She looked me up and down, frowning.

"Youre in full kit?"

"Im cavalry, sir," I said.

"Right. Never mind. Just look at this."

She gestured toward the battle-display system. Three enemy ships were approaching. Two looked like the ones Id seen before on Dust World. They were definitely squid-made ships. They were big with a dish-like silver structure at each end. These structures rippled with quiet, powerful, amber light. I knew from experience the dish-things propelled the enemy ships.

The third ship was a puzzle, however. It was a trading ship. Id recognize the design anywhere. It was built by the Galactic Empire, I was certain of that much. Thousands of such vessels traveled between the worlds, ferrying goods from one planet to the next.

A face loomed then, super-imposed on the display depicting the three orbiting ships. The face was that of a squid, and he looked at us as if curious.

"I am Conqueror Engulf," he said. "Where is the one known as the McGill?"

"Im here," I said.

Turov frowned at me, but I didnt back down. h.e.l.l, if she hadnt expected me to speak up, she shouldnt have invited me to this party.

The strangely intelligent alien eyes swept toward me. The being gave me an appraising glance.

"You are dressed for battle."

"I sure am, you d.a.m.ned squid-!"

"I beg your pardon," Turov interrupted. "Can you tell me why the Kingdom has seen fit to come into our star system today?"

The alien eyes moved from me to Turov. "Your system? Does my translator fail me? It must be so. I will have my technicians boiled in caustic ink. They have caused you humans to utter unthinkable insults into my auditory organs."

My mind burned with come-backs, but I restrained myself.

"You heard correctly," Turov said. "This is our territory. Weve claimed Gamma Pavonis and all her orbiting bodies."

"You dare such a conceit?" Engulf asked. "Yes, I see now-our moon base has been destroyed. Inexplicable. You should have perished in combat upon first entering this system. Ill have to apologize to the Crown, and Ill demand that the base commanders family be boiled in ink upon my return to the Throne World."

"The internal affairs of your Kingdom dont concern me," Turov said. "But now that our claim to this star system has been made clear, you must state your business before I can allow you to leave."

The squid made a weird, bubbling noise. I wasnt sure if he was laughing or having a gas-attack.

"You say youve claimed this system? For who have you claimed it? The Empire?"

"No. Earth owns these worlds. About your moon base, however, I must apologize. We were attacked by a few insignificant missiles upon arrival and a.s.sumed it was a weak effort at local defense by a native species. We didnt realize the Kingdom was involved as no one identified themselves to us."

"There is no need to apologize for our failure. The commander must have been of poor genetic quality if he allowed your ships to prevail."

Turov swallowed. She looked a little sweaty, but I had to give it to her, she wasnt backing down this time. Maybe shed grown into her job of high-level command over the last year or two. She still looked like a college girl, but the squid didnt know that.

"You requested McGill," Turov said, changing the subject, "and Ive brought him."

The squid flicked his strange eyeb.a.l.l.s from one of us to the next. "You mean the McGill-creature is not in command?"

"I am in command," Turov said firmly.

"Most unusual. The last transmission from our doomed vessel on Tech World indicated McGill was the one who destroyed them. There must have been some misunderstanding."

I knew I should stay quiet. Dont think I didnt know that. But Ive always had trouble with the whole quiet-thing, and its only gotten worse over the years. Deep down, I wondered sometimes if part of Carlos DNA had been accidentally mixed in with mine during one of my many revives.

"I talked to your Conqueror," I blurted suddenly, "the squid named Glide. He commanded a ship at Tech World. I like to think I had something to do with his destruction, too. Maybe his family made a mistake and should be deep-fried into calamari the next time you meet up with them."

"Such bold talk," Engulf said. "You control a pathetic handful of worlds. Your Empire is crumbling, and it cannot protect you."

"McGill, please shut up," Turov said.

"Yes, Imperator."

She gave the squid her full attention again. "How can we help you, Conqueror?"

"You will speak to our ally. He requested that McGills presence be verified. You will speak to him now."

Engulfs face dissolved, and as for myself, I couldnt have been happier about that. Squids were ugly and downright creepy to look at.

The next face that appeared on the display was even more surprising, however. It was a human face, and I had to admit, Id never expected to lay eyes on it again.

"Adjunct Claver?" Turov demanded. I could tell from her voice she was as shocked as I was.

Adjunct Claver, better known as "Old Silver," was a Germanica Legionnaire of the worst reputation. He was in fact, a renegade, a traitor, and an enemy combatant turncoat.

"McGill and Turov?" Claver asked, giving us both a secret little grin. "Who else do I see in the crowd? Tribune Drusus, Graves-even that lick-spittle, Winslade. What a bouquet of losers. I should have known theyd send your sorry a.s.ses out here to Machine World. n.o.body else could be dumb enough or unpopular enough to get such an a.s.signment."

"What do you want, Claver?" Turov demanded. "And how did you get out here in s.p.a.ce? I a.s.sume youre aboard the Galactic trade ship. Your crimes are innumerable, and Ill have to ask the captain of that ship to arrest you."

"Criminals and heroes are figments of the beholders imagination, my lady. Now, lets get down to business. Ive been working this planet for months. I sold it to the squids and promised them protection from Earth. Youre kind of blowing the deal for me-and for our planet."

Turov, for the first time, seemed at a loss. I could have told her Claver was involved in some kind of crazy scheme. From the very first moment Id seen his face, Id known this entire situation was a fishy one. He was a liar, a thief, an egomaniac and G.o.d knew what else.

"Quit talking big and tell me what you want," Turov said.

"Well maam," he said, "it looks to me like we have a few options. We could blast each other, two warships against two, with one innocent trading ship caught in the middle-"

"Dont think youll be spared," Turov said. "It is very unlikely youll survive any hostilities that ensue. You probably stole that trade ship in the first place."

"Control your paranoid fantasies, woman," Claver said, making a dismissive motion with his hand. This caused Turov to redden, but she fell quiet. "Im here to make a deal, thats all. You know me, Im only interested in mutually lucrative exchanges. Let me bring you up to speed: I sold this system to the squids. I can only surmise by your arrival that youre under orders from the Empire to annex the system and make it part of Frontier 921. This brings us into obvious conflict. Now, heres the essence of my proposal-"

"Dont listen to him, Imperator!" I boomed suddenly. "Hes a snake-in-the-gra.s.s!"

Everyone looked at me except for Turov. She looked disgusted, rather than angry.

"Keep talking, Claver," she said. "McGill, youll shut up, or Ill have you yanked out of that vehicle and recycled."

Claver produced an ugly laugh. I wondered if he was talking crazy just to set me off and get me into trouble. Why else would he have requested to see my face on Gold Deck with the rest of them? Given our history, the only motive that made any sense was one of revenge. After all, Id killed the man more than once.

"Heres the score," Claver said, "Earth must declare independence. Its time to cast off the Empire. They arent helping you anyway. Offer your services to the Cephalopod Kingdom. They need frontline fighters and allies more than they need another war with a worthless dirt-world like Earth. In turn, Ill make sure that the full output of high-grade metals from Machine World is funneled directly to your planet. Youll have all the resources you need to build a fleet to defend yourselves. Whats more, Ill give you wholesale prices. Im talking the kind of deal I wouldnt offer my own grandmother!"

This time Turov exploded, not me. "Are you crazy, Claver? You offer Earth destruction at the hands of the Empire. Were talking about your home planet, man! How can you have such a lack of loyalty?"

"Loyalty has brought me nothing but pain and death, my fair lady. But it is you who are loyal to the wrong party. You arent loyal to Earth any more than I am. Youre beholden to uncaring monsters from the core of the galaxy. Spurn them! Toss them out! Declare yourselves free!"

Turov didnt shout back. Instead, she looked at him with clenched teeth and half-closed eyes.

I realized then, in my heart of hearts, that she was honestly thinking about it.

This alarmed me. Could I, James McGill, have infected this woman with my particular brand of impulsiveness? The very thought was terrifying. My crazy combined with her ambition? It was a deadly stew I didnt even want to contemplate.

-24-.

Five ships stood in orbit over Machine World. It was a big meeting of naval power, by local standards. Oh sure, in the Core Systems where the Galactics wielded supreme power, Im sure a thousand ships went by on any given Thursday, but out here on the fringe of the Empire, five ships were a big deal.

Two warships floated on each side, with one trader in the middle. No one trusted anyone, and Turov, I think, was probably the most paranoid individual in the system.

Countering her fearful instincts was her driving ambition. I could tell as I watched her that she was thinking about accepting Clavers offer. Maybe the lessons of Tech World had been misconstrued by her scheming mind. Shed gotten away with a lot out there-partly with my innovative help.

"All right Claver," she said after a pause. "Im going to think about this deal of yours. Let me talk it over with my officers."

"Take all the time you need, little lady," Claver said. "Contact me in an hour. Well hammer out the details-including your personal incentive package."

I could tell the smug p.r.i.c.k was pleased with himself. Hed done the impossible, once again, by appealing to the greed of those in power.

The face superimposed over the ships faded. Imperator Turov rubbed at her fine chin with slow-moving fingers. She was staring at the planet and the five ships in orbit over it. I knew what she was thinking: shed be rich, famous and something of a hero if she could pull this off.

"Imperator," Tribune Drusus said. "I wish Tribune Francisco was here to back me up on this, but I must protest. We cant trust Claver or his allies. Theyre clearly the enemy."

She glanced at him, then back at the screen. "Alliances are fluid, Drusus. I value your opinion, but I cant think only of our orders. I have to think of Earth."

Inside my dragon, I wasnt quite sure what to make of that. By alliances, did she mean the Empire? Our affiliation with the Galactics was more than an alliance in my book. They were the legitimate authority in Frontier 921. Sure, the Nairbs and the Mogwa treated us like dirt most of the time, but wed taken an oath of allegiance to them.

"Imperator," Tribune Drusus said again. "When can we expect Tribune Francisco to be revived?"

I frowned to hear this. Usually, the tribune of a legion was among the first of its members to be brought back to life. As the highest ranking man in Legion Solstice, he should have been right here on the bridge with the rest of us.

Turovs eyes slid to Drusus, then back to the battle display. "There have been technical difficulties. His death certificate has been delayed for some reason."

"I see," Drusus said stiffly.

We all knew what that meant. Turov had set aside his revival for now. But why? I didnt like the implications. She clearly didnt want him around. It seemed to be a G.o.d-like power to me, to decide who lived again in whatever order one wished. In Turovs organization, youd best stay on her good side.

"Let us adjourn to my private office to discuss this," Turov said.

She led the way with Drusus talking behind her. I watched them go, wonderingly. There had been days when shed invited me into her offices on such occasions. Anything might happen in there once the door was shut.

"Ah, James," Turov said, looking back and noticing my stare. "Come with us. I wish to ask you something as well."

I began to climb out of my dragon. She put up a hand.

"No, bring your vehicle. As to the rest of you, dont interrupt unless were attacked."

"Yes sir," murmured the a.s.sembled officers.

Frowning, I did as ordered. I was a little concerned my dragon wouldnt make it through the doorway or fit inside her office, but I neednt have worried. Her personal office was huge. We could have had ourselves a good game of half-court basketball in there.

The door shunted closed behind us. Turov eyed us both. "Now, tell me your objections, Drusus."

He did so, in loving detail. He said we had to contemplate the Empires response carefully. There were entire governmental departments back on Earth dedicated to gaming out such scenarios, and it would be up to them and their bureaucratic masters to decide if we should take such an offer. There was more, but I stopped listening after about two minutes.

During his little talk, the door beeped twice. This annoyed Turov. She answered the door, demanding to know if the ship was under attack. The answer was no in both cases. She slammed the door shut immediately upon receiving this answer and turned back to Drusus.

"Listen," she said, "I appreciate your concerns. But we have a decision to make. Hegemony is not here with their councilors and officials. We are here, and we have to make a choice."

"Are you mad?" Drusus demanded. "We cant unilaterally decide to accept an agreement that declares independence from the Empire without-"

Turov put her hand up. "Drusus, dont be so small-minded. Were doing nothing of the kind. If we accept Clavers offer, we can break the agreement at any moment. But in the meantime, we can return to Earth without a new war on our hands. Let the government decide what to do after that. If I fire on them now, arent I just as guilty of manipulating events as I might be if I decide to accept their offer?"

"No," Drusus said stubbornly. "Youre guilty of disobeying orders. Were here to claim this system and defeat all resistance. Id rather ambush them with our broadsides than let them entrench themselves and-"

"Fine," Turov snapped. "Veteran McGill, I order you to place Tribune Drusus under arrest."

This last statement kind of shocked me. I blinked inside my c.o.c.kpit and cleared my throat. "Uh, sir? Why would I do that?"

"Because I ordered it, d.a.m.n you!"

I took in a breath, stepped forward one clanking step and reached out with my grippers. Drusus surrendered his sidearm.

"This is highly irregular, Imperator," he said stiffly. "It will all go in my report."

"No, it wont," she said. "Not after we hack your tapper and erase your latest engrams."

"What?"

She turned to me, and I knew what was coming next. "James, snip his head off."

"Sir? Are you sure about that?"

"Youve done far worse. Get on with it."

Drusus looked at me. He was glaring, daring me to do it.

I was seriously conflicted. I liked Drusus, but I was facing direct orders from his superior. I didnt like those orders, and they didnt seem legal to me, but I was new to my rank and wasnt quite sure how to proceed.

Fortunately, I noticed my tapper was blinking. When inside a dragon, a mans tapper was obscured. Someone was trying to send me a private message. Stalling for time, I took the call.