“When it comes to Donovan, they now know they don’t control all of the resources,” Talina said. “We’re outside their nice tidy system. A wild card. We represent a dream. Hope that, like Dan Wirth, anyone can come here and get rich.”

“Yeah, we’re a bad influence, all right,” Kalico said. “My suspicion is that Soukup has figured out that I’m not a good Corporate player anymore. I’m corrupted by my association with the pestilence of libertarian anarchy. He’d probably suffer from night sweats if he ever listened in on one of my conversations with Shig about political philosophy.”

“But what about everything you’ve built?” Talina asked. “Corporate Mine, Southern Diggings, the smelter. All that incredible wealth that you’ve funneled out of PA and sent up to orbit for shipment back to Solar System?”

“How much more productive would it be if it were all put in Cinque’s hands? Or Bartolome’s? They have reputations for streamlining extraction, processing, and shipping.” Kalico lifted her scarred eyebrow.

“Notice you didn’t mention Falise,” Dek noted.

“She was supposed to use you to her advantage when she arrived. If what Allison tells me is true, that’s not panning out for her.”

Dek frowned, grunted.

Kylee said, “Some of us think that if that’s what being a Taglioni is all about, Dek was adopted.”

That brought the first chuckle to Kalico’s lips that she’d had in a while.

“Seriously,” Talina asked. “What happens if Soukup appoints Cinque or Bartolome as the new Supervisor?”

Kalico chewed thoughtfully. “I haven’t a clue. My day of reckoning may come in a matter of hours.”

“You could tell them to fuck off,” Kylee said as she wiped up the last of her beans. “What could they do?”

“Turn the marines loose,” Talina said. “They still have twenty-nine of them on the planet.”

“If they’d follow the IG’s orders,” Dek reminded. “By now—”

“Kids,” Talina interrupted, “I hate to break this to you, but there’s a marine colonel up on Turalon who’d be only too happy to have Soukup put him back in charge. And, believe me, after the manhandling he was put through, I don’t doubt but that he’d love to come down here and flatten a big chunk of PA, starting with The Jewel.”

Kalico took another bite, swallowed. “My best strategy was to break up the marines, split them up, get them dirty and give them a reality lesson. At the same time, my veterans could reeducate them about who called the shots on this rock. Figured that was my only chance.”

“That’s a lifetime of indoctrination to the Corps that you’re hoping to overcome in a matter of days,” Dek said.