Shadow of Freedom

“It’s possible Brigadier Yucel is right about that, Commissioner,” Thurgood said. Without, Verrochio noticed, sounding any more sincere than Yucel had. “For the moment, however, Gold Peak’s still in command—according to our most recent information, at any rate—and I think we can safely assume she’s going to at least redeploy her forces. She may be more…confrontational than her government would like, but in a tactical sense, at least, she’s demonstrated she’s nobody’s fool. And, as she demonstrated for better or worse at New Tuscany, she’s not afraid to act on her own authority, either.” He smiled thinly; he’d tried to warn Josef Byng, too. “I anticipate encountering a heavier Manty naval presence along our frontier very soon now. I’ll agree that I don’t think she’s going to push any confrontations with the League if she can help it, but she’s not going to be backing down, either.”

“Are you suggesting she’s likely to begin offensive operations into the Madras Sector, Commodore?” Vice Commissioner Junyan Hongbo asked.

“To be honest, Mr. Vice Commissioner, I don’t see any reason she should, if not for exactly the same reasons as Brigadier Yucel. The truth is, though, that it’s not like we’ve got the firepower to threaten the Talbott Quadrant. I’m sorry, the Talbott Sector.” The commodore grimaced slightly as he corrected himself. Obviously he found Frontier Security’s continued insistence that the Talbott Quadrant’s incorporation into the Star Empire of Manticore was legally suspect more than a bit silly. “I don’t see Manticore wanting to push any sort of conquest in our direction, for a lot of reasons, including the desire—as the Brigadier’s suggested—to keep some kind of lid on this whole confrontation. I don’t expect her to back off if push comes to shove, but I also don’t see her going looking for unnecessary fights or dissipating her resources against anything she doesn’t consider is a genuine, immediate, and pressing threat. So, since we don’t have any naval bases that could threaten them, I’d expect her to look elsewhere in an operational sense. Frankly, little though I’m sure any of us would like to admit it, we’re just not important enough for her to be worrying about at the moment.”

Oh, thank you, Commodore, Verrochio thought sourly. “Not important enough” to worry about. Doesn’t that just underscore the hit Frontier Security’s prestige has already taken!

That thought wouldn’t have bothered him so much if he hadn’t suspected Thurgood took a certain satisfaction in pointing it out. The commodore would have been more than human if he hadn’t felt gratified—or justified, at least—at having been right when everyone else (especially Sandra Crandall) had all but accused him of cowardice for warning them the Manties might just conceivably be serious when they said they were.

“So your recommendation would be that we should basically stay home and avoid provoking her,” Hongbo said, and Thurgood shrugged.

“I wouldn’t put it quite that way myself, Mr. Vice Commissioner. We don’t have the capability to ‘provoke’ her. What I’m saying is that unless we’re significantly reinforced, about the best we can realistically expect to do is to police our own merchant traffic—such as it is, and what there is of it—and provide reaction forces if any of the sector’s planets should get…restive. Obviously, that constitutes ‘staying home,’ but that’s another way of saying it constitutes doing our job, too.” He regarded Hongbo levelly across the conference table. “If anyone wants us to do something more proactive, they’re damned well going to have to send us the means to do it. And given the weapons capability the Manties have demonstrated, I don’t know that anyone has the means to send.”

Hongbo looked back at him for a moment, then nodded.

“Point taken, Commodore,” he said in an almost conciliatory tone. “I didn’t mean to sound as if I were suggesting you intended to shirk your responsibilities. I guess I’m just not any more immune to frustration and, well, nervousness than anyone else.”

Thurgood’s fleeting smile acknowledged the vice commissioner’s semi-apology, and Merriman cleared her throat.

“At any rate, Commissioner,” she said to Verrochio, “I’m afraid that really does constitute all the Navy can contribute to the intelligence picture at this point. I wish we could tell you more, but we can’t.”

“In that case, if you don’t mind, Commissioner, I’ve got a couple of points I’d like us to consider,” Yucel said harshly.

“Oh?” Verrochio looked at her. “What would those be, Brigadier?”

“Ms. Xydis’ dispatches from Mobius.” Yucel’s voice was flat, and Verrochio was conscious of a distinct sinking sensation.

“I realize President Lombroso’s concerned about the situation,” he said, “but, let’s be honest, Francisca, he’s always concerned about the situation.”