Better

is fine news, indeed. The masses will not tolerate this kind of brutality and their reaction will give us precisely what we need. I refuse to be discouraged by mere price tags, particularly given the size of the stakes in this fascinating little game."
Sar Gremian favors him with a cool stare. "Then I will give you the pleasure of presenting the bill to Vittori and Nassiona. Your glib assurances may desert you."
Phineas Orlége smiles. "I shall look forward to seeing which of us is right."
I am attempting to decide whether this comment was a threat or challenge when Phil pulls his groundcar to a halt six meters from the group beside my ravaged treads. He climbs out, sees the cluster of uniformed officers, and halts. His nano-tatt flares a deep mustard yellow, while the remainder of his face loses color entirely. The resulting combination is not visually appealing.
"Who are you?" General Meinhard demands.
"That," Sar Gremian says coldly, "is the Bolo's mechanic. You'd have known that, if you'd bothered to read the security reports I sent when we hired him."
Meinhard turns purple and sputters. Sar Gremian ignores him and turns his ill temper onto my technician, speaking with a bite like acid. "What kind of excuse do you have for deserting your duty post in the middle of combat?" He gestures to the empty, burnt-out ruin of my maintenance depot. "Do you have the slightest idea what this equipment was worth? Or the spare parts? You didn't even try to defend it. You just ran like a scared rabbit and let a pack of terrorists blow it up. I should by God take it out of your pathetic little salary. Better still, I should have you court-martialed and shot for treason!"
Phil's jaw muscles bunch in sudden anger. His nano-tatt pulses crimson. He thins his lips and glares at the president's senior advisor, but does not speak. This is perhaps the wisest thing I have ever seen him do.
"Did you hear me, you stupid slopebrow?"
Phil's jaw juts forward, increasing his resemblance to an angry australopithecine. Quite unexpectedly, I sympathize. I have been on the receiving end of Sar Gremian's temper. Phil goes up in my estimation even further when he says, "How's about I set somethin' straight, Mr. High-and-Mighty Advisor? Court-martial