Page 198 of Commander’s Mate

One corner of his mouth moved.

“Then I appreciate your intelligence officer accepting it on your behalf.”

Tivid, beside me, looked innocent.

I would deal with him later.

Orvan folded his hands.

“The Consortium wishes to avoid unnecessary escalation.”

“Then stop escalating.”

“Your fleet is operating outside recognized command authority.”

“My fleet is operating outside your command authority.”

“That distinction is the issue.”

“No. It is the solution.”

He did not react.

I disliked him more.

“We have concerns,” he said, “about Farseek vessels accessing protected commercial lanes while refusing inspection.”

“We have concerns about Consortium inspectors demanding survivor records.”

“Identity verification is standard.”

“Not for people rescued from trafficking networks connected to Consortium contractors.”

There.

A flicker.

Small.

Real.

Orvan recovered.

“You are making a serious accusation.”

“I am describing serious evidence.”

“Evidence you refuse to share.”

“Because you asked for the names of the people who survived.”

“Because identifying victims is necessary for prosecution.”

“Not when the same network can query the prosecution database.”

Silence.

Harper’s work had given us that.