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"You would gosays froems Just faht, unreadable "Hoell hter knows me"

"What worries me most," Pliny says, "is that the Galileans, in their oords, doubt the validity of our cause"

"That’s because we don’t have a cause," Imy role "At least not so far as anyone else cares"

"Explain," the ArchGovernor de says "Darrow plays for dra around the rooentle Golds in this room understand human nature Yes? Even if we did not, what motivates us? A cause? No None of us have a cause Freedom? Liberty? Justice?" I roll n acts like an Empress? What do we care about the Co

"This is about power It is always about power We fight her because we attached ourselves to a star, the ArchGovernor But the star falls, fades …"

Kavax half rises from his seat "Don’t insult your lord as if--"

"As if he’s what? A fool? He’s not, so coet the contracts, the governe, dead or irrelevant" My voice plays with the audience "Power is the only thing of worth in this world Consider Tactus au Valii-Rath--a loyal ally of an to fall, he stole froht

"How many empty seats are here that were filled before Luna? So ustus So iven their eyes for hiea Now …"

I dust offTo run is to wither and die If ant to rise again, draw the Galileans to our cause, marshal the Governors of Saturn to our banners, then we show them we are not powerless Show them we drip with power We are arbiters of life and death We, not the Bellona, are the House of Mars"

Pliny begins to say soustus motions him to be quiet

"What would you propose?"

"The Galilean families are soft for Luna for one reason Commerce Ganymede has her shipyards Calisto is little more than a factory of Grays and Obsidians for the Society’s ar and vacation ho Jupiter’s orbital path They depend too much on commerce with the Core to run to our side And even the basest child knohat happened when the Ash Lord descended upon Rhea" The Praetors nod along "So we must impress them We must terrify them so that they know our power can touch the us"

"How?" Augustus asks They’re all on the hook now

I set my razor on the table so they knohat business I propose "We take their ships We take their children We take them as allies as the Spartans took their wives By force, in the night"

Silence forms around me Then comes the uproar Pliny lets his Praetors slash at the idea His energy he spends whispering in Augustus’s ear I glance at Mustang, but she watches the others, gauging them

"Boasts" The ArchGovernor quiets the room and readdresses me "I’ve not heard a plan"

"One plan Two parts"

I touch a datapad, and the holo the Jackal’s agents gave me expands over the table to show Ganyreens froainst the e of Jupiter’s vaporous surface Gray shipyards ring the moon I zoom in so that they stretch across and above the table I list the ships registered, highlighting one in particular "Ganymede has a moonBreaker"