…Minister of State Shirlen dismissed as sheer fabrication reports that two ambassadors had defected and that more than thirty diplomatic personnel had sought asylum in other systems…
When he had finished the message, Van collapsed the holo projection. He sat there, thinking.
Then he began a series of searches. Had there been any comment from the Argenti government? The Coalition? The Hyndjis?
The best he could find was a statement from the Coalition Assembly’s minority leader.
“We are deeply concerned that, in an effort to deal with internal instability, the interim government of the Republic may have resorted to the use of more force than necessary. We would hope that such will not continue…
That was it.
More than five million casualties…almost all of them black Tarans. Mediacasters who tried to reveal what was happening. The Keltyr fleet massacred to the last officer and tech. Was it just the Republic government?
Almost no one was saying anything. Why? Because the Coalition and the Argenti were unwilling to get involved in another war so quickly? Because it didn’t affect them and wouldn’t for years?
And how had it happened so quickly? Except had it? Hadn’t the signs been there all along? Ashley had certainly called them to Van’s attention. And now…Ashley was dead, and probably Arturo as well.
Van shook his head.
Was it just the RSF takeover? How could it be? The government hadn’t put lasers to the heads of groundcar drivers and told them to avoid blacks. It hadn’t demanded that street gangs terrorize foreigners on the streets of New Oisin. And there weren’t protests from anywhere outside Sulyn or the minority community—except for a handful of mediacasters and outsiders.
What could IIS do?
Another series of assassinations? That wouldn’t work—not when it was clear that the officers underneath the marshals believed the same way. Not when most civic-minded citizens agreed with the prime minister. Besides, Trystin had tried that—and regretted it for centuries.
Van looked out the window for a long time.
Then, he pulsed Joe Sasaki. Do you have a moment?
I’ll be right there, ser.
Sasaki walked into the office and stopped. He looked at Van.
Van looked back. “I’m going out to Aerolis this afternoon. I want to talk to Mason Jynko about the possibilities for another ship.”
“Laren said that the financials are better than we had thought, but starting construction now…”
Van forced a grin. “I didn’t say I was going to authorize starting another ship, Joe. I understand the numbers. But I need to see if I can get some more flexibility from Aerolis. I also want to see if some modifications can be made to the Joyau, things I’ve thought about over the past year and kept putting off.”
“You don’t have to go out there…”
“It’s better in person.” Van laughed. “That’s what I do best. You and Laren are the analysts. I can’t do that much here.”
“You provide the fire and the leadership.”
“I provide it best, I suspect, in small quantities of personal presence here, and by example traveling in obscure systems.”
“You aren’t doing yourself justice…”
“I’m doing you all justice. Trystin didn’t spend much time here, and that was for years on end, and matters continued just fine.” Van smiled again. “You can always reach me at Aerolis, and I can be back in a matter of hours.”
“Ah…yes, ser.”
“If there’s anything that absolutely needs my presence or approval, you’ve got until fifteen hundred.”
“Yes, ser.”
Van felt simultaneously worried and relieved as Joe left the office.
Chapter 94
On sevenday, Van stood in a maintenance shipsuit in the conditioned and full-gee warehouse room within the asteroid headquarters of Aerolis. Somewhere above him was the locking tower that held the Joyau. Before him were ten sealed containers, set in racks in a row.
“You sure you don’t want any technical help with that equipment there?” Mason Jynko asked.
“If I do,” Van said with a smile, “I think I can find you.”
Jynko laughed. “Sound just like Trystin, you do.” He cleared his throat. “About the design of the new ship. That’s going to cost a good twenty percent more than the Joyau did. Could be more, if we’re not going to start for another nine months. Have to check out the specs for certain.”
“Let me know. You know where I’ll be.”
With a nod, Jynko turned and left.
Van walked over to the line of containers. There were no external labels on the gray sides, except a single numeral on each. The numbers ran from one to ten, predictably. Van studied the first container, then noted the almost flat pouch below the numeral “1.”
He eased back the opening strip to find a sheet of permabond—addressed to him. Although he nodded to himself, he could still feel the shock of finding the message.
After a moment he smoothed out the sheet and began to read.
Van—
If you are reading this, one way or another, I’m not around.
The boxes contain a complete duplicate of the various components of the sun-flare device that I attempted to employ against Jerush. Obviously, if I’m not here, something went wrong, and you’ll need to be exceedingly careful.
Please make certain that, if you are thinking about using this device, there are no other alternatives.
Just think about whether there are any alternatives. The perfunctory nature of the caution told Van a great deal, including the fact that Trystin himself had come to feel that at times there were no viable alternatives. At the thought of “viable alternatives,” Van smiled ironically.
Under the pouch in which you found this is a concealed cardreader. It is designed to accept your IIS card and no other, and will read the card against your biometrics. If any other card is used, and if the biometrics do not match, the contents of the first case will melt down. Without them, the other cases are effectively junk.
“More suspicious than he ever let on,” Van murmured to himself.
Still, Van found it interesting that Trystin was only willing to turn the duplicate device over to Van, and
