Timothy Zahn - Manta's Gift

It was no use. With the bigger Protector now on trial, the whole court was sinking downward toward the more comfortable—at least for the Counselors—air density of Level Five. Already they were beyond a Breeder's reach, and heading still deeper.

With a sigh, he gave up the effort. "What are they going to do to him?" he asked as he started drifting upward again.

"That's what the trial's supposed to determine, isn't it?" the Protector told him acidly.

"Come on, Manta," the Nurturer urged more quietly, giving him a gentle nudge. "This level can't be very comfortable for you. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Manta asked. Not that he really cared. If Drusni didn't want to see him, it didn't much matter where he went.

"The Counselors think you need to see more of our world," the Protector said. "So that's what we're going to show you."

Liadof had warned that she would be seeing him again soon, Faraday remembered, just before she'd thrown him and Milligan out of the Contact Room. Faraday had taken the threat seriously, and had spent the walk back to his quarters organizing his thoughts and the arguments he would make in his defense.

But as he sat in his quarters, and the minutes dragged into hours, he began to wonder if she had somehow forgotten her threat. The hours stretched in turn into days, and he began to wonder if she could possibly even have become incapable of carrying it out.

Finally, on the fourth day, he had a visitor.

But it wasn't Liadof.

"Hello, Colonel," Hesse said, ducking his head in a slightly nervous-looking nod as the Sanctum cop outside ushered him in and closed the door behind him. "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Not at all," Faraday said, getting up from the desk chair where he'd been working and gesturing to it. "Please; sit down."

Hesse hesitated, glancing around the room. "Well..."

"Please," Faraday said again, crossing to the bed and sitting on the edge.

"Thank you," Hesse said. Gingerly, Faraday thought, he swiveled the chair around to face the bed and sat down. "I should first apologize for not coming to see you sooner. I meant to, but there were...

certain difficulties."

"I can imagine," Faraday agreed. "Frankly, I'm surprised you were able to get in to see me at all."

Hesse waved a deprecating hand. "Arbiter Liadof is from the Five Hundred; I'm from the Five Hundred. Professional courtesy, you know."

"Really?" Faraday said, lifting his eyebrows.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hesse asked cautiously, squirming slightly in his chair.

"It means you look like you're sitting on a fire ant nest," Faraday said bluntly. "Let me guess. Liadof doesn't know you're here at all, does she?"

Hesse swallowed. "Well... to be honest... but actually, it doesn't matter."

"That's clear," Faraday said dryly. "You want to explain it in English now?"

Hesse took a deep breath. "Okay," he said, letting the breath out in a whoosh. "Okay. Bottom line is that the Omega Probe fiasco has put the Five Hundred into a complete uproar. The whole thing was Arbiter Liadof's personal baby, and now it's sort of spit up in everyone's face."

Faraday chuckled. "And the Five Hundred are somewhat perturbed?"

"That's putting it mildly," Hesse said, relaxing a little. "She's spent most of the past few days in her private communications room here on the station, working like crazy to shore up her support."

"Against whom?" Faraday asked. "Pressure from some other faction?"

"Pressure from at least two other factions, actually," Hesse said. "Things still haven't completely settled down, but it looks like her group will manage to hold on to their position, but with their strength seriously diminished."

"I see," Faraday said. "You'll forgive me if I don't leap for joy, Mr. Hesse, but I've heard all this before. You get whispered rumors that change is in the air, but somehow nothing ever really comes of it. Sort of like a forecast of a cold front in the middle of a Central North American summer."

"I understand," Hesse said. "But this time, it happens to be true. It's practically guaranteed that they're going to have to make some concessions or compromises if they want to hold on to their power."

"Well, personally, I'm not going to hold my breath," Faraday said. "But okay, let's assume for the moment that it actually happens. What's it going to mean as far as Jupiter and the Qanska are concerned?"

Hesse's lips compressed briefly. "Arbiter Liadof believed that her—well, let's call it what it was.

That her extortion plan was the quickest way to get hold of a Qanskan stardrive. She managed to convince the rest of the Five Hundred, which was how she got approval for Omega in the first place.

Now, there's going to have to be some serious rethinking."

"What kind of rethinking?" Faraday pressed. "That could just mean redesigning Omega to be Vuukaproof and sending it back down."

"And that might be the direction Liadof will be pushing," Hesse agreed. "But the other factions are going to have their own ideas, too. Hopefully, one or more of them will be acceptable to those of us who know the Qanska best."

"That would be nice for a change," Faraday said, eying the other closely. "Let's back up a step.

Where and on what are you standing in all this alleged chaos?"

"Oddly enough, I'm standing square in the middle of it," Hesse said, his lip twitching in what might have been an ironic smile. "I've been invited by one of the factions to represent their interests here."

Faraday blinked. "You? Forgive me, but... you?"

"I agree, actually," Hesse admitted candidly. "But who else have they got? It would take weeks for them to choose someone else, bring him up to date on Changeling, and then get him out here. In the meantime, Liadof would have essentially a free hand."

"I suppose that makes sense," Faraday conceded. "Congratulations on the promotion. Now, where am I standing?"

"Well, actually, that depends on you," Hesse said, starting to look nervous again. "I've been directed to ask what it would take to obtain your cooperation and support."

Faraday had imagined a lot of scenarios erupting around him as a result of the Omega Probe disaster.

Being invited to join a palace coup hadn't been one of them. "Interesting offer," he said. "Though I'm constrained to point out that my influence around here is not exactly at a high point right now."

"You might be surprised," Hesse said. "You're still a hero, you know, with a name that's known and respected all across the System. That name might be enough to tip the balance of power if things got tight enough."

He smiled faintly. "Plus, of course, you have a certain level of expertise on Jupiter and the Qanska in general."

"None of which will be of any use without a good team backing me up," Faraday said. "What's happened to the three Alpha Shift people Liadof had arrested?"

Hesse shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "They're due to be shipped back to Earth on the next transport," he said. "Liadof's ready to load a bunch of charges on each of them, up to and including treason for Milligan and Sprenkle. Cooperating with the enemy under fire, I think the statute is she's using."

"Get the charges dropped."

Hesse's eyes went momentarily wide. "Colonel, I can't do that."

"I thought you represented a powerful faction of the Five Hundred," Faraday said. "Fine. Let's see just how powerful they are."

"You're asking them to directly challenge Liadof's group," Hesse hissed as if afraid of being overheard. "I already told you they're not ready to do that yet."

"You also told me the Five Hundred are currently embroiled in a great and wonderful spirit of compromise and concession," Faraday reminded him. "See how far that spirit will stretch."

"I don't think it'll stretch that far," Hesse said. "I mean, after all, Liadof blames Alpha Shift for her failure, and she's determined to make an object lesson out of them."