Asimov's Science Fiction Read Online Free PDF

avoided him for more than a decade.
    Until now.
6
    A soft, almost inaudible cheep let Sabin know that the screen had activated. She slipped back into her chair, letting the panel close behind her.
    Only one face floated in the blackness—that of General Nawoki. She looked tired, but Sabin didn't know if that was her natural state.
    "We are getting conflicting reports from Ukhanda," Nawoki said. "The Xenth claim that the Quurzod killed all but three of the team members the
Ivoire
sent to the Quurzod. The Quurzod claim that the
Ivoire's
team violated Quurzod law and declared war. Word from some of the other cultures on Ukhanda is that the Quurzod are quick to take offense and even quicker to use violence to punish the offenders. Unfortunately, the
Ivoire
herself has not sent us their report on the incident, so we have no way to assess the truth of the interaction. In other words, hold back until the
Ivoire
returns from foldspace, and let Captain Cooper lead the response."
    It sounded like a mess and reinforced to Sabin, yet again, that she wanted nothing to do with actual diplomatic missions.
    "Captain Cooper said he would keep the
Ivoire
in foldspace for twenty hours. We'll arrive eight hours before he returns. Should we stay out of the area until we have word of the
Ivoire?"
    Nawoki's lips thinned. She glanced over her shoulder at someone or something that Sabin could not see. Either Nawoki disagreed with the command she was about to give, or she was giving that command over the disagreements of others.
    Sabin had no way to know which was true, only that Nawoki seemed as uncomfortable about the situation as Sabin felt.
    "If those small ships remain, then stay out of the area," Nawoki said.
    "And if they show up after we enter the same area?"
    "Try to ascertain whose ships they are. See if they will negotiate or explain their position."
    Sabin's breath caught, and she had to struggle to hold back her initial reaction. She had hoped that Command Operations had known who those ships belonged to.
    "Do we have any theories as to where those ships originated?" she asked.
    "The Xenth say they are Quurzod ships, but our other sources on Ukhanda cannot confirm," Nawoki said.
    "And forgive me, sir, but why aren't we trusting the Xenth?"
    "Because we are getting conflicting signals from them. They claim they want peace with the Quurzod, but they are building their own military. Our Sector Research Team is also locating some evidence that the breaches of previous agreements might have come at the instigation of the Xenth rather than through the general warlike nature of the Quurzod."
    Coop's voice echoed in Sabin's mind:
Do you ever question it? Our mission. Or at least part of our mission. What makes us so smart?
    "Were we planning to broker on the side of the Xenth?" Sabin asked, feeling like Phan—naïve and a bit out of her depth, and hoping that the General wouldn't notice or would take pity and answer her.
    "We believed we could bring peace to Ukhanda," Nawoki said primly.
    What makes us so smart?
The memory of Coop's voice floated through Sabin's mind. She had to concentrate to keep his doubts from infecting her.
    "We believed, sir?" she asked.
    "Something went wrong, Captain," Nawoki said. "And after we recover the
Ivoire,
we will figure out what that something was."
7
    The rest of the trip to the Ukhandan part of the sector was uneventful. Captain Seamus Cho of the
Bellator
finally took over his role as commander of the front line. He had, apparently, been holding a bachelor party for a crewmember and hadn't heard the summons in all the ruckus.
    In Sabin's opinion, Cho did not seem concerned enough about the
Ivoire
or the situation near Ukhanda. But he was operating under the same orders as Sabin's, and so she knew he would at least wait, the way she would have, for the
Ivoire
to reappear.
    Coop would be sensible, and he would know what to do.
    As the front line approached an hour sooner than planned, the small ships remained,