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“The hell? We are the ship. That’s the plain fact.”
“ Our orders, I remind you, supercede yours, where it regards this station, and the fuel, captain, is on this station. For your convenience, and precisely to expedite this process, we have an inspection team and an escort ready to come up to the ship .”
“ Escort. ”
“ To Guild headquarters, captain, where you can present your request to the Guild. This transfer of perso
“After refueling.”
“ We understand your worry. But we have legitimate worries. We feel you’ve exacerbated the situation with your adventurism out there — adventurism which brought this situation on us. We are not disposed to be patient, captain, and we strongly suggest you hard dock and come in for consultation .”
“Until you can present solid information about our watcher out there, I’ll keep us soft-docked. I may change my mind once we’re sure you’re in control of the station.”
“ I can assure you, captain, we’ve never ceased to be in control of this station. ”
Their advantage was leaking away, utterance by utterance. “Captain,” Bren said, and recklessly if gently interposed his hand between Sabin and the console.
Sabin reached past that intervention and pushed a button on the console. Held it down, preventing transmission to the station, one hoped.
“A sudden bright idea, Mr. Cameron?”
“ You’re senior entity. Demand the Guildmaster board and prove what’s to prove. And don’t let him off again once he’s here.”
“I’d enjoy that, but it doesn’t get that fuel lock released, Mr. Cameron, and I don’t want someone to panic and dump the load. Traditionally, captains have gone to station offices.”
“And if they hold you ?”
“Then we’ll know something, won’t we?” She released the button and spoke to Braddock, at the console. “I use my own escort, sir, under my own command.”
Bren’s heart sank. Ignored. Absolutely ignored.
“I’ll expect a full explanation of the situation from your side,” Sabin said to Braddock. “As for your officers boarding this ship, inspect as you like, under Captain Graham’s supervision, but I’ve no intention of transmitting ship’s log containing base location into your station records in the presence of an unexplained foreign presence, and that’s the law on this deck. Perso
“ We’re well aware of your unsuccessful maneuver to breach the fuel port .” Did one imagine a sudden, desolate chill in relations? “ When we see the documents that confirm your authority to command, we’ll have more to say, Captain Sabin. Our perso
“I’ll expect your escort momentarily, Mr. Braddock. Let’s get this business done. Sabin out.”
C1 cut the co
“Captain Graham.”
“I’ll be honored to go in your place,” Jase said quietly. “In that capacity, I might be more useful.”
“Protocols, second captain, protocols say you aren’t the one to go, sensible as it might otherwise be. Main security will go with me. With weapons.”
“Yes, captain,” Jase said quietly and Bren stepped to the background with a glance at Banichi and Jago.
“Inform the dowager and fifth deck, nadiin-ji. The fuel port is locked with an explosive device and a sign in human language. The station demands Sabin-aiji come report in person to establish her legitimacy before the Guild chairman will release the fuel. We believe this is subterfuge. Captain Sabin is arming her primary guard to go outside the ship, but she has admitted Guild officers inside our security, expecting Jase to finesse this.”
“Shall we assist?” Banichi asked, surely with a certain anticipation he hated to hold back.
“Not yet, Nichi-ji. Not yet.” The troubling truth was that Phoenix had relatively few security perso
Ilisidi had moved forward, into the aisle, with Cajeiri, with Cenedi, and her gold stare fairly sizzled.
“We have understood. This is dangerous insolence in the absence of power, in this wrecked station. Say so to Sabin-aiji. Say that we shall lend force to her actions.”
He foresaw refusal. But he went closer to Sabin and rendered that: “The dowager calls the station dangerously insolent, says people sitting in a wrecked station have no real authority; she offers atevi assistance.”
“Unfortunately,” Sabin said between her teeth, “and the governing fact, we have no real fuel .”
“If you board, ma’am, they have you and the fuel,” Jase pointed out. “And without you, this ship has no way home.”
“On the contrary, Mr. Akers seems quite undamaged and serviceable.” That was the senior pilot. “Failing Mr. Akers, Ms. Carem and Mr. Keplinger. And they surely have your ca
“With extreme difficulty, captain. With that ship lurking out there, that—”
“We can’t do anything about that ship, now, can we, Mr. Cameron, without that fuel, except run to a point where we’ll be definitively out of fuel and stuck, probably a place, as you so eloquently maintain, that our alien observer can find us with no trouble at all. Meanwhile we don’t know the situation on station, which I mean to find out. And when I do, I intend to enforce common sense with information and observations I don’t intend to pass through station’s communication system. I’ll be in touch. Failing that, Mr. Collins or Mr. Jenrette will be in touch.”
Jase frowned. “I’d ask you not take Mr. Jenrette, ma’am. He’s a resource I could—”
“Mr. Jenrette, I say, who knows the station intimately and who’s a resource for me.”
“His loyalty is suspect,” Bren said sharply.
“By you, sir. Confine your speculations to the aliens. And I don’t expect i
“I understand you,” Jase said faintly. And they all did understand. It was self-destruction she meant. Terrible alternatives. Even Phoenix had a major stake back at the atevi planet—all there was left of humanity in this end of the universe was at risk if things went wrong here.