The sun was setting over the capital city of Erulas, outside the president’s office at the top of the government skyscraper, the orange light flowing through the large glass panels.


    Inside, president Vance was pacing behind her desk, staring intently at a hologram projection fed in through the large hyperspace communications array on the roof above her. The man whose head was floating on Vance’s table said with a slight irritation in his voice: ?Again, I am not ?in charge“ of Binary Bloom station. I’m merely managing some administrative tasks. I’m more of a janitor than a president.“


    ?Mr. Hallows, my men on the ground assert me that you have been named multiple times as the person in charge of running this little den. So unless you can convincingly point to someone else, I’ll deal with you.“


    The latency to the pirate outpost was just under two seconds thanks to the powerful planetary transmitter on Erulas. Combined with a bit of AI trickery it almost felt like a planetary video call.


    The hologram paused for a brief moment of thought, before giving in: ?I guess as the ancient saying goes, the buck stops here. Your troops have caught quite the ruckus on the station, and if it hadn’t been for their persuasive explosives, we’d have blocked them off in the docking bay. At least they were smart enough to keep to the main corridor and enter only the control room. Keep them on a leash, because by now the residents of Bloom are armed and ready to defend what little they have.“


    Amara Vance studied the hologram for a few seconds, but the bandwidth wasn’t sufficient to resolved the tiny details she was looking for. The man didn’t show expressions or gestures that would let her know about his thoughts and emotions. Clearly someone used to negotiations and bluffs.


    ?Thank you.“, she continued, ?I appreciate your cooperation. This all can be over quickly and everyone can get back to normal. There’s just a stolen item that we must take back, that is all.“


    ?Stolen item?“, Nicodemus Hallows’ hologram said with an overly exaggerated a fake expression of surprise. Then he surprised the president with a clever twist: ?Stolen from you?“


    Amara kept her face under control, and the AI filter to smooth out any giveaways would do the rest. The benefit of owning the broadcasting equipment. A barely audible hum filled her office, the large desk standing in its center with shelves filling one wall and a small conference table in front of the other.


    ?Not directly.“, she answered truthfully, ?But I am acting on behalf of the rightful owners.“


    ?Do they know that?“, the man pushed again, sharply.


    Amara let his question hang in the air for a second. Then she shot back: ?What gave you the impression that you are asking the questions in this conversation?“ She left the implication unspoken in the silence that followed her rhetorical question, knowing that several marines were in the room with the pirate governor.


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    ?Oh.“, he continued nonchalantly, barely missing a beat, ?Just the fact that I might have something that you want, and you don’t know where it is and thus can’t take it by force. Sure, you made a statement by sending two transports of troops, and of course our scanners have noticed your battleship cruising in the area. But that also tells me that what you are looking for is quite valuable to you. Too valuable to risk blowing it up in a silly attempt of military take-over. So“, he added with a sly grin, ?why don’t we continue this as a proper barter? Tell me what you want and what you’re willing to give, and I’ll tell you my counter-offer.“


    The AI made sure the small twitch in Amara’s eye was not transmitted. She caught herself, stepped forward and spoke in a confident voice: ?If I wanted to barter, I would have sent a diplomat, not a detachment of assault troops. Make no mistake, we could take what we want by force. We are simply offering you a once-off chance to hand it over without bloodshed. So tell me, Mr. Hallows, what do you know about a next-generation hyperdrive core, stolen from a Xylar ship a few weeks ago?“


    ?You mean the kind your government anonymously buys from us regularly?“, Nicodemus pushed again. Amara found his ability to take control of the conversation despite being in the clearly weaker position admirable. But she could not let him keep that advantage. ?The kind that some of the pirates under your roof would want to sell to the highest bidder, not some regular client. You and I both know that it is on the market. You can point me in the right direction, or my less diplomatic people can ask around until they’ve found it.“. She was sure she had put just the right amount of stress on the ?ask“ to make it clear what kind of asking she was insinuating.


    ?Well.“, he finally gave in, ?It’s not as if I knew everything going on here, you know? Much of it, sure. But not every sale or offer. I’ll have to ask around myself.“


    ?I’ll make it worth your while. My troops will leave everyone in peace as long as I’m convinced you are doing your part, and if the core turns up, they’ll leave your station and maybe even buy some overpriced souvenirs on the way out. And we’ll all forget this ever happened.“


    Amara was hoping she had read him right. She clenched her jaw while waiting for his answer. Maybe she had pushed too hard? Would it have been better to offer him an incentive instead? He just didn’t strike her as the man out strictly for his personal profit.


    The hologram gave a nod. ?Give me a day or two. It’s a big station and people are on edge now, with all these unannounced visitors and all.“


    She held back a sigh of relief. ?50 hours, Mr. Hallows. See you earlier, I hope.“


    Terminating the call, she sat down in her chair and leaned back. The game was far from over, but that was one of the stations going according to plan. She was still waiting for the second commander to call from the other pirate outpost. They had been coordinated to dock at roughly the same time, just in case the pirates were updating each other on important events. She would play the same game with him, pretending to know for sure the hyperdrive core was on his base. Giving him a bit of the stick and offering a bit of carrot. She expected both of them to find what she was looking for, and at least one of them would try to sell her an ordinary hyper core. The real game had just begun.