by Дэвид Вебер
Pritchart paused once more, then shook her head slowly.
"I think it's time we stopped," she said very quietly.
* * *
"More coffee, Your Majesty?"
Elizabeth looked up at the murmured question, then smiled and extended her cup. James MacGuiness poured, then moved on around the table, refilling other cups, and she watched him go before she sipped. It was, as always, delicious, and she thought yet again what a pity it was that MacGuiness made such splendid coffee when Honor couldn't stand the beverage.
The familiar reflection trickled through her brain, and she set the cup back down and gave herself a mental shake. No doubt her staff back at Mount Royal Palace had its hands full covering for her absence, but they were just going to have to go on coping for a while longer. Despite the grinding fatigue of far too many hours, too much adrenaline, and far too many shocks to the universe she'd thought she understood, she knew she and Eloise Pritchart were still far from finished.
She looked across the table at the Havenite president, who'd just finished a serving of MacGuiness' trademark eggs Benedict and picked up her own coffee cup. Despite a sleepless night, following a day even longer than Elizabeth's had been, the other woman still looked improbably beautiful. And still radiated that formidable presence, as well. Elizabeth doubted anyone could have intentionally planned a greater physical contrast than the one between her own mahagony skin and dark eyes and Pritchart's platinum and topaz, and they'd been producd by political and social systems which were at least as different as their appearances. Yet she'd come—unwillingly, almost kicking and screaming—to the conclusion that the two of them were very much alike under the surface.
"So," she said, sitting back from the table she shared with only Honor, Pritchart, and Theisman, "is Simхes telling the truth or not, Honor?"
The two Havenites looked at Honor with slightly surprised expressions, and Honor smiled. Nimitz was sound asleep on his perch, and after the night which had just passed, she saw no point in waking him up.
"There's a reason Her Majesty's asking me, instead of Nimitz or Ariel," she told her guests. "As it happens, I've been hanging around with treecats long enough to have caught to at least some of their abilities. I can't read minds, but I can read emotions, and I know when someone's lying."
It was astonishingly easy for her to make that admission to the leaders of the star nation she'd fought for her entire adult life.
Pritchart blinked at her, then those topaz eyes narrowed in thought, and the president began nodding—slowly, at first, then more rapidly.
"So that's why you make such a fiendishly effective diplomat!" she said with something very like an air of triumph. "I couldn't believe how well a total novice was reading us. Now I know—you were cheating! "
The last word came out in something very like a laugh, and Honor nodded back.
"Where diplomacy's concerned, according to my mentors in the Foreign Office, there is no such thing as 'cheating,' Madam President. In fact, one of those mentors quoted an old axiom to me. Where diplomacy is involved, he said, if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying hard enough."
Elizabeth snorted in amusement, and Theisman shook his head.
"In this instance, however," Honor continued more seriously, "what Her Majesty is asking me is whether or not I can tell if Dr. Simхes is telling the truth. I already informed her"—she looked directly at Pritchart "—that I knew you were, Madam President. On the other hand, I also assumed you would have expected from the beginning that Nimitz would have been able to tell me and that I would have passed his observations on to Her Majesty, so I didn't feel any particular scruples about that."
Pritchart nodded again, and Honor shrugged.
"What I can tell you about Simхes is that his anger—his outrage—at this 'Alignment' is absolutely genuine. The pain inside that man is incredible."
She closed her eyes for a moment, and her nostrils flared.
"Everything I can 'taste' about his 'mind glow' tells me he's telling us the truth, in so far as he knows the truth. Whether or not McBryde might have been passing along disinformation is more than I could say, of course. But, on balance, I think he was telling the truth, as well. It all fits together too well with what we've already seen, and with what Simхes can tell us about their hardware."
"And there are still so damned many holes in it," Elizabeth half-snarled.
"Yes, there are," Honor agreed. "On the other hand, I'd say the Star Empire knows infinitely more than we knew yesterday, Elizabeth . . . given that we didn't know anything at that point."
Elizabeth nodded slowly, then looked at Pritchart.
"So I guess what it comes down to," she said slowly, "is where we go from here. Whatever happens, I want you to know I'm enormously grateful for the information you've provided us. And I think we can both agree that the war between Haven and Manticore is over."
She shook her head, as if, even now, she couldn't quite believe what she'd just said. Not because she didn't want to, but because it seemed impossible, like something which couldn't possibly be true because of how badly everyone wanted it to be true.
"Mind you," she continued, "I don't expect everyone to be delighted about that. For that matter, a few days ago, I probably would have been one of the people who wasn't delighted myself," she admitted.
"Trust me, there's the odd couple of billion Havenites who probably feel exactly the same way," Pritchart said dryly.
"And that's the sticking point, isn't it?" Elizabeth asked softly. "Stopping shooting at each other—that much I'm sure we can manage. But it's not enough. Not if Simхes' and McBryde's story is true after all."
"No, it's not," Pritchart agreed quietly.
"Well," Elizabeth smiled with very little humor at all, "at least I can feel confident now that you'll keep the Republican Navy off our backs long enough for us to deal with this Admiral Filareta."
"Actually," Pritchard said, "I had something else in mind."
"Something else?" Elizabeth's eyebrows rose.
"Your Majesty—Elizabeth—the Mesan Alignment wants both of us destroyed, starting with the Star Empire. I don't know if it honestly believes the SLN can do the job where you're concerned, or if it was anticipating we'd do it when we recognized the opportunity it had given us. But it doesn't really matter. What matters is that this Solarian attack on you is simply one more step in a strategy directed against both of us. So I think something a bit more pointed than simply stopping shooting at each other might be in order."
"Such as?" Elizabeth asked slowly, eyes slitted in concentration.
"I understand your missile production facilities have been taken off-line," Pritchart said. "Tom here tells me you've undoubtedly got enough of those ungodly super missiles in your magazines to thoroughly kick the ass of this Filareta if he really insists on following his orders. But that's going to cut into your reserves, and given that the Alignment managed to rip the hell out of your home system, I think it would be a good idea for you to conserve as much ammunition as you can in hopes we'll find someone a bit better suited to playing the role of target."
"And?" Elizabeth's eyes were opening wider in speculation.
"Well, it just happens that Thomas here has a modest little fleet—two or three hundred of the wall, I believe—waiting approximately eight hours from Trevor's Star in hyper. If you're willing to trust us in Manticoran space, perhaps we could help you encourage Filareta to see reason. And while I'm well aware our hardware isn't as good as yours , every indication I've seen is that it's one hell of a lot better than anything the Sollies have."
"Are you offering me a military alliance against the Solarian League? " Elizabeth asked very carefully.
"If McBryde was right, there isn't going to be much of a Solarian League very much longer," Pritchart replied grimly. "And given the fact that the same bunch of murderous bastards who shot up your home system are also directly responsible for you and I having killed a couple of million of our own peopl
e, I think we could say we have a certain commonality of interest where they're concerned. And it's not a case of selfless altruism on my part, you know. We're both on the Alignment's list. Don't you think it would be sort of stupid of either of us to let the other one go down and leave us all alone?"
Brown eyes and topaz met across a table littered with the remnants of breakfast, and it was very, very quiet.
"We're still going to have those problems, you know," Elizabeth said almost conversationally after a moment. "All those people on both sides who don't like each other. All that legacy of suspicion."
"Of course." Pritchart nodded.
"And then there's the little matter of figuring out where this Alignment's real headquarters is, and who else is fronting for it, and what other weapons it has, and where else it has programmed assassins tucked away, and exactly what it's got in mind for the Republic once the Star Empire's been polished off."
"True."
"And, now that I think about it, there's the question of how we're going to rebuild our capabilities here, and how much technology sharing—and how quickly—we can convince our separate navies and our allies to put up with. You know there's going to be heel-dragging and tantrum-throwing the minute I start suggesting anything like that!"
"I'm sure there will."
The two women looked at one another, and then, slowly, both of them began to smile.
"What the hell," Elizabeth Winton said. "I've always liked a good challenge."
She extended her hand across the table.
Pritchart took it.
Characters
Abercrombie, Sir Tyler
Home Secretary, Star Kingdom of Manticore.
Abrioux, Special Senior Inspector Danielle
one of Kevin Usher's top investigators, Federal Investigation Agency, Republic of Haven.
Adenauer, Commander Dominica Adenauer, Royal Manticoran Navy
operations officer, Tenth Fleet.
Adriopoulos, Commander Alexandros, Royal Manticoran Navy
commodore James Tanner's chief of staff.
Agnelli, Chief Steward Joanna, Royal Manticoran Navy
Sir Aivars Terekhov's personal steward.
Alexander, The Honorable William
Baron Grantville, Prime Minister of the Star Empire of Manticore; Hamish Alexander-Harrington's younger brother.
Alexander-Harrington, Admiral Hamish
Earl of White Haven; First Lord of Admiralty; husband of Emily and Honor Alexander-Harrington.
Alexander-Harrington, Admiral Lady Dame Honor, Royal Manticoran Navy, Grayson Space Navy
Duchess and Steadholder Harrington; CO, Eighth Fleet. Life of Hamish and Emily Alexander-Harrington. Special envoy to the Republic of Haven.
Alexander-Harrington, Lady Emily
Countess of White Haven; wife of Hamish and Honor Alexander-Harrington.
Alquezar, Joachim
Prime Minister, Talbott Quadrant.
Anisimovna, Aldona
senior operative for Mesan Strategy Council and Mesan Alignment.
Armstrong, Captain Veronica ("Vicki"), Royal Manticoran Navy
CO, HMS Artemis; Admiral Michelle Henke's flag captain.
Atkins, Corporal Joshua, Harrington Steadholder's Guard
one of Honor Alexander-Harrington's personal armsmen.
Attunga, Marguerite
a reporter for Manticoran News Service, Incorporated.
Bardasano, Isabel
Jessyk Combine cadet board member and senior director Mesan Alignment security services.
Barloi, Henrietta
Secretary of Technology, Republic of Haven.
Bautista, Vice Admiral Pйpй, Solarian League Navy
Fleet Admiral Sandra Crandall's chief of staff.
Beauprй, Lieutenant (JG) Andre, Republic of Haven Navy
Admiral Thomas Theisman's personal shuttle pilot.
Belardinelli, Antoine
President Eloise Pritchart's senior secretary.
Berkeley, Lieutenant (SG) Anthony, Royal Manticoran Navy
assigned Manufacturing and Prototyping Command, HMSS Weyland.
Billingsley, Master Steward Chris, Royal Manticoran Navy
Michelle Henke's personal steward.
Blackett, Sergeant Luke, Harrington Steadholder's Guard
James Harrington's personal armsman.
Blaine, Vice Admiral Jessup, Royal Manticoran Navy
CO, Links Terminus Home Fleet detachment.
Boisvin, Lieutenant Йdouard, Royal Manticoran Navy
XO, HMS Stevedore.
Boltitz, Helga
Henri Krietzmann's personal aide.
Borderwijk, Captain Alenka, Republic of Haven Navy
Admiral Thomas Theisman's senior aide.
Bouchard, Lieutenant Commander Jerod, Royal Manticoran Navy
astrogator, HMS Artemis.
Bourchier, Senator Ninon
Senator, Republic of Haven; Constitutional Progressive Party.
Brantley, Lieutenant Commander Harper, Royal Manticoran Navy
communications officer, Eighth Fleet.
Brigham, Commodore of Mercedes, Grayson Space Navy
Admiral Honor Alexander-Harrington's chief of staff, Eighth Fleet.
Browne, Commander Ishmael, Solarian League Navy
XO, SLNS Joseph Buckley.
Cabeзadas, Jennifer
John and Laura Cabeзadas' older daughter.
Cabeзadas, John
a tourist passing through HMSS Hephaestus with his family.
Cabeзadas, Laura
John Cabeзadas' wife.
Cabeзadas, Miguel
John and Laura Cabeзadas' son.
Cabeзadas, Serafina
John and Laura Cabeзadas' infant daughter.
Cachat, Special Officer Victor
station chief, Erewhon Sector, Foreign Intelligence Service, Republic of Haven.
Caparelli, Admiral Sir Thomas, Royal Manticoran Navy
First Space Lord, Royal Manticoran Navy.
Carlson, Captain Frederick, Royal Manticoran Navy
CO, HMS Quentin Saint-James; Sir Aivars Terekhov's flag captain.
Carmichael, Sir Lyman
Admiral James Webster's replacement as Manticoran ambassador to the Solarian League.
Carus, Commander Michael, Royal Manticoran Navy
CO, Destroyer Division 265.2 ("The Silver Cepheids").
Casterlin, Commander Sterling, Royal Manticoran Navy
staff astrogator, Tenth Fleet.
Chamberlain, Vice Admiral Hansen, Solarian League Navy
Admiral Keeley O'Cleary's chief of staff.
Chandler, Commander Ambrose, Royal Manticoran Navy
Vice Admiral Khumalo's staff intelligence officer.
Chase, Lieutenant Commander Julie, Royal Manticoran Navy
CO, HMS Lodestone, Division 265.2.
Chatfield, Captain Darryl, Solarian League Navy
Fleet Admiral Sandra Crandall's communications officer.
Chernevsky, Anastasia
head of naval research and development for Mesan Alignment.
Chin, Captain Marjorie, Solarian League Navy
XO, SLNS Anton von Leeuwenhoek.
Coleman, Commander Theresa, Mesan Alignment Navy
Admiral Frederick Topolev's chief of staff.
Colenso, Admiral Jennifer, Mesan Alignment Navy
CO, Task Force Two, Oyster Bay operation.
Colombo, Rear Admiral Thomas, Royal Manticoran Navy
Vice Admiral Claudio Faraday's predecessor as CO, HMSS Weyland.
Conner, Captain Jerome, Royal Manticoran Navy
CO, Battlecruiser Division 106.1.
Cortez, Admiral Sir Lucien, Royal Manticoran Navy
Fifth Space Lord, Royal Manticoran Navy; CO, Bureau of personnel.
Cottolengo, Lieutenant Commander Chikosi, Royal Manticoran Navy
electronic warfare officer, Battlecruiser Squadron 108.
Crandall, Fleet Ad
miral Sandra, Solarian League Navy
CO, Task Force 496.
Culpepper, Commander Martin, Royal Manticoran Navy
Admiral Michael Oversteegen's chief of staff.
Da Silva, Lieutenant Chantelle, Royal Manticoran Navy
logistics officer, Battlecruiser Squadron 108.
Danko, Sergeant Major Evelyn, Royal Manticoran Marine Corps
"Gunny" Danko; HMS Rigel's senior Marine noncom.
Danvers, Vice Admiral Lilian, Royal Manticoran Navy
Third Space Lord, Royal Manticoran Navy; CO Bureau of Ships.
d'Arezzo, Ensign Paulo, Royal Manticoran Navy
junior officer, assigned Manufacturing and Prototyping Command, HMSS Weyland.
Deangelo, Captain Severino, Royal Manticoran Navy
Sir Lyman Carmichael's naval attachй on Old Terra.
Denton, Lieutenant Commander Lewis, Royal Manticoran Navy
CO, HMS Reprise.
Detweiler, Albrecht
chief executive, Mesan Alignment; director, Mesan Strategy Council.
Detweiler, Benjamin
Albrecht Detweiler's son; Mesan Alignment chief for military affairs.
Detweiler, Collin
Albrecht Detweiler's son, Mesan Alignment chief for intelligence operations.
Detweiler, Daniel
Albrecht Detweiler's son, Mesan Alignment chief for nongenetic R&D.
Detweiler, Evelina
Albrecht Detweiler's wife and a senior scientist for the Mesan Alignment in her own right.
Detweiler, Everett
Albrecht Detweiler's son, Mesan Alignment chief for genetic R&D.
Detweiler, Franklin
Albrecht Detweiler's son, Mesan Alignment chief for political strategy.
Detweiler, Gervais
Albrecht Detweiler's son, Mesan Alignment chief for foreign affairs.
Dicey, Royal Manticoran Navy
Master Steward Chris Billingsley's Maine Coon cat.
Diego, Commander Wilton, Royal Manticoran Navy
tactical officer, HMS Artemis.
Dombroski, Lieutenant (JG) Tabatha, Royal Manticoran Navy
junior tactical officer, HMS Star Witch.