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Singh reminded hih consul wouldn’t have committed the ship to a path that led to embarrassment for the empire and death for Trejo And yet, what if he’d miscalculated? Or what if Earth or Mars or the union had been behind the wave of lost time? Or …

This speculation was pointless Worse, it was self-indulgent Even if he knew everything else he needed to put into his official report, it was going to have to wait He had to get out of his offices, if only for a while He had to collect himself

Overstreet answered the connection request almost at once “Governor?”

“I will need a security detail to my office at once”

Overstreet’s silence was less than a heartbeat “Is there a problem, sir?”

“No I want to inspect the docks When will there be sufficient security for that?”

If Overstreet was surprised or annoyed, there was no sign of it in his voice “I’ll have a detail to you in five minutes, sir”

“Thank you,” Singh said, then dropped the connection

The Lightbreaker was a cargo ship that had been in the union’s fleet A small vessel, but fast and with an efficient drive All of the ships and their creere guests of the ehtbreaker Of all the ships on the station manifest, that was the one best suited to act as a prisoner transport It was slated to push off in half an hour’s tih had chosen froh found he very much wanted to be there when the first ship left Medina Station for Laconia The first transit to happen while he was in charge of the ring space His watch

He straightened his unifor se when he walked into the roo certain that he saw the with a driver, asn’t in power armor but did carry an assault rifle beside her in the cart

“The docks, sir?” the driver asked

“Berth K-eighteen,” Singh said, then sat back as the cart started off

The Marine escort loped along as fast as the cart could drive and with the sense that they weren’t anywhere near an uncouards stood at the intersections eapons drawn It was like traveling through the drearown out in all directions until there wasn’t even the pro a way up to the surface A wouard’s shoulder, straining to catch a glih waved at her Let the civilians see that their governor was here, not hiding away in his office If he wasn’t scared of the terrorists, the loyal faction of the population wouldn’t be either Or less so, anyway

And still, he did wonder how many of those people he passed would have been as happy to see hiirl with the heart-shaped face would have shot him if she’d had the chance There was no way to be certain Would never be a way to be totally certain Or at least no way other than …

At the end of the druracefully into a protective star fores of the terrorists’ attack—twistedin the air like black snow Passing through the space nohat struck hi lubricant oil, overheated wiring and the back-of-the-throat bitterness of exhausted fire suppressants