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“That has been the case for quite some time, Colonel.”

“Are your people willing to keep working on the surface knowing that you can’t promise them you’ll have time to come back for them? Are they willing to risk freezing to death with the memory of seeing Penga Rift turn into a very brief bright spot in the sky?”

“You are trying to frighten me, Colonel. That shows a disappointing lack of respect,” said Eckels.

“I am trying to save your life, and the lives of those under your command.”

“You are trying to protect your secrets,” said Eckels. “What kind of ship is coming here, Colonel?”

“One that destroyed an Imperial-design cruiser with ease, just two days ago,” said Pakkpekatt. “Perhaps you should consult with the captain of Penga Rift and ask him how he views the prospect of commanding it in battle.”

“I will not cede Maltha Obex to the NRI,” said Eckels. “The work is important—and a friend died here. Both of those things matter to me, Colonel, even if they mean nothing to you. Do what you need to here. We won’t interfere with your business if you grant us the same courtesy.”

“It isn’t our interference you need to be concerned with,” said Pakkpekatt. “Doctor, I cannot offer you protection—”

“Oh, yes, from the mysterious ship that’s no threat to your vessel, but a terrible threat to ours. The rampaging juggernaut that dispatches warships with ease, yet apparently will cower when confronted by your yacht. I don’t believe a word of it. Really, Colonel, couldn’t you have invented a more plausible lie? I thought spies were supposed to be good at that—”

Pakkpekatt hissed and lunged forward, his threat ruffles unfolding. Eckels startled, sitting straight up. Even Barjas, watching on the flatscreen display, flinched noticeably.

“I have spoken only the truth to you,” Pakkpekatt said, his voice thick with anger. “The dead will wait for you. Leave this place before you join them.”

This time, the threat was effective. Only simple stubbornness trumped the sudden flash of fear that showed in Eckels’s eyes. “Perhaps you are telling the truth, as you say,” he said. “But if you had the authority to order us to leave, you would have already done so. So let it just be understood between us that we’re staying. We accept the risks. Others may return here in the future, but this is our time.”

“You do not know what you risk by that decision, Dr. Eckels.”

“You remain free to enlighten me,” said Eckels. “What kind of ship is coming to Maltha Obex?”

Pakkpekatt sat back and folded his hands in his lap. “A Qella ship, Dr. Eckels.”

Eckels stared, dumbfounded, then cast his gaze downward. Twice he opened his mouth as if to speak. Both times he momentarily closed his eyes and shook his head, as though disowning the thought trying to reach his lips. Finally he ran a hand back through his thinning hair and raised his head.

“Would you care to come aboard Penga Rift, Colonel?” Eckels said, his voice surprisingly steady. “I believe I owe you an apology, and then we need to talk.”

“That’s what you wanted from the start, isn’t it?” Taisden said when the link was terminated, looking at Pakkpekatt in surprise.

“I never intended for them to leave,” Pakkpekatt agreed. “That ship contains all of the New Republic’s experts on the Qella. What they know—however little—may be the difference between success and failure.”

“Sure—and if we can make use of them, better to keep them here than chase them away. But you played him like a kolo-fisher working a record catch,” said Taisden. “Chances are you left him thinking he won that showdown, with a chance at the vagabond as his reward for hanging tough.”

“I had the insuperable advantage of being able to tell the bait from the hook,” Pakkpekatt said, rising. “Still, perhaps there’s something about sitting in Calrissian’s couch that brings such manipulations more readily to mind and tongue.”

“What manipulations?” Taisden asked, his expression innocent of humor. “After all, Colonel, just as you said, all you told him was the truth.”

But they both knew that Eckels had not yet heard all of the truth.