Confluence

CHAPTER TWELVE: DOMINIQUE RADKO

“That might fool them for a few minutes,” Radko said. And it seemed it did, for their pursuers didn’t change course again.

“I apologize for getting us into this mess,” Han said stiffly.

“Don’t take all the credit, Han. Mistakes happen. We deal with it. Let’s concentrate on staying alive now. Make for the town, van Heel.”

If they were lucky, they’d get all the way there. It was simpler to hide in a town of twenty thousand people than it was to hide in the rocky terrain they were flying over.

“I’m glad it was you and not me,” van Heel said to Han. “Being the first to muck up on a job stinks.”

“I’m glad it was you, too,” Chaudry said. “I’d have been devastated.”

They could have made it worse by berating him, or by not saying anything at all. Instead, they tried to help although Chaudry’s help could have done with some finesse.

They were fifty kilometers away from the town when van Heel said, “They’ve resumed following. A classic sector-search pattern.”

“All of you, keep a watch for some cover where we might conceal the aircar.”

“Have you looked at the terrain down there?” van Heel said. “We’ll be lucky not to crash.”

Rocky terrain made it harder to hide. Unless they could find overhanging rocks. “Put us behind something that will block our heat signature and get us down fast.”

“Right.” Seemingly seconds later, van Heel said, “Strap in. I’m going down fast.”

Han would pull through, but it would be good to give him something else to think about. Except she didn’t need to, for Han was watching Chaudry’s white-knuckled grip on the seat.

“You’ve never crashed before, Chaudry?”

Chaudry’s grip became tighter.

Van Heel pulled up in a hard reverse thrust only meters from the ground. “I’m not that bad.” They hit the ground with enough force to bounce. “She said go down fast.”

“You know they have antigrav stabilizers,” Han said. “You won’t die, Chaudry.”

“The force of the antigrav kicking in can cause more damage than outright impact. Because it kicks in so fast, it can cause trauma, cardiac contusions and atrial ruptures, asthma, traumatic iritis, and even orbital fractures.”

“You know I only understood the first part.”

Van Heel had brought them down in the center of a rocky outcrop. If they’d had something to cover the roof of the aircar, it would have been perfect.

“Nicely done, van Heel,” Radko said.

“It was, wasn’t it.” If van Heel sounded smug, who could blame her? “Let’s see what we’ve got out here.”

They had to pop the emergency top for Chaudry to exit because the door didn’t open far enough for him to squeeze out. Even then, it was a tight fit.

It took the three of them to boost him up, with Han doing the bulk of the work, grunting as he did so. “Lucky you’re not fat, Chaudry.”

“Fat is less dense than muscle.”

Outside, Radko took time to appreciate just how cleverly van Heel had landed. They had cover from the rocks around them. The only thing that could get to them was a direct, overhead shot. She turned her attention to the Pandora field diffuser and started assembling the components.

“You know,” Han said, “they set those things up on the outside of ships to destroy small particles. If you’re thinking to use it to protect humans, it needs a stable surface. Holding it won’t work.”

Radko tapped the top of the aircar. “Define stable. Meantime, you and Chaudry take a quick look around to find enough shelter for all of us. If we bring an aircar down, it will fall right on top of us.”

“Shelter. Right.”

“Keep together and keep in constant comms.”

“What’s she doing?” Chaudry asked, as they moved off.

“I don’t know, Chaudry. But that’s a Pandora diffuser. She probably plans to use it after they’ve blown us to bits, to destroy any evidence we’ve been here.”

Han would see.

Radko calibrated the diffuser until the beam was only atoms thick. She didn’t test it. A deep gouge in one of the rocks would betray their location as fast as Han’s comms had.

If they were lucky, the aircars would bypass them altogether. But they weren’t going to be lucky. Redmond would have the technology to pick out individual heat signals. They’d find them. It was just a matter of how long.

Han and Chaudry returned from their circuit. “Not much to hide behind,” Han reported. “A few overhangs, but more for one person than all of us. If they use lasers to cut into whichever rock each of us is sheltering under, we’ll be crushed.”

It would be safer if they moved away from the aircar. “Show me, Han. Chaudry, keep watch here with van Heel. Van Heel, can you slave the aircar screens to our comms?”

“These comms? These screens? You’d better all start thinking positive thoughts.”

Chaudry looked as if he was doing exactly that. If he’d been on a ship, it might have worked. He was, after all, a linesman.

They set off together, Radko keeping an ear open for the sounds of aircraft and a careful note of the quickest, safest way back to the aircar. The ground was covered in loose rocks. It would be hard to run without turning your ankle.

The first part of their walk was silent. Radko nodded approvingly at one outcrop that might shelter them from the first pass of a strafing aircar.

“My father’s going to the fleet?” Han asked eventually. “How bad is that for us?”

“It depends who he goes to. You know him better than I do. Whom would he approach?”

Han wrinkled his brow. “I can’t imagine. Papa didn’t have much to do with the fleet. I think he was scared of them. Especially Commodore Bach. He was always nervous around him.”

Maybe Renaud had been worried Bach would find out he had changed Han’s DNA, for the more Radko thought about it, the more convinced she was that it had been done with Renaud’s knowledge.

“Back when I first joined the fleet, I was sure Bach was blackmailing him. I went to my father and asked.”

“And was he?”

“He was… shocked, I think. Said of course not. That Bach would only do what was best for Lancia.” Han shaded his eyes and squinted against the harsh sunlight, looking into the air for military craft. Radko could believe he’d welcome them, rather than this uncomfortable conversation.

Yet Han must have had a reason to suspect Bach. “So who was blackmailing him?”

“He never said. He changed the subject.”

So Renaud was being blackmailed. Given it was around the time he’d “adopted” his new son, it was likely someone had found out about it. And was using it to what?

Blackmail didn’t stop, not unless you stopped the blackmailer. Was that why Renaud tracked his son so carefully? Why he assumed that Han’s going to Redmond meant a ransom payment first, or at best a trap, when others would assume a job for a soldier?

Her comms sounded. Van Heel.

“Two aircraft coming.”

Two. Surely they could have come one at a time. Radko left Han behind in her run back to the aircar.

“Tell me where. Tell me when,” she ordered van Heel.

Han arrived behind, breathing fast. “I never thought of myself as a slow runner before.”

“Han, Chaudry. Weapons ready. Head for the cover you found earlier. Be prepared to avoid falling debris, and shoot everyone who exits.” If anyone survived the crash, they would come out shooting. “Van Heel. Did you manage to slave the comms?”

“Yes.”

“Good. As soon as I say, go with Han and Chaudry. If this thing comes down, it will come down hard.

Abram Galenos had always liked Pandora field diffusers. “They might not be enough to destroy a ship,” he’d said, “but energy dispersed in a fine beam will still damage a ship enough to give you an advantage.” They were old technology, replaced on many ships by stronger, newer field diffusers that you couldn’t tighten the beam on.

Jiang Vega liked them, too, but that was because she considered them antiques, and she collected antique weapons.

Everyone on the Lancastrian Princess knew how to use them. And their strengths and weaknesses. It was also a test of skill, for matching a narrow beam to a high, fast-moving aircraft was well-nigh impossible. “Give me the coordinates of the first aircar, van Heel. Keep reading them out. One every two seconds.”

Van Heel started to count off figures.

Radko counted with her, calibrating the diffuser as she went.

“Sixty eight five. Sixty eight four. Sixty eight three.”

It was coming in a fast, straight line. “Go now. Quick.”

She continued the countdown as van Heel ran. “Sixty seven nine. Sixty seven eight.”

She pressed the button.

She couldn’t see the beam, which was like a microns-thick, hot, molten wire. Didn’t know she’d intersected the aircar until Han’s, “Holy Jackson and Philtre.”

“Take cover.” And she raced for the nearest rocky overhang.

Pieces of aircar fell around her. One spinning propeller bounced and missed her by centimeters.

“Watch for survivors.”

There were none.

The other aircar came down fast. Four soldiers exited.

“Stay under cover as much as you can,” Radko said. “I’ll take whoever is on the right. Han, take the left. Chaudry, center left. Van Heel, center right. Don’t fire until we have to, for they’ll know our range then.” The Redmond soldiers would have longer-range weapons and could pick them off individually.

She moved fast around the rocks, rolling on one and sliding down. She waited, hardly daring to breathe, until she was sure the enemy hadn’t heard her.

It gave her an idea. She reached down and picked up one of the rocks. She hefted it in her hand, guessing the weight and balance.

She threw it as far as she could, off to the right of their attackers. Two soldiers headed that way.

Chaudry gave a small huff of understanding. Next moment another stone whizzed past. A good strong throw, it landed way past hers.

Radko waved her team on and out.

Then it was blaster to blaster. Hiding behind what little cover the rocks afforded. Firing when she could. She lost part of her sleeve taking the first soldier down.

Han fired past her, blaster melting the stone on the ground in front of them.

Radko ran forward. Again, and again.

A bitten-off scream behind her. Van Heel.

Radko took aim and fired.

A rain of stones from Chaudry, behind her, kept the Redmond soldiers occupied trying to defend their heads. She and Han picked the last two soldiers off.

Van Heel was down. They’d deal with her when the site was secure.

“Han, Chaudry, with me.”

She entered the cabin of the Redmond aircar, fast, weapon ready to fire.

It was empty.

“Good. We’ll take this aircar.” It would be faster than their own, and right now, speed was the most important consideration. “Cover us,” Radko told Han. “Chaudry, come back with me to collect van Heel. Then get back in here before any more aircars arrive.”

Chaudry proved as strong as he looked. He picked van Heel up and ran.

“She’s alive?” Han asked. He had the engines idling.

“I’m still conscious, idiot,” van Heel said.

The weapon had caught her across her chest, burning part of one breast and the skin and flesh off the top of her arm.

“Let me see,” Chaudry said.

“Take it up.” Radko looked at van Heel. “Is there any chance that you know how to disable the tracking on a military vehicle?”

“Of course I can. But it will take hours and equipment we haven’t got.”

They didn’t have the time, either. “When’s Gunter’s shuttle due?”

“Six hours,” said van Heel.

This aircar was fast. They’d be at the spaceport in two hours. They’d have to hide for four. Even now, someone at Redmond headquarters—someone like van Heel—would be tracing their route. They’d work out where they were headed. Then they’d go through the expected deliveries at the spaceport. It wouldn’t take much to associate Han’s Lancian comms with an order coming from Lancia. They’d hack into Gunter Wong’s call, then his sales records. They’d know where the shellfish were being delivered. They’d know exactly what Radko and her team planned.

What came after that would be far worse than anything they had encountered so far. If they continued with this plan, they’d be dead in four hours.

It was time to revise their plan. “Let’s go steal a shuttle,” Radko said.

The closest spaceport with shuttles currently on the ground was a thousand kilometers away. Radko turned the throttle on full and set the autopilot. They’d be there in twenty minutes.

“Han, watch the boards, see if we’re being followed. While you’re doing that, see what shuttles will be in port, and identify them and where they’re going.”

Chaudry had already found the first-aid kit. He handled van Heel with a competence surprising for one who, according to his records, had been stuck in supplies for the six months since he’d graduated from fleet academy.

Radko watched him while she picked the lock on the first weapons cupboard. “You’ve seen action?”

“No, ma’am.” Chaudry ducked his head and turned away, as if ashamed that he hadn’t.

“But you’ve treated injured people before.”

He didn’t answer.

“Chaudry. It’s not my business to know every personal detail of your life.” Although a good team leader did. She was sure Bhaksir knew every detail of hers. “But if I have a skilled medical practitioner on my staff, I need to know it.”

The cupboard door sprang open.

“My parents were doctors.” She had to strain to hear Chaudry’s mumble. “I was going to be a doctor.”

Until he’d taken the Havortian tests. Did anyone ever refuse to go into line training?

Radko checked the contents of the cupboard. More blasters. Didn’t they have better weapons? She moved on to the next cupboard.

“Speaking of knowing people,” Han said. “You’re very handy with a picklock.”

“Thank you.” Personally, she’d prefer a level-twelve linesman to open it for her. And what was Ean doing now, anyway?

Thinking about that—she apologized to the next cupboard as she broke the connection. “I am sorry, but we need the weapons.” She didn’t know if the Redmond aircar cupboards were line three or simply mechanical. Probably mechanical, and a linesman wouldn’t have been able to open them.

She looked up to see all of them staring at her. “It’s polite.”

“Maybe I’m not the one you should be looking at,” van Heel told Chaudry. She breathed in sharply as he sprayed painkiller on her wound, then out on a long hiss as the gel hardened. “That feels so good.”

Radko went back to the weapons cupboard. This one, at least, had a long-distance armor-piercing gun. Not a big one, but large enough to put a dent into anything that might come after them. She handed it to Han.

The third cupboard held riot grenades. The smaller ones had a range of three meters, the larger ones could clear a large cargo space. Radko tucked all of them into her belt.

“We’ve three possible shuttles,” Han said. “A small two-seater that will arrive around the same time we do. It’s delivering machinery parts. A ten-seater delivering a shipment of iced Karamba mangosteen. It will arrive five minutes after we do. And a six-seater delivering passengers and cargo from a regular run between the Redmond worlds. It’s been down half an hour already.”

“We’ll take the six-seater if we can.” It had two advantages. They’d all fit, and it would be ready to leave—shuttles didn’t stay long because of port charges.

They just had to get there in time.

Five minutes to go. Radko checked the location of the shuttle as the aircar slowed to descend and set them to land as close to the shuttle they wanted as she could.

She switched to manual at four minutes, for the automatic traffic controller would grab them if she didn’t, and it would move them to a safer location. Five seconds later, the automated message came on.

“Attention, you are entering restricted airspace. This is an automated control area. Please hand control over to the automated controller.”

She turned the volume down. “How’s van Heel?” she asked Chaudry. “Can she run?”

“I can run,” van Heel said.

Chaudry shook his head.

“Okay, you’re responsible for her then. We’ll try to stay with you. Get something to cover your mouth and your eyes.” She tapped the gas grenades on her belt. “I might have to use these.”

He nodded.

They were thirty seconds from landing when a human controller took over. “Back off, moron. You’re in a spaceport, and you’re too close to the shuttles.”

She checked one last time to see if the shuttle was still on the ground. It was.

“The shuttle’s there.” She pointed in the direction the shuttle would be when they landed. Head for it.” If they were lucky, the door would be open, and they could storm it. “Chaudry, get van Heel settled and strapped in. Han and I will take the shuttle.”

Han looked at the weapon in his hands. “That’s our plan?”

“The best plans, Han, are the ones you make up as you go along. They have an element of randomness. If you don’t know what’s coming, other people don’t either.”

They landed fifty meters from the shuttle. Better, it was partway through being loaded, so the doors were open. “Let’s go.” Radko set her blaster on stun and led the way down.

“I can walk,” van Heel insisted, but was soon leaning heavily on Chaudry.

As they made their way across the tarmac, a ground car sped up from the other end of the field.

Radko waited until they’d slowed, then stunned the four occupants with her blaster. The ground car rolled to a halt.

“A bit extreme,” Han said.

“Any closer, and they’d be in the shuttle blast when we take off. This way it’s safer.”

Radko quickened her pace. At the door to the shuttle, they were greeted by a blaster—not on stun. “I’ve called the authorities,” the pilot said. “They’ll be here soon.”

Radko shot him. He toppled backward.

Chaudry made an inarticulate sound.

Radko hauled the pilot back into the shuttle. “Han, can you disengage the robots loading?”

“I—”

“I’ll do it.” Chaudry passed van Heel over to Han and moved over to the boards. Radko watched his swift hands as she prepared for takeoff. This was one thing he was used to doing.

“They do this in Stores?”

“All the time,” Chaudry said. “It’s Stores, after all.”

She locked each door as the robots disengaged. “Han, disarm the pilot and strap him in.” They could have ditched him, but it would take too much time to drag the body a safe distance.

Radko checked the fuel. Half-full. Enough for what they needed. She hoped.

“Pilot secure,” Han said, at the same time as Chaudry said, “Robots clear.”

Radko snapped the last door shut and fired the engines. Five seconds later, they started to rise.

How long before anyone came after them? It depended how long it took Redmond to link their missing aircraft with the stolen shuttle. Radko guessed they had an hour’s lead, at best. She hoped it was enough.

In that time, they had to find the ship Gunter had arranged to transport the shellfish, intercept the shuttle pilot—who would already have started the delivery to Redmond—and convince him to collect them and return to his ship without making the delivery.

She counted on three things. First, that Renaud Han was genuinely fond of his son-who-wasn’t; second, that Renaud and Gunter Wong were close friends; and lastly, that because it had been arranged at such short notice, the ship Gunter had called in to do the job was one that spent a lot of time ferrying shellfish for him. Which meant, she hoped, that Gunter had influence with the ship captain. Enough to convince him to pick up four strangers out of space, and order another jump, hours earlier than the one he already had.

She identified the ship. The Mikasa. The ship they’d caught off Lancia to Barth. How much was this diversion costing Gunter, for that had been a full passenger ship?

Half an hour. The timing was close.

“Han, I want you to call Gunter.” Maybe it would have been smarter to call Renaud Han, but Renaud was probably still with Gunter anyway. “Tell him you have escaped from Redmond and that we’re in space. We want to rendezvous with the shuttle that’s delivering the shellfish to Redmond. We want the pilot to pick us up and return to his ship. We want the captain of that ship to organize his jump for as soon as we get on board.”

They only had one chance at this. Further, they could only do it because the lag time between the two sectors was so short. Surely, someone had reported that by now. Radko couldn’t see any reason for such rapid communication, yet someone had paid hefty premiums for that type of lag.

If this worked, Radko owed Gunter Wong and Renaud Han. A debt she’d be happy to repay.

Han opened his comms. “I hope no one at the barracks ever gets to hear about this.”

So did Radko, but not for the same reason Han was hoping. She had to remember that Renaud had contacted someone at those barracks. Whoever he’d contacted would be looking out for Han.

If Renaud had convinced them it was serious.

“I mean it.” Han looked at Chaudry and van Heel. “One word passes either of your lips, and you’re totally dead. Or arrested on a trumped-up charge, at least.”

Chaudry mimed zipping his lip. “Not from me.”

“Van Heel?”

Van Heel struggled to reply, and when she did speak, it was through gritted teeth. Her wound must be bothering her more than she admitted. “I’ll keep silent if you introduce me to your father. After all, I have to thank him for saving our lives.”

Han looked at Radko.

“If you think this reflects badly on you,” she asked, “how do you think it reflects on your team leader?”

“Badly,” everyone agreed.

Radko laughed and checked the emergency suits as Han called Gunter.

There were six suits. Four of them were simple emergency suits with twelve hours of air and an emergency beacon. The other two were full suits, with controls. That was standard in a shuttle like this. The shuttle pilot always had a full suit—in case he had to do emergency repairs outside—and a standby suit in case that first one failed.

It was better this way. Han and Chaudry had probably never used suits outside of training. Ean had said his first time in space was terrifying.

“Yves.” Gunter seemed to have aged in the time between calls. “We thought something went wrong.”

“We were on Redmond. Have to avoid the enemy. Hello, Papa,” as Renaud moved into sight as well. “I apologize for worrying you.”

“We called Fleet Headquarters,” Renaud said. “They will get you out.”

Han kept talking, for they couldn’t wait for the lag to catch up. “We got ourselves off Redmond. No need to stress, Papa. But I do need another favor from Gunter. I know it’s a big ask, but people are chasing us. We need to get away.

“We booked passage on the ship that is taking the Gippian shellfish.” He grimaced as he said it, but they all knew he had to mention it. “We’re about to meet up with the shuttle. We want it to pick us up and take us back to the ship. We need you to tell the captain what’s happening and that it’s okay. We’ve less than half an hour before we intercept the shuttle. We need to do it fast. And you’ll need to ask the captain to organize another jump. Before they realize what we’ve asked and stop him.”

The delay for a reply took forever. Radko had time to think of five thousand ways that all this could go wrong. Renaud had a contact in the Lancian fleet. They might be listening to this call—but that could be advantageous. They might convince Gunter and Renaud to act fast.

Even if Lancia wasn’t listening in, Redmond would certainly be. The only reason this plan might work was because even the military had to work with bureaucracy of the jump gates, and a captain who used the gates all the time might get precedence over someone who was trying to prevent that.

Chaudry moved over to check van Heel’s wound again.

After the wait, it was Renaud who answered rather than Gunter. “Yves. We’ve organized a rescue. You’ll be rescued soon.”

Thankfully, in the background, they could hear Gunter talking. “Collect them and take them where they need to go.”

“We don’t need rescuing, Papa. It’s a job. We ran into a little difficulty.”

“Understatement of the century,” van Heel murmured quietly to Chaudry.

“They might even compromise the mission if they try to help.”

Radko nodded approvingly.

“We are nearly at the shuttle. We need to intercept it now.”

Whoever Gunter was talking to was arguing back.

Gunter cut him off. “If you still want my business, you’ll do this.”

They were in range of the other shuttle and were out of time.

Gunter said in the background. “I’ll give them the codes, Captain Engen.” He repeated them aloud, much to Radko’s relief. “The numbers are 436-243-043-341-094-334-234.”

“Thank you,” Han said, though the message wouldn’t get back to Gunter for fifteen minutes. “We appreciate this, Gunter. And we’ll repay any expenses as soon as we get home. Look after Papa and Mama for me, please.” He clicked off, then sagged into his seat.

They had to keep moving. “Suit up.” Radko chose the full suit for herself and gave van Heel the second full suit.

“I like your family,” Chaudry told Han.

So did Radko, but this still had to be the strangest operation she’d ever been on. She punched in the code.

“Captain Engen. Gunter Wong called you a moment ago, asking you to change some plans.”

Engen had a broad, flat face and a yellow net covering her brown hair. At least, Radko thought it was a net until it moved a tendril.

“You’re not who I’m expecting.”

Thank the lines for instantaneous communication within a sector. Han leaned into the call with her. “That would be me. I won’t introduce myself, as I suspect people are listening.”

“We’re nearly at your shuttle now,” Radko said. “As soon as your shuttle acknowledges it’s ready to collect us, we’ll suit across.”

Captain Engen nodded and opened another comms line. “Come in, Leonard. Change of plan.”

“These babies have a restricted shelf life. We can’t change too much.”

It was the same shuttle pilot who’d brought them on planet initially.

“This one pays more,” Captain Engen said. “You’re about to receive some visitors. Let them in, then return to ship.”

“I’m in space.”

“So are they.” The captain clicked off, clicked back on again. “If the port authorities call, ignore them.” She turned back to Han and Radko. “Here’s the code for the shuttle.” She pushed it through. “Tell Leonard to let me know when you’re on board.”

“Thank you.” Radko clicked off and turned to check each suit before she clipped them into a line. Chaudry behind her, then Han, and lastly van Heel. Van Heel might be injured, but at least she’d done some ship work. “I’ll do all the work. You stay put. If it gets too bad, close your eyes.”

“What about him?” Han asked, looking at the still-unconscious pilot.

“We put the ship on auto and set a beacon. He’ll come around in two hours.” The biggest danger for the pilot was that Redmond would reach the shuttle before he returned to consciousness and blast him out of the sky. Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to stay around to ensure he was okay. And she definitely wasn’t going to mention that possibility to the others.

She zipped him into one of the remaining emergency suits. At least that way, he’d have a chance.

“You said he was staying here,” Chaudry said.

“Just in case,” Radko said. “Are we ready?”

The air lock was too small to fit all four of them. She broke the link between Chaudry and Han. “We’ll go first.”

Outside, through her helmet, she heard Chaudry swallow.

“Keep still, Chaudry,” and made her voice commanding, and hoped he’d instinctively follow the order. “Close your eyes.”

She linked herself magnetically to the side of the ship as she waited for the air lock to recycle, and listened to Chaudry gag in his suit. She’d once told Ean how important it was not to be sick in your suit, but if she even mentioned the word, then Chaudry’s stomach would rebel properly.

“Are your eyes closed?” She snagged Han as he exited and clipped his line to Chaudry’s belt. “If any of you have problems, close your eyes.”

“But you still know.” It was little more than a whisper from Chaudry. “You can’t hide from it.”

Radko fired her jets. The sooner they were in the other shuttle, the better.

The trip took seven minutes. Behind her she heard nothing but heavy breathing and choked-off gasps. One of them was hyperventilating, probably Chaudry. “All of you, keep your eyes closed.” Didn’t they take the trainees out into space anymore during training?

It felt like the longest suit journey Radko had ever undertaken.

She called Leonard when they were close enough for Leonard to track them from the shuttle. “Leonard, Captain Engen told you to expect us.”

“Don’t know that I’d like to be doing what you’re doing.”

Radko didn’t mind. She liked space. She shifted, and changed direction to aim for the air-lock door she could see. “We’re close to your hull. Can you let us in, please?” She turned her magnets on and clicked onto the hull.

The air lock opened. “Two of you at a time,” Leonard said.

She unclipped Han from Chaudry again and pushed Han and van Heel into the air lock. “Be gentle. One of them is injured.”

Outside, while they waited for the air lock to recycle, she said, “Chaudry, are you listening to me,” and kept saying it until he was. “We’re up against the side of a shuttle now, and I’m attached to it magnetically. You’re safe.”

As safe as he could be in a suit without any controls. It was for emergencies, after all.

“Ready?” Leonard asked, and opened the outer air lock.

Radko made her way in and dragged Chaudry in with her. “You’re safe now,” she said again. “You’re in the shuttle.”

Chaudry didn’t relax until they were in the shuttle cabin proper.

“It’s not how I’d choose to travel,” Leonard told them, as Radko stripped off her suit, and helped Chaudry, then Han, out of theirs. Van Heel was struggling out of her own. “Hello, I remember you lot. I told you San See was a better port.” He called up the ship. “Captain, I have our passengers. Heading back to the ship now.”

“You realize,” he told them, “that we spoiled an order of shellfish for you.”

“They were our orders,” Radko said. “I don’t see why we can’t eat them at dinner. We owe you.”

“As if,” Leonard said.