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.*“What is this stuff?” Segrea asked as his fellow Razye Tesh unburdened themselves of the supplies they’d picked up from Lucius Cray.This was another thing that bothered him.Phina had filled him in on all of his plans, but Olorasin kept her own counsel.“This,” the Prime picked up a tightly rolled piece of gray material, “is memory plastic.” She released the holding cord and it sprang out into a long flat sheet, about two centimeters thick.“It’s used for insulation and is designed to be held between the supporting ribs of the station’s less visible areas.Storerooms, for instance, or safe areas where people only go if there’s a hull breach.” Olorasin looked at him expectantly.Segrea sighed.“What is your plan, Prime? If anything happens to you, one of us will have to implement it.And as of now, all I know is that it involves insulation.”“It isn’t my plan at all,” she said, beginning to roll up the thick sheet of plastic.“It’s Phina’s backup plan.He had already arranged for quite a lot of its elements to be in place.For us, the most difficult part will be entering Docking Bay 17 after the final sweep.If we manage that, all we have to do is hibernate behind these in the safe area until we hear the signal.”“The signal?”“Yes.If all goes as planned.”“You anticipate problems?” Segrea asked.“Always,” Olorasin said.“And I’m rarely disappointed.”*Ivanova studied the silent little cluster of yachts and wondered what was going through the minds of the people aboard them.Were they afraid? Or were they defiant?She sighed.Take the arrogance of the average Centauri, multiply it by a massive personal fortune, add a dollop of important family blood, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster under any circumstances.She hoped Londo really meant what he’d said.Flicking switches to universal broadcast, she started her plan in motion.“All right, Alpha Wing, command has given us a go.Prepare to commence plan C.”There was an overwhelming gasp of horror from Alpha Wing.“Sir!”“Yes, Alpha Two?”“Plan C?” Webber’s voice was shrill with disbelief.“Isn’t that a little… drastic? They’re only civilians!”“They’ve given up their right to be treated as civilians, Alpha Two.We have clearance from the Centauri government, they’ve given us cart blanche to do whatever we want.” Her voice was harsh and threatening; to the listening Centauri she must have sounded like a bloodthirsty fanatic.“And I’m declaring these people military targets.Dispersal pattern four!”Ivanova grinned as the Starfuries around her tumbled into a star-shaped pattern that would afford maximum firing efficiency.The pilots added a few flashy spins and rapid place exchanges, heart-stopping maneuvers designed to inspire awe.and hopefully a healthy dose of fear in the watchingCentauri yachtsmen.“Pick your targets, people.” Thirty-six targeting lasers found their mark.Even muted civilian-style sensors would pick up that threat and shrilly report it.“They have one minute to surrender.Then, if they’re still in a weapons-ready condition…” Ivanova drew the pause out until even she couldn’t stand the tension, then growled, “shoot to kill!”She set her computer to broadcast a sixty-second countdown in Centauri.Then she and Alpha Wing waited, praying they wouldn’t have to fire.“… yasech… yasas…”Six seconds, Susan thought, her heartbeat uncomfortably fast.There was sweat on her brow and upper lip too.C’mon, you jerks! Give up! We’ll blow you into atoms-you can’t be so blindly arrogant that you don ‘t know that.She rubbed her thumb lightly over the firing stud, nerves thrumming.Give up!“… yasan…”Three.Oh, God.Susan licked her lips.“It occurs to me,” a bored Centauri voice drawled, “that certain factions could willfully misinterpret our intentions, as well as our actions here today.In light of that thought, I believe it best that we be on our way.”Not so fast, buddy!“Your weapons are still armed,” Ivanova snarled.“Stand down immediately or we will commence firing.”Instantly, almost as one, the sensors showed the Centauri weapons as disarmed.“Your next jump point should be in Green Sector,” Ivanova told them.“I hope we won’t be meeting you there as well.Pleasant journey, ladies and gentlemen.”Without responding, the humbled little militia pulled itself into a ragged formation and plunged into the jump gate’s vortex.There was silence for a moment, then first one pilot and then another began to chuckle.It grew and grew until the whole wing was laughing uproariously, celebrating the fact that they hadn’t had to kill anyone.“Oh, no!” Susan mimicked in a high-pitched voice
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