ReDawn (Skyward, #2.2)(17)

“Or maybe we’d lose,” Kimmalyn said quietly.

“Maybe,” Jorgen said.

“If you’re losing now, would that outcome be so different?” I asked.

Before anyone could answer me the door opened, revealing Admiral Cobb in the hallway.

“Is this a social visit?” he asked to the room.

    Jorgen startled. “No, sir. I mean, we brought Alanik some food, and we were talking, but—”

“At ease,” Cobb said, though he was the one who looked uneasy as he checked behind him in the hallway and then closed the door. He limped toward us, leaning on a cane.

“Any word from the assembly?” FM asked.

“Yes,” Cobb said. “They’ve granted permission for Alanik to remain on Detritus as a refugee.”

“I didn’t ask for that permission,” I said.

“I’m aware of that,” Cobb said. He scowled at Boomslug, who had started on a second of my algae strips. I hadn’t tried them yet, and I wondered if the humans would find that rude. I picked one up with my fingers. It was dry and crumbly, like some kind of wafer. Cobb focused on me, and I held the wafer still. “Jeshua has been conferring with NAL Algernon Weight and the rest of the assembly over the radio. Your petition for military aid has been denied—for the moment at least. The assembly is willing to continue debating the issue, and they say they’ll revisit it at a later time.”

“But I need help now,” I said. “My people are going to be given over to the Superiority—”

“So you said,” Cobb said. “They’re right that committing so many resources to your cause right now would weaken our position, especially after losing a flight’s worth of starships.”

FM and Jorgen exchanged guilty looks. I wanted to ask how they managed to lose multiple starships, but I’d lost two so far myself, so I supposed I couldn’t judge.

    I should have asked that my ship be returned to me, I realized. That would have to be my next request. I stuck the end of the algae strip in my mouth, sampling it. It tasted like bittermoss, deep and earthy, with an even sharper aftertaste.

“It’s better dipped in custard,” Kimmalyn said. I didn’t know what custard was, so I would have to take her word for that.

“I think they’re also concerned that sending away starships would spoil their current negotiations,” Cobb said. “NAL Weight has been talking to one of the Superiority ministers, trying to negotiate a peace deal.”

I nearly spat out the algae strip. “They’ve made contact with the Superiority?”

“Using the hypercomm,” Cobb said. “And they want to have all of our resources available to bargain with.”

“They’re going to want your cytonics,” I said.

Jorgen’s eyes widened. “Is that true, sir?”

“I haven’t heard their exact demands,” Cobb said. “They’re trying to keep me out of the meetings, saying that this is a political discussion and not a military one.”

“But sir,” Jorgen said, “if they’re planning to bargain with military resources, doesn’t that concern the DDF?”

Cobb went on as if he hadn’t heard him. “I don’t imagine that the Superiority is going to be fond of us keeping our hyperdrives.”

FM’s hand went protectively to Gill in her sling.

“Our hyperdrives,” Gill said.

“We’re not handing the taynix over to the Superiority,” FM said.

    Doing so would be incredibly foolish, but of course that was what the Superiority would demand. Perhaps the humans were closer to agreeing to help me than I’d thought. They did have resources they wanted to defend.

“I don’t think we should hand over a single hyperdrive to the Superiority,” Cobb said. “But right now my hands are tied.” He eyed me. “Tell me, would it be of any help to your people if we could send a single flight of ships?”

It would be far less help than an entire military fleet. But with one flight, I might be able to assault the ships that were holding my brother and the others from the resistance. I could rescue Rinakin. He was still respected by many, even though he’d lost the election. He might yet be able to sway others to our cause if we could show that we had human allies. “I would take any resources you could give me,” I said, “and make the best use of them that I could. My people want freedom. We’ve held out for it for so long, but my people have lost hope that they can grasp it. If we could begin to gain ground toward that goal, I believe others would join us.”

“What exactly would you do with them?” Cobb asked.

That was a very good question. “To start,” I said, “I would liberate the remaining outpost of my faction’s military. My people are being held on a Superiority ship and the base has been forcibly taken from us. If I could restore it to our control, the other Independence bases might feel empowered to fight back.”

Cobb nodded. “That’s good to know. Unfortunately, my hands are tied.”

    I narrowed my eyes. Why ask if I could use a flight of ships if he had no intention of sending me one?

Cobb stood a bit straighter. “I’ve been specifically forbidden to order any starships to ReDawn to aid Alanik’s people. I can’t command Skyward Flight to go. I can’t command you to give Alanik the aid she needs in exchange for help learning how to use your cytonic abilities. I can’t order you to make an alliance with Alanik’s people, and I can’t order you to bring some of those resources home to help us here as soon as you can.”