They made it back to Singapore Station without incident, and Cole gave each of the crews that had been in the battle a three-day shore leave.

He himself remained on the ship, and finally Sharon sought him out in his small, cramped office.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she entered.

He nodded his head. "I’m fine."

"You’re sure?"

"I’m sure."

"You don’t have to mourn alone," she said. "We all miss him."

"He knew the chance he was taking, leaving the ship and the station and going off with Jacillios," said Cole.

"I know why they killed him," said Sharon. "We’re outlaws, and there’s a price on our heads. But why did they—?" She broke off in midsentence. "This is the Republic, damn it! We used to be part of it. We’re not even supposed to treat our enemies like that!"

"They were just trying to lure the Teddy R out of hiding," said Cole. "They succeeded."

"Would you lure a ship out of hiding that way?" she persisted.

"No, but—"

"But what?"

"But I’m not a member of the Republic anymore."

"It’s hard to believe we all served in it," said Sharon.

"The Endless Night wasn’t the Republic," Cole noted. "It was just one ship with a captain who should have been court martialed."

"Even so," she replied, "it makes me feel dirty that we ever were a part of it."

He made no reply, and after a moment she walked over and sat down on his lap, putting her arms around his neck. "I miss him, damn it."

"So do I," said Cole.

"You don’t show it," she said. "We’re alone here. You don’t have to keep up your stoic captainly demeanor."

"It’s not a pretense or an act," said Cole. "It’s the way I’m made. He was the best friend I ever had, but he’s dead and he’s avenged. I’ll miss him for the rest of my life, but I’ve got a ship to run and a crew to take care of."

"I’m not worried about your crew," she said. "I’m worried about you. Everyone has to grieve, even you."

"I’ll set aside time for it," answered Cole.

"How about right now?"

"Right now it’s too fresh in my mind. I see a picture of what they’ve done to him, and I don’t want to grieve, I want to kill." He sighed. "Those are not good thoughts for the captain of a ship that’s outnumbered millions to one."

"Would you rather I left you alone here?" she asked.

"No, I’m happy to have you," said Cole. "I’m just not likely to be good company for the next few days."

"When’s the last time you ate?"

He looked puzzled. "I don’t know."

"Red shift? Yesterday’s blue shift?"

He shrugged.

"Then I think we need to get some food into you. Can’t have the captain starve himself to death."

He frowned for a minute, as if considering. "You know, I am hungry," he admitted.

"Idena and I found a lovely new restaurant on the second level of the station," she said. "Real beef, imported from Greenveldt. And a chocolate mousse that’ll add two inches to your waistline." She got to her feet and pulled gently on his arm. "Come on. It’ll be my treat."

He resisted for a few seconds, then got up. "What the hell. I’m not doing any good here. Lead the way."

They went to the airlift, descended to the shuttle bay, and stepped out into the docking arm. They were half a mile from the main body of the station. Cole considered walking the length of the enclosed arm, but suddenly a tram pulled up, they got on it, and half a minute later they were inside Singapore Station.

"Okay, where is this place you were talking about?" said Cole, looking around.

"Second level, like I said," she replied.

He followed her to an interior airlift, and a moment later they were being seated in a small bistro, the Home from Home, that did everything it could not to look like part of a shining metal space station. The chairs were an alien hardwood, as were the tables. The floor was covered with a self-cleaning carpet. The wallpaper came in five displays, each slowly superseding the previous one. There were actually ashtrays on the tables, though no one had smoked real tobacco in millennia. Most of the restaurants on the station had robot waiters, and a small handful had scantily clad women, but the Home from Home presented middle-aged waiters in crisp white jackets.

"How long has this joint been open?" asked Cole when a waiter had taken their drinks order.

"About three weeks," replied Sharon.

"They must have found those outfits in an antique shop."

"The place has a nice ambience, doesn’t it?" said Sharon.

"It’s okay."

The waiter returned with their drinks, they ordered, and then Sharon spoke of a new art gallery she had discovered while Cole pretended to listen politely. Finally the food arrived and they began eating.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Not bad," said Cole.

"Not bad?" she repeated. "It’s great!"

"I suppose so," he said. "We’ll come back when I’ve got less on my mind."

"Forrice again?"

He shook his head. "Forrice is dead. We’ve still got a fleet to run. Which reminds me—where’s Jacovic?"

"Somewhere on the station," she replied. "He’ll probably come to Duke’s Place later."

Cole nodded, then attacked his meal with more enthusiasm and became more talkative. When the meal was over they left the restaurant, took an airlift to the main level, and a moment later entered the Duke’s casino. Cole made a beeline toward the Duke’s table, where the Platinum Duke sat with David Copperfield and Val.

"Greetings," said the Duke. "I heard what happened, and I want you to know how sorry I am about Commander Forrice."

"We’ll all miss him," said Cole. "I’m just sorry I couldn’t blow up the whole fucking fleet for him." He paused, looking around the casino. "Is Jacovic here?"

"He hasn’t stopped by to pay his respects yet," replied the Duke.

"I think I saw him at a Teroni restaurant as I was coming here," offered Copperfield.

"I’m going back to the ship," said Cole. "When any of you see him, tell him I’ll be in my office and that I want to speak to him."

"You’re not staying and sharing my liquor?" asked the Duke, and Cole could almost imagine a hurt expression on his platinum features.

"Not today," said Cole. "Or is it tonight?"

"It’s always tonight out here," replied the Duke.

"Let’s go," said Sharon, taking Cole’s arm.

"You can stay if you want," said Cole. "I know I’m not being good company."

"No, I’ll dance with the guy what brung me, to coin a phrase," she said.

He shrugged. "Okay."

They walked to the exit, and five minutes later they got off the tram and entered the Teddy R. Cole stopped by the mess hall, got a cup of coffee, wondered vaguely when he had become addicted to caffeine, and made his way to the bridge, where he found Christine and Domak. He made sure that everything was in order, then went to his office.

Sharon accompanied him to the door, then stopped.

"I’ve got some work to do," she said, "and you look like you’d rather be alone."

"Not really."

"Then call me back after Jacovic has come and gone," she said, turning and walking away.

Cole sat down behind his desk, sipped his coffee, and stared at the patterns of light that were shown on his small viewscreen. Ships came, ships went, hundreds of tiny brilliant lights in constant motion, producing an almost hypnotic effect. Cole relaxed and just watched the patterns. He lost all track of time and was brought back to the present by a knock at his door.

"Come in," he said.

The door irised, and Jacovic entered.

"David Copperfield said you wanted to see me, sir?" said the slender Teroni.

"Yeah," said Cole. "Have a seat."

Jacovic pulled a chair up to the desk and seated himself.

"You know," remarked Cole, "that’s something Four Eyes could never do. You can’t imagine how difficult it was to find anything he could sit on with those three legs of his."

"He was a good officer," said the Teroni. "I know how close you were to him."

"He’s gone," said Cole. "And I need a new First Officer. You’re the best I’ve got. I’d like you to turn over the Silent Dart to your second-in-command and come over to the Teddy R."

"How will your crew respond to taking orders from a member of my race?" asked Jacovic.

"They had no problems taking orders from a Molarian," replied Cole.

"You were never at war with the Molarians," noted Jacovic. "The Republic has been battling the Teroni Federation for more than twenty years."

"We left the Republic three years ago," said Cole. "The Inner Frontier is no-man’s-land. There are no Republics or Federations here. They’ll follow your orders, because they’ve worked with you for a year, and they know you’re an honorable and competent officer."

"Are you sure you wouldn’t rather promote the Valkyrie?"

Cole shook his head. "I need a First Officer, not a loaded weapon, no matter how loyal and efficient she is."

"Then I accept, sir."

"Good," said Cole. "How soon can you move your gear here?"

"How soon do you need me?"

"A day or two," said Cole. "We’ve accepted no assignments, and we’ll probably be here for another couple of weeks, but it’s a good idea to get the crew used to the fact that you’re the First Officer."

"All right," said Jacovic. "I’ll transfer to the Theodore Roosevelt tomorrow." He paused. "Will the Valkyrie be upset that I have been promoted over her?"

"If she is, she can complain to me," said Cole. "I doubt it, though. As long as we aim her at the bad guys, she’s content. You’re here because I need a First Officer I can trust. She’s here because I need a devastating weapon that I can control." He paused. "You served as Third Officer for a while when Val had her own ship, so you know your way around the Teddy R. Probably ninety percent of the crew is unchanged. You’ll be in charge of red shift, starting the day after tomorrow. Any questions?"

"No, sir."

"Then that’s it. I’ll have Four Eyes’s cabin reconfigured to suit your needs, unless you prefer another one?"

"I’m sure that will be fine, sir," said Jacovic. He saluted and left.

Cole went up to the bridge, where Christine was working at her computer console.

"You ever going to take a shore leave?" he asked her.

"Pretty soon, sir."

"That’s what you said the last four times I asked you."

"There’s nothing there that interests me, sir," she said.

"Maybe there are some great black-market computers," Cole suggested.

"I’m happy right here, sir."

"They’ve got art galleries, botanical gardens…"

She gave him a look.

"Okay, I know when I’m beaten," lie said. "But you at least should take a little time off to relax."

"This is how I relax, sir. Really."

"You know we’re going to have this conversation every day while we’re docked here," said Cole.

"We always do," she said with a smile.

"All right," he said. "You win this time, but—"

Suddenly some code on the holograph floating above her console caught her eye.

"That’s strange," she said.

"What is?"

"Just a minute, sir," she said, speaking to the machine in code that sounded as alien as any language he’d ever heard. Finally she turned to him with a puzzled frown on her face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It’s very odd, sir," said Christine. "There are six Republic ships in the Braccio system—but only one is in orbit around Braccio II, and that’s the only inhabited planet in the system."

"When the hell did they show up?" demanded Cole.

"I just saw the notation on the screen, sir. It can’t be more than a few minutes." She peered at the rows of code that suddenly appeared, asked a pair of questions in the same incomprehensible tongue, and waited until she had her answers.

"What’s going on, Lieutenant?" said Cole.

"It doesn’t make any sense, sir," she said. "One of the ships, the Distant Drums, sent a shuttle down to the surface, picked up two passengers, and returned to the ship." She frowned again. "I thought they only took one survivor back to Braccio."

"That’s right—just one."

"Could his doctor be going with him?"

Cole shook his head. "With six ships they’ll have a medical team on one of them."

"Then who could it be?"

"I’ve got a better question," said Cole. "Why does it take six ships to evacuate two people?"

"I don’t know, sir."

He frowned. "Neither do I."

"It’s very unusual, sir," said Christine.

"It’s more than unusual," said Cole. "It’s very dangerous. But for the life of me I can’t figure out what they’re doing there. One survivor made it back to the Republic. Either he or his medic or pilot surely told them that it was the Teddy R that killed the Endless Night, not some barrage from Braccio II. Hell, it was someone in Four Eyes’s whorehouse who spotted him and informed the Republic he was there. They ought to be thanking them."

"Maybe they are."

"With six warships?" Cole shot back. Then: "Is Briggs on the ship?"

"I believe he’s sleeping, sir."

"Lieutenant Domak, wake Mr. Briggs up and tell him to get his ass up here on the double."

"Yes, sir," said Domak, activating a new section of her computer.

"Keep watching the situation in the Braccio system, Christine," said Cole. "Let me know if it changes."

"The Distant Drums is already out of the system, sir," she said. "The other five aren’t leaving, they’re not going into orbit, and they’re not landing."

"Something’s very wrong here," said Cole.

"They’re still holding their positions, sir."

Briggs approached the bridge just then, his hair unkempt, his tunic much the same.

"Sir?" he said, blinking his eyes rapidly.

"I’m afraid we need your services, Mr. Briggs," said Cole. "I.ieutenant Domak, let Briggs take over your computer, No offense, but I need my two best operators, and he’s one of them. Mr. Briggs, there are half a dozen Republic ships in the Braccio system. Christine is busy monitoring their movements; I want you to do the same with their messages. They’ll almost certainly be scrambled and coded."

"Yes, sir," said Briggs, slipping into the chair as Domak vacated it.

"What can I do, sir?" asked Domak.

"Find another computer and help Briggs," said Cole. "He’s monitoring the Navy ships’ messages. You monitor everything else. There’s a damned powerful computer in my office that I never use. Why don’t you go there?"

She saluted and went off to find it.

"Still no movement, sir," said Christine after a few moments had passed.

"And if they’re passing scrambled messages, or any messages at all," added Briggs, "they’re doing it on a frequency that’s beyond our capabilities."

"They’re not," said Cole. "Until three or four years ago this was a Republic ship. We should be able to able to read anything a Navy ship sends."

"Then they’re just going to stay out there between the fourth and fifth planets, send no messages, and make no threats," said Christine. "Why would they do that, sir?"

"I don’t know, Christine."

"Me neither," added Briggs.

"I know," said a voice, and they all turned to see Domak’s image, transmitted from Cole’s office.

"Okay, what’s going on?" asked Cole.

"The ship that landed was evacuating the Navy survivor."

"There were two passengers on it," insisted Christine.

"The other was the Molarian prostitute that informed the Navy that Commander Forrice was there. They wanted those two off the planet." Domak paused. "They know that the Teddy R was responsible for destroying the Endless Night. They don’t know where we are, but they’re convinced that someone on Braccio II must know. They’ve given them one Standard hour to reveal our location."

"I haven’t heard any messages about it," said Briggs.

"You’re monitoring the Republic ships. I heard a broadcast from the planet to a merchant ship that was returning home there. They told the pilot the situation. They warned him off, though they seem certain that everything can be worked out, that the Republic isn’t going to kill two million inhabitants simply because they can’t tell them where we are."

"Don’t bet on it," said Cole grimly.

"But they’re Republic ships, sir," protested Briggs. "They wouldn’t—"

"They did to Four Eyes," said Cole.

"He had a price on his head. These are just civilians."

"Use your brain, Mr. Briggs," said Cole. "If it was just a threat, they didn’t need six ships."

"But there are two million people down there—Men, Molarians, Lodinites, according to my records more than fifteen races, none of them at war with the Republic."

"This is the Frontier," said Cole. "Their status doesn’t matter. If they’ll kill men and Molarians, who serve in the Navy, they’ll kill races who don’t serve just as fast."

Jacovic came onto the bridge. "Colonel Blacksmith informed me of the situation, sir," he said. "I thought I should be here."

"Fine," said Cole. Then, raising his voice slightly, "Good thinking, Sharon."

"Is there anything I can do?" asked the Teroni.

Cole checked his timepiece. "There’s nothing any of us can do except wait and see if they’re bluffing."

Sharon’s image popped into existence.

"Do you want me to send for anyone else?"

"Not unless we have any crew members from Braccio II."

"No," she said.

"Just as well," said Cole. "The bridge is crowded enough already."

"They could lie, I suppose," said Christine after a few minutes had passed. "The planetary government, I mean."

Cole shook his head. "Anyone who gives the ships any info is going to get hooked up to a Neverlie Machine, and the first time he lies it’s going to burn out every brain cell he’s got."

"I’ve never seen one on the Teddy R, sir," she said. "Maybe they don’t have one."

"They have one," said Cole. "It’s standard issue."

"Where is ours, sir?" she asked.

"I jettisoned it a few years ago."

"Before or after?"

"Before or after what?"

"Before or after we left the Republic?" she said.

"Before."

She smiled. "I should have known."

They all fell silent again. Finally Domak announced that the planetary government had sent out one last message, warning all space traffic away.

"Obviously they no longer think it’s a bluff," said Cole.

"We’ll know very soon," said Briggs. "There’s ten minutes left."

"Sir?" said Christine.

"Yes?"

"The Republic ships are moving into firing range. There are three positioning themselves around the planet, and one each over the poles."

"Message coming through from the planetary government over all wavelengths, sir," said Briggs. "Do you want me to put it on ship’s audio?"

"Why bother?" replied Cole. "We all know what they’re saying. 'We don’t know where the Teddy R is, we’re telling the truth, and please don’t kill us.'"

"They won’t really do it," said Briggs. "Not two million people, when they know none of them had anything to do with us."

"I admire your optimism, Mr. Briggs," said Cole.

"They were trained in the Republic, sir, just like us," said Briggs. "No one ever told us to do anything like that."

"In case it’s slipped your memory," said Cole, "I was court-martialed for refusing to kill twice that many people."

"Those were unique circumstances."

"All genocides occur under unique circumstances," said Cole. "But they still occur."

"Half a minute," said Christine. She uttered a command and the Braccio system appeared on a holoscreen two feet above her computer.

For a few seconds nothing happened. Then Braccio II seemed to burst into flame, and became a white-hot ball of destruction. The ships, which were not visible on the screen, couldn’t have fired for more than two or three seconds, but the planet was still glowing an hour later.

"They did it!" said Briggs in shocked tones. "They really did it."

"What do you expect?" said Sharon’s voice. "They’re the Navy."

"They killed two million innocent beings, just like that!" continued Briggs.

"They couldn’t find us, and they were determined to kill somebody," said Sharon.

"It’s… it’s…" Briggs was so furious he couldn’t find the words.

"And the worst part of it is that no one’s going to lift a finger," said Sharon. "We’re the Inner Frontier. The goddamned Navy comes and goes where its wants and kills who it wants. And those bastards are going to get away with it, just like they always do."

Cole stared at the glowing ember that just moments ago had been a thriving world, his face an emotionless mask.

"No they’re not," he said grimly. "Not this time."