“And if we need to track you?”
“That didn’t seem to bother him last time he was without a comms,” Vilhjalmsson said.
“You’re fishing, Vilhjalmsson. Ean, can you make this secure, please? As secure as it can be.”
“With him here? He works for Gate Union.” They didn’t normally show people what Ean could do.
“Point taken. Let’s do this outside. Bhaksir, van Heel, you’ve got the prisoners.”
“I still fail to see why I’m a prisoner. After all, I was trying to rescue you.”
Radko stopped at the door. “Last time I rescued you. You repaid me by stealing something from me.”
Ean followed her out.
“I missed you, Radko.”
“I missed you, too, Ean.” He heard the truth of it through the lines.
He smiled at her and kept on smiling as he sang the comms line secure. “How private do you want this call?”
“Very private,” and her face turned grimmer than he’d ever seen it before.
“I’d better tune the others out, then.” He sang the other ships out of the loop, even the Lancastrian Princess, which was her home ship, and she should have been reporting to Vega.
“Do you want me to go back in there?”
Radko shook her head. “Sir,” into the comms as Abram answered. “A private word with you, if I may.” She stressed the “private.”
“Give me a moment.”
How much did Abram already know? He must know about the attempt to steal the ship. All the admirals would by now. If they didn’t, they’d hear it on the news vids soon enough, for Ean could hear the linesman from Galactic News.
“I’m telling you, Coop. That wasn’t an exercise, no matter what they put it out as. You go after the full story.”
“The success of your last call has gone to your head, Christian.”
“Have I been wrong before? No. Go after the story, Coop.”
“Line secure,” Abram said, and Ean dragged his attention away from the Galactic News ship.
“Thank you, sir.” Radko paused a moment. “I arrested Commodore Bach for treason, sir.”
Abram was off ship, so Ean couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “Where is he?”
“On the Confluence at the moment, sir. I plan to transport him to Confluence Station.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
The first of Orsaya’s shuttles arrived as Radko and Ean went back inside.
Sale put Bhaksir in charge of the prisoners and Craik in charge of the trainees. “Load the injured first—prisoners and linesmen. Then the rest of the prisoners, and finally the rest of the linesmen.”
They ran out of stretchers before they finished loading the prisoners. Luckily, it wasn’t too far to Confluence Station, and the next two shuttles were well supplied.
“That’s it,” Sale said, as the last trainee was loaded. “Let’s go.”
They took Bach and Vilhjalmsson on their own shuttle.
As they waited for the air to cycle at Confluence Station, Bach said, “I want His Imperial Majesty present when we talk to Galenos.”
“No,” Ean said.
“He has the right, Ean,” Sale said.
“I don’t care. Yu is not getting anywhere near Abram.”
“Why not?” Radko asked.
“Because Yu wants to kill Abram. To get his seat on the council.”
Bach’s mouth turned down in a twisted smile, leaving Ean with the uneasy feeling he was missing something. Off to one side, Vilhjalmsson’s eyes widened. It was the only change in his expression.
Maybe one day Ean could keep his face as expressionless. And remember not to blab personal Lancian information to their enemies. Vilhjalmsson didn’t need to know about Yu and Abram.
“Fair point,” Sale said, and turned back to the other prisoners.
“When Galenos arrives,” Bach said. “I will make the same request of him. He will be obliged to grant it.”
Sale looked at Radko. Radko took out her comms.
Ean hastily sang it secure for her. This time, they couldn’t go outside to hide what he was doing.
“Sir, Commodore Bach requests the presence of His Imperial Majesty when we question him.”
Abram blew out his breath. “Transfer Bach to the Lancastrian Princess instead.”
“Ean says the Emperor is trying to kill you.”
“Probably.” Abram didn’t look surprised.
He’d known about it.
“We can’t let you go, sir.”
“You have arrested the Emperor’s right-hand man, Radko. I can’t let you face that alone.”
“I’ll release him, then.”
“Thank you, Radko, but His Majesty will catch up with me eventually. Let’s not sacrifice your work. I will meet you on the Lancastrian Princess.” Abram clicked off.
Ean became aware he’d taken Radko’s hand in his own. She gripped tight.
He stayed close to Radko as they exited the shuttle. He wouldn’t have changed what he’d done, but it had brought Abram into the very danger Michelle had worked so hard to avoid. Yu would arrest Abram. He had an excuse now because Ean had taken the ship without permission, and Sale’s team, who should have demanded he come home immediately—with a weapon to his head if necessary—had stayed to help. Abram, as head of Alien Affairs, was responsible for the alien ships. He was responsible for what happened on them. Was forcing the linesmen onto the Confluence part of a plan to discredit Abram?
Ean called Michelle. She’d tried so hard to prevent this meeting. She didn’t answer. She was already talking on her comms to Abram.
The call was nearly over. “I’m sorry, Misha. I have to do this.”
“I know.”
Ean couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
“Take care. See you soon.”
He shouldn’t be listening in, but Michelle was clearly hiding her thoughts. From him? Or from Abram?
Ean and Orsaya watched Captain Auburn march the last of the paramedics down to the cells and tried not to think of the meeting ahead.
He wiped his palms down the side of his trousers. Maybe he should sneak in a blaster. He didn’t know how to fire one, but how hard could it be? Point and grip.
“Katida is bringing in her own warship to transport the prisoners to Haladea III,” Orsaya said. “Given they were attempting to steal an eleven ship, we deem it’s better to get them onto a world as fast as we can.”
“Especially since they were trying to steal the whole fleet.” It was hard to concentrate on mundanities. “They knew they could take one ship, and all of them would go.”
Radko looked shattered, and Ean didn’t know what to do about it. Short of begging Yu not to arrest Abram.
They watched four members of Bhaksir’s team march a handcuffed Commodore Bach onto the shuttle.
“But then, it’s easy to see how they knew so much,” Orsaya’s voice was harsh.
Ean didn’t answer.
Sale was giving last-minute instructions. “Bhaksir, full report to Orsaya about what happened with the trainees.”
Bhaksir nodded.
“Craik, you’re responsible for the injured. And for getting the trainees back to the Gruen.”
Not the Lancastrian trainees; they were prisoners.
“Tell Gruen to keep them under lockdown, and if a word of this emerges before the Department of Alien Affairs says it can, whoever leaks it is out of the program.”
Craik nodded.
“The three spacers who came with me,” Radko said. “Can someone look after them?”
“Hana, Ru Li,” Bhaksir said. “You’re responsible for looking after Radko’s team. Look after them well, or you’ll have Radko to answer to later.”