"Well ... yes. Of course."

"Nice theory. Okay, then, the executive is all nice and h.o.m.ogeneous and glowing in love from everyone else involved in the faction. Happy now?"

"But you can't be in ANA."

"No. I'm taking a short sabbatical. Lucky for us. Now, are you with me? Are you going to help stop Marius and Ilanthe?"

"Just so you understand my position, I'm going to require proof of what you are before I do anything."

"Sonofab.i.t.c.h Highers. You're all f.u.c.king bureaucrats at heart, aren't you?"

"What the h.e.l.l are you?"

"I'll give you proof I'm what I claim, but you've got to come and collect it."

"Listen, my priority-actually my only concern-is taking down that barrier. Nothing else is relevant."

"Brilliant. And how do you propose to do that?"

"Somewhere in the Commonwealth there will be an Accelerator with the knowledge. Once I track them down, I will extract the information. I am prepared to use extreme methods."

"I think I misjudged you. That's not a bad idea. I'm almost tempted."

"What do you mean 'misjudged'?"

"Face it, son, you don't exactly have a double-O prefix, do you? You just deliver things for us, with a bit of low-level covert c.r.a.p thrown in to bolster your ego."

The Delivery Man's u-shadow couldn't find a reference to double-O, at least not one that made any sense. "I've gone up against Marius before," he said, bridling.

"You had a cup of hot chocolate with him before. Come on, let's get real here."

"Well, what's your proposal?"

"First off, get back to Purlap s.p.a.ceport and pick up the starship you dumped there. Trust me, the person it was intended for isn't going to be using it now. And we're going to need some decent hardware to pull this off."

"Pull what off?" But he was obscurely heartened by the "executive" knowing about the starship. It meant that the thing was genuine or that the entire Conservative Faction was a broken joke; if it was the latter, the Accelerators wouldn't be toying with him like this. That wasn't how they worked.

"One stage at a time. Go get the starship."

The Delivery Man reviewed the s.p.a.ceport's network again. "The commercial lines are shutting down all their scheduled flights. And not just here by the look of it." His u-shadow was tracking data from across the Commonwealth. n.o.body wanted to be flying when the Accelerators were out there unchecked by the navy.

"Boo hoo," said the Conservative executive. "You just claimed you were prepared to use any method necessary."

"To get me back with my family."

"This will, like nothing else. Now think: Where are you?"

"I don't understand."

"You're in the middle of a s.p.a.ceport with three hundred and seventeen starships currently on the ground around you, according to its official registry. Pick a good one, take it over, and get your a.s.s back to Purlap. You're a secret agent, remember? Earn your double-O status."

"Take it over?" the Delivery Man repeated.

"Good man. Call me when you get there. And don't take too long. Marius was on Fa.n.a.llisto for a reason, and given what's just gone down, it must be a h.e.l.l of a good one for him to be off center stage. He's near the top of their hierarchy."

The call ended, leaving a new communication icon gleaming in the Delivery Man's exovision. "Take it over," he said to himself. "Okay, then."

He started to walk back down the length of the arrival hall. His u-shadow extracted information from the registry and produced a short list. There were some navy ships, including a couple of scouts, which were almost tempting, but that would require a little too much bravado, and he didn't want to have to bodyloss anyone. Especially not now, when the navy was going to need every a.s.set it had. Instead he picked a private yacht called Lady Rasfay Lady Rasfay.

It was cool outside, with high clouds stretching across the early-morning sky. Dew slicked the s.p.a.ceport's concrete roadways and the red-tinged gra.s.s a.n.a.logue. It even deposited a layer of condensation on the taxi capsule the Delivery Man took out to pad F37, a couple of miles away from the main pa.s.senger terminal. He climbed out, shivering against the chilly air. The Lady Rasfay Lady Rasfay was ten meters in front of him, a blue-white cone with an oval cross section, like some kind of ancient missile lying on its side. He never did get why so many people wanted their starships to look streamlined, as if they were capable of aerodynamic flight. But the owner, Duaro, was clearly one who favored image. was ten meters in front of him, a blue-white cone with an oval cross section, like some kind of ancient missile lying on its side. He never did get why so many people wanted their starships to look streamlined, as if they were capable of aerodynamic flight. But the owner, Duaro, was clearly one who favored image.

The Delivery Man's u-shadow had already performed a low-level infiltration of the ship's network. n.o.body was on board, and the primary systems were all in powerdown mode. A quick scan of the drive performance figures backed up what he'd guessed from the physical profile. Duaro had invested a lot of energy and ma.s.s allocations (EMAs) and time on the hyperdrive, which could now push the ship along at a fraction over fifteen light-years an hour, as good as a hyperdrive could get.

His u-shadow put a civil s.p.a.ceworthiness authority code into the ship's network, and the airlock opened. A metal stair slid out. The Delivery Man walked up it, not bothering to scan around, an act that might betray him as a guilty party. That was the beauty of a Higher world: No one really thought in terms of theft; if you saw someone entering a starship, you just a.s.sumed it was legitimate. Thanks to EMAs and replicator technology, material items were available to all; certainly a starship was hardly a possession to envy.

Not that Duaro was completely guileless. The network had several safeguards built in. After several milliseconds a.n.a.lyzing them, the Delivery Man's u-shadow presented him with eight options for circ.u.mventing the restrictions and gaining direct control over the smartcore.

Dim red lighting cast a strange glow along the narrow central companionway. The yacht had a simple layout, almost old-fashioned in nature, with the flight cabin at the front, a lounge behind that in the midsection, and two sleeping cabins aft. Once he was inside, the Delivery Man's biononics performed a short-range field scan to find a suitable point where he could physically access the network's nodes. That was the same time he heard pa.s.sionate groaning from the portside sleeping cabin.

The door flowed aside silently. Inside, the sleeping cabin's decor was ancient teak, carved to cover every curve and angle of the bulkhead walls and lovingly polished. Two figures were in flagrante on the narrow cot.

"Duaro, I presume?" the Delivery Man said loudly.

The man squirmed about in alarm. The woman squealed and scrabbled frantically at the silk sheets to cover herself. She was exceptionally beautiful, the Delivery Man acknowledged, with a mane of flame-red hair and a face covered in freckles. She was also very young; a Firstlife if the Delivery Man was any judge.

"Did Mirain send you?" Duaro asked urgently. "Look, we can conclude this in a civilized fashion."

"Mirain?" the Delivery Man mused out loud. His u-shadow ran a fast cross-reference on Duaro's profile. "You mean your wife, Mirain?"

The woman on the bed cringed, giving Duaro a sulky glance.

"I can't believe she went to this much trouble," Duaro groused. "This is just a harmless little fling."

"Oh, thank you," the woman snapped.

"Sneaking on board and keeping the lights off and the smartcore dumb," the Delivery Man mused. "Doesn't appear that harmless."

"Look, let's be reasonable about this ..."

The Delivery Man gave a huge smile at the magnificent, timeless cliche. "Yes, let's. Shall I tell you what I want?"

"Of course," Duaro said with an air of cautious relief.

"The yacht's smartcore access codes."

"What?"

"Non-negotiable," the Delivery Man said, and powered up several weapons enrichments.

Paula Myo couldn't remember being so shocked before, not ever. The emotional trauma had become physical in nature, with her heart racing and her hands trembling as if she were some kind of Natural human. She had to sit down hard on the Alexis Denken Alexis Denken's cabin floor before her legs gave way. The only thing her exovision revealed was a vast blank plain, which was what the Capital-cla.s.s ship Kabul Kabul was seeing as it scanned the outside of the Sol barrier. Her link came directly from Pentagon II on the secure channel her status ent.i.tled her to. But there was nothing she could do, no help she could offer. She was a simple pa.s.sive observer of the greatest disaster to befall the Commonwealth since the barrier around Dyson Alpha came down. That memory stirred a possibility. was seeing as it scanned the outside of the Sol barrier. Her link came directly from Pentagon II on the secure channel her status ent.i.tled her to. But there was nothing she could do, no help she could offer. She was a simple pa.s.sive observer of the greatest disaster to befall the Commonwealth since the barrier around Dyson Alpha came down. That memory stirred a possibility.

"Do you have the spatial coordinates of the Swarm components when they materialized?" she asked Admiral Juliaca, who was Kazimir's deputy and now de facto commander of the Commonwealth Navy. "The original Dark Fortress had an opening on the outside, which is how it was turned off."

"Nice try," Juliaca said. "That was the first thing the Kabul Kabul attempted. There is no bulge in the Sol barrier as far as we can detect, and I've got eleven ships out there searching now, as well as several civilian craft. It's perfectly smooth, certainly in the areas around the swarm components we've scanned." attempted. There is no bulge in the Sol barrier as far as we can detect, and I've got eleven ships out there searching now, as well as several civilian craft. It's perfectly smooth, certainly in the areas around the swarm components we've scanned."

"Of course," Paula muttered. No fool like an old one; it was never going to be that easy No fool like an old one; it was never going to be that easy. She shook herself and ordered her biononics to stabilize her wayward body. Her thoughts, though, were still sluggish, as if they were moving through ice. I thought I got rid of this nonsense when I resequenced I thought I got rid of this nonsense when I resequenced. Even as she thought it, some small part of her mind was chiding her for being too hard on herself. But for Accelerators to bring this off successfully was a monumental failure of intelligence gathering and a.n.a.lysis on ANA's part, for which she bore some considerable responsibility. Any kind of human would be perturbed by the enormity of the coup, which was what this was.

"And we're certain the deterrence fleet is caught inside?" Paula asked.

"I'm afraid so," Juliaca said. "There is no response whatsoever from Kazimir. If he could get in touch with us, he would. He was commanding the fleet, so logically the fleet is inside the Sol barrier."

Paula, who had been monitoring what she could of the ANA judicial conclave, knew the Admiral was right. But ... "The whole fleet? That seems unlikely. Surely there's some craft held in reserve."

"One moment," the Admiral said.

A new communication icon appeared in Paula's exovision. She welcomed the color it brought to the numbing image of the Sol barrier. As she acknowledged the call, she pushed the Kabul Kabul's imagery into a peripheral mode. "Mr. President," she said formally.

"Investigator Myo," President Alcamo replied. "I'm glad you are still available. Frankly, I'm looking for some meaningful advice right now. Without ANA we're woefully short of relevant information."

"Whatever I can do, of course," Paula said. "I was going to suggest to the Admiral that the remainder of the deterrence fleet be deployed to Sol to see if they can break in."

"That's the problem," Admiral Juliaca said. "I don't have any knowledge of the deterrence fleet. There's nothing in any navy facility, not even a contact code. And the navy network has acknowledged my authority as commander."

"But they must be getting in touch with you?" a startled Paula said.

"Not as yet."

"I see." A notion was starting to fall into place. It wasn't good.

"Paula, do you know anything about the fleet?" President Alcamo asked.

"I'm afraid not, sir, though I do know how reluctant ANA and Kazimir were to deploy it. That does suggest to me that it might not be a fleet at all."

"A single ship?" Juliaca asked.

"It fits what's currently happening. It is inconceivable that any remaining fleet ships would not get in touch with you in an emergency of this magnitude. We should conclude there was only one and it is trapped inside the Sol barrier along with ANA."

"You mean we're defenseless?" President Alcamo asked.

"No, sir," the Admiral replied. "The Ocisen invasion fleet and their Prime allies were disabled before the Sol barrier was established. There is no other immediate external threat, and the Capital- and River-cla.s.s squadrons are more than capable of dealing with any known species within range. The deterrence fleet was always there to deal with a post-physical-level threat."

"Our threat is not external," Paula said. "It is Ilanthe and that d.a.m.ned inversion core, whatever the h.e.l.l it is."

"You hadn't heard of it before?" the President asked.

"No, sir. All we knew was that the Accelerators hoped to achieve what they called Fusion with the Void in order to bootstrap themselves up to postphysical status." She drew a breath and started to a.n.a.lyze the situation, trying to predict Ilanthe's next move. "There is one critical factor remaining which is currently outside anyone's control."

"Araminta," the Admiral ventured.

"Correct," Paula said. "The only way Ilanthe and Living Dream can get inside the Void is with Araminta's help. Which will be coerced once they find her."

"Can you find her first?" the President asked.

"She's on Chobamba, and it appears as though she's already made a deal with some faction."

"Which one?"

"I don't know. But their agents must have helped to get her off Viotia. I imagine they are now as shocked as we are by the loss of ANA. That might make them open to a deal. We have an opportunity."

"Can you do that?" the President asked.

"I can reach Chobamba shortly," Paula said. Inwardly she was disappointed. The Alexis Denken Alexis Denken was only an hour out from Viotia, and Chobamba was five hundred ten light-years from her current position. was only an hour out from Viotia, and Chobamba was five hundred ten light-years from her current position. All I ever do these days is rush from one crisis point to another and arrive too late each time. That cannot stand; there's too much at stake. I have to up my game, get ahead for once All I ever do these days is rush from one crisis point to another and arrive too late each time. That cannot stand; there's too much at stake. I have to up my game, get ahead for once.

"Thank you," the President said. "When you find her, take her into custody. No polite requests. We are beyond that now. She goes with you; she does not ally herself with anyone else-that cannot be permitted. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly, Mr. President. If I can't capture her, n.o.body else must be allowed to. I will see to that."

"You'll do that, Paula?"

"Most a.s.suredly."

"Thank you. Admiral, do we have any other fields of progress? Can the navy eliminate the ship that picked up the inversion core?"

"Unknown, sir. It was a large, powerful ship of a marque we've never seen before. And we'd have to find it first."

"Ilanthe will want the same thing as the rest of us," Paula said. "The Second Dreamer. She's probably heading for Chobamba now."

"Very well," the President said. "Admiral, put together a task force of Capital ships and dispatch them to Chobamba. I want that ship destroyed."

"There wasn't much information from the Sol system before the barrier went up," the Admiral said. "But the ship did appear to have a force field based on Dark Fortress technology. We're a.s.suming the Accelerators are going to use it to get past the Raiel in the Gulf."

"Sweet Ozzie," the President said. "Do you mean you can't intercept it?"

"We can probably find it; our sensors are good enough to penetrate most stealth systems. But I doubt we can ever catch it, not with the kind of speed it was last confirmed traveling at. And yes, if we did corner it on Chobamba, our weapons would probably not get through its defenses."

"c.r.a.p. So it really does all come down to Araminta?"

"It looks that way, sir."

Paula held her own opinion in check; the few comments she might have made weren't based on fact. "I'd advise getting in touch with the High Angel High Angel directly, Mr. President," she said. "If anyone can get through a barrier produced by Dark Fortress technology, it will be the Raiel." directly, Mr. President," she said. "If anyone can get through a barrier produced by Dark Fortress technology, it will be the Raiel."

"Yes," he said. "That's my next call. I will inform you of the outcome."

The secure link closed. Paula ordered the smartcore to plot a course to Chobamba. The bright green line hung in her exovision as it awaited implementation, slicing through the astrogration display. Something made her hold off. She was sure that even if she got there in ten hours' time, it would all be over. By now, everyone with a team chasing Araminta would know her new location. As soon as Living Dream pinned down her exact geographical coordinate, there would be a scramble to deliver local representatives into the area. Either the team guarding her would evacuate her again, or she'd leave with the strongest raider team.

The whole situation made little sense. It was obvious to any professional that Living Dream would refine its search techniques after Bodant Park. Whoever it was who'd flown her to Chobamba must have known that, even if they didn't know how good Ethan's dream masters were. Keeping Araminta out of sight once she was secure was the most basic rule.

So who took her there?