expression of naked fear on her face. She said, "You have to get me off Earth, Jim."
He was staring at her, trying to figure out how to respond, when Kuzyk stepped into his peripheral vision. The boy had a hand up, and he stepped in close, almost touching Carruthers' sleeve.
"I'm busy, Kuzyk."
"Captain, you have more visitors. These ones aren't waiting for permission to come in."
Boots thumped on the concrete floor of the hangar, strangely loud, and Janice slid behind Carruthers. He could feel her hands on his elbows. She was using him for cover, hiding from whoever was coming across the hangar.
Carruthers realized his mouth was hanging open, and he closed it. The new arrivals came into view, three men and a woman rounding the bulk of another corvette maybe fifty paces away. They wore red shirts and black trousers, and he recognized their black armbands. They wore pistols on their hips, too. They paused momentarily. Then one man pointed up at the Indefatigable and they headed straight for the ship.
Carruthers, without turning his head, said, "Kuzyk. Stand beside me. Right beside me. Eyes forward."
Kuzyk, wide-eyed, complied.
"Janice, you get behind him." Her hands vanished from his elbows, and Kuzyk started to turn his head. "Eyes front, damn you!" Kuzyk's head snapped around. "Wait until you hear me start talking. Then get onboard the ship. Kuzyk, you stay between her and our guests."
Not waiting for an answer, Carruthers marched forward. He angled well to the left, putting plenty of distance between himself and Kuzyk. He circled around the ship's forward landing gear, staring at the newcomers, and folded his arms across his chest. He lifted a hand, raked fingers through his hair, then re-crossed his arms. Any kind of motion to draw the eyes of the approaching redshirts. Kuzyk was lousy cover. Janice's only hope was if the EDF group was distracted.
It seemed to be working. All three of them stared at Carruthers as he advanced. When the woman's eyes strayed toward Kuzyk, Carruthers barked, "What the hell do you want?"
That brought all three sets of eyes back to him. He stomped up, then took a couple of side-steps to draw their attention even farther to the left. "This is a military facility," he said. "You can't just barge in."
Confrontation. That's the key to holding their attention. "I should probably have you arrested. Ordering you shot might be excessive. Arrest is pretty reasonable, though." He took a step forward.
"Now, hold on!" The spokesman was the man in the middle. He wore a black sash across his chest and a sour, angry expression. "We're not civilians. Don't you recognize EDF uniforms?"
"You're not in the military. That makes you civilians." She must be on the ship by now. I can dial it down. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
"I'm Colonel O'Hare with the Earth Defense Force."
You're a colonel? In an organization that was only dreamed up three weeks ago? He didn't try too hard to hide his amused contempt. The man was a swaggering, self-important little bully, and Carruthers loathed him instinctively.
"We're looking for this woman." O'Hare drew out a palm-sized holo projector and touched it. Janice's head and shoulders appeared in the air, with her name underneath. "Have you seen her?"
A cold wave washed through Carruthers. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew he was in the middle of it, and he knew which side he was on. "Sure. That's Janice Ling. She was on the Alexander . I've probably seen her on the feeds since then."
O'Hare's lips thinned. "Have you seen her today?"
Carruthers could feel his alarm fading, replaced by annoyance. "Maybe you can watch the feeds when you're at work," he said. "I'm busy."
O'Hare didn't like that much. "She was seen heading in this direction."
"This is a secure military facility," Carruthers said. "At least, it's supposed to be. Reporters are about as welcome here as civilians in funny costumes."
O'Hare's face took on a reddish tinge. "I'm going to
He was staring at her, trying to figure out how to respond, when Kuzyk stepped into his peripheral vision. The boy had a hand up, and he stepped in close, almost touching Carruthers' sleeve.
"I'm busy, Kuzyk."
"Captain, you have more visitors. These ones aren't waiting for permission to come in."
Boots thumped on the concrete floor of the hangar, strangely loud, and Janice slid behind Carruthers. He could feel her hands on his elbows. She was using him for cover, hiding from whoever was coming across the hangar.
Carruthers realized his mouth was hanging open, and he closed it. The new arrivals came into view, three men and a woman rounding the bulk of another corvette maybe fifty paces away. They wore red shirts and black trousers, and he recognized their black armbands. They wore pistols on their hips, too. They paused momentarily. Then one man pointed up at the Indefatigable and they headed straight for the ship.
Carruthers, without turning his head, said, "Kuzyk. Stand beside me. Right beside me. Eyes forward."
Kuzyk, wide-eyed, complied.
"Janice, you get behind him." Her hands vanished from his elbows, and Kuzyk started to turn his head. "Eyes front, damn you!" Kuzyk's head snapped around. "Wait until you hear me start talking. Then get onboard the ship. Kuzyk, you stay between her and our guests."
Not waiting for an answer, Carruthers marched forward. He angled well to the left, putting plenty of distance between himself and Kuzyk. He circled around the ship's forward landing gear, staring at the newcomers, and folded his arms across his chest. He lifted a hand, raked fingers through his hair, then re-crossed his arms. Any kind of motion to draw the eyes of the approaching redshirts. Kuzyk was lousy cover. Janice's only hope was if the EDF group was distracted.
It seemed to be working. All three of them stared at Carruthers as he advanced. When the woman's eyes strayed toward Kuzyk, Carruthers barked, "What the hell do you want?"
That brought all three sets of eyes back to him. He stomped up, then took a couple of side-steps to draw their attention even farther to the left. "This is a military facility," he said. "You can't just barge in."
Confrontation. That's the key to holding their attention. "I should probably have you arrested. Ordering you shot might be excessive. Arrest is pretty reasonable, though." He took a step forward.
"Now, hold on!" The spokesman was the man in the middle. He wore a black sash across his chest and a sour, angry expression. "We're not civilians. Don't you recognize EDF uniforms?"
"You're not in the military. That makes you civilians." She must be on the ship by now. I can dial it down. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
"I'm Colonel O'Hare with the Earth Defense Force."
You're a colonel? In an organization that was only dreamed up three weeks ago? He didn't try too hard to hide his amused contempt. The man was a swaggering, self-important little bully, and Carruthers loathed him instinctively.
"We're looking for this woman." O'Hare drew out a palm-sized holo projector and touched it. Janice's head and shoulders appeared in the air, with her name underneath. "Have you seen her?"
A cold wave washed through Carruthers. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew he was in the middle of it, and he knew which side he was on. "Sure. That's Janice Ling. She was on the Alexander . I've probably seen her on the feeds since then."
O'Hare's lips thinned. "Have you seen her today?"
Carruthers could feel his alarm fading, replaced by annoyance. "Maybe you can watch the feeds when you're at work," he said. "I'm busy."
O'Hare didn't like that much. "She was seen heading in this direction."
"This is a secure military facility," Carruthers said. "At least, it's supposed to be. Reporters are about as welcome here as civilians in funny costumes."
O'Hare's face took on a reddish tinge. "I'm going to
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