Free Book 2 - Starfishers by Glen Cook Page B

High Command keeps telling them it’s
nonsense. But I’ve had a couple of high-powered corporate
executive types in and they say the Services are smoke screening,
that there’s something going on out there. A lot of heavy
ships moving through here lately, too. All of them moving from out
The Arm in toward the March.”
    “It’s all news to me, Max. I haven’t had the
holo on since I got back. I’m so far behind I’ll
probably never catch up. These
Hamburg . . . The notes all over the page. What
are they?”
    “Jimmy Eagle did that. Right after I picked up the
collection. Lot of them are forgeries. The cancellations. Most of
the stamps are good. He marked the reprints. You haven’t
heard any news at all?”
    “Max, by the time I got back from Illwind I was so sick I
couldn’t see. I didn’t care. I don’t know why
we’ve got an embassy on that hole, anyway. Or why they sent
me there. The only natives I ever saw were two burglars we caught
trying to blow up the Ambassador’s safe. They need a military
assistance mission like Old Earth needs another Joshua Ja. Their
methods of killing each other are adequate already.”
    “Then you haven’t even heard that Ja is done
for?”
    “Hey? What happened? This I got to hear about.”
    Joshua Ja was one of Old Earth’s more noxious public
figures. The holonet newscasters had dubbed him the Clown Prince of
Senegal. The nets followed his threats and posturing faithfully,
using him as humorous leavening for their otherwise grim
newscasts.
    The self-proclaimed Emperor of Equatorial Africa was no joke to
his subjects and neighbors. His scatterbrained projects and edicts
invariably cost lives.
    “He invaded the Mauritanian Hegemony while you were
gone.”
    Perchevski laughed. “Sounds like one gang of inmates
trying to break into another’s asylum.”
    Old Earth was a nonvoting member of Confederation. Both
Confederation itself and the World Government refrained from
interfering in local affairs. World Government held off because it
had no power. Confederation did so because the costs of
straightening out the home-world were considered prohibitive.
    Earth was one of the few Confederation worlds supporting
multiple national states. And the only one boasting an incredible
one hundred twenty-nine.
    World Government’s writ ran only in those countries
deigning to go along with its decrees.
    Centuries earlier there had been but two states on Earth, World
Commonweal and United Asia. United Asia had remained impotent
throughout its brief, turbulent history. World Commonweal might
have created a planetary state, but had collapsed at Fail Point, so
called because at that point in time agro-industrial protein
production capacity had fallen below the population’s
absolute minimum survival demand.
    “You missed the best part of it, Walter. During the first
week the Mauritanians shot down half of their own air force. And
the Empire lost a whole armored brigade in a swamp because Ja
ordered them to march in a straight line all the way to Timbuktu.
The holonets had a field day. That’s the lilac brown shade
there. We’ve got a Foundation certificate for it.”
    Perchevski lifted the stamp and examined its reverse. “I
already have a copy. I’m just looking.”
    “Anyway, the Mauritanians have been less klutzy than the
Imperials. They’re closing in on Dakar.”
    “What’s the Council doing?”
    “Laughing a lot. They’re going to let him go down.
The word’s out that other countries shouldn’t accept
refugees from the Empire. Ja and his gang have done too much damage
to Old Earth’s image.”
    “Old Josh? You’re kidding. How do you lower
something that’s already at the bottom?”
    “You see anything you want?”
    “You, my love.”
    “Smart ass.”
    “Wednesday night?”
    “What’ve you got in mind?”
    “A cribbage game.”
    “I’ll call you. If it does any good. If you’re
not off to some weird place with a name like Toilet
Bowl.”
    “Actually, I