by John Ringo
* * *
“Conner is, as far as I’ve been able to determine, my opposite number with New Destiny,” Travante said. He and Sheida were present as avatars for a meeting with Edmund, Shar, Megan and Herzer. “He is… not a general. Probably a criminal before the Fall and now something like the head of their intelligence corps and assassination arranger. It was he, undoubtedly, that set the assassins on you, Duke Edmund.”
“So what is he doing in charge of this?” Edmund asked.
“The New Destiny force is commanded by General Kossin,” Travante said. “I would suspect that Conner is something on the order of a control or a political agent, sent to… watch the proceedings rather than directly command. And if part of the plan was to capture your daughter, he would probably have had some charge in that.”
“I’m getting increasingly angry and frustrated with the degree of penetration New Destiny has managed,” Sheida said, shaking her head. “They knew where Edmund was and they knew where Rachel was. We’ve determined that there is a leak here, at a very high level. We’ve even determined who it is…”
“Don’t tell us,” Edmund said.
“I wasn’t going to,” Sheida replied, frowning and looking over at Joel. “I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned that much.”
“But since you have…” Joel said, “we’ve… cocooned the known source. From now on New Destiny will get only what we want them to get. From that source, at least. There are other suspects, here and elsewhere. But the time for housecleaning is… not yet.”
“Agreed,” Edmund said, frowning. “But we need to clean house. Soon. Certainly before any counterattack.”
“We have to deal with this attack, Edmund,” Sheida reproved. “Not worry about future plans.”
“Actually, I’ve already got a staff working on future plans,” Edmund replied. “You have to start the planning at least this early. However, yes, we have to deal with this attack first. And we will.”
“You’re confident of that?” Joel asked. “The… correlation of forces is suboptimal.”
“Let’s just say that… I’m sure that tomorrow will be a day of many fell deeds,” Edmund said, smiling tightly. “If that’s all…”
“I think so,” Sheida said, frowning. “Good luck, Edmund. You’ve never failed me before…”
“This won’t break the string,” Edmund assured her.
“Since I’m here,” Joel said, coughing and clearing his throat. “I don’t suppose I could have a moment alone with my daughter?”
“I’m headed for my cabin,” Edmund said, standing up and gesturing at the door. “Mistress Travante is free to have the room as long as she wishes.”
Sheida nodded to the two of them and vanished as Edmund, Shar and Herzer left the room. Herzer looked over his shoulder as he left and Megan smiled at him. He grinned back and closed the door.
“I’m… very glad to see you well,” Joel said, his voice catching slightly. He cleared his throat and sighed. “Very glad.”
“Just as glad as I was when Herzer told me you were alive,” Megan replied, grinning. Then she paused and frowned. “Any word on mother?”
“No, unfortunately,” Joel said. “She’s in a New Destiny held portion of the Briton Isles. I haven’t asked agents to go poking around for her, obviously. Far too dangerous for her. And them. One of Edmund’s plans that he alluded to will involve the recapture of the Briton Isles, first. Then we might be able to find her. If she was home.”
“But we’re here,” Megan said, brightly if brittlely.
“Yes,” Joel said, sighing. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, now. Once you close with the coast we can portal you to Chian…”
“I think… I should stay here,” Megan said. “At least until the battle is done. If it goes bad, I can always port out. And… well I’d rather stay here, for now.”
“I noticed that you seem… close to Major Herrick,” Joel said. “I don’t suppose that has anything to do with it?”
“You mean my boyfriend?” Megan replied, grinning. “Dad, if you don’t have agents on the boats, I’d be very surprised. And where the councilwoman is sleeping would be part of their reports.”
“As is her attachment to a young Blood Lord officer,” Joel said, nodding. “One that… spends a great deal of time trying to get himself killed.”
“He’s very good at not getting killed, as well,” Megan replied. “And as he pointed out to me, that’s his job. I want him to come back, but I think I’d love him less if he wasn’t what he is. He’ll make it; I have to believe that. And despite what your reports might say we’re not having sex. Too soon for me, something he understands. He’s a very unusual young soldier.”
“Yes,” Joel said, dryly. “I’ve seen those reports as well. How is Bast taking it?”
“She’s sleeping in the same cabin,” Megan chuckled. “She’s been good company. Herzer has suggested, a couple of times, that I… discuss things with her. About… what happened to me. I’ve talked to her some but not as much as either would prefer. I know I have to talk about it but… Bast is the wrong person for me. I’ll find a counselor after we get this battle settled. I promise.”
“Good,” Joel said. “Something else I can relieve my mind of. You’ve made me very proud of you, Megan. I was proud of you before, naturally; any father with a fine daughter is. But what you have been through, how you handled it, how you are handling the burden thrust upon you now, all of them make me very proud. Your mother would be proud as well. Will be when she hears about it.”
“Thank you,” Megan said, her face clouding. “I won’t say that any of it was easy.”
“Very few things that are easy are worth the time it takes to do them, Megan,” Joel said. “What you did was hard. And you did it well. What you are doing now is hard and you are doing it well. That is why I’m proud of you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Megan said, making a face.
“Now, go assure your friend that you’ve had a nice chat with your Poppa,” Joel said. “He looked as if he wasn’t sure.”
“I will,” Megan said, standing up and cocking her head at the avatar. “I can’t kiss you good night but…” She put her fingers to her lips and threw him a kiss. “Good night, Poppa.”
“Good night, Megan,” Joel said. “Be well.”
“I shall.”
Chapter Thirty-two
“Ensign,” Edmund said as Van Krief came in the cabin. “Feeling a bit left behind on the tide of events?”
“A bit, sir,” Van Krief said, sitting down nervously as Edmund waved to the cot.
“Well, you’re not anymore,” Edmund said, tossing her a dispatch envelope. Unusually, it was still unsealed. “Read that.”
Van Krief opened the envelope and extracted the three sheets within. She read the first sheet, her face a somber mask, then turned to the second on which was included a map and the last, which was a signals supplement. When she was done she looked up.
“Comments?” Edmund asked.
“Bold, sir,” was all she said.
“Necessary,” Edmund replied. “Magalong has to move. He’s done well in the defense but he is going to have to move like lightning. You’re taking that dispatch to make that clear and to make clear why. You know why, right?”
“Yes, sir,” Van Krief said. “Sir, I’ll make sure he understands.”
“But only Magalong,” Edmund said. “Keep this very close. If it gets out, we’re all up a creek. And don’t go and wrap those around some cigars. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Van Krief replied.
“Dragon leaving in thirty minutes. You’re on it.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
And then there was one.
“Sheida,” Edmund said, sighing. “Sorry to bother you again.”
“I’m three hours behind you, Edmund,” the queen said, smiling. “And you’re never a bother. But you should be getting some sleep.”
“Agreed,�
� Edmund said. “I think the reason Alexander conquered half the world was that he was young enough. But this won’t wait. What I’ve left out of most of my orders is the real battle. And for that I need two portals.”
He explained for a moment and then had Sheida pull up a schematic of the battlefield so she could understand.
“Bold,” Sheida said. “To the point of rashness. You risk our two most experienced legions, a major town, the loss of the coast.”
“A hundred thousand orcs will mean the loss of the coast,” Edmund pointed out. “If we get half the pieces moved correctly, the right half, we’ll have mouse-trapped most of Chansa’s forces. At least a goodly chunk. I don’t care how many people they have in Ropasa, they’ve got to keep some supporting their forces. Ergo there’s only so many they can use as soldiers. And we’ll have winnowed them down heavily. It’s a chance I’ve been waiting for, one of the prerequisites of taking Ropasa in our lifetime.”
“And if we take Ropasa, they’ll be squeezed down to… Northern Frika and some holdings in Sind.”
“Exactly, and the northern wildernesses. And few major power sources after which you can take care of the rest. That’s if we can’t capture some of the Key-holders. But we’ve got to destroy their forces, winnow them down at least, with minimal loss to us. And we can do it. Here.”
“And you need…”
“Two portals,” Edmund said. “Surely you have the power for those?”
“Power, yes,” Sheida frowned. “Just one problem. I’ve agreed to limit portal creation to Key-holders only. When we first started making them, there were… security issues. And too much power use. It’s a voted-on protocol. I can’t break it.”
“Who’s free?” Edmund asked. “Send them to Raven’s Mill.”
“I suppose Elnora, not that she’s going to be… willing,” Sheida said, wincing.
“Megan?” Edmund suggested. The other UFS Key-holder was an academic and a specialist in domestic affairs. Hardly the person he’d prefer handling a critical military task.
“I’d… rather wait,” Sheida replied. “I want to get more of a feel for her. I trust her on one level, she’s Joel’s daughter after all. On another her… experiences are going to have affected her. I don’t want to thrust too much on her at first.”
“Very well,” Edmund said, shrugging. “If you could send Elnora to Raven’s Mill, then, to prepare.”
“I shall,” Sheida said, sighing. “It’s never easy, is it?”
“Nope.”
* * *
Prior to the Fall, Elnora Sill had been an academic, specializing in the history of “Women’s Issues.” Like everyone else on earth, it had been a hobby rather than a vocation but one that she followed with intensity.
After the Fall, and after the initial scramble for simple survival, she had been selected by Sheida Ghorbani as one of several counselors on specific post-Fall problems. Besides issues directly related to the rise of women from virtual serfs to equals in society, Elnora was widely versed in surrounding disciplines. From Elnora’s perspective, the rise of women was, essentially, one of technology and economics. Therefore she had to be versed in both disciplines to ensure the validity of her models.
As time went on she became a closer and closer counselor of the queen on a variety of issues. Their thematic positions meshed very well and while Sheida was widely read and highly knowledgeable, like any good manager she did not consider herself an expert on every subject.
When the previous Key-holder had succumbed to the dangers of Dream, a highly advanced form of virtual reality, Sheida had asked Elnora if she would accept the Key. After much painful thought, Elnora accepted. On one level it would increase the likelihood that her theories would become policy, not to mention giving greater automatic status to women in the United Free States and, hopefully, their allies. On another level it would make it hard for her to continue her studies, especially studies of the changes that had occurred in female status post-Fall.
She had continued as an advisor, and now implementer, of Sheida’s policies. She had concentrated, however, on domestic issues. Her knowledge of anything military, other than that the war was going on and generally where battles were taking place, was limited. The one area where she had been very hands off was the subject of women in military forces. The military had been fair and evenhanded on the subject, in her opinion, simply requiring that females meet the same standards as males. The fact that many females were unable to do soÑit took a very odd female indeed to survive Blood Lord training for exampleÑwas besides the point. The military created the chance, it was up to women to take it if they so desired. Equality of opportunity not outcome was one point where she and Sheida agreed entirely.
So she was somewhat surprised to be asked to undertake an, essentially, military mission.
“I can do it,” Elnora temporized. “But I have no experience in military matters, Sheida.”
Unlike Sheida, who maintained her reign from her beleaguered home in the Western Range, Elnora maintained a small office near the capitol in Solous. She had been going over notes from the day’s meetings when Sheida had contacted her and the interruption was not to her liking, either in manner or content.
“All you have to do is go to Raven’s Mill and set up the portal,” Sheida said. “Your contact on that end is General Lanzillo, who has been briefed that you are arriving. The timing on portal generation is tight, but we’ll have communications on it. All you have to do is stand by until the portal has to be generated, generate it and then you’re done.”
“I have meetings…” Elnora said, frowning and brushing her light brown hair out of her eyes.
“Elnora,” Sheida said, gently, “there is a time and a place for everything. What we have been working on is of vast importance. In the long term. But at this time the most important thing we have to consider is whether we can prevent New Destiny from taking our eastern cities so that we can keep working on those policies. You can’t work on civilization if the barbarians are inside the gates.”
“Intellectually, I’m aware of that,” Elnora said, grimacing. “However, much as I admire the military, of course, at a distance…”
“You’re not comfortable with them,” Sheida said, smiling slightly. “I understand. However, in this case…”
“I’ll do it,” Elnora said. “When should I leave?”
“Unfortunately, as soon as possible,” Sheida said. “We need to ensure that everything is prepared.”
“Right away?” Elnora said, gasping. “But I’ll have to instruct my aides…”
“Elnora,” Sheida said, firmly, “go to Chin. Contact General Lanzillo. Put in a portal to Raven’s Mill through one of the inactive gates. Go to Raven’s Mill. Ensure that you’re ready for the rest when you get there. Please.”
“Very well, Sheida,” Elnora said, standing up and nodding. “If that’s all?”
“Have fun?” Sheida asked. “Think of it as research. Studying the myrmidon in its natural habitat.”
* * *
“Mr. Chambers?” Elnora said, frowning slightly. “Sorry to bother you.”
Chambers looked up at the avatar and then stood up. He had been working late in his office in the War Department and he carefully controlled the start at seeing the Key-holder in the room.
“Mistress Sill,” he said, bowing from the waist.
“Oh, posh, Mr. Chambers,” Elnora said, waving a hand. “I don’t need that. But I do need a bit of advice…”
* * *
Harry Chambers had been an agent of New Destiny for nearly three years. He hadn’t intended to become an agent; it had just sort of… happened. A touch of bitterness and a bit of hubris had caused him to talk about things he shouldn’t have talked about. Small things. Then a little stroking, some favors granted and before he knew it he’d turned over real information, the sort that could get you hanged. After that, one thing had led to another.
If you’re two hundred years old and even half bright, it
was hard in the middle of the night to lie to yourself. He’d been manipulated, sure, but he’d let himself be manipulated. What had the UFS done for him? What had Sheida and Edmund done for him? Edmund had damned near cut his leg off in the moments after the Fall. Sure, they’d been sparring and who knew that the personal protection fields were going to fall just then. But it had still been a damaging wound. He still limped from it, even healed. Sure, it should be “completely healed” and unnoticeable. But he could still feel the blade slicing into his quad. For a person who had always considered his body his best asset, that sort of wound was mentally crippling. And Sheida, the bitch, when Tanisha gave up her Key, who did it go to? Did it go to her closest aide? No, it went to a woman, an academic, somebody who didn’t know what was happening in the world without a ten-thousand-word briefing.
And he’d passed information right under their noses. Gotten them back for all the things they’d done to him. And New Destiny had money, lots of money, for the sorts of information he passed. No way to spend it, not yet, but there would be. He had a sack full of gems ready for a quick exit. Hit a couple of portals, get to the exterior of the teleport shield and he was golden.
He’d been considering taking just such an exit lately. He’d been Sheida’s aide since right after the Fall. But just last month he’d been “promoted” to a war department undersecretary position, a liaison to the House of Lords. Technically he should be getting even better information than before; he could call on any information available in the war department. But some of the information he had been sent… didn’t make sense. Didn’t quite fit other information he was sure about.
If he was being fed disinformation, it meant that someone suspected him.
Sheida had become… cooler as well. And there were rumors, rather well-placed ones, that an intelligence service had been formed. Oh, there was already the Intelligence Coordination Committee, but this other service didn’t even have a name. “The Group” was the name most often associated with it, the head of it just known as “T.” There was a confidential budget, a rising one, but that was all he had heard about it.