about what colonies it can afford to lose when push comes to shove."
"And Roanoke is one of those," I said.
"Yes," Dad said. "Very definitely. But it's more than that, Zoe. There was a possibility that I might have been able to ask the Obin to help us here on Roanoke. Because you were here. But the Colonial Union has told the Obin not to help us at all. They can take you from here, but they can't help you or us defend Roanoke. The Colonial Union doesn't want them to help us."
"Why not?" I asked. "That doesn't make any sense."
"It doesn't make sense if you assume the Colonial Union wants Roanoke to survive," Dad said. "But look at it another way, Zoe. This is the first colony with colonists from the CU rather than Earth. The settlers here are from the ten most powerful and most populous Colonial Union worlds. If Roanoke is destroyed, all ten of those worlds are going to be hit hard by the loss. Roanoke will become a rallying cry for those worlds. And for the whole Colonial Union."
"You're saying we're worth more to the Colonial Union dead than alive," I said.
"We're worth more as a symbol than as a colony," Dad said. "Which is inconvenient for those of us who live here and want to stay alive. But, yes. It's why they won't let the Obin help us. It's why we don't make the cut for resources."
"You know this for sure?" I asked. "Someone told you this when you went back to Phoenix Station?"
"Someone did," Dad said. "A man named General Szilard. He was Jane's former commanding officer. It was unofficial, but it matched up with my own internal math."
"And you trust him?" I asked. "No offense, but the Colonial Union hasn't exactly been on the up-and-up with us lately."
"I have my issues with Szilard," Dad said. "And so does your mom. But yes. I trust him on this. Right now he's the only one in the whole Colonial Union I actually do trust."
"What does this have to with me leaving Roanoke?" I asked.
"General Szilard told me something else when I saw him," Dad said. "Also unofficial, but from good sources. He told me that General Gau, the Conclave leader - "
"I know who he is, Dad," I said. "I've been keeping up with current events."
"Sorry," Dad said. "He said General Gau was being targeted for assassination by someone in his own close circle of advisors, and that the assassination would happen soon, probably in the next few weeks."
"Why'd he tell you this?" I asked.
"So I could use it," Dad said. "Even if the Colonial Union wanted to tell General Gau about the attempt - which it doesn't, since it probably would like to see it succeed - there's no reason to believe that Gau would consider it credible. The CU did just blow up his fleet. But Gau might listen to the information if it came from me, because he's already had dealings with me."
"And you were the one who begged him not to bring his fleet to Roanoke," I said.
"Right," Dad said. "It's because of that we've been attacked as little as we have. General Gau said to me that neither he nor the Conclave would retaliate against Roanoke itself for what happened to the fleet."
"We were still attacked," I said.
"But not by the Conclave itself," Dad said. "By someone else, testing our defenses. But if Gau is assassinated, that guarantee dies with him. And then it's open season on Roanoke, and we'll get hit, fast, because we're where the Conclave had its biggest defeat. We're a symbol for the Conclave, too. So we have to let General Gau know he's in danger. For our own sake."
"If you tell him this, you'll be giving information to an enemy of the Colonial Union," I said. "You'll be a traitor."
Dad gave me a wry grin. "Trust me, Zoe," he said. "I'm already neck-deep in trouble." His smile disappeared. "And yes, General Gau is an enemy of the Colonial Union. But I think he might be a friend to Roanoke. Right now, Roanoke needs all the friends it can get, wherever it can get them. The ones we used to have are turning their backs on us. We're going out to this new one, hat in hand."
"And by we you mean me," I said.
"Yes," Dad said. "I need you to deliver this message for me."
"You don't need me to do it," I said. "You could do