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a high-school science project to create a model of a space station, had thawed the atmosphere considerably. Ken no longer felt that his job was immediately in jeopardy.
    "You mentioned that you thought this situation offers advantages, General Hathaway?" Jensen said. "Explain."
    "If that thing actually works, sir, it takes a big load off of us. We've been committed to being their long-range support since the Institute got established, because there just wasn't anyone else available. Once they have their own ship working, we're free to work more for the United States' direct interests. Sure, we'll still be doing runs to Phobos Station and the Institute. We've got plenty of reasons to do so, and we'll have to help with the short distance ferrying anyway."
    Hathaway flashed a momentary smile at the realization he was now calling Earth-to-Moon orbit hops "short."
    Before he could continue, one of Jensen's analysts spoke up. "What you're saying is they won't need us just to survive any more. They can send their own ship on their own errands, ferry their own supplies back and forth, and in general deal with all the logistical headaches we've had to handle the past few years. And welcome to them."
    Jensen nodded. "All right, General Hathaway. I understand your points. The reports from Mr. Keldering were perhaps overly alarmist. So you don't see anything to worry about in this situation?"
    "Nothing whatsoever, sir," Ken said. "We have a battleship and they have a rowboat. Let's just hope they don't spring a leak rowing back and forth—that would require us to rescue them."
     

PART II:
ALLIANCES
    Plausible Deniability, n: positioning oneself such that one can permit actions to be taken which would be politically damaging, but in such a manner as to allow one to deny any knowledge of, or connection to, the actions in question.
     

Chapter 6
    "Prepare for spin-up. Nike , are you on station?" Jackie waited for the response.
    "Around behind Phobos in case of disaster, yes, ma'am," Ken Hathaway's voice responded.
    "I don't think you had to get that far away, Ken!" Jackie responded in a nettled tone.
    "Probably not. But probably nothing bad's going to happen, either, and we're not betting on that. Nike is the U.S.A's only major interplanetary vessel, and Uncle Sam isn't paying me to take risks with it."
    "Especially," she said, "for a rowboat."
    Hathaway clucked his tongue. "Look, I don't control what the NSA says in public. Been me, even if I thought that, I'd have kept my own counsel."
    " 'Even if I thought that,' " Jackie jeered. "Ken, I'll bet you're the one who first coined that charming term. Applied to us, anyway."
    A diplomatic silence followed. Jackie smiled. She was pretty sure that Hathaway had, in fact, been the one to put the idea in Jensen's head that the Nobel was a "rowboat." He'd used the derisive term himself in private, after all, when joking with his friends in Ares.
    He wasn't going to admit it, of course. Jackie was quite sure that if Hathaway had done so, he'd been aiming to relieve or at least deflect tensions between the current U.S. administration and Ares and the IRI. But the same political skill that would have led him to do so—you didn't get to be a general in the U.S. armed forces without such skills—would also keep his mouth diplomatically shut.
    "Sticks and stones may break my bones . . ." came Ken's singsong voice.
    Jackie chuckled. "Yeah, sure, I know. 'But words can never harm me'—and people who aren't really familiar with space travel usually don't realize how little appearances matter when it comes to deep-space craft that don't have to penetrate an atmosphere. Still, I didn't like having my baby called ugly."
    "Well, sure. Are you ready?"
    "Almost. A.J.?"
    The sensor specialist's confident voice rang out. "Every inch of Nobel is wired, Jackie. If anything happens, you'll be the second to know."
    "After you, of course."
    "Glendale squeezed a guarantee out of us on workmanship. I get the bad