Anger is a double-edged sword.
Often, it is a very bad thing.
But used properly, it can have a beneficial effect.
—E. Bert Rhinbar, wandering philosopher during the Final Sweep, the climactic military assaults that unified the AmEarth Empire
Maureen had never been so angry. She was only an hour off the shuttle from Skyship, and had come straight here to Racker Center, the tallest building that had ever been built.
Without asking for an appointment or even knocking, she tapped the code on the keypad, and burst into Jonathan Racker’s top-level office. He sat at his desk, reading a document. Startled, he looked up.
“Did you know that Moore was sending us on a suicide mission?” she demanded.
She noticed that the old industrialist had tears in his eyes, and saw an unframed picture of Paul Paulo lying on the desk, beside whatever he had been reading. Somehow he had already learned that his old comrade was dead. The guardsmen who returned with her must have gotten a quick message over to him.
He wiped his eyes, and a flash of anger crossed his creased face. His flinty eyes glinted. “Do you think I would send my best friend on a suicide mission?” he asked, pointing at the picture of Paulo. “I’d as soon die myself before doing anything like that.”
“Well I might as well have been sent with a suicide vest on, and Paul, too—to blow us both to hell. We were expendable, and you knew nothing about it? Nothing?”
He shook his head sadly.
“Well neither did I, and neither did Paul. After he was killed, the Jeelings put me through a rigorous truthbot interrogation. I passed with flying colors.” She scowled as she slipped, uninvited, into a chair fronting his desk.
He didn’t object, even gestured belatedly with a welcoming hand. “I’m very glad you’re safe,” he said.
“Where is that son-of-a-bitch Moore? He needs to be fired, and put in prison.”
“Believe me, I’d get rid of him if I could. I was actually trying to reach him for days, to discuss several matters, even before I learned about what happened to your peace mission to Skyship. And to Paul.”
“Peace mission.” She scoffed. “Thanks to our rogue General, there was nothing peaceful about it.”
“I just sent Moore another message half an hour ago, demanding information on what happened. I haven’t seen the General since you left. He’s been spending a lot of time with his troops. There are rumors flying around, about what he’s been up to.”
“What sort of rumors? Not a military coup?”
“No, at least I hope not. I’ve heard that he’s been setting up a contingency plan in case your ‘peace’ delegation failed, a new full-scale military attack against Jeeling. Remember, we all talked about that as a backup plan? And you thought of the peace delegation idea, to slow him down?”
“But we can’t attack Skyship in force! It could destroy the air-purification technology, and we can’t afford to lose it! And the problem of the chain reaction that could be set off in the atmosphere.”
“I understand all that. But you know how General Moore is.”
“Too much testosterone,” she said. “But he could be right that the chain reaction story is only a bluff by Billy. Maybe he just put it out there as a defensive measure.”
“Could be,” Racker said, “but a lot is at stake if Moore is wrong. In my last message I reminded him that he needs my approval before doing anything like a military attack.” His eyes misted over. “And Paul Paulo’s approval was required, too, but that’s not possible now.”
“I’d like to strangle the General,” she said.
“Wait a minute,” Racker said. “There’s something coming in from him now!” The old man tapped a button on his desktop, and a hologram of General Moore floated on one side of the desk. “Can’t see you now,” the officer said, in the eerie projection. “Sorry, but I’m much too busy.”
Maureen sputtered, “Why did you set us up, you bastard?”
General Moore might not have heard this, because suddenly his visage disappeared, leaving only the words “Connection Terminated” in the air, before it all faded, like smoke in the sky.
“So, what do we do now?” she asked. “What can we do?”
“I’ll contact intermediaries, see if we can get him to come to a meeting with us.”
“Intermediaries? Isn’t he supposed to be our close ally?”
“That changed when he pulled his little trick, without approval, and when he got my best friend killed. Even if we can convince him to attend a meeting, that’s no guarantee we’ll ever get him to change his ways.”
“He should be arrested and put on trial!”
“I’ll suggest both to Prime Minister Yhatt. The problem is, I’m afraid that Moore is too powerful now, maybe even more powerful than our Prime Minister. Whatever Moore wants to do, I don’t see how he can be stopped.”
“He’s gone completely renegade.”
“Sure looks that way to me.” Racker slammed a fist on his desktop. His facial expression softened, saddened. “I need to be alone for a while,” he said.
She rose to her feet. “I understand.” She turned and left, feeling betrayed, deeply angry, and frustrated.