even more.”
“And he can do that because it is the Word of Kraa that gives the entire apparatus of government, Polk included, its legitimacy?”
“Exactly.”
“So Calverson will interpret any attack on Polk as an attack on the Word?”
“He has no choice, really,” Ruark said. “The two systems, secular government and religious practice, are intertwined. One protects and nurtures the other.”
“Why hasn’t this problem been addressed in the planning for the attack on McNair?” he asked.
“I’ve tried,” Ruark said with a tired frown, “and the Council has tried, but ENCOMM says it isn’t necessary. Their plan is to take McNair, destroy Polk along with DocSec and the entire apparatus of government, and then move on to deal with Calverson.”
“Will that work?”
“I don’t think so. Calverson will see any change to the status quo as an attack on him, and he will react with all the power he can command. And it doesn’t take him long to mobilize his forces. He can have the Brethren in their pulpits and on the streets telling the faithful what to do inside a day. I think … I’m absolutely convinced that Calverson’s strategy will be to make the Worlds ungovernable until the status quo is restored.”
“Which means putting DocSec back in charge?”
“Yes. That will never happen, of course, so we’ll be facing decades of civil war until things shake themselves out. Regime change is like that.”
“So how do you neutralize the man?”
Ruark took his time answering the question. “First, you suborn his deputy,” he said finally, “a man called Rakesh Malfroy. He’s a nasty piece of work: very ambitious and utterly ruthless. And then you kill Calverson. Malfroy takes over, and he keeps the Brethren under control until the new teacher is elected, one who is prepared to work with us.”
“Can Malfroy be bought?”
“Hah!” Ruark snorted in derision. “Of course,” he said. “The man’s a Hammer, isn’t he? He was born to sell himself to the highest bidder.”
“Money or power?”
“He’s almost as rich as Calverson, so money’s not a big motivator. No, he wants what he hasn’t got: power.”
Michael frowned. “But if the NRA topples Polk and DocSec,” he said, “the power Malfroy would have as Teacher of Worlds disappears. So why would he go along? He won’t.”
“We don’t live in an ideal world.”
There was a long silence while Michael digested the uncomfortable fact that solving the Calverson problem wouldn’t be easy.
“So suborning Malfroy is most likely impossible,” Michael said eventually.
Ruark nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“Why not kill both Calverson and Malfroy?”
“Same problem, different person. Henry Ndegwa is third in line, and he understands the game every bit as well as Calverson and Malfroy.”
“Bloody hell. Help me here, Martin. How can we fix this? We need to.”
“I know we do. The only solution I can think of is deceit.”
“Deceit?”
“Yes. We take Calverson and Malfroy out of circulation while making it look as if they are safe and well. That neutralizes Henry Ndegwa; he won’t even break wind without Calverson’s say-so. Calverson and Malfroy issue a string of communiques telling the brethren to stay firmly on the fence until the new government is in place. That gives the NRA the breathing space they need to deal with Polk and the Hammer military. Then Calverson and Malfroy, along with Ndegwa and every other senior member of the Brethren while we’re at it, are made an offer they cannot refuse.”
“Let me guess: cooperate or die.”
“You got it.”
“Shit,” Michael hissed. “You don’t want much.”
“It’s the only way.”
“No wonder ENCOMM hasn’t wanted to get involved,” Michael said. “I don’t blame them.”
“Maybe not, but it needs to be done. If it isn’t, then like I said, we can win the war only to lose the peace.”
“I agree. So can we work up a detailed proposal? I’ll only get one chance to convince Vaas, and I need to get it right.”
“We can.”
“Now?”
“If I must,” Ruark sighed. “I hate all-nighters, but if that’s what it takes. Let me go tell my boss what we’re planning-he’ll need to sign off when we’re done-and then we’ll get started.”
“I’ve read your report,” Vaas said, grim-faced, “and it was something I did not enjoy.”
“It’s a much bigger problem than we thought, sir.”
“And even harder to resolve.”
“Yes.”
“Kraa damn it,” Vaas muttered; Michael thought he looked exhausted. “You’re sure about this?”
“Yes, sir. Calverson and Malfroy can never stop the NRA from winning the war. The peace is another matter.”
“I hate to say it, but I think that’s right. Leave it with me. I’ll present it for discussion at the next staff meeting, and thanks, Michael. You’ve done a good job. This is exactly why I don’t want you swanning around being shot at.”
“Happy to help, General.”
“Good, because I want you to ride shotgun on a trial we’re doing tomorrow. Go see Major Marcovitz. She’ll brief you; she knows what I want.”
“Sir.”
“What’s the scoop, sir?” Shinoda asked as she and the rest of the security detail followed Michael into the maglev carriage for the long journey across the Branxtons.
“The 656th is doing trials of the first NRA-built mobile laser batteries, and General Vaas thinks the engineers are being a bit overoptimistic about how well they’ll work. He wants us to make sure there’s no cheating.”
“Sounds good to me, sir,” Shinoda said.
“Make sure you bring your helmets. There’ll be a lot of orbital kinetics coming our way.”
“Oh, great,” Shinoda muttered.
“Every one?”
“I’m afraid so, admiral,” General Vaas said. “All the Juggernaut prisoners were shot yesterday by two DocSec battalions: the 154th and 352nd.”
“What animal would do such a thing?” Jaruzelska whispered, her face twisted into a mask of pain. Vaas thought the woman had aged ten years in as many seconds.
“Jeremiah Polk.”
“Why didn’t we know?”
“I can’t answer that, but I will find out. And we will find out the names of the DocSec troopers involved, and when we do, we will hunt them down, every last one.”
