my
status here; he will not harm me."

She didn't have to probe to feel Sunbeam's doubt, but all her escort
said was, "You're probably right." Then Sunbeam glanced at her chrono.
"Uh-oh, better get you to the briefing room; it's 1545 already!"

They arrived at Briefing Room One with a few minutes to spare, and
Sunbeam left while Corina entered. She was looking forward to the
meeting, if only for the chance to sit down and rest her feet.

The briefing room, she saw at once, had been completely rearranged.
The standard conference table and the holo stage were gone, replaced by
a semi-circular table. Its flat side had been put against the wall,
just under a screen that was normally used to display graphic aids.
Chairs lined the curved edge, already occupied by the officers who had
been at the earlier meeting. Greggson had somehow arrived before her,
and was seated two places to Medart's left. The Ranger was in the
middle of the semi-circle, one empty chair at his right. He motioned
Corina to it, then stood and called the group to attention as the
screen flickered with scrambler blue, and cleared.

Corina recognized both men on the screen at once, from innumerable
photos and holograms. The one on the right, in civilian clothes, was
Emperor Charles Davis. He looked rather tired, she thought, but
between the Traiti War and Thark's Crusade, she thought, he had every
reason to be fatigued.

The one on the left, in Ranger uniform, was Crown Prince Rick Forrest.
He didn't look quite as tired, she thought, but there was still strain
on his face.

"As you were," the Emperor said. The conferees sat, and Davis
continued. "This is a war council, not an Audience, so we'll skip the
ceremony and get to work. Sir Corina, you have the Empire's thanks for
your courageous and timely warning. Can you give us any further idea
of when this rebellion will start, or where?"

Corina took a deep mental breath, feeling badly out of her depth. "Not
with any degree of certainty, Your Majesty."

"Any guesses?" Forrest asked.

"Guesses? Yes, sir. If Thark reacts as usual, I would expect the
Order to strike as soon as possible, perhaps within five or ten days.
He tends, as he admits, to be somewhat impatient, and that will be even
more true since his treason has been revealed before he was ready. The
location is more difficult, since the Order will undoubtedly have
multiple targets. He himself will take the center of power, o