Another day, at least, before he could resume plowing.

Well, there were advantages to bad weather.

Such as sitting with rasha on a Spring morning instead of bouncing around in his poorly sprung tractor.

If only it weren't for those crazies in Novaya Petrograd! He had half a mind to go talk to them himself.

He frowned and glanced over at his wife.

Maybe he should. After all, here he was cursing their stupidity, but had he done anything to change their minds? They might just not realize how others felt.

And old Semyon Jakov was one of them... and Andrei Petrov's girl Magda. They were good people.

Maybe he could make them see reason?

Of course, rasha would have a fit ff he took himself off to the city and left her and the boys alone with the planting. On the other hand, ff this madness wasn't settled, there wouldn't be a market come harvest, now would there? He filled his pipe with Orion tobacco (his one true luxury.), and the pungent smoke curled up around his ears.

Yes, the idea of going to Novaya Petrograd to confront the Duma... it definitely bore thinking on.

Admiral Jason Waldeck, of the Ghartiphon Waldecks, regarded his subordinates so coldly they shifted uneasily under his glare.

"I don't want to hear any more crap about poor misunderstood Fringers!" he snapped. "They're mutineers and traitors--and that's all! That bastard Skjorning should've been shot. Might've nipped the whole damned thing in the bud!" His officers remained prudently silent.

Admiral Waldeck had never been a good man to cross, and it was far more dangerous now. News of the Kontravian Mutiny was still threading its way through the Fleet, but one consequence of it was already clear: moderation was not in great demand among TFN commanders.

Indeed, any "softness" might well be construed as treason by the angry (and frightened) cliques of "reliable" Innerworld admirals.

"I don't give a good goddamn why they're doing what they're doing," he grated. "We've got to stop them, and Fleet's shorthanded as hell after the mutinies, especially in capital units and carriers. Hell, we've lost so many pilots there won't even be fighter cover for most opera- tions! So it's up to us--understood?" "Yes, sir," his juniors murmured.

"Yes, Captain Sherman--comexamples. If anyone wants to fight, let "em. Don't give them a chance to surrender till you've burned a few bastards down." "But, sir.., why?" "Because these traitors have to learn the hard way," Waldeck said grimly. 'rhe Assembly's finally gotten its head out of its ass, and we're under military law now; that means my law. I'm going to teach these proles a little lesson in obedience. Is that clear, gentlemen?" It was ler. They might not much like it, but it was olear.

"All right, then, Commodore Hunter, here's your first objective." The cursor in the chart tank settled on a warp nexus, and Commodore Hunter squinted at the tiny letters. "Novaya Rodina," they said.

"It's confirmed, Commodore. From the drive strengths, they have to be warships." "I see." Magda Petrovna nodded as calmly as she could. They'd hoped someone would turn up from the Kontravians or one of the other Fringe systems before this, but Asteroid Four watched the warp point to Redwing, and Redwing was part of The Line, one of the fortified Terran-Orion border systems whose mighty orbital forts had remained loyal to the Assembly. She looked around her crowded bridge wry. It only remained to see what strength the Fleet had scraped up. Her collection of armed freighters might--possibly--hold its own against light units, and Novaya Rodina's Provisional Government had short-stopped two mutinous light cruisers headed for the depths of the Fringe. But that was all she had; that and Skywatch.

She sighed. Unless the mutinies had hit really hard, there was no point even hoping. A single fleet carrierm even a light carrier--would eat her entire force for breakfast, and she hated to think what a few battle-cruisers might do! But the worst of it was that she didn't know. Except for Skywatch, none of her units had long range scanners; without those, she could form only a vague impression of what was headed for her.

"Query Asteroid Four for exact drive strengths," she said suddenly.

"Sir," the commander of her cruiser flagship said as they awaited an answer, "those miners don't have the equipment for precision work--and an hour-long transmission lag doesn't help. Why not take Jintsu and Atlanta out and see for ourselves?" "I appreciate your spirit, Captain," Magda said, peculiar though it felt to call a mere lieutenant "Captain" onboard a light cruiser, "but we can't take our only cruisers into scanner range all by themselves... and ff we took the freighters with us, we couldn't run ff we had to."

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Howard blushed as he realized his commodore had just tactfully advised him to let her tend to her own knitting.

"Asteroid Four says they think they're all strength twelve or less, Commodore," her corn officer finally said dubiously. "Thank you. Any incoming messages from them?" "No, sir.

Nothing." That was bad, Magda thought. No surrender demands? Did that man they were unaware they were being scanned? Or that they had a pretty good notion of what she had and figured she meant to fight no matter what they said? And did she intend to fight?

Exactly what had they sent against her?

Well, now, ff they were strength twelve or less, then almost certainly there was nothing out there larger than a cruiser. If only Asteroid Four could relay the information directly onto Jintsu's cramped battle plot! "We've got an amplification from Asteroid Four, Commodore. They make it three at strength eight to twelve and three strength six or below. They sound confident, tOO." All right, Magdathink, girl! Strength six drives were destroyers. Strength twelves could be light carriers, but she doubted it. Too many fighter joeks were. Fringers. Assume they were all cruisers.., a heavy and two lights? They might make it a standard light battlegr[*oslashgg'up, ff the CA were a Goeben.

They'd drawn first blood; ff she had any chance at all, she'd fight.

She thought furiously. Against command datalink, her own forces were at a severe disadvantage. The enemy ships would think, move, and fight as a single, finely-meshed unit;, her ships were not only more lightly armed, but they d have to fight as individuals. On the oher hand, she had over a dozen armed freighters, and her two light cruisers formed a datagroup with Skywateh, as long as they were in rang--and Skywateh was a lot bigger than INSV-TAEC'NO any CA," especially a Goeben with all that armament sacri-riced in favor of data net equipment. Of course, if it was a Goeben, she'd also mount jammers to take out Magda's own datalink at close range.

All right, Just suppose she had them figured right--whichat did she do with them? They'd be in missile range of the planet in eleven hours, or she could go out to meet them. If she went out, she lost Skywatch; if she stayed, she lost maneuvering room. Decisions, decisions.

She drew a deep, unobtrusive breath and nodded to Lieutenant Howard.

"Captain Howard, the flotilla will assume Formation Baker. We'll wait for them here." "Yes, sir," Howard's voice wasn't especially enthusiastic, and she felt a twinge of sympathy. Light cruiser captains were imbued with the notion of maneuver and fire tey hated positional battles.

"If I m right," Magda said slowly, "there's a Goeben out there, Captain. I want maximum firepower laid on her as soon as we can range on her. If we can break their data group -comand keep their ECM from breaking ours--we'll have a good chance. They'll outclass us ship for ship, but we've got the numbers. If we don't break them --was She shrugged.

"Yes, sir." He sounded more enthusiastic as he digested her plan. God, what she wouldn't give for a properly trained staffl But in another she wouldn't trade sense, these people for anything. They might be mutineers and traitors, they'd put on just to get but their lives the line here. There would never be any reason to question their devotion, and maybe enough of that could make up for their rough edges.