Galaxy Blues Read Online Free PDF Page B

I’ll put you out the nearest airlock.”
    â€œYes, ma’am. I can prove it.” Raising my right hand as slowly as possible, I reached into the inside pocket of my jacket, pulled out my papers. “Copies of my birth certificate, citizen’s ID, Union Astronautica service record…all here, Commodore.” I handed them to her, and went on. “If you check my…excuse me, Lucius Guthrie’s…biometric profile against whatever recent intelligence you have on the Union Astronautica, you’ll find that it matches that of Jules Truffaut, who was expelled from the corps a little more than eleven months ago.” An ironic smile came to me before I could stop myself. “I prefer to think of it as a forced resignation. Didn’t have much choice.”
    â€œUh-huh.” Tereshkova unfolded my papers, gave them a brief inspection. “And what led you to make that decision, Mr. Guthrie?”
    â€œNot Guthrie, ma’am…Jules Truffaut, as I told you.” I hesitated. “It’s a long story. I would prefer not to get into details just now.”
    â€œI’m sure you would.” She studied me with cool skepticism, her hands refolding my papers. “Of course, you realize that your allegation will take some time to investigate. Until then, we’ll have to hold you in custody.”
    â€œAboard ship?”
    â€œOf course.” A shrug that was almost patronizing. “It’s an extraordinary…well, an unusual…claim you’ve made, and naturally we will have to look into it further. So until then…”
    â€œSo you’re not willing to take me to Coyote.” A chill ran down my back. “Commodore, please…”
    â€œI’m sure my government would be willing to consider a petition for amnesty pending a thorough investigation. Until then, you’re a stowaway and will be treated as such.” She glanced at her chief petty officer. “If you will…”
    Mr. Heflin grasped my arm. Looking around, I saw that the warrant officer had returned, his right hand resting upon a stunner holstered in his belt. No doubt about it, my next stop was the brig.
    There was nothing more to be said. I turned to meekly allow myself to be taken below.
    X
    So there it was. I’d managed to cover the bases, but when I tried to steal home, the catcher tagged me before I could cross the plate. No sympathy from the ump. It was off to the showers for the rookie.
    As Mr. Heflin and the warrant officer escorted me from the bridge, I contemplated my prospects. They didn’t look promising. These two men would take me below and lock me in the brig, and there I’d remain for the next couple of weeks, until the Lee made the trip back through hyperspace to Earth. If I was lucky, my cell would have a porthole…well, no, maybe that wouldn’t be so lucky after all. Because the most that I’d see of Coyote would be the distant view of a place that I’d never visit.
    I had little doubt of what would happen next. Once we returned to Highgate, the Western Hemisphere Union would be informed that a stowaway had been caught aboard a Coyote Federation starship, and that this person claimed to be a former Union Astronautica officer. A Patriarch would quickly verify this, and make a formal claim of extradition. Under the articles of the UN treaty the Coyote Federation had signed with the WHU, there would be no way for this to be legally contested, because although I’d been nabbed aboard a Coyote vessel, I hadn’t yet set foot upon Coyote itself.
    That small fact made all the difference in the world. The Coyote Federation was considered to be a sovereign nation, true, but one can only defect to another country if you’re already there. And although the Lee was under the flag of the Coyote Federation, it wasn’t Coyote soil. At least not for someone who wasn’t a citizen.
    Nor had I given anyone aboard good and