Robert Asprin – Tambu

His voice took on an icy hardness.

“But you aren’t going to do it in my name or under the fleet’s protection! Whether I command two hundred ships or a hundred… or ten, or even one, the weapons at my command belong to a peacekeeping force; and if you cross my path with your games, we’ll burn you down like we would any other pirate. For the record and for your information, that is my emotional solution, and you’re right! It’s not going to change!”

He paused and looked at the still, silent figures in the viewscreen.

“Now that that matter’s settled,” he finished conversationally, “I’ll adjourn the meeting for today. Think it over, talk it over. Talk to your crews. Anyone who’s leaving can contact me through normal channels to settle their severance pay. For those who are staying, we’ll reconvene at 0800 hours tomorrow and see how much of a fleet we have left. Tambu out.”

INTERVIEW X

“I take it most of them stayed with the fleet,” Erickson observed.

“All of them did. It caused me a bit of concern at the time.”

“How so? I should think you would have been pleased that they came around to your way of thinking.

“Perhaps. If I had really believed that I had changed their minds. As it was, I knew that several of the captains were dead set against my plans. If a few ships had left the fleet at that time, I might have been able to kid myself into believing that those remaining were in agreement with me. As it was, I was left knowing that I had serious dissenters in the ranks, and that trouble could flare up at any time.”