News, news, and other news.

I must be getting jaded. I was more concerned with seeing Lily back on Hale's Moon than I was in dealing with the latest band of Reavers to try and make a mess of our little slice of Heaven. Sure, there was the deeper concern over what was causing the increased number of raids and the Reaver's growing savagery - if such a thing was possible. And there was the revelation that Lily's 'Daddy' Reaver was, evidently, none other than Mindo himself.

How could that be possible? It made some sort of twisted sense that he'd created her for his own agenda, but how could he walk amongst the Reavers unscathed? If it was true, which I had little reason to doubt, but no first hand evidence to support, then Jackal's assertion that Lily's 'Daddy' was one of the handful of surviving 'Cured Reavers' was wrong. Or a fabrication. Not that it mattered. Assuming Mindo was Daddy Reaver, as well as Daddy Creator, was a game changer. I'd considered him quite the Ebanashka since I'd known him, while this pushed it over the edge to kuso baka yarou.

At some point, someone would have to end him. If not me, then possibly Krenshar or his sister Xoxo, or Lily herself. That was if Tiny Dragon hadn't already decided his fate. She was tied into this herself, of course. AuroraBlue, the Tiny Dragon. Magomusume. L'avenir.

Lily had been acting a little odd since her return. Odd for Lily, that is. I could only hope there wasn't even more going on than I could see.

The news that caught my attention though, was an article posted out of Shadow on the Cortex News Service. A press release, of sorts, by the commanding officer of the Independent's 12th Air Cav unit. There were some good people in that unit. Brave. Dedicated. Perhaps a bit toppyoushimonai, but who wasn't out here.

I'd understood when they'd thrown off the Loyalist hardliners who'd been riding Shadow like an over-worked mule. Even declaring independence and seceding from the Alliance I could understand. But assembling a fleet and openly challenging any and all comers to come put them down? What are they thinking?

I knew their "Admiral" Leitner had spoken with Colonel Silvermane of the 1st Marine Raiders, the Alliance unit assigned to our slice of the Black. Near as I could tell, it had gone well. But Shadow wasn't in the Sun Tzu's patrol area, so his discussion with her was more of a formality. While I hadn't seen the transcripts, I'd dealt with Silvermane directly, studied her, and her career. She'd be reasonable with them. Deploying a fleet, though, was bound to catch the attention of High Command and the Parliament.

If the orders came down to reclaim Shadow, she'd follow them. If she was true to her record, it'd be as peaceable as possible. Ask them to stand down. Deploy a company or so to show the flag, then let the colonists get on with their lives. About what she'd done for Hale's Moon. Except she hadn't bothered to show the colors. Just left us to our own devices with a promise to stay out of our hair if we didn't make too much trouble.

Only, there was no telling who'd get the order. The Alliance commanders had a lot of autonomy once you got into the Border and Rim worlds. Not all of them were as keen as Silvermane to treat the Rim Worlders like Citizens. If High Command dispatched the IAV Copernicus, Ark Royal, or Drake, instead of the IAV Sun Tzu, they could be playing a whole different game. Some of those commanders had a measured dislike for the folks who called the Rim home.

I knew Leitner had a lot of confidence in his command and the folk under him. He had a right to it, too. But one of the line Cruisers had almost as much firepower as the entire Independence movement could muster during the closing days of the War. If the rumors were true, they had some sort of ace in the hole. But what? That plasma weapon Podwanger and his crew had captured from the Loyalists? It was impressive, yes, but too short ranged and unwieldy to pose a real threat to a capital ship. Fusion weapons? That would be suicide. Using Fusion or even Fission weapons against a Cruiser would only guarantee an overwhelming, unrelenting, response.

And suppose they did manage to take on a single cruiser and win. What would they do when three more showed up?

I had to hope I was reading more into that press release than was actually there. Chances were they were trying to make just enough of a show of it so the Mainliners would see them more as an ally against the Loyalists than a threat to the Alliance itself. Hardliners aside, the Parliament could afford to let Shadow secede for now, then negotiate reunification later.

But if he was really trying to start another War of Independence? Buddha help us. Nothing would galvanize the Parliament to action more than a frontier world sowing the seeds of open rebellion. Worse, that was exactly what the Hardliners wanted. They wanted another war. Something that would build their power base.

Maybe I should talk to them myself...