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After their failure to open a back door to power in the Directorate arm of the Kronian Congress,
Valcroix and Grasse departed from Titan for Iapetus with a coterie of leading Party names, staff, and
sympathizers aboard a local transorbital called theEskimo. Most observers of the scene concluded that
the intention was to consolidate after their defeat and consider where they would go from there.
A day out from Titan,Eskimo vanished without warning. It was the kind of thing that could happen at
any time in a region still subject to hazard from rogue objects of all sizes, and the incident was recorded
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as "Presumed Impact Destruction. Unconfirmed." Many felt inwardly, though it would have been in poor
taste to say so, that perhaps Kronia had been spared much in the way of future complications that it
really didn't need right now. Those who believed it was Kronia's destiny to found a civilization intended
by Divine Purpose interpreted the event accordingly.
* * *
Aboard theTrojan , still following the initial part of the course that would take it to Jupiter, Colonel
Nyrom met privately with Lieutenant Robin Delucey in a sparsely furnished staff office in
Accommodation Module 3, not currently being used. Since the ship was carrying a large consignment of
material and industrial equipment for the cache to be established somewhere in the Jovian system for
future use, occupancy was relatively light for a vessel the size of theTrojan, comprising the crew and the
SA contingent, and scientific groups concerned with the mission's survey work.
Nyrom waited until Delucey sat down opposite him at the metal-edged table, then took off his hat and
leaned back. "At ease, Lieutenant. What I want to talk to you about is just between us and the walls."
Delucey made the concession of resting his elbows on the arms of the chair, but otherwise remained
guarded. He said nothing but regarded Nyrom questioningly.
"We know a lot more about you than you might imagine, Lieutenant." Nyrom made his voice pointed
and confidential, communicating that this was a time to open up. "You went through a lot back there,
didn't you? Lost everything, lost practically everybody. And you made a heroic effort to start out again
and make a go of it. I'm full of admiration for the guts it took. But it didn't work out, did it, son? You're
not happy. Am I right?" He paused, reading the face that without change of expression asked where this
was going, then shook his head. "Kronia isn't for you. Stifling, unexciting . . . But demanding. And that's
how it was going to be for the rest of your life. That was why you joined the Security Arm. That was why
a lot of young people who are here on this ship did."
Delucey's eyes retained their detached, mildly cynical look. "What else is there?" he asked after taking a
few seconds to consider what Nyrom had said.
"There's Earth." Nyrom's voice warmed to the thought of it. Again the wary look, waiting, conceding
nothing. "All the things you remember are still there: oceans, mountains, endless landscapes, air you can
breathe under open skies. Except now it's wild again, untamed. There's room for a thousand lifetimes
there, all different."
"They're going back. TheVaruna . . ."
"And what will they do there? I'll tell you. They'll turn it into Kronia all over again. Is that what you want
to have waiting if you ever go back too one day? Or would you rather haveyour world, that lets you be
what you used to be, the way you ought to be?"
"You sound as if you're offering some kind of choice," Delucey said.
Nyrom liked directness, and nodded. "As we all know, the recent Pragmatist proposal to broaden the
Kronian political process to a more equitable basis was rejected by those who control the present
system. What most people don't know is that it didn't end there. The Congress had the chance to reform
within the legitimacy of its own constitution. But since they won't change to something that's fairer for
everyone there, we'll take the only alternative . . ."
"We?"
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Nyrom nodded. "It's bigger than you probably think. We'll create our own system the only kind that's
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