Wing Commander #07 False Color by William Forstchen (best books to read in life .txt) 📕

weeks old. Time doesn't stand still just so we can plan military ops, Commissioner. Richards and Tolwyn have a good team out there, and they're moving faster than we expected, pure and simple. Shields repaired, more fighters deployable. Maybe if Banfeld had made it to Vaku a few days earlier . . ." He trailed off with another shrug. "In any event, you were telling me why it wouldn't be wise to let Ragark handle our little problem with Richards and Tolwyn for us."

"There are plenty of reasons, starting with the fact that something like that could ruin the whole plan before it gets off the ground," Williams said harshly. "If he strikes too soon, out of panic or some misguided notion of protecting Kilrathi honor or whatever the hell it is that makes Cats like him tick, we could be right royally screwed. What if he didn't get the carrier, either? Or what if he did, but lost too many of his own resources to follow through with an attack on Landreich? A strike into Landreich space that didn't result in a clear-cut victory for Ragark—and I'm talking about taking the Landreich system itself, not just grabbing up outlying outposts or winning a couple of minor engagements—an attack that didn't overrun this part of the frontier could trigger Confederation intervention before we have a chance to build the case against the government and launch our coup. Then we'd be back where we were when Blair took out Kilrah with the T-Bomb." He paused. "And don't forget that our pirate friend has another secret to sell. Us."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that Ragark wouldn't like it at all if he found out we were trying to manipulate him into an attack. If Banfeld told him about Belisarius, and what he knows about what we've been doing the last few months, Ragark might back off entirely. And that would be even worse than letting him go off half-cocked."

"Yeah, I see your point." Mancini nodded. "Ragark's predictable within certain narrow limits, but there's no telling how he might react if any of this other stuff comes out. Okay, we don't want him going to Ragark. How do we stop him? Your man Delgado?"

Williams shook his head. "Not a chance. Banfeld's too canny to be caught by a lone assassin, and he's well-protected. Delgado would turn down an order like that cold, and I'm not sure I'd blame him "

"What, then? We don't have the resources to stop him."

"No, we don't." Williams allowed a cold smile to crease his puffy features. "But the Landreichers do. And they've got plenty of motivation, too, after the attack at Vaku."

"But they don't know . .

"That can change. Easily." Williams showed his teeth in an expression that reminded Mancini uncomfortably of a Kilrathi warrior anticipating a killing. "We leak what we know about the Hellhole base to one of our people in Kruger's government. He passes it on to the Navy, and Kruger sends his fleet in to smash Hellhole before Banfeld gets away. We've got a narrow window to make it work, but Delgado will buy us as much time as he can."

"That could work," Mancini said. "Who do we own in the government who could do the job for us?"

"We don't own him, but I think Councilman Galbraith is the man. His son's a captain in the Navy, and they're both ambitious as hell. I'm sure they'd both be pleased if they could be the ones responsible for evening the score for that tender that was lost."

"Not bad . . ." Mancini paused, a wolfish smile lighting up his own face. "Not bad at all, Commissioner. We can also use this to our own advantage, maybe help the plan along a little."

"Oh? Tell me." Williams leaned forward again, intrigued. He'd been improvising his way out of a crisis, but it sounded as if Mancini saw something even better.

"For months we've been doing our best to counter Kruger's claims of Kilrathi raiding by building a case for pirates operating on both sides of the border. Now we've had a demonstrable pirate attack on a unit of the republican fleet, and the people involved—Tolwyn, Richards, Bondarevsky, and so forth—are unimpeachable witnesses. All we need to make the case perfect is a real, live pirate base and a genuine pirate leader, Banfeld. It'll go a long way towards making our whole case for us."

"Very good, Colonel," Williams said with a smile. "Excellent. If we could go a step further and stir up some political opposition to Max Kruger as a result of it all, we might even be able to sidestep the whole mess with the carrier at Vaku. Let them think he's been directing all his energies—and all the Landreich's resources—against the wrong opponents after all."

Mancini gave a nod. "That's one option. As close to bankruptcy as Kruger's government already is, how do you think the Council would react if they found out what he's been investing in? The refit on that supercarrier must be costing a fortune. Their factory ship alone represents a major investment that ought to be earning its keep instead of producing spare parts for a derelict. Not to mention the money Kruger's been spending to bring in surplus ConFleet ships and high-priced outside talent."

"Councilman Galbraith's the man to use, for this part of the operation as well as the other," Williams said slowly. "He's already miffed that Kruger's been bringing in people like Tolwyn and Bondarevsky. Makes his son's career that much less spectacular, and Old Man Galbraith's got political ambitions for his son the would-be naval hero. Probably figures on having Kenny win some spectacular fight and then beat Kruger in an election, with Daddy pulling the strings afterward. Might just work, if Kenny can manage to land the op that takes out Hellhole."

"So . . . we leak what we know to Galbraith and let him ask some hard questions in Council about the carrier and some of the other rearmament policies." Mancini rubbed