“I realize that,” Janacek put in before the Prime Minister could respond. “And you’re right, Michael. I don’t like the logical consequence, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize what it is. In most ways, I’m still convinced that the last thing we need to be doing is embarking on some sort of interstellar imperialism. Unfortunately, I don’t see that we have any real choice but to secure control of the Talbott terminus.”

“Even if it brings our interests into potential conflict with those of the Sollies?” High Ridge pressed, and Janacek snorted.

“Spencer’s right about that, too,” the First Lord replied. “Unless we want to hand the terminus over to the League and unilaterally promise we’ll never send our shipping through it, then we’re automatically in ‘potential conflict’ with the Sollies! Their shipping lines are already about as pissed off with us as they can get over the advantages the existing Junction termini give us. I can’t see them being any less pissed off when we add this one to the others!”

“In for a penny, in for a dollar, is it?” High Ridge asked with a smile.

“Something like that,” Janacek said sourly. “Besides, it’s always been established policy for us to at least secure effective extraterritorial control over the Junction’s termini even when someone else held system sovereignty. Aside from Beowulf, we’ve managed to do just that, too. And at least in this instance, as Elaine points out, the terminus system is uninhabited. Not only that, it’s never been claimed by anyone else, either. Legally, at least, the door is wide open for us to simply assert ownership.”

“And the rest of the Talbott Cluster?” Descroix asked him.

“What about it?” Janacek looked at her warily.

“You know exactly what I mean, Edward,” she chided. “Melina Makris may not have been all that happy with your Captain Zachary, but even she had to endorse Zachary’s report on the Lynx System government’s reaction to Harvest Joy’s arrival in their space.”

Janacek made an irritated sound deep in his throat, and Descroix smiled sweetly at him. She knew how badly the First Lord wanted to argue that Zachary had exceeded her mission brief in taking her ship to Lynx. Unfortunately, she hadn’t, and the Lynxians’ reaction to the mere possibility of closer contact with the Star Kingdom had been… well, “ecstatic” was one word that came to mind.

“It’s hard to blame them, really,” the Foreign Secretary went on after a moment, her tone more serious than was its wont. “If they’re left to the mercies of Frontier Security, they can look forward to at least fifty or sixty T-years of systematic economic exploitation, probably more like a century of it, before they achieve anything like equality with the League’s other star systems. If they can reach some arrangement with us, instead…” She shrugged.

“What?” Janacek demanded. “You think they’re going to turn out to be another bunch of Graysons? Or that we should even want another batch of neobarbs?”