Picking up the file, she keyed her terminal and started to record a message. If she had to be miserable, she saw no reason why the misery couldn’t be shared.
The Gateway defenses, Marius was relieved to see, had been strongly augmented in the wake of Admiral Justinian’s first attack on Earth. Newly built fortresses surrounded the Asimov Point, bristling with weapons, while four entire squadrons of superdreadnaughts backed them up. Nor had the Admiralty neglected the defenses of Mars, Jupiter or Earth itself. Home Fleet had been strongly reinforced and new squadrons were working up on the other side of the Dead End. There might have been hundreds of problems with a sudden massive increase in production, but the Federation was responding to the challenge.
“Admiral, we are approaching Earth,” Captain Sinclair informed him. Marius had been tempted to ride back to Earth in Magnificent, but the superdreadnaught had been needed back at Boskone. Instead, he’d borrowed the battlecruiser Swift, which had been due for a refit at the Jupiter Yards. “Would you like to take command of the approach?”
“No, thank you,” Marius said. Strictly speaking, he shouldn’t have been on the bridge at all, but he missed the days when he commanded his own starship, Master under God. Commanding a fleet deployment—even the largest deployment made since the Blue Star War—wasn’t quite the same. “The ship is yours.”
He settled back as the battlecruiser reduced speed, heading into the Earth-Luna Sphere. Prior to the war, Home Fleet hadn’t stationed a sizable force near Earth. Now, a dozen superdreadnaught squadrons orbited Luna, with hundreds of smaller ships zipping around, scanning space for cloaked starships or other unpleasant surprises.
Their mere presence was a sore spot, for if those ships had been released to join his fleet, he could have punched through the Asimov Point and broken into Admiral Justinian’s inner worlds. The Senate, however, felt differently, and in the wake of the Battle of Terra Nova, it was hard to blame them. Victory over one warlord might mean defeat by another. Indeed, the Senate was fortifying other Asimov Points and organizing nodal forces at nexus stars. By the time the war was over, it should be possible to start a large-scale operation against the Outsiders.
If, of course, the Outsiders let them have the time.
He’d read, carefully, the report from Admiral Mason and the shorter report from Captain Garibaldi. Someone was recruiting with an intensity that surprised him, which suggested that they had something in mind. Who? The warlords wouldn’t have needed to hire so many mercenaries, but the Outsiders would definitely have wanted to learn from people who had been at the sharp end of the military operations over the last century.
There was little doubt in Marius’s mind that the war against Admiral Justinian was only the precursor to a long and bloody war against the Outsiders. They’d never have a better chance to topple the Federation.
“Admiral,” the communications officer said, “we have picked up a recorded message for your eyes only.”
Marius nodded slowly. The communications officer was so young! The war had brought a great many accelerated promotions to deserving young officers, while killing a great many more.
“I’ll take it in my cabin,” he said. “Pipe it down to my private terminal.”
Once he was in his cabin, it was a simple matter to decode the message. A hologram formed in front of him, showing a red-haired young lady. Marius frowned, uncertain of who she was or why she would be sending a message to him. It was hard to read the emotions of the tiny figure, but she didn’t look happy.
“Admiral Drake,” the woman said. Her voice was curt, very formal. “Please accept my salutations. I am Lady Tiffany Eleanor Diana Katherine d’Artagnan, your bride—to-be. My father has ordered me to marry you for the sake of the family and the Conservative Faction. I trust that I meet with your approval”—her voice darkened—”as it seems that neither of us have much of a choice in the matter.”
Marius started. He’d known that the Senate intended to find him a bride, but he hadn’t realized that it would be someone unwilling.
“I have argued against it, but my family have refused to even consider my pleas,” Tiffany continued. “I think that even if you find the prospect of marrying me terrifying, you won’t have any choice either. I think we should try and make the best of it. I don’t bite—much. I’ll see you on the planet’s surface in a few hours, where we may have some time alone together. Or maybe not. It seems that my father thinks I might run away.”
She looked up and smiled. “I wonder where he might have picked up that idea?”
Marius had to laugh.
“I’ll see you soon,” the message concluded. Her voice broke down into bitter laughter. “And if you don’t like me, tough!”
Chapter Thirty-Two
When a marriage takes place in High Society, it is rarely—if ever—about love. Couples are married by their parents to bind together agreements, resources or even political influence. There is no marriage without careful consideration of the pros and cons of a match. A High Society person who marries outside High Society may be shunned by the remainder of High Society and their children mocked and teased at school…
…Such marriages are, in fact, arranged very quickly and may not last longer than a few months…
Luna Academy, Sol System, 4095
“But I don’t want to marry her!”
Professor Kratman snorted. They sat alone in a secure room, studying the blank grey walls that blocked any eavesdropping devices from sending a signal outside the tiny compartment. Its very blandness seemed to mock the turmoil of Marius’ mind. For the first time since he’d been a young Ensign, he didn’t know what to do.
“And what,” Professor Kratman asked dryly, “do you think that that has to do with anything?”
Marius stared at his former commander.
“I don’t know her,” he pointed out. “I couldn’t marry Amy because she knew I’d always put the Navy before her. I certainly couldn’t offer Lady Tiffany anything more solid, or personal. And I don’t love her.”
“You’re from a society where couples are encouraged to marry for love,” Professor Kratman said evenly. “High Society, on the other hand, doesn’t frown on pre-marital sex, but only allows actual alliances between couples when the marriage benefits the overall families. You don’t have anything to offer them—family-wise—but you are in a position where they need a great deal of influence over you personally.”
He paused. “As I’m sure I have told you before, you’re old enough to know that the Senate can be very cold-blooded at times. And they’re scared.”
Marius nodded in understanding. Admiral Justinian was only the first of many warlords who’d declared their independence and had set up their own fiefdoms. If they ever allied together, they might be able to bring down the Federation—but fortunately, most of them only seemed to want to hold on to what they had. But ONI’s long-term predictions were not hopeful. If Admiral Justinian wasn’t beaten within five years, nothing could save the Federation from collapse. And that would be the end of humanity’s unity.