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It would have to do.

Clarin used the last of his control to guide the Remora, launching whatever remained of his weapons. He focused on the lone domate, the future of the hive. Secondary target. That one huge, ugly bug seemed to have a big bull's-eye painted on it.

Clarin dived the Remora downward, accelerating with the last gasps of his fuel. He never saw the flash of impact.

Ninety-seven

Rlinda Kett

Rlinda and BeBob flew the Voracious Curiosity to Earth with Sullivan Gold, minding their own business. Rlinda hummed to herself to hide her uneasiness. ‘Here we are, just an independent trader bringing a load of goods to Earth. No need to pay special attention to us.‘

For the past few weeks, all Confederation traders had done their best to transmit the King's condemnation and Patrick Fitzpatrick's recorded confession. The message had been picked up by repeater stations and widely disseminated. Rlinda had to be very careful, though. They would be in a world of trouble if the Curiosity were caught doing it.

On their way to Earth, she and BeBob had stopped at three colonies that hadn't formally joined the Confederation. Not bothering to express disbelief at what Chairman Wenceslas and General Lanyan had done, the local government officials had simply shrugged. Even the story about the EDF cracking down on Rhejak only reinforced their reluctance to break away from the Hansa.

BeBob had been appalled, while Sullivan shook his head and sighed. ‘You won't get through to them. They're brainwashed.'

‘Or terrified,' BeBob said.

Rlinda shrugged. ‘Maybe so, but the King asked us to spread the word, so we're spreading it. I am the Confederation's Trade Minister, you know. I think I need to make myself a special badge or something.'

BeBob had insisted on coming along on this run to Earth, even though Rlinda was apprehensive. His puppy-dog face was filled with an embarrassing degree of affection for her. ‘Really, I won't set foot off the ship. I'll keep a lower profile than a speck of dust on wet hull paint. You don't have to worry, Rlinda. I promise.'

‘Who said I was worried?'

He gave her a give-me-a-break frown. ‘I can read you like a book.'

‘Since when do you read books?'

By scanning the broadcast channels, Rlinda found at least two amateur groups that had copied the King's inflammatory message after she secretly broadcast it, and they were redistributing it as widely as possible before the Hansa managed to stop them. One independent repeater was shut down almost immediately, but other network nodes handed off the message again and again. People would hear it, she was sure, whether they chose to take action and rise up against the Chairman was another question entirely…

After a long, strangely awkward silence, BeBob spoke up, and she could tell he had been wrestling with his words for some time. ‘If we're going to be partners, are you sure we shouldn't try getting married again?'

‘We learned that lesson already.'

‘But times have changed. Why not consider it?'

She squeezed him against her hard enough that he seemed buried in her flesh. ‘Feeling insecure? You're my partner, in business and in… physical interactions. Don't mess with a good thing. Paperwork can only screw it up.'

Sullivan came forward from the sleeping quarters in the back, rubbing his eyes, stretching his arms, and yawning. ‘Are we almost there?'

Rlinda pointed out the cockpit viewports. ‘That big blue marble is Earth. Recognize it? Can you see your house from here?'

The older man was both alarmed and eager. ‘I thought you were going to wake me. I need time to get ready--'

‘Take a breath, Mr Gold. We haven't even entered orbit yet. Then we have to descend and fill out about a million bureaucratic forms, get through the Hansa's pain-in-the-ass security procedures, then line up for a landing pad. You'll have time to take another whole nap before we get down to Earth.'

The Curiosity dodged leftover space debris as Rlinda jockeyed for orbital position. Not many outside