Hardball

[Pher 0]

"Audrey? I need to talk to Joe, scrambled please."

 

"Joe, I'm as likely as not with you. Plan B might be to get the reasonable people of Capricorn then blow up Capricorn. Right now Maxwell and Holstrom are having a nice firefight, and may both sides be deadly. Still, I've got Alex to gather Verbistul crew, Taj to gather Capricorn crew, so it seems possible to build up a numbers advantage that would make even Holstrom think.

 

"So, before we abandon Capriocrn, could you give me a chance to see what sort of numbers I can get, and see if I can talk sense into Maxwell and Holstrom? Well, 'talk sense' might not be the right approach. If I have numbers, I'll talk hardball. If I don't, I'll have everyone take to the pods.

 

"Whatcha think, Joe?"

 

"I think no one's headed for the pods," Joe answered, "except folks who ain't doin' anyone any good over there. That means all the battle casualties they've got in their cargo bay. More important, our own crew had a chance to hear my voice -- we've already got Doctor Soora back on board.

 

"I'm on board with your plan. If we can save Capricorn, that's grand. I'm sure the people who are thinkin' the same thing are keepin' away from the lifepods. And if they're fightin' over engineering? Well, I may have just planted a seed or two of doubt in some of their minds. That gives you a fine window of opportunity. You'd best seize it before it closes. Remember, Pher -- your Captain's always watchin' out for you ... "