Shiva Option s-3

by David Weber

  Unless, of course, the Naval Affairs Committee took action against the source of the public's discontent. Which would necessarily mean tossing Mukerji off the sled before the wolves caught it.

  The real question in Waldeck's mind was what to do about Wister. He'd been able to sit on her during the war, but her present stridency wasn't a good sign. The idiot really believed the nonsense she spouted, and the last six or seven years of being forcibly restrained from airing her idiocy in public appeared to have pushed her over the edge. She seemed unable to understand that the mere fact that the war was over wasn't going to automatically and instantly restore the universe she'd inhabited before the Bugs came along. And like any petulant, spoiled adolescent who wanted back the world in which she had been the center of everything that mattered, she was perfectly prepared to pitch a public tantrum until she got her way. Which could have . . . unpleasant consequences for her political allies.

  No, he decided. She'd been another useful tool, but, like Mukerji, she was scarcely irreplaceable. Of course, it would have to be done carefully. In fact, it might be that the Delmore story offered an opportunity to kill two birds with a single stone. If he handled it right, he could distance himself from the Mukerji fallout by making it appear that Wister had been the political admiral's patron. And if he gave her enough rope in the public hearings, let her babble away in public the way she was now, he could confidently count on her to destroy any credibility she might have retained if she or Mukerji tried to deny the relationship. And when Chairman Waldeck found himself "forced" by the mounting examples of Mukerji's incompetence and cowardice to turn against his political protector Wister-more in sorrow than in anger, of course . . .

  It was always so convenient to have someone else one could use as the anchor to send one's own unfortunate political baggage straight to the bottom.

  He considered the proposition for a few more seconds, then nodded mentally, and turned to Wister with an expression of thoughtful concern.

  "Protecting Mukerji against these charges will be politically risky, Bettina," he told her in a carefully chosen tone.

  "Protecting him against the vicious accusations of a violent, bloodsoaked butcher like Prescott," Wister shot back, completely ignoring the fact that Raymond Prescott had yet to make a single public statement in the case, "is the Right Thing to Do!"

  "I didn't say it wasn't," Waldeck said in that same artfully anxious voice. "I only meant that it would require someone willing to put his-or her-political career on the line in defense of his political principles."

  "I have never hesitated for an instant to stand up for the things in which I believe!" Wister declared, and Waldeck was careful to keep any sign of elation from crossing his face.

  "Well, in that case," he told her with admirable resolution, "I'll have the Committee staff began assembling evidence in the matter immediately."

  The Sanchez house, a rambling retirement villa, crowned a bluff looking eastward to Orphicon's Naiad Ocean. Ramon and Elena had occasionally considered selling the place. They weren't getting any younger, and their granddaughter-for their daughter had made clear to them that the blond toddler she'd brought through hell and adopted was precisely that-had always had a hair-raising love of playing along the edge of the cliff whose foot the waves lapped at high tide. Even now, just turned twelve, she often went there alone and looked out to sea as though waiting for someone.

  This time, she really was.

  Lydia Sanchez-born Lydia Sergeyevna Borisova on a world called Golan A II, about which the grownups always avoided speaking-stood on the bluff under a sky as blue as her eyes and as vast as all heaven, silent amid the screeching of the Terran-descended seabirds. The wind stirred her hair and sent her lightweight shift flapping against her slender no-longer-quite-child's form. She didn't notice the chill. Her mother was late.

  Yes, her mother-the only mother she'd ever truly known. Oh, there'd been a woman once, whose face Lydia sometimes glimpsed fleetingly in her dreams. A woman who'd sung her to sleep with lullabies about the witch Baba Yaga, and the Firebird, and Vasilisa the Brave. A woman who'd called her Lydochka.

  She never heard that diminutive here; Orphicon's ethnic stew contained few Russian ingredients. No, there was only one person who ever called her that. . . .

  "Lydochka!"

  She whirled around and saw a figure running up the pathway from the house-a figure whose TFN black-and-silver was already opened at the collar in its wearer's haste to get it off.

  "Mom!" she squealed, and ran into an embrace that lasted and lasted, the black hair mingling with the blond.

  When Irma Sanchez could finally force words past a constricted throat, all that came out was, "Oh God, honey, I'm so sorry I missed your birthday!"

  Lydia giggled.

  "Oh, that's all right, Mom." She tried to hug Irma even harder, but recoiled with an "Ouch!" She looked down at that which had jabbed her. A little golden lion gleamed against the midnight tunic.

  Lydia looked up-not very far up, for she was already almost as tall as her mother. She'd known about it, of course-her grandparents were practically inarticulate with pride. But now she found she didn't know what to say.

  "Uh . . . it's very pretty, Mom."

  "Pretty? Yes, it is, isn't it?" said Irma, very softly. She lifted up the golden lion, hanging from its varicolored ribbon. It flashed in the sun.

  Lydia was puzzled, for her mother's eyes were focused far away. She had no way of knowing how far-in time as well as in distance, and beyond the veil that sunders the living from the dead. The dead went by names like Eilonwwa, Meswami, Georghiu, Togliatti . . . and Armand. And then there was Armand's unborn child, to whom Irma could not even give a name, for they'd never chosen one. They'd had all the time in the world.

  With a sudden, violent motion, Irma tore the medal from her tunic, ripping the nano-fabric. She reached back like a discus thrower and, with all the wiry strength in her, flung the Terran Federation's highest decoration for valor out over the cliff. It caught the sun, glistening as it fell. The splash, far below in the surf, could not be seen.

  Lydia stared at her mother, round-eyed.

  "What did you do that for, Mom?"

  Irma took a deep, shuddering breath.

  "Because it's over, dear. That-" she gestured out to sea "-that was part of something I had to do. Something called war-something horrible. The only excuse for it is that sometimes it's the only way to stop something even more horrible. But even that doesn't change the fact that it's all about misery and pain and death and sorrow and loss and . . . and . . . and it's over!"

  Lydia continued to stare, and tried to understand.

  "Do you mean it's true, what everybody's been saying? That the Bugs aren't going to come after all?"

  "That's right, Lydochka. The Bugs are never going to come."

  Arm in arm, mother and daughter turned and walked along the pathway to the house, under the clean sky.

  Glossary

  AAM-

  advanced antimatter warhead.

  AFHAWK-

  Anti-Fighter Homing All the Way Killer Missile; the standard ship-launched anti-fighter missile.

  AFHAWK2-

  a second-generation, much larger, extended-range version of the AFHAWK.

  AM-

  antimatter warhead.

  AMBAM-

  Anti-Mine Ballistic Antimatter Missile; a large missile, equipped with multiple ballistically deployed antimatter warheads, which is used to clear paths through minefields.

  AMBAMP-

  Anti-Mine Ballistic Antimatter Missile Pod; a warp-capable pod designed to transport AMBAMs through warp points.

  antigerone treatments-

  human age-slowing therapies.

  battlegroup-

  the starships (usually six) linked together by command datalink. Also called a "command datagroup" or "command datalink datagroup."

  BB-

  battleship.

  BC-

  battlecruis
er.

  BCR-

  a capital missile-armed battlecruiser optimized for long-range engagement.

  CA-

  heavy cruiser.

  CAM-

  Close Assault Missile; a capital missile-sized weapon capable of "sprint mode" attacks at close range.

  caraasthyuu -

  a particularly irritating biting, stinging insect from Old Valkha, the original Orion homeworld.

  chegnatyu -

  semi-mythical Orion warrior heroes; paladins.

  chofak (plural: chofaki)-literally "eater of midden scrapings," though generally translated as "dirt eater." An Orion term to describe a being so lost to all sense of honor as to be unable even to recognize it as a concept.

  CIC-

  Combat Information Center.

  CL-

  light cruiser.

  CM-

  Capital Missile. A large, long-ranged missile with a very heavy warhead. Too large to fire from a "standard" sized launcher. It carries sophisticated ECM and is very difficult for point defense to intercept.

  command datalink-

  an advanced datalink system capable of linking up to six warships simultaneously.

  Corthohardaa -

  "Space Brothers," the native Ophiuchi who crew the Ophiuchi Association navy's strikefighters.

  CSG-

  Commander Strikegroup, the CO of the strikegroup embarked aboard a single carrier.

  CSP-

  Combat Space Patrol; a force of strikefighters and/or gunboats detailed to fly defensive missions covering a specific region of space or a specific target.

  CV-

  fleet carrier.

  CVA-

  assault carrier.

  CVL-

  light carrier.

  Dahanaak -

  "Talon Strike," the Ophiuchi equivalent of the Terran Marines Raider forces.

  datagroup-

  the ships (usually three in number) linked together by standard datalink.

  datalink-

  a system of computers and communication systems which effectively link the offensive and defensive capabilities of up to three starships, allowing them to operate as a single unit for combat purposes.

  DD-

  destroyer.

  defargo -

  the honor dirk of the Orion officer corps.

  Demons-

  the Crucian term for the Arachnids.

  dirguasha -

  "the beast not dead," an Orion who, for his offenses against honor, has been rejected and expelled from his family and clan and who may be killed by any other Orion in any way.

  droshkhoul (plural: droshkhouli)-"shadow seeker," Orion term of disapprobation for someone who always finds a way to avoid combat without quite acting openly dishonorably.

  DSB-

  Deep Space Buoy.

  DSBL-

  Deep Space Buoy (Laser), also known as Laser Buoy. An orbital platform mounting a bomp-pumped laser to defend point targets.

  ECM-

  Electronic Countermeasures. ECM1, the earliest and crudest version, simply makes the mounting ship more difficult to hit. ECM2, or "jamming ECM," serves to jam or break up enemy datalinks within relatively short range of the system. ECM3, (also known as "deception mode ECM") is a more advanced generation which can perform as ECM1 or 2 be used to project false sensor readings to make a ship appear to belong to a different class. ECM4 ("cloaking ECM") is an even more advanced system, capable within limits of making a ship invisible to enemy sensors.

  Farshalah'kiah -

  "the Warrior's Way"-the ancient teachings of Shaasaal'hirtalkin, the Orion equivalent of Lancelot/Musashi, who formalized the honor code of the Orion warrior caste.

  farshathkhanaak -

  "lord of the fist," Orion term for the senior strikefighter pilot assigned to a task force or fleet.

  farshatok -

  "warriors of the fist," Orion term for warriors so well trained and so motivated that they fight as the individual fingers of a single fist.

  FM, FM2, FM3-

  progressively more advanced and capable strikefighter missiles.

  FRAM-

  a short-range, sprint mode, antimatter-armed strikefighter munition.

  GFGHQ-

  Grand Fleet General Headquarters.

  ghornaku -

  "sharers of union," the term for citizens of the Star Union of Crucis, regardless of their species.

  graaznaak -

  an exceptionally stupid, carrion-eating lizard fron New Valkha.

  Hiarnow'kharnak-

  the chief deity of the ancient Orion pantheon, God of War and ruler and creator of all the other gods.

  hanaakaat -

  Ophiuchi talon-based martial art.

  HARM-

  Homing Anti-Radiation Missile.

  hasfrazi -

  the most deadly raptor of the Ohiuchi home world, whose head is the emblem of the Corthohardaa.

  hercheqha -

  an Orion marsupial, equivalent to a small deer.

  hiri'k'now -

  the violation of hirikolus, the most unspeakable crime any Orion warrior can commit.

  hirikolus -

  the liege-vassal relationship between an Orion warrior and his khanhaku or the Khan'a'khanaaeee himself.

  HUD-

  Heads Up Display; a display projected in front of someone's eyes so that it can be read without looking down.

  ICN-

  Interstellar Communications Network; the long chains of deep space buoys between warp points used to relay messages at light-speed across the intervening space.

  IDEW-

  Independently Deployed Energy Weapons; individual, unprotected, remotely targeted energy weapons, usually force beams or primary beams, mounted in deep space buoys.

  Iierschtga -

  anti-god of Crucian theology.

  Ithyrra'doi'khanhaku -

  literally "honor-named of all clan lords," the highest Orion award for valor, equivalent of the Terran Federation's Lion of Terra.

  Khan'a'khanaaeee -

  literally, "lord of the high lords," the near-deified, absolute ruler of all Orions.

  khanhaku -

  "clan lord"; title of the head of one of the great Orion warrior clans.

  Khanhath'vilkshathaaeee -

  literally "the high lords' blood slayers," also translated (inaccurately) as the Caste of Assassins. The highly venerated order of supreme Orion duelists charged with removing an ineffectual or corrupt Khan by challenging and killing him.

  Kkrullott -

  the Crucian deity.

  lomus -

  "household"; the extended family of a Gorm, joined by complex mutual honor obligations.

  minisorchi -

  a Gorm empathic sense.

  MT-

  monitor.

  MTE-

  escort monitor.

  MT(V)-a carrier built on a monitor hull.

  naraham -

  "detachment," the Ophiuchi concept of the ability to maintain a sense of poise, calm, and balance under any circumstances.

  Niistka Glorkhus -

  "Speaking Chamber"; the supreme legislature of the Star Union of Crucis.

  PDC-

  planetary defense center.

  queemharda -

  "self-brotherhood," the Ophiuchi ideal of self-knowledge and acceptance.

  querhomaz -"self-determination," the Ophiuchi ideal of an individual's absolute determination to fully fulfill his role in life.

  quurohok -

  "place knowing," the Ophiuchi ideal of an individual's ability to recognize and make the life choices required to allow him to attain his maximum potential.

  RD-

  Recon Drone; a remote, powered sensor platform.

  RD2-

  Second Generation Recon Drone; an advanced recon drone capable of making unassisted warp transit.

  Rhustus Idk -

  Prime Minister of the Star Union of Crucis.

  SBM-

&nb
sp; Strategic Bombardment Missile; an even longer-ranged version of the Capital Missile. It sacrifices ECM capability for extended range.

  SBMHAWK-

  Strategic Bombardment Missile, Homing All the Way Killer; a combination of several SBMs in a pod capable of transporting them through a warp point to attack targets on the far side.

  SD-

  superdreadnought.

  sprint mode-

  an extremely high-velocity attack mode, reachable by some missiles. "Sprint mode" missiles move so quickly that they are effectively impossible for point defense to track and intercept.

  SRHAWK-

  Suicide Rider Homing All the Way Killer. A warp-capable pod designed to look like an SBMHAWK in order to lure attacking gunboats to short range, where they can be destroyed by the blast effect of its single massive antimatter warhead.

  shirnask -

  absolute fidelity to one's sworn word. One of the two fundamental honor obligations of an Orion warrior.

  shirnow -

  "oath breaking."

  shirnowmak -

  "oath breaker," second worst insult in the Orion language.

  synklomchuk -

  the duty owed by any Gorm to the house-kin members of his lomus under synklomus. In simplest terms, the responsibility to die before allowing any preventable harm to befall any member of the household.

  synklomus -

  "House Honor." See above.

  Taainohk -

  the "Four Virtues" (queemharda, naraham, quurohk, and querhomaz), the combined philosophical concepts at the core of the Ophiuchi honor code.

  talnikah -

  "battle mother," the CO of any Telikan field force. Originally translated by Survey Command personnel as "combat mama."

  theernowlus -

  "risk sharing," the Orion honor concept which requires a warrior to expose himself to risk before asking anyone else to share it.

  theermish -

  "risk shirking," the violation of theemowlus (see above).

  Valkha'kharnak-

  the second most important member of the ancient Orion pantheon, the Death Messenger of Hiarnow'kharnak and the chooser of the honorable dead.

  vilka'farshatok -

  "war fist of the blood," a fusion of Orion warriors so well trained and motivated as to fight as members of a single clan, regardless of their origins.