"There's been nothing of the kind," Lord Kelsey-Ramos murmured from behind me; and I could hear in his voice that he, too, had suddenly recognized the significance of that.

I nodded. "Surely you realize, thunderhead, how difficult it is for us to sacrifice a life every time we wish to enter or leave this system. Don't you think the commission negotiating such things with you would have suggested the Cloud's removal as the price for our dealing with the Invaders?"

Lord Kelsey-Ramos touched my arm warningly. "Gilead, if what you're implying is true, talking about it here could be extremely dangerous."

How well I knew that... but it was too late to back out now. If the thunderheads were incapable of rational thought and decision, we were already dead. "It doesn't matter," I told Lord Kelsey-Ramos, putting as much confidence into my voice as I could on the chance that the thunderheads had learned to read such nuances of human speech. "They can't stop it now. Certainly not alone. Their only chance is to cooperate with me."

He grimaced, eyes drifting over my shoulder to Adams. For the first time, I could tell, he was truly seeing what it was he'd committed himself to, and it was more than he'd bargained for. And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? "If you'd like, sir," I told him quietly, "you and the others can leave. I can handle this part alone."

For a moment he was tempted. But only for a moment... and when he brought his gaze back to me, it was alive with the cold fire I'd seen there through a hundred corporate battles back on Portslava. "We're wasting time," he said firmly.

I nodded and turned back to Adams. Kutzko had released his wrists now, but still hovered nearby, ready for trouble. "They made no such request, thunderhead, did they?" I asked. "Would you like to know why not?"

For a moment the glazed eyes stared into space, a look I'd come to associate with a quick consultation among the thunderheads. Then the eyes refocused on me. "It is impossible," he whispered flatly.

"Why?" I countered. "Once the Invaders are gone, our rulers have no need for the Cloud—and since you yourselves are obviously the source of it, it follows immediately that they'll have no more use for you."

"We will fight," the thunderhead hissed.

"And you will lose," I told him bluntly. "Even if you could somehow destroy all of us here—which you can't—the mechanism for your destruction is already in place, and already triggered. When the Invaders are destroyed, it will automatically activate."

Eisenstadt took a step forward to where he could look into my face. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "What mechanism?"

"I'm talking about a group of compressed-air bombs," I explained, mentally crossing my fingers that the scheme I'd dreamed up would sound reasonable to him. If it wasn't—and if he called me on it—the whole structure I was trying to build here would come crashing down around my head. Too late, I wished I'd made him stay back in his office. "The Pravilo has scattered them around Spall in the major weather corridors. They're filled with algae that's been specially tailored to alter the local soil acidity. Drastically alter it." I looked back at Adams. "Within a year—two at the most—there won't be a single native plant or animal alive here."

I held my breath; but if the plan had any glaring flaws Eisenstadt didn't spot them. "You mean... we're talking genocide here," he breathed. "No. No—that's simply unthinkable."

"I've seen the records of the deliveries," Lord Kelsey-Ramos said heavily—and so sincerely even I could barely hear the lie there. "They're already in place—and they're equipped with automatic timers."

"Probably already set," I nodded, picking up on the cue. "Give the Pravilo a couple more weeks to get ready, a day or two to destroy the Invaders and confirm they're all gone, and maybe two more weeks to quietly get all the top people out of the system in case you decided to retaliate. Four or five weeks—no more—and it'll begin."

There was hatred in Adams's eyes. Blistering, alien hatred... but for the first time, there was also fear. "They will not escape," he whispered.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. Even if you could kill everyone on Solitaire, it's a price the rulers of the Patri would be willing to pay to finally have free access to the system. Human pride alone would dictate that you be punished for the way you've manipulated us all these years."

There was a strange pain—a very alien pain—in Adams's face. "What alternative do... you offer?" the thunderhead asked.

I took a deep breath, almost afraid to believe it. The first, most critical piece was now in my hands. "I've told you already," I said. "I offer life for all. It has to be for all—you see that, don't you? As long as the Invaders are alive, the Pravilo can't touch you, because with the Cloud gone they would be facing a war fleet with full Mjollnir capabilities."

The thunderhead seemed to consider that. "Yet if the Invaders... live, they will soon be here," he pointed out.

I nodded, consciously relaxing my jaw. It was a thought that had frequently occurred to me. "We'll have seventeen years," I reminded them. "Enough time for us to talk to them, perhaps work out a deal between you."

Beside me, I felt Lord Kelsey-Ramos stir uncomfortably, and it wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking. The Patri had already rejected the idea of talking to the aliens; if I forced them to do so anyway, they would not be pleased. Another thought that had frequently occurred to me... "Well?" I prompted the thunderhead. "Will you cooperate, or not?"

Again, Adams stared into space... and when his eyes came back there was no defiance left in them. "We will," the thunderhead whispered.

My knees felt a bit weak. We'd already seen thunderhead adaptability; now, we knew them to be rational, as well. I could only hope the aliens were equal to them in both qualities. "Good," I said, trying to sound brisk and businesslike. "I'll be contacting you again; and when I do, you'll need to do whatever I ask. Agreed?"

A slight pause. "We will," the thunderhead hissed again, an aura of distaste about the words. The manipulators agreeing to be manipulated, and not liking it at all.

"All right," I nodded. "It'll be in a few days at the most, and from out in space. Oh, and by the way... you do know how to talk to the Invaders, don't you?"

Another pause, slightly longer. "Yes."

"Good," I nodded again. "We'll leave the details for later; I don't want to push this contact any longer than necessary." In fact, Shepherd Adams was doing fine; but the thunderheads wouldn't know I knew that. "Thank you, and good-bye. Shepherd Adams?—you can break contact now."

Adams stiffened, then slumped back onto the cot, gasping for breath. "You all right?" I asked as Kutzko leaned over with a supporting hand.

"Yes," he said hoarsely. "Hard on the throat, though."

"Not to mention the heart and brain," Eisenstadt reminded him, stepping toward him. "No—don't try to get up."

He reached under Adams's jaw, checking the other's pulse, and I felt Lord Kelsey-Ramos move closer to me. "You really think the Patri plans to destroy the thunderheads?" he asked quietly.

I felt my stomach muscles tighten at the thought. "You said it yourself, sir—none of the commission has even mentioned the Cloud in their talks with the thunderheads. I can't see something that obvious being overlooked by accident."

He shook his head in disbelief. "Incredible. Just incredible they'd even consider something that coldblooded. But what if...?"

"The thunderheads call our bluff?" I shrugged, a tight hunching of my shoulders. "They can't afford to, and I'm pretty sure they know it. Remember that they have no way of knowing whether or not there really are algae bombs sitting out there with timers already set. Besides which, a first strike against us would leave them with no way at all to stop the aliens."