War Of Honor

them as bargaining chips. Assuming the Star Kingdom had shown any desire to bargain.

It was the other eighteen star systems under Manticoran occupation that created the stumbling block. Each of them, for its own reasons, was of special importance to the Republic. In most cases, those reasons were economic or industrial, but some of them were critically placed for military bases which would either protect the heartland of the Republic . . . or provide a highway for its invasion. And most, though not all of them, had been member systems of the PRH long enough to think of themselves as Havenite territory, whether they were entirely delighted by the prospect or not.

The biggest problem was that at least three of them—Tahlman, Runciman, and Franconia—did not so regard themselves and had no desire to return to Havenite control. Two or three more were probably wavering, but the majority appeared to prefer the notion of being restored to the reformed Republic to ongoing occupation. In fact, a half dozen of them were obviously eager to rejoin the rest of the Republic before they missed out on the opportunities presented by the political and economic renaissance it was currently enjoying.

Those were the star systems Pritchart was unwilling to supinely yield to the Star Kingdom. She recognized that Tahlman, Runciman, and Franconia were going to require special handling, and it was entirely possible that in the end she would have to reluctantly allow them to go their own way. If it all possible, she preferred to do that by seeing them as independent single-system star nations in their own right rather than as additional Manticoran bastions so deep in Republican territory, but if she absolutely had to, she would agree to their voluntary annexation by the Star Kingdom. The return of the others to Republican sovereignty, however, was not negotiable.

A point Elaine Descroix and Baron High Ridge seemed determined to ignore.

'If they aren't listening to what we say,' Pritchart told her Secretary of State, 'then it's up to us to find a way to . . . get their attention.'

'That's precisely what I've been saying for some time now,' Giancola observed mildly, while inside he savored the delicious pleasure of watching her move in the direction of his piping.

'At the same time, Madame President,' he continued in a more somber tone, 'I think we might want to exercise a little caution in precisely how we go about 'getting their attention.' '

'I thought you were in favor of finding ways to turn the screws on them,' she said, eyes narrowed, and he shrugged. That was before it became your policy, he thought. And truth to tell, he was still perfectly willing to do just that, as long as it could be done on his own terms.

'In many ways, I still am in favor of being as firm as possible,' he said aloud, choosing his words carefully while he wondered if Eloise Pritchart had ever heard of an ancient, obscure Old Earth folktale which had always been one of his own favorites as a child.

'However,' he continued, 'I believe our most recent offer was just about as explicit as it could possibly have been. Both in terms of what we were willing to concede, and in terms of what we clearly were not willing to concede. And in the clear implication that our patience isn't unlimited.' He shrugged. 'Speaking as the Republic's Secretary of State, I would be most hesitant to become even more openly confrontational.'

Please, he thought, managing somehow not to smile. Oh, please, don't throw me in that briar patch!

'Firmness,' Pritchart said, 'isn't necessarily the same thing as being 'confrontational.' '

'I didn't mean to imply that it is,' he lied. 'I'm simply saying that I don't see any way to make our position clearer without explicitly telling the Manties we're prepared to resort to military action if our demands aren't met.'

'I don't think we're so far along that our only options are to accept something like Descroix's meaningless response or go to war, Arnold,' Pritchart said frostily, her eyes hard. It was interesting, she thought mordantly, the way that Giancola the firebrand had suddenly cooled off when the polls showed she was the one garnering public support for 'standing up' to the Star Kingdom.

'I'm sorry if you think that was what I was saying,' he replied, his expression a carefully crafted blend of frustration and mild disappointment even as a voice deep down inside was exulting Gotcha! 'All I'm saying is that we've already made our feelings and our position amply clear. Obviously, the Manties haven't been impressed by that, however. So it seems to me that if we intend to continue to press them for concessions in the negotiations, we have to find some way other than still more diplomatic exchanges to increase the pressure on them. I probably overstated my position by mentioning military action, but let's be honest. What means do we have for exerting more pressure besides the potential threat of a resumption of hostilities?'

'I think we've already made them fully aware of that threat's potential,' Pritchart said. 'I see no reason to escalate tensions by waving the Navy in their direction even more explicitly. But I do intend to continue to press them on the diplomatic front. Do you have a problem with that?'

'Of course not,' he said in a voice which implied exactly the opposite. 'Even if I did, you're the President. However, if you—I mean, we—intend to maintain the diplomatic pressure, I believe we have to pursue all other avenues, as well. Which is why I would like to very strongly urge once again that we announce the existence of our CLACs, as well as the SD(P)s.'

'Absolutely not,' Pritchart said, then grimaced mentally. Her refusal had come out rather more forcefully than she'd intended. Partly, she suspected, that was because she was trapped between Thomas Theisman's position and Giancola's and resented it. The fact that Theisman was a friend while Giancola was something else entirely only made her resentment worse.

And, she reminded herself yet again, another part of it stemmed from her growing tendency to see anything Giancola suggested as a bad idea simply because it had come from him.

'No,' she said in a calmer tone, and shook her head. 'I'm not prepared to override Tom Theisman on that —not yet. But I do intend to reply to Descroix in no uncertain terms.'

'It's your decision to make,' Giancola conceded unhappily. Really, he reflected behind the cover of his frown, this was turning out to be even easier than he'd expected. It was like the old fables about 'leading' a pig by tying a string to its hind leg and pulling in the opposite direction from the way you wanted it to go. The last thing he wanted at this point was for someone in the Star Kingdom to wake up too soon to the reality of the military threat it faced, and telling it about the CLACs was likely to accomplish just that.

'Yes,' Pritchart told him, looking him straight in the eye, 'it is my decision, isn't it?'

* * *

'The President is on the com, Sir.'

Thomas Theisman looked up from the holo map floating above the conference table at Captain Borderwijk's announcement. His senior aide tapped her earbug lightly, indicating how she had received the information, and he managed not to frown. It wasn't easy. Normally, he was delighted to talk to Eloise Pritchart. Unfortunately, he knew who she'd been scheduled to meet with this afternoon.

'Thank you, Alenka,' he said, instead, then glanced at the planners gathered around the map with him. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I'll leave you and Admiral Trenis to continue your discussions with Admiral Marquette. Arnaud,' he turned to the Chief of Staff, 'I'll go over your conclusions with you this evening.'

'Yes, Sir,' Marquette replied, and Theisman nodded to his subordinates, then turned and headed down the hall to his own office. Borderwijk followed him as far as the outer office, then peeled off to her own desk. His personal yeoman started to stand, but he waved the woman back into her chair and sailed on into his sanctum sanctorum. The attention light was blinking on his com terminal, and he drew a deep breath, then sat down in front of it and pressed the acceptance key.

'Hello, Eloise,' he said when Pritchart appeared on the display. 'Sorry it took me so long to take your call. I was down the hall with Marquette and the joint planning staff.'

'Don't apologize,' she told him. 'After the conversation I've just endured waiting a few extra minutes is a small price to pay for the pleasure of talking to someone I want to talk to.'

'That bad, was it?' he asked sympathetically.

'Worse,' she assured him. 'Much worse.' Then she sighed. 'But if I'm going to be honest, Tom, I suppose I have to admit part of it was how much I hate hearing Arnold say anything I might find myself forced to agree with.'

'I don't see why that should bother you,' Theisman said with a snort. 'I haven't agreed with anything the