Of course, it will! Even in Kausambi, that radio station has to be under iron control.

Belisarius was smiling broadly, now.And why do you think Damodara is only using the radio? I'll bet you-if you had anything to wager-that this same message is going over every telegraph line in India. And, by now, there are far too many telegraph stations for Link to be able to keep them quiet. The only reason Damodara is using the radio at all is to communicate with us.

Silence, for a moment.

Then:Oh.

Then:It's not fair. I'm just a crystal. Lost in this protoplasmic scheming and trickiness. A lamb among wolves.

Aide started to add another complaint, but broke off.He's starting to say something to us again.

Here it is: PROPOSE GRAND ALLIANCE STOP IRAN TO KEEP THE SIND STOP JOINT.

OCCUPATION OF THE PUNJAB STOP KUSHANS TO KEEP THE HINDU KUSH STOP.

AXUM TO GARRISON KEY NEUTRAL SEAPORTS STOP INDEPENDENT CITIES BUT.

AXUM MAY COLLECT TOLLS STOP IS THIS AGREED STOP.

Belisarius turned to Calopodius. "Do you have Barbaricum on the line, yet?"

"Yes. Antonina hasn't arrived in the station, though. Neither has Ousanas. But they're on the way."

"We'll wait till they arrive. What about Sukkur?"

"Same story. I've got the Persians on the line, but Khusrau is somewhere else. He's in the city, however, so they say it won't take long."

"Good. Have you instructed the radio operators in Barbaricum to send a relay signal to Bharakuccha-andonly to Bharakuccha?"

"Yes, General. I-ah-made the last part quite clear."

Maurice grinned. So did Justinian. "I will say your wife has done wonders for your assertiveness," said the former emperor.

Justinian turned to Belisarius. Faced in his direction, rather. As was often the case with blind people, he had a good sense of other peoples' locations in the room, but didn't know exactly where their faces were.

"And what about you? I trust we're not going to see a sudden lapse into timid modesty. 'It's not my place, whine; I'm just a general, whine.'"

Belisarius grimaced. "Theodora isnot going to like it. She's already accusing me of giving away everything."

"So what? She's in Constantinople-and, more to the point, theEmperor of Rome is in Barbaricum.

Probably at your wife's elbow."

That's a dirty rotten lawyer's trick, for sure,said Aide. Of course, heis the Empire's top lawyer.

"She's still the Empress Regent,"Belisarius pointed out. "Until he attains his majority, Photius doesn't technically have the authority to order most anything."

"So what, again? Difficult times, difficult measures. Unfortunately, the raging thunderstorm"-here Justinian waved at the entrance to the bunker, beyond which could be heard the faint sounds of people enjoying a pleasant and balmy evening-"made it impossible to communicate with Constantinople by radio. And the telegraph-all those pestiferous relays-just wasn't fast enough. Given that a decision had to be madeimmediately. "

Justinian's smile was unusually cheerful, for him. "I can assure you that, as the Grand Justiciar, I will be forced to rule in your favor if Theodora presses the matter."

Belisarius returned the smile, scratching his chin. "No qualms, yourself?"

Justinian shrugged. "We've been together a long time, she and I. It's not likely she'll have me poisoned.

And I'm right and she's wrong-and no one knows it better than you. In another universe, I kept you at war for years out of my over-reaching ambition, and had nothing to show for it in the end except exhaustion and ruin. Let's not do it again, shall we?"

He's right.

Yes, of course he is. Rome doesn't need more territory. It'd just bring grief with it. Even the enclave I'll insist on here in the Triangle is for purely political reasons. Butyou-o craven crystal-will remain huddling in your pouch whileIhave to bear the brunt of Theodora's wrath.

Seems fair to me. You're the general. I'm just the hired help. Grossly underpaid, to boot.

"Antonina's on the line, General," said Calopodius. "And they're telling me Khusrau has arrived at the telegraph station in Sukkur."

"Let's do it, then."

The communication with Antonina went quickly.

PHOTIUS AGREES TO DAMODARA TERMS STOP WANTS TO KNOW IF EXILE.

POSSIBLE IN TRIANGLE TO ESCAPE THEODORA STOP HE WORRIES TOO MUCH STOP.

LOVE YOU STOP.

"Ask her about-"

"It's already coming in," Calopodius interrupted him.

OUSANAS AGREES TO DAMODARA TERMS ALSO STOP WILL TAKE FLEET AND ARMY.

IMMEDIATELY TO BHARAKUCCHA STOP WHAT YOU WANT ME AND PHOTIUS DO.

STOP.

"Have her and the boy go with them," Maurice suggested. "They'll be much safer in Bharakuccha than up here, with everything breaking loose. And what would they do here, anyway?"

It didn't take Belisarius long to decide that Maurice was right. If Antonina still had her Theodoran Cohort with her, she might be able to play a useful military role in the Triangle. But she'd left them behind in Alexandria. If just she and Photius and Tahmina came to the Triangle-with a huge flock of servants, to make things worse-they'd be nothing a distraction and a nuisance to Maurice.

And Belisarius himself wouldn't be there at all, if his plans worked.

"Yes, I agree. Leaving aside the safety problem, she'll probably be useful in Bharakuccha anyway. That populace will need to be settled down, and she's a lot better at that than Ousanas would be. Calopodius, tell her and Photius to accompany Ousanas to Bharakuccha.

Two last messages came back: WHEN WILL SEE YOU AGAIN STOP.

Then, after a brief pause: NEVER MIND STOP STUPID QUESTION STOP BE WELL STOP LOVE YOU STOP.

The warmth that last message gave him dissipated soon enough. The negotiations with Khusrau were neither brief nor cordial.

Eventually, Belisarius broke it off altogether. "I haven't got time for this nonsense," he snarled. "Tell him an assault just started and I have to leave. Damodara's terms are important and need a quick answer.

This is just mindless Aryan pig-headed greed."

As the telegraph operator did as instructed, Belisarius stalked over to the radio. "I can't believe it.

Khusrau's not usually that stupid. Wasting time with endless quibbles over a few square miles of the Punjab, for God's sake!"

Maurice was running fingers through his beard, as he often did when thinking. "I'm not sure that's it," he said slowly. "Menander told me almost all the Persian grandees are assembled in Sukkur now.

Sahrdarans and vurzurgans crawling all over the place. Members of all seven great families except the Suren. Baresmanas stayed behind to more or less run the empire for Khusrau, but he's about the only one."

Still too irritated to think clearly, Belisarius shook his head. "What's the point, Maurice?"

"The point is that he's playing to an audience. You know the great houses aren't happy at all with the way he's using small dehgans as imperial officials to administer the Sind. Menander says they're howling like banshees, insisting that they deserve a big share of the Punjab."

Belisarius rolled his eyes. "Just what's needed! A herd of idiot feudal magnates pouring into..."

His eyes came down, squinting at Maurice. "Jesus," he hissed. "Could he bethat ruthless?"

Sure he could,said Aide.It'd be one quick way to break feudalism in Persia. Lead the magnates into a slaughter. No feudalists, no feudalism.

"Maybe," said Maurice. He gestured with his thumb toward the radio. "But why don't you let me worry about that, if need be? You've got Damodara to deal with."

"So I do." He looked around. "Calopodius, are you ready?"

The young signals officer hurried up. "Yes, General. Sorry. I just wanted to make sure the scribes were set."

The smile he gave Belisarius was half apology and half sheer anticipation.

"Sorry," he repeated. "I've got the soul of an historian. And this is... history."

Belisarius chuckled. "Not yet. But let's see if we can't make it so. The first message is-"

Chapter 24.

Bharakuccha.

Damodara stared at the message which had just been handed to him. Idly, some part of his mind noted that the radio operator had perhaps the best handwriting he'd ever seen. Artistic calligraphy, almost-yet he'd seen the man jot down the message as rapidly as it came in.

He tilted the paper in his hand, so that Rana Sanga and Narses could read it also.

THIS MESSAGE RELAYED THROUGH BARBARICUM STOP SATI CANNOT HEAR IT.

STOP SATI WILL HEAR ANY MESSAGE SENT TO US STOP ROMANS AND AXUMITES.

ACCEPT TERMS STOP CANNOT SPEAK TO KUSHANS DIRECTLY BUT FORESEE NO.

DIFFICULTY THEIR PART STOP PERSIANS USUAL SELVES STOP WILL WORK ON THEM.

STOP.

"Persians," Narses sneered. "That's why I was able to manipulate them so easily, in my days in Rome.

Every border dehgan fancies himself the Lord of the Universe, because he's got a few more goats than his neighbor. It might help if he could read."

Rana Sanga shrugged. "I don't see where the Persians on their own can be much of a problem. Well..."

"Except in the Punjab," said Damodara.

The radio operator handed him another message.

TERMS FOR PUNJAB AGREEABLE TO ROME STOP BUT WANT IRON TRIANGLE.

MAINTAINED AS ROMAN ENCLAVE STOP KEEP THE PEACE STOP.

"He's probably right," said Sanga. "The Rajputs can live with a small Roman territory in the fork of the Indus and the Chenab, easily enough. Probably even be good for us, in terms of trade. And he might keep the Persians from pushing north."

"Why do you care, anyway?" demanded Narses. "Letthe Persians have part of the Punjab, for pity's sake. Just insist on two things. First, they have to stay west of the Indus as far north as Multan; then, west of the line formed by the Chenab and the Jhelum. To make sure they stick to it, expand the Roman enclave. Let the Romans have the whole area in the fork of the Indus and the Chenab all the way up to Multan-and give them Multan."

Sanga was starting to look outraged. "You'd give the Persians almost half-"

"Oh, nonsense! It's not more than a third of the Punjab-and most of it, once you get north of Multan, is desert and badlands. Almost useless, except to the hill tribes. So let the Persians deal with the cantankerous bastards. As far as the expanded Roman enclave goes, yes, that's fertile territory. But it's still not all that much-and you can't stop them from taking it anyway, if Link's-"

He glanced at the radio operator. "If Great Lady Sati's army collapses. Which we're counting on, because if it doesn't we're for exile anyway. Assuming we survive at all."

"He has a point, Sanga," said Damodara mildly. "There's another advantage, too, which is that giving the Aryans everything west of the Jhelum bringsthem up against the Kushans in the north."

Sanga thought about it, briefly. "True. And that means the Persians and the Kushans-not us-would have to deal with the Pathans and the other hill tribes. An endless headache, that is."

He gave Narses a not-entirely-admiring look. "And what's the second thing?"

The old eunuch's smile was very cold. "I should think it was obvious. The Persians can have that area- ifthey can take it."

After a moment, Damodara laughed harshly. "Yes. Let them bleed. Done, Narses."

In the Iron Triangle, it was Belisarius' turn to stare at a message. Then, tilt it so that Maurice could see.