Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon

that a girl your age would think me pretty. You’re beautiful yourself, and you know it. Often that creates a rivalry.”
    “I’m not—” Zori started to say, then stopped. “You think I’m beautiful?”
    “Don’t be silly.” Stella loaded the propellant canister in one weapon, then the flechettes, their tips translucent; in the other, a roll of thin wire. “Do you know what these are?” She tapped the containers of wire rolls.
    “No,” Zori said. She sounded more interested than frightened.
    “The flechettes are high-velocity chemstun rounds. The highest concentration allowed to non-law-enforcement personnel. The rolls are tangle-tie. Expand on impact, stick to anything until they harden, which takes five seconds. None of this is lethal, thus none of it is illegal. Never be illegal if you don’t have to, that’s what my Aunt Grace always said.”
    “Your Aunt Grace…Toby said she’s now the Rector of Defense of Slotter Key?”
    “The same Aunt Grace.”
    “And the…er…blades?” Zori looked at Stella’s sleeve, which showed no bulge beneath it.
    “Insurance,” Stella said.
    “What am I supposed to have?” Zori eyed the drawers with more eagerness than Stella had expected.
    “A good night’s sleep, Zori. You will be quite safe here, with all the security around the place.”
    “You can’t expect me to stay here while Toby’s in danger—!”
    “I expect you to do exactly that,” Stella said. “I’m not risking your life, too, and I don’t need to worry about you in a tight situation.”
    “But—but I’m the one who thought of using Rascal!”
    “And I’m grateful for the idea. But Zori, you have no training—”
    “I can handle a weapon—I have my own pistol at home!”
    “Zori.” Stella took the girl by both shoulders—stiff, resistant shoulders. “I don’t doubt your courage, your intelligence, or your willingness to help. But I have done this sort of thing before—I got Toby away alive from people who wanted to kill him at Allray—and I will have trained, experienced personnel with me. I need to know you’re safe. Toby needs to know you’re safe. Yes, this is the boring part—but the boring part is useful, too.” Zori’s stubborn expression didn’t change. Stella thought of something. “There is something you can do, something very important.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I have the transcript of a message sent by pirates—intercepted by my cousin Ky during a battle. Toby recognized some of the words as those you’d taught him, but he can’t read the whole thing. Would you give it a try?”
    “It’s really important?”
    “So far, only the pirates understand pirate jargon. If we had a translation…”
    Zori’s face relaxed a little. “Yes…I can see that might help, and it’s something to do while…while you find Toby. I know I couldn’t sleep.”
    “And Zori…whatever you do…do not contact anyone outside. Not your family, not friends, no one.”
    “But if I want to tell you something—”
    “I can’t risk it breaking my concentration. Believe me, I want Toby back safe as much as you do. Do the translation, if you can, Zori.”
    Stella finished her preparations, put a lead on Rascal’s collar, and picked him up. He squirmed a bit, then settled into the crook of her arm. In the next room, she briefed the two men she had chosen from her private security to come along.
    The corridor outside was quiet; the single apparent guard was, Stella knew, only one of many in the area. She made her way to O’Keefe’s, where she was allowed in after a brief check with police headquarters.
    “According to his escort, he was sitting here, sera,” a policeman said, leading her to the booth. She put Rascal down next to it; he scampered over to a puddle of melted ice cream on the floor and started lapping at it.
    “Rascal, no— find Toby —”
    Rascal glanced up, rolling his eyes and flattening his ears, took a last swipe at the puddle, and lunged for a