"A pleasant afternoon to you, Admiral." On all the cloud cities, "afternoon" was defined as the period between second dawn and second dusk. The term had very little bearing on the position of the sun in the sky.

"And to you, First Councilor."

"I have just received a very disturbing report from Titan. They are talking war because of what your people did to their expedition on Earth."

"I am aware of those reports."

"Would you mind telling me then, what the hell happened?"

Samorset shrugged. "You tasked the Navy to bring in the pirates who raided Cloudcroft. We recentlylearned that the leader was a member of a Titanian expedition to Earth. We used our own expedition as cover to send Marines to arrest him. The Titanians resisted and I'm afraid there were casualties."

"How many?"

"Quite a few. Also, we arrested the factor's daughter in the company of the pirates."

"Am I to understand that we have taken Kimber Crawford prisoner?"

"Yes, First Councilor, along with Halley Federova Trevanon, the pirate second-in-command. I'm afraid the leader evaded capture."

Dalishaar barely noted Samorset's last comments. The news that Kimber Crawford was back in custody gave him renewed optimism. Her earlier escape had destroyed his plan to gain control of metals throughout the northern hemisphere. Worse, the Titanians were now demanding twice the going rate for their products. With the factor's daughter in Alliance hands once more, the ruinous surcharge would have to be lifted. Possibly, other concessions might be wrung from the Titanians as well.

"What condition is the Crawford woman in? Has she been harmed?"

"No, sir. Both the prisoners have been put in cold sleep in order to keep them from ... injuring themselves."

"I am somewhat relieved, Admiral. How long before your people arrive?"

"They are taking a fast hyperbolic orbit back, First Councilor. The return will take twelve more weeks."

"We will have to defuse the situation before then. I am going to give Factor Crawford my word that no harm will come to his daughter. I expect the Navy to honor that pledge."

"Of course, sir. I will see that the proper orders are dispatched. Anything else?"

"No, Admiral. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir."

Dalishaar watched Samorset until he had passed out of sight. The interview had been highly enlightening, both for what had been said and for what had not. There had been no mention of energy screens.

Dalishaar smiled. It would be just like Samorset's hotheads to jump the Titanians and then not even inquire into why they were on Earth. If the Titanian expedition had been truly decimated, then another Alliance expedition could still obtain the secret of the energy screen. Perhaps all was not lost after all.

Having made his decision, he reached out and keyed the intercom for his personal secretary.

"Yes, First Councilor?"

"Please contact the Titanian trade representative and ask him to honor me with his presence. Tell him that I have good news."

Ganther Bartlett had been aboard Cloudcroft for half a standard year. He did not like it and would be happy to see it behind him. In addition to the high Saturnian gravity, there was the arrogance of the ruling elite with which to contend.The summons from Kelt Dalishaar surprised Bartlett. The First Councilor had not spoken to him since he had demanded the surcharge as restitution for holding the trade delegation hostage. After the new trade agreement had been negotiated, Bartlett had stayed on to make sure the Alliance was not cheating. His tenure had come to an unexpected end two days earlier when he had received a coded communique from Titania. It had detailed the massacre on Earth and ordered him home.

"Good of you to come, Mr. Ambassador," Dalishaar said as Bartlett was ushered into his office.

"Hardly 'ambassador,' Mr. First Councilor. I'm just an old man trying to ensure that my people are free to trade where they will."

"Nonsense, Ganth. You are an ambassador in everything but name. We both know it, so what harm if I choose to treat you with the proper respect? I understand that you will be leaving on the next ship."

"Yes, First Councilor."

"May I ask why?"

"What did you expect when your people murdered our scientists and made off with our women?"

Dalishaar's mouth dropped open in a perfect imitation of astonishment. "What are you saying?"

Bartlett reminded him of what his troops had done on Earth. The coded dispatch from home had given the full account, including a list of casualties. Bartlett had known two of the dead men.

As Bartlett finished, Dalishaar's expression turned angry. "Who has been spreading these false rumors?"

"False rumors, First Councilor?"

"You heard me. Our people perform an act of heroism and someone goes about spreading lies! The truth is that we had a shipload of scientists under the auspices of the Cloudcroft Museum on Earth. They responded to a distress signal. It seemed that there had been some sort of an explosion. Our people went to help at considerable risk to themselves and are even now transporting the two survivors back to Saturn for medical treatment."

"Is that your story?"

"It's the truth. You will hear the whole thing on this evening's newscasts. I suggest that you transmit this information to your government before these vicious rumors spread further."

"You can, of course, prove what you say."

"I can give you sworn affidavits from all of my people who took part in the rescue."

"What about the survivors? Will they swear to it also?"

"By all means. However, I understand they are extremely upset. Our medical people have them under cold sleep to prevent them from injuring themselves. You will have to wait until the doctors judge that it is safe to revive them."

"Will you turn them over to us as soon as they return to Saturn?"

"Of course. Please transmit this true version of events to your government, and assure Factor Crawford that his daughter is physically unharmed and on her way home.""I will do as you say," Bartlett replied. "I will not guarantee that he will believe me."

"He must, Mr. Ambassador. Even though we of the Northern Alliance have no desire to fight Titan, I would remind you that we have a space faring capability of our own. Titania is no more immune to bombardment than is Cloudcroft. Please convey this to the factor. It would be better for all concerned if he adopts our version of events rather than listen to baseless gossip. Otherwise, thousands may die."

Envon Crawford leaned back in his chair and gazed at the dozen most powerful people in the Titanian government. They were gathered in what was traditionally called "the war room." Yet, until today, Crawford had never expected that name to be taken literally.

"You have to admit that the man has balls!" one of his ministers muttered after Arvin Taggart finished reporting on Kelt Dalishaar's version of events on Earth. "His people slaughter a dozen innocent people and he makes it out a rescue mission."

"Surely no one will believe him," the Minister for Mines said from the foot of the table.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Taggart answered. "Anyone with a vested interest in the Alliance will want to believe it."

That brought a chorus of low mutterings from around the long table.

"Then you think this lie will gain converts, Arvin?" Crawford asked.

"It covers all of the facts known to the Alliance," the security chief replied. "Who could fault them for rushing to aid the survivors of this terrible explosion they refer to? Of course, they don't know the bodies did not burn in the fire. They probably think all we have is a pile of ash and a few scattered bones. They don't know about our holograms."

Crawford shuddered at the reminder. He had watched the entire grisly record of the carnage at the energy screen laboratory. Even now, Titan's emissaries all over Saturn were showing the recording to potential allies. Every cloud city on the Alliance's list of future conquests was being contacted. Reactions had been mostly positive. It was too early to tell, but Crawford thought he could raise an armada if he needed one.

"Are you all right, Factor?"

Envon Crawford looked at his security chief with pain in his eyes, and said, "Let's move on. I know Ganth Bartlett is anxious to come home. However, I think he should stay aboard Cloudcroft a bit longer.

We may need an open diplomatic channel to resolve this."

"I'll so order him," the Minister for Trade responded.

"Let's turn to what we are going to do about this Alliance spacecraft that's on its way home," Crawford said, continuing. "How long before it arrives?"

"Eighty two days, sir."

"Any chance of intercepting it before it reaches the planet?" There was an uncomfortable silence and several people around the table shifted nervously in their seats. Crawford let his gaze scan each face.

About half of them averted their eyes. Crawford nodded. "I didn't think so. What's the best you can do, Heinreid?"Among those invited to the council was the senior captain of the Titanian merchant service. Joseph Heinreid did not evade the factor's gaze. He shrugged expansively. "As you know, we could easily shoot them down if we wanted to. It's not difficult to send a ship out along their incoming orbit and fill their path with gravel."

"We can't match orbits with them?"

"No, sir. It is a physical impossibility. Nothing we have has sufficient delta V capability."

"What aboutVixen ?" someone asked. "They are only two days behind the Alliance craft."

"McCarver could match orbits if he wanted to. He would have to use reaction mass he needs to slow down, but he could do it. The only problem is that there are only six people on that ship, and probably two dozen on the Northern Alliance craft. It makes no sense to board someone with four times your manpower."

"What about waiting for them in atmosphere? We know where they are going. We could station a squadron of ships on their path and jump them as they slow to atmospheric speed."

"That might work," Heinreid agreed, "but only if we know their precise route. Do we know that they will make directly for Cloudcroft? If I were them, I would be unconventional in how I got home."

"Aren't we forgetting something?" the Minister for Trade asked.

"What's that?"

"Any attempt to stop or board that ship is liable to get Miss Crawford killed. Worse, it could lose us the secret of the energy screen."

"Do you think Professor Renzi's analysis is correct?" one of the other ministers asked. By now each of them had had a chance to read Renzi's report concerning the uses of the energy screen. They had all been struck by his conclusion that it was theoretically possible to shield the Earth from the sun.

"Who knows?" the Minister for Trade responded. "Still, if there is truly a chance Earth might be returned to a habitable state, we have a duty not to risk the secret."

"Pardon me, Factor," Joseph Heinreid said. "I hate to be the one to suggest this, but someone must. Is not the important point here to keep the energy screen out of Alliance hands? If they shield their cities, they will be invincible. Would it not be better to destroy that ship rather than allow the secret to fall into their hands?"

Crawford grimaced. The same thought had occurred to him, but the consequence for Kimber had made him shy away from the obvious solution. He hoped it was not merely rationalization when he answered, "Perhaps it is already in their hands. Who is to say that the information hasn't been transmitted to Cloudcroft already?"

"I don't think so," Taggart replied. "We've kept a close watch on the ship since we learned of its existence. At their current range, they cannot transmit a beam that does not completely cover the Saturnian system. If they were sending the volume of data required, we would know it. I doubt they would risk transmitting it anyway. To be effective, the energy screen must be theirs alone."

Crawford gave his chief of security a cold look. "Are you suggesting that we destroy the ship with my daughter aboard?""I would never contemplate such a thing, Factor. I merely point out that our adversaries have not yet begun to work on developing the energy screen."

"Then there is nothing we can do to the ship," Joseph Heinreid concluded.

"Are we agreed on that?" Crawford asked. Once again, his gaze was greeted by uncomfortable looks.

He waited a moment, then said, "Very well. We know what we cannot do. Let's talk about what wecan do."

"We'll have to whip them in a fight," Taggart said. "We use the time before the vessel gets here to raise a fleet. Then we defeat the Alliance fleet before they can perfect the energy shield. With our ships hovering alongside their cities, they will listen to reason right enough."

"And what of Miss Crawford's safety while we are pounding on the Alliance navy?" the Minister for Trade asked.

"I have a few suggestions on that score as well," Taggart replied. The others listened as he laid out his plan.

Chapter 29: The Gathering Storm.

Larson Sands sat alone beneathVixen 's viewdome and gazed upward to where Saturn dominated half the sky. The white zones and darker belts were obscured by the high atmospheric haze that shrouded the planet. Two days earlier, the ship carrying Kimber and Halley had disappeared beneath that concealing layer after a thirteen-week chase from Earth.

Both pursued and pursuer had rushed outward along identical hyperbolic orbits. For thirteen weeks, they had held their positions, neither closing nor opening the gap between them. For thirteen weeks, Lars had wracked his brain, seeking a way to overtake and defeat Bolin before he reached Saturn. For thirteen weeks, he had failed in his quest. For the laws of orbital mechanics take no notice of the rightness of one's cause. Without extra fuel for maneuvering, neither ship could change its course through space.

Therefore, they had arrived at Saturn in the order in which they had left Earth. The Northern Alliance ship had won the race and was now lost in the vastness of Saturn's atmosphere.

"Mr. Sands to the bridge," came the announcement from Captain McCarver. Lars took one last look and kicked off toward the open hatchway. A few seconds later he arrived at the bridge.

"What is it, Captain?"

"I thought you'd like to know that we just received orders to reroute," McCarver said.

"We're not going to Titan?"

"Nope. They've directed us to a rendezvous in the North Temperate Belt."

Lars let his eyebrows lift at the news. "What about the observation dome and landing boat? We can't very well enter atmosphere with that junk hanging off us."

"My orders are to jettison everything and get her aerodynamic."

Lars whistled. Someone was in a hurry. "How far is this rendezvous point from the Alliance?""About ten thousand kilometers."