The rumors had begun even before they'd left Mees, and for the entire ten-hour trip they seemed to be the sole topic of conversation aboard the liner.  There were whispered stories of sudden activity at the Peacekeepers' orbital Bridgehead base; second- and third-hand reports that the governments of the three human enclaves on Mees had been called into emergency session; dark hints that postbattle assessment teams had been activated and been whisked off God only knew where.  Through it all Aric had kept to himself, working through the shock and grief of his father's unexpected message as best he could.  Wondering how his younger brother had died, and whether the still unknown circumstances surrounding it were to blame for the flurry of nervous hearsay.

It wasn't until he reached the NorCoord Parliament chambers that he had his first inkling that the rumors might for once have been understated.  The smiling young pages who normally stood by the doors to the observation balcony had been replaced by a pair of armed and decidedly unsmiling Peacekeeper Marines.  They checked Aric's ID carefully, double-checked it against their list, and finally let him in.

He walked down the short entrance corridor to the rear of the balcony proper.  Kolchin was waiting there, leaning against the wall with his usual deceptive air of carelessness.  A dozen other men and women loitered nearby, all exuding the same aura of alert competence as they gave Aric a thoughtful once-over.  Apparently, CavTronics Industries wasn't the only big gun of Commonwealth industry and business represented here today.

"Mr. Cavanagh," Kolchin nodded as Aric came up to him.  "Good to see you, sir."

"You too," Aric nodded back, noting peripherally that with Kolchin's identification of him the other bodyguards seemed to lose interest.

"Where is he?"

"Down there," Kolchin said, pointing toward one of the lower tiers of seats.

Aric looked.  The balcony was barely a quarter full, his father's white hair instantly recognizable in the subdued lighting.  He was sitting alone, and even at this distance Aric thought he could see a slump in the older man's shoulders.  "Melinda hasn't arrived yet?"

Kolchin shook his head.  "No, but she should be here soon.  She was doing an operation on Celadon that couldn't be rescheduled and had to catch a ride with one of our transports.  They got in to Cheredovat about half an hour ago.  Parlan's bringing her in."
Aric nodded.  "Okay.  Send her down when she gets here, all right?"

"Sure thing."

Parlimin Hurley Maxwell was on the podium down on the floor below, speaking passionately about Peacekeeper preparation and funding as Aric walked down the aisle.  "Hi, Dad," he said as he reached his father's row and sat down beside him.