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  “Ya aren’t the martyr type.”

  “Well, in any case it looks like you’re probably right about alternative plans. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how the war goes. Maybe Gibbon is right, and the war will end with us winning--at least strategically. I may be too pessimistic.”

  “I have found your instincts to be pretty reliable. I guess we wait.” Dran managed to pull himself out of the chair with some difficulty. “Ya know, these things are dangerous. Talk to ya later.”

  Paul also rose to his feet and walked Dran to the door. “Good-bye. Say hello to Sandy for me.”

  “Good-bye,” Dran smiled and left the office.

  ~

  For the next couple months, through the fall and into early winter, everything proceeded at about the same pace. Nothing new was happening in the war except that the clean up operations in the Denebolan system didn’t seem to be winding down. If anything, the military action seemed to be increasing. Paul, as the hero of the initial stage of the attack, received numerous requests to give speeches but respectfully declined almost all of them. He didn’t feel very comfortable making speeches on something he didn’t support for an administration he didn’t like.

  About that time, Paul ran into General Holts and took the opportunity to get some new info on the war. Paul wasn’t sure about where Robert stood on the whole situation, but he considered him honest and forthright.

  Robert told him that the mopping up operation on the Denebolan habitable worlds was not going well. The Horologian military units and civilians had banded together and switched to a guerilla war. So far these attacks had not done much damage, but they were holding up the rebuilding effort on the military facilities. The military had to send more forces to the area to protect the workers and to crack down on the guerilla activity. The shortage of available troops was stretching the security net in the other systems to the point of being almost nonexistent. The Horologii were managing to tie down large numbers of Consortium troops with a minimal expenditure of manpower. Military intelligence was beginning to suspect that the buildup of Horologian troops they had thought were for the counterattack on the Denebolan system might actually be for an assault somewhere more vulnerable. Robert looked worried, which was a very bad sign, since Paul had never seen him worried before.

  Paul still had his intelligence network in place and was already aware of most of what Robert had told him, but he hadn’t realized how concerned the military had become over the weakening of the security net. Paul knew the allies were becoming anxious about having their troops diverted from protecting their home systems to occupation duty in the Denebolan system. He had managed to win his way back into the good graces of Urek Chandling and Yandi Kalor, the representatives of the Luyten and Ross Systems, respectively, and he tried to include them in his discussions with Dran. As for the other representatives, they either didn’t trust Paul, or visa versa.

  Stephen Simpson continued to keep a close eye on Paul, but, luckily for Paul, meeting with the Consortium representatives was part of his job. Paul thought that Gibbon would have replaced him by now, since there was no love lost between them, but maybe the old idiom of “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” applied in this case. Whatever the reason, Paul was going to take advantage of his position as long as he could. He could handle Stephen. He had the feeling that someone was tracking him but hadn’t figured out who it was yet. Paul knew there were a lot of people who wanted to know what he was doing and whom he was seeing.

  ~

  In February, five months after the takeover of the Denebolan system, Paul received an emergency call, asking him to report to a meeting of the High Council immediately. He was actually in the building when the call came in, so he was one of the first ones to arrive at the meeting room. Holts and Simpson were already in their chairs. A couple of the representatives were also there, including Dran. Girk came in right after Paul and gave him a quizzical look. Obviously, Girk did not know what was going on either. It took another half hour for enough of the members to show up and provide a quorum. By then Paul had checked enough of his sources to know that it had to do with the military, but he couldn’t get any details. Gibbon entered the room with his usual entourage but without his usual smile. Paul knew he must have been watching the members gather in the room and waited until there were enough to make a quorum. Gibbon didn’t want to end up sitting in his chair waiting for others to show up before starting the meeting.

  Gibbon sat down and immediately started talking, “This meeting is now in session. I regret to announce that our allies in the Van Maanen System were attacked by the Horologii less that five hours ago.” A murmur passed through the room. Paul looked for the Van Maanen representative, but he was not present. “General Holts has the details.”

  “At about 0100 Earth time, the Horologii assaulted the two main inhabited planets of the Van Maanen System.” The Van Maanen System of five planets orbiting a blue star appeared above the table. “They came with overwhelming force and destroyed the three cruisers we had guarding the system. They then systematically bombarded all the military installations and industrialized areas throughout the system. The Consortium Fleet and the Maanenians did not have a chance. The army is estimating at least five million dead, mostly Maanenians, and almost total destruction of those areas hit. We immediately sent a counter force to the system, but the Horologii were long gone by the time we got there.”

  Gibbon, in a voice slightly higher-pitched than his normal voice, said, “This is the first time they have struck one of our home worlds. This will have to be avenged.”

  Dran spoke up, “How do ya plan to do that? Most of our forces are tied up in the Denebolan war zone.”

  Holts responded, “We have some strategic reserves that we can use to strike back.”

  “But won’t they be expecting that?” Paul jumped in. “Just like we expected them to counterattack at Denebola?”

  “Yes, but we can pick the time and place.”

  Paul continued calmly, “What is the status of the Van Maanen System?”

  Holts answered honestly and without hesitation, “They will be out of the war effort for at least two years.” Another murmur passed through the room. The representatives were obviously very worried--all except for Dran, who seemed unusually calm. “Their intelligence was very good. That system was the weakest link in our security net. It didn’t require that much effort to knock them out.”

  Dran asked dryly, “So now who’s the weakest?”

  Totally missing the sarcasm, Gibbon replied, “That’s not important. Robert, how did they get so close to the system without our detecting them? I thought we could pick them up from a few light years out?”

  “First Council, we don’t know how they did it. That is still under investigation.”

  The next two hours of the meeting consisted mainly of Consortium representatives clamoring for more protection from the army and navy as well as the return of their own army contingents and ships to use for self-defense. Robert made the logical argument that if they spread their forces out among all the different systems, the Consortium could be defeated piecemeal. The trouble was, the Consortium had such a large part of its forces tied up in Denebola that it could not mount an offensive anywhere even if it so wanted. The strategic reserve was not large enough for that, and Holts advised that it would be unwise to use up the only reserve they have.

  Though they understood militarily what the General was saying, the representatives were more concerned with preventing a Van Maanen-type attack on their own systems. But Gibbon wanted to win complete control of the Denebolan system and use it to increase his popularity and political power. The representatives were aware what kind of man Gibbon was and knew that they had to guard their own self interests. They also knew that Gibbon had the power of the Earth Assembly and military, as well as the popular support, behind him. For now, Gibbon had the upper hand, and they would
have to go along.

  It was dark outside by the time the meeting broke up, and the various attendees began to either contact their home worlds or initiate damage control. Paul was walking toward the door, hoping for a chance to talk to Dran before he took off, but Gibbon grabbed his arm and said, “I have to talk to you. Meet me in my office in five minutes.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Five minutes later, Paul was sitting in a very modern, uncomfortable chair. Gibbon’s office was state-of-the-art in design. It was all metal, plastic, and glass. There were view screens on every wall and furniture that looked like it could have come from a modern art museum. Paul hated it because it lacked warmth.

  Paul had been waiting for fifteen minutes when Gibbon finally walked in. He looked flustered, which Paul found reassuring. Sitting down behind his desk, Gibbon said, “The allies are all over me about this strike on Van Maanen. God, it’s the weakest member of the Consortium, and now even more so. It hasn’t really hurt our war effort that much, though the loss of personnel and ships will hurt.”

  “I think you are missing the point, Gibbon. The strike was calculated to weaken the Consortium, not necessarily to hurt us militarily. The Horologii predicted this kind of reaction from the allies. Now, we are faced with two choices. Either we weaken our main force to cover the allies, and the enemy picks us off in small groups, or we can keep our main force together and let the Horologii pick off our allies. They win either way.”

  “Boy, aren’t you a ray of sunshine? I didn’t call you in here to have you point out the obvious. I’ve got a job for you. I want you to talk to our allies and get them to leave their forces under our overall command.”

  “Didn’t someone once say that the only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without them? What do I use to convince them to follow this self-sacrificing course of action? The obvious military necessity didn’t seem to work.”

  “This kind of negotiation is your specialty. If you can’t do it, then I will get someone who can.” Gibbon paused, looking at Paul. “One thing you can do is to make it very clear that we can make their lives very messy if they choose to go against us.”

  “So, we’ll use the stick. Is there any carrot here?”

  “Screw the carrot, we’re in a war, and, if they can’t support the effort, then they will have to suffer the consequences.”

  “Well, that’s very clear. I’ll see what I can do. Good night, First Council.” Paul rose from the chair and headed for the office door.

  “Get me something, Paul. I need it.”

  “I will,” Paul lied.

  ~

  Later that same day, Dran, Urek, Yandi, and Paul sat in the leather chairs in Paul’s office, each with their scramblers next to them. The look of irritation on Dran’s face took away from his good looks. Paul started the discussion, “How do the allies stand with respect to Gibbon and the war?”

  Dran was considered the leader of the allies on the Council, both because he was the most astute diplomat of the group and because Lalande was the only allied power that could stand up to the Earth faction. “Not good. They’re a very unhappy group of people. I think they had high hopes for your sabotaged peace mission, and they hold ya at least partially responsible. I don’t know if they would be willing to back you in a move against Gibbon. Most of them still don’t trust you.”

  “I can’t blame them. I know how it looks; I’m just glad at least a few of you believe my side of the story.”

  “Paul, I like ya, and I trust ya as much as I have ever trusted an Earthling, which regrettably is not saying much, but I’m in the minority. Just keep in mind that I value my home system more highly than I value the Consortium. As long as the Consortium is acting in the best interests of Lalande, it will have my support.”

  Paul knew that Urek and Yandi supported Dran’s opinion, as would most of the allies. The Consortium was originally established for commercial and defensive reasons, but over time it had become dominated by the Earth, which seemed to have little compunction about running the Consortium to their own benefit. “Your opinion is totally understandable. I, on the other hand, believe that the Consortium is the way of the future and am willing to put the interests of the Consortium before those of Earth. How do you feel about the current situation?”

  A twisted smile slowly appeared on Dran’s face. “I knew that our military resources were stretched even before we attacked Denebola. Gibbon gambled that Horolog would be dealt a fatal blow by the loss of the system, and he lost. Now we are in an even weaker position, and the allies know they are the ones most likely to suffer for it. They’re united in wanting the war ended.”

  “The allies have very limited options,” Paul stated flatly. “If they don’t back Earth’s play, Earth will likely lose the war. If that happens, the allies wouldn’t be able to resist being forcibly absorbed into the Horologian League. If they make a separate peace with Horolog, Earth will lose, and they will still be absorbed into the League. The allies’ only hope is to support the war until we either win it or we reach a peace agreement with the League. As much as they dislike Earth’s domination of the Consortium, I think the allies would agree that being part of the Horologian League is not something they want.”

  “Your assessment of the situation is correct,” Dran replied. “It’s the reason the allies haven’t just gone their own way and told Earth to shove it. If the Consortium was run as more of an equitable partnership, I think most of these internal problems would go away. But as long as Gibbon is in charge we aren’t likely to have that.”

  “You know my opinion of Gibbon, but we can’t do anything to get rid of him until something breaks, and we won’t get through this unless all of the allies hold together. We have to bide our time, and the allies will have to continue to follow Earth’s lead and watch for Gibbon to make a mistake.”

  “We agree, but it can’t go on like this for very long before something gives.” Dran said and turned his head to look at the two other allied representatives.

  Visibly agitated, Urek spoke up, “The allies aren’t going to put up with this crap much longer. They see their systems being treated as second-class members of this consortium, their best interests are not being included in Gibbon’s Earth-centric policies. We will go it alone if we have to.” Yandi nodded his head in agreement.

  “Listen, I know how frustrating it is for the allies right now, and I sure don’t blame you,” Paul countered. “But, if the allies begin to go it alone, not only will the Earth be brought down, but all the allies as well. ‘Going it alone’ will mean that we will be picked off one at a time. I’m asking for a little more time. I have a plan that I am trying to put together that will give us the opportunity to dislodge Gibbon and bring some sanity to this war.”

  Yandi replied, “You’re asking us to trust you without any knowledge of what you are planning. That’s asking a lot. We have to see some changes soon, or it won’t matter what our personal opinions are, because our home systems will decide what is best for themselves and move on it.”

  “As soon as I’m sure I have the pieces of my plan in place I will let you know. Telling you now would only get your hopes up and increase the likelihood that the plan will be compromised. I want to emphasize again that we can’t move against Gibbon at this time. We need to set the stage and wait.”

  Dran stood up, “I am sorry, but we have to leave. We have another meeting.” The other two men rose from their chairs and shook Paul’s hand before walking to the door. Paul felt he had made some headway with the allies, but he still had to get the other pieces of his plan in place. Dran had to keep the allies in line in the meantime. Paul spent the rest of the evening talking to his various contacts in the ruling Earth Assembly.

  ~

  At 0133 later that same night, Paul was awakened from a dead sleep by the humming of his communicator. He looked around and tried to determine exactly where he was. He mumbled, “Co
mmunicator on. Hello?”

  “Are ya awake?”

  Paul barely recognized Dran’s voice. “I am now. What’s wrong?” Dran’s voice seemed stressed.

  “Yandi is dead, and Urek is in critical condition.”

  “What? When, how?” Paul sat up quickly and turned on the light, now wide-awake.

  “After we left ya, we were headed for a meeting with some of the other allies. When we arrived at the Foster Building on Connecticut Avenue for the meeting, I parked the floater on the street close to the front door. Urek and Yandi left from the side of the floater toward the building and were walking together up the front steps. I was lagging behind because I had to turn off the floater and come around from the other side. I looked up and saw the two of them silhouetted against the building’s lights. Just then I caught two noiseless flashes in my peripheral vision from somewhere to my right, and a cloud of blood erupted from the front of both Urek’s and Yandi’s chests. They instantly collapsed onto the pavement like two bags of rocks. I immediately dropped to the ground next to our floater. There were two more flashes, and two projectiles passed through my floater and hit the pavement on either side of me. Ya know, I think the assassin’s view was obstructed, and he must have been trying to hit me by shooting through the vehicle. All I could do was hope that he didn’t split the difference between the shots.” Dran was talking fast now.

  “Within a couple minutes, Security reached us, ya know. The assassin must have fled because they couldn’t find any suspects in the area. Yandi had died instantly, and Urek was barely alive. The med-floater arrived soon after Security, and Urek was loaded aboard and sent on his way to the hospital. When I last checked on him, he was still alive, but I don’t think he will be for long.”

  “Do you think this happened because of our meeting this afternoon?” Paul was now up and pacing around the room nervously. He kept glancing out the window each time he walked past it.

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see what Security finds out.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “You mean aside from losing a close friend? Yes, I suppose so. I wasn’t injured. My embassy has placed several guards around and inside my flat. I should be okay for now. Listen, I have to go; there are lots of people trying to talk to me right now.”