Hellhole: Awakening by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson

already surpassed the level of production under the de Carres. The process lines are no longer so sloppy,” she said. “And the persistent accidents have ceased.”
    Now that we’ve ceased causing them, he thought. Frequent tragedies and sabotage had cast a pall of mismanagement on the de Carre family; the young lordling Cristoph de Carre had been shamed by the continual mishaps, while his father brought disgrace to the household through his ill-advised affair with Keana Duchenet. Incompetent, oblivious fools! Even without Riomini intervention, the whole operation would have collapsed sooner or later. Much better the way Riomini had accomplished the transition. Much quicker …
    He skimmed the production figures Carrington presented. As usual, everything appeared to be in order. “That is excellent news, because iperion supplies have become even more vital to our military plan. Once our fleet crushes General Adolphus and seizes his new DZ network, we’ll need to maintain those stringlines as well. Demand for iperion will double.”
    Gail looked at him for a long moment, letting her silence hang in the air; he knew she had something important to say, but she seemed disappointed that he didn’t follow her train of thought. “The question arises, my Lord—when Adolphus created such a vast new network, how did he lay down the stringlines in the first place?”
    He thought for a moment. “I presume he used his own trailblazer ships. Such craft would be easy to obtain.”
    “Not the trailblazers, sir, but the iperion. Where did Adolphus get the iperion in the first place? It certainly didn’t come from here—the amount required would surpass the full output of our mines. The obvious answer is that he has some other source.”
    Riomini’s eyes widened. “Somewhere out in the Deep Zone?”
    Carrington’s voice was maddeningly calm. “Fifty-four planets, all of them minimally explored. A major new iperion discovery might have given him the impetus to break away from the Crown Jewels.”
    Riomini’s thoughts spun. It did indeed make sense. He had to inform the Diadem of this immediately … or not. A new supply would change the economics of the Constellation—and deflate the value of Vielinger and its current monopoly. He had to be very cautious.
    “Who is administering the mines here?” he asked.
    “Lanny Oberon runs the day-to-day operations, sir. He was a line supervisor under the de Carre administration. A competent, honest man.”
    “Do you have confidence in him?”
    She considered the question. “Yes. He is the best-qualified person for the job, and he appears dedicated to the work.”
    He nodded. “I’m glad you have a competent supervisor, because I have another job for you, something even more important.”
    She lifted her eyebrows. “More important than iperion?”
    “As you said, everything is connected—General Adolphus, the Deep Zone uprising, the new stringline network. Now I have to consider the possibility of a new iperion source out in the frontier. I need my own person there to investigate, and to represent Riomini interests.” He nodded again, as if reaffirming his decision to himself. “You will accompany the fleet to planet Hallholme. Prepare yourself—the ships are due to depart from Aeroc within days.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “Red Commodore Escobar Hallholme is in charge of the operation. He is a member of your family—is he not sufficient?”
    “No, he is not sufficient! Escobar is only a family member because he married one of my grandnieces, but he has his own personal ambitions.” Riomini shook his head. Gail was loyal to him, and not at all interested in her own glory or advancement—which made her perfect for what he had in mind. “You will represent me, be my eyes aboard the fleet, with my full authority.”
    He leaned toward her, placing his elbows on the desk. “On paper, Redcom Hallholme will remain in charge of the operation. I won’t take that away from him, and