Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [56]
Cain turned to the captain of the royal guard. 'The Chairman intends to send an EDF battle group to conquer Theroc and seize King Peter. Obviously, we can't let any green priest know this.'
Basil glared at the deputy. Cain simply didn't understand the compartmentalization of power. 'Captain McCammon did not require so much information.'
The guard captain reacted with surprise. 'Theroc has always been independent, Mr Chairman. To attack it using the Earth Defence Forces and kidnap the King--'
Basil cut him off. 'If you hadn't let Peter escape in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem.' He touched his forefinger to his lips. 'In fact, remind me why the royal guard still exists. Who are you guarding, now that we have no King?'
'He's babysitting a green priest, apparently,' Willis said, 'just like I was babysitting shipyards.'
McCammon seemed very pale. 'Might I inquire, Mr Chairman, when we can expect to have a new King? The Hansa needs one.'
Basil suppressed a smile, noting that none of the recruitment ads mentioned anything about 'fighting for the King'. 'My alternative candidate has been in training for months now, since long before Peter left, but I'm being very cautious. We've made mistakes before.' Once Peter found out who the candidate was, he would go absolutely ballistic! 'We've got important business to complete. This is no time to break in a mere trainee.' Basil gazed across the desktop at the projections and smiled. 'If Admiral Willis is successful, we'll have all the breathing room we need.'
He pointed to the EDF: NOW poster. 'I like this one.'
Thirty-two
Tasia Tamblyn
Armed with the King's instructions and blessing, Tasia and Robb were delivered to the shipyards at Osquivel by Denn Peroni himself.
'My dad would be proud of me for landing such a high position in the military,' Robb said. 'If only it wasn't the wrong military…'
'He'll come around when he sees what's happening on Earth,' Tasia answered.
'My father? He's served in the EDF all his life.'
The first sight of the ringed gas planet brought up many disturbing memories for both of them. Robb had been captured by the hydrogues down in those clouds. Tasia had sent her devoted compy EA here to warn the Kellum shipyards about the impending arrival of the EDF. And she'd faced a horrific battle with the hydrogues here at Osquivel. Now that Roamer families were coming out of hiding, the rings were dotted with spacedocks and smelting operations.
'Looks like we've got a lot of work to do here, Brindle,' she Said. 'Whip these people into shape, redesign ships to include armaments, and get a Confederation militia working before the Hansa can come after Theroc.'
Denn smiled at the pair as he docked his Dogged Persistence at the main admin asteroid. 'You'll have everything you need from me. Talk to anybody you like, requisition all necessary materials. Even enlist Kotto Okiah - he's here and ready to help.'
Robb watched the seeming chaos of industrial structures drifting around in the rings, metal frameworks, glowing heat sinks, the sparkle of fabrication exhausts. 'How are we ever going to pull it together?'
'Shizz, that's easy. We don't have to deal with Eddy bureaucracy.'
* * * * *
Tasia and Robb were granted temporary housing - 'One room. We'll share. Thank you.' Fresh off the trading ship, they settled into cramped quarters that were drilled out of a small floating rock.
Now that they were finally alone, their biggest shift was dealing with the changes in their relationship. After a quick and unimpressed glance through the thick glass of a single thirty-centimetre-wide window in their quarters, Tasia said, 'You're stuck with me, Brindle. Any regrets?'
During their imprisonment by the drogues, they'd been engrossed in their own survival. After being rescued, they had learned of the dramatic political shift, clashed with Robb's