Above the Sea of Orcus

Ivar Frederiksen wants a private (unbugged) meeting with the High Commander and Jaan so the three of them fly alone in an aircar above the Sea of Orcus. With the controls on automatic, all three can face each other and converse. The paragraph that describes their surroundings is worth quoting for its beauty:

"A wind had sprung up as day rolled toward evening. It whined around the hull, which shivered. The Sea of Orcus bore whitecaps on its steel-colored surface and flung waves against its shores; where spray struck and evaporated, salt was promptly hoar. The continental shelf glowed reddish from long rays filtered through a dust-veil which obscured the further desert; the top of that storm broke off in thin clouds and streamed yellow across blue-black heaven."
-Poul Anderson, The Day Of Their Return IN Anderson, Captain Flandry: Defender Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 74-238 AT 19, p. 217.

Evening light, whining wind, shivering hull, flung waves, storm and darkening sky - all of these external, natural phenomena match and reflect the sombre tone of the discussion. Ivar must ascertain whether he is really among allies.