Nick goes back to his ship, and after keying the intercom hears Mikka warn him Tranquil Hegemony has docked and is demanding to speak with him. Nick is now sure that he doesn't want to offer the Bill any of the mutagen immunity drug pills, because he's concocting a plan to use them to trap Sorus.Nick shrugged. "Never mind." No matter how undone he was, he could be as dismissive as the Bill.
We'll talk about that later. I've got other things to think about. For now, a visitor's berth sounds like good idea. Unless"--he tightened his grin--"you're planning to revoke all my money, not just that one credit-jack."
"Captain Nick," the Bill said in a tone of good-humored reproach. Shadows played in and out of his mouth as he spoke. "Money is money. Please spend as much of it here as you wish. I'll be delighted to honor your credit-jack as well--as soon as your other difficulties are resolved."
"Good," Nick drawled. "In the meantime, take good care of my property. I don't want to have to worry about what you're doing to that little sonofabitch."
Without a glance at Sorus Chatelaine, he turned and strolled toward the door.
"Some things never change, Captain Succorso," she murmured, taunting him. "Keep that in mind."
The door slid open in front of him. Ignoring her, he left the Bill's strongroom.
Milos Taverner was coming to Billingate.
Nick heads to Captain's Fancy's bridge, where Mikka and her shift crew are still running things, along with Sib--and have been joined by command third Liete Corregio and engineer Vector Shaheed. Mikka tells Nick an Amnion emissary should arrive within five minutes. Sib hesitantly starts to tell Nick about the past history of the ship Soar, but Nick stops him and states that Soar used to be called Gutbuster, and that its captain, Sorus Chatelaine, sold merchandise to the Amnion, and probably still does. Then he whispers to Mikka and Liete that Sorus is the woman who cut his cheeks years ago. Liete looks angry and asks if they are going after Sorus. When Nick confirms they are, Liete declares, "Good."
However, Mikka grimaces at Nick's statement, and sarcastically snaps that that's just what they all need, a revenge mission. Nick hisses at Mikka that she'd better be able to back up her sour attitude. She roars at him that she's ready to back it up, and that she would be shit if she didn't try to stop him from pursuing a "grudge match," as she calls it. Nick laughs to keep from screaming, and is about to threaten Mikka's life if she doesn't keep quiet.
But he is distracted by Liete's loyal expression and the news the Amnion emissary is arriving. When he hears Marc Vestabule is the emissary, Nick surmises that the Amnion intended them to survive being in the gap, but wanted them to test the gap drive components for safety while accelerating to .9C. Nick considers that the arrival of Milos and Angus will allow him to get UMCP backing for his plotting. It feels like Nick is just grasping at barely-formed ideas, at this point.
Nick has Liete and another crewmember meet Vestabule at an airlock to be brought to the bridge. He finds himself lusting for Liete as he sees her eagerness to follow his order. No doubt an openly loyal lover has great appeal for Nick after his experiences with Morn, his current adversarial relationship with Mikka, and the fresh reminder of his time with Sorus. Nick is managing to think logically on at least some level, even when he is so emotionally frayed.
Vestabule enters the bridge and tells Nick to keep his bargains with the Amnion. Nick takes Mikka's place in the bridge's command chair, and asks Marc what bargains he must honor. Marc says Nick didn't satisfy requirements. Nick protests that was Morn's fault, not his. Marc replies Nick has not provided honorable trade. Nick blames it on Morn escaping and then reprogramming the ejection pod. (It occurs to me that Nick might be more persuasive to the Amnioni if he would admit that Morn fooled him about the catatonic function on the zone implant control, but Nick can't admit that any more than he can admit to being in love with Morn. No doubt Nick doesn't want to admit any of that in front of his crew.) Instead, suspecting that Nick is hiding details, Marc the Amnioni says it's not of concern to his people what Nick claims Morn did.
Nick complains to Marc that the Amnion have left him helpless by revoking the value of his credit-jack. He further affirms that he's traded honorably by giving his blood sample to them, only to be betrayed by being given faulty gap drive components that could have destroyed Captain's Fancy. Then Nick accuses Marc of using his ship to test experimental gap drive components so as to not risk Amnion ships, and threatens to relay these statements to Operations on Billingate.
Marc dares Nick to relay those accusations to Operations, and declares that the Amnion don't fear them. Mikka interjects that the Amnion could find it cheaper to use the spaceships of others to test experimental gap drive components. But Marc ignores her, and again dares Nick to relay what he knows to Billingate. Marc insists that Nick and his ship and crew are forfeit if he does not give them Morn and Davies. Nick warns Marc that to get Davies back from the Bill will require him to sell the secret of his immunity to Amnion mutagens, unless the Amnion give him another alternative.
After a moment, Marc agrees to give Nick a day to reach accommodation with the Bill to obtain Davies, if he will deliver Morn to them immediately. But, Marc warns Nick, there must be no mention made of Nick's mutagen immunity to the Bill, or else Captain's Fancy will be paralyzed and all its crew taken captive. To keep knowledge of mutagen immunity drugs secret, Marc proclaims, is important enough to the Amnion that they will destroy Billingate before allowing such knowledge to spread through the galaxy.
Nick states to Marc that they have a deal, but Marc only stares at him for a moment (probably wondering if he can believe what he's hearing). Nick orders Liete to escort the Amnion off the ship.
Recall that Nick has for quite some time now been acting in ways that make the crew feel they don't recognize him: by making Morn have sex with him publicly on the bridge, by risking forbidden space so Morn could keep her baby by having it force-grown, and by his willingness to sell/give Davies (and now Morn) to the Amnion. Many in the crew don't seem to be able to remember why they're following Nick. It's a blow to him that Mikka's lost faith in him, and he wants to fight her and rage at the other crewmembers on the bridge. But instead of blowing up, Nick asks them all why they think he has any choice other than to give Morn and Davies to the Amnion. Mikka and other crewmembers there can't dispute that, and Mikka walks away to prepare Morn. It appears Nick must rely on Liete, because Liete still sees Nick as someone who never loses.As soon as they were out of earshot, Nick swung around to face Mikka. "Now." He was poised like a predator. "We've succeeded at stalling them for one day. That changes the whole situation. Now we've got something to hope for.
"Go get Morn. Wake her up--flush the cat out of her. I want her on her feet and ready to leave in ten minutes."
Mikka didn't move. For a moment she didn't meet Nick's gaze. When she raised her eyes, they were hot and moist. Far back in her throat, as if she feared her voice might choke her, she asked, "Do you call that stalling?"
"I do," he snapped because her question and her emotion affected him like a betrayal. "She isn't the one they want."
"But she's still a human being," Mikka replied, as guttural as a growl. "You're giving them a human being." Like a woman who had no words strong enough for what she felt, she said, "I don't like giving human beings to the Amnion."
Unexpectedly--so unexpectedly that it stopped Nick's retort in his chest--Sib Mackern said, "I don't either, Nick."
"Make that three of us, " Vector added quietly. Scanning the bridge, he said, "Anyone else? How about you, Ransum? Would you like to be turned into somebody like Vestabule? Would you do that to your worst enemy? Arkenhill? Scorz? Karster?"
They all should have said, We'll do whatever Nick tells us. We trust him. He's saved our lives more times than we can count. And he knows more than we do. This is his ship, and he's the best. We're on his side to the end.
None of them did, however. Karster drummed his fingers on the targ board, studying his readouts as if he wanted to shoot someone. Ransum was breathing too hard, like a woman on the verge of a heart attack. Arkenhill had turned as pale as Sib: he may have been about to puke.
At last Scorz murmured in a small voice, as if he were belittling them all, "We've done worse."
It wasn't enough; not for Nick Succorso; not now and not ever. The only women he's ever given himself to had betrayed him. The Amnion were on top of him, threatening to paralyze his defenses, take his ship and his life. The Bill had Davies--and refused to repair Captain's Fancy. Sorus was still laughing at him. He'd already lost more pieces of himself than he could count.
