Sullivan felt cold drops of sweat on his back. He couldn’t believe Wenceslas was so blatant about holding hostages. The carefully honed edge of the man’s political skill had been dulled by wielding his power with a heavy hand. “I suppose that’s the best I can hope for, Mr. Chairman.”

“Good. The Roamer skyminers on Golgen should be ripe for the picking. I’ll assign an EDF squadron to help you assert your new authority.”

Sullivan had little bargaining power, but he pushed as hard as he could. “Then please arrange for my family’s transfer as soon as possible. Get them out of prison, or wherever you’ve kept them, and I will see them safely settled on the Moon — just to say goodbye and to comfort them. You understand.”

Chairman Wenceslas apparently didn’t understand, but he did not argue.

Sullivan pressed the matter as far as he dared. “Once I see them in place and I know exactly where they’ll be, then I’ll do as you say.”

The Chairman called up papers on his screen. Apparently, he had already drafted the order. “Of course you will.”

91

Patrick Fitzpatrick III

Leaving Theroc after his grandmother’s murder, Patrick and Zhett returned to the main skymine at Golgen, but his anger and shock did not diminish.

Maureen Fitzpatrick had never been a particularly warm person, but she had raised him to be strong. Patrick respected her, and now he began to realize how much he owed her. and how much he hated Chairman Wenceslas.

He and Zhett sat together in their bright and airy quarters aboard the skymine. The ever-resilient Roamers had gotten their ekti-processing operations back on track. With work shifts continuing around the clock, stardrive-fuel production was beginning to make up for what the EDF had stolen. Patrick doubted the General would be stupid enough to come back again so soon; on the other hand, he couldn’t fathom anything the Earth military did anymore. Del Kellum vowed that he would rather jettison full canisters into the clouds than let the Eddy bastards have them.

King Peter had promised to send at least one of Admiral Willis’s cruisers to Golgen for protection once they returned from Pym. However, Roamer skymines were now in place on dozens of gas giants, and the Confederation’s fledgling military simply didn’t have enough ships to patrol them all.

Patrick drew a deep breath. His voice hitched. “That should have been the most important act in her lifelong career. My grandmother could have changed things for the better — and she died for it.”

Zhett’s eyes blazed. “We’ve got to do something about that, Fitzie.”

“Damn right we do.” He slipped his arm around her. He had felt tangled in skeins of emotions — outrage, disbelief, a need for revenge, and horror at what the Hansa had been willing to do. He finally clarified his scrambled thoughts by trying to imagine what the old Battleaxe would have done. Then he knew.

He went to the broad window and stared out at the endless gas clouds. “Remember how my grandmother said I’ve become sort of a folk hero among the protesters? Well, my little confession was nothing compared to what we’ve got now. Vid images of EDF Mantas blasting the former Chairman’s ship. And raiding the skymines here, stealing all that ekti. And the strike on the Osquivel shipyards, all those civilians killed.”

“You can bet none ofthat was broadcast on any official Hansa channels,” Zhett said.

“We have plenty of demonstrable proof of illegal activities. It’s about time we share some of that proof with people on Earth — maybe link up with Freedom’s Sword and help them overthrow the Chairman.” Patrick set his jaw, imagining how his grandmother might have said the words. “I’m going to Earth, and I’m not going to come back until I’ve brought down Chairman Wenceslas.”

Del Kellum could deny nothing to his daughter or his son-in-law. Son-in-law! Patrick still hadn’t entirely wrapped his mind aroundthat concept.

They gathered on the lower landing deck where cargo escorts, supply ships, and small inspection pods came and went. The breezes that filtered through the atmosphere-containment fields had an especially sour tang today, a chemical smell that indicated a new plume of gases bubbling up from below.

“All the resources of clan Kellum are at your disposal. It’s time to teach the Big Goose a lesson or two, by damn. By now the Chairman’s managed to piss off ninety percent of the population in the Spiral Arm.”

Patrick said, “It’s a critical mass. There’s got to be an explosion soon.”

“Just be careful. I’m way too busy to plan another couple of funerals.” Kellum turned away, but not before Patrick saw the man’s anxious expression. At the beginning of the war, the hydrogues had killed his fiancee and partner, Shareen Pasternak, and many years before that, Zhett’s mother had also been killed in an accident. “Do what your Guiding Star says, my sweet.”

“Don’t worry,” Zhett said, kissing her father’s bearded cheek. “If I can handle Fitzie, the rest of Earth should be no problem.”

92

Deputy Chairman Eldred Cain

When the battered remnants of General Lanyan’s assault force returned from Pym, the acting commander explained how the Klikiss had defeated them. Conrad Brindle finished his report in Basil’s Hansa office, while Deputy Cain diligently took notes.

Brindle pulled no punches. His clipped tone clearly expressed his disapproval as he laid the blame squarely on Lanyan for instigating the debacle. “There was no need for this to have happened — none whatsoever. The Confederation ships willingly offered their assistance. If we had joined forces, we could have annihilated the breedex.”

“Instead, the General failed to complete either task,” Basil growled. “He turned one sure victory into two total failures.”

Brindle remained ramrod straight. “Yes, Mr. Chairman. Because of him, the EDF lost three Mantas, theThunder Child, and a great many soldiers, including General Lanyan himself.”

“And the Confederation military remains unscathed. That idiot probably thought he was going to impress me.”

Cain finished with his notes, and kept his silence. He did not ask whether the assault had been a good idea in the first place, any more than the naive plan to send Admiral Diente with an ancient translating device had been. While the Chairman searched doggedly for conspirators, Deputy Cain had attempted to be quieter and more unobtrusive than ever.

The Chairman had called up an intricate expanded grid of the command structure of the Earth Defense Forces. Many boxes in the upper tier remained empty, whole ranks decimated after the black robots’ original turnabout. Now the top rank of General was also vacant.

Basil stared at the display. “Pike and San Luis are our only remaining grid admirals, and I’m not overly impressed with either of them.” He barely paused before making an impulsive decision. “Brindle, you’ve demonstrated your capabilities and your loyalty — several times, in fact. I’m making you the new commander of the Earth Defense Forces.”