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“Look at me,” I say “No one betrayed you This is simply what I do”
The shaaze “Sefi said she would kill Electra and Pax if we didn’t get her the ore ships”
“You believe her?”
“Ragnar was my brother But Sefi is…ice If you interfere…”
“I don’t intend to” He cocks his head “Could we stop the the mines? Yes But not without dire cost to the Ecliptic Guard and the Martian Legions We will need all we have when Gold comes Obsidian lost too many at Mercury—a planet they can’t even live on They are done with the offensive war, but if they have a stake on Mars, if they have a hoainst the slavers
“War has stretched us thin We haven’t had the money to rebuild Cimmeria They will, from the helium they sell us Helium we already buy from Quicksilver We haven’t the resources to divert to elireater prejudice and focus than I could Quicksilver has convinced the Zenith Ring they own the Republic He’s in need of a valuable lesson And what does it cost us? Land and pride Two things we can spare
“The public will cry foul, but it will happen after the vote Soon Atalantia will come The Silvers will fall in line Sefi will understand I allowed it when I withdraw all Republic forces as soon as they begin their assault The first ambassadors she receives will be Darrow’s brother, Kieran, and Kavax’s wife, Niobe They will have weight with her They will offer a defensive military alliance with the Republic and secure a helium contract Then we turn our eyes on Atalantia”
“Victra said…we thought you would never let it happen”
“Victra can be an idiot, and so can you When can you say the sa around like drunk piranha because they assume I am toothless Whether or not we save Darrow, ato to the Republic The time for disunity is over” Finally, I stand up and step toward him “You are in a den They chose me to lead Until my term or life comes to an end, I am in command If you want to abandon the Republic we built to play with your kids, fine Slag off and wait for et your head out of your ass, stopmy life difficult, and report for duty”
Clown falls fro to land beside his wife Min-Min comes next One by one, the Howlers separate from the shadows to join them on the floor until twenty-five of the hardest killers in a de at Sevro Their demands are clear Sevro picks his teeth with Tickler, tucks the blade away, and snaps to attention The Howlers stoether
“I for duty, ma’am”
“Good to have you back, Imperator,” I say “Your first order” I motion him forward and wipe salt under his nose, then place my datapad controller to the Duke’s psychoSpike in his hands “There is a terrorist in that interrogation cube When I tell you, activate this program Afterward, if he knohat color his eyes are without looking in a mirror, shoot him in the head Can you perform this task, Imperator?”
Sevro raises an eyebrow at me He knows I knoants to torture the Duke for the Queen’s location He wants to
express his doubts But if I don’t have his trust after what just went down, I’ll never have it I need to kno
“Yes, ma’am”