Free Edge of Redemption (A Star Too Far Book 3) by Casey Calouette Page B

and down a slender hallway with a peaked ceiling.
    “We’ve got a convoy coming in, ma’am,” Bark said.
    Natyasha looked down at the stout woman. A convoy, she thought. “Who?”
    “UC Navy, Core transport, a civilian corvette and an ancient freighter.” Bark shifted where she stood and flexed her augmetic arms. The bared alloy frame hummed and sang lightly.
    Natyasha felt a shiver as she watched the mechanical arms. “Send an invite to the Captain of the UC ship. A cruiser?”
    “I’m not sure, it’s not a design I’ve ever seen.”
    A new design? A ship no one had ever seen? Now that was an interesting bit of leverage. Natyasha turned to the dark hallway and saw the Ambassador gesticulating something to Garth. Leverage indeed. “Could we take it?”
    Bark smiled. “Yeah, I think we could.”
    Natyasha pictured a starship. Winterthur’s starship. Her starship. “Organize a welcoming party. Keep it discrete, your people. None of the riot squad. Save Malic’s boys for something else.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Bark said.
    The pair separated and Natyasha walked back to the Ambassador. Garth slouched across from the Ambassador with his head on his chest. Both men were silent.
    “Tell her,” Garth said.
    Ambassador Myint turned and smiled crookedly at Natyasha. “Can you secure control?”
    Natyasha crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Yes.” Enough bantering with the Ambassador.
    The Ambassador’s face turned from the polite tilt of a politician to that of a bargaining opponent. “Riots?”
    “We have a riot squad.”
    Garth snorted.
    “Mr. Garth doesn’t sound convinced,” Ambassador Myint said.
    “They’re a bit raw, but effective,” Natyasha said.
    “Brutal,” Garth murmured.
    Ambassador Myint shrugged. “I have no problem with brutal. But it must be effective!” He snapped his finger at Natyasha. “Once this begins, if you cannot secure control, we will. Then I can do nothing, it will be a military matter.”
    Natyasha smiled back politely and nodded. Good cop, bad cop. She’d seen it before. He was jockeying.
    But what if there was no agreement? What if this was a ruse, and the Ambassador was here to seed dissent? Contingencies flowed. She’d need to attach one of Bark’s crew to the Ambassador. “And your side of the bargain? I’m not going to trade one overlord for another. We need independence.”
    Myint smiled and the warm edge of the politician returned. “The Harmony Worlds has no interest in Winterthur as a conquest but only as a trading partner. You are a long way from our space.”
    Garth looked to Natyasha. His face wore lines of worry and unhappiness. He opened his mouth as if to speak but instead said nothing.
    Natyasha saw her opportunity. Secure the UC starship, secure the colony, and use that leverage against the Harmony Worlds. It might only be one starship, but this far out, one starship was worth a dozen treaties. “Excellent, Ambassador. We can all agree to that, yes?”
    Garth looked up through bloodshot eyes and nodded weakly.
    Ambassador Myint settled back into his chair and clasped his hands over his breast. A smile of satisfaction rested on his face like it was slathered on. “Of course.”
    To add a bit of shock, she thought. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Ambassador, we have a convoy coming in that I must prepare for.”
    The look on the Ambassador’s face was exactly what she was waiting for. His eyes betrayed him: he was surprised, very surprised. She liked that. Information always made the best leverage.
    Garth saw it too and smiled back at Natyasha.
    “Well, you are my ride back,” Garth added as he stood and walked towards Natyasha. “Good evening, Ambassador.”
    “Good evening indeed,” Ambassador Myint mumbled as he sat alone in rocky silence.
    Natyasha walked out feeling satisfied that the Ambassador would have plenty to keep him up at night. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that on one side was an enemy she knew and the other an unknown