Nansen’s face appeared, stiff as a winterscape. Ruszek scowled beside him. The others pressed at their backs. “Very well, Mr. Brent,” the captain snapped. “Now will you explain the meaning of this?”
Brent returned his look. “You know it,” he said. “I’ve taken command. We’re going home.”
“Are you insane?” Nansen’s glance went to Cleland, behind and offside from the second engineer. “Are you?”
The planetologist clenched his fists. His mouth writhed.
“You are,” Brent stated. “You, the great Ricardo Iriarte Nansen Aguilar, monomaniac, megalomaniac, egomaniac.” His voice mildened. “Hanny Mam, Wenji, Ajit, Selim, Lajos, we’re acting on your behalf. Yours and humankind’s.” The tone went harsh. “He’d have kept us in this orbit of the damned year after year after year, till one way or another the black hole destroyed us. It would have, the ghastly thing. Jean died to warn us. But no, Ricardo Nansen would not heed. We’d have died, and everything we’ve won, every treasure of knowledge and power we have to give our race and keep it forever starfaring, all would have died with us. For nothing but to serve this man’s self-grandeur.”
“And so you’ve sealed us in here,” snarled Ruszek. “You brother-buggering swine, let me out and I’ll serve you rightly!”
Nansen lifted a hand. “Quiet, Laps.” The use of the first name emphasized the order.
Yu called past him: “You plotted, you two. You deceived us.”
“We had to!” Cleland yelled.
“You betrayed your ship and your shipmates.”
Cleland shrank back.
Brent turned and clasped his shoulder. “Steady, Tim. They’re just swearing. They were bound to.”
Sundaram spoke levelly. “You overlook the fact that a majority of us wish to stay.”
“By now, all of us in here,” Mokoena said.
Nansen made another hushing gesture. “What of the Tahirians?” he asked.
“They have their own arrangements,” Brent told him. “We’ll take them home as promised. Then we’ll set course for Sol.”
“Do you two shitbrains suppose you can conn the ship by yourselves?” Ruszek roared.
“She can by herself” Brent answered. “Personnel only have to instruct her where to go and how fast. I’ll study up before leaving orbit, but already I know, if I keep maneuvers simple and straightforward — back to Tahir’s sun, back to Sol — Envoy will do it.”
Ruszek sneered. “How do you expect to make planetfall? On your ass?”
“We probably won’t need the boat,” said Brent, unperturbed. “Tahirian spacecraft will rendezvous with us in their system. At Sol — we’ll see what we’ll see. But we’ll have had a year en route to learn the boat’s operation and practice with virtuals and test flights. It’s mainly robotic, too, after all. Piloting’s not hard if you don’t attempt anything risky.” A whipcrack: “Like what you made Jean do, Nansen.”
“Please,” Cleland begged. “We want to be your friends. We are your friends.”
Ruszek spat at him through the slot.
“Lajos, no,” Nansen said. He pushed slightly at the mate, who took the hint and moved aside. “What are your plans for us?” the captain demanded.
“That depends on you,” Brent replied. “Each of you. Listen. You have a washroom, sanitor, and galley in there. I’ve cut this opening so servitors can bring you food, medicine, whatever you need. Sorry about your having no hunks, but they’ll push expansible mattresses through. You can clump your dirty stuff out, and it’ll be cleaned and returned. You’ve got a screen for entertainment, education, the ship’s database, the whole culture of Earth — which we’re going to enrich and uplift.”
Zeyd advanced to the slot. “Each of us, eh?” he murmured.
“Your choice,” Brent said. “You can come home prisoners, to trial, or free and heroes.”
“Trial?” Yu exclaimed from the rear. “What makes you imagine —”
“Hold, please, Wenji,” Zeyd said. “Captain Brent, if I may give you that title, I would like to hear more, privately. You know I have always wanted an early return.”
Brent laughed aloud. “Nice try, Selim. But I’ve watched your mind changing as the news came in.” Starkly: “The news from hell. I’d sooner trust” — his voice warmed —”you, Lajos. You’re honest. And you’ve hated every minute here. You long for Earth, blue sky, green grass, women, children, freedom. Think about it, Lajos.”