construction yard outside of
their Empire's territory and at this  site they  are building an entire  new
class  of ships.  If  this is  true, we can expect that when  the  fleet  is
completed, it might be used to launch a preemptive and  smashing blow to end
the war in their  favor. The key question concerning  this is if indeed this
fleet is real. If it is real and nearing  completion, do the Kilrathi intend
to  use it to launch a  preemptive strike  while we  stand down  due  to the
armistice?"
     СWhat kind of ships and where?"  a commodore asked from the back of the
room.
     "It's called the Hari," a voice announced from the corner of the room.
     "Paladin, damn me, I thought  you got killed,"  Ian shouted, coming  to
his feet and running up to embrace his old friend.
     "As usual, laddie, the reports of my death are a bit premature."
     The  group  roared with delight  as the old pilot  came up  to stand by
Tolwyn.
     "How  the hell  did you get out of that last scrape?" Ian  asked. "They
said you were reported long overdue and presumed dead. Hell, man, you owe me
a  drink Сcause  I bought a round at the Vacuum Breathers in your honor. Old
Gallagher even gilded your mug."
     "It's a wee bit tied up in all of this here talk the Admiral's giving."
     "So what's this Hari?" Doomsday grumbled.
     "The Hari Empire," Tolwyn said, "once  existed in what was the realm of
space on the other side of the Kilrathi Empire in relation  to us. More than
two hundred  of our  years before we  first made contact with  the Kilrathi,
they  fought  a war with  the Hari and annihilated them. So bitter  was  the
struggle  that the  Hari, in  their pride  refused  surrender and  committed
suicide."
     "All of them?" Sparks asked.
     "That's what we've been told by prisoners," Tolwyn said. "It  is a vast
empty reach  of space,  a good thirty jump points  out from Kilrah. The Hari
never  knew  of the jump points, and traveled at speeds  slower  than light.
They made great ships that could journey  between  worlds in trips that took
lifetimes. When  they found a world with  resources they multiplied quickly,
in a hive-like  manner. They quite literally  wrecked the planet's biosphere
with overpopulation and exploitation of every resource they could find. When
the planet was used  up, selected  members were loaded back aboard their ark
ships and moved on, leaving  the rest to die. Thus there was little on their
worlds worth  the taking, the  planets they  occupied nothing but mined over
and scarred barren wastelands when they were finished.
     "It's believed that the Kilrathi moved some of their  ship construction
deep into Hari territory  and for  at  least  the last four years have  been
working on a secret  project. This information comes from bits and pieces of
a puzzle, made up of thousands of  little details we've found over the years
Ч  a  captured shipping  report,  a stray transmission  coming from where it
wasn't  supposed  to.  In  part  this  might  explain the  anomaly  of their
transport  shortage which appeared  to  be even more acute than  our figures
suggested, since  part of their transport  fleet appears to  be committed to
hauling  material out into  Hari territory for  the building of this  secret
fleet."
     "Look, sir, if this  is the case, then what the hell is  our government
doing?"  ъound  Top  snarled.  "What  you're telling us is that the Kilrathi
called an armistice to get over a potential gap in numbers, and once they've
closed  it and  gotten ahead and get this new fleet ready, they'll come  out
kicking."
     "Prove It," Paladin said quietly, "that's the  problem. All I can  tell
you is, getting into Hari territory reminds me of this lass I  once knew who
was so . . ." He looked at the females in the audience and stopped.
     "As  I was saying,  it's impossible and believe me, I know. You have to
cross  all of Kilrathi space, hit into transit jumps that we don't even have
charts for, and then go a good thousand light years beyond. I think its fair
to assume that  this here system is wired with security from one end to  the
other.  We might be  able to put  a  concealed Kilrathi  transport or trader
inside their own  territory when there's a war on  and a lot  of traffic  to
blend in  with, but out there, it's military  security  all the  way in  and
out."
     He hesitated for a moment.
     "Believe me, I know,"  he said softly as if recalling a nightmare  that
still troubled him.
     "So how do  we  know about this  then?"  Ian  asked. "We  might just be
chasing shadows, our own fears and nothing more."
     "That I cannot say either," Paladin replied. "Not even the Admiral here
is cleared to know some of it,  and remember, I worked for  him before, same
as you, laddie. All I can say is, the information  is good, and a lot of our
friends, who are listed as missing, in fact died to find out."
     "Well, doesn't the civilian government know this?"
     Tolwyn blew out noisily and nodded.
     "A  week before  the armistice was  agreed to, there was a meeting with
ъodham,  Foreign Minister  Jamison  and the Chiefs of Staff. The information
was  presented   and  Jamison  said  that  it  was  unconfirmed,   that  the
intelligence community and military  were conspiring  to keep  the war going
and  as much as called the  Chiefs of Staff a bunch of liars. ъodham finally
sided with  Jamison, saying that at best it was rumor, and there were always
such rumors that could keep a war going, countering with the statement  that
Jukaga had claimed the same thing was being done by us."
     "So  they  accuse us  of  it, and  that balances it  out, is  that it?"
Vanderman asked.
     "That's about  it," Tolwyn replied. "I'd have to  add that Jamison does
have the weight of history on her side.  In the past, in the old Earth wars,
there  were  always such charges of  secret  bases and construction sites or
hidden redoubts. They usually  proved to be false," he  paused, "but then on
occasion they proved to be true."
     Tolwyn paused,  realizing he could  say no more in front of this group,
for in fact the Confederation did have several secret projects in the works.
Jukaga's accusation had caused a flurry of concern on the part of the Chiefs
of Staff and intelligence, but in the end it was surmised that the Baron was
merely smoke screening and had not stumbled on any hard information.
     A nervous rustle seemed to sweep through the room.
     "Damn it,  isn't anyone catching on?" someone grumbled from the back of
the room.
     "Some people are, Commodore," Tolwyn replied. "Call it war weariness, I
don't  know. I think after thirty years  people wanted peace  so  badly that
they were willing to grasp at straws and  this  Baron  knew how to play into
it.  There was an old American military leader named Marshall who  once said
Сno democracy can endure a seven years war, and we've had thirty."
     "Admiral, let's get to the  point," the  commodore replied. You dragged
us  here  for  a reason,  and  not  just  so we  could cry  on each  other's
shoulders."
     Tolwyn smiled.
     "You always did get straight  to the point, Weiss," and Tolwyn  clicked
the  hand unit once more and  the figures in the holo field dissolved to  be
replaced by a sector map.
     "You're looking at the Landreich System."
     "What a hell hole," someone growled.
     "Its a hell  hole  all right, in fact  one of their favorite planets is
named just that," Tolwyn replied. "As you can see from  the map, the forward
edge of it borders  on the Empire, and it's  about the  furthest you can get
from  Confederation  territory. Most of the  worlds haven't even  reached  G
status for colonial outpost ranking."
     He  hit a couple of buttons on his controller  and a number of flashing
red and yellow dots appeared.
     "Each red dot represents a reported violation of the demilitarized zone
by Kilrathi  vessels, each yellow  dot  by  Terran or others.  Incidents are
happening at  better than two  a day. Back  here  on  Terra  they  might  be
claiming peace, and the  same on Kilrah, but  the  frontier regions are just
about  as  hot as ever. There's  a lot  of freebooting  going on,  organized
raiding cartels are forming and even  some free corp units of ex-military on
both sides, who have no place else to go, are setting themselves up as petty
governments or as raiding groups.
     "Now  according  to  the  peace  agreement, the central  government  is
supposed to patrol these areas," and the group chuckled, "but hell, we could
barely do that when we had a full fleet and the war  was on. Thirty years of
fighting has caused a lot of breaking down out on the edges."
     He paused for a moment to throw another log in the fire.
     "They might  call  it rebellious  down here  on  Earth,  but  from  the
viewpoint of the frontier governments it's being independent. They know what
it's like to live on the edge of total annihilation if the Empire ever broke
through, and they are none too pleased with the armistice, since if anything
it means that there's no Confederation fleet at all to back them up."
     A thin smile creased his features.
     "So  they're  quietly  building  their  own  for what  they're  calling
Сreasons of internal security,' and that, my friends, is why you're here."
     Jason felt a cool shiver run down his back.
     "It might not  be  much but it's something.  I'll not call it an ace in
the  hole. When you look  at the figures I just showed you it's  more like a
deuce; but at least it's a start, a backup if things turn ugly.
     "Shall we  say,  for  convenience sake, that  in my  current  disgraced
position I have been forced into a commercial venture in order to  make ends
meet.  I have been approached by a private contractor who wishes to purchase
a number  of decommissioned  ships  that could be  reconfigured for," and he
grinned, "civilian transport.  It just so happens that I've located five  of
these ships in a mothball yard orbiting the moon."
     He paused for a moment
     They're  CVEs,  light  escort carriers,  and  I need some crews to  run
them."
     Jason broke into a grin.

     Prince Thrakhath stood up, extending his arms and groaning.
     "So what  you are telling me is that you cannot speed up the completion
of the fleet."
     "No,  my  lord,"  and the admiral  before him lowered  his  head to the
ground.
     "Stand  up and stop this groveling, I'm not going to  tear  your throat
out. I need leaders, not dead bodies just because you bring bad news."
     The admiral came to his feet.
     "It's  the problem with the transports,"  the admiral said. "We  simply
don't have enough  to keep moving the  material  out to the Hari at the rate
you wish for."
     "But  what  about those  older ships we decommissioned?" and  he almost
laughed at the thought of that. The vessels had been ready to fall apart and
yet  they were checked  off by the  Confederation  observers  as first  line
battle  worthy. And even as he thought  of it he realized that was precisely
why they were useless. The  three eights number of  jumps required to get to
the Hari base exceeded their need for overhauls after every two eights jumps
which older ships still required.
     "Couldn't we establish an overhaul base at the half way point?"
     "It might draw  notice. It could be within detection range if they ever
slipped deep enough into our territory.
     "Do it anyhow, and find a way to heighten security.
     "There is another problem as well."
     "And that is?"
     "Fleet  procedures  have always been able to provide complete situation
updates by burst signal from fleet commanders on a daily basis. Some concern
has been expressed that the Confederation, with  the rumor that they suspect
something in the Hari sector, might  turn their  attention  there and detect
these signals. If  they can decode enough of the signal it might  reveal the
existence of the new fleet."
     "The range of their  detection  equipment isn't  that good,"  Thrakhath
replied, and then paused, "or is it?"
     "We've received a couple of reports over the last year of a new project
of theirs to improve their equipment. But nothing is confirmed."
     Thrakhath nodded.
     "Use courier ships, then."
     "It  is  too far away to be efficient  and too dangerous. The tactical,
strategic, and  operational updates comprise tens of  trillions  of  bits of
information right down to the need for a replacement screw. The signals back
from Kilrah also send  out the  key information obtained by our intelligence
operatives regarding all new information regarding Earth defenses. If we had
to suddenly launch a preemptive strike without  warning, the fleet must know
on a daily basis the latest information regarding events  across the Empire,
the demilitarized zones, and inside Confederation space. The fleet in hiding
needs this  information  instantly,  and we need to know  instantly what its
needs are, a time delay of eight and four or more days is dangerous."
     "So what do you suggest?"
     "Keep the communications open."
     The Prince hesitated for a moment.
     "How secure is the encoding?"
     "Our  intelligence  indicates that the Confederation was  breaking  our
latest  fleet code  just as the armistice was reached.  However, every  five
eights  of  standard days, we changed  the code anyhow.  We could place  our
latest  one  in, and reduce  signal traffic to essentials only, keeping  the
burst signals to under a second each way."
     Thrakhath  nodded.  He   could   see   the  admiral's   point.  If  the
Confederation picked up signal traffic going  in  and out of Hari territory,
it might draw notice, but then in order to do so, even if they could upgrade
their equipment, it would require a penetration into the Empire.
     "Do so and inform our counter intelligence to keep careful watch inside
the  Confederation  as to  any actions which might indicate  that  they know
something or are planning some action."
     "So far we have detected absolutely none."
     "There is never an absolute in war, the friction of war always causes a
breakdown. You have your orders, now leave me."
     The admiral backed out of the room,
     Prince Thrakhath settled  back down at his desk and then turned to look
out  the  small  oval window. In the darkness of space beyond he could see a
long  sliver of reflected  light.  Craxha, the third of the new  carriers to
have just completed its first transjump engine testing,  was coming  back in
to dock. Tomorrow the first squadron  of  fighters, transferred  from one of
the now drydocked carriers would start to come aboard.
     The ship turned slowly, lining up on the drydock pylon which jutted out
from  the  massive orbital  base.  He  sat  quietly, watching  the  maneuver
intently.
     Docking a  ship of such massive size was  a difficult maneuver  and the
commander on board performed it flawlessly.
     Good, he had chosen that one well.
     He turned away and looked back at his commscreen, intently studying the
latest  intelligence  report  provided  by the  hrai  spies of  the Imperial
family.
     It wasn't good.
     He  closed his eyes,  silently cursing the Baron. There was  no denying
that the initial  plan  of  the Baron,  to  have  a temporary armistice, was
indeed a good one, no matter how humiliating it might be. Later, once things
were finished, the  blame  for  the humiliation could be shifted back to the
Baron and away from the shoulders of the Imperial line.
     It was the inner intent  of the Baron which  was disturbing. Already he
was trying to  marshal support from the  other  clans  against  the Imperial
blood, while  quietly working  to extend the  armistice  far  out beyond the
original intent.  It was obvious  now that the true intent  was  to let  the
armistice  continue,  place the  ultimate  blame on  the  Emperor,  and then
somehow seize power himself. When that was accomplished this new fleet would
fall into his hands, he  would overawe  the  humans with it  and thus secure
victory and his own control of the throne.
     The alternative, the Prince realized, was to preemptively strike on the
humans right now.  But the  problem was that the fleet was not yet ready for
that. It would be at least  another  six eights of  days before  the  fourth
carrier  came  on  line.  All battle  simulations  had  shown  that the full
strength of twelve carriers  was needed  for an overwhelming victory. Beyond
that,  the twelve carriers would  need more than forty  eighties of fighters
and. more importantly, trained pilots, for  them to be useful. So far he had
drawn  pilots only from those hrai truly  loyal to  the throne. That was the
difficult part of the  equation. Far too many of  the Imperial Guard  pilots
had been lost at Vukar,  and it would be at least another year before  their
losses were made good.
     If he delayed, his  military strength would grow, and the humans  would
weaken, lulled by the false peace.  That  they would be so stupid had caused
him to lose whatever respect he had once held for them as foes worthy of the
testing of steel.
     There was the chance as well that  some  in  the Confederation military
might try to  get the hard evidence regarding the new fleet and its intended
target. That they even had  suspicion of its  existence had been a blow, the
information revealed by their all so foolish traitor.
     Turning her  had been so easy, he thought with  a cold smile. Her  only
son had been captured during the  Third Enigma campaign. That was a prize to
be sure. Her discontent with the war, and her political ambitions to replace
the president  were known. The discreet passing of a  holo of her son alive,
and  in confinement had broken her will.  To  have a Foreign Minister of the
enemy  working for you was indeed a  great thing. She had been promised much
and if, when the  Confederation was destroyed and she was still useful, they
would keep her as a  puppet. The only problem with her  was that it appeared
that  she was under suspicion and thus blocked from certain key information,
especially regarding the reports of a  Confederation secret project to build
a new class  of weapons.  That was  a  concern  as well,  for  if their side
delayed, they might reach their goal and shift the  balance of  the war.  It
was another argument against delay, even  though every passing  day made the
Confederation weaker and the Empire stronger.
     Yet if he delayed, the  discontent in the Empire at the humiliation  of
peace would grow as well, and be focused upon the Emperor by the maneuvering
of the Baron.
     It was a balancing act  which  had  to be played out delicately, and he
sat  in the silence of his war  room, lights dimmed, and quietly formed  his
plans.
     Prince  Thrakhath returned to his desk and  settled back down, punching
up the latest reports on his screen. From the ambassador all was still going
well. The Confederation government was starting to protest more loudly about
the endless minor violations of the truce.

     "Look, it's  all perfectly legal, you've got the papers, the titles are
transferred, now get off this bridge," Jason snapped.
     The lieutenant looked down again at the  sheaf of paper in his hand and
back up at Jason.
     "Ah,  Mr.  Bondarevsky, I've  been  ordered  to have you wait until the
peace commission has fully  reviewed this matter. You and your people are to
leave this ship at once."
     Jason turned away and punched into a ship comm line.
     "Gloria, how's reactor?"
     "Up and cooking, sir."
     "Masumi, we on