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Dismissed.”
    She said it like a military order, and he stood, pivoted and departed, leaving her to seethe over Solovy’s outrageous, deceitful screed in solitude.
    The woman incited violence and discord while using lies and misdirection to do it. And thus far Winslow’s people had been completely unable to silence her or prevent her warmongering call to action from reaching twelve billion sets of ears.
    But they could ensure it was the last speech to do so. The broadcast had caught them all by surprise; no one had thought Solovy would dare make such a bold and public move. In retrospect, they should have foreclosed the woman’s ability to do so sooner.
    Pamela had hoped a less violent solution could be found, but she did not intend to make the same mistake twice.
    She holocommed Admiral Fullerton, the second-highest-ranking officer in the Northeast Regional Command and one of the few there actively opposed to Solovy and Rychen’s mutiny. “Your mission is authorized. Destroy the hardware communications hub controlling the Armed Forces Network and the Artificial driving it.”
    “Both potential locations, ma’am?”
    “Yes. We won’t take any chances here, Admiral.”
    “Understood, Prime Minister.”
    Satisfied the military rebellion would soon find itself neutered, she put the issue out of her mind to review her notes for this afternoon’s press conference.
    A new model of governance was always disruptive at first. The masses were always resistant to change, no matter the form or direction the change took. But once the new laws were given a chance to work, people would see hers represented a better way. They would see it all the more clearly since those who threatened her regime would then be imprisoned, deactivated or otherwise no longer able to foment dissent.
    The emergence of the IDCC was nonetheless highly inconvenient timing. The organization had attained a startling amount of power in a very short period of time and was proving to be a wild card she had not accounted for in her plans. But such an organization was inherently unstable—no designated leader or authority, democratized to the point of anarchy and polluted with Prevos pursuing their own twisted, soulless agenda.
    She expected the IDCC to implode on its own any day now. If it didn’t, however, she might need to give it a slight nudge. After brief consideration, she made a note to explore her options on the matter tonight.
    The Senecan Federation would do whatever they were apt to do; so long as they kept it in their little corner of the galaxy, it did not overly concern her. Once Admiral Solovy had been dealt with and matters settled down, she could take more proactive measures to minimize the Federation’s reach. But for now, she needed to concentrate her efforts on the home front.
    When it came to controlling the populace, perception was everything. Therefore, it became incumbent upon her to impose the perception that the government was in control of the military, and she was in control of the government. There must be no hesitation, no suggestion of weakness.
    Luckily, she had none.

    ARCADIA
    E ARTH A LLIANCE C OLONY
E ARTH A LLIANCE F ORWARD N AVAL B ASE
    Colonel Malcolm Jenner stared at the orders on the screen in growing but not unexpected dismay. He’d known this day was coming.
     
LEVEL IV SECURITY DIRECTIVE:
All NW MSO STCC units are hereby ordered to conduct incursions against suspected Prevo and Prevo-sympathizer hideouts on Arcadia and other colonies located in Northwest Regional Command jurisdiction. A list of initial targets and assignments is attached hereto.
Persons, programs and hardware found at these locations which are suspected of being in violation of BANIA are to be detained, pursuant to the strictures provided by BANIA’s associated regulations, and transferred to the Arcadia Central Detention Facility.
This directive supersedes all standing orders of Level III and below.
     
    The order was signed by General