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"You were saying, Kavax?" Augustus prods with a quick ses the larger man

Kavax looks up, startled "Oh And when their balls are ripped off and le from their own earlobes, others will re to aid you, Nero"

Satisfied, he goes back to feeding Sophocles jelly beans

"And they will know thatlords were found loyal," Daxo quickly adds, waving to the Golds around the table, who nod appreciatively Daxo sucks on a stick of cinnarand and twice as mischievous The only frown I’ve yet seen on his face hen he saw the Jackal at the gala

That particular grudge will not fade Nor should it The Jackal took their Pax In reply, the Teleustus banished the Jackal fros new complications, new necessities And the Jackal seeiven in his father’s eyes, if not those of the Telemanuses I watch theuise they enjoy wearing I only hope they renorant of my alliance with Pax’s killer

"All should be reminded that fealty is not easily cast off," Daxo finishes, his voice astonishingly cordial "A visit from my father and my sisters would remind other bannermen of their duties to you in ti us to adraved into his scalp "It is in the Telemanus nature to leave an impression Perhaps it would swell our ranks"

"My thunder lords" Augustus s the back of his long left hand "But no That reminder must wait Punishment can only be doled out in victory It would look petty, the sad flailing of a drowning ions trapped behind the shields of my cities"

He looks to Pliny and asks how the rest of our trade allies fare I sneak a glance at Mustang She notices and raises an eyebrow at in

"All our Politicos have been received," Pliny says slowly Today, Pliny wears a very serious coat of black lipstick "As you know, my Politicos and I conferred after we fled from Luna And we developed a rather advanced theoretical breakdown of potential alliance shifts--"

"With coh

"With computers," Pliny continues, irritated "Simulations were performed by my Green analysts Of the Galilean Moons--Io, Calisto, Ganymede, and Europa--none will cast their lot with us Neither in si," a hawkish Praetor mutters "We had the same results from the moons of Saturn"

Pliny continues "Naturally, they fear the repercussions of choosing the wrong side The Saturn Governors are a lost cause for now They see Rhea’s corpse in their sky every day In the Galilean sector, the presence of Lorn au Arcos on Europa is a probles have proven infectious to the ArchGovernors of Jupiter’s ain as large as any of the ArchGovernors’"

"Isolation? More like retireht of it"