“But how can I leave when all—“

Sassinak hushed him with a gesture. “There are more tricks in that com shack than Dupaynil knows about. So for, he’s the only one who knows that you were present when these orders arrived. And he’s got priority orders he doesn’t know about yet. But he soon will. Just follow my lead.”

The bridge crew came to attention when Sassinak arrived, but she gave the helm to Ford and entered the communications alcove.

“Captain’s orders,” she said crisply to the officer on watch, “You received an IFTL a short time ago?”

“Yes, ma’am, to the captain’s address with encryption.”

Sassinak could not tell if the com officer’s tension was normal or not. “The contents of that message require me to sit com watch myself for two hours.” This was unusual, but not unheard of: sometimes extremely sensitive information was sent this way. “I expect incoming IFTL signals, encrypted, and by these orders,” and she waved the paper, “only the ship’s captain can receive them.”