“To what extent, nadi?”
“To the extent that they’re running this operation like a committee. I think Ogun joined Ramirez and the two moved too fast for the other captains’ liking. What weighs on my thoughts most is that if I’ve made a grievous error and offended them by dealing with Ramirez and Ogun, then it’s my doing for pressing it too fast, and I have to take the entire responsibility for it.”
“Would they agree with Kroger in some secret matter?”
“I can’t conceive of what it would be since, in plain fact, Kroger can’t give them what they want, and if Kroger claims she can pull something out of nothing, that doesn’t bode well for their understanding. I think they know damned well she has nothing substantive to offer. As for confidences I’ve shared with her, I don’t worry about her telling the ship-humans all we’ve said. That can’t affect what the captains think.”
“Would it not affect Mospheira?” Jago asked.
“Oh, very much so. It’s more to Mospheira’s advantage to keep the details hidden from their own more radical elements—to which I still think Kroger may have some ties in the first place, but if there’s one way to create political furor on Mospheira, it’s to suggest mass emigration and coerced labor. It’s just not going to happen.”
“The captains can’t insist.”
“No.” A thought occurred to him as it had occurred earlier in the day. “If she’s gotten anxious, if she’s simply asked Ramirez for a delay or posed some kind of problem, there’ll be annoyances and expressions of annoyance, and I’ll be damned mad; but that’s nothing to the difficulties we’ve sorted out on the planet over the last two hundred years. We’ll sort this out. We will get our agreement and take it home with us.”
“One worries,” Jago said.
“The signs that worry me are that my calls to Jase aren’t going through; my calls to Yolanda, none successful; I haven’t even been able to get through to Kroger at will. The young gentleman in charge of communications doesn’t have authorization to connect us, but more to the point, hasn’t gotten it, and that means he hasn’t gotten it or hasn’t asked for it.”
“Blockage at a low level?” Banichi asked ominously.
“I certainly hope not. This may be the action of subordinates instructed to cover for Ramirez. It may be the action of subordinates set as obstacles by someone opposing Ramirez.
I’m not going to take any action. I am going to advise them how provocative this is.“ Not least of all, meeting times among atevi held numeric keys to fortunate or unfortunate numbers.
“They should not do the like with the paidhi-aiji,” Jago said.
“We’ve had persistent difficulties. Three years of difficulties on this point,” he said in some exasperation. Ramirez had persistently failed download appointments when they had dealt with him via Mogari-nai. He’d excused the behavior and allowed Ramirez to get away with it; he’d told Tabini it wasn’t unknown among humans. He’d wanted to get the agreements that were otherwise in jeopardy. Now Ramirez was doing it again, in an environment where safety might be at risk; that would not do.
He went back to the console after he and his security went to their separate quarters, and sent a message to Ramirez, who—not surprisingly—proved unavailable.
“That’s fine” he said to Cl. “Record a message. Captain Ramirez, contact me at earliest, at whatever hour. Thank you, Cl.”
There was no call in the night. There was no call at all.
Before dressing in the morning, Bren punched in Cl. “Get me Ramirez.”
“Sir, I can’t do that.”
“I want Ramirez, Cl, and I want him now. I’ve waited all night. I’m not in a good mood.”
“Just a minute, sir.” A several moment delay: Bren sat down and turned on his computer, set up files, shivering in the cold air, before tea, before breakfast.
“Mr. Cameron? What may I do for you, sir?”
Different voice. Female.
He rose. Faced the wall unit. “Where’s Cl ?”
“This is Sabin. What’s the problem, Mr. Cameron?”
“Captain.” He adopted a quiet, reasonable tone. “Thank you. You and I haven’t had a chance to talk. Have you a moment today?”
“Not this watch, Mr. Cameron.”
“Captain Sabin, most reasonably, and I’ve stated this during three years of negotiations: if agreements with atevi are not completed at the fortunate hourand on time, all agreements are subject to change, in however small detail. Moving appointments can’t be the condition of discussions with the aiji.”
“This is our deck, Mr. Cameron. You do things our way.”
“No, Captain, quite respectfully. If you want this deck repaired and in running order, atevi ways matter. If today is inconvenient, can we set a firm time? Afternoon, 1300 hours, day after this?”
“I’ll see you at 1400.”
“Delighted. Meanwhile, another matter. Could you arrange for me to phone Jase Graham?”
“Mr. Graham is a member of this crew, under our authority. He has no duties to you or to your offices. Two days; your schedule. You have your meeting, with me. Are we agreed, now?”
“Two days, and I will continually hold out for Jase Graham, Captain.”
“Then you’ll wait in hell.”
“I doubt your ability to create hell and obtain what you want from Tabini-aiji. Wewill likely survive your alien invasion.”
“Don’t rely on it.”
“There’s no need to argue, Captain. Let’s save it for the meeting.”
He heard a lengthy silence on the communications system. Then a restrained: “ Two days, and persistently no, to your request for Graham. He’s not your citizen.”
“We will have it on the table, Captain. Thank you.” He punched out on Sabin at that point, likely not what Sabin was accustomed to having happen, but he wasn’t going to allow agreement to dissipate in further discussion.
He wasn’t at all satisfied with the situation he’d set up.
He dressed, still in a glum mood, only involving Bindanda’s help toward the end of the process. Breakfast waited.
But having settled his nerves from the adrenaline rush of one negotiation, he decided to observe routine and get his messages, never sure at what time ship command would lose patience and close off his access simply to demonstrate they couldclose it off.
He punched in Cl, dealt pleasantly with the communications officer, and did a send-receive, picked up his messages, and sent the ones he’d written, all without incident.
From the mainland, head of the list, he found a veritable flood of personal notes from members of the legislature. He skimmed the likelier of them, found them much as expected, locally focused, various lords asking about their various interests, all felicitating him on surviving the perilous flight up in the shuttle, all interested in profit for their districts, their businesses, their concerns.