‘It’s hard on us all,’ Merlin said, feeling a glimmer of empathy for his unwanted guest. ‘And you’re right about one thing, Prince. I want an end to the war with the Huskers. But not at any cost.’
When they were alone Teal said: ‘You’ve got some explaining to do. If it wasn’t for Baskin I’d have forced it out of you with torture by now.’
‘I’m glad you didn’t. All that screaming would have made our guest distinctly uncomfortable. And have you ever tried getting blood out of upholstery?’ Merlin flashed a smile. But Teal’s hard mask of an expression told him she was in no mood for banter.
‘Why were you so interested in his genetic profile?’
There were sealed doors between the lounge and the quarters assigned to the Prince, but the ship was silent under normal operation and Merlin found himself glancing around and lowering his voice before answering.
‘I just wanted peace of mind, Teal. I just thought that if I could find a genetic match between you and Prince Baskin, it would settle things for good, allow you to put your mind to rest about Cupis…’
‘Put my mind to rest.’
‘I know I shouldn’t have sampled you without your permission. It was just some hair left on your pillow, with a skin flakes…’ Merlin silenced himself. ‘Now that we’re aboard, the ship can run a profile just by sequencing the cells it picks up through the normal air circulation filters.’
Teal still had her arm out, her look defiant. But slowly she pulled back the arm and slid her sleeve back down. ‘Run your damned tests. You’ve started this, you may as well finish it.’
‘Are you sure, Teal? It may not get us any nearer an answer of what happened to your bloodline.’
‘I said finish it,’ Teal answered.
Tyrant slipped across the system, into the contested space between the two stars. Battle continued to rage across a dozen worlds and countless more moons, minor planets and asteroids. Fleets were engaging on a dozen simultaneous fronts, their energy bursts spangling the night sky across light hours of distance. Every radio channel crackled with military traffic, encrypted signals, blatant propaganda, screams of help or mercy from stricken crews.
Tyrant steered clear of the worst of it. But even as they approached Mundar, Merlin picked out more activity than he had hoped for. Gaffurian patrol groups were swinging suspiciously close to the brigands’ asteroid, as if something had begun to attract their interest. So far they were keeping clear of the predicted defence perimeter, but their presence put Merlin on edge. It didn’t help that the Gaffurian incursions were drawing a counter-response from Havergal squadrons. The nearest battlefronts were still light-minutes away, but the last thing Merlin needed was a new combat zone opening up right where he had business of his own.
‘I was hoping for a clear theatre of action,’ he told Baskin. ‘Something nice and quiet, where I could do my business without a lot of messy distractions.’
‘Gaffurian security may have picked up rumours about the Tactician by this point,’ Baskin said.
‘And that wasn’t worth sharing with me before now?’
‘I said rumours, Merlin – not hard intelligence. Or they may just be taking a renewed interest in the brigands. They’re as much a thorn in the enemy’s side as they are in ours.’
‘I like them more and more.’
They were a day out when Merlin risked a quick snoop with Tyrant’s long-range sensors. Baskin and Teal were on the command deck as the scans refreshed and updated, overlaid with the intelligence schematics Merlin had already examined on the Renouncer. Mundar was a fuzzy rock traced through with the equally ghostly fault-lines of shafts, corridors, internal pressure vaults and weapons emplacements.
‘That was a risky thing to do’ Baskin said, while Teal nodded her agreement.
‘If they picked up anything,’ Merlin said, ‘it would have been momentary and on a spread of frequencies and particle bands they wouldn’t normally expect. They’ll put it down to sensor malfunctions and move on.’
‘I wish I had your confidence.’
Merlin stretched out his hands and cracked his knuckles, as if he were preparing to climb a wall. ‘Let’s think like Struxer. He’s got his claws on something precious, a one-off machine, so chances are he won’t put the Tactician anywhere vulnerable, especially with these patrol groups sniffing around.’
‘How does that help us?’
‘Because it narrows down his options. That deep vault there – do you think it would suit?’
‘Perhaps. The main thing is to declare our intentions; to give Struxer an unambiguous idea of your capabilities.’ Baskin danced his own finger across the display. ‘You’ll open with a decisive but pin-point attack. Enough to shake them up, and let them know we absolutely mean business. At what distance can you launch a strike?’
‘We’ll be in optimum charm-torp range in about six hours. I can lock in the targeting solutions now, if you like. But we’ll have a sharper view of Mundar the nearer we get.’
‘Would they be able to see us that soon?’ Teal asked.
Merlin was irritated by the question, but only because it had been the next thing on his mind.
‘From what we understand of your ship’s sensor footprint, they’ll be able to pick you out inside a volume of radius one and a half light seconds. That’s an estimate, though. Their weapons will be kinetic launchers, pulse beams, drone missiles. Can you deal with that sort of thing?’
‘Provided I’m not having a bad day.’
Baskin extended his own finger at the scans, wavering under the effort. ‘These cratered emplacements are most likely the sites of their kinetic batteries. I suggest a surgical strike against all of them, including the ones around the other side of Mundar. Can you do it?’
‘Twelve charm-torps should take care of them. Which is handy, because that’s all I’ve got left. We’ll still have the gamma-cannons and the nova-mine launchers, if things get sticky.’
‘If I know Struxer, they will.’ Something twitched in Baskin’s cheek, some nervous, betraying tic. ‘But the deaths will be all on his side, not ours. If that’s the cost of enforcing peace, so be it.’
Merlin eyed him carefully. ‘I’ve never been very good with that sort of calculus.’
‘None of us like it,’ Baskin said.
Teal went off to catch some sleep until they approached the attack threshold. Merlin grabbed a few hours as well, but his rest was fitful and he soon found himself returning to the command deck, watching as the scans slowly sharpened and their view of Mundar grew more precise. Tyrant was using passive sensors now, but these were already improving on the earlier active snapshot. Merlin was understandably on edge, though. They were backing toward the asteroid, and if there was ever a chance of their exhaust emissions being picked up, now was the time. Merlin had done what he could, trading deceleration efficiency for a constantly altering thrust angle that ought to provide maximum cover, but nothing was guaranteed.
‘I thought I’d find you here,’ Baskin said, pinching at the corners of his eyes as he entered the room. ‘You’ve barely slept since we left Havergal, have you?’
‘You don’t look much more refreshed, Prince.’
‘I know – I saw myself in the mirror just now. Sometimes when I look at my own portrait, I barely recognise myself. I think I can be excused a little anxiety, though. So much depends on the next few hours, Merlin. I think these may be the most critical hours of my entire career. My entire life, even.’