less sword, swayed in layers of impossible fluidity, faded, and was
gone.

The Hands joined and began to pull together their distant shoulders.
The armies fled, and no more death (by them) could be wrought.

From out of somewhere brilliant white globes began to appear, and to
fence off the Darkness with glittering webs.

............................................................

UPON THE MOUNTAINTOP

Several months had passed and much had changed for the increased and
solidified Coalition Fleet. As they drew nearer the tri-colonies of
his home, Brunner stood upon the bridge of the Kythera now only as an
observer. He had been relieved of command after the incident at
Rembrandt, and his case had not yet been tried.

But this was only a formality. In the light of recent events, the
resulting loss of the Soviets as an ally was now of relatively small
importance, while from the standpoint of pride and independence, much
had been gained.

Though he had never wanted it, and told himself it meant nothing to
him, Brunner had become a national hero. And to the Dutch, so often
stoic and reserved, his defiant stand aboard the Icarus had become
something of a legend. He found it all exceedingly strange, rather too
much of a contrast to the isolation and despair which he had felt such
a short time before. And he wondered how many other 'heroes' of the
past were simply men who had done what they had to do at the time,
thinking (and caring) not at all about posterity.

But such thoughts were very far from him now. He was concerned about
the approaching battle; and not at all in the way he always had been
before. For one thing his younger brother, who had joined the space
navy after the fall of Athena, would be present. He had done what he
could to protect him, getting him assigned to a friend's destroyer
group, but the added worry was not lessened because of it. Fighter
escorts were always in danger, and though Tomas was a good pilot, he
had never before flown in combat, and seemed overly determined to make
his mark before the war ended.

There was little enough doubt as to who would prevail. The Belgians
and Swiss, now bearing the brunt of the U.N. and Commonwealth
peace-keeping efforts (nothing like a pang of conscience), had drawn
off most of their forces to defend what remained of their original
possessions. Word had also been received that the French Elite, under
tremendous pressure both h