Page 218 of Commander’s Mate
A woman who walked with a brace locked around her right knee.
Two young men whose military records showed they had been cadets when Farseek fell.
A miner from Waysatu who had never held a combat weapon in his life.
They wanted Breskaa.
Every one of them.
I went out personally.
That was a mistake.
It made refusal harder.
The burn-injured mechanic stepped forward first.
“Commander.”
“No.”
His mouth opened.
“No.”
“You have not heard—”
“You cannot close your left hand.”
“I can shoot with my right.”
“You are an engineer.”
“I can still fight.”
“I need engineers alive.”
Anger flooded his face.
“My brother is on Breskaa.”
“Probable?”
“Confirmed transfer.”
The corridor tightened around us.
I knew his brother’s name.
The registry had made forgetting impossible.
“Then you understand why I need the ship that brings him back to continue functioning.”
His jaw worked.
“I should be there.”
“Yes.”
