Leothan examined the map carefully. Every Helberion position was marked in red, Carrow in blue. Even a causal glance at the map showed a lot more Carrow blue than Helberion red, but Leothan also saw trenches marked, and minefields, command posts, telegraph lines. Leothan had by now gained enough experience with strategy and tactics that he'd have been able to read the defensive strategy his Generals had worked out even if they hadn’t already explained it to him. They would keep it up for a week or two longer, to stop the Carrowmen becoming suspicious, before springing their trap.

     The real brilliance of the Brigadier's plan, he mused, was that the Radiants wouldn’t be able to interfere. They were constantly drifting over the trenches that encircled the city, spying out all their positions. They even seemed to be able to peer through the camouflage netting that covered their artillery positions, and could tell real guns from the plywood replicas they’d put in other places, in an attempt to deceive the enemy. If all went to plan, though, that would just make the Carrowmen more confident. Make it easier to lure them to their deaths.

     “Anyone had any ideas how we can improve our chances?” he asked.

     “No,” replied Amberley. “My team of analysts has been over it time and again and we think it’s as good as it’s ever going to be. Unless you’ve had some ideas yourself, the plan remains just as it was.”

     Leothan nodded. “When do we do it?” he asked.

     “As soon as we have enough Ballistae in position,” said General Lannier. “It's not just the Carrowmen we have to fool, after all. It’s the Radiants as well. They have to believe that we're doing absolutely everything we can to hold them back and that when we fall back it’s because they’ve left us with absolutely no choice. We're expecting to have enough of the new weapons to cover all our positions and assets within a week or two.”

     “What about the incendiary ammunition? How's the phosphorus mine coming along?”

     “They've started digging. It’s the processing of the ore that’s holding things up. They expect to have the first white phosphorus ready to be made into ammunition in a couple of weeks.”

     “Any way of hurrying it up?”

     “I've already stuck all the rockets up their arses I can. They're going as fast as humanly possible.” Leothan nodded reluctantly.

      “By the way, have you seen that place?" added the General. "The Hetin folk used to have a quarry there, the whole place is a giant hole in the ground ten miles across! The geology guys say they were digging out a million tons of phosphate ore every year, for fifty years at least! What could they possibly have wanted that much phosphorus for?”

     “Maybe they were mining something else,” suggested Lannier. “It’s just coincidence there was phosphorus in the same place.”

   “No, you can tell from the tailings that it was phosphorus they wanted, in vast amounts. But why...”

     “Let's not get side tracked,” said the King. “Getting back to the Carrowmen, what do we do if they and the Radiants mount a major offensive before we get the gunpowder in position?”

     “That would be a mistake. They would suffer heavy losses against our defensive positions. They have to take out our artillery first, and that takes time.”

     “What if it’s not up to them, though? At the moment, they’re taking their orders from adoptees, who are following Radiant orders, and the Radiants are desperate to kill Andrea McCrea and her assistant before they can build their, whatever it is they’re trying to build. What if the Radiants order an all out attack now? After all, they don’t want a prosperous, victorious Carrow. They want Carrow in ruins just as much as they want Helberion in ruins.”

     “I'm sure their Generals would resist an order that was clearly self destructive,” said General Glowen.

     “Would they, though?” said the King. “They're conditioned to obey orders. Any initiative on the part of a Carrow commander, no matter how intelligent and successful, is likely to end with the man being executed. If the order comes to attack us, to throw themselves at our cannons, the order may simply be obeyed without question or hesitation.”

     “I hope they do,” said Amberley. “If they want to die on our guns, I’ll be happy to oblige them.”

     There was a murmur of agreement from around the room, but the King frowned. “We have to look beyond a short term gain, no matter how welcome it would be,” he said. “We have to look to the end of the war. Either victory or a stalemate in which their forces are depleted beyond the point where they can hold any more territory. What we need most is time. Time for the scientists to create the electricity weapon. Time to get a supply line of incendiary ammunition up and running. No matter what losses the enemy would take, we don’t want them to attack now. Is there anything we can do to dissuade them?”

     “Make them pull troops back from the front line to hold onto the territory they've already got,” said Amberley. “The Wolf Packs are doing an exemplary job with sabotage and assassinations, causing mayhem for the Carrowmen in the occupied territories, but when all’s said and done they're civilians. Enthusiastic amateurs. If we could bolster them with trained army men...”

     “Can we spare the men?” asked Leothan.

     “Not fighting men,” said Lannier. “Every man able to stand and hold a weapon is worth more than gold. I can't spare any. Not one.”

     “It's advice they need more than anything else,” said Glowen. “The best places to put explosives. How to kill an enemy officer without getting killed in turn, that sort of thing. We have plenty of invalid veterans. They could be sent out to join the Wolf Packs in an advisory role. Make it plain to them that they’re not taking charge. We don’t want to alienate the civilians that have been doing such a first class job. They're only there to make suggestions, give advice.”

     “Those men have already given so much for their country,” said Leothan, though. “For me. They've earned their retirement.”

     “They would be honoured to do anything they can,” said Glowen. “They would jump at the chance. In fact, they would probably be deeply hurt and offended if they later learned that there was something they could have done and weren't given the opportunity.” Lannier nodded his agreement.

     “Carrowmen pulled back from the ring around Marboll are men who won’t be caught in our trap,” pointed out Brigadier Kinley. “Our whole battle strategy so far has been to pull their entire army here, gather them together in one place. Now you're talking about dispersing them again?”

     “We're not talking about enough men to be a serious threat once we've broken the main strength of their army,” said Amberley, though. “It means we'll have some mopping up to do afterwards, that’s all.”

     Leothan looked deeply unhappy, but then he nodded. “Volunteers only,” he said. “Nobody gets ordered. Make it plain that this is a choice they can make, or not make. And make sure that anyone who's clearly incapable is firmly turned down.” Lannier nodded his understanding. “How many Wolf Packs are there, anyway?”

     “No way to know,” replied Amberley. “Most of them probably only do one mission. A group of young lads get together, decide they’re going to do their bit for King and country by picking off a couple of Carrowmen, and they’re all killed, or they have a close shave that leaves them too scared to do anything more. The number that actually achieve anything and that go on to achieve victory after victory is probably rather small, but they’re worth ten times their number because of the number of enemy troops they pull away from the front line to hunt for them. If we do actually manage to win this war, it'll be as much down to them as any of us.”

     “Is there any way he can help them?” asked the King. “Ammunition? Explosives? Intelligence...”

     “We have no way to communicate with them, and even if we did, the front line is between us and them. Maybe something could be worked out if we had time. Pigeons carrying messages to and fro, that sort of thing, but that would take weeks to arrange and we simply don’t have that much time. If they need resupply, their best bet is probably to steal it from the Carrowmen.”

     Leothan nodded. “If it goes badly,” he said, “If we lose Marboll, what then?”

     “You need to get out of the city,” said Minister Falow. “If they capture or kill you, it’s all over. So long as you live, so long as you’re free, you're a rallying point around which resistance can form. We may have to endure a generation of occupation, maybe two, but your grandfather threw off Carrow rule and we can do so again, so long as the people have you to inspire them.”

     “I'm not that important...”

     “Begging your pardon, Majesty, but you are. You are an easily recognisable, charismatic figure. You can keep hope alive, and you can lead the people in revolt when the time comes. There is no-one else who has the hearts and trust of the people the way you and your daughter do.”

     “Speaking of Ardria,” said the King. “Has there been any news?”

     “None, Sire. We can only hope that she is still on her way.”

     “If Marboll falls before she gets there, her supposed offer to negotiate a surrender will lose its appeal. She will lose her bargainng position.”

     “She still has the Kelvon troopers to guarantee her freedom and safety,” Falow pointed out.

     “So long as Kelvon remains a credible threat. The last we heard, things were not going well over there. More acts of sedition and sabotage every day. Open violence in the streets between government troops and rebels... Who knows what’s happened over there since Carrow cut the telegraph lines? If it’s civil war over there now, Nilon will just kill the troops, ours and Kelvon’s, and take her prisoner. Use her as a hostage.”

     “I don't believe the rebels are ready for that yet," Falow replied. "They don’t have the numbers yet, they don’t have the resources. Our analysts say it'll still be months yet. The Princess is safe, Sire. International politics will protect her.”

     Leothan nodded. There was nothing he could do for her, so he had to make himself believe it. Try not to think about what might be happening to her right now. He took a deep breath while the members of the War Council watched him with concern.

     He was King! he reminded himself. The country needed to see him strong. He stood straight, therefore. Imagined there was a rod of iron running up his spine keeping him erect. He saw the others responded, growing visibly more confident, as if the strength was flowing from him into them. It was a miracle that never failed to astonish him, that he could have this effect on the people around him. The effort was taking its toll on him, though. He had to get out of their sight for a while before they saw it.

    “Same time tomorrow, then,” he said.

     The other members of the War Council bowed as he left the room, heading back to his temporary residence in the Ministerial Building. Once again, he needed to not be King for a little while.