Page 46 of Music of the Ocean

“Oh?”

“It seems as if certain people in the Federation want the ability to mutate DNA.”

“I’d say that was a given,” Callie replied.

“But if I can convince them that what’s down here is a pathogen they don’t want spreading, that the water is a threat to their entire fleet, they’ll have to file a full containment protocol,” Saxby said. “That means a total withdrawal. It’ll be a quarantine event.”

Callie let the orb float to the table. “Let him contact them, Indigo. Give them a chance to do the right thing. And if they don’t? Blow them up.”

Saxby sighed. “Plan B is a terrible idea, guys. Not to mention it would upset me.”

Indigo stared at Saxby for several minutes. “Do you know what you want to say to them?”

“Shit. We’re doing this? Shit. Right.” A thousand things ran through Saxby’s head. “I really didn’t think you’d—okay. Give me a moment. Just a moment to get my thoughts together so I know what to say.”

Saxby stared at the table, his hands pressed flat to its kelp-fiber surface, as he tried to slow the scrambling of his thoughts.

It was one thing to talk tough about negotiations. It was quite another to be the guy actually placed in the line of fire. He was acutely aware of the alien city surrounding him, the two pairs of eyes locked on his every move.

He pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose, trying to massage out the headache blooming under his skull. There was no time to prepare a statement, and he had exactly zero margin for error.

The stakes were grotesque. Either he delivered a credible, airtight warning that convinced the Federation to cut its losses and flee. Or… or he set off a chain reaction that could end with this damned planet committing genocide.

So, Saxby ran through every official protocol he’d ever filed, every debriefing phrase and escalation-of-threat checklist.

“When I send this communication, can you piggyback it onto a subspace message to Fleet Admiral Soulsop? I’ll give you the electromagnetic wave. It needs to be cloaked, too, and marked emergent. I do not want my captain to know I’m basically sending a BCC to the highest ranking officer at the Federation,” Saxby said.

“I can.”

“Damn, that’s impressive. And scary.” Saxby gave Indigo the information he needed to piggyback the signal. “Captain Mollen may be related to some Vice Admiral, but he’s damned sure not related to the Fleet Admiral. Now, let’s hope the Fleet Admiral isn’t in on this, too. Otherwise, we’re all screwed.”

“You mean your ship is,” Callie said.

“No, I mean we all are because I can’t let Indigo kill my old crew. Anyway—” Saxby glanced at Indigo. “—I’m going to need a direct line. No translation filters, no city-run intermediaries. If there’s even a hint of editing, they’ll know.”

Indigo’s tentacles stilled, and then he swam to the panel embedded in the chamber wall and motioned for Saxby to join him.

“Callie? Could you please stay off screen and remain quiet?” Saxby asked. “This communication will be recorded, and I don’t want them to know about you. The last thing Indigo needs is for them to consider you as an opportunity, so to speak, to be used against him.”

“I understand,” Callie said as she moved out of range.

Saxby couldn’t help but notice how Indigo’s skin darkened at the idea of Callie being used as a weapon against him.

Indigo growled softly as he tapped a sequence, and the tactical display split to reveal a new channel, a live feed from the starship’s communications.

The ship’s Bridge crew was visible, their faces tense and voices clipped as they relayed updates. Then, came the shocked looks when Saxby suddenly appeared on the huge main viewing screen. Kira was there, because she was a security officer, and she looked pissed.

Saxby was also shocked because, shit, Indigo bypassed all security systems and patched into the Bridge. No alarms were going off, either. Holy hell. If that didn’t tell them who they were dealing with, nothing would. There was a mad scramble and shouted questions.

“Is that… is that water he’s in?” someone whispered.

“Oh my God, what happened to him?” a crew member asked.

“How is he breathing under water?” someone else demanded.

Saxby leaned closer to the screen. “Get the captain on the Bridge. I want him to see me alive, functional, and that I have a message for him.”

Saxby had hardly finished speaking before the captain was on the Bridge and taking a seat in his command chair. “Lieutenant Delmar. You were ordered to return to the surface immediately.”