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Avasarala waved a hand as if she were shooing flies “What’s communications look like?”

“Robust,” Cotyar said “We’ve set up a private network and have been given the backup tightbeanificant, though light delay will be an increasing factor as wefor the first ti tired a while ago and had moved on to whatever tired turns into when it became a lifestyle

“None of this is secure,” Cotyar said “We can secure our private internal network, but if they are h the array we’re using, there will be no way to detect that We have no access to ship operations”

“And,” Avasarala said, “that is exactly why I’ trip, and read allmail”

“We’re lucky if that’s all they do,” Bobbie said Thinking about how tired Avasarala looked had reminded her how tired she was too She felt herself drift away for a , and Cotyar nodded and said yes to her She turned to Bobbie and said, “Do you agree?”

“Uh,” Bobbie said, trying to rewind the conversation in her head and failing “I’ chair When’s the last tiht’s sleep?”

“Probably about the last time you did,” Bobbie said The last ti to keep the solar syste comment, the next observation that she couldn’t do her job if she was that coh,” Avasarala said Bobbie felt another little surge of affection for her “Mao’s throwing a big dinner tonight to welcome us aboard I want you and Cotyar to come with Cotyar will be security, so he’ll stand at the back of the roohed before she could stop herself Cotyar smiled and winked at her

“And,” Avasarala continued, “you’ll be there as et a feel for the crew and the er that”

“I noticed,” Avasarala said, her tone shifting to the one she used when she was going to ask for an unpleasant favor, “the executive officer staring at you e did the airlock reet”

Bobbie nodded She’d noticed it too Sootten the hair-raising sense that he ht be a member of that tribe They tended to have unresolved enerally steered clear

“Any chance you could talk hihed, expecting everyone else to laugh too Even Cotyar was looking at her as though Avasarala had made a perfectly reasonable request

“Uh, no,” Bobbie said

“Did you say no?”