“Until they tell us differently, we’ll consider them hostiles,” she told them. “It would take a lot of chutzpah for anyone to come in on us with only twenty-two of the wall, but that’s not to say someone might not be crazy enough to try it. So we won’t take any chances. Andrea,” she looked at the ops officer, “this looks like an excellent opportunity to dust off Buckler Bravo-Three, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, Ma’am, I would,” Jaruwalski agreed.

“Mercedes?” Honor asked, cocking her head at her chief of staff, and Brigham frowned ever so slightly.

“As you say, Your Grace, it would take someone with more guts than good sense to take us on with what we’ve seen so far. The only thing that bothers me about that supposition is that presumably whoever they are, they realize that too. Which leads me to reflect upon that axiom of Admiral Courvoisier’s you’re so fond of quoting.”

“The same thought had occurred to me,” Honor told her. “That’s why I figure this is a good time to run Buckler Bravo-Three. If it turns out it’s only an exercise, well and good. But if it should turn out we need it, I want those pods and those LACs in space and in position when it hits the fan.”

“That’s more or less what I was thinking, Ma’am,” Brigham said. “My only problem is that Bravo-Three takes us out of Sidemore orbit towards them. If it’s all the same to you, I’d really prefer Bravo-Two.” She shrugged. “I may be being paranoid, but if these really are hostiles and not just terminally stupid friendlies who think it’s humorous not to respond to our challenges, then I’d just as soon not be drawn any further from the planet than we have to be.”

“Um.” Honor rubbed the tip of her nose thoughtfully, considering what the chief of staff had said.

Buckler Bravo-Three called for the task force to advance to meet any potential enemy, closing into extreme Ghost Rider missile range with the ships of the wall behind an advanced screen of LACs. Bravo-Two, on the other hand, kept the ships of the wall in close proximity to Sidemore while LAC scouting forces fanned out to make a more precise ID and, if appropriate, launch the initial attacks independently of the wall. It was the more cautious approach, and the LACs, unlike the capital ships, would have to enter any adversaries’ range to engage them. That meant exposing them to potential losses the ships of the wall could avoid, thanks to the range advantage Ghost Rider gave their missile pods. On the other hand, the LACs could go out, make positive identification, and then report back rather than sweeping in to attack automatically, and there ought to be time to bring the wall into range instead if that seemed appropriate.

She considered a moment longer, then nodded.

“I can’t think of any good reason for them to be trying to suck us away from the planet—not on the basis of anything we’ve seen up to this point, anyway. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t one, and you’re right. Bravo-Two will do the job just as well as Three.”