The first Ronte ship became an expanding flower of plasma within a minute. The Ronte employed better tactics than had been anticipated and each subsequent ship took a little longer to destroy than the one before; nevertheless, the whole engagement lasted less than a third of an hour. The Fulanya-Guang was lost with all hands when what was left of the last Ronte ship, believed to be the fleet flagship, rammed it.

This last development was, Tyun felt – secretly – almost a relief. To overwhelm an inferior fleet with no losses at all made it look like a dishonourably unequal contest; almost a massacre. Losing a ship made everything look a lot better, and would give him an opportunity to sound grave and caring for the dead and their loved ones when he wrote his memoirs.

Besting a suicidal Culture ship gone native – even if it was “just” a Contact Unit, and only tiny – was merely the crustal fronding on the meat-shell, though apparently that phrase, too, was “awkward/over-species-specific in translation”.

Twenty-two

(S -2)

xGSV Empiricist

oLOU Caconym

oGSV Contents May Differ

oGCU Displacement Activity

oGSV Just The Washing Instruction Chip In Life’s Rich Tapestry

oUe Mistake Not …

oMSV Passing By And Thought I’d Drop In

oMSV Pressure Drop

oLSV You Call This Clean?

This is all very sad. I especially regret that my own vessels were unable to help in time.

∞

xMSV Pressure Drop

I trust the lead ship of your “string” formation, the ROU Learned Response, has no thought of revenging the destruction of the Beats Working. Our comrade brought its end upon itself. The Liseiden are hardly to be commended, but their principal crime was not offing a semi-civilian craft of ours intent on making amends for earlier over-enthusiasm, but destroying the Ronte ships with all their crews. And even that they had an excuse for, miserable and legalistic though it may have been.

∞

xGSV Empiricist

Indeed. I think no immediate action need or should be taken against the Liseiden. Our long-term disapproval, and the implications that this will have for their reputation, might prove most effective. The ROU will continue to the combat volume to retrieve the Beats Working’s shuttle with the humans aboard, and check whether any other remains are recoverable, but will not pursue the Liseiden ships.

∞

xGSV Contents May Differ

A sealed sub-packet that came with the Beats Working’s mind-state just popped. Seems it was so troubled by its own earlier actions that it’s requesting that it not be reactivated, save for second-party study, comparative or research purposes. Poor lame bastard doesn’t even want to be a ship again.

∞

xLOU Caconym

oMSV Pressure Drop

Told you. Five humans: too few.

∞

xLOU Caconym

Meanwhile, on Xown? … Reality calling Mistake Not …, yes; we’re talking about you.

∞

xUe Mistake Not …

Yes, hi. It’s all getting terribly interesting.

Colonel?

~Ma’am? Agansu replied. The signal-adjunct protocols indicated he was addressing Marshal Chekwri.

~This is Marshal Chekwri.