“So what do we do?” McKeon asked.

“We do the best we can,” she said bleakly. “Our orders are still to protect Silesian territorial integrity—assuming that ‘Silesia’ and ‘territorial integrity’ aren’t contradictions in terms. So we’ll do our darnedest to somehow pull that off. But you’re right about the way this latest incident ups the ante, Alice. And the more I think about it, the more I don’t want any of our other captains left to dangle all alone the way Ackenheil found himself in Brennan.”

She turned to Yu and Caslet.

“Alfredo, I want you and the Protector’s Own to maintain an even lower profile. If the Andies already know you’re here, well and good. But if they don’t, I think it’s suddenly become more important to have an extra pulser hidden up our sleeve than to try to discourage whatever they’re up to.” She snorted harshly. “Given Ackenheil’s report, I’m very much afraid that it’s too late to do any ‘discouraging,’ anyway.”

“You think they’ve made up the mind to pull the trigger, My Lady?” Yu seemed relieved to be thinking about possible Andermani aggressiveness instead of the tension between the Star Kingdom and his ex-homeland.

“I think they’ve made up their mind what they’re going to do,” Honor corrected. “In fact, I think that’s the reason Rabenstrange is coming out here. That may include pulling the trigger, or it may simply include a continuation of this escalation of incidents in hopes we—or the Government—will decide the game isn’t worth the candle and get out of their way without the unpleasantness of a war. But whatever it is, I think I’m coming to the conclusion that I’d prefer to be able to administer a salutary shock to them at a moment of my choosing, if I can, and you and the Protector’s Own are my best chance to do that.”

Yu nodded, and Honor turned to Brigham and Jaruwalski.

“In the meantime, I want the two of you to lay out a new patrol schedule. With the Grayson units here to bolster our position in Marsh, I think we can free up more of our Manticoran screening units for detached service, so I want the patrols beefed up. Set it up so that none of our ships are operating as singletons. I want at least two units in any single star system, and I want them in regular communication. I want the Andies to know that if something goes wrong, we’re going to have a witness on the spot to get the news to us as soon as it can get back to their own HQ. And for that matter, knowing that she has support handy ought to make any of our captains feel a bit less lonely and a bit more confident.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

THE icon of the dispatch boat from Sidemore was still accelerating steadily away from Jessica Epps when Erica Ferrero assembled her senior officers in her briefing room.

They gathered there just a bit apprehensively, because the captain’s temper had been uncertain of late, courtesy of IANS Hellbarde. They knew Ferrero had recently dispatched another formal report to Duchess Harrington, protesting Kapitän zur Sternen Gortz’ provocative behavior. That report had been intended primarily for the duchess to use as the basis of a fresh protest to the Andermani Empire, but some might have thought its language a bit on the intemperate side. It was entirely possible that the dispatch boat had delivered an observation to that effect from the station commander.