"She was as true a Gaian as any can be. She was noble, forthright, and truthful. Everything she did was done according to the Creed. This was one woman who walked well with Planet. Because of her commitment to our faction, and her selfless sacrifice, I now dedicate this base to her memory. No longer shall Bunker 118 stand against us. My people, I give you: Lindly's Rest!"

The Gaian people cheered, and Deirdre smiled. It made a fitting memorial to her friend. Hopefully, this base would stand for all time, and so would her sacrifice. Mathieu led her into the main command bunker, previously commanded by Santiago's distant cousin, Jerome. He of course, had been killed. By who, Deirdre could not say, but her warriors had obviously done the deed themselves, to keep their leaders hands and conscience clean.

"That was a great speech, milady."

The courteous, semi-questioning statement met Deirdre as she entered the main control room of the bunker. For three weeks, her forces had held Bunker 118, and only now had Deirdre entered the city, for her soldiers had been crushing the last resistance. Now her warriors rested, recuperating, and building their strength until they had to march on Sparta Command.

Provost Zakharov, the source of the statement, fell in beside her. Although he smiled, Deirdre could tell that some tension remained behind her eyes. In the past couple of weeks, since the kiss, they had become far closer, and now Deirdre could tell something was wrong.

"You have something to tell me, Provost?"

The scientist nodded. "I must part with your company, Deirdre. My faction has their own targets, and, as much as I would like to stay here, I must oversee the completion of my mission."

Deirdre nodded. "The Gaians will feel your absence most sorely, Provost. Perhaps we shall meet again in the next few weeks."

Zakharov bowed. "I must away then, lady. My thanks, for opening my eyes to the world after all these years."

Deirdre smiled. "Any time, Zakharov. Should you need me to.open your eyes once again, I shall be honoured."

The Provost left, and Deirdre sat before the screen. Bunker 118 was in relatively good condition. Her forces had occupied the city too quickly for many buildings to be damaged. The bunker in which she sat was in almost perfect condition, and as such, could be used as a new command centre for her war against Santiago. Mathieu spoke quietly.

"It will be much more difficult to break Santiago now that we have lost the University, my lady."

Deirdre smiled. "We have taken Bunker 118, and that will shake her troops considerably. Next we can take Sparta Command."

Mathieu shrugged, and murmured quietly. "And what of Freehold Keep? That will not fall for years, if then. The mountains provide a natural defence.how do you propose defeating the Freeholders?"

Deirdre shrugged. "We will ponder that when we have to. Santiago cannot escape Sparta Command, and when she falls, so shall her faction. Who knows, perhaps Freehold Keep will surrender?"

Mathieu shook his head. "I wouldn't count on it."

A voice buzzed through the comm-link.

"Lady, Hale has arrived. Shall I give him leave to enter?"

Deirdre smiled, brushing back her dark hair. Her eyes were heavy with tiredness, but she blinked the sleepiness away in an instant. "Show him in."

She would have to ask her aides for some xenofungus. The narcotic effects of the fungus would make her sleep much more easily, and perhaps even dispel the horrific nightmares she had been having lately.

"Lady!"

The commander entered the room. Commander Hale was a youthful man, seemingly too young for the responsibility of managing the Gaian shadow network. His hair was a deep russet, and his eyes, a regarding blue, stared at her coldly. He had been a loving Gaian once, but this war against Santiago had awakened a dispassionate, icy lack of emotion within him that had made him more like a digital construct than a living, human being. True, he lived by the Creed, but he no longer had the spirit of a Gaian. Deirdre would have felt guilty for plunging him into the war, but he was a valuable asset to the effort. His organisation of the shadow network was unsurpassed, and his in-depth knowledge of the undercurrents of power priceless.

His successor had been captured in a compromised operation within Believing territory, and Miriam had not returned him to Deirdre after she had finished.playing with him. Because of his successor's death, Hale had come to power.

"I see your mission went well, Commander. However, I expected you here much earlier. Three weeks earlier, to be precise. Where have you been?"

Hale bowed low, and spoke. His voice was as crisp as his manner, clean, without any rough edges. Every syllable was pronounced carefully, with an exactness that spoke of a mathematical precision in everything he did.

"I had to avoid a Spartan patrol as they were fighting. The power source of the tachyon field was actually thirty miles from this spot."

Deirdre raised an eyebrow. "Santiago risked much. If my aircraft had hit the generator, she would have been helpless."

Hale smiled. "The generator was a mile beneath the ground."

Deirdre grinned. "A good job you found it then. By the way, how did you find it?"

Hale tapped his chin carefully, as if composing the next thing he was going to say. Finally he spoke. "Information has a habit of leaking out, no matter what container it is held in, and energy credits seem to speed up the process. I remained in the bunker here for a while, finding out where the generator could be. I found out which patrols checked the generator, and then followed them, right to the generator."

Deirdre smiled, shaking her head slightly in wonderment. "How you keep these details in your head, I will never know. In any case, I am thankful for your expertise. Without your help, we would still be waiting outside the walls."

Hale nodded his head. "Anything for Planet, my lady."

Deirdre paused for a moment. "I need you to do the same in Sparta Command as you did here. Every agent will be allocated to you. Use them well."

Hale grinned sardonically. "You do not need to remind to use my agents well, my lady. Is that all?"

Deirdre sighed, and gestured him away. Hale was extremely hard to understand, or even get along with. To a certain extent, Deirdre liked him. He was energetic and enthusiastic, but only about his agents. For anything else, he was empty of all thoughts. He would have done well in the University, for he saw everything as an equation of unparalleled complexity, which conflicted with Deirdre's views. To her, life was.well, life.

Mathieu sat down. "A strange man, Hale."

Deirdre tapped her fingers on the arms of her chair. "Yes, a very strange man. An enigma that must wait awhile for its solution, I think. Right now, we have more important things to attend to. Order all aircraft to target Sparta Command. Chaff grenades dropped within the city will disrupt their communications, and bombs.well, at least they can do some damage. What else? Ah yes, Admiral Hawke is to engage the Spartans anywhere he can on the sea. In three weeks, I want Admiralty Base occupied by my fleet."

Mathieu raised an eyebrow. "That base has not been promised to us."

Deirdre shrugged. "Do I care, Mathieu? No other faction has any need for it. My people will need it to protect the new trade routes between Gaia's Landing and Chiron City."

Mathieu nodded firmly. "A fair analysis." Something in his tone was wary.

"You do not agree, general?"

Mathieu pondered for a moment. "It would anger the other factions considerably. They do not like wilful Gaians, I recall."

Deirdre rolled her eyes. "My people have suffered the most in this war, and we have been offered the fewest number of bases as possible. If we do not take what is not offered, we will be constantly seen as pushovers."

Mathieu opened his mouth again, but Deirdre rode over his argument. "Forgive me, Mat, but we have no time. In three weeks, I want Admiralty Base. If possible, strike at Fleet Command as well. That base will take longer to take, but it should fall around the same time as Sparta Command."

The general still held arguments within his eyes, but he held them back, typing the orders into the data-file in his left hand.

"Anything else, lady?"

Deirdre nodded. "There is much. Supplies must be brought from the west, to support the war effort.oh, and order the fleet at Gaia's Landing to take Sea Bunker."

Mathieu could not hold in the protests this time. "Miriam has claimed that base, lady."

Deirdre regarded him levelly. "Santiago held that Bunker for years, keeping a dagger at the throat of my faction. That Bunker is within an hour striking distance of my capital. There is no way I will allow Miriam to hold the same stranglehold."

Mathieu looked at the floor, almost sullenly. Deirdre held a hand to her forehead. "Mat. Miriam has been promised nine bases, nine! What have we been given? Three! I will not let her have Sea Bunker. Is that clear?"

Mathieu glared. "The Senate may have something to say about this, lady. This is a democracy, after all."

Deirdre stood, breathless with rage. "General, the Senate has given me their unconditional support in this war. I am leader of this faction, and during wartime, I am the commander of the armed forces."

Mathieu snorted. "You are a woman. You have no idea how to conduct the political side of war, indeed, you have no idea how to conduct the war at all."

Once, Deirdre would have sworn, or cursed. Now she just found amusement bubbling within her. She laughed, and when she saw the angered expression on the general's face, she laughed harder.

"I am three hundred years old, Mathieu. For two hundred and seventy-six of those years, I have run this faction. Before that, I held a prominent position in the Green Party of Britain. I think I understand the undercurrents of politics, sir. By showing strength, yes, we do risk much, but if our faction sits by meekly and lets fools like Miriam take what is rightfully ours, how do we look?" She stood, and started for the door. "Oh, and general? Planet has outgrown the need for sexist opinions. When you have handed out the orders, speak to Handel. He will replace you as general. I have no need of short-sighted chauvinists in my employ."

With a sweet, almost innocent smile, she left the bunker room, leaving a dumbfounded, angry Mathieu behind her.