Furlough

A Banner of the Stars story by Ken Wolfe

Some notes to Banner of the Star fans. In this story I have made as little use of Baronh words as possible. The spelling of names is generally according to that established in the English translation of the novels released by Tokyopop. Where required I also used the Bandai translation of the anime as a source. So the spelling is not according to the True Baronh established by the author. I made these decisions to improve the readability of the story. I have tried to make the continuity consistent with the novels up to the beginning of Banner of the Stars IV, though I also took some inspiration from the anime adaptation. Seikai fans will likely be aware that Morioka-sensei has released a fifth novel, the first in eight years. My first Seikai story, Evolution, made some significant deviation from the canon continuity. This story is in the same continuity as Evolution, though it is not really a sequel and does not depend upon anything that happened in that story. Nevertheless, at this point I would have to call my own Seikai stories an alternate continuity.

Banner of the Stars is copyright Hiroyuki Morioka. English translations of the novels are copyright Tokyopop. The anime adaptation is copyright Bandai. They retain all rights to Banner of the Stars and all characters therein. This story is a work of fan fiction and may not be printed or distributed for profit.

Chapter 1 – Questionable Allies

Lafiel was silent as she watched the viewer that was positioned over the wraparound window of her bridge. The radar chart of plane space showed the slaughter continuing like clockwork. The man largely responsible for said slaughter was seated uncomfortably close to her right side and slightly in front of her in the small jump-seat that had been attached to the side of her command chair. This afforded her the opportunity to observe his reaction without his being aware.

The United Mankind defector watched intently but calmly as one after another the ships of his former allies winked out of existence. He was a staff officer in the United Mankind Space Force, a Colonel they called him, by her understanding more or less the equivalent of a Kilo-commander. Rond Sulley was a large man, surprisingly bulky, with enough body fat to give him a noticeable paunch and double chin. He was also showing his age, with gray streaks in his short brown hair, mostly around the temples. A Silejian, from one of the Thousand Great Families, but not with the genetic modifications that he so desperately wants to obtain for his children. At least that is his story.

When the flurry of Abh Imperial Space Force mines pounding the United Mankind convoy eased off, Sulley did smile and nod just a little, with a sigh that seemed to be relief. He was fluent in Baronh and had shown an ability to easily interpret their chart symbols, so he understood that each time one of the symbols representing a hostile disappeared it meant that hundreds more of the people he betrayed had just died. He would also understand the meaning behind the attack being halted. The remaining ships in the convoy he had led them to had finally surrendered. His relief could have been over the end of this slaughter of his former allies, or over the thought that his story had now been further corroborated. Lafiel had no intention of asking.

"Incoming inter-bubble data packet for you, Commander" communications officer Yateshu said. The short-haired Abh woman looked over to Lafiel. "From the flagship, scrambled, eyes only."

"Thank you, forward to my wristband." The wide red bracelet at her left wrist was linked with fabric to a ring on her middle finger, the standard issue comm unit for all Space Force officers. The holographic globe embedded over her wrist came to life and Lafiel confirmed it was the expected message. "Colonel Sulley, we were able to extract the IFF code from their signals as per your instructions," Lafiel said. She tapped her wristband to forward the message and looked sternly at him. "Over to you for decoding."

"Got it," he said crisply, his eyes fixed on his own comm wristband, a simple flexible gray band that was no doubt the standard issue in his own space force. Former space force. Though he retained the comm band, he was no longer in the uniform he had reportedly been in when he surrendered to the Space Force. He was in a dark suit that she understood to be civilian formal business wear on his world. At least he had the decency to realize he was no longer entitled to wear any uniform. After just a few seconds he turned to her and nodded. "The key is still valid, for another day at least. I've decoded using my private key, over to you."

"Acknowledged," Lafiel said, already seeing the returned message on her own device. She took just a moment to confirm that it contained a decrypted IFF signature. "Yateshu, I've sent the IFF to you, please send to the flagship with a message saying I corroborate this came from Colonel Sulley's comm unit."

"Understood," Yateshu said, already tapping at her console. "Sent."

"Their picket ships are going out of our detection range," Ekuryua reported from her position at the helm. Just a few seconds later the two hostiles at the extreme range on the chart were replaced by symbols indicating they had gone out of effective detection range. They had been exactly where Sulley said they would be, and had not even tried to break through the superior force the Abh had put in place to block their return to the Silejian gate. Their surprise of both the convoy and the picket ships patrolling outside the nearby gate had been complete. Lafiel did not feel compelled to congratulate the defector on his perfect intelligence, and nobody else on the bridge felt the need to speak either. Now it was up to the Admiral to decide whether or not he thought it was the Abh who were really being betrayed.

The answer did not take long to come. The chart on the viewer was replaced by the perpetually smiling face of squadron commander Atosuryua. The appearance of the familiar face with the straight shoulder-length blue hair and almond-shaped eyes brought some comfort to Lafilel, making her feel a little less alone with this awkward circumstance. "We are a go for phase two," she said brightly. "Commander Abriel, Admiral Trife sends his regards to you and the crew of the Frikov. We will follow your lead to the gate. I join him in wishing you the best of luck."

"Acknowledged," Lafiel said. The viewer reverted to the plane space chart. "Helm, best speed to the gate."

"On our way," Ekuryua said in her usual deadpan. "Estimate fifty minutes to transition."

Lafiel looked fondly at her first officer, now a full-time occupant of the helm position. Desperate for experienced pilots, the fleet had transferred the Frikov's veteran helmsman to a new squadron, much to Lafiel's annoyance. Lafiel had intended to have her First Officer do dual duty at the helm only until she could groom one of the recruits into a pilot Lafiel could trust. It was a move that had made her crew more than a little nervous. The petite, soft-spoken, baby-faced officer had a reputation for piloting with the same reckless abandon as a particularly rambunctious kitten finishing off her first mouse. But her unorthodox piloting had saved them enough times that even the Admiral's staff officers were taking notice. Having the first officers of the little frigates also act as helmsman was now the standard practice, especially those officers who had served long with their commanders. Lafiel certainly felt better knowing the ship was in the hands of somebody who knew what she wanted almost before she gave the order... even if her execution was not always quite what Lafiel had in mind. But for the thousandth time Lafiel wished she was still commanding a ship small enough that the captain could be her own helmsman.

"We have a bit of time, Commander," Jinto said from his systems console. "Should I serve some tea?"

"Yes, please," Lafiel said. Her bridge crew would normally be a lot more relaxed now that they knew there would be little to do for a while. But the presence of the stranger whom Lafiel had only met briefly a few days ago and had introduced to the bridge crew mere hours ago hung like a shroud over them. Jinto was doing his best to restore the normal mood, politely asking Sulley what he would like. The answer surprised them. Soon both her and Lafiel were sipping tea with a slice of lemon. "I thought I was the only one in the galaxy who liked my tea this way," Sulley said pleasantly.

"Funny, I thought Lafiel was the only one," Jinto quipped. He remained standing in front of them, holding his own teacup, as always knowing without asking when Lafiel wished for his presence.

"Never could get lemon slices on a navy ship," Sulley said. "I swear lemon must be one of the ten thousand controlled substances in the United Mankind."

Lafiel wanted so much to hate this man. She well understood that in less than an hour all their lives would be in his hands. It was her duty to work effectively with him. But to do that, she was within her rights to try and get her measure of the man. At this point she judged that he had enough sense to understand that. "I doubt you left the United Mankind for the sake of lemon tea," Lafiel said evenly.

Sulley smiled in a way that suggested he understood Lafiel's intentions. "Your superiors clearly put a great deal of trust in you, I'm sure they briefed you on my situation."

"They have." Rond Sulley was the grandson of a successful businessman who had married into one of the Thousand Great Families on the independent world of Silejia. The marriage was supposed to have granted their children the right to the genetic enhancements that brought extended life and unparalleled prestige to members of the Great Families. But Silejia had soon been annexed by the United Mankind, whose ban on human genetic manipulation was immediately put into effect. "From your point of view, their annexing your home world came at the worst possible time, you certainly have every reason to hate them."

"Yet I have been serving the United Mankind Space Force all my life," Sulley said, completing the thought for her.

"I am moved to wonder when you decided they were no longer worth serving," Lafiel said rhetorically.

"Eight years ago my wife and I had decided we were nearly ready to start having children," Sulley said, a change of subject that Lafiel responded to with just a querying raise of an eyebrow. "Then the war started. That was when I made up my mind. We would not have children until Silejia became part of the Abh Empire."

"I suppose I should be gratified by your faith in the Empire's victory," Lafiel said with just enough irony to raise a challenge.

"It has been more a lack of faith in your enemies."

Lafiel noted he did not presume to refer to his former masters as our enemies. "Faith in their competence or in their honor?"

Sulley smiled sadly. "It would take more time than we have right now to describe all the basic contradictions that I have seen running through the fabric of the United Mankind. But in the end that would just be rationalization. I want my people to be free, but I want it for personal reasons."

Lafiel could sense by peripheral vision Jinto's change in body language, his concern over how that would hit home for her. It seemed Sulley even looked a bit surprised, sensing that he had touched a nerve. I too have gambled the fate of many for personal reasons. Only Jinto and she knew just how true that was. "When this is done, how many of your people do you think will be happy to hear what you have done?"

"The Thousand Great Families will be very happy. The rest will mostly be indifferent."

"I can see why they might be something less than indifferent," Lafiel said, trying not to get her back up after Sulley's unintended barb. "They will be no more free than they are now, the only difference is the reasons they cannot have what you are trying to buy for your descendants."

Sulley shrugged. "My grandfather started from nothing and built up a business that got noticed by one of the Families. He felt that he had earned the legacy his children would enjoy. But he expected them to earn it too, and so did my father. The Families offer access to the fruits of their technology for those whom they think deserve it, just as I imagine you do." His eyes shifted momentarily to Lafiel's pointed ear as if to ask you don't let just anyone have those, do you?

"Genetic enhancement is not just a right for Abh nobility, it's the law," Jinto said with a smile that suggested he thought the point was more clever than it really was.

"It's not the law on Silejia, but among the Families it might as well be," Sulley said. "It is effectively universal. My grandfather's descendants are among the very few exceptions, and only because of unfortunate timing."

"Did you tell your wife why you wanted to delay having children?" Lafiel asked.

"I told her I think the Abh will win the war. She knows nothing of my specific plans, in fact I am returning home much earlier than she would have expected." He smiled. "And under rather different circumstances than expected."

Lafiel did not know the circumstances of Sulley's defection, that was on a need to know basis. At the mission briefing she had been told just enough to make her worry that her ship and crew were being entrusted to the word of a traitor. She was now marginally more confident than she had been.

"After this operation your actions will be exposed," Jinto pointed out. "Will you need us to help ensure her safety?"

That was a remarkably practical question, Lafiel thought. Then again, Jinto certainly had enough bitter experience being resented as an Abh Empire collaborator. "You understand we have no intention of occupying the planet."

"I understand," Sulley said. He directed his answer to Jinto. "Thank you for your concern, Excellency. Our compound is very well protected. All the security forces are on a high state of alert, what with the proximity of your advance into Union territory."

Silejia was actually a fair distance from the axis of the Abh advance. The Union probably did not consider it to be under immediate threat, which was another reason they had so far achieved complete surprise. Things had happened rather quickly so Lafiel had not been briefed on the strategic context. She only knew the tactical position of enemy forces defending the system. Based on what Sulley had told them, the Union obviously considered this system to be vital. Which was why if the next phase of his plan failed, or if they were walking into a trap, they were all in deep trouble. "Our plan is dependent to some degree on the Union command behaving in a reasonable fashion," Lafiel said.

Sulley smiled. "I've had plenty of chances to see just how unreasonable they can be. But the real fanatics are mostly in the People's Guards units. In this system it's all regular forces. That is fortunate for us, it means fewer officers from the old guard with suicidal tendencies."

"Still, sometimes new converts make the worst fanatics," Jinto pointed out.

"So you have been on the receiving end of the fanatic's rage?" Sulley asked.

"You are not the first Silejian whom Jinto and I have met," Lafiel said. "At the start of the war we were caught in the Union occupation of Clasbul. A certain Lieutenant Kyte hunted us down with an intransigence that went far beyond duty and bordered on insanity."

"He was modified?" Sulley asked.

"Yes, something we found out later."

"Some members of the Thousand Families did go a bit loopy after we became part of the Union. You are quite right about one thing," Sulley said, directing his comment to Jinto. "The ones who did convert to the Union faith in genetic purity became worse fanatics than their masters. I saw instances of that myself. To me it was just so obvious that their hatred of the Abh was nothing but petty envy."

"You feel none yourself?" Lafiel asked.

"I couldn't deny it. The odd thing is the members of my family who received enhancements before the occupation feel envy towards me. I have the privileges of being on one of the Great Families but face none of the prejudices they do in the Union. It is what allowed me to achieve my position in the forces."

"When our mission is done, you will be a hero to them," Jinto said.

"One man's traitor is another's hero, I suppose," Sulley said with a lopsided grin.

"You seem rather calm for somebody about to stake his life on whether he will be regarded as a hero or a traitor," Lafiel said evenly.

Sulley chuckled. "Forgive me, I don't mean to trivialize what you suggested. I just find it odd being described as calm on a warship bridge where we are sipping tea just minutes from entering battle. In my days as an ensign, even a suggestion that we serve tea on the bridge would likely have earned me a trip to the brig. Do you always treat war as a vacation?"

"We do no such thing," Lafiel said sternly. "At the moment the only occupation of my crew is getting to the Silejian gate at best speed, something the navigation computer is quite capable of doing on its own. We have already done all the preparation we can, and other ships in our fleet are ensuring our security. When the time comes, I assure you we will be entirely focused on the mission."

Sulley smiled. "I don't doubt that at all, commander. Allow me to be a little envious, not of your genes, but of your grace under pressure."

"Being agitated will not increase our chance of victory."

"Union propaganda is forever portraying you as soulless machines. That never got much traction on Silesia, where the genetic mods we do are little different from yours. But right up to the day when I met the Abh for the first time, I have to confess a small part of me was afraid they might be right and I might be making the biggest mistake of my life."

"I am happy we have laid your fears to rest," Lafiel said without implying it was a question. If Sulley wanted to just cut his losses, his delivery of this Union convoy on a silver platter was more than enough to secure him a permanent comfortable position as a protected ward of the Empire. The fact that he was willing to follow through with the rest of the mission gave Lafiel just a bit more confidence in him.

Sulley smiled. "And I am happy I have laid to rest at least some of your concerns."

Lafiel was happy he had no pretensions of being trusted. The only thing Lafiel trusted just a bit more now was that Sulley had more incentive to work with them than to betray them. His being here on her ship was the main part of that incentive. Or so she hoped.

Remarkably, Sulley produced a hologram of his wife for them to view. Predictably this made Jinto feel compelled to produce a picture of his younger self with his foster parents on his own wristband holo. From what Lafiel could see this exchange of family pictures was an almost universal ritual among landers wherever they were from, one that she still found baffling. She remained silent during this exchange, always unsure what was expected of her. Why would a relative stranger care whether or not she thought his wife was pretty? Jinto had once described it as a kind of "bonding", so perhaps it was not without value.

"Five minutes to transition," Ekuryua announced. Jinto collected teacups and resumed his station. When Ekuryua announced the two minute mark, Lafiel set her comm to ship-wide. "This is the commander. We are proceeding with the transition through the Silejia gate. Our mission is a simple one, but as you are aware there are a number of unknowns and so the situation could change very rapidly. I am depending on each and every one of you to carry out your duties without fail. That is all." She tapped her wristband to end the broadcast. "You are ready, Colonel?"

"All ready," he said, his eyes on the display showing the rapidly approaching gate. He was alert but calm, a good sign. The last thing she needed was for him to panic. She noted the other ships approaching the gate behind her at their assigned intervals. This was where timing was going to be everything.

At the thirty second mark, Yateshu announced they were transmitting the provided IFF. Lafiel resisted the temptation to monitor Sulley's expression. If she had second thoughts about his intentions, this was hardly the time.

The Frikov made the transition through the gate. As always, the shift from being an elementary particle in two-dimension space to being an object in three-dimensional space was marked only by the shift in the contents of the overhead display. The plane space chart was replaced by a radar map of local space. Everything was where Sulley said it would be. There were two cruisers on picket duty nearby. The orbital fortress was just a thousand kilometers away. Fifty thousand kilometers further was the home planet. "Colonel, ready for your transmission," Yateshu said.

Sulley touched his wristband and brought it up close to his face. He spoke in the United Mankind battle language, which Lafiel's tiara translated for her. "This is the cruiser Owenson calling Union port authority. We have a medical emergency, three casualties. Request permission for immediate docking and ER standby, please acknowledge."

Ekuryua had already activated maximum thrusters and set them on a course for the fortress. By random chance they had come out on the opposite side of the gate from the fort, so that had required a quick change in direction. That would be raising eyebrows on the picket ships.

The delay in response was putting Lafiel on edge. When it did come, her translator seemed to be even more sluggish than usual, even though she knew that was just her impression. "This is Union control, permission granted, proceed to dock three. Please state the nature of the emergency."

"Third degree chemical burns from a coolant leak," Sulley said. "The leak has been largely contained, there is no immediate threat to the ship."

"Acknowledged," came the reply. Lafiel could not help but imagine the communications now passing between the various stations within the fortress and the patrol ships. They would be surprised by the early arrival of a ship from the expected convoy and startled by the declaration of an emergency that was rare if not unheard of. Surprise, concern, uncertainty, puzzlement, a sudden break of routine. She tried to think of how she would react. Would she be skeptical? Would she doubt the IFF signal and ask for a high-gain radar ping or optical scan of the approaching ship?

So far, nothing was shooting at them. That was a good sign.

Lafiel noted that Jinto had started the slow bleeding of coolant just before going through the gate, exactly as planned. That had been his idea. Lafiel thought it was a bit much, but everyone seemed to agree it added another distraction to prevent their being discovered... or rather to delay their inevitable discovery. She could not help twitching just a bit when the bridge speakers started spewing the United Mankind battle language again. "This is station commander Grevin to the Owenson, requesting to speak with the commander."

Lafiel watched Sulley closely. They had arranged a signal for him to give if he thought the deception had been discovered. He did not give it. "This is Colonel Sulley," he answered calmly. "The commander is in the engine room coordinating damage control at the moment. I can raise him if you would like, but we just finished getting a fire under control and the ship is still under yellow alert."

There was enough of a delay to make Lafiel nervous. "Understood, Colonel. You have the bridge?"

"Yes sir, the XO is also involved in damage control. The last report I got suggests we'll have the leak sealed before we reach the dock."

Lafiel got the impression that was not really the base commander's concern, but it was another good bit of distraction on Sulley's part. "What is the status of your convoy?" the commander asked.

"About five minutes behind us," Sulley said. That would put them about two hours behind schedule, for a long distance run like this not enough to raise suspicion, at least not much.

There was silence for a few anxious moments. Then the same voice came over the speakers again. "Owenson, please send intel comm package, acknowledge."

That was the request they had been dreading. When the first ship of a convoy arrived through a gate, standard procedure was for it to transmit a data package with any intelligence updates, general alerts and inter-system messages from their system of origin. Needless to say, the Frikov had no such data packet to send. They had been depending on their contrived emergency as an excuse for not having sent it immediately.

After an interval that was just long enough to suggest things were still chaotic on the bridge Sulley said "Please stand by." There was nothing more they could do as the distance to the fortress shrank and the enemy's suspicions grew.

An audio alarm and a flashing light next to one of the picket ships told them that the cruiser had just sent a radar ping their way. Sulley looked at Lafiel and gave a slight shake of the head. They're not buying it.

"Thirty seconds to weapons range," Ekuryua said. Lafiel had been watching the other countdown displayed on the monitor, it now ran to zero. Mere seconds later, new radar blips appeared coming out of the gate. Lafiel fumed at the bad timing. The Abh ships coming through the gate were also transmitting the enemy's IFF, but now that their suspicions had been raised that was probably not working in their favor any more. Lafiel had been hoping to be closer in by the time this happened. She quickly made her decision. "Gunomuboshu, target the bridge and primary radar dish at extreme range."

"Yes, commander," the young weapons master replied. He loaded nukes into both railguns. "Targets acquired. Firing." There was a jolt as the great electromagnetic guns catapulted the warheads to the two designated points on the curved surface of the rapidly approaching fortress. Now the cat was well and truly... how did Jinto like to put it? The cat was out of the bag.

Seconds dragged like minutes. The two warheads detonated close enough to their targets they were certain to have the intended affect. With no immediate threat expected, the Union fortress would conduct its operations from an observation bridge close to the sphere's surface. That vulnerable bridge and their primary radar array had just been lost. It would take a certain amount of time to transfer operations to their battle bridge and their distributed radar arrays. Eight years of war had honed the Union forces no less than their own, Lafiel did not expect this to buy them much time.

It didn't. The first sign was the winking out of the mutually friendly IFF signature that had been marking the base and its picket ships. Their IFF was now officially not trusted. Enemies once again. "Incoming friendlies," Ekuryua said, announcing what Lafiel had already noted. The battleships that had come through the gate had launched their own missile barrage the moment they saw the Frikov fire. The first salvo would be here in minutes. The base would be launching mines by then. Lafiel had seconds to make her most critical decision. Retreat or move in close? We're farther out than I had hoped, it's borderline. "Helm, take us in. Weapons, target nearest sortie ports."

Two more warheads streaked out and struck the fortress. This time they answered back, antiproton cannons firing at extreme range. One got a solid hit on the frigate's electromagnetic shields, shaking the little ship badly. "Shields holding, no damage," Jinto said just a little too loudly.

The gray expanse of the artificial satellite expanded to fill half the sky. Ekuryua had angled them to the starboard size of the great sphere, heading for the next port along its axis. Lafiel knew full well that at this point the closer they got and the faster they were going the better they could avoid enemy fire. That had all sounded very reasonable in a planning session, but the reality looked more insane every second.

"Firing," Gunomuboshu said. The nukes detonated barely a second after being launched. "Next one-" he was cut off as another anti-proton beam slammed into their shield. That one had definitely got through. "Next one will be too close for nukes."

"Switch to main battery. Helm, as close as you can."

"Two port laser batteries down, no casualties," Jinto said.

Ekuryua had their nose pointed straight down towards the surface of the fort rushing past them at hellish speed, the full might of the twin thrusters just barely keeping their path a curve that skimmed over the arc of its surface.

"Firing," the gunner said again. "Hit." That was something like a miracle, at this speed Lafiel had fully been expecting a miss. They had just immobilized or damaged all but one of the entrances to the fort's interior harbor, any sortie they launched would be delayed by minutes at least.

"Mines ahead," Ekuryua said.

"Slow us down," Lafiel said instantly. They had nearly come all the way around the base now and were heading back towards the Gate where the Abh fleet was emerging. That was where the enemy would be directing their mines, but the automated killers would be more than happy to choose the Frikov as a target if it got much closer to the swarm. Ekuryua skimmed the surface of the fort, losing speed as they went. "They've blown the last port open."

"Blown it?" Sure enough, a camera view showed the huge door they had been hoping to seal sailing gently away from the fort, trailing gas from the massive explosive bolts that had catapulted it. Their sortie would no doubt follow in seconds, a force one frigate had no hope of either outrunning or outfighting. "Ekuryua, take us in."

"Roger." Lafiel was proud of the fact that Sulley was the only one who gave her a shocked look. Lafiel had not shared with him the plan B she had kept as an option. She did not exactly have time to explain to him why taking the ship into the enemy's harbor was the least unsafe course. She could explain that streaking across the surface of a fort bristling with gun batteries was a gamble they would inevitably lose, or that the sky would soon be swarming with mines, or that those mines would soon be joined by enemy cruisers and assault ships unless they did something about it fast.

With the relative speed dropping to something sane, the Frikov's laser batteries struck at the enemy guns on the surface, trying to immobilize them before they could get a firing solution. Lafiel noted that Ekuryua kept the starboard batteries facing the fort, where the ship still had a full array of guns. Their success was partial. Two more near hits badly shook the shields. The latent heat absorbed into the armor plating was reaching critical. Just on time for a cruiser to sail through the open port. "Main battery!" Lafiel called. It was a shot most pilots only dreamed of, hitting a cruiser amidships at point-blank range. Their bridge crew were probably too busy with their hasty debarkation to consider they could come under fire before even fully emerging from the portal. Without being asked Ekuryua hit them with a second blast at even closer range. The sky filled with flying debris from the great gaping hole she had left in the larger ship. Seemingly satisfied with her work, Ekuryua swung them around wildly and plunged straight into the space that had been vacated by the stricken cruiser mere seconds ago. Too fast! But they had no choice, another hit from the fort's surface batteries would likely do them in. Only one way to lose speed fast enough. "Railguns, fire blind!"

"Firing!" Lafiels' consciousness registered the jolt from the railguns sending out two more nukes just a moment before it could register what it was they were shooting into. The harbor was exactly the shape and size that Sulley's schematics had indicated, a vast open space lined with docking ports of all sizes. It was somewhat more crowded than he had led them to expect, most every port cradling a transport or warship. Most of the latter were in various stages of debarking.

The nearest ones were a pair of escort ships on a collision course.

Ekuryua did not need to be told to evade them, she was doing so while bringing the ship about as fast as she could. One of the Frikov's nukes bounced harmlessly off one of the escorts, it having been too close for the warhead's proximity safety to have disengaged. By the time Ekuryua had the ship turned around and braked them within meters of a docked transport, their second nuke had detonated against the far bulkhead, showering the Frikov and all the nearby ships with more debris and gas.

"Last two!" Gunomuboshu said, Informing one and all that their last two warheads were ready to fire. "Negative, port gun down."

One left, then. Prioritize damaging the fort, pick a spot furthest towards the core. "Traverse left thirty, up forty and fire." Between Ekuryua's turing the ship and Gunomoboshu traversing the electromagnetic gun as far as it would go, they had it lined up in about three seconds. That was enough for the Frikov to take two strikes from laser batteries of nearby ships. Some of the ship captains had quickly overcome the disbelief over an enemy ship making it into the fort's interior and had given the orders to disregard every safety protocol and open fire inside the confines of their own harbor.

"Firing!"

"Behind the heavy cruiser!" Lafiel shouted. Ekuryua was already turning the ship towards the enemy ship Lafiel had in mind. It was already uncomfortably close... never mind, all of these ships were uncomfortably close, the only thing keeping the Frikov relatively unmolested was the enemy's confusion and their reluctance to endanger each other with friendly fire. The harbor was lit up by the flash of another thermonuclear explosion. It had detonated against the furthest bulkhead as planned. It was astonishing Gunomoboshu had got a clear shot with all the intervening ships in disarray. Her ship had done what damage to the fort that it could, time to just stay alive. Ekuryua brought them impossibly close to the great curved hull of the cruiser making its way to the port entrance. It shielded the Frikov from the worst of the debris field but Ekuryua could do only so much to make her ship a difficult target for the enemy's laser batteries. They were jolted by a really bad hit and the background noise of the ship's thrusters changed subtly. Lafiel's sinking feeling was confirmed when Jinto announced "Starboard thruster down."

"Get us out of here." She knew it was an impossible order, they had just lost most of their maneuverability and were now an easy target.

"He means to ram us!" Sulley cried, startling Lafiel. She had taken note of the little escort ship coming in quickly, but only now realized the defector was right. "Evasive!" she called by way of agreeing with his assessment. Brave... and maybe even the correct move, if we weren't already helpless. She already knew there was no hope of avoiding collision. She stabbed the general intercom button. "Brace for impact!" Ekuryua was trying to orient the ship to make it a glancing blow off their flank. It would not be enough. A big meaty arm came across her chest. "Wha-"

The impact was far worse than she had expected. Even with the Colonel's quick intervention she was all but thrown out of her command chair. The sound was deafening, and it seemed to go on forever, a cacophony of screaming metal that reverberated through the ship, more felt than heard.

The silence, when it came, was somehow more stunning than the impact had been. Absently she noticed that Sulley removed his arm from across her body, and she glanced at him. "Your pardon," he said rather sheepishly. His manner was apologetic, as if he had committed an act of gross discourtesy. It certainly would have been, if it were not that he had kept her from flying across the bridge. "My thanks," she muttered. Instantly her zone of consciousness expanded to take in her ship's condition. The overhead display had automatically reverted to a ship status schematic. Most areas were in the yellow, showing major structural damage. Surprisingly little was in the flashing red of lost airlock. But there was enough. There would be casualties. Both thrusters were now down, so were the shields and the main battery. Lafiel forced herself to focus on what she needed to do right now. The Frikov was in a tight spin, though not as tight as the enemy escort ship spinning away in a cloud of debris and venting gasses. They were heading straight for another collision, this time with the great cruiser Ekuryua had been running circles around. Without being asked she had already released the safeties on the maneuvering thrusters (the ones that were left) and was running them to destruction. As the curving hull of the enemy ship loomed closer, Lafiel was about to give another warning of impact, but it was too late so she just braced herself. By comparison with the last impact this one was more of a love tap. Ekuryua had timed their spin so that they more or less rolled off the great curving hull of the enemy ship.

Remarkably, nobody was shooting at them. It must have been perfectly obvious that they were helpless and no threat to anyone.

"Commander, we can block the port."

Ekuryua's delicate voice had a note of urgent query that only Lafiel would pick up. Instantly she saw the aftermath of this new collision. Both the Frikov and the cruiser it was trailing were headed for an opening that was just big enough for the enemy's largest class of warship. Lafiel set her jaw. "Do it."

This time Lafiel did send another warning to brace for impact. Fewer people alive to hear me this time... no, focus on what is in front. This time it was less an impact and more an extended, shuddering, grinding intersection of metal as two ships lodged themselves in an opening not quite wide enough for the both of them. When it came to an end, nobody spoke. Perhaps it was sheer disbelief at what they had just done. Lafiel found herself speechless more from the sheer indignity of their position. For a commander to do such a thing to her ship seemed obscene. Oddly, she found her feelings going out to the commander of the enemy cruiser that shared their ignoble state.

"Stand down from combat operations," Lafiel said, making official what was already obvious. They were in no position to defend themselves, much less threaten the enemy any further. "All crew are released to rescue operations. Let's get everyone accounted for."

"I'm getting no response from the starboard weapons station," Jinto said. "The station is intact but they are cut off by red sections."

Fire to one side and vacuum to the other, by the looks of it. Lafiel needed to send a senior officer there to coordinate rescue and damage control, that would be the worst section.

Ekuryua stood briskly from her helm station. "Please let me go."

There was a hint of desperation in her manner that made Lafiel hesitate for just a second. Lafiel recalled Adrian was assigned that station, he fairly worshiped the ground Ekuryua walked upon... did she feel she had let him down by bringing the ship into this state? The last thing she needed now was heroics borne from desperate guilt. But there was no time to analyze and nobody Lafiel would trust more with the task. She nodded. "Be careful."

Gunomoboshu also asked to go, but Lafiel sent him to engineering to assist in stabilizing the ship, something better suited to his cautious temperament. That left her with a skeleton staff on her bridge, but there was little to do besides monitor and prioritize the rescue and repair operations.

"Commander, I think we're being hailed," Yateshu said hesitantly.

"You think?"

"The hail translates as being for Owenson's Evil Twin."

"That would be us," Sulley said. "It's a mistranslation, probably they mean the cruiser Owenson's imposter."

That would certainly describe the Frikov in her current mission. "Put it through."

"The video as well?"

Lafiel raised an eyebrow. Video transmissions to the enemy in a combat zone were regarded as a security breach, but if that was what they wanted Lafiel would reciprocate. "Yes."

The overhead screen resolved into a picture of an elderly man in a United Mankind uniform. She recognized the insignia of a rear admiral. She was quite certain she recognized the voice as the one she had heard in their first communication with the fort. The translation of his words confirmed that. "I am base commander Grevin."

"Hecto-commander Abriel of the Frikov."

"Commander, we would like to coordinate efforts to extricate your ship and our cruiser from the port entrance."

"We have no intention of resisting your efforts, Admiral," Lafiel said by way of indicating she would not be assisting them either.

This took Grevin aback for a moment. Then a look of understanding passed across his face. "I see, it will be a few minutes until you have line of sight communications with your fleet."

"If you say so."

"When they are able, they will confirm that they have ceased their bombardment and that hostilities have come to a close."

"Then I shall await their confirmation."

"Commander, if I may," Sulley said in a hushed tone that begged leave to speak.

Lafiel considered for half a second, then killed the mike that would have carried their conversation to the enemy bridge. "Speak quickly."

Sulley had a rather pained, almost embarrassed expression on his face that mirrored what she had just seen on Grevin's face. "I believe he is trying to tell you that the base has surrendered to the Empire."

"Does he expect me to take his word for that?"

"No," Sulley said. He continued with a sad smile. "I think he just wants to ensure that you won't try anything else... well, eccentric."

Lafiel was very unhappy about being painted with an adjective usually reserved as a euphemism for the spectacular insanity of the Bebaus clan. But she had to concede the point. "Understood." She resumed transmission. "Admiral Grevin, you have my word that if left unprovoked we will initiate no hostilities until we are able to resume communications with our superiors."

The relief on the Admiral's face was palpable, something Lafiel frankly found baffling. They were one disabled frigate hopelessly pinned down, had he been expecting her to detonate her engine as a suicide attack? Again, thinking of their recent actions Lafiel had to concede the appearance of... very well, of eccentric action.

"We will move mobile cranes into position. They will remain on standby. Please inform us when you are ready for their assistance. We will make no attempt to relieve you of your excess baggage. Grevin out."

"Acknowledged." Lafiel signaled for Yateshu to sever the link.

"Commander, the XO has reported in," Jinto said. Lafiel had been dreading this report, and the look in Jinto's eyes confirmed her fears. "Two dead, three critical but stable. The XO is now on a general inspection of the ship."

"Who is in charge at the impact site?"

Jinto answered her real question. "Vanguard Pilot Adrian is incapacitated, his ensign is reporting."

"Thank you." Something gnawed at the back of Lafiel's mind while the mixed news played across her mind as relief against anguish. "Colonel, I am not certain I understood the Admiral's reference to excess baggage."

Sulley grinned. "That would be me, Commander."

"I see. Rest assured, you remain under my protection."

"Right now, I think being under your protection makes me the safest man in the Galaxy."

Some landers had a sense of humor that escaped Lafiel, so she was uncertain whether she was being teased. She was willing to take his statement at face value. Jinto continued to report on the state of ship and crew as Lafiel kept an eye on the activity around them. A stream of gas, debris, bodies and pieces of bodies floated out into space through the gaps between her ship and the bulkheads it was wedged between. They clearly were having trouble sealing off the leaks left by her attack. She had damaged the base even more than she imagined, no doubt contributing to their quick surrender. As promised, they were moving equipment into place but making no other move.

"We are being hailed by the squadron commander," Yateshu said, sounding very relieved.

"On screen."

Atosoryua's smiling face once again graced the viewer. "Commander Abriel, seeing you again makes me more happy than I can say."

Lafiel allowed herself a smile in return. "The feeling is mutual, Squadron Commander."

"Admiral Trife has accepted the surrender of all United Mankind forces in the Silejian system."

"So they have informed me."

"I am surprised they did not surrender to you first."

"I regret I was unable to make them see reason."

Atosoryua's slanted eyes shifted minutely, indicating she was examining a different display. "We have located your ship..." she paused. "I can see why you had them intimidated."

"I am mortified at having mistreated one of our ships in such a way."

Atosoryua's smile was all the benediction Lafiel needed. "Your crew?" she asked gently.

"Two dead."

"I am sorry. You have done well, better than we dared hope. Their base commander has requested cooperation in clearing you from their port, the harbor is no longer safe for their ships. Shall I conference him in?"

"Please do, Squadron Commander," Lafiel said with relief. She tried to convince herself it was concern for her ship's safety and not pride that motivated her. Nevertheless, she was very anxious to get the Frikov out of this undignified position as quickly as she could.

# # # #

Flyer Yateshu excused herself from the bridge, leaving Jinto alone with Lafiel. After two days of cruising back and forth through the thick pea soup of particles in Plane Space skimming the galactic core, Jinto still could not say he was weary of the routine. It certainly beat getting into boxing matches with enemy ships, though he doubted Lafiel would appreciate the joke. Her eyes were glued to the radar screen, for days now empty of all save the two other ships in the ad-hoc group that Lafiel currently commanded. Her pensive look told him exactly what she was thinking. "Did you ever get the feeling you were being watched?" he asked.

She nodded. "Since we got here I have not been able to shake that feeling."

Jinto had not anticipated quite so frank an answer, he had been expecting to have to coax it out of her. In truth they were not expecting to see the enemy. True, this was the tip of the thrust the Empire had made into Plane Space to separate the United Mankind from the Sovereign Union of Planets. But there were much larger forces on each of their flanks, guarding against either enemy attempting to reestablish the link between them. Lafiel's force was here to guard against incursions from deeper in the Galactic Core. The fact that the group consisted of the Frikov and two other hastily repaired, limping frigates showed just how unlikely command regarded attack from a region where ships would be flying blind.

But Jinto knew it was not thoughts of that enemy which kept Lafiel's eyes glued to the screen. "If the Collective knew that you are their new neighbor, perhaps they would make a courtesy call."

"I would just as soon they did not, and I am not certain a group mind would understand the concept of courtesy."

"You described them as being polite to a fault, at least to you."

Two years ago Lafiel had been a prisoner in the Vensath system where millions of slave soldiers downloaded into robot bodies using banned technology had rebelled against the Hania Federation. They were called Mimics, and they had launched an undeclared war on the Empire. With Lafiel's help, the Vensath system had been overrun by sets of of Mimics who had formed group minds called Collectives. When their coup was done, all the Mimics became part of one gestalt mind, a single vast Collective. They had promptly disengaged from battle and retreated into the Galactic Core, never to be seen again.

The official line was that the Imperial Fleet had chased them into the Core, where they would inevitably get lost, run out of fuel and wink out of existence. But Lafiel, Jinto and others who had fought the Mimics knew better, knew what had been declared a state secret. The Collective had capabilities they could barely imagine. Navigating the particle soup of the Galactic Core was probably child's play to them. They had entered the Core with a fleet that could challenge the Empire. With the uncanny productivity they had demonstrated, by now they could have a fleet many, many times more powerful, or other weapons even more unimaginable.

Lafiel shook her head. "I think their politeness was borne of indifference, not of regard for us."

They had this discussion any number of times over the past two years. Ultimately Jinto had to concede her expertise, being the only person who had lived among the Collective, if briefly. "Regardless, I will always be grateful to them for letting you come back to us."

That brought the smile he had been hoping for. "Would you like me to send out a message of thanks and see if anybody responds?"

"That would be breaking our radio silence."

"A very convenient answer."

"If pressed, I would say that I prefer to let sleeping cats lie."

"So be it then." Over the past two years, the haunted look that would creep into Lafiel's eyes at mention of the Collective had slowly faded. Jinto could still sense that she bitterly regretted helping the Collective take over the Vensath system and thereby preventing the Empire from ridding them of the Mimics once and for all. But as he had often argued, there was no such thing as once and for all. Somebody, somewhere could turn people into robot Mimics again, and they could get out of control again. Jinto often suspected that in their heart of hearts the Abh, or at any rate the ones born with the blue hair and the expectation of a vigorous life spanning two centuries or more, all shared a secret dream. They dreamed that one day all of Creation would sit under their watchful eye, an eternal land of plenty that they would keep peaceful and ordered until the last stars faded. He could not help think that in her heart Lafiel was afraid she had robbed the universe of that glorious destiny.

Early on, Jinto had learned that the universe had a way of upsetting every little enclave of comfort and order that people tried to cocoon themselves with. The first lesson had come when a ten year old boy looked into the sky to see the Abh fleet that broke his home world's century of splendid isolation. But the Empire, with all its power and majesty, was no less subject to the Fates. Seven years later it had been thrown into a war with the rest of humanity, a war that still raged on.

"I'm just happy that our orders are to run at the first sign of trouble," he quipped.

"In this case I have to agree." It was a miracle the Frikov was still space-worthy. The knuckle draggers had been slaving as never before, but they had been astonished to find no damage at all to the core engine systems. The taking of Silesia had been a great success, but it left the fleet spread even more thinly, and every able ship was like gold. It was a stretch to call the Frikov able, with only one working railgun, half her laser batteries missing and armor plating that was mostly patchwork that leaked like a sieve. Her two sister ships were in somewhat better shape, but they could all be described as walking wounded.

"We still haven't removed that jump-seat," Jinto said, pointing to the small chair that was now folded up against the side of her command chair.

"I am just happy it is not in use any more."

"You and Colonel Sulley seemed to make a good team."

Lafiel's face darkened. "I cannot deny his contribution to our mission," she said in an icy voice.

Jinto smiled. "He was also polite to a fault."

"And equally indifferent to his old and new masters."

"At least his wife was happy. Before we left Silesia she sent a letter of thanks to you and the ship's crew. It had a picture of them, would you like to see it?"

"Not particularly. But it was a nice gesture, I wish her many happy children. Hopefully she will have more influence on them than he does."

"That's harsh."

"I shudder to think what a traitor would teach his children."

"Live free or die?"

"If so, hopefully he will reflect on who has paid the price for his freedom and show proper gratitude."

"Let's hope so," Jinto said gently. The service for their two fallen comrades had been days ago, but it was still hitting Lafiel hard, as it always did. Adrian and one other crewman remained on a hospital ship. They had no replacements, so the Frikov were basically on a skeleton crew. "Is it my imagination or was Ekryua reluctant to leave Silesia."

That seemed to catch Lafiel's attention. "I also got that impression," she said thoughtfully. "She went back to the hospital ship twice, even after I had visited our wounded myself."

"One in particular, I'll wager," Jinto said.

Lafiel nodded. "Watching Adrian around her is rather like watching a worshipful kitten trailing behind its master. She pretends indifference but I'm sure she is aware. Having him work the laser batteries directly from the weapons station was her idea, she probably feels guilty about what happened."

Lafiel still doesn't get it either. "He probably owes her his life now."

"We all do, Jinto."

"True enough." There was a comfortable silence that Jinto was content not to break.

Before long, the radar interrupted the silence with an audio alarm that made Jinto jump. He relaxed a bit when he saw the signal came from the opposite direction of the Core, which was friendly space. Before long, the IFF signal appeared. "They're here early."

"Yes," Lafiel said, sounding just mildly concerned. They were not scheduled to be relieved of their picket duty for another half day.

Jinto ported the comm function to his own station. "Incoming signal. It's the squadron commander. She's requesting permission to board, and she wants to meet you and the XO."

Jinto was puzzled, and clearly Lafiel was as well. It could not be anything urgent if there were no orders to disengage from their picket duty, but the personal meeting was unusual. "Please send my regards and inform the squadron commander we will receive her in my quarters."

"Will do." Lafiel was quiet as they watched the squadron flagship approach. Jinto did not give voice to his own speculations.

# # # #

Lafiel served the drinks and sat down with Atosuryua and Ekuryua at the little table in her quarters. "Forgive my rudeness but I must get right to the point," Atosuryua said. "Properly this is a message I should have sent as soon as we were in range, but I wanted you to hear it in person from me. There are new results from the inspection of your ship. They found damage to the keel that they had missed during the field assessment. We are going to have to remove the Frikov from service."

"I inspected the X-rays along with my chief engineer," Lafiel said. "There was not a single stress fracture anywhere." Miraculously, she refrained from adding.

"And they still found none. But they did find this." Atosuryua touched her wristband and the wall screen slaved to it. It was a picture showing the keel that ran through the center of the frigate from stem to stern. Lafiel recognized it as the result of ultrasound analysis. Solid-state physics was not her field, but anyone who had been involved in ship inspections would know the meaning of the curved density lines that looped through the structure. "They are quite certain the lower density in the red areas means the layers of graphite whisker have separated. They have never seen it on this scale, but the stresses the keel had been under were highly unusual." She smiled sadly. "From what I hear they played the black box telemetry a dozen times before they would finally believe it. To make a long story short, the keel will have to be replaced."

Lafiel's heart sank. That practically meant tearing the ship apart, it would take weeks in a shipyard back in secure Imperial territory. "Has a location for the work been selected?"

"No."

Lafiel opened her mouth to respond but stopped when she realized that "no" did not mean "Not yet."

Atosuryua's look of sympathy gave the answer for her. She tapped her wristband and the schematic was replaced by an official Space Force notice. It was very long but the word "decommissioned" figured prominently in the title.

"I'm very sorry, but I had to concur that there is no choice in the matter," Atosuryua said. "The Frikov has served you well, but she has reached the end of her life."

Lafiel took a moment to calm herself and stifle the protests that welled up within her. There was no changing the laws of physics, and there was no excuse entrusting her crew to a ship that could fall apart at any moment.

Lafiel nodded. "I understand. Thank you for coming here to give us this news."

"You're welcome," Atosuryua said. Then she smiled. "But my real reason for coming here was to tell you about your new ship."

Lafiel was embarrassed by the sudden urge she had to grab Atosoryua's hands and thank her profusely. Curse Seelnay that clingy lander, I am letting her be a bad influence on me. "They have a new ship for us?" she asked in a voice that failed utterly to conceal her yearning.

"They will." Another tap and the Frikov's death sentence was replaced by a new document. It was a manifest for a new Devastator-class frigate. "That is, if you have no objection to staying in my squadron."

Lafiel beamed. "No objection at all, Commander, I am at your service."

"It is scheduled for completion ten weeks from now," Ekuryua said, her delicate high voice chiming in for the first time since they had greeted the Admiral upon her boarding. Lafiel looked more closely at the construction schedule. Sure enough, the date on the bottom was...

"That's seventy-three days from now!" Lafiel said. Damn it, calm yourself, you sound like a spoiled child.

Atosoryua laughed. Lafiel could feel her cheeks go red. The squadron commander was not chiding her, the woman's kind almond-shaped eyes exuded understanding to spare. But damn it all! "I am very grateful, squadron commander," she said quickly. "You are entrusting another ship to me after I have ruined this one. I promise I won't let you down again."

Atosoryua cocked her head. "Let me down?" She cleared the wall screen, picked up her drink and took a deep swallow. She looked intently at both officers. "Abriel Lafiel, Ekuryua Naurh, do you know what I spent a whole day doing a week ago? I spent the day in a meeting room with a lot of boring staff officers watching the thirty simulations that three different groups of the most experienced pilots at the Academy ran on your Silesia mission. Every single one ended in the loss of the ship with all hands." She looked intently at Lafiel. "It is I who have let you down. Against my better judgment I agreed to send you on a mission with too many unknown factors. I gave you an impossible mission, and for that you have my apology. You both did the impossible and for that you have my gratitude."

"I... have been fortunate in my choice of friends," Lafiel said, looking fondly at Ekuryua.

"I have recommended you for decoration, but sadly all that seems to have done is to hold off the inspectors who think you just broke every protocol and got lucky. We've been trying to tell them that the two of you have rewritten the book on how frigates are to be flown in combat but most of them still don't get it. I'm afraid a new ship is all I can offer you."

"It is more than enough," Lafiel assured her. "In the meantime, I and my crew will be happy to serve the squadron in any way, I know a lot of the ships are short of experienced crew."

Atosoryua smiled. "Actually I had something different in mind, and happily it has been approved. Your pardon, but just one more form letter." She tapped her wrist and the wall screen lit up with another official Space Force document. "Twelve weeks furlough for you and your crew, time enough for the knuckle-draggers to give your ship its shakedown cruise. Unlimited travel, anywhere you want to go. Unconditional, no early return for anything short of the barbarians knocking at the gates of Lakfakalle." She looked intently at Lafiel. "And that's an order. You've earned it."

Lafiel smiled. "Thank you, commander. I am grateful, my crew has certainly earned a break. I know there will be no ship for me to command but I would like to stay and serve the squadron in any capacity, if that is acceptable."

Atosoryua drained her drink, set it down hard and looked sternly at Lafiel. "No, that is not acceptable. I am not requesting a furlough for the crew of the Frikov, I am ordering it, and that means you too. Any protest to the contrary will be treated as insubordination and dealt with accordingly. Do I make myself clear, Hecto-Commander?"

Lafiel was quite astonished by the commander's uncharacteristic vehemence. "Yes, of course," she said quickly. "My crew will be very pleased."

"Well then you had best go tell them, hadn't you?"

# # # #

The party had been going on for nearly six hours now. Actually there were a number of parties going on at various points around the artificial lake that graced the center of the park deck on the Abh Space Force heavy transport ship. Theirs seemed to be the noisiest. No surprise, the thirty crew and officers of the Frikov were celebrating the start of their three months of freedom earned with three years on the sharp end of the Empire's war effort.

The venue, the food and the drink were all provided courtesy of the Abriel clan. It was customary for the landed gentry to provide the entertainment when it was time for the crew who served them to loosen up and enjoy themselves. The speeches had been short, few words being needed between pilots who had thumbed their noses at death together for years. They had said goodbye and shed their tears for their beloved ship days ago. Today when Lafiel had told them to forget about tomorrow for just a little while the cheers had been deafening.

The new model recreation ship had a white sand beach going all around the little lakes, the Space Force command finally having learned what landers regarded as the real purpose of a lake in a park. On a hunch, Jinto had secured volleyball nets and tetherball poles in case there was anyone else who knew what they were for. There were some, as it turned out, and after a few drinks more who wanted to join in. Even more also wanted to swim. By the time the ceiling started to dim and present a respectable simulated sunset, and the torches all around the party space were lit, most of the cavorting was being done by people in wet underwear. Jinto was no exception.

After having lost another tetherball match to chief engineer Gurinshia, Jinto staggered over to the nearest table with her. They both soon had a beer in one hand and a meat pastry in the other. "When I saw how you could swim, I should have figured I could never beat you at tetherball either," Jinto said after draining a good part of his beer.

"I grew up in a coastal town," the tall, stocky brown-haired lander said. "I misspent a good part of my youth on a beach. God I've missed it. I swear that's where I'll be right up until the M.P.s come drag me back into the transport."

"Done much boating?"

"Just windsurfing and jet-ski, anything bigger makes me seasick." She laughed. "That and the XO's flying. I know she's a genius but I went through four different anti-nausea medications before I found one that would keep me from losing my lunch every time she makes out with the ship."

They both laughed. The running joke was that the Frikov was Ekuryua's only love and they all got first-hand experience of her foreplay every time she brought them up to combat speed. By now she must have heard all the double-ententes, if she had any reaction then Jinto certainly never had heard.

"Speak of the devil-girl..." Gurinshia said. Jinto followed her gaze. Ekuryua and Adrian were talking together on the lawn. Jinto was glad to see he was up to walking with a cane now, the last time he had seen the injured Flyer he had been in crutches. "Poor boy doesn't know he's competing with a two-hundred meter-"

"Plaything?" Jinto offered quickly.

Gurinshia smirked. "If you want the cruder analogies then speak to my engineers."

"Speaking of whom, they've been trying to get your attention for a while."

She sighed. "Yes, I've been trying to ignore them but I can see it's not working any more." The engineering team were over by one of the volleyball nets, jumping and yelling for their "boss" to come join them again. "What have you done to us, Excellency? I swear they'll want to put up one of these nets in the engine room now."

"I will be happy to take the blame for saying no."

"I'll hold you to that, sir." She finished off her pastry, downed it with the rest of her beer and set down the glass. "Your pardon, but the kids just won't shut up."

"Have fun."

"'Til I puke." She ran off to be greeted by the hysterical cheering of her dear lower-decks family. Looking around he noted that Ekuryua and Adrian had been joined by Lafiel. He wandered over there. Since quite early on he had been too busy making a fool of himself around the water to talk with any of them. About halfway over he realized he would be the only one there in improvised beachwear, but it was a bit late to back out now.

"Good evening, Excellency," Adrian said as he approached. The eager-faced Abh man with short dark blue hair raised his glass in lieu of salute. Actual saluting of officers was discouraged during crew parties.

"Evening Adrian. You're looking much better."

"They say I'll be ready for duty by the time our new ship arrives."

"I hope being lame won't put a damper on your furlough. Any plans?" Jinto had asked just about everyone else. Most of the landers were going back to their home worlds and most of the Abh were going to the capital to visit friends and family.

"He's coming to Lakfakalle with me," Ekuryua said as if daring Jinto to be surprised.

He was. Lakfakalle was known as "the city of love." For Abh nobility who spent much of their lives in isolated family estates managing their holdings, visits to the capital were one of their few opportunities for meeting and courting other Abh nobility. To openly declare one was visiting the capital with an Abh of the opposite sex was all but announcing romantic intentions.

But neither Ekuryua nor Adrian were landed nobles, and long experience had honed Jinto's sensitivity to the unpredictable young woman's snares. He was not going to be trapped into saying "I'm happy for you" or any such thing, not even after this many drinks. He settled on "You can find just about anything there, Lafiel and I once even found a swimming pool." For Abh space cities, that actually was quite a rare item.

Adrian frowned. "Swimming pool? You mean, like that lake?"

Jinto had to explain the concept of a bath that was large enough and deep enough that one could not touch the bottom and had to float or move by paddling. Two of the landers were currently swimming across the lake, so he had an example to point to.

"Couldn't that be dangerous?" Adrian asked.

"It can be if you don't know how to swim. I wouldn't suggest trying it until your leg's healed."

"The pool at Lakfakalle is a military facility," Lafiel pointed out.

Jinto smiled. "I'm still working on making swimming a popular pastime in the space cities."

"I'll have to stick to spas for now," Adrian said.

"I can suggest a good one," Lafiel said. Jinto half-listened while they discussed the finer points of luxury living in the capital. He was more interested in the dynamic between Ekuryua and Adrian. He had noticed that while he held a drink she held a small tray of the choicest dainties. Every now and then she would take one and then feed him one. At one point she even took a small cloth napkin that was hanging across her wrist and wiped his lip with it. Nobody else seemed to find this unusual. True he was still practically invalid, but still...

After Lafiel described a particularly extravagant sounding restaurant meal that she recommended, Jinto wondered aloud whether that was the most expensive restaurant at the capital. "Probably," Lafiel said. "Our family estate has an agreement with the company that entitles us to some services. Oh, I guess I hadn't told you, I am lending them my estate while they are in the capital."

"That will be nice." And not unusual, he decided. Jinto had taken advantage of her family's hospitality when he was in the capital. "I don't remember eating at that place when we were on your estate."

"You had us too busy swimming. It seems to be an obsession with you Jinto, you weren't here an hour before I saw you lose your uniform and get wet."

She had left herself wide open but Jinto was not feeling brave enough to bite. "I actually haven't been doing much swimming, got caught into too many tether-ball games."

"So that's what you call it. It looked like a contest of brute strength but from what I've been seeing there does appear to be some tactical elements. Can I give it a try?"

"Um... sure, but you'll be getting sand all over your uniform."

"No I won't." To his horror Lafiel put her mostly empty glass down on the lawn and started unbuttoning her tunic. Abh tolerated the landers prancing about in their underwear but no natural-borne Abh would ever think of doing such a thing in public. He knew Abh could not get drunk so he really had no idea what was going on.

When Lafiel was done undressing, she placed her folded uniform carefully on the grass and stood up in her military-issue black one-piece swimsuit. "When you told me about your plans for the party I came prepared. Shall we go?"

"Sure," Jinto said hesitantly. I guess that means I am your opponent?

Ekuryua flashed him an unusually sunny smile. "You kids have fun."

"Thanks." He and Lafiel moved leisurely towards the beach. When they were out of earshot he said "I'm glad to see she's not ignoring him now."

"They are getting along," Lafiel said noncommittally.

"I hope this isn't just some guilt trip for Ekuryua, her manner seemed more motherly than anything."

"As long as they are both happy."

"I'm just worried."

"You're just curious."

"You're not?"

"Yes, but I have tact."

"Are you sure that you have no secret to share? Ow!" Jinto staggered and nearly fell. "That hurt!"

"That's because I kicked you, hopefully it will teach you the importance of tact."

"This will give you an unfair advantage in our game," Jinto said exaggerating his limp.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm in bare feet."

"It still hurt."

"Then it will be my beginner's handicap."

Their arrival at the beach area had already attracted attention, as Jinto knew it would. Lafiel's swimsuit was very modest, but it was certainly the most daring thing anybody except for Jinto had ever seen her wear. Some of the male landers stared as if the Mother of God had just descended from Heaven. This included the two men who had been in the middle of a game at the tetherball pole they approached. Lafiel smiled sweetly. "Gentlemen, may we impose upon you for a while?"

"Of course," they said in unison, backing away and not quite bowing. The poor fellows were in shock. The noise level went down lower than it had been since the party began, there were little more than murmurs. Jinto unwound the ball in preparation for the game.

"Commander!" Lafiel turned to where Gurinshia shouted. "I'm the only one who's beaten him, so watch yourself. Keep the ball high, jumping is his weak point!"

"My thanks," Lafiel called. She grinned at Jinto. "Pilot, prepare for battle."

It must have lasted more than an hour and was utterly merciless. By the end everyone was watching and was hoarse from cheering. After a grueling back-and-forth, Lafiel graciously conceded five out of nine. After bringing them towels and water and laying out a selection of leftovers from the tables, the crew left the combatants to their privacy in the Place of Honor that had been set up overlooking the beach area. When he was only feeling half dead Jinto finally asked "So who has been training you?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"It was Gurinshia, I'll bet anything it was her."

"She gave me some good advice, that is all."

Jinto smiled. "Your policy is always to move forward, given a choice. But I also know that you never move anywhere without laying the groundwork first. That is what's kept us alive."

Lafiel looked pensive. Jinto really hadn't intended for his statement to be weighed down with any deep meaning, to him it was just obvious. "That's right," Lafiel said softly. "That is the advice I gave Ekuryua. Even love requires groundwork." She looked at Jinto. "She regards you as her friend so she would not mind my telling you. She means to confess."

"I see." Jinto smiled. "So I was right to be happy for them."

"It is not easy for her. Taking care of things is all she knows. Being cared for, that is what she must learn to accept."

Jinto could see the groundwork that Lafiel had laid. It was a field where Adrian would enter an invalid needing care, but would transform before Ekuryua's eyes into a man she could imagine caring for her. "You understood better than I did."

"I think you understood well enough, it was just me she confided in."

"No surprise, she still regards me as a kid."

Lafiel sighed. "She confided in me because we are both women, that's just basic."

"Nevertheless, let's both support them as we can."

"That's what friends are for, Jinto."

"But I will stick to giving advice on less weighty matters."

"For instance?"

"Well, I would suggest you try one of these."

Their epic tournament had become a signal that the festivities were winding down. Many had wandered away soon afterward and others drifted off in twos and threes. Before long it was just the two of them surrounded by torches in the simulated night, which was more of a silvery twilight lit by a bright artificial star-field.

Finally she asked the question. Jinto smiled. "I haven't decided for certain, but I'm thinking of going back to Delktou.

Lafiel frowned. "I thought you had a falling out with your friend there."

"Yes, I pretty much have." She was referring to Dorin Ku, a man Jinto had met when they were both in school on Delktou and Jinto was learning Baronh in preparation for entering the Imperial Space Force academy. They had become very good friends, and Jinto had shown up years later hoping to hire him as a vassal to work in his territories. But Dorin had soured to the Abh and now regarded Jinto as a collaborator with soulless genetically neutered machines. They had parted on bad terms.

"So are there other people you know on Delktou?"

"Yes, there's a family I got to know when I was staying at their house on a language immersion plan during my summer vacations."

Lafiel took a moment to mull that over. Jinto imagined her having trouble with the term "summer vacation." To the Abh, the four seasons were used as themes for the four basic sorts of gardens they liked to make for themselves in their space cities and estates. It took some mental gymnastics to see them as units of time.

"I recall you mentioning them once or twice. They are on a small... island, are they not?"

"Yes, a tropical island, Moruweka. One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. It has a sort of enclave for Imperial citizens, so Baronh is the common language."

Lafiel raised an eyebrow. "I had thought it was just the family who spoke Baronh."

"No, on their section of the island it's pretty much everyone. It started off with Imperial citizens who retired from the forces or the merchant fleets and settled down there. They all started teaching Baronh to their children and grandchildren to get them a head start if they wanted to go work off-planet. The community just sort of grew naturally."

"So you went there for language training."

"They call it immersion. Nothing but Baronh from morning to night. I was really struggling in school so my teachers thought I would benefit."

"I see, they were your last, best hope for learning the language."

Jinto laughed. "That first summer was pretty awkward. Imagine a teenager with the vocabulary of a five-year old. But they helped me a lot, so I went back two more summers. I got to know them pretty well, and I've always had an open invitation to go visit them again."

"You've kept in touch?"

"Yes, since Delktou was liberated I was able to resume correspondence with Geith. He's about my age, so we became pretty good friends back then."

"Still, I don't imagine you can just show up."

"When our furlough was announced I sent a message to Geith. I got a letter back two days ago. I was expecting him to confirm the open invitation but he practically begged me to come and talk to him about their new business idea."

"Is that something you can talk about?"

Jinto put up his hand protectively. "Don't have expectation of anything grand, this place is very small-scale. In a way it was an idea inspired by you."

Lafiel looked puzzled. "By me?"

"I told Geith about how much you enjoyed our fishing trip on Hania, and that got him thinking. They already rent out rooms to Delktou citizens on vacation or people like me who want language immersion. Now they want to advertise their home as a place to stay for Imperial citizens who are taking a break and want to try out something different."

"What's to do there?"

"Mostly water sports. They had me sailing, wind surfing, aqualung diving, water skiing and even underwater caving. I swear I spent more waking hours off land than on."

"So are they responsible for your obsession with swimming?"

"Since then I've been swimming maybe three times, that's a rather meager obsession. But the island is interesting too. Only the coast is developed so the rest is jungle. Without satellite link you could easily get lost. There are some tall hills too, you can climb right up into the clouds if you want."

"You make it sound like a playground, how do people make a living?"

"Many of the people in the enclave are retired or semi-retired, living off investments. There's a lot of tourism related work. Geith is studying botany but his brother is already working as a park ranger and guide. His sister runs a fish farm. Their father was in the Imperial Marines, he's really got some stories to tell. He sometimes gets hired to take people on extended tramps in the jungle, I can tell you his climbing trips aren't for the faint of heart. But it's worth it when you get back and his wife has a feast waiting for you. And before you ask no they don't smother everything in cream like they do on the mainland, it's mostly seafood."

Lafiel looked reservedly thoughtful. "It could be a workable venture. It would be very much a niche market."

"Of course, strictly for the irresponsible."

"In a new service business, building a reputation is always the hardest task."

"That's one of the things he wants to talk to me about. And you."

"Me?"

"He said the open invitation extends to you. They'll have a two-bedroom suite kept open for the next three months, we're free to stay with them as long as we want. Geith says the whole family has been dying to meet you."

"Okay."

Jinto blinked. "Okay...?"

"Yes, you can tell them I would be delighted to accept their invitation. How much notice do they need?"

"Um... none, we can just show up."

"Good, then I'll leave the travel arrangements to you." Lafiel cocked her head. "You are going, aren't you?"

"Of course!"

"Then it's settled." Lafiel stood up. "I think it's time we turned in. Can I leave you to tell housekeeping the site is ready to clean up?"

"Leave it to me."

"Thanks." She smiled. "And for the game, I enjoyed it."

"I think everyone enjoyed it as much as we did."

"Good night, then."

Jinto sat and watched her go pick up her uniform and take the path to the hatchway at the edge of the park deck, now lit by lamps and torches. It was very hard to keep the smile off his face. He wanted to congratulate himself on having convinced his Princess to get her feet dirty one more time. There was only one thing bothering him.

That had been way too easy.

End Chapter 1