I wondered whether Wexler might not have been right.
When I got back to Samuels, there was no trace of Alex. I left a message saying hello, sorry to have missed you, catch you next time. They gave me almost three hours to relax, then I was back at the boarding area to pick up my next set of passengers. They were kids this time. All four years of age or under, plus two mothers. They screamed and cried their farewells, and we finally got them all on board. I took a deep breath, and we launched. The kids cried round the clock. The mothers did what they could, and showed, I thought, endless patience. I tried to help to the extent I could. But none of us knew how to calm the ongoing hysteria. By the third day, they both had bloodshot eyes. "Got to be a better way to do this," I told them. I decided a couple of cats might help, and I made a mental note to put in a request. The older of the two mothers, an attractive blonde, commented that they only had to put up with it for two weeks. And the other one immediately dissolved into tears. After I delivered them, I sent a message to the people running the evacuation, ordering my cats, and informing them that, even though I understood the reasoning behind trying to save the kids first, separating children from their mothers was cruel. I knew that if they responded at all, which was unlikely, they'd ask me for an alternative. And of course I wouldn't have one. It didn't matter. They never asked.
I made the jump back into Salud Afar space and was beginning to wonder whether I could really continue like this for three years. I knew they were trying to train more pilots to give us a break in the routine, but it would take a while. I was about two days out, sitting feeling sorry for myself when Belle came to life: "Chase." "Yes, ma'am. What've you got?"
"I'm not sure. Intruder alert, maybe."
"Intruder alert?"
"I'm scanning a lot of ships. Warships."
"Where?"
"Most are near Salud Afar."
"What kind of ships?" "All kinds. Cruisers, escorts, destroyers- thousands of them." "Hell, that's good news. Belle, the Confederacy has come to the rescue, after all." "Chase, they're not Confederates. They're Mutes."
FORTY-TWO
Whatever happens from this moment on, Holly, remember that I was here when you needed me.
- Nightwalk
"Belle, are they reacting to us?"
"They know we're here."
"Okay, give me manual."
"You have it."
They were all around us. None that I could see without the scopes. But the kinds of weapons these
things carried made that dim consolation. "Let me know if we light up, Belle."
"Of course."
"Okay, give me a channel to the station."
"You're open." "Samuels, this is the Belle-Marie . Approaching from Sanctum. What is status, please?" "You'll have to get in line, Belle-Marie . We see you. Hold steady on present course. I'll give you instructions in a few minutes."
"Ops, I'm out here surrounded by Mutes."
"That's affirmative. Don't worry about it."
"Why not?"
"They're here to help."
"How do you know?"
"They said so."
"You believe them?" "What's the alternative?" He signed off. Moments later he was back. "You're Chase Kolpath, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay. We're going to move you to the front of the line, Kolpath. You're being taken off assignment. We'll have a replacement waiting. When you dock, please report to the ops center."
"Samuels, can you tell me why?"
"Don't know why, ma'am. Just come on in."
The head of the line doesn't mean a whole lot when you're two days out. But I proceeded accordingly. On the way in, I picked up reports that the evacuation was going to go a lot more quickly, and that work was moving ahead on a second, larger, space station. Meanwhile, more shuttles were coming online. Spaceports were being designated around the globe, where landers could descend to pick up passengers. Ships coming in from the Assemblage had already arrived at Sanctum, carrying supplies and engineers. I got in as quickly as I could, burning extra fuel on the way, and reported to the chief of the watch. He said he was proud to meet me, told me a private shuttle was waiting, and handed me two sealed envelopes. One contained the following: Celebration tonight (the 20th) at the Sariyavo Hotel. Your attendance mandatory. Congratulations. Tao Kilgore.