Ingray’s name was enough to get her the attention of Over Captain Utury, of Hwae System Defense. The over captain met her in a small room somewhere on the station. Utury was short and broad, imposing despite her lack of height, her blue-and-gold System Defense uniform vivid against the plain beige of the walls and the stiff plastic bench and table.
“Absolutely not,” she said, when Ingray had explained what she proposed to do. “We’re trying to get civilians away from danger, not send more in. And to be entirely frank, I only agreed to meet with you now because my superiors would prefer not to have your mother upset with them. Just personally, I understand how you feel right now, but the best way to get any hostages to safety is to stop wasting my time and let me do my job.” And then added, belatedly, “Respectfully. Miss.”
“But, Over Captain …” Ingray began.
“No.” Over Captain Utury didn’t raise her voice, but her tone cut right through Ingray’s words. “I have met with you, I have heard your request, and I have denied it. You will go immediately to the nearest civilian shelter and stay there. If I see you again I will have you arrested, I don’t care who your mother is. Do I make myself clear?”
Ingray felt tears well. But she would not cry. She wouldn’t. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” said Over Captain Utury, and turned and left the room.
A few seconds later a soldier came in. “I’m here to escort you to a shelter, miss.”
“Oh,” said Ingray, and she couldn’t stop the tears anymore. She’d failed. All she could do now was sit in some shelter somewhere, with people she didn’t even know, and wait. “Is there …” She sniffled, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Is there a restroom I could use first?”
“I have to take you straight to a shelter, miss,” said the soldier. “Over Captain’s orders.”
“I know,” Ingray said. “I just need to wash my face. And … you know.”
“There’s a restroom right behind you, miss,” said the soldier. “I’ll be waiting right here for you.”
The restroom was tiny and cramped. Ingray shut the door. Blew her nose, washed her hands. Splashed some water on her face. She could do this, she could go to the shelter and wait. She had no other choice. She’d done her best.
A hairpin clattered into the wash basin. She grabbed it before it could slide down the drain.
Movement caught the corner of her vision. She looked around. Looked up. A black spider mech clung to the ceiling, its many stalked eyes staring directly at her. “So,” it whistled, quietly, “I hear you want to break into the System Lareum.”
Ingray could only stare.
“It’s me, Tic,” the spider mech said. “I can get you close to the lareum, where if System Defense doesn’t stop you in time, you can propose a trade. If you really want to do that. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I do want to do that!” said Ingray. Very quietly, mindful of the soldier outside.
“As far as getting hold of the Rejection of Obligations and the Assembly Bell, I can’t make any promises. I can’t even suggest any plans until I know where everything is, how it’s laid out, and what’s happening. It’ll take a while to figure all that out. And in the meantime you’ll be in danger.”
“Tic!” whispered Ingray urgently, “I don’t have time to talk about this! I just need to do it!”
“All right,” said Tic. “Then let’s do this.”
The fa?ade of the System Lareum was two levels high, though the wide doors were only half as tall. They were mottled gray, scorched and scored, panels of what was allegedly part of the hull of the original Hwae Station. At the moment they were shut, the open space in front of them—black-and-green-tiled, high-ceilinged and echoing, and nearly always thronged with visitors and passersby—was empty. Or it looked empty—Tic had told her that Hwaean System Defense was all around, and there were certainly Omkem military mechs behind the half dozen broad closed doors of the lareum.
Well, here she was, and the longer she delayed the more danger she was in. Of course, she was already in a good deal of danger just standing here.
She took a deep breath. “My name is Ingray Aughskold,” she called. In Yiir because she didn’t know if any of the Omkem would understand Bantia. “I’m Representative Netano Aughskold’s daughter. I was there when Excellency Zat was murdered, I can tell you what really happened. Send the children out unharmed, and my mother, too, and you can have me instead.”
Silence. Well, even if the Federacy ultimately accepted the trade, they’d want to think about it first.
“Miss Aughskold!” That hadn’t come from the lareum entrance—the voice was behind her. She turned her head. A small boxy cleaning mech trundled a meter or so closer to her, and stopped. “Miss Aughskold, what are you doing?” Ingray stared. “The over captain didn’t think it was a good idea to send an obviously armed mech here at this particular time. We’re pretty sure there are Omkem mechs right inside that entrance. This isn’t a safe place to be, miss.”
“I didn’t think it was,” Ingray said. Despite her best intentions, her voice shook a little.
“Then what are you doing here, miss?”
“I thought it was obvious. I’m exchanging myself for those children the Omkem are holding, and my mother. Or trying to.”
“How did you get out of the civilian shelter?” asked the cleaning mech. “For that matter, how did you get here?”
“I walked.” Which was mostly true.
“We can’t let you do this, miss. I’m going to ask you to walk with me back behind our line. If we’re very lucky there won’t be any trouble.”
“Sorry.” She managed to make her tone careless, but her voice still shook. “I’m staying here.” But she was becoming less and less convinced that this was a good idea.
“Then I’m afraid we’ll have to pick you up and carry you out of here, miss.”
“Oh, won’t that look good on the news services,” Ingray remarked. “System Defense manhandling me out of the way, when all I want is to rescue children. And my mama!” Her voice broke at that last, and she swallowed hard. If she lost her balance now, if she wept or shouted, she would collapse entirely, she was sure of it.
They’ll try to remove you, Tic had said. Be stubborn. If you haven’t changed your mind, that is. I’ll do what I can to stop them. But Tic had left her when she’d walked out into the middle of the empty tiled floor. And she didn’t know what there was that he could do against System Defense.
“You’re assuming you’ll be allowed to tell the news services any of this,” the cleaning mech pointed out.
“You just try and stop me,” said Ingray.
The cleaning mech was silent. Ingray made herself turn again and look at the doors to the lareum, still closed. Still silent. Wanted to close her eyes, but she was feeling dizzy and she was afraid she’d fall over if she did that. Instead she counted her breaths—it had worked in the vacuum suit, so maybe it would keep her from panicking here.
After what had to be five minutes—Ingray had cut her connection with Hwae’s system communications, and refused to summon up the time in her vision—the cleaning mech said, “The over captain wants you to know that she’s not responsible for anything that happens to you, miss.”