Permission to land denied
Who: Jessie Carter.
Where: the Wyvern, outside BD.
<snip> "Do I have permission to land?" "Oh - sure."
She cut the communications. It had been easier than she had thought.
"Computer?" "Yes, ma'am?" "Initiate landing procedure." <end snip>
"Landing aborted." "What!" Carter burst out. "Landing aborted," the
computer repeated calmly. Carter struggled to control herself before
her temper got the better of her. "State reason for abortion," she
managed. "Permission to land denied. A shipwide lockdown has been initiated."
"Oh God," she breathed. So the Space Corp had caught up with her. She
had been so close to safety...
Only one way out. She'd never thought she'd stoop to the level of
impersonating an officer of the Space Corp, but now she had no choice.
"Computer." "Yes, ma'am?" "Open communication channels." She
swallowed, suddenly terrified of what she was about to do. "Use the
Space Corp ident."