webeweber, david - honor harweber, david - honor harrington 11, at all costs

7/18/2019 WebeWeber, David - Honor HarWeber, David - Honor Harrington 11, At All Costs

1/586

AT ALL COSTS

David Weber


2/586

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and

any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

Copyright 200 by !avid "eber

David and the Phoenixcopyright #$%, 2000 by &dward 'rmondroyd( second paperback

printing, )ay 200. &*cerpts reprinted with the permission of +urple ouse +ress- Cynthiana,entucky. /ringing back classic books for children, www.purplehousepress.com1

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A aen ooks 'riginal

aen +ublishing &nterprises+.'. o* #03

4iverdale, 56 #0%#

www.baen.com

7859#3- $%:9#9#;90$##90

7859#0- #9#;90$##9$

Cover art by !avid )attingly

7nterior map by 4andy Asplund

8chuster#230 Avenue of the Americas

5ew 6ork, 56 #0020

+roduction > design by "indhaven +ress, Auburn, 5 /www.windhaven.cm1

+rinted in the ?nited 8tates of America


3/586

Baen Books by DAVID WEBERHonor Harrington:

On Basilisk StationThe Honor of the Queen

The Short Victorious War

Field of DishonorFlag in Exile

Honor !ong Ene!ies

"n Ene!# Hands

Echoes of Honorshes of Victor#

War of Honor

t ll $osts

edited by David Weber:

%ore than Honor

Worlds of Honor

$hanger of Worlds

The Service of the S&ord

Honorverse'

$ro&n of Slaves/with &ric


4/586

%arch to the Stars

We Fe&

with Eric Fint

/011


5/586

!roog"e

DED#CAT#O$

For Richard Andrew Earn%haw&

'()'*+,,)-

A.ter .orty year% o. %hared a"ghter& ove& and tear%& it/% hard to et go- 0"t it/%

ti1e- So& .y& Richard- Wherever yo" are& wherever 2od ta3e% yo"& .y high- #

ove yo"-


6/586


7/586

The bigviar#9class C=ACs and their escorting battlecruisers crossed the Alpha wall into

normal9space @ust outside the hyper limit. There were only two of the superdreadnought9sied

vessels, but their =AC bays spat out almost si* hundred light attack craft, and if the 4epublic ofavenBs $i!eterre9class =ACs were shorter9legged, more lightly armed, and nowhere near so

capable as the 8tar ingdom of )anticoreBsShrikesandFerrets, they were more than adeuate

for their current assignment.They accelerated in9system, building vectors towards the industrial infrastructure of the

Alion 8ystem, and discovered an unanticipated bit of good fortune. A pair of lumbering

freighters, both suawking )anticoran 7!s and bumbling along on the same general flight plan,

found themselves suarely in the path of the incoming storm and already within e*treme missilerange. They accelerated desperately, but the =ACs had an overtake velocity of over a thousand

+8 at the moment they were first detected, and the freightersB ma*imum acceleration rate was

little more than two hundred gravities. The$i!eterreswere capable of very nearlysevenhundred, and they were armed . . . which the merchantmen werenBt.

D)anticoran freighters, this is Captain Eavits of the 4epublican 5avy,D a harsh, aven9

accented voice said over the civilian guard freuency. D6ou are instructed to kill your impellers

and abandon ship immediately. ?nder the terms of applicable interstellar law, 7 formally informyou that we do not have the capacity to board and search your vessels or to take them as pries.

Therefore, 7 will open fire upon them and destroy them in twenty standard minutes from . . . now.

Fet your people off immediately. Eavits, clear.D

'ne of the two freighters killed her impellers immediately. The other skipper was more

stubborn. e continued to accelerate, as if he thought he might somehow still save his ship, but

he wasnBt an idiot, either. 7t took him all of five minutes to realieGor, at least, to acce)t2that he

had no chance, and his impellers, too, went abruptly cold.

8huttles spilled from the two merchant ships, scuttling away from them at their ma*imum

acceleration as if they e*pected the avenite =ACs to open fire upon them. ut the 4epublic

hewed scrupulously to the reuirements of interstellar law. 7ts warships meticulously waited outthe time limit Eavits had stipulated, then, precisely on the tick, launched a single pair of missiles

at each drifting freighter.

The old9fashioned nuclear warheads did the @ob @ust fine.

The$i!eterressped onward, ignoring the dissipating balls of plasma which had once beensomewhere in the vicinity of fourteen million tons of merchant shipping. Their destruction, after

all, was a mere sideshow. Ahead of the avenite units, a half9doen destroyers and a division of

4)5 Star 3night9class CAs accelerated to meet them. The range was still too long for the

$i!eterresto actually see the defenders, but the remote reconnaissance platforms spreading out

ahead of the =ACs were another matter, and Captain ertrand Eavits grimaced as he took note of

the dronesB relayed report of the defendersB acceleration rates.

DTheyBre not killing themselves to come out and meet us, are they, 8kipHD =ieutenantConstana 8heffield, his e*ecutive officer observed.

D5o, they arenBt,D Eavits said, and gestured at the cramped, utilitarian =ACBs bare9bones plot.

D"hich probably means 7ntelligence is right about what theyBve got covering the inner system,D

he told her.

D7n that case, this is gonna hurt,D she said.

D6es, it is. 7f not uite as much as they ho)e it will,D Eavits agreed. Then he punched a new


8/586

combination into his com panel. DAll "olverines, this is "olverine 'ne.


9/586

DClosest approach, twelve seconds after we alter course, will be about si*ty9four million

kilometers,D she replied.

DA million inside their ma*imum effective range from rest,D Eavits observed, and grimaced.D7 wish there was another way to find out if 7ntelligence knows what itBs talking about.D

D6ou and me both, 8kip,D 8heffield agreed, but she also shrugged. DAt least weBre the ones

calling the tune for the dance this time.D

Eavits nodded and watched the icon representing his massive flight of =ACs sweeping closerand closer to the blinking green crosshair which represented +oint Iictor9Able. y this time, the

$i!eterreshad traveled almost thirty9three million kilometers and were up to a velocity of over

twenty thousand kilometers per second. The )anty picket ships were still accelerating to meetthem, but it was obvious that they had no intention of entering standard missile range of that

many =ACs. "ell, Eavits wouldnBt have either, if heBd been towing pods stuffed full of multi9

drive missiles with a standoff range of over three light9minutes. owever good )anticoran

combat systems might have been, si* hundred9plus =ACs would have swarmed over that handfulof ships like hungry pseudo9piranha if they could get into range of their own weapons. 7f thereBd

been heavy defending units in9system, things might have been different, but in that case, Eavits

would never have come close enough for them to get a shot at him in the first place.

DIictor9Able, 8ir,D his astrogator reported suddenly.

DIery well. 'rder the course change, Constana.D

DAye, 8ir,D 8heffield said in far more formal tones, and he heard the order go out.

The green beads representing friendly units on his display shifted course abruptly, arcing

back out and away from the inner system on a course which would take them right through oneof the more heavily developed and mined portions of the Alion 8ystemBs asteroid belt.


10/586

DAppro*imately nine hundred still inbound,D =ieutenant Cook announced in a voice which

struck Eavits as entirely too calm. DAllocating outer one counter9missiles.D

e paused for perhaps a pair of heart beats, then said one more word.

D&ngaging.D

The command$i!eterreuivered as the first counter9missiles blasted away from her. They

were woefully outclassed by the missiles racing to kill her, but there were almost two9thirds as

many =ACs as there were attack missiles, and each =AC was firing doens of counter9missiles.

5ot all of them simultaneously. Admiral


11/586

their impenetrable impeller wedges to them. The targeted =ACsB consorts continued to slam bolts

of coherent light into the teeth of the )anticoran missiles. 'ver half of those missiles

disappeared, torn apart by the defensive fire, but many of the others swerved at the last moment,either because theyBd been e*ecuting deceptive attack runs to mask their true targets or else

because theyBd lost their initial targets and had to acuire new ones. )ost of those got through(

only a handful of the others did.Iacuum blaed as the powerful )anticoran laser heads detonated in vicious, fusion9fueled

chain9lightning, and immensely powerful J9ray lasers stabbed out of the e*plosions. )any of

those lasers wasted their fury on the interposed wedges of their targets, but others ripped through

the =ACsB sidewalls as if they had not e*isted. These were capital missiles of the 4oyal)anticoran 5avy, designed to blast through the almost inconceivably tough sidewalls and armor

of ships of the wall. "hat one of them did to a tiny, completely unarmored light attack craft was

cataclysmic.

)ore e*plosions speckled space as$i!eterresB fusion bottles failed. Almost three doen of

EavitsB =ACs were destroyed outright. Another four survived long enough for their remaining

crewpeople to abandon ship.

D"olverine 4ed Three, "olverine 'ne,D he said harshly into his microphone. D6ouBve gotlifeguard. +ick up everyone you can. 'ne, clear.D

DAye, "olverine 'ne. 4ed Three copies. !ecelerating now.D

Eavits watched the designated suadron decelerate slightlyG@ust enough to match vectors

with the skinsuited crewmen who could no longer accelerateGand his eyes were hard. ?nderother circumstances, delaying to pick those people up would have represented an unacceptable

risk. ut at this range, and with the range already opening to the very edge of even )anticoran

missilesB reach, it was a chance well worth taking.

And not @ust because of the DassetD those people represent, he thought. "e left too manypeople too many places under the +eopleBs 4epublic. 5ot againGnot on my watch. 5ot if thereBs

any option at all.e watched the plotBs sidebars silently update themselves, listing his losses. They hurt.

Thirty9eight ships represented over si* percent of his total strength, and heBd known most of the

four hundred people whoBd been aboard them personally. ut in the unforgiving calculus of war,

that loss rate was not merely acceptable, it was low. &specially for =AC operations.

And weBre outside their reach, now. "eBve confirmed what theyBre deploying for systemdefense, but theyBre not going to waste more missiles on us. 5ot at this range . . . and not when

they canBt be certain what else may be waiting to pounce if they fire off all their birds.

D8ir,D =ieutenant Cook said. D"eBre beginning to pick up active emissions ahead of us.D Eavits

looked across at him, and the lieutenant looked up from his own display to meet his C'Bs eyes.DThe computers assess them as primarily point defense radar and lidar, 8ir. There donBt seem to

be very many of them.D

DFood,D Eavits grunted. DAll "olverines, "olverine 'ne. 8tand by to launch on 8ierra targetson my command.D

e switched channels again, back to the civilian guard freuency.

DAlion 8ystem Central, this is Captain Eavits. 7 will be bringing your Tregarth Alpha

facilities into my e*treme missile range in twenty9seven minutes from . . . now. )y vector willmake it impossible for me to match velocity with the facilities or send across boarding parties,


12/586

and 7 hereby inform you that 7 will open fire on them, and on any e*traction vessels within my

missile envelope, in twenty9nine minutes.D

e looked down at his plot once more with a hard, fierce grin. Then keyed his mike oncemore.

D7 advise you to begin evacuation procedures now,D he said. DEavits, clear.D

K K K

D8o whatBs the best estimate of the results, AdmiralHD +resident &loise +ritchart asked.

The beautiful, platinum9haired +resident had come across to the 'ctagon, the 4epublic ofavenBs military nerve center, for this meeting, and aside from one bodyguard, she was the single

civilian in the enormous conference room. All eyes were on the huge holo display above the

conference table, where the reproduced imagery from ertrand EavitsB tactical plot hovered inmidair.

D'ur best estimate from the recon platformsB data is that Captain EavitsB raid destroyed about

eight percentGprobably a little lessGof AlionBs total resource e*traction capability, )adam

+resident,D 4ear Admiral Iictor =ewis, !irector of 'perational 4esearch replied. Thanks to

venerable traditions of uncertain origin, 5aval 7ntelligence reported to 'p 4esearch, which, inturn, reported to Iice Admiral =inda TrenisB ureau of +lanning.

DAnd was that an acceptable return in light of our own lossesHD the +resident asked.

D6es,D another voice said, and the +resident looked at the stocky, brown9haired admiral at thehead of the table whoBd spoken. Admiral Thomas Theisman, 8ecretary of "ar and Chief of 5aval

'perations, looked back at her steadily. D"e lost about a third of the people weBd have lost

aboard a single old9style cruiser, )adam +resident,D he continued, speaking very formally in thepresence of their subordinates. D7n return, we confirmed 5av7ntBs estimate of the system9defense

doctrine the )anties appear to be adopting and acuired additional information on their fire

control systems and current pod deployment patterns( destroyed eight million tons of hyper9capable merchant shipping, better than five times the combined tonnage of all the =ACs Eavits

lost( and put a small but significant dent into the productivity of Alion. )ore to the point, we hitone of the )anticoran AllianceBs memberBs home system for what everyone will recognie as

negligible losses, and this isnBt the first time AlionBs been hit. That has to have an effect on theentire AllianceBs morale, and itBs almost certain to increase the pressure on the "hite aven

Admiralty to detach additional picket forces to cover the 8tar ingdomBs allies against similar

attacks.D

D7 see.D The spectacularly beautiful, platinum9haired +residentBs topa9colored eyes didnBt

look especially happy, but they didnBt flinch away from TheismanBs logic, either. 8he looked at

him for a moment longer, then returned her attention to 4ear Admiral =ewis.

D+lease pardon the interruption, Admiral,D she said. DContinue, if you would.D

D'f course, )adam +resident.D The rear admiral cleared his throat and punched a newcommand seuence into his terminal. The holo display shifted, and EavitsB plot disappeared,

replaced by a series of bar graphs.

D7f youBll look at the first red column, )adam +resident,D he began, DyouBll see our losses todate in ships of the wall. The green column beside it represents 8!/+1s currently undergoing

trials or completing construction. The amber column . . .D

K K K


13/586

D"ell, that was all e*tremely interesting, Tom,D &loise +ritchart said some hours later.

D?nfortunately, 7 think weBre into information overkill. 7n some ways, 7 think 7 know less about

whatBs going on now than 7 did before 7 came over hereLD

8he made a face, and Theisman chuckled. e sat behind his desk, tipped back comfortably in

his chair, and the 4epublicBs +resident sat on the comfortable couch facing the desk. er personal

security detail was camped outside the door, giving her at least the illusion of privacy, her shoeslay on the carpet in front of her, and she had both bare feet tucked up under her while she nursed

a steaming cup of coffee in slender hands. TheismanBs own cup sat on his deskBs blotter.

D6ou spent long enough as EavierBs peopleBs commissioner to have a better grasp of military

realities than that, &loise,D he told her now.

D7n a general sense, certainly.D 8he shrugged. D'n the other hand, 7 was never actually trained

for the realities of the 5avy, and thereBve been so many changes in such a short time that what 7

did know feels hopelessly out of date. 7 suppose what matters is that #ou(re current. And

confident.D

er tone was ever so slightly uestioning on the last two words, and it was his turn to shrug.

DBConfidentB is a slippery word. 6ou know 7 was never happy about going back to war againstthe )anties.D e raised one hand in a placating gesture. D7 understand your logic, and 7 canBt

disagree with it. esides, youBre the +resident. ut 7 have to admit that 7 never liked the idea.And that ThunderboltBs success has e*ceeded my own e*pectations. 8o far, at least.D

D&ven after what happenedGor didnBt happenGat TrevorBs 8tarHD

DEavier made the right decision on the basis of everything we knew,D Theisman said firmly.

D5one of us fully appreciated @ust how tough 8hannonBs Blayered defenseB was going to be againstlong9range )anticoran missile fire. 7f weBd been able to pro@ect probable losses during the

approach phase as accurately then as we could now, then, yes, he should have gone ahead and

pressed the attack. ut he didnBt know that at the time any more than the rest of us did.D

D7 see.D +ritchart sipped coffee, and Theisman watched her with a carefully hidden smile.

That was about as close as the +resident was ever going to allow herself to come to DpullingstringsD on Eavier FiscardBs behalf, lover or no lover.

DAnd =ewisB pro@ectionsHD she continued after a moment. D!o you feel confident about them,tooHD

DAs far as the numbers from our own side go, absolutely,D he said. D)anpowerBs going to be a

problem for about the ne*t seven months. After that, the training programs =inda and 8hannon

have in place should be producing most of the personnel we need. And a few months after that,weBll begin steadily mothballing the old9style wallers to crew the new construction as it comes

out of the yards. "eBre still going to be stretched to come up with the officers we needG

especially flag officers with e*perienceGbut we were able to build up a solid base between the

8aint9Eust cease9fire and Thunderbolt. 7 think weBll be all right on that side, too.DAs far as the industrial side goes, 7 realie the economic strain of our present building plans

is going to be heavy. 4achel anriotBs made that clear enough on behalf of Treasury, but 7 didnBt

need her to tell me, and 7 deeply regret having to impose it. &specially given the high price weBveall paid to start turning the economy around. ut we donBt have a lot of choice, unless we end up

successfully negotiating a peace settlement.D

e raised his eyebrows uestioningly, and she gave her head a uick, irritable shake.

D7 donBt know where we are on that,D she admitted, manifestly unhappily. D7Bd have thought


14/586

even &liabeth "inton would be willing to sit down and talk after you, Eavier, and the rest of the

5avy finished kickingher navyBs ass so thoroughlyL 8o far, though, nothing. 7Bm becoming more

and more convinced that ArnoldBs been right about the )antiesB new taste for imperialism fromthe very beginning . . . damn him.D

Theisman started to say something, then stopped. This wasnBt the time to suggest that the

Mueen of )anticore might have very good reasons to not see things e*actly as &loise +ritchartdid. 'r to reiterate his own deep distrust and suspicion of anything emerging from the mouth of

8ecretary of 8tate Arnold Fiancola.

D"ell,D he said instead, Din the absence of a negotiated settlement, we donBt really have any

choice but to press for an outright military victory.D

DAnd you genuinely believe we can achieve thatHD

Theisman snorted in harsh amusement at her tone.

D7 wish you wouldnBt sound uite so . . . dubious,D he said. D6ouBre the commander9in9chief,

after all. !oes terrible things for the uniformed personnelBs morale when you sound like you canBtuite believe we can win.D

DAfter what they did to us in the last war, and especially uttercup, itBs hard not to feel a littledoubtful, Tom,D she said a bit apologetically.

D7 suppose it is,D he conceded. Dut in this case, yes, 7 do believe we can defeat the 8taringdom and its allies if we have to. 7 really need to take you out to olthole to actually see

what weBre doing there, and discuss everything 8hannon


15/586

hardware. "hat they had was dated, and 7 could wish it were more current, but itBs been

e*traordinarily useful to 8hannon, anyway.

DThe upshot is that 8hannonBs already working out new doctrine and some new pieces ofhardware, especially in the =AC programs and out system9defense control systems, based on the

combination of our information from &rewhon, e*amination of captured and wrecked

)anticoran hardware, and analysis of operations to date. At the beginning of Thunderbolt, weBdestimated that one of our pod superdreadnoughts probably had about forty percent as much

combat power as a )anticoran or Frayson 8!/+1. That estimate looks like it was fairly accurate

at the time, but 7 believe weBre steadily moving the ratio in our favor.D

Dut the )anties have as much operational data as we do, donBt theyH ArenBt they going to beimproving their capabilities right along with oursHD

D6es and no. Actually, e*cept for what happened to =ester at )arsh, they didnBt retain

possession of a single star system where we engaged them, and none of =esterBs modern hyper9

capable types were taken intact. "e, on the other hand, effectively destroyed virtually every oneof their pickets we hit, so those pickets didnBt have much opportunity to pass on any observations

they might have made.

D7n addition, we captured e*amples of a lot of their hardware. Their security protocolsworked damned effectively on most of their classified mollycircs, and uite a bit of what we did

get we canBt really use yet. 8hannon says itBs a case of basic differences in the capabilities of our

infrastructure.


16/586

Dut the bottom line, &loise, is that they simply canBt match or overcome our building edge

over the ne*t two T9years or so. &ven then, the sheer numbers of hulls we can lay down and man

Gassuming the economy holdsGshould be great enough to allow us to more than maintainparity in newly commissioned units. ut for those two years, at a bare minimum, they simply

wonBt have the platforms to mount whatever new weapons or defenses they introduce. And one

thing both we and the )anties learned the last time around is that strategic hesitation is deadly.DD"hat do you meanHD

D&loise, no one else in the history of the gala*y has ever fought a war on the scale on which

we and the )anties are operating. The 8olarian =eague never had to( it was simply so big no one

could fight it, and everyone knew it. ut we and the )anties have hammered away at each otherwith navies with literally hundreds of ships of the wall for most of the last twenty T9years now.

And the one thing the )anties made perfectly clear in the last war is that wars like this canbe

fought to a successful!ilitar#conclusion. They couldnBt do it until they managed to assembletheir &ighth


17/586

Cha4ter One

The nursery was e*traordinarily full.

Two of the three older girlsG4achel and EeanetteGwere downstairs, hovering on the brinkof adulthood, and Theresa was at boarding school on )anticore, but the remaining five )ayhew

children, their nannies, and their personal armsmen made a respectable mob. Then there was


18/586

showed briefly in the backs of her gray9blue eyes. D"hat 7 meant, )y =ady, is that theyBre

usually on their better behaviorGthey donBt actually have a *estbehavior, you understandG

when youBre here.D

onor nodded in response to both the interrupted comment, and the one Fena had actually

made. er eyes met the younger womanBsGat forty9eight T9years, Fena 8mith was well into

middle age for a pre9prolong Frayson woman, but that still made her over twelve T9yearsyounger than onorGfor @ust a moment, and then the two of them returned their attention to the

pa@ama9clad children.

!espite FenaBs and onorBs comments, the three assistant nannies had sorted out their

charges with the efficiency of long practice.


19/586

and his 8CA friends.

8he crossed to the reclining armchair, as old9fashioned and anachronistic as the printed book

in her hands itself, and 5imit leapt lightly from her shoulder to the top of the padded chair back.e sank his claws into the upholstery, arranging himself comfortably, as onor settled into the

chair which had sat in the )ayhew nurseryGreupholstered and even rebuilt at needGfor almost

seven hundred T9years.The attentive eyes of the children watched her while she ad@usted the chair to e*actly the

right angle, and she and the Bcat savored the bright, clean emotions washing out from them. 5o

wonder treecats had always loved children, she thought. There was something so . . .

marvelously whole about them. "hen they welcomed, they welcomed with all their hearts, andthey loved as they trusted, without stint or limit. That was always a gift to be treasured.

&specially now.

8he looked up as the veritable horde of armsmen withdrew. Colonel =a


20/586

DThere it wasLGas !ad had described it, but infinitely more grand. 7t swept upward from the

valley floor, beautifully shaped and soaring, so tall that its misty blue peak could surely talk face9

to9face with the stars. To !avid, who had never seen a mountain before, the sight was almost toomuch to bear. e felt so tight and shivery inside that he didnBt know whether he wanted to laugh,

or cry, or both. And the really wonderful thing about the )ountain was the way it looked at him.

e was certain that it was smiling at him, like an old friend who had been waiting for years tosee him again. And when he closed his eyes, he seemed to hear a voice which whispered, BCome

along, then, and climb.BD

8he glanced up again, feeling the children folding themselves more closely about her as the

ancient words rolled over them. 8he felt 5imit, as well, sharing her own memories of hermotherBs voice reading the same story to her and memories of other mountains, even grander

than the ancient !avidBs, and rambles through themGmemories heBd been there forGand

savoring the new ones.

D7t would be so easy to goLD she continued. DThe back yard was hedged in /with part of the

hedge growing right across the toes of the )ountain1, but . . . D

K K K

D7 imagine itBs too much to hope they were all asleepHD

D6ou imagine correctly,D onor said dryly, stepping through the massive, inlaid doors ofpolished oak into the palatial chamber which the +alace guides modestly referred to as Dthe

=ibrary.D D5ot that you really e*pected them to be, now did youHD

D'f course not, but we neobarbarian planetary despots get used to demanding the impossible.And when we donBt get it, we behead the unfortunate soul who disappointed us.D

en@amin 7J, +lanetary +rotector of Frayson, grinned at her, standing with his back to the

log fire crackling on the hearth behind him, and she shook her head.

D7 knew that eventually all this absolute power would go to your head,D she told him in adisplay of lese !a5este which would have horrified a third of the planetBs steadholders and

infuriated another third.

D'h, between us, &laine and 7 keep him trimmed down to sie, onor,D atherine )ayhew,

en@aminBs senior wife said.

D"ell, us and the kids,D &laine )ayhew, en@aminBs @unior wife corrected. D7 understand,D

she continued with a cheerful smile, Dthat young children help keep parents younger.D

DThat which does not kill us makes us youngerHD en@amin misuoted.

D8omething like that,D &laine replied. At thirty9seven T9years, she was almost twelve yearsyounger than her husband and almost si* years younger than her senior wife. 'f course, she was

almost a uarter T9century younger than onor . . . who was one of the youngest9looking people

in the room. 'nly the third and most @unior of her personal armsmen, 8pencer awke, and the

towering young lieutenant commander in Frayson 5avy uniform, looked younger than she did.+rolong did that for a person.

er mouth tightened as the thought reminded her why they were all here, and 5imit pressed

his cheek against the side of her face with a soft, comforting croon. en@aminBs eyes narrowed,and she tasted his spike of recognition. "ell, heBd always been an e*traordinarily sharp fellow,

and spending eight T9years as the father of a daughter whoBd been adopted by a treecat had

undoubtedly sensitied him.


21/586

8he gave him another smile, then crossed to the young man in the naval uniform. e was a

veritable giant for a FraysonGindeed, he was actually taller than onor wasGand although she

was in civilian attire, he came to attention and bowed respectfully. 8he ignored the bow andenfolded him in a firm embrace. e stiffened for an instantGin surprise, not resistanceGand

then hugged her back, a bit awkwardly.

D7s there any new word, CarsonHD she asked uietly, stepping back a half9pace and letting herhands slide down to rest on his forearms.

D5o, )y =ady,D he said sadly. D6our =ady )other is at the hospital right now.D e smiled

faintly. D7 told her it wasnBt necessary. 7tBs not as if this falls into her area of specialiation, and

we all know thereBs really nothing to be done now e*cept to wait. ut she insisted.D

DowardBs her friend, too,D onor said. 8he glanced at Andrew =a


22/586

D=istening to you read,D en@aminBs oldest daughter replied. D7 guess itBs mostly because

youBre involvedGwe donBt get to see enough of you here on FraysonGand youBre, well, sort of

larger than life for all the kids.D 5o one else would have noticed the way the young womancolored very slightly, but onor hid a smile as she tasted 4achelBs own spike of adolescent

admiration and embarrassment. D7 know when Eeanette and 7GD she nodded sideways at the

slightly younger woman sitting beside her DGwere younger, we always looked forward to seeingyou. And 5imit, of course.D

The treecat on onorBs shoulder elevated his nose and flirted his tail in satisfaction at

4achelBs acknowledgment of his own importance in the social hierarchy, and several people

chuckled. 4achelBs companion, ipper, only heaved a sigh of long9suffering patience and closedhis eyes wearily.

D8he may be right, onor,D &laine said. D6oung onor certainly volunteered suspiciously

uickly to Bhelp keep an eye on the littlesB this evening.D

Desides, Aunt onor,D Eeanette said in a softer voice /she was considerably shyer than herolder sister1, Dyou really do read awfully well.D onor raised an eyebrow, and Eeanette blushed

far more obviously than 4achel had. ut she also continued with stubborn diffidence. D7 know 7

always really en@oyed listening to you. The characters all even sounded different from each other.esides, thereBs more challenge in a book. 5o body @ustgivesyou the way the people and places

look( you have to imagine them for yourselves, and you make thatfun.D

D"ell, 7Bm glad you think so,D onor said after a moment, and atherine snorted.

D8heBs not the only one who thinks so,D she said, when onor looked at her. D)ost of thenannies have told me what a wonderful mother youBd make, if you werenBt so busy off blowing

up starships and planets and things.D

D)eHD onor blinked at her in surprise, and atherine shook her head.

D6ou, =ady arrington. 7n fact,D she went on a bit more intently, DthereBs been some, um,discussion of your responsibility in that direction.


23/586

happens if you wait another twenty or thirty years and thenhave a childH ?nder Frayson law,

that child would automatically supplant


24/586

DAnd 7Bm not supposed to discuss it with you,D onor conceded. D"hich is, if you donBt mind

my saying so, one of the stupider of FraysonBs innumerable traditions.D

D7 suppose when you spend as long assembling them as we have, one or two suboptimalselections may make it through the filtering process.D en@amin shrugged. D'verall, they work

pretty well for us, though. And the fact that youBre not allowed to discuss it with me doesnBt mean

my various spies and agents donBt know e*actly who youBre planning to nominate. 'r that 7 donBtheartily approve of your selection, for that matter.D

D"ell, since weBve gotten all of that out of the way without ever transgressing, perhaps we

could discuss some of the things we are allowed to talk to onor about,D atherine suggested.

D8uch asHD er husband raised his eyebrows at her, and she gave him an e*asperated look.

D8uch as what the Admiralty is going to have her doing, for starters,D she said.

D'h. That.D

en@amin glanced at his elder daughters. Eeanette favored &laine at least as strongly as

4achel favored atherine, with her biological motherBs fair coloring and blue eyes. At the

moment, both young women seemed torn between attempting to appear invisible or mature and

insightful, whichever was more likely to let them go on sitting e*actly where they were.D8word rules apply, girls,D he said. oth of them nodded solemnly, and he turned back to

onor. D"hat are they going to have you doingHD

D7 canBt really tell you for certain yet,D onor replied, watching the young women from thecorner of one eye. 4achel had reached up to caress ipperBs ears again, and her e*pression was

intent. ?nderstandably, since she would be entering the 4oyal )anticoran 5avyBs 8aganami

7sland academy in less than a month. onor had delivered the traditional D=ast IiewD address tothe senior class two weeks before( the other formsB abbreviated wartime summer leaves would be

up in ten days, and 4achel would be returning to )anticore aboard thePaul Tankersle#to report

to the newest class of snotties. Eeanette looked curious and sober, but sheBd never been the navy9mad tomboy 4achel had.

D7Bm not trying to be mysterious,D onor continued. DThings have been so cray ever since 7

got back from 8idemore that it seems the AdmiraltyBs strategic thinking changes on an almost

daily basis. The numbers '57 is coming up with keep getting worse, not better, and they keepwhittling away at what was supposed to be &ighth


25/586

D7Bm pleased at the evidence that the Admiralty is thinking in offensive terms,D the +rotector

continued. DAfter the pounding Theisman gave us, it must have been dreadfully tempting to

revert to a totally defensive stance.D

D7Bm sure it would have been for a lot of people,D onor said. D5ot for Thomas Caparelli and

amish Ale*ander, though.D 8he shook her head again. DThe difference between them and the

Eanacek Admiralty is like the difference between day and night.DD"hich, if youBll forgive me, )y =ady,D =ieutenant Commander Clinkscales said, Dmay be

because they can find their posteriors without approach radar.D

D7 think you could safely describe them as possessing that degree of native ability, Carson,D

she observed, and he blushed slightly.

D8orry, )y =ady,D he said after a moment. D"hat 7 meant was that it was because Eanacekand Chakrabarti couldn(t find their backsides.D

DActually, thatBs a bit unfair to Chakrabarti, 7 think,D onor said. Dut EanacekGand those

idiots Eurgensen and !raskovicLD er mouth tightened, and she shook her head. D7n their cases,you certainly have a point. ut !#point was that 8ir ThomasGand &arl "hite avenGhave

been in this position before. TheyBre not about to panic, and they know weBre going to have totake the fight to the other side as soon and as hard as we can. "e canBt afford to leave the

initiative completely in Thomas TheismanBs hands. 7f we do that, heBll hand us our head withinthe ne*t si* months. At the outside, a T9year.D

D7s it really that bad, )y =adyHD Clinkscales asked uietly.

DAlmost certainly,D she replied, her soprano voice uiet against the background crackle of the

flaming logs. D7tBs starting to look very much as if Admiral FivensB initial estimates may actuallyhave been low.D

D=owHD en@amin frowned at her.

D7 know. 7 think everyoneGmyself includedGfelt she was being too pessimistic in her

original assumptions. 7t @ust didnBt seem possible that the 4epublic could really have built a fleetthe sie of the one she was pro@ecting. ut that was because we all insisted on thinking in terms

of ships built since Theisman overthrew 8aint9Eust.D

D"ell, of course we did. They couldnBt possibly have had the technology to build the newtypes any sooner than that. Certainly not before amish hit them with uttercup.D

onorBs e*pression didnBt flicker as en@amin used the current


26/586

DAnd if Admiral Fivens is right, )y =adyHD Clinckscales asked uietly.

D7f Admiral Fiven is right, then weBre looking at a serious numerical disadvantage,D onor

said soberly. DAnd one which is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. The uestion, ofcourse,D she smiled without a trace of humor, Dis whether or not the numbers are bad enough to

offset our uality. And at the moment, considering the command team theyBve managed to put

together, thatBs a very pointed uestion, indeed.


27/586

Cha4ter Two

DAh, there you are, AldonaL Come in.


28/586

unfortunately, falls somewhat short of the truth, as all of us are rather painfully aware. "hat

some of you may not realie, is that in many ways the situation is getting worse, not better, from

our perspective.D

e tipped back in his own chair and surveyed his guests. 'ne or two of them looked a bit

puled, as if they couldnBt uite see why the situation was any worse than it had always been.

After all, both the 8tar ingdom of )anticore and the 4epublic of aven had been the openlyavowed mortal enemies of )anpower 7ncorporated and the genetic slave trade literally for

centuries.


29/586

Anisimovna smiled thinly.

D


30/586

and the stronger tradition of arrogating some sort of interstellar police power to itself, even to the

e*tent of locking horns with the =eague. ut the 4epublic is much larger, and the new rNgime

there clearly has a Bcrusading spirit,B whereas the igh 4idge rNgime in )anticore was about asvenalGand shortsightedGas we could have asked for. ?nfortunately, neither side, each for its

own reasons, wanted to resume hostilities. And initially, at least, it looked like something of a

toss9up as to whether or not Theisman and +ritchart could make their new Constitution stand up.


31/586

5avy into committing additional light units to piracy suppression in the vicinity, then to pounce

on those units with modern 8olarian heavy cruisers and wipe them out. "hether the &rewhonese

decided we were directly involved in backing the BpiratesB or not, they were bound to becomeeven more furious with the 8tar ingdom when they started suffering losses among their

warships as well as their merchant traffic. Fiven the peculiarities of the &rewhonese honor code,

it was likely that if we continued to provoke them long enough, and if the )anties continued toignore their demands for assistance, the &rewhonese would eventually withdraw from the

)anticoran Alliance.D

D"hich would be good for us in e*actly what wayHD 8andusky asked, frowning intently as he

followed her e*planation.

D&rewhonBs abandonment of the Alliance was bound to shake up even the )anticorans. The

)anty woman9in9the9street seemed willing enough to go along with igh 4idge as long as there

was no clearly perceived e*ternal threat to the 8tar ingdomBs security. 7f, however, the Allianceseemed to be crumbling, still without any formal peace treaty, that was likely to change,

hopefully in the direction of greater militancy directed towards the 4epublic. And, to be honest,

although igh 4idgeBs disinterest in suppressing slavery was good for us, we doubted that heBd

be able to ignore the issue much longer, given the way the "inton dynastyBs always hated us andhow hard )ontaigne, Oilwicki, arrington, and people like the auptmans were all pushing it.

8o we were perfectly willing to see his government fall, especially if that contributed to the

resumption of hostilities we wanted.

D


32/586

rogue operation by a


33/586

utterly silent as he swept his eyes slowly from face to face, searching for any signs of weakness,

of wavering commitment. e found none, and he allowed his chair to come back fully upright.

D


34/586

'peration 4at +oison.D

An ugly ripple of amusement ran around the room, and he nodded in satisfaction.

D7Bve done the best preliminary groundwork 7 could for you and Aldona in Talbott,D hecontinued to ardasano. DTechnodyne doesnBt know everything weBre up to, but theyBve agreed to

at least listen to our proposition. 7 e*pect youBll probably be hearing from a )r. =evakonic

shortly, and everything 7Bve been able to discover about him suggests he should be amenable. 'nthe minus side, youBre also going to have to deal with alokainos. The old man is bad enough,but Iolkhart is an idiot. ?nfortunately, Ierrochio and ongbo are firmly in alokainosB pocket,

so weBre going to have to at least go through the motions of BconsultingB with him. 6ou may

actually have to involve him in the initial strategy discussions, although 7 trust youBll be able tocut him out of the circuit fairly early. 7Bve had our official representative in the area briefed to

help you accomplish thatGnot fully, but in sufficient detail for him to understand what he has to

do. eBs supposed to be pretty good at this sort of thing.D

D"ho is it, AlbrechtHD Anisimovna asked.

Dis name is 'ttweiler, Ialery 'ttweiler,D !etweiler replied.

D7 know him,D she said, frowning thoughtfully. DAnd he really is good at this kind of thing. 7nfact, if it werenBt for his genome, 7Bd say he should be brought fully inside.D

DAre you suggesting probationer status for himHD 8andusky asked a bit sharply.

D7 didnBt say that, Eerome,D Anisimovna returned coolly. 8he and 8andusky had crossed

swords entirely too often in the past, and she wasnBt certain whether he really opposed the notion

or secretly hoped she would suggest it and be supported over his opposition. 7t was always risky

to nominate a normal for probationer status, and he might be hoping this one would blow up, asothers had, with the egg landing on her face this time.

D7f this operation succeeds, and if heBs as integral to its success as 7 e*pect him to be,D she

continued after a brief pause, Dthen it might be time for the $ouncil to consider whether or not heshould be offered that status. 7 donBt personally know the man well enough to predict how he

would react. ut he does have a reputation for effectiveness, and he could be even more effectivefor us as a probationer brought more fully into the real picture.D

D"eBll cross that bridge whenGand ifGwe come to it,D !etweiler decreed. D7n the meantime,you and 7sabel undoubtedly have a lot of details to take care of before you depart. 7Bll be meeting

with both of youGand with some of the rest of youGprivately over the ne*t few days.


35/586

8andusky, who had been responsible for that particular Dtest operation,D D7 had my doubts about

the advisability of using the new technology in an assassination attempt which was bound to

attract as much attention and comment as that one did. 7n this instance, it appears my concernswere misplaced, however, since thereBs no evidence anyone as much as suspects what really

happened.

DThe uestion in my mind, however, is whether or not we want to consider making additionaluse of the same techniue in the interim. 7 can foresee several possible sets of circumstances

where it could be very useful. 7n particular, according to EeromeBs reports, our primary contact in

the avenite !epartment of 8tate is almost certainly going to reuire a completely untraceable

weapon sometime in the ne*t few weeks or months.D

D"ell, this is an interesting change of mind,D 8andusky remarked astringently.

D7t isnBt really a change of mind at all, Eerome,D ardasano said calmly. D)y concern at the

time was that someone would figure out how it was done, but the Andies have run every test they

could think of on ofschulteGor, rather, his cadaverGwithout, apparently, turning up a thing. 7fthey havenBt found anything after looking this long and this hard, then the 4 and ! types may

actually have known what they were talking about this time. "hich,D she added dryly, Dalways

comes as a pleasant and unanticipated surprise for us unfortunate field grunts.D

8everal people, including 4eno yprianou, whose bio weapon research teams had

developed the technology in uestion, laughed.

D7f this techniue works as well as it did in our tests, and really is this close to impossible to

detect,D she continued more seriously, Dthen it might be time for us to begin making @udicious useof it in special cases.D 8he shrugged. D&ven if they figure out someone is deliberately triggering

the attacks, thereBs not much they can do about it. 5ot, at least, without security arrangements

which would effectively hamstring their own operations. And 7 can think of several prominentindividuals in both )anticore and aven whose sudden and possibly spectacular demises could

be uite beneficial to us. &specially if we can convince both sides that the other one, not some

third party, is responsible.DD7Bll have to think about that,D !etweiler said, after a moment. D7 felt your original arguments

for restraint had considerable merit. ut what youBve @ust suggested also has merit. eeping

something like this in reserve, as a total surprise, is always tempting. ut if you keep it in reserve

too long, then you never use it at all.D

e pursed his lips for several seconds, then shrugged.

DEerome, you and 7 will have to discuss this. Five some thought to the pros and cons and sit

down with 7sabel before she leaves. "ork out a list of potential targetsGnot a big one, 7 donBt

want to flash this capability around any more obviously than we have to, however unlikely it isthat someone will figure out how it works. At the very least, though, we can put the groundwork

in place and have 4enoBs people begin looking for the best . . . vehicles.D

D'f course, Albrecht.D

DFoodLD !etweiler smacked both palms on his desktop and stood. DAnd on that note, letBs getout of here. &velinaBs brought in a brand new chef, and 7 think all of you are going to be amaed

at what he can do with 'ld &arth rock lobsterLD


36/586

Cha4ter Three

The interior of +rotectorBs Cathedral was like some huge, living @ewel bo*.

onor sat in the 8trangerBs Aisle to the left of the nave, immediately ad@acent to thesanctuary. 8he, her parents and siblings, Eames )acFuiness, 5imit, and "illard 5eufsteiler, all

of them in arrington green, shared the AisleBs first pew with the )anticoran and Andermaniambassadors and consuls from each of the other members of the )anticoran Alliance. The two

rows of pews behind them were solidly packed with officers in the uniform of the +rotectorBs'wn- Aldredo 6u, "arner Caslet, Cynthia Fonsalves, arriet enson9!essoui* and her husband

enri, 8usan +hillips, and doens of others who had escaped from the prison planet ades with

onor. Their uniforms and the diplomatsB off9world formal attire, in the styles of more than half adoen different worlds, stood out sharply, but each of them also wore the dark, violet9black

armbands or veils of Frayson9style mourning, as well.

That touch of darkness ran through the cathedral like a thread of sorrow, all the more obvious

beside the rich, @ewel9toned colors of formal Frayson attire, and onor tasted its echo in theemotions surging about her. The emotional overtones of the Church of umanity ?nchained

were always like some deep, satisfying well of renewal and faith, one she could physicallye*perience thanks to her empathic link to 5imit. ut today there was that strand of sadness,flowing from every corner of the vast cathedral.

rilliant pools of dense, colored sunlight poured down through the huge stained9glass

windows of the eastern wall, and more spilled down like some chromatic waterfall through the

enormous stained9glass skylight above the sanctuary. 8he tasted the grief reaching out from thosedeep, still pools of light and from the drifting, light9struck tendrils of incense on uiet feet of

organ music. 7t came in different shapes and gradations, from people who had been personally

touched by oward Clinkscales to people who had known him only as a distant figure, yet it wasalso touched with a sense of celebration. A swelling faith that the man whose death they had

come to mourn, and whose life they had come to celebrate, had met the Test of his life in

triumph.8he gaed at the coffin, draped in both the planetary flag of Frayson and the steading flag of

arrington. The silver staff of ClinkscalesB office as arringtonBs regent and the sheathed sword

he had carried as the commanding general of +lanetary 8ecurity before the )ayhew 4estoration

lay crossed atop the flags, gleaming in the spill of light. 8o many years of service, she thought.8o much capacity for growth and change. 8o much ability to give and so much kindness, hidden

behind that crusty, curmudgeonly e*terior heBd cultivated so assiduously. 8o much to miss.

The organ music swelled, then stopped, and a uiet stir ran through the cathedral as old9


37/586

fashioned mechanical latches clacked loudly and its ancient, *as7relief doors swung ponderously

open.


38/586

chose to share that memory with all the others. 5o one was ever forced to share a memory, but

anyone who wished to was welcome to do so.

4everend 8ullivan seated himself on his throne, and silence fell once more over the cathedraluntil en@amin )ayhew stood in the +rotectorBs o*.

D7 remember,D he said uietly. D7 remember the dayG7 was si*, 7 thinkGwhen 7 fell out of the

tallest tree in the +alace orchard. 7 broke my left arm in three places, and my left leg, as well.oward was in command of +alace 8ecurity then, and he was the first to reach me. 7 was tryingso hard not to cry, because big boys donBt, and because a future +rotector should never show

weakness. And oward radioed for a medical team and ordered me not to move until it got there,

then sat down beside me in the mud, holding my good hand, and said BTears arenBt weakness, )y=ord. 8ometimes theyBre @ust the TesterBs way of washing out the hurt.BD en@amin paused, then

smiled. D7Bll miss him,D he said.

e sat once more, and onor rose in the 8trangerBs Aisle.

D7 remember,D she said, her uiet soprano carrying clearly. D7 remember the day 7 first metoward, the day of the )accabeus assassination attempt. e wasGD she smiled in fond,

bittersweet memoryDG about as opposed to the notion of women in uniform and any alliance

with the 8tar ingdom as it was possible for someone to be, and there 7 was, the verypersonification of everything heBd opposed, with half my face covered up by a bandage. And he

looked at me, and he was the very first person on Frayson who saw not a woman, but a MueenBs

officer. 8omeone he e*pected to do her duty the same way he would have e*pected himself to do

his. 8omeone he grew and changed enough to accept not simply as his 8teadholder, but also hisfriend, and in many ways, as his daughter. 7Bll miss him.D

8he sat once more, and Carson Clinkscales stood, towering over his aunts.

D7 remember,D he said. D7 remember the day my father was killed in a training accident and

?ncle oward came to tell me. 7 was playing in the park with a doen of my friends, and hefound me and took me aside. 7 was only eight, and when he told me


39/586

miss that old dinosaurLD

8he sniffed and wiped her eye surreptitiously.

D"e all are, )other,D onor said, slipping an arm around her diminutive parent.

DAgreed,D Alfred arrington said, looking across at his daughter. DAnd his death is going toleave a real hole in the 8teading.D

D7 know.D onor sighed. D8till, we all saw it coming, whether we wanted to talk about it or

not, and oward saw it more clearly than any of us. ThatBs why he worked so hard getting Austenbrought up to speed for the last three or four years.D

8he looked across the uiet, beautifully landscaped garden at a middle9agedGby pre9prolong

standardsGman with silvering, dark9brown hair and the craggy chin which seemed to mark most

Clinkscales males. =ike oward himself, Austen Clinkscales was tall by Frayson standards,although far short of a giant like his younger cousin Carson.

D7 think Austen is going to do @ust fine as regent,D she said. De reminds me a lot of his uncle,

actually. e doesnBt have as much e*perience, 7 suppose, but 7 think heBs probably a bit more

fle*ible than oward was. And heBs a good man.D

DThat he is,D Alfred agreed.

DAnd he adores the kids,D Allison said. D&specially


40/586

for political advantage, yet youBve always demonstrated a personal sensitivity to and respect for

our religion no 8teadholder could have bettered. 7 think oward hoped that one day you would

embrace


41/586

back.

D7Bm sorry, ethanyLD she said. D7 didnBt mean to laugh. 7tBs @ust that, 7 suddenly realied that

GD

8he broke off with another laugh, and ethany shook her head with a fond smile.

D)y =ady, 7 can think of many things that might have upset oward. aving you laugh on

the day of his funeral would never be one of them, though.D

DThatBs a very good thing,D onor said with a smile, Dbecause thereBs going to be morelaughter before this is all over, you realie.D

D)y =adyHD ethany looked at her uiically.

D'f course there is,D onor said around another bubble of laughter of her own. D


42/586

Cha4ter Fo"r

D"elcome back, 6our Frace.D

DThank you, )ercedes.D

onor followed 8imon )attingly through the private arrivals gate and held out her hand to

the sturdy, plain9faced woman waiting for her in the =anding City I7+ shuttle pad concourse.)ercedes righam still wore the commodoreBs uniform of her )anticoran rank rather than the

rear admiralBs star she would have been entitled to in FraysonBs service.


43/586

DThe other side is still trying to complicate it, though, 6our Frace,D righam said. D!id you

hear about the raid on AlionHD

D6es.D onor looked at her sharply. DThe preliminary dispatch came in @ust before Tankersle#broke Frayson orbit, but there werenBt any details. ow bad was itHD

D5owhere near as bad as what )cMueen did in their 'peration 7carus,D righam said

uickly. D5ot that it was e*actlygood, you understand. "e lost a couple of our own freighters,and they blew the hell out of a respectable chunk of the asteroid e*traction platforms and miningboats. ut human casualties were very low and they never got close enough to hit the main

industrial platforms. 5one of our people even got scratched, and the Alionians only lost a half9

doen or so miners.D 8he twitched one shoulder in a half9shrug. D&ven that looks like it was anaccident.


44/586

pointed references to how understrength the system defenses would have been against a real

attack.D 8he grimaced. D7Bm guessing the civilians are going to be even more pointed about it, and

7 canBt blame them. TheyBre going to want some concrete demonstration of our willingnessGandabilityGto protect them from an 7carus repeat.D

D"hich is e*actly why Theisman did it.D onor sighed. D7 liked it so much better when +ierre

and 8aint9Eust didnBt trust their navy enough to let it do its @ob properly.DDAt least weBve managed to get back our own first team at Admiralty ouse,D righam said

encouragingly. DThatBs something.D

DMuite a bit, actually,D onor agreed. D7Bm looking forward to getting a firsthand brief from

8ir Thomas.D

DAnd &arl "hite avenHD

righamBs tone could not have been more natural, but onor tasted the commodoreBs sudden

spike of combined curiosity and concern.

D7Bm sure weBll also discuss the situation,D she replied after the briefest of pauses. D7 know the

Mueen wants to see both of us tomorrow. 7 feel confident sheBs going to want a current briefing of

her own, then, and itBs pretty obvious &ighth


45/586

D"e try, 6our Frace,D 8andra Thurston, =ady Ale*anderBs personal nurse, said and favored

onor with a welcoming smile. D7 suspect seeing you again is going to do more for her than 7

ever could, though.D

D'h, nonsenseLD onor replied with a slight blush, then straightened to look at the man

standing directly behind =ady Ale*anderBs chair.

D7tBs good to see you again, too, 5ico,D she said.

DAnd you, 6our Frace,D "hite avenBs !a5ordo!o murmured with a slight bow. D"elcomeback to "hite aven.D

DThank you,D onor said, and smiled at him. The edge of defensive resentment 5ico

avenhurst had felt the first time he saw her here had vanished, and he returned her smile, then

he looked past her to the armsmen carrying in her baggage.

D7f youBll e*cuse me, 6our Frace, )ilady,D he said, with another small bow, this time to both

women, D7Bll attend to er FraceBs things.D &mily nodded agreement, and he turned to onorBs

armsmen. D7Bve arranged to lodge er Frace in the lue 8uite, Colonel,D he told =a


46/586

shortly, as well. e screened to say heBs been delayed by some Admiralty ouse business.

5othing critical, @ust details that have to be dealt with. And, yes, 5imit,D she said, looking

directly at the Bcat on onorBs shoulder, D8amantha is @ust fine. 7Bm sure sheBll be @ust as eager tosee you as you are to see her when she and amish get here.D

5imit rose higher, true9hands flashing, and &mily chuckled as she read the signs.

D6es, 7 think you could say sheBs missed you as much as she would have missed celery.+ossibly even a little more than that.D

5imit bleeked with laughter, and onor shook her head.

D6ou two are bad influences on each other,D she observed severely.

D5onsense. oth of us were completely beyond salvage before we ever met, onor,D &mily

replied serenely.

D7Bm sure.D onor glanced over her shoulder at =a


47/586

happen.D

&mily gaed at her for several seconds, then sighed.

D6es,D she said finally. D7 can see that. 7n fact, 7 realied it while you were still in 8idemore.ut 7 think 7Bm discovering that ad@usting to the reality is a little more . . . complicated than 7Bd

anticipated.D

D7 donBt doubt it, and 7Bm sorry,D onor said softly. D6ou donBt deserve all the complications

7Bve inflicted on your life.D

D5onsenseLD &mily shook her head firmly. DEust desserts donBt come into it. 'r, as amish

has always been fond of sayingGwhen he thinks 7 donBt hear him, of courseGshit happens.D

onorBs mouth twitched, and &mily smiled at her as she smothered a giggle.

D6ou didnBt plan any of this, onor,D &mily continued, Dany more than amish did. 7n fact, ifmemory serves, the two of you were busy making everyoneG5imit, 8amantha, and myself

includedGthoroughly miserable because of your absolute determination not to BinflictB any

complications on my life. 7 may not like having to deal with all of them, but 7 donBt regret any of

them. 6ou know that.D

8he looked onor straight in the eye, and onor nodded slowly. &mily was one of the smallnumber of people who knew her empathic link with 5imit was so deep, so intense, that sheBd

actually developed something very like the treecatsB ability to sense the emotions of those abouther. "hich meant she did know &mily was being completely honest with her.

DThen amish and 7 are remarkably lucky people,D she said. &mily made a small throwing

away gesture with her mobile hand, and onor inhaled a deep breath. Dowever, the uestion 7Bm

sure Andrew stepped outside so 7 could ask you was whether it was genuine Admiralty businessthat detained amish, or simply good strategy on a more personal level.D

Doth, 7 think,D &mily said, green eyes twinkling. DAdmiralty ouse has been keeping him

late uite a bit these past few months,D she went on more soberly, Dand 7 donBt doubt for a

moment that he really is busy trying to club the latest batch of pseudogators to crawl out of theswamp. ut itBs also true we both thought it might be a bit more . . . politic if he stayed busy with

routine matters while 7 got my friend onor settled in here at "hite aven instead of rushing

home to greet you himself. 5ot,D she added dryly, Dthat 7 donBt e*pect his BgreetingB to be about asenthusiastic as youBre likely to survive when he does get here.D

onor felt herself actually blushing, and &mily laughed delightedly.

D'h, onorL 6ou really are so, so . . . so S)hinxianLD

D7 canBt help it,D onor protested. D7 mean, )otherBs from eowulf, so 7 suppose 7 ought to bemore, well, li*erated4 or whatever, but 7Bm not, all rightHD 8he gave the older womanBs shoulder a

gently cautious shake. D6ou and amish may be from decadent old )anticore, but youBre right, 7

a! from 8phin*. And, @ust to make things worse, for the last eighteen T9years 7Bve been from

,ra#son, too. Can you think of a planet less well suited to developing a sophisticated attitudeabout this sort of thingHD

DActually, 7Bd think the Frayson element might help, really,D &mily said, only half

humorously. D7 mean, they do have that tradition of multiple wives.D

DThatBs multiple &ives, &mily,D onor said dryly. DTheyBre not so big on unmarried lovers.&specially when one of the lovers in uestion is married to someone else.D

D7 wonder if they might be @ust a bit more understanding than you think they would.D &mily


48/586

shook her head uickly, and continued before onor could open her mouth. D7Bm not suggesting

you run home to find out, onorL 6ouBre a steadholder. 7 understand that, and 7 understand youBre

not free to run the risks as 8teadholder arrington that you might run as simply onorarrington, @ust as you and amish canBt openly display your feelings here in the 8tar ingdom

after the way those bastards tried to smear both of you last year. ut 7 really do think youBre both

still being harder on yourselves for feelings neither of you sought than most other people wouldbe.D

D6ouBre a remarkable woman, &mily Ale*ander,D onor said after a moment. D7 see e*actly

why amish loves you as much as he does.D 8he touched the older womanBs cheek gently. DAnd 7

donBt deserve to have you understand so deeply.D

D6ouBre not a very good @udge of what you deserve, onor,D &mily said. Dut,D she went on

more briskly, Dbefore we get too maudlin, why donBt we take ourselves off to the conservatoryHD

8he grinned mischievously. D7f we hurry, we can disappear before Colonel =a


49/586

Cha4ter Five

D)r. 8ecretary, Colonel 5esbitt is here for his three oBclock.D

DmHD 8ecretary of 8tate Arnold Fiancola looked up from the correspondence on his displaywith a bemused e*pression. e gaed at his administrative assistant for a second or two, then

blinked. D7Bm sorry, Alicia. "hat did you sayHDAlicia ampton suppressed a temptation to shake her head in fond e*asperation. Arnold

Fiancola was by far the most satisfactory boss sheBd ever had. e had a reputation for ambition,and she could believe it, but he was unfailingly courteous to his staffers, charismatic, and

generally thoughtful. And heBd also become increasingly absentminded as the interstellar

diplomatic situation darkened. e was working far too hard these days, and heBd taken to leavingthe security systems in his office up all the time so he could be certain no one would interrupt

him while he did it. "hich only helped him forget things even more thoroughly.

D7 said Colonel 5esbitt is here for his three oBclock, 8ir,D she repeated.

D'hHD Fiancola frowned, then, D'hL 5esbitt. 7Bd forgotten all about him. Ask him to come in,please, AliciaLD

D'f course, )r. 8ecretary.D Alicia smiled at him and stepped back into the outer office.

DThe 8ecretary will see you now, Colonel,D she told the tallish, gray9eyed, broad shouldered

man in civilian clothing.

DThank you,D 5esbitt said, pocketing the reader heBd been perusing while he waited for theappointed time.

D'h, Colonel,D she said uietly as he started to step past her, Dplease do remember that the

8ecretaryBs calendar is very tight. e has another appointment scheduled in twenty9five minutes.D5esbitt looked at her uiically, and she smiled apologetically. DeBs been a bit more

absentminded and forgetful the last couple of days.He(s likely to forget, and 7 donBt want to cut

you off before youBre done when 7 announce his ne*t visitor.D

D'h, 7 seeLD 5esbittBs e*pression cleared, and he smiled back at her. D7Bll try to keep himfocused, )s. ampton. And heBs lucky heBs got someone like you looking after him.D

D"e all try, Colonel,D Alicia said. D7t would be a lot easier if he didnBt drive himself as hard as

he does.D

5esbitt smiled again, sympathetically, and walked past her into the inner office. e glancedcasually at his wrist chrono as the doors closed behind him, and noted the inconspicuous green

telltale on the instrumentBs face with satisfaction. That little device was of 8olarian manufacture,


50/586

not avenite, and it confirmed that FiancolaBs security systems were all up and running.

D)r. 8ecretary,D he said, advancing across the deep carpet towards the half9hectare or so of

desk behind which Fiancola sat.

DEean9Claude,D Fiancola said, in a brisk, no9nonsense tone which went very oddly with the

preoccupied faQade he was so careful to pro@ect for his staff . . . among other people. DCome in.

8it down. "e havenBt got much time.D

D7 know.D 5esbitt seated himself in the indicated, comfortable chair, and crossed his legs.D6our charming assistant is rather concerned about you, you know, )r. 8ecretary. 8he reminded

me of the short window we have for this meeting because she was afraid youBre getting

absentminded enough you wouldnBt remember.D

DFood.D Fiancola smiled.

D4eallyHD 5esbitt cocked his head. DActually, 7Bm wondering if itBs really good tradecraft, if

you donBt mind my saying so.D

D7 donBt mind your saying it, although that doesnBt necessarily mean 7 agree with you. "hy do

you think it might not beHD

Devin ?sherBs no fool, whatever public image he chooses to pro@ect,D 5esbitt said. D7 donBtknow whether thereBs any truth to the rumors about his wife and CachatG7 think a lot of people

wonder e*actly whatBs going on thereGbut 7 do know the rumors about his drunkenness are @ustthat- rumors..nsu*stantiatedones.D

DAndHD Fiancola prompted @ust a bit impatiently. D7tBs not as if 7 hadnBt figured that out for

myself, Eean9Claude.D

DAnd a man whoBs busy presenting that kind of false image to the rest of the universe is likelyto wonder if someone else, especially someone who seems to have changed as much as you have,

isnBt doing the same thing. And if you are, heBs going to wonder why.D

D'h.D Fiancola sat back, drumming lightly on his desktop with the fingers of one hand, then

shrugged. D7 see where you were going now. 6ou may even have a point. 'n the other hand, itdoesnBt much matter&hat7 do( ?sherBs going to think 7Bm up to something however 7 act. 8o 7Bm

basically playing a shell game. 7Bm leaving my security systems up most of the time, no matter

who 7Bm seeing, which means thereBs no way for him to tell whose conversations 7 reall# want tobe certain he canBt overhear. 7Bm sure he understands that( my little charade is to help e*plain to

my staff and everyone else why 7 keep BforgettingB to switch the @ammers off. 7t isnBt really

directed at him at all, e*cept, possibly, in a very secondary sort of way. 7 do like to spend the

occasional minute thinking about how incredibly irritating he must find the entire thing, though.D

D7 see.D 5esbitt regarded him narrowly, then shrugged. D7f it amuses you, 7 donBt imagine itBs

really going to do any harm. +ersonally, 7Bd find the entire thing much too e*hausting to

maintain, but thatBs up to you.D

D7f it starts getting tiring, 7 can always stop. ?sher will probably find that even moreirritating.D Fiancola smiled nastily. Dut weBre going to have to talk about that some other time.

4ight now, 7 need your report.D

D'f course.D 5esbitt folded his hands over his raised knee and tilted his head thoughtfully toone side. D7Bm happy to say Frosclaude wasnBt uite as clever as he thought,D he said. D6ouBre

rightGhe did retain a complete file of the correspondence. Both sets of correspondence.

?nfortunately for him, he knew he wouldnBt be able to get the file off )anticore with him when

he was e*pelled. They werenBt going to be very concerned with observing all the niceties of


51/586

diplomatic immunity after weBd @ust launched what amounted to a sneak attack against them, and

)anty surveillance is too good for him to get anything by it if they pulled out all the stops. And

even if they didnBt find it, there was always the possibility the security types waiting for him atour end might. 8o he piggybacked the information through the diplomatic bag several days

before the balloon went up and had it remailed to a private account in 5ouveau +aris after the

bag got here.DDAndHD Fiancola said when he paused.

DAnd, also unfortunately for him, it was an account 7 already knew about. Courtesy of a few

backdoors the new management still hasnBt found yet, 7 was able to track the file to his account

and also when he pulled it back out after his own arrival from )anticore and lodged it in thesecure database of his attorneyBs law firm. Along with a cover letter directing that the file in

uestion be sent to evin ?sherBs personal attention should anything . . . unfortunate happen to

him.D

D!amn.D FiancolaBs mouth tightened. D7 was afraid heBd done something like that.D

D'nly sensible thing for him to do,D 5esbitt agreed. DAlthough, if he really knew what he

was doing, he never wouldBve used this sort of approach. eBd have buried it on an old9fashioned

record chip under a mattress somewhere and used someone heBd never had any traceablerelationship with before as his bagman. This way, he might as well have left me an engraved

invitation.D

D"hat do you meanHD Fiancola asked intently.

D7 mean that the central net is still riddled with 8tate8ec backdoors, )r. 8ecretary. To reallynail them all shut, theyBd have to slag the old system down and start from scratch. 'h,D 5esbitt

shrugged, Dthey actually did a fairly good @ob when =e+ic and ?sher set things up over at Eustice.

7Bd guess they probably managed to find and close a good ninety percent of them. ut there were

so many in place that they never had a prayer of getting all of them. 7Bm sure theyBre still looking,and of course not knowing for sure whether or not theyBve found!#little keyholes does tend to

make life a bit more e*citing. ThereBs always the chance they have found them and theyBre @ustsitting there, monitoring, letting me tie the noose around my own neck before they pounce.D

D7 hope youBll pardon me if 7, for one, donBt find the image particularly amusing,D Fiancola

said tartly.

D7 might as well find it amusing.D 5esbitt shrugged again. D7Bm taking every precaution 7 can

think of, but if the precautions donBt work, thereBs not much 7 can do about it. 7 guess itBs theeuivalent of your amusement at the notion of pissing ?sher off with your silly little mind

games.D

Fiancola looked at him steadily for a few seconds, then snorted.

DAll right,D he said briskly. D=etBs cut to the chase. 8hould 7 assume from what youBve said

that youBve got access to 6vesB file at his attorneyBsHDD6es.D 5esbitt smiled. D7 can make the fileGand his letter of instructionGdisappear without

a trace any time 7 want to.D

D7Bm sure you could,D Fiancola said with a slow smile of his own. Dut if youBve got theaccess to disappear it, then youBve also got the access to change it, donBt youHD

D"ell, yes,D 5esbitt said slowly, smile transforming into a slight, thoughtful frown. D"hyHD

D7 feel uite certain 6ves would vastly prefer not to blow the whistle on our little . . .


52/586

modifications. After all, if 7 go down, he goes down, and 7 rather suspectGgiven all the people

who have been killed in the meantimeGthat ?sher and +ritchart would make sure both of us

went down rather messily. 8o what heBs got is entirely in the nature of insurance, stateBs evidencehe can use to bargain with if someone else figures out what the two of us did, not anything he

really wants to use. "hich means heBs not going to do anything with it unless he starts to feel

threatened. 'r, of course, unless something really does happen to him.DD"hich is essentially what youBre thinking in terms of, noHD 5esbitt said.

D?nfortunately, yes,D Fiancola said, and 5esbitt was almost certain the regret in his voice

was genuine. 5ot enough to dissuade him for a moment, but genuine. Dut my point is that

thereBs no need for us to hurry. "e can take the time to make sure we do things right.D

D?nless something happens to him which really is an accident,D 5esbitt pointed out. De

could get run over by a ground car, you know, or break his neck skiing. e spends enough time

doing that he could even die of sheer physical e*haustion. ell, he could get hit by lightningL 7n

which case his letter of instruction would be opened even though weGyouGgenuinely hadnBthad a thing to do with it.D

D5ot very likely,D Fiancola replied. D7 think the odds are fairly heavily in our favor in that

respect. 8till, youBre right. 7t does behoove us to move e*peditiously.D

D"hich 7 could do much better if youBd tell me e*actly where weBre moving to.D

D"ell, if 6ves has gone to such lengths to be certain incriminating evidence against me will

surface if something happens to him, then 7 think itBs only fair for us to see to it that the

incriminating evidence is there.D

D"hatHD 5esbitt didnBt raise his voice. 7ndeed, it went flatter. ut there was no amusement atall in his suddenly intent gray eyes.

D4ela*, Eean9Claude. 7 realie it sounds biarre, but consider this scenario. ere you are, my

senior internal security officer, responsible for finding leaks anywhere in the !epartment.&ventually, as you and 7 are both painfully aware, the current unpleasantness with )anticore is

going to come to an end, one way or the other. "hen it does, there are going to be some veryhard uestions asked about the discrepancies between their version of our diplomatic

correspondence and our own. 'riginal documents are going to be compared by the victors,whoever they are, and neither side is going to be particularly amused by what they find. 8o, all

things being eual, 7 think it would be a very good thing if#ou2efficient, hard9working person

that you areGwere the one who discovered that the documents had been tampered with from ourend.D

D7 hesitate to suggest that you might be out of your ever loving mind, )r. 8ecretary,D 5esbitt

said. D'n the other hand, the possibility does present itself to my keen intellect.D

D!onBt worry, 7Bm not.D Fiancola leaned forward in his comfortable chair, his e*pression

suddenly very intent. DThe problem is that the documents &ere tampered with from our end. "ithaccess to both sets of originals, it wouldnBt take ?sher very long at all to prove that, and 7Bm

confident the )anties could do it even more uickly. 8o our best defense is to make thediscovery ourselves and be properly horrified to learn that my trusted colleague of many years,

6ves Frosclaude, was responsible for the manipulation which led to the current, horrible

bloodshed.D

DAnd @ust how did he accomplish thatHD 5esbitt asked in a fascinated tone.

D"hy, by way of one of those 8tate8ec backdoors you were @ust telling me about. After all,


53/586

he was associated with the old


54/586

D6es, tell me what youBve got in mind for that, if you donBt want me to simply make it go

away.D

DTwo things,D Fiancola said. D


55/586

D6ou have no idea how glad 7, as the wiard charged with con@uring all these minor miracles

for you, am to hear you say that,D 5esbitt said dryly.

D7Bm always pleased when 7Bm able to make my associates happy,D Fiancola assured him.Then the 8ecretary of 8tateBs eyes narrowed once more. Dut now that youBre a happy wiard, do

you really believe you can pull all of this offHD

D6es. 7Bm not absolutely positive of itGnot with it all coming at me cold, this way. ut as 7said, 7 think itBs doable. 7Bm going to have to sit down and look at it very carefully, probably forseveral days, at least, before 7 can tell you more than that. At an absolute minimum, though, 7Bm

certain 7 can disappear FrosclaudeBs evidence if it turns out we have to do that, instead. And 7

feel reasonably confident 7 can arrange the database hack you want and make it crystal9clear hewas behind it. As for the rest, 7Bm going to have to see how it all comes together before 7 can tell

you positively one way or the other.D

DTake your timeGwithin reason, of course.D Fiancola grimaced. D'ne thing 7 think we can

count on is that this war isnBt going to end tomorrow, or even ne*t week. "eBve got time to do itright . . . and weBd damned well better not do it &rong.D


56/586

Cha4ter Si5

DThat was delicious, Eackson,D onor sighed appreciatively as Eackson )cFwire, "hite

avenBs butler, oversaw the removal of the dessert dishes. 'r, more precisely, of the dessert dish,singular, since the only one on the table was the one in front of onor. D+lease tell Tabitha that

she outdid herself on the chocolate mousse.D

D7Bll be happy to, 6our Frace,D )cFwire said, with a small half9bow and a twinkle. onorBs

genetically modified metabolismBs need for calories was phenomenal, and Tabitha !upuy, "hiteavenBs cook, and her staff had taken it as a personal challenge. 8o far, they had yet to repeat

themselves with a single dessert offering, despite the recent freuency of her visits to the

Ale*ander familyBs seat, and onor and her hosts had a small betting pool going on how longthey could keep it up.

onor started to say something else, then paused as 5imit sat up straighter in his treecat9

sied highchair. e and 8amantha, his mate, sat between their adopted humans, and now the

male Bcat raised both true9hands to the top of his head, palms turned inward, raised first andsecond fingers on both hands signing the letter D?D and wiggling backward.


57/586

The dining room in uestion was one of the smaller ones "hite aven boasted. The formal

dining room was big enough for the massive parties a )anticoran aristocratGeven one with as

little time for Dsocial fripperiesD as amish Ale*anderGwas e*pected to host from time to time.8ince he, &mily, and onor were the only humans at the table, that cavernous chamber had not

been called upon. 7nstead, &mily had directed that supper be served in the far tinier dining room

off her personal suite. 7t was an intimate little room, built into the side of one of "hite avenBsolder wings, with floor9to9ceiling windows which looked out over the landscaped east lawn,

lovely under the light of Thorson, )anticoreBs single moon. The red ember of +hoeni*, otherwise

known as )anticore9A 77, rested on the horion, @ust above the tips of the 'ld &arth sprucesfringing the lawn, and the gleaming gems of at least a doen orbital platforms moved visibly

against the stars. &mily and amish often dined there, because of its pro*imity to her rooms, but

it was rare for them to invite anyone else to @oin them.

The door closed behind )cFwire and the footman, and silence fell for a moment. !espiteeverything, onor still felt a bit awkward, and she tasted a slight, answering spike of

awkwardness from amish. The earl took a sip from his wine glass, and his wife smiled slightly.

&mily was genuinely and affectionately amused, onor knew, and that was important to her.

D"ell,D amish said after a moment, setting his glass down precisely, D7Bd say 8amantha wasprobably as happy to see 5imit as &mily and 7 were to see you, onor.D

7t was his turn to reach out and caress the ears of the small, dappled treecat sitting beside

him. 5imitBs mate pressed back against his fingertips, and the loud bu of her purr made theuse of any signs totally unnecessary. &mily and o

webeweber, david - honor harweber, david - honor harrington 11, at all costs

Documents