“You know, you can give me the rank and you can call this a corps but it’s more like a full division again,” Mike said. “Putting a lieutenant general in charge of this, not to mention major generals in these ‘divisions,’ is just paying extra salaries. And what’s General Michie going to do?”

“He’s less than thrilled by the new TOE,” Tam said. “And uninterested in roaming around the Blight digging out Posleen. So he’ll retire shortly after you assume command. He likes his current job. I felt like a heel when I told him it was going away.”

“So… why is it going away?” Mike asked. “There’s work to be done out there. We need more bodies, not fewer.”

“You and I both know that’s not true,” Tam said. “So don’t try to play that line. I’d have kept the numbers up, anyway. I’ve been keeping them up as much as I can manage. But reality and politics, especially some really goofy stuff, is making it impossible. Some of this you’re going to get in your briefings. Some of it’s too closely held for those. You ready? Or are you ‘fatigued by your travels’?”

“Go,” Mike said, pulling out a can of dip and holding it up. “If you don’t mind, General, sir?”

“I’ve known you for fifty years,” Tam said, sighing. “If you don’t dip, bad things happen. Okay, Item One, which will be covered in some of the briefings. Getting the funding for more suits out of the Darhel has become flat impossible. But not just because they’re cheap, which is what the briefings will cover. There’s other stuff.”

“And the other stuff is… ?”

“Remember when General Stewart was killed in the shuttle accident?” Tam asked.

“Seven years or so ago,” Mike said. “Time differentials are killer, but about that…”

“Well, let’s back up a little from there,” Tam said, his jaw working. “The question is always what to leave in and what to leave out.”