For Adrian Malprave these negotiations were already over. There was only one reason why Admiral Knight would decide to dismiss him in the face of the current crisis of trust between them. If the Hacker envoy decided to stay, he could easily end up being a hostage and a bargaining chip in future negotiations. And even if the Admiral returned with good news, the damage was already done. Knight relegated The Lane Hackers to a level of an unimportant nuisance. Nothing good could be achieved from such a position. The only logical course of action was to return to base immediately. Guards escorted the Lane Hacker to his ship without a word probably sensing the grim atmosphere of the failed meeting.
Once Adrian launched his Vindicator fighter and left Discovery several thousand clicks behind he opened encrypted channel to Mactan HQ.
- Malprave here. Reporting mission failure. High possibility of the red scenario. I repeat. High possibility of the red scenario. Returning to base. Over.
