"But what do you intend to do with me?" she demanded.
"I don't know!" Brace paced the floor. "I can't let you go. That's
certain. I can't even leave your body." He looked at her steadily, his
jaw tightening. "I'll be frank with you, miss. I made a mistake. I
meant no harm but I killed a man. You saw me do it. I'm in bad with the
S.P., everyone here is, and they'd like nothing better than a charge
against me. You are that charge. It would mean my life, the lives of my
mate and officers, and my crew would be imprisoned, if I let you go."
He paused. "I may have to chuck you out in space."
She said nothing, just stared at him, and Brace went back to his pacing.
"But--but--I won't tell," she said, falteringly. "I promise not to say
a thing."
Brace shook his head. "The S.P. would make you tell anything they
wanted you to tell."
* * * * *
Her lips quivered and her head dropped. Brace didn't feel good about
it. She was just a kid. He'd have felt much better if she was a man.
What was a girl like her doing in Titan anyway? She had no business
being in this hole. There was never anything but trouble on Titan.