The shuttle was small, fast, and well-armed. Sabrina settled into the first passenger seat; Darice took the pilot's controls, and Farco Varsanyi, whom Sabrina vaguely remembered as a functionary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, took the co-pilot's seat. Mireth took the rear seat, and Tassan, after a moment's hesitation, sat beside Sabrina.
"I can't believe you're doing this," he said, too low for the others to hear.
"I can't either," she said, hoping her smile looked confident rather than blitzed with panic.
Darice said, "We have clearance for liftoff. The battle cruiser Sentinel has given us docking coordinates. Everybody strap in."
Sabrina obeyed, her fingers shaking as she fumbled with the safety webbing. She started to clench her fists in her lap, then laid her palms out flat on the seat instead. Tassan's hand covered hers as the shuttle sprang into the sky.
"Wow," Varsanyi said. "It looks a lot worse from up here, doesn't it?"
Sabrina looked out the viewport at the rapidly receding palace. She saw clearly where the Reissian attack had been concentrated; everything around it was crumbling, and parts of the garden outside the Little Ballroom were still on fire. The roof of the Royal Residence had gaping holes in it. Sabrina wondered if her conservatory was still standing. She couldn't identify it at the speed they were moving; soon the island was a speck in a vast sea, and then the planet hung beneath them, a glowing green and blue ball against the dark field of stars. She wondered if she would ever set foot on its surface again.
"Listen up, team," Sabrina said, turning away from the view outside. "I believe they will keep their word and let us leave safely when we are finished. But in case they do not, I'm going to give you your orders now. I may have some help among the Wayfarers, through Tirqwin's family. If they take me prisoner I will try to rally that help. But you four are not to be throwing your lives away in any futile attempts to save me. There will be a cruiser full of soldiers up there; the four of you can't make any real difference. I want you to get away, to go quietly if they will let you, and carry on the fight back on Praxatillus."
Darice threw a glance over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'd far rather die in a fight than go back to the Commander without you."
"I agree," Mireth said.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't ask you what you'd prefer, I gave you an order," Sabrina said.
"Well," Darice replied, "I always follow orders—but I wouldn't be an officer if I couldn't use my own initiative to interpret them according to the situation as I find it."
Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Which is your polite way of saying you're not going to obey that order no matter what I say?"
"Pretty much, ma'am."
"And what about you, Varsanyi? Are you going rogue on me as well?"
"Major Darice is in charge of us," he said. "I'll follow her lead in your absence."
Sabrina sighed and eyed Tassan in resignation. "I'm not even going to ask you."
He laughed. "Well, that saves me a speech in praise of insubordination, at least. Face it, my lady, this time you do not get to play the martyr. At least not a solitary one."
"I wish I found that comforting," she retorted.
"Look at that thing. It's huge!" Varsanyi exclaimed as the Sentinel loomed up in front of them.
No one said anything else as the battle cruiser filled the shuttle's viewports. Darice completed docking maneuvers, hesitating only when the Sentinel directed her to shut down the shuttle's engines. "My lady?" she said.
"Go ahead. I don't think we'll be making any fast getaways," Sabrina said. Even her untrained eye could spot the ship's impressive weaponry.
"Right," Darice said. The faint hum of the engines vanished. "Varsanyi, we're first out the door. Her ladyship will follow, and Mireth and Nikolar will take the rear. Weapons set to stun. Leave them in your holsters but be ready to draw if I give you the signal."
They had all been releasing their safety webbing and getting to their feet while Darice spoke. There was an awkward pause as they all looked at Sabrina, whose face had gone a chalky white.
"My lady?" Darice prompted softly.
Sabrina squared her shoulders. "Right. Let's go."
Darice and Varsanyi nodded and headed for the airlock. Sabrina found she couldn't make her feet move. It felt like a bad dream.
Tassan's hand on her elbow steadied her. "My lady," he said, "we'll be right behind you."
She looked up at him, and he said, "Do you want me to call them back?"
Sabrina thought longingly for a moment of turning the shuttle around and fleeing back to Praxatillus. But how could she, after browbeating Mara and overriding Rassir, Imari, and even Rayland to come here? "No," she said. "I'm all right now. Thank you. Let's go."
She took a deep breath and walked to the airlock, Mireth and Tassan falling into step behind her. She tried to remember how much harder this must be for them, to be delivering themselves into the power of their ancient enemies; it should not be as bad for her. The Wayfarers were not her enemies; the ones she had known had mostly been friendly. And she could claim kinship with them through Tirqwin. Yeah, through an adoption and a marriage Homeworld doesn't recognize.
It took only a moment for the airlock to cycle. Sabrina was relieved to see Asnefer awaiting them; surely that was a good sign. She didn't think the High Tirqwin approved of deceit, so as long as Asnefer was present Sabrina could depend on things being on the level. At least to an extent, she hoped.
"High Tirqwin Asnefer," Sabrina said in greeting.
"Lady Regent," Asnefer replied, nodding. "Welcome aboard the Sentinel. If you will follow me?"
Asnefer, accompanied by a pair of guards who looked thoroughly professional, led the way down the corridor. It was a light grey and felt more like the space stations she had been on than Khediva. But then, this was not a Wayship. If she understood Homeworld's society correctly, it was not even the product of the same culture. She wondered if it felt as strange to Asnefer as it did to her.
They reached what was obviously some kind of conference room. It was sparsely furnished, with an oblong table and a dozen chairs; the walls were blank. Asnefer sat at one end, and Sabrina sat down at the other. Darice and Varsanyi took up positions behind her; Tassan and Mireth sat on either side of her.
A moment later, a man and a woman entered the room and sat on either side of Asnefer. The High Tirqwin waited for the door to slide shut behind them before making introductions. "This is Captain Naiym Bihjahn, in command of the Sentinel and this expeditionary force."
Sabrina nodded politely to the older man; he returned her gaze with all the interest of a statue. He had a dark complexion, yellower than Asnefer's chocolate shade, and his eyes were black. Then she turned to the woman, who was staring at Sabrina as if trying to see inside her skull. She had more of what Sabrina thought of as the Wayfarer look, pale with cool grey eyes and silvery hair.
"And this," Asnefer said, "is Chavadanafra, First Lady of House Yanklozhquar."
"I am pleased to meet you," Sabrina said. "If you are of Tirqwin's House, then I should relay a message from him."
Chavadanafra raised one thin eyebrow. "He has not communicated officially with our House since he became a Tirqwin. All family ties between us were severed when he linked to his Wayship."
"But you have not disowned him, have you?" Sabrina asked.
"No," Chavadanafra replied. "It was unnecessary. Of course, now that he has become a renegade and broken his oaths as a Tirqwin, we must either acknowledge him again or officially declare him House-less. What is his message?"
"He wanted you to know that he has pledged the word of House Yanklozhquar that I will not be harmed while I am here."
"Interesting," Chavadanafra said, "but unnecessary. You already have the word of a High Tirqwin. As I understand it, if one acknowledges my kinsman's marriage, you are in some way his kin?"
"Yes. I am his wife's cousin, her father's brother's adopted daughter."
The First Lady nodded. Asnefer said, "I have consulted with my colleagues, Lady Regent. We agree, in principle, to your offer of the opportunity to examine Wayship Khediva and her Tirqwin. We will bring one Wayship and whatever technical personnel we deem necessary and will meet you in a neutral location, supervised by a third party agreed to in advance. You will bring a ship of your own and come escorted by no more than four of your people. I will be there as well. If at any time either of us decides the other is in breach of this agreement, hostilities will resume immediately."
Sabrina said, "I have spoken to the ambassador from Lthos; he has undertaken to provide a neutral meeting place and a neutral observer."
"That is acceptable, provided we approve the chosen observer in advance."
"Agreed. But I must stipulate that the observer also agree that this agreement has been violated before hostilities can resume," Sabrina said. "Also I must insist that any examination you perform on Wayship Khediva and Tirqwin not impair their function at any time either during or after the examination. Any damage to them, no matter how long it takes to appear, would constitute a breach of this agreement."
"We have no interest in damaging one of our Wayships, nor the Tirqwin," Asnefer said. "We are interested only in the truth, and in seeing that the honorable traditions of the Wayfarers are upheld."
There was a pause. Sabrina felt hopeful, but she wondered if she were missing some vitally important detail. She wished she had brought Rassir, a far more experienced diplomat. "It seems we agree, then," she said.
"It seems so," Asnefer said. "I shall have the agreement drawn up. Ideally we should ask the ambassador from Lthos to come up and witness it."
"Yes." I should have brought him too. Damn.
Captain Bihjahn's comlink beeped in a much sharper note than the Praxatillian ones used. He tapped a display embedded in the table and frowned. "The Reissian fleet has re-entered the system. We are going to battle status."
Sabrina went cold with horror. "Can I get back to the planet before they get here?"
"I doubt it," the Captain said. "If you care to try, we will provide what cover fire we can for you." He nodded to them all and hurried out of the room.
"High Tirqwin," Sabrina said, getting to her feet, "may I shake your hand on our agreement? And welcome you as our ally in this battle?"
"Is this an Earth custom?" Asnefer asked, looking at Sabrina's extended hand.
"Yes. It's like a seal of the agreement."
Asnefer hesitated, then shook Sabrina's hand. "We are with you until the Reissians have been driven from this system, on condition that you allow us to examine Wayship Khediva and her Tirqwin as previously discussed."
"Agreed," Sabrina replied. "Thank you. Now I must try to get back to the planet."
"Would it not be wiser to remain?" Chavadanafra asked.
"I'm sorry, I can't. I need to be with them," Sabrina said, moving toward the door.
Asnefer called after her, "I am sending the security record of this discussion to our embassy on Lthos. If you renege—"
"We won't," Sabrina called over her shoulder as she left.