She quick-checked through the sheaf of press materials she had snagged on the way to her seat. Found the Crisis Briefing Agenda. Sure enough, the first items listed on the agenda came under the heading of Background. That was followed by Crisis In Focus: Fleet Admiral Anders, Chief of His Majesty's Naval Operations. This was followed by a Q&A. Nowhere on the agenda—or in the other material in the folder—was there a hint of exactly what this crisis briefing was all about. Except for the fact it had something to do with the Altaics. And it was probably military, since the briefing was being conducted by the Chief of Naval Operations.
If Ranett was the type who whistled, she would have done so right then. There was some deep drakh about to come down. In her experience weaving through the maze of Imperial politics, good news was announced immediately. Bad news was shunted to the end.
She caught Admiral Anders dart a glance at her. He was clearly stewing over her presence. Gooood! She gave him her nastiest grin. Anders pretended to ignore her. Turned his solemn attention back to his briefing officer.
"... the greatest difficulty," the man was saying, "proved to be the numerous heavily armed forces at the command of the several highly volatile races. To begin with, a diplomatic effort was launched to meet with the commanders of the hostile forces arrayed against Dr. Iskra. And, as quickly as possible, Imperial forces were sent in to assist Dr. Iskra in keeping the peace. Those forces were commanded by one of the Emperor's most capable and loyal officers—Admiral Mason..."
Ranett's alarm bells started ringing. Why the lavish praise for Mason? She had also caught the past-tense phrase: "... forces were commanded." Then the alarms grew louder still. The briefing officer had unaccountably left out the name of the man who had headed the diplomatic mission: Plenipotentiary Sten. She knew Sten was one of the most prominent beings on the Eternal Emperor's staff. The poor sod, Ranett thought. To her mind, Sten was either being set up as a scapegoat or was bound for execution. She wondered if maybe it had already happened.
"... Despite the many difficulties," the briefing officer continued, "we are happy to tell you today that the situation in the Altaics has stabilized. Order has been restored. Some time in the near future, we expect to be able to permit free travel and communication with the cluster."
Rьight! Ranett thought. She knew when she was wading in drakh thigh-deep. "Near future" most likely meant... never in her lifetime.
"That concludes the background portion of the agenda," the briefing officer said. He made with an insincere smile. "Thank you for your attention, gentlebeings. Admiral Anders will now bring us up to date on the latest developments. Please give him a warm welcome."
There was a scattering of applause as Anders came forward. This frosted Ranett. She noted most of the applause came from the star anchors. Human or ET, they all looked alike to Ranett— gorgeous, rich, and self-satisfied.
"This is a solemn moment for me, gentlebeings," Anders intoned. "It is with heavy heart that I announce to you that one of our own has betrayed all that I... and the hundreds of thousands other members of the Imperial forces... stand for."
Ranett leaned forward. Here it comes, she thought.
"Only hours ago, Admiral Mason stumbled upon a plot to overthrow His Majesty, the Eternal Emperor."
A loud rumble erupted from the press corps. Anders held up a hand for silence. And got it.
"The coup attempt—using the disturbances in the Altaic Cluster as a screen—was uncovered only moments after it was launched. Admiral Mason engaged the perpetrators. And shattered them .
"... Losing his own life in the process. As well as all hands aboard his ship."
The rumble turned into a thunderclap. Newsbeings were on their feet shouting for attention. Ranett stayed in her seat. Intent on Anders. She noted that his left cheek was twitching. And his eyes were overly bright. Her conclusion: the Admiral was a lying sack.
Again Anders signaled for silence. Again he got it. "The coup was masterminded," he said, "by a being we all believed to be loyal... a man who proved to be secretly nursing an insane desire to murder our Emperor, and once again bring disaster to the Empire.
"Plenipotentiary Sten! A man who once had the Emperor's love and trust.
"You will be pleased to know that although this intergalactic outlaw survived, his forces have been destroyed or scattered. As we speak, they are being hunted down one by one."
Now, Anders skillfully allowed himself to be overwhelmed by questions.
"Any word on this villain's whereabouts, Admiral?" one of the overpaid anchors shouted.
"None that I am allowed to verify," Anders said. "But rest assured, Sten—and his underling, Alex Kilgour—can run. But they can't hide."
"Were any of the rebel forces in the Altaics involved?" came another question.
"Again, I am hampered by concerns of Imperial security. I can say, however, that Sten was heavily involved with the rebels in the course of his duties."
"Is there any danger of the conspiracy spreading?"
"I can't say no to that. But, I can say I believe we have it localized. Internal Security will be following up all leads."
It's witch-hunt time, Ranett thought.
"What were Admiral Mason's total casualties?"
"I'm sorry... Again, security concerns prevent me from answering. Except to say all hands aboard his flagship died in the cowardly attack."
"How many of Sten's forces have been killed or captured?"
Anders shrugged. "I repeat my last... Imperial security, and all. I promise all of you these questions, and all others, will be answered... in the fullness of time."
Ranett dipped into her bag of tricks and pulled out her favorite—the Donaldson. Her practiced bellow blasted over the other questioners. "ADMIRAL ANDERS! ADMIRAL ANDERS!"
She could not be denied. Anders sighed. Motioned for her to GA.
"What evidence do you have against these alleged conspirators?" she asked.
Anders frowned. "Evidence? I told you... There was a coup attempt." He tried laughing at her. "I know it's early, Ranett, but we do wish you'd pay attention when we speak."
"I heard you, Admiral," Ranett snarled. "But, I assume... If this Sten is captured—"
"When, Ranett. When!"
"Your qualification, Admiral. Not mine. Regardless. If, or when, Sten—and this Alex Kilgour—are captured... what proof of a conspiracy exists? For the trial, I mean. For example, did you monitor any conversations? Discover correspondence between the alleged perpetrators? Witness them meeting with known enemies of the Empire? That sort of thing."
Anders sputtered. "Dammit. They attacked and destroyed Admiral Mason's ship! What other proof do you need?"
Ranett wasn't buying. "An honest prosecutor might ask for more than your word, Admiral," she said. "Surely you can see that. Show us pictures of the attack, for example. Transcripts of bridge-to-bridge communications. Whatever proof you have."
"I'll have to plead security concerns again," Anders said. "You'll have those things... eventually."
"In the fullness of timer Ranett said.
"I couldn't have put it better myself," Anders said.
Ranett knew, at that moment, no one had any intention of capturing Sten. Not alive, at any rate.