“I thought you said they were further out,” Natalya countered.

“I was working with information Montenegro provided. They must have been hiding somewhere outside the system,” Tonkin replied.

“Waiting for a tactical position.”

Natalya saw the two fleets, one holding steady in front of her on the viewscreens, the other moving toward them.

“Signal the Gaozu and turn about all weapons,” Natalya commanded.

“Transmitting,” the Communications Officer said.

“What about Qin’s orders?” Tonkin asked.

“Forget Qin’s orders, we have a war to stop! Comms, have they sent a response?” Natalya asked.

“Nothing. They haven’t slowed down either,” the officer replied.

One of the yellow dots on the viewscreens zoomed toward them.

“Lock on target!” Natalya shouted.

“Locking won’t do anything,” Tonkin said.

“It might turn him away.”

“It’s a fast-mover. Can’t get a lock,” the Weapons Officer said. “I can blast the general area around it, maybe hit it.”

Natalya didn’t want to actually engage. Her bluff would be revealed if she tried and failed to destroy a scout ship. But even if she had fully advanced weaponry, it would be difficult to target such a swift, small vessel. She watched helplessly as the craft came so close the viewscreens zoomed on it at visual range. She saw the glowing spacecraft, Changyu’s yellow sun on a green field clearly visible on the needle-shaped vehicle’s nose.

It sped close to her fleet, then hooked back toward its own. The second it turned away, the rest of the yellow dots started closing.

“We have a backup plan, right?” the Communications Officer asked.

“Signal both fleets. Tell them the wrath of Prosper will find them if they don’t stop right now!” Natalya ordered.

“I don’t think they’re listening.”

“They’re both after the plat mine, Duke. You did as best you could, but we should let them have it. Evacuate the planet and let them fight it out,” Tonkin insisted.

Natalya looked at crimson Farbind, its mineral riches the reason for the conflict. The bomb shelters would keep the people safe, but not for long. The closing battle would rain destruction of a kind that could not be survived.

“So you’re saying the wealth of Farbind is lost?” Natalya asked.

“What? Of course. Who cares about the wealth,” Tonkin replied.

“Indeed. Helm, plot a course to these coordinates. Have all mining ships and satellites mass and accelerate, even that moon cannon.”

Natalya pushed the coordinates into the communications console herself, signaling her defense grid where to go.

“You’re sending us inside the platinum mines? Duke, I must say, defending money is not only not the right decision, but it won’t work. We have no chance against one fleet, much less two and that’s their target,” said Tonkin.

“Exactly. That’s their target. That’s what they’re fighting over,” Natalya said. “And if Prosper can’t have it, no one can.”

Tonkin looked out the viewscreens, saw Farbind fast approaching, and gulped.

Even though they were about as far from Farbind as its moon, they had to race the converging fleets to the planet. Mining engines lit up with plasma thrusters. Satellites used flimsy ion thrusters, and Natalya had Ranger push the moon’s weapons platform.

“This is going to have to be timed just right,” Natalya said as she ran back and forth between the communications, weapons, and helm consoles to help her makeshift crew guide her makeshift fleet toward the deep, thick mine.

The cloud-strewn surface of Farbind’s platinum mine came into view, idle mech diggers big enough to be seen from space waiting by gigantic craters to dig up more wealth. The mining trench Natalya targeted was ten kilometers deep, laced with glistening veins of platinum.

The satellites broke the atmosphere, plunging like meteorites toward the surface.

“On my mark,” Natalya said, the viewscreens blinded by flames of atmosphere. Suddenly the flames winked out, and thick clouds swam all around the ship. The satellites trailed vapor as they fell through the sky.

“Duke…” Tonkin said.

“Not before!”

“Duke…”

“Hold!”

The clouds cleared. The satellites and mining ships, with their nuclear payloads, tumbled through open air.

“Mark!” Natalya shouted. “Pull up!”

Natalya’s fleet crashed into the mine, Ranger dashing across the surface of Farbind as the atmosphere ignited behind it.

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The platinum mine disappeared in a blinding white flash.

Negotiations were called. A white flag was raised and representatives from both fleets were invited to parlay on Tether.

Tonkin had said that the mining explosives could crack a hole in the planet. Natalya had proven that correct, the crater of her destruction so deep it rained debris into space. Farbind had a bleeding wound all the way to the planet’s burning core where vast wealth had once been. It would take years to repair the damage, and no doubt require Prosper-reforming to seal up the exposed core and leaking atmosphere. But all that mattered was the people had been saved, Tarantula kept intact. Farbind was hurt, but still Prosper’s.

Natalya informed Admiral Ruzi, the Changyu’s chosen ambassador, that their reason for coming to Farbind was moot. She told the same to Montenegro, and all parties agreed to meet.

The Changyu saw no tactical reason to be present, and applauded Natalya’s honorable, if foolish, ruse. Admiral Ruzi seemed disappointed the Changyu Confederation couldn’t claim the mine, but was happy at least the Gaozu Hegemony couldn’t either. They weren’t at war, Changyu and Gaozu, and the admiral had no intention of being the man to start one. He vowed to withdraw his fleet at an agreed-upon time, simultaneously with the Gaozu vessels.

Natalya called it the Treaty of Tether, and had a thick, leather-bound book made so she could hand-write the withdrawal agreement. She practically beamed with pride as she held the book, imagining her face on plats as a great arbiter of peace.

Natalya sat in a window-filled conference room that overlooked the hole where Tether’s cannon used to be. It was selected as the location for negotiations. The landing zone lay just beyond the hole, where a few shuttles were parked. Natalya had left Ranger on Farbind to avoid any military presence.

It was intentional that as few people as possible be present at the negotiations. She wanted the agreement to be personal, private, and long-lasting. She wanted the Changyu and Gaozu to see each other as humans, and appreciate the greater efficacy of Prosper’s guiding hand. She was still writing, inking in the lines where Montenegro’s and Admiral Ruzi’s signatures would be, when the door opened.

“Do we have any wax presses? I want to make this look… oh,” Natalya said, expecting Tonkin but finding Montenegro at the door.

“Duke,” Ambassador Montenegro said with a slight bow.

“You’re early,” Natalya noted.

“I’d like to show you something.”

Montenegro turned to walk out the door, expecting Natalya to follow.

“The negotiations aren’t scheduled for another hour,” Natalya said.

Montenegro stopped, and said, “Yes, I know. You’ve interacted with the Changyu fleet already. Might I have a private word?”

Natalya clicked her fingers against the leather-bound treaty.

“No tactics here, Duke. I am Gaozu. I’m a straightforward man,” Montenegro explained. “And I assure you, our talk is vital to the success of this treaty you want.”

Montenegro walked out the door again. Natalya rolled her eyes, put the treaty under her arm, and followed.

He didn’t say anything, and Natalya was worried the man was upset. They walked the long path through the empty corridors, their footsteps echoing against the stainless-steel floors, and emerged in Tether’s bubble-shielded landing zone.

“Where are we going?” Natalya asked.

“I told you. I want to show you something,” Montenegro said, and approached a vessel in the middle of the landing zone.

It was the ambassador’s yacht, a civilian craft with enormous thrusters. No weapons, but it was big as Ranger and had a pair of pleasure-craft shuttles attached to its sides.

Montenegro waved a hand and the gangplank lowered, the craft controlled by remote, it seemed. He continued onboard. Natalya wanted to maintain pleasantries with the Ambassador, but Admiral Ruzi would arrive soon. Still, she didn’t want to anger the man just before negotiations.

When the gangplank closed behind her, Natalya felt a cold creep into her skin, but she continued following Montenegro.

“If you’re worried about Gaozu’s interests, I can assure you—” Natalya tried to say.

“It’s a funny thing, interests,” Montenegro said. He left the rest of his sentence unsaid, and walked through the angular, metal corridors of his luxurious vessel. He stopped at a triangular doorway and pushed open the wooden hatch.

Natalya followed, thinking only of the book, the treaty, and giving this man what he wanted until his fleet left. If he wanted to be told how important he was, or be given some sort of payment, she’d hear him out. But she promised herself she wouldn’t relent. She was going to get his signature.

“They’re never really what you want,” Montenegro continued as Natalya followed him inside his glistening, hexagonal stateroom.

Montenegro crossed a lush, red carpet to a round bed covered in red, silk sheets. “Close the door,” he said, removing a silvery bottle from a wooden cabinet. He poured himself a crystal glass full of clear liquid.

“Mr. Ambassador—” Natalya began.

“What do you think I want?”

Natalya took a breath through her nose. “To acquire the mines of Farbind. But that’s not possible anymore.”

“No. No, that’s not it. I want what I want. After a certain point, more money, more resources won’t cut it. I want to see Changyu give up what is rightfully ours, and Prosper to acknowledge our claims.”

“I can deliver your requests to the Zhou.”

Montenegro swallowed his drink, set down the glass, and approached Natalya, his eyes not on her face.

“But why do I want this?” the Ambassador asked, as if Natalya hadn’t spoken. “It’s a philosophical question, but it has a direct answer.”

“Mr. Ambassador…” Natalya said, stepping back from the man. She tried to keep her eyes away from the still-open door.

“I want to indulge in whatever I want, have the freedom to do so without interference, and live my life as I choose. Not under the will of Prosper or anyone else. What I want…”

Montenegro reached a hand toward Natalya’s waist. She took another step back.

“I think it’s time we returned to the conference room,” Natalya advised.

“And I think it’s time I tell you my demands. You’ve stopped this conquest, this war, but what do we get out of it? I’ll sign your paper, Duke, if you give me what I’ve wanted all along.”

“What’s that?” Natalya asked, her back pressed against the wall.

“To send a message to Prosper,” Montenegro said, his hand reaching around Natalya’s back. “We can suffer casualties, destroy our fleet in a fight with the Changyu — we have the resources to continue. But what we don’t have is a Duke telling the Zhou we took something from them, and that they gave it up willingly.”

“Mr. Ambassador,” Natalya said, pushing against Montenegro’s chest. But the man was stout, unyielding.

“What will you sacrifice? Don’t resist, and I won’t. Let us have this, and you will have your treaty. Such a message is worth a fleet lost. And I imagine you would be worth a fleet as well. I’ll sign it. And all you have to do is close your eyes.”

Natalya pinched her eyes shut. She thought about the thick, leather book under her arm, the treaty that would save lives. All this man wanted was her. A foolish exchange, but one with enormous yields. All she had to do was keep her eyes shut, endure a few moments, and the treaty would be signed.

She felt his lips against her neck. Natalya jerked away like she’d been struck with a hot iron, and slammed the leather-bound treaty into the back of Montenegro’s head.

The man went down, and Natalya struck him again. She ran out the door.

Before she reached the gangplank, Natalya passed a viewing window. She stopped. Stars glistened all around, and she realized they were in orbit. Montenegro had made the ship take off remotely. It was a luxury craft indeed if it could reach the emptiness of space without so much as a shudder.

“Where are you going, Duke? I haven’t fulfilled my part of the treaty yet,” Montenegro’s voice called from his stateroom.

Natalya ran.