The cleric gestured at Roger and his two silent bodyguards angrily.
"And all of this when it is so clear that there's so much more to learn and to do and build! Those tiny, tiny transmitting devices we found in Gessram's office. The weapons you bear. The 'simple' devices that your Captain Pahner has described to me. There's an entire world of inventions there to be made; a world of learning to be drunk from! And what do we do? Pumps!"
"Oooo, that's got to be frustrating," Kosutic said.
"Obviously," Pahner said, with a shake his head.
"No," she said. "I don't think you've quite got it yet, Sir. I've got the feeling that this guy is like a Taketi or a da Vinci ... stuck fixing pumps."
"Oh." Pahner rubbed his chin, then nodded. "Oh, yeah."
"And let's not forget the security aspects," another figure said. "Had you not arrived, there's no way we could have gotten the Laborers of God released to bolster the Guard of God, yet with the Northern states overrun, we can expect other waves of barbarians to follow this one like plagues. Without you, we would already have lost to the Wespar; unless we change the direction of the city, we will lose to the next wave."
"You don't have to tell me," Pahner said sadly. "Bogess. I recognized his voice."
"That tears it," O'Casey said. "The only major figure not there is Sol Ta."
"Who could just be one of the quiet ones, or not in the conspiracy because of his relatively low rank before we arrived," Pahner responded. "It really doesn't matter. If it weren't for the position Gratar holds in the eyes of the populace, they would've already moved. Damn."
"And they want us to counterbalance his prestige," O'Casey agreed. "What do we do?"
"Normally, I'd say 'tell them to at least wait until we leave,' " the Marine said, rubbing his chin once more.
"But Gratar is on the fence about fighting the Boman," Kosutic said with a raised eyebrow.
"If they kick off a civil war now," Julian put in, "we have serious problems. We'll be forced to choose sides."
"Teach your grandmother to suck eggs, Julian!" Kosutic snapped, then inhaled sharply. "Sorry, Sergeant," she said contritely.
"Not a problem, Sergeant Major, but it's so much more complex than that."
"Yep," Pahner agreed. "We'd be absolutely against it under almost any other circumstances, but ..."
"Yes, 'but,' " O'Casey said. "But we don't know if Gratar's going to support fighting the Boman."
"We don't know, for sure, that this cabal is going to support fighting them, either," Kosutic pointed out. "Not if it includes Chain."
"We need clarification," Pahner said, but Roger had given up waiting for a message.
"Rus From, the rest of you," the prince said, smoothing back his hair, "you're under a few false impressions.
"We're not here to cure all of this world's ills. We weren't here to fight the Kranolta. We didn't come here to put down a coup in Q'Nkok, nor to install a rational regime in Marshad. We especially aren't here to interfere in internal Diaspran politics.
"We're wrecked here, and just trying to get home. And, frankly, kicking off a coup just before a major battle against an external enemy is not an action that favors that."
"Gratar doesn't favor fighting the Boman," the figure the computer-and Pahner-had identified as Bogess said.
"Neither does Grath over there!" Roger snapped. "What? You thought I wouldn't recognize his voice, Bogess?"
There was a moment of silence, and then Bogess threw back his hood and made a gesture of resignation.
"You humans all sound alike to us. We assumed you wouldn't be able to distinguish our voices."
"He cannot be allowed to talk!" Chain squeaked furiously. "We've come too far; we're too exposed."
"And what would you have us do, merchant?" the war leader asked with a grunting laugh. "Kill him? Have you seen those weapons of theirs in action?"
"I wouldn't suggest trying it," Willis said, unprompted. "I really, really would not."
"Yes," From agreed. "We are exposed. And that's the point. We've advanced our timetable on the basis of our hope that you would intervene."
"Well that was certainly silly," Roger said. "Until the battle's over, we're not about to interfere."
"But we must," Bogess told him. "Other cities had begun eyeing us with greed even before the Boman advanced upon us. With the damage we're certain to take from the Boman, they'll surely take advantage of us."
"Yeah," Roger said. "But not until after the battle. And they might not even then. If we beat the Boman soundly-which is possible, if we're not fighting a damned civil war at the same time-it will give them pause."
"And continue to leave businesses stagnant, if there's no change within the city," Gessram Kar said, still without lowering his hood.
"And our technology," From agreed. "Not to mention the fact that we who have sought to change things will undoubtedly be sent to visit the God."
"Guys, I don't know the answer to that," Roger said. "All I can say is, let's get the battle done. Then we can try to work something out. But until we get rid of the Boman threat, a civil war is out of the question."
"What if Gratar says we won't fight the Boman?" Bogess asked. "What then? As you've pointed out, we will have them as an astain on our necks for the rest of eternity."
"Oh, not that long," Roger said with a chuckle. "Just until they drain you dry and decide to finish overrunning you."
"But if Gratar decides to appease the Boman?" Kar asked.
"Then ... we'll see," Roger said. "There are some ways we might be able to make a fast strike through to K'Vaern's Cove. We might not have to fight the Boman at all. And we'll know Gratar's decision soon enough," he added, directing a thought at his toot. "In fact, if we don't hurry, we'll all be conspicuously missing from his speech."
"If he says 'no,' " Chain hissed, "you'd better hope the Boman give you time to escape!"
"Captain Pahner, Sir," Private Kraft said from the door of the intel room. "Sir, St. John (J.)'s team has been trying to get hold of you, Sir. It looks like the Boman are moving."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
"What've you got, Despreaux?"
The Drying Ceremony was about to start, and virtually everyone who was anyone wasn't going to be there on time. Pahner shook his head at the black humor of the situation, wondering what, if anything, Gratar was going to think when half his Council and all of his alien advisers arrived late from every direction, out of breath, and clearly disturbed. The fact that the long-awaited Boman offensive could actually be used to cover domestic shenanigans which should never see the light of day appealed to the captain's sense of irony.
Which, unfortunately, didn't necessarily make that offensive good news.
"Captain, we've got loads of trouble," the sergeant responded over her com. "I sent Bebi and Kileti out to eyeball the encampment just as soon as it started to dry out at all. They'd just gotten into position-they hadn't even had time to start a proper hide-when the Boman started pouring out of their camps on the hills."
"Tell them to pull back," Pahner snapped as the headquarters group turned the last corner to the court where the audience was to take place. The solid wall of Mardukans in front of them forced them to pause briefly, and he could hear the intonations of the opening ceremony on the other side. Things weren't quite out of hand yet. If Gratar decided against engaging the Boman, though, it would be a near run thing.