Lorin was having trouble falling asleep the night Earth’s Destiny finally got underway. She’d felt relieved knowing that the future of Earth was now out of her hands. She’d done all she could to help defend their sister planet, and at great risk to her own political future.
But now a new burden was being thrust upon her: the defense of Tarizon itself, should a bigger, stronger Purist Fleet return from Earth victorious. She knew she had at least two and a half cycles before that could happen, which would give her time to prepare, as long as the General Assembly didn’t give her a lot of grief. She resented having to consult with them anyway, since they had tossed her aside when the war started, forcing her to go underground with Leek Lanzia to run their own, unsanctioned war, a war that had ultimately been successful.
Now she feared they’d try to undermine her power as chancellor and, possibly, even try to oust her. The net effect of such an attempt would be to thwart Lorin’s efforts to rebuild the Intergalactic Fleet and also slow the rebuilding of Tarizon’s infrastructure, which had been so badly damaged during the war.
Before the sun had brightened the toxic, cloud-enshrouded sky above Tarizon, she was awakened by her security guard to answer the GC. This time it was Ruffe Marcuzzi.
“Sorry to wake you,” he apologized, “but I just got a heads-up from a friend in the General Assembly. They are very upset as you know. They don’t consider your courtesy call yesterday regarding Earth’s Destiny a genuine attempt to consult with them.”
“It was the best I could do under the circumstances.”
“I know, but they’ve come up with a new strategy of attack. They’re going to point to the growing reports of lawlessness around the globe as proof of your ineffectiveness as chancellor. They’re going to tell the people of Tarizon that you’ve become so obsessed with Earth that you are jeopardizing Tarizon’s own security.”
“That’s ridiculous. Earth’s security is tied to our security.”
“I know that, but they’re going to point out that first you sent the Liberator away, and now Tam and Red are gone, too. Three of our top military leaders missing in action, while violence on Tarizon is rising.”
“What should I do?” Lorin asked.
“I don’t know. I just wanted you to be aware of the situation so you would be prepared for it.”
“Thanks, Ruffe. I’ll figure something out.”
Lorin struggled with the problem for awhile before I idea dawned on her. She put a call into her old friend, Sgt. Ponde. She explained what she had in mind and he agreed it was an excellent idea.