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# Chapter Thirty-Six

"Astro Control, this is Harvest Joy, requesting inbound clearance and vector. Harvest Joy, clear."

Josepha Zachary leaned back in her command chair and grinned hugely at Jordin Kare. The astrophysicist returned her grin with interest, then raised his right hand in the ancient thumbs-up gesture.

There was a moment of silence, and then the voice of the Astro Control approach officer sounded clearly over the survey ship's bridge speakers.

"Welcome home, Harvest Joy! We've been waiting for you. Clearance granted; stand by to copy vector."

* * *

"I, for one, think this is wonderful news," Abraham Spencer announced firmly.

The renowned financier looked around at his fellow guests. They were seated about a large conference table on an HD set, and among them they represented half a dozen of the best-known financial analysts of the entire Star Kingdom. Spencer himself was probably the most widely known and respected of them all, the long-time Chariman of the Crown Council of Financial Advisors and a confidant and advisor of many of the wealthiest individuals in the Star Kingdom, including Klaus Hauptman. He was also almost a hundred T-years old and one of those same wealthiest individuals in his own right . . . not to mention being handsome, silver-haired, and nearly as photogenic as he was rich.

"With all due respect, Abraham, I can't quite share your unbridled enthusiasm . . . again." Ellen DeMarco, CEO and chief analyst for the sprawling brokerage firm of DeMarco, Clancy, and Jordan, smiled. She was also a member of the CCFA and one of Spencer's closer friends, but they often found themselves on different sides of questions. "I think you may be allowing enthusiasm to get the better of levelheaded judgment this time. The Talbott Cluster is scarcely what I would call a high return market area!"

"Of course it isn't," Spencer replied. "But then, neither is Silesia, when you come right down to it, Ellen. I mean, let's face it. Silesia is riddled with pirates, graft, political corruption, human rights abuses—all of the things which make commerce risky and certainly fail to provide the kind of stable investment climate any rational person would look for. Nonetheless, the Star Kingdom shows an enormous profit in our trade with Silesia. However chaotic conditions there may be, it's a huge market. The margin may be low, but the sheer volume of the trade compensates."

"Perhaps it does," DeMarco conceded. "Although," she added with a wry smile, "you chose that particular example with malice aforethought, Abraham! You know perfectly well that I've been advising for years now against further exposure in Silesia."

"I?" Spencer asked innocently. "You think that I would be guilty of choosing an example on such an ignoble basis?"

"Of course I do. But to return to the point you've just made, Silesia, as you so accurately say, is a huge market. It contains scores of inhabited systems, each with its own population and needs. And for all the chronic instability in the area, we have long-standing relationships with the powers that be. We have no such relationships in the case of Talbott; there are only seventeen inhabited star systems in the entire 'cluster'; none of them have a system population in excess of three billion; and the Solarian League has very strong, direct interests in the region. As I see it, the potential economic return on expanding into that region is offset by the danger it poses to our relations with the League."

"There's something to that," Spencer agreed more seriously. "By the same token, though, I'd argue that our current relations with the Andermani aren't all that good where Silesia is concerned, either. I know that having problems with one neighbor isn't exactly the best reason to go around borrowing problems with another, but in this instance, I really don't see that we have a lot of options."

"Excuse me, Abraham," another participant said, "but we always have options."

"Does that reflect your personal view, Ms. Houseman?" Spencer asked. "Or does it reflect the opinion of your brother?"

"I haven't specifically discussed it with Reginald." There was the faintest hint of an edge in Jacqueline Houseman's voice, but she made an obvious effort to smile pleasantly at the older man. The two of them detested one another cordially, and it was an open secret that Spencer had strongly supported Elizabeth III when the Crown declined Prime Minister High Ridge's nomination of Ms. Houseman for membership on the CCFA. "On the other hand, I don't really have to. Options are what are available to anyone who keeps an open mind and is willing to question the comfortable assumptions of established thinking."

"A point I can entirely agree with." Spencer nodded. "In fact, it's a proposition which I've debated many times with your brother. I only asked because I wondered if the Government is finally prepared to comment officially on this matter."

"As I say, Reginald and I haven't really spoken about it," Houseman said. "And if the Government were about to take any sort of official position, I scarcely think I would be the proper spokesperson for it. On the other hand, you might reflect that Harvest Joy has been home for less than a week. It's just a bit early, don't you think, for the Government to be announcing any official policy decisions?"

"Perhaps. But I don't think it's too early for the Government to at least acknowledge that those decisions are going to have to be made," Spencer replied with a thin smile, and Houseman bristled.

"I scarcely think—" She began in a hotter tone, but Stephen Stahler, the program host, interrupted her smoothly.

"I think we're straying just a bit afield," he said firmly but pleasantly. "We're scheduled to discuss the political aspects of the situation in our next segment. In fact, I believe you and Mr. Spencer are both on that panel, as well, Ms. Houseman. Our focus at the moment, however, is on the economic aspects."

"You're quite correct, Stephen," Houseman said, and smiled more naturally. "Of course, as I'm sure Mr. Spencer would agree, government policy is going to have a major impact on the economic possibilities."

"Oh, certainly. There's no question that," Spencer agreed.

"Well, in that case, and without trying to lead the discussion off topic, I do think that it's legitimate to point out that whether or not we permit the location and . . . diplomatic considerations of this new terminus to dictate our attitude towards it is entirely up to us."

"I'm afraid I can't quite go along with that argument," Spencer said. "Leaving aside the political or diplomatic side of the equation, look at where Talbott lies. It's almost a third of the way around the periphery of the League from Manticore. When you add it to the connections we already have through Phoenix, Matapan, and—via Gregor—Asgerd, our shipping lanes will cover well over two-thirds of the League's total periphery, with huge reductions in transit times for cargos between points as distant from one another as, say, New Tasmania and Sondermann's Star. And that doesn't even consider the Beowulf terminus, which already gives our shippers direct, immediate access to be very heart of the League. That makes this terminus of literally incalculable value, completely regardless of the potential market in the Talbott Cluster itself. And that reality isn't going to go away simply because we decided not to allow it to 'dictate our attitude,' Ms. Houseman."

"I think I have to agree with that portion of your analysis," DeMarco put in. "But by the same token, the potential for further straining our relations with the League also needs to be carefully considered. After all, the extent to which we're able to exploit the astrographic possibilities you've brought up is going to be influenced to a major degree by the attitude of the League government."

"Why?" Spencer asked. "It's not as if the League government were a particularly coherent entity, Ellen. And whatever it might attempt to decree by government fiat, reality will be driven by the potential utility of the connection. Not simply for us, but for all the shippers who will be able to cut months off of their transit times and reach markets they otherwise never could have. So, in my opinion . . ."

* * *

"What do you think, Elaine?" Baron High Ridge asked.

He and the Foreign Secretary sat before the HD in the Prime Minister's residence, watching the roundtable discussion. They'd been joined by Edward Janacek, and Stefan Young was also present in his capacity as Trade Secretary. Technically, High Ridge supposed, New Kiev ought to have been present, as well. Certainly, the Exchequer had a very strong natural interest in anything which promised to have this great an impact on the Star Kingdom's economy, and in this instance, the Prime Minister had made no particular effort to hold New Kiev at arm's length. In fact, he'd invited her to attend, and he wasn't entirely certain why she'd declined the invitation. Her official reason had been her daughter's wedding, and High Ridge was inclined to think the official reason was also the actual one. Of course, one could never be completely confident of that.

"What do I think about what?" Descroix asked. "About Spencer's argument? Or about whether or not Reginald's sister is an idiot?"

"I was thinking about Spencer's analysis of the situation," High Ridge said on a slightly reproving note. She hadn't exactly said "as big an idiot as Reginald," but the implication had been clear enough.

"Oh, that." Descroix's crooked smile told him exactly how much his reaction to her shot at the Housemans amused her. But then she sobered and twitched one shoulder in a half-shrug.

"I don't think there's any doubt at all about its fundamental soundness. One look at a star chart should make that evident enough! And I think the point he's trying to make is that this is one of those situations where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. What this new terminus does is to fill in a whole arc of the League perimeter. But it doesn't really come into its own until you connect it with all of the other coverage available to us through the Junction." She shook her head. "I'm sure Stefan's people—or Marissa's people over at the Exchequer—could give us a much better sense of the dollar-and-cents value, but it doesn't take a financial genius to realize that this can only further enhance the value of our merchant marine."

"Edward?" High Ridge looked at Janacek.

"I have to agree with Elaine," Janacek replied. But where Descroix was obviously pleased over the potential she saw, his admission came grudgingly, and High Ridge knew why.

"I realize you were never very happy about the annexation of Basilisk," the Prime Minister said after a moment, having decided to grasp the dilemma's horns. "I wasn't particularly pleased with it either, you know. And I've had my own strong doubts about the wisdom of territorial expansion in general, as I'm sure you're quite aware. For that matter, the consequences we already face as the result of annexing someplace like Trevor's Star lend added point to the concerns we both share. Nonetheless, I think we would have to agree that this terminus is in a different class from Basilisk."

"Of course it is," Descroix said briskly. "There's no inhabited planet full of alien aborigines for certain political parties to agonize over, for one thing. And it's not going to help bring us into potential armed conflict with something like the People's Republic, either, however much the League might prefer for us to stay out of the region. Not to mention the fact, if we're going to be honest, that Basilisk was on the backside of nowhere when we first discovered it. Everything worthwhile beyond Basilisk has been surveyed and settled only since we opened up the terminus. This terminus gives us direct, immediate access to an already inhabited region and the shipping lanes which serve it. Not to mention the fact that the League's expansion in Talbott's direction means that the economic opportunities will grow by leaps and bounds over the next few decades."

"Elaine is right," the Earl of North Hollow said. "My senior analysts are still putting the final touches on their survey report, but I've seen the rough draft of their conclusions. Basilisk has been an enormous economic boon to the Star Kingdom, whatever the pros and cons of actually annexing the system. But by the most conservative estimate I've seen so far, the Talbott Cluster terminus offers us a minimum increase of over a thousand percent over what Basilisk did for us. A thousand percent." It was his turn to shake his head. "What it boils down to is that this is the most significant single economic event in the history of the Star Kingdom since the original discovery of the Junction itself."

"I realize that," Janacek put in before the Prime Minister could respond. "And you're right, Michael. I don't like the logical consequence, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize what it is. In most ways, I'm still convinced that the last thing we need to be doing is embarking on some sort of interstellar imperialism. Unfortunately, I don't see that we have any real choice but to secure control of the Talbott terminus."

"Even if it brings our interests into potential conflict with those of the Sollies?" High Ridge pressed, and Janacek snorted.

"Spencer's right about that, too," the First Lord replied. "Unless we want to hand the terminus over to the League and unilaterally promise we'll never send our shipping through it, then we're automatically in 'potential conflict' with the Sollies! Their shipping lines are already about as pissed off with us as they can get over the advantages the existing Junction termini give us. I can't see them being any less pissed off when we add this one to the others!"

"In for a penny, in for a dollar, is it?" High Ridge asked with a smile.

"Something like that," Janacek said sourly. "Besides, it's always been established policy for us to at least secure effective extraterritorial control over the Junction's termini even when someone else held system sovereignty. Aside from Beowulf, we've managed to do just that, too. And at least in this instance, as Elaine points out, the terminus system is uninhabited. Not only that, it's never been claimed by anyone else, either. Legally, at least, the door is wide open for us to simply assert ownership."

"And the rest of the Talbott Cluster?" Descroix asked him.

"What about it?" Janacek looked at her warily.

"You know exactly what I mean, Edward," she chided. "Melina Makris may not have been all that happy with your Captain Zachary, but even she had to endorse Zachary's report on the Lynx System government's reaction to Harvest Joy's arrival in their space."

Janacek made an irritated sound deep in his throat, and Descroix smiled sweetly at him. She knew how badly the First Lord wanted to argue that Zachary had exceeded her mission brief in taking her ship to Lynx. Unfortunately, she hadn't, and the Lynxians' reaction to the mere possibility of closer contact with the Star Kingdom had been . . . well, "ecstatic" was one word that came to mind.

"It's hard to blame them, really," the Foreign Secretary went on after a moment, her tone more serious than was its wont. "If they're left to the mercies of Frontier Security, they can look forward to at least fifty or sixty T-years of systematic economic exploitation, probably more like a century of it, before they achieve anything like equality with the League's other star systems. If they can reach some arrangement with us, instead . . ." She shrugged.

"What?" Janacek demanded. "You think they're going to turn out to be another bunch of Graysons? Or that we should even want another batch of neobarbs?"

"I fully appreciate your feelings where Grayson is concerned, Edward. And while I may not share them entirely, I don't reject them out of hand, either," Descroix replied. Which, High Ridge knew, was less than accurate. Descroix might not like Graysons any more than Janacek or he himself did, and she certainly didn't care for their uppity independence of attitude. But despite that, she was firmly of the opinion that bringing Yeltsin's Star into the military alliance against the Peeps had been one of the smarter moves the Cromarty Government had made.

"But whatever Grayson's actual value to us may have been," she continued, "the example of what Grayson has accomplished with our help, like the example of Sidemore, isn't lost on any underdeveloped star system which might find itself falling into our economic sphere. Which may not be such a bad thing, when you come down to it. Frankly, speaking as Foreign Secretary, I think that's a perception we ought to be encouraging, not just for the additional diplomatic pull it gives us with minor star systems, but in our own ultimate economic interest, as well."

Janacek's expression had turned sourer than ever at the mention of Sidemore, and he glowered at her. High Ridge could wish she'd chosen another moment and another way to make her point, but that didn't make what she'd just said untrue, and he shrugged.

"There's undoubtedly something to that," he conceded. "But what, exactly, are you suggesting, Elaine? That we extend the same sort of commercial relationship we have with Grayson to Lynx and the rest of the Talbott Cluster?"

"No," she said. "I'm suggesting that we go further than that."

"Further?" Janacek asked suspiciously.

"Precisely." She shrugged. "We've just agreed that our mere presence in the region is going to create problems for us where the Sollies are concerned. So I don't see any reason to be particularly careful of their exquisite sensibilities. But what I do see is an entire cluster of star systems, most of whom would much prefer to find themselves in our custody rather than ending up as Solly protectorates under the compassionate management of the OFS. And we're also looking at a domestic situation in which public opinion has found itself whipsawed between its negative reaction to the combination of the Havenites' new naval units and their new, more confrontational attitude, on the one hand, and the excitement and enthusiasm Harvest Joy's voyage has whipped up, on the other. What I see here is an opportunity for us to take the lead in exploring the possibility of offering the Talbott Cluster's star systems some sort of protectorate status—or even actual membership in the Star Kingdom."

Janacek made a sound of protest, but she continued over it, speaking directly to High Ridge.

"I understand your party's fundamental opposition to expansionism, Michael. But this is a God-given chance to recapture any public support we may have lost in the wake of developments in Haven. For that matter, if we play it properly, we should be able to do one hell of a lot better than simply regain lost ground!"

* * *

Eloise Pritchart walked briskly to her chair at the head of the table, sat down in it, and turned to face the rest of her assembled Cabinet. No one who didn't know her well could have suspected her anxiety level for a moment from her expression or body language.

"Thank you all for coming, Ladies and Gentlemen," she said with her normal courtesy. "I apologize for convening this meeting on such relatively short notice, but given the nature of the latest reports out of Manticore, I felt it would be wise for all of us to discuss them before the press gets hold of them.

"May I assume all of you have reviewed Director Trajan's report?"

She let her gaze circle the table, and one by one, the Cabinet secretaries nodded.

"Good. In that case, I suppose, we should start with State. Arnold?"

It said volumes for her thespian skills that her tone was pleasant and her smile apparently genuine as she turned to the Secretary of State.

"At first glance," Giancola said after the briefest of pauses, "it's relatively straightforward. The Manty government hadn't taken an official stance before Wilhelm's people dispatched their reports through Trevor's Star, but it was pretty clear which way High Ridge was inclining. They're going to go ahead and annex Lynx as well as the actual terminus system, however much they may be pussyfooting around announcing that fact."

"You're really confident that it's that cut and dried?" Secretary of the Treasury Hanriot asked.

"In the end?" Giancola shrugged. "Yes, I am. They may go through the motions of public debate, but I can't see High Ridge or Descroix commenting so positively on the economic opportunities that decision would offer if annexation wasn't what they ultimately intended. Or, especially in Descroix's case, carrying on at such absurd length about how membership in the Star Kingdom would help to safeguard the human rights and self-determination of the citizens of the Cluster. I might have put some credence in an argument like that out of someone like New Kiev, but Descroix—?"

He shook his head.

"Speaking of New Kiev," Secretary of Commerce Nesbitt put in, "what's your read on her, Arnold?"

"I think she's unhappy about it," Giancola said promptly. "But I also think she's been overruled by High Ridge, and that she's not going to break ranks with him at this point."

"I see." Pritchart cocked her head, regarding him thoughtfully. "I noticed, though, that you said their positions seemed relatively straightforward 'at first glance.' Would you care to elaborate on that?"

"Of course." Giancola tipped his chair back slightly, resting his elbows on the arms and half-turning it in her direction.

"Basically, what I meant was that while all of the arguments they've put forward are rational enough on the surface, particularly from their perspective, I don't believe that they're publicly stating their complete rationale for pursuing this expansion into Talbott."

"What they have publicly stated seems comprehensive enough to me," Thomas Theisman observed mildly.

"On the surface," Giancola repeated, "I'd have to agree with you. Certainly it's in accordance with their established policy where control of termini of their wormhole junction is concerned. And the economic possibilities this new terminus offers certainly aren't anything to be sneered at." He chuckled suddenly, the sound completely—and surprisingly, for some of his audience—genuine. "Speaking from my own experience with the Committee of Public Safety's treasury, I only wish our economy had access to something like the Junction! So, yes, Thomas. I'd have to agree that the reasons they and their spokesmen have offered are completely sufficient in their own right to justify their actions. I just don't think they've made their full reasoning public."

"In what way?" Pritchart asked.

"I think a part of their private reasoning is that playing this up as a major achievement is one way for them to distract their public from the shift in our own negotiating posture and the change in the balance of naval power."

"I'm sure I'd be thinking very much the same way in their place," Attorney General LePic said just a bit testily. Of all of the Cabinet secretaries, LePic was probably the poorest at concealing his emotions, and all of them were aware of his fundamental antipathy towards Giancola. And of his equally fundamental distrust of the Secretary of State. "If they are aware of those possibilities, I hardly think it represents any sort of Machiavellian secretiveness on their parts."

"If all they were doing was trying to distract public attention from the negotiations with us, then I probably wouldn't be particularly concerned myself," Giancola said calmly. "Unfortunately, I think there's probably another strand to their reasoning."

"Which is?" Pritchart asked.

"I think they're laying the groundwork for a complete revision of the traditional Manty foreign policy," Giancola said flatly.

"A complete revision?" Theisman regarded him narrowly. "Excuse me, but I was under the impression that we'd just agreed it was part of their long-standing policy—that very 'traditional' policy you're talking about—to exploit the Junction thoroughly and to secure control of its termini."

"Yes, we had. But I would point out to you that they decided to annex Basilisk only after an extremely acrimonious and protracted domestic debate. A debate, I might add, in which the parties which comprise the current Manty government were, almost without exception, on the side arguing against annexation. Compare that to how long it took them to decide to annex Trevor's Star. That was the Cromarty Government, of course, but there was amazingly little opposition to the decision, even on the part of their Conservatives and Liberals. In other words, they made the decision for Trevor's Star much more quickly than they did in Basilisk's case . . . and did so on something much closer to a consensual basis.

"Now we're talking about Lynx and the rest of an entire cluster, and the very parties which were most strongly opposed to the annexation of Basilisk are the ones which have started coming out in favor of this new, larger annexation. And, I might add, they'd begun to do so within less than two weeks of discovering where this new terminus lies."

He shrugged.

"What all of that suggests to me, Thomas, is that the Star Kingdom of Manticore has become expansionist."

Several members of the Cabinet looked at him in exasperation. Others looked much more thoughtful, and Eloise Pritchart felt a sudden tingle of concern as she realized how many of them fell into the second category.

"In all fairness, Arnold," she said after a moment, "I have to say you've been, um, predisposed, if I may be permitted the word, to view the Star Kingdom as expansionist for some time now."

"And you wonder if my predisposition in that direction is causing me to view current events with undue alarm," Giancola agreed affably. He smiled at her, and Pritchart made herself smile back when what she really would have preferred would have been to punch him. But much as he infuriated her, she was forced to acknowledge that she couldn't simply dismiss his analysis out of hand, however much she might have wanted to. Just as she had to admit he truly did have a presence. One which she wished was far, far away from this meeting.

"To be honest, yes," she told him.

"Well, to be equally honest, I can't say positively that it isn't. On the other hand, that may be because there's a sound basis for my feelings. I agree that annexation of the terminus system itself would represent no more than a continuation of their long-term security policies. But we're not talking just about that star system. We're also talking about Lynx and, quite possibly, the other inhabited star systems of the Talbott Cluster. All seventeen of them. That's an enormous jump from annexing a single star system populated solely by primitive aliens like Basilisk, or even a strategically vital star system whose long-established population asked to be annexed, like Trevor's Star."

He shook his head.

"No, Madame President. I think that what this represents is an aggressive, arrogant expansionism. I think the Manty perception that they soundly defeated the Pierre Regime has fueled an imperialistic drive which was always latent in the Star Kingdom's foreign policy. I think you can see another manifestation of that same arrogance and imperialism in their attitude towards their current confrontation with the Andermani over Silesia. Obviously, they regard Silesia as their own private fishing pond, and no one else is welcome to drop a line into it. It's only a relatively small step from regarding a sovereign star nation as an economic dependency to embracing the outright annexation of individual star systems which aren't exactly in a position to resist."

"But according to Wilhelm's reports, the original impetus towards annexation apparently came from Lynx, not the Manties," Hanriot objected.

"How do we know that?" Secretary of the Interior Sanderson put in, and Pritchart's eyes narrowed. She'd thought Walter Sanderson was firmly in "her" camp, but suddenly she felt less confident of that. And she felt even less so as Sanderson continued. "The only contact anyone in Manticore has had with Lynx was via their own survey ship," he pointed out. "We have no way to know what they actually said; only what their survey ship crew allegedly reported they said. According to their government."

"You're suggesting they lied about it?" Theisman said, giving Sanderson exactly the same sort of look Pritchart was working so hard at not giving him.

"I'm suggesting that they certainly may have," Sanderson replied. "I don't know that they did. I also don't know that they didn't, and if they're thinking in the direction Arnold seems to be suggesting, then obviously the temptation to cast their own actions in the most favorable possible light would have to be strong. And a 'request' from Lynx would be a marvelous pretext."

"But why should they feel any need for pretexts?" LePic demanded.

"I can think of at least one reason," Giancola said reasonably. The Attorney General looked at him, and the Secretary of State shrugged. "Whatever we may think about what they're doing, I can guarantee you the Solarian League isn't going to be particularly pleased about this. And the Solarians are huge believers in 'self-determination.' "

"Sure they are!" Theisman snorted bitterly. "Until they're the ones doing the expanding, that is."

"I can't argue with you there," Giancola said. "In fact, I don't think anyone could. But what matters is that their public support for the concept would make it more difficult for them to object to the Manties' actions if the Star Kingdom can convince Solly public opinion Lynx really did ask to be annexed."

"That's all a bit too Machiavellian for me," LePic said.

"Maybe it is," Giancola said easily. "But any way you want to look at it, High Ridge and Descroix are pretty Machiavellian, you know. Or do you think they've been dragging out the negotiations on the occupied systems solely out of the goodness of their hearts, Denis?"

"Of course not," LePic growled.

"If they're willing to use those negotiations for domestic advantage, I see absolutely no reason to believe they'd be unwilling to think the way I've just described about expanding into the Talbott Cluster," Giancola pointed out.

"That would be bad enough," he said, "but I'd have to say that I wouldn't be enormously concerned if they were solely interested in Talbott. After all, that would be taking them directly away from our own territory and our own sphere of interest. Unfortunately, the way it looks to me is that their attitude towards Talbott is simply symptomatic of their attitude towards expansion in general. And if that's actually the case, then we're entirely too close to them for my peace of mind. Especially while they're still occupying Republican territory."

* * *

"Damn, but he's a smooth bastard," Theisman sighed. He and LePic sat in Pritchart's office several hours later. Beyond the huge windows, the glittering lights of night-struck Nouveau Paris blazed like multi-hued jewels, but none of them were particularly in the mood to appreciate their beauty.

"Yes, he is that," Pritchart agreed. She leaned back in her outsized chair and closed her eyes wearily. "And he's getting better at it," she told the ceiling beyond her lids.

"I know," LePic said. His tone was harsh, and he shrugged his shoulders irritably when Theisman looked a question at him. "He gives me the creeps," the Attorney General said. "I know he's smart, and a lot of what he says makes sense. Too damned much sense, I sometimes think, especially when I'm feeling particularly pissed off at the Manties. But there's too much going on under the surface. He reminds me of Saint-Just."

"That may be going a little further than I'm prepared to," Theisman said after a moment. "I don't doubt that he's a lot less scrupulous than the image he likes to project, Denis. But compared to Saint-Just?" He shook his head. "I don't think he's even in the same league for sheer sociopathy."

"Not for lack of ambition, though!" LePic snorted.

"Unscrupulous, yes," Pritchart put in, opening her eyes and letting her chair come back outright. "But I think Tom has a point, Denis. Arnold is undoubtedly willing to do a great many things to further his ambitions, but I don't see him being willing to do something like detonating a nuclear device in the middle of Nouveau Paris."

"I only hope you're both right and I'm wrong," LePic told her. His phrasing didn't make her particularly happy, given who Walter Trajan and Kevin Usher both reported to, but she became even less happy when he continued. "In the meantime, though, did you two notice Sanderson?"

"Yes, I did," Theisman said, and grimaced. "I think we're in the process of suffering another defection."

"And unless I'm very much mistaken, he's gaining more ground in Congress, too," Pritchart observed. It was her turn to grimace. "So far, pushing High Ridge and Descroix in the treaty negotiations is still working more in our favor than against us where congressional support is concerned, but dear Arnold is proving more resilient than I'd like. The way he sees it, I stole his thunder by taking 'a firm hand' in the peace talks. So he's busy trying to return the compliment by viewing with even more alarm where the Manties are concerned. And do you know what the real hell of it is?"

She looked at both of her allies, who only shook their heads.

"The real hell of it," she told them softly, "is that he's so damned convincing that I'm not sure I don't agree with him sometimes."

* * *

"Thank you for the dinner invitation, Mr. Secretary. As always, the meal was delicious."

"And also as always, Mr. Ambassador, the company was excellent," Arnold Giancola said graciously.

Yinsheng Reinshagen, Graf von Kaiserfest, Andermani Ambassador to the Republic of Haven, smiled at his host. This wasn't the first private dinner he'd enjoyed with the Havenite Secretary of State, and he didn't expect it to be the last. Officially, it was a working dinner between two diplomats to discuss closer trade relations between the reborn Republic and the Empire. Kaiserfest rather admired that justification. Giancola's prior treasury experience made it even more believable . . . and also explained why he should feel no need to include representatives of the Commerce or Treasury Departments. It was an admirable cover to keep any potentially irritating witnesses away, and to make certain that it was maintained, Kaiserfest had actually agreed to quite a few trade concessions.

Giancola knew precisely what the Andermani was thinking, because he'd taken some pains to insure that Kaiserfest would think just that. But what the Ambassador didn't know was that the cover story they'd agreed upon was also the reason Eloise Pritchart thought Giancola was meeting with him.

"Well," Kaiserfest said now. "Excellent as dinner was, I'm afraid I'm due at the opera in two hours."

"Of course." Giancola picked up his brandy snifter and took an appreciative sip, then lowered the glass and smiled. "Basically, Mr. Ambassador, I only wanted to take the opportunity to reiterate my government's position that we share a certain commonality of interest with the Empire. Obviously, while our negotiations with the Manticorans are still in progress, we're not in a position to lend public support to your government's efforts to resolve your own . . . difficulties with them in Silesia. For that matter, until we've settled our own business with them, our official support for your interests would probably actually be counterproductive.

"Nonetheless, and without wishing to appear overly dramatic, my government is well aware that, in the words of the old cliché, our enemy's enemy is our friend. Both the Republic and the Empire would find it advantageous to . . . decrease the Manticorans' ability to meddle in our internal affairs and legitimate security interests. With that in mind, it seems to us that it would only be reasonable for us to coordinate our efforts in that direction. Discreetly, of course."

"Oh, of course," Kaiserfest agreed. He sipped his own brandy, letting the rich, fiery liquor roll around his mouth, then nodded. "I understand completely," he said then. "And I agree."

"You also understand, I trust," Giancola said seriously, "that although we intend to lend the Empire all the support we can, it will be necessary for our public stance to be somewhat different. Much as I've come to value our friendship, Mr. Ambassador, it would be naive for either of us to pretend that anything other than real politik is involved here."

"Of course not," Kaiserfest agreed once more.

"Unfortunately, my own star nation is still in the grip of a certain revolutionary fervor," Giancola observed. "That sort of enthusiasm is an uncomfortable fit for the pragmatic requirements of effective interstellar diplomacy. Which, of course, is the reason President Pritchart and I may find ourselves forced to make certain public statements which could be construed as criticisms of the Empire's Silesian policy. I trust that you and the Emperor will both understand why we find it necessary to cover our true policy with a certain degree of disinformation."

"Such a situation isn't completely unknown to us," Kaiserfest said with a thin smile. "And as you yourself have observed, our . . . pragmatic interests make us logical allies—for the moment, at least—whatever public rhetoric may be forced upon you."

"You're most understanding, Mr. Ambassador."

"Merely practical," Kaiserfest assured him. "I will, of course, inform His Majesty of our conversations."

"Of course," Arnold Giancola told him with a smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

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