Ghost War

“Stocks and deeds are fine, but what will they count for when Tormark decides she wants to dispossess him?” I narrowed my eyes. “Or are we assuming that she wants to consolidate power in Prefecture III and he’ll be content with Prefecture IV?”

“Right now it does look as if their areas of interest do not overlap too much, which is a blessing.” The Countess crossed her legs. “As it is, Ba

I nodded. Since Stone’s reforms had been instituted, the manufacture of BattleMechs and munitions had been placed under strict regulation. While Ba

“That would be Ba

I tapped a finger against my chin. “Ba

Consuela nodded. “I hope your being used as bait in this regard will not be a problem.”

I smiled and was reminded of the old joke: Strategic is when you get reports about fighting; operational is when you hear shots fired; and tactical is when you’re taking fire. “This is strategic bait, so I’m okay. You’re thinking that there will come a time when he decides that hostile takeovers are just more convenient than bribery?”

Nessa snorted. “Ba

Janella shook her head. “He doesn’t think of them as lives. He refers to them as actuarial risk units. Deaths are not tragedies, but exposures to lawsuits. Wiping out a village of farmers can be calculated in terms of settlements and factored into the equation about how he should take a place. It’s the cost of doing business.”

“I can see why he was never made a noble,” I said. “Countess, I could see Katana Tormark being persuaded to be reasonable by an appeal to honor and tradition, and that might limit what she chooses to do, but I don’t imagine any brake of that sort on Ba

She looked at me with an unwavering, dark-eyed stare. “No one has authorized the murder of a citizen, and certainly not one who would be seen as a martyr.” Her comment left me no doubt the concept had been discussed but rejected with good reason.

That actually heartened me a lot because I’d been afraid that the madness that seemed to be spreading through The Republic might actually have seeped into the government. If Ba

A few would even suggest that this is the course of action that Stone would have taken, but I didn’t agree with that. Stone had certainly crushed his share of enemies, but they had known he was coming and had opportunity to reform their ways before he imposed reformation on them. A shot in the dark did not seem like the sort of thing he would have condoned.

I was also dubious of the deterrence argument because, for each person who would decide he wanted to live more than he wanted to rule, there would be two others who would make alternate decisions. One would decide that she could do it better and avoid the mistakes that got her predecessor killed. The other would decide that such an arbitrary abuse of power needed to be opposed, and would rally forces to depose the government that sanctioned the execution of one of its own citizens.

In my advancing the question, Consuela read exactly what I was asking: if Ba

It also wasn’t a question of whether or not I’d refuse the order to kill him. As a Ghost Knight I’d been trained to use my discretion to deal with problems. Assassination might be authorized, but that didn’t mean I had to kill him. If there was another way to neutralize him, I would be free to use it. The problem with Ba

In fact, if Ba

Chewing my lower lip, I scooted forward onto the edge of the couch. “I take it these two are emblematic of a number of other jackals. Right now they are functioning on operational and tactical levels—though we have rumors of skirmishing on Ankaa and New Rhodes III. Once they have consolidated their power bases you think they will go strategic and formally carve out their own little empires.”

“Exactly. We still have many loyal people. Tara Campbell on Northwind is gathering the Highlanders. Helen, Towne, Murchison and Galatia III could become a diamond of worlds where the Highlanders and Dragon’s Fury decide the fate of Prefecture III. Ba

I nodded. Learning more about the whole situation did help clarify a lot of things, but brought with it more dread. Before I was just afraid, but now I had really good reasons to be afraid. People who had the skills, will and resources were ready to divide The Republic. Other people were willing to oppose them and, regardless of who won, the damage that would be done to their forces and to The Republic itself would weaken it to the point that when the lions did return, they would scatter the jackals and gorge themselves on the kill.

I could also see why the leadership was in a quandary about what to do. The Republic had maintained order and guided progress through economic stimulus and education. Those who opposed The Republic could not participate in the prosperity, and those who made The Republic better were vastly rewarded with money and honors.