Contents
Chapter 52: Bora
Overview
Otavia confronts Hadrian after his return, and he outlines Sagara’s refusal to negotiate, their imprisonment, and Lin’s plan to broker a Cielcin rendezvous. The crew remains captive on Mistral without ship control. Fearing a trap, Hadrian refuses to see Switch, unable to forgive the betrayal that imperils them all.
Summary
Otavia Corvo wakes Hadrian in his cabin aboard Mistral. Disoriented and unarmed, Hadrian recounts to Otavia how Kharn Sagara refused negotiation, seized Tanaran, and imprisoned Hadrian and Valka for months. He withholds the darkest details but explains that Bassander Lin now drives a rendezvous with the Cielcin away from Vorgossos.
Otavia reports that Mistral never regained control after landing on Vorgossos: even airlocks were disabled, forcing skeleton-crew operations and rationing. Hadrian and Otavia weigh the danger of Lin’s supposed “leash” on Sagara and the immense threat posed by Sagara’s vast ship, SOM legions, and possibly Exalted.
They discuss Switch’s betrayal and how Lin’s people swept aboard when Vorgossos opened the airlock. Switch asked to return, and now waits in his cabin. Hadrian, feeling watched and trapped, refuses to see him, admitting he cannot forgive a betrayal that endangered everyone, though he will not harm him.
Confirming that all their people are aboard and not in interrogation, they acknowledge that Raine Smythe’s order to keep the crew together still offers some protection. Despite Otavia’s pragmatic steadiness and faint optimism, Hadrian senses the situation turning toward a trap and remains uncertain of any next move.
Who Appears
- Hadrian MarloweProtagonist; debriefs Otavia, fears Lin and Sagara’s trap, refuses to see Switch and cannot forgive his betrayal.
- Otavia CorvoMistral’s captain; confronts Hadrian, reports loss of ship control, urges caution, updates him on crew and Switch.
- Bassander LinImperial agent; purportedly holds Sagara on a leash and pushes the Cielcin rendezvous.
- Kharn SagaraWarlord hosting Mistral; seized Tanaran, controls systems, commands vast forces that intimidate Hadrian.
- Switch (William)Crewman whose message exposed the crew; now back aboard, awaiting judgment, shunned by Hadrian.
- Raine SmytheAuthority protecting the crew by ordering them kept together on Mistral.
- Valka OnderraHadrian’s ally; her earlier account supports the scale of Sagara’s forces and imprisonment.