“We can threaten him, of course,” Scipio said, “and we can also destroy his warships. We both know we need the ships to help achieve victory over a superior enemy. Therefore, let us vent our anger against him later.”
“I do not understand his manner,” Cato said, seething. “He knows we will make his ending brutal.”
“I am familiar with their psychology,” Scipio said. “It is clear he hopes the cyborgs will destroy us. Therefore, he does not fear your retaliation. Either that or he is a wonderful actor and hides his fear well.”
Cato glared at Hawthorne.
“Listen to me, Supreme Commander,” Sulla said. “You spoke about minimal damage to the Doom Stars. We have four systems of cyborgs to dig out, to use your terminology. Each amount of ‘minimal damage’ received early lessens our odds of victory later. We must protect the critical vessels at the cost of the ineffective ones.”
“The lessons of history say otherwise,” Hawthorne said.
“He attempts to speak like Cassius,” Cato said. “I find that another strike of offensiveness against him.”
Hawthorne raised his eyebrows. This was interesting. “Did the Grand Admiral also employ historical examples?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sulla said. “We are a triad.” He raised a hand, as if he could stave off Hawthorne’s objections. “To save time, I will grant you a vote. Let us say in this instance that your five warships equal a Doom Star. It isn’t so, but I suspect in your pride that you believe it. Very well. Our three votes outweigh your objections.”
Hawthorne forced himself to chuckle. It brought a heightened reaction from the Highborn. “I’m afraid a committee fleet doesn’t operate on the principle of votes. It is a matter of persuasion. Remember, I hold the last concentration of SU warships. They are not beholden to you or under your command. They are under my command. You must persuade me to your course. Otherwise, I will do as I deem wisest.”
“The preman is insufferable,” Cato snarled.
Sulla’s eyes had narrowed. “I have stomached your vain talk until this moment. Now you will have to contend with me, as I formally announce to you that I will remember your arrogance.”
“I’m unconcerned with your memory,” Hawthorne said. “I want you to clearly understand how my fleet operates.”
“You have made your point concerning your independence and our need of your ships,” Scipio said. “To attempt further baiting is both unnecessary and harmful to our unity.”
Hawthorne bowed his head. “Maybe you’re right. My problem is that I hate you as Highborn. Not only have we warred against each other for years, but then your Grand Admiral proved his faithlessness by attempting to murder me, his ally. Your present powerlessness against me is intoxicating. Thus, I find it incredibly enjoyable to bait you, and I’ve probably gone too far.”
Cato’s portion of the split-screen flickered off.
“He is the weakest among you,” Hawthorne said. “But no matter,” he added. Sulla and Scipio stared at him as if he were a mad dog. “Let us finish the strategy session. Your Doom Stars are superior. In most wars, the best strategy is to weaken an enemy by whittling away his inferior foes before attempting to take on the senior partner. If your goal is to strengthen the cyborgs in relation to us, then by all means you should let them destroy the SU vessels first. Instead, I recommend that you let the Doom Stars absorb the first mass of cyborg strikes, thereby allowing us to survive. That gains you our firepower later when it is deployable.”
“You will not outmaneuver us into taking the majority of the casualties,” Sulla said.
“I am not attempting to,” Hawthorne said. “I merely wish to survive long enough to attack our common foe.”
Scipio nodded slowly. “I am beginning to see why the Grand Admiral wanted you dead.”
“What?” Sulla asked, turning away to a different screen. “You believe the human’s story about a prosthetic finger?”
“I beginning to,” Scipio said.
Sulla scowled, and he grew thoughtful. “I recall the Grand Admiral’s method of dealing with premen,” he told Scipio. “You and I were on the bridge during the Planet-wrecker Assault. Cassius allowed premen to speak arrogantly to him. Do you believe Cassius finally wearied of their behavior and thus desired Hawthorne’s death?”
“No,” Scipio said. “The Grand Admiral was shrewd, and he could read a situation better than any of us could. I believe he saw what I’m finally seeing. Supreme Commander Hawthorne has the mind of a Highborn.”
“Blasphemy,” Sulla whispered, as he turned back to study Hawthorne.
“And he has the spirit of one too,” Scipio added. “It means he is dangerous. Likely, that is why Cassius wished him destroyed. Without Hawthorne, Social Unity would not have survived as long as it has.”
Sulla’s eyes narrowed. “Yes,” he said at last.
“You agree to the human’s plan?” Scipio asked.
“It is the triad’s plan,” Sulla said. “I merely accept the human’s modification to it. During the initial assault, his warships will remain behind ours.”
“We will have to begin deceleration first, then,” Hawthorne said.
Sulla shook his head. “You will give away our plan and allow the cyborgs more time to adjust than otherwise.”
“True,” Hawthorne said. “The trouble is that we cannot tolerate the same number as Gs as you. Therefore, we need a longer time to decelerate.”
“We are the Highborn,” Sulla said. “Despite your manners today, we are superior. Do not ever forget that, human.”
I don’t plan to. Outwardly, however, Hawthorne stared at Sulla as if offended.
It brought a grim smile to the Highborn’s face. The strategic meeting ended, and Hawthorne began to plot harder than ever.
-6-
The Prime Web-Mind of Neptune sent a command pulse through the web: The enemy approaches.
For the first time in years, unease crept through the Prime’s multiform brain. It awakened old emotive centers in it. The emotions gave its brain tissues deeper contemplative possibilities. But the emotions had begun to upset its smooth functioning. This was not the time for such interruptions.
Data flowed from observatories on Neso, one of the farthest-flung moons. The distance was so great that it took thirty-two seconds for the communications-laser to reach Triton.
In the Solar System, Neptune was the farthest planet from the Sun. Pluto was a dwarf planet, the second most massive of them, after Eris. It had thirteen moons, was the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third-largest by mass. Traces of methane in the outermost regions gave Neptune its blue appearance. The ice giant possessed the strongest sustained winds of any planet in the Solar System, clocked at over 2100 km/h. The outer atmosphere was also one of the coldest places, with the cloud tops dropping as low as minus 218 Centigrade. Like the other gas giants, it had a ring, a faint and fragmented system.
The Prime observed three giant spheroids hurtling through the Great Dark. They were black vessels emitting high levels of energy, doing relatively little to cloak the emissions. The Highborn advanced with their customary arrogance. This time, there was reason for it. Three Doom Stars represented a dangerous concentration of military power.
The Prime seethed as it studied the Neso data. For the thousandth time, it reassessed known factors. Massive fusion engines powered the million-kilometer-ranged laser. The enemy could strike from a great distance, well outside the range of cyborg weaponry. It gave the Highborn a clear tactical advantage.
The Prime feared that advantage. The fear grew until “cooling” pheromones misted over its emotive centers. It saw again with reptilian logic. Mercy had long ago been expunged from its core.