She wondered who came to visit, and then realized it was probably the managers and owners of the companies supplying the parts for the Class 5. Were they being promised part ownership? Some benefit once the ship was in operation?
The foyer looked neat and sleek, except there were a few cups lying on the ground next to the water dispenser, as if someone had simply dropped them on the floor.
“Can I get some water?” she asked, when Bart didn’t go anywhere.
He nodded, and she walked over to it and waited for him.
“I’ll need you to untie me, or get it for me,” she said after a beat.
He had been on his comms unit, and he lifted his head in surprise and then came over, poured water for her, and lifted the cup to her lips.
She drank the water in gulps until there was nothing left.
“More?” Bart asked.
She nodded, and sipped the second cup more slowly.
“So how does it work?” she asked. “With the companies supplying Paxe? You obviously had to strong arm one of them by blowing up their headquarters, but did the rest just get on board?”
Bart considered her for a beat. “Some were willing, some needed some incentive. Grimwell Materials had a company head that just flat out didn’t like to be told what to do. We had to make an example of her, and even then, she somehow managedto clear the factory of all the completed parts and send them to the weekly auction. Pissed Kilmar right off because we had to scramble to buy them up.”
“And grabbing people off the street and beating them up to interrogate them? Who was behind that?”
Bart frowned. “I don’t know. The Distani head of operations, maybe. He was paranoid and sure every Grih we saw was somehow onto us. I know he took a Grihan military guy prisoner and it burned our Distani operations almost completely because obviously Battle Center has a way to find their people.”
He was probably talking about Lieutenant Grogan, Fee thought. Interesting that they thought he was the reason the warehouse, office and the secret tunnel that connected the two could no longer be used.
A ping sounded from Bart’s comms set, and he set the cup down and frowned at it. “Come.” He took her elbow and led her to the right.
Just as she’d thought, the corridor kept going, curving around and revealing an open plan kitchen, informal lounge area and small cafeteria style dining area.
The Balcoans working on the Class 5’s home away from home.
The passage narrowed suddenly after the cafeteria, and there were doors on the left.
Bart stopped in front of one and opened it up.
It was a narrow room—a cell, really—with a bench built into the wall with a thin mattress on it, and a neck-high screen with an opening just beyond the head of the bench.
“Hold still.” Bart pushed her in front of him, and suddenly the restraints were off her.
She hunched forward, flexing her hands in relief, and the door closed.
Fee turned back and heard the locks engage.
No goodbye, no nothing.
She turned back, looking the room over, and found a lens in the right hand corner above the door. The angle looked like it would give her privacy if she went behind the screen, and she went to confirm it.
There was a toilet and shower behind there. They could only see her above the neck, she worked out, which was better than nothing, so she used the facilities and had a quick shower while she could.
“Hello, my friend, hello my friend, Are you there, are you there?” she sang in English as she soaped up. She’d hung the jacket on a hook behind the screen, within sight of her.
Eazi hadn’t said anything since they’d begun their descent, and she was worried the interference most systems experienced near Kyber’s Arm had cut them off from each other.
It was why the Tecran had chosen to build a secret base here in the first place.
There was no response to her question.
