Cobra Strike

  Corwin gestured toward the conference room down the hall. "Your proposed survey mission would include a maximum of twelve people plus ship's crew, as I recall.

  I want two of those twelve to be my father's choice."

  "With his skeptic's attitude to keep the mission honest?" She smiled wryly. "As a matter of fact, that's probably a good idea... but giving a governor emeritus sixteen percent of the package isn't likely to fly very smoothly."

  "I can sweeten the deal considerably. How would you like to send an undetectable

  Cobra on the mission?"

  He had the satisfaction of seeing her eyes widen with surprise. "I thought a careful deep-body scan would pick up even Cobra gear."

  "It will," Corwin nodded. "But a scan of that type takes almost fifteen minutes to complete. How many times is a host likely to subject visiting dignitaries to that sort of thing?"

  She frowned at him for several heartbeats. "My immediate reaction is that you're being anthropomorphic in the extreme. Suppose their deep-body stuff is more sensitive or just faster than ours, for example? But assuming you're right, then what?-cram a Cobra surgery team into the Dewdrop for some fast work?"

  "Not at all. I propose sending a Cobra and a non-Cobra who are virtually indistinguishable from each other. My twin brothers Joshua and Justin."

  Telek's breath came out in a thoughtful hiss. "Cute. Very cute. So the Cobra stays aboard ship until the aliens have done all their studies on the landing party, and then they switch places? Interesting proposal. But suppose the

  Qasamans use something besides sight for identification? Sound or scent, for instance?"

  Corwin shrugged, trying to make the gesture look casual. "Then we're out of luck. But most land predators we know of-including those on Troft and Dominion worlds-rely heavily on sight. I think it's a fair gamble, and if it doesn't work we haven't really lost anything."

  "Except two places in the mission that could have gone to other people." Telek leaned back in her chair, her eyes focused somewhere behind Corwin's head. He waited, forcing himself to breathe normally... and abruptly her eyes returned to him and she nodded. "All right, it's a deal... on one further condition. You-or, rather, your father-must support my bid to go on the mission."

  "You?" Corwin blurted. "But that's-"

  "Ridiculous? Hardly. The mission's going to need both scientific and political experts aboard, and I'm the only governor who qualifies in both fields and is healthy enough to make the trip."

  "Your biological degree is a long way behind you."

  "I've kept up with the field. And we need someone of governor rank in case some major policy decision comes up. Unless you know any syndics you'd trust with that task."

  But can I trust you with it? He pursed his lips tightly, unsure of what he should do.

  "You've got time to think," she said calmly as the silence began to stretch.

  Glancing at her watch, she stood up. "The mission team's not likely to be determined for at least a week or two. Talk it over with Jonny, work through the logic-I think you'll agree I should be aboard. But it's time to go back in there and get a recommendation for the Council to chew on."

  Corwin stood up, too. "All right... but if I vote with you now, I want you to support my getting Justin and Joshua aboard-whether my father ultimately backs your own bid or not."

  She smiled wryly. "Realized you were giving away too much, did you? Well, that's how you learn. Sure, I'll support your brothers. It's a good idea... and to be perfectly honest, I don't expect I'll need Jonny's vote to get on the mission, anyway."

  The vote was four to two in favor of Telek's proposal when it came to Corwin's turn. He avoided Hemner's and Roi's eyes as he made it six to two, but he could feel their astonished gazes on him as Stiggur recorded the vote into the record.

  Three hours later, the full Council made it official.

  Lying propped up in his hospital bed, Jonny listened silently to Corwin's report of the governors' session, the Council meeting, and the private deal he'd made.

  I should be angry, Jonny thought, peripherally aware of the IV tubes feeding clear fluids into his arms. Some calming factor in the antibiotic voodoo mixture? Or did I really know all along my plan wouldn't make it?

  Corwin stopped speaking and waited, the tension lines visible in his face. "Have you spoken to Justin or Joshua about this?" Jonny asked. "Or your mother?"

  Corwin actually winced. "No, to both questions. I came up with the basic idea last week, but I hoped I wouldn't have to suggest it to anyone. At least, not without talking to you first. I think they'd be willing, though."

  "Oh, they'll be willing, all right-that's not the problem." Jonny turned his head to gaze out the window. Capitalia's streetlights were visible below, the cityscape superimposed on the reflection of the hospital room around him. "You boys have always been very precious to your mother, you know," he said. "You provided the extra family warmth that I often wasn't able to give her. Too often wasn't able to. As a Cobra... then a syndic... then a governor... it takes a lot of time to serve people, Corwin. Time taken away from your family. You came to work with me here, and Justin's becoming a Cobra... and now Joshua's going to be taken from her, too." He realized abruptly he was rambling and brought his eyes back to Corwin.

  The other was looking pretty miserable. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have done it. They can still back down."

  Jonny shook his head. "No, you did the right thing, all the way down the line.

  Putting the twins aboard could give us a key tactical advantage, and the full council probably wouldn't have gone for my proposal any more than Brom and company did. Especially with the cost estimates Cally and Almo provided." He shook his head. "Pity Cally's too old to go along-a Cobra with military experience would be awfully nice to have on the scene...." He trailed off thoughtfully as an idea suddenly occurred to him.

  "You're not planning to go yourself, are you?" Corwin asked suspiciously into his train of thought.

  "Hm? Oh, no. Not really. I was just trying to think of a way to make this all up to your mother." Taking a deep breath, he let it out in a controlled sigh.

  "Well. I'll be out of here in the morning, or so they say-soon enough for us to break this to her. Why don't you talk to Joshua tonight, get his reaction. If possible, I think we should all be together when we tell Chrys."

  "All except Justin," Corwin reminded him. "He'll be in surgical isolation for another week."

  "I know that," Jonny said, a touch of asperity making it through the emotional damper around him. "But the three of us should be there."

  "Right," Corwin nodded, standing up. "I'll let you get back to resting now and see you in the morning. I can check on my way out when you'll be released and be here to drive you home."

  "Fine. Oh, and while you're checking that, would you ask the doctor to drop by when he's got some time? There are some things I want to discuss with him."

  "Sure," Corwin said. He held his father's eye another second, then turned and left.

  Shifting to a more comfortable position, Jonny closed his eyes and let all tensions melt away. Had there been another touch of suspicion in Corwin's face as he left? Jonny wasn't sure. But it didn't really matter. Unlike his son, he had several other governors besides Telek with whom he could cut a deal and by the time Corwin found out about it, it would all be arranged.

  And the other would surely approve, anyway. Eventually.

  Chapter 5

  The room they'd taken him to was the first surprise-Justin had had the impression that the new trainees would be kept together for their first postoperative orientation session. A quick glance around the office as his escort left him alone was a second shock: no Cobra training instructor could possibly have an office this ornate. The desk-had he seen its carved cyprene wood in the Cobra lecture tapes he'd studied before applying? If so, this was the private office of Coordinator Sun himself. Whatever was going on, this was not part of the published schedule.

  Behi
nd the desk, a private door opened. Justin tensed; and as a man stepped into the room, he felt a relieved grin spread over his face. "Almo! I thought you were still out in Syzra District hunting down spine leopards."

  "Hello, Justin-no, please stay seated." Pyre sat down behind the desk.

  And Justin suddenly realized the other hadn't even smiled in greeting. "What's up, Almo?" he asked, his pleased surprise evaporating. "Is something wrong? Good

  Lord-is it Dad?"

  "No, no, your family's fine," Pyre hastened to reassure him. "Although in a couple of months-" He broke off. "Let's start over. How much do you know about the Qasama thing?"

  Justin hesitated. Admitting to Pyre that his father had given the family confidential information was no big deal in and of itself... but under these circumstances.... "Just the basics of the Troft offer," he said. "My father wanted to discuss the ethical aspects with us."

  "Fine," Pyre nodded. "Then I won't need to go over that with you. In the past three weeks there've been some twists added-by the Council and, believe it or not, your own brother."

  Justin listened in silence as Pyre explained the Council's expeditionary plan and Corwin's suggestion, his emotions turmoiling between shock and excitement with very little room left amid it all for rational thought. "The Council's voted to put you two aboard if you're both willing to go," Pyre concluded. "Any immediate reactions?"

  Justin took a moment to find his tongue. "It sounds... interesting. Very interesting. What's Joshua had to say about it, and where do you fit in?"

  "Joshua you can ask yourself-I'll send him in when I'm done. As for me-" Pyre's lip twitched in something between a smile and a grimace. "I'm going to be head of the shipboard Cobra contingent-four of us in all. And if you choose one of those slots, I'll be handling all your Cobra training for the next few weeks."

  Justin was suddenly aware of the neckwrap computer nestling around his throat-the programmable training computer that would be replaced by the implanted Cobra nanocomputer if and when he graduated. "Specialized training, I gather? Stuff you don't need to fight spine leopards?"

  "And special-function programmed reflexes that are built into the standard nanocomputer but never needed in forest work," Pyre nodded. "Ceiling flips, backspins; that sort of thing."

  "Won't your other Cobras need that, too?"

  "They'll be joining us once your basics are out of the way, three to four weeks from now." Pyre leaned his elbows on the desk, steepling his fingertips in front of him. "Look, Justin, I've got to be honest with you. I can tell you're seeing this as a big fat adventure, but you have to realize the chances are fair we'll all wind up dying on Qasama."

  "Aw, come on, Almo," Justin grinned. "You'll be there, too, and you're too lucky to be killed."

  "Stop that!" Pyre snapped. "Luck is statistical chance, with a weak coupling to skill and experience. Nothing more. I've got a little of both-you'll have practically none of either. If anyone dies, it's likely to be you."

  Justin shrank into his chair, taken aback by Pyre's outburst. The older man had been one of Justin's most admired role models when he was younger, the one who-as much as his father-had catalyzed his decision to become a Cobra himself.

  To be chewed out by that role model was more of a shock than he'd ever dreamed such a thing could be.

  His expression must have mirrored his feelings; but Pyre nevertheless continued to glare for several more seconds before finally letting his eyes soften. "I know that hurt," he said softly, "but it didn't hurt nearly as much as a laser would. Get it into your head right now that this is a probe into enemy territory. Your father will tell you that fighting spine leopards is a picnic in comparison."

  Justin licked his lips. "You don't want me along, do you?"

  For the First time Pyre's gaze slipped away from Justin's face. "What I want personally is irrelevant. The Council made a decision, all the old war veterans concurred that it made good tactical sense, and Governor Telek persuaded them I was the man to lead the Cobra contingent. My job's been defined for me, and it's now up to me to carry it out. Period."

  "And you're afraid I won't be able to handle it?" Justin asked, the first stirrings of anger starting to seep through the numbness.

  "I'm afraid none of us will be able to," Pyre replied tartly. "And if the whole thing goes up, I don't like the fact that my attention will be split between the mission's safety and yours."

  "Why should it be?" Justin retorted. "Because you've known me since I was in diapers? Because you've been Dad's friend even longer? I'm 22, Almo, old enough to take care of myself now-and if you want logic, how about the fact that I won't have to unlearn all the little tricks of fighting spine leopards that the rest of you will? You have any complaints about my youth, save them for after the training, all right? Then maybe we'll have some actual specifics to discuss."

  Pyre's eyes were again locked with his and unconsciously Justin braced for a second outburst. But it didn't come. "Okay," Pyre said softly. "I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into. Believe it or not, I do understand how you feel... though you'll find that others may not." He stood up, and a hint of the old Almo Pyre peeked through for an instant. "I'll let Joshua come and talk to you now. I'll be in the office across the hall; just come on over when you're finished. Take your time, but try not to make this one of those wide-ranging starvation sessions you two are famous for." With a glimmer of a smile he left the room.

  Justin let out a shuddering sigh of relief. His heartbeat was heading back toward normal when his twin arrived a minute later. "Almo told me to keep this talk under six months," Joshua said, seating himself in the recently vacated desk chair. "Do we really talk that much?"

  "Only together," Justin said.

  "Probably true," the other conceded, running a critical eye over his brother.

  "So. How do you feel?"

  "From the surgery, fine. From Almo's little talk, like someone just threw an oversized gantua at me. Accurately."

  Joshua nodded his commiseration. "I know how you feel. So... what do you think?"

  "Sounds like something I'd really like to do-or it did before Almo went into an amazingly deep discourage mode. I gather you also have reservations?"

  Joshua frowned. "Not especially, aside from the obvious aversions to getting myself killed. Who said I did?"

  "Almo implied someone was having problems with the plan."

  Joshua's frown became a pained grimace. "Probably referring to Mom."

  "Mom." Justin ground his left fist hard into his right palm with chagrin at having forgotten all about her in the excitement-and an instant later the stab of pain from both knuckles and palm reminded him that, even with the limitations imposed on it by the neckwrap computer, his new strength-enhancing servo network wasn't something he could afford to ignore. Fortunately, the skeletal laminae had made his bones virtually unbreakable, which meant that this time he'd get away with only bruises. On his pride, as well as on his skin. "Grumfick it, I didn't even think of what this would do to her," he admitted to Joshua. "She been told yet?"

  "Oh, yeah-and believe me, you were having lots more fun in surgery." Joshua shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe we ought to pass this up."

  "What did she say?"

  "About what you'd expect," the other sighed. "Dead set against it emotionally, only marginally more for it intellectually, and feeling generally betrayed that

  Corwin would even suggest such a thing. We tried to convince her that you were getting off easier than if you'd been assigned to Caelian, or even to the spine leopard extermination squads, but I don't think she believed us."

  "Almo doesn't believe that," Justin pointed out dryly. "Why should she?"

  Joshua waved a hand in futility. "I didn't invent the art of wishful thinking; I just market it locally."

  "Yeah." Justin found a vacant corner to stare at for a moment, then returned his gaze to this brother. "So you really think we should pass this up?"

  "To be brutally hon
est, no." Joshua began ticking off fingers. "Corwin's basic idea sounds good, and it's obvious we're the only two in the Worlds who could pull it off. We're likely to also be the only ones aboard who share Dad's view that hiring ourselves out is a dangerous precedent. And finally-" He grinned suddenly, shyly. "Heck, Justin, you felt it in school, too. We're Moreaus-sons of the Cobra/Troft War veteran, governor emeritus, original Aventinian pioneer

  Jonny Moreau himself. People expect something great from us."

  "That's a pretty blithering reason to do something."

  "By itself, sure. But combined with reason number two, it means our report and recommendations will carry a hefty bit of inertia when we get back from

  Qasama... and given the current Council leaning, Dad may need that extra bit of weight to keep them from doing anything stupid."