The Service of the Sword

Alant, has gone missing. The Neue Bayern has come to Silesia to look for her.'

'Gone missing how?' Honor asked, frowning.

'Vanished while on patrol several months ago,' Grubner said. 'We assumed she had simply been destroyed, either accidentally or as the result of an attack.'

He took another sip of his wine. 'But then we began to hear reports of a raider which seemed on the surface to be Silesian, but which showed an Andermani emission spectrum underneath. Apparently, the Alant had been taken intact.'

Honor sat up a little straighter. 'Where did you hear these reports?' she asked.

Grubner smiled suddenly. 'From Manticoran Intelligence, of course,' he said. 'Our information sources in the Star Kingdom are quite extensive.'

Honor's throat went suddenly tight. 'Then you knew all along what I was doing here?'

'We knew what your people were saying,' Grubner corrected. 'But as some of your people have reacted with caution to this situation, so have some of ours. This story of a rogue Andermani could have been a disinformation campaign by Manticore, designed to goad us into a confrontation.'

He shrugged. 'When you hailed me, I thought perhaps speaking with you face to face might help clear up some of those uncertainties.'

Honor glanced at Trondheim, but his expression wasn't giving anything away either. 'And has it?'

'To some degree, yes,' Grubner said. 'Of course, I'm like you: I can't believe Manticore would be so foolish as to provoke trouble between our nations, particularly at a time when war is brewing between you and the People's Republic. But regardless of what Manticore may or may not be doing, I am now convinced that you yourself are not a collaborator in any such secret conspiracy, or at least not an informed one. I am further convinced that you wish to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion, no matter where the chips may fall.'

'The chips?' Honor asked carefully.

'Yes,' Grubner said. 'Because it could still be that this is a secret plan of your government's. A revelation like that would be highly embarrassing to your government. Are you willing to take that risk?'

Honor looked him squarely in the face. 'Yes,' she said.

'Good.' Grubner's smile turned brittle. 'Because despite Commander Trondheim's for-the-record indignation a moment ago, it could also be that the Alant has indeed gone rogue, in which case the embarrassment would be on our side. But either way, I believe it is in both of our interests that she be tracked down and dealt with as quickly as possible.'

Honor felt her heartbeat speeding up. Was he actually offering to join in a cooperative venture here? 'I agree, Sir,' she said cautiously. 'Are you suggesting . . . ?'

She hesitated, suddenly wondering if she should even ask the question. Though the Star Kingdom and Empire were officially at peace, there was a certain degree of coolness between their governments. A cooperative military venture, even one this localized, should properly require diplomats and ministers and a collection of Emperor's and Queen's officers far more senior than either she or Grubner. In fact, given all that, the question she'd been about to ask could even be taken as an implied insult of the Empire's chain of command—

'That we work together?' Grubner suggested into the hiatus. 'Yes, that's exactly what I am suggesting.'

Honor tried to keep her reaction out of her face. From Grubner's dryly amused expression, she obviously hadn't succeeded. 'You seem shocked,' he said.

'Yes, Sir, a little,' Honor admitted. 'Not that I'm unwilling,' she hastened to add. 'I'm just . . . surprised . . . that you would trust me that far.'

'With anyone else, I'm not sure I would,' Grubner admitted in turn. 'I certainly have my fair share of distrust toward Manticore. But.'

He leveled a finger at her. 'That distrust is based on my suspicion of the Star Kingdom's motives regarding Silesia. The Confederation has a potential to create huge wealth for whichever of us wins out in the region. I'm sure you'll agree that love of money can quickly taint the purest motives.'

'Indeed,' Honor said. 'At the same time, I'm not sure I would agree with your tacit assumption that I'm above such motives.'

'Perhaps no human being is, entirely,' Trondheim said. 'But with you, we at least have evidence that such motivations are low on your list.'

Honor frowned. 'What evidence?'

'The fact that at Basilisk Station you refused to back down from your duty even in the face of pressure from Klaus Hauptman himself,' Grubner said. 'That speaks to me of an officer who is motivated by duty and what she perceives to be best for her nation and her service.'

He regarded her thoughtfully. 'I believe I can justify trusting such an officer. Certainly for a task of this sort.'

'Thank you, Captain,' Honor said, inclining her head to him as she ruminated briefly on the odd twists the universe could take. At the time she'd stood up to Hauptman she would have sworn nothing good could possibly come of it. 'How do you propose we proceed?'

Grubner smiled as he leaned back in his chair. 'No, no, Captain,' he admonished gently. 'This meeting was your idea; and somehow I doubt you came here without a plan already in mind. Please; enlighten us.'

'Yes, Sir,' Honor said, trying to organize her thoughts. She had indeed had some ideas swirling vaguely through her mind, but her main purpose in coming to the Neue Bayern had been to see if they could exchange information about the rogue ship. She hadn't in her wildest dreams expected Grubner to offer what boiled down to a temporary alliance between the Empire and the Star Kingdom, even such a private one. 'Up to now, this raider seems to have been concentrating its attention on Manticoran shipping. It would seem reasonable, therefore, that if we're to catch him, I'm the one who needs to provide the bait.'

'Reasonable,' Grubner agreed. 'And that trick you used of making yourself appear to be a civilian ship should certainly help lure him in.'

'Still, Silesia is a large place,' Trondheim pointed out, 'with a considerable number of Manticoran convoys traveling its starlanes. How do you propose we attract his attention?'

'The best way would be to find a convoy that looks particularly appealing to him,' Honor said. 'I have a couple of ideas on how to do that.'

She looked at Grubner. 'But Commander Trondheim has a point. This may take some time; and in the meantime you won't be covering as much ground as you would if you searched on your own.'

Grubner waved a hand. 'We spent three weeks floating through Zoraster space with nothing to show for it before you arrived,' he pointed out. 'I doubt it will be any less efficient for us to shadow an actual convoy on its way.'

'Though I trust you don't intend a literal shadowing,' Trondheim cautioned. 'I doubt we can crank back our impellers and emissions far enough to pass as a Manticoran merchantman.'

'Certainly not long enough to entice an attacker into a no-escape situation,' Grubner agreed, lifting an eyebrow at Honor. 'Have you thoughts on that subject, Captain Harrington?'

'I agree that simply following us won't work,' Honor said. 'I do have another idea; but it'll require a certain amount of fancy maneuvering on your part.'

Grubner smiled broadly. 'A word of advice, Captain Harrington,' he said. 'Never issue a challenge like that to an IAN officer unless you are serious.'

Setting his wineglass back on the table, he leaned forward expectantly. 'Let's hear your plan.'

Venizelos and Wallace were waiting for her when she swung out of the tube into Fearless's boat bay. 'Welcome back, Captain,' Venizelos said, his casual voice unable to completely hide his relief that she was back safe and sound. 'How was your dinner?'

'Excellent,' she told him, studying Wallace out of the corner of her eye. From the slight tightness of his lips, she decided, he was still miffed at having been left behind. 'Though I get the feeling they go out of their way to impress visiting non-Andermani just on general principles.'

'And your meeting, Ma'am?' Wallace asked, with just a hint of that same tightness in his tone.