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the city where the Federation Council was based and where the
Chairman was right now. He decided not to share that information because the
missile would hit before he finished the sentence.
     
    “You’ll
see that I’m ri—“ The voice was cut off with a high-pitched screech. Chenko
felt a rumble and knew that Zurich had been nuked. The Planetary Defense Center
was far enough away and deep enough under a mountain that it was safe from
anything except a direct hit by a very powerful warhead. The Federation Council
was now gone, and Chenko felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He no longer
had any civilians who could tie his hands, and that meant he could take
whatever action he deemed necessary now.
     
    “I
want an open broadcast on all channels! Tell those bastards that we surrender,
and let’s hope they can still hear us through all the blast EM pulses!”
     
    1st
Empire Fleet Ship Victorous
     
    “I’m
getting the same transmission on all channels from the planet, Commander! They
say they surrender!”
     
    “Okay,
Weapons Officer, auto-destruct our remaining missiles. Com, tell the rest of
the fleet that I’m assuming command, and that they’re to auto-destruct their
missiles too!” ordered Nagumo. He felt relief that he wouldn’t be witnessing
the death of humanity’s home today. He had a few anxious moments when
Challenger’s CO demanded confirmation that Nagumo had the right to assume Fleet
command, but he was able to convince her that contact with Conqueror was lost,
and with Earth’s surrender, there was no longer any reason to destroy it. It
was a relief when all the remaining missiles had destroyed themselves, and
Earth’s surrender had been accepted.
     
    Twenty-four
hours later:
    Chenko
stepped into the well-appointed quarters of the Acting Fleet Commander. The
guard who had escorted him there announced his presence, and Nagumo came out of
what probably was the bedroom. Chenko recognized him from a brief encounter
years earlier when Nagumo was still a loyal Federation officer. Nagumo nodded
to the guard, who turned and left.
     
    “Have
a seat, Admiral Chenko,” said Nagumo in a surprisingly non-hostile voice.
Chenko did so. “Can I offer you something to drink?” asked Nagumo.
     
    “No
thank you. I don’t drink with traitors,” said Chenko as casually as he could.
There was a flash of anger on Nagumo’s face that quickly disappeared. He
nodded.
     
    “The
label is accurate. I did betray my oath to the Federation; I won’t deny that.
Would you like to know why?” Nagumo was surprised when Chenko shook his head.
     
    “Not
really. I’m sure you think you had a good reason, but I can’t think of anything
that would justify what you’ve done, so don’t bother.”
     
    Nagumo
strode over to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink. With that in
hand, he came back and sat opposite Chenko. After taking a sip from his drink,
he said, “My reason is the same as General Trojan’s reason. Aren’t you the
least bit curious as to why General Trojan declared the Empire and himself as
Emperor?”
     
    Chenko
was curious, but didn’t want to admit it, so he stayed silent.
     
    Nagumo
smiled. “You’re not saying no, so I’ll take your silence as a yes. Tell me,
Admiral, what did you and General Masterson expect would happen after the SSU
was defeated?”
     
    Chenko
shrugged. “Nothing spectacular or mysterious. Those rebel planets would be
re-integrated into the FPS, and the status quo would have been restored.”
     
    “Suppose
I told you that Majestic did a VERY comprehensive projection of the post-war
period extending another century beyond the war’s end.”
     
    A
chill went up Chenko’s spine. He and Masterson had a hunch that Majestic was
involved somehow in this abomination. “And what did the machine come up with?”
     
    “Chaos
and anarchy.” After a pause he continued. “The attempt to suppress the SSU would
have generated only more resentment and anger.