let’s assume Zander is innocent for a moment. What does that tell us?”
She paused and stared at the glowing candles. “It tells us,” she continued, “that there is
something wrong with the case against him. Either the source of the information, or the
information itself-or both-is not to be trusted. Now the source is Captain Fortier. we know
he’s a smart, honest, and dedicated officer. He wouldn’t deliberately mislead us. For the
moment, I’ll assume Captain Fortier is giving us the situation precisely as he sees it.
“That would leave the information itself. Fortier got it directly from the computer in
Zander’s own office at home. If that’s wrong, it means the conspiracy went to great
trouble to plant it there, because Zander’s security is very tight. Why would they go to
such trouble? Well, they know Zander is Head of SOTE, and they know I’d have to
suspend him on the basis of this evidence. Without Zander, SOTE’s operations will be
seriously impaired, which means the conspiracy will be able to move much more freely. I
see what you mean; assuming Zander’s innocence leads to very interesting conclusions.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed and continued to think aloud. “The trouble is, I’m
caught in a fork. I can’t take the chance that he’s innocent, because if he isn’t he can use
SOTE to destroy me. But if he is innocent I’m needlessly taking him away from his duties
and SOTE will suffer anyway. Either way, I lose. I wish I were able to consult Zander on
this; he’s so good at figuring a way out of such tricky situations. But I’m cut off from him,
so I must do the thinking on my own.”
She was quiet for a long while, staring vacantly into
space. Liu sat cross-legged on a pillow in the corner of the room, not wanting to disturb
her meditation. His expression showed his confidence in his wife’s abilities.
“I think I see what you meant by patience,” Edna said at last. “If Zander’s guilty, just
holding him may force his organization to do something to free him-and they’ll be the
ones extending themselves for a change. If Zander’s innocent, then it figures they’ve set
him up and they’ll be waiting to see how we react. If we only take minimum action, they
may try to push things a little further, and again they may tip their hand.” She turned and
looked gratefully at her husband. “Thank you, Liu.”
The Emperor-Consort merely shrugged. “I was but the signpost. You walked the road
yourself. I have learned to trust your ability to make the right decision. I hope someday
you will learn to have the same faith in yourself.”
“Maybe I will yet,” Edna said. “After all, I’ve got a wonderful teacher.”
Meanwhile, the instructions the Empress had given earlier that day were being carried
out with the typical efficiency of the Imperial Navy. Orders were relayed from the Prime
Councilor to Admiral Benevenuto; from Benevenuto to Admiral Trejas; and from Trejas all
the way back to Preis and the anxiously waiting Captain Fortier, who lost no time in
seeing they were carried out.
His first priority, to which he’d been attending while awaiting further orders, was to make
copies of all the incriminating records and have them transmitted back to Luna Base.
That task completed, he had begun interrogating the Grand Duke’s house staff when the
orders came in.
At this particular time, Grand Duke Zander von Wilmenhorst happened to be traveling in
the Preis system. While he spent most of his life on Earth near the center of activity at
the Imperial Court, von Wilmenhorst made periodic trips back to his capital to deal with
government functions that could not easily be delegated to others. His private space
cruiser, the Anna Libeling, was even now calmly approaching the planet Preis, its
occupants unaware that they were at the eye of a transgalactic storm.
Captain Fortier, leading a small fleet of naval gunships, approached the Anna Libeling
just two days after Zander von Wilmenhorst had given the assignment to the d’Alemberts
and the Bavols. The order was given to the Anna Libeling’s Captain Hetsko to halt the
cruiser’s motion and permit boarders. The ship offered no resistance and Captain Fortier
boarded it with a stun-gun in his holster but prepared for any trouble that might develop.
The Anna Libeling was a large ship, basically a giant rectangular box a hundred and
twenty-five meters long by fifty meters wide and deep. It was never intended to land;
there were small auxiliary boats for that which were even capable of interstellar flight in
an emergency. The private ship dwarfed the naval vessels that swarmed around it; it was
also better-armed than they were, though Fortier did not know that. In a fight, the Anna
Libeling could hold its own against anything but the largest naval destroyers. But there
was no such fight now. The personnel within the Anna Libeling followed the Navy’s
orders graciously.
For personal comfort, the ship’s ultragrav had been set at one gee. Captain Fortier and a
few of his officers were escorted down the crowded, art-lined corridors into the main
salon. This was a large room of stark Scandinavian design. The sofas and chairs were of
teakwood with straight, utilitarian lines, covered in blue and white tweed fabric. The walls
were of glazed shades of smoke-gray. From the ceiling, as a chandelier, hung a
modernistic metal sculpture of a Viking ship.
Grand Duke Zander von Wilmenhorst and his daughter, Duchess Helena, were waiting to
greet the officers. The Grand Duke was wearing a conservatively tailored gray leather
jumpsuit; his daughter, an attractive young lady in her mid-twenties, had on a pair of
black velvet lounging trousers and a white silk shirt. “Welcome to my ship, Captain,” the
Grand Duke said. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”
Fortier had orders to show proper deference, and he knew enough court etiquette not to
embarrass the Navy. “I fear, Your Grace, I have the duty to inform you that you must
consider yourself under arrest.”
Duchess Helena exploded out of her chair. “What? That’s utterly ridiculous! Do you
know-?”
The Grand Duke raised a hand and his daughter stopped her harangue abruptly. Von
Wilmenhorst looked slightly amused. “Indeed? May I ask the charge?”
“The charge, sir, is treason.”
“Are you certain your orders are correct, Captain?” There was no longer amusement in
von Wilmenhorst’s tone.
“Yes, sir. They come directly from the Empress herself. You and Her Grace, the
Duchess Helena, are to be held incommunicado until further notice.”
“I see.” The Grand Duke took the news philosophically. “Well, I’ve never known Her
Majesty to act rashly, so I’ll have to assume she has good reason for this, but I’d
certainly like to know what it is.”
“I’m empowered to explain it in detail, Your Grace,” Fortier said. “But first I must ask you
and your daughter to submit to searches to make sure you have no weapons on your
persons. I’ve brought some female officers along to ensure your daughter’s dignity.”
“Very considerate of you, Captain,” von Wilmenhorst nodded.
Duchess Helena, though, was not nearly so calm about the situation. “Father, there’s got
to be some mistake.
They can’t mean us! We can’t just sit here and let them do this. If we could only call her. .
. .”
“The orders said incommunicado,” Fortier repeated firmly.
The Grand Duke turned to face his daughter. “Just six months ago at the coronation, you
and I knelt before the Empress and pledged her our allegiance and obedience in all
matters. Despite the charges, I never have and never will violate that pledge. We will
accede to these orders, Helena, and wait for the Empress’ good judgment to assert
itself. ”
He stood up and held his arms out to his sides. “I am ready to be searched, Captain. I
hope you’ll be quick about it; I’m most anxious to hear that explanation you promised.”
Chapter 5
Live Bait
The d’Alemberts and the Bavols spent most of the night after their discussion with the
Head sitting around the large table in the com room, going over the information they’d
received about the phony Wombat and Periwinkle. The doubles’ method was simple and
coldly efficient: They would place a call to the local SOTE headquarters, where the use
of their special codenames would win them instant obedience. They’d arrange for all the
agents on that world to converge at an out-of-the-way location within a very short period
of time, so the local commander wouldn’t have the chance to check with HQ on Earth.
Once they had everyone assembled, they massacred the SOTE people without
mercy-and the last place any Service agent would expect betrayal was from Wombat
and Periwinkle.
“Maybe we did too good a job,” Jules sighed. “We’re legends in our own time, and Lady
A’s cashing in on that.” “How do I always get mixed up with such mod_ est men?” Yvette