This Day All Gods Die Read Online Free PDF Page B

spread too thin elsewhere—
    as if we weren't already—
    because I don't
    know what the Amnion are going to do next. From a strategic point of view, VI isn't exactly a logical target for an act of war."
    Indeed. Hashi followed his director's reasoning at the same time that he chased his own thoughts. Humankind's ability to give battle would hardly be diminished—
    at least in the
    short term—
    by VI's complete destruction. In addition that Station was too well defended, as well as too difficult to approach, for a single assailant to be sure of success. Any attack on Valdor would probably be a waste of effort.
    "I have to assume," Warden stated, "that subsequent threats might not be logical either. I mean strategically. Since the Amnion aren't prone to either waste or foolhardiness, I also assume that this incursion doesn't imply a full-scale assault on human space. It has some other objective.
    "I can guess what that is, but I can't guess where it might go. So I can't predict where to concentrate our defenses."
    Koina had been silent too long. Now her dread seemed to.
    compel her to speak.
    "Please tell us, Director," she murmured softly. "I think we need to know."
    "I'm sure you do," Warden snorted. However, his sarcasm or disgust did not appear to be directed at her.
    "You're all aware Min Donner is aboard Punisher," he answered between his teeth. "And you've probably guessed that I ordered her there to help protect Trumpet."
    "No, wait," Koina protested. "I'm sorry, you've lost me.
    All I know about Trumpet is what you and Director Lebwohl told the Council. Angus Thermopyle and Milos Taverner stole her—
    "
    "No, I'm sorry," Warden interrupted. For a moment he gave the impression that he'd been overtaken by weariness.
    His personal defenses had flaws he couldn't afford. "It's all these damn secrets. I've been carrying them around too long."
    With the fingers of one hand, he rubbed his forehead briefly.
    "Sometimes I forget I haven't told you something critical.
    "Angus Thermopyle didn't steal Trumpet. He's a cyborg.
    We welded him after we reqqed him from Com-Mine Station.
    He works for us. We sent him into forbidden space to carry out a covert attack on Thanatos Minor. And we sent Milos Taverner along to keep an eye on him. The story that they stole Trumpet was just cover. We didn't want to make the wrong people suspicious.
    "If Igensard asks in front of the Council," Warden added, "you can tell him that."
    "But I still don't—
    " Koina bit her lip. "Never mind. I'll need the details later. For now the present is more important."
    The director nodded like an act of brutality. "I sent Punisher to the Com-Mine belt," he resumed, "to wait for Trumpet to escape back into human space. Then she followed the gap scout to Massif-5.
    "Why Trumpet went there I don't know.
    "But if the Amnion chose to commit an act of war by entering that system—
    and chose to do it now—
    for reasons that
    don't have anything to do with Trumpet, it's the biggest coincidence in history. I think we can be sure the defensive is after Trumpet."
    Hashi felt the tension in the room. Chief Mandich radiated dismay; the anxiety of vast responsibilities. Koina struggled to manage the scale of her incomprehension. Warden had the air of a man who was determined to hold the center of a whirlwind. At the same time, however, the DA director rode an entirely private swirl of oblique inferences and intriguing possibilities. An act of war? Fascinating! Whose game was this?
    Warden's? Nick Succorso's? The Amnion's?—
    with or without
    Captain Succorso's participation?
    Uncertainties proliferated like ecstasy, weaving unknowns out of the quantum mechanics of the known. In his excitement Hashi dared to say, "It might be argued that we would do well to let this defensive succeed against Trumpet."
    Holt Fasner would surely approve.
    Koina drew a sharp breath. Chief Mandich swore softly.
    At once Warden's gaze focused on Hashi. He could almost feel his electromagnetic