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Foster. But Foster had always been a yes-man: to General Alamatto, then to the madman O’Connell, and now to Prime Minister Winslow. The man was very good at relaying orders once they had been provided to him.
    He was, nonetheless, not merely a general but the ranking general in Northwest Regional Command, with a seat on the EASC Board. Malcolm had risen high in the Earth Alliance Armed Forces, particularly for someone his age, but the distance between him and General Foster was still great indeed. And in the military it didn’t matter how superior an officer was; it only mattered that they were.
    The words from Admiral Solovy’s speech rang in Malcolm’s head.
    We are not the traitors—we are the defenders. We are the resistance.
    Our counterinsurgency is a legal one, and it is also a moral one. We are defending our Constitution and our people. We will be an aegis shielding those who are under siege from their own government.
    You do not have to obey illegal orders—you know this—whether they come from a prime minister, an admiral, or your squadron commander. Instead, I will give you orders you can obey with pride and a clear conscience:
    Protect the people. Protect all who are innocent of actual wrongdoing. Refuse to assist in the enforcement of BANIA, in a peaceful, non-violent manner. Simply stand your ground.
    Well, hell. He’d spent a lifetime following orders. No reason to stop now. He stood and checked his reflection in the small mirror to make certain nothing about his uniform was out of place or unkempt, for he now needed to convey his own authority.
    Then he went out to address his squad, grateful there was no one he had to discuss it with before making the choice.

    “But, sir, orders are orders.”
    “Yes, they are—and the orders from the ranking commander of the Earth Alliance Armed Forces are to refuse to enforce BANIA.”
    Devore leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. “Admiral Solovy has been charged with treason.”
    “Has she? The prime minister insists she is being charged, but I haven’t seen any official documentation from an Ethics Council tribunal. And, frankly, even if I had, I would be suspicious of it.” Malcolm ran a hand over his jaw. “Look, guys, I know Admiral Solovy. I’ve worked with Admiral Solovy—”
    “You’ve shagged Admiral Solovy’s daughter is what you’ve done.”
    His stomach twisted into a sickening knot. He threw a warning glower in Grenier’s direction. “And Admiral Solovy’s daughter saved your ass from being sliced in two by a Metigen death beam, which means she has far bigger cajones than you, so you should mind what you say about her.”
    Grenier shrank back into his seat.
    Malcolm’s gaze swept across the briefing room. “Yes, I am acquainted with many of the people on the front lines of this conflict. So are you. You’ve all worked with Prevos before. Several of you watched Mia Requelme outsmart the Metigens on Romane then almost give her life in return. Many of you watched her and Commander Lekkas, both Prevos, as well as other members of the IDCC help us eliminate Olivia Montegreu. Dammit, you know they’re not monsters. You know they don’t deserve to be imprisoned.”
    “But Montegreu was a Prevo.”
    “And Prevos defeated her. I may have been the one to press the trigger, but I never would have been in a position to do it if it weren’t for them. No doubt some will be bad, and they’ll be subject to arrest and punishment for the crimes they actually commit. But that’s the point, isn’t it?”
    Paredes tossed a hand in the air. “Hell, I’m in. Montegreu was one scary S.O.B., but Requelme’s righteously cute. If the colonel can’t manage to get in her pants, maybe I’ve got a shot.”
    Malcolm made a face he hoped came off as less horrified and more threatening. In no way whatsoever had he intended this meeting to center around his sex life, past, lack of present and potential if unlikely future. And he really wasn’t sure