Myndo shook her head violently. "You know as well as I do that all this has nothing to do with troops—be they crack mercenaries or these new, half-trained units Prince Davion hopes to create. The Lyran Commonwealth is dangerous, and now you've allowed them to become paired with the most advanced of the Successor States."

Tiepolo nodded slowly. "Ah, now I sense the core of your discomfort. You are concerned that for the first time in the 240 years since the blessed Jerome Blake accepted his mission to restore communication among the stars, I have allowed an occurrence that jeopardizes the completion of that sacred mission. Is this what I am hearing you say?"

Myndo nodded quickly. "The Lyran Commonwealth sees us as nothing more than an organization of glorified messengers. Those cursed, money-grubbing Lyran merchants look at us as nothing more than another profit-seeking business enterprise. They do not realize how slender our profits are, much less do they understand that we care more for our mission than we do any profits. There is no way to explain the spiritual to those who see only with their eyes and understand riches only in a worldly sense."

"This is a truth we have long acknowledged, Precentor Dieron."

"Yes, Primus, we have acknowledged it and we agreed, several Council sessions back, to quarantine the Lyran Commonwealth. We wanted to isolate their view of us so that it would not infect the thinking of the other Houses. But in the sixteen months of negotiations for this Davion-Steiner treaty, it seems as though the resolution has been swept away. You've allowed the devil to mate with damnation, and utter chaos will reign because of it."

Tiepolo narrowed his dark eyes, which flashed with anger.

"Your analogy, my dear Precentor, suggests that House Davion is worse in some way even than House Steiner ..."

Myndo was no less angry than the Primus, but she struggled for calm. "I have explained my reservations about House Davion countless times before, Primus. Prince Hanse Davion's hunger for old Star League technology—what the unwashed have so quaintly labeled lostech—will bring him into direct conflict with us. And with the recent advances made by his New Avalon Institute of Science, I believe the conflict will come sooner than later. Quintus Allard and the Counter-intelligence Division of Davion's Ministry of Intelligence Information and Operations have made it very difficult for us to get our ROM agents anywhere close to the Prince. And may I remind you, Primus, that even you have admitted that the Prince is impossible to read from a distance."

Primus Julian Tiepolo let a smile warp his thin white lips. "The Fox is indeed an enigma."

"You call him an enigma, but I see Hanse Davion as a dagger pressed against ComStar's throat! You cannot deny that the treaty's confidential clauses surprised even you."

The Primus nodded. "True. I never expected Hanse Davion would ask for, or receive, the hand of Melissa Arthur Steiner in marriage. That could well be an impressive event."

Myndo snorted derisively. "That's not the marriage I fear between Houses Steiner and Davion. No, what I ask you to contemplate is the match between the Lyran Commonwealth's contempt for us and House Davion's technical expertise. The cultural and intellectual exchanges demanded by this treaty could well be the birth of a service to rival our own."

"Perhaps, Precentor Dieron, perhaps ..." A skeletally slender hand waved her objections aside. "I do not see the reality of the Successor States in the same way that you do."

"I know this," Myndo Waterly replied, her tone serious and even. "Indeed, I am prepared to ask the First Circuit to strip you of your Primacy because of it."

Primus Julian Tiepolo froze and studied his subordinate carefully, but she did not flinch beneath his stern gaze. Icy silence hung over the chamber as the Primus sorted through and organized his thoughts. Finally, with a slight nod, he dispelled the mood.

"Very well, Precentor Dieron, you force me to reveal some of my thoughts to you. I do so reluctantly, and only because I sense in you a true concern for the blessed Blake's plan rather than a desire for personal power."

Myndo nodded formally. "I wish only that Blake's will be done."

"Indeed, Precentor Dieron, I believe this is true." Primus Tiepolo pointed toward the enormous star chart on the wall. "Political," he hissed. At his voice command, a computer superimposed a political map over the chart. "You are correct, Precentor, in sensing that Houses Steiner and Davion are the most dangerous to ComStar. My decision—despite the excellent arguments you and other Precentors presented during Council sessions—was to allow the two Houses to come together. It is my belief that a strong alliance between them will solidify the other Houses' opposition to them."

Myndo frowned. "The opposition is not all that strong, Primus." Pointing at a narrow wedge toward the base of the starchart, she said, "House Liao certainly poses a threat to no one. House Marik, positioned between Liao and Steiner, is still recovering from its civil war of six years ago. Meanwhile, Davion's financial backing of insurgents is further keeping the Mariks off-balance."

The Primus shook his head calmly, like a professor about to correct one of his students. "Liao's Capellan Confederation may occupy a relatively small region of space, but it is rich in worlds. And though Liao's forces are not strong enough to attack the Federated Suns, they are enough to repel any Davion incursions. Aside from the continual border raids and an occasional world won or lost, we will see no major shift on that front in our lifetimes."

The Primus pointed toward the purple area representing House Marik's Free Worlds League. "Janos Marik has recovered control of his realm. Let us not forget that his son Thomas is in our service." Tiepolo shifted his attention toward the red area above the Federated Suns and to the right of the Lyran Commonwealth on the map. "Even more important is your own Draconis Combine. With its dreaded Sword of Light Regiments—and now the Wolf's Dragoons, too—it should be more than enough to hold Davion in check."

Myndo shook her head slowly. "This is possible, and we shall soon have the proof of it when Davion begins his Galtor Campaign. I fear, though, that not one of the other Houses could stand alone against the combined might of the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth."

"That is more true than you know, Precentor, which is why I have ordered you back to Dieron. You will coordinate the meetings between Takashi Kurita, Janos Marik, and Maximilian Liao. The other Houses will not stand alone, Myndo. They will stand together . .." Primus Tiepolo raised a hand to forestall further comment. "You should know that Maximilian Liao is attempting to repeat his success at pitting Anton Marik against Janos in the civil war. He is playing on Michael Hasek-Davion's desire to rule the Federated Suns in place of his brother-in-law, and has already provided Duke Michael with reasons to refuse Hanse the use of his Capellan March troops in the Galtor Campaign."

Myndo smiled unconsciously. "And you will exploit Frederick Steiner's desire to supplant his cousin Katrina . . ."

The Primus nodded. "The current political situation in the Successor States depends upon maintaining a balance. If any Successor Lord believes he or she is powerful enough to conquer a neighbor, humanity will once again be plunged into the maelstrom of war. We must also remember that ComStar is the balance point. If it ever does begin to seem that the union of Houses Steiner and Davion is a threat to us, have no fear that we will move to crush them both and to establish a new balance."