against the link circuitry embedded in his left palm, he felt the trickle of data feeding from the disk to his cephlink RAM. As he downloaded a keyword, the message decoded itself, expanding within his mind's eye for his inspection.
The message was short, an Imperial edict under Munimori's seal . . . and from its content, Kawashima was certain that Munimori had been the original author. It was blunt and to the point, calling for the resignation of all naval line officers who were not birth-citizens of Dai Nihon , the "Greater Japan" that included territorial enclaves such as the Philippines, Singapore, and the old Pacific Northwest, as well as the original home islands.
Kawashima had been expecting such an order ever since hearing of the Fushi Emperor's death. Many of his gaijin officers had already offered their resignations, knowing the mind of the new power behind the Chrysanthemum Throne.
"Will the first order present difficulties, Chujosan? "
"There will be no problem, Munimorisama . It will be welcome to many of my people."
"Good. Please take the second order, and examine the introduction."
Pressing the second disk to the flesh and circuit wiring of his palm, Kawashima felt the flow of a much longer document downloading into his cephlink RAM. This, he realized, must include fleet orders, complete with individual ship deployments and logistical directives. As hedecoded the document's first level and scanned its preamble, he knew his guess was correct. Ohka Squadron was being sent to war.
"How accurate is this information?" Kawashima asked, his eyes closed as he read the words hanging before his inner eye.
"Completely," the Fleet Admiral replied. "We have long known of the rebel activities on New America and have agents in place there, monitoring the political situation."
Filing the document, Kawashima opened his eyes. "This is most unexpected, Munimorisama . I was expecting orders for Chi Draconis."
Chi Draconis V—Eridu—had recently joined the growing list of Frontier worlds attempting to cut free from the Terran Hegemony.
Munimori was frowning. "The situation at Eridu is stable for the moment. The planet's surface and orbital facilities are still in the hands of rebels, but an Imperial squadron from Hariti has arrived and taken up orbit. A truce is in effect, at least for the moment.
"If we content ourselves with simply reacting to rebel provocations, however," Munimori went on, "then we place ourselves in a box. It has become clear that 26 Draconis is the political heart of the rebellion. Take that system, take New America, and the rebel resistance will crumble."
"Just how substantive is this rebel government we've been hearing about, my lord? The, um, official line is that the rebels possess little in the way of internal organization."
"Though we dislike conferring any hint of legitimacy on the rebels by calling them a 'government,' "Munimori said slowly, "we must be honest with ourselves and accept that a government is precisely what they hope to form. A number of representatives from various disaffected colony worlds of the Shichiju have been gathering on New America formonths now, meeting openly in the planet's capital."
"Meeting, my lord? For what purpose?"
Munimori gave a humorless smile. "Our intelligence suggests that they themselves are not clear on that point. Some of the representatives evidently hope to refashion the Hegemony, possibly remove it from Imperial control, if such a thing is even conceivable. Others wish a complete separation, to create this Confederation of theirs as a separate state." He shook his head. "Obviously, both factions will be in for a shock."
"Yes, Gensuisama ."
"You will deploy at once with the entire Ohka Squadron, Chujosan . The carrier Donryu . Five heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers, and twelve destroyers. Eight troop transports with a total complement of over four hundred warstriders. New America has no sky-el, so you will have to use reentry-capable
The message was short, an Imperial edict under Munimori's seal . . . and from its content, Kawashima was certain that Munimori had been the original author. It was blunt and to the point, calling for the resignation of all naval line officers who were not birth-citizens of Dai Nihon , the "Greater Japan" that included territorial enclaves such as the Philippines, Singapore, and the old Pacific Northwest, as well as the original home islands.
Kawashima had been expecting such an order ever since hearing of the Fushi Emperor's death. Many of his gaijin officers had already offered their resignations, knowing the mind of the new power behind the Chrysanthemum Throne.
"Will the first order present difficulties, Chujosan? "
"There will be no problem, Munimorisama . It will be welcome to many of my people."
"Good. Please take the second order, and examine the introduction."
Pressing the second disk to the flesh and circuit wiring of his palm, Kawashima felt the flow of a much longer document downloading into his cephlink RAM. This, he realized, must include fleet orders, complete with individual ship deployments and logistical directives. As hedecoded the document's first level and scanned its preamble, he knew his guess was correct. Ohka Squadron was being sent to war.
"How accurate is this information?" Kawashima asked, his eyes closed as he read the words hanging before his inner eye.
"Completely," the Fleet Admiral replied. "We have long known of the rebel activities on New America and have agents in place there, monitoring the political situation."
Filing the document, Kawashima opened his eyes. "This is most unexpected, Munimorisama . I was expecting orders for Chi Draconis."
Chi Draconis V—Eridu—had recently joined the growing list of Frontier worlds attempting to cut free from the Terran Hegemony.
Munimori was frowning. "The situation at Eridu is stable for the moment. The planet's surface and orbital facilities are still in the hands of rebels, but an Imperial squadron from Hariti has arrived and taken up orbit. A truce is in effect, at least for the moment.
"If we content ourselves with simply reacting to rebel provocations, however," Munimori went on, "then we place ourselves in a box. It has become clear that 26 Draconis is the political heart of the rebellion. Take that system, take New America, and the rebel resistance will crumble."
"Just how substantive is this rebel government we've been hearing about, my lord? The, um, official line is that the rebels possess little in the way of internal organization."
"Though we dislike conferring any hint of legitimacy on the rebels by calling them a 'government,' "Munimori said slowly, "we must be honest with ourselves and accept that a government is precisely what they hope to form. A number of representatives from various disaffected colony worlds of the Shichiju have been gathering on New America formonths now, meeting openly in the planet's capital."
"Meeting, my lord? For what purpose?"
Munimori gave a humorless smile. "Our intelligence suggests that they themselves are not clear on that point. Some of the representatives evidently hope to refashion the Hegemony, possibly remove it from Imperial control, if such a thing is even conceivable. Others wish a complete separation, to create this Confederation of theirs as a separate state." He shook his head. "Obviously, both factions will be in for a shock."
"Yes, Gensuisama ."
"You will deploy at once with the entire Ohka Squadron, Chujosan . The carrier Donryu . Five heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers, and twelve destroyers. Eight troop transports with a total complement of over four hundred warstriders. New America has no sky-el, so you will have to use reentry-capable
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