Part 50 (2/2)
For a long moment the puzzlement persisted. Kosta held the other's gaze steadily, waiting for him to make his decision. ”That's nonsense,” Forsythe said at last. ”You're grabbing at dust.”
”I don't want to expose you, High Senator,” Kosta said quietly. ”I imagine this is something they can impeach you for, or whatever it is they do to elected officials here. But I don't care about that. All I want is to be allowed to go to Angelma.s.s and find out what's happened to it. Let me go, and I give you my word that I'll come back and turn myself in.”
Forsythe's mouth twisted. ”Of course you will.”
”It's the truth,” Kosta insisted. To his mild surprise, he realized it really was. ”We have to find out what Angelma.s.s is doing-”
”All you want is to get free so you can bring me down,” Forsythe cut him off harshly. ”I'm the only one who can still function through this sheep-like fog the angels have everyone else buried in. If you can destroy me, there won't be anyone left to oppose the Pax.”
”High Senator-”
”Forget it,” Forsythe said. ”It won't work. I won't let it work.”
Behind him the door opened, and Pirbazari stepped inside, the two guards visible behind him. ”Central's evacuation has begun, sir,” he told Forsythe. ”And we're ready to take Mr. Kosta.”
”I've changed my mind,” Forsythe said, his voice betraying none of the rage and paranoia that had been there five seconds earlier. ”I'm going to keep him locked up in here for the night.”
Pirbazari blinked. ”Excuse me?”
”It'll give him time to think about cooperating with us,” Forsythe said. ”Tomorrow morning will be soon enough to turn him over to EmDef if he decides not to.”
Pirbazari shot a look at Kosta, turned his eyes back to Forsythe. ”Yes, sir,” he said, still clearly confused. ”Ah... you going to leave him cuffed to that chair?”
Forsythe glanced at his watch; automatically, Kosta glanced at his. It was nearly ten o'clock. ”Have someone bring in a cot,” Forsythe said. ”Then disconnect or disable all the computer and communications systems, and pull everything out of the desk safe. Have someone reverse the door lock so that it locks the room from the outside, and post a couple of guards in the outer office area.”
He looked at Kosta. ”After that, go ahead and unlock him. There's nothing in here he can bother.”
Kosta took a careful breath. ”High Senator-”
”You have until morning, Mr. Kosta,” Forsythe said softly. ”I'd advise you sleep on it.”
CHAPTER 39.
The entire command deck crew was cheering as Commodore Lles.h.i.+ crossed to the lift platform at the rear of the balcony. He acknowledged their acclamation with quiet nods and an occasional half smile, recognizing their psychological need for celebration but at the same time knowing full well that the war was far from over. Like all the other rebellious colonies that had defied Pax rule over the years, the Empyrean would resist to the end.
It was his job as commander to bring them to that end as quickly as possible.
Telthorst, as expected, was waiting for him as the lift platform reached the balcony. ”The plan worked as you predicted, Commodore,” he said as the memory-metal cage unwrapped itself. His voice and expression, Lles.h.i.+ noted, were utterly neutral. ”My congratulations.”
”Thank you,” Lles.h.i.+ said, as if the other had actually meant it. ”Campbell?”
”The Empyreal s.h.i.+ps have scattered, sir,” Campbell reported briskly. ”Most of them are retreating toward Seraph. A few of the more damaged are heading off toward a small solar observation platform that's a few hours closer.”
”The Harmonic?”
”Took off toward Seraph as soon as your boarding party left,” Campbell said.
”I presume we can catch it again if we need to,” Telthorst rumbled.
”I'm sure we can,” Lles.h.i.+ said, stepping past the Adjutor toward the tactical display, deliberately turning his back on the man. Telthorst had fought bitterly against Lles.h.i.+'s Trojan Horse plan; and once it had succeeded, he had been just as vehemently opposed to Lles.h.i.+ turning the liner and its s.h.i.+pful of potential hostages loose again. The man was never satisfied with anything. ”Any signs of resistance?”
”Not yet,” Campbell said. ”There's a lot of communications traffic going on around the planet, but so far nothing in the way of s.h.i.+p movements.”
”Except that one,” Telthorst said pointedly.
”Which one was that?” Lles.h.i.+ asked.
Campbell shot a look at Telthorst. ”The system's main catapult is on the far side of Seraph,” he said, touching a key. A flas.h.i.+ng yellow light appeared on the tactical, trailing Seraph in its...o...b..t. ”So far, we haven't spotted any serious activity there.”
”That will certainly change in the next few hours,” Telthorst put in. ”They'll surely try to evacuate some of their leaders and a.s.sets from the system. I strongly recommend we send a squadron of fighters ahead to try to cut off any such move.”
”Recommendation noted,” Lles.h.i.+ said, mentally sending the suggestion straight to the shredder. He'd seen what Empyreal Defense wars.h.i.+ps could do, and he had no intention of putting any of his fighters outside the Komitadji's defense zone on such a foolish mission. As far as he was concerned, if Seraph's leaders wanted to cut and run they were welcome to do so.
And if they wanted to stuff their pockets on their way out, they were welcome to do that, too. There were few things that demoralized a populace more than having their leaders run out on them in a crisis, particularly leaders who looted the public treasury before taking to the hills. In Lles.h.i.+'s experience, a demoralized populace usually meant a quicker and more stable surrender. ”Continue.”
”That's the main catapult,” Campbell went on, tapping more keys. The flas.h.i.+ng yellow light vanished and was replaced by two flas.h.i.+ng green ones: the first right beside the circle representing Seraph, the second much farther out in the system. ”Again, no activity there. But we've also got a second, smaller net/catapult system in close Seraph orbit. We're not absolutely sure-the readings are odd-but Theory Group thinks it's hooked up in a binary link to a similar net/catapult out at Angelma.s.s.”
A binary link between net and catapult? That was a neat trick. ”And you saw a s.h.i.+p head out from there?”
”Yes, sir, about fifteen minutes ago,” Campbell said. ”Angelma.s.s is twenty-two light-minutes from our current position, so if the s.h.i.+p did indeed go there we'll be able to see its arrival about seven minutes from now. I've got a telescope watching.”
He threw a sideways look at Telthorst. ”Adjutor Telthorst's belief is that they've gone out to sabotage the Angelma.s.s net.”
”Really,” Lles.h.i.+ said, frowning at Telthorst. ”To what end?”
”Obviously, to keep us away from it,” Telthorst said tightly. ”We've already agreed their best defense is those sandwich-metal hulls of theirs, and we know that all their angel hunters.h.i.+ps are equipped with those.”
”And you're suggesting that they're gathering the hunters.h.i.+ps at Angelma.s.s into an a.s.sault force?” Lles.h.i.+ asked mildly.
”Is that so ridiculous a notion?” Telthorst shot back. ”Or had you forgotten all those armed mining s.h.i.+ps they threw at us in Lorelei system?”
”Though not very effectively, as I recall,” Lles.h.i.+ reminded him. Still, he had to concede it wasn't as ridiculous an idea as it sounded. Empyreal Defense might well believe that a group of armed s.h.i.+ps popping through a net in low Seraph orbit could catch the Komitadji by surprise. ”Campbell?”
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