In the first thirty seconds of the would-be battle, the life support systems of 74 of the Anointed One's ships lost all power; 18 more were destroyed when their ordinance, unlike Lomax's, actually did activate and explode.

A meteor wiped out 27 more ships. A comet, crazily careening off its eternal course, accounted for another 19. One ship's weapons computer malfunctioned and destroyed 37 of its allies before it in turn was demolished.

“What is happening here!” demanded the Anointed One, his face contorted with rage and terror. “No one has fired upon us, and yet we are being decimated.” He glowered at the planet Mozart, spinning, blue and green and serene, in his viewscreen. “She is just one woman! What is happening?”

And a million miles beneath him, Penelope Bailey, staring blindly at the sky, smiled and whispered, “Not yet, my foolish one. Not yet. First you must see the folly of attacking me. When all of your men have been killed, when all your ships float dead in the void, then I shall tend to you.”