"I hope," Glenda Ruth said, "I hope he's getting permission to tell us the truth."
"I am instructed to invite you to the Mote System," Henry Hudson said. "To offer you any assistance we can to aid in that journey and thereafter terminate this conversation. I regret that this is necessary."
"I had hoped you would tell us much more."
"We will... explain everything, to those who have the power to make decisions," the Motie said. "My Lady, you understand, when we talk to you, we tell you more than we learn, yet if we convince you to aid us, we must also convince others."
"So you are still concealing Motie history," Glenda Ruth said.
"Details that might aid your bargaining position? Yes. Not the basics. It is clear that you now know we are capable of war. You infer our capabilities from the probes we have sent," Henry Hudson said. "But you conceal your recent history, your military abilities, your strategies, as is proper. Doubtless you will reveal these in due time. As we will reveal ours. My Lady, it has been delightful speaking with you, and I hope we will meet again after we have been permitted to speak with those whom you obey. I will receive any recorded message you care to send. Good-bye."
Commander Balasingham pulled his lips into a tight line. "Andy, I don't like this much."
Anton Rudakov, Agamemnon's Sailing Master, nodded in sympathy.
Balasingham activated the mike again. "Mr. Townsend, it's not yet established that I should permit you to go, much less store your surplus gear and personnel!"
"Oh, well, that's all right, the Moties offered to take care of my gear if you didn't have room," Freddy said.
"Yeah, I heard that."
"I mean, George will have to stay with you, but he's a retired Navy cox'n, he won't be in the way. Good cook," the Honorable Freddy Townsend said wistfully.
Balasingham sighed. "Mr. Townsend, you want to go off to the Mote system. Your ship is unarmed. We've been shooting at Motie ships since before you were born!"
"We've been invited," Freddy said. "By the Moties, Eudoxus and Henry Hudson. We have recognition signals, and both say there won't be any shooting."
"They say it. And you're headed into totally uncharted areas. If you don't come back, the Blaines will have my head even if your parents don't. And to what end?"
Glenda Ruth's voice spoke from off camera, and Freddy was seen to wince a little. "Commodore Renner thought it was important. Mr. Bury thought it was important enough to send one of his ships to rendezvous with us and fill our tanks. It's important, Commander."
"Okay, I'll give you that, they think it's a good idea, but ma'am, that's a dangerous area."
"Hecate's faster than most people think," Freddy said. "Now that we've taken out the luxury stuff."
"And you'll get lost-" Balasingham cut off the mike when he saw his Sailing Master waving. "Yeah, Andy?"
Anton Rudakov said, "Skipper, whatever happens to them, they're not likely to get lost. I know you don't follow yacht racing much, but even you have to have heard of Freddy Townsend."
"Freddy Town- Oh. Invented something, didn't he?"
"Reinvented. In the Hellgate race he did a gravity assist around the star and then unfurled a lightsail. Everybody calls them spinnakers now, but he was the first."
"You sure that's him? He looks like a kid."
"He started racing as crew on his cousin's ship when he was twelve," Rudakov said. "Skippered his own at age seventeen. In the past eight years he's won a bunch, Skipper. He lost at Heligate, though. The sun flared and the sail shredded."
Balasingham opened the mike again. "My crew tells me I ought to know who you are, Mr. Townsend. And that I should ask you about the Hellgate race."
"Well, I didn't win that one," Freddy said.
"Suppose I send one of my officers with you?"
"Thank you, no."
"Suppose there's a fight?"
The image on the screen changed. A surprisingly adult young lady, very serious. "Commander," Glenda Ruth said, "we do thank you for worrying about us. But we don't need help! Freddy's ship will be faster without any extra people. We have a good engineer, and if there's a fight, we'll lose, and it won't matter if we have one or fifty of your crew with us."
"Miss Blaine-"
"Warriors," she said. "They're a Motie subspecies bred specifically for war. Nobody's ever seen them in the flesh and lived. We have statuettes of them on record. Our Motie ambassadors tried to tell us they were mythical demons, and that's what they look like."
Glenda Ruth's prose turned rich and purple as she went into detail. Freddy found himself sweating. Given what she knew, why was she willing to face such creatures? But Glenda Ruth had never backed away from a dare.
"Exactly," Balasingham said patiently. "It's too dangerous."
"If we're attacked, we'll surrender," she told him. "And talk."
"Why would they listen?"
"We have something they want. We need to put it in Commodore Renner's hands so that he'll have something to negotiate with."
"What is it, Miss Blaine?"
"I'm afraid that's not my secret, Commander. My father gave it to me. I expect you'll find out in a few weeks, The trouble is, in a few weeks almost anything could happen. Commander, you're risking your ship, your crew, the whole Empire, on your ability to block the Moties from getting past you."
"It's not what I'd choose-"
"And we admire you for it. But we all know it may not work. Commodore Renner and His Excellency are trying their own approach, and they've asked for our help. Commander, some of the aristocracy may be riding on its privileges, but the Blaines don't!"
Then, more reasonably, but in a tone that did not even hint that it could be disobeyed: "We have a fast ship. Freddy's a racing pilot, his computer is better than yours, our engineer is first rate, and I can talk to Moties better than anyone including my brother. We thank you for your concern. Freddy, let's go. Thank you, Commander."
The screen darkened for a moment.
"She wouldn't dare," Balasingham muttered
The screen showed the Honorable Frederick Townsend. "Hecate requesting permission to come alongside for fueling," he said formally.
Balasingham heard Rudakov chuckling. No sympathy there! He turned back to the screen. "Permission granted. You can turn your excess baggage over to Chief Halperin."
"Very good. Also, if you have chocolate or oranges aboard Agcimemnoii, we'll need it all."
Balasingham was beyond surprise. "I'll find out. Godspeed, Hecate."
"Thank you."
I-point dead ahead," Freddy said. "Jump in ten minutes. Secure for Alderson Jump. Ladies, strap in good."
Hecate was an empty shell. The main cabin area was crossed by nemourlon webbing. The elaborate shower was gone. Of the cooking gear, only a heater remained. With the walls the oversize water tank made a conspicuous bulge.
Glenda Ruth and Jennifer used the harness attachments at the center of the web. Freddy typed instructions to the ship as Terry Kakumi went from system to system, manually shutting each down to prevent accidental activation following the jump.
"We shouldn't find any trouble," Glenda Ruth said. "Henry Hudson said that Medina controls the space around the Jumppoint... Crazy Eddie's Sister. I have recognition signals."
"Why do I feel you lack confidence?" Jennifer asked.
"No messages," Glenda Ruth said. "Renner, my brother, Bury- they'd try to get a message through, and even if they didn't manage it, the skipper of Atropos-Rawlins-would have been ordered to get a message out. Freddy, doesn't Atropos carry a boat that could do that?"
"Yep. Longboats on light cruisers have both Field and Drive."
"Fuel?" Jennifer wondered.
"There'd be enough to pop through and squirt a message," Freddy said. "Clear enough they couldn't do that. We might guess that somebody won't let ‘em."