The Shadow of Saganami

Something very like an audible gasp ran around the table, but he continued speaking calmly.

'So far as the drone was able to determine, all of them are either currently in yard hands or awaiting yard space. I believe they're being refitted in order to disguise their origins as much as possible. Which suggests to me, in turn, that they've been clandestinely provided to Monica. And I can think of only one reason for anyone to do that: to attack the Star Kingdom's interests in the Cluster.'

Eleanor Hope shifted in her chair, and Terekhov's blue eyes moved to her.

'You wished to make a comment, Commander?' His emphasis on her rank title was so slight it was almost imagined.

'Yes, Sir. I suppose I did,' she said after a brief hesitation.

He moved his right hand, inviting her to continue, and she looked once around the table and drew a deep breath.

'Captain Terekhov, with all due respect, I see no reason to automatically assume these ships were 'clandestinely provided' to President Tyler's navy. ONI reported months ago that the Indefatigables were being retired and replaced by the new Nevada -class ships.' She shrugged. 'We all know about Tyler's cozy relationship with Frontier Security. If the Sollies are disposing of the Indefatigables , why shouldn't they sell-or even outright give-some of them to somebody who's been their proxy for the last thirty or forty T-years? And if that's the case, or even if there is something 'clandestine' about the way Monica acquired them, it doesn't necessarily follow that they're intended to attack our interests.'

Terekhov regarded her mildly, his expression thoughtful, but Anders grimaced.

'If I may, Captain Terekhov?' he asked, and Terekhov nodded.

'Commander FitzGerald,' Warlock's CO asked, 'are you confident these battlecruisers are being actively refitted at Eroica Station?'

'Yes, Sir, I am,' FitzGerald said firmly. 'Not all of them are being refitted simultaneously, but those which aren't actively in yard hands are in parking orbits with the space station, and over half have service craft and lighters alongside. There are also two repair ships, each of which is moored alongside one of them. We have optical confirmation that the main broadside sensor arrays on at least three have been removed and are in the process of replacement.' It was his turn to shrug slightly. 'To me, all of that spells a pattern of mass refits being funneled through limited yard capacity.'

'Thank you.' Anders looked back at Terekhov, although it was evident he was actually directing his remarks to Hope. 'If those ships had been openly provided by the League Navy to Monica, they wouldn't be being refitted at Eroica Station-not unless the object was to make them less capable than they already were. They would've been refitted and brought up to standard in Solly shipyards, where all the necessary support infrastructure and personnel would be available to do the job quickly. If they're being refitted in Monica, instead, then the Monicans are deliberately accepting that their limited facilities are going to bottleneck the entire process. And, like you, Sir, I can't think of anything the Monicans could do to improve the combat power of an — Indefatigable -class battlecruiser. Which suggests they're up to something else, and I believe the suggestion that they're trying to hide, or at least confuse, the ships' origins by disguising their emissions signatures and sensor images makes sense.

'Which brings us to Commander Hope's second point, the question of just who the Monicans might intend to employ their new ships against. What Commander FitzGerald's detected is more firepower than Monica could possibly need to deal with any Verge system, or, for that matter, any dozen Verge systems! The only people I can think of in this neck of the woods that they'd need that much firepower against is us.'

'Again, with all due respect, Captain,' Hope said just a bit impatiently, 'even if you're correct about who the ships might be used against, Monica wouldn't necessarily intend to use them offensively. In fact, it would be stupid of them to even contemplate attacking us, battlecruisers or no battlecruisers. But it's entirely possible that they could be sufficiently concerned by our presence in the Cluster to feel the need for a force able to deter any designs we might have on Monica.'

'I think you're reaching, Eleanor,' Commander Hewlett said, and Hope looked at her angrily. Hewlett looked at Terekhov, and he nodded permission for her to continue.

'There's no way those battlecruisers would deter us if we really wanted Monica,' Gallant's CO said. 'A couple of pod SDs could turn all of them into scrap in a half-hour. Besides, Monica's not the kind of star nation that worries about what other people are likely to do to it; it's the kind of star nation that spends all its time trying to think of things to do to other people.'

'And just what makes you think they're foolish enough to believe they could use those ships to attack us if they believe they're too weak to deter us, Josepha?' Hope demanded.

'I think Captain Terekhov already answered that question, Eleanor,' Hewlett said in a rather pointed tone. 'If they think they can convince the League to intervene on their behalf, they can damned well use those ships to create a situation to justify asking for that intervention.'

'Or,' Hope said stubbornly, 'they could be thinking their new battlecruisers might let them stand off a Manticoran attack long enough for the League to intervene on their behalf. In which case,' she kept her eyes on Hewlett's face, but Terekhov knew who she was truly speaking to, 'actually attacking their system might be the worst thing we could do. If they're ready to invite the Sollies in to defend them, and if the Sollies have already agreed to do that, then the last thing we want to do is to go right ahead and provide them their pretext.'

'Under other circumstances, Commander Hope,' Terekhov said coolly, 'I might be inclined to accept your analysis. Unfortunately, we also know Monica's been involved, as a staging point, at the very least, in a concerted effort by an outside power to provide weapons and funds to terrorists in the Cluster. That , Commander, is indeed an offensive act. Arguably, in fact, an act of war, although the situation's somewhat clouded by the fact that the systems in which they've been aiding and abetting terrorists aren't yet actually Manticoran territory. Based on that fact, I'm disinclined to assume Frontier Security's long-term proxies are forting up in their home system because they anticipate the momentary arrival of Manticoran conquistadors.'

Hope's face reddened, and her lips thinned angrily.

'In fact,' Terekhov continued, 'I assume those ships are part of a strategy aimed at preventing the annexation of the Talbott Cluster by the Star Kingdom. I believe the Jessyk Combine's deeply involved, which, given Jessyk's relationship with Manpower, means Manpower is almost certainly the prime mover. And I need hardly remind any officer in this compartment of all the reasons Manpower would have to want to keep the Star Kingdom as far from Mesa as possible. The presence of so many Solarian-built battlecruisers may very well indicate that Frontier Security's openly backing Monica. I'd like to think even Manpower would find it difficult to come up with the cash to simply buy that many ships of that size for someone like the Monicans. Be that as it may, however, I have no doubt whatsoever that those ships are intended to be used against targets in the Cluster for the purpose of preventing the annexation from being carried to a successful conclusion.'

He paused, looking around the compartment, then continued unflinchingly.

'Because I believe that to be the case, I intend to advance to Monica. There, I will require the Monican government to cease all work upon their new battlecruisers until such time as they demonstrate to our satisfaction that those vessels pose no threat to the security of the Star Kingdom or to our friends in the region. Should they refuse, or should they employ military forces against us, I intend to attack Eroica Station and to destroy all of the battlecruisers being refitted there.'

'Sir,' Hope said, 'please tell me you're joking.'

'I am not in the habit, Commander ,' Terekhov said coldly, 'of treating the killing of other human beings as a laughing matter.'

'Sir,' Hope said almost desperately, 'what you're talking about is an act of war. An act of war carried out in time of peace against a sovereign star nation without the direction or approval of our own command authority. Sir, it could be legally construed as an act of piracy committed in the Star Kingdom's name! I can't think of a single thing we could do that would damage our interstellar credibility worse in the eyes of the Solarian public.'

'The Solarian public, unfortunately, Commander,' Terekhov said, 'is in the habit of thinking what the spinmasters who work for Frontier Security and the other Solly bureaucracies tell it to think. And there's no time for us to seek the approval of the Admiralty or the Prime Minister. These ships are being refitted now . We have no way of knowing how far advanced the refit process is, how soon some