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Dataset card Data Studio Files
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Stiggur grimaced. "Should we be discussing this on a broadcast signal-?"
"We're going to keep all this a secret?"
"Not hardly," Stiggur conceded. "All right, Jonny-you didn't call just to give me advance notice of Armageddon. What do you want?"
Jonny swallowed hard. "Permission to return with Wrey to Asgard and see what can be done to hold off the war."
Stiggur's eyebrows lifted toward his hairline. "Don't you think they've done everything possible in that direction already?"
"I don't know. How can we unless we talk directly to the Central Committee or Joint Command?"
Stiggur exhaled loudly. "We need you here."
"You know better than that. I can't fight worth a damn anymore, and there are a lot of First Cobras with better military and tactical knowledge."
"What about your family, then?" Stiggur asked quietly. "They need you."
Jonny took a deep breath. "Twenty-nine years ago I left all the family I had then to fight for people I didn't even know. How can I pass up even the slimmest...
Stiggur gazed at him for a long minute, his expression giving away nothing of what was going on behind it. "Much as I hate to admit it, I suppose you're righ...
"Thanks, Brom. I'd already planned to do that."
"I'll talk to you whenever I know something." He nodded and the screen went blank.
Sighing, Jonny carefully flexed his rebellious elbows and punched for Yutu.
* * *
They all sat quietly in the softly lit living room as Jonny explained both the bad news and his proposed response to the crisis; and as he gazed at each memb...
Chrys was as she always was, radiating a quiet strength and support toward him even while her eyes ached with the fear and pain a permanent separation would ...
He finished his explanation, and for a few moments the silence was broken only by the soft hum of the air conditioning. "When'll you be leaving, Dad?" Corwin...
"If I go, it'll be today," Jonny answered. "They'll want to leave as soon as the ship's refueled and all."
"Are you going to take Almo or someone with you?"
Jonny smiled briefly. Almo Pyre had been one of the first volunteers through D'arl's Cobra factory, and with his fierce loyalty toward Jonny and the entire M...
She smiled sadly. "If you don't understand me better than that by now-"
The abrupt ring from the phone made them all jump. Getting carefully to his feet, Jonny went to his desk and flipped the instrument on. "Yes?"
It was Stiggur. "Sorry, Jonny, but no go. Wrey steadfastly refuses to clutter his ship with useless colonial officials. His words."
Jonny exhaled slowly. "Did you explain how important it could be?"
"Loudly enough to scare a gantua. He simply refuses to consider anything even marginally outside his orders."
"Then maybe I'd better talk to him again myself. Do I still have your authorization to go?"
"I guess so. But it's all academic now."
"Perhaps. I'll get back to you."
He disconnected and started to punch for the starfield . . . but halfway through the motion he paused and turned to look at Chrys.
Her eyes gazed at his, and through them to whatever pain she saw in the future. But though her lips seemed made of wood, her voice was firm enough. "Yes. Try...
He held her eyes another second, then turned back to the phone. A few moments later Wrey's face appeared. "Yes? Oh, it's you. Look, Governor-"
"Mr. Wrey, I'm not going to repeat Governor-General Stiggur's arguments," Jonny interrupted him. "I don't care whether you can't see past your own nose and u...
Wrey snorted. "Oh, really? They call that a Titan complex back in Dome, Moreau-the belief that you can go ahead and defy authority any time you want to. I su...
Jonny shook his head. "I'm afraid it is you, sir, who's misunderstanding the legal situation here. Our charter clearly states that the governor-general may r...
"I claim an exception anyway. If you don't like it, you can file a grievance with the Central Committee when the war's over."
"I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. If you want to claim a legitimate exception, you'll have to present your case here, to Aventine's Council of Syndic...
Wrey's eyes narrowed. "What does that entail?"
Which meant the other had been on Asgard so long he'd forgotten how planet-level politics worked. For an instant Jonny was tempted to spin a genuine horror s...
From the look on Wrey's face, the other had already added up the times. "Suppose I refuse to cooperate with this little delaying tactic?"
"You're free not to cooperate . . . but your ship doesn't lift until all this is resolved."
"How are you going to stop me?"
Reaching to the phone, Jonny tapped some keys, and a second later a new voice joined the circuit. "Pyre here."
"Almo, this is Jonny Moreau. How's security setup going?"
"All locked down, Governor," the younger Cobra told him.
"Good. Please inform the night manager that there's no longer any rush to service the Dominion ship. It won't be leaving for a few more days."
"Yes, sir."
"Hold it, soldier," Wrey snapped. "I am a direct representative of the Central Committee, and on that authority I'm countermanding that order. Understand?"
There was a short pause. "Governor, is his claim legitimate?"
"Yes, but this specific action seems to violate a clear charter provision. It looks like it'll be going to the council."