Von Potiorek pounded the table, rattling the glasses and making me jump. “See? Even a space force novice knows jumpship battles are self-defeating. And they cannot support ground armies once they’ve dropped their troops.”
“Why not?” Princess Marie asked.
“Umbrella shields,” Sir Murat replied. “Cheaper than the miniaturized personal shields, and vastly more powerful. Every city has one. Every army marches with one. They render orbital bombardment nigh useless. Not even atomics can take down an umbrella shield. You would need a Fall device to break through.”
Von Potiorek agreed. “Yes, and I’m scratching my head as to why we’re not using them.”
The table fell immediately silent as the three of us stared disbelieving at the Despotate lord commander. It took me a moment to reorder my thoughts after that bombshell, but finally, I managed to say, “Your Lordship, are you honestly suggesting we trigger a Fall event?”
“I’m just saying, why have these weapons in our strategic arsenal if we don’t intend to use them?”
I had no answer. I honestly had no idea why the star nations of the Rim still kept the old Fall devices. The theory came down to Mutually Assured Destruction, I supposed. If one nation had Fall devices but the other didn’t, then the former could demand whatever they wanted of the latter. But it made no sense in reality. That sort of thinking caused the Fall in the first place.
“What possible strategic objective could be achieved by destroying a planet?” I heard myself say.
Von Potiorek grinned, clearly thinking himself clever. “If the world is already lost, we should deny it to the enemy.”
“But you’d murder an entire world full of civilians,” I blurted out.
Von Potiorek’s face clouded. “Peasants are a resource. If we are to win this war, we must acquire as many resources as possible while denying their use to the enemy. We consider this with regards to metal, water, hydrogen, even stars. The human resource is no different. It is brutal, but it must be considered.”
“It would be a war crime,” I hissed, my blood simmering dangerously in my veins.
“It may be necessary,” Von Potiorek began.
In a small voice, Princess Marie said, “The last Fall nearly extinguished humanity.”
Von Potiorek had no response to the princess’s reminder of transhumanity’s near-extinction event, and the table descended into a thoughtful silence.
After a minute of clinking utensils on plates, Sir Murat spoke. “Personally, I would rather lose the war than risk tripping another Fall.”
“You would say that,” I snapped, my fury still pushing at my nerves. “The lord commander is right about one thing – your Federation has hardly fought in this war. Where are your armies? Where is your space navy?”
Sir Murat blinked, then smiled. “Guarding the supplies your Commonwealth relies upon, and protecting the colonies your armies are too thinly stretched to defend.”
“Behind the front lines. Parsecs away from the battle worlds.”
“My dear boy, somebody has to do it. Imagine thecatastrophe if the Empire ransacked our depot planets or caused unrest on unguarded moons. I would have thought a logistics corps officer like yourself would appreciate the necessity of a well-guarded supply system,” Sir Murat said, looking comfortably self-satisfied in the face of my accusations.
“That’s all well and good, but somebody has to fight and die to defeat the enemy. The Federation has plenty of soldiers, yet none of them are doing it,” I said, my voice cold.
Sir Murat smiled, and I either saw or imagined a slight predatory gleam in his eyes. “That’s what you Commonwealthers are for.”
I stood before the man could say another disgusting word. “All this talk of war has spoiled my appetite. Princess Marie, could I interest you in a dance?”
Princess Marie looked at me with round, worried eyes, but she placed her gloved hand delicately in mine. “Of course.”
I helped Marie rise gracefully to her feet, then gave Sir Murat the slightest bow. “If you’ll excuse us.” The Federation magnate waved at my impolite exit, and we left. I did not bid Von Potiorek so much as a goodbye.
Marie and I silently danced for several stanzas, quietly turning about each other while the music played. I tried to relax, but found myself infuriated by the conduct of my so-called allies.
“My apologies, Princess. I should not have gone off the handle like that.”
Princess Marie accepted my apology with a small tilt of her head. “I’m afraid I don’t understand military matters, so I’m uncertain what upset you so.”
I jerked my head back at the table where we’d been sitting. “They represent what’s crippled the Allied war effort this last decade. I’ve seen too many Urgan soldiers die because their commanders are so damned bloodthirsty, demandingpointless suicide attacks no matter how impossible success seems. And the Federation won’t bother to fight unless their territory is directly threatened.”
Princess Marie frowned in thought. “I thought Noble Federation space was separated from the Empire by the breadth of the Commonwealth and Despotate.”
