i know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

[thespaceopera]

[ Calibration Rooms ]
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Comments

[servantnotserving]

[For a moment, Lumière thinks they're somewhere else on the Marsiva, a forgotten room, perhaps. And of course, there is Signy. giving out orders, so everything is normal there.

...But no, this is not a fleet ship. Strange, he really wants to snoop, but he'll be good enough to hop over to her first. She can't say he's not showing willing, at least. ]

Where are we jumping to, Ma râleuse?

[norwaysown]

[ Signy frowns, pressing a hand to her forehead. Then she looks at him. At least everyone in the background is listening to her orders. ]

Pell.

You'll need to strap down.

[ So will she, but she is comfortable waiting a little longer. ]

[servantnotserving]

It is okay, I am made of much less fragile stuff than you.

[Yay for not having bones to break. ]

What is waiting for us in this Pell?

[norwaysown]

You'll still get knocked into something, and you might break my ship.

[ Not an option as far as she's concerned. Which means they need to find a jump station for a candlestick... ]

We'll find out when we get there. Hopefully not a fight.

[servantnotserving]

Little old me? Damage your ship? Perish the thought!

[Though that might be wise. ]

I hope that too, I am a love, not a fighter. [He's gonna make an educated guess. ] Is this the Norway?

[norwaysown]

I would hope you don't. And yes, this is my Norway.

[ There's a pride and a love in how Signy speaks of her ship.

Norway was a top battleship once. She still is, but she's been patched at the edges and getting spare parts is always hard, though, so she'd prefer not to have the ship damaged. ]

Usually there are drugs to help one get through jump sane. Are you capable of taking such things?

[servantnotserving]

Ah, it is a very fine vessel!

[See, he can be nice. He can compliment it. ]

Um...no. I cannot eat anything, I am afraid. No stomach or...well, anything. I am just brass and wax.

[norwaysown]

[ She gives him a smile. Norway means an awful lot to her.

That quickly fades to a look of concern. ]

I hope that you'll be fine.

[servantnotserving]

[That gets a rather large grin out of him. ]

What is this, Ma râleuse? Are you concerned about my well-being? I'm touched!

[norwaysown]

I'm concerned about the well-being of everyone on my ship.

Let's at least get you strapped down.

[ Since it might take a while to figure out exactly how. ] Out here, or in my office?

[servantnotserving]

Strapped down, hmm? Should have known you were the type. We'd probably best be in the office for something like that, no?

[One day, she is gonna throw him out of the airlock and he will absolutely deserve it. ]

[norwaysown]

[ She stares at him for a moment, her eyes sharp. Then decides to refrain from further comment on the matter. ]

The office is fine.

[ She'll head that direction and trust him to follow, though he's lucky she doesn't just pick him up and throw him that direction. ]

[servantnotserving]

[He considers the look victory enough. He'll happily hop along after her, but hey, thanks for not chuckling him, captain! ]

But of course.

[norwaysown]

[ Once they're in the office she nods at the chair. ]

Hop in.

[ They don't have a ton more time before Jump and she's going to need to do some work to get him in. ]

[servantnotserving]

[He gives a little salute, doing as he's told (for once). ]

Aye aye, mon capitaine.

[norwaysown]

[ When he touched the seat the scene shifted, still the ship but he was back on the bridge.]

They moved slowly, at the crawl which was the best the freighters accompanying Norway could manage in realspace, distance Norway or the riders, unencumbered, could cross pushing light.

“Di, put all troops on standby, full arms and gear.” Signy switched to com: “Advise Pell it had better evacuate a section and seal it. Tell the convoy if anyone breaks formation during approach we’ll blow them. Make them believe it.”

“Got it,” com senior said; and in due time: “Stationmaster’s on in person.”

The stationmaster protested. She had expected so.

“You do it,” she told him—Angelo Konstantin, of the Konstantins of Pell. “You clear that section or we do. You start now, strip out everything of value or hazard, down to the walls; and you put those doors on lock and weld the access panels shut. You don’t know what we’re bringing you. And if you delay us, I may have a shipload dead: Hansford’s life support is going. You do it, Mr. Konsantin, or I send the troops in. And you don’t do it right, Mr. Konstantin, and you have refugees scattered like vermin all over your station, with no IDs and ugly-desperate. Forgive my bluntness. I have people dying in their own filth. We number seven thousand frightened civs on these ships, what left Mariner and Russell’s Star. They’re out of choices and out of time. You’re not going to tell me no, sir.”

There was a pause, distance, and more than enough delay for distance. “We’ve sounded the evacuation for sections of yellow and orange dock, Captain Mallory. Medical services will be available, all that we can spare. Emergency crews are moving. We copy regarding sealing of the affected areas. Security plans will be set in motion at once. We hope that your concern is as great for our citizens. This station will not permit the military to interfere in our internal-security operations or to jeopardize our neutrality, but assistance under our command will be appreciated. Over.”

Signy relaxed slowly, wiped sweat from her face, drew an easier breath. “Assistance will be given, sir. Estimated docking…four hours, if I delay this convoy all I can. I can give you that much time to get ready. Has news about Mariner gotten to you yet? It was blown, sir, sabotage. Over.”

“We copy four hours. We appreciate the measures you urge us to take and we are taking them in earnest. We are distressed to hear about the Mariner disaster. Request detailed briefing. Further advise you we have a Company team here at the moment. It’s highly distressed at these proceedings.”

She breathed an obscenity into the com.

“…and they’re demanding to have all of you turned down for some other station. My staff is attempting to explain to them the condition of the ships and the hazard to life aboard them, but they’re putting pressure on us. They consider Pell’s neutrality threatened. Kindly appreciate that in your approach and bear in mind that the Company agents have requested contact with you in person. Over.”

She repeated the obscenity, expelled a breath. “Tell them I’ll be busy. Keep them off the docks and out of our area. Do they need pictures of starving colonists to take back with them? Bad press, Mr. Konstantin. Keep them out of our way. Over.”

“They’re armed with government papers. Security Council. That kind of Company team. They have rank to use and they’re demanding transport deeper Beyond. Over.”

She chose a second obscenity and swallowed it. “Thank you, Mr. Konstantin. I’ll capsule you my recommendation on procedures with the refugees; they’ve been worked out in detail. You can, of course, ignore them, but I’d advise against it. We can’t even guarantee you that what we’re disembarking on Pell isn’t armed. We can’t get among them to find out. Armed troops can’t get in there, you understand? That’s what we’re giving you. I’d advise you keep the Company boys out of our docking area entirely before we have hostages to deal with. Copy? End transmission.”

“We copy. Thank you, captain. End transmission.”

She slumped in place, glared at the screens and shot an order to com to capsule the instructions to station command.

[servantnotserving]

[Lumière doesn't understand most of what was going on, but he can make an educated guess. He turns to Signy after the memory has ended, the candle sufficing as his head canted to one side.]

Did you mange to get them out? The refugees? Before the bureaucrats moved in?

[norwaysown]

[ She takes a sharp breath, the memory clearly not entirely a good one. But her voice is crisp. ]

Yes.

[servantnotserving]

[He offers her a small, encouraging smile. ]

Then this is good! Perhaps you really do understand defying the rules, when they need to be.

[He has some newfound respect for her. ]

[norwaysown]

[...Oh. ]

Of course I do. When they need to be.

[servantnotserving]

Well, I am glad that you can see when it is important to do so.

[norwaysown]

I think you've misunderstood me. Of course I can see that. That doesn't mean questioning every order just for the sake of pushing back.

[servantnotserving]

I do not know about that. How do you learn where an order can fail if no one questions it?

[norwaysown]

There has to be some trust in the commanding officer. That trust can be broken, has been broken, and it has to be earned, but it's not faithless.

[servantnotserving]

But of course. But knowing your commanding officer will take your... advice when you think they are wrong matters, doesn't it?

[Lumière this is why you will never be in the army. ]