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"Of course. Excellency, I am yours to command." He gave Lame Deer the signal
to keep close guard. He didn't want his conversation with the
Admiral to be overheard.
Once inside the house, she came straight to the point: "Miklos, do you recall
the man who tried to push a duel with Captain Marius at the ball a couple of
weeks ago?"
"Clearly, Excellency. A Captain Polycarpio, I believe?"
"Exactly. He is captain of the light cruiser
Fire Dragon of the
Dragonship Fleet. The commander of that fleet, my supposed ally, Admiral
Horatio, was probably the one who put him up to it. I am now going to take you
into my confidence." She explained the details of her offer to
Marius. "I thought, at first, that he was hired by one of the officers of the
smaller fleets that will be consolidated under Marius' command: one who had
hoped himself to command one of those fleets. My inquiries in that direction
were fruitless. It seems that Admiral Horatio has contrived to plant a
listening device in my quarters, so I suspect that it was he who called on his
captain to challenge Marius. Polycarpio is a notorious
duelist, even among this crowd. Twenty-two dead men to his credit this year. I
want you to investigate this matter and deal with Polycarpio. I
can't have allies plotting against me at a time like this. You must ingratiate
yourself with Polycarpio and, if possible, get to Horatio himself.
I must know the extent of his plans."
"I am most flattered by your confidence. Excellency, but, why me?
Surely you have many officers whom you know better." Miles was cautious and
suspicious.
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"First, Marius vouches for you, and I know him for a fine judge of men.
You wouldn't be his first officer unless you were competent. Second, as his
first officer and most trusted lieutenant, you are the one most likely to sell
him out, so you will seem less suspicious to Polycarpio." Miles nodded at the
wisdom of that. "Third, all of my most trusted officers know entirely too much
about me. If I gave them a chance to betray me to my enemies, I
would be taking entirely too much risk. Last of all, there is a good chance
Polycarpio or Horatio will kill you. To be honest, you wouldn't be much loss
to me."
"That is most clear and logical, Excellency, and removes any doubts I
may have harbored. However, it leaves one important question to be answered."
Miles made his eyes swim with greed.
"Of course. What is to be your reward? Marius tells me that you were captain
of his yacht. Can you actually use the instruments, as Marius can?
Plot and follow a course without a chart-thimble if necessary?"
"Yes, Excellency, if coordinates are available and the flight is within a
solar system."
"When Marius takes over his fleet, he'll probably want to keep the
Samnite as his flagship, but there will be others. Captain Publio of the
Black Knife Fleet has been taking pay from Admiral Cato for some time, to
supply him with information concerning the joint raids that my fleet and the
Black Knives sometimes make. We'll be getting rid of him as soon as the
current emergency is over. His ship, the Evil Dream, is a fighter-scout with
excellent arms and better navigational capabilities than most in the fleets.
Now would you like to captain her?"
"Your Excellency can place every trust in me," replied Miles.
"I shall," said Achillia, standing. "Men who betray my trust have an exciting
but very brief time in which to contemplate their treachery. Good day, Officer
Miklos."
As soon as she was gone. Lame Deer came in.
"You heard?" said Miles.
"I was at the window while I kept lookout. So, our Marius has a fleet to
command if he betrays us. A most tempting proposition for such as he."
Miles was thoughtful. "Yes, but he knows the might of the Church. He knows
that these pirates would stand no chance in open battle."
"He also knows our weakness. He can betray to his friends here the fact that
all they need do is stuff their ships with innocent hostages and the
Church will be powerless against them. The days of 'God will know his own' are
past. If the Church doesn't strike soon, they'll find out, anyway.
It's common knowledge on Charun that we took Cadmus as we did to spare
innocent lives."
"That is all too true, but as yet these are nothing but rumors." He was struck
by a sudden thought. "How are your men at spreading rumors?"
"Perfection itself, as only soldiers can be." Lame Deer grinned with dawning
comprehension. "You have some rumors you want spread?"
"Several. Remember, if asked, they're to say that they heard this information
from traders on Melos, or from refugees from Cadmus, or
Charunites, but always second-hand."
"First, the Church forces are religious fanatics who want to kill sinners at
any cost in innocent lives."
"But, they already know about Cadmus. Some of them do, anyway."
"Reality has no effect on rumors. Besides, none of them were on
Cadmus. That's just rumor to them, too. Next, tell them that the way the
Church will try to take them is by direct bombardment of Illyria, that they
have ways of finding planets without chart-thimbles. That'll tempt them into a
space battle, so we won't have to risk killing people here. Oh, yes, and our
ships are as antiquated as theirs; you've talked to experienced
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spacers who've seen them. The big ship is just a long-distance carrier, to
keep the fleet together on flights of extreme duration. It has no fighting
capabilities. Spread these rumors for now, and I'll think up some more later."
Miles sat at his ease in one of Port Royal's many dives. This one was the
Skull and Glass, a known hangout of the Black Knife Fleet. The pirates wore no
uniforms or insignia, but men of the different fleets congregated separately
in different taverns. Miles knew he was courting danger by showing his face
here, but it was the only way he could get in touch with
Polycarpio. The young captain was here nearly every evening, to carouse with
his friends. Miles had attracted some long and somewhat hostile looks, but no
one had said anything to him or taken exception to his presence. There was a
truce of sorts between crewmen of usually-feuding ships and fleets, in view of
the common emergency.
He was sipping his second glass of bluegreen wine when Polycarpio came in,
surrounded by his officers and crew. He glared around him pugnaciously, and
most of the men were careful to look in another direction. Clearly, the young
man had been having a hard time of it lately.
His eyes lit on Miles and began to glow ferociously. His hands clenched and
unclenched, grasping and crushing some invisible throat. Obviously, he
remembered Miles as a witness of his humiliation. He signalled his men to
remain where they were and strode over to Miles' table. The bar tensed in
anticipation of entertaining action.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you from the Cimmerian Fleet?" His voice
grated on the edge of hysteria.
"First officer of the
Samnite
, to be precise," said Miles calmly. "Why not have a seat?" Polycarpio
stiffened, reaching for his pistol, then stopped suddenly. Miles had a small
beamer pointed directly between his eyes. He hadn't seen the hand move. He
dropped into the chair with a demented change of mood.
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