“I understand the situation, Ambassador, the danger we all face from the Hegemony. If we are…if I am…successful, I will immediately commit all of our forces to the Grand Alliance. Can you afford to walk away from that possibility, to return home empty handed after such a long stay on Montmirail?”

  Kerevsky held back a sigh. Ciara was right, of course, and as frustrating as it was, and as dangerous, he knew he had to pursue any way at all to bring Union reinforcements into the war.

  Even if it meant participating—in the most discreet manner possible—in a coup attempt.

  “Cheer up, Alexander…help me in what I have to do, and I will help you. And, maybe we will even upgrade our cover story, add some realism, perhaps even give the AI a night off and do a live show for the agents listening on the other end.”

  Kerevsky wasn’t terribly surprised at the seduction effort added as an incentive. Ciara was already deep into her plans, far too deep to stop. And the stakes were life and death. He knew she would do whatever she had to do to ensure success, and he was equally certain she’d caught him sneaking a glance at her more than once. She was very attractive, and just the type he liked, but Kerevsky was too old and experienced an agent to be led by such desires in any direction he didn’t want to go.

  It just so happened, he needed her coup to succeed, almost as much as she did, even if he needed to stay coy and do all he could to make the Confederation appear uninvolved.

  If that work turned out to have its pleasant side to it, well, once in a while, things turned out better than expected.

  * * *

  “I had hoped you would use your considerable…talents…to good purpose in dealing with our friend, the ambassador, but I must say, Minister, I am disappointed at the progress you have made. The information you have extracted has, to date, been mostly useless.”

  Ciara sat on the other side of Villieneuve’s desk, struggling with all her self-control to remain calm. Dealing with the Union’s psychotic and paranoid First Citizen was nerve-wracking under the best of circumstances, but she was sitting there, deep into planning a desperately dangerous coup, trying to defend the mostly-fictional portfolio of intelligence she had provided as the supposed gains from her “affair” with the Confederation diplomat. All in the presence of a man, brutal at best, and now possibly insane. A man who could call for guards at any instant and order them to kill her on the spot

  It wasn’t a recipe for calm.

  But Ciara was a pro, and in her own way, she was no less brutal than Villieneuve. She was no fired up rebel, no wild partisan shouting out about equality for the people, at least until a taste of power brought the inevitable corruption. She craved Villieneuve’s position, lusted after the power that came with it, certainly, but she would never have taken the risks she had, that she was still taking, just for that.

  Not if she hadn’t been convinced of the deadly danger of the Hegemony.

  “Alexander has a history as an agent as well as a diplomat, First Citizen. He has proven to be a difficult target, though I believe some of what I have discovered has been useful. Perhaps more importantly, I believe I have eroded his defenses. Given a little more time, I am sure I can deliver more detailed information on the status of the Confederation forces and their war plans.”

  Villieneuve frowned, and for an instant, Ciara’s insides tightened. She was sure, for two seconds, perhaps three, that he was going to shout out for the guards. But then he just nodded and said, “See to it that we are talking about a very little time.” He paused for a moment, staring at her. Then he added, “Perhaps you need to up your game, Sandrine. Someone with your talents and abilities should be able to turn some Confed ambassador into our slave, regardless of whether or not he was an agent once long ago.”

  She sat, holding back any reaction. Villieneuve was baiting her, testing her with his insult. She’d always been unemotional in her bearing, and she couldn’t show anything else just then, no matter how scared—or angry—she was.

  “I will see to it, First Citizen, whatever it takes. Give me another two months.”

  “Two weeks, Minister Ciara. We have wasted enough time already. If there is an opportunity to move against the Confeds, we must see it done while they are still heavily engaged against the Hegemony. That does not allow us the luxury of wasting time.”

  It was hard to keep the reaction from her face this time. Gaston Villieneuve seemed entirely oblivious to what the Hegemony invasion meant for the entire Rim, the Union included. He saw the mysterious power as simply a distraction, a means to an end to take his vengeance on the Confederation. Ciara feared the invaders, nearly as much as she did Villieneuve.

  She didn’t react, however, didn’t let any of her stress or fear escape. She had to stay on point. She needed more than two weeks, and she had to convince Villieneuve to give it to her. “One month.” Her eyes darted to his, trying to gauge his reaction. She needed at least four weeks to complete her plans.

  Villieneuve sat silent, stern, looking for all the world as though he wasn’t going to budge from two weeks. But then he said, “Three weeks.”

  Ciara felt relief and tension, somehow intermixed. Three weeks would be tight, perhaps too tight. But she knew she couldn’t push Villieneuve much farther. Perhaps not any farther.

  “Thank you, First Citizen. I will see it done in three weeks.”

  You will see it done, or you will end up dead in your office. That was one thing she’d promised herself. If thinks went bad, she would swallow the poison capsule she carried before Villieneuve’s people came for her.

  She feared death as much as anyone, but the thought of ending up in a Sector Nine cell on the receiving end of whatever nightmares Villieneuve would concoct in answer to her treachery went beyond simple terror. She would take her own life before things came to that

  Chapter Four

  CFS Dauntless

  Orbiting Megara

  Olyus III

  Year 321 AC

  “Andi, how are you? I didn’t expect to see you here.” Gary Holsten stepped up, and he hugged her. “I thought you’d be busy back on Craydon keeping the industrialists in line.”

  Andi smiled. She knew Holsten meant well. They all meant well. But she was done putting up with it. She’d made the desperate, secret run to Megara, gotten the message to Bryan Rogan that had made the victory possible, and then she’d managed to bring most of her people back out. She’d been rewarded, of course, given medals and congratulations, and a lot of other stuff that didn’t mean a damn thing to her.

  She’d gotten Tyler Barron’s sincere thanks and admiration as well, and that did mean something to her. But then he did what he always tried to do. He sent her back to Craydon to scare the hell out of the industrial princes who ran the place, a job of no small importance, perhaps, but one also glaringly obvious in its true intent.

  To keep her safe.

  She couldn’t hate Barron for loving her and wanting to protect her, she couldn’t even resent him for it. But she damned well could tell him what he could do with it. She’d humored his efforts before, worried that she might distract him from focusing on the battles he had to fight, and put him in greater danger. But the Second Battle of Megara had made it clear to her, that the Confederation—hell, the entire damned Rim—needed every bit of help it could get.

  She also realized, if she’d remained back on Craydon a year earlier, as Barron had wanted, if she hadn’t taken Hermes to Megara and gotten word to Bryan Rogan, the attack would probably have failed. Barron and a lot of other spacers would likely be dead. That was something she would never allow, not while she could do anything to prevent it.

  “I was just chatting with Atara, Gary.” Andi gestured toward Dauntless’s commander…though Atara now wore a pair of long-deserved admiral’s stars. Even with the promotion, she’d turned down command of a task force to remain on Dauntless, and serve a dual role as the ship’s commander and Tyler Barron’s chief of staff. With Barron’s official appointment as supreme commander, he rated another flag officer as his top aide anyway, and he and Atara had served so long together, they were almost like right and left hands.

  “Mr. Holsten.” Travis nodded, and then she glanced back at Andi. The two had been close friends for years now, the two women closest to Tyler Barron. Travis had been there first, and in every way that mattered, she’d long been the sister Tyler never had. Andi had been something…different…and the fiery nature of her relationship with Barron had done nothing to convince anyone they knew that they didn’t belong together.

  “Admiral Travis…and I must say, your promotion was far too late in coming.”

  Travis smiled. “That is very kind.” A pause. “Well, I have quite a pile of work waiting for me, so I think I’ll take my leave. Andi.” She nodded toward her friend. “Mr. Holsten.” Another nod. Then she turned and slipped out through the door, leaving Andi and Holsten alone.

  “So…when did you arrive?”

  “Pegasus docked about an hour ago.”

  “Did you come to see Tyler?”

  “No…well, not primarily, though I am anxious to spend at least a little time with him.” She looked right at Holsten. “I actually came to see you.”

  She could see the surprise in Holsten’s expression. She found it satisfying. It wasn’t easy to take the Confederation’s top spy unawares.

  “Me? I’m flattered, but what can I possibly do for you?”

  “It’s what I can do for you, Gary. Or, more accurately, for all of us, for the war effort.”

  “I’m intrigued. Please go on.” She knew what he really meant was, ‘I’m concerned about what you’ve got in mind, and after what happened last time you ran intel for me, I want to get you back to Craydon as quickly as possible,’ but she decided to simply ignore that interpretation.

  “I know you’re starved for intelligence from Dannith.”

  “We do have assets in place there, but you’re correct. They have been unable to get any detailed information, or at least they haven’t managed to transmit it back to us. But I’m working on that problem.”

  “Let me work on it for you.”

  Holsten was silent for a few seconds. “What do you mean?” She was sure he knew just what she meant.

  “I mean let me go to Dannith, and take over intelligence operations there.”

  Holsten looked as though he’d been hit with a bat. “Andi, that’s impossible.”

  “I’m not sure, but I think you may need to look up the definition of that word. You just said, you were working on it. That means sending operatives, does it not? Which doesn’t seem to be functionally any different than me going.”

  “Well…yes, but…”

  “I know you’re Tyler’s friend, and I know he won’t want me to go, but this isn’t his decision, Gary.”

  “He is the fleet admiral now, Andi.”

  “If that’s the problem, I’ll give back this commission you guys gave me. It’s not like I’m in this for the navy pension.” Her fingers moved over the small circles on her collar. “You think I ever thought I’d be a naval officer, even a sort of honorary one?” She smiled. “There was a time, I’d have shot you where you stand if you’d even suggested it. I ran from my share of naval patrols back in the day, after all, probably a first for Confederation navy captains.”

  “It’s not the commission, Andi. It’s…”

  “It’s what? Pegasus isn’t a navy ship. She’s mine, lock, stock, and barrel, from bow to stern, and I can take her wherever I want.” She stared right at him. “Let me put this another way. I’m going to Dannith, and my crew is coming with me. We know that planet better than your entire intelligence agency combined, I’d wager, and that means every shady character, every two-bit gangster who’s probably laying low under the Hegemony occupation. If anybody can get the intelligence you need, it’s the crew of Pegasus.”

  Holsten was clearly troubled. “Andi, what you’re talking about is dangerous. Even borderline suicidal. You can’t possibly…”

  “I’m going, Gary. The only question is, are you going to hook me up with the people you’ve got there, and whatever pipelines you have for getting data out, or are my people and I on our own?” A pause. “And, I don’t do suicide missions. I’ll be back…count on it.”

  “Andi…” She could hear the tension in his voice, as his response petered out to silence. Part of it, much of it, no doubt, was loyalty to Barron and concern for how he would react. But there was something else. The last time Gary Holsten had lured her to Dannith, she’d barely escaped, and only after she’d been tortured and interrogated by Sector Nine. She’d almost been broken, permanently, and she’d barely made it back from the dark place she’d been after her escape. She knew letting her go back as part of his intelligence operation would be hard on him, that it would pour gas on the fire of old guilt and regret. It would be as difficult for Holsten, she suspected, in a way at least, as it would be for Tyler.

  She just didn’t care. She didn’t wish either of the two men pain, but Andromeda Lafarge wasn’t the kind to sit in the back when people she loved were fighting for their lives. Even if helping them meant telling them to shove it when they tried to stop her.

  “Gary, we’re all fighting for our lives. Let’s just accept that, and agree we’ll all do what we can, what we have to do. With some luck, we’ll all survive to reminisce about it someday.” The idea of sitting around a table, talking about the old days and wild escapes they’d all made, was immensely appealing to her, but she didn’t really believe it would happen. If she was certain of one thing, it was that not all of them were going to make it. She’d lost close comrades before, and she knew she would lose more. But no more friends of hers would die because she hadn’t done something she might have done to help bring the struggle to an end.

  “You have to talk to Tyler about this, Andi.” A pause, then, before she could speak up again, he added, “Whether you’re going to listen to him or not. He deserves that, Andi…and you do, too. You’ll both be in terrible danger before this is all over. What if you didn’t see him, and…”

  Andi felt as though a hammer had slammed into her resolve, and she found herself struggling to hold back a wave of tears. She stood, silent for a moment, regaining control of herself, through pure, iron will more than anything else. She didn’t want to die, not when she finally had so much in her life…but the thought of watching Tyler killed was even worse. She’d lived a difficult life, first consumed by deprivation and then by constant danger. But she’d never faced a more dire situation than they all did just then.

  “I will see him, Gary.” She had considered just slipping away, but she’d realized she could never go through with that. She had to see Tyler, because he deserved to know, because she missed him, because she loved him.

  And because she knew it might be the last time.

  * * *

  Tyler Barron lay in his bunk on Dauntless, his eyes wide open, looking at the stark whiteness of the ceiling. He’d been happy moments before, at least as happy as he’d been since the long nightmare with the Hegemony had begun. Andi had surprised him. She’d been waiting in his quarters when he shuttled back up to Dauntless, and they’d spent a few hours alone together. As though the universe had decided he deserved a short break, no one had needed him, no new crises had struck. The comm had not even buzzed once. They’d had perhaps half the night, just to themselves. It was little enough, but it had given him joy, the first in as long as he could easily remember.

  And then Andi’s words took it all away.

  He understood her, better than she thought he did, better than anyone else did. He knew exactly why she wanted to go to Dannith, why she had to go. She was so much like him in some ways, it drove him crazy. It was easy for him to think it was different when he went into danger, and she stayed behind worrying about him, but he knew it wasn’t. He could tell himself his work was more important, but even that claim was weak and pointless. Her role in the battle at Megara—her crucial role—dumped a bucket of cold water on any suggestion that she’d served in a capacity anything beneath utterly essential. She was smart—eerily so sometimes—and tough. Andi Lafarge wasn’t the sort of person to do what she was told, or to stay back and let others deal with problems. Often, telling her ‘no’ was the surest way to get her to do something. She was infuriatingly stubborn, difficult, almost an unstoppable force when she got going.

  As frustrating as he sometimes found all that—and as inconvenient as it was just then—he knew those traits were precisely the reasons he loved her. He thought of a hundred ways to keep her from going to Dannith, including ordering the Marines to take her into custody right outside his door. But he knew he couldn’t do any of it. He had to let her go. If he tried to keep her back, he would lose her. He’d give up her love to save her, if that was the choice he knew he faced, and whatever happened, he could never endure her hating him.

  Worse, perhaps, if he tried to stop her and she slipped away, which was likely in any instance short of throwing her in the brig, she would go to Dannith thinking he didn’t have enough confidence in her. She might even die with such thoughts on her mind. Barron had faced death before himself, and he couldn’t imagine anything more painful and soul-killing than that.

  “Tyler…I know this is hard for you, and the last thing I want to do is cause you pain. But I know Dannith well, very well, and if I can get any real intelligence back from Dannith, it might save lives…” She fell silent, but he could hear the rest of it, almost as though he was reading her thoughts. It might save your life, and that is reason enough why I have to go. “It might make a difference in the war, and you know it. How can I not go?”

  The two were silent for a moment, lying side by side, and then she continued, “You know I’m the one to do this. None of Gary’s people know their way around Dannith like I do. I was prowling around the Port Royal City spacedocks when I was seventeen years old. I can do this…and I need to know you believe in me.”