Chapter 6

They slipped into the star system as carefully and quietly as they could. The Pathfinder crew lent Raptor a jump pilot for the first transit. Alby watched the whole thing from the comconsole in his quarters. He had put the time waiting for the survey crew to complete their jobs to good use and he'd finally managed to break into the Raptor's tactical net without getting caught (he hoped.)

He told himself that it wasn't just his wounded pride that demanded he try again. It seemed likely that Anny and her troops might have to head down to whatever they found on the other side of the wormhole and he wanted her to have every possible advantage when she did. He touched a control and split the screen and monitored the data flow while he watched the bridge crew doing their thing. It looked like he had done everything properly. He didn't think anyone would notice how he'd diverted a copy of the feed unless they were looking very carefully. He typed some more and confirmed that the information would reach the suits of battle armor without them sending any tell-tale data back the other way. Everything looked good… wait what was that? A bit of code caught his eye and he focused in on it. What was…? Oh, okay. He recognized what it was now. Their Barrayaran armor had a similar system but… huh, he wasn't sure he liked that feature. Well, easy enough to fix. He did some typing.

By the time he was done, the ship had secured from the jump. Pathfinder was sent off to see if there were any other wormholes in the system and a very heavily stealthed assault shuttle was sent toward the inhabited planet for a closer look. Raptor drifted inward slowly, silent as a tomb.

They approached the planet with the same level of caution that Alby had used to break into the tactical net, so it took a few days. If their quarry was down there, they didn't want to let them know they'd been found. There was no way of knowing how they might respond. The shuttle went into a low orbit and swept around the planet, pole to pole, peering down passively with sensors and telescopes. Raptor swung around at a much higher altitude and waited. Finally, the shuttle rendezvoused with its mother ship and they met to discuss what had been found.

"There are definitely people down there, sir," reported the shuttle commander. "But not much else. Not on the surface anyway." The Dendarii officer brought up images of the planet on the holo display and started pointing things out. "You can see that the ice caps extend pretty far out from the poles. Except for a zone a few thousand klicks wide around the equator, the place is damn chilly. The equator is comfortable enough, though, and with the very slight axial tilt it probably stays that way most of the year. But the only sign of habitation we found was right here." The man stopped the motion of the display and focused in on one area near a large lake almost exactly on the equator. It was heavily forested, but in a few clearings there were some buildings and what appeared to be people moving around. He switched to infra-red and the people stood out more prominently. "We could count a few hundred for sure, but there were probably more we couldn't see through the trees—not without using active sensors. Notice the farm land over here." He pointed to another area close by. "Looks to be some fishing happening on the lake, too."

"Not quite what I was expecting," said Count Vorkosigan, frowning at the image.

"What were you expecting, sir?" asked Anny.

"I'm not really sure. A miniature replica of the Celestial Gardens, maybe. This all looks rather… rustic."

"There are some energy emissions," continued the officer. "Like from hand-held devices or comconsoles, but nothing larger. There's no fusion plant, unless it's very cleverly shielded. We did spot some things which looked like solar collectors. But the structures look like they were constructed of the local wood."

"Huh. That's… odd. If you could count a few hundred then there might be six or eight hundred all told. That's a lot more than I would have guessed. Where did the ba find that many people it could trust? And why so many? One care-giver for each baby? And conditions that are certainly far more primitive than a haut would want. Strange."

"Maybe you were right earlier, when you said that the ba's confederates gave up and fled, sir," suggested Alby. "Maybe these are just opportunists who moved in after they moved out."

"Possibly…"

"There's no suggestion of any planetary defenses or significant armaments," said Rasmussen. "It seems you would be able to land and investigate without much risk. Even if these people have some way to flee, they won't be able to get past us up here."

"You'll have to be very wary of any biological weapons, though, sir," said Colonel Vorfannon. "On Walcheren there was something to kill ghem. Maybe here there's something to kill everyone else."

"True…"

"We could send down a drone," suggested Commander Velucci. "It could collect air and soil samples to check for dangers. That might not find everything, but it ought to find anything that could get through battle armor. If we don't find anything then you ought to be safe enough if you stayed in your armor."

"Yes." Vorkosigan continued to stare at the display and drum his fingers on the table for several minutes.

"All right!" he said finally. "We can't learn anything more without going down there. Commander, please send down your drone. Captain Payne, get your troops prepared. Captain Rasmussen, have the shuttles ready, please. Let's go and see what we've found."

[Scene Break]

Anny studied her tactical display as the assault shuttle neared the surface. They were still refraining from using active sensors, so the display couldn't show her much except for the local topography. They were landing nearly twenty kilometers from the settlement and as far as they could tell, there was no one in the vicinity.

Commander Velucci's drone had found nothing the least bit harmful, so they had come down. But everyone, including Count Vorkosigan, was sealed up tight in their battle armor and they would stay that way until they were absolutely sure. Colonel Vorfannon had not thought to bring any battle armor for himself and been forced to remain aboard the ship—much to his annoyance and the Count's obvious delight. Poor Roic didn't have the powered armor either and Vorkosigan had ordered him to stay behind, too.

"Touch-down in thirty seconds," announced their pilot.

"Stand by!" commanded Anny. She made ready to slap her harness release and all her troopers did likewise. She was excited—and confident. All this investigating and spying and snooping business had felt very strange to her. But this she knew! Put her in charge of a company of assault troopers about to land on a hostile target and there was no one who could do the job better!

The shuttle lurched slightly as it landed and then the rear hatch was swinging open. Anny released the harness and led the way out. "Let's go! Get the perimeter set up!" First Platoon, under Lieutenant Vorkins, thundered out after her. The shuttle carrying Second Platoon, commanded by Eric Vorgard, was landing a hundred meters away and moments later those troopers were deploying as well. Third Platoon, under Milroy, was still in orbit as a reserve.

In less than two minutes the area was secured—by the book. Count Vorkosigan looked on approvingly. "Smartly done," he commented.

"Thank you, sir. No contacts; should I send out the scouts?"

"Yes, let's get moving. We've got a ways to go."

Anny sent out her scouts; a half-dozen specially trained men with stealth systems in their armor. They vanished from her sight and her sensors almost immediately. They would form a skirmish line a kilometer ahead of the rest of the company and make sure they didn't run into any surprises as they advanced. She waited until they were in position and then they all set out. They were in heavily wooded country with the land sloping up to a ridgeline that separated them from the long valley the settlement was in. It was going to take a couple of hours to get there. They left the shuttles behind along with Commander Velucci and a few techs who were going to do a more thorough study of the environment.

They moved through the forest quietly and alertly. The 'trees' were unlike any Anny had seen before, but they filled the ecological niche that tees did on most planets. They were tall and had branches and things like leaves that were even a nice shade of green. The underbrush was similar, too. Humans had found this again and again throughout the nexus: similar biological challenges produces similar results. The undergrowth was pretty dense in some spots, but it couldn't seriously hinder a man in battle armor; they made steady progress.

There was plenty of wildlife, too, and they were constantly flushing out creatures from their cover. She had no idea what they were, but none of them tried to do anything but run. A couple of larger six-legged things paused to stare at them for a few seconds before galloping off. She expected to see birds or their equivalent, but saw nothing like that. The local sun peeked through the canopy from time to time. All in all, it was a pleasant place for a hike.

They crossed over the ridge and proceeded more slowly now. They were getting close. A few minutes later, one of the scouts came back and reported that he'd found something. They didn't dare use their usual com systems so they were dependent on line-of-site com lasers, which didn't carry far through the forest. He led Anny and Vorkosigan a few hundred meters forward and then pointed at the remains of a large animal. "Someone's been hunting, sir. This was expertly skinned and butchered." Anny had seen plenty of this in the Dendarii Mountains back home and agreed with the assessment.

"Maybe this is just a band of homesteaders," muttered Vorkosigan.

They resumed the march, but now the scouts were only a few hundred meters ahead of them. They found more signs of habitation: a small shack, and an area that had been logged off. They went slower and slower; they were getting very close now. Finally one of the scouts signaled for a halt. They found cover and waited. Fifteen minutes went by and then she was summoned forward. Vorkosigan went with her.

"You need to see this, sir," said the scout. "It's… weird." They crept along a narrow trail as silently as 250 kilos of battle armor would allow. The scout halted and then beckoned them forward to a spot where they could see out. Beyond the foliage was an open space ringed by log structures. In the space were several hundred people…

Children.

A mob of children, boys and girls, maybe ten years old, were laughing and playing. Some were involved in games while others seemed to be doing gymnastic routines. There were other groups back among the buildings who appeared to be hauling wood or doing other chores. Anny used the magnifier on her armor's optics to zoom in on some of them and she caught her breath. The children were… amazing. Handsome, beautiful, just perfect. Some, of both sexes, were stripped to the waist in their gymnastics and their physiques were as perfect as their faces. Haut, they have to be haut children! As she scanned around she noticed a few adults among the kids. They looked very much like the images of the ba she'd seen in Vorkosigan's briefing documents. Slender… hairless…

"My Lord… Sir, what is this…?" she whispered. There was no need to whisper since her armor muffled any sound, but she couldn't help it. "You said the children were rescued, sent back to their parents…?"

She looked at Vorkosigan and could see his expression through the helmet visor. He was staring intently and frowning.

"Sir?"

"Son… of… a… Bitch!" he exploded suddenly. "It wasn't the first ship! It was the second! Oh bloody hell!"

"Sir? Sir? What are you talking about?"

Vorkosigan retreated a few steps from their vantage point and paced in a tiny circle. She wasn't sure if he was talking to her or himself. "The ship at Graf Station, it wasn't the first! The bastards did it once before—and they got away with it! They stole the haut children and the Cetas thought it was an accident! Oh, hell, hell, hell!"

"Please, sir, I don't understand."

The Count stopped pacing and looked right at her. "Anny, everyone thought that the ship full of replicators that we found at Graf Station was the only one, but it wasn't! The ba had done it once before and it worked! It stole the children and brought them here and the Cetas were none the wiser. They thought they'd all been destroyed in a tragic accident!"

"But…"

"Of course the Star Crèche would keep it a secret! Even an accidental loss of a Child Ship would be a terrible embarrassment. They'd hush it up as best they could. And since they'd have an exact record of the genomes of each lost child, they'd just cook up another batch and send them out."

"But why would the ba do it again?"

"I don't know! Ambition? Hubris? Revenge? We'll probably never know. But it knew that the Star Crèche would never believe another accident! That was why it planted the false evidence implicating Barrayar! There needed to be someone else behind it! Oh that clever bastard!"

Anny's brain was whirling, trying to absorb all this. Too complicated! But there was one thing that wasn't complicated at all. Her gaze was drawn back the swarm of children. "So… so what do we do about this…?"

Vorkosigan turned and looked out as well. "I don't know!" he hissed. "But they haven't seen us… maybe we should pull back and think about…"

A sudden ping in her helmet and a red blip on her tactical display yanked Anny's attention away from the children. The scout cursed and snarled: "Thermal contact! It's right on top of us, sir!"

And indeed it was. Anny slowly looked up. Looking down at her from a thick tree branch was the face of a little angel, surrounded by black curls. Wide, curious eyes met hers.

"Oh shit."

[Scene Break]

Miles looked up and saw the haut child and shook his head. This was just getting better and better.

"I could stun her, sir," said the scout trooper. Anny looked at him. She clearly wasn't happy about that idea.

"Sir?"

"No… no… let's… not."

The girl suddenly looked out toward the clearing and gave an amazingly piercing call. All the kids stopped whatever they were doing and looked this way.

"What do we do, sir?" asked Anny.

Miles sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Let's go and say hello."

"Yes, sir. C Company! We've been spotted. Go active but take no other action. First Platoon, enter the clearing, Second Platoon, take covering positions. There is no, repeat no, obvious threat. Fingers off triggers, people!"

The tactical display in Miles' helmet lit up with new data as the sensors in the armor went from passive to active. A much more detailed image of the surroundings appeared and hundreds of new contacts were added to the ones already there. Must be about… a thousand of them now? Anny's troopers were pushing through the brush into the open and Miles followed. The children just watched them, none exhibiting any fear at all.

"Vorkosigan, what's happening?" It was Rasmussen. "You've gone active!"

"Yes, Captain. We've made contact here. No problem so far. You may as well go active, too, and pipe the data down to us."

"Why have you made contact?" The man sounded annoyed.

"Seemed like the thing to do. The situation is not what we were expecting."

"How so? Is it or is it not the ba's base?"

"I'll get back to you on that."

"Vorkosigan!" Miles switched off.

"Anny, can Ol' Ironbritches tap into our sensors and video pickups?"

"No sir, thanks to… a mutual friend, he can't unless we want him to." She was smiling.

"Good. I don't think I want him to."

"Yes sir!"

More people were now spilling out of the buildings and joining the crowd watching them. Kids, nearly all of them just kids. What the hell am I going to do? A taller figure, one of the ba, approached slowly. Miles looked closely and saw that it was quite elderly. Checking around, he saw that all of the ba were elderly. Retirees? People who wouldn't be missed? The ba stopped in front of them and raised one hand.

"Greeting," it said. "We are no danger to you. What are your intentions?"

Good question. Really good question.

"We… are just looking around," answered Miles. "Can I speak to the person in charge?"

The ba had not been looking at him before, but now he focused in on him and frowned. "And you are?"

"My name is Vorkosigan. And you?"

"My name is not important. But Vorkosigan? Barrayaran?"

"Yes."

"This is… unexpected. Do you mean to do us harm? We have many children here."

"So we have seen. We mean no harm to you, but… we may have done some without meaning it. We need to talk."

"Yes. Follow me." The ba turned and walked toward one of the larger buildings. Miles and Anny and some troopers followed. The children parted to let them pass. He stared at them as he went by. They were all as tall as he—even in his armor. They were only a few years older than his own children, maybe a year older than the crown prince.

"Sir?" said Anny. "Commander Velucci hasn't found anything dangerous, but she strongly suggests we keep our armor sealed, and I agree."

"Yes, understood." Unfortunately she was right. They had taken these people by surprise, but they might well become desperate enough to try… anything.

They approached the building and Miles saw that even though it was made of simple materials, it was masterfully crafted and beautifully decorated, the wood intricately carved and painted. They went up a short flight of steps, the wood creaking under the weight of their armor. A pair of doors swung open and they went inside, Anny posting a few guards and taking her first sergeant in with them. The interior was even more elaborate with delicate fabric hangings and woven mats on the floor. They went down a corridor and the ba rapped lightly on a door. They were admitted immediately.

Miles followed the ba and saw the room held a large bed and another ba lay upon it, propped up by many pillows. If the other ba he had seen were elderly, this one was ancient. Its pale skin thin and translucent like parchment, its hands almost fleshless. Deep set, but alert eyes regarded him intently. Several of the children were there as well, obviously attendants. Haut waiting upon ba! What would the Star Crèche say?

He stood before the ba and bowed slightly. "Miles Vorkosigan at your service. And you are?"

"In another life I was called Su'valdre," replied the ba. Its voice was a bit shrill, but surprisingly strong. "But you can just call me Su. It's simpler."

"I once met another ba with a thousand children in its charge," said Miles. "A bit younger than yours. But I never learned its name."

Su blinked and smiled slightly. "Very direct, you are. Well, rightly so. There is not much time to waste. That one's name was Fu'laiche, though I doubt it died still bearing it. But Vorkosigan, would you be the son of the regent and viceroy?"

"The late regent and viceroy," said Miles.

"My condolences. We get little news here."

"I imagine not. But you certainly have some today."

"Indeed. And not good news."

"No. We need to talk."

"Very well. I don't suppose you'd accept the offer of tea?"

"I'm afraid not. We've been to Walcheren and sniffed its flowers."

"Indeed? Can I assume that some among you found the smell… disagreeable?"

"One. We want no similar incident here."

Su raised a hand a few centimeters and made a little so be it gesture. "Then there is no use pretending this is some chance encounter. You would appear to hold every advantage Vorkosigan. What do you want from us?"

"First, I want some information. The children here, they come from the first hijacked Child Ship?"

"Yes. Where else?"

"You got away with that completely, you know? I only realized there had been a first a few minutes ago. Why in the world did you try for a second?"

Su twitched its shoulders slightly. "Fu'laiche was in charge. It was very persuasive, very willful, very driven. I argued against it, but was overruled. It argued that we needed a greater diversity in the genome, but I think its anger with the Star Crèche had grown so great it simply wanted to keep hurting it. We originally planned for Fu'laiche to remain behind for a time to monitor the response of the Crèche to the loss of the first ship. To derail any pursuit or warn us if necessary. If the danger passed, it would eventually join us here and take charge. But when the first theft succeeded so completely, it could not resist the temptation to do it again. I suppose I should be angry with you, Vorkosigan, for I know you were instrumental in foiling the attempt—just as you were instrumental years ago in the Star Crèche itself. Oh yes, I recognize you. From Lisbet's funeral!" There was anger in its voice and one hand crept a few centimeters toward an elaborate bracelet it wore on the other wrist, but fell back again. Oh yeah, not getting out of this can! No way!

Miles tilted his head. "I did what I thought best for my own people—just as you do. There was no malice either time."

"No malice, you say. Then what brings you here?"

"Again I sought to serve my own people. A secure and complacent Cetagandan Empire would do that better than one frantic with fear. But I did not expect… this." He gestured toward the haut children.

"Secrecy was our only protection," said Su. "That has been lost. We are at your mercy, Vorkosigan. What will you do?"

"I think I will… ask another question. Just what are you trying to accomplish here? The haut Pel had her theories, but I'd like to hear it from you."

Su looked away. "I doubt you would understand."

"Try me."

The ba looked back at him. "You have visited the Celestial Gardens, the Capital. What did you think of them?"

"What can I say? Beautiful… impressive…" he shrugged. "Words fail."

"How about: Ostentatious? Decadent? Frivolous, perhaps?"

"Not my first choice of words, but yes, perhaps."

Su shook its head. "We aspired to take the next step, to create the first post-humans. In some ways we were succeeding. But then what did we do with our creation? Isolate it! Imprison it in gilded cages. Cages within cages! Cut off from the real world and smothered by luxury! Madness!" The ba now had some color in its face and it was an alarming shade of pink. One of the children took its hand and made shushing noises. It calmed down and breathed deeply.

"My mistress…" began the ba, but Miles interrupted.

"Dowager Empress Lisbet?"

"Yes. And before she was dowager. She understood the madness—at least partially. She saw the decadence, saw where it was leading us. But her vision was… imperfect. Her plan to distribute the genome to the governors, to introduce challenges and conflict, it was better than doing nothing, but it was… flawed."

"Flawed? It was another form of madness!" said Miles angrily. "Progress by civil war?"

"Perhaps," said Su. "I counseled her against that path, but she would not agree. And then she died, but the plan went on." It eyed Miles closely. "Perhaps I should thank you for foiling that plan. But I cannot thank you for foiling Fu'laiche. Or for coming here now."

"So your new plan is better? How so? Explain it to me."

"You've seen it. Are they not magnificent?" He gestured to the children. "Not pampered! Not decadent! They grow their own food, they build their own shelter, they make their own clothes! Strong! Skilled! Competent! They will meet challenges and overcome them and pass that tradition on to their children. Children they will make themselves!"

Miles' eyebrows shot up. "You will permit them to… breed? To introduce random chance into the next generation?"

"Yes! The Star Crèche has gone as far as it can with its… tinkering! Time to stir the mix again! Lisbet understood that, but she didn't know how to make it happen. This is how! A dozen generations hence we shall see which path is the wisest!" The ba fell silent and shook its head sadly. "Or we would have, had you not come. I have answered your questions, Vorkosigan. Now tell me what you plan to do. Will you destroy us? Destroy them?"

"What do you mean destroy them?" said Anny Payne, breaking her silence. "We won't harm your children!"

Su huffed out its breath. "So naïve. Didn't you explain it to her Vorkosigan?"

Miles could barely bring himself to look her in the eyes. "Anny… Anny, this isn't what I was expecting to find…"

"I know that sir! But all the children! This changes everything!"

"Maybe for us, but not for the Star Crèche."

"What do you mean? Are you saying they will kill the children? Why?"

"It… it's like I was saying before. The haut ladies in the Star Crèche, when they thought the first Child Ship was lost, they would have made replacements. Exact replacements."

"But… but so what? So they have two sets, so what?" Her eyes were searching… pleading.

"The plan," said Su, chuckling in a horrible fashion. "Their plan. A place for everything and everything in its place. No room for extra pieces. No room for children raised and trained by rebels. No room, my dear."

"They've planned out everything, Anny," continued Miles. "Long range planning. Generations ahead. This generation is full."

"Well then, someone else can take them! We can take them!"

"No," said the ba. "The Star Creche is utterly jealous of its creation. They would destroy worlds rather than let it slip out of their hands. Are you ready to go to war, woman, see millions of your own people die, for the sake of these children?"

Anny was shaking her head. Miles could see the tears in her eyes through the faceplate of her helmet. "Sir? Sir? I… I didn't sign up for this!"

Miles slowly began to nod.

"I didn't either."

[Scene Break]

Anny forced herself to calm down. Her armor was sending her worried alerts about her breathing and heart rate. All during the approach to the settlement she'd been bracing herself for possible combat with a band of fanatics, desperately trying to defend their base. But all they'd found was a group of happy children and their elderly teachers.

And now this! What were they going to do? She'd sworn an oath to obey her emperor. She'd lay down her life for him without hesitation. But slaughter helpless children? She activated the private com circuit to Vorkosigan's armor. "Sir, we can't! Please…"

"I know," he replied. "There's no question of us doing it, Anny. That was never part of the job. But even if we don't, the Cetagandans are sure to."

"So what can we do?"

"Let me think a moment." The little man closed his eyes.

"Well, Vorkosigan?" asked the ba. "What fate do you decree for us?"

The Count opened his eyes and looked at the ba. "Su'valdre."

"Yes?"

"I cannot turn back time. I cannot un-find this place. And I cannot restore your secrecy. Too many know of my mission, too many know where I have gone and what I have done. And too many of those are people outside my control. The news will leak out no matter what I may wish."

"Then we are doomed."

"Perhaps. I can't give you back your secrecy, but there is something I can give you."

"And what is that?"

"A head start."

The ba tilted its head.

"You planned this all out in exquisite detail, Su'valdre. I'm quite certain you have thought of every contingency. You must have a ship hidden here somewhere, a ship big enough for all of you. And I would be very surprised if you had not already scouted out a back door to leave this system, correct?" The ba opened one of its hands and neither admitted or denied Vorkosigan's statement. The Count nodded.

"I will do everything I can to keep the story contained. I think I can give you six months. Perhaps as much as a year. But eventually the Star Crèche will come. You had better be long gone before they do."

"They will follow."

"No doubt. But the nexus is vast and growing larger every day. Run and keep running. Run until you find somewhere you can hide and raise your children in peace."

The ba looked around its room. "We have done so much work here…"

"Consider it a challenge for your children. If they are worthy, they will prosper. In any case, I can give you no other choice."

"No. There is no choice."

"And every minute is precious. We will leave you now. Our ship will be gone within a day."

"You have what thanks I can give you, Vorkosigan."

The Count shook his head. "I will have to face a lot of criticism over this. Aside from all the shit this will generate between Barrayar and Cetaganda, some will say that I've planted another batch of potential enemies out there in the nexus. I don't need your thanks, Su'valdre, but be damn sure your children know who they owe their lives to! I stand before you speaking with the Voice of Emperor Gregor Vorbarra of Barrayar! Make sure they know what He said!"

"That much we will do," said the ba. "Farewell."

"And good luck to your kids. Come on Anny, let's get out of here."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." She couldn't describe the relief that was flowing through her. "Do you want me to have the shuttles come pick us up?"

"No, the fewer people who see this, the better. We'll go back to them. Since we don't need to keep secret now, we can make full use of our armor. Betcha we can do it in ten minutes!"

"Better than that, sir! C Company! We are heading back to the shuttles! Maximum speed!"

"Maximum, sir?" asked Lieutenant Vorkins over the com.

"You heard me! Let's see what these things can do!"

They did it in eight minutes. Using anti-gravs and thrusters, the armor was like a pair of the fairy tale Seven-League Boots. They soared over trees and hills in long curving bounds. It was something they would never risk in a combat situation, but here, that didn't matter. Anny was suddenly feeling so darn good she was laughing out loud. By the ten minute mark, they were aboard the shuttles and boosting to orbit.

"Mister…uh, Bothari," said Commander Velucci once they were under way. "Even though we didn't find anything dangerous down there, I'm going to insist on a surface decontamination for these shuttles and your people when we get back."

"Yes. No sense in taking chances. Not now."

"Very good, I'll have things set up and waiting for us."

"Vorkosigan!" An angry voice came over the com. "Why are you returning? Answer me, dammit!"

"Hello, Captain. Why are we coming back? We're coming back because we are done here. Could you relay a message to Pathfinder and have them rendezvous with Raptor? We'll be leaving immediately."

"Leaving? Done? Did you find the ba's base?"

"No."

"But… I don't believe…! What the hell is going on?" spluttered Rasmussen.

"I'll talk to you later, Captain." The Count broke the connection.

"He's not going to believe you, sir," said Anny over the private circuit.

"Of course not, but who cares? He gets paid whether he believes me or not. He's got no horse in this race. But maybe I should authorize a little bonus for him so he keeps his mouth shut. His and his crew's. Yeah, it might buy a little more time." He sighed. "More expense. Gregor is not gonna be happy about this."

"Do you really think he'll be angry about… about sparing the children?" Anny wasn't sure she wanted an answer to her question. She liked the Emperor!

"No, he won't be angry about that. But he is responsible for the whole Empire. It's a heavy load and I've made it a little heavier, I'm afraid. Oh well. As they say: shit happens."

"Yes sir, it certainly does."

The shuttles matched orbits with Raptor and then spent several minutes slowly rotating while a laser set to low power baked their hulls to a few hundred degrees to hopefully destroy any nasties they might have picked up. Then they edged into the hanger bay. Flexible plastic tunnels were attached to the airlocks. When the hatches opened, decontaminating chemicals were pumped inside and the armored troopers slowly made their way through the tunnels, one by one, being sprayed and scrubbed with more chemicals. Vorkosigan was the first one through, with Anny right behind. At least they would only require a surface decontamination, no need for the full thing.

When Anny was finished, she headed for the armory to get out of her armor. Vorkosigan was already there, just emerging from his suit. Like everyone, he was only wearing a skin-tight undergarment. He opened a locker beside the armor and pulled out his clothes.

"Anny! Anny, are you there? It's Alby!" The sudden voice in her suit made Anny twitch.

"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?"

"Where's Vorkosigan? I can't reach him!" The alarm in Alby's voice brought her to full alert.

"He's right here, getting dressed."

"Get him on the com!"

Anny opened her helmet visor. "Sir? Alby wants to talk to you. It seems urgent."

"Really?" Vorkosigan pulled out his wristcom from a pocket. "Yes, Lieutenant? What is it?"

"Sir? Did you… did you give Captain Rasmussen any… orders?"

"Not in the last twenty minutes. Why? What's going on?"

"Sir! I'm hooked into the tactical network. The ship is powering up its main weapons! And the targeting system is zeroed in on that settlement on the planet!"