Interlude

The vantage point was a good one, as such things go, with the widest, clearest view possible, and the smallest chance of the watchers being caught in the searching gaze of the targets of their observation. There were two of them, standing roughly side by side upon a relatively level granite shelf, half ringed by other, broken boulders and cracked rock. It was helpfully positioned near the crest of a long, low ridge that bracketed their target on the south, and tilted just-so, so that people on the ground would have had to pick them out against the treeline, while only able to see their shoulders and heads, assuming they were not blinded by the glare of the new risen sun. Of course, there was a slight risk that someone from the town below might choose to hike to the top of the hill, or come to investigate if they were spotted. But the odds of that were extremely low, and either would know of an approach long in advance.

The one dressed in only black was not impressed by what he was seeing, his companion holding more interest for him – few had the confidence to stand beside him, alone. But dutifully, and because he was never one to miss details, he did study the scene carefully. He was still not impressed. The town was small, in fact, now smaller than small, probably only remaining inhabited because the vital link to the outside continued to pass through. It had not always been that way, of course, six, seven years ago, it had been a hub of activity, the savior of a nation. Now, it's name was as close to cursed as made no difference, and the town was dying.

That would change. Very soon, they had both been told, though their vigil had as yet been unrewarded. Their role would only be to assist, but to remain ever in the shadows. One accepted that with absolute impassiveness, but the man in black was unsure.

"Are you quite sure this is the right place?" he asked, when there had still been no break in the monotony of drowsily droning insects, and quietly chirping birds. Black was a superb color for intimidation, for establishing authority, and for inviting like-minded followers; it was less suited to dealing with what was promising to be an unbearably sunny and humid morning.

The other, a taller man, never moved, and much to the first's disgust, seemed to be entirely comfortable in the heat, if not in the humidity. His voice was, as usual, low and gravelly, and absolutely, unswervingly sure. "These are the precise coordinates. We will wait."

Quirking a thin-lipped smile, the first man turned to look at his companion. "You of course realize, if M, as she calls herself, is as powerful as she claims, she would know the exact time they are going to arrive." He purposely allowed a long and significant pause to drag out, until the other turned away from the vista, to look at him. "Since she didn't tell us this presumably important information, I can only assume that she is not as powerful as she claims, or she is taking some perverse joy in making us wait."

"Or both," the other commented, his angular face never wavering from perfectly impassive. "Based on her method of contact with my vessel, however, I would be inclined to accept the latter interpretation as the most factually astute."

"You cannot imagine how delighted I am to hear you say that," the first replied, not bothering to conceal the scorn in his voice.

The other never blinked, as if the tone had simply passed him by as inconsequential. The only sign that he had even heard was the arching of one elegantly swept eyebrow. "I had reached that conclusion fourteen minutes ago. Furthermore," he continued, stroking the spade-shaped beard adorning his chin, "since it will not serve her purposes to alienate us, and is merely a display of control, I believe that there is a very high probability that what we are waiting for will occurr within the next seven minutes." He finished, regarding the shorter man with such an aloofly superior expression, it bordered on contempt without actually revealing anything.

Naturally, the first man found it to be a most infuriating expression, for exactly that reason.

Even more naturally, the other attempted to duplicate the effect as often as was seemly. The desired reaction found, he turned back to the matter at hand, precisely as a small black box clipped to his belt chirped once for attention. "That is the signal," he said unecessarily.

The man in black only grunted in acknowledgment. "Is everything in place?" he asked after a moment.

"Yes."

"Are you sure there is no way to mask their arrival?"

"Quite sure. Only my vessel has that capability, and it must remain in a powered-down state behind the moon to avoid detection. It is more powerful by far than they" – here his tone changed subtly, indicating that he was referring to a different they – "would be prepared for, but is not capable of defeating all three of those starships at once."

"Even with the advantage of surprise?"

"Yes. I had considered it, but even with the most favorable assumptions, the probability of our success could be no greater than twenty-nine point three nine to one. If we are to move openly against them, we must first seperate them."

"Speaking of which, how long before they enter orbit?"

"At last reported distance, velocity and decceleration rate, in approximately thirty-six point four minutes."

"Approximately?" The first man's voice was dry. "Well then, perhaps we should begin."

If the one's was dry, the other's tone was absolutely Saharan. "Agreed. They will eventually detect us, of course. I intend for us to complete the objective before that happens."

The sun creeped higher into the sapphire sky.