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.”“So it would seem,” Paula said.She looked up at Jasmine.“You might want to dissuade him first.”Jasmine looked back at her, evenly.“You can't dissuade him?”“When he gets an idea into his thick head, it is rather difficult to get him to give it up,” Paula said.“It was hard enough to steer him when he was a General in truth, rather than merely in name.Being tough-minded kept him going through some pretty dark moments.”She made a face.“Suffice it to say that my steering skills aren't going to be enough,” she admitted, ruefully.“All I can really do is warn you and hope you can deal with him.”“I see,” Jasmine said.“Why have you stayed with him, anyway?”Paula shrugged.“Being the secretary of a powerful man made me powerful,” she said, “but it also made me enemies.I was seen, rightly or wrongly, as his hatchet woman.There were people just licking their lips on Wolfbane at the mere prospect of my fall from grace.I would have been lucky to wind up selling myself to stay alive.”“So you said,” Jasmine remembered.“It seemed better to go into exile with him,” Paula added.“But right now, he’s not going to listen to me and he’s just going to get me killed.Or dumped on Meridian again.I want to go home.I think it’s time to start looking after my own interests.”“I can try and get you to Wolfbane,” Jasmine said.“And, whatever happens, you won’t be dumped on Meridian.”“Thank you,” Paula said.She looked down at the deck.“Are you going to let him commit himself before you move?”“No,” Jasmine said.She could see the logic in allowing a suspect to run free, just to see what he would do, but it wasn't something she was inclined to try.“I think I don’t want to take the risk.Who has he suborned so far?”“Just a handful of political prisoners,” Paula said.“He was reluctant to approach anyone who might feel loyal to you personally.”Jasmine felt a flicker of relief.Most of the political prisoners were harmless, or at least not on the station.She could handle the affair by arresting Stubbins, then interrogating him.there was no need to purge everyone who might have been touched by him.And if Paula hadn't told her about the plan, it might have ended badly for everyone.“I’ll deal with him now,” she said, flatly.“Do you want him to know that you came and told me?”Paula hesitated, then nodded.“It might shock him into actually being helpful,” she said, slowly.“I don’t think I’ll be going to bed with him for a while.”“No,” Jasmine agreed.She reached for the intercom and called Stewart and Watson, then looked back at Paula.“He might try to strangle you in your sleep.”Chapter SixteenWhen it comes to the laws of war, where a whole country may be the criminal, enforcing the laws almost certainly requires war.This would require outside powers to invade the offender’s territory, if all other methods of persuasion failed.- Professor Leo Caesius.The Empire and its Prisoners of War.Meridian, Year 5 (PE)“Go,” Jasmine said, as General James Stubbins stepped into her office.“Now.”Stubbins blinked, then gasped as Stewart and Watson grabbed him, forced his hands behind his back and snapped on the cuffs, then searched him roughly.Somewhat to Jasmine’s amusement, he wasn't carrying anything apart from an automatic pistol he’d probably picked up on Meridian.Given his lack of shooting practice - it was rare to see a general in the shooting range - Jasmine had a private suspicion he wouldn't actually have managed to hit her, even if he had drawn it before he’d been grabbed.But she wasn't inclined to give him the chance.“This is outrageous,” Stubbins protested, as he was forced into a chair.“I.”He stopped as his gaze fell on Paula.“You! You.”“That will do,” Jasmine said, sharply.She hated to do it, but it was important to make it clear to Stubbins that he was completely in her power.“You were plotting to take over by force, General.I could not allow that to happen.”She rose from behind the desk and paced around to face him.“I have every intention of getting us back to friendly space,” she added, “but your coup plot would have gotten us all killed.There was no choice.”Stubbins glared at her.“I have to go back,” he said.“My people.”“Have done nothing for you in five years,” Jasmine said.“If you had the connections you claim to have, they would have sent a ship to pick you up by now.Instead, you were left here to rot.Now, if you cooperate with me, I will ensure that you have your chance to go back to Wolfbane.If you don’t, I will drop you back on the surface and let the locals deal with you.”She winced, inwardly, at his expression.It was never nice to hurt a person - and Wolfbane hadn't bothered to supply any truth drugs, lie detectors or anything else she could have used to ensure the interrogation was reasonably pleasant.Hell, it was quite possible Stubbins had implants designed to make it impossible to force him to talk.He was certainly convinced of his own importance.At least we know Wolfbane wasn't planning to interrogate any of us, she thought, savagely.They were just going to leave us here to rot
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