And, she reminded herself, that’s only the range at which we know they fired. We don’t have any real reason to conclude that it was the maximum range at which they could have fired.

“Jessica Epps returned fire,” Brigham continued. “The ensuing engagement lasted for approximately thirty-seven minutes. Casualties on both sides were extremely heavy. Captain Nazari herself headed for the scene of the action as soon as firing had ceased in order to render such assistance as she could. There wasn’t a great deal she could do. Jessica Epps was destroyed with all hands.” The chief of staff’s voice level never changed, but it sounded suddenly very, very loud in the hush her words produced. “Hellbarde was apparently in little better condition. Her captain, her executive officer, and most of her bridge officers were apparently killed in the engagement. Captain Nazari’s rescue efforts were quickly superseded by those of local Confed security units, but her estimate is that no more than a hundred of Hellbarde’s ship’s company survived. From the visual imagery of Hellbarde’s wreck which Chantilly was able to obtain, I would be very surprised if Nazari’s estimate isn’t high. One thing on which Commander Reynolds, Captain Jaruwalski, and I all agree strongly is that Hellbarde will never fight again.”

“For what it matters, Chantilly’s sensor data clearly indicate that Jessica Epps was winning the engagement handily when a hit from one of Hellbarde’s last laser heads apparently caused one of her fusion plants to lose containment.”

The chief of staff paused once more, then turned to look at Honor.

“Those are the bare bones of Captain Nazari’s report, Your Grace. The full raw take from Chantilly’s sensors, plus the recording of Captain Nazari’s verbal report, will be made available to all of the Station’s flag officers and their staffs. Captain Nazari herself is still available, and Chantilly will remain in-system, in order to ensure the availability of any potential witnesses from her ship’s company, until such time as we authorize her to continue her voyage.”

“Thank you, Mercedes,” Honor acknowledged, and it was her turn to meet the eyes of her assembled subordinates.

“Obviously,” she said, her soprano voice much calmer than she felt, “this is precisely the sort of incident we’ve all been afraid of. The most important question, and one we can’t possibly answer definitively at this point, is whether or not this represents deliberate Andermani policy.”

“My initial reaction is that it probably does, Your Grace,” Anson Hewitt said. Then he shrugged. “On the other hand, I may well be prejudiced by my own experiences out here.”

“If you are, Anson, you certainly have more than enough reason to be,” Honor told Sidemore Station’s former commanding officer.

“At the same time, My Lady,” Cynthia Gonsalves observed, “this would appear to be a rather abrupt break with the Andies’ policy of gradually increasing the level of their provocations. Particularly in light of the fact that Hellbarde fired on Jessica Epps first, without being threatened herself. And that she did so from a range which clearly revealed the fact that her missiles were substantially longer ranged than we’d previously been given any cause to suspect.”