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Before they had talked more than a few minutes, however, Baron Cragdale abruptly became Crown Prince Edvard. "Prince Trask, Admiral Shefter tells me that you and he are having informal discussions about co-operation against this mutual enemy of ours, Dunnan. This is fine; it has my approval, and the approval of Prince Vandarvant, the Prime Minister, and, I might add, that of Goodman Mikhyl.

"Well, Prince Trask and I have been invited as house-guests at Prince Edvard's, I mean Baron Cragdale's, hunting lodge," Bentrik said. "We'll be going there directly from here." "Ah." Admiral Shefter smiled slightly. Beside not having three horns and a spiked tail, this Space Viking was definitely persona grata with the Royal Family. "Well, we'll keep in contact, Prince Trask."

I think he knew the Victrix was coming to Audhumla, and just about when." "I don't like that, commodore," Shefter said. "You think I do, sir?" the Intelligence officer countered. "There it is, though. We all have to face it." "We do," Shefter agreed. "Get on it, commodore, and I don't need to caution you to screen everybody you put onto it very carefully."

Before he had left Marduk, Admiral Shefter had ordered a ship to Gimli to check on the Honest Horris; a few men and a pinnace would be left behind to contact any ship from Tanith. He sent Boake Valkanhayn off in the Space Scourge. Lionel of Newhaven's Blue Comet came in from Gram with a cargo of general merchandise.

And somebody else, probably a stooge of Makann's, was claiming that Bentrik had sold the Victrix to the Space Vikings and that the films of the battle of Audhumla were fakes, photographed in miniature at the Navy Moon Base. Admiral Shefter, when Trask flew in to see him the next day, was contemptuous about this last.

I think one of them would stay home all the time." "Well, we'll give you everything we have on them," Shefter promised. "Most of that is classified and you'll have to keep quiet about it, too. I just skimmed over the summary of what you gave us; I daresay we'll both get a lot of new information. Have you any idea at all where he might be based, Prince Trask?"

Of course Dunnan and Makann were in collusion. Who tipped Dunnan off that the Victrix would be on Audhumla? Makann; his spies in the Navy tipped him. What about the Honest Horris; wasn't Makann blocking any investigation about her? Why was Admiral Shefter retired as soon as Makann got into power?

"That's no matter who wins the election. They can't any of them get along without the Navy, and they bloody well know it." Trask wanted to know if Intelligence had been getting anything. "Not on how Dunnan found out the Victrix had been ordered to Audhumla, no," Shefter said.

"This order came from Makann?" "From the Admiral commanding. He isn't your friend Shefter; Shefter retired on account of quote ill-health unquote. He is now in a quote hospital unquote." "Where's Prince Bentrik?" "Nobody knows. Charges of high treason were brought against him, and he just vanished. Gone underground, or secretly arrested and executed; take your choice."

"That's the way a Sword-World noble would talk, Count Steven," he said. The Board of Inquiry, that afternoon, was more like a small and very sedate cocktail party. An Admiral Shefter, who seemed to be very high high-brass, presided while carefully avoiding the appearance of doing so.