“That’s no moon; that’s a space station!”

I know from one of my other books that the Texians have fission and fusion weapons in their possession, so Aurie cannot be too big an asshole to them. And they are still detaining Livia Hartmann. Re that: Eloise gets a slap to the head about how the imperial family thinks.

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Concerned, Eloise turned as well, looking up at…

“She called it an L2, when she showed me around that complex,” the Canadian officer said, try to keep the fear out of her voice.  “The size of a soccer field.  Aur – the Regent said she could move fifteen-hundred men and light artillery anywhere on earth in two hours.  Why is this thing, this horrible thing, here!”

The men about them were looking at it, too, as it drifted over their position no more than a thousand feet above the ground.  I could almost reach up and touch it…  The she heard their laughs and comments.  ‘Regent’s gonna stick to those cowboys,” and “Wonder if she’ll blows up that there bridge?”

It drifted just to where its trailing edge was above them.  Colour raised the binoculars and turned back to the group there.

“They stopped talking,” she reported.  “The front of his trousers are no darker but from his face I think Mister Secretary just pissed himself.”

Another laugh from the legionaries assigned to them.  Even at a distance, Eloise could see the man point at the transporter, probably demanding answers.  Aurelia finally made a motion, raising her hands, palms up, to her shoulders.

“I wish we could hear what’s going on,” Colour muttered.

“Do you think she’ll tell us?”

“If she can tell a story, trust me, Eloise, she will,” Colour said.  “It might not be everything.  She knows I still talk to my nephew, who is in the Northern Federation government, and someday, you’ll talk again with yours.”

“If they don’t shoot me first,” she muttered darkly.  Colour lowered her lenses again, to stare at her.

“All of your people would die in nuclear fire if they did that,” she said as softly as she could.

“Please!” That’s a tasteless joke!  “I’m nobody!  We’re talking a country, my country, bigger than the imperium.”

“You are Friend to the Regent.  Rumor says that a Crown Prince is fond of you,” her voice was angry now.  “These people are nuts about loyalty.  Have you not seen that, Miss Lieutenant?”

“But, just to their own family…” she tried.

“You’re dumber than you look.  And if the CSIS is, too, you die, they die…”

Colour Jensen reached over to flick her forehead, hard.

“Everybody dies.” She looked out at the bridge.  “They’re finished.  No sign of Livia.  But Aurie is smiling now that they cannot see her face.”

While the Regent waved off her honor guard, walk toward them, and the train began to back up west, they watched the L2 move to precisely the middle of the Great River.  And stop.

“I guess no invasion?” Eloise asked to the air.

“Nope!” Aurelia said, still smiling.  I hope that means no war.  But after what Colour just said, would she really kill…  That would mean my family in Toronto, too.  This time, she couldn’t stop her small sob.

“It’s okay, El,” Aurelia said, putting her hands on each side of her guest’s face, “I’ll get word to your fam to get out, first.”

“You people!” Tears fell.  “You people know everything!”

“No.  We just know what we know.” She turned, waving.  “Walk with me.  I’m having several conversations right now, including Liv’s mother and grandmother, but there are things you two must know.  To tell Filk and Burghy.”

They hurried to her left and right, to hear the story.  All other legionaries just drifted off to their regular assignments.