The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [98]
“I keep him in line,” Zhett teased. “Even the most insufferable jerks can be redeemed with a little hard work and patience — well, maybe not General Lanyan.”
Tasia gave Zhett a disbelieving look. “I’ll believe that when I see it.” She was shocked to see how close the two stood, adoring each other. She and Robb had never been so sappy . . . at least, she hoped not.
Fitzpatrick turned to Willis with an automatic salute. “Admiral! Good to see you again. I heard you’d come to join the Confederation forces.”
“You figured it out well before I did. It’s not my place to throw stones and muddy up the water that’s already under the bridge, to mix a handy metaphor.” The older woman turned sternly to Tasia and Robb. “And it’s not for either of these two to do, either.”
Fitzpatrick explained how he had spoken to his grandmother on orders from King Peter, and that she would be coming to Theroc to work against Chairman Wenceslas. The Admiral nodded. “It’ll be all over for the Hansa soon. Now, if we can only find a fat lady to do the singing. And if General Lanyan stops poking his battleships where they don’t belong.”
Fitzpatrick smiled. “The General’s taking a large group of battleships to fight the Klikiss on Pym. It’s his next big mission.”
“Now that’s good news for a change!” Tasia’s eyes brightened. “At least he’s after the right enemy for once.”
Robb saw her expression shift. “Don’t even think about it, Tamblyn.”
“Too late.” She spun to face Willis. “Admiral, I’ve been ready to launch a similar offensive of our own. Seems to me that two fleets would be better than one.” She shrugged. “Besides, we can’t let the General do a half-assed job.”
Willis blew air through her lips, considering. “It’s certainly one way to wrap this mess up with ribbons and bows. But we’ll need to depart immediately if we’re going to fight alongside the EDF ships. It’d be damned embarrassing if we arrive after the General’s already done the hard work.”
“Shizz, I’ve been writing mission proposals for weeks now,” Tasia said. “Let’s get going.”
Robb cautioned, “Even if we help him, don’t expect the General to become a real convert to our cause.”
Tasia couldn’t stop grinning. “Either way, this is going to be fun.”
* * *
68
Sirix
Aboard the former flagship of Admiral Wu-Lin, Sirix inspected the work his robots had completed as part of the agreement with Chairman Wenceslas. Sirix had nearly finished the restoration of the stolen EDF vessels, including this Juggernaut, which had now been rechristened the Thunder Child. Surrendering these hard-won ships was a high price to pay, but in return he would receive thousands more black robots to replace all those that had recently been lost.
General Lanyan was taking this Juggernaut off to fight the Klikiss on Pym, and Sirix wanted the Thunder Child to function perfectly, so long as the humans fought against the sub-hive, rather than turning their weapons against the black robots.
“This alliance is advantageous to both sides,” PD said brightly. The two compies had been returned to him as a goodwill gesture. He was proud of them; their behavior was exactly what he had hoped to achieve from DD.
“We’re glad we suggested it,” QT added.
But Sirix knew how quickly things could change. Humans had very short memories and limited attention spans. They could not hold a grudge long enough to achieve any significant historic impact. Throughout their existence, they had forgotten feuds at the drop of a hat, switched from enemies to allies and back again and again; it was dizzying. Conversely, Sirix and his robots had hated the Klikiss without wavering for more than ten thousand years.
“For now, the terms are indeed mutually beneficial. Come with me.”
PD and QT dutifully followed him as he stalked down the Juggernaut’s corridors. The black robots and the remaining Soldier compies were hard at work scrubbing decks, removing old bloodstains, repairing obvious damage from weapons blasts, like torn doors and smashed wall plates, which had occurred