Page 179 of Red Scale Daddy
“If I move too slowly?”
“You lose him.”
Throgg’s gaze remains on me. “And what do you recommend?”
I glance at the map, then at the weapons display, then at the projected Zenos band. I make sure he sees me calculate. “You take the outer approach through the Thorn Shelf and force him toward this shear pocket. You do not fire on first contact. You show containment and let him believe escape remains possible through the western debris corridor.”
“Why?”
“Because he will take it.”
“And then?”
I move my finger along the route I prepared, drawing him straight toward the collision point. “Then you close the corridor behind him, and he has to choose between your vessel and the Zenos migration band. He will not choose the migration band if he has another option.”
Throgg looks at the path.
“So I become the better danger.”
“Yes.”
He turns toward one of his officers. “Overlay Zenos movement projections.”
The officer complies. The map adds a swarm of red markers flowing along the edge of the Thorn Shelf, their predicted route intersecting with the corridor I highlighted.
Throgg’s stillness deepens.
“This is narrow,” he says.
“Effective plans often are.”
“If your projection is wrong, we enter a hostile convergence with limited maneuverability.”
“If my projection is right, you get my father.”
“And you?”
“I get continued relevance.”
His attention returns to my face. “You want more than that.”
“Obviously.”
“Say it.”
“I want access to him before you put him in a cell and start calling coercion negotiation.”
Several officers shift around the platform.
Throgg’s expression does not change. “You presume much.”
“I know engineers,” I reply. “If you threaten him first, he will become less useful out of spite.”
“Would you?”
“I already have.”
He laughs softly, and the sound carries through command with unsettling ease. “Yes. You have.”
