Children of the Fleet (Fleet School #1)(55)

“By all means pass this recording on up the chain. Make sure to include a complete report on the smuggling operations going on here, probably with your collusion. If you alter the recording by removing that reference, they’ll detect it and it will still trigger an investigation. I could not be happier than to have you pass along this conversation.”

“If only you were as smart as you think you are.”

“If I were smart,” said Dabeet, “I would have figured out a way to deal with this, keeping my mother alive and removing any threat to the school. But I’m not smart enough to do that, so I’m asking for your help.”

“You’re asking me to run around and do stupid, dangerous, time-wasting things, while you and your friends laugh about how you got me to jump through hoops.”

“So you don’t intend to take any extra precautions,” said Dabeet.

“We already have a couple of boats doing defensive patrols. If there’s any threat, I’ll know of it in plenty of time.”

“Just what the Formic Queen probably announced to all her soldiers, just before Mazer Rackham blew her to smithereens.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Second Formic War,” said Dabeet. “It’s called history. You should try it.”

“Your insolence has no boundary, does it,” she observed. “I’ll tell you what steps I’m going to take. I’m going to put you under arrest and keep you in close, supervised confinement. That way you can’t open any doors for them, and we’ll be safe.”

“I’m a child,” said Dabeet. “You can’t—”

“Psychotherapeutic confinement,” said Urska Kaluza. “So I can.”

“If my mother dies because of this arbitrary, ego-motivated action—”

“Dabeet, you don’t seem to understand quite how stupid you are,” she said. “Even if you actually believe the kuso you’ve been telling me, you gave me plenty of reason to make sure you never see anyone again.”

“Empty threats,” said Dabeet.

“I’m not going to let you risk everything I—”

“You know that I have the close interest and attention of people who are in a position to force you to produce me, alive and well, at any time.”

She opened her mouth to answer. Thought better of it.

“So I’ll be returning to my barracks and to my regular schoolwork and training,” said Dabeet. “Nothing will change, unless you take action to resist any attempt to raid the school. If you do nothing, then that’s your call. I’ve given you fair warning, a chance to do your duty—just in case some part of you still cares about that.”

“For a powerless child, you have an obnoxious mouth.”

“I’m offering you a chance to do the right thing.”

“You’re offering me a chance to humiliate myself.”

“What if I’m telling the truth?”

“Oh, I think you believe everything you said. I just don’t think you understand anything about what adults intend to do or even can do. Children’s brains are simply incapable of grasping the adult world. If you tell other children or teachers the absurd story you just told me, I will put you in therapeutic confinement, because that will discredit your story completely. As long as you remain silent about these supposed threats, I’ll leave you alone. Oh, and if you try to open any airlock doors, then all bets are off. Do you understand?”

“Probably not,” said Dabeet, “since I have an incapable mind. But I’ll do my best.”

Dabeet walked to the door of her office.

“I haven’t dismissed you,” she said.

He would have ignored her, but the door didn’t open at his approach. She had to trigger it, so he would have to wait. He turned and faced her.

“You will never have access to the ansible again, Dabeet. I’ve learned my lesson.”

Somehow Dabeet did not laugh, or even let his face show a smile.

“Dismissed,” said Urska Kaluza.

He heard the door open behind him. He turned and left.

*

He had told her everything—including the fact that he suspected her of being involved in the smuggling. At first he thought that he had failed completely, but no, he realized, I said those things and I’m not in custody. I’m not outside the station without a suit in a tragic accident. I was able to talk her to a standstill. That isn’t failure.

I gave her a chance to do the right thing.

She didn’t believe me, but I wouldn’t believe me, either. Surprising facts rarely pass the plausibility test. If it hasn’t happened before, it’s hard to believe it can happen at all. Urska Kaluza didn’t reject my story because she’s stupid or evil. She rejected it because she’s a liar herself, and therefore she assumes other people are lying.

In class, Dabeet was attentive—more so than for the past few weeks. He actually enjoyed class, and not just because he could show off what he learned by reading ahead. He realized that this was what Ender Wiggin had offered him—by telling an adult, it was no longer his responsibility.

Only she hadn’t believed him, so she would do nothing, and that meant it was still his responsibility. Thanks, Andrew Wiggin.

In the battleroom, Dabeet’s team built a few quick structures—familiar ones, nothing new, just to warm up. The one Zhang called “bridges,” a series of arches rising from the four corners of the gate. The one Timeon called “walls,” a series of three-by-three platforms that provided cover and hiding places.