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."Oh Jerym!" shegroaned, "oh, Jerym!"It did not disconcert him; he continued.And when a minute later her fingersdug desperately into his back, the name she cried was, "Coso! Coso! Oh Coso!"Page 91ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlFinally they lay slack beside each other, and he asked no question, simplykissed her.After a little they showered again, then went back to bed, whereTain fell asleep in minutes.Coso lay longer awake, fingers locked behind his head.Jerym , he thought.Itwas not a name he'd ever heard.Not a name of Varatos or Klestron, or anyworld he knew.A Confederation world then.She'd loved Jerym, he was sure ofit, and Jerym had loved her.Young love.He wondered if Jerym had been killedin the fighting on remote Terfreya.Or if perhaps he lay in bed on someenormously distant world and wondered about Tain.A pang of grief surprised Coso.I'll be good to her, Jerym , he thought.I'llbe good to her.I promise.* * *He awakened once in the night and caressed Tain in her sleep, softly,intimately, until she writhed.When she awoke to it, her passion astonishedhim.* * *In the morning she disappeared into the bath.Quickly Coso took a small claspknife from his toiletries and jabbed a finger, bled briefly on the bedsheet,then applied a readymade bandage.As he'd planned weeks before.That done, heput the knife away, threw the covers over the bloodspot, and after knocking,followed his bride into the bath.Twenty-fourThe royal couple spent four and a half days on the island.Their bodyguardskept strictly away, with orders to watch for possible but unlikely intrudersby air or sea.In fact, the prospect of intruders was slight.The whereaboutsof the Kalif and kalifa were unknown even to the inner council even toJilsomo.As far as the outside world knew, they were still in the Sreegana.By then the Kalif was ready to return to his duties and projects, and thekalifa to the library.Meanwhile his brown skin had darkened a shade, whileshe had developed a distinct tan and a peeling nose.They arrived back late on Fourday, and on Fiveday, following a brief morningmeeting with his council, he met with the full College before lunch.Afteracknowledging their formal congratulations on his marriage, he passed outdraft copies of a decree he'd written, formally recognizingThe Book of theMountain as having been written by The Prophet and inspired by Kargh.Theywere to give him their written comments within forty-eight hours, after whichhe'd issue a final draft to the Prelacy and the Pastorate within a week.After that he conducted some eighty minutes of discussion on various domesticquestions.When he felt they'd reached a suitable stopping place on those, hesummarized what he considered appropriate actions or inactions for thepresent.Then he stood looking at them for a long pregnant moment."What I tell younow, I tell you in confidence," he said, then looked them over again."Thelast time I said something in confidence to some of you, the House knew aboutit within two days.That was not acceptable.If what I tell you now shouldleak, intentionally or accidentally, I'll consider it an act of treason to thethrone, and ferret out the source."The faces that looked back at him were sober.Page 92ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"You may have wondered," he went on, "when I was going to propose an invasionof the Confederation.Or if I'd decided not to.Before my wedding, I discussedit at length and in confidence with the General Staff.By then of course,they'd digested the available information on the Confederation."They consider an invasion entirely practical, and have no doubt they cancarry it off with complete success if given sufficient forces." He smiledwryly."Their idea of sufficient was all the forces, imperial and planetary,that could feasibly be assembled and sent, given three years' preparation."I'd anticipated that: They were exercising a very ancient principle, nottaught in any academy but learned early in every officer's career.It's called'cover your ass.' But when I pressed them on details, they admitted that suchan invasion could, in fact, reasonably be launched with forces substantiallyless than they'd enumerated in their draft report.Though with not so great amargin for unforeseen contingencies."We can expect unforeseen contingencies, of course, but by definition wecan't identify them in advance.A skilled fighting commander will meet themwith what he has at hand, and unless they're overwhelming, he'll overcomethem.That's a principle taught in each academy, and by the history of battlesfrom time immemorial.But by most officers it's taken less to heart than'cover your ass.' And it's natural, and no doubt desirable, for a commander towant as much available strength as he can get.Certainly he should not be sentoff ill-equipped, except in dire necessity."After reminding them of certain economic and political facts of life, I gavethem some guidelines, some practical constraints, and ordered Bavaralaama andSiilakamasu jointly to prepare a revised report, something SUMBAA can base adraft operating plan on.They were to have it ready on my return.I'll meetwith them tomorrow and see what they've produced.If I'm satisfied with it asa broad statement of operational considerations and solutions, I'll review itwith the full College the day after tomorrow.Then, depending on ourdiscussion, I'll probably voice my intention to the Diet on the dayfollowing."He paused."The first battle of the war will be fought in the Diet.You're insession almost daily with the House, and while this has not, or should nothave been discussed on the floor, lacking a formal proposal from myself, Ipresume you've heard the subject discussed in the corridors and dining room.I'd like your assessment of attitudes, and the factions taking shape aroundit.Bijnath?"The exarch stood."Your Reverence, the subject has not been particularlyprominent among the members of the House or ourselves.Everyone seems to bewaiting for your proposal.But it is talked about.So far I've detected onlytwo factions what might be termed factions.They don't seem well defined, andneither seems large.The Land Rights people are all against it, of course,while most of the industrial nobility, not all of them, like the idea.Myimpression is that the outer-world delegates generally have not begun to lineup as planetary factions.Most haven't yet gotten input from their homeworlds."My overall reading of their attitudes is that misgivings outweigh favorableinterest.Substantially.They're worried about costs and the stability of theclasses."He sat down then, and the Kalif thanked him.Others gave views which did notdiffer much from Bijnath's.Finally the Kalif asked if anyone had furtherPage 93ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]