precaution she objected to but her generals insisted on so long as portions of the planet’s surface remained unsecured. The area directly in front of the royal remained open to accommodate holo projections should any be required. A semicircular table, at which seven of her advisors were invited to sit, had been set up facing her. And, since Chancellor Ubatha was senior to all the rest, he was at the center. The Queen made a brief opening statement thanking those present for a job well done, and lauding, “. . . the brave warriors upon whom all of us rely.” Most of the troops would see the statement within the next day or so. What followed was a long, and to Ubatha’s thinking, overly detailed series of reports about every theater of the war except Earth. Based on reports put forth by various military offi?cers, it seemed that rather than lose the battle for Gamma-014, as everyone expected him to, General Akoto might actually win it. Especially if the navy could intervene at exactly the right moment. All thanks to the massive incompetence of General-453, who in the words of one admiral, was “the best offi?cer the Ramanthian Empire had!” Even the Queen found that concept amusing and signaled her merriment with a fl?urry of clicks.
There had been some reverses of course. . . . Because even though the Confederacy’s forces were stretched thin, they remained potent, as evidenced by a chance encounter off Imiro VI. Having run into a task force consisting of a Ramanthian cruiser, two destroyers, and three heavily loaded transports, a human destroyer and two destroyer escorts not only engaged the larger force, but won the ensuing battle! A sad day indeed. But such narratives were few and far between as Ubatha’s peers continued to brag about a long list of unalloyed victories.
Finally, once the glowing reports were over, it was time to discuss Earth. This prompted a long series of reluctantly negative reports. Because even though the empire had a large number of troops on the ground, only 10 percent of the planet’s surface could be classifi?ed as pacifi?ed, and the Queen wanted answers. Half a dozen possible solutions were put forward. All of them called for more ships, more troops, and more supplies. Eventually, having heard from the military, the Queen called upon Ubatha. “You’ve been uncharacteristically silent, Chancellor. Yet you’re rarely short of opinions! What would you have me do?”
It was the moment Ubatha had been counting on. “You will recall my original advice, Majesty,” the offi?cial intoned carefully. “I felt it would be best to glass Earth and thereby deny the humans their ancestral home.”
At that point some of the individuals seated to either side of the Chancellor began to squirm uneasily. If Ubatha was preparing to chastise the Queen for failing to follow his advice—then they wanted no part of what would almost certainly be a career-ending moment of self-justifi?cation!
But Ubatha had risen to high rank for a reason, and while he sincerely believed that a mistake had been made, the bureaucrat wasn’t so foolish as to say that publicly. “But I was mistaken,” the offi?cial admitted humbly. “Because as you pointed out at the time of our discussion, the destruction of Earth could precipitate an attack on Hive, and Earth constitutes a valuable bargaining chip as well.”
By that time the offi?cers and offi?cials seated to either side of Ubatha were wondering where the Chancellor’s comments were headed. But if the Queen was concerned, there was no sign of it in the position of her antennae or the set of her wings. “But there’s a danger,” Ubatha continued. “If we continue to throw more and more resources at Earth in what may be a futile attempt to pacify the planet, Earth could become our Gamma-014. That is to say, an expensive diversion that saps our strength even as the enemy continues to grow stronger.”
That was too much for General Ra Ool—who felt honorbound to protest. “Excuse me, Chancellor,” the old warrior said. “But that’s absurd! You heard the reports. With few exceptions, our forces are winning every battle they fi?ght!”
“Yes,” Ubatha agreed soberly, “that’s true. But what lies ahead? Even if we win the battle for Gamma-014, who’s to say whether such a mutual defeat will weaken the relationship between the Confederacy and Hegemony, or strengthen it?”
“This is ridiculous,” Ra Ool objected contemptuously. “I really must object—”
“And you have,” the Queen put in sternly. “But, if Chancellor Ubatha plans to make a fool of himself, why not give him every opportunity to do so?”
In spite of the royal’s words, Ubatha knew he had almost total control of the room. “But let’s say I’m wrong about Gamma-014,” the bureaucrat continued, with a nod toward the disgruntled General Ra Ool. “Here’s something I know for sure . . . Thraki intelligence agents tell us that an effort is presently under way to recruit and train Confederacy militia units out along the rim. Specifi?cally, three brigades of mostly human troops. And all of them are likely to be twice as tough as the animals encountered here.
“And if that doesn’t concern you,” Ubatha continued urgently, “then consider this. . . . Having joined the Confederacy, the Hudathans are no longer prohibited from raising an army. And, based on reports from our agents, that’s exactly what the barbarians are doing!”
The words produced a veritable click-storm of concern, because a number of Ramanthian planets had been badly mauled during the Hudathan wars, making it necessary for the race to briefl?y ally itself with the Confederacy in order to survive. Because the Hudathans had been cut off from all trade for many years, it was widely assumed that years would pass before the aliens would represent a threat again. A period during which the empire could defeat the Confederacy without being forced to deal with the Hudathans at the same time.
It was important information, intentionally withheld to produce maximum effect, and the Queen couldn’t help but admire the skill with which the strategy had been executed—
even if Ubatha was guilty of hoarding intelligence that should have been shared the moment it became available. She would chide him for the omission later. But privately—because it was in her interest to keep him strong. “That’s interesting,”
the royal allowed calmly. “So tell us, Chancellor, how many Hudathans should we expect to face?”
“There are roughly two billion of them,” Ubatha replied soberly. “And every male under the age of sixty qualifi? es as a potential warrior. Which means that within a year we will face another 750 million soldiers. And not just any soldiers, but Hudathan soldiers, of the sort who have laid waste to our planets before.”
“So what would you suggest? the Queen demanded. She was beginning to tire of the way in which Ubatha had manipulated the meeting, and he could literally smell her dissatisfaction in the air. “We should try to hold what we have,”
Ubatha answered succinctly. “For the reasons already given. But under no circumstances should we expend additional resources on Earth—knowing what will face us soon.”
There was a long period of silence, followed by a sequence of approving clicks from the Queen, and a discharge of pleasurable pheromones. A decision had been made. Like thousands of other small towns in North America, Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco, had come under attack by the Ramanthians. But without any military bases to threaten the aliens, or heavy industries to attract their attention, the community had escaped relatively unscathed until a wave of urban refugees poured across the latest in a succession of four Golden Gate Bridges, and laid waste to everything in their path. And that included Mill Valley’s shopping mall. What had been a beautiful state-of-the-art
