Page 191 of Commander’s Mate

“Farseek declines reconstruction assistance conditioned on surrender of rescued persons, confidential survivor data, military autonomy, or anti-slavery operations.”

Tivid recorded.

“Continue.”

“The Consortium abandoned its contractual duty to Farseek while our forces defended Consortium territory. It has no moral authority to demand custody of those we rescue from the enemy it enabled.”

Degatu’s gaze sharpened.

“Strong.”

“Accurate.”

Harper watched me.

I added the hardest part.

“We will purchase reconstruction supplies where possible. We will take contracts. We will trade. We will accept unconditional aid. We will not buy our world back with another person’s freedom.”

Silence.

Then Degatu nodded.

“Send it.”

Tivid transmitted.

For several seconds, no one spoke.

Pyrr finally broke the quiet.

“So we are poor again.”

“We were poor before,” Degatu said.

“We were briefly theoretically rich.”

“You spent it in your imagination.”

“It was a very nice hospital.”

Harper laughed.

The tension cracked.

I looked at the reconstruction proposal one last time before Tivid closed it.

The Consortium had offered us survival.

We had refused the price.

That did not make the decision noble.

It made it expensive.

Freedom often was.

The response from Farseek arrived twenty-three minutes later.