m as the Fleet Marshall, a small voice inside did in fact
tell him to shoot. But though bitterness rose strong against
restraint, he knew that it would be pointless and dishonorable to kill
him now. Though doubtless if the tables had been turned.....

Bota was somewhat surprised to see the Korean's solid form emerge from
the canopy of shadow, striding toward him. He had expected an older
man. He stopped where he was and waited. A slight upgrade, and the
two stood face to face.

The marshal unclasped his breathing mask and slipped it aside, though
the dense atmosphere of that place was barely sustainable to human
life. The Korean did the same.

"Commander Shin, I believe." Shannon's second was only mildly taken
back by the use of his name and proper rank.

"Bota."

"MARSHAL Bota."

"You didn't come all this way to tell me...(he struggled for breath)...
how many men you stabbed in the back! What do you want?"

"One would expect a cornered monkey to show more respect."

"A cornered MAN has nothing to live for. Speak your piece and get out."

"All right. I want the hostages. I want them now. Your civilian
ships will be allowed. . .to whimper to Soviet Space. We won't stop
them. It's your hides we're after."

"You'll let them go, just like that. Is that why you destroyed ALL our
ships? Is that why your ground equipment is lined up against us?"

"Oh, yes. There is that. Well. We've had our little talk. Enjoy
your moment of heroism. Lord knows. . .I'll enjoy ending it." He
started to walk away, then turned. "Oh, about the hostages." Shin's
glare was unchanging.
"Cut off their heads, and throw them down into the mines. I'm going
grind you to powder."

*

The Canton line advanced slowly from its distance of five kilometers, a
visually odd procession of large flat vehicles, cat-tracked, with
lightly armored ground troops hurrying behind, protected by the
advancing shield wall of the Armadillos. Huge laser cannons projected
from their slanting fronts, all trained upon the thick bar of shadow at
the base of the oncoming ridge. Bota's machine led the subtle wedge,
its magnetic-field disrupter already pulsing to try and weaken the
Laurian's shields.

Shin barked out his orders rapidly, for all the good it would do. He
stood with several of the men before the instrument-laden vision panel,
simultaneously listening to analysis of the enemy advance, searching
for a non-existent weaknes