Aaron uncrossed his arms and leaned forward wearing his best poker face. “If the Ningpo system would make a good staging area for my forces, it would be just as useful for Liao’s forces moving in the other direction. And if they should realize this as well, do you suppose they’ll ask permission, as I have?”

“I think they would.”

“You trust them then?”

“Yes!”

“What about Shensi?”

“What about it?”

“You knew the Shensi government was negotiating a pact with House Liao?”

The Governor looked uncomfortable, obviously wondering if this was a verbal trap. Aaron knew there was political backchatter between the two governors, and Xiao had likely known of the negotiations long before the SwordSworn had. “I’d heard something of the sort might be in the works.”

“I’d heard things had progressed well beyond that. Which leaves one wondering how to explain the Liao attack on Shensi.”

This caught the Governor totally off guard.

Aaron was secretly pleased. With the HPG network down, it was difficult to predict how rapidly news could travel from one system to another. Aaron’s intelligence people could only provide a “latest possible” time, when a scheduled freight shipment from Shensi was to arrive in the system. He had hoped the news would wait till then, and apparently it had.

“Attack? What attack?”

“Just before our jump here, we received word that an unprovoked aerospace attack was made on the capital city and various strategic targets around the planet. The news was sketchy, but we assumed your intelligence people had already heard.”

Now the Governor looked flustered; his face reddened. “Is this a joke, Lord Governor? We’ve heard no such thing. If this is a cheap deception to secure my cooperation, I’m neither impressed nor amused!”

“I assure you, Governor, it’s no joke. Frankly, I was hoping you might have additional news, as a member of my family, Commander Erik Sandoval-Groell, was last known to be at the Shensi capital, trying to salvage the political situation there. I’ve had no word from him.” He looked down, chewed his lip for a pregnant moment. “I fear the worst.”

The starlet gave him a sympathetic look and he felt the soft skin of her hand as it rubbed the top of his. He gave her an appreciative glance, then looked back at the Governor.

Actually, he was looking past the Governor, at a strategically placed clock on the wall behind him. By his estimate, the scheduled ship should have jumped into the Ningpo system approximately seventy minutes before. It was an event that the entire evening’s festivities had been timed around. The light-speed delay for a radio message traveling from the jump point to Ningpo was about fifty-three minutes. Assuming the attack had gone as planned, and Aaron was only assuming that it had, word should have reached the planet by now. The question was how long it would take to filter through channels to the president’s ear.

Aaron sat silently for perhaps thirty seconds.

The Governor leaned over and whispered something to his wife.

The starlet leaned closer, putting her other hand on Aaron’s shoulder.

One of the Governor’s aides slipped into the room, a grave expression on his face. He leaned over the Governor and whispered in his ear.

As he watched the Governor’s reaction, it took all of Aaron’s self-control and acting skills to keep from breaking into a broad smile of victory.

“Lord Governor, I regret to inform you that I’ve just received confirmation of the surprise attack on Shensi. Mercenary forces employed by House Liao have been implicated. I’m afraid we don’t have any specific word about Commander Sandoval, but the Capitol Building itself was a target, and there are many casualties. My sympathies.”

Aaron nodded. “Of course, Governor. Thank you. For now, I must hope for the best.”

The Governor nodded. “Perhaps it would be better if we discussed your proposal tomorrow. This is a stressful time.”

“No, Governor. If family blood has been spilled in this matter, I will feel better knowing it was not spilled in vain. I have the papers in my drawing room, if you’d care to accompany me.”

Aaron stood at the top of the entry stairs, watching the final guests depart. The Governor had signed his agreement. It would need to be ratified by the planetary council, but an emergency session had been scheduled for first thing the following morning. Debate was expected to be minimal.

He was only a little surprised when he felt a soft, small body press against his back. “Lord Governor?”

He turned and looked into the starlet’s eyes. “What about your companion?”

She smiled. “He was just some flavor-of-the-week the production company sent along. It was supposed to help his career. Maybe it did, but he left early.”

“How unfortunate. Will you be needing a ride?”

She leaned into him. “Maybe later.”

He carried her through the door, paused, and looked around to find the big oval canopy bed against the wall to his left. He dropped her on the bed playfully and fell down next to her. He glanced at the open window and wondered if they should close the drapes. Then he realized sheepishly that it was only a holoprojection—the skyline view taken from a camera outside the ship.

She laughed and touched his face. “Aaron, you’d think you’d never seen your own bedroom before.”

He smiled. “You’d think.”

The starlet snored softly, though pleasantly. It reminded Aaron of a cat he’d once had.

He felt good, and why shouldn’t he? Diplomatic victory, and its rewards, were his. Yet he couldn’t sleep.

Why? Not the snoring; even the sounds of battle had never kept Aaron awake when he determined it was time to rest. He had no worries about tomorrow’s council session. What then?

The bed seemed very large, even with two people in it. The sheets were satin and gently perfumed. The room was lovely—everything he had hoped for.

He thought of Shensi.

He slipped quietly out of bed, careful not to wake his sleeping companion. He checked the closet, and found that Deena had already moved his clothing in—both the small amount that had fit in his old quarters, and the rest, which had been stored in an adjacent cabin. He selected a silk robe, embroidered above the pocket with the SwordSworn shield, and a pair of leather slippers.

He left the room quietly and wandered down the hall, through a butler’s pantry, and out through a rear door that took him into the ship proper. He felt better, seeing the gray metal walls and exposed pipes. The show was over now. It was good to be backstage.

He startled a maintenance crewman working the late shift, as he shuffled past and found the door to his old quarters. Gratefully, he found it hadn’t been reassigned. His name was still on the placard above the number. He punched in the lock code and slipped inside.

The bunk had been made with standard ship’s-issue sheets, coarse and common. There was a single foam pillow; the mattress was hard. He took off his robe, hung it on the hook on the wall. He slipped under the sheets and put his head on the pillow.

Almost immediately, he was asleep.