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in fifteen minutes.
    “ Right,” said Sterling,
hefting James’s bag under his arm. “Let’s go.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    “ Hello, mistress,” came
Nina’s voice through the jewel in Sara’s ear. “Lieutenant McCoy and
Ensign Jones have entered the tram and will be boarding
shortly.”
    Sara nodded, though of
course the AI couldn’t see her. But in the privacy of her cabin on
board the Freedom Star , it wasn’t as if anyone else could, either. Since they were
still in port, the outside view largely consisted of the pockmarked
hull of the next ship over: a sublight freighter of some sort by
the drab, windowless exterior. No matter. Soon enough, she’d have a
view of the stars.
    With a stretch and a yawn, she rose from her
lounge chair and stepped out into the corridor, turning left
towards the airlock. She met the captain in the hallway, just
outside the main elevator.
    “ Miss Galbraith-Dickson,”
said Captain Jarvis, giving her a smart nod. A stout, middle-aged
woman, the top of her head only came up to Sara’s nose. Her short,
curly red hair was pulled back from her round face, revealing a
wide brow and small eyes. Her white uniform was crisp and spotless,
the brass buttons polished smooth so that they shone in the bright
LED lights that ran along the ceiling.
    “ Captain,” said Sara,
shaking her hand.
    “ I take it you’ve settled
comfortably into your cabin?”
    “ Yes, thank you.” Sara
glanced down at her wrist console: two hours to their scheduled
departure.
    “ I’ve been apprised of the
special circumstances surrounding your mission,” said Captain
Jarvis, lowering her voice. The hallway was empty, but since they
were still in port, it was still a good idea to be
discreet.
    “ Good. So you can help me
get in touch with our contacts at Gaia Nova?”
    “ Certainly. They’ll be
waiting for you at the station.”
    “ And what about the
lieutenant?”
    The captain waved her hand. “Don’t worry.
The rest of the delegation will keep him busy enough. So long as
you’re careful about it, he won’t notice any deviation from your
schedule.”
    “ Perhaps,” said Sara. She
sighed. “I wish I knew why my father insisted on sending him with
us. He’s not a part of the inner circle.”
    “ I admit, it does seem a
little odd. Knowing your father—”
    At that moment, the elevator door hissed
open and a young, bright-faced man stepped out. Sara recognized him
at once: Lars Stewart, head of the delegation to the conference.
Instantly, she and Captain Jarvis grew silent.
    “ Oh, hi there,” he said,
giving them a disarming smile. “Don’t mind me—I heard that James
was coming along, and I thought I’d greet him at the
airlock.”
    “ The lieutenant? You know
him?”
    Lars grinned. “Of course I know him—he’s an
old family friend! We go back a long way, the two of us.”
    Sara nodded politely. Unlike herself and the
captain, Lars wore a loose gray jumpsuit with a dark leather vest
and an empty utility belt: standard dress for the working-class
merchanters. Considering how the Colony had originally been a
corporate mining outpost before Karduna had won its independence,
his choice of clothing had something of a patriotic flair to it.
Still, Sara hoped he’d choose something more formal when they
arrived at the conference. She didn’t want the other delegates to
think that they were all Outworld hicks—even if many of them still
were.
    She tried to smile, but found it difficult
to do so naturally. Her body stiffened, and she tried very hard to
think of something to say to break the awkwardness.
    “ Well, that’s a surprise,”
she finally managed. “How exactly do you know each
other?”
    “ Our families used to cover
the same shipping routes, and shared many of the same clients. We
spent a lot of time on each other’s ships, and we watched out for
one another when our parents were out on a haul.”
    Sara nodded politely. Fortunately, the
airlock door hissed open again before she