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have their networks under control, but we don’t know for sure. I had to take the plan directly to the world leaders and if a single word gets out ahead of time...”
    Joshua nodded. He hadn't seen the strategic reports from the planners, but it didn't take a genius to realise that Earth’s forces were very limited. Any reinforcement of the stars near humanity could be disastrous – but then, the Hegemony didn't seem to take humanity seriously. Why should they when they’d bullied Terra Nova out of humanity’s clutches so easily?
    He knew how the human race felt about the Funks; hell, he   shared   their attitude to the biggest bullies in the local sector. But it struck him that he was being asked to risk everything he’d built on a plan that might or might not work. He could leave and no one would be surprised, not after he’d been the subject of so many angry political broadcasts. Those politicians wouldn’t hesitate to throw him to the wolves if they thought they could get away with it.
    And yet he knew that Sampson was right. There   was   no one else...and besides, the thought of poking the Funks in their bright red eyes was attractive. They deserved a sharp lesson in how they treated other races.
    “I understand,” he said, finally. He’d do it, after taking a few steps to ensure that his people wouldn't suffer if he messed up. “No one will hear a peep from me until the shit hits the fan. How long do I have to prepare?”
    “Two to three months,” Sampson said. “We’re going to be making preparations for the offensive over the next two months, before actually kicking off the attack. You have that long to get into position and prepare to start raiding.”
    “Two months,” Joshua said. “It’ll take upwards of a month to even   get   there, assuming we can’t risk going near the shipping lanes. Even in quantum space, that’s one hell of a trip. It certainly won’t be long enough to make local connections.”
    “Which will at least minimise the risks of betrayal,” Sampson said. “I don’t know if we dare risk waiting any longer than three months before launching the offensive. If they start reinforcing their battle-line anyway, our operation becomes much less workable.”
    “Which would be disastrous,” Joshua agreed. “I’ll do my best to expedite my departure.”
    Sampson stood up and held out his hand. “Good luck, Captain,” he said. “We’re counting on you.”
    Joshua shook his hand firmly. “Just make sure that there’s still an Earth for me to come back to,” he said. “I do want to return home one day. There’s nowhere in the galaxy quite like Earth.”  

Chapter Three
     
    Adrienne Lawson had one rule. No-one, bar no-one, was to call her after she returned home until the following day. She’d spent the last week in Saudi Arabia reporting on the provisional government’s attempts to hold the country together after the House of Saud had fallen due to the collapse in oil prices and sheer barbarity had thoroughly discredited the Islamic fundamentalists who’d seized power in the confusion. News services, even the increasingly online newspapers that pulled reports from all over the globe, still needed trained reporters and Adrienne considered herself one of the best. She liked to think that she was more famous than the President.
    The sound of her cell phone brought her back to wakefulness in a hurry. She cursed under her breath as she sat up in bed and glanced around at the clock. It was morning and they   knew   not to call her on a morning following a trip overseas. Only her fellow reporters had that particular number, the only phone she kept on at all times. It was a policy she promised herself she’d rethink whenever she had a moment.
    She reached for the phone, checked the caller ID to make sure that it really was important, and answered the call.
    “This had better be important. I need to get back to sleep.”
    “This is very important,” a droll male