Free Cobra Outlaw - eARC by Timothy Zahn

Picking up on Smitty’s cue, she was playing the helpless, terrified female hostage who couldn’t possibly be a threat.
    “Sorry, but what I have to say is for Qasaman ears,” the Marine said. “Commodore Santores has a proposal to present the Qasamans. That’s why Commander Tamu wanted Shahni Omnathi to come to Aventine, so that he and the Commodore could discuss the matter directly.”
    “I thought Tamu came to Caelian to bring Governor Uy to the Dome so they could put him on charge for treason.”
    “I don’t know any of those details,” the Marine said. His tone was one of casual dismissal, as if the incident had simply been a misunderstanding instead of a violent clash that had ended in multiple deaths. “All I know is that there was a lot of discussion among the officers on the way here about how we could get in contact with Qasama. When Commander Tamu found out Shahni Omnathi was here, naturally he jumped at the chance to invite him to Aventine.”
    “I remember it being more a demand than a request,” Kemp said grimly.
    “Yeah, Tamu can be a jerk sometimes,” the Marine said. “But that’s not the point. Commodore Santores isn’t here, which means it falls to me to make his pitch.”
    “Like I said, go ahead,” Kemp said. “But you start by talking to me . No, strike that—you start by letting your hostages go.”
    The Marine snorted. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t exactly trust your word. Not after what you did during a supposedly peaceful prisoner exchange.”
    “Our people shouldn’t have been prisoners in the first place,” Nisti put in harshly.
    “They came aboard with malicious intent,” the Marine countered. “Would you have just let men like that wander freely around your territory?”
    “As our guest said, we’ve distanced ourselves from the point,” Omnathi’s voice came from the corridor on the far side of the standoff. Hopefully, he was standing out of range in the mirror-image corridor curve to where Jody and Kemp were currently skulking. “You say you have a proposal. Speak. I will listen.”
    “Thank you for your willingness, Shahni Omnathi,” the Marine said. “Here’s the basics. Commodore Santores wants to arrange an alliance between the Dominion and Qasama. To that end…”
    He continued on; and as he did so, Jody stepped closer to Kemp. “Kemp?”
    “Don’t worry, Kazi’s watching the other gunbay,” he murmured. “If this is a diversion, the guy in there won’t get very far.”
    Jody frowned at the curve of the corridor, listening with half an ear to the Marine’s speech. Something was wrong here. “ Has he tried anything?”
    Kemp shook his head. “I haven’t heard any noise. Trust me, there would be noise.”
    Jody clenched her teeth. There would be noise, all right. Noise, violence, and probably some death, too.
    Yet none of that had happened. And if diversion wasn’t the purpose of this standoff, what was? “Why was Rashida here?” she asked. “Isn’t she supposed to be in CoNCH?”
    “No, she’s on a half-hour check schedule,” Kemp said. “She was probably just keeping Smitty company. She does that a lot when he’s on watch duty.”
    “So if the Marine has a view onto the corridor he’d know that,” Jody said, trying to think. Given that practically everyone else aboard was either a Djinni or a Cobra, it certainly made sense for him to grab Rashida. “But if this isn’t a diversion—”
    “Oh, hell,” Kemp said, very quietly.
    Jody tensed. Had he heard something from the other side of the ship, some noise that her normal human hearing hadn’t picked up? “What is it?” she whispered.
    “Rashida and Smitty,” Kemp said. “Our primary and secondary pilots. He’s got both of them.”
    “It gains him nothing,” Nisti said. “Ifrit Ghushtre and Shahni Omnathi have also made themselves proficient in the vessel’s operation. And he will certainly not be permitted to come within firing range of either of