersideofherchair,andHonorfeltafreshpangasshegazedathersister.

JeremiahTennard’sdeathhaddevastatedFaith.Deathwasalwayshard tounderstandwhen youweren’t quite nine, and it wasn’t as if Faith hadn’t lostenoughfamily—

enoughunclesandauntsandcousins—onthatsamedreadfuldaytodarkenany childhood. But Jeremiah had watched over her literally since birth asprotector,guardian,friend,andbigbrother,allinone.Ithadn’treallypenetratedthathewastherespecificallytodie,ifthatwaswhatittooktokeephersafe,yetshe’drecognizedhisfiercedevotion,thelovethatwentbeyondmereduty,andshe’d given him the uncomplicated, uncompromising love of childhood inreturn.

She and James had both clung toLukeBlackett since theYawataStrike,andHonorhadrealizeditwouldbethenextthingtoimpossibletofindsomeoneto replace Jeremiah. Someone the twins would allow close to them after thebrutalamputationofsomany others they’d loved. Theywere smart, sensitivekids; theyweren’tgoingtoexpose themselves to thatsortof lossagain if theycouldhelpit.

Honor understood that, and because she did, she’d known she’d have tocheat.Whichshehad,andsheallowedherselfasenseofsorrow-tingedtriumphas she considered the tall—quite tall, for a Grayson—auburn-haired armsmanbehindFaith.CorporalMicahLaFollethadfinishedhistraininglessthantwoT-

years ago, and some sticklers might consider him a bit junior for his newposition,butFaithhadknownAndrewandMirandaLaFollet’syoungerbrotherforher entire life.Micahwasalready insideherdefensiveshell. In fact, she’dspentmostofthedayaftertheYawataStrikeweepingintohisshoulderoverhisbrother’sandsister’sdeaths.

Andit’swhatMicahneeded,too,Honorthoughtnow.HelovesFaithandJamestopieces,andIdon’tthinkIcouldhavefoundan

assignmentthatwould’vemeantmoretohim.Exceptone,perhaps,shereflected,lookingattheyoungwomanguidingthe

counter-gravdoublestroller.Quick-healhadrepairedLindseyPhillips’broken collarbone, but shewas

nomore immune thananyothermemberofHonor’s family to thedevastatinglosses they’d all suffered. The same shadow had touched her, and she’d dealtwithitbyinvestingherselfevenmoredeeplyinRaoulandKatherine.Honorwasgratefulforthat,yetitwasthetoweringyoungarmsmanbehindthenannywhodrewhereye.

LieutenantVincent Clinkscales had drawn the impossible duty of fillingAndrew LaFollet’s place as Raoul Alfred Alistair Alexander-Harrington’spersonalarmsman.

NoonecouldevertrulyreplaceAndrew.Honorknewitwasunfairtofeelthatway,yetshealsoknewitwastrue.

Inevitable.AndrewLaFollethadbeenwithherthroughtoomuch,giventoomuch, for it to be any otherway. Inmanyways, shewould have preferred toallowMicah to step into his older brother’s place, butMicahwas simply tooyoung, too inexperienced.TheConclaveofSteadholderswouldhavepitchedacollectivetantrumattheverynotion.Theywouldn’thavebeenabletostopher,but that wouldn’t have kept them from trying. And little though she cared toadmitit,theyprobablywouldhavehadapoint.

Thatwaswhyshe’dstolenClinkscalesfromProtector’sPalaceSecurity.Anephew of Howard Clinkscales and the older brother of Commander CarsonClinkscales,hewasseveralyearsolderthanMicah.Infact,hewasoldenoughtohave been restricted to first-generation prolong, which would make him lookreassuringlymaturetoHonor’sfellowsteadholdersinanotherfewT-years.AndtheClinckscales Clanwas officially sept to theHarringtonClan,whichmadeVincentlegallyHonor’snephew.Noteventhestodgieststeadholdercouldarguewith that qualification, and he’d amply demonstrated both his ability and hisloyalty.

AndifIstilldon’tknowhimaswellasIknewAndrew,that’strueofeveryothermemberoftheGuard,shethoughtsadly.They’reallgone,now.Everyone

ofmyoriginalarmsmen.Oh, don’t be so maudlin , Honor! she scolded herself a moment later.

Vincent’saperfectlywonderfulyoungman,oryouwouldn’thavepickedhiminthe firstplace.And ifhe’snotAndrew,neither isanyoneelse.So isn’t itabouttimeyoustoppeddwellingonthatandlethimbewhoeverhehas tobe to takecareofRaoul?

Nimitzmadeasoftsoundofmingledsympathyandscoldingfromhisperchbesideher,andshesmiledathim.

“I’mworkingon it, Stinker,” she said softly, touching the tip of his nosewithherindexfinger.“I’mworkingonit.”

He caught her finger in one true-hand and squeezed, and she tasted hisapproval. Then she looked back at the approaching group and found herselfsmilinginamusementasshecountednoses.

Itreallyislikewatchinganarmy,shethought.It’sapityMacdidn’tcomealongwiththem;Emilywould’vehadanevendozenifhehad!Andit’sagoodthingtheterraceisasbigasitis,too.

“Hi,Emily,”shecalledasthecavalcadecamecloser.“DidMacsendyoutofetchusforsupper?”“Not yet,” Emily replied wryly. “In fact, I decided it was time to

demonstratemyindependencebycomingtogetyouonmyown.IfigureIbeathissummonsbyacleartwominutes.Maybeeventhree.”

“Alwaysmistressofyourownfate,Isee,”Honorobserved.“Huh!You’re a fine one to talk! You think I haven’t figured out whose

whimofsteelreallyrulesyourmenagerie?”“Nonsense.” Honor elevated her nose. “He’s simply developed a keen

appreciation forwhat I want to be doing anyway. It just happens that what IchooseiswhatMacthinksIoughttobedoingatanygivenmoment.I’malwaysperfectlyfreetochangemymindorrefusetogoalongwithhim.”

“Sureyouare.”Emily’schairreachedthem,andFaithandJamesswarmedforward.Theyweretoobignowtoclimbintotheiruncle’slap,buthewrappedhisarmsaroundthem,andEmilysmiledathim.“WasHonorthismendaciousasachild?”

“Mendacious?” Benton-Ramirez y Chou repeated thoughtfully afterdepositing welcoming kisses on his niece and nephew. He cocked his head,considering theword, then shrugged.“Iwouldn’t saymendacious somuch asableto…creativelyreconstructherworldatneed,let’ssay.”

“Yes,andshegotitfromheruncle,”AllisonHarringtoninterjected.“Well from someone with the same genetic package, at least.” Benton-

RamirezyChousmiledsweetlyathis twin.“For thatmatter,Alley,you’re the

geneticist.Youknownurturetrumpsnatureincaseslikethis.SomuchasI’dliketo,Idon’treallythinkIcanhonestlyclaimthecredit.”

“Oh,stopit,bothofyou.”Honorshookherhead.“Whatevermy faultsmaybe—and I’msure they’re legion—Idon’t think

eitherofyouisbraveenoughtoletMac’sdinnergetcold,either.Sowhydon’twealljustheadbackandletthetwoofyoufinishthreshingoutwho’stoblameforthedreadfulwayIturnedoutoversupper?”

“Mygoodness,youreallyareasuperiorstrategist, aren’tyou?”herunclereplied.“Whowould’vethoughtit?”

ChapterThirteenThebedsidecom’sripplingattentionsignalwasquietanddiscreet,almost

apologetic,yetHonor’seyesopenedinstantly.

Itwasstilldarkoutsidethebedroomwindows,butjustthefaintestedgeofdawn gilded the horizon. It brought back memories, that knife-edge of light.MemoriesofsleepySphinxiandawns,before theQueen’sNavyhadgiftedherwiththat instantaneous transitionbetweensleepandawareness.MemoriesofayoungerHonorHarringtonwhonowseemedincrediblyfaraway…andfarmoreinnocentthanthewomanlookingoutthosewindowsthispredawnmorning.Forjustan instant,as shesaw thatglowkiss theeasternsky, shewishedshewerestill that teenaged girl looking out her bedroomwindow at the four hundred-year-old greenhouse and the ancient, ninety-meter crown oak, its bark carvedwithStephanieHarrington’s initialsand thename“Lionheart.” The girlwho’dnever worn the uniform, who had no blood upon her hands, no burden ofbeloveddead,andforwhomtheuniversewasanew,unstainedpromiseon thehorizon.

That edge of grief, that flare of loss, flashed through her, sharper than arazorandcruelerthanwinter,intheinstantthechimesrousedher.Itstruckherinthat first moment, before her defenses were back in place, and she clenchedinternally.But then,almostbefore the razorhadcut, she feltanotherpresence.Two more presences: the loving glow from the sleeping ’cat on his bedsideperch, and the warm, deeply breathing presence at her back, arms wrappedprotectivelyabouthereveninsleep.

Theyweretherewithher,NimitzandHamish.Theywerethereforher,justastheyalwayswouldbe,remindersthattheuniversewasfilledwithevenmorelovethanloss.

Thenthechimessangagain,andshepattedthehandonherribs.“Um?”avoiceutteredindistinctly.Unlike Honor, Hamish Alexander-Harrington seldom woke without a

struggle.Or, rather,hehadanability (whichHonor frequently envied but hadnevermanagedtoacquire)toturntheNavy’shardwired“WakeUpNow”

switchoffandthenonagainasneeded.Atthemoment,heclearlyhaditinthe“off”position,andshepattedhishandagain,harder.

“Wh’zat?”Hedidn’tsoundanyclearer,soshejabbedwithareasonablygentleelbow.“Urruuff!”Thatgothisattention,andshesmotheredagiggleashetwitchedawake.“Oneofushastotakethatcall,”sheobserved,stillgazingoutthewindows

asthecomchimedyetagain.“So?” His voice was still soft-edged with sleep, but she tasted his

amusementaninstantbeforehislipsnuzzledunderherbraidtonibblethenapeofherneckwithslow,teasingthoroughness.“Andyou’retellingmethisexactlywhy?”heinquiredbetweengentlenips.

“Becausethecomisonyoursideofthebed,”shetoldhimseverely.“Andbecause—stopthat!”

“Stopwhat?”heaskedinnocently,andshesighedasthehandshe’dpattedearliercuppedherbreast.“Oh.Youmeanstopthis?”

“No…Imean,yes!”She laughed and twisted in his arms, turning to face himandputtingher

own arms around him. She kissed him thoroughly while the com continuedpatiently(andwithsteadilyrisingvolume)tochimefortheirattention.

“Idon’tthinkyoureallydomeanthat,”hetoldher.“That’sbecauseyou’reawicked, evil fellowwho knowsme entirely too

well.”Theseverityofher tonewassomewhatunderminedwhenshepausedinmid-sentence to kiss him again, and she felt Nimitz’s and Samantha’s silentlaughterastheyrousedontheirperches.

“Andit’salsobecauseI’maweak,easilydistractedpersonwhohasn’thadnearly enough time to do this sort of thing in the last few months,” shecontinued.“ButMacorSpencerwouldn’tletcallsthroughatthisungodlyhour—

especially not since they both know I’m aweak, easily distracted personwhohasn’thadnearlyenoughtimetodothissortofthinginthelastfewmonths—if it weren’t important. So”—she drew back languorously, then pokedsuddenlywitharigidforefinger—“answerthecom!”

“Yourealizeyou’regoingtopayforthatlater,”Hamishsaidashesatup,rubbinghisribcage.“I’mlookingforwardtoit,”shetoldhimwithasmile,thenreachedoutto

touchthesideofhisface.“Andthankyou,”shesaidsoftly.“Thankme?”Heraisedaquizzicaleyebrow.“Thankmeforwhat?”“Forbeingyou…andforbeinghere.”His blue eyes softened, and he cupped a palm over the hand still on his

cheek.“You’rewelcome,YourGrace.Anditworksbothways,youknow.”She nodded,wishing he could taste her emotions as clearly as she tasted

his.Youknow,that’ssortofunreasonableofyou,shetoldherselfashepunched

the“audioonly”acceptkey.Howmanypeopleare luckyenough tohavewhatyoualreadyhavewithhimandEmily?Iknowit’shumannaturetoalwayswantmore,butlet’snotgettoogreedy,okay?

“Yes?”Hamishsaid.“I’msorrytodisturbyou,Milord,”JamesMacGuiness’voiceresponded.“That’s all right,Mac. I thinkwewere about togetup anyway.”Hamish

gave Honor a wicked, laughing look, then glanced at the time and grimaced.“Forthatmatter,I’vegotthatearlymeetingatAdmiraltyHouse,andIneedtobeintheairinthenextcoupleofhours.”

“I know,Milord. In fact, that’s one reason I went ahead and woke you.DoctorArif’s on the com forHerGrace, FTL from Sphinx.And I think HerGraceshouldprobablytakethecallbeforeyouleave,Milord.”

“Ibegyourpardon?”HamishfrownedatHonor,whoshrugged.She had no idea why Adelina Arif might screen her this early, or why

MacGuinessthoughtHamishshouldbepartoftheconversation,but…“Askhertoholdafewmoreseconds,please,Mac,”shesaid,raisinghervoice.“Ofcourse,YourGrace,”hereplied,andHamishmutedthecom.“Ithinkweshouldgoaheadandgetdecent,”Honorcontinued,givingher

husbandonemorepeckonthecheekbeforesherolledoutofbed.“Somepeople,”hereturned, surveying herwith obvious approval, “wake

updecentbecausetheywearpajamas,youknow.”

“No,really?”Shelaughedandstretchedluxuriously,archingherspineandsavoring the sharp, bright flicker of desire flowing throughhis emotions, thenscoopedupherkimonoandslippedinto it.“Doesn’t thatwastea lotof time?”sheaskedinnocently.

“Andyoucalledmeawicked,evilfellow!Acaseofthepotandthekettle,don’tyouthink?”

“Certainlynot.”Shesniffedvirtuously.“I’mnota‘fellow’!”“No,you’renot,thankGod,”heconcededfervently.“I’mgladyouapprove.Nowgetyourbuttoutofbedandintoarobe!”

“Yes,YourGrace.Atonce,YourGrace.Asyoucommand,YourGrace,”he

saidobsequiously,andduckedasshehurledapillowathim.***“Allright,Mac,”shesaidafewminuteslater,seatedatherworkstationin

theirsuite’scomfortablesittingroom.Hamishsatbesideher,casuallydressedinapullovershirtandslacks.“PleaseputDr.Arifthrough.”

“Yes,Ma’am.”Thedisplayblankedbriefly.Thenanattractive,dark-complexionedwoman

lookedoutofitather.“Adelina,”Honorsaid.“It’sgoodtoseeyou.”“Andyou,too,YourGrace.”Thewomanwho’dtaughtthetreecatstosign

smiledafterabrieflag.Despitethefactthatshewasseverallight-minutesaway,inherofficeonSphinx,thedelaywaslittlemorethantenseconds.“Iapologizefor screening so early, though.” Her smile turned a bit sheepish. “Actually, Ihadn’trealizeditwasquitethisearlyforyou.Icountedthetimezoneswrong.”

“That’sallright,”Honorassuredher,andglancedatHamish.“Weneededtogetupearlythismorning,anyway.”

“Ihopeyou’renotjustsayingthattomakemefeelbetter,”Arifchuckledahandful of seconds later. “Anyway, though, thereasonI’m disturbing you thisearlyisthatsomethingcameupaboutthirty-fiveminutesago,andIthoughtyououghttohearaboutitASAP.”

Honorcockedherheadandfrowned.Ifshehadthenumbersright,thetimein Arif’s office in the Sphinxian town of Green Bottom was just pastCompensate,the

“midnighthour”(thirty-sevenminutes,actually)insertedintothemiddleofSphinx’snightto“roundout”thetwenty-fivestandard-hourplanetaryday.

“You’reupkindoflate,aren’tyou,Adelina?”

“I think everybody’s working strange hours lately, Your Grace,” Arifreplied.“Although,whenIrealizedI’ddraggedMacoutofbed,Istartedtotellhimnottodisturbyou.Buthementioneditwasabouttimeforhimtobegettingyouup.Besides”—sheshruggedwithsomething thatwasn’tquiteagrin—“the’catsaresortofinsistentabouttalkingrightnow.They,ah,don’tseemquiteasobsessedwithclocksashumansare.”

“You’vegot thatoneright!”Honorsnorted.“It tookacoupleofyearsforNimitz to catchon that two-legs really cared exactlywhen theygot around todoingsomething.”

Shesmiled.“Actually,itcameinkindofhandyforawhile.I got to be late and blame it on him…untilMom andDaddy figured out

whowasreallytoblame,anyway.”Nimitzmadeanamusedsound,andArifchuckled.“Icanbelievethat.Andmostof the’catsI’vebeenworkingwitharestill

‘wild,’ofcourse.Theyhaven’thadtheadvantageofNimitz’searliertraining.”“No, but they’re probably less stubborn than him, too,” Honor said,

reachinguptostrokeNimitz’sears.“Farbeitfrommetoagreewithyouaboutthat,”Arifsaidabitprimly,and

Nimitz bleeked a laugh as Samantha nodded vigorously from the back ofHamish’schair.

“Anyway,”Arifwenton,herexpressionmoreserious,“earlierthisevening,Iwasdiscussingtoday’sprogresswithSongShadow

whenshesuddenlystopped inmid-sign.She justsat there forseveralseconds,obviously ‘listening’ to someone else. It’s not like her to just stop like that,withoutat leastwarningme,andwhoevershewas talking to, theconversationwentonalongtimefora’cat.Whenitwasover,sheaskedmetosendanaircartoBrightWaterClan.”

Honorfeltherselffrowning.Shewasn’tgoingtointerruptwithquestions—evenwiththegrav-pulsecom,interplanetaryconversationsquicklydisintegratedifpeoplestartedbreakinginononeanother—buthercuriosityburnedbrightlyasshewonderedwherethelinguistwasgoing.

She’d nevermet Song Shadow, but from her name, shewas obviously a“memory singer.”Arifwas still exploring exactlywhatmemory singerswere,butshe’dalready learned enough to recognize theywere absolutely central totreecat society as its historians and teachers. From what Arif had so fardiscovered,amemorysingercouldliterally

“record” and play back the actual experiences of another treecat. In fact,theycouldplaybackcenturiesworthofthoseexperiences.

Honordoubtedanyhuman—evenshe,who’ddevelopedherownversionof

thetreecats’empathy—would ever truly grasp what that meant, appreciate the continuity “mind

songs”bestoweduponatelepathicspecieswhocouldliterally“hear” themind-voicesandexperiencetheveryemotionsoftreecatswho’ddiedcenturiesbeforetheir own birth. But the fact that Samanthawas a memory singer had beencriticaltoArif’ssuccessinteachingthe’catstosign,becauseonceshe’dlearnedhow,she’dbeenableto“teach”anyothertreecatthesamething.

“Isentthecar,ofcourse,”Arifcontinued.“Ittookanhourorso toget toBrightWater’srange,andtheSFC

rangerhadtowaitawhileforallhispassengerstoarrive.ThentheyhadtoflyallthewaytoGreenBottom.”She grimaced, and Honor nodded. Green Bottom was halfway around

SphinxfromBrightWater Clan’s home range.And, she thoughtmore grimly,fromtheruinsofYawataCrossing,aswell.

“Thankstoallthedelays,theyonlygothereaboutanhourago,andIwasmorethanalittlesurprisedbywhoSongShadowhadsentaridefor.”Arifshookherhead.“Itwassevenothermemorysingers.”

Honor felt her eyes widen. One thing they had learned about memorysingerswas that theyvirtuallynever left theirclans’ ranges.Which,ofcourse,raisedthequestionofexactlywhatamemorysingerbythenameofSamanthawasdoingbondedtoahuman.HonorhadtheimpressionthatneitherNimitznorSamanthawasbeingas forthcomingabout thatas theycouldhave,although itwasobviousSamanthawasn’texactlyyourtypicalmemorysinger.

Obviously, there’d always been some exceptions (besides Samantha),especially recently, since memory singers had been involved with Dr. Arif’seffortsfromthebeginning.ButHonordidn’tthinkthere’deverbeenmorethantwoorthreeoftheminGreenBottomatanyonetimebefore.

“I know I don’t have to tell you how surprised I was when the rangeropenedthecardoorandsevenmemorysingerspiledout!”Arifsaidwryly.“I’dmetthreeofthembefore:WindofMemory,Songstress,andEchoofTime.”

HonorpursedherlipsinasilentwhistleasArifnamedall threeofBrightWaterClan’sseniormemorysingers.“SongShadowintroducedtheothersoncetheygottomyoffice.

SongkeeperandClearSongaretheseniorandsecondsingersofLaughingRiverClan.WinterVoiceis theseniorsingerofMoonlightDancingClan.Andthen”—Arif’seyesdarkenedandhervoicedropped—“there’sSorrowSinger.”

Thelinguistswallowed.“She’stheonlysurvivingmemorysingerofBlackRockClan,Honor.”

SamanthaandNimitzkeenedsoftly,andHonorinhaledsharply.

“Ididn’tknowanyofthemhadsurvived,”shesaid,voicesoft,whenArifpaused.“Ithoughttheentireclanhadbeenkilled.”

“As far as Sorrow Singer knows, she’s not just Black Rock’s survivingsinger,”Arifsaidafewsecondslater.

“She’stheonlysurvivor,period.Andtheonlyreasonshe’saliveisthatshewasvisitingMoonlightDancingClan.OneofherlitterbrothershadmarriedintoMoonlight Dancing, and their central range was just far enough away to beoutside the blast area and firestorm.” The linguist shook her head slowly.“MoonlightDancingwascloseenoughitsmemorysingersfeltBlackRockdie…andsodidshe.”

Honor felt her hand press her lips, felt Hamish’s arm encircle her, feltNimitzpressingagainstthebackofherneck,andallshecouldthinkofwasthehorror of a telempath—amemory singer—actually experiencing the deaths ofeveryoneshe’deverknownandloved.

“Idon’tknowhowtheykepther fromsuiciding,”Arif’svoicewassofterthanHonor’shadbeen.“I…havetheimpressionitwasn’teasy.”

HereyesmetHonor’sfromthedisplay,andHonornodded.Treecatswho’dadopted almost never survived the deaths of their human partners. Beforeprolong,thathadbeenthegreattragedyofthebonds,fortreecatsnormallylivedover two hundredT-years, and their humans’ deaths had deprived them of allthoseadditionalyears.Honorcouldthinkofonlytwo’cats inherownlifetimewho’d survived their humans’ deaths: Prince Consort Justin’s companionMonroeandSamantha,herself.WhatitmusthavebeenlikewheneverysinglepersoninSorrowSinger’sClanwasrippedawayfromherinonebrutalinstant…

“Itmusthavebeenterribleforalltheclansinrange,”Arifwentonstarkly,“andMoonlightDancingwasclosestofall.TheSFC

saysthey’velostoveradozen’catssincethestrike,andothersdon’tlookgood.Which made me wonder why in God’s name the clan’s two senior memorysingersweretraipsingofftovisitmeatatimelikethis.”

Stillnesshovered.Then,finally,Honorclearedherthroat.“Why—” She paused, her soprano husky, and cleared her throat again.

“Whyhadtheycome,Adelina?”“IknowNimitzandSamanthawereoff-worldwhenithappened,”Arifsaid

abitobliquely,“butfromwhatSongShadowandtheotherssay,every’catwhowasn’toff-world felt it.Themoredistantclans felt it lessstrongly, thankGod,butevenourcrewhereatGreenBottomgothammered.Trustme,itwas…bad.Reallybad.

“Idon’tknowif they understand exactly how it happened even now, butthey know it was the result of a human attack. Personally, I wouldn’t have

blamed them for turning their backs on all humans, but that’s not the waytreecats’ heads work. Apparently they’ve been passing around Nimitz’sexperienceswithyou,andespeciallywhathappenedwithLieutenantMears,forsometimenow.And,accordingtoSongShadow,they’veoverheardatleastpartof the newscasts about President Pritchart and Dr. Simões; some of the SFCrangers were viewing the news channels during amedical visit to MoonlightDancing. They’ve figured out Nimitz and Samantha must’ve actually metSimões,and theclanswant themtocomehomefor thememorysingers togettheirfirst-handexperiencewithhismind-glow,butIthinkthat’sjustaformality.Theyfigurethatifhewerelying,orifhewerecrazy,Nimitzwouldalready’vetold you. For that matter, they know you can sense emotions. So there’s notmuchquestion in theirminds thatSimões is telling the truth…or thatMesa isbehindeverythingthat’shappened.”

“I’mgladtheydon’tblameusforit,althoughGodknowsIsometimesdo,”Honorsaidsomberly.“Istilldon’tunderstandwhytheywantedtocomeseeyouinperson,though.Forthatmatter,Idon’tseehowSongShadowgotthewordallthewayfromBrightWaterthattheydid!

Nothing I’ve ever seen has suggested they’ve got enough range to reachhalfwayaroundaplanet.”

“I’mprettysuretheyrelayedfromclantoclan,”Arifsaid.“AndthereasontheywantedtoseemeisthatSorrowSingerhasaproposal.”

“A‘proposal’?”Honor’seyesnarrowed.“Whatsortof‘proposal’?”“Shewantstotellyouherself,”Arifreplied,andaslender,dappledbrown

andwhiteformjumpedintoherlapandintohercom’sfieldofview.Thetreecatsat up on her rearmost limbs, facing the com, her eyes and body languagesomber.Shelookedsosmall,sofragile,Honorthought,feelingthetearsat thebackofherowneyes.

“SorrowSinger?”sheaskedsoftly,andthetreecatnodded.Honorwantedtoreachoutandhugthatdistant’cat.To share with her the depth of her own grief for what had happened to

Sorrow Singer’s clan. Her sense of guilt that humans— any humans—couldhavecausedsuchanatrocity.

But shecouldn’t,andsoshesimplybentherhead ina smallhalfbowofacknowledgment.

SorrowSingerinclinedherownheadinresponse.Thenherhandsrose,andshe began to sign with a flowing grace that somehow communicated abottomlessseaofsadness.

<Iknowofyou,DancesonClouds,> thosegraceful fingers said. <I have

tastedyourmind-glowinthesongsfromLaughsBrightly.AndsincetheDayofSorrow,WindofMemory andEchoofTimehave sung the songsof all thosewhocamebeforeyou,aswell.Ihavetastedthemall,evenDeathFang’sBaneherself.Iknowyourclan.>Herhandsemphasizedtheverb,andasHonorlookedintothosebottomlessgreeneyes,sherealizedwhatSorrowSingermeant.Thatfor the treecats, themind-glows of all who’d gone beforewere still available,still there, as long as the chain of singerswas unbroken. In a very real sense,SorrowSingerhadactuallymetStephanieHarrington,Honor’sownancestor,theveryfirsthumaneveradoptedbya treecat,andHonorfeltastrange, powerfulenvy.

“IwishIcouldsharethosememorieswithyou,”sheheardherselfsay.“I’vealwayswishedIcouldhaveknownher.”

<Youwouldhavelikedher,>SorrowSingersigned.<Indeed,Ithinkshewasmuchlikeyouinmanyways.Butinalltheyears

since she and ClimbsQuickly bonded, Death Fang’s BaneClan has been thePeople’s friend and protector. We know what your clan has done for us. Weknowwhatyouhavedoneforus.Andnow,itistimeforustoprotectyou.>

For amoment,Honorwas certain she must have misread those flowingfingers.Protecther?Protecther,whenhumanshaddestroyedSorrowSinger’sentireclan?

“Nimitzhas alreadyprotectedmemany times,” she said. “And I’vedonemybesttoprotecthim.That’swhatyoudowhenyoulovesomeone.”

<I know that,> Sorrow Singer replied, and her tail flirted as if in a sadlaugh.<IcouldnothavetastedtheBrightWatermemorysongswithouttastingyourloveforLaughsBrightlyandhisloveforyou,DancesonClouds.ButthatwasnotwhatImeant.>

“Then,forgiveme,butwhatdoyoumean?”<The evildoerswho destroyedmy clan,who have destroyed somuch of

DeathFang’sBane’sClan,whohavebroughtsuchsorrowtothePeopleandtoour two-legs, cannot be allowed to do stillmore evil.>Now Sorrow Singer’sfingersmovedwith a flat, somehow terrible emphasis. <We know— I know,from your mind-glow—that you will die to prevent that. That your friendsamongthetwo-legs,eventhosewehavenevermetortasted,willdothesame.Thatyouwillstoptheirevil,whateverthecost,howeverlongitmaytake.Andwe know from the stories we have heard over the “HD”>—she signed theobviouslyunfamiliartermcarefully—<thattheevildoerswhoslewmyclanhavetriedtoslayyou,aswell.Thattheyforcedoneyoulovedtoattackyouagainsthiswill.Ihavetastedthat, too,inBrightWater’smemorysongs.Anditseemslikelythatiftheyhavetriedonce,theywilltryagain.Andagain.

Nottoslayonlyyou,butalsoSoulofSteelorothersofyourgreatelders.>Shepausedagain,andHonornodded.“I’m afraid you’re right,” she said soberly. “And we don’t know how

they’redoingit.Howtostopthem.”<Nor do the People,> Sorrow Singer said. <But unlike two-legs— other

two-legs,at least—thePeoplecan tastemind-glows.Wedonotknow how theevildoersmakeothersdotheirbidding,butwecanrecognizethemomentwhenithappens.FromLaughsBrightly’smemories,weknownowwhattolookfor.Ibelievewecouldtasteitevensoonerwiththatknowledge…andgiveothertwo-legsatleastsomewarning.>

Honor inhaled sharply. She looked at SorrowSinger for several seconds,thenspokeverycarefully.

“We’vethought—I’vethought—aboutthatpossibility,”she admitted. “As you say, Nimitz recognized the same fear, the same

desperation,IsawinTimthatday.Andfromthesecurityfootageoftheattemptto assassinateBerryZilwicki, JudsonVanHale andGenghis recognized thosesamethings in thekiller theysentafterher.So,yes, I’ve thoughtabout it.ButGenghiswasbondedtoVanHalejustlikeNimitzisbondedtome.Theytriedtoprotecteachotherbecausetheylovedeachother,justlikeNimitzandIloveeachother.AndGenghisdied,SorrowSinger,justlikeNimitzcouldhavediedtryingto stopTimothy.” She shook her head. “Like I said, you protect the ones youlove.”

<AndyouwouldnothavethePeopleriskthemselvesforthosetheydonotlove,>SorrowSingersigned,andgaveaslow,human-stylenod.<ThatiswhatIwould have expected from you,Dances on Clouds. But this choice is for thePeople,andwehavemadeit.SpeaksfromSilence>—

shenoddedagain,this time inArif’sdirection—<has labored long tohelpus find ways we may become true partners with our two-leg neighbors, asGoldenVoiceurged.Nowwehavefoundone,andonewhichwillallowusinatleastsomesmallwaytostrikebackagainsttheslayersofmyclan.>

Thesmall,dappledcreaturegazedintoHonor’seyesoncemore.<The People know how to deal with those who would slay us,> her

implacable fingers saidwith iron determination. <We know how to deal withthosewhowouldslaythosewelove.DonotforgethowDeathFang’sBaneandClimbsQuicklyfirstmet.Theyfought,andtheybled,andeachalmostdied fortheother.Nowitisourturn,andwewishyoutogotoSoulofSteelandTruthSeeker.Tell themthePeople—all thePeopleof thisentireworld—knowwhowouldprotectthemandwhowouldslaythem.Weknowhowyouandyourclanhavealwayslovedandprotectedandshieldedusfromharm,DancesonClouds.

But the timehas come for that to change, andwedonot choose tobekittensforever. If youwould guard us, thenwe will guard you, and ifwe die as FarClimberdid,asClimbsQuicklyalmostdid,asLaughsBrightlyhasalmostdiedforyouandyouforhim,thenwewilldie.Butwewillnothide.Wewillnotbechildren.Ifyouwillfightforallthisworld,forallofus,thenwewill fight foryou.>ChapterFourteen

InnokentiyKolokoltsovconsideredthemessageonhisdisplay.Well,it’shardlyasurprise,hethought.AndIthoughtIwasreadyforit.But

I don’t suppose anyone could reallybe ready for something like this. And theMantiesarecapitalizingonit,damnthem.

He didn’t know how the newsies had first gotten wind of “OperationRaging Justice,” but any secret had a limited shelf life. Sooner or later,somebody always “outed” it, either for some advantage they might gain orsimplyfortheegostrokingnewsiesgavethose“unnamedsources.”

Anditdidn’tmatterwhatthesecretwas.Itcouldbethatsomepoliticalorbureaucratic rival was maintaining a clandestine love nest on the taxpayer’scredit,oritcouldbealiterallylifeordeathoperationlikeRagingJustice.Itwasallgristforthemill,asfarastheleakerswereconcerned.

Sohowevermuchhe’dhated the thoughtof telling theMantieswhatwascoming,ithadscarcelybeenasurprise.

Andneitherhadtheirresponse.Bythistime,hehadasizablefileofmessagesfromSirLymanCarmichael,

Manticore’s ambassador to the Solarian League. The first dozen or so hadmaintained thediplomatic fiction that theLeagueand the Star Empireweren’tyetactuallyatwarandsimplyrequested

“clarification” of “unconfirmed news reports” of SLN fleet movements.Overthenextweekorso, though,asKolokoltsovsystematically ignored them,they’dseguedfrom“requests”intoforthrightdemands.

Bynow,Carmichaelwasn’t evenpretendingManticoredidn’tknowwhatwas headed itsway, and his communications had become increasingly blunt.Likethepresentone.

Kolokoltsovpressedthebutton,startingCarmichaelinmid-sentence.“—doneourbest to convinceyouandyour colleagues to see reason,Mr.

Permanent Senior Undersecretary,” the Manticoran said flatly, pointedlyjettisoningthefictionthathewasactuallyaddressingForeignMinisterRoelasyValiente. “You, however, have steadfastly ignored our warnings, rejected anyattempttoreachadiplomatic resolutionof thecrisisprovokedentirelybyyourmilitary’sactions,andcontinuedtoprepareadditionalmilitaryoperationsagainsttheStarEmpire.We’veendeavoredthroughnonmilitaryresponsestoindicateat

leastsomeofthepotentialcostsofyouractions.Obviously,theinterruptionsanddamageyourinterstellarcommerceisalreadysufferingasaconsequenceofyourintransigence have failed to get through to you. Now, with all the hyena-like‘courage’ we’ve come to associate with Admiral Rajampet and his navy ofgallantmurderers,you’reclearlypreparingtotakeadvantageofthecatastrophicdamageinflictedupontheOldStarKingdominFebruary.

“I’ve warned you repeatedly, on behalf of my Empress and myGovernment,oftheextraordinaryrisksyouruninpursuingsuchapolicy.Iwarnyouagain,now,formally, thatyourobviousbelief thatourdefenseshavebeencrippled by what’s become known as the Yawata Strike is in error. If FleetAdmiral Filareta attacks the Manticore Binary System, he won’t simply bedefeatedasAdmiralCrandallwasinherattackonSpindle.Hewillbedestroyed,andifthereportednumberofsuperdreadnoughtsassignedtohimisaccurate,thelossoflifeamongSolariannavalpersonnelwillbeunconscionable.Wehavenodesiretokillhundredsofthousandsofmenandwomenwhoseonly‘crime’willbeobedienceto thelawfulordersofsuperiors tooarrogant torecognizerealitywhentheyseeit.Itwouldappear,however,thatyouandyourcolleaguesintendtoleaveusnochoice.

“The Star Empire of Manticore therefore formally demands that youimmediatelydispatchtotheManticoreBinarySystemviatheBeowulfTerminusoftheJunctionanofficerwithsufficientauthoritytoorderFleetAdmiralFilaretatostanddown.Assumingpressreportsofthisoperation’stimingareasaccurateasIhavereasontobelievetheyare,there’sstilltime—ifonlybarely—forthoseorderstoreachManticorebeforeFleetAdmiralFilareta.Wecannotorderhimtodisregardordershewasgivenbylawfulsuperiors;youcan.Ifyoudeclinetodoso,theresponsibilityforwhateverhappenswill liesquarelyonyourshoulders,and theStarEmpirewillbeprepared toproducecopiesofmy correspondencewithyou,initsentirety,inanyfuturedisputeoverwhobears responsibility foranyconsequencesofyourmostrecentunilateralaggressionagainstasovereignstarnation.

Moreover, under the circumstances, Her Majesty’s Government will notconsider itself bound to maintain the confidentiality of our correspondencewherethepressisconcerned.”

He paused, obviously giving that last sentence time to sink in, thencontinuedinthesameflat,uncompromisingtone.

“It’snotyettoolatetopreventadisasterofstaggeringdimensions.Wewilldoallwecan tominimize thecatastrophicconsequencesof thisconfrontation.Weinviteyou—weimploreyou,inthenameofyourownmilitarypersonnel—tostop this now. If you decline this opportunity, if you refuse to act, be certain

historywillknowexactlywheretoassignthebloodguiltforthemassacrewhichwillmostcertainlyensue.”

Isupposethat’saboutasbluntasitcomes,Kolokoltsovthought,andshookhishead.Evennow,hecouldn’tquitebelieveanyonewouldaddresstheSolarianLeague like that. Despite everything—despite Crandall’s devastating defeat,despitetheManties’provocativeclosureofwormholebridgesandjunctions—hestillcouldn’tquitebelieveitdeepdowninside.

Whichisstupidofme.IfIhaven’tfiguredoutanythingelsebynow,IshouldatleasthaverealizedthatwhateverelseMantiesmaybe,theysureashellaren’timpressed by the League’s reputation! Not anymore. It may be ultimatelysuicidal,giventhedifferenceinourresourcesandpopulations,but thatdoesn’tchangethewaytheyfeel.

Of course, even if they were actually terrified, they’d be sending himexactlythissortofcorrespondence.

Diplomatic threats cost nothing, and the temptation to run a bluff, toconvinceKolokoltsovtheycoulddotoFilaretawhatthey’ddonetoCrandall—especially if they really couldn’t— had to be overwhelming. If they couldfrightenhimintocallingFilaretaoff,theyranthetablewithouthavingtofireasinglemissile.Whichwouldalso just happen to save them if theydidn’t haveanymissileslefttofire.

Which is all well and good, but doesn’t change the fact that they mayactuallybeable todoexactlywhatCarmichael’s threatening.And if theyare ,and if they really are prepared to hand all their notes to someone likeO’Hanrahan…

His expression turned bleak as he contemplated just how damaging thepublicationofCarmichael’scorrespondencecouldproveifthingswenttohellonFilareta.Yetitwouldbealmostasdamagingtotaketheambassador’s“advice.”SendingthestanddownordersManticorewasdemandingcouldonlybeseenasasignofweakness.ItwoulddamagetheLeague’sprestigestillfurther,andthatcouldonlyworsentheconsequencestheyallfearedintheVergeandtheShell,whichdidn’tevenconsiderthepersonalconsequencestohimandhiscolleagues.Or,forthatmatter,thepotentialconstitutionaltrainwreckwheneveryonebeganassigningblameand,intheprocess,revealedjusthowthreadbarethepretenseofrepresentativegovernmentintheSolarianLeaguetrulywas.

Butifwedon’torderhimtostanddownanditturnsoutremotelyasbadlyasCarmichael’swarningusitwill,we’llhaveallofthoseconsequencesplusthedeathsofthousandsofourownspacers!

Heconsideredcallingyet anothermeeting to considerCarmichael’s latestmessage,butwhatcoulditaccomplish?

Theotherswouldargue,they’dworry,trytoweaselaround intoapositionwhichheapedtheblameoneveryoneelse,andintheenddecidetodowhatheand,perhaps,MacArtneysuggested.And the truthwas,God help him, that hecouldn’tseeanychoicebuttocontinuebackingRajampet’sstrategy.

Itwassimplytoolatetomakeanyotherdecision.Besides, everything I’ve been able to dig up onFilareta suggests he’s at

leastfourorfivetimesassmartasCrandallwas.AndheknowswhathappenedatSpindle.

IftheMantiesreallyareinapositiontochewhimupandspithimout,he’ssmart enough to stand down on his own rather than get his fleet killed fornothing.That’dbebadenough,butahellofalotlessbadthanactuallygettinghimselfblownoutofspace!

AndrelyingonFilaretatobesmartenoughalsojusthappenedtoavoidtheconsequencesofcavingintoCarmichael’sdemandswithouteventryingtofindoutiftheywereabluff.

***“I’m afraid there’s been some misunderstanding, Admiral,” the dark-

skinned man on Fleet Admiral Imogene Tsang’s display said. “The Beowulfgovernmenthasclearlystateditsoppositiontoyourproposedmovement.Infact,we’ve informedbothFleetAdmiralRajampet and PrimeMinisterGyulay thatthePlanetaryBoard ofDirectors declines to authorize or permit the transit ofSolarian naval vessels through this terminus at this time. If that informationwasn’t transmitted to you prior to your departure for Beowulf, I’m officiallyinformingyouofitnow.”

“I’m not privy to your system government’s communications with thePrimeMinisterortheAdmiralty,DirectorCaddell-Markham,”Tsangrepliedinareasonably courteousbut firm tone, “I do, however, haveorders to transit thisterminuswithmytaskforcetosupportEleventhFleet’soperations.Thoseordersaren’tdiscretionary,noraretheypreconditionedonanyone’spermissionorlackof permission. For myself, I’ll simply observe that my understanding of theConstitution is that federal authority is paramount in circumstances such asthese.I’llalsoconcedethatImaybemistakeninthatunderstanding,andifIam,Isincerelyapologizeforanythingwhichmayseemtooverstepmyauthority.

Nonetheless, I remain bound by the orders I’ve received frommy lawfulsuperiors.”

“Isuggestyouconsiderthatverycarefully,Admiral.”

Gabriel Caddell-Markham’s voice was considerably colder than Tsang’shadbeen.“Theconfrontationbetween theLeagueand theStarEmpirehas the

potentialtobecomethemostdisastrouscollisioninhumanhistory.It’sthebeliefof theBeowulf government that the situation is being manipulated by forcesinimicaltoboththeLeagueandtheStarEmpireandthatwewouldbederelictinourduty—andourresponsibilitytothehumanraceingeneral,notsimplytothecitizensoftheBeowulfSystem—ifwecontributedtothatdisaster.Wehavenointentionofdoing so, andwith all duedeference toyourunderstandingof theConstitution,it’souropinionthatthefederalgovernmentgrosslyoversteppeditspowerby issuingyour orders.There’s beennodeclarationofwar, andArticleFiveoftheConstitutionspecificallydenies thefederalgovernmentauthority todictatetosystemgovernmentsintimeofpeace.Asaconsequence,theBeowulfSystem’s government is under no requirement to assist you in thismovement,andourpersonnelandcitizenswillnotassistyou.

“The Beowulf Terminus is administered and controlled by the BeowulfTerminus Corporation, a civilian corporation based in Beowulf, but theTerminus’actualsovereigntyrestswithManticore,asitsdiscoverer.

Whether or not we would have the legal authority to allow you passageagainstManticore’swill,evenifwewishedto,isaquestioncomplexenoughtokeepbattalionsoflawyersbusyfordecades.ButthebottomlineisthatneitherwenortheBTChaveanydesiretoassistyouinthismadnesstobeginwithandthat virtually all the personnel manning the traffic control platforms on theterminusareBeowulfan citizens.Solarian citizens—civilians—overwhom theSolarianmilitaryhasnojurisdictionintimeofpeace.

For that matter, the Solarian military has no jurisdiction over Solarianciviliansevenin timeofwarunlessa legitimatedeclarationofmartial lawhasfirstbeenissued.

Nonehas.Sincethat’sthecase,theBeowulfSystemDefenseForcewouldbe morally, legally, and constitutionally justified in protecting our citizensagainst illegal coercion by whatever means may be necessary. And in case Ihaven’tbeensufficientlyclear,‘whatevermeansmaybenecessary’doesincludetheuseofdeadlyforce.”

“Mr.Director,areyouactually threatening to fireon theSolarianLeagueNavy?”Tsangdemanded,browneyeswidening.

“I’m telling you as an official representative of the Beowulf PlanetaryBoardofDirectorsthatwewillnotassistyouinmakingtransit,thatBTC’sastrocontrolpersonnelwillrefuseyourorderstodoso,andthatshouldyouattempttounlawfullycoercethemintodoingso,wewillresist.Ifyoupersistdespitethatwarning—ifshotsarefiredandbloodisspilled—itwillbeaconsequenceoftheunconstitutional actions of the federal government, and Beowulf will not beresponsibleforthepotentialconsequencesfor theLeague’sstabilitywhichwill

undoubtedlyfollow.Idon’tknowhowIcanbeanyclearerthanthat.AndsinceI’ve been as clear as I know how to be, I see no point in continuing thisconversation.Goodday,Admiral.”

The display blanked, and Tsang sat looking at it for several seconds,grapplingwiththefactthatCaddell-MarkhamhadliterallyhunguponaseniorflagofficeroftheSolarianNavy.Asfarassheknew,nothinglikethathadeverhappenedintheSLN’sentireprevioussevenandahalfcenturies.

Finally, she shookherself and lookedupat theofficer across thebriefingroomtable.AdmiralPierreTakeuchi,TaskForce11.6’schiefofstaff,lookedjustas astonished as shewas (and, she thought, evenmore outraged) byCaddell-Markham’speremptorydeparture.

“ArethesepeopleascrazyasthoseMantylunatics?”Tsangdemandedrhetorically.Sheshookherhead.“Where thehelldoesa

cabinetministerofanysystemgovernment—andIdon’tcareifitisafriggingCoreWorldgovernment—comeofftalkingtothefederalgovernmentthatway?!”“Idon’tknow,butsomebodyclearlyneedshisasskickedupbetween his

ears,Ma’am!”Takeuchirepliedharshly.“And,frankly,apartofmewisheshisdamnsystem-defenseforcereallywouldtrytostopus.”

Tsang grunted in agreement, but her brain was busy with the potentialramifications.Andwiththatsecretclauseofherorders.Shehadn’tlikeditwhenshe’d seen it, but she’d comforted herself that itwas going to remain amootpoint. Now it looked like it might not, and the potential consequences of theBeowulfers’positionappalledher.

Her task force consisted of just over a hundred superdreadnoughts,accompaniedbytwodozensupplyshipsandtransportsandscreenedbytwenty-fivecruisersandfortydestroyers.Thatwasahellofalotmoretonnagethanshecouldpossibly fit through theBeowulfTerminus ina simultaneous transit,butthe ops plan called for her to provide additional reinforcements for the mainbodyofEleventhFleetaftertheManties’surrender.Anditwasalsothenextbestthing to three times the total combat strength of theBeowulf SystemDefenseForce’s thirty-six superdreadnoughts. If theBeowulferswere stupid enough toprovoke a shooting incident, it would be a very short and—from theirperspective—veryuglyaffair.

That’sprobablywhatCrandallwasthinkingbeforeSpindle,acornerofherbrainsuggested,butthenshescowled.

Maybeso,shetoldthatcorner,butCrandallwasgoingupagainstManties,and whatever new designs theMantiesmay’ve come up with, we knowwhat

Beowulf has. Oh, they might have a couple of little wrinkles we don’t knowabout,buttheysureashelldon’thavetheManties’newdamneddesigns!Iftheydid,we’dknowaboutitalready.

“They’vegottobebluffing,Ma’am,”Takeuchisaid.“They can’t really want to get thousands of their people killed just to

protectabunchofneobarbsagainsttheirfellowSolarians!”“You’re probably right,” Tsang agreed. “At the same time, let’s not let

ourselvesinvesttoomuchconfidenceinthattheory.”“Areyou—Forgiveme,Ma’am,butareyouserious?”Takeuchidemanded,andshebarkedanunhappylaugh.“Idon’tknow,”sheadmitted.“But this isBeowulf,Pierre.Therestof the

LeaguemayseetheMantiesasneobarbs,butBeowulf’srightontheothersideof their Junction. Beowulfers have been marrying Manties for centuries, andtheydoonehellofalotofbusinesswitheachother.That’sboundtoshapehowtheyseeManticore.

Worse,they’reprobablytheonlypeopleintheexploredgalaxywho’reevenmoreparanoidaboutMesathanManticoreis!Youknowthey’verejectedMesa’sversion of Green Pines, and from what Caddell-Markham just said, theirgovernmentofficiallybuysthisMantyfantasyaboutsomekindofplotcomingout of Mesa. So, yeah, I think it is possible—remotely possible—they mightordertheirwallerstofireonusifwetrytocarryoutourorders.”

“Ifyousayso,Ma’am.”ItwasobviousfromTakeuchi’stonethathefounditdifficult towraphismindaroundthepossibilitythatshemighthaveapoint.“Iftheydo,though,whatdowedo?”heasked.

“Well,” she said, thinking about that secret clause yet again…and of thecatastrophic consequences to thecareerof any flagofficerwho failed to carryout Fleet Admiral Rajampet Rajani’s orders at this juncture in the SolarianLeagueNavy’shistory,“given thedisparity incombat power between the taskforce and theBSDF, there’s noway in hell they could actually stop us. Theyhave to know that as well as we do. So if it looks like they’re genuinelycontemplatingforcibleresistance,we’llgive themtheirchoices:standdownorbefiredupon.Andiftheychoosenottostanddown,thenwewillfireonthem.”

ChapterFifteen“Youknow,”ElizabethWintonsaidconversationally,“justtheotherdayIwassayingtoWillie,‘Willie,’Isaid,‘weneedtogetsomeregularizationintothisbusinessofvisitingheadsof

state.’”Sheshookherhead.“SomehowIsuspectwe’restillbehindthecurveonthat.”

“No!Youthink?”Honorrepliedwithagrin.

She and the Empress stood watching a sting ship-escorted shuttle droptowardstheMountRoyalPalacepad,andhersmilefadedasshebroughtupherartificial left eye’s telescopic function and zoomed in on the shuttle’s boldlyemblazonedBible and crossed swords. Itwas the first time that blazonry hadeverbeenseenoutsidetheYeltsinSystem.

“Fair’sfair,”shesaidafteramoment, turningbacktoElizabeth.“At leastthisheadofstatedidn’tjustturnuptotallyunannounced.”

“Oh,heavens,no!Why,wehadanentireday’snotice!”Theempressrolledhereyes,but thenher tone turnedmoreserious.“Actually, I reallydowishallthesehigh-poweredvisitorswouldgiveusatleastalittlemorewarning,ifonlyforsecurityreasons.IhatetothinkhowGraysonwouldreactifweletanythinghappentoBenjaminandhisfamily,Honor!”

“Iagreethatwouldcomeunder theheadingofa reallybad thing,”Honoracknowledged.“Still,heobviouslythoughtitwasimportantforhimtogethereinpersonasquicklyaspossible.Hemust’veputthistogethercompletelyonthefly—IhatetothinkabouttheKeys’

reactiontotheverynotion!—buteventhoughhe’senoughofaschoolboytoenjoy teasinghissecuritypeople,he knows how hard their job is.He’s notgoing to run any unnecessary chances, especiallywithKatherine, Elaine, andthree of the kids along.And let’s face it, landing directly at Mount Royal isabout the most secure thing he could do. He knows you have to’ve alreadyramped up Palace Security, when you’ve already got Eloise Pritchart and herdelegationashouseguests.Andlastbutnotleast

—”Shewavedat thediscreetweather domeswhich simultaneously protected

thepowerfulweapon emplacements around theWinton family’s official homefromtheelementsandconcealedthemfromthecasualeye.

“Shortofaplanetaryinvasion,noone’slikelytocrashthisparticularparty,”shepointedoutdryly.

“No,” Elizabeth agreed, watching the shuttle settle the last few meters.“AndifIwerereallyworried, Iwouldn’tbestandinghere jokingabout it.ButyoudohavetoadmitthisisturningintothehighestvoltagesummitmeetingintheStarKingdom’s—muchlesstheStarEmpire’s

—history,andwe’remakingtheentirethingupaswegoalong.Weheadsofstatereallyprefer tohavesomesortofanagendabeforewesitdownat thehigh-stakes table, you know. All bad novelists notwithstanding, surprise andimprovisationarenotthebestbasisforsuccessfuldiplomacy!”

“Oh, trust me, I do know,” Honor said. “Although organizationallyspeaking, at least, you’ve got it easier than some of the people involved,

Elizabeth.PoorArethealooksjustaboutreadytodrop!”“Iknow!”Elizabethchuckled,smilingfondly.DameAretheaHart,CountessMiddlehill,wasElizabeth’sseniorseneschal.

Assuch, shewas responsible for theplanningandexecutionofallmajor statefunctions under Lord Chamberlin JacobWundt’s general direction, and she’dtakenonadistinctlyharriedlook.

“Iagreewe’rewearingherout,”Elizabethcontinued,“but she’s having the time of her life, too, Honor. And now she gets to

managetheProtectorofGrayson’sfirsteverextra-systemstatevisit?”Thetwowomenlookedateachother.“Theonlythingshe’slookingforwardtomorethanthisisRogerandRivka’swedding,andyouknowit!”

“Allright,I’llgrantthat.ButIstillsayshelooksworntoafrazzle.”Elizabethstartedtorespond,thenstoppedastheshuttle’shatchslidopen.The pad was surrounded by Palace Security and the Queen’s Own

RegimentoftheRoyalManticoranArmy.Inaddition,GraysonPalaceSecurityand the Protector’s Guard were heavily represented, as well. The Graysonadvance party, preceding Benjamin’s shuttle by six hours, had linked upsmoothlywithColonelShemais’personnel.

Now,as thehatch opened, a square-shouldered,weathered lookingmajorwith graying red hair stepped out. He looked around quickly, taking in everydetail of the security arrangements, then moved to one side and came toattention.

Benjamin Mayhew stepped past the major, followed by Katherine andElaineMayhew, and Elizabeth felt a sudden pang. It was only seven T-yearssinceherstatevisittoGrayson,yetBenjaminwasperceptiblygrayer.Hestoodjustasstraightassheremembered,butthereweremorelinesonhisface,andshewonderedifitwasonlyherimaginationthathemovedabitmoreslowly.

He’ssixyearsyoungerthanIam,shethought.ThirteenyearsyoungerthanHonor.Buthelooksolderthaneitherofus.Itwas true. In fact, looking atBenjamin andHonor side-by-side, anyone

from a pre-prolong society would have thought the age differential wasreversed…andtwicewhatitactuallywas.

For a moment, as she was brought face-to-face with the awareness thatBenjaminMayhewhadneverreceivedprolong,shefeltapresentimentoflosstocome.Thelossnotsimplyofavaluablepoliticalally,ofatrustedmilitaryally,butofsomeonewho’dbecomeapersonalfriend.

Somehow, despite the regular messages they exchanged, despite theexchanged Christmas and birthday gifts, the personal recordings which had

nothing at all todowith stateoccasions,her inner imageof him hadn’t reallychangeduntilshesawhimhere,onthesefamiliargrounds,inperson.

Oh, stop that! she toldherself.Yes, you’re going to lose him…eventually.Andyou’vealwaysknown—you’ve bothalways known—youwere. But it’s notgoingtohappentomorrow,andthelast thingheneeds—the last thingeitherofyouneed—isyougettingallmaudlin!Besides,sheglancedsideways,quickly,atHonor,therearepeoplewho’regoingtomisshimevenmorethanyouarewhenthatfinallyhappens.

Honor seemed unaware of that quick scrutiny, although Elizabeth knewbetter.

“Ithinkweshouldgomeetourguests,YourGrace,”shesaid.“Ithinkthat’sanexcellentidea,YourMajesty,”Honoragreed.***“And justwho’sminding thestorebackhomewhileyougallivant around

thegalaxy?”Elizabethaskedthebetterpartofanhourlater.“Floydhas thingsunder control, I’m sure,”Benjamin replied,wavinghis

icedteaglasscheerfully.“Iwon’tsayhewasdelightedwithmydecisiontogotraipsingoff,butthewayIseeit,it’sgoodpracticeforhim.”

Elizabeth hadn’t personally met Floyd Kellerman, the Chancellor ofGrayson, but she’d exchanged quite a few messages with him, and WilliamAlexanderhadmethim.

Onthatbasis,shesuspectedBenjaminwasratherunderstatingKellerman’sreaction. The Protector had chosen him as Chancellor because of his nativeability, but he wasn’t quite forty yet, and some of Grayson’s more seniorsteadholders tried tobullyhiminto doing things theirway…especially if theythoughtBenjaminmightnotnotice.

“SayingFloydwasn’t‘delighted’issomethingofanunderstatement,dear,”KatherineMayhewpointedoutdryly,confirmingElizabeth’ssuspicions.“Ithinkhewasof theoddopinionthat thingslikenegotiatingtreatieswithallies is thereasonyouhaveaForeignMinister.”

“Such a stodgy, conventional attitude.” Benjamin shook his headmournfully.“Besides,Uriah’sbusy.”

“Oh?”Elizabethcockedherhead.ShehadmetBrotherUriahMadison,theGrayson priest Reverend Jeremiah Sullivan had personally recommended toBenjaminwhenLordBerilynko,thepreviousforeignminister,retired,andshe’dbeenimpressedwithhim.“IwonderedwhyyousentMichaeltoinitialthedraftagreementsinsteadofBrotherMadison.Isthisoneofthosethingsanotherheadofstatecanaskabout,orshouldIremaintactfullyincurious?”

“Actually,” Benjamin said, “I sent Michael instead of Uriah for tworeasons. One was that given the potential objections some of the morerecalcitrant Keys are bound to nurse about concluding peace with someonewe’vebeenfightingforsolong,IwantedaMayhewpersonallyinvolvedinthetreatyprocess.We’restillaverytraditionalpeople,Elizabeth,andtheMayhewname carriesweight.WithMike’s signature on the treaty, it’s going to take aparticularlyhardysteadholdertoopposeratification.”

“Icanseethat.”Elizabethnodded.TheWintonDynastyhadbeenknowntouse familymembers as plenipotentiaries formuch the same reasons. For thatmatter, that was precisely what she’d done, in a way, by sending Honor tonegotiatewithHaven.

“And,secondly,”Benjamincontinued,“giventhe,um,rapiditywithwhicheventsseemtobemoving,IneededUriahtotalktosomeoneelse.”HiseyesmetElizabeth’s.

“From a few ‘purely exploratory’ feelers which have been extended myway, I think Walter Imbessi might like to mend some fences. And since weappeartobeintheprocessoffence-mendingingeneral,Ithoughtitmightnotbea bad idea to see just what he had in mind.” He smiled faintly. “Which, ofcourse, puts everyone involved in what I suppose we might call a delicateposition.”

“Icanseewhereyoucouldputitthatway,”Elizabethsaiddryly.She sat back, frowning thoughtfully while she considered her response.

WalterImbesiwasnot,toputitmildly,universallybelovedintheStarEmpire,given his role in theRepublic of Erewhon’swithdrawal from the ManticoranAlliance. Not tomention themutual defense treaty Erewhon had then signedwith theRepublicofHaven…just in time for thewar betweenManticore andHaven tostartupagain.NoManticoran (including ElizabethWinton) doubtedthat the technical exchanges which had accompanied that defense treatyexplainedquiteabitofHaven’stechnologicalimprovementssincetheshootinghad resumed,whichwas the reasonManticorehadhammered the Erewhonesewithmassive tradepenalties.At thesame time, theStarEmpire had permittedErewhon (which had declared neutrality during the current hostilities, sinceHavenhad reinitiated themwithout beingattackedfirst) to continue using theJunctionandeventradingwiththeStarEmpireitself.

Which,sheadmitted,wasmainlytokeepthedooropenacrack.ApointofwhichanyoneassharpasImbesihasto’vebeenaware.

“Soyoureallythinkhewantsto—howdidyouputit?‘Mendfences’?”sheasked.“I think he never reallywanted them in such disrepair in the first place,

actually.”Mayhew’stonewasserious.“Let’s face it, Elizabeth. From Erewhon’s perspective, and especially

withoutknowinghostilitieswereabouttoresume…”Heshrugged,andElizabethnodded.“Iknow.”Shesighed.“IneverblamedErewhonasmuchasa lotofother

Manticorans did. It was High Ridge’s fault, and I know you were warningDescroixthewholetimeaboutwheretheirso-calledforeignpolicywasleading.So was I, for that matter! I even know Imbesi was pissed off as hell whenPritchartwentback toshootingatus.Thatstill isn’tgoing tomake iteasy forErewhonandtheStarEmpiretodosomekindofsweetnessandlightkiss-and-make-up!”

“Granted.And unless I’mmistaken, that’s not what Imbesi has inmind,exactly,either.”

“No?”Sheraisedaneyebrow.“Thenwhatdoeshehaveinmind?”“Obviously,therewasn’tmuchtimeforback-and-forthexchangesbeforeI

climbedaboardshiptocomevisityou,”Benjaminpointedout.“YouknowHavlicek,Hall,andFuentes have been

using Imbesi as their theoretically unofficial point man with both Haven andCongo,though.

MyimpressionisthatsomeoneinHaven—orpossiblyCongo—droppedapartial summaryofwhatCaptainZilwickiandAgentCachat

brought back from Mesa on their friends in Maytag, and I think theTriumvirate’sconcludedthatthiscornerofthegalaxy’sabouttogetalotlonelierandmoredangerous.Theydon’twant tobecaughtout in thecold, so they’vereachedfortheir‘unofficial’go-toguytodosomethingaboutthat.”

“IsaidIdon’tblamethemasmuchasalotofManticoransdo.Thatdoesn’tmean I’m feeling especially fond of them. On a personal level, at least, thethoughtoftheircatchingachilldoesn’texactlybreakmyheart.”

“Trustme,thesamethoughtcrossedmymind.”Benjamin smiled thinly. AsManticore’s major military ally, the Grayson

SpaceNavyhadtakenitsownlossesatthehandsofimprovedHavenitecombatcapabilities.“Asyousay,though,thatwasonapersonallevel.”

“Iknow.”Elizabethgrimaced.“Andwe’vehadourownunofficialinterfacewiththemthroughCongoandTorchallalong. It’snotas ifwedon’thaveanycommon ground anymore. That’s why I proposed Torch as the site for thatsummit meeting Eloise and I were going to have before the assassinationattempt.For thatmatter, Erewhon’s backing for Torch is bound to attract thisAlignment’sattentioninitsdirection,isn’tit?”

“True. And then”—Benjamin glanced casually around, as if reassuring

himselfevenherethatnoonebutKatherinewascloseenoughtooverhearthem—“there’sSmokingFrog.”

Elizabethlookedathimforamoment,thennodded.“Point taken,” she said quietly. “And I won’t pretend I wouldn’t like…a

littlemoreinsightintoBarregos’plans,let’ssay.Nottomentionthefactthatan,ah, understanding with the Maya Sector would do quite a bit for our ownsecurityonthatflank.Forthatmatter,MayahastobeevenhigheronMesa’slistthanErewhon,aftertheBattleofCongo!”

“ExactlywhatIwasthinking.AndIdon’tdoubtImbesi’sthinkingthesameway.Amongotherthings,theman’salmostterminallypragmatic.He’dhavetoseethepossibilityofbrokeringarelationshipbetweenusandMayaasawayofgettingbackontoacceptabletermswithallofus.”

Benjaminhad that right,Elizabethreflected.Whenitcamedownto it,nooneinthegalaxywasmorepragmaticthantheErewhonese.Except,ofcourse,thatallthepragmatismintheuniversedidn’tchangethatinflexibleErewhoneseviewthatadealwasadeal—theveryattitudewhichhadledtosomuchangeronErewhon’spartwhentheHighRidgeGovernmentchosetoeffectivelyignoreitsresponsibilitiestoitsallies.

“Whentheysignon, theydohaveatendencytostaysigned,don’t they?”shesaidoutloud,andBenjaminnodded.

“MorethansomestarnationsIcouldmention,anyway,”hesaid.“Speakingofwhich,howaretheAndermanitakingallofthis?”

Elizabethgavehimapainedlook.

“That wasn’t the most diplomatic segue in the history of statesmanship,Benjamin.”

“That’s the sort of thing I keep professionals like Uriah around for,” hereplied.“Andyou’llnoticeI’maskingyoupersonally,notanymembersof theformaldiplomaticcorps.”

“Yes, Ididnotice.”Sheeyedhimrepressivelyfor another secondor two,thensmiledcrookedly.“ObviouslyIhaven’thadtimefora formalexchangeofviewswithGustav,but judgingfromhisambassador’s reactionand that of theAndermaniofficersstillattachedtoEighthFleet,Ithinkhe’salotlesslikelytobolt theAlliancethanhewouldhavebeenbeforewetoldhimaboutthiskillernanotech.AllouranalysesofNew Potsdam’s internal dynamic suggest PrinceHuangandHerzogvonRabenstrangehavebeentheclosestthingtheAndermanicourt has to Manticoran partisans. In Huang’s case it was always a morepragmaticandtacticalstance thananygreat loveforus,ofcourse. In fact, I’minclined to think itwasmore the intensity of his abolitionist leanings thanhis

pro-ManticoretendenciesthatgothimontotheMesanhitlist.Still,IdoubtthenotionthatMesatriedtokillhim—

anddidmanagetokillhisyoungerson—isgoingtomakehimanylesspro-Ballroom! And while Gustav’s never been as intensely opposed to geneticslaveryasHuang,he’snotthesorttotakekindly to themurderofhisnephew,either.”

“Noneofwhich is to say our pragmatic friends are going to be eager tostanduptotheSolarianjuggernautwithus,nomatterhowpissedofftheymaybeatMesa,”

Benjaminobserved.“No,”Elizabeth agreed, and smiled very coldly. “But if this Filareta gets

hammered,someonelikeGustav’sgoingtobethinkingaboutthedesirabilityofbeing on the winning side. Personally, I’ve never really had any imperialambitions. In fact, I’d just as soon never have embarked on something that’salmostcertain tochange theentirecharacterof theOldStarKingdomthewaythis sudden expansion is going to. But I’m not a descendant of GustavAnderman,either,andtheAndermanidothinkinimperialterms.”

“I know,” Benjamin said soberly. “That’s why I have to wonder howGustav’sgoingtofeelaboutfindinghimselfsqueezedbetweentheStarEmpire’slobesinSilesiaandtheTalbottQuadrant.”

“Hopefully, that’snotgoing tobean issueanytime soon.Not that it isn’tdamnedwellgoingtobecomeonesometime.”Elizabethsighed.“I’dreallylikethingstobesimpleandstraightforwardwithoutautomaticallyinvolvingallsortsoffuturerepercussions.Justonce,atleast.”

“Wouldbenice,wouldn’tit?”Benjamingrinnedandshookhishead.“Notgoingtohappen,though.Trustme.

Youyoungwhippersnappermonarchy-come-latelieshavenoidea!Fourandahalfcenturies—ha!”Hesnappedhis fingers. “Waituntilyou’vebeenaroundfora thousandT-years, likeusMayhews.You’llbeamazedbyall thechancesyou’llhavehad toscrewupby forgettingabout those ‘future repercussions’atinconvenientmoments!”

ChapterSixteen“IncomingmessagefromAdmiralTruman,YourGrace!”LieutenantCommanderHarperBrantleyannounced.“ThrowitonDisplayTwo,”Honorsaidwithoutevertakinghereyesfrom

themainplot.Nimitzpressedhisnoseagainsthercheekwitha confident, buzzing purr,

buttheiconsonthatplotweregettingdecidedlycomplicated.HerGhostRiderplatformsupdatedthedataontheintrudingSolarianfleet,andshefrownedatthe

hurricane of MDMs which had erupted from Eighth Fleet’s missile podseighteensecondsago.Themassivesalvostreakedtowardstheglaringredcodesof theenemy,andher frowndeepenedasAdmiralFilareta’s ships spawnedanansweringcloudoftinyrubychips.

“Yes,Alice?” she said as Truman’s larger-than-life, golden-haired imageappearedonthedisplaywhichhadjustopenedintheplot’supperquadrant.

“MyadvancedLACsand thereconplatformsallconfirmthebastards aretowing pods, Honor,” she said without preamble, her expression somewherebetweenirritated,exasperated,andjustplainpissedoff.

“Yes, CIC just put them up on the plot.”Honor’s tonewas considerablycalmer than Truman’s. “And they just launched from them,” she continued.“WhichIdoubtthey’dbedoingattwentymillionkilometersiftheydidn’thavetherangeforit.

“Enemylaunchatone-point-threelight-minutes!”CaptainAndreaJaruwalski,Honor’soperationsofficer, reportedcrisply,as

iftoconfirmHonor’sstatement.Jaruwalskiwas looking at her owndisplays. “Acceleration approximately

forty-eightthousandKPS,YourGrace.Assuming constant acceleration, time of flight is five-point-two minutes.

CICmakes their closingvelocity at the innerdefenseperimeterapproximatelypoint-four-ninercee!”

Thatwas actually a bit better—about 2,000KPSbetter, in fact—than theRMN’sownMark23could do,Honor reflected.Obviously, the same thoughthadoccurredtoTruman,aswell.

“Damnit,that’sridiculous!”theotheradmiralsnapped.“Whichdoesn’tmeanitisn’thappening,”Honorpointedout.“But—”Trumanstoppedherself,thengaveherheadashake.“Pointtaken,”sheconcededmorecalmly.Honorsmiled,butitwasathinsmile,andhereyeshadalreadymovedback

to the plot. Five minutes wasn’t much time to be making changes, yet if theSollies’ missile acceleration exceeded projections by this much, there was notellinghowmuchbettertheirtargetingsystemsandpenaidsmightbe,aswell.

Ithink“alot”isprobablyaprettyfairestimate,shethoughttartly.Whichsuggests—

“It looks like we’re going to have leakers, Andrea. Get the Loreleisdeployed.Itseemswe’regoingtofindouthowwelltheywork,afterall.”

“DeployingLorelei,aye,YourGrace!”“Assoonasyou’vedonethat,gotoTango-Two.”“Tango-Two, aye,” Jaruwalski acknowledged, and Honor turned back to

Truman.“Alice,pushyourperimetersquadronsoutonthethreataxis.”“Howfaroutdoyouwantthem?”“Asfarasyoucangetthem.”Honorsmiledcrookedly.“Onewayortheother,thisisn’tgoing to last long,soyou’renotgoing to

get them as far out as either of us would like. Choose your own deploymentpackage.”

“Consideritdone.”Truman disappeared from the display, and Honor turned to Commodore

MercedesBrigham.“Alice’sLACswillgivethedefensezonealittledepth,butthere’sapretty

goodchancewe’restillgoingtogethammered.Getonthehorn.Requestreleaseofthesystem-defensepods.”Sheshowedherteeth.“Wemayjustneedabiggerhammerofourown.”

“Yes,YourGrace!”herchiefof staff acknowledged, andHonor turned tothedisplaytiedpermanentlytoHMS

Imperator’scommanddeck.“Iassumeyouheardallthat,Rafe?”“Yes,YourGrace,”CaptainRafaelCardonesreplied.“WecanhopetheLoreleiswilltakeatleastsomeofthestingout,butI’m

afraid your damage control parties are about to get busy.” Cardones noddedquickly,andsheshrugged.“Fightyourship,Rafe.”

“Yes,YourGrace.”Honorreturnedherattentiontothemasterplot.Atsuchranges,evenMDMsseemed tocrawl,but theSolarianfireswept

remorselesslytowardsEighthFleet,andtherewasalotofit—atleastthreetimesONI’s estimate of Filareta’s firepower. The LACs assigned to the fleet’sperimeteracceleratedtomeetthatincoming tide,adjusting theirownformationas they went, and the Grayson-designed Katanas, with their potent missilearmamentsandheavyloadsofVipermissiles,led.

Manticorandoctrinehadhardened in favor of using LACs as thewall ofbattle’sprimaryscreen.Theywerestrictlysublight,butthatwasn’tasignificantfactorinsideastar’shyperlimit,andveryfewengagementstookplaceoutsideahyperlimit.AndwhileevenaManticoranLAC

had far less long-range offensive firepower than, say, a Roland, theKatanas, especially, had nearly as much antimissile capability. They couldn’ttakeasmuchdamage,but the laserheadscarriedbymultidrivemissilesmadethat prettymuchamootpoint.Destroyers couldn’t survivemore than a hit ortwofromweapons thatpowerful, either, and theywere far easier to hit in the

firstplacethansomethingasagileasaLAC.

WhileTruman’sbantamweightsheadedout,therestofEighthFleetturnedawayandbegantoshiftintoFormationTango-Two.NooneonHonor’sstaffhadreallyanticipatedSolarianMDMsorsuchaheavyweightoffire,buttheRMN

believedinbeingprepared.Thatwaswhysheandher taskforceand taskgroup commanders had brainstormed situations very like this one in theirplanningsessions.And,afteranalyzingthetacticaldatafromeveryengagementagainsttheRepublicofHavenandinterpolatingthedatafromMichelleHenke’sengagements in the TalbottQuadrant,Honor and her staff had evolved a newdefensivedoctrine.

Traditional missile defense wove every platform into a single, tightknitpatterndesigned tobringeverydefensive system tobearon the threat axis. Inorder to focus that concentrationof defensive fire, theunits of a task forceorfleet maintained a close, unflinching formation with every squadronmeticulouslyslottedintothemostadvantageousposition.Thatsortofprecisionmaneuvering even in the heart of furious combat required highly experienced,steel-nerved personnel, and it had been a hallmark of the Royal ManticoranNavyforgenerations.

But the massive weight of pod-launched MDM salvos placedunprecedentedstrainsonthatdoctrine.Whenthethreatwasmeasuredintensofthousands of laser heads, instead of scores or hundreds, not even the mostprecise stationkeeping was enough to stave off disaster. As the threat grewprogressivelyworse,Manticorehadcounteredbyincreasingthedensity,power,andaccuracyofitsantimissilearmaments,yetmanyoftheRMN’stacticianshadcome to the conclusion that, absent some significant improvement in theavailabledefensivesystems,simplypackinginmorepointdefenseclustersandcounter-missiletubeshadreachedapointofdiminishingreturns.

Honorwasoneofthetacticianswhosuspectedthatwasthecase.ShehadcautiouslyoptimistichopesforthenewLoreleiplatforms,whichrepresentedanentirelynewgenerationofhighlycapabledecoys,andshe’dstronglysupportedthedecision tomassivelyupgrade theKeyholeplatforms’defensivearmament.Despitethat,she’dbeenforcedtotheconclusionthattheNavyoweditssurvivalto date at least as much to the inherent inaccuracy of extremely long-rangemissile fire as to any improvements in its defenses.Worse, it had never beenanythingmorethanamatteroftimebeforesomeoneasinventiveastheRepublicofHaven’s navy had become under Thomas Theisman and Shannon Forakermanaged toduplicate—orat leastapproximate—Apollo’s long-range accuracy.

Atwhichpoint,thingsweregoingtogetugly.Ultimately, if ships of the wall weren’t going to become simply very

expensive targetdrones, theyneeded tobegin interceptingmissiles fartherout,expandthefleet’sactiveinterceptionenvelopebeyondtheroughly3.6

million-kilometer reach of the current Mark 31 counter-missile. Theproblemwashowtoaccomplishthat.PushingtheperimeterLACSfurtherout,gettingthosescreeningplatformsdeeperintothethreatzonewasoneapproach,butwhatHonorreallywantedwasanorganiccapabilityforthewallerstoextendtheirown intercept range. She and her staff had a few thoughts on how thatmight be accomplished, and she knew Sonja Hemphill was looking at thequestionaswell,butfornow,shehadtofightwithwhatshehad,notwhatshe’dlike to have, which was why Eighth Fleet’s formationwasn’t quite what TheBookenvisioned.

Given thenatureof the threat and the expansionof each ship’s defensivefield of fire courtesy of Keyhole, she’d decided to loosen Eighth Fleet’sformation rather than seeking to tighten it still further. Since her Keyhole-equippedunitshadmore“reach” than they’d ever had before, she’d reasoned,theycouldtargetthreatsacrossagreatervolume,providemutualsupportwithoutmaintaining such close, rigid stationonone another.Therewere trade-offs, ofcourse—there always were—and the greater distance between subunitsinevitablydecreasedtheaccuracyofthesupporttheycouldofferoneanother.

But what they lost in pinpoint precision they got back (hopefully) bybroadeninganddeepeningthetotaldefensivebasket.Eachdefensiveshothadanindividually lower probability of a kill, but there were more of them, andallowing squadrons to maneuver more independently also permitted theirindividualunits to interpose their impellerwedges against incoming firemosteffectivelyandwithfarlessriskoftheaccidentalwedge-on-wedgefratricidethatwoulddestroythemostpowerfulsuperdreadnought.

Andrea Jaruwalski and the rest of Eighth Fleet’s operations and tacticalofficers had spent hours tweaking both software and doctrine to put it alltogether.Honorwas delighted by howwell they’d runwith her concepts, andthey’dcomeupwitha fewwrinklesall theirown.At Jaruwalski’s suggestion,forexample,they’ddetachedhalfofEighthFleet’stotalLACstrengthfromtheperimeterforceandtaskedthereassignedgroupstooperatenotbetweenthewalland the threat but inside the wall, maneuvering in close coordination withindividually assigned squadrons of capital ships to cover the expanded gapsbetweenthosesquadrons.

Well,that’sthetheory,anyway,Honorthoughtnow,reachinguptostrokeNimitz’searswhileshewatchedtheplot.

“Loreleiplatformsactive,YourGrace,”Jaruwalskireported.“Thank you,” Honor replied as scores of small blue starbursts suddenly

spangledtheplot.LoreleiwasthelatestadditiontotheGhostRiderstable…thelast one the R&D staff on HMSS Weyland had produced before the spacestation’sdestruction.Givenhowrecentlyithadgoneintoproduction(andhowquickly destruction of the production lines had followed), theRMNhad a lotfewer of the new platforms than anyonewould have liked, and she hated thethoughtofexpendingsomanyofthem.

You’d hate expending your wallers even worse, Honor, she told herselftartly.Ofcourse,iftheydon’tworkthewayweexpectthemto,youmayjusthaveexpendedbothofthem.Wouldn’tthatbefun?

Herlipstwitchedeversoslightly,buthereyeswereintent.She’dlaunchedherownshipkillers first.Thatmeanthermassiveattackwasgoing to reach itstargetfifteensecondsbeforeFilareta’sreachedher,despitetheSolarianmissiles’unanticipatedperformance.

Unfortunately, the Solarians, without Apollo, would have cut theirtelemetry links long before that, and theirmissileswould follow their seekersinto the targets they’d been ordered to attack, whatever had happened to thehumanswho’dgiven thoseorders. If they lost lockon those targets, they’d beforcedtoquestaroundforreplacementsontheirown,strictly limitedinitiative,buteitherway,they’dalreadyhaveswitchedtoautonomousmode,andnoteventhe total destruction of the ships which had launched them would make anydifferenceatall.

Whichwasn’tthecaseforhermissiles.“EnemyECMiswithinprojections,YourGrace,”Jaruwalski reported,monitoring theFTL telemetry comingback from the

Mark23-Econtrolmissileswhichwere theheart of theApollo system. “Haloplatforms are active, and from the density of their counter-missile targetingsystems, CIC estimates they may have fewer Aegis upgrades than we’danticipated.”

“Nicetofindoutwegotsomethingright,YourGrace,”Brighammuttered,andHonorsnorted.“Now,Mercedes!Youdon’treallythinkthisisONI’sfault,doyou?”Brigham’s answering snortwas considerablymore sour thanHonor’s had

been,butshenodded.“Lookslikethey’vedonesomeHalotweaking,”Jaruwalskicontinued,“butthefilterupgradesseemtobecoping.”Honornodded.MichelleHenkehad sent backworking examplesofHalo

EWplatformsfromSandraCrandall’s surrendered ships, andSolarian security

protocols left a bit to be desired. BuWeaps had been able to analyze themliterallydowntothemolecularlevel,andSonjaHemphill’speoplehadnotbeenimpressed.

From a manufacturing standard, the decoys were as good as anythingManticorecouldhaveproduced,butthey’dneverbeendesignedtoconfrontthissortofthreatenvironment.They’dbeendesignedtofaceaSolarian-

stylemissile threat—onewith single-drivemissiles, less capable sensors,andenormouslylesscapablefirecontrol,andonewithoutthemassivedensityofpod-launched salvos. They were also range-limited, because they had to stayclose enough to their motherships to receive broadcast power. And the samerestrictionalsomeant theycouldoperateonly in theplaneof thoseships’ownfieldsoffire,sincenobroadcastpowertransmissioncouldbedriventhroughanimpellerwedge.

Within those limitations, they were actually a well thought out,workmanlikeproposition.Which, unfortunately for the Solarian LeagueNavy,wasnowhereneargoodenough.

ThesamethingwastrueoftheAegisprogram,theSLN’seffortto thickenitscounter-missilelaunchers.

Within the limitations of the missile threat its designers had visualized,Aegis represented a significant upgrade by increasing the number of CMs itswall could control. In an MDM-dominated environment, however, all Aegisactuallyaccomplishedwastoincreasethedensityofitsdefensivefirefromtotalfutilitytosomethingwhichwasmerelyhopelesslyinadequate.

AndthentherewereGhostRiderandApollo.“Estimatetwentyseconds to theirmissiledefenseperimeter,YourGrace,”

Jaruwalskisaid.“AttackprofileEWcomingup in fifteenseconds.Ten.Five…four…three…

two…one…now.”EighthFleet’smissiles—13.2million kilometers downrange and traveling

at .36 c—were still 9.8 million kilometers short of their targets, but themaximum powered endurance of Solarian counter-missileswas just under 1.8millionkilometersbeforetheiroverpowereddrivesburnedoutand the impellerwedgestheyusedto

“sweep up” incomingmissiles disappeared. Given the attack’s geometry,thatworkedouttoarangeatlaunchof9.2millionkilometers…which thestill-accelerating Manticoran MDM would reach in approximately another fiveseconds.

Whichwaswhy the electronic warfare platforms seeded thoughtout thatmassivesalvohadcomeonlinenow.

TheSolarianmissiledefenseofficershadbeentrackingtheincomingtideofdestruction,allocatingtheircounter-missiles,refiningtheirtrackingdata,forthebetter part of four fullminutes. At their velocity, theMDMswould cross theentirecounter-missileengagementzoneinbarelytwelveseconds,whichmeanttherewouldbenotimeforasecondwaveofCMs.Awarethatonelaunchwasalltheyweregoing toget, theSLNofficerswere totally focusedonmaking it aseffectiveaspossible.

Then the Dazzler platforms suddenly activated, radiating huge, blindingspikesof jamming. Tracking systems shuddered in electronic shock under thebrutal assault, and the humans and computers behind those tracking systemswere just as shocked. They did their best, but they had only sixty seconds inwhich to react, and at the samemoment, theDragon’s Teeth came online, aswell,radiatinghundreds—thousands—offalsetargets.

Givenmoretime,thedefendersmighthavedifferentiatedbetween the truethreatsandthecounterfeits.Oriftheirtargetingsystemshadn’tbeendrivenbackin confusion by theDazzlers, theymight have been able to keep track of thegenuineshipkillersthey’dalreadyidentified,ignorethemasqueraders.Buttheyhad no more time, and their targeting systems had been driven back inconfusion.

A defense which would have been grossly inadequate under the best ofcircumstanceshadjustbecomeirrelevant,instead.

EighthFleet’sMDMsrippedthroughthepatheticscatterofcounter-missilesandsmashed into thefinal,desperate innerperimeterof laserclustersat forty-ninepercentofthespeedoflight,andthoselaserclusters’firecontrolwasjustasconfused, just as befuddled, as the CMs had been. The Solariansmanaged tostop perhaps two percent of the incoming fire; all the rest of the shipkillersreachedattackrange,underthedirectionofMark23-Es’

AIswithcompleteupdatesfromtheshipswhichhadlaunchedthemwhichwerebarelyfivesecondsold.

Thecrimsoniconsdidn’tvanishfromHonor’splotwithanythingsogentleas“metronome precision.”No, they disappeared—completely blotted away astheshipstheyrepresentedwererippedtopieces,ortransformedintothepurpleiconsofbroken,technicallystillintactwrecks—inonecataclysmicinstant.Theirkillerswereuponthem,thenthroughthem,inlesstimethanitwouldhavetakentocough twice.TheGhostRider reconplatformsbrought thehideouswashofdetonating laser heads, the seemingly solid carpet of nuclear fire, to HMSImperator’svisualdisplayswithdreadfulclarityandat faster than lightspeeds,butnomerelyhumanbraincouldpossiblyhavesortedoutthedetails.

Honor had almost ten seconds to absorb the destruction of the Solarianfleet…andthenthoseslaughteredsuperdreadnoughts’firecrashedintoherowncommand.

TherewerealmostasmanymissilesintheSolarianlaunchasthere’dbeeninEighthFleet’s,andtheirclosingvelocitywasactuallyabithigher.Yet therewasnocomparisonbetweentheoutcomesofthetwoattacks.

AliceTruman’sperimeterLACsmettheincomingsalvofirst.TheKatanas’rotary launchers punched out Viper missiles at maximum-rate fire, and theVipers(withexactlythesamedriveandoversizedwedgeastheMark31)rippedholesinthewaveofSolarianshipkillers.

SomeofthoseshipkillerslockedontoLACs(ortriedto,atanyrate)whenthe LACs’ impeller signatures blocked their lines of sight to their originaltargets.Attheirenormousvelocity,theirnewvictimshadonlysecondstodefendthemselves, and point defense clusters spat coherent light with frantic speed.Fortunately for the Katanas and Shrikes, current-generation Manticoran andGraysonLACswereextraordinarilydifficulttargets,and

“only” sixty-threewere destroyed.Their surviving consorts spun, yawingthrough a hundred and eighty degrees to bring their laser clusters and theShrikes’ energy armaments to bear. Anti-ship missiles’ terminal attackmaneuversweredesignedtousetheirwedgestoprotectthemfromtheirtargets’energy weapons as they scorched in on their final attack runs. The SLN hadgivenvirtuallynothoughttoevadingfirecomingfromastern,however,andinthe handful of seconds before they swept out of the LACs’ range, anotherthousandshipkillerswereblownoutofspace.

Thesurvivorsburstpastthelightattackcraft,roaringdownontheships-of-the-wallthey’dcometokill,butthemajorityhadlostsight—briefly,atleast—ofEighthFleet’swallers.Theystillknewwheretolooktoreacquiretheirtargets,ofcourse.Unfortunately,whentheydid,therewerefartoomanyofthosetargets.

Conceptually,Loreleiwaslight-yearsbeyondHalo.PoweredwiththesameonboardfusiontechnologytheRMNhaddevelopedforGhostRider,theMark23,andtheMark16,theLorelei

platforms had independent energy budgets beyond the dreams of anySolariandesigner. They needed no line of sight for broadcast power to drive theirpowerfulEWsystems,andtheironboardAIwasevenbetterthantheMark23-E’s.

Haloprovidedfalsetargetstoconfuseanincomingmissile,butthoselureshadtoberelativelyclosetothemissile’sactualtarget,andevenwithbroadcastpoweravailable,Halo’sfalsetargetsweresignificantlyweaker—

dimmer—thanaship-of-the-wall’sactualemissions.Loreleididn’tneedtobeincloseproximitytoanyone,anditsemitterswere

muchmorepowerfulthanHalo’s.The false targets Lorelei generated were still far weaker than those of

genuine superdreadnoughts, but they could be interposed between thosesuperdreadnoughtsandthethreat.More,theycouldbephysicallyseparatedfromthe ships they were trying to protect…and the signatures they generated hadbeen artfully camouflaged. Yes, they were weaker and dimmer than a truestarshipmighthaveproduced,butwhat they looked likewasanall-upstarshipusingitsownEWsystemstomakeitssignatureasweakanddimaspossible.

And,asafinaltouch,overathirdofAndreaJaruwalski’sLoreleishadbeendeployed to keep formation on one another as complete, false squadrons ofships-of-the-wall.SquadronswhichmaneuveredinperfectsynchronizationwithEighthFleet’srealsquadronsbutlayonthethreataxis,deliberatelyexposedtotheincomingtsunamiofSolarianmissiles.

Thosemissilestookthetargetsthey’dbeenoffered.Notallofthemwerespoofed.NotevenLoreleiwasthatgood.Butwhere

multiple thousands ofManticoran laser heads had ravaged Filareta’s fleet, nomorethansevenhundredactuallyreachedHonor’s,andtheywerenomatchforthe defensive fire of her dispersed squadrons and their attached close-defenseLACs.Seventeenofhersuperdreadnoughtstookhits;only two tooksignificantdamage.

Honorlookedatthemainplot’sdamagesidebarandfelthereyebrowsrise.When she’d seen the initial acceleration rates on the Solarian missiles, she’danticipatedseverelossesofherown.Instead—

“Simulationconcluded,”avoiceannounced,andthedisplaysfroze.“Icanseewe’re going to have to goback to the drawingboard tomakeyoupeopleworkforit,YourGrace.”

“Thankyou,CaptainEmerson,”shesaidtothesmilingseniorgradecaptainwhoseimagehadjustreplacedher

“tacticalplot.”Shenoddedtohim,thenlookedatherstaff.“Goodwork,People,”shetoldthem.“Thatwassolid.DinneratHarringtonHousetonight,downonthebeach.Thebeer’sonme; the surf forecast looksgood;mydad’s alreadybasting

thebarbecue;andMac’sgotsomethingspecialplannedfordesert.Sodon’tbelate—andbringfriends,ifyou’vegotthem!”

“All right!”Brigham responded, andHonor smiled as theotherswhistledandapplaudedenthusiastically.

“Ihopeitdoesn’ttakeyouverylongtotouchupthosescuffmarksonyourpaintwork,”another,closervoicesaiddrylyundercoverofthestaffers’obviouspleasure.

“Oh, I think we can probably manage our repairs fairly promptly,” shereplied,stillsmilingassheturnedtofaceThomasTheisman.

The two of them stood in the Advanced Tactical Course Center’s maintactical simulator. Itwas far fromHonor’s first visit—she’d commandedATCafterherreturnfromCerberus—butTheismanhadbeenobviouslyimpressedbythe facility even before the simulation had begun.Now he looked around theenormousroomandshookhishead.

“Thatwasscary,”headmittedfrankly,turningbacktoHonor.“IknewwewerescrewedassoonasyoupeoplegotApollodeployed,butIgenuinelyhadn’trealized how badly screwed we’d have been if you hadn’t convinced theEmpresstonegotiatewithus.”

“Iwasscarcelytheonlyonewho‘convinced’Elizabeth,Tom.AndbynowyourealizeaswellasIdothathowevergood

shemaybeatholdinggrudges,shereallydoesn’tlikekillingpeople.”“NeitherdoI.”Theisman’stonewaslight,andhegrinned,butHonortasted

theemotionsbehindhiswordsandrealizedyetagainwhyNimitzhadassignedThomasTheismanthename“DreamsofPeace.”

“Neither do I,” he repeated, “and I especially don’t like killingmy ownpeoplebysendingthemouttofacethatkindofcombatdifferential.Soifit’sallthesametoyou,I’mjustdelightedI’mnotgoingtobedoingthatagainanytimesoon.”

Shenodded,andthetwoofthemstartedacrossthehugeroomtowardstheexitwhileBrighamoversawthesimulation’sformalshutdown.

“DidyouknowtheyweregoingtothrowMDMsatyou?”Theismanasked,andsheshookherhead.

“No,somehowthatmanagedtoslipCaptainEmerson’smindwhenhewasdescribingthemissionparameters,”shesaiddryly.

“I suspected that might’ve been the case, given Admiral Truman’sreaction,”Theismansaid,andshechuckled.

“I’mnotcertain,but Isuspect that thatparticularwrinklemayhavecomefromasuggestiononthepartofmybelovedhusband.”

“Having faced your ‘beloved husband,’ I can believe that.” Theisman’svoicewasequallydry.“Bothofyoualwaysdidhavethatnastytendencytothinkoutsidethebox.”

“Weweren’t theonlyones.”Honorgavehimalevel look.“OnceyougotridofSaint-JustandStateSecurity,you turnedupabunchofcapableCOs. In

someways, though, I’d reallynever realized justhowgoodyouwereuntilwefinallygotalookatjusthowbadtheSolliesare!”

“Please!” Theisman grimaced inmock pain. “I’d like to think you couldfindsomeonebetterthanthattocompareusto!”

HonorchuckledagainandNimitzbleekedalaughastheystepped throughthe exit. SpencerHawke, CliffordMcGraw, and JoshuaAtkins fell in behindthem,andWaldemarTümmel,who’dbeenpromoted to lieutenant commanderfollowingtheir returnfromNouveauParis,hadbeenwaitingwithherpersonalarmsmen.Shesmiledathim,andhesmiledback,althoughthedarkmemoryoftheparents,brother,andsisterhe’dlostwithHephaestuswasstillthere,behindthesmile.

“Howfaraheadofschedulearewe,Waldemar?”sheasked.“Almost an hour, Your Grace,” the flag lieutenant who was no longer a

lieutenant replied, and his smile got a bit broader. “I don’t think the umpiresexpectedyoutopolishthemoffquitethatquickly.”

“Well, let’s not get too carried away patting ourselves on the back,” shesaid.ShewasspeakingtoTümmel,butshemetTheisman’seyesasshespoke.“All something like this can really tell us ishowwellwe’re likely toperformagainstthethreatswethinkweknowabout,andFilaretaseemstobeseveralcutsabovetheSollieswe’veseeninTalbott.Ifitturnsoutsomeonewithaworkingbrainhassomethingwedidn’tknowabout…”

The Havenite nodded soberly. They’d both had enough unpleasantexperiencewiththatsortofdiscovery.

Honornoddedback.She’dalwayslikedTheisman,andthebettershegottoknowhim,themorestronglyheremindedherofAlistairMcKeon.Although—her lips twitched in a faint, fond smile of memory—he was definitely lessinclined thanAlistairhadbeen tosimply head for the nearest enemy and startslugging.

Ever since Beowulf’s initial warning, however, Honor had studiedeverythingPatGivens’ONIhadonMassimoFilareta,andTheismanhadjoinedthe effort from the moment Pritchart and her delegation arrived. Admittedly,Havenhadn’thadalottoaddtoONI’smeagerbioonFilareta,butthere’dbeenenoughforhertobecautiouslyconfidentthatsheandTheismanhadafeelforhis basic personality. He was clearly very different from the late SandraCrandall, and he had her horrible example to make him even less like her.Whatever the rest of the Solarian League Navy might think, Filareta wasunlikely to reject reports ofManticoran technological superiority out of hand.Perhaps he might have, once, but despite some hints in ONI’s dossier aboutobjectionable personal habits, hewas obviously too smart to do that after the

BattleofSpindle.“Itakeyourpoint,”Theismansaidoutloudnow.“That’sonereasonI’msohappy—now,atanyrate—toseeyoupeoplebase

yourtrainingontheassumptionthattheotherside’sbetterthanitreallyis.”“If youdon’t pushyourown systems anddoctrine to themax, all you’re

doingispracticingthingsyoualreadyknowhowtodo.”Honorshrugged.“Andthat’sthebest-casescenario.Theworst-casescenarioisthatyougetfat,happy,and dumb. If I had a dollar for every spacer some stupid, overconfident flagofficer’sgottenkilled—”

Shecutherselfshort,andTheismannoddedagain.“Beenthere,seenthat,”heagreed.Theyweresilentforamomentas theycontinueddownahallway towards

thelifts.ThenTheismangavehimselfalittleshake.“Ihavetosaythelookinsideyourhardware’sbeenevenmorefascinating

thanwatching thewayyousetupsimulations,”hesaid.“We’veneverhad theopportunity to examine Apollo, of course, and I’m afraid your securityarrangements have worked a lot better in general than we really would’vepreferred. Shannon’s been especially frustrated. We’ve managed to recoverenoughtogiveusalegupinquiteafewareas,butthey’vemainlybeenmattersofgrossengineering.”

Honornodded.Likeeveryothernavy,theRoyalManticoranNavyroutinelyincorporatedsecurityprotocols into itssensitive technology.Therewasn’ta lottheycoulddotodisguisethingslikemini-fusionplantsorimprovementsinlaserhead grav lenses, but computers andmolecular circuitrywere another matter.Withouttheproperauthorizationcodes,effortstoaccess,study,oranalyzethosetriggered nanotech security protocols that reconfigured them into so muchuseless, inert junk. Trying to findways to crack, spoof, acquire, or otherwiseevadethosecodeswaspartofthenever-endingcycleofcyberwarfare,andshe’dbeenpleasedbytheconfirmationthatManticorehadstayedinfrontofHaveninthatcontest.

“Tobehonest,”Theismancontinued,“themostusefulthingswerecoveredright after Thunderbolt were some of your techmanuals.” He did not, Honornoted,mentionthefactthatfarmoretechmanualshadcomeintoHavenitehandsfromtheirErewhonesealliesbeforeThunderbolt.

Tactful of him. “But thoseweren’tmuch helpwhen your new-generationtechnologystartedcomingonline,andbythen,youweretheonescapturingmostofthetechthatgotcaptured,anyway.Allofwhich”—heturnedhisheadtolookat her sharply—“is my way of segueing tactfully into the question of sharedhardware.”

“You know my position, Tom,” Honor replied. “That’s Elizabeth’s andHamish’sposition, too,andasnearlyas Ican tell,SonjaHemphill’s firmly onboard,aswell.So there’s nodoubt inmymind that it’s going to happen.Thequestion is how soon, and I think that’s going todependonhow soonwegetformalratificationofthetreaties.”

Shelookedathimassharplyashe’dlookedather,andheshrugged.“You’veseenthepoliticalcalculusbackinNouveauParis,Honor,”hesaid.

“Idon’tevenwant to thinkabouthowYounger andMcGwiremust’ve reactedwhenthedrafttermsgothomeandtheyfoundoutwheretheirPresidentandtwothirdsofCapitalFleethadwanderedoffto!”Heshookhishead.“I’msurea lotofEloise’spoliticalopponentsmustbescreamingbloodymurderaboutnow,andI imagine Tullingham andYounger aremaking all kinds of veiled—or not soveiled—commentsaboutpeopleexceedingtheirconstitutionalauthority.Butthetruthisthatsheisn’texceedingherauthority,andyourowndiplomaticmissionhad significantly changed public opinion even before the Yawata Strike andSimões.”

“Really?” she raised an eyebrow as they reached the lifts, and Theismanchuckled.

“Most Havenites, whether they’d admit it or not, have always felt asneakingadmirationforyou.EvenwhenthatpyschopathRansomwasinchargeofPierre’spropaganda.

Ofcourse,therewasalotof‘bogeyman’aboutit,too.Youhadthisreallyirritatinghabitofkickingtheshitoutofus.”

“Inever—”Honorbrokeoff,unsurehowtorespond,andhelaughedoutloud.“Ididn’tsayyouweretheonlyMantywhomanagedthat.Youwerejustthe

most…noticeable.Let’s face it, even theSollies’ figuredyoumadegoodcopy,and it didn’t hurt that you were reasonably photogenic, unlike your humbleservant.”

“Yeah,sure!”Sherolledhereyes.“Ididcompareyoutome,”hepointedout.Thenhissmilefaded.“Butall jokingaside,youhadaprettydamned towering reputation in the

Republic,andabigpartofthatwasthefactthatyouwereanhonorableenemy.That’s thereal reasonStateSecandPublic Informationwent tosuch lengths toblackenyournamewhentheydecidedtohangyou.”

Hissmilevanished,andshetastedthebleaknessofrememberedshameasherelivedhisownhelplessnessinthefaceofCordeliaRansom’sdeterminationtohaveHonorjudiciallymurdered.

“Anyway,”hetwitchedhisshoulders,“youwerealreadyprettyvisible,let’s

say,intheRepublicevenbeforetheygaveyouEighthFleetandturnedyoulooseon our rear areas. And then there was that little business of the Battle ofManticore. For better orworse, you’d become the personification of the StarKingdomasfarasourpublicopinionwasconcerned.

“Then you turned up in Haven itself. Not to attack the system wheneveryoneknewyoucould’vetrashedit.No,youweretheretonegotiateapeacesettlement… and sincewegot rid ofSaint-Just,we’ve never tried to denyourpeople access to the StarEmpire’s news services. It didn’t take long formostpeopletofigureoutyouweretheretodothenegotiatingbecauseyouwantedtobethere.Itwasyourownidea.”

The two of them stepped into the lift, followed byTümmel andHonor’sarmsmen,andthedoorclosedbehindthem.

“Idoubtyouhaveanyidea,evennow,howmuchgoodwillyou’vebuiltupforyourself,”Theismansaidveryseriously.“Trustme,though:there’salotofit.And,frankly,Eloise’snotionofproposinganactualmilitaryalliance,not justapeacetreaty,wasastrokeofgenius.”

He shook his head. “Talk about resolving the ‘reparations issue’! And itgetsher—andallofus—outfromunderthestigmaofcavingin.Evenunderthemostmagnanimous termsyoucould’veofferedbefore theYawataStrike,we’dstill have been surrendering. On far better terms than we could ever havedemanded,giventhebalanceofpower,maybe,butstillsurrendering.Nowwe’renot. Idoubt anyone likeYounger orMcGwire’s going to be able to getmuchtractionagainstthat!”

Honornoddedslowly.Theisman’sanalysismatchedherown,althoughshewas inclined to think he was probably overestimating her stature among hisfellowHavenites.

“Idon’tmuchlikepolitics,”hecontinuedastheliftcarmovedupward,“butI’veseenenoughofittofigureouthowitworks.I’mnotsayingtherewon’tbesomepeoplescreamingnotjust‘No,’but‘Hell,no!’I’mjustsayingtherewon’tbenearlyenoughof themtoslowratificationupappreciably.Especially not ifFilareta’ssmartenoughtobackdown.ManticoreandHaven,standingshoulder-to-shouldertofacedowntheSolarianLeague?Talkaboutyourpublicrelationsbonanzas!”

Heshookhishead,andHonornoddedagain.“Well,”shesaid,“assumingthismasterlysummationofyoursbearssome

noddingacquaintancetoreality,IimaginethefirsttechnicalmissiontoBolthole—and I do hope you intend to tell us just where that is—” she gave him aspeakinglook“isgoingtobeheadingyourwaysometimeverysoonnow.AndIdon’tthinkMesa’sgoingtobeabithappyaboutthat!”

ChapterSeventeen“Whatdidyousay?”Albrecht Detweiler stared at his oldest son, and the consternation in his

expression would have shocked any of the relatively small number of peoplewho’devermethim.

“IsaidouranalysisofwhathappenedatGreenPinesseemstohavebeenalittleinerror,”BenjaminDetweilersaidflatly.“ThatbastardMcBrydewasn’ttheonlyone trying todefect.”Benjaminhadhadat leasta little time todigest theinformationduringhis flight fromtheplanetarycapitalofMendel,and if therewas less consternation in his expression, it was also grimmer and far morefrighteningthanhisfather’s.“AndthewaytheMantiesaretellingit,theson-of-a-bitchsureashellwasn’ttryingtostopCachatandZilwicki.Theyhaven’tsaidso,buthemust’vedeliberatelysuicidedtocoverupwhathe’ddone!”

Albrechtstaredathimforseveralmoreseconds.Thenheshookhimselfandinhaleddeeply.

“Goon,”hegrated.“I’msurethere’smoreandbetteryettocome.”“Zilwicki and Cachat are still alive,” Benjamin told him. “I’m not sure

wherethehellthey’vebeen.Wedon’thaveanythinglikethewholestoryyet,butapparently they spentmostof the last fewmonths getting home. The bastardsaren’tlettingoutanymoreoperationaldetailsthantheyhaveto,butIwouldn’tbesurprised ifMcBryde’scyberattack is theonly reason theymanaged togetoutinthefirstplace.

“Accordingtothebestinfowe’vegot,though,theyheadedtowardHaven,notManticore,whentheyleft,whichprobablyhelpsexplainwhytheywereoffthegridsolong.I’mnotsureaboutthereasoningbehindthat,either.

Butwhatevertheywerethinking,whattheyaccomplishedwastogetEloisePritchart—inperson!—toManticore,andshe’sapparentlynegotiatedsomekindofdamnedpeacetreatywithElizabeth.”

“WithElizabeth?”“We’vealwaysknownshe’snotreallycrazy,whateverwemay’vesold the

Sollies,”Benjaminpointedout.“Inflexible as hell sometimes, sure, but she’s way too pragmatic to turn

downsomethinglikethat.Forthatmatter,she’dsentHarringtontoHaventodoexactly the same thing before Oyster Bay! And Pritchart brought along anargumenttosweetenthedeal,too,intheformofoneHerlanderSimões.DoctorHerlanderSimões…whoonceuponatimeworkedintheGammaCenteronthestreakdrive.”

“Oh,shit,”Albrechtsaidwithquiet,heartfeltintensity.

“Oh,itgetsbetter,Father,”Benjaminsaidharshly.“Idon’tknowhowmuchinformation McBryde actually handed Zilwicki and Cachat, or how muchsubstantiation they’vegot for it,but theygotonehellofa lotmore thanwe’dwant them tohave!They’re talkingaboutvirus-basednanotechassassinations,the streak drive, and the spider drive, and they’re naming names aboutsomethingcalled

‘theMesanAlignment.’ In fact, they’rebusy telling theMantyParliament—and,I’msure,theHaveniteCongressandalltherestofthefuckinggalaxy!—all about the Mesan plan to conquer the known universe. In fact, you’ll beastonishedtoknowthatSecretaryofStateArnoldGiancolawasinthenefariousAlignment’spaywhenhedeliberatelymaneuveredHavenbackintoshootingattheManties!”

“What?”Albrechtblinkedinsurprise.“Wedidn’thaveanythingtodowiththat!”

“Of course not. But fair’s fair; we did know he was fiddling thecorrespondence. Only after the fact, maybe, when he enlisted Nesbitt to helpcoverhistracks,butwedidknow.AndapparentlygivingNesbittthenanotechtogetridofGrosclaudewasatacticalerror.ItsoundslikeUshergotatleastasniffofit,andevenifhehadn’t,thesimilaritiesbetweenGrosclaude’ssuicideandtheWebsterassassination—andtheattemptonHairrington—areprettyobviousoncesomeone starts looking. So the theory is that if we’re the only ones with thenanotech, and ifGiancola used nanotech to get rid ofGrosclaude, hemust’vebeenworkingforusallalong.Atleasttheydon’tseemtohaveputNesbittintothemiddleofitall—yet,anyway—buttheirreconstructionactuallymakessense,givenwhattheythinktheyknowatthispoint.”

“Wonderful,”Albrechtsaidbitterly.“Well,itisn’tgoingtogetanybetter,Father,and that’sa fact.Apparently,

it’s all over theManties’ news services and sites, and even some of the Sollynewsiesarestartingtopickuponit.Ithasn’thadtimetoactuallyhitOldTerrayet, but it’s going to be there in the next day or so. There’s no tellingwhat’sgoingtohappenwhenitdoes,either,but it’salreadyalloverBeowulf,andI’lljustletyouimagineforyourselfhowthey’rerespondingtoit.”

Albrecht’smouth tightenedashecontemplated thefull,horrendousextentof thesecuritybreach.JustdiscoveringZilwicki andCachatwere still alive todispute theAlignment’s versionofGreenPineswould havebeenbad enough.Therest…!

“Thank you,” he said after a moment, his tone poison-dry. “I think myimagination’suptothetaskofvisualizinghowthosebastardswilleat thisup.”Hetwitchedasavagesmile.“Isupposethebestwecanhopeforisthatfinding

out how completelywe’ve played their so-called intelligence agencies for thelast several centurieswill shake their confidence. I’d love to see that bastardBenton Ramirez y Chou’s reaction, for instance. Unfortunately, whatever wemayhopefor,whatwecancountonisforthemtolineupbehind theManties.For thatmatter, Iwouldn’t be surprised to see them actively sign upwith theManticoranAlliance…especiallyifHaven’salreadyonboardwithit.”

“DespitetheManties’confrontationwiththeLeague?”The words were a question, but Benjamin’s tone made it clear he was

followinghisfather’slogiconlytoowell.“Hell,we’re the oneswho’ve been setting things up so theLeague came

ungluedin thefirstplace,Ben!Youreally thinksomeonelikeBeowulfgivesasingle good goddamn about those fucking apparatchiks in Old Chicago?”Albrecht snorted contemptuously. “I may hate the bastards, and I’ll do mydamnedesttocuttheirthroats,butwhateverelsetheymaybe,they’renotstupidorgutlessenoughtoletKolokoltsovandhismiserablecrewbrowbeatthemintodoingonedamnedthingtheydon’twanttodo.”

“You’reprobablyrightaboutthat,”Benjaminagreedglumly,thenshookhishead.“No,youarerightaboutthat.”

“Unfortunately,it’snotgoingtostopthere,”Albrechtwenton.“JusthavingHaven stop shootingatManticore’sgoing tobebadenough,butGoldPeak isentirelytooclosetousformypeaceofmind.Shethinkstoomuch,andshe’stoodamnedgoodatherjob.Sheprobablyhasn’theardaboutanyofthisyet,giventransittimes,butshe’sgoingtosoonenough.Andifshe’sfeelingadventurous—orifElizabethis—wecouldhaveafriggingMantyfleetrighthereinMesainahandful of T-weeks. One that’ll run over anything Mesa has without evennoticing it. And then there’s the delightful possibility thatHaven could comeafterusrightalongwithGoldPeak,iftheyendupsigningonasactivemilitaryallies!”

“The same thought had occurred to me,” Benjamin said grimly. As thecommander of theAlignment’s navy, hewas only toowell aware ofwhat theonly navies with operational pod-laying ships-of-the-wall and multidrivemissilescoulddoiftheywerealliedinsteadofshootingatoneanother.

“WhatdoyouthinktheAndiesaregoingtodo?”heaskedafteramoment,andhisfathergratedalaugh.

“Isabelwasalwaysagainstusingthatnanotechanywherewedidn’thaveto.It looks like I should’ve listened.” He shook his head. “I still think all theargumentsforgettingridofHuangwerevalid,evenifwedidn’tgethimintheend,but if theMantiesknowabout thenanotechandshare thatwithGustav, Ithinkhisusual

‘realpolitik’willgorightouttheairlock.Wedidn’tjustgoafterhisfamily,Benjamin—wewentafterthesuccession,too,andtheAndermandynastyhasn’tlasted this long putting up with that kind of crap. Trust me. If he thinks theMantiesaretellingthetruth,he’slikelytocomeafterushimself!Forthatmatter,the Manties might deliberately strip him off from their Alliance. In fact, ifthey’resmart,that’swhattheyoughttodo.GetGustavoutoftheSollies’

lineoffireandlethimtakecareofus.It’snotlikethey’regoingtoneedhispod-layers tokick theSLN’sass!Andwejusthappen tohave left theAndies’supportstructurecompletelyintact,haven’twe?Thatmean’sthey’vegotplentyofMDMs,and ifGustavcomesafteruswhilestayingoutof theconfrontationwith theLeague,doyou really thinkanyofour ‘friends’ inOldChicago’lldoonedamnedthingtostophim?EspeciallywhentheyfinallyfigureoutwhattheMantiesarereallyinapositiontodotothem?”

“No,”Benjaminagreedbitterly.“Notinamillionyears.”Therewas silence for several seconds as father and soncontemplated the

shatteringupheavalintheMesanAlignment’scarefullylaidplans.“All right,”Albrecht said finally. “None of this is anyone’s fault. Or, at

least,ifitisanyone’sfault,it’smineandnotanyoneelse’s.YouandCollingavemeyour best estimate ofwhat reallywent downatGreenPines, and I agreedwithyourassessment.For thatmatter, the fact thatCachat andZilwicki didn’tsurface before this prettymuch seemed to confirm it.And given the fact thatnoneofourinternalreportsmentionedthis‘Simões’byname—

or if theydid, I certainlydon’t remember it, anyway—I imagine I shouldtakeitallourinvestigatorsassumedhewasoneofthepeoplekilledbytheGreenPinesbombs?”

“Yes.”Benjamingrimaced.“Asamatteroffact,theGammaCenterrecordswhich‘mysteriously’survivedMcBryde’scyberbombshowedSimõesason-sitewhenthesuicidechargewentoff.”Hesighed.“Ishould’vewonderedwhythoserecordsmanaged to survivewhen somuch of the rest of our secure files gotwiped.”

“Youweren’ttheonlyonewhodidn’t thinkabout that,”his fatherpointedoutharshly.“Itdiddisappearhimprettyneatly,though,didn’tit?Andnowonderwewerewillingtoassumehe’d justbeenvaporized!Godknowsenoughotherpeoplewere.”Heshookhishead.“AndIstillthinkwedidtherightthingtousethewholemesstoundercutManticorewiththeLeague,givenwhatweknew.

Butthat’ssortofthepoint,Isuppose.What’sthatoldsaying?‘It’snotwhatyoudon’tknowthathurtsyou; it’swhatyou thinkyouknowthat isn’tso.’It’ssureashelltrueinthiscase,anyway!”

“Ithinkwecouldsafelyagreeonthat,Father.”

Theysatsilentoncemoreforseveralmoments,thenAlbrechtshrugged.“Well, it’snot theendof theuniverse.Andat leastwe’vehadtimetoget

Houdiniupandrunning.”“Butwe’renotfarenoughalongwithit,”Benjaminpointedout.“Notifthe

Manties—or the Andies—move as quickly as they could. And if the Solliesbelievethis,thetimewindow’sgoingtogeteventighter.”

“Tellme something I don’t know.”His father’s tonewas decidedly testythis time, but then he shook his head and raised one hand in an apologeticgesture.“Sorry,Ben.

No point taking out my pissed-offedness on you. And you’re right, ofcourse.Butit’snotasifweneverhadaplaninplacetodealwithsomethinglikethis.”He paused and barked a harsh laugh. “Well, not something like this, somuch,sinceweneversawthiscoming inourworstnightmares,butyouknowwhatImean.”

Benjaminnodded,andAlbrechttippedbackinhischair,fingersdrummingonitsarms.

“IthinkwehavetoassumeMcBrydeandthisSimõesbetweenthemhavemanagedtocompromiseusalmostcompletely,insofarasanythingeitherofthemhadaccesstoisconcerned,”hesaidafteramoment.“Frankly,Idoubttheyhave,butI’mnotabouttomakeanyoptimistic—anymoreoptimistic—assumptionsatthis point. On the other hand, we’re too heavily compartmentalized for evensomeone likeMcBryde to’ve known about anything close to all the irons wehaveinthefire.AndifSimõeswasintheGammaCenter,hedoesn’tknowcrapabout the operational side. You and Collin—and Isabel—saw to that. Inparticular,nobody in theGammaCenter, includingMcBryde,hadbeenbriefedaboutHoudini beforeOyster Bay. So unlesswewant to assume Zilwicki andCachathaveaddedmindreadingtotheirrepertoire,that’sstillsecure.”

“Probably,”Benjaminagreed.“Evenso,we’regoing tohave toaccelerate theprocess.Worse,wenever

figuredwe’dhave to executeHoudini under this kindof timepressure.We’regoing to have to figureouthowtohide a hell of a lot of disappearances in areally tight time window, and that’s going to be a pain in the ass.” Albrechtfrowned,hisexpressionthoughtfulasheregainedhismentalbalance.

“There’salimittohowmanyconvenientaircaraccidentswecanarrange.On the other hand,we can probably bury a goodmany of them in theGreenPinescasualtytotal.Notthereallyvisibleones,ofcourse,butagoodpercentageofthesecondtierliveinGreenPines.Wecanprobablygetawaywithaddinga

lot of them to the casualty lists, at least as long as we’re not leaving anyimmediatefamilyorclosefriendsbehind.”

“CollinandIwillgetonthatassoonashegetshere,”Benjaminagreed.“You’veprobablyjustputyourfingeronwhywewon’t

beable tohideasmanyof them thatwayaswe’d like, though.A lotof thosefamily and friendsare going to be left behind underHoudini, and ifwe startexpandingtheHoudinilistsallofasudden…”

“Pointtaken.”Albrechtnodded.“Lookintoit,though.Anyonewe canhide thatwaywill help.For the rest,we’re just going to

havetobemoreinventive.”Herockedhischairfromsidetoside,thinkinghard.Thenhesmiledsuddenly,andtherewasactuallysomegenuineamusement

intheexpression.Bitter,bitingamusement,perhaps,butamusement.“What?”Benjaminasked.“Ithinkit’stimetomakeuseoftheBallroomagain.”“I’mnotsureI’mfollowingyou.”“Idon’tcarewhotheMantiesareabletotrotouttothenewsies,”Albrecht

replied. “Unless they physically invade Mesa and get their hands on a solidchunk of the onion core, a bunch of Sollies—most of them,maybe—are stillgoing to think they’re lying. Especiallywhere theBallroom’s concerned.Godknowswe’ve spent enough time, effort, andmoney convincing the League atlarge that the entire Ballroom consists of nothing but homicidalmaniacs! Forthat matter, they’ve done a lot of the convincing for us, because they arehomicidal maniacs! So I think it’s time, now that these preposterous rumorsaboutsomedeeplyhidden,centuries-longMesanconspiracyhavebeenaired,fortheBallroomtodecidetotakevengeance.

Thereportsareacompletefabrication,ofcourse.Atbest, they’reagross,self-servingmisrepresentation,anyway,soanymurderousresponsetheyprovokeoutoftheBallroomwillbeentirelytheManties’fault,notthatthey’lleveradmittheir culpability. And, alas, our security here is going to turn out to bemoreporousthanwethoughtitwas.”

Benjaminlookedathimforanothermoment,thenbegantosmilehimself.“Doyouthinkwecangetawaywithitshavingbeen‘porous’enoughforthemtohavegottentheirhandsonadditionalnukes?”“Well,weknowfromourowninterrogationofthatseccybastardwhowas

workingwithZilwickiandCachatthatitwastheseccieswhobroughtthemthenukethatwentoffinthepark,”Albrechtpointedout.“Assuminganyoneontheirside’sconcernedwithtellingthetruth—

which, admittedly, I wouldn’t be in their place—that little fact may just

become public knowledge. In fact, now that I think about it, if Cachat andZilwickiaretellingtheirsideofwhathappened,they’llprobablywant tostressthattheycertainlydidn’tbringanynukestoMesawiththem.

So, yes, I think it’s possible some of those deeply embittered fanatics,driven to newheights of violence by theManties’ vicious lies,will inflict yetmoreterroristicnuclearattacksuponus.Andifthey’regoingtodothat,it’sonlyreasonable—ifIcanapplythattermtosuchsociopathicbutchers—thatthey’dbegoingaftertheupperechelonsofMesansociety.”

“That could very well work,” Benjamin said, eyes distant as he noddedthoughtfully. Then those eyes refocused on his father, and his own smiledisappeared.“Ifwegothatway,though,it’sgoingtopushthecollateraldamagewayup.Houdininevervisualizedthat,Father.”

“Iknow itdidn’t.”Albrecht’sexpressionmatchedhis son’s.“And Idon’tlikeit,either.Forthatmatter,alotofthepeopleontheHoudinilistaren’tgoingtolikeit.Butmessyasit’sgoingtobe,Idon’tthinkwehaveanychoicebuttolookatthisoptionclosely,Ben.Wecan’taffordtoleaveanykindofbreadcrumbtrail.

“McBrydehad toknowa lotaboutourmilitaryR&D,givenhisposition,buthewasneverbriefedinonDarius,andhewasatleastofficiallyoutsideanyof the compartments that knew anything about Mannerheim or the othermembers of the Factor. It’s possible he’d gotten some hint about the Factor,though, andhewasobviously smart enough to’ve figuredoutwehad to havesomethinglikeDarius.Forthatmatter,thereareahellofalotofMantieswho’resmartenoughtorealizewe’dneverhavebeenabletobuildtheunitsforOysterBaywithoutit.Soit’sgoingtobepainfullyevidenttoanyoneinclinedtobelievetheManties’claimsthattheMesanAlignmentthey’retalkingaboutwouldhaveto have a bolthole hidden away somewhere.” He shook his head. “We can’tafford to leave any evidence thatmight corroborate the notion thatwe simplydived down a convenient rabbit hole. If we have to inflict some ‘collateraldamage’ to avoid that, then I’m afraid we’re just going to have to inflict thedamage.”

Benjaminlookedathimforseveralseconds,thennoddedunhappily.“Allright,”Albrechtsaidagain.“Obviously,we’rebothrespondingoffthe

cuffatthemoment.Frankly,it’sgoingtotakeawhileforme,atleast,togetpastthe simple shockquotientandbe suremymind’s reallyworking, and the lastthingweneedistocommitourselvestoanythingwehaven’tthoughtthroughascarefullyas possible.We need to assume time’s limited, but I’m not about tostartmakingpanickeddecisionsthatonlymakethesituationworse.Sowe’renotmakinganydecisionsuntilwe’vehadachancetoactuallylookatthis.Yousay

Collin’sonhisway?”“Yes,Sir.”“Thenassoonashegetshere,thethreeofusneedtogothrougheverything

we’vegotatthisstageonapointbypointbasis.ShouldIassumethat,withyourusual efficiency, you’ve brought the actual dispatches about all of this withyou?”

“Ifiguredyou’dwanttoseethemyourself,”Benjaminsaidwithanod,andreachedintohistunictoextractachipfolio.

“Oneofthejoysofhavingcompetentsubordinates,”Albrechtsaidinsomethingclosertoanormaltone.“Inthatcase,”hewent

on,holdingoutonehandforthefoliowhilehisotherhandactivatedhisterminal,“let’sgetstartedreviewingthedamagenow.”

ChapterEighteen“Welcomeaboard,Chien-lu.It’sgoodtoseeyouagain.”“And you, Honor,” Chien-lu Anderman, Herzog von Rabenstrange, said

warmlyasheshooktheofferedhand.TheAndermani admiral,who just happened to also beEmperorGustav’s

firstcousin,wasasmallishman,notmuch larger thanHonor’sUncleJacques.And like Jacques Benton-Ramirez y Chou and Honor herself, he had dark,almond-shaped eyes.At themoment, as they stood in the admiral’s day cabinaboardHMSImperator, thoseeyeswereaswarmwithgenuinepleasureashistone, and he smiled broadly.Not that he andHonor had always been on suchexcellentterms.

“I’mglad—andsurprised,actually—theymanagedtogetyoubackheresoquickly,”shewenton,andheshrugged. Itwassixdaysbycouriervessel fromthe Manticore Binary System to the Andermani capital in the New PotsdamSystembywayoftheJunction’sGregorTerminus.Togetherethisquickly—lessthan one full day after BenjaminMayhew’s arrival—Rabenstrangemust havedeparted within no more than twenty-four standard hours after the arrival ofElizabeth’scouriertoEmperorGustav.

“I won’t pretend travel aboard something as crowded and plebeian as adispatchboatistrulysuitedtooneofmytoweringaristocraticbirth,butitdoeshavetheadvantageofgettingyouwhereyou’regoinginahurry.Although”—

Rabenstrange’s smile faded slightly—“perhaps not asmuch of a hurry ascertainotherpeoplecanachieve,ifthisbusinessaboutthe‘streakdrive’hasanyvalidity.”

Hisvoiceroseveryslightlywith thefinalsentence,almost(butnotquite)turningitintoaquestion,anditwasHonor’sturntoshrug.

“AllIcantellyouaboutthatisthatasfarasNimitzandtheothertreecats

areconcerned,Simõesistellingthetruthtothebestofhisownknowledge.AndasfarasAdmiralHemphillandtherestofher techpeopleareconcerned,whathe’s told themso far seems tobeholding together.Thegeneral feelingamongour intelligence types is that all the technical informationhe’s provided so farappearstobebothgenuineandtheoreticallyvalid.”

Rabenstrange gazed into her eyes very steadily, then nodded, andHonortastedhissatisfaction.Shecouldn’tbepositive,ofcourse,but it seemed toherthathewassatisfiedonseverallevels.Atleastwithher.

“That’swhatIexpectedtohear,”hesaidafteramoment.“You expected to hear that I thought he was telling the truth, or you

expected me to tell you he was telling the truth anyway, like a good, loyalQueen’sofficer?”sheaskedwithasmilethatwasabitmorecrookedthanusual.

“Thatyou’dtellmewhatyoupersonallybelievetobethetruth…andthatyou’d distinguish between what can be realistically evaluated and what can’tbe,”hesaid.

Honor’s eyebrows rose amillimeter or so at the unusual candor—or un-diplomat-likedirectness,atleast—ofhisresponse,andhesnortedinamusement.

“Honor,you’renevergoingtomakeagoodliar,”hetoldher,“andonlyafool—which Empress Elizabeth obviously isn’t—would expect you to be anygoodatit.I’mquitesurethat’swhyshewantsmetotalktoyoubeforeshetalkstome.”

“Why is everyone always telling me I’m an incompetent liar?” Honordemanded a bit plaintively. “I admit, I don’t get as much practice as, say, aprofessionaldiplomatorausedaircarsaleswoman,butstill—!”

“It’snothingpersonal,”Rabenstrangetoldherwithareassuringsmile,“butnoonecanbeaccomplishedat everything. It’s just that you’ve been too busylearninghowtoblowupstarshipsandthingslikethattomasterthedifficultartsofduplicityandchicaneryaswell.”Hereachedouttopatheronthearm.“Don’ttakeittoohard.”

“I’lltrytorememberthat,”shepromisedwithanansweringsmile.“Good.”“ButI’dstillbeinterestedtohearyourinterpretationofwhyElizabethsent

youtome,first.”“It’s simple really. Shewantsme to satisfymyself that she and Pritchart

havebeentellingtheEmperorthetruthbeforesheandIsitdowntodiscussthedetails. She wants that settled in my mind so that I can listen to what she’sproposingwithoutworryingaboutwhetherornotshe’stellingmethetruthaboutherreasonsforproposingit.”

“Isee.”Honorcockedherheadthoughtfully.Elizabethhadn’ttoldherexactlywhy

shewantedhertospeaktoRabenstrangefirst.Oh,theEmpresshad touchedonseveral reasons, including the professional and personal rapport Honor andRabenstrangehadestablishedovertheyears.YetHonorhadsensed thatwasn’teverythingElizabethhad inmind.Now, as she thoughtbackover theway theEmpress’ mind-glow had tasted at the time, she decided Rabenstrange had apoint.

“Well,ifyou’rerightaboutthat,”shesaid,“IsupposeweshouldgoaheadanddiscusstherestofwhatSimões—

andMcBryde—hadtosay.Butfirst,haveaseat.”Shegesturedatthecomfortablearmchairs,andRabenstrangenodded.The

two of them crossed the day cabin, followed by Major Shiang Schenk andCaptain Spencer Hawke. Schenk, whose uniform bore the skeleton shoulderflashoftheTotenkopfHussars,theeliteregimentoftheAndermaniEmpire,wastechnically Rabenstrange’s senior military aide, but that was simply a politefiction. In fact, the Totenkopfs were responsible for the personal safety ofmembers of theAndermanDynasty, and Schenk andHawke had developed acomfortable relationship based onmutual respect and professionalism.Neitherofthemwasentirelyhappyaboutthesidearmridingathiscounterpart’ship,butthey’dbeenforcedtolearntodealwithit,sincebothofthemwereresponsiblefor protecting peoplewhowere required by law to be accompanied by armedbodyguardsatalltimes.

That restriction could make things awkward enough under mostcircumstances, but the situationwasworse than usual in Rabenstrange’s case,despitehisandHonor’spersonalfriendship.Infact,itwouldhavebeenthenextbest thing to impossible if Emperor Gustav hadn’t granted a very specificdispensationinHonor’scasetohisacross-the-boardrulethatnooneasidefromassigned Andermani security personnel was allowed into proximity with anymember of the Anderman Dynasty when armed. Partly that was becauseAndermani security knew about the pulser built into Honor’s artificial hand,which she would have found just a bit difficult to leave behind on socialoccasions. But it was also a special declaration of trust in her, and she oftenwondered how hard it had been for Rabenstrange to talk the compulsivelysuspiciousEmperoraround.

Whichhadacertainbearingonthepresentconversation,shesupposed.Rabenstrange seated himself, and she sank into another armchair, facing

him. Nimitz, who’d been watching the Andermani’s arrival from his perch,

hoppeddownand saunteredacross to thevisitor.He lookedup for amoment,cocking his head thoughtfully, then launched himself into Rabenstrange’s lap,and the herzog chuckled as the ’cat stood on his four rearmost limbs andextendedhisrighttrue-hand.

“It’sgoodtoseeyou,too,Nimitz,”hesaid,shakingtheofferedtrue-hand.Heandthe treecatwereoldacquaintances,andNimitzsettleddownonhis lapcomfortably.

“YoudorealizethatIrealizethetwoofyouaresettingouttodouble-teamme,don’tyou?”Rabenstrangeinquired,lookinguptosmileatHonor.

“If there’sanydouble-teaminggoingonhere, it’shis idea,notmine,”sheprotested.“Ontheotherhand,you’reprobablyright.He’saboutasshamelessatmanipulatingthetwo-legsaroundhimasany’catI’veeverseen.Darngoodatit,too.”

“Yes, he is,” Rabenstrange agreed, then nodded as James MacGuinessentered the day cabin. “Ah! The inimitable—and inestimable—Mr.MacGuiness!”

“YourGrace,”MacGuinessresponded,bowingslightly.“IwaswonderingifIcouldgetyouandHerGracesomerefreshment?”“Actually,ifyouhaveanyof that trulyexcellentcoffeeofyours, Iwould

killforacup.”Rabenstrangeshookhishead.“Wedomanythingswell inNewPotsdam.

Unfortunately,brewingpotablecoffeeisn’toneofthem.”“Of course, Your Grace,” MacGuiness acknowledged, with only the

smallestflickerofasmile,thenturnedtoHonor.“Andforyou,YourGrace?”heinquiredinnocently.

“If Herzog von Rabenstrange is prepared to drink your coffee, then I’mhappy for you,Mac,” she assured him gravely. “In my own case, however, IbelieveI’dpreferanOldTillman.”

“Ofcourse,”hemurmuredoncemore,anddepartedforhispantry.“You’vereallygottentoknowmeandmymenagerieentirelytoowellfor

mypeaceofmind,Chien-lu,”Honorsaid,andhechuckled.“Perhaps I have,” he acknowledged, but then his smile faded. “Perhaps I

have,”herepeatedinasoftervoice,“butIhaven’thad thechanceyet to tellyouhowdistressedIwas tohear

aboutColonelLaFollet.Iknowhowmuchhemeanttoyou.”“Thank you.” Honor paused to swallow, then cleared her throat. “Thank

you,”sherepeated,“butI’mscarcelyaloneinhavinglostpeopleIcaredabout.”

“No,youaren’t.Whichratherbringsmetothemostburningissue,frommycousin’sperspective,I’mafraid.”

“Of course it does.” Honor nodded. “And on that particular point, I’mafraidIcan’tgiveyouthesortofpositiveassuranceIcanprovidewhereSimões’veracityisconcerned.”

“ThatwasourimpressioninNewPotsdam.”Rabenstrangeshookhishead.“Ofcourse,HisMajestyandIhadverylittle

timetoexaminethedocumentationEmpressElizabethsent tohimbefore Igotbundled aboard that miserable little dispatch boat. I had rather more time toconsider it at length on the trip here, however, and it seemed evident that‘positiveassurance’wouldbe…

elusive,underthecircumstances.WhichputsusinwhatIbelievenovelistscall‘adelicateposition.’”

“I’ve been instructed by Empress Elizabeth and President Pritchart to

informyouthatifyouwishtopersonallyinterviewDr.Simões,you’llcertainlybefreetodoso.Forthatmatter,ifyouwish,youcanbringalonganintelligenceexpert of your choice.Andwe’re alsowilling to provide a treecat to tell youwhetherornotSimõesistellingyouthetruthinresponsetospecificquestions.”Sheshrugged.“Irealizewe’dbeprovidingthetreecat,butit’stheclosestwecancometoprovidingaliedetectorwithoutriskingtriggeringanysuicideprotocolsthatmightbehiddenawaydowninsidehim.”

“Aconcernwhichalsoexplainswhyhehasn’tbeen interrogatedwith theassistanceof…pharmaceuticalenhancement,let’ssay,”Rabenstrangeobserved.

“Exactly.”Honor sighed. “Theproblem is he’s theonly intelligence assetwe’vegotwherethisAlignmentisconcerned,Chien-lu.We’retreatinghimwithvelvetglovesbecauseweliterallycan’taffordtolosehim.”

“Understood.”

MacGuiness returnedwith a cup of coffee, a chilled stein of beer, and aplatterofcheeses,fruit,andcelery.

Rabenstrangenoddedhisthanksasheacceptedthecoffee,andwaiteduntilthestewardhadleftthedaycabinbeforeheturnedbacktoHonor.

“Iunderstandthelimitationsyou’refacing,”hesaid,“andbecauseIdo,Idon’tthinkI’llbetakingtheEmpressandthePresident

upontheirgenerousoffertopersonallyinterviewDr.Simões.Iwouldlikemyintelligencestafftoreviewtherecordingsofhisdebriefingsessions,butlet’snotdoanythingwecanavoidwhichmightaddevenmorestresstohissituation.”

“I’msurethey’llappreciatethat,”Honorsaidsincerely,butshealsocockedherheadinquiringly,andheshrugged.

“Speakingtohimdirectlyisn’tlikelytotellmeanythingIwon’talreadyseefrom the debriefing recordings. I understand the reason for the offer—todemonstratethatyourintelligencepeoplearebeingasforthcomingaspossible—butalladirect interrogationcoulddowouldbe togivehim theopportunity toreconfirmwhathe’salreadytoldyou.”

Honor nodded slowly, and Rabenstrange sipped coffee thoughtfully, eyesunfocused as he gazed at something only he could see for several moments.ThenhegavehimselfasmallshakeandlookedbackatHonor.

“So,havingsaid that,andbearing inmind the reservation you’ve alreadynoted,doyoubelievethisMcBryde’sallegations?”

“DoIbelievethem?”“Please,Honor!”Rabenstrangeshookachidingfingerather.“You’vehad

considerably longer to thinkabout it than Ihave,you’vehadbetteraccessnotjusttoSimõesbuttoCaptainZilwickiandOfficerCachat,andthere’s that little

matter of what almost happened to you aboard this very ship.” The chidingfingerstiffenedandpointedatthedecksole,andtheherzog’sexpression turnedmuchmoreserious.“IknowyouwereclosetoLieutenantMears,soIknowhowlosing him, especially in that fashion, must have hurt. Believe me, losingColonelHofschulteandhisyoungersonhurtPrinceHuang.ForHuang—andforme—

that gives you what I think we might both agree to call a specialperspective.”

Honor’smouthhadtightened,butshenoddedinunderstanding.ShepausedandtookaswallowofOldTillman,thenlookedbackathim.

“AllIcansayisthatbothCaptainZilwickiandOfficerCachatbelievethatat least the majority of McBryde’s information, and the business about thenanotech assassinations in particular, was the truth to the best of McBryde’sknowledge. That’s also Dr. Simões’ belief, although he himself had noknowledgeoftheAlignment’sclandestineoperations.Havingsaidthat,Simõesis clearly prejudiced inMcBryde’s favor. As nearly as I can tell, and Nimitzagreeswithmeinthis,McBrydewasprobablySimões’onlyfriendintheworldby the time the two of them decided to defect. I don’t personally believeMcBrydewasmanipulatinghimassomesortofelaboratedisinformationsting,butinallhonesty,Ican’tcompletelyruleoutthatpossibility.”

She paused, regardingRabenstrange steadily, and tasted his slow mentalnod,hissatisfactionthatshewasdoingherabsolutebesttobecompletelyhonestwithhim.

“Obviously, we all wishMcBryde had gotten out along with Simões. Insomeways,it’salmostmorefrustratingtohavethebitsandpieceswehave—orappear to have, anyway—without confirmation than it would have been toremaincompletely ignorant.Nonetheless,everythingwe’vebeenable tochecktestsout,Simõesbelievedhewastellingthetruth,andthegrossdescriptionhegave of how the nanotech is supposed towork is fully consistentwithwhat IpersonallysawinLieutenantMears’case.”

“Howso?”Rabenstrangeaskedgently.“McBrydewasasecurityagent,notascientist.”Honor’s tone became almost clinical. “He couldn’t explain the actual

mechanisms,and,tobehonest,we’reallconfidenthewasholdingbackdetailshecouldhavegivenusasbargainingchipsfurtherdowntheroad.AndasaddedincentivesforZilwickiandCachattogethimandSimõesoutinthefirstplace,of course.” She shrugged ever so slightly. “I don’t see how any reasonablepersoncouldblamehimforthat,underthecircumstances.

“Atanyrate,according to his explanation, theAlignment’s developed an

extremelysophisticated,virus-based,organicnanotech.Personally,Ithinkthat’sevidenceofjusthowcrazytheyallare,but thatmightbe theBeowulfer inme,andthey,atleast,areapparentlyconfidentoftheirabilitytocontrolitandkeepitfrommutating.AllIcansayisthatIhopethey’rerightaboutthat.”

Rabenstrangenoddedsoberly,andshecontinued.“McBrydesaid—I’veseen the recordingheprovided toCaptainZilwicki,

andI’llseetoityougetacopy,aswell—thatthenanotechhastobespecificallyengineeredforitstarget.Theyhave

to get their hands on a sample of the target’s geneticmaterial, then build thenannies around that material. If McBryde’s right about that, that’s almostcertainlytheprimaryreasonnoforensicexaminationhasturnedupanyevidenceof it. Itbreaksdownalmost instantly after completing its function, and it’s alltaggedasalegitimatecomponentofthetarget’sownbody.

“McBryde either didn’t knowor didn’t say exactly how sophisticated thenanotech’s‘programming’canbe,butourbestestimatebasedonwhathedidsayisthatithastoworksomethingliketransferredmusclememory.”

“Ibegyourpardon?”“Transferredmusclememory.”Honorrepeated.“ONIconsultedmyfather

asoneoftheStarEmpire’sleadingneurosurgeonsassoonastheystartedtryingto evaluate McBryde’s claims,” she didn’t add that he’d also been called inbecauseofhispersonalconnectionwithherandthemonumentallyhighsecurityclearanceswhichwentwithit,butshereallydidn’thaveto,“andI’vediscusseditpersonallywithhim.Hedoesn’tliketheimplicationsonebit,buthesaysit’satleasttheoreticallypossible.Infact,hethinksthereareprobablysomesimilaritiesbetweenthewaythenanotechworksandthewaythisworks.”

Sheheldupherartificiallefthandandflexeditsfingers.“WhenIwaslearningtohandlethis,Ihadtorelearnallthemusclememory

usingthenewneuralconnections—connectionswhichwere significantly different from the organic ones I’d

alwayshad.Apparently,ifmydad’sright,whattheydoistouseahuman…callher a ‘host,’ forwantof abetterword, to ‘train’ thenanotechprettymuch thesamewayItrainedmyprosthesisandmyownbrain.Again,assuminghe’sright,theycanonly train it to carry out limited and probably very specific physicalactions.Thatdoesn’tmean thephysicalactionscan’tbecomplex,according tomy dad, but that they can probably only put them together in specificcombinations,andthere’sadatastoragelimitation—probablyaprettysevereone—onwhat theycanactuallypack into thenanotech.Forexample, I’veviewedthebridgeimageryofthedayTimwaskilled.”

Hervoiceroughenedsuddenly,hermouthtightened,hereyesdarkened,and

shepausedagainbeforeshecouldcontinue.“I’veviewed the bridge imagery,” her sopranowas almost as clinical, as

detached, as before when she went on once more, “and aside from drawingSimon’spulserandopeningfire,henevermovedfromtheinstantwhateverwascontrollinghimtookover.Hesimplystoodinoneplace,heldthetriggerdown,and swept his fire across the bridge. Looking at the security imagery of theHaveniteambassador’schauffeurshootingAdmiralWebster,youseeverymuchthesamething.Hedrawshisweapon,heopensfire—hittingthreeotherpeople,notjusttheAdmiral—andsimplystandsthereuntilhe’sshotinturn.Noattempttoescape,noefforttotakecoverorevadereturnfire,nothing.Wehaven’thadtheopportunitytolookatanyimageryyoursecuritypeoplemayhaveofColonelHofschulte,soIcan’tsayhowconsistentthatisinhiscase,butthat’sthepatternwe’reapparentlyseeing.

“Now,accordingonceagaintomydad,therehastobeanothercomponent,somesortoforganicAI,youmightsay.

Hisbest guess is that it probably sets up residence in somecorner of thetarget’sbrain,but itwouldn’tnecessarilyhave tobe located thereas longas ithasaccesstothecentralnervoussystem.PresumablytheAIisissuedwithasetof triggering criteria that it looks for before activating whatever ‘musclememory’mayhavebeeninstalledin thenanotech.Obviously, thecriteriacan’tbetoocomplex.”

Rabenstrangenoddedagain.Theancientcybernetichopeofachieving truesentience in an “artificial intelligence” had never been realized. Enormousstrides had been made in crafting “brilliant programs” which could mimicintelligence—hence the continued use of the term “AI,” even though it wastechnically incorrect—but those programs could react only to parameters theprogrammer could anticipate. The ability to discriminate triggering criteria insomething as complex as normal human interactions was notoriouslycomplicated,unlesstheprogrammerhadaveryspecificgraspoftheinteractionslikely to arise or could build in a mechanism the program could use to gainadditional information and extrapolate from it. An AI designed to deal withcustomerserviceinquiries,forexample,ortooperateanairtaxi,andwhichhadtheopportunitytoclarifysituationsanddesiresbyaskingquestions,couldgivean incredibly convincing imitation of genuine sentience within its area ofcompetence.Outsidethatareaofcompetence,however,andwithoutthatabilitytoexpanditsinformationbase,thesituationwascompletelydifferent.AndifDr.

Harrington was right, the AI in this case certainly wouldn’t have theopportunitytoaskany“clarifying”questionsbeforeitacted!

“Atanyrate, ifmydad’s rightabout this, theAIonly triggersundervery

specific circumstances. In fact, they probably err on the side ofnot triggeringwhen they set up the original programming, even when that means missingpossibleopportunities,inordertoavoidthesortsofaccidentswhichmighthavestarted someone wondering what the heck was going on. And the specificactions which can be triggered are only those which have been ‘muscletransferred’ to the target. So, assuming he’s right, this stuff couldn’t forcesomeoneto,say,enteracomputercodethat’sinhismemory,notthenanotech’s.Anditcan’taccesshisknowledgeormakehisconsciousbraindowhatitwants—forcehimtomakeupalieinordertopenetratesecurity,forexample,orcomeupwithhisownplan for someassassinationoractof sabotage.Daddysays itwouldprobablybetheoreticallypossibleto…pre-record,let’ssay,alie,althoughhedoesn’tknowwhether itwouldsoundlike the target’svoiceor thevoiceofwhoeverprovidedthemusclememorytothenanotech.Butit’snotlike…oh,likehypnosisoradjustment.Itcouldn’ttrickitsvictimintosupplyingthepropercodewordresponsetoachallenge—orevenforcehimtorespondinthefirstplace—unlesswhoeverprogrammedithadtheproperchallengeaheadoftime.”

“But if the programmer had the challenge, knew the computer code, hecouldcausethe‘target’toenterit?”

Rabenstrangeasked,eyesnarrow.“Probably.Well,possibly,anyway.”Honorshrugged.“We’reshootinginthedark,Chien-lu.Asyousay,we’vehadmoretimeto

think about this and more complete information, but without the kind ofspecifics McBryde either never had or at least never gave us, all of this istheoretical.”

“Understood.”Rabenstrange leanedback inhisarmchaironcemore, righthandstrokingNimitz’spine,andgrimaced.“Understood,butitposesalmostasmanyquestionsasit‘theoretically’answers,doesn’tit?”

“Youmightsaythat.”Honorsmiledwithoutatraceofamusement.“Ontheotherhand,IpersonallythinkDad’sontosomething.Iftheycouldactuallyreachintosomeone’smindandmemorieswiththisstuff,theywouldn’tneedassassins.Theycouldsimplyprogrampeopleinkeypositions—likeaprimeministerorapresident—tostartdoingwhateveritwastheywantedthemtodo.Ortheycouldsimply have targeted someone else on Imperator, someone besides Tim, whohad access to a fusion reactor or a hyper generator or any of a dozen othercriticalsystemsIcanthinkofrightoffhand.Someonewhocouldhavedestroyedtheentireship,notjustkilledme.

Butgettinganyone intoaposition todoanyof that, to initiate theproperprocedures,would have required access to information the programmer didn’thaveandcouldn’tbuildintothemusclememorytransfer.”

“Idon’tknowhowmuchconfidence I’mprepared to invest in that,but itsoundsreasonable,”Rabenstrangesaidthoughtfully.

“Well,onethingwedoknowisthattreecatscansensethemomentinwhichwhateveritiskicksin,”Honorsaid.

“And the ’cats have volunteered to help protect ‘their two-legs.’ I don’tknowhowwellwe’d do at convincing one of themto relocate all theway toNewPotsdam,though.Tobehonest,Ithinkseparatingany’catnotbondedtoahumanlivinginNewPotsdamfromtherestofhisorherclanwouldcause the’catseverementaldistress, so I’mnot at all surewecouldor shouldask it ofthem.On thebasisofwhat they’vealreadyvolunteered, though, I’mconfidentwecouldprovideatreecatearlywarningsystemforanyAndermaniflagofficeror ambassador”—she smiled lopsidedly at him—“here in the Star Empire orservingwithourfleetanywhere.”

“I see.” Rabenstrange looked down at Nimitz, still stroking the treecat’sfluffypelt,andnodded.“SomeofmyfellowAndermanimayhavealittletroublewiththat,I’mafraid.Theydon’tknowanytreecatsthewayI’vecometoknowNimitz, and they’re likely not to understand why Elizabeth can’t send all the‘pets’ shewants to theEmpire.HisMajesty, on the other hand, probablywillunderstand.”

“Youthinkso?”“I’malmostcertain.I’vediscussedNimitzwithhimoftenenoughforhim

tograspthattreecatsarejustasmuchsentientbeingsashumansare,atanyrate.And all well-deserved traditions of Andermani imperial arrogancenotwithstanding,wedounderstandthatwecan’talwayscompelthefreecitizensofsomeoneelse’sstarnationtodowhatwewant.”

“I’mrelievedtohearthat.OneofthethingsI’vebeenworryingabout,tobehonest,waswhetherornotour

‘refusal’ to send ’cats to the Empire would be seen as some sort ofdeliberateslightormaneuver.Orasifwe’re

‘holdingout’totrytocompeltheEmpiretodowhatwewant.”“Oh,believeme,itwillbeseenasexactlythatbyalltoomanymembersof

our aristocracy!” Rabenstrange snorted. “It just won’t be seen that way byGustav—orHuangorme,forthatmatter—andtobehonest,that’sallthatreallymattersatthispoint.”

The two of them sat in silence for a handful of minutes, and thenRabenstrangecockedhisheadatHonor.

“MayIaskexactlywhatitisElizabethisplanningtoproposetomein”—hecheckedhischrono—“twohoursandtwenty-sevenminutes?”

“Idon’tthinkI—”Honorbegan.“Oh,don’tbesilly,Honor!Surelyyoudon’tthinkforaminutethatIthink

Elizabethisgoingtomakearecommendationtomewithouthavingrunitbyyoufirst,doyou?”Heshookhishead.“She’snotclumsyenough todo somethingthatdumb!”

“Well,Isupposenot,”sheadmitted.“Then you might as well go ahead and tell me. I’m going to decide to

recommend to Gustav whatever I’m going to decide, and I don’t see wherelettingmegetstartedthinkingaboutitbeforeIsitdownwithElizabethcoulddoanyharm.”

Honorcouldthinkofseveralscenarios inwhich itcertainlywouldn’thelpManticore’s position, but she regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, thenshrugged.

“Basically, I think she’s going to suggest the Andermani Empire shoulddeclare its effective neutrality in our confrontation with the League.With theRepublic backing us, we shouldn’t need your battle squadrons to deal withFilaretawhenhegetshere.Forthatmatter,weshouldn’tneedthemevenifthesituationgetssignificantlyworseandwefindourselvesinageneralconflictwiththeSollies.

Notuntiltheymanagetocomeupwithpod-layersandMDMsoftheirown,atanyrate.”

“I can seewhere thatwould probably be true, but there are going to bepeopleinNewPotsdamwhowonderwhatsortofMachiavellianmaneuverthosenefariousMantiesareuptothistime.AddingtheEmpiretothepotinanefforttomake theSollies realize theircurrentpolicy is…ill-advised, let’ssay,wouldseemtomakealotofsense.Fromyourperspective,atleast.”

“If theSolliesweregoing tomakeanykindofa realisticappraisalof theactualbalanceofmilitarycapabilities,they’dneverhavesentFilaretaouthereinthefirstplace.There’snotmuchpointinmakinglogicalargumentstosomeonewho’salreadydecided to ignore inconvenient truths, so they’d probably neverevennoticetheEmpireifwedidaddittothemix.”Honorshrugged.

“That being the case, Elizabeth and President Pritchart have decided itmakes more sense to get you out of the line of fire, as far as the League isconcerned.Thatdoesn’tmeantheycan’tforeseesomefuturecircumstanceunderwhich might make sense for you to go ahead and sign on to the anti-Sollyalliance, assumingGustav’swilling andKolokoltsov and the other Mandarinsarereadytopushthingsthatfar.Ithinkwhatthey’rereallyafteratthispointisleaving you some freedom ofmaneuver. For thatmatter, they could even seesomesituationsinwhichhavingyouavailableasathirdparty—ago-between—

mightmakealotofsense.”“AnditwouldalsoleaveusfreetogoaftertheMesanAlignment,wouldn’t

it?”Rabenstrangeobservedshrewdly.

“Oh, I thinkyoucould take itasagiven that that’sonepossibilitywhichhas crossed their minds,” Honor agreed with a faint twinkle of genuineamusement.“Mindyou,Elizabethisn’tthesorttoletanyoneelse‘goafter’

Mesa if she canpossiblydo it herself, especially after theYawataStrike.ButifitshouldhappenthatwefindourhandsfullwiththeLeague,Isupposeitcouldbeconvenient if there justhappenedtobeanothermodernnavy,with itsownpod-layersandaboneofitsowntopickwithMesa,whocouldstandinforher.”

She leaned forward and selected a cheese wedge from the platterMacGuinesshadputbetweenthem,thenlookedbackupinnocently.

“Youwouldn’thappentoknowwhereshemightbeabletofindone,wouldyou,Chien-lu?”

ChapterNineteenIt was undoubtedly, Honor thought, surveying the outsized conference

room,themostunlikelymeetingshe’deverattended.Infact, itwas thesortofmeetingnoManticorancouldhaveimaginedoutsideadrugdreamasrecentlyaslastmonth.

Empress Elizabeth, President Pritchart, Benjamin Mayhew, MichaelMayhew,PrimeMinisterGrantville,ForeignMinisterLangtry,andSecretaryofCommerceNesbittsatrangedaroundtheheadoftheenormousconferencetable.(Nesbitt was substituting—notwithout some obvious reservations—for LeslieMontreau, who’d been sent home with the daunting task of presentingElizabeth’sandPritchart’sdrafttreatiestotheHaveniteSenate.)Stretchedalongoneof the table’s longsideswereHonorherself,Hamish,HighAdmiralJudahYanakov, Sir Thomas Caparelli, Admiral Pat Givens, and Admiral SonjaHemphill. Stretched along the other were Thomas Theisman, Admiral LesterTourville,KevinUsher,Vice Admiral Linda Trenis, and Rear Admiral VictorLewis.And at the endof the table, facing Elizabeth, Benjamin, and Pritchart,wereFirstDirectoratLargeFedoseiDemianovichMikulinandThirdDirectoratLargeJacquesBenton-RamirezyChou.

TheonestarnationconspicuousbyitsabsencewastheAndermaniEmpire,but that was by design. Chien-lu Anderman had decided to recommend thatGustav take Elizabeth’s and Pritchart’s advice and stand aside from the StarEmpire’s confrontation with the League. Accordingly, the Andermani battlesquadronsattachedtoEighthFleethadbeenwithdrawntoTrevor’sStar,andno

Andermaniofficerswerepresent.If they were missing, however, there were more than enough treecats

presenttomakeupfortheirabsence.Nimitz, Samantha, and Ariel would have been there anyway, but now

treecatssatonthebacksofBenjamin’s,Pritchart’s,Theisman’s,Tourville’s,herUncleJacques’,Caparelli’sandGrantville’schairs,aswell,and itwasvirtuallycertainthateveryoneelsesittingatthattablewouldbereceivinghisorherownpersonalfurrybodyguardveryshortly.

MostoftheHavenitesstillseemedalittleawkward,alittleunsureaboutthenotionofallowinganentirecrewoftelepathsinsideallof thesecuritysystemsprotectingwhateverwassaidanddiscussedinthisconferenceroom.

Itwasn’t that they thought any of the ’catswere going to turn out to beSolarian orMesan spies. They justweren’t used to them yet, despite Nimitz’constantpresenceatHonor’s own diplomaticmeetingswithmost of the samepeopleinNouveauParis.

Butthat’llchange,shetoldherself,andtriednottosmileasshelookedatLesterTourville.

Alone of theHavenites,Tourville had acquired at least a little fluency inreadingsignduringhisperiodasaPOW

hereintheManticoreBinarySystem.Hecouldn’tsignhimself—veryfewhumans could do that, even in theStarEmpire—and his ability to understandwhathisnewlyassignedguardian’sfingersweresayingremainedlimited,tosaythevery least.Despite that,however,hewasconsiderablyaheadof theothers.Anditdidn’thurtanythatthebasicpersonalityofhisnewtreecatcompanion—

Lurks inBranches—complemented his own sowell. Both of them had a“cowboy”streakabouttwometerswide,butunderthoseebullientsurfaces,theywerealsointenselyfocusedandsharpasavibroblade.

In fact, all of the new guardians—from Pritchart’s Sharp Claw toTheisman’s Springs From Above—had personalities which were remarkablycompatiblewiththeirhumancharges.

I think thememory singersmay have sampledmore than just Nimitz andSamantha’s impressions of Simões before they handed out assignments, shethoughdryly.

Interestingthateveryonewho’sbeen“catted”atthispointissomeonebothofthemhavemet,anyway.Iwonderhowtheyactuallyhandled it, though?Didthememorysingersmixandmatch,ordid they just“sing” themind-glows sothevolunteerscouldpicktheonestheywanted?

Either way, she could taste the way the ’cats were already settling intocomfortableacceptanceoftheirtwo-legs.Itwasn’tremotelyliketheintensityof

herownbondwithNimitz,butitfelt…nice.Likethebeginningofalong,closefriendship,shesupposed,althoughshecouldalsotellthe’catsweremorethanalittle frustrated by the Havenites’ lack of signing fluency. For one thing, theinability to hold two-sided conversations of their ownwas the biggest reasonmostof thoseHavenites, despite their verybest,mostsincere efforts, still hadtroubledeepdown inside thinkingof thesmall, fluffycreaturesas full fledgedguardiansandprotectorsandnotcutelittlepets.

Oncetheydolearntoreadsign,they’regoingtofigureoutonanemotionallevel,notjustanintellectualone,thattreecatsarepeople,too,shethought.Andwhenthathappens,they’renotgoingtobeworriedabouthavingthemsit inonmeetingslikethisone,either.

They’llrealizethe’catsarepartners…andtheycan’tdothatamomenttoosoontosuitme!

Nimitzmadeaverysoftsoundofagreementandconfidencefromthebackofher chair, and she senthimanaffectionatemental caressbefore she lookedbackupthetableatthetwoheadsofstate.

“SoI’mafraidAmbassadorCarmichael’scorrect,”Langtry was saying in somber tones. “If Kolokoltsov were going to call

Filaretaoff,he’dhavealreadydoneit.Infact,unlessthere’salreadysomeoneenroute—whichIverymuchdoubtisthecase!—hedoesn’tevenhavetheoptionanymore. There’s not time for him to change hismind and get somebody outheretocallitoff,evenifhewantedto.”

Headsnodded.IfFilaretahadmanagedtokeeptohisoriginaloperationalschedule, he’d be arriving in Manticoran space within the next twenty-fourhours.

“I agree with Foreign Minister Langtry.” Montrose sounded even moresoberthanLangtry.“They’renotgoingtoorderhimtostanddown.”

“Theyreallyareidiots,aren’tthey?”Grantvilleobservedcaustically.

“I think it’s safe to say they don’t represent sterling examples ofcompetenceandwisdom,yes,Mr.PrimeMinister,”Benton-RamirezyChousaiddryly.“Ontheotherhand,wereallydon’tknowwhatFilareta’sordersare.”Heraisedonehand.“Oh,weknowthebasicplanfor

‘OperationRagingJustice,’butwedon’tknowwhatkindofsecretclausesmayhavebeeninsertedintohisinstructions.”

“Likeapre-existingordertoabandontheoperationifitturnsoutwereallycanblowhisassoff,youmean,Mr.

Director?”KevinUsherinquiredwithagrin.“Somethinglikethat,yes,”theBeowulferrepliedwithasmileofhisown.

Although this was the first time they’dmet, Benton-Ramirez yChou and themassivelythewedUsherhadalreadydiscoveredtheywerekindredsouls.Andofall those present, they seemed least oppressed by thoughts of the cataclysmtowardswhichalltheentireexploredgalaxyseemedtobesliding.

“Ithinkwe’reallinagreementthataclauselikethatwouldrepresentanactofsimplesanity,”Elizabethobserved.“Unfortunately,wehaven’tseenanyotherevidenceofsanityoutofthem!”

“Actually,”WhiteHaven said, “I’m not at all sure letting Filareta standdownatthispointwouldbeinourinterest.”

Therewasamomentofabsolutesilence,witheverysetofeyesturningtohim.ExceptforHonor’s,thatwas.

Unlikeanyof theothers,she(andEmily)hadalreadydiscussed thiswiththeir husband, and while she wasn’t certain she shared his and Emily’s logiccompletely,shewascertainsheagreedwithwhathewasabouttopropose.

“Perhaps you’d care to explain that, My Lord?” Eloise Pritchart invitedafteramoment,topazeyesnarrowedintently.

“Ofcourse,MadamPresident.”WhiteHavenlookedaroundtheconferencetable. “It’s possible Filareta really does have a secret clause directing him toback off if it turns out he’s likely to get reamed. It’s also possible that evenwithoutanysuchclause,he’dbesmartenoughtodoitanyway.Butifhedoes,andhejustturnsaroundandsailsbackoffhomewardwithoutashotbeingfired,wheredoesthatleaveus?”

“Well, to begin with,”Mikulin observed, “it leaves a lot of people alivewho’dbedeadotherwise.Anditprettyconclusivelydemonstratesthattheirnavycan’tstanduptoManticoranweaponstechnology.”

“Does it?”WhiteHaven asked. “Demonstrate they can’t stand up to ourweapons,Imean?”

“Excuse me?” Mikulin looked perplexed, not incredulous, and WhiteHavenshruggedagain.

“WhathappenedtoCrandall’salreadydemonstratedthattoanyonewithaworkingIQ,”hepointedout.

“Despite which, they’ve sent this entire fleet all the way out here. Thedamned‘Mandarins’arestillthatwillingtoriskgettingmillionsofpeoplekilled—and thatunwilling toevenconsideradmitting theymightconceivablybe inthewrong.Thename they’veassigned this abortion isproofenoughof that! ‘Operation Raging Justice? ’” The scorn in his voice was withering. “PrettymuchshowshowtheyplanonsellingthistotheLeague,doesn’tit?They’restilltryingtogamethesystem,andtheydon’tgiveasinglesolitarydamnabout the

firethey’replayingwithaslongasit’ssomeoneelsewhogetsburned!”Hepausedandlookedaroundthetable,hiseyeslikefieryblueice.“Sowhathappens,whatdotheydo, if the fleet they’vesentafterus turns

around and goes home without anyone firing a shot?” hewent on. “Do theysuddenlydecidetoadmittheirentireso-calledstrategywasarecipefordisasterthattheywalkedstraightintowiththeireyeswideopen?Forthatmatter,dotheyadmittheypulledbackbecausethey’vefiguredouttheycan’ttakeusout?

Dotheyeven admitwe let them back off instead of blowing their entirefleetintodustbunnies?No.Whatthey’lldoistrytheirdamnedesttopassitoffasanotherexampleoftheir‘restraint’inthefaceofourbelligerence.Theydidn’tturnaroundbecausetheyknewthey’dgettheirasskickedif theykeptcoming;theyturnedaroundbecausetheyrealizedourleadershipwassohopelesslystupidand bloodthirsty it was really going to fight,despite the fact that we couldn’tpossiblywin,andtheyweren’tpreparedtoslaughterallourpersonnel.Afterall,noneofourspacersareresponsibleforourgovernment’shopelesslycorruptandimperialisticpolicy.

Isn’tthatthewaythey’vealreadybeensellingallthis?Ofcourseit is!Sorather than press matters, once they realized Her Majesty here was perfectlypreparedtothrowawayallofthoselives,they’vedecidedtoexerciserestraint.”

“That’s—” Grantville paused for a moment, looking at his brother, thenshook his head. “I’m sorry,Ham, but that’d be too much for even the Sollypublictoswallow!”

“Maybe,” Vice Admiral Trenis said, her expression thoughtful. “In fact,probably.Thatdoesn’tmeantheywouldn’ttryit,though,Mr.PrimeMinister.AsEarl White Haven says, it’s certainly compatible with the propaganda theMandarinsalreadyhaveoutthere,anyway.Andlet’sfaceit,they’vemanagedtoselltheirpublicalotofthingsthatwerealmostequallypreposterous.”

“Testerknowsthat’strueenough,”Benjaminagreed.“I’dreallypreferforHamishtobewrong, too,Willie,butI’mverymuch

afraidheisn’t.”

“And even if they couldn’t hope to sell it in the long run,”Mikulin saidwithascowl,“theymightfiguretheycouldmakeitstandupintheshortrunaslongasallofthemliedloudlyenoughwithstraightenoughfaces.LongenoughforthemtogetaformaldeclarationofwarthroughtheAssembly,say.”

“All right, I’ll accept that theymay be thinking thatway, even if I don’tthinkthey’dbelikelytogetawaywithit,”Grantvillesaid,althoughhistonewasstilldoubtful.

“Havingsaidthat,though,whatdoyouproposewedoaboutit,Ham?”

“Wedon’tgivethemthechoice,”WhiteHavensaidflatly.“Hamish,”Elizabethsaid,“givenmyreputation, I can’t quite believe I’m

theonewho’sabouttosaythis,butI’dreallyprefernottokillanyonewedon’thavetokill.”

“I’mnotproposingweslaughter themoutofhand,YourMajesty.”WhiteHaven smiled thinly. “Mind you, the notion does have a certain appeal,especiallygivenhowcynicallythey’retakingadvantageoftheYawataStrike.

Reminds you of a carrion hawk circling a sand buck with a broken leg,doesn’t it? Or maybe more of a dune slug getting ready to strip the carcassbeforeit’squitedead.

ButwhatI’msayingisthatweneedtocreateasituationinwhichwhateverhappens here represents an unambiguous, undeniable, decisive defeat for theSLN.SomethingnoSollyspinmeister’sgoingtobeabletoconvinceevensomecredulousthree-year-oldwasa‘voluntaryactofrestraint’

on theLeague’s part.Wedon’t have to blow themall out of space to dothat,either.”

“You’re thinking of forcing them to surrender, aren’t you, Milord?”ThomasTheismansaidslowly,hiseyesnarrowed.

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” White Haven agreed. “After whathappened at Spindle, they’d find the surrender of another four hundred or soships-of-the-walldamnedhardtoexplain.Well,toexplainasanythingexceptanadmissionoftotalmilitaryimpotence,anyway.”

“There’ssomethingtothat,YourMajesty,MadamPresident,”Langtrysaid.“OntheheelsofLacoönand Spindle, the fact thatwe’ve simply captured thebiggestsinglefleettheSolarianLeague’severassembled—

hopefullywithoutfiringashotorharmingasinglehaironanyone’shead—wouldhave to just about finish off any remaining public confidence in BattleFleet.Nottomentiontakinganotherfourhundred-plusships-of-the-walloutofRajampet’sorderofbattle. Idon’tcarehowmanyobsoletewallershe’sgot intheReserve;evenhe’sgottoeventuallyfigureouthe’srunningoutofships.Oroutoftrainedcrewstoputaboardthem,anyway!”

“And if Filareta doesn’t have any ‘secret orders,’ or if he’s just plain toostupidtosurrenderwithoutgettingalotofhisshipsblownoutofspacefirst?”From Theisman’s tone, he wasn’t disputing Langtry’s or White Haven’sanalyses. He was simply a military man who wanted to be sure the civiliansaroundthattablefullyunderstoodwhatwasbeingdiscussed.

“Ifwearrange thingsproperly,Tom,”Honorsaid, entering the discussionfor the first time, “we can create a tactical situation in which he’ll have torecognizethehopelessnessofhisposition.Infact,youandIhavealreadydone

that,haven’twe?”Itwasherturntosmilecoldly.“Theonlychangewe’dhavetomakewouldbetowaitabitlonger,lethim

actuallycrossthelimitbeforewepullthetrigger.Ifhe’snotwillingtosurrenderunderthoseconditions,thenhe’sanotherCrandall,andhewouldn’tbewillingtosurrenderunderanyconditions.Andifthat’sthecase,he’dprobablytrytobullstraightinuntilwestoppedhimthehardway,nomatterwhat.Whichmeans—”

“Whichmeanswe’dhavetoopenfireonhim,anyway,”Pritchart finishedHonor’sthoughtforher.

“Exactly, Madam President.” Honor sighed. “Like Her Majesty, I don’twanttokillanyonewedon’thavetokill.

ButifFliareta’sdeterminedtofightanyway,thenIwantthedeckasheavilystackedinourfavoraspossible.AndIwanthimhammeredsohardevenSollieshavetogetthemessagethatgoingafterusisareally,reallybadidea.

Thatthisisn’tjustanotheroftheirbusiness-as-usualmanipulationsorsomekindofsportingevent,withrulestheycangameanywaytheylikeorwalkawayfrom any time they choose. That it’s awar— their war—and that wars haveconsequences.We didn’t start it; they did,whenByngmassacredChatterjee’sdestroyers.Andwedidn’tsendafleettoattacktheSolSystem;they’vesentonetoattackus.For thatmatter, the fact thatsomanyof theirpeoplegotkilledatSpindlewasCrandall’sfault,notours,andsheobviouslymeanttokillanyofourpeoplewhogotinherway.”

Honor’seyeswerehard,andevenasshespoke,shewonderedhowmuchofthe grim, cold determination she felt insidewas aimed at theSolarianLeagueand howmuch of it was aimed at any convenient target.Was her anger, hervengefulness,theproductofNewTuscanyandSpindle?

Or were they the product of the Yawata Strike, directed at the SolarianLeaguebecauseshecouldn’tgetat theoneswho’dactuallymurderedsomanypeopleshe’dloved?

Anddiditmatterwhichitwas?“They’re bringing thiswar to us,when they don’t have to,” shewent on

coldly. “Bringing it to us when we’vewarned them they’re being played byMesa. When we’ve specifically warned them they’re sending theirsuperdreadnoughts into an effectivedeathtrap!There’s a limit towhatweowethem,howfaroverbackwardwe’rerequiredtobendtokeepfromkillingpeoplewho’reherefortheexpresspurposeofinvadingandconqueringourstarsystemandourhomes.IsupportHamishonthisone.

Don’tletthemoff.Don’tletthem‘magnanimously’stepback.Smackthemdowninaway that forces them to admit the stupidity of sending Filareta outhere in the first place, and then see howwellKolokoltsov and hisMandarins

dealwiththefallout!”ChapterTwentyMassimoFilaretastoodinoneofhisfavorite“thinking”poses,feetspread,handsshoveddeepintohistunicpockets,and

browknittedwhilehegazeddownatthedetailedstarsystemschematic.Atthemoment, that schematic showed both components of the binary systemwhichwashisobjective,buthewasn’t really interested in the secondarycomponent.Notyet.

AlthoughJohndidhaveapoint,hereflected.They’reboundtobeexpectinganyone who comes calling to hit Sphinx or Manticore, especially after whathappened to them in February. That’s where they’re going to have their fleetstrengthconcentrated.Andthebulkofanysystem-defensemissilestheyhavelefthavetobedeployed tocoverManticore-A, too.Theycan’treallyafford to loseanyof their home systemplanets, but theycould afford to loseGryphon a lotmorethantheycouldeitheroftheothertwo.Andtheyhavetoknowthatiftheyspreadthemselvestoothin…

Hegrimaced.ThenotionofhittingGryphonfirst,of startingbyattackingtheirweakestpoint,hadanundeniableappeal.Partofthatwasthe“dippingatoein”

aspect of not getting any deeper than he had to before he’d tested thewaters. That was scarcely the stuff of military derring do; then again,professional naval officers were supposed to avoid derring do wheneverpossible.

“Derringdo”wasusuallywhathappenedonlyaftersomeonehadscrewedup by the numbers and had to figure out how to save his ass from his ownmistakes.Andgiventhathe’dbeenforcedtoacceptthathereallywasfacingthewrongendofatechimbalance,seizinganobjectivetheMantieswouldbeforcedtoretake,compellingthemtocometohimonhisterms,hadalottorecommenditselfintermsofcoldmilitarylogic.Especiallyiftheyreallyweredependingonpod-launchedsystem-defensemissiles—whichwereeffectivelyfixeddefenses—tomakeupthecombatdifferentialagainsttheLeague’ssuperiornumbers.

Unfortunately,hisorderswere togodirectly for theStarEmpire’s capitalworld,andthatmeantattackingManticore-A.

Yeah,thosearetheorders.Butthepeoplewhogavethemaren’there,andyouare.Don’tpretendyouwouldn’t…modify themina heartbeat if you reallythoughtitwouldmakeadifference.

Hesnortedmentally,wonderingyetagain ifone reasonhe’dbeenchosenforthismission—chosenbyhisofficialsuperiors,notManpower,thatwas—waspreciselybecausethosesuperiorsrealizedhe’dtreattheirordersasnomorethan

suggestions if it came down to it.He hoped itwas, at any rate, because he’dalreadydecidedthatwaspreciselywhathewasgoingtodo.

I’msureManpowerdoeshaveitsreasonsforsendingmeouthere,butI’llbedamnedifIdoaCrandallforthem!If thisbrainstormofRajani’slookslikeit’ll really work, all well and good. If it doesn’t…Well, sorry about that,Manpower,butweareoutofhere!

Hedidn’tmuchcaretocontemplatetherepercussionsofdisappointinghis“sponsors,” but he liked contemplating the deaths of a couple of millionSolarians—includingthatofoneMassimoFilareta—evenless.

“All right,” he said finally, turning from the display tank, “does anybodyhave any last-minute thoughts, inspirations, or concerns we need to discussbeforeweallgrabsomesleep?”Hesmiledthinlyandtookonehandfromatunicpockettowaveinthedirectionofthetimedisplaywhichwascountingsteadilydownward towards Eleventh Fleet’s scheduled alpha translation back intonormal-space.“We’vestillgotawholetenhourstothinkaboutthem!”

Thatevokedthesmilesandsmotheredlaughshe’dhopedfor.Therewasanedge of nervousness in some of that laughter, but that was inevitable. Moreimportantly, therewasanevenstrongeredge of…not confidence, perhaps, butsomething close to it. Or a lot closer to that than to dread, at least. Thesimulationsthey’dcarriedoutwiththeirnewmissilesduringthelengthyvoyagehad a lot to do with that. He still had more unhappy questions than answersabout where those missiles had come from—and why—but he had toacknowledge their impact on Eleventh Fleet’s capabilities. He’d been asconservativeashecouldinevaluatingtheirpotential,butbyhiscalculationsthepodsalonehadtripledhiswallofbattle’sstrikingpowerattheveryleast.Andifhewaswillingtoacceptalongenoughballisticphasebetweendriveactivations,thenewmissiles had enough endurance, even in the tube-launchedversion, togive him a powered engagement envelope far in excess of anything his firecontrolcouldhopetohandle.

Thathadtohavegonealongwaytowardsoffsettingtherangeimbalance.

“Seriously,”hecontinued,allowinghisownsmiletolapse,“theinitiative’sours. Ifanybodyhashada last-minute thought,we can still put a hold on theoperationwhileweconsiderit.”

Helookedaroundthefacesofhisseatedstaffersandtheirassistants.Theirexpressionsweresobernow,buttheymethiseyessteadily.Thenhesurveyedthefaces of his taskforce and senior squadron commanders, looking back at himfrom the solid wall of com displays. One or two of them looked a bit morenervous,butthey,too,returnedhismeasuringgazelevelly,andhenodded.

“Good!Inthatcase,John,”heturnedtoAdmiralBurrows,“let’sjusthitthehighpointsonemoretime.”

“Ofcourse,Sir.”Theportlychiefofstaffstoodandwalkedaroundtothelecternatthehead

oftheflagbriefingroom’stable.Normallyhewouldhaveremainedseatedinhisusualplace,buttodaywas

scarcely“normal,”andeverymanandwomaninthatcompartmentorlookinginfromthedisplaywallknewit.

“The key to our plan is the system’s astrography,” he began formally,entering thecommand thatzoomed in theholodisplayonManticore-Aand itsplanets. “In particular, the location of the planet Sphinx.”He entered anothercommand, and a 22-light-minute sphere around the G0-class star suddenlyturnedamber.“Asyoucansee,Sphinx’spositionmeansthat—”

***“Well,better late thannever, I suppose.”MercedesBrighammadea face.

“NotthatI’mnotgratefulfortheextrapreptime,butyou’d thinkevenSolliescouldhitwithin,say,acoupleofdaysoftheiropsschedule.”

“Now, now,” Honor said mildly, studying CIC’s preliminary analysis.“We’vemissedafewoperationalschedulesourselves,Mercedes.”

“True,YourGrace,”RaphaelCardonesagreed.Her flagcaptainhadbeenstandingbesideher,studyingtheflagbridgeplot,butnowheturnedawayfromit to look at the chief of staff. “And far be it from me to point this out,Commodore,butthisisamateurs’night.ThisisBattleFleet,youknow.FrontierFleetmightatleasthavebeenabletofinditsbacksideifitgottousebothhands,but these people?”He shookhis head. “They sit on their asseswhileFrontierFleetdoesall thework,andyou’ve seen thekindof ‘gimme’ simsLadyGoldPeak pulled out of their computers! For somebody with exactly zero realoperationalexperienceandsuchmiserabletrainingdoctrine,comingthisclosetomeetingtheirscheduleisdownrightmiraculous,whenyougetdownto it.”Hesmiledsourly.“Asamatteroffact,I’mstilltryingtocopewiththesurprisethatSollySDswere reallyable tomake it all thewayouthere in the firstplace. Ididn’tthinktheengineroomhamstershaditinthem!”

Honor’s lips twitched unwillingly, but she gave him a moderately sternglower.

“Itmaybe‘amateurs’night,’Rafe,butthesepeoplemayalsobealotcloserto ready for the major leagues than we think. They’ve certainly been givenplentyofincentiveto…reconsidertheirtrainingstandards,atleast.

Ontheotherhand,Mercedes,”shelookedattheolderwoman,“Rafe’sgotapoint.Forsomeonewithzerorealexperience,they’vedonewelltohitthisclose

totheirdeadline.”Brighamlookedbackatherforamoment,thennodded.“You’reprobablyright,YourGrace—bothofyou.Andeitherway,they’re

herenow.”

“And pretty much where we anticipated they’d arrive, Ma’am,” anothervoicesaid.

There was more than a hint of satisfaction in Captain Jaruwalski’sobservation, and Honor nodded. Not that it had taken a tactical genius torecognizetheSollies’mostprobableapproachvector.

She wasn’t accustomed to knowing her adversary’s actual instructionsbeforebattlewaseverjoined,butshewasn’tabout tocomplainwhenitfinallyhappened.Norwas she about to rely blindly on that sort of advantage,whichwaswhyshe’dcopiedMichelleHenke’sSpindle tactics and deployed system-defense pods and most of her heavy cruisers and battlecruisers to coverGryphon,justincaseFilaretahadchosentostrikethatway,instead.Still,despiteany insurance policies against unlikely contingencies, she’d been confident inherownmind thathewouldhead straight forManticore-A,asbothhisordersandtheSolarianNavy’sfundamentalstrategicdoctrinerequired.

Even so, that had left the question of which of Manticore-A’s inhabitedplanets he’d choose to attack. In the eleven T-months since Lester TourvilleexecutedOperationBeatrice,Sphinxhadmovedoutof theresonancezone, theconicalvolumeofspacebetweentheJunctionandManticore-Ainwhichitwasvirtually impossible to translate between hyper-space and normal-space. Thatmeant the planet was no longer shielded from a direct approach, which leftHonor’s homeworld—barely 15.3million kilometers inside the hyper limit—verylittledefensivedepth.

Personally, Honor would have found that very exposure a temptation toattackManticoreratherthanSphinx,onthetheorythatheropponentwouldhavebeenforcedtodeployherforcestoprotectthemoreexposedtarget.

Given the twoplanets’ currentpositions, agoodastrogator could actuallyhavedroppedafleetbackintonormal-spaceclosertoManticorethananymobileunitsdeployedaroundSphinx. Itwouldhavebeenriskier insomeways, sinceattackingthecapitalplanetwouldrequireadeeperpenetrationofthehyperlimit.Thatwouldmakeitmoredifficulttowithdrawintohyperiftheattackerranintoanunanticipatedambush,yetthepotentialpayoffincatchingthedefenseoutofpositionmightwellprovedecisive.

ButifFilaretawasasmuchsmarterthanCrandalasshebelieved,hewasn’t

about to get any deeper than he had to.He’dwant to stay shallow enough tobreak back across the limit and escape into hyper quickly if it turned out thereportsaboutManticoranmissilerangeswereaccurate,afterall.No,he’dgoforSphinx,notManticore,specificallysohecouldcutandrunifitallwentsouthonhim.

Whichshehadnointentionofallowinghimtodo.Her eyes hardened at the thought, and she felt Nimitz stiffen on her

shoulderasheshared thebleakboltofsavagedetermination thatwent throughher.

Her expression never even flickered, but she made herself draw a deepmentalbreathandstepbackfromthebrinkofthatfury.

Down, girl, she told herself firmly. The object is tomake these peoplesurrender,notjustmassacrethem.

Whateverelse theymaybeguiltyof, theyaren’t theoneswhocarriedouttheYawataStrike,andyouknowit.

“What’stheirprojectedvectorlooklike,Theo?”Her soprano was calm, almost tranquil, unshadowed by hatred or

anticipation,andLieutenantCommander TheophileKgari, her staff astrogator,doublecheckedhisreadoutsbeforehereplied.

“Theycameinabouttwelvelight-secondsshyofthelimit,YourGrace,”hesaid.“Calliteighteen-point-ninermillionkilometerstoSphinx.Currentvelocityrelativetotheplanetisthirteenhundredkilometerspersecond,anditlookslikethey’retakingtheiraccelerationeasy.Atthemoment,they’rebuildingdeltaveeat just over three-point-three KPS-squared. With those numbers, they couldmake a zero-zero intercept of the planet in seventy-three-point-six minutes.Turnoveratthirty-three-point-sixminutes,rangetoplanetniner-point-five-sevenmillion klicks. Velocity at turnover would be just over seven-point-ninerthousandkilometerspersecond.”

“Thankyou.”Honor never looked away from the plot as she considered the numbers,

which confirmed her own initial rough estimate. As she thought about them,however, she was acutely conscious of the brown-haired officer who stoodgazing into theplotbesideherwithanother skinsuited treecat on his shoulder.SomepeoplemighthaveworriedthatanofficerofThomasTheisman’stoweringsenioritywouldbetemptedtodoalittlebackseatdriving,orat leastkibitz,nomatterwhoseflagshiphewason.YetwhatHonortastedfromhimmostclearlywas something very like serenity, and she wondered if she’d ever be able tostandonsomeoneelse’sflagbridgeatamomentlikethiswithoutsimplyitchingtostartgivingorders.

Thatquestionwasonlyasecondarythought,however,whilethemajorityofherattentionwasonthecomingengagement’sgeometry.

Themaximumpowered range from restof theSLN’s standard shipkillerswasjustunder7,576,000kilometers.

Fromalaunchspeedof7,900KPS,thatpoweredrangewouldbeascloseto9millionkilometersasmadenodifference,however.Sowithin thenext thirty-fiveminutesorso,FilaretawouldhavebroughtanythinginorbitaroundSphinxintohispoweredmissileenvelope…assuming,ofcourse,thatnothingchanged.

And assuming”standard shipkillers” are what he has in his tubes, shereminded herself.We still don’t know exactly what Mesa used on Rozsak atCongo,Honor.Ofcourse,wealsodon’tknowthatthis‘Alignment’ispreparedtohandthesameweaponstotheSollies,either.

Under their initial defensive planning, they would have concentrated onstopping Filareta short of the limit (and convincing him to withdraw), longbeforeheevergotthatclosetotheplanet.Shestillintendedtostophimbeforehegotthatclosetoherhomeworld,butasfortherestofit…

“Idon’tseeanyreasontochangeourmindsatthisstage,”shesaidoutloud,hersopranoascoldasitwascalm.“We’llgowithCannae.”ShelookedupfromtheplotatLieutenantCommanderBrantley.“PassthepreparatorysignaltoHighAdmiralYanakovandTimberlake,Harper.”

***“SignalfromFlag,Ma’am.”“Andthatsignalwouldbeexactlywhat,Vitorino?”LieutenantCommanderJacquelineSummergate,HMSTimberlake’s commanding officer, inquired, looking up from the small

tacticalrepeaterdeployedfromthebaseofherchair.“Sorry,Ma’am.”EnsignVitorinoMagalhãeswasontheyoungsideforthe

senior communications officer in any starship’s company, even that of asomewhatelderlydestroyer likeTimberlake, and he colored slightly.But if hewas flustered, there was no sign of it in his tone, at least. “‘Execute CannaeAlpha,’Ma’am.”

“Verywell.”Summergatenodded,she’dbeenanticipatingexactlythatsincethefirstSolariansuperdreadnoughtmadeitsalphatranslation.

Now, now, Jackie, she reminded herself. You mean the first unidentifiedsuperdreadnought. After all, there’s no proof these are Sollies invading yourhomestar systemwithout benefit of any formal declaration of war.Why, theycouldbefromAndromeda,instead!

Shesmiledveryslightlyat the thought, thenglancedatLieutenantSelenaKupperman,Timberlake’stacticalofficer.

“Isyourtacdataupdatedyet,Guns?”“Justabout,Ma’am,”Kuppermanreplied.“Thelastofitscominginnow.”“Very good.” Summergate nodded. “Astro, take us out of here.We have

somemailtodeliver.”***Sofar,sogood.Filaretafelthislipstwitch,butherestrainedthesmileashesatmotionless

inhiscommandchair,watchingtheplot.Iwonderwhat’sgoingthroughtheirminds?“Nicejob,Yvonne,”hesaidoutloud.“Thankyou,Sir,”AdmiralYvonneUruguayreplied.EleventhFleet’salphatranslationhadbeenasneatasanyFilaretahadever

seen,withminimal scatter of its units and on almost the exact heading he’dwanted.Oh,Uruguayhadbeenoffslightly—he’dwantedtoshavethemarginonthehyperlimiteventighter—butthatwasinevitableaftersuchalonghypertrip.Thehyperloggaveanastrogatorareasonablyaccuraterunningposition,but

“reasonablyaccurate”overinterstellardistancescouldleavejustabittobedesired,andallowingforthedifferenceinintrinsicvelocitiesbetweendeparturepointandthearrivalstarsystemcouldbetricky,too.Gettinganentirefleettotheright place at the right time, in the right formation, and keeping it that waythroughanalpha translationwhilesimultaneouslycarrying the desired relativevelocityacrossthehyperwallwasanart,aswellasscience,inalotofways.

Ontheotherhand,skilledatherjobornot,Uruguaywouldhavebeenmuchtooseniorforastaffastrogator, inmostnavies,evenon thestaffofa fleet thesizeofFilareta’scurrentcommand.Heknewthat,andeversince thisbusinesswiththeMantieshadblownup,he’dbeenthinkingabouttherankinflationthatwas such an integral, ancient, and time-honored part of the Solarian LeagueNavy.

Assumingwedon’tendup finishing thiswholebusiness thisafternoon,hereflected, we’re going to have to do something about that. Our entire rankstructure’s so frigging bloated it’s no wonder we’ve all got hardening of theprofessionalarteries!ButIhavetosay,Yvonnediddoadamnedgoodjob.

“Howlongdoyouthinkit’sgoingtotakethemtogetaroundtochallengingus,Sir?”AdmiralBurrowsasked.

“Well, theyhave to havenoticedwe’re here,”Filareta replied dryly. “Wedidn’texactlygoforsubtle,afterall.”

Hepursedhislipsthoughtfully,consideringBurrows’

question.HisordershadlefthowhepresentedtheLeague’sdemandstotheMantiestohisowndiscretion,andheandBurrowshadconsideredthematteratsomelength.OnethingFilaretahadbeendeterminedtoavoidwasanyrepeatofSandraCrandall’sasinineanticsatSpindle.Hewasn’t going to hold any two-wayconversationswithminutes-longdelaysbuiltintothemiddleof them.Andhe wasn’t going to hang around for a couple of days before getting down tobusiness,either.

Ontheotherhand,therewassomethingtobesaidforlettingtheothersidesweat.Theancientterm“swinginginthewind”cameforciblytomind,aswell,andhe’ddecidedto let theMantiesworryaboutopeningcommunication.Fourhundred-plus superdreadnoughts ought to be enough to get their attention…especiallywhenthesuperdreadnoughtsinquestionwereheadedstraightfortheircapital star system’s hyper limit. The psychological advantage in forcing theother side to initiate contact might seem like a small thing, but at this pointMassimoFilaretawaspreparedtogoforanyedgehecouldbeg,borrow,orsteal.

“We’re over a light-minute from Sphinx,” he continued out loud, “andwhetherornotthisFTL

communicator they’re supposed to have actually exists, we sure as helldon’thaveit.Givethemfourorfiveminutestokicktheoriginalsightingreportupstairsand their superiorofficers tostopcrapping theirdrawers, thenanothercoupleofminutesforthemtokickitovertothecivilians.Threeorfourminutesforthecivilianstogetbacktotheuniforms,andthenaminuteoflight-speedlagtoget thechallengetous.”Heshrugged.“Tobehonest,I’llbesurprisedifweactuallyhearanythingfromtheminlessthantenminutesorso.”

Burrows nodded slowly, his own expression thoughtful, and Filaretaclimbed out of his chair and strolled across to Admiral Daniels’ station. TheoperationsofficerwasmonitoringCIC’sdataandseemedunawareofFilareta’sapproachforamoment.Thenhelookedupquicklywithanapologeticsmile.

“Sorry,Sir.Didn’tnoticeyou.”“Ifit’sachoicebetweennoticingmeandkeepingyoureyeontheManties,

I’d justassoonyoukeptyoureyeon theManties,”Filareta replieddryly, andDaniels’ smile broadened for a moment. “I know it’s early, Bill,” the fleetadmiralwenton,“butisthereanythingyoucantellusyet?”

“Not really, Sir.”Daniels shrugged. “The recon platforms are headed in-system, but we haven’t been here long enough to pick up anything from ourlight-speedsystems.We’vegotquiteafewimpellersignaturesonthegravitics,butthey’rescatteredaroundtheinnersystem—

ormoving back and forth between the inner system and the Junction, itlookslike,whichtakesthemwellclearofourapproachvector—andallofthem

appear to be civilian traffic.We are picking up a scattering of gravitic pulses,though.”

Hemet Filareta’s eyes, and the fleet admiral nodded, thinking about hisearliercommentstoBurrowsaboutFTL

coms. The Manties’ apparent ability to transmit data at faster-than-lightspeedshadgivenallofthemmoreconcernthantheyreallywantedtoadmit.Theadvantages of real-time or near real-time communication of tactical datawereenoughtomakeanyonewhodidn’thavethemnervousaboutfacinganyonewhodid.And all the fragmentary information available to Eleventh Fleet when itpulledoutofTasmaniahadinsistedtheMantiesweredoingitusinggravpulses,possibly to somehow manufacture modulated ripples along the alpha wall’sboundarywithnormal-space.TheoreticalgraviticswerescarcelyFilareta’sareaofexpertise,andhehadnoideahowtheMantiesmightbepullingitoff.Forthatmatter,itdidn’tsoundtohimlikeanyofthegravitictheorists—evenamongthehandfulwhowouldadmititmightbepossible—

had a clue about how to actually do it.Given the penalties the SLNhadalreadypaidforitsinstitutionalarrogance,however,heandhisstaffhaddecidedtoaccepttheprobabilitythattheMantiescoulddoit.

Funnyhowtheapparentconfirmationthatwewererightdoesn’tmakemefeelawholelotbetter,hethought.

“Anypatterntothesources?”“Not really,Sir.Ornot onewe can identifyyet, at any rate. It looks like

they’redirectionalashell,sotheonlyoneswe’reactuallygettingagoodlookatarecomingfromdirectlyout-systemofus.Theymightbescatteredall aroundthesystemperipherywithoutmybeingabletopickthemupyet.”Hegrimacedapologetically.“We’restillspreadingtheplatforms,Sir.And, tobehonest, I’mnot sure how good they’ll be picking up this sort of datum in the first place.Their gravitic arrays just aren’t set up or calibrated to detect or differentiatesignalslikethis.”

“The best you can do is all you can do,” Filareta said, much morephilosophicallythanheactuallyfelt.

Danielsnoddedandreturnedhisattentiontohisdisplays.Filaretawalkedbackacross to themaster plot and unobtrusively checked

thewaterfalldisplayononeof thesecondaryplotswhichshowed thestatusofEleventh Fleet’s hyper generators. A hyper generator built to the scale of asuperdreadnoughtlikePhilipOppenheimerwasasubstantialpieceofequipment,andittooktimetocycle.

Infact,itwouldhavetakenOppenheimerthirty-twominutes—overhalfan

hour—to go from powered-down status to translation into hyper. Recoveringfroma translation took time,aswell,althoughnowherenear that long. In fact,Oppenheimer’s generator could return to stand-by readiness in only twelveminutes, but it would take another four to cycle all the way up to an actualtranslation,foratotalofsixteenminutes.Unfortunately,they’dbeenonlyaboutnineteenminutes flight time fromManticore-A’s hyper limitwhen they madetheiralphatranslation.Thatwaswhyhisoperationsplanhadspecifiedbringingthose generators back to full readiness as quickly as possible, and he gave amentalnodofsatisfactionasheobservedtheirprogressandthenglancedat thetimedisplay.

Fiveminutessincethey’dcrossedthealphawall,henoticed.***“Looks like this is it, Sir,” Ensign Brynach Lacharn said quietly (and

redundantly,inLieutenantHamiltonTrudeau’sopinion).The Junction traffic control net had just goneberserk as thebulk carriers

and passenger vessels queued up for transit got their first intimation thatsomething untowardwas occurring a few light-hours away in the direction ofManticore-A.Givenwhathadhappenedtothestarsystemafewmonthsago—and the possibility that the people who’d done that might choose to hit theJunctionafterall,iftheywentforarepeatvisit—Trudeaucouldhardlyfaultthemerchies’ evident consternation.Not that hewas particularly pleased by howquicklythatconsternationhadmanifesteditself.Itonlyconfirmedwhatheandtherestoftheship’scompanyofSLNSDB17025hadalreadydecidedhadtobethecase:theMantiesreallydidhaveFTLcommunications.

“AnythingfromJunctionAstroControl?”heasked.“Not yet,” Lacharn replied, then shrugged. “Well, aside from the initial

announcement that ‘unidentified starships’ are approaching the Manticore-Alimit,atanyrate.That’swhatsetoff thisentirecluster fuck!”Hewaved in thedirection of the obviously overworked petty officer monitoring thecommunicationsnet.“Nowthateveryone’syammeringaway, Idon’t have anyideahowsoonACSisgoingtomanagetorestoresomekindoforder.”

“Great.”

Trudeau shook his head in disgust.When he and the rest ofDB 17025’screwhadbeendesignatedforthisoperation,he’dthoughtitwasaparticularly…ill-advisednotion.He’devensaidso—tactfully,ofcourse—althoughnoonehadpaid him any attention. Which just went to show that brain power wasn’tnecessarily a requirement for high rank.Theywere amiserabledispatchboat,forGod’ssake!

EvenassumingJunctionACSwouldbewillingtoletanyonemaketransitthroughtheJunctionatatimelikethis,adip-shitlittlecourierboatwasn’tgoingtobeveryhighinthequeue.WhichcompletelyoverlookedthefactthatDB

17025wasaSolarianvessel.Ofcourse,thegeniuseswho’dcomeupwiththishadprobablydone it before they realized theMantieswere closing everywormholeterminustheycouldreachagainstSolariantraffic,butstill…

Ontheotherhand,we’renotjustanySolariandispatchboat,hereflected.“Stayonit,Brynach,”hesaid.“Soonerorlater,they’regoingtostarttaking

callsfromsomebody,soleanonthem.RemindthemaboutourINScredentials.”“Yes,Sir.”Lacharnnodded,althoughhehadevenmorereservationsabouttheirorders’

basicassumptions thanTrudeau.Oneofhissistersworked for theMinistry ofEducationandInformation,whichmeantheknewexactlyhowthe“independentreportage”of theSolarianmediaworked, and inhisopinion,SloariannewsiesweretheverylastpeopletheMantiesoughttobeallowingtousetheJunction.For thatmatter, the InterstellarNewsServiceCorporationhadneverbeenhighontheManties’listoffavoritepeople—somethingtodowithINS’

“accommodations”withthePeople’sRepublicofHaven’sOfficeofPublicInformation.Still, itmightwork, he supposed, since—unlike the League—theMantiesactuallygaveatleastalittlemorethanpurelipservicetotheconceptofafreeandindependentpress.

Andifitdidn’twork,itwasnoskinoffEnsignBrynachLacharn’snose.***“FleetAdmiral,we’vegotimpellersignatures!”William Daniels reported sharply, and Filareta nodded as he saw the

crimsoncodesofstarship impellerwedgesappearing in theplot.Theyweren’tmoving,justsittingthere.

“CIC’s identified two separate groups,” Daniels continued. “The largergroup—designateTangoOne—isaboutmidwaybetweenSphinxandManticore,range approximately two-seven-zero-point-niner million kilometers. Call itfifteenlight-minutes.Thesmallergroup

—designateTangoTwo—isa lotcloser.Rangeone-five-point-onemillionkilometers,abouttwomillionklicksthissideofSphinx.Allwe’vegotrightnoware the signatures themselves—they just lit off—but preliminary countmakesTangoOneapproximatelysixtysources.TangoTwo’sonlyaboutfortyand—”

Theoperationsofficerpausedforamoment,listeningtotheearbuglinkedtoOppenheimer’sCombatInformationCenter,thennodded.

“Tango One’s begun to accelerate towards us, Fleet Admiral,” he said.“Acceleration’sjustunderfourhundredandseventygravities—calliffour-point-

sixKPS-squared.Assuming constant acceleration, they could make a zero-zero with our

currentpositioninjustunderfour-point-twohours.Aleasttimeapproachwouldgetthemhereinrightonthreehours,butthey’vehaveafinalvelocityofalmostfiftythousandKPS.”

“Understood,” Filareta acknowledged, eyes narrow as he considered thenewsignaturesandprojectedvectorsinthemasterplot.

Eleventh Fleet had been accelerating towards Sphinx for almost twelveminutesnow, and his task forces had traveled roughly 1.8million kilometers,halfwaytothehyperlimit.Theywereuptoaclosingvelocityof3,683

KPS,17.1millionkilometersfromtheplanet.ButDaniels’recon platforms, with their far higher acceleration, were only about 5.3

million kilometers from the nearer Manty formation, closing on it at 36,603KPS. That meant they were 9.8million kilometers ahead of Eleventh Fleet’sbattlesquadrons,however,whichimposedatransmissiondelayofalmostthirty-threesecondson their telemetry,so itwasgoing tobeawhilebefore they gotlight-speedconfirmationoftheFTL-detectableimpellersignatures.

“It may be smaller, but Tango Two’s also directly between us and theplanet,Sir,”BurrowsobservedquietlyinFilareta’sear.

“LikeIsaid,wedidn’texactlygofor‘subtle,’”Filaretarepliedequallyquietly.“Andhowmuchofamastermindwould it

take to figure thiswasanyattack force’smost probable approach vector?”Heshrugged. “It looks like they’re screwed anyway, though, given how far awayTangoOneis.”Hejuttedhischininthedirectionofthelargerclusterofcrimsoniconsbeginningtoscrambletowardstheapproachingsledgehammerofhisfleet.“Idon’tcareiftheydohaveapoweredmissileenvelopeoffortyorfiftyfriggingmillionkilometers,there’snowayanybodythissideofGodcouldhitamissiletarget at the next best damned thing to three hundredmillion!”He shook hishead.“No,they’veletuscatchthemoutsidemutualsupportrange.TangoTwo’sonitsown,andwhoever’sincommandoverthere,he’sgottobepissinghimselfaboutnow.”

“You don’t think it’s Harrington?” Burrows asked with a slight smile,pickinguponthepronouninFilareta’slastsentence.

“If Harrington’s in space at all and not stuck dirt-side somewhere, she’swithTangoOne,”Filaretasaidflatly.

“She’d want the more powerful of her two task forces under her ownpersonalcontrol.”

“Makessense,Sir.”Burrowsagreed,thensmiledthinly.“Ontheotherhand,

itlooksliketheymayhavebeenhitevenharderthanIntelligenceestimated.”“Maybe.”Filaretakepthistonenoncommittal,butBurrowsmighthaveapoint.ONI’s

best estimate of the Manty’s wall of battle before the last attack on the starsystemhadgiventheRMNaroundtwohundredSDs,twicethenumberthey’ddetected.Ofcourse,ONIcouldhavebeenwrongaboutthat,andhewasn’tgoingtopretendhewasn’tgoingtobedelightediftheMantieswerealotweakerthantheirpre-battleanalyseshadsuggested.But thedivisionof their forces…Thatpuzzledhim,andhedidn’tlikethingsthatpuzzledhimatamomentlikethis.

Isaiditwouldn’ttakeamastermindtopredictourapproach,butif that isHarringtonincommandoverthere

—andgivenhoweverybodyouthereworshipsthedeckshewalkson,that’swhoit’sgottobe—Iwouldn’thaveexpectedhertosplitherforcesthisway.Still,I suppose anybody can screw up. For that matter, she might havewanted tomaintainconcentrationandbeenoverruledbythecivilians.Thisistheircapitalstarsystem,andIshuddertothinkhowKolokoltsovandtherestofthe

‘Mandarins’ would be standing over the shoulder of any poor SOBresponsiblefordefendingtheSolSystem!

Notforthefirsttime,hefoundhimselfferventlywishinghehadbetterintelon the other side’s senior officers. Burrows and Commodore UlyssesSobolowski,hisstaffintelligenceofficer,haddonetheirbest,butwhatFilaretawasmostawareofwashisfrustratingignorance.

There’dbeenno time to sendback toOldTerra for updateddatadumps,giventheoperation’stimeconstraints.Ofcourse,anycompetentplannershouldhave considered the desirability of sending updated appreciations of the mostprobable enemy fleet commander along with orders for the operation, but hesupposedthatwouldhavebeenaskingtoomuch.Orexpectingtoomuch,atanyrate.

Withoutanyupdates,Sobolowski(whoserelativelyjuniorrankforthestaffofaSolarianforceEleventhFleet’ssizewas,unfortunately,anall tooaccuratereflection of the secondary—or even tertiary—importance the SLN in generalattached to the intelligence function) had gone through his own files with amicroscope. He’d pulled out every scrap of data Eleventh Fleet had onHarrington…andcomeupwithverylittle.Worse,mostofwhattheydidhaveonherweresimplyclippingsfromthestandardnewsservices,almostallofwhichhad clearly been written by newsies who knew exactly zero about navaloperations.

Theywerebasicallyfluffpiecesabout‘theSalamander’(who always hadmade good copy on a slow news day), with almost no

harddataonher tacticsor operational concepts but plenty of hyperbole.Hell,basedon those sources, thewomanhad tobeat least fivemeters tall, and sheprobablypickedherteethwithalightcruiser!

He snorted quietly at the thought, then gave himself a shake. Yes, thereundoubtedly were a lot of exaggerations (and very few facts) in the newsaccounts,butonethingwasclear—shetrulydidhaveaformidablerecord.Onceuponatime,Filaretahadbeenasinclinedastherestofhiscolleaguestowritethatoff.Afterall,howgooddidsomeneobarbhavetobeifallshewasgoingtodowasbeatuponotherneobarbs?Thathadbeenbefore theBattleofSpindle,however.SincetheBattleofSpindle,he’drevisedhisestimateofallManticoranofficerssignificantlyupward.

Presumably, the Republic ofHaven’s technological capabilities had to atleastgenerallymatchtheManties’,sincethewarwouldhavebeenoveralongtime ago if they hadn’t. That had been an unpleasant conclusion, as well,especiallysinceFilaretarememberedatimewhenthetechnologicallybackwardPeople’sNavyhadbeendesperateforanyscrapofSolariantechitcouldget.ButthecriticalpointatthemomentwasthatifHarrington—

clearlythecreamoftheMantycrop—hadrackedupanunbrokenstringofvictoriesagainstanopponentwhocouldcomeremotelyclosetomatchingGoldPeak’sperformanceatSpindle,shewasobviouslynoonetotakelightly,so—

“Update!”Danielssnappedsuddenly.Filaretawheeledbackaround just in time to seewhat looked like several

hundred additional impeller signatures appear in the plot. They were muchsmaller andweaker than the earlier ones: far too small andweak tobelong tostarships.But theywerealsoat least twomillionkilometerscloser toEleventhFleetand—

“LACs,Sir,”Danielssaidamomentlater,histonebitter.“Theymusthaveprettydamnedgoodstealth,too.

Wenevergotasniffof themuntil theybrought theirwedges up, and thebastardsjustkilledeveryoneofmyadvancedplatforms.”

“Isee.”Filareta understood Daniels’ anger, but as he studied the sidebars on the

weaker impeller signatures, hewasmore concerned about the timing.Danielswas right. They had to be light attack craft, but their signatures were morepowerful than any LAC impeller wedge Filareta had ever seen. And they’dkilledtheadvancingfrontofDaniels’

reconnaissance shell fivemillion kilometers short of Tango Two. They’ddone it with energyweapons, too,which suggested they had an awful lot ofreachforsuchlightunits.Still,recondroneswerefragile.Theyreliedfarmore

onstealththanevasivemaneuveringforsurvival,too,and,asDanielssaid,theyhadn’t had a clue the Manties were out there. Assuming the other side hadpicked them up early enough, there’d been plenty of time to track them andestablishhardlockswhiletheycamebumblinginallfat,dumb,andhappy.AndiftheLACshadbeenabletogeneratefiringanglesthatavoidedtheplatforms’impellerwedges…

HefrownedunhappilyatthethoughtofwhatthatsaidaboutMantysensorsand theirability to trackelusive targets,butLACswere stillLACs.Nomatterhowaccuratetheywere,theycouldn’tpackinthefirepowertoseriouslythreatenawaller!And theMantieshad let theplatformsgetcloseenough todoahardcounton theSDs inTangoTwobefore theykilled them, too.Whichmeantheknewthereweren’tanymorewallershidingout there.No admiral this sideofSandraCrandallorJosefByngwouldleavehisshipssittingwithcoldimpellersif there was even a chance missiles might be flying around shortly. And nomatterhowgoodMantystealthmightbe,anSD’simpellerswouldhaveburnedthroughitatthatpiddlingalittlerange.

They’re close enough I can get to them and too far from TangoOne foranyonetosupportthem.

Anticipation glowedwithin him, even hotter because he’d never dared tohopeHarringtonwould present himwith an opportunity like this one, and hemadehimselfstandbackandthink.

AlphaorBravo,Massimo?heaskedhimself.Takeitslow,orrunrightin?Heglancedatthechrono.Hisoriginalopsplanhadcalledforhimtomake

the decision about his final approach to the hyper limit at about this pointanyway, but theManties’ faulty dispositions lent addedurgency to the choice.UnderApproachAlpha, Eleventh Fleetwould begin decelerating, reducing itsvelocitytoarelativecrawlbythetimeithitthelimitinordertominimizehowlongitwouldtaketogetbackacrossthelimit,ifthatbecamenecessary.UnderApproach Bravo, the fleet would maintain acceleration all theway in, whichwouldgetitintoeffectiverangeoftheplanet(andanydefenders)asquicklyaspossible but alsomeant he’d have to go far deeper into the system before hecouldkillhisapproachvelocityandgetbacktothehyperlimit.

The truthwas that he’d seenBravo as a desperationmove, the rush of aboxertryingtogetclose,insidealargeropponent’slonger,heavierreachwherehemightbeabletogetinafewpunchesofhisown.And,headmitted,giventheManties’reportedhigheraccelerationrates,hehadn’treallyexpectedittowork.

But he’d caught Tango Two just sitting there. The acceleration numbersTango One was putting up now that it had its impellers on line were fairly

shocking, of course, despite earlier reports. In fact, they indicated theMantieshadanadvantageofalmostfortypercentoverhisowncurrentacceleration.ButTangoOnewasaminimumofthreehoursaway,evenso,whereasEleventhFleetcouldreachTangoTwo’scurrentpositioninthirty-fiveminutes—

andSphinxorbitinthirty-eight.AnditwouldtakeTangoTwoforty-sevenminutes just tomatch velocitywith him, even assuming it began acceleratingdirectlyawayfromhimthisinstant.He’dclosetherangetolessthantenmillionkilometers before that happened, though…and he’d be 6.9 million kilometersinsideSphinx’sorbitwhenithappened.

TangoTwowasn’tgoingtoletthathappen.Notwhenhe’dbeableto takecontrolofSphinx’sorbitalsandlegitimatelydemandtheplanet’ssurrender.TheMantiesmightmoveawayfromhim,fallbackcloser totheplanet,toholdtherange open asmuch as possible.Thatwould be the smartmove on their part,anyway,althoughhedoubtedthey’dlethimgetanyclosertoitthantheyhadtobefore engaging him. But maintaining his own accel would tighten the timewindowonthem,keepthemfromopeningtherangeasfarbeforetheystoodandfought,and thatwasnominorconsideration,givenhowpoormissileaccuracyhad to be at such extended ranges. Indicationswere thatManty accuracywasgoing tobesignificantly better—at least—at long range than his own, too, sokeepingTangoTwofromstayinganyfurtherawayfromhimthanhecould(andpunching his lights out with its longer-ranged missiles) struck him as a verygood idea. And so did the notion of finishing Tango Two off as quickly aspossible, while he was still able to engage it completely isolated from TangoOne’ssupport!

AndIcanstillchangemymindand translateoutbeforewehit the limit ifsomethingnewentersthepicture.

“Well,atleastweknowtheyknowwe’reherenow,”hesaidoutloud.“Getsomeadditionalreconplatformsinthere,Bill.Inthe

meantime,”hisnostrils flaredslightlyashecommittedhimself,“we’llgowithApproachBravo.”Hesmiled thinly.“AndIexpectwe’llbehearingsomethingfromthemshortly.”

ChapterTwenty-One“Stillnotransmissionsfromourvisitors,Harper?”“No,YourGrace.Notyet,anyway,”Brantleyreplied.“CorrectmeifI’mwrong,YourGrace,”Cardones,backonhisownbridge,

saidfromthededicateddisplaylinkedtoImperator’scommanddeck,“butaren’tthesepeopleheretodemandoursurrender?”

“That’smyunderstandingoftheirmissionorders,yes,CaptainCardones,”

shereplied,almondeyesstillgazingthoughtfullyatthemasterplot.“Thendon’tyouthinktheyoughttobe,well,demandingit?”“I’msurethey’llgetaroundtoitwhentheythinkthetimeisright,Rafe,”

shesaidsoothingly.“Don’t forget,as faraswe’reaware,noneof themhaveaclueweevenknewtheywerecoming.”Sheshruggedslightly.“Theymayfigureonlettingpanicsoftenusupbeforetheyannouncetheirsurrenderterms.”

“Maybe, but we just killed a bunch of recon platforms, Your Grace,”Cardonespointedout.“AndnotevenaSollycould’vemissedseeingourwedgescome up. I’d think that would be a pretty good indication we’re not feelingespeciallyhospitable,andthey’reonlysixminutesfromthelimit.IfIwerethemand I intended to do any talking at all, I’d be thinking about opening theconversationsometimerealsoonnow.”

“That’sbecauseyou’reanaturallytalkativesoul,”Honor repliedwithachuckleshedidn’t really feel.“Somepeopleare the

strong,silenttype.”Cardonessnorted,andshesmiled,butthesmilefadedasshecontemplated

thesteadilydevelopingsituation.Sofar,everythingwasproceedingaccordingtoplan, yet that didn’t make her feel a lot better. As Cardones said, time wasgettingshort,andshewasalwaysnervouswhenthingsappearedtobegoingthiswell. Inher experience,Murphyalwaysput inan appearance somewhere, andshe’danticipatedfromtheoutsetthatifheplannedonshowingupthistime,hewasmostlikelytodoitinthenexthandfulofminutes.

She’d spent a lot of time considering the timing for this entireoperation,especially this part of it, and her thinking had been forced to allow for bothFilareta’sprobableaccelerationandwhathewasmostlikelytodowithhisreconplatforms.

UnliketheRMN,theSLNstilladheredtothe“maximum power” limit of eighty percent of power on its inertial

compensators, and those compensatorswere a lot less efficient than her own.After consideringwhat little she knew about Filareta, she’d decided hemightwellshavehisimpellermarginabitcloserthanthatanddecidedtoassumehe’dgowithaneighty- fivepercentsetting.Thatwouldhavegivenhimanaccelof3.5KPS,buthe’dcomeinatonly3.311,theoldeighty-percentsetting,andthatbotheredher.Notbecauseitwasgoingtomakealotofdifference,butbecausehe was apparently being more cautious than she’d allowed for. Under theoriginal planning for his visit, that would have been a good thing from herperspective;giventherevisedobjectivesofOperationCannae,shewouldvastlyhavepreferredsomeonemorereckless.

Well,uptothelastlittlebit,atleast,sheremindedherselfwryly.

The really tricky part of the timing, however, had focused on the recondrones,andshe’dhadbetternumberstoworkwiththere.WithoutGhostRider’sonboard fusion plants, Solarian reconnaissance platforms had both loweracceleration rates and—compared to their Manticoran counterparts—pitifulendurance.Five thousandgravitieswasabout thebest theycould turnout,andtheycouldn’tmaintaineventhatpowerlevelforverylong.Ontheotherhand,OperationRagingJusticeobviouslycontemplatedavery…directapproachtoitsobjectives.

Filaretawasn’tgoingtoneedalotofdwelltimeoutofhisreconnaissanceshell,andheprobablyhadmorethanenoughplatformstoreplenishitifhereallyneededto,anyway.

On that basis, she’d assumed they’d come straight in at their maximumaccelerationandtimedherwedges’

activationaccordingly.ThetrickhadbeentomakesureFilaretagotareallygoodlookatwhatshewantedhimtoseebeforeherouterLACscreenputouthisadvancedeyes,andshewasprettysureshe’daccomplishedthat.Nowheknewshe really did have only forty superdreadnoughts under her immediatecommand,withoutanymoreofthemhidinganywherenearathand.Hopefully,he’dalsoseenthe“superdreadnoughts”betweenSphinxandManticore,aswell.Therewas noway he’d had time to get any of his platforms close enough torealizethattheywereonlyNavysupplyshipswithmilitary-gradeimpellersandcompensators,however,andshemeanttokeepitthatway.

Herownheavilystealthedplatformsweredeployedtocoverasphereovertenlight-minutesacross,centeredonHMSImperator,andGhostRider’ssensorswere far better than anything they’d seen examining Sandra Crandall’ssurrendered hardware. She had detailed information on Filareta’ssuperdreadnoughts,andGhostRiderwasmanaging to keep pretty fair tabs ontheSollies’platforms,aswell.Asaresult,sheknewFilaretahadreactedtothedestruction of his advanced drones much as she’d hoped he would. He wasvectoringhismoredistant,survivingplatformsinonHonor’sships,tryingtogetthem close enough to replace the ones he’d lost. In his place, she’d almostcertainlyhavedoneexactlythesamething.

And, hopefully, it’s going to bite himon thebutt justas hard as itwouldhavebittenmewhenIdid,shethoughtwithgrimamusement.NowifIcanonlyconvincehimtokeeponaccelerating…

“Excuseme,YourGrace,”AndreaJaruwalskisaid.“The forward recon platforms confirm their superdreadnoughts are

deployingpods.”“Deploying them?Orwere they towing them all along andwe just now

noticedthem?”“Deploying, Your Grace,” Jaruwalski said firmly. “They must have had

themtractoredinsidetheirwedges.”“Youwerewondering if that accounted for their accel rate,YourGrace?”

Brighamasked,andHonornodded.“It would have been one explanation. Any sign their acceleration’s

droppingfurthernowthatthey’vedeployed,Andrea?”“Not so far, at least, YourGrace,” Jaruwalski responded, “and given the

numberstheyseemtohavedeployed,maintaining theircurrentaccelhas tobepushinguptheircompensatorloadsbyagoodeighttotenpercent.SoI’dsaythefactthatthey’renotreducingpowerisasignthey’refeelingprettyserious.”

“Point,”Brighamconceded.“ThethingI’mwonderingmostaboutiswhat’sin the pods, though. Last time I looked, the Sollies didn’t have any missilepods.”

“You’re thinking about those Technodyne pods Terekhov ran into atMonica,Ma’am?”Jaruwalskisaidthoughtfully.

“Something like that. Or whatever the hellMesa used against Rozsak atCongo.”Brighamshrugged.“Eitherway,Idon’tthinkthey’dbotherwith themunlesstheywerestuffedwithsomethingtheyfigureissuperiortotheirstandardtube-launchedbirds.Idon’tlikethethoughtthattheymighthaveapointaboutthat,butiftheyarethinkingthatway,it’sgoingtohaveatleastsomeimpactonhowwilling—andeager—theyaretobringittous.”

“Ithinkyou’reexactlyright,”Honorsaid.“Andbearingthatinmind,Ialsothink it’s time we welcomed our visitors.” She looked at Brantley. “Ready,Harper?”

“Yes,YourGrace.”“And are you ready?”Honor asked, turning to Theismanwith a crooked

smile.“Oh,Ibelieveyoucouldsaythat,YourGrace,”hereplied.“AndI’msure

Lesteris,too.”“Then just make sure you’re out of the pickup’s field of view until the

appropriatemoment.”Shemadeshooingmotions,andNimitzbleekedinlaughterastheHavenite

Secretary of Defense obeyed the gesture. The ’cat’s skinsuit’ kept him fromflirting his tail the way he would have under other circumstances, but hisamusementwasobvious,andSpringsFromAbove(who’dbeenfittedwithhisownskinsuit)laughedbackfromTheisman’sshoulder.

Honorwaitedanothermomenttomakesureeveryonewaswhereheorshe

wassupposedtobe,thennoddedtoJaruwalski.“SendCantatathroughtoAdmiralTourville,Andrea.”***“We’vegotclearance,Skipper!”BrynachLacharnsaidsuddenly.“Number

seveninthequeue!”Hamilton Trudeau looked up in surprise at the announcement.He hadn’t

reallyexpectedtheMantiestoletDB-17025maketransitatall,andcertainlynotthisearlyinthequeue.Maybethepeoplewho’dpickedtheINS

coverweren’tasdimashe’dthoughttheywere.“All right,Tommy,”he saidbriskly, turning toEnsignThomasinaTsiang,

the dispatch boat’s astrogator and third in command, “get us in line! The lastthingweneedistomissourslotnowthatthey’vegivenusone.”

“Aye,Skipper.”ThedispatchboatwassmallenoughforTsiang,whoenjoyedbeinghands-

onwheneverpossible,totakethehelmherselfinsteadofsimplypassingorderstosomeoneelse,andDB-17025acceleratedsmoothly,slidingoutofthemassofwaiting freighters and passenger liners. Trudeau suspected there were somealarminglyhighbloodpressures on thebridgesof the ships theywere leavingbehind, but that was fine with him. He only wished he had some betterintelligence—likeanyintelligence—onhowtherestofOperationRagingJusticewasmakingout.

Somehow,hefeltsure,AdmiralTsangwouldprobablywishthesamething.***“Arewesurethisisagoodidea,Ma’am?”Christopher Dumbrowski tone sounded more than a bit doubtful as he

watchedthedispatchboat’siconmovingtowardstheterminustoBeowulf.“Define‘goodidea,’”AdmiralStephaniaGrimmrepliedwithawrysmile.“Well, it justseemstomeitwouldhavebeensimplerallaroundtositon

them,”CaptainDumbrowski said. “Imean, theywouldn’t be going anywherewithoutourpermission.Wecould’vejustkeptthemcoolingtheirheelsrighthereuntilitwasalloveronewayortheother,withouteverbringingtheBeowulfendintoitatall.SeemstomethatkeepingBeowulfupoursleeveasaholdoutcardincaseweneed toplay itevenworse lateronmighthavea lot to recommenditself.”

“Insomeways,I’minclinedtoagreewithyou,”Grimmacknowledged.Giventheirpositionsandtheroletheyhadtoplay,

sheandDumbrowskiknewquitealotaboutthethinkingbehindthispartoftheplan.AndinGrimm’sopinion,thecaptainhadaveryvalidpoint.But…

“It’dbeahardcallforme,eitherway,”shesaidfinally.“I’msureitwasfor

everyone else involved, too. In fact, even though no one’s toldme this in somanywords, I think itwasultimately theBeowulferswhomade the decision,notanyoneatourend.AndIthinkthedecidingfactorwasprobablythatthey’rereallyand trulyroyallypissedoffat thisMesanAlignment.There’snoway inthis universe they’re going to sit on the sidelineswhenwego after them, andthey’re about as disgusted as anyone could possibly get with the wayKolokoltsov and the Mandarins have botched the entire situation. For thatmatter,they’redisgustedashellwithalltherestoftheLeagueforlettingitselfgetturnedintosuchabitchedupmessinsteadofastarnationinthefirstplace.So this is theirway of punctuating all the reasons they’re doingwhat they’redoing—jumpingshiptosignupwithus,Imean.AndIthinktheywanttodrawAdmiralTsang in,get her to openly commit to her part of ‘OperationRagingJustice,’sothey’llhavethatadditionalevidenceofjusthowfastandloosewiththeLeagueConstitutionKolokoltsov’sapparatchiksarereallywillingtoplay.”

Shepaused,lipspursedinthought,thenshrugged.“Anyway,seniorandbetter-paidheadsmadethedecision,notus,so that’s

thewayit’sgoingtobe.And,”shesmiledslightly,“IhavetoadmitI’mgoingtobeinterestedashelltosee

howitallworksoutintheend.***“Allright,Harper,”HonorsaidasshewatchedHMSCantata’sicondisappearfromherplot.“Whydon’tyougoaheadandput

methroughtoAdmiralFilaretanow?”***“FleetAdmiral,wehaveanincomingcommunicationsrequest.”Filareta glanced at Admiral Burrows and arched one eyebrow at the

announcement.At14,875,000kilometers, thegrosslyoutnumberedMantywallofbattleremainedmotionless,holdingpositionrelativetotheplanet,fiftylight-secondsfromhisownfar largerformation.Hewasastonishedthat theyhadn’tevenbegunacceleratingawayfromhim,buthewasn’tgoingtocomplainaboutit.

“Iwonderedhowmuchlongeritwouldtakethem,”hesaid.“Frankly, I’m surprised they managed to wait this long, Sir!” Burrows

repliedwithaharshchuckle.“Who’sthemessagefrom,Reuben?”Filaretacontinued,turninghisbackon

the main plot to face Captain Reuben Sedgewick, his staff communicationsofficer.

“It’s from Admiral Harrington, Sir,” Sedgewick replied, but there wassomething odd about his tone, and Filareta frowned. Any light-speed com

requesthadtobecomingfromTangoTwoifithadreachedthemthissoon,andhewasa littlesurprisedHarringtonwas there, insteadofwithTangoOne.Butthatwasn’tenoughtoaccountfortheoddnoteinSedgewick’sresponse.

“Isthereaproblem,Reuben?”Hisowntonewasabitcolderthanithadbeen.

“It’sjust…”Sedgewickpaused, thenshruggedveryslightly.“It’s just that

sheaskedforyou,specifically,byname,FleetAdmiral.Andshe,ah,askedforyouasthecommandingofficerofEleventhFleet.”

Filareta felthisexpression stiffen.Hegazedat the comofficer amomentlonger,thenlookedbackatBurrows.

Thechiefofstaff’samusementhadvanished,andhemethissuperior’seyeswithafrown.

“Somuchforoperationalsecurity,”Filaretaobserved.“Yes,Sir.”Burrowsshookhisheadindisgust.“SomebodymusthaveblabbedbackonOldTerra.”“One of themany joyful disadvantages of having to come the long way

roundwhiletheothersidecangetintelligencereportsdirectlythroughthedamnJunction.”

Filareta’slighttonewasalmostwhimsical;hisexpressionwasnot.“I wonder how long they’ve known?” Burrows continued, thinking out

loud.“Thatisaninterestingthought,isn’tit?”Filareta showedhis teeth.Burrowshad an excellent point. If theManties

hadlearnedofhisordersfarenoughinadvance,therewasnotellingwhatsortofwelcometheymighthavedecidedtosetup.

Stopit,hetoldhimselffirmly.Yes,theymusthaveknownyouwerecoming,but knowing a two hundred-kilo sumo wrestler is about to rip your head offdoesn’t helpa lot if youweigh fifty kilos drippingwet. It onlymeans you canwatchitcominglonger,notthatyoucangetoutoftheway.Anditsureashelldoesn’tmeanyoucanbeatthebastardoncehegetshishandsonyou!

“Timetothehyperlimit,Yvonne?”heaskedcalmly.“Justundersixminutes,FleetAdmiral.Callitone-point-five-sevenmillion

klicks.”“Thankyou.”

FilaretalookedatBurrowsagain.Theircurrentvelocity,relativetoSphinx,

wasupto3,882KPS;bythetimetheycrossedthehyperlimit,itwouldbeuptoover five thousand, exactly as Approach Bravo specified. At that velocity, it

wouldtaketwenty-sixminutesjusttodeceleratetozero,andthey’dbethenextbest thing to 3.9million kilometers inside the limitwhen they did. From thatposition, they’d need another twenty-six minutes to get back across the limitwheretheycouldreenterhyperspace.

Allofwhichmeanttheytheoreticallyhadsixminutesinwhichtheycouldbreak offwith relative impunity…afterwhich, theywould be stuck inside theManticore-Alimitforthenextbestthingtoanhour.

Interestingtiming,acornerofhismindthought.Didtheywaitthislongtocontactus—andletusknowtheyalreadyknewwewerecoming—inanattempttopanicmeintobreakingoffbeforewecrossthelimit?

“Bill.”“Yes,FleetAdmiral?”AdmiralDanielslookedupfromhisconsole.“Iwant theentire fleetscheduledfor an alpha translation twenty seconds

shortofthelimit.”“Excuseme,Sir?”Danielslookedasifhecouldn’tquitebelievewhathe’d

justheard.Whichwasn’ttoosurprising,perhaps,givenhissuperior’sdecisiontogowithApproachBravo.

“Is that a problem for you, Admiral?” Filareta asked, looking at hisoperationsofficercoldly.

“Uh,no,Sir.Ofcoursenot!Ijust…wasn’texpectingit.”Filaretacontinuedtoeyehimcoollyforasecond,thenrelented.“Ididn’tsaywewereactuallygoingtotranslate,”hepointedout.“Wecan

abortanytimeuptothelastfiftysecondsofthecycle,correct?”“Yes, Sir.”Daniels nodded, his eyes narrowed as understanding dawned.

“Youjustwanttohavetheextrathreeminutesinhandifyouneedthem,isthatit,Sir?”

“Exactly.”Thistime,Filaretasmiled.“It’llgivemeatleastanothercoupleofminutestothink,anyway.”

Daniels nodded again,more energetically, and began passing instructionswhileFilaretalookedbacktothecommunicationsofficer.

“Allright,Reuben,”hesaid.“Putitonthemaindisplay.”“Yes,Sir.”Filaretaturnedtowardstheindicateddisplayastheholoimageofaverytall

woman appeared above it. Shewore awhite beret, rather than the blackberetthatwas standard forManty flag officers, but he recognized her immediatelyfromthefileimagery.Evenifhehadn’t,herskinsuitcarriedthefourbroadcuffbandsandfourgoldenstarsofafleetadmiral,andthesix-limbedcreatureonhershoulderwouldhavebeensufficientclue if ithadn’t.Shealsohad remarkablycoldbrowneyesasshegazedoutofthedisplayathim.

Alexander-Harrington’s recorded image stood motionless for a moment,untilSedgewickenteredthe

“play”command.“FleetAdmiral Filareta,” she said then, her soprano voice as cold as her

eyes. “In case you haven’t already figured it out, my name is Alexander-Harrington.Ihavethehonortocommandtheforcesassignedtothedefenseofthis star system, and the fact that I knowboth your name and that you’re thecommanding officer of Eleventh Fleet should be an indication that I knowprecisely why you’re here. In case you require further evidence of just howthoroughlyyourplanshavebeenblown,however, I’lladdfor the record that Ialsoknowyou’reheretoexecute

‘OperationRagingJustice,’whichI find a rather…ironicway to describethe forcible conquest of theStarEmpire ofManticore by the Solarian LeagueNavy without the bothersome details of niggling little things like a formaldeclaration of war or any consultation with the League’s own Assembly. Isupposethat’sjustthewaytheLeague’sgrownaccustomedtodoingthings,andit’sworkedfairlywellforitsofar.”

“Buttrustme,Admiral.Thistime,itisn’tgoingtohappen.”Hersmilewasarazor,andthetreecatonhershoulderbaredneedle-sharp-

lookingfangs.“Isupposeyoumayactuallybelieveyourintelligenceservices’conclusion

thattheYawataStrikehascrippledourdefenses.Iassureyou,thatisn’tthecase.I suppose it’s also possible you believe that the fact that I have only fortysuperdreadnoughts inmywall indicates you have the force advantage. If youshouldbethinkinganythingofthesort,IsuggestyourememberwhathappenedtoAdmiralCrandall,whenAdmiralGoldPeakhadno

superdreadnoughtsinherorderofbattle.”Shepaused,as if toallowthat tosink in, thencontinued in that same icy

voice.“I hereby inform you, Admiral, that you are in violation of Manticoran

territorial space. I further inform you that the Star Empire of Manticoreconsidersyourpresencehere,giventhemanyprevious instancesofblatantandunprovokedSolarianaggressionagainst theStarEmpire,anactofwar.Shouldyou not immediately departManticoran territorial space,Her Majesty’s Navyanditsallieswillrespondtothatactofwarwithdeadlyforce.Shouldyoucrossourhyper limit after thiswarning, I am instructed to informyou thatEmpressElizabethandhergovernmentwilltakeitasincontrovertibleproofthat,despiteits pious diplomatic protestations and posturing, the Solarian League in factactivelydesiresastateofwarbetweenitandManticore.Shouldthatbethecase,

wewillcertainlygiveyouone.”Shepausedoncemore,briefly,herbrown-flinteyeshardwithconfidence.“Whateverthepeoplewhosentyouheremayhavethought,Admiral,you

havenochancewhateverofcompletingyourmission. Ifyouattempt todoso,especiallyafterthiswarning,theconsequences—includingthethousandsofyourownpersonnelwhowilldieandthegeneralwarbetweentheStarEmpireandtheSolarianLeaguewhichmostassuredlywillresult—willrestuponyourheadandthose of the corrupt bureaucrats who sent you here without a single shred oflegalauthorityormoraljustification.

“Alexander-Harrington,clear.”She stopped speaking, and in the silence which enveloped SLNS Philip

Oppenheimer’s flag bridge, it required all of Filareta’s willpower to keep hisownfaceexpressionless.

Shesureashelldoesn’t sound like she’s bluffing.Andshe obviously doesknow—orseems to,anyway—allaboutourorders.But,damn it, she’sgot lessthanfiftywallers!

Andnobody could fight asmany battles as thiswoman issupposed to’vefoughtwithoutlearningtobluffconvincingly!

“Recordfortransmission,”heheardhimselfsay.“Yes,Sir,”Sedgewickreplied.“Livemike.”“AdmiralAlexander-Harrington,”hemade himselfmatch the chill of her

ownsmile,“obviouslyyoudoknowwhyI’mhere.Thatbeingthecase,Iseenoreason not to cut right to the heart of matters. There’s obviously a widedifference between your star nation’s interpretation of recent events and theSolarian League’s, and I have no intention of debating those interpretations.WhileImightnotchoosetouse‘conquest’todescribemymissionorders,Iamhereunderorderstodemand,inthenameoftheSolarianLeague,thestanddownandsurrenderofallManticoranmilitaryforces,thereopeningofthewormholesyou have illegally closed to all Solarian traffic as an act of economicwarfareagainsttheLeagueindirectcontraventionofeveryprincipleoffreedomoftradeandpassage,andthesurrenderofyourciviliangovernment.

Youmaygenuinelybelieveyouhavethecapacitytodefeatmyforces.Forthatmatter,youmayactuallyhavethatcapacity,althoughIbegtodiffer.Evenifyoudo, however, youwon’t accomplish itwithout taking significant losses ofyourown,andyoumightwanttoconsiderthefactthatinadditiontotheotherfifteen hundred superdreadnoughts actively in commission, theNavy has overeight thousandmore in theReserve.My presence here should indicate to youjusthowseriouslytheLeaguetakesthissituation,andIassureyouthat,howevermanyofthoseother ten thousandships-of-the-wall itmayrequire, theSolarian

Leaguewillwinintheend.”Hepausedtoletherconsiderhiswords,thenstraightenedhisshouldersand

lookedstraightintothepickup.“I intend to complete my mission, Admiral Alexander-Harrington, and I

will. To use your own words, if you persist in resisting, the consequences—including the thousands of your personnel who will die—will rest upon yourhead and theStarEmpireofManticore’s. I demand that you standdownyourfleetimmediately.Ifyourefuse,Iwillengageyou.

“Filareta,clear.”***“Well,thatwasn’texactlyunexpected,”Honorobservedfifty-oddseconds

later.“Exceptforthebitaboutreopeningthetermini.IguesstherewastimeforOldChicagototellhimaboutthatbeforehesailed,afterall.”

“It’s certainlyarrogant enough forme to believe it came from a Solly,”MercedesBrighamhalf-muttered,herexpressionbaleful.

Honor shook her head, smiling faintly, but she also checked the digitaltimer counting down in one corner of themainplot.She could have used theHermesbuoysplantedalongwith thestealthedreconplatforms to conduct herconversation with Filareta in what amounted to real-time. In this instance,though, the lag of lightspeed communications worked in her favor, and sheglancedatLieutenantCommanderBrantley.

“Timeforroundtwo,Harper.”“Yes,YourGrace.”Thecommunicationsofficernodded.“Livemike.”“Iseerationalitystillisn’tahallmarkoftheSolarianofficercorps,Admiral

Filareta,”shesaid,lookingstraightintothepickup.“Ican’tsaythatcomesasadreadfulsurprise,giventheuniformlydisastrousdecisionsSolarianflagofficers—andespeciallyBattleFleetflagofficers,nowthatIthinkofit—seemtohavebeenmakingforsometimenow.Hasn’tanyone inSolarianuniformnoted thatyou haven’t come out on top in a single one of the engagements you’veprovoked?Except,ofcourse,whenyourcourageouspersonnelchoose to openfirewithoutwarningonshipswhichdon’tevenhavetheirwedgesup.

Which,Ipointouttoyou,isnotthecaseinthisinstance.”Herlipcurled,herbrowneyesglitteringwithscorn,andthecontemptinher

expressionandhervoicewasgenuine.“Obviously,Ican’tpreventyoufromsailingyourentirefleetintoaneven

worsedisaster thanSandraCrandall’s. Idowarnyou,however, that thisentireexchange has been recorded and will be provided—at no charge—to theprosecutionatthecourt-martialI’msureyou’llbefacing,shouldyouhappento

be one of the survivors of the fresh debacle the Solarian Navy is about toexperience. I repeat my originalwarning. If the forces under your commandcrossthehyperlimitofthisstarsystem,youwillbeengagedanddestroyedandastate of war will exist between the Solarian League and the Star Empire ofManticoreanditsallies.

“Alexander-Harrington,clear.”***“Alexander-Harrington,clear.”MassimoFilareta’snostrilsflaredatthecold,bitingdisdaininthatsoprano

voice,yethemadehimselfstopandthink.Sofar,theexchangehaduseduptwoandahalfminutes, leavinghimjust

over three minutes from the hyper limit. He’d bought himself a little extracushionwith his instructions toDaniels, but even so, he had tomake the callwithinthenexttwominutes.

Thewomanhadtobeinsane.Shewasoutnumberedtentoone,withabasevelocityofzerorelativetotheplanet,whileEleventhFleetcameatheratoverfivethousandkilometerspersecond.She’dhavetohaveonehellofalotmoreofacompensatoradvantage thaneven thewildest talessuggested ifshehoped topull away from him under those circumstances!Unless she seriously believesshecanpoundus topieceswith thosedamnedmissilesof theirsbeforewegetintoourrangeofher,despiteourvelocityadvantage,hethought.Thatmightbeit. But she’s already in our powered range, whether she knows it or not.Accuracymaysuck,butwecanreachher,andI’vegottentimesasmanyshipsasshedoes!AndI’mnotgoingtogetanotherchancelikethisone.Notanothertacticalsituationwhere the friggingManties can’t stay away from us, pick usapart fromoutsideoureffectiverange.This isachance to takeoutwhat lookslikeit’satleastathirdof theirremainingwallofbattle,andtheycan’tsurvivethatkindoflossrateeveniftheytakeoutmyentirecommandinreturn.

But, damn it, she’sgot to know that, too! Sowhy is she goadingme thisway?

Heglancedatthetimedisplayagain,thendrewadeepbreathandmadehischoice.HewavedonehandsharplyatSedgewick.

“Livemike,Sir,”thecomofficertoldhim,andheglaredintothepickup.“Youobviouslyhaveaveryhighopinionofyourcapabilities,Admiral,”he

said coldly. “Well, I have a high opinion ofmy fleet’s capabilities, as well. Ithinkwe’lljusthavetoseewhichoneofusiscorrect.Youhave tenminutes todecide what you’re going to do. If you have not struck your wedges inpreparationtosurrenderyourvesselsatthattime,youwillnotbegivenanotheropportunitytodoso.

“Filareta,clear.”ChapterTwenty-Two“Cantata’smadetranslation,Sir.”

“Thankyou,Frazier.”One thing Commander Frazier Adamson hadn’t done during their

prolonged visit to Manticore, Lester Tourville reflected, was to grow animagination.When it came toanythingbeyond the purview of his operationalresponsibilities,hewas still the same unflappable,my-brain’s-busy-elsewhere-so-don’t-bother-me sort he’d always been, and that could still be irritating ashell.Itdidhaveitsadvantagesuponoccasion,however.Infact,thereweretimesTourvillewonderedifhavingalittlelessimaginationwouldn’thavebeenagoodthingforhim,too.

Probablynot, though.He’dneededacertain…mental flexibility tohandlethe rapid-fire sequence of events which had snatched him abruptly out ofcaptivityandmadehimonceagainthecommanderofSecondFleet(althoughitwasn’ttheSecondFleethe’dbroughttotheManticoreSystem)andassignedthatfleetastheHavenitecomponentofwhathadbecomeknownasGrandFleet.

The designation had been suggested by Eloise Pritchart, and Tourvillesupposed itmade sense. It had been oneway to avoid submerging any of itsconstituent fleets into subunits of someone else’s fleet. He didn’t think thatwouldhavebotheredhimparticularly,butheknewitwouldhavebotheredquitea few Havenite officers. And it for damned sure would have pissed off anynumberof politicians back inNouveauParis.Especially theoneswho figuredthey couldmake some sort of political capital out of being pissed off over it.Hell,enoughof themwere going to be offended thatDuchessHarrington hadbeennamedtocommanditwithoutevenworryingaboutwhatthedamnedthingwascalled!

Hitting the ground runningwith that sort of an assignment had been nopicnic,butatleasthe’dbeenpermittedtokeephisstafftogetherduringtheirstayinMantycustody,and itsmembershadbeenkeptbusy dealingwith hismanyresponsibilities as the senior officer of the original SecondFleet’s surrenderedpersonnel.(Forthatmatter,he’dbeenthemostseniorRepublicanPOW

taken during the entire war, which he considered a somewhat dubiousdistinction.)Asaresult,ithadremainedafunctional,wellintegratedteamwhenheneededit,althoughgettingallof itsmembersusedto thenotionoffightingwiththeManties,ratherthanagainsttheManties,hadn’tbeen theeasiest thinghe’deverdone.

Whichwas fair enough.Gettinghimselfused to thenotion after somany

years had taken some doing. In many ways though, Tourville suspected,Adamson’s lack of imagination had actually made it easier in the operationsofficer’scase.

“Signal from Commander Pruitt, Sir.” Lieutenant Commander AnitaEisenbergremainedfarandaway themost youthful staff officerTourville hadeverhad,butherpromotionfromlieutenantduringherstayasaPOWhadbeenamplymerited.Hehadn’thadall thatmuchneedforacommunicationsofficerper se, yet she’dmade herself invaluable in dozens of otherways. “Cantata’sinitiatingdownloadnow.”

“Thank you,Ace.” Tourville gave her a brief smile, then looked back atAdamson.“Anychanges,Frazier?”

“Don’t see any,Sir.”Adamson’s tonewas a bit absent as hewatchedhisside plot updating from HMS Cantata’s download. “Looks like Filareta’smaintainingacceleration.

Ifhedoes,he’sgoing tocross the limit inaboutanother fourminutes.Atwhichpoint”—theopsofficer’s tone shifted fromabsent to intensely satisfied;hedidhavealivelyimaginationwhenitcametotactics,andhe’dbeenlookingforwardtothiseversincetheopsplanhadbeenexplainedtothem—“heisgoingtobewellandtrulyscrewed.”

Tourvillenodded.Hisexpressionwasthoughtful,buthisfingerswerebusyunwrappingoneofhistrademarkcigars,anditwasabithardtohidethesmilewhich might have undermined his flag officer’s gravitas as he realized everyofficerandratingonRHNSTerror’sflagbridgewaswatchinghim.Thosecigarswerepartofhisimage,andhefeltripplesofanticipationradiatingoutward,asifthosemenandwomen—mostofwhomhadknownhimonlybyreputationuntilhearrivedtotakecommand—hadbeenwaitingfor theevidence that they trulyweregoingtodothis.

Thetreecatperchedonthebackofhiscommandchair,on theotherhand,made a soft sound ofmingled resignation, amusement, and scolding.Lurks inBranches didn’t like the smell of burning tobacco. Or he claimed he didn’t,anyway;Tourvillehadcaughthimsniffingat itwithwhat looked suspiciouslylikeappreciationonceortwice.

Either way, he seemed willing to put up with it as part of the price oflookingafterhisassignedtwo-leg,althoughhedefinitelywasn’tabovemakinghispublicattitudeclear.

Tourville’sabilitytoreadsignwasstillrudimentary,buthedidn’tneedtobeable to read it fluently tounderstandLurks inBranches’messagewhen the’cat’slong-fingeredtrue-handssealedhisskinsuithelmetassoonasthehumanstartedunwrappingthecigar.

“ThenIsupposeweshouldgetreadytodance,”hesaiddryly,andsmiledatthehermeticallyprotectedtreecatashestuckthecigarintohismouth.Hemadesurehehad itat theproper, jauntyanglebeforehe lookedat thecomdisplayswhich tied him to the flag bridges of the brand-new Second Fleet’s threeconstituenttaskforces.

He’dworkedhardtofitintohisnewcommandassignmenteversincehe’dfoundouthewasgoingtohaveit,andithelpedthatheknewallthreeofhistaskforcecommandersreasonablywell.Itstillhadn’tbeeneasy.

AfterthenextbestthingtoasolidT-yearawayfromacommanddeck,he’dfeltundeniablyrusty,andhe’dwonderedhow the threeof themweregoing tofeelabout taking theordersofanadmiralwho’d ratherdecisively lost the lastbattlehe’dfoughtinthisverystarsystem.Forthatmatter,hestillwonderedhowAdmiralPascalineL’anglais, thecommandingofficerofCapitalFleet,had feltwhenalmostseventypercentofherwallofbattlewas suddenly strippedawayand sent off to fight under someone else’s command. In her place, LesterTourvillewouldhavebeenroyallypissed,andhewouldn’thavecaredwhoknewit.

Of course, at that point the plan had been for Thomas Theisman tocommandthereconstitutedSecondFleet,andnotevensomeonewithL’anglais’well-known temper would have cared to argue that point. That had changedalongwiththeinitialplanfordealingwithFilareta,however.ThesuggestionthatTheismanmightactuallycontributeevenmoreeffectivelyfromsomeoneelse’sflagship had come from Duchess Harrington, but somewhat to Tourville’ssurprise, Theisman had embraced the idea enthusiastically, which had leftSecondFleetwithnoflagofficerswho’deveractuallycommandedafull-scalefleetinaction.

ExceptforLesterTourville,thatwas.“Allright,People,”hetoldhistaskforceCOs.“CommanderAdamson is sendingall ofyou the execute signalnow.The

timer’sticking.Anylastimmortalwordsanyonewantstosay?”He raised his eyebrows, then produced an old-fashioned silver lighter,

activateditstinyplasmabubble,andpuffedthefragranttobaccocarefullyalight.

“I don’t know about ‘immortal words,’ Admiral,” Vice Admiral OliverDiamato said, with an off-center smile, “but I guess we’re about as ready aswe’re going to get.” He shook his head. “I have to say, though, I’m stillwonderingwhenwe’regoingtowakeupandfindoutthiswasallareallyweirddream.”

“Itmaybeadream,Oliver,”ViceAdmiralJenniferBellefeuillesaidfrom

herquadrantofthedisplay,“but,frankly,thethoughtoffightingSolliesinsteadofMantiesmakesitmorepleasantthanquiteafewI’vehad!”

ViceAdmiral SampsonHermier, Tourville’s third task force commander,onlyshookhisheadwitharatherbemusedsmileofhisown.HewasalmostasyoungasDiamato,whichwasanaccomplishmentforanofficerofhisseniority,and he was one of the few survivors of what had once been a moderatelyprominent Legislaturalist family. Tourville knew him less well than he didDiamatoorBellefeuille,buthiscombat recordwasexcellent. If ithadn’tbeen,ThomasTheismanwouldneverhavetappedhimfortaskforcecommand.

Especiallynotcommandofoneofthesetaskforces.“Well,” Tourville said thoughtfully, squinting through a haze of smoke

before the ventilators wisped it away, “with the exception of Sampson, here,we’ve all had our butts kicked at one time or another by theManties. So I’llgrantyou it feelsabitbizarre.But tobehonest, Jennifer, I thinkyou’vegotapoint.Andspeakingonlyformyself,Ihavetoadmitpartofmereallywants tosee these goddamned arrogant Sollies taken down a peg. Besides,” his smiledisappeared,“weknowwhotherealenemyisnow.”

His eyes had hardened along with his tone, and his subordinates lookedbackathimingrimagreement.Heheldtheirgazesforamoment,thencontinuedmorebriskly.

“Hopefully,thisisgoingtoworkoutwithoutanyoneelse’sgettinghurt.Itmaynot, though,dependingonhowstupidFilareta’sfeeling.And if itdoesn’t,thenwearegoingtohammerthesepeople.Clear?”

Allthreeviceadmiralsnodded,theirexpressionshard.“Good.”Heglancedatthedigitaldisplaycountingsteadilydownwardinonecorner

oftheplot,thenatMollyDeLaney,hischiefofstaff.Captain DeLaney looked back at him, and something dark and hungry

flickered in her eyes. She had more reservations than the staff’s youngermembers about the Republic’s allying itself with the Star Empire, if onlybecauseshe’dlostsomanymorefriendsthantheytothewarswithManticore.She’d kept those reservations to herself well enough that anyone who didn’tknowherwellcouldbeexcused fornot realizingshe felt them,butshe’dalsobeenwithTourvillelongerthananyothermemberofhisstaff.Hedidknowherwell,yetashelookedintohereyes,hefeltnodoubtabouthercommitmenttowhatever was about to happen. Not, in her case, because she hated Sollies,althoughshewasnofonderofthemthananyothernavalofficerwho’deverhadtodealwiththeirarrogance,butbecauseshewasimpatient.

Filaretawas only a distraction, as far as she was concerned. The entireSolarianLeaguewasonlyadistraction,when it camedown to it, andoneshewanted disposed of as promptly as possible. Molly DeLaney might not likeManticorans, and shemight have a fewqualms about finding herself allied tothem, but thosewere secondary considerationswhenever she remembered thenightmare slaughter of the Battle of Manticore. She didn’t really blame theMantiesforthecarnage.Shemightnotlikethem,butshedidrespectthem,andthey’d only been doing exactly what she would have done if someone hadattackedherhomestarsystem.Besides,sheknewnowthattheStarEmpirehadbeenmanipulatedjustasskillfullyastheRepublicbysomeonewhointendedtoseebothofthemdestroyed.Andbecausesheknewthat,shewantedthepeoplewho’d sabotaged the Torch summit talks and sent Second Fleet into thatholocaust. She wanted them with a pure and blazing passion, and she waswillingtofightbesideanyonewhomighthelphergettothem.

“On theclock,Frazier,”Tourville said, lookingawayfromDeLaney.“Ontheclock.”

***Eleventh Fleet crossed the hyper limit, charging towards Sphinx with a

closingvelocityofjustoverfivethousandkilometerspersecond.Therewasnoactualphysicalsensationinvolved,yetinthe instant theflagship’s iconcrossedthe perimeter of the amber sphere indicating Manticore-A’s hyper limit,somethinglikeadeep,silentsighwentthroughSLNS

PhilipOppenheimer’sflagbridge.FleetAdmiral Filareta stood silently, expression controlled butwith grim

eyeslockedtotheplot.TangoTwowasstilljustsittingthere,noteventryingtoevadehim,andanticipationpulsedsomewheredeep insidehim,hotandeager.He felt the same emotion coming back at him fromthestaff assembled abouthim,yethefeltsomethingelse,aswell.Asensethattherewasnoturningback.Winorlose,theywerecommitted,anddespitealloftheirsimulationswiththenew missiles, despite their huge margin of superiority over Tango Two, thereports ofwhat had happened to SandraCrandall echoed and reechoed in thedepthsoftheirminds.

Hell,they’dbemorethanhumaniftheyweren’tworried!hethoughtcoldly.But whatever happens to us, Tango Two is screwed. There’s no way in thisuniversethatfortysuperdreadnoughtscanmatchthedefensivefirepoweroffourhundredandthirtyofthem!

Aminutepassed.Twominutes.Three.

EleventhFleet’s velocity rose to5,647KPS.Thehyper limit lay963,000kilometersbehindOppenheimer,andtherangetoTangoTwohadfallento12.3millionkilometers.

The Manties were 3.2 million kilometers inside Cataphract’s poweredenvelope, even with no ballistic phase built into the attack run, althoughprojected accuracy at forty-one light-secondswould be abysmal.On the otherhand, he only had to worry about forty targets, and each of hissuperdreadnoughtshad twelvemissilepods towingastern.Thatgave him overfive thousand pods, each containing tenmissiles,which didn’t even count histubes. Each of his superdreadnoughts had given up a pair of tubes in eachbroadsidetosqueezeinAegis,butthatleftthemthirtyperside.Ifheflushedallof his pods and fired a full broadside from each of his superdreadnoughts, hecouldputover64,000missilesintospacesimultaneously.

Their simulations had demonstrated that they couldn’t hope to usefullycontrolmore than17,000orsoata time,ofcourse.But ifheusedonly4,200pod-launchedmissiles to backhis broadsides each timehe launched, he couldfiretwelvesalvosthatsizebeforeheexhaustedthem.

Thatwouldbebetter than four hundredmissiles per launch for each andeveryoneofTangoTwo’swallers,andhisfireplanconcentratedhisentirefirstsalvo on only half his potential targets.No superdreadnought ever built couldfend off eight hundred and fifty capital ship missiles arriving in a single,cataclysmicsalvo!Soitwasonlyamatterofthem—

“Statuschange!”WilliamDanielssnappedsuddenly.“Newimpellersignatures.Manynewimpellersignatures!”MassimoFilareta’seyesflewwideastheplotabruptlychanged.

TangoTwosuddenlysproutedadditionalimpellersignatures—hundredsofsignatures!Noneofthemwerepowerfulenoughtobestarships.Theyhadtobestill more LACs, but there were somany of them! They glared like a solid,curvedhemispherebetweenEleventhFleetandTangoTwo’ssuperdreadnoughts,andstillmoreofthemappearedevenashewatched.

Thatwouldhavebeensurpriseenoughallbyitself,butitwasn’tbyitself.Abrandnewclusterofsignatures,signaturessopowerfultheyclearlywereships-of-the-wall, had burned to sudden life amillion and a half kilometersbeyondTangoTwo.

That’swhytheykilledthereconplatforms,apreposterouslycalmcornerofFilareta’sbrainsaid.Theykilledthembefore theycouldoverflyTangoTwoandpossiblypickupthepeoplehidinginstealthbehindthem.

AndwhatdidIdo?I letHarringtonsuckermein likeagoddamnedstagemagician, that’swhat Idid. Ivectoredallmysurvivingplatforms inonTangoTwoinsteadofspreadingthemfurtherouttotryandfigureoutwhattheymighthavebeentryingtohide!

“Designate new force Tango Three.” Daniels’ staccato voice was crisp,harshlyprofessional, yetFilaretaheardhisoperationsofficer’sown shock, hisawarenessofhowthoroughlythey’dbeenduped,echoinginitsdepths.

“EstimateTangoThree at one hundred and fifty—repeat, one-five-zero—superdreadnoughtsandaminimumofeighthundredadditionalLACs.”

Filareta’s jawmuscles clenched as he abruptly found himself confrontingfivetimesthenumberofwallershe’dthoughthewasabouttoencounter.

Butwe’ve still got them by better than two-to-one,and Tango Two’s stilloveramillionkilometersthissideofTangoThree,hetoldhimself.That’sgoingtolimithowmuchTangoThreecanbolsterTwo’smissiledefenses.Icanstillgutthecloserone,andthen—

“Statuschange!”Danielsbarkedyetagain,andFilaretacould literally feelthe color draining from his face as yet another huge cluster of impellersignaturesappearedintheplot.Theseweren’tinfrontofhim;theywerebehindhim, ten million kilometers outside the limit, arriving in the biggest, mostpowerfulhyperfootprinthe’deverseen.

“DesignatethisTangoFour,”Danielsvoicewasflatnow,thatofamanfacetofacewithtotaldisaster,holdingoffdespairbypure,doggedconcentrationonhisduty.

“Estimate Tango Four at minimum two hundred fifty additionalsuperdreadnoughts.Minimalescorts,but—”

Theopsofficerpaused,thenheclearedhisthroat.“Sir,we’regettingadditionalLACsignatureswithTangoFour.They’rejust

appearingontheplot.Theymusthaveusedsomekindofcarrierships—someofthose

‘superdreadnoughts’,maybe—tocarrythemacrossthewall.”ThesilenceonOppenheimer’sflagbridgewasabsolute.They mousetrapped me. Filareta felt something like admiration even

throughhisshock.Theykeyedtheentirethingtomyownapproach.TheyshowedmeTangoTwo’s impellers tosuck in thereconplatformsandkeepmecoming,then they timedTangoThree’swedges tocomeon lineonlyafter I crossed thelimit.And theyhadTangoFourwaiting inhyper theentire time. Theymust’vesent a courier across the alpha wall to alert their backdoor force…and theytimedtheirhypertranslationtocatchmeonthewrongsideofthelimit,too.

Itwasalltiming,herealized.Everybitofittiedtohisownmaneuvers.HewonderedifTangoFourwouldeverhavedroppedoutofhyperatallifhehadn’tcrossedthelimit?

Probably, he thought. It wouldn’t have given anythingaway, either way,sincetheonlywayIcouldhaveavoidedcrossing the limitwouldhavebeen tohyperoutshortofit,before theyever turnedup.Allofmysensorswouldhavebeenontheothersideofthealphawall,wheretheycouldn’tseea thing,whentheydroppedintonormal-space.AnddidIthinkofdetachingacoupleofpicketdestroyerstowatchandseewhathappenedinacaselikethat?Ofcoursenot.

Humiliationglowedatthecoreofhimasherealizedhowtotallyhe’dbeenmanipulated.No,notmanipulated:anticipated.Anticipatedthewayaveteran—oranadult—

might anticipate some inexperiencednovice full of his ownomnipotence.They hadn’t had to manipulate him because it had been so easy for them topredicthim,andthatmadeitalmostworse.

“Sir,”ReubenSedgewicksaidinaverycarefulvoice,“IhaveacomrequestfromAdmiralHarrington.”***“Sohas it occurred toyou that thingsmaynot bequite as simple as you

thoughttheywere,AdmiralFilareta?”Harringtonsoundedwhimsical,almostamused,Filaretathoughtresentfully.

Hegloweredintothecompickup,hisfaceasexpressionlessashecouldkeepit,and

“theSalamander”smiledthinly.“I did point out to you,” she continued, “that your intelligence agencies’

estimateofhowbadlyourdefenseshadbeenerodedbytheYawataStrikewereinerror.”

“Yes,youdid,”heacknowledged,showinghisownteethbrieflyandsettled

backfortheeighty-secondtwo-waytransmissionlag.But—“Youshouldhave listened, then,”Harrington said after littlemore than a

singlesecond.Despitehisbestefforts,Filareta’seyeswidened insurprise,andshesmiledagain.“It’scalledaHermesbuoy,Admiral.WehavequiteafewofthemseededaroundthesystemtoserveasFTL

relays.Convenient,don’tyouthink?”Flintybrowneyesboredintohis,andicyfingernailsscrapeddownhisspine

at the proof that Manticore truly did have faster than light communicationscapability.

“I’maware,”shecontinued,“thatupuntilaminuteorsoagoyoubelievedyouhadtheforceadvantage.Youdon’t.Nor, for thatmatter,doyoufaceonlytheRoyalManticoranNavy.Atthemoment,asignificantpercentageofourownforcesare…elsewhere,let’ssay,onanothermission.Soweaskedsomefriendsto fill in for them. The ships you’ve been tracking between Sphinx andManticore are, unfortunately,onlyfreighterswithmilitary-grade impellers andinertialcompensators.Wewantedyou looking at themsoyouwouldn’t noticethe force I’m sure you’ve now detected just in-system frommy own…whichrepresentstwotaskforcesoftheGraysonSpaceNavy,aswellastheProtector’sOwn.Ifitshouldhappenyourintelligencehasfailedtopickuponit,Grayson’swar-fightingtechnologyisidenticalwithourown.Asfortheshipswhichhavejust completed their alpha translation astern of you, they represent three taskforcesoftheRepublicofHavenNavy.AndIthinkitshouldbeapparenttoyouthat theRepublicanNavywouldn’t have survived this long if itswar-fightingtechnologycouldn’tmatchourown,aswell.”

Shepaused,asifinvitingaresponse,andthetreecatonhershouldercockeditsheadtooneside,greeneyesbrightandwhiskerstwitchinggently.

Filaretafeltasifhe’djustbeenpunchedinthebelly.TheHaveniteNavy?ONIandBuPlanhadalwaysrecognizedthatGrayson

might be stupid enough to stand up beside its Manticoran allies. They werereligious fanatics, after all, even more backward than most of their fellowneobarbmonarchies.Sothere’dalwaysbeenapossibilityhe’dencounteratleastsomeof theirunits,aswell…althoughnoonehadeversuggested that a singlestarsystemsorecentlyremovedfromhopelessprimitivismcouldhaveput thatmanysuperdreadnoughts intoawallofbattle!ButHaven?They’d been at theManties’throatsfordecades!

What could possibly have induced Haven to range itself alongside itsmortal enemy in defiance of the Solarian League’s juggernaut? It waspreposterous!Ofcourse,oneanswermightbe…

“I trust you’ll forgive a certain skepticism, Admiral Harrington,” he

managedtokeephistonealmostnormal,“but I find it just a bit difficult to believeHavenwould come rushing to

yourrescueinasituationlikethis.”Hetwitchedasmile.“Giventhesizeofyourstarnation’smerchantmarine, I findmyselfwondering if that forcebehindmeisn’tjustanotherbatchoffreighters.”

“It would have been an interesting ploy,” Harrington replied. “And itoccurredtomethatyoumightwonderthat.SoI’vebroughtalongsomeonewhocanvouchformyveracity.”

She nodded, and a stocky, brown haired man—a man in a Haveniteadmiral’sskinsuit—steppedintothedisplayimagewithher.

“AllowmetointroduceAdmiralThomasTheisman,”

she said coldly. “Youmay have heard of him? If so, you know he’s theRepublic of Haven’s Secretary ofWar and its Chief ofNavalOperations. Assuch, I believe you can assume he’s in a position to speak officially for theRepublic.”

“Yes, I am in that position, Admiral Filareta.” The brown-haired man’svoicewasjustaschillasHarrington’s.

“AndI’maddressingyoufromDuchessHarrington’sflagshipsotherecanbe no question of just where my star nation stands. If you should happen todoubt that I’mwho I say I am, I invite your ONI representative, should youactually have one on board, to consult his records.Hemay not have the dataavailable,butI’vedealtpersonallyanddirectlywiththeSolarianLeagueNavyinthepast.Admittedly,Iwasn’taflagofficeratthe time,butyour intelligencepeople—such as they are and what there are of them—may have kept therecordings.Forthatmatter,theymayactuallyhavebeensmartenoughtoprovidethemtoyoubeforesendingyououtintothisregionofspace.”

His tone made it clear he very much doubted anyone had been smartenough to do anything of the sort, Filareta thought grimly.Which, given themonumental intelligence failure his current situation demonstrated,was hardlyanunreasonableassumption.

“Whilethey’recheckingthat,”Theismancontinued,“simplyallowmetosaythateverywordDuchessHarrington’s justsaid is

fully supported by both myself personally and my government. The SolarianLeague’scurrentlunacyisonlythemostrecentandspectacularmanifestationofits arrogant, corrupt foreign policy. The League’s blatant disregard for anyinterstellar law, treaty, or independent star nationwhich happens to get in thewayofitsowndesiresandtheexpansionofitsOFS

‘protectorates’hasbeentoleratedbytherestofthegalaxyforfartoolong.

ThefactthatnooneintheLeagueseemsbrightenoughtofigureouthowyourstar nation’s allowed itself to beplayed like a violin by an evenmore corruptregimewhichisn’tevenaLeaguememberonlymakesyouevenmoredangeroustoanyotherstarnation.

Toallotherstarnations,inpointoffact.Assuch,theRepublicofHavenisfullypreparedtostandwiththeStarEmpireofManticoreand itsalliesagainsttheSolarianLeague’smostrecentunprovokedaggression.”

Theisman stopped speaking, and Filareta looked over his shoulder.Commodore Sobolowski was working frantically at his console. Then theintelligence officer’s eyes widened and he looked up at Filareta and noddedonce.

The fleet admiral’s stomachmuscles clenched at the confirmation that itreally was Theisman. Or a damned convincing facsimile of him, anyway,althoughhecouldn’timaginewhatinthenameofsanitytheHavenitesecretaryofwarwasdoingonaManticoranflagbridge.AndwhatthehellwasTheismandoingwithatreecatonhisshoulder?

Filareta shook the questions aside. However perplexing—or vital—theymightbeinthegreaterschemeofthings,theyhadexactlyzerorelevanceforhispresentposition.Heturnedbackaroundtothepickupandopenedhismouth,butHarringtonspokebeforehecould.

“Beforewegoanyfurther,AdmiralFilareta,letmesummarizethetacticalsituation,” she said coldly. “Your fleet is between two hostile forces, whichcombinedhaveeffectiveparitywithyour superdreanought strength.Our reconplatforms report that you have approximately fifty-one hundred pods on towbehindyourships.Eachofthosepodshastenmissilecells,foratotaloffifty-one thousand missiles. In addition, each of your superdreadnoughts has abroadside of thirty tubes, allowing for the two you’ve taken out and replacedwithAegisfirecontrolstations.

We’reassuming themissiles inquestionareat leastequal incapability tothe ones Mesa supplied to the mercenary fleet dispatched to carry out agenocidal attack on the planet of Torch not so very long ago. Under thosecircumstances,Iestimatethatmyownforcesarecurrentlyinsideyourpoweredenvelope.”

Shepaused,as if invitingcomments,andFilareta fought to keep his facefrom sagging at the accuracywithwhich she’d summarizedhis capabilities. Itjust got worse and worse, he thought. She must have had her platformspractically inside hiswall to get that kind of information, and his sensors hadneverevenseenthedamnedthings!

“Myown forces have rathermore pods deployed,” she said, andDaniels

suckedinsharplybehindFilareta.“Sir—!”“What?”Filaretasnapped,ventingsomeofhisowntensionashewheeled

tofacetheoperationsofficer.“Sir,theplot…”Filareta lookedbackat themasterplot and felt hisblood turn to ice.She

hadn’tpaused to invitecomments,he realizeddistantly; she’dpauseduntil thelight-speedtransmissionsfromthebeaconswhichhadsuddenlyturnedtheplotintoanalmostsolidmassofpointsourcescouldreachPhilipOppenheimer.

“Thosearemymissilepods,Admiral,”asopranoicicletoldhim.“Orsomeofthem,tobemoreprecise.Iimagineyou’rehavingalittledifficultygettingadetailedcount,soI’llsaveyoutheeffort.Therearejustoveraquartermillionofthem…which represents less than ten percent of the total available to me.Moreover,everymissileinthosepodshasapoweredengagementrangeofbetterthanfortymillionkilometers.Andunlikeyou,wehave theadvantageof fasterthanlightdatatransmissionforfirecontrolandelectronicwarfaremanagement.”

“Which won’t do you personally a great deal of good if my admittedlyinferiormissilesblowyouandeverydamnedsuperdreadnoughtincompanywithyouintoplasma,”

Filaretaheardhisownvoicesayharshly.“No, it wouldn’t. But that’s not going to happen, Admiral. First of all,

we’vehad theadvantageof examiningSandraCrandall’s units in some detail.On the basis of that examination, we know your fire control is capable ofmanagingsalvosofnomorethanseventeentoeighteenthousandmissiles.Eachofmy

superdreadnoughts,ontheotherhand,canmanagemorethantwohundredmissiles apiece…in real-time, without transmission lags. I’ll let you do themath.”

Shelookedathimcoolly.“Bearinginmindthatcapability,doyoureallythinkwehaven’tdeveloped

adefensivedoctrinetodealwithfarheaviervolumesoffirethanyourfleetcanpossibly lay down or control? I’m sure you’ve observed all of the LACsscreeningmyforces, forexample. I’malsosure you dismissed them as ‘only’LACs.Beforeyoudothat,however,youmightwanttorememberjusthowbadlyyou’veunderestimatedtherestofourhardware.”

Sheshowedherteethinanotherofthoseicysmilesassheletthatsinkin,thencontinuedwiththesame,colddispassionthatwasmoreterrifyingthananyrantcouldeverhavebeen.

“EachofthoseLACshasmoremissiledefensecapabilitythanoneofyour

Rampart-classorWarHarvest-class destroyers,” she told him. “In fact, they probably have more

antimissilecapabilitythanoneofyourcruisers.Andatthismomenttherearetwothousandofthemdeployedwitheachof

myforces.Whichdoesn’tevenconsiderwhatouronboarddefensesandEWwilldo to your birds.” She shook her head. “Your fire isn’t getting through mydefenses,Admiral.Notenoughofittodoyouonebitofgood.”

Filareta’s jawtightened.Hewanted,morethanhe’deverwantedanythinginhisentirelife,tobelieveshewaslying.Thatitwasallstillanelaboratebluff.Butheknewbetter.Therewastoomuchcertitude,toomuchconfidenceinthosefrozenbrowneyes.Andherbodylanguage—forthatmatter, thebody languageofeveryofficerandratinginherpickup’sfieldofview—wasjustasconfidentashereyes.

Silence lingered for several seconds, then he drew a deep breath andsquaredhisshoulders.

“Andyourpointinexplainingallofthistomeis—?”“For the lasteightT-months, theSolarianLeaguegovernment—or, rather,

thecorruptbureaucraticcliquewhichdictates theSolarianLeague’spolicies—hasignoredeveryeffortontheStarEmpire’sparttodivertitfromacatastrophiccollision,”Harringtonsaidinthatsamebattlesteelsoprano.“We’verepeatedlysought a diplomatic resolution of the crisis provoked and sustained by theLeague. The unelected bureaucrats ruling the Leaguewith complete disregardfortheLeague’sownConstitution,however,havemade itclear theyprefer thepath of military confrontation, regardless of how many human beings—includingmenandwomenintheuniformoftheSolarianLeagueNavy—mightbekilledalongtheway.

We’verecentlydiscovered,andhavesharedwith the League through ourambassadorinOldChicago,evidencethatstronglysupportsourcontention thatthecrisisbetweenourstarnationswasdeliberatelyengineeredbycertainpartiesin the Mesa System. We also invited Permanent Senior UndersecretaryKolokoltsovandhis…

associates to send someone through the Junction to Manticore with theauthority toorderyou tostanddownbeforeanyonewaskilled.That invitationwasdeclined,fromwhichwecanonlyconcludeKolokoltsovcontinuestopreferwartoapeacefulresolution.”

Shepausedonceagain.Hereyesnarrowed,andFilaretawonderedifshe’dseensomethinginhisowneyeswhenshementionedMesa.

“Sincewarisclearlywhatheprefers,andsincenooneintheLeagueseems

to be prepared or in a position to dispute his policies, then war it will be.”Harrington’s voice was colder than the space beyond Oppenheimer’s hull.“Whichleavesyouwithadecision,AdmiralFilareta.

TheStarEmpireanditsalliesarepreparedtoacceptyoursurrenderandthesurrenderofthevesselsunderyourcommand.Shouldyousosurrender,wewillguarantee your personnel proper treatment under theDenebAccords.Wewillfurtherguaranteeyourpersonnel’srepatriationtotheSolarianLeagueassoonasareasonableandmutuallysatisfactoryresolutionofalldisputesbetweenusandthe League has been concluded. Should you choose not to surrender, wewillengage you, and the consequences for your fleetwill be disastrous.You havefiveminutes to consider our terms. At the end of that time, if you have notannouncedyoursurrender,struckyourwedges,andscuttledyourmissilepods,wewillopenfire.

“Thechoiceisyours.Alexander-Harrington,clear.”Thetall,implacableimagedisappearedfromFilareta’scom,andheturned

tofacehisstaff.Everyoneofthemlookedasstunnedashefelt.“Well,John?”HegaveBurrowsasmilehesuspectedlookedasghastlyasit

felt.“Doyouthinkshe’sbluffing?”From his expression, Burrows wanted desperately to say exactly that.

Instead,heshookhishead.

“No, Sir,” he said flatly. “She set all of this up toowell. She knows toomuchaboutouropsplan,andshe’sshowingustoomuchtacticaldetail.Worse,she’s showing us way too much about their capabilities—things like theirplatforms’stealthandsensorreach,thenumberofpodsshe’sgotdeployed,thoseLACcarriersorwhateverthehelltheyaretheHavenitesmusthave.”Heshookhisheadagain.“Shewantsustoknowwhatshehas,wantsus toknowexactlywhat she can do to us, and shewouldn’t be giving us that good a look if shewasn’tjustasconfidentasshesounds.Shemaybeexaggeratingherantimissilecapabilities,butIdon’tthinkso.Andevenifsheis,itwon’tmakeanydifferencetousoncethewreckagecools.”

“AndIwentchargingstraightover the limit sowe can’t even try to run,instead.”Filaretaheardthebitternessinhisownvoice.

“It’s what our orders specified, Sir,” Burrows replied with a shrug.“Whoever thought thisoperationupwasobviouslyoperatingon thebasis of afew…flawedassumptions.Nowwe’vebeenhandedtheshit-endofthestick.”

Filareta nodded slowly, yet unlike Burrows, he very much doubted that“whoever”hadtrulycomeupwiththisoperationhadbeenoperatingon“flawed

assumptions.”No.Harringtonhaditright;Mesawasultimatelybehinditall.Hecouldn’t

imaginewhy, orwhatMesa hoped to accomplish, but it didn’t matter, either.Therewereover fourhundredsuperdreadnoughtsonhisplot,and if theywereevenhalfascapableasHarringtonhaddescribed,theyweremorethanenoughtocut through every active unit of Battle Fleet like a laser through ice cubes.Which didn’t even consider what would happen to him personally, or to thealmostthreemillionmenandwomenaboardEleventhFleet’sstarships,becausetheywouldn’tevenworkupalightsweatdealingwithhiscommand.

“Bill?”HelookedatDaniels.“Sir,”theoperationsofficer’sexpressionwasdesperatelyunhappy,“Ithink

she’s telling the truth—about her capabilities, anyway.And if she is,we’re…Well, John’s right,Sir. If shepulls the trigger,we’re toast.Wemaybeable tohurtthemmorethanshe’ssuggesting,butthere’snowaywesurvive.”

***“Whatdoyouthinkhe’sgoingtodecide,Tom?”Honoraskedquietly.“Given theoptions, he’sgoing to strikehiswedges andblow thosepods,

unlesshe’sacompleteandtotalidiot,”Theismanrepliedsuccinctly.“Of course, hemaybe a complete and total

idiot, but I think youmade our position eloquently clear. For thatmatter,” hesmiledslightly,“Idoubtmyownmodestcontributionhurt.”

“No,Idon’tthinkitdid,”sheagreed, rightcheekdimplingwithasudden,muchbroadersmileofherown.

“Youdo realize youweren’t exactly truthfulwith the poor shmuck,YourGrace,” Rafe Cardones pointed out from his com screen, and she cocked aneyebrowathim.“Youdidn’t fallalloveryourselfgivinghimaccurate infoonourcapabilities,”herflagcaptainexpanded,andsheshrugged.

“I disagree with your assessment, Rafe. I didn’t tell him we could do asinglethingwecan’tdo,Ijust…

understatedthenumbersabit.Soonerorlater,atleastsomeofthesepeoplewillbegoinghomeagain—at least Idarnedwellhope theywill!—andIdon’tseeanyreasontogiveawayallourlittlesecretsbeforetheydo.Hopefully,we’refinallygoingtoputthebrakesonthisthingtoday.Ifwedon’t,though,IwanttokeeptheSolliesguessingabouttheactualceilingonourabilitiesforaslongasIcan.”

“Iagreecompletely.”Theismannoddedfirmly.“Keepingatleastsomeofyourcapabilitiesinreserveaslongaspossibleis

alwaysagood idea.Besides,”hesnorteddryly,“theymightnothave believedyouifyou’dtoldthemhowgoodyourtech—ourtech—reallyis!Hemight’ve

decidedyouwerelyingandrunningabluffafterall.”“I’m with Admiral Theisman, Your Grace,” Mercedes Brigham offered.

“Besides,youdidn’tneedtotellthebastardseverything.Whatyoudidtellthemwas plenty bad enough from their perspective, and while I’ll agree you werebothprettyeloquent,I think the tacticalsituation’sevenmorepersuasive.”Sheshookherhead.

“I’veneverseenafleetinaworseholethanthisone,eveninasimulation,and”—sheglancedatTheismanforamoment—“that’ssayingsomething,aftersomeofthescrapeswe’vebeenin.”Sheshookherheadagain.

“Surrender’stheonlyoptionyou’velefthim.”“Thatwasthegeneral idea,Mercedes,”Honorsaidsoftly,hereyeson the

crimsoniconsofEleventhFleet.***MassimoFilaretatookonelastlookatthehorrificarrayoffirepowerwhich

hadcloseditsbattlesteeljawsonhiscommand.HerememberedtheshockwithwhichtheSLNhadrespondedtothesurrenderofJosefByng’staskforce.Theevengreater shock—anddisbelief—ofwhathadhappened toSandraCrandall.Theimpactofthiswasgoingtodwarfallofthoseothershocks,allofthatotherdisbelief.

Andtherewasn’tonedamnedthinghecoulddoaboutit.Well,actually,thereis,hetoldhimself.Icanatleastputonerightinthose

Mesanbastards’eyeandrefusetobeanevenmoredisastrousCrandallforthem.“Very well.” His voice sounded flat, defeated and broken, even to him.

“Strikeourwedgesandsendthepodself-destructcommand,Bill.”“Yes,Sir,”Danielssaid.“IsupposeyoushouldgoaheadandgetHarringtonback,Reuben,”Filareta

continued,turningtothecommunicationsofficer.“She’llwant—”Admiral William Daniels reached for his console to transmit the orders

AdmiralFilaretahadgivenhim.Hewasstillinastateofshock,ofdisbelief,yetwhat he feltmost stronglywas relief. Relief that Filareta had beenwilling torecognize reality.Relief thatEleventhFleetwasn’tgoing tobedestroyedafterall.

Reliefthatabruptlyvanishedashesawhisownhandflipupaplasticshieldandhitthebuttonunderit.

Filaretastiffened inhorrifieddisbeliefas fifty-onehundredpods launchedfifty-onethousandmissilesinasingleenormoussalvo.

“Whatthefuckd’youthinkyou’redo—?!”Thefleetadmiralnevercompletedthequestion.Before he could, William Daniels’ hand, still under someone—or some

thing—else’s command kept right on moving. The operations officer foughtdesperatelytostopit,butitmovedsmoothly,efficiently,punchinginanumericalcommandcodehe’dneverlearnedorevenseenbefore.

The command that detonated the bomb a petty officer namedHarder hadinstalled in his console and killed every man and woman on SLNS PhilipOppenheimer’sflagbridge.

***“Missile launch!” Andrea Jaruwalski barked. “Multiplemissile launches!

Fiftythousand-plus,incoming!”Honor Alexander-Harrington’s breath stopped. For just an instant, she

couldn’tbelievewhatshewasseeing.Couldn’tbelieveanyone,evenaSolly,couldbethatinsane.Thatarrogant.

Thatwillingtoseehismenandwomenslaughtered.Butsomeoneobviouslycould.She looked at that incoming tide of destruction for perhaps another two

seconds.Thenshedrewadeepbreath.“Engagetheenemy,”hersopranovoicesaidevenly.“FirePlanThermopylae.”ChapterTwenty-ThreeFleetAdmiralImogeneTsangsatupastheattentionsignalonherbedside

communicatorchimed.She raked hair out of her eyes, glanced at the bedsidetimedisplay,andgrimaced.She’dbeendownforlessthanthreehours,hereyesfeltdryandscratchy,andthethrobbingachebehindherforeheadsuggestedthatlastpairoftequilasunrisesmighthavebeenjustabittoomuch.

Thecomchimedagain,andshestabbedthevoice-onlykeywithaviciousforefinger.

“What?”shesnapped.“Sorrytodisturbyou,Ma’am,”AdmiralPierreTakeuchisaidquickly,“but

thedispatchboatjustcamethroughtheterminus.”“Itdid?”Tsangturnedsideways,sittingontheedgeofherbedandplanting

herfeetonthedecksole.“Howlongago?”“Justoverthreeminutes,Ma’am.”ShesensedTakeuchi’sunseenshrug.“It

tookLieutenantTrudeau,thedispatchboat’sskipper,acoupleofminutestospotRangerandforRangertorelaytous.”

“Understood.” Tsang felt a spike of irritation she knew was completelyirrational (and probably owed at least a little of its strength to her headache).Therewasnoway thisTrudeau couldhaveknownwhereTF116was locatedrelativetotheBeowulfTerminusbeforeheactuallyarrived.Anditwasn’tas iftheslightextradelaywasgoingtomakeanydifferencetoTsang’smovements.

She’d deliberately held the task force tenmillion kilometers clear of theterminus.Itwasinconvenientashell,anditwasgoingtotakethebetterpartofanhourtoreachtheterminuswithazero-zerovelocityandmake transit,but ithad the benefit of keeping her far enough out to avoid offending Beowulfansensibilities any worse than she had to. She’d considered deploying reconplatformsandcommunicationsrelaysclosertotheterminus,whereshecouldcutdown on any confusion on the part of the incoming courier boat. Thatwouldhavebeenprettyblatant,though.ItwouldundoubtedlyhaveundonehereffortstoplacateBeowulf’sire,anditwasn’tasiftheBeowulfersweregoingtosneakuponherandattack!

Even from here, though, her gravitic sensor sections had monitored theimpeller signatures of at least sixty or seventy Beowulfan freighters shuttlingbackandforth through the terminus.Obviously,while that terminusmight beclosedtootherSolarianshipping,theBeowulfersweredoingquiteabitoftradewiththeStarEmpire.She’dgonesofarastoaskthesystemgovernmentforanexplanation,andbeeninformedthatwhatshewasseeingwere

“humanitarianrelief”efforts,notanythingsocrassas“trade.”

Sure, and I can believe just as much of that as I want to, she thought

sardonically.Oh, I don’t doubt those cargoes are being used as part of theManties’rebuilding effort, but I’ll bet Beowulf’smaking a pretty centicred offtheir“humanitarian”concern!

Beowulfan profiteering hadn’t been very high on her list of concerns,however; steering clear of any avoidable incident had been, and so she’dcontented herself with observing their activities from afar. And she’d alsoconcentrated on staying far enough out from the terminus that none of thosefreighters were likely to see very much of her actual strength. There was notelling which of the merchant skippers sailing back and forth through theterminusmightbetemptedtotellfriendsinManticoreabouttheenormousSLNtask force hovering on the far side. Fortunately, commercial-grade sensorsweren’tgoingtopickupdiddleyatjustoverhalfalight-minute.

She’dgoneaheadandpostedasingledestroyer,SLNSRanger,closerin,however,withhertransponderonline.The courier boat ought to have spotted that without toomuch difficulty,

evenallowingforthelimitationsofdispatchboat’ssensorsuites,but therewasnopointpissingormoaningoveracoupleofminuteseitherway.

“HaveyoualreadywakedFranz?”sheasked,massagingher templeswithbothhands.

“ItoldSherwoodtogethimupwhileIgotyouup,Ma’am,”Takeuchisaidwryly,andTsangsnorted.AdmiralFranzQuill,heroperationsofficer,tendedtowakeupgrumpy,andhedidn’tlikeCaptainSherwoodMarceau,hercomofficer,verymuchanyway.

“As soon as you and I are done here,” Takeuchi continued, “I’m gettingCaptainRobillardup,too.Ialreadyputoutthegeneralordertobringupthetaskforce’simpellers,andIfigureshe’llforgivemeforwakingyouupfirst.”

“Probably.”Actually,Tsangwasn’tallthatsureaboutSanelmaRobillard’sforgiveness.

Robillardwasgood,orTsangwouldn’thavepickedherasherflagcaptain,butshewasalsoaprimadonna,evenbytheoftenpricklystandardsoftheSolarianNavy.ShewaslikelytomakeherselfapainintheassifshedecidedTakeuchihad trespassedagainstherprerogativesbypassinganorderwhichwould haveherengineeringdepartmentupandstirringbeforeshewas informed,even ifhewasthetaskforce’soperationsofficer.

“All right,” thefleetadmiralsaid.“Itsounds like you’ve done everythingright so far, Pierre. I’ll meet you and the rest of the staff on Flag Bridge intwentyminutes.

Clear.”***Itwasactuallytwenty-fiveminuteslater,nottwenty,whenTsang,headache

banishedbyaquicksquirtfromherpreferredmorning-afterinhaler,steppedontoSLNS

AdrienneWarshawski’s flag deck. Not that the extra five minutes reallymattered. A quick glance at the readiness display showed thatWarshawski’simpellernodeswerestillfifteenminutesfromfullreadiness.

“Wherearewe,Pierre?”sheaskedbrusquely.“We should be able to get moving in another fifteen or twenty minutes,

Ma’am,”hereplied,twitchinghisheadinthedirectionofthedisplayTsanghadalreadyconsulted.

“Franz transmitted the preparatory order for Arbela twenty minutes ago,andall tactical crews have acknowledged.And Sherwood’s copied LieutenantTrudeau’stransmissiontoyourconsoleifyouwanttoviewitpersonally.”

“I’lltakealookatitinaminute,”shesaid.“Unlessthere’ssomethinginityouthinkwouldaffectArbela?”

“No,Ma’am.” Takeuchi grimaced. “All he knows is that the systemwasreported under attack.Well, that and he did confirm that assuming theMantytrafficcontrolpeopleweregivingaccuratetimechops,theyreallydohaveFTL

comcapability.”“Marvelous,”Tsangsaidsourly.Itwasn’t thatmuchofasurprisebynow,

but the confirmation emphasized the Manties’ tech capabilities unpleasantly.Especiallynow,whenOperationArbelahadmovedfromafutureprobabilitytoapresentcertainty.

“All right,” she went on a moment later. “I’ll take a look at Truman’smessage.MeanwhileI thinkyouandFranzshouldprobablygetonthenetandtouch basewith our squadron commanders. Be surewe’re not looking at anyunanticipateddelays.”

***“CaptainRobillardwould like tospeak toyou,FleetAdmiral,”Sherwood

Marceausaid,andTsanglookedupfromherCICrepeater.“PuttheCaptainthrough,”shesaid.“Yes,Ma’am.”The image of Adrienne Warshawski’s commanding officer appeared on

Tsang’scomamomentlater.“Sanelma,”Tsangsaid.“WhatcanIdoforyou?”“Ijustwantedtoreportwe’rereadytoproceed,Ma’am,”Robillardreplied,

and Tsang suppressed an ignoble temptation to smile. Her flag captain’s tonecouldnothavebeenmorerespectful,yet therewasacertain tartness to it.ShewasobviouslystillirritatedbyTakeuchi’sdecisiontowakeTsang—andtoorderthe entire task force (including her ship) to bring up its impellers—before hewoke Robillard. She must have been sitting there, watching the engineeringdisplayswith her thumb on the call key tomake sure she got Tsang notifiedbefore Takeuchi could. For that matter, she might even have instructed herengineer not to simultaneously report readiness to her and the task forceoperationsofficer,asSOPrequired.

“Thankyou,Sanelma,”thefleetadmiralsaidasgravelyasshecould.“You’re welcome, Ma’am,” Robillard responded with barely a trace of

satisfaction,andTsangchuckledasthedisplayblanked.“So I guess I did piss her off,” Admiral Takeuchi observed with a wry

smile.“She’llrecover,”Tsangsaiddryly,andglancedatAdmiralQuill.“Let’sgetthetaskforcemoving,Franz,”shesaid.“Atonce,FleetAdmiral!”OfallofTsang’sstaffers,Quillcameclosesttobeinggenuinelyenthusiastic

about Operation Arbela. In fact, he was the one who’d come up with theoperation’sname.

Personally,Tsangwaslessconfidentthanhewasthatitwasgoingtowork

outaswellforTF11.6astheoriginalbattlehadforAlexanderofMacedon,butshe’dbeenwillingtogoalongwithhischosenname.Andatleastitwasn’tasifQuillwere one of those hidebound, blinkered, Solarian bigotswho refused toacknowledgethepossibilitythat theMantiesmightactuallybeabletogivetheSLN a genuine fight. A skeptic where the more extravagant claims aboutManticoran technology were concerned, yes, but not a blind skeptic…unlikecertainotherofficersTsangcouldhavenamed.

She stoodwatching themaster plot for two or threeminutes as her taskforce began accelerating towards the terminus. Then she turned back toMarceau.

“Sherwood.”“Yes,Ma’am?”“Isupposeyou’dbettergoaheadandnotifyTerminusTrafficControlthat

we’regoingtobemakingtransitshortly.”“Yes,Ma’am.”“Well, I bet that’s going to make the Beowulfers happy,” Takeuchi

murmured,hisvoicelowenoughforonlyTsangtohear.“They’rejustgoingtohave to livewith it,”Tsangrepliedflatly.“And it’s

notasiftheyhaven’thadenoughtimetoadjust—”“Excuseme,FleetAdmiral.”Tsang broke off in midsentence and turned back towards Marceau,

eyebrowsrisingasthecomofficer’speculiartoneregistered.“Yes,Sherwood?”“You’vegotanincomingprioritycomrequest,Ma’am.”“FromTrafficControl?”Tsangwassurprised.Shedidn’tdoubt the traffic

control authoritieswere going to be unhappywith her announcement that shewas coming through their terminus anyway, whatever the Beowulfan systemgovernmentmighthavedecreed.Buttheterminuswasthirty-threelight-secondsfromWarshawski;therewasnowayMarceau’stransmissioncouldhavereachedityet,andanyresponsewouldbeatleastahalf-minutebehindthat.

“No,Ma’am,”Marceausaid,stillwiththatpeculiaredgetohisvoice.“It’soriginatingfromneartheterminus,butit’sfromViceAdmiralHolmon-Sanders,notTrafficControl.”

Tsang glanced quickly at Takeuchi. Marianne Holmon-Sanders was theBeowulf System Defense Force’s senior in-space officer, ranking just behindAdmiral Corey McAvoy, the chief of naval operations. She was also thecommanding officer of the BSDF’s First Fleet—its only fleet, really—whichmadethefactthattheincomingmessagewasfromherevenmoreinteresting.

“I see,” the fleetadmiral saidafteramoment,andwalkedacross the flag

bridge to her command chair. She took her time, settling herself comfortably,thennoddedtoMarceau.

“Putherthrough,Sherwood.”“Yes,Ma’am.”Thewomanwhoappeared on Tsang’s display amoment later had brown

hair,browneyes,awide,firm-lippedmouth,andadeterminedchinwhichwentjusta littleoddlywithherpert,undeniablysnubnose.ButwhatTsangnoticedmoststrongly,whatcausedhereyestowiden,wasthefactthatHolmon-Sandersworenot themaroon tunic and charcoal gray trousers of theBeowulf SystemDefenseForce’susualuniform,butaskinsuit.

Andsodideveryotherofficerandrating visible behind her. The officersandratingsmanningtheirconsolesanddisplaysonwhatwasobviouslyacapitalship’sflightdeckatgeneralquarters.

“Vice Admiral?” Tsang said after a moment, slightly but firmlyemphasizingHolmon-Sanders’lowerrank.“WhatcanIdoforyoutoday?”

Shesatback,towaittheminutenecessaryforhertransmissiontoreachtheterminusandHolmon-Sanders’

replytoreachher,butthen,barelyonesecondlater—“Youcanstanddownyourimpellersandassuremeyouhavenointention

ofmaking transit through this terminus against the expressedwill of my starsystem,FleetAdmiral,”Holmon-Sanderssaidflatly.

Tsang’s head whipped around towards Sherwood Marceau’s station. SheheardTakeuchimutter something short, pungent,andsurprised sounding, thencursed herself almost instantly for revealing her own astonishment so clearly.But—

Marceauwasstaringathisownconsoleandlooked,ifpossible,evenmoresurprisedthanshefelt.Helookeddownforanothermoment,thenraisedhiseyestohers.

“Anothertransmitterjustcameonline,Ma’am,”hesaid.“Itmustbesomekindofrelay.It’slessthantenthousandklicksoutfromWarshawski!”

“No doubt your com section has detected my communications relay,AdmiralTsang,”Holmon-Sanders’

voicecontinued,andTsang lookedbackatherdisplay.“It’sa receiver,aswellasatransmitter,youknow.Ithoughtitwouldprobablybeagoodideanotto have any…avoidable delays in our conversation. Particularly not given thestrength and clarity with which my government has set forth the BeowulfSystem’s position on your proposed operation. Again, I formally requestclarificationofyourintentions.”

Tsanghadherexpressionbackundercontrol,andhermindraced.Holmon-Sandershadn’t just idly decided to speak to her in real-time.She’d done it tomakeapoint;thatmuchTsangwascertainof.Butwhatpoint?SofarasTsangknew,theonlypeoplewhowereevenrumoredtopossessFTLcommunicationsabilityweretheMantiesand—

possibly—the Havenites. Which meant the only place Holmon-SanderscouldhavegottenherFTLrelaywasfromManticore.Butwhyhadshegottenit?AndwhywasshetellingTsangshehadit?SurelynoteventheBeowulfershadbeencrazyenoughto—!

“Usetheirdamnedrelay,Sherwood,”shesaid.“Yes,Ma’am.Givemejustasecond.”Heenteredthecommandstoredirect

hiscommunicationslasertothefarcloserrelay,thennoddedtoTsang.“My intentions, Vice Admiral Holmon-Sanders,” the fleet admiral said

then,hervoicehard,“aretocarryoutmyorders,aspreviouslyexplainedtoyoursystemgovernment.”

“In other words,” Holmon-Sanders said, still with that impossiblequickness,“youdointendtotransitthisterminus?”

“Ido,”Tsangsaidflatly.“Then I hereby inform you that you will not be permitted to do so,”

Holmon-Sanderssaid,justasflatly.“ThefederalgovernmenthasnoauthoritytooverruletheBeowulfSystem

governmentinthisregardintheabsenceofaformaldeclarationofwar.Doyouhappentobeinpossessionofsuchaformaldeclaration,FleetAdmiral?”

“I’ve alreadyhad thisdiscussionwithDirectorCaddell-Markham,”Tsangreplied. “I told him then, as I tell you now, that my understanding of theConstitutionisthatthefederalauthoritysupersedesthatofanysinglestarsysteminthissituation.And,asIalsoinformedhimatthetime,Iintendtocarryoutmyorders regardless of your own system government’s interpretation of theirlegality.”

“Idon’tthinkyouwanttodothis,FleetAdmiral,”Holmon-Sanderssaid,andsmiled thinly.“Ireallydon’t thinkyouwant to

dothis.”That smile sent a bolt of anger through Imogene Tsang’s surprise and

confusion. There was no amusement in the expression, only challenge. And,evenmoreinfuriating,morethanahintofdisdain.Possiblyevencontempt.

Somehow,thatsmilemadeTsangabruptlyawarethatshe’dfeltmoreangerovertheManties’defianceofthemight,majesty,andthepoweroftheSolarianLeaguethanshe’dpreviouslyrealized.

“In thatcase,Admiral,you thinkwrong.”Her tonewasan icicle. “Ihaveeveryintentionofcarryingoutmyorders.”

Allmy orders, she thought, remembering the secret clause covering herresponse to thisvery situation.MyGod, I wonderedwhat whoeverwrote thatpartmust’vebeensmoking.Nowitturnsouttheynailedit!

“AndI,FleetAdmiralTsang,haveeveryintentionofpreventingyoufromendangering the livesofBeowulfancitizensof theSolarianLeague,”Holmon-Sandersrepliedequallycoldly.

“Ma’am,”FranzQuillsaidquietly,“I’mpickingupsensorplatforms.”Tsangglancedatthedisplay,andhermouthtightened.Cascades of icons appeared as least two or three hundred reconnaissance

platformswentactive,lashingherstarshipswithradarandlidar.Someofthemwere even closer than theFTL relay, and threat receiverswarbled inwarning.Shehadnoideahowthey’dgottenthatclosewithoutbeingdetectedinthefirstplace, but therewas nomistakingHolmon-Sanders’message. Shewas tellingTsangthat,unlikeTsang,shehaddetailedtacticalinformationontheSLNtaskforce.

“Status change!”Quill announcedan instant later, andTsang’s righthandclenchedonherchairarmasthirty-siximpellersignaturesappearedonherplot,roughly nine million kilometers from Adrianne Warshawski…and directlybetweenherandtheBeowulfTerminus.

“Thirty-six superdreadnoughts at eight-point-eight-seven millionkilometers,”Quillconfirmed.“Impellersactive.Ican’ttellyetiftheirsidewallsareup.”

“AreyouactuallyproposingtofireonunitsoftheSolarianNavy?!”Tsangdemanded,eyesblazingatHolmon-Sanders.

“I’mproposingtoexercisethesovereignrightofmystarsystemtodefenditscitizensagainsttheordersofanun-electedcliqueofcorruptbureaucratswithno traceofconstitutionalauthority togive theordersyoupropose toexecute,”Holmon-Sanders replied. “And you, FleetAdmiral, know aswell as I do thattheyhavenoauthority.

That if you proceed with this operation you will be doing so in directviolationoftheConstitutionyousworeanoathtoprotectanddefend.Thatmaynotmeanmuchtoyou,butitmeansquitealottoushereinBeowulf.”

AngerdarkenedTsang’sface.Howdaredthisjumpeduppretenseofaflagofficer inhercomicopera little system-defense force talk to her thatway?Ofcourse she’d sworn to protect and defend the Constitution! Every Solarianofficer did that. But theConstitutionwaswhat accepted practicemade it, not

somedead-letterdocumentwhichhadn’tfunctionedproperlyinoversixhundredT-years!Holmon-Sandersknewaswellasshedid that theLeaguewouldhavefallen apart centuries ago if the people truly responsible for governing hadn’tmade accommodations with the more absurd provisions of Holmon-Sanders’preciousConstitution!

“Idisagreewithyour…uniqueinterpretationofcurrentconstitutionallaw,”she said flatly. “And I repeat that I intend to passmy command through thatterminus.”

“Notwithout the assistance and cooperation of Terminus Traffic Control,you aren’t,” Holmon-Sanders replied. “I’m sure your staff astrogator will beaware, even if you aren’t, of just how disastrous any effort to make asimultaneoustransitthroughthisterminuswithoutTrafficControl’sguidance isgoing toprove.Doyou intend to place armedparties on the control platformsandcompelourpersonneltocoordinateyourtransitatpulserpoint?”

“I intend todowhatever it requires,ViceAdmiral!And if thatmeansmyMarinesareforcedtotakecontrolofyourcontrolplatformsand‘compel’yourpersonneltodotheirdutyasSolariancitizens,thenthat’spreciselywhatI’lldo!”

“Andtheinstantyouattempttodoso,theBeowulfSystemDefenseForcewillopenfireuponyouindefenseofourcitizens.”

Tsanginhaledsharplyasthewordswerefinallyspoken.“Inthatcase,AdmiralHolmon-Sanders,youwillcommitanactoftreason.”“In that case, Admiral Tsang, one of us will have committed an act of

treason,”Holmon-Sanders replied, and her contemptuous challenge smilewasnolongerthin.

“And you and the vast majority of the personnel aboard yoursuperdreadnoughts will also be dead,” Tsang said flatly. “You’ll be in mypoweredmissileenvelopeinapproximatelynineteenminutes.Ifatthattimeyouhavenotstooddownandwithdrawnyourunits,Iwillengageyou,andthedeathsofyourspacerswillbeonyourownheadandthatofyoursystemgovernment.”

“Itakeitthat’syourfinalwordonthematter?”Holmon-Sandersinquiredalmostcalmly.“Damned right it is.” Tsang glared at her. “Get out of my way now,

Admiral,orIwillbyGodbloweveryoneofyourfuckingshipsoutofspace!”“Ithinknot,”anothervoicesaidsuddenly,andtheimageonTsang’sdisplay

splitasanotherwomanappearedonit,speakingfromanothercommanddeck.Theblue-eyednewcomerhadgoldenhair…andherskinsuitwasdefinitely

notBeowulf-issue.“ViceAdmiralAliceTruman,RoyalManticoranNavy,”she identified herself coldly. “You might want to reconsider your

belligerence,FleetAdmiralTsang.”

“Statuschange!”AdmiralQuill’ssharpvoicewrenchedTsang’seyesfromTruman’simagebacktothemasterplotasatleastfiftynewiconsappearedonit.“Confirmsixty—

repeat,sixty—additional superdreadnoughts!” Quill continued, and the bottom

seemedtofalloutofTsang’sstomachashernumericalsuperiorityoverHolmon-Sandersabruptlydisappeared.

Impossible.Impossible!TherewasnowaysixtyMantysuperdreadnoughtscouldpossiblybehereinBeowulfspace!Even if they’ddared todivertanyofthem,howcouldtheyhavegottenthemhere?Itwasridiculous,unless

—“Ithinkyoushouldhavetakenacloserlookatthefreightersmovingback

andforthbetweenBeowulfandManticore,AdmiralTsang,”Trumansaidinthatsamecoldvoice,smilingfaintly.“SurelynoteventheSLNwasstupidenoughtothinkwecouldn’tforeseethepossibilityofsomethinglikethisoncewefiguredoutFilaretawascoming!Orperhapsyoureallythoughtwecouldn’t.

Especially ifyou judgedusbyyourownservice’s demonstrated levels ofcompetence.”

The contempt in Truman’s tone bit like a lash, and Tsang felt her jawmusclesbunching.

“Iknewyoursystemgovernmentwas being run by lunatics,” she grated,glaring at Holmon-Sanders, but I hadn’t realized they were goddammedtraitors!”

“AninterestingcharacterizationcomingfromsomeonewhoproposestokillSolarian citizens for having the audacity to resist the unconstitutional, illegalpoliciesofabevyofunelectedbureaucrats,”Holmon-Sandersreplied.

“Don’thandme thatbullshit!”Tsangsnapped.“You’veactivelyconnivedwithahostilestarnationintimeofwartoofferarmedresistancetotheLeague’sownmilitary!”

“Intimeofwar?”Holmon-Sanderscockedherhead.

“Notunless there’sbeenthatformaldeclarationofwaryoudon’tseemtobeabletoprovidemewith,FleetAdmiralTsang.”Hertonecouldhavefrozenavolcano.

“Don’tyoudareparsesemanticswithme!IrepresenttheSolarianLeague!”“You,AdmiralTsang,”Trumansaiddispassionately,“representInnokentiyKolokoltsov,NathanMacArtney,andtherestoftheir

bureaucraticclique.And,astheStarEmpirehasrepeatedlywarnedtheLeague,they—or their policies, at least—are being manipulated by a non-Solarianpower.”

“Bullshit!Don’tanyofyoueverget tiredof thatsameold tiredsonganddanceroutine?!”

“Inthiscase,no,”Trumanreplied.“Since,unlikethenonsenseyou’vejustbeenspouting,itbearsatleastanoddingacquaintancewiththetruth.”

“Youwouldn’tknowthetruthifitbityouontheass!”Tsangsnarledback.“Andevenifthereweresometinyparticleoftruthtoit,

that doesn’t change the fact that theBeowulf system government has activelycolludedwithanotherstarnationwhichhaskilledGodonlyknowshowmanySolariannavalpersonnel!”

“In resisting God only knows how many illegal, unilateral acts ofaggression,youmean?”Trumaninquired.

“Stop twisting my words!” Tsang’s face was dark with anger. “And nomatterhowyoutrytotwistthingsaroundtomakeitourfault,howdoyouthinkthe League is going to react to this shit? You think the rest of the League’smembers systems are going to side with Beowulf? After Beowulf’s activelyconnivedtohelpyouambushaSolariantaskforceinSolarianspace?!”

“Yourabilitytointerpretatacticalsituationwouldappeartobeeverybitasgoodas JosefByng’sandSandraCrandall’s,Admiral,”Trumanobservedwithicydisdain.“Ifwe’dwantedto‘ambush’you,you’dbeasdeadastheyarebynow.Your reconnaissance provisionswere so pathetic that the first thing youwouldhaveknownaboutourpresencewould’vebeentheimpellersignaturesofincomingmissiles!Fortunately for you, nobody’s particularly eager tomurderspacerswhose only crime is serving under criminally stupid superiors. If thatwaswhatwe’dwantedtodo,wewouldhave letyoumake transitstraight intothefireofourJunctionfortsandkilledeveryoneofyourshipsbeforeyouevenscratchedourpaint.

Instead,we’vechosentosaveyourlives—oryourcrews’lives,atleast—fromthetoweringincompetenceandunbridledarroganceof

theSolarianLeagueNavy’sseniorofficercorps.”For the first time in her life, pure, distilled fury reduced Imogene Tsang

literally to speechlessness. She could only glare at the Manticoran officer asTrumancontinuedinthatsameprecise,scalpel-edgedvoice.

“Hadyoushownamodicumofreasonableness,evenatraceofrespect foryourownConstitutionand theconstitutional rightsof theBeowulfSystemandits citizens, you would have chosen to abide by the Beowulf systemgovernment’sdecision todenyyou transit through this terminus.Andhadyou

donethat,myforceswouldsimplyhavestoodbyinstealthasobservers,withoutinterferinginanyway.UnliketheLeague,wehavenodesire tokillanyonewecanavoidkilling.Butyoucouldn’tdothat,sowefounditnecessarytopresent…anadditionalargumentinfavorofsanity,shallwesay.”

“And,asforhowtherestof theLeague’ssystemsaregoing tofeelaboutthis,”Holmon-Sandersputitin,“everywordofourconversationhasbeenandisbeing recorded, and it will be released to the news media, without cuts orcensorship, as soon as possible. You’d made your intention to violate oursovereignty—andtheConstitution—

abundantly clear long before the first Manticoran naval unit arrived inBeowulfspace,FleetAdmiral.Indeed,theonlyreasonAdmiralTruman’sshipsremained stealthed as long as they didwas to give us time to let you explainyourself for the newsies’ benefit. I don’t think there’s going to be verymuchquestion in themind of anyonewho bothers to think about it that ifAdmiralTrumanhadn’tbeenhere,youwouldindeedhaveopenedfireontheunitsundermycommand inpursuitofwhatyouknow,whetheryouadmit it ornot, is anunlawfulorder.Ofcourse,theoddshavechangedsomewhatfromtheonesyouthought obtained when you were so courageously prepared to slaughter yourfellowSolariancitizensinpursuitofthatorder,haven’tthey?”

TheBeowulfershowedherteeth,andherbrowneyeswerejustashard,justascold,asTruman’sblueones.

“AsAdmiralTrumansays,wedon’twanttokillanyonewhodoesn’thavetodie.Butifyou’restillpreparedtofightyourwaythroughthisterminus,FleetAdmiralTsang,thenyoujustbringiton.”

ChapterTwenty-Four“Whatthehellwashethinking?!”ElizabethWintonsnarled.The Empress of Manticore stood glaring at the monstrous casualty list,

brown eyes smoking like twin furnaces as the names of dead and damagedSolarianstarshipscrawledendlesslyuptheconferenceroom’sdisplaywall.

“Youhadhimdeadtorights.Heknewheyoudid!HowcouldevenaSollybesostupid?!”

“Idon’tknow,”Honorsaiddrearily.Shestoodbesidehermonarch,andherown eyeswere dark and haunted, not fiery.Anger hovered in their depths, aswell,butitwasacold,bitterangeroverlaidbyequallybitterregret…andguilt.

Nimitzmadeasoftsoundfromhisperchonacharbeside theconferencetable,thenstraightenedupandraisedbothtrue-handsasshelookedathim.

<Not your fault,> he signed sharply. <You tried.You did everything youcould.Itwashisfault,notyours.>

“Nimitzisright.”Elizabeth’svoicewassofter,gentler,andHonorreturned

hergazetotheEmpress.“Youdiddoeverythingyoucould,Honor.”“Everythingexceptnotbackhimintoacorner,”Honorreplied.“Don’tyoudaresecond-guessyourselfoverthis!”EloisePritchartsaidsharply.“Yes,youandEarlWhiteHavenpushedforan

opsplanwhichwouldforcethemtosurrender.Isupportedyouinthat,though,andsodidTomandElizabethandProtectorBenjamin.Andthereasonwedid,isthatthetwoofyouwereright.And,asyouyourselfsaid,anyonecrazyenoughto open fire in the tactical situation you’d created was going to open fire nomatterwhathappened!”

Honorlookedat theHavenitePresidentforasecondortwo,thennodded.Pritchart was probably right about that, but that didn’t make Honor feel anybetterovertwohundredandninety-sixdestroyedSolariansuperdreadnoughts…and1.2milliondeadSolarians.

Why?sheaskedherselfyetagain.Whydidhedoit?Because I humiliated him in the way I demanded his surrender? Was

hereallysostupid,so…vain,thathewaswillingtogethimselfandallof thoseothermenandwomenkilledrather than swallow his pride and back down infrontofabunchof“neobarbs”?

Shedidn’tknow,andsheneverwould,fortherehadbeennosurvivorsfromSLNS Philip Oppenheimer. And of the four hundred and twenty-sevensuperdreadnoughtsMassimoFilaretahadledintotheManticoreBinarySystem,onlysixtyhadmanagedtosurrenderundamaged.Twohundredandninety-six—includingOppenheimer—hadbeen destroyed (mostof them outright, althoughsomehadmerelybeen turned intohopelesslyshatteredandbrokenhulks),andanother seventy-one might have been repairable, assuming anyone wasinterestedinreturningsuchobsolete,outmodeddeathtrapstoservice.

Well,youwantedthemtounderstandtherewasaprice towar,Honor, shethoughtbitterly.MaybewhentheyaddthistowhathappenedtoCrandall,they’llfinallystarttogetthemessage.Itwouldbeniceifsomethinggoodcameoutofit,anyway.

Herpainwasalmostworse becauseGrand Fleet’s casualties had been solight.She’dlearnedlongagothateverydeathtook itsowntinybiteoutofhersoul, yet she’d also learned the lesson she’dwanted theSollies to learn.Warscost.Theycoststarships,andtheycostbillionsofdollars,andtheycostlives.Nomatterhowwellyouplanned,howhardyoutrained, theycost lives,andshe’dbeenincrediblyfortunate toescapewith“just” two thousanddead,most inherscreening LACs, and minor, readily repairable damage to eleven of her ownsuperdreadnoughts.

Thatwasstill twothousanddeadmenandwomentoomany,though.And

what hurt worst of all was that she’d been so certain Filareta was going torecognize thehopelessnessofhissituation.Hisexpression,hisbody language,his obviously bitter appreciation of the tactical situation…all of them hadconvincedherhewouldacceptsurrenderonhonorabletermsratherthanseesomanyofhisspacerskilled.

“It must have been a panic reaction,” Thomas Theisman said slowly,reaching up to the treecat on his shoulder as Springs From Above’s muzzlepressedagainst the sideofhisneck. “Ididn’t see it comingeither,Honor,butthathastohavebeenwhatitwas.”

“IthinkAdmiralTheisman’sright,”HighAdmiralJudahYanakovsaid.HestoodbesideAdmiralAlfedoYu,technicallyHonor’ssecond-in-commandoftheProtector’s Own but for all practical purposes its actual CO. “It wasn’t evencoordinatedfire!”

“Wasitapanicreaction,though?”AdmiralYuaskedsoftly.Everyone turned to lookathim,andhesmiled faintlyatTheisman.Once

upon a time, Alfredo Yu had been Thomas Theisman’s commanding officer,mentor, and friend. In fact, he’d transmitted his interest in the history theLegislaturalistsand theCommitteeofPublicSafetyhadboth,eachfor itsownreasons, done their very best to erase or rewrite, to a very junior LiueutenantTheisman.

And it was his own study of that historywhich had helped lead amuchmore seniorCitizenAdmiral Theisman into his ultimate opposition toRob S.PierreandOscarSaint-Just.

Of course, that had been twenty T-years ago. A lot had changed in theinterveningdecades,but theHavenite-turned-Graysonstill recognized the lookinhisoldstudent’seyes.

“No,it’snotatrickquestion,Tom,”hesaidwithacrookedsmile.“Imeanit.Wasitapanicreaction?”

“It had to be, Alfredo,” Yanakov said. “That was a classic gone-to-helldesperationlaunch.Theycouldn’tpossiblyhavetargetedthatmuchfire.”

“Oh, I agree,” Yu replied. “They just flushed the pods at us, threweverythingtheyhadrightatLadyHarrington’scommandinhopesthemissiles’onboardseekerswould find something tokill, evenwithout anydirection, andthat thesheermassoffirewouldsaturateherdefenses.I’veplannedlast-ditch,desperationattackslikethatofmyown.”

“Exactly,” Honor said slowly, her eyes intent as she tasted the emotionsbehindYu’shandsome,bonyface.

Somethoughtwasworkingitswayoutinhisbrain.Shecouldfeelit,even

though shehadno ideawhat itwas.Shewasn’t even certainheknewwhat itwas,yet.ButsheknewAlfredoYuwell,andsherespectedhisinstincts.

“We’veallput together thatkindof fireplan,”shecontinued,wavingherrighthand inagesturewhich took in theassembledflagofficers.“Evenwhenyoudon’texpect toneed it,youput it together, just incase.But,Alfredo,youdon’tuse itwhensomeone’soffering to letyou surrenderyour shipsandyourpeoplealive.Youjustdon’t.”

“No, you don’t,” Hamish Alexander-Harrington said softly. “But I thinkthat’sAlfredo’spoint,Honor.”

WhiteHavenwasgazingverythoughtfullyatYu,andSamanthacockedherheadtooneside,consideringYuevenmoreintentlythanherperson.

“Itis,”Yusaidafteramoment.“Mypoint,Imean.Look,whenyousetsomethinglikethatup,youknowit’sonlygoingtobe

usedwhenthetacticalsituation’sgonetotallystraighttohell,right?”Honornodded,almondeyesintent,andheshrugged.“So you set it up so you can get the shot off with zero lost time,” he

continued.“Idon’tknowforsureabouttheSollyNavy,butIdoknowthatwhenwesetupsomethinglikethatintheGSNortheProtector’sOwn,weusuallytieittoasinglemacro,oratthemostaveryshort,easilyrememberedkeycodeontheopsofficer’spanel.That’sthewaythePeople’sNavydidit,too.”

“AndtheRepublicanNavystilldoesitthesameway,”Theismansaid.“Ofcourseitdoes.”Yunodded.“Youdon’twantsomethingthat’sgoingto

gooffbyaccident—notunlessyou’recriminally insane,anyway!—butyoudowantsomethingthatcangetthatshotoffnomatterwhatelseishappeningwiththeshortestpossibledelaybetweentheordertofireandtheactuallaunch.Andwhatdoesthatsuggest?”

“Are you saying,” Benton-Ramirez y Chou asked in a very careful tone,“that you think we’re looking at another example of McBryde’s damnednanotech,Admiral?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Pritchart said, yet her voicewas farmore thoughtfulthandenying,andYulookedather.

“Why,Madam President? If you assume they could get to Filareta’s opsofficeratall,whynotsetupsomethinglikethis?Especiallyif therewassomewayforthepeoplewhoprogrammedhimtoknowortoguesshowhe’dgoaboutsetting up a gone-to-hell fire plan? Maybe they had access to recordings ofsimulationswherehe’d setupplans like that.For thatmatter,maybe theyhadsomeone else inside Filareta’s staff passing them that kind of information,probablywithnoideaatallwhattheAlignmentmeanttodowithit.Icanthink

ofatleastthreeways,rightoffhand,aPeepflagofficerbackinthebadolddayscould’vegotten that informationaboutany operations or tactical officer in thePeople’sNavyanytimehe’dwantedto,andtheSLN’satleastasbadlyriddledby patronage and ‘favor buying’ as the Legislaturalists ever were. And ifFilareta’stacofficerdidhaveapattern,didhaveastandardwayofsettingupforthatkindofplan…”

His voice trailed off, and silence enveloped the conference room as thepeopleinitlookedatoneanother.

“Tester,youmayberight,”Yanakovsaidsoftlyintothatsilenceatlast.“Itcouldbe,anyway.”

“I thinkhe is right,”WhiteHaven said grimly. “Think about it. If they’dgonewithastandardfireplan, theyhadthefirecontrolchannels to’vefiredatleastthreetargetedsalvosoutofthosemissilepods.There’dhavebeentimetofeedactualtargetcoordinatestotheirbirds,andthosesalvoswouldhavebeeninfinalacquisitionbythetimeanythingwefiredcould’vereachedtheirships.

Sure,we’dhavestoppedalotofthem—mostofthem—before they inflicted any damage, but their chances of actually getting

throughwithatleastsomehitswouldhavebeenalothigherthantheycoulddosimplytryingtosaturateourdefenseswithoutevenassigningtargets!”

“And look at the delay between that first launch and the first follow-onsalvofromtheirbroadsidetubes,”

LesterTourvillesaid,eyesdistant.“Itwasagood—what?Tenseconds?Somethinglikethat?”“Thirteen,”Theismansaid.“You’reright,Les.”“Pathasn’thadtimeforanyprisonerinterviewsyet,”SirThomasCaparelli said thoughtfully, lipspursed.“Iwonder ifanyone’s

goingtobeabletoexplainthatdelaytous?Itdoesalmostsoundliketherewasaholeofsomekindintheorderqueue,doesn’tit?”

“Possibly,” White Haven agreed. “But that doesn’t change the fact thatFilareta could have used the time Honor gave him to set up a sequenced,targeted,controlledlaunch,andhedidn’t.Whynot?”

“Becausethatwouldhaverequiredaseriesofactions?”Yumurmured,thennoddedslowly.“They’dhavetoselectthepodstobeenabled.Thenthey’dhaveto choose the targets, feed the coordinates, enable at least the first salvo’stelemetry links,update theirelectronicwarfareplan. Itwouldhave takenmorethan one man, and it would have taken a complex series of commands andkeystrokes.Whereas—”

“Whereas this way, if you’re right, all they needed was for some poor

damned soul to punch one button and they could count onme to kill over amillionpeopleforthem,”

Honorgratedharshly.Morethanoneofthehumanspresentwinced.Herhusbandreachedout to

layonehandonherforearm,andshelookedathimwithbittereyes.“Youdidn’thaveanychoice,”hetoldher.“Notwithfiftythousandmissiles

comingatyourcommand.”“Icouldhavejusttakenthefire,”Honorrepliedflatly.“Lookathowfewpeoplewelostanyway!Icould’vewaitedtobesure—”“Oh, stop it!” Thomas Theisman snapped, and Honor’s head snapped

aroundinsurpriseatthegenuineangerinhisvoice.“No,youcouldnothave‘justtakenthefire’!”theRepublic’sSecretaryof

Wartoldhersharply.“Andifyouhaddonesomethingthatstupid,you’ddeservetobebrokenforit!”

“But—”“Don’t you ‘but’ me! You didn’t know—you couldn’t know—if they’d

comeupwithsomekindoffirecontrolfixwe’dneverheardofbefore.Youhadno right, not one shred of amoral justification, to risk the lives of personnelunder your command just because somebody on the other side had donesomethingsuicidal!Yourresponsibilityistoyourpeople,nottheirs!It’syourjobtoneutralizeanenemybeforehekillsthem,andyou’ddamnedwellbetterdoitifyou’regoingtobeworthyoftheuniformyouwear!”

Hisbrowneyesblazed,andshetastedthewhite-hotfury,thetotalsincerity,behindthem.

“That’syourresponsibility,AdmiralHarrington,andyouliveduptoit!Youreactedtothethreatyouknewabout,theoneyousaw,andIwasrightthereonthat flagbridgewithyou. It took thosemissiles threeminutes to reachus,andyouhadaHermesbuoysittingrightoffhisflagship’sbow.Therewasplentyoftimeforhimtogetonthecomandtellyouthelaunchwasamistake,ifhehadn’tmeanttolaunchit!CorrectmeifI’mwrong,butIdon’tbelievehedidthat,nowdidhe?Notonlythat,butthirteen-secondlagornot,therestofhisdamnedfleetwas firing full broadsides at you on its heels! I understand that realizing yougavetheordertokillthatmanypeoplehastomakeyousicktoyourstomach.Itmakes me want to puke, and I didn’t have to give it. But the only onesresponsibleforwhathappenedtoFilaretaandthepeopleunderhiscommandarewhoever arranged to get him sent here and—assuming there’s anybasis to allthisspeculation in thefirstplace—whoevergot tohis tacofficer.Notyou;notme—them!”

She looked around the conference room and saw the agreement in everyother face.More than that, she tasted the agreement, andherbrainknew theywereright.Maybesomedayshe’dbeabletoacceptthataseasilyastheydid.

Butevenifthatdaycame,shewouldneverbefreeofthesoul-deepregret,shefeltatthismoment.

Silencelingeredforseveralmoments,thenPritchartclearedherthroat.“HowdoyouthinktheLeagueisgoingtoreacttoallthis?”sheaskedthe

groupatlarge.“Poorly?”Tourvillesuggestedwithasoursmile.“Oh, I thinkyoucan take that forgranted,”WhiteHaven agreed. “And I

don’t think it’sgoing tobeaverygood ideaforus tosuggestMesa somehowmanipulated Filareta into firing.” He rolled his eyes. “Even if anyone in OldChicago was willing to entertain any evidence which might support our‘ridiculousconspiracytheoryparanoia’

in the first place, we don’t have any evidence. We’d play straight intoAbruzzi’shandsifwehandedhimthatkindofpropagandahook.”

“And there are plenty of Sollies ready to go along with him,” Elizabethagreed sourly, then gave herself a shake and drew a deep breath. “Not that IsupposeIcanblamethem,really,giventheofficialpartyline,Sollynewsies’

wellknownimpartial reporting,andhowridiculous thewhole notion stillseemstomesometimes!”

“The fact that we can’t blame them for it doesn’t keep their refusal toentertain the truth from being inconvenient as hell,” Pritchart observed evenmoresourly.

“AndthefactthatTsangisgoingtogettoOldTerrawithwhathappenedinBeowulfwellbeforeanybodyinOldChicagofindsoutwhathappenedouthereisn’tgoingtohelponebit.TheMandarinsaregoingtohaveatleastafewdaystostartdrummingupanti-Beowulfsentimentbeforewordofwhathappened toFilaretalandsonthemlikeanuke,andjustimaginewhatthe’faxesaregoingtobelikethen.”

“Not exactly something we didn’t anticipate,” Benton-Ramirez y Chousighed.“Mindyou,we’dallhavebeenhappierifTsanghadbeenbrightenoughtobackdownwithoutAdmiralTrumanhavingtotakeahand.”

“AtleastshewassmartenoughnottopullaCrandalloraFilareta,”Honorobservedgrimly.

“Or elseMesa didn’t have time to get to anyone onher staff,” Tourvillemuttered.

“Theycan’tgettoeverybody,Les,”Theismansaidpointedoutabittartly.

“And they can’t predict every situation,” Yanakov added, nodding hisagreementwithTheisman’sobservation.“Testerknowstheyseemtodoabetterjob of anticipating andmanipulating than I’d like, but there have to be limitssomewhere.And,frankly,thelastthingwecanaffordistoactuallysuccumbto—whatwasityoucalledit,Hamish?‘Ridiculousconspiracytheoryparanoia’?—andstartseeingAlignmentmachinationsbehindeverythingthathappens.”

“Either way, Honor has a point,” Benton-Ramirez y Chou observed.“NobodygotkilledinBeowulf,andasthePresidentsays,theywon’thaveacluewhat happened to Filareta until the first newsies get to the Sol System fromManticore.Sothey’regoingtocomeoutlikeattackdogs,withoutanyideaofthenextbitofnewsinthepipeline.

I’mnotsurehowthat’sgoingtoplaywithLeaguepublicopinion,butI’mprettydamnedsure thatwhenwordofFilareta’sdisaster reachesOldChicago,thingsaregoingtogotohellinahandbasket.Iwouldn’tbetoosurprisedifsomeofthereallunaticsdon’tpressfordirectmilitaryactionagainstBeowulf.”

“Someofthemaregoingtoseeyouractionsasrealtreason,Mr.Director,”Yupointedout. “They’renot going toworry about constitutional niceties, andtheyaregoing tobe looking for someone toblame,especiallywhen they findoutwhathappenedtoFilareta.Ifthere’sanyjusticeinthegalaxy,they’llblameKolokoltsov and Rajampet, but it’s been my observation that justice isconspicuous by its absence when it comes to politics and entrenched, self-servingregimes.”

“Wehavehad just a little experience of our ownwith that, haven’twe?”Pritchart saidwryly, but shewas looking at Theisman, notYu. “On the otherhand, Tom, I remember something you said about Kolokoltsov and FrontierSecurity.”

“SomethingIsaid?”Theisman’seyebrowsarched.“Yes. It was while we were discussing the implications of the Battle of

Spindle and how the Sollies might react. I said something about how littleimpact Solarian public opinion ever has on the League’s decisions. Do yourememberwhatyousaidtome?”

“Notexactly,no.”“Ithinkthisisprettynearlyadirectquote,actually,”shetoldhim.“AsIrecall,yousaid,‘ThecitizensofthePeople’sRepublic

didn’thaveanyrealpoliticaloversightoveritsbureaucracies,either.AsituationwhichchangedratherabruptlywhentheManties’EighthFleetcamecallingandSaint-Justgotdistracteddealingwiththatminorthreat.’”

Therewassilenceforamoment,thenBenton-RamirezyChounodded.“That’s becoming a steadilymore likely scenario,” he said grimly. “And

that’shard.”Heshookhishead,hisexpressionsad.“I’veknowntheLeaguewasrottenatthecoreforalmostmyentirelife,butitwasstilltheSolarianLeague.ItwasstilltheheirofallMankind’sgreatness,andforallitswarts,itwasstillmystarnation.Andnowthis.”

Heshookhisheadagain.“NowitlookslikeI‘mgoingtobedirectlypartytotheactionswhichbringthewholetotteringedificecrashingdown.AndIcan’tbesurewe’renotdoingexactlywhatthoseMesanbastardswantustobedoing.”

“Thelast thingwecanafford todo isallowourselves tobeparalyzedforfearwemight be doingwhat they want, Uncle Jacques,” Honor said quietly,almostgently.

“Judah’s right about that. And I know you. For that matter, I knowBeowulfers.IfitcomesdowntodoingwhatyouthinkisrightorsacrificingyourmostbasicprinciplestopreserveasystemascorruptastheLeague’sprovingitis,Iknowwhatyou’regoingtodecide.”

“Alwayssoblack-and-whiteforyouManties,”heruncleteasedhergently,andElizabethchuckled.

“AndyoudecadentBeowulfersalways trying toconvinceus that you seeonlyshadesofgray,”sheriposted.

“Well, usually, that’s what it is.” Benton-Ramirez y Chou’s tone wassuddenlymuchmoreserious.“But sometimes, it isn’t,andmy long, tall nieceherehasapoint.”HesmiledalittlesadlyatHonor.“Comfortableornot,whenthose‘sometimes’comealong,theonlycoinagehistoryseemswillingtoacceptisourlives,ourfortunes,andoursacredhonor.”

ChapterTwenty-Five“Tell me again how maneuvering Beowulf into a false position was

supposedtohelpus,Innokentiy.Iseemtobehavingalittletroublefollowingthelogic.”

OmosupeQuartermain’svoicewasuncharacteristicallyharsh,andherblueeyeswerehardasshegloweredatInnokentiyKolokoltsovacrossthetable.Thetwoofthemsatinahighsecurityconferenceroominanunusualprivate, face-to-facemeetingwithneither theircolleaguesnorasingleaidepresent,and thepermanentseniorundersecretaryofcommercewasnotahappywoman.

“Ithinkitstillisgoingtohelpusinthelongrun,”Kolokoltsovrepliedpatiently.“Idon’t say itworkedaswellas Ihoped it

would,because itsureashelldidn’t.AndIdon’tknowif it’sgoing tohelpusenough,either,butpleaserememberthatIneversaiditwasagoodoptioninthefirstplace.Ionlysaiditwasthebestoneavailabletous.”

“Butlookwhatthosetwobitcheshadtosay!”Quartermainsnapped.“You’veseenwhatBeowulf’sdumpedtothemedia,

Innokentiy,andHolmon-Sandersisbadenoughallbyherself!ThenewsiesaregoingtoeatupthatbusinessaboutviolatingtheConstitution,and

‘unelectedbureaucrats’,andfederaloverreach,andyouknowit.GodhelpusonceO’Hanrahan gets holdof it!But thatManty admiral, thatTruman—”Sheshookherhead.

“Thecontemptthatbitchshowed!ShewasdaringTsang tocross the line,and she didn’t show a trace of doubt that she could hammer our ships intowreckage any time she wanted. Worse, she didn’t pull any punches aboutdumpingfullresponsibilityonus—onus,personally—anymorethanHolmon-Sandersdid, Innokentiy!That’sgoing to resonatewith thewoman-in-the-streetinawayno‘principledresponse’ofoursisevergoingtomatch,andyouknowthat,too.”

“Admittedly, it neveroccurred tomeBeowulfmightbe so fargoneas toactuallyinviteMantywallersthroughintoBeowulfspacetothreatentheLeagueNavy,”

Kolokoltsovconceded.“Ontheotherhand,IneverexpectedAdmiralTsangtobesofriggingstupidastoactuallytrytofightherwaythroughwhenBeowulftoldherno,either!”Itwashisturntoshakehishead,hisexpressiondisgusted.“Shewassupposedtobackoff‘indeferencetoBeowulf’sexpressedwishes’—tolettheBeowulfersstandontheir‘constitutionalrights’sowegot thecredit forshowingrestraintinthefaceoftheirirrationality!”

“Well,shedidn’tgetthatpartofitright,didshe?”“No, she didn’t. And I find it interesting that Rajani’s still so busy

debriefingher.”

“What do you mean?” Quartermain’s eyes narrowed, and Kolokoltsovshrugged.

“ImeanIwanttotalktothegoodadmiralpersonally,”hesaidinaflat,hardvoice.“Iwanttofindoutexactlywhatherinstructions

fromRajaniactuallywere.Godknows,afterCrandall’sperformanceI’mwillingtoacceptthateveryservingflagofficerintheNavyisafriggingidiot,butwereheractionsallherownidea?Ordidsomebodyoverat theAdmiraltycutherasetoforderswedidn’tknowanythingabout?”

“WhythehellwouldRajanihavedonesomethinglikethat?”Quartermainfrowned,herexpressionintent.“Heknewwhatwewereafteraswellaswedid!”

“I certainly explained it to him using nice, short, simple words,”Kolokoltsov said bitingly. “But he’s been pushing this confrontational stanceagainst theManties from day one, and he never has explained why Crandallpicked theMadras Sector, of all damned places, for her training exercise. Or

exactlywhy he failed tomention her presence in the vicinity to us afterwhathappened at New Tuscany. Or even how Filareta just ‘came to be’ soconveniently placed atTasmaniawhenhe cameupwithRaging Justice in thefirstplace.Iknowhe’sanarrogantprickwhodespiseseveryneobarbeverborn,andIknowhetakestheManties’attitudeasapersonalaffront tohisNavy,butI’mstartingtowonderiftheremightnotbemoretoiteventhanthat.”

“Pleasedon’ttellmeyou’rebuyingintothisgrandconspiracynonsensetheMantiesarespouting!”

“I’m not,” Kolokoltsov said, yet his tone lacked a little something,Quartermainthought.

“Centuries-long conspiracies?” She threw up both hands. “Fleets ofinvisible starships? Plans to replace us all with genetically engineered super-Scragsofsomesort?

Some kind of mind-controlling nanotech? And the entire institution ofgeneticslavery’sonlyafrontforallofthis

‘Alignment’s’ evil plans? We’re supposed to believe the nasty Mesansmanagedtokeepallofthiscompletelysecretforsixhundredyearswhenallthe‘proof’theMantiescanprovideistheunsupportedtestimonyofasinglelunaticscientist?Onewhoactually threatened tokilloneofMesa’s leadinggeneticists—not one of Manpower’s hacks, but the Chairwoman of Maternal and FetalGeneticsatoneofthefinesthospitalsonMesa!—overhisdaughter’sdeath?”

“Iagreeitsoundsinsane,”Kolokoltsovreplied.“Butpartsofitaregoingtomakepeoplewonder,iftheyreallystopandthinkaboutit.LikethefactthattheRepublicofHavenofallpeoplebelievesit,too.ThatHavenactuallybroughttheentirestorytoManticoreinthefirstplace!”

“That’swhattheMantiesaretellingushappened,”Quartermainshotback.“And if Iwere them, I’d have damnedwell been

tellingusanythingIcouldthinkofthatmighthaveconvincedustogoaheadandsendsomebodytoManticoretoorderFilaretatostanddownthewayCarmichaelkeptdemanding!”

“Youthinkthey’relying?”“Actually, I think it’s possible as hell,” Quartermain said flatly. “If

Carmichael could’ve soldus on their version andgottenus towhistleFilaretaoff,wouldn’tithavebeenworthit?Imeanevenifwelaterfoundoutthey’dliedtous,we’dalreadyhaverecalledhim.We’regoingtosendhimallthewaybackout there just because we’re pissed off that they lied to us? We’d look likecomplete clueless bunglers—first for letting them bluff us to begin with, andthenforsendinghimbacktokicktheirass,likeaplaygroundbullyina temper

tantrum,justbecausetheyoutsmartedusthefirsttime!”

“WhataboutPritchart?”Kolokoltsovchallenged.“Whatabouther?I’venevermetthewoman,haveyou?Howhardwouldit

betofindanactresstostandinforher?Especiallywithalittlejudicialcomputerenhancement?What—youthinktheMantiesaregoingtoworryaboutpissingofftheheadofstateofastarnationthey’vebeenfightingforthelasttwentyyearswhen she findsout theyusedher ina psychologicalwarfare operation againstus?What’sshegoingtodo?Declarewaronthem?!”

Omosupe had a point, Kolokoltsov reflected. One he hadn’t actuallyconsidered,infact.Hewasn’tconvincedshewasright—notbyalongchalk!—but it was a plausible alternative, and hemade amental note to suggest it toMalachaiAbruzzi.Itmightjustcomeinhandyinthenottoodistantfuture.

“Well, be that as it may,” he said, pulling the conversation back to itsoriginaltopic,“andinanswertoyourearlierquestion,evenwiththewayTsangscrewed up, we’ve still got Beowulf dead to rights refusing our own shipspassage.Andhoweverbigamouth thatManty admiralmight’ve had, the factthat Beowulf invited her in ahead of time—obviously connived to cover andconceal the movement of her ships through the Beowulf Terminus for theexpress purpose of killing Solarian spacers if it had turned into a shootingexchange—is perfect from our perspective. I’ve already talked to Malachaiaboutit,andhe’sprimingthepumpwith‘unnamedsource’briefingsforsomeofourmorereliablenewsies.AndI’vegotthreeofourmoreprominent friends intheAssembly—includingTyroneReid—readytomoveforaformalinquiryintoBeowulf’sactions.”

Quartermainlookedathimforamoment,eyesthoughtful,andthennoddedslowly.TyroneReidwasa seniorAssemblyman from theSolSystem itself.AmemberoftheJudiciaryCommittee,he’dcarefullycraftedthepublicimageofaseniorandthoughtfuljurist,andthecameralikedhim.Hisphotogenicpatricianfaceand thepolishedperfectionofhisOldTerranaccentmadehimoneof thenewsies’ favorite talking heads, and that in turn made him one of the mostwidelyknownpoliticalfiguresintheentireLeague.He’dbeperfectforthepart,whetherheadoptedthepersonaofaninfuriatedfirebrandorthe

“moreinsorrowthaninanger”attitudeofaregretfulconstitutionalscholardebunkingBeowulf’sflawedposition.

“And if it turns out Filareta’s screwed up as badly as Tsang did?” sheinquiredafteramoment,andKolokoltsovgrimaced.

Assuming Operation Raging Justice had proceeded as planned—and thedispatch boat which had transited to Beowulf seemed to prove Filareta had

reached Manticore at least a week ago, just about on schedule—they shouldalreadyhaveheardfromhim.Thefactthattheyhadn’tdidn’tnecessarilyprovethings hadn’t gone as planned, however. Battles between fleets the size ofEleventhFleetandwhatevertheMantieshadscrapedupmightlastdaysorevenweeksastheopponentsmaneuveredagainstoneanother.Forthatmatter,evenifFilareta had captured all three of the Manticore Binary System’s inhabitedplanets,hestillwouldhavehadtogetpastthefortsattheManticoreendof theJunction—and past the combined BSDF and RMN detachments in Beowulfspace at the other end—before he could have gotten a message back to OldChicago.

NoneofwhichkeptKolokoltsov’snervesfromtyingthemselvestighterandtighterwhilethesilencestretchedout.

“That’sonereasonMalachaiisn’tgivingthenewsiesany‘official’positionstatements,”headmittedoutloud.

“AndthereasonI’veprimedReidandtheotherswithoutturningthemlooseyet.We’re not going to jumpeitherwayuntilweknowwhatFilareta did, butMalachaiandIhavediscussedouroptions.Obviously,ifhe’spushedaheadandtheManties have collapsed, figuring out how to spin it is no problem. If he’sbacked off, on the other hand, we point out that both he and Tsang havedemonstratedyetagain theSolarianLeagueNavy’sabhorrence for thekindofbloodfeststheMantiesseemperfectlywillingtoembrace.”

“Andifhe’sgottenhisassblownofflikeCrandall?”Quartermainaskedgrimly.“Myfeelingisthathe’ssmarterthanCrandall.Ithinkhe’llhavebackedoff

ifitlookedtohimlikehewasgoingtogethammered.AndIthinktheMantieswillhavelethim,tobehonest.”

“Why?” Quartermain could have sounded incredulous, but her tone wasgenuinelycurious.

“I think they’re crazy, but I don’t really believe they’re the bloodthirstymaniacs we’ve been describing to the newsies,Omosupe, and neither shouldyou.Thinkaboutit.TheyhadTsangdeadtorights,andtheydidn’teventrytoengageher.Theyletherturnaroundandhyperout.Withhertailmetaphoricallybetweenherlegs,perhaps,buttheylethergo.Iftheywerereallycontemplatingpushing a war against the League, would they have let that many of oursuperdreadnoughtsgetawayfromthem?‘Livetofightagainanotherday,’isthephrase,Ibelieve.”

“Idon’tknowhowmuchfaithI’dcaretoinvestinthatparticulartheory,butit’s not as completely insane as I thought it was going to be before youexplained,”

Quartermainsaid.“Ontheotherhand,”hereyesnarrowedoncemore,“thatstill doesn’t explain why you specifically wanted to see me and none of theothers.”

“Itwasn’tbecauseIwantedtoseeyouandnoneoftheothers,”Kolokoltsovcorrected. “Iwanted to see youwithout seeingallof the others. In particular,withoutseeingNathanandRajani.Ifigurethere’sactuallyaprettygoodchancethe two of us can stay below their radar horizon, but if I’d started addingothers…”

Helethisvoice trailoff,andshenodded.She’d thought thatmight be it.Forthatmatter,she’dmadeamentalbetwithherselfaboutthetopichewantedtodiscuss.

“Allright,”shesaid.“We’rehere; theyaren’t.Whatis ityouwanttotalkabout?”

“ThisdamnedMantyblockade,”hesaidfrankly.“OnereasonIdidn’twantNathan or Rajani herewas because the last thingwe need right now ismoreposturing.Buthavingsaidthat,Ihavetoadmit theMantieshavemovedfasterandalotharderthanIthoughttheyweregoingto.

Closing their own termini is bad enough; if these reports that they’reclosingdownotherpeople’sterminiaretrue, they’veescalated it further thanIreallyexpectedtheyweregoingto.”

Quartermainstartedtosaysomethingsharpandpungent,butshedidn’t.Atleasthewasadmittinghe’dmadeamistake.Besides,itwasn’tasifkickinghimthewayhedeservedwasgoingtodoanygoodatthispoint.

“And?”shesaidinstead.“AndIneedtoknowwherewestandasofwhatweknowrightnow.And

where you think it’s going to go in the next fewmonths. Even in a best-casescenario, our economy’s going to get hammered—assuming Filareta hasn’talreadysolvedallourproblems,ofcourse.Iknowthat.ButIneedtoknowwhatyouandAgatáareplanningtodotomitigatethedamage.I’mnotexpectinganykindofmiracles,”headdedhastilyasherblueeyesbegantohardenoncemore,“andthat’snotwhyI’masking. I’maskingbecauseIneed toknowhowtogoaboutpositioningustoimplementthebestpatch-upjobthetwoofyoucando.IknowyouandAgatáareworkingcloselytogether,soIfiguretalkingtoyouisprettymuchthesameastalkingtobothofyou,withouttheproblemoftalkingtoNathanandRajaniatthesametime.”

“You’regoingtohavetotalktothemsoonerorlater,”shecautionedinaslightlymollifiedtone.“Theeconomicimplicationsfor

anykindofsustainedwareffortaregoingtobepainful—incrediblypainful, tobe honest—in the long run. We’re going to find ourselves needing the

protectorate service feesworse thanever, even in thebest case I can imagine,andthat’sgoingtobeNathan’sandFrontierFleet’sbailiwick.”

“I’vealreadyfiguredthatout,andwhenIhavetobringthemin,Iwill.ButbeforeIdothat,IwantthebestbriefingIcanget.Iwanttospeaktothemfromapositionofstrength,andthatmeansknowingwhatthehellI’mtalkingaboutandknowingyou,Agatá,andIareallonthesamepage.Fair?”

“Fairenough,”sheconceded,andsettledbackinherchair.“First,”shebegan,“asAgatáandIhavealreadypointedout, theeffecton

ourinterstellarcommerceisgoingto—ChapterTwenty-Six“Areyousureaboutthis,Commodore?”

ThemanonCommodoreSeanMagellan’sdisplayworethegrayandblack

uniform of Agueda Astro Control and a profoundly worried expression.Magellan didn’t blame him; he was more than a little unhappy about hisassignmenthimself.

But unhappywasn’t the same thing as hesitant, and he felt the eagernesssimmeringinhisbloodasthemomentapproached.

“Yes,CaptainForstchen,”thecommodorerepliedfarmorecalmlythanhefelt.“I’mquitesure.”

Captain Lewis Forstchen’s gray-blue eyes looked even more worried atMagellan’s response. He clearly didn’t like where this was going, but therewasn’talothecoulddoaboutit.

“Mygovernment’snotgoingtolikethis,”hepointedout.“I’mafraidthere’salotofthatgoingaroundthesedays,Captain,”Magellan

said.“Andthegoodnewsisthatwedon’treallyneedyourhelpforthistransit.So you can just sit back and watch, and your own sensor records will provethat’sallyoudid.”

Forstchenstartedtosaysomethingelse,buthestoppedhimselfintime.AsMagellanhadjustpointedout,electronicrecordsofhisandtheAguedaSystemingeneral’s innocencemightcome inveryhandy in thenot-too-distant future.Personally,Magellanexpectedthat“nottoodistant”daytobeconsiderablymoredistantthanForstchenapparentlydid.

Ontheotherhand,itcouldturnoutForstchenhadapoint.“Fortherecord,Captain,”hesaid,“yourobjectionandyourgovernment’s

protests are formally noted. And on behalf of my government, I extend thesincere regrets of the Star Empire of Manticore for the potentially invidiouspositioninwhichtheAguedaSystem’sbeenplaced.

Unfortunately, the current…unpleasantness between the Star Empire and

theSolarianLeagueleavesuslittlechoice.Iregretthat,butI’mafraidI’llhavetobemovingonnow.”Heinclinedhisheadcourteouslyatthecom.“Magellan,clear.”Thedisplayblanked,andhe turned to thecompact, squarelybuilt captain

onthefarsmallerdisplaylinkinghimtoHMSOtter’scommanddeck.“Areweready,Art?”heasked.“Justabout,Sir,”CaptainArthurTalmadgereplied.“Mindyou, I’d reallyhavepreferrednot todispensewithAstroControl’s

servicesquite so cavalierly.”He smiled. “I knowour chartswereupdated justbeforeweleft,butIfindmyselflongingforalocalguide.”

“Andifwecould’vefoundalocalguideforthis terminusanywhere in thehomesystem,he’dberightthereonthebridgewithyou,”Magellanpointedoutwithahalf-smileofhisown.“Sincewecouldn’t,heisn’t.Solet’snotspendourtimedwellingonthingswewishwehadanddon’t.”

“Pointtaken,Sir,”Talmadgeagreed,andtheglancedathisownexecutiveofficer.“Ready,Colleen?”

“Yes,Sir.”CommanderColleenSalvatorenodded.“David?”Magellanasked, lookingatCommanderDavidWilson,hisown

chiefofstaff.“Yes, Sir. Jordan just receiptedMalcolm Taylor’s and Selkie’s readiness

readinesssignals.”“Thankyou.”MagellanlookedbackatTalmadge.“TheSquadron’sreadyto

proceedwhenyouare,CaptainTalmadge,”hesaidinamuchmoreformaltone.“Verygood,Sir,”Talmadgerespondedwithmatchingformality.“Inthatcase,let’smovethemout.”

“Aye,aye,Sir.”Talmadge turnedhiscommandchair to faceSeniorChief

CindyPowell.“Helm,takeusin.”“Aye,aye,Sir.”Otterghostedforwardatabaretwentygravities,moving into the invisible

flawoftheAguedaTerminus.Undernormalcircumstances, shewouldhavebeenaligned for transit and

cleared byAguedaAstroControl, whichwould havemonitored her approachvector, double and triple checking her entry into the terminus. Under thecircumstances which currently obtained, she and the rest of the Thirty FirstCruiser Squadron were on their own, dependent on their own charts of theterminus and its tidal stresses. The good newswas that they’d been providedwiththeverylatestchartsfortheterminusbeforetheyeversetout;thebadnewswasthatnoneofthesquadron’sshipshadevertransitedthisparticularterminus

before.And thepotentiallyreallybadnewswas that they had absolutely no idea

whatthey’dbesailingintoonthefarside.Oh, stop that!Magellan toldhimself irritably.Youdoknowwhat’s on the

farside…moreorless,anyway.Andit’snotlikeyou’reabouttopokeyournoseintotheJunctionForts,nowisit?

No, itwasn’t.On the other hand, ifLacoönTwowas going according toplanandnooneelsehadmanagedtojumpthegun,hewasabouttobecomethefirstnavalcommanderinhistorytoseizeaSolarianwormholeterminusbyforce.

Andisn’tthatgoingtomaketheSollieshappy?hethoughtdryly.Magellan’s slightly understrength squadron of Saganami-C-class cruisers

was a longway from home: four hundred and forty-five light-years from theManticore Binary System through hyperspace, and three hundred and twenty-seven fromBeowulf.Of course, he hadn’t had tomake the trip the longway.Instead, he’dmoved transited from theManticoran Junction to Beowulf, thencrossed sixty-three light-years from Beowulf to the Roulette System, thentransitedtheRoulette-Limbohyperbridgeandcrossedanother forty-nine light-yearsofhyperspacefromLimbotoAgueda.

Spreading sunshine and light the entire way, he reflected. Amazing howunpopularweare.

Amazing, perhaps, but scarcely surprising. Roulette, Limbo, and Aguedawere all independent (or at least nominally so) star systems. Actually, LimbowasanOFS

client state, with a particularly unpleasant fellow sitting in the system’sexecutivemansion.PresidentforLifeRonaldStroheimhadbeenmostunhappyto see a Royal Manticoran Navy task group suddenly appear through thewormhole terminus which he regarded as his personal cash cow. As a good,loyalOFS henchman, he got to keep somewhere around three percent of theterminus’ total revenues for himself, which made him an incredibly wealthyman. Apparently he hadn’t heard that the Star Empire had decided to startcollectingtermini,however,andCruRon31’sunannouncedarrivalhadcomeasadistinctshock.Heseemedtofeelvery illused thathisneighbors inRoulettehadn’twarnedhimhisguestswereenroute.

Infairness,theRouletteSystem’sgovernmenthadn’tbeenenthralledbytheManticorans’ arrival in its system, either.AlthoughRoulette normally enjoyedcordialrelationswithbothBeowulfandtheStarEmpire,ithadbeendeliberatelydistancing itself fromManticoreever sincenewsof theNewTuscany IncidenthittheSolarian

’faxes.GiventhatRoulettewaslittlemorethanahundredlight-yearsfrom

theSolSystemitself,itwasdifficulttoblamePresidentMatsuoortherestofhisgovernment for not wanting to irritate the League. Unfortunately for themhowever, theRoulette Terminuswas on LacoönTwo’s list, andMagellan hadswooped in across the alpha wall and secured control of the terminus beforeanyonecouldmaketransitthroughittoalertLimboofwhatwascoming.

He’d detached one of his escorting destroyer squadrons and the CLACOzymandias to sit on the Roulette Terminus, then headed through to Limbo,wherehisships’

emergencefromtheterminusassociatedwiththatstarsystemhadtakenthelocals completely by surprise. Unlike the Manticoran Junction, the LimboTerminuswasunfortified,andthe“LimboSpaceNavy”consistedoftwoelderlydestroyers—only one of which seemed to be actively in commission at themoment—and eight LACswhich had to be at least fifty T-years old. DespitetheirnodoubtundyingloyaltytoPresidentforLifeStroheim,thecommandingofficers of those antiquated deathtraps had declined tomatch broadsides withsevenSaganami-C-classheavycruisers.

Magellancouldn’timaginewhy.He’ddetachedhisseconddestroyersquadronandtheCLACMidastocover

theLimboTerminus,andthenmovedbrisklyontoAgueda.AguedahadbeenjustassurprisedasLimbo,andnotmuchhappiertosee

him, although he suspected that quite a bit of President Loretta Twain’s fierydenunciationofManticore’s “high-handedandflagrantdisregard for the rightsand sovereignty of independent star nations” had been more for the officialrecordthanfromtheheart.

UnlikeRoulette,Agueda was almost three hundred and fifty light yearsfrom Sol, and the citizens of Agueda didn’t much care for the repressivegovernmentofLimboand its…affiliationwith theOffice of Frontier Security.Still, there were appearances to be observed, and Magellan had rigorouslyrespectedtheAguedaSystem’stwelve-light-minuteterritoriallimitandrestrictedhisactivities to the terminus itself.He’dbeenscrupulouslypolite,aswell,andassured Captain Forstchen and President Twain that he had no intention offorciblyseizingcontrolofAguedaAstroControl’splatforms.

Ofcourse,healsohadabsolutelynointentionofallowingasingleSolarian-registry ship to pass through theAgueda Terminus, either, but that was quiteanothermatter.

Onenice thingaboutmovingalong thehyperbridges, he thought.Unlessyoucallahead,nooneknowsyou’recominguntilyouarrive.Hesmiledthinly.Pityaboutthat.

“StandbytoreconfiguretoWarshawskisailonmycommand,Rung-wan,”

Talmadgesaid.“Aye, Sir,” Lieutenant Commander Hwo Rung-wan, Otter’s engineering

officerreplied.“Standingbytoreconfigure.”Talmadgenodded,watching themaneuveringplotasSeniorChiefPowell

gently,gentlyalignedOtterfortransit.Theship’siconflashedgreenasPowellputherflawlesslyintoposition.“Rigforesailfortransit,”hesaid.“Aye,aye,Sir.Riggingforesail—now.”Otter’swedge fell abruptly to half-strength as her foreword alpha nodes

reconfigured to produce the circular disk of a Warshawski sail instead ofcontributing tohern-spacedrive.The sailwasover sixhundredkilometers indiameter,andcompletelyuselessinnormal-space,buttheforwardendofHMSOtterwasedgingsteadilyoutofn-space.

“Stand by to rig aftersail,” Talmadge said as his ship continued to creepforwardunderthepowerofherafterimpellersalone.Areadoutflickeredtolifein the corner of the maneuvering plot, and he watched its numerals climbsteadily upward as the foresail moved deeper and deeper into the terminus.Compared to the Manticoran Wormhole Junction, the Agueda Terminus waslittlemore thana ripple in space, but thatwas still orders ofmagnitudemorepowerful than anything a ship’s impeller nodes could have produced. If theirchartswere as accurate as everyone thought theywere, he had almost twentysecondseitherwayasasafetymargin,but if theyweren’t,and ifOtterstrayedout of the safewindow before she got her aftersail rigged, they’d never evenrealizetheyweredead.

Thesoaringnumberscrossedthethreshold.Theforesailwasnowdrawingsufficientpowerfromthe torturedgravwaves twisting through the terminus toprovidemovement,andTalmadgenoddedsharply.

“Rigaftersailnow,”hesaidcrisply.“Rigging aftersail, aye, Sir,” Lieutenant Commander Hwo replied, and

Otter twitched as her impeller wedge disappeared entirely and a secondWarshawskisailsprangtolifeatthefarendofherhull.

Thetransitionfromtheimpellertosailwasoneofthetrickiermomentsanycoxswain had to deal with, even with the full support of a terminus’ trafficcontrolstaff. IfSeniorChiefPowell felt anyparticular anxiety,however, therewas no sign of it in her rock-steady hands. They moved with completeconfidence,takingOtterthroughtheconversionwithscarcelyaquiver,holdingherdeadcenterasshegatheredwayforward.

Themaneuveringplotblinkedagain,and—foran instantnoonehad eversucceeded inmeasuring—Otter ceased to exist in Agueda and then, equally

suddenly,begantoexistsomewhereelse.Shereappeared inadazzlingburstofazurebrillianceas transitenergyradiatedfromhersails,andPowellnoddedinsatisfaction.

“Transitcomplete,”sheannounced.“Thankyou,Helm.Welldone!”Talmadge said, butmost of his attention

wasbackonthesailinterfacereadout,watchingthenumberstwinkledownwardevenmorerapidlythanthey’drisen.“Engineering,reconfiguretoimpeller.”

“Aye,aye,Sir.Reconfiguringtoimpellernow.”Otter folded her sails back into her impeller wedge and moved forward

more rapidly, accelerating steadily out of the Stine Terminus, five and a halflight-hoursfromtheG5primaryoftheStineSystem.

“Fivehundredgravities,SeniorChief,”Talmadgesaid.“Fivehundredgravities,aye,aye,Sir,”Powell acknowledged crisply, and

Talmadge’s lips twitched as he waited for Stine Astro Control to react to hisship’sabruptappearance.

***“Sir, they’ve noticed as,” Lieutenant Jordan Rivera announced, and

CommodoreMagellanraisedaneyebrowathisstaffcommunicationsofficer.“Putitonthemaindisplay,Jordan.”“Yes,Sir.”Anofficer in theuniformofStineAstroControlwithacaptain’s insignia

appearedonthemaincomdisplay.Hehadadarkcomplexion,ashavedhead,athickmustache,andanirateexpression.

“Unknownship!”hesnarled.“Reduceaccelerationimmediately!”“My,hedoesseemabitunhappy,”Magellanmurmured.“Well,Sir,”CommanderWilsonobserved,“weareexceedingtheterminus

acceleration limit by about four hundred and eighty gravities. I imagine thatcouldaccountforabitofunhappiness.”

“Isupposeyou’reright,”thecommodoreconceded.“Goddamn it, reduce your accel right now! ” the shaven-headed captain

shouted.“Whatthefuckd’youthinkyou’redoing?!”“Ithinkhe’sgoingtogetevenmoreunhappyjustabout…now,”Lieutenant

CommanderSarahTanner,Magellan’s ops officer, remarkeddryly asMalcolmTaylor,hissquadron’ssecondshipburstoutoftheterminusbehindOtter.

MalcolmTaylorpeeledoffonasharplydivergentvector,accelerating justashardasOtter,andMagellannoddedinsatisfaction.Althoughevenarelativelysmallterminuswasanenormousvolumeofspace,tryingsomethinglikethisintooroutof theManticoran Junctionwouldhavebeen extraordinarily dangerous.Despitetheseparationbetweeninboundandoutboundlanes,therewassomuch

traffic through theJunction that the probability of awedge-on-wedge collisionwouldhavebeenonlytooreal.InStine’scase,however,therewereonlyasingleinboundandasingleoutboundlane,andtrafficwassparse,tosaytheleast.Hesawasinglefreighter’sicononthetacticaldisplay,swingingwildlyawayfromthe terminus,even thoughOtterwasagoodforty thousandkilometersclearofher.Butthatwasfinewithhim.

“DeploytheGhostRiderplatforms,Sarah,”hesaid.“Let’sgetsomeeyesoutthere.”“Yes,Sir.Deployingnow.”The icons of half a dozenGhostRider recon platforms arced away from

Otter’s larger, stronger light code on the tactical plot, and he sawHMSTigerCub, the squadron’s third cruiser emerging from the terminusbehindMalcolmTaylor.

“Who the hell are you people?!” the astro control captain on the comdemandedfuriously.

“Bettergoaheadandputmethroughtohim,Jordan,”Magellansaid.“Yes,Sir.Livemikeinthree…two…one.Now.”Magellan saw the dark-faced captain’s expression change abruptly as his

own image appeared on the other man’s display. For a moment, the Solarianlooked blank, but then his eyes first widened and then, almost as quickly,narrowedagainasherecognizedMagellan’sblack-and-golduniform.

“CommodoreSeanMagellan,RoyalManticoranNavy,”Magellansaidcalmly.“Whatthehelldoyouthinkyou’redoing?!” thecaptainchallenged.“This

isSolarianspace!”

“Really?”Magellanreplied.“Imaginethat.”Theastrocontrolofficer’scomplexionturneddarkerthaneverandhis jaw

musclesquiveredasheglared incredulouslyat thecommodore.Heopenedhismouth,butnothingcameoutofit,asifthesheerpowerofhisfuryhadparalyzedhisvocalcords,andMagellangavehimathin,coldsmile.

“Actually,Captain, I’mquite aware ofwhere I am.And I’mquite awarethat theSolarianLeague claims sovereignty over this terminus.Unfortunately,thingslikethataresubjecttochange.”

“Whatthehelldoyoumeanbythat?!”thecaptainmanagedtogetoutafteranotherthreeorfoursecondsofrage-inspiredmuteness.

“ImeanthatjurisdictionoverthisterminushasjustchangedhandsfromtheSolarianLeaguetotheStarEmpireofManticore,”Magellantoldhimflatly.

“You’reoutofyourfuckingmind!”

“No,” Magellan responded as the fourth and fifth ships of his squadronemergedfromtheterminusandshiftedtheirvectorsoutwardtoenglobeit.“I’mafraidnot,Captain.”

“Youareifyouthinkyoucangetawaywiththiskindofcrap!”“Excusemeforaskingthis,Captain,butwhydoyouthinkIcan’t‘getaway

withthiskindofcrap’?”“Because—”thecaptainbeganfuriously,thenstoppedabruptly.“That’swhat I thought,” Magellan said much more gently. And glanced

backatthetacticaldisplayasHMSWolf,thelastofhiscruisersemergedfromtheterminus…closely followed by HMS Selkie, his remaining CLAC. He didn’t know

whattheSolariancaptainthoughtSelkiewas,butshesurelookedlikeaship-of-the-wall.

“Allowmetoexplainthistoyou,Captain—?”Magellan paused, raising both eyebrows, and waited patiently until the

Solarianshookhimself.“Pálffi,CaptainCyrusPálffi,”hegrated.“Thank you, Captain Pálffi.” Magellan nodded courteously. “I’m sure

you’rewellawareof the tensionbetween theStarEmpireand theLeague.MyEmpress and her ForeignMinistry have tried from the very beginning to getsomeone—anyone— in theLeague’sgovernment to showevenamodicumofwillingness to find a nonmilitary way to resolve that tension. You may havenoticedthatwehaven’thadagreatdealofsuccessinthatrespect.”Hesmiled,showing his teeth. “So HerMajesty’s Government has decided that since wecan’tseemtogettheLeague’sattentionthroughnormaldiplomaticchannels,it’s

timetotryanotherapproach.Thisone.”“Whatdoyoumean?”Pálffiaskedinatonewhichwasatleastmarginally

closertonormal.

“Imean that this terminus isnowclosed toall Solarian-registry shipping,except for courier vessels and those registered to recognized interstellar newsservices.ItwillremainclosedtoallSolariantrafficuntilfurthernotice.”

“This is never going to stand,” Pálffi said, almost conversationally. “Youandyourpissantcruisersaregoingtoneedahellofalotmorethanonewallertostanduptowhat’sgoingtobeheadedyourwayassoonasSolfindsoutaboutthis.”

“By the strangest coincidence, Captain Pálffi, there’s quite a lot moreheadedthisway,”Magellaninformedhim.

“Although,tobehonest,Idon’tthinkwe’regoingtoneedasmuchmoreasyoumaybelieve.”

TheammunitionshipHMSBandolieremergedfromthe terminus,stuffedto the deckheads with missile pods and additional Mark 16 missiles for hiscruisers,whilehewasspeaking,andhesmiled.

“My pinnaces will be headed your way within the next twenty minutes,Captain Pálffi,” he continued. “My Marines will come aboard your controlplatformsshortlythereafter.Ihavenodesireforanyonetogethurt,andI trustyou’ll feel the same. I warn you, however, that myMarines will be in battlearmor and they will be authorized to use lethal force if they’re attacked orforciblyresisted.

Isthatunderstood?”Pálffiglaredathim,andMagellancockedhishead.“Iaskedifthatwasunderstood,Captain,”hesaidinaconsiderablycooler

voice,andhiseyeshardened.“Understood,” Pálffi got out finally, and Magellan allowed his own

expressiontoeaseslightly.“Good.AsIsay, Iwouldgenuinelypreferfornoone tobehurtoneither

side.I’mnotgoingtopretendI’mnotaspissedoffasanyotherManticoran,butI’malsoawarethatnoonehereintheStineSystembearsanyresponsibilityforwhat’s happened in the Talbott Quadrant. I’d just as soon not contribute anymore to thebadbloodbetween theStarEmpireand theLeague thenIhave toundertheletterofmyorders.”

“Really?”Pálffi lookedathimskeptically, thenshrugged.“Maybeyoudomeanthat,butitdoesn’tmatterwhatyou’d‘justassoon’happen,Commodore.Not anymore.You’vesteppedacross the line this time, and you’re a hell of a

longwayawayfromhome.”“Manticorans are accustomed to being a long way away from home,

Captain.Andwe’re accustomed to taking care of ourselveswhenwe are. NodoubtasufficientlystrongSLNdetachmentcouldpushmeoffthisterminus,butI guarantee you that before it does, it’ll lose many times the tonnage of mysquadron.”

“Sure it will.” Pálffi snorted contemptuously. “I’m sure Battle Fleet’swallerswilljustbescaredtodeathofyourcruisers,Commodore!”

“Theywillbeifthey’vebotheredtoreadthereportsaboutwhathappenedatSpindle,”Magellanrepliedcalmly.

“Theseareexactly thesameclassofcruiserswhichcapturedordestroyedFleetAdmiralCrandall’sentirefleet,CaptainPálffi.”

TheSolarian’sfacewentsuddenlyblankandstiff.Foramoment,heonlystaredatMagellan.Thenheinhaledsharplyandshookhimself.

“PardonmeifIdon’texactlyshakeinmyboots,”hesaidinavoicewhichseemedtohavelostjustabitofitspreviouscertainty.“Butthere’snotawholehellofalotIcandotostopyou.JustexactlywhatdoyourMarinesplantodoaftertheyboardmyplatforms?”

“MostlyjustkeepaneyeonyouuntilIcancontactPresidentZellandgetsometransportdispatchedoutheretotakeyourpeopleoff.”

“You’rekickingusoffourownplatforms?”“Isuppose that’soneway to look at it,”Magellan conceded. “I prefer to

thinkof itasgettingyourpeoplesafelyoutof the lineof fire,however. If theSolarianNavy is rashenough to attempt to retake control of this terminus byforce, I don’t want any stray missiles taking out control platforms full ofinnocentbystanders.”

Pálffi’seyesexaminedhisexpressioncloselyforseveralseconds.ThentheSolariannoddedslowly.

“Appreciateit,”hesaidgrudgingly,withobviousreluctance.“AsIsay,CaptainPálffi, I’dreallypreferfornoonetogethurt.Sowe’ll

just get youandyourpeopleoutof theway.Because,”Magellan’s expressionhardened once again, his eyes bleak, “if the League does try to retake thisterminus,alotofpeoplearegoingtogethurt.”

ChapterTwenty-Seven“Where’sRajani?”NathanMacArtneydemanded.Hisexpressionwasnota

happy one, which struck Innokentiy Kolokoltsov as a bit ironic, under thecircumstances.

“He’s off-planet,” the senior permanent undersecretary for foreign affairssaiddryly.“Iunderstandhe’soutatHyperionOneforastaffconferenceonthe

bestwaytogoaboutmobilizingandmodernizingtheReserve…just on the off chance theManties actually decide to fight after all, you

understand.”MacArtneyflushedangrilyatthenonetoosubtlejab.He started to say something sharp, thenvisibly restrainedhimself.Which

waswiseofhim,Kolokoltsovthoughtacidly.HeandRajampethadburnedalotofcreditwiththeirfellowMandarins.

“Iwonderhowlonghecanstayoutthere?”MalachaiAbruzziaskedsourly.“Untiltheenergydeathoftheuniverse,asfarasI’mconcerned.”Omosupe

Quartermain’s tone was even more sour than Abruzzi’s, and Kolokoltsovsnorted.

“I’m sure he’s actually getting somework done while he’s out there—ifonlytocoverhisasswhenthenewsiesstarthoundinghim.Butitisconvenientforhim,isn’tit?

Fornow,atleast.”HyperionOnewastheSLN’sprimarySolSystemspacestation.Itwasnot

only the Navy’s largest single construction and service platform but the HQlocation for its Logistics Command. LogCom was responsible for the vastnumber of superdreadnoughts mothballed not only there but at Battle Fleetinstallations inhalf adozenother star systems.HyperionOnealso orbited theplanetMars,notOldTerra,whichleftitroughlyfour light-minutes insideSol’shyperlimityetmuchclosertotheasteroidsmelterswhichstillproducedthebulkof the Sol System’s industrial resources—a compromise between security andconveniencewhichwas looking a little less secure, in Kolokoltsov’s opinion,giventhepreposterousmissilerangestheMantiesweresupposedtobeattaining.At themoment, however, it offeredRajampet a different sort of security. Thecurrentdistance fromOldChicago toHyperionOne was just over four light-minutes,whichmadeanysortof real-timeconversation impractical, tosay theleast. Coupled with the admiral’s concern over the security of theircommunications,itputhimsafelybeyondreachofthepointed interrogationheobviouslyknewawaitedhim.

“Convenientornot,he’sforthelongdrop,”Abruzzisaidflatly.MacArtneylooked as if he wanted to argue, but the permanent senior undersceretary ofeducationandinformationwentstraighton.“Nomatterhowwetrytospinthisone, someone’sgot to take it in theneck.Youdon’thave this kindofdisasterwithoutdeterminingwho’sresponsibleforitandgivinghimtheax,Nathan,andyouknowit.He’sthesenioruniformedofficeroftheNavy.

Thatmakeshimthelogicalchoice.Forthatmatter,he’stheonewhoreallyisresponsibleforit!”

“That’sgoingtotouchoffafirestormintheFleet,”MacArtney said after amoment. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just

sayingtheNavy’sgoingtoseeitasabunchofciviliansstabbingtheuniformsinthebacktocovertheirownbacksides.”

“Ofcoursetheyare!”AgatáWodoslawskisnorted.“Iftheydon’tseeitthatway, they’llhave toadmit their preciousNavy couldn’t organize an orgy in awhorehouse!”

More than one other person attending the high-security electronicconferencewinced.ThatsortoflanguagewasrareoutofWodoslawski,butitdidcapturethegistoftheircollectiveopinionratherneatly.

“What I want to know is what the hellFilareta thought he was doing,”Kolokoltsovsaidflatly.

He’d replayed the recordings the Manties had sent along with EleventhFleet’spreliminarycasualtyreportsagainandagain,seentheexchangebetweenthat coldblooded bitch Harrington and Filareta. Kolokoltsov was no trainednaval officer, but it had been obvious even to him that unlessHarringtonwaslying—and she hadn’t been; that much should certainly have been clear toFilareta—

EleventhFleethadstoodtheproverbialchanceofasnowballinhell.She’dhadhim—hadhimdeadtorights—

andshe’dgivenhimtheoptionofsurrendering,butthemaniachadchosentofireinstead!

“Idon’tknowwhathewas thinking,”MacArtney admitted bitterly. “Andnobodyeverwill,now.”

“And Rajani still hasn’t managed to get Imogene Tsang to Old ChicagowherewecouldaskherexactlywhatherordersinBeowulfwere,either,hashe?”Quartermainobserved.SheglancedatKolokoltsovfromthecornerofoneeye.“Shewas a hell of a lotmore confrontational than shewas supposed to be. Ican’thelpwonderingifmaybeherinstructions—andFilareta’s—mightnothaveincludedacoupleofclauseswedidn’tknowabout.”

“I can see where you’d wonder that,” MacArtney acknowledged, “but Idon’tthinkthat’swhathappened.

NotinFilareta’scase,anyway.Idon’tknowwhatthehelldidhappen,butIhave—had, I suppose—methim,andhewasn’t thekind tocommit suicide onsomeoneelse’sorders,nomatterwhothesomeonewhogavethemmightbe.”

“Even if that is exactly what he did.” Abruzzi shook his head whenMacArtney stabbed another sharp look in his direction. “I’mnot arguingwithyouranalysisofhischaracter,Nathan.I’mjustsayingsomethingcausedhimto

commitsuicide.”“Oh, for God’s sake, Malachai!” Quartermain said disgustedly. “Please

don’tclimbontheManties’mind-controlnanotechbandwagon!”“I have no intention of doing anything of the sort, Omosupe,” Abruzzi

replied coldly. “First, because the entire notion is ridiculous. But, second,becauseevensuggestingtheremightbesomethingtotheManties’claimsinthatregardwould be the first step in legitimizing all their other claims about this‘MesanAlignment’andthewaywe’vebeenallowingittomanipulateus.”

“Well,we’regoingtohavetoissuesomekindofstatement,”Wodoslawskipointedout.“TheManties’

recordingsofHarrington’sconversationwithFilaretaarealreadyhittingthenews channels, and they make it pretty damn clear she gave him everyopportunitytosurrender,andhechosetofireonherinstead.Ihatetosayit,butthat’sprettydamningevidenceofwho’stoblameforthismassacre.”

“Andit’sonlyamatteroftimebeforeFeliciaHadleystartsscreamingaboutit in the Assembly,” Kolokoltsov agreed. “She’s been justifying Beowulf’sopposition toTsang’s passageon the argument that Beowulf’s refusal actuallysaved the lives of Tsang’s crews. What happened to Filareta’s only going tostrengthenherpositioninthatregard.”

“ThehellwithHadley!”MacArtneysaidharshly.“Thenewsiesaregoingtobealloverthis.Evensomeofour

‘specialfriends’inthemediaaregoingtofindithardnottojointhepackon this one, because, frankly, they’ll lose a hell of a lot of credibility if theydon’t.Andthatdoesn’tevenconsidersomeonelikethatincrediblepainintheassO’Hanrahan.She’llbealloverthislikestinkon…Well,yougettheidea.”

“OneofmypeopleoveratEducationandInformationmayhavecomeupwithawaywecanspinit,atleastintheshortterm,”MalachaiAbruzzisaid.Theotherslookedathimindisbelief,andheshrugged.“Nobody’sgoingtobeabletospinthisoneinthelong term,”heconceded.“Thebestwecandois trytogetout infrontandat leastslowitdown,plantsomeseedsofdoubt tounderminethecredibilityoftheearlyreports.Theproblemisthatwhateverwegain in theshorttermislikelytoturnaroundandbiteusinthelongtermwhentheManties’versionofeventsisindependentlyverified.”

“Thenwhat’sthepoint?”MacArtneydemanded.“ThepointisthatifMalachai’speoplehavecomeupwithawaytobuyus

sometime,evenifit’sonlyafewmonths,wemaybeabletopulltogethersomecoherent strategy for getting through this more or less intact, after all,”Kolokoltsov replied. “At this point, frankly, I don’t have a clue what that

strategy might be, but the critical point is that we’re looking right down thebarrelofaconstitutionalcrisis.”

The sudden silencewas absolute, and his colleagues looked at him as hefinallysaidthewords.

“That’sbeen theanacondaunder the tablenoneofushavewanted to talkabout from the very beginning,” he continued unflinchingly. “Unfortunately,Holmon-SandersbroughtthatfrontandcenterwhenshefaceddownTsang,andthisisonlygoingtomakeitworse.ForthefirsttimeinT-centuries,peoplemayactuallybewillingtolookattheEmperorandadmithe’sbare-assednaked.”Helooked around theirholographic faces. “TheConstitutionwas effectively deadonarrival;we’vealwaysknownitnevercouldhaveworkedasthebasisforaneffective system of government the way it was written. So we found waysaround it. Ways that, frankly, are completely illegal under the letter of theConstitution. Now people like Hadley and Holmon-Sanders are saying soopenly,anda lotofotherpeoplewhowould’vebeenwillingtosay‘sowhat?’andletusgoonwiththebusinessofmakingtheLeagueworkanywayaregoingto lookatwhathappened toFilaretaasproofwedon’tknowhow tomake theLeaguework.Andiftheydecidethat,andtheylistentoHadleyandtherestofthosecrazyBeowulfers, theentireLeaguecouldgo straight down the crapper.That’swhatthisisreallyaboutnow.”

“That…has tobea littlealarmist,”MacArtneysaid tentatively.He lookedaroundattheothers.“Doesn’tit?”

ItwasobvioustoKolokoltsovthatMacArtneyhadbeentotallyfocusedonthecrisis’personalimplications.Thathe’dneverlookedbeyondtheproblemofcuffingtheMantiesasideso theLeague ingeneral—andNathanMacArtney inparticular—couldgetonwithbusinessasusual thewaytheyalwayshad.Now,though…

“Idon’tthinkitis,Nathan.”Abruzzididn’tlikeMacArtneyandneverhad,but his tone was almost gentle as he shook his head. “I admit it soundspreposterous, but this really could take down the entire League, and when itdoes, God only knows what’s going to happen out in the Protectorates. Hell,some of theCore systems don’t like each other all thatmuch! If they see anopportunity to go their own ways, maybe even get some of their own backagainstsomeonewhopissedthemoffcenturiesago,they’relikelytotakeit.”

MacArtneysatsilent,hisfaceashen,andKolokoltsovreturnedhisattentiontoAbruzzi.

“Tellusaboutthistime-buyingidea,Malachai.”“It’s actually pretty simple.” Abruzzi shrugged. “In some ways, this is

Spindle all over again—all we have really is the Manties’ word for what

happened,plusthestoriesfiledbyciviliannewsiesinthesystem.Inotherwords,theonlyfirst-handinformationiscomingfromofficialMantysources.Sowedowhatwedidthen.”Heshruggedagain.

“Welie.”“How?”“ThesequenceisclearfromwhattheMantieshavereleased.Filaretasailed

into an ambush; Harrington sprang the trap and gave him the option ofsurrenderingorbeingdestroyed;heopenedfire;shehandedhimhishead.

Right?”Headsnodded,andheshruggedagain.“Well,wecan’tpossiblywinifwetrytodefendhisactions.Soinstead,we

changethestoryline.Harringtondeliberatelydrewhimintothetrap;sheofferedhimtheoptionofsurrenderingasaploytogethimtoscuttlehismissilepods;hedidscuttlehismissilepods…andthe instanthe’dgivenuptheoneweaponshewas afraid of, she opened fire and cold bloodedly destroyed his fleet. It wasneveraboutgivinghimachancetosurrender;itwasalwaysaboutherintentiontodestroyhimwhateverhedid.”

“Howthehelldoyouexpecttomakethatstandup?”Wodoslawskidemanded.“Especiallywiththerecordings theMantieshave

alreadymadepublic!”“Wepointout that they’re the recordings theMantieshavemade public,”

Abruzzi replied. “They’ve told us they’re clean copies of the actualconversation,butwehavenoproofof that.Wepointout thatFilareta’sordersgave him the option of standing down or even surrendering if it turned outAdmiralRajampet’sestimateof the tech imbalance turnedout tobe inerror. Idon’tknowif theydid—infact, Idoubt likehell theydid—butby the timeanofficial transcript of them gets released, they damned well will have!On thebasisof those instructionsandwhatappears tohavebeen the tactical situationwhenHarringtondemandedhissurrender,webelievethat’swhatheactuallydid.At which point Harrington opened fire, and everything after that point in the‘officialrecord’they’vesentusisalmostcertainlyaskillfullyeditedmontageoftheactualbattle.”

“It’llneverfly,”Wodoslawskisaidflatly.“Itmight,”Kolokoltsovsaidmoreslowly,eyesnarrowedasheconsidered

the scenario. “It has the advantage of being consistent with what we’ve beensayingaboutSpindleandtheotherconfrontations.Sure,somepeoplearegoingtoseeitasthesameoldline,butforalotofothersthatcontinuity’sgoingtogiveitacertainlegitimacy.It’llfitwithwhatthosepeoplehavealreadyacceptedasthetruth,andtheMantiescan’tdisproveit.

They can provide all the sensor recordings and recorded messages theywant,butallofthemwillbecomingfromofficialgovernmentorgans,andanygood,cynicalSolariancitizenknowsgovernmentorgansroutinelylietheirassesoffwhenitsuitstheirpurposes.”

“Oh,yeah?”Wodoslawskileanedbackinherchair.“And what about Haven throwing in with them? Validating the same

story?”“Basically,theHavenitescutadealwiththeManties,”Abruzzi responded.Her gray eyeswidened in disbelief, and he chuckled

harshly.“I’msureInnokentiy’sForeignMinistrysourcesandanalystscancomeupwithallsortsofstrawsinthewindtojustifyit,butwhatobviouslyhappenedwas that Manticore offered Haven a bargain. Clearly, Haven’s war-fightingtechnologyhastoberoughlyonaparwithManticore’sfor it tohavesurvivedthis long. Thatmeans they’ve got amajor tactical advantage—only a fleetingone, until our own Navy acquires matching weapons, of course—over theLeague,too.SoManticore’sofferwassimple: let’sstopshootingateachotherlong enough for us both to rip off big, juicy mouthfuls of territory from theLeagueandanyoneelsewhogetsinourwaywhilewe’vestillgotthemilitaryedge togetawaywith it.Thinkof itasavariationon theoldclichéaboutmyenemy’senemybeingmyfriend.Inthiscase,it’sacaseofmyenemy’shelplessvictimbeingmyhelplessvictim,too.Orthat’showManticoresoldit toHaven,anyway.”

“You’resayingthatinthisversionofrealityHavensawtheopportunitytothrowinwithManticoreforapieceofourpieandfiguredthatwasabetterdealthantryingtofinishofftheMantiesandgettingnothingoutofitexceptabunchmorelossesoftheirownand—maybe—controloftheJunctionattheendofit?”Wodoslawskisaidinamuchmorethoughtfultone.

“We’ve been explaining that the Manties are coldblooded, cynicalimperialistsfromthebeginning,”Abruzzipointedout.“Thiswouldbejustmoreof the sameon their part,wouldn’t it?And the fact thatHaven,who’s alwayshated Manpower as much as Manticore in the first place, is the one who‘confirmed’ this nonsense about the so-calledMesan Alignment fits in rathernicely.”

“Youknow,that’swhatbothersmethemost,”Wodoslawskiadmitted.“ItwasPritchartwhobrought this to theManties,

nottheotherwayaround.Iagreeit’snonsense,butifHavenreallybelievesit…”“I’d just point out to you that according to the fairy tale they’ve been

spinning,itwasZilwickiandVictorCachatwhobroughtthisSimõeshomefromMesa,”Abruzzisaid,androlledhiseyes.“I’msureallofus rememberwhata

loose warhead Zilwicki was right here in Old Chicago when he claimedManpowerhadkidnappedhisdaughter.Idon’tthinkanyone’sgoingtocallhima disinterested witness where anything to do withMesa is involved! For thatmatter, if there’sonescrapof truth toMesa’sversionofGreenPines,Zilwickiwould have every conceivable reason to come upwith some far-fetched storyaboutcenturies-longconspiraciesasawaytocoveruphisownguilt!Andthenthere’sCachat,who’s been spending the last couple of T-years getting furtherandfurtherintobedwiththeAudubonBallroomthroughhiscronies inVerdantVista, and who appears to have beenwith Zilwicki in Green Pines. Anothersterling,utterly trustworthycharacterwitnessagainstMesa!And,as thecherryon top, it’s theManties’ treecats’ supposed ability to knowwhen someone islyingthat‘proves’Simõesisn’t.

“The most charitable scenario I’ve been able to come up with is thatZilwicki and Cachat managed to sell this fabrication to Pritchart and heradministration,atleasttentatively.Ithinkthemostplausibleexplanationofwhyit took them so damned long to get back home was that they spent theintervening months holed up somewhere with Manty intelligence putting theaforesaid fabrication together and priming Simões as their ventriloquist’sdummy. Then they sailed off home to Nouveau Paris, made their ‘shockingrevelation’ to Pritchart, and convinced her to share their information withManticore.Atwhichpoint—

surprise,surprise!—themind-readingtreecatsofSphinx‘confirmed’Simões’truthfulness.“Frankly, the really interesting question iswhether or not Pritchart really

boughtitinthefirstplace.We’veallbeenaroundforawhile,Agatá.Weknowhow the game’s played. It’s possible Pritchart actually believes this nonsense,andthatherstatementstothateffectinthemessagestheManties’vesentusareabsolutelygenuine.

ButI’dsayit’sconsiderablymorelikelysherealizesfullwellthatZilwickiand Cachat have ‘sold’ her a crock of bullshit which justified her makingElizabeththeofferwe’regoingtoclaimElizabethmade toher. Inotherwords,shesawtheopportunitytogetoutfromunderthewarwithManticoreinawaythatwouldputheronManticore’ssideofthetableatthepeaceconferencethatdivviesuptheSolarianLeague.”

“Youknow,”MacArtneysaidafterseveralmomentsofsilence,“thatcouldactually bewhat happened.Or something close to it, anyway. I’m not sayingFilareta didn’t fire first,whateverwe’re going to tell everyone, but that reallycouldbehowHavenwoundupintheManties’corner.”

“Maybe,”Abruzzi agreed. “But we don’t want to muddy the water. It’s

goingtobeasimpler,moreeasilypresentedmessagetostickwiththeMantiesastheundisputedheaviesofthepiece.WeletHavenbethe

‘unwittingdupe’—maybewithalittleimperialistambitionthrownin—andwetakethepositionconsistentlyinourownpublicstatementsthatit’satragedyHavenhasalloweditselftobedeceivedandmanipulatedinthisfashion.Moreofaninsorrowthaninangerapproach.Whoknows?If things takea turnfor theworsefortheManties,Havenmightseeourattitudeasprovidinganopportunitytojumpshiptotheotherside.”

“Idon’tthinkI’dbetverymuchmoneyon thatpossibility if Iwereyou,”MacArtneysaiddryly,“butIagreethere’satleastachancewecouldsellthisintheshortterm.Infact,I’llmakeitmybusinesstosuggesttoRajanithatitwouldbeagoodthingifhisin-houseexpertscouldanalyzetheManties’recordingsandfind evidence of possible editing. I think a good, judicious report—one thatobviouslytriestobeasfair-mindedandrestrainedaspossible—whichconcludestherecordsmayhavebeendoctoredbut that it’s impossible todemonstrate thetruthconclusivelyonewayor theotherwouldbemoreuseful thananoutrightcondemnation.”

“Iagree.”Abruzzinoddedwithunusualapproval,andKolokoltsovlookedaroundat

thefacesofhisfellows.“Allright.Ithinkwe’reinagreementthatwe’llproceedthewayMalachai’s

recommending.AndIalsothinkitwouldbeagoodideaforyouandOmosupe,Agatá, to put together a report solemnly warning about the huge economicdisruptions the Manties are about to inflict upon the League as part of theirimperialambitions.Let’sget thatout infrontof thenewsies, too,anduse it toaimsomeextrapublicdisapprovalinManticore’sdirection.”Hesmiledthinly.“Idon’t seehow it couldmakeanyofourcitizensany lesswilling todecide theMantiesaretherealvillains.”

ChapterTwenty-EightThe Havenite dispatch boat made rendezvous with Haven One as the

officialinterstellartransportof theRepublic’spresidentsweptpeacefullyaboutthe planet Manticore in its assigned orbit. The fact that the tiny vessel wasallowed to make its approach without having to take aboard a Manticoranhelmsman toenfore the“two-man” rulewhichhadbecomethenormfor near-planet traffic in the Star Empire said volumes about how the relationshipbetweenHavenandManticorehadchangedinasingleT-month.

ThehighsecuritydispatchesfromNouveauPariswerehand-transferredtoHaven One, where they then sat for just over three hours while PresidentPritchart completed her current meeting with Empress Elizabeth, Protector

Benjamin, and Planetary Director Benton-Ramirez y Chou in Mount RoyalPalace.Partly,thatwasbecausethemeetingwas too important to interrupt,buttherewasmoretoit,aswell.EloisePritchartwasnotacowardlywoman,yetinhercircumstances,onlyasuperwomanwouldn’thavefeltatleastatingleortwooftrepidationatthethoughtofmailfromhome.

Nonetheless,whenshearrivedbackaboardhership,shewentimmediatelytoherprivatequarters,accessed the security lockson the files, bracedherself,andbegantoread.

***

“No, actually I think I agree with Aretha on this one, Roger,” EmpressElizabethsaid.“Irealizeit’syourwedding

—well,yoursandRiva’s!”shewenton,smilingwarmlyatRivkaRebeccaRosenfeld. “And if you insist, we can do it your way. But under thecircumstances,IthinkinvolvingtheNavyisprobablyagoodidea.”

“I’mnotdisagreeingwith thatpartof it,Mother,but it’saweddingnot apoliticalstatement.”Crown PrinceRogerGregoryAlexander TimothyWintontried(mostly successfully) to keep exasperation out of his voice. “And unlikeUncle Mike or Michelle, I never actually served in the Navy. I’d feel…uncomfortable calling them in for my wedding, especially after what’s justhappened. It’s not my place to use my status as Heir to order a bunch ofuniforms to turnupfor theweddingwhen they’vegota lotbetter things tobedoing.AndIespeciallydon’twanttolooklikeI’mtryingtostealanyofthe…well, the glory, darn it, the Fleet’s earned tomakeme and Rivka look moreimportant!”

Itwasobviousonlyfilialrespecthadkepthimfromusingasomewhatmorevigorousexpletive,andElizabethwasforcedtosmotherasmilestillborn.

“That’snotwhatArethahasinmind,”shebeganonceshewassureshehadthesmileundercontrol.“She’s—”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” Rivka said, “but whether it’s what DameAretha actually intends or not, I think what she’s proposing could look thatway.”

Theyoungwomanwhowasabout tobecomeCrownPrincessof theStarEmpireofManticorewasattractive,inadark,understatedsortofway.Shewasalsoquiet,almostbookish,but therewasabrainbehind thosebigbrowneyes.Andsomeintestinalfortitude,too,Elizabethreflected. Itcouldn’tbeeasyforayoungwomanwhowouldn’tbetwenty-twoT-yearsoldforanotherelevendaystoarguewithnotjustherfuturemother-in-lawbuthermonarch.ThatwasoneofthemanyreasonsElizabethapprovedsoheartilyofRoger’schoice.

“IthinkwhatbothersRoger,”Rivkawenton,“isthenotionofturningoutall those naval personnel in uniform to line theapproaches toKingMichael’sCathedral.Imean,”shesmiledslightly,“Idon’tthinkwe’regoingtobeabletoconvinceeveryonetheywereallinvitedtotheweddingandjustcouldn’tfitintothecathedral.It’sgoingtolookliketheywereorderedtoattend.”

“It’s going to look like that because that’s what they’re going to be,”Elizabethpointedout.“It’sstandardprocedureforthemilitarytoberepresentedatroyalweddings,baptisms,andfunerals,Rivka.”

“Irealizethat,YourMajesty.I’mjustsaying that I think that’swhyRogerfeelsthewayhefeels.”

“Mother,Idon’tobjecttotheNavybeingrepresented,”Rogersaid.“I justdon’twanttoturnitintoasituationwhereforallintentsandpurposesonly theNavyisrepresented.Don’tgetmewrong—IthinktheNavyhaseveryrighttoberepresented.God knows it does if anyone does! I just don’twant to look likewe’re…trading on how popular the Navy is right now. Maybe it’s silly, andmaybeit’sonlybecauseIwasnevercommissioned,butthat’sthewayIfeel.”

“Isee.”Elizabethgazedathimforamoment, thencockedaneyebrowathisfiancée.“Doyoufeelthatway,too,Rivka?”

“MaybenotasstronglyasRogerdoes,YourMajesty.Ontheotherhand,it’shiswedding, too.”Rivka shrugged. “All of this is still new tome, but it doesseemtomethat‘ourwedding’isgoingtobeahugepublicevent.IrealizethatgoeswithmarryingRoger,andI’mnotcomplaining,really.

But if there’s any way we can cut down a little bit on the intrusion ofpoliticsanddosomethingthatwillmakeRogerfeelalittlemorecomfortableatthesametime,I’minfavorofit.”

Elizabethnoddedslowly,impressedonceagainwithherfuturedaughter-in-law’s levelheadedness. She’d always thought the Manticoran Constitution’srequirement that theheir to the thronemarryacommonerhadbeenoneof theFounders’ best ideas.Over the years, it had created itsshareof heartache andunhappymarriages,whichwasprobablyinevitable.Andsheknewfromherownexperience that every handsome (or beautiful) fortune hunter in the StarKingdomwaswilling to takeashotat theHeir.Shecouldhavepickedanyoftwoorthreedozenstunninglyhandsomeboy-toys,butshehadn’t.She’dpickedJustin, and she was eternally thankful the Constitutional requirement hadbroughtthemtogether.

One or two of the youngwomenwho’d done their best to hover aroundRogerhadworriedher,butshewasdelightedwithhisfinalchoice.Indeed,shestronglysuspectedthatRivkawasgoingtoproveasstrongasupportforRogerasJustinhadprovenforher.

“Allright,”shesaid.“Howaboutacompromise?You’re right that theNavy deserves to be represented, Roger, so suppose

what we do is alternate personnel from the various branches of the service?What aboutNavy-Queen’sOwn-Marines-Palace Security-Navy, and repeat? IfwerunoutoftheQueensOwn,wecouldfill inwithregularArmy.Otherwise,theQueensOwnwillrepresenttheArmycontingent.Couldyoulivewiththat?”

“Ithinkso,”Rogeragreed, thenlookedatRivkaasshelaughedsuddenly.“What’ssofunny?”heasked.

“I was just thinking that the Navy’s going to be pretty well represented,anyway,”sheexplained.“Youruncle’sgoingtobepresentinuniform,andsoisAdmiral Truman, EarlWhite Haven, Admiral Caparelli, Admiral Givens, andAdmiralHemphill.Thenthere’sAdmiralTheisman,AdmiralTourville,AdmiralYu,andHighAdmiralYanakovfortheforeigncontingent.”

“I suppose that’s true,”Elizabethagreedwitha smile,notmentioning theone flagofficerRivkahadn’tnamedandwhowasnotgoing tobe inuniform.HonorAlexander-Harrington had agreed to serve as one ofRivkaRosenfeld’smatrons of honor, but she would be present in her persona as SteadholderHarrington,notAdmiralHarrington.

Well, technicallyshe’llalsobepresentasDuchessHarrington, Isuppose,Elizabeththought.Ontheotherhand—

“Excuseme,YourMajesty,butPresidentPritchartisonthecom.Elizabeth turned to the footman who’d spoken, and he bowed with a

slightlyapologeticair.NoneoftheMountRoyalstafflikedtointerrupttheroyalfamilywhentheyactuallyhadtimetospendasafamily.

“She’sonthesecureterminalinyourstudy,YourMajesty,”hemurmured.“Thank you, Isaac,” she acknowledgedwith a smile, then turned back to

RogerandRivka.“Allright,youtwowinthisoneonpoints.ButIwarnyou,I’mgoingtobemoreadamantaboutthecaketopper!”

Shegloweredatthemferociously,andRivkalaughedasRogercoweredinmockterror.Elizabethchuckled,shookherhead,scoopedupAriel,andheadedforherstudy.

Shesatdownatherworkstationandpressedtheacceptancekey.“Sorrytokeepyouwaiting,Eloise.I’vediscoveredthatarrangingmyson’s

weddingisjustalittlemorecomplicatedthanarranginginterstellartreatieswithlifelongenemies.”

“Funny you should mention treaties with lifelong enemies,” Pritchartrepliedwithasomewhatpeculiarsmile.“ItjusthappensI’vereceiveddispatchesfromNouveauParis.Thereceptionofour treatyproposalswasn’tquitewhat Ianticipated.”

“Oh?” After forty T-years on the throne, Elizabeth Winton’s face saidexactlywhatshetoldittosay.Itwasabitharderthanusualtokeepitthatwayatthemoment.

“Inwhatway?”“RememberhowItoldyouI’dexpectedallalongthatLesliewasgoingto

have troublepoundingthemthroughtheSenate,especiallywithoutmetobackherup?”

Elizabeth nodded. There’d been strong arguments in favor of Pritchart’staking the proposed treaty home and personally presenting it to the HaveniteCongress,butthere’dbeencountervailingargumentsaswell.Thenecessity forher, as Haven’s head of state, to personally oversee the delicate and difficultbusiness of effectively coordinating the Republican Navy with the RoyalManticoranNavyaftersomanyyearsofhostilityhadloomedlargeamongthem.But another, althoughPritchart andElizabethhadneverexplicitlydiscussed it,wasthatbyremaininginManticore,Pritchartcouldforceadefactoacceptanceofthetreaty,intheshorttermatleast,whatevertheSenateultimatelydecided.

“Well,itturnsoutIwaswrongaboutthetreaty’sprospects,”Pritchartwenton now. “According to Leslie’s dispatch, she never got a chance to pound itanywhere.

TheSenatejumpedalloverit.Itwasapprovedwithafifty-six-votemarginover and above the two thirds majority requirement. There were only elevendissentingvotes!”

Thepresident’sfaceblossomedinahugesmile,andElizabethfeltherselfsmilingback.

“That’swonderfulnews,Eloise!”“IthinktheSenate’sastiredoflockinghornswithyoupeopleasThomas

Theismanis,”Pritchartsaid,shakingherhead.“AndaccordingtoLeslie,thefactthatwenotonlygetoutof thiswithoutpaying reparations, despiteGiancola’sgameswiththediplomaticnotes,butthatitlookslikewe’regoingtobecometheStarEmpire’sbiggesttradingpartnerinthenotsodistantfuturedidn’thurtonebit.TheprobabilitythatGiancolawasworkingforMesatheentiretimeandthatwe’reonthesamehitlistyoupeoplearedidn’thurtany,either,Lesliesays.AndneitherdidthefactthatnobodyintheRepublicisespeciallyfondoftheLeague,forthatmatter.”

“Completelyofftherecord—andI’lldenyitifyoueverquoteme—butI’djustassoongopickonsomeonewhoisn’tas toughasyouguysforachange,myself,”Elizabethtoldher,marvelingevennowathowcloseshe’dbecometothepresidentofthestarnationshe’dhatedwitheveryfiberofherbeingforfourstandarddecades.

“There are still some questions at the Nouveau Paris end, of course,”Pritchartwentoninamoresobertone.

“Astheysay,thedevilisalwaysinthedetails.Withyourpermission,nowthattheoriginaltreaty’sbeenapprovedatbothends,I’dliketogoaheadandgetAdmiral Hemphill’s mission off to Bolthole as soon as possible. I think thatwouldhelpputalotofthosequestionstobedwithashovel.”

“TomandHamisharestillhavingtoknockafewheadstogetheroverattheAdmiralty,”Elizabethsaidwithanoff-centersmile.“Idon’tthinkthere’llbeanymajorsnafus,though.”

Ihopetohelltherewon’tbe,anyway,sheaddedmentally.She trulydidn’texpectany,butshe’dbeensurpriseduponoccasionbefore.Andshesupposeditwas inevitable that themore conservativemembers of theRoyalNavywouldbe…uncomfortable about sending the entire surviving R&D staff of HMSSWeyland off deep into Havenite territory to share all of the RMN’s technicalsecretswithitstraditionalenemies.Infact,thereweretimesElizabethexpectedtowakeupwithaterminaldrughangoveranymomentnow.

Butcrazyasitsounds,itactuallymakessense—alotofsense,shethought.We’reprettysurethatifwecouldn’tfigureoutwhereBoltholewas,theSollies—andprobably theAlignment—don’tknoweither.Godknowswehada lotmoreincentive to findit thaneitherof themdid!So tuckingourR&Dprojectsawaywherenoonewithany invisiblestarships is likely todropby tocleanupwhatshemissedthefirsttimearoundstrikesmeasaverygoodidea.AndfromwhatTheisman and Eloise have shown us, Bolthole’s going to be a damned goodplace tostartputting all that new hardware into production on a really largescalequickly,oncewe’vemadeafewupgrades.

There’dbeenargumentsinfavorofusingBeowulf, instead.Forone thing,Beowulf’sbasictechnologywasconsiderablyinadvanceoftheRepublic’sasawhole—orevenofBolthole’s,forthatmatter.Intheory,Beowulfwouldbebetterplaced tohit thegroundrunningand improveupon the existing researchmorerapidly than the Haven could. But there was a difference between basictechnologyandwar-fightingtechnology,andanevenbiggerdifferencebetweenthemindsetsrequiredtosuccessfullypushmilitaryandcivilianR&D.TherewasnodoubtinElizabeth’smind—orthatofanyservingManticoranofficer,forthatmatter—thatShannonForakerfullydeservedherreputation.Thestaffshe’dputtogether had done miracles to close the gap between Manticore and theRepublic. With the destruction of Weyland and its Grayson equivalent atBlackbird, therewasnoonein thegalaxybetterqualified topush thebleedingedgeofhardwaredevelopment.

Besides,Beowulfwasalreadybusydoingotherthings.

Horrific as the casualties of the Yawata Strike had been, it had actuallykilledonlyarelativelysmallpercentageofthetotalManticoranworkforce.Butit had killed a critical percentage—the technicians, the logisticians, thesupervisors, and the managers responsible for building the Star Empire’sstarships, military and civilian. The smelters and the resource extractionplatformswere still there.Much of the system’s consumermanufacturing stillexisted,althougha frighteningpercentageof ithadbeenwiped awaywith thespace stations, as well. The service personnel who’d manned the service andrepairplatformsassociatedwiththeJunctionwerestillintact,stillavailable.ButtheYawataStrikehaddestroyedtheworkforcewhoseskillsethadmade it themostefficientshipbuildingpowerhouseintheexploredgalaxy.Ithaddestroyedtheheavyfabricationunits,theskilledpersonnelwhooversawfinalcomponentmanufactureandassembly,theshipfittersandtheordnancespecialists,thenano-farms thatproduced the criticalmanufacturingnanotech, the armorers and lifesupporttechnicians,theplannerswhokeptatallmovingsmoothly.Theywereallgone,andtheirdisappearancehadeliminatedtheveryskilledworkforceneededtorebuildthehardware,theinfrastructure,they’doncemanned,aswell.Itwasacaseofthechickenandtheegg;tobuildtheone,youneededtheother.

AsBaronessMorncreekandCountessMaidenHillhadpointedoutatthatfirst dreadful cabinet meeting after the strike, they could rebuild and retrain.They still had at least some of the people they needed, once they could berecalled or transferred from other critical sectors of the economy. And therepatriatedworkforcefromGrendelsbanehadbeenagodsend.For thematter,therewereplentyofManticoranswhocouldacquirethenecessaryskillsets.Theproblem was how to do all of that quickly enough…and how even the StarEmpireofManticorecouldaffordthepricetag.

It looked like the answer was going to be Beowulf and the Republic ofHaven. The loss of revenuesOperation Lacoön had inflicted on the Old StarKingdom would have been close enough to catastrophic under normalcircumstances.Underthepost-YawataStrikecircumstances,itcameonehellofa lot closer. But when Lacoön was first formulated, no one had anticipatedhavingtheRepublicofHavenavailabletostepinasafulltradingpartner.Norhad it counted onBeowulf’s becoming for all intents andpurposes a full allyagainsttheSolarianLeague.

Haven offered enormous business opportunities for the Star Empire. Itwasn’tgoing tocomeremotelyclose to replacing everything Lacoön had shutdown,but that didn’tmean itwasn’tgoing to help a lot. AndwithBeowulf’sopen alignment with Manticore, its economy had become part of the GrandAlliance’sdynamo,aswell.

Beowulfers had always been heavily invested in the Old Star Kingdom;nowtheywereactuallylininguptobuyManticoranwarbonds.

Nor was that all Beowulf was doing. Dozens of Beowulfan repair andserviceshipshadalreadystreamedthroughtheJunction,andthenucleiofnewspacestationswerealreadytakingshape—twoeach,thistime,aroundManticoreandSphinx.Theyweregoing tobedifferent this time, too;built toacarefullythought out plan that allowed for systematic expansion rather than simplygrowing as need required.Andwith powerful self-defense capability, aswell.There really was truth to the old saw about the burned hand teaching best,Elizabethreflectedgrimly.

The tectonic shift represented by the Grand Alliance’s unexpectedformationhadhugelyreducedeventhemostoptimisticManticoranestimatesofhow long it was going to take to rebuild the Old Star Kingdom’s industrialmuscle.

Which wasn’t to say it was going to happen overnight, even now. TheprocesswasstillgoingtotakeT-years,andeveryoneknewit.

ThatwaswhyBeowulfwasalreadyestablishingitsfirstMDMproductionlines. It had no pod laying superdreadnoughts of its own, but it’s basictechnological capabilities required far less tweaking than Haven’s would tobeginproducingthemini-fusionplantsandtheminiaturizedgraviticcomponentsrequired tobuild something like theMark23-E.So for the foreseeable future,BeowulfwouldbetheprimarymissilesupplierfortheGrandAlliance.Forthatmatter,ifthingsworkedoutthewaytheplannerswereanticipating,inthenextseveralT-monthsBeowulfwouldbeginbuildingKeyhole-Two platforms to beinstalledinpurpose-builtHaveniteSD(P)sconstructedinBoltholeandsailedtoManticoreforfinalinstallationoftheBeowulf-builtcomponents.

Just thinking about it couldmake Elizabeth’s head swim, butHonor andHamishpromisedheritwouldwork.

As long as Beowulf remained intact, at least, and the two hundred pod-laying superdreadnoughts stationed there to protect the system suggested itwould.

“Well,anyway,”Pritchardsaid,“itlookslikethisisactuallygoingtowork.Ihavetoadmit,there’vebeentimeswhenIwasn’tisconfidentofthatasIhopeIlooked.”

“Eloise, you and I have to be the two stubbornest, most bloody-mindedfemales in the galaxy,” Elizabeth pointed out. “If the two of us can agree onanything,it’sgoingtohappen.”

“I’mnotgoingtoarguewithyou,”Pritchardsaidwithasmile.“Butonthatnote, I’ll letyougetback toyour familyand thatwedding. It’sprobablymore

funthanthisanyway.”“Itis,inalotofways,”Elizabethadmitted.“Andthenotionofhavingthe

Presidentof theRepublicofHavenpresentasan invitedguest isn’tsomethingI’d’vegivenalotofthoughttountilthelastmonthorso.”

“Iguessnot.”Pritchartchuckledandstartedtopressthebuttontoterminatetheconnection,thenpaused.“Oh!

While I’mthinkingabout it.OneotherpointLeslie raised inhermessagewas to ask where we were on the possibility of getting treecats assigned tocriticalpersonnelinNouveauParis.Sheknowsthat’sreallyuptothe’cats,andshe’snottryingtopushanybodyintoleaningonthem,butitseemsthesecurityservices back home are taking the possibility of nanotech assassinations veryseriously.”

“I’lldiscussitwithDr.ArifandSorrowSinger tomorrowmorning,early,”Elizabeth assured her. “From my last conversation with them, I’d say we’llprobably be able to send at least a couple of dozen home with you after thewedding.Maybemore,forthatmatter.”

“Thankyou,”Pritchardsaidwithawarmsmile.“Andonthatnote,gobacktoyourfamily,Elizabeth.I’lltalktoyoulater.Clear.”

July1922PostDiaspora“Youaresogoingtogetallofuskilled.”

—LieutenantColonelNatsukoOkiku,SolarianGendarmerieChapterTwenty-NineSir LymanCarmichael,who’d never expected to replace the assassinated

JamesWebster asManticore’s ambassador to the Solarian League, stood at afifth-story window and looked down at a scene out of a bad historical holodrama.HisperchinoneoftheBeowulfAssemblydelegation’sofficesgavehimaremarkablygoodviewofit,too.

Friggingidiots,hethoughtdisgustedly.OnlySollies.Nobody else in the entire galaxy would’ve swallowed that line of crap

Abruzzi’spassingout!ButSollies?Hook,line,andsinker.He shook his head. In a reasonable universe, one might have thought

continualexposuretolieswouldinstillatleastapartialimmunity.Lookingdownat the seaofangry, shoutinghumanityclogging theplazaoutside theBeowulfresidence seemed to demonstrate it didn’t. In fact, he was beginning to thinkcontinualexposureactuallyweakenedtheabilitytorecognizethetruthonthoserareoccasionswhenitfinallycamealong.

You’rebeingcynicalagain.Andunfair,headmittedunwillingly.Butnottoo

unfair. It’snot like thesemoronshadn’theardboth sidesof the story—orbeenexposedtothem,anyway—beforetheydecided togooutanddemonstrate theirstupidity.

For themoment,Carmichaelwas relatively safe in apersonal sense,herewith the Beowulf delegation. That shouldn’t have been a significantconsideration,butitwasinthiscase.Underinterstellarlawasacceptedbymoststarnations,hispersonwaslegallysacrosanct,nomatterwhathappenedtotherelations between his star nation and another. Even in time of war, he wassupposed to be returned safely to his government’s jurisdiction, just as anyambassadors to the Star Empire were to be repatriated under similarcircumstances.

The Solarian League, however, had never gotten around to ratifying thatparticularinterstellarconvention.

That hadn’tmattered in the past, since no one had been crazy enough tochallengetheLeague,whichmeantOldChicagohadneverbeenforcedtodealwiththeproblem.

It left Carmichael in something of a gray area under the currentcircumstances, however, and he wasn’t at all sure how Kolokoltsov and hiscroniesmight choose to interpret the law inhisowncase.Thatwaswhyhe’dmoved into theBeowulf residence,which enjoyed extraterritorial status undertheConstitution.AssuminganyonewaspayingattentiontotheConstitution.Ontheotherhand,ifthingskeptbuildingthewaytheywere,Beowulfwasn’tgoingto be enjoying any sort of legal statuswithin the Solarian League verymuchlonger.

He couldn’t hear the individual chants or shouts through the backgroundsurf of crowd noise, not from the fifth floor through a hermetically sealedwindow.Butheknewwhattheywerescreaming.Andevenifhehadn’tknown,hecouldreadtheplacardsandholobanners.

MANTICORANMURDERERS!BUTCHERS!HARRINGTON+TREACHERY=MURDER!REMEMBERFLEETADMIRALFILARETA!ASSASSINS,NOTADMIRALS!THIEVES,LIARS,ANDMURDERERS!

AndtherewasequaltimeforBeowulf,ofcourse.TRAITORS!MANTICORANPIMPS!WHO’SKNIFEISINADMIRALFILARETA’SBACK?

WHERE’SYOURTHIRTYPIECESOFSILVER?BEOWULFHELPEDMURDERELEVENTHFLEET!WHEREWASADMIRALTSANGWHENELEVENTHFLEETNEEDEDHER?Carmichael sighed and turned away from the window only to discover

someonehadbeenstandingbehindhim.“MadamDelegate,”hesaidwithaslightbow.“Mr. Ambassador.” Felicia Hadley, Beowulf’s senior delegate to the

SolarianLeagueAssembly, returned his bow. Shewas a slenderwoman,withblackhair,brown eyes, and a golden complexion. Shewas at least several T-yearsolderthanCarmichael,butthefrecklesdustedacrossthebridgeofhernosemadeherlookmuchyounger,somehow.

“Iwasjustwatchingtheshow,”hesaid.“Iknow.Iwaswatching youwatch it.” She smiled slightly. “Impressive,

isn’tit?”“Not as impressive as the fact thatOldChicago’s highly efficient police

forceseemssomehowtotallyunable tobreakup thiscompletelyun-authorizedand spontaneous demonstration.” Carmichael’s tone was poison dry, and thistimeHadleyactuallychuckled.

“Thesamethoughthadoccurredtome,”sheadmitted.“Actually,I’vebeenwondering whether or not I should add that to my daily indictment on theAssemblyfloor. Itwouldn’tchange anything,ofcourse,but itmightmakemefeelalittlebetter.”

Herexpressionwasalmostwhimsical,andCarmichaelshookhishead.“Forgiveme,MadamDelegate,butIdon’tseehowyou’vestooditsolong.

Atbest,theAssembly’sturnedintosomesortofzoowheretouristscometoseetheexoticanimals.OrmaybethetermIreallywantistheendangeredspecies!”

“Not themost tactful of descriptions, perhaps, but to the point,” she saidjudiciously. Then she shrugged, and her expression turned more serious.“Actually,it’snotabaddescriptionatall,but,youknow,Ihonestlybelieved—

once,atleast—thatImightbeachievingsomethingworthwhile.Even if itwasonly tobe thevoiceof thepast,a reminderofwhat theLeaguewasoncesupposedtobe.

Now”—shesteppedpastCarmichaeltolookouthiswindow—“allofthatseemsasfoolishasitwaspointless.”Carmichael looked at her back, conscious of a stab of regret for his own

words.Notbecausetheyhadn’tbeenaccurate,butbecause…“You fought the good fight,MadamDelegate,” he said quietly. “There’s

something tobe said for that.At leastyoudidn’t simply throwupyourhands

andacquiesce.Itmaybecoldcomfortatthemoment,lookingout thatwindow,but one day history’s going to get it right. And one of the nice things aboutprolong is thatwemay actually live long enough to seeyou—andBeowulf—justified.”

“Andwithoutprolong,there’snowayeitherofuswouldmakeitthatlong!”she replied tartly, looking over her shoulder at him. “I think your DuchessHarringtonisright.ThisisgoingtobetheendoftheLeague,atleastasanyone’severknownit.Butsomethingthisbig,withthismuchinertiabehindit,doesn’tgodowncleananditdoesn’tgodowneasily.It’sgoingtobealongtimebeforeanyone’s in a position to be taking any dispassionate historical looks back,AmbassadorCarmichael.”

“I’mafraidyou’rerightaboutthat.”He stepped up beside her, looking back out the window himself at the

screamingmob.Theywerebeginningtothrowthingsattheresidence’sground-floorwalls andwindows. The security fieldswere stopping the tide of rocks,eggs,over-ripevegetables,andoccasionalold-fashionedmolotovcocktails,butthesymbolicactsofvandalismseemedtopleasethecrowd.NotasmuchasthelittleknotsofpeoplewhowereburningtheManticoranandBeowulfplanetaryflagsanddismembering—origniting—

effigies dressed in what they fondly believed were Manticoran andBeowulfan naval uniforms, though. As Carmichael watched, one flashilydressed, wildly tattooed flag-burner—he looked like one of the millions oflongterm unemployed who collected their stipends from the planetarygovernmenteverymonth—heldontoaburningManticoran flag justamomenttoo long. It was impossible to hear his howls, but theway he started leapingabout and waving his hand frantically said volumes, the ambassador thoughtwithacertainsatisfaction.

“Frankly,”Hadleysaid,“whatastonishesme,eventhoughIoughttoknowbetterafterallthistime,isthatanyonewouldtakeEducationandInformation’swordforanything.”Shegrimaced.“LikeIsay,Ioughttoknowbetter.Infact,Idoknowbetter.Butitstillseemssoincrediblybrainless.It’sliketheywanttobeliedtobecauseit’ssofamiliar,orbecauseitkeepsthemintheircomfortzonebyabsolvingthemoftheneedtoactuallythinkaboutthings.ApparentlynobodyonOldTerra everheard that clichéabout ‘Foolmeonce, shameonyou; foolmetwice,shameonme.’”

“WellIdon’tknowifE&I’sreflectedonjusthowbadlythisisgoingtobitethemonthebuttoutintheVergeandtheShell,”Carmichaelreplied.“Sure,it’stailor-made for the CoreWorlds. These people are so sheltered and divorcedfromwhat’sgoingonoutonthefrontiersthatit’snosurprise,really,thatthey’re

liable to actually believe this nonsense. And I realize Kolokoltsov’s andAbruzzi’s immediate concern is how the CoreWorlds are going to react. Butthey’remakingahugemistakeiftheythinktheCoreWorldsareallthatmatters,andIthinktheyreallydo.Ithinktheygenuinelybelievethataslongastheycanjollytheoldest,most‘respectable’worldsintogoingalongwiththem,they’llbeable—eventually,atleast—torestorethe‘oldorder’outsidetheCore.That‘thelittlepeople’

outside theCore are going to accept theirmore sophisticated intellectualsuperiors’ guidance once more, they way they ought to, once all thisunpleasantnessblowsover.”Hislipstwistedandhiseyeswerebitter.“EventhatOFSanditscorporatecronieswillbeabletogobacktoadministeringtheirlittleempiresoutintheVerge.Andthey’rewrongaboutthat.”

“That’smyreading,too,”Hadleysaid,herexpressiontroubled.“Especiallywith Mesa stirring the pot the way it is. Absent some probably impossiblechangeat thecenter, theLeague’sgoingtostartsheddingVergesystemsprettydamnedquickly,anditwon’tbelonguntiltheShellfollowssuit.”

Carmichael nodded,wondering ifHadley had been as fully briefed as hehadoneventsinthevicinityoftheCongoSystemandtheMayaSector.

Helookedbackoutatthemob.AsidefromthementalmyopiaofmistakingOldTerra’spublicopinionfor

theentireLeague’spublicopinion,Abruzziandhisminionshadactuallydoneaworkmanlike job, he reflected. The suggestion that the Grand Alliance haddeliberately sucked Filareta into a death trap with false offers of honorablesurrendertermsjustsoitcouldbecertainofwipinghimouthadactuallystruckachordinatleastasizableportionofOldTerra’spopulation.TheMandarins’petnewsieshadcomeoutswinginginsupportoftheofficialline,and theSolarianNavy’srefusaltouncategoricallybackthatsameofficiallinehadactuallylentitadditional credibility. It gave the story an aura of deliberation, of a refusal torush to judgmentwhich befitted sober minded, thoughtful leaders doing theirbest to pick their way through a minefield of confusion and other people’smisrepresentation.

As far as Carmichael could tell, at least part of the people who wereembracing Abruzzi’s version so enthusiastically had done so because itexplained how the invincible Solarian League could have been defeated socompletely by a patchwork coalition of neobarbs. What made it even moreconvincingtothem,hesuspected,wasthatitsuggestedtheGrandAlliancewasreallyafraidoftheLeague.Thatithadresortedtosuchchicaneryandtreacherybecausewhatever itmightclaim, itwasactually terrifiedof facing theSLNinfair,openbattle.Afterall,Spindle hadbeenprimarily anambushengagement,

hadn’t it?AndnowtherewasFilareta’smassacre inasimilar situation.Surelythat demonstrated that the League’s defeats were primarily due to neobarbtreacheryanddeceit,notthefundamentalrotatBattleFleet’score!

Therewas no doubt in hismind that such an analysiswas comforting tothose frightened of admitting the League was in a position of hopelessinferiority.NottomentionthosewhosimplyresentedthehelloutofthewaytheSolarianNavyhadbeenslappedasidelikeabothersomemosquito.

And then there was the derision Abruzzi and his stable of newsies hadheaped upon Manticore and Haven’s assertions of Mesan complicity in thecreationoftheentirecrisis.He’dknownthatwascoming.Infact,everyonebackhome had known it was coming. Yet they’d had no choice but tomake theirinformation public, and at least some of the Solarian newsies—like AudreyO’Hanrahan,forexample

—weren’tasquick todismiss itas a combination of Beowulfan paranoiaandManticoranlies.Exactlywhowasgoingtobebelievedintheendwasstillbeing fought out, but it didn’t look good for the Grand Alliance. Too manySolarianshadbought into theMesanclaimsof theStarEmpire’scomplicity intheGreenPinesatrocity.They’dinvestedtoomuchemotioninthatbelief,whichpredisposed them to see the absurd allegations about hidden conspiracies assimplyonemorecynicalManticoranploy to turnpublicopinionagainstMesaand provide an excuse for the Star Empire’s own support of terrorists andimperialistexpansion.

Ipurelyhate thisentire friggingplanet,he thought sourly. I know it’s thehomeworld, themotherworld.Theplaceweall came from.But I’mnot fromhere.I’mfromtheplanetManticore,andthisplace,thisplanet,istheepicenterof thecorruption trying tohand theentirehuman race over towhatever thosemurderous bastards in Mesa are trying to accomplish. Hadley’s right. TheLeague’sgrownsorotten,soacceptingofcorruptionandgraft,ofshakedownsand empire building, of brutal régimes propped up by Frontier Security andGendarmerieinterventionbattalions,thatitdoesn’tdeservetosurvive.

Thatthesoonerwe’reallshutofit,thebetter.AndthatwasthefatalflawinMalachaiAbruzzi’sstrategy.Nomatterwhat

he convinced Old Terra of, no matter what line he sold to the oldest, mostcomfortable of theCoreWorlds, the rest of thegalaxyknewbetter. Itwas farenoughfromthecentertoseemuchmoreclearlythanthosetooclosetotherot,anditwasgoingtorefusetogoalongwiththeOfficeofFrontierSecurityanditstransstellarcroniesanylonger.

They’re not getting thatgenie back into the bottle, he thought coldly.No

matterwhattheydo.***Fleet Admiral Rajampet Kaushal Rajani sat in his private penthouse

apartment gazing out his three hundredth-floor window at the glittering jewelboxofOldChicago.Othertowersroseashighasorevenhigherthanhisown,caparisoned in glowing windows and flashing aircraft warning lights, andgemlike bubbles drifted across the heavens as air carsmoved sedately in andaroundthem.MoreofthestupendousstructuresrosefrompylonssunkdeepintothebedrockunderneathLakeMichigan,and theirmirroredreflectionsgleamedup at them from night-blackwaterswarmingwith theChristmas tree glow ofpleasure boats. The pedestrian slide-walks so far below his window were asteadystreamof late-night,moving humanity amid a forest ofHD billboards,subliminaladvertisingmessages,chatter,andthefrothingfermentofOldTerra’slargestcity.Ifhelookedup,hecouldseethegleamingpearlsoforbitalfreightstations and solar power collection satellites, but the overpowering impressionwasoftheincrediblesize,power,andwealthofthecitythatstretchedasfarastheeyecouldseeandlithigh,thinwispsofcloudwithitsownsleeplessglow.

Rajampet loved that view.He loved lookingout over it, knowinghewasone of themovers and shakerswho controlled the destiny of all those antlikepeople swarming about so far below him. He loved the taste of power—headmitted it—and for almost a hundred T-years, he’d wielded it well. But thepanorama from hiswindowwas less reassuring tonight, because tomorrow hewasgoingtohavetofaceKolokoltsovandtheothers.Hedidn’texpecttoenjoythat session. For that matter, he wasn’t at all sure his positionwas going tosurviveit,andwithouthisposition,whatdidhetrulyhave?

Well,hethoughtdryly,youmightthinkaboutthat3.6billion credits in your private account, Rajani. Not a bad paycheck, all

thingsconsidered.Andyoucan’tpretendyoudidn’tknowyouweresuppingwiththedevil,althoughmaybeyoumighthavewantedtouseaspoonthatwasabitlonger,nowthat the fuckingManties’ve finally tumbled to the truth.Orpartofthetruth,anyway.Godknowswherethewilderpartsoftheirhallucinationsarecomingfrom!Somethinginthewaterortheairoutthere?

Talkaboutparanoia!Heshookhishead.Ofcourse,thefactthatyou’reparanoiddoesn’tnecessarilymeanyoudon’t

reallyhaveenemies…eveniftheyaren’tthethree-metermonstersyouthinktheyare.

Likethatnanotechcrap.Ha!Whybelieveinfairytaleslikethatinsteadofsimpler explanations? Crandall was so deep inMesa’s pocket shed’ve picked

any spot theywanted for her frigging exercise, and they could count on herstupidity tomake therestof itworkout theway theywanted.Same thingwithByng, except that they probablydidn’t have to promisehima thing except anopportunitytoputoneintheManties’eye.AndFilareta—!Ifthattasteofhisforsickgameswithlittlegirlsandboyshadevermadeittothepubliceye,he—orhiscareer,atleast

—would’vebeendead,evenintheLeague.Sogettinghimonboardwasn’tallthathard,either.Anditdidn’ttakeany“mind-controlnanotech”toconvinceyoutohelphitthebastardswhereithurt,nowdidit?Evenifthingsareturningoutabit…dicierthanyouexpected.

Hesnortedinharshamusement,yetthetruthwasthathehadn’tcountedonthe completeness of the defeat waiting for Sandra Crandall and MassimoFilareta.Hewasn’tgoing toshedanytearsforeitherof theadmirals involved,and he wasn’t going to pretend about that even with himself. But he hadn’tcontemplatedthesheernumberofotherpeoplewhoweregoingtogetkilled.Forthat matter, he’d genuinely believed the new missiles would go a long waytowards leveling theplaying fieldwhen Filareta reachedManticore.And he’dneverthoughtforamomentFilaretawouldhavebeenstupidenoughtoopenfireafterthatbitchHarringtonhadmousetrappedhimsocompletely.

NeverthoughtHavenwouldbewillingtosidewiththeManties,either,didyou?heaskedhimselfderisively.

God,whocould’veseenthatonecoming?!He’daskedhimself,sincethereportsoftheSecondBattleofManticorehad

reachedOldTerra,whyhe’dreallydoneit.Oh,themoneywastheeasyanswer.Andsowashisresentmentofthewayhe’dbeendeniedhisproperplaceatthetablewithKolokoltsovandtherestofthoseparasiticcivilianleeches.TheirverysurvivalhaddependedonRajampet’sNavytodothedirtyjobsit tooktokeepthemwheretheywere,yethecouldn’tevencounthowmanytimesoneofthosearrogant ‘Mandarins’hadshownhis—orher,he thought, thinkingofOmosupeQuartermain—

condescensionfortheuniformedmenandwomenwhocarriedtheLeague’smandateouttothefuckingneobarbsonthebacksideofnowhere.

Butmost of all, he’s come to realize, it had been his hatred for the StarEmpireofManticore.Hisresentmentofitsmerchantmarine’sreachandpowerandwealth.OfManticore’srefusaltobendtotheLeague’sdemands,toshowtheSolarian League Navy the respect and deference it was due. For the sheerarrogance of a ten-for-a-centicredit neobarb so-called star nation—one whichhad laid claim to only a single star system as little as twenty T-years ago!—whichhaddaredtousetheunfairadvantageofitsdamnedJunctiontoactually

telltheSolarianLeaguewhatitcouldandcouldn’tdo.Inthatrespect,muchashehatedtoacknowledgethecomparison,heandJosefBynghadactuallyhadatleastonethingincommon.

He didn’t give a single good goddamnwhether theManties actually hadany imperial ambitions. He admitted that in the privacy of his own mind,because itdidn’tmatter.Herememberedoneofhis longdeadfather’s favoritesayings:‘Whenyoufuckwiththebull,yougetthehorns.’Well,itwastimetheMantiesgotthegoringtheydeserved,andifhecoulddowellforhimselfoutoftheprocess,somuchthebetter.

Yeah,allwellandgood,butit’snotgoingtomaketomorrowanymorefun,despitethefactthatyouknewsomethinglikethiswascomingsoonerorlater,hereflected.Butatleastyoudidseeitcoming,unlikethoseothercretins.That’sthereasonyouburiedyourtracksaswellasyoudid.And—hesmiledthinly—ifthewheelscomeoffanyway,you’vegotenoughlittletidbitstuckedawaytoconvinceyouresteemedciviliancolleaguesthey’dbettercoveryourback.Doesn’tmatterhowgoodAbruzziis.Ifyourinsurancefileseverhit thenewschannels, they’realldeadmeat.

Therewasactuallyapartofhimthathoped they’dpushhimintomakingthatverypointtothem.Itwouldbeso…satisfyingtoseethelooksontheirfaceswhentheyrealizedhehadthemallbytheshorthairs.Itwouldbetheequivalentofanuclearexchange,ofcourse;nowaythere’dbeanybridgesbackfromthatkindofconfrontation.Buthewasprettysure theyplannedonstuffinghimouttheairlockasthesacrificialgoatanyway,sohemightaswellgethisfullcredit’sworthoutofitfirst.

Besides—

Arippleofmusicalnotes,thefirstfewbarsoftheoverturefromAdonisofCanisMajor, his favorite opera, announced a comcall on his private, prioritycombination.

Hescowledoutatthecitypanorama,thensighedandpushedhimselftohisfeet. He’d never felt any inclination to surround himself with the bevies ofpersonalattendantsaltogethertoomanyoftheSolarianeliteseemed to require.They were less efficient than properly programmed electronic servants, theychatteredandpestered,theyalwayshadtheirnosesintheiremployers’

affairs, and every one of themwas a potential security breachwaiting tohappen. Besides, he didn’t like being fussed over in the privacy of his ownhome.TherewasenoughofthatintheService!

Hewalkedacrosstothelivingroomcommunicationsterminalandfrownedashe looked at the display.He didn’t recognize the caller’s combination, and

there weren’t that many people who had his combination—not on this line,anyway.

Heshruggedandpressedtheaudio-onlyacceptancekey.“Rajampet,”heannouncedgruffly.“Sid?”avoicehe’dneverheardbeforesaid.“Isthatyou,Sid?”“No,itisn’t!”Rajampetrepliedsharply.“Whoisthis?”“What?” The other voice sounded confused. “I’m sorry, I was trying to

reachSidCastleman.Isn’tthishiscombination?”“No, it isn’t,” Rajampet repeated. “In fact, it’s a secure government

combination!”“Oh,Lord!I’msosorry!”theothervoicesaidquickly.“Imust’vepunchedinthewrongcombination.”“Iguessyoudid,”Rajampetagreedabitnastily.“Well,sorry,”theothervoicerepeated.“Clear.”

Theconnectionwentdead,andRajampetsnortedashehitthetermination

keyathisend.Butthenhiseyesopenedwideasthehandwhichhadjusthitthekeywent right onmoving. It opened the drawer in the com console, the onewherehe’dkeptaloadedpulserforthelastfifteenortwentyT-years.Itreachedinto the drawer, andRajampet’s face erupted in sweat as hewatched his ownfingerswraparound thepulser’sbutt.He fought frantically to stophishand…withoutanysuccessatall.Hetriedtoraisehisvoice,shoutthecodetoactivatethe penthouse’s security systems…but his jaw refused to move and his vocalcordswerestill.

Hismindracedasthepulserrose,histhoughtsgibberinglikeratsinatrap,andthen,tohishorror,hisjawdidmove.Itdroppedsothathisownhandcouldshovetheweapon’smuzzlebetweenhisteeth.

God,God!hethought,callingoutfranticallytothedeityhe’dneverreallybelievedin.Helpme!Helpme!

Therewasnoanswer,andalloyandplasticwerecoldandhardashisteethclosedonthepulser’sbarrel.

Theywereright.ThefriggingMantieswererightallalong,atinycornerofhisbrain realized, like a lastpocketof rationality in ahurricaneof terror.Thebastardsdohavesomekindofnan—

Hisfingersqueezedthetrigger.ChapterThirtyItwasveryquietinthefileroom.People seldom came here, which was hardly surprising. The huge, cool

chamber buried deep under the Solarian LeagueNavy’s primary headquarters

buildingwasonlyoneofseveraldozengivenovertostorageofbackuprecordsofcriticalfiles.Theoreticallycritical,atanyrate.

Although thisparticular storagechamber—RecordsRoom7-191-002-A—wascarriedontheNavy’sFacilitiesListasanactiverecordsrepository, itwasactuallyanarchive.The

“youngest”recordinitwasovereightyT-yearsold,whichmadeitofpurelyhistorical interest even for somethingwith the SLN’s elephantine bureaucracyandponderous,nitpickingmentality.

Despitetheageofthedatastoredinitsfiles,thefactthatitwaslistedasanactive records repository meant not just anybody could come wandering in.Admittancerequiredacertain levelofclearance,which thefour peoplewho’dgathered there all happened to possess. Not that any of their superiors wouldhaveapprovedoftheirvisitifthey’dknownaboutit.

Hopefully,noneofthemeverwould.“Damn,”oneoftheintruderssaidmildly, lookingaroundat rowafter row

ofcomputerchipstoragedrawers.Therewereevenwhatlookedlikefilingcabinetsforpapercopiestowards

the rear of the room, and he shook his head. “This looks like a thoroughlyuseless pile of Navy crap,Daud.And a big one, too. Don’t you people everthrowanythingout?”

The speaker was a tallish fellow in the uniform of the Solarian MarineCorps.Hehadwheat-coloredhair,greeneyes,andthecollarinsigniaofamajor.His right shoulder carried the flash of Marine Intelligence, technically acomponentcommandoftheOfficeofNavalIntelligence,sincetheNavywastheSolarianLeague’sseniorservice. Infact,MarineIntelligencehadgone itsownwaylongago,operatinginitsownspecializedworld—onetheNavyhadneverunderstood…andonewherereasonablyaccurateintelligencewascritical.

“Veryfunny,Bryce,”CaptainDaudal-Fanudahisaiddryly.HewasseveralcentimetersshorterthantheMarineandasdarkasthemajorwasfair.“And,yes,wedooccasionally throw thingsout.Usuallywhenkeeping themmight causeembarrassment for a senior officer. Wouldn’t want to have any unfortunateevidencelyingaroundforthecourt-martial,afterall.”

Captain Irene Teague, twenty T-years younger than al-Fanudahi andFrontierFleettohisBattleFleet,wincedvisibly.Shealsoshookherhead,browneyesmorethanalittleworried.

“Do you think it might be possible for you to indulge in witticisms thatdidn’tmakemeevenmorenervous,Daud?”

sheaskedtestily.

“Sorry about that,” al-Fanudahi said with a trace of genuine apology. “Ithoughtitwasfunny,butIcanseewherenoteveryonemightsharemysenseofhumorinthiscase.”

“Ifthere’sawordoftruthtoyoursuspicions,Idon’tthinkanyone’sgoingtothinkit’sfunnyatall,”thefourthmemberoftheirgroupsaid.ShewaseasilythesmallestofthefoursomeandonlyaverylittleolderthanTeague.SheworetheuniformoftheSolarianGendarmeriewith lieutenantcolonel’s insignia,andshehadasandalwoodcomplexion,almond-shapedeyes,andclose-croppedhairdarkasmidnight.

“Frankly,what I’mhoping is thatyou’regoing to turnout tobe a totallyoff-the-wall, lunatic nutcase, despite Major Tarkovsky’s having vouched foryou,” shewent on,waving one hand at theMarineMajor, and her voicewashard.“Unfortunately,Idon’tthinkyouare.Nottotallyoff-the-wall,atanyrate.”

“I’dlike tobewrongmyself,ColonelOkiku,”al-Fanudahisaidsomberly.“I’mnot, though.Mindyou, I’mnowhereclose tohavingall the answers—orevenmost of the answers—but I think I’ve least figured out the questionsweneedtobeaskingourselves.”

“All of the questions?” Major Tarkovsky asked, opening his eyes wide.“Gosh,Daud!Ithoughtwewerejustgettingstarted!”

“OhmyGod,” Teaguemuttered just loud enough for the others to hear.“He’sworsethanDaud!”

“Oh,no,no!”Tarkovskyshookhisheadvigorously.“Nobody’sworsethanDaud,CaptainTeague,butIdotrytobeatleastas

bad.”Hesmiledverybriefly.“It’stheonlythingthat’skeptmesaneforthelastfewyears.”

His voice was much harsher on the final sentence, and all four of themlookedatoneanother.

“All right,” Lieutenant ColonelOkiku said after a moment. “I’m here atBryce’s invitation,Captainal-Fanudahi,but Iunderstand this is basically yourshow.

Wouldyouliketostarttheballrolling?”“I can do that,” al-Fanudahi replied, leaning back against one of the tall

chip storage cases. “But first, howmuch do you know about thewayONI isorganized?”

“Notalot,”Okikuadmitted.“ThenI’dbettergiveyouatleastthehighpointsbeforeIgetintoallthis.“ONI’s divided into four sections. Section One is Operational Analysis,

where Irene and Bryce and I all work, one way or another, under AdmiralCheng.Intheory,we’reresponsibleforanalyzingoperationaldata—ourownand

reports on other navies—in order to identify trends and potential operationalproblems or shortcomings. We’re also supposed to generate intelligence inresponse to specific requests or needs—for an operation against a specificopponentorstarsystem, forexample—whichmeanswe should have been theleadanalystsfor‘RagingJustice.’

“SectionTwo is theOfficeofTechnicalAnalysis,ViceAdmiralHoover’sbailiwick,whichissupposedtoprovideOpAnwithcurrentinformationontechdevelopments—our own and those of the various system defense forces andothernavies—tosupportouranalyses.SectionThreeistheOfficeofEconomicAnalysis, under Captain Gweon, though he’s practically brand new, which isresponsiblefortrackingeconomictrendsand informationofspecific interest totheNavy.AndSectionFouristheOfficeofCounterIntelligence,RearAdmiralYau’sshop.”

Hepausedtogivehertimetodigestthat,thenshrugged.“Basically, I’ve been pretty much considered the Office of Operational

Analysis’petparanoiacforthelastseveralT-years.I’vehadthispeculiarnotionthattheMantiesmightactuallybedevelopingsomethingnewinthewayofwar-fightingtechnology.Ridiculous,ofcourse.

Everyone knows the invincible Solarian League Navy’s technology issuperiortothatofeveryoneelseintheexploredgalaxy!”

His tone could have eaten holes in an engine room’s deck plates, Okikunoted,andhiseyesweremorebittereventhanhisvoice.

“I’llconfessthatnotevenIhadacluejusthowfaraheadofustheMantieshadactuallygotten,”hecontinued.“Anditwasn’treallythatIhadanybrilliantinsightsaboutManticoretopromptmysuspicions,either—

notwhenIstarted.What Ididknow,was thatOpAn,TechnicalAnalysis,andONIingeneraldidn’thaveanydamnedideawhatwasreallygoingonanywhere.Thatwasn’tourjobanymore.Ourjobwastocomeupwiththefeel-goodreportsthatwouldtelloursuperiorstheywerestillmastersoftheuniverse.

“Unfortunately, I had this odd idea that since we were the Office ofOperational Analysis, we might actually try doing some analysis of realoperationaldata.SoIstartedpokingmynoseintothingspeopleprobablywishedI’dhaveleftwellenoughalone,andIreallyirritatedViceAdmiralHoover.Forsomereason,sheseemedtofeelmyinterestinsuchmatterssuggestedTechnicalAnalysishadn’tbeendoingitsjobverywell.Gofigure.”

Hesmiledcrookedly.“Inthecourseofmyjourneyintounpopularity,Ibegantorealizereportsof

new Manticoran and Havenite weapons developments and new tactical and

strategicdoctrineshadbeensystematicallysuppressed.Theydidn’tsuitthepartyline, and our ownprejudices—our certainty thatwehad to have the best techanywhere—created a natural set of blinders. That can happen to anyone, Isuppose,butnoonewaseven trying toallowfor theproblemorgetpast it tolookatwhatwasreallyhappening,andatleastsomeofitwasdeliberate,comingfrompeopleprotectingtheirownlittlepatchesofturf.

PeoplelikeAdmiralPolydoruoveratSystemsDevelopment,forexample,whereanysuggestionwemightbedroppingbehindwasanathema.Or,forthatmatter, Vice Admiral Hoover’s people, who seemed more concerned withestablishingthattheyhadn’tmissedanysignificantnewdevelopmentsthanwithfiguring outwhether or there’dbeen any newdevelopments.And no onewasevenworried about the implications. It couldn’t reallymatterwhat abunchofneobarbswas up to, after all. Couldn’t have any significance for theSolarianLeague,nowcouldit?”

Heshookhishead,hisexpressiondisgusted.“I’lladmitittookmeyearstoget to thepointof realizinghowbad things

weremyself,andIwasatleasttryingtodomyjob,soIsupposeIshouldn’thavebeentoosurprisedatwhathappenedwhenIstartedsuggestingwemightwanttolookalittlemorecloselyatthoseridiculousrumors.Whatdidhappen,ofcourse,wasthatmycareerprospectstookasuddenturnfortheworse.IwasalreadyontheAdmiralty’sshitlistbecauseI’dbeenmakingwavesatOpAn;thesuggestionthattherecouldbeanythingatalltothestoriesaboutnewManticoranmissilesorinertialcompensatorsonlymadeitworse.Fortunately,I’datleastbeensmartenoughnottohandovertheactualreportsI’dcollected.Aslongas Iwasonlysuggestingtherewerevaguerumorsthatshouldbelookedinto,Iwasanuisanceandacrackpotbutnotanactivethreattoanyone’scareer.

Theyweresatisfiedtotuckmeawayinmydead-endlittleassignmentandignoreme.

“That,alas,waswhenIrenefellintomyclutches.”HesmiledsuddenlyatTeague.“It tookme awhile to corrupt her properly, but after I’d exposed her to

thosetoxicreportsI’dcollected,shecaughtthesameleprosyIhad.Imanagedtoconvincehertokeephermouthshut,though.Havingoneofusonthelunaticlistwasbadenough,andIfiguredifandwhenthecenticreditfinallydropped,ONIwasgoingtoneedsomeonewhohadaclue.SinceIalsofiguredoneofthefirstthingsthey’ddowouldbetogivemetheaxforhavingdaredtoberightwhenthePowersThatBehadbeenwrong,Ihopedkeepingheroutofthelineoffirewould let herbe that someonewith a clue.Then thiswhole situationwith theManties blew up, seemingly out of nowhere, and all of a sudden people like

AdmiralThimárwereactuallyaskingmeforbriefings.“NotthatitdidEleventhFleetanydamnedgood.”Hissmilevanishedabruptly.“IdidmybesttoconvinceJennings,Bernard,andKingsfordthewholeidea

was insane, but they weren’t interested in listening. Bernard, in particular,seemedespeciallyeagertopushRagingJusticeasaviablestrategicoption,andshe didn’t want to hear anything that might have thrown cold water on herproposal.”

Hepaused,oneeyebrowarched,andOkikunodded.She was Gendarmerie, not military, but she recognized the names. Fleet

Admiral Evangeline Bernard was the CO over at the Office of Strategy andPlanning.FleetAdmiralWinstonKingsfordwasthecommanderofBattleFleet,which made him second only to Chief of Naval Operations Rajampet in theSLN’shierarchy,andAdmiralWillisJenningswasKingsford’schiefofstaff.

“Kingsfordseemedalittlemoredoubtful,”al-Fanudahicontinued,“buthewasn’t arguing, and he wasn’t pushing formore information. That led me toconcludethatthemastermindreallybehinditallwasAdmiralRajampethimself.I thinkBernard really believed her own arguments about theManties’moralebeing on the edge of collapse after that attack on their home system, but shewouldn’thavepusheditthathardifithadn’tbeensponsoredfromonhigh.AndifKingsfordwas less thanwildly enthusiastic, that really left only one personwhocouldbedoingthepushing.”

“IfitwasRajampet’sidea,whynotpushithimself?”Okikuasked.“Doesn’tworkthatway,Natsuko,”Tarkovskysaid.“It’scalleddeniability.IhopeDaudandIrenewon’tgettoopissedwithme

forpointingthisout,buttheNavy’sahellofalotmoreofabureaucracythanafightingmachinethesedays,andcreatingtherightpaper trail’smore importantthan formulating the best strategy. If Rajampet could get Bernard to push theRaging Justice concept from below, he could ‘endorse’ it without owningresponsibility for it. He was simply listening to his subordinates—thesubordinateswhoweresupposedtobemakingstrategyrecommendations,givinghim a menu of options, for that matter—like a good officer. And in a way,Bernardwas protected, too. She’d recommended the strategy, but she had noauthority to implement it.Thedecision toadopt her recommendation laywiththeoperationalcommanders

—whoalwayshadtheoptionofnotadoptingit—soonceRajampetsignedoffon it,she didn’town it, either.Thatmeant responsibilitycouldbedroppedsomewherebetweenherdeskandhis,withoutsplashingonthecareerofeither

ofthem,ifitwentsour.”Okikulookedathimforamoment,asifshesuspectedhewaspullingher

leg.Thensheshruggedandturnedbacktoal-Fanudahi.“I’llacceptitworksthewayBrycehasjustexplained,Captain.ButIdon’t

thinkyouarrangedthisthoroughlyclandestineandconspiratorialmeetingjusttocomplainabouthavingyouradviceignored.”

“No,Ididn’t,”al-Fanudahiagreedgrimly.“The thing is, Colonel, that it’s part of a pattern. Oh, I keep reminding

myselfnevertoascribetomalice—orenemyaction—whatcanbeexplainedbygoodold-fashionedincompetenceandbureaucraticinertia.AndwhenyoucrankinNavynepotism, cronyism, corruption,graft, andcareerism,you can explainprettymuchanythingwithoutrequiringsomekindofmalignoutside influence.Butthere’smoretoitthistime.”

Hepaused,clearlyhesitating,andOkikusmiledthinly.“Letmeguess,Captainal-Fanudahi.You’reabouttosuggesttomethatthe

Manties’ allegations of ‘malign outside influence’ in the form of this MesanAlignmentoftheirswasresponsibleforit?”

“Tosomeextent,yes,”hesaid,andpausedagain,watchingherexpressionclosely.

“Ihope you realize how thoroughly insane that sounds,” she said after amoment.“AnddespitethestrictlylimitedfaithInormallyput inEducationandInformation’sversionofgalactic events, thenotion thatManticore’s fabricatedallofthistocoveritsownactionsandambitionsactuallyseemsmorelikelythanthat anyone could have carried off some kind of interstellar conspiracy for somany T-centuries without anyone catching them at it. Permanent SeniorUndersecretary Abruzzi’s argument that the Manties’ claims would only beexpectedoutofsomeonewhoactuallywasresponsibleforatleastenablingtheBallroomtocarryouttheGreenPinesbombinghangstogetherprettywell,too.”

“Isee,”al-Fanudahisaidflatly.“Myproblemhere,Captain,”Okikucontinued, “is that Ihaveanaturally

suspiciousmind.It’sthereasonIwentintotheCriminalInvestigationDivision.Well,thatandthefactthatIwasneverparticularlyinterestedinbreakingheadsoutintheProtectoratesforthegreatergloryoftheOfficeofFrontierSecurity.”She grimaced impatently. “I have the sort of brain that gets suspicious whenthingshangtogethertoowell.It’sausefulsortofmindsetwhenyoustartpickingapartsuspects’alibis.AndI’vediscoveredthatifithangstogethertooperfectlytobetrue,itprobablyisn’t.True,Imean.Reallifetendstobesloppy,notneatandtidy.”

“Isee,”al-Fanudahirepeatedinaratherdifferenttone,andshegavehima

quick,fleetingsmile.“Don’t get me wrong,” she cautioned. “I’m not about to buy anymagic

beansfromyou,Captain.Ifyouwanttobringmeonboard,you’regoingtohaveto do better than offering me some unsubstantiated suspicions. On the otherhand,Brycehere”—she twitchedherhead inTarkovsky’sdirection—“vouchesforyou,andIconsiderhimaprettygoodcharacterwitness.So that’sgoing tobuyyouatleastsomecredibility.”

“I’lltrynottoabuseBryce’sconfidence,”al-Fanudahipromised.“Good.Andnow,youweresaying…?”“Ihaveno ideaat thispointhowmuchofwhat theMantiesareselling is

accurate,”al-Fanudahisaid.“IdoknowIhaven’tbeenabletocomeupwithanyreason the Star Kingdom—or the Star Empire, I suppose, now—shoulddeliberatelypickafightwiththeLeague,though.IalsoknowJosefByngwasananti-Manty bigot who couldn’t have poured piss out of a boot if it had theinstructionsprintedon theheel,andwhenitcametofindingherasswithbothhands,SandraCrandallwasevenworse,assumingthatwashumanlypossible.Ican’t conceive of amore disastrous choice of commanders for an areawheretensionswererunninghigh,yetsomehowtheybothendedupoutintheTalbottQuadrant.And I’ve goneback and looked atCrandall’s deployment plan.Shewasscheduledforher‘trainingexercise’beforetheBattleofMonica.Ihaven’tbeen able to verify whether or not Byng had already been selected for hiscommand at that point, aswell. I suspect he hadbeen, although I’m trying tokeepanopenmindonthatpoint,butitwasdefinitelytrueforher.

Sosupposing therewas any truth tomy suspicions that someone besidesManticorewasstirringthepotoutinTalbott,itwasobviousithadtobesomeonewithalotofjuice.

“Then there was Filareta’s fortuitous deployment to Tasmania. Youprobablydon’trealizehowunusualconcentrationsofships-of-the-wall thatbigreally are, Colonel. I, on the other hand, went back and checked the records.There have been exactly five deployments of seventy or more wallers—includingCrandall’sandFilareta’s

—inthelasttwohundredandforty-threeT-years,andwehavebothofthemtakingplacesimultaneously.”

“Suggestive,yes,”Okikusaidthoughtfully,“butstillonlyspeculative.”“Agreed.”Al-Fanudahinodded.“Butthat’swhereBrycecomesin.”“Bryce?”OkikusoundedabitsurprisedandcockedherheadattheMarine.“I know you’re aware Marine Intelligence is under the ONI umbrella,

Natsuko,” he said. “What you may not be aware of, since we don’t exactlyadvertiseit, isthatwe’reaprettyindependentoutfit.Therearealotofreasons

forthat,but,frankly,themainoneisthatwegotdroppedinthecrapperoncetoooftenbyfaultyNavyintelligence.Wegottiredoftakingitintheneckbecauseabunch of Navy pukes—no offense, Daud and Irene—didn’t know their assesfromtheirelbowswheregroundoperationswereconcerned.Thingsworka lotbetterwithushandlingourownintelfunctions,andFrontierFleetgotbehindusand supported us because they’re the oneswho usually have to carry the canfromtheNavysidewhensomethinggoeswronginajointoperation.”

It was his turn to pause, one eyebrow crooked, and she nodded a bitimpatientlytoshowsheunderstood.

“Well,there’sanothersidetoit,too,”hesaid,histoneconsiderablyflatter.“Iknowyou’reawareofthekindofshittheGendarmeriegetsinvolvedinoutintheProtectorates.Trustme,whattheCorpsgetshandedcanbeevenworse,andsometimes the poor SOB theoretically in command of the ground op doesn’thaveanyideawhatkindofsnakepithe’sabouttodrophisMarinesinto.Whatwith transstellars inbedwithOFS, localcollaborators eager to sell out for thebestpricetheycanget,andpoordamnedbastardstoodumbtorealizetheycan’tfight,itcanturnintoacluster fuck innothingflat.Becauseof that,oneof thethingswetrytodoiskeeptrackofasmanyplayersaspossible.Infact,forthelast fifteen or twenty T-years, Brigadier Osterhaut’s been keeping track of asmanyNavyplayersaspossible.Anawfullotofseniorflagofficershavecrawledintobedwiththerestofthebottomfeeders,andshelikestobeabletogiveourMarine expeditionary force COs at least an unofficial, ‘we-never-had-this-conversation’ heads-up if one of the senior Navy officers involved in hisoperationhasironsofhisowninthefire.”

Hepausedagain,waitinguntilshenoddedoncemore.Itwasaslowernod,thistime—athoughtful,consideringone.“I’ve been theBrigadier’s pointman on the garbage detail forseveral T-

years,”Tarkovskytoldher.“Asamatteroffact,that’showIfirstmetDaud.Andwe’vegotsomeinterestingdossiersinourburn-before-readingfiles.

For example, we had dossiers on both Sandra Crandall and AdmiralFilareta.”Hisexpressiontwistedindistaste.

“Neitherofthemwasanygreatprize,andsomeofthethingswefoundoutaboutFilaretaareenoughtomakeyourstomachcrawl.But theother thingwefoundoutaboutthemisthatbothofthemhadcloseconnections—

primarilyfinancialinCrandall’scase;abitmore…complicatedinFilareta’s—withManpowerofMesa.”Okiku’seyeswidened,andhenodded.“Bothofthem,Natsuko.Andbothofthemjusthappenedtofindthemselves

in command of major fleet deployments within striking distance of Manty

territory when Mesa started getting nervous about Manty expansion in itsdirection.We’renotsureaboutByng.Weknowhehadconnectionswithsomeofthetransstellars,butwehaven’tbeenabletofindadirectlinkbetweenhimandMesa.On theotherhand,givenhisattitude towardsManties, itwouldn’t havetakenverymuchtoconvincehimtogooutandmaketroubleforthem.”

“Andspeakingassomeonewho’sspentafewT-weekspullingtherecordsandanalyzingByng’scareer—andhisperformanceinexercises—”al-Fanudahiputin,“hewouldhavebeentheperfectchoicetodoexactlywhatMesawantedevenwithout having knowingly signed on for it.He hated theMantieswith apassionandhehadevenmorecontemptforthemthanmostBattleFleetofficers.Gethimintothevicinityofanyoftheirnavalforces,andhecouldbeabsolutelyreliedupontoprovokeanincident—

almost certainly a disastrous incident, from our perspective, given histowering incompetence—right on schedule. Especially if someone wasmanipulatingthesituationthewaytheMantiesclaimMesawas.”

“WithCrandallparkedcloseenoughathandtosweepupthepiecesafterhegothimselfreamed,”Okikusaidslowly,hereyesintentlynarrowed.

“Ortogetherselfreamedasawaytopumpextrahydrogeninto thefire,”IreneTeaguesuggestedsoftly.

Okiku looked at her sharply, and the Frontier Fleet captain shrugged. “Ithought Daud was out of his mind when he first suggested that possibility,Colonel.But themoreI thought about it, themore likely it seemed.And thenthisbrilliantideaofsendingEleventhFleetout to repeatCrandall’sexperienceonagranderscalecamealong.”

“You’re suggesting someone deliberately got all those spacers killed bymaneuveringtheNavyintobattlesitcouldn’twin?Isthatwhatyou’resaying?”

“That’s what I’ve started to think, at any rate,” al-Fanudahi admittedsomberly. “It didn’t make any sense to me at first, though. Why wouldManpower,which has always hated theManties—and vice versa—arrange ananti-Manty strategy that wasn’t going to work? Anybody willing to make afortune off something as disgusting as the genetic slave trade probably isn’tgoing to lose any sleepover getting a fewmillionSolarian spacers killed, butwhat was the point? Manticore basically only had to reload betweenengagements. We were that outclassed, and I couldn’t convince myself thatanybody able to arrange something like this could have had such piss-poorintelligencetheywouldn’trealizewhatwasgoingtohappen.”

“Fromwhatyou’resaying,wedidn’trealizeit,”Okikupointedout.“No, but ifmy suspicionswere correct,we didn’t arrange it, either,” he

retorted. “And then, after Spindle, there was that ‘mystery attack’ on the

Manties’homesystem.Trustme,Colonel,thatwasn’tus.Wedon’thaveacluehowwhoeveritwaspulleditoff,andthere’snowayinhellwecould’vedonethesame thing.One thing that’s justbecomeprettydamnedpainfullyobvious,however, is that Admiral Thimár’s theory that whoever did it had to havecrippled theManties’defensesonhisway inwasout to lunch.But the salientpoint that occurred to me was that if it wasn’t us, it was almost certainlyManpower,unlessIwantedtoassumetherewasyetanotherthird-partyouttherewhohaditinforManticore.OnlyifManpowerhadthatsortofresources,thenithadn’tneededusinthefirstplace.”

“You’remakingmyheadhurt,Captain,”Okikucomplained,andhesnorted.“Ihadmyownshareofheadaches trying toworkmyway throughallof

thisinthefirstplace,ColonelOkiku,”heassuredher.“Sowhereisallofitgoing?”sheasked.“Until theMantiesand theHavenitesdropped their littlebombshell about

this‘MesanAlignment,’IreallyonlyhadwhatIsupposeyou’dhavetocallagutfeeling,”hesaid.“TheonlythingIcouldcomeupwithwasthatforsomereasonwhoeverwas really orchestrating all of thiswanted theLeague involved.Andthetruthiswe’vebecomesofriggingcorruptitwouldn’thavebeenallthathardtoarrange,especiallywhennoonehadanyreasontoseethiscoming.Justthreeorfourseniorflagofficerscouldhaveputthewholethingtogether,iftheyweretherightseniorofficers.Ahalf-dozenwould’vebeenmorethanenough.

“But if whoever the plotters were realized how thoroughly we wereoutclassedbytheManties,thentheycouldn’thaveexpectedustotakethemout.Notquicklyorcleanly,anyway.Notwithoutahellofalotoflossesofourown.Sowhythrowusintothemixatall?

“I’d already begun to suspect—that ‘gut feeling’ I mentioned—that theMantiesweren’t thereal target.Or,at least,not theonlytarget.And likeI toldIreneatthetime,theonlyothertargetontherangewasus.Itseemedridiculous,butitwastheonlyconclusionIcouldcomeupwith.

“And then Pritchart announced therewas this vast interstellar conspiracywhichhadtargetedboththeStarEmpireandtheRepublicofHaven.Onewhich—assuming there was any real basis for her claims—was obviouslymanipulatingtheLeague’spolicies.Andonewhichobviouslyhad itsown ideaofhowthegalaxy’spowerstructureshouldbearranged…whichprobablydidn’tincludetheconspirators’playingsecondfiddletotheLeagueindefinitely.”

“Are you seriously suggesting that this conspiracy the Manties and theHavenites are talkingaboutnotonly existsbut isalsoaimedatdestroying theSolarianLeague,aswellastheManties?”

“I’mnotsureitwantstodestroytheLeague,”al-Fanudahiresponded.“Ido

thinkitwantstocrippleus,maybebreakusup,though.”Hewavedbothhandsin frustration. “Lookatwhat’shappening!TheNavy’s taking it in theear; theManties’ closure of the wormhole networks means the League’s economy isabouttobehammeredlikeit’sneverbeenhammeredbefore;andwe’reheadingintoafull-blownconstitutionalcrisis.ForthefirsttimeinT-centuries,peopleareactually talking about theConstitution…and the fact thatwe haven’t paid anydamnedattentiontoitinthelastsixorsevenhundredyears.Anddon’tthinkforaminutethatthebeatingwe’vetakenfromtheMantiesisn’tgoingtosendtidalwaves through the Verge and the Protectorates, Colonel Okiku. It is—believeme, it is!Andwhenallhellbreaks looseout there,andwhentheCoreWorldsstart lookingat theworst recession they’veeverseenandblamingitallon thepolicyof a bunchof unelectedbureaucrats, I think it’s entirelypossiblewe’regoingtostartsheddingmembersystems.

For thatmatter, I think it’s possiblewe’re going to see the entire federalgovernment melt down completely. I know that seems preposterous—we’retalkingabouttheSolarianLeague—butitreallycouldhappen.”

He stopped talking, and silence hovered in the records storage room forlong,fragileseconds.ThenOkikushookherhead.

“My God,” she said softly. “No wonder people think you’re a fuckinglunatic!Butyoureallycouldberight.”

Sheshookherheadagain,herexpressionanoddmixofwonderandfear.“Youcould.”

“Believeme, there’snothingI’dlikebetter thantobewrong,”hetoldherequallysoftly.

“Sowhybringmeinonit?”sheaskedafteramoment.“Trustme,I’mnotgoingtobethankingyouforit.Ifthere’sanythingatall

to this theory of yours, whoever the conspirators are—‘MesanAlignment’ orsomeoneelseentirely—theysureashellaren’tshyaboutkillingpeople.

I’djustassoonnotgivethemareasontoaddmetotheirlist.”“You and me both,” al-Fanudahi said feelingly. Then he shrugged. “The

problemis,theyhavetobetiedinatthehighestlevels,andIdon’thaveacluehowtofindthem.I’manintelligenceanalyst,notacriminalinvestigator.Itrulythink—I’mtrulyafraid—I’montosomethinghere,butIdon’thaveacluehowto go about investigating it, and the Office of Counter Intelligence has beenbasicallyaplacetoparkpeoplewithmorefamilyconnectionsthancompetencefordecades.RearAdmiralYau’sabilitiesare…lessthanstellar,let’ssay,andtherest of his section takes its cue from him. For that matter, if I were out to

engineer the covert penetrationof another navy, thevery first place I’d set upshopwouldbe inside that othernavy’s counter intelligence service inorder tomakesuremyoperativesdidn’tgetcaught.Idon’tdarehandthistoOCIwithoutat least some idea ofwho’s inwhose pocket, and I can’t just go to Justice orhand it over to the JAG for investigation without going to OCI first. Theprocedures simply aren’t there, and it would just get kicked back to Yau,probably with a pretty pointed observation that I should have gone throughchannelsinthefirstplace.SoIneedyourexpertise,andIneeditwithoutanyoneelse’sknowingwe’vetalked.”

“Youaresogoingtogetallofuskilled,”Okikusaidgrimly.“Itmayactuallybeevenworse thanyouknow,”hesaid,andshruggedas

hereyesnarrowedoncemore.“Ithasn’thitthe‘faxesyet,butthey’renotgoingtobeabletoholditforlong.”

“Holdwhatforlong?”shedemanded.“IthinkI’vefiguredoutwhothetopleveloftheAlignment’sNavycontacts

was,”hetoldher.“Andit lookstomelike theremayactuallybesomething totheManties’—and the Havenites’—wild stories about some kind of nanotechthatcancontrolmindsandmakepeopledothings.”

“Oh,givemeabreak!”Okiku’s tonewas testier than itmighthavebeen,probablyinreactiontoherowninnertension,hethought.“Imaygrantyouvastinterstellarconspiracies,butmindcontrol?Please!”

“I felt the sameway,”al-Fanudahi said. “But thatwasbefore I foundoutAdmiralRajampetputapulserinhismouthandpulledthetriggerlastnight.”

ChapterThirty-OneFleetAdmiralWinston SethKingsfordwas barely half the ageRajampet

Kaushal Rajani had attained, Innokentiy Kolokoltsov thought as Kingsfordsteppedintohisoffice.HewasalsoatleasttwiceRajampet’ssize.

AndunlikeRajani,he’sstillalive,Kolokoltsovreflected.Whichmayormaynotbeagoodthing.

“Mr.PermanentSeniorUndersecretary,”thefleetadmiralsaidrespectfully,andKolokoltsovnoddedbacktohim.

“Fleet Admiral Kingsford. Thank you for coming so promptly. I didn’treallyexpectyoutobeabletogethereforanothercoupleofhours.”

“Iwon’tpretendthingsaren’tstillinanuproarattheAdmiralty,”Kingsfordsaid. “There’s notmuch I can contribute there at the moment, though, and itseemed important to get over here and touch base with you as quickly aspossible.”Hismouthtwistedbriefly.“AdmiralRajampet’ssuicideleavesalotofthingsupintheairattheworstpossiblemoment.”

Kingsford, Kolokoltsov thought, had a genuine gift for summing up theobvious. Then the permanent senior undersecretary kicked himself mentally.NobodyelsewasdoinganybettercopingwithRajampet’sdeath.Irritatingasthemanhadbeen,he’dalsobeenaservingofficeroftheSolarianLeagueNavyforthe better part of a hundred and tenT-years and chief of naval operations foralmostfourdecades.Gettingusedtohisabsencewasgoingtotaketime.

ButatleastKingsford—oranyone,really—isboundtobeanimprovement!“Please, sit down, Fleet Admiral,” he said, and watched Kingsford seat

himself.Oncethenavalofficerhadsettled,Kolokoltsovsatbackdownhimselfand cocked his head. “I understand you’re Admiral Rajampet’s propersuccessor?”

“Iwasnextinseniority,andthatmakesmetheactingCNO,Sir,”Kingsfordreplied. “Filling the post on a permanent basis is a bit more complicated.Ministry of Defense Taketomo needs to formally nominate someone for theposition. Then, under the Constitution, the Assembly has to confirm thenomination.”

Heactuallysaidthatwithastraightface,Kolokoltsovobserved.MinistryofDefenseTaketomoKunimichiwasacompletenonentityintermsofrealpower.He’dnominatewhoeverKolokoltsovandhiscolleaguessuggested,and

“Assemblyconfirmation”wouldfollowwithautomaticprecision.“I see.” The permanent senior undersecretary of state smiled. “Given the

factthatit’sbeen—what?Thirty-sevenT-years?—sincewelasthadtoreplaceachiefofnavaloperations,everyone’sgoingtobealittlerustyontheprocedure,Isuppose.I thinkwecanassumeyouractingstatuswillbeconfirmedandmadepermanentassoonaspossible.”

“Iappreciatethat,Sir,”Kingsfordsaid,thenallowedhimselfawrysmileofhisown.“Underthecircumstances,I’mnotsureit’sgoingtobeaveryenjoyablejob,youunderstand.”

“Oh,believeme,Iunderstand.Iunderstandcompletely.”Therewassilenceforamoment,thenKolokoltsovleanedbackinhischair

andsteepledhisfingersacrosshischest.“I realize you’ve been acting CNO for less than twelve hours, Fleet

Admiral,andIdon’twant topressureyouunduly.At thesame time,youwereBattleFleet’scommandingofficer,andIhavetoassumeyou’veworkedcloselywithFleetAdmiralRajampetforsometime.

Frankly, thatcontinuity isoneof thereasonsIbelieveMinisterTaketomowilldefinitelynominateyouasFleetAdmiralRajampet’sreplacement.Ihopeitalsomeansyou’reinapositiontogiveusyourevaluationofthecurrentmilitarysituationandofhowyouthinkweshouldbestproceed.”

“That’s a pretty steep order, Mr. Permanent Senior Undersecretary,”Kingsfordrespondedafteramoment.

“Andabitofanawkwardone,too,giventhatFleetAdmiralRajampetandIweren’tincompleteagreementoneitherofthosepoints.”

“No?”Kolokoltsovleanedabitfurtherback.“Howso?”“IhadsomereservationsaboutOperationRagingJustice,”Kingsfordsaid.

“I didn’t oppose it. In retrospect, I wish I had, but at the time it was firstdiscussed, Ionlysuggested that rushing itasmuchaswedidmightnotbe thebestapproach.Rajani—FleetAdmiralRajampet,Imean

—scentedapossibleopeningandwanted togethisblow inasquicklyaspossible,beforetheMantieshad time to recover fromtheattackon theirhomesystem.I understood the logic, but I felt the inevitable delay in projecting anattackover thatgreatan interstellar distancewas likely to give the enemy toomuchtimetorecoverhisstrategicbalance.

“In fairness, I have to admit my reservations were nowhere near aspronouncedaswhatI’vejustsaidmightindicate.Foronething,Ihadnomoreidea than anyone else that theHavenitesmight actually ally themselves to theManties. I don’t thinkanybody saw that one coming. Iwas simply concernedaboutgettingintoodeeplytooquickly.”Heshrugged.“Inmyworstnightmares,I never envisioned anything as disastrous aswhat happened to Fleet AdmiralFilareta,however.ItwouldbegrosslyunfairtoRajani—and,forthatmatter,toFilareta—topretendIhadanybetterideaofwhatwasgoingtohappenthantheydid.”

“Thenwhyraisethepointatall?”Kolokoltsovinquired.“BecausethereasonIhadmyreservationsaboutOperationRagingJustice

is that I believed therewas rathermore truth—or could be, at any rate—thanRajanididtothestoriesaboutManticoranmissileranges.Ihadn’trealizedhowthoroughly they appear to have transitioned to pod-launched missiles, or thatthey’d incorporated an FTL component into their fire control, but I did thinkevidencesuggestedtheytrulyhadsignificantlyincreasedtheirmissiles’effectiverange.Underthecircumstances,Iwouldhavepreferredtotestthewatersalittlebefore we committed a wall of battle to action. Better to have lost a fewbattlecruisershereortherethantohavethreeorfourhundredSDsblownoutofspace.”

“Isee.”Kolokoltsovwonderedhowmuchofthatwastrueandhowmuchspin.Ontheotherhand,Kingsfordhadbeenaroundlongenough toknowhowthegamewasplayed.Hewouldn’thavesaidwhathe’djustsaidiftherehadn’tbeenapaper trailofmemossomewherewhich could at least be interpreted tosupporttheanalysishe’djustdelivered.

“Should I assume, then, Fleet Admiral, that you’d be opposed to anyadditionalfleetactionsatthistime?”

“Mr. Permanent Senior Undersecretary,” Kingsford said flatly, “any‘additional fleet actions’ could only be one-sided massacres. Even assumingwhatHarrington said toFilareta in the recordings they’ve sent us represents afullstatementoftheircapabilities,withoutholdinganynastytacticalsurprisesinreserve,we simply can’tmatch them at this time. There probably hasn’t beenthisgreatanimbalanceincombatpowersincetheintroductionofthemachine-gunputanendtomassedinfantryassaults.”

Kolokoltsov’s eyes widened, despite himself, at the frankness of thatresponse.Itwasrefreshingly—andutterly

—differentfromanythingRajampethadeversaid.“It’sreallythatbad?”heasked,curioustoseehowfarareKingsfordwould

go.“It’sprobablyworsethanthat,frankly,especiallywithHavenaddedto the

equation,”theactingCNOsaidunflinchingly.“Forallintentsandpurposes,theReserve has just become several billion tons of scrap material. Thesuperdreadnoughtswehavemothballedare thewrongships for thiswar,and Idon’tseeanywaytheexistinghullscouldberefittedtoturnthemintoeffectivecombatants.”

Well, that’s a kick in the head,Kolokoltsov thought dourly.On the otherhand,ifOmosupeandAgatáareright,wewon’thavethecashtoreactivatetheReserve,anyway.Ofcourse,thatleavesthelittleproblemofwherewe’regoingtofindthecashtobuildnewwallersifwecan’tevendemothballtheoneswe’vealreadygot!

“Are you saying we should just go ahead and surrender?” he asked,deliberatelyputtinganedgeintohisvoice,andKingsfordshookhishead.

“Forbetterorworse,Sir,Idon’tthinkwecan.Whetherwewant tofightornot,wedon’thaveachoiceafter thedefeats

we’ve suffered. And that’s what they were, Mr. Senior PermanentUndersecretary—makenomistakeaboutthat,becausenobodyintheVergewill.It’snotjusttheMantiesandHaveniteswehavetoworryabout.We’regoing tohaveotherpeople,otherstar systems,pushing to seehow theycanexploit thesituation.

Wecancontainalotofthat,sincenoneofthoseothersystemswillhavethekindofmissilestheMantiesandHavendo,butifwedon’tultimatelydefeatthepeoplewho’vehurtusthisbadly,theirexample’sgoingtoremainandwe’llbefightingsmallerscalewarsfordecades.”

“I see. But if we can’t send our wall of battle out to fight their wall ofbattle,whatdowedo?”

“Actually,Sir,ifImay,I’dliketobringinoneofouranalyststopresentalittleadditionalbackgroundbeforeIrespondtothatquestion.”

“Whatsortofanalyst,FleetAdmiral?”“CaptainGweon,Sir—CaptainCaswellGweon.He’stheCOoftheOffice

ofEconomicAnalysisoveratONI.”“Really? Only a captain?” Kolokoltsov said with a small smile, and

Kingsfordsmiledback.“He’salreadybeenselectedforrearadmiral,Sir.Hisname’sonthenextlist

tobesubmittedtotheAssemblyforapproval.”“I see,”Kolokoltsov repeated. “Verywell, Fleet Admiral. How soon can

CaptainGweongethere?”“Ifyouhavethetimeforitnow,Sir,he’swaitingwithyourassistant.”“Ah.”Kolokoltsovtouchedakeyonhischairarm.“Astrid?”“Yes,sir?”afemalevoicesaidoutofthinair.“IfyouhaveaCaptainGweonsquirreledawayinyouroffice,wouldyoube

kindenoughtosendhiminnow?”“Ofcourse,Sir.”The office door opened to admit a somewhat taller than average,

immaculately uniformed SLN captain with brown hair and brown eyes. HestruckKolokoltsovaslookingevenyoungerthanhisrankwouldhavesuggested,and the permanent senior undersecretary frowned slightly as Astrid Wanguploaded a brief bio on to the holo display which could be seen only frombehindKolokoltsov’sdesk.

Itwasaverybriefbiointhiscase,consistingofaboutthebarestbonevitalstatistics he’d ever seen. Normally, he would have expected much more, butGweon wasn’t one of the political figures Astrid would already have hadprepackagedbiosfor.

Notasyoungashe’dthought,Kolokoltsovobserved.Prolong could fool anyone, but it must’ve worked uncommonly well in

Gweon’scase.Hescarcelylookedsixty-fiveT-yearsold,atanyrate!Withoutamore detailed bio,Kolokoltsov couldn’tbe certain, but it looked as ifGweonwaswell connectedwithin the Navy’s hierarchy, which raised the interestingquestion of why he’d gone into intelligence. That wasn’t—or hadn’t been,anyway—

thefasttracktoseniorrank.Forthatmatter,Gweonhadonlyinheritedhispresent position less than five T-months earlier, when Vice Admiral Yountz

managedtoslipandbreakhisneckonthewetsurroundofhisswimmingpool.“Mr.PermanentSeniorUndersecretary,FleetAdmiralKingsford,”Gweon

murmured,bowingrespectfullytobothmen.“I understand you’re one of the Navy’s economic experts, Captain,”

Kolokoltsovreplied.“AndFleetAdmiralKingsfordwantedyouinheretotalktomeaboutsomething.Whatwouldthathappentobe?”

If the bluntness of the question flustered Gweon in any way, it wasn’tapparent.Heonlynodded,asifhe’dexpectedit.

“I believe that would be in regards to my analysis of the economicconsequencesofawarwiththeStarEmpireofManticore,Sir.”

“I thinkwe’ve already come to the conclusion that the consequences aregoingtobeunhappy,Captain,”

Kolokoltsov said dryly. “Should I assume you have some additionalilluminationtocastuponthem?”

“I can’t really promise to cast any new illumination without having hadaccess to the reports you’ve already seen, Mr. Permanent SeniorUndersecretary,”Gweon replied calmly. “I do have theNavy’s perspective onthem,however.”

“Thensharethatwithme,ifyouwould.”“Ofcourse,Sir.”Kolokoltsovhadn’tinvitedthecaptaintobeseated,butthatdidn’tseemto

fazeGweon, either. The intelligence officer simply clasped his hands behindhim, standing with the easy poise of someone accustomed to presentingbriefings,andbegan.

“I’mgoingtoassume,Sir,thatyoudon’twantthedetailedstatisticalbasisformy analysis at this time. I have thatmaterialwithme, on chip, and I canprovideitifyou’dprefer.I’vealsoalreadyleftacopyofitwithMs.

Wang foryou to reviewat a later time, if youwish.Fornow, I’ll simplyconcentrateontheconclusionsofouranalysis,ifthat’sacceptable?”

Kolokoltsovnoddedabitbrusquely.“In that case, Mr. Permanent Senior Undersecretary, the critical point is

simply that anyextendedwarwith theManties isgoing tobe aneconomicaswell as an overtly military conflict. At the moment, their technologicaladvantagesareoverwhelming,butoureconomicand industrial power ismanytimesasgreatastheirs,evenallowingfortheirnewalliancewiththeHavenites.Theessentialquestioniswhetherornotoursizeandeconomiccapacityaregreatenough to withstand a concerted attack by this new ‘Grand Alliance’ longenoughforustoproducewhatweneedtomatchitswarfightingcapability.And

theanswer,I’mafraid,isthattheymaywellnotbe.”“I beg your pardon?”Kolokoltsov’s brows lowered in surprise at hearing

someonefinallysaythatinsomanywords.“A great deal depends upon the political cohesiveness of the two sides,”

Gweonsaid.“GiventhelengthyperiodofhostilitiesbetweenManticoreandtheRepublic of Haven, one would anticipate internal strains within their alliancewhich would work against its stability. I wouldn’t invest much hope in thatprospect, however, for several reasons, including the fact that I think bothManticore and Haven genuinely believe this nonsense they’re spouting aboutsinisterMesanmanipulationoftheLeague’spolicies.

Another factorwould be their shared resentment forwhat they regard asSolarianarrogance.Andyetanother,frankly,wouldbethefactthatbothofthemobviously smell the opportunity to make extensive territorial gains at theLeague’sexpense.

“In the case of the Republic ofHaven,we’re talking about a star nationwith a long tradition of conquest. Even if we assume the PritchartAdministrationmightnotwishtobeasexpansionistas theLegislaturalistsandCommitteeofPublicSafety, it’sstillconfrontedwithamilitary accustomed tothinking in terms of expansion by force of arms, and a civilian populationhabituatedtoacceptthatsortofforeignpolicy.

“In the case of the Star Kingdom—excuse me, the Star Empire—ofManticore, there’s no previous tradition of imperialism. Not in the territorialsense,atanyrate.

Manticoranpowerhastraditionallybeenextendedonaneconomicbasis,bycontinually increasing the Star Empire’s inroads into the League’s shippingindustriesand penetratingmarket areas in theVerge and theShell for its owngoods. And, of course, there’s the enormous advantage the ManticoranWormholeJunctionbestowsonitsfinancialsector.Yetwhileallofthat’strue,itsrecentexpansionintotheSilesianConfederacyandthenintotheTalbottSectorsuggestthere’sbeenafundamentalchangeintheManticorans’internalcalculus.OurbestguessoveratEconomicAnalysisisthattheybelieveit’stimetoexpandtheir political control in order to bolster their economic dominance and givethemgreaterstrategicdepth.Thismayactuallybearesultoftheirconflictwiththe Havenites, a response to the awareness that a single-system star nation,howeverwealthy,isataseriousdisadvantagewhenfightingamuchlargermulti-starsystemstarnationbecauseasingledefeatcancost iteverything.Which israther ironic, I suppose, since the star nation it wasworried about fighting iscurrentlyitsallyagainstus.

“Regardless of the motivations in Haven and Manticore, however, we

probably have to accept that the ambition for expansionwill reinforce all theotherreasons theybelieve theyhaveforstanding togetheragainstus. Inwhichcase,theirallianceisgoingtohavea lotmorestabilityandstayingpower thananyoneintheLeaguewouldprefer.”

Hepausedpolitely toallowKolokoltsov todigestwhathe’dalreadysaid,and the permanent senior undersecretary nodded slowly. He was impressed.Gweonmightbeyoung,buthewasalsoarticulate,anditsoundedasifhehadamuch clearer andmore detailed appreciation of the situation out in the VergethananyoftheNavybriefersRajampethadeverbroughtalongwithhim.

“If I’m correct,” Gweon continued after he’d given Kolokoltsov a fewmoments,“andwecan’trealisticallyexpectthe‘GrandAlliance’toself-destruct,wehave to lookat thebalanceofeconomicpoweras it existsand toconsiderjusthowstableweareourselves.

“Economically, we have many times as many industrialized, heavilypopulated systems.Almost all of ourCoreWorlds have tech bases at least asgood, overall, as the Manties and probably superior to anything Haven canproduceat this time.Someof themdon’t,andweneed tobeawareof that,aswell. On balance, though, it would certainly appear the scales are heavilyweightedinourfavor.

“Appearances,I’mafraid,canbedeceiving,however.”Gweon’s expression turned somber. “With the withdrawal ofManticoran

freightersandtheholestheirclosureofsomanywormholeshaveblowninourshippingroutes,oureconomy’sbeenveryseverelydamaged.It’snotevidenttomostofourcitizensyet,butI’mafraidthey’llbefiguringitoutshortly.Withthecurtailmentofavailableshipping,ourstarsystemsaregoing tobe thrownbackon their internal resources.Mostof themwill ultimatelybe able to absorb theblow,especiallyifwecanexpandourownmerchantmarinetocompensateforatleastsomeofwhatwe’velost.It’sgoingtotakealotoftime,though,andthere’sgoingtobea lotofpaininvolved.Civilianmorale isgoingtosuffer,andevenworsefromthefederalgovernment’sperspective,it’sgoingtomeanamajorlossinrevenuesattheverytimemilitaryexpensesaregoingtobeskyrocketing.”

He must have been reading Wodoslawski’s and Quartermain’s reports,Kolokoltsovthoughtsourly.

“Inthemeantime,”Gweoncontinued,“Manticore’sdealtitsowneconomyaverysignificantblow,especiallycoupledwiththedamage theirhomesystemapparently took from the recent ‘mystery’ attack upon it. However, they’reactuallyinapositiontobeginrecoveringfromitmuchmorerapidlythanweare,forseveralreasons.OneisthattheyhaveaccesstotheSilesianConfederacyandnow to the entire Republic of Haven. The latter, in particular, represents an

entirelynewmarket for them—onewhich has been completely closed for thelast twenty or thirty T-years. In addition, they have control of the wormholesthey’ve denied to us, which means they can continue to reach markets andtradingpartnersintheVergeandevenintheShellweliterallycannot reach. Inthose areas, they’ll be in a position to pick up the direct trade, not just thecarryingtrade,whichwaspreviouslydominatedbySolarianmanufacturersandtransstellars.Whenthoseopportunitiesarecoupledwiththefactthat—unlikethecitizensoftheLeague—bothManticoransandHavenitesareexperiencedinandthus far better inured to the strains and tensions of interstellar warfare, theirallianceisprobablyinapositiontorecoupeverythingit’slostasaresultoftheManties closure of our trade lanes within a very few T-years. Certainly in ashorter time than we can recover. In fact, our projections over at EconomicAnalysis indicate that we’ll reach a tipping point at which the combinedeconomiesofManticoreandHavenwilleffectivelymatch theeconomicpoweroftheLeaguewithinnomorethantentofifteenT-years.”

“You’re joking.” Surprise startled the comment out of Kolokoltsov. Thatwas a considerably grimmer projection than AgatáWodoslawski or OmosupeQuartermainhadyetpresentedtohim.

“No,Mr.PermanentSeniorUndersecretary,”Gweonsaidrespectfully.“I’mafraid I’mnot.Thoseprojections, including thedatauponwhich they rest andthemodelsandmethodologyweemployed,are included in thedatachips I’veleftwithMs.Wang.I’dbehappytositdownwithyourownanalystsandexplainour thinking to them. For thatmatter, I’d welcome an outside critique of ourresults.

At the moment, however, I believe those projections are solid. And I’mverymuchafraidthateventheyrestonsomefairlyoptimisticassumptions.”

“Optimistic?”Kolokoltsov’seyeswidened.“Yes, Sir,” Gweon said grimly. “The two most problematic of those

assumptionsare that, first,we’llbeable tomuster theresourceson thefederalleveltosupportanongoing,lengthyconflict.And,second,thattheLeaguewillmaintain its political cohesiveness long enough for us to overcome the otherside’stechnologicaladvantages.

“Asfarasthefirstassumptionisconcerned,tobehonest,wesimplydon’tknow what revenues will be available. We can make a good guess at thepercentage of revenueswe’ll lose because of lost shipping duties, and it isn’tpretty.Whatwecan’tbegin toestimateat thispoint ishowbadlyour revenuestream from the Protectorates is going to be affected. Frankly, if I were theManties,I’dbedoingeverythingIcouldtofurtherdisrupttheProtectorates.Forthatmatter,I’dbestirringupalltheunrestIcouldamongtheOfficeofFrontier

Security’s…clientstates.”The captain’s tone shifted very slightly on the last two words, and

Kolokoltsov grimacedmentally.Apparently Gweon wasn’t one of the greateradmirersofOFS’policiesintheVerge.

“WhetherManticoredoesthatdeliberatelyornot, there’sgoing tobea lotofunrest, anyway,”Gweon continued. “Worse, anywherewe lose control, theManties will be able tomove in and begin taking our place. So they’ll veryprobably gainmost of the revenuewe lose,whichwill have a highly adverseaffectonthebottomline.

In fact, that’soneof themain reasonswebelievewe’ll reach that tippingpointImentionedsoquickly.

“It’scertainlypossiblewe’dbeabletocompensateforthoselosses,butI’mafraidtheonlysolutionwe’vebeenabletoseeoveratEconomicAnalysiswouldrequireanamendmenttotheConstitution.”GweonmetKolokoltsov’seyeswitha levelnesswhich told thecivilian thenaval officer understood the realities aswellashedid.

“Essentially, the federalgovernmentwouldhave to imposedirect taxationinsomeforminordertocompensate.

There’sanenormousamountofwealthintheLeague’seconomy,even—orespecially—in the Core Worlds, alone. If there were some way to tap thatwealth, it would completely transform our current analysis of the competingeconomictrends.”

“Perhapsso,Captain,”Kolokoltsovsaidwithawintrysmile.“Speakingassomeone with a modicum of political experience, however, it might well beeasier to beat theMantiesmilitarily than to accomplish a structural change ofthatmagnitude.”

“Obviouslythat’soutsidemyareaofcompetence,Sir,”

Gweonacknowledged.“Nonetheless,itbringsmetomysecondoptimisticassumption:thattheLeaguewillmaintainitspoliticalcohesivenesslongenoughtodefeatitsadversaries.Frankly,Ithinkthat’sunlikely.”

Silence hovered for several seconds and Kolokoltsov’s office. Then thepermanentseniorundersecretaryofstateclearedhisthroat.

“That’sa…remarkableassertion,Captain,”heobserved.“Irealizethat,Sir,andIdon’twishtoappearalarmist.Nonetheless,Ithink

we have to acknowledge that there’s enough resentment of current LeaguepoliciesintheProtectorates,theVerge,andeveninsomeShellsystemstomaketheirloyaltytotheLeague…uncertain.

Quiteafewsystemsin thoseregionswouldasknothingmorethantoslipout of the League’s control. They might or might not prefer some sort ofarrangement with the Manties, possibly along the lines of what happened inTalbott,butthey’dcertainlyliketothrowoutthetransstellarsand,undoubtedly,nationalizetheirinvestmentsandproperty.Intermsofthosesystems’

contributionstotheLeague,itdoesn’treallymatterwhethertheydecide toremainindependentorsignupwiththeManties.

“That’sbadenough,butIthinkwealsohavetoassumesomeofthesystemsin the Shell will see an opportunity to strike out on their own. They’re fullmembersystemsoftheLeague,whichmeanstheyhavetheconstitutionalrighttosecedewhenever theywish.I realize thatoption’sneverbeenexercised,butthe League’s never been at war with amulti-system star nationwith superiorwar-fighting capabilities, either. It seems extraordinarily unlikely that thepossibilities inherent in the situationwon’t occur to power-minded individualsandstarsystemsthroughouttheShell.

“And, finally, given that same constitutional right to secede, there’s noguaranteesomeoftheCorestarsystemswon’tfollowsuit.Especiallynotiftheyfind themselves facing the sort of taxmechanismnecessary to sustain a long-termwareffort.Andthatsituationwouldalmostcertainlybeexacerbatedinboththe Shell and the Core by Manty offensive operations designed to erode ourmilitary capabilities, to encourage those who might wish to secede from theLeague or even align with them, and to punish those who do not choose tosecedeoralignwiththem.”

He paused once more, then shrugged very slightly. It was a gesture ofweariness,notdismissal,andheshookhishead.

“Idon’t likemyownconclusions,Mr.PermanentSeniorUndersecretary,”hesaidlevelly,“butifthoseconclusionsareaccurate,westandagreaterchanceoflosingthiswarthanwedoofwinningit,andevenifwe

‘win’intheend,it’slikelytheLeaguewillbeseverelydamagedbythetimetheshootingstops.”

“Isee,”Kolokoltsovsaidafterperhapsthirtyseconds.Thenhegavehimselfamentalshake.“Isee,”herepeated.“AndI thankyouforaverycomprehensivepieceof

analysis and for honestly presenting conclusions you obviously would havepreferred not to have reached. If you’ll excuse us, now, though, I think FleetAdmiralKingsfordandIneedafewmoments.”

“Ofcourse,Sir.”CaptainGweoncamebrieflytoattention,noddedcourteouslytobothofhis

superiors,andquietlywithdrew.Afresh,lengthysilencelingereduntilKolokoltsovfinallybrokeit.“IratherwishFleetAdmiralRajampethadcarriedoutthatanalysisbefore

headvisedustolaunchRagingJustice,”hesaidbitingly.“I’mnotinapositiontosaywhyhedidn’t,Sir,”Kingsfordsaid,“andIhavenodesiretospeakillofsomeoneunderwhomI

servedforsolong.Atthesametime,Ihavetoagreewithyou.”“Yetyou’restillsayingyoubelievewehavenochoicebuttocontinue this

warthatCaptainGweon’sjustdemonstratedwe’reprobablygoingtolose.Isthatcorrect,FleetAdmiral?”

“Captain Gweon is a very skilled and insightful analyst, Sir. He’s notomniscient, however, and what he actually said was that we have a greaterchanceoflosingthanofwinning,notthatwecan’twin.Ifwedon’tevenattemptto win, I’m very much afraid most of the catastrophic consequences he justpaintedaregoing tocometopass,anyway. If that’s thecase,wewon’tbeanybetteroffifwedon’tfightoranyworseoffevenifwefightandlose.If,ontheother hand, we fight and win, our position at the end will probably berecoverable.I’msurewe’dstillhavetomakealotofchangesandadjustments,buttheLeaguewouldsurvive.Soitseemstomethatitcomesdowntowhetherornotthatpossibilityisworthfightingfor.Ifitisn’t,ifthedecision—whichisapolitical choice, not amilitaryone—is that theprice and risk aren’tworth thepossible outcome,we need to stand downour forces immediately and ask theMantiesandHavenitesforterms.”

Kolokoltsov’sfacetightenedasKingsfordputtheoptionssobluntly.“Whataboutathirdpossibility?”heasked.“WhatifweofferedtheManties

andHavenites terms to get the shooting stopped, then pushed our own R&Duntil we could match their weapons? Bought time to redress the militarybalance?”

“Again,that’sapoliticaldecision,notamilitaryone,Sir.Havingsaidthat,Ithink the other sidewould have to anticipate that thatwas preciselywhatweweredoing.

That being the case, I don’t see them accepting any termswemight findbearable.Icouldbewrong,butevenifI’mnot,it’sgoingtotakeusalongtimetoduplicatetheirhardware,andthey’llbeusingallthattimetoconsolidatetheircurrentposition.I’msurethey’llbepushingtheirownR&D,lookforstillmoreimprovementsintheirexistingcapabilities,whichwillstretchoutthetimewe’llrequire to catch up with them. And I’m equally sure they’ll be consolidatingtheirspheresofeconomicpower,nottomentioncontinuingtoexpandtheirownnavies. The upshotwill be thatwhenwe finally do face offwith them again,they’llbefarmorepowerfulineconomicandterritorialtermsthantheyarerightnow.Soevenifwecanmatchtheirtechnologicalcapabilities,we’llbefacingamuchtougherandmorepowerfuladversary.Inwhichcase,theconsequencesofalongwarliketheoneCaptainGweonjustsketchedoutforuswouldprobablycomeintoplayonceagain.”

“Wellifwe’rescrewedifwedofight,andscrewedifwedon’tfight,exactlywhatdoyouproposewedo?”

Kolokoltsovdemanded.Hewishedhehadn’theardsomuchexasperationinhis own tone, but he couldn’t help it, andKingsford took it without apparentoffense.

“AsIsaidearlier,Sir,Ithinkwehavenochoicebuttofight.Atthesametime,asIalsosaid,Idon’tthinkwecanaffordtosendourwallofbattleouttofighttheirwallofbattle.Andwhatthatleavesus,Sir, isapolicyofcommercewarfare.Araidingstrategy.”

“Explain…please,”Kolokoltsovsaid.“Atthemoment,theManties’problemisthattheLeagueisvery,verybig,

and they have only a finite number of starships and a finite supply ofmanpower,”

Kingsford responded. “The ability to control and consolidate territory isdependentupon the ratioofyouravailablemilitarypower to thevolume tobecontrolled and consolidated, and those sorts of duties actually eat up moremanpowerandmore tonnage thanpitchedfleet combat does. I’mBattle Fleet,Mr.PermanentSeniorUndersecretary,buttheplaintruthisthatFrontierFleet’salways had to have more hulls—more hyper-capable platforms—than BattleFleetpreciselybecauseestablishingandmaintainingthatsortofcontrolwas itsprimarymission.

“Inaddition,even including itsSilesian territories, theTalbottSector,andall of theHavenite star systems combined, their alliance has a much smallernumber of star systems. They can’t afford the attritionwe can, yet they haveenoughsystemsthatifwecancompelthemtodivertforcestoprotectthem,wecansignificantlyreducethestrikingpoweroftheirfleets.

“Moreover,asCaptainGweon’sjustpointedout,theirabilitytosustainthewareffortagainstusislargelydependentontheirabilitytoabsorbtheeconomicpower we’re losing. So anything we can do to prevent them from doing thatwould be very much worthwhile. Attacking their commerce and the supportfacilitiesinareastradingwiththem—bothofwhicharelegitimatetargetsundertherulesofwarfare—isonewaytoslowthatabsorptiondown.Ifwecanintheprocessinflictsufficientpainonpeoplewho’veattemptedtoshiftfromourcampto their camp, we might also be able to discourage further defections. Andperhapsmostimportantlyofall,therealfocusofthestrategywouldbeto forcethem to divert combat power from offense to defense. If we’re hitting themeverywherewepossiblycanwithin-and-outraids,they’llbeforcedtotiedownmillionsoftonsofwarshipsinsystemprotectionandconvoydefense.”

Hepaused,andKolokoltsovnoddedslowly,expressionthoughtful.“All right, that makes sense,” he said. “I’m not clear on why you think

we’llbeabletodothat,though,givenwhatyouandCaptainGweonhavebothjustsaidabouttheManties’currenttacticaladvantages.”

“Sir, thestrategyI’mproposingwould depend primarily on battlecruisersandlighterunits,notships-of-the-wall.Thatwouldmeanwewouldn’tfacetheexpenseoftryingtomobilizeavasttonnageofcapitalshipsthatwouldonlytieupmanpower,suckupresources,andprovidevirtuallynothingintermsofactualcombatpower.

WealreadyhavealotofbattlecruisersinFrontierFleet,plusthoseassignedtoBattleFleet,ofcourse.Andwecanbuildmorebattlecruisersalotfasterthanwecouldbuildmoresuperdreadnoughts.Moreover, I thinkwehave toassumethe‘exaggeratedreports’ofManty increases in inertial compensator efficiencymayactuallyhavebeenaccurate. If that’s thecase, our battlecruisers probablycome a lot closer to being able to match the acceleration curves of theirsuperdreadnoughts.Ourcapitalshipscertainlywouldn’tbeableto.

“OneofthepointsonwhichIdifferedwithRajaniwashisbeliefthatevenif the Manties had a significant missile advantage, a big enough force ofsuperdreadnoughtswouldhave theanti-missiledefenses toblunt theirattack. Ifeltwhat hadhappened toAdmiral Crandall suggested thatwasn’t necessarilytrue;inmyopinion,what’shappenedtoAdmiralFilaretaconfirmsthatitwasn’t.Untilwecan develop and build capital ships that can stand up to the kind ofenormoussalvosHarringtonemployedagainstEleventhFleet—andI’msorrytosayit,Sir,butthat’sgoingtotakequitesometime—capitalshipsaren’tgoingtobe any more survivable against heavy Manty or Havenite firepower thanbattlecruisers. Or, to put it another way, battlecruisers are going to be assurvivableassuperdreadnoughtsunderthosecircumstances.

“Considering all of that, and considering the pod-launched missilesTechnodynemadeavailable toEleventhFleet, Ibelieveourbestoptionat thistimeistogowithacommerceandinfrastructure-raidingstrategy,carriedoutbybattlecruisersandlighterunitsequippedwithmissilepods,whilesimultaneouslypushing further development of the new Technodyne birds with the greatesturgency possible. We know the Manties and the Havenites have developedmissiles which are at least as long ranged and which clearly have heavierwarheads and substantially better electronic warfare capabilities thanTechnodyne’s do. Knowing that, we also know it’s possible to develop suchmissiles,andI’mconfidentwe’llfindit’sfastertoduplicatewhatthey’vedonethantheyfoundittodevelopthecapabilitiesfromscratch.

“WhatI’mproposingiswhat Ibelieve isourbestoptionfordriving thembackontothedefensive,oratleastbluntingtheirownoffensivesagainstus,inawaywhichwill give us time to improve on the present Technodyne platformuntil, hopefully,we’ll be in a position tomatch their performance. I think it’slikelyourindividualmissiles’performancewillstillbeinferiortotheirs,butwithsufficientsuperiorityinnumbers,that’sacceptable.”

“Andyoubelievethisisanattainablestrategy?”Kolokoltsovasked.“I believe it’s the closest to anachievable strategy available to us, Sir,”

Kingsfordrepliedunflinchingly.

“Obviously,therearepoliticalandeconomicaspectstoitwhichI’mnotinapositiontoaddress.Forexample,thepointCaptainGweonraisedaboutpossibledirecttaxation,sincewe’ddefinitelyrequirelargeamountsofmoney.

Nowherenearasmuchaswe’drequireifweweretryingtomodernizetheReserve or build new capital ships, but still a far bigger budget than thepeacetime Navy’s. I realize that’s going to open an entirely different can ofworms for the political leadership,but I’m not really qualified to address thataspectoftheproblem.”

Kolokoltsovnoddedonceagain,lyingbackinhischairandthinkinghard.It’s a pity Rajani didn’t shoot himselfmonths ago, he thought sourly.Of

course, Kingsford probably would’ve shot from the hip, too, if he’d been inRajani’spositionandknownwhatRajaniknewattheoutset.Evenifthat’s true,though,he’sclearlyawiserandmorecautiousmanthesedays.Thequestionis,ishewiseenough?

“Allright,FleetAdmiral,”hesaidfinally.“You’vegivenmea lot to thinkabout.Asyousay,therearepoliticalaspectstothisthatlieoutsidethemilitary’spurview.MycolleaguesandIwillhavetoconsiderthoseaspectsbeforewecan

decidewhetherornottopursuethestrategyyou’vesketchedout.I’lltrytogetthatdecisionforyouasquicklyaspossible.Inthemeantime,however,I’dlikeyou—andperhapsCaptainGweon—toproduce amore detailed strategic plan.Onethatshowsuswhatforcesyou’dcontemplateusing,whereandhowyou’demploy them,what the logistic requirementswould be, and all of that sort ofthing.”

“I’vehadAdmiral Jennings,mychiefof staff atBattleFleet,workingontheconcept for severalweeks,Sir. I’mpretty surewecouldhavewhatyou’reaskingforinnomorethanafewdays.”

“Good.” Kolokoltsov stood and extended his hand across the desk,indicatingtheendofthemeeting,andKingsfordroseandgrippedthehand.

“Iwon’t say I’ve enjoyed hearing what you and Captain Gweon had tosay,”Kolokoltsovcontinued.“Ido,however,appreciate theclaritywithwhichyoubothsaidit.”

***“Sohowdiditgo?”CaptainCaswellGweon looked up from his martini with a smile as the

extremelyattractivered-hairedwomanslidintothechairontheothersideofthesmall,privatetable.

“Fine,dear.Andhowwasyourday?”heaskedwithasmile.“Boring,asusual,”shereplied.“Anddon’tchangethesubject.”“It’sknownassmalltalk,dear,”Gweonpointedout.“The sort of thing peoplewho are seeing one another seriously or, oh, I

don’tknow,engagedtoeachother,tendtodowhentheymeet.”“Point taken,” she admitted with a smile, then leaned across the table,

cuppedthesideofhisfaceinthepalmofherrighthand,andkissedhimwithathoroughness which drew at least one laugh of approval from the bar’s otherpatrons.

“Much better!” he told her with an even broader smile of his own. Helookedaroundthedimlylitbar,asifseekingthepersonwho’dlaughed.Nobodyconfessed,butseveralpeoplesmiledathim,andheshookhishead,thenwavedoneofthewaitersover.

“Yes,Captain?”“Would it be possible for us to get one of the private booths?” Gweon

produced a credit chipwhich somehowmagically teleported into the waiter’shand.

“Oh,Ithinkwecanprobablyarrangesomething,Sir,”thewaiter assuredhimwith a brilliant smile. “If you and the ladywould

followme,please?”Gweon stood andpulledbackhis companion’s chair, thenofferedher his

armas theyfollowedalong in thewaiter’swake.He showed them to a large,comfortable booth in the rear of the attached restaurant—one with first rateprivacyequipment.

“Willthisdo,Captain?”“It looks perfect,”Gweon said approvingly. “If you could, please let us

haveafewminutesbeforesendingsomeonetotakeourorder?We’llsignal”—heindicatedthepanelonthetable—“whenwe’reready.”

“Ofcourse,Sir.”Thewaiterbowedwithanothersmileanddeparted.Gweonwatchedhimgo,thenusheredhiscompanionintothebooth,seated

himselfoppositeher,andactivated theprivacyequipment.Theywere instantlyenclosed in a bubble which allowed them to see the restaurant around themclearly,butpreventedanyoneelsefromseeingin.

That bubble was also supposed to be impervious to any knowneavesdroppingequipment,butGweonpulledasmalldevicefromhispocket,laiditonthetablebetweenthem,andactivatedit.

“And how wise is that?” his companion asked a bit sharply, and heshrugged.

“I’mtheheadofoneofONI’smainsections,Erzi,andI’llbeaflagofficerinanothercoupleofweeks.Rankhath itsprivileges in theSLN, including theuse of officially assigned anti-snooping equipment while necking with myfiancée.Trustme,nobody’sgoingtofindthisremotelysuspiciousunlessthey’realreadysuspiciousforsome reason. Inwhich case,we’re already screwed andmightaswellnotworryaboutit.”

“Ihateitwhenyougetlogicalthisway,”shecomplainedwithapout,andhechuckled.

Hesatback,surveyingher,andreflectedthathecouldhavedonefarworseforacontrol.ErzébetPelletierwaseverybitassmartasshewasattractive.Shewas also athletic, and a pleasant armful in bed.Not only that, they got alongwell, and he knew she genuinely liked him. In fact, it might even go a littlefurther than that, although both of them had to remember the risks of gettingoverlyemotionallyinvolvedintheirroles.

“Allright,”Erzébetwentonafteramoment.“Youtoldthatniceyoungmanwe’dorderinafewminutes,sowhydon’twegoaheadandgetthedrearydetailsoutoftheway?”

“Suitsme,”heagreed.He wished they ocould have held this conversation in their comfortable

apartment, but it was a given that the apartment was bugged. Not veryeffectively—RearAdmiralYau’sOfficeofCounterintelligencewasprettyinept,anditsbugswerenomorethanproforma,since itwasextraordinarilyunlikelyanyone in OCI cherished any suspicions where Gweon was concerned.Unfortunately, there was no good excuse for using his anti-eavesdroppingequipmentathome,whereastherewereplentyofreasonssomeonemightdothatinpublic.Soitactuallymademoresenseforthetwoofthemtoexchangecriticalinformationina“public”venue.

“First,” he told her, “there’s no sign anyone thinks there’s anythingsuspiciousaboutRajampet’ssuicide.”Heshrugged.“Givenall that’shappenedand the grilling he could expect fromKolokoltsov and the others, it’s easy tofigurehehadmorethanenoughreasonstokillhimself.”

“Soitwentoffcleanly?”sheasked.“Evidently. It was his pulser, after all.”He grinned suddenly; he’d never

muchlikedRajampet.“Itwasa thoughtfulofhimtokeep thedamned thing inthe sameplace for somanyyears. Itwasa lot cleanerandneater tohavehimshoothimselfwithagunweknewhowtofind.

Godknowswhatkindofmessitwould’vemadeifwe’dhadtojumphimoutofawindowthathigh,instead!”

“True.”Erzébet’s tonecarried a certain delicate distaste. She hadn’t beenmuchfonderofRajampet thanGweon,andshewaspleasedbyhowneatlyhisdemise tiedoff thatparticular looseend,butshedidn’t share her companion’samusementatthecircumstancesoftheex-CNO’sdeath.

Gweonsensedherreactionandgrimacedanapology.“Sorry,Erzi.MaybeIshouldn’tbesoflipaboutit,butifyou’dhadtoput

upwiththatarrogantlittleprickaslongasallofuswhohadthejoyofworkingforhimdid,you’dprobablyfeellikehoistingafew,too.”

“Youmayberightaboutthat,andIguessI’mgladIdidn’thavetoputupwithhim.Eitherway,we’vegot other things to think about, and the courier’sleavingforMesa tomorrowevening,so let’sgoaheadandget the restofyourreportoutoftheway.”

“Fine.”Henodded.“First,I’mprettysureI’mintheprocessofcementingmycredentialswithKolokoltsov.I’mgivinghimgoodanalysis,andheknowsit.SameforKingsford,althoughI’verevisedmyopinionofhisIQ

upward. I always knew hewas smarter thanRajampet; I’m beginning tothinkhemaybesmartereventhanI’dallowedfor,andI’dalotratherbemorecautiousthanIhavetothannotcautiousenough.

“Iwasn’tpresentwhenKingsfordpitchedhisnewstrategytoKolokoltsov,

butjudgingfromtheadditionalanalysisheaskedforafterleavingKolokoltsov’soffice,itsoundstomeasif—”

ChapterThirty-Two“Sowe’reagreed?”Kolokoltsovasked,andlookedaroundthefacesofhis

fellows.“I’m still not sure this is the best policy,” Agatá Wodoslawski said

unhappily.“I’mnotwildly enamored of itmyself,”MalachaiAbruzzi told her, “but

we’ve damned well got to do something. Something that looks at leastmoderatelyaggressive,Imean.AndafterwhathappenedtoFilareta,Idon’tseealotofotheroptions.”

“And at leastKingsford’s beingmore realistic than Rajani was,” NathanMacArtney put in. The permanent senior undersecretary of the interior wasunwontedlysubdued.Rajampet’ssuicidehadhithimparticularlyhard.

Itwasn’tsomuchthathe’dlikedtheCNO,butthey’dworked together forfar toomanyyears inpolicing the Protectorates, and they’d had far toomanyshared priorities, for MacArtney to take his sudden demise—and itscircumstances—instride.

“Yes, that does seem to be the case,” Kolokoltsov agreed in a tone ofdeliberateunderstatement,andMacArtneyflushed.Helookedasifhemightbeabout tosaysomething,but thenhebithis lip.Kolokoltsovgazedathimforamomentlonger,thensighed.

“I’m sorry, Nathan,” he said. MacArtney looked back up quickly, andKolokoltsov shrugged. “We’re in a hell of amess, andRajani had a lot to dowithourgettinghere.

And,yes,youandhewereourpointteamfortheProtectorates.Butthetwoof you didn’t act alone, and it’s obvious Rajani wasn’t keeping you fullyinformed any more than he was keeping the rest of us fully informed. So Isupposeit’sabouttimeIgotpasttakingoutmyownfearanduncertainty—andIam scared, don’t doubt that for amoment—on you.”He smiled thinly. “Trustme, there’s beenmore than enough screwing up involved in getting us to thispointtogoaround.Andalotofitcomestoroostrighthere.”

Hetappedhisownchest,hisexpressiongrim.MacArtneygazedathimforafewseconds,thennodded.No one else said anything else, and Kolokoltsov didn’t blame them.

QuartermainandWodoslawskihadpersistentlycautionedallof themabout thepotential economic consequences of a conflict with the Star Empire ofManticore, yet all of them—including Quartermain and Wodoslawski—haddisastrouslyunderestimatedtheManties’

military capabilities. That was Rajampet’s fault, in many ways, yet thatdidn’t absolve them from their own disastrous mistake in accepting hisassurancesthatBattleFleet’snumbersweremorethanenoughtocompensateforany“minor”Manticoranadvantages.

Especiallynotwhenweshould’veknown—when I should’ve known—howmuch our own attitudes were being influenced by wishful thinking andarrogance.Wewalked into this one step—one avoidable step—at a time, andnowwe’restuckwithit.

“The only thing I wonder about,” Quartermain said now, her tone morehesitant than usual, “is whether we shouldn’t still be pursuing a back burnerdiplomaticresolution?”Shelookedattheothers.“Afterwhat’shappened in theAssembly, especially, I’m more worried than ever about the long-termconsequences of the Manty blockade. The political consequences, I mean. Ifthere’sanywaytogetthemtobackoffonthat…”

Hervoicetrailedoffandshegrimacedunhappily.“Weallknowwhatyoumean,Omosupe,”Kolokoltsov toldher.“But if I

were the Manties, I wouldn’t be real interested in negotiating with us at themoment.Notwhentheyknowhowbadlythatblockadehastobehurtingus.

Andnotwhenthey’vegotthemomentumandthecombatadvantage,either.I’msurethey’dbepreparedtogiveusterms,butI’malsoprettysureanytermsthey’dbewillingtoacceptwoulddousmoreharmthangood in theAssembly.NottomentionwhatpeoplewhothinkBeowulfhasapointaboutwhatwould’vehappenedtoTsang if they’d lether through theirdamned terminusmightdo ifthenewsgotoutwewerenegotiatingwithonehandwhile

‘sacrificingNavyshipsandlives’withtheother.”Quartermain nodded slowly, although he wasn’t certain she fully agreed

withhim.Forthatmatter,hewasn’tcertainhefullyagreedwithhimself.Buthewascertaintheydarednotshowanyevidenceofweakness.

“Wedoneed tobeprepared to sitbackdownat the tablewith them,” hewenton.“Infact,Ithinkit’sessentialthatweputtogetheraproposalwecouldlive with and update it constantly, keep it current, so we can send it to theMantiesassoonastheopportunityoffers.”

“‘Assoonastheopportunityoffers’?”sherepeated,andheshrugged.“Before we can expect them to give any ground, entertain a peace

settlementwecouldacceptwithout theinternalpoliticalsituationcomingapartcompletely,we’regoingtohavetoscoreatleastsomevictory.”

“Excuse me, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen any time soon,”Wodoslawskipointedoutabitsharply,andKolokoltsovshruggedagain.

“Notinanypitchedbattlebetweenfleets,no,”heconceded.“On theother

hand,that’snotthesortofcampaignKingsfordisproposing,isit?Ifwecandoanendrunaroundtheirbattle fleetandstarthammering their starsystemsandtheircommerce, inflictsomeofthehurt theirblockadeis inflictingonus, theymaybecomemoreamenabletoreason.Andifwecandothatandsellittoourownpublicasproofwe’reactuallyaccomplishingsomethingmilitarily,thenwecouldprobably riskopeningnegotiationswithoutsending the League’smoraleandconfidenceevenfurtherintothecrapper.”

Bothwomenlookeddubious,andheleanedforward,hisexpressionintense.“Rightnow,there’salotofflounderingaroundintheAssemblyandonthe

news channels. If Reid’s motion succeeds the way I think it will, it shouldrefocusa lotof thatblatheringandposturing, though.At thevery least, itwillrefocusitonBeowulfandoffofusforatleastafewT-months,andthatshouldhelpa lot. Ifnothingelse, it should driveHadley back onto the defensive andlower the temperatureof thedebateaboutourpoliciesand competence.And Ithinkremindingpeopleaboutbeowulf’s

‘treachery’ is going to get quite a few of the other system governmentsstartedlookingaroundfearfullyatthethreatsoutsidetheLeague.Theones thataremost comfortablewith the existing system areworried about the exampleBeowulf’sactionsrepresent.Infact,they’relikelytoseeBeowulf’sdecisiontolet theManties inasanactofaggression,oneaimeddirectlyat them, since itthreatenstheintegrity—anddefense—ofthesystemthey’resoinvested in.Andevenbetter,fromourviewpoint,theuncertainty,thesensethattheentiregalaxyiscomingunglued,shouldmakeevensystemswhosegovernmentsareunhappyabout our policies nervous about rocking theboat at a time like this.Wemayhavegottenhurt,andtheymaynot likeeverythingwe’redoing,butwe’restillthebiggest,mostpowerfulhavenaround,sothere’saherdinstinctatworkinourfavoratthemoment.

Butwehavetoaccomplishsomething,oratleastbeabletosellsomethingasanaccomplishment,ifwewanttokeepthatinstinctworkingforusinsteadofagainstus.

That’s why Kingsford’s approach offers us the best chance in terms ofmilitaryoptions.”

“Andhowgooddoyouthinkthatchancereallyis?”Quartermainaskedsoftly.“Frankly,Idon’tknow.Idon’tthinkanyonedoes.”Kolokoltsov leaned back oncemore, raising his hands as he admitted his

uncertainty.“Ionlyknoweveryotheroption looksevenless likely tosucceed.And if this doesmanage to buy us enough time to push the development onthosenewTechnodynemissiles,thesituation’sgoingtochangeradically.We’re

stillwaytoodamnedbigforthemtopossiblythinktheycouldoccupyallofourstar systems. We just have to hold everything together long enough to getweaponsgoodenough togiveusachanceagainst them intoproduction. Ifwecandothat,thatratioofforcetovolumethatKingsfordwastalkingaboutcomesintoplayonourside,nottheirs.”

Helookedaroundthetableagainandinhaleddeeply.“So, I repeat thequestion.Arewe in agreement thatwe should authorize

AdmiralKingsford’scommerceandinfrastructure-raidingstrategy?”Noonespoke.But then,slowly,onebyone,headsnoddedall around the

table.***TheChamber of Stars, the officialmeeting place of the Solarian League

Assembly,wasenormous.IthadtobeforsomethingwhichseatedthedelegationofeverysinglestarsystemwhichclaimedLeaguemembership.

Everysystemwas entitled to a minimum of one delegate; additional delegates

were apportioned on the basis of population. The majority of delegationsconsistedofnomorethantwoorpossiblythreemembers.Indeed,almostathirdofalldelegationsboastedonlyasinglemember.

Morepopuloussystems,obviously,hadagreater representation, however,and the Beowulf Delegation consisted of nine members, headed by FeliciaHadley.

At the moment, all nine of those members were on the floor of theChamber.MostweregatheredaroundHadleyintheirdelegation’sbox,butthreeofthemwereoutcirculating.Thedelegation’sstaffreviewedeverypoll,clippedeveryeditorial,andreviewedthemajorityofop-edpieceseveryday,butHadleywasafirmbelieverintakingthepulseoftheAssemblyone-on-oneandface-to-face.

Especiallyondayslikethis.“Felicia.”Hadleyturnedandfoundherself facingHamiltonBrinton-Massengale, the

delegation’s third rankingmember.Hewas a pleasant, unassumingman,withbrownhair,areadysmile,andacertainamiablelackoffocuswhichwashighlydeceptive. Thatmade him one of Hadley’s best pulse-takers, and she felt hernerves tighten as she absorbed his expression. The usual quick smile wasnowhereinevidence.

“Yes,Ham?”“Ithinktherumorwasright,”Brinton-Massengalesaidquietly.“Anawful

lotofpeopledon’tseemtoseemewhenIsignal foraword.”Hegrimaced.“I

don’tthinkthey’veallbeenstruckblind,either.”“Dependsonwhatyoumeanbyblind,doesn’tit?”Hadleysmiledthinly.

“I made a special effort to check in with Heimdall, Cyclops, Trombone,

Strathmore,andKenichi,”Brinton-Massengaletoldher,andshenodded.Allfiveof those star systems were within thirty-five light-years of Beowulf. In fact,Heimdallwasbarelyfourteenlight-yearsaway,andallhadbeentradingpartnersand(usually)politicalalliesfordecades.

“And?”sheaskedwhenhepaused.“And Routhier, Reicher, and Tannerbaum were some of the people who

seem to be having vision problems. Fang Chin-wen was at least willing toexchangeafewwords,butIhadthissenseshewaslookingoverhershouldertheentire time. In fact, theonlyonewhoseemedreadyforanactualconversationwasGookYangKee.”

Hadley nodded again, although not happily. Kjell Routhier was one ofCyclops’ delegates. Aurélie Reicher was from Heimdall, and CharlotteTannerbaum was from Kenichi, while Fang Chin-wen was the assistantdelegationleaderforTromboneandGookYangKeewas the juniormemberoftheStrathmoredelegation.

Hadleywasn’tthatsurprisedaboutTannerbaum,sinceBeowulf’srelationswith Kenichi had never been particularly close. Routhier was more of adisappointment,especiallyafter thewayHadleyandherdelegationhadhelpedgrease the skids for his delegation chief to meet personally with PermanentSenior Undersecretary Kolokoltsov a few T-months back. The realdisappointment, though, was Aurélie Reicher. Heimdall and Beowulf did atremendous amount of business with one another, given their proximity, andtherewasmoreintermarriagebetweenBeowulfersandHeimdalliansthanalmostanyotherstarsystemexceptManticoreitself.

I don’t like thepossibility thatHeimdall’s decided topull the plug on us,Hadleythought.Still,Reicher’sapainintheassonherbestday.Andsheresentsthefactthatourdelegation’sgottwomoremembersthanhersdoes.

Talk about petty! So it’s possible she’s simply decided on her own thatthere’snopointgettingsplashedifwe’reabouttogetwhacked.

“WhatdidFanghavetosay?”sheasked.“Not a lot,mostly just everydayplatitudes. I had the impression shewas

makingconversationtobepolite.Ontheotherhand,thatmayhavebeenforthebenefitoftherestofherdelegation.”

“Whydoyousaythat?”Hadley’seyesnarrowedintently.

“Becauseshe’stheonewhotoldmetogohaveawordwithYangKee…andshe did it very quietly, when no one else from her delegation was in easyearshot.”

“Okay.”Hadleynoddedinunderstanding.Despite the Chamber’s size and the thousands of human beings who

inhabited it when the Assembly was in session (and itsmembers bothered toattend), itsmagnificentdesign includedsoundbafflesaroundeachdelegation’sformal box.The baffles couldn’t completely deaden the never-ending, rustlingsurfof thatmanyhumanvoices,but itdidreducethebackgroundnoise to justthat

—abackground—withineachboxagainstwhichvoicesinsidetheboxwereclearly audible. So it would have made sense for Fang to babble awaymeaninglesslyasa timekilleruntil shecouldfindamomentnoonewascloseenoughtooverhearher.

Assuming she had something to say she didn’t want the rest of herdelegationtoknowabout,atleast.

“SowhatdidYangKeesaywhenyoufoundhim?”sheasked.“Not a hell of a lot,” Brinton-Massengale replied frankly. “But that was

because he didn’t know a hell of a lot. He says the senior members of thedelegationseemworried,andnobodyseemsreallyeagertotalktoanyofthem,either.Onethinghedidfindout,though.”

“What?”“He’s not on the official list, but TyroneReid’s going tomove a special

motion.”“YangKee’scertainofthat?”Hadleyfeltherself leaning towardsBrinton-

Massengale,herexpressiontight.Sheknewherbodylanguagewasrevealing toomuchtoanyonewatching

herclosely,butshecouldn’thelpit.“Ascertainashecanbe.”Brinton-Massengaleshrugged.“Youknowhowit

is,Felicia.Buthesaysthefixisdefinitelyin.Reidisn’tontheSpeaker’sList,butYung-Thomasis,andYung-ThomasisgoingtoyieldinReid’sfavor.That’swhatYangKeehadfromsomeoneonNeng’sstaff.”

“Isee.”Hadley thought forseveralseconds, then inhaleddeeply.“Ham, Iwantyoutogobacktotheresidence.”

“Can I askwhy?” Therewas no argument in Brinton-Massengale’s tone,buthelookedsurprised.

“Iwantanofficialmemberofthedelegation,notjustoneofthestaffers,tosit onSirLyman.Someonenobodywith anofficial position is going to try toshovehiswaypast.”

“You think somebody’s going to try to put the armon theAmbassador?”Brinton-Massengalelookedevenmoresurprised,andHadleyshookherhead.

“No,notreally,butIdon’twanttotakeanychances.Makesureyou’veenteredyourproxycodeinmyfavorbeforeyougo,soI

cancastyourvoteifIhaveto.Notthatit’sgoingtodomuchgood.”“Sure,” Brinton-Massengale said again. He entered the appropriate code,

thenlookedatherbeforeleavingthedelegation’sbox.“Whatdoyou think thisisallabout?

Otherthansomethingwe’renotgoingtolike,Imean?”“It could be several things,”Hadley said grimly. “WithReid fronting for

them, though, they’re probably going for something fairlyheavy. Probably—”Shebrokeoffandshookherhead.“No,I’mnotgoingtospeculate.We’llknowsoonenough.Nowscoot!”

***JasmineNeng,theSpeakeroftheAssembly,wasanativeoftheSolSystem

(speakers tended to be chosen from mankind’s home star system). Born andraised in one of the belter habitats, shewas tall and very slenderwith a palecomplexionandstrikingdarkeyes.Shealsoknewexactlywheretherealbalanceofpower layin theSolarianLeague,orshewouldneverhavebeenchosenforhercurrentposition.

Shesat in the Speaker’s luxurious chair at theChamber of Star’s centralpodium.TheSpeaker’spositionwasatoweringpinnaclemountedonatwisting,faceted column of varicolored marble—honey and cream, obsidian black andgolden,warmgreenandumber—eightmeters tall. It loomedabove theclosest,floor-leveldelegationboxes,althoughtheupperperimeteroftheChamberroseevenhigheraboveit.TheChamber’sindirectlightingwasdesignedtoprovideasoft,mutedambienceunder thehuge,hemisphericaldomeof itsceiling,whereOld Luna rose in the east and the glittering wealth of stars stretched outendlessly overhead. In the midst of that dim lighting, the Speaker’s marblecolumngleamed,pickedoutandilluminatedbyfloor-mountedspotlights,andabeautifullydetailedhologramofOldTerra’sblueandgreenglobefloatedaboveNeng’sconsole.

Hadley had always thought the Chamber had a beautiful, magnificentpresence.And so it should, as themeetingplaceof thedemocratically electeddelegatesofthemostpowerfulhumannationevertohaveexisted.Butbeautifulthoughitwas,magnificentlythoughithadbeenreared,itwasallasham,andthewomansittingatopthatmarblespireknewit.

Thedelegatewho’dbeenspeaking—droningawayaboutsomethingoneofhisconstituentshadwantedintheORA,theOfficialRecordoftheAssembly—

came to theendofhisallotted timeandsatbackdown.Hadleyhadno idea ifhe’dfinishedwhathemeant tosay,buthecouldalwayssignupforadditionaltimeandtakeupexactlywherehe’dbeeninterrupted.Itwasn’tasifmostofthedelegateshadanythingmoreimportanttodowiththeirtime.

ShelookedaroundtheChamberagain.Itwasalwaysdifficulttotell, sincemanyofthedelegationsdidn’tilluminatetheirboxesorevenchosetoengagetheprivacyshields,butitlookedtoherasifmoredelegateswerepresentthanusual.Itwas normally a tossup as towhether or not there’d be enough attendees tomakea legalquorum,althoughattendancehadaveragedhighersince thecrisiswiththeStarEmpirehadblownup.Ifherimpressionwasright,however,moredelegates than even that could account for were either in their boxes orwanderingabouttheChamber’sfloor.

“Thank you, Mr. Terry,” Neng said to the delegate who’d just seatedhimself. She had a strong, resonant voice which always seemed a bit strangecoming from such a slender frame butwas probably part of the reason she’dbeenchosenforherposition.HerhugelymagnifiedimageintheHDprojectionhovering just below the Chamber’s ceiling looked down at the display at herconsole.

“The Chair recognizes Mr. Guernicho Yung-Thomas, of Old Terra. TheHonorable Delegate has requested ten minutes of the Assembly’s time. Mr.Yung-Thomas.”

Her image disappeared, replaced by that of a somewhat portly, dark-complexionedmanwithsandyblondhairandgray-greeneyes.HewasafamiliarsighttomostoftheAssembly,andmorethanoneofthedelegateseithergroanedwhentheysawhimordecidedthenexttenminuteswouldbeanexcellent timeforthemtovisitthemen’sroomorthewomen’sroomorsomethingelseequallyimportant.Yung-Thomashadaveritablepassionforhearinghisownvoice,andhecouldbecountedupon toputhisnameon theSpeaker’sListat leasteverycoupleofT-weeks.Worse,his seniority in theAssemblymeant he usually gotthe timehe’d requested.Whichhe thenused togivewhathe fondly imaginedwereringingorationsonthemostboringtopicsimaginable.

HadleyhadneverreallyunderstoodwhatmadeYung-Thomastick.Didhesimplywantgodowninhistoryas thedelegatewho’dsingle-handedlyput themost words into the Official Record? Was he trying to prove it really waspossibletoboreathousandhumanbeingstodeath?Ordidheactuallybelievehewasthemagnificentoratorhecaricaturedwheneverherosetospeak?Shedidn’tknow,butthefactthathewasallowedtouseuptheAssembly’stime—whateverhis motivation—was one more proof of how utterly irrelevant that Assemblytrulywas.

Yet today, Yung-Thomas’ expression was different. It was more intent,almostexcited,andHadleyfelthernervestightening.

“Thankyou,MadamSpeaker,”he said, then lookedoutof theHD at theChamber floor. “I thank you for the opportunity to speak to you, my fellowDelegates,butamatterofsomeurgencyhasbeenbroughttomyattention.

Accordingly, Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to theHonorableTyroneReid.”

Neng actuallymanaged to look a bit surprised when her image replacedYung-Thomas’ontheHD.Perhapsactingabilityhadbeenanotherqualificationforherposition.

“Mr.Reid,”shesaid,“Mr.Yung-Thomashasyieldedtothebalanceofhistimetoyou.Youhavethefloor.”

“Thankyou,MadamSpeaker.Andthankyou,Mr.Yung-Thomas.”Reid’s imageappeared—tall,with thebronzed complexion of a skier and

yachtsman, carefully arranged black hair, andNordic blue eyeswhichHadleyknew (although she wasn’t supposed to) he’d had altered from their originalbrowncoloration.Hewascertainlyphysicallyimpressive.She’dgivehimthat.Andthenewsieslovedhim.

“Fellow Delegates,” he said now, his deep voice grave, his expressionsomber, “I apologize for coming before you under somewhat irregularcircumstances. I realize this time is officially designated for addresses to theAssembly,not for the transactionofbusiness.Nonetheless, I feel Imustclaimprivilegeforanemergencymotion.”

Thebackgroundmurmur of conversations ebbed suddenly. It didn’t quitecease—Hadley couldn’t conceive of anythingshort of a kineticweapon strikethatcouldhaveaccomplishedthat!—butitcertainlydroppedtooneofthelowestlevelsshe’deverheard.Notsurprisingly.

Therewere very few circumstances underwhich amotion took privilegeoverthescheduledaddressesfromtheSpeaker’sList.

“May the Chair ask the basis for your privilege claim,Mr. Reid?”Nengasked.

“The basis for my privilege claim, Madam Speaker, is a threat to thesecurityof theSolarianLeague,”Reid repliedsoberly.“Andagravematterofconstitutionallaw.”

The silence intensified, andHadleyhad to restraina sharp, fiercebark oflaughter.Constitutionallaw?

Kolokoltsov and his accomplices were suddenly concerned about

constitutional law? If the idea hadn’tmade herwant to vomit, it would havebeenhilarious.

“TheHonorableDelegatehasrequestedprivilegeforamotiononthebasisofathreattotheLeague’ssecurity,”

Nengintoned.“Doesanyonesecondhisrequest?”“Seconded!”avoicecalledfromtheSeacrestdelegation’sbox.“Arequestofprivilegehasbeenmadeandseconded,”Nengannounced.“TheChaircallsthevote.”Hadleythoughtaboutvotingagainsttherequest,butitwouldn’thavemade

any difference in the end. The fix, as Brinton-Massengale had said, wasobviouslyin.

Several minutes passed while the delegates who were bothering to votepunched the buttons in their boxes. The computers tallied results, and Nenglookeddownatthem.

“The request of privilege is granted,” she said. “TheHonorableDelegatemayproceed.”

Her image disappeared oncemore, givingway to Reid’s. He looked outacrosstheChamberforseveralseconds,thenclearedhisthroat.

“Fellow Delegates,” he said, “I’m sure there’s no need for me torecapitulatethegrievouseventsofthelastfewT-months.TheLeaguehasfounditselfatoddswiththeso-calledStarEmpireofManticoreoverwhatshouldhavebeenarelativelyminordisputeonthefrontiers.

Unfortunately, the Star Empire has chosen to adopt an increasinglyaggressive and militant response to the League’s efforts to insist upon thesanctity of national borders, to safeguard fair and impartial elections, and toprotectneutralthirdpartiesfromunilateralaggressiononthepartofapparentlyimperialisticnavalpowers.”

Hepaused,andHadleyrolledhereyes.Shesupposedthatwasonewaytodescribewhathadbeenhappening.

“Asyouknow,FleetAdmiralSandraCrandall’staskforcewasattackedandvirtuallydestroyedbyManticorannavalforcesintheSpindleSysteminwhattheStarEmpirehasdubbedtheTalbottQuadrantandseenfittoannexastheresultofahighlyquestionable ‘constitutional convention’ in the TalbottCluster.WearestillseekingtodeterminepreciselywhathappenedinSpindle,butthefactofFleetAdmiralCrandall’s ships’destructionand themassivecasualties inflictedby the Manticorans is beyond dispute. They themselves acknowledge theshockingdeath toll. Indeed, their leaders, theirnewsmedia,and even some oftheir friends here in the League have actually boasted of the overwhelming

nature of their victory. As if the deaths of so many men and women were amatterforcelebrationratherthanregretandgrief.

“In the face of such heavy losses and the obvious intransigence of theManticorans,oftheirrefusaltomeettheLeague’sproposalsforcompromiseonourcompetingclaims,theAdmiraltydispatchedafleettotheManticoreBinarySystem under the command of FleetAdmiralMassimo Filareta.We all knowwhat happened to that fleet once it had been duped into surrendering anddestroying the missile pods which represented its best weapon for inflictingdamageuponitsenemies.AccordingtotheManticorans,EleventhFleetdidnotsendtheself-destructcommandtoitsmissilepods.Instead,forsomeunknownreason,FleetAdmiralFilareta,althoughfullyawareoftheultimatehopelessnessofhisposition, chose to fire…leaving the ‘Salamander’nooption but to openfireandcoldbloodedlymassacrealmosttwomillion—twomillion!—

Solarianspacers.”There was a sound from the Chamber, a sort of low, deep growl, and

Hadley’sjawtightened.“IrealizetherearesomeManticoranapologistswhowouldarguewithmy

interpretation of events,” Reid continued. “And in the tradition of presumedinnocenceuntilguiltisproven,theAdmiraltyhasdeclinedtoofficiallystatethatthevisualrecordssokindlyprovidedtousbytheStarEmpirehavebeenedited.Despite that, I’m sure most of us have heard the opinions of acknowledgedtechnical experts to the effect that they were. In the fullness of time, I feelcertain, the truth of that matter will be sifted and the League will respondfittinglytotheslaughterofsomanyofouruniformedpersonnel.Ileavethatforthefuture,andfortheimpartialdeterminationofformalinquiryintoallthefactsofthecase.

“There is, however, another matter. One which requires no access to ahostile star nation’s records for determinations. I refer, of course, to the StarSystemofBeowulf’srefusaltoallowaSolariantaskforceunderthecommandof Fleet Admiral Imogene Tsang to transit the Beowulf Terminus of theManticoranWormhole Junction in support of FleetAdmiral Filareta. It is, ofcourse, impossible to know now how the sudden appearance of an additionalhundred superdreadnoughts would have affected the Manticorans’ murderousintentions.Wewillneverknow,becauseBeowulfrefusedtoallowherpassage.

Notonlythat,butBeowulfhadknowinglypermittedManticoranwarshipstopassthroughtheBeowulfTerminuswithoutwarningFleetAdmiralTsangoftheir presence. And Beowulf had done so for the purpose of activelycollaboratingwith thoseManticoranwarships inbarringFleetAdmiralTsang’stransit.”

Hisbeautifullytrainedvoicehadgrownprogressivelyharsherashespoke,andhissomberexpressionhadturnedintooneofanger.

“I am not a naval officer. I have no special expertise in these matters.Nonetheless, itstrikesmeas likely that thesuddenandunexpectedappearanceofa twenty-five percent increase inAdmiral Filareta’s combat strengthwouldhaveat least forced theManticorans to stopand think.And, ifnothingelse, itwould have provided us with independent witnesses—records we knew werereliable—of exactly what happened when the infamous Admiral HarringtoncalleduponFleetAdmiralFilaretatosurrenderandthenopenedfire.

“None of that happened because a member star system of the SolarianLeaguecollaboratedwithahostile starnation toprevent it fromhappening. Itdidsoon thebasis that itsconstitutionallymandatedautonomywithin itsownterritorysuperseded thefederalauthority. This,mind you, despite the fact thatthe Beowulf Terminus is not the territorial space of the Beowulf System—apoint the system government itselfmade to the Admiralty messenger sent toacquaint them with the details of Fleet Admiral Tsang’s planned movementaheadoftime.Ata timeofsuchcriticalurgency,Beowulfchose topresent thespeciousargumentthatitsautonomyextendedtoavolumeofspaceoutside thetwelve-minutelimitandthenactivelycommitteditsownmilitaryunitstoassistahostilestarnationinthreateningunitsof theSolarianLeagueNavyactingasavitalcomponentofamajoroperation.”

The ugly sound from the Chamber was louder than it had been, Hadleynoted.

“WecannotdemonstratethatBeowulf’sactionsleddirectlytothemassacreofsomanyofFleetAdmiralFilareta’sbravemenandwomen,”Reidcontinuedheavily.

“Thepossibilityclearlyexists,however.Andwhether thatmaybe true ornot, there’snoquestion of Beowulf’s actions.And so I rise tomove that thisAssemblyimpanelaspecialcommissionto investigateanddetermine thebasisand full extent of Beowulf’s actions. To specifically examine whether or notthose actions constitute—as I believe they do—treason under the SolarianConstitution.

And to determine preciselywhatBeowulfwas promised byManticore inreturn for the opportunity to plant a dagger in Eleventh Fleet’s back bypreventingFleetAdmiralTsangfrommovingtoitssupport!”

“Secondthemotion!”someonescreamed,andthenbedlambrokeout.***IttooksometimeforSpeakerNengtorestoreorder,andFeliciaHadleysat

very still, waiting, looking straight ahead and ignoring the shouts and loudconversationsragingbackandforthacrosstheChamberfloor.

Reid’smotionwasn’treallyasurprise,eventhoughthey’dmanagedtokeepherfromlearningitwasgoingtobepresentedtoday.Andshe’dexpectedhimtopresent it effectively. But she hadn’t counted on the degree of genuine angershe’dheard comingback from the floor.Shewasprettysure thereweremoredelegates who hadn’t shouted than who had, yet that was remarkably coldcomfortatthemoment.

She’dalreadypressedherownattentionkey, requesting the floor. In fact,she’dpresseditbeforeReidrosetospeak,sinceshe’dgottenenoughwarningtorealize what was coming. The rules of the Assembly required that the firstrequest for the floor received it, and her own panel showed she’d gotten inbeforeanyoneelse.Despitewhich,shewonderedifNengwasgoingtoobeytherulesthistime.

She was almost surprised when Neng’s image replaced Reid’s and theSpeakerlookeddirectlyattheBeowulfdelegation’sbox.

“The Chair recognizes the Honorable Delegate from Beowulf,” Nengannounced,andsuddenquietdescendedupontheChamber.Thevastroomwashushed,closer to silence thanFeliciaHadleyhadeverheard it, and her imageappearedonthehugeHD.

“Mr. Reid,” she began flatly, with none of the customary ceremonialformulas, “has leveled serious and inflammatory accusations against my starsystemanditsgovernment.

“Whilehidingbehind apretenseof impartiality andfair-mindedness,he’sobviouslyalreadyreachedhisown judgment as topreciselywhat happened toAdmiral Filareta’s command when it invaded the Manticoran Binary Systemwithout benefit of any formal declaration of war and following repeatedwarningsfromtheStarEmpireofManticorethatitwasawareAdmiralFilaretawascomingandwaspreparedtodestroyhisentirefleetifnecessarytoprotectitsownpeopleandsovereignty.Incaseanyofyouareinanydoubtaboutthat,theManticoranAmbassadorhasmadepublictherecordingsofhisentirediplomaticcorrespondencewithSeniorPermanentUndersecretaryKolokoltsovinwhichherepeatedly requested—almost begged—the League to send an officer toManticorewithordersforFilaretatostanddownwhileadiplomaticresolutiontothedisputesbetweentheStarEmpireandtheLeaguewassought.

“Thefederalgovernmentrefusedtosendthatofficer.Ambassador Carmichael’s requests, his formal diplomatic notes, weren’t

even responded to. So far as we know, none of the official ministers of theSolarian League’s government ever even saw them! Although no one is in a

positiontoprovethatatthistime,it’sthefirmbeliefofthePlanetaryBoardofDirectors of Beowulf that the decisions regarding those notes— and AdmiralFilareta’sandAdmiralTsang’smovements—weremadeatthepermanentseniorundersecretary’s level by bureaucrats. Men and women who’d never beenelected to their positions, without any sort of open debate, committed theSolarianLeagueNavy toanactofwaragainstasovereignstar nationwithouteverrequestingaformaldeclarationofwarasourownConstitutionrequires!”

She realized her voice had risen, sharp as a battle steel blade as fury atReid’s cynicism and the opportunity to finally speak her own mind clearly,withoutany circumlocutions, fueled her anger. Shemade herself stop, draw adeepbreath,andheardoneortwolonelyvoicesraisedinangryrejectionofwhatshe’dsaid.Asidefromthosevoices,theChamberwassilent,andshewishedshecouldbelieve itwas thesilenceof thoughtfulnessandnot thesilenceofsullenanger.

“CompletelyirrespectiveofanyactionsonBeowulf’spart,”shecontinuedafter a moment, “the action of those bureaucrats in committing the SolarianLeague—without the constitutionally required declaration of war—to waragainst a star nation whose war-fighting capabilities were far superior to theLeague’ssurelyconstitutesanactoftreasonagainsttheLeague.

“I observe, however, that Mr. Reid has not moved to investigate theirconduct.No,he’schosen toaccuseBeowulf of treason and collaborationwiththeenemy.

Althoughhe’sbeenverycarefulnevertocallManticore‘the enemy,’ hasn’t he?He’s referred to the Star Empire repeatedly as ‘a

hostilestarnation,’butnotasaformalenemy.Andthereasonhe’savoidedthattermisbecausethere’sbeennoformaldeclarationofwar.”

Thelastsevenwordscameoutslowly,preciselyspacedandenunciated,andsheletthemfallintotheChamber’ssilence.

“I remindallofyou thatwhile theConstitutionrecognizes the paramountauthorityof thefederalgovernment in timeofwar, in time of peace, the self-defenseforcesoftheLeague’smemberstarsystemsarenotsubjecttothefederalauthority. They remain answerable to the star systemwhich buids, mans, andmaintainsthem.Andtheterritorialautonomyofmemberstarsystemsisabsoluteexcept in time ofwar. Precisely how isBeowulf supposed to have committedtreasonwhile acting solelyandentirelywithin the letter of theConstitution intimeofpeace?

“Yetletthatquestionlieforthemoment.Instead,let’sconsiderthequestionofsystemautonomyandouractionsinconjunctionwithAdmiralTruman’staskforcetobarAdmiralTsang’spassagethroughtheBeowulfTerminus.

“TherewereBeowulfanpersonnelontheterminustrafficcontrolplatforms.Solariancitizens,employedby theBeowulfTerminusAstroControlService,ajointBeowulfanandManticoranCorporation.Theywerecivilians,notsubjecttothe orders of the Solarian military, and with all the civil rights of Solariancitizens.YetAdmiralTsanghadmadeitclearsheintendedtotakepossessionoftheplatformsbyforceandtocompelthosecitizens—

againsttheirwill—topasshervesselsthroughtheterminus.Indeed, she specifically said that in somanywords.Not only that, when

AdmiralHolmon-Sandersannouncedherintentiontodefendherfellowcitizensfrom the assault of their own military, Admiral Tsang informed her that herhundred-plussuperdreadnoughtswouldopenfireonAdmiralHolmon-Sanders’thirty-six. Clearly the decision of a fearless naval officer fully aware of herconstitutionalobligationsandtheneedtoavoidlossofSolarianlives.”

Hadley’s tonecut likeascalpel,andhernostrilsflaredincontemptwhichwasnotatallfeigned.

“TheonlythingwhichpreventedAdmiralTsangfromcarryingthroughonhercourageous threatagainstanenemysheoutnumbered three-to-onewas thesuddendiscoveryofthepresenceofaManticorantaskforce.AManticorantaskforcewhichcould,had therebeenany truth to thisbizarrenotion thatAdmiralFilareta was massacred for no good reason after he’d surrendered, haveannihilatedAdmiralTsang’sentirecommandfromstealthbeforesheevenknewthoseshipswerepresent. Instead, theManticorancommandergavewarningofherpresenceandallowedAdmiralTsangtowithdrawwithoutthelossofasinglelifeoneitherside.”

She paused once more, letting her words sink in, then straightened andsquaredhershoulders.

“Mr.ReidhasmadewhatheobviouslybelievesisaneloquentcaseforhowthesuddenappearanceofAdmiralTsang’sfleet in theManticorans’rearmighthave somehow prevented the destruction of Eleventh Fleet. He’s been verycarefultoavoidsayingunequivocallythatitwouldhave,yethe’sclearlyimpliedthat the sudden appearance of a twenty-five percent increase in AdmiralFilareta’sstrengthwouldhaveinfluencedtheStarEmpireanditsallies.Hewasalsocarefultosaythatheisnonavalofficer.Thatmuch,at least, isobvious…since any trained naval officerwould have known that nomore than thirty tothirty-five capital ships—less than a ten percent increase inAdmiral Filareta’sstrength—couldhavebeenputthroughtheBeowulfTerminusinasingletransit.And that putting that many ships through the would have destabilized theterminusformanyhoursbeforeanyadditionalvesselscouldbepassed throughit.

“Itwouldhavebeenpossible topass themthrough inasequential transit,insteadofasimultaneous transit, of course, had notAdmiralHolmon-SandersandAdmiral Truman prevented it. HadAdmiral Tsang done so, however, hershipswouldhaveemergedonebyone,at intervalsofseveralseconds, into theconcentratedfireoftheManticoranfortressesprotectingtheJunction.FortresseswhicheachhavemanytimesthefirepowerofaregularManticoranship-of-the-wall. The truth is, it wouldn’t have mattered whether she’d attempted asimultaneous or a sequential transit; in either case, anything which passedthrough that terminus, asmygovernment has repeatedly pointed out since theevent,wouldhavebeenannihilated.

Bypreventingherfrommakingtransitatall,AdmiralHolmon-SandersandAdmiral Truman saved the lives of well over a hundred thousand Solarianmilitarypersonnel.

Ifyouwonderwhatmalevolent,MachiavellianmotiveswemighthavehadforallowingthoseManticoranwarshipstotransitaterminusoftheManticoranWormholeJunctionwithoutinformingAdmiralTsangoftheirpresence,looknofurther than those lives. If we had slavishly rolled over before theunconstitutional assertion of federal authority over Solarian citizens and anautonomous star system government in time of peace, those peoplewould bedeadtoday.”

She looked out across the Chamber, huge holographic eyes sweepingscornfullyoverthemenandwomenseatedintheboxesspreadacrossitsfloor,andshookherhead.

“Weallknowwhat’shappeninghere.Weallknowthescript,althoughtheexactschedulemaystillbeinsomedoubt.Andweallknowwherethislittleplayis headed and who’s directing and producing it. So I don’t expect truth andrationality to be any sort of effective defense. But the recordwill showwhatactually happened in Beowulf that day. Someday, the record of exactly whathappenedtoAdmiralFilaretawillalsobeclearlyandundisputedlyavailable toanyonelookingbackatMr.Reidandhismotionanditsconsequences.Acleanconscience and a reverence for the truthmay not bemuch in demand in thisAssembly today, but both of those are very much in demand in the BeowulfSystem.Sobringonyourinquiry.Presentyourcase,andwe’llpresentours.Notbecausewegiveonesinglesolitarydamnforyourprepackaged,predetermined

‘impartialconclusions,’butbecausewecareabouthistory.Because unlike you,wedo care about truth. And because someday your

successors,whoever theymay be,will have a record ofwhat you actually dohereandwillrevileyourmemorywithallthecontemptandallthedisdainyouractionswillsorichlymerit.”

ChapterThirty-ThreeOrganmusicswelledandthemassedchoir’svoicesroseinthewordsofthe

ancienthymnwhichhad announced everymarriage in the groom’s family foroverfourT-centuries:

“ThoughImayspeakwithbravest fire,andhave thegift toall inspire,andhavenotlove,mywordsarevain,assoundingbrass,andhopelessgain.”*

Thegroom,cladintheblueandsilveroftheHouseofWintonstoodbeforethe altar rail and turned to face down the nave towards the narthex of KingMichael’s Cathedral as the music soared about him. The cathedral itself waspacked as it had not been in years—not since the somewhat premature statefuneral of one Honor Harrington. Which was rather ironic, since DuchessHarrington was a member of the wedding procession and the currentrepresentativesofthestarnationwhichwassupposedtohaveexecutedhersatinthe pew set aside for themas they, too, turned towatch that processionmovedowncathedral’scentralaisletowardsthewaitingsanctuary.

Thecathedralwaslikeanimmensejewelrybox,packedwitharistocrats intheformalcourtdressandcolorsoftheirhousesandcommonerswhosesartorialsplendorandjewelrytendedtoputtheunderstatedeleganceofcourtdressintheshade. Stained-glass windows glowed with late morning light, filling thecathedral’s interior with pools and patterns of gleaming, slowly movingbrilliance.Centuries-oldwoodenpanelingglowed in that light, thedeliberatelyantique organ’s bronze pipes shone with hand-polished brilliance, vestmentsglittered with rich embroidery, candle holders flashed back the light, and thecrowds of newsies had been banished to the discreet concealment of thebalconiesjustinsidethenarthex.

Againstallofthatvisualsplendor,thatrichnessoftextureandcolor,oflightand sound, the slender, white vision with the armful of flowers at the bridalprocession’sheartstoodoutwithheartstoppingpurityasshemovedgracefullythroughthemusic.

Brides, and especially royal brides, were always beautiful. That was anincontrovertible law of nature—just ask any publicist or newsy. In this case,however, it was true, Honor decided. Not because Rivka Rosenfeld was astunning beauty, because she wasn’t, although she was undeniably attractivewithafacefullofwitandintelligencetouchedwiththebloomofheryouth.AndnotbecauseofthehoursofefforttheStarEmpire’sbestcometicianshadputin,either.No, itwasbecauseof theglowinhereyesas theymetRogerWinton’sdownthelengthofthatlong,longcathedralaisle.

And,Honorconceded,itwasalsobecauseofRivka’sownimpeccabletaste.As her matron of honor, Honor had been deeply involved in planning the

wedding. Her duties had been less extensive than those of Lord ChamberlainWundtorDameAretheaHart,perhaps,but they’dbeenfocusedontheofficialaspects of the day.Honor had been focused onRivka, and onmore than oneoccasion she’d found herself acting as the young woman’s champion as shestoodupagainstthedemandsofanoccasionofstate.

Rivka had held out steadfastly for an elegantly simple wedding gown,without glamour or elaborate embroidery or glittering jewels, and Honor—whoseowntastesraninverymuchthesamedirection,ifthetruthbetold—hadsupportedherstrongly.Notthatsimplicityimpliedcheapness,ofcourse.Honorhadbecomefarmoreknowledgeableaboutfashionmattersanddesignergownsthan she’d ever expected to, and she knew how expensive that deceptivelysimple, flawlessly fitted gown had actually been. Yet it was also perfect, theinevitable setting for the slim, dark-haired and dark-eyed young womanadvancingtomeetherfiancé.

The one concession she’dmadewas her bridal train,which stretched fardowntheaislebehindherasshe advanced tomeet herwaiting groom.Honorandhermaidsofhonorfollowedher,andatRivka’sinsistence,FaithHarringtonled the entire procession scattering flower petals across the rich-toned carpetwithsolemnconcentration.HerbrotherJamesfollowedher, carrying the royalbluecushionwiththewaitingweddingringsandtheprincess’coronet.

Arranging it all had been a long journey and plenty of hard work foreveryone,Honorreflected,followingRivkainherownGrayson-stylegownandovertunicindeep,rich,“Harringtongreen”withtheStarofGrayson,glitteringaboutherthroatonitscrimsonribbon,heronlyjewelry.Andawelcomeone,inthe aftermath of what had happened to Massimo Filareta and his fleet. Adistraction,yes,butalsoareaffirmationoflifeandapromiseofhope,andshe’dneededthat.BeingthereforRivka,helpingtochoosetheweddingtheme,topickdesignsfortheinvitations,supportherinfightingforthesimplicityofthegownshe’dchosen, choosing flowers,pickinggifts for thebridesmaids.She’dnevergotten to do something like that before. Her ownwedding had been a muchmore…

impromptuaffair,andshe’ddiscovered thatplanninga bridal shower hadhelpedtohealaheartwearywithkillingandbloodshed.

Ofcourse, finding timeforallof thathad been something of a challengeamong her “merely” official duties as the commander of Grand Fleet.Fortunately,mostofhersubordinateshadhappilyconspiredtotakeasmuchaspossibleofthatloadoffofher,andshewasgratefultoallofthem.She’dalwaysliked Rivka; over the last fewmonths she’d come to understand exactly whyElizabethapprovedofherson’schoicesostrongly.

She’sgoing todowell,Honor thought.She’sexactlywhatRogerneeds. Ifanyonecankeephimsanewhenhefindshimselfonhismother’sthrone,it’llbeRivka.

NotthatRivkadidn’thavesomequalmsofherown.Even now, Honor could taste the undercurrent of trepidation in the

composedyoungwoman’smind-glow.BecomingthefuturequeenconsortoftheStarKingdomofManticoreatthe

age of twenty would have been daunting enough for anyone; becoming thefutureempressconsortoftheStarEmpireofManticorewasevenworse.AndthefactthattheStarEmpireinquestionfacedafightforitsverylifeagainstalltheponderousmightoftheSolarianLeaguewasdownrightterrifying.ButsomehowRivkahadcopedwithallofthat,andtheclean,focusedtasteofhermind-glow,the joy and eagerness which infused it—and Roger’s—despite all of thoseworries,allofthosefuturethreats,astheylookedatoneanothertoldHonorhowwelltheybothhadchosen.

Theprocessionreachedthewaitinggroomandhispartyanddispersedintoits perfectly choreographed components, and Hamish Alexander-Harrington,standingwithRoger,smiledathiswifeasshesteppedupbesideRivkaandtookthe bridal bouquet—made up of native blossoms from each of the Old StarKingdom’s habitable planets. Honor smiled back, remembering how muchsimpler(ifunexpected)herownweddinghadbeen,thensteppedbackwiththeflowerstoletRivkatakeRoger’shandwhilebothofthemturnedtofaceBishopRobertTelmachi.

TheArchbishop ofManticore didn’t simply smile—hebeamed. His eyeswerealightwithhappiness,andHonorcouldphysicallytastethejoywithinhim.She’dcometoknowhimwellover thepast fewyears,andsherecognizedhispersonaljoy—hisgladnessfortwoyoungpeoplewhoweredeeplyimportant tohim—and the almost equally powerful joy as he recognized this wedding’shealing power for an entire star nation. It was a huge and ultimately unfairweight to lay upon such youthful shoulders, but as the people of the StarKingdomalwayshad, in timesof trouble they looked to theHouseofWinton.Theywerepartofthathousethemselves—allofthem—whenitcamedowntoit,because of the Constitution’s requirement that the heir marry outside thearistocracy, and the Winton dynasty had done far better than most atremembering that bond and the responsibilities whichwent with it. The deepcompactbetweentheStarKingdom’ssubjectsand their rulerswent farbeyondthemereletterofthelaw,andthey’dturnedRoger—andespeciallyRivka—intothepromiseofthefuture.

“Dearly beloved,”Telmachi began, “we are gathered together here in the

sightofGod,andinthefaceofthiscompany,tojointogetherthismanandthiswoman in holy matrimony; which is an honorable estate, instituted of God,signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church:which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence and firstmiraclethathewroughtinCanaofGalilee,andiscommendedofSt.Paultobehonorable among all men: and therefore is not by any to be entered intounadvisedlyorlightly;but reverently,discreetly,advisedly,soberly,and in fearofGod.Intothisholyestatethesetwopersonspresentcomenowtobejoined.Ifanymancanshowjustcausewhytheymaynotlawfullybejoinedtogether,lethimnowspeak,orelsehereeverafterforeverholdhispeace.”

The ancient, ancient simple words spilled out into the hushed, listeningsilence, and Honor Alexander-Harrington reached out, as well. She touchedHamish’smind-glowashestoodclosebesideherandEmily’smind-glow,whereher life supportchair satat theendof the frontpewon thebride’s sideof thecathedral.Shereachedoutfurther,touchinghermotherandfeelingthehappinesswithinher.

Touchingherfather,andtastingthepainstillburningathiscore…andthehealingsiftingdowntoit,asitsifteddowntoherown,borneuponthoseageless,joyouswords. The entire cathedralwas filled to the bursting point not simplywithhumanbodies,butwithhumanminds,andthoughts,andhopes,andjoy.Itpressedinuponherfromeveryside,soakingintoherlikethesea,butthiswasaseaoflight,ofenergy—offocusandpurposeandpromise.Itflowedintoherlikethe sun itself, and tears starred her vision as she found herself wishingdesperately that everyone else in that cathedral could have tasted and knownwhatshetastedandknewinthatmoment.

***“I’vebeentosomeremarkableweddingsinmytime,”JacquesBenton-RamirezyChousaid,“butthisone…”He waved his champagne glass at the glittering crowd thronging the

groundsofMountRoyalPalace.Securitywastight,andtreecatsweremuchinevidence.Manyofthemrodeonshouldersthreadedthroughoutthatcrowd,andothers—dozens of others—perched cheerfully on the branches of landscapedtrees, on ornamental gazebos and roofs. They could be heard every now andthen,even through the steady surf of human voices and themusic of the liveorchestra, bleeking to one another as they enjoyed the human mind-glowsswirlingabout them like rich,headywine.But therewasaperpetually poised,readywatchfulness even in themidst of their delight, and armed air cars andstingships loiteredoverheadwhile the personnel of half a dozen star nations’securitywatched the ’cats likeminerswatching canaries in some ancient coal

mine.Nooneat thereceptioncouldpossibly tuneout thatomnipresentsecurity,

yet most of the guests had become accustomed to their guardians’ presence.Theremight be newwrinkles to the threats those guardianswere deployed tocounter,but therewouldalwaysbe threatsandnoonewasprepared to let thatawarenessdampenthisday.

Honorhad finallymanaged toslipaway tosteala fewmomentswithheruncle andher family.She’dgivenhermatronofhonor’sspeech,andwith theassistanceofscoresofpersonnel fromDameArethea’soffice,she’dmadesurethe thousands of wedding gifts Rivka and Roger had received had all beenproperlystoredandlabeled.

Rivkahadannouncedherintentionofsendingpersonalthankyounotesforevery single one of them, and Honor felt sure the redoubtable youngwomanwoulddoexactlythat…howeverlongittook.

Withthattaskoutoftheway,she’ddisappearedwithRivkalongenoughtohelpherchangeoutofherweddinggownand into theequallyexpensive (andequallysimpleyetelegant)formalcourtdressbadgedinWintonblueandsilvertowhichshewasnowentitled.Ofcourse,Honor’s

“help” had consisted mainly of offering moral support as Rivka lookedforward to her very first day as the Crown Princess Consort ofManticore. ItwouldhavebeenunfairtosayRivkahadexperiencedacaseofcoldfeetat theprospect,buthertoeshaddefinitelyfeltthechillasshepreparedtoshoulderthepublicresponsibilitieswhichwouldbehersfortherestofherlife.

Honor had felt the way the young woman braced herself, straighteningmetaphysical shoulders to bear up under that burden. And as she had, she’drealizedthatoneofthereasonsRivkahadbeensostronglydrawntoherwasthatHonor,too,hadbeenbornofyeomanstock.Neitherofthemhadeverdreamed,duringtheirchildhood,ofascendingtosuchdizzyingheights,andasshe’dtastedRivka’s trepidations surging oncemore, she’d put an arm around the youngerwoman’sshouldersinabrief,comfortinghug.

“It’snotsobad,really,”she’dsaid,andRivkahad turnedherhead togiveherasmilethatwaseversoslightlylopsided.

“Aremywilliesthatobvious?”“Well,Idohangaroundwithtreecats,youknow,”Honorhadrepliedwithasmileofherown.“Forthatmatter,Ididn’texactly

startoutinthiscrowdmyself.”

“Yourmotherdid,though,”Rivkahadpointedout.“Yep,andsheranawayfromitwithindecenthasteassoonasshegotthe

opportunity.AndIpromiseyou,shedidn’tbringmeuptobequeenoftheball,either!”Honorhadsnortedwithamusementattheverythought.“I’mnotsayingitdidn’thelp—some—tobedescendedfromtheBenton-RamirezyChoufamily,butIneversawanyofthiscominguntilBenjamindumpedthesteadholdershiponme.

And then the Queen—your mother-in-law, now that I think about it—decided to open up her toy box!” She’d shaken her head. “Believe me, it’ssurvivable.Andthatthereasonyou’reheretoday,marriedtoRoger,isbecauseofwhoyouare,Rivka,notwhatyouareorwhatanyoneexpectsyoutobe.”Shesmiledagain,moregently.“You justgoonbeingyou, andyou’regoing todofine.Trustme.”

Now, as Honor looked across to where Roger and Rivka stood on theterrace,smilingeasily,laughingastheychattedwithoneguestafteranother,sheknewhowrightshe’dbeen.

“Itisanimpressiveguestlist,Isuppose,Jacques,”Hamishsaidnow,histonejudicious.“‘ Impressive’?” another voice repeated. “What? Is that your studied

understatementoftheday?”Honorturnedwithachuckleasalifesupportchairslidupbesideher.“Ithinkit’sprobablyasgoodadescriptionasUncleJacques’s‘remarkable,’

Emily,”shesaid.“Andyouhavetorememberthesource.Neitherof isall thatgoodwiththelanguage,youknow.”

“You’llpayforthatlater,”Hamishpromisedherwithadevilishglint,andNimitzbleekedalaughonHonor’sshoulder.

“I await the moment with trepidation,” Honor told her husband sweetly,then turned back to her uncle. “However, I have to say that in your ownlanguage-challenged ways, you’re both right. I wonder if there’s ever been aweddingquitelikeit?”

“Idoubtit,”Emilysaid.“Infact,I’mprettydarnsuretherehasn’tbeenonelikeitsincetheDiasporagoteverybodyoffOldEarth,anyway!Let’ssee,we’vegot the Empress of Manticore, the President of the Republic of Haven, theProtectorofGrayson, theChairmanof theBeowulfBoardofDirectors,QueenBerry, and the Andermani Emperor’s first cousin. Not to mention your ownhumbleselfasSteadholderHarringtonand thecommanderof theGrandFleet,followedbyascatteringofmereplanetarygranddukes,dukes,Earls,membersoftheHavenitecabinet,threeothermembersoftheBeowulfBoardofDirectors,the chairman of the Alliance joint chiefs of staff, the First Space Lord, theHavenite chief of naval operations, the Beowulfan chief of naval operations,HighAdmiralYanakov,AdmiralYu,twoorthreedozenambassadors,andGod

aloneonlyknowswhoelse.I’msurethere’vebeenotherweddingsthathad thesame guest count or better, but bringing all of these people together in oneplace?”

Sheshookherhead,andHonorfoundherselfnoddinginagreement.“IwishthosecretinsinOldChicagocouldseethis,”herunclesaidinamuchmoresombertone.Sheraisedaneyebrowathim,

and he shrugged. “They still just don’t get it. I think the true problem is thatnobodyoutsidetheirownlittleworldisactuallyquiterealtothem.We’realljustinconveniently obstreperous tokens they’re moving around on a game boardsomewhere.Allthatreallymattersisthatdamnedechochambertheylivein.”

“That’showwegotintothismess,”Hamishagreed,“butI’llguaranteeyoutherearesomeothersoundsleakingintothat‘echo

chamber’ofyoursbynow,Jacques!Theydon’tlikeit,andthey’retryingtostufftheirfingersintotheirears,but

theycan’tkeepitupmuchlonger.”“They’ve kept it up long enough to leave all of us one hell ofamess to

cleanup,”Benton-RamirezyChoureplied,andHamishnodded.“Noargumentthere.Thequestioninmymindishowlongthey’regoingto

be able to stay on the back of the hexapuma. I think they’ve pretty muchdemonstratedthatthey’redeterminedtogoontryingtogamethesituationuntiltheshipsinksunderthem.Butwhenthathappens,whensomeoneelsestepsintotheirplace,how’sthatsomeoneelsegoingtoreact?That’sgoingtobethekeytothewaythiswholethingshakesoutintheend,Jacques.”

“And to how many more people we have to kill before it’s all over.”Honor’smouthtightenedasthechillofherownwordstouchedthewarmthandpleasureoftheday,andNimitzmadeasoftsoundandstirredonhershoulder.

“Andthat,”herhusbandagreed,puttinganarmaroundherandhugginghertightly.“I’dliketotellyouwewouldn’thavetokill—orlose—anybodyelse,butit’snotgoingtoworkoutthatway.”

“Iknow.”Shehuggedhimbackandsighed.“Iknow.AndIpromiseI’lltrynottorainalloverRogerandRivka’sparty.”“Oh,yourcredit’sprettygoodwith thehappycouple,Honor,”Emily told

herwithachuckle.“Idon’tthinkthey’llholdaminordrizzleortwoagainstyou.Nocloudbursts,now,though!”

“No,Ma’am,”Honorpromisedobedientlywitha demure little smile, andherunclelaughed.

“You three deserve each other,” he said, smiling warmly at all of them.“And I’m glad you’ve got each other. Hang onto it, because, trust me, it’ssomethingspecial.”

“Iagree,”Honorsaidsoftly,reachingdowntotouchEmily’sworkinghand,then looked up as the orchestra stopped playing and another round of officialtoastsbegan.

It was Chyang Benton-Ramirez’s turn to propose the first toast, andafternoonsunlightburnedgoldenintheheartofhiswineasheraisedhisglass.Their sheltered littlenookwas too faraway foranyof them tohearhisactualwords,buttheyheardtheapplausewhenhefinished.

“What?”sheheard,andlookedatheruncle.“What‘what’?”sheasked,cockingherheadslightly.“You’re thinking deep thoughts again,” Jacques Benton-Ramirez y Chou

accused her. “Getting ready to find something else toworry about, if I knowyou!”

“Iamnot!”sheprotested.“Oh,yesyouare,”heshotback.“Nimitz?”He,Hamish,andEmilyalllookedatNimitz,whogazedbackthoughtfully

foramoment…andthennodded.“Oh,youtraitor!”shetoldthe’cat.“Come on, outwith it!” Jacques commanded. “Let’s get it all out in the

openandgetridofitbeforeyouhavetogobackoveranddosomemoreofthatmatronofhonorstuff.”

Honorglaredathimforamoment,thenshrugged.“Youmay actually have a point, although I find it hard to believe I hear

myselfsayingthat.”“Ialwayshaveapoint,”herunclerepliedwithdignity.“It is, alas, simply my fate to be surrounded by people unable to fully

appreciatetheneedlesharpnessandrapierquicknessofmyintellect.Nowtrotitout!”

Honormadeafaceathim,thensighed.“Allright.Iwas justwatchingChairmanBenton-Ramirez, lookingathow

cheerful and unconcerned he seems, and thinking about the vote on Reid’smotion.”

Theotherslookedather.Simultaneitywasaslipperyconceptwhenappliedto interstellar distances, but the vote on Tyrone Reid’s motion to investigateBeowulf’s

“treason” against the Solarian Leaguewould be occurring on far offOldEarthinlessthantwenty-fourhours.

“There’snotmuchpointworryingaboutit,”herunclesaidafterasecondortwo.“Weallknowhowthevote’sgoingtocomeout,afterall.AndFeliciahas

herinstructionsforwhattodowhenitdoes.”Hetwitchedhisshoulders.“Andit’snotasifthere’smuchquestionabouthowtheelectorate’sgoingtorespondinthe end. Every single opinion poll and electronic town meeting we’ve heldunderscores that, Honor. And you’ve seen the editorials and the publicpostings!”

“Iknow.Remember,Iamhalf-Beowulfan,UncleJacques.Butit’sjustsuchabigstep,andI’mworriedabouthowtheMandarinsaregoingtoreact.”

“There’snotalottheycandoaboutit,”Jacquespointedout.“Theproblemiswhetherornottheyrealizethat,”Honorcountered,“andtheirtrackrecordtodatedoesn’texactlyinspireme

with confidence in their judgment. I keep reminding myself that they’re notreallystupid.

Blind,arrogant,bigoted,andsofaroutoftouchwithusuppity‘neobarbs’thattheyactstupidly,butwithinthe limitsof theirworldview, they trulyaren’tidiots.Andthatmeanstheyhavetobeabletoseethewritingonthewallwhentheirnosegetsrubbedinithardenough,doesn’tit?”

“Probably.”Jacquesnodded.“You’dthinkso,atanyrate,wouldn’tyou?”“Andthat’swhatworriesme,”Honorsaidfrankly.“It’sobvioustome—to

us—whereBeowulf’sactionsaregoingtolead.I thinkwehavetoassumeit’sgoing tobeobvious to them, too.And if it is,basedon theiractions todate, Ithink we have to assume they’ll try to do something about it before thathappens.”

“Idon’tthinkthere’sagreatdealtheycandoaboutit,intheshortterm,atleast,”herunclereplied.

“Maybenot,butI’dfeelalotbetter ifwehadacoupleofdozen Invictus-classwallersinBeowulforbit.”

“I’m not sure I disagreewith you,” Jacques said slowly, “but thatwas apolitical decision, and I can see their point. It’s one thing for us to call onManticoran assistance to prevent Tsang from forcibly seizing control of theBeowulfTerminus.AndIdon’tthinkanyoneonBeowulfhasanyproblemwiththe notion that your Navy is going to make damned sure it hangs on to theterminus and deploys however many ships it has to to do it. But if we startputting Manty ships-of-the-wall in orbit around the planet, it’s going to lookcoercive as hell. Beowulfers who have reservations about our joining theAlliance—and thereare someof those, after all—are likely to feel threatened,andthat’snotwhatwewantintherun-uptothevote.Forthatmatter,ifwehadMantywallersorbitingBeowulf,itcouldonlymakeReidandNeng’sjobintheAssemblyeveneasier.

A loteasier toconvictusof treasonunder thosecircumstances,don’tyou

think?”“But as you just pointed out, we already know how that vote’s going to

comeoutintheend,anyway,”Honorshotback.“IsaidIwasn’tsureIdisagreedwithyou.”Benton-RamirezyChoushook

hishead.“Butthere’sanotherconsiderationtoit,aswell.Felicia’sgoingtodropherlittlenukeintheAssemblyassoonasthevotesaretalliedonReid’smotion,andwecan’taffordtolettheMandarinsortheirmouthpiecescastdoubtonthelegitimacy of her actions or of the vote. If there’s anything but Beowulfanwarships in orbit around the planet, you know they’re going to claim thatwhatevertheBoardofDirectorssaysorhowevertheelectoratevotes,itwasallcoercedbythethreatofManticoranwarheads.”

“Ihate tosay it,but I think they’vegota point, Honor,”Hamish pointedout,andevenEmilynoddedinagreement.

“I didn’t say they didn’t have a point, Hamish,” Honor said a bit tartly.“WhatIsaidisthatIquestionwhetherornotit’sagoodenoughpointtoparkallofourmodernwallerstoofarfromtheinnersystemtointerveneifsomething…untowardhappens.”

“Whichiswhywe’reworkingonMycroft,”Hamishpointedout,andHonorwasforcedtonodinacknowledgment.SneakyofhimtouseMycroft,sinceshewastheonewho’dfirstsuggestedtheconcepttoSonjaHemphill.

One of the problems the Alliance was bound to face if the situationcontinued to deteriorate was the need to free up capital ships for mobileoperations rather than tying them down in static defenses. Honor, as theunwillingbeta tester forShannonForaker’sMoriaritysystem,haddevelopedaprofound respect for the effectiveness of massed MDM pods in the systemdefenserole.MichelleHenke’ssuccessatSpindlehadreconfirmedthatrespectevenbeforeFilareta’s spectaculardemise.WhichwaswhyHonorhaddevotedquite a bit of thought to ways in which Moriarity’s system-wide network ofdispersedsensorandfirecontrolstationscouldbeupdatedtotakeadvantageoftheMark23and theMark23E.TheanswerHemphillhadcomeupwithwasMycroft,namedforacharacteroutofthesamepre-spacedetectivefictionwhichhadgivenForakerMoriarityinthefirstplace.

Essentially,MycroftwassimplyacoupleofdozenKeyhole-Twoplatformsparkedatvariouspoints inastarsystem.Itwasa littlemorecomplicated thanthat,sincetheplatformsweredesignedtooperateonbeamedpowerfromtheirmotherships,so itwasnecessary toprovide each platformwith its own powerplant.Anditwasalsonecessary toprovide therawfirecontroland therestofthe supporting hardware and software whichwas normally parked aboard theplatform’sdeployingship-of-the-wall.

Thosewere relatively straightforward problems in engineering, however,especiallywithanentireplanet toworkwith,and techcrewswereworking atbreakneck pace even as Honor stoodwith her uncle and her spouses tomeetthem.

Mycroft’s advantages over Moriarity would be profound. Unlimited byMoriarty’slightspeedcontrollinks,MycroftwouldbeabletotakefulladvantageoftheMark23EandtheFTLreconnaissanceplatformswhichwerealsobeingthickly seeded throughout the system’s volume.And unlikeMoriarity—whichhadbeenunarmedanddefenselesswhenHonorusedHemphill’sBaldurtotakeit out—Keyhole-Two platformswere simply crammed with active antimissiledefenses.Nodoubttheycouldbetakenout,butitwouldbeadifficulttask,andenoughofthemwerebeingdeployedaspartofMycrofttoensuresurvivabilitythroughsheerredundancy.

“I agree that once Mycroft’s up and running, anybody who goes afterBeowulfisgoingtogetbloodiedinahurry,”

she said now. “I guessmymain concerns are thatMycroft isn’t a visibledeterrent, especially sincewe’re keeping it so completely underwraps till it’sactuallyupandrunning,and,secondly,thatitisn’tupandrunningyetandwon’tbeforatleastanothercoupleofmonths.Maybelonger.”

Sheshookherhead.“It’sthatwindowthatworriesme,”she said soberly. “In theMandarins’ place, I’dmake it a point toassume

thatwe had to be aware of Beowulf’s vulnerability and be doing somethingaboutit,butI’mnotatallsuretheywill.”

“Well,”Benton-RamirezyChousaidwithashrugthatwasjustabitmorephilosophicalthanhismind-glowtasted,“Iguessthere’sonewaytofindout.”

“Andthat’swhatI’mafraidof,UncleJacques,”shesaid.“That’swhatI’mafraidof.”

ChapterThirty-FourFelicia Hadley sat once more in the Beowulf delegation’s box in the

ChamberofStars.Herheadwaserect,hershoulderssquared,andanyonelookingathercould

have been excused for not recognizing the mixture of anger, weariness,frustration, grief, and…emptiness behind those outwardly tranquil eyes. Afterall, she couldn’t sort out all those feelings herself, so why should she haveexpectedanyoneelsetounderstandthewayshefelt?

ThetwoweeksofscheduleddebateonTyroneReid’smotionhadbeentheugliestHadley could remember ever having seen. Thatwas hardly a surprise,given the position Kolokoltsov and the rest of the Mandarins faced. They’dpulledoutallthestopstofocustheLeague’sfearandanxietyonsomeoneelsein

ordertosavethemselves,andtheyknewallthetricksofthegame.Theattackshad been carefully orchestrated, aimed from every imaginable quarter andendlesslyrepeatedbyflocksofcooptednewsiesandmediatalkingheads,togivethem maximum credibility with the public. There were a few reporters, likeAudreyO’Hanrahan,whogenuinelyseemedtobe trying tocoverbothsidesofthedebate, just as therewere someAssemblydelegateswho’d tried toget thetruthout.

Butthosedelegates,likethenewsiestryingtodotheirjobs,weredrownedinthetideofattackers.ThereweresimplytoomanymembersoftheAssembly—andtoomanyinthemedia—whoowedtheMandarinstoomanyfavors(andaboutwhomMalachaiAbruzzi’soperativesknewtoomanysecrets)fortheretobeanyotheroutcome.

Two things had surprised her, however. One was the degree of genuinehatredsomeofherfellowdelegateshadspewedoutintheirattacksonBeowulf.Reid’sallieshadplacedtheirdartscarefully,wrappingtheir fierydenunciationsaroundacoreofcoldcalculation,butothershadjoinedtheassaultontheirown,lashingoutinanalmostincoherentfurythatdidn’tcarewhatthelawmightsay,wasn’tconcernedwithwhyBeowulfmighthavedonewhatithaddone.No,thatfury fedonlyonpanic stricken reports of theManticorans’ superiorweaponryandfear thatBeowulf’s“treason”hadsomehowfreed thatweaponry to ravagethe entire Solarian League. Of course, no one had bothered to explain howBeowulf’spermittingImogeneTsang’sfleettobemassacredwouldhaveavertedthatthreat,nowhadthey?

Well,befair,Felicia,shetoldherself.It’snotallfearofwhattheManties’weapons can do, now is it? Some of those people have started gettingmessengers from transstellarsbased in theirhomesystems.Aglimmerofwhatwithdrawing all thoseManticoranmerchantmen and shutting down the hyperbridges reallymeans is starting to sink in, and theydon’t like that a bit. Theywantthehideofanyoneassociatedwith thepeoplegettingready to inflict thatmuchhurtontheircorporatesponsors.

No doubt they did, yet what had surprised her even more than the furycomingatherhomesystemfromsomanyquarterswasthefactthatsomeoftheotherdelegationshadactually spoken inBeowulf’sbehalf.Not thatBeowulf’sactionsmetwithcompleteapprobationevenfromthem,becausetheydidn’t.Butat least some of the League’s elected representatives truly did seem moreconcerned about getting at the truth, or even considering the legal andconstitutional implications of Bewoulf’s acts, than with simply scapegoatingsomeoneelse.

Ofcourse,thereweren’tverymanyofthem.

Oh,befair,shescoldedherselfagain,rathermoreseriously.Standinguptothis kind of hysteria at all requires more guts than anyone running for theAssembly ever expected to need!You always recognized it was really only arubber stamp for people like theMandarins,didn’t you? Sure, youwanted tochangethat,butyouknewdamnedwelldeepinsidethatyouweren’tgoingto.

Nobodywas.Andnownobody’severgoingtohavethechanceto.Shegaveherselfamentalshakeasthatlastthoughtranthroughhermind.

Theyweren’tgoingtobreaktheMandarins’griptoday,no.Sheknewthat.Buttherewasstillhopeforthefuture,wasn’tthere?Didn’ttherehavetobe?Lookatwhat had happened in the Republic of Haven. They’d recovered theirConstitution,anditlookedliketheyweremakingthatstandup,too.Ofcourse,the Republic was a lot smaller than the League, and its corruption had beengivennowherenearaslongtosinkintothebloodandtheboneoftheirpoliticalprocesses.

YetpeoplelikeEloisePritchartandThomasTheismanhadpulleditoff,andthatmeantittrulywaspossiblefortheLeagueaswell.

AnditlooksliketheLeague’sgoingtogetjustasbadlyhammeredmilitarilyas thePeople’sRepubliceverdid, sheremindedherselfglumly.Thequestion’swhetherornotit’lllearnenoughalongthewayto—

Theshimmeringreverberationofadeep-tonedmusicalchimeechoedovertheChamberofStars’vastness,interruptingherthoughts.

TheAssemblywasinsession.***The usual pointless opening ceremonies seemed even more meaningless

thanusual today.They’dneveractuallybeenmore than thehollow formsofarepresentativebodywhichhadlongsincelostanymeaningfulpoliticalpower.

Lipservice toadreamwhichevenHadley had to acknowledge had neverbeenmorethanadream,really.

YetthatpretensethattheAssembly’sdelegatesactuallyrepresentedthewilloftheSolarianelectorategratedespeciallypainfullyonhernervesthismorning.

She was scarcely surprised when Speaker Neng moved through thoseceremoniesmorebrisklythanusual,though.

Afterall,theSpeakerhadajobtodoforthepeopleshereallyrepresented,andaftersomanydaysofviciousdebateitwastimetogettoit.

The last empty formality was completed, Speaker Neng pronounced thepresenceofalegalquorum,andthenhergavelcracked.

“TheAssemblywillcome toorder,”sheannounced crisply. Shewaited a

heartbeat, then continued, “The Honorable Delegate from Old Terra has thefloor.”

TyroneReid’simagereplacedhersonthehugedisplay.Astheoriginatorofthemotion,itwashisrightundertheAssembly’srules

tomoveforthevotenowthatalltimeallocatedfordebatehadbeenexpended.Hestoodthere,hisexpressiongrave,hiseyesartisticallytroubled,andthendrewadeepbreath.

“MadamSpeaker,Icallforthevote.”Nengreappearedonthedisplay.

“HonorableDelegates,thevotehasbeencalledonmotionAD-1002-07-02-

22, to impanel a special commission to investigate the alleged treason of thesystemgovernmentofBeowulfinaidingandabettinganenemyoftheSolarianLeague.Alldebatehavingbeencompleted,theChairnowcallsthevote.”

Herimagestoodthere,hoveringintheair,whilevoteswerecastthroughouttheenormouschamber.Itdidn’ttakelong.

Shelookeddown,consideringthenumbers,thenraisedherheadoncemore.“The vote is eight thousand seven hundred and twelve in favor, two

thousandninehundredandthreeopposed.Themotioniscarried.”Aroarwentup,andHadley’s jawclenched.Not in surprise,but inanger.

TheonlysurprisewasthatalmostaquarteroftheAssemblyhadvotedagainstthemotion.

That was a dangerous sign for the Mandarins, given the massive effortthey’dmounted to pass themotion in the first place. It suggested all sorts ofunpleasantthings,yetthatwasforthefuture.Fornow…

Shepunchedherattentionkeyandsatback,armsfolded,whileshewaited.Theroarofapprovalcontinuedforseveralsecondsbeforeitfinallytrickledoffslowly intosomethingapproachingquiet.ThenNeng lookedbackdownatherpanel,andhergavelcrackedagain.

“TheAssemblywillreturntoorder!”Hertonewassharp,chiding,and thedelegateswhowerestilloutof theirseats,stillcelebrating theirvictory, lookedupatherinsurprise.Thenthey—slowly—obeyedthecommand,andshewaitedanotherfewmomentsbeforeshelookedinHadley’sdirection.

“The Chair recognizes the Honorable Delegate from Beowulf,” sheannounced.

Hadley didn’t bother to stand as her image replaced the Speaker’s. Shesimply sat there, looking out of the display as a silence settled over the

thousands of delegates. She could feel all those other eyes, almost taste theburning curiosity behind them. How would defeated Beowulf respond?Whatcould she possibly say in the wake of this totally unprecedented publichumiliation…and scapegoating? She let them wonder for several endlessseconds,andwhenshespoke,hervoicewascoldandhard.

“I have served as Beowulf’s representative to this Assembly for almostfortyT-years. In that time, I’ve triedwithout success to findsome trace, somefragment,ofthepowerandtheresponsibilityandthehighstandardsofpersonalconductenvisionedforitbythedraftersofourConstitution.There’snoquestionof what the drafters intended, what they expected from this Assembly. Thewordsare there foranyone to readandunderstand.Theexpectationsareclear.Yet instead of finding those things, I’ve become intimately familiar with the‘businessasusual’mentalityofthisChamber.Likeallofyou,I’vealsobecomeawareofwherethetruepowerintheformulationoffederallaw,regulations,andpolicylies.EvenifIhadn’t,evenifIcontinuedtocherishtheslightestillusionthat the elected representatives of the League’s citizens had one shred ofauthorityatthefederallevel,thisvotehasjustdemonstratedthetrueownersofpower in the Solarian League once again. It is nothing more nor less than arubberstampedapprovaloftheunelectedbureaucratswhoillegallywieldpowerfarbeyondanythingtheConstitutionevergrantedthem.Arubberstampdutifullyaffixedtotheirefforttosilenceallinternaloppositiontothedisastrouspolicy—and war—to which they’ve committed the League. Beowulf’s reward forattemptingtopreventthatwar—ortoatleastcutitshortbeforeitconsumesstillmoremillionsoflivesandtrillionsupontrillionsofcredits—istobeinvestigatedfor‘treason’

becauseitasserted theautonomyguaranteed toeverymemberstarsystemoftheLeague.Thesameautonomythehomestarsystemofeverydelegatewhojustvotedinfavorofthismotiontakesforgrantedeverysingleday.”

Shepaused,browneyeshardwithcontemptanddisdain.TheChamberofStars was deathly still, its quiet broken only by a handful of voices shoutingdenialsofherassertions.

“Weexpectednothingelse fromamorally,ethically,and legallybankruptinstitution,”shecontinuedfinally,hervoicecolderthanever.“However,thereisanother rightwhich theConstitution guarantees to everymember star system,andBeowulfchoosestoexercisethatrighttoday.

Ifwecannotopposethe‘Mandarins’’criminalanddisastrouspoliciesfrominside the system, we will no longer attempt to. Instead, as the leader ofBeowulf’s delegation, acting on the instructions of my star system’s legallyelectedgovernment, I hereby announce that Beowulfwill hold a system-wide

plebiscite to T-months from today to determine whether or not the BeowulfsystemshallwithdrawfromtheSolarianLeague.”

The lonely voices shouting insults and denials vanished suddenly into adeep,singingsilence,andshesmiledgrimly.

“That vote will be fairly, legally, and publicly taken, but speakingpersonally, I have no doubt whatsoeverwhat its outcomewill be.And, againspeakingpersonally,Icautionallofyoutohavenoillusionsuponthathead.

You’ve passed yourmotion, and you’rewelcome to investigate anythingyou choose to investigate, but Beowulf will no longer be party to thebloodsoakedpoliciesofacorruptandvenaloligarchypreparedtomurderentirestarnationsratherthanadmiteventhepossibilityofwrongdoingonitspart.Wereservetherighttodisassociateourselvesfromcriminalenterprisesandmurderon an interstellar scale, and to take whatever actions the citizens of our starsystem believe are required of it in the crisis which Permanent SeniorUndersecretaryKolokoltsovandhisfellow‘Mandarins’havecreated.Forthoseofyouwhohavechosentovoteinfavorofthismotion,wewishyoujoyofyouractions…butIdon’tthinkyou’llfindit.”

Shehitthekeythatclearedherimagefromthedisplay,andtheChamberofStarswentberserk.

ChapterThirty-Five“So are you still so blasé about how easily Reid’s motion is going to

‘neutralize’Beowulf,Innokentiy?”Nathan MacArtney’s voice was rather caustic, Innokentiy Kolokoltsov

thought.“Iwasnever‘blasé’aboutit,Nathan,”thepermanentseniorundersecretary

for foreignaffairs replied.“AndInever said itwouldneutralize them. I said IexpectedittoshiftthefocusofthedebatefromustoBeowulfandputamuzzleon Hadley, and I think that’s exactly what’s happening. I’ll admit I neverexpectedevenBeowulfers togo this far,andsureashellnot togo thisfar thisquickly, but it does look like were going to take Beowulf out of play in theChamberofStars,doesn’tit?Ibelieveit’scalledlookingforasilverlining.”Hesmiledthinly.“Sincewecan’tdoanythingtostopit,wemightaswelltrytofindabrightsidetolookononceit’sdone.”

Hadley’s bombshell announcement had completely blindsided him. Headmittedit.He’denvisionedquiteafewpossibleoutcomesofReid’smotion,butnever that Beowulf would simply walk away from its seven centuries ofmembership in the League. No one had ever done that, andmost people hadassumed that, like so much more of the original Constitution, the right ofsecessionhadwitheredandwasnolongerapplicable.

Beowulf’s government obviously didn’t see it that way, and while thesystem’s secession had not yet become a fact, there seemed to be very littlechance of the plebiscite failing. Benton-Ramirez and his fellow directorsundoubtedlyhadbetteraccesstopollingdataonBeowulfanpublicopinionthananyoneonOldEarthdid,butwhattheMandarinsdidhaveaccesstomadegrimreading. At least eighty-two percent of the system population supported theBoardofDirectors’decisiontoacceptManticoranassistancetopreventImogeneTsang’stransitoftheBeowulfTerminusagainstBeowulf’swishes.

Anonly slightly lowerpercentage—seventy-five to seventy-eight percent,dependingonwhosepollonechose—firmlybelievedithadpreventedthousandsof additional Solarian deaths. And somewhere around eighty- five percentfavoredanoutrightmilitaryalliancewiththeStarEmpireagainsttheboogiemanof this“MesanAlignment” figmentof theManties’ imagination. ItwasonlyaveryshortstepfromanallianceagainstMesatooneagainstanyoneperceivedasservingthe“MesanAlignment’s”purposes,andwhileKolokoltsovhadn’tseenanyspecificdataonthequestionofoutrightsecessionfromtheSolarianLeague,againstthatsortofpublicopinionbackground,hewassicklycertainHadleywasrightaboutthefinalvoteonthequestion.

Worse, thereseemed tobe very little the federal government could do tostopitfromhappening.NotwiththeRoyalManticoranNavyanditsalliesonlyasinglewormholetransitaway.Thatwasbadenough,butaccordingtohisagentswithintheAssembly,itappearedthesystemdelegationsofStrathmore,Kenichi,and Galen were strongly inclined to recommend that their own star systemsfollowBeowulf’s example!Hedidn’t know if any of themhad actuallymadetheirrecommendationsyet,buttheirsystemgovernmentscertainlyseemedangryenoughtotaketheplungeoncetheydid,especiallyifBeowulfsucceeded in itsdefiance of the entire League, and the thought was terrifying. The averagepopulation of the four star systemswas over six billion, and the decision oftwenty-fourbillionSolarian citizens towithdrawwouldbe abodyblow to thefederalgovernment’sauthorityandprestige.

No,hethought,nottothefederalgovernment,buttothefederalsystem.Tous,sittingrighthere.And,damnit,sometimesIthink they’dberight!Butwhatotheralternativeisthere?Wecan’treformasystemthat’sbeeninplaceforthebetterpartofa thousandT-yearson therun.Especiallynot in themiddleofamilitaryandconstitutionalcrisis!TheentireLeaguewouldcomeapart!

BeforewecanfixtheLeague’sproblems—assuminganyonecanfix them—wehavetoholdittogetherlongenoughtobefixed.

“Well, personally, I don’t think your silver lining’s especially bright,”MacArtneysaidsourly.“I’vebeenhearingfromalotofpeoplewhoaren’tany

toohappyabout the invasionhighwayBeowulfoffers if theMantiesdecide tocomeafterusrighthere.Forthatmatter,I’mnottoocrazyaboutiteither!”

“Theworst thing theManties could possibly do—from their perspective,notours—istoattacktheSolSystem.”

Kolokoltsovbarkedalaugh.“Infact,Iwishtheywould!It’stheonethingIcanthinkofpracticallyguaranteedtogetall theCoreWorlds linedup tobackus!”

“Youreally thinkso?”AgatáWodoslawski sounded doubtful. “Imean, ifthey—andtheHavenites,too;let’snotforgetthem—weretotakeoutOldTerra,you don’t think thatwould terrify the rest of the League into throwing in thetowel?”

“Only in the shortest possible term,” Kolokoltsov said positively.“Personally, I think itwould convincemost of the otherCoreWorlds that theManties and their friends are just as expansionist and arrogant aswe’ve beentelling them they were all along. It would sure as hell knock any notion ofdistant,pluckylittleneobarbsdefendingthemselvesagainstSolarianaggressionontheheadandturnthemintocynical imperialistsstrikingat theveryheartofthegreateststarnationinhumanhistory!ThemostlikelythingfortherestoftheCoreWorldstodointhatcasewouldbetosueforacease-firejustlongenoughto figure out how to build matchingmissiles of their own, then hammer this‘GrandAlliance’flat,andtheMantieshavetoknowit.”

Heshookhisheadand lookedstraightatMacArtneyevenashespoke toWodoslawski.

“I don’t see theMantieswanting to pump that kind of hydrogen into thefire,Agatá.Notunlesswedrivethemtoit.Forthatmatter,Idon’tseeBeowulfwantingtopissoffsomanyofitsneighborsbyallowingthatsortofattack.

Whatever happens to the League, eventually Beowulf’s going to have tolivewiththestarsystemsarounditagain.

If theBeowulfers stick thatkindofknife into theLeague’sback,mostofthosestarsystemsaregoingtobegunningforthemoncethesmokeclearsandthetechimbalancehasleveledoutagain.”

“Assuming the damnedBeowulfers are smart enough to figure that out,”MacArtneygrumbled.

“Ithinktheyare,”Kolokoltsovsaidwithjustabitmoreconfidencethanheactuallyfelt.

“Maybe so,”Wodoslawski said, “but there are other factors to consider.Like what’s going to happen if someone else decides to follow Beowulf’sexampleonthisone.ItcouldturnoutBeowulf’sonlythefirstdropofrain,andifthathappens,wemayfindoutjusthowbadlyscrewedwereallyare.”

Kolokoltsov grimaced and decided—again—not to mention his agents’reportsaboutBeowulf’sneighbors.

There’d be time for that once he’d been able to confirm the accuracy ofthose reports. But the permanent senior undersecretary of the treasury had apoint,andhenoddedashewasforcedtoconcedeit.

“That’s one of the things I’m hearing about from the transstellars, too,”MacArtneysaid.“They’reallworriedthateveniftheMantiesdon’tuseBeowulftogoaftertheLeaguefromtheinsideout,Beowulf’sexampleisgoingtocauseotherCoreWorldstodecidetositthisoneout.

That’dbebadenough,butwhathappenswhentheShellhearsaboutthis?”Heshookhishead.“YouknowthatevenalotoftheLeaguememberssystemsouttherearen’tallthatfondofourpolicies.Iwon’tsaytheyfeelasexploitedastheProtectorates and theVerge, but theyknowwe’ve consistently favored theCoreWorldeconomiesovertheirown.AndalotofthemareahellofalotclosertoManticoreandHaventhantheyaretous,evenleavingthewormholenetworkoutoftheequation.IftheyseeusstartingtoshedCoreSystems,what’stokeepthemfromdecidingtojumpshipandlookforabetterdealoutoftheManties,too?”

Whatyoumean,Nathan,Kolokoltsov thought, is thatyourbuddies in thetransstellars are worried about somebody’s seceding from the League andnationalizing their investments.That’swhat they’re really worried about. Andit’s what they’re turning the screws on you about, too. They could care lesswhetherornottheentireShellstaysin theLeagueas longas itwentonbeingbusinessasusualforthem!Whichitwon’t,ofcourse,ifthepeoplethey’vebeenexploitingforsolongseeachancetogetoutfromunderthem.

Henoddedgravelyoncemore,keepinghisthoughtsoutofhisexpression.AndthetruthwasthatwhatMacArtneywasdescribingwouldbecomeanalltooplausible scenario if thingswent all the way south on them. For that matter,KolokoltsovhadentertainedtheoccasionalnightmareaboutwhatwouldhappenifthetransstellarsstartedtryingtocutdealswiththeManties.

GiventhewaytheirtentaclescompletelypermeatedtheLeague,theycoulddo an enormous amount of damage if they decided to throw in openly—or,possiblyevenworse,clandestinely—withtheMantiesandHavenites.HehadnoideahowlikelytheMantieswouldbetoacceptanofferlikethat,butheneverdoubtedthatthe“loyalandpatriotic”menandwomenwhoranthetransstellarswouldmakeitinaheartbeatiftheythoughtitwouldbenefitthem.Whichmeanthehadtokeepthemhappy—orashappyashecould,atleast—too.

Wonderful.“IthinkNathanhasapoint,”OmosupeQuartermainsaid.Shedidn’tmuch

likeMacArtney,andshedidn’tsoundveryhappyaboutsupportinghim,but thepermanent senior undersecretary of commerce was probably the only personhearingmorefromnervoustransstellarsthanhewas.“Ijusthavethisfeelingtheavalancheisstillaccelerating,”shecontinued,lookingaroundattheholographicfacesoftheelectronicconferenceroom.“It’sonlygoingtogetworseandworse,atleastfortheimmediatefuture,andifwedon’tdosomethingtoatleastslowitdown,wemayrunoutoftimetodoanythingelse.”

Wodoslawskilookedathercolleague,andKolokoltsov’sheartsankas thepermanent senior undersecretary of the treasury nodded slowly. The nature ofWodoslawski and Quartermain’s responsibilities meant the two femaleMandarins ended up supporting one another more often than not, andKolokoltsovdidn’tlikethewayhethoughtthiswasheaded.

“Whatwouldyoulikeustodototryandslowitup,Omosupe?”MalachaiAbruzziasked.

“Idon’tknow,”Quartermainadmitted.Sheraisedherrighthand,wavingitin anuncharacteristically helpless,worriedgesture. “I just know that ifwe letBeowulfdothis, ifwejuststandbackandwavegoodbye,we’reestablishingaprecedent.TheexactkindofprecedentNathan’sworryingaboutwheretheShellsystemsareconcerned.Right thisminute, the jury’sstilloutonwhetherornotBeowulfreallydoeshavetheconstitutionalrighttoleave.Butifweletthemgo,aren’twesayingforallthegalaxytoseethattheydo?Andiftheydo,theneverymembersystemdoes!”

“Maybe, but the simple truth of the matter is that we can’t stop them,”Abruzzipointedoutwithunwontedgentleness.“They’vegottohaveahundredorsoMantySDssittingontopoftheBeowulfTerminusrightthisminute.Afterwhat happened to Filareta, we all know what would happen if we got intoshootingrangeofthem,too.”Heshrugged.“Thatconstitutesaprettyconclusiverejoinderastowhetherornotwehavethe‘right’tostopthem,I’mafraid.”

“But the fact that we can’t stop them doesn’tmeanwe have to condonetheiractions,”MacArtneysaid,hisexpressionmulish.

“Meaningwhat?”Kolokoltsovasked.“Meaning we don’t have to admit their actions are legal.” MacArtney

tapped an index finger on his desk for emphasis. “We can condemn them,announce that they’re illegal, and that we intend to take firm action at theearliestpossiblemoment.”

“Whichwillonlyunderscore thefact thatwecan’t takeanykindof ‘firmaction’rightnow,”Abruzziretorted.

“It’dmakeuslookridiculous,Nathan!”“Maybe, and maybe not,” Quartermain said, her expression suddenly

hopeful. “Oh, I agree it would underscore the fact that we can’t take actionagainst Beowulf, but the entire League knows Beowulf’s in a very specialastrographicposition,thankstoitsdirectconnectiontoManticore.Mostpeopleunderstandhowthatlimitsouroptionswhereit’sconcerned.Butifwemakethatour guiding principle, then we’ll have positioned ourselves to react…moreforcefullyinthecaseofstarsystemswecanactuallyreach.”

“Basically,you’resayingwerejectanyone’srighttosecede,whatevertheymay think the Constitution says, and use force to prevent any additionalsecessions?”

Wodoslawskisaidwiththeairofawomanwantingtobecertaintherewasnoconfusiononthepoint.

“If we have to,” Quartermain replied unflinchingly. “I don’t like thethought, and, frankly, there are a lot of potential secessionist systems weprobablycouldn’treachmilitarily.Butwe’dbeabletoreachalotofthem,andiftheydon’thave thesupermissiles theManties and theHavenites do, FrontierFleetshouldbemorethancapableofkeepingtheminline.”

“We probably could,” Abruzzi conceded. “It’d be hard to spin that asanything except us using the iron fist, though. I mean, after everything elsewe’vealreadyhadtothrowoutthereinthe’faxessincethisthingbegan.”

“Well, if we’re going to take the position that Beowulf has no right tosecede,”MacArtneysaid,“thenHadleyandtherestoftheirdelegationhavejustcommittedtreason.”

Hesmilednastily.“Thatbeingthecase,Ithinktheyshouldbearrestedandpreventedfromleavingthesystem!”

Oh,that’samarvelousidea,Kolokoltsovthoughtbitterly.“Nathan’s probably right,” Quartermain put in, and Wodoslawski was

noddingagain.“And if we’re talking about arresting the bastards for treason over this

secessioncrap,”MacArtneywenton,“Ithinkweshouldconsiderwhetherornottheir decision to harborCarmichaeldoesn’tconstituteanother act of treason!”Hissmilewasevenuglierthanbefore.“Ifweputthearmonthem,thenwe’reinapositiontoputthearmonhim,aswell.”

“Whoa!Justslowdown,Nathan!”Abruzzisaidsharply.“If we start throwing terms like ‘treason’ around now, and start strong-

armingAssemblydelegatesbefore thisplebisciteof theirshasevenbeenvotedon,therestofthedelegatesaregoingtoraisemerryhell.Notbecausethey’reallthatfondofBeowulf,either!Youthinktheywon’tsee thatasaprecedent thatcouldcomehometobitethem,too?”

“I’mnotsosureitwouldbeabadthingiftheydid,”

MacArtneyshotback.“Iftheyfigureoutwe’regoingtohammeranybodywholooks like turningonus, then they’llprobably think twice—oreven threetimes!—aboutdoingjustthat.”

“Thisisn’ttheVerge,andwe’renottalkingaboutOFSprotectorates,” Abruzzi said flatly. “We’re talking about Core Worlds.

We’re talking about star systems that have the internal industry to buildsignificantnaviesoftheirowniftheurgestrikesthem.We’realreadylookingata confrontation againstsomebodywhoseweapons technologywe can’tmatch,and youwant to go around irritating our own star systems into deciding theyhavetobuildamilitarycapabilitytoprotectthemselvesfromus?”

Thepermanentsenior undersecretary of education and information shookhishead,hisexpressionincredulous,andMacArtneyflushedangrily.Heopenedhismouthtosnapsomethingback,butKolokoltsovraisedonehandina

“stop”gesture.“Calmdown,Nathan.Andyou,Malachai.”He shookhishead. “Youand

Omosupe and Agatá have raised valid concerns, Nathan. ButMalachai has apoint,too.Ifwestartresortingtothekindoftacticsyou’resuggesting,weuptheanteforeverybody,andrightthisminute,wecan’taffordthat.”

“Wecan’taffordnot to,”MacArtneyreplied stubbornly, andQuartermainnodded.Wodoslawski seemedmore torn, however, Kolokoltsov noted. “If wedon’tgetourheelfirmlyonthiskindofthingnow,weneverwill.”

“But Malachai’s right that we can’t get our heel on it right now,”Kolokoltsovsaidinflexibly.“Weliterallycan’t.

So if we try to grab Hadley and Carmichael, we only run the risk ofalienating the otherCoreWorlds at a timewhen ourweakness is going to beobvious to everyone. Especiallywhen grabbingHadley andCarmichael is theonlythingwecando,becausewesureashellaren’tgoingtobeabletofollowthroughbyarrestingtherestoftheBeowulfsystemgovernment!”

Heshookhishead.“No.Wecan’tmakethisaboutwhetherornotsecessionislegal.Notnow.

That’ssomethingwe’regoingtohavetoaddresslater,but it’snotanythingwewanttogoanywherenearatamomentwhenweknowotherCoreWorldsareatleastconsideringit.”

“Wedon’thaveanychoice,”McCartneybegan,“andifyouthink—”“Wait,Nathan,”Wodoslawski interrupted, gazing intently atKolokoltsov.

Thepermanentseniorundersecretaryoftheinteriorlookedaffronted,buthealsoclosedhismouth,andWodoslawskicockedherheadtooneside.

“Whatdidyoumean‘wecan’tmakethisaboutwhetherornotsecessionislegal,’Innokentiy?”sheasked.

“I mean we have to make it about whether or not Beowulf’s actionsthreatenthesecurityoftheLeagueingeneralandtheCoreWorldsinparticular,instead,”

Kolokoltsov replied. “I think we have to take a more or less hands-offposition on the entire issue of secession’s legality for the moment. That’ssomethingweshouldprobably hand over toReid andNeng once they get theinquiry intoBeowulf’s collaborationwithManticore underway. I’m sureReidwill be able to come up with a whole stack of legal precedents he canconvincingly claimhave invalidateda supposed ‘constitutional right’nobody’sexercised in seven hundred years! Jurisprudence and living constitutional lawhavemovedon,youknow.”

Hesmiled,andAbruzziactuallychuckledoutloud.EvenMacArtneylookedalittlemorethoughtful.“Atthatpoint,”Kolokoltsovcontinued,“weargue thatsecessionfromthe

Leagueisn’tlegal,butfornowweformallyreservejudgmentonthesubject.Wemakeitclearwe’renotconceding thatBeowulfhas theright to leave,but thatwe’renotpreparedtomakeanuglysituationevenworseuntilthere’sbeentimeforthecourtstoruleonwhetherornottheiractionsarelegal.”

“We let the erring sister go—for now, at least—more in sorrow than inanger,youmean?”Abruzziasked,hiseyesnarrowedinthought.“Andwhenwedo,weleaveourselvestheoptionofdecidinglaterthatBeowulfwaswrongandtakingwhateverremedialactionseemsappropriatethen?”

“More or less.” Kolokoltsov nodded. “What I’m trying to do here is todefangtheemotionalaspectsoftheissue.

I’dlovetogetthisresolvedbeforeanybodyelsestartsholdingreferendumsonsecession,youunderstand,butIdoubtwe’regoingtobethatlucky.SowhatI’mlookingtodorightthisminuteistoavoidhandinganyextraammunitiontothepeoplewho’dbe likely toagitate for secession in thereferendumswemaynotbeabletopreventinthefirstplace.”

MacArtney and Quartermain still looked profoundly unhappy, butWodoslawskiactuallylookedabithopeful,Kolokoltsovthought.

“Allwellandgood,”MacArtneygrowledafteramoment,“butitdoesn’tdodiddleyaboutBeowulfrightnow.”

No,andit’snotgoing tomakeanyof those transstellarsanyhappierwithyou, either. Not right now, at least, Kolakowski thought trenchantly.Unfortunately,allwecandoisallwecando!

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t take any action at all against Beowulf,Nathan,” the permanent senior undersecretary for foreign affairs said coolly.“Mindyou,I’mnotsurewhatkindofactionwe’regoingtobeinaposition to

take,butI’minfavorofdoinganythingwerealisticallycan.Ijustdon’twantittobeoverthelegalityorillegalityofsecessionatthispoint.”

“That’swhatyoumeantaboutnotmakingitaboutwhetherornotsecessionislegal,”Wodoslawskisaid.

“Exactly.” Kolokoltsov tipped back in his chair. “I think we need to getKingsford inhere, let him take a lookat anymilitaryoptionswemay have—workablemilitaryoptions,Imean—whereBeowulfisconcerned. If there’sonethatwillwork, I’mentirely in favorofusing it, but not because they illegallysecededfromtheLeague.AtthispointwhatweneedtodoistomakeitoverthesecuritythreattotheLeagueBeowulfrepresentsbecauseof itsassociationwiththe League’s avowed enemies. As Omosupe said, everybody knows aboutBeowulf’s effective proximity to Manticore. That means everybody knowsBeowulfdoes,indeed,representthat‘invasionhighway’

Nathanwastalkingabout.We’dbefullyjustifiedintakingmilitaryactionagainstanystarnationthatwasinaposition toenableaManty invasionof thevery heart of the Solarian League. I don’t think they’d be remotely stupidenough todo it,youunderstand,butwecanmake an ironclad case for takingaction todeprive themof thecapability to do it. Butmaking certain that theycan’twouldbeasimplematterofself-defense,andonewe’dhavenochoicebuttopursue.We’dbederelictinourresponsibilitiestotherestoftheLeagueifwedidn’t!”

“WhichletsushammerBeowulfashardaswewant—assumingwecanfindawaytodo it, that is—withoutevereven touching

thequestionofsecession!”Abruzzisaidenthusiastically.“Exactly,”Kolokoltsovrepeated.“And,Nathan,there’snowayanyoneout

in the Shellwhomight be thinking in terms of seceding is going tomiss thesubtext.

Therewon’tbeasingleofficialwordaboutsecessioninanythingwehavetosayonthesubject,buteveryonewillhearitanyway.”

“And once the immediate furor dies down, Reid and Neng’s committeereports back that Beowulf’s actions were treasonous before it seceded,”Wodoslawskisaidthoughtfully.

“After which Reid produces the precedents to establish that the right ofsecession’s lapsed with the passage of time,” Abruzzi said, noddingenergetically.

Therewassilenceforseveralseconds,thenMacArtneyshruggedirritably.“Idon’t like it,”hegrumbled.“We’restill pussyfooting around the issue,

andalotofpeoplearegoingtorealizeit.”“Iagreewithyou,Nathan,”Quartermainsaid,“butIthinkInnokentiyand

Malachaihavemadesomevalidpoints,too.”Sheshrugged.“Giventhepracticallimitsonwhatwecanactuallydoatthemoment,I’mafraidI’mgoingtohavetoside with them. But”—she glared suddenly at the others—“whatever ourjustification for going afterBeowulf,weneed todo it just as hard and just asquickly as humanly possible. Because Nathan’s got a point, too, people. ThesituationintheVergeisgoingtogostraighttohellonus,nomatterwhatwedo,butthelastthingweneedistohavetheShellgoingupinflamesrightalongwithit.Weneedtogetahandleonthis,andweneedtodoitfast!”

***“You’rekiddingme,”IreneTeaguesaid,staringatDaudal-Fanudahi.The

twoofthemsatonbenchesacrossasmalloutdoortablefromoneanother,eatingtheirlunchasthewarmsummersunspilleddownacrossthem.LakeMichigan’swatersstretchedlimitlesslytowardsthehorizonbelowtherestaurantperchedonatwohundredth-floorbalconyoftheAdmiraltybuilding,andgailycoloredsailsandpowerboatsdottedthatdarkblueexpanseasfarastheeyecouldsee.

Notthateitherofthemwasinmuchofamoodtoappreciatetheviewatthemoment.

“IwishIwere.”al-FanudahisoundedentirelytoocalmforTeague’smood,andsheglaredathim.

“Calmly,Irene,”hesaid,gazingserenelypasthertowardsthelakewatersofarbelow.“Idon’tthinkanyone’slisteningtousouthere,butI’djustassoonnotgiveanyoneareasontothinktheyshouldbelisteningtous,ifyouknowwhatImean.”

Teaguelookedathimforamomentlonger,thennoddedandreachedforherownfork.

“Granted,”shesaid.“But I stand bymy original reaction.Please tellmeyouwerejustmakingareallybadjoke.”

“WishIwere,”herepeatedwithasigh.“Unfortunately,theofficialrequestforintelligenceupdateswillbecoming

throughthisafternoonsometime.AsfarasIcansee,they’reveryseriousaboutit.”“AfterwhathappenedtoFilareta?”Shescoopedupaforkfulofdelicious

tunasaladandchewedwithout tasting itatall.“IknewRajampetwasn’twhatanyonewould’vecalledbrilliant,butIthoughtKingsfordhadaworkingbrain!”

“AsfarasIcantell,hedoes,”al-Fanudahireplied.“Idon’tknowthatthisishis idea, either. But given the kinds of intelligence data they’re going to berequesting,there’snoquestionwhatthey’relookingat.”

“AmilitaryoperationagainstBeowulf?”Sheshookherhead.“That’sgottobetheworstideaI’veheardsinceOperationRagingJusticeitself!”

“I don’t know.” Al-Fanudahi shrugged. “It depends on the missionparametersandtheavailableresources,Iguess.”

“Missionparameters?”Sherolledhereyesathim.“Just what sort of ‘mission parameters’ are going to make our

superdreadnoughtssurvivableagainsttheirsuperdreadnoughts,Daud?”“None that Ican thinkof rightoffhand,”al-Fanudahiconceded.“But the

evidencefromthemerchieswho’vebeenpassingthroughBeowulfsinceRagingJustice does seem to suggest that the Manty forces in Beowulf space areconcentratedaroundtheterminus,nottheplanet.”

“Sowhat?”Teaguedemanded.“Superdreadnoughtsaremobile,youknow!”“Yes,and theBeowulfSystemDefenseForce isanastyhandfulallon its

own, which doesn’t even consider the system’s fixed defenses,” al-Fanudahiagreed. “What I suspect our lords and masters are thinking about is that theManties appear to be trying to avoid stepping on any Solarian sensibilities,especiallyuntilthefinaltallyisinonBeowulf’splebiscite.Itmaybepoliticsontheirpart,forallIknow.”

“Politics?”“IftheywanttoencourageotherstarsystemstofollowBeowulf’sexample

—to encourage the fragmentation of the League—they’d want to avoid anysuggestion that they’re using forcemajeure to turnBeowulf into some sort ofMantypuppet régime,don’tyou think?Oneway todo thatwould tobe to letBeowulf defend Beowulfan space while they defend the terminus, instead ofputtingabatchof theirwallers intoBeowulforbit. Itavoids the appearanceofiron fist pressure on Beowulf’s voters at a particularly delicatemoment…andjusthappens toput their superdreadnoughtsacoupleof light-hoursaway fromBeowulfitself.”

“YoumeanKingsford andBernard are thinking in terms of pouncing onBeowulf—comingstraight inacross the hyper limit and going flat out for theplanet—beforeanyMantyforcesattheterminuscanintervene?”

“Ithinkthat’sabouttheonlythingtheycouldbethinkingof,”al-Fanudahisaid. “I don’t know if it would work, but assuming Beowulf hasn’t beencompletely surrounded by new and nastymissile pods, a big enough force ofsuperdreadnoughts,especiallywithenoughofthenewTechnodynemissilepods,probablycouldfight itswayin throughtheBSDFandthefixeddefenses.Andoncetheycontrolledtheplanetaryorbitals,they’dbejustifiedunderinterstellarlawindemandingthesystem’ssurrender.”

“And exactly where in this fascinating analysis of yours do theManty

superdreadnoughts come in?” Teague inquired politely. “You know, the onesover at the terminus? The ones who are going to come right back over toBeowulfandkickoursorryassesoutofthestarsystem?”

“Oh, those superdreadnoughts?” Al-Fanudahi smiled crookedly at her.“Well,Isupposetheideawouldbethatoncethesystemgovernmentsurrenderedtous,we’d announce special emergency elections—called at the insistence ofthe Beowulfan public, of course—in light of the existing Board of Directors’high-handedandprobablytreasonousactions.Andnodoubtthatnew,legitimatesystemgovernmentwoulddenouncetheprevioussystemgovernment’sdecisionto even consider seceding from the Solarian League. Obviously, it would beincumbentuponustorecognizenew,legitimate—Ididmentionthatitwouldbelegitimate,didn’tI?—systemgovernment’sposition.

And,equallyobviously,Manticorewouldbeonverythinicewhenitcametodenying the legitimacyof thatnewsystemgovernment,giventheirdesire toavoid the puppet master image. So the logic, I imagine, is that since whatManticore reallyneeds iscontrolof theBeowulfTerminus, theMantieswouldrecognizeafaitaccompliwhentheysawitandletushavetheBeowulfSystemback.”

“AndiftheMantiesdon’trolloverthatway?”“In that case, I would imagine, our fleet commander negotiates a

withdrawalfromthestarsystem.Probablyonthegroundsthattheorderswhichsent him there in the first place had misread the true sentiments of theBeowulfers. Now that he’s had the opportunity to observe firsthand that thedecision tosecede enjoys genuine popular support, of course he’s prepared toacknowledge that and retire from the lists. Of course, if Manticore is sounreasonable as to deny a negotiated, peaceful withdrawal with no furthercombat,ourcommandercan’tbeheldresponsibleforanycollateraldamagethatmight befall the system infrastructure—and population, unfortunately—in thecourse of an unprovoked Manticoran attack upon his peaceably departingforces.”

Teaguescoopedupanotherforkfulofsalad,chewedslowly,andswallowed,allwithout takingher incredulous gaze fromal-Fanudahi.Then she shookherhead.

“ThatmaybelesstotallyinsanethanRajampet’sattackontheMantyhomesystem,butthat’snotsayingahellofalot,isit?”sheobservedcaustically.

“No.On the other hand, they’re in a hell of a crack at themoment,” al-Fanudahipointedout.“Ithinktheyfigurethey’vegottodosomething,andI’mafraidtheymaydecidethisisthebestoptionthey’vegot.Andthere’sactuallyat

leastachance—aremoteone,I’llgrantyou,butstillachance—theycouldpullthisoneoff.”

Heshruggedandpoppedanoliveintohismouth.“Personally, Iwouldn’twant tomakeanyheavybetsonourability toget

awaywithit,buttheMantiesaregoingtobecautiousaboutinflamingSolarianpublicopinionanymorethantheyhaveto,especiallyifKingsfordcangetthisupandrunningbeforeanyoftheotherCoreWorldschoosetofollowBeowulf’sexample.ThequestionwouldbewhetherManticorewoulddecideitwouldlookmorelikeanoutsidetyrantinterveningtoprotectacollaborationistcliqueorlikea liberator intervening to prevent the reimposition of an illegitimate,unconstitutionaltyrannyofbureaucrats.”

Hechewedandswallowed,theninspectedhissaladplateforanotherolivebeforehelookedbackupatTeague.

“Interestingchoice,don’tyouthink?”