trying to convince himself the cloud really had a silver lining, and his brother snorted harshly.
'You never did read your Napoleon, did you, Willie?' Alexander shook his head, and White Haven grinned crookedly. 'When Napoleon built the army that conquered most of Europe, he did it by turning lieutenants, sergeants—even corporals!—into colonels and generals. His troops used to say there was a field marshal's baton in every knapsack, that anyone could rise to the heights once the old regime was out of the way. Well, the Legislaturalists are gone now. Sure, the new regime's costing itself a lot of experience by killing off the old guard, but it's also offering non-Legislaturalists their first real chance at the top. Damn it, all we need is a Peep officer corps with a genuine stake in the system and the chance to rise on merit!'
'And that doesn't even consider the other new motivating factor,' Webster threw in. William looked at him, and the admiral shrugged. 'Come back with your shield or on it,' he said. 'Anyone who disappoints the new regime will go the same way Parnell went.' An expression of genuine regret crossed his features, and he sighed. 'The man was an enemy, and I hated the system he represented, but damn it all, he deserved better than that.'
'He certainly did.' White Haven dumped himself back into his chair and reached for his own coffee cup. 'He was good, Jim. Better than I thought. I had him cold in Yeltsin. He never had a clue we were there, or in such strength, before we opened up on him, and he still managed to get almost half his fleet out of it. And then his own government shot him for 'treason!'' The earl sipped coffee, then shook his head sadly and drew a deep breath.
'All right, Willie. Jim and I understand the Duke's problems, but what, exactly, do you expect me to do? Everyone knows I support the Centrists, and not'—he managed a tired smile—'just because my baby brother's in the Cabinet. I doubt I can change too many minds you and he can't already get to.'
'Actually,' William said uncomfortably, 'I'm afraid you're going to be more central to the situation than you think.'
'Me?' White Haven said skeptically. He glanced at Webster, but his friend only shrugged his own ignorance, and they both looked back at William.
'You,' Alexander sighed, and leaned back in his chair. 'I'm not supposed to know this, but the court's been appointed for Pavel Young, Hamish.'
'And about fucking time!' Webster snorted, but something in Alexander's voice sounded warning bells deep in White Haven's brain, and his eyes sharpened. William met them levelly and nodded.
'You're on it. In fact, you're its senior member.'
'Oh, Jesus!' Webster groaned in sudden understanding. White Haven said nothing for a long moment as he gazed at his brother, and then he spoke very carefully.
'Willie, I'm willing to do a great many things for Allen Summervale, but I draw the line at this. You tell the Duke that if I'm appointed to sit on a court—even Pavel Young's—I'm going to listen to the evidence and make my decision on that basis and only that basis.'
'No one's asking you to do anything else!' William snapped. Blue eyes flashed into matching eyes of Alexander blue, and White Haven raised a hand in apology. His brother glared at him a moment longer, then sighed. 'Sorry, Hamish. Sorry. It's just that—'
He broke off and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them once more, his face was calm.
'Look, we're not trying to influence you, but the last thing any of us need—including you—is for you to get blindsided, all right?'
''Blindsided?'' White Haven repeated, and William nodded.
'I know the selection process is supposed to avoid any possibility of favoritism in the selection of a court- martials board, but this time it's boomeranged on us big time, Ham. You're on the court, all right—and so are Sonja Hemphill, Rex Jurgens, and Antoinette Lemaitre.'
White Haven winced, and Webster swallowed an oath of disbelief. Silence lingered once more until the earl broke it.
'Who're the other two?' he asked.
'Thor Simengaard and Admiral Kuzak.'
'Um.' White Haven frowned and crossed his legs while he rubbed an eyebrow. 'Theodosia Kuzak's as apolitical as they come,' he said after a moment. 'She'll look at the evidence, and only the evidence. Simengaard's more problematical, but I expect if he listens to his prejudices he'll come down against Young. Of course, I haven't seen any of the evidence yet—for that matter, I don't officially know what the charges are—but I don't think he'd care for Young on general principles.'
'Which still leaves the other three,' William pointed out, 'and North Hollow is pulling out all the stops. Unless I miss my guess, he's going to talk High Ridge into making the Conservatives' continued support for the Opposition contingent on the outcome of the trial, and that'll bring the Liberals and Progressives in on it, too. They smell blood, maybe even the chance to bring the Duke's Government down despite the Crown's support. They won't pass up the chance, and if getting his son off is the price tag—' He broke off with an eloquent shrug.
'Does he really have that much clout, Willie?' Webster put in.
'Hell, Jim! You should know that as well as I do, after so long as First Space Lord! The old bastard is the Association whip in the Lords. Worse, he knows where every political body on Manticore is buried. You think he won't exhume every one of them to save his son's neck?' Alexander's lip curled, and Webster nodded slow agreement.
'How do you expect him to come at it, Willie?' White Haven asked.
'We don't know yet. At the moment, he's demanding we drop the charges in their entirety, but he has to know that's not going to happen. Her Majesty's made her own position clear and, Opposition or not, that's going to carry weight in a lot of minds. He's got Janacek in his corner as an advisor, though, and that worries us. Janacek may be a hide-bound, reactionary old bastard, but he knows the Navy side of the street as well as North Hollow knows the political one. At the moment, I think they're just trying to stake out an initial bargaining position, but between them, they're going to come up with something more effective. You can count on that.'
'And I get to serve as president of the court. Wonderful.' White Haven unfolded his legs and slid further down in his chair.
'And you get to serve as president,' his brother confirmed. 'I don't envy you—and I'm not even going to try to suggest what you ought to do. Aside from the fact that you'd take my head off for it, no one knows enough yet to suggest anything. But this is shaping up as the nastiest fight I can remember, Ham, and it's not going to get better.'
'An understatement if I ever heard one.' White Haven studied the toes of his polished boots and brooded, then managed a sour grin. 'I suppose it's no more than my just desserts, Jim,' he said almost whimsically, and both the others looked at him in surprise.
'What do you mean?' Webster asked.
'Didn't I suggest sending Sarnow to Hancock with Harrington as his flag captain?'
'It seemed like a good idea to me, too, Hamish. And judging from the after-action reports, it was a damned good job we did send them out.'
'Agreed.' White Haven pushed himself a bit higher in his chair and frowned. 'By the way, how's Sarnow doing?'
'He looks like hell,' Webster said candidly, 'but the medics are pleased. He lost both legs right at the knee, and his internal injuries are nothing to sneeze at, but they say the quick heal's taken hold nicely. You couldn't prove it by me, but that's what they say. Of course, he's going to be on the sick list for months once they start regenerating his legs.'
'At least they can,' White Haven murmured, and Webster and his brother looked at one another in silence. The earl sat wordless for several seconds, then gave another sigh. 'All right, Willie, I'm warned. Tell the Duke I'll do my damnedest to hold down the political fallout, but if the evidence supports the charges, tell him there's no way I'm letting Young walk, either. If that makes the situation worse, I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.'
'I know that, jerk.' William smiled sadly at his older brother and reached out to squeeze his forearm in a rare physical display of affection. 'Hell, I knew that before I came up here!'
'I imagine you did,' White Haven agreed with a tiny smile. He glanced at the bulkhead chrono and pushed himself back to his feet. 'All right,' he said more briskly, 'I'm warned. And now, much though it grieves me to walk out on such august personages, I haven't seen Emily in almost four months, and it's just about dawn at White Haven. So if you'll excuse me—?'
'We'll walk you to the boat bay,' Webster said.
