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“You’re a liar, and—” she started; then so he’d said ?”
“I’ up at the white jacket who placed another plate in front of him This one had what appeared to be a whole fish, coaped at Avasarala, as frowning at Mao now
“I was told you were personally leading this relief effort,” Avasarala said
“That was my intention But I’m afraid other business has removed that option Once we finish with this excellent dinner, I’ll be taking the shuttle back to the station This ship, and its crew, are at your disposal until your vital work on Ganymede is complete”
Avasarala just stared at Mao For the first time in Bobbie’s experience, the old lady was struck speechless
A white jacket brought Bobbie a fish while her lush prison flew at a leisurely quarter g toward Jupiter
Avasarala hadn’t said a word on the ride down the lift to their suite In the lounge, she stopped long enough to grab a bottle of gin off the bar, and waggled a finger at Bobbie Bobbie followed her into the master bedroom, Cotyar close behind
Once the door was closed and Cotyar had used his handheld security ters, Avasarala said, “Bobbie, start thinking of a way to either get control of this ship or get us off of it”
“Forget that,” Bobbie said “Let’s go grab that shuttle Mao’s leaving on right now It’s within range of his station or he wouldn’t be taking it”
To her surprise, Cotyar nodded “I agree with the sergeant If we plan to leave, the shuttle will be easier to coainst a hostile crew”
Avasarala sat down on her bed with a long exhale that turned into a heavy sigh “I can’t leave yet It doesn’t work that way”
“The fking game!” Bobbie yelled
“Yes,” Avasarala snapped “Yes, the fking game I’ve been ordered by my superiors to make this trip If I leave now, I’m out They’ll be polite and call it a sudden illness or exhaustion, but the excuse they giveas I pretend I’ I’m still the assistant undersecretary of executive administration I still have connections Influence If I run now, I lose theht as well shoot me”
“But,” Bobbie said
“But,” Avasarala repeated “If I continue to be effective, they’ll find a way to cutto keep me off the network When that happens, I will demand that the captain reroute to the closest station for repairs If I’ht, he won’t do it”