42. SONNTAG
The whirlybird appeared through a wall of clouds. Fall stood by Sonntag on the SDM headquarters roof helipad, waiting.
“I don’t suppose Brother Rand’s going to make it,” Sonntag said.
“I suppose not,” Fall agreed.
“You can see the captured boat – what’s it called, again?”
“They call it the Potemkin.”
“Dreadful,” Sonntag said distastefully. “You can see it from anywhere in Allang. Perhaps we should have met at the Church of the Sacred Corpse,” then, almost as an afterthought, “or the Providence.”
One benefit of not meeting on the Providence, of course, was that Fall was not surrounded by his toadies. They all claimed to be converts, but so far Sonntag hadn’t been able to turn a single one. They all remained “loyal” to their savior, the great admiral. One had even re
