—Sooner or later leaving one party with their lands and rights gone, and the other richer by the others’ loss but diminished in honor. He knew his own moral and ethical pockets had already been lightened by the six months he had spent here. Was this the day, the hour, the moment when he finally declared bankruptcy, even if for the best of reasons?
Or was this the place he made his stand?
“Stop Frank,” he said in a low, toneless voice. Jubal whirled back toward the workstation’s boards and began trying to assume control of the shuttle.
“I’m sorry, Serena,” he said, finally opening his eyes to look at the woman he had just condemned.
She managed a smile. “Don’t be. I’m proud of you. You did the right thing.”
A humorless laugh escaped him. “Did I?”
“I’m having some problems here,” Jubal put in, his voice tense. “I’m trying to override Frank, he’s trying to override me. So far we’re deadlocked. The shuttle is just hovering, waiting for clear instructions.”
“Have you tried contacting him? If she says stay away, he has to follow her orders, doesn’t he?”
Jubal shook his head, touching his earphone. “I’ve told him that, but he’s not responding.”
“That son of a bitch,” Joe growled, suddenly furious. “He never should have allowed her to take that flitter, I don’t give a shit whose daughter she is.”
“Joe?” Serena called.
“I’m here.” Damn, she’d heard that. “Frank asked me if I wanted to take the flitter up.”
He turned to stare at her image. “What?”
She nodded tiredly. “That’s why he called me. When I got there he said it wouldn’t be needed for an hour or so, and was mine to use if I wanted to see this place from the air—which was really the best way to do it.” A crooked smile appeared. “I would’ve liked you to have come with me, but you were busy and I didn’t want to miss my chance. Now I wish I had.”
That didn’t make any sense. “Frank didn’t tell you that we never use the flitter because the noise it makes hurts the Guys’ ears? Or that the Coverture is restricted?”
She shook her head. “Not a word.”
This was making less and less sense all the time. What was Testa up to anyway? “Jubal, how are you doing?”
“I’m not winning, but I haven’t lost yet either. Frank just keeps shouting threats, demanding that I let him land. Now he’s—damn, he’s gone now.”
Joe was beginning to wonder if rescue was what Testa really had in mind. The whole thing stank. If she was telling the truth—and he had no reason to doubt her and every reason to doubt him—then Frank had arranged for her to be in that flyer and over the Coverture. Tricked her into it. “Jubal, you’ve got to keep him away from her any way you can. Contact the supply ship. Maybe they’re better equipped to override the onboard controls.”
“Gotcha. What should I tell them?”
“Tell them—” He hesitated. “Tell them we re going to have a major interspecies incident on our hands if he lands.”
Bull stepped closer and gently laid a taloned hand on Joe’s shoulder. “I would speak to you about this situation.”
The big alien had been so quiet Joe had almost forgotten he was still there. He covered the mike with his hand. That way if he had to tell Bull or Jubal what he suspected, she wouldn’t hear him. She had enough problems as it was. “Sure, Bull. We’re trying to do what you want.”
“This I can plainly see, Mister Joe. You are doing everything in your power to avoid abrogating our treaty. For this I commend you.” He gestured toward the screen. “I also see how badly you wish to remove Miss Serena from her present unhappy circumstances. We hold our treaty with you in high regard, and yet our relationship with you is no less valuable. The treaty is but a thing, while she is an extremely interesting person in a dire situation.”
He shook his head slowly. “We have communed on this conundrum. Our rights are of cardinal importance to us, but we would not have you think us uncaring monsters. We have agreed that if it is indeed necessary for Mister Frank to land so that Miss Serena may be saved, then you have our leave to do so.”
Joe couldn’t help himself and started to laugh. It wasn’t happy laughter, and it made Jubal turn and give him an uneasy look. The redskin finally cracked under the pressure.
Bull cocked his head and scratched his braincase. “I do not understand your amusement, Mister Joe. Is this relief?”
Although his race did possess a sense of humor, Joe didn’t think it extended to irony. “Thank you, Bull, and forgive me. I laugh because I nearly tore myself in half choosing to stick to the treaty, and I now suspect I made the right choice for a whole other set of reasons. You see, I think that maybe Frank—”
Jubal broke in. “Joe, I have Captain Tsao from the supply ship. She isn’t happy, and wants to talk to whoever is in charge.” He gave an apologetic shrug. “I think that’s you.”
“Put her through.” He glanced at Bull. “Let me deal with this and I’ll finish explaining.” The Guy nodded soberly and stepped back. Joe uncovered the mike and prepared to deal with this new crisis. That meant Serena would hear everything after all, but he didn’t want to leave her without the comfort of hearing a human voice any longer.
An Oriental woman of late middle age appeared on the largest of the workstation’s screens. Her iron-gray hair was pulled severely back and gold tabs gleamed on the high collar of her jacket. Her face was stern and forbidding.
“Who is in charge here?” she asked in a flat, no-nonsense tone when she saw that she’d been put through. Jubal eased back out of the way, leaving Joe pinned by her cold gaze.
“I guess I am, Ma’am,” he answered after taking a quick check on Serena. Her head was back and her eyes were closed. Only the clenched look of pain and fatigue on her face told him she was still conscious. “Joe Swamp. BAA Station Chief.”
“Mister Swamp, 1 was just contacted by Site Director Testa. He informed me that you are preventing him from landing our shuttle and rescuing Ms. Caltefores.” She made it sound like an indictment.
“We are trying to prevent him from landing, Captain. I have reason to believe that he means Serena—I mean Ms. Caltefores—harm.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That is a serious accusation, Mr. Swamp. You had better be prepared to back it up.”
“Yes ma’am, I know, and I admit I’m not in a position to prove it right this moment. But his actions have been highly suspicious. He offered Serena the use of the flitter in violation of both site policy and the terms of our treaty with the natives. He did not inform her of our rules against using the flyer, or that flying over an area called the Coverture would be a serious violation of our treaty. I find this disturbing, especially in light of her well known scruples against even slight violations. She would have been aware of these terms in advance, except that the information packet she was expecting never arrived—again an ‘accidental oversight’ on Testa’s part. There are other things he did, such as having me conveniently sent on a wild goose chase to give him privacy to make this offer, but that should be enough to make you doubt his intentions.”
The captain’s expression had not changed in the slightest during this recitation. “Incompetence is not malfeasance, Mr. Swamp. These issues you have raised will be investigated, I promise you that. But as I understand it, he is the only person in position to rescue Ms. Caltefores. At this moment her safety is my prime concern.”