engage Her alone, and they refused. That’s on record. They couldn’t accept that they were facing an invincible opponent. They couldn’t accept that giving way to an Outsider—something completely abhorrent to them—was their only chance of survival. So they lost; and that’s on record.”
There was a few seconds’ silence from the figures at the table. Then a new voice spoke; she called it Ninth Voice.
“Commander Ansah, I’d like to ask you about your ship. The Sirhan , as we’ve heard, is an Outsider Class cruiser. I understand that Outsiders are believed to be capable, on present documented evidence, of at least matching the performance and firepower of this unidentified ship. Is that correct?”
“On present documented evidence.”
“Then wouldn’t such a ship be decisive in the engagement, especially when added to those five others? Why should it be more likely to fail with those five than without?”
“You’ve heard me tell the Court there are nine Outsiders.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how much each one is worth?”
“Probably something that sounds good when you recite it: the entire cost of Isis Fleet, or the entire annual gross product of Bast, or something similar.”
“That will do well enough. And do you know their political status?”
“I thought you’d already told us, Commander…and I believe that I’m supposed to be asking you questions.”
“Then please ask that one. It’s important.”
Pause.
“Commander, what is the political status of the nine Outsiders?”
“They’re Instruments of the Commonwealth, outside the normal command structures. They report directly to the Department of Administrative Affairs. They fight alone, not in a team.”
“Yes, we know all that, you already told us. Why is it important?”
“There are people…” Ansah paused, and began again. “There are people who say that if She can only be stopped by an Outsider, then maybe it’s better if She isn’t stopped at all.”
“And are you familiar with that attitude, Commander?”
“I see it wherever I go. It’s like we’re carrying a disease. Outsiders have a certain reputation. They’re accountable to nobody, at least nobody anyone would recognise, and they’re run on lines most miltary people wouldn’t understand. So people treat them as alien ships, crewed by aliens.”
“How do you mean, Crewed By Aliens?”
“People of unusual ability, otherwise they wouldn’t be there. But people who don’t fit into any conventional authority structure, because they’re too ambitious or unambitious, too political or apolitical, too stable or unstable. Most of them are sociopathic, many are psychopathic. Most of them have done terrible things.”
“Is that the real reason they’re called Outsiders?”
“Yes.”
Some of the figures facing her glanced at each other, but said nothing. To fill the silence, Ansah added “And there will never be any more than nine. They’re expensive, but the Commonwealth could easily afford to build fifty.”
“Then why only nine?”
“Would any rational system deliberately inject a disease into itself? Nine is all the Commonwealth could possibly take. They were conceived in back alleys, built in secret, launched almost in guilt, and commissioned without ceremonies. They’re even named after ancient killers and loners and assassins: Sirhan, James Earl Ray, Charles Manson . They’re like some shameful medical condition. And yet they’re the only Commonwealth ships which might defeat Her.”
“And the only time,” Ninth Voice said quietly, “the only time an Outsider has ever faced Her was here, in our system. And you turned away.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you told us how you remember that engagement? Not statements or recordings, but how you remember it.”
“I remember when I first saw Her. It’s true what they say, it’s not like seeing pictures of Her. When She unshrouds, there’s something about Her actual
There was a few seconds’ silence from the figures at the table. Then a new voice spoke; she called it Ninth Voice.
“Commander Ansah, I’d like to ask you about your ship. The Sirhan , as we’ve heard, is an Outsider Class cruiser. I understand that Outsiders are believed to be capable, on present documented evidence, of at least matching the performance and firepower of this unidentified ship. Is that correct?”
“On present documented evidence.”
“Then wouldn’t such a ship be decisive in the engagement, especially when added to those five others? Why should it be more likely to fail with those five than without?”
“You’ve heard me tell the Court there are nine Outsiders.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how much each one is worth?”
“Probably something that sounds good when you recite it: the entire cost of Isis Fleet, or the entire annual gross product of Bast, or something similar.”
“That will do well enough. And do you know their political status?”
“I thought you’d already told us, Commander…and I believe that I’m supposed to be asking you questions.”
“Then please ask that one. It’s important.”
Pause.
“Commander, what is the political status of the nine Outsiders?”
“They’re Instruments of the Commonwealth, outside the normal command structures. They report directly to the Department of Administrative Affairs. They fight alone, not in a team.”
“Yes, we know all that, you already told us. Why is it important?”
“There are people…” Ansah paused, and began again. “There are people who say that if She can only be stopped by an Outsider, then maybe it’s better if She isn’t stopped at all.”
“And are you familiar with that attitude, Commander?”
“I see it wherever I go. It’s like we’re carrying a disease. Outsiders have a certain reputation. They’re accountable to nobody, at least nobody anyone would recognise, and they’re run on lines most miltary people wouldn’t understand. So people treat them as alien ships, crewed by aliens.”
“How do you mean, Crewed By Aliens?”
“People of unusual ability, otherwise they wouldn’t be there. But people who don’t fit into any conventional authority structure, because they’re too ambitious or unambitious, too political or apolitical, too stable or unstable. Most of them are sociopathic, many are psychopathic. Most of them have done terrible things.”
“Is that the real reason they’re called Outsiders?”
“Yes.”
Some of the figures facing her glanced at each other, but said nothing. To fill the silence, Ansah added “And there will never be any more than nine. They’re expensive, but the Commonwealth could easily afford to build fifty.”
“Then why only nine?”
“Would any rational system deliberately inject a disease into itself? Nine is all the Commonwealth could possibly take. They were conceived in back alleys, built in secret, launched almost in guilt, and commissioned without ceremonies. They’re even named after ancient killers and loners and assassins: Sirhan, James Earl Ray, Charles Manson . They’re like some shameful medical condition. And yet they’re the only Commonwealth ships which might defeat Her.”
“And the only time,” Ninth Voice said quietly, “the only time an Outsider has ever faced Her was here, in our system. And you turned away.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you told us how you remember that engagement? Not statements or recordings, but how you remember it.”
“I remember when I first saw Her. It’s true what they say, it’s not like seeing pictures of Her. When She unshrouds, there’s something about Her actual
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