"You're not," said Lem. "I've been withholding something from you, and it's time I told you. My father is preparing to launch an attack on the Formic ship."

She looked surprised. "When?"

"In three days."

"With what, mining ships?"

"With the new Vanguard drones."

Benyawe looked taken aback. "The drones? Those are still on the assembly line. They haven't even been field-tested yet."

The prospecting drones were Father's newest industry innovation, a way to evaluate the economic viability of asteroids without the need of an expensive crew. Father had announced them to the world just before learning of the Formics.

"The drones have been rushed through production," said Lem. "And that's not the worst of it. My father is arming each of them with a glaser."

She stared at him, too shocked to speak. Lem didn't blame her. The glaser--or gravity laser--made mining asteroids as easy as pulling a trigger. It shaped gravity in much the same way a laser shaped light, ripping apart asteroids using tidal forces.

"My father's under the impression that if a glaser can vaporize a giant asteroid, why not let it do the same to a giant alien ship."

"You have to stop him, Lem. The glaser is too unstable, too destructive. He can't fire one this close to Earth."

"He's not firing one, Benyawe. He intends to fire fifty."

"Fifty?"

"That's how many drones are scheduled to launch."

"How long have you known about this?"

Lem sighed. "A few days."

"And you didn't tell us immediately?"

"I'm telling you now."

She narrowed her eyes. "Did you know about this before we sent off Victor and Imala?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. He had decided that he wasn't going to lie to her. "I found out right before they left."

Benyawe raised her voice. "And you let them go? You sent them on their way knowing your father was going to fire on the vessel? You put them in harm's way."

Lem kept his voice calm. "They're at the Formic ship, Benyawe. They went to harm's way. They walked into danger. And anyway, before they left Victor assured me that they could leave Luna and get back here in four days time. That would have been a full day before my father plans to launch. I thought this was a nonissue. I didn't expect Victor and Imala to be so far behind schedule."

"Victor is a kid, Lem. He was giving you a ballpark estimate. You can't bet his life on that. Of course there would be delays. There always are." She shook her head. "I can't believe you would endanger them like this. Did you even tell them what your father was planning? Do they know drones might be coming?"

He hadn't told them of course. He had worried they might abort. "I wasn't going to burden them with that knowledge. They were already worried enough about the Formics' defenses."

Benyawe waved a dismissive hand. "Spare me, Lem. Don't pretend you kept this from us for any reason other than your own self-interest. This is you and your father playing war games, desperately trying to outdo the other with no regard for the people caught in the middle."

"You're forgetting this whole escapade wasn't my idea, Benyawe. It was Victor's and Imala's. I brought it to you, I asked for your opinion, I got you involved."

"Yes, and you left out that crucial bit of information about a fleet of drones potentially firing on the mothership and ripping Victor and Imala apart."

Lem put up his hands, stopping her, his voice even. "Are you done vilifying me? I just told you, the drones don't launch for three days. That gives us plenty of time to remove Victor and Imala from harm."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Lem? At the very least, you should have told me about the drones the instant it became apparent that Victor and Imala would arrive behind schedule."

Tags: Orson Scott Card The First Formic War Science Fiction
Source: readsnovelonline.net