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could tell that something wasn’t right.
    “Zenobia,” he said, trying to force a smile through a face grown rigid by the past hour’s ruminations, “why do I have the feeling this is not good news?”
    “Because, sir,” came the scratchy static replication of her voice, “it’s not.”
    “Proceed,” Trang commanded grimly.
    “My intelligence … eam picked … up … ansmission a few hours ago. I just finished reviewing it. It was go … to be … your afternoon debriefing, but I thought … ou’d better have a look at … now.”
    She transmitted the file.
    A few seconds later, his display notified him of its arrival. “Got it,” confirmed Trang as Zenobia’s image saluted and then disappeared. He quickly scanned the headline:
UHF INTERNAL REPORT
TO : GRAND ADMIRAL SAMUEL TRANG
FROM : ADMIRAL ZENOBIA JACKSON
SUBJECT : MASS EVACUATION
SOURCE : TERRAN / CORE - BASED TRANSMISSION
RELIABILITY : CONFIRMED
    Perfect, Trang mused, beginning to feel the veins on his temples bulge ever so slightly. He read further:
R ELIGIOUS F IGUREHEAD C ALLS FOR M ASS E VACUATION
A LITTLE - KNOWN RELIGIOUS FIGURE REFERRED TO AS “ R ABBI ” HAS CALLED FOR A MASS EVACUATION OF THE B ELT . B ECAUSE R ABBI IS ONE OF THE FEW RELIGIOUS LEADERS LEFT AFTER THE ELIMINATION OF A LHAMBRA , HIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY BY MANY OF THE A STRAL A WAKENING ’ S NEWEST BELIEVERS . R ABBI ’ S ARGUMENT APPEARS TO BE PRIMARILY RELIGIOUS AND AS SUCH IS HAVING A PROFOUND EFFECT ON THE DEBATE NOW TAKING SHAPE WITHIN THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SETTLEMENTS THAT OCCUPY THE B ELT . M ANY APPEAR TO HAVE ALREADY HEEDED R ABBI ’ S CALL FOR “ DIASPORA ,” ABANDONING ORBITAL SLOTS OF GREAT VALUE AND LONG STANDING AS THEY AND THEIR ASTEROIDS SLOWLY MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE OUTER ORBITS . S O FAR , THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM THE CARETAKER GOVERNMENT AT C ERES HAS BEEN UTTER SILENCE .
    Trang turned his head away from the screen and sent a vexed look to whatever daemon seemed to have chosen him as the day’s chew toy. The Cabinet’s rash decision had already been responsible for two massacres, and now, sadly, there would need to be another.
On the twelfth Day of Ash, when the Children of the Stars were brought low and all hope was fleeting, two signs were delivered unto them that their lamentations had been heard. Returned to the holy city that was the chosen home of him sent by God, chosen by the miracle of his owning none and being owned by none, came the Barge of Death.
The Children of the Stars did gather in the cavern and beheld the empty hatch and knew that the Anointed Man was truly gone. And the Children did give in to despair, and the howls of their lamentations were heard in all quarters of the holy city of the stars, and yea unto every outpost and world that belonged to the Children of the Stars, and yea even into the void of space itself, where no sound can be heard. Yet so great was the despair of the Children that even unto space itself was that cry heard.
When so complete was the misery that it didst seem ready to break the will of the Children—to doom them, their children, and their children’s children unto the last generation to defeat and the enslavement of the Stock, cursed be that name—then did appear the Blessed One. Without a word did she command silence, and silence was given. Without a sound did she command attention, and attention was paid. With outstretched and withered hand did she summon the flag draped upon the rod that lo, did represent the Children in the war against the Stock, cursed be that name. This, the battle standard that the Blessed One had carried from righteous victory to righteous victory, went as if by spirit to her hand from across the cavern. And the Children did witness it thus. The battle standard held now by the Blessed One did in its cloth cover half of the Blessed One’s face, and the Children of the Stars saw that the Blessed One’s side of war was covered and thus the Children