Caine had the impression that Visser was going to stamp her foot. “Mr. Riordan, please!”
“It is quite all right, Consul Visser. I can hardly expect Mr. Riordan to feel otherwise. Although, for my part, Mr. Riordan, I am glad to see that you are on your feet and almost recovered.”
“Why? Looking to get in a little more target practice with your trick arm?”
“Mr. Riordan, you may find it improbable, but, since my side lost, I am glad that you survived my attack. I am sorry to have made it at all.”
“Sure. None of us likes failure.”
“No, Mr. Riordan. That is not my reason. I accept that in war there must be loss of life and, often, duplicity. But that makes it no less regrettable. In your case, had you been killed in Jakarta, it would have made no difference to the current outcome. And so, your death would have been pointless. I am glad, therefore, in retrospect, that you survived.”
“How very rational of you, Apt-Counsel.”
“Despite your clearly sarcastic intent, I thank you.”
Always the unflappable smooth talker, aren’t you, Apt-Counsel? If I remember my Bible stories a-right, some other indefatigable plotter of humanity’s downfall evinced that very same attribute, along with being the Prince of Lies. Caine turned to Sukhinin. “So, has Apt-Counsel managed to thaw the current state of affairs with the Arat Kur?”
The Russian, his hair streaked with far more white and gray than when Caine had last seen him, shook his head; his jowls waggled to emphasize the negative. “No, nothing yet. He has tried to contact the leadership of the Wholenest. They will not respond.”
“Not even to ask for proof of his identity?”
“No response whatsoever.”
“That is hardly surprising, Mr. Riordan,” explained Apt-Counsel. “Since the Arat Kur have not seen Ktorans any more than your race has, you yourselves could manufacture a device such as my suit to dupe them. And how would they know the difference until it was too late? The Arat Kur seem to be quite suspicious of such attempts at deception.”
Caine kept his focus on Sukhinin. “And that’s it? No other insights from our esteemed and trustworthy Ktoran ambassador?”
“Nothing, except he too agrees that the situation is hopeless.”
“He what?”
Apt-Counsel rolled about a foot closer to the platform. Caine watched for the angle of the manipulator arm, saw that it had not been replaced. And saw that the other arm was missing as welclass="underline" a prudent precaution. “We Ktor have dealt with the Arat Kur far longer than you have. We know their speciate tendencies and characteristics. They do not act or decide rashly, but once they have, they are slow to change.”
Sukhinin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Caine, you know how this standoff must end. Even if we wished to do otherwise—and I do not intend to leave this system until the Arat Kur are no longer a threat—we are under orders from the Confederation Council. The final contingency, which was approved unanimously, is quite clear.”
“Wholesale murder of an entire species.”
Visser closed her eyes. “Mr. Riordan, none of us like this alternative, but we have already exceeded the maximum time allowed for negotiation and capitulation. We must act in accordance with our orders. And as Apt-Counsel has pointed out, we may have less time than our analysts originally conjectured.”
“Oh? How so?”
Apt-Counsel’s voice was smooth and unperturbed. “Your command staff’s assessment on the disposition of the Arat Kur fleet in AC+54 1646-56 presumed that it would either be completely preaccelerated, or completely in defensive station-keeping. We have observed that Arat Kur defense postures are not always so uniform. For instance, the majority of their fleet might remain in a ready posture, but a small number of hulls might be preaccelerated, to function either individually as couriers, or collectively as a small strike squadron.”
“And do we think that a small strike squadron could destroy us so easily?” Caine looked from Visser to Sukhinin.
The Russian frowned and shrugged. “Who can say? And what if the Arat Kur have not used all their drones here? What if some are still hidden, such as we had on Luna?”
“But I thought that the number of drones we destroyed here met, and even slightly exceeded, the numbers we expected to find, based on captured Arat Kur force-deployment rosters.”
“Da, that is true. But what if their line commanders were not provided with full accountings of the reserve forces? If that is the case, a small strike squadron could arrive, activate a second wave of hidden defense drones, and damage us so badly that we cannot finish our job here.”
Caine nodded, but thought, Something’s not right here. Apt-Counsel has got Visser and Sukhinin panicked. Me too, almost. And that means we’re probably not thinking clearly. He turned to the Ktor. “I find this all a bit strange, Mr. Ambassador.”
“Admittedly, it would be unusual for the Arat Kur to have a strike force preaccelerated—”
“That’s not what I mean, Apt-Counsel. I mean, aren’t you supposed to be the Arat Kurs’ ally?”
There was a long silence. “Yes.”
“Then I’m a little puzzled. I understand why you are trying to help us contact the Wholenest leadership, but I don’t see how sharing your knowledge of Arat Kur military protocols is consistent with your role as their ‘ally.’”
“My earlier misdeeds made it incumbent upon me to make an extraordinary show of good faith. Strategically significant revelations were the only way I could readily earn your trust. Also, by presenting all the dangerous and uncertain military variables, it underscored the volatility of the situation. That, in turn, would logically make both parties see the urgency of reaching a peaceful settlement as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I did not foresee that I would be ignored or rebuffed by the Arat Kur leadership.”
Every explanation seems plausible, but still—
The door opened. Ben Hwang entered, Darzhee Kut after him. Alnduul brought up the rear. Sukhinin, seeing Darzhee Kut, straightened, suddenly a redoubtable general of the Motherland. Caine could almost see the absent uniform and the litter of medals jostling for position on the left side of his chest. “Dr. Hwang, Ambassador Alnduul, at best, you failed to request permission to enter. At worst, you have brought a sworn enemy into a highly classified briefing and discussion.”
Darzhee Kut’s claws scissored and waved fitfully, far more animated than they had seemed to Caine only half an hour earlier. It was as if the Arat Kur had awakened out of a haze or a drugged state, just as he had when he recovered from his extended isolation on board the auxiliary command module. “Please. Do not dismiss me. I wish to talk to the Elders of the Wholenest.”
Sukhinin shook his head. “Talk is over. Now we finish what you started.”
“But I have rested enough and emerged from fugue. I am able to speak once again. I cannot be sure Homenest will listen to me, but I must try.”
Before anyone else could respond, Apt-Counsel spoke. “Delegate Kut, it pains me to observe that the only thing which has changed between now and the weeks prior is that Mr. Riordan has visited you. And from that visit, you may have inferred or learned what the humans can now do to your planet, and how close they are to carrying it out.”
“What if that is true? Is that not a reasonable motivation to speak?”
“It is also a reasonable motivation to advise your leaders to do what they have not tried yet: to engage the humans in negotiations for the purpose of stalling long enough for a strike force to arrive.”