Chương 437: 206.Masterful Acting 2

This time nobody argued. Not because I'd suddenly grown more persuasive, but because everyone understood by now: if that gate hadn't opened, all of us would be lying on the Imperial military port's floor right now, waiting for someone to hose our blood into a drain with a pressure washer. After nearly dying once, people's learning speed usually jumps. It was touching. It was also useful.

I pushed the military port's interior schematic onto the shared channel so all six buses could see the lanes ahead and the berth layout.

"Bus A comes with me — vanguard and breach. Bus B stays second; don't fall out of line. Critical wounded stay grouped as planned; the scene has to look bad enough — the worse the better. Buses C and D prepare to follow through; once past the second gate, go straight for the inner docks. Buses E and F handle follow-on personnel and boarding slots. You're not the combat element. You're the reason three hundred second-years get onto that ship alive." Roy's voice came through first.

"You could at least say which ship first."

"I was getting to it." I said. Then I raised my eyes to the window. Between the morning fog and the port's steel, several ship silhouettes were slowly emerging. The big capital ships were too far, and too much trouble. Those old hulls on the outer ring were easy to approach but slow as the Imperial bureaucracy itself. The only one actually worth taking was the newly built ship at the mid-berth, finished not long ago. Her paint was offensively clean, her lines handsome.

Sitting at the berth, she looked like a blade just drawn from its sheath, one that hadn't really seen blood yet. New-builds have a lovely little characteristic. They usually perform well and look intimidating, but a newly delivered hull has the messiest manning. Bridge, engineering, hangar, security — a lot of it is mixed crews. The procedures are more mature than the people. In a close-range fight, reaction tends to lag behind older ships that have been ground down across years in the fleet.

In other words, this kind of thing is very easy to steal.

"The target is the new-build at inner berth three." I said.

"Just delivered, formal combat crew understrength, outer vigilance faster than internal reaction. If we can get aboard, they may not manage to throw us off in time." The channel went quiet for a beat. Then Jess gave an honest tsk.

"So we really are stealing a ship."

"You're only fully accepting that now? That's a little slow." I said.

"I was still nursing a shred of hope that the civilized world could be saved."

"You can keep nursing it." I said.

"Just remember to hold a gun while you do." Harvey let out a long breath on the other end, sounding like a man finally accepting that he wasn't on a school trip but in a survival practicum with extremely unhealthy content.

"The scariest thing about you isn't that you'll do something insane. It's that before you do it, you've already picked out the ship class."

"Thank you. I place great importance on upfront planning." Maki, arms folded beside me, added coldly.

"She also places great importance on dragging classmates down with her."

"President, you shouldn't be finding that out only now." Maki ignored me and put her gaze back on the shared schematic. I marked another berth red while I was at it.

"Also — if things go well, we're taking one ship out. To leave fewer things chasing us, we need to kill one first." This time even Hedwig turned to look at me. She didn't speak at once, but the look said it plainly. You weren't planning to be a normal student from yesterday on, were you. I accepted the accusation squarely, and even wanted to help her finish the question. Unfortunately, I'd never been a normal student.

A normal student brings snacks and a change of clothes on a school trip; I bring a whole case of escape routes that would give a Federation provost a heart attack. I pointed at a medium interceptor on the outer ring.

"That one dies first." I said.

"Furthest out, highest warm-up state. Once we take the ship and leave port, it's the likeliest first one to bite. Rather than let it sortie and chase, let it rot in its own berth." D, on the back row, had been hunched over playing the silent role of a man oppressed by the system; at this he finally couldn't help lifting his eyes.

"This isn't running away anymore."

"Right." I said.

"From here on, this is called preemption." Akari lit up completely. She still had the field bandage wrapped over her shoulder, yet none of that excitement was dented by the casualty styling — it actually gave off a youthful "even though I'm nearly dead I still really want in" energy. Pathological, but very Federation.

"So we're really going to sink one first, inside an Imperial military port?" she asked.

"If everything goes well, yes." I said.

"So cool..."

"Don't describe a criminal act like a school festival." Maki shot back at once. Akari shrank her neck in.

"But it kind of is, a little..."

"You'd better say that after graduation." Good — at least people still had the mood for dumb jokes. That meant morale hadn't scattered. Right then, Freya Nikaido's voice cut into the channel again.

"I have an objection." I pressed my brow. This woman is a genuine miracle. Other people crawl out of a firefight and learn to value life first. Nikaido learns to pick a fight with me first — and her stamina is remarkable, with almost no cooldown.

"Go on." I answered her.

"The vehicle order needs adjusting." Nikaido said.

"Don't put Bus B too far back; put it second. Too far back and it looks like we're deliberately staging the wounded. Second position — lead vehicle clearing the way, rear vehicle in chaos — reads more like a real escort." I was silent for two seconds. Then I conceded, magnanimously.

"Good call." The far end of the channel clearly went quiet too. Nikaido probably hadn't expected me to actually adopt her suggestion; for a moment that temper of hers got stuck in her throat and couldn't come out. While she was still recovering, I slipped in a finishing jab.

"So as of now you're officially promoted to Bus B's Imperial-language and funeral-wailing consultant."

"Hoshino."

"Mm?"

"I'm not some funeral-wailing consultant."

"I never said that." I answered, very innocently.

"You defined it yourself." Even Harvey laughed this time. Nikaido drew a very heavy breath on the other end, and finally said through her teeth:"... I can help control the Imperial phrasing for the rear buses. If someone's reply is too weak, I'll patch it."

"Good." I said.

"You're finally putting your talent in the right place."

"I really want to strangle you right now."

"Please live long enough to be able to." Once things moved into role assignment, the group started to feel more like a group, and less like three hundred terrified second-years. That mattered. Once people know they have a position, they generally crack less easily. So I kept going down the list.

"Roy, take Bus E — headcount and supplies, re-verify. Lan stays on Bus B — hold the wounded, the Hedwig line, and the Nikaido line steady. Harvey, Bus C — keep the mood flat, keep mouths shut; if anyone still wants to play hero right now, pin him back in his seat for me first. Jess, Akari, you're with me on the ship. Maki..." I paused. Maki turned her head, eyes faint.

"What."

"You're coming with me to the bridge." Her eyebrow lifted a hair.

"Reason."

"Because I need someone who, the moment she steps onto a bridge, looks most like she could take over the whole ship with impeccable manners." I said. Maki was silent for two seconds. That silence was dense. It probably contained "of course you saved the most dangerous position for yourself," "of course you never intended to let me slip past it," and "once this is over, I am genuinely going to make you regret this." In the end she gave me one line.

"This goes on the ledger."

"Feel free to line up." The second gate. The genuinely troublesome one. Hedwig had been quiet the whole time; only now did she ask me, low.

"What if they insist on sending a security detachment along?"

"You refuse." I said.

"Same reasoning as before — you don't want to see any more people carrying weapons who failed to reach the scene in time. That line cuts deep enough, and it works." She looked at me as if she wanted to say something, then only nodded. That nod said it clearly. She wasn't merely swept up in this anymore. She was cooperating. More precisely, she was pushing the whole performance forward with her own hands. I looked at her and lowered my voice.

"Your Highness, if you speak up in a moment, there's really no going back." Hedwig gazed at the control gate ahead, closer now, and took several seconds to answer.

"We're past that. What's there to go back to." Good. That line finally sounded like an accomplice. Maki came to stand beside me. Already in Imperial uniform, her whole bearing had gone cold — cold in a way that suited a military academy background perfectly. For one absurd instant I thought: if it weren't the Federation student council president standing here, but the top student of some prestigious Imperial academy, this is probably exactly what she'd look like. She asked me, low.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

"Can't tell."

"Because I'm better at wrapping nerves inside a smile that really wants to do someone harm." Maki looked at me once.

"That part's true." The bus began to slow. Not just us — the five buses behind tightened their spacing too. Bus A in front, Bus B right behind, the whole column like a survivor escort scraped together with great reluctance, and somehow managing to make sense anyway. The Imperial guards at the second control gate had already looked our way. The sound of boot soles on the ground carried through the hull — one, one — unhurried, but very steady.

Only two kinds of people walk like that: those entirely unafraid of dying, and those used to other people dying in front of them. The Imperial military is usually both. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The first checkpoint's major had at least retained a human survival instinct, knowing that letting Hedwig blow up at a checkpoint probably wouldn't end well for him. The second gate was different.

The people here carried not just guns but procedure, and clearly believed in procedure. Unfortunately, procedure is usually harder to deal with than a gun. The six unmanned buses slowed in sequence before the control line, Bus A at the front, Bus B right behind, the four behind them like a list of co-conspirators trying hard to look like an Imperial cadet escort.

The weapons platforms outside outnumbered the first gate's, and the watchtowers were lower — low enough that I could almost make out the jawlines of the guards on them. That design wasn't only for surveillance. It was a reminder to everyone entering: if shooting starts here, you won't even die with dignity. Good. My feel for Imperial aesthetics was improving. The console up front flashed a stop order, and the bus braked slowly. Inside, the silence went complete.

Whoever had been quietly rehearsing Imperial replies stopped rehearsing. Whoever had been adjusting corsets and wigs stopped moving. Even the groans coming through the channel from Bus B seemed to cut off, collapsing into a muffled rasp held down in the throat. Everyone knew: if they really started checking us one by one here, the whole act we'd built would rot fast, like paper in water. I stood in the middle of the aisle, palm still on that black case, the decision line already drawn in my head.

One more sentence from the other side — "Open the doors for inspection" — and I move. Not wait a little longer, not see whether Hedwig can press a little harder, not count on Nikaido to wail us through the whole gate in Imperial. I move. Because the moment those doors open, three hundred Federation second-years in six buses — no matter how prettily the bandages are wrapped or how neatly the wigs sit — will eventually show something they shouldn't.

The eyes, the accents, the posture, the breathing rhythm, even the small instinctive flinch of a student who wants to shrink away from regular troops. All of it would be a tell. So if this gate can be passed, we pass it. If not, we tear it open. A knock at the door — heavier than the first, and more impatient. Not a reminder. An order. Hedwig lowered the front side window before I could. Outside stood a lieutenant colonel: clean shoulder boards, clean gaze — clean like a scalpel just wiped with oil.

That type is the most annoying. Because he isn't the kind who gets intimidated by a scene; he's the kind who, the more blood he sees, the more he asks, "Where's the roster?" Good. The most standard model the Empire makes. The lieutenant colonel saluted first, then spoke, his Imperial diction immaculate — even his being obnoxious was formal.

"Eure Hoheit, bitte verzeihen Sie. Wir haben soeben die Meldung über den Angriff auf den Außenbereich erhalten, doch laut Vorschrift müssen wir vor dem Einfahren in den inneren Liegeplatzbereich dennoch die Identität des Begleitpersonals und die Formation der Fahrzeugkolonne überprüfen." (Your Highness, forgive me. We have just received the report of the attack on the outer area, but per regulations we must still verify the identity of the escort personnel and the formation of the vehicle column before entry into the inner berth area.) I said to myself: here it comes. Hedwig didn't flare up at once; she simply looked at him, her tone cold and level.

"Ich habe die Lage bereits am ersten Posten geschildert. Das Hotel wurde angegriffen, und unter den eskortierenden Studenten gibt es schwere Verluste. Ich verlange die direkte Einfahrt in den Kernbereich des Militärhafens, damit die Verlegung und medizinische Aufnahme prioritär erfolgen können." (I already described the situation at the first post. The hotel was attacked, and the escorting students have suffered serious losses. I demand direct entry into the military port's core area so the transfer and medical intake can proceed as priority.) The lieutenant colonel's expression didn't change.

"Ich verstehe das, Eure Hoheit. Doch dies ist der innere Militärhafen und kein Kontrollpunkt im Außenbereich. Sobald die Überprüfung abgeschlossen ist, erfolgt die sofortige Freigabe." (I understand, Your Highness. But this is the inner military port, not an outer checkpoint. Once verification is complete, clearance is immediate.) Very polite. Very immovable. That type is the genuinely troublesome one.

Because he isn't pushing back against a princess head-on — he's working to package himself as a loyal screw that is willing to cooperate and yet cannot neglect its duty. That's the terrifying thing about screws: you can't cast him as the villain on the spot, because every sentence he says sounds reasonable. Unfortunately, reasonable is usually what gets in the way most. Hedwig's jawline tightened very slightly.

"Ich brauche jetzt keine Überprüfung, ich brauche den Durchgang." (I don't need verification now. I need the passage.)"Eure Hoheit, bitte haben Sie Verständnis." (Your Highness, please understand.) The lieutenant colonel still stood perfectly straight.

"Wenn es sich nur um die Bestätigung der Eskortformation und der Identität der Studenten handelt, wird es nicht allzu lange dauern." (If it's only confirmation of the escort formation and the students' identities, it won't take too long.) I nearly laughed. It won't take too long. That line would probably look nice on a coffin lid. Bus B, very obligingly, sent over a surge of groans and crying it couldn't contain.

Somebody was shouting for a medical kit, somebody was shouting don't sleep, and one cry had exceptional technical merit — good enough that I didn't need to look to know it was Nikaido. Good. She was genuinely putting her abilities to positive use today. The lieutenant colonel's gaze swept backward, his brow creasing slightly, but he still didn't yield.

"Eure Hoheit, laut Vorschrift muss ich zumindest die Art der Fahrzeugkolonne und die Namensliste der eskortierenden Studenten überprüfen. Wenn sich die Verwundeten in einem kritischen Zustand befinden, kann das medizinische Team zuerst an Bord gehen." (Your Highness, per regulations I must at least verify the nature of the vehicle column and the name list of the escorting students. If the wounded are in critical condition, the medical team may board first.) My fingers tightened a little on the case handle.

Medical team aboard, no. Roster check, no. Escort-student verification, even less. Every line of his was stepping along the edge of the threshold, as if deliberately testing how much I could take. Maki moved half a step to my right, not looking at me, and said one line low enough that only I could hear.

"Your hand's tensing."

"Because right now I really want to improve the Imperial officer corps on the spot."

"Wait a little more."

"I know." I know. I really was only waiting a bit. Waiting for Hedwig to press one more round. Waiting for the lieutenant colonel to decide for himself whether he wanted to live inside the system or die on procedure. Hedwig's voice dropped lower then. That kind of low wasn't concession. It was danger.

"Oberstleutnant, ich wurde gerade erst vom Ort des Angriffs evakuiert und werde jetzt keinerlei Durchsuchung von Fahrzeug zu Fahrzeug dulden. Wenn die Sicherheit im inneren Hafenbereich weiterhin nicht garantiert werden kann, verlange ich die direkte Einfahrt auf eine kontrollierbare militärische Plattform sowie die Nutzung der medizinischen Einrichtungen und der abgeriegelten Sektionen an Bord eines der anliegenden Schiffe."

(Lieutenant Colonel, I have just been evacuated from the site of the attack and will not tolerate any vehicle-by-vehicle search now. If security within the port area still cannot be guaranteed, I demand direct entry onto a controllable military platform and the use of the medical facilities and sealed sections aboard one of the docked ships.) This line was the key. Not let me inside. I want to board a ship. I nodded for her, internally. She was finally starting to sound like an accomplice.

The lieutenant colonel had clearly understood too — his expression stopped for the first time in any real sense.

"Eure Hoheit, wollen Sie damit sagen, dass die Fahrzeugkolonne direkt in den Schiffsrumpf am Liegeplatz einfahren soll?" (Your Highness, do you mean the vehicle column should drive directly into the ship's hull at the berth?)"Richtig." (Correct.) Hedwig said.

"Das neu gebaute Schiff am inneren Liegeplatz Nummer drei verfügt über ausreichend Platz, Sicherheit und medizinische Kapazitäten. Die Bereiche an der Oberfläche sind offen, und da wir gerade erst einen Angriff erlebt haben, habe ich nicht vor, die Verwundeten noch einmal einer solchen Gefahr auszusetzen." (The newly built ship at inner berth three has sufficient space, security, and medical capacity. The surface areas are open, and since we've just been through an attack, I don't intend to expose the wounded to that danger again.) Perfect. The reasoning was Imperial enough, the phrasing royal enough, and abrasive enough for the other side. Because this was no longer "please let us through." It was "I require you to support my on-site handling." If the lieutenant colonel agreed, we drove straight into the ship.

If he didn't, he'd have to openly shoulder the responsibility for delaying a princess and the transfer of the wounded. Dirty question. I liked it. Unfortunately, the lieutenant colonel still didn't let us through at once. This man was genuinely immovable. He drew a deep breath, as if weighing reason, military regulation, and his future career back and forth, then finally chose the most annoying option.

"Wenn wir direkt in den Schiffskörper einfahren, entspricht das einer weitaus höheren Sicherheitsstufe, Eure Hoheit." (If we drive directly into the ship's hull, that's a considerably higher security tier, Your Highness.)"Ich muss zumindest die Identität der eskortierenden Studenten überprüfen, um das Risiko einer Einschleusung von außen auszuschließen. Bitte öffnen Sie die Fahrzeugtüren, damit unsere Seite die grundlegendste Überprüfung durchführen kann."

(I must at least verify the identities of the escorting students to rule out the risk of outside infiltration. Please open the vehicle doors so our side can conduct the most basic verification.) The air in the bus went cold in that instant. Please open the doors. That was it. Good. The line had been reached. I'd almost drawn my gun already. Not an exaggeration. The moment that sentence landed, my shoulder and wrist had gone into pre-draw readiness together. I'd even ordered the sequence in my head.

Take the lieutenant colonel first, the upper-right weapons platform second, the barrier sensors third; Maki covers the left firing point; I pop the case; D comes over the back row; Bus B rams the barrier; all six buses surge. Close enough. The berth was close enough. The cargo hatch was in view. Worth the gamble. And I'd just about had enough. In that fraction of a second, Maki clearly read that I was really about to move.

She didn't stop me — she just shifted her heels very slightly, cutting her stance to an angle that would let her keep pace with me. That's the most frightening thing about Kushima Maki. She'll scold you first, log it second, then question her life choices. But the moment it's actually time to fight, she won't be half a beat behind you — not even in her footing. I felt a flicker of apology. Only a flicker. And it was quickly diluted by the lieutenant colonel's face. But Hedwig spoke first.

She didn't raise her voice. Yet it was cold enough to send a chill down the spine.

"Sie verlangen von mir, die Türen zu öffnen." (You're demanding that I open the doors.) The lieutenant colonel paused. Hedwig fixed her eyes on him, and the look finally changed completely. Not the student council clerk who complained about her portrait being too big, not the young princess who'd nodded in the bus that this was the only way — but something that genuinely belonged to a high Imperial, finally forced out of her by his whole inflexible idea of loyalty.

"Ich wurde gerade erst aus einem bewaffneten Angriff herausgeholt." (I have just been pulled out of an armed attack.)"Diese Studenten haben mich eskortiert, wobei einige von ihnen vor Ort schwer verletzt wurden und andere ihre Kameraden verloren haben.

Sie stehen nun hier an der zweiten Kontrolllinie und verlangen von mir, die Fahrzeugtüren zu öffnen, damit Sie jede einzelne Person, die sich für mich vor die Kugeln geworfen hat, mustern können – nur um zu überprüfen, ob sie und er auch wie imperiale Studenten aussehen." (These students escorted me, and some were gravely wounded on the spot while others lost their comrades. Now you stand at the second control line demanding that I open the doors so you can inspect each person who threw themselves in front of bullets for me — just to verify whether she and he look enough like Imperial students.) The lieutenant colonel's face changed. Not fear — he finally realized how ugly this would look if it were written into a report in another language. Hedwig didn't stop.

"Sehr schön." (Very well.) she said.

"Das können Sie gleich jetzt tun." (You can do it right now.) She lifted her chin slightly.

"Aber von diesem Moment an werde ich nicht mehr akzeptieren, dass Sie die Verlegung unter dem Vorwand von ‚Verfahren' verzögern. Ich werde direkt protokollieren, dass der Oberstleutnant der zweiten inneren Kontrolllinie nach dem Angriff auf die kaiserliche Prinzessin eine sofortige Evakuierung in das Schiff verweigert und das Öffnen der Türen verlangt hat, um die Verwundeten sowie das eskortierende Personal vorzuführen – nur um seiner persönlichen Auslegung der Vorschriften Genüge zu tun."

(But from this moment on, I will no longer accept your delaying the transfer under the pretext of "procedure." I will record directly that the lieutenant colonel of the second inner control line, following the attack on the Imperial Princess, refused immediate evacuation into the ship and demanded the doors be opened to parade the wounded and the escorting personnel — merely to satisfy his personal interpretation of the regulations.) Her tone was cold to the point of cruelty.

"Wenn Sie darauf bestehen, dann nennen Sie mir Ihren Namen, Ihren Dienstgrad und Ihre Einheit persönlich." (If you insist, then give me your name, your rank, and your unit yourself.) The whole gate went silent. Not a moment of quiet — the kind of silence in which even the air doesn't dare move first. I saw the lieutenant colonel's Adam's apple shift very slightly. He hadn't lost yet. But he was close. I quietly supplied the next line for Hedwig in my head: step down once more, Your Highness. Harder.

He's about to crack. And then she really did.

"Außerdem," (Furthermore,) Hedwig added the last cut, mildly —"Wenn das von Ihnen erwähnte ‚Einschleusungsrisiko' tatsächlich besteht, bedeutet das, dass es bereits jemandem gelungen ist, nach dem Angriff auf mich verdächtige Personen bis direkt vor die innere Kontrolllinie zu bringen.

In diesem Fall ist das, was Sie jetzt am dringendsten tun sollten, nicht hier zu stehen und von mir das Öffnen der Türen zu verlangen, sondern auf die Knie zu gehen und zu erklären, warum Ihre Verteidigungslinie unzuverlässiger ist als diese Gruppe von Studenten hinter mir." (If the "infiltration risk" you mentioned actually exists, then it means someone has already managed to bring suspicious persons right up to the inner control line after the attack on me. In that case, what you should most urgently do now is not stand here demanding that I open the doors, but kneel down and explain why your defense line is less reliable than this group of students behind me.) Beautiful. Too beautiful. I nearly wanted to give her a round of applause. The lieutenant colonel finally fell silent. Not the silence of still thinking — the silence of someone who has realized that one more step forward makes him the ugliest man in the report, and is retreating on instinct.

The two officers beside him had visibly stiffened too. That expression I knew well: "Sir, do you want to back off now, or are all of us dying with you?" Two seconds passed. Or maybe just one. The lieutenant colonel stepped back half a pace. Genuinely, only half a pace. But half a pace was enough. Because once the system retreats first, the rest retreats with it. He came back to attention, his voice noticeably harder than before, and drier.

"... Passieren lassen." (... Let them pass.) The soldiers beside him looked, for a moment, like they hadn't understood.

"Sir..." (Sir...) The lieutenant colonel finished the order through gritted teeth.

"Lassen Sie die Fahrzeugkolonne direkt in den Ladebereich des Schiffskörpers am inneren Liegeplatz Nummer drei einfahren. Benachrichtigen Sie die Besatzung, dass die Dritte Kaiserliche Prinzessin und das Begleitpersonal in die abgeriegelten Bereiche und medizinischen Stationen an Bord verlegt werden. Sofort." (Have the vehicle column drive directly into the loading area of the ship's hull at inner berth three. Notify the crew that the Third Imperial Princess and the escort personnel are to be transferred into the sealed areas and medical stations aboard. Immediately.) Good. In the end, humans are still more afraid of being written into the wrong document. Ahead, the inner barrier began to rise, the interception bollards on both sides dropped, and the lamps along the short ramp to the berth lit one by one.

In the distance, the new-build's belly cargo hatch stood half open, like a steel beast that didn't yet know a pack of Federation second-years was about to crawl into its stomach. Everyone in the bus exhaled at the same time, and yet didn't dare exhale too obviously. So the breath stuck in their chests and turned into a strange kind of quiet. Only then did I slowly bring my hand back from the pre-draw position. That was close. Genuinely that close. Maki turned her head and looked at me.

"You almost drew your gun just now."

"Yes."

"I could see it."

"I know."

"Good thing she was faster than you." I looked up front at Hedwig. She was still sitting very straight; only the line of her shoulders had finally loosened a fraction, as if she'd only now allowed herself to admit that the whole passage hadn't been a drill or diplomatic boilerplate, but her first signature personally sending three hundred Federation students into an Imperial warship. I said one line, low.

"Nicely done, Your Highness." Hedwig didn't turn around, just smiled very slightly.

"I'm really an accomplice now."

"Congratulations. Practical class has officially begun."

"Your way of congratulating people really is villainous." Maki said flatly.

"President, you said that yesterday too."

"Today I'm more certain." Bus A started moving again. The front console had received the ship's clearance order, and the unmanned vehicle slid smoothly up the short ramp. Bus B right behind, then the other four in sequence. The whole column, like a snake that had finally found the gap, slid segment by segment into the open belly of the new-build. The closer we got to the hatch, the heavier the pressure.

Inside the cargo hatch, the lighting ran pale white; steel ribs and lift platforms interlocked densely, and deck guide lights stretched inward along the entry line. Once the doors close on a place like this, it becomes another world. Outside was the military port, the Empire, procedure, the kind of rules that let everyone still pretend to be civilized. Inside there was only space, steel, compartments, corridors — and the skin that was about to be torn off completely.

Bus B pulled up on our right rear, and through its windows you could vaguely make out layers of bandages and messy blood-colored shadows. Good — the image still carried. Annoying as Nikaido was day to day, once she was in a functional slot she really didn't embarrass us. The C, D, E, and F buses all kept up behind. Nobody fell out of line. Nobody broke at the last second. Nobody suddenly decided to be a hot-blooded hero and jump out to tell the Imperial military the truth. Excellent.

Federation second-years, at least in collective survival instinct, were worth the education budget. When Bus A's front wheels hit the cargo ramp, I finally felt that familiar thing come back. Not relief. Rhythm. Once we're inside the hold, we stop being the ones under inspection and become intruders about to turn. From that moment, the whole thing switches from a diplomatic incident to a shipboard seizure. That's the language I know.

Compared to standing in a bus playing procedural games with a lieutenant colonel, I'm better at the part that comes after. The hull entered the hold, and the steel echo immediately sliced the outside world a layer thinner. Bus B is in. Bus C is in. Bus D is in. Bus E is in. Bus F is in too. Six buses. Not one short. I looked back through the rear window.

Back at the second control line, people were still watching, still busy, still thinking they'd merely let a column of surviving students and wounded through for the Third Princess. Nobody knew that in just a few minutes, they would learn what they had actually let in. Good. Sometimes, being alive means paying a little tuition for your own procedural education. Once the last bus was fully inside, the heavy outer hatch began to close.

The metal engaged section by section, drawing inward, like some great beast slowly shutting its mouth. First layer. Second layer. Third layer. Finally, the hatch sealed completely. The Imperial military port outside was walled off on the other side by a solid block of steel. Looking at that sealed hatch, I let out a slow breath, then smiled.

"All right." I lifted my hand off the case.

"Now it's our turn."