The Premier looked at John. “Your guerillas were supposed to tie down their forces,” he said.
“They are, Mr. Premier,” he said. “They have two hundred thousand men holding their lines of communication in the old Empire, and another hundred thousand in the Sierra, plus most of Libert’s Nationalist army. Which, incidentally, is only useful to them as long as Libert’s convinced they’re going to win. If they had the free use of those forces, we’d have lost the war in their big push last fall.”
John looked around the table. “Gentlemen?” There was a murmur of agreement, reluctant in some cases.
“Guerillas can be crucially useful to us,” John went on. “But they can’t win the war. They can make it possible for us to win it, though.”
The Premier smoothed a thumb across his slightly tobacco-stained white mustache; that and his great shock of snow-colored hair were his political trademarks, along with the gray silk gloves he affected.
“Neither will sitting and looking at the Chosen forts—Chosen forts on our soil,” he growled. “Admiral?”
Maurice Farr nodded reluctantly. “We can’t risk an attack on the Land Home Fleet in the Passage,” he said. “Not at present. It’s too far from our bases and too close to theirs. And while our operational efficiency is increasing rapidly, more than theirs—they were already at war readiness—they’re building as fast as they can. They’ve got severe production problems, their labor force doesn’t want to work, but they’re also experienced at that. If they can complete their latest shipbuilding cycle, our margin of superiority will be severely reduced.”
He shrugged. “For the next two years, we have a margin of naval superiority that will remain steady or increase. After that, I can give no assurances.”
He looked at his sons and shrugged again. If the Premier requested an analysis within his area of expertise, Maurice Farr would give it.
Jeffrey coughed. “Well, Mr. Premier, the thing is that while the Gothic Line enables the enemy to regain some freedom of action, it does the same for us—and sooner.”
The Premier looked at him sharply. Jeffrey went on: “They’re not going to come out of those fortifications at us, not after going to that much trouble, and not as long as we maintain a reasonable force facing them. That means we can pull most of our experienced divisions out of the line, recruit them back up to strength, and put the new formations in facing the enemy. That’ll give them experience; we don’t have to put in full-scale assaults to do that, just patrol aggressively. And so we will have a strategic reserve, and sooner than they will. They don’t dare thin their force facing us until those works are complete.”
The Premier leaned back in his chair. He’d gotten his start in radical politics—and fought several duels with political opponents and what he considered slanderous journalists, back when that was still legal in some of the western provinces. John reminded himself not to underestimate the man; he was not just the pugnacious bull-at-a-gate extremist some made him out. Plenty of brains behind the shrewd little eyes, and plenty of nerve.
“So,” he said. “You think that we can do something with this strategic reserve of yours, in the two years during which we have . . . what is the military phrase?”
“Window of opportunity, Mr. Premier,” the military men said.
“Your window of opportunity?” the Premier continued.
“Yes, sir,” Jeffrey said. From our window of opportunity to my window of opportunity? he thought. Well, that certainly makes it plain who’s to blame if anything goes wrong.
He is a politician, Jeff, Raj thought. A brief mental image, of Raj lying facedown on a magnificent mosaic floor, while a man stood above him shouting, dressed in magnificent metallic robes that blazed under arc lights. I know the breed.
The political leader looked back at Maurice Farr. “What do you say, Admiral?”
“We have to take some action in the next two years,” he said with clinical detachment. “As I said, for that period, our strength will increase relative to theirs. But they control three-quarters of the planet’s useful land area, resources, and population now; while it’ll take time for them to make use of what they’ve grabbed, eventually they will. Then the balance of forces will start to swing against us. Naval and otherwise.”