Tennal wasn’t sure what he’d expected from his risky attempt to contact Governor Oma. His anonymizer service clearly hadn’t been good enough. As Surit had said, Tennal needed some sort of help if he was going to get out through the link, and there was no love lost between Governor Oma and the legislator: it was possible she might help just to provoke Cavalry Division in general and his aunt in particular.

But mainly, Tennal had no idea what was going to happen. And although the past few days had been surprisingly bearable compared to the rest of his short military career, he’d missed this—the dizzying, toe-curling rush of gently kicking a stone off a mountaintop and seeing which rocks were ready to slide.

Governor-General Oma regarded the commander. Even on what must be the fleet’s highest-priority channel, with the Resolution scanners boosting the transmission, it was clearly difficult to get a good signal in chaotic space: parts of her face kept fuzzing out, and her voice was on a slight delay. “In fact, I’m glad you intercepted this call, Commander,” she said. Her voice was musical and pleasant; she didn’t look like someone who had just put down a coup. “I’ve been trying to get hold of you for a while. I’ve been given very minimal information about why you felt the need to take a fleet into chaotic space right next to my station.”

“You’ve been given what you need to know,” Commander Vinys said. “That’s not what this is about. I’d like to know why you placed a private call to my fleet reader.”

Governor Oma ignored that with a tranquil air that, to Tennal’s interest, aggravated the commander’s twitching vein further. “I don’t think I have been given everything I need to know,” she said. “If all that Resolution equipment destabilizes chaotic space, not only will the disturbance chew you up like a dirt grinder, but the shock wave will endanger the civilians on Archer Link Station.”

“My orders come from high command,” the commander said, his deep voice measured. “My teams are experts. Your station is safe.”

“You may have heard I am trying to deal with a coup on the station,” Governor Oma said. “I still have restive elements. Safety concerns aside, it does not help to have a military fleet with mysterious objectives right next to my borders.”

They stared at each other, the tension broken only by the fuzzing static that occasionally enveloped the projection screen.

“I am retrieving lost military hardware,” the commander said. “It’s none of your concern.”

“Oh, don’t try and equivocate, Commander,” Governor Oma said. “You’re looking for the old laboratory Marit Yeni tried to blow up. The remnants. Who told you to go after them? The legislator?”

Tennal felt Surit flinch, as he did whenever his mother’s name was mentioned.