The Defenders

EPILOGUE

A Message from Effer'wyck

"Not beautiful child, Wilfooshka— magnificent child," Old Borodov cooed, cradling little Hope in his great furry arm.

Beside him, Ursis grinned and tickled her chin with a delicate, hirsute finger. "Bears are easy marks for cubs of all ancestries," he said absently.

"I would never have guessed," Onrad laughed. "Except I visited Knez Nikolas at the Great Winter Palace in Gromcow as a child." He looked at Brim. "You'll need to watch these two carefully in the years to come, Wilf," he said. "Bears can spoil even badly pre spoiled Crown Princes."

Brim looked around at the magnificent nursery "Uncle Onrad" had ordered for his little

"niece"—complete with adjoining apartment to house "Nana" Tutti. He shook his head. "It appears that full-fledged Emperors are pretty talented in that department, too," he said.

Onrad frowned as color rose in his cheeks. "Nonsense," he said with a little grin of embarrassment. "It's just so she'll declare Imperial citizenship when the time comes for her to choose."

"She's a lucky lady," Brim said with a serious smile. "She's got three very unique uncles."

Ursis nodded toward the child who was now holding his finger in one of her tiny, dimpled hands.

"She also has pretty singular 'special uncle,' " he said, nodding toward the Carescrian. "You must be very proud, Wilf Ansor."

"As I've said before, I can't take much of the credit," Brim said, feeling his own cheeks burn. "But she certainly had a splendid mother."

"Too bad Raddisma is not here to see," Borodov said, rocking the little girl gently in his arm. "I am certain she would have been pleased."

"I suppose I'll have to be pleased enough for both of us, then." Brim said.

Onrad nodded and grinned. "I suppose you will, Wilf," he said. "And if you don't, I'll make up the remainder." Then he frowned, "But back to facts, gentlemen. Wilf, you and your people at group-level agree with the general war prognosis, then?"

"We do, Your Majesty," Brim affirmed as Borodov handed over his tiny daughter, who was beginning to fuss. He slipped a feeder into her mouth, and she relaxed, chuffing away contentedly. "For the past two weeks, now," he continued, "League attacks on all five planets have dropped to pre-Aunkayr levels. From what I've seen, they're back to concentrating on military targets now—with an occasional 'spite' raid on Avalon just to keep their hand in."

"And they are removing invasion equipment they stockpiled on coastal planets in steady stream,"

Ursis added, "taking it back to where they plan to start trouble next, one supposes."

Brim nodded agreement, lifting Hope in preparation for burping.

Onrad absently placed a pad on Brim's shoulder. "And where do you suppose that will be?" he asked.

Ursis looked at Borodov and sighed. "Is supreme top-secret information," he said, "but one supposes that Hope can be trusted."

"We shall trust her," Borodov said, suddenly looking very serious. "Please proceed, Nikolai Yanuarievich."

"After long deliberation," Ursis continued in a deep growl, "many of us Bears believe that the Tyrant's mind has turned to Mother Sodeskaya herself for his next victim."

"I rather suspected that." Onrad said grimly. "I take it there are some who do not share your views?"

"A few," Borodov affirmed. "Not like CIGAs, of course. All Sodeskayans understand who is enemy. But in their way, they often obstruct just as effectively. These particular featherweights believe that Triannic will go after other targets first."

"When, in fact, there are no other targets he can go for," Ursis added. "So long as both your Imperial Fleet and Sodeskayan land armies exist to make war together, he cannot risk attack anywhere else. He must eliminate one or the other first."

"He must also rebuild his Deep Space Fleet," Brim ventured.

"While we do the same thing," Onrad put in. "If Triannic had been able to rush a few more reserves to fat-boy Orgoth, he'd have come pretty close to pulling off his invasion. Right, Brim?"

"That's the way I see it, Your Majesty," Brim said. "Luckily, with the new Carescrian shipyards in operation, we'll be able to rebuild as quickly as he." He held his breath momentarily, trying to stifle a bit of partisan pride. "Maybe a little faster."

"So, he's effectively blocked here," Ursis said.

"Yeah," Onrad agreed. "It's hard to fault that line of thought."

"Which means," Ursis said, raising a long index finger pedagogically, "that at present, our first priority is to build a fleet."

"What?" Onrad demanded.

"A S-Sodeskayan fleet...?" Brim stuttered, switching Hope to his other shoulder.

Both Bears grinned. "Yes, my friends," Ursis assured him. "First time in history, we can no longer count on continuing to live as free Sodeskayans under sole umbrella of Imperial Fleet." He looked at Onrad. "During foreseeable future, you Imperials are going to be busy enough defending your own Triad, much less our huge network of star systems, too."

Onrad took a deep breath and held out his hands to Brim for Hope. "Times have really changed, haven't they?" he sighed, cradling the little girl in his arms. "Who would ever have thought we'd see the day the Imperial Fleet couldn't keep peace throughout the whole galaxy?"

Borodov chuckled. " 'Constant change is here to stay,' as we say in Mother Country."

"Yeah," Onrad said with a grin. "I guess it is." Then he looked at Borodov. "I take it that we have just passed into an official visit?" he asked.

"We have, Your Majesty," Borodov said. He laughed. "I now become Anastas Alexi Borodov, Grand Duke of Gromcow Lakes and special Emissary to Nikolas the August, Knez of Greater Sodeskaya and Grand Federation of Sodeskayan States. Is impressive title, no?"

"Damned impressive," Onrad replied with raised eyebrows. "So what can we do to help you and the Knez build that Sodeskayan fleet?"

"Thought you would never ask, Your Majesty," Borodov replied with an old man's grin. He turned to Brim. "We want this gentleman," he said.

Brim felt his eyebrows go into orbit.

Onrad smiled, placing a finger to his lips. "A moment, gentlemen," he said indicating Hope with his head. "Little Miss Brim seems to be asleep." Then he winced. "I've got to be careful calling her that."

"How about if I get Tutti?" Brim asked, summoning the beautiful redhead with a light tap on an adjoining door. Moments later, the four men were on their way to the Emperor's private lounge.

"All right, now," Onrad continued presently, "you want to steal Brim, eh?"

"We do, Your Majesty," Borodov said. "For we have a twofold mission before us in Sodeskaya.

Not only must we establish new fleet, we must also develop starship suited to our type of warfare. Friend Brim has already been elemental in both kinds of programs."

Brim frowned. That sounded like a big change of duty station. He'd been spending a lot of time with Eve lately—in and out of bed. And feeling very comfortable about their growing relationship. Not to mention his new command....

"What do you think, Wilf?" Onrad asked.

"Well," Brim began, "I, ah..."

"We make certain you return to Avalon often enough to watch Hope grow up," the elderly Bear promised.

"And I think I could guarantee that this 'foreign' assignment would result in considerable enhancement to your service record, Admiral," Onrad said pointedly.

Brim glanced at Onrad for a moment with suspicion. He'd been convinced pretty quickly. Then it hit him! Of course! The three of them had been through the whole thing in advance. He'd been sandbagged again.... He grinned resignedly. "I'd be honored by such an assignment," he said—and excepting his feelings about Eve and Hope, he almost meant it.

Onrad nodded. "Thanks," he said with a very serious look on his face, then turned to the Bears.

"You're sure you want to let yourselves—and your dominion—in for such trouble?" he asked with a spurious frown.

"We have considered dangers, Your Majesty," Ursis said with an outrageous grin. "Knez Nikolas has convinced us that they can be largely overcome."

"Then it's done," Onrad said, glancing sideways at Brim, "after we send for our Admiral here on a tour of his native Carescria."

"Carescria, Your Majesty?" Brim asked, now completely confounded.

"Yeah," Onrad answered, then acquiesced with an embarrassed little grin. "All right," he said, 'I'll admit that this Sodeskayan assignment is so important that you never had a choice— and that I discussed everything in advance with these two grinning, so-called friends of yours...."

Ursis and Borodov suddenly took an abiding interest in the ceiling of the Emperor's study.

"But the Carescrian trip's a different thing," Onrad went on. "I understand how you feel about your home sector, so I'll leave that one up to you. You just need to know that it's damned important, too.

Those people out here broke their backs making the starships that just saved our Triad. They're important; we're going to need them a lot more before we finally whip the Tyrant and his bloody League."

He smiled. "After the war too," he added, his eyes focusing somewhere off into the future. "We'll have a different Empire by the time that happens..." Then he visibly forced himself back to the present, "I'll give you time to think it over, Admiral," he said.

"I won't need to do that. Your Majesty," Brim said, in the now very quiet room. "It's a trip I'd like to take." This time, he really meant it. Especially since he was almost certain that Eve would need to come along as his "adviser."

Onrad's eyebrows raised. "That's quite a change of heart for you, Brim," he observed.

"I know it is, Your Majesty," Brim said as the faces of Eve Cartier and Nadia Tissaurd materialized in his mind's eye. "But I've had a bit of help lately, It's made me realize that... well... hating that one part of me has cost dearly over the years. I think I'm ready to move on, now," he said, "and clearly Carescria's ready to move on, too." Then he took a deep breath. "After," he added, "we first win a pretty serious war."

"Pretty serious indeed," Onrad agreed, glancing up toward the surface where much of Avalon lay in smoldering ruins. He glanced at an exquisite timepiece on a nearby table. "Which reminds me of the Cabinet meeting I must attend in a few moments." He stood. "Gentlemen," he said in a clear sign of dismissal.

Brim and the three Bears rose. "We thank you in the name of Knez Nikolas," Borodov said.

"You can tell the Knez I thank him for the Loiterers he sent the other day," Onrad said with a smile. "But I'll make certain he knows officially." Then a chime sounded. He frowned and touched a small, glowing panel on the arm of his chair. A moment later, the door opened and General Zapt appeared with a small leather pouch embossed with what a startled Brim recognized immediately as the royal crest of Effer'wyck.

"Your Highness," Zapt said, "this came for Admiral Brim through are intelligence channel—highly secret, and all that. Seems as if it was smuggled out of Effer'wyck by one of our operatives."

Onrad nodded. "You've had it checked?" he asked with a frown.

"Completely benign," Zapt said, handing the pouch over to Brim.

"You don't have to open it here," Onrad said.

"It's all right," Brim said, loosening the drawstrings and peering into the pouch. Then his jaw dropped. "It's my new timepiece," he said in amazement, "the one I bought at the terminal during your last trip to Luculent, Your Majesty."

"How'd it get back to Effer'wyck?" Onrad demanded, then suddenly closed his mouth. He knew.

"Urn," Brim equivocated, "I was on a... secret mission, Your Majesty. We had a bit of trouble and I, er, lost it on the surface of one of their little starcoast planets."

"Harrumph... yes," Onrad said, his face reddening slightly. "They do send you on the damnedest missions, Brim." He gazed at the pouch with fascination. "And the timepiece is all that's in there?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

Brim peered into the pouch again. "No, Your Majesty," he said, drawing out a folded sheet of thin plastic stationery. "It seems to have a note with it." Frowning, he unfolded the sheet... then silently closed his eyes in absolute bewilderment. He knew the handwriting as well as he knew his own.

Dearest Wilf:

I watched you drop this in the forest during your short, miraculous visit to Bra've with my outrageous cousin Onrad. How I wanted to touch you there among the trees that stormy night! But I could not without risking the compromise of your escape. Never forget me, Wilf. Perhaps one day when I have helped win back the freedom of my poor, violated Effer'wyck we can find each other's arms again. Until then, I remain, Once your devoted lover,

Margot Effer'wyck