19

After two chunks of not merely void but hostile void, the Samuels System was a relief to see. Following Macey’s instructions, they’d novaed in close enough that their scans immediately picked out the six asteroid fortresses guarding the inhabited planet.

“It’s a nice star system,” Kira observed wryly to Konrad. They were alone in her office, though she was expecting to be linked with the locals shortly.

“Especially the planet,” her boyfriend replied, looking at the virtual window covering one wall of her office. “I’ve seen a few by now, but few quite that pretty.”

Bennet was a green and blue marble, with shades slightly different from Apollo or Redward that somehow still felt exactly right. With a minimal axial tilt and an equatorial set of continents, the data feeding into Kira’s headware said it was comfortably warm across most of the landmasses despite being in the latter stages of an ice age according to the geologists.

Inward from Bennet were Fox and Hound, two balls of rock and toxic gas that would be useless to almost anyone. The wealth of the Samuels System was outward from Bennet, first in the Pennsylvania Belt and then in the gas giants Haven and Sanctuary.

The outer wrap of the system was the Washington Belt, an ice asteroid belt to match the Pennsylvania Belt’s rocky asteroids. Five worlds and two asteroid belts to provide everything a wealthy colony needed.

And yet the true wealth of the Samuels System, Kira knew, was its galactic position. Without the impact of the Samuels-Colossus Corridor, the system would have been self-sufficient and better off than many—but with the Corridor, Samuels’s wealth was nearly in the league of Apollo or Brisingr.

The Ministries were careful with their people’s wealth and kept a low profile on the interstellar scene. The people of Samuels controlled their government quite directly—and the people of Samuels, from what Kira could tell, wanted no trouble with anyone.

Unfortunately, that meant they had no fleet whatsoever. Just asteroid forts and a dozen squadrons of nova fighters.

“It’s a pretty world, but that’s uglier,” Kira told her boyfriend, highlighting a familiar-looking set of structures near one of the asteroid forts. “Thrown-together military shipyards.”

“Why are you assuming military?” Konrad asked, eyeing them.

“Because the civilian yards are at the Samuels-Bennet Lagrange point over here,” she said, tagging the point of gravitational stability “ahead” of Bennet in its orbit. “But those aren’t protected enough for warship construction, so the locals are putting together new slips under the guns of the fortresses to build a fleet.”

“You’re not wrong,” he agreed, studying both sets of yards with a practiced eye. “Slips aren’t done yet, though. It’s going to be another month or two before they even lay keels for nova warships, unless they’ve got some under construction at the civilian yards.”

“I’d do both in their place,” Kira told him. “They can afford it. If the populace voted for it.”

“Universal e-democracy,” he said with a sigh. “I like it. I just hope they don’t shoot themselves in the foot too badly.”

“Macey seems to have her head on pretty straight, pacifism and all,” she noted. “I suspect they know what Colossus is throwing their way.”

She shook her head.

“I hope you have a clean dress uniform tucked away somewhere,” she said. “We might be sending the ships to discharge at Haven, but some of us have to go make nice with the Ministries—and if I have to play politics, I am bringing my arm candy.”

“Oh, I think I can manage that,” he promised with a chuckle.

“Admiral Demirci, please allow me to extend the First Minister’s warm welcome to the Samuels System,” Doretta Macey’s familiar image told Kira. “From Captain Hennessy’s discussions with you, we understand the blockade is…not entirely broken?”

She sounded a bit confused by the concept, which was fair in Kira’s opinion. Macey was a negotiator, not a soldier.

“There are three mapped trade-route stops that need to be blockaded to seal Samuels in an efficient manner,” Kira told her. “There are six a ship can actually nova to Samuels from, but those three cut off any approach far enough out that they can still detour to Colossus.”

The third was actually two novas away from Samuels, past the fourth point Kira would have blockaded but the CNW had chosen to ignore. There was still no way Kira’s ships could have reached it without discharging. Speaking of…

“My vessels will need to discharge static and tachyons at Haven before proceeding,” she continued. “But we believe we know roughly what awaits us at the final blockade point, and I am confident in our ability to handle it.”

“That was what our military officers told us to expect,” Macey agreed. “As promised in the contract, all tolls and fees for fueling and discharging in the Samuels System are waived for your vessels.

“The First Minister has also asked me to invite you, and any of your officers you choose, to join them for dinner this evening. That would be in about two and a half hours,” the Samuels native explained with a smile.

“Of course,” Kira said. “Commander Bueller and I would be delighted to attend, though most of my officers will need to deal with the damage from our engagements so far.”

“Is there any assistance our yards and personnel can provide with that?” Macey asked instantly.

“Not needed at this point,” Kira told her. “We were lucky and didn’t take significant damage in either engagement. Deception is a little banged up around the edges, but we have replacement armor plates and dispersal netting in storage.”

She smiled.

“Such costs are what the additional combat fees are intended to cover,” she reminded Macey.

“And those fees will be paid shortly,” the local confirmed. “Shall I inform First Minister Buxton of your attendance this evening?”

“Please,” Kira said. “I will be bringing a shuttle down from Deception. If you can pre-arrange our flight path, that will smooth the way.”

“It will be taken care of,” Macey promised. “I look forward to seeing you again, Admiral.”

The channel closed, and Kira linked to Mwangi and Davidović.

“Akuchi, Marija,” she greeted them. “As expected, I need to politick on the surface. I’m taking Bueller, but both of you know what you need to do?”

“I’m pretty sure we can both manage a static discharge into a gas giant in our sleep, boss,” Mwangi said drily. “And the repairs we need are minor enough that, yes, it is okay that you’re stealing my chief engineer to be your arm candy.”

“Rank hath its privileges,” Kira reminded her flag captain. “And if I have to go make nice, I’m at least bringing my boyfriend to back me up!”

“Better you in the politics than me, sir,” Davidović noted. “I know how the game works on Redward, and I know the players. A strange new world with strange new rules? I’d be lost.”

“Half of my career for Apollo was working with our allies,” Kira told them. “And then I had to survive in Redward.” She grinned.

“I think I can handle the snake pit of politics that is a planet founded by pacifists.”