“They’re certainly astrogators,” Daniel said musingly. “They know their own region, of course, but even so, to manage such precision both in time and place on short notice is remarkable. An RCN squadron so well handled would be highly commended.”
“Daniel?” Adele said, uncomfortable in speaking but unwilling not to say something about a matter of such importance. “I suspect that some of the captains accompanying us may be in league with the Falassan rebels. If I’m correct—”
“Good heavens, of course you’re correct,” Daniel said in breezy amazement. “There’ll be several captains in a fleet like this who’ve pledged themselves to Aretine but stayed on Dalbriggan as spies, and I’d guess there’s a dozen others who’d go over on half an excuse. Kelburney’s writ may run beyond the length of his arm—but not a lot beyond, I’d judge, not at a time like this.”
“But if the Falassans are warned . . . ?” Adele said, trying to make sense of what she’d just been told. If this was a head-on attack against a heavy cruiser without surprise . . .
“I said some of the Dalbriggans support Aretine,” Daniel explained. “I’m confident that no ship left the planet after Kelburney embargoed liftoffs, though. You probably noticed that one of the cutters in orbit was replaced just before the assembly.”
Adele wondered if that was simply a kindly exaggeration or whether Daniel really did think the movement of starships to and from a planet meant something to her. She sighed. It saddened her to realize that she would never glimpse more than the surface of many subjects which the knowledgable found of great internal beauty.
“The captains left on guard would be Kelburney’s closest associates,” Daniel said. “And there were three, you notice, just in case.”
He chuckled and went on, “We should shortly be able to identify the would-be traitors. They’ll be the ones attacking with the greatest enthusiasm to prove their loyalty.”
“Opposition to the current ruler doesn’t make one a traitor to the state,” Adele said quietly. On that at least her parents and Speaker Leary could have agreed.
The matter of Alliance backing for the Three Circles Conspiracy remained, as did Agatha’s childish features staring over Pentacrest Vale from the bloody stump of her neck. But that was a long time ago. It was no business of RCN officers Leary and Mundy today.
Adele heard the shudder and clang of hatches closing. The rigging crews had come back within the hull, but they remained crowded into the airlocks in case they were needed instantly. They must have gone topside as soon as the Princess Cecile reentered sidereal space, but Adele’s own signals concerns had stifled any awareness of other people’s activities.
“There’s forty-three ships out of forty-five,” Daniel said abruptly. His words were light but his tone was as professional as an organization chart. “Time to get back to work. Have you IDed Kelburney’s ship?”
“Yes,” said Adele, trying not to sound hurt. Daniel in his professional persona was no colder than she herself was at all times. Daniel switched from one guise to the other with the suddenness of an axe falling, however, and the experience always took Adele aback.
Her wands highlighted the numbered icon on the display that represented the Astrogator’s flagship, a 300-ton cutter like the rest of the Dalbriggan fleet. Identification transponders returned only an alphanumeric without personal information, and the pirates hadn’t bothered to supply the codes to their new Cinnabar allies.
Adele didn’t need the codes, though she wondered whether they’d been withheld or if the question had been ignored. A matching program combined each alphanumeric with data gathered from eavesdropping on intership conversations.
“RCN to Selma Command,” Daniel said. He’d deliberately keyed the transmission to include Adele, though she would of course have listened regardless. “We’re ready to execute the second and third portions of our task as soon as you inform me that your force is also ready. RCN over.”
The Astrogator’s cutter was a half light-second distant, enough to create noticeable lags in conversation. There was no additional delay, however, before Kelburney’s sneering tenor voice replied, “Selma to RCN. Give us a time hack and execute in thirty seconds. You won’t have to wait for us the way you would for people who think a fancy uniform makes a spacer. Out!”