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displays.
"Yes, Senator," he said. "I am here."
His long fingers steepled with gentle precision, Hiram Drayson leaned
back in his chair and watched as the face on the Senate monitor changed
from that of Tig Peramis to that of Nil Spaar.
Drayson had hoped for--though not expected--a glimpse inside the
Aramadia, but the Yevetha had avoided that bit of carelessness.
Wherever Nil Spaar was transmitting from, the space behind him appeared
as empty and unenlightening as a blank bulkhead.
Given the universal propensity of starship designers to fill every
available space, Drayson suspected the use of a screen, either physical
or electronic.
"Before I begin, I want to share my deep regret over the unfortunate
casualties resulting from our ascent from Eastport," the viceroy
said.
"It was with great sorrow that I learned that our warnings had not been
honored and the thrust radius of the Aramadia had not been cleared. We
had no thought or intention of injuring anyone. We left Eastport to
avoid a con frontation, not to cause one."
"Oh, very good," Drayson said to himself, nodding.
"Well done."
"I regret the casualties," Nil Spaar went on, "but I cannot take
responsibility for them. For more than three days we requested
clearance to leave Coruscant.
Three members of your Senate witnessed two such attempts and can
testify that we received only silence in reply.
"We warned the tower at Eastport and the president that we would raise
ship without clearance if they
left us no other choice. Their only response was to surround our ship
with more soldiers and replace the ground crews with agents of the
Intelligence Service."
Ah!" Drayson thought. Very interesting. Now, is it that you think
they'll believe any accusation against the Service, or do you have an
honest card to play to help sell the lies?
Allowing his fingers to lace together, Drayson rocked slowly in his
chair as he listened for the answer.
"Stars on fire," Engh breathed. "Is it possible that any of this is
true? Could there have been some sort of misunderstanding, and we
didn't hear them asking for clearance?"
"Shut up," Leia said.
Nearly every seat in the Senate chamber was full now. Those not
occupied by their owners had been commandeered by curious
interlopers.
Dozens more staffers lingered in the aisles, along the back wall, and
in the open areas near the entrance doors. The six-meter-tall image of
Nil Spaar on the display boards commanded their attention more
powerfully than anyone at the podium or in the well was accustomed
to.
"It became clear that the government of Leia Or-gana intended to hold
us here against our will," Nil Spaar said. "It became clear to me that
we could not wait any longer. We risked losing not only the right of
free navigation we had been promised, but the capacity to exercise
it.
Aramadia is a consular ship. It is ill equipped to repel an armed
assault.
"I am sure that those of you who think you know Princess Leia Organa
may doubt that she is capable of ordering soldiers to attack
diplomats.
After spending so many hours with her, I thought I knew her, and 1
would have trouble believing it, if there were not other evidence of
her bad faith."
The screen flickered, and Nil Spaar's face was replaced by images of
burned and twisted metal laid out on bronze decking. "What you see now
is the wreck age of a New Republic spy ship which violated the
territorial hegemony of the Duskhan League four days ago. It
self-destructed when spotted by a local patrol vessel, but we were able
to recover enough of it to identify its purpose and origin."
At that moment, the audience in the Senate, in offices all over
Imperial City, and on worlds throughout the New Republic saw Yevethan
hands turn over a large fragment to reveal a recognizable portion of
the New Republic seal--the blue crest, the ring of stars, and the gold
circle.
Drayson leaned forward, staring, then slowly rose to his feet. "Bloody
bilge---that's no prowler. That's a flatfish, or used to be." He
stabbed at his communication computer with a finger. "Verify."
"Verified--Drayson, Hiram."
"Call Kiles L'toth. Scramble."
"Calling Kiles L'toth. Waiting. Verifying. Ready."
"Kiles--this is Drayson. Is that one of your ships being splashed all
over the grids by the Yevethan ambassador?"
The associate director's voice was shaky. "We, uh--yes, we think so.
It could be the Astrolabe. She's four hours overdue for her logout
from D oornikN 1142."
"Four hours. The viceroy said this happened four days ago. How is it
you didn't know you'd lost a bird?"
"Admiral, you know there's not usually much traffic while they're
in-system. Look, what he's saying--it's not true. Astrolabe wasn't on
a spy mission.
This was routine survey work--" "I didn't ask," said Drayson. "But
others will.
Better work on your answers." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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