Jeffrey Carver - Eternity's End

Morgan and Maris were dumbstruck. Harriet, who had heard the gist of the story before, was the first to stir. “It’s an amazing story. Simply amazing. And I think now you need to tell it again—this time to the ladies and gentlemen of the press.”

Legroeder groaned.

Harriet was not to be put off, however. As she took his arm and propelled him toward a conference room where he could hear the sounds of a crowd, she said, “You might hate this, but if you want to clear the air about everything that’s happened, and you want the Spacing Authority and RiggerGuild off your back, you’ve got to get it all out in public.”

“What do you want me to do?” he mumbled.

She put a hand on his shoulder. “Just tell it the way you did to us. You’ll knock ’em dead.”

The press conference was every bit as chaotic as he’d expected; but through the chaos, he managed somehow to give a coherent summary of his adventure, and convey it as a triumph not only for himself, but for Impris and Faber Eridani as well. His lawyer deftly deflected all but a very few questions, and got him out of the room as quickly as she’d gotten him in. They left the reporters with ample fodder for many days of sensational stories, and the promise of more details to come.

“Superbly done,” Harriet said, as they rejoined his friends in the guest suite he’d been assigned on the station. “You’ve got a big day tomorrow. So I think we’d better all clear out of here and let you get some sleep.”

Legroeder didn’t argue. After everyone left, he threw himself down onto the bed. For a time he felt as if he wouldn’t sleep a wink, but instead would spend the entire night with one thought racing against the next, and most of all remembering the shock in the eyes of his friends as he’d revealed the name of YZ/I.

When he rolled out of bed in the morning, he realized he had, in fact, slept like the dead. Even after rejoining his friends for breakfast, he was still groggy. He drank his coffee in near-silence, trying to reconstitute himself before the start of the formal hearings.

The Special Envoy to the Secretary General, one Martha Clark, had arrived during the night, as had a number of Narseil diplomats. They were all eager not just to hear the details of the mission but to put a shape on it in anticipation of drawing conclusions. The arrival of Impris was not a problem for them; the arrival of the Kyber was another matter. Legroeder was joined by Captain Friedman and by his Narseil shipmates, and he was grateful for the company and the support.

It was astounding how long it could take to tell even the most basic points of a story when one was interrupted and questioned at every turn, and when there were no fewer than three human and four Narseil viewpoints to be told.

The first day of hearings stretched into three, and by then Legroeder was ready for just about anything except another day of questions. Every time he spoke with Harriet, Morgan, or Maris, he imagined the suspicion and betrayal he’d seen in their eyes that first night.

For their part, they seemed at least to be trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Morgan seemed the angriest and most inclined to think he was an idiot for believing anything the Kyber told him. Harriet, perhaps hiding at times behind her professional facade, seemed to be working hardest at trying to maintain an open mind. Maris was still just trying to make sense of the whole thing.

Legroeder was beginning to wonder if he would ever hear from Tracy-Ace/Alfa, who as far as he knew was still in a parking orbit somewhere well out of sight of the station. As the hearings neared their completion on the fourth day, he was stunned to hear her voice coming through the door of the meeting room. Tracy-Ace herself appeared a few moments later, flanked by Captain Glenswarg. They were followed closely by armed Spacing Authority guards.

“Ah,” said Envoy Clark, “our guests from the Kyber vessel have arrived.”

“Thank you for permitting us to address you,” Tracy-Ace said with a bow. “It’s a pleasure to be here representing the Kyber outpost of Yankee-Zulu/Ivan.” She was dressed much as she had been the first time Legroeder met her—spectacular in black and gold. She seemed, if anything, to be taller than before; probably it was his imagination. Her eyes searched the room until she found Legroeder. A smile creased her face.

Legroeder started to rise, then caught himself and made do with a blush and a grin. He was aware of Harriet, beside him, and he cleared his throat.

“Friend of yours?” Harriet murmured. “Very pretty…”

Legroeder nodded, not trusting his voice.

“I see…”

Which was exactly what he was afraid of. He had gone, after all, to gather intelligence against the pirates, not to make love to them. But if Harriet was interpreting his discomfort accurately, she said nothing more.

At the front of the room, Tracy-Ace addressed the panel of officials. “A shipload of repatriates is en route, and should be here in a few days,” she said, causing an immediate stir. “We’ll have names and other information for you at that time.”

“Miss Alfa,” said Special Envoy Clark in surprise, “are you saying—”

“That we are serious about establishing meaningful relations with your world? Yes, we are…”

It was another hour before the session was called for the day and Legroeder got a chance to speak with her. He hurried to the front of the room as people dispersed, feeling a flash of worry that this would be like their arrival back at Ivan, all business. Which perhaps would have been for the better; but never mind that…

Tracy-Ace embraced him, hard. “Am I glad to see you, babe!” she murmured, kissing him on the cheek, then pulling back to gaze at him. “We were worried, back when you first arrived, that things weren’t going too well.”

Legroeder gazed back at her in wonderment. “Were you there the whole time?”

One corner of her mouth curled in a grin. “What do you think? Now, if they’ll let me go with you, do you think you’re ready to take me to meet your friends?”

It took some intervention on Harriet’s part to get that much freedom of movement for Tracy-Ace; and even then, guards were never far away. The officers of Phoenix and Impris joined Legroeder, Harriet, and Deutsch in the dining room, and that was where Tracy-Ace and Harriet first had an opportunity to talk. Tracy-Ace was frowning, the corners of her eyes flickering. Finally she stabbed the air with her finger. “Harriet Mahoney— Bobby Mahoney! I almost forgot to tell you, Legroeder—I got news from YZ/I on the way in. They found him! They found Bobby. One of Carlotta’s outposts has him, and YZ/I is negotiating for his release.” She turned to Harriet. “Bobby is your grandson, yes?”

Harriet looked faint, her eyes wide with shock and joy. “Yes,” she whispered. “Is it true? He’s really alive?”

Tracy-Ace’s face was alight. “He really is.”

Harriet leaned across the table. “Will he be freed?”

Tracy-Ace breathed out slowly. “He’s not in our hands yet, so I can’t promise. But I believe there’s a good chance. YZ/I can strike a pretty hard bargain.” She glanced around the table with a grin. “And if YZ/I can’t do it, maybe we could send in the Narseil.”

Legroeder winced a little at the joke, but was filled with gratitude on Harriet’s behalf. Harriet was weeping openly now, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. Legroeder took her hand, and she squeezed back fiercely. Then, to Legroeder’s surprise, Harriet reached across the table and squeezed Tracy-Ace’s hand, too. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I just can’t tell you…”