"Nothing on sensors, "Drop Kick said, taking over the job of watching the sensors now that his main job was over, "no blasts or explosions."

  "Maybe the meson guns take some time to set up, "Mercy offered, powering into another deep ravine. "They are pretty big artillery pieces."

  "All the same, "Drop Kick countered, "I’d expect at least one to be set up all the time—just to keep people from doing what we just did."

  "Don't know. Want me to keep flying south?"

  "Yeah, do that, until I tell you to stop."

  Mercy kept flying at her NOE velocity of 175 kph for over 10 minutes, finally traversing 20 kilometers of winding mountain passages before Drop Kick gave the order to come to a haft.

  "This is strange, "Drop Kick said. "There's been no evidence of any return fire at all."

  "Well, you know, sir, "Mercy observed, "It's possible that there never were any meson guns."

  At first, Drop Kick thought to dismiss that as dangerous thinking, but then he realized that she might be right After all, even if the meson guns did work, there still wouldn't be anyway to know.

  "I don't know, "Drop Kick said. "Somehow I don't think Red Sun would have sent that message unless she knew there was real danger from the guns."

  "True"

  "Tell you what. Use the contra-grav to lift us over the nearest peaks so I can get a look at Soledad Oh, and try to see if you can keep one of the closer peaks between us and Mt. Altus, just in case there's still somebody there."

  "Roger."

  Whether or not the caution was warranted, the maneuver revealed very little except that far-flung Soledad—partly concealed to the north behind the Lomarica Hills—was completely safe and intact. " Well, I'll be damned, "Drop Kick said. "I thought maybe the meson guns would have fired on the city instead just to spite us."

  "Looks quiet to me."

  "Yeah, me too. All right, corporal, fine. Let’s go home."

  ***

  Although Drop Kick and Mercy knew Zorn's rescue mission would go off at the same time as their mission, neither tanker dared anticipate how successful Zorn would be. To expect that Zorn would safely recover not only Coeur, but Physic and Gaffer as well in a single raid was perhaps wishful thinking.

  When the intrepid landed back at the rebel camp after midnight, the tankers were delighted to see Coeur and Physic waiting to greet them.

  "Hey, Captain! "Drop Kick exclaimed, clambering down from the Intrepid's turret hatch and jogging over to Coeur and the doctor in his battle dress, followed a moment later by Mercy.

  "Drop Kick, "Coeur said, "Mercy, It's good to see you're back."

  "You too, sir. But doctor, what happened to you?"

  "Oh, "Physic said, glancing down at the crutches under her shoulders, "I tripped on Zorn's landing ramp."

  "We took a harder casualty than that, though, "Coeur said. "Gaffer was killed, back in the depot."

  "Oh no, "Mercy said. "And Fubar and Gremlin?"

  "We're not so sure about them, "Physic said. "We saw them alive back in the depot, but they didn’t look like they were in any condition to travel."

  "So, "Drop Kick observed, "from the way you're talking, you must have found the main depot—the one we're looking for."

  "Yes, we did, "Coeur said, "but Kilalt's machines stopped us before we could look around much."

  "So, "Drop Kick asked, "was it nightjacks that got Gaffer?"

  Coeur nodded. "Yes, two of 'em in fact. But Zorn and the troopers got those two when they came to rescue us."

  The Marines nodded grim satisfaction.

  "But anyway, "Coeur went on, "I want to hear about this mission of yours. Did you manage to take out all the sensors on ML Alius?"

  "We sure did, sir. But the funny thing was the meson guns didn't shoot back at us, the way I thought they would."

  "Yeah, "Coeur agreed, "that is odd With a 200-meter blast radius, they wouldn't even need to come close to hit you."

  "Could it be that all the guns are disabled? "Mercy asked. "That's what I figured."

  "I suppose it's possible. But I saw a display panel inside the depot that indicated at least one 200-gigajoule deep site was still function ill."

  "Displays can be wrong, "Drop Kick offered.

  "Maybe, but it's no use worrying about that now—we'll just assume the meson guns are incapacitated for some reason and leave it at that. Anyway, we've got bigger problems right here in the camp."

  "Don't tell me the rebels are fighting each other... "Mercy began.

  "No, "Coeur said, "the rebels are fighting with the church. When Zorn sprung Physic and me, she also picked up Cardinal Vazquez, and now Lemos and Vazquez are really going at Hover how to get rid of Kilalt."

  Drop Kick drew back, surprised.

  "The cardinal is here? "he asked.

  "She sure i, "Coeur said, "and now I've got to see if I can straighten her and Lemos out. Care to tag along?"

  "Sure thing, "Drop Kick said, following Mercy as she in turn followed Coeur and Physic toward the large canvas tent that served as Lemos' headquarters. "Maybe we can talk some sense into them."

  Yeah, Coeur thought. I'm sure the powered armor will help us sound a lot more convincing.

  ***

  As it happened, Lemos and Vazquez had decided to take a break in their discussions when Coeur and Physic returned to the tent—a fact made obvious by the lack of vociferous name-calling overheard from a distance. The general and cardinal had gotten points nailed down while Coeur and Physic were away, however—points that Vega Zorn filled Coeur in on just outside the entrance to the tent.

  "Basically, "Zorn said, "Lemos wants to rush the Defense Ministry with his men and kill everyone in sight—"

  "Hm, "Physic quipped, "sounds like one of your proposals."

  "Physic, "Coeur warned, "let her finish."

  "Sorry."

  "Right, "Zorn said, with a quick sour glance at the doctor. "Lemos wants to rush the building, but Vazquez is afraid he'd kill too many civilians—and priests—if he did that. She figures it would be better to use the ship’s boat radio transmitter and appeal directly to the people to overthrow Kilalt."

  "That was my idea, "Coeur said, "but there's a catch I didn't realize earlier. Kilalt has better radio-jamming equipment than I expected. To be effective, Vazquez would have to broadcast from right in the middle of the Federal District, and drown out his signal."

  "While, "Drop Kick observed, "coming under fire from the army loyalists and the nightjacks. Not fun."

  "No, not fun at all."

  The sudden arrival of Newton interrupted further comment. Mindful of the need to stay off the radio, and therefore keep the rebel position concealed from the nightjacks, Newton had padded over from the G-carrier in preference to calling Coeur on her communicator.

  "Begging your pardon. Red Sun, but there is a message for you from Gyro. She has expressed the desire to speak with you at your convenience."

  "Doesn't sound like much of a crisis."

  "I'm afraid that I can't speak to that, sir. She didn't elaborate."

  "All right, "Coeur said, glancing into the tent and seeing that things weren't getting back under way yet. "I'll go call her back on the lasercom. The rest of you stay here, though, and try to calm them down if they start to kill each other."

  "Yes, sir, "Drop Kick said, flexing a mighty servo-driven arm.

  "But without breaking any arms or skulls."

  "Yes, sir."

  Thirty seconds later, Coeur was back inside the G-carrier with Newton and pulling up a chair to the Hiver's communications station.

  "Red Sun to Hornet. Come in, please."

  "Red Sun, this is Hornet, " Gyro returned. "You must have gotten my message."

  "Roger that; what's up?"

  "Sir, I've been thinking. Newton just informed us that Drop Kick's mission was successful, and that must mean the meson gun sensors have been disabled. If that's true, then, sir, I wonder if it might not be time to have Hornet lift off the back face of Elojo and make some kind of positive contribution to your work down there."

  "Yeah, I thought about that. "Coeur said. "I don't see why not, now that there's less chance you'll be blown away."

  "Very good, sir. You know what we were thinking. Crowbar and Snapshot and Sixer and me, was that we've got a pretty powerful radio up here on Hornet, probably powerful enough to jam Radio Soledad, or something like that."

  Coeur sat suddenly upright, astonished.

  "Damn, "she said, "why didn't I think of that?"

  "Sir?"

  "Your idea about the radio—it's just what we need. With Hornet overhead, we could broadcast Vazquez' radio messages all over the city and say to hell with Kilalt's jamming."

  "I don't know if I follow all that, sir, "Gyro said, "bunt's sounds do-able. Should we lift off, sir?"

  "Roger that, as soon as possible."

  A pause followed, during which Coeur thought about signing off, but didn't.

  "Say, Gyro, "she said, "you haven't been hiding any secret telepathic powers from us, have you?"

  "No, sir. Must be a coincidence us both thinking about the radio."

  "Yeah, probably. Anyway, It's just as well."

  "Why's that, sir?"

  "Because there are no psionic institutes left for you to study at. They all got blown up."

  "Oh, right"

  "Anyway, I wonder if you could patch me through to Deep Six; there's a little project I'd like him to work on while you're moving into orbit..."

  ***

  Although Miranda Vazquez was presently distanced from the power of the spiritual office Kilalt had usurped, she retained a personal magnetism and aura of authority that even General Lemos was forced to respect. Heedless of the general's superior numbers, she stood alone on the strength of moral argument— an argument that appealed to increasing numbers of Lemos' men and threatened to incite a minor civil war within the imponsero Phalanx.

  And that's just what we don't need—a rift between our two best allies, Coeur thought as the meeting in General Lemos' tent reconvened. She took a seat in one of the few chairs available to the rebels. Chairs had also been provided for General Lemos, his two senior aides, Zorn, Physic and Drop Kick—though the latter elected to remain standing lest his armor crush his chair. Cardinal Vazquez also chose to remain standing, offering her chair to Brother Anthony, and she became the meeting's center of attention as she stood in her glittering ecclesiastical robes.

  "Look, Your Holiness, "Lemos began, "I don't want to sound uncooperative, but your plan is ridiculous. I can't afford to detail the men it would take to guard you and the spacer radio if you took it downtown Soledad!"

  "Nevertheless, "Vazquez replied, "you will. If you have any feeling for how the future will remember us, and any sense of responsibility for the lives you would otherwise throw away in a frontal assault on the Ministry."

  "This is ridiculous, "Lemos said, slapping his thighs and looking at his aides. "Why am I sitting here listening to this nonsense?"

  "If I might interrupt, "Coeur said, moving forward on her Chair, "I think I may have a solution to this problem. ”

  "Oh? "Vazquez asked.

  "Yes. General Lemos, we know that the power of Kilalt is slipping away in the city, yet he retains the loyalty of no less than a dozen nightjacks and at least a battalion of troops. If the people of the city—and I mean the entire city, not just downtown Soledad—could be made to hear the cardinal's voice, then surely the majority of the population that still supports her would rise up in force against Kilalt."

  "Well, of course, "Lemos said, "but you've said yourself that the radio tacks that kind of power."

  "The ship's boat radio, yes. But not the radio of my starship Hornet."

  "But I thought your Hornet was hiding behind the moon. "Lemos said skeptically, "hiding from the gun that shoots through rock."

  "Not any more, "Coeur said, activating her personal communicator. "Hornet. this is Red Sun. Are you receiving?"

  "Right here, "Deep Six replied. "We've moved into a geostationary orbit above your position."

  "Good. Stand by."

  Coeur then shut off her communicator and looked at Lemos.

  "Now, general, I've got a little demonstration. Could somebody get us Radio Soledad on a local receiver?"

  Lemos nodded, letting one of his aides switch on a battered old radio set. Whistling static and pops issued from the speakers, but eventually the soldier dialed in by far the most powerful local signal.

  "... People of the city are advised to remain indoors for their own safety, since His Most Sacred Holiness, Saint Kilalt, has informed us that a host of demons has beset the city in opposition to his coming. Further, all inter-district travel will be banned until further notice, and factory workers are advised that all Federal District plants will remain closed until further notice, due to demonic infestation..."

  Listening to this rambling monologue clearly upset General Lemos, and caused both Vazquez and Brother Anthony to make the triangular sign of the Defender on their chests. But the litany came to a sudden stop a moment later, replaced first by loud static, then by a hymn, and a message from Cardinal Vazquez, clearly recorded earlier.

  "Peoples of Soledad, I greet you in the name of God, the Holy Spirit and the Holy Defender. Recently, we have been troubled by a great evil, which from the time of its ancient origin has threatened to forever divide us from each other. It is not the will of the Blessed Defender, however, that we should harbor ancient enmities in our breast We are the people of the City of the Defender, and we must remember that no enemy will drive us away from unity in His body.

  "Praise be to the Defender."

  "Why, that's me, "Vazquez said, astonished, as the message ended and static returned to the radio.

  "Yes, "Coeur said, lifting up her communicator again, "recorded before Kilalt came to power. Thank you, Sixer. You can shut off the EMS jammer now. Red Sun out."

  "Very good, sir. Hornet out."

  A moment later, the static subsided, letting the original program of Radio Soledad come back on the air.

  ... I don't know what that was, but my engineer assures melt was probably some sort of freak atmospheric effect—a low-pressure cell or something. But back to the news. His Most Sacred Holiness, Saint Kilalt, has found the souls of several criminals captured on Enea Avenue to be possessed by demonic spirit, and therefore scheduled their public immolation for 0500 this morning...."

  "Enough, "General Lemos said. "Shut that off."

  The aide closest to the radio quickly obliged.

  "So, "Lemos then said to Coeur, "that was your ship that did that."

  "Yes, sir. And you can be assured that it knocked Radio Soledad off the air all over the city—from the Lomarica Hills to the Marina District—and replaced it with that recorded signal from Cardinal Vazquez. But of course, that could just easily be a live broadcast from the cardinal, or anything else we want"

  "All right, "Lemos said, leaning back in his chair, "all right, lean see that you're correct. Captain. It's time for Vazquez and I to cooperate more closely."

  Vazquez nodded politely.

  Lemos continued, "So where do we start?"

  "The way I see it, "Coeur answered, "we've got two problems. Kilalt will have to be brought to justice, and the depot will have to be destroyed, both to take away Kilalt's base of power and to prevent its weapons from falling into unfriendly hands. Ideally, I'd like these two missions to go off simultaneously—tomorrow night if possible—so that'll limit who's available for each task. My people, and Zorn's, can probably handle the depot, but as far as Kilalt goes, I think you'll have to take the lead on that one."

  "Absolutely, "Lemos said. "That's best, since we'll have the authority to declare a new government after we take down Kilalt."

  "Actually, "Coeur said, "I was hoping you and Cardinal Vazquez would cooperate in forming that new government."

  "Of course, "Lemos said. "I'm sure that would be the will of the people."

  "For my part, "Vazquez offered, "I must admit that I allowed too much distance to come between the general and myself during my earlier time in office. This time, I'll see that that doesn't happen."

  Coeur nodded. "Of course, "Coeur said to Lemos, "I don't think we'll necessarily have to take all our troops to the depot Since you still have nightjacks to deal with, I don't think it would hurt to leave at least a couple of Marines herewith fusion rifles."

  "Whatever you think is appropriate, "Lemos said. "We'll certainly make use of whatever you can spare."

  "Agreed, "Va2quez said. "Yet I can't help but wonder about something. Even if I do manage to rally the people on the radio, and the general successfully leads an assault on the ministry, what's to keep Kilalt from simply escaping the city in one of his flying vehicles?"

  Yeah, Coeur thought, sighing, that is a problem. But, fortunately, she'd already given it some thought.

  "Actually, "she said, "I've thought about that The way I figure it, what we need is some sort of lure to keep Kilalt tied to the city."

  "A lure, Captain?"

  "Yes, specifically the junior technarchs."

  Suddenly, Physic wheeled on Coeur.

  "Are you kidding? After the way they disobeyed your orders before?"

  "Actually, that's what I'm counting on. Practically everyone in the city knows I trust them about as far as I could throw them, which is why nobody” d ever suspect I'd sent them on a mission myself."

  "True. But even so, self-sacrifice isn't exactly what I'd call typical behavior from the technarchs. How'd you talk them into it?"

  "Actually, "Coeur admitted, "I haven't. But they're sensible people. I'm sure they'll see reason."

  ***

  "Captain D'Esprit you've got to be kidding! I refuse to have anything to do with this plan!"

  "Hold on a minute, Liu. You haven't let me explain...."

  'Oh no, "An-Wing replied, "I've heard enough. This is probably just a harebrained scheme to get us killed once and for all."

  In the small tent that Zorn had secured for the junior technarchs, Coeur stood patiently beside the central pole, deliberately steeling herself against an escalation in rhetoric. Sitting on a single cot the junior technarchs presented a strange pair—on the one hand An-Wing a tense young woman in her tattered tunic and culottes, and on the other hand Masaryk, a disheveled young man with one arm in a sling and a distracted expression suggesting more than anything the desire to be anywhere else. Yet Coeur could not afford to think of them as eccentrics any more. Now they might very well be vital to the success of the entire RC enterprise on Mexit.

 

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