A week had passed.

The bodies—those that remained intact and identifiable—were rounded up and buried in a mass grave on Durstan IV, the nearest oxygen world.

The Duke offered free drinks for a week to anyone who had been involved in the fighting, but furiously ended the policy within a day when eleven thousand men, women, and aliens showed up, each claiming to have been aboard one of the ships.

Aboard the Teddy R, Cole called a meeting, not just of his senior staff, but of every member of the crew. Christine transmitted his words and image to every corner of the ship, and signaled him when it was completed.

"Paul had his revelation at Tarsus," began Cole. "I had mine last week, when I saw a brave young man refuse to surrender aboard the Navy’s flagship. He knew that the battle was lost, that he was the only survivor on his ship, possibly the only survivor from a fleet of three hundred ships. He had been badly injured hours earlier, but he wasn’t going to surrender his ship to what he had been told was the enemy." Cole paused. "I found myself admiring that young man. He didn’t know what happened on Braccio II. He didn’t know about any of the Navy’s abuses. If he attacked a world, it was because commanders he trusted told him that world deserved to be attacked. I am sure he was told that he was coming to Singapore Station to avenge a heinous surprise attack on the Navy.

"As I looked at that young man, I realized that he was not the enemy. He was doing exactly what every one of us did for years: He was following orders because he believed in the rightness of those orders."

Cole looked from Jacovic to Christine to Val, and then to those of the crew who had crowded onto the bridge.

"Just as that young man was not the enemy, the Navy is not the enemy." He saw a few puzzled expressions. "The Navy is the tool of the enemy. I suppose I’ve known it all along: The enemy is the Republic. I didn’t issue my ultimatum to keep out of the Inner Frontier to the Navy; I issued it to the Republic.

"Well, it didn’t work. They came here to punish us for our audacity, and while we were fortunate enough to win this time, they won’t allow it to stand. They’ll be back, which is what we have to discuss. We can either stay where we are, and fend off each attack against greater and greater odds until we lose—or we can carry the battle to them."

"To the Republic?" asked Pampas.

"To Deluros VIII itself," answered Cole.

"Well, goddamn!" said Val. "It’s about time!"

"At the risk of disappointing the Valkyrie, this will not be a frontal assault," said Cole. "How could it be? I am asking you to go up against the most powerful entity in the history of the galaxy. Even Christine’s computer couldn’t dope out the odds against us. So anyone who wants to stay out here has one Standard day to take their gear and move it to the station."

"Have you spoken to the Octopus?" asked Rachel.

"He’s with us. So are Lafferty’s men, of course. We won’t be just one ship. We’re going to organize the Inner Frontier, and we’ll pick up still more support within the Republic itself."

"The Republic," repeated one of the men dully.

"The Republic," replied Cole. He waited for more questions from his stunned crew. There weren’t any. "All right," he said. "This meeting is over. You have one Standard day to make your decisions."

The meeting dispersed, and he went down to the mess hall for some coffee, where he was joined by Sharon.

"You don’t pick small targets, I’ll give you that," she said.

"This target picked itself," he said. "I served it loyally for most of my life." He grimaced. "Makes me feel like a damned fool."

"Let’s see how much smarter you feel when we’re facing three million warships."

Suddenly he smiled. "Three thousand, three million—when you’re our size, what’s the difference?"

"I think that’s what I meant," she said, returning his smile. Suddenly the smile vanished. "Do you really think we have a chance?"

"Everyone’s got a chance."

"But against the Republic!"

"Ever hear of St. George?"

"Yes," said Sharon. "Why?"

"Think you’d have heard of him if he’d fought a dragonfly?"

"He had armor and an enchanted sword."

"We’ve got the Teddy R," replied Cole. "I’ll settle."