“I’d rather stand,” said the Commander. He prided himself on being able to feel comfortable in any situation, but three hours in a plush chair were too much. Give him a bench, a rock, the back of a horse, and he would happily sit there for hours, but a chair that you sank into was just not natural. “I’m sorry, we don’t do requests,” he said. “Your support for our station in return for our services of interstellar flight — that’s what we had agreed. We know that madjeek of this magnitude is not available to you. There is nothing more to discuss.”

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