inadequate. He didn’t know her well enough to share her grief. “Was that why she got along with Jorgun? Because of the disease?”
Prudence’s voice was so cold, so far away. “Yes. Complications, from childhood. They were alike in that way. Not … perfect. Not candidates for your League.”
The League preached strength. The League had tried to make terminations of abnormal pregnancies a requirement, not just an option. Kyle had never been a parent, never even thought about being a parent. He didn’t used to have a position on the issue. Now he had another crime to add to the list.
Automatically, he pretended to defend them. “It wasn’t the League that killed her. This wasn’t the work of the League.” Even as he said it, the crashing realization that he might be wrong rattled him. Maybe there weren’t any coincidences. Maybe he was supposed to get here first in the Launceston and absorb the mines, thus clearing the way for the Phoenix . The mines that had been left to make sure no one else found the alien ship before Rassinger. Maybe the only unexpected factor was Prudence Falling’s survival.
He had been prepared to accept that the League was taking advantage of this, but he hadn’t gone so far as to suspect them of arranging the attack.
Breathing heavily, he tried to order his thoughts. If she was an operative, then this was a test. He had to defend the League’s reputation, to maintain his own cover. And if she was innocent, then it was even more important to defend the League. So that she would go away. Far, far away where they couldn’t find her. In a war between aliens and imperial politics, a tramp freighter captain would be crushed like a blade of grass under the feet of mighty gladiators.
“The League…” he started, but she cut him off.
“Spare me your rhetoric. I know my place. Now get off my bridge.”
He went. It was what he had wanted. The best possible result. She would be safe, his cover was intact, everything was going according to plan.
Then why did walking away from her feel like surrender, all over again?
SEVEN
Running
She had thought it would get easier, but four days in the cocoon of node-space only made it worse.
Surprisingly, they had let her go. “They” being the Phoenix, of course. Kassa didn’t have any way of stopping her. Short of guilt, which they had certainly tried. But she had explained that they needed things from off-world to survive the next few months. Things that Fleet would not be bringing. And Fleet wasn’t going to be eager to share the news about what had happened here. They’d want to lock everything down until they knew exactly what was going on—and that could take a very long time.
So she had offered to go out and spread the word, tell every captain she met what Kassa would buy. The tramp freighters would swarm to Kassa, like flies to a corpse. They would overcharge, but they would bring the necessities of life. And the sooner they got started, the cheaper it would be for Kassa.
In any case, there was little more the Ulysses could do for them. The various pockets of refugees had radio contact now and the most isolated groups had been brought into larger settlements. The Phoenix had lent Kassa its launches, so they had functioning aircraft. All she had left to offer was convenience, not survival. The Kassans had believed her, and let her go without resentment.
But Garcia had been livid enough to invade the bridge while they were lifting off.
“Are you insane? We know exactly what Kassa needs. We could charge premium prices. For crying out loud, Pru, I’ve spent days crawling through stinking dockside bars trying to ferret out good cargoes, just to keep us floating. This kind of information could make us rich!”
She took his outrage with a grain of salt, since she happened to know he enjoyed hanging around in those stinking bars. After all, that’s where she’d originally found him.
“We are not going to get rich off of
Prudence’s voice was so cold, so far away. “Yes. Complications, from childhood. They were alike in that way. Not … perfect. Not candidates for your League.”
The League preached strength. The League had tried to make terminations of abnormal pregnancies a requirement, not just an option. Kyle had never been a parent, never even thought about being a parent. He didn’t used to have a position on the issue. Now he had another crime to add to the list.
Automatically, he pretended to defend them. “It wasn’t the League that killed her. This wasn’t the work of the League.” Even as he said it, the crashing realization that he might be wrong rattled him. Maybe there weren’t any coincidences. Maybe he was supposed to get here first in the Launceston and absorb the mines, thus clearing the way for the Phoenix . The mines that had been left to make sure no one else found the alien ship before Rassinger. Maybe the only unexpected factor was Prudence Falling’s survival.
He had been prepared to accept that the League was taking advantage of this, but he hadn’t gone so far as to suspect them of arranging the attack.
Breathing heavily, he tried to order his thoughts. If she was an operative, then this was a test. He had to defend the League’s reputation, to maintain his own cover. And if she was innocent, then it was even more important to defend the League. So that she would go away. Far, far away where they couldn’t find her. In a war between aliens and imperial politics, a tramp freighter captain would be crushed like a blade of grass under the feet of mighty gladiators.
“The League…” he started, but she cut him off.
“Spare me your rhetoric. I know my place. Now get off my bridge.”
He went. It was what he had wanted. The best possible result. She would be safe, his cover was intact, everything was going according to plan.
Then why did walking away from her feel like surrender, all over again?
SEVEN
Running
She had thought it would get easier, but four days in the cocoon of node-space only made it worse.
Surprisingly, they had let her go. “They” being the Phoenix, of course. Kassa didn’t have any way of stopping her. Short of guilt, which they had certainly tried. But she had explained that they needed things from off-world to survive the next few months. Things that Fleet would not be bringing. And Fleet wasn’t going to be eager to share the news about what had happened here. They’d want to lock everything down until they knew exactly what was going on—and that could take a very long time.
So she had offered to go out and spread the word, tell every captain she met what Kassa would buy. The tramp freighters would swarm to Kassa, like flies to a corpse. They would overcharge, but they would bring the necessities of life. And the sooner they got started, the cheaper it would be for Kassa.
In any case, there was little more the Ulysses could do for them. The various pockets of refugees had radio contact now and the most isolated groups had been brought into larger settlements. The Phoenix had lent Kassa its launches, so they had functioning aircraft. All she had left to offer was convenience, not survival. The Kassans had believed her, and let her go without resentment.
But Garcia had been livid enough to invade the bridge while they were lifting off.
“Are you insane? We know exactly what Kassa needs. We could charge premium prices. For crying out loud, Pru, I’ve spent days crawling through stinking dockside bars trying to ferret out good cargoes, just to keep us floating. This kind of information could make us rich!”
She took his outrage with a grain of salt, since she happened to know he enjoyed hanging around in those stinking bars. After all, that’s where she’d originally found him.
“We are not going to get rich off of
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