[Your concerns are understandable,] Klyveress said, pulling a plate from a back-rib pouch. [But unnecessary. Your father has formulated an arrangement.]
"Yes, your message implied as much," Aric said. "I was rather expecting to find him aboard the diplomatic ship you sent for me, in fact. But he wasn't there, and I don't see him here."
[True. He is not here.]
"But hewas here once," Aric countered. "He had to be. Your message to me came addressed to Asher Dales-that isn't a name you could have come up with on your own." He gestured toward the freighters. "What happened? Did he figure out what you were doing?"
[There was no need for figuring,] Klyveress said, offering him the plate. [It was he who helped create what we are doing. Please-read.]
Warily, Aric took the plate. It was opened to some kind of legal-looking NorCoord document. "What's this?" he asked.
[Read,] the ci Yyatoor repeated. [The information contained here is not yet public knowledge. Indeed, it may never be so. But you must be made an exception.]
Aric looked down at the plate, hoping he was just imagining the ominous overtones in that last sentence, and began to read.
There were two documents in the file. The first was a guarantee of Yycroman intent to use the warships they were creating exclusively for self-defense against the Conquerors. The second was a statement of Peacekeeper understanding that granted the Yycroman Hierarch this one-time exemption from the rearmament prohibitions of the Pacification treaty.
Aric read through the guarantee, carefully studying the form of the legal/contractual language. By the time he reached the end, it came as no surprise to discover his father's signature among those attached. He also noticed with some interest that the document had a signing date three days after the meeting his father had had on Mra-mig with Assistant Commonwealth Liaison Bronski-the same period, according to Bronski, when he and Kolchin had vanished from sight. The statement of understanding was next, which turned out also to have been signed by his father. As well as by-
Aric looked up sharply."Brigadier Petr Bronski?" he asked.
[That is correct,] Klyveress said. [As you see, it is all very legal.]
"That wasn't what I meant," Aric said, a sudden knot forming in the pit of his stomach. Bronski, a senior Peacekeeper officer... and suddenly his father's disappearance had taken an abrupt and ominous turn. "My father hasn't been seen for nearly-well, apparently not since these were signed."
[Do not fear, Aric Cavanagh,] Klyveress said. [I have seen him since then. He and his guard, Kolchin, escaped from Brigadier Bronski on Mra-mig, returning here in an appropriated Mrach fighter spacecraft.]
"Escaped?" Aric echoed, the knot tightening another turn. "What happened with Bronski that he needed to escape?"
[I do not know,] Klyveress said. [He would say nothing other than that he was fleeing involuntary confinement. My suspicion is that it concerns the CIRCE weapon.]
"I see," Aric murmured. Had his father somehow learned where one of CIRCE's components was hidden? Or worse, found out where the weapon was being reassembled? Either one would have had Bronski immediately issuing quarantine orders.
But why had his father chosen to run from that? "What happened then?"
[We could not permit him to remain in Yycroman space,] Klyveress said. [Our relationship with the hierarchy of NorCoord is already overly strained. He asked then if I could exchange his fighter spacecraft for one less traceable. I expressed our need for CavTronics electronics modules, and he agreed to send them to me as payment.]
The ci Yyatoor snapped her snout. [But he did not. Yycroman Intelligence made quiet inquiries, but they could find no record of his reaching Avon.]
"Then where is he?"
[I do not know. Perhaps he changed his mind and chose a different hiding location.]
"He still would have tried to get you the modules he'd promised," Aric said, shaking his head slowly. "And there are CavTronics facilities everywhere. Sounds more to me like Bronski got him."
[Perhaps,] Klyveress said. [But do not deduce too much from his silence. Perhaps he is still free but for some reason unable to fulfill his promise.]
"Maybe," Aric said, trying to calm the vague fears swirling through him. Even if Bronski had him, surely it was just some kind of precautionary confinement. His father wouldn't do anything that would land him in really serious trouble. "So when the modules didn't show up, you decided I could bring them to you?"
[Yes,] the ci Yyatoor said. [Yycroman Intelligence reported that you were on Edo, and so I dispatched a diplomatic ship to bring you here.]
"Sending a message via skitter first so I'd have time to get the equipment together," Aric nodded. "Had Dad given you the Asher Dales name to use?"
[No, it was a location he had mentioned as a possible hiding place after he reached Avon. I took the chance that NorCoord Intelligence would not associate you with that name.]
"Why were you worried about NorCoord Intelligence?" Aric asked, eyeing her thoughtfully. "I thought all this was completely legal."
[It is legal. It is not widely known.]
"Or, in other words, Bronski's the only one in the Peacekeepers who knows you've been granted a rearmament exemption?"
The ci Yyatoor's claws scratched idly at the air. [You exaggerate, Aric Cavanagh. But not overly much.]
"Ah," Aric said, looking again at the bustling activity below them. At least that explained why Bronski had been on Edo-he'd probably gone there to brief Admiral Rudzinski on this private treaty he and Klyveress had worked out. A belated official approval-stamping, Aric suspected, of what the Yycromae had been doing anyway.
[What will you do now?] Klyveress asked.
Aric turned back to face her. There'd been something new in her tone just then.... "Go back to Avon, I suppose," he said. "With my father gone I'm more or less in charge of CavTronics Industries. I ought to be there."
[And what of the war?]
"What of it? Are you suggesting I enlist instead?"
[No,] the ci Yyatoor said. [I am asking for your assistance here.]
It was not exactly what Aric had been expecting. "What sort of assistance?"
Klyveress waved her snout at the hangar. [We have found that command/switching modules of the sort you have provided are often difficult to interlock,] she said. [Even more so when coordinating otherwise unmatched weapons systems.]
"I know," Aric said. "Celadonese and Nadezhdan logic structures are notorious for incompatibilities. You need to be careful how you tailor the overlays."
[You are familiar with the problem,] Klyveress said. [Will you help us?]
For a long minute Aric remained silent, gazing into Klyveress's dark eyes, mentally fighting through this sudden shift in his worldview. He'd grown up believing that the Yycromae were the most dangerous threat to peace within the Commonwealth, a threat that only the presence of Peacekeeper forces could restrain. And now here he was, being asked to help rearm them.
But the real danger out there right now was the Conquerors. And the Commonwealth needed all the allies it could get. "All right," he told Klyveress. "I'll do what I can."
"The three searchers have left the room," the Elder reported. "They're being led toward the tunnel leading to the hangar and theClosed Mouth."
The Overclan Prime nodded, tongue pressed hard against the side of his mouth as he gazed at the map of Human-Conqueror territory. The map that had been reconstructed from the recorder salvaged from that first space battle with the Human-Conquerors. The map they'd thought listed all the enemy targets to be dealt with.
They knew better now. The Human-Conquerors had allies in this war. Terrible, dangerous allies.
The Yycromae.
Supreme Warrior Commander Prm-jevev stepped over from his quiet consultation with the Elders. "We can do it," he told the Prime. "It'll mean stripping warships away from some of the beachheads, but we can put together a quick-strike assault fleet."
"Which beachheads?" the Prime asked.
"We'll take three of the five ships currently at Massif," Prm-jevev said, consulting his list. "Plus four of the six at Pasdoufat-those are already on their way. One of the three at Kalevala, and three of the four at Dorcas."
The Prime felt his tail twitch. Dorcas. The young searcher Thrr-gilag was on his way to that world, at the Prime's private request. "You're only leaving one at Dorcas?"
"Yes," the Supreme Commander grunted. "And only because that particular ship isn't in any shape to fly or fight. If the technics can repair it before the Phormbi attack, I'll pull it out, too. Why? Is Dorcas a problem?"
"I suppose not," the Prime said reluctantly. It probably didn't matter whether or not Thrr-gilag's proposed biochemical tests on the Human-Conqueror prisoner turned up anything. Matters were moving too fast now for that.
And there was certainly no reason to tie up precious resources at insignificant beachheads like Dorcas now that they knew they'd failed to trap any of the CIRCE components. "What do you think of the Mrachani plan?" he asked the Supreme Commander.
"I suppose it makes sense," the other said. "I agree with Valloittaja that knocking out the Human-Conqueror surveillance center on Phormbi should definitely be the first strike."
"Assuming Valloittaja's data on the range of these Human-Conqueror ship detectors is accurate," the Prime said.
"Assuming that, of course," Prm-jevev growled. "I'll want hard numbers on that before I'll commit my warships to any attack."
The Prime nodded, studying the map. "We may also want to request further confirmation that these are indeed the correct locations for the Phormbi bases."
"Most definitely," Prm-jevev agreed. "Searcher Nzz-oonaz is far too willing to take the Mrachanis' word for everything, in my opinion."
"Interesting," the Prime murmured. "I've been thinking the same thing. Do you suppose the Mrachanis could be using something on them?"
"Chemicals?" Prm-jevev asked doubtfully. "Would they know enough yet about our biophysiology to know what they could safely use?"
"I don't know. No, probably not," the Prime conceded.
"Still, it wouldn't hurt to mention the possibility to Nzz-oonaz," the Supreme Commander said. "If they aren't using chemicals now, there's no guarantee they won't in the future."
"True," the Prime agreed. "Whom have you chosen to command the attack force?"
Prm-jevev flicked his tongue. "Actually, I thought I'd take a flash-ship out to Mrachani space and take command myself."
The Prime frowned. "Isn't that rather unusual?"
"It is, but it shouldn't be," the Supreme Commander said flatly. "After all, Warrior Command is supposed to be made up of the best warriors in the eighteen worlds."
"Yet your expertise would be temporarily lost to us if you're raised to Eldership," the Prime pointed out. "The anchoring shock at such a distance is deep and profound. You could be twisted uselessly for many fullarcs."
"I admit it's a risk," the Supreme Commander agreed. "But it's also a risk to try to run a battle from here with only Elder reports to tell me what's going on. There's no substitute for seeing something with your own eyes." He grimaced. "Besides, if the Mrachanis are lying about any of this, I want to know about it."
An Elder appeared. "Searcher Nzz-oonaz and the others have reached theClosed Mouth" he reported. "They're going inside. Several Mrachani are loitering in the area."
Hoping to learn something about the miraculous Zhirrzh interstar communication method, no doubt. Well, they could poke around all they wanted. Any microphones the Mrachanis might have trained on theClosed Mouth would be unable to pick up the Elders' voices; and the delegation had already been instructed to gather around one of the ship's cookstoves while they held their conferences with Oaccanv. If the Mrachanis wanted to steal it and take it apart, they were welcome to do that, too. "I presume we'll tell Searcher Nzz-oonaz to conditionally accept the Mrachanis' proposal," he said.
"Yes," Prm-jevev said. "At least the first part, the attack on Phormbi. We'll need more time to pull together the ships necessary for an attack on Earth."
"Yes," the Prime murmured. An attack on the Human-Conqueror surveillance center would tie up a lot of warships. Warships no longer in prime combat readiness; warships that the precariously stretched Zhirrzh forces could hardly spare. But they had no choice. With the Human-Conquerors in the process of assembling CIRCE, the only course of action left to Warrior Command was to hit them as quickly and aggressively as possible. "How soon?" he asked Prm-jevev.
"Depends on how quickly the warships can be brought together and prepared for full combat," the Supreme Commander said. "Two fullarcs, perhaps three. Do I have your permission to personally command the attack?"
"I trust your experience with that decision," the Prime said. "Do what you feel necessary."
Prm-jevev bowed in old-world Cakk'rr style. "Thank you, Overclan Prime. I'll leave as soon as this conference is over."
In front of them an Elder appeared. " 'This is Searcher Nzz-oonaz, speaking from the planet Mra,' " he quoted. " 'I wish to speak to the Overclan Prime.' "
The Prime smiled tightly. Nzz-oonaz, playing his half of the charade for the Mrachanis' benefit. Valloittaja, he suspected, would be astonished to find out how these communications were actually being carried out.
On some future fullarc they would tell him. But not yet. De facto allies they might be, but there was still something about the Mrachanis he didn't quite trust. "This is the Overclan Prime," he said to the Elder, playing the other half of the game. "Speak, Searcher Nzz-oonaz."
11
"You must understand the terrible danger we are all in," the Mrach called Lahettilas said, his voice low and earnest. "You, the Zhirrzh, and we, the Mrachanis. The Conquerors Without Reason have a terrifying device that they plan to use against us."
"Yes, I know," Thrr-gilag said. "The one they call CIRCE."
It seemed to him that Lahettilas's expression twitched at the weapon's name. "Yes," the Mrachani said eagerly. "Yes, indeed. We have been trying to warn your warriors about it, but no one would listen."
"There was no need," Thrr-gilag said. "We know all about CIRCE."
The Mrachani's eyes narrowed. "Really. Then why would your warriors not discuss it with us?"
"The reasons are unimportant," Thrr-gilag said, trying to put some official loftiness into his voice, the sort that discouraged further questions. This conversation was supposedly a private one, with only Warrior Command's designated Elders listening in, but that didn't mean some of the base's other Elders weren't privately eavesdropping. And while the Overclan Prime had given Thrr-gilag permission to talk to the Mrachanis about CIRCE, he'd also made it clear that the details of the weapon were still to be kept secret. "What is important right now is to discuss what the Mrachanis suggest we do about the threat."