The shuttle pilot called Basil to the cockpit. “Mr. Chairman, I have a message from Admiral Pike. He wishes to speak with you personally.”

Frowning at the interruption, Basil made his way forward. Without being invited, Margaret and Anton Colicos followed. Ahead of them, out of the shuttle’s front windowports, Basil could see the looming alien craft growing larger as they closed the distance.

The pilot gestured to the communication panel. “He’s on screen, Mr. Chairman.”

Admiral Pike’s glowering image appeared, looking impatient. Basil leaned forward into the focal zone. “Yes, what is it?” Basil asked.

“If the fate of the world wasn’t at stake, we would blast your shuttle to ions right now, just as you commanded me to destroy Chairman Fitzpatrick’s space yacht. The bugs can have you, as far as we’re concerned.”

Basil blinked, momentarily speechless. Now what? He felt a sense of unreality, as if he had fallen into some kind of distorted mirror world. “What are you talking about, Admiral?”

Admiral San Luis broke into the transmission. “Our families have been freed. You no longer have any hold over us.”

Pike lifted his chin, and his eyes were pitiless. “They’re safe, Mr. Chairman. Their story is being broadcast by Freedom’s Sword. Admiral Diente’s family is doing the same. Everyone knows what you’ve done, sir. No matter what happens, you can’t blackmail us any longer. When you do come back to Earth, you will not find a warm reception from us, nor from anyone in the EDF.”

Basil felt blindsided. And then he realized that Pike and San Luis had broadcast on a completely open channel.

The two Admirals ended the transmission, and the escort Mantas on either side of the diplomatic shuttle altered course and peeled away, leaving the small craft all alone in space as it approached the alien swarmships.

A chain-saw ache pressed into the back of his skull. His carefully laid foundations were turning to quicksand.

Margaret Colicos looked at him. “The timing could have been better.”

Basil drew deep breaths to drive back the red fringes in his vision, staring at the foremost of the huge Klikiss ships until his eyes burned. No one dared to speak a word in the cockpit.

The diplomatic shuttle drew close to the enormous sphere. Millions of component craft moved about like grains of sand trying to keep a proper configuration, shifting, blurring, shifting again.

Finally, the pilot said in a small voice, “I can’t find any port or access to the interior of the swarmship, Mr. Chairman. What should I do?”

“Just keep heading forward,” Margaret answered for him. “You’ll see what you need.”

Basil’s throat was dry. His skin prickled with goose bumps. He clenched his fists so hard that his well-manicured nails cut crescent-shaped grooves into his palms.One problem at a time. Prioritize. He would take care of the others later. if he survived.

“Are we supposed to read minds?” he said testily. “Why doesn’t the breedex issue some instructions?”

“The breedex doesn’t have to.”

As they neared the external shell, the component craft suddenly re-arranged themselves, and the outer layer of vessels broke off like gases blown from a sun’s surface. The hive vessel seemed to be evaporating, spreading out.

Basil flinched as geometrical alien ships flurried around them like a cloud of gnats, and then simply re-formed the swarmship’s shell on the other side of the shuttle, swallowing them up. Though the gigantic conglomerate vessel hadn’t moved, the Hansa shuttle was suddenly enclosed within the alien sphere.

139

King Peter

The Confederation ships hung beside the EDF vessels in space, facing the enigmatically silent Klikiss swarmships. Nothing moved.

King Peter stood on theJupiter ’s bridge with Estarra and OX, studying the huge alien clusters as the foremost one abruptly engulfed the Hansa’s diplomatic shuttle, along with Basil Wenceslas. The mass of interlocking alien components had simply absorbed it.

Good riddance.

“If there’s a way to make this situation worse, the Chairman’s bound to find it.” Admiral Willis leaned forward in her command chair. “I’m keeping our weapons ready.”

He couldn’t imagine what the breedex wanted with Basil. The Klikiss arrival had certainly thrown a wrinkle into his plans for returning to the Whisper Palace. Now they had to stand together against a seemingly invincible enemy.

Peter stared at the screen until his eyes burned. Could he really take advantage of the distraction to seize control of the government? The very existence of Earth was threatened by the massive alien ships.

On the other hand, how could he not, knowing that the situation would only grow worse in the hands of Chairman Wenceslas?

Sarein was greatly agitated. “The Klikiss have changed the circumstances, but not the main goal. It’s more important now than ever. Deputy Cain is ready for you down there, and so are the people of Earth. Basil won’t be able to do a thing about it.”

Estarra couldn’t tear her eyes from the enormous alien vessels that had swept into the system. “But isn’t this the worst possible time to throw Earth into more instability? We’ve got a common enemy now.”

“These Klikiss ships might well be the worst threat to humanity since the hydrogue war,” OX observed.

Peter agreed with the assessment logically, but he made a bitter noise. “The Chairman will never set aside our differences and work together. How can I leave the fate of humanity in the hands ofBasil Wenceslas? Given his track record, it would be irresponsible.”

Sarein’s dark eyes flashed. “Peter, we’ll never have a better chance! The Whisper Palace is wide open.”

Admiral Willis rested her chin on her knuckles. “I’m as worried about the Klikiss as anybody, but we know for damn sure that the Chairman is a threat. There’s nothing you can do for Earth up here, sire.”

Peter felt a steely resolve. “I can make a difference if I take my throne back. Humanity needs a strong visionary leader, now more than ever.” With all their blatant signs of unrest, he knew the people were ready. One way or another, the angry people would soon overthrow the Chairman and depose his sham King Rory, and they were likely to turn the kid into a scapegoat. A fate the poor patsy didn’t deserve. He turned to Admiral Willis. “Do you see any way to avoid a shooting war? We can’t have our ships blasting at the EDF.”

Excitement flushed Willis’s face. “Right now, who’s watching? Everybody’s hypnotized by the Klikiss. I could easily slip one Manta away from the back ranks and take a roundabout path toward Earth. Go in quick and clean, establish a foothold, plant our flag in the Palace District, and have you sitting back on your throne by the end of the day. We’ll be all settled in if, or when, the Chairman comes back. A bloodless coup.”