But her grim, purposeful expression was awfully determined looking for a dead woman’s.

“My God!” Thornegrave looked up at the whispered half-prayer and saw Yang standing at his shoulder. “That’s— It can’t be her! I saw the imagery of her execution myself! Unless—” She jerked her eyes from the display to stare at Thornegrave, and the citizen major general saw the speculation erupting behind her eyes. But he could only look back at her, his own brain refusing to accept the evidence of his senses, and then the com officer spoke again.

“I’m receiving another transmission, Sir!” she said sharply, and Thornegrave twitched as the citizen commander switched the new message to his display without orders.

“I am awaiting your response, Citizen General Thornegrave,” Harrington said coldly, “but my patience is not unlimited. You will comply with my instructions now, or I will open fire on your vessels. You have thirty seconds to acknowledge my transmission.”

“Sir, we have to do something!” Yang said urgently.

“But we— I mean, I can’t—” Thornegrave swallowed hard and forced his brain to function by sheer willpower. “Citizen Commander!” he barked at the com officer.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Is she telling the truth, or is this going out to the other ships, as well?”

“I don’t believe it is, Sir. We’re receiving an encrypted whisker laser from one of Charon’s comsats. I think she meant it when she said she doesn’t want anyone else hearing her just yet.” The citizen commander paused a moment, then cleared her throat. “Is there a reply, Sir?” she asked.

“No, there is not!” Thornegrave snapped. “I will tell you when I decide—when I decide, Citizen Commander!—to respond to any messages. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Sir,” the com officer replied flatly, and Thonegrave glared at her. A part of him knew he was lashing out at her as a sop to his own incipient panic, but the rest of him didn’t much care. And if using her as a target helped hold that panic at bay and jog his brain back into working, so much the better.

“Citizen General, we don’t have time for this!” Yang said in a low, urgent voice. “Her time limit is running out, and we’re sitting ducks up here. You’ve got to respond now!”

“I don’t have to do anything, Citizen Commodore!” Thornegrave told her sharply.

“Yes, you do!” Yang snapped back. “She’s giving you a chance to settle this without bloodshed, Sir. If you throw it away, God only knows what will happen!”

“I am not accustomed to being dictated to by escaped prisoners who—” Thornegrave began, but Yang cut him off harshly.

“She’s not an escaped prisoner; she’s the person who controls the firepower to blow this entire convoy to hell in a heartbeat!” she told the SS officer in a voice like ground glass.

“Nonsense! You’re panicking—exaggerating!”

“No I’m not!” She glared at him, “Sir, this is my area of expertise, not yours, and we are utterly helpless up here. None of us have our wedges up. We can’t maneuver, our point defense is down… Hell, we don’t even have our rad shielding on-line! If we even bring up our fire control, her sensors will spot it instantly, and she can swat us like flies before we lock up a target or—”