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taking,” Drakon groused.
    “But if the enigmas turn it into a base, establish a foothold there—”
    “What does the Syndicate Worlds have on the other side of Iwa?” Bradamont asked.
    “Not much,” Malin replied. “They have a shaky hold on Palau and Moorea Star Systems. We have information that Moorea may have already left Syndicate control.”
    “They’ve declared independence?” Bradamont asked.
    “No. We have not been able to confirm it yet, but it appears Moorea has been conquered by forces loyal to Granaile Imallye, who may be a warlord, or a pirate with a large appetite. Moorea would be the third star system that she has seized control over.”
    “What does she title herself?” Iceni asked. “You can tell a lot about someone’s intentions by the titles they assume.”
    “She uses no title,” Malin said. “She is just known as Granaile Imallye.”
    “That does not give me a warm and fuzzy,” Bradamont commented. “Someone who doesn’t think they even need a rank or title to command is someone with a lot of confidence in themselves.”
    “And a bit of an enigma as well, in the human sense of the term,” Iceni said. “But I don’t see any alternative to making direct contact with this Imallye and finding out her intentions. If the enigmas establish a presence at Iwa, and her forces are at Moorea, she’s going to end up fighting the enigmas, too, and perhaps soon.”
    “I agree,” Drakon said. “We don’t have to like Imallye, but we can’t afford to be fighting her and the enigmas and the Syndicate. We have to find out if we can live with her, or if we’re going to have to get rid of her.”
    “The Syndicate will take a while to recover from its losses at Ulindi,” Malin said.
    “I agree with that,” Gozen said. “My old unit was the strongest Syndicate ground force in the region. Add in the warships that were lost and the troop transports that were captured, and the Syndicate took a big hit.”
    “Don’t underestimate them,” Iceni said. “The Syndicate still controls a lot of star systems with a lot of resources. Even if they can’t overwhelm us at the moment, they probably have the means to push us hard. We need to send a ship to contact Imallye, and if I weren’t worried about attacks on Midway by either the Syndicate or the enigmas I would send
Midway
or
Pele
. But I want both of those warships on hand. I can’t spare a heavy cruiser, either, but I’ll have to. I don’t want an official contact with this pirate queen or warlord or supreme dictator to be in anything smaller than a heavy cruiser.”
    “You’ll need a high-ranking representative aboard the heavy cruiser,” Bradamont cautioned. “Imallye will more likely react positively to contact with a senior official than if someone of lower rank is sent.”
    Iceni glared up at the stars in the display. “Which means Kommodor Marphissa, doesn’t it? Damn. I can’t afford to have her gone, either!”
    “You have some good commanders in Kapitan Mercia and Kapitan Kontos,” Bradamont said.
    “Neither of whom has decent experience in commanding formations of warships!” Iceni fixed her gaze on Bradamont. “But you do.”
    Bradamont shook her head. “I’m not supposed to get directly involved in combat—”
    “Oh, hell, Captain! You’re here to keep Midway from falling to the Syndicate or to the enigmas!”
    “My orders—”
    “And if Midway falls to either you know what will happen to Colonel Rogero! He will die heroically, I have no doubt. But he will die. And so would you. Is that really what Black Jack would want?”
    Bradamont stared fixedly at the display for several seconds. “I am allowed to use my discretion in emergencies,” she finally said.
    “Good.” Iceni nodded as if the matter was settled. “Then you will go aboard
Midway
or
Pele
, at your discretion, and if we are attacked you will assume overall command of our warships.”
    Gozen was staring at everyone else. “You’re seriously