Marten shook his head.
“Then why—” Tan groaned, and she strained to sit up.
The med-officer gently pressed her against the slab. “Wait a few more minutes.”
“The barbarians pumped me full of Suspend,” Tan whispered. “I have to warn—” Tan stopped talking as she lifted her head and spotted Marten.
“You’re helping them,” Tan accused the med-officer. “You will be demoted for this, possibly mind-scrubbed and sent to Io.”
The med-officer removed his hands from her, stepped back and glanced at Marten.
Marten eased near. “Your cousin is online, wishing to talk with you.”
“Su-Shan?” asked Tan.
“There have been a few changes,” Marten said. He told her about recent events.
Tan sat up groggily as she wrapped the blanket around her. “If what you say is true, why would Su-Shan order a bombardment of the Galileo Regio?”
“You can ask her,” Marten said, trying to forget that she was naked underneath the blanket.
Tan rubbed her face. When she lowered her hand and turned to the med-officer, she said, “I need a drink and something to eat.”
He gave her a bottle and some wafers. Once finished eating, she slid onto the deckplates and leaned against the med-slab for support.
“I need some clothes,” Tan said.
“Yes,” said the med-officer. “I’ll get them.”
“Are you under duress?” Su-Shan asked. She spoke through a wall-screen in Octagon’s former chamber.
Marten sat behind the desk. Osadar stood to the side. Strategist Tan faced the wall-screen.
“I am in the Arbiter’s room,” Tan said. “No one points at gun at me and no one has threatened me. But they did kidnap me from my quarters and hold me hostage under Suspend.” She glanced at Marten. “However, I no longer sense hostile intentions.”
“How can I be sure of that?” Su-Shan asked.
“Do the bands of Jupiter leak into space?” Tan asked.
A quick grin flashed across Su-Shan’s face.
Marten wondered what that signified. Was the phrase a code sequence?
“Where is Force-Leader Yakov?” Su-Shan asked.
“He’s indisposed,” Marten said.
“Ah,” said Su-Shan. “You mean he is busy plotting with the other ingrates. We shall soon break into their signals, never fear. Now, I demand that you escort Tan to Callisto.”
“First we must come to an understanding about the cyborgs,” Marten said.
Su-Shan hesitated. “What is your analysis concerning these cyborgs?” she asked Tan.
“The one standing in the room with me is real,” Tan said.
“Does that mean the others exist?” asked Su-Shan.
“It doesn’t have to follow,” Tan said. “Still, I think something odd has occurred in our system.”
“Yes,” said Su-Shan, “the rebellion.”
Tan shook her head. “I do not believe that Yakov planned open rebellion.”
Su-Shan minutely tilted her head as she studied her cousin. “The fact of their successful rebellion means they have planned it for some time. Therefore, Yakov did plan it.”
“Agreed,” said Tan. “What I meant to say is that Yakov did not plan
“How do you know that?”
“Since boarding this vessel, I have monitored his messages. I have also conferred many times with the ship’s Arbiter. He was like a living stick-tight and searched for rebellion with unusual zeal. He had his suspicions, naturally, but never the proof.”
“Yet the rebellion occurred,” said Su-Shan. “Therefore, you failed to—”
“If I may,” Tan said, “I disagree with your overall analysis—I am inferring portions of your beliefs, that’s true, but I have ingested the thrust of your argument. You and I both know that system-wide oddities have occurred independently of the Secessionist Plot. We have both spoken about the strange events before this. We first suspected the Secessionists, and that is why I boarded the
“What would be their purpose?” asked Su-Shan.
“Conquest, I should think. Solar System dominion.”
“You believe cyborgs have suborned Athena Station?”
“It is a possibility,” Tan said, “one worth considering.”
“What is your recommendation?”
“I may be the last Strategist of the War Council,” Tan said.
“If true, you would be the new Chief Strategist. Your words would have even greater weight, given that you were free to speak your mind.”
“While they do not overtly threaten me,” Tan said, “obviously, I am a prisoner.”
“I demand her immediate release,” Su-Shan told Marten.
“Under certain conditions,” Marten said, “I believe that Yakov would agree to that.”
“I cannot halt the bombardment,” Su-Shan said.
“Could you postpone it?” Marten asked.
“Possibly,” said Su-Shan, “depending on the timeframe.”
“Until the supply vessels from Athena Station reach a low-Callisto orbit,” Marten said.
“You believe the ‘vessels’ will turn into a cyborg strike,” Su-Shan said in reproof.
“Why does it matter what I believe?”
“Because it taints your good faith,” she said.
“If I’m right,” Marten said, “your postponement will have left more of the Jovian System intact. If I’m wrong, you can still send in your warships.”
“As the rebels gather reinforcements and send everyone in the Galileo Regio into the deep caverns,” Su-Shan said.
“If I’m wrong, you will have an over-powering fleet and easily be able to sweep aside whatever reinforcements the Secessionists have gathered.”
“So you’re saying it is to be total war?” Su-Shan asked.
Marten thought fast. “No,” he said. “Under those conditions, I would urge Force-Leader Yakov to surrender. And as the Mars Planetary Union Representative, I would be forced to recognize the ruling Jovian government.”
“You should recognize us immediately,” Su-Shan said. “I cannot understand why you don’t. As an accredited representative, it is your duty to recognize the lawful government.”
“Let us put that aside for the moment,” Marten said.”
“No,” Su-Shan said, “as a representative—”
“Chief Controller!” said Tan, giving her cousin a tiny shake of her head.
“Very well…” Su-Shan said. “I will agree to a temporary truce. You will give Strategist Tan a pod and she can set a course for Callisto.”
“I agreed,” said Marten. “Now, as to the details of the exchange….”
-6-
