rant; as long as
you avoid regicide or treason, and what you do is aimed at suppressing
terrorist groups--primarily the Brothers of Freedom--your actions will
carry the license of both the Church and the various Kingdoms. You'll
be expected to follow normal procedures, as a rule; however, your
primary purpose is to eliminate terrorists, and if normal procedures
interfere, you are to disregard them. Questions?"

There was a murmur of astonishment both Cortin and Odeon joined. This
freedom of action was as unprecedented as the Brothers' horror attacks,
but Bradford's orders were clear; there was nothing to question.

"Excellent. You'll be sent to bases or stations as close as possible
to where the Brothers you're particularly interested in appear to be
located. You'll use that as your headquarters, but you are subject to
no-notice assignment anywhere in this Kingdom and four-hour-notice
assignment to any other one, so keep your kits up to date and readily
available. You will also cooperate, as fully as possible without
neglecting your own missions, with other kingdoms' Strike Forces;
they'll do the same if you need to go to their systems. Any questions
on this part?"

Again, there were none; he went on. "You Team Leaders and seconds, I'm
afraid, will have to live on base or at the station, in separate
buildings where possible. Your teams should too, but if that would
cause too much hardship to either them or the personnel normally
stationed there, you can permit them to live up to five miles away."
He raised a hand, forestalling objections. "It's not as bad as it
sounds, gentles. You will all be issued personal radios, as well as
personal vehicles; those of you who can't drive or do basic vehicle
maintenance will be taught how. And you'll use those vehicles any time
you're in areas where they can be supplied and maintained. You'll use
horses only where there are no facilities for vehicles. Any questions?"

"I have one, sir." A tall Major with a missing ear stood. "Vehicle
fuel and service aren't cheap; they're certainly beyond my pay grade.
How do we pay for them? And more importantly, how do our people pay
for them?"

"Until we go public," Bradford said, "you'll be given an allowance for
such things, and you'll pass it along to your people. After that,
you'll use your Strike Force ID, and the Kingdoms will reimburse the
dealers. The same thing goes for all non-personal expenses." He
grinned. "A