Part 48 (1/2)
”So,” the older man began casually, ”it seems you insist that you are not responsible for the deaths of several thousand innocent citizens.”
”I've never killed a single person or had one killed.” The s.h.i.+p leader sounded embittered by his
204 .
sour luck. He threw a surrept.i.tious glance at his former captives. ”I confess that might have changed if your whales had not arrived when they did.” He shrugged. ”Who knows? Perhaps it's better this way.
I had no wish to harm anyone.”
”Or to save anyone,” Cora snapped at him. ”H you
had no wish to do so? ...”
”I told you why. For the chance to be wealthy. For the chance to sell this thin-seamed s.h.i.+p and get off this sweaty, salt-stink of a world!” He glared across at Hwos.h.i.+en, the two men regarding each other like a couple of irritated banty roosters. ”If I'm guilty of anything, it's withholding information. You can't even accuse us of not aiding survivors, because we never
found any.”
”We have only your word for that,” Hwos.h.i.+en re- plied ominously. ”You were about to dispose of these good people to protect your activities. I wonder how many other inconvenient citizens you had to dispose
of.”
”None, dammit!”
”We'll find out when we question your crewfolk.”
”Go ahead.” Hazaribagh appeared unconcerned.
”They have no reason to lie. And we still have the laws of salvage on our side.”
”If you had adhered to them properly, you would,”
Hwos.h.i.+en said. ”But you did not report what you re- covered for recording purposes. And salvage does not apply to, for example, personal effects, which are to be turned over to surviving relatives and which, I sus- pect, you have also heartlessly marketed.”
”You can't prove any of that.”
”We will. You just admitted that your people have no reason to lie.”
Hazaribagh's defiance leaked away like sand through
a sieve.
”You still insist you had nothing to do with the
cetacean attacks?”
205.
”Yes,” he murmured. He looked toward Mataro- reva, found no sympathy there. ”I've already told him that. We're victims of circ.u.mstance.”
”Victims of greed. You might have prevented the deaths of many people. What's done with you will be up to the courts, but they'll hear no cries of mitigating circ.u.mstances from me.” Hwos.h.i.+en turned to one of the nearby peaceforcers. ”Put him on the other catcherfoil, together with any manifests or chip re- cords you can find.”
”What happens to my s.h.i.+p?”
”Nothing yet, though if you have so low an opinion of it, I wonder that you care. It will be sailed back to Mou'anui by your crew, under peaceforcer supervi- sion. The courts will decide what to do with it as well as with its crew.” Hazaribagh and the tall man guard- ing him started for the side.