Cobra Alliance-Cobra War Book 1 by Timothy Zahn

can—"
    "You're not going, either," Jin said, forcing herself to look into her husband's eyes.
    Haunted eyes. Worried eyes. Loving eyes. "Jin—" he began.
    "No," Jin insisted. "You don't know the Qasamans, Paul. One Cobra sneaking onto their world is bad enough. Two of them will be interpreted as an invasion."
    "So we make sure they don't see anything that jumps them to that conclusion," Paul countered. "I can stay in the background, or be your loyal servant, or whatever you need."
    Jin braced herself. "What I need," she said as gently as she could, "is for you to be willing to stay behind. I have to do this alone. I really do."
    "What is this, mass insanity?" Lorne demanded. "Jody's going to Caelian, you're going to Qasama—"
    " Caelian? " Jin cut him off.
    "Lorne!" Jody bit out, her stunned expression edging rapidly toward fury.
    Lorne winced. "Sorry," he apologized.
    "Never mind sorry," Jin said sternly, her stomach suddenly doing flip-turns inside her. "Jody?"
    "I was going to tell you after dinner, Mom," Jody said, her expression managing to be repentant and stubborn at the same time. "We got the call this afternoon from Governor Uy's office. We're leaving on the Freedom's Fire in—" she grimaced "—in three days."
    "From Capitalia?" Paul asked.
    "Yes," Jody said. "But maybe I can get the time changed."
    "Don't try," Jin said, feeling the heavy weight of irony settling across her shoulders. The same time Jin would be leaving Aventine . . . only they'd be leaving from spaceports a thousand kilometers apart. The universe wasn't even going to let her say a proper dock-side farewell to her daughter. "They'd only want to know why, and we can't afford anyone asking awkward questions."
    "I'm sorry, Mom," Jody said. "I know you didn't want this."
    "No, I didn't," Jin said quietly. "But I doubt your grandfather really wanted me going to Qasama, either. Sometimes we just have to face the unpleasant fact that our children do, in fact, grow up."
    She looked at Corwin, wondering if he would point up the obvious difference in their situations: that Jin's father, at least, had sent her off to Qasama with a group of other Cobras.
    But her uncle remained silent, and after a couple of seconds she turned back to Lorne. "Your cue, Lorne," she invited.
    "My what?" he asked, frowning.
    "A minute ago you were all set to come to Qasama with me," she reminded him. "Time to offer to accompany your sister to Caelian instead."
    "Go for it, kiddo, because I'm sure not going," Merrick spoke up before Lorne could answer. "Capitalia patroller duty may not be as glamorous as hunting spine leopards, but my commandant takes our duty rosters very seriously."
    "Well—okay, sure," Lorne said, fumbling a bit. "Jody—"
    "Sorry, Lorne, but you're not going to Caelian, either," Paul spoke up. "You have a duty to the citizens of the expansion region."
    Jin turned to her husband in disbelief. "Paul—"
    "Luckily," Paul continued, looking over at his daughter, "I just happen to have an opening in my own calendar."
    Jin felt her lower jaw drop open, her planned protest strangling into silence in her throat. "Paul, you are not going to Caelian," she insisted.
    "Why not?" Paul countered calmly. "No, let me put it more strongly: I'm not going to sit home and water the azaleas while my wife and daughter travel to the two most dangerous places in the known galaxy. If I'm not going to Qasama with you, I'm going to Caelian with Jody."
    Jin stared at him, momentarily at an uncharacteristic loss for words.
    And yet, as the emotional fogbank cleared away, she realized he was right. Even at fifty-three, with arthritis and anemia starting to make themselves felt, Paul was still a Cobra. Moreover, he had the maturity and experience and cool headedness that Lorne still lacked. There could be no better protection for Jin's little girl.
    She grimaced. No, not her little girl. Her young lady.
    She looked at her two sons in turn. Lorne seemed midway between annoyed and