than
"I said you're safe. No one is searching for you. Not me, not Captain Leary, and not even the three women to whom you apparently promised marriage in the days leading up to the discovery of the Three Circles Conspiracy!"
That was probably more than a former RCN warrant officer, now on the beach, should have known about a man she'd never met. Still, she'd said it and had no real regrets. She'd read the files on the Aristoxenos' officers, not because she'd expected to meet them but because she was Adele Mundy and she liked to know things. Politics aside, Lieutenant Estaing was a pig.
Nobody spoke for a moment; Estaing flushed and turned away.
"Adele," said Adrian. "Please—I think you're misunderstanding. We aren't afraid of the Senate hunting us down. We thought, you see, just possibly . . . that Cinnabar was offering to let us return."
Oh good God, Adele thought, not for the first time in this interview. She had to struggle to restrain a laugh, instinctive protection against the horror of the situation that she'd just uncovered.
"Adrian," she said aloud, speaking as carefully as she'd have chosen her footing across a muddy field. "I can't speak to that, and I assure you Captain Leary has no knowledge of the subject either. He's estranged from his father, and he was never interested in politics anyway."
"But they allowed you back?" Adrian said. "And we thought . . . ?"
"The Edict of Reconciliation was issued over a decade ago," Adele said, speaking sharply so that her words wouldn't be mistaken for agreement. "I had occasion to read it carefully, as you might imagine. The Edict specifically excepts certain categories of people, in particular mutinous members of the RCN and the Land Forces of the Republic who failed to accept the terms of the amnesty within six months of the offer."
"I told you!" said Tetrey, the Sixth Lieutenant; a petite woman in old pictures, a mass of pasty flesh in present reality. "I told you there was no way they'd take us back, but you had to go ahead with this charade!"
"Well, what was the choice, you stupid cow?" Estaing shouted. He raised his hand; Adele, blank-faced, reached into her pocket.
"Mr. Estaing, sit down and be
That was probably more than a former RCN warrant officer, now on the beach, should have known about a man she'd never met. Still, she'd said it and had no real regrets. She'd read the files on the Aristoxenos' officers, not because she'd expected to meet them but because she was Adele Mundy and she liked to know things. Politics aside, Lieutenant Estaing was a pig.
Nobody spoke for a moment; Estaing flushed and turned away.
"Adele," said Adrian. "Please—I think you're misunderstanding. We aren't afraid of the Senate hunting us down. We thought, you see, just possibly . . . that Cinnabar was offering to let us return."
Oh good God, Adele thought, not for the first time in this interview. She had to struggle to restrain a laugh, instinctive protection against the horror of the situation that she'd just uncovered.
"Adrian," she said aloud, speaking as carefully as she'd have chosen her footing across a muddy field. "I can't speak to that, and I assure you Captain Leary has no knowledge of the subject either. He's estranged from his father, and he was never interested in politics anyway."
"But they allowed you back?" Adrian said. "And we thought . . . ?"
"The Edict of Reconciliation was issued over a decade ago," Adele said, speaking sharply so that her words wouldn't be mistaken for agreement. "I had occasion to read it carefully, as you might imagine. The Edict specifically excepts certain categories of people, in particular mutinous members of the RCN and the Land Forces of the Republic who failed to accept the terms of the amnesty within six months of the offer."
"I told you!" said Tetrey, the Sixth Lieutenant; a petite woman in old pictures, a mass of pasty flesh in present reality. "I told you there was no way they'd take us back, but you had to go ahead with this charade!"
"Well, what was the choice, you stupid cow?" Estaing shouted. He raised his hand; Adele, blank-faced, reached into her pocket.
"Mr. Estaing, sit down and be