Part 49 (2/2)

”I was,” Kosta insisted. ”The only reason I didn't was because of Angelma.s.s. Something's happening

up there, High Senator, something very dangerous. We have to find out what that is, and fast. Before

more people die.”

”Ah,” Forsythe said, folding his arms across his chest. ”So you care deeply about Empyreal lives, do you?”

Kosta frowned. There was something simmering beneath the surface of the man, something that seemed far out of proportion to the simple fact of having unmasked a minor spy. ”Yes, I do,” he said. ”I'm not your typical dramatic-thriller spy, High Senator. I wasn't sent here to sabotage or steal secrets or anything like that. I was sent to study Angelma.s.s and the angels. That's all I've done.”

”Of course you have,” Forsythe said, his voice suddenly bitter. ”And there was nothing in your orders about laying the groundwork for military action, I suppose.”

”No, nothing,” Kosta said. ”The Pax believes the angels are an alien invasion-”

He broke off, the meaning beneath Forsythe's words suddenly penetrating. ”What do you mean, military action? Has something happened?”

For a long moment Forsythe simply gazed at him. ”You're an excellent actor, Mr. Kosta,” he said at last. ”Either that, or you truly don't know.”

Kosta felt his stomach curl into a hard knot. ”Please tell me.”

There was another long silence. Then Forsythe stirred. ”All right. Lorelei has gone silent. Something has shut down all its lines of communication; and that same something has also swallowed two investigating courier s.h.i.+ps without a trace.”

He smiled tightly. ”Tell me again about alien invasions.”

”Lorelei,” Kosta murmured, his mind flas.h.i.+ng back to his nerve-wracking entrance into that system, and to the unreasonably large asteroid they'd smuggled him in with. ”That was where I came into the Empyrean. Hidden inside a fake asteroid.”

”How many others were in there with you?”

Kosta shook his head. ”They told me I was the only one,” he said. ”But the asteroid was pretty big. There might have been... maybe there were more.”

”Was yours the only asteroid they dropped?”

”Again, that's what they told me,” Kosta said. ”But I don't really know.”

”So in other words, they could have dropped off an entire commando task force with you and you'd never have known the difference,” Forsythe concluded heavily. ”Is that what you're saying?”

”I guess so,” Kosta conceded. The pieces were starting to come together now, into a decidedly unpleasant mosaic. ”It's interesting. Several times over the last few months I've wondered why they sent me. I'm not a professional spy, I don't know much about Empyreal culture, and I'm not good with social situations anyway. I didn't even have more than a few weeks' training.”

”So why did they send you?” Forsythe asked.

Kosta swallowed. ”I think they meant for me to be quickly caught,” he said. ”Probably thought that if you caught one spy it would quiet any suspicions about what the Komitadji had been doing at Lorelei.”

”While the rest of the commandos planned to take or destroy the nets?”

Kosta shook his head. ”I don't know what else they had planned.”

For a moment Forsythe didn't answer. ”No, I suppose not,” he said. ”The sacrificial lamb usually

doesn't get to sit in on the wolves' strategy sessions, does he?”

There was a hesitant knock at the door. It opened, and Pirbazari stuck his head inside. ”Sorry to

bother you, High Senator,” he said. ”But you wanted to be kept informed of the situation at Angelma.s.s.”

”Go ahead,” Forsythe said, his eyes still on Kosta.

”Its...o...b..t has dipped some more,” Pirbazari said. ”Latest calculation shows that it could be close

enough to threaten Angelma.s.s Central in as little as four days.”

”Four days?” Forsythe repeated, frowning. ”I thought you said it would be a couple of weeks.”

”It's moved deeper since then,” Pirbazari explained. ”That means it's picked up more speed.”

”It also means it may have moved too deep to be a problem to Central,” Forsythe pointed out.

”Maybe. Maybe not.” Pirbazari's mouth tightened. ”The thing is, the orbital dip doesn't seem to have

been completely uniform. The astronomers think it actually moved out a bit at one point.”Forsythe turned to frown at him. ”Moved out?””Yes, sir,” Pirbazari said. ”It was a little hard to tell-there was another radiation surge at the time that obscured some of the positioning data. But they're pretty sure.”

”Which direction was the surge?” Kosta asked.

”You keep out of this,” Forsythe ordered, throwing a brief glare back at him.

”I only thought that if the surge was inward, toward the sun, it might explain the outward

movement,” Kosta said. ”Angelma.s.s may have learned how to focus its radiation output and use it as

a jet.”Forsythe had been looking at Pirbazari. Now, slowly, he turned back to Kosta. ”What do you mean, learned how to focus its radiation?”

”An array of angels has certain characteristics of proto-intelligence,” Kosta said. ”Specifically, it shows the response curve of a cla.s.sical Lantryllyn logic circuit. You can check on that with Che Kruyrov and Dr. Frashni at the Inst.i.tute.”

”What are you talking about?” Pirbazari asked. ”What's a Lan-whatever logic circuit?”

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