Coupe

"What have you got, Tsen?" Justin asked.

Smiling at Romano, Tsen disengaged his arm from hers and moved to the table. He hit a few keys, commanding the computer to redraw the map. It formed itself into the strategic display Justin had become all too used to seeing of late: red worlds denoted those taken by the Federated Suns, and green stood for those still loyal to the Chancellor. The Tikonov Free Republic, governed by a Davion-backed military council since Ridzik's death, had been colored in with blue.

Tsen pointed his right hand toward a world in the Capellan March of the Federated Suns. Red highlights sparkled from diamond chips mounted along the long fingernails of his last three fingers. "This is the key to the Davion war effort. If we cripple this world, we will hamstring Hanse Davion's invasion."

Justin peered closely at the map, then felt his heart rise to his throat. Kathil!Justin's head came up. "You can't hit the shipyards at Kathil."

Tsen's grin faltered momentarily, then Romano slid her left hand along over his right shoulder as she advanced to the table. "His plan is brilliant, Justin Xiang!" The map's reflected light bathed her face in blood. "You're just jealous because Tsen Shang found the one assault that will stop our enemies while you were out hunting down a measly scientific base."

Justin stared at her, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. "You can't hit Kathil. That world is one of a dozen planets in all the Successor States that has factories capable of repairing damage to or building new JumpShips." He looked over at Shang. "Those JumpShips are the apex of lostech.We don't know how to build them anymore. We don't know what makes them work. But we do know how to keep the factories running to turn them out. If you destroy those orbiting factories and drydocks, you will cripple the Federated Suns all right, and the future of mankind along with it!"

Romano sneered. "That hardly sounds like the Justin Xiang who hates Hanse Davion enough to mount hunting expeditions into Federated Suns territory."

"Romano," Candace broke in sharply, "you have forever been too stupid to look five minutes into the future. Hanse Davion did restore production of the yards just for this war, but destroy the factories capable of creating and repairing JumpShips and you doom mankind. The JumpShips we have now will eventually wear out and fail. When the last of them does, we will be forced to remain on our worlds forever. Trade between our diverse colonies—trade that makes life in the Successor States possible— will wither and die!"

"Stop!" Maximilian Liao's voice, again filled with the strength of command it had lacked so often since the invasion, cut off his daughters' bickering instantly. Candace stared savagely at her sister, but Romano smiled and turned to her father.

The Chancellor nodded appreciatively toward Justin. "Once again, I find your concern and insight a blaze that marks the boundary between suitable action and recklessness." He rested a hand on Tsen's shoulder. "However, in all fairness to Tsen Shang, he anticipated that objection and has worked around it."

Justin bowed respectfully to the Chancellor and Tsen Shang. "Forgive my presumption, Citizen Shang."

Tsen curtly returned the bow, then poked several more keys on the table's keypad. Portions of a holographic promotional video created by Kearny-Fuchida Yare Industries flashed up to replace the map. Shot from a small shuttle, the footage showed close-ups of an orbiting factory. Tsen froze the image when the factory's bank of microwave collector dishes came into view.

"I realized we did not want to destroy the factories for a number of reasons, the primary being that we might want to use them ourselves when we return to take the world." Pointing to the microwave dishes, the analyst smiled easily. "Because the Kearny-Fuchida drive components are not shielded during the manufacturing process, radiation outputs from fusion and fission engines can damage them. For this reason, power is sent from Kathil up to the orbiting factories in the form of microwave beams."

Tsen moved the vid ahead to a point where it showed one of the large generating stations on the planet's surface. A grove of smaller dishes moved along, tracking a factory until its orbit took it over the horizon, or just into another power district. "While KF drives might be lostech, geothermal generating stations are not. If we hit the generators and destroy them, the shipyards will be out of business."

Justin frowned. He has a good point there. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and those stations are a very weak link."The generating stations can be rebuilt."

Tsen smiled, then looked beyond Justin. "True, but as the figures Alexi ran for me point out, one station would take over seventy billion C-bills and two years to build. Davion could do it faster, but. .."

Justin nodded. ".. . But he'd be unable to continue financing his war."

Romano smiled sweetly in victory. "And he would face opposition at home. More and more JumpShips would have to be pulled from his consumer economy to move troops. The product shortages caused by the war's hunger for JumpShips have already caused him some problems. He would have to withdraw his troops to bases he can support with fewer ships."

Justin turned to Alexi. "Comments?"

Alexi moved forward enough to use the keyboard on that side of the table. He punched in a request for data, shifting the display to a tactical readout on Kathil. Tsen Shang smiled broadly and Justin realized the grin came easily because spies reported Davion had only a half-strength militia unit garrisoning the world.

Color drained from Alexi's face. "My God, has the Fox been so stupid as to leave this world naked?"

Romano looked down at Alexi. "Would you have expected anything less arrogant from him? He imagines us broken and defeated. He will pay for that."

Tsen shot Romano a quick smile, then met Justin's hawk-gaze. "JumpShip circuits rotate troops out of Kathil on a regular basis, but a circuit got disrupted right after Ridzik's death. It will be another six weeks before troops arrive on Kathil."

Justin studied the readout again. "Can you get there in time?"

Romano usurped Tsen's answer. "We've shifted and extended the command circuit you used to return from Bethel. Our troops land during the first week in September."

Anticipating Justin's needs, Alexi hit a button that summoned the strategic map to the screen again. Justin mentally counted the number of jumps required for the trip. Seven jumps, with a week out of this system and a week heading to the target planet. It can be done.

Justin nodded. "You can use the House Imarra troops, if you wish. Their 'Mechs are all refitted."

Romano laughed aloud. "No. They will remain here. Our troops have already left."

Alexi looked at Justin. "That's why the Death Commandos aren't around."

Justin straightened up. "Just one battalion? Is that enough?"

Tsen shook his head. "The Death Commandos and the Fourth Tau Ceti Rangers headed out this morning at 2.5 Gs to the nadir jump point. That gives us two battalions to face the militia, or whatever rotates in, if the schedule is repaired somehow. Our people will travel in complete radio silence—not even ComStar will know of this mission until it is over. Davion's only ever had a battalion on station there anyway. Like you," Shang sneered, "he could never believe anyone would attack the world."

Tsen allowed himself a loud laugh. "Even if he knew of the assault—which is impossible because ComStar is not passing information from Davion spies—he doesn't have any troops in a position to do anything about it."

The Chancellor looked over at Justin. "Well, ShonsoXiang, are you surprised?"

Justin breathed in deeply, using the time to sort out his emotions. He smiled slowly, but let it widen into a grin. "Surprised, yes." He stabbed his right hand through the holographic map, offering it to Tsen Shang. "Your plan is flawless."