“I do not plan on being part of a government I have no control over,” Yu said.
“So you planned to steal a fleet of ships and start out alone.”
Yu smiled. “Hardly alone.”
A fleet of alien ships didn’t make it any less alone.
Michelle opened her mouth to speak. Closed it again.
“Warships will not keep Lancastrians fed,” Abram said. “Lancia is an old world and has never been particularly fertile. We import half our food and 90 percent of our technology. We can use the alien ships to bomb worlds and ships as much as we want, but other worlds will stop supplying us with goods long before it is effective. That’s assuming we had full crews for the ships and could replenish supplies. Which is also unlikely.”
Yu spun around to Abram. “I plan for everything, Galenos. Even supplies. Even your opposition.”
Michelle put a hand to her head in sudden understanding. “You teamed up with the Worlds of the Lesser Gods.”
“Of course I did.”
“And when Gate Union stops the Worlds of the Lesser Gods from jumping?”
“Ah, Daughter. This is where you lack imagination, and I can see the future. A grand future for Lancia. Can Gate Union stop Redmond jumping?” Yu looked at Abram again. “Can they?”
“It would be more difficult,” Abram admitted. “Redmond controls the line factories.”
“Precisely.”
Michelle went white. “You conspired with Redmond, as well as the Worlds of the Lesser Gods?”
“Of course.”
“Father, Redmond will use you to get the ships, and once they have them, they will spit you out.”
“Daughter, you go too far.”
“You have already gone too far. Once people know you—we—were behind this crazy plan to steal the Confluence, and its fleet, Lancia will be expelled from the New Alliance. You have destroyed us, no matter what we do now.”
“Have I not just told you we do not wish to be part of the New Alliance?”
The emotion creeping through the lines from the humans in the room was a fine brown mist that twisted Ean’s gut and made him want to be sick. It didn’t show on anyone’s face, except Michelle’s. She was white, her lips parted as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t say the words.
“You don’t have the alien ships,” Abram said. “I presume that was what you brought to the coalition with Redmond and the Worlds of the Lesser Gods. Will they honor an agreement if you don’t have the ships? Of course not, because you are no use to them.”
“We do not have the ships, Galenos, because of your interference. Had you not interfered, those ships would be in Redmond territories right now.”
Abram smiled faintly. Ean didn’t have to listen to the lines to know what he was thinking. Abram had nothing to do with it.
“You may laugh now, but Lancia has decided. This is the future. Choose to be part of it, or be executed for treason.” Yu shook his sleeve, and suddenly there was a blaster in his hand.
Ean was the only one who jumped. The only one who reacted, even. Had the others known Yu had a weapon?
Michelle put her hand to the inside of her jacket.
“Execute me,” Abram said. “But first, let’s talk about the fundamental flaw in your plan.”
Yu raised his blaster.
“Hold.” The needle weapon was in Michelle’s hand. So fast Ean hadn’t seen her pull it out. “Touch Abram, Father, and you are a dead man.”
There wasn’t any anger in her, only a steely determination very like her father’s.
“The fundamental flaw, Galenos,” Yu said. “The fact that Lancia doesn’t control the line ships?”
“Exactly,” Abram said.
“No. My daughter does, through her level-twelve linesman.”
After that, things happened so fast it was a blur, but at the same time, it was like forever in the void, and Ean could recall each event clearly.
Yu swung his weapon around to Ean.
Radko grabbed her blaster.
Yu’s arm kept swinging. Past Ean. To Michelle. “I can fix that.”
His finger tightened.
“No!” Ean and line eight were swamped by a massive blast of denial. Ean wasn’t sure he was the one who’d invoked line eight at all, but Yu went down.
Burned almost beyond recognition by Abram’s blaster.
Stunned into immobility by Radko’s blaster.
Thrown back against the wall by line eight.
Yu’s guards fired on Abram and Radko, but line eight sang true. The blaster fire bounced back. Half of them went down under their own fire.
By then, Vega and Helmo had their blasters out.
“Nobody move,” Vega said.
Commodore Bach stopped Yu’s guards with a gesture. “Weapons down.”
Michelle attempted to pick something off her jacket. It might have been burned flesh. Her hand shook so much, she couldn’t pick it off.
“That’s the second time you’ve shot someone so close I’ve got body parts over me.” At least, Ean thought that was what she said, for her voice was shaking as much as her hands.
Ean was shaking, too.
Abram knelt in front of Michelle and silently proffered his weapon.
“Don’t.” It ended up a sob. She put her hands on his shoulders, gripping so tightly her fingers were bloodless. A tear splashed down onto Abram’s head, then another, and another.
Abram tried to move Michelle’s hands off his shoulders. She wouldn’t let go, so he put his arms round her waist instead. She fell into his embrace, and they both ended up kneeling on the floor.
Radko moved over to Vega and held out her own blaster.
Vega didn’t take it. “You’d be more useful helping me collect their weapons.” She nodded at Yu’s guards.
“But, ma’am, I—”
“Stunned an already-dead body from the looks of it. Not to mention, you were doing your job.” Vega’s voice was steady, but her hands weren’t.
Radko silently helped Vega collect the blasters. Ean sang line eight to keep everyone safe, could see the field as a hazy, waist-high wave surrounding them.
One soldier surreptitiously lifted her weapon.
Line eight—and Ean—blasted her over to the other side of the room.
“Anyone else goes for a weapon, and I fire,” Vega said.
Abram put his own blaster onto the floor and put his hands to Michelle’s waist, lifting her as he stood. He wrapped his arms round her. She buried her face in his chest.
It was probably the first time anyone watching had seen her cry. Ean looked away, at Bach, who was watching him.
“It never was for the seat on the council, was it?”
“No. That was to keep Galenos away from the Lancastrian Princess. So he wouldn’t work out what was happening.”
“Was Yu ever going to kill Abram?”
“No. Galenos has always proven loyal to Lancia. He would have come around. It was your contract we wanted. Her Royal Highness held that.”
“Were you part of it?” Vega asked. “This assassination?”
“Yes.” Flat and bald.
“But why?” Ean asked. “What’s Michelle ever done to you?”
“Nothing. In fact, I admire her. But I support my Emperor. I support Lancia. It was obvious to many people that while she held your contract, we would never have control of the alien ships, for Her Royal Highness was committed to the New Alliance.”
Ean had seen his contract. He’d signed it. With Michelle, and Rigel, and Leo Rickenback. “If Michelle dies, my contract goes to Admiral Katida, of Balian.”