The Captain continued, "We see it revealed in Uskaron's history, when he asks why it is that some of the worst monsters seem to be the most capable of men, when the—"

With tired contempt Harald shut down Davidson's ability to communicate. What a puerile question, and certainly not the one Uskaron—who had Harald's utmost respect—actually did ask. As Harald recollected, the question was rhetorical: Why do people follow capable monsters into war? And the answer to this provided a whole chapter on fear, manipulation and the powerlessness of the individual.

Abruptly weary, Harald slumped back in the Admiral's chair.

It didn't seem so comfortable now.

Director Gneiss

Upon observing Harald's failure with Resilience, Gneiss allowed himself a tight little smile, which faded as soon as he brought his attention back to the other rebel hilldigger, Stormfollower. Within a few hours it would hit atmosphere like Ironfist and Desert Wind, but without the benefit of engines to keep its million-ton weight in the sky. Making some calculations, Gneiss assessed that the ship would remain pretty much intact on its way down, though by the time it hit the Brak sea it would be burning inside, and any of the 4,000 or so aboard who survived the descent would probably be glad to finally die. Perhaps because of a strange kind of excitement he felt at the prospect of finally meeting the Consul Assessor, Gneiss also felt impelled to take an action that was rather out of character. He abruptly opened communications with the Station Director of Corisanthe III.

"Roubert, how are you holding up there?" he asked.

Glass gazed at him suspiciously. "That depends almost entirely on what you are going to request of me, and how much it is going to cost this station in wealth and lives."

"Do I seem so transparent to you?" enquired Gneiss.

"On the few occasions when you want your intentions to be read, you are utterly transparent; the rest of the time you are as opaque as the Worm itself."

Gneiss just stared at him, not quite sure what to make of that.

"What is it you want, Gneiss?" Roubert Glass asked impatiently.

The question seemed to knock Gneiss's mind back into motion, as if for a while it had simply stalled. "You have now only to defend your station against the attacks from hilldigger Wildfire, and I see that you've been able to launch some supply ships to service Defence Platforms Three and Four."

"Yes, we sent eight ships, and lost one of them. What's your point?"

"My point is that there, within Corisanthe III, you have two space liners near to completion—ships capable of taking thousands of passengers…tourists…on cruises beyond Sudoria."

"Those lumbering giants won't be able to help us."

"I don't intend for them to help us. I am thinking about 4,000 or so Fleet personnel."

"Why would I want to risk my own people to save them? In fact, it's distinctly possible that if I order my men to do so, they'll mutiny."

"I'm talking about Stormfollower," said Gneiss.

"I know precisely what you're talking about, Gneiss, and I think this is one for the Oversight Committee. You've been given powers to conduct our defence, but I'm not entirely sure this is a defence matter."

Gneiss sat back, thinking how easy it was to forget the limitations of his powers. After a moment he put out a call on the conferencing channel reserved for Oversight. His screen immediately divided into six. One of the frames remained blank, his own; Glass occupied another frame, then over the next few minutes other members of the committee began to appear. Only one frame did not fill, that of the Director of Corisanthe II, who probably had enough problems already to deal with. However, a number in the corner of that frame showed that Rishinda Gleer had been made his proxy. Once assembled. Gneiss explained his plan to them all.

"It all seems very altruistic," said Rishinda, "and I am wondering if at present we can actually afford altruism."

"Then try to look at it from a completely selfish perspective," said Gneiss. "Very shortly we'll be receiving evidence that exonerates us in the current crisis and confirms Fleet's aggression as the cause. Once this fight is over, such evidence will put us in a very good position, as far as planetary politics is concerned. However, many in Fleet and many supporters of Fleet will still be strongly against us. A life-saving rescue such as this will likely put over 4,000 Fleet personnel in our debt, and may go a long way to change the attitude of the rest."

"Gratitude is very much overrated," observed Glass, "and can quickly sour."

"That is all a matter of degree," said another committee member, "and something that can be debated endlessly."

"We do not have time for debate," added Rishinda.

"Then let's consider the possible cost," said Glass. "Our liners are unarmed, so if we send one out it will have to remain, where possible, under our shields, and where that is not possible would have to be defended by war-craft. This could not only cost us lives, it could well cost us the liner itself."

"Why would Harald want to attack an unarmed liner heading away from where he is conducting his attack?" asked Gneiss.

"It would be nice to think the man is operating with utter logic," said Glass. "But remember it was he who sent Stormfollower on its way down anyway. What purpose does that serve?"

"Maybe an object lesson to the crews of the other ships whose control he has usurped?"

"We have no time for all this," interjected Rishinda, peering at something off-screen. "I suggest we put it to the vote now."

"Seconded," said Gneiss. "Those against sending the liner?" Two vote icons clicked up. "Those for sending it?" Four, including Gneiss's own, now clicked up. Assuming that Glass voted against the rescue mission, that meant Rishinda and her proxy vote must have voted for it, since if she had not there would have been three votes against. The frames then began to wink out until only Glass remained, his image brought forward to fill the entire screen.

"How long will it take you to prepare a liner for launch?" asked Gneiss.

Glass peered at him carefully, his expression amused. "Very little time at all. Guessing that this idea might be mooted, I started fuelling the liner and warming up its reactors some while ago." He checked something to one side. "In fact a small command crew is boarding right now."

Gneiss found himself annoyed at his own assumptions. Of course there was no way he could tell if Glass really had voted against rescue. Maybe Rishinda's votes had been the two opposing ones. He shut down the connection with Glass and leaned back. Then, observing that Dalepan was trying to contact him, he opened that connection next.

"We've had a problem with our visitors," announced the OCT.

"Problem?"

Dalepan was looking decidedly uncomfortable. "Internal security has been very tight. We could not afford any attempts at sabotage."

"What are you trying to tell me, Dalepan?"

In a flat monotone, Dalepan imparted the bad news.