Heinrich grinned as they climbed the ridge separating the planted fields from the launch port. Not long now. Cresting it he'd be able to see the closest thing to home he'd known for a year. One year this time. Last time it had been home for three of them.

He reached the ridge and paused. Body walkers were no more tiring to use uphill than on flat ground. He merely wanted to rest his mind before he descended the other side and crossed the fields.

Almost home. New Sweden resided here now after Goodard put a permanent blemish on Federation reputation. Well, it couldn't be helped. TADAT were more of an international force than just another arm of the Terran Federation anyway.

He stretched in his walker, shut it down, climbed out of it and stretched once more. Behind him he heard another walking making ready for shut-down. Liz or Abreas he didn't know. Heinrich mentally changed Abreas to Panopilis. That first name was a touchy matter and had always been.

"Just taking a rest," he said without turning.

Footsteps came closer. "Good idea," Panopilis replied. "This is a place as good as any other."

Heinrich sighed. "We've deserved it," he muttered.

"Sure as hell have not!" That voice came from down the slope somewhere.

That's Tayserajd, but that's impossible. He's...

"I'm not quite dead yet if that was what you thought," came the cheerful voice.

"How the hell? I saw you go down!"

It was Tay climbing up the slope from the launch port side. "No, you saw Tanaka and Syuie. They didn't make it. I did, and so did Philippa, even though she's convalescent still."

"How?" Heinrich knew shouts of joy or at least a proper greeting would have been more in order, but he was just too stunned.

Tay reached the crest and exchanged hugs with Liz and Panopilis before sitting down beside Heinrich.

They stared at each other in silence for a while.

"It wasn't easy, you know," Tay began.

"Don't you even dare," Heinrich growled.

"Even for one with my godlike resourcefulness," Tay continued unperturbed.

"go there."

"divine intervention requires me to stretch my imagination beyond mere human limits."

"Come on!" Liz and Panopilis shouted in chorus.

Tay just grinned back. "You want to hear the story or not?" he pretended to sulk.

"Yes! So get on with it!" all three of them demanded in almost perfect unison.

Another twisted smile spread over his face, but then he apparently decided enough was enough. "Camouflage," he offered.

"Camouflage?"

"Yes, I switched on the camouflage, full force when we dropped to the ground. So did Philippa."

Heinrich stared in incomprehension. "But that film gobbles energy like mad? Even sensors on Orbit One would have picked it up. It's useless outside heavy industry."

Tay looked back but said nothing.

"Oh hell!"

"What is it?" Panopilis asked.

"Sensors, that's what it is," Heinrich answered.

"I don't... oh hell!"

"Yes," Heinrich threw Elisabeth a glance. She hadn't reached the conclusion yet. "We've been too smart," he said. "Those riders didn't have sensors. We could have marched south in functional invisibility. As long as we kept the distance to Goodard's goons no one would have been any wiser."

"But..."

"Yes, I know, but we could have switched them on before those horsemen charged us." Elisabeth sighed, but Heinrich cut her off before she could begin any recriminations.

"We don't know for certain. Those battlemages could probably find us if they tried. Remember Gring?"

Elisabeth sighed again, and this time he joined her. During the long days spent on the eastern fields he had grown to like the giant mindwalker very much.

"You could have joined us," he said.

Tay shook his head. "They searched for us. As soon as darkness fell we ditched the walkers and started trekking north."

Heinrich cringed.

"I made sure both walkers were fused shut. Takes a plasma cutter to open them without destroying them totally. Goodard won't find them in this state."

"Good work. Don't worry about Goodard. He's dead."

Tay smiled. "Good work," he acceded.

They sat in silence for some time, and the late afternoon had turned to dusk when Tay suddenly spoke.

"Sorry, I almost forgot. There's a Mrs Kirksten or something waiting for you at the port."

Heinrich scratched his head and frowned. He didn't know anyone by that name. Unless...

"Kirchenstein! You're an ass!"

"Yes, yes, one of the new desk riders anyway."

Heinrich groaned and rose. "Time to move." Then he turned to Tay. "Anita Kirchenstein-Yui is New Sweden here. She's their damn Admiral Radovic." He started down the slope. "And you kept her waiting for hours."

Tay shrugged and fell in line.

The sun had set by the time they reached the small town that had grown up outside the terminal. Summer's warmth still clung to the evening though.

They were just about to turn around a corner and head for the concrete sheds that functioned as the administrative centre when something caught Heinrich's attention. A sign.

"Välkommen till Stjärnhamn," it said.

He parsed it through his computer. "Welcome to Starport," he read aloud.

"Welcome indeed! You have to be Major Goldberger.!"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The voice came from a door opening, but Heinrich wasn't very surprised when an ethnic Chinese walked down the stairs to meet them. Body walkers weren't exactly inconspicuous.

"You are Mrs Kirchenstein-Yui?"

"I am, and you are indeed welcome to Starport."

Heinrich looked around him. "I never thought of it as a place," he said.

"You Federation people are funny that way. So utilitarian. Orbit one. Launch port. Where's the soul in that?"

That outburst finally brought laughter to him.

"What's so funny? Makes sense it got a proper name."

Heinrich returned her look. "She," he said. "The locals would call her a she, not an it. You want to give her a proper name you'd better use her proper gender."

Anita stared back.

"Arthur Wallman can explain better," he said and laughed again.

***

"I can't explain. It just works," Arthur said. He really couldn't. The patients in the hospital healed faster if he Wove for them. He had absolutely no idea why, and so he truly couldn't explain it to the delegation from New Sweden. What was far worse, he couldn't explain it to Hepaten ar el de Levius, Minister of Magehunting. That was bad. If the idiot didn't stop threatening him soon, he'd empty his handgun in the arrogant bastards lower abdomen. And Weave the memories of Harbend stabbing him at the same time.

He felt his fingers twitching with need to make true of that promise when Mairild finally entered the room with Erwin in tow.

Arthur turned to them and interrupted Hepaten's tirade. "The brain dead asshole you call minister just don't know when to stop."

Erwin flinched but Mairild only grinned.

"If my spraying his lack of brains over the walls here is too embarrassing I'll ask Admiral Radovic here to sign whatever document you need to allow me to do it on the square outside."

"You are serious about this?" Erwin asked.

"I demand to be made knowledgeable of your conversation," Hepaten's voice cut through the room in De Vhatic.

Arthur obliged and translated. The obvious reaction followed, and when Hepaten started to bellow a repetition of the threats he had earlier delivered in an almost civil tone Arthur had had enough.

He drew his gun and put the muzzle to the ministerial face. "This is an outworlder weapon. Do you understand?"

Behind him Erwin gasped, but Arthur also sensed Mairild holding the admiral back.

Hepaten stood absolutely still. He did raise one hand in acknowledgement Very slowly.

"It fires something we call needle grenades. One shot will take off your head and most of your upper abdomen. Am I clear?"

The hand came up again.

"I'm a taleweaver. I can do this and if anyone tries to kill me for it this city will be reduced to ashes. Is that correct?"

It took a little longer for the hand to rise, but it did.

"Then get your gherin spawned dick out of here and plug it into one of your thugs! Dismissed!"

Hepaten vanished almost fast enough for Arthur to miss his fuming rage. It was an impotent rage though. Arthur knew that.

"Now when we've dispensed with the diplomacy, could we sort out the last idiocy?"

"Certainly," Mairild answered.

"Admiral, you witnessed the Terran Federation surrender unconditionally to all signatories of the Perth treaty. As such we're not even supposed to maintain a military presence here."

"Are you saying..."

"That we give the lady everything she demands. Nobunaga, all her hardware and all remaining shuttles are turned over to Keen."

"Why on Earth should we hand a carrier class space ship over to a nation that doesn't even know how to run a hovercraft?"

Arthur smiled. For once he had thought things over before he acted. It might even turn into a bad habit if he was successful. "Orbit one needs to be neutral territory."

Erwin nodded agreement.

"New Sweden would sure like to add a carrier class ship to their fleet though. The moment they do Orbit one becomes a colony of theirs. Now, good Federation citizen that I am, I'd hate to see that."

That made Erwin laugh. "You don't care about our glorious Federation any more than Minister de Felder does, so why?"

"Because if Keen doesn't get what she needs then you can be damned certain Otherworld Disclosed will have its original newscaster back. As you so correctly pointed out. I don't care. The Federation ate my family. I'll bite back."

Arthur had to admit that Erwin took it gracefully. He surprised himself by actually liking the man, and he suspected it was mutual. The fencing was mostly for Mairild's benefit.

The admiral nodded curtly. "I'll sign. Workers will work under a contract though. I won't have any forced migrants."

"I wouldn't want you to," Arthur answered before Mairild had a chance to protest. Keen might be his chosen home, but he wouldn't force citizenship on anyone stranded in Otherworld space.

"And you stay the hell out off holo casting."

Arthur bowed.

Erwin returned a flamboyant bow of his own and departed.

"Wonderfully done," Mairild laughed. "I could almost believe you once worked the stage."

Arthur turned.

"Almost," she continued. "You're a naughty boy, but you have a lot to learn."

Arthur blushed.

"I won't say anything to the other eleven. We got enough from this surrender of yours. Just, what did he say, stay the hell off the stage!"

The minister of culture was easily ten years his senior, but he only saw the woman who had started her career as an actress.

She was stunningly beautiful.